Their meeting with North had been… odd. Andy thought they would be in some kind of trouble, given the previous night's events, but the man just asked them to sit down, offered them fruitcake, and asked about their opinion on how to make crystal clear ice, and wasn't that amazing how water was basically the essence of life. Then, he went off at a tangent and started talking about wolf packs and their hierarchy… Andy wondered if the man's questions were supposed to have some sort of hidden meaning, but whatever it was, he could not figure it out. No matter how he looked at it, t all sounded like... complete gibberish.

Still, the six of them all kept talking, and North seemed very interested in their answers, as mundane as they were, and Andy could only guess it was a psychologist thing. Then, after an almost two-hours session, several cups of coffee and a whole tray of fruitcake later, they were dismissed with one last task: cleaning the labs on the third floor.

So they divided the tasks between themselves and proceeded to wipe the tables, sweeping the floors, dusting cabinets, and reorganizing supplies. With relative speed and teamwork, they managed to clean three out of the five labs with no major occurrences—surprising or not!

"This sucks," Andy heard Jack grumbling at some point. He looked away from the cabinet he was organizing and saw Jack playing with the model skeleton, sticking its boney finger in its nose cavity.

Astrid snorted, leaning against the broom she had been using. "You know, if you had kept your pretty mouth shut, the Student Council would've gotten off with a simple slap on the wrist, and all would be solved."

"Talk about special treatment," Violet scoffed.

Jack used his skeleton friend's hand to point at Andy. "How come you don't use your vice-president authority to bail us out more often then?"

"And tarnish my respectable reputation to save you idiots?" Andy laughed, shaking his head. "No, thanks."

Jack rolled his eyes. "And you dare to call yourself our friend."

Andy rolled his eyes, not bothering to retort.

Footsteps were heard in the hallway, and Hiccup and Elsa came in, chatting to each other.

"Done," Hiccup said, pulling a stool and sitting down. "Letter delivered."

"Welcome back, you two," Violet greeted with a wave.

"How did Tooth take it?" Andy asked.

Elsa sighed. "She looked upset. We may need to make up to her later."

"No." Violet stopped cleaning to point at Elsa. "Not again." She shook her head. "Look, Tooth is the best, and I love her. But I will not be a part of A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Sequel. Nope. I'm done. Count me out."

"I'm all up for apologizing to Tooth, but Violet has a point," Astrid admitted.

Hiccup rubbed his chin tiredly. "So… what do you suggest we do?"

Violet shrugged. "We can buy her a box of chocolates or something."

"Or, since Elsa baked us that cake the other day, she could make something again," Hiccup suggested with excitement.

Jack snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, she sure could."

Elsa glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Would you mind shutting up, you idiot?" she requested, to what he winked at her in response.

Andy sighed and gestured between the other two. "I have no idea what that was about, but… the baking thing… is not a bad idea. We can all help, and I bet Tooth would appreciate a handmade gift."

Without a moment of doubt, Jack nodded at Andy. "Davis, you're in charge of the game plan."

Rolling his eyes, Andy waved with two fingers. "Aye, aye, captain."

"Wait…" Astrid frowned, her eyes going from one person to the other in confusion. "I thought we were ending that stupid contract. Why the hell are we making plans together again?"

"Wow." Jack shook his head. "Stab me in the heart and leave me to die while you're at it, wontcha?"

Andy let out an amused chuckle. "Seriously though, does that contract even mean anything at this point?"

"Yes," Astrid said at the same time as Jack replied with a "No."

The rest of the group chuckled as well, and Andy continued, "All I'm saying is… we got each other's back. And I don't think that's intrinsically connected to a message on our group chat."

Hiccup hummed with a pout. "You may be right."

Violet laughed, putting her hands on her cheeks. "Guys, you see what's happening right now?" Her eyebrows shot up with excitement. "We're bonding!"

Hiccup snorted with contempt. "Yeah, you saying that out loud totally ruins the moment."

Violet shrugged. "Still, this is awesome. It's like I'm watching history writing itself right in front of my eyes."

"Oh, totally," Jack agreed.

"It's like the beginning of a new era."

On Saturday, she found Astrid in the refectory early in the morning. The girl sat in a corner table, leaning over a bowl of cereal with her head propped up on a hand, whilst the other stirred her food absentmindedly.

