"So that's what you're doing when you tell us you spend the day in the library?" Astrid asked as she, Elsa, and Hiro walked back together after their trip to the hospital.
Elsa shrugged. "When I'm not actually in the library, yeah, pretty much…"
Astrid hummed. "And when's the next gig?"
"What, you're coming again?" Hiro groaned.
"Got a problem with that, Hamada?"
"Not if you keep your lips sealed, Hofferson." The guy crossed his arms. "Seriously, though, what made you bring Astrid Fucking Hofferson today, Elsa?"
"I thought she might enjoy the day out."
"Enjoy the day out babysitting overly-excitable children with heart-shattering medical backgrounds?" Hiro asked with a mocking snort.
"He's got a point," Astrid agreed. "Can't really say that I'm really a kids person, Elsa."
"Yeah, but you're still a caring person—don't give me that look, Astrid. You wouldn't have stayed in the Student Council for two whole years if you didn't care."
Astrid shrugged. "Maybe I just like having all that power in my hands."
Elsa shook her head with a chuckle. "Right. I'll pretend I believe that."
Astrid rolled her eyes, her spirits far too high to bother with arguing with her friend.
"Well, if you're sticking around, you should learn about our rules," Hiro explained. "I'll send you the brochure later."
"You guys have a brochure?"
"Duh. We're dealing with children—very impressionable children, Hofferson. Their brains are like sponges, soaking up any kind of crap that comes near them. And we can't have them mirroring your foul mouth and violent behavior now, can we?"
Astrid glared at the guy, arms crossing over her chest and eyes narrowing threateningly. "You are so asking to have your ass kicked, douchebag."
Hiro rolled his shoulders back nonchalantly. "See, that's a clear example of the foul mouth I was talking about."
"I hope you didn't use that kind of language in the hospital," Elsa commented.
"I didn't. At least I think I didn't…" Astrid frowned, disappointment at herself starting to dry her mouth. "I swear I'm gonna read that brochure from cover to cover."
"You better. Oh, look, your boyfriend is coming this way."
Hiro nodded ahead, and the girls looked in that direction, finding that Astrid's boyfriend was indeed coming their way. Hiccup yawned as he strolled leisurely, hands in his pockets, and disarrayed hairstyle swishing with every limp… He walked like there was no wrong in the world, which since it was Hiccup, might as well have been the case.
And that irked Astrid to no end.
She felt her anger boiling back up, all the heartwarming good she'd been feeling since the hospital gone as her murderous mood returned. Astrid clenched her teeth, and her nails dug into her palms as her eyes hardened.
Elsa cleared her throat, attempting to bring Astrid's mind back down to Earth.
The platinum blonde rubbed her hands together, then tucked her hair behind her ear as she asked, "Hiro, are you busy right now? I actually have a few ideas I'd like to discuss with you if that's okay?"
Hiro frowned, and he seemed ready to question Elsa's sudden change of behavior, but one look from the girl was enough for him to drop the subject. "Yeah, I've got time. Wanna go find somewhere to sit?"
"Excellent." Elsa smiled, putting a hand on Astrid's upper arm and giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'll see you later."
"What do you think you're doing, Elsa?" Astrid snarled.
Elsa gestured with her head in Hiccup's direction. "Talk to him."
Astrid frowned, crossing her arms. "I don't wanna talk to him."
Pushing Hiro with her, Elsa replied, "Good. Then you'll listen."
Astrid planted her feet on the ground and glared at Hiccup, narrowed eyes scrutinizing every inch of his stupid self as the distance between them shortened. Hiccup's hair was starting to get too long, and his messy bird's nest had auburn strands sticking out everywhere; he wore dark clothes that made his eyes look even bigger, greener, and dumber; his grin was so bright she felt like punching his teeth out just to stop it from blinding her.
"Hey, I've been looking all over for you," he said as soon as she was close enough to be heard. "Where were you?"
Astrid shrugged. "The library."
One of his eyebrows arched up in skepticism. "That so?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I missed you at the party yesterday." Hiccup's hands made his way to her waist, grabbing nothing but air as she stepped back and out of his reach.
"Yeah, right. You seemed to be handling my absence just fine," Astrid said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a frown.
She snorted. "You tell me, Hiccup."
"Okay, I'm confused. What are you— What is going on?" Hiccup blabbered, waving his arms up and down like the dweeb that he was.
He reached for her again, but Astrid slapped his hand away, bumping her shoulder against his chest as she stormed past him.
"Hey…" Hiccup stopped her, hands gripping her shoulders in desperation. "Astrid?"
Jaw clenched, she breathed in through her nose and let the air out slowly through her teeth. "Who was that girl?"
