"You went ice skating? Fishlegs and I were planning to do that tonight!" Heather exclaimed after taking a bite out of her donut.

I stirred my own cup of coffee as I crossed my legs. "Have fun, I'll be spending my night working on my English presentation with Haddock"

"Does Eret know?" Ruffnut asked as she took a bite out of her cinnamon bun.

I shook my head as the sudden urge to study the steam from my coffee overwhelmed me.

"Nope, but I think he's cool with it. Eret trusts me and I trust him" I informed Ruffnut as I tried my best not to sound defensive. "Can we change the subject now?"

Heather nodded as she pulled up her phone and showed us a picture on it.

"What is this?" Ruffnut asked, grabbing the phone out of Heather's hand to get a better look.

I glanced over at the screen which displayed a picture of a snow covered cabin surrounded by tall trees and mountains.

"Do any of you remember what we talked about the last time we all hung out at my house?" Heather asked us.

Ruff and I exchanged a confused look as we racked our brains, trying to remember what she was talking about. After realizing that we were never going to remember what that was, we shook our heads in unison.

Heather sighed. "We talked about going skiing? In the mountains around my cabin?"

I tapped my chin, once again trying to find anything that even remotely sounded like that. "Nope, nothing"

I glanced over at Ruff, who responded with a shrug. "Nothing here either"

Heather pinched the bridge of her nose. "We talked about going skiing, I suggested we go skiing in the mountains around my parents' cabin, you both loved the idea"

I lifted the cup of coffee to my lips before taking a sip. "Ah, yes, it's all coming back to me now"

"So, you girls still want to go?" Heather asked us, the frustrated expression from earlier, vanished.

I stirred my coffee once again as I shrugged. "I don't know, if I remember correctly, I was pretty tipsy when we last spoke of this"

Heather raised her brows at me before crossing her arms. "All you had to drink that night was water, seeing as you had sworn the night before that you would never drink again"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I muttered. I fished my phone up from my pocket to check the time. It was time for me to leave.

"Wow, I'm so happy the both of you are coming with me!" Sarcasm coated Heather's words as she glared at the both of us.

"Why, look at the time! It seems it is time for me to leave, how unfortunate" I said as I got up from my chair and grabbed my bag.

"Astrid—" Before Heather had a chance to finish her sentence, I was already halfway down the street, running away.

I rounded a street corner and decided to take a well deserved breather.

"Astrid?" A familiar voice asked, slightly startling me. I slowly turned around and was met by none other than Hiccup Haddock himself.

"What are you doing here?" We asked in unison. My gods, how cheesy.

"Sorry" He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it" I bit my lip. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Hanging out with Fishlegs, but he had to pee, so instead of standing awkwardly outside the men's bathroom, I decided to take a small walk"

"Oh" I let out.

He stuck his hands down his front pockets. "So...why are you here?"

I shrugged. "I was at lunch with my friends and now I'm going to see if I can catch the bus home, I guess"

That was a lie. I had no intentions of getting on any bus, but I needed a normal-sounding excuse, so I ended up with that.

"Why don't you catch a ride with your friends?" Hiccup asked, knitting his brows together.

"Oh, you know, they're really busy and all, so they don't have time to drive me home" I answered him, trying my best to cover up the fact that I had ran away from them because Heather was trying to force me to leave my house during a break.

"I could drive you home if you want to" Hiccup suggested.

My eyes widened. "No, no, you don't have to do that, I'll just call Eret, see?"

I quickly pulled up my phone and tapped on Eret's name, causing the phone to start ringing.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you tonight then, good luck on the way home" He shot me a smile before he waved and walked away.

I hung up on Eret, long before realizing that I actually needed a ride home, seeing as there was no way that I was swallowing my pride by walking back to Heather and Ruff.

I picked up my phone and shot Eret a text.

"Hey babe, u busy?"

"Just off practice, how about it?"

"I need a lift, trying to avoid an awkward situation here"

"OMW, location?"

After about 7 minutes of waiting, Eret rolled up and I practically threw myself into the passenger seat.

"Looks like someone's happy to see me" He said mockingly.

"Ha Ha" I replied, sticking out my tongue at him.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Where are we going?"

"Your place? We can cuddle and watch a movie or something" I suggested.

"That sounds great" Eret smiled at me as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Now tell me all about this awkward situation you wanted out of"

***

I waved goodbye to Eret as he drove away. We had spent the entire day together, and now was the time for us to part ways. I turned around and took in the sight before me.

The house wasn't as extravagant as I had imagined it to be. No giant marble pillars, no million-dollar sports cars lining the driveway and no garden the size of a continent.

It was just a normal house. Two stories, a garage, a wraparound porch and a white picket fence that surrounded the entire lot. The house reminded me a lot of my own, giving me a sense of comfort and nostalgia as I climbed the steps that led up to the porch.

