Alrighty, hello again. I feel like I've left a reasonable time gap between updates this time and I've tried my best to make this chapte a little longer than usual, since you've had to wait for a while and I've suddenly gotten a lot of followers and favourites all at once on this story (thanks so much for those btw you know who you are xx). Okay, without further ado, enjoy x
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"Hiccup…?" Jack practised the name, letting it roll off his tongue, which now felt horribly heavy in his foul tasting mouth. "Hic-cup… hmm."
"Yeah, that's right. And you're Jack." Hiccup was talking again. Jack couldn't believe it was the same boy from the restaurant, and that he was here, helping him when no one else was. "Hey? You still there? Jack, can you stand up for me? We need to get you to my car so I can take you home."
Jack felt himself being hauled up out of the metal chair and together they began to walk slowly along the pavement. Jack couldn't do anything but stare down at the tarmac. Every step made his stomach lurch and made him feel like he was going to throw up.
"Wh- where's y- car-?" Jack panted.
"My car? It's parked out the back of Yoji. It's a restaurant where I work just up the road. It's not too far."
"Yeah, I know y- work there…" Jack mumbled before he could stop himself.
"You know I work at Yoji? How'd you know that?" Hiccup's voice sounded unconvinced, like he was aware of how out-of-it Jack was and was just talking to keep him occupied.
"-saw you earlier." Jack slurred. God, he was so drunk. He felt so so sick.
"Mmm-hmm okay. We're nearly at the car. Just hold on a bit longer, Jack."
Jack liked the way Hiccup said his name. It sounded right somehow. But then again, just hearing his name at all felt right. He thought he'd forget his own name if Hiccup didn't keep saying it.
"Hey hey, don't fall asleep on me Jack."
"I didn't, did I-?"
"Yeah, you did, and you're kinda heavy… You've gotta stay awake. You can sleep when you get home, okay?"
"Okay…"
"Good, just a little further. Hey look, you can see my car from here." Jack acknowledged that Hiccup was pointing somewhere, but couldn't find the energy to raise his head to look. "Almost there, almost there." Hiccup kept repeating this sentence over and over until they finally reached a road they needed to cross and he stopped. "Alright Jack, we're about to cross a road, so hold on to me and don't stop walking."
"Right. Don't s-stop walking…" Jack repeated, obediently grabbing onto the hand that Hiccup was holding out for him.
"You got it. Look, there's my car right there. Step up here, don't trip on the kerb. That's it. Okay let me just grab my keys…"
"Keys-?"
"Yeah Jack, keys are kind of a necessity when driving a car…" Hiccup chuckled, clearly quite amused by Jack's intoxicated comments.
"So w-where's y- car?" Jack slurred after a few more minutes of walking.
"Jack, you're in the car… I'm just buckling your seat belt." Hiccup replied, sounding exasperated and also anxious.
"Oh…" Jack didn't even notice he was sat in the passenger side of Hiccup's pretty cramped, but surprisingly warm car.
"Alright. You comfortable there? I'm gonna need you to tell me your address. Do you have it written down anywhere in your phone? Or could you just tell me it? Hey, Jack-?"
Jack felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder. His eyes had fallen shut of their own accord. It was so warm and cosy in the car and Jack felt safe for the first time that night. He just wanted to sleep. But what was it Hiccup had said? 'You can sleep when you get home, okay?'
Okay… Jack didn't think he'd be able to wait that long though. His body was already beginning to shut down. At this point, he didn't think he'd be able to move any of his limbs if he wanted to. Everything went quiet for a moment as Hiccup closed the passenger door and went around to the driver side before getting in himself.
"Jack, can I look at your phone again? I need an address. Jack? Oh crap. Can you hear me, Jack-?!"
Jack was drifting in and out of consciousness. He desperately wanted to listen, to tell Hiccup where to go, to get home, but his drunk brain had other plans. His body needed sleep. And it needed it now.
"Jack-!"
The warm car seat vibrating as the car engine rumbled to life was the last thing Jack's groggy mind registered before he passed out completely
…
Jack opened his eyes just as something bright blue flashed past his face. He jumped and took a step back, watching as the object sailed past and landed on the ground.
It was a frisbee.
Who'd thrown it? Jack glanced around. He was in a park. A huge, beautiful park of lush green grass and the occasional twisting path that snaked through past engraved benches and towering oak trees. There was a pond behind him. Water lilies and duckweed floated on the surface while the bright sun created shimmering patterns across the rippling waves, which were being created by a cool breeze.
