I gazed up at the dark night sky above us, only lit up by the dim lights of the thousands of stars that were scattered across it, like sprinkles on a birthday cake.

"It's really nice out this time of day" Hiccup stated. "Too bad I can't seem to find the moon"

The chilly air of the night crept up my neck, sending shivers down my spine and causing me to wrap my jacket tighter around myself. "Do you always walk Toothless around this time?"

As if on cue, the dog peered up from the bush he had been peeing in earlier at the sound of his name. He wagged his butt excitedly from side to side.

"We usually start our walk at 8 pm and come home around two hours later" Toothless strutted over to Hiccup, and was met by a loving smile and a good petting. "Isn't that right, bud?"

I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I watched the two of them. They were absolutely adorable. "Doesn't it get cold? Walking for two hours straight in the winter?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't really feel the cold, I just feel...free"

Another smile crept onto my face, but this time I kept it to myself.

"What are you smiling for?" Hiccup asked mockingly.

I glanced up at him, ready to hit him with some cocky remark, but instead, I was left speechless as blood rushed to my cheeks, leaving me looking like Heather every time we talked about her relationship with Fishlegs.

I quickly regained my cool and turned my smile upside-down, into a forced frown.

"You must be delusional, I've never smiled a single time in my 17 year long life!" I joked as I punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He asked as he rubbed the spot where I had just punched him.

I let out a chuckle. "Assuming things"

We walked for a little while longer before Hiccup sat down on a bench and unleashed Toothless. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my winter jacket as we watched the dog run happily around the empty park.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" I asked Hiccup, who was looking calmer than ever.

He shrugged. "No, he deserves a little freedom, which is why we usually go on our walks at this hour, in this particular park"

"Oh, Alright" I sat down beside him on the bench, my hands still in my pockets. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why doesn't he have a tail?"

I glanced over at him, only to find his staring at Toothless, who was very busy sniffing out a place for himself to pee.

"Do you remember when I told you that we rescued Toothless?" One would think that by now Hiccup would know I'm not the best at remembering, but despite that, I nodded. "Well, we didn't exactly rescue him from a shelter.

Hiccup set his focus on his hands as he twirled his thumbs. "That night, I had been at the movies with some friends of mine, and seeing as I didn't have a license yet, I had to walk home"

He glanced up at me for a second before returning to his hands. "I took a shortcut through the forest when I heard growling and loud barking, and being as curious and stupid that I was at that age, I went to go check it out"

As if on cue, Toothless stopped what he had been doing earlier and ran up to us. The dog snuggled up against Hiccup, clearly sensing that his pal was a little upset.

"I found the source of the noise, and saw Toothless fighting three wolves. His tail had been ripped off, and he had several deep bites lining the side of his body, it was clear that he was losing. I immediately understood what I had to do. I attempted to scare off the wolves, but that only made them angrier. I tried to get them off Toothless, but as soon as I touched one of them, they had set me as their new target. They attacked me, managed to get a few good chews out of my leg, but eventually Toothless gathered the last of his strength and somehow managed to fight them off" Hiccup smiled down at the dog beside him as he scratched him under his chin. "I brought him to the nearest vet, and we've been best friends ever since then, right bud?"

Toothless barked in reply.

"Hiccup?" I asked him. He faced me and our eyes met, sending a slight shiver down my spine.

"Yeah?"

"What was it that really made you want to help him?"

"He was injured, so I—"

"You and I both know that isn't the real reason" I placed my hand on his shoulder as the entire world around us faded.

He hesitated for a minute. "I-I suppose I just saw myself in him. I guess I just saw that one little guy all alone against the big guys, and that made me want to help him"

My heart started pounding as butterflies filled my stomach. Hiccup had never looked this grand, this kind and this caring to me. He had dared to peel off a layer, he had dared to be vulnerable, something that earned him my respect.

We held each other's gaze, studying each and every detail of the other's eyes. He truly had a gorgeous pair of eyes, how had I not noticed that before?

I pulled my hands out of my pockets and brought them up to Hiccup's face. I brushed away the stray hairs in his face as I let my thumbs softly caress his cheeks.

Hiccup's eyes began sparkling as he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ears, and took one of my hands in his. Goosebumps rose up my arms as blood streamed to by cheeks and a sudden warmth spread in my chest.

