The past couple of days had gone by in a blur and Friday came sooner than I expected. All that had happened those two days was me occasionally seeing Mr. and Mrs. Loving couple walking around hand in hand, Heather notably glaring at Fishlegs and Ruffnut picking a fight with her brother outside the girls bathroom. All in all, not a very eventful couple of days, but I had a gut feeling that the pace would be picked up Friday night.

I stood in front of the mirror by my closet. I wasn't looking too shabby. I performed a twirl for Heather and Ruffnut who both nodded approvingly at my outfit. It wasn't anything special, just a pair of blue jeans and a black off the shoulder top. I slipped into a pair of black vans and put my hair up in a ponytail. Seeing as I wasn't taking my motorcycle that day, I deemed it fitting.

"You ready to go?" Ruffnut asked, picking up her jacket from where she had left it on my bed. Ruffnut, Heather and I were going to be catching a ride with Tuffnut, who had been patiently waiting for us in his car as we got ready. And by patient I mean he texted Ruffnut every two minutes asking if we were coming out anytime soon.

I took one last look in the mirror and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

As rushed down the stairs and headed for the door, we passed my parents, who were sitting peacefully at the table eating dinner. "Have fun at the party, kids!"

"Thanks, Mr. Hofferson, we will!" Heather chirped as I nearly shoved my friends out the door.

"Don't forget to call when you get to Heather's!" My mother reminded us, and I just flashed her a wide smile and gave her a thumbs up before ushering my friends outside.

Now, you may be wondering: Why were my parents suddenly okay with me partying? You see the thing is, they weren't. They naïvely thought that we were going to the alcohol-free birthday party of a friend which would then be followed by a sleepover at Heather's. I still had no clue how we got away with that one.

The ride to Valerie's wasn't a long one and by the time we pulled up to the large family home in the middle of suburbia, the streets (and of course, the front lawn) were packed with cars and teenagers who were looking forward to one of the biggest parties of the year. Apparently, in the short time that Valerie had been in town, she had become that one girl who threw the best parties and was loved by everyone. I don't blame them, Valerie might actually be the sweetest girl to ever exist.

"Holy shit there are a lot of people here." Tuffnut muttered, eyes scanning for a parking space.

"Hey, Tuff, how about you just let us get off here, then you can go find a parking spot?" Ruffnut suggested to her brother, who replied by narrowing his eyes at his twin.

We took that as a yes and hopped out before Tuffnut even had the chance to complain. Excited chattering filled our ears as the people around us were rushing to get inside. We followed their lead and were met by the strong scent of beer and spirits the second we stepped inside the house, which was vibrating from the hard bass in the song that was blasting from the speakers.

"Oh my gods, Astrid? You came!" A familiar voice called over the music. I turned towards the source of the voice and was immediately met by a bone-crushing hug from Valerie, who already looked a little tipsy.

"Yes, I did. Uh ... these are my friends, Heather and Ruffnut." I yelled to Valerie, gesturing to my friends who were sheepishly waving at her.

"Leather and Buffnut? Oh my gods, hi girls! Do you want a drink?" Before they even had the chance to reply, Valerie picked up two cups of what looked to be beer from a tray behind her and handed them to the girls. "There's jungle juice in the living room if you want some!"

Heather and Ruffnut gave her a thumbs up right before disappearing into the nearest crowd. Damn, we hadn't even been there for 5 minutes and they had already left me? I shook my head and turned back to Valerie, who seemed to be staring off into space.

"Are you alright?" I yelled over the loud music as a group of people pushed past me to gain entry to the house.

Valerie nodded. "Yes! Just a little tipsy, that's all! Now come, follow me, I want to show you something!"

I furrowed my brows, curious to what she wanted to show me. As long as it wasn't a basement filled with different torture devices, I was happy, so I followed her. We wove through the dancing crowds in the living room, pushed through those playing beer pong in the dining room and eventually ended up on the patio outside, where beautiful fairy lights hung from the glass ceiling, lighting up the open space and bathing it in a golden glow as the sun set beyond the hills in the distance. Damn, what a view.

The hard bass from the speakers inside could still be felt on the otherwise peaceful patio. Much to my surprise, the only two people who were outside were Valerie and yours truly, which I thought was strange seeing as it wasn't too cold.

