A/N: And we're back with the second half of TiOL! *party* Sorry it took so long, but I've posted a whole bunch of short stories while I was gone! We've got Complaints, Video Valentines, Looking Back, and a couple others. Be sure to check those out sometime! 8D

And now, without further ado, the second half...

Episode 11: Big Brother

The atmosphere was filled with excitement as a group of young, bright high school students gathered near the Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious technological universities in the country. Today, the campus was conducting one of its many tours, and the teenagers were more than ready to get started...especially a pair of excitable cousins who were waiting at the front of the group.

"This place is huge!" Anna exclaimed, taking in the campus with wide eyes. "Rapunzel, can we imagine if we actually got to go here?"

Rapunzel giggled, looking equally thrilled as she scanned the gorgeous campus and state-of-the-art architecture. "That would be so cool!" she agreed. "But maybe not for me. For, you, possibly."

"I hope so!" said Anna. "I just hope it's not too expensive…"

At that moment, a young college student stepped out of the building and headed toward the group with a smile, causing the group of teenagers to hush. The student, a tall young blond woman with pink glasses, grinned eagerly at the group, looking just as excited as they were.

"Good morning, everyone!" the woman chirped. She pointed to her brightly-colored T-shirt that said, "Institute Tour Guide."

"I'm your tour guide today," the woman continued. "You can call me Honey Lemon. I'm so excited to be here today! Are you guys excited?"

A few of the teenagers cheered, and Honey Lemon cheered right along with them. "Let's go, then!" she yelled happily. "Just follow me, and I'll show you everything there is to know about our awesome school!"

"She's really tall," Anna whispered to Rapunzel with a grin.

"I think she can even compete with Oncie," replied her cousin, and the two girls giggled.

The group followed Honey Lemon all over the huge campus, and despite feeling tired, they were too excited to complain. Honey Lemon showed them everything from the classrooms, which were full of scientific and technological equipment, to popular hang out spots and clubs all over the school. Anna could not stop asking questions.

Finally, after a couple of hours, Honey Lemon led them to a large building. "And this is the highlight of the Institute campus," she said excitedly. Pausing for dramatic effect, she opened the door and allowed the young teenagers to gawk in awe at the things going on inside.

"This is the Lab!" Honey Lemon announced happily. "Here is where all the students take the things they're learning and apply it to research in their specific area of study. Be careful though-things may get a little messy in here sometimes."

Giggling like a little girl, Honey Lemon led the group of students into the lab and pointed them toward various stations. "Over there is my friend GoGo," she told them, pointing to a station. A small Asian girl with short black hair looked up at them curiously.

"GoGo is a mechanical engineering major," Honey Lemon explained. "She working on creating the world's fastest bike! Isn't that cool?"

The high schoolers gaped in awe at GoGo's display. GoGo blew a bubble and saluted them silently, obviously proud of her work.

Honey Lemon moved on. "Over in that station is my friend Wasabi," she explained. "He majors in physics and really likes to work with lasers."

While the students checked out Wasabi's work (from a safe distance, of course), Honey Lemon suddenly perked up and bounced over to a different station. "And this here is my station!" she exclaimed happily. "I major in chemical engineering. Stand back, and I'll show you what I do!"

While the teenagers watched curiously, Honey Lemon stood at her station, and began mixing chemicals-and boom! An explosion of colors flew everywhere, causing some of the students to yelp.

"Fireworks!" Anna cried out happily, and Honey Lemon nodded enthusiastically.

"And now, follow me this way," the tall woman directed them. She led them to a nearby door and prompted them to stop, her usual happy smile plastered on her face. "Behind this door is something really really cool…" she whispered excitedly. She opened the door and everyone tried to peek inside.

But before anything else could happen, someone came along and interrupted their little tour. "Hey Honey Lemon!" a young man suddenly said. "What are you doing?"

Honey Lemon blinked in surprise at the newcomer. "Oh, Fred. I'm giving a campus tour right now…"

Fred's eyes widened with glee as he surveyed the wide-eyed group of teenagers. "Oh, cool! Well, allow me to tell you guys just how awesome this school is!"

Honey Lemon sighed and gave everyone a grin. "This is Fred," she introduced. "He's the school mascot."

"Hey, guys," Fred greeted them. "This is like, the best college you could ever dream of going to. If you come here, you'll become all scientific and smart. And then you can make cool robots and explosions and stuff."

Anna and Rapunzel giggled while Honey Lemon rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Plus," Fred continued, leaning on a nearby shelf to look smooth, "There's a ton of attractive people on this campus-so ladies, if you come to this school, you may get the chance to meet with hot guys like myse-"

Suddenly, the shelf he was leaning on snapped, and poor Fred was sent sprawling onto the floor. "Ow!" he cried out in pain. "Ow! That was not supposed to happen!"

Anna cringed. "Uh, is he okay?"

Honey Lemon looked down in concern. "Um...I'm not sure. Are you okay, Fred?"

Fred continued to whimper, but suddenly a strange whirring noise caught all of their attention.

"Um...wh-what's that noise?" Rapunzel asked cautiously.

Honey Lemon listened for a moment, then realized with terror that it was coming from inside the door she had opened-and now it was getting closer.

"Honey Lemon!" a panicked voice cried out from inside. "Close the door! Close the door!"

But before the young woman could obey, a gigantic, white object suddenly burst out of the door, causing everyone to yelp and jump back in shock.

And what's worse, the giant white object was talking.

"Hellloolooloolooo I am Bayayyayymaxxxxx," the fluffy white thing said. "I heared asouuujnnnnnf of disdisdisdisdistressssssss wheeeeeeeeee!"

As if it was having a spazz attack, the white robot moved around in a seemingly random pattern, throwing out its arms and smacking Anna right in the face. The girl fell on the floor while Rapunzel leaned over her in worry. The robot, however, did not stop moving. Even Honey Lemon looked a little scared.

Finally finding the source of the "distressed sound," the robot walked over to a fallen Fred and forcefully picked him up. "Hellooooo there are you in any paaaiaiiaiiaian?" the robot asked him, sounding rather drunk.

Fred stared back in fear, shaking his head vigorously. "N-no, no pain," he told the robot. "I just fell, that's all…"

The robot continued its spazz attack and began slapping Fred in the face. "Ononn a scalllel of one to tenenenne, how would you raaaaate ur paaaiiiiaiaiain?"

"Help!" Fred cried out. "Someone help, I'm being assaulted!"

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the robot stopped moving. Anna finally sat up in her spot to see that to had been turned off by a rather tired looking young man.

Their rescuer, a tall Asian young college boy, helped Fred out of the robot's arms and turned to the tour group apologetically. "I'm...really sorry guys…" he said. "He's...not quite done yet." Seeing Anna on the floor as a result of the robot's spazzing, the young man cringed and held out a hand to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Anna let him help her up with a laugh. "I'm fine," she said. "This isn't the first time I've been knocked to the floor…"

Now that the panic was over, a now-relaxed Honey Lemon let out a giggle. As the young man started to push the robot back into the room, Honey stepped out in front of the group and resumed her role as tour guide. "And this is my friend 'Dashi-oh, sorry, I mean Tadashi Hamada," she introduced. "He's a robotics major and he's working on a nurse robot that can actually diagnose people! Isn't that great?"

"Well, it would be, if he actually worked…" Tadashi mumbled under his breath.

Honey Lemon shot him an encouraging look before turning back to the high schoolers. "Robotics is an extremely popular major here at the Institute," she explained. "Maybe one of you guys will be building a robot just like this one if you decide to enroll here!"

"Yeah, and hopefully, yours works better than mine," Tadashi said with a grin, making everyone else giggle.

