Jack's head whipped back when he realized that he had been staring at a plate of pancakes for only God knows how long. He looked around, but Hiccup and Andy had abandoned his pitiful zombie ass like the two jerks that they were. As if all their incendiary questions keeping him up all night long wasn't assholey behavior enough.

He yawned, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as his mind began to unfocus again. He was so sleepy—scratch that, he was way beyond the point of sleepy, but not yet at the stage of sleep deprivation high, though he doubted that lowering his inhibitions when his friends were already supposedly pissed at him would be that better of an alternative.

"The pancakes won't jump to your plate on its own, you know," a voice interrupted his drunken haze.

He turned to his left, finding Elsa smiling at him with her lower lip trapped between her teeth. She had bags under her eyes, but he had a hard time concerning himself with those when the girl looked at him with those piercing eyes that made him feel like he was drowning. It was the first time they talked in public in a while, and it felt good. "Hey, you."

"Morning, Jack," Violet sang from behind the blonde, instantly bursting their little bubble. Astrid and Violet flanked both of Elsa's sides with stupid grins splattered across their faces.

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't bother returning the girl's greeting, deciding to shift his attention back to Elsa instead.

"Rough night?" the girl in question asked, bumping his tray with hers and giving him an amused smile.

Jack glanced at the duo sniggering behind the blonde. He could imagine what sort of ruthless interrogation Elsa had to go through. "Probably not as bad as yours."

"Cat's out of the bag, huh?" She sighed, and the crease between her brows deepened as she stared down at her empty plate.

"You going back on me, Your Majesty?" he teased with a smirk.

"As if." Elsa tucked some loose hair behind her ear so she could look directly at him. "Besides, the worst part is over anyway."

"Yeah, what else could go wrong?"

She looked at him with that scowl that made her nose all scrunched and adorable. "You don't have to jinx it."

He bit his lower lip to muffle a giggle.

"What?"

"How bad would it be if I kissed you right now?" Jack whispered, and she laughed, shaking her head.

"Enjoy your breakfast, Frost," she replied with a final pointed look at him, and he couldn't stop his eyes from following her all the way to where she sat to eat.

"... You know, I didn't think you could get any lamer," Astrid said with a hand on her hip, "but thanks for proving me wrong yet again, asshole."

"Glad to be of service," Jack grumbled through gritted teeth as he grabbed his tray and turned on his heels to leave.

"Aw, leaving so soon, Jack?" Violet asked with a pout. "But we were just getting started!"

He pretended not to hear the girls' mocking as he stomped a straight line to his usual table. Hunched over his meal, he stabbed a pancake with his fork and started tearing it into pieces. He then sensed eyes on him and looked up to find Hiccup and Andy with matching smirks on their stupid ugly faces.

Mouth full of half-chewed food, he pointed at them with his fork. "Stop looking at me like that, or you're feeling this fork in your eye sockets."

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Andy mocked, rolling his eyes.

"Right?" Hiccup snorted. "Shouldn't our little Jack be slightly more tolerable now that he's in love?"

"Say another word and I'll smash my tolerance in your face, dipshit!"

"I saw that," Anna's voice startled him when she pretty much ambushed them outside of the refectory. Her eyes were locked on Jack like a damn predator, the psychosis on the girl's face enough for Andy and Hiccup to gladly make themselves scarce.

"Hello to you too, princess," Jack mumbled with a yawn.

"I saw that," Anna repeated herself as she jogged to match his pace. She had her hands on her jacket's front pockets, and her braids kept bouncing up and down like she was dying to share with him the biggest piece of gossip on campus.

"And by 'that' you mean?"

"You were being oddly friendly with my sister," Anna clarified, pointing at him with her index finger.

Jack winked. "Why wouldn't I be? You know, aside from the fact that she's a total killjoy."

"You were grinning like an idiot," she pressed.

"I was so not," he protested with a glare.

Anna shrugged. "You'd agree with me if you saw the stupid face you were making."

