Guardians and Angels

Chapter 7: Jack

The rest of the day, I made sure to keep an eye on Rapunzel to see if she really was okay. I was almost positive that something was up, but she was determined to keep it hidden from us. Throughout the day, I noticed how many times she had given someone a fake smile and was astonished to find I had lost count. This just added more to my suspicion and worry.

"Jack?" Hiccup's voice broke my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You alright? You kinda spaced out for a minute."

I shook it off. "I'm good. Just off in La-la Land again."

When school had ended, Hiccup and I made our way to my house so we could begin our showdown of games. On the way, Hiccup and I started talking about girlfriends for some reason. I think it was him who brought up the topic, because he was talking about Frizzball... again.

"How long have you and Merida been dating now?" I asked.

Hiccup thought about it for a minute. "A year and a half," he concluded, "best year and a half of my life."

"I'm glad you've found someone like Merida, even though she can be more annoying than email spams," I announced.

I honestly did enjoy seeing my best friend so happy, even if it was because of some girl. They brought out the best in each other and they had a strong love that got them through everything. I teased Hiccup all the time about his relationship, but in reality, I was just a little jealous because I wanted something like that. I wanted a relationship where me and my girl were best friends and we did everything together while also having fun. Elsa and I didn't have that.

Wow... I definitely need to play some video games and get my man card back. That was way too sappy to even think about.

Hiccup gave me a look of thanks and pat my shoulder. "You'll get that with someone too. It may not be with Elsa, but you'll get it."

"Why do you hate Elsa so much?"

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

I knew he wasn't telling the truth, but I let it slide since we had reached my house already.

"Ah, you're home," North greeted and then saw Hiccup. "How are you, Hiccup?"

"I'm doing just fine, North, thank you," Hiccup replied politely and we headed to the basement for our annual tournament.

Hiccup was like part of my family since he came over so much. He called my grandpa by his first name, he knew where everything was, and he acted just like any other Frost would. It was the same with me and his family. Hiccup's mom died when she gave birth to him, so it was just him and his dad. His dad, Stoick Haddock, treated me just like I was his own son. Hiccup and I were so close that we were practically brothers anyway so it played out really well.

"You ready to get your butt kicked?" I asked Hiccup as I put in our first game.

"You ready to eat your words?" Hiccup retorted.

From that moment on, we spent hours playing games. Gunshots, zombies, shouting, and loud game music was all that could be heard from the confinement of my basement. It was a glorious sound and we both found it exhilarating.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Hiccup yelled as my character shot him in the head.

"Yes!" I threw my hands up in the air in victory.

"Game over, Frostlord wins," the game announced in a deep tone.

I turned to Hiccup and gave him my famous smirk, and he responded with a sour face.