Jack turned away from Hiccup with a huge grin on his face, scampering gleefully to his friends to show off that he had, indeed, gotten the cute brunette's number.

"And his name's Hiccup of all things!" Jack cheered.

"Hiccup? That's an odd name. Is it some kind of cultural thing or what?" one of them asked.

"Dunno. Thought it would be rude to ask, seeing as how I first met him twenty minutes ago."

"Aah. True. Nice thinking! Wouldn't want to scare him off right away." Said the same man.

"Don't 'cha worry about that. Jackie here will manage to scare him off well before the first date!" Yelled another man. This caused quite a few of the group to laugh.

"Oh shut up, Aster! At least I can get a date, unlike you these days." Jack responded with evil eyes shortly before throwing ice at Aster.

"Just because I haven't been on one recently doesn't mean I can't get one Jackie. There's a big distinction there." Aster laid out, matter-of-factly.

"Right. You keep saying that, old man."

Jack's shift went on much like this until about 1am. It was nearing bar close and many people were scrambling to get their last drink in before heading home.

"Here you go, your gin and tonic." Jack said, handing a drink off to the man in front of him.

"Thanks – Ah!" The glass slipped out of his hand, spilling all over Jack. "Shit, I'm sorry man!"

What the fuck… So close to close too… Dick. "It's alright, I'll get you a new one."

Jack made the drink again and made sure the man fully grasped it this time before letting him take it.

"Here, I'm sorry for that." The man said and handed him a $10 note.

"Thanks. Don't worry about it. No harm done."

An hour later and Jack was on his way home, excited to change, but even more excited to text Hic-

Wait.

No. No no no.

Jack quickly dug his hand into his pocket.

No NO NO NO! The napkin Hiccup had written his number on was soaked and partially deteriorated form all the jostling around after the spill.

"SHIT!" Jack yelled, not caring anymore that it was the middle of the night and he was surrounded by homes and apartments.

He unfolded it as best as he could without ruining it more. The numbers were still there, but were extremely smudged and all but unreadable in the shoddy light provided by the few streetlights that weren't burned out. He held on to the napkin in a way that wouldn't damage it and ran towards his apartment.

Once inside he flipped on the light and tried to read it. Out of the 10 numbers that were originally there, maybe 6 were readable. "DAMN IT ALL! Of ALL the nights to leave my phone at home!" Jack shouted.

He quickly made his way to his room and started up his laptop. Come ooooon you dumb thing. Hurry up!

Logging on to facebook as quickly as possible, Jack began searching hard for Hiccup. Thankfully, there weren't many Hiccup Haddocks in the world. Finding his man, he opened his page to find that the last time Hiccup updated was 3 years ago. Shit! Come ON! He's gonna think I forgot about him or stood him up or some shit like that!

Despite the lack of activity Jack messaged him anyways. 'Hey Hiccup! It's Jack. Some drunk guy spilled his drink on me and the napkin with your number got soaked. I hope you see this! I'm not trying to stand you up, I really want to go on our date!' Please find that, Hiccup.

Jack went back to where he left the napkin in his kitchen, writing down the numbers that he could understand on a different sheet of paper. If I can just guess what the other ones are, or try to make out what the missing ones could be, I can text him and avoid this whole mess.

He stared at the napkin and made guesses for the next fifteen minutes before finally forcing himself to go to bed due to the fact he hit his head on the counter when he nodded off. Stripping off his gross clothes he showered briefly and went to sleep. The whole while cursing himself for not thinking of taking the napkin out of his pocket and putting it somewhere safe.

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The next day during school Jack could barely focus on his lectures. Well, he could almost never focus on his lectures anyways. So today was just decidedly worse. He kept running the number through his mind & trying to come up with other ways he could contact Hiccup. From hoping that he would come back to the bar to searching campus for the skinny brunette, Jack was ready to do what he needed to do to tell Hiccup what happened.

