Stuffing the binder into his armpit, Hiccup gave a final look over his locker before nodding to himself and shutting the door. It was the start of fifth period, and right before lunch was the perfect time for most of the students to swap out their textbooks at their locker. A few had gone ahead directly to lunch, but the halls were still crowded with students either visiting their own lockers or with those who didn't have fifth period lunch heading to class. The hallway was alive with the sounds of muffled footsteps on shallow carpet and the buzz of conversations swarming about the air.
So when the hallway fell silent in the matter of a few seconds, Hiccup turned around quickly.
Eye level, not even three feet away, was Jack Overland, the characteristically ripped hoodie he had worn every day for three years since he transferred, bunching around his waist where his hands were shoved into his pockets. His eyes were calm, half lidded, but trained on Hiccup. In turn, most eyes in the crowd were on Jack; already, a ring was being formed, penning Hiccup in between Jack and his locker. Jack Overland wasn't known for being aggressive, but nor was he overly gentle.
Horrible dread settled in Hiccup's stomach. 'Oh shit. What's he doing here. Why is he here. How long has he been here. Shit. He probably heard me talking to myself a minute ago like a loser.'
But above every question: 'Oh god. He knows.'
Nobody said anything for a minute. Someone coughed in the crowd, which turned into brief wheezing.
Jack's stare was still harmless, but not friendly. Uninterested.
"So, I heard that you like me."
Everything sped up in Hiccup's mind as his stomach fell further south. 'Oh shit he does kno-- fuck what am I-- why is his voice so deep how do I keep forgetting it's-- why are so many people here--'
Jack wasn't being intentionally loud or trying to cause a scene, but his voice naturally carried; and in the deadpan silence of the hallway, everyone assembled could hear what he had said clearly. Hiccup inched right slightly, planning to make his escape in the narrow gap between the crowd and the wall of lockers. Seeing that, Jack's arm shot out, blocking Hiccup's movement and startling the other boy. When he dared to glance up, Jack's expression hadn't changed any.
"Well?" he repeated, voice annoyingly neutral.
As quietly as he could muster, Hiccup squeaked (what had been intended as a whisper): "Jack, please not here." Hiccup had never spoken to the boy for any real length, but he still called him by his name. He definitely knew who Jack was. Everybody knew who Jack was.
Jack's lidded eyes turned slightly as he tilted his head to the side, giving no appearance of relenting.
Hiccup's stomach was in knots, and with the fear of a trapped animal he desperately hoped that somebody would say something and break the tension, give him a way out.
Screwing his eyes shut, tightly, Hiccup managed to get out "Y-yes" quietly enough that only Jack and the innermost ring of the crowd could hear. Murmurs rose up further back, with people asking what he had just said.
Once he said that, though, he found he couldn't stop. Giving Jack that answer was bad--really bad. The part of Hiccup that covered damage control took over, and words began pouring out as his voice got progressively (and unintentionally) louder.
"B-but, it's just-- it's a phase. And I haven't gotten a lot of sleep for a very long time, so it's probably that. And I don't know wha-- but I haven't been staring at you if that's what you're accusing. And I'm not making any moves on you, and I promise I'm not stalki--" 'Shit I have made this so much worse' "Please, I don't expect anything, it's just a stupid, immature crush."
The crowd was completely silent; even the ones who had previously been laughing out of nerves at the tension were completely silent, having watched the cornered boy swing open the gates of Hell.
Jack, for his part, hadn't changed his expression at all. Hiccup's heart beat at an erratic pace, picking up speed in every passing second.
Finally, Jack pulled back his arm, straightening himself back up, but keeping his eyes on Hiccup the entire time.
"Well, it doesn't have to be."
The hallway fell back into complete silence. Some in the crowd understood immediately what Jack had just said. Others were overwhelmed by the tension, or were entirely confused. Hiccup
was one of those confused.
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
He turned around and began to walk away, pausing as he reached the crowd as though he were surprised and this was the first he had noticed the crowd. For their part, the mob split perfectly down the middle, and Jack walked through them.
"I'll pick you up at your place," he called back over his shoulder as he passed through the last of the crowd. And then he was gone.
There was complete silence again, and most of the eyes turned back to face Hiccup, expecting more of a show out of him now. But Hiccup was so overwhelmed, he could only manage to slide against the locker until he was sitting on the ground, the binder that was pinched under his arm falling out in the process. It took him five full minutes before he could speak again, look around, or begin to wonder how Jack knew where he lived.