"Anyway," said Honey Lemon, as Tadashi went back inside his room, "Let's go check out some of the other stations-there's just so many things you can do around here!"

The group followed Honey Lemon as they continued, but Anna stayed behind for a moment. Something about the young man they had just met intrigued her. Cautiously, she pushed open the door again and peeked inside.

"Ummmm….hi," she said shyly. "Tadashi, right?"

Tadashi looked up from his work with a small smile. "Yep, that's me."

Anna grinned. "Hi. Just out of curiosity, are you related to someone named Hiro?"

Tadashi's smile suddenly got bigger. "Oh yeah! That's my brother!"

Anna bounced in excitement, "I knew it! He goes to my school!"

"He does?" asked Tadashi with a laugh. "That's cool. Does he give you a hard time?"

"What? No, no way, he's adorable!"

"Really? Because he gives me a hard time," the boy chuckled.

Anna giggled. "Naw, he's really great. Anyway, when you see him later, tell him Anna said hi!" She turned to catch up with the rest of the group, and Rapunzel was waiting outside the door.

"I will!" Tadashi called after her, and quickly went back to his work.

Rapunzel grinned down at her cousin as they ran to catch up with Honey Lemon. "Anna," the older girl said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have some kind of crush on this Hiro kid."

Anna stared at Rapunzel in surprise. "What?! Of course not, Rapunzel! You know I'm in love with Kristoff! Hiro's way too young for me, anyways."

"Oh good-because I was just about to text Kristoff and tell him what was going on."

"You jerk!" Anna joked, giving her giggling cousin a nudge. "You're ridiculous. I don't have a crush on Hiro...but I have to admit, Tadashi is kinda cute."

"Oooooh," Rapunzel smirked, pulling out her phone.

"Oh, come on Rapunzel! You're so immature! Stop that, you'll make Kristoff freak out!"

"Ok, ok," Rapunzel snickered, putting her phone back in her pocket. "But I'm watching you-now come on, we're going to miss the rest of the tour!"

Jack yawned widely as he wandered through the halls Monday afternoon, stretching his arms a little to try and wake himself up. It was already lunchtime, but he still hadn't managed to stay awake during his first four classes.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Once-ler walk quickly up to him.

"Hey," the taller boy greeted. "You look exhausted."

Jack nodded. "Yep."

"What happened?"

"Nothing new. Work, school, siblings, helping mom...the usual stuff." he rolled his eyes. "I just had to work overtime a little yesterday because of something stupid-and I just so happened to have a gigantic thing to do for homework as well. I stayed up until like two."

Once-ler cringed but gave his friend a good-natured grin. "That sucks."

"Yeah. But again, nothing new. Should be glad I even have a job, right?"

Once-ler smirked. "Yeah, interestingly enough. I'm surprised they still haven't fired you for having that stick around all the time."

"Hey, the staff is a special circumstance, okay? They can't fire me for having it."

"It's not a special circumstance! You just can't let go of it because you've been using it as a blanket since you were a kid."

Jack's face turned red with embarrassment. "My point still stands," he mumbled. "Anyway, how's that thneed thing of yours going?"

Once-ler scowled. "Ugh. I don't even want to talk about that. It's been pretty crappy, I'll say that."

Jack gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Hey, give it time. It'll catch on eventually."

Once-ler just nodded.

At that moment, Ms. Tooth turned the corner, and she smiled brightly as she saw Jack. "Jack!" she chirped happily, walking over to him.

Jack smiled right back at her. Ms. Tooth was an old family friend, and she always liked to talk to him at school when she got the chance. "Hey, Ms. Tooth," he greeted. "How are you?"

"Fine," the woman answered. "What about you? How's Sophie doing?"

"She's fine. Getting better. But still being really dramatic about it."

Once-ler looked at his friend in confusion. "What's wrong with Sophie?" he asked.

"She's sick," Jack replied simply. "Flu, probably."

"Tell her I said get well soon," Ms. Tooth told Jack, as she turned to leave. "And say hi to your mother and siblings for me."

"Sure thing," Jack called after her, and the two boys headed to the cafeteria at last.

Jack yawned as they got their food and sat down at the table with their friends, where the discussion was lively as usual.

Mavis perked up upon seeing them. "Whoa, Jack, you okay?" the girl asked. "You look exhausted."

"That's what I said," Once-ler chuckled.

Jack grinned up at Mavis and shrugged. She always seemed to notice when he was upset and that made him feel a little happier. "It's nothing," he assured her. "School, work, taking care of sick Sophie...you know."

"Sophie's sick?" Rapunzel asked, chewing on her food. "What's wrong?"

"She's got the flu. Nothing serious, but you know Sophie." Jack rolled his eyes and chuckled. "She's so overdramatic."

Wasting no time, Anna leaned down to her backpack and pulled out a blank piece of paper. "Let's make her a get-well card!" the girl suggested brightly. "That'll make her feel better!"

Jack smirked. "Sure. She'll like that."

Anna scribbled a small note on the paper and si

igned it, before passing it around the table for others to sign as well.

As the card passed around, Merida suddenly leaned over curiously to Anna's side of the table. "So," the red-head began. "Ye never told us how the Institute tour went. It was on Saturday, right?"

Anna suddenly started bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement. "Yeah! It was so cool! We actually saw a robot! A talking robot!"

"A malfunctioning robot," Rapunzel giggled, remembering the fiasco. "But still a robot."

Mavis' eyes widened. "Whoa, that's amazing!"

"Are you planning on applying there, Anna?" Hiccup asked.

Anna stopped bouncing and frowned into space. "Um, I'm not sure," she replied. "The robots and exploding chemicals were cool and all, but I'm not sure I'm the science-y type of person."

"What about you, Hiccup?" Norma asked curiously.

Hiccup shrugged. "Maybe. Don't know. That's kind of a huge school." he thought for a moment. "Heh, but maybe I can tell Lewis about-ah, who am I kidding? Lewis has probably already applied there."

"Isn't he still a sophomore?"

"Yeah, like that's gonna stop him."

The chatter continued as Anna's get-well card finally found its way back to Jack, who yawned as it landed in front of him. He looked over the small notes that his friends had written, then slipped it in his pocket.

Just as he was about to join in the goofy conversations, however, he felt his phone buzz, and pulled it out to reveal a text from his mother.

Are you at lunch right now?

Jack frowned. It wasn't common for his mother to text him in the middle of the day. Usually she was at work, but today she was staying home to take care of Sophie.

Jack texted her back: Yeah. Is something wrong?

No, nothing's wrong, his mother assured him. I just wanted to ask if you could get some more of Sophie's flu medicine after school.

Oh. Sure. I'll remember.

Thank you, sweetie.

Jack nodded and put his phone back in his pocket, making mental note to do as his mother had told him. As a single mother of four kids, she needed all the help she could get, and Jack always made sure to help as much as he could.

Emma lingered at the door, while Jamie threw his backpack down and ran into the house. "Hi mom!" the boy called out cheerfully. "We're back! Where's Sophie?"

His mother smiled from the couch where she was sitting. "She's upstairs," the woman answered, then turned to Emma. "How was school, Emma?"

"Fine…" the girl mumbled.

Jamie left the two of them behind and walked briskly upstairs to his younger sister's room. Opening the door, he saw Sophie sprawled out on her bed, making herself look much sicker than she actually was. Careful not to get too close, Jamie walked over to Sophie and shook her gently. "Sophie, why are you laying like that?" he asked.

Sophie slowly opened her eyes. "Because I'm sick," she answered pitifully.

Jamie looked down at her sadly. "Well, mom said you should lay on your back," he told her. When Sophie made no movement, Jamie slowly picked her up and turned her over, grunting a little under the girl's weight.

