Chapter Ten: The Plan

The Room of Requirement was filled with snacks and it had a huge table in the middle with to chairs. Hiccup and Jack were working diligently on their homework, but Jack was having a hard time concentrating. The way Hiccup bit his lower lip while he thought of an answer made him crazy.

Jack knew it was over, that he had no chance, and that he supposed gave up his crush forever, but Hiccup was so damn adorable. His sarcasm made him fun to joke around with, his goofy lopsided smile made every crack enjoyable, and his small frame made Jack want to gather the boy up into his arms and never let him go.

Jack knew better. Jack knew that he let his self-control down in Defense. He barely stopped himself from kissing Hiccup in front of everyone. And now the temptation was real. There was no one to watch, no one to yell at him… but Hiccup himself. Who knew what he would do if Jack just walked over there and planted one right on him? Jack would be murdered and buried where no one could find him, that's what'll happen.

He kept the urge suppressed, and tried to focus on their Charms homework.

Hiccup hated his homework. Don't get me wrong, Hiccup was a nerdy kid and would do anything to keep his grades up. But with Jack around… all Hiccup wanted to do was have a little fun. That was just the aura around Jack. The domino effect was hard to resist when you were the next in line to fall.

Hiccup watched Jack try to do his homework, obviously bored with everything. The way he casually stared down at the question, his cheek resting against a propped-up hand. His pale lips were slightly parted, showing perfect white teeth.

Hiccup wanted to do something else, something wrong, something that would make any religious freak faint or just downright angry. Hiccup wanted to kiss Jack. He wanted to know how it felt like to run his hands through his white hair, to kiss him…

Calm down, Hiccup thought. It'll never happen

Hiccup knew that him and Jack were basically friend-zoned. Nothing of that sort would ever happen. They were two guys after all. They were friends. Friends don't kiss.


Xavier's P.O.V

I was shaking like a leaf. I didn't know how to come across this, but I needed to talk about it to someone. Lauren was the only other person that knew, and it was the only other option. She was there, alone, sitting on the ledge next to a stained-glass window. She had her nose in a book and a lock of her hair twisted around her finger.

I had to admit that she looked kind of cute.

I sucked up my pride (and fear) and walked over.

"Hi, are you Lauren?" I asked.

"Yes… who are you?" She replied, closing the book and stuffing it in her backpack. I sat down next to her. My eyes were probably black with fear.

"I'm Xavier, a friend of Jack's." I responded. I fought to control the color of my hair, which was a normal blonde and spiked up.

"Oh, well, a friend of Jack's is a friend of mine!" She said chirpily. "So what's up?" She asked, as if I knew her since forever.

"I needed to talk to someone about…" my voice died in my throat, and my control slipped. My eyes were a bright blue.

"About what?" She prompted. I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Jack told me… told me about his crush." I said, looking at her. Her hazel eyes had a ring of dark brown around them, and flecks of gold. Her lips were a little on the thin side, but nothing too major. She looked really confused at the moment, but she regained her composure pretty quickly.

"Crush, huh?" Lauren said, tucking her hair back behind her ear. "What'd he tell you?"

"Nothing really," I said and I could tell my eyes changed to red. "Just that he's loved him ever since first year, and that he only thinks of him as a friend, and that's you're the only person who knows and that he obviously doesn't care if I tell the whole school that he's a fag, because all he cares about is Hiccup."

"My God, he really did tell you." Lauren said astonished. "Oh, and tell anyone about his secret, I will personally cut your balls off and strangle you with it." There was nothing in her voice that said that she was kidding. I gulped, my eyes turning a highlighter-green type color, no doubt.

"I wasn't planning on it. Jack's my friend." I said.

"Did your eyes just change color?" Lauren said.

"Trick of the light," I dismissed. I wanted to talk about Jack's secret, not my own.

"No, I'm pretty sure your eyes change color. What are you, a Metamorphagus?" She asked. I hung my head and slapped my forehead.

"Dammit, you found me out." I said. "Yeah, I'm a Metamorphagus. I have a hard time controlling it sometimes." Well, that cat's out of the bag.

"Why would you want to control it?" Lauren said, shocked. "It's awesome!"

"People would want me to do faces for them, and I'm not exactly an entertainer…" I said, rubbing my neck.

