Wooooah, that was a really long wait, wasn't it?

Ah man, guys. I'm so, so, soooo sorry for that huge hole there! This chapter was just really weird to write, not only because I fell into a major writer's block halfway through, but also because freaking school decided to start and take up all of my time. Ugh, school.

Despite all that, thank you all so much for all the reviews and favs and FREAKING FANART! Yeah, I got my first piece of fanart, and let me just tell you how excited I was when I got it! It's the recent cover of the story, and was drawn by the lovely user, Maybell's Stories! Thank you so much once again for the great drawing, Maybell! Much appreciated!

Enough about that though. Let's move on to chapter ten! Woo!

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A whole week passes by without me being able to see Jack again, and I begin to wish the grass would grow faster so I'd have an excuse to go over and mow his yard, just in hopes of seeing him peeking through his window again. The grass continues to grow at its own pace however, and I continue to not be able to see one glimpse of that white hair of his.

I quickly start falling back into my original routine before I met Jack: mow the days I have to, then go out to eat with Fish, be ignored by Astrid, go home, shower, and then try to figure out what to do with myself for the rest of the day. I begin reading the summer book I was assigned, but the most pages I'm able to read isn't even enough to get through an entire chapter. I often find my attention drifting towards the window, wondering what it would be like to be biking out there with Jack.

Not even biking, nor the mere idea of biking, can heighten my spirits. As I mow lawns, I catch myself thinking, When I get home, I'm gonna get my bike and do a few laps around the neighborhood, just to maybe feel a little better. Every time I walk down my driveway and into the garage though, I just stare at my bike sitting on its rack, remembering the blood trickling down Jack's white skin, and I'm suddenly not so eager to go for a ride.

My dad even catches on to this. When he gets home from work, I'm often already there, working on dinner or reading in the living room. Despite the fact that I thought he'd be thrilled to see that I'm not "wasting my time biking" anymore, he seems more worried than anything. I even overhear him and Gobber talking about it one night when they think I've gone off to sleep, Gobber telling him that maybe getting me out of the house will get me out of this funk I'm in.

I'm not really that surprised when my dad tells me he set up a little day trip for us take to the traveling flea market that passes through Bashem, a tiny town even more up north than Berk. I will admit though that I am surprised when he tells me that it's not just us going, but that he invited Bertha and Cami along as well, to which they accepted.

"But isn't Bashem, like… almost an hour and a half away from here?" I ask him from the living room, the book I was reading laying open in my lap and Toothless pressed up against my side, sleeping. "That's a long time to be trapped in a car with someone like Cami you know."

My dad lets out a heavy laugh from the other room, causing Toothless to stir beside me. "I know it's a long drive, especially with little Cam," I hear him say, "but that's one of the main reasons why you're coming along. To keep her company!"

I know arguing my way out of having to go would be pointless, seeing how I was unsuccessful the last time I tried to wiggle out of my dad's plans. I can't say I particularly mind this time around though. Sure, I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to my dad having a girlfriend, and sure, Cami can be a real exhausting ball of pure energy, but this is a good excuse to get me out of the house. This trip will be good for me, right?

My next day off arrives, and I find myself stuck in the back seat of my dad's car with Bertha up front and Cami bouncing around next to me, trying to get me to have a dragon battle with the two stuffed dragons she brought along. After what feels like nearly an hour of ignore her, I realize it's actually only been twenty minutes, and that's when I finally give in. The only reason why we stop playing is because Cami throws her dragon up front and it lands on top of the dashboard, scaring the living daylights out of my dad. After he yells at us to stop and Bertha turns back and tells Cami to behave, we resort to playing I Spy. That doesn't last long either though. When I keep on picking objects that we passed by a mile or so ago, making it nearly impossible for the poor girl to guess, she attempts to jump across the back seat to tackle me. Her seatbelt restricts her from being successful at her attack though, and when she lets out a loud yelp at the strap snapping up against her, we're then told to play the oldest game in the book: the Quiet Game. One can only guess how long that game went on before Cami cracked.

After what feels like a lifetime, we arrive at the outskirts of Bashem, rolling into a crowded parking spot located in a large, dirt field, the colorful tents of the flea market only walking distance away.

The four of us attempt to all stay together for the first half an hour or so, but Cami is too eager to be controlled and is running from stall to stall, not taking enough time to really dwell on what's being sold in front of her. I can tell the adults really want to remain at one booth for more than just five seconds at a time, so I volunteer on taking Cami off their hands. My dad seems relieved as Bertha says that that's really kind of me to suggest and that the little girl's all mine. I'm mainly just glad neither of them can tell that the real reason I suggested this was so I didn't have to keep on looking down at their entwined fingers.

After having to hastily keep up with Cami, who somehow manages to get out of my field of vision seven times in just five minutes, I become determined to find a stand that I know she'll stay at long enough for me to catch my breath. As she's going on and on in front of me about some jewelry stall we had just stopped at, I notice out of the corner of my eye the absolute perfect solution to my problem.

"Hey, Cami," I say, grabbing her shoulder before she can run off again. "Guess what I see."

"Whaaat?" she asks, sounding annoyed as she turns her head in the direction I'm pointing. As soon as she her blue eyes grow wide and her mouth drops open though, I know she's seen what I'm talking about.

"Is that-?"

