Pairing: Jack x Hiccup

Genre: Romance, Drama + Angst

Warning: NC-17/T

Warning: only half beta-read

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

Ohm's law – the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points. The constant of proportionality is the resistance.

Life was definitely peculiar.

Hiccup knew it was. Everyone's life was a confirmation of this theory. It could be all nice and dandy one moment, only to crash during another. It was a fickle thing, not catalogued by anything, couldn't be described by any formulas, compositions of atoms or diagrams.

Life was mysterious.

But there was beauty to it.

Well Snotlout sneezing right at him was not a part of this beauty. It was totally the opposite of that, if someone asked Hiccup.

"Snot, the fuck!?"

"Quite literally, if you ask me." Tuffnut said from somewhere nearby.

The teen only laughed in reply with a short, wheezy chortle leaving his lips, but then he was actually moving his hands into his pockets to take out a tissue and blow his nose.

A little bit too late now.

Oh, Hiccup was disgusted. Seriously, what was his life now?

Hiccup picked his backpack from the floor and grabbed a package of tissues and hand sanitizer gel. He was never gladder he had it everywhere with him than in this very moment.

"You could have sneezed in the other direction. But no, of course not, you had to do it at me, thank you very much."

"You're very much welcome." Snotlout replied with mouth hidden behind the white tissue that covered his nose.

Astrid just rolled the straw in her fingers, but she had moved a few centimeters away from Hiccup beforehand. Traitor. He thought he could trust her, but in dire times she was moving away!

"I hate you." Hiccup added, putting the gel on his nose, around his eyes, on his cheeks and brushing it off with a tissue.

He would smell of alcohol, but at least some part of his face would be clean. Or at least he hoped so, desperately even.

Snotlout only laughed in reply, but didn't add anything.

Hiccup spent the next minutes furiously wiping his face, but in the end he still stood up and went to the bathroom to wash it one more time. He wanted to do it with a soap, but the dispenser was empty.

Just his luck. Of course, of course.

At least they had paper towels, so Hiccup could dry his dripping face. It felt a little bit better, but just to be sure he put some more gel on his face. He didn't want to be sick, just because Snotlout was.

Hiccup looked at his face in the mirror and only when he was more or less satisfied he went out, brushing a few wet curls away from his forehead.

"Couldn't you like… stay at home if you're ill? I'm sure you have sick leaves here."

Astrid was talking with Snotlout, who was spending his short break with them in the fast–food restaurant he worked at. Tuffnut was currently walking around, distributing the orders with amused smile on his lips, which widened when he spotted Hiccup exiting the bathroom.

"Oh man, that was hilarious." He said.

"I'm glad my misery made someone laugh."

"It sure did."

Hiccup glared at Tuffnut, who only laughed in reply and then moved to a pair to put one burger and one plate of fries in front of them.

Hiccup returned to his table and sat down, but eyed Snotlout just in case he would try to repeat it. The boy definitely could do it, just to annoy him.

(How they managed to co-exist and call each other friends – although a little bit forcefully sometimes – was beyond Hiccup's mind's comprehensions. Neither Einstein, nor Planck, nor Schrödinger could probably explain this mystery, although the last man could be closer to truth than anyone else.)

There were a few people around – it wasn't the rush hour, but still whenever someone went out, another person appeared, so at least one worker had to keep moving.

"Do you mind returning to work, Snot?" Tuffnut asked, collecting the dirty dishes and glancing at his friend with furrowed eyebrows.

"I still have my break for another four minutes. I'm gonna use it to the fullest."

"Dude."

For a moment Astrid and Snotlout talked freely about some situation that had happened back when they had been all in one school – good times, maybe not better ones, but Hiccup recalled those years with weird happiness. Sometimes kinda painful and filled with too many stressful memories, but fun nevertheless.

Tuffnut came back holding plates with food prepared for them which he put down with a smile.

"Bon appétit." He said, winking at them as both Hiccup and Astrid pushed the burgers closer to them, enjoying the soft sour and sweet aroma raising in the air around their noses.

"Thanks Tuff." Astrid quickly said, before grabbing the burger and taking a giant bite out of it, doing it gracelessly, smearing ketchup and mustard across her cheek and even getting some on her nose.

Snotlout snorted at that, but didn't comment it.

Hiccup tried to eat his dinner a little… cleaner, but it probably was a futile job. Plus he was really hungry and only his friends knew him here, so fuck it.

For some time only Snotlout talked, while Astrid nodded whenever he mentioned something familiar. But soon enough Tuffnut hit the back of his head with a tray which was a cue for him to get back to work, sniffing loudly and coughing as he did so.

Astrid glanced at Hiccup who shrugged.

They ate in silence, filling their stomachs to the brim, munching on fries in the meantime, until the door burst open and Ruffnut ran inside with her bag clattering loudly against her leg.

"Hey, sorry for being late." She shouted, as she crossed the restaurant in the direction of the kitchen, startling a few customers along the way.

(Some were already used to it, but newcomers definitely weren't, as they were jumping a little whenever Tuff or Snot shouted at each other, twitching when there was a loud bang! coming from the kitchen, looking around as they heard waiters scuffling. How they still had their job was another miracle, but Hiccup was glad they had it.)

Ruffnut turned to them, mouth stretching into a wild smile as the recognition precipitated in her eyes, swimming around. Her sneakers squeaked loudly as she approached them and then snatched a few fries from Astrid's plate.

"Hey losers, nice to see you."

Astrid furrowed her eyebrows at the blatant theft, but didn't comment it. Or maybe her mouth was full with burger – that was also a possibility.

"Hey to you too." Hiccup said instead.

Ruffnut grinned wider.

Astrid finally swallowed and turned to her.

"Why are you so late anyway?"

The girl blinked and then a faint smear of manganese(II) chloride* pink appeared on her cheeks and nose. She lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head cautiously, eyes moving away from the duo.

"I uhm… I mean… I was just busy."

"She had a date with Eret!" Tuffnut shouted from the kitchen. "And she stayed the night there!"

Oh, that was a new information.

Some customers, who had been listening to them, lifted their heads and glanced at them, some with smiles adorning their faces, some with surprise, some who knew Ruffnut for some time – at least as a waiter – grinned at the information.

(And Hiccup had a feeling he had seen some old marriage high-five each other, what the heck?)

"We did nothing!" Ruffnut shouted back, eyebrows immediately furrowing, losing the embarrassment and replacing it with anger.

"Sure did." Tuffnut said, peeking at her from the window that lead to the kitchen and where the cooks put the food for the waiters to take them to the designated tables. "That's why you're late."

"We slept like till noon!"

"Uh-huh and because of what?" Her brother continued, lifting his eyebrow and looking at her.

Hiccup couldn't believe that this conversation was happening at full volume in the middle of the fast-food restaurant. But on the other hand he didn't really want it to stop, the curiosity was bubbling inside his mind, evaporating and filling his skull to the brim.

"Because we played games like till five am."

Tuffnut hummed, this typical hum that brought nothing good, the hum that pointed that he didn't believe her, the hum that was the epitome of the siblings' relationships.

"Sure you did."

"You don't believe me?"

"No one really believes you, it's what friends do in that kind of situations." Snotlout butted it, sniffing loudly at the end as he started to gather dirty dishes left by other customers.

"Unbelievable." Ruffnut said, throwing her arms in the air and then dropping them down with back hunched as she stared at snickering Tuffnut and Snotlout who high-fived each other.

Hiccup felt only a little bit bad, just a teeny-tiny, but he had been on the receiving end for so long that some part of him found pleasure in seeing some other member of his team be where he had been so many times.

So he just stared and laughed. Astrid also had amused look on her face as she ate the remaining fries.

Ruffnut then turned to them.

"Do you believe me?" She furrowed her eyebrows and squinted her eyes. "Or them?"

Astrid shrugged.

"I mean they are showing good points, you know."

They weren't, Hiccup knew that. Astrid just did that to piss the girl off.

"Traitor." Ruffnut whispered, sending daggers with her gaze at which Astrid only smiled and returned to eating her fries.

Oh no, Ruffnut turned to Hiccup. Well maybe if he started eating then the girl would spare him from answering her question?

"How about you Hiccup?"

Oh no. He didn't prepare an answer. He wasn't sure what answer he could even give. He simply didn't care what the girl had done during the night. The teasing could be true and it could be false. They didn't have enough evidence, data, to form a correct theory.

And Ruffnut was still looking at him expectantly.

Hiccup swallowed the piece he had in his mouth and decided to tell the honest truth.

"I don't really… care?"

Oh gosh, it came out more like a question than an answer. He was miserable, an awkward misery. A mess.

The girl blinked, taken aback by his answer. The surprise appeared inside her eyes, sparkled to life as a sudden wave stormed through them, but then it was gone, replaced with something… almost positive?

Hiccup wasn't sure. He still had problems with reading people's emotions.

"I'll take that you're on my side."

Hiccup shrugged and took another bite after saying:

"Whatever swings your boat."

Tuffnut emerged from the kitchen with two plates.

"Drop it, Ruff. Asking Hiccup is no use, because he probably only cares what he is doing with Jack during nights."

Okay, that was not okay. The food got immediately dislocated inside his throat, going where it shouldn't go and blocking his respiratory system for a short moment. But long enough moment for him to start coughing wildly.

He should make a rule to not actually eat anything near his friends, because it was a deadly hazard for him. He was going to die due to choking at some point.

Astrid next to him snorted and only after that she decided to help him by patting him between shoulder blades. It did help a little, not much and Hiccup still had to take a few longer breaths to feel more or less fine.

(He didn't feel fine, there was something still stuck inside the larynx… or at least felt like it, with a weird dull pain spreading across his lungs and spine.)

