I have absolutely no idea where this came from but last night I reread the story and this morning I typed the next chapter. I haven't written this in so long. But I do miss this story and I really hope to finish it.

After this chapter there's probably going to be two more chapters of year one and then we're moving on to year two.

Thank you for your patience and I hope this chapter can keep you guys sated until the next chapter strikes me.

Dedications: Changeofheart505, sakurasapprentice7, thecrazyLaDiDa, AbygailJunior, sAndcAt, Faithful5, Dancer who loves westerns.

If you guys are still reading this, thank you for staying with me. It means the world.

Chapter 14:

~Jack Frost~

A week after everything that happened I started seeing less and less purple. I don't know how I had defeated the boogeyman. But apparently I did. With a few months of school left, I was itching for it to be over. I wanted to feel safe. Somehow I didn't feel safe in the Slytherin common room. Not with Dusk.

Dash and Dusk grew closer. I kept my distance. Not just from them. From everyone. I could tell it hurt them and I didn't try to hurt them. I didn't know how to cope with what had happened. I wanted to feel safe and in my dreams, I would sometimes see the sparkling yellow eyes. Or I'd see Hiccup in danger.

My dreams weren't safe. I knew he had access to them. But even with every nightmare I had, I knew Pitch Black wasn't causing them. That was my own mind.

It wasn't until we were all in Potions class and Hiccup slid me a picture that I realized I had been a real shitty friend. I promise I'll be better.

I hope.

~Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III~

I didn't like it. I didn't like how Jack was acting. Everything to me faded away like every other dream. We all knew it happened. But we forgot. We moved passed it. Jack didn't. He sat there every single day and dwelled on the Boogeyman. Sometimes I noticed he would draw him. Jack couldn't draw, not as well as most kids. But I could tell.

In potions, he talked to me. He doodled with me and it was worth our potion being borderline mustard gas because for the first time, I saw Jack do that grin. The grin that made everything feel like it was going to be okay again. And after that, I couldn't help but smile back.

"Sorry Hic." Jack apologized with a smug grin as we scurried out of the potions classroom. I turned to him confused.

"Why?"

"Because we both got points taken away." He answered but I could tell he really didn't mind. Which was just fine with me. I didn't mind either. In fact, I don't think Hufflepuff really had enough anger to yell at me. That's okay.

"It's fine Jack. I would make nuclear warfare if that meant having you talk again." I didn't mean for it to sound so darn corny. In fact, my whole face lit up bright red. Jack smiled though. I could see in his eyes he needed to hear that. He punched my arm gently and we walked to the courtyard.

We saw Rapunzel and Merida sitting on one of the benches. Rapunzel seemed to be teaching Merida something in a book. I didn't know if we should interrupt but Jack didn't seem to care. He strode up to the two and closed the book. They looked up at him with annoyance, and that melted away when they saw his smile.

"Jack!" Rapunzel jumped up and hugged him. I walked over and smiled. The gang is back together.

#&$) *!

I never thought I'd see the day. Sure I kind of sort of saw it in our nightmares but honestly I didn't think I'd see it otherwise.

Jack and Flynn were laughing it up about something. Then almost like a broken record, I heard Merida utter,

"I dun trust him." I smiled at the familiarity but I also agreed with it. Not that I didn't trust Flynn, I didn't trust their friendship. I don't know what it would lead to.

"Hiccup!" Jack waved me over and Flynn just smiled at him. "Eugene-" Flynn smacked him upside the head and looked around suspiciously and surprisingly Jack giggled. "I'm sorry, Flynn was telling me about some weird fact. The lake has a giant squid? I totally think we should go swimming." My smile faltered for a minute.

"You... want to take a swim?" I asked and tilted my head to the side. He nodded. "Okay." That's strange. Jack was terrified of the water.

"Where's Rapunzel?" Merida asked finally and we all looked around.

"You mean she has friends other than us?" I asked, mock offended and Jack smirked at me.

&$)#(*

"Jack." He looked up at me, almost startled. It looked like he was getting better, but he was my best friend and I knew there was something still wrong. I wish he'd talk to me about it. "Will we still be doing this next year?" I asked and Jack frowned at me.

"Of course, Hiccup. We're pals. The summer is only a couple of months. And I'm going to make you come to the north pole like all the time." His smile was infectious.

"I hope so." Even though we still had another two months of school left, I still worried.

"There you are!" Rapunzel shouted and ran over. "I've been looking for you guys."

"Well you have found our secret hiding spot. Right in the middle of the courtyard. Damn. Where did we go wrong?" I said sarcastically and she rolled her eyes and tried to keep the smile off her face. "What's up?"

"Yeah, everything alright Rapunzel?" She handed us flyers and we both looked down.

"Seriously? This is a thing?" Jack said out loud and I had to agree. They were doing some team building nonsense.

"I thought it was strange. But the headmaster seems to think we need it. Especially with the prank the Slytherins just pulled on the Hufflepuff house." I looked at Jack with interest.

"Yeah, how exactly did you guys get into the Hufflepuff house?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He avoided eye contact and I perked my eyebrow at him and saw him try to hide the smirk.

"That was mean, Jack." Rapunzel scolded and he put his hands up in defense.

"I personally didn't do anything. I just am guilty because I'm a Slytherin and I have no idea how they managed to figure out to get into the Hufflepuff house you need to tickle the peach." Which was a sentence that made no sense unless you know that the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was a picture of fruit and every so often they changed what fruit you had to interact with to open it.

"You're just lucky that the bludgers didn't break anything of mine or else... I don't know. I guess I would be kind of sad and I don't think you'd want to have that on your conscience." Jack smiled.

