Hey! I'm finally back with chapter 13! I am so so so sorry for the long wait, but school really left no time for recreational writing. I'm on summer break now, so I should have a lot more time to write =) Due to the long wait I decided to save the third intermission chapter for a later date as I only had a vague idea on where that was going and instead begin the first major arc. I hope it was at least a little worth the wait. Again, posting this at some crazy hour of the morning so it's probably got quite a few errors, so just give me a heads up and I'll fix them. I own nothing but the plot and I hope you enjoy reading!
Hiccup attempted to block out the ruckus caused by his two squabbling friends, knowing at least one of the three needed a decent set of notes to prevent them all from failing the upcoming test. Merida and Jack were not morning people, but somehow found the energy to banter and bicker despite that it was only first block. Another source of noise, stemming from the general direction of what Hiccup knew to be the front of the school, grew exponentially louder as shrieks and shouts grew in volume and proximity. A shiver shot down his spine as a small boy fazed through the ceiling above his teacher's head. The boy paused and surveyed the classroom. His eyes were the color of coffee beans, his skin a shade or two darker. A brick-red beanie sat atop his ghostly head matching his oversized sweater and white shorts. Bare toes wiggled in excitement and he flew towards the ceiling lights.
"Freedom!" the boy shouted, each light bulb intensifying to a blinding brightness before they all shattered with a high-pitched snap.
Hiccup bolted from his desk as the room was plunged into darkness and the boy moved on to the next room. The freckled teen used the trickle of light provided by the two small windows to locate the door. Just as he reached for the handle, his teacher who had busied herself trying to calm the class noticed his attempted escape.
"Hiccup Haddock, what on Earth do you think you're doing? Return to your seat this instant!"
"Uh, um, uh, well I-I need to use the restro-room, uh, sorry, it's an e-emergency, bye," the brunette mumbled, yanking the door open and floundering into the hallway before she could stop him.
Forest green eyes glanced down to the right to see two more darkened classrooms. Hiccup took off, hoping to catch the ghost at the end of the hall, five classrooms down, where the boy would be forced to turn into the hallway to find the next strip of rooms. The freckled teen made it around the corner as the last room darkened and the little boy flew out, summersaulting in the air.
"H-Hey, you up there! W-With the beanie, stop!" Hiccup yelled, trying to grab the boy's attention.
At the word 'beanie' the boy paused, eyes trailing up and down the hallway till they came to a stop on the freckled teen, "You talking to me?"
Hiccup gave a sigh of relief, "Yeah, uh, could you come down here so I can talk with you?"
The boy gasped and swooped down, "You can see me? That's so cool! You're still alive though, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm definitely still living," Hiccup chuckled, no longer straining his neck, "So, uh, what exactly are you doing here?"
"What does it look like? I'm saving everyone from school!"
"Well, uh, you definitely accomplished your goal. It looks like you got half the school by now, so they'll have to dismiss us soon," the freckled teen rubbed his arm nervously after glancing back down the darkened hall.
"Yeah!" the boy shouted, pumping his fist, "Alright, now I'll get the rest!"
Hiccup held up his hands and waved them frantically, "Uh, wait, wait! You really don't need to get anymore. S-someone could get hurt, you know, if you use too much energy and break the plastic protector, which would rain shards of glass and plastic on people, so-so please, you've done more than eno-"
"Freckles!"
"Crap," the freckled teen whispered at the sound of Jack's voice.
Mr. Frost rounded the corner first, "Young man, what on Earth were you thinking?"
Both Hiccup and the ghost boy jumped, sharing guilty glances at one another before turning to meet those blazing blue eyes.
"Not you, Hiccup, you need to deal with Jack while I have a talk with this young man about the art of proper pranking!" he announced theatrically, gently leading the beanie boy to the wall just as his son rounded the corner.
The freckled teen turned to face his friend, an annoyed scowl strange on the usually playful visage, causing his stomach to twist anxiously, "Uh, h-hey Jack, what's up?"
Jack was caught completely off guard when the lights shattered above his head. He paused his argument with Merida and glanced upwards as the room burst into shrill screams and curses. Everything turned to chaos so quickly that he failed to notice his brunette friend's escape until the teacher yelled at him to stop. Then Hiccup, nerdy little straight-As Hiccup, ignored their teacher and bolted out the door. Merida grabbed Jack's hand from his stupefied state to pursue their freckled friend.
