Hi~!

I'm just gonna leave this here because... I don't have much to say besides this chapter's longer than normal and I hope you guys enjoy it. Also, new characters again!

The next two weeks until Jack's history test were filled with study sessions whenever he and Hiccup could find the time to get together for one. For the most part, the next lessons took place in the library, which Jack was very thankful for. But there was one more time that the brunette arranged for it to be at her house again and Jack internally groaned at the idea. He really didn't want to get glared at by the monsters that she calls her brother and father. But it had to be done, if Jack wanted to pass. So, he pulled up to the brick building on another one of his days off and met the freckled girl and her gigantic dog at the front door again.

The afternoon started just like the previous one, with the two alone and keeping distractions down to a minimum. The only real problem was when Toothless came into the living room with a large squeaky toy in his mouth and was throwing it around, "asking the humans to play with him before he breaks something," as Hiccup put it. She grabbed the other end of the toy and threw it down the hall, allowing her enough time to throw on her jacket and tell Jack to follow her into the back yard. He guessed that was the only place where the Great Dane could get exercise without the risk of knocking anything of importance over. Jack and Hiccup played a game of Keep Away with the canine until he became a black blur running in the grass and he rammed straight into the small girl. The older teen feared she got hurt until her laugh resonated through the air. Toothless responded by licking her face and Jack joined in on the laughter. But after that, they settled to just play fetch with the dog and stop teasing him.

Toothless took a little while to get out his energy, but he eventually did. And that's when the high school students went back to what they were supposed to be doing. Another half hour or so and Jack was finally getting the hang of the notes, partially thanks to Hiccup's really bad history jokes that came with almost every important event listed. At least she made it easier for him to remember things while making him laugh. One thing was for sure; studying with Hiccup didn't seem all that much like work. And Jack couldn't be more thankful for that.

A little later, they heard a car door slam outside and Jack feared that it would be Scott coming home again. But he calmed down when he saw a woman enter the living room instead. She had almost the same color hair as Hiccup did, maybe a shade or two darker, and their eyes matched perfectly. Her full figure was covered by a button down, blazer, and skirt, so Jack assumed she must be a business woman of some kind.

She smiled as she entered the room "Hi, Henrika." She stopped when she saw Jack, a small smile crossing her face "Who's this?"

"Oh, uh," Hiccup moved a strand of hair behind her ear. But it fell out of place again so she settled for twisting it around her fingers "Mom, this is Jack." She looked to him "Jack, this is my mom."

The older teen lazily waved "Uh, hi… ma'am…"

Hiccup's mother laughed and shook the hand he had held up "Just call me Val; ma'am's so… boring."

"Uh… got it…" Jack stammered as she released his hand.

"So, another study session I see?" Val carried on.

Her daughter nodded "That's okay… right?"

"Of course it is." Hiccup's mom seemed almost too happy about Jack being there. Well, at least she wasn't twice his size and staring him down like he was a demon or something. He could count that as a good thing, anyway "I'll be up in my room doing some research" Val stated with a sly smirk on her face "Just shout if you need anything, you two."

Hiccup watched her walk out and rose her voice to accommodate "Australia again?"

"No, South America!" Val shouted back, the sound of her shoes scaling the stairs slightly buffeting it "I haven't been through the box in years; this oughta be fun."

The younger brunette giggled, her braces glinting when her parting lips revealed them. She must have caught Jack's bewildered expression, seeing she proceeded to explain "Mom used to travel a lot before she and my dad got married."

"But why does she need to do research on that?" The older teen questioned.

"She's a travel agent." The younger responded "Whenever someone doesn't know where they wanna go; she digs through her archives and picks her favorites."