"Hiccup, you should know that I wouldn't let them hurt you." My cheeks turned pink and I quickly averted my gaze to the sheet of paper I was holding.

"Well, anyway." Rapunzel looked at both of us a bit funny. "I just wanted you guys to know that none of us are qualified to be partners." Jack and I looked at her in mild horror.

"What?!" We shouted in unison. "Why not?"

"I'm not certain. But there's a sorting process. It's just for the first years and it'll pick your partner for you. I don't even know if it has to be another first year or if it's going to be someone older. I just know the sorting hat his excited to come back out of Headmaster's office for the day. He's been working on a unity song again." Jack groaned at that.

"Well personally... I think this is terrible and let's not do this ever." Jack agreed with me but we should know better by now that nothing goes our way. Ever.

~Jack Frost~

The day of the sorting was here and all of us first years were awkwardly standing in a group listening to the Sorting Hat berate us in song about how we need to love each other or something. I wasn't paying attention. I was messing with Hiccup. When I turned my head I saw Dusk and Dash staring at me oddly. I wasn't exactly separating myself from them anymore but I was much closer to Hiccup than I was them. I don't think they particularly enjoyed that fact but there was nothing they could do about it. Everything was settled down once we started being called up one by one and if it was any indication from the way the first few people looked like they were going to break out into tears, I'd say this unity thing wasn't a very great plan. Rapunzel was holding her breath. She looked so terrified. It seemed that everyone that was called up got sorted with someone they didn't get along with. The other strange thing is the hat didn't call anyone up in alphabetical order.

When she walked up I saw her look more scared than she did when we were in her nightmare. I prayed the hat picked me, Hiccup or Merida to be with her. I didn't want her to be scared. I wanted to protect her. I think it was a thing with all of us. The whole group had some understanding that Rapunzel was to be protected at all costs.

"Dusk Black." My eyes widened and I looked over at Dusk who was positively over the moon. I glanced at Rapunzel who smiled nervously and got off the chair. When I looked at Merida she had a certain look of murder in her eyes. What made the hat choose Dusk though?

"Jack Frost." I grabbed Hiccup's hand and he squeezed my hand tightly. I grinned at him even though my mind was reeling. I climbed on the chair and the hat was placed on my head.

"I bet you're wondering what the pattern here is. I'm picking people to be partners with that have had the most tension. It has nothing to do with hatred. Just trying to relieve some of that. I wouldn't worry too much Jack. You've had the most tension with someone it looks like you've made up with. No matter..."

"Flynn Rider." My eyes darted to the Gryffindor table and Eugene looked completely confused. I guess he thought the hat was pairing us with people we hated. I guess I did have the biggest problem with him this year. But that was earlier... I guess I didn't get into a fist fight with anyone else but him. But this raised more questions for me. I stared at Rapunzel curiously. What did that mean? What happened with her and Dusk?

I didn't know where to go, it seemed everyone else just congregated to the same place we were, in-between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

"What the heck does that mean?" Hiccup asked me and I smiled at him.

"It sorts you with the person you've had the most tension with. No matter if you made up or not." I said right in time for him to be called up. He took in a greedy gulp of air before he walked up and sat down. I wonder who the hat was going to pick for him. I could've sworn it was going to be Dusk but he was already picked. I suppose it could also choose-

"Dash Parr." Yup. That too. Hiccup's shoulder's sagged and I looked back where Eugene was and he raised an eyebrow at me and I held up a finger and he nodded shortly.

Merida's turn was a few people after and she just had a look of annoyance. Who did she even have a problem with? Actually... Who didn't she have a problem with?

"Kristoff Bjorgman" She groaned out loud. Who the hell was that?

&$()#&

"So why did the sorting hat pick me to be your partner?" Eugene asked and I laughed.

"Because we got into a fist fight." He smirked at that.

"Yeah we did." He sobered. "But we got over it."

"Apparently that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have had the most tension with you this year. But that doesn't concern me. What concerns me is Rapunzel and Dusk have had a lot of tension this year and I haven't heard about it. I don't want anything to be wrong. She never told me about anything with Dusk." Eugene shrugged.

"I don't know, man. Girls can be weird. It happens." I frowned.

"But what was even weirder was Dusk didn't seem put out by the fact that everyone seemed to have an issue with who they were with. He was just happy. So does he know that he is causing them tension?" Eugene took a minute to think and his frown deepened.

$&()#

"Please, for the love of all that is holy. Kill me." Hiccup complained later that night. We were all sitting under a tree near the lake. "I can't believe I'm with Dash. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you." I said automatically. "Actually... I have no idea if he does. Sorry." Hiccup glared at me and I smiled sheepishly.

"Speaking of, Rapunzel. Why did it pick Dusk for you? I thought you two got along?" She looked up at us. She's been distracted this entire time.

"Hm? Oh. I don't know." She looked back down and was messing with her tie. Merida scooted closer to her and grabbed her hand.

"Ya know yew can tell us anythin n' we'll help ya." She said quietly and Rapunzel nodded with a smile.

"I know. Nothing is wrong." She nodded excessively. "Anyway, who's Kristoff? I haven't heard of him before." Merida groaned and hid her face.

"No one. Jus' real annoyin'. Known him since I was a wee laddy." She swatted her hand dismissively and we all sat in the circle with a certain air of tension. None of us spoke too much after that. I idly wondered if this was worse than the nightmares or not.

I said earlier I reread the story and I got sparked to write more. That's actually only half true. I reread the reviews. I was inspired to finish for every one of you who thought it was nice to leave your kind words. Thank you so much and I hope you continue to review because the more kind words I receive, the quicker I will write. Thank you guys for everything and I hope to hear from you.