Valerie strode over to the corner sofa, slumping down on it as she picked up a bottle of vodka from in between the colorful pillows. A warm smile lit up Valerie's face as she beckoned for me to come sit down beside her. "I saved this for us."

I raised a brow. Was she going to poison me? "For us? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we don't have to share with the rest of the party." A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned around to find none other than Hiccup Haddock himself strolling over with a bunch of shot glasses balanced in his hands.

"Why are we separating ourselves from the party? Isn't a party supposed to be enjoyed in large groups?" I questioned, still a little suspicious of what was happening.

Valerie shrugged. "We thought we'd just enjoy a little pregame of our own before joining the rest of the party inside. If you don't want to hang with us, you are free to go back inside."

I snatched the bottle of vodka from Valerie's hands and flicked off the cap. "I'm not going anywhere as long as this is full."

Valerie clapped her hands as a wide grin spread across her face. "Then let's get this party started! Babe?"

It felt like I had just gotten a good punch in the gut. Who knew such a small word could hurt you so much. I forced a smile as I watched Hiccup grin and line up the shot glasses.  Eager to get started, I filled the shot glasses to the brim and immediately downed the first shot in the line. Then the second, the third, the fourth ...

Right as I was about to down the fifth shot, I remembered that I was not alone. Hiccup and Valerie both watched me intently, as if seeing me doing shots was the most impressive thing ever. I chuckled and shook my head as I poured them both some shots and handed the, the glasses. "I think it's time for the two of you to drink something as well, you're making me look bad over here."

The couple smiled as they followed my lead, grimacing as the strong spirit travelled down their throats. Nevertheless, they downed their next shots before sinking back into the couch. Valerie scooted over to Hiccup, nestling against his chest as she let out a content sigh. "That was fun, want to go for another round?"

I felt my stomach turn at the sight of them cuddling like an old married couple. I got up and tightened my ponytail. "I think I'll pass, I got to go find my friends. See you later!"

Before they had the chance to change my mind, I slipped back inside where the smell of alcohol had grown even stronger and several people were already stumbling around. I took a deep breath, glancing over my shoulder to see the couple on the couch. Listen, Valerie was sweet and all, but that did not make it any easier for me to let Hiccup go. Seeing them together was hard and I knew that if I didn't find a distraction very soon, I would probably crawl into one of the bathrooms to cry.

It didn't take long before my much needed distraction was right in front of me, along with my friends. I shot Heather and Ruffnut a small smile as I sidled up to where they were standing beside the jungle juice. The girls answered with wide smiles and half open eyes as they swayed like palm trees in the wind.

"Aaasrrid" Heather slurred as she threw her arm around my shoulders. "How are you, gorgeous? Made out with Hiccup yet?"

I froze at her words and shot her a sharp glare. "Heather, I think you should calm down on the drinking."

"Don't tell me what to do! I do what I want!" Heather scowled at me, quickly retracting her arm. "Oh my Thor, is that Fishlegs? Did you know I miss him like so much? Gods, he's gorgeous. I gotta go ... go ... talk. Buh bye!"

As Heather stumbled over to her ex, I made the decision to strike up a conversation with Ruffnut ... who was no longer where she had been standing when I had last seen her, mere seconds before. I shrugged, knowing I probably wouldn't see Ruffnut for the rest of the party, so I decided that I would instead try to stop Heather from doing something I knew she would regret in the morning.

Right as I was about to follow my very drunk best friend, I caught a glimpse of two figures all over each other in the corner of the room. I took a closer look at the couple and immediately recognized them as Valerie and Hiccup. I felt my heart shatter in my chest, as if it hadn't already been broken several times over the past week. One would have imagined that by now, I would be used to seeing them together, but for some reason it still killed me. The conversation I had with Hiccup earlier that week suddenly made a surprise appearance in my mind, which brought down my mood even further. The alcohol that was already in my system wasn't really helping my case.

I tore my gaze away from Hiccup and Valerie and turned to find the big bowl of jungle juice right beside me. It seemed like the jungle juice was calling out my name, begging me to take a sip of it, promising that if I just had one gulp, everything would stop hurting. Pro tip: if a bowl of jungle juice or anything containing alcohol seems to call out to you during one of your lows, don't answer its call. Take it from me, it ain't worth it.

I grabbed a solo cup and filled it to the brim with the mixture of alcohol, juice, candy and fruits before downing it all in one big gulp. To my surprise, the jungle juice was actually really tasty. I grabbed myself another serving and drank, feeling my muscles loosen up as a song I had heard maybe once or twice started blasting from the speakers.

