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Disclaimer: I don't own HP, HTTYD, or ROTG
Chapter Twenty: Complications
Classes came back with a vengeance, as they always did, smacking down hard on the students whose minds were still filled with what had happened over break. Everyone was struggling; teachers and students alike looked like utter crap in the mornings, and all of them had to keep focused on the initial task at hand. Students had to constantly remind themselves to do their homework, and it was on those days that Jack and Hiccup would retreat silently to the Room of Requirement to relax and get their work done.
Two weeks passed by, with at least three explosions in Potions, many misaimed jinxes in Defense Against the Dark Arts, countless crystal goblets with rat tails, and about fifteen mispronounced Charms. And that was only in the classes that Hiccup and Jack were in. Who knew what disasters fell in the other classrooms?
Finally, after those terrible first weeks back, things started swinging back into the 'normalcy' side of the hectic scale. Walking to classes seemed like it was an instinct, rather than thinking about what class you had to go to next, doing homework was second-nature, and listening to lectures was actually starting to make sense. Well, at least to Hiccup, but he was a Ravenclaw; learning was a part of his diet, right?
Jack's P.O.V
Things were starting to feel right again. Classes went by in a breeze, and having Hiccup next to me wasn't bad either. Actually, it was great. We joked around and were just being ourselves, just like we were on break. I couldn't have asked for anything better. At night, Hiccup, Toothless and I would go flying, having races and playing around… I wanted to be up there more often, but what could you do? School is school.
Things all started to go downhill when Sammy walked into the picture again. Whenever she saw me, she would cling to me as if she were my clothes! I tried to make it a bit obvious that I wasn't really interested. Hell, I pry her off me every day and hide as much as possible, I even told her that I wasn't looking for a relationship, but that crazy woman just won't budge!
Hiccup laughs about it, and brushes it off to the side, but I know he gets uncomfortable whenever she's around.
"So, where's your girl, Frosty?" Hiccup said, walking out of Defense.
"Hopefully far away on a Caribbean cruise, falling in love with some hunk with a really good tan," I muttered. Hiccup laughed, looking away from me as he rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, the next time she walks over here I'm going to scream,"
"Better get your diaphragm warmed up then…" Hiccup replied, pointing down the hall.
"Shit!" I said. Sammy was walking our way. I grabbed Hiccup's arm, and darted down the hallway before she could come any closer.
"Jack!" Hiccup said, trying to get his arm out of my grasp. I didn't let go, though, and I just kept pulling him down the hall. We scrambled up a flight of stairs, and came across another corridor, one that wasn't in use. Hiccup wrenched his wrist away, and instantly grabbed for one of the doorknobs. It was locked.
"Fudge…" Hiccup said, hanging his head. I almost laughed at the sight, but it only lasted a second because he moved. Quickly, too. He kicked the door in with one kick. How the heck could a kid his size kick a door down on the first try?! Not many, I assure you! I stared at him. "Well, we haven't got all day!" He huffed, grabbing my hand, and pulling me inside.
"You know, there is a spell for that," I said, laughing.
"Sorry I panicked!" Hiccup said.
"Reparo…" I muttered, pointing my wand at the door. It repaired itself immediately. And then the lock clicked, locking us inside the small classroom. "Welp, we're stuck in here for a while," I proclaimed with a smile.
"We should probably get started on our homework then," Hiccup sighed. "Wait… can't we just unlock the door now?" He asked.
"Well, yeah," I said. "But I don't want to go out there with stalker Sammy,"
"Why not?" Hiccup scoffed.
"I'd rather be with you," I said, my expression softening. Hiccup blushed a bit, moving his way to one of the desks and pulling out his homework.
"Okay, then," Hiccup said, twirling a pencil in between his fingers before tackling the homework at hand.
…
I hate homework. I really do.
It's not just the initial 'mental-torture' part that gets to me, it's the 'you-can-be-doing-something-so-much-funner-than-this-with-Hiccup' part that makes me want to scream. And he's just so focused! It makes me wonder if he gets that intense gaze sometime else other than when he's thinking about an answer…
I jot down as many answers as I can, paraphrasing Hiccup if I'm really desperate. Stupid potions… who cares what a pinch of nightmare dust can do to a sweet-dream elixir? It just didn't make sense. But I wrote it down to my best of my abilities, which means I was going to get an F anyways. Pitch hates practically everyone.
Hiccup threw down his pencil, leaning back in his chair with a triumphant laugh. He ran his hands through his hair once, staring down at his work.
"Ha, finished!" He said, more to himself than anything else.
"Good, let me copy!" I said, snatching his paper away.
"Jack!" He screamed, getting up and leaning over me, trying to get his homework back. "No! Don't copy! You need to figure this out for yourself!"
"I did most of it! I only need, like, two answers! C'mon Freckles!" I argued, pouting a bit at the end. Hiccup huffed, sitting back in his chair.
"Fine, then we can get out of here…" he muttered.
"Oh, don't be so mopey…" I said, poking his nose before getting those few answers that I needed. "There! See, was that so terrible?" I asked, handing him back his paper. He snatched it back, and stuffed it in his backpack.
"Terrible," He said with a fake shudder. "C'mon, let's go,"
"Why the rush?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
"I just thought you would rather see your girlfriend…" Hiccup said, singing the last word as he walked to the door. Just the word itself sent chills up my spine, as if ten thousand bugs just ran up my legs and ventured around my body.
"She is not my girlfriend," I growled, shoving everything into my rucksack.