Jack nodded and the two of them went back to the books. Val came down every now and then, either to check and see if he and Hiccup wanted anything or to grab a snack to eat. Every time she did, she'd poke her head through the doorway and see what the two of them were doing and then she'd go about her business. Jack had to admit that he was already liking Hiccup's mother a lot more than her dad and brother. At least it seemed like Val trusted the pair to be alone and she'd yet to give him the feeling that he was far from welcome in this house. Or maybe she just thought her daughter needed more friends or something. From what Jack could gather, the brunette spent most of her spare time with Felix, Astrid, and Cam. He wasn't sure if she had any other friends, so… maybe that was part of it.

Quiet ensued until the front door opened once more and Hiccup's father came stomping into the house, once again wearing nothing but a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and athletic shorts. At first, he passed the living room right by and ascended the stairs and he heard Hiccup breathe a sigh of relief.

"I was sure he'd see you and just hover over us again." She mumbled.

The guy had a real habit of doing that every time he came home and found out that the mysterious white-haired teenager was once again sitting on his couch next to his daughter. Hiccup claimed it was because he's overprotective and Jack wouldn't put it past the man to be so. I mean, compared to him, Hiccup was a toothpick. She was small and really pretty, sure. But he'd also learned in spending all this time with her that she was very independent and strong-willed. Hiccup was more than capable of taking care of herself; it didn't look like she needed a body guard or anything like that.

Oh well, what can you do?

Hiccup's dad came down a little later and disappeared behind a door across the hall, which Hiccup explained was his man cave. And that's where he stayed until Hiccup excused herself to go grab a book she'd forgotten in her bedroom. She wasn't gone for two minutes before the giant man cane wandering in, polishing an old-looking sword as he did so.

"Hey, Jack," he started "How's about another little history lesson before Henrika gets back?"

The teen didn't know how to respond at first but he eventually complied and followed the personal trainer into the room across the hall.

Hiccup wasn't kidding; it really was his man cave. One of the walls was sporting a TV that practically spanned the width of the wall, a fireplace burning beneath it. Leather couches and a matching armchair surrounded it and there was a small bar when he walked into the room with a few bar stools in front of it. The room was dark thanks to the brown walls, but Jack could still make out the uh… decorations scattering across the other walls.

He saw swords and daggers, among other weapons, hung up on the wall. And they looked pretty damn real to him.

"I see you've noticed my collection." Mr. Haddock chuckled "You see, I have Viking blood inside me. I take pride in that." He walked over to an empty holder and put the blade in his hands back on it "All of 'em are authentic; just like how they were when my ancestors wielded them in battle… did you know that a lot of wars were waged over a woman?"

Jack just stood there trying his best not to panic. This guy was seriously threatening him with weapons! What did he think Jack was; some kind of criminal?! Maybe it was just him, but he didn't exactly look like he was capable of robbing a bank or anything. Maybe a convenience store or something, but nothing big.

Hiccup's father continued to carry on about his "collection" for a few more minutes. After explaining the rest of his war knowledge, he proceeded to pick weapons at random and explain exactly how each one of them was used on its victim. And apparently not all of them were from the Viking era, but he bought them anyway because he liked them. One of these was a small thing that looked kind of like a pear in a glass box. He took it out and showed it to Jack before he explained what it was.

"This is The Pear of Anguish." The bearded man clarified "This one is from the Medieval Age." God, judging by the name this wouldn't be a pleasant story "You see, Jack, this one was created as a bit more of a… torture device than a weapon." Said teenager just nodded slowly, eyes wide as he stared at the brass-colored object "It would be inserted into the victim's mouth and then this handle would be twisted. The pear expands until the jaw is dislocated. Sometimes the victims died choking on their own blood." He said that last part with the start of a laugh "It's one of my favorites out of my collection."

As Mr. Haddock put The Pear back, Jack stayed as still as a statue. Geez, what does this guy have against him where the poor kid has to sit through this? All he did was make friends with Hiccup; what was so wrong with that?

Almost like this whole thing was planned out, the green-eyed brunette came through the doorway and huffed "Dad, what are you doing to Jack?"

Her father pretended to have no idea what she was talking about and claimed "I figured Jack could use another lesson while you were busy, that's all."

