Stupid Love - Chapter Sixteen

Pairing: Hijack

Word Count: 2925

Warnings: Implied Criminal Activity, Some Language, Somewhat-Hostage Situation, Jack looking at a Playboy magazine

I do not own the rights to any characters from How to Train Your Dragon or Rise of the Guardians.

Also, this ENTIRE CHAPTER is basically just the hijacking scene from the movie Adventures in Babysitting. That is exactly what it's based on, so if you haven't seen that movie, I highly recommend watching it (along with Crazy, Stupid Love and the entire Fast & Furious series)!

Hiccup's hand hovered over the Heath bar for a moment before he reached over and grabbed a 100 Grand bar instead. Walking up to the register, he pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket and opened it, taking out a twenty-dollar bill.

"Is this all for today?" The acne-ridden teenager behind the counter asked in a rehearsed tone. Hiccup handed him the money, saying,

"Yeah, and put the rest on Pump 9, will you?"

The cashier turned and looked out the big window facing the pumps before frowning and asking confusedly,

"Uhh...you mean 8?"

Hiccup scrunched up his nose. He always parks at Pump 9 when he comes down here. Hiccup glanced out to the lot through the front doors.

"What? No, it's-"

He froze. There wasn't a car sitting at that pump anymore.

"W-where's my car?" he stammered, running up to the door and shoving it open. "Toothless?!"

He looked around frantically. Where the hell did his car go? And where was Jack?

He ran across the lot, glancing up and down the road, but there was still no sign of his car or the white-haired moron he suspected had taken it. He walked towards the pumps again, pacing back and forth quickly.

Hiccup took out his cell phone, biting his lip as he dialed Jack's number. He put the phone up to his ear, listening as it rang and rang and rang and eventually went to voicemail. He hung up and tried again. Still no answer.

"Damnit, Jack…" he muttered, pulling the phone away and dialing Astrid's number instead.

After a couple rings, she finally picked up.

"I told you I was gonna sleep and you call me anyway?" Astrid's groggy voice sounded over the other line.

"ASTRID, JACK STOLE MY CAR!" Hiccup shouted into the receiver.

Astrid paused a moment before simply replying,

"...what?"

Hiccup shook his head, pacing even faster.

"He just-he took off with it!" he told Astrid quickly, "I went inside and I turned around and then is was-and now Toothless is gone, Astrid! HE'S GONE-"

"Okay, hold on! Calm down," she cut him off. "Tell me what happened. Slowly."

Hiccup took a deep breath.

"Jack and I decided to go for a cruise down to Gobber's. I needed to fill up on gas, so we stopped at the station just off the highway. I went inside to pay for gas," he explained, "and the second I turned around, Jack had taken off with my car."

He heard Astrid grumble a moment before asking,

"Why would Jack take your Fiero? I mean...seriously?"

"Wha-" Hiccup looked down at the ground. "I don't know… But who else could've taken it?"

Astrid sighed,

"I don't know, Hiccup. Just...stay there at the gas station. I'll come and get you, and then we'll figure this whole mess out, okay?"

Hiccup let out a breath. What was going on? Where was Jack? And why was Astrid not freaking out about this as much as he was? Hiccup just didn't understand.

"Okay," he replied quietly, ducking his head and pressing End Call on his phone.

Jack was getting anxious. Okay, he'd been anxious this whole time, but now he was actually feeling it. The cold shoulder from this guy-he didn't want to think of him as Jamie; the boy he knew wasn't some criminal, yet here he was, stealing Hiccup's car with HIM inside-was as unnerving as the sharp turns and blown-through intersections they'd gone through in the past minute and a half.

He let his jaw finally unclench long enough to ask,

"Where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Jamie said sternly, staring straight ahead as they turned another corner. Jack bit his lip as his shoulder smacked into the door.

Jamie sure was in a hurry to get somewhere, and Jack wasn't too keen on finding out just where that somewhere was. He needed to find a way to get him to stop, or at least slow down so he could find a way to get out of there...

"You know, you don't have to do this, Jamie-" he started, but Jamie shot him a dark glare over his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah-save it," Jamie retorted with a scowl. "I don't care."

"It was worth a shot…" Jack muttered, slouching back into his seat. So much for that idea.

Jamie turned left onto another street and the road narrowed. The buildings were taller and more run-down. Jack peered out the window, figuring they must be downtown now. There weren't any other cars around, and definitely not another person. Jack suddenly felt sick as that all really sank in. He was actually in danger right now, wasn't he?

Jamie turned a sharp corner and they entered a small, dark alleyway.

"Okay, this is getting a little freaky," Jack croaked, noticing a flickering light over a garage door up ahead.

"Just keep your mouth shut and I'll make sure you get out of here alive, alright?" Jamie told him, rolling down his window just enough to stick his hand out. He slowed to a stop and made a quick motion with his hand. Suddenly, the garage door started to open and Jack could see sparks of lights flying out.