His friends were all there too. North, Aster, Tooth and Sandy were sitting on a bench talking. Honey, Elsa, Ruffnut and Rapunzel were all sprawled across a picnic blanket, laughing and chattering. Gogo, Astrid, Tuff, Merida and Kristoff were stood spread out across the field, throwing and catching the frisbee. Flynn and Anna arrived at the picnic blanket seconds later carrying a coolbox of drinks between them.
Jack figured he must've just zoned out for a second and turned his attention back to the frisbee, which was currently crossing the gap between Gogo and Merida at lightning speed. Merida caught it gracefully and went to toss it to Kristoff. Kristoff passed it to Astrid, and then it was Jack's turn to catch it. He readied himself for it as the disc flew from Astrid's hand at full speed. It was heading slightly too far to the left so Jack shifted to catch it. He dived for it, and missed.
The frisbee zoomed on by, only to be caught effortlessly by Tuff, who cheered himself before throwing it back to Gogo.
Crap, he couldn't believe he'd missed it like that. His hand had been in exactly the right place to intercept. Maybe the sun had gotten in his eyes…
Another round went by and suddenly it was Jack's turn again. And again, he missed.
What the heck-?
"Astrid, maybe try aiming for me next time?" Jack shouted jokingly to her. She didn't reply, only continued to watch the frisbee as it made it's way around the circle again.
The next time the disc sailed straight past Jack, he decided to give up. Obviously, today wasn't a frisbee day for him. Instead, he went and sat on the picnic blanket with the girls and Flynn. They were gossiping about nothing in particular, so Jack laid back on the blanket and closed his eyes, enjoying the breeze and smell of the freshly cut grass and flowers.
This was great. Being in a peaceful place with his favourite people just chilling and having fun. This was what Jack had been hoping could've been his life years ago. But finding friends had been a lot harder back then. Finding enough time to hang out with any friends, if he were to have any, would've been even harder.
"Okay guys c'mon. Stop being lazy!" Jack heard a shout and looked up to see Gogo waving her arms frantically at him and the rest of the picnic blanket party. "Ultimate frisbee tournament is starting now and you're all joining in!"
The girls all groaned and began moaning about their nails breaking and their hair getting messed up, but stood up and went to join in nonetheless. Jack followed and took his place in the circle in between Flynn and Tuff. North, Aster, Tooth and Sandy had also strolled over to play.
Jack was pretty sure ultimate frisbee was a little more elaborately set up than a circle of people just chucking the disc randomly between them but he participated anyway, just for the fun of it all.
"Right. Rules are, you drop it, you're out!" Gogo grinned, as many of the other girls sighed. Jack was up for it though. Despite not catching any in his short attempt a few minutes ago, he was sure he'd be able to catch at least one this time.
"Flynn, think fast!" Gogo suddenly yelled and chucked the frisbee at him. Flynn nearly fell over in his mad jump to catch it, but he succeeded and held it for a few seconds before shouting.
"Rapunzel!" And he threw it to her.
It seemed that this time, they weren't going to pass it around in a circle like they had been doing before, but instead simply pass to anyone they wanted at any time. Jack had to be ready. He spent the next few minutes watching intently as the disc flew around the group at ridiculous speeds. No one had failed to catch it yet. But then, Jack hadn't had it passed to him yet so that was subject to change…
A few more minutes passed and Jack began to get a bit confused as to why he hadn't been passed to yet.
"Hey, I'm here too guys!" He called, waving his arms about trying to gain any kind of attention he could. Nobody noticed him. Not even Tuff, who was standing two feet away from him and hopping madly about, following the direction of the frisbee. "Tuff, pass it to me next?" Jack tried again. Tuff didn't say anything, or even acknowledge that Jack had spoken to him.
What was going on? Why were his friends ignoring him?
"Guys!" He shouted, walking out into the middle of the circle, arms raised, "This isn't funny anymore. What are you doing?"
Still, nobody said anything or seemed to notice him standing there.
"What the hell? C'mon guys, stop it. It's getting weird now." Jack tried to hide the panic in his voice as he strode over to Ruff and stopped inches from her face, staring at her. He knew she'd eventually give in and start giggling if he just stood there long enough.
But her face never even faltered. Her eyes just continued to dart about as she watched the frisbee.
"Ruff? Hello?"
"Pass it here, Elsa!" She suddenly yelled right in Jack's face. The next thing he knew, he'd swivelled around just in time to see the frisbee flying towards his face. He didn't even have time to duck before it was centimetres from his nose.