"Well, I won't say anything, but you can let your guard down around me okay? I've seen lots of funny faces, I'm sure yours won't even make the list." Lauren said. I smiled, letting go of all my control.

My hair turned black, with red at the tips. My eyes were yellow, and I probably had on some heavy eyeliner, or what looked like it anyway.

"Wow. That was I total 180 flip." Lauren said.

"Ha, well…" I said laughing. "Back to seriousness though. I'm worried for Jack."

"I'm worried for both of them." Lauren said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Well, Jack and Hiccup have liked each other… ever since first year." Lauren said.

"What? And they don't know?" I asked. That's not right! Why can't they just go up to each other and freaking ask? Well, I guess it would be hard if you don't know if the person swings that way, or if they like you back…

"Nope. They just started talking this year. I actually just met them." Lauren confessed. "But what makes you worried about Jack?"

"Well, just yesterday he ran into our room crying like he had his heart ripped out. I'm afraid he'll go suicidal if we don't do something." I said, explaining my concern.

"Hiccup's ben acting like that too, not crying technically, but they've been acting weird… He yelled at me the other day, but at least he apologized." Lauren said, deep in thought.

"We should do something." I said suddenly. Lauren snapped her head to look at me, eyes wide. "Something that can get them together, you know?"

"HOW COME I NEVER THOUGHT OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT BEFORE?!" Lauren said loudly, making me jump. "That's perfect, Xavier, you are a genius!"

"Um… how exactly?" I asked, confused.

"I have a plan." She said, I nodded for her to go on. "You get Jack to say all the things he likes about Hiccup. And make sure you write them down! I'll do the same with Hiccup."

"Then what?" I asked. Lauren picked up her book bag, put a hand on my shoulder and kissed my cheek.

"Then leave it to me." She said with a smile. Then she walked off. I was thoroughly confused. Why did she kiss my cheek? Does she do that to everyone? Was it really necessary?

"Okay then." I said, willing my looks to be back to normal. I got up and left.


"Hiccup…" Jack whined.

"Jack…" Hiccup said, mimicking him from his side of the table, not even looking up.

"I'm bored…" Jack said, whining still.

"Aren't you always?" Hiccup sighed, looking up. Jack was giving him puppy-dog eyes, his lower lip sticking out slightly. Hiccup had to laugh.

"That's beside the point. Homework's a bust. Let's do something!" Jack said, sitting up a little straighter. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"This is doing something…" Hiccup said, smartly. Jack scoffed.

"Nerd." He deadpanned. He flew out of his seat and walked over to Hiccup. He was poking his side, his cheek, his arm. "Stop. Doing. Homework. You. Bum." Jack emphasized every word with a poke, causing Hiccup to squirm. Hiccup was trying to write something, but Jack continued to poke.

"Fine! Just let me…" Hiccup said, still getting poked by a laughing Jack. "There! Gods, stop poking me!" The smaller boy said, swatting Jack's hands away. Hiccup stood up, making the difference in their height noticeable. "So what do you want to do?" Hiccup asked.

Jack bit the inside of his lip. What he wanted to do was something that would never happen so… "I want you to take me on a ride on Toothless!" Jack said, thinking of the most outrageous thing he could think of.

"Are you crazy?" Hiccup said, grabbing Jack's shoulders and shaking him. "It's dangerous and to be honest, I don't think Toothless likes you all that well."

"That's why." Jack said simply. He raised his eyebrows and put on a confident smirk as he moved closer to Hiccup's face. "It's dangerous, and it'll be fun."

"Oh, so you're a danger-junkie now?" Hiccup deadpanned, dropping his hands from Jack's shoulders and folding them across his chest.

Jack's breathing hitched a little when he noticed what the hell he was doing. Why was he torturing himself more than he had to? But it felt… right.

"I've always been a danger-junkie. You've just never known it until now." Jack replied.

"Oh yeah sure. Whatever." Hiccup said. What was he doing? Why was he letting this happen? Hiccup knew this was never going to work, but here he was, succumbing to desire as he let himself move closer to Jack. With a shuddering breath, Hiccup looked into clear blue eyes and moved away quickly, instantly missing the closeness of Jack.

"So…" Hiccup said, raking a hand through his long, auburn hair. "A ride on Toothless, huh?" He asked. "Understandable."

"You can't be serious." Jack said in disbelief, coming out of his overdose of Hiccup. The smaller teen was putting all his stuff in his bag, and he looked over at Jack with a smile.

