This chapter's short, I know, but I wanted to let you all know that I am not dead, in fact, life has just decided to stab me repeatedly with a metaphoric knife tinted with a poison called Chemistry. Anyway, I've been focused on a Jelsa fic. No, before you kill me, I don't ship them. In fact, my loathing of them has started to grow as of account of some instances with a few fans- but only a few. Most of them are sweet, nice, kind people who don't mind that I ship Jackunzel. Ahem so I'm sorry that this has nothing plot-wise, but it contains important stuff for later instances of the story. And I want to thank all my beautiful reviewers and I would respond right here like I usually do but I'm a lazy butt and don't want to open a new tab ahaha. I just want to thank you all for giving me more than 100 reviews, and that really means a whole lot to me, so just gah I wish I could give all of you hugs. P.s. this chapter's terrible bc guess who's terrible at imagery and despcription?

For the first time, Hiccup beat her.

Astrid had pinned him down, as usual, to the jeers of Snotlout and of Tuffnut about how weak Hiccup was. But today, Hiccup had grabbed Astrid's elbows, twisted her arm to her left, and forced her to fall onto her side, before pinning her underneath him in a turn of events.

Once his knees had caged her body, Hiccup colored red and immediately scampered off. Gobber's whistle signified that Hiccup had won the match.

Snotlout's jaw fell open. Tuffnut's laughing ceased. Astrid gaped and rubbed her sore arm, sitting upright. Fishlegs and Ruffnut, who had been warming up, gave Hiccup equally flabbergasted looks.

And Gobber had the largest smile Hiccup had ever seen.

"Hiccup, lad, good job!" Gobber announced. "You've won the match. Alright, kids, I'd say the practice is near done." The coach pulled Hiccup aside, looking warily towards the others before speaking, making sure they were out of earshot.

"Gobber?" Hiccup questioned, because this was unlike his wrestling coach.

"Yer surprising me, Hiccup," Gobber said heartily. "Seems your old man was wrong about yeh. Keep this up, you might make it to district competitions."

Compete against other people. Joy.

"Er, yeah, sure," Hiccup said, unsure if he should feel happy or even just relieved that he beat Astrid at something.

With a clamp on the back, Gobber left. Hiccup sighed and turned around- just to face the wrestling team.

Astrid led the procession, with the twins on either side of her and with Snotlout standing behind them. Fishlegs, Hiccup noticed, stayed back.

"That move was pretty thought out," Astrid placed her hand on her hip and tossed her head back with a sway of her bangs. "You could actually win some competitions, nerd. With our help, of course."

"The- what?" Hiccup stammered. Tuffnut shoved himself into Hiccup's face.

"You were wise to seek help from the world's deadliest weapon-" he said. Hiccup backed away nervously.

"Wha-?"

"It's me," Tuffnut said, like it should have been obvious. Snotlout pushed Tuffnut to the side, this time sticking his face into Hiccup's personal space.

"That thing was actually pretty cool," Snotlout admitted. It was Ruffnut's turn to shove Snotlout aside with an elbow jab, and she pressed her face about an inch before Hiccup's.

"You're crazy!" she decided, before leaning in closer and lowering her voice flirtatiously. "I like that."

"Alright, give the kid some space," Astrid roughly shoved Ruffnut to the side. Giving Hiccup a rare smile, she announced, "Well, what to you say about coming with us, to hang out?"

"Hang out, you mean, after practice?" Hiccup pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"Um, yeah," Astrid said like he was slow, tossing her head back again so that her blond bangs grew tousled again. "If you want to, that is." She crossed her arms and quirked her eyebrow.

"After-" Hiccup trailed off because he had agreed to meet Merida, Rapunzel and Jack afterward.

"Are you going to?" Ruffnut asked roughly, copying Astrid with her arm movement.

"Erm-" Hiccup shot a look at Fishlegs, whose eyes were narrowing towards his former friend. That might've been the reason he said, quite icily, "Sure."

