So, I suddenly got this burst of inspiration for this fic so here's the next chapter... *casually goes back to the fics I'm supposed to be working on*

"Does everyone understand now?"

No… Jack gritted his teeth No, you made it even worse. He stared hopelessly at the sets of numbers on the board and felt his anxiety start to rise again. He couldn't take another failing test; he just couldn't! He had to understand this, he had to get his grades up, North wouldn't raise his allowance if he let his grades slip. Just raise your hand… just tell her that you still don't get it. It'll be fine. He looked up at the board and his head quickly shot back down to his notebook Nope. Nope, not doing it. Can't do it. I can't… His body shook and he wasn't sure if it was from the chill in the classroom or from the nerves that surged through him when the teacher eyed him, still glancing around the room to see if anyone would ask a question. There was nothing but whispers from the people who still insisted on talking about their weekend plans even though the room was mostly stagnant.

"If everyone understands, we'll be moving onto the next lesson." The teacher warned.

Jack wanted to say he didn't; he really, really did. But the words got caught in his throat and began to choke him until he swallowed them back down. The only time he felt safe at school was when he was quiet. He was always too afraid of what other people would do if he misused a word or if he suddenly stopped talking because he lost his train of thought. He was too afraid of them laughing at him, of the room filling up with boisterous mockery all aimed at him. He could take a few asses making fun of him with no problem, but there wasn't any way he'd be able to take on a whole room. He couldn't just make a snide comment to make all twenty or so kids double-take. He couldn't laugh it off and then walk away unscathed like he usually did. The volume in the room would just swallow him up and make him mute to all of the jeering voices anyway. He'd have to sit there and listen to their remarks until the teacher declared silence but then it would only be worse. The hallways would fill with word spreading of how Jack Overland managed to make himself look stupid again. The taunting voices would grow into an army and haunt him for who-knows-how-long. It could be a week or it could be a month, two months. Hell, if he messed up badly enough, it could follow him all school year or even throughout his career in the school.

The teacher turned back to the board and started erasing her writing "Okay then, we're moving on."

Jack's head hung lower Fuuuuuuuck… Stupid, stupid, stupid… can't you just open your mouth and ask for help, you wimp? He paused for a second before he answered his own question No… I can't. I just can't.

Time slowed after that instance and the rest of the school day went by like a trickle of water. It passed slowly and, at times, it seemed as though time had stopped all together around Jack. The rest of the day was weaving through hallways in order to get to class while making as little contact with others as possible. It was slinking back against the walls when someone decided to plow through the crowd for the hell of it and doing his best to blend in. He thought maybe he should let his hair go back to being brown… then it would be easier for everyone to miss him when he walked by. But that would take time. Thank goodness that was all he really had.

So Jack was more than thankful when the final bell rang and classes were let out. He dashed out of his seat in his last class of the day and got the books he needed out of his locker as fast as he could. If he didn't hurry, he'd have to bump shoulders with his locker neighbors and maybe even talk to them. He might be able to handle just a few formalities but all he really wanted to do was go home, lock himself in his room, and play Tetris on his phone until the battery died. He needed to recharge… he needed to be alone…

He grabbed his jacket and put it on was he speed-walked outside and onto his bus. He was the first one on it, as usual, so he plugged his headphones into his ears after greeting his driver and making himself comfortable in his usual seat, the one opposite of the emergency exit door. His music drowned out the rest of the world and, for a little while, he was under the illusion that he was alone when, really, there were other kids on his bus scattered about and talking. But he didn't hear them, not even a little.

He got home in seemingly no time at all and jogged across the street to his front door, taking his house key out of his pocket and slipping it in the lock. He turned it but didn't feel the door unlock. He puffed out his cheeks and tried opening the door anyway, hoping the lock didn't break and add to his day.

The door opened. And that only meant one thing: that it was already unlocked. Oh, crap! Don't tell me I forgot to lock it again! He re-traced his actions earlier that morning and remembered that he did, in fact, lock it.

He took a breath and reminded himself that it was probably just Ana picking the lock in order to get something she forgot or to scare him or something like that. He stepped inside and braced himself for the color-clad girl with dark skin to come jumping out at him from around a corner or come barreling down the stairs to tackle him. What he found was the silence that he loved… and a distant joyful laugh. He followed it into the kitchen and found a familiar large, round figure in the kitchen with his back turned to the teen. He turned around when he heard Jack's footsteps and beamed a smile as white as his beard.

"Ah, Jack!" His adoptive father greeted with his arms opened wide.

Jack blanked when he saw North sitting at the breakfast bar. He wasn't supposed to be home for another few hours; what was he doing home?

