People were quite shameless when it came to gossiping, especially when their subjects of talk where walking right past them less that a foot away.
Jack was quite angry, watching heads here and there turn as they walked by, following their forms in their way to their lockers. He never understood why, though, was it his hair? Nah, it had started long after he'd started dying it white. Was it Hiccup's shorter than average height? He looked at the brunet walking next to him, rambling about something he was pretty sure was the essay he should've started last weekend. Hiccup was quite short, but that wasn't enough to get literally EVERYONE'S attention, neither where his cute little braces, or the pile of books he carried because they just wouldn't fit in his already stuffed bag. Was it his freckles? Who would even want to talk bad about them, god they were so cute...
Actually he was pretty sure none of the reasons had to do with Hiccup, his boyfriend was way too good to be frowned upon. What was it then? He'd tried to get some answers from people who would start small chat with him in class, but they would just look at him with something that looked disgustingly like condescension before denying anything like rumors about him and then just continuing their chatter.
"Jack, we're here" He heard the brunet say, his hand pulling his sleeve when he didn't stop walking in front of his locker, he was so focused on his own thoughts.
"Oh, sorry" Jack smiled sheepishly, backtracking to open his locker. They originally weren't next to each other, but after some 'creative barter' Jack had managed to change his own for the girl who had hers next to Hiccup. She also seemed awfully keen on exchanging it. Jack made sure to leave a little 'present' on his locker before giving the combination to her. "Guess I was a bit distracted"
Hiccup shook his head but smiled nonetheless, opening his locker to relief some of the charge in his arms and store some of the things in his bag. "How do you even manage to have more than one idea simultaneously up there"
"Okay, I'm not about to make wild guesses but I'm gonna assume that was an insult"
"Don't try too hard, it might hurt your bra-Ack!" Hiccup exclaimed as Jack wormed his arms around his waist from behind and lifted him in the air, his bag falling with little noise. "Hey! Put me down!"
Jack laughed and spun him around, easily holding him through his squirming. "Not a chance, fishbone!"
As Hiccup tried to free himself from the albino's grip, all the while laughing uncontrollably along with him, the sound of his locker door being closed along someone clearing their throat caught their attention, making Jack stop mid-spin to stare at the girl standing there.
"Oh, hi Astrid" Hiccup said nonchalantly, still held up in Jack arms. "What brings you to this charming parts this time?"
"Hey" She greeted, waiting for Jack to lower her friend down before pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "The headmaster wants to see you"
Jack was still hugging his waist, resting his head on the brunet's shoulder. "And you know that because...?"
"I just so happened to be walking past and apparently he knows we're friends so I was turned into a messenger owl" She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "You better go now, seemed important"
Hiccup squirmed, getting out of Jack's hold. "Guess I should, uh" He turned to the albino who was pouting at being left alone. "You guys go on, I'll catch you later" He then pecked Jack's nose and ran off in the direction Astrid had pointed before.
Jack sighed, beckoning Astrid to walk with him after the brunet had disappeared form sight. "Do you know what would it be that it's so important?"
Astrid shook her head. "No. I know he's been up to something from the last few months, but when I asked he said he didn't want to talk about it until he was certain it worked" She slapped Jack's arm lightly. "Although he did tell me he was worried about what you would think"
Jack frowned. He knew Hiccup had been acting strange as of late, kinda secretive, but not in the bad way. He seemed almost...giddy. He had also been spending a lot of time with Jack, as if trying to make up for something.
He noticed how people didn't even pay attention when it was Astrid walking with him, unlike the stares when it was Hiccup instead.
"Can I ask you something weird?" He said, looking around to see if someone turned as he passed by. No one did.
"Sure. Shoot away" The blonde raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to keep talking. He looked affronted.
