Pairing: JackxHiccup

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: NC-17/T

Warning: not beta-read

All characters belong to Cressida Cowell, William Joyce and DreamWorks Studios. May contain some OOCness.

Joule's second law – the internal energy – U – of a given mass of an ideal gas is independent of its volume and pressure, depending only on its temperature – T.

The second he heard the words leaving Jack's lips, he became as rigid as a steel beam.

"What?" Hiccup murmured, not really believing that the taller teen actually would do that.

But when Jack started moving, the auburn haired boy knew his friend was speaking the truth and he… didn't need any more encouragement.

Hiccup turned on his heels and simply started running down the stairs. Was even running on stairs allowed? Running near pools was definitely out of the question, but stairs? Hiccup wasn't sure. Once or twice he unfortunately almost slipped, but his hands caught the rail quickly and steadied himself up.

Jack, of course, was on Hiccup's tail – being an athlete and all that (not counting two working legs), so he simply couldn't be too far away.

"Let me love you!" He yelled, maybe two meters away from Hiccup's ear.

"Fuck off!" Was Hiccup's response decorated with a… grin? No, this couldn't be true. It was childish, dangerous even to run like crazy in a shopping mall.

It looked like Jack also liked the response, because he laughed heartily, but too close for Hiccup's comfort, which resulted in him fastening up the pace.

He was so glad that they only passed some old lady, who only shot them a very surprised glance, maybe even yelled at them, but the sound got lost in the wheezing air around Hiccup's ear and his loud beating heart. He didn't remember the last time he had ran so fast down the stairs or ran in general. Maybe it would be more honest to say he didn't remember running down the stairs at all in his life. But somehow feeling the presence of his friend at the back of his heels was giving him the power to move forward and play this game a little bit more.

It was really amusing – feeling the sudden rush of adrenaline moving fast in his veins and containing the laughter trying to escape his lips.

Hiccup failed the last task as he chuckled under his nose when he was passing another corner and jumping on a step with Jack following not soon after. They had only one floor left.

He was almost out of breath after finishing the first floor of stairs, but now he was panting heavily in the rhythm of the buzzing blood in his ears. The happiness bubbled, grew inside his stomach, like a balloon, inches away from blowing up.

"Here's Johnny!"

"That's even worse, Jack!"

But the boy behind him only laughed.

Hiccup landed on the first floor with a loud huff and his legs buckling beneath him. For a second or two he was afraid he would fall down, but somehow he was able to overcome it. It seriously had to be magic, because scientifically he should just slump down and die from exhaustion.

Jack landed two seconds later.

"Now you won't outrun me on the straight road."

Hiccup knew from the very beginning that he would lose this race. He was more surprised that he was able to run so long without being captured by the mighty enemy (or maybe Jack was just giving him a head start). However he refused to give up without a fight, so Hiccup started running once again.

Yet Jack was right. In five seconds he felt something wrapping around his chest and lifting him up from the floor.

"I got ya!"

Hiccup yelped, not very manly, feeling he got disconnected from the ground and now was levitating in Jack's arms.

"See I told you I would catch you." The white haired teen was panting a little though.

Hiccup was more out of breath than Jack, but it wasn't surprising at all. Jack was a member in school's football team, not Hiccup.

"I…" One shallow breath. "I never…" Another. His heart was jumping wildly in his crushed by Jack ribcage. "I never doubted it."

"Good."

Jack slowly put him down from the awkward position. Hiccup was glad, because he felt hot and dizzy due to the sudden exhaustion. Well, he had to admit that this hug wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It lasted maybe for five seconds and it was enough for him.

When Jack's hands unwrapped him, Hiccup sighed with relieve, feeling the droplets of sweat running down the side of his face. In the blink of an eye it was over.

He turned around.

"So what do you want to…"

But it wasn't over. Hiccup didn't even finish his sentence when he felt that warmness around his body once again. It was like a fire - small glimmer of a lit match inside his stomach. Jack's hand wrapped him in an embrace, not tight, not overly hot, not too intimate, but very honest and sincere.

They were both out of breath. Hiccup even heard the white haired teen exhaling and inhaling maybe not fast, but quicker than normal near his ear. Jack's hands rested on his back, not really pushing him too much into the hug.

Hiccup didn't know that he could ever have so understanding hug in his life. It wasn't the too tight Astrid's hug, it wasn't the loosened up, barely pat from Fishlegs and Snotlout or weird imitation of hug from the twins. It was a simple embrace, not pushy, but yet it had everything that hug required.

And it almost felt… nice, as surprising as it sounded. It was still hot, yet Hiccup didn't feel like he was boiling in his clothes. Maybe it was a degree or two too warm, but it was overheated in a good way – similar to this feeling when you are wrapped in a blanket when there is snow outside. They weren't crushed together, but still stood close with both minimum and maximum of contact in the same time.

If someone could get a Master Degree in hugs, then Jack could definitely get it.

However Hiccup, of course, stood there awkwardly, with his arms hanging limp near his body – a rag doll crushed in the clamp. He heard a sound of someone moving downstairs. It was probably the lady from the stairs, but he couldn't really move his head to confirm his suspicions.

He felt good and bad both in the same time. Good because – wow – for the first time he felt this something people called a magic/healing properties of hugs. And bad, because he wasn't doing a single thing in term of reciprocating it. Should he move his hands and put them around Jack? Should he lean more? He didn't know what to do. He felt helpless.

But before he was able to do anything, Jack moved away with his palms maneuvering to Hiccup's shoulders.

"Was it so bad that it was worth running away?" He asked with grin glued to his face.

"It was definitely the worst." Hiccup said, even though it wasn't the full truth. His mouth twitched and he hoped Jack caught the real meaning.

"You know you're a bad liar."

He gladly did.

"Says who." He quickly shot back. It wasn't Hiccup who was lying so blatantly in the school's bathroom few weeks ago, quite badly if Hiccup could add. But it saved him from definitely some problems, so he decided not to mention it right now.

"We're both bad at lying, okay?" Jack moved away, finally freeing Hiccup from their prison – ekhm! – hug.

What was even more bizarre, was the fact that he almost missed it. It left some nice, buzzing and warm feeling inside of him, like warming up engine. Jack really had to be some kind of wizard, or magician, or had some amazing gift of being able to give hugs like that.

"No, you're worse." Hiccup turned on his heels and stomped forward, implying to finally go out. He didn't want to end this afternoon right now, but it was a little bit to dizzy inside the building, especially after their running escapade, so the not exactly fresh, probably highly polluted air, filled with carbon dioxide was actually a nice change.

Jack caught up to him with a loud huffing sound following him:

"Do you always have to have the last word?" He asked.

Jack might or might not have guessed right.

Hiccup only smiled suspiciously, trying to seem mysterious, which only resulted in Jack pinching his cheek in response. Ugh, rude!

This seriously looked like a real date, even though they both knew it wasn't. But Jack had fun, so it didn't really matter. Not to mention Hiccup also looked like he was enjoying himself. so Jack could pat himself on the back.

If he knew this would be so nice then maybe he would think about doing it earlier and not now.

After exiting the Burgess Plaza, Jack asked Hiccup whether he wanted to go already home or not. Hiccup replied that he wasn't in a hurry to return home. Point on Jack's side.

The sky hanging above them was gray. It looked like the chances of rain pouring on them were getting higher and higher with every passing minute, yet they both ordered themselves coffees to go and started to roam around the city, without higher purpose.

At first they didn't talk much. It looked like they always needed some time to find some topic to talk about. Conversations via their phones were a little bit different. They always had some topic to talk on their cellphones. But messages and real life were two different things. So Jack at first started the topic of games. He knew already that Hiccup was bad at playing, what the boy emphasized one more time, and Jack reminded him of the deal. Hiccup only sighed and asked him about few titles from which he had only watched let's plays. From games they moved to books. They talked a little about classic fantasy titles they both had read. Jack even proposed Hiccup one trilogy to read. It wasn't the best, but pretty enjoyable. Hiccup said that he would look further into it, what Jack took as a another victory.

They weren't talking about anything personal, yet Jack felt closer to Hiccup than ever before. They somehow circled around almost half of the town and returned to the small suburbs.

"I can't really figure you out, Hic…" Jack finally mumbled into his cup. The coffee was almost gone. Shame. He even took the biggest one they had.

"What exactly can't you figure out?" Hiccup wasn't looking at him, but at the ground where he was kicking a small rock.

"You say that you're more a sci-fi guy, but you damn have good knowledge in fantasy books and games…"

Hiccup hummed and then took a sip of his coffee. Plain cafe latte, which he didn't sugar. Jack took a mental note of that for future references and uses.

"I don't know if my knowledge is that good. And half of it about fantasy worlds are from Fishlegs. He is a nerd-maniac about it… You would find many common topics with him." The sentence was underlined with a small smile and a glance to the side.

Some car passed them, lightening their bodies for brief second, but they were swallowed by the darkness quickly after the vehicle disappeared from their sight. The street lamps were quite far away from each other, not giving them that much light either, but nor Jack nor Hiccup really minded. They both knew those streets well.

Their friends often wanted to go to clubs, pizzerias, play games, hang around loud and livid places. Jack actually loved it – especially the energy flowing from so many people surrounding him. He felt better when he was encircled by a crowd (not too dense, not too small, just perfect). Aster and Tooth were totally different matter. With them Jack didn't have to be around people to feel good. However they rarely went for a walk (only when they had a serious matter to talk about).

It wasn't a new experience for Jack, but he started to feel similar to a young foal, just learning to walk on a rocky ground - at first making shaky steps, but then you're getting the hang of it and you're starting to like it.

It was quite calming. Or maybe it was because Hiccup was with him? Jack couldn't pinpoint the real reason. It was kind of bugging him, but not really that hard that he couldn't brush it away as something not very important.

He felt at ease and this was what really mattered. No restrictions, no barriers, no problems to care about. They were there, however he was able to forget about them. Magic. Even Hiccup couldn't probably scientifically explain it, but Jack was almost sure he would try by blaming it on some weird chemical compound in brain or something like that.

"Fishlegs…" Jack vaguely remembered big, but not very tall boy at their school who moved somewhere not so long ago.

"You probably saw him in our school, before he moved away. But he is going to stay at my house for a little bit during Christmas' holidays." Hiccup said.

Jack felt some kind of longing tone dripping from his voice. Hiccup told him that he and Fishlegs were talking almost every day on Skype, but this wasn't the same as meeting face to face.

Just like them talking via messages. It was great, but Jack preferred to see Hiccup's face in reality.

Wait… that sounded weird. But if he wanted to see Hiccup's face to spend time with him then it was perfectly fine, right? Alarm off! No need to panic! Was there even a reason to panic in the first place? Nah, probably not. Jack's brain was overthinking it. Or overworking like an engine – how Hiccup would say.

"Cool. By the way, are you doing anything specific during holidays?" Jack took the lid and looked inside the cup. It was empty. Shame. He kind of could drink another one.

"What? Are you planning more surprises which aren't surprising?"

Ugh, rude!

"No, but at least I tried!" Jack scoffed. He got used already to those not nice remarks. It was just a part of who the small teen was – a sarcastic butt.

"I know you did. No, I don't have anything planned."

"Maybe we should hang out somewhere? You and me… Aster, Tooth, Astrid, Aster Fishlegs… maybe even Snotlout and twins… and of course Aster…" Half of it was just to tease Hiccup.

And of course the boy groaned loudly. But the light from the street lamp showed Jack the perfect perspective of Hiccup's pink cheeks. It will never stop be amusing to him

"You mentioned him like… three times." Hiccup muttered, rolling the cup in his hand. Another trash can wasn't closer than one hundred meters away.

"I know. Did it pick your curiosity?" Jack wiggled his eyebrows.

Hiccup pushed him away, looking to the other side with a small grin.

"Stop it, you dork! And it did. But…" Then he cleared his throat, one hand moved to the back of his head, where it played with brown lock. Hiccup rarely did it. Jack was used to him playing with his fringe, not the hair on the back. Uh… why was he noticing it in the first place? "I would be interested even, if Aster didn't come, so yeah. I ask the rest what they are thinking about it."

That was… really nice of him.

"Cool." Jack nodded.

They walked those one hundred meters and Hiccup was able to throw away his cup.

They talked a little bit more about movies which were supposed to come out next year. Jack preferred cartoons and animated movies over normal movies, but he had to agree there could be some interesting titles.