"I can be whatever I want to be, and you have no say in it, Frosty." Hiccup said jokingly. "But, yes, I'm serious." He flung his backpack on his shoulder and looked at Jack expectantly. "Well?"

"I still don't believe you." Jack said, in disbelief.

"I guess I'll go fly Toothless myself then…" Hiccup sang walking past Jack.

"Nonononono! Wait up, Freckles! I'm coming, just hold on!" Jack said, running to the table. He shoved everything into his rucksack and dashed over to Hiccup.

"I thought so…" Hiccup said with a smug smile.

"Whatever…" Jack said, slightly embarrassed. "You and your smugness…"

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and laughed. The two walked to the Ravenclaw common room, and Hiccup told Jack to stay outside. Jack complied, but was really tempted to follow him in.

Hiccup came out a minute later, carrying Toothless in his arms. He was murmuring softly to the cat.

"So, you're a cat whisperer now?" Jack asked, laughing. The cat glared at him, and Jack held up his hands in defense. "Sorry. Dragon whisperer, I mean dragon whisperer."

The cat nodded slightly and jumped out of Hiccup's arms. It was jet-black, and missing a chunk of its tail, Jack noticed. It walked circles around Jack, and he felt like prey. He looked at the cat with uncertainty.

"What is he doing?" Jack said, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Probably just checking you out." Hiccup said, shrugging. "You're just lucky he's not doing this as a dragon. You would be on the floor."

"How would you know?" The white-haired teen said.

"It's happened before." Hiccup responded, shrugging again. "You done, Toothless?" He asked the cat.

Toothless looked up at Jack with his acid green eyes. He then stood up on his hind legs and pawed at Jack's knees. Jack took that as "come down to my level," and he kneeled next to the cat. Toothless then looked into Jack's blue eyes and did something that seriously freaked Jack out: he sent a mental message.

"I know you like Hiccup. I see the way he looks at you. If you fucking hurt him, I swear you will be my next meal."

Jack stared at the cat, wide-eyed and shaking. He just heard a low, guttural voice in his head say that it will eat him if he hurts Hiccup. Jack took a shaky breath and nodded. Toothless broke the eye-contact and looked at Hiccup innocently. Jack stood up, happy that he was steady on his two feet.

"Okay, we have to chill for a while, but I think it'll be safe if we set off around dinner time." Hiccup said.

"Cool with me." Jack said, thankful that his voice didn't shake. They walked outside, Toothless trailing behind them. They sat down on a hill until it was dinner.

Hiccup pulled on his flight gear, and did a spell on Toothless, turning him into a dragon. Toothless regarded Jack with a wary eye, but did nothing else.

"Oh, um… Jack, come here a minute." Hiccup said.

"Sure," Jack said, walking over. "'Sup, Freckles?"

"Give this to Toothless." Hiccup said, handing Jack a raw fish. "Please." Jack just stared at the fish in his hand.

"He will destroy me, I hope you know that." Jack said.

"Just do it!" Hiccup snapped playfully.

"Fine, fine." Jack said, walking over to Toothless. "Here, Toothless." He sang, holding the fish as far away from his person as possible. Toothless looked at it and walked over to Jack, jaw open. Jack saw the gummy inside of Toothless' mouth.

"Huh, toothless." Jack said, finally getting Hiccup's name for the dragon. As soon as the thought passed his mind, though, the dragon suddenly had razor-sharp teeth and it snapped at the fish, eating it whole. "ACK!" Jack said in surprise, falling on his butt.

Toothless made a sound that resembled laughing, and walked over to Jack. "Uh…" the white-haired boy said. Toothless licked his face slowly, rubbing the saliva in. "Ewww…" Jack whined.

"Haha! He got you!" Hiccup said. Toothless made the laughing sound again. Jack glared at the two of them.

"You planned this didn't you?" Jack deadpanned. Hiccup hooked Toothless up to a leather saddle and a fake tail.

"Maybe." Hiccup said. "Well, ready to go?"

"Yes!" Jack said, getting up and running over. Hiccup jumped on Toothless with an undeniable grace that he didn't have anywhere else. He held out his hand to Jack and helped him on.

"You um… might need to hold on." Hiccup advised as he settled into a take-off stance.