"Hiccup come back this – Merida, Jack, sit down! I have enough to deal with already without you two on the loose!" the frazzled woman shouted.
"We 'ave tah use the restroom too!" the red-head retorted, reaching for the doorknob.
Their teacher stormed over, "Not another step! Now get back to your seats while I call the office about Haddock."
"Don't call the office. They have more than enough to deal with. Just let us go get Hic and we'll be back, quick as a rabbit," Jack bartered, quickly moving his fingers in a walking motion to demonstrate his point.
The woman took a deep breath, glanced back at the rest of her boisterous class, and sighed, "Fine, but if you three aren't back in the next ten minutes, I'll see you all in detention. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," the whitette grinned, yanking open the door and backing out of it with Merida.
"Now, 'ere did tha' fishbone run off tah now?" the red-head demanded, blue orbs scanning the hall.
"You go that way, I'll go this way, meet you back here in five," Jack decided, pushing his friend towards the front of the school.
Merida gave him a play salute and an eye roll before jogging away, fiery curls bright even in the dim hallway. Jack took off in the opposite direction, wondering where his tiny friend had run off to and why. They never let their freckled friend roam the school without a chaperon, for fear of Dagur finding him. This chaotic blackout would be the perfect opportunity for the deranged psychopath to corner him.
Jack spotted a waving limb at the end of the hallway, peeking out from behind the bend, gesturing wildly, "Freckles!"
The whitette rounded the corner before the younger teen could respond. There he found Hiccup, green eyes wide and full of apprehension.
"Uh, h-hey Jack, what's up?" Hiccup asked, eyes dancing around to avoid his friend's stare.
A pale eyebrow rose, '"What's up?' Hic, what are you doing? Why'd you run off like that?"
"Oh, uh, that, well, you see, the thing is…um, I, uh, I was…I was looking for Toothless," the boy stuttered, left hand gripping his right arm nervously as green orbs flickered up to meet blue momentarily.
"Toothless?" Jack questioned, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Uh, yeah. You see, sometimes my dad doesn't close the door all the way when he heads off to work, so Toothless gets out and finds me. I, uh, I though I saw him out in the hall, uh, just before, you know, the lights went out."
"Mhmm?" the whitette responded, still skeptical but unable to think of any other reason his studious friend would be wandering the halls, "Where'd he go?"
Hiccup offered an awkward smile and shrugged his shoulders, "Well I wouldn't be standing here if I knew that."
Jack ran a hand through his hair with a huff, "Well, we could wander around here looking for the demon cat that wants to rip out my guts–"
"He doesn't– "
"Or, we could grab Mer and get back to class before all three of us are stuck in detention. Can't really say I care either way, so it's your call my fair freckled friend," he smirked at the younger boy and leaned nonchalantly against the wall, shivering from the random cold spot generated by the school's janky cooling system.
The brunette paled slightly, making his freckles more apparent as he tried to cover his unease with a nervous smile, "Eh, we-we should probably just head back to class. It was probably j-just my imagination anyway."
Blue eyes narrowed and a frown curved his lips for a fraction of a second before Jack composed himself and looped an arm around his friend, "We better get going then, you know how fast Princess can book it when she's got a goal in mind."
Hiccup stuttered some sort of acquiescence and allowed himself to be led back towards their classroom. The whitette dissembled his discomfort with a fake, easy smile that his friend would have seen right through had his green eyes not been flitting anxiously around the hallway, or perhaps, guiltily. Jack had known Hiccup long enough to determine that, had the freckled teen believed the furry little menace was inside the school, he would have scoured every nook and cranny of this school detention be damned. The brunette giving up so easily coupled with the nervous stammer and inability to meet his own eyes, just proved that Hiccup was lying. It hurt the whitette more than he wanted to admit. Sure Hiccup would snark and sass all day long, but never right out lie, at least not to one of his, at least in Jack's mind, best friends. What was the little brunette really doing and why did he feel the need to lie? What could have possibly caught his attention that he would–
The beep of the intercom caused the brunette to jump, jarring Jack from his turbulent thoughts, "Attention all teachers and students. Due to technical difficulties, school must end early today. All students are to wait at the front of the school until busses are available. This could take some time as the elementary and middle school must be tended to first. Those students who drive or walk to school are allowed to leave immediately. Teachers, please assemble at the main office after escorting your students to the front of the building. All extra-curricular activities are cancelled for today. Thank you for your cooperation."
