Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD, RotG or any other character that wanders into here. I only own my OC's.

Chapter Eleven;You Always Have A Friend

Hiccup had hoped that by Sunday, Pitch would have gotten the picture that Hiccup wasn't interested. The boy had run off, and then when he had gotten home he had ignored every single text message Pitch sent to him. He felt like an ass, of course he felt like an ass over leaving like that. But he hadn't expected things to go the way they had. He had just wanted to sit and hang out, find out more about the boy who had been flirting with him.

Nowhere in that had he expected what had happened.

And he wanted to tell Jack about it, really he did. But he was a viking, he was stubborn, and he was still mad. And Jack was just as mad, not saying a word when Hiccup had come home. They hadn't spoken since the fight, and so Hiccup was more then relieved when Juniper texted asking if he wanted to hang out with her and Sandy. Anything that would get him out of the awkwardness in his house.

The Burgess mall was packed with people, if it had been any other Sunday Hiccup would have been surprised with the amount of people. But it also was November, and so it wasn't all that shocking. What was more shocking to him though was the company he had. Now, Juniper and Sandy weren't all that loud at school, especially with Sandy being mute. But they had seemed to open up rather fast with him.

Juniper dressed in bright colors dodged and zipped through gatherings of people, one hand holding tight to Hiccup's while the other one held tight onto Sandy's. She was talking rather fast, pointing things out and questioning the boy's on what she should buy. It was really interesting though to watch how she acted, how she at points made Hiccup think of a fairy. It wouldn't be that hard to picture a pair of wings on her back, moving just as fast as she was.

Sandy, though he hadn't said a word at all, still showed just as much excitement as Juniper was. Whenever something caught the boy's interest the two had to hold back giggles when he'd stop, his notepad completely forgotten as he'd try to form signals with his hands. The two would squint and watch him, trying to figure out what he was trying to say, but their guesses were always off. Sandy didn't seem at all offended by it though, he'd slow down enough to slowly make out the symbols until the two finally understood what it was he was trying to say.

It was honestly a great time for Hiccup. He truly enjoyed the company he had made, and was grateful that he could meet people like Sandy and Juniper. They helped him forget everything that had been weighing him down.

Until Sandy went into a store without them, and Juniper decided to finally question him.

"How are things with you and Jack?"

His eyebrows raised at her question, his eyes focusing on her as she stood next to him. She was leaning so close, waiting for the answer he was going to give her. Scratching at the side of his neck and swaying a little, he found himself shrugging his shoulders. "Everything's fine, I suppose."

Her lips pursed, obviously not all that thrilled with his answer. Running a hand over his face, he leaned against the doorway into the store. He knew that if she was told they were fighting, she'd not take it that well. But how would she react when he told her what they fought over? Who's side would she take, if she did take a side in the argument.

"We uh, we got into a bit of a disagreement." he found himself telling her. Her eyebrow perked at the words, waiting for him to finish. Sighing, he shook his head. "There was this guy I met at the party on Thursday. Now - take note that I can't even remember much of what happened at the party. I woke up Friday and everything was basically a big ol' blank.

But then I started getting these text messages from a number I didn't even recognize. And they were, well they were flirtatious messages." Juniper's eyes widened at the words, her eyebrows giving a little waggle at him. He gave a chuckle, going back to his explanation. "So, I flirted back a little. But that really wasn't the big issue. Anyways, then there was that fight between Snotlout and Jack and I was worried about the guy. None knew why Jack did it, he wasn't getting back to anyone so I didn't really bother much with the messages when all I could think of was that Jack got into a fight with my cousin."

"Wait, Snotlout is your cousin?!" Juniper cut him off.

Hiccup quickly shushed her, glancing around at the people who stared at the two due to Juniper.

"Yes, Snotlout sadly is my cousin. But that's not the key issue here June." he sighed out, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Chewing on her bottom lip, Juniper flushed before nodding, allowing him to continue.

"I get home and I find Jack with this nasty bruise on his face. Trust me, it looked worse than it does now. Now, the person who had been flirting earlier just kept texting me and I suppose Jack got angry with it constantly going off. He picks it up, see's the text and then starts freaking out. Turn's out my mystery man is this guy named Pitch. Jack starts going into like - jealousy mode here. Telling me that Pitch isn't a good guy, that he's lying to me.

