Heroes of Disney: Rising of the Dark

Part Eleven: Field Stands and Backlands

Hiccup got a ride home that night.

He had hitched a ride to the game with some old buddies, Snoutlout, Tuffnut and Fishlegs, because he really didn't want to drive to the game alone and back again. Honestly, he didn't even know why he bothered showing up to them.

All his friends were a part of these games and spirit rallies and competitions. Jack, Flynn and Merida played basically every team sport DisneyWorks had to offer so they were always a part of the game, and whenever they were playing, the cheer squad was always there to cheer them on, meaning that Elsa and Rapunzel were busy too. So that left Hiccup without his usual friend group.

Usually, he hung out with Tadashi and the crew from the tech lab during games like these, but this time was different.

After getting out the car with the guys, Snoutlout and Fishlegs broke off into the food stands and Tuffnut immediately went to talk to his Crash and Eddie, from the other school. That was nothing usual. They all forgot about each other once they got to the game.

As Hiccup looked around the stands for Hiro Hamada and his friends, he bumped into someone. Immediately, they pushed them off and jumped down his throat. Then he recognized who it was. "Astrid?" The blonde girl immediately cut her verbal assault and turned a very faint shade of red. That was certainly new. He'd never seen Astrid Hofferson blush before.

She punched him playfully. "Hey Hic. Didn't realize it was you." Smiling, Hiccup said, "Well it's definitely my fault you weren't paying attention. So I definitely deserved that." Astrid laughed. "You got that right get Haddock." After that, it got quiet and a little awkward. They looked around for a bit, then Astrid said, "Well, I'll see you around."

But before she walked away, and before he thought about it too much, Hiccup called after her. "Wait! Uh, do you happen to be here with anyone?" She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I was here with Ruffnut but I have no idea where she is now. So I could use to company. And since you're the only one available, I'll guess you'll have to do."

"Looks like you're stuck with me." It wasn't awkward or weird anymore, and for the first time in a few years, Hiccup realized how much he'd missed Astrid. They'd known each other since they were practically babies and she was the only person he'd know longer than Jack.

Astrid's parents and his were close along with the other Berkians. Naturally, they had a lot of playdates and stuff when they were little, and they were really good friends. They spent practically every day together. Then Hiccup started kindergarten. And he met Jack Frost. Jack had stood up for him when the other kids were teasing him because of his name. After that, they became best friends, basically inseparable, though they were polar opposites. That wasn't the reason he and Astrid stopped being friends though. He still hung out with her, but they both felt each other drifting apart. It happened. You didn't always stay close to the people you've known that long. Once they started elementary school, they both ran in different circles and saw each other a lot less often. By middle school they stopped hanging out completely and when high school rolled around the most interaction they had with each other was waving if they passed in the hall.

Still, it felt really good catching up and watching the game with her. It wasn't as awkward as he'd thought it would be and by halftime, they had basically known everything about each other again. As the piercing whistle called the break, Hiccup looked down at the field to see his friends. He saw Flynn, Merida and Jack jog off the field to go talk to Elsa and Rapunzel. From where he was, he saw Elsa and Rapunzel talking to the other three and from the hand movements they were using, he knew it was something that made them frantic. Then, they started looking around, presumably, for him. Luckily, he was close and they waved him over. He nodded to them and turned to Astrid. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back in a few, just, stay here." She frowned, but before she could say anything else, he ran down the bleachers to his friends.

"What's up?" Merida tucked her helmet under her arm and ran a hand through her hair. "Pitch or one of his cronies are here. We think he might strike somewhere." Everyone looked at Jack. Surely, he'd come up with something. Before he could though, Jack pointed to the backlands next to the last bleacher at the end of the field. "Over there!" He sprinted behind the bleachers and they all followed him.

Surprisingly, no one was behind the bleachers. It was dark at the back there but Hiccup didn't get to take in much as he ran with the others as fast as they could. As usual, Jack took to the air and Elsa slid on an icy path, all the increase their speed. Finally, she brought up a solid ice blue wall, and somehow, Jack from his high vantage point in the sky manage to strike the shadow they were chasing.

They all stopped and Jack stopped to inspect it. He reached out his hand to touch it before Hiccup interrupted, "Oh come on man! That's disgusting! Don't touch it!"

"You're both idiots." Flynn said, "That's obviously the same black sand from Blondie's house and the other day at Hiccup's. We just need to figure out exactly what it is. Now that we have it here we can."

Elsa nodded. "That's right. Whatever it is, even though it's obviously...uh...incapacitated, we'll have a shot at figuring out if it's magic or whatever. Then we can figure out where to go from there." Merida nodded. "That sounds like a solid plan to me, but can we hurry this up? They're about to call half time." They all stared at her.

"What? Did I lie? I'm not losing this game because of some wussy Pitch Black who's CLEARLY TOO SCARED TO SHOW HIS FACE!" Elsa moved forward and made a fist, separating the black stained ice from the rest of the wall without touching it. She melted the wall and a jar out of solid ice and put the black sand inside. She sealed it shut and said, "Does have anyone have anything to wrap this in?" No one did, except Flynn, who pulled out a damp rag from his pocket. Elsa wrinkled her nose and handed the jar to Hiccup. It was freezing cold. So that's why she wanted to to wrap it.

"Weren't you wiping your sweat with that?" Fylnn grinned. "Take it or leave it bro." Rolling his eyes, Hiccup grabbed the disgusting rag from him and wrapped up the jar.

.

At school the next Monday, Hiccup was walking to the student lounge. He so badly wanted a pack of sugary powdered donuts. An entire cup of coffee did nothing to wake him up and being at school for a seven am class was beating him down. As he got to the door of a lounge, someone called for him. "Wait up Hic!"

He turned around to see Elsa jog up to him. She held two cups of coffee in her hands and with a backpack over her shoulders, her hair tossed on the top of her head and wearing a t-shirt that said "Eyes up here" and jeans, she looked like she was in no better shape than he was. He opened the door and she passed through, and he shut it behind them. She handed him a cup and he took it gratefully, as they slugged to the vending machine. The only classes that started this early were a few AP ones so hardly any students were in the lounge.

"Did you get back the results from the analysis yet?" Hiccup shook his head. "Nope. I had to sneak in the lab over the weekend to set up the stuff, and the only equipment available were the old ones no one uses. Soooo yea. It'll be a while."

"Oh my god! Move!" Someone pushed him really harshly from in front the vending machine into Elsa. "Hey!" She protested, "What's your- Honey Lemon?" The blonde girl rolled her eyes and got her food, before pushing past them again. Both Hiccup And Elsa stared at each other. Honey Lemon being that rude? Something was horribly wrong.