Speech and Debate and Fake Boyfriends

Jack flopped down in one of the uncomfortable green, plastic chairs at his team's table. The noise in the front hall was deafening. The static background of shuffling of papers, overlaid with the clicking of high heels, talking, laughing, and shouting. To Jack the noise was home, a comfort. He loved the chaos of a speech meet; the constant activity, everyone rushing about, not to mention the camaraderie. Jack smiled leaning back.

"How did your round go, Frost?" A girl with brightly colored hair perched on the table in front of Jack. She leaned forward smiling at him.

"Hey, Tooth, I totally killed it. My judge was rolling, like full on belling laughing at my piece. How was oratory?"

"My piece is still the most unique, and I think it's been a real edge at this meet."

"Well of course, only you would think to write about unfair beauty standards with a focus on teeth." Jack smiled good naturedly. Tooth's piece was like nothing he'd seen before, but it wasn't nearly as boring as it sounded.

"They bumped back D rounds again." Jamie, one of Jack's best friends, groaned as he pulled up a chair. "Congress is apparently taking for ever."

"When doesn't Congress?" Jack said rolling his eyes. "How much time are they giving it?"

"Twenty minutes!" Jamie punctuated his exclamation with a huffy breath.

"I'm going to go socialize then." Jack stood, scanning the other team's tables.

"Haven't you made friends with everyone yet?" Tooth asked.

"Not quite, I'm getting there." Jack joked back. "See you guys."

Jack took off for the Berk table. He had been trying to befriend one of their team members for months. For a speech kid he seemed almost shy; or maybe he just thought Jack was weird. The little Berkian had been in several of his humor rounds and he always managed to get a laugh out of Jack. He was utterly hilarious, his facial expression, his deadpan yet nasally voice, his wild shoulder shrugging, and hand waving made his pieces exceptionally funny. Jack had been drawn to him since the first time he had seen Haddock perform.

He dodged and weaved between people, keeping the distinctive auburn hair in sight. He ducked under a poetry kid's gesturing arm, slipped between a duo practicing, and walked right into someone.

His first thought was; 'Wow way to go, Jack!' He looked up at the person he had rudely crashed into -an apology on his tongue.

"Oh shit."

"Hello, Jack."

"Hey…Elsa."

Elsa was as beautiful as ever. Confident in her navy blue suit jacket and pencil skirt. He realised begrudgingly that her heels made her taller than him. Elsa held herself with confidence. She had her shoulders back and her back was ramrod straight. She gave off a very stiff air, one with which Jack was familiar.

She looked down her nose at him with something that might have been affection. "Jack, I'm glad we ran into each other. I wanted to let you know that I forgive you. I think we should get back together." Elsa never beat around the bush.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea, Elsa. We're just so different. I'd like to be friends again if you want though."

Elsa nodded like she knew that's what he was going to say. "I don't think we're as different as you think, Jack. I've missed you, I know you have to be lonely. Please consider it?"

She knew he was weak for a kind person in need: Elsa really hadn't been a bad girlfriend. Jack was quickly forgetting why they broke up in the first place. "Well I mean…"

She smiled at him and he could've sworn she could charm anyone into anything. Jack's resolve was slipping. He really shouldn't do this. But he had been lonely without her, maybe he actually should do this. He opened his mouth to tell her just that.

"I'm dating someone else."

That was not what he meant to say at all.

"You are?" The amount of surprise was kind of offensive.

"Yeah, uh, sorry. I met someone, and it's great, we're great." Jack had considered taking back his words, but that would have been embarrassing. The memories of dating Elsa came rushing back. She never wanted to go on adventures, she preferred to stay home. She always seemed disappointed in Jack, he was too immature for her or something. She was a great girl though. She was intelligent, beautiful, and confident in herself. But being with her was more lonely than not having a girlfriend at all. She had -without meaning to- kept Jack isolated and lonesome.

"Oh, uhm, cool then. Can I meet her?"

"No!" Jack scrambled to recover. "B-because it's a dude." Jack must have a serious case of Foot-In-Mouth syndrome because he was just digging this hole deeper.