We ended up not talking for the rest of the day. When Saturday come's, I myself am pretty surprised when Jack is acting like nothing happened the day before. We were joking around like usual, really getting along. Then I get a text message to hang out with Pitch," he pauses to rub at his temples. "I am not a guy to judge just from what I've heard. So, of course I said yes to hanging out. And when I tell Jack this, he freaks out and leaves."

Throwing his hands out, he was finished his explanation to the girl on what was going on between him and Jack. She just had to fill in the pieces from what she had heard from Jack, giving a slow nod as she took in everything.

Of course, she knew Jack hadn't explained to Hiccup the background between him and Pitch. Hell, it had taken pretty long for him to explain the whole thing to her. Though, she had also been there through the terror that was once the relationship between Pitch and her best friend. She licked at her lips, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth.

"Hiccup - I know that you're probably confused with his behavior. Especially with him not explaining anything to you. And I would, but it's not my story to tell." she reached up to twirl one of her earrings between her fingers. "What I do know is that, Jack he.. He cares a lot for you Hiccup. He's been very guarded with who he lets people in. And just hearing how he's reacted to you hanging out with Pitch, hell, even how he's reacted to being around you. I know you've gotten past his walls."

Blinking, Hiccup let his eyes stray away from the girl standing before him. He found himself looking down at his feet, letting her words settle. He never really saw it that Jack had been guarded. He figured the way Jack had been with him, was how he was with everyone. Pressing his hands together, he brought them up to rest his chin on them.

It definitely cooled down his anger towards Jack.

Catching movement in the corner of his eye, Hiccup straightened up as Sandy approached the two. The male raised an eyebrow, cautious on what he walked on, before he raised up his bag with his recent purchase.

"Anything else you want to look around for?" Juniper asked him.

Sandy shook his head, before the two looked at Hiccup. Uncomfortable with the attention on him, Hiccup shook his head as he held up his hands, "I'm good."

Nodding, the girl gave a little bounce before she turned and started off into the direction back to where they had come from. The two boy's gave a chuckle at how energetic she was, before following after her.

. . . .

It had been during the ride home, to the walk up to his front door where Hiccup finally thought up an easy apology. He didn't want it to be a long apology, because he knew he'd probably end up tripping over his words and screwing up somewhere. But he also didn't want it to be too short, he wanted to give Jack a decent sized apology to show that Hiccup really was upset with the way he had acted.

Though walking into the home, he wasn't at all expecting the smell of something cooking. His worry was on high alert, and he practically ran into the kitchen before something dangerous happened.

Shockingly, it was his father cooking, and not Jack. Though the white haired boy was far, standing next to his father and retrieving items when the large man needed something. Both turned when they heard Hiccup walk into the room. Jack gave him a tiny smile, his eyes darting away with a look of sadness. Hiccup instantly felt like shit seeing that emotion in the boy's blue eyes. It broke his heart to see Jack giving any emotion that wasn't happy.

Stoick on the other hand raised an eyebrow when he saw his panting son, confused on why it seemed like Hiccup had been in a rush to get in to the kitchen. Placing down the large kitchen knife he had been using, Stoick turned to fully face his only child.

"Uh, something wrong Hiccup?" he questioned.

Hiccup placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. Moving to sit at the kitchen table, he stroked the sleek furred back of Toothless, who laid out on the table. Raising his head from his paws, all eyes were now on the boy.

"No, no everything is uh.. Everything's fine."

Leaning back in the seat, Hiccup gave out a sigh. Stoick nodded his head, turning back to what he was currently making for dinner. Unsure on if he should stay by Stoick or move over to Hiccup, Jack shifted a little over to the seat next to Hiccup. Resting his elbow on the table, he propped his head up in his hand as his eyes met with the green one's of the shorter boy.

Both were unsure of where the other stood. Jack thought Hiccup was still mad at him, so he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make him madder. Hiccup though, thought Jack was still mad at him. The apology was there on the tip of his tongue, though he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Maybe it was the fact that Stoick was standing not but 5 feet away.

He kinda wished he had a notepad with him, so that he could just write out to Jack that he wanted to talk later. But he couldn't do that, so he just gave the other boy a smile before he went back to giving Toothless attention.

"Hiccup." Stoick called out.