Then he had to listen to Hiccup's fifteen minutes' monologue about how pissed he was at some of the film adaptations of his favourite books. Like seriously, he was talking for fifteen minutes straight at how angry he was that some movies changed the ending and the characters' traits.

Jack never heard Hiccup talk without someone interrupting for so long. Not to mention, he was fluttering and flashing his hands everywhere, like a new-born sparrow trying to learn to fly. Jack knew Hiccup was expressing himself with hands a lot, but it was pretty ridiculous, amusing… and cute.

When Hiccup finally finished, his cheeks were ablaze and he was out of breath.

"Ya done?" Jack asked, even though he listened to the full lecture.

Hiccup huffed and brushed his fringe away. The world around was embraced by the darkness of the late hour , but now the dense, gray clouds blocked even the moon, threating to pour the cold rain on them very soon. Once or twice Jack heard a rumble in the background, not far away. The wind picked up and even he had to zip a little his jacket. The beautiful Winter was just around the corner.

"For now I am."

"Good, because I started to feel sorry for some of the movies." It was nice for a change – to be the listener in the conversation. "Did you really have to slate them so much?"

Hiccup bit his lip.

"I-I'm sorry… I got too excited… and… you know… sorry." His eyes wandered one more time to the ground.

Jack didn't like the fact that Hiccup was apologizing for showing some parts of himself.

"Don't worry, to be honest it was pretty interesting!" Jack quickly said, maybe too loud for the smaller teen's comfort, judging by Hiccup's sudden twitch, but he wanted to be heard. "Really." Jack hid his hands inside his pockets. "It is the first time I've heard you talk for so long about something you like."

"Just shut me up next time…"

"Hey, who said I didn't like it?" Jack nudged Hiccup's arm, maybe too hard, because the smaller boy swayed significantly to the side and almost fell into bushes. Jack had to catch his jacket and hoist him up quickly to prevent the small crash from happening.

The auburn haired teen glared at him. He pushed his glasses higher.

"You just insinuated it." He mumbled, barely parting his lips.

"No, I didn't. Don't read between lines, smartass!" Jack put his hand on his chest. "I'm a simple man with a simple mind!" He added with a sigh.

Hiccup chuckled. The ominous look fully disappeared from his face.

"You're much more than a simple man with a simple mind, Jack"

It was a plain statement, but it felt like so much more. Just in what world Hiccup was living where he could say things like that with a straight face and then blush when someone just mentioned Aster near him?

And it was now Jack turn to become flustered. It wasn't this blush where your cheeks burn and you are as red as a red weed. This was the blush when your cheeks lit a little and there are pink hues all over your skin. Almost impossible to see, especially in the darkness surrounding them.

So Jack was almost one hundred percent sure Hiccup wasn't able to see it. Gladly.

"Well, I don't really know how to answer that other than… thanks."

There was a sudden clench inside his chest – a faraway thunder and a spark of lighting in the distance. Jack didn't know if he was happy or terrified that Hiccup was thinking like that.

"You're welcome." The auburn haired teen said.

For another few meters they didn't talk, only walked next to each other in comfortable silence.

Jack stared at the sky, interwoven by a faint electricity running through the clouds. The loud grumbles resonated in the air. The storm was definitely coming. It was probably around the corner, waiting for them to be far away from some shelter to struck them down.

And Jack… didn't really mind. But what about Hiccup? He didn't look like a type to splash around in puddles and dance under the rainy shower dripping from the sky.

"Uh oh." The boy next to him mumbled.

Jack glanced down.

"What 'uh oh'?"

"Aren't there your teammates?" Hiccup's finger pointed at something in the distance.

Jack had to squint his eyes to see, but he recognized the wild hair of his team Captain. There were four people, however Jack couldn't see whether he knew the rest. Most likely yes.

"Should we turn back or…?" Jack's palm moved to the back of his head.

Hiccup blinked as he lifted his head to stare at his friend. They were walking a little bit slower now.

"Maybe they won't notice?" Hiccup said and flinched when they actually heard the Captain calling Jack from the distance.

The famous white hair, recognizable everywhere.

When he looked to the front, the boy was waving his hand at them both. So no luck, there was no turning back now.

Jack sighed. He didn't mind this sudden meeting, as he loved to chat with his friends. The problem was that Hiccup was with him – not the fact that Jack was spending time with him, but the whole school kind of still though they were together and Jack didn't really want this evening to turn uncomfortable for his companion. But hey, Hiccup had lived through the first time they had held hands, so now shouldn't be so bad either.

Jack wondered for how long they would have to keep the play up. Till the end of the year? But then which year? This one? The school year – so till Jack would graduate? The teen was glad he didn't have his eyes on anyone, because it would be hella problematic right now. But unfortunately Hiccup did.

Was it troubling him – pretending to be with Jack while crushing after Aster?

Jack nudged Hiccup's arm and slipped his hand smoothly into the smaller teen's palm. Hiccup's hand twitched at the contact, but didn't move away.

What was Hiccup feeling when he had to fake-date someone, while his crush was just next to him, watching it all? The only good thing was the fact that Aster knew they weren't really together, but… something just seemed suddenly very wrong. Maybe not even suddenly…

They were technically lying and Jack hated it. He couldn't hide behind structures like 'not telling the full truth' or 'you got it wrong, buddy'. They had lied and were still lying – simple as that – and the guilt was eating him from the inside. Yet it all was for the higher purpose for both of them. If Heather didn't act like that, if Dagur wasn't so aggressive, if life was easier…

Jack wanted to reveal the truth one day. Because – let's not beat around the bush - the heavy burden was there, inside of him, no matter how many times he would tell the reasons behind it.

Jack was glad he didn't lie to his family. He wouldn't live with that.

Hiccup suddenly tightened his grip on Jack's palm.

"Everything's okay?" He asked in shushed tone, leaning to him a little. The hot air tickled Jack's ear.

"Umm yeah, I think so." Should he talk about it with Hiccup? Probably, they were both drowning by now in this. "I was just thinking that one day… I want to reveal the truth…" They were still far away, not to mention they slowed their pace down, so there was some time to talk. "Not because I'm am ashamed of fake or not dating you, but because…" His throat was dry. Must be the cold air.

Hiccup glanced at him few times, munching on his bottom lip. They moved two meters before he finally spoke.

"You feel guilty… right?" Hiccup proposed, looking at him from between his too long fringe.

Jack nodded in response, not trusting his brain right now. Also, he kind of wanted to hear Hiccup's way of approaching this problem.

What would Jack do if Hiccup didn't agree to revealing it? He couldn't do it behind his back. That would be impossible for him.

"Me too…" The auburn haired teen exhaled loudly and Jack sensed something heavy evaporating from his body. "I hate lying… Even though some of my friends know the truth and I don't really care what the rest of school thinks… there are still some people who deserve knowing the truth. I don't want for them to find out from some outside source, I want to tell them in person and explain it all." His chest rose and fell down rapidly. "Not right now, but one day…"

It was now Jack's turn to hug Hiccup's palm reassuringly.

"We're thinking the same." Jack declared with the relief washing through his veins.

"I'm glad then." Hiccup's palm reciprocated the movement.

And suddenly Jack felt closer to Hiccup than ever before. Just like that - the problem maybe was there from the very beginning, but it took him to man up and say it out loud for it to be solved in few minutes. Perhaps not fully solved – but a first step was made. And he was glad Hiccup had the same approach as him.

Jack swayed their intertwined hands. Hiccup's skin was a little rough, like it was under the blazing sun for far too long and the skin dried off. The cause could be the dry wind or the talc from the disposable gloves (Hiccup had told him that he had to wear them on their additional laboratories). But somehow it fitted him perfectly.

They were also cold. Jack wasn't sure if they were like that on account of the weather or the stress. He hoped it was be the first option.

"You think you can handle it?" Jack asked, unsurely. He rocked their hands like a swing, forward and back, up and down.

"What? Meeting your friends or this?" Hiccup stopped their palms in mid-swing and shook it a little to show his point.

Jack wanted to say that he was probably asking about both, but probably about the latter more, however Hiccup sent him a smile and maybe… maybe it was just only his imagination, yet it felt like the smaller teen was grinning more often lately. Not to mention these smiles weren't as forced as the ones he had used when they had first talked with each other. Those ones were edgy, constricted, forced. They had held a note of fear. But now they were free, similar to birds – opening their wings to take a first free flight and after feeling the sweet, sweet air, high above the ground, they decided to do it more often and often. Jack liked that, it suited Hiccup.

"I'm not made from glass, Jack." He said. "I know I don't like people touching me, but it's not that bad. Don't act like I will push you away over something like that."

And yeah, Jack was kind of afraid of being too pushy.

"So this means that I can hug you more often?"

"Don't press your luck with that one." Hiccup responded immediately, not missing a single beat. Almost like he knew Jack would say exactly that.

But it was still a step forward. Small, almost invisible one, but it was there.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman." Hiccup snorted under his nose, when Jack had offered Hiccup to walk him home, even though they were already one street away from his house. Better late than ever.

It was pretty late – 10 pm actually. The world around was flooded with darkness and sleepy atmosphere. The suburb wasn't exactly one of the most vivid parts of Burgess. Teenagers preferred to sit in the heart of the city, where the night was only a name and the fun never ends. Hiccup wasn't that kind of guy. But he could imagine Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout having the times of their lives in some club after few glasses of beer.

Hiccup preferred leisurely walks around the town with friends.

This afternoon was nice. He couldn't remember the last time he had done something like that… he wasn't sure if he ever had evening like this one. If having Jack for a friend was equivalent to those afternoons, then Hiccup was glad that the teen saved him in that bathroom.

They stopped in front of the auburn haired boy's door… or more like five meters away from it. The light in the living room was dimmed due to curtain blocking it, but Hiccup could see the turned on TV. But was his father up or not?

"So this is the end." Jack finally said. The wind carried his voice, which sounded weirdly quiet and almost… sad. No, this couldn't be true.

"Yeah…" Wowser, so lame. Hiccup took his sweet time to correct his glasses, looking everywhere else, but at him, suddenly feeling the tension on his shoulders.

Jack did all of that for him – the cinema, the coffee, the conversations, the laughs, the walk. Hiccup didn't know whether he deserved it, so he wanted to thank him somehow, but couldn't find the proper words… or the courage to do so.

"I had fun." Jack simply summarized it all, like it was one of the plainest law in the whole universe.

Hiccup looked up and saw Jack smiling back at him bashfully. If one smile could have magical properties, then definitely Jack's one had the ability to crush every barriers put between people.

"Me too." Hiccup responded truthfully.

"I wanted to finish this evening with a hug, but I guess I pushed my luck earlier, right?"

How could someone be so innocent?

"Quite frankly, Mister." Hiccup confirmed Jack's hypothesis.

"Ah damn, then we will do it next time."

Next time – he said it so naturally, so freely, so simple, without problems, and yet so surely, certainty and unhesitatingly. Almost like a promise. Did Jack really have fun with him? But Hiccup was so dull, so blank, so faint in comparison to Jack's radiating presence. Jack was like a noble gas in an electric field – radiant, bright, colorful, full of passion, astonishing. And Hiccup was… everything, but that.

"Next time." Hiccup's voice was quiet, half-hearted. He couldn't muster this kind of optimism from himself, even though he really wanted to.

Hold it!! – did he just agree to a hug from Jack?

Jack's palm landed on his hair, which he tousled. Hiccup yelped when his head was quickly moved from side to side with his glasses moving further and further down with every shake. He heard more than actually saw Jack snicker.

When he stopped his harassing, Hiccup was quite dizzy and couldn't focus properly on Jack's face.

"Don't frown so much, it doesn't suit you."

"I… I'll keep that in mind, just… don't do it."

"I'm not promising anything."

And with that Jack turned on his heel and started to walk away, looking back from time to time and waving his hands, when he found Hiccup doing the same too.

Back at his house, in a very happy mood, Jack pushed his hand inside the pocket in search for keys, when he felt something thin and edgy brushing his finger. Blinking, he grasped all the things he had in his pocket and took them out. He moved under the lamp hanging above the front door to see what exactly he had there. House keys, button from his shirt, clip, receipt and… few bills. He gaped at them for few seconds straight, trying to grasp the idea what were they doing there. He knew that before going out he didn't have any money inside his pockets, only in his wallet… so this meant…

He quickly recalled how much he had given Hiccup to buy them tickets, then he remembered that the boy hadn't even given him back a change.