"Sure is. Wanna see-"

"Yesssss!" The tiny girls rockets out in front of me before I can even finish, running at full speed towards the booth coated head to toe with everything dragon related. I give in and allow a smile to slip as I watch her reach the booth, bouncing up and down on her toes so she can see over the counter. She may be too hyperactive for her own good a majority of the time, but man, this little girl is really beginning to grow on me.

I help her search around the stall for something she'd like, and by the time we've scanned through every shelf and table - her destroying a perfectly folded stack of shirts along the way - she's decided on not just one, but three things to buy.

"The snow globe's five dollars," I tell her, taking it from her outstretched hands and studying it. There's a small, green dragon sitting on top of the glass dome, its wings spread out wide as sparkles of all shades of blue fall over each other inside the globe.

"Is that a bargain?" she asks me. "I'll only buy it if it's a bargain."

I simply shrug my shoulders. "Looks like a bargain to me. Lemme see what else you got."

She shows me the other two items in her hands: a coal colored mug with gray and white designs painted on to it, forming a dragon breathing fire, and a white bumper sticker than says in black, bold letters My other ride is a dragon, a small picture of a dragon with a rider accompanying it.

"Why'd you get a bumper sticker?" I ask her. "You don't have a car."

"It's for when I get one, stupid," she tells me harshly, rolling her eyes. "And the mug's for my hot chocolate. See! The mouth of the dragon is around the top, so when there's hot chocolate in it, it'll look like the smoke's coming out from the dragon's mouth. Isn't that cool?"

"But it's the summer. The last thing you want to drink right now is hot chocolate."

She snatches the mug and sticker from my hands, her eye narrowed up at me. "You really know to suck all the fun outta everything, don't'cha, Burp?"

"Hiccup."

"Just tell me how much money I owe the guy!"

Twelve dollars and fifty cents later, Cami and I are back to exploring the many stalls set up for our enjoyment. I'm about to point out a booth that's fairy themed, since I assume if Cami's into dragons, she must also be into fairies, but a familiar face grabs my attention before I can.

"Fish!" I yell over the crowd, hoping he'll hear me over all the noise. Amazingly enough, he does; his head turns after just calling out his name once. When he sees me waving, he turns towards his mom standing beside him, says something to her, and then starts making his way towards me.

"What'cha doing here?" I ask once he approaches. I take note that Cami's run off to a stall just in my eyesight that appears to be selling various items made out of nothing but Coke can pull tabs.

"You know the flea market only comes through, like, twice a year," Fish explains with a laugh. "My mom loves the homemade jewelry people sell here though. Anyways. Are you here with your dad or something?"

"Yeeeeeeah," I go. "I overheard him and Gob talking the other night about getting me outta the house. I think pretty much forcing me to come to this was their plan."

"It's not really that bad of a plan."

"Hey, I'm not complainin'."

"I know. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you about the news! Did you hear about the-"

"Who are you?"

At the sound of the small voice, Fish stops talking, and the two of us both look down at my side, where the voice had come from. We instantly come face to face with Cami, wearing what I assume was made to be a belt made of pull tabs as a sash over her shoulder. Her eyes are slits, narrowed towards Fish, who's now wearing a worried look on his face as the little girl studies him.

"You're really big," Cami says. She walks up to Fish and cranes her neck back so she can look up at him properly. "Are you part giant? 'Cause that would be really cool."

"Uh… no… I'm not part giant," Fish tells her, not looking as threatened as before. "But you're right. If I were… that'd be really cool."

"What's your name?"

"Fish."

Cami lets out a laugh at this, which makes me feel a little embarrassed. It's only when you meet new people that you realize that names like Fish and Hiccup aren't names people are used to hearing.

"What kinda name is Fish?" Cami asks. "His name's Hiccups, and your name's Fish. Who am I going to meet next? Dogsbreath?"

"It's a nickname he got when he was a kid, Cami," I explain to her, trying to keep my voice even. Since it's been years since anyone's given Fish or me grief for our nicknames, hearing Cami do just that is honestly beginning to bug me.

"How'd you get it?"

"Well…" Fish starts, looking a little flustered now. I want to tell him that he doesn't need to answer, but he's already speaking before I can. "One of our old friends, well… dared me to eat a raw fish when we were kids… and I did."

Cami's face scrunches up as she sticks out her tongue. "Ewww! That's grooooooooss!"

Fish just lets out a small laugh and a smile. "Yeah. I know."

"And what about you?" She turns towards me as she speaks. "How'd you get a weird name like Hiccup?"

"I thought my name was Burp," I say back.

She responds by sticking her tongue out at me.

Bending down to her level, I place my hand on her shoulder, feeling the rough texture of the pull tab sash under my fingers. "I think it's around lunch time, don't'cha think? How about you go get something for the two of us to eat. I think I saw some food stands right around that corner. Think you can handle that?"

Cami narrows her eyes at me. "Can I get whatever I want?"

"I don't see why not."

"And you won't tell my mom?"

"If you don't want me to."

"Deal." She sticks out her small hand, and I shake it. The next thing I know, she's darted off, weaving her way through people towards the food stands, her crazy, blonde hair trailing after her.

As soon as she's completely out of sight, I stand up straight and hear Fish ask me, "Why'd you not want to tell her about how you got your nickname?"

