Negative delta is the beginning of fun

by Lajt Hane

Hiccup thought that this day couldn't get any worse. And there he was, in the boy's bathroom, trapped with Dagur and the school's prankster and star - Jack - who was claiming to be Hiccup's boyfriend. And he only wanted to clean his sweater…

23. Chapter 23 - Nernst's distribution law

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.

---

Nernst's distribution law – when a solute is taken up with two immiscible liquids, in both of which the solute is soluble, the solute distributes itself between the two liquids in such a way that the ratio of its concentration in the two liquid phases is constant at a given temperature provided the molecular state of the distributed solute is same in both the phases.

To be honest Jack couldn't remember much of the week of finals. He knew it had happened. He knew that he had been in the classrooms, writing exam after exam, checking and re-checking answers at least a dozen times, but it was all weirdly blurred inside his head.

Stress, probably.

But Jack remembered well the exhaustion and stress playing a weird, cacophonic piece on his nerves, pulling him out of dreams at random times throughout the night, feeding him ideas after an exam – that he should have picked this or that answer instead. Yet he could do nothing else, but push through it. One additional cup of coffee here, a quick question sent to a friend there, a short nap between repeating knowledge for the next exam. All days had seemed the same. At some point Jack had lost track of what exam he was supposed to write the following day.

Gladly, a schedule he had made greatly helped him in getting his mind on track.

The point was that it had been one of the most stressful and exhausting times of his life. However weirdly, now that he thought about it, there had been a lot of warm moments.

North coming into his room late, bringing snacks and a cup of warm cocoa. Emma kicking him in the butt and wishing him good luck. Long whines and curses coming from Aster's mouth via Skype calls at hours way later than they should have been staying. Conversations after finals, filled with exchanging answers, good and bad ones. People writing to him, wishing all the best. Hiccup lifting his mood and always asking how this or that exam had gone, inquiring if he needed anything, telling him that he should take a quick rest.

It was a weird mix.

The time had seemed like eternity, yet after it had passed Jack felt that it had passed in the blink of an eye.

He squinted his eyes at the sun that shone brightly above their heads. His hand moved to cover his face from the light so he would be able to see where he was going.

"Well that was exhausting." Aster, next to him, mumbled. "Forgive me but I need like, a twelve hour nap, followed by twelve hours of sleep."

"I need like… detoxification. I don't want to look at coffee or energy drinks for a year." Tooth added, brushing her colorful fringe away from her forehead. "Or I need a drink or two in exchange."

"Never thought I would say this… but same here." Aster murmured.

"And yet not even one of us is allowed to drink." Jack happily pointed out.

Tooth groaned.

The students dispersed from the school, talking excitedly among each other or whispering into each other's ears fearfully. Some had grins on their faces, some looked terrified or sad, and some seemed indifferent.

Jack was simply glad that it was over.

The three of them moved through the school grounds in the river of students, towards the gate that would set them free. Or at least technically free. There was graduation in a few days, so theoretically they were still students.

Now they had nothing else to do than wait for the results.

And well… prepare for prom.

(To be honest Jack couldn't wait for that. Whenever he had felt like it all was too much during the last week he had simply thought about the upcoming party and somehow everything had seemed more bearable. So what? He was excited! Especially as he was going there with his crush. It probably didn't mean that much to Hiccup, but to Jack it was a lot.)

"Yes, not being allowed to drink kinda sucks." Tooth murmured.

And with that they finally crossed the gate.

---

Jack woke up at some point of the day. He wasn't sure at what point of the day, if it was even the same day or the next one or even the one after that. For a moment time didn't exist. He was just floating there, in the nebula, in the space. To be honest there was still a thick mist inside his brain, the fog that appears after a deep slumber and doesn't want to go away for some time, but stays persistently, while even asking you to succumb to it one more time.

Jack felt the exhaustion in every part of his body. He knew he should get up, but he didn't want to. And yet he really wanted to. He felt like he had been lying for far too long.

So in the end he opened his eyes, blinked a few times and then turned onto his other side so he could peek out of the window. The sky was painted with reddish and pink hues, smeared around in long lines, changing, getting darker or fainter depending on the point.

He closed his eyes for a moment, but sleep didn't come. Instead he laid there for a few more minutes, trying to find the strength to actually get up and do something.

He groggily sat up on the bed after some time and then blindly searched for his phone which laid somewhere on the bed. And apparently it was near his legs. How the hell it had gotten there went beyond Jack's comprehension.

His fingers brushed the screen to see that he had several messages unopened, some on Facebook, some on Twitter, some on his phone, but he thought that he might have to deal with them later. Now he felt like…

There was a knock on his door.

"Jack, are you awake?" North asked, slowly, quietly prying open the door to glance inside, even without Jack saying anything first.

"Yep, I'm up." Jack slowly said and oh boy, yeah, his brain was still lagging.

"Oh good, good." North said and then fully opened the door, stepping inside and clasping his hands together with a wild smile on his face. "I was just curious if you're hungry, because we finished preparing dinner."

Exactly what he needed right now. Food, and an enormous amount of it. He actually could feel his stomach contracting, squeezing and flipping with saliva gathering in his mouth at the mention of dinner and the heavenly smell that spread through the house.

Wait a second.

"We?" Jack parroted, tilting his head and looking curiously at his dad.

North nodded, the grin becoming wider and wider with every passing second.

"Yeah, Emma helped me make it. But don't applaud her for it or she'll kick your shins."

"Talking from experience?"

"You can say so, yeah."

Jack felt warmness blossoming in his chest, spreading around like a soft breeze during summer.

"I'll be there in a second then."

North nodded and left the room.

Jack still sat on the bed for a minute or so before he finally found the energy inside his body to stand up. He felt all his bones creaking under his skin and muscles being pulled and tensed as he did the most basic movements. Yep, taking afternoon naps was always weird, made him feel detached from reality for far too long. However his mind and body had really needed that.

The last few weeks had been way too painful.

Jack glanced at the phone he held in his hand, more specifically looking at the clock. Damn, yep, it was pretty late. Even past dinner time but apparently neither North nor Emma cared about that.

Jack put his feet on the cold ground, feeling shivers running up his limbs at the new sensation, and then hoisted himself up. His body tilted right and left as he tried to regain his connection with the reality.

It took some time, but soon he felt awake enough to go down the stairs without crashing into anything. Even though he had to admit he slipped a few times. But the closer he was getting to the kitchen, the more heavenly and strong the smell was. Jack could sense a thick aroma of spices and meat swirling in the air, with a kind of sour sensation of salad dressing.

Both North and Emma were moving the plates from the kitchen to their respective places at the table.

"Smells delicious." Jack said, sneaking inside.

Emma, who was in the middle of coming out with a jug of juice, rolled her eyes.

"For you everything smells delicious."

"Not everything." Jack fought back, glancing at her.

Emma scoffed, put the jug down and then returned to the kitchen.

Jack sat down in his usual spot and then looked around. North also moved the chair to sit next to him and they waited for Emma, who apparently was washing her hands in the sink.

She came back after a minute or so and then looked at them.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you?" North answered, but it sounded more like a question than a straight answer.

Emma rolled her eyes again, but moved closer to finally slip on her chair. Only then both Jack and North started eating.

Emma wasn't a good cook. It definitely wasn't her talent. Of course she could boil herself some eggs if necessarily or do other small things in the kitchen, but she never fancied sitting there for hours to prepare a meal. She wasn't sure how to season things and sometimes she overcooked or undercooked pasta or potatoes.

No one blamed her. It was hard to learn it, if one didn't spend some time in the kitchen.

And Jack of course knew that she hadn't done this meal alone. To be honest, he expected North to have done most of the work. But the fact that Emma had tried to do something, even if this something had been as small as peeling potatoes or mixing vegetables, meant a lot to Jack.

So he happily dug into the first bite and grinned to himself at the amazing taste spreading on his tongue.

North also hummed under his nose with a smile expanding on his mouth.

For a moment Emma didn't eat, only stared at them and observed their reaction. Almost like she wanted to see something specific.

(For a short while Jack thought that maybe she had poisoned it to mess with them, but then he quickly brushed the thought aside.)

In the end she slowly grabbed the fork and knife and started to cut the food.

For some time they dined in silence, filling their mouths and stomachs. Only after they felt content enough to slow down, North started asking questions about today's exams, how Jack thought he had done, whether they had been difficult or not.

Jack answered with as much detail as he could, but to be fair he was a little bit tired of it and he wouldn't have minded changing the topic. Especially as he kinda wanted to forget about the finals right now.

North didn't seem to catch on his mood, but gladly Emma did.

"So what are you planning on doing as a free man until the Graduation will hit you like a ton of bricks and you will find out that in the end you learned nothing?" She asked.

North gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth a few times, only to finally decide on not speaking at all.

"Eh, relax a little bit?" Jack answered. "Find peace before the stress of applying to yet another school starts to eat me alive."

"Seems reasonable enough." Emma nodded, pushing the remaining food on the plate.

"And also prom is on the way. So yeah, there is that." Jack added shrugging as he stabbed the last piece of meat.

He tried to look disinterested, nonchalant even, but to be fair it was an act. Now that exams finally ended and took away the weight of stress for some time –

(Jack knew it would be back, as soon as the results came in, and he would be trying to apply for the next school and hope for the best.)

– he could focus on other things he had pushed to the back of his mind and heart. And if he had to be perfectly honest with himself, he was super excited about the prom. Not only because it was a party with a lot of his friends. That was the reason too, of course it was. But he was also super overjoyed to spend some time together with Hiccup.

Play your role, Jack, his mind told him over and over. But would it hurt to believe it for some more time? It could be his last occasion to play, to imitate, to act as Hiccup's boyfriend. Soon he would be starting a new school, if not work, and they would be forced apart.

He wasn't sure if they were planning to prolong the plan even for that long. Probably they should just break up after the graduation, because keeping it up made no logical sense now. They got what they wanted, and even more. So it was time to end it.

Jack didn't want to, but he knew he should do it. His heart and brain were fighting an intense battle inside his body, but the logic won, remorsefully looking at the defeated heart which still clung to swords and shields like that would help. But it was over. The heart may have won a few battles in the past but in the end it had lost the war.

So Jack clung to the last chance of being able to play his part with fervor, with childish glee, while trying to ignore the dark clouds gathering on the horizon. He would deal with it when the time came. Now he wanted to enjoy the last moments he could have. Maybe that was selfish of him, but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh yeah, prom." Emma said, looking up at him with a smirk while prolonging the last word.

Jack sent her a quick glare.

"Did you plan something more?" North asked, pushing the plate away and grabbing a cup with juice to sip from it slowly. "I saw you already bought clothes."

"A little bit." Jack nodded.

"Are you planning to pick him up? Because if yes I would be very sad. I wanted to take photos."

Jack snorted, in unison with Emma. They glanced at each other briefly, before looking back at their dad.

"I knew you would want to do that." Jack said, winking at his dad.

Somehow the warm and loving look North gave him in this very moment heated his core and made him incredibly proud of himself. And he wasn't even sure why. To be honest it was kinda strange to feel something like this right now, but he couldn't stop it. It seemed like the fire was sizzling beneath his skin, like he was burning, but it didn't even hurt.

Then North smiled and simply said:

"I'm proud of you, Jack. You did great."

Oh, oh. Maybe it hadn't been his own pride that Jack had felt but the pride that he had seen in North's eyes.

Jack's chest swelled and for a moment he was floating. Everything around him was vibrating and shivering and it was like he was here and not here both at the same time. Some part even seemed like a dream, like he might simply wake up and be in his bed.

But no, it was reality, sweet, warm reality.

"Thanks." Jack said and then like an afterthought he added. "Dad."

North's grin widened.

Emma in front of them gagged, putting her finger very far into her mouth.

"Can you stop with the schmucky, disgusting emotions? I feel sick, come on!"

Jack snorted, a short bubbly laugh that tore through his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll stop."

"But well, before you stop, Jack, we still kinda have one last –"

And then a long ring ran through the house. One familiar ring that strung a chord in Jack's chest, in his mind, as a sudden hope appeared inside. He didn't really want to believe it just yet, but somehow, after such a tiring week it seemed that all his resolves were weakened.

He snapped his eyes at North, because Emma had moved from the table as fast as everyone had heard the sound.

"You did not –"

"We kinda did." North admitted, a little bit sheepishly, but mostly beaming with happiness so bright it seemed like a star.

Jack laughed crookedly as he turned to Emma who was putting the laptop on the table and then sitting next to him. The call was just there, one click away and somehow, for a moment, Jack was afraid that it all could disappear after pushing a button.

Emma huffed.

"She's not gonna wait forever, you know."

Jack knew. Or well, he also knew she could call forever, but the damn reception at her place was terrible. Even worse than here and they weren't even that far away from the city.

So with a trembling finger he clicked the key and watched the circling icon move, loading the screen.

North sat down on his other side, sighing softly as they all observed the laptop.

Then Tara's face popped on the screen, a little bit pixelated, a little bit askew, definitely tired, but smiling nevertheless and Jack… Jack felt utterly exhausted as he looked back at his mother's face to the point where he felt tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Hey, honey." She said softly.

Then Jack simply said.

"Hey to you too, mom."

And it all felt okay.

---

Jack felt like they had been talking for forever. Even though in reality only around two hours had passed.

Somewhere in the middle Emma and North had left. Both of them had returned to their bedrooms to give them some kind of privacy. No matter how sparse it could be. Nevertheless Jack was very thankful.

"So, you are finally free?" Tara said, smiling at him and pushing her hat higher so she would be able to see him more clearly.

Even though she was inside, some rooms were apparently incredibly cold and well, she was currently in one of those. But it was also the room with the best reception.

"Yep. I can sleep for ten hours and no one can blame me."

Tara laughed at that. A sweet, short laugh that resembled static more than anything else, but still warmed Jack's insides.

"But you have prom soon! Aren't you excited?"

Jack was very much excited. So much that he felt like exploding, like he would suddenly burst and leave only memories behind. But that definitely would suck as it would mean that he wouldn't be able to go to prom with Hiccup. So yeah, he needed to keep it together for a few more days.

So in the end he shrugged lamely, looking around the room, trying to hide just exactly what was happening inside his body and mind and heart.

"I guess a lil bit." He added, one hand moving to scratch his cheek.

"I heard from North that you're going with someone." Tara continued, moving her hand so her elbow rested on the desk and she could lean her face on the palm.

"Yeah, uhm, yeah I'm going with a friend."

Tara hummed at that. There was no hidden something that rang in her voice, no weird undertone that had been there whenever he had mentioned it to anyone else, no sudden impish happiness. It was just a hum of acknowledgement.

"A good friend? I don't think I heard about them."

"Well we just became friends this year." Jack admitted.

"I'm glad then. It seems you're really hitting it off nicely."

Jack nodded. They had found a common ground, a thread of understatement, which was a really bizarre thing, because to be honest, not many things connected them. They had different hobbies, different friends, different plans for the future and oh so different personalities. But somehow it was working for now.

(Had started as a lie, but weirdly had bloomed, grown into something different, something better, something with truth in it. Jack wasn't proud of the roots. Now when he thought about it he felt ashamed of himself, guilty that he had deceived so many people, people who hadn't deserved that. Because perhaps there would have been some other ways to solve it, but back then he had simply grabbed the first opportunity.)

"Yeah, he's a really cool guy." Jack said, not stopping the smile from forming on his mouth.

"I think it is an understatement that I want to see the photos of you both."

This made Jack roll his eyes, but with playfulness following every movement.

"Of course you do."

"Oh come on! Just because I'm not there with you yet, it doesn't mean I'm not super interested in your lives. I still want to be a part of that." Tara said, tilting her head and looking at him with an almost apologetic look.

"You still are a part of our lives."

"I know. It's just hard to believe it every day here, when I'm so far away."

Jack couldn't argue with that, because he understood it. Tara was out of the loop about a lot of things that had been happening here and no one could blame her. It was hard to keep in touch with everything when they were only able to find a good reception once every two weeks or months.

"I wish you were here." Jack said, looking at her and feeling suddenly that he wanted to hug her, feel her arms around himself and just hope that everything would be okay.

"Me too. When I come back I'm gonna hug you so hard that all your bones will break."

"That is a weird thing to say, but I'll hold you to that promise."

Tara laughed at that, brushing her hands, covered in red mittens, together. Her eyes sparkled happily at him as her mouth stretched in a wide smile.

"So, cooking school? Or is that old news somehow?"

"No, pretty fresh news still." Jack said and nodded. But then a light blinked in his head and he quickly continued. "Wait, how do you know about that? North told you?"

Because it was possible. He knew they sometimes exchanged messages when something was happening. He could message her too, but he rarely did that. Emma almost never did that – in fear of looking too clingy perhaps.

"No, Tiana did. Was it a secret I wasn't supposed to know?" Tara furrowed her eyebrows, moving one dark curl that had escaped her hat away with a huff coming from her mouth.

"No, not really. More like a surprise when you come back." Then like an afterthought he added. "If I manage to get in."

Because to be honest he was afraid he might not. He had given his best during exams, but somehow he feared that it could not be enough. And he knew that life worked that way. That he could give his best and still lose. But knowing it and living through it were two different things.

And Jack still didn't want to live through it. Somewhere, deep inside of him, there was this flicker of hope that maybe he would be spared, that maybe everything would turn out okay in the end.

"No matter what happens, we'll support you. Remember that."

Jack smiled, feeling his cheeks getting hotter and hotter.

"Thanks."

"So anyway, coming back to the topic of prom, because I simply can't leave it alone, did you already pick out clothes? Because, God damn it Jackson Overland, if you once again pick this pink shirt with the green and blue roses I will personally dye your hair black with blonde highlights."

"I would still look dope."

"Wanna bet?"

Jack really didn't want that.

---

The days passed in the blink of an eye. The atmosphere in school was really off without so many familiar faces around. Hiccup was quite okay that he didn't have to bump into so many people on his way to classes, but there was something sad in it.

He had felt the same last year when the twins and Snotlout had finished their finals, but back then they had usually returned during lunch breaks to chat. Now he was all alone with Astrid again.

It was almost like he had been pushed into a different world.

Time moved, mornings turned into afternoons, then evenings, then sweet nights filled with calm, or sometimes not, dreams.

And with every day Hiccup felt more and more stressed.

Of course, Astrid wouldn't be herself if she didn't point it out.

One day it was:

"Four more days!"

Then it was:

"Three more days till your fate, Hic. Aren't you excited!?"

Which of course morphed into:

"Two more days! Did you already buy mints in case you may smooch Jack?"

Okay, that one get her a swat to the back of her head. Or well a try to swat the back of her head, but Hiccup had to admit that he missed the place quite enormously.

And in the end it was:

"Tomorrow is the day!"

"Yes, Astrid, I can count." Hiccup sighed as he paced around his room, chin kept in his hand.

"Oof, no need to be so pessimistic." The girl scoffed, as she flipped another page of the comic she had on her lap. "I'm here, hoping to make you less nervous, and you're being a douchebag."

Maybe he was acting like that. It wasn't a good excuse for his behavior, but he was really stressed about tomorrow. He didn't think he would be. It was just a normal party, nothing more, nothing less. But it was a party with Jack and all his friends.

And well he was antisocial in the end.

Because now, when he thought about it, he hoped he wouldn't be somehow stopping Jack from having fun. Now when he pondered about it he understood that he couldn't be clingy, he couldn't simply stay at Jack's side through the whole night just to feel more comfortable, even though he really preferred that. It was Jack's party, not his own. He definitely would want to speak with a lot of people, dance, laugh, enjoy himself. And Hiccup had to do everything to make this night memorable for him.

So now, when he really thought about it, he simply felt nervous, out of place, unfitting for such a role.

He couldn't be clingy just because he was antisocial. It wasn't his night, it was Jack's night.

Okay, that sounded bad.

"Sorry, sorry, you're right. I'm just scared."

"I would worry someone kidnapped and swapped you if you weren't. Being scared is kinda your thing."

"Thanks." Hiccup huffed and then flopped down on his chair, rolling back a meter or so and hitting his desk.

"No problem." Astrid smirked at him and then flipped another page. "It kinda was weird for me to see you so excited and not overstressed about every small thing, but I guess it finally caught up with you."

"Yeah, it finally did."

"Better late than never."

Astrid sighed and caught her braid between her fingers to play with the strands combed into it. Her eyes moved to the ceiling above as the forehead creased when a waterfall of thoughts swam past through it.

"Well is there a point in me telling you that it's going to be alright? Or maybe you don't want to hear it at all?"

Hiccup wasn't sure, so he shrugged while making intangible noises. To be honest, too many possibilities were morphing inside his head, deconstructing and appearing in an askew rhythm.

He wished everything would turn out great. But… there were always some 'buts'.

So Astrid instead asked:

"Everything prepared for tomorrow?"

Hiccup lifted his head and nodded.

"Well kinda yeah. I mean, I'm going to iron my shirt tomorrow, but other than that I think I've got everything covered."

Astrid smiled.

"So what is the plan here, because I'm not sure in the end. North is taking you to them? Or like–"

"No, no, no, actually my dad will drive me to their house, because Jack's dad insists on taking the photos of us and then he will drive us both to the school." Hiccup quickly said, waving his hands in front of himself and moving the chair around due to it. "Actually he was the one who proposed it."

"Your dad? Really?" Astrid asked, lifting her eyebrow high on her forehead.

The comic laid forgotten on the quilt, still opened on a page which had been read just a minute ago, though Astrid's hand still brushed the corner, like she was about to turn it.

"Yeah, surprised me too. But he is going to visit some friend during that evening, so he said he could give us a lift."

To say that the girl was surprised was an understatement. Hiccup still couldn't really believe it either. Somehow, deep inside, he thought Stoick would be a traditionalist from the bottom to the top, but he nicely surprised Hiccup as he took the initiative.

(Or maybe he just wanted to get Jack alone in the car to talk? Somehow this idea also didn't surprise him either. Almost like in this movie he had watched with Astrid… what was it called? Ah yeah, Spiderman. Or at least he thought so. The point was Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if Stoick asked him to go out for a moment, so he could sneak a quick talk with Jack. Or maybe he was looking too much into it. He probably was. Stoick possibly just wanted to be a good dad and help them have fun without having to use North.)