Only he did – a full one.

Jack quickly took out his phone and opened Hiccup's messages window.

You sly small nerd =3=

Hiccup replied a minute later, when Jack was taking off his shoes.

C: Took you long enough.

The Christmas' spirit was everywhere in the air surrounding the school. And just like every previous year, the bright decorations appeared in the halls without a warning. One day they weren't there and the next the whole building was filled with ribbons, chains and Santa's pictures glued to every window. The Art Club wasn't slacking.

But the actual holiday was a week and a half away, yet the leisurely atmosphere planted in the school was putting everyone at ease, even teachers, for what Jack was really grateful. They only had one test which was stopping students from fully enjoying the mood, but gladly it wasn't from Math.

Even though Professor Black didn't look like a man who enjoys Christmas (Aster believed that the man was spending his holiday planning and writing tests from Hell for them, laughing ominously while doing so), it seemed like the spirit even got to him. Or maybe he was just too pissed to care about anything than a joyful bell, which someone hung above the door to his classroom, ringing loudly every time someone stepped inside.

No one dared to say anything when Professor Black looked with furious eyes at the irritating instrument, after some person walked late to the class, but everyone saw how his palm tightened the grip on the ruler he was currently holding. How it still didn't crack was a mystery.

The only thing this week missed was definitely snow, but forecast was speculating that Burgess wouldn't see the white pappus earlier than the next week. It wasn't too weird. Usually the snow started very near Christmas and lasted almost till March.

This week was very, very uneventful. Or maybe, by starting to fake-date Hiccup, Jack expected for something to happen almost every week? It felt like by saving the auburn haired boy, they had started to skid on an icy road, swirling around, trying to regain their wheeling, but now they more over were able to move smoothly. Maybe that's why nothing was happening.

He talked almost every day with Hiccup through messages and then they even moved to Skype on a Tuesday very late evening. Hiccup was just pissed, because he had to pick his phone up every two minutes and told him that Skype was more comfortable for him. On the corridors they were making small chats, usually in their group and Jack had to say… he was starting to really like it. Before it was also nice, but now sometimes he was only anticipating it – to meet again and talk.

The weekend was just around the corner. It was Thursday afternoon and Jack was putting his things back in the locker. Aster and Tooth were already waiting for him at the parking lot.

The school building was deserted. His phone vibrated once – Bunny was probably very mad at him for being so late, but he knew Jack was rarely sticking tightly to time schedule.

Content with himself, he threw his bag on his arm, closed the locker, zipped his jacket and moved to the back door, where the parking lot was just within a hand's reach. He whistled a song which was lately on in his house – some new carol that apparently appealed to North. Jack liked it too, only Emma was groaning whenever she was passing the kitchen and the radio was blasting it on the loudest volume.

Coming to this, the Overlands' household was already fully decorated for the upcoming holidays. North even had taken one day off to put Christmas' lights and chains on gutters. Jack could only help him during evenings, but the results were astonishing as always. It was North's favourite event of the year!

Jack was just few steps away from the door, when he heard a rustling noise - the one a jacket makes while moving. At first he expected some pair to make out in the corner, gripping each other tightly and passionately, but then the sound was followed by a small sob. That kind of sob which just slip past your lips without you noticing it – a tiny mistake.

Jack immediately stopped in his tracks. He evened out his breath and listened for the sound to appear one more time. But he waited around thirty seconds and nothing came. Only when he was about to open the door, he heard it once again.

'Your good heart will someday get you in trouble' North always said, but with a very sad smile on his lips. Jack every time chuckled at that and brushed it off. Kind heart never put him in too much trouble. Because if you wanted to help, it was always supposed to come out okay… right?

The sound was coming from the stairs on his right, only directed to the upper floor. Jack slowly put foot on the first step and peeked outside the railing to see if someone was maybe sitting there, but he saw no one. He decided to move few steps higher. He wouldn't forgive himself for leaving this person to fend for themselves.

His steps echoed in the empty corridor, almost like all the previous giddy atmosphere left this place to rot and disappear under the merciless time. One blink, one sound, one terrible shatter of a heart and it was gone. There were two papers from the chewing gum laying around. Even the janitor didn't visit this place too often. Or maybe he was too preoccupied by the streamers hanging from the railing.

The first thing he noticed was a beige coat huddled on the steps between first and second floor. The next thing he saw was the curly, ebony hair cascading onto the very familiar arms. The third thing he spotted were bright red nails gripping into arms.

Then Jack understood that he actually saw Heather Berserk.

For a moment he froze. Literally – all muscles became rigid as a stone, chest started to get heavy, heart stopped beating, time slowed down and it felt like he was and wasn't there both in the same time. They didn't talk in a long time actually. Jack still called her his friend. Of course, he cared about her, even with all her clinginess and overly sweet voice which was often there to hid something.

Jack wasn't a person to leave someone hanging in the school corridor, when they were supposed to be outside, enjoying the approaching holidays.

Jack licked his lips as his body finally moved one step higher.

"Heather?" He tested his voice. It was weak, but delicate.

The girl tensed, her shoulders swam higher, she wanted to curl into herself even more. She didn't turn around and for a brief second Jack almost though she didn't hear him (even though it was hard to do so in a silent and desolated corridor).

Then suddenly like a cracking ice beneath feet, she answered:

"What do you want?" Her voice was harsh, low, angry and so un-Heather that Jack didn't recognize it as the girl's own voice at first. Until now she was often smiling and enthusiastic about everything. Of course, she had her worse moments, but the white haired teen never heard her like that – vulnerable.

"Everything's okay?"

Jack knew it was totally stupid question. He understood that whenever someone felt bad, it was the question this someone really didn't want to hear. Because it was so… emotionless' query. People ask it, just because they want to feel like they did something, and yet later they do nothing.

"Yeah, totally, nothing to worry…" The answer was predictable. Who in their right mind would answer otherwise?

But it was far away from truth.

"Are you sure?" Jack nudged, moving even higher and higher with every spoken word. Heather was still curled with her legs close to her chest. Her skirt was wrinkled and slid up, showing her thighs, but Jack paid them no mind. It was only a fact he noticed. Her creamy coat hung on her arms, unbuttoned – she was about to go out, before something happened.

"Yes, I'm sure, Jack. Everything is okay."

The white haired teen stopped on the mid-floor in front of the sitting girl. Heather stubbornly looked to her right, avoiding his eyes, but he was finally able to take a glimpse of her face.

She didn't cry, but she looked like she was on the verge of doing so.

"You're not okay." Jack stated.

Heather wrinkled her nose. Her pink lips, without the usual red lipstick, formed a thin, tight line and for a second Jack was sure she would snap at him. Just like a broken barricade, under the force of heavy water flushing past the small openings, faster with every passing second.

Jack sat down next to her.

For some time he only heard the soft ticking sound coming from classrooms on the upper and bottom floor. Tic, toc, tic, toc – similar to a marching army under the rules of the great Father Time, moving forward and forward, counting steps till an eruption of an unavoidable battle.

And the explosion came. It wasn't very sudden, nor was it loud. Slowly, but surely the broken wall crumbled down. Particle after particle, inch after inch.

Everyone always told Jack that he was amazing at lifting people moods up. Supposedly, he always knew what to say, how to act, what kind of button to push to make someone loosen up, cry and then calm down. But the truth was… Jack hella didn't know what to do. He was nervous, stressed, terrified and above all overwhelmed. He felt like he was just a small peck on a giant field, being pushed around forcefully by a wind. But he knew doing something – just anything – was better than just standing on the side and watching. Even sometimes simple bump to the arm or someone's presence could do miracles.

Jack always believed in miracles. They were sometimes the only thing keeping someone alive.

He lifted his hand. It was trembling – an autumn leaf, just about to break away and fly down. He slowly put it on Heather's arm, pulling her in a small embrace. It maybe wasn't enough, but he wanted to pull some string, to help ease her pain.

Heather leaned on him, putting her head on his arm and for a long moment there was only silence between them. Very heavy, dusty, deadly, scary one…

Jack's palm moved up and down on the girl's arm, hoping to soothe her, show her that he was here. His heart was beating wildly inside his chest from nervousness in which he drowned.

Maybe lately Heather wasn't very subtle, or actually much like her old self, but she was still his friend.

Jack wasn't sure if she was fully crying as there were no sounds coming from her lips. Maybe she was embarrassed by this situation. But then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw small droplets of tears running down her rosy cheeks.

He wasn't sure what was worse – the open or the hidden crying. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing, so he pushed her into embrace more, ignoring the vibrations of his phone in his pocket. Aster and Tooth can drive away, there are more important things now.

Minutes flew by, slowly, but surely, and the only thing Jack heard were the rustling sounds of clothes, small gasps and clocks on the corridor. It was morbid. It was cold. It was depressing. It was terrible. He wanted to take her somewhere warm, wrap her in a blanket, give hot cocoa and let her cry easily. Not in the freezing school on the cold floor.

The only thing he could do was hug her tighter.

She eventually calmed down, to this point where she only slumped on him, breathing slowly, but evenly. Jack didn't stop massaging her arm.

Heather lifted her body and with her sleeve brushed her eyes. Jack instantly moved to his bag, where he took out tissues and gave them to her. Her sleeve was already black with the smeared eyeliner, but she still took the tissue with a small thanks.

Heather brushed her eyes and then blew her nose – not so gracefully.

"Sorry…" She murmured in hoarse voice. The tissue was kept in her hand.

"Don't be sorry." Jack responded, holding a small smile on his lips. He moved his hand away and put it on his knee. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She took a deep breath.

"It's about Dagur…" The girl finally mumbled, barely partying her lips.

"What about him?"

"He's being acting weird lately…"

"How weird?" This was strange. Odd. Peculiar. He was talking with Heather about Dagur.

Another silence enveloped them, like a cobweb, gluing together in sticky, heavy atmosphere. Being with Hiccup taught Jack that there are some borders which shouldn't be crossed, some personal topics which shouldn't be asked about, some things that people needed to keep for themselves. Feeling comfortable in someone's presence was one of the most important things in a relationship of any kind.

So he waited till the girl would calm down, relax a little bit (even though Jack knew it was almost impossible) and decide if she wanted to talk or not.

Heather sat next to him, not moving, but evening her breath. She played with the tissue, picking at the ends and not speaking anything for some time.

How was Dagur acting weird? Lately Jack didn't even hear about him from Hiccup, nor actually saw them near each other. Or maybe Hiccup wasn't telling him something? But Jack was quite confident about picking out some disturbance in the smaller teen's mood. Besides, which side of himself was Dagur showing his sister? He doesn't always behave like a dickhead, that's for sure, however Jack can't imagine him as someone who acts awfully sweet. He saw of course Heather and Dagur talking together few times, but from far away.

"He's… more… indrawn lately." Heather voice was delicate, faint, and thin - resembling a string of a silk. "And I know he maybe isn't the most open person, but he was never like that with me. We didn't tell each other everything – God, forbid that!" She stopped, almost like she wanted to chuckle at what she had said, but the laugh died already in her throat. There was only a pause. "But it was never to that extent. Now… he just returns home and locks himself in his room… and he doesn't even talk with me!" Her voice wavered with anger. "I want to help him, because definitely something is bugging him, but how can I do that, if he is not letting me in…" Her arms trembled and she lifted her head to face the ceiling, trying to stop the tears already gathering in the corner of her eyes. The tissue in her hand was clenched harder as she took another shallow breath.

Jack was only able to watch and move closer, trying to help somehow by being close.

He seriously didn't know how to respond to that. There wasn't any good reply either. He didn't know the whole problem – the main concept of it – only some kind of tiny details, but it wasn't enough to put together the full picture. What he would do in her place - trying to help and being unable to? Probably cry too.

"I'm sorry I'm pushing it onto you… it's not your problem…"

Jack one more time put his hand around her, gathering the pieces of her in a hug.

"I know it isn't, but I still want to help." He whispered, looking at the wall in front of them.

Heather chuckled, but there was something menacing in that.

"Why…?"

"Because I'm your friend?" Jack lifted his eyebrow, even though he knew Heather couldn't see him.

The black haired girl fidgeted and moved an inch away.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do. Just because we don't hang out a lot lately, it doesn't mean you're not my friend."

"Hiccup won't be mad at that?"

And now it was Jack time to laugh. Seriously… Hiccup? Mad, because Jack was spending time with someone else? Pfff, he couldn't even imagine the smaller teen even thinking about such thing. Hiccup would be all over thinking about some experiment about detecting chlorides, not about Jack hanging out with some friend.

