Seeing Isn't Always Believing

1: Stalker boy

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of the chief Stoic the Vast, was flying from pillar to pillar on the outskirts of Berk searching desperately for a new breed of dragon to document and study. His group of other dragon riders were moving on with their lives. Astrid was leading the berks guard, Ruff and Tuff were devoting their lives to Loki, the god of mischief. Snotlout is Gobber's official weapons tester. However, Gobber had admitted it was to keep him out of trouble. Fishlegs was now teaching the children of Berk about the history of dragons.
Hiccup was the only one who was avoiding having to accept that there is nowhere left in the archipelago left to search for new dragons.

Hiccup was desperately avoiding his father, who last time they spoke, kept on badgering Hiccup about the importance of being chief and the chief's responsibility to his people. Hiccup just knew that was his father's way of building up to anointing him as the official heir to succeed him. If he'd never rallied the island to befriend the dragons and made his father proud, then he would still be the little fishbone that his father was ashamed of and would have definitely found a different successor. It was something Hiccup thought about a lot despite loving Toothless with all his heart he didn't enjoy the thought of hanging up his saddle for chiefly duties, even if it was years in the future. At this point, he just wanted his father to live forever, so he wouldn't need a successor at all.

At that moment, the air around him got icy cold. For Berk that wasn't overly suspicious, but from where Hiccup and Toothless were on the lowest sea stack on the south side of the island, it was quite unusual. Toothless became anxious and pulled Hiccup from the end of the sea stack to the middle and curled his body around him. "Woah, Bud. What is it?" Hiccup asked. Toothless began to growl a low rumble, staring intently at what seemed to be nothing. "Bud, there's nothing there..what are yo.." Hiccup began again before toothless sent warning shots that flew way off into the distance. Suddenly, the coldness disappeared. Hiccup did suspect something but put a pin in it for now because it made no sense to him. He hopped onto Toothless and flew home and didn't think anything else of it.

As Hiccup opened the door, he was greeted with "Son, we need to talk." Stoic was waiting for him. "Oh, heeey dad... you didn't have to wait up for me." Hiccup stammered. "Nonsense. Son, you are the pride of berk. And you've made me so proud. Look at all you've accomplished..." Stoic began, turning around to look at all the framed drawings of Hiccup with multiple dragons in the arena and out on missions. Which he had requested Fishlegs to make. Hiccup took advantage of his father's turned back and bolted back out of the door, got onto Toothless, and flew out to the woods.

Hiccup sat skimming stones with a low blaze burning thanks to toothless. Once again, a chill fell over the boy and his dragon. But this time, Hiccup felt he was not alone. He scoured around but nothing. Until he saw a singular snowflake gently zigzagging its way down to the lake, freezing a small perfect circle. This was enough to tell Hiccup that this was no coincidence. He looked around, wondering what or who it could be, and when he looked back, stood on the circle of ice leaning ever so slightly on a silvery wooden staff was a tall whited haired boy. The boy had piercing blue eyes and a soft smirk on his lips, his bare feet unbothered by the harsh cold underneath them. "Are you not cold?" Hiccup asked. "You can see me?" The boy replied, or asked Hiccup, thought to himself.

"Uh yeah. I'm not the village idiot anymore. Think it's fair to say my days of play pretend and making up stories to get kids to like me are over." Hiccup stated, getting up and walking to the edge of the lake, extending a hand for the boy to shake. "Well, I don't know if that's the saddest or the cutest thing I've ever heard. Maybe both." The boy smirked again. Was he flirting, or was he just arrogant, Hiccup found he felt similarly with some of the older viking boys when they teased him, he shouldn't have enjoyed their taunts, but for some reason he did. "Ha, yup. Might not be the village idiot anymore, though I am tragic but cute. It's all I have going for me!" Hiccup flirted back, blushing a little. "Well, not to burst your little bubble, but that's simply not true dragon rider." The boy started again, jumping off the ice and gliding gracefully in front of Hiccup. "You are so talented." He added. Hiccup felt his face getting warm, but mixed with the icy chill in the air, it felt good. "Well, that's nice of you to say, strange boy of the lake. But you are most surely mistaken." Hiccup replied, scratching his neck awkwardly. "No, I'm not. Hiccup." The boy knew his name! Who was he? "You know me?" Hiccup was staring in anticipation of what the boy had to say next. "The names Jack. Jack Frost, guardian of fun and play. The wind brought me here to guide you as you're quite obviously fighting a slippy slope of all work and no play, doesn't take much to see." Jack said, introducing himself.

There was a tension in the air between the boys, and they could both feel it. It was undeniable. "Okay then, Jack. Knower of all things about me. Tell me more stalker boy." Hiccup smirked. "Stalker boy?" Jack let out a sweet laugh. If sounds could taste sweet, to hiccup the sound of that laugh put him at ease, and suspicion melted away.

"You were at the sea stack!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Yep, til your big overgrown lizard tried to singe my toes off. Thanks for that!" He said, turning to Toothless, who began to almost laugh, mocking him. He seemed overly familiar with Jack's presence, and that was not lost on Hiccup. "How long have you been watching me?" He asked. "About a week. And I must say... Tragic's not your style, cute on the other hand, IS." Jack replied confidently, making Hiccup blush again. "Agree to disagree." Hiccup countered. Jack rolled his eyes, smirked, and took a step closer to the brown haired boy. "Can't argue with the facts, Dragon Boy." Jack said softly, looking into his green eyes. Hiccup, returning his gaze in pure shock, felt a surge of emotion pulse through him. "I guess I can't then, my Stalker boy." Hiccup replied, his hands getting clammy and his throat dry and itchy. He took a small step towards Jack, closing the distance between them. Toothless, bored of the boys' flirtatious game. Took matters to speed things along by swiping his tail under Hiccup's ankles, causing him to fall back. Without a moments delay Jack had wasted no time in catching him. Their eyes locked, and when Hiccup was on his feet again. Toothless nudged into Jack's back pushing him even closer to Hiccup, their noses now touching and lips centimeters apart. "He's a good wingman. Pun intended." Jack laughed softly. "Well I guess having a Stalker boy, is something I could get used to." Hiccup replied, almost out of breath. "Glad you think so." That smirk grew on Jack's face again. "Because I really did not want to go. Especially now. Things have just been beginning to get interesting." Jack said, gleaming in the moonlight. 'Interesting is not the word' Hiccup thought.