After picking her own breakfast, Elsa took the seat in front of Astrid, but the latter didn't even seem to notice the former's presence.

"Good morning, Astrid," she said in a louder voice than normal, and the other girl jumped surprised.

"Oh, hey, Elsa," Astrid grumbled, then her eyes drifted back to her soggy cereal.

"Everything okay?" Elsa asked with concern.

"Yeah." She put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and frowned in disgust. Astrid groaned but kept munching on her meal anyway.

Elsa asked, "Have you been here long?"

Astrid shrugged. "Maybe. Not like I have anywhere else to go."

Elsa frowned as she took a bite of her toast. "Why aren't you at the gym? I thought Sunday mornings were your gym mornings."

Astrid snorted, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms. "I can't."

"Why not?"

Astrid groaned, staring at the ceiling. "Because fucking Hiccup Haddock is gonna be there waiting for me."

Elsa only looked at her even more confused. "How do you know Hiccup will be there?"

"Because Violet totally snitched on me, that's how."

"I… don't understand."

Astrid sighed. "Violet told him he could find me there, and that's what he's been doing for the past weeks."

"I see." Elsa nodded in understanding, and after a moment of silence, she questioned, "Did something happen for you to be avoiding him?"

"You could say that." Astrid tugged on her hair. "Ugh, just looking at his dumb face makes me mad."

"Really? You looked pretty normal when we were all together."

"Yeah, when there are other people around," Astrid snarled, then her voice softened, "When it's just the two of us… things are weird. He's different."

"How so?"

Astrid seemed to hesitate. She opened and closed her mouth. She gulped. Her eyes dug a hole in the spoon she held in her right hand. "He told me stuff…" Astrid mumbled uncomfortably. "Personal stuff. Intimate. Things I wasn't really prepared for."

Elsa hummed, drinking a few sips of tea. "And that's bad?"

"Of course it is bad." Astrid sunk in her chair. "What the fuck is his problem anyway? Who goes out telling other people about traumatic childhood experiences out of the blue like that?"

"Someone who apparently wants you to know them," Elsa said gently.

"I never asked for it."

Elsa shook her head. "I'm not saying that you did. But you can't deny his feelings for you." She looked at Astrid, sincerity, and understanding in her eyes. "He wants an answer. And you ignoring him probably is not one."

"This is bullshit." Astrid groaned, making Elsa chuckle.

"There's no need for you to rush into anything." Elsa folded her hands together. "Hiccup's a patient guy. I'm sure he'll be willing to wait for you to make up your mind."

Astrid snorted. "Great."

Elsa sighed and, having finished eating, she got up on her feet. "That being said, why don't we go for a walk? We can go to the lake and feed the ducks."

"I hate ducks," Astrid grumbled.

"Come on, Astrid." Elsa rushed the other girl, gesturing with her hand. "They're tiny, cute baby ducks. No one can say no to baby ducks."

Astrid narrowed her eyes and grumbled to herself before she caved. "Fine. But I'm only coming because I have nothing else to do."

"Sure. You keep telling yourself that."

Hiccup couldn't lie: he was feeling a bit disappointed. He had gone down to the gym in hopes of meeting Astrid there and getting to talk to her some more. But he had waited and waited, and the girl never showed…

Admitting defeat, he left the gym and headed to the stable, where he offered to help feed the animals. He spent the next hour pushing a wheelbarrow around, replenishing stacks of hay and filling troughs with fresh water as he tried not to think about her. And it worked... most of the time. Maybe three out of five times. Definitely half the times... Okay, so it didn't really help. He couldn't get her out of his mind.

By the time he returned to the stable for some time with Toothless, he was exhausted. And in his exhaustion, he must have started to hallucinate, because there was a girl in there leaning against the door of Toothless' stall. A girl that looked a lot like Astrid goddamn Hofferson.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, startling the girl.

Astrid turned to look at him, her eyes were hard, and there was a crease between her eyebrows. "Nothing, I was just passing by."

"Sure you were," Hiccup scoffed. The stable was so far from the other buildings that there was no way in hell anyone would just so happen to pass by, let alone Astrid in particular. "Didn't you say Toothless was an unpredictable beast set to kill anyone on sight?" he mocked, going to the horse's trough and dropping a block of hay inside.

Astrid moved out of the way not to disturb his work. "What can I say? The little fucker is growing on me."