I shot him an annoyed look as I begin moving in the direction Cami had run off in, wanting to keep an eye on her. "You really think she wants to hear that depressing story?"

Fish opens his mouth as he follows me, but nothing comes out at first. After a couple of beats though, he lets out an uncertain "Nnnnnnnooo…?"

"No, I didn't think so either," I say back.

"Who was that girl anyways?" he asks as we round the corner. I see Cami move forward in the line for these humongous drum sticks, her money already in hand as she stares up at the menu. It's then that I realize that I've never told Fish about my dad and Bertha and Cami. Whoops…

"She's, uh…. she's my dad's girlfriend's daughter," I explain.

"Wooooah, what?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it, Fish. Not right now anyways."

Fish's expression falls a little at this, and I try not to feel too bad about it. "Oh. Uh… okay. Later then."

"Yeah. Later… now… what was the news you were gonna tell me?"

Instantly, Fish's expression lightens up, making me feel slightly better about shutting him down earlier. "Oh! Right! Well, Heather from school is throwing this party, right? And everyone's invited! So I thought we could go or something."

"What's the occasion?"

"Something about it being half way through the summer."

"That doesn't really seem like something people would want to celebrate."

"Yeah, I dunno. I think she just wanted an excuse to throw a party."

"Probably. Where is it?"

"Raven's Point down at the beach. It's gonna be this Saturday night."

"Who all's gonna be there?"

Fish shrugs. "Probably just the usual people. Pretty sure Astrid won't skip it."

"Fiiiiiish. Stoooop."

"Oh, I'm just messin' with ya, Hic."

Cami comes bounding up to us then, carrying two, juicy drum sticks in hand, mounds of napkins wrapped around the base of each as to not grease up her fingers. "I hope you like Viking food, Burp!" she sings as she passes one to me.

The three of us walk around together after that, Cami devouring her lunch in just a couple bites, then finishing mine off when I decide my stomach can only handle so much Viking food.

At looking at my phone and seeing that it's well pass noon, I begin searching through the now dwindling crowd for Bertha and my dad. Fish and Cami are behind me the entire time, going on and on with each other about dragons as I look. Apparently Fish is into that kind of stuff, since I hear him sound very impressed with her new dragon snow globe, and is telling her all about these different types of dragons he knows about and their battle attacks and defenses.

After a couple of minutes of not being successful with my search, I jump up on a bench so I can get a better view. While scanning the crowd, Fish and Cami continuing to enthuse about dragons, I try to find my dad's large, red beard through all the people. In the end though, I happen to find the hair of someone I hadn't been expecting to see.

"Wait… Jack?"

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I find it hard to not want to continue helping Tooth with looking after Sophie, Jamie, and her little sister. Although it doesn't necessarily look like Tooth would have that much of a problem without me around, I can't seem to pry myself away from the three enjoyable children.

As the days go on, Jamie shows me even more of his video games, expanding well out of just simple fighting games. Baby Tooth brings over numerous decks of cards to beat me at, and Sophie even introduces me to all her dolls and stuffed animals. The entire time I play along, listening intensively to all the battle moves and rules and names being explained to me, I always manage to hear Tooth, usually sitting off with one of the other kids, giggle and shoot me a smile. For some reason, this makes this funky feeling come into my stomach, but I can't put a name on it quite yet.

Once video games and card games and dolls get tiresome for the kids, Ms Bennett tells us that we can take the three children to this thing called a "flea market" that's apparently made its way through a town close to Berk. Tooth seems excited about Ms Bennett giving us permission to do this, so I assume, whatever this flea market thing is, it must be fun.

We take Tooth's car, strapping in Sophie's pink and yellow polka-dot car seat in the back, between Jamie and Baby Tooth. The one hour and thirty minutes it takes to get there unfolds to be rather entertaining; Tooth puts on some children's music, to which Sophie happily sings along to, clapping her hands together completely out of sync with the music. Baby Tooth eventually gets into it as well, but poor Jamie just complains, saying that "baby music" is stupid and that he's ten and too old for it. Tooth and I get him to at least stop grumbling by joining in with singing with the girls, me having to look at the lyrics on the back of the CD case, since I don't recall any of the songs.

By the time we arrive at the flea market parking grounds, Jamie is the first to bolt out of the car, making Tooth laugh beside me as she turns her car's engine off. She carries Sophie after unstrapping her from the back, and I hold the small hand of Baby Tooth as Jamie leads the way to the entrance of the market that appears to be made up of hundreds of colorful tents.

On entering, my breath is completely taken away.

I don't think I've ever seen so many different objects in one place before. There's vintage coaches of every color and arrangement, strange lawn ornaments in the shape of any animal you can think of, and clothes hand stitched together using various patterns. Old-fashioned wind up clocks, chipped and worn cookie jars, handcrafted jewelry, classic magazines and books. It all seems to be here, ready to be admired and sold.

Tooth asks me if I'm okay as I continue to gawk at my overwhelming surroundings.

"This is a lot of stuff," is all I'm capable of saying, and she just laughs in return.

Baby Tooth gets her sister to buy her this little collection of plaster fairy figures by promising her she'll fold and hang all of Tooth's laundry for a week, to which Tooth happily accepts. Each of the tiny figures are themed by a different flower and color, and supposedly only costing Tooth ten dollars total, which the older, dark haired girl says is totally worth not having to do her laundry for a week.