Ruffnut laughed at that, looking weirdly pleased that the topic was pushed onto Hiccup's shoulder.

And well he wasn't happy about the outcome. He definitely preferred if they grilled the girl about her dates and boyfriends. Simply because her one was real and not fake.

"Oh, that reminds me I didn't hear anything about him in a while." Snot sniffed, tying the apron around his waist as he exited kitchen. "Some storm over lovey-dovey couple? Someone rained on your parade?"

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Astrid asked, raising her eyebrow as she looked back at their friend.

Snotlout shrugged.

"I just wanted to use this phrase."

Astrid sighed, rolling her eyes like it just pained her to hear it.

(It pained Hiccup as well, mostly because all eyes were on him. And also because he was sure some customers decided to listen to them, finding pleasure in hearing them bicker back and forth. A nice change from dealing with problems of everyday life.)

"But Snot is right. I didn't hear anything about him in a while!" Tuffnut added, looking at them from inside the kitchen now. "Something happened?"

Hiccup shook his head quickly.

"No, nothing happened."

Lately nothing had happened. Well maybe not counting the fact that Jack had asked him to help fix Aster's problem.

(In a big scale a lot of things had happened between them. Falling for him was one thing definitely, something Hiccup hadn't expected. It wasn't an outcome he had predicted, he hadn't even thought it was possible to happen, but he had done that.)

"So why aren't you talking about him?" Tuffnut asked, leaning his elbows on the counter and peeking at them.

Hiccup raised his eyebrow.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know?"

Wait, maybe this was the perfect moment for a small revelation. His friends definitely would find out about it at some point and Hiccup, to be honest, preferred them to find out from him, not some other source.

(It made the guilt a little bit smaller, even thought it was still there, shaking vigorously, clawing his chest, clenching his lungs and heart.)

"We're going together to the prom? That's the only new thing I can tell you."

Snotlout snorted as he picked up the dirty dishes from a nearby table. Tuffnut whistled at him, shooting finger guns in his direction and Ruffnut only winked at him as she exited the kitchen.

"We all knew it would happen, but it's still nice to know it." Ruff said, moving closer and ruffling Hiccup's hair.

Or more like messing his hairstyle completely would be a good description of what was happening right now. Because damn, this girl had power. And the fact that Hiccup had tangles in his hair wasn't helping as they were hooking on the fingers moving through his locks.

"Aww our baby Hiccup and his first prom." Tuffnut coed sweetly before he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Just don't get dead drunk." Snotlout added, piling plates on each other. "And don't have sex in the changing room showers beneath the gym, not a safe place to have it."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes.

"Because you would know that."

Snotlout shrugged.

"I'm saying that I just heard stories of people getting sick by having sex there."

"Why are they even doing it under the gym? It smells like shit there."

"I don't know, a thrill of being caught is pushing them forward?"

"And back apparently."

Hiccup seriously wanted to be anywhere but here, especially right now.

"You do know you are still at work?" Astrid suddenly asked, leaning her chin on her hand and looking up at the duo who now stood in the middle of the fast-food restaurant.

Now when Hiccup looked around he could see they had the undivided attention of every customer inside. Some were smiling, some were looking horrified, some stifled laughter behind their hands and some nodded alongside, like they were totally agreeing to what the duo was talking about.

Ruffnut shrugged, grabbing two glasses from the table Snotlout had been cleaning a few moments prior.

"Well people here had to get used it. Believe me, we talked about even worse things here."

And somehow Hiccup wasn't surprised that some people nodded in understanding.

The situation between them wasn't the best, but it was way better than what they had had before.

Aster's face was still filled with wrinkles, muscles tensing, eyebrows furrowing and a faraway look directed somewhere away from the horizon. But there were also small twitches of mouth, sudden drops of shoulders in heavy sighs and conversations filled with relaxation.

It wasn't the best, but it was still better.

After the revelation they had sat in Aster's room and talked – about everything and nothing, explanations had poured, but they had been dimmed after some time when the weight of everything had pushed Aster down – so they had switched to lighter topics, leaving the heaviness for some time behind.

It seemed that the simple knowledge that Jack and Tooth knew was making Aster feel better.

They both also had heard Aster's dad reprimanding his son and honestly – Jack never had seen the man amused, terrified and angry all three in the same time. Tooth and Jack had stood aside, watching the situation unfold in front of them, waiting for the perfect time to be allowed to intervene somehow or just to go home.

A few days had passed since then and Jack felt a part of weight being pushed away from his chest.

"I think I'll leave the team this week."

Jack snapped his head up from glancing outside the window of Aster's car, so he could stare with wide eyes at his friend.

"Oh." He managed to say after a while, swallowing first.

"I don't want to let the rest of us down, especially as the season is coming. Besides I want to focus on learning and other things." Aster continued, not glancing at him even once.

His eyes observed the road and the sparse amount of cars that passed them by or moved in front of them.

The morning atmosphere was almost leisure, with the clouds swimming lazily on the sky and the harsh early sun shining through the windows, chasing away the dark night and glancing at its reflection in the puddles that appeared overnight.

Jack put his hand down and turned to his friend.

"Aster, you don't have to explain yourself. It's okay."

Now that he understood it was more than okay. Plus he already knew that such kind of ideas and possibilities were swirling through his friend's head.

"I know, it's just…" One hand left the steering wheel to comb through his fringe messily. "I just wanted to tell you… beforehand."

Jack blinked, correcting himself on the seat.

"Are you planning on telling Captain today?"

A low huff left Aster's lip as he stopped on a red light. The fingers slowly tapped the artificial leather around the steering wheel. The windshields of the car behind them were moving, even though it wasn't raining.

"I'm not sure. Maybe." He finally admitted. "Or next time."

"Whenever you'll do it, it'll be fine."

"I guess I'm just nervous." Aster mumbled quietly and then moved forward as the light turned green.

Jack sent him a small smile. Maybe it wasn't important to others. It was just one sentence, barely revealing, barely private, but for him it seemed like a leap across the mountains.

(It wasn't perfect, it wasn't even close to okay, but it was at least something.)

"It's going to be okay."

A little bit sad, maybe even devastating, but they had to live through it. There were more important things to focus on right now. Learning, finals, family, ties that had been ripped, broken in a few places, but still could be remade, fixed.

"I know." Aster finally mumbled and then turned left to park the car in the parking lot of their school.

The air was crisply, held a hint of water, muddy water that had mixed overnight, but weirdly refreshing, tickling their skin as they exited the car. It also kinda hurt Jack's lungs, making it kinda hard to breathe freely, and even sometimes formed a small cloud as he exhaled slowly but Jack still liked this weather.

A cold spring morning.

"So I must ask… though I already probably know the answer to this question." Aster spoke again, moving to the trunk and opening it with a click of his keys.

"Already sounds terrifying." Jack said, hinting at amused tone as they slung their bags on their shoulders.

Aster huffed and then reached to close the trunk with a loud thud.

He flinched at that.

"Were you the one who asked Hiccup to get me out for a meeting?"

Okay, this was definitely not what Jack was expecting from this morning talk right now.

The sudden stress pulled on his nerves, twisting them painfully, exposing, filling his stomach with guilt, an uncomfortable guilt.

(Guilt was familiar to him. He had learned to live with it, even though he didn't like it. It was like a never-ending companion, holding his hand and pushing through dire places. There were times when it was easier – while spending leisure times with his friends who knew everything, looking at Hiccup's smile – but then it could take North's one glance to break his walls and for the feeling to be back, stronger tenfold.)

"Yeah… it was me." Jack finally said, feeling his tongue getting dry and his fingers gripping the strap of his bag tighter. "Sorry." He added at the end.

"No, don't worry, I guess I had… fun."

"That's good. Still sorry for… for tricking you I guess."

Because it was a trick. He tricked Aster into going with Hiccup, so he could sneak and probe into Aster's private life. It wasn't okay – no matter how many times he would tell himself that it was for higher reasons.

"I forgive you. I was kinda dumb anyway."

Jack snickered as he glanced at Aster, who was sending him a shy smile.

"Yeah, your dad pointed it out quite nicely." Jack said. "And loudly…"

"Oh I think I never heard him yell so loud in my entire life."

Jack never had heard the man even raise his voice, but he guessed there was first time for everything.

"Can't say I didn't deserve it."

"Oh you definitely did." Jack quickly said.

"You weren't supposed to agree with me." Aster glanced at him, furrowing his eyebrows for a moment.

"But I just did. I had to agree with the truth." Jack puffed out his chest, closing his one eye and glancing at his friend as they both entered the empty school.

Aster glared at him for a moment and Jack shrugged in reply, which only get him a tired shake of Aster's head.

Then, when Jack turned around to stare at the corridor in front of him he felt a pat on his back. Not a heavy one, but definitely memorable one – warm, familiar, one he often had shared with his teammates during matches. Two pats, with a short interlude in the middle.

Jack blinked and then turned to his friend, looking at him curiously, although a little bit taken aback by the sudden movement.

(He couldn't say that he didn't like it, because he did. It felt like home, like warm blankets thrown over cold body during winter evenings, like a first sip of hot cocoa during rainy, stormy days.)

"You're impossible, you know that?"

Jack snorted loudly, closing his eyes for a second.

It wasn't out of a menace, it wasn't a laughter jabbed at his friend's words. He simply had to do something to hide the sudden heat appearing under the skin of his cheeks, spreading around like a wildfire.

So it was easier to snort and turn his head around, than look back at Aster.

"Thanks, I guess?" He lifted his hand to scratch his cheek, hoping that maybe this way he could get rid of the color residing there. "Can I call you a dumbass now?" He asked instead, a wild grin splitting his mouth suddenly.

