Chapter 6

Jack Frost

I was skateboarding to school the next day when a girl came out of nowhere in front of me. I almost fell off my board.

"Oh!" she squealed, stumbling backwards.

"Sorry 'bout that," I apologized. I got a better look at her. Her hair was white-blonde, not as white as mine, but still white-ish, and in a braid wrapped around her head, held together by a crown-shaped headband her eyes were a deep blue, and her skin was pale. She was wearing a green dress that was black around her throat and on her sleeves. I helped her get up from the sidewalk.

"It's okay," she reassured me. "I'm Elsa, by the way. Elsa Arendelle."

"I'm Jack Frost," I told her.

She smiled. "Like the winter spirit?"

I ruffled my hair. "Yeah, kinda."

Elsa laughed. "Well, that's cool. Oh, sorry, but I have to be on my way. I'm on the student council committee and I need to be at a meeting today. It was nice meeting you, though, Jack!" She walked away.

I stared after her. She seemed cool . . . but I needed to get to class before I got yet another week of detention.

When I reached my locker, I noticed Hiccup standing in front of it."Hey, Hic, what's up?" I asked him.

"Nothing much, Jack," Hiccup replied. "Just finished studying for the Calculus quiz I have today."

"You have a quiz today?" I asked him, my eyebrows raised. "It's only the second day of school!"

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, Mr. Arthure can be pretty strict. But he's really smart, and he knows what he's doing."

I shook my head. "Never thought I'd say I'm happy to have Mr. Crood." We both laughed. I dumped my backpack into my locker and grabbed my stuff.

"Hey, where do you think YOU'RE going?" came a rough voice from behind us.

"Tuffnut," Hiccup muttered, turning around to face the blonde boy. "What do you want?"

"My lunch money," Tuffnut growled. "You owe me from yesterday."

"He didn't take your freaking lunch money," I shot.

Tuffnut turned to me. "Shut up, Frost." He said my last name as if it was gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe and he couldn't get it off.

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?" I countered. "So you shut the hell up, you blonde idiot."

Tuffnut growled again and looked like he was about to say more when someone who looked exactly like him strode up to the three of us.

"Tuffnut!" The person was a girl, I could see that their features were different, and she had braids going down her shoulders. She had a rough voice like him, but it was easy to tell that she was a girl. "What did I tell you about pickin' on the other kids? Ma is gonna be SO mad at you!"

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Tuffnut looked scared. "Don't tell her!" He ran off.

Hiccup looked relieved. "Thanks, Ruffnut," he told the girl.

Ruffnut just shrugged. "I overheard him talking with his buddies about Astrid. Ever since she broke up with you, I've felt kinda bad for ya, since she did it in front of everyone." She seemed to notice me. "Who's this guy?"

"Ruffnut, this is Jack Frost. Jack, this Ruffnut Thorston, Tuffnut Thorston's twin sister." Hiccup said.

"Nice to meet ya," Ruffnut said. "But I gotta go to class now. See you guys." She walked off, more gracefully than I thought she could be.

"Well, we'd better get to class," Hiccup said, nudging me in the shoulder. "I wanna get out of here before Tuffnut or his gang comes back."

"Why?" I teased. "You've got a girl covering you." Hiccup shoved me in the shoulder and I shoved him back, hard enough for him to fly into a wall.

"Ouch. That hurt." He rubbed his sore shoulder.

"C'mon, Hic! You've got to become more of a man!" I said, only half teasing.

"You sound exactly like my dad . . ." Hiccup muttered as we slid into our seats.

The rest of class was uneventful, with Miss Murphy chattering about chemistry and what-not. All I remembered was the bell ringing and me heading to Math class . . .

I sat in the back, as usual. When she walked through the door, Rapunzel spotted me and immediately came over and sat in the seat next to me.

"Hi, Jack!" she said cheerfully.

"Hey, Punzie," I replied, smirking.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "You're STILL not letting that go, are you, Jack?"

"Nope," I said, grinning. She shoved me playfully and I nudged her back. She giggled.

Then her expression turned serious. "So, Jack . . . did you know that there's going to be a dance next month? The Welcome Back Dance?"