While searching for something to eat, we happen upon a booth with comic books of every kind towering to the tent's ceiling. As Tooth takes Baby Tooth and Sophie to find some food, Jamie and I scan the shelves, the young boy excitingly explaining the heroes and their sidekicks on the colorful covers of each volume he shows me. He hands the man behind the counter seven dollars for a specific issue he's always wanted, but the man says he can have it for four, since he seems like quite a big fan.

We stop at another stall where an elderly woman is selling mostly old, stuffed animals that she claims used to be her children's, before they all went off to college. As Tooth and I compliment this woman, for she tell us that most of the plushes we're looking at were indeed crafted by her, Sophie finds great interest in a particular stuffed, white and orange cat. The woman gives it to her for free, saying that our time and kind words are a good enough payment for her.

Later, the five of us all take a seat on a bench positioned off to the side, so that we're out of the way of all the shoppers. Sophie's sitting on Tooth's lap, playing with her new toy, as Jamie and Baby Tooth argue over who'd win in a fight - the superhero in the comic book Jamie had just bought, or an army of Baby Tooth's newly purchased fairy figures. It's then that I begin to hear it; this harmonious sound, making its way into my ears, sounding distant, but also like it's near.

I turn towards Tooth. "What is that?"

She stops, hushing the two older children from their bickering. She squints her pink eyes, looking into the air above me like she'll find the answer somewhere up there. Suddenly, her eyes open wide again and an expression of knowing appears on her face.

"Oh! You mean the music?" she asks brightly.

I give her a questioning look. "Music?"

I suppose asking what this "music" thing is isn't one of my better ideas, because now Tooth's giving me one of those old Hiccup kind of looks, and I can't say I particularly like it. Instead of having to endure her stare, I get up and start heading in the direction of the cordial sound.

"Wait! Jack!" I hear Tooth shout after me. "Where are you going?"

I barely manage to look over my shoulder as I reply with, "I want to find the music!"

Eventually Tooth catches up with me, nudging my way through the heavy crowd. Sophie's in her arms, holding on to her toy like her life depends on it, and Jamie and Baby Tooth following close behind. Tooth doesn't seem dismayed by how I had nearly abandoned her only moments ago - which I'm beginning to feel bad about. I don't know what it was, but at hearing the sound, at hearing this thing called "music", my curiosity just got the best of me; I couldn't continue to just sit there. I have to find it.

After what feels like hours of searching, our little group finally stumbles upon the source of the sound. There's three men, all looking near my father's age - maybe even older - holding strange structures in their hands, two appearing to be made of wood, another of… well, I can't really tell, to be honest. He's holding the narrow instrument up to his thin lips, seeming to be blowing air into one end of it. His fingers jump hastily across its top on what I think are small holes cut out of its surface, somehow changing the sound coming out from the opposite end.

"What is that?" I ask in astonishment, pointing to the instrument in the man's hands. Other shoppers begin to stop to observe the men make their music, tapping their toes and whispering to one another with smiles on their faces.

"That's a flute," Tooth tells me. I half expect her to shoot me a curious look for not knowing this piece of information, but she doesn't, which I'm grateful for.

"And what about that one?" I decide to keep asking, pointing to the man carrying his wooden instrument in between his arms and stomach. One of his meaty hand's fingers are pressed against the long neck that perturbs off of the instruments base, the other waving over what seem to be strings guided up the slender neck.

Tooth lets out a small chuckle. "That's a guitar, of course."

"And that?" I point at the instrument that looks like a "guitar", only it's much smaller and fancier looking, being carried on the smaller man's shoulder, and is played with a strange wooden stick.

"Oh! That's a violin," Tooth exclaims, her words filled with the sound of delight. "I used to play that when I was younger!" She turns quickly to look at me. "Do you play any instruments, Jack?"

I shrug, not being able to think of a more honest way to answer. For all I know, I do have knowledge at one of these instruments; the memory of it could just be lost somewhere inside my mind.

Tooth cocks her head up at me. "How can someone not know if they can play an instrument or not?"

I shrug again. "I'd tell you if I knew."

A crowd begins to form around the three men now, them bobbing up and down to their own beat as they play on. Sophie is asking Tooth if she can put her on her shoulders so she can see better when I feel someone small squeeze in beside me. Looking down at my side, I see Baby Tooth, her heterochromatic eyes locked on me. I reach out and place my hand on the top of her head, ruffling her dark, wavy hair.

"You wanna dance with me, Jack?" she asks, taking my hand into hers.

"But I don't know how to dance."

"That doesn't matter, silly! There's no right or wrong way to dance!"

"You sure?" I ask. "I don't want to embarrass you or anything."

"Yeah, I'm sure!" the little girl giggles, her small fingers squeezing mine, and for just a moment, I swear that the little girl grinning up at me isn't Baby Tooth, but Emma. Their faces are so similar, yet, at the same time, they're not. As I stare down at this little girl though, I can't help but be reminded of my absent, little sister; she's been away at the cursed summer camp for almost two weeks now, and though I've been able to keep myself entertained with Jamie, Sophie, and Baby Tooth, there's no possible way any of them could possibly replace the spot Emma holds in my heart.

Though, maybe for one day, I can make do with what I have.