"First of all – no, you're not allowed to do that."

"But your dad called you that!"

"He has my permission." Aster sighed and then the hand that touched Jack's back moved to pinch the bridge of his nose. "And second… how… how the hell did you moved from me calling you impossible to you calling me stupid."

"I thought we were doing the opposites. You know, because usually I'm the stupid one and you're the impossible –"

But Jack couldn't finish his sentence as Aster butted in, inhaling loudly beforehand, making his shoulders move up and down, like he was gathering as much strength as he could to deal with whatever was about to come next.

"Just stop. You're not stupid, Jack." He finally said.

Jack blinked and stopped to fully turn around to his friend, staring at his face, at the shadows playing in the crooks and nannies of his face, spreading and disappearing alternately as the teen tilted, moved and turned his head.

Jack gripped the strap of his bag tighter with teeth biting into his bottom lip.

"This is not what you said the… other time."

Aster sighed, exasperatedly, like he suddenly was dealing with a wave that could make him kneel and loose his footing.

But Jack had to say it. He knew his friend hadn't meant it in any bad way, but still some part of him was hurt. He could hide it as much as he wanted, but it was still there, glancing at him remorseful, reminding him about itself during random, empty times.

"Jack, you know I didn't mean it that way." Bunny finally said, hand dropping from his nose to look straightforward at Jack, right into his eyes.

"I know." Jack shrugged, moving his hands to hide them into the pockets. "It's just…"

"I'm sorry if it hurt you. I didn't want to do it."

Jack glanced up, mouth twitching into a small, hesitant, but reassuring smile.

"It's okay."

Now more than ever.

Aster's nodded, eyes moving from his face to look around the corridor. It seemed like there was a short, internal fight inside his mind, a sudden cloud of dust rose in the air, only to quickly fall down.

Aster swallowed hard with the Adam's apple bobbing heavily and eyes roaming around the empty corridor.

(Now Jack was used to it, but there had been times when such hollow corridor had made him feel weird, like he hadn't belonged here, like there had been something eerie and mysterious about this place at this hour, without any souls around.)

Jack smiled and then elbowed Aster's side softly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I already forgot about it."

Which was a lie, an easy one, one that rolled almost naturally off his tongue. But he simply didn't want Aster to feel bad, especially now that he noticed his mistake.

Bunny huffed. His one hand moved to his fringe, which he pushed away with eyes still not looking at him. Only after a few seconds he exhaled shortly, which resembled a quick, raspy laugh.

"Though I still stand by my point. You are stupid. But only in terms of feelings."

Okay, so they were back to that.

"And I still don't know what you're talking about." Jack said, furrowing his eyebrows, but not letting go of the small smile he kept on his mouth.

He didn't want to lose it, especially not right now. It still didn't fit the whole scenario, there were many hollow times, many shadowed places, many dark holes that needed to be passed to get to the other point, but for now it was okay.

"Well hopefully you'll understand it one day." Aster said and then moved forward, elbowing him in return and letting a small smile slip onto his lips.

Jack chuckled.

"That is totally not cryptic at all."

"Hiccup? Everything's okay?"

He glanced up from the mash of potatoes he had been playing with to look at his father who eyed him curiously, yet with a hint of worry creasing through his forehead like pollutant signals on NMR spectrum*.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's okay, everything's good. Why do you ask?" Hiccup quickly mumbled, finally putting some potatoes on his fork and then in his mouth.

"Well you're awfully out of it today. You didn't even answer me when I asked you about your… science club?"

He hadn't done that? He wasn't sure. Everything that had happened during the last few minutes became a blur inside his head, a messy static that prolonged itself into oblivion.

"Sorry dad."

"No, it's okay. I'm just…" Stoick looked around, fingers brushing together, a soft whisper of skin against skin as he searched for perfect words to use in this type of situation.

Hiccup smiled under his nose as he cut a piece of meat and put it in his mouth.

(Even after so long his father was bad with showing emotions, but he tried and Hiccup loved that about him. Also he totally knew from which side he had inherited this rare talent.)

"… worried about you." The man finally finished, putting his hand down.

Hiccup looked up and smiled softly at Stoick.

"I'm okay dad, really."

"If you say so."

Hiccup nodded.

He really was okay, a little twitchy, but in overall okay. He wasn't sick or anything like that, there wasn't a major problem lurking in the back of his mind, making him lose sleep.

But there was something troubling him. The prom was getting closer and closer. Spring fully appeared in their lives with March making place for April and the Sun shining brightly above their heads. The leaves were fully green and flowers bloomed, showing the colorful petals to the whole world, shimmering and dancing with the wind.

They were halfway through the semester and the idea of prom was getting closer and closer every day. And with it the thought of telling his father.

Hiccup totally could do it on the same day or the day before, so this way he could only sneak a quick kiss on the cheek and be on his merry way. But he didn't want to do that.

Stoick was his father and even though Hiccup had been technically hiding fake-dating Jack from him, he didn't want to hide going to prom with him.

Even though he was sure it would start a waterfall of questions, a sudden reaction filled with inquiries that needed immediate and detailed answers.

(And some part of Hiccup was afraid that Stoick would want to talk with Jack to give him… the talk. Even though they weren't technically dating and he was going to point it out to his father, but the idea didn't want to leave his mind at all.)

The point was that the prospect of telling his father was lately constantly on his mind. And weirdly Aster had started it. With him confessing and all that. Could it be even called confessing? Hiccup wasn't sure to be honest.

It had been a bizarre experience, one that Hiccup couldn't fully grasp.

If maybe the times were different, if maybe Aster had said something sooner, heck if maybe Hiccup had done something before all of that, then it all would be different.

He shook his head, which gave him a weird glance from his father.

No, this was a path he didn't want to consider now. It was closed, taped, locked with a chain. It was a remorseful thing, a sad little tone at the back of Hiccup's heart, but he knew he didn't want that.

(Even if it hurt Aster. And maybe even Jack.)

He wondered if Jack knew about Aster's feelings. It was a possibility, but considering the fact that lately it seemed that both Aster and Jack hadn't been on the best terms would point in the direction of Jack not knowing about it. But Hiccup could be wrong. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be wrong or not actually.

However if he knew… would he call off the plan? Would he change his mind about the prom? Would he push Hiccup forward even though he didn't want to do it?

Hiccup put potatoes in his mouth and nibbled on them slowly, staring forward but not actually seeing anything.

Luckily the whole informing his friends had gone well… at least as good as it could go with them. In Hiccup's book this had been still a success, even though the comments about it had started almost immediately after that day.

(Hiccup had had to roll his eyes a few times at the innuendos Snotlout and Tuffnut had been making.)

He just had a feeling it wouldn't go that well with his dad.

"So… how was work?" He asked, after clearing his throat from the mush that barely wanted to go down.

The man glanced up at him.

"It was… good." Stoick murmured.

Hiccup nodded, cutting another piece of meat and putting it in his mouth. He munched on it slowly, looking at the mess he had made on the plate.

Okay this was really awkward, not the usual familiar awkward, just different awkward. That one awkward that reminded Hiccup all about the past they had put behind them.

Hiccup needed to talk with Jack, stat.

Or well as quickly as he could at least.

"You're staring."

"I do not."

"You definitely do, Jack." It was Tooth, butting into the conversation.

"What are you doing here exactly?" Aster asked instead, glancing at the girl who stood with them in front of the changing rooms.

The rest of his teammates stood around, in small and bigger groups, some alone, reading books, scrolling through their phones or listening to music via headphones.

"Waiting with you guys? I have a few minutes before the meeting starts so I decided to bug you." The girl shrugged, the colorful lock slid through her ear and now hung leisurely near her cheek.

Aster blinked, but didn't comment it much, only glanced at Jack and shrugged.

"So why were you staring at me anyway?" Bunny inquired instead, when neither of them spoke.

"I told you I wasn't looking at you." Jack whined, eyes moving up to stare at the ceiling like it held answers to his every questions.

"Yeah, right."

He wasn't. He was just staring straight and Aster happened to be in his line of vision. But he wasn't staring at him. However he was kinda thinking about him.

(Okay that sounded really weird.)

And about Aster's… well information from a few hours ago. It hadn't been a sudden drop of bomb, it definitely hadn't been anything major – on the contrary, Jack had expected for it to happen. Heck, they even had talked about it.

But still when it had happened it still had taken him aback.

Aster informing him that he was resigning from team today.

Aster didn't want to tell everyone beforehand. Maybe because this way it would be easier for him – maybe he didn't want to feel the pats on his shoulders, the sad smiles directed at him, the sudden drops of mood that definitely would happen.

Their team was like a small family. They had their disagreements, good and bad times, filled with tears, both from happiness and sadness.

Teammates came and went, but there were a few people who stayed through the whole High School. Aster was one of them. Same as Jack.

Both of them had lived through some teammates leaving the team earlier – it happened from time to time, especially due to finals and other things that were more important. Usually the end of the year broke the team. Well maybe not broke, but it was the time when most of the players were leaving the team.

Jack thought they still had some time together. But apparently not.

But it was Aster's decision and he was going to support it.

Especially as it seemed like Aster needed it.

It wasn't visible at first sight per se, but Jack knew what to look for in Bunny. The sudden tension in shoulders, eyes moving from left to right, lips pinched in a tighter line than usual, fingers moving, playing with something.

Those were small things. Heck, some would say that those things were even natural for Aster.

Because he always looked strict, always looked rigid, serious, mouth rarely letting a smile to form on his lips in natural state. Some people were afraid of Aster, some people were too scared to approach him. And Jack couldn't really blame them.