"Why not? You guys are perfect for each other!" Hiccup said, a bit of sarcasm and bitterness in his voice.
"We aren't perfect! She's creepy! I wouldn't like her in a million years!" I yelled, throwing my hands in the air as I shrugged my bag onto my shoulder.
"Why don't you like her?" Hiccup asked, genuinely curios this time. My hard expression softened, and I sighed.
"She's uh… not my type," I said. That wasn't technically a lie, right? She wasn't my type! She was a girl!
"Ah, the oldest excuse in the book, I see how it is…" Hiccup said, smiling wryly and nodding his head. "C'mon," He said.
"I'm not leaving this classroom," I said simply, crossing my arms. "She's going to find me, one way or another, and it'll all be bad. I'm not going." Hiccup glowered at me, those green eyes of his mere slits as they glared. Then he sighed, and rolled his eyes, hands on his hips.
"Do I really have to drag you out of here?" He asked simply, the amount of sass in his voice too much. I had to crack a smile.
"Drag me out, and I'll scream bloody murder," I replied.
"I'll take my chances," He said, lunging forward and taking my hand in his. My face bloomed with color. Darn his freckled cuteness… And then he started pulling me. "Come… on… ugh, why are you so-? OOF!" He said, putting so much effort in trying to pull me that he fell on the floor… pulling me along with him. We landed against the hard marble floor with an unforgiving smack! I was laughing.
"This proves that you should never try to force anyone to do anything, Hiccup," I said, putting my hands on either side of his body and lifting part of my body up. "It leaves you in bad situations."
"Jaaaaaaaack…" Hiccup whined, struggling under me. "Get up…. Now. Seriously dude, this isn't cool."
"Life isn't cool." I said. Hiccup put his hands on my shoulders, and with one hard push, he was out from under me, getting back onto his feet with about as much grace as a newborn giraffe or a woman with seven-inch heels. He huffed, and looked at me expectantly. I got up off the floor, dusted myself off, and looked at him with the same expression. "I'm not going out there,"
"If only I knew some invisibility spells…" Hiccup mumbled, biting his lip. "But we don't learn those until seventh year…"
Invisibility…
Oh. Duh. The bracelet Xavier gave me for Christmas could turn me invisible. I smacked myself on my forehead, a bit harder than I should have. I was so stupid.
"I could have been invisible this whole time and I didn't use it?!" I said, exasperated.
"What in the world are you talking about?" Hiccup asked, eyes wide.
"Xavier gave me this thing for Christmas…" I said, pulling up my sleeve to show off the simple white rubber bands strung together. "And when I snap it, I turn invisible. I could have been using it this whole time and avoided this whole thing altogether!"
"Well, use it!" Hiccup said, grasping my shoulders and shaking me slightly.
"Okay! Okay!" I said, stepping back. I grabbed the bracelet with two fingers, and pulled back slightly, the rubber bands taught. I let go, and the resounding snap! that came after was as loud as it possibly could have. It sounded like a gunshot. I looked at Hiccup, but he was no longer looking at me, he was looking somewhere about two feet away.
"That is absolutely amazing…" Hiccup said, stepping forward about two steps before stopping. "Wait…" He said, holding his hands out, palm-down, in front of him. "How am I supposed to know where you are?" He asked.
I laughed. Then I took his hand into mine.
"I'm right here," I said simply, "you just can't see me,"
"Okay, yeah sure. I'll just walk down the halls holding air in my hand," He said, rolling his eyes and holding up our hands.
"You just have to be difficult, don't you?" I scoffed, letting go of his hand slowly. I shifted around, so he was in front of me, and I put both my hands on his scrawny shoulders. "There, is that better?" I asked.
"Y-yeah, sure," Hiccup said shakily, his voice a little higher than normal. "Let's just uh… let's just get out of here." He said, walking forward and throwing the door open. He walked out of the room and shut the door. I blew on the back of his neck. "Quit it…" He muttered, squirming a bit.
"This was you're idea," I said matter of factually. I could practically see Hiccup roll his green eyes at me. My hands slipped down just a bit, and now they were resting on his back, almost as if I was pushing him forward.
"And I'm starting to realize that it was a bad one…" He mumbled, trying not to look like a crazy person, talking to someone who seemingly wasn't there. Maybe I had to give those people some props; maybe they had their own invisible people next to them, and it was only them that knew it?
"Aw, come on, Freckles, don't be such a downer…" I said. Okay, maybe it was more like a whine… shut up, okay?
"I really don't know why I even thought of this in the first place…"He muttered. I wrapped my arms around his chest, making him stiffen and stumble a bit.
"Because you're my friend, and you don't want me to die in the clutches of the evil Sammy," I replied simply.
"She is not evil," Hiccup refuted. "You're just… probably sending her the wrong signals or something,"
"That or she's incredible desperate, and or horny," I said. Hiccup snorted.
"I cannot believe you just said that," He said, laughing so hard he almost tripped.
"What can I say?" I said, shrugging a bit, which was really stupid because he couldn't see the gesture.
"Something other than 'horny,' I'm sure," Hiccup said.
It wasn't two seconds later that his hand was on top of him, right in the middle of his ribs. My cheeks flushed, but it didn't matter; he couldn't see me. I smiled, and placed my chin on top of his left shoulder. The moment ended when someone else entered the hall.
(If you guess right, you get ten points and a Scooby snack. Guess wrong, and I really question your guessing skills…)
Sammy ran down the hall toward Hiccup, her arms slightly outstretched, and her short raven-colored hair bouncing around her head. She stopped in front of Hiccup.