"That's actually pretty neat. So you're all meeting there, in the school."

"Well I'm not sure what all you mean, but Aster and Heather will be there waiting for us. And well I heard Tooth could be too, but she will probably be super busy with trying to take care of everything."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that." Astrid nodded, crossing her hands and then moving back and forth on the bed.

There was a low scratch, followed by a thudding sound which got their attention.

On the other side of the window stood Toothless, looking expectantly at Hiccup and moving his paws across the glassy surface. When Hiccup stood up, he yawned widely and moved his tail back and forth impatiently.

Hiccup unlocked the window, opening it enough for the cat to slip in.

"So yeah, and the rest is probably an improvisation." He huffed and then returned to his seat, before Toothless could come up with the idea to take up the vacant spot. Because he definitely had such thoughts as he was circling the chair with a curious gaze.

Astrid moved her body back and then flopped down on the bed, throwing her hands and legs to the side.

"Aw damn, I wish I could be there with you." She sighed loudly.

"To laugh at me being awkward as hell?"

"I admit, that is one of the reasons. But also because it sounds like fun."

"We're going to have our own prom next year." Hiccup proposed, putting his foot on the ground and using it to roll his chair closer to Astrid.

"I know, but it's not going to be the same." She said and then rolled on the bed, so she was facing Hiccup. "Last year prom was amazing."

Oh, Hiccup totally forgot about it. That Snotlout and Astrid actually had gone there together and he and Fishlegs had spent the night watching movies on his computer in his house.

From what they had heard the prom had been a blast. Of course the twins had been asked at least four times to leave the party, but they always had returned when some teacher hadn't been looking and had partied more.

(It had also been the time when Hiccup had learned how to hold Astrid's hair while she had puked in his toilet. Because back then she still had been scared to come home and let her parents see her in this state.)

Oh fun times.

"Yeah, you're kinda right." Hiccup said then, clasping his hands together and starting to play with his fingers.

Astrid observed him in silence for some time, tilting her head in this angle, then changing it, humming to herself. Her blonde eyebrows moved closer to each other as a sudden program started going on in her head.

Hiccup could almost hear the gears moving, the machinery buzzing, the processor overheating.

Then she blinked like a sudden revelation hit her.

"What are you planning to do with your hair?"

"What do you mean?" Hiccup inquired, not really getting what she meant.

"Tomorrow, duh? Are you planning on leaving them like that?"

"Like I have now? That was the plan." He slowly said, weighing the words before saying them out loud.

Astrid groaned loudly and then jumped off the bed to paddle closer to him. She swiveled him around on the chair and then dove her fingers to comb them through his hair.

"Seriously dude? Weren't you going to even style them? I bet Jack will do that. Cross that. He is doing it every day."

At first Hiccup wanted to protest the assault that started to happen, but then decided to give up and just deal with it. There was no fighting Astrid if she set her mind on something. It simply had to happen. Or maybe Hiccup just couldn't say 'no' to her.

(Plus it was really nice. He missed having someone play with his hair. He didn't like people touching him, but there were a few personas who were close enough to him to let him relax when they touched him. And Astrid was one of them.)

"Well sorry for having no talent in doing anything with my hair."

"Unbelievable." Astrid huffed and then started to move this lock here and that lock there and this one combining with the other and the remaining on the right adding to the ones on the left.

Hiccup had no idea what was happening, but it felt really nice, so he decided he could allow Astrid to do whatever she wanted. He closed his eyes, hunching a little bit forward, so the girl could maneuver around him.

It felt like only a minute or so had passed before his hair was left alone and he had to repress a soft sigh leaving his lips. Well, yeah, he definitely could get used to that.

"Man I can't do much without my supplies." Astrid moaned and then moved his fringe up which then flopped down quite quickly. "But well if you want I can come over tomorrow and do something with them."

A sudden flick, a spark appeared in his chest and he couldn't stop the smirk from forming on his mouth.

"You could simply ask if you wanted to come over tomorrow."

"Say one more thing and I'll change my mind." Astrid angrily added, but with no malice behind the words. Just clear bickering.

Hiccup chuckled.

---

The fun thing about time is that it doesn't listen to anyone or to anything. It is a powerful force, but obedient only to itself. It has a strict schedule, moving forward while never being too late nor too early in the end. It never warps the reality, never plays tricks, never tries to be anything but that. A constant thing in everyone's life.

It is a comforting thing for some people. To know that there is something unchanging, something that is always the same. Seconds move, minutes turn into hours, cold mornings transform into warm afternoons and then chilly evenings.

Time just passes and always in the end will knock on your door when the time will come for you.

In Jack's case the day of prom.

Before, he had felt like he had a lot of time, but when the day came he felt like no time had passed. Even though he technically knew it wasn't possible.

He left his whole day free for preparations. He was sure he wouldn't even start preparing himself before the afternoon, but he knew that somehow he still needed a full day to prepare himself mentally.

And he was right.

Only when the time was pointing at its wrist and silently telling him that it wasn't going to wait here forever did Jack move.

"Shirt inside or outside?" He asked out loud, looking at himself in the mirror and putting the shirt inside his trousers and out repeatedly – now for at least a tenth time.

Emma – who had walked after him for the whole afternoon, making comments about this or that and in the end obediently had flopped down on Jack's bed in his room – looked at him and tilted her head. In her hands rested her phone on which she was watching something, but barely paying it any mind as she was focusing on Jack's antics.

"If you ask me both options sound terrible." She simply said, raising her one eyebrow.

Jack sighed, then put the shirt inside the suit pants and looked at himself in the mirror, only to take it out four seconds later. Then he did it again, and again, and again.

"Okay, inside, inside! Stop doing that, I can't stand seeing you do it."

Jack nodded and did as Emma had told him. Well he supposed it looked a little bit better, but to be honest he wasn't sure. Heck, he could always take it out later on. It wasn't permanent.

Now came the waistcoat which proudly hung in the closet, almost smiling to him, being a proof of a won war. Jack grabbed it and moved his fingers across the material, grinning to himself like crazy.

After that he slung his arms in the openings and looked proudly at the mirror while buttoning it.

"Are you going to unbutton it and then button it a bazillion times?" Emma inquired, peeking at him from behind her phone.

She moved herself and now laid on the bed while swinging her legs back and forth in the air.

"No, I think I'll leave it buttoned–up. Looks more professional."

"If you say so."

But just to check Jack unbuttoned it, looked at himself and then buttoned it. Yeah, it looked way better buttoned.

(Emma rolled her eyes on the bed while exhaling through her nose quite loudly.)

Jack walked barefoot through his room to his computer where he could already see some blinking messages, mostly from his friends. He wrote a few quick replies to calm his racing heart and storming mind.

Because yeah, he was like super nervous. Like messily nervous. Nervous to this point he may faint or explode or implode or whatever dynamites do after being lit up.

He was simply excited, excited so much that his hands shook and his mind was fuzzy and he felt like smiling and grimacing both at the same time.

In just an hour, maybe more, maybe less, Hiccup would stop in front of his house and it all would start.

There was also a chance that Stoick would kill him beforehand and it all would be for naught, but well, maybe it wouldn't come to that. He hoped. He prayed. He thought.

Jack looked at himself in the mirror and moved his wet hairs around. He still needed to take care of them, make them more, well, presentable.

"You're a lost cause." Emma said.

---

"Ouch, Astrid, it hurts."

"Maybe if you didn't move so much, it wouldn't hurt." The girl huffed and then moved the brush further down. "Seriously, it almost seems like you never comb them or anything like that."

Hiccup winced when the brush caught yet another tangle and the girl tried to get rid of it.

"I do comb it every day! It's not my fault they simply get like that after some time."

"Maybe use conditioner."

"I wouldn't even know which one to buy."

"I can help you next time." Astrid said and then quite painfully moved the brush, probably tearing some hair away from Hiccup's head. "Uh, sorry, but this one tangle was a mighty bastard."

"Yep, you rolled natural twenty on that strength check."

Hiccup more or less had a feeling that Astrid rolled her eyes than actually saw her do it, as she was behind him on the bed, trying to do just something with his hair. Right now Hiccup actually wouldn't mind not making his hair at all, but it was kinda too late to change his mind now.

(Though some part of him wanted to do it. No matter how silly it sounded.)

"Don't be a drama queen." Astrid said and then comber his hair more.

---

"Why didn't you buy a bow-tie that you can tie?" North asked curiously, looking at Jack from the doorway.

Jack sighed.

"Well, this one is easier to put on." He said, moving his fingers through his hair as he tilted his head this and that way.

The mentioned blue bow-tie currently laid on his shoulder, waiting to be put on. But not yet, no. It had to be put on at the very end, when Jack would be all done. Now he just put it there to see how it looked with the whole suit.

(Of course, he had put it on in the past. Quite a few times actually. But come on, he had had to be sure that it all looked good.)

"Well fair enough. But it lost its elegancy." North counter fought, raising his eyebrow at that.

"Do you really think Jack would be able to tie one? He can barely tie a tie!" Emma said form his bed, glancing at Jack who was moving his hair around, still damp from the shower.

He pouted at the girl, but couldn't really argue with her on that. He could barely make a decent tie knot and every time he had to check if he was doing it correctly. So yeah, no bow-tie which you need to tie yourself for him.

North opened his mouth, closed it and then nodded.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Thank you for being so supportive." Jack said and then moved his fringe from right to left, because it still looked weird.

"No problem. Five bucks."

---

Hiccup looked at his reflection in the window.

"Hiccup, stop moving. I'm trying to work here." Astrid huffed and then spread some cream on his face, right under his eyes.

"I can't!"

"I know I did an amazing job. But seriously, stay still for five minutes at least."

Hiccup pushed down the urge to look at himself in the window once again and turned to the girl to let her work in peace. Or as much peace as Hiccup could give her with him constantly twitching and moving.

At first Hiccup had thought that Astrid would make his hair and that would be all. But no, apparently she had taken with her all her cosmetics and now was putting tons of weird creams and foundations on his face.

"Is it really necessary?" He asked, when the girl put a faint beige cream on his nose and then patted it with her fingers.

"No, not really. But it won't hurt you and you'll look better." The girl said and then tilted her head.

She grabbed his chin between her pointing finger and thumb and moved it, changing its angle, moving from right to left, up and down, to see how it looked in a different light with shadows dancing on his skin.

"Is it your nice way of telling me I look like a potato?" Hiccup huffed, letting the girl do whatever she wanted.

But if she reached for an eyeliner and mascara he would have to put a stop to it. There were some boundaries.

(It wasn't that he had something against make-ups on males' faces. To be honest he quite liked it and it really fit some people. He just couldn't see it on himself. Okay, scratch that. He wouldn't mind Astrid putting make-up on his face, but maybe not right now, just before going out. He wasn't sure how people would react to that.)

"Eh, you're not that bad looking. You know… just average." Astrid slowly said, moving his face yet again and then moving her other hand into her bag, searching for something.

"Gee thanks."

"You're welcome."

---

"Jack, it looks okay. Stop correcting them, you'll mess them up."

Jack stopped his hand which was in the middle of going to correct his hair once again. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted for this night to be perfect – but he couldn't style his hair in the way he wanted.

"But I can make them look better." Jack angrily said.

His fingers almost touched his white locks to move them once again, to try to put them in a correct position and be already done with it.

"Actually, by correcting them I think you made it way worse." Emma said, sitting on the stairs and looking at him.

Okay, that one. That one hurt. But had he really made them worse? Well, of course, this one lock near the top was standing at a weird angle and his fringe looked strangely glued together, but was it really that worse than before?

Yeah, it kinda was.

"Jack, don't worry. You look great."

"You're my dad. You are obliged to say that." Jack huffed, fighting with himself about whether to correct his hair one more time or not.

"No, I'm not." North murmured, glancing at him for a moment and stopping preparing pasta for the evening.

(Jack had to admit that the smell was heavenly and made him really hungry. But no. He could eat some leftovers tomorrow. If there would be leftovers tomorrow that was. Hopefully Emma and North wouldn't eat everything.)

"You kinda are." Emma said, clicking her heels together and smiling devilishly under her nose.

"Okay, no more compliments for you."

Jack glanced at Emma, who looked back at him, with the smile turning into a smirk, more evil and sly, with the cunningness sparkling in the eyes, blinking, jumping around like spiders on water surface.

"Wanna bet how long he is going to keep his word?" She asked.

Jack stared at his dad who happily prepared food, moving his hands and body around to a silent rhythm of soft melody swimming around his ears that was inaudible to the rest of the people around him. It was almost a serene view, familiar, something that Jack saw nearly every day, yet even now, whenever he saw it, it always made him lose his breath for a moment.

"I'll give him an hour."

"That is a lot. I'll give him twenty minutes top." Emma proudly say.

Jack lost the bet after seven minutes.

---

"Astrid, we're going to be late! We were supposed to go out like three minutes ago!"

"Who said that?"

"My schedule?"

The girl rolled her eyes as she straightened his shirt.

"Fuck your schedule." Astrid finally murmured. "Also put the shirt in your pants."

Well Hiccup was glad she didn't do it herself. He wouldn't be surprised if she did, but there was something utterly embarrassing in having her do that. So yeah, he happily did it himself, also buckling the belt while he was doing so.

"I don't want to be more late than I already am."

"Bad luck then." The girl said and then looked at him from a few steps away.

After a second or so she nodded to herself and then moved to his wardrobe to take out the waistcoat and spread it in front of her, so Hiccup only needed to slip his hands through the sleeves. Or well, the lack of them.

Which he did, sighing along the way. It was sorta childish.

(But he also kinda enjoyed it. Astrid being so frantic over his look. Doing things for him. Stepping up to be a support. He knew she would always do that, but he had never seen her in such a role.)

Hiccup wanted to comment on it, but knew better than to do that. Astrid would probably not hesitate to punch him in the gut for saying such blasphemy. Even if it was true.

"Where do you have your bow-tie?"

"In the drawer."

Astrid moved to the drawers section and started opening them randomly, starting from the middle, moving to the bottom, and only then returning to the top where indeed laid the poor green bow-tie.

"You couldn't have said in which one, could you?"

"This was more fun." Hiccup admitted, lifting his head to let Astrid work her magic.

He could do it himself, but it seemed like the girl had fun working around him, so who was he to stop her from doing that? Though she would probably kill him tomorrow if he even mentioned her fraternizing over him in such a way, it was pretty nice and kind for the moment.

"I hate you sometimes."

"No, you don't."

Astrid huffed.

---

They were late. Very much late. Super late. Incredibly late.

What if Hiccup changed his mind? Why if he decided he didn't want to come with him anyway? What if he thought that in the end it wasn't worth it? What if he simply hated Jack and didn't know how to say 'no' to that?

Or worse, what if something happened along the way? Car crash? Someone robbed them? Random deer in the street? Traffic jam?

Jack paced back and forth in the corridor, feeling his insides twisting painfully. His phone was blaring with bazillion messages, saying and asking where was he, that they were waiting for him and he still wasn't there. And what kind of party could even be there without Jackson Overland Frost?

"Jack, calm down, Hiccup wrote to you like four minutes ago that he might be a little bit late." Emma said and then swished her legs back and forth, sitting at the table in the living room, eating the delicious pasta with a content look.

Jack felt like devouring it too, but no, he had to stop himself. He could get his clothes dirty and this was literally the last thing he wanted right now. Not after preparing himself for so long.

"But what if something happened?" Jack said, peeking into the living room and moving closer to the dining table to flop down on a chair.

"Nothing happened. Maybe they're driving slowly. Or had to stop somewhere?" North slowly and calmly said, smiling to him. "They will be here in a few minutes. Don't worry."

But Jack still worried.

---

Hiccup and Stoick indeed had to stop on their way to Overlands' household.

Astrid had told them that she could walk to her own house by herself, but Stoick had simply said no, so the three of them had packed themselves in the car and were on their merry way to drop off Astrid.

The ride there wasn't long, they didn't live that far away from each other, but now for Hiccup it seemed like only a second passed and there they were, in front of Astrid's house.

The girl turned to him and patted his shoulder.

"Have fun, Hic. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Hiccup snorted, but the sound broke in the middle as his nerves played an uneven symphony inside his body.

"Yeah, sure." He murmured in the end, looking at her hopefully with happiness in his eyes.

But he failed that miserably probably. He was a mess inside. A mess of wires, of programs running and lagging and stopping working altogether in the same time. He felt like he didn't have enough power and memory and space inside his core to function properly. And it was only the beginning. How could he live through the whole night of it?

With Jack of all people!

He really wanted to go home, wrap himself in blankets and quilts, turn on some series or cartoon to watch mindlessly, or grab some of the worse books and read it, till his brain became a mush. It all seemed way better than what he was about to do.

Yet he knew he couldn't back down. Not now. Not when Jack had asked him to go. He had to behave. He had to be there for him. He couldn't do it to him.

Astrid reached and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently, yet with some kind of finality and power that made Hiccup's skin tingle with warmness.

"Hey, don't worry so much. You're going to have fun, believe me." Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded. He believed her. He always did and probably always would. There was no way that she could be wrong.

"Okay." Hiccup breathlessly said.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

And with that Astrid left him to finally go and pick up Jack.

---

Jack was never gladder to hear the doorbell and he almost ran to it. Okay, he did run to get there, which resulted in him almost crashing into the hanger standing in the corridor. But before opening the door he stopped, took a deep breathe, in the end corrected his hair, glancing at his reflection in the mirror, and only then put his hand on the door handle to open it.

Which he did.

And almost froze. Okay he did freeze. If he had to be honest he almost could hear the Windows shutdown sound after a few seconds inside his head. His heart jumped loudly inside his chest, then quietened down, almost stopped beating to suddenly jump into overdrive when he stared at the person who was standing in front of him.

Jack didn't expect much. It wasn't Hiccup's look that had gotten him attached, definitely not. Hiccup wasn't ugly, of course he wasn't, but not many people would call him handsome or beautiful either. For Jack he was nice to look at, but close to average on the scale. He wasn't this type of person people stopped to fawn over in the corridors. He had a few nice parts about him and a few not so nice. Just like many people.

Yet right now Jack couldn't tear his gaze away. And the worst thing was that he knew he was staring, maybe even with his mouth open, but he couldn't stop, he couldn't will his mind to order his body to move.

For him the time stopped. Unfortunately it didn't stop for the rest of the world.

"Hey, Jack?" Hiccup said, tilting his head hesitantly.

Okay, okay, okay he had to snap out of it. He couldn't do it for much longer. He shouldn't do it at all. And it front of Hiccup's father who stood behind his son and was definitely looking at Jack with kinda weird look. Jack couldn't describe nor decipher it.

Maybe in the end he didn't even want to know the emotions behind Stoick's façade.

"Oh uh, hi, hi, hi!" Yep, Jack was making quite a mess out of himself. He let out a short laughter that sounded terribly fake and then moved from the doorway. "Please come in and oh good evening Mister Haddock and thank you for helping us."

Hiccup sent him a small smile and stepped inside.

Stoick glanced at him, nodded and then smiled. Or at least it seemed like a smile, it was hard to guess due to the beard and Jack's incapability to gauge the reality in his current state.

"No problem."

North stepped out of the living room and smiled proudly and broadly. His feet quickly brought him to Hiccup to show him his hand, which the boy gingerly took.

"Hiccup, my boy, it's good to see you. You're looking really handsome today."

Hiccup nodded, opening his mouth a few times to get the words out as a reddish hue overtook the skin on his cheeks.

"Oh good evening Mister Overland. It's good to see you too." He said and then glanced at Jack for a moment. "Well I tried my best. I couldn't let Jack take the spotlight in the end."

If Jack wasn't so stressed he would have gaped at Hiccup and the sudden surge of confidence that erupted from his mouth.

"Ah good choice, my dear. You both will look extraordinary."

"Thank you, Mister Overland."

After that North moved to Stoick. They shared a firm, tight handshake and then moved to clap each other on the back.

"Stoick, old fellow. Nice to see you're looking good." The hand which was wrapped around Hiccup's father body moved to the shoulder which he squeezed gently. "Thank you for helping our boys."

"The pleasure is all mine." Stoick answered, smiling and nodding alongside. "And I may say you're looking great too. No more problems at work?"

North laughed heartily and then moved away.

"Gladly not. We managed to resolve them after finishing your project, so now it's all good."

"I'm happy to hear that."

In the meantime Hiccup snuck closer to Jack's body and elbowed him softly, looking up at him with galaxies sparkling in his eyes. Or maybe it was only Jack's imagination. It could be Jack's mind playing tricks on him, but he honestly felt like he stared into space and the whole universe looked softly back at him.

"Stressed?" Hiccup asked.

"As fuck. You?" Jack whispered back, clearing his throat first, because it felt like something was gripping it, making him almost lose all air.

Was it hot in here? Because Jack felt that it was suddenly boiling hot in here.

"Same. I don't remember when I was so stressed last time."

Jack chuckled and then nudged him back.

"But you're going to be okay?"

"I think so? I'm pretty excited too." Hiccup murmured back as he leaned on his tiptoes to be more audible, but still looking at their fathers interacting.

"Yeah, me too." Jack whispered and glanced down at Hiccup, catching his gaze for a moment and smiling.

Hiccup grinned back and Jack felt like something in him untwisted, like something inside of him cut lose, like suddenly all the tension he had inside his body dissipated, leaving only a reminiscent of it being there in form of sore muscles and creaking bones.

Jack knew that no matter what would happen at the party, if he was with Hiccup he was going to have a good time.

"Oh you both looks so gay." Emma whispered, leaning on the wall behind them.

And back to the harsh reality.

"Em!" Jack hissed, furrowing his eyebrows and glancing at Hiccup to gauge his reaction.

But the teen only snorted loudly and then covered his mouth.

"Well, it's kinda true." Hiccup murmured, leaning a little to get closer to the girl. "Hard to describe two guys going together to a prom as anything but gay."

Emma chuckled and brushed one brown lock behind her ear. Her eyes jumped from Hiccup's face to Jack's own and she wiggled her eyebrows.

(Jack had a vague feeling she tried to communicate somehow, but the language was written and spoken in gibberish, with too many weird signs that he couldn't decipher to fully understand the message. But he definitely had a feeling it was about well… about his majorly big crush on the boy who was standing next to him.)

