Authors Pre-Notes: Welcome to my latest Hiccup and Jack installment! I have been mulling over ideas for this since my last fanfic with this couple. I've had a couple of decent ones, but none that intrigued me as much as this one! I wanted to write something a little different.

I love the idea of a paranormal romance - because of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Plus, I've always loved Ghost hunt. So I thought I would combine some worlds and create something pretty unique in the terms of a Hiccup and Jack fanfic.

Ps. You will find in my fanfics, when I talk about Jack in the modern day era, I like to refer to his hair as being blonde (pale blonde) instead of white. So, imagine it's white if you want, but I just prefer to work with him being a blonde.

^.^

I don't believe that everything good that happens to you, happens in High School. Because, if so, I had the short end of the stick.

I wasn't popular. I've never dated, only had a couple friends, and you could say that I wasn't the quarterback for our school football team. Plus, coming from a tragic background - you can imagine the whispers I've had to endure the moment I turn my back.

But, to be honest, I was just a nobody. At least, that's what high school portrayed me as. And, until I was graduated, I could be okay with that. It gave me an excuse to hide from the demons of my past.

I was walking to school, I lived in a small suburban neighborhood. Going to school from this way, the walkways were paved and lined with rows of tall, skinny trees. This part of the town was also lined with abandoned houses and buildings. I preferred taking this way to school - it gave me that chance to just listen to my music. Plus, with all the old houses, I felt like I was in a different time.

One of the old buildings, which could have been an old bookstore or convenience store, caught my attention. I strayed from my path and took a peek inside the dusty windows.

And I saw a camera.

I found it strange, what was a camera doing all the way out here? Glancing around, I confirmed there was no one here.

Curiosity had me pulling open the door, surprised to find it was unlocked. I took out my headphones and whistled in a low tone at the camera. It was an impressive piece of equipment. I couldn't believe someone would just leave it out in the open like this.

Then I saw it recording. Again, I looked at it, closer. A label scrawled along the side of it.

'GUARDIANS PARANORMAL GROUP'

Paranormal? Ah, that made sense. There was some kind of paranormal investigation happening here. Slowly, I backed away from the camera when I heard a loud knocking sound.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Three knocks in total, that sounded as if it were metal on metal.

"Hello?" I glanced around the small, open store front. My heart began hammering in my chest as a cold blast of wind hit my neck. I jumped and stumbled back into a bookcase.

"No!" I exclaimed when it bumped backwards, then forwards and began to fall in my direction. Protectively, I put my hands in front of my head and readied myself for the impact.

There was a loud crashing sound when someone had grabbed my arm, pulling me sideways. My head jerked back, and I felt a painful snap in my neck. Then I stumbled forward, falling on top of someone.

"You idiot!" The woman from under me grunted, and I scrambled up. She had fiery red hair combed back into a ponytail paired with beautiful blue eyes.

"I-I'm sorry." I said, helping her up. She grumbled some more, stalking over to the book case, now in pieces from the impact on the ground. I realized the camera was gone too.

"Oh, shit. I am so sorry. I can pay for that -" I rushed over to help her pull the expensive camera from the rubble.

She pushed my hands away, "don't bother."

I put my hands down, guilt rising in my stomach, I thought I would vomit. I had no idea how much the camera actually cost and by the looks of it, they would need a brand new one. I didn't even know if I had ever seen the amount of money it would cost to buy one.

The girl whipped out a cell phone, punched in a number, and held it up to her ear.

"Hey, it's Merida. We have a situation at the shop. Uh-huh. Okay." She hung up and those fierce blue eyes were on me. I gulped, my heart hammering in my chest and I hoped that I wouldn't get sick in front of her.

"What's your name?"

"H-Haddock," I didn't feel the need to say that most of the people who knew me called me Hiccup.

"I'm going to need your contact information. You go to the High School around here?" She pushed her phone in front of me and my name was already typed in the 'new contact' section of it. Quickly, I inputted my phone number, then called it.

"Yes. A-are you going to hunt me down or something?" I took out my own phone, to show her that my number was indeed correct, as her phone number flashed across my screen.

"Just go to school. You'll be getting a call from my boss about the bill for this." She started picking up the pieces of rubble and sorting through it.

I didn't waste anytime in getting out of there. As soon as I was out of the building, I ran the rest of the way to school.

Or at least I tried too. I was often mistook for being athletic. I had bigger shoulders and a lean body, but I didn't play sports or workout religiously. I had an low endurance and even worst balance.

After a couple of blocks, I had to stop and give my lungs a break. They were working so hard, it felt like they were bleeding.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I heard the sound of metal on metal again, and glanced around the secluded area. I was standing by the park just near the abandoned school. If I cut through this field, I would be at the field of my own school.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

My heart was hammering in my chest and wanted to take off towards school again. But I had the urge to glance behind me. And maybe it was the exhaustion playing tricks on me, or stress, but when I looked back I wasn't prepared to see what I had.