"Oh, thank goodness I found you!" She said. "Have you seen Jack anywhere? He might just be playing a really good game of hide-and-seek or something but…"
"No, I haven't seen him-!"Hiccup said, just as my arms slipped over his waist and pulled him closer to me, making him stumble back. He tossed an irritated look over his shoulder before turning back to Sammy. "But, Sammy… I don't think he likes you… that way, you know?" He said, running a hand through his hair nervously and making wild hand gestures afterward. Sammy's eyes filled with hurt before she blinked rapidly, as if she was coming out of a daze.
"Of course he likes me," She said confidently, tucking her hair behind her ear for a split second. "But I understand where you're coming from. Next time, keep your opinions to yourself please. Thanks! Bye Hiccup!" It was amazing, how she said that with no venom in her voice whatsoever. But she ran passed Hiccup, looking everywhere for… well, me.
"Thanks Hiccup," I mumbled. "You're a lifesaver,"
"You're going to have to tell her yourself though," Hiccup sighed, walking again. "You saw how she brushed me off. She's only going to listen if it comes from you,"
"I know, but…" I said, at a loss for words. I let go of him, and snapped my bracelet, becoming visible again with a faint pop! "I don't want to kill her soul, you know?" Hiccup just rolled his eyes, stepped towards me, and patted me on the cheek twice. It was more like a very soft slap.
"Sometimes, you just got to put yourself out there," Hiccup said, a small smile on his lips. He finally stepped away, his eyes glinting with something that I couldn't explain. Maybe it was just sunlight. "I'm going to go see Toothless. See you at dinner?" He said.
"Definitely," I said, a smile spreading across my face.
Xavier's P.O.V
"Lauren!" I called, weaving through the mass of people in the halls, trying to get to her. She couldn't hear me over all the chatter. I sighed exasperatedly, and pushed my way through the people in front of me. "Cows…" I muttered. They gasped a little, and I sniggered. That's what they get for walking so damn slow when I have somewhere to go!
I jogged over to Lauren and put my hand on her shoulder. She jumped, instantly brushing my hand off and turning around.
"What the-?" She exclaimed. "Oh, hi Xavier."
"Finally!" I said. "I've only been calling you for about ten minutes!"
"Oh, quit exaggerating," Lauren said, brushing her hair out of her eyes and tucking it nervously behind her ear. "So… what's up?" She asked, hugging the book she had in her hand close to her body. I smiled. She was always reading something.
"How are you?" I asked. She rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips.
"I'm okay, you?" She answered and asked at the same time.
"Okay," I said.
"Tell me you had something else to ask other than that," Lauren said, laughing at me.
"Oh, yeah, of course," I said. "I was wondering what Plan B was going to be,"
"Well…" She said dragging it out. "You need to help me, like, a lot."
"Why? What's up?" I asked, curious.
"I was thinking…" Lauren said. "A Valentine's Day thing?" She asked, basically awaiting my response as she cringed slightly. My face fell. The girl who came up with a Christmas Ball, for crying out loud, couldn't think of anything better than a Valentine's Day plan?!
"That's way too cheesy," I said, touching my forehead lightly. "Why did you need why they liked each other then?" I asked, the thought coming to mind. She smiled at me.
"Valentine's Day cards, of course," Lauren said, a new bounce in her step. "We make cards that are supposedly from each other, but don't sign it… but make it obvious, you know?"
"Then why do you need me?" I asked.
"I need that touch of masculinity in the cards," She said with a wry smile. My eyes widened.
"No… nonononono absolutely not! No! I am not helping you make confetti mushy-gushy Valentine's Day cards!" I exclaimed.
"Please!" Lauren pleaded, grabbing my arm and shaking it slightly. "Oh, come on, it needs to be realistic and you're my only hope when it comes to this!" I was staying strong, so far so good… "Oh, please Xavier? I'll love you forever! I'll give you a kiss! Anything! Please just help me here!" I raised my eyebrow.
"Anything?" I asked, my tone of voice suggesting something… Lauren instantly let go of my arm and smack it.
"Ack, not anything, you asshole," She scoffed. "Just… please?" Lauren looked so defeated, as if I ran over her dog and said 'well, it shouldn't have been in my way!' So, naturally…
"Fine," I said, sighing slightly. "But I want that kiss you promised," She laughed at me.
Then I didn't expect her to do what she did.
She grabbed my face softly, and kissed me, right smack dab in the middle of the hallway.
Jack's P.O.V
I was in my room, flying around slowly with my staff, making lazy circles around the room as I thought. I twisted and I turned, checking out new positions and moves that I haven't tried. My landings were sort of shit, so I practiced that for a little while. I glanced at the clock. A smile spread to my lips, uncontrollable and unadulterated. Dinner. And Hiccup. Seriously, I couldn't decide which one sounded better right now.
I hurriedly propped my staff up against my bed and rushed out my room, glad that I changed into some comfortable clothes (i.e. jeans, sweatshirt, and no shoes) earlier on. Skipping the last three stairs, I landed on the ground with a light thud! and rushed off to the common room exit. I have to admit, there was a little spring in my step, and I think I was humming to a song I barely remembered…
Until Sammy called me.
"Jack?" She asked behind me, soft thumps as she came down the stairs. I froze. "Jack! Hey!" Sammy said, the note of happiness in her voice unmistakable. She flounced over to me, and instantly gave me a hug, wrapping her arms around my neck. I knew what she wanted me to do: she wanted me to wrap my arms around her waist.