Soon after North ushered them for a photo session. Stoick snapped a few photos as well.

Neither Jack nor Hiccup knew what to do in such photos, so a few first ones were simply photos of them standing next to each other. Then several last ones were made in weird positions with smiles and pouts on their faces.

Emma even jumped into a few of them. North and Stoick too.

At the end Jack's phone was almost buzzing with anticipation and unread messages, so he quickly took it.

"Okay, we should be going. Bunny is already super pissed he had to hold a place for us."

"Oh, good idea."

Before exiting the house North first hugged him tightly – Jack almost felt like his whole spine broke, but he managed to sneak his hands out and pat North on the back. After that the man moved to Hiccup to give him a hug too, gladly a little less tight.

"Have fun, boys. If you want to come back home just give me a call."

"Okay! Bye!"

Jack more or less heard Emma shouting something at them, but he didn't unfortunately hear what she had said. Or maybe luckily, because whatever she had said made North yell loudly her name in reprimand.

They moved quickly to Stoick's car where they sat on the back seats, next to each other.

"Sorry for being late. We had to drop Astrid off at her house." Hiccup said as he fastened the seatbelt.

"No problem. You weren't that late." Jack smiled at Hiccup, showing that it was alright.

Even when he had been overly stressed it had been alright, it had been just his nerves that had paid the price. Nothing big.

"Still sorry."

Stoick drove the car, glancing at them from time to time in the rearview mirror, but other than that not uttering a word.

Jack wasn't sure if he preferred silence in the front or not.

"Really, don't worry. The important thing is that we're going now."

"A lot of people are already there?" Hiccup inquired instead, planting his hands on his lap and fidgeting with them a little. There was a strain in his voice, pretty audible one, but it seemed like he tried to control it.

Jack smoothened a wrinkle on his suit pants as he cleared his throat.

"Quite a few. But I still know several people who are still preparing themselves." He answered honestly.

Three minutes ago one friend from the soccer team had sent him a photo of two shirts, asking which one he should put on. Something told Jack that his girlfriend wasn't happy right now.

"Well, it's good that we aren't the last ones."

"Oh we need to be a little bit late, right? We're divas in the end!"

Hiccup snorted at that, flicked invisible dust from his trousers and then returned to playing with his hands and fingers, occasionally looking at his fingernails and frowning.

The rest of the few minutes ride was spent in silence and the atmosphere of heavy anticipation hanging in the air. They knew they were getting close quite quickly due to the music blasting thorough the neighborhood at top volume, definitely making some windows shiver in their wake. Plus the closer they were getting the more teenagers in pretty dresses and elegant suits were visible. After some meters people started to park their cars on the pavements or on some random patches of grass in weird positions. Some groups were standing nearby, definitely drinking alcohol, talking and laughing loudly between each other.

Jack's heart started to speed up and he felt his hands getting fidgety.

Some people actually noticed him in the window and shouted to him, waving their hands frantically and smiling broadly.

It all was starting to get to him. In a positive way. He started to feel pumped up, like he was filled to the brim with energy and he couldn't let it all out in one go. He felt like moving, like shouting, like laughing, like doing something.

It felt now like an eternity passed before Stoick stopped nearby the school and turned to them.

"Okay boys, we're here. Have fun." He said, smiling to them hesitantly, but with kindness.

Jack could see that he was out of his comfort zone, especially with so many loud teens around, but he was trying. Maybe in the end Stoick and Hiccup weren't that much different.

"Thanks dad." Hiccup said and moved to open the door, when Jack jumped in his place.

"Wait!"

He always wanted to do this. And now was his chance. So he quickly exited the car and moved to Hiccup's side to open the door for him.

"Here you go, my dear sir."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, but there was a faint smile in the corners of his lips.

"Well, thank you then." He said and then hoisted himself out of the car, almost tripping after doing so.

Some things never change. And Jack really liked that. Just because his life changed, it didn't mean that the whole world did. Of course, it was wrong in some aspects, because the world was always changing, always moving, always transforming. It was never a constant. But in their small world it seemed like nothing changed with days passing by.

Jack turned around to the driver window, which moved down as he did so.

"Thank you very much, Mister Haddock, for the lift."

"No problem. If I may have one request then please take care of Hiccup. He might be a little bit clumsy." Stoick said, leaning a tad outside.

"I can hear you dad." The teen groaned and then moved a few steps away, when some car blasted in front of him with wheels screeching on the asphalt.

Jack glanced at him with a knowing smile.

"Don't worry, Mister Haddock. Hiccup is safe with me."

"Then I trust you Jack."

He felt like there was more to those words. A hidden message, intertwined like a thread, a golden string blinking from far away, but barely visible from up close. It could mean a lot of things and to be fair Jack couldn't really pinpoint the honest and real reason behind the words Stoick had said. But he knew he would try his damn hardest to not let the man down.

"You can count on me." Jack nodded, giving Stoick a reassuring smile.

Hiccup approached them with one eyebrow raised high.

"Ready?" Jack asked, looking him up and down, searching for some sign that this was a bad idea, that they should turn on their heels and go back.

He didn't want to, now he desperately wanted to go inside and just forget about the rest of the world for a few blissful hours. Forget about the problems, finals, future, possibilities, hard times that had been and will be in the future. Now he wanted to live in the moment.

But if Hiccup didn't want that, then he would step down.

Yet he saw nothing in his posture that showed any negativity, except simple signs which pointed to the fact that Hiccup was nervous. But nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Have fun, boys. If you need anything, you can always call me."

Hiccup nodded.

"Okay. Have fun too."

Stoick smiled at his son and patted his arm awkwardly, but full of love.

"See you later."

"Bye."

And with that Stoick drove away, maneuvering carefully between randomly left cars and people walking around.

There was this something in the air, a sweet excitement mixed with happiness and uncertainty. There was also joy, moving around, tip-toeing between people, the buzz that seemed to shiver. The atmosphere was hard to explain, it seemed like a breath of something new, yet familiar nevertheless.

For a moment Jack just stood there, looking around, like he wanted to see as much as he could, stare at happy faces, admire the pretty dresses and elegant suits, enjoy the chatters, the laughs and sweet whispers murmured between friends and lovers.

Hiccup – because who else could do that – sneaked his hand around his elbow and tugged forward.

"Come on, let's not make them wait any longer."

The elation was pretty audible in his voice, a low rumble that shook the ground.

Jack let out a happy laugh that bubbled inside his chest as he caught up with Hiccup and both of them walked quickly in the direction of the building.

---

There was music all around him. It beat and thrummed so loud that Hiccup felt it like a second heartbeat inside his chest. It was a kinda uncomfortable feeling, or well it usually was, but now he weirdly didn't mind. Or didn't mind that much.

After giving their names near the entrance to a girl who welcomed them with a warm, yet kinda tired smile and getting their small white roses pin to put on the lapels there was an obligatory photo under the flower gate with gladly a short line to it.

Both he and Jack stopped near the end with hands still intertwined.

(Because they were supposed to do that, right? Pretend they were together? But just for today Hiccup didn't want to play, for just one evening he wanted to believe that maybe in some aspects it was almost reality. Even though he knew deep down it wasn't.)

And just like Jack was reading his thoughts, he leaned forward and whispered into his ear.

"Would you be up for some more… contact today?" The question was hesitant, uncertain, like by just saying it out loud Jack expected Hiccup to turn around and slap him.

Which he definitely wouldn't do. He was happy that Jack still cared about it. Because Hiccup didn't change, he still hated skin to skin contact. But Jack had moved into the category where he could live with Jack touching him. To some extent of course.

"Sure, I think yeah, we can try." He answered breathlessly as he pushed away the fringe from his forehead. "Poke the cheek rule is still on?" Hiccup whispered back, looking hopefully at Jack.

He needed some reassurance that it still could be tuned down, that he still had an option to back down, still had his safe word that would made the world stop spinning for a second.

(They had used the rule a few times in the past, mostly when Hiccup had started to feel too sensitive about the closure. But with time the times they had had to use it had been diminishing to lower numbers. Hiccup wasn't sure he had used it in the last two months.)

"Always." Jack answered.

And Hiccup believed him.

"Next pair!"

Jack smiled to him and then dragged him to a make-shift podium with a white background and a flower doorway around them.

The concept for this year prom was pink and blue – last year had been white and red and Astrid had hit it off with a beautiful scarlet dress. In any other situation Hiccup maybe would think that it wouldn't be fitting, but Tooth apparently could do magic with colors so different. The tones were intertwining, going from deep blue at the bottom of the gate and finishing on faint pink above their heads, with a few golden leaves sticking out here and there, intertwined with white vines. To say it looked magical was an understatement.

The photographer looked at them with quite bored look and blew a bubble from her gum.

"Okay, listen. Three photos. One official, two to your liking. Photos will be posted online, you'll get the link, so you would be able to print them whenever you want. Understood?"

Both he and Jack voiced their confirmations.

The official photo went as well as anyone could imagine, so not that great. Neither he nor Jack knew how to stand or what to do with their hands, so the woman sighed heavily and helped them by ordering them to move this leg here, Jack's hand there, Hiccup's arms here and all of that.

The second photo was definitely better with them slouching a little and smiling to the camera with haphazard tiredness in their eyes. It wasn't an overly impressive photo, but Hiccup quickly liked it. It seemed more natural for him, more… just like the two of them.

"Okay you can go wild with the third one." The woman said boredly and changed something on her camera.

If there was one word that definitely couldn't be used to describe Hiccup it would be 'wild'. His friends probably would even say that he was as far away from being wild as Earth was from Pluto, which was kinda true. Wild wasn't his trope. He preferred calmness and stability, not unsureness and spontaneity.

So he kinda didn't know what to do. Yet he really wanted to do something.

They were there, awkwardly trying to come up with an idea and being unable to. Gladly the people in the line didn't seem like they minded, surprisingly, as they excitedly talked between each other about the photos they should take.

"Okay guys, I need to do it, so on three just do something spontaneous."

Spontaneous?! The only spontaneous thing Hiccup knew were reactions with negative Gibbs free energy and he highly doubted the woman was talking about it! Though he hoped that it would be the case!

His hands fidgeted as he desperately tried to come up with something. He was a fun killer not a fun maker! He couldn't come up with something funny in mere seconds. He couldn't come up with something funny even in a few hours. And even if he did, his fun definitely could not be the type of fun other people liked.

But the woman started the countdown and Hiccup cursed inside his mind, feeling some threads inside his head snapping.

When there was one he expected the snap of a photo of a very random configuration of their bodies. This was what they got for not planning beforehand. A really random photo.

But what happened in reality wasn't exactly like that. Instead Hiccup felt something touching his cheek and he had a sparse millisecond to react, where he didn't actually as the blinding light assaulted his eyes, making him blink furiously after that.

The feeling on his cheek disappeared, but left a soaring sensation, sizzling and vibrating in its wake. His mind desperately tried to come up with an idea of what could happen in such short span of time, but came up with no results, until he glanced at Jack who looked ready to combust.

(Honestly, this was probably the most flustered Jack Hiccup had seen in his entire life.)

Then his brain snapped and clicked and wheezed and blinked and screeched and only then the results came in.

Hiccup slowly lifted his hand to touch his cheek and said a simple.

"Oh."

Maybe it was a good thing that the photographer interrupted them.

"That was very sweet. Now, next pair!" The last two words were shouted, even though they were in quite small space where such loud tones weren't needed. It seemed that the woman simply enjoyed the sudden startled behaviors of students.

Both Hiccup and Jack quickly moved off the stage, hesitantly looking anywhere but at each other.

The skin on the cheek was still warm and if Hiccup could focus really hard he still could sense a lingering feeling of Jack's lips there. Or he hoped it was it and not his mind playing tricks. His heart on the other side was making somersaults and weird dances as it beat and rattled and hammered inside his ribcage. It had probably nothing to do with the upbeat loud music embracing them.

Jack lifted his hand to scratch his nape.

"I hope this was… okay? I panicked a little bit."

Hiccup wanted to point out that it was a weird thing to do while one person panic, but he stopped himself in time. In time for what he wasn't sure.

Yet the only thing he was sure about was the he didn't mind it.

"No, it was okay." Hiccup quickly said, clearing his throat. "That definitely was what you call spontaneous."

Jack sent him a hesitant smile with his hand lingering on the neck.

Hiccup could see that Jack was still having second doubts about his behavior – and well it kinda hurt – but he simple reached and grabbed his hand. It slumped down, allowing for Hiccup to sneak his palm around and tug it to get them moving in the direction of the loud music and even louder chatters.

"Don't worry so much. Today we party, we can worry later."

Jack glanced at him and even though Hiccup knew he was still thinking about it – his heart had to stop thinking about it too – his mouth quickly turned into a grin that spread around and shone like a thousand stars. Bright. Warm. Beautiful.

"Who are you and what did you do to Hiccup?" Jack finally asked, catching up and looking at him playfully.

He rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, I'm surprised too that I said that."

---

Jack's heart was beating loudly and wildly inside his ribcage. It was a weird cacophony, between trying to keep up with the beat of the music around, the rhythm of his body and well the sudden emotions that had come to it after kissing Hiccup's cheek.

(He still couldn't believe he had done that! But his mind suddenly had gone dark and he just had done that. Without thinking. Which had been a very stupid thing to do and for a moment he had kinda expected Hiccup to turn around and slap him across the cheek. But nothing like this had happened. No. Hiccup just had gotten flustered and that had been all.

And if Jack's brain was working correctly he had a vague memory of seeing Hiccup's happy smile. But no. That couldn't be true. It must had been the atmosphere of the school right now. Filled with colors and cheerfulness. Sparkles and happiness. Ribbons and dizziness.)

Hiccup's hand was warm around his elbow as they maneuvered around pairs, groups of seniors and people from the town. They both had to stop at least four times, because Jack saw someone familiar and of course he had to say hi to them.

Hiccup was more on the quiet side, but he answered any question directed at him. Maybe once or twice he even added a few sentences on his own.

Jack was really proud.

It felt like an eternity passed before they finally got to the Gym Hall where music and colorful reflectors were blasting around, currently to some upbeat song.

Jack was bubbling inside.

The parquet was filled with a few pairs which were dancing, swishing their heads back and forth, connecting hands and throwing around legs. It was clearly visible that the party didn't fully start, but it seemed like it didn't stop some people.

Near other part of the Gym were tables, some empty, some had food on them and some not. Most of the students that had gotten there were now standing around, enjoying a glass of water or orange drink. The waiters walked around preparing any last light foods like small sandwiches and roll-ups.

Jack looked around, trying to locate the familiar face that had been messaging him for the last hour or so.

"Hiccup, do you see Aster?" Jack asked, leaning incredibly close to Hiccup to be audible above the clatter around them.

The auburn haired teen glanced around, furrowing his eyebrows behind the glasses.

"Wait, I think I see him." Hiccup said after a moment, tugging on Jack's arm and pointing at a table near the backdoor covered with flowers, now fully open to the back yard of school.

Jack looked there and smiled. Indeed both Aster and Heather were standing there, talking to each other. Bunny had to lean down and Heather had to tilt her head higher to be able to speak more or less fluently in the racket.

"Let's go."

The closer they were getting, the more and more details Jack could see. Like a sweet pink flower sticking from Aster's suit, matching perfectly Heather's dress. Like a gray ribbon in Heather's hair, fitting Aster amazingly well. Like Heather's nails, painted in pink with hints of ash, that seemed like beaches with beautiful seashells. Like how there were smiles on both of their faces and a carefree tone to their movements.

Jack felt like smiling himself.

"Hey guys!" He finally said, when they were close enough.

Both Aster and Heather twitched and turned to them. The recognition immediately appeared in their eyes.

"Finally! You couldn't get here any later, could you?" Of course, it was Bunny who spoke first, looking at Jack skeptically.

"Divas need to be late so we can make a grant entrance." Jack proudly said, puffing out his chest.

"Actually it was my fault." Hiccup admitted, looking a little bit sorrowful at them.

"You didn't have to tell them that."

"But I felt obliged to. They were waiting for us."

Well Jack couldn't argue much with that, nor he wanted to. So in the end he only sighed loudly, letting his shoulders drop, and patted Hiccup's hand which was still circling Jack's elbow.

He turned to the pair in plan of opening his mouth to ask where they were going to sit, but was beat to it by Aster.

"We booked seats for you. And one for Tooth, but I doubt she will be spending much time with us."

"Okay, lead the way."

Aster and Heather moved outside.

Jack and Hiccup followed them and then gasped almost in the same time, after stepping out.

Last year and the one before that proms had been happening in a building rented for such kind of things specifically. But this year the Committee had decided to use the Gym as a main part of the dance floor and build a makeshift terrace outside. Most people had been skeptical about it at the beginning – due to the weather and costs – but the Committee somehow had managed to fulfil their dreams. Jack had a feeling Tooth was very proud of that right now.

Especially as the outside was looking utterly divine. There was a long, wooden terrace which creaked happily, but steadily beneath their feet. There were round tables all around the place with pinkish tablecloth thrown over them and a wooden chairs standing nearby. Some were already taken, with coats and jackets laying on the backseats. Some were empty, but clearly taken and some waited for people to finally take them. Plates and glasses were waiting to be served by the catering that had been ordered and now was walking around, spreading the last snacks here and there.

And in case there would be a rain, above them there was a light blue canopy, spreading above every table and more, with sweet, small, clearly electrical lanterns hanging around, but giving a soft hue nevertheless.

It looked astonishing in the dim light of the sunset. Jack was sure it would look even better after dark.

"Wow." Hiccup murmured next to him.

Wow indeed. Or well it was a very delicate term to describe the extravaganza and elegance of this place. How someone could turn a typical school yard into something majestic, cryptic and astonishing in just one day was beyond Jack's mind understatement. But it had happened. And the results were simply breathtaking.

Aster and Heather were already moving, circling around pairs, greeting some, giving high-fives here and there. So what could Jack and Hiccup do but follow them?

There was this cheery atmosphere in the air, not technically soft, but not buzzing and vibrating either. There was a hint of nervousness, some kind of waiting licking the air, some tension, but also sweet comfort. It was a very weird mix of both opposite emotions. Some students seemed like they wanted to jump out and just dance and some looked like they needed a drink or two, possibly seven shots and a nap, far away from this place.

Their table was near the side. And maybe before all of that Jack would have been pissed that it wasn't in the middle, now he was quite happy that he wasn't in the center of every sound, every talk, every conversation and every whisper.

Both he and Hiccup flopped down on two available seats.

There were six chairs near every round table. Some around them were already taken. Correction. Most of them were already taken, but there were a few gaps here and there, probably waiting for late people just like them.

"For whom is the last seat?" Hiccup asked, looking at Aster and then at Heather. "Because I assume one is for Tooth."

"If she appears then yeah, it's for her." Bunny answered, looking at them. "And the last one is well… free. Maybe someone will take it, maybe not."

Hiccup nodded, letting his shoulders drop. It seemed like this information calmed him down.

Jack was really glad for that.

---

After that they mostly talked, about the finals, about the last week, about future, about small and big things, important and not. At first mostly Aster and Jack talked but soon Heather jumped in and even Hiccup gave his opinion on several things.

And it all was okay.

But then there was a commotion, people started to get up from their seats, taking last sips of orange juice from the glasses, taking off their blazers or correcting their hairs. The sudden wave, the stream of students moved to the backdoor leading them back in the gym.

"What's happening?" Jack asked the first person that came in his line of sight.

"The official start." Jim* hurriedly said, glancing at him and pushing his hair back.

"Thanks."

Jack glanced at the rest of their small group and pointed with his head at them.

Heather nodded, hung her purse on the back of the chair and moved close to Aster who showed her his arm, letting her hand sneak inside and then rest comfortably on it.

Jack and Hiccup let them go first and then moved to stand beside them.

No one was moving fast, but they were definitely moving forward and well that was something. But Jack also wasn't in a hurry. At least not like some of the people here who seemed to just want to get inside and do something. Plus the crowd was getting thicker and thicker the closer they were getting to the gym. Which made it hard to maneuver around.

Jack stood on his tiptoes to glance above the crowd when he felt Hiccup's hand moving to circle his own. Whether he did it to not get lost, look more convincing or without a higher reason, Jack decided to not dive into. Hiccup just did that and Jack would accept it.

Today could be quite different from any other days. Jack had to remember than no matter what happens today it will not going to be real. They were just actors playing on a stage, waiting for theatrical applause and nods of approval that it all seemed pretty real.

Even though Jack wanted to throw the script out of the window and just put a real meaning to holding hands, being able to love and do it freely, without thinking twice if there were double meanings behind it.

Somehow they got inside, clamped together by the crowd, which gladly dispersed in the gym. The stands were currently out, leaving a lot of place to maneuver, even close to the long tables filled with drinks and quick snacks.

People in pretty dresses and elegant suits talked between each other in front of the stage, where stood a DJ stand and a DJ who currently played no music, but was changing something on the machines in front of him. There were three teachers nearby the mic on the stage, one of which was surprisingly Pitch, and other were the Principal and her Assistant.

After some time the Principal nodded and then moved to the mic, patting it softly which vibrated in the whole room, as it was indeed turned on.

"Okay, silence, silence please."

There was always a funny thing about people with higher authority trying to calm a crowd of students while saying 'silence'. It rarely worked immediately or at all. Just like right now. The woman got most of the students more or less silent after several tries, yet there were still a few talking in the back or even in the middle.

But the Principal decided that it was as good as she could get.

"Welcome to Burgess High School annual Prom Night." She said, hinting on a cheerful note at the end.

A row of applause welcomed her, together with whistles that made the windows shiver. Okay this was going to be interesting.

"I know you all worked hard for the last three years and for the finals that gladly are behind you all, hopefully with amazing results."

The claps were well mixed. Some howled and shouted excitedly and some clapped miserably, glancing at each other with remorseful eyes and hesitant twitches of hands. It all depended on your mood.

Jack was glad that it was all over.

"So I want you to enjoy yourself today before you step into your bright adulthood with your heads held high."

Some, or actually most people focused on the first part of the sentence while they shouted happily and totally decided to ignore the second part. No one wanted to think about that yet. It was a problem for tomorrow them, or at least future them, because no one was sure in what state they would be living tomorrow.