It was almost like the man had read his mind the next time he opened his mouth "I know, you did not expect me home now. But no matter, I have excellent news."

Jack put his backpack down near the stairs before joining the jolly man at the breakfast bar, choosing his seat so that there was one in between the two "What's up?"

"I got call from agency today." North started with a smile "And I finally have my license renewed!"

Jack feigned a smile at the announcement "Oh, that's... great North…" Jack knew his father had been working on renewing his certification to be a foster parent that he let expire some time after he adopted Jack. The reason was unknown to the teen, but he narrowed it down to because North took more hours at work later that year. He's since gotten a lot more business at the toy factory he owned in town, so he got a manager and secretary so that he could spend more time with his son. Jack guessed he was starting to feel guilty leaving the boy alone for most of the day but, honestly, Jack didn't care either way. He liked North a lot but he also liked the silence that filled the house when he was the only one inside of it.

He was happy that his adoptive father got what he'd been wanting for some time now, but he also dreaded the day that North would have foster kids living with them. Of course he felt for the kids, whoever they would be, but to Jack this event would only bring one thing to him. More people. And people, especially kids, bring noise and more responsibility and a lack of privacy. Jack knew that North was doing the right thing but he couldn't help but be just a little selfish. He'd learned to thrive in silence and seclusion. More kids in the house would only hinder these things that he'd grown to love so much. But he had to fake happiness, for no reason other than how much this meant to his guardian.

"I know this is big change." North continued "But is a good one. You and I will be helping children find a place to be safe. Just like your fosters did with you, yes?"

Jack chocked down old memories that usually stayed locked inside his snowflake box "Right…"

The old man patted Jack on the back "Atta boy. So, how was school today?"

The teen shrugged "Fine, I guess." He got up and picked up his backpack before heading for the stairs "I'll be in my room."

"You don't want to tell me about your day, Jack?"

"There's not much to tell."

"Alright." North's voice seemed to get quieter after Jack's statement. He half blamed it on his walking away… but the other half was resting on something that they both knew was a constant problem. Jack was vocal when he wanted to be but, when it came to topics like school, dating, or his future plans, he always answered with as few words as possible. North definitely knew that by now, but Jack saw that it troubled the man. He knew that North hated not being able to have normal conversations with his son, but Jack could just never get enough words out. Not unless he was feeling more social than usual or passionate enough about what he was saying.

The white-haired teen slowly scaled the stairs and hid behind the closed door of his bedroom, the tranquil feeling that those light blue walls gave him slowly washing away his anxiousness. He left his backpack by the door while he stripped down to just his t-shirt and boxers, deciding that his hoodie and jeans could be picked up later. He took his phone out of the pocket of his hoodie and plopped down on his bed. Jack unlocked his phone and spent until dinner time playing Tetris in silence. After that, it was homework, shower, and messing around on his laptop until sleep finally called him some time around midnight, confirming the repeat of Jack Overland's cycle of self-inflicted isolation.

The next day started out like all of the others for Jack. He got to school, sat through homeroom, hung out with Lior during lunch. Everything was following the pattern that had come with sophomore year thus far, the whole six months of it that had flown by for the two silent teens. Sure, they made new acquaintances but the two mostly spared the title of "friend" to each other. They both had started to come out of their shells in that time. There was definitely improvement, especially with Lior, who had started talking about this girl named Katherine a few months back. He shared an art class with the apparently cute brunette and liked to play Tic-Tac-Toe and Pictionary with her on scrap pieces of paper. Jack couldn't help but think that his friend was developing a crush on the girl, but it wasn't exactly like he was one to judge. He was almost jealous of Lior, really. He was starting to become a lot more comfortable in groups, even though he still didn't talk much, and he started smiling a lot more than he did the previous year.

As for Jack, he was still more comfortable in the place that he knew. And since his own crush on Hiccup Haddock wasn't going away, that wasn't helping his cause. As the year went on, Jack learned that he had quite a few classes with the freckled teenager. They saw each other every day but the brunet seemed to always have someone else talking to him and Jack never had the guts to go interject into their conversations. From what he noticed, it seemed like Hiccup had a small group of cronies and it looked like he had at least one of them in every class, especially this girl with blonde hair tied back in a braid and choppy bangs hiding one eye. Those two were almost always together and Jack couldn't help but assume that they were dating. It made sense to Jack, anyway.

Up to that point, Hiccup barely knew of Jack's existence and, honestly, Jack was sort of okay with that. Sure, he wasn't getting any attention from him this way. But it kept any potential mess-ups from happening in front of the shorter boy and sticking with him. Besides, someone like Hiccup probably wouldn't want to waste time on someone like Jack. He should hang out with people who actually know how to talk to others and liked to go out and do things, not some fifteen-year-old kid whose idea of a fun Saturday night was killing dragons in Skyrim with Lior until two in the morning. So Jack kept his distance, just like he did all the time.