As the door continued to lift higher, Jack realized the sparks were coming from all over, as there were several men, all about his age, welding and cutting up cars, all similar to the one he was currently sitting in.

He gulped.

"You've got to be kidding me…" he whispered, squinting at the bright light as the car slowed pulled forward.

Jamie stopped the car right in front of a small group of men, all sitting on overturned buckets and plastic chairs. Jack sat up and Jamie parked the car, stepping out almost instantly. Jack glanced over as he left.

Should he stay put? Should he get out? His mind seemed to be running laps in so many different directions, and he wasn't sure what to do. Before he could decide, his hand was pulling on the door handle and he was stepping out.

"Ey, Pitch!" He heard Jamie shout over the sound of whirring and sparks falling to the cement floor, "Uhh, caught a Fiero..."

Jack looked behind him as he shut the car door. It grew quiet as the men were all stopping what they were doing. Someone was closing the garage door where they'd come in at.

Well, there goes his chance to make a run for it.

"Yes, and a stray," Jack heard someone reply. "I'd tell you to throw them both back, but something tells me you have other plans, JB?"

Jack turned back to see a tall, pale man standing over Jamie as the younger man visibly stiffened.

"Uhh, well…" Jamie sputtered.

Jack stepped forward-again, not really sure why-and pushed a hand out to the man Jamie had called 'Pitch'.

"Wow, it sure is nice to meet Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gruesome in person!" he said as loudly and obnoxiously as he could, his hand waiting to be shaken.

Pitch glanced over, eyeing his hand with a deep scowl.

"Jack, don't," Jamie warned, barely looking over at him.

"Take this friend of yours upstairs, JB," Pitch ordered, turning back to Jamie before walking back towards the men sitting nearby. "We have...business to discuss."

"Alright," Jack smirked, stepping ahead of Jamie. "Show me to the party!"

Jamie shook his head, pushing Jack aside and walking in front of him, passing by the others.

Jack followed him quickly before they reached a metal staircase that led to what seemed to be an office. This ride just never stopped, huh?

As Jack started to go up the stairs, Jamie shoved him up against the railing.

"What are you doing?" Jamie sneered. "That guy could have you killed just for lookin' at him funny!"

Jack rubbed his shoulder, walking up the remaining few steps, remarking,

"I think a better question would be, what are you doing?"

Jamie stepped up, and Jack looked down at him, taking that moment to try to knock some sense into him.

"A chop shop, Jamie?" he grimaced, judging. "Really? What the hell happened to you?!"

Jamie looked away, gritting his teeth as he replied,

"It's none of your business-"

"Oh, it is definitely my business!" Jack barked back. "You see, I was in a car that you hijacked-"

"I told you, I didn't know you were in there!" Jamie argued, glaring up at him, "That guy always drives by that gas station around this time on the weekends, along with that chick and her Camaro. It was the Camaro I was after, not that moron's heap of junk-!"

Jamie pushed him as he reached the top of the stairs, but Jack pushed back.

"That moron is my best friend, and he isn't gonna just let you take off his car!"

"Well, unless he wants to go up against Pitch, he can just fuck off, 'cause he's not getting it back!" Jamie pulled open the door and pushed Jack inside. Jack stumbled forward before turning around, yelling,

"You're making a mistake!"

"Yeah, well, I make a lot of those," Jamie remarked, frowning. "Just...stay here. I'll figure out a way to get you out of here when I can, okay?"

Jack growled, stepping forward,

"Don't pretend like you actually care about me, you ass-!"

Jamie shut the door in his face. Jack slammed his fist against the door as he heard it lock.

Shit.

Now what was he supposed to do?

He looked around the dim office. There was a dusty, old desk off to the side and yellowing papers all over the floor. The one window was covered by broken blinds, barely letting any light in from the hanging fluorescence just outside.

Jack sighed, feeling defeated.

Just then, he felt a buzz in his hoodie pocket. He glanced down, pulling out his cell phone.

He turned it over in his hand and unlocked the screen. Hiccup had called.

"Well, of course…" he muttered to himself. Hiccup was probably worried to death about his car by now. Jack could only hope Hiccup actually cared that he was missing, too, but that wasn't important right now.

He scrolled through his contacts and opened a text to Sandy. If there was just one guy he knew that could get him out of this much of a mess, it'd be Sandy.

He started to type, but one glance at the top of the screen and he groaned.

"Bars, come on-" he walked closer to the window, holding the phone up as high as he could. "Is there any service in this fuckin' place?"

He walked back towards the locked door.

"Nope."

He walked over to the desk in the corner.

"No."

He stepped over to the opposite corner.

"Nada."

Jack licked his lips, kneeling down closer to the floor. Still nothing.

He stood back up, standing on his tip-toes.

"Aha! There we go…!"

