Assorted Mericcup/Jackunzel

The Late Nighters

Setting: Modern, Small town sidewalks.

I was wide awake. I had been since five yesterday morning. It was 1:00 A.M. Saturday morning. I needed some food and was craving waffles drowned in syrup and bacon. I knew just the place to get it. I threw on a pair of jeans, a teal long sleeved shirt, and my favorite jean jacket. I pulled my curly red hair into a low ponytail and walked out the door of my apartment.

I was headed to the Ebony Eatery, a cute, old fashioned diner that was open all night and served breakfast all hours. My favorite place in the world, besides my apartment. I didn't have a car, so I walked the eight blocks. It was the middle of October and the night air was cold enough to make any Minnesota person shiver. I loved it. It made you feel like you are alive.

A figure passed under a streetlight behind me, catching my attention. Normal people (that definitely doesn't include me) are never up this late. It was getting closer by the minute. I was so distracted by this stranger that I didn't notice the tree right in front of me. You got it. Wham!

"Ouch. That hurt." I mumbled, rubbing my forehead.

The sound of feet running towards me. I looked up and saw a tall, lean boy leaning over me in a green t-shirt, leather jacket and jeans.

"Are you ok? Eww, that's quite the bruise."  He gingerly touched the bruise, his fingers were warm and kind of rough.

"It probably looks like I have a third eye." I mumbled, pushing myself up.

"No, but you will have a bit of a lump in ten, maybe fifteen minutes." He said casually. I gave him a oh, really? look.

He scratched his head. "So... where were you going? Besides into the tree."

"Eb's." Everyone called the diner Eb's for short. It was much more homey.

"Weird. So was I. Mind if I walk with you for the next six blocks?" I cocked my head and shrugged. "Sure. You can be my navigator. I haven't slept for a day, literally." He snickered quietly. "Job?" "Insomnia. You know, really bad dreams." His face turned from amused to concerned.

"Really?" "Yeah. When I was little, I went on this camping trip with my parents and got attacked by a bear. I never got over it. Why are you up this late?"

He seemed shocked at how casually I was saying this then relaxed when I turned the subject to him. "I just got off my shift. I'm an orderly at Burgess General Hospital."

"You're kidding." I said, stopping for a minute to stare at him.

He stopped a little bit in front of me. "Some people flip burgers or handle the cashier at a gas station. I put sick people in wheelchairs and give'm a free ride."

I caught up with him and stuffed my hands in my pockets. "So you want to be a doctor?"

He was college age like me, so he must be in a school. "I got a scholarship for zoology, actually. I like studying reptiles. But if that didn't work out, I have this medical school that sounds pretty good. Being a surgeon is a good bet. What about you?"

I shrugged. "I'm an athlete, mostly. Archery and fencing."

He cringed. He's definitely not a fighter.

"I also excelled in all of my classes that included mythology. But I think athletics are probably the best for me."

"I see." He paused.

"Cool bracelet." I looked down at my wrist. I was wearing my lucky silver charm bracelet with aquamarine studs. It looked like a crown.

"Thanks. My family and I went to Scotland, my parent's homeland, for my sixteenth birthday and Mum bought me this. Look," I said, lifting up my wrist and pointing to the different charms.

"This is the symbol of Dunbroch, my father's family, this one is a bow with an arrow at the ready, this one is the scarred face of a bear named Mor'du, my great, great, great, great grandfather's worst enemy."

Lastly, I pointed to a blue crystal charm that looked like a ghost. It was my personal favorite

"And this is a will'o the wisp. They are spirits that are said to lead you to your fate. But they're only a myth."

His eyes were wide. "Wow. You sure do know a lot about Scotland."

I smiled at him. "Thanks. My parents drummed our history into my head since before I could talk. My bedtime stories were legends of my ancestors."

He smiled back at me, surprised, but in a good way. "Me too! Only my ancestors were Vikings. They killed dragons but then, their chief's son tamed a special kind of Dragon called a Night Fury and learned to ride him. Everyone, eventually, followed suit. He was just a skinny wimp of a teenager, yet he saved his island multiple times because of his dragon, Toothless. Before he found the dragon, he was the village nobody. But he grew up to be an amazing chieftain. He was my ancestor. That's why I wear this."

He pulled at a strap of leather that hung around his neck, pulling out an iron pendant of a dragon painted black.

"That's what Toothless, the Night Fury, was said to look like." He explained. I was very impressed.

But before we could talk about anything else, we were at the door of Eb's.

"Nice meeting you.......... sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Hiccup. I was named-"

"After the chief's son. I was named after my great, great, great grandmother, Princess Merida, Daughter of the Bear King, Fergus."

He stared at me for a minute. In the light of the street lamps, I could actually see his face.

He had auburn hair and darkish green eyes, not to mention freckles all over his face. He was actually kind of cute.

"Hiccup, why were you following me?" I asked him finally. He smirked.

"I was probably going to do something crazy."

"Like what?" He pulled me around the corner.

"Like this." He gently tilted my chin upwards and kissed me softly.

I put my hands onto his shoulders and returned it just as lightly as I could, my way of saying, I'll think about it. Then I deepened it a little. Thought about it. Answer's yes. We separated and he smiled at me.

"Hey, Merida?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm buying."

Now that is the way to spend the night.