Sophie snuggled under the blanket, and Jamie then turned to go to his own room, when the little girl suddenly let out a groan.

Jamie looked over in concern. "Sophie, are you okay?"

Sophie looked up at the ceiling with a pained expression on her face. "I'm dizzy…" she complained. "My head hurts, and my stomach, and….oooooh, I'm sooooo siiiick…."

Jamie then began to panic slightly. He kept telling himself that she was faking, but with Sophie it was hard to tell. What if something was really wrong?

Feeling a little shaken, the boy quickly went over to the door. "U-uh...moooom….?"

At that moment, the door burst open, revealing Jack, who had just gotten back. Jack smiled down at his little brother. "Hey Jamie, what's up?"

Jamie pointed at Sophie with wide eyes. "Uh, Sophie's whining again," he said haphazardly. "A-and don't know if it's real or not!"

Jack frowned and walked over to stand in front of Sophie's bed. "Sophie, what's the matter?" he asked calmly.

"I feel sick and I can't move," Sophie moaned dramatically. "I might die."

Jamie panicked, but Jack didn't move.

"You might die?" the older boy repeated, reaching for his pocket. "Oh, that stinks. I guess you'll never see this cool get-well card that Anna made for you, then…"

Suddenly, Sophie perked up in her bed, eyes widening. "Anna?" she asked excitedly.

"Yep, she and all my friends signed it for you. But if you're sick and dying, then…"

"I'm not dying!" Sophie cried, throwing the covers aside and bouncing over to Jack. "Lemme see, lemme see!"

Jack chuckled and handed the card to Sophie, knowing that his sister would be just fine.

Jamie, on the other hand, stomped his foot in frustration. "Sophie!" he snapped angrily. "You scared me!"

Jack ruffled his brother's hair. "Hey, don't worry about it, Jamie. She's just a little kid." he turned back to Sophie, who was sounding out the words on the card. "Don't forget to get a lot of rest, ok, Soph?"

"Ok!" Sophie chirped, not looking up.

Jack led Jamie out of the room and closed the door, while the younger boy looked up at him in frustration. "How are you so good at this?" Jamie asked.

"Good at what?"

"Taking care of little kids," Jamie answered, gesturing at the door. "I mean, she drives me insane!"

Jack snickered. "Hey, it's not that hard. I helped take care of you and Emma, and now I'm taking care of Sophie. You just need experience."

Jamie rolled his eyes and shrugged, finally heading toward his own room. Jack started to do the same, when they both stopped at the sight of Emma stumbling up the stairs, looking very upset.

Jack frowned. "Emma? What's wrong?"

Emma looked up at him, her face red, then shook her head, "Nothing," she said simply.

Jamie poked his head out the door. "Is Cupcake bothering you again?" he asked.

"Shut up, Jamie!"

Jack turned to his brother. "Who's Cupcake?"

"She's the bully from school-" Jamie began.

"I said shut up, Jamie!" Emma yelled.

Jamie obeyed, but Jack looked over at Emma in alarm. "Bully? What bully?"

Emma shook her head in denial. "N-no, she...she's not a bully...she just kinda...p-picks on me sometimes…"

"Picks on you how?"

Emma hesitated and lowered her voice. "Uh….n-nothing, she just teases a little."

Jamie leaned over to Jack and whispered in concern. "She calls her names sometimes," he told him. "And one time she pushed Emma and she fell. I told Cupcake to stop and she said she would, but then I heard her calling Emma names again…"

Emma stared at the ground.

Jack turned to his little sister, his brows furrowed with worry. "How long has this been happening, exactly?"

Emma was quiet. "Um...a month, maybe?"

"A month?! And you haven't told anyone?"

Emma stared up at Jack with pleading eyes. "I-I didn't think it was worth it-they were just names! A-and...if I tell the teacher, then Cupcake might get mad, and-"

Jack shook his head. "I can't believe this. I'm going to tell mom."

He started down the stairs, but Emma tugged on his sleeve and stopped him. "No, don't tell mom! She'll freak out! She already worries about so much stuff..a-and…"

Jack stared down at Emma's begging face for a moment, before he finally sighed and kneeled down to her. "Ok, fine. But we have to do something."

It was quiet for a moment, before Jamie perked up again. "Jack, what if you went and told her to stop? She might get scared of someone who's bigger than her!"

Jack's eyes widened. "Me? You want me to talk to the bully?"

Emma nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! That might make her stop! Please, Jack? Please?"

Jack thought it over for a moment, before sighing again. "Fine. I'll come with you after school tomorrow and talk to her-but if this doesn't work, we're going to tell mom, okay?"

"Okay," Emma agreed with a relieved grin. She gave Jack a brief hug before disappearing into her room.

Jack glanced over at Jamie, then walked into his own room to start his homework. Looks like tomorrow was going to be another exciting day.

"Come on, Ralph, what's taking so long?"

Ralph grumbled under his breath as he walked through the small fence gate leading to the elementary school playground. Vanellope tugged at his sleeve, forcing him to go faster.

"Vanellope, I don't understand why you can't just tell your parents about this," Ralph complained. "I mean, why do you want me to get rid of your bully for you?"

"You're not gonna get rid of Taffyta," Vanellope told him, "You're just gonna politely ask her to stop bugging me, and then she'll get scared of your big scary face and listen."

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Really? You ask me to help you and then you insult me the whole time?"

Vanellope looked at the ground. "S-sorry...I meant that she's gonna get intimidated by your...gloriously gigantic appearance and then she'll leave me alone."

Ralph heaved a sigh. "Oh my God. Fine, I'll see if I can get her to stop. As long as you promise me you'll never drag me into something like this again."

"Fine, ok, I promise." Vanellope ran up a couple feet and scanned the playground, where several kids were playing as they waited for their parents to come pick them up.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she pointed to a group of figures on the field. "There she is," Vanellope told Ralph. "That blond one over there. But be careful, she's surrounded by her posse."

Ralph snorted. "Yeah, well, what are they gonna do, beat me up?"

Vanellope snickered and skipped happily over to where Taffyta was standing, while Ralph reluctantly followed behind.

"Hi, Taffyta!" Vanellope chirped, causing the group of kids to turn around in surprise.

Taffyta frowned. "What are you doing here, nerd?" she asked rudely. "We told you, you're not invited to join us."

Vanellope just smiled. "Oh, sorry. I just thought I'd introduce you to my cousin Ralph. He's a real swell guy." She gestured over to Ralph, who finally lumbered over to stand next to her.

Taffyta looked up at Ralph as if she was going to tell him off, when she suddenly noticed how large the man was and stepped back in fear.

"Hey," Ralph said, trying not to sound too annoyed. "Vanellope here told me that you guys have been giving her some trouble. Is that true?"

Taffyta gulped, and one of her friends spoke up with a squeaky voice. "N-no! Not at all! Wh-what makes you think that?"

Ralph rolled his eyes while Vanellope snickered. "Well, in any case, you'd better leave her alone," Ralph told the small group of kids. "Because if you don't…" he paused, trying to think of something that would intimidate them without being too threatening-her certainly had no intention of hurting little kids.

"If you don't, I'll be very upset," Ralph finally said. "So leave her alone, okay?"

Taffyta and her group nodded briefly. "O-ok…" the whimpered. "S-sorry, Vanellope…"

Vanellope grinned widely. "All is forgiven!" she chirped, grinning in satisfaction as the group glared at her and turned away.

When they were gone, Vanellope jumped up and cheered, while Ralph sighed in relief. "That was great!" the little girl yelled. "Nice job, Ralph!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Ralph replied. "I just hope I don't get in trouble for harassing kids."