(Long time ago he had been like that too and now when he recollected that memory he felt like laughing at himself.)

But Jack knew how to find those small things, those more rigid places, more cold eyes, more twitching fingers.

Tooth probably had seen it during the day too. That was why she was here, with them, talking animatedly about random things, only to get Aster's mind off some things.

And Bunny probably knew the truth too. He wasn't just stating the obvious.

(The new situation was slowly starting to form. They were laying brick after brick, deconstructing the old thing and building something entirely new, using old and new resources.)

"I mean Jack, you were totally doing it." Tooth finally added, breaking Jack's bubble of thoughts.

Jack looked at her.

"Why are you ganging up on me, guys?" He huffed out, feeling a sudden need to comb his fingers through his hair, but preventing himself from doing so.

His hairstyle would be destroyed soon enough anyway. Due to the training and all that.

"Because we can." Aster quickly said, even stated it like it was the obvious truth. "Beside you two ganged up on me the last time, now it's time for a payback."

Jack let out a wry laugh, this time not protesting as his hand moved to scratch the back of his nape, probably leaving red trails there.

"But for the record, you totally deserved that." Jack said.

"Agreed." Tooth added.

Aster sighed loudly, letting his shoulders drop down and for a small, hesitant smile to form on his mouth.

They didn't have much to talk as more and more teammates gathered around and finally their Captain appeared in the corridor, welcoming them with nods and short twitches of lips.

"I'm going to talk with him first." Aster suddenly said and quickly shot up to move to the Captain.

"Good luck!" Tooth shouted, waving her hand around.

Some of Jack's teammates glanced at her, not understanding what kind of luck Aster currently needed, but then quickly shrugging it off.

The girl then turned to Jack and smiled at him.

"I need to go too. Tell me how it went later, okay?"

"Sure."

Tooth graced him with another grin and then she was twirling on her heel and almost running down the corridor to get to the meeting on time.

(Or maybe she was already late and was just standing there with them to be a moral support. Jack wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth to be honest. Tooth was astonishing and selfless like that.)

Jack observed her posture for a few more seconds, but then someone patted him on the back and pointed with his thumb at the changing room and Jack quickly followed them there.

Aster stepped inside a few minutes later. He had a grim look on his face, but it slowly smoothened out when he approached Jack.

"How did it go?" Jack whispered, leaning closer to Aster as the teen started changing his shirt.

"As well as it could probably go." Aster mumbled back, glancing at him for only a moment, before his head disappeared under the shirt.

Unfortunately or not they didn't have much time to talk as the time for practice was getting closer and closer, to this point even the Captain was hurrying them up.

Jack grabbed his bottle and then also took Aster's bag, who was in the middle of tying his shoes.

Today they had training outside. It was pretty warm and nowadays the sun stayed till the end of the training, so the light wasn't a problem. The grass had grown a little, but running on it wasn't yet that problematic.

(Plus girls had volleyball practice today in the gym.)

The Captain called them to the line. The Coach stood behind him, but he looked through some notes on the pad he had in front of him.

(Usually it was the Captain who did most of the work for the team. The Coach definitely helped, but for Jack it seemed like Captain was definitely doing most of the job here.)

Aster stopped next to him after he dropped the bag with the rest of the things near the benches.

"Okay, listen up. I have a few announcements to make first…"

The teen told them about the upcoming practice match they had with a school from two towns away, about new things they wanted to buy, about new exercises and new methods of training they wanted to start, about the upcoming league. He boosted up the morals, but also showed the reality of what they could do and what not.

Everyone wanted to win, but they knew that at this moment they couldn't dream for the grand prize. It was a dream they all had, but it wasn't possible now. So they had to focus now on things smaller than winning with the best schools from the rest of the country.

The Coach added a few information about funds and upcoming matches he started arranging with other schools.

It seemed like they were getting to the end of announcements when the Captain looked at them once again.

"Okay, I have one last information."

Aster next to Jack visibly swallowed hard.

Oh, he already knew about what the Captain would be talking.

Jack's chest squeezed painfully, breath got lost in his throat and he involuntary closed his fists, sensing a sudden nervousness dancing across his fingers.

"Maybe a sad one even." The Captain continued, putting both his hands behind his back, still holding a pad there. "Today is a special training for one of yours and my teammate. Special because it is the last one."

Some teammates started to glance at each other, trying to gauge who was leaving the team, who was the one to move away now. It seemed that already some people connected the dots and glanced a few times at Aster, but some were still looking at the Captain with surprise.

"Aster is leaving the team. It was a very logical decision considering the circumstances, so I expect from you only the best behavior now."

Bunny next to him tensed, spine became as rigid as a steel beam for a moment when every eye turned to him, putting him in the center of everyone's attention.

"So today practices will be cut short." Captain continued, tapping the pad against his back. "And later on we will have a small impromptu goodbye party for Aster."

"What?" Aster suddenly said, eyes widening quickly at the bomb dropped on them. "Why?"

The captain looked at him and lifted his eyebrow.

"Because you're one of our teammates?" He answered, looking at Aster like there was something weird on his face. "You don't want that?"

"I mean… I don't… I don't think…" Aster started and stopped, then started again, only to lose the train of thoughts again.

Jack's heart swelled at that and there was a bubble of laughter forming at the back of his throat, expanding, getting bigger and bigger and it was almost on the verge of breaking out.

"I'm not sure everyone would be up for it…" Bunny finally mumbled, glancing around quickly like he was searching for a proof.

The Captain brought his hands forward and crossed them on his chest, shifting the weight of his body to his other leg.

"So I guess we should ask the rest of the team then."

Aster stiffed at that and then warily glanced around.

Jack did too and the only thing that welcomed them was a series of quick, happy nods, welcoming shouts, sparkling eyes and wide smiles. The sadness was there too – Aster was an important member of the team.

They were all friends – some close, some a little bit further away ones, but they had spent countless hours together. They had got up and fallen down, only to get up again. Sometimes they had been goofing around, sometimes their eyes had been filled with determination and the pure need to win.

Maybe at first glance Aster wasn't the nicest person. He was kind, but his eyes were usually empty of any emotions with lips pinched in a tight line and posture showing only indifference. But it was only a first look.

Their team knew the truth and they liked Aster for who he was. And the fact that he was leaving the team didn't change that.

"Guess that is settled then." Their captain nodded and then turned to the coach. "It's okay, right?"

"Sure, I don't mind. We need such changes once in a while."

"Perfect." The teen then turned to the team and clapped his hands together after putting the pad under his arm. "Now give me twenty laps as a warm-up."

Only a waterfall of groans followed it, but most were done with a smile on the lips.

Okay, okay, okay, Hiccup couldn't do it much longer.

If he had to sit through another long dinner with his father without a proper conversation he was going to blow a fuse. Or just explode. Or just… whatever, he wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he didn't want to be here to find out.

So now he sat on his bed with a book on which he tried to focus, but couldn't.

He felt like he was hurting his dad, like the man could see right through him. It probably wasn't true, but Stoick knew that something was wrong. Or maybe not wrong, but off. That there was something on Hiccup's mind he wanted to say, but didn't.

And Stoick had been hinting at it, but Hiccup had kept his tongue behind his teeth all this time.

But he was on the verge.

His fingers traced the edge of the page, but stopped mid-flip as Hiccup noticed that he didn't remember about what he had been reading.

Damn it.

He sighed loudly, grabbed his bookmark to put it inside the novel and then closed it loudly.

He didn't want to live like that. He wasn't technically hiding anything from his dad per se, but he wasn't also telling him the honest truth. No, that wasn't true, Hiccup was hiding things. He was hiding a lot – Dagur bullying him, fake-dating Jack to get rid of him and Heather, wanting and actually going to prom with Jack.

He was such a hypocrite. He hated himself for that. For so long he had lived in the limbo – not bad and not good – because he had been afraid of destroying what they had had after well… after it had all turned to shit some time ago.

(Doctors had helped, appointments had been made, medicines had been taken and for now it was okay. It was way better than the silent treatment from before, they had started to talk with each other, had opened slowly their hearts to understand the new world around them.)

But Hiccup was simply afraid of reversing, of going back to the situation from before – where he had thought that Stoick hadn't accepted him, that he had been somehow ashamed of him – that he had hidden the things that could destroy what they had now.

He was a terrible son.

He inhaled shortly, feeling the prickling sensation behind his eyes, so he took off his glasses and scrubbed them. Part of him wanted to talk with his dad, tell him everything, but part of him was terrified. What would Stoick think of him after finding out? Would he be angry? Sad? Devastated?

Hiccup didn't want that. He would take pure anger than silent treatment everyday.

But he was doing it again, hiding things just to protect their relationship. But treating it like something made of glass or dipped in liquid nitrogen wouldn't help. He couldn't look out for every thin crack, for every small mistake, for every thin place in fear of breaking.

Because some parts will definitely break. Arguments will happen. Shouts, words that shouldn't be said will probably be said. And then there will be apologies – some more honest, some quick, some short, some whispered into the night with hopes that the wind will take them to the right ear and heart.

It was a part of living. Hiccup won't repair their relationship if he doesn't do something. And living comfortably in the not perfect situation they had right now wasn't pushing them forward.

It wasn't pushing them back either, but without anything they would stay right there. And Hiccup desperately didn't want that.

But he couldn't do it alone. Or at least without informing someone first.

Hiccup moved to sit on his bed and he quickly searched around for his phone that had to be laying here somewhere. He found it under his pillow, laying upside down, and with wildly beating heart he dialed Jack's number.

He had to do it now, as he still felt the sudden courage in his veins, felt that he wanted to make a change. He had to move now, before it all would disappear, sublimate, evaporate into thin air.