Feeling nervous all of a sudden, Hiccup met his father's eyes. His father seemed like he was having trouble coming up with what it was he was going to say, his mouth opened and then closed. He'd glance to what he was cooking, then over to Hiccup, then his eyes would settle somewhere else in the room. It was really starting to make Hiccup fearful for the words that would next leave his dad's mouth. Was he finally tired of Jack staying there? Was there something else that Hiccup had missed. Oh god! Don't let it be the whole issue that happened between Snotlout and Jack!

"It's about that art show, the one you wanted me to go to." Stoick brought up.

Hiccup's shoulders relaxed. Alright, it wasn't about the fight. Phew. But still, what was it that his dad wanted to say.

Stoick scratched at the back of his neck, turning his gaze back to the food. "I uh, I can't make it son."

And like that, if felt as if everything had just dropped into the pit of his stomach. He knew his dad wasn't all that looking forward to the show, and it would have been a miracle if his dad didn't have work that day. But still, this art show had been pretty important to him. Hearing that his dad wouldn't make it was almost like hearing all over again about the death of his mother. "Oh, well uh.. That's alright. I understand that you're busy."

Stoick nodded his head, shuffling over to grab plates for the three of them. Jack's attention went from Stoick to Hiccup, taking notice of how Hiccup kind of deflated like a balloon. Reaching over, he gave him a smile as he rubbed the other boy's shoulder. Hiccup smiled back, but it didn't completely reach his eyes. He was upset with knowing his father couldn't make it.

"When is this art show?" Jack questioned.

"Friday."

Jack's eyes widened. This show wasn't that far, Hiccup hadn't even brought it up to him before. Nodding, Jack pulled his cellphone out. He scanned over his schedule for Guardians, taking notice that he did have work that day.

'Screw it, North will understand.'

Clearing out Friday, he sent a text off to Aster before he tucked the phone away in his pocket. Satisfied, he turned completely so that he was facing Hiccup. Said boy raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by the large smile on Jack's face. "I'll be there." was the only thing Jack said.

Hiccup's mouth opened, his eyes never leaving Jack. He couldn't - he wasn't even.. This was such a surprise to him. Jack would be coming, to the art show?! He watched the white haired boy give a chuckle, reaching out to take Hiccup's chin and close his mouth. Running his tongue over his upper teeth, Hiccup blushed before settling his eyes on the table top, "You don't have to Jack."

Moving over, Stoick grunted as he set a plate down in front of Hiccup. "That sounds like a good idea. Jack can tell me about it later." he stated as he set a plate in front of Jack. Jack nodded his head, still all smiles.

Rubbing at his cheek, Hiccup scooped up Toothless who had advanced on his food, and set the cat down on the floor. His father sounded all for Jack leaving to go see it, and Hiccup was a little curious if he really wanted Jack to tell him about it, or if he just wanted the other boy out of the house. He didn't question it though, going to eating his dinner while Toothless grumpily sat by his feet and glared up at him.

Sometime's the feline would claw at his ankles, and he'd give a low curse under his breath. After almost getting stepped on by Stoick though, the cat gave up his attempts and getting food and went to go sulk in another room. Hiccup was sure the cat wouldn't be far, and would probably be in a foul mood once he found where he'd be hiding.

Hiccup informed Stoick that he'd take care of washing the dishes, allowing his father to get to what was left of the football game once he was finished. Jack hung by the doorway, watching Hiccup gather up the silverware and place it all into the sink. At some point Toothless had come back from his sulking, his tail in the air and pacing himself next to his owner as Hiccup begun washing the dishes.

"Hic, I wanted to -

"Listen Jack I -

Both boys paused, each looking at the other. Giving a nervous laugh, Hiccup brought his hand out of the water to scratch at the side of his neck, "You uh, you go first."

Nodding, Jack made his way across the kitchen to stand next to Hiccup. Toothless now moved his way between both boy's legs, hoping that maybe something would be dropped onto the floor for him. Going back to washing the dishes, the dark haired boy waited patiently for what it was Jack was going to say, though he was nervous.

The two hadn't really had a full conversation till now. He hoped that this wouldn't turn into an argument, not before he could apologize about the whole Pitch thing. He kind of regretted now saying that Jack could talk first, but he couldn't take it back. Focusing on the plate he was currently scrubbing, he heard Jack take in a breath.