An hour later, Hiccup's late and Merida won't admit it, but she's worried.

"What do you think about a chicken salad?" Rapunzel asked, flipping through a vibrant, laminated pamphlet and pointing at a dish.

"Sure," Jack's own face is buried in the choices, his mouth twisting in an internal battle. "They have burgers, too."

Merida couldn't keep her eyes on the menu, though, because she hated those shady people that Hiccup trained with and wished that he'd let them stay back at his practice with him. Rapunzel had told him they wouldn't mind, but Hiccup set them away with a weak smile and a promise that he'd meet them at the restaurant.

She grasped the edge of the wooden table with its knockoff red and white gingham checkered pattern tablecloth and scowled because she could.

"Are you going to order?" Rapunzel set the menu down and gave her friend a smile.

"Erm- yeah," Merida said, her mind not really on the situation at hand. She was still worried about Hiccup. They could've killed him- or worse. Okay, so that option was a bit out there, but she was seriously contemplating it since it was already half an hour.

Speaking of half an hour- did the diner have a damn waitress?

"Hiccup's taking a long time," Jack remarked.

Where has your slow ass been? Merida thinks.

"He'll come soon, he'd never forget," Rapunzel said pleasantly, because she likes to see the best in everyone and be optimistic. That was why Merida had to be the pessimist in the situation.

"Unless he's stuck over there," Merida mutters spitefully. "Ah don't trust that Astrid girl."

"Astrid seems perfectly fine," Rapunzel argued, to which Merida laughed.

"She's nothin' but a bitch," Merida snarled, and clutched a salt shaker in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white with the intensity in which she grasped it.

"Jealousy?" Jack winked towards Merida, and it took all of her self-control to not wipe that smirk off his face with a well-planted punch.

"Jealous of Astrid? Never," Merida said, her mouth set decidedly. "There's no way ah'd ever be jealous of that blond ditz- no offense, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel fingered a long strand of hair self-consciously. "Well, if she's not smart, then there's all the more reason to be nice to her."

"That's not why she's a ditz," Merida was getting irritated by speaking about Astrid by each passing second. "She's a ditz 'cause she is."

"Ditz, bitch, skank, whore, is there anything else you want to call her?" Jack asked. Merida shot him a look that could kill him, were it possible, at his word additions.

"Maybe we have to call the waitress. Excuse me!" Rapunzel called out to a passing woman in uniform, already tired of the Astrid conversation and wanting to eat.

Merida begrudgingly opened her menu like Jack did and convinced herself that Gobber just had them practicing late. She had no idea why she was so worried, though. It might've been the amount of teasing and bullying the four went through just for being friends- the thought made a scowl etch itself into her features like it had been doing so often now.

"What'll it be, kids?" a woman in her forties, with bleached hair and a mouth full of gum, asked the table obnoxiously with a snap of the pink bubble in her mouth.

"A chicken salad," Rapunzel decided ultimately, "With an iced tea, please."

"Burger, combo," Jack laid his menu flat and named his choice.

"You, dear?" the waitress asked Merida, pen poised over pad. Merida opened her mouth to answer, but stopped at the sight that had just strolled through the diner.

Astrid strutted in with a sway of her hips, not to look attractive but to look menacing. Her mouth was stretched into a smirk, her braid tossed over her shoulder. Merida's mouth only twisted further into her scowl at the sight that followed. Those twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut followed her, as did that kid Snotlout, and finally... Hiccup.

Hiccup was pressing his glasses up onto his nose nervously, his face a bright red because Ruffnut was far into his personal space. Merida was glaring hard at both of them, and she frowned.

"Dear?" the waitress asked again. Merida was snapped back to attention.

"Ugh- Ah'll get the number three," Merida said quickly, not even stopping to see what the thing she just ordered was.

"To drink?" the waitress asked.

"Coke," Merida blurted, eyeing as the group Astrid led went to a booth not far from them. The waitress read off their orders for reassurance, but Merida couldn't hear anything out of her anger.