"You weren't harassing them!" Vanellope insisted. "You just talked to them, that's all! They can't get you in trouble just for talking to them!"

"Whatever."

The cousins turned to go home, when Vanellope suddenly spotted the familiar faces of a pair of twins in her class, and stopped to observe. The twins, Emma and Jamie, were walking next to a taller boy who had white hair and was holding a long, inexplicable staff.

Jack stopped curtly next to the playground with his siblings, and began to scan the area. "Ok, so where's this Cupcake person?"

Emma shrugged. "She's usually out here after school…"

"I think she might be by the swings," Jamie said. "Let's go check."

"Ok," said Jack, patting Emma's shoulder reassuringly. "Let's go see. And then we can finally get rid of this bullying problem."

Hearing this, Vanellope's eyes widened and she grabbed Ralph by the hand, leading him to where the three others were.

"Whoa, Vanellope!" Ralph cried. "Where are we going now?"

"I think another kid needs help with a bully!" Vanellope told him. "Maybe you can help her like you helped me!"

"Wait, what?"

"Emma!" Vanellope called out. "Jamie! Over here!"

Emma, Jamie, and Jack looked over at them in surprise. Vanellope skidded to a stop in front of them, grinning widely.

"Hiya!" the small girl greeted. "I couldn't help but overhear that you were having a bully problem-I think I might be able to help you. See, my cousin Ralph here just helped me get rid of my bully, and now he can do the same for-"

"Whoa, hold on, Vanellope!" Ralph called out. "What am I, a free bully-repellant service?!"

"Shut up, Ralph, we're going to help a person in need!" Vanellope snapped. She then turned back to Emma. "As I was saying, Ralph is big and ugly and scary, so he can scare your bully off in no time!"

"Ugh," Ralph groaned, facepalming.

Jack just snickered.

Emma looked up at the tall, lumbering college student with wide eyes. "Really? You can help us?"

"Look, I don't want to develop a track record for scaring and harassing children..." Ralph grumbled.

"Come on, Ralph!" Vanellope complained.

"We'd really appreciate it…" Jamie said.

"Yeah, and the bully would probably be more scared of you than of a sexy beast like myself," Jack added with a smirk.

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever you say, kid." He looked down once more at the pleading faces of the kids, then sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. But this is the last time, got it?"

The small children beamed. "Thanks so much!" Emma cried.

"Ok," declared Jack. "So where is this Cupcake person, exactly?"

Emma and Jamie led the group around the corner, where Jamie suddenly pointed to someone by the slide. "There she is!"

The big, tough-looking girl standing by the slide made both Ralph and Jack gasp slightly. "Yeesh," Ralph said. "Now that looks like a bully."

"Let's go," said Jack. "The sooner we get this done, the better."

Ralph sighed. "Fine, let's get this overwith. I just hope we don't get in trouble."

"You kids are in big trouble."

Ralph and Jack looked at each other with unease as the principal scrutinized them. They hadn't predicted that the confrontation with Cupcake would go this badly. Next to them, Jamie, Emma, and Vanellope all stared at the floor, fidgeting slightly.

The principal glared at them again. "Just who do you think you are, harassing children that are smaller than you?"

"They weren't harassing her!" Vanellope protested. "All they did was walk up to her and-"

"Please be quiet, Vanellope," the principal interrupted. "The question was not directed at you."

Vanellope sat back and pouted.

"She's right though," said Jack. "We weren't going to hurt Cupcake, we just wanted to talk to her."

"Yeah," agreed Ralph. "It's not our fault that she just started screaming and raising hell."

The principal didn't look convinced. "And what on earth were you talking to her about that involves ganging up on her like that?"

"I wasn't ganging up on anyone!" Ralph cried, trying to control his temper. "Just because I'm big, doesn't mean I'm automatically a thug!"

"She's been bullying my little sister," Jack explained, getting to the point at last. "We were just going to ask her to stop, and Ralph was helping. That's all it was, I promise."

The principal's expression changed suddenly. "Bullying, you say?"

"Yes. My sister said she was pushing her and calling her names."

"She did that to lots of other people too," Jamie added.

The principal looked at his desk and thought this over for a while. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "Alright then. I believe you."

Ralph looked surprised. "Wait, really?"

The principal nodded solemnly. "Yes, you see...there has been a slight bullying problem at our school for a little while, and Cupcake is one of the more...problematic children. We will have a talk with her parents and make sure this doesn't happen again." he then turned to the three kids. "And children, next time be sure to tell an adult about this sort of thing, alright? Don't just bring your big brothers over to try and intimidate them."

The kids looked at the floor again. "Okay,"

They were free to go after that, and Ralph looked relieved. "Well, good. That went over well," he glared down at Vanellope. "Don't ever make me do that again, ok?"

Vanellope smiled up at him. "You're the best cousin in the world, Ralphie," she cooed, making Ralph roll his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's just get going now."

Ralph and Vanellope waved goodbye to the three siblings, and everyone headed on their way. "Man, Mr. Perkins was sure on edge today, huh?" said Emma.

"Yeah," said Jamie. "I wonder if he's really gonna get Cupcake to stop."

Jack frowned. "Is your school really that bad with its bullying problem?"

"No, not really," said Jamie. "It's just a couple of people here and there-Taffyta with Vanellope, Cupcake with Emma, Penny with Sherman...and yeah, that's about it."

"Who's Penny and Sherm-ah, never mind. The important thing is, they're stopping it, right?"

"I think so."

"Good." Jack then turned to Emma with a comforting smile. "See? It'll all be okay now."

Emma just nodded and said nothing more.

They continued on the way to their house, chatting and messing with each other a little, when they suddenly stopped at a rather odd sight.

"Is...is that Tooth standing next to our house?" Jamie asked in surprise.

"And Uncle North?" Emma added. "And Aster, and Sandy too? What's going on?"

The three of them looked at each other curiously and ran quickly over to the house, where their four family friends were standing, talking frantically.

"Uncle North!" Jack called. "Ms. Tooth! Guys, what are you doing here?"

The four adults whirled around in surprise and Ms. Tooth suddenly threw her arms around Jack. "Jack! Oh my gosh!"

Uncle North scooped Emma and Jamie up in his arms, and Aster joined in on the hug as well. "Sweet mother o' mercy, you're alright!" the man said in his Australian accent. "We thought you were all dyin'!"

Sandy, who was mute, nodded in agreement and hugged the two children.

Jack, Jamie, and Emma all stared at them in bewilderment. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Jack asked them. "We're completely fine!"

Ms. Tooth stared back at them in surprise. "B-but...we got a phone call…"

"Sophie called us," North explained. "She was talking as if she needed us to come over right away! It sounded like something terrible was happening!"

Jack's eyes widened in alarm. "What?! But Sophie's at home with Mom! I-I've been out with Jamie and Emma the whole time…!"

As if they were all thinking the same thing, all seven of them bolted toward the house, fearing the absolute worst.

Jack pounded on the door. "Mom!" he cried. "Sophie! Someone open the door, please!"

After a few agonizing seconds, Jack's mother opened the door and stared at them in utter confusion. "N-North?" she asked. "Tooth? What are you all-"

The four adults suddenly scooped her into a hug before she could say any more. "Thank the heavens above, you're okay!" Aster cried out.

"We thought something awful had happened to you!" Tooth added.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Jack asked in worry. "Are you okay? Is Sophie okay?"

Jack's mother stared at them with wild eyes. "O-of course we're okay!" she cried. "What on earth made you think we weren't?!"

"Sophie called us!" Tooth told her. "Sh-she was talking as if the house was burning down or something!"

"What?" Jack's mother asked, still confused. "N-nothing is happening, why would…?"