She shook her head and smiled "I don't think Viking weaponry's going to be on a test about America in the 1800's."

Mr. Haddock put his hands on his hips and playfully rebutted "You never know."

Hiccup rolled her eyes and led Jack out of the room by the arm "I am so sorry." She whispered "I didn't think he would do that."

"Your dad wants to kill me…"

The younger teen giggled "No, he's just trying to scare you. Trust me, he's done the same thing to plenty of people."

"… Oh…"

It was pretty safe to say that Hiccup didn't leave Jack alone when her dad was home anymore, which the white-haired boy was more than happy about. The last thing he'd want to do was to be left alone again and have that mountain of a man show him how The Pear of Anguish worked (yes, Jack was that paranoid; have you seen the size of this man?).

There was one more study date before Jack's test (at the library, thankfully) and Hiccup brought up that Astrid and Cam were having another bowling night and that he was invited again. He'd been welcome every weekend but he was busy for most of them, whether it be work calling him in or he was stuck at home watching Emma. He loved the girl, don't get him wrong on that, but he really didn't want to bring her knowing Hiccup would be there too. Ten-year-olds aren't exactly the best at keeping their older brother's crushes a secret.

But, thankfully, Jack had managed to keep that Saturday night open. And he felt that he did pretty well on his test. Ombric wouldn't hand out the results until after the weekend, so he didn't know for sure. That didn't mean that the boy couldn't have a good feeling about his grade. He was at least expecting to pass, anyway.

And the week just got better after that with the bowling night approaching. Jack was pretty excited to be spending more time with Hiccup and her friends. Then again, he didn't get out much as it was so he kind of needed this.

Hiccup got dropped off at the Bog Bowler in a slightly uncomfortable state that night. Not because it was Scott taking her or anything, he always brought her places. What was uncomfortable was squeezing into the passenger seat with another one of her friends, Cletus. He was a quiet boy with a mop of dark brown hair that covered his eyes almost all the time. Not that it mattered too much; his face was almost always wearing a neutral expression.

Cletus wasn't a particularly large boy. In fact, he and Hiccup were probably capable or sharing clothes if they really needed to. Still, that didn't make their current situation any more relaxing. Sure, she'd forced herself into the seat with Astrid all the time without a problem (Cam usually opted to riding in the bare backseat of the truck, claiming that it was "more fun that way") but… it was always a bit different for her when she had to share the seat with a boy. Maybe it was the closeness and invasion of personal space. Or maybe it was the fact that sometimes she could feel… things after Scott drove too fast over a pothole.

But it was a given that she was thankful when they finally pulled up to the bowling alley and Hiccup could regain her personal bubble. The two friends walked through the front doors in a comfortable silence until Cletus spoke up.

"Um… Hiccup…" He started in his usual, almost whisper-like tone. His voice was deep but he never used a voice louder than one would use if they were hiding from someone "thanks for inviting me."

Hiccup smiled softly "No problem. We haven't seen you in awhile, so I figured, ya know, we could all catch up."

"Ah, hello there Hiccup!" Mulch cheered when he noticed the pair "And is that Clueless I see?" Cletus nodded.

He'd been given the nickname "Clueless" affectionately by Cam when they were all still in middle school. The mop-top had always been a bit of a slow learner growing up, but once he understood something, he would remember it forever. That was something Cam didn't know when she started referring to him by the nickname after he called her "Sam" for the fifth time. He finally got her name right not long after but by then the name "Clueless" had stuck.

"Wow, it's been a long time, lad." Mulch continued "How's that fancy boarding school going for you?"

Clueless shrugged "It's okay I guess."

"Any new friends?" Mulch wondered.

"A few." The darker brunet stated.

"Good, good." The man behind the counter turned to the shoes behind him "You still the same size, kiddo?"

"Y-yeah." Clueless answered.

Mulch pulled a pair of shoes out of a cubby and scanned them over for another set "And I know you're still the same, Hiccup." He chuckled "I doubt your feet grew any since last week."