Without acknowledging Tooth about out little agreement, Baby Tooth and I step out in front of the crowd that's formed around us. As Baby Tooth grabs ahold of my hands and beings to lead me across the dirt ground, a joyful skin in her step, I notice the man playing the, uh… oh, the violin... send a smile our way.

Since I don't know the first thing about dancing, I can't tell if what I'm doing looks stupid or not. Then again, I also can't tell if what Baby Tooth is doing looks stupid or not either, so I guess that makes me feel better. She has her tiny hands planted in my palms as we move our feet around each other, almost colliding into one another a couple of times, but just laughing it off. She lets out giggles of bliss as I spin her in wide circles, lifting her feet off the ground and tossing her small body into the air above me. She yelp as she flies, and begins to laugh when my hands catch her waist. I hear someone laugh from the crowd, who are even now clapping their hands to the beat of the music, and I look over to see Tooth, Jamie and small Sophie standing at her sides, large smiles on their excited faces as they clap along.

The next thing I know, people begin to rush in on what Baby Tooth and I have started. A young couple is the first to join, the girl looking embarrassed, hiding behind a thick curtain of dark hair as the boy drags her out into the open; she puts on a smile though as he grabs her hands and starts twirling her around, her hair flowing away from her red face and flying in all directions. And elderly couple joins in next, dancing formally, but with some thrill in their step, then two young girls no older than Baby Tooth start spinning the other around until they fall down in a fit of giggles. A handful of other people join too, all wearing such bright smiles on their faces as they forget their worries for just a moment and enjoy the music now dancing around all of us.

Baby Tooth pulls on my hand, and when I lock eyes with her, she signals me towards her older sister, who is still stationed on the sidelines, no more Jamie or Sophie at her sides. A surge of panic begins to run through me, but when I get a glimpse of Sophie's blonde hair running by my side, her older brother tightly holding on to her hand as they jump and spin around everyone else, I relax.

"Go dance with her, Jack!" I hear Baby Tooth yell up at me. "She could use a good dance!"

I decide not to argue, because who am I kidding. We both maneuver ourselves clumsily around all the other dancers and towards Tooth, who notices us coming her way and starts to back up, her hands up in front of her, face glowing red. I let go of Baby Tooth's hands and grab Tooth's, and as she says to me, "Jack, no. I… I can't dance," I reply with, "Yeah, well, neither can I," and we're off, twirling and spinning, hand in hand.

It's much easier to dance with Tooth than it was with her young sister, considering the height difference between the two is extremely significant, and now Tooth here's height works to my advantage. Instead of having to bend my back a bit just to be able to grab Baby Tooth's hands, I can now stand straight, Tooth's hands folding perfectly into mine. Feeling her skin against mine sends a warm sensation through every bone in my body, and I have a sudden burst of energy to keep moving and to never stop. When I see her shoot me a smile through her messy, dark hair, tangled around her heart-shaped face, I know that I never want to stop.

The music and dancing does come to an end though, and a sudden feeling of emptiness overcomes me as the people begin to disperse, thanking the men behind the music for the great time. Tooth's hands leave mine, and she's saying something to me, something with a smile, but I don't hear it. It's not because of my hollow state though; it's because I hear someone calling my name through all the commotion.

"JACK!"

I look around, Tooth asking me what's wrong when she sees me attention is elsewhere. None of the faces among the dissolving crowd strike me as familiar, but then I hear the voice call out again.

"JACK OVERLAND! OVER HERE, YOU IDIOT!"

Though I don't know who is calling for me or where they are, my head seems to know exactly which direction to turn to find them. And when I do, I can't help but allow my face to crack with a grin so big, it hurts my cheeks.

"Geeeeeez. That took a lot more effort than I thought it would," Hiccup greets me with a laugh, his freckled face suddenly becoming apparent through the crowd. "Might wanna get your ears checked, dude. I called out your name, like, a thousand times and it wasn't until I got right in your face that you heard me. That's pretty pathetic."

I try to think on my toes for a witty return, but I can't seem to be able to find the right words. Let's be honest though. How in the world am I being expected to make up some snide comeback when the boy I haven't physically exchanged words with in the last two weeks - the boy I didn't realize how much I missed until right now - is standing right in front of me.

"Sophie and Jamie both have to go potty, Jack," I hear Tooth interrupt my thoughts. "I'll, uh… I'll take them. And I'll take Aly with me too. Be right back." By the way she says it, the slight urgency in her voice, I can tell she's fully aware that Hiccup and me being face to face right now is a pretty big deal. Bless her for catching on to this.

As soon as Tooth's wandered off with the three kids, giving a Hiccup a brief wave and smile before going, Hiccup speaks up by asking, "So, uh… wow. Long time, no see, am I right?"

Suddenly, the words I had been unable to find earlier come rushing back to me. "Heh. Yeah... it's been a while since, uh… well, you know."

"Two weeks actually," I hear Hiccup mumble, looking down at his sneakers.

"Wow. Two weeks." Now that the amount of time we haven't been able to see other has been said aloud, it doesn't feel like it's been quite that long; it feels like it's been even longer, to be honest. I look down at the shorter boy, studying the way his auburn hair swoops up at the tips, right above his shoulders, and I realize that I had begun to forget what he looks like. His eyes appear to be even greener than I remember, and the ringing and twisting of his hands, telling me that he's nervous, but trying his best to hide it, is astonishingly apparent.