Hearing tiny footsteps come down the stairs, the large group turned to see Sophie, looking perfectly well except for a red stuffy nose, come down the stairs holding her blanket and tissues. When she saw the large group of adults, her eyes widened, as if she suddenly realized that she had done something wrong.

"Sophie, are you okay?" Tooth asked with concern.

"Sandy brought his first-aid kit!" Aster told her, and Sandy displayed the kit proudly. "Do you need any help?"

Sophie stared back for a moment, then lifted up her leg and revealed a skinned knee. "I fell off my bed and hurt my knee and it started bleeding," the little girl explained.

Everyone in the room just gaped at her in shock. "Is..is that all…?" North asked.

"Yes."

Relief flooded through each one of them as they all gave a sigh. Tooth placed a hand over her heart and Aster had to place a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling. Emma and Jamie stared at each other with wide eyes, glad that nothing was wrong.

Their mother, on the other hand, did not look happy at all. "Sophie, are you crazy?!" the woman burst out, making them all jump. "Why on earth would you go and call everyone like that?! Don't you know you could have called me?"

Sophie looked at the floor, and Jack stared at his mother. He'd never seen her this mad before.

"Why did you do it?!" the woman continued yelling. "You scared all of our friends for nothing!"

Sophie didn't answer.

"Answer me, Sophie!" her mother cried. "Why did you call them?!"

"I-I don't know…" Sophie whimpered, starting to cry.

"That's not an acceptable answer, Sophie! You know better than that! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior!"

"M-mom…" Jack stammered, trying to place a hand on his mother's shoulder to calm her down.

But she just pushed his hand away. "Stop it, Jack! You're no help!" she turned back to Sophie. "Now, you apologize to them and go to your room right this instant! You hear me?!"

Sophie suddenly burst into tears and ran upstairs, not listening to a single word her mother said.

"Sophie!" her mother screamed. "Get back down here right now!"

"Mary, please," North begged her. "Calm down, she's only a little child…"

"Yeah, she didn't mean it…" Jack agreed.

Jack's mother glared at them, before turning and stomping into the kitchen.

The rest of them just stood there for a moment, shaken over what had just happened. Suddenly, North smiled down at Emma and Jamie sat down on the couch in front of them. "So. How would you two like to see a magic trick?"

Emma and Jamie just stared back. "Huh?"

"You know, until this whole thing blows over. What do you say?" he waited until he saw Emma and Jamie smile, then he laughed heartily. "That's the spirit! Aster, go get your paints from your car, please."

Aster frowned. "Why should I?"

Despite the tension of the situation, Jack managed to chuckle a little. At least someone was having fun right now.

Tooth leaned over to him. "You should probably go talk to your mom," she advised him, and Jack nodded as he headed into the kitchen.

The teenage boy walked into the kitchen to see his mother angrily scrubbing at the dishes, the way she often did when she was angry. Jack stared at her cautiously for a moment, then cleared his throat. "H-hey, it wasn't that bad, mom…" he began. "I mean, at least she didn't call 911, right?"

Jack's mother just glared at him. "This is no time for jokes," she snapped. "Where were you during all this, hmm? You said you would come home quick everyday to help me."

Jack looked at the floor. "S-Sorry, I...I was just out with Emma and Jamie…"

"Doing what?"

"Sh-she just...needed my help with something, that's all…"

His mother rolled her eyes and went back to the sink. They were silent for a moment, and Jack shifted hesitantly on his feet before speaking again.

"M-mom...you didn't need to yell at Sophie like that. I mean, she's always doing weird things, it's not like-"

"Jack," his mother interrupted. "I don't have the time for you kids to just mess around whenever you want. There's four of you, and only one of me. I have to work all day just to take care of you kids. E-ever since your father left, It's been just me, and I need help! A-and instead of helping me, you all just...just go and mess around-your little sister making ridiculous phone calls, and you all going off to who knows where without telling me-it just stresses me out even more! Don't you get that?"

Jack stared at the floor.

His mother paused to lower her voice. "Jack, listen, you're the oldest-and I know you didn't ask for any of this, and neither did I-but I need a lot of help to take care of those three kids. Which means that you can't just take off in the middle of the day for no reason and let Sophie do whatever she wants by herself."

Jack said nothing.

"Can you promise me that, Jack? Please?"

Jack hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Ok. Sorry, mom. I promise."

His mother nodded and took a deep breath, seeming a little more calm after her rant. She slowly went back to the sink and didn't look up. "Thank you," she said. "And I...I'm sorry for yelling. I'll be out in just a moment."

Jack nodded slowly and left the kitchen, feeling a little dazed. He vaguely noticed North making the kids laugh with a ridiculous magic trick as he plopped down on the couch, gripping his staff tightly. As he stared straight ahead, lost in thought, Tooth came over and plopped next to him.

"Everything ok?" the young woman asked him.

Jack blinked out of his trance and smiled at her. "Uh, yeah. She's fine, she's just a bit...stressed."

Tooth nodded and said nothing more, allowing Jack to sink into his thoughts once more. The things his mother had said came back to his mind and caused him to frown.

Was he really not helping her enough? He thought he had been doing fine-he had a job, he helped take care of his siblings...he was doing the best he could as a big brother, but maybe it wasn't enough. Ever since their father had up and disappeared the way he did, it had been quite hard. Uncle North was there, but he only came from time to time, as his work often required him to travel a lot. Maybe...maybe his mom wanted Jack to fill that role instead? Did she really want him to act more like a father figure to his siblings? Jack frowned at the thought. He didn't like that idea at all, but if it was really necessary, then…

Jack shook his head. Nah, that was dumb. He couldn't just randomly change his attitude like that, even if he wanted to. Surely there must be some other way to help his mother more. Maybe he could ask someone else with little siblings. That would probably be the best idea.

By the next morning, Jack had more or less regained his usual happy demeanor, and was able to grin widely while strutting his way over to his friends at school. They were hanging out by Rapunzel's locker and discussing random things, just like they always did.

"Is your dad still not letting you get a dog?" MK was asking.

Mavis shook her head in response. "Nope. But I'm gonna keep pestering him-he'll give in eventually."

Swooping in between them, Jack pulled the two girls into a huddle and lowered his voice. "Are we still talking about the dog rebellion?" he asked mischievously. "Cause I'm totally ready to get that thing started."

Mavis erupted into a fit of giggles as she and MK broke away from him. "Yeah, the dog rebellion," she said. "We're all gonna get dogs from behind our parents' backs. So rebellious."

Jack pumped his fist in the air. "Yeah, we're gonna start a movement, right, Anna?"

Anna giggled and nearly choked on the granola bar she was eating. "Yeah, we can make picket signs again," she joked. "Would your mom let us use the living room?"

Jack's smile disappeared for a moment and he rolled his eyes. "Eh. Sure. My mom's actually been pissed at everything lately. She's not really in the mood to put up with...like, anything at all."

Once-ler scoffed softly. "I know that feel," he mumbled.

"How's Sophie doing, by the way?" Rapunzel asked.

Jack's smile returned. "Hah! Uh, well...health-wise, she's doing fine. But..oh man, you won't believe what she did last night."

"What?"

"Well, I was out with Jamie and Emma to take care of something," Jack explained, "and my mom was taking care of Sophie. Then I guess she fell down or something, and mom wasn't around, so-get this-she picked up the phone and called all our family friends over like there was some kind of emergency."

His friends' eyes widened. "Whoa, really?"

"Yeah. So then I come home with my siblings and find my entire front yard in chaos, and we all freak out. It was crazy. And when my mom found out, she was pissed."

"Yikes," said Hiccup.

Jack frowned at the memory. "And then she blamed me for it for some reason! I don't know why! It's like everything the little kids do is my fault for some reason! I don't get it!"

