A/N: Hey, um..people. This is Zach. Sorry for the long long wait...it's my fault. And I'm also sorry for the suckiness of this chapter. Next one will be better for sure. Mainly because I'm not the one writing it. Anyway...enjoy?

The first day of school was usually the hardest day of them all. Sure, there were finals weeks, finals prep weeks, and catch up days in between today and the last day of school, but the first was hardest.

Their first school year without their mother, Hiccup kept running to Jack's classroom, refusing to leave the seven year old's side which resulted in the teachers calling up their father everyday. Even so, the brunet wouldn't leave him; always holding his hand or tugging at his sleeve.

When Jack went up into high school, the whole family was hit harder than they had expected. Stoick moped around the house for months at the thought of his oldest growing up. Hiccup became more nervous everyday, never knowing if Jack was going to return home that day or end up in the hospital from being in a car accident. Jack, on the first day of Freshmen year, allowed himself to shed a tear or two but never too many.

And now the two ran about the house trying to get ready; Hiccup excited for his Junior year, Jack not so much for his Senior. While his younger brother put on a dress shirt, straightened his tie, and packed his bag, he laid in their bedroom staring at the television, still in his pajamas.

"Jackson!" Hiccup snapped. "Come on! Get up and get dressed!"

The seventeen year old groaned and rolled over on his side, his back facing his brother. "I honestly don't feel good, Hic. Just let me sleep…"

"I can tell you're lying, you know." He rolled his eyes. In fact, he would know more about lying than Jack would. Every time his older brother stayed home sick from school, he always convinced their father he was as well. This resulted in many sneak trips to the kitchen to fix up a bowl of soup for him.

Jack only grunted in reply, laying on his back with his eyes closed. In truth, he wasn't all that great an actor. It wasn't a wonder he was always caught after a prank was played.

Having had enough of this childishness and knowing that time was short, Hiccup grabbed one of the many pillows on Jack's bed and began hitting him as hard as he could with it. This started a full on pillow fight which continued for at least ten minutes. Jack had grabbed a pillow with each hand and laughed as he attacked his younger brother, soon getting him into a corner of the room. Hiccup, on the other hand, only started laughing and playing around when he knew how close he was to defeat.

The oldest boy chuckled when he saw the brunet smile and laugh and playfully beg for mercy as he pressed the pillows against him, forcing him to slide down the corner and sit on the floor. He went to his knees and stared at him straight in the eyes.

"This may be a bad time, but…" He looked down at his brother's shirt and grinned, looking back up at him. "Your shirt and hair are a mess."

Hiccup's eyes went wide and he looked at his shirt, checking his hair. "Jack, you messed it up! Now I have to do all this over again! And we have school in twenty minutes!" He groaned and stood up, trying to fix his hair as he began walking out of the room. "And get dressed and ready!"

It was an odd thing to see them walking down to the bus stop later on that morning. Normally, kids wear their brand new clothes they had just gotten that summer or the few days before the first day. Teens walking down the street prided in their new hairstyles, possibly new hair colors, new shirts and skirts and shorts and pants and shoes. Hiccup would even pride himself in his new pants and shirt and tie, his shoes just one size too big and his brand spanking new shoulder bag that bounced off his hip was amazingly cool. But Jack…well, he just looked more proud of himself than he did of his look.

Same old blue sweatshirt, same ripped, loose jeans, same hairstyle that, one had to admit, looked greasy as if he hadn't showered. His shoes hung from his shoulder, one bouncing against his backpack while the other bounced against his chest. His feet tapped against the sidewalk, happily splashing into puddles like it was no one's business.

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and kept walking, ignoring the smug look on his brother's face. He loved his brother, he loved his brother a lot. But sometimes, it was just embarrassing to be around him. One day, someone asked if they were actually related due too all the differences. One time Hiccup was able to convince one of his friends that they weren't.

"Smell of fresh cut wet grass." Jack said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. "Love it."

The brunet nodded, looking out for the bus. "I'm surprised you can smell anything over your man perfume." He commented with a smile.

"It's not 'man perfume', Hic. It's cologne." Jack rolled his eyes and looked down at his younger brother.

"Yeah, well, it would smell better if you had showered and only used a little bit of it."

"If I had enough time, I would have showered."

"The alarm went off at six." Hiccup shook his head. "We both woke up at six. It's seven thirty-five right now. You had enough time to take a shower but you didn't get up until I hit you with that pillow."

Jack nodded and sat on the bench behind them, yawning. "And I'm still tired…"

It was strange how lazy his older brother became over the years. The brunet always imagined him playing basketball or joining the swim team. He was always so hyper and active; running around, jumping off things, he even swam laps in the neighbors' pool when they weren't home. It was sad to see that, since his accident, he hadn't been doing much of anything.