They both had their own lives. Of course, Hiccup became suddenly an important part of Jack's life (and hopefully the other way around too), but all parts of Jack's life were important. Heather too.

"No, why should he?" Jack asked, after his laughter died down. It wasn't too loud or powerful, but it was there and he hoped he didn't offend Heather by laughing.

"You know… because you're together and all. And because you know, it's me…" Heather mumbled hesitantly.

Was she asking if Hiccup was angry, because Jack was friends with someone who has or had a crush on him? Then the answer was definitely:

"No, no, no, no, of course he won't be mad." Like, really, Hiccup would probably glare or maybe even hit someone who would just think about that. "He is very understanding guy. He has his own friends and I have my own and we are allowed to see them whenever we want." That was half of the truth, because they weren't actually dating. But if Jack was dating, then he would totally agree for Hiccup to see anyone whenever he wants to. And for what he knew the smaller teen – some small fairy behind his ear told him that Hiccup thought the same.

"He sounds like a really good guy." The girl's lips twitched. "You're lucky to have him."

The second sentence sounded definitely odd – the tone of it was lowered, kind of sad, melancholic, mixed with some bitter-sweet powder, yet sprinkled with happiness. It was bizarre.

"Yeah, maybe I really am."

What was Heather thinking? Was she mad at Jack for picking Hiccup over her? No, it didn't look actually like that. Heather took the news quite… calmly. But it all was an image everyone could see. Something Heather chose to show to the world outside. Maybe deep down inside she was broken, devastated and empty because of it?

Jack cringed only thinking about that.

Maybe she was angry at Jack for taking Hiccup away from her brother? She definitely didn't know what was happening between Hiccup and Dagur. Perhaps she looked at it as a taken chance for a happy life for her sibling? Maybe she thought that Jack destroyed chances for a good relationship for her brother and Hiccup?

Life was difficult. When you think you have something right, it always shows you that you're wrong.

Jack shook his head. Thinking like that won't help him. Won't help Heather. Won't help anyone now.

"Did something happen in your life that could make Dagur act like that?" Jack asked instead, masking all bad thoughts and trying to move back to the right tracks.

Heather blinked, but then slowly shook her head. She moved away completely and now was half-facing Jack.

"No… at least I don't think so… I mean, I think he would tell me…"

"Different approach then…" Jack put his hands on his knees. "Okay, so what do you think could have happened to make him act like that?"

"I-I don't know… maybe he fell out with his best friend o-or Hiccup?" Heather looked at him.

Jack had no willingness to tell her the truth, so he remained silent. He highly doubted Dagur had bad mood, because he had argued with Hiccup. Or maybe the smaller teen really had done something? Hiccup wasn't a person to do something bad intentionally, but by mistake…

Jack needed to ask him about it. Somehow.

"Okay, that could be it… but maybe something else… something that could really piss him off instantly?"

Heather stared at him and blinked once, then her eyes filled with some kind of revelation. Her bottom lip trembled, similar to a boat in a storm, so she bit into it hard, hanging her head down.

Her next words were quiet, almost a whisper. Maybe it was just her thought, not meant to be vocalized, yet Jack heard it.

"Our father…"

And he suddenly felt very bad for hearing it. Like only these two words represented a whole conversation – not meant to be heard, a secret, shared only by Dagur and Heather. They never really had talked about families, so Jack had no idea what these two words meant.

Jack wasn't sure whether he should speak more or not, however he decided he couldn't leave this topic unfinished.

"Maybe you should talk with Dagur about him then? It's worth a try… and if it doesn't work, we will think later about it." Jack said.

The black haired girl looked up at him and then nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, you're right. I should do it…" Her voice was now more rigid and louder. Like it was stronger only by having some kind of a goal. Maybe it really was just what she needed – a direction to follow. "But after he'll return from work."

Jack grinned.

"Sounds good for me."

Heather then tried to smile back at Jack, but it came out a little crooked. However he felt proud, because she even tried. After that, without a warning, she stood up, brushed her knees, corrected the skirt and then straightened her beige coat. The skin near her eyes was tinted with black spots due to smeared mascara, but with one quick movement of the still wet tissue she more over cleaned it. Women were scary…

Jack also stood up. His legs were trembling a little.

Heather glanced up at him and then quickly hung her head down. She started to play with the zip fastener from her bag.

"I'm sorry for you know… this…" She finally said, sneaking a peek at him from behind her ebony, dense fringe.

Jack waved his hand, showing that he didn't mind. It wasn't much anyway. Everyone needs help sometimes.

It was the first time he saw Heather crying. She was strong woman, holding her head high and knowing what she wanted, so seeing her suddenly so vulnerable, so small… so wrecked, made him think just how much she was hiding from the world. But don't all people do that? No matter how hard you're trying to be with someone, there are some things people refuse to show. Is it a good thing to keep it all caged inside?

"Don't worry. It wasn't a problem." It really wasn't. So what? He stayed for few more minutes after school to help someone. It was worth it. It always was. "Good to be any help."

The second smile was better, with the tiny relieve beaming from the turned upwards lips' corners.

"I really appreciate it. I mean it." She then took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "My face probably looks like a disaster now."

Jack chuckled.

"It isn't so bad, if you ask me."

Heather punched his arm lightly. The touch barely lingered there, but it was the movement that counted, not the force, as it was a weirdly positive sign.

"Shut up, you probably tell that to every girl with smeared mascara."

Jack decided to roll with it a little bit.

"Yet you still look the loveliest of them all."

Heather chuckled weakly. The small amount of the strong attitude was back. It wasn't pretty visible, however Jack could feel it in the atmosphere around her. And this was what mattered right now.

"Hiccup sure is lucky to have someone like you by his side."

And suddenly there was a clenching pain running through his stomach. Then it felt like someone dropped hundred kilos of bricks on it and stepped gracefully at the top, dancing Quick Step. The hidden message was there, resonating in the air, in Jack's ears, in Jack's heart and it hurt.

I wish I could have someone like you – it was written all over her face, but the pain was oddly mixed with something warm. Like Heather was happy for him, for Hiccup, for them and yet it pained her to look at them. Jack instantly felt really, really terrible. Could he ever tell her the truth? Would it destroy her? Jack didn't want to see her any more vulnerable, broken like today, like a gorgeous music box with one cracked gear, but it was the most important piece for the whole machinery to work.

Heather was amazing. She definitely would find someone good for her, someone who would be able to lift her spirit, who would be with her through the bad and good times, someone who would love her just as much as she needed. Jack wasn't this person.

But when the time would come, he would share the truth. Now he didn't say anything more in this topic.

"Shall we finally leave this institution of misery?" He asked instead, trying to not let his smile falter.

"Definitely."

There wasn't much to do during the weekend. Most people went out to buy Christmas' presents, so Jack had no plans. Well, that was wrong. North would definitely drag him tomorrow to buy groceries for upcoming holidays. There was less than a week left anyway.

Coming to this, there was this one very important matter on his head. Presents. He knew Emma wanted to get Crystal Growing Kit (she wanted it since this summer, after their trip to some cave), North was totally content with new Christmas' sweater (the last one with a snowman got a hole under an arm), Tooth needed accessories for embroidery (because most of her needles were broken), Aster simply told Jack to buy him a book (he even told him the title) and both he and Emma were planning to buy something for their mother when she would be back (hopefully soon). So this was okay, Jack liked to know what he had to buy. He also hinted few gifts which people could buy him. Emma had yelled at him when he had said for like twelfth time in her presence that he needed a shirt with Skillet logo.

It was sad that their mother couldn't come back for Christmas, but they all understood it. The research group can't simply go back home for holidays and leave everything in the Antarctica. No matter how much they and their family wanted it. However she had told them that she will definitely call them on Christmas' Eve. Both Emma and Jack held onto this promise. Tara* wasn't a person who was breaking her promises.

Jack looked up at the ceiling with his hands crossed under his head. The low hum of carols was coming from downstairs, where North was doing something in the kitchen. Christmas was the only time Jack liked to allow his father to make food for them.

So the topic of presents wasn't that bad. He had his family, his closest friends and the ones not so close crossed from the list. Some presents were actually already hidden inside his wardrobe.

But there was one problem. One giant (or actually maybe not big, but very small) problem. Hiccup.

They hadn't really talked about presents. They had spoken about plans for Christmas, but the topic of gifts never swam to the surface, no matter how many times Jack wanted for the auburn haired boy to start it. But he never did.

Should Jack ask very straightforward about it? Or maybe give him a surprise present? But the last surprise didn't come out too good (Aster had to cancel). But what if he give Hiccup present and the boy won't give him anything in return? Jack had no problems with not receiving any gift, but he could see in his imagination this saddened look on the smaller teen's face and his whining voice 'I-I didn't get you anything…'. And then Hiccup would probably feel guilty. Nu-huh, Jack didn't want that. But if Hiccup buy him something and Jack doesn't, then Jack will be the one feeling bad. However he really wanted to see those emerald, gleaming, surprised eyes widening as he would stare at the wrapped present.

You know what they say – third time's a charm and this was only a second try. So surprise it is!

His phone buzzed.

Jack reached with his hand to the night stand, not looking, but trying to catch his phone. His twisted hand searched for the device, however it accidentally brushed something different. Jack turned around and looked up at the furniture. Hiccup's copy of 1984 was laying there, untouched. It was almost a full week since he had got it… For how long he can have it? It looked like the auburn haired boy really liked this book, so maybe he was reading it from time to time. Yet he didn't announce any commissioning date. But keeping something for too long wasn't nice too.

With a groan, Jack reached for the book and also phone. First he responded on the phone. Hiccup still didn't answer his last message and Jack already sent three of them. He was kind of bored, okay? Everyone was doing something for Christmas' – buying presents, decorating, finishing their homework and Jackson Overland was simply bored.

To this point he was willing to read something.

He liked to read, but mostly fantasy books. He had read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in five days, so no thick and heavy book was a problem for him. But 1984 wasn't nor large, nor massive. It was… average. But from what the smaller teen had told him, it definitely wasn't fantasy.

But did he have something better to do? No, definitely not.

With a loud groan mixed with a huff, he laid more comfortably on his bed, propped his head on the pillow and opened the book. He hoped that it wouldn't be so bad.

The best part about upcoming holidays was definitely the atmosphere. The happy mood was vibrating in the air in the whole Burgess, transmitting energy to the people – an invisible reaction, but the effects were big and impressive. He liked this time of the year.

They will be spending the Christmas' Eve at Stoick's brother's house. His father had too much work in his company to care for doing some fancy dinner and surprisingly Jorgensons didn't mind. They were already doing it for five years straight, so it kind of became their tradition.

In the end the only thing in Haddocks' house reminding them of the upcoming holiday was small Christmas' tree standing in the corner of the living room. Some people could say that it was almost a sad view, but for Hiccup it was enough (especially because he was always the one taking off all decorations). Not to mention, he got quite attached to the artificial tree which was their Christmas' Guardian for the last seven years.

Hiccup and Stoick decorated the tree on Saturday morning. Then his father left to buy groceries and to try not to die in the crowd (how Stoick nicely phrased it), so the teen was left alone in the house with no plans whatsoever. Almost all presents were already laying hidden under his bed – Hiccup liked to do his shopping early through the internet.

So he decided to work on his project for the contest. The blueprints this time were coming quite nicely and Hiccup decided he liked the results. He was planning to buy parts at the after Christmas' sale to save some money. It was a small device, looking similar to thermometer, that was supposed to be stuck into ground of house plants. It would be telling then if the water, sun light level and earth's pH were enough and suitable for the plant.

The participants had time till spring, so there was no hurry.

He was listening to some movie soundtrack on his headphones whe he heard a sound of a new message on Skype. At first he ignored it, thinking maybe Ruff or Tuff were trying to get to him (because both Fishlegs and Astrid were out) – which usually meant nothing important. If they were in a hurry, they would call. So he moved the ruler down and drew few more lines, before he finally looked up at the Skype chat.

He saw Jack's name blinking furiously after he had moved the cursor to the icon on the taskbar.

Weird. Jack usually used phone, not Skype. It was actually Hiccup who kind of forced the teen to use it.

The auburn haired teen opened the tab and looked at the message.