"I hear ya!" Merida suddenly piped up. "Me wee brothers always do the same thing! Those three can get away with anything they want, but not me! And of course, when they mess somethin' up, I get blamed fer it!"

"Exactly!" Jack cried, glad that someone understood him. He leaned against the locker and sighed. "And for me it's worse, cause my dad's gone," he ranted. "So now my mom expects me to be the adult or something. Ugh."

"Yeesh, I'm glad I don't have any siblings," Norma said.

"I'm practically the adult in my house," MK scoffed in annoyance. "My dad is always somewhere else, and I'm the one who has to bring his back down to earth. It shouldn't be that way!"

"Kinda reminds me of how Elsa was acting ever since mom and dad passed away…" Anna added with a frown. "She thought she suddenly had to be an adult too. She gave up literally all that was left of her childhood."

Jack grimaced. "Ick. I don't want to do that. I still wanna be a kid."

"I guess we all have to grow up at some point…" Rapunzel told them.

"But not like that!" Anna argued. "We can't just be expected to grow up all suddenly to fill in a hole! That's not fair!"

"Yeah, we should all be able to mature at our own pace," Mavis agreed. The others nodded.

Anna placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "You can be responsible without forcing yourself to grow up," she told him earnestly. "Don't be like Elsa, ok?"

"If you become like Elsa, I'll slap you," Mavis joked, poking him in the chest. "Grown-up Jack sounds so boring."

"Yeah, imagine him coming to school one day with his hair all combed and trying to boss everyone around," Once-ler joked, making some of them chuckle.

Jack finally managed to get a smile out. "Oh, come on! It'll be just like you when you start your company and walk around with a top hat and a monocle!"

"Will you stop it with the monocle?"

"Come on, we can be monocle buddies!"

They all chuckled for a moment, before Jack leaned back once more and shrugged. "I don't know, I mean...I just wanna do what...what I can, you know what I mean?"

"Maybe you should talk to your mom again," Rapunzel suggested. "Maybe you guys can figure it out."

Jack just shrugged. "Maybe."

They were all silent for a moment, when all of a sudden, Rapunzel spoke up. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she cried. "My parents wanted to know if you all want to come ice skating with us tomorrow."

"Ice skating?" Anna asked in excitement. Everyone else leaned forward.

Jack laughed. "Oh my gosh, I've got some bad memories ice skating," he said.

"How come?" asked Mavis.

"I remember one time Emma and I were skating on a frozen lake," Jack explained. "But the ice was super thin and then it cracked."

His friends' eyes widened. "Whoa, really?"

"Yeah. It was terrible. I almost died."

Rapunzel giggled. "Well, this is a rink, not a lake," she told him. "The ice isn't gonna crack."

Jack shrugged, the grin still plastered on his face. "Ok, then. That does make it better. I can bring my siblings too."

"I'll come!" said Anna, and a chorus of "Me too"s joined her.

Rapunzel smiled widely. "Great! I'll see you all tomorrow!"

At that moment, the bell rang, and everyone headed to their first class. Jack walked to his own class feeling relaxed, glad that he had been able to rant to someone. The only question was what would happen when he got home today.

Jack's mother didn't seem too upset at home, but she didn't really talk much to them. By the next morning, she still didn't seem too happy, and Jack was beginning to wonder what was on her mind.

But he didn't want to bother her, and besides, he just wanted to go and ice skate with his friends anyway.

Hesitating briefly, Jack poked his head into his mother's room, just before noon. "Uh, hey mom?" he asked. "My friends and I are going ice skating downtown. Is it ok if I bring Emma and Jamie and Sophie with me?"

His mother looked up from whatever she was doing with a blank stare. "Hm? Uh, sure. How long will you be gone?"

"Couple of hours. Rapunzel's picking us up and bringing us back."

His mother nodded. "Alright. Don't be late."

"See ya, mom."

Relieved at how easy that had been, Jack hurried down the stairs, where his little siblings were waiting eagerly. "She said yes! Get dressed, Rapunzel is gonna be here any second."

"Yay!" Sophie cheered, rushing off to get her coat.

Jack was still a little worried about his mother, but he decided to let it go for now. His mom had done this a couple times before, and it was best to just leave her alone. Besides, he just wanted to have fun with his siblings right now.

A few minutes later, Rapunzel's parents' long car pulled up in front of their house. Jack and his siblings said goodbye to their mother and happily ran out and into the car.

Rapunzel and her parents were seated in the back, along with Anna, who the little girls ran excitedly over to see.

"Hey," Jack greeted as he sat down. "Are we picking up anyone else?"

"Merida, Norma, and Hiccup," Rapunzel replied. "The others are gonna meet us there."

Jack nodded and leaned back in his comfy seat, making small talk with Rapunzel's parents and joking around with his friends. When the other three passengers joined in, it got a little...rambunctious, but it was still bearable. It was a good thing Merida didn't bring her siblings, or else the car would have been totaled.

They finally arrived at the ice skating rink, and all the passengers huddled up in their warm coats. Once-ler, MK, and Mavis were all waiting for them there.

"No Elsa?" Once-ler asked Anna with a smile.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course not. And would you please just leave Elsa alone? She's gotten pretty sick of you, you know."

Once-ler just snickered.

Anna wasn't satisfied. "No seriously. And besides, she's getting a boyfriend, so it's probably best to leave her alone, ok?"

Once-ler, along with the others, whirled their head around in surprise.

"Elsa's gettin' a boyfriend?" Merida cried in surprise. "Since when?"

"Who?" asked Mavis.

Anna's eyes widened, but she just bit her lip with a sheepish smile. "Uh. A guy at her college. They're not official yet, but….anyway! The point is, stop bugging her. That's all I wanted to say."

Once-ler pretended to be disappointed. "Aw man! Well, who am I supposed to bother now?"

"You could always consider dating someone yourself," Anna told him. "That would solve the problem."

"Eww."

At that moment, Sophie tugged on Anna's pant leg and looked up at her. "Um. My mom says we shouldn't talk about dating," she said innocently. "She says it's not my age."

"Yeah, Anna," Once-ler said, slapping his friend on the shoulder. "Quit talking about dating."

"Sorryyyyy!" Anna whined in exhasperation.

Jack bit his lip at this display. Should he have done something about that…?

At this point, the group were ready with their ice skates. They suited up and got on the ice, where their large group was separated into several small ones. Jack was skating along thoughtfully, when Mavis suddenly skated up to him.

"Hey," the girl asked softly. "What's up?"

Jack shrugged. "Eh. Nothing really."

"Did you patch things up with your mom?"

Jack looked down. "No, not really. We haven't really talked…" he sighed. "What do you do when you fight with your dad?"

Mavis looked up thoughtfully. "Ummm...we just kinda let each other fume it off, then we apologize and make up." she smiled at her friend. "Your mom is less stubborn than my dad, so…"

Jack scoffed. "Yeah, maybe, but...it's real stressful, you know? I mean, you don't have any siblings to take care of, but me…" he sighed deeply. "I just don't know what to do."

Mavis stared at him sadly, then skated closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, I do know one thing: it'll be even harder if you're fighting with her."

"That's true…"

Mavis paused again, then spoke up. "Hey, Jack. You wanna know something? You're really cool."

Jack looked up at her in surprise. "Huh?"

Mavis shrugged. "I don't know, it's just...you do so well taking care of your little sisters and brother, and you know how to enjoy life and hang out with your friends and joke around, even when...even when things aren't going so well." she looked down. "Meanwhile, I moan and complain whenever anything goes wrong in my life. H-how do you do it?"

Jack gaped at her before laughing and leaning on the railing of the ice rink. "N-no way! You've got it all wrong. I'm way more emo than you. You're more fun."