I saw a silhouette of a large, tall, shadowy figure.

This time, I truly ran from fear.

^.^

I felt safe at school. For the first time in my life, but the my nerves were still on fire from the encounter this morning. What I saw back there - I didn't even want to remember it.

I had only felt true fear once before.

That was after my mom died.

It was after her funeral to be exact, I was still in elementary school. She passed away from cancer and it crippled my Father and I.

But after some time, I started seeing her again in our old house. She would come to me in my dreams. And they weren't ordinary dreams, but it was like I stepped out of my body for those moments and went with her wherever she wanted me to.

Those dreams had given me hope that she didn't truly leave us behind. I looked forward to them; so she could stroke my hair and tell me how much she missed us. Like how we missed her.

After numerous visits, she had began to change. She became angry and fed off the fear of my father when she would move things around the house. She would make doors slam and turn lights off. Every night, she began haunting the home, driving my father mad.

He grew more and more unstable. Soon, mom stopped visiting my dreams and started tormenting my father instead. He was soon fired from his job and had to stay home more. I remember those years, remembered them as if they were yesterday. Everyday, I would come home and everyday dad would be sitting in the living room - bags under his eyes and muttering nonsense.

Those years were hell. Absolute hell, if it existed. The haunting never went away, they only worsened. At school, no one took me seriously when I said that we were being haunted by a ghost. I instead, got teased and nicknamed. My dad was even more so. Being a full grown man - he was scrutinized worst than I could ever imagine.

But, it all took a toll on my dad. He began not being able to sleep due to nightmares, stopped eating due to fear of being poisoned, stopped caring. And eventually, he just stopped living.

After years of haunting's, he put a gun to his head and decided it was easier to end it all than to live.

I knew true fear then; at how close death was to me. I could almost reach my hand out and touch that other world - almost feel it wrap around me. I lived with a childhood friend after the social system didn't know what to do with me. They feared I would turn out like my dad.

And to be honest, I feared the same sometimes. I moved in with a family friend, the Hofferson's. Astrid was their daughter and I grew up with her. She was like a sister to me.

I pushed out the dark thoughts of my past as I moved my way through the crowded hallways to my locker.

"Running a little late today? I told you not to eat that extra round of bagels." Astrid strode up to my locker, it was the end of our first period class, math. She often made fun of my eating habits.

"It wasn't the bagal. I did something, Astrid. Something bad." I closed my locker, looking into her pale blue eyes. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"Oh no, Hiccup. What did you do this time?"

"It's just - oh shit, I need to take this." I looked frantically at my cell phone at the unknown number that flashed across it. She gave me a exasperated sound and I took off down the wing of the hall - to get some privacy. I decided the empty stairwell was the best place for this conversation.

"H-Hello?"

"Haddock?" A male voice said through the phone.

"Yes, this is he."

"My name is Jack. My assistant, Merida, gave me this number to contact you about the camera." He was very businesslike - but sounded young.

"Y-yes. I am so sorry about that. I will pay for it to be fixed or whatever you need."

"I'm afraid we can't fix this one. I will need to purchase new equipment. And, by the sounds of it, I can assume you're only in high school. I doubt you can afford a new camera." His voice was condescending and I glared. He didn't have to be so rude.

"Well, how much is this thing? I might be able to pull some money together."

"That particular piece was about nineteen thousand dollars," he chuckled and said. "Can you still afford it?"

My mouth was hanging open. Nineteen thousand - that was as much as… well I didn't even know! I had never encountered so much money before. I closed my mouth and swallowed.

"I-I can make payments. I swear, I'll pay it all off."

"Here, I'll tell you what. Come by my office today after you're done school and we can discuss this a little more personally. I have an office in the city, currently."

"Okay, I can be there at four." I took into the account that I didn't drive to school. I would have to go home and see if I could borrow the car. Astrid, her parents and I had to share two cars. And most of the time, her parents got to use them first.

"Alright. I'll have Merida text you the address. See you then." He hung up.

I sighed loudly, running my hands through my hair. Frustration filled my mind. How could I be so stupid! I clenched my teeth and that sickening feeling returned, roiling in my gut.

Dammit this really sucked.

^.^

In the end, I decided that I didn't want to tell Astrid what happened. So I made up some excuse that I lost track of time at the old park.

She believed it - I guess me being distracted is easily believable. But at least she didn't ask anymore questions. And, luck was on my side when I heard she had taken on of the cars to school already.

"Do you think I can borrow the car when we get home?" I said as we put our packs in the back seat. "I have a job interview in the city."

"Is that what the call was about, earlier?" She slid into the driver side and we buckled up when she started the engine. It was a 2007 Toyota Corolla and it still ran like new. The engine purred to life and we began weaving our way out of the crowded parking lot.