(Just because alcohol was technically forbidden, it didn't mean it wasn't there. Students had their ways of bringing it in.)

There were a few more information, thanks, gratitude, laws that they needed to obey – which they definitely wouldn't obey, unfortunately students were like that – before the Principal looked done with all and leaned to the mic.

"And without further ado I officially start this year Prom Night."

The applauses after that were enormous to this point Pitch glanced at the windows in fear of them breaking down.

---

The beginnings were always awkward.

First there was a light supper prepared for them where students gathered around the tables to be served a soup and a light second dish. It wasn't super amazingly tasty, but it was edible. Nothing like the food in the cafeteria definitely, but Hiccup couldn't call it a top service.

(Jack definitely cooked better than this. It wasn't terrible, but still…)

Tooth approached them, flopping down on the free chair and groaning.

"My legs hurt."

Aster looked at her, patting his mouth with a napkin.

"The prom barely started. You didn't even dance yet."

"I know, but I had to prepare a ton lot." The girl sighed and thanked a waitress that brought her a soup with a warm smile. "I'm on my legs since four am."

"Four?" Heather asked, pushing the plate away and looking at her with wide eyes. "You are barely living right now! How can you do it?"

Tooth waved her hands around, making the colorful shackles and bracelets tingle and ring and jingle like a sweet melody. Hiccup had a feeling she wanted to make a rainbow in front of her, but kinda failed in the process.

"The magic of six coffees."

"I'm pretty sure that it not a healthy amount of coffee." Hiccup added, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"I know. But coffee is tasty and well it helps me to not fall asleep." She grabbed a spoon and started to eat.

Tooth's hand fidgeted a little, shook like she was delirious. And maybe some cells in her body just begged for a sweet release.

"You could take a quick nap?" Jack butted in, looking at her hopefully.

"Have you heard of people sleeping on their own prom?" Tooth inquired between sips.

"Well at the end definitely." Aster mumbled, looking eloquently at the wine glass in front of them.

No one was really sure why they had such glasses if they technically couldn't drink. It didn't stop them from drinking definitely, but it was just a weird concept to put it there without a higher reason.

(Everyone knew they were drinking. It was just a masquerade, a play everyone did for the teachers who simply glanced at them with knowing looks and pretended not to notice the flushed cheeks and lost gazes.)

"Now when you mention it, I have some alcohol with me." Tooth slurped a little on the soup. "So just say a word."

"Me too." Heather patted the purse with a small smile.

Jack huffed.

"See Hiccup. You should have worn a dress and then we could have hidden alcohol in your purse."

"Hey, don't blame me!" He quickly shot back, furrowing his eyebrows. Honestly, why was Jack turning to him when the topic was moving to those things? Why was he constantly the target of an attack? "You could have worn one and take a purse!"

Jack for a moment honestly seemed like he contemplated it. His eyes glanced down and blinked a few times, moving from left to right, jumping hither and tither, doing circles, barely visible from a meter away.

But Hiccup saw it all.

"It would be weird to have a purse without a dress, right?" He asked in the end, looking really serious.

Hiccup wasn't sure if he should start laughing or start talking like it was the most serious topic of today evening. In Jack's case probably the second option was more palpable, more real.

"I mean, I don't have anything against guys carrying purses, but I suppose it could be weird for some people. Definitely for teachers." Hiccup answered, honestly. "So I don't think you specifically could bring alcohol in a purse."

Jack nodded and tapped his finger on his chin.

"Change of plans. We are both going to wear dresses next time!"

Next time?

"Next time?" Oh shit, he said it out loud. He didn't mean to do it.

"You know, for your prom."

Oh, oh! So that was what Jack meant.

There was a weird sensation in his chest, a strange feeling that overtook control of all his processes. It seemed like a zap, both blissful and painful in the same time. Because at first Hiccup couldn't stop the surge of happiness, sweet, delicious, pure happiness that shot right through him and lighted up the world, making him feel light, so light that he was floating above the crowd, above it all.

Only to crash down and lose all the air in his lungs when he glanced around at all the students who still believed they were dating. That they were together. They had to pretend that all was fine and dandy and that they were a lovey-dovey couple. And for a moment Hiccup was really fed up with it. He wanted to stand up and shout the truth and be done with it. He had enough, he was done with it all.

But Heather was there and all Jack's friends and he didn't want them to simply know. Because if they knew they could act different towards Jack, he could suddenly become a bad person in many people's eyes, even when it wasn't true, even when Jack had been only trying to help. So he couldn't do that. He couldn't do it to Jack.

Plus there was some selfish part of him that wanted to play along for this night. Just one night. For just one night he can pretend that it was real, that during this evening Jack's fake feelings were real.

Would that make him a bad person? For taking advantage of it? Maybe? He wasn't sure. But maybe this one night wouldn't hurt anyone. He definitely hoped so.

"You still didn't finish this year prom and you're already thinking about the next one?" Hiccup inquired in the end.

Jack grinned at him fully, a toothy smile that spread around like a sunrise and sunset both in the same time, warming Hiccup's skin and heart and mind. It was blinding, so radiant, so bright, like heated yttrium oxide*.

"Yeah, of course."

"How about graduating first?" Aster butted in, looking at Jack skeptically.

"I wrote all my exams. Now I can only wait and pray." Jack said and then leaned on the chair, putting both his hands behind his head and balancing on the hind legs.

After that the talk jumped into exams, finals, how they did, what they had written wrong and wanted to change. Something Hiccup still didn't live through. But he still enjoyed funny stories about it.

Of course back then, during final week, they hadn't been funny at all. But now, after some days, when no one could change a thing, they became a distant, rusty memory, one about which they would laugh around in a circle.

It was okay. Everyone enjoyed it, mixing it with food and juices, waiting, anticipating something that sparkled in the air.

Hiccup wasn't sure what it was, but it was just something. Like hesitancy, like nervousness, sweet raining hope, delicious anticipation for better times, prospect for a moment of the start and end of iodine clock reaction*.

Then soft tunes started to sneak past their legs, raising in the air and wrapping their hands around their bodies, brushing their hair and kissing softly the cheeks. At first it was barely audible – it was an echo of something that was just in the background, nothing more, nothing less. But then it was starting to get louder and louder, more vibrant, more electrifying, more shivering and trembling, making the waves in air pulsate, swim to the rhythm that rung around them.

The music started.

People looked around, some deciding on finishing their food first and some conspicuously glancing at each other and taking different bottles out – colas, fantas, waters – nothing that was the pure drink in the real life.

Hiccup actually felt like drinking too. From what he knew Jack planned to drink too.

(He knew he shouldn't, but living with the twins had taught him a few things. He still didn't like to get dead drunk, something that had happened a few times in the past – but some alcohol was good, to lose the tension, to let the brain forget about specific things, to stop every small atom or molecule or formula from worrying about particular tasks and data and goals.)

Their table stopped speaking and just started to glance at each other, lifting their eyebrows. For a moment there was only confusion on their faces, especially with half eaten noddle hanging from Tooth's mouth. Which became incredibly hilarious when a person approached her and touched her shoulder.

"May I have this dance?"

To say that for a moment Hiccup was sure that Tooth would snort out the noodle through her nose would be an understatement. Especially as she coughed violently two times, before turning around and answering.

"Oh Douxie*, yeah, yeah, totally."

The male smiled at her, showed her his hand and then hoisted her up to move to the gym.

After that Aster turned to Heather.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Better to have it already behind us."

And so they went too. Which left only him and Jack at the table.

Hiccup nervously crumpled the napkin in his hands, feeling tremors running in his chest, making his breath hitch and brain lose focus for a few seconds.

Jack cleared his throat once. Then for the second time. Then did it for the third time, this time running his fingers through the messy locks and ruffling them one more time completely.

"Do you want to, you know… dance?"

Hiccup turned to him and felt like fainting. His cheeks were boiling beneath the skin, to this point he was almost sure he wouldn't be able to touch them with bare hands.

"Do you?" Hiccup asked back.

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"That makes zero sense."

"You make zero sense."

Jack chuckled hesitantly, brokenly, like a CD that was scratched at the bottom. His cheeks were dusted with pinkish smudges, in the color of lithium flame*.

To be honest Hiccup hated dancing. Well maybe not fully hated, not technically despised, but clearly disliked it. He always felt uncomfortable while doing so, not sure where to put his hands, what to do with his feet, where to look with his eyes, what to say or if he should be saying anything at all in the end. His leg didn't exactly help him either.

The point was that he clearly didn't feel comfortable while dancing.

But he promised himself to make this a memorable night for Jack – a perfect night at the end of High School. And dancing was probably high on the list of things Jack wanted to do during this specific night.

And, as surprising as it was, which was very much, Hiccup kinda wanted to dance. At least try to do that. With Jack. He wasn't even sure why, but somehow the idea of the close proximity, of being able to feel the heat, the beating heart, the moving chest, taste the cologne on his tongue was making him kinda dizzy and happy.

It was a new feeling – a weird one. He had to admit he had felt something similar in the past, when he had spent countless nights before sleeping while imagining situations with Aster that would never become reality. But those had been short spasms of feelings, moments, that had appeared, had been there for a moment and then had dispersed quickly, leaving only a tingling sensation in the stomach.

He never had thought that he could have such thing with Aster.

But right now he could have something similar with Jack and it made him utterly messy. His fingers twitched and breath hitched and heart gathered its things and went on its merry way, skipping along the road as poor Hiccup's brain tried to get under control all those emotions in his body. But it couldn't. It probably never could.

The thing was that Hiccup wanted to dance. And time was passing. Slowly, but surely.

Hiccup braced himself, gave himself a short pep-talk inside his head and then turned to Jack.

"So, what are we waiting for?"

Jack opened his mouth, gaped at him, almost like a fish out of water. Then he blinked, broke a spell that had been put upon his head and grinned so bright and wide that it stole Hiccup's breath away. Or maybe it wasn't the smile that did it. It was simply Jack, him fully that did it – the clear happiness, ecstasy that was so visible on his façade.

Maybe it was his soul, no matter how too romantic and cheesy it sounded. But Hiccup had to admit that there was something in those books, in looking into someone's eyes, being able to be nearby that simply did it.

(What did, he wasn't sure he could name it. It just was there, like a warm companion, like a sweet accent, like something that was making him full and yet wasn't needed to be there to be exactly full. Kinda hard to explain.)

"May I have this dance then?" Jack stood up and reached for him, showing him a trembling hand.

Hiccup simply grabbed his palm, hoisted himself up and then dragged Jack in the direction of the gym.

"I'll take that as a yes." Jack happily said behind him, catching up quickly.

Hiccup couldn't stop the grin. It was unusual, an unknown in the formula, some particle unfamiliar to the world, but fitting, inert even, not giving anything but also not taking a thing. A peculiar thing in life.

The gym was already filled with pairs to this point it could be called crowded. And maybe in some aspects it was indeed crowded. When Hiccup's eyes moved from left to right he could see familiar faces. Tooth with her friend swirled nearby the DJ and when Hiccup stood on his tiptoes he could see the gray top of Aster's hair, but very far away.

The music wasn't technically fast, but it wasn't terribly slow either – a pop song that popped into radios from time to time, familiar to many people, even familiar to him – was swimming around them. Some pairs danced, glued to each other with the heads resting on the shoulders or looking into each other's eyes. And some pairs pushed away their bodies, holding hands and swirling faster while grinning crazily. There were also a few smaller circles with friends moving and bending their bodies to the beat.

Simply everyone did whatever they wanted.

The teachers walked on the outskirts, observing the group, sometimes whispering between each other or commenting this or that.

Jack tugged Hiccup's hand, weaving him through the crowd of bodies, of people, of voices, whispers, soft kisses, delicate brushes, fast twists and sudden hugs – to a place a little bit further away from the music. It was still pretty audible – it seemed that vibrations were everywhere now in the gym, snuggling closer to corners and angles and hiding under tables with quick snacks.

Jack turned to him with smile gracing his face and then hesitantly moved his one hand away. This palm slowly, hesitantly, painfully moved to Hiccup's waist. Or well above it. Even maybe unnaturally high, but secured in a place that would make Hiccup comfortable.

He slowly sneaked his hand on Jack's shoulder, seeing and feeling it trembling as he did so.

His throat was blocked, his lungs were constricted, it seemed like there wasn't enough air around him. Yet he was breathing, there were so many emotions, signals and sensation swimming in his body that his brain wasn't sure on what to focus. On Jack's face? On his hand? On the people pushing them around a little bit? On his kinda uncomfortable clothes? On the blaring, colorful lights? On Jack's eyes? On the sensation of Jack's hand beneath his palm – a little bit rougher than he remembered? On Jack's smell?

Or maybe on the lights dancing on Jack's face? On the music that seemed to beat inside Hiccup's lungs? Or maybe on how they swirled slowly, now closer than ever while just looking at each other with probably giddy and weird smiles on their faces?

Wait, were they looking at each other all this time? Wouldn't it be awkward? Oh, but he was still doing it, staring.

"Is it okay?" Jack quietly asked, leaning a little closer to probably be audible above the loud music and chattering crowd of dancing pairs and groups.

Hiccup noticed that he couldn't speak, somehow incredibly locked in a moment with silky chains. He noticed that right now he didn't exactly want to move away, didn't exactly want the song to end, didn't probably want for this year to end. Because with it ending, everything else would end. Their plan and this closure they had. And maybe, just maybe, he had gotten addicted to it.

(He tended to be a bit clingy once he got comfortable enough to be able to do that.)

The fact almost made him lose his breath. If he had any to begin with. But it only echoed painfully inside his body, rattling the remaining clusters of thoughts he had there.

"Yeah…" Hiccup mumbled when his brain allowed him to. "Yeah, it is."

"Because if it isn't, just tell me." Jack continued, with words weirdly glued to each other, like atoms with covalent bond.

"It's… okay, really."

Hiccup had to admit he sounded wrong and unsure, but it wasn't because of the reasons Jack probably was thinking about. Hiccup's mind tried to simply cope with the amount of signals and sensations and emotions that his body was feeding him and receiving.

He only hopped that he wouldn't be overstimulated, although he was slowly creeping towards the line. He didn't want that, simply because he felt really good now. The amount of crowd pushing on them didn't matter. The loud music didn't matter. The awkwardness of the situation didn't matter right now. For a moment he just lived in this short space of time.

They swayed their bodies in askew rhythm, bumping into each other and laughing a few times when one person stepped on the other one's foot. Once, twice, thrice.

"We're pretty bad at it."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's me who is bad at it. You're pretty decent."

"Pretty decent is the biggest compliment I can get from you. Can I engrave it with a date on a plate and put it on my desk?"

Hiccup huffed and wiggled his fingers a little, brushing Jack's neck along the process. If the teen noticed, he didn't comment it.

"Well I definitely want to see you try."

"Aw man, I should put it on the desk at my job. If I ever find one." Jack said, the joyful spark shining in his eyes as he corrected the hold on Hiccup's hand and made a small swirl together.

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"I thought you wanted to be a cook and I don't think they have desks."

"Well…" Jack mused for a second and then huffed. "So I'll put it on the shelf with spices."

"That is a terrible idea."

"Why so?"

"Aren't like spice shelves high? What if it falls down? Metal plates are quite heavy."

"You're looking for problems right now."

"Someone has to."

Jack huffed halfheartedly and moved his fingers on Hiccup's body. It seemed like he wanted to fight it, but didn't have enough ideas to do it, so he opted to close his mouth.

So Hiccup continued.

"You can embroider it, if you want. Definitely safer and less expensive than engraving it on a metal plate. And you can put it in a nice frame."

Were they still speaking about it? They were. The topic was goofy, almost bizarre, but somehow Hiccup couldn't stop, basking in the atmosphere and the warmness surrounding his body and heart.

"You know, it's not a bad idea. Tooth does a lot of those stuff, I bet she can teach me."

"See, now this is a better solution."

Jack hummed and pushed them away from a pair that madly spinned in the crowd and was about to almost crash into them.

Every atom and particle and compound was vibrating inside Hiccup's body. The places Jack was touching were sizzling and freezing simultaneously, almost like they reached their triple points. Or maybe they reached their critical points? Hiccup wasn't sure.

The only thing he was sure about was that it felt surprisingly nice.

And all too soon the music faded, leaving them awkwardly standing on the dance floor with the masses around them. Some pairs moved away and started whistling and clapping encouragingly. Some girls kissed their partners on the cheeks. Some boys pecked the foreheads of their dates.

And he and Jack just simply stood there, looking at each other, but not exactly moving away. Maybe they stepped an inch away from each other, but other than that they simply stared.

"I'm happy that you seem to enjoy yourself, because we're partying for the whole night!"

The crowd cheered loudly, screaming and shouting in joy, laughing and simply bursting to life once again.

And Hiccup just stared, swallowing hard. His fingers involuntarily twitched, tensed and squeezed Jack's palm beneath.

Another tune was definitely faster, upbeat. It wasn't the fastest song that was there, but definitely the slow, close dance morphed into wild swirls and jumping legs, with girls moving around and laughing at their dresses floating after them.

"Can I temp you to another dance?" Jack finally asked with trembling lips.

From what, Hiccup wasn't sure. Though deep inside he was really curious.

(Why was he looking at Jack's lips? There were many other things on Jack's face that he could focus on, but somehow now, when he noticed this small thing, he couldn't tear his gaze away. Nor he really wanted to. What was wrong with him?)

"Only if you don't like your legs that much."

Jack snorted.

"I can live through some bruises."

"Then be my gue-"

But Hiccup couldn't finish the sentences as a pair bumped into them, making them move away from each other.

Hiccup already had some words at the end of his tongue that he definitely wouldn't say out loud, but only mutter under his nose, when he stopped as another set of palms wrapped themselves around his hands.

"We are switching!"

It was Tooth, spinning him around with a wild smile on her mouth.

And in an instant all anger dispersed from Hiccup's body as he let out a creaky laugh and allowed the girl to lead the dance, because damn, he was pretty bad at it.

Gladly Tooth didn't comment it. She even looked happy to be put in such a role.

And somehow along the way as they danced around, moved across the floor in a weird rhythm, Hiccup caught a glimpse of Jack's eyes as he looked back at him.

The teen shrugged sheepishly and Hiccup smiled back at him.

Well, they had full night for another dance.

---

The alcohol burned Jack's throat nicely. It was a little bit sad, but he felt that it was exactly what he needed right now.

But to be fair, Hiccup had one shot more than him. From where he exactly had gotten it, Hiccup supposedly himself wasn't sure.

Jack exhaled softly.

The happy atmosphere around him warmed his skin, tickled his cheek and snuggled his neck. He felt quite comfortable. The alcohol still didn't get to him in a way that he was getting overjoyed about everything, but now it was in a form of nice, buzzing sensation in his ears.

But judging by Hiccup saying more and more, the alcohol in his case was untwisting his tongue quite nicely and quickly.

Jack didn't mind. Of course not. It was nice to see Hiccup with flushed cheeks talking animatedly with Tooth about this or that bacteria. Or at least this was what Jack thought they were talking about, judging by a lot of Latin being thrown here and there, like leaves in the autumn.

Aster, Heather and their friends were also conversing about something. At the beginning Jack had known the topic, but it had gotten lost after some time, when his eyes had drifted to Hiccup.

(It was happening a lot during this evening, especially since their first dance. The memory was still fuzzy and warm inside his head, making him grin stupidly to himself. He didn't exactly thought it would go like this, but it was the best outcome he could get.)

"Don't you think so Jack?" Their teammate asked, leaning to him and swishing his drink left and right. The orange juice, definitely mixed with something inside, was half drank.

"I must admit, I got fucking lost in your talk." Jack said and leaned forward on the table, tearing his gaze away from Hiccup.

He could stare at him later, when no one would be looking and paying him much mind.

Which didn't seem like it could happen during this night. He had been actually asked to dance four times already. And it seemed like everyone wanted something from him all the time. People were calling him, approaching him, nudging and asking to take a drink. And Jack wanted to spend time with all of them, at least for some minutes. But unfortunately he could only be in one place at the time.

If his teammate minded, he didn't show it, but jumped into explaining the whole situation once again.

---

Hiccup felt his head buzzing, starting to sizzle in the nice way. If he even could call it that.

His mind started to work not as fast as it had used to work. There were lags here and there, slowing all processes and programs. But today, tonight he didn't mind. He couldn't overthink now. He couldn't let his mind work in an analytical way, trying to understand every small thing, every small part of the reality.

Now he needed to defuse and enjoy himself. And he knew that alcohol was one way to do it.

(Plus he kinda liked it. Not the really high percentage alcohols, but cocktails were okay. And he was already drinking his fifth one.)

He had a vague recollection of dancing with some girl, but now after he had sat down he wasn't sure if it was true. Probably yes, because his hands were still hot and he still felt the sudden stress and excitement flowing inside his body.

Jack next to him laughed loudly at something his friend had said. Hiccup somehow got lost in the conversation, even though at the beginning he had been really into it, adding even his own opinion here and there.

But now somehow his mind drifted away, lulled to sleep by a calming presence next to him. Or maybe it was the warmness of Jack's body seeping into his own? They were sitting quite close.

Why were they sitting so close?

Oh, yeah, the plan. The very important plan. The plan they had been keeping up for almost a year. The plan that had started it all. The plan…

What was the plan about really?

Ah wait, no, he got it, at the end of his tongue. Fake-dating. They were definitely doing that. Oh yeah, that was why Hiccup was sitting so close. They needed to play their parts, they need to be actors in their own play, they had to…

They just had to.

But it felt weirdly natural. Almost too natural as Jack played with Hiccup's palm, tracing random patterns on the skin and tapping it in an uneven rhythm. Wait. When had they started holding hands? Was that a thing they were doing?

No, Hiccup also got it. It had happened two minutes ago. He had been staring at his glass and someone had asked a question and then Jack's hand had slipped beneath his own. And he had done nothing, but interlocked their fingers.

He didn't mind.

For this one night he could simply not think about consequences.

---

"Come on Jackie, take the shot, grab your boyfriend and let's take over the dancefloor."

Jack laughed, feeling the bubbling sensation raising inside his stomach and chest and going out. He was floating, flying, raising above the surface of being responsible about things.