I shook my head. "Nope. No one ever mentioned it to me and my mom probably won't get a notice until a few weeks later."

"Are you thinking of going with anyone?" Rapunzel asked curiously.

"Nope. Cut me some slack, Punz! It's only the second day of school! I barely know anyone! How do girls get so worked up over things like these?" Something suddenly dawned on me. "Why? Do you you want me to go with you?" A mischievous smile played on my lips.

Rapunzel flushed red. "N-no, of course not, Jack! Don't be ridiculous! I have a boyfriend!"

I waggled my eyebrows at her. "Sure, Punzie, sure."

She frowned at me, but just then Mr. Crood came in to tell us about a pop quiz we'd be having today. I groaned and put my head down on the desk. What was it with math teachers and quizzes and tests?

By the time Math class was over, I had only finished half of my quiz. I knew that I had probably failed it, and my mom would NOT be happy about that. But I didn't really care, since it was the first quiz of the year. I could make it up. I passed up my paper and stood up to leave.

Rapunzel grabbed my arm. "Jack, I could set you up with a date for someone for the dance!"

"No thanks, Rapunzel, but I HATE being set up. I prefer to be the loner I am, thank you very much." I held my books under my arm and walked out of class.

A girl with blonde hair in side bangs yanked me out of the hallway and into a dark corridor. "You're friends with Hiccup, right?" she hissed.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, feeling disoriented. I had no idea where I was.

"I'm Astrid Hofferson-" she began.

"You! You were the one who broke up with Hiccup in public!" I yelled at her angrily.

She put her hand over my mouth. "Shut up!" she whisper-yelled. "I didn't break up with him. We just had a big fight in the middle of the hallway and he said he didn't want to do this anymore and just walked away! So I just shouted at him, 'So we're breaking up, then!' And he didn't say anything. I just wanted to know . . . if he's still interested in me?"

I quirked my eyebrow at her. "Nope, he's not interested in you anymore. Told me himself," I lied.

Astrid's shoulders seemed to slump, then she quickly got back into character. "Fine! Tell him that I don't give a damn about him and he can go die in hell!" She remembered to be quiet, though, so the words didn't have the same effect.

"Sure," I said carelessly, walking off. When I found Hiccup, I relayed Astrid's message to him.

Hiccup crumpled the paper he was holding in his fist. "I knew it," he said in a low voice. "I knew it! She never cared about me! It was all just a show!"

"Calm down, Hiccup. Wait till school's over to release all that anger!" I told him.

He seemed to calm down a little. "Okay, you're right, Jack," he said. "I'll take it out on my dad's punching bag."

I raised an eyebrow. "Your dad-"

"My dad's the chief police officer of Berk County," Hiccup explained. "He won the spot through capturing the most criminals and by bullying the others ahead of him to give him the spot."

"Cool," I replied. "My mom is a lawyer at the Judicial Building in Berk City." We both cracked up at how different our parents' jobs were.

"You know, Merida's dad is the mayor of Berk, and Rapunzel's mother is a hairdresser," Hiccup said thoughtfully. "Our parents really are different."

"Yeah," I agreed. I was about to say more when a large boy with stringy blonde hair came bounding over.

"Hiccup!" the boy gasped, trying to catch his breath. "The latest-latest video game-huh, Dragon Warriors-huff just came out!"

Hiccup gasped out loud. "NO WAY! That's a limited edition! We have to get it by the end of the school day!"

The boy nodded. "I know-huff, I just wanted to ask you-huff to see if-huh you could give me a ride?"

"Sure thing, Fishlegs," Hiccup smiled warmly. The boy smiled and ran off.

"So, who was that?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, that was Fishlegs, my best friend since I was in 9th grade. He and I are both obsessed with dragon video games. The latest one just came out today!"

"Hiccup," I shook my head. "You're such a nerd."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hiccup said. "But seriously, though. We have to get to class. Look." He gestured to the rapidly-emptying hallway.

"Crap," I said. "I have Gym next! See ya later, Hic!" I called over my shoulder, sprinting down the hallway.