Jack had thought about the possibility of being bisexual but he had never explored it fully. He figured that he didn't have to label himself and would just figure it out on a person by person basis. He didn't really think much of it. He had crushes on exclusively girls before so he knew that much. Recently he had felt like he could possibly be developing feelings for someone different, a boy someone. Jack decided that was fine with him. But he hadn't really thought it would come to fruition.

"Okay, well can I meet him then?"

"Absolutely, totally. Yeah of course. Let me just go get him!" Elsa's eyes narrowed she could tell Jack was bullshitting her. But she didn't say anything.

"Yep let me just.." Jack hurried off to find someone willing to be his fake boyfriend.

Jack almost accidentally tackled Haddock when he got to him. "Uh hi. Hello. Hey. I'm uh Jack, Jackson Overland. You're Haddock right?''

"Hikke Haddock, yes that's me. You're in humor right?" Haddock took a causal step back away from Jack, brushing off the front of his suit jacket.

"Yes, yes I am. Uh can you do me a really quick favor and pretend to be my boyfriend. I just told that chick," Jack pointed at the slowly advancing Elsa, "that I have a boyfriend and I don't, but there's no way she can know that." Haddock was looking at Jack like he was crazy. "Please my pride's at stake."

"Yeah sure." He said, and then louder, "Jack, I haven't seen you all meet, how are your rounds going?" Bless him. Haddock actually sounded happy to seem him, speech kids rocked.

"They're going great, cutie." Jack turned to Elsa as if he had just noticed her. "Oh hi Elsa, this is my boyfriend."

"Hello." Elsa smiled politely as she held out her hand for a handshake. "I'm Elsa. Jack and I used to date." Haddock nodded at her but didn't say anything more. "Jack aren't you going to introduce him to me?"

"Oh right. This is…" Jack was drawing a blank, he could only remember his fake boyfriend's last name. Something that started with an H. "Hiccup." Jack should probably see a doctor about his Foot-In-Mouth disorder.

"Hiccup?" Elsa asked incredulously.

"That's just Jack's silly nickname for me. My name is Hikke, but you can call me Hiccup too." Hikke quickly came to Jack's rescue.

"I think I will, it suits you."

Jack almost didn't notice Hikke wince at Elsa's statement. He pushed it aside for later. Right now he had to convince his ex that he was madly in love with "Hiccup." He'd worry about what the overexposure to his secret crush would do to him later. If he didn't scare him off too bad maybe he could even get closer to Haddock.

In the true nature of a speech kid, Hiccup was flawlessly navigating a conversation of small talk with a decidedly more flustered Elsa. Jack decided to take advantage of the fact that they were both distracted to check out his crush up close. Hiccup was shorter than Jack by a noticeable few inches, he wasn't short per say. Mainly Hiccup was lanky, his bony appearance made him look taller. Jack hadn't ever been this close to him. He was always admiring him from afar; from the back of the performance room, across a crowded hall, or an even more crowded entryway. Jack casually placed an arm around Hiccup's waist. Elsa seemed to become more flustered at the PDA, she made a weak excuse and left the conversation.

"Thank you so much. Seriously, how can I ever repay you?"

"You can start by letting go of me."

"Right sorry!" Jack stepped away from Hiccup taking his arm with him. "I just have to thank you again. I was seriously freaking."

"It's not a big deal. But, how long do you want to keep this up? I mean we still have a long season to go."

"Elsa's not really a people person. She probably won't bother you or me for that matter. As long as we hang out sometimes at meets she won't get suspicious."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "And if I don't want to fake date you that long?"

"O-oh uhm, well then…I guess we can stage a dramatic break up?"

Hiccup smiled good naturedly. "I was kidding. But we should have super dramatic break up. Give these people a show and the drama they're so desperate for."

Jack had to laugh at that. "Totally. Maybe like a couple meets before state? When tensions are high?"

"Absolutely, now if you'll excuse me my round is on the other side of the school and I see grumpy kids with briefcases."

I wrote this like freshman year or something, but it has potential. If you want more of this speech and debate AU let me know.