Mavis leaned next to him and snickered. "You, emo? Jeez, if you're emo, what does that make me?"

"Cool?"

Mavis giggled.

"Fun?" Jack continued. "Awesome? I don't know, anything but emo, that's for sure."

Mavis laughed. "This is so dumb. Why the heck are we talking about being emo? I thought we were the king and queen of fun, dang it!"

Jack felt his heart flutter at the words "king and queen," but he shook it off. "I guess so, but...kings and queens are people too, right?"

Mavis nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

There was a moment of silence between them, before Mavis put a hand on his shoulder once more. "It'll be okay. And in the meantime, your friends are here for you." She smiled widely. "That's what you told me once, right?"

Jack smiled. "Right."

"...Jack?"

Jack and Mavis broke their little conversation and turned to see Jamie standing behind them, fidgeting a little as he tried to keep his balance on the ice.

"Um…" the small boy began softly. "Jack, can I talk to you for a second?"

Mavis blinked, then took the hint and turned to go. "I'm gonna go skate with MK," she said. "See you guys later."

Jack waved to his friend as she left and then skated over to his brother. "Hey Jamie, what's up?"

Jamie fiddled with his fingers for a moment and mumbled, "Um...are you and mom still fighting?"

Jack frowned. "Huh? No, we're not fighting…"

"But you're not talking to each other that much."

Jack was about to respond when Jamie slipped and fell backwards onto the ice. Jack chuckled slightly and helped his brother back to his feet. "C'mon, let's take a break from skating," he told him.

The two brothers stepped off the ice and sat down on one of the nearby benches, relieved that they were able to rest their ankles for a while.

Jack turned to Jamie. "Anyway...mom's just been stressed out, that's all. She just needs to cool down, so don't worry so much."

Jamie stared down at his dangling feet. "What's she stressed about?" he asked.

Jack hesitated. "Oh, you know, Jamie...she just has a lot of work to do and it bugs her. And she got pretty mad at Sophie when she called everyone the other day, so that made it worse…"

"But if she was mad at Sophie, then why did she yell at you?"

Jack shrugged. "People do that sometimes. When they're really mad, they might take it out on someone who didn't…" he paused. "Well, on everyone around them, that's all. She didn't mean it, Jamie."

There was a pause. Jack leaned back in his seat and stared up at the sky. "And, I guess...she was mad because she wants me to be more responsible or something."

Jamie looked up at him curiously. "Responsible?"

"Yeah, you know...acting older and more mature. I guess she just has been needing that ever since dad left."

Jamie scrunched up his nose in disapproval. "She wants you to be like Dad?"

Jack couldn't help but snicker at his tone. "Well, maybe not like our dad. But like...a dad? Ish? I don't know, she wasn't very clear. She just said 'responsible.'"

Jamie frowned at the ground. "So, like you'd be doing a lot of work and stuff? I don't want that."

Jack hesitated. "Well, it's...not about what we want, it's about what we need, right?"

"I don't think we need that, either," Jamie insisted. "She probably meant something else."

Jack shrugged again. "Maybe." he grinned down at Jamie. "But, either way, we're not fighting, okay? Don't worry."

Jamie just stared back in concern.

Jack stood up and grinned, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Hey, don't be scared, okay? It's gonna be fine. And we came here to have fun, didn't we?"

Jamie smiled. "Yeah."

"Then what the heck are you sitting here moping around for? Come on, let's go trip Once-ler on the ice. That's always funny."

Jamie laughed out loud and followed his brother back onto the ice. Jack skated over to Once-ler and kicked his foot out from under him, causing the taller boy to yelp and fall backward while his long legs flailed into the air.

"What's wrong with you?!" Once-ler yelled. He reached up and grabbed Jack before he could get away, tugging his friend down and making him fall on the ice. Jamie just stood there laughing.

"You guys!" Norma called out in dismay, seeing her two friends horse around. "Stop that, you're gonna get us thrown out!"

The rest of the trip went by uneventfully, and Jamie seemed pretty cheered up for the most part. Jack was relieved that he'd gotten through that, but if he wanted to avoid more emotional confrontations, he'd have to patch things up with his mom quick…

Jack's three siblings raced ahead of him up to the house, while Jack himself lingered behind to say goodbye to his friends.

"Thanks for the trip," he told Rapunzel's parents, then he turned to Anna and Rapunzel. "Next time, we should go to the beach, okay? I wanna show off my bikini body."

"Eww," said Anna, while Rapunzel and her parents just laughed.

"Why don't you take us somewhere next time, Jack?" Rapunzel asked.

"I don't think I can fit you all in my car," Jack replied with a grin. "But hey, we can try, right? We can put Norma and Hiccup together in one seat because they're the smallest, and then one of you can sit on the glove box while we just kinda put Once-ler on top of everyone cause he can't fit in a seat…"

"Wow, that sounds like a disaster," Rapunzel's father said with a chuckle.

"Just like Jack," Anna added.

"Ow, that hurt me," Jack said, placing a hand on his heart. "You're not invited to our beach trip, Anna."

"Oh no! I won't be able to see your bikini body!"

"That's right, you're gonna miss out!" Jack laughed, turning to his house at last. "Alright, I'll see you guys, ok?"

"Bye Jack!"

Jack jogged up to his house while the others left. He opened the door and looked around for the rest of his family. "Hey, where'd you guys go?" he asked.

A couple of voices responded from upstairs, but Jack couldn't really hear what they were saying. He shrugged it off and headed up to his own room, wondering if he still had any homework that he hadn't finished yet.

Just as he was about to lay down on his bed, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Jack said.

The door opened slowly, and his mother slowly walked in, smiling slightly. "Hi sweetie."

Jack blinked up smiled back. "Hey, mom."

His mother closed the door and stood there for a moment, hesitating. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Sure."

His mother walked in and closed the door behind her before sitting next to Jack on his bed. She stared down at her hands for a moment, as if wondering how to start, and then looked up at her oldest son with a small smile. "So…" she began. "Jamie told me about what you said to him at the ice skating rink."

Jack turned a little red and looked at the floor. "He did? About all the...responsibility stuff?"

His mother nodded. "Yes, and about all the 'dad' stuff as well."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"...Is that what you thought I meant?" his mother asked hesitantly.

Jack shook his head. "No. I didn't actually think that. It's just kinda...what it sounded like. I don't know, it's stupid."

Under different circumstances, his mother might have laughed, but today she just nodded and stared at the floor. "Yes, I can see why it would seem that way…" she mumbled. Then she looked Jack in the eye. "Jack...I'm very sorry," she said. "I should never have yelled at you. Or at Sophie. I was just…"

Jack quickly put a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "You didn't mean it."

"No, I didn't. And I certainly didn't mean to make you feel like you...you weren't enough. Only the worst parents do something like that…"

"You're not a bad parent," Jack reassured her. "You're doing everything you can."

"And so are you," his mother continued. "You're a huge help to me, Jack-I never could have gotten this far without you."

Jack said nothing, only gave his mother another reassuring smile.

"And you know something?" the woman continued. "You don't need to change at all. I feel terrible for even making you think that. You don't need to change. You're an amazing son and a wonderful brother-your siblings adore you, you know that?"

Jack looked at the floor and blushed. "Really?"

"Of course! Jamie thinks of you as a hero, and the girls just can't get enough of you. They trust you more than they trust me, and do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're their brother, Jack, not their father. And you're doing an amazing job at it."

Jack continued looking at the floor. "I-I just want to help, you know?" he said pitifully. "I want to help you. I don't want you to be all stressed out."

