Ta-da! Chapter 4! Honestly, I'm starting to consider putting the last chapter and combining this one into one chapter, since they're both pretty short.
I might not be able to update as often now, because I've got a bunch of essays to write and an unfortunate case of writers block.
Hope you enjoy!
It had been a few days now since Hiccup last saw Jack in the hospital room, and each day a pit of worry grew deeper in his stomach.
It was unusual, walking to school from his house without his goofy friend walking next to him, teasing him or making jokes. Jack was always there for him, and now Hiccup hated the fact that he couldn't be back at the hospital with Jack.
The days grew longer and longer, and now Hiccup often found himself laying on his couch, staring up at the ceiling, doing absolutely nothing for hours.
He spent a lot of time doodling in his notebook, filling the pages with scribbles of imaginary dragons, something he had always done ever since he was little. Well, littler. But now that Jack was stuck in the hospital, it almost felt like… like a part of him was gone.
One afternoon, Hiccup was chasing his dog Toothless around the house, accidentally bumping into a table and knocking piles of books on the ground, along with numerous other things. Once he finally caught up to his pet, whom he chased into an unescapable corner, he bent down to lift him up in his arms.
"Gotcha!" Hiccup exclaimed as Toothless licked his face.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Hiccup dropped Toothless immediately, causing the dog to whimper as it hit the ground.
"Sorry, bud." He apologized quickly, looking down at his dog and biting his lip before racing off towards the door.
Hiccup felt a spark of hope flicker in his chest. Maybe it was…?
"Hey, Hiccup." A pair of blue eyes peeked from the door, but it wasn't Jack's.
"Oh." Hiccup tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. "Hi, Astrid."
A girl around his own age stepped onto the doorstep. She had blond bangs hanging over her one of her eyes, and her hair shortly braided down her back. Even though he would never admit it, Hiccup was sorta scared of Astrid. He hadn't talked to her ever since she punched him a few weeks back and resulted in a bloody nose.
She glanced him over, leaving Hiccup shifting his weight to his other leg awkwardly in silence.
After a moment, but felt like a million years to Hiccup, Astrid finally broke the silence. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the park…?"
He knew that her mother probably forced her to come and ask him that; Hiccup knew Astrid would never want to play with him. He didn't want to stay inside and sulk on the couch all day, though.
"Sure," Hiccup responded, stepping sideways. "Just give me a sec to get my coat."
A few minutes after Astrid and Hiccup arrived at the park, Astrid found Ruffnut, another girl with extremely long, blond hair and braids, and she ran off to talk to her, leaving Hiccup behind. He tried his best not to look unhappy as he slowly walked over to the set of swings.
Hiccup mindlessly swung his legs back and forth, but was barely moving.
His hands clung to the metal attachments to the wooden swings. He blankly stared off into the distance, his mind wandering off.
The wind blew through his brown, messy hair. Hiccup shivered and clutched his jacket.
This went on for a long time.
Hiccup tried to keep himself occupied, filling his thoughts with stories of dragons or fairy tales, with anything but Jack. He didn't want to make himself sadder than he already was, but no matter how hard Hiccup tried to push the thought away, the memory of the accident with the northern lights kept replaying through his head.
"Hiccup!" Jack's alarmed voiced echoed through his mind, as his grasp on the tree slipped and-
A ball rolled towards him and hit Hiccups feet, interrupting his thoughts. He stood up from the swings, his legs aching, and bent down to pick it up.
A voice followed the foam soccer ball.
"Sorry about that, sorry!" A boy with brown, ruffled hair and bright blue eyes apologized quickly, running towards him. A gasp was caught in Hiccups throat, his green eyes opened wide. The boy leaned forward to grab the ball held in Hiccups arms.
"Thanks." The boy grinned goofily, and before he could walk away Hiccup threw his arms around his neck.
"Jack!"
Hiccup stumbled over the millions of words spilled out of his mouth as he pulled Jack into a tight hug. "Oh gods, Jack, I missed you so much, I thought you died..!"
Once he finally pulled away, he could read the confusion written all over Jacks face.
"I-I don't know you." Jack took a step away from Hiccup, shielding the ball with his body, almost in a scared sort of way. A lump formed in Hiccups throat.
"Jack? It's me, Hiccup. Remember?" Hiccup bit his lower lip. "Jack, if you're playing a joke, it isn't funny."
Jack heard his name being called off into the distance, and he gave one last glance of confusion at Hiccup before running away.
And in that moment, Hiccups heart broke.
"Hey, Hiccup." Astrid's hand was placed on his shoulder as she looked grinningly at him. Ruffnut seemed to have left. "Do you want to go do something, or…?"
Her gaze softened once she realized Hiccup wasn't answering.
"Is everything alright?" She asked worriedly at him. taking her hand off of his shoulder.
Hiccup stared at Jacks back as he ran away from him, off to some other park in the park.
"Everything's fine." Hiccup lied, choking back tears.
"Everything's fine."
Hiccup hadn't talked to Jack ever since.
Thanks to Allen Walker for editing this! :D
This is the last chapter with 8-year-old Hiccup and Jack, the next chapter will show Hiccup in high school.
Thanks for all the reviews! :)