It's not like I'm obsessed with the guy, Jack reasoned with himself. It's just that it must look like I'm standing him up and ignoring him, which I can't let slide. Anyways, he probably feels worse than I do, and that's not okay. Even if he's still mad at me for this and doesn't want to go on our date, that's fine.

These thoughts and feelings possessed him the next two days, driving him half mad.

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"So yeah! He's going to text me tonight after work and we're going to set up a date! I even gave him my number on a napkin. Totally cliché, but whatever." Hiccup gleefully cheered while walking home with Astrid.

"Dude, that just seems too good to be true. I'm excited for you! And also, I'm totally with you, that guy was hot. What did you say his name was?"

"Jack Frost."

"Nice name! Suits him."

"Yeah!"

"So what do you think you want to do for your date? Go with the boring but safe dinner and a movie?"

"Ya know, I haven't given that one much thought. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, like I said. There are always the safe bets. Movies, food, coffee. But if you're going for something more interesting, there are art galleries, amusement parks, paintballing arenas, you name it."

"Paintballing, Astrid? Are you serious? Oh, hey new date! Do you want to go shoot each other? It'll be fun! It only hurts like hell!"

Astrid punched Hiccup in the shoulder, "Oh shut up, fishbone. Yes it is fun. It's one of my favorite first date ideas, thank you very much."

"Very appropriate for you," Hiccup deadpanned. "And after that will it be ultimate fighting or something?"

"Well it depends on the person, but there may be some wrestling involved," Astrid joked and waggled her eyebrows at Hiccup.

"Oh, GODS Astrid! Do you ever stop being like this?"

"Sometimes when I'm sleeping. Otherwise, no."

Hiccup pulled out his key and unlocked his door, them having arrived as Astrid made her lewd remark. They set up a bed for Astrid on the couch and then sat up chatting for maybe another hour.

Hiccup kept checking his phone, waiting for Jack's message. Huh. Maybe he just had to stay late.

"Hey, Astrid. I gotta turn in. I can't keep my eyes open."

"Sounds good. See you in the morning." She said before laying down and covering up.

"Goodnight," Hiccup said with a smile before turning out the light and heading to his room. He stared at his phone and thought about everything that happened for another 10 minutes before he passed out.

The next morning he got up, checked his phone, and felt a little disheartened to see no text yet. Maybe he forgot about me… "No. He must have just fallen asleep once he was home or something. It's fine," he whispered to himself, trying to shove away the negative thoughts.

He got ready for the day and ate breakfast with Astrid before she headed home as well.

"Text me when Jack texts you. I want to know every detail, Hiccup."

"Yes Ma'am," he said with a two finger salute.

Hiccup was distracted for the rest of the day, constantly keeping an eye on his phone, which he usually never did in class. Those nagging thoughts in the back of his mind kept getting louder and louder, bothering him more and more.

He stood you up, Hiccup. He never wanted to go on a date with you.

You saw how he immediately went to his friends. He was telling them about how he tricked you.

Shouldn't have trusted him, Hiccup. Trusting strangers is what got you into trouble, wasn't it? This is your fault, anyways.

When he got home he was blank. Not necessarily sad. More along the lines of unresponsive. He wouldn't let it bother him. It wasn't real to begin with. It's not like people actually liked him or how he looked, anyways.

The next two days passed with a remarkable amount of averageness. Nothing was great, nothing sucked. They just happened. He was mad at Jack for standing him up, but he couldn't blame him. He knew that he wasn't worth dating, that he wasn't pretty enough for someone as great looking as Jack. So Hiccup decided to just forget about him. No use worrying about something that couldn't be changed.

Hiccup spent most of his nights in the art studio once all the students were gone. Doing his homework and painting to ease his mind, as always.

Anna noticed the change in Hiccup's demeanor. How he suddenly became quieter and then seemed a bit bitter as well as unresponsive. She decided that she would pull Hiccup aside after class and ask him what was wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thursday.