But that wall that Jack had built up around himself crumbled that day in English class. Their teacher wasn't feeling too well so she decided to assign everyone to a partner to read with and answer review questions on the excerpts instead of giving a lesson. It was sad that his first thought was to ask if he could work by himself, but it was his habit. It only became more deeply ingrained in his head when the teacher started reading off her assigned duos. Most of them were unheard by Jack because he wasn't paying very much attention… until he heard his name called.

"Hayden, you'll be working with Jackson-"

Jack's heart faltered right then. He made every effort to not look at the boy with wide-rimmed glasses and adorable freckles, all of his senses only keen on the chaos that was starting inside his head. He fell deaf to the world, his eyes glued to his desk and his hands doing whatever they could to release some of that nervous energy without looking too obvious. He did his best to swallow the fear that was already starting to well up inside of him. Why couldn't he be put with someone else? Anyone else? Hell, he'd take the guy who did nothing but sleep in the back row if it meant he didn't have to sit with Hiccup! Breathing became harder for Jack as his mind ran from one bad outcome to another. Would he say something stupid and be laughed at? Would Hiccup think he's a loser like everyone else did and never want to talk to him again? Would Jack not even be able to talk to him at all?

Jack took a breath and tried to calm down. Just stick to talking about the assignment and everything should be fine. He told himself as he took one deep breath after another. Just don't talk to him about anything I don't have to. Simple sentences, maybe some gestures, but that's it. Don't screw it up. Don't make yourself look stupid. He continued to list off rules to himself and trying to plan out what he was going to say when Hiccup and he had to sit together to work. They may have sounded stupid to anyone else, but they were essential to Jack. After years of watching people in the hallways and blending in with the walls, he'd learned what was and was not appropriate for making friends or talking to someone that you may or may not have feelings for.

The only thing that stopped Jack's brain's downward spiral was the sound of a desk screeching across the linoleum floor, coming closer and closer to his own. The sudden interruption made him jump and come back to reality to find Hiccup to be the cause. He'd pulled a since abandoned desk up to meet Jack's and turned it so that the tables were pressed together. He put his messenger bag down beside his seat and sat down.

He immediately noticed Jack's fearful expression and made a shy, crooked smile "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He watched Jack for a moment, as if he was waiting for an answer, before he perused his lips and continued "You okay?"

Jack exhaled and shook his head "Y-yeah… just daydreaming…"

Hiccup nodded and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose "So, uh, wanna get started?"

The white-haired teen nodded and immediately turned his attention to the book in front of him, making sure to keep his eyes from wandering too far off of its pages as he read the assigned pages. It was a section of a story that took place in the era of Vikings, which Jack found somewhat interesting. After all, some of the games he enjoyed playing had Viking lore in them. Though he preferred pure fantasy, he didn't mind historical references in mythology. After all, they were kind of part of the fantasy genre so any fan would have some kind of knowledge about certain cultures, right? Maybe that was stretching it a bit, but that was how Jack saw it.

He finished the reading and found the review questions that he and Hiccup were supposed to discuss one they'd both finished. He slowly looked up from the book and found sharp green eyes staring back at him. It looked like Hiccup had finished reading before Jack did and was waiting for the other boy to be done.

"You good?" He asked. Jack nodded again "Alright. Sooo… Jackson-"

"Jack." The taller boy interrupted. Did that sound too harsh? Too fast? The brunet looked surprised by his sudden bit of conversation. Out of instinct, Jack slowly lowered his head again and tapped his fingers against the desk "I-I prefer Jack."

Hiccup smiled at him, a crooked smile showing matching teeth "Okay, Jack, you can call me Hiccup. Everyone else does. Ya know, except teachers and my dad."

Jack already knew about his nickname, of course. But he played along since the guy never really talked to him before, leaning his head so that it was cocked to the side "Why Hiccup?"

The brunet shrugged "I've had the nickname since I was little. Kinda followed me through school because my best friend insists on calling me by it. Gods, I wish she'd stop…" He rubbed his forehead nervously.

Jack was quiet for a moment again before he questioned "Your best friend's a girl?"

"Yeah, Astrid." The boy smiled as he said her name "Maybe you've seen her around. A bit taller than me, blonde hair, blue eyes, does volleyball and track." He must mean the girl with the braided ponytail that he always spent time with, so Jack nodded "I figured you might have; it seems like everyone knows her."

"I… thought you were dating her?" Hiccup blinked at Jack blankly. Oh, real nice Jack.