"Are you okay, Merida?" Rapunzel asked, concerned.

"Fine," Merida spoke between gritted teeth. "I found Hiccup."

"About time he showed up!" Jack said, smiling and following Merida's gaze. His smile fell.

"Why is he...?" Rapunzel asked the question none of them knew the answer to.

"Ugh," Merida made her disgust evident.

"The hell is he doing? I thought he hated those fuc-" Jack made a wild arm movement to accompany his words and successfully elbowed Rapunzel in the ribs.

"Oh!" Rapunzel said, jumping back in surprise.

"Did I hit you?" Jack's concern was laced into his voice, and he prodded Rapunzel's side with his fingers. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no," Rapunzel blushed pink, but let Jack's hand rest on her shoulder. "I'm fine."

Merida glanced over at them and nearly vomited. Jack really had to give Rapunzel those eyes, when there was an onlooker?

"Ahem," Merida announced, and they both tore their gaze away from each other.

"The- uh-" Jack cleared his throat.

"Hiccup." Rapunzel said quietly.

"Yeah."

The Haddock residence was a house that was sizable, modern two-story, in a neighborhood that Merida parents would never approve of if they knew their only daughter was walking there. If only her mom would let her use her car- it was hers, after all- but she had insisted Merida was grounded for an incident involving Macintosh.

What actually happened was that Macintosh told his father that Merida had broke up with him, and Elinor found out, and she got upset because, to quote her words, "Macintosh is part of a wealthy family and is excellent husband material."

Merida had snorted at that.

Anyway, today, Merida's walking through the street on sidewalk tagged with graffiti and hoping none of the creepy people milling around would speak to her. Old men watered their lawns or mowed them, and a few teenage boys loitered around the end of the block, and they watched Merida walking up to Hiccup's place.

Suddenly, she felt her khaki shorts were too short, that her green tank top was too revealing, and that crazy red curls attracted too many stares.

"Who are you, beautiful?" one of the creeps called out. Merida flipped him off to the jeers of his friends and knocked on Hiccup's door.

There was silence, and she could hear Hiccup's call, "Dad, there's someone at the door." He sounded far away, though, and Merida could hear Stoick's voice calling back.

"Alright, Hiccup, I've got it!"

The door opened, and Merida faced all six feet of Hiccup's dad.

"Hi," Merida said quickly. "Is Hiccup home?" Of course, she already knew he was, though.

"Yeah," Stoick said. "He's down in the garage. Just go right in." He stepped aside to let Merida in, and though Merida had already been to Hiccup's house before, it took her a little while to find the garage.

When she entered, the first thing that hit her was the sound of music playing and the smell of- oil? Gasoline? Either way, it smelled like an auto repair shop in there.

And the sight that greeted her made her want to laugh.

Hiccup had his back to her, while he tinkered on an impressive black motorcycle. He wore a gray undershirt that stuck to his chest with sweat, and he was singing along to the music that was playing without even knowing Merida was there.

Merida giggled as she hit the pause on a speaker that blared. That was enough for Hiccup to whirl around, a tool in his hand and a horrified expression gracing his face.

"Merida!"

"Hi," Merida laughed some more at his mortification. Hiccup scrambled to stand, and wiped his hands on his dirty shirt.

"I wasn't singing, you know," Hiccup was quick to say. "I was humming."

"Sure," Merida smiled devilishly at him. Hiccup groaned.

"Did you actually hear all of that?" he said.

"What are ye doin'?" Merida asked, taking the subject off the table and sitting on a chair at the side of the room. "Ah didn't know ye rode a motorcycle."

Hiccup stood up, raking his fingers through his shaggy brown hair. "Well, I don't, actually. I'm just fixing it up."

"To ride?" Merida pressed.

"What else what I do with a motorcycle?" Hiccup grinned towards Merida and patted the machine lovingly. "Anyway, I don't know how to ride. So I have to learn."

Merida watched as Hiccup went back to oiling parts of it and tinkering. She wasn't sure what possessed her, but she blurted, "Can ye teach me tae ride, too?"

