His Game

Chapter 22: Jack

"Lets go back to the house." Elsa says quickly, looking flustered. 

I grin at her, getting to my feet.

"Was that your first kiss, sweetheart?" I laugh. Elsa's face gets even redder, and she starts to bite her lip. She looks cute when she does that.

"Well, even if it was, will there be more?"

I think about that.

"Yes."

"Good." She beams at me. "Lets go home now."

I stop in my tracks. No way am I going back to that place. Nope. Not gonna happen. Agnarr just threw dad's jacket into a fire, and there's no way for me to get it back. It's gone. If I go back into that house and see him, nothing will be able to stop me from punching him in the face.

"I'll probably just sleep out here for the night." I shrug. Elsa gives me a look.

"You can't do that. You'll catch a cold; winter's almost here." She says.

"Thanks for being concerned and all, but really, I don't want to go back." I say.

"Jack... "

"Elsa... " I mimic. 

She stares at the ground for a moment, look of intense thought on her face. "How about... How about... Can I say something crazy?"

"I like crazy."

"Okay, you hate Papa. Correct?"

"Correct-amundo." I nod.

"And I've been looking for a way to tell him I'm not going to be some perfect little girl for a while now," Elsa says, though mostly to herself, "What if we go do something insane? Like... What if I get my ears pierced? Hiccup can take us. That'll give you time to let off steam and I'll be able to stand up for myself."

I actually like that idea. Hiccup is usually awake at this time, anyways.

"You really wanna do this?" I ask. "One you get the earrings in, they're in. No going back."

"Shhh. I have filled myself with fake confidence. If you ruin it, we're back to square one." She says firmly.

Grinning, I pull out my phone and dial Hiccup's number.

"Hey, I'm already coming." Hiccup says into the phone.

"What? How?" I demand.

"Eh, I've been watching you guys since we got back. Drove off far enough so I could see the house but no one else in the house can see me. Where do ya need to go?"

"Um, the tattoo parlor next to the Snugly Duckling. Elsa wants to pierce her ears."

"Dude, Astrid can do it. Her sister taught her how, and I've got her with me." I hear him say to Astrid, "Have your stuff with you?"

A muffled yes.

"Oh, great. Meet us in the woods." I hang up.

Elsa looks at me funny. "What's going on?"

"Astrid's gonna pierce your ears. She knows how." I say.

"Oh."

After a few moments, I hear footsteps coming through the woods, and two voices.

"Telling us to meet him in f*cking woods this late." I hear Hiccup mutter, "Damn, I've got thorns in my pants."

"They were always there." Astrid says, walking into the clearing. "Elsa, you're actually piercing your ears? Did Jack tell you to do it? He's a bad influence, ya know."