One beep, then second followed, the third ringed in Hiccup's ear and slowly, step after step, he was feeling that he was losing the strength to do it.

After the fourth he was just about to give up when a familiar voice finally answered.

"Hey Hic, what's up?"

Beside Jack's voice Hiccup could hear other ones, laughing loudly, talking about something, shouting to each other, accompanied by slurps and clanks of cutlery.

"Oh uhm, hey, sorry, I shouldn't call, I think I'm actually interrupting something, so –"

"No, no, no, don't worry, you aren't interrupting anything." Jack on the other side breathed out quickly and then it seemed like he stood up and moved somewhere, judging by the volume of conversations getting lower and lower.

Hiccup nervously palmed the quilt beneath his fingers, rethinking all his choices until now. Stupid, he shouldn't call Jack. Well maybe it was okay that he had called him, but maybe he should wait, so that he wasn't interrupting any of Jack's meetings or parties or whatever he was doing right now.

"Okay, now I will hear you clearer." Jack said happily and a little bit out of breath.

"Sorry, didn't want to make you leave that place. I can hang up and we will talk some other time –"

"Hic, I already told you, it's okay. I don't mind. Beside you rarely call me first, so whatever you need to talk about must be important."

It was important for Hiccup. Maybe only for him. Pretty darn selfish, but somehow he still held onto the last string of bravery that was inside his chest and head.

"I mean, it is only important to me, so fuck…"

"Language." Jack snorted on the other side and then it seemed like he changed his position, judging by the rustling whisper of his jacket and blouse. "And now spill the beans."

So Hiccup did.

"Can I tell my dad about the prom?"

There was only a second of empty space between them before Jack was catching up and answering.

"Wait, like right now?"

"Yeah?" Hiccup mumbled unsurely, not knowing what to expect and feeling the piece of quilt beneath his hand getting wetter and wetter with sweat. Yikes.

"Sure, why not?" Jack answered, a hint of confusion at the first word, which morphed quickly into happiness. "Do you want me to be there with you?"

"No, no, no, no, definitely not." Hiccup quickly shot back, straightening his spine as a sudden panic arose in his chest and heart, making his mind go blank for a moment. "Stay where you are, don't worry about it. I got it covered."

"Okay, totally not suspicious." Jack hummed on the other side.

"It's just… I prefer you not being here… while I tell him." Hiccup started slowly, stopping a few times to find the perfect word, a combination that would be kind and strict both in the same time. "I think it would be better… for both of you."

"Oh, so he is that kind of dad." Jack on the other side mused, with an undertone of amusement in his words. "Okay, don't worry about it."

"Thank you." Hiccup murmured, letting go of the quilt to change the hand holding the phone. "I won't tell him about our plan, just that we're going together to prom. If that is okay with you."

"Yep, no objections here." Jack popped loudly the 'p' letter and Hiccup could almost see in his mind the kittenish smile and puffed out chest. "So can I tell North then?"

Hiccup nodded and then cleared his throat when he noticed that it was a futile thing to do while talking via phone.

"Yeah, yeah, totally."

"Sweet. But prepare yourself for some innuendos next time you'll come over."

"Good or bad innuendos?"

"Good ones." Jack said. "Maybe some inappropriate ones from Emma."

"Well to be fair… I kinda expect as much." Hiccup nervously answered.

"Good, at least you can prepare yourself." Jack chuckled on the other side.

Hiccup took a deep breath, feeling his chest expanding, diffusion happening inside his tissues, blood being filled with sweet, sweet oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide. It was a short moment, but Hiccup needed it to collect his thoughts, to gather the last particles of bravery he still had there somewhere.

"Okay, I'm going to tell him. Before I change my mind." Hiccup mumbled, already feeling the doubt peeking curiously at him from behind closed doors.

"Good luck." Jack said, voice interrupted by a sudden wind, which made static jump all over the connection. "Tell me later how it went and well… if I should pack myself already or not."

Hiccup let out a broken laughter.

"Sure. Sorry one more time for interrupting… a party?"

"Well kinda impromptu one, but yeah, a small party. I'll tell you more about it later, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

"See ya. L–"

And the line went dead. Only a long beeping sound filled Hiccup's body which quickly dissipated, leaving an empty void near his ear and whisper of his blood rushing through.

Okay, that was… that was a little bit weird.

But Hiccup had more important matter to worry about. Telling his dad. Who probably was downstairs watching TV with a cup of tea or coffee in his hands. Occasionally soda.

(Stoick never drank during week days.)

His thoughts were a fuzzy mess as Hiccup descendent down the stairs, holding onto rail for dear life, gripping it tightly like it could get rid of the tension keeping his muscles captive.

No, Hiccup had to do it, now, because he knew that if he didn't do it now, all would be lost.

Stoick was indeed in the living room, sitting on the couch and mindlessly watching some action movie running on the TV. One hand held a glass of something dark, maybe a cola and he slowly moved it from side to side.

He got it, he got it.

(He didn't get it, but at least he had to try.)

The nervousness was slowly creeping forward, fogging his mind, making him almost lose his breath, reminding him of the times when talking to his dad had been so so hard – and now it sometimes still was, like right now. But what they had now and what had been pushed back were like night and day. Or like electron and proton.

"Dad?" Hiccup croaked and then cleared his throat, embarrassed by it. "Can we talk for a second? There is something I need to tell you."

Stoick slowly turned his head. There was some fog covering his eyes for a moment, like the man had been on the verge of falling asleep, but as quickly as he saw Hiccup it all cleared up.

"Yeah, yeah, of course, we can talk. Come, here, sit with me." The words were slurry, glued together, but started to sound clearer the longer Stoick talked.

Hiccup nodded and shuffled to the couch, flopping down on it ungracefully and immediately latching onto the hem of his sweater, wrinkling it nervously.

After that there was silence between them. Not around the whole world, because the world was loud. The fridge was buzzing, the lamp was humming in the kitchen, the voices from the TV kept them company, cars drove outside, branches moved, brushed together. It was very loud around them. Yet it seemed that it was incredibly quiet between them.

(Hiccup couldn't explain it well, so he licked his lips slowly, trying to form some kind of plan inside his head, write points with which he should start and things he should say at the very end.)

Stoick moved, grabbed the remote control and turned the volume down. His eyes moved from the TV to Hiccup, to the cola he still kept in his hand, to once again him.

Hiccup inhaled deeply, feeling his chest expanding, but it did little to help him calm his nerves. The bravery he had felt before, a sudden urge to spill everything was disappearing quickly, like it was made from diethyl ether*. Well the dizziness and kinda irregular breathing would prove that it indeed could be made from that, but there was no excitement nor drowsiness, so yeah… plus it was impossible.

Stoick was patient. He didn't urge Hiccup to speak, even though it was clearly visible that he was curious. Curious and worried. Maybe only a little bit curious but mostly worried, judging by the creases and pinched lips. He waited for Hiccup to make the first move.

(Just as the doctor had asked them to do so long time ago.)

Hiccup didn't search for the perfect moment to speak, there wasn't a span of time which was ideal for his mouth to move. He just did it, when he felt strong enough to do so.

"I just wanted to tell you that… well I actually was asked… I mean I don't know if this is that important, but I really wanted you to know…" Hiccup started over and over again, getting lost and gripping another try again.

It shouldn't be so difficult to say that, yet it was. And he wasn't even sure why he was so nervous.

Stoick wouldn't think less of him. His dad had said so multiple times in the past, he loved him no matter who Hiccup was. He clearly didn't understand Hiccup – his passion, his behavior, his heart. It seemed like they were from two different worlds. But Stoick still loved him and Hiccup knew it.

"… Well that is wrong, I think it is important… Or at least you would want to know this… Or maybe I want you to know…"

Hiccup wrung the hem of his sweater, feeling the droplets of sweat gathering on his palms. It was a mess and somehow he knew it would end like that. But it took some time for his mind to finish the needed calculations, to come out with maybe not the perfect response, but with good enough answer to give in this very moment.

"… Well I just wanted to tell you that Jack asked me out… to prom… like to go together…"

There it was, Hiccup finally spoke the truth.

And just like that the program shut down, finishing its task and closing all tabs.

Hiccup closed his eyes, shut them tight, but then, when there was only silence in response, he pried them open slowly, feeling the tension in his lungs and throat.

Stoick just stared at him. He brushed the fingers of his free hand together, his leg bounced a few times and he blinked but other than that he looked well… the same as before the revelation.

Maybe only his eyes were a little bit wider, but it could be Hiccup's imagination.

"Jack… like Jackson Overland?"

Hiccup swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting his voice at this very moment.

"Well that is… that is unexpected."

Unexpected like flask failing down from clamps, unexpected like smoke jumping into your face after opening a bottle of chemicals, unexpected like a sudden beep of a machine when you get an error in the system?

Or unexpected like a soft gust of cold wind during autumn morning, unexpected like a soft drizzle during summer, unexpected like a spill of coffee on the table?

Hiccup wasn't sure what kind of unexpected his dad meant, big or small, groundbreaking or only rustling the leaves.

"I… I know, but I wanted to tell you…" Hiccup mumbled, barely partying his lips to let the words out. "… so you wouldn't feel left out…"

After that there was silence, an uncomfortable one, that tasted like the past, like acid on his tongue, like the prickling coldness of acetone on his skin*. It was there, tingling in his body, muscles, seizing them for a moment like he anticipated something to happen.

But nothing did.

Stoick took a deep breath, put the glass down and turned to him.

"Hiccup are you… and Jack…" He slowly started, clearly not knowing how to proceed, but trying nevertheless. "… together?"