When I reached the locker room, I changed into my gym uniform: a white shirt, black mesh shorts, and my black and blue sneakers. I walked into the gym and found some guys shooting baskets and a bunch of girls standing around talking.

A guy missing a leg and arm ran in. "All right, lads and lasses!" he bellowed. "I'm Coach Gobber, your gym teacher and coach of all the boys' sports teams. Today we'll be doing free choice! Ye can either do free shots, four square, volleyball, or walk around the perimeter of the gym. But you all have ta be doing something, all right? Good! Now go!"

I saw Rapunzel walking along with her friends and was about to go over and say hi, when a tall brown-haired guy walked over and put his arm around her!

"Hi, Flynn," Rapunzel giggled.

"Hey, Blondie," the guy replied, kissing her forehead. So, this was the guy Punz had told me about. He was her boyfriend? "Listen, sorry if it sounds like I'm abandoning you, but me and some of the guys are gonna be shooting hoops. See you after your cheer practice, okay?"

"Sure thing." She smiled at him, giving him one more squeeze before he left and went over to shoot some baskets. I mustered up the courage, taking a deep breath, before walking over to her and tapping her shoulder.

"Oh! Hi, Jack," Rapunzel said, smiling at me when she saw me. "I didn't know you were in this class!"

"Yeah, well neither did I, so I guess we were both in for a surprise, weren't we?" I said, smirking at her.

Punzie laughed. "I guess so." Then, seeming to notice the puzzled looks on her friends' faces, she said, "Oh, sorry, guys! Jack, these are Heather, Mavis, and Ruffnut. Girls, this is Jack."

Ruffnut nodded. "We met already."

Rapunzel looked puzzled. "How?"

"Let's just say it involved Tuffnut, Hiccup, and lunch money," I replied.

Punzie nodded. "Ah. That explains it. Would you like to walk with us?"

I smirked. "Aren't I already doing that?"

Heather laughed. "He has a point, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel just shrugged. "Anyways, girls. We still haven't decided what the theme should be for the Welcome Back Dance!"

I stared at her. "What?"

Mavis explained, "We're on the dance committee this year. Each year, the committee has to think up a different theme that no one has ever done before. It's a bit exhausting, if you think about it."

"Oh, cool," I answered. "So, what are you girls thinking of?"

"Flowers!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "It'll be a floral dance with tons and tons of flowers! Isn't that just marvelous?" She swooned, gazing off dreamily into space.

"Um, that sounds great, Punzie, but . . .um, I doubt that the guys really like flowers that much and plus-aren't there some people who are allergic to flowers?" I asked.

"Oh no!" she groaned. "I totally didn't remember to think about that! Sorry, girls. Looks like we're back to square one."

But Heather, Ruffnut, and Mavis were all looking between her and me. "Punzie?" Mavis choked out.

"Yeah, that's my special reserved nickname for her," I replied, then waggled my eyebrows at Punz.

She swatted me, then laughed. "Shut up, Frost. It's okay, girls. Jack and I met in detention yesterday. He has a knack for giving people nicknames."

"Yeah," I chimed in. "Like . . . Mavis, your new nickname is Mav, Heather, yours is Heaths, and Ruffnut's is . . . Ruffie."

Ruffnut glared at me. "Call me that again or you might lose something important."

I put my hands up. "Okay, okay! Sheesh, I was just joking around!" The other girls laughed.

"All right, all joking aside," Punz said, "We seriously need to think up a new theme. And no, Mavis, we can't do Halloween. We're going to have a Halloween dance, too, remember?"

Heather said, " How about a fall dance? Where the gym will be decorated in reds, oranges, and yellows and everyone dresses up in the colors of fall."

"That's not a bad idea, Heather," Punzie agreed. "But the dance will be informal, so people can wear whatever they want."

"How about just a suggestion, then?" Heather said hopefully. Rapunzel nodded, smiling.

"Woo hoo!" I whooped. "Operation Welcome Back Dance is on!" The girls shoved me for being so corny, but I could see Punzie smiling at me through the flurry of arms.

A/N: I've realized that I have been making my chapters longer lately. Is that okay? If you guys want, I can try to make them shorter. I may be adding too much detail, but I can and will shorten my chapters for the sake of my readers. :)