"Hold on to wha-AAAAAAAAH!" Jack started saying, and then they were off the ground. His last word involuntarily turned into a scream. Hiccup was laughing. Jack wrapped his arms around his chest and buried his head in Hiccup's shoulder.

"I tried telling you." Hiccup said, an air of giddiness in his voice.

Jack took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Wow…" Jack said. His arms slid down Hiccup's chest and down to his waist, making the dragon rider blush. "It's beautiful up here!"

"Yeah…" Hiccup said, trying to suppress the shudders of joy that racked his body at Jack's touch. "Mind if we do some tricks?" He said. Some spins and flips would definitely take his mind of things right now.

"Go for it," Jack said with an excited smirk on his face. He scooted himself closer to Hiccup and tightened his grip on him. This is only so that I won't fall off, Jack thought.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless, who was looking at him. He petted the dragon's head for a second before flicking his ankle, sending them into a dive.

"WOOOOO HOOO!" Jack yelled. Hiccup had to smile. Within two seconds, then were soaring upwards, spinning in tight spirals. "AAAH!" Jack screamed.

"Wooooooo!" Hiccup said, howling almost like a rabid wolf would to the full moon. The tricks stopped and they were just coasting now, the sky above them a dark blue with stars sparkling furiously.

"That was awesome!" Jack said, resting his head on Hiccup's shoulder. The blush that spread across Hiccup's face went to his ears, and he prayed that his heart would stop making attempts to beat out of his chest.

"You think so?" Hiccup said.

"That was the most fun I've had in… forever, actually." Jack said, his breath hot against Hiccup's neck. Hiccup suppressed yet another shudder of pleasure.

"Forever's a long time," Hiccup noted, sarcasm dripping off his words.

"No shit, Sherlock." Jack said. He was super close this time around; when he talked, his lips actually grazed Hiccup's neck. Hiccup stifled a moan.

"We should, ah… probably start heading back… to the castle." Hiccup said, already flicking his ankle and maneuvering Toothless into a dive. "After all, we got classes in the morning."

"Don't bring up class. It ruins the fun." Jack said. "But, if you insist, Dragon Boy."

"Oh great," Hiccup said as the landed. "I got another nickname, Toothless." He hopped off Toothless, again with a grace he never possessed before, breaking Jack's hold on him. He told himself that he didn't want to be in those arms again, but that was obviously a lie.

"Yeah, I can't really call you that though, can I?" Jack said, sliding off Toothless with much less grace than Hiccup. "People would start to wonder why if I do."

"I think it would be best if you stuck with Freckles," Hiccup said, never going to admit that he liked the nickname. "I wouldn't want any attention on me… you know, more than I have already." Hiccup looked at Jack thoughtfully, and Jack returned the look.

Hiccup waved his wand and muttered an incantation, and Toothless-the-cat was standing before them, trapped under the saddle and in the fake tail contraption.

Hiccup and Jack both helped untangled the cat and Hiccup shoved everything back into his backpack, which was still on the floor where they left it. The two boys lit their wands and walked back to the castle, Toothless following them and their hands bumping against each other.

Once in the castle, the put away their wands, but they didn't say a word. They kept walking until they had to part ways. They each opened their mouths to say something, and then closed it when they saw the others' intention. They both laughed.

Jack wasted no time and he hugged Hiccup tightly. Hiccup hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second, and that was more out of shock than anything, though. Hiccup wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and closed his eyes, savoring the feel of Jack.

"Thanks for the ride, Freckles." Jack said in a low voice. "It was really fun."

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you, seeing how that's your middle name." Hiccup mumbled sarcastically. Jack liked the way Hiccup's breath tickled his neck, but they were just friends…

Jack was tired of lying to himself. Hiccup was not just a friend to him. He was more. He might not be the same to Hiccup, and Jack was okay with that. If Hiccup was happy then so was he. Jack would not jeopardize this friendship that they had, even if Jack wanted more.

Jack let go, and so did Hiccup. They were both smiling like idiots.

"So… see you in the morning?" Jack said.

"Bright and early!" Hiccup chimed. "Night, Jack."

"Night, Hiccup."


Hello again. Woo! Thanks for reading (oh gosh, I really don't see why you guys bother but thanks anyway!)

Thanks again to all my reviewers! It really makes my day to read what you think!

So was this good? Too fluffy? Not enough? Really terrible? Please tell me, I WANT TO KNOW!

Thanks again! *grins*