Oh uh, some part of Hiccup had expected this question, but he had brushed the possibilities away, had pushed them into the dark parts of his mind to dwell on them later or even better, to forget about them.

But it came back, like a light reflected on a silver surface.

And Hiccup's heart hammered in his chest. There was this part of Hiccup that wanted to tell the truth, but he was incredibly embarrassed by it. The words didn't want to leave his chest, they found a warm place in his lungs, a new home. It felt like swallowing water, cold, murky water.

It actually took him a few tries to finally answer his dad.

"Uhm… no, I mean, we're not together… we're just going together… I mean I wouldn't mind… I mean that… Jack asked me out to go with him and I was super happy about it… but you know… it's just… I want to… Well I…"

It was a mess, a mess of chemicals, of reactions, of substances, of words mixing in his head, constantly changing. He couldn't grip what he wanted to say, which information reveal, what part of himself show right now.

Hiccup felt lost and frustrated with himself. He was mad at himself that he couldn't let the words out, that it was so hard to speak with his dad who loved him deeply. He was angry at himself for not being able to do such simple thing – speak.

It should be easy, but it was so incredibly hard, to this point he felt a prickling sensation in the corner of his eyes as his heart squeezed and for a moment he incredibly missed something and he didn't even know what.

But then there was a hesitant hand on his shoulder, gripping it, but just enough to show comfort and not to hurt him. The world tilted and soon Hiccup was smelling the familiar scent of home, his dad cologne, the sweet smell of cola and ink and dust and coffee. The beard scratched his cheek and forehead, maybe leaving barely visible red, pinkish marks.

Hiccup didn't care. The world became incredibly small, like there was no one beside them, the hushed voices coming from the TV, the buzzing whispers of fridge and the soft hums of light bulbs.

Stoick wrapped his big hands around him and hugged tighter.

"Hey… it's okay… don't worry about saying it out loud… it's okay…"

It wasn't much. Just a few words.

Hiccup slowly lifted his hands and tried to wrap them around his dad. It was hard to do so, not because hugging his dad was hard. Simply because the space between them was limited and his hands were shaking really badly.

(Hugging his dad was probably one form of affection he actually sought. Deep down inside, even though he ducked when Stoick raised his hand to touch his head and wiggled when there was an awkward hug between them, he felt happy he was able to do it.)

Hiccup hugged his dad back and felt all the pieces moving into right places. Maybe they didn't click, but it felt like a movement in the right direction, like the image stopped being fuzzy, like the puzzles were in correct spots and he just needed some more time to put the whole picture together.

It felt good.

The frustration slowly dissipated, being diluted by the calm atmosphere that appeared between them.

It felt like the time stopped and suddenly he felt like a little kid. Back when he still had climbed his dad leg to sit on the lap and enjoy the scratches of the beard on his forehead. Back when he had moved, glided his small palms along the rough, bigger ones to giggle happily at the difference.

(How he missed those times. He missed a lot of things, he would give a lot to just step back to that time and taste the air on his tongue, enjoy the light on his cheeks and feel the familiar connection around him.)

Now it seemed like he felt it once again. It wasn't fully the same. It was similar, different, yet familiar nevertheless.

Stoick held him as long as Hiccup wanted and he allowed for it to happen until his heart calmed down and throat became free.

And maybe even then he didn't move.

"It's just… complicated." He finally murmured, whispered into his dad's shirt, smelling the ink from a printer and the cars smoke.

"It's okay… life usually is…" His dad mumbled back, hand slowly stroking his back and Hiccup felt like all his pieces shivered and trembled.

He moved an inch closer, closing his eyes and inhaling through his nose.

"This sucks…" He said.

Stoick chuckled. The sound was incredibly unfitting, especially as it came from his bulky, stoic, always serious father. But it left his lips and Hiccup felt all warm inside.

They stayed like this for quite some time. Stoick held Hiccup until he finally felt brave enough to face the word, until he finally found the strength to deal with his life, until he was strong enough to be able to do it.

Then and only then Hiccup moved away and his dad patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm happy for you. Making High School memories, getting out there, helping people. It's not an easy thing to do for you. So I'm… proud of you."

Those were simple few words, but they rattled inside his heart and chest. It was like a supernova, but quiet one with the stardust sprinkling around.

It was calmness and storm in the same time.

But Hiccup smiled, he felt his mouth being stretched and in this very moment he felt simply good with his life. It wasn't perfect, but he felt incredibly lucky to be alive.

"Thanks, dad." He said and then cleared his throat. "You know… for… for everything."

"Everything for you."

Hiccup's heart hammered.

Stoick smiled back at him and then clasped his hands together, brushing them.

"So… Jack?" Stoick hesitantly asked, looking at him and raising his eyebrows.

Hiccup nodded, feeling the sudden gust of heat moving to his cheek, overpowering the skin, making the blood move faster, gathering in the vessels there.

"Uhm yeah."

"Do I like… need to talk with him? Scare him?"

"Oh god, no, dad, please don't –"

"Because I can do that. Just say one word. Well, you don't have to say a thing, you can just nod and I will totally do it."

"No, dad, you don't have to do that." Hiccup said and then hid his face in his hands. "Also since when do you use 'totally'?"

"Well, since someone in work mentioned that it was a very popular word."

"Just don't."

It was an easy talk, maybe filled with embarrassment that boiled beneath his skin, but Hiccup felt free, like an electron which finally left its orbit, like a comet moving through the cosmos, like the time and wind and sky and sun.

"Well, I'm still gonna talk with him anyway."

Hiccup groaned and flopped on the couch, feeling like his bones were made from jelly. The strength he once had possessed disappeared, but left something in its place, some kind of comfort, some kind of sensation that seemed just right.

"Just… don't be too harsh."

"Oh I'll try." Stoick murmured. "But no promises."

To be fair there was laughter bubbling inside his stomach, slowly raising to his throat but he tried to keep it in. His stomach muscles seized, tensed and he desperately tried to hold the air and breathe in, but failed and left out a waterfall of snorts.

But Stoick also smiled at him, tiredly, but honest nevertheless. And maybe this was what they had been missing all this time.

Hiccup felt safe right now.

"Does North know?"

"I'm not sure. Not yet probably. We only agreed today to tell our parents."

"I understand. Well if I ever meet him I will have something to talk about then. You know, like a bonding time between fathers whose sons go together to prom."

Hiccup groaned, but smiled as he one more time covered his face with his hands and slumped farther down on the couch.

"Well, this was… definitely unexpected." Aster said as he pushed the fringe away from his forehead. "Did you know about it?"

Jack elbowed him softly.

"I know a lot of things, but I don't know everything."

Aster groaned, but smiled nevertheless.

The small impromptu party had been a success. Well, of course some people had had to go home early, because they had had other things to do, but a few people still had stayed till later hours, surrounded by pizza and sodas.

Jack really had had fun. Even though the party had been underlined with something dark, hollowed and sad, it had been still fun to see everyone gathered in one place.

The downside… they had to return to school, because Aster had left his car there.

"I feel like I can explode now." Bunny added, straightening his back, but then slumping forward as he exhaled loudly.

Jack snickered, but to be fair he also felt quite full. Or maybe not quite but fully. But pizzas had been delicious and the company had been incredible, so he definitely hadn't minded.

It was their last year and months together. They could do that.

"Same here."

The gate to the school parking lot was gladly open, so he and Aster sneaked inside and moved to one of the last two cars standing there.

Bunny took out the keys, clicked a button and his car happily blinked at him.

Jack slowly sat in the front seat and slumped down, feeling the weight of his stomach pushing him down. He didn't want to move right now, he felt comfortable like that and now he felt really bad for Aster who had to move and drive this car.

His friend huffed a few times as his hands sluggishly turned on the engine and later on while they were driving home.

Jack must admit that he closed his eyes a few times, but he felt content right now. Full, sitting next to his best-friend. It seemed like the world was finally on the right rails, even though it wasn't true. It was far away from truth, but right now it felt okay, so Jack decided to enjoy this moment.

Not worry about Aster, finals, Hiccup, family – in this moment there was only a soft buzz of the engine, delicate touch of street lamps caressing his skin and the familiar sensation of fake leather beneath his head.

For now it was… okay.

Well, to be honest Jack kinda waited more to tell his father than Hiccup.

He had wanted to do it after returning from the small pizza party, but Emma had been already asleep and North had been close to dozing off on the couch too. Then had come another day filled with school and homework he kinda had had to do and his sister had been going to some friend for the night, so yeah. Friday night had been a no too.

(Even though Emma hadn't looked that happy that she had to go somewhere. She actually had cursed a few times, which had given her a long lecture from North before she finally had slung her bag on her shoulder and had gone out to some girl's mom who had been waiting for her.)

So it left Saturday morning.

Jack was sitting at the dinner table in the living room, munching slowly on his soaky Lucky Charms and scrolling through his Facebook page when the front door swung wide open.

He slowly lifted his head.

There were movements in the corridor, shushed whispers like they still expected him to be asleep and then quick footsteps walking up the stairs.

After that North entered the living room and froze for a moment.

"Jack, you're awake?" He asked, like he couldn't really believe what he was seeing.

Maybe Jack liked to sleep in during the weekends, but was it that bad? Okay, maybe it was. Sometimes he woke up around one or two pm, but what could he do? He was a growing up boy, he needed his beauty sleep.

He made an uncoherent sound of confirmation with his mouth full of food.

"Oh good, good. I just didn't expect you to be here so early."

Jack glanced at the clock. It was around noon.

(The fact that he was still in his pajamas was better to be left untouched.)

He shrugged in reply and then returned to the internet on his phone and moving the spoon from the bowl to his mouth.