I have to find him today. I have to… Jack thought to himself almost immediately after waking up. Maybe I am being a little bit obsessed.

Well, he was cute.

Yeah, and he must think you're a dick. Good luck getting a date now.

True… I just need to let him know what the deal is. That's all I want.

Jack's internal argument matched that of the previous 3 days. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he was close to giving up his search for the cute brunette.

He prepared himself for the day, showering and then dressing in some comfortable brown jeans and his favorite light blue hoodie. Ready for the day, he began his walk to class.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Why am I even thinking about him anymore? It's not worth it and I know that. Just FORGET damnit.

Ugh… I just want to know why he did it. To know exactly what I did wrong. Or if he really is just a dick.

Hiccup made his way to class and did thanked the gods for distractions. He had always been able to get his mind off of things by just tuning thought out and doing something. Engineering classes, although not as good as art, still helped him push away thoughts of the white haired bartender.

Class let out early for once and Hiccup meticulously packed his items, as always, and left to find a nice place to sit before his next lecture started. He left the classroom and made his way towards the nearest exit of the building but was rudely interrupted when someone ran into him. Hard. It was unfortunately on his left side, so when he stepped back to catch himself, he instead slipped and fell quite hard on his back. His backpack, thankfully, saved him from hitting his head on the ground –

But MAN did that hurt my ass!

"Hey, watch where you're goi- You!" Hiccup yelled in surprise.

A taller man stood above him, looking down, concerned, at the toppled Hiccup.

Aaron. Why, gods, why did it have to be this douche.

"Are you okay? Sorry, man. I didn't expect you to fall."

"Well when you run into someone, that kinda tends to happen." Hiccup shot back, a little short due to the angst of the previous three days.

"I didn't mean to knock you over. I saw you coming and I just wanted to get your attention and talk to you again."

Hiccup was dumbfounded. "Really. REALLY! Yeah, because the best way to get someone's attention is to slam into them and knock them over," Hiccup was yelling at this point as well as pulling himself up, slapping away the hand Aaron offered to him for help. "How wonderful. I'm just so blessed to attract douchebags left and right. And no, Aaron, I do not want to talk to you. Not now, not ever again. In fact, I'd prefer it if you actively avoided me from now on and stay the hell out of my life."

With that, Hiccup stormed off, leaving an angry Aaron behind him.

Rounding the corner and almost to the exit, Hiccup heard someone running towards him and turned around scathingly saying, "What the Hell did I just say-"

But the words caught in his throat when he actually saw who was running towards him.

"Jack?!" Hiccup was in disbelief.

"Hiccup, I'm so glad I found you, I – "

"Jack, I really don't want to hear it," Hiccup interrupted. "I don't care why you stood me up and I don't want to hear you apologize. Just leave me alone." He turned and began walking quickly away.

Ignoring Hiccup, Jack gushed, "Hiccup the napkin with your number got destroyed and I tried messaging you on Facebook but it didn't work and I've been searching for you for the past three days and I really want to give you the whole story and tell you that I'm sorry!"

Hiccup paused.

Slowly turning to face Jack again, he said lightly, "What?" He stared unwaveringly into Jack's eyes, searching for any hint of a lie.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Jack asked softly.

"Yeah. I think that would be good." Hiccup agreed breathily.

They made their way wordlessly to the nearest table where they sat across from each other.

"So Hiccup, let me start by saying how horrible I feel that I haven't been able to tell you what happened. I've been searching you since Sunday night and I'm glad I finally found you."

Hiccup nodded along to what Jack was saying, giving him the space and silence necessary so that he could explain himself.

"After you left some ass spilled his drink on me, soaking the napkin. I didn't think to take it out of my pocket and by the time I got home it was pretty much destroyed. I messaged you on Facebook but you hadn't been on in years so it was a longshot. Since then I've been watching for you on campus and was hoping to run into you to tell you all this." Jack took a breath and looked Hiccup straight in the eyes. "I never wanted to stand you up like this. I feel like such a genuine dick and I'm so sorry Hiccup. I really am. If you don't want to go on our date or even talk anymore, I totally understand."