I really hate you right now…

Wait, what? Hiccup stared at the letters and stared and stared, but they didn't move nor twitched, nor changed. They were steady, hard and merciless, like fixed parameter, to this point Hiccup though he was dreaming. Because this couldn't be reality, right?

With very, very heavy heart (that felt like it suddenly turned into block of osmium or iridium*, which was illogical, because he would probably very quickly die, if that situation did occur), he maneuvered his hands above the keyboard, slowly pushing the right buttons.

Jack, everything's alright?

Of course it wasn't, but Hiccup needed to somehow start the conversation. Did Jack really write it? Was it his weird way of bickering? But Hiccup was used to their different, strange, but kind of sweet type of teasing (no matter how odd it sounded). Did he do something? Maybe Jack was mad that Hiccup didn't answer his last message on the phone?

The boy reached and grabbed his device, laying somewhere behind his laptop. He unlocked the screen to find out he had zero new messages. He actually was the last one who replied in their conversation.

What was going on? Did he seriously make Jack angry somehow?

His eyes wandered slowly to the laptop's screen, where Jack was slowly responding.

It's your fault.

How could you do this to me?

I trusted you.

Please – amazing Kleitmant and Dement* – tell him that he is sleeping! That this wasn't reality. But the cold touch of the buttons beneath his fingertips told him that this was real life.

But no, Hiccup needed to clear this misunderstanding somehow (because it must be a misunderstanding, he never would do anything so terrible to make Jack act like that). So even though his hands were shaking (similar to the first time he had poured very concentrated sulfuric acid into the test-tube under the fume hood), heart was beating like crazy and breath was shattered into small gasps, he somehow was able to reply.

What did I do?

Awaiting the reply was one of the worst moments of the last month. Did he say something? Had Jack acted weird lately and Hiccup didn't notice it? Maybe the auburn haired teen was supposed to do something and he forgot?

Toothless jumped onto his lap, looking up at him and purring very loudly. Hiccup's wet of sweat palm landed on cat's head, but he didn't move away, even though he looked displeased.

Then Jack finally replied.

You lent me that fucking book! How could you! (;Д;) Don't you know I have a delicate heart?! (ノД`)・゜・。

Oh… oh! So this fuss was all about 1984 which Hiccup had lent to Jack. But this meant that Jack must have already read it? But only a week passed since then. Hiccup didn't think the teen would touch it for a month, but he actually did.

And the consequences were… well, disastrous.

Hiccup sighed heavily, feeling the tremor still flowing in his body.

So I assume you've read it?

I did! And it was terrible! I hate it.

I hate this book, I hate the ending!

This even put a small, hesitant smirk on the boy's face.

But it is very good book.

But for what price? Too fricking high!

Now I'm sad and it's all your fault! D:

Hiccup remembered well the first moments after finishing 1984. The devastation had roamed freely around his body, destroying every spark of positive emotion for at least four hours. He had spent that time laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, with no higher purpose. Back then, he hadn't even known he would ever have a purpose.

There are books which drug and suck you into reading. There are books, that even though are bad, you just have to read. There are books which are so terrible, that you leave them after reading few chapters. There are books that are neutral, not good and not bad. And there is also Nineteen Eighty-Four – that is well… astonishing and pernicious. You love it and hate both in the same time.

Need something sweet to lift up your mood? C:

It was supposed to be a joke. A small tease, mixed with a pinch of compassion and sympathy, because he knew what Jack was going through. But nothing more.

Yet, the answer was nothing like he expected it to be.

Yeah, buy me a chocolate… and be fast!

I don't think I can handle it alone right now ):

Hiccup stared at the message and stared and stared. Did Jack expect him to go like in this very moment?

Huh, but like… right now?

Uh duuh? It's your fault that I feel

like shit, so you have to take

responsibility for your actions :(

Well, when Jack put it like that, then he kind of was right. Damn it.

Hiccup stared at his project. He made quite big progress today and during the last week, so it wasn't holding him back definitely. Not to mention, he had no plans for today or tomorrow. Plus he could also ask Jack about present – not straightforward, definitely not, but some hints would be nice.

But ugh… he didn't want to move right now…

"What should I do, Toothless?" Hiccup looked down at the cat laying in his lap.

Toothless lifted his head at him and blinked. Then he took a deep breath while narrowing his eyes. It looked like he was sighing.

Toothless was right, it was Hiccup's fault. And he kind of wanted to see Jack right now… But only to see what kind of imprint the book left on him! Yeah, that was definitely the main reason. Totally…

Hiccup laughed emotionlessly, what was followed a disapproving look from his cat.

I'll be there in thirty to forty minutes ._.

I'm waiting then :3.

As Hiccup promised, he was in front of Jack's door thirty six minutes later with a chocolate in his pocket.

The wind outside was nipping on his nose, so he had to cover it with very thick scarf, which in the end he had to loosen up while walking up the steps to the front door. To say that the house was vibrating with energy would be a misunderstanding, because the house looked simply alive. The colorful, bright lights were hanging everywhere, hugging every window frame and every gutter. The crimson, emerald and golden chains were frosted with artificial snow, waiting to be covered with the real one, and hanging under the roof. Near the door stood a plastic snowman and Santa, waving their hands at every person walking by – Oh, and they were wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in their artificial, synthetic voice. This was scary. It was the worst horror stories coming to life.

Hiccup gulped down the saliva and squinted his eyes, as it was hard to look at the bright doors. The wreath was hanging proudly at his eye level, covering the peep-hole. Was it even safe?

His hand floated for few seconds in the air, before his eyes were able to localize the doorbell, hidden under the golden chain. The sound of it echoed around the house.

While waiting, Hiccup glanced at the driveway, remembering suddenly the conversation he had with Aster. He didn't see any car, not to mention the garage door was closed, so he couldn't say for sure that North was out.

He didn't even hear footsteps, before the door flung open, scaring him. Hiccup lamely yelped and jumped an inch up, before he looked at the entrance where smiling Emma was staring at him. She was wearing a fluffy, brown sweater, hanging near her knees, with a reindeer on the front.

"Oh, hey Hiccup. I didn't know you were coming. I mean I did know, but I was informed about it only five minutes ago." Her voice was urgent, high and very warm, which made Hiccup think she had an overdose of something inside her blood. Maybe too much sugar or Christmas' atmosphere.

"No worries, I was also informed about it forty minutes ago." Hiccup slowly walked inside.

The girl quickly closed the door after him, locking it. Then she turned around and leaned on the wall, staring as he was taking off his shoes. She was smacking her lips, like she was holding some kind of candy between her teeth. Did she sneak into Christmas' supplies? From what Jack had told him North was buying and baking quite many sweets for the upcoming holiday.

"You know what's wrong with my bro? Are you here to lift his mood up?"

With a loud huff, Hiccup got rid of his high boots and left them near the shoe cabinet. He then quickly took of his jacket and hung it on a hook.

"I may or may not know what is wrong with Jack." He finally said, turning to the small girl. "Unfortunately most of it is my fault."

The brown haired girl opened her mouth. Indeed yes, Hiccup could see a green candy laying on her now colored tongue.

"Did you argue about something?" She asked.

Hiccup was taken aback.

"What? No, no, we didn't. What made you think that?"

Emma shrugged. Her mouth made a loud squelching sound while she sucked on her candy, furrowing her eyebrows. She moved past him to the living room, where she grabbed a bowl full of colorful candies.

"Well, he was sitting in his room and reading with this very serious look on his face earlier and he didn't even want to play with me on Playstation. The last time he acted like that, he got into heavy argument with Bunny."

Aster? Hiccup couldn't really imagine Jack and Aster arguing about anything. Or more like he never had seen or even heard about them being in conflict with each other. But Emma knew probably more about them than few gossipers around the school.

Hiccup hummed in response.

"No, I can assure you that we didn't fight."

"Oh…" She blinked. Another candy was devoured by her. "I'm glad then. So what did you do?"

"I made him read one of the most depressing books in the whole word." Wow, when he said it out loud it didn't sound too good actually. He nervously massaged his arm, glancing at Emma, waiting for her reply.

But she only grinned at him.

"Neat. I like that."

And in this very moment Hiccup had to agree that Emma Overland was simply evil and caring both in the same time. She could show her most gentle side in one second, to reveal her demons in the other. No, definitely it wasn't a good idea to get on her bad side. But till now it looked like she kind of liked Hiccup.

"Want a candy?" The bowl was now showed to him.

Hiccup didn't really want to eat anything sweet right now, but he decided to take one piece. Better to not irritate predator on its own territory.

"Thanks. Jack is in his room?"

"Yep, as always."

With a small nod and a smile, Hiccup turned around and moved to the stairs, directing him to the upper floor. Emma jumped back on the sofa, probably returning to watching whatever was on the TV (which Hiccup didn't notice was on until now). Upstairs the sound from the TV wasn't so loud.

The auburn haired teen slowly walked to the door at the end of hallway, where Jack's room was. With a loud sigh, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in…" Came the dulled reply from the inside after a second.

The handle was cold beneath his palm, as he pushed it down and entered the room. His eyes instantly landed on the bed, with bright blue quilt spread over – or to be more precise his eyes landed on Jack lying face down on it, unmoving. Almost like a corpse. Good that Hiccup didn't smell anything. That would be morbid.

Hiccup slowly closed the door after him and stood inside with the silence hanging around him, like dark matter in cosmos. Even breathing was a little more difficult now.

"Uhm…" He started, but found no more words. He opened and closed his mouth few times, like he wanted to taste the warm air inside the room. He finally succeeded on the fourth try. "Jack, how are you feeling?"

The answer was muffled.

"Bad."

"Oh, okay…" Very smart. Hiccup took a deep breath and moved to the bed to sit casually on it, near Jack's hip. "I got dark chocolate for you. It can boost up the production of endorphins in your body…"

"And what does it mean?" Jack shuffled on the bed, but didn't lift his head.

"That it can lift up your mood a little."

With a groan, the taller teen hoisted himself up from his lying down position. He turned around and sat cross-legged in front of Hiccup. And ugh… even his face looked miserable, like he wanted to cry, but didn't, both in the same time. Maybe lending this book wasn't a good idea. Jack was a very caring person, so he definitely took it very, very personally.

Hiccup took out the chocolate from his pocket.

"Here, have a bite."

Jack took the present and unwrapped it. His eyes were hidden behind the curtain made from his white fringe, now hanging lamely in front of him. His hair was disheveled, standing in every direction, like he was electrocuted. Thin fingers worked on breaking the chocolate into small, cubic pieces. Jack took one, nibbled on it and then moved the chocolate to Hiccup. He also took one piece, not because he was hungry, but well… it was just a nice thing to do.

They ate the sweet desert in silence, with accompaniment of a short, crunching sound whenever they were taking a bite.

With nothing better to do, Hiccup started to look around the room. Of course, back few weeks ago he also was staring at the decorations in Jack's room, but then he had been more interested in Jack passing the test than what he had in his room. Besides, it might give him an idea of what to buy for Christmas. The first thing that was attracting attention were definitely piles of games standing on the shelves near the wardrobe. Some titles Hiccup knew and some not. He wondered if Jack actually finished all of them. But now he gladly could scratch out game as an idea for present. There was too high chance of the taller teen playing it for Hiccup to consider it. Comics next to games weren't helping too, because from his position Hiccup couldn't even see their titles.

Books on the lower shelf held his gaze a little bit longer. It wasn't very big collection, maybe around twelve or so books. Jack had told him that he was only reading fantasy ones. So that could be a good idea, however Hiccup still wasn't so sure about it.

Hiccup's eyes circled around the room, similar to a satellite on its orbit, looking at every poster of a game and band hanging in different places on the wall. Coming to this, Jack sometimes wore shirts with band's logos. They suited him, but Hiccup couldn't remember seeing Jack wearing them in school. He wore them usually in his house or when they were going out. Maybe they were kept for special occasions?

His cunning eyes stopped few times on small souvenirs standing on the nightstand and on the window sill, together with few plants. Oh yeah – gardening – the secret hobby of famous Jackson Overland. He never really asked the boy about it. Should he even do it or not show that he knew about it?

He finally looked at the desk, stained with dozens of papers scattered around. How did the boy even know where was his mouse in this mess? The pin board above it was filled with photos of smiling people, looking back at him with bright, warm eyes.

Jack was still munching onto chocolate when Hiccup looked back, but now his shoulder weren't as hunched as earlier.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Jack's head nodded in agreement, but only after another piece of chocolate he finally answered.