"So… what have you been up to?" I decide to ask, wanting to keep the conversation flowing. This is the one time in what feels like forever that I've been able to see Hiccup, and the last thing I want to do is make it awkward.

Hiccup just shrugs as he moves his eyes back up at me. "Ah, not much, really. Just mowin' lawns, gettin' summer homework done. You?"

"I've been doing a lot of babysitting actually," I tell him. "Tooth and I… we're looking after the Bennett kids, plus Tooth's little sister. They're all pretty fun."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. You? A babysitter?" He gives me one of his sly smirks, showing off the front gapped teeth that I had also nearly forgotten. "Never thought someone would trust you with the responsibility of looking after children. I'm impressed, Jack."

"You're just mean, that's what you are."

"Oh, don't get vicious with me. We haven't seen each other in, like, forever. Don't ruin this."

Before I can say anything back, we both hear a booming voice like a sledge hammer calling out Hiccup's name. Looking over my friend's shoulder, who's already turned to see who's calling for him, I see a mountain of a man, an auburn beard hanging from his jaw as he appears to be carrying a bag full of what I assume is food. A smaller woman, lengthily light brown hair hanging over her shoulders, stands beside him, waving over towards the two of us. Hiccup's hand rises in return, holding up a finger, telling them he'll be just another minute.

"My dad," Hiccup says as he turns back towards me. "I think we're about to head out."

The words I had been dreading to hear reach my ears, and this spontaneous urge overcomes me, telling me to reach out, take a hold of his arm, and run into the thick crowd, away from his father, away from the people that are trying to keep us apart. I don't know what it is, but the pure thought of not knowing when I'll be able to see Hiccup again sends this wrenching feeling into my chest, and I don't like it. These last two weeks were the hardest two weeks I've had to endure, despite having Tooth and the kids around to keep my company. I just don't believe in myself enough to known that I'll be able to go through another… well, day without having Hiccup around.

"Is, uh… do you think… you know… we'll be able to see each other again?" I manage to get out.

At first, he looks uncertain, like he knows that the odds of us seeing each other again are thin, but then something in his eyes change as he realizes something. I ask him what it is, and he says, "So. There's this party… and-"

"A what?"

"A party, Jack. Please tell me you know what a party is."

I decide to lie and nod my head, not wanting him to waste time with explanations.

"Well, this girls throwing one this Saturday at Raven Point - which is this place down at the beach - and everyone's invited, which means we could totally all go." I can hear the excitement seeping into his voice with every word he says, and I can't help but sense the same feeling growing inside of me. "Fish and I were thinking of going, and it'd be a good way for the two of us to hang out without having your mom around to keep you a safe distance from me. And you could even meet some new people. Like, people your age."

I want to ensure him that I really don't mind having friends that are younger than me, but the voice of his father pierces the air again. Hiccup turns, shouts, "One more second!", then moves back towards me, saying, "What do ya say? You in?"

The thought of my parents - my mother more than anyone - finding out that I'm going to this "party" thing makes me stop and question what I'm getting myself into. On one hand, I would feel awful about breaking my mother's rules, when all she's really trying to do is keep my safe. On the other hand though, because of all her said rules, I haven't been able to see the face of my best friend. At realizing this, I suddenly don't feel bad about asking, "When does it start?"

A brilliant smile breaks across Hiccup's face as he fills me in with details. "Ten, I'm assuming. That's when they usually start anyways."

"That's kind of late…"

"Not really. Will it be hard to get outta your house?"

"I… don't think so. My parents usually go off to bed around that time."

"Good. Fish and I'll be at your place to get you at ten fifteen-ish then. Give you some time to get outta the house without your parents catching you."

"Wait, wait, wait. How exactly am I supposed to get out of my house without them knowing?"

"You just sneak out. It's really not that hard to do."

"Is that what you're going to do?"

"Pfft, duh."

"HICCUP!"

Hiccup turns back towards his father, still standing in the same place as before, looking more impatient this time around. Hiccup lets out a groan and shouts back, "Just…! UGH! ONE MORE SECOND PLEASE!" Turning quickly back towards me, he gives me this urgent look, like he needs me to make up my mind right now or there's no way this is going to be able to work.

It only takes me a moment to answer the question in his eyes.

"Ten fifteen you said?"

He lets out a smile as he begins to turn in the direction of where his father is waiting for him. "Ten fifteen. I'll see you then, alright?"

I nod. "Yeah. I'll see you then."

"Oh. And wear some jeans and a jacket too. It gets cold here at night."

"Got it."

He's walking off, becoming more and more out of range with every step he takes, and I don't know what makes me do it, but I call out his name. He turns back towards me without missing a beat, this look on his face that tells me I have his undivided attention. At seeing this - at realizing that he actually wants to hear what I have to say - my earlier fear of him maybe not even liking me from weeks ago evaporates from my mind completely. If he didn't like me, he wouldn't have run through the crowd, yelling my name, just to get my attention. If he didn't like me, he wouldn't have invited me to this party, taking the extra steps to see that I would be able to go. If he didn't like me, he wouldn't have turned back, his eyes telling me that… well… he cares what I have to say.

I just say it. I know it must sound lame to anyone that overhears me while walking by, but I really couldn't care less.

"I missed you," I tell him.