He had a vague feeling that someone was tugging him to the dance floor. So in response he grabbed Hiccup's elbow, who tried to save himself and caught Heather. Aster simply followed because the girl probably sent him a pleasing look.

The music was fast, faster, even faster, with the rhythm jumping left and right, static interlocking, swishing, melodies leaping in and out of focus. The voices – happy, overjoyed, too loud, even louder, shrieking and shouting from time to time – swam inside his ears, ringing doorbells across the mind.

It was intoxicating.

Or maybe Jack was slowly starting to get drunk. He could feel his movements becoming sloppy and more uncoordinated than usual. The adrenaline was moving quickly through his bloodstream. He actually had already made some decisions he wouldn't have done while being sober, but somehow he didn't mind. Nor it looked like Hiccup did. Nor Heather. Nor Aster.

Where was Tooth exactly? Oh yeah, there had been a problem nearby toilets and she had needed to tend to it.

The Prom Committee life wasn't easy. Especially during prom.

The dance floor was maybe not fully packed, but there were definitely a few groups dancing around, waving their bodies and hitting each other hips. And they had done exactly that, forming a semi-circle that had been maybe a circle at some point, but quickly had stopped being one.

Most of them clearly couldn't dance, but they were slowly leaning to the side of being drunk enough to not care. So they simply danced.

Even Hiccup did. And he looked less uncomfortable than Jack would have thought he would look. Maybe it was the alcohol doing the thing. He did have more than Jack.

Ah Jack's waistcoat was slipping, he had to correct it.

Hiccup next to him chuckled, while making a weird movement with his hands.

It was hot inside, it was buzzing and vibrating and clashing inside and it seemed like Jack's heart couldn't keep up with the things that were happening around him. But weirdly he didn't mind.

Heather laughed somewhere nearby, eyes sparkling with mirth.

Someone told him some joke, whispering close to his ear. He laughed loudly at that, but it all quickly turned into thin fog that enveloped his mind.

---

"And then I told him to go and be a fucktard somewhere else –"

"You know we shouldn't actually buy it there. We can simply go to a shop and buy –"

"Listen, my cat is the cutest, fuzzy-whumpy, sweety, delicious pie there is. Wait a have a few pictures on my phone. You totally need to see her –"

'I seriously think we should talk with Tulip, she looks so sad nowadays. We used to be close friends –"

"And I mean, when you take into consideration the magnetic field –"

"I went to my therapist and he told me –"

"You totally have to try the new recipe I sent you. The taste of lemon with ginger –"

Hiccup felt like he could hear every word, every sentence, every conversation, but muffled. His mind started to listen, but then cut to the one happening nearby, only to cut back to all the talks happening around them.

Currently they were outside, sitting on a blanket someone had taken from the home and passing around an opened bag of chips.

(Why they were eating chips was a mystery to him. The tables were filled with scrumptious foods, but they were here, behind the school walls, eating cheap chips and drinking alcohol from plastic cups.)

"How about you, Hiccup?" A girl on his right asked, looking at him.

She had beautiful curly hair and chocolate skin. A white dress she wore was nicely accenting her beauty.

"I don't know. The funniest moment in Math class in my case was when Pitch slipped and then gave detention to anyone who dared to laugh." Hiccup smoothly said, remembering the day.

It was a fun day. Back then it really hadn't been, but right now he recollected it with fondness.

"Oh it happened during your class? Lucky! I wish I've seen it! There were rumors about it, but I never believed them."

"It was very much true. And it was hilarious. I wish I'd snapped a photo back then, but well he probably would have killed me."

"Definitely would happen. You would be buried on the same day, even if he liked you."

Hiccup wasn't sure if Professor Black liked him. He wasn't sure if the man liked anyone exactly. But he clearly hoped that Pitch didn't dislike him.

"Yeah, on the school grounds, nearby his office so he could always check if anyone is walking around the burial place."

They were sitting under Pitch's window, now clearly empty of any light that would indicate the man was above them, listening to their every word. Pitch was gladly supervising the dance floor, clearly not amused by the job he had been given, but fulfilling it nevertheless.

"Oh damn, yeah, this sounds like something he would do." The girl said, sobering for a moment with a cup near her mouth.

In the end she moved her cup closer to Hiccup.

"Cheers to not dying by Pitch's hands?"

"Cheers indeed."

And they then bumped their plastic cups.

---

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, washing his hands in the sink.

To be honest Jack's sight was a little bit askew and he could feel that he was approaching the border, the invisible line that was inside his head, ready to just snap in half. But for now he felt blissfully nice, so he was going to push his body a little more.

"I'm okay." Hiccup said, swaying a little as he dried his hands with a paper towel. "A little bit you know…" He waved his head around to point what he meant without saying it out loud. Not because some student may hear him, but maybe because some teacher was lurking around. "But other than that I'm okay."

(Though the teachers definitely knew what was happening as Jack had already seen some teacher escorting a pretty drunk teen outside.)

Jack smiled, turned off the water and copied Hiccup.

The trash bin was already filled with paper towels.

As soon as they exited the bathroom, arm to arm, Jack heard a loud whistle coming from a group of people from his class. He snapped his head in that direction and saw some girl lifting her beer and tipping it to him, clearly wiggling her eyebrows in a seductive manner to hint on a hidden meaning.

But Jack knew exactly what she meant. And maybe if he was sober he would tell her to brush it off, that clearly he was making Hiccup uncomfortable with her innuendos – judging by the sudden tension in his back and the falter in his steps. Or maybe he would grab Hiccup's hand, walk faster and apologize to him later on.

Right now he did neither of those things.

Maybe because Hiccup beat him to it as he grabbed his hand, moved closer, almost gluing himself to his arm, and then turned to the girl, sticking out his tongue.

It was all made in playful manner, with too big movements to show that he was joking, that he was playing.

The group which whistled before now laughed loudly.

"This is what I'm talking about!" One boy shouted, also tipping the cup to them.

And with that both of them moved away, sauntering the dark hallways back to the gym and to the music echoing in the corridor.

The halls weren't empty, there were students sitting on the ground, sharing foods and drinks, talking between each other or whispering in each other's ears. There were quite a few pairs making out in the dark nook and crannies beneath the stairs or behind the doors.

But the corridor was weirdly quiet, toned down, seemed like another world with the music coming from behind the walls. No one spoke louder than a few tones and even if they did, they quieted quite quickly.

And Hiccup and Jack swam through it, clothes rustling after them and heels clicking on the floor.

Hiccup didn't move away. The hand holding somehow had become something permanent during this night, not even one of them noticing it at this point, but the closeness was definitely something new. Maybe it was the alcohol or internal Hiccup's need to fulfill the plan to make everyone believe that they were real.

No matter the reason, today Jack was selfish enough to embrace and not mention it.

(It was just for today. Since tomorrow everything would return to normal and he would keep his emotions and needs under control. But for now, for now he simply couldn't.)

So Jack rested his head on Hiccup's fluffy hair and they moved slowly forward.

---

"Psss."

Hiccup was starting to hear familiar voices. Great. Fantastic. Splendid. He definitely needed to stop drinking… whatever was currently in his cup – tasted like a mix of 7 Up and white wine – and just sober a little bit.

This definitely wasn't healthy.

"Psss Hic!"

Great, the voices knew his name. Amazing. And he was having so much fun during this evening.

"Look to your right!"

Hiccup didn't really want to listen to the voices, letting them order him around, but some part of him currently had no problems with agreeing to everything. It was a bad state. Dangerous state. But the mysterious voices wouldn't hurt him, right?

(Oh, something told him that they could, but right now he didn't care.)

Apparently the voices were in form of eyes peeking from behind the bushes. Kinda weird thing. Bushes having eyes. Hiccup could swear that they hadn't had it before the prom had started.

Wait, did they actually have like three pairs of eyes? Wait, no, four?

"Finally you noticed us!"

"Uh?" Hiccup said, trying to combine his memories with the familiar sounds.

"There are no teachers around?" The bushes asked.

Hiccup obediently looked left and right. No teacher in sight. Most of them were currently patrolling the gym and corridors as someone had told them that they had seen people smoking there. Gladly the grounds were still safe, but for how long no one was really sure.

"No teachers." Hiccup said.

Then the bushes moved.

And Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and someone Hiccup clearly didn't know emerged from them.

First, the situation was so bizarre that Hiccup felt like he was dreaming. Because this totally could happen. He definitely had dozed off while sitting at the table and listening to people talking about this or that. But a quick pinch on his arm confirmed that he wasn't sleeping, was very much awake, although at this point definitely drunk.

But he still wasn't on the verge of wanting to throw up, so it probably wasn't that bad.

Yet of course his friends, wearing casual clothes, like it was nothing stole four chairs from a table nearby and flopped down on them majestically.

It was probably the alcohol which made everyone work slower than usual, but only now, after a solid minute of the twins, Snotlout and a random plus one bustling around someone noticed them.

"Oh my fucking… Thorstons and Jorgenson! What the hell are you doing here?"

Good question, one for which answer Hiccup would like to know.

"Ah you know, visiting our little lost friend. Checking how is he hanging." Tuffnut said, leaned to Hiccup and grabbed him in the headlock.

He yelped, feeling as his sore muscles tensed and stretched to the maximum. Soon a quick ruffle of his hair followed – he was glad that at this point his hairstyle was totally a mess, because other way he would be quite pissed.

"But we can see that he is doing quite fine. Which honestly surprised me." Tuffnut continued.

Hiccup pushed the boy away.

"Gee thanks for believing in me." He huffed.

"Ah well we know you. You must admit we had reasons to be a little bit concerned." Ruffnut said, smiling to him.

That was probably true. Or at least Hiccup felt like it was true. When the alcohol wasn't swimming, moving through his bloodstream he was more closed, more shut down person.

"So you snuck inside not your prom?" Hiccup asked, feeling like his mouth was moving slower. Maybe it was. He clicked his tongue to check if it was a little bit slower.

It was. Fascinating.

"Well we had a free evening." Snotlout shrugged, smiling from ear to ear, clearly amused by something.

By what Hiccup wasn't sure. Maybe he was amused by his state. That could be a reason. This sounded like a good reason. At least for Snotlout.

"And well now we have free food." Tuffnut added and then snatched Hiccup's plate away.

He felt like he should say something more than a simple 'hey' but his mind stopped him from doing so. Why? He wasn't sure. Maybe there was some part that still worked logically, a tiny bit, as sound would get the attention of the teachers and well Hiccup didn't want for people to have problems.

"Well what kind of party would it be if you weren't there." It was Jack, Jack was speaking.

He was sitting next to Hiccup and uh oh, it was really nice. Comforting. Warm.

Suddenly he felt really sleepy. But he couldn't sleep. They were here to party, to say farewell to those few years of High School, to forget about last weeks and lose the chains. It was time to enjoy themselves and not sleep.

Though Hiccup had to admit that if someone put a pillow beneath his head, he would be out in a minute. Maybe even less. Morpheus was tugging on his consciousness, wrapping it in a silver thread and trying to guide it to the boat.

"A lame one. I admit." Ruffnut grinned, grabbed the plate from Snotlout, who shouted at her, and started to eat too. She even snatched a few cupcakes from the plate nearby. "But I can see that Hiccup is hanging pretty tight."

"Hic? He is a riot today!" Jack said.

Hiccup felt weirdly proud. Even more so, when some people cheered loudly to that, almost like they were agreeing with Jack. But that couldn't be true, could it?

(He was trying his damn hardest today. To make this night perfect for Jack, perfect for everyone around. He didn't utter a single word, even when he had been a little bit uncomfortable at the beginning. He locked it all in. It maybe wasn't healthy, but he could live with it for one night.

However now he felt okay, quite nice even.)

"Our little Hiccup is growing, aww." Ruffnut cooed sweetly.

"Soon we will have to call him by his actual name. Can you imagine it?" Tuffnut added, looking with raised eyebrows at his sister.

"Calling Hiccup Hamish? No way. Hiccup is Hiccup."

Even Hiccup had to agree with that. He was so used to his nickname that even he sometimes wrote it wrong on exams. Even his father used it and not his actual name, so come on. He could make some mistakes.

There was a beat of silence at the table and then someone quietly whispered.

"Wait, so Hiccup is not your real name?"

It was probably directed at him. Definitely at him.

Another short span of silence followed it. And then someone burst into laughter.

Oh it was Jack. Jack was laughing so hard that he was shaking and the vibrations jumped to Hiccup's arm, because they were almost glued to each other.

"Oh my gosh, I nearly forgot about it too!" Jack huffed after the snickers turned into short gasps of air.

"Don't worry. We all do. And we've known him since he was a newborn." Ruffnut said, moving her shoulders.

"I'm sure even Mister Haddock doesn't remember it from time to time."

Hiccup would fight Snotlout on that statement if he didn't agree with it. He had countless memories where Stoick had been introducing him and had made a mistake while saying his name.

It was a habit. And to be fair now he kinda liked his nickname. Before he had been a little bit angry at being called that – it hadn't sounded nice – but somehow now it became familiar, warm, filled with some affection that Hiccup couldn't exactly name.

"Oh by the way. Hiccup!" Ruffnut tugged his arm. "Meet Eret. I mean I know you already met."

"Yeah, and we landed in a hospital." Tuffnut added.

"Shush. But you know I've never really introduced him properly. So I'm doing it now."

Hiccup had a vague memory of him, but to be honest if he saw him on the street he totally wouldn't recognize the face. Nevertheless he clumsily reached his hand and grabbed Eret's bigger one.

(Please not the tight grasp, please not the tight grasp, please not…)

Gladly the grip wasn't too tight. A little stronger than normal, but not terribly so. Plus it softened after a millisecond, for what Hiccup was super happy.

"As you already know I'm Hiccup." He said, a little bit slurred, gluing some words together. He hoped people could understand him.

"Eret… as you probably already know too." The male said, nodding and smiling a tad sheepishly.

For quite big guy, who looked tough – with the black leather and military boots – he seemed weirdly out of place. Almost scared to be here right now. But he still puffed out his chest and tried to remain strong.

There was a beat of silence where Hiccup's mind hinted him to do something, that there was a thing he should be doing, that there were cues and names that should be said. It took him painfully too long to move a little bit away and point at Jack.

"Ah uh and this is Jack. My boyfriend."

Now that Hiccup thought about it he never actually had Introduced Jack like that. Mostly it had been Jack who had been doing it, showing him to people with a giant smile on his mouth, almost like some precious possession. Even thought it was all a play, some theatrical stage for them to play on.

"Hey man, how is life?" Jack said, reaching and grasping Eret's hand.

Probably the easy breeze that simply followed Jack's every movement made the tension disappear, dissipate. Jack had a talent for it. He just needed a few seconds to make a friend out of newly met person.

Jack didn't ask about much. Usually how life was going, how the weekend went, saying something about the weather or school. But he needed only that to move to another topic, letting it all move smoothly from this point on. He always knew what to say to fill the void that would appear in the conversation.

Hiccup was always impressed by it.

"Well you know. Tiring as always."

"Don't we all know that?"

Eret smiled at that as they moved away after the handshake.

What followed was a conversation. A strum of words, sentences, movements, tones, melodies. Simple moments, hidden behind a veil of artificial smoke that trailed between people's legs.

Nevertheless Hiccup felt happy, content. For a moment everything was right in the world.

---

Getting Hiccup to dance wasn't that easy. It wasn't because Hiccup simply didn't want to dance. He had agreed to every Jack's proposition, sometimes with pinched lips, sometimes with smiles. And many times they had been already moving to the dance floor, hands clasped together, only to be stopped in the middle by someone calling them, by pairs pushing them away, by this or that friend tugging them to talk, to drink, to jump into their circle and swish their bodies.

That was also dancing.

But Jack kinda wanted a different type of dancing. They had danced to a few quicker songs, where they had moved fast their legs, where they had ran in circles, grasping each other's hands tightly to not let go. And Jack really had enjoyed those dances too.

Only there were also a few slower tunes, moving across the dance floor like a wind, calming the feverish foreheads and slowing down hearts.

(Or maybe making them beat faster?)

The only actual slow song they had danced to had been at the very beginning. And it was already past midnight and they still didn't have more.

Maybe, just maybe, Jack was sulking a little bit. Not much, but just a bit.

Okay, definitely more than a bit.

Even Ruffnut somehow had managed to get Hiccup into slow dancing! Which they had done awkwardly – from Hiccup's perspective as he was smaller than the girl – but nevertheless they had seemed like they had had fun.

Jack wished he had been in Ruffnut's shoes.

So yeah, he was sitting with a cup of well… of something in his hand and swinging his feet back and forth.

"The frown doesn't suit your face." Said a voice next to him.

Jack glanced up groggily to see Tooth smiling to him.

Now that he thought about it he hadn't seen her since the beginning. Not counting the short snaps here and there when he had seen her running from one side of the building to another.

Jack probably should answer with something more intelligent than a low groan that left his mouth, but well, it already happened. His mind, in this state, wasn't really helping him much, working slower and all that, while being kinda foggy and hazy.

At least it was better than a few minutes ago. He had sobered a bit. A warm meal definitely had helped, but he still could feel the warmness of alcohol moving through his body. And he was quite okay with it. Right now he didn't want to be sober.

"Aw you're getting old, Jack. Sulking at a party." Tooth cooed, as she sat down and straightened the bottom of her dress.

"I'm not old."

"Well you're sitting here and not socializing, so it's almost like old to me. Soon you'll be yelling at kids to get off your property."

Jack wouldn't do that. He loved kids. He always did.

"You know I wouldn't do that." Jack mumbled, turning his head and glancing at his friend.

"I know, I'm just messing with you. So what got you so upset?"

Well Jack couldn't really say it out loud. Only he had done that. In his messages to Astrid. Who definitely had a field trip with his whining. She seemed like she was constantly laughing at him via new messages.

Even now he had one unopened message from her.

"Nothing."

"Well kinda weird nothing, if it made you sulk like that."

Jack murmured a few words under his nose, while slumping further down on the chair. Even after speaking the words out, he wasn't sure exactly what he had wanted to say. It just seemed that he had to mumble something, to complain, to just do something to let out the negative emotions.

(He didn't want to have negative thoughts, especially during this night. But it seemed that no matter what he did, no matter how hard he pushed them away, they always found a way to sneak inside, return to his mind like it was their home.)

"It's just nothing."

"Well I'm not going to push you if you don't want to talk about it."

He didn't. Or maybe he did. He really did. He felt like he was on the verge of speaking about his heart. But he knew he shouldn't. Especially not here, not with so many ears around, not when there were so many people around who truly believed that he and Hiccup were together.

(Would the guilt be smaller if they actually were together? It was just a thought, an inquiry that sometimes appeared inside his mind. He wasn't sure what was the answer though and he was sure he never would know it. Hiccup didn't like him back the way Jack liked him. And even though today it seemed like he did, Jack knew it was just a play. Even though it hurt, it hurt when Hiccup's hand was so warmly intertwined with his one, when their bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle when Hiccup leaned on him, when Hiccup's smile seemed to disperse every problem of the world that still plagued his mind.)

Jack smiled a little at Tooth and corrected his position, feeling as his stomach uncurled. There was a ghost of a pain there, moving through his body, but Jack was fairly sure that he could only be a bit hungover in the morning. Maybe he will have a headache but nothing more. He knew his body would take care of the alcohol in a few hours.

Tooth grabbed a cup on the table and then poured something from a bottle she had inside her purse. After that she took Jack's cup and did the same.

She moved her own cup and pointed it at him.

"Cheers to new beginnings?"

Jack took his cup and clicked the plastic material together.

"Cheers." He said.

Tooth took a sip and then leaned back on the chair.

"Everything is taken care of?" Jack asked after a moment, tearing his gaze away from the dance floor.

He didn't need to see it right now. Hiccup was happy and so he should be too. It was just really hard right now.

"Mostly." Tooth said and then rolled the cup around in her hand, watching insides so as not to spill anything. "Other people are taking care of things. I need my break right now."

"Any interesting things happened?"

"Well we found a few high people and had to hide them from the teachers in a storage room. And I think a few started to make out, so I guess you could call us matchmakers?"

Jack snorted.

"How about you? Are you having fun?" Tooth asked, taking another sip and leaning more comfortable on the chair.

Jack looked up at the material ceiling spread above their heads. Right now he wished he could see stars, so his mind could get lost in them, walking along the Milky Way, jumping between planets and warming his hands nearby a shooting star.

To be honest Jack had a lot of fun. He felt like he returned to himself from before. From before all of it had happened.

He wasn't fully happy with whom he became. Of course not. He had changed, but he also wouldn't say that he had changed for the worst. Definitely not. He wasn't sure if he had changed for the better either. At this point of life he simply knew he had changed. Had become something new, something that was made of his old self, but had new particles, new parts of himself that he was only now discovering.

But a night like today was nice. He felt like he needed it. Like he needed the last farewell. And until now the night had been perfect, almost too perfect for Jack. Only now there was a small pause when he was sulking. But he knew he would be back on his feet in no time. He just needed a short moment to take a breath, a pause in the riot of the life around him.

"I actually do." Jack finally said.

Meeting with friends was amazing. Dancing and laughing and joking and simply living the moment was incredible. He felt his blood buzz, he felt his heart jump all over the place, he felt simply… happy. Content. Incredibly fulfilled.

There was an undertone of sadness somewhere, a soft tone which was telling him that it was the last time all of them, all of his friends, close and further ones were together like that. And maybe it was true. They were all finishing High School and everyone was moving in a different direction. It was a part of life. And it was sad. It was astonishingly terrifying how this thought scared Jack.

He wished he could stop the time, clutch the arm of a clock tighter and hope and pray and beg for it to not move forward. Everyone was drifting slowly away from him and he deeply wanted for it all to stop.

But he couldn't. He had to let them all free, to let them all go. He had to move forward too. He was only incredibly scared of what the future held for him, what kind of stories were written in his book and whether he would be able to get to know them, maybe change a few sentences here and there.

He had to let them all go. Including Hiccup. Their High School life was ending and so was their plan. They hopefully would remain friends and, God, Jack wanted to be friends. He wanted to have some kind of connection with Hiccup and not forget about the feeling that had bloomed in his chest.