Nope. Nuh, uh, never gonna happen. That action was specifically reserved for Hiccup. Instead, I reached up slowly, and pried her arms off my neck. Her smile faltered a tad, but it was right back up again.
"Want to go grab dinner?" She asked, looking up at me.
"Well, I was going to meet up with someone…" I said, rubbing at the back of my neck uncomfortably. How did you put someone down gently? That was the most important thing for me to know right now, and I cursed myself for not knowing.
"We can still walk over there together, then… right?" She said, hope gleaming in her eyes.
I hate hope. I hate not being able to turn people down. I hate the kindness that I try to shun from my personality.
"Umm… yeah, sure I guess." I said. She squealed, like a dolphin just trying to say hi.
"Okay, let's go!" She said, grabbing me by my arm and pulling me out of the common room.
Like, gee thanks. I can walk by myself, you know? Freaking crap, man. I need this girl off of me. All I could think about was how much I hated this. It felt so wrong. But I plastered a smile on my face as I pretended to listen to whatever Sammy was chatting about. But on the inside, my insides were boiling. There was this unnatural heat that radiated from my stomach and spread to everything. I'm pretty sure my jaw was set, and that if anyone else glanced at me, that I would probably have a demented smile on my face rather than a happy one.
And then we were at the Great Hall. Thank the Lord. I plucked her arm off mine.
"Well, that was a nice walk," I said, cutting her off from whatever she was saying. "So, I'll see you later, and well, bye." I said, refusing to look at her face. It probably looked like I just told her that she had an ugly mug and bad teeth. I cringed a bit, but turned around and walked away anyway.
Hiccup was nowhere to be found, but I didn't worry about it; he was probably with Toothless still, losing track of time. I fingered the white bracelet on my wrist a bit nervously, but got over it quickly. He'll be here.
Lauren and Xavier were talking quietly as I walked up to them. They faced each other as they talked, Lauren moving her hands wildly as if she was telling him the details of this amazing plan that she had. I sat down opposite me, and they stopped chatting immediately, sitting forward and plastering smiles on their faces.
"What's… going on?" I asked, smiling at them wryly. They shared a look with one another, as if to say 'that was a close one.' I brushed it off.
"Nothing," Lauren said as she started picking at the food that appeared in front of us.
"Alright then," I said, grabbing a chicken leg and eating it, not even bothering to use my plate. "Hey, have you guys seen Hiccup anywhere?" He should be here by now.
Why did I need to see him all of a sudden? It was like I could barely breathe, as if a gigantic sumo wrestler was sitting on my chest. Realization hit me in the face. It wasn't the fact that I missed him (which I did, and it didn't make sense because I was with him all day today), it was the fact that I needed him. I felt wrong, walking with Sammy over here. I needed him to make me feel like everything was right again. The mouthful of chicken in my mouth instantly turned to tasting like sawdust, and I forced myself to swallow.
"Well, of course you would care," Xavier said, his smile and eyes all knowing. I glared at him a bit.
"Oh, shut up, Xavier," Lauren said, pushing his shoulder lightly as she took a bite of the lemon meringue pie that she served herself. "I got you're back, Jack," She said.
"Oh, wow, that rhymed. You're cool," I said sarcastically, forcing myself to eat again. Freaking shit, why was this so difficult?
"Ha, ha, whoops. Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Lauren said, laughing a little as she said it. I smiled weakly as I reached over and took a sip from the simple golden cup that was in front of me. The water inside of it tasted metallic. Or was that me? Did I bite my tongue or something?
"Jack…" Xavier said. I looked at him. "Are you… okay?" He asked, eyes filled with concern. I sighed, setting the cup down harder than I really needed to, the water splashing inside it and almost spilling out. I put one hand on my head, my fingers venturing into my hair as I tugged at it.
"No, things are not fucking okay," I muttered, hating how the people closest to me could read me like a book. Lauren leaned over the table, resting her hand on my shoulder lightly.
"You know you can tell us, right?" She said softly. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine, but things get better when you talk about it."
"Yeah, thanks," I said, dismissing it. "Sammy's getting on my nerves. It's like she can't take a hint."
"Some people think that hints are mere coincidences," Xavier said, smiling at Lauren as if they knew something I didn't.
"You might just have to tell her that you don't like her like that straight-out," Lauren said, sitting back. "She's going to get it then,"
"Yeah," I said, looking over my shoulder at Sammy, who was talking to her friends across the Hall. "I'll tell her after dinner," I said resigned.
…
"Go get 'em, tiger," Xavier said, hitting my back with a hard thump! I brushed him off and rolled my eyes. No one was in the Great Hall, and Hiccup still wasn't here. I forced myself to not miss him all that much, but it was like trying to suppress a dam from breaking.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up…" I muttered. Then I walked up to Sammy, her raven hair in her face slightly as she traced patterns onto the table top. "Uh, hey, Sammy, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked. She looked at me, a smile lighting up her whole face. This had to be difficult, didn't it?
"Yeah!" She said. "Sure, of course!" Sammy stood up and stood in front of me. "What's up?" She asked. I sighed.
Now or never.
"Look, I know that you like me and everything but, to be honest, I…. I don't really…" I was cut off.
Cut off by two lips pressed greedily onto mine, hands clutching my face, a body trying to get as close to me as possible.
And I almost threw up right in Sammy's mouth.