"My feet haven't grown since seventh grade." The freckled girl clarified.

"True." The clerk placed the shoes in front of the teens "Enjoy the night. The Hofferson girls should be around here somewhere."

"Alright." Hiccup took her shoes and gave Clueless the other pair "Thank, Mulch."

"Anything for you kids."

They went to the food court and sat at a random table to swap out their shoes "Oh," Hiccup exclaimed "I almost forgot." Clueless looked up from tying his shoelaces "There's someone you need to meet today."

"Who?"

"He's a new friend of mine." The brunette explained "His name's Jack."

"Jack?" Clueless repeated. Hiccup nodded "Jack…" he muttered again as he tied one of his shoes and moved to the other.

Hiccup finished her shoes before sitting up and resting her arms on the tabletop "He doesn't go to our school, but he works at a library I like to go to, so I met him there."

Clueless tied his second shoe and sat back up too "Is uh… Jack…" he waited for the girl to nod, telling him he got the new name correctly "is he nice?"

Hiccup nodded happily "I think you'll like him. He puts up a good fight with Cam whenever she starts something with him and he's really funny."

"Does Scott like him?"

"Please," Her head of brunette hair fell into her arms "you know how he is. Every time I make a friend that's a boy, he thinks he wants nothing but to get in my pants."

Clueless glanced at her for a moment before innocently replying "I don't think he'd fit."

Hiccup groaned and hid her face "You know what I mean." She peeked through her arms to see the quiet boy smirking at her and lightly chuckling "Cute. Very, very cute." She snidely commented. Clueless shrugged and just continued to smile.

"Hey!" Astrid called, causing the two to turn her way as she and her twin approached.

"It's about time you guys showed." Hiccup remarked "I was starting to think it'd be just us for a bit there."

Astrid sat down and greeted Clueless while Cam just stared at him for a minute "Why did no one tell me Clueless was coming?"

"Because I didn't know he'd be here this weekend either." Hiccup claimed.

The only boy in the group shifted awkwardly in his seat "Sorry. Should I have texted you first?"

"Hell yeah, you should have!" Cam answered "If I knew you were coming, I would have thought up some decent puns. You guys know I'm bad at improv!"

Clueless cracked another smile and awkwardly started moving his hands around "I'll remember next time. Promise."

Cam smirked as she sat beside her sister and adjusted her jacket "You'd better prepare yourself then. Because you'll be Clueless about my jokes next time." She looked around with a forced smile "Nothing."

"You're the one that said you were bad at improv." Astrid reminded.

A few minutes after that, Felix showed up and the quintet started to catch up with each other and ask Clueless to tell them about what life at boarding school is like. Most of his answers were only a sentence or two long, like when he talked the rest of the time. But on a few subjects, like how bossy his PE teacher is and how a lot of the girls think he's "mysterious" because he gets honors yet is so bad at learning new names, faces, and directions outside of the classroom. Cam tried to make another bad "Clueless" joke and, once again, didn't get even a chuckle. Just a smile from the boy who hid his eyes behind his hair.

It had been a long time since all five of them had gotten together and talked about just everyday stuff. With everyone getting into their own clubs and sports and Clueless going to school so far away, they were almost never all together in the same place. Jack might not have been there yet, but the evening was already promising to be a pretty good one.

The five teens had already started eating their meal of hotdogs and fries when the last member of their group had showed up. Jack came over to the table and greeted everyone. Then, he noticed Clueless and yet another awkward introductory session had to ensue. But Clueless got Jack's name right, so it was less awkward that it could have been. Seemed he'd gotten better with names since he'd gone away for school.

Jack took the only open seat left at the table, between Felix and Hiccup, and snagged a hotdog from the tray that Bertha had brought out for them a little while earlier. And he apparently decided that stealing fries from Hiccup's plate was a better idea than taking his own handful from the giant basket of them that sat in the middle of the table.