"Fat chance." Jack sped up his pace in an attempt to cut that conversation short. He guessed Elsa was supposed to be the one to have that kind of talk with her sister, so why on earth was he the one getting cornered so early in the damn morning?

Anna rushed after him with a scowl on her face. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Do you even know our history? There's always some sort of stupid feud going on. Like me trying to bring some fun to my fellow schoolmates' lives and your beloved sister giving me hell for it—"

"No, not that," Anna interrupted him with a vehement shake of her head. "Something's different, I just can't pinpoint what…"

Jack snorted, running a hand through his hair. "Don't you have a class to go to?"

Anna shrugged. "Don't worry about me. And stop changing subjects."

"I seriously am not in the mood for this, princess—"

"Say, did you make a move on my sister? Did you finally kiss her? "

Jack's head jerked back and he abruptly stopped. "What do you mean, finally?"

But whatever answer he was expecting to get was lost, as next thing he knew, Anna was squealing a high-pitched screech that caused his eardrums to bleed...

Hiccup was a little hurt that he had been one of the last to find out about Jack and Elsa. And he had been even more hurt that, the night before, Andy had very decidedly put a stop to the interrogation whilst partaking in silent conversations with the silverhead only using their eyes. It made him feel left out… not that he'd have ever admitted that.

So it was with somehow conflicting emotions that he went over to Jack's class to pick him up for lunch that day.

"Hey there, handsome," Jack greeted with a two-finger salute. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I'm escorting you to lunch, what else?" Hiccup bowed with a grand hand flourish that elicited giggles from the audience nearby.

"My hero," Jack sighed with a hand placed over his heart. Then he laughed, bumping his shoulder with Hiccup's as they started making their way down the walkway. "Seriously though, I'm a big boy, Third. Pretty sure I can get to the refectory on my own."

"I don't know, man. Your sense of direction is not really that great."

Crossing his arms, the silverhead grumbled, "Okay, last time we got lost wasn't even my fault. Stop bringing it up. What about Andrew?"

Hiccup shrugged. "The Student Council team had more of their important stuff to do."

"And it couldn't wait until after lunch break?"

"Something like that," Hiccup grumbled, shoving his fists a little deeper inside his pockets. "But who are we to judge how other people enjoy spending their time, right?"

Jack narrowed his eyes and kept staring at Hiccup's profile. "Okay, you're giving me chills. The hell is your problem now?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Nothing. It's just—" He couldn't keep the scorn off his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The other guy's mouth snapped shut, and he seemed to recoil for a moment. Despite the vague words, Jack seemed to know exactly what Hiccup was talking about. "It started as payback, but it got harder and harder to tell people the longer we kept the secret… Nothing personal, Third."

"Wait. Rewind. Payback for what exactly?"

"Oh, I don't know, remember that stupid shed?"

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the most brilliant of the ideas," Hiccup admitted sheepishly, "but for what it's worth, we at least had good intentions. You? You just wanted to make your friends feel bad."

And to Hiccup's surprise, Jack didn't snap back at him. Instead, the silverhead lowered his head, glaring at the floor in shame, and mumbled, "Yeah… guess I'd hate me too if I were in your shoes."

Jack's words gave him pause. The words, but more importantly the way those words had been uttered did not sit well with Hiccup. His stomach churned, making him sick, and despite his conflicted emotions, Hiccup sighed. "... I don't hate you, dumbass. I'm still mad at you. Partially. But I don't hate you. Andy doesn't either. Violet was the one campaigning to get you and Elsa together in the first place, so you're probably safe there too. And Astrid… she'll get over it eventually." He put a hand on the other boy's shoulder and smiled encouragingly. "You have considerate friends who only want what's best for you. And we all agreed, to different degrees, that you and Elsa may actually be good for each other."

Jack frowned. "How much thought have you people put into it?"

"Hoo buddy," Hiccup laughed, scratching the back of his head. "We've probably been discussing it since that Christmas sleepover."

"You're kidding."

"I wish. Violet has been relentless."

"That girl needs a hobby," Jack muttered.

"Yeah, something very time-consuming and with a lot of steps. Like pottery."