He doesn't say anything back right away; just appears to be taking in what I've said. There's no expression on his face, and I become petrified, afraid that I may have misinterpreted this entire situation between us and said the wrong thing entirely. He proves me wrong though.

"Yeah," he says with a smile. "I missed you too."

.

.

Despite being happy about being able to see and actually made plans with Jack, the drive on the way back home is tense, but not because I want to it to be. Cami won't look at me, not even out of the corner of her eye, and I feel like I should say something, but I don't know what. There's only so many things you can say to someone after witnessing something like what I saw.

Bertha had told me that Cami was going to the bathroom after I had rejoined her and my dad, both ready to leave, like I had guessed. I said I would go and wait for Cami to finish her business, to ensure that she wouldn't get lost coming back. Weaving through booths and people, the strong stench of human feces entered my nose, and I knew I had arrived at the right place. I was about to turn a corner leading to the strip of land holding the toilets when I heard it - young children talking to one another, only the words being said didn't sound very kind. They had been mocking, making fun of someone, and I had stopped in my tracks when I heard the small voice of Cami appear within them.

"Give that back, Gustav!" she yelled as I heard laughs fill the air. "I paid five dollars for that! It came right out of my allowance!"

"Oh boo hoo," I heard a boy's voice mock. "Little Cami Bog's too short to reach her precious cup. Whatever shall she do to get it back?" More laughs filled the air as I heard Cami attempt to jump from the ground to reach the mug she had only purchased earlier. By the sound of the continued snickers, I knew she hadn't been able to reach it.

"This isn't funny, guys!" Cami cried, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

"What are you talking about? This is hilarious!"

That's when I had had enough. The whole thing, everything about it, sounded so familiar, and I hated it. I couldn't just stand there and listen to Cami go through something like that - like something I had had to go through when I was her age. No one had been around to help me out when Lout and the other kids made fun of me, so, by gods, I was going to be there for her.

I didn't move fast enough though, because as soon as I turned the corner, I heard glass shatter. Cami let out a sharp gasp as my eyes locked on the remaining gray and white pieces of the dragon mug, scattered all over the dirt ground around Cami's and this Gustav kid's feet.

"Hey!" I shouted without thinking, making my way over towards the cluster of kids. The three bullies, all much bigger than Cami, jumped at my voice, their eyes growing wide when they saw me. "What do you think you're doing, messing with her like that?"

Gustav - their leader, I assume - looked paralyzed where he stood, his dark eyes darting every which way, like he was looking for a good alibi. "Uh… w-we… we were just… uh… we…"

"Save it, kid," I said harshly down to him. "I saw what happened. Now, how would you feel if I did something like that to you, huh? I'm a lot bigger than you, so it that seems 'bout fair, don't'cha think?"

"Hiccup-" I heard Cami start, but a girl with short, sandpaper colored hair spoke first.

"We were just playing around…"

"Yeah, well it wasn't very funny, now was it? She paid good money for that mug, and now it's ruined because you guys thought it'd hilarious to pick on her and break it." I looked down at the three older kids, all staring at their feet, looking more like they were regretful that they gotten caught than regretful about what they had done. At noticing that Gustav had the same eye color and hair shade as Lout, I suddenly wanted to get these kids out of my sight.

"You're lucky I don't tell your parents about this," I told them firmly, letting them know that I wasn't kidding. "Now scram, all of you."

None of them missed the opportunity to run for it, not even bothering to look back before disappearing into the maze of stalls. Once they were out of sight, I bent down next to Cami and reached for one of the shattered mug pieces, but she unexpectedly whacked my hand away before I could grab it. Shooting her a look, she returned it with a bitter glare I hadn't been expecting.

"I didn't need your help," she spat at me, snatching up the last piece of mug and throwing it into her backpack.

"Oh, sure you didn't," I said back, rolling my eyes as I got up from the ground. "It wasn't like they were going to leave you alone after smashing your cup or anything. If I hadn't come in, they probably would've also gotten a hold of your snow globe and did the same to it."

Cami quickly stood up straight, swinging her backpack over her shoulder, and gave me another death glare. "I can take care of myself, Hiccup! Now leave me alone!" I noticed the tears building up on the rim of her eyes, and before I could apologize or say anything, she was off, in the direction that I had arrived from.

Fast forward a good hour, and here we are now, sitting in the back of my dad's car, not looking at each other. Bertha had asked how our day had been, and I did most of the talking, since apparently Cami doesn't want to talk to anyone, not just me. This makes me feel a little better, but then again, not really.

Things get even worse, however, when Bertha asks if I'd be willing to start actually babysitting Cami during the days I don't have to mow, since taking her daughter to work every day is beginning to take a toll on her and her fellow employees. I don't really have any choice but to accept this offer, especially with my dad's eyes burning into me from the rearview mirror. Cami doesn't seem pleased by the news by the way she crosses her arms, sinking more into her seat, and letting out a mean "hmph". Can't say that particularly made me feel any better.

Once we arrive back at my place, Bertha suggests that Cami and I stay outside and play while she and my dad get dinner ready. I try making eye contact with Cami when her mom mentions this, but she seems determined to not let me through.

We end up just sitting out on the stone steps of my front porch, her on one side leaning against the exterior of the house, me on the other leaning against the column. My dad let Toothless out before closing the door, so the little furball's sitting in my lap, looking up and begging for a back rub, when all I can think about is the little, hurt girl sitting only five feet away, her turquoise backpack resting against her chest, being squeezed by her small arms.