"Do you know if people here have something against Hic or me?" He was as direct as he could, continuing almost immediately. "Every time we're together everyone look at us, like some...freak show from a circus. They're also always murmuring something to each other, it drives me crazy"
Astrid frowned and looked around, catching the eye of some girls who just so happened to be looking that way. They shuffled nervously and left in a hurry. "I see" She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "People is too judgmental in here is what happens"
"How so?" Jack asked confused. "Is it because we're two guys? Because if we have to go trough that again I'll-"
"No, not that" She laughed at his outburst, holding his arm to stop him as they reached her locker. "It's just that, people think Hiccup is too much of a 'nerd' to be with a guy like you"
"'A guy like me' being...?"
"I don't know, 'normal', I guess" She air quoted the word 'normal', turning to input the code to open the metallic door. "Or as much as you can be with that hair"
He swatted her head and received a punch to the stomach in return, making him double over with a groan. "Fuck you" He managed to say through the pain. "And Hic is not a nerd...not too much anyway, not for me"
"I know, I know, but go and try to tell people that"
Jack huffed, pulling himself straight, leaning in the lockers to wait for her to finish sorting through her things.
He had been interested in Hiccup since the very beginning, to be perfectly honest. The first year of High School he'd been the new guy, hair still brown and a pair of thin, subtle glasses over his slightly myopic brown eyes. He had the bad luck of having his first class in a classroom across the most crowded hallway in the building, and it was a matter of time before someone bumped into him too hard and sent his glasses flying.
Needless to say, he couldn't see shit. He had to forget any first impression he could be giving and squat—no way he was getting on all fours, he was no Velma Dinkley-, trying to feel his way for his specs.
People were mostly just walking around him, dodging him to keep on their way, so he wasn't expecting someone to tap his shoulder. He looked up and saw a little hand in front of him, his glasses intact in the open palm. He thanked the stranger and stood to shake the dirt off his pants and put on his glasses again, looking at the boy that helped him and then doing a double-take.
The shorty was smiling at him, a hint of crooked buckteeth on it. Jack felt like those freakishly huge green eyes were staring straight into his soul, and had to fake a cough to get an excuse to turn his own eyes away for a second before he got too caught up in them.
"Are you okay?" The boy asked, tilting his head much too cutely in Jack's opinion. "You're not lost, are you?"
"...What...Ah! No, no I'm not" Jack reacted after a while, scratching the back of his head. "Just stopped to pick up my glasses...thank you about that, by the way"
The brunet chuckled, offering his hand again—Jack shook it almost too eagerly. "I'm Hamish, or Hiccup, if you want"
"Jack" He simply said, smiling back at him.
Jack had been surprised upon discovering that they were in the same class, not because of serendipity but because Hiccup looked so much younger that he actually was. The teacher had let them choose where they would sit for the rest of the year and he also discovered that, as a result of sitting with him, not only did his grades raise considerably, but also the whole high school experience was way easier to cope with, his dry humor and wit turning the everyday torture into something he waited for dearly.
It was the year after that when Jack came to school the first day with his hair dyed white and glasses exchanged for icy blue contacts. He'd been about to get in trouble when Hiccup stepped forward saying that there was no rule against dyed hair or what not respecting appearances, to which the now albino was left alone definitively. To say the least Hiccup loved the change, said he now resembled the mythical Jokul Frosti, and that was when Jack learned that the brunet was actually Icelandic and had been living not that many years in the states.
It was in that year's February 14th that Jack asked him out.
It was also the day Hiccup had said yes.
It was also near the time people had started talking behind their backs.
Would he really believe Astrid when she said it was because people couldn't digest the fact someone like him would be with someone like Hiccup? Just because he was the most probable picture to appear beside the definition of geek in the dictionary, or because he had the thickest glasses one could find, or his braces, or that he always played Pokémon when alone, or that all his notebooks had covers from Star Trek or Marvel, or that his clothes were always on the side of too big...
Okay, maybe Jack had a thing for nerdy guys, who knew, but the thing was, why did everyone care who he dated or how the others looked, it's 2014 already, one would think this kind of things didn't matter anymore.
"JACK!" A shout broke him away from his thoughts, barely managing to turn around when 90 pounds of Hiccup jumped and hugged his neck tightly. God, if people knew just how much strength Hic had packed...
