Kay... so here we are. 4 months later... I'm so sorry. But this is a long one for you. Almost double the usual chapter length, so really, it's more like a two month wait for each chapter, split into two? Kinda... whatever, enjoy...

...

Jack

Hands close, faces even closer, the two boys danced around the balcony. There was no music, but they didn't need any. They were dancing to the waves. The steady crash and roll of the water created their melody as it struck and splashed against the support beams.

Nigel, Theo, Allan, Henry and Thomas watched from the tabletop.

Jack's mind was racing. Fireworks had exploded at the moment their lips met, and even now, a strange crackling sensation was still there. He could hear his heartbeat, or was that Hiccup's? His head was so close to Hiccup's neck and chest that it could easily have been either. As they continued to sway and dance around the balcony floor, Jack couldn't keep his mind on track. He kept weirdly going into a daze and finding himself lost in his own thoughts.

Firstly, this was it. He was out there. He had a boyfriend… Jack said that phrase over and over in his head until it stopped making sense anymore. But yet, it still sounded so right.

His face fell. His friends may have been ignorant sometimes, but they sure as hell weren't stupid. There was no way he was going to be able to keep this secret from them… Sure, he'd tell Tuff. He was his best friend after all. But Jack didn't want to think about what the others would say or think…

Jack had a boyfriend.

"Jack?" Hiccup said after administering a few unresponsive taps to his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, it's just, this is…" He didn't know how to word this feeling.

"Tell me how you're feeling, Jack. Is this good? Bad?"

"It's complicated."

"What's complicated?" Hiccup was holding Jack's shoulders still, staring intensely into his eyes. "Whatever it is that's worrying you, we can sort it out."

Jack shrugged. "No, you can't really… It's something that I have to…" He trailed off, again, not knowing how to phrase it.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, but then a look of comprehension crossed his face. "Jack, is this your first relationship?"

"Wha-? No. Dude, I'm nineteen." Jack spluttered.

"Okay okay, just asking. So what is it?"

Jack bit his lip. "Well, it's my first time being with another guy…"

"That's it?" Hiccup looked surprised, but also relieved. "Damn, I was getting scared that you already had a partner and you were cheating or something. Everyone has to have a first though, right? So have you had many girlfriends before?"

"Are exes really the best topic to discuss on a first date?" Jack smirked, taking a step to the side and starting up a new waltz for the two.

"No, I guess not." Hiccup looked down. "Oh but c'mon, I'm nosey."

Jack laughed at the silly face Hiccup was pulling and then frowned, trying to think back as far as he could. "Well, technically I got married to a girl in my class in second grade. Is that a problem?"

"I don't see a ring."

"Well, we unofficially broke up after she started playing kiss chase every day with some kid called Jim. I was heartbroken to say the least. I think I actually stayed home for a few days because I was so distraught."

"What a cheater." Hiccup smirked. "Any other heartbreakers I should know about?"

"Well, I dated a few girls in middle school, and one in secondary school, but they were all just like two week tops kinda things…"

"So the last time you dated someone was in secondary school?"

Jack nodded, the realisation of how long that had actually been just starting to dawn on him, "Damn, that's almost four years…"

Jack took a few seconds just looking at the ground, shocked at that fact, before glancing up again to see Hiccup smiling. "Well, what about you then? Any evil exes I need to watch out for?"

"Nah, no evil ones…" Hiccup laughed, leaning back in his chair and directed his eyes up to the clouds. "Believe it or not, I've only actually had two partners before. Both guys and both douchebags in the end."

Jack didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet.

"So you've never dated a guy before, but you're definitely not straight? Are you bi or…?" Hiccup tilted his head, but remained staring at the sky.

"No, I'm not bi. Or straight." Jack gulped down a huge lump in his throat. "I'm definitely gay. I just- I guess I didn't believe I was, or I didn't want to believe I was."

"Why?" Hiccup asked after a few seconds.

"Uh, I dunno, I guess I just- my friends aren't really- they wouldn't-"

"I get it. Coming out is hard." Hiccup paused for a moment, a small smile creeping up on his face, "Heh, as far as my Dad knows, I'm straight as a ruler and currently living with my 'girlfriend', Heather."

"Really?" Jack asked, eyebrows scrunching up. "How'd you get away with that?"

"Well, I don't really speak to him that much anymore. Only on Christmas and my mum's birthday really…" He shrugged. "Heather's not my girlfriend by the way. She's actually just a girl from my work, but she's in on it. Y'know, whenever Dad calls, wanting to meet up with his 'future daughter-in-law', she comes up with an excuse and talks to him on the phone for me. She's cool… My Dad's a bit of a prick actually."