With one hand on my face, he brought me closer to him, causing our noses to meet. I felt his breath on my lips as a hungry look appeared in his eyes, telling me that he wanted to do the exact same thing as I did: kiss the other so hard that they wouldn't be able to either think nor breathe straight for a week after.

As our lips were about to meet, I felt a buzz coming from my back pocket. Then another one. And another one.

I closed my eyes and sighed as I pulled up my phone to see who was bothering me.

New text from : Birth giver 9:29 pm

New text from : Birth giver 9:32 pm

New text from : Poppa Pig 9:33 pm

3 missed calls from : Birth giver 9:35 pm

"Fuck!" I exclaimed as I realized how dead I was. "I'm really really sorry Hiccup, but I gotta go"

Hiccup chuckled. "Is it the boyfriend again?"

I paused. Boyfriend. Eret. Eret. How could I have forgotten about him? Here I was, on the verge of making out with some other guy while my wonderful and faithful boyfriend sat at home, thinking that all was well.

It was getting hard to breathe. It was like someone had cut me open and placed a big rock in my stomach. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I tried to avoid looking at Hiccup. Gods, how could I have done something like this to Eret?

"What? No, that was just my parents, I told them I'd be home at eight" I informed him. "They're worried sick, so I really got to go now"

"I can drive you home if you want to, it's a long walk" Hiccup suggested, now back to a more natural color.

I began walking away from him. "That won't be necessary, goodbye"

When I was certain Hiccup could no longer see me, I pulled up my phone and called my dad.

"Hey dad, can you—"

"Astrid, finally! Where have you been? Your mother and I have been worried sick!" My dad scolded me so loudly I had to distance myself from the phone. I waited for him to finish his anger-fueled rant before I attempted to squeeze in my request.

"I'm so sorry for forgetting to tell you where I was, I really am, but if you need to know, I was working on the presentation with Hiccup at his house. Now, can you please come pick me up?"

Low mumbling could be heard coming from the other end of the phone before dad turned his attention back to me. "Alright, I'm on my way, send me the address"

I went into google maps and texted my dad my location. "Did you get it?"

"Yes, see you soon, honey"

"See you, Dad"

And then it was just me, a flickering lamppost and a rat that laid lifeless in front of a sewage drain four feet away from me. I stood there for at least 10 minutes, the chilly air biting at my cheeks as I waited for my dad to roll up in all of his glory.

After a while, the sound of a car engine neared me, but it was not my father's car that rolled up. In front of me stood a familiar black Ford with tinted windows.

I crossed my arms and sighed deeply as the window on the passenger side rolled down.

"That won't be necessary, goodbye" Hiccup mocked me from inside the car.

An annoyed sigh escaped me as I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping strawberries" He replied sarcastically.

"I'm not in the mood, Haddock" I snapped.

"Just get into the car, Astrid" Hiccup said, sounding defeated.

"Sorry, I'm waiting for my dad"

"Breaking news! He isn't coming anytime soon" Hiccup exclaimed as he leaned over and opened the passenger door.

I furrowed my brows at him. What was this idiot talking about? "What are you talking about?"

"After your dad hung up on you, he called my dad and told him to send me to go get you, seeing as we had already spent the day together" Hiccup informed me.

"Some hours"

"Same thing. But what matters is that I drive you home"

I remained silent. I pulled up my phone to check the time and I saw that it was 10 pm. Yeah, Eret would not be able to come pick me up now.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose before giving in. "Fine, I'll come with you"

"Perfect, here's your backpack by the way" Hiccup said as he held up the bag I had left at his house earlier today.

I grabbed it and nestled it in my lap as I sat down. "Thanks"

"What did you say?" He asked me, even though he knew exactly what I had said. I rolled my eyes at him and turned to look out the window.

Not long after, Hiccup pulled up into my driveway. I took in the sight of my house and saw two figures standing outside on the porch. I didn't even need to look twice to tell you that the figures were my parents, waiting for me like a pair of prison guards, ready to escort me to my cell.

"See you on Monday?" Hiccup asked me. I gave him a sharp nod and got out of the car without even looking at him.

I took a deep breath as I held tightly onto the straps of my bag and made my way towards my demise.