The duo were given a few seconds pause during which Jack cursed and began to drag his friend towards the school entrance before a mass of students flooded the hallway. Jack and Hiccup were squished against the wall, the whitette shielding his smaller companion from the stampede. They made it to the front in record time.
Blue eyes flickered around nervously, seeing no sign of big, mean, and ugly or the red-headed wonder, before landing back on fidgety friend, "Do you think you'll be alright until Mer finds you? I need to go pick up Sunny from school. Who knows how long she's been waiting by now what with this freaky lighting and–"
"I'll be fine Jack, I'll just text Merida and go grab my bike," he spoke softly with his awkward but assuring crooked smile.
That helped calm and warm the whitette's heart as he gave the freckled goof a quick hug and hair ruffle, "Thanks Hic, I'll see you tomorrow at school or at my lake. Try not to get maimed in the meantime."
Forest green eyes rolled good-naturedly, "I'll do my best. See you around."
Jack grinned and sent one more smile over his shoulder as he dashed off, only to see Hiccup shut his phone and begin talking to someone next to him. This was weird, because the older teen was almost positive his friend knew no one in the general vicinity. Jack shook his head, instead being focusing on his task at hand. Hiccup would be fine on his own for a few minutes. It was Sunny and the rest of his munchkin crew that Jack needed to worry about.
Hiccup released the breath he was holding as Jack trotted away, sending Merida a quick text before turning back to the boy beside him, "Hey, um, sorry about that, uh – oh, I-I don't think I ever caught your name. I'm Hiccup."
The boy floated just above the crowd, eyes leaving the retreating form of Mr. Frost to focus on the freckled teen, "Nice nickname. I'm Caleb."
The elder boy chuckled awkwardly as he attempted to worm through the crowds towards his bike, "Nice to meet you Caleb and it's, uh, it's not a nickname…"
The boy paused in his flight, before bursting into a fit of laughter, "Really? Dude, what were your parents thinking?"
Green eyes rolled as he was shoved to and fro, "They weren't apparently. Uh, anyway, what were you talking about with Mr. Frost? Why didn't you go with him?"
"Oh, he just gave me some tips about the whole ghosty business or whatever and he told me to tag along with you, 'cause you can help me? I'm not so sure about that, but I figured I might as well before I head back home, since you seem kinda funny," the boy, Caleb, shrugged.
"Great," Hiccup grumbled as he was almost knocked over some boisterous peers, it was far more difficult maneuvering through crowds without Jack's assistance, "Let's just head to my house and I'll see what I can do? Does that sound alri–"
The freckled teen was cut off as he bumped into a solid structure and stumbled backwards. Before he could land flat on his rear, a much larger hand wrapped around his skinny wrist and pulled him to his feet. It didn't let go.
"Brother! I've finally found you," Dagur grinned maniacally, olive eyes scanning the premises, "Where are your annoying friends? The white-haired freak and the funny red-head?"
Hiccup gulped nervously, forcing the beating of his heart to slow, "H-h-hey Dagur, um, c-could you, you know, let me go. My dad, he uh, he wants me home r-right away and all so–"
He broke off with a squeak as the hand tightened painfully, "You know I hate liars Hiccup. I bet Stoick is still at work. How about you come over to my house to play? I could use some help sharpening my sword."
The freckled teen did not like this situation; he did not appreciate the sing-song lilt of the deranged teen's voice nor the crazed grin that split his face in half, "H-how about another time? I-I really need t-to get h-home and–ah!"
A bored frown crossed Dagur's face as the boy started rambling, so he cut it off with a sharp twist of the wrist, relishing in the noises he could elicit from the smaller male. Hiccup tried desperately to extract his arm from the vice-like hold with no success. A hysterical laugh filled the air, for Dagur found amusement in the freckled teen's pitiful struggling. He was just about to drag his prize off when something small and sharp connected with the back of his neck.