Hiccup looked up, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and looked confused before speaking. "Sure, Merida."

Merida inhaled slowly, but didn't know what to speak to him about. She hadn't told Rapunzel or Jack that she had gone to visit Hiccup, but felt that she should've told them, considering the topic she wanted to discuss with him.

That afternoon at the diner really upset her, and she didn't understand why.

"So where's Astrid?" Merida tried to pass it off as nonchalant. Hiccup's head popped out from under the motorcycle, more confusion etched on his face.

"I don't know, probably ruining someone else's life," Hiccup said. "Why?"

"Ye two seemed close," Merida said, suddenly interested in a thread hanging off of her shorts. Picking at it, she watches as it unravels.

"Close?" Hiccup stood up and wiped his hands on a rag already stained black with grease. "What do you mean close?"

Alright, so it wasn't Astrid that was getting close- it was actually more of Ruffnut, but if memory served, Ruffnut would never be able to convince Hiccup to leave his friends. Merida decided that if it were anyone, it'd have to be Astrid.

"We saw you guys at the diner yesterday," Merida said. Hiccup's eyes went wide.

"Merida, I-"

"Ye don' have tae explain anythin', Hiccup," Merida said, cutting him off. "We were just sayin' ye don't have tae lie about it."

Hiccup groaned again. "It was a one-time thing, I swear. I just thought you guys might be mad if I went with them instead."

"That's not what was upsetting," Merida lied, "It's just that we were waitin' fer ye, Hic."

"I know," Hiccup said quietly. He went to his motorcycle again, and tested the engine. Merida sighed and looked around awkwardly. That thread hanging off her shorts had already doubled in length and was close to snapping in two.

"I think she's ready for a test drive," Hiccup said cheerfully, not a minute later. Merida looked up at that. "Want to go for a drive, Merida?"

Merida opened her mouth soundlessly. "In that?" she managed to croak out. Already, what seemed like a good idea was turning into a bad one by the way the engine grumbled and the motorcycle shook.

"Not much different from a bike," Hiccup shrugged. "I'll just put on a new shirt and we can go." He seemed to have forgotten that Merida never agreed when he left the garage.

Merida stood to examine it, and ran her hand over the metal and leather that Hiccup had made look beautiful. She was sure that it must've looked terrible once upon a time, but Hiccup was so good with tinkering, that he fixed it.

Hiccup came back, with an olive green t-shirt that clung to his muscles and accented his eyes perfectly. Merida sucked in her breath. Alright, so the boy was physically weak, but he had a six pack under that shirt.

"Ready?" Hiccup opened his garage door, and positioned the motorcycle at the front.

"What?" Merida said, panicking. Alright, Merida. Get it together. It's a motorcycle. You're the bravest girl there is. Her thoughts weren't helping.

Hiccup straddled the seat, gripped the handles, and looked back at Merida through his glasses with a smile. "Well?" he asked.

Merida hesitantly climbed behind him, and kept her arms stiffly to her sides as to not cross any boundaries.

"Just hold onto me," Hiccup offered, and he started. The motion sent Merida's arms flying around Hiccup's torso in an instant, almost shrieking aloud when he picked up speed.

The sensation wasn't terrible. It was a slight vibration with a bumpy road. They kept on the street, which was thankfully empty, and Hiccup accelerated the speed. Merida clung to his taunt muscles harder, laughing when she felt the wind whipping her red curls behind her back. She could almost see Hiccup's smile from the corner of her eye.

A curb sent Merida's face into Hiccup's spine, where she could smell his shirt, which gives the distinct smell of sweat and fabric softener, and a musk of cologne. It sent a delicious shiver down Merida's nerves for some reason, and she hugged Hiccup tighter still when he keeps driving.

For someone who had never ridden before, he was a natural. Every bend, obstacle and problem he rides around easily. Merida had to admit that it wasn't half bad, being with Hiccup on a motorcycle.