Chapter 4

Astrid rushed into one of the stalls, locked the door, and just sat on the toilet for a minute trying to compose herself. She tried to blink back the tears that were starting to cloud her eyes and then reached for her phone in her jeans pocket. She went through her recent contact list and hit the call button.

"Come on..... Pick up Eret....Pick up," Astrid growled. She really needed to talk to him but the call just went to voice mail. She tried a second time with the same result before giving up.

"Hey, are you alright in there?" Hiccup's voice was near as there was a slight knock on the stall she was in.

"What are you doing in the ladies' room Hiccup?!" Astrid asked shocked.

"Uhm.... You're in the men's room," Hiccup responded sheepishly and Astrid's face turned bright red. Had she actually taken the wrong turn? She unlatched the door and poked her head out. Sure enough, there were two urinals on the wall opposite the stall. Astrid certainly felt like a right fool now.

"Are you alright? Want me to drive you back to your building?" Hiccup asked, not at all commenting on her red eyes.

"Sorry, this is just a lot to process," Astrid mumbled while coming out of the stall. She was also still embarrassed by running into the wrong loo. "I honestly don't know what to do," She admitted. "Eret's not picking up and I don't want to talk to my parents because I know my mom is going to go off on me... ugh..." Astrid growled while making a strangling motion with her hands. Hiccup took a step back just in case.

"Come on, let me drive you home." Hiccup said. "We'll ask Tuffnut for a to-go box and the check." Astrid nodded, wiping her eyes, as they left the men's room.

Even though Astrid's place wasn't very far Hiccup insisted on driving her home. They parked in front of Astrid's apartment building and she frowned. "Is that Eret's car?" she asked herself as she spotted a familiar car parked near the curb when she got out. Hiccup had gotten out too and grabbed Astrid's favorite pizza, intent on handing it to her.

"SO THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING?! OR WHO YOU WERE DOING!" Someone shouted and both Astrid and Hiccup looked to see Eret storm out of the lobby of her building straight for them. He marched straight up to Hiccup and punched him in the face.

"ERET! Astrid shrieked as she bent down to help up the dazed Hiccup. "What the actual fuck?!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Astrid asked once she had checked on Hiccup, who waved off her concern. As Hiccup was getting back up Astrid rounded on Eret, jabbing him in the chest. "Seriously what is your problem?!"

"My problem?! MY PROBLEM?! You're the one galavanting off with other men!" Eret argued back.

"Eret! He's a friend! A friend I met at the party last night that YOU insisted to throw!" Astrid shouted. "What? I can't have friends that are guys?! Why do you care about that when you obviously don't even care about my feelings!"

"What the hell are you talking about Astrid?!" Eret shouted as they were drawing a crowd.

"The party... The SURPRISE party! You know how I feel about those," Astrid retorted as all her feelings rushed to the surface. "I had a damn panic attack in the bathroom and had to leave but you didn't care! You know I have anxiety!"

"Will you get over yourself, Astrid!" Eret shouted. "Stop being such a damn snowflake! You could have toughed it out! Do you know how much you embarrassed not only me but your family too?!"

"That's it!" Astrid shouted as she grabbed Hiccup's arm. "We're through!" She announced before dragging Hiccup into her building, not hearing what Eret was shouting at her back. Her face was flushed, her ears were ringing and she was coming off of her adrenalin high.

Astrid leaned against the wall next to the elevators to catch her breath. A hand was on her chest as she looked through the glass doors at the dissipating crowd. "Oh Gods," She murmured, finally realizing that their spat had drawn all those eyes. She started to breathe heavily, not even noticing that Hiccup's hands were on her shoulders, gently easing her down. Once Astrid's breathing calmed she bit her lower lip, before shakenly getting up.

"I made a fool of myself didn't I?" She asked as Hiccup called the elevator. The doors dinged open and they entered.

"You didn't," Hiccup told her. "No one, and I mean, no one should make light of someone's mental health. Trust me, I know,"

Astrid was looking at Hiccup curiously just as the doors of the elevator opened to the third floor. The pair got off and headed for Astrid's apartment. She invited Hiccup inside and had him seated at her kitchen island as she rummaged through the fridge.

"Frozen peas or frozen beef tongue?" She asked as she held up two vacuum-sealed bags.

"Peas please," Hiccup said as she handed the bag to him. He placed the frozen peas to his now bruised eye after he placed the crushed pizza box on her island.