Stoick had noticed it, too. During Jack's first year of high school, he tried hard to get him into the swim team. He drove him to practices, watched all the meets, and even got so far as to bring the team out for movies on the weekends. After the first season, the blond never went back to swimming. In fact, there was a huge fight that resulted in a vase being broken and their mother's picture almost falling.

When the bus finally arrived, Hiccup sighed in relief, taping his brother's leg with his foot. It took a moment for him to stand up and walk on after him, letting him sit closest to the window. Friends who had sat in front of the pair turned around, complimenting Hiccup and laughing with Jack. They all swapped school schedules to see what classes they had together and even wrote their names down beside them. When the youngest of them all looked over the list, he sighed but smiled. Nearly all his class were with his brother, all except for third period.

It wasn't long until they got to the school, their bus caught in a sea of many. Hiccup took out a pen and wrote down the number of their bus, even though it never changed in all their years of going to school. But, he just wanted to make sure. One year, Jack kept saying he knew the bus number, he knew where it parked, there wasn't anything for the young one to worry about. That was until they actually got on the bus and realized they were heading close to the edge of town. Their father wasn't too happy about that.

When they finally walked into the school, it was almost intimidating. The Freshmen seemed to be getting bigger with every year that passed and this year, their egos were about as big as they were.

Hiccup sighed and glanced around at people picking on others, girls talking in corners. "Something tells me it's not going to be such a great year." He muttered.

Jack smiled and rolled his eyes, nudging the brunet with his shoulder. "For you, maybe, but this is my last year. It's going to be the best! And after, I'll finally be-"

"In College? Getting a job? Becoming more mature?"

"…Free. I was going to say free."

He smiled slightly and gave out a chuckle. "There is no 'free'. What about college? Don't you want to get a degree other than this one?"

"Maybe." Jack shrugged and nodded with a smirk toward a group of girls that, in turn, giggled and whispered to each other. Freshmen no doubt. "But what would I get it in?"

"Something that makes you happy." Hiccup answered his brother. "It's no use getting something that'll just pay the bills. You'll be miserable for the rest of your life if you do."

That was the life he wanted the older one to have. So many people had gone into the fast food business, never being able to get out of it. He wanted Jack to have the kind of life that would make him smile everyday like he always did. Not one where he stayed at home, wasting his life asking if anybody would like fries with their order.

The major places for hanging out before first bell was the gym, the stairwells, the front hallways, and the library. The classrooms were almost completely empty and the cafeteria served horrible food to where the smell made you gag. Nonetheless, the two always went down there, taking the small cartons of milk and tiny bowls of cereal they offered. They would have taken a breakfast sandwich or bagel, but the bagels always tasted like rubber and the breakfast sandwiches were never cooked all the way. During Hiccup's first year of school, he bit into one and the yoke spilled everywhere. He was sick for a week or so.

After going downstairs and opening his fruit loops, Jack smiled at his younger brother. "Don't stress out this year, okay?"

"What do you mean 'stress out'? I'm perfectly fine." Hiccup answered, already eating his cheerios.

"No you're not. You're worried about the SATs and homecoming and everything."

"How did you know all that?"

"I read your journal."

"You what?!"

"Hey, hey, relax." Jack patted his hand. "I only read what said 'first day of school'. Only school things, I promise. But, it's for your own good."

Hiccup glared at him. "No, Jack, it's not 'for my own good'. How would it be anyway? You reading my personal thoughts and worries is not for my own good."

"It is if I know them." He cleared his throat. "That way I can help you. Like, you were worried about what to ware for today." He shrugged and looked him over. "You look fine. A little stuffy, but fine."

Thankfully, for Jack, the bell had rung and the only thing Hiccup could get out was a grumble. The older of the two smirked, threw the rest of his breakfast away, and quickly began walking to their first period, smiling the whole way.

Teens piled out of the gym, roaring and shouting as they walked as one huge group. The ones in the library just laughed and talked to only each other as they made their way to class. It was strange to see in the halls; small groups, medium groups, and large groups that took up so much of the hall that you'd have to slip into a bathroom so they could pass. It was very stereotypical.

Hiccup did as he always did on almost everyday of school; cling to his brother's sleeve and avoid eye contact with everybody and anybody. They almost always had every class together but when they didn't, Jack was nice enough to walk the brunet to his class, making sure nobody picked any fights with him.

When they finally got to their first period class, it was nice and cool and held the air of something that was brand new. Posters of the human body were scattered across the walls and hotlines for mental health care centers were written in bold letters on one whiteboard. They both knew what class this was and it made Hiccup blush furiously as he sat down next to Jack, taking off his backpack and pulling out a notebook and pen. The other, of course, just leaned back in his chair with a smirk and watch the other students walk in, their teacher not so far behind.

The bell sounded for class to start and the door was shut. No way out, no way in. The teacher stood behind his desk and smiled at the filled seats, placing his hands on his hips.

"Welcome to sexual education."