Maybe he would find someone else. Maybe Hiccup would find someone else too. Maybe it would turn out okay at some point in their life.

For now Jack incredibly liked Hiccup and wished he had something more with him. But he knew he couldn't. So he sulked in the chair as he observed Hiccup moving on the dance floor with his friends.

"You definitely don't look like you have fun right now."

"Eh you know, I can't be happy twenty four hours per day." Jack said, turning to her and sending a smile.

Tooth blinked, looking really confused for a second. The feeling was quickly replaced by content and happiness? Yeah, it was joy appearing on her grinning violet lips.

Jack lifted his eyebrow.

"What?"

Tooth shrugged and took another sip. It seemed like she had seen something on his face or maybe something in his behavior, but was leaving it for herself. Though whatever she had seen probably had been good or at least amusing, because the girl was smiling under her nose.

She moved her eyes to look at the dance floor.

"I'm in a mood to dance, come on!"

And with that Tooth was tugging him up and then moving together to the colorful and blasting lights coming from the gym.

Jack took last quick sip and he was running with Tooth towards the destination. To be honest he needed to move right now and what was better than dancing with his friend? Especially one that could lift up his mood almost immediately.

The song currently being played was fast and this was exactly what Jack needed right now. He grabbed Tooth's hands and moved in crazy swirls to the center of the dance floor, laughing wildly as Tooth shouted the lyrics of the song.

People around jumped and they did too, waving their hands and making circle after circle and then swirls, moving the feet to the rhythm of the song and probably failing spectacularly. But they didn't mind. It was a happy and messy experience and Jack loved it.

Tooth grinned at him and lifted her hand so Jack swirled beneath it. Or at least tried to. He almost lost his footing at the end, but Tooth quickly grabbed him, laughing wildly together.

It was amazing, it was freeing, it was loud and unpredictable and astonishing and really, really nice.

Jack knew he would miss it, but right now he was living one of the best memories of his life and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

But the song had to end at some point, had to slow down and let people take a breath, making them loudly gasp for air that was almost sizzling around them.

Jack looked at Tooth, who did it back and while still holding hands they burst out in laughter.

The people around them cheered, shouted and whistled, some of which even clapped at some pair that probably had given quite a performance. But Jack and Tooth liked their own dance.

"Now to tone it down a bit something slower to catch a breath."

And a slow, sweet tune moved from the speakers, swam across the gym like a gentle wave, taking under control some of the bodies.

There were a few people who quickly scattered from the dance floor, finding probably greatest pleasure in dancing to faster beats, than holding another person close. And it was okay, not everyone had to like doing it.

Jack definitely didn't mind a slower dance.

"Would you be so kind as to give me another dance?" Jack asked, winking at Tooth.

"Of course."

Jack smiled, corrected the hold on Tooth's hand and moved his other palm to rest it above her waist.

The girl sneaked her hand to his shoulder and they slowly glided across the dance floor, comfortably moving their feet and humming the song under their noses from time to time.

Tooth grabbed him tighter and almost forced to move to the right. Jack followed suit. Maybe the girl had seen some pair on their left which had been about to hit them, who knows? Jack believed her. Plus he had closed his eyes at that moment, allowing her to lead for a bit.

"Changing partners." She sang, smiling to him sweetly and then making him do another twirl.

Due to it Jack wasn't sure what was happening. Or maybe it still was the alcohol in his veins, buzzing and whispering, making him lose control of the surroundings and reality. He knew that he had made a step back and that Tooth had snatched someone from the pair that had been standing nearby, but that was all. It took him way too long to shake his head and look at someone into whom he had bumped actually.

There was a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Jack, is everything okay?"

Of course, he had bumped into Hiccup.

(Was this Tooth's plan all along? Had she seen him staring lovingly at the dance floor, missing this one person with his whole heart? Could she read his whole mind and heart and eyes and simply deduce what he wanted? Jack wouldn't put it past her, it was Tooth he was talking about. She could do amazing and crazy things.)

"Yeah, uh, of course." Jack cleared his throat. "Just a little bit dizzy."

"You tell me." Hiccup said, smiling a little. "Ruff can spin like crazy."

There still were sparkles in his eyes, small imps that jumped, danced, ran around and away from each other, showing him that Hiccup was still under the influence of alcohol. But he also looked way better. Well, definitely better than the drowsy state he had stepped into some time ago.

"Hey slowpokes, less talking, more dancing." Said a voice nearby.

Jack turned his head and noticed Tuffnut who winked at him and slowly swirled away with a girl Jack more or less recognized.

Hiccup's friends were still there and no one seemed to even dare to mention it to the teachers. The twins and Snotlout were quite liked by most of the school by giving it a spark of life with their bizarre adventures.

The school hadn't been the same without them.

Or maybe the teachers noticed it, but didn't mind. They weren't hurting anyone. They were just partying and enjoying themselves like the rest of the students.

"Shall we?" Hiccup hesitantly asked, still keeping his one hand on Jack's shoulder, which now twitched, wrinkling the shirt material.

To be fair, his clothes were quite a mess.

The worst thing was that Jack had only cheesy and lame answers on his tongue. It almost seemed like his mind couldn't feed him anything else but something that was too sweet. However he bit his tongue and gritted his teeth, making probably a really weird face, especially judging by the sudden rise of Hiccup's eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah, totally." Jack finally said, feeling like he could barely even speak those words.

Hiccup's mouth twitched, forming a small smile and then it seemed like the prom was only starting, when now it was steadily moving to its end. They grabbed each other's hands and held onto them like there was a storm going outside.

(Or maybe there was a storm, only they were in the middle of it, feeling the peace before it all would crash down.)

The slow tune was still swimming around, swishing past them like a breeze, tickling their skins and cheeks, caressing the necks and pushing the hairs away from the foreheads.

One step, second step, third step, then a twirl.

The dance floor was definitely emptier than before, making it possible to gently maneuver around. A spin here, a sudden side step there, exchanged smiles, a sudden huff, a happy sigh, a slow movement of the head.

It was astonishingly calming.

Jack really liked dancing, but mostly to faster beats. There was something freeing in being able to swing your body around, do things naturally with the sweet melody behind your back. And today was filled with dance after dance. Sometimes he had asked his friends and sometimes his friends had asked him to share this tiny slice of time.

But dancing with them and dancing with Hiccup were two different things.

Hiccup's hand twitched on his shoulder as his gaze lazily looked at the crowd around, jumping to Jack's face from time to time.

Jack swallowed hard through the lump in his throat and his wildly beating heart.

"Had fun today?" He asked hoarsely.

Hiccup's eyes jumped to him and he blinked slowly.

"Yeah, yeah." He said in a voice incredibly timid and quiet, to this point Jack had to step closer and lean his head to hear him. "I actually had fun."

"Do you really mean it or just trying to make me feel better?"

Hiccup huffed, but the smile was back on his mouth.

"I'm actually speaking the truth, Jack." He said and then wiggled the fingers of the hand that held Jack's palm. "How about you? I hope I didn't mess up a lot of things. I tried to be pretty open, but you know how that is…"

Jack chuckled quietly too, making them swirl in the blue artificial light shining above their heads.

"No, everything was – is – perfect. I had fun." He whispered. "But you know you didn't have to pretend to be someone else. I invited the real you, with all the awkwardness and nerdiness you carry around in that bag of holding of yours."

It seemed like his mind wasn't working correctly. He never would say it out loud while being sober. But now it seemed like he couldn't stop, like the words just poured from his mouth. Or maybe it was due to the moment, the laziness that overpowered the dance floor, the sudden quiet atmosphere filled only with a low, delicate tune that danced alongside them.

Hiccup stared at him for a long moment, almost like he was searching for something in his façade or maybe in his eyes or the smile that Jack still had, but had hard time fully focusing and willing his mind to work correctly.

"I… I wanted for you to have fun. It was… is… your party. You should enjoy yourself to the fullest and not have to worry about me being antisocial."

Jack huffed, a little bit saddened by the information. Or maybe fully saddened by the information. His mind and heart had problems working now too.

"Hiccup, I wouldn't take you if I didn't like who you really are. Of course I wanted you to meet with my friends and have fun, but you didn't have to force yourself to do it. I invited you for being you."

Hiccup opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it and closed it again.

It seemed like he wasn't sure how to answer. There were endless calculations swimming through the eyes, behind the glasses, a tornado, a tsunami of theories and results that blinked and disappeared almost immediately.

"So… wait… let me get this straight for a moment." Hiccup finally said, moving closer and lifting his head. "Because I'm like super confused right now."

"Alcohol could do that to you." Jack happily added, chuckling at the end.

"I mean, yeah it does. But wait, no, don't change the topic." Hiccup quickly followed, glancing down, to the left, to the right and up at him once again. "Are you actually telling me that you asked me out? Like me, as a person and not well me, as you know…"

'Fake boyfriend' said the mouth, but Jack could read it plainly.

He blinked, suddenly taken aback.

Did Hiccup really think that it all had been a part of their grand plan? Did he really think that Jack didn't see anything more in him than an actor in the drama they had to play? Did he really think Jack simply wouldn't want to go with him?

He could understand from where this came. And he couldn't really blame Hiccup for thinking like that. Yet it didn't stop him from feeling dismal.

Jack swallowed hard and halted a little bit in their dace. They were still moving around, but their steps were smaller and the circles had shorter radius.

"Hiccup, I asked you out. You as my friend." Jack said, putting honesty and truth in his words and hoping that Hiccup would hear it and believe him.

"Oh."

Then Hiccup put his forehead on Jack's chest, hitting it lightly a few times.

"I am so stupid." He whispered.

Jack chuckled, feeling the delicate touches ten times louder in his chest. With every time Hiccup got closer, it seemed like there was an explosion in his lungs, a sudden blast that overheated the core.

"No, you're not. I wasn't too straightforward per so, so I am at fault here too."

"No, stop it. It isn't your fault. I shouldn't jump to conclusions, it was just too hard to believe that you would simply ask me out to the prom and not well… the me I am to your other friends."

Jack was getting lost. Maybe they shouldn't have this conversation right here, right now, in the middle of the dance floor, while being under the influence of alcohol. But then, if they didn't have it now, would it ever appear again? Jack wasn't sure. So he grabbed the opportunity and clung to it, like a lifebuoy.

"And why is that?" He asked quietly.

Hiccup glanced up at him and then at a place on his chest, mulling over the answer as he nibbled on his bottom lip.

Jack was patient. They had all the time in the world. Or well, definitely some time.

"I guess I just… didn't think it was possible. You're so amazing and kind and nice and great and you help so many people around you. And I'm just… me. The total opposite. I simply… " Hiccup took a short inhale. "Didn't think it was possible…" He repeated himself in the end.

Jack didn't like what Hiccup had been saying. He didn't like it a bit, although he had to admit his heart had warmed up at the words Hiccup had said about him.

"Hiccup, you're a great guy. You are smart, but not only book smart. Of course, maybe you're not that great at dealing with real people, but you're honest and you're trustworthy. And you help people who are close to you. And I think that is enough. You don't have to be perfect for everyone." And then, because his brain froze, his mind shattered and his heart jumped one beat too fast, he simply added. "You're perfect to me."

It took him four or five seconds too long to catch up with what he actually had said and when he did, he felt the sudden rush of heat overpower his face and body and chest and heart and simply everything. He felt like he was seconds away from combusting.

Hiccup snapped his head up to stare at Jack with eyes wide as two moons or stars or comets or maybe planets, his mouth slightly open and the eyebrows raised high.

There was a plethora of emotions swimming in his eyes, appearing and disappearing alternately. Confusion, happiness, bewilderment, hurt, joy and hope were mixed together, forming a beautiful shimmering nebulas inside those orbs or maybe a spiral galaxy of emotions.

But the last emotion was the strongest one. A hope that was pure, sweet and bright, even though it was hidden behind a layer of fear and hesitation. How Jack had never seen it before was a mystery to him – like an enigma of the universe spreading far beyond the outer space.

A sudden spark, a sudden blast that made his heart kneel was all it took.

Jack swallowed hard, feeling like everyone around him could hear his heartbeat.

Hiccup stared at him, mouth opening, then closing, then opening again, only to finally let out a crooked:

"Uh… are you… I mean… do you really think… so?"

The world seemed to stop. Or maybe they stopped. Or maybe simply the time stopped as Jack stared at Hiccup, right into his eyes, feeling all his walls crumbling down and dissipating into stardust that trailed after them like a tail of a comet.

Jack didn't exactly trust his words anymore as they clung and agglomerated inside his throat, so he only nodded in reply, shutting his mouth.

He really wasn't conscious of what was happening, what was going to happen, what would the next second bring them.

Hiccup was clearly lost, with his eyes jumping from him to the surroundings. The hand which rested on Jack's shoulder twitched. The lips which were attacked by the teeth trembled a little as a wave of air escaped them when Hiccup looked up at him.

"Jack, I…"

And there was a moment when they just stared at each other. The world stilled to a halt. The time stopped moving, glancing behind itself at them, at their presence in the space-time continuum, at the atoms of their bodies shifting and vibrating in the wide universe.

The world was suddenly incredibly big and astonishingly small, both in the same time. Jack was conscious of everything and simultaneously he didn't see anything and anyone else but Hiccup.

He leaned closer, trying to hear Hiccup better.

"I wanted to say, that I…" Hiccup started again and stopped, clearly having difficulties with articulating what he wanted to say. "I…"

Jack stared at Hiccup, at his shimmering eyes, at his red, flushed cheeks, then at his lips, a little bit open and he swallowed hard, feeling the echo of it in his stomach, in his chest, in his mind, as water landing on the bottom of the well.

Oh.

There was this sudden urge to move forward and tip his head. He wasn't that far away right now. Just a few centimeters. If he leaned a little bit further down, he would be able to peck Hiccup on the lips.

The hand on his shoulder moved, sneaked closer, as Hiccup's fingers rested close to his neck, tracing the skin a bit.

Jack's breath hitched. He almost felt the gravity shift, when their dance and swirls stopped, when their heartbeats jumped, almost in synchronization, shattering, clinging to each other.

When had they got so close to each other that they were standing almost chest to chest?

Hiccup's eyes flicked from Jack's eyes to his lips, then to his eyes and once again to his lips. And then terribly slowly, yet astonishingly fast, he leaned forward, slipping his own eyes shut.

Jack leaned down.

Was this really happening? It definitely felt like the perfect moment, like the ideal passage of time to do it. No, maybe that wasn't that. It wasn't about the perfection of the moment, it was about the sudden need, the sudden urge to do that. Or maybe it wasn't even about that in the end.

It simply was just this something that made Jack lean forward, slowly, anticipating it with the sweet warmness blooming in his chest. Something that he wanted, deeply, desperately. Something that he wished he could do freely at every moment of his life.

(Maybe it was the fact that Hiccup seemed to want it too. With the way his eyes sparkled, gleamed and lightened up. With the way his hands clung to Jack, wrinkling his shirt. With the way he moved forward, standing a little bit on his tiptoes, getting closer to his mouth to this point that Jack could feel the hot air on his skin.)

His heart beat so fast inside his ribcage that he was sure that it could stop at any moment due to overheating. It was a waterfall, a surging water that stormed through his chest. It was a thunder, a lightning and a warm rain during cold afternoon.

Jack wasn't sure what it all would mean in the long run. Hell, they probably should talk things over while being sober, not while being pushed around by the alcohol infused bloodstream and mind. But right now he wanted to embrace this feeling. He wanted to kiss Hiccup.

And it seemed like Hiccup wanted to do it too.

So with the last resolve inside of him snapping, letting him freely move and breathe, he moved impossibly closer and –

"And we finally have the grand winners of this year Burgess High School prom. The Queen and the King have been chosen!"

The world started moving as the sudden bubble, which had formed around them, snapped, crashed down, poofed, disappeared without a trace.

Jack opened his eyes, hesitantly, slowly, afraid of what he might see after that.

They stood there, in the middle of the dance floor, clinging to each other.

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes too, blinking a few times like he had to take an additional second to get his mind on track. And when he did, he opened his mouth while the cheeks got red as a firetruck.

Hiccup jumped back, letting go of Jack like suddenly he was covered with bacteria and viruses that could sneak transdermally into his immune system.

"I uhh… sorry, I mean, I didn't know… I was… I mean…" Hiccup started mumbling, moving his hands around, waving them in front of himself, only to finally let them rest, holding his shoulders up as he curled in on himself. "I uhh… it was just that… the lightning… your face… uhh…"

"No, no, no, it was okay." More than okay, Jack wanted to say, but it seemed like his mind couldn't really process the words. They just reacted to what Hiccup was speaking. "I'm sorry too… I shouldn't… I uhh I just… you looked really…"

"I uhh… it wasn't anything bad… I mean… you know… I thought that you…"

"I know that you… not me… I…"

"You know that… I just…"

"I…"

It was a mess. Neither of them knew what to say, as they were caught in the loop of embarrassment, red cheeks and twitching hands.

Yet it seemed like no one was paying them any attention. For what Jack was actually happy. He wasn't sure he could live if someone looked at him.

Jack cleared his throat, feeling another waterfall of gibberish wanting to leave his mouth, but he willed his mind to work and finally said:

"You have nothing to apologize for." Hoarsely, barely pushing the words out of his mouth and feeling like his throat was closing down with every passing second.

Hiccup didn't look convinced. His mouth twitched, forming something similar to a smile, but it was empty of this beautiful feeling.

"No, you don't… have to explain yourself… it was my fault… I shouldn't… I mean… I thought too much and… I…" Hiccup exhaled deeply and then covered his face with his hands, dropping his shoulders. "I probably messed quite a lot…"

Jack didn't think so. For a short moment in his life he had felt like floating away on a beautiful small, fluffy cloud, away from everything that was happening around him. For a moment he had lived in a dream where Hiccup had reciprocated his feelings.

But there was something still knocking on his ribcage, there was something that was stopping Jack, like a ripped page from a fairy tale fluttering on a wind with a written ending. There simply was something that Jack couldn't let go.

The sudden hope he had seen in Hiccup's eyes. The willingness in his body. The heartbeat that had seemed to go haywire with happiness when Jack had been so close to him.

It was just wishful thinking.

But was it? Was it really just imagination? Or clear reality?

Maybe Jack simply hadn't wanted to see things that were clearly there. Maybe he had given other meanings to the situations and emotions that had been happening around. Maybe he simply didn't want to believe that it could be true. It was way easier to live in a blissful neutral world, than being hurt.

But Jack didn't want that anymore. He didn't want to get hurt, but he had enough of waiting or just staring from far away. Maybe he wouldn't have a chance, maybe it all would be for naught.

"I'm happy to inform you all that the Queen and the King of Burgess High School Prom are–"

The drum coming from the speakers was getting louder and louder with every passing second.

Jack grabbed Hiccup's hands and pushed them away from his face, finding the small parts of bravery inside his chest and holding tightly onto them.

"Hiccup, I think… we need to talk… like really talk after it all will be over."

"Over?" Hiccup parroted him, eyes jumping from his hands to his face.

"After prom. When we will be… both sober." Jack finished, feeling like combusting and freezing, both in the same time.

Hiccup opened his mouth and then nodded. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but the voice of the DJ drowned him out.

"Heather Berserk and Jackson Overland! If the Royal Pair would be so kind to come to the stage your people would be very much grateful!"

Jack blinked, trying to process Hiccup's words and the sudden cheers erupting around him. There was a wave of shouts, screams and people scanting names.

People noticed Jack and started to pat him on the back, grabbing his arms and tugging him towards the stage.

But Jack didn't want to go, not yet, he needed to hear Hiccup's answer, his words, they had important matters to talk about, but Jack had to be sure they would actually talk –

Hiccup glanced at him and mouthed a simple.

"After prom."

And it was enough for him, allowing himself to be pushed by a current of people and their hands, putting him on stage where Heather was currently standing and looking at him a bit sheepishly.

She looked dazzling, with her dark hair glued to her face, curling on her forehead and a healthy blush on her cheeks. It seemed like she had been just stolen away from some far away dreamland, only to be put here in real world.

(Jack also had voted for her, but he had voted for Bunny for the King.)

She waved to him as he approached her, the kind and enthusiastic smile adorning her face.

"Quite a surprise, don't you think?" Heather whispered, leaning into his ear as the DJ glanced at them and then back at the crowd.

"Please welcome the Royal Pair with a round of applause!"

The students did that, whistling loudly along the way.

Jack leaned to the girl.

"I don't know about me, but I think you look like a Queen today."

Heather chuckled and then moved to bump his shoulder with her fist, imitating a strike, but not putting any strength in it.

"Shut up."

"Well I'm just speaking the truth."

Heather smiled at him and then they both turned to the crowd gathering near the stage.

The DJ put his hands into a bag that laid near the console and took out two plastic crowns. One was gold with fake rubies sticking out, barely being glued to the material and the other was silver with the purple crystals swirling around in magical patterns.

It was a cheap thing, but somehow made Jack all giddy inside.

DJ approached them and leaned to say:

"Please kneel so the coronation ceremony could begin!"

Jack glanced at Heather, who shrugged, a little bit taken aback, but clearly enjoying the situation.

They both kneeled down. Heather a bit slower as she had to correct the dress around her legs.

People shouted loudly from the audience, waving their hands around.

"As your people have chosen, I, the Royal Counselor, declare you Heather as the Queen and you Jackson as the King of the Burgess High School Prom!"

Jack glanced at Heather, who did it back and they both chuckled under their noses.

First the silver crown was put onto Heather's head, then the golden one was placed on Jack's hair, smoothening them down a bit.

The crown wasn't heavy, it rested there like a light weight that seemed to be able to run away with the smallest movement of the head.

"You may rise, my Royals, and speak to your people!" The DJ said, bowing down and stepping away.

Jack corrected the crown on his head and stood up, showing his hand to Heather to help her get up.

They glanced at each other one more time, not sure what to do or whether they should even speak up or not, when the mic was pushed into Heather's palms.

She blinked, taken aback by it, but then corrected the hold on it and moved it to her mouth.

"Oh uh, hello everyone. I didn't actually think I would… be chosen to be the Queen. But nevertheless I'm like totally excited about it." She inhaled and then moved her fingers. "Thank you all for voting for me! I hope you're having an amazing time. My night just became five times better thanks to all of you! So I hope your will get better too!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Some of Heather's friends whistled, clapped and shouted.

