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If Merida had to choose a party ruiner, it was Jack.
It was one of those nights where they all gathered in Hiccup’s basement, eating cheese curls, chips, and breakfast cereal (the sugary kind) and watching the Princess Bride. Of course, Merida and Rapunzel were there under the guise of sleeping over at Anna’s house, and Anna was there under the guise of sleeping over at Rapunzel’s house.
It wasn’t that they wanted to ‘get up to’ anything; it was just that their parents/elder siblings would never allow a sleepover with boys.
However, they’d managed to finagle one, and now Anna sat with the Cocoa Puffs crunching away, and Rapunzel was wiping off her fingers with a napkin while Jack licked his. Apparently, he couldn’t waste any of the cheese powder.
“You know what we should do?” Anna said excitedly, bouncing a bit despite being seated. She looked from each of them to the other, squeaking out, “Truth or dare!”
“Yes, yes! That would be awesome!” Rapunzel responded with equal enthusiasm, gripping a pillow tightly.
“Are you guys sure? I mean, this never ends well,” Hiccup said, shifting the bowl of potato chips in his lap. He seemed to be remembering another time, and cringing a little bit.
“Not scared, are you?” Merida teased, elbowing him. They’d been leaning against each other while watching the movie, her for access to the chips, and him because they were close friends. All right, she was leaning against him because they were close friends too, but she did like chips.
“I just don’t want things to get out of hand,” Hiccup said, shaking his head.
“Afraid we’ll make you wear a dress or something?” Jack teased, and he got simultaneously pushed by each of the girls.
“There’s nothing wrong with dresses!” Anna declared, as if Hiccup had said to them that he wanted to wear dresses and cringed away expecting to be tormented for it.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, let’s play,” Hiccup sighed, crossing his arms and leaning further against Merida. He was warm through his sweater, and his hair was tickling her cheek.
“Yay!” Anna and Rapunzel cheered, and were instantly shushed by Hiccup, who evidently remembered that his father slumbered upstairs.
“Who goes first?” Merida drawled, leaning back against the couch. She was on the floor, legs tucked up under her. She wasn’t eager to go first, and she knew, besides that, that Anna and Rapunzel were the most excited about this game.
“Me! Me, please me!” Anna chirped, and everyone looked at each other and nodded.
“Fine, you go first,” Hiccup said, sighing.
“Okay, Rapunzel, truth or dare?” Anna grinned, the social butterfly in her element. She loved games that involved talking.
“Um, truth!” Rapunzel played with the edge of her pajama pants, which were covered in chameleons.
Anna giggled, and said, “What’s the grossest thing that’s ever happened to you?”
“Oh… that’s easy,” Rapunzel said, starting to flush a bit, but grinning anyway. “Okay, so you guys remember when my hair was long? Well, one time I was on the toilet, and I accidentally flushed my hair in it. I got toilet paper in it and everything. It was so yucky…”
“Okay, it’s your turn, Punzy!” Anna chirped, and so Rapunzel looked around the circle with an almost mischievous look on her face.
She settled on Jack, saying, “So Jack, truth or dare?”
“That’s easy, dare!” Jack said, as enthusiastic about this game as Anna and Rapunzel were. “Do something crazy!”
Merida reckoned she and Hiccup were probably the only ones who didn’t really care all that much about the game. She was more of a hands on person than a words person, and he was often the same way.
Rapunzel thought for a moment, then stifled giggles. “Okay, okay… You have to… do a handstand on the back of the couch while singing happy birthday to Anna!”
“I can do that!” It had been Anna’s birthday recently enough, and so Jack did a handstand on the back of the couch, fairly easily, and began singing happy birthday as quickly as he could.
While he did that, Merida laughed along with the others. Jack was always good for a fun time; it was awesome having him for a friend.
As he let out the last line in one big exhale, Jack tucked and fell down onto the couch, making the springs creak. “Did it! Ha ha, did it! Now I get to ask someone.”
His eyes landed, hawkish, on Hiccup, as he grinned devilishly. “Hiccup, my man, you’re up. Truth or dare? And be forewarned, I will ask about wetting the bed!”
“Dare,” Hiccup said, cheeks dusted pink. This sent up a round of giggles from the girls.
“Okay, dare…” Then a mischievous smirk crossed Jack’s face, and his eyes darted to Merida.
Merida knew the second he looked at her what he was thinking, and began to shake her head even as he said,
“You have to kiss Merida!”
This sent a gale of giggles through Anna and Rapunzel, as Anna gasped, “Seriously? Oh my god…”
“No, you had better not, I will punch you, Hiccup!” Merida protested, and her face felt heated.
Hiccup’s was too, red as he looked over at Jack with a groan of embarrassment. “Come on, Jack! That’s not fair, no one else had to do something so embarrassing!”
“Nope, you have to! We all did our truths and dares,” Jack said grinning. He looked like a mischievous fairy.
“Ugh…” Hiccup said, burying his face in his hands.
“You have to!” Anna added, still giggling. Rapunzel looked more like she saw how embarrassing it was, but wasn’t going to say anything against it.
“Guys, this isn’t funny! You wouldn’t like it if I made you kiss Rapunzel, Jack!” Merida stormed, no longer leaning on Hiccup. Why did people have to go and make things awkward between boys and girls? She would have throttled Jack, just to get that smirk off of his face.
“Hey, I don’t make the rules,” Jack said, though his face certainly didn’t make him look innocent. He had the slightest flush on his cheeks at the comment about Rapunzel, though.
“Jack, come on! Let’s just not play this game, I’m sick of it—“
Merida was cut off by a soft kiss to her cheek, and looked over to see Hiccup drawing back, beet red.
“There, I did it. Happy?”
It felt like heat was blossoming on her cheek, sort of tingly and weird. Merida put her hand on her cheek, and she didn’t think her face could get much hotter.
“Aw,” Anna said, and Jack said,
“I’m very happy, why? Ha, you both look like tomatoes…”
Merida chucked a pillow at him. Jack knew how to ruin a perfectly good party.
But then, she thought, as she watched Hiccup squirm, maybe it wasn’t totally ruined…