"Yeah, more over." Then he sucked in a deep breath and finally lifted his face. And wow, he looked like he was on the verge of crying. "I simply can't believe it!"

"What? The ending? The situation? The author?"

"Everything!" Now, Jack took a giant bite from the rest of the chocolate, like a wild animal. "I mean, it's fucked up! That reality, these people! How can they even act like that?" He threw his hands in the air, but they fell down and palms hid between the mighty white strands of Jack's hair. "Ugh, I hate it. I just want to forget about it…" He sighed heavily, slumping and laying back on the bed, but now facing the ceiling.

Hiccup moved closer.

"The magic of good books."

Jack groaned, holding his hands in the air and making choking movements with them. But after five seconds he became bored of it or too tired, because his hands landed on his chest.

"Never lend me more of yours 'good books' then." Jack said, turning his head and glancing at him, frowning along the way.

Hiccup chuckled, but he covered his mouth quickly.

"But I have quite many titles on my list."

"Don't do it, seriously…"

Yeah, maybe it wasn't a good idea. Jack looked totally devastated after only one. What would he do, if he read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame – the original book – and compare it with the animation? After a second, this was totally bad idea, Jack would probably start crying. Almost as bad idea as pouring water into very concentrated acid* - Hiccup actually knew some people who learned this the painful way.

"I don't promise anything, although I know some good-good books."

"I think I don't wanna read for another week or month or year or so anything you plan to recommend me."

This was his chance.

"Come on, don't be like that. What If I want to buy you a book as a present?" Trying to sound normal was one of the hardest things Hiccup had to do. The words left his mouth unnaturally mingled. He spoke using his voice, however he had a feeling he sounded like totally different person. And above all, he felt like big, bold words 'tell me what you want to get for Christmas' were written all over his face.

"Then buy a fantasy one! Canavan! Sapkowski! Pratchett!*" The fish swallowed the bait surprisingly, not even waiting a second to reply. Besides, the white haired teen didn't even look at him while speaking. That was a relief. "Or some cooking books!" Okay, wow, that was a surprise. But when Jack mentioned it, few ideas automatically popped inside Hiccup's head. "I will be even happy, if you give me a stick for a present."

Jack was a great cook (Hiccup found out while he had to eat dinner here for few days straight while preparing Jack for the Math test), so no wonder he wanted to try new things. But a stick?

However Aster had said Jack was interested in gardening. So maybe he really would be happy after receiving maybe not stick, but living plant.

"Okay, MasterChef, I'll keep that in mind." Oh, he will. When he'll return home, he has to order few things immediately with the fastest shipping possible. The Christmas Eve was next week, so there wasn't much time.

"How about you?"

"Huh?" The smaller teen glanced down.

Jack was now staring back at him, with his look drilling holes inside his face. He looked like he was keen on knowing the answer.

What Hiccup wanted as a present? Well, that was a tough question, because he simply didn't need anything right now. He had all books, games (pc, board or card ones), he had every equipment needed for his additional science labs (maybe he should replace his glasses, but it wasn't very urgent), he got clothes and he had amazing and caring friends. Now he even had a calm live. What more there was to aspire for?

"I don't want anything." He finally said.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows and pouted.

"Don't give me that!"

"But seriously, I can't think of a simple thing I currently want."

Jack made a sad face, turning his usual smile upside down very theatrically.

"But there must be something." He whined, gluing his pleading eyes to him.

Why was he so persistent? It wasn't like it was very important or anything like that. Hiccup kind of didn't like this idea of receiving presents. Giving was okay, but receiving – ugh, he hated that feeling. He was always feeling bad whenever someone used his or her money on him, especially when he knew that it could be used more wisely.

"But there isn't…" And the things he wanted couldn't be bought using money, not that he planned to, if those things were available on Ebay.

"Hiccup… Hic… Hicadude… Hamish…" With every word Jack was moving closer and closer. "Mister Nerd…" At this Hiccup lifted his eyebrow, eyeing Jack suspiciously. "Our Dark Lord?"

At that Hiccup simply had to laugh. The Dark Lord – well, he could get used to it actually. Maybe he should somehow change his name in Jack's phone when he won't be looking?

"Surprise me." Hiccup answered, crossing arms on his chest.

Jack frowned. A small field of wrinkles appeared on his forehead and eyes darted to the ground (or to me bore precise to the blue quilt beneath them). He looked like a switching off machine - where every cord, every metal joint, every relay team was slowly losing power.

"The last surprise didn't come out too well…" He whisper softly.

What surprise? Did he mean the cinema? But… Hiccup had fun. Didn't Jack have fun? But he had looked like he had enjoyed himself back then. They had talked and walked and laughed and…

Hiccup's mood instantly dropped down – similar to a iodine clock reaction, turning dark few seconds after hearing those words.

"What surprise?" Hiccup really wanted to sound normal, but his voice swayed at the end, breaking the last syllable in half.

Jack lifted his head quickly and put smile back on.

"N-nothing. You didn't hear anything."

What? So it wasn't about their meeting last weekend? Because if it was, then Jack would probably tell him about it. Or at least Hiccup though Jack would do that.

"Yeah, sure." The smaller teen wasn't convinced, but somehow this small stutter – this hidden part of the topic – made him feel a little better.

"Totally, it was the wind." Jack convinced.

Very smooth.

"Jack, the window is closed…" Hiccup pointed with his thumb at the wall.

Jack turned around to stare at the window, which indeed was closed.

"Oh…"

He gaped at it for few seconds, like by only looking at it he would be able to pry it open. But it remained as closed as it was when Hiccup had first entered.

"Okay, you win this one."

Hiccup had a feeling that he was winning a lot lately, but he decided to not point that out.

"So after your magical return to the world of living, can you tell me why does your house look like one giant Christmas' exposition?" This had picked Hiccup interest quite some time ago, when he had found out that the only cups Overlands had in their home were the Christmas' ones.

"It's because of North." Jack stated.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. It was something he did very often, most of the times around Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout – the doom trio – but Jack was quickly moving close to their first place on the list.

"Elaborate?" Hiccup's fingers played with one thread protruding from the quilt.

"Well you've seen him. What is the first word that is coming to your mind after seeing him?" Jack one more time sat up and crossed his legs, keeping his hands on the ankles and swinging back and forward. A human swing.

Hiccup knew the answer immediately.

"Big." He stated, smiling proudly and puffing his chest.

And it was the truth. When he first had walked inside the kitchen and had seen Jack's father, he was taken aback by the similarities to his father. They were almost the same in size in all three dimensions. Yet when his father was gruff and harsh, North was sweet and warm like a melting crystal.

Jack shook his head with a small grin on his lips.

"No… I mean you're correct, but this isn't what I meant. So you have a second chance." He swayed to the front and almost collided with Hiccup's arm. "He doesn't remind you of anyone?"

The answer was as simple as the first one, but something was telling Hiccup that it wasn't the correct one. Yet, he had no other option than to say it out loud.

"Erm, he kind of remind me of my father, but I don't see where it all connects." He murmured hesitantly, knowing after the first word that it wasn't what Jack wanted.

And indeed the taller teen sighed heavily.

"You're one of a kind, Hiccup." Jack smiled reassuringly, showing that he meant nothing bad by it. "You lost your inner child though… I'll give you one last chance. But you have to guess on your own."

Huh boy, Hiccup suddenly felt stressed. This wasn't some kind of test, so why it was suddenly so important to his brain.

Hiccup gulped down saliva. He tugged harder on the thread and completed all facts in his head, sorting them out and arranging in correct places. Christmas' decorations and cups – they were related to North, who was enormous, bulky, had a long, white beard, big belly and joyful laughter which could break even the hardest shells formed around frozen hearts. Who could that be? Who was bringing happiness and joy during Christmas?

Oh gosh, the answer was so obvious Hiccup had to smack himself in the face.

Jack laughter echoed in the room.

"So?"

It was so clear, so logical like solving the separable first-order ordinary differential equations*. Hiccup felt totally ashamed of his previous two tries.

"Santa Claus…" He murmured, feeling the blood flowing to his face and making him blush. This was embarrassing.

"Yes, exactly! And not only he looks like Santa, but he also acts like one. So don't be surprised, if you see him parading in Santa's costume around the town." Then Jack tilted his face to the right. "Took you long enough to guess that right."

"Shut up. He really looks like my father." Hiccup grunted.

"Well, I've never seen your father, so I have to believe you."

Oh yeah, Jack didn't even see Hiccup's own room. Every time they had met it was here and not over Hiccup.

"You'll definitely recognize him, if you see him. But I must warn you that we totally don't look alike."

"So he doesn't look like a fishbone." When Hiccup raised his eyebrow, Jack quickly cleared his throat. "So how does he look like?"

Hiccup patted his chin few times, lifting his head to look at the ceiling. The last time he had described his father was in elementary school and he had a feeling simple 'big man with a long beard' wouldn't be enough for Jack.

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure you must have seen him at least once or twice in your life." Hiccup started.

Burgess wasn't nor big nor small city. It had its own Mall, few Middle and High Schools, three to four parks and even its own Railway Station. Their school was located in the suburbs, so the greater part of its students were living in single-family houses, scattered all around two to three kilometers away from the city center. And because of that many people knew each other, if not by name then they recognized definitely most of the faces.

"As you can already imagine, he is around your father size. He also have this very bushy ginger beard. Sometimes he even has few braids there." Was always describing someone so hard? "His face is melted almost always into this focused yet stern look. And he often has furrowed eyebrows, like he is thinking hard about something." Which he often did. "And he usually wear suits around the town…" Was there something more to add? Jack probably didn't need to know more.

"Well… he doesn't sound like a fun guy." The white haired teen concluded.

"He isn't the most entertaining guy in Burgess, but he had other formidable traits." Then Hiccup smiled under nose. "And some not as much…"

Jack hummed in reply.

"So I assume you took more after your mother then?"

Hiccup shrugged. He took off his glasses and started to clean them with the hem of his shirt.

"I don't know. Maybe? Gobber always tells me that I have her eyes, but my character is the mix of both of them." Then his arms slumped down. "Now when I think about it, it sounds kind of like an insult."

When Hiccup lifted his face back, Jack was staring at him with puzzled look.

"Who is Gobber?"

Oh, that's right. He never really told Jack about Gobber. Coming to this, he rarely even talked about himself with Jack. They had only exchanged basic information at their meeting in cafe and nothing more. In the end, Hiccup wasn't a person who was talking a lot about himself in the end…

"He is our family's friend and kind of like my godfather and uncle? Actually, I think I spent more time with him as a kid than with my own biological uncle." It wasn't Hiccup fault that both he and Snotlout didn't really get along when they were kids. "How about you? Did you take more after North?"

Jack blinked and swung heavily back, almost falling down from the bed. But with help from spastic movements of his hands and Hiccup grabbing his knee, he returned to his safe position.

"Me? Can't you see I'm all North?" Jack pointed at himself with both hands, moving them up and down.

Hiccup put his palm near his chin.

"Well, you don't have a belly and you're not that tall if you ask me."

"I'm still taller than you." Jack boasted with a smirk.

Hiccup huffed loudly.

"Back to the topic, Frost." He scolded Jack with one look which he hoped was as cold as absolute zero*. However judging by the amusement still present on the white haired teen's face, Hiccup didn't quite do a good job.

"Okay, okay." Jack put both hands in front of him – surrendering, but not really giving up. "And I actually spoke the truth. I mostly look like my father. Maybe my height is after Eris."

Hiccup blinked, taken aback. Did Jack just call his mother by her name? It wasn't unusual, but it wasn't very often Hiccup heard people do that. Even though Jack was sometimes calling his father North, there was something different about this case.

Hiccup had met Jack's father and sister, but he never really heard anything about mother from either of their mouths. Maybe because he himself was used to a home without a motherly touch to it, he never really paid it much attention. But now, when the topic swam to the surface…

"Is Eris… you mother?"

It sounded awkward, out of place and just… bad. What kind of friend he was, if he didn't even know Jack's mother? But this was a good time to change it, fill some of the holes in his data base.

However Jack stopped swinging and for a second – a small, terribly tiny part of it – his eyes got clouded and the everlasting smile faltered. It was quick, it was almost unnoticeable, it wasn't probably even supposed to seen, but Hiccup saw it.

The hours spent in a laboratory didn't go in vain.

Yet the grin was quickly back. Jack smiled even wider, like he wanted to cover the small slip, even though he wasn't probably even conscious of it. Some habits aren't that easy to change.