I heard a faint, shaky gasp, and I broke away from Sammy's kiss with a sound similar to a suction cup breaking away from a window, looking around. My eyes found their way to the Great Hall entrance, and I couldn't help myself from smiling. Hiccup was standing there.
But something was wrong. His face was horrified, and even from here I could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. There was something about his stance, how he held himself, that suggested that he was… broken almost.
I was about to say hi, when he let out a strangled sob, turned on his heel, covered his face with his hands slightly, and sprinted down the hall. Something told me to follow him, but I had some unfinished business to attend to.
I turned back to Sammy.
"I don't like you, got it?" I said. "You're a good girl and all that, but I just don't like you the way you like me." There were tears in her eyes as her hand connected with my face.
"I hate you," She said weakly. I knew her heart was broken. She turned around and stomped away, trying to preserve her dignity. I sighed, and clutched at my cheek. Could've been worse. I walked back to Lauren and Xavier.
"What are you doing?" Xavier demanded, a heated expression on his face.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, defending myself.
"Go after him!" Lauren demanded, pushing my shoulder roughly toward the gigantic doors. "Go!" She said. I looked at her as if she was crazy.
"What are you talking about?" I said, a bit louder and took the time to pronunciate every word. Lauren looked as though she was going to slap me too. Xavier looked livid.
"Hiccup!" Lauren said. "Go after Hiccup! He was fucking crying okay?"
"Why would he be crying?" I asked, voicing aloud my question. Lauren clicked her tongue at me, rolling her eyes and biting her lip. She looked at Xavier, almost asking for his permission or something, before she actually looked back at me and opened her mouth.
"HE LIKES YOU, GODDAMMIT!" She yelled as quietly as she could, but it didn't matter anymore; there was no one else in the Great Hall. "HE LIKES YOU A WHOLE FUCKING LOT, AND HE JUST SAW YOU KISSING SAMMY! GO FUCKING DO SOMETHING!"
"Why…. What… how… WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?" I burst out saying. Things would have been better that way, but no. If only they told me…!
"It doesn't matter at the moment, okay?" Xavier said, placing a hand on my chest and pushing me back. It was then that I noticed that I rounded on Lauren, getting in her face. "It doesn't fucking matter,"
My heart banged in my chest for a couple seconds, and that was the only thing I felt, heard, or thought about. But then a new thought burst into my head.
Hiccup.
I was out of the Great Hall in less than a second. I needed to find him. I needed to tell him that I didn't like Sammy.
Hell, fuck it all. I needed to tell him I was in love with him.
Hiccup's P.O.V
I didn't expect to see what I did. And my heart shattered.
Call it what you will: cheesiness, overreaction, drama, unnecessary, but I know one thing, and one thing only, and it was that I could only feel two emotions. One of them was anger; why would he try to get away from her so hard if all he was going to do was end up kissing her? Why did he make me help him? Why was I stupid enough to try? The second one was pain; the boy that I had a crush on was kissing a girl for everyone to see. Pain and hurt washed over me, overfilling my soul like a tsunami, almost drowning me as I struggle against its powerful waves.
The most powerful of these two was the pain, and I wish it wasn't. I wish that I had enough anger inside of me to walk over to him, and punch him in the jaw for everything he did to me.
Everything he did to me? The nicer part of my brain asked. Yes, everything he did to me. He made me fall in love with him, using his charm and good looks. He became friends with me by pretending that he cared. He got underneath my skin, drug the story of my mother's death from the deep recesses of my mind, got me to trust him…
He made me actually believe that I even had a chance.
And that hurt more than anything. Hope is a good thing to have. Too much of it will only come and stab you in the back.
Tears flowed through my eyes as I thought of one thing. I needed to get away. And what better escape was the skies? I was sprinting as fast as I could to my common room, crashing into people blindly and not apologizing, stumbling over my feet as I tried to see from the watery windows I called eyes at the moment.
At the Ravenclaw Tower stairs, I was breathing harshly and my tears were falling without the possibility of stopping. I didn't stop running as I bounded up the stairs, using the momentum to shoot my way up two or three steps at a time. And then there was still the door to get through…
"What came first: the ability to love, or the ability to forgive?" The bronze eagle knocker squawked at me. My blood boiled.
"Neither," I replied softly, my voice hoarse from crying, "because we cannot forgive without love, and we cannot love if we haven't forgive."
"Thoughtful," the eagle said, the door swinging open. I hurled myself inside, pushing past some homework-doers as I ran to the boy's dormitories stairs. I took them two at a time, and I heard people muttering about what exactly "my problem" was. I ignored it, and ran into my room.
I wrenched my door open, and saw Toothless on my bed. He looked up at me, eyes and ears alert. He saw my distressed image, and he was by my feet in an instant, eye contact never broken. I couldn't breathe right.
Pulling out my wand, I muttered a spell, the spell that would change Toothless. He grew right in front of my eyes, becoming a huge dragon in seconds flat. He cooed at me. I stepped completely inside the room, shut the door, and then completely collapsed onto Toothless, hugging his broad neck as if my life depended on it. Toothless moved his head, nudging mine slightly, and the movement was filled with concern…and a question: "What can I do to help?"
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing any unshed tears out of my tear ducts. And then I got to work. Hauling out Toothless' flight gear from my trunk, I slipped it on the large dragon in record time. Toothless shimmied through the small window the room possessed (well, small for him) and clung to the side of the window while I threw on my fur vest, covering up my olive-green tee shirt. I huffed, stuffing my wand securely in my boot, and then I walked to the window.