"Oh."

"Damn, I'm sorry. Way to put a downer on the atmosphere, eh?" Hiccup laughed. "But anyway, uh, so you're not out to anyone at all?"

Jack swallowed. "Uh, no, not yet really. I mean I kinda told my best friend, but he, well I think he already knew, which is weird 'cos he's not really the perceptive type." He paused, lips scrunching up for a second. "Actually now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure all my friends know…"

"What makes you say that?"

"They're not stupid…. And out of all the girls in our group, none of them ever treat me like they do with the rest of the guys. Y'know, they're the tough lads and I'm always the 'sensitive' one."

"Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No, guess not."

The two spent another five minutes or so talking and laughing at the derpy ornithomimus before heading back inside. Jack's bag could only fit two of the dinosaurs safely so between them, they had to carry Theo, Tom and Nigel back through the pier arcades. This definitely earned them several confused and mesmerised stares from parents with small children. Luckily, as they walked through the games and rides, they didn't see the security guard anywhere. He must've gotten bored of looking for them.

"Wanna go on any rides before we go?" Hiccup asked, once they'd reached the center of the arcade and could see everything all around them.

Jack thought for a second, gripping his shoulder strap and turning his head owlishly, looking at all the rides. "Hmm, how about the go-karts?" He said after a while, pointing with his eyes up at the race track that ran past over their heads.

"Of course you'd pick the furthest one to get to…" Hiccup sighed, but Jack could tell he was joking as he shifted the two dinosaurs in his arms and held out his hand for Jack to take. "C'mon then."

It took three escalator rides and a long walk around the top floor of the three storey pier to get to the queue for the go-kart track, and even when they did, they had to wait for another ten minutes in said queue. Hiccup chatted animatedly to the woman running the ride while Jack leaned on the railings, watching the cars speed past at insane speeds every thirty seconds or so. The track wasn't very long so it took about half a minute for each kart to do a lap, and Jack soon found himself keeping time of a particular green car as it was driven around and around by a guy with brown hair and big, round glasses.

32 seconds.

The car zoomed off for another lap.

30 seconds.

Another lap.

29 seconds.

Off he went again.

36 seconds.

Hmm, what had happened that time around?

He was about twenty seconds into the next lap when Hiccup tapped his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"C'mon, it says we can get into the cars now." He was gesturing to a glowing sign above the line of cars which was flashing with the words, Get ready to race!

There were nine go-karts altogether ready to go, and Hiccup and Jack clambered into the third and fourth ones. Strangely enough, Hiccup's was blue with a number 18 painted on it and Jack's was green with a number 22. In front of Jack was Hiccup's car, then two more, containing the two halves of a couple who were waving and laughing to each other from their seats.

Jack waved as Hiccup turned around and grinned at him.

"Seatbelt!" Jack called, and Hiccup's face disappeared again as he did it. Jack strapped his own seatbelt on and then waited, staring up at the sign, which was flashing with a red traffic light sign, as the other cars from the previous race came back into the line up beside them. The guy Jack had been timing pulled up beside Hiccup and as the man climbed out of the green car, he gave the two of them a thumbs up.

"The race will be starting in 3, 2…"

Oh god, Jack wasn't ready. He gripped the steering wheel and ghosted his foot over the gas pedal, ready for the green light.

"...1! Go!"

The three cars ahead of Jack revved loudly and sped off up the starter hill, Jack following closely. In all honesty, he'd been expected the cars to be a little faster. His wish was suddenly granted however, when he finished his first lap and saw the woman running the ride press a button on her control panel. Every car on the track was immediately struck with a burst of extra speed and they shot off, some spinning out of control at the random acceleration. Jack passed the car that had been in first place, which was stuck bonnet-first in a bed of tyres. Now it was just him, Hiccup and the other car in front. He could hear the five other engines roaring behind him, but paid them no mind.

If there was one thing Jack was good at, it was racing, be it on Mario Kart or an actual track like this.

Approaching the first big corner, he drifted effortlessly around it, failing to stifle a smug grin when a few people stood in the queue stared with open mouths.

Hiccup's bumper was getting closer and closer. Each turn brought it a few feet back, and finally on the corner that had spun out the first car, Jack managed to sidle his car right up next to Hiccup's.

"Hey there!" He called, giving a little salute as he floored the gas and boosted away from his boyfriend.

