Jack scowled when he saw what was happening under the shade of the tree. He hadn't been in a good mood as it was, thanks to the heat. It was too warm for a summer's day in Scotland. He had been unable to concentrate throughout his favourite lesson, due to overheating and practically melting. He couldn't really melt of course, but it damn sure felt like he could. But now his sour mood had turned bad.

"Can't they give the girl a break?" He growled as he strode over towards the bullies. They were pulling on her long hair, calling her a freak. Sure her hair may be really long (really long), and she may be a complete goody-goody, but the bastards really took it too far. He took his wand from his robes and aimed it at the main culprit of the bullies. "Hey!" they turned to look at him "Leave her the fuck alone!" He shot a couple of well-aimed spells at them. Nothing too serious, just stinging spells meant to scare them off. It worked and they soon dispersed with a few jeers directed at the both of them.

"Thanks Jack." Rapunzel murmured. He kept his wand out ready, in case one or more of them decided to come back.

"You need to stand up for yourself more." He went over to her and checked for any sign that they had done more than pull her hair and call her names. Seeing no bruises or cuts, he sighed in relief and hugged her. "Fight back or something." He knew she never would. She would never hurt a fly if she could help it, but he couldn't help but worry.

"You know I can't do that. Besides, it's not like they're actually hurting me." She smiled up at him, green eyes sparkling with held back tears. Jack sighed in annoyance. It was the same every time and it would always be the same. He started walking away, knowing that Rapunzel would follow. It had always been this way since the very first time they had met.

*~(-.-)~*

"Hey, leave her alone, dickheads!" Jack pulled out his wand and aimed it at the one currently pulling the girl's hair.

"Whatcha gonna do about it, Frost?" He had sneered, forcing the girl onto her knees by twisting his hand into her hair. Jack wasted no time with any more threats, instead firing a curse at him. The bully's eyes widened and he ducked, the curse missing him by a hairsbreadth. His eyes narrowed as he weighed out his options. Jack fired another curse, making the decision for him. He let go of the girl's hair and walked off, a sneer on his face.

"Whatever. She's not worth my time." He bumped into Jack's shoulder as he walked past. The girl looked up to him, tears in her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, walking up to her and offering her his hand. She took it and nodded as she got to her feet. "What's with your hair anyway?" She stiffened slightly and backed away.

"I like it." She almost growled defensively. Her hands immediately went to braid her hair to keep it off the ground. Jack smiled and held up his hands as though surrendering.

"Okay, okay." He held out his hand for her to shake "I'm Jack. What's your name Raven?" He asked. She frowned at the reference to her blue and bronze tie, her obvious link to Ravenclaw.

"Rapunzel." She replied, shaking his hand suspiciously. "You're being nice for a Snake." Obvious retaliation for the Raven remark. The Slytherin laughed, not expecting her to be so much on the defensive.

"Hey, I'm a nice person!" There was a moments silence and he turned to walk off. He needed to go to the library to do some last minute homework. He had gotten halfway to the library before he realised that the Ravenclaw was following him, a curious look on her face. He ignored her, thinking that maybe they were just heading in the same direction by coincidence. It soon became obvious this wasn't the case when he sat down at a table in the library and she stood hesitantly behind him. He didn't even turn around when he next spoke.

"Sit down if you're gonna sit down. If not, then get out of here." She hesitated a few seconds more before she walked around and sat down opposite him.

"Why'd you help me out?"

"What, you'd rather I left you there?" She shook her head, eyes boring into him as he half-heartedly concentrated on his transfiguration work. "They were being jerks. I'm not gonna let jerks get away with being jerks." They were silent for a few minutes as Jack got increasingly more frustrated. Rapunzel broke the silence.

"Would you like help?" He looked up in surprise. She got up and sat down in the chair next to him, reading through what he had written. He was about to say something when someone else beat him to it.

"Rapunzel?" Both of them looked up and Rapunzel smiled at the Hufflepuff walking towards them.

"Hey Hiccup! Where's Merida?" He shook his head, warily eyeing Jack.

"She's finishing off some work." He paused as he tried to make sense of the sight of Rapunzel and the school's resident bad boy sitting side by side. "What are you doing with Frost?"

"Its Overland, actually" the boy growled.

"He helped me, so I'm helping him back."

*~(-.-)~*

It had been 2 years since that meeting. They were now in their sixth year. Despite Hiccup and Merida not liking Jack at first, all four of them had become fast friends. Everyone found their group odd. Each one was from a different house, had completely different personalities, and then there was the complete contrast between Rapunzel being the school's best student and Jack being the school's worst. In spite of their differences, they were all intelligent in their own ways and they spent as much time as they could together.

Jack and Rapunzel found themselves spending more and more time alone with each other as Hiccup and Merida began finding excuses to leave. They had forgotten to do some work. They had to go speak to a teacher about something or other. Their odd behaviour had Jack and Rapunzel suspicious, but they didn't learn the true reason behind this until a month or so after their last encounter with the bullies. The two boys were sat at their usual table in the library, laughing and joking like they always did. There was a lull in their conversation as they listened to the silence of the library around them.  Hiccup fidgeted a bit before bringing up the subject of girls, or rather one girl in particular.

Rapunzel.

"What do I think of her?" Jack looked confused, wondering where this had suddenly come from. "Well, she's a great girl. I wouldn't be friends with her if I didn't like her." Hiccup didn't speak, silently encouraging Jack to think more into it. As the silence continued, Jack's cheek became a soft red as he blushed slightly. He didn't realise that he was blushing and if he had done, he wouldn't have known why. Hiccup looked at him, an eyebrow raised and growing more frustrated by the second. Finally, he threw his hands up in despair.