Hiccup hummed as he finished his tasks. He figured he should say something, but he was at a loss of words, and she just stayed there, watching him in silence. Not to drown in his own awkwardness, he cleared his throat.

"I thought you were avoiding me," he said coyly.

"What made you think that?" she asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "I went to the gym to look for you—"

"Stalker," Astrid scoffed.

"—But you never showed."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Can you blame me?"

He stopped for a moment to look at her. His eyes focused on the clear blue of her irises as he tried to understand her demeanor. "Astrid, why did you come here?"

"I told you," the girl said with a shrug, "I wanted to see the horse again."

He kept looking at her, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that all?"

"What other reason would I have to be here?"

His gaze didn't leave her just yet. He searched—hoped for something he wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe he thought that if he didn't break the eye contact, he would have some influence in the words she spoke. But she said nothing else, and he sighed.

"Since you're here, why don't I teach you a few tricks?" Hiccup suggested.

"Are—are you talking about horse riding?"

He leaned against a wooden post and arched an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me you're still scared?"

Astrid clenched her jaw. "I was never scared, to begin with."

He chuckled and beckoned her to follow him. Hiccup led them to another stall, where another horse rested and waited for the girl to join him. Hiccup rubbed the horse's neck. "Stormfly here's a real sweetheart, aren't you, girl?"

He took Astrid's hand and gently placed it over Stormfly's muzzle. He couldn't see her, but he could hear the gasp Astrid let out at the contact. He stole a glance of her from the corner of his eyes and smiled at the puzzled expression on the girl's face.

Hiccup squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Perfect for first-time riders," he said quietly, amusing himself by watching her eyes brighten with wonder. And as time went by, he grew wary of the tingling sensation that started where his skin touched hers. He cleared his throat, letting go of her hand. "Let me go find you a saddle," he hurriedly mumbled and left the stall.

Hiccup frantically opened and closed his hand. His fingers tingled at the phantom sensation of her hand on his. He stared at the palm of his hand as if he could command his flesh to stop burning.

It didn't.

The last day of classes had finally arrived, and Elsa and Andy pretended to work, doing menial tasks in the Student Council's room as they waited to be excused back to their own homes. They were counting the minutes for the day to end when the door opened, and a frowning Astrid came inside.

"There's music playing outside," the blonde said.

Elsa looked up from the file she had been reading and scrunched her hose. She focused her hearing, and true enough, the faint echoes of a pop beat reached her ears. "Where's it coming from?"

"Dunno," Astrid mumbled, pulling her chair back. "Couldn't figure it out. But it's pretty loud."

Elsa hummed in thought and turned her attention towards Andy.

He sensed her glancing at him and looked up from the computer screen. "Why are you looking at me? I have no idea where the music is coming from either."

"Really?" Elsa asked. "Because it looks like the kind of thing your friends would be involved with."

Andy shrugged. "True. But I know nothing about it this time."

Both girls stared at him skeptically, and Andy raised his arms desperately. "I swear!"

"Sure…" Astrid agreed sarcastically.

Andy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, have those two been acting kinda excited lately? Yeah, but I thought it was only because we were going home tomorrow." He waved indignantly. "I didn't think there was any bigger reason behind it."

Elsa leaned back and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I think we all agree, Andrew, that when it comes to those two, we can always expect some ulterior motive behind their most innocuous actions."

Astrid tsked, shaking her head. "Should we go check it?"

"That would be the sensible thing to do…" Elsa admitted, and the girls stood up.

"Coming too, Davis?" Astrid asked, watching as the boy went back to typing on the computer.

Andy nodded. "Yeah, in a moment. I just need to finish writing this…"

Astrid glared at him with suspicion. "Are you sure you don't know what's going on?"

"Would I really stay behind if I knew?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

Elsa sighed. "We'll be back soon."

"Have fun!"

"Do you think Andy was lying and this is actually a trap?" Astrid asked as she and Elsa walked down the stairs.

"For what it's worth, I do think Andy was telling the truth," Elsa admitted with a chuckle.

"But you still think Frost is responsible for whatever that is?" Astrid gestured in the general direction of the music's source. The more they walked, the louder the noise got, and they could now hear the sound of people in addition to the music.