"Woah, slow down there, breaking my spine isn't in my plans honey" Jack held his waist to keep him from falling—and thus dragging him down what with the strong grip on him-, looking into the very excited face of the brunet. "Did you win the lottery o something?"
"Come on" Hiccup pulled him along, releasing an arm to grab Astrid on the way, the blonde having just finished taking her things and closing the locker. "Not here. Out"
He dragged them along the halls and out to the inner garden of the building, searching around like an overstimulated hound until finding an empty bench under an Oak, taking them there and forcing them to sit down.
"Okay" He breathed in and out deeply, calming down enough to speak properly. "Okay, so. You know how I've been kinda doing something without telling you guys"
"Yeah" Both Astrid and Jack said at the same time, unamused at the reminder.
"Actually only my dad and Gobber know. Maybe Snotlout" He shrugged. Now Astrid raised her eyebrow.
"Now that you mention it, he has been kinda weird lately too" She mumbled, looking at him smile bashfully. "Almost like a pressure pot trying to blow its lid off"
"Yes, well, he usually has a hard time keeping secrets...Oh! Yeah, the thing" He cleared his throat. "...I won a scholarship"
Jack blinked and sat straight. "...What?"
"I...I've been postulating for a scholarship, it's been hard because it's...in Europe"
Jack was on his feet in an instant, walking towards him with decision. Hiccup flinched as he got closer, waiting for his boyfriend to explode, to tell him he wouldn't accept it, that he was crazy for wanting to go away, that how was it possible he didn't tell him before, that-
He didn't expect getting a tight hug instead.
Hiccup blinked his eyes open, slowly raising his arms to return the hug, burying his face in the taller teen's chest. "Jack...?"
He chuckled, rubbing the brunet's back softly. "That's great" Jack said, not too loud. "That's really, really great Hiccup"
Astrid cleared her throat, getting them to separate enough so she could see both their faces. "How about you come seat here and tell us more about it"
Hiccup nodded, smiling while taking Jack's hand to take him back to the bench.
It was rather simple, Hiccup had been notified that, due to his European nationality, he could opt for a series of different scholarships in his country of birth. After considering it over and over, with his father and his godfather and even making small talk of it with his extended family, he'd decided to go for it. He also decided to not tell anyone outside of his family and the competent school authority that was required to go through the paperwork with, just in case he didn't get it and so it wouldn't be awkward.
He'd chosen one focusing in Equestrian activities, for both training and riding, where he could bring his own horse, a black Icelandic called Toothless he'd had to leave behind when moving. If all went well he would have to leave at the end of the semester, he would still go to school to finish his formal education, and with luck he'd be back before the end of senior year.
The way he looked when talking about it, so happy and practically glowing with emotion, had Jack smiling softly at him the whole time. He was sad, of course, his boyfriend would leave and he would have to stay behind, but if it was what Hic wanted Jack was more than happy to support him completely.
Every once in a while Hiccup would look at him while talking, the corner of his mouth lifting and his eyes crinkling a bit with joy, and at one point his freckled hand came to hold his pale one.
As the day went on, Jack found that Hiccup would literally not leave his side, holding his hand or hugging him at any possible moment, and Jack wasn't about to complain any time soon. At the end of the day they walked together, Hiccup's house being on the way to Jack's.
"So, when's the big day?" Jack asked, swinging their linked arms between their bodies.
Hiccup looked at his phone, searching the calendar. "About a week after classes are finished." He pocketed the device back and looked at Jack. "Are you...really okay with this? It's just so sudden, I wouldn't mind if you were mad at me..."
Jack stopped, releasing the brunet's hand to place both of his on his bony shoulders. "Hiccup, I really am not. If this is what you want and it makes you happy, then it'll make me happy too. Of course, it IS quite sudden and being that you've already been accepted and all..." He leaned down to press their foreheads together. "I just want you to be happy, okay?"
