Biology

Chapter 24

When Jack finally made it home on Monday afternoon, his father was waiting for him in the living room, obviously annoyed—he worked from home most days, so he knew when Jack was late, and having just grounded him again two days prior, his patience was definitely being tested.

North had been ready for another argument. When he heard Jack come into the house he stood and headed to the entry way—but Jack just looked at him, eyes red and expression unreadable, tinged at the edges with pain.

"Jack—"

"You don't have to worry anymore," Jack's voice came out soft and surprisingly flat, almost completely emotionless: "Hiccup broke up with me." And then he turned and headed up the stairs, leaving North to look after him. "I'm going to my room. Let me know when dinner's ready."

His walk up the steps was slow and deliberate and his door closed with a soft click. North had told him before that he had to keep his bedroom door open from now on—but now he didn't say anything, just moved his gaze to the floor and then returned to the living room without a word.

Upstairs, Jack dropped his backpack next to his desk, ignoring the way it banged loudly on the floor, then stood there for a long moment, eyes focused on nothing in particular and hands hanging limply at his sides.

When he moved a few breaths later it was to bring a hand up and grab at the edge of the desk as he began to tremble once more, breath shortening and then shuddering into silent, dry sobs. The hand not clutching at the desk lifted to grip in the front of his own shirt, right over the hollow, aching feeling in his chest.

Hiccup had started off trying to be intentionally hurtful—trying to make Jack hate him—but in the end he hadn't been able to keep it up. He had apologized, over and over and over, but in the end... he had still broken up with him. He had still ended it, despite the promises he had made in the past.

And it hurt so much more than Jack ever could have imagined.

After Hiccup had left him in the library he had cried for a long time—most of the reason why he had been so late getting home—but eventually the tears had subsided into a painful numbness, like pins-and-needles in his heart.

Now Jack didn't think he could cry again: even though he kept regressing into broken sobs, no actual tears fell anymore.

Eventually, he managed to let go of the desk and make his way over to the bed, where he collapsed into the mattress, pulled his knees up to his chest, and closed his eyes tightly.

He had told his father to call him for dinner, but later that night when North did Jack didn't bother to go down, and North didn't push the issue. Jack stayed in his bed for the rest of the night, silent, didn't bother to do his homework, and eventually, thankfully, managed to fall asleep.

His life quickly descended into something approximating torture after that.

Every day he was forced to get up and go to school, though all he really wanted to do was sleep all the time.

Before, Jack had looked forward to his time spent at Berk, because that was where Hiccup was. Now, it hurt just to look at the building. He spent all of his time there with his head down and his eyes on the ground, afraid of seeing his former-boyfriend and the reaction it might cause in him.

The classes that they shared were a nightmare of heartache, and it didn't seem to get better with time. Lunch hours were spent, at first, sitting in the cafeteria at a table by himself again, and then, later, when it became too hard for him, in the art room. He rarely ate lunch anymore, anyway.

Jack's one saving grace was Violet.

A week-and-a-half into the breakup she had stumbled upon him going into the art classroom at the beginning of lunch and followed him inside. After that, she started keeping him company each lunch period, which Jack really found himself appreciating, considering she was abandoning her other friends and her usual table in the cafeteria to do so.