"What? How did-?!" Hiccup yelled, but his cry fell on deaf ears as Jack sped away, gaining more and more distance away from Hiccup.

Only one guy left ahead of him now…

He could win this.

Jack floored the gas, seeing the corner ahead of him getting closer and closer. He had a plan. It was a risky plan, for sure, but if he did it right, he'd win this race in the most epic way possible. As he continued to hurtle down the track at the same speed as the car in front, Jack's mind was whirring, trying to pinpoint the perfect moment to execute his idea. Then it hit him.

The first corner. It was definitely wide enough for Jack to overtake, but that wasn't what he wanted to do, no. Jack needed to undertake this sucker. He'd never see that coming. In theory, if Jack was to undertake him on the left as the corner took them right and then pass him on the right when he tried to get himself going straight again. The maths sounded impossible, but imagining it in his head, it also sounded freaking awesome. Like something out of an action movie, but without the explosions… hopefully.

"Three." Jack counted down, narrowing his eyes at the back of the guys kart. "Two." He swerved a little to the left, readying himself to undertake. "One!" And Jack floored it as the other racer braked for the corner.

"-the hell?!" Jack heard him yell as he passed him effortlessly and drifted down the ramp past the queue again. More open mouthed stares followed him and a few of the spectators even cheered and clapped for him. Jack laughed and couldn't get rid of the shit eating grin off his face as he continued to hurtle around the track at a breakneck speed. The racer he'd stolen first place from was still hot on his tail, sending plenty of choice insults his way, none of which were suitable for young ears. Glancing over his shoulder at the guy, Jack was slightly surprised when he was met with the glaring face of a large man in his thirties, maybe older, with a potato shaped head and ratty features.

"Final lap!" The woman running the ride announced over the megaphone and to Jack's dismay, his kart suddenly slowed down to the same speed it had been going when they'd first started. He started to zigzag across the track, in an attempt to keep the Ratman from overtaking, but it seemed like his kart had been slowed down too because he didn't pass.

Eventually, Jack pulled himself into the starting bay, in first place, and unclipped his seatbelt. As he waited for the announcement telling them it was safe to get out, he waved to the people queueing, who were still cheering for him. Jack briefly wondered what place Hiccup had come in, when they were told to exit the starting bay. He climbed out of the kart, nearly forgetting his phone when it fell out of his pocket and onto the seat, and looked back for Hiccup.

There, just one behind Ratman. He'd come third. Nice!

Speaking of Ratman though…

He was fixing Jack with such a glare that Jack actually felt a shiver run down his spine as he stepped aside to let him pass. Either his shoulders were broad beyond his control or he was just an asshole, because as he passed, he barged hard right into Jack, nearly knocking him back onto the track.

"Hey Jack, y'alright?" Hiccup caught his arm and helped to pull him upright again, sending Ratman's back a dirty look. "What a dick. But dude, you seriously thrashed it out there. How are you so good at this?"

"Dunno, everybody's good at something, right? Guess this is my thing…" Jack tried to laugh it off too, but what that guy did was really bothering him. He watched the back of his head disappear through the crowd as he stormed off and seemed to head straight for the exit to the promenade.

"Hey, excuse me?" Jack's attention was snapped back by a voice, the ride operator lady's, "You just broke the all time track record! Congratulations! You've earned a place up on the records wall." She gestured to a dry-wipe leaderboard behind her. "Can I take your name?"

"Uh- Jack. Jack Frost." He stammered, unsure whether to be pleased or worried still, about Ratman, who could now potentially have access to his name.

"Jack, that's awesome!" Hiccup chattered excitedly as they left the track and headed down to the ground level. "I didn't even know there was a leaderboard, but you're on it now, and that's really cool!"

"Yeah, it is." Jack tried to sound enthusiastic, but he couldn't keep the crack out of his voice. Truth be told, he was freaking out about that guy. On the track, he'd been super confident. In his element. Untouchable. But now, without the defense of the metal go kart and energy that seemed to come from being there, Jack was back to being his anxious, awkward self. He was secretly praying that he wouldn't bump into Ratman again while they were here, because a confrontation with that guy, not on the race track, definitely wouldn't end well for Jack.

"Hey." Jack was anchored back to the world by Hiccup's hand sliding into his, fingers curling together as they walked. "Don't worry about that guy. He's just a jerk with nothing better to do than beat teenagers at funfair games. And he couldn't even beat you, could he?"

"Exactly." Jack grumbled, but squeezed Hiccup's hand tighter anyway. "Thanks."