"I am" Hiccup answered, leaning forward to join their mouths in a soft kiss, slowly breaking away after a couple of seconds. "If you just promise to wait for me, I won't ask life for anything else"
Jack laughed a bit breathlessly. "You're so cheesy"
"Like you're one to talk"
The days after the announcement went by way too fast for Jack's taste, and it was less than a blink of the eye when the day of Hiccup's departure came. Classes have ended and Jack had insisted in passing all the time possible with his boyfriend, which ended up in the albino spending the last week of the brunet's time in the country in Hiccup's house, helping him get everything he needed and of course, cuddle at every possible moment.
When it was time for him to leave, luggage already in the plane and tickets in hand, it was hard to tell who was worse for wear; Hiccup with his feet betraying him to stay floored in his spot, or Jack with his own willing to chase after him if necessary. Stoick wondered, while standing in the sidelines, if he should have followed his instinct and brought a handlebar to separate them after at least 10 minutes of them hugging. He decided to just let them be for the moment.
Somehow both managed to hold back tears until the plane had left.
As soon as Hiccup arrived to his old house in Iceland, still kept in perfect condition thanks to his mother's relatives, he wasted no time in mesaging Jack, and it wasfrom that point forward that they wouldn't stop talking, messaging each other at any given moment and talking on skype all night long if necessary.
Jack would complain about how bored it was without him there to bugger around, and Hiccup would talk and talk about his classes, about Toothless and how different it was from the time he last was there. He would also send photo after photo of every place he went to that would remind him of Jack, like the Vatnajökull Glacier(Jack knew Hiccup had a little meltdown for that one, not only for the 'jökull' in the name, which reminded him a lot of Jack, but also because part of Heima, the documentary of Hic's favorite band, had been recorded there), and the numerous waterfalls all around the island.
"Hey, wait, smile again" Jack said to the screen one night, the video call showing Hiccup's face from the other side of the ocean.
Hiccup smirked and showed his teeth, the metal from before completely gone. "They took them off last week"
"Man, that's great. Buuut your buckteeth are still a bit crooked" He chuckled, looking the brunet frown and purse his lips.
"Well, sorry for having abnormally frontal dental pieces that just won't fit anywhere" He huffed.
"No, no" Jack hurried to say, shaking his hand. "I love them that way"
Hiccup kept the frown, but Jack could see the tip of his ears redden.
Luckily the time difference was just 4 hours, so Jack could talk to him between classes and before going to bed, considering Hic had a tendency to stay up late grooming his horse before going to sleep.
The next school started with Jack going to classes alone for the first time since his arrival. Most thought he would be depressed and more than one girl wanted to believe he would have broken up with the little nerd so he would be free for the taking, but surprise, surprise, he was up and about in the bright morning, smiling as usual and not at all sad. He chatted with his friends, with Hiccup's friends, was active and just overall chill as usual.
"Oh, hold on a second" He said to the girl trying to chat him up, raising his hand to pause the conversation. He took out his phone and read the message he'd just gotten, laughing aloud and texting something decidedly long in response. "Sorry, Hic just sent me a text. You were saying?"
The girl gaped for a moment before asking if he was really still dating the brunet. Jack just looked at her and said a simple 'yes', then waited in silence until the girl stomped her foot on the ground and went away muttering curses under her breath.
Needless to say, the amount of people talking to Jack reduced drastically. He was actually pretty okay with that.
"You really don't think it looks weird?" Hiccup asked, ruffling his hair.
"Nope, it's actually pretty hot" Jack grinned, watching the long fingers swim through the tresses of chocolate hair. "Although I'm gonna miss your red lights"
"Hey, it's not my fault it suddenly decided to turn darker. My mom's was like this, y'know"
"Yeah, but please don't tell me you're gonna let it grow as much as hers" He said, remembering the photo of the woman in Hiccup's house.
The brunet laughed. "Well, maybe just a bit. I like the idea of a braid or two, like the old vikings did"
Jack rolled his eyes.
When winter vacations came around, Jack had managed to get enough money together to send a gift to Hiccup, receiving his own a couple of days after Christmas, but at least the time zone allowed him to talk to his face when midnight struck in the volcanic island.