I rang the doorbell, and not long after, loud barking could be heard echoing throughout the house as the sound of heavy footsteps came down the stairs.

The door swung open, revealing a familiar face. "Wow, you actually came! I'm in shock"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Can't really get this presentation done without you, can I?"

His lips bent up into a smile as he opened the door wider. "Come on in, M'lady"

"Nicknames? I didn't know that we were on that basis yet" I mocked him.

He let out a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "S-Sorry, I just—"

"Relax, I was just teasing you!" I chuckled. "Anyway, shall we get started?"

***

"What should I say here?" I asked Hiccup, turning my laptop around to show him my PowerPoint slide.

He held his chin and narrowed his eyes at it. "How about—"

"HICCUP, I'M HOME!" A loud and deep voice boomed throughout the house, causing me to jump slightly.

"Hi dad" Hiccup yelled unenthusiastically back. "Sorry about that, anyway—"

"DINNER, SON!" The voice from earlier yelled once again.

"Dad, I'm kind of busy!" Hiccup yelled back, his frustration slightly tainting his words.

"It's all right, go eat your dinner, I'll keep working on the presentation" I smiled at him. Wow, was that the first genuine smile I had ever given him?

"Are you sure? You can—"

The door to Hiccup's room swung open at such a speed I was afraid it might fly off the hinges. In came a rather large man with a dark suit that extenuated his already very muscular figure. His hair was a fiery red with a few grey streaks in his giant, but neatly trimmed, beard. His emerald green eyes were set on me, sending a shiver down my spine and causing small droplets of sweat to gather at my hairline.

He looked between Hiccup and I several times over before doing something that really surprised me. He smiled.

"Now won't you take a look at that, Astrid Hofferson, back again in the Haddock House!" Mayor Haddock's voice rang throughout the room. He crossed his arms and set his eyes on Hiccup. "Why didn't you inform me of this, son? I would've prepared a proper dinner!"

Hiccup and I exchanged a confused look. "Dad, what do you mean by 'back again'? This is the first time Astrid's been over"

Mayor Haddock let out a loud chuckle, making him sound a little like Santa Claus.

"You can't be serious, boy, Astrid has been here plenty of times!" Mayor Haddock exclaimed as he gestured to me.

"What?" Hiccup and I said in unison. Mayor Haddock let out a sigh.

"You really don't remember, do you?" The Mayor asked us, a slight hint of disappointment in his voice.

"I don't really have the best track record at remembering" I noted. I glanced over at Hiccup and saw a smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"When the two of you were children, you were really great friends. Astrid would come over every Sunday and you two would play while I was downstairs with Astrid's parents" Mayor Haddock informed us.

Memories of building LEGO houses, only to tear them down right after reappeared in my mind. I glanced over at Hiccup, and it seemed as if he had remembered something as well.

"Anyway, Hiccup, have you taken Toothless out on a W-A-L-K yet?" Mayor Haddock asked, spelling out the last part of his sentence.

The sound of scratching on wooden floorboards was nearing us at an alarming speed, and in the matter of seconds, a black Labrador with the greenest eyes I'd ever seen stuck his head in. I recognized the dog as the one Hiccup had showed me on his phone the other day.

Hiccup glanced down at the laptop that sat atop his bed. "8:30? I'm so sorry dad, we lost track of time!"

Mayor Haddock crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. "As long as this isn't repeated tomorrow, you're in the clear, but as for now, you better take him out before I change my mind"

Hiccup scrambled up and stashed his phone in his pocket. "Of course, dad"

I gathered my notes, picked up my laptop and phone and stashed them all into my bag. I got up from the floor and swung it over my shoulder. "Thanks for the help Hiccup, I'll take my leave now. See ya"

"Leave? I thought you were staying for dinner?" Mayor Haddock asked me.

I gripped the strap of my bag tighter as a knot formed in my stomach.

"I thought you hadn't prepared enough dinner for everyone?" I asked nervously, afraid he would get offended if I refused his offer.

"Nonsense! I'll just prepare a proper dinner while the two of you are out wal—" He glanced down at the Labrador by his feet, who was wiggling his butt in excitement, seeing as he for some reason, had no tail. "W-A-L-K-I-N-G Toothless"

"I guess I can stay a little longer then" I shot Mayor Haddock a nervous smile.

"I'll get to work then, have fun!" Mayor Haddock said, a wide grin on his face as he rushed downstairs.

"You didn't have to do that, you know" Hiccup pointed out.

I shot him a smirk. "What? You afraid I'm going to embarrass you in front of your dad?"

"Nope, I'm afraid you'll embarrass me in front of Toothless" He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes at him as I threw my bag back onto his bed. "Ha ha ha, you're a real comedian, Haddock"