"Yep. I have a good feeling about it. So, what do you think?" I asked again.

She pursed her lips, "hm. Yeah, I guess. I have practice tonight though, but maybe Snotlout could pick me up."

Snotlout, her boyfriend, was on the school football team. Astrid was on the basketball team.

"Thanks, Astrid."

"No problem. Will you be home for dinner?"

"I'm not sure. I'll text you though." I said.

The rest of the ride home was relatively quiet. One good thing about living with the Hofferson's were that, after the incident, they never questioned it. They never tried to pry or get more information from me. It let me give their family a ton of respect. They also treated me as if I was their son and accepted me into the family right away.

When we pulled up to the house, it was already a quarter past three. I loved Astrid like a sister and all, but she drove super defensively. And it would take about forty five minutes to get into the city. Keeping up with my lie, I pretended to shower quickly and change into something more appropriate for an 'interview'.

A pair of black dress pants and a pale green polo. Astrid and her parents wished me luck, giving me a hug and then I was out the door. I pulled out the text from Merida, put the address into the GPS and then I was off, not too sure what to expect.

^.^

I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen. Maybe, it wasn't a paranormal group at all. Maybe it was some gang initiation and I was the poor victim who the guy had to kill.

I tried to calm my frantic mind and when I pulled up to the lease space, I was surprised to find it was just out of the city. The office was only office being leased on this little square and there was a uneasy feeling in my gut. I felt a bit better seeing another car in the parking lot, a large white SUV.

'Stay calm. Stay calm.' I coached myself as I started walking towards the glass office. I pushed on the door and found that it was locked. So, I pushed the doorbell and waited.

Inside, I saw Merida stroll to the door and unlock it. She was still wearing what I saw her in this morning - a green pair of skinny jeans and a white shirt. Her hair was tied back and now she was wearing a pair of large framed glasses.

"Hello, Haddock." She greeted me. She sounded much more friendlier now, and I now noticed the thick accent. But, then again, I had met her when I broke an allegedly nineteen thousand dollar camera. I wouldn't be too forthcoming either.

"You can call me Hiccup." I stepped into the space and she re-locked the door. There was a large desk, a reception desk, to the left. Down the hall, there were a number of doors that I assumed where offices. One large room looked like a meeting space. On my right, there were a set of stairs.

Merida began to climb the stairs, and I followed closely behind her. She didn't say a word the rest of the way up and on the upper floor there was another, even bigger, meeting room. More offices lined the rest of the hallway. I wondered how many people worked here.

She stopped directly in front of the largest of the offices, knocking briskly.

"Come in." the male voice said from the other side. Merida opened the door and gestured me in. She didn't follow me in though and closed the door sharply behind me.

I flinched and looked back. Not sure what to do. This office was huge and an entire wall was just windows. The natural light seemed fitting for the dark office furniture.

"Ah, the camera breaker. Please, have a seat." The male said. He turned from his computer and gave me a sly smile.

He was young had light blonde hair and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. He must have been no older than me. And he was somehow, the boss of this place? There was no way.

He was dressed in a black suit jacket and a grey dress shirt. His hair was perfectly styled to look messy and he folded his hands on top of the deep oak desk.

"So, let's get down to business. I'll be frank, you can't afford to buy a new camera." Jack said as I sat down on the satin cushioned chair.

I bit down on my lip and nodded, feeling a flush crawl over my skin.

"Since you can't afford to pay it back, there's only one solution. You can work for me to pay off the difference."

I almost laughed. Maybe it wasn't a bad lie to say I was coming to the city for a job interview.

"I think I'm under qualified. I have no experience in the - uh, paranormal," I confessed.

Jack leaned back in his chair. "No need. You can do the basic things, like setting up equipment, filling out papers. I assume you have some literacy in writing?" He gave a feline smile with that condescending voice again. He tapped the only stack of papers sitting on the desk in front of us.

I scowled, "Yes. I'm not that stupid."

"Great. I have some papers you can read through, negotiating terms, things like that. Read through them and let me know if you have any questions." He pushed a button on the side of his desk and Merida opened the door again. Jack turned to his computer and began typing again, a silent dismissal.

I stood up with the papers in my hand and followed Merida out. She lead me to the large meeting room and gave me a pen and a cup of water.

"Let me know if you need anything else." She said and closed the double antique french doors.

I read the first line and immediately regretting ever getting myself into this situation.

'Terms of Employment.'

Oh, Lord. What did I get myself into?

^.^

Authors Notes:

So this is a little of a slower start, but I hope the story line is intriguing!

I will be updating every week! I'm super happy to start another, longer, project.

Please review, rate, follow...ALL OF IT!

Thanks!

Truly, Cassie.