North moved to the kitchen to prepare himself some coffee and probably breakfast. Or maybe lunch in their case.

After a few minutes of the serenity Jack heard loud footsteps moving down the stairs and then jumping into the living room.

Emma definitely didn't look happy. Or like she was actually fuming, moving through the living room like a tornado, hairs jumping behind her like flames.

Jack put his phone down.

"Well someone didn't have fun at the sleepover."

The girl turned her head around and glared at him.

"Not a word." She hissed and then stormed into the kitchen.

Jack blinked, taken aback by that, but then shrugged in the end. Maybe it was their fault for forcing her to go. Emma had been saying that she hadn't wanted to go for at least a week, but they had told her it would be good to socialize with other kids from her school.

Guess they were wrong.

North entered the living room with a cup of coffee and two plates of bacon and eggs and put them on the table, one next to Jack and one in front of himself. He slowly sat down, groaning as he did so and then took a sip from the cup.

Jack swirled the spoon in the bowl.

"Emma, come here, eat breakfast with us."

There was a waterfall of shushed words coming from the kitchen. They definitely sounded like curses and swears, but they were glued together, quiet, messed to this point Jack couldn't distinguish them.

Yep, now, now he felt bad for asking Emma to do it.

"I don't want to!" The girl shouted.

"Emma, please."

Jack winced as another growl resonated in the air.

North sighed loudly and then glanced at him. His mouth twitched, the smile he usually wore dropping beneath the white beard which he stroked slowly.

"We made a mistake, did we?"

"Yeah, we did." Jack admitted, nodding and moving his spoon to gather the Lucky Charms from the bowl.

Somehow before he had felt hungrier than now.

Something fell in the kitchen and this time a curse definitely left his sister's lips. In any other situation Jack would laugh or gasp fakely as North would reprimand his sister about using such words at young age. But not now. Now he only looked remorsefully in the direction of the kitchen.

"Emma, can you come here for a second? I actually have something to tell you both."

North looked at him surprised, blinking a few times, but then accepted it.

There was an uncoherent groan of words coming from the kitchen and after that quick steps emerged. A shadow swam past the living room, only to flop down on the chair next to Jack, scrapping the floor loudly.

Uh oh, Emma was definitely in a terrible mood.

"Better make it quick." She said and then pushed away the plate with food North had made, nose scrunching at the simple sight of it.

Jack glanced at her, then at his dad and pointed with his head at his sister. He wanted to talk with them, but nothing would get better if they didn't try to improve the situation between them now.

The one they were currently having that was.

North nodded and then cleared his throat softly, trying to get Emma's attention.

The girl glanced up and then casted her gaze down, slumping further on her chair, like she wanted to disappeared under the table. Maybe that was her plan all along, suddenly slip and run away.

"Listen Em–"

"Jack was supposed to talk."

"And he will, in a second." North quickly continued, tapping his finger on the table and making a small cloud of dust rose into the morning air of the living room. "Listen, I know you probably didn't have fun at the sleepover."

"Not fun is a mild explanation."

"And let's leave it PG friendly." Jack quickly butted in, sending a playful smirk in Emma's direction. Or at least he hoped it was playful, impish, holding a joking tone at the end.

North cleared his throat with the other hand moving to comb through his beard.

"The point is… Well I made a mistake. I shouldn't force you to go if you didn't want to. I just kinda expected you to actually have fun with people your age."

"Well I didn't."

"And this is my fault. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. "Jack added.

There was a sudden storm running through Emma's face, clouds moving to show the sky and first rays of sunlight, a rain turning into a drizzle. The frown disappeared for a moment, making place for something calmer, kinder, more understanding. But then it was back, maybe not with full force, but it was there, yet lighter.

"Okay." Emma mumbled.

It was as close to accepting apologies as North and Jack could get.

Jack knew his sister wasn't a very social person. And some part of him was really worried about that, he was afraid that maybe at some point in life Emma would be left alone.

(Even though he wouldn't allow that, as long as he could.)

But maybe she was just like that. Emma definitely liked being alone, doing things by herself, spending time with herself as her companion or with her family. Or maybe she just needed time to find her own friends, find them in the most unlikely places.

Just like Jack.

Just like Hiccup.

And until then Jack would stay with her. And even longer if she would want him to.

North nodded at Emma with eyes getting a darker, sadder tone, but accepting quickly the fact that it was as much as he could get right now. He then grabbed the cutlery and started to cut the bacon and egg to put in his mouth.

"So, what did you want to tell us Jack?" North asked after he swallowed.

Emma, next to Jack, leaned across the table and grabbed her own fork. She stabbed the meat with too much force, scraping the metal on the porcelain beneath and making a horrible, loud sound – the one which made everyone wince internally and externally.

"Uh…" Jack eloquently started and then dipped the long forgotten spoon in the bowl. "I mean…"

He thought it would be easy–peasy. Come on, it was his family, they wouldn't judge him, he knew that. Well he maybe kinda expected Emma to laugh and maybe North to be supportive, but it was all in his mind. Until now.

Now he was going to face the reality.

Jack cleared his throat and moved the spoon around.

"Uhm you know, the end of the semester is coming."

"So are finals." Emma butted in, pushing bacon into her mouth while speaking.

"Thank you Em. Yeah, finals are coming too." Jack inhaled deeply, letting his shoulders move up and then drop down slowly. "But also… there is other thing happening around that time."

North raised his eyebrow, looking at him perplexed, with the confusion clearly seeping into his blue eyes.

Jack looked at his father, then glanced at his sister, who tried to look disinterested, but the eyes curiously peeking at him from time to time sold her out. It was going to be okay, Jack knew they wouldn't judge him, no matter what. He wasn't afraid of that. So it should be quite easy to say it. Yet it… simply wasn't. He was nervous, stressed, felt the tension lingering in his muscles, tearing through the tissue.

But Hiccup had already told his father. Now it was Jack's time to do it.

(And even though there was hesitancy on his tongue and a nervous whisper crawling on his neck, there was something utterly positive and enjoyable in being seconds away from saying it out loud. It felt like he could share a part of his soul with his family, pry open some kind of door that had been locked in front of their noses and they hadn't even known about it. It felt refreshing, freeing to be able to do it.)

Okay, here goes nothing.

"I asked Hiccup out to prom!" He said out loud, feeling that his tone was weirdly high.

He immediately cleared his throat after that, even hitting his chest a few times, like there was an invisible lump blocking his throat.

After that there was a brief silence, where a car passing by their house was almost roaring in Jack's ears.

Jack looked at North who stared back at him with wide eyes and hand floating in the middle of the road from plate to his mouth. There wasn't a hint of resentment on the kind face, only clear surprise that emanated, radiated from the façade.

Jack nervously glanced at Emma who in exchange looked… disinterested.

"Well, duh, did he accept?" She inquired, breaking the sudden short spell that had been put upon them. "I mean asking him to go with you is one thing, but if he didn't agree then it would be a bummer."

It indeed would be.

"No, I mean, nothing like that happened. He actually agreed."

"Well, good for you, doofus." Emma added and then stuffed her mouth with the remaining egg, slurping on it a little.

Jack smiled under his nose and reached to ruffle Emma's hair.

The girl swatted his hand away, hissing at him and squinting her eyes, like he greatly offended her by doing such domestic thing. Maybe he did, but he was her brother and there were some perks for such luxurious position.

"I'll bite off your hand if you don't stop."

Jack laughed again, but then quickly retreated his hand when Emma snapped her mouth too close to his finger for comfort. Damn, who had taught her that?

(Oh yeah, he had done that. Oops.)

His eyes moved from the girl to his father, who still didn't utter a word.

North's eyes jumped from him to Emma, only to return back to Jack. He moved his lips like he wanted to form words, but then lose them as quickly as he dared to open his mouth.

It was going to be okay. It was going to be fine.

After what seemed like a fifth try North finally spoke:

"Well I definitely didn't expect that, but I cannot say I'm not happy for you."

Jack's grin grew wider as he felt his heart getting lighter and lighter with every passing second.

"Thanks."

"But wait, are you guys like you know… uhhh together and all that shit?" Emma inquired, stabbing the bacon violently and then moving it to her mouth, but missing it by a few inches as her eyes observed Jack.

His automatic answer that popped into his head was 'I wish', but he left it for himself. For now. It was better this way – for him, for Hiccup, for this whole plan to work.

(But was the plan still on now? Or had it crumbled along the way somewhere?)

"Emma, language." North immediately said, furrowing his eyebrows at his daughter.

Emma glared at North like she wanted to send thousands of daggers right now. Jack could almost feel and see the sparks running in her eyes and rolling across her hair as the anger rose inside her blood veins.

"Fair enough." North added, quieter after a while.

Jack cleared his throat to save the situation.

"No uhh… we are not like… together." He mumbled.

His hand moved to his neck to rest there. Not scratch yet, but it was there, like a familiar weight on his heart that suddenly banged and stormed inside his chest. Some part of Jack wanted to come out right now. Not well like come out come out, because he didn't care about gender and his family knew it. He kinda wanted to come clean that he liked Hiccup.

But for now it was his sweet secret.

Plus if they knew there was no prediction how they would act in front of Hiccup later on. And this was something Jack didn't exactly want to see.

"Ah okay, so you're going together like… friends…?" North hesitantly asked, moving his hands in circles, like he couldn't grasp the idea fully.

Maybe he couldn't. Maybe Jack simply couldn't answer them as straightforward as he would like to.

His fingers and nails scratched his neck softly, moving across the skin.

"Yeah uhm… yeah, let's just call it that."

North blinked, but nodded nevertheless. He seemed kinda lost, but he looked supportive and content.

So Jack was okay with that.