"Yep." He popped the last letter loudly. "But seriously, if you see her, you won't even tell she is my biological mother."

"You look so different?"

Hiccup shuffled a little closer.

"Yeah, totally. We kind of like yin and yang. In characters too… I guess." Jack added after a while.

"What is she doing?"

It felt like Hiccup had to somehow dig for the information. Jack was usually an open person, his mouth was never closed for longer than four seconds (or the time needed for normal person to reply), but now Hiccup had to almost force the taller teen to answer.

"She's a journalist. Last time I heard from her she was in Greece, making some kind of article about it. But please don't ask me about what… Something about economy definitely…" Jack's hand moved to his hair which he tousled. Now his hairstyle was even messier than before, like a foam on an ocean during a storm. "Totally not the thing that stir my interest." He sighed and then looked back at Hiccup. "So now it's your turn. What is your Mom doing?"

Hiccup knew Jack didn't mean anything by that one simple question. He just wanted to redirect the topic, ask some personal information, learn something new about Hiccup, but he did it in the worst way possible.

"Uhh…" Hiccup's hand fidgeted, as it one more time searched for the thread on the quilt. He quickly found it and circled it around his finger. "Well…" His throat was dry, like that one question drained the whole moisture from it. But he needed to answer honestly. Jack deserved it. Hiccup pushed too far into Jack's comfort zone, so he had to answer. "For first, she is no longer with us…"

He knew it was going to happen. He searched for correct words to use in this situation, for the best combination to tell the truth, but neither of the options was good.

Jack stopped moving. His eyes widened and mouth hung open, showing a line of his perfect white teeth. But it didn't last for long, because as quickly as Jack turned into a frozen statue, he also quickly recovered from it.

"Ohh… ugh…" Jack started, but quickly lost his tongue. Now his frantic eyes darted to the side, palm once again landed on the nape of his neck. He often did that whenever he was nervous. "I didn't mean to… I mean…"

The last thing Hiccup wanted was for Jack to feel bad for something that wasn't even his fault. Besides, he did nothing bad, he only asked a simple question, which unfortunately was… well, hard to answer.

"No, no, no, don't worry. It's not your fault. You didn't know of course." Hiccup quickly waved his hands in front of him.

Jack groaned and the same hand from the back of his neck landed on his eyes, which he massaged groggily. Hiccup didn't expect him to overact like that, but maybe he should have seen it coming. Jack – the worrywart – of course cared for other people wellbeing.

"But it was tactless…" The older boy murmured, not taking his hand off his face.

"It wasn't so bad. I just didn't know how to answer quickly. I'm not used to people asking about her, because all my friends know this story already." Hiccup said, but when the only reply he got was another loud groan mixed with sigh, he decided to move closer. Just few more inches. It wouldn't hurt him. Their knees were almost touching. "Jack?"

"I'm sorry…"

Now it was getting frustrating. Jack didn't do anything bad, but he was acting like he just destroyed some XRF Analyzer*! Was it some kind of side effect? Hiccup didn't like the last thought.

The pale palm was still covering Jack's face, so Hiccup caught the white haired teen's wrist and moved the irritating hand down.

"Jack, you're overreacting." Hiccup said softly. "You act like you just insulted my great great grandmother…"

"Am I?" The second part of Hiccup's sentence was only commented with a small twitch of Jack's lips.

"Yeah, very." He pushed Jack's hand down onto Jack's knee. When Hiccup felt it trying to move up one more time, he only tightened his grip on it.

Jack hung down his head and then slowly shrugged. The movement was followed by a loud, deep sigh.

"I just don't want for you to feel bad."

It was… kind of very sweet. Yet Hiccup felt he was being treated like some kind of expensive machinery… or in Jack's case endangered type of plant. Maybe it was Jack's natural reaction to situations like this, but it wasn't good for him too. He can't feel bad at every small mistake he makes. This stuff just happens in life and you will cringe and maybe feel terrible, but you have to move forward as quickly as you can.

"Aster was right. No one can beat your level at worrying over someone…" Hiccup titled his head to the side.

"It's in my blood." Jack pouted.

"But by worrying over my wellbeing, you destroyed your own."

A pair of baby blue eyes looked up at him. They stung their small needles of curiosity into Hiccup's body. The boy was taken aback by the pure surprise peaking from behind the curtain of concern thrown upon them.

"But I prefer for other people to feel good more than me."

And even thought it was sweet, it was pure, it was kind, it was astonishing in its selfless meaning, Hiccup couldn't stop the feeling of dread forming inside his stomach. It was beautiful that you could be so devoted, dedicated, faithful to your friend and family, but he was feeling that it was too much.

Hiccup had a feeling that by acting like that Jack wanted desperately to prove something, forgetting about himself in the process. Did no one have ever seen it?

The auburn haired boy swallowed hard. What should he say in response to that? No words wanted to appear in his mind, no coherent sentence wanted to form inside his brain. He felt strangely empty, but the need to say something, to show his point was growing stronger and stronger. But he didn't know how to project his thoughts to the teen.

Hiccup felt miserable.

"Did my chocolate at least help you?" It was terrible, but it was the only thing Hiccup could muster to say right now.

"Yeah, it did."

And the worst thing was the fact that Jack was still smiling at him with this cordial smile, which was so honest, it made Hiccup sick. How many times did Jack do something and forgot about himself in the process? How many times did he put someone in front of himself? Probably too many. Hiccup never heard Jack refusing to help someone.

But you can't live your whole live only agreeing to everything. Hiccup was the perfect example – Jack didn't have to help Hiccup, but he did and because of that he brought more problems onto himself (guilt was the biggest of them all). Yet the only thing Hiccup did was take, not giving anything in return.

Maybe it was better that he couldn't voice his thoughts right now. He wasn't even sure Jack would listen to him in this moment, or maybe he would listen, but wouldn't understand or even try to. Under the most open person was hidden the hardest to open lock. Jack only hid it very well with his grin and free attitude.

Could Hiccup even do it? Could he change someone way of thinking? It didn't have to be very big change. He only had to add something to it. He didn't have to change the whole formula, but maybe he could replace some letters with theirs different equations to form another meaning.

But this wasn't science. It wasn't so easy, Hiccup didn't know why he was even thinking about trying. He had no experience in this matter – actually he was very, very bad at advising people. Or to be more general, he was bad at this whole human interaction topic…

Yet something inside told him, whispered to him, hummed into his ear that he should do it. He wasn't sure way. Jack needed help, even though he himself didn't know it and he needed someone who would do it.

"Everything okay?" Jack looked at him. Just for how long did he zone out? Too long, if the teen was asking about his wellbeing. Again.

"Yep, I was just thinking about something."

"Was it me?" Jack fluttered his eyes at him.

Ugh… on the second though, Hiccup wasn't so sure about helping Jack.

"Don't flatter yourself, Frost." He snarled, finally lifting his hand from Jack's wrist. Hiccup was glad Jack's palm didn't move back to scratch nervously the back of his neck. All this time Hiccup's palm was laying on Jack's wrist, preventing him from moving. It was a new record for Hiccup. Should he be happy about it? He kind of really was. He still didn't like other people touching him – even though he knew it was normal, he somehow came to terms with this weird part of himself. Yet here he was, automatically catching Jack's hand and kind of holding it for at least five minutes (well, technically it was wrist, but the point was taken).

If Hiccup was in some kind of weird teen book… or worse… some romantic, slow-build fanfiction, then it would mean he was slowly feeling something he shouldn't be. Gladly, it wasn't the case! That was a relief!

Nevertheless, it made him feel a little bit better. The topic of their families was dropped suddenly and it didn't look like either of the sides wanted to talk about it one more time. Maybe some other time, when their relationship wouldn't be so… thin.

"Oh, I will." Why Jack even tried to stop smiling, when this stupid grin was still there, now even more wide and playful?

"You're unbelievable." Hiccup threw his hands in the air, huffing exasperatedly.

"I will take this beautiful chance and point out that you just kind of admitted to thinking about me."

Why did he even put up with this guy!?

"Fuck you." And when Jack was quickly (too quickly!) opening his mouth to add something – something probably not very suave, Hiccup was faster to correct himself. "Jack, no."

"How do you expect me to not use such golden opportunities, when you literally just give them to me!?" Jack gasped, not tearing his gaze away.

For this, the smaller teen had no intelligent answer. He could only admit that Jack indeed was right and Hiccup was, well… making a lot of mistakes in their conversations. He should have learnt better by spending time with Astrid and the twins, but somehow with Jack it was ten times much worse.

So with a loud sigh, the boy laid down on Jack's bed. His glasses moved up, so now they were resting almost on his forehead, but he had nor power nor willingness to put them down. Just let them be free.

"Finally, point to me." Jack said in too happy voice and then laid down right next to Hiccup with a content sigh. His hands moved to the back of his neck, but he gladly only rested his head on them.

The auburn haired teen glanced at his companion. Jack had his eyes closed and he was breathing slowly through his nose. His chest was moving rhythmically up and down, like a never ending monotonic function. Up and down, positive and then negative values of y. Or maybe it looked like a calm ocean with waves rising and falling down under the soft breath of wind. Whatever was the truth here, Jack looked calm, peaceful and a little bit translucent (no matter how weird and illogical that sounded). And by staring at him like that, Hiccup felt something calming inside of him too. Like a weird power, some kind of magnetic field was around Jack, soothing everything in its radius - a human battery recharging and in replace charging everything in its surrounding.

"I think some of my power came back…"

But did it really?

Jack hoisted himself up. His bed howled painfully, when the taller boy turned on it and looked at still laying Hiccup.

"Hungry?"

Hiccup kind of was. He had eaten dinner four hours ago and he was thinking about making himself some slight snack before Jack had written to him.

"Yeah…"

"Great, if you're cooking something, then do something for me too."

They both turned their heads quite abruptly to the door which were pried open with smiling face of Emma looking at them through the tiny gap.

"What are you doing there Em?" Jack implored.

Hiccup wasn't really sure what to think about it. He could only gape with half opened mouth at the girl standing near the doorway, looking totally not ashamed by anything. Or more like suddenly Hiccup was the one to feel embarrassed. But why? They did nothing! He was just talking with Jack on his bed, laying next to each other.

"Well, I was just eavesdropping, hopping that I might get some dirt on you, but I got bored." The brown haired girl stated, pushing the door and making one step inside, while shrugging her arms. The bowl with definitely less candies was secured under her arm. "You talk only about dark stuff."

"Emma!" Jack whined and facepalmed himself. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? And you're still doing it."

"Too many too count!" Came the booming voice of North from the downstairs. Hiccup didn't even hear the front door opening. When did the man get back?

Jack eyes widened, forming a two giant glass watches. He desperately tried to find something to say, yet in the end he only huffed with shoulders slumping down in defeated manner.

"I'm sorry for them." Jack said, glancing at Hiccup.

"Well, it looks like everyone in your house is trying to get you embarrassed." Hiccup observed, darting his head up a little. He might get the last word in this matter. "I think I can get used to it."

"Hic!"

Hiccup honestly could get used to it – the atmosphere of the Overlands' household. It was charming, vivid and striking. He felt like suddenly the whole world was painted in colors he so rarely saw nowadays. But above all, it was welcoming and warm. Everyone here were smiling, chattering lively about something, pointing out funny remarks here and there and joking about themselves.

Compared to Jack's house, Hiccup's own home was plain and dark. He never took himself for a giddy type who loved to spend time with people, but the difference was so big that it was like a jump between realities. Maybe it kind of really was.

And, of course, why Hiccup should be surprised by it? – that doofus (Jack) one more time had decided to walk him home, even though Hiccup had told him like twelfth times that he would be okay. But the solid argument that they weren't living so far away from each other wasn't the best one in Jack's opinion. And when Hiccup had said that he is big enough to go home alone it somehow made everything worse, because even Emma (who was supposedly on Hiccup's side) and North had started giggling at his statement. And seriously, when he and Jack had been near the front door, Hiccup could swear he had heard Emma muttering to herself 'big, yeah, sure'.

So in the end he allowed Jack to walk him home. It sounded a little better this way.

There was almost no trace of the moody, sad Jack's that Hiccup had seen when he had entered the house few hours ago. The spell was broken and the usual, giddy Jack was back. And when normal white haired teen was back, the loud and never closing mouth of his was back too.

Hiccup considered having the gloomy Jack back, but only for ten seconds.