Gods, this is so stupid...

"Cami, I'm sorry," I say taking a deep breath of courage. "I didn't know that you-"

"I'm not talking to you," she throws at me, still not looking in my direction.

I look down at Toothless, and he already has his green eyes on me, giving me this look like he's telling me I should know better than to think it would be that easy to win this girl back. I guess the cat's got a point. I'm going to have to approach this situation from another angle.

"Hey… do you like bikes?" I decide to ask

Cami doesn't answer; just continues to look anywhere but at me.

I ignore her not answer and go on. "Because I have this bike in the garage that's really, really fast and stuff. I've been workin' on it for a long time, so it's really cool."

Still nothing.

"I can let you see it, if you want."

There we go! I see her head turn only a bit to look at me, her blue eyes becoming visible. She doesn't stop looking at me, like she's silently asking me to go on, so I do.

"I race it a lot," I tell her, then realize what I'm saying. "Well, I want to race it a lot. I haven't gotten around to doing it yet though."

"Why?"

Okay, this is good. I guess now that she's talking to me again, I can grow off of this. Just can't say the wrong thing...

"Well… the other kids are kinda weird about me racing against them," I tell her, reaching out and beginning to stroke Toothless between his ears. He closes his eyes, lying down in my lap, now resting his soft head on my forearm. "I mean, they kinda always have been."

"Why?"

I shrug. "I was small when I was growing up, y'know. I mean, I still am for my age, but it was even worse when I was, like, around your age. They would all pick on me for tiny and not being able to do anything right. That's actually how I got my name."

"…really?"

"Yeah. I was looked at as the hiccup of the group. You know, the runt of the liter or something."

"So that's why you go by Hiccup?"

"Yeah. That's about it."

"Why would you go by a nickname that was made to make fun of you though?"

I shrug again. "I dunno. It just kinda stuck."

Cami doesn't say anything for a moment, just looks away. I can tell she's thinking deeply over what I've told her though, so I allow her some time to herself. Toothless' purring replaces the silence, much to my relief, sounding like a small engine being revved from my lap.

"Why don't they race you though?" Cami asks after a moment.

"I dunno. I think it's because they don't take me seriously, or they don't think I'll be nearly as good as them, so they don't want to waste their time. I don't really like dwelling on it, y'know? Makes me feel… well…"

"Bad?"

Looking over at the small girl, I notice that she's already looking back at me with an expression on that tells me everything; I look at her face and I see the same face that I was forced to look at every day in the mirror while growing up. I suddenly want to reach out and wrap her into a bear hug, but I don't know if that'd be pushing the boundaries, so I stay in my place.

"Yeah. It makes me feel bad."

"… I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

She quickly looks away and down at her feet, being held in a pair of hot pink flip-flops. I hear her remove her backpack from her lap and place it on the porch beside her, now curling her legs in to her chest, wrapping her arms around them like she had been doing with her backpack earlier.

"Kids make fun of me sometimes too," I hear her say in a quiet voice.

I don't really know what to say. The first thing that comes to my mind is pretty sarcastic, and I know that's the last kind of thing I want to say right now with Cami being all sensitive and quiet. I keep my mouth shut instead and hope she decides to continue.

"They think I'm weird… 'cause I like dragons so much. And 'cause I'm really hyper, which I think is really stupid. I mean, I can't help being hyper!"

"Kinda like how I couldn't help being small," I say.

"Yeah! Like that!"

"You know what I think about all those kids that make fun of you?"

"What?"

"I think they can all go to Niflheim."

Cami, bless her little soul, breaks into a fit of giggles at me saying this, and that gets me to laughing as well. Toothless jumps out of my lap at this, being disturbed and probably annoyed by the sudden movement. He wanders off into the front yard, his nose to the ground as he explores.

"So what if they think you're weird," I tell her. "You're you and that's all that matters, right? You can't change who you are, and if you do… well, then you're just stupid."

Cami nods her head in agreement, a smile now on her freckled face. "Yeah! Who needs those lame brains anyways, right? They don't know me!"

"Yeah! Who needs 'em!"

We continue to sit there on the porch, just laughing at the mere thought of all those kids that have picked on us through the years not even being worth our time. I'll admit, but this whole thing feels great, being able to talk about all this. After so much time, people pretty much stopped listening to me complain about always being the target for bullying. Teachers would turn a blind eye, because they all knew that there was just no stopping kids like Lout from picking on kids like me, and my dad even just threw up his hands and accepted the fact that I was going to be the school laughing stalk. Being able to sit here though with a girl who just gets it - that understands to the dot what I had to and am still going through - well… that feels really, really nice.

"Hey, you still have the mug in your backpack?" I ask Cami, and when she nods her head, I shoot her a smile and say, "Wanna go inside and fix it before dinner's ready? If we're fast enough, maybe you could even make some of that hot chocolate you were telling me about before we eat."

She looks genuinely stunned to hear me say this, but an enormous grin eventually spreads across her face as she quickly begins nodding her head so fast, I'm surprised she didn't black out a least a little. She jumps up from the stairs as I call for Toothless, listening to her start to sing a little song she's probably making up right on spot about how excited she is about making hot chocolate. Toothless jumps into my arms, and as we walk inside, I can't help but be amazed at how well that played out.