He started typing as fast as he could.

SANDY HELP 911 EMERGENCY

He adjusted his feet and waited for a reply. Not even thirty seconds, and Sandy had sent a text back, saying,

What seems to be the problem, Jack?

Jack looked up at his phone, quickly typing back,

Somebody stole Hiccup's car!

Quick and to the point, right? Jack let himself lean against the wall.

What happened? Came Sandy's next text.

Jack breathed. Did he want to go into details right now? He figured anything he said would help Sandy out…

I fell asleep when we were going to the bar and some dude jacked the car from him!

Sandy took only a moment to reply, this time, saying,

Do you know who took it? What did they look like?

Jack sighed, replying,

It was Jamie Bennett. I know the guy. :/ And he took the car to some chop shop downtown. The guy who runs it is called Pitch.

Jack grimaced as his felt the nerves in his feet straining to keep him on his toes. He leaned back against the wall and kicked off his shoes, freeing his feet and wiggling his toes before turning back and holding up his phone again.

It buzzed just as he put it up.

How do you know that? Sandy had texted back.

Jack wiggled against the wall, texting back,

Cuz I was in the car when he stole it! He brought me here.

Are you hurt, Jack? Did anything happen? Sandy's response was faster than before.

Jack shook his head. At least someone actually cared about him…

I'm fine but they locked me up in some room and idk what to do now.

Again, right to the point. Can we just get to the part where Sandy tells him how to get out of here already?

Can you get out? Is there a window or any way out?

Jack cried in pain as his feet finally gave out and he sunk to the floor. He reached out and massaged the bottom of his right foot, glancing up at the corner of the ceiling he was just standing under. He let his gaze fall towards the window when he noticed a hole in the ceiling, right near the middle of the room.

There it was. His way out.

He pushed himself back up on his feet, pushing through the pain to send another text.

There's a hole in the ceiling but it's kinda small.

Jack bit his lip, waiting for what Sandy had to say next. Should he go for it?

I called the crew. We're on our way.

Jack grinned. The Guardians were on the move. That was the best news he'd heard all day.

Thanks, man.

Jack finally put the phone back in his pocket and stepped back until he was under the hole. It was a little wider than his head with a crevice coming out of one side, but if he could get up there and find a way to get his shoulders through, he'd be out of there in a jiffy.

Well, first things first-he needed to get up to the hole. He walked over to the dusty desk, planning to push it over to the center of the room. A few magazines and a small lamp sat on top of it. Jack set the lamp on the floor and pushed the magazines off, but noticed the one at the bottom looked familiar.

He stepped over the pile and picked it back up.

"A Playboy?" He set him thumb on the spine and flipped through the pages, letting out a low whistle. "Don't mind if I do…"

He rolled the magazine up and shoved it into his pocket, moving back over to start pushing the desk. It scraped against the floor as he shoved it towards the center of the office, but he quickly stepped over to the closed blinds to see if anyone downstairs had heard him.

No one seemed to be looking up at the office, so Jack sucked in a breath and figured he was in the clear for now. He walked over to the door again, placing his ear up against it, trying to listen to what was being said down there.

"...the Mercedes is going to New Hampshire," Jack could hear a graspy voice saying. It must have been that Pitch guy. "I want JB takin' the Camaro to Jersey."

"But," he heard Jamie speak up, "I was supposed to take the Porsche to-"

"Well, too bad," the graspy voice remarked. "This is what happens when you fuck up, Bennett! Deal with it."

"...y-yes, sir."

Jack shook his head. As soon as he found a decent way out of here, he was going to have to do something about Jamie.

But, for now…

He jumped up on the desk, standing up and reaching up to the hole in the ceiling. The hole was smaller up close, but he still had to try...right?

He pulled a hand through the hole, feeling around for some kind of way to pull himself up. His hand landed on a rafter.

"Yes," he grinned. Grabbing onto the rafter bar and reaching his other hand up to join the first, he pulled his head through the hole. He adjusted his arm and grabbed for another rafter bar, pulling himself out further, the sides of the hole squeezing around his torso and hips, before he finally got all the way out. He crawled towards the end of the structure, looking down at the people still sitting below. The rafter he was hanging onto led from the office all the way to front of the building. Jack smirked as he realized that there was an open window just a few feet from the end of the bars. With decent balance and one, last leap of faith, he could get out of here for good, Toothless be damned.

"I am a fuckin' genius," he whispered in triumph.

I hope you all don't hate me for taking forever to update! My current college classes take up a lot of time...and with HTTYD2 coming out, I'm gonna be watching that movie every single chance I get...

Also, I was rewatching Crazy, Stupid Love a few times this past month and I came up with some new ideas to ADD to this story. So, instead of the original 28 chapters I was going to have, I'm planning to have closer to 36 once this story is done! So, hopefully, that's good news for you all, haha~