Toothless let go of the building the same moment I clambered out of the window. We both fell through the sky freely until I was close enough to latch myself to him and flick my ankle, guiding us away from the ground below us. The wind didn't feel good this time. The satisfaction of the feeling was still there, but it reminded me of Jack, and the wind fueled my anger as it would a flame.
Green, acidic eyes regarded me, a deep sound coming from Toothless' throat. I met his eyes, and petted the top of his head reassuringly.
"I'm alright bud," I murmured. Toothless rolled his eyes and made a weird roaring sound, as if he was contradicting what I just said. I chuckled a bit, even my dragon knew what was wrong with me. "Let's go, Toothless," I said, sinking low into a flight stance, and I was right to. Once I said that, Toothless picked up speed, shooting through the sky like a bullet. The wind brought sudden tears to my eyes, but what was new? I was already crying.
Toothless pounced lightly to the earth, landing in the Cove. We haven't been in this place since Jack and I almost kissed the first time. A new pang suddenly tangible in my chest, I hopped off Toothless with ease. He walked toward me, nudging me with his head with such force that I almost fell over. Then his eyes met mine again, two different shades of green colliding. And suddenly, there were tears in my eyes again.
I tried to catch my breath, but all I did was catch myself in the middle of an anxiety attack, hyperventilating harshly as I stumbled and fell on my ass. I pulled my knees up to my chest and my hands tugged at my hair so hard, I was surprised my hand didn't come back with clumps of hair in them.
"Fuck… fuck him…" I said, or rather, managed to say. "H-he goes around, playing these games and making me think that I could…" My forehead smacked against my kneecaps, the pain not registering. Probably because the internal pain was much, much worse. My voice died, and all I could do was sob.
I felt Toothless nudge my side, and I looked up, his face right in mine. His eyes were wide and kind, filled with understanding and compassion. I sucked in a few shaky lungful's of air.
"I shouldn't have been so stupid, bud," I said quietly, resting my left cheek on my right knee. "I wish I could go back in time and make sure I never met him."
Toothless gave me a look that clearly said: "you don't really mean that." And he was right. Of course I didn't mean it, but it felt like a good solution to all my problems. If he never tumbled into my compartment on the Hogwarts Express, this whole thing would have never happened!
But did I want all this to not happen?
I pushed the thought away as I was pulled under the waves of self-pity and anger once more.
Soon, I had no tears to cry, and the sky was streaked orange, pink, and red, the moon already peeking out from the other side of the sky. I must have been out here for an hour now. Toothless slipped towards me, putting his large head on my shoulder, and the gesture brought a surprising sense of comfort. I clutched at Toothless' neck, the hard scales that covered his body were warm under my fingers. The large dragon cooed at me. I relaxed, my breathing resembling some kind of normalcy again.
And then that coo that was coming from Toothless turned into a deathly growl. I looked up. And anger washed through me.
Because, right in front of me was Jack Frost, tumbling to the floor and getting to his feet swiftly. My hands clenched into fists as I detached myself from Toothless. The amount of venom in my voice startled even me, but it matched the anger that was bubbling in my chest.
"Get the fuck away from me,"
Jack's P.O.V
Adrenaline fueled my limbs as I ran through the halls. People looked at me as if I was crazy, but I didn't care. I needed to find Hiccup.
"Have you seen Hiccup?" I asked anyone frantically. "Did you see where he went?" The answers were the same.
"Why do you care, anyway?"
"I didn't see the dork,"
"Dude, are you okay?"
I was furious. I almost gave up on asking all together, but I still did. My heart was basically beating out of my chest. I checked everywhere, screaming at the top of my lungs for him. I needed to find him! I didn't mean for all of this shit to happen!
A girl with dark brown hair walked down the corridor past me. What stood out, though, was the Ravenclaw scarf around her neck. I back-tracked, and stood in front of her.
"Yes…?" She asked expectantly, eyebrows raised.
"Have… have you seen Hiccup?" I asked. She stared blankly at me. "Hiccup. He's about this tall, with green eyes and reddish hair and a dorky smile… have you seen him? He's in your House."
"Oh, him. Fishbone, right?" She said. My blood boiled but I ignored the comment for now. "Yeah, he crashed through our common room about an hour ago, crying like a baby. Why do you need to know?" She asked.
"None of your business." I said bluntly. "Could you get me in there?" I asked. Her eyes went wide.
"That's against the rules. You could be expelled for that," She stated.
"I don't care!" I yelled, making her flinch. "I'm… I'm sorry. This is really important. Please… please help me get in there…"
"As long as I'm not the one getting in trouble…" She said with a sigh.
"Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up…"
We raced up the Ravenclaw stairs, and the girl skidded to a halt at the top of the staircase. The bronze eagle knocker shone impressively.
"What came first: the ability to love, or the ability to forgive?" It said, opening its beak.
"You cannot have one without the other, so neither," The girl answered quickly. The eagle nodded, and the door swung open. She grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. "You have got three minutes." She said.
"That's all I need," I said. I pulled away from her grip and ran up the boy's stairs. I raced down the hallway and stopped at his door. It was shut. I knocked cautiously. There was no answer. I opened the door, surprised it wasn't locked. I walked in slowly.
The room was bare. Hiccup's trunk was wide open. I looked in, and Toothless' flight gear was missing. My heart sunk down to my toes. A chill swept through me, and I looked to the window. It was open, the blue curtains billowing slightly because of the wind that was coming through.