"I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled, I should have at least explained things to you." Jack calmly said.

Shocked, Hiccup turned his gaze to him. Giving him a sad smile, Jack looked away, settling on watching Toothless who was just begging for attention. Bending down, Jack scooped the feline into his arms, which satisfied him enough. Pressing his paws against Jack's chest, Toothless leaned up to press his face into the boy's chin.

He was going to tell him, tell Hiccup everything that involved his past with Pitch Black. He'd be the third person to know of the old Jack, the person that Jack hated he had once been.

"I'm sure Pitch has told you about our past, though, if he told you the true story - well, I'm not sure." he sighed, scratching behind Toothless ear, "But I'll tell you my side of the story."

Leaning against the counter, Hiccup turned the sink off. He was completely focused on Jack now, watching the other boy as he got ready. Part of him wanted to stop Jack, to tell him that he didn't have to talk about it. He had kind of figured Pitch might have lied about it, and sure he wanted to know what the deal was between the two. But if Jack wasn't comfortable talking about it, then he didn't have to tell him anything.

"I was just a freshman at Burgess when I had met Pitch, see - Being a freshman felt like a whole new beginning to me, so of course I tried to make friends by goofing off. I'd let the peer pressure get to me and I'd start drinking, doing drugs. Whatever the cool kids were into, I'd go with it. I wanted to join in the fun, I didn't want to seem like the odd kid out.

Flynn and I got invited to a party. Most of the seniors were going, but they actually liked us enough to invite us with them. That was when I first met Pitch. He was this older, cool kid. And I'm not going to lie - He was good looking. So, of course I formed a crush on him. I'd follow him around the school and he genuinely seemed pleased with hanging out with me. We'd meet girls together, sometimes we would - uh.. Well, we'd hook up from time to time.

But then I started reaching this point in my life where things just seemed more about the drinking and the parties. I couldn't remember shit about my past, on if I had a family or not. I was failing my classes, I was getting into fights with North and Aster. I was a mess Hic."

Pausing in his story, Jack found his eyes had began to water. Laughing at how emotional he was getting, he rubbed his arm across his eyes, feeling the warm wetness of his tears on his skin. Toothless was looking up at him, head tilted and as much worry as a cat could show. Returning his hand to Toothless, he began stroking the feline's head.

"Aster got to me finally. We had a really bad fight, worse then the one you and I had." Jack chuckled, remembering the fight. Aster had been so furious with him, had even held himself back from decking the poor kid. "Started yelling that if I kept living like I was, I wasn't going to make it anywhere. That I'd either end up going to jail or dying on the streets. Harsh, sure. But it really got me thinking."

At some point Hiccup had moved from the sink, sinking into a chair as he watched Jack. He found his own eyes beginning to tear up, and he desperately scrubbed at his eyes to keep from letting them flow. It was just so shocking to hear this about Jack, he had never thought that Jack would have been an unhappy kid. He was always smiles and fun times, he never really seemed like the type of person who would just get so down on himself to the point where he might not have made it far in life.

"I started cleaning up my act. If I drank, I made sure I knew my limit. I stopped doing drugs, and most of all, I stopped hanging out with Pitch. But of course the guy didn't take it well. Told me that he made me who I was, that I would be nothing without him. But I knew he was wrong, if anything, I was a better person without Pitch."

"So you ended the friendship?" Hiccup questioned.

"Yeah, yeah I did. But the guy won't let go about it. That's why I don't want you hanging out with him. He knows there's more between you and me than just acquaintances." Jack groaned, placing Toothless on the floor and moving to stand in front of Hiccup.

Hiccup had felt his heart quicken when Jack said that. Was he trying to say that there was more between them than just.. A friendship?

"Please, don't hang out with him again Hiccup. I don't want what happened to me, to happen to you." Jack pleaded, reaching out and brushing his knuckles against the other boy's cheek. Licking his lips, green eyes met with blue and he found himself nodding his head. For Jack, he'd stop talking to Pitch. Besides, after what happened, he wasn't all that interested in talking to Pitch anymore.

"I'll stop."

Smiling, Jack nodded his head, his hand trailing up the side of Hiccup's face until he was ruffling up his auburn colored hair.

Phew, I'm shocked I actually got this chapter done. It was giving me SO MANY issues.