"I think we do have reasons to believe that, yes. But let's keep an open mind about it, shall we?" Elsa sighed. "As they say, one is innocent until proven guilty."

Astrid glanced at her friend as they walked. "You changed," she declared.

Elsa frowned. "I did not. Although I am trying to have a more benevolent take on things."

They reached the courtyard and as they followed down the path that led to the pool, they came upon the source of all the noise: a beach-themed party happened around the pool. A set of speakers had been set just out of water splashes' range, bright and happy umbrellas and chairs had been spread through the whole area, there were inflatable toys—balls, floats, rings, palm trees—of all sizes, colors, and shapes. And people. So, so many people. People chatting, laughing, dancing, fooling around in their bathing suits all over the place. They were spread on sun lounges, gathered around the speakers, sitting around the pool, splashing water at each other's face inside the pool...

And it made Astrid wonder why in the goddamn world the student council members were the only ones left out of that incredible party.

"Let's see how benevolent you are now…" Astrid mumbled, her eyes wide as she took in all the action in front of her.

"There." Elsa pointed at a specific group of people, and the girls went in that direction.

Hiccup was the first one to notice them, and he nudged his silver-haired friend to notify him of the girls' arrival.

Jack's eyes lit up and he got on his feet, spreading his arms wide to greet them. "Just who I was hoping to see!" he said cheerfully. "The two most beautiful girls in school."

Elsa crossed her arms. "Charming."

He winked. "You know it."

"Aren't you supposed to be packing?" Elsa asked. "I had you pegged as the first one to dash through the gates tomorrow morning."

"True and true, Arendelle," Jack admitted with a shrug. "Yes, I cannot wait to get out of this place, and yes, I should be packing so I can leave tomorrow." He folded his hands behind his head. "But then I saw the sun shining brightly outside my window. And how could I waste such a beautiful day locked up inside?"

Astrid snorted, shaking her head. "So you decided to throw a pool party not to let your day go to waste?"

"I sure did."

"You and I have very different ideas of what to consider a waste of time," Elsa mused.

"And our differences are what makes the world such a beautiful place, Your Majesty."

Astrid groaned. "Don't you remember what happened at your last party, Frost?"

Jack hummed for a moment as if trying to recall previous events. "We got busted and had to clean up labs as punishment."

Elsa raised one of her eyebrows. "And did you not learn anything from the experience?"

"Only that too many people stick gum under their desks," he grumbled with a scowl. "And that I can trick Hiccup into drinking floor cleaner if I get the ratio in his water bottle just right."

"You what?" Hiccup asked startled.

"Nothing, handsome," Jack said nonchalantly and continued to smile at the girls.

"You're a waste of oxygen, did you know that?" Astrid roared, taking a step in the silverhead's direction.

Jack held his hands up in innocence. "Now, don't you think that's a little too harsh, Hofferson?"

"For you?" She laughed. "Not even close."

"Maybe you should cool down a little." His eyes drifted off as he spoke, and it made Astrid wary.

She looked around, and the atmosphere had changed abruptly. At some point during their conversation, their little threesome had become the center of attention, and people were gathered around them in a circle. What startled her even more, was the unbelievable water arsenal pointed at them. Weapons went from balloons, buckets, and pistols to two-hands guns and even a garden hose.

"What is going on?" Elsa asked shakily.

"I'm really sorry," Hiccup told them as he handed Jack a water gun.

"No, you're not," Jack mocked and slid his sunglasses down to his eyes. "FIRE!"

At the silverhead's command, the girls were bombarded from all sides, ice-cold water hitting them hard and nonstop. Their clothes soaked immediately, sticking to their bodies and weighing them down uncomfortable.

Astrid clenched her teeth. At first, she didn't feel anything. Then, she felt everything at once. The thousands of needles poking her skin, the pounding in her skull, how the water dripped down her face and blurred her vision, and how heavy her body felt. She tried to blow the bangs out of her eyes, but they were unmovable. Her whole body shivered—either from the anger of from the cold, she couldn't tell.

"You," she hissed and stormed in the silverhead's direction. "I WILL KILL YOU."

Her hands were almost reaching his neck when she felt herself being yanked back by the waist. She was so blinded by revenge that she had a hard time understanding what was happening. And then she recognized those green eyes.

"HICCUP," she yelled, fighting against his restraining arms. "LET ME GO."