Was I ready to scream my lungs out? Hell yes. I joined those who had gathered on the dance floor, eventually finding myself belting out the lyrics of every song on whatever playlist was playing. I had never even heard half the songs that were playing, but I didn't care, it was just so fun to publicly embarrass myself. I danced the night away with the lovely strangers around me, the world swaying gently as my body moved to the rhythm of the music.

After having danced for god knows how long, I was both sweaty and a little nauseous, but that didn't stop me from going back for another serving of jungle juice. With a wide grin, I dipped my cup into the mixture and filled it to the brim. Right as I was about to take a sip of the juice, I caught Hiccup and Valerie on the couch, heavily making out as their hands ran all over each other.

For a minute, my blood boiled as jealousy ripped through me, right before a wave of sadness washed over me and reminded me of how undeserving I was of Hiccup in the first place.

As I choked on a sob, the couple got up from the couch and calmly made their way over to the stairs. My heart seemed to stop beating as I struggled to keep the tears at bay. There weren't many things one could do as a couple upstairs at a party, so it wasn't very hard to imagine what was going to happen. I watched as Valerie pulled Hiccup by the hand up the stairs, downing my newest serving of jungle juice as I prayed it would dull the immense pain that was wreaking havoc inside of me.

"Hey," A rather handsome young man came up beside me, placing a hand on my lower back as he attempted to gain eye contact with me. "Are you feeling alright?"

The world was pulsating around me as the gentle swaying continued. I gave the man my best shot at a smile and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Yesss, of course I am! Why wouldn't I be? You're handsome, can I kiss you?"

For a moment, the man looked confused, but he just shrugged it off and seized the opportunity. I pressed my lips to his and they moved in tact with mine. Kissing this stranger was nothing like kissing Hiccup, or even Eret for that matter. There was absolutely no spark, my lips didn't tingle and there was no form of affection in it whatsoever. There was nothing special about it, it was only a kiss.

It didn't take long before I got bored and walked away. I didn't really remember what I did next, but I had a faint memory of me cheering some stranger on at the beer pong table and then rewarding him with a kiss for winning. I had almost forgotten completely about Hiccup and Valerie and what they were doing upstairs, but unfortunately for me, I accidentally managed to stumble upon a picture of Valerie, which hung upon the wall of the living room, along with pictures of what looked to be her parents and maybe her siblings.

I glared at the picture of the smiling girl. Gods, how I wished it was me up there. My mind spun as I tore my gaze away and stumbled over to the kitchen, where I knew for a fact that there was more alcohol. I spent a minute searching and then finally found a half-full bottle of beer on the counter. I thought nothing of it and chugged its contents, grateful that there was at least some booze left in the house.

If you already thought that things had gone wrong for me, then let me tell you how much worse they were about to get. It didn't take a long time for me to notice that something was off. I had been to my fair share of college parties and gotten wasted a good amount of times, so I knew how it felt to be absolutely thrashed — but this wasn't drunkenness, it was something else.

As if I hadn't already thought the room was spinning from before, it definitely was now. Seeing as I was pretty unsteady to start with, I couldn't even stand up straight. I fell to the floor and crawled over to the nearest couch. Black spots danced around my vision as I started feeling woozy. "Wh-what's going oooon?"

"Shhh," An voice I did not recognize broke through the loud music as I felt a hand on my thigh."Don't worry, everything's alright."

The unwelcome hand moved further up my thigh, all the way to places it definitely shouldn't have been. I groaned, trying to fight off whoever was touching me, but my body refused to respond. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier as I could barely manage to keep my eyes open. "S-Stop. Please."

"Don't worry," The voice whispered in my ear, sending an uncomfortable chill down my spine as the hand from earlier moved up under my shirt. "I'll get you out of here."

I couldn't do anything, I couldn't feel anything and I could barely keep my eyes open. I tried to shake my head, protest, but nothing would come out except for a low groan.

Suddenly, the couch beneath me was no more and I quickly found out that I was being carried, carried by the same creep who had been feeling me up and was probably taking me away from the party. Fucking hell, he was going to take me away from the party.

I tried to move, I tried to scream, I tried to do anything, but my body just wouldn't respond to any of my commands. The man opened the front door and as the cold January air hit our faces, everything faded to black.