The male spun around, yanking the yelping brunette with him, olive eyes aflame in fury as they found a small pebble at his feet, "Who threw that?"
Not a soul responded, all students knowing to give the psycho a wide berth and never to make eye-contact. Another ping hit his hand, the one securing Hiccup, this time slightly larger than the last. The red-head turned again, never loosening his hold. The sharp motion caused Hiccup to trip over his prosthetic and fall to the ground. From his new vantage point, the brunette could see Caleb struggling with a fist-sized rock, floating above Dagur's head. This time both hands flew to the injured head. Hiccup scrambled to his feet and darted toward his bike. He was across the road before Dagur realized he was gone.
Obscenities were shouted across the parking-lot as the freckled teen made his escape with his invisible ally. Hiccup dumped his bike on the front lawn and entered his house on wobbly legs. He collapsed just inside, exhausted from his adrenaline-fueled flight, laughing in relief. He offered a grateful smile to the smug boy floating beside him.
"Thanks Caleb, I…I owe you one," he spoke between pants, trying to regain his breath.
The grinned wider, "I guess that means you're gonna help me out right? Pass over or whatever?"
Hiccup nodded, bangs swinging to obstruct his vision of the giddy boy, "Yeah, let's go to my room and get to work."
Caleb nodded eagerly, circling around the freckled teen in his excitement. Hiccup struggled to his feet and made for the stairs. As they were passing the living room, however, the sound of voices gave him pause. He back tracked, green eyes sweeping the small room for any sign of his father or guests. What he found was a black cat curled up on the couch around the remote control, still sleeping soundly. The television was on, the source of the voices, broadcasting the news. Hiccup had to assume it was Toothless's doing, as his father had not returned from work last night and his car was still missing from the driveway. Curiosity piqued, Hiccup made his way into the room.
A quaint house appeared on the screen accompanied by the newscaster's voice, "Authorities have yet to find any leads on yesterday's incident, where in the small town of Burgess, some stolen family heirlooms are the least of this family's woes. Young Caleb Gerulf was murdered yesterday sometime between 10 am and 1 pm in his own home during what police conclude was a robbery gone wrong. The family is devastated at this loss and–"
Hiccup shut off the television with a trembling hand, before looking back to his companion. Caleb suddenly seemed very small, arms folded around his middle as if in an attempt to hug himself.
"Oh, Caleb, I'm so sorry, I–" the freckled teen began, holding his arms out to embrace the child, but pulling back with the recollection that he was unable to.
"It's fine. I'm fine. I just–I need your help," the boy paused, coffee colored eyes lifting to meet forest green, "I know who killed me."
Thanks for reading! I haven't seen rotg in a while, so I'm not sure if Caleb is ooc or not, so please let me know if he is. Yeah, so even though I feel bad about killing Caleb off, but I'm really excited for this arc! Caleb may seem a little too detached from his own death but he's supposed to, I'll elaborate more on this later either in chapter or in authors note. So, any questions, comments, etc. just leave a comment or PM me and I'll do my best to get back with you =)
On that note I owe a huge apology to buslimpan for not answering your question that you asked back over two months ago. I'm really really sorry, I was just so excited by your suggestion that I glossed over your question. To answer it the pairings I have planned are eventual hijack and Rapunzel x Eugene (I think it's called New Dream?). There is also a one-sided pairing that's kinda spoiler-ish and won't come into play until a lot later in the story, but that's all I really thought of doing. There might be mentions of Guy x Eep, but I'm still not sure. If there's any pairings anyone wants to suggest, I might try them out, but no guarantees. I haven't really ever written romance before, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to portray them well. Yeah, New Dream is already a thing pre-the beginning of the story and the hijack will come slowly, I think. It hasn't crossed Hiccup's conscious thoughts yet, he's far to busy and still has far too low self-esteem for that and Jack hasn't thought of it yet, he's too busy caring for Sunny and the other orphans, plus work, plus school, plus trying to figure out a way to provide for him and Sunny once he reaches 18 and has to leave the orphanage. Yikes, this was probably way more info than you were looking for, but here you go. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!