"Scrapbooking,"

"Gardening."

Jack let out a snort. "I am totally getting her a garden gnome for her birthday."

"Jokes aside, go easy on the passive-aggressive attacks, okay? She was really upset."

"I'm not that much of a jerk, Hiccup."

"Hey, after the stunt you pulled, I figured you could use the reminder."

"Somebody is holding a grudge," Jack grumbled.

"Yeah. I am," Hiccup agreed with a scowl. "So be a good friend and roll with the punches for a little while, will ya?"

Jack huffed. "The things I do for you, Third."

"Aw, aren't you every girl's dream come true?"

Classes were over and everyone else seemed busy—even Hiccup had claimed to have some business to take care of, which left Jack with no idea of what to do with his free afternoon. He guessed he could go to Hiro's to play with the new prototypes, or he could fly solo for a change and get in a healthy dose of trouble just to keep his skills sharp. Or maybe he could drop by the Student Council's lair to see what they were up to. Check on the new hatchlings, make some chit-chat, steal a glance at a certain someone...

But before he could make up his mind, limbs were wrapping around his arms like snakes and he was being yanked backward, everything happening so fast that his resistance was reduced to that of a ragdoll.

"What the—" Jack turned his head to face his assailants, and he wasn't sure whether he felt more confused or annoyed as he glared back and forth between Astrid and Violet. "Why, hello, ladies." His voice tone was casual, but the ice in his gaze gave away his irritation. "As much as I find the concept of being kidnapped by two beauties truly thrilling, I'm afraid I must inform you that I'm taken now. Perhaps you know her: drop-dead gorgeous, smartest person in school, has a devious smirk that makes you go wild, exceptional kisser… "

Violet groaned, and one of the girls, he didn't know which, smacked him on the back of the head.

"Listen, dumbass," Astrid hissed, "I am trying really hard not to snap you in half, so do yourself a favor and keep your stupid mouth shut, okay?"

The trio turned a sharp corner, a door was thrust open, and Jack was shoved inside unceremoniously. He took a few steps back to recover his balance and squinted to adjust his vision to the poor lighting in the room.

"I believe we need to have a talk, Frost," Violet said as she walked to the teacher's desk and motioned for him to take a seat.

"And you couldn't do that like a normal person?!" he snapped.

Ignoring his disgruntlement, the brunette continued, "What are your intentions with Elsa?"

Jack blinked, dumbfounded. He looked around the room, hoping to find an audience, a hidden camera, or anything that'd hint at the obvious prank the girls were trying to pull on him. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"You think we're gonna let some asshole waltz into her life and not have a say in it?" Astrid roared, crossing her arms.

He laughed sourly. "I don't see why you would, you crazy women!"

"Elsa is not one of your preeny fangirls, and you better not treat her like one," Violet snarled, poking him in the chest hard.

"What the hell is this?!"

Astrid's eyes narrowed. "Merely standard procedure so if you could just—"

"Hold on," Jack cut her off with a finger held up and shifted his attention from one girl to the other. "Are you telling me that you've done this before? Did you give Hiccup the talk too?"

Violet still tried to look menacing, standing tall and rolling her shoulders back, but the girl eventually let a tiny smirk slip. "Yeah, but Elsa was too nice on him."

Jack snorted, imagining scrawny-ass Hiccup facing those lunatics by his poor self. "What about Wilbur?"

"Again, standard procedure, asshole," Astrid said. "Now answer the question."

Jack shook his head, exasperated. "What's gonna take for you people to understand that Elsa is my friend too?" And before any of the girls could argue, he continued, "We may not see eye to eye most of the time, but I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose. I get that you care about her, but hear this: so do I. And you people acting like I don't is really starting to piss me off."

As his ranting continued, the girls at least had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed, which he took as a win. Satisfied, he straightened up and let out a heavy exhale. "Now if we're done here, I have better things to do than to watch your crazy bad cop, worse cop routine!"