His mother hesitated. "...we're in a difficult situation, Jack. We're going to get stressed out sometimes...and maybe we might say things that we regret, but…"

Jack smiled up at her. "But we just gotta stick together, right?"

"Exactly." His mother looked him in the eye. "And I'm really sorry, again. Forgive me?"

In response, Jack gave his mother a huge, tight hug. She hugged him back and gave him a small kiss on the head. "Love you, sweetheart," she told him.

"Love you too, mom."

They embraced for a moment longer, until they finally pulled apart and wiped away the few stray tears in their eyes. "So…" his mother began again. "How about some lunch?"

Jack immediately perked up. "Oh, good, I'm starving! All this heartfelt talking made me hungry! What are we having?"

His mother laughed. "How about pizza?"

"My favorite! Hey, Emma! Jamie! Sophie! What the heck are you guys doing?!"

"Playing!" Emma yelled from her room.

"Okay!" Jack replied. "I guess I'm gonna eat all the pizza, then! Woo-hoo!"

At this, Sophie's door flew open and the small girl stumbled out, wearing fairy wings for some reason. "Pizza!" she cried, running straight to the kitchen.

Jack snickered and followed his little sister downstairs, laughing a little when she almost fell. The smell of pizza soon greeted his nose, and he could tell right off the bat that this was gonna be one heck of a great day-just him, his mom, and his three ridiculously amazing little siblings.

It was great being a big brother.

Being a big brother sucked.

Here he was, missing out on an afternoon with his best friends just so he could pick up his little brother from school because Aunt Cass was busy doing something at the cafe, blah blah blah.

He loved Hiro and all, but maybe being an only child would have been easier.

Tadashi yawned and leaned against his car. Checking the watch on his phone, the young man rolled his eyes. Where the heck was Hiro? He should have been out here forever ago. Sighing in impatience, he texted his brother.

Where are you, you idiot? I'm waiting for you out front.

Hiro responded quickly: What? Why? Where's Aunt Cass?

She's busy, Tadashi responded. Now hurry up, I'm waiting.

Okay, just hang on a sec.

How long is "a sec?"

Just a minute.

Tadashi rolled his eyes and brought his cap down to shade his face. Knowing Hiro, he'd probably be out here for at least another ten minutes, so he may as well just was just about to fall asleep when-

"Tadashi!"

Tadashi jumped and put a hand on his car to steady himself. He turned to see who had called him and was surprised to see that one girl from the tour last weekend.

"Uh, hey…" he said with a smile. "Um, you're that girl from the tour, right…?"

"Anna," the girl reminded him, smiling widely.

"Yeah, Anna. Good to see you. How have you been?"

"I've been good. Guess what? I told all my friends about the tour and your robot, and now they all want to apply to your school."

Tadashi laughed. "Well, that's...that's great! Are you gonna apply too?"

"Maybe," Anna replied. She pointed behind her, where a young blond woman was getting out of her car and walking over. "My sister Elsa really wants me to go there." She turned to her sister and waved her over. "Elsa! I'm over here!"

Elsa grinned politely and walked over, at the same time that Hiro finally emerged from the school building. He froze at the sight of his brother talking to Anna, and was about to go back inside when Tadashi called him out.

Groaning, Hiro walked over to the conversation just as Elsa was joining is as well.

"This is my sister Elsa," Anna introduced, turning to her sister. "Elsa, these are the two guys I told you about,"

"Tadashi Hamada," Tadashi introduced himself coyly, holding out a hand to the pretty young woman. "Nice to meet you, Elsa."

Elsa chuckled and shook his hand. "It's very nice to meet you too." she turned to Hiro. "And you are…?"

Tadashi nudged his brother, who sighed and held his hand out to Elsa. "Hiro Hamada," he mumbled, causing Elsa to chuckle and shake his hand anyway.

Tadashi and Elsa hit it off pretty quickly and began to chat, much to the annoyance of Hiro. His brother had pushed him to come out here as quickly as possible, and now he was stopping to chat? He was even worse than Aunt Cass.

Anna giggled at Hiro's annoyance, then decided to just lean back and let Elsa finish her conversation. Maybe one of her own friends would show up and they could hang out until she had to go home.

Meanwhile, Jack and Once-ler had finally finished up their classes for the day and were eagerly headed out of the school.

"So, did you clear things up with your mom?" Once-ler asked as they opened the door.

"Yep!" Jack responded happily.

Once-ler laughed. "That's good to hear. And now I don't have to deal with your whole 'I gotta be responsible' crisis anymore, right?"

Once-ler was laughing, but Jack frowned at him. "Hey, come on, man! You have no idea what I was going through!" He stood up tall and got ready to make a speech. "You're the youngest in your family! You have no idea what it means to be the big sibling!"

Nearby, Tadashi and Elsa stopped talking to listen.

Jack continued, "It means being looked up to1 It means being a role model! It's means you've gotta be someone who can be fun and interesting but smart and mature at the same time! You've gotta make sure that your siblings can trust you and have fun with you and fight with you! Being a big sibling is important!"

Once-ler rolled his eyes. "Ok, geez. I'm sorry, calm down."

Elsa and Tadashi immediately started applauding, catching Jack's attention.

"Thank you," Tadashi called. "That was amazing."

Elsa just nodded in agreement, while Anna and Hiro stood in the back, embarrassed.

Jack grinned at this attention and took a deep bow. "Thank you, thank you," he said to the two older students. "It's good to know someone understands. Thank you, Elsa and...uh, you."

"Tadashi," the young man introduced himself.

"Tadashi," Jack repeated, shaking his hand. "That's a cool name. sounds like something out of an action movie."

"Thanks."

"Tadashi!" Hiro finally cried out, annoyed that his brother was stopping to talk to everyone. "Can we please go now?"

Tadashi looked at his brother crossly, then proceeded to walk back to his car. "Ok, fine, geez. See you later, Elsa, Anna, and...cool speech-making guy!"

"Bye!" called Jack.

"You're the cool speech-making guy now?" Once-ler asked.

"That's right? Are you jealous?"

As Tadashi and Hiro walked back to their car, Tadashi gave his younger brother a nudge. "Well, I'm pretty jealous," the young man teased. "You didn't tell me you had pretty friends like that. How come you didn't introduce me to them before?"

Hiro rolled his eyes. "They're not my friends. And besides…" he grinned up at his brother coyly. "What do you want more pretty friends for? I thought you already liked Honey Lemon."

Tadashi's smile immediately disappeared and he turned pink. "No I don't."

"Tadashi and Honey sitting in a tree," Hiro sing-songed. "K-I-S-S-I-agh!"

Tadashi interrupted his brother's song by grabbing his arm and dragging him to the car. "Get in the car," he grumbled.

Hiro laughed out loud. "Ow, stop that! Help, I'm being kidnapped!"

Tadashi's eyes widened as he loosened his grip on Hiro's arm. "Shut up, you idiot! You're gonna get me in trouble!"

Hiro stared up at him sweetly. "Awwww, sorry Dashi," he snickered. "Isn't that what she calls you?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

"Love you, Dashi."

Tadashi rolled his eyes with a chuckle as they finally got into the car. "I'm gonna kill you," he repeated with a laugh, driving off toward home.

Meanwhile, Jack and Once-ler had said goodbye to Elsa and Anna and were heading off on their own separate ways. "I've gotta get going," Jack declared. "Mom's going to a conference later about Emma's bullying trouble, and I wanna be there to pound the bully in the face."

Once-ler laughed and rolled his eyes. "Ah, the joys of being the big bro," he said.

"You said it, buddy. You said it."

That's all for this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one! 8D

This one was about Jack, but I'm pretty sure everyone's just gonna talk about Tadashi. XD Either way, hope you liked, and don't forget to review!