A/N: These exposition chapters are rather unexciting to write. Can't wait for the later bits.

"I'm home!" Eugene calls as he drops his school bag on the floor before flopping down on the living room couch and turning on the TV.

"Hi honey," his mother enters the living room from the kitchen. "Your trainer called. He has some bad news."

"Oh yeah?" Eugene says, only half-listening as he surfs the channels. "He can't go today? That's all right, I can just play with the other guys at the club."

"He's coming in today, but he says this week is the last time."

"Why?" asks Eugene, sitting up instantly. "He quitting?"

"No, that's the bad news," his mom explains, sitting beside him and turning off the TV. "I'm sorry, Eugene, but it looks like the owners of the racquetball club are closing up shop and moving away. Your trainer called to tell you that this is the last week of business."

"WHAT?" Eugene exclaims. "How can they do this? Where are we supposed to play now? Why did they only tell us now? We could've worked to keep it open!"

"I don't know, dear," his mom replies sadly. "I'm just as surprised as you are, but, apparently, the business hasn't been doing well for months, and the owners just don't want the hassle of dealing with it anymore. Plus, they're moving out of town, so they said it made sense to close everything. Maybe you can just find another place to play?"

"That's the only place in town," he says exasperatedly. "The nearest one I know is too far away, so I can't go during weekdays." He slumps down further on the couch. "This blows."

"I know, honey, but maybe you can think of something? Isn't there some club you can join instead?"

"Racquetball is my sport! I can't change it just like that," he huffs. Suddenly, he brightens up. "But you did give me an idea. Maybe I can form a racquetball club. I mean, maybe we don't have one in school because no one's had the time and effort to start one. I bet if I pitch it, a bunch of people might be interested. Thanks, ma!" He quickly kisses his mom on the cheek before rushing to his room to begin his plan.

"Sorry, Eugene," Mr. Keats, the Student Activities Director, says the next day after hearing Eugene's proposal. "Starting a club isn't so easy. You need to work out the logistics of the club – training days, venues, budgets, etc, not to mention the people power needed. You'll need a coach-"

"I've got a trainer," Eugene interrupts.

"But first, you'll need at least 15 people to sign up, saying that they'll definitely join your proposed racquetball club."

"That shouldn't be so hard."

"All right," Mr Keats tells the persistent teen. "I'll give you until the end of the week to gather the signatures of your future club members. If you can send it to me by Friday, then I'll see what I can do. It won't be easy because all the other varsities and clubs have taken most of the spaces for almost all the days of the week. However, if you are really serious about pursuing this, and you can get your schoolmates to be serious too, then I'll see how I can reshuffle things to accommodate another sports club. Is that fair?"

"Deal," Eugene shakes Mr. Keats's hand enthusiastically. "I'll get started on that petition right away, and I guarantee you'll have the list in the next two days."

"Well, I hope your optimism and enthusiasm is shared by your peers, Mr. Fitzherbert," Mr. Keats says pleasantly. "Just the same, your deadline will be on Friday. Now, run along before you're late for your next class."

"Thanks again, Mr. Keats," Eugene says happily before leaving for his next period.

"Man, this is harder than I thought it would be," Eugene groans in frustration. It's Thursday lunchtime, and, so far, he's only had two other signatures.

"How's it going so far?" Hiccup asks his best friend. "Did you ask Brad? I hear he has a mean stroke."

"Yeah, I did," Eugene says, still staring at his practically empty signup sheet. "Thing is, he only plays for fun. His main sport is track and field, so he'd rather focus on that. Actually, that's my biggest problem. A lot of people have played or play sometimes, but they have other sports to train for. None of them want to split time with their current sport and a not-yet-established club."

"Yeah, sorry, Flynn," Merida pats her friend on the back. "I'd love to help you, but tennis has got most of my free time."

"Why do you call him that?" Hiccup asks. "You know that's Rapunzel's special nickname for him." He and Merida snicker.

"It's not her special nickname for me," Eugene protests. "If anything, it's my special nickname for myself."

"Yeah, yeah, we know you called yourself Flynn Rider back in pre-school," Merida tells him. "I can't believe that went on for a year. Did you hate your name that much?"

"Well, Eugene Fitzherbert doesn't exactly have a dangerous ring to it," he shrugs. "I always imagined myself to be a badass cowboy when I was a kid. The name just fit. Luckily, Rapunzel's the only one from that preschool who I'm still schoolmates with. I blame her for resurrecting it."

"Well, it does suit your bad boy nature," Merida teases. "So Flynn, how do you plan on winning the struggle to establish racquetball in this savage country?"

Eugene sighs. "I have no idea. I've only got a day left, and, unless by some miracle, I can get 13 more people to sign, then I have to raise my flag."