The mic was passed to Jack who honestly wasn't sure what to say. The old him would simply move with the flow of the river, saying things naturally, being his open self that was only a deception. But right now he simply couldn't do that.

Yet he tried to grab the remaining parts of his old self and form something from it. Almost like a goodbye. But in the end his old self wasn't disappearing. It was morphing into something new. So maybe it wasn't a goodbye, but a welcome to something new?

He felt like he needed it, the last memory that would remind Burgess who he had been.

So Jack shouted into the mic.

"Hello Burgess High! Are you having fun!?"

It screeched painfully near the end, making him and Heather flinch, but it seemed like most of the crowd didn't hear it. They answered with shouts, applause, yowls and whistles.

(Of course there were a few people who didn't have fun, but most of the students were enamored with the party and Jack was too. It was one of the best – and worst – nights of his entire life.)

"I'm having a blast too! As Heather here said, I'm also astonishingly happy you chose me for the King. I am the King of Pranksters after all."

"You were, you doofus! Now pass the title to someone else!" Someone screamed from the crowd.

Jack quickly located the person who had done it and found out that it was Ruffnut. There was no malice behind it, a pure bicker and Jack couldn't stop the sudden burst of laughter that erupted from his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, I admit, I've been quite lazy with some of my jokes lately. But to be honest we had quite more important matters on our hands, didn't we?"

The atmosphere now filled up with boos and shivers of agreement.

"Yeah, I didn't like finals either." Jack admitted. "But now it's finally behind us and we can party. So let's make this night memorable for all of us!"

Another wave of applause rolled across the crowd, accompanied by happy shouts.

Jack gave the mic back to the DJ, who nodded, smiling broadly.

"That was pretty good." He whispered to them, before he moved the mic closer to his mouth and turned to the crowd.

"Now let's allow the Royal Pair to start their first dance!"

Jack glanced at Heather who did it back. There was only a brief hesitation in the air, before he showed his hand to the girl and smiled to her.

"Would you do me an honor and share this dance with me, my lady?" He asked, trying to sound like royalty, but probably failing.

He was no actor.

Heather giggled and took his hand, with both of them stepping off the stage.

"Always, my dear sir."

They blended with the crowd, but then it quickly dispersed, so that they could stand more or less in the middle. There was a sudden beam of light directed at them, highlighting their silhouettes even more so.

Heather put her hands on his shoulders and Jack let his palms rest above her waist. They stared at each other, smiling a tad hesitantly. There was some awkwardness in the air due to their history. Their mixed past that once had been so free, so warm, had turned into something cold and possessive. Something that had to be locked away with the key hidden somewhere where no one could find it.

But that was the past and now they were standing on a roadway to the new future.

Jack wanted to walk this path with some of his friends.

And Heather was his friend and he had lied to her. He had hurt her feelings, only to come back to the beginning. Had it really been worth it, the things they had done? Maybe the situation could have been solved differently? Maybe they had done it all for naught?

But these all were possibilities, now lost to the wind. There was no hope in looking at them. It was better to focus on the present and on their problems right now.

And the guilt was rising in Jack's throat the longer he stared at Heather's eyes, warm, inviting and sweet. There was also pain hidden there, some exhaustion and tiredness that seeped and oozed like a mist, but the positivity and hope overshadowed everything else.

The music started to float around them and Jack nudged Heather's body, making them move in circles while smiling to each other.

---

Hiccup stared at the Royal Pair slowly starting to dance. There was a delicate grin under his nose.

To be fair they looked amazing, a perfect image of a perfect pair that in reality wasn't even near perfect. Hiccup knew what had happened, but for a side observer it would seem like a picture from a fairy tale.

But Jack looked genuinely happy and Heather did too.

So what Hiccup could do but move away a bit and observe it from the side? He liked doing it, not being a part of the main story, but a viewer that only catalogued reality happening around him.

Some people started to dance too, alongside the music and the Royal Pair. Students glanced at each other, gave sheepish smiles or winks and then they would swirl around, giggling under their noses.

Hiccup stared at the crowd, feeling the cold wall behind his back and sighed.

Today was quite nice. Definitely had gone way better than expected. Maybe it was due to the atmosphere or the alcohol or just something that was in the air, but Hiccup had fun.

It was almost sad to notice that the night was slowly, but surely, coming to an end.

His eyes moved to the dance floor, to the beam of light that shone above the Royal Pair heads and the artificial crowns which blinked like stars. Jack leaned to Heather and said something into her ear, smiling remorsefully. Heather giggled at that and swatted his shoulder.

They looked incredibly happy.

(If maybe the situation before had been different they would have been a real pair, a sweet couple. But the things had gone the way they had done and everything had crumbled down.)

It was a serene look, a soft one, a nice painting, a short span of time filled with comfort.

Hiccup really liked it, but it left a stinging sensation inside his chest. A guilt that swam there and struck his heart repeatedly over and over again. Everyone around here was fooled. His friends had been lied to. Almost the whole school had been lied to.

In the end they were no more than liars. They had good reasons behind those lies, but was it enough to justify the things they had done?

Hiccup wasn't sure. He wasn't exactly sure he could get a clear answer to that question anyway. Some people probably would be remorseful, some would be understanding and some would look angrily at them. If people were bound to find out, he didn't really care much how they would treat him. Okay, that was wrong. He wasn't a fan of people glaring at him or whispering behind his back, calling him a liar. If he could avoid it, he would pick this option. But if it suddenly became reality, he wouldn't be that surprised or be mad about it.

He worried about Jack. Jack who was concerned about every friend, every colleague, every person in this room, town and world. The bad glances and whispers would break his heart, would tear it apart, only to let people stomp on it, like it was a place designed for hopscotch.

He couldn't let that happen to Jack. He simply couldn't.

"Can I… can I ask you uhh… Can I ask you for one dance?"

Hiccup turned his head around, feeling the alcohol still echoing and beeping inside his skull.

Dagur was standing in front of him with one hand directed to Hiccup and one scratching the back of his head.

Hiccup totally forgot about him. Dagur was also finishing High School, heck, Hiccup even had helped with solving some exercises. He knew that Dagur would also be here, but somehow that simple idea slipped through his mind. Until now he hadn't really seen him.

For a moment he simply stared, as his brain processed the reality, trying to come up with an answer to this question and finding out that he exactly didn't mind that much.

"Oh yeah, sure." Hiccup mumbled, feeling that the words were still weirdly glued to each other as he reached forward and grabbed Dagur's hand.

Dagur turned away, not looking at him as he directed them to the dance floor, with the other pairs dancing around them. When they found some free space he turned to Hiccup, still looking down.

The music sparkled around them, so they moved to the rhythm of it with hands fumbling a tad at the beginning, not sure in which combination they should rest.

It was clearly awkward, but not it the terrifying way. More in a really weird, but not fully uncomfortable way.

They swayed slowly back and forth, with Dagur wiggling his fingers quite often. His head was tilted down, eyes not technically staying in one place, but clearly not glancing at Hiccup either. He looked more interested in their feet moving beneath them, than in Hiccup.

Hiccup glanced at Jack and Heather who were talking, although there was a small frown on Heather's face.

Now that he thought about it the situation was kinda bizarre. There was Jack, dancing with Heather, and here was Hiccup, doing the exact same thing with Dagur. The precise roots of their problems, the catalysts that had started their plan.

And both their situations were better.

It seemed that Dagur had morphed into a totally different person. Clearly something had happened during this year that had made him change, that had made him transform. Back a few months ago such situation wouldn't be even possible in Hiccup's mind. Hell, he would laugh at anyone who would propose such thing happening.

But here he was, doing exactly that.

He wouldn't call Dagur his friend. He probably never would do that. The past between them was too sour for him to be able to do that. He couldn't exactly say that he forgave Dagur either. The feeling was toned down, but it didn't disappear.

But it was muted to this point Hiccup felt fine, even peaceful, around the teen.

"Are you… having fun?" Hiccup hesitantly asked, feeling like he should be saying something.

Dagur snapped his head up. There was a confusion in his eyes, reflected in the pinkish and faint scars on his face, treated by time.

(There was one that seemed recent, brighter than the others. Maybe he had had a fight? But there were no rumors about it in school? Now that Hiccup thought about it he hadn't heard about any fights in which Dagur had participated in quite a long time. Maybe it was due to the job.)

"Yeah, I think… I think I am." Dagur hesitantly said, looking at him for a moment and then averting his eyes. "How about you?"

Hiccup hummed.

"Yeah, same, I think I do too. Which kinda surprises me. I mean, I'm not usually a fan of such parties, but yeah… I think I'm having fun." The words poured from his mouth, pumped by the traces of alcohol inside his body, making him braver and more talkative than usual.

Dagur nodded and then added nothing more.

Hiccup swallowed, letting their bodies move to the gentle and slow rhythm around them. He felt like he had to fill the void between them, to add some kind of meaning to it, to not let it emptily drift away. He felt like he should be saying something, that something needed to be said right now, but he wasn't sure what.

(It was so different than the meetings they had had before. It could be almost called nice, sweet even.)

It was astonishing how one year could change people, could change their perspective, relationships, behaviors. It seemed like a year ago they had been totally different people, the world, town, had been a totally different place than what he was seeing right now.

"So what are your big plans after finishing High School?" Hiccup asked, letting his feet move through the dance floor.

Dagur looked up, caught his gaze and stayed like that for at least a few seconds.

He shrugged and sniffed.

"I'm not sure. Not University, or at least definitely not now."

"Why not? You have predispositions and knowledge." Hiccup quickly added, lifting his eyebrow.

Which was true. Dagur was intelligent. He just had hung or maybe still hung around the wrong crowd and had a difficult personality. There had had to be something in life that had pushed him in the wrong direction, had made him do things that hadn't been good. But it hadn't closed all the doors in front of him. There were possibilities still waiting on the roads.

And Dagur had talent. It would be a shame if he wasted it instead of doing something with it.

"Yeah, but I don't have capabilities." Dagur murmured, voice suddenly quieter than before. "Not everyone have or can loan such sum of money."

Hiccup, not really sure why, felt like it was a jab directed at him. Which kinda could be. His family couldn't say that they didn't have money. They didn't have an enormous amount of it, definitely not, but they had money – such amount that Hiccup didn't really have to worry about college.

In this case he could say that he had luck, not having to worry about the future so much.

"Oh uh yeah, my bad." He said, glancing down and feeling the sudden need to correct his glasses, but being unable to do so with no free hands.

Dagur sighed, closed his eyes and his hand tightened a bit. It seemed like he was thinking about something, calculating stuff that was invisible to the world, letting some thoughts pass through his head.

"No, it's not your fault." He finally said, letting out the tension with the spoken words. "Sorry, I'm just…"

"Furious? Angry? Not fulfilled? Salty?"

"Yes. All of that and more." Dagur huffed, faltering in his steps.

"It's okay to be angry about it."

"But I shouldn't act upon it."

Hiccup opened his mouth, closed it, opened and when he found that he had no response prepared closed it and nodded slowly, wiggling his fingers to get some feeling back. Suddenly he felt like they didn't belong to him.

For some time they simply swirled together, avoiding each other's gaze. The atmosphere maybe not turned sour, but a seed was planted and it slowly bloomed, wrapping them in a tight hug that pinched and prickled the skin.

Probably they would never be comfortable with each other.

Hiccup felt like there were a thousand more things to be said here, a ton of things that should be explained or needed to be cleared. Dagur had done bad, terrible things, things that had forced Hiccup to do things he normally wouldn't do. He had lied and deceived people to feel better and safe and protected and what kind of messed up society had made him do it.

"Hiccup I…" Dagur suddenly started and then stopped, clearing his throat for a second.

He looked up, searching Dagur's eyes for something, some kind of confirmation, but Dagur wouldn't meet his gaze.

He didn't speak, but waited patiently. He wasn't sure what kind of words should be even used right now.

Dagur inhaled deeply and seemed to find some strength remaining in the tired bones and muscles.

"I'm sorry…"

Hiccup's brain halted, froze, lagged and broke altogether, crashed like a processor with too much going on.

His tongue felt suddenly heavy, heavy like osmium or lead as he tried to force it to move, but didn't have enough memory in his head to make the muscle do that.

Dagur didn't exactly need much to continue.

"For you know… everything I did. It was… pretty fucked up of me to do." He inhaled deeply. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but you know, I thought that maybe you would want to… hear it. Apologies. So I'm saying and meaning it. I'm sorry."

Hiccup felt like he was suspended, like he was floating and suddenly gravitation wasn't working. Everything inside his body was messed up, wasn't sure where was up and where was down.

He wasn't sure why but the guilt right now hit him ten times harder than before. Which was a very peculiar thing. Of all people he had lied to, Dagur had been on the bottom of the list of people that deserved Hiccup's apologies. Hell, Hiccup hadn't even ever planned on telling him the truth.

But right now, in this very moment he felt like spilling the beans, like letting the truth out.

But persistently he kept it inside, put it in a cage and locked the door, holding tightly onto the key.

"I hope you… you will be happy with Jack."

Dagur was looking right back at him, right into his eyes and it seemed like it took a lot from him to do it, to stare at Hiccup.

He would even dare to say that Dagur was staring at his soul, but didn't want to do it, not because of the scientific reasons, but simply because that idea terrified him.

It took a lot of strength to hold the gaze, but it seemed like Dagur was doing it by some last strings of will that he desperately gripped tightly in his palms. He clearly looked uncomfortable, with his eyes twitching and hands shaking, but he was doing it.

And Hiccup had never heard him so honest, so trusting, so open.

He felt like there were a thousand other things that were left unsaid, like there was a whole book filled with chapters which should be recited out loud, like there were a lot of folders filled with documents of things that should be discussed.

It seemed like simply too much had been put into one sentence.

Hiccup had never seen Dagur so open, so vulnerable, so honest than in this very moment.

And it was the moment when the guilt hit him the hardest. The sudden need to explain himself got so strong that he almost opened his mouth and told him everything.

Dagur was clearly speaking the truth and some part of Hiccup was whispering that he also deserved the sincerity in return.

But then, before his mind could really pick the best choice in this situation, he started hearing shouts from the middle of the dance floor, making them both look in that direction.

---

It all was incredibly bizarre. The music, the atmosphere, the situation, the warm body beneath his fingertips, the familiar smell, the soft eyes, the delicate smile. Everything about this moment was astonishing.

Jack felt like floating. It almost seemed like he got drunk with the air around them, but it was probably the real alcohol swimming in his body.

"Did you think you would be chosen?" Heather asked, looking at him.

Jack shook his head.

"No, not really. I can't say I didn't hope, because I did. But I doubted I would be picked, especially right now."

Jack felt like a totally different person. Like he wasn't the same Jack that had been living here at the beginning of the school year.

"How about you?" He asked, moving his hand above them and making Heather twirl beneath it and the gray dress flutter around.

The girl shrugged, when their bodies returned to the previous position. Her one hand moved to her head to keep the plastic crown there.

(To be fair it wasn't easy to keep it on the top of the head, but Jack would try his damn hardest to keep it there as long as he could.)

"Me neither. It has been a long time since I was at the center of the party."

"Same in my case." Jack nodded. "Those were the times, being recognizable in the whole school."

Heather softly chuckled.

"It all went away so suddenly."

"It was bound to happen at some point." Jack added.

Which was true. He had known it would never last, but now, when he thought about it, he really hadn't noticed when it all had disappeared, when his popularity had simply dissolved into fond memories.

"I know." Heather sighed. "I feel like a ton of things happened during this year."

"Yeah, me too."

A ton of things happened every year. But this year seemed different.

People often said that this year was good for them, that other year was bad, that current year was really bizarre.

This year was really life changing for all of them. They were finishing High School and so many things were changing, they had to pick so many choices. It seemed like they were on the border, on the crossroad, waiting for something, hoping that someone would give them even a faint breeze of advice.

In Jack's case it wasn't only that. He had gotten a new friend, a close friend, someone who had become his crush. But it hadn't been only that. Hiccup had simply become someone close, someone to rely on.

He accepted Jack for who he was. Jack of course had also other people like that. Bunny and Tooth for example. But there was something special in Hiccup, in the way he helped Jack look at the world.

He had helped Jack to believe that it had been and was okay to be a bit selfish, to think about himself, and not only about the whole world spinning around them.

As a consequence his world had changed. Not every change had been good. Some had been better and some worse. But that was a part of life, being sometimes at the top, only to crash to the bottom. Speeding up the hill one moment to drive down during another while trying to hit the brakes.

Heather slowly moved forward and rested her head on his shoulder. It had been a movement so slow that Jack could have stepped back, but he hadn't done that. He persistently had stayed there, letting her do that.

There were no romantic innuendos. Or at least Jack didn't feel like there were. It didn't feel like any other time Heather had tried to hug him or kiss him. It was just a soft touch, a sudden need of comfort and familiarity.

So Jack let her keep her head there, moving even a tad to let it rest more comfortably.

They swayed like that for a few moments, a few blissful seconds.

"Jack?"

Jack hummed in reply to show that he was listening.

"Are you mad at me?"

The question caught him off guard. He definitely didn't expect it here, right now, at this very moment.

But it seemed like this night was a peculiar slice of time.

Was Jack angry at Heather? Now he wasn't. He actually missed her. Back when they had been close friends they had had a blast spending time together. But something clearly had gone wrong, something along the way had made Heather skid and crash.

She had been hurt and Jack had been nowhere near to help her.

"No." Jack honestly said. "Not now, I'm not."

Because he had been angry before. Maybe not fully mad, but had felt like he had stood in front of a dead end, waiting for some tragedy to happen. He didn't recollect that time with fondness, more with growing irritation and the undertone of having no options.

Heather nodded and then swallowed the saliva in her mouth, moving a few centimeters from him.

"I'm sorry." She said, simply as that.

"For what?" Jack asked.

"For you know…" Heather inhaled deeply and then looked at him. "For pushing myself onto you, for forcing you to do things you didn't want to do, for making you uncomfortable. Simply for a lot of things."

Jack didn't expect any apologies. It was still a nice thing to hear, but it made the problem more real. The guilt stormed inside his lungs and heart, making them twitch and squeeze painfully.

"I did a lot of things I shouldn't do." Heather continued, voice getting quieter with every word.

"People make mistakes." Jack butted in.

"Yeah, but my mistakes caused a lot of bad things."

Jack blinked at the sudden frustration skipping in the voice like a rock thrown across the calm lake.

"Like?"

"Like they pushed my friends away, like they made me lose you, like they hindered my connections with my family, like they made me a different person. And not even a good person! And I hated myself for acting like that, that I became someone I didn't want to become."

It seemed like a talk that shouldn't happen here, that should be spoken in a comforting and safe confinement of a room, with the lights dimmed out. Not in fancy dresses and suits, with the masses of people dancing around them and plastic crowns resting on top of their heads.

But maybe that was wrong thinking. Maybe this conversation could only appear in such circumstances. Maybe in other place at other time Heather wouldn't say such things. Maybe it was the alcohol, it probably was, maybe it was the atmosphere, it probably was, maybe it was simply the tiredness, it probably was.

Maybe it simply was a fear of the future. Because after stepping out into the wild world they may not see each other much. There was even a possibility of not seeing each other at all after that.

Maybe it was this, the possibility that it could be their last dance together, their last time spent in such situation.

It could be that. But these were only speculations.

Jack wasn't sure what to say, even though he felt that he should say something.

"Maybe it was bound to happen."

Heather scoffed, moving away and glancing at him.

"This? How? It made my life utterly worse. I've lost so many and gained nothing in return."

"You definitely gained experience." Jack lamely tried, looking at her hopefully.

Heather huffed angrily at that, smiling, but with no happiness behind this movement. It was only an empty grin that stretched the muscles.

It was probably a wrong thing to say in the current situation. But maybe, technically speaking, it wasn't wrong, only voiced out with unfitting words.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way." Jack clarified, inhaling deeply the sweet smell around him. "You did bad things, but you learned from them. Some friends left you, but the strongest ones stayed. And if I'm not mistaken the situation at your house improved."

Heather was already opening her mouth to fight back, but shut it and then glanced down at the floor squeaking beneath their shoes, covered with tons of glitter and sparkling papers from the beginning of the party.

"But I miss what I had before." Heather finally said. "Don't you?"

Jack faltered in his steps, almost crashing down, but catching himself at the last second. He wasn't sure if anyone noticed.

Heather's question hit something in Jack's chest. He had to admit that sometimes he missed those times, evenings filled with parties, people talking with him on every step, everyone needing something from him and wanting his attention.

He had been the center of attention of the school.

Some part of Jack missed it. Some part of him wanted to go back to those times. Times when everything had been easier, where the future spreading in front of him had been just a faraway plan, not something that had had to be decided right now. But those times had ended some time ago, quietly had walked out, closing the door with no sound after themselves.

It was time to grow up a bit. It didn't meant they had to be full adults right now, but they had to know about the consequences of their decisions.

And Jack felt like the consequences were still waiting for him, or maybe they were catching up, reaching their hands to grab him and make him slip.

Every lie would come into light at some point. Jack knew that. No matter how hard they tried, there definitely would be time when people would get to know about the plan, about what they had done and still were doing.

Jack could only remorsefully hope that he still had time to prepare some kind of backup plan when everything would blow up in his face.

(He wished that Hiccup would be alright.)

Heather was staring at him expectantly, trying to find something in his face that would calm her, that maybe would be familiar. But she stared and stared and it seemed like she wasn't finding what she wanted.

"I miss those times too. I do." Jack honestly answered, closing his eyes for a moment and fighting the sudden surge of dizziness that overtook his body. It seemed that so many swirls and alcohol didn't mix well and made his mind a fluffy mess. "But those times ended some time ago. We grew up."

"We certainly did." Heather nodded, looking a little taken aback and weirdly saddened. " Still I feel like I lost more than I gained."

"That is still not true."

Heather smiled sadly.

"How about you?

"Me?"

"You don't feel like you lost anything?"

Jack pondered.