"We finished our quest." Jack said, as he stopped in the middle of the road in front of Hiccup's house. Maybe not exactly in front, but close enough.

"You mean your quest?" Hiccup snorted, pushing the backpack higher on his shoulder. His hands travelled to his pockets, making a comfy place for them to rest. The unforgiving wind was nipping on his limbs quite painfully. Yet Jack surprisingly looked unfazed by the coldness. Hiccup could say he acted even more lively. "So did you level up or something?"

"Maybe… I'm a gamer, what can you expect from me?"

"Normalness, but I think it could be asking for too much from you." Hiccup quickly retorted, keeping a small smile on his lips. The air was coming from his mouth in a small, milky puffs. He won't be surprised, if it starts snowing next week. He needs to check the weather forecast.

"Says who?" Jack looked at him, tilting his head to the side.

"Me. I'm perfectly normal." Hiccup lifted his head up, staring challengingly at the taller teen, daring to prove otherwise.

And Jack of course did.

"No, no you're not." Jack pushed Hiccup's glasses up. The auburn haired boy didn't even notice they were barely hanging at the end of his nose. "Normal people don't know the whole periodic table."

And of course Jack was pointing that out. Hiccup shouldn't have shared this information with him, but they were talking about not useful things they had known and it somehow came out.

But Hiccup also had ace up his sleeve.

"Normal people don't know the names of all Pokémon from the first three generations too."

Jack's forehead clouded, as he retrieved his palm back to rest inside the comfy caves of his pockets.

"Touché. I tell you one embarrassing thing and you remind me about it on every step."

"Not on every, just when you mess with me." And his knowledge of the periodic table.

Of course, knowing many names of Pokémon wasn't Jack's most embarrassing story. For this one Hiccup had to wait, as Jack phrased it earlier. How long? That was still a mystery. They weren't in a hurry.

"So almost on every step." Jack said, starring at him with a smirk.

Hiccup only sighed.

"You unbelievable, you know that?"

"I know." Jack nodded, like he totally expected this reply. Maybe he had already heard it too many times coming from Aster's or Tooth's mouth (although Hiccup had hard times imagining the colorful haired girl being mean to anyone)? His blue eyes moved to the window of Hiccup's living room. "It looks like your Dad is at home."

Hiccup glanced back and, indeed, there was a luminescent faint glow coming from between curtains. The TV was probably switched on. He quickly checked the time on his wristwatch. There was still few minutes before the curfew.

"Yup, I probably should be going back. I didn't even tell him I was going out." Stoick was probably too overjoyed about the idea of his son going out somewhere to care for a phone call or even worrying about him. "So thanks for walking me back and…" Hiccup returned his gaze at Jack when he saw some movement from his side. "… What are you doing?"

Well, that was a little bizarre… Jack was standing there with his arms wide open and smile adsorbed on his face. Like seriously, what was he doing? Asking for some spell to be cast on him? Calling for some goddess? Trying to get a hug? …Oh.

"Don't I get a prize for finishing my quest?" Jack nudged, waving his palms, like he wanted to encourage Hiccup into moving closer, which definitely didn't make him want to move even an inch forward.

"Why?" Hiccup questioned, not seeing the higher purpose of doing it. Like seriously, why? Their first hug was a small tease mixed with a show of gratitude - in Jackson's very strange way of showing affection. And even though Hiccup had to admit that the previous hug wasn't so bad, he wasn't keen on repeating it.

"Do you have to question everything?" The white haired teen frowned, but his hands didn't falter down. So the offer still stood. Great…

"Do you have to hug everything?" Hiccup still had some ways to escape it. At least he hoped he had some chances.

"Not everything, only people close to me." Then Jack smirked devilishly with eyes glinting in the dark. "Come on, I deserve it after you told me to read that awful book of yours."

"Didn't the chocolate do the trick?" Hiccup crossed arms on his chest and moved the weight to his right leg. The cold wind was making him shiver and he had an urge to zip the jacket… however the jacket was already fully zipped.

"No…" Jack answered way too quickly. And after a few second, he added. "Maybe a little." Then he shook his head. "Come on Hic… don't be a meanie."

Hiccup totally didn't want to do that. What if his father accidentally looks out of the window? How will Hiccup explain it to him? He doesn't want to lie to his father about his relationship with Jack. Hiccup felt bad he had lied to Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout about it. He didn't need any more guilt on his shoulders.

Besides, why was Jack insisting on it so hard? This idea still didn't appeal to him. Hiccup knew Jack would back off, if Hiccup felt pretty uncomfortable. He had done it few times when Hiccup had poked him on different occasions and around different people. He more over got better with Jack touching him (maybe because they weren't so awkward around each other anymore), but not to this point.

Yet when Jack sent him the saddest puppy eyes he could muster right now, Hiccup felt something inside of him breaking. Damn it. It won't kill him, right? No bacteria will transfer so quickly. Or maybe Jack was just waiting to prank him somehow. Coming to this, Hiccup lately heard nothing about Jackson Overland's famous tricks.

No, Jack wasn't like that.

"Just one hug…" Jack wiggled his eyebrows at him which looked comically, especially combined with this pleading look he was giving. "Don't leave me hanging. You even said 'next time' when I proposed hugging last time?"

Unfortunately, Hiccup had said that.

With a loud, very emotional groan Hiccup made a step forward. He could already feel the headache coming from it, but he brushed it away… for now.

And just as he expected, as soon as he was close enough, Jack's hands embraced him. Just like last time, he wasn't holding too strong or too light, so it didn't look like some kind of a forced thing (even though it kind of was). No, it was delicate and kind hug.

The reality was so different from all those hugs in books and fanfictions. There wasn't any sudden rush of warmness, there wasn't any slowed down moment – the time didn't stop, the world didn't become quiet and there wasn't this feeling that they were the only one left on the whole globe – no physics' laws were broken by this embrace. Hiccup heard the soft rustling of Jack's shifting jacket, he heard the low hum of Jack's breath near his head and Jack's slow beating heart. Not to mention, it wasn't like Hiccup suddenly stopped feeling cold. On the contrary, the wind was still making his hair stand on his neck, similar to metal particles near the magnet. There wasn't any invisible barrier separating them from the world. It wasn't only them, because Hiccup was well aware of everything around him and Jack. But he acknowledged Jack's presence in front of him more than ever.

However, it wasn't that bad. Even though he still shivered from time to time, he felt a little bit warmer. Not warmer in this overly dizzy way, but simply warmer – similar to this pleasant feeling you get after drinking a cup of hot cocoa, which definitely fitted Jack.

Hiccup's hands still lamely hung near his body, but he found his fingers twitching. Should he do something? Did Jack even expect him to do something?

The auburn haired teen wanted to glance at Jack to find some kind of confirmation, but he was unable to move his head. Were you even supposed to move head while hugging?

Well, Jack was right, he did deserve it. It was Hiccup's fault Jack felt so depressed. Plus… this was the only selfish thing Jack asked from Hiccup. It probably wasn't even a request in Jack's mind, because if it was, then Hiccup had a feeling Jack would back away quickly after seeing the uncomfortable look on the boy's face.

So in the end, Hiccup put his hands on Jack's back, barely putting any tension on it. But it was some improvement.

"This is so gay…" Hiccup mumbled, standing there, not really moving forward or back.

Hiccup felt Jack trembling from laughter, which soon exited his lips. It felt strange to hear and feel someone laughing so close to him.

"Says who…" Came the low, hushed, yet amused reply. Then another Jack's chuckle shook Hiccup's body. "No offence, but you're as suave as a wooden log."

Hiccup was well aware of that. No wonder the only admirer he had was Dagur.

Without any more words, Jack moved away, allowing for Hiccup's hands to fall back down. Jack was standing with his back to the street lamp, so it was hard to see all his face features, but Hiccup had a feeling that he was smiling at him. But this one smile was a little bit different from the usual Jack's grin.

"See, you're making progress. You almost hugged me back!" Was he praising Hiccup?

The auburn haired teen sighed and put his palms back in his pockets.

"What? Are you planning to do it more often?"

"Maybe…" Jack answered with a playful tone, shrugging along the way.

Hiccup didn't expect this answer, nor he really wanted to hear it.

They both heard a buzzing sound coming from Jack's pocket. The said boy dove his hands in search for the device and then took it out with a yell of victory. Seriously, everything was plain exciting for him. How could he still have so pure and childish soul inside of him? Jack seriously was a modern Peter Pan.

The taller teen scrunched his nose as he read something on the screen. Then he replied quickly and with a loud huff hid his phone away.

"I have to go." And without waiting for an answer, Jack turned on his heels and ran a few meters. Only then he stopped abruptly and looked back at Hiccup, who still didn't move from his position. "See you on Monday?"

"Ya, I guess…"

"Cool, g'night! Sleep tight!" And with that Jack stormed away, still waving his hand for a minute or so after turning around.

"Bye!"

Hiccup stared at the silhouette until it became a dot on the horizon, which soon disappeared behind the corner. Only then he finally turned around and walked into his house.

Author's note:

Finally! It's done! Seriously, you don't even know how long it took me to check this chapter due to all this mumbo-jumbo at my Uni xDDDD. And I must warn you, look out for any organic related matter, because this labs are giving me nightmares!

And I'm sorry for all mistakes. I'm pretty sure this chapter had a lot of errors, because most of the time I'm checking when I'm super tired after classes. Maybe it will be replaced in the future with checked chapter :3.

Answers:

Tigermike83 - Haha, me too xD! Thaaaank you :3!

Guest - Omg, thank you ;_; (I would like to be faster, but it's so hard to check those long chapters, haha xD). And thank you for leaving a review. But I totally understand you, 'cause I love Aster and on one side (and I kind of want for them to be happy), but on the other I'm head over heels for HiJack 3. Hope you liked this chapter too!

Vampireharry the 2 - Yay, thaaaanks =D! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Eliazeravenfeather - You're so right. They are made for each other 3. And seriously you shot me down with your interpretation. It is seriously on point, even though I wasn't thinking on it so hard, haha. But you're totally right, plus I think Hiccup is thinking he has more similar topic and hobbys with Aster than most of the people (which I tried to show a little bit). But hey, you know what they say - opposites attract! Dagur in my mind is such a nice person, but maybe because I more over know what will happen next haha xD. I hope I'll be able to tie all plot's treads in right way =D

ChristineBH - Gosh, you're right! It is weird, because seriously I know hard and hardly are two different words, but guess, I didn't catch it out from the text while checking. But point taken. And I wish finding beta-reader would be so easy. I have Eliaze helping me, but both our lifes are busy D:

Snowflakesndangel - I can't say much, but you may be on the right track :3. I loved that part, because Hiccup was acting so weird, because he isn't used to giving advices. Thank you so much for reading :3.

AnhiVann - Aw yiss, I'm so glad xD! My main OTP is also HiJack, but sometimes in the middle of writing I have this urge to change something drastically, but then I must remind myself that no, HiJack is life xD. And thank you. I will try to be more careful next time with facade and advise (seriously, it is a tricky word! D:).

PheonixGrimLight - He was a little bit down. But don't worry, he will be fine at some point :3.

Time for nerd's fact:

*The weight of osmium and iridium – theoretically osmium is the most dense element. However, according to some measurements iridium is more dense than osmium, so we aren't sure what is really more dense.

*Kleitmant and Dement – they classified sleep into four NonREM stages and REM.

*Pouring water into very concentrated acid – this is literally one of the worst things you could do, because there are large amount of heat released while doing so! First you pour water, then acid :3.

*Solving the separable first-order ordinary differential equations – you can check it on the internet, but basically it is one of the most logical ways to solve differential equations C:

*Absolute zero – OK, -273,15°C or −459.67°F.

*XRF Analyzer – Well, the new one aren't very expensive, but at our Uni we had this pretty old analyzer and well… repairing it wasn't cheap xDDD.

And some other facts:

*Tara – character from Epic. Seriously, I love her!

*Canavan/Sapkowski/Pratchett – they are all authors of fantasy books. I highly recommend Canavan (The Black Magician trilogy is one of my favourite books ever:3). Sapkowski is… well, I don't really like his books that much. And I never read Pratchett, but my friend told me he is good.

Some additional comments from me:

*Feeling guilty - This part when Jack and Hiccup talk about it may seem urgent... because it is. I totally forgot to put those feelings earlier and I didn't want to miss it, so I added it here =D.

Hope to see you soon :3!