"Sorry, can't do that," Hiccup mumbled. "Violet and I have a bet, and if you hit him within the first three minutes, I lose."

"Hey, no fair!" Violet appeared as the circle of people started to scatter. She had a gun propped against her shoulder. "You can't do that!"

"You assholes," Jack grumbled, and looking at Hiccup, he said, "You do keep holding your girl, Third."

"Easier said than done," Hiccup cried as Astrid continued to shout blasphemies in his ear.

"HOLD THIS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Astrid jumped, arms going everywhere, nails digging into his flesh, and head bobbing frantically in search of a target.

"Arendelle, are you okay?" Jack asked, ignoring Astrid's psychotic attack. "You haven't opened your mouth yet."

Elsa smoothed her hair and wiped the excess of water from her eyes. "I think my brain shut down for a moment."

"Maybe you should go dry yourself," Jack suggested. "We don't want you getting sick or anything."

"You are an idiot," Elsa mumbled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Come on, Elsa," Violet said. "I have your bathing suits in the changing room."

Elsa's eyebrows furrowed. "You really thought this through, didn't you—"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME, DUMBASS." Astrid was slowly winning against Hiccup, who had thrown all his weight over her as a last attempt to hold her back.

"Astrid," Elsa called, and Astrid's murderous glare moved in the former's direction. A moment of indecision crossed the platinum-blonde's face, but then she sighed and said, "Honestly, you can kill them all."

Astrid roared, finally getting rid of the arms around her and jumped triumphantly. She locked sight on her first target and stormed in his direction. Eyes aflame, she bolted toward the silverhead, claws out for blood.

"Uh-oh…" Jack took a few steps back, but he was trapped on a dead-end with the pool right behind him. And before he could do anything, the air was expelled out of his lungs like a cannonball had hit him in the stomach.

Together, they met the bottom of the pool.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?" Andy's lungs burned from shouting, and he heaved as he looked at the scene in complete shock.

"Andrew!" Hiccup jogged to greet Andy. Hiccup put an arm around Andy's shoulders, and Andy felt his shirt getting wet. "We've been waiting for you!"

"You've been waiting for me?" Andy repeated skeptically. "What the hell is this?"

"Uh… It's a party."

"Elsa and Astrid were supposed to take care of this." Andy frowned and stared at Hiccup in the eyes. "They never came back."

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that…"

"Hey, Davis!" Jack pushed himself out of the pool, dripping water everywhere. "You're late."

"Am I?" Andy wondered. "I believe I missed the invitation."

"Yeah," Jack scoffed. "That's what happens when we don't have you to revise our plans…"

Starting to lose his patience, Andy sighed. "Where are Elsa and Astrid?" he asked, worried something bad had happened to them.

"Out there somewhere," Jack answered, making a wide gesture with one arm.

Andy narrowed his eyes. "Jack. Where are they?"

The silverhead shrugged. "Being held hostage."

"What?" Andy gasped. "What the hell did you do to them?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Relax, it was a joke."

Hiccup hummed. "Last time I saw them, Astrid was being dragged to a volleyball match with some other girls, and Elsa was refereeing a pool noodle fight to stop some kids from drowning."

"They were doing what now?" Andy hissed.

"Like I said, Astrid was playing volleyball—"

"I heard you the first time, dickhead," Andy interrupted him with annoyance. "What I wanna know is why they seem to be enjoying this party when they were supposed to end it? What did you do to them?"

"Oh my God, you think I brainwashed them or something?" Jack asked indignantly.

"Did you?"

"Of course not!" Jack threw his arms in the air. "Look, I apologize for not sending someone to retrieve you sooner, that was on me," he said. "But Hofferson and Arendelle stayed of their own accord."

Hiccup snorted. "After, you know, we put some mind games in action."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Jack said lacing his arm around Andy's shoulders, "that you missed our little surprise and now we're gonna have to improvise something else."

"What?" Andy looked from one friend to the other, and his apprehension only grew at the sight their maniacal looks.

"I would hold your breath if I were you," Hiccup said.

Andy didn't have time to understand what the other guy meant by that, seeing as he was hauled up by hands behind his knees and on his back. He screamed, holding for dear life onto his friends as he was carried at full speed ahead. And before he could find a way to jump out of that improvised palanquin, the three of them were diving into the pool, splashing water in all directions.