Maybe he had lost some things. Maybe he had lost some of his friends. They simply had drifted away naturally, leaving only fond memories after themselves. Maybe he had lost his popularity. It had been dissipating into thin air with every passing day when Jack hadn't been trying to be in the center of attention. Maybe he had lost some of his old traits. Thinking about others was important, but being selfish was good from time to time too.

He sighed and then lifted his hand, making Heather twirl beneath it.

"Maybe I lost some things, you're right. But I also gained a ton of other things during the last few months."

"Like what?"

"I gained a new perspective. I faced and defeated things I thought wouldn't be able to fight. I changed, but I changed for the better." Jack started, feeling suddenly that the words were dripping from his mouth like a waterfall, sputtering white foam everywhere. He felt like he could talk and talk, but no matter how many words he would say, it was not enough. "I lost some people, but I strengthened my friendships with the others. I learned so many different things." Then he glanced to the side, finding a small auburn mop of hair moving through the crowd. It was okay to say that. "I fell in love."

Even though it wasn't a part of their fake-relationship plan.

"What?"

Jack glanced at Heather who stared at him with wide eyes.

"What what?" Jack asked, not really sure what Heather had meant.

But the girl stopped moving and gripped his hand tighter.

"You just said that falling in love wasn't a part of your fake-relationship plan."

Jack stared at the girl and stared and felt like everything suddenly slowed down. The time stopped moving as every pair halted to a stop when he was staring right at Heather, at her face, at her mouth, at her eyes, eyes that were now blown wide with fear and unsureness.

In the stillness of the world Jack felt and heard something crashing. Something delicate, yet what broke into a thousand pieces. It was an explosion that sucked every sound and left a buzzing sensation inside his head.

It took his foggy brain a few seconds to fully comprehend what Heather had said, what he had accidentally spoken out loud.

But when it all fell into place, clicked, Jack felt like he was hit by a train, like he was pushed underwater by an invisible force. He felt his lungs constrict and stomach squeeze painfully and mind twitch and muscles tighten as a sudden desperation swam in his voice.

"Heather, this is not what you think –"

But it was too late. Maybe in the end Jack was only trying to buy himself more time.

Heather's face changed from empty, to disbelieving, to hurt, to sad, to pained so bright that Jack just wanted to turn away, to rest on anger, madness so furious that the fire could burn entire forests.

"You faked it all?!" Heather shouted, jumping away from him suddenly, pushing her body as far away from him as possible.

There was a sudden beat, a sudden commotion around them. People still danced, but clearly some started to notice that something was wrong and began to look around, some of them even focused on the Royal Pair that had danced warmly just a moment ago.

Jack felt adrift, he felt like he was losing the ground beneath his feet. It was crumbling suddenly in the speed of light and Jack didn't have enough time to come up with a plan on how to save himself.

Maybe in the end he wasn't supposed to save himself. The choices he had made were finally catching up to him.

"Listen, Heather, it's not what you think." Jack started, finding a gap in Heather's anger, trying desperately to just somehow ease the situation, ease the frustration accumulating in the girl's body. "That's right, me and Hiccup were never together, but –"

There was an audible gasp coming from somewhere behind Jack. Or maybe from everywhere around Jack.

He could sense more and more eyes on them. They were drilling, they were cunning, they were needy, trying to find the source of what was happening in the middle of the gym.

"Never together?!" Heather repeated, moving her hand to her hair and brushing it away from the forehead. "So what, it all was just a lie? All this time you both have been lying to us?"

Knowing it was one thing. But hearing it coming from someone else's mouth was another thing. It gave it a more real meaning, it made the guilt ten times more unbearable. It stormed his chest, forming a white foam that got into his lungs whenever he tried to reach the surface.

It hurt.

"Heather, listen, if you just give me a chance to explain –"

"Explain lying for a few straight months to everyone in the school?" Heather chuckled darkly, making one more step back. "I can't believe you."

Jack felt that the air was clogging his throat. It wasn't how it was supposed to go. It wasn't how this night was supposed to end. It wasn't how this entire plan was supposed to unravel.

He knew the consequences of lying. He knew that most, if not all lies would see the daylight at some point. But he hoped they would be spared for at least several years and later on they would share the story between other friends, maybe even remember it with a crooked fondness.

He didn't want people getting to know about it like that.

At this point Jack could sense everyone looking at them. There were whispers among the crowd, words and sentences jumping between ears, gasps, frowns and astonishment.

"Listen Heather, me and Hiccup had to do it." Jack tried one more time, even though he knew it was futile. "I'm sorry, but we had to. We didn't want to hurt you."

"And how am I supposed to trust and believe you right now? After what you did?" Heather breathed out, her chest heaving rapidly and deeply. There was a red blush on her cheeks, but it wasn't due to any positive feelings. "I thought we were friends."

"We are!"

"Or maybe our friendship was also a lie? Maybe everything around you is a fucking lie!?"

Oh, it hurt. It hurt deeply.

Jack didn't want that. He just wanted peace. He had wanted to let her down in a calm way. He had wanted for her to step back. But not like that, never like that.

He looked at the people gathering around them. Some were staring at them with bewilderment. Some were looking taken aback. Some were confused. And some faces were angry, with madness sparkling in their eyes.

Jack felt like he was drowning. Like the freezing hands grabbed him and squeezed his lungs. He felt whispers around him, inside his head, inside his heart and they were getting louder and louder. But then suddenly the whispers became quiet, replaced by the loud buzzing sound inside his ears. It swam and overpowered every other sensation, making him almost lose his focus.

There was a commotion in the crowd, someone was moving quite forcefully through it, pushing people around, making them trip and fall into each other. Some students were shouting angrily at the person and some were simply stepping aside, freeing path for them.

Jack turned in that direction, seeing a familiar mop of red hair and furious eyes.

Heather glanced there too and gasped.

"Dagur!"

She moved towards her brother.

Jack stepped forward too, reaching his hand and gripping the girl's wrist.

"Heather, please, just let me explain –"

"Don't touch me!"

Heather tore out her wrist, making a step back and falling into a person that was standing nearby. The student behind grabbed her shoulder to stabilize her, but she only jumped away.

"Heather, please –"

"Don't get near me." The girl hissed, furrowing her eyebrows and looking coldly and angrily at him.

There was so much pain in her eyes, so much anguish and so much agony that it broke Jack's heart. It was a betrayal in the purest form that seeped from her gaze, it was a tornado of dishonesty that was destroying the sweet, pure love which still shimmered somewhere behind the dark veil of anger.

Oh Jack had hurt Heather. He had fucked up. He had done a bad thing.

"I wish I never met you." Heather spat and then moved through the crowd, which quickly dispersed in front of her as she tried to get to the door.

It hurt. It hurt deeply and badly and his lungs felt so full, like there was only water inside, murky, disgusting, black water that sloshed around the organ, making him unable to take a sweet breath. Jack's brain was starting to get hot, with the static filling his ears and mind to the brim, almost threating to spill and consume his whole being.

Everything was too much. Everyone was looking at him and whispering between each other and he was so, so alone in the middle of the gym as everyone judged him, because they knew the truth now.

Too much, too much, too much. He couldn't breathe! There were so many of them, staring, glancing, looking, they were pushing and pushing and pressuring and it all was just too much.

He needed to get out of here somehow!

---

"Never together?! So what, it all was just a lie? All this time you both have been lying to us?"

Hiccup could sense the ground beneath him shivering.

They both could hear what was happening. Heather wasn't exactly quiet per se and Hiccup couldn't really blame her, not when it also broke his heart inside at the tone she was using.

Dagur was looking at him, glancing from time to time in the direction of the source of the voice that clearly swam above the crowd, audible for everyone. It seemed like every piece of the puzzle was pushed in the designed space, forming a logical, true picture. It seemed like all the screws and gears and nails were put in the correct position, making the whole machine work.

Dagur glued the facts together. It was actually a matter of time.

And he did, in an awfully short time. Too short time for Hiccup to come up with something to say, with some kind of an explanation or apology or just something that he could say in this situation.

The teen jumped away from him, staring at Hiccup like he just burned him. And maybe he did exactly that. Maybe Hiccup burned something in Dagur. Maybe he destroyed something. Maybe he crashed something.

Dagur looked at him, opened his mouth, turned his head at Heather and Jack, who were still talking in the middle of the dance floor, and then looked back at Hiccup.

There was bewilderment in his eyes. A lot of it. But it was quickly replaced by anger, madness so bright that it almost blinded Hiccup.

(Pain was there too, clear as a translucent medium of a reaction.)

"I'm so stupid."

It was the only thing he said to Hiccup. After that he turned on his heel and forcibly moved through the crowd, pushing poor students around as he tried to get to the door, far away from Hiccup.

He lifted his hand. Part of him wanted to ask Dagur to stay and part of him wanted to let him do what he wanted. He wasn't sure if he even knew what to say right now. He wasn't sure if he should be saying anything at all.

Soon enough he could see Heather following after her brother.

Hiccup looked around, trying to locate Jack through his wildly beating heart. He moved his head around as the crowd suddenly swam, merged, moved, pushed him around like a puny boat.

He could only imagine what Jack was feeling right now.

(Personally he could care less what others thought of him. He didn't care what they were whispering behind his back, what they were thinking, whether they were thinking about him as a liar or not. He preferred not to, but to be fair he wasn't that much phased. It was definitely Jack who felt guiltier about lying to so many people around them. He was friends with almost every student in the school, so of course he would be worried what other thought of him.)

Hiccup pushed forward, moving around pairs and people who started to whisper, talk between each other, some warily glancing at the center of the dance floor. The middle of the catastrophe that had just occurred.

Hiccup had to get there.

"Hiccup, wait!"

"Hey, come on!"

"Hiccup!"

There was a sudden tug on his arm as someone grabbed his hand, halting him in his steps.

Hiccup wanted to growl at this someone to let him go, because he had other places to be, people to tend to, that he couldn't leave his friend right now, especially now when they were both in this, when they both were at fault here, that in the end it all had started with Hiccup.

But stopped when he turned around and found Ruffnut with the rest staring at him.

The girl had her palm wrapped around his wrist, maybe holding too tightly for his comfort, but securing him in the place nevertheless.

Or maybe it wasn't the hold that did it, but her, no, their eyes.

And in this moment, Hiccup knew what Jack had been worrying about for so much time.

"Is it true? What Heather said is true?" Ruffnut asked, keeping her hand on his wrist.

Hiccup couldn't lie, not right now. And actually he didn't want to lie. He was fed up with it. He was done with lying to his friends and to his family. They had been doing it for too long.

Every lie would eventually see the light. Hiccup only had hoped he would be prepared for the time when it would happen.

He swallowed the saliva, feeling something inside his throat scratching the place, making the music clatter inside his mind, making him incredibly hot and astonishingly cold both in the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, it's…" Why did he have so many problems with speaking? "…true."

There was a beat of silence inside Hiccup's chest before another question.

"Why did you hide it from us?" It was Tuffnut speaking, with eyebrows moving dangerously close to each other, forming an angry frown.

"I had my reasons." Hiccup said.

"What reasons? Aren't we your friends? We have known each other since we were kids! Didn't we deserve to know it?" It was Ruffnut, speaking to him, almost shouting to be audible above the music that floated above them.

It seemed that the DJ didn't care about the sudden drama that had appeared on the dance floor.

But Hiccup was tired. All this time had really worn him out. He was so so exhausted and drained.

"I couldn't tell you, because you blew every secret I told you!"

"What!? When did we ever not kept your secret?" This time it was Snotlout, crossing his arms on his chest and looking skeptically at Hiccup.

"Oh, maybe when I came out to you and you literally told it everyone in the school during the next week? Or maybe you remember this part when I told you that I'm afraid of clowns and you all dressed like evil clowns during the next Halloween and explained it to anyone whom you met? Or maybe you totally forgot the part when you told everyone about the accident my mom and I had?!"

These were big and small things among others on the spread and wide ocean of things that they all had done wrong. Hiccup himself wasn't a perfect friend, the last year quite showed it brutally to him. And there wasn't anything wrong with it. Nobody was perfect. There weren't perfect friendships without any mistakes.

Twins also had made mistakes. And those were the proofs of those mistakes coming to life.

Hiccup loved them, he really did love his friends, but there were so many things that were frustrating him and he kept it all in himself. He had tried to explain it to the twins, but it had felt like they never had got the gist of what he had been trying to say.

"How could I trust you with it, when you couldn't keep all my other secrets?!"

Was Hiccup shouting? Maybe not, but he felt that his voice was definitely getting higher and higher.

He didn't want that, he felt really vulnerable right now, putting all the bad cards out in front of his friends, yelling at them and bringing to life all the dirt they had gathered during the past. He shouldn't do that, especially in the middle of the dance floor, but it seemed like he couldn't stop now.

Hiccup hadn't told him and they were blaming him for that.

"So what, you don't trust us at all, after what we've been through?" It was Tuffnut again, moving to him and pointing an accusatory finger at his chest.

Hiccup shouldn't do that, but he was tired. Tired of pretending, tired of playing, tired of trying to read the script written for him. He was tired of hiding, of keeping secrets, of having to hold a mask to his face.

He was incredibly drained.

But among this tiredness he was also angry. Angry at his friends that they blamed him for it. Part of him could understand that, because in the end he had hurt them too, kept something important as a secret. But he had his reasons. Important reasons.

"How could I trust you with it, when you never gave me proofs that you could keep any secrets?!" Hiccup shouted. "What kind of friends don't keep each other secrets?!"

Ruffnut widened her eyes, tightening her grip for a millisecond, staring at Hiccup like she was seeing him for the very first time. There was anger in her eyes, madness so pure that it seemed like it was distillated or cleared by cementation. But the anger was mixed, mixed in neutral form with sadness. Or maybe it was a composite, with anger as the particles submerged into a matrix made of sadness.

He had never seen her like that.

Hiccup was breathing hard, his chest was heaving, his mind was foggy with guilt and blame.

They were staring at him and Hiccup couldn't see the warmness that had been once there. He could see only indifference, empty, hollow impassivity that hurt more than anger ever could.

What did he exactly do?

Tuffnut stepped closer and put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Ruff, come on. Let's go. We're clearly not welcomed here. Didn't you hear? We're not friends anymore." He grumbled, piercing Hiccup with his gaze. "It seems we never were."

This wasn't what he meant. This was totally not what he wanted. This wasn't how he felt.

"No, I didn't… I wasn't trying to… I mean…"

"Oh, we clearly got what you tried to say. Sorry to disturb you with our presence." Snotlout scoffed, openly glaring at him.

Hiccup felt empty. Until now his whole chest was filled with so many emotions, good and bad, positive and negative, bigger and smaller. It was a batch reactor with more and more reactants being put inside. But now he felt like everything was sucked from it. Like every sensation was being torn from his chest as the twins and Snotlout turned their backs to him and marched away, not even glancing back.

Although it seemed that Ruffnut wanted to do it, but a securing hand of her brother's on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

Eret quickly moved to her other side, wrapping a comforting hand around her hip.

Hiccup wanted to say so many things. He wanted to just do something to move back time, but knew it was impossible.

His friends were moving away, destroyed by the trust that wasn't there and they were taking everything with them. Every particle of Hiccup's mood, every atom of his whole being. He felt like he was being deconstructed and wasn't sure if he could be put back together again.

He fucked up. He fucked up badly.

Only after a second he felt something on his cheek. A wet droplet that rolled down his skin, leaving sparkling trail.

His chest collapsed, crumbled down as a quiet sob left his lips.

It wasn't a violent cry. More like a process that couldn't be stopped. The tears dropped down his cheeks, onto the vest that Jack had picked up, that they both had picked up, leaving dark dots on the front.

Hiccup lifted his hand and brushed his cheek, but it didn't stop the tears.

There was something he had been doing before the twins had caught up with him. There was something important which needed to be done. Something that Hiccup could do to fill the gap inside his body.

A familiar mop of white hair caught his attention.

He had to find Jack.

Hiccup tried to focus on the place where he had seen the white dot last time, trying to see through the blurriness in his eyes. He had a vague feeling where he should be heading, but to be fair he wasn't sure.

He brushed his cheeks and followed the whispers that were accumulating in one place.

Some people were glancing at him, moving from his way as they probably saw his face, but Hiccup didn't care. He just had to get to Jack, his last lifeline in this universe where he suddenly didn't belong.

Everything went wrong.

He brushed the other cheek, already feeling more tears rolling down. It was a futile job, but he felt that he had to do it.

He quietly excused forcibly pushing through a pair, only to find Jack standing in the middle of the dance floor and panickly looking around, with eyes jumping from left to right and chest heaving horribly. His fingers twitched, trying to find some support.

It definitely didn't look good.

Hiccup felt like he didn't belong anymore.

Jack had to feel even worse.

Hiccup pushed to the front, running to Jack and grabbing his hand.

"Jack, hey, is everything alright?"

Jack definitely didn't look alright. He looked far away from it. He looked like he was on the verge, on the edge, one step from plummeting into the darkness that would swallow them whole.

"Hiccup?" Jack croaked, looking at him, but weirdly Hiccup felt like Jack didn't see him at all.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to blurt it out, but I did. I'm really sorry. I messed up." Jack was speaking fast, every new word was quicker leaving his mouth than the previous one.

Hiccup could already see where this was going and he couldn't allow that. He couldn't let Jack crumble right here, right now, right in front of all those eyes. He had to protect him, hide him for some time from the curious gazes and whispering mouths.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Hiccup said, trying to hint on a soft and kind voice, but only finding that it was trembling like a sample put in the Belly Dancer* shaker.

"No, it's not. I fucked up. I'm sorry, I didn't want –"

Hiccup moved his other hand and put it on Jack's lips, hoping to silence him a bit.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." He said, squeezing Jack's hand. "It's okay. Everything will be okay."

It certainly didn't feel like it. It feel like those words were far away from the truth. Like they didn't even belong to that category. But for a moment Hiccup had to sound sure enough for Jack to believe him.

Jack was staring at him with wide eyes, eyes filled with so much remorse that it hurt Hiccup to look at them. He was shaking all over, with tiny trembles moving across the limbs and ending on the fingertips, like an electricity sparkling and jumping across the nerves.

The whispers rose and rose around them, words and sentences moved from mouth to ears, from eyes to eyes.

Jack looked around, letting his chest shudder.

Hiccup tugged Jack's hand and with his palm moved Jack's head so he was looking back at him.

"Let's get out of here, okay?"

Jack nodded, squeezing his fingers back.

Hiccup nodded back and then moved through the crowd towards the exit, far away from the stares and whispers, holding Jack's hand like a lifeline.

Or maybe in the current situation it was Hiccup's hand which was a lifeline for Jack.

---

Author's note:

Hello everyone! I told you that there will be drama near the end and there is! But I'm like super excited for the next chapter – which features angst, drama and finally resolves to some subplots! I had it more or less planned since the beginning xD!

I definitely hope you enjoyed this chapter – and what is that, Hiccup and Jack almost noticing each other's feelings?! Impossible! Not in this fic haha xD!

As before, the next chapter may be a little bit later, depending on how fast I will check it =D. Thank you for bearing with me!

And great thanks to Cedda for helping with beta-reading a part of this chapter. You're great and amazing =D!

And some nerdy facts:

*Jim – James "Jim" Lake, Jr. is a character from Trollhunters.

*Douxie – is a character from upcoming series Wizard, but also from Trollhunters and 3Below.

*Bright like yttrium oxide – when heated up yttrium oxide shines very brightly. It is a result of converting heat energy into light energy. More info about Yttrium you can find on Thoisoi2 - Chemical Experiments! YT channel :D. Highly recommend it!

*Iodine clock reaction – the iodine clock reaction is a classical chemical clock demonstration experiment to display chemical kinetics in action. Two colorless solutions are mixed and at first there is no visible reaction. After a short time delay, the liquid suddenly turns to a shade of dark blue due to the formation of a triiodide-starch complex. In some variations, the solution will repeatedly cycle from colorless to blue and back to colorless, until the reagents are depleted.

*Lithium flame – it has a very bright, strong red color, sometimes with a hint of pink.

*Belly Dancer shaker – it is a machine that helps you mix the solutions inside some containers, usually beakers or vials. Check this bad boy go on some vids!

And answers:

Guest – Yahoo :D! This gives me utter joy, I'm super glad and happy you like it :D! And don't worry about mimicking, I do it a lot of times too! Even subconsciously! In the end, even if you take something from other people's styles it will get modified into something of your own (Don't say that, I'm sure you will get published. And when you do, I want to read it =D!). I'm not sure about smoothness, but I definitely like adding them =D. And oh, those are hard question. Part of it is, well, consistency. I have a rule to write at least one page per day, no matter if I write my fanfictions or my own stories. I try to do it every day – even when the page turns out terrible. I still do it. I think the hardest is actually pushing through the day when I don't feel like writing, but it helps me move forward. I have a lot of pages I don't like and some of which I change later on while beta-reading. And it's okay, writing bad is also a part of learning. I must admit, I quite often lose faith in my writing, especially during those bad days. Sometimes when I re-read some old chapters I feel like I was writing better before. But in the end it doesn't really matter, good or bad, I simply like doing it and for me it's worth it for those few days that are simply good :D. And it's especially rewarding when people say that my stories lift up their moods and that they can escape from problems by reading them. Because in the end, this is what I often also do. And where do I find the time… Well, I usually write in the evenings or afternoons. I try to squish this page somehow in my schedule, moving this or that, so I can write. And well at some point writing became a part of my schedule and a habit! I must say, it isn't always easy. There are days when I simply force myself to do it, but in the end I want to give people smiles and want to finish this story for myself and for those people who like it ;D! Ah I wish I could add memes to answers, but no, you're breathtaking! Have an amazing day and week and month! :3

coeur de lune – Aw I'm super happy then! And I'm also glad they are moving forward! Finally haha! xD

vampireharry the 2 – Thank youuuuu =DDD! I'll tryyyy, but I'm also glad we are so close to the end haha xD.

Two of the broken mask – They totally should. And I've been even thinking about such waistcoats… but in the end I loved the dissonant between white and dark more. But they could have green and blue bow-ties :o!

sonofHades7 – They are so dense they will become solid soon xD. Aw this means so much to me, especially nowadays as I start to lose faith in my writing skills… or the lack of them xD. Aw I hope you will like the next one =D!

Thank you for reading it =D!