"What girl?"
"The pretty girl who was laughing at your jokes last night!" she shouted.
Hiccup blinked slowly, taking a step back in confusion. "... Who?"
She snorted. "The redhead beauty with flawless skin and perfect smile, Hiccup."
"Y-you mean… Merida?"
Astrid may have been the one to describe the girl with those words, but it still annoyed her that Hiccup had figured out who matched that specific description.
"Wait—are you jealous?" A teasing smile formed on his lips.
"I'm not."
Hiccup burst out laughing. "Oh, my God! You so are!"
"I'm gonna kick you on your good leg, Hiccup," she threatened, trying to rid herself of his grip.
"Hold on! Can you listen to me for once?" He flinched at the glare she sent his way and quickly added, "...Please?"
"You have ten seconds before I kick you for real." She tapped her foot on the floor as she started counting inside her head.
Hiccup took a deep breath before saying, "Jack recruited Merida and Anna—you know Anna, right? Elsa's sister? With the—with the braids? Jack recruited them to be part of our squad because he's a dumbass who enjoys being idolized. The girls are adorable, but, like, in a little sister kind of way. We're all stuck as Frost's worker ants, so we kinda became friends… and that's all."
His hands slid from her shoulders to her hands. He smiled as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "I still don't really know what upset you last night, but I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Astrid. And I can one hundred percent assure you that there is nothing going on between me and Merida—or any other girl for that matter."
Astrid huffed, crossing her arms. "Of course you'd spit out that kind of crap."
"And it'd still be the truth." His eyes took a gentler tone, and his thumbs caressed the back of her hands. "What do I have to do to convince you that you're the only girl I see?"
She said nothing. She couldn't really say anything. Was she convinced? Hiccup was an idiot who didn't know how to lie. But if she believed he was telling the truth, why did she still feel like punching him? Tired of feeling like crap, Astrid groaned, eyes burning with rage. She pulled her right arm back, and as her fist met his shoulder, her catharsis was immediate.
"WHY?" Hiccup cried, hunching forward in pain.
"This is so you'll think twice before getting all buddy-buddy with another girl again," she snarled.
Hiccup threw his arms up exasperatedly. "You're crazy! My girlfriend is a possessive lunatic!"
Astrid's eyes narrowed. "You wanna be punched again?"
He shrieked. "One punch is quite enough, thank you very much."
Hiccup rubbed his eyes as he mumbled, "To think that I had a surprise prepared for you and all…"
She looked at him with suspicion. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"Close your eyes."
"... No?"
"Just close your eyes, Astrid!" Hiccup shouted in exasperation.
Glaring at him one last time for good measure, she begrudgingly did as she was told, and she felt him taking her left hand between his. With her palm facing down, he slid a band on her ring finger, and her eyes shot open.
"What the hell is this?"
Hiccup grinned at her. "It's your Halloween gift!"
"A Ring Pop?" She lifted her hand so she could inspect the ridiculous-looking green confection he had given her. The ring was too big, and it hung loose on her finger.
Hiccup shrugged. "Y'know, because Halloween is the season for cheap candy!"
She frowned at him. "Why do I feel like there's an ulterior motive for this gift of yours?"
"Because you're a paranoid girlfriend who can't find joy in the simple things in life."
Astrid shook her head. "This stupid ring is going in the trash."
He let out a snort. "No, it's not. You wouldn't dare let a fine piece of carcinogenic candy like that go to waste."
She tsked, popping the ring inside her mouth. "Fair point."
Hiccup continued to look at her in silence, smile broadening more and more as time passed by.
"What?" she snarled.
Hiccup shrugged, giggling to himself. "We just had our first fight."
"You're a hopeless nerd, Hiccup."
He crossed his arms, trying to look annoyed, but the devious smirk on his lips gave his true amusement away. "And you're mean. One of these days, you're really gonna hurt my feelings, Astrid."
She gave him a roll of eyes. "I'm hungry. Wanna go grab something to eat?"
"Yeah, sure. Just need to do something first…"
"What—"
Before she could finish, Hiccup was slipping her lollipop out of her mouth and replaced it with his lips. He kissed her gently as his free hand moved to support the back of her head. His lips were soft, the kiss was short, and he was, to her utter disappointment, soon pulling back up.
He traced her jaw with his thumb, somehow managing to ease the tightness on her muscles with his touch.
"You're the only girl I see, Astrid," he repeated, returning her the candy jewel.
She scowled, trying to ignore the tingles she felt wherever his skin had touched hers.
"... Shut up, Hiccup."
Elsa continued to rub her hands together as she and Hiro trod through school, her lips pressed in a thin line, and eyebrows furrowed in apprehension.