"You still got our dinosaurs?" Hiccup tilted his head towards the bag as they boarded the escalator down.

"Yup, all five." Jack counted and then struggled for a few seconds to close the bag again, almost tripping up at the bottom of the stairs in the process. "Smooth…"

"Where to next, then?" Hiccup asked when they'd reached the front doors, and were looking out onto the promenade back to the town. "I could totally go for lunch now if you're up for it?"

"Lunch sounds like a good plan." Jack nodded, checking his phone for the time. But- "Wait, shit, where's my phone?"

"What?"

"My phone. It was in my pocket, and now it's gone!" Jack threw his bag off and started rummaging through it, patting down all his pockets and getting himself into a bit of a frenzy trying to find it. "I can't find it!"

"Where did you last have it?" Hiccup gripped Jack's hand again, effectively calming him down a little.

"Um, I nearly left it on the kart seat, but I picked it up and put it in my jean pocket," he tapped the pocket again, "And now it's not there!"

"Okay okay. Calm down. Panicking isn't going to help at all. We'll find it. We'll just retrace your steps."

Jack nodded. "Right, Okay. Yeah… What is the time anyway?"

"Almost four thirty. Don't worry, there's still half an hour until the pier closes. We'll find your phone."

"Yeah."

"Okay. We'll have a better chance of finding it if we split up, y'know, cover more ground? I'll head up to the race track again and talk to the ride operator, see if she found anything. You retrace your steps on this floor and the escalator. Look everywhere. If you did drop it, it might've been kicked somewhere or pushed under a game machine or something. Meet back here in fifteen minutes unless one of us find it, yeah?"

Jack nodded, impressed by Hiccup's authority in the situation. "Okay. See you in a bit then."

Hiccup gave his hand one last squeeze and then dashed off up the escalator to the top floor, leaving Jack on his own.

With a bag full of dinosaurs…

"Okay. C'mon, Jack. Retrace your steps." He mumbled to himself as he started walking back the exact route they'd taken on their way down from the go karts. Whenever he got to a machine, he bent down to check underneath it, but every time, found nothing.

Jack simply couldn't comprehend how he'd managed to lose his phone. He always kept it in his back jean pocket, and it never ever fell out, so why would it today of all days? Unless-

Unless it didn't fall out. Unless it was taken out by someone. Someone who'd bumped into him, hard, and on purpose. Ratman.

"Shiiiit." Jack hissed under his breath, scanning around, looking for any sign of the potato shaped head. He could be outside…

Where the water is. Jack paused halfway through a step as the thought came flooding over him. Out on the promenade, he'd been scared shitless of standing anywhere near the edge of the pier. Having Hiccup with him had been the only thing keeping him grounded and clear of having some form of breakdown right there and then. He wasn't sure he could go out there on his own.

But for his phone…

No, screw the phone, Jack needed to get over himself here. There was nothing wrong with water. It's not like he was gonna get anywhere near it anyway. The pier itself was raised about thirty feet above the sea level. And it wasn't even that deep.

He didn't think so, anyway.

Gathering up his bag and dinosaur backup, Jack headed swiftly for the side door, where he could see nothing but blue for miles. Ugh…

Stepping out onto the promenade, he glanced about. And there they were.

Damn it, why did he have to be right about Ratman?

He was there, leaning up against the railings over the water, with two other guys just as big and rodent-resembling as him. And they were all looking at Jack. Even at this distance, Jack saw Ratman raise an eyebrow as he pulled a phone from his pocket and began playing with it.

His phone. That bastard.

Ratman said something, but the wind, which seemed to have suddenly picked up dramatically, blocked off any sound.

"What?" Jack called, taking a few steps closer to them, completely taken aback by his own courage.

Ratman smirked and held the phone up. "This what yer lookin' for?"

"That's mine." Jack was only a few meters from the men now, and the height difference between them and him was extremely apparent now. They all had at least a foot and a half on him. "Give it back." Jack tried to sound confident, but every syllable shook.

"Or what?" Ratman sneered.

"Or…" Jack trailed. Fuck. What was he doing? Ratman's goons had taken Jack's moment of confusion to circle back around him and now he was stuck in a triangle, surrounded by the guys. "Or uh-"

"That's what I thought." Ratman laughed. "Okay, now here's what's gonna happen here. You're gonna give us yer bag and any cash you've got on you, and we're not gonna beat you to next week. That sound fair to you?"

