Biology

Chapter 5

Sleep and over-thinking didn't help him figure anything out. Indeed, when he woke the next day Jack was just as confused as ever. At least this time he didn't try to pretend he was sick. He didn't want to avoid Hiccup that much anymore, even if he was still a little weirded out over the whole situation. Not that he necessarily wanted to be buddy-buddy with him, either.

Jack sighed into his locker, the sound echoing softly. He just didn't get it—didn't see why Hiccup was so interested in him. Turning his attention to the locker's small mirror, he studied himself for a moment: pale skin, white hair, blue eyes. Huge, thick framed glasses and braces on his teeth, both of which he goddamn hated. (Maybe he would try to convince his dad to let him get contacts, again. The braces he was unfortunately stuck with for at least another year-and-a-half.)

He sighed again, moving to pull his books out of his locker and then closed the door firmly, giving the lock a spin just for good measure.

At least he could say that Hiccup hadn't bothered him at all today. In fact he hadn't even approached Jack, they had both just gone about their business, gone to classes, gone to lunch without so much as a word passed between them. It was kind of a relief... and kind of perplexing. It just confused him even more, if that was possible.

Jack was still pondering over everything when school ended. He went to the library to work on his homework—something he did on a relatively regular basis, rather than doing it at home under North's overbearing gaze—and then, somewhere between five and six o'clock he suddenly found himself standing by the crowded bleachers at the rugby game without so much as an inkling of how he'd actually gotten there. He had intended to just do his homework and then go home. Apparently his legs had had other ideas.

Unsure what to do, Jack just stood there for a minute. The game was still going on, the audience cheering and whooping, and Jack shifted from foot to foot, then hesitantly headed over to the fence line, where he had waited for Hiccup to finish his practice the other day. It was off to the side, out of the way of most of the uproarious fans. He was minutely more comfortable there.

Leaning back against the fence, he let his eyes wander the action on the field. Jack wasn't really into sports—and he knew next to nothing about rugby, so he had no clear idea of what was going on. He also had no clear idea if he was going to stay or not, or why he was even there to begin with.

Hiccup had told him to come, sure, but he hadn't promised he would. Maybe it was because Hiccup was paying attention to him. No one had ever done that before. It was new and different, something out of the ordinary for him. Interesting.

Jack's eyes moved down to the ground at his feet and he kicked at the grass a little. The fence line was alright, but the noise was still overwhelming and anxiety was quickly rising in his chest. Still, he toughed it out for another few minutes before shaking his head and pushing off the chain links. Whether Hiccup wanted him to be there or not, he had to at least find somewhere quieter and get some air. Maybe he would come back once he was feeling a bit better—maybe not.

Still distracted by everything, he began to head around the corner of the fence, generally aiming for the parking lot. But he wasn't really watching where he was going—and the next thing he knew he was running into someone. Again.

Jack bounced back with a surprised noise, already registering the feeling of something splashing across his shirt as he stumbled back, tripped and tumbled to the ground. He landed on his backpack and winced when the books inside dug into his side. He had to shove his glasses back up his nose.

"Ow! Not again! Man, I'm really sorr—!"

Before he could even finish his apology a hand was fisting in the front of his shirt and jerking him back to his feet. Jack gave a startled yelp, hands flying up to grip at the one holding onto him.