"... I'm guessing our talk was just an excuse to leave Astrid and Hiccup alone," Hiro said, gesturing with his head in the direction they had just come from.
Elsa smiled apologetically. "Sorry for dragging you into the mess."
Hiro shrugged. "Whatever it takes to keep Hofferson from murdering innocent people, right?"
She hummed in agreement, and they walked in comfortable silence until Hiro, cupping his hands around his mouth, shouted, "Hey, Frost!"
The silverhead was sprawled on top of a table and lifted his head to look at them. Adjusting his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, he said, "Well, isn't that an unusual pairing?"
"Would you mind getting off the table?" Elsa demanded as she and Hiro made their way to the gazebo.
Grumbling incoherently, Jack slid down to the bench and glowered at her. "Happy?"
The girl shrugged in reply.
"I want my flash drive back, Frost," Hiro declared.
Jack shrugged. "I didn't know where you were, so I gave it to Wilbur."
Hiro clicked his tongue. "Right. How's your eye?"
Jack lifted his sunglasses to his forehead, presenting them the swollen dark bruise on his cheekbone.
Hiro gagged. "Jesus, that looks disgusting."
The silverhead shrugged. "Hey, it's all part of the bad boy persona."
Elsa shook her head. "Halloween was last night, Frost. You can drop the costume now."
Jack let out a snort. "That's high coming from you, Your Majesty."
"Excuse me?"
"Forget it." Jack shrugged. "All I'm saying is that I can use the pain in my favor."
"Meaning?" Hiro wondered with an arched eyebrow.
"Meaning that the misfortuned hero trope can be used to make most of the girls swoon."
Hiro laughed, throwing his head back. "Says who?"
"Me. But go ahead and ask Elsa what she thinks," Jack said, waving in the blonde's direction.
"I refuse to take part in your little survey."
Hiro laughed some more as he crossed his arms. "See, I don't think she's that impressed."
"She isn't," Elsa agreed.
"Oh, she is," Jack countered.
Hiro pursed his lips. "She's probably not."
"Trust me: she is." Jack crossed his arms, eyes moving from the Asian-American boy to the blonde. He smirked as he added, "You are."
Elsa scoffed, shaking her head. "And you're an idiot."
Jack leaned back on his elbows, smirking leisurely at her. "Why, thank you, Your Majesty."
"It wasn't a compliment, Frost."
"Okay, Lemme just get out of the way..." Hiro mumbled, motioning to leave.
Hiro was grinning from ear to ear, and it made Elsa very self-conscious. She unceremoniously took a step back as her hands fumbled with the hem of her shirt.
"Where you going?" Jack asked with curiosity.
Hiro shrugged, shoving his hands inside his pockets. "Now that Halloween is over, I can finally catch some z's."
"I suppose you deserve that much…"
"Gee, thanks for your kindness, asshole," Hiro grumbled with a roll of eyes. Then, as he turned on his heels, he stated, "I'm off to bed. Later, guys."
"Thank you for your help, Hiro," Elsa rushed to say before the guy left.
"No problem."
"Nighty night, bud," Jack shouted as Hiro waved them farewell. And as he and Elsa were left alone and the awkward tension weighed heavy upon them, Jack scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You know you can sit, right?"
"I'd rather stand."
He smirked. "Come on, I won't bite. Not unless you ask me to."
Elsa let out a snort. "Now I would really rather stand."
"Suit yourself," Jack grumbled with a shrug. "So… You and Hiro?"
"What about it?"
"YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER?"
Elsa gasped, shaking her head in confusion. "What—No! Where did you get that from?"
"You just said—"
"Not like that!"
"Then what were you two doing together?" he demanded to know as he puffed out his chest.
Elsa let out a humorless laugh. "Well, that is none of your business, Frost."
He mimicked her tone as he said, "Well, isn't that suspicious of you?"
"What do you care anyway?" she asked, crossing her arms.
Jack got up and crossed his arms as well. "It's my duty to protect Baby Hiro's virtue!"
"Which supposedly I'm corrupting?" she hissed.
He smirked. "Your words, not mine."
Elsa looked up at the ceiling and groaned in exasperation. "You are an idiot. And I don't know why I waste my time with you."
He took a step closer to her, arms still crossed and shoulders rolled back. "Because I'm irresistible and you can't live without me."
She laughed as she ran a hand down her hair. He was so close that she had to lift her chin to maintain eye contact with him. With a click of her tongue, she said, "Keep fooling yourself all you want, Frost."
"Hey, I'm not the one living in denial. Who's really the fool in here, Elsa?"
"... That's still you, Jack."