To his surprise, Hiccup chuckled "You too, huh? I don't know why everyone thinks that; it's not like we make out in the hallway or anything. But, no, we're just friends. Have been since we were little."

"Oh…"

It got quiet between them after that, both boys' eyes flicking between their books and their partner with anxiety. Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and drummed his fingers on his desk. Oh great, he's getting bored now.

"Sorry, I'm just… I'm not used to talking to someone for this long." Jack admitted "Usually, people just…" he shrugged "leave me alone because I run out of things to say." He looked back at Hiccup "You know what I mean?"

Hiccup was quiet for a moment before he muttered lowly "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

The white-haired teen shifted in his chair and cleared his throat "So, uh, the, the book questions."

"Right, um…" The brunet read over the first question again before looking back at Jack "the first question says…"

"Hey, Hiccup!" Someone shouted from across the room. It was a tall, thin blond guy with dreadlocks and a slightly smug grin. Jack recognized him as part of Hiccup's group of companions "What's the answer to question one?"

Green eyes rolled behind thick black frames "We're working on it, Tuff, didn't quite get there."

"Really?" The brunet's friend retorted "What, you're both stuck too?"

"No, not yet." Jack noticed that those eyes flicked to him before going back to Tuff "I was just making some conversation with Jack here."

"No offense, pal, but I don't think I've heard him say one word since freshmen year." Jack's ears turned red and he hung his head a bit. It was sad because it was true.

"Well, he's talking to me. J-just let me know if you get it, okay?"

Tuff grumbled "Yeah, sure."

The conversation ended and Hiccup must have noticed Jack fiddling with his pencil by now. He took a breath and tried to get the heat in his face to go down. "Hey, you alright?"

Jack jumped a bit when he looked back at Hiccup, eyes widened and eyebrows raised with concern. "Uh, yeah." He murmured.

The freckled teen didn't say anything for a moment before nodding "Okay. Sorry about Tuffnut. He means well, but sometimes he just doesn't have a filter."

Jack shrugged "It's alright."

"So…" Hiccup eased them back on subject after that. And, for the most part, the pair found all the right answers (or what they hoped were the right answers) with about twenty minutes left of class. This was usually the point where Jack would slip his phone out of his pocket and play a game or text Lior. But, when he peeked down at Hiccup's messenger bag, he saw an insignia on it that caught his attention. Across the flap covering the front pockets was a black shape that looked like a dragon curled into a circle. The only splash of color was a small bit of red on one of the dragon's tail fins. He'd never seen it before but he really liked it.

"What's that from?" He wondered aloud.

"You mean the symbol on my bag?" Jack nodded "It's not really from anything big; just this dragon book I've had since I was little. I always liked that symbol so… I put it on there."

"So you made that?"

"Yeah, I did." Hiccup confirmed "Astrid's been begging me to make one of these symbols for her so that's in progress at home… assuming my cat didn't get to it."

"Ah."

"Hiccup!" Tuffnut jogged over and pulled an empty desk next to his friend's "Snotlout told me it's gonna rain tonight."

"Yeah, because it is." The brunet plainly answered "Why are you so worried about that?"

"Because Macy and I were gonna go out; now I have to pull something else outta my ass before tonight."

Jack just looked at the two of them in confusion. Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose "Tuff, why can't you two just hang out at your place or something instead?"

"Because Ruff's gonna be there too." The blond complained "She loves to mess with us; you know that."

"Then what about her place?"

Tuffnut thought it over, eyebrows knitting together and mouth opening just a crack "Maybe… thanks, Hiccup." He punched the smaller boy's arm playfully. Then, he got up and went back to his seat.

"Just talk to her first, Tuff!" Hiccup shouted back.

"Yeah, I know."

Hiccup pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and smiled, shaking his head a bit "Oh gods…"

"… What was that about?" Jack questioned.

"Tuff and his girlfriend like to go out every Friday night and I guess they have this thing where they watch the sun set together or something. Of course, they can't when it's rainy or something and he always flips for a couple of minutes when he finds out."

"Oh…"

Jack stayed quiet until the bell rang, signaling the end of class. He grabbed his books and started for the door before Hiccup called out to him "Jack!" He turned around and watched the freckled teen throw the strap of his bag over his shoulder "It was nice to talk to you."

He couldn't help but smile back at him "Yeah, you too."

"So… see you around?"

Jack nodded and his grin grew. And it stayed all the way to his next class.

Also, if anyone's confused about who Macy is, I'll just explain. In an episode of Defenders of Berk, Tuffnut became very attached to this mace that he got from Trader Johann that he named Macy and referred to as a she. And I thought it would be fun to make Macy human and see what happens when I do that. So, yeah, she's a character now.