"Oh, for the love of the gods!" He cried out "This is hopeless." He stood up and grabbed Jack's hand, pulling him along behind him as he left the library.

"Whoa- Hiccup, what-?" He struggled to get his feet underneath him and keep up with Hiccup storming away. "Where are we going?" The brunette didn't answer, instead gripping Jack's arm tighter to make sure he couldn't get away. They got to the lake's edge at which point Hiccup let go of Jack and pointed at the ground.

"Stay."

"But-"

"Stay!" Jack folded his arms in equal parts amusement and annoyance. The Hufflepuff, content that Jack would not go anywhere, walked off back in the direction of the school. It was five minutes later when he returned with Rapunzel and Merida. Both he and the red-head were conversing quietly with each other, obviously both frustrated. Rapunzel trailed along behind them, not able to hear what the other two were saying.

"You wanna tell me what you dragged me here for now, Hiccup?" Jack asked. His arms were still folded and his eyebrow raised. Hiccup glanced at him, before turning his head to look pointedly at Merida. The red-head glared at him before sighing.

"We can't take it anymore!" She cried. "You two need to talk to each other."

"We have been talking to each other?" Rapunzel stated, confused

"No. Not like that!" Merida huffed and folded her arms, looking at Hiccup. "You need to talk to each other about your feelings towards each other." Jack felt his face heat up and just knew he was a bright red. A quick glance over to the blonde confirmed that she was the same colour as him.

"Wha-what do you mean?" He stuttered.

"You know very well what we mean. And you two aren't leaving here until you've confessed your undying love for each other." Hiccup glared forcefully at them both as he said this. Jack spluttered while Rapunzel just stared at them, mouth hanging open. Jack began to spout off reasons why that was complete and utter nonsense, but something stopped him. A thought.

What if they're right?

He thought back to different times in his school life that he had interacted with Rapunzel and compared them with his time spent with others, like Merida. There was definitely a difference... but one big enough to prove he lo-liked her? He spoke more to the blonde over the holidays than he did to the other two. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed his friends were right. Damn them. He looked down at his arms, still folded, and frowned. Damn it all.

None of them had yet made an attempt to speak since Hiccup and Jack would be damned if he spoke first. He looked up to Hiccup and Merida, the red-head grinning triumphantly and the brunette staring him down.

"Godfuckingdamnit." He whispered, almost laughing angrily at his own stupidity.

"Jack...?" Rapunzel's voice was soft and gentle, as if almost afraid he would snap at her. No, I wouldn't. Not at you, Punzie. I would never... His head sharply turned to look at her. Her expression was one mixed with curiosity and worry. She couldn't like me that way. There's no way... well, they might have been right about me, but no way would Rapunzel like me. He stared into her eyes, trying to discern anything, something that might prove.... well something that would prove anyone right. There was nothing he could see. The intensity of his stare  did not allow for the blonde to look away.

"D-do you like me that way?" He asked her, his voice barely above a murmur. She paused. It must have only been for a second or two, but they seemed like the longest time to Jack.

She nodded. He groaned and closed his eyes, processing everything he had learned in the past few minutes. He whipped his head to his other friends and glared at them.

"Go away." They looked confused for a moment "Leave us alone." Understanding flooded their eyes and they walked away. As he watched them, Merida turned to punch Hiccup lightly on the arm. The boy looked at her in mock hurt before laughing. "When we're done talking, maybe we should play a bit of matchmaking too." He said softly. He looked back at Rapunzel who smiled in amusement.

"Jack... are you... do you like me like that?" She sounded nervous. Jack sighed and sat down facing the lake. He patted the floor next to him, encouraging her to join him. He was silent for a few moments as he really thought about it. He thought about everything he had ever thought about the girl sat next to him, searching inside him, making sure. Finally, he answered.

"Yes."  He shifted slightly, so he could better see Rapunzel's reactions. She had breathed out a sigh of relief and was smiling gently. "Did you know about how you felt about me before now?" She nodded.

"I realised about half way through the summer break." She looked at him. "I didn't say anything because... I didn't want to put a strain on our friendship if you didn't feel the same way." He swore under his breath. How had he not seen it before? In hindsight, it had been obvious. He had often caught her staring at him. She had laughed more at his jokes. At times, he had something in jest and she had almost tripped.

"Why did you look just as shocked as I felt when Hiccup said about confessing our undying love then?" She wasted no time in answering.

"I was surprised that they were able to tell. If it had been that obvious, then I thought you had worked it out as well. I was mortified. But then I saw your face and I knew you hadn't seen it. So then, of course, I was shocked that you might actually feel the same way. When you didn't say anything instead of denying it, I guess I just... well, you know." They watched the sun sparkle off the lake for a few silent minutes. "Did you realise before now?" she asked, almost hesitantly.  Jack shook his head, the silver in his brown hair glinting in the summer sun.

"No." He laughed. "It seems so obvious now, it's stupid." He tentatively reached out for the blonde's hand. She immediately grabbed his, knowing that he needed this to prove it to himself. He watched their entwined hands. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked incredulously.

"For not realising sooner. For it to take someone else to point it out to me."

"Yeah, you are a bit of a blockhead." He looked up from their hands sharply, hearing the smile in her voice.

"Hey!" She laughed and he couldn't help but smile with her. "So, what? We dating now?" Rapunzel grinned and leaned towards him. Jack did the same, almost unconsciously.

"Yeah, I guess we are." They were almost forehead to forehead.

"We should probably kiss or something now." He murmured.

"I guess we should." She replied just as softly. Their lips touched. Their first kiss was gentle at first. Then something exploded between them and they fell into each other.

When at last they pulled away, both of them were breathless. Any awkwardness that had been between them before had gone, replaced with a comforting confidence. Their next kiss was little more than a peck.

"Rapunzel?"

"Yeah?"