"So... uhm.. You were saying... back in the elevator," Astrid didn't really want to pry but she was curious.

"My dad's a Senator," Hiccup confessed. "Before that, he was a Mayor and Governor. So the press has always been a part of family life I guess," here he shrugged a bit. "I didn't like being in front of the cameras as a kid. I'd always get nervous. Mom was understanding but dad always told me to suck it up. Finally, it all led to me having minimal contact with my parents."

"I'm sorry," Astrid said.

"No don't be," Hiccup replied, still with a bag of peas pressed to his eye. "I threw up on a talk show when they were getting into the really personal questions. Leaving the media scene was the best decision ever."

Astrid nodded "You know..... I'm not sad,"

"Hmmm?" Hiccup questioned.

"Breaking up with Eret. I'm not sad. I'm just mad that I wasted nearly three years on this relationship." She muttered angrily. "I actually feel.... Elated," She confessed. "I thought I'd be sad..... But I'm just not,"

"Was there more going on between you and Eret?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Now you're sounding like my therapist," Astrid deadpanned. "But no, I mean... I think we were like any other couple," She thought back. "Our parents introduced us, at first I thought he was a little pretentious but later he sounded sweet and we had some things in common. I mean... I was fresh out of college, job hunting. Mom sets me up.... I go... we hit it off. One date led to another...." Astrid made a sigh gesture with her hands.

"Really? Nothing?" Hiccup raised a brow. "He seemed awfully jealous at us just 'hanging out'. One would think he was insecure."

Astrid just shrugged. "I'm a bit of a loner I admit. Don't have a lot of friends. In Highschool, I was a bit of a bookworm. Nerdy, had braces, and looked tomboyish. My older sister was the Captain of the Cheer squad. I know... stark contrast."

"I still bet you looked cute," Hiccup said without thinking. Astrid blushed.

"Uhm sorry... I...," Hiccup stammered. "Yeah, I think you look cute. Not that that was why I helped you," He quickly added and then blushed.

Astrid was still blushing and looked away, trying to hide her face. "I'm not hitting on you or anything.... Uhm... I probably should go now," Hiccup said and then was out the door quicker than a dandelion in a breeze.

"I think you're pretty cute too," She finally admitted after Hiccup had left.

Later on in the day, Astrid was just chilling on her couch watching Hulu while eating the leftover pizza. She was flicking through the list of shows, not really finding any that met her preference. When her phone rang. At first, she thought it was Camicazi because she'd sent her a text so she answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Astrid how could you?!" A familiar voice rang through the speaker.

"Afternoon to you to mom," Astrid sighed.

"What were you thinking breaking up with Eret?!" Her mother continued on. "I had to hear it from Miriam! Just what were you thinking?! Eret's the best thing that ever happened to you. Why he brought you out of your shell, how could you just dump him!"

"My shell? My shell? Mom, I wasn't in a shell," Astrid grumbled as she sat up.

"Of course you were dear." Astrid's mother said matter-of-factly. "You've had your nose in your books for years. Barely went out and almost never wore dresses. Your sister had her first boyfriend in her senior year of Middle school. You, after college... nothing. Honey, your father and I are getting older. We want grandbabies. Your biological clock is ticking,"

"Mom! I'm not some broodmare that's going to churn out a grandchild just because you want it!" Astrid responded aghast. "Also Eret was a right jerk! He called me a snowflake today! Made light of my anxiety! I just had a panic attack in the lobby of my apartment building!"

"Astrid you do tend to overexaggerate," Her mother told her while sighing. "You were just a shy girl. It's not anxiety,"

"How would you know mom?! You never listened! Dad was the one paying for my therapy. You just scoffed," Astrid retorted as she finally went off on her mother. "I have anxiety and it's mostly your fault!"

Her mother was silent as she kept going. "Do you remember the ballet recital? That's basically where it all started! I had the flu but noooo.... I couldn't stay home! You dragged me to the theater to perform with the rest of the class. I ended up sneezing and causing a line of falling ballerinas! Everyone laughed mom! Everyone! And on the ride home.... All you talked about was what an embarrassment I was!" Astrid was breathing heavily now.

"Mom if all you have to say is your disapproval of me breaking up with Eret then just don't," Astrid muttered angrily. "Call me back when you actually care," with that she hung up, threw her phone on the coffee table, and flopped back down on her couch.