"Sorry, man," Hiccup consoles him. "I've run out of people to suggest to you. But I do have another suggestion in case this startup doesn't pan out."

Merida and Eugene look at him with interest. "What is it?

"Why don't you just join the tennis club?" Hiccup asks simply.

"What?" Eugene responds doubtfully. "And stop racquetball for good?"

"Well, what else can you do? I mean if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? By 'beat 'em,' I mean, the system. You might as well join another sport. What better sport to replace racquetball than tennis?"

Merida sees Hiccup's logic and excitedly agrees. "That's a great idea! This way, you don't have the added problems that come with having a brand new and inexperienced club. You can just join one that already exists."

"So you guys are basically telling me to just give up?"

"No, we just mean to suggest something more possible for you. I mean, you can keep trying to get signups. Who knows? There may be a boom between today and tomorrow. It's just a worst case scenario suggestion."

"Yeah," Hiccup agrees. "Plus side is the two of us are already there, and at least you don't have to part with a racket."

"That's true," Eugene says slowly. "But I can't give up now."

"All right," Hiccup says. "Just the same, I'll tell Luke about the possibility of you trying out."

"No need to alert the captain just yet," Eugene tells him warily. "There's still a day left. I guarantee things will look up."

Eugene finally admits that he had been licked. He knows that there is only one thing that he can do now. He tries out for the tennis team the next week. It's not the best attempt, but he certainly has potential. The years of racquetball training has made him formidable with a racket. He had missed a few serves which is understandable considering this is his first time to play the sport. After getting the hang of things, he returns every hit albeit a little messily. Many of his swings are far too strong but show promise. His footwork is something short of terrible. Although he is able to reach the ball from across the court, he does so without finesse and with risk of spraining his ankle with every turn. After a few minutes of playing, he is told to leave for a bit while the team deliberates.

"Well, what do you guys think?" Hiccup asks his teammates.

"I don't know," Luke, the team captain, says hesitantly. "He's a bit too rough and all over the place."

"Yeah, his style might not be what we need right now," another teammate says. "We need to keep up our standing against other schools. We train so much, even during the summer, we can't just let some guy join midyear. Can't he just join some other club, like ping pong or badminton?" Hiccup and Merida frown at their teammate.

"Well, if you're so good at judging tennis playing capabilities, Kevin," Merida says pointedly. "then tell me, how do you judge your playing?" Everyone shifts uncomfortably at the tension rising in the room. Kevin hasn't won any matches in the last two months he's competed. Kevin clenches his fists and prepares a comeback for Merida.

"Easy, guys," Portia, another player, says, trying to establish peace among the teammates. "I say there's no harm in letting Eugene in. I mean, worst case scenario, he doesn't get to play in major matches."

"Fine," Luke consents. "Someone call him back."

Hiccup leaves to find Eugene and brings him in after a few minutes.

"All right Fitzherbert," Luke tells him. "The team has decided to let you in."

"Nice!" Eugene and Hiccup high five.

"Not so fast, newbie," Luke goes on. "You're in; doesn't mean you're really one of us. I've decided to let you in on probation. You prove you've got what it takes to climb through the ranks within the school year, and you can compete. If not, you're never seeing any court outside of this one."

"What?" Merida asks incredulously. "That's not a fair arrangement!"

"I think it's fair to give someone who's never played tennis a trial period," Luke says decidedly. "In fact, I think I'm being more than generous. It's not like a lot of us here were keen on letting someone new join. Like Kevin said, we have a standing to maintain, and I'm not about to let anything get in the way of that. All right team, training's over."

It took all of Eugene's self-control not to say anything that would get him kicked out. As the team disbands to go home, Hiccup, Merida and Eugene remain.

"What a dick," Eugene says as soon as everyone else has gone.

"Yeah," Hiccup says apologetically. "They aren't usually this bad. They're just a little full of themselves."

"A little?" Eugene scoffs.

"You know, it's okay if you don't join," Merida suggests.

"And what? Make them think I quit? No way! Eugene Fitzherbert always comes out on top of any challenge."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'll make them eat their words. Not only will I get to compete, I'll move up in less than 3 months. What are these ranks anyway?"

"We're ranked on the team. I'm the 4th best, and Hiccup's the 2nd best. We've devised our own way of scoring that allows both girls and boys to be ranked on the same list."

"Wow, you guys are really competitive. Good thing I like a challenge. How many team members are there?"

"22, well, 23 now that you're in."

"I guarantee I'll be in the top 10 in no time." Eugene says with no trace of doubt in his mind before turning around to get his things.

"I'm worried about him and his 'guarantees'," Hiccup whispers, taking care that Eugene doesn't hear him.

"Well, at least he's really sure of himself," Merida mutters back.

"That's what I'm worried about." Merida stifles a laugh and punches Hiccup on the arm, and the two catch up with Eugene to go home.