"No…" I gasped. He was out. He was flying. He could be anywhere by now. In the woods, perched on the Astronomy Tower, anywhere. I tore out of his room and flew down the stairs. The girl as still standing by the door. She looked at me expectantly.
"Thank you so much!" I managed to breath out. And I was off. And there was one place in my mind that I desperately needed to get to.
I needed to get to my room. I needed my staff. I needed to fly out there and look for him.
…
I crashed into my common room, breathing heavily. A figure stood by the couch.
"Jack?" It said. It was Xavier. I brushed him off and darted to our room. "Where are you going?" He asked, following me up the stairs. In our room I went to my bed, and picked up my staff, which was propped up next to my bedframe. I threw the window open.
"What are you doing?" Xavier asked, a tone of panic in his voice. I looked at him.
"Finding Hiccup," I replied. Then I leaped out the window, gliding on the wind.
"Jack!" He said, probably rushing to the window. "Oh my god!" He exclaimed.
I didn't care. I didn't look back. I flew across the sky with the help of my staff, scanning everywhere for a black dragon or a small frame.
There was nothing. I was the only thing in the sky. And the sun was setting, fast too. I needed to find him. I had to.
"HICCUP!" I yelled in the air, but I knew he wouldn't respond even if he did here me.
Where could he have gone?
It hit me like a ton of bricks, making me stop in mid-air and fall for about ten feet.
The Cove. It was the only place. It had to be.
I was there in an instant.
I was so glad I was right. Toothless was sitting on the ground, a small figure clutching at his chest. And then he growled at me as I landed, doing a sloppy summersault and getting to my feet quickly.
Hiccup stood up, his hands clenched into fists, his usually-kind green eyes hard. And then he spoke.
"Get the fuck away from me," He said, the amount of venom in his voice made me flinch, stepping back a bit as I held my hands up.
"Please, Hiccup, just let me explain…" I pleaded.
"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say!" Hiccup yelled at me, his body shaking with rage.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Hiccup…" I stuttered.
"Don't tell me that you're sorry. I don't want to hear it," Hiccup spat. His eyes were fixed in a solid glare, right at me. And I was scared of him. He looked like he could tear me to shreds in that very moment. I'm pretty sure he wants to, too.
"No… No, you have to hear it. Because what happened back there, what you saw… it was nothing, Hiccup. Nothing," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
"How can you tell me it was nothing?" Hiccup asked, taking a step forward. I instantly backed away, but he kept advancing on me. "I've had it with you, and your shit, and everything else that comes with it. I'm through. I'm through with you, and your lies, and your stupid little games that you play." He poked my chest hard as he spoke.
"This isn't a game!" I exclaimed. "This was never a game," I looked into his eyes as I said it, and I couldn't see him, I couldn't see Freckles. All I saw was hatred, and rage. And hurt. "Hiccup, I never meant to hurt you like that…"
"Then why'd you do it?" He demanded. "Why'd you kiss her?"
"I didn't kiss her! She attacked me!" I responded. Hiccup glared at me for a second, and then he turned away from me.
"Get the fuck away from me," He stated, walking away. My eyes drifted to Toothless, who was still growling at me slightly. I raised my hands at the dragon, asking a question with the gesture.
"He is hurt beyond belief," Toothless responded, "and you are the one that has hurt him. I warned you that if you hurt him, that you would be my next meal. But now, I think I'll just cause you bodily harm until you wish I had eaten you."
"I can't get away from you," I said, looking back at Hiccup. He turned around slowly, his hands clutching at his sides.
"Why not?" He asked heatedly.
"Because I know the truth," I said, walking toward him. It was his turn to shy away from me.
"There's no truth to know," Hiccup said. "You need to leave. Now. I'm through with you."
"No," I said. I pulled him into a hug, and he put up a fight trying to get away from me. I hugged him tighter, forcing him to accept it. But he didn't stop thrashing around.
"Get off of me!" Hiccup said, working his hands up and shoving at my chest, breaking the hug. "I hate you! Just get away from me!"
"No…" I said. "No you don't hate me. You never have... Lauren told me."
"No… she didn't." Hiccup gasped. "She promised that she…" He stopped himself from saying anything further. Then he pulled on his mask again, hiding his true emotion. "I don't care what she told you. I'm still pissed. Why don't you go back to Sammy and forget that I'm even here?"
"She hates me now," I said gently. "I told her that I didn't like her that way, and she slapped me and walked away."
"Well, she beat me to it…" Hiccup muttered, more to himself than anything.
"But Sammy doesn't matter to me, Hiccup," I said.
"And why not?" He asked.
"Because…" I started to say, but the words got stuck half-way out of my throat. Hiccup looked at me expectantly. I took a deep breath. "Because I like you, Hiccup." His mouth popped open in a little 'o' his eyes wide. Toothless cooed in the background.
"So maybe I won't hurt you after all," Toothless said. I kept the small laugh that bubbled in my chest to myself.
"You… y-you do?" Hiccup asked, a faint blush flooding his freckled cheeks, making him look even more adorable in the sunset's light.