Hiccup processed this all for a few seconds, surprised all of this had been caused by a simple spilled drink. He does seem genuinely sorry for losing my number. I usually wouldn't trust a word he's saying, but… Hiccup took a deep breath and let it out, ceasing his thoughts.

Looking again at Jack, he said, "Alright. I believe you. I still am totally stressed by everything that happened, especially seeing that douchelord Aaron again, but it's good to hear this is all just a huge mistake."

"Yeah, that's totally understandable. And you know what the worst part is? I have about 6 numbers that survived the spill. I was so close to being able to text you."

"Give me your phone." Hiccup demanded.

"What, why?"

"Just give me it!"

"Okay…"

Hiccup took it from Jack and quickly put in his number. "There. Now you have my number." He smiled wryly, "This time, make sure to text me. And don't let some douche get your phone wet."

Jack's face split into a huge smile, "Awesome, I definitely will text you this time, I promise. And if you don't mind me asking, who was that Aaron guy?"

"Ugh… Just some entitled, snobby douchebag who I had the misfortune of sharing a drink with at the bar," Hiccup said with a grimace.

"Oh how wonderful. Yeah, there are way too many of those around. I definitely see too many of them at the bar."

"I'd bet."

"Good thing I skimp on the alcohol in their drinks. If they're going to be a douche, they're going to get the stick."

"Wait, you really do that?"

"Oh absolutely. I'd be willing to bet most bartenders do the same. Give the good people a little more and the bad ones less."

"Huh. I suppose that makes sense. Yeah, I'd probably do that."

"So…" Jack began sheepishly, "Do you think you'd still like to go on our date? If you don't want to we don't have to. I absolutely get it."

Hiccup smiled and softly said, "Of course, Jack. I'm still upset that something stupid like this happened, but it wasn't your fault at all. So yeah. I'd still like to go on a date with you sometime."

Jack nearly started bouncing with joyful energy, a huge smile spreading across his face, "Really?! Yes! God I'm so relieved!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the display. "Are you always this full of energy? Because if it is, I'm not too sure about dating you anymore." Hiccup deadpanned, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, like you're not excited, Mr Stoic and cool." Jack shot back, not missing a beat. A thoughtful expression suddenly crossed his face. "Wait. Why haven't I run into you before in there? I'm always walking through the building about now. Did your class get out early or something?"

"Yep. You got it." Hiccup smirked, "It must have been fate, my bonny lass."

"Oh so now you're making fun of me, huh? Are you always going to be like that? Cause if so, then I'm totally sure about this date."

Hiccup smiled at Jack's play on his own words, choosing not to respond but just to shrug.

Jack walked to Hiccup's side of the table. "Stand up."

"Why?"

"I said, stand up!"

"Fine, Mr Bossy" Hiccup said while rising from his seat.

As soon as Hiccup was up Jack hugged him. Hiccup, not expecting a hug at all, tensed up and wouldn't have been able to respond if he wanted to. Thankfully Jack had pinned his arms down, eliminating that chance anyways.

Jack released him, smiled, and said, "I'm just so relieved that I finally ran into you and cleared this up." He blushed and scratched the back of his head, "Sorry if that was forward… I just really wanted to hug you."

Hiccup blushed and met Jack's eyes. A small smile teased at his lips. "Thank you, Jack. I'm glad you did too," he said, only just above a whisper.

God, he's cute. Both of the boys thought at the exact same time.

Hiccup looked at his phone then up at Jack, "Hey Jack, I have to get to my next class. I'm already a bit late."

"Oh! For sure, get going. I'll text you for real this time."

"Good," Hiccup said while taking a few steps away. He paused. "I'm glad you found me, Jack."

"Me too, Hiccup. Now get going. I can't make you miss class on my account."

Hiccup smiled and made his way towards the arts building, feeling much lighter than before.