Hiccup called him out on it "You could take your own, you know." She hated when people took her food without asking her.

"I could…" Jack mused as he took yet another fry from her plate "but this is more fun." He smirked as he waved it in front of her face.

Jack's look of pride quickly turned into one of confusion and shock when Hiccup smirked back and bit the fry in his hand and took it into her mouth. When she pulled away, all that was left of it was the tiny stub between the older teen's fingers. The freckled girl swallowed the fry and gave a triumphant smile to her challenger.

Jack looked at her blankly; his mouth agape and eyebrows raised "… What was that?!"

"Revenge." She smirked, her serious tone overpowering the playful expression on her face "Don't take my fries without asking."

Jack nodded "Sorry…"

They both turned back to their own meals and Hiccup tried to listen in on Astrid and Felix's conversation about school. And that worked for a little while. That is, until Clueless' little voice came in and asked "Are you guys… dating…?"

All eyes turned to Clueless in an instant. And then, right after that, to Hiccup and Jack. Hiccup's eyes got about as wide as they could without them popping out of her skull and she felt heat rush up her neck and into her cheeks. She tried to tilt her head so that her hair would cover most of her face, but that didn't exactly work as well as she hoped it would. With Astrid's "oohh's" and Felix claiming that he was interested in the answer too, she just decided it was hopeless and moves her long locks out of her face.

Hiccup finally looked at Jack and saw that he looked just as flustered as she did. His pale skin had turned a fierce red all the way from his neckline to his ears and he was obviously trying to look anywhere but at the brunette beside him. He coughed and did his best to say "uhh" but even that didn't come out quite right.

Hiccup cleared her throat and looked at her friend, who also had a bit of blush on his cheeks "Sorry…" He muttered "Should I not have asked…?"

"No, no, it's okay." Hiccup tried to soothe with a shaky voice "W-we're not dating, no, but uh… you didn't know that, I mean you just met the guy what an hour ago?" She tried to laugh it off but failed miserably at that.

"I was just curious…" Clueless defended with a hush.

"I know, I know." Hiccup replied "It's-"

"It's okay." Jack interjected "No worries, Clueless." His voice was still sort of failing him, but he got his point across well enough.

After that uh… surprising event that Clueless brought up, Jack did his best to calm his heartbeat and get the heat from his face and… other places. It seemed everyone tried to get past that topic by talking about almost any general topic they could come up with. But, for the most part, Jack remained silent and so did Hiccup, which interested him a bit. Did it really make Hiccup as uncomfortable as him to be asked if they were… a thing?

Jack liked her, he knew that by now. But still, being mistaken for a couple when they're not is just… weird. It's other people seeing their behaviors towards one another and deciding that those signs meant that the people in question were dating. Or, if they weren't, that they clearly should. The assumption was innocent, Jack knew that very well. Clueless seemed to be the kind of person who really didn't like to overstep boundaries or upset people. So he did let it go but… it still stirred up something inside of him in a way that he didn't like. He couldn't explain it better than that, though. All he knew was, whatever it was, he didn't like it.

Soon enough, everyone had finished eating and their bowling tournament was getting underway. Nothing was too weird about that, except for the Hofferson sisters whispering to each other. It looked like it was nothing until Felix started scribbling in names on the score card.

"Hold it!" Cam ordered "Why don't we make the game a little more… interesting." She said with a smile that honestly scared Jack a little bit.

"Interesting how?" Hiccup questioned.

Clueless followed up with "Yeah, how?"

"I'm glad you asked, my friends." Cam crossed her arms and popped out one of her hips "How about we split into teams, since we're an even number for once?"

"I don't see why not." Felix put down the pencil and turned his gaze back up to the rest of the group and everyone else tentatively nodded "How are we gonna choose teams?"

"We figured that out." Astrid stated, pulling out her cell phone "There's an app on my phone where you put names or numbers into it and it can group them up or be a spinner for a board game and stuff like that." She tapped it a few times "There we go. Jack, you're with Hiccup, Cam's with Clueless, and I'm with Felix.