Crisis did not take long to strike, and the new Student Council members soon found themselves overwhelmed with so much to do in so little time. The seniors, solicitous mentors as they were, had not hesitated to offer a helping hand, and so, Elsa found herself in her old office as Astrid and Andy, along with Tinkerbell and an odd assortment of club representatives, sifted through archived paperwork.

She was in the middle of filing their activity log when she noticed her sister fidgeting. Elsa tried to ignore it at first, but her impatience grew as Anna's anything-but-subtle squirming continued.

"Is there a problem, Anna?" the eldest girl asked, eyes still glued to the screen in front of her.

"Nope. No problem, none whatsoever." Anna laughed averting her eyes. "There is absolutely nothing wrong on my end…"

Elsa arched an eyebrow, suspicious. "Then why is your pen not moving?"

"I think I'm just having a hard time processing the news."

Rapunzel tilted her head in question. "What news?"

Anna shrugged, attempting to play it cool but failing as her grin widened. "That my sister has a secret boyfriend."

Elsa's fingers froze in the middle of typing, and she heard Rapunzel letting out a strangled squeal. "Where did you hear that?"

"Jack told me. Well, maybe not, but he didn't deny it when I asked…"

"Neither did you, Elsa," Rapunzel added, barely containing the excitement in her voice. The girl's eyes were the size of her fists and she seemed to vibrate in her seat.

Tapping her pen on a stack of papers, Elsa said, "Now's really not the time for this kind of distraction—"

"Nuh-uh, sis, you're not getting away from this. It's already bad enough that I had to hear it from someone else." Anna crossed her arms. "So spill."

"There's not much to say, Anna."

"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that."

"Start with an easy one then: is it true? Are you guys really dating?" Rapunzel asked.

Elsa felt her face heating up, and she looked down at her nails. "If I say yes, will you two at least try to finish all this paperwork today?"

There was no answer to her question as the girls screamed in unison, their collective cries so loud that Elsa was sure she would be dealing with partial hearing loss for the rest of her life.

Jack knew he was in trouble when he and Hiccup reached their usual table for dinner and saw Wilbur and Hiro with their chins propped up on their knuckles, waiting patiently with fluttering eyelashes and coy smiles all around.

He gave the others a curt nod as he sat down. "Evening, gentlemen."

"Hiya, Jack." Wilbur winked, wiggling his fingers in greeting. "So what's shaking in the House of Frost?"

"Any exciting news?" Hiro added.

"Any new girlfriend you forgot to tell us about?"

Poor Hiccup choked, falling victim to a violent coughing fit, and even though his distress caught the curiosity of the nearby tables, those sitting with him had yet to acknowledge it. Jack himself purposefully ignored his dying friend so he could narrow his eyes and glare at the two guys across from him. "How the fuck do you know?"

Hiro shrugged, leaning back in his chair with his usual smug attitude. "The entire school knows," he said, and to make a point, gestured with his index finger to the rest of the room.

Hiccup's dramatic coughing had ceased, but people were still whispering and pointing at their table, and even though he couldn't understand what they were saying, it made Jack wonder if there was a smidge of truth in Hiro's suggestion.

"Are you kidding me?" Hiccup grumbled, moving his arms up and down with indignation. "We just found out last night!"

Wilbur smiled. "You should know by now that rumors spread faster than cooties in this place."

Hiro gagged. "Ew."

"So you wanna run that by us again, Romeo? And spare us no sordid detail."

Hiccup cleared his throat, sitting up very straight, and placed his folded hands on the table. "In the absence of our resident reasonable figure, I'm gonna step in and ask you to think for ten entire seconds before you open your mouth again, William."

"Aw, come on, Haddock. Don't be like that," Wilbur whined. "Frost and Arendelle? That's big! You gotta tell us how that happened!"

"I don't actually."

"Are you two really together?" Hiro pressed with narrowed eyes.

"Is it consensual?"

"Or are you blackmailing her?"

"Maybe she felt sorry for you because you're terminal and nobody told you yet."

"Boys, play nice," Hiccup said with a sigh. He was ready to change topics when Anna dropped her tray on their table and tried to wiggle her way between him and Jack.