"Oh fuck…" Jack breathed, his voice trembling horribly. Before he had a chance to say anything though, he'd had his legs kicked out from under him and one of the guys had ripped his bag away from him. Jack landed hard on his back on the wooden planks, and barely had time to open his eyes again before a sharp pain erupted from his side. After landing a few kicks to Jack's stomach to shut him up, Ratman pulled Jack up by the hair and covered his mouth with his giant hand, gripping his neck with the other hand while the other two rummaged through his bag.

Jack could feel hot tears forming in his eyes, but refused to let them fall. His stomach felt like it was on fire and he was shuddering with every tiny breath he managed to draw in through that meaty hand over his face.

"He ain't got much, Yama. Twenty quid and a load of stuffed toys." One of the guys reported, turning his bag upside down and letting the contents scatter out onto the planks. Out came five dinosaurs, his wallet, keys, headphones and- "Well well, what's this?"

Ratman- or Yama? Bent over and scooped up Jack's pen-knife, the one North had given him for emergencies, and flipped it open, brandishing the blade far too close to Jack's face for his liking.

"What's a scrawny little pussy like you doin' with a knife then, eh?" Yama hissed into his ear. "You could get hurt, y'know." He ran the blade gently along Jack's cheek, not hard enough to break skin. Jack was struggling violently now though, thrashing about and trying to scream and bite through the hand gagging him into silence. If he could get someone to hear him-

"Shut it!" Yama growled, and to Jack's horror, began dragging him across the promenade towards the railings.

"N- no, pl-s!" Jack cried, muffled by Yama's hand. Yama seemed to understand what Jack was so afraid of and a mean smile played on his lips as he lifted Jack clear off his feet and dangled his top half over the railings, above the crashing waves below.

"Aww, is the little pussy scared of the water?" He cackled, pushing Jack's head further down, so he was almost upside down over the edge.

Jack was trying his hardest not to pass out from fear. He had his eyes shut tight, but somehow, the sounds of the waves and the horrid salty smell of seawater just made him feel sick to his stomach, which was already in a lot of pain from being kicked in and then bent over a railing.

"Jack!" He heard a yell from somewhere behind him, or would that be, above him? He desperately tried to twist out of Yama's grip on his face so he could shout for help.

"Let go of him!" The same voice shouted again.

Finally, the sweaty hand released him, but unfortunately that meant that Yama was no longer supporting Jack's head and it fell further forward, smacking against the railings.

"Hic-! Help me!" He cried, blinking through a throbbing pain in his forehead. He couldn't see what was going on above him, but from the grunts and insistent swaying that seemed to be happening, Hiccup was putting up some kind of a fight for him.

"Jack, hold on!"

"-to what?!" Jack coughed in response as something wet filled his mouth. His vision went black for a second and he was only jolted back to sight when he felt his body lurch forward, and suddenly the hold on his legs vanished.

And he was falling.

Hiccup

A satisfying crack sound resonated from the first guys face as Hiccup's fist smashed into it, and at the same time, he delivered a hard kick to another who was trying to sneak up behind him.

"Jack, hold on!" he found the breath in him to yell out as he surged forward towards him and the huge man holding his legs.

"-to what?!" was the horrified reply, and Hiccup noticed with a jolt of panic that Jack's nose was bloody and his hair was beginning to turn red.

Hiccup's own vision turned red as he stared hard at this bastard still holding Jack over the railings. What the hell did he want with Jack? And what would he have done if Hiccup hadn't intervened?

"Don't move." The man, who looked remarkably like a rat, ordered. "One more step and I push him over." The man punctuated this threat by allowing Jack's legs to slip an inch or so through his arms.

Hiccup gasped as he saw Jack's eyes snap open and dart wildly about before-

"Shit-!" The guy cursed as Jack's legs fully fell through and over the edge of the balcony. Hiccup only had time to sprint forward and yell his name before Jack's scream was cut off by a chilling splash.

...

Is an explanation of my absence necessary? I think it probably is. I'm an adult now. I got a car for my 18th birthday. I got another job. I went on a school trip to London on the week of the Westminster attack. I went on a Harry Potter pub crawl. I became obsessed with the Gorillaz again. I started to doubt every plan I've ever had about my future. And I've realised that my 'friends' really aren't the nicest bunch of people.

I've been busy. But I have a new computer now, courtesy of my awesome squeeze, so I don't really have an excuse now (other than that I'm not all that motivated to write these days).

Hope you liked this one anyway, and pls drop me a review letting me know you all still exist. xx