Emma on the other side –

"Oh my gosh. You… omg… that is so precious!"

And then she burst into laughter that rattled her whole body. Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes as her chest contracted while she tried to take a sweet breath. Her shoulder shook as her hands moved to her mouth to try to contain the short giggles which were pretty audible anyway.

North was perplexed.

Jack a little bit less so.

"Em?" He asked, unsurely but somehow compiling the whole image in his head.

Was it possible that his sneaky little sister figured him out in just a few seconds? If yes then it was going to be dangerous. Jack expected her to make jokes about him and Hiccup going together, but not like that. Not in this way.

Oh no, shit, fuck, this wasn't good, this was terrible.

Emma was still laughing, but she rested her head on the table, moving the plate away first, so she wouldn't probably dive into it.

Jack definitely didn't like it.

"Everything okay, Emma?" North asked, slowly, hesitantly, like he was approaching a wild animal.

Emma moved her hand to brush away a lonely tear that threatened to fall from her eye.

"Oh, more than okay." After that she hiccupped heavily, but still let out a few snorts afterwards. "Ah, this is hilarious."

"What is hilarious?" North continued, totally obvious to the whole situation happening around them.

Obvious to Jack's social life suddenly crumbling down. His sneaky sister just did that. Connected the dots, put the pieces together when Jack didn't even know if it was possible! How could she do that, what gave Jack away, how?

(She was an imp in human skin.)

"Ah Jack is."

North looked totally and utterly lost now.

And Jack wanted for the world to crumble down on his head and bury him down under layer and layer of dust. Yep, this seemed like a good plan, like the nicest plan right now.

"I don't think I… get you…"

Jack turned to his sister and – he wasn't sure what he should do. Glare? No, that definitely wouldn't work. She was more furious and persistent than him, she would spill his secret just to mess with him. So yeah, trying to overpower her here definitely wouldn't work.

So he did the second best thing he could do. Something that the whole world told him he was good at.

He tried his damn hardest to make the most miserable puppy eyes he could muster and hope for a miracle.

For his sister to spare him.

Emma looked at him for a second. It was maybe even less than a second. A mili-second. A short span of time that held Jack's hardest battle of this Saturday morning. Or well afternoon.

And he hoped that it would be enough.

But Emma only shook her head and when Jack felt that all would be lost, she simply said.

"Nothing dad, you wouldn't get it."

And that was… that was all.

"You seriously thought I would sell you?"

"For one corn chip? Definitely."

Emma huffed and then brushed her forehead with her arm. Small droplets of sweat had gathered in her brows and now were accompanied by brown smudges.

"Gee thanks."

Jack snorted, but then sat on his heels and nudged his sister with his elbow.

Emma waved her hands around, trying to keep the balance in her position, but failed and them slumped to the side.

"I wasn't sure. You're unpredictable." Jack admitted.

He loved his sister, but he was never sure what she would do. But he loved even this about her and he wouldn't change it.

Even if his secrets had been seconds away from being spilled.

Emma rolled her eyes at that, but moved to sit on the ground. She slipped off the gardening gloves Jack had given her and then put her hands behind her back, so she could lean on them and look up at the blue sky above their heads as the grass tickled their skin.

"I think I more or less know what to say and what not." She finally mumbled, casting the words to the wind caressing softly their cheeks.

The sun warmed their backs as Jack also sat on his butt and glanced at his sister. The soil was spread around them, the seeds were laying in packages near the tiny rakes and spades. The empty field in front of them had small holes, already prepared for the flowers and vegetables that soon would be planted here.

(Jack's small hobby. Emma didn't exactly like it, but from time to time she came to help him. Or if she wanted to talk with him privately.)

"But you also like to make my life miserable." Jack admitted, looking at Emma's calm façade as she showed her face to the blinding afternoon sun.

"The joy of having a sibling. It's mandatory." The girl answered, not glancing at him. "But seriously… I wouldn't spill it to dad of all people."

Jack still couldn't believe how his little sister had managed to solve the mystery in such short span of time. Maybe she already had been suspecting something, maybe she had had her theories and ideas even way before that and she only had needed something to confirm it all.

Or maybe Jack was overthinking it all.

(Aster had said that he was stupid.)

"Just… thanks." Jack mumbled, then leaned to rip open one package and glance inside. He wasn't even sure why, he couldn't see a single seed in the dark abyss of the package. He just needed something to do probably.

"No problem." Emma said. "Plus now I have blackmail material if I ever want something from you."

"I knew you wouldn't do it without higher reason."

"Hey, I'm a simple girl."

Jack shook his head.

Probably some part of what Emma had said was true – she had a tendency to gather information in case she might need them later. But during all her life she rarely had used it against Jack. Maybe two or three times when she really had needed to do it.

But simply the fact that she knew so many embarrassing stories about him (and all their family members) was a little bit… concerning.

(Or a lot.)

The silence suddenly bloomed between them, opening its petals to the world. Not heavy silence, but calm silence where they enjoyed the hums of cars driving down the street, the heavy laughter of neighbors who apparently had a grill party and the shushed sounds coming from the TV in the living room.

It was a calm afternoon, dosed with warm weather and sun shining through the sparse clouds.

"Sooo Hiccup?" Emma hinted.

Jack could feel her gaze on his back as he put the seeds in the prepared holes in the ground. He stubbornly didn't say anything, just worked, staring as his fingers moved, brushed the soil into the empty space and then moved the watering can above the small mound.

"So are you like together or not?"

Another question and another ignorance seeping from Jack.

He probably should explain it all to his sister, but he was just… not in the mood. Especially as he knew that if he spoke, more and more questions would follow from his sister's lips.

"I'll take that as a fact that he doesn't know."

Besides he didn't need to answer her apparently.

"It's… complicated." Jack finally said, hoping that it would answer every Emma's inquiry.

"Oh." Emma commented and after that she shut her mouth.

Jack nodded anyway, letting a small smile to form on his lips.

Soon enough his sister moved to him and helped him plant vegetables seeds. They were a little bit off with the time, but Jack was sure that they still would grow.

(He had a lot on his mind lately, especially with the finals following his every step, scratching the heels, clenching and grabbing the ankles. Before he had felt like he had time, but now… now exams were around the corner.)

"I saw Bunny on Wednesday in the Mall with some girl." Emma suddenly said, dropped it like she could form a topic with that information.

"You did?" Jack asked, moving his fingers across the soil, smoothening it, pushing it and then hardening it.

Aster was allowed to go out with anyone he wanted. Especially after everything that had occurred between them. Plus he had friends outside of their own group, he had other people with whom he could meet.

"Yeah, they really seemed to get along." She added.

Jack hummed.

"How did she look like?"

"Uh… girlish."

He snickered at that pretty straightforward description. His hand moved to brush his cheek which started to itch. He was sure he had left a long, dark smudge there, but he didn't mind.

Working in the garden was well… messy.

"Hair, eyes, clothes?"

"Dark hair? At least I think so? I just saw them for a while."

Dark hair. That wasn't very descriptive. There were a lot of people with dark hair.

"And it seemed like they were buying some dress?"

What, what, what?

Wait, rewind!

"Eh?"

"Well… not Bunny, but the girl was looking at some dresses in some shop with him?" Emma added and then moved to sit on the green grass with her legs crossed. "Is she his prom date?"

"From what I know… he isn't going with anyone yet."

"Well, maybe your base wasn't updated nowadays?"

"Maybe…" Jack admitted and then shut his mouth.

Was it possible that Aster actually had found someone to go to the prom together?

Jack definitely hoped so.

"Well his Facebook and Twitter didn't say anything about it, so I decided to tell you."

"His what?" Jack sputtered. "Emma, do you stalk everyone?"

"Not everyone… just a few people." The girl shrugged while sending him an evil smirk – the one that still seemed kind and sweet in the same time. "It's fun, you should try it."

"No thank you."

"Well, it's your loss."

Yep, Emma sometimes terrified him.

Author's note:

Ahh another chapter is done 3. Finally got to the part where they tell their parents. Now I'm getting more and more pumped up for the prom =D!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. And as always some science info:

*Manganese(II) chloride – it has this pretty faint pink color. Check it out, it looks totally cute =D!

*Pollutant signals on NMR spectrum – if a substance has a lot of pollutants they will be visible on the NMR spectrum as quite big signals, which will made analysis way more difficult later on.

*Diethyl ether – is a clear colorless liquid with an anesthetic odor. It can cause drowsiness and dizziness and it has been used as a recreational drug to cause intoxication.

*Acetone on the skin – it leaves this super cold sensation on the skin if you accidentally pour it on yourself D:.

And some answers =D:

Scarpool – Aw thank you :D I'm glad to be more or less finally done with that part. Now I can focus on the main story! And the other side stories, but these ones will be connected with the grand finale xD. Naaah, Astrid wasn't in love with him, but other than that you're right xD! But maybe with Tadashi it wasn't anything big, it was just one dance… memorable one, but still xD. But actually that is the point of this story, to show that even though you don't believe it, you can get the attention of others just by being yourself C:. So one more time thank you =D! But I'm totally calling it 'harem fic' from now on xD!

kisskisshug – I definitely hope it was =D Awwww I wondered if I was hinting it the right way or not in the end haha xD Especially counting the fact that in the middle I wasn't sure how I want to end it xD. Well I'm not sure if it was dealt so quickly… I felt like I prolonged this subplot for ages… xDDD Aww but I like heartbroken characters D:! They are so fun to write xD. Only five chapters left… so he should find out about it? Or maybe he won't :o! Damn… now that you mentioned it I miss them too xDDD. Thankkk youuu, I really appreciate it. You're great :D! Hope to hear from you soon :D!

Hope to see you soon =D!