Jack winced, preparing for the impact.
But it never came. The disc soared right through his head and out the other side as if Jack wasn't even there.
"W-what the fuck-?!" He clutched his head and spun around to see Ruff throw the frisbee again. This time, it hurtled through Jack's stomach, flying out his back before being intercepted by Honey.
"G-guys...?" Jack stared around at all of them in horror. "Can you not see me?"
Again, Jack was greeted by no response. Slowly, he approached Astrid and waved his hand in front of her face. When she didn't react, he reached out and touched her arm. His fingers went right through her skin, like he were a ghost phasing through it.
"Astrid-?" He stammered, panic really beginning to set in now. She stepped forward to catch the disc and in doing so, walked through Jack altogether. The weirdest sensation ran through his entire body and he shuddered, pacing backwards in terror.
"No no no, this isn't real." He chanted over and over, holding his head in his hands as he continued to walk backwards, away from the group. He'd forgotten all about the pond behind him.
His foot tilted on the edge dangerously, before the rest of his bodyweight caused him to topple over backwards into the freezing water. The pond was way deeper than Jack had expected it to be, and when he didn't immediately hit the bottom, he began thrashing about, trying to resurface, but found only a solid wall above him. He opened his eyes, the water stinging them. A thick layer of ice had formed across the pond surface, completely trapping Jack under.
He smashed his hands against the ice, but to no avail. The cold was making his brain seize up and lack of oxygen was making him dizzy. After what seemed like an eternity banging on the ice and holding his breath, Jack gave up. He opened his mouth, letting out a thick stream of bubbles and allowing his heavy body to sink down, down, down.
Into a dark, cold, lonely world of pitch black.
…
Jack's eyes shot open, as did his mouth as he gasped for air. He sat bolt upright and after several seconds of desperately panting for breath, he began coughing and spluttering.
"It's okay. You're okay, Jack."
A warm feeling suddenly spread across his back and he relaxed into it before being laid in a horizontal position once again.
"You're safe, Jack. Go back to sleep now…"
Jack's eyes fluttered closed again and within seconds, he'd dozed off again.
...
I'm not sure how I felt about this one... I came up with the whole idea of Jack's nightmare on the spot because I kind of wanted to fill out this chapter a little more and I think it went okay? Let me know what you thought of it in a review.
Any of you who follow my other story, Would You Rather, will be aware of my current crisis in terms of failed A levels and having to find a new college and I don't really want to explain it all again on this story and bore you all to tears, but just in case you don't know, my predicament might (emphasis on might) cause some weird update schedules (not that they're not weird already). But yeah, pls forgive me if the next chapter doesn't go up for a while, but my entire future is kinda depending on the choices I make in the next two weeks.
Shoutouts:
A Frozen Shadow: I both love and loathe writing drunk!Jack, because it's hard to write but also fun to make up his dumb comments and funny moments. There were a few of those in this chapter I hope you enjoyed x
Snowflakesandangels: Okay, first, THANKS YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL REVIEW ON MY OTHER STORY. Your words made my day and I love reviews from you because you're so inspirational and supportive, so thank you so so so much for doing that for me. You have no idea how lovely it was for me to wake up after that horrible day and see all the kind comments I'd received overnight. Thanks xx Also, I took in your advice about POV's and decided to not do any more of those in the future. Well, unless I think it's absolutely necessary... Thanks for your review
Two of the broken masks: Ah, but there is the question... Where is Jack now? His own house or Hiccup's? What do you think?
pikianoa: Yes I know, I'd been putting it off for soooooo long, hadn't I? But I promise a lot of cute awkward fluffy moments in the next chapter x
JakeTheStoryTeller: Jeez, you're seriously way too kind... I envy you for your impeccable update schedules and creativity. Mine isn't a million times better than yours anyways. I LOOOVE your writing! Thanks for the review xx
NekoRyuuKo: Wow, reviews in all caps always give me a massive smile, no matter what they say. Just because I imagine you screaming it at you computer screen while you're writing it. Here ya go. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for taking the time to review xx
OKAY THANKS FOR READING IF YOU'VE MADE IT THIS FAR. I honestly can't even begin to tell you all how much it means to me that you appreciate my work. I've been having a really tough time with everything throughout the summer and recently, fanfiction seems to be the only rewarding thing I can do so getting support and love from here makes my day. Thanks you so much everyone and I love you all xx
Drop a quick review if you liked it? xx