Biology

Chapter 20

When Hiccup showed up a few minutes after eleven o'clock, Jack had the interesting task of figuring out how to climb down the lattice from his window to the ground. He had never really thought about it before, even when Hiccup had been climbing up almost every night. And it wasn't like he was the most coordinated person in the world.

Getting out the window itself was relatively easy, as was closing said window up behind himself—and he even managed to make it mostly to the ground without any real issues. Three feet from the bottom, though, he slipped—and landed on his butt on the ground a second later. He stifled a yelp and instead just winced.

Hiccup snickered and helped him to his feet with a grin. "Alright, Mr. Rebel, how 'bout we keep your feet on the ground for the rest of the night?"

Deciding that that sounded like a good idea, Jack just nodded as he brushed off his clothes. Glancing back up at the window, he straightened his sweater absently, a pang of guilt in his stomach at the thought that he was, once again, blatantly going against his father's wishes.

"Come on," Hiccup's hand slid into his and squeezed gently. "I parked around the block."

Once they were out on the sidewalk, a bit away from his house, Jack sighed heavily. "I got in another argument with Dad about you. And I just... I wanted to see you. So thanks for coming."

Hiccup just shook his head. "Like I'd ever turn you down if you asked me to show up."

Jack supposed that was true. Hiccup always seemed to do anything he asked for, anything he needed, was willing to give him anything he wanted. It was baffling and embarrassing at times—but then again, wouldn't he do anything for Hiccup, too? Maybe that was just part of being in love with someone.

It was all still new to him, though. He was still trying to get used to having someone be so seemingly devoted to him—to the feeling of actually being that special to another human being. Just the thought made him blush darkly, flustering and fiddling with the edge of his sleeve with his free hand.

"You're being stupid, you know."

Jack blinked and looked toward Hiccup. "I—what?"

"This is stupid of you." Hiccup repeated. His eyes stayed forward, but faint worry tinged his words, barely even noticeable. "If your Dad finds out you snuck out... Christ, he'll flip his shit, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Jack shrugged one shoulder. "He's already telling me I can't see you, and there's not really anything else he can do that's worse than that..."

"You're gonna end up grounded until we fucking graduate at this rate."

Another shrug. It wasn't like being grounded did much to him, anyway. He didn't even really have a social life outside of Hiccup and the conversations with the other kids at his lunch table. The only thing that changed for him was that he didn't watch the rugby practices after school—and while he did kind of miss seeing Hiccup play, he didn't miss the crowds at all, so it wasn't a completely negative thing.

"Hey," A shoulder bumped into his, bringing him out of his thoughts, and Hiccup pulled him to a stop next to his motorbike, then let go of his hand to nick one of the helmets. He handed it to Jack and then retrieved his own. "You know the drill, Frosty."

"Where are we even going?"

"Nod's throwing a party tonight. His parents are out of town or whatever. Thought we might as well stop by."

Jack liked Nod. The other boy was friendly and funny, always cracking jokes. He was a little egotistical, too, but not so much that it made him obnoxious. It was more just another personality quirk of his.