"I've liked you… for a while actually," I said, looking at the floor. "I never really said anything because I didn't know you all that well, and I didn't want to freak you out…"
Fingers tilted my chin up, making me look into bright green eyes, no longer filled with anger or pain, instead filled with happiness. A smile came onto my lips, and before I knew it…
Hiccup stood slightly on his tip-toes and our lips met, no hesitation, no interruption. The fingers that were under my chin slid slowly to my cheek, pulling me closer to him. My hands found his waist, and I pulled him even closer. He was hot, and it was addicting. Our lips molded together, moving in sync. I could stay like this forever. This was bliss. This was what a kiss should be. This is what I wanted from my Freckles since day one. This was everything I could have hoped for.
And then my lungs burned, starved for oxygen like a dying flame. I moved away, just about a millimeter away, still feeling Hiccup's hot breath on my lips. I gasped for air like a fish out of water, a smile bursting across my face out of nowhere, a light laugh escaping my mouth. Hiccup was laughing too.
"That was unexpected," I said, unable to help it. Hiccup's eyes had an undefinable twinkle to them, his smile one of the goofiest and purest ones that I've ever seen on his face.
"Well, I had to do something to stop you from saying a heart-felt confession that would have made me cry," Hiccup said, wrapping his arms around my neck and hugging me. I encircled his waist without hesitation, pulling him ever closer. I heard Hiccup sigh happily. "Jack?" He said suddenly.
"Hm?" I asked back.
"What does this make us?" Freckles asked quietly.
"I can't answer that without sounding really cheesy…" I said cautiously, a smile crawling across my face again (psssssssh, like it ever left in the first place). Hiccup leaned back, not entirely breaking the hug, but definitely killing the closeness of it. His arms were still around my neck as he regarded me.
"I need to know," He said, chuckling slightly. "I need to know that this isn't some type of warped and twisted dream…"
I couldn't take it anymore. Five years of this, and I finally had him. I leaned in and swiftly captured his lips with mine again. Hiccup complied eagerly, no protests there. Good, I didn't think there would be.
We stayed like that for a while, lips dancing gracefully until, once again, the need for air won out again. Hiccup pulled away, and rested his forehead against mine. Our eyes locked for a moment.
"Together," I said suddenly. His green eyes filled with confusion as he mouthed the word that just came out of my mouth. "This makes us together." A wider smile spread across his face slowly.
"Are you saying…?"
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, will you be my boyfriend?" I asked breathlessly, cheeks flushed and eyes hopeful. Hiccup bit his bottom lip, his head nodding uncontrollably. He placed a kiss on my cheek, rather, on the corner of my mouth, and hugged me tightly, almost suffocating the hell out of me.
"Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!" He was saying over and over and over again. I just laughed, and spun him in a circle. He let go of me, probably realizing how hard he was hugging me. I let go of him, and locked eyes on the black dragon behind my boyfriend. (IT FELT SO DAMN GOOD TO THINK IT!) I walked over to him steadily, feeling Hiccup's eyes watching me carefully. I sank down on one knee, my fingertips brushing the ground.
"I am officially asking your permission to date your rider," I said, looking into the acid-green eyes. "Please, Toothless?" I pleaded. It seemed like the proper thing to do. The look in those eyes were dead serious.
"ABOUT TIME!" A voice sounded in my head. Toothless roared, and jumped on top of me. And then he licked my face as slowly as he could, drawing the action out for as long as he possibly could.
"Ah… haaaaa…" I said. "I'll… take this as a yes then?" I said, wiping dragon saliva out of my eyes.
"Of course it is, simpleton," Toothless chatted away, his hard exterior melting right in front of me. "I've been waiting for this to happen the day I met you. And obviously this day has come. My offer still stands though: hurt him you die, but I know now that you would do no such thing." I just laughed at the now very talkative dragon. My hands prodded at his face.
"Is there an off-button on you?" I asked, laughing.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked, smiling widely.
"I just asked your keeper if it was alright to date you," I replied, matching his smile. "I got a yes, and now he's talking so much…"
"And now you know how I feel!" Hiccup said, plopping down on the floor next to me, sitting Indian-style.
"Oh, don't get started on the insults now!" I countered.
"And what if I am?" Hiccup challenged.
"…you know I can kiss-attack you now, right?" I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. Hiccup just raised his eyebrows at me.
"Kiss-attack?" He asked, laughing.
"Yeah, like sneak-attack, but this is like, a bajillion times better," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Somehow, I wouldn't mind it," Hiccup said, leaning back on his hands and letting out a content sigh. "We've got to be getting back," he said drearily. "We have class tomorrow,"
"So, what's the uh… plan, I guess?" I asked, standing up and grabbing his hand to help him up as well.
"Plan? What plan?" He asked.
"You know… plan." I said. "Is this…" I said gesturing at our linked hands, "going to be a secret or…?" Hiccup blushed, and couldn't look me in the eye.
"I… I don't feel… ready, I guess? For everyone to know about this yet…" Hiccup said uneasily. "I hope you aren't offended or something…" He glanced up at me, and I just smiled at him.
"I'm a little scared too," I mumbled to him. I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, short and sweet, just to let him know that I cared. "But we're going to have a little fun instead, right?" I asked. Hiccup laughed, and pushed me away, hopping on Toothless' back.
"That sounded seriously wrong," He said, laughing his head off. I found my staff and took off when Toothless did.
"Not my fault you're dirty minded," I muttered. He just shot me a look.
"Not my fault you said it," Hiccup quipped back. I smiled at him again.
He was my boyfriend. He knows that I like him. And that was the only thing that mattered in this moment.
That just happened. you all better be happy... *hides in the corner*
This was a pain in the butt to write, but I redeemed myself, right?
Leave a review, tell me what ya think! Love you all!
-HB