I don't own Rise of the Guardians, Tangled, Brave, or How to Train Your Dragon. End/AN/

Ah, the bus.

Merida could still remember the day that Rapunzel had referred to it as 'the big yellow monster that eats kids.' She'd had to clarify she was joking in the next moment, that it was what she'd called it when she was little and homeschooled.

It smelled like sweat and gasoline in the bus, like a space with too many boys crammed into it. She clicked her tongue, sitting in her seat with her backpack on the floor, and Rapunzel crammed in next to her. "I hate boys. They're so smelly."

Rapunzel cracked a grin, saying, "I think some of them are nice."

Of course Rapunzel would say that. She didn't seem to think bad people existed, much less purely obnoxious ones. "Well, I may not be big on 'personal hygiene', but those slobs take it too far!"

Oops. That sounded like she didn't even take a shower! Merida backtracked, adding, "I mean, I shower and all, but I don't go slathering my face with makeup and drowning myself in perfume!"

"I knew what you meant," Rapunzel assured her. Her face was absent of makeup too, though she always seemed to have this glow that made Merida wonder if she wore just a little bit.

"You're too sweet for your own good, Rapunzel," Merida sighed. Rapunzel had sat with the druggies and delinquents for the first six months of school; apparently, she had been unharmed by the experience, because she still greeted any one of them in the hallway if she happened to run into them.

"I don't think there's such a thing. That's like saying there are too many puppies," Rapunzel said, grinning still. Ah yes, no end to the sweetness with Rapunzel.

Merida couldn't help but grin back; Rapunzel's happiness was infectious. "Do you want to come over to my house after school? We can go out in the woods and catch some frogs. There're lots of em around the pond."

Rapunzel's face went from cheerfully grinning to somehow cheerfully looking hesitant and abashed. "I'm sorry, you know I wish I could; my mom wants me to come straight home after school. You know that."

And Merida did know that. It didn't stop her from asking every time, though. "Ah, forget your mom! She should let you do what you want!"

"Merida, I love my mom, and I don't want to hurt her," Rapunzel said, with a touch of firmness in her voice; it was almost as though she were correcting Merida, though with the gentleness of handing an egg. "If she wants me to stay home, then I will."

Merida crossed her arms. "Yeah, I know you will. Just... just for once, she can't get mad at you for just one time coming over to my house!"

She'd been dying to have Rapunzel over. Her own mom had already approved it, though she did question whether or not Rapunzel was an appropriate friend for Merida. The first visit would have been an appraisal by her mother, but Rapunzel was so sweet and nice, Merida was sure she would pass with flying colors.

Not that it was ever going to happen.

The bus came to a stop, and Rapunzel rushed out, calling behind her, "Bye, see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!"

Hiccup hadn't caught the bus that day. Instead, he was with the boxers, practicing. They practiced outside at this point, on flesh-colored, muscular dummies that felt like rubber.

When it was colder, they would go inside, but for now, the chain link fence surrounded their practice area.

Right then, they were in the midst of doing pushups, about 25, though each person was at varying levels of completion.

Hiccup was straining already, up to ten. He was stronger than the average kid, but not stronger the average boxer; he could see Astrid pumping up and down like she was machine.

"Come on, Hiccup, even the girls are beating you!" Snotlout huffed, pink and sweaty.

Fun thing about the boxers: the 'guys' gave each other nicknames, if you were 'in.' Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, even Ruffnut... Who was technically a girl, but only technically.

Everyone had one but Hiccup.

"What do you mean 'even'?" It came out between gritted teeth, but it was a lot more even then Snotlout's grasping breaths. Astrid, the only one who also didn't have a nickname.

"Oh, hey, you know, I just meant, girls and upper body strength, you know..." Snotlout tried to dig himself out of the hole, but he only succeeded in making that determined glow on Astrid's face seem more angry.

Astrid didn't have a nickname either, but it wasn't because she sucked at boxing. It was because she was way too cool for it.

She threw herself up on her feet, crossing her arms and looking at Gobber, who was their coach. "Sit-ups next, coach?"

Hiccup gritted his teeth, biting back a groan as he went into his thirteenth pushup.

Gobber looked at a paper on a clipboard; chances were, there was actually nothing on the clipboard, or it was notes from something else entirely; all the kids knew that Gobber made up whatever they did on the spot more times than not.

"Eh, running suicide; get some water, wait for the others," Gobber said, gesturing with his prosthetic hand towards a big orange water cooler.

As Astrid disappeared, and the others were finishing up their pushups, Hiccup could hear Gobber's footsteps coming his way.

No, no, he thought, just give me a few more minutes, I'll be done. He clenched his eyes shut, focusing on going down and pushing up even though it was burning his body. Maybe if he just tried harder, if he just wished for Gobber not to come this way...

"Hiccup, how many pushups have you done?" Gobber stood over him, his coach face on.

"Uh, some," Hiccup managed, trying to get the pushups done but also done well before he was forced to give a number.

"Hiccup. Have you been doing your exercises at home? I gave you all handouts!" Gobber seemed to raise his eyes heavenwards.

"Yeah, and everyone did them but Haddock!" Snotlout was more than nice enough to announce this to everyone. Ruffnut and Tuffnut broke out into loud, obnoxious laughter, while Fishlegs tittered along nervously.

Gobber liked Hiccup; he was a friend of his father's, and had known Hiccup as a child.

However, Gobber also didn't show favorites when he was in coach mode. He let out a sigh, crossing his arms. "Hiccup, this isn't cheerleading! You've got to take your boxing seriously!"

A bit of a lump seemed to form in the back of Hiccup's throat. He did do the exercises; he did everything he could think of to be good at his father's favorite sport.

His father had gone to state as a teenager, only a little older than him. He'd won competitions and been the best boxer his school (this school) had to offer.

And Hiccup just didn't measure up.

"Yes, coach," he forced out, pushing up once again.

Gobber gave something of a harrumph, his facial hair twitching, and he said, "Finish up there and join the rest of them running suicide after."

Their shoes already pounded on the ground, Astrid in the lead; as Gobber turned back to the rest of them, Hiccup gritted his teeth, fighting back the stinging in his eyes. The last thing he needed was to feel like a failure in front of them.

Even if he thought he already was one.

If there was something Jack could claim as a talent, it was observing people without being seen. He sometimes joked to himself that he had a superpower: he was the great invisible man.

Right now, he was watching the boxers outside- and more specifically, Hiccup.

All right, maybe it wasn't exactly normal to spy on his only potential friend, but he'd gotten sort of nervous, anxious... it wasn't as though Hiccup would see him anyway.

There were a few things he'd concluded about Hiccup.

One, he was not really all that suited to be a boxer. He didn't react in time, he didn't block well, and he just generally looked miserable.

Two, he was right about the other boxers. They seemed to treat him as not-quite-in-the-group; he was Hiccup and they were the team.

Three, Hiccup might be nearly as lonely as he was. As he left the training area, his head hung a bit, and he didn't talk to anyone.

The weird thing was, he was looking around, as if he'd expected someone or something to be there.

Jack had left before Hiccup had come his way, hidden in the bushes.

/AN/ I hope y'all like the update. It was a long time coming, I know. I can't wait to get into the juicier bits, but it's still very much a work in progress!

Thanks for reading!