Hiccup had promptly closed the chat window when Jack produced a bundle of mistletoe from nowhere and put it over his head.
He then opened it again to blow the poor kicked-puppy faced teen a kiss. Jack almost fell from his chair.
"...Hold on, stand up"
Hiccup did as told, standing from his chair and in front of the webcam.
"Now walk to the door"
He stepped back slowly, kicking a shirt away on his way. He then just leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his slightly more filled chest.
"...Okay, how much"
"How much what?" The brunet snickered, talking a bit louder to get his voice to reach the mic of his laptop.
"How much do you charge for the night in the back of my truck" The image trembled when Hiccup threw a pillow to the camera. "How much did you grow, you pipsqueak" Jack laughed, watching the brunet walk back to the desk. Definitely not amused.
"About 2 or 3 inches, I dunno" He shrugged. "I'm still growing, it could be more"
"Daaaamn" Jack whistled, leaning back on his chair. "I'm gonna have you giving me a piggy back ride someday"
"I'm gonna drop you in a lake"
"If you are my handsome savior, deal"
Jack had spent most of the first months of the year fussing over something, that was what people were sure of. He would spend study periods actually doing his homework and studying, opposing to his usual routine of sleeping the hour away. When asking Astrid, she just shrugged and said:
"He wants his afternoons free"
It wasn't until the night of the first of march, or early morning, considering it was close to 4 AM, when he turned on his computer and started the call to the brunet.
When Hiccup answered, he was already wearing his pajamas, droopy-eyed and hair messy.
"Jack? Whazzit?" He drawled sleepily, fixing the screen to point the camera properly. "Do you have any idea of what time it is over there or did you smell a Sharpie again?"
"Hey" Jack said, shuffling a bit. "I know it's kinda late but, umm" He ducked from view, moving things around under his desk. His muffled voice still reached the mic. "I just wanted to say" He came back into view, a badly sewn black dragon doll with green eyes in his hands. Its wings were droopy and the tail was missing the left fin. Jack's hands were also covered in little pricks from the needle. Hiccup fell in love with it at first sight. And with Jack all over again. "Happy birthday, love"
Hiccup drifted his eyes to the clock, in the precise moment when the 28 of February turned into the 1 of March, skipping his birthday completely, yet giving Jack the perfect moment to talk to him. He dug the heel of his hand into his eye, trying to keep the happy single tear that wanted to escape from doing so. "You idiot"
Jack grinned behind the head of the doll, his own face as red as the can of soda next to him. "Love you too"
Hiccup laughed, feeling his nose get stuffy from holding his tears. "Love you, you crazy hálfviti"
Jack was familiar enough with the word to laugh.
June came and so the albino was free from school, managing to find a Summer job in his father's shop, a gigantic place where he would sell handmade candies and wooden toys, that was incredibly popular between small kids and grandparents. He also had to be careful because being the boss' son did not give him special privileges to text his boyfriend while working. It had been a bit embarrassing the first time he got caught. Let's just say he was a bit more careful about what he wrote.
It was a late day in October when he received a call from Hiccup. A phone call.
"Hic?" Jack had been in the middle of a shower, his hand hastily dried to grab his phone from the seat of the toilet while he stepped out of the water.
"Hi Jack, hi Jack, hey, hi" Hiccup greeted quickly, stumbling over his words as he repeated himself. "How are you?"
"Well, someone sounds happy" The albino laughed, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder to wrap the towel around his waist. "Fine, just got home, you?"
"Fine! Fine, so good" He babbled, the sound of shuffling could be heard from his end. "How's school? Do you have classes everyday or what? Is it too hard?"
Jack took the phone away a bit, looking at it strangely, then put it back on his ear. "Ehh..no? Just the usual, it's the last year so yeah, it's kinda harder. And yes, everyday, all day"
"I see. I see" He muttered the last part, grunting as if trying to force something. Suddenly the sound of a neigh was heard, not too far from him. "Toothless! How did you get out, you useless—Sorry Jack, Tooth got away from his field and is at my window, gotta go"
"Uh...okay, good luck. Say hi to the beast for me"
"Will do"
Jack kept listening to the line as it went dead, somehow hoping it would encode what the hell that had been.