"Hey, Hiccup, can you move over?" she asked, unabashedly making room for herself before giving him time to react.

"Don't mind if I do…"

"What happened to your usual posse?" Jack asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, they're somewhere over there, don't mind them," Anna mumbled, gesturing to a general side of the refectory, then turned to look directly at the silverhead. "So. Now that you're dating my sister, I believe some ground rules are necessary—"

"Not you too," Jack grumbled, running a tired hand down his face. "Sorry, princess, but Astrid and Violet beat you to it. Already got the talk from them."

"Wha—no fair! She's my sister!" Anna cried with a pout.

"It is what it is, sweet cheeks." Jack rolled his eyes and pointed at the guys. "Thanks for the heads up, by the way. Real fun we had, me and the punch-first-ask-later psychotic duo."

Hiccup grumbled, "I don't know what you're complaining about. You're lucky you didn't have Elsa on your judging panel."

Wilbur nodded, exchanging understanding glances with him. "Preach. Arendelle can make any guy's balls shrink with her aura alone. You do not want to be on her way when she's dead serious about protecting her friends—"

Before he could finish his point, Anna was already throwing her head back and roaring with laughter. Puffing her chest, she grinned smugly at the confused boys staring back at her.

"That's my sister to you!"

When Andy and Elsa entered the refectory that evening, they were taken aback, to say the least. The moment they stepped inside the room, it felt as if all heads turned in their direction, and the hushed whispers did not take long to follow. He could see that the attention got to her, and even though she made an effort not to show her discomfort, it irked him to see his friend scrutinized like that.

"Why are people staring at us?" the girl slightly leaned over the table to whisper.

"Pretty sure it's just at you, Elsa," Andy answered curtly.

She frowned. "... Why?"

The guy shrugged as he stabbed his dinner with his fork. "Everybody's curious about the school's new power couple."

"You're joking."

"Not really," he attempted a friendly laugh. "The whole campus was buzzing today, which I guess you wouldn't know, locked up in the Council's room and all."

"I also happened to be working during that time, Andrew," the blonde retorted with a scowl. "But how would they all know already?"

"Gossip is a scary thing, Elsa."

"People need to find better ways to waste their energy."

"Can't argue with that," Andy snorted. He leaned back, glancing casually at the crowd, daring any of them to disrupt his and Elsa's pleasant meal. Noticing some familiar faces further back, he gestured in their direction with his head. "They're looking at you."

"Yes, I got that, thank you," Elsa grumbled, strands of hair slipping to cover her face.

"Not them," Andy said, making a circle with the tip of his fork. "Them." He pointed to the table Jack and company occupied. Just like he had claimed, the entire gang was staring brazenly at them. When noticed, Wilbur had even waved with both arms back in the pair's direction.

"Subtle," Elsa scoffed, shaking her head. When her eyes shifted to the boys' table again, she caught Jack's wink, and she blushed.

Andy chuckled, glancing between his friends with amusement. "We could just go sit with them and really give all these nosy people something to talk about."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you, Andrew. But you're free to eat with them if you want to."

"And leave you in this tank of starved flesh-eating sharks by yourself? I don't think so." He huffed, then rested his chin on his free palm and started tapping his cheek with his finger. He stared at Elsa but at the same time, also looked at nothing, as he lost himself in his own thoughts.

Sensing his silent probing, however, Elsa raised her head and eyed him with suspicion. "What is it?"

"You know you're always welcome at the table, right? And not just because of Jack?"

Elsa smiled. "I know, and I appreciate it, Andy, really. But I'd rather maintain some semblance of normalcy, especially now, with all the attention and whatnot."

"It's not like we haven't eaten together before," andy countered, concerned frown deepening for a quick moment before being replaced by a more easygoing smile. "And I bet Jack would like the company."

She rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but the smirk on her lips did not go unnoticed by him.

"I think I would rather stay here and enjoy dinner with you, Andrew. Does that work for you?"

"Aw. That would be my honor, Elsa."