Jack found Hiccup's gaze and smiled at her. She smiled back and her shoulders rose a bit, like she was nervous about being paired up with the older boy.

"Right!" Cam grabbed Clueless' arms and pushed Astrid closer to Felix "Let's start the game!"

And so, the game started with Jack and Hiccup's team going up first. The way they decided the game would go was the person bowling would alternate with each round. So Jack went the first round and Hiccup went in the next one, and so on. It wasn't a bad system, he had to admit. After all, he had more time to swipe a few snacks from the dispensers near the front doors this way and he still got to taunt Cam and she him. So, if anything, the game was more fun this way.

Towards the end of the game, it was Hiccup's turn once again and Jack took this round to just watch her. Mostly because he was trying to figure out her technique and exactly how it actually worked because wow, they bowled two completely different ways. Jack always gripped the ball with only one hand and all but ran down the lane until he got close to the line and let it fly down to the pins. Meanwhile, Hiccup's approach was gentler, overall. She held it with two hands until she was ready to let it go, lining it up from its place in her hands before she even started walking down the lane with it. Both methods worked, sure. But wow, Jack couldn't handle taking so much thought into sending the ball down that corridor of polished wood. He didn't really think when he bowled, or when he played any sport or game. He just did it and followed the rules. Nothing more or less.

When Hiccup released her ball this time around, she landed a strike and pulled their team ahead of Astrid and Felix by five points. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Jack while she waited for her ball to come back. And that look made Jack melt a little inside. Her braces glinted slightly and her hair was waving as it settled behind her back. Jack found himself smiling back at her, even as her eyes left his and she went on to take her second turn. One more strike and the others would have a little problem catching up with them.

But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. Maybe Eli was right about going after Hiccup before someone else came into the picture. Clueless joining their group for the night only encouraged Jack more. Hiccup had a lot more male friends than he originally thought and she was clearly very open to making new friends, very contrary to Jack's original interpretation of her social life. But maybe he was just telling himself that she didn't like having a lot of friends to make himself feel better.

He sighed. God I'm pathetic.

Jack was pulled out of his daze by an unfamiliar voice "Pretty girl, hm?"

The white-haired teen quickly turned and saw a rather tall man with decently sized muscles standing behind him. He had blond hair and a beard to match underneath a worn baseball cap. Though, it looked like some of it was missing for some reason. And a right hand that looked very plastic was holding onto a mop and, in his left hand, a metal bucket filled with soapy water.

"Uh… sure…?" Jack honestly didn't know what this guy was going for with the comment but it sure did catch his attention.

"Don't lie to me, lad." The man went on, taking a seat beside Jack and putting his supplies beside him. Only then did the teen realize just how tall this guy was. He was a freaking giant! "I saw the way you were lookin' at her."

Jack blinked. Was it really that obvious to everyone that he may or may not have a little thing for Hiccup?

"She's somethin', she is." The man went on "Pretty, smart, great bowling arm… yet single…" Jack's eyebrows rose at that statement, questioning the credibility of this guy's words "somethin' worth chasin'… like the sun." He looked up at one of the lights on the ceiling after that and smiled. Then, he looked out a nearby window "Too bad it's cloudy today. But it'll come out soon enough."

Then, he got up, took his things, and disappeared behind the door to the supply closet. Jack watched the door for a few minutes, thinking he'd emerge again, but he never really got a chance to see because the next thing he heard was Cam yelling that it was his turn to bowl. Wow, when did the rest of the round even take place? Was he really that into his thoughts and talking to a janitor? Apparently, yes.

Jack stood and took the ball he'd been using all game and took his turn, smiling at his partner before he did so.

Yes. Jack told himself This will happen.

Edit: Okay, so I forgot to say when I posted this chapter that Clueless is a character from the HTTYD books. He's really a background character but I really liked him so... I brought him into this fic.