It happened mid November, when Jack was in his third period in school.
He was, as usual, sitting in the last rows of the classroom, doodling in his notebook, when the door opened and slammed shut, everyone's head, including his, raising to see the crossed face of the Jorgenson kid, Hiccup's cousin, enter the room and take his seat after handing his pass for being late to the teacher.
The woman read the slip of paper and nodded once, keeping with her lesson. Jack could've sworn she sounded almost chipper.
It was a half an hour later when there was a knock on the door, a tall shadow seen from the other side of the fussy window in it. The teacher stopped and marched towards it, the door opening to the inside blocking the view of the person, until she nodded with a smile and stepped aside, letting the newcomer in.
Everyone gasped. Jack fell back on his chair.
"Hey" Hiccup said, grinning at the group from his new 6'1'', bag hanging from his shoulder. "So, where should I sit?"
Jack managed to scramble back to sit properly and pushed the guy sitting next to him to the ground. "Here's empty"
The teacher brought a hand to her face and shook her head, but shooed the brunet to sit anyway, urging the kid on the floor to find a new spot.
Hiccup snorted and went to sit by Jack, unable to hold the huge smiling eating his face, mirrored by Jack's own.
The teacher looked around at all the open-mouthed kids looking at the brunet and sighed. "I'm not getting anything done anymore. You're dismissed"
Hiccup didn't have to wait to have the albino glomping him.
While Jack tried to bury his way under the brunet's skin, the rest of the classroom hurried to their feet and surrounded him, trying to understand how this tall, handsome guy with the bright smile was the same geeky kid with the big glasses and braces from two years ago.
Astrid pushed her way to the front, sitting herself on top of his desk. "Hey nerd"
"Hi honey" He greeted, rolling his eyes. "Missed you too"
Jack shuffled on his lap and took his face out of the freckled neck to look up at him "...Where are your glasses"
"Contacts. It's hard to ride when they're falling from my face all the time"
Jack hummed and went back to hibernate in the crook of his boyfriend's neck. Everyone looked at him. Really? Was that all he noticed? His glasses?
People were muttering to each other still around them, so Astrid got up and grabbed his arm, pulling him up and consequently making Jack stand on his feet as well, his arms migrating from the brunet's neck to his waist, Hiccup's arm hugging his now shorter boyfriend's shoulders tightly. "Let's go get something to eat"
Jack mumbled something along the lines of 'gonna eat him up' and Hiccup chuckled, kissing his head while they walked they way out of the room. He noticed Snotlout joining them after a moment, still huffing.
"Oh yeah, you had to get him from the airport" Astrid said, patting the stout teen's back. "Sorry for the blow to your self-esteem"
"Shut it" He said, glaring(up) at his cousin. "I could've gotten more sleep this morning if it weren't for you"
"Well, you can drive and my dad was busy" Hiccup shrugged. "Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep"
Jack laughed and untangled himself from the brunet's waist, walking next to him with his hands intertwined instead. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have gone for you and maybe got you away for an hour or four"
"Exactly because of that" He stopped, right there in the middle of the hallway, and released his hand from Jack's. He pouted until Hiccup cupped his face with both hands and kissed him deeply. Jack had to hold his shoulders to not slide down to the floor.
"Can you guys hold it down until we actually seat somewhere?" Astrid asked amused, watching the few people around them go slack jawed not only by the show, but also at the brunet. She doubted they believed it was Hiccup.
Her words were pretty much not heard, the couple still too busy in their own little world. She could practically see the shojo anime flowers all around them. Not that she watched shojo anime. Not at all.
She huffed and pulled Snotlout's arm, the face of the boy contorted in discomfort at the situation. "Let's just get going, they're gonna take a while"
"Yeah, go on, see you later" Jack mumbled, seemingly lost in the greenery of Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup chuckled and pulled him aside, both disappearing into the bathroom.
Snotlout face-palmed and just kept walking, followed by the laughing blonde.