It grated on her nerves when someone in the lower hierarchy of 'coolness' had the audacity to even look at her, let alone speak to her. So when she rounded a corner at her school and ran into a tall, lanky teen with emerald eyes, she was less than happy.

"Watch it, dweeb" she snarled

The boy looked taken aback for a second before glaring at her and saying "Fuck you" before trudging past her, heading the way she came

Wait, hold up. This can't happen, he can't tell her to fuck off. She was Astrid Hofferson for Christ's sake. Nerds and Geeks like him didn't get to talk to her, they should cower in absolute fear and beg for her forgiveness, shouldn't they? This was the first time something like this had happened, no other nerd had ever stood up to her like that, hell, no one had ever swore at her like that. There was no way this useless, lanky fucker would get away with this. But in the short time she took to ponder he had disappeared from sight. He plagued her mind for the rest of her school day, which wasn't exactly long considering she was headed to her final class for the day, AP English. She tried to focus in class, but the cold indifference which he had shrug her off with before glaring at her and swearing at her caused a certain unease to develop.

This kid didn't even know her, and he was speaking down to her. No, this can't be happening, this can no longer be allowed to continue. The next time she saw him he would be dead meat. She would beat him into a pulp until he divulged why he had been so rude, didn't he know she was the star of the lacrosse team, and the most popular girl in school? Who was he to speak to her like that? She didn't even know him, he was likely a junior or something. She was a senior, this was her final year of schooling and they had just passed Christmas, which means school is about to come to an end and college is looming around the corner. She was excited and nervous about college prospects, her parents expected the best, which was why she was taking AP classes. She would soon send out applications for universities. Her parents wanted her to go to the prestigious local college, simply called "Berk". But if she were to be completely honest with herself, she wanted to get as far away from this miserable town as she could.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of the bell signalling the end of class.

The entire class went to stand before the teacher said "Did I say you could be excused?"

The disgruntled class lowered back into their seats, looking dejected.

As soon as the class was still and quiet the teacher continued "You may leave"

The class was suddenly engrossed in a flurry of sound and movement as chairs scared along the hard floor from eager students awaiting their freedom.

"Miss Hofferson" said her AP English teacher, Miss Browne "May I have a word?"

"Sure" Astrid replied

"Come, sit down" she gesture to the chair opposite her desk "First off I want to congratulate you, your most recent assessment was flawless, I had no choice but to grant you an A+. Secondly, I am disappointed"

Astrid felt stunned, what had she done? "Excuse me?" she said politely

"Your performance in AP Mathematics and AP Physics was less than endearing. Your parents asked me to speak with you about it"

"What do you mean, I scored high in those tests"

"Apparently not, Astird if you want to attend a college such as Berk you need to do better than a 91% average for your maths and physics class"

"But 91% is still a good score" she protested

"Astrid, you're not hearing me. 91% is not enough. I'm assigning you a tutor, a boy named Harris-"

"I don't need a tutor" she protested further "I'm doing fine as it is, plus with the scholarship coming up I should easily get into Berk without any issues" In truth she didn't want to get into Berk, but if it looked like she didn't want it, Miss Browne would surely relay that information to her parents, and that was a discussion she did not wish to have.

Miss Browne's lips formed a tight line "Well, I'm still assigning the tutor. Even if you do get the scholarship it will help to have higher marks. Berk doesn't accept candidates lightly"

She nodded "I know, I'll try"

"That is all, Astrid. You may go" Astird hurriedly left the room. She needed to haul ass to the gymnasium. Today is the day when the shortlist for the sporting scholarship to Berk was announced, and she was 100% sure she would be on that list. All of the 40 eligible candidates were told to show with their guardians. Then they would announce the three shortlisted participants. Two months later scouts from Berk would come and view the three in their respective fields and decide on who gets the scholarship. Astrid was pretty positive she had it in the bag. So, with her head held high she walked into the gymnasium entrance. The Berk High School's gymnasium was fairly simple. I multipurpose court was in the centre, and elevated seating ran along the two long edges of the court. She caught a glimpse of her parents and made her way towards them.

She quickly climbed the steps two at a time to join her parents, they had left a seat for her.

"Hello dear" said her mother politely. Her polite tone didn't match the cold expression on her face. It was clear she was not happy upon learning that her daughter had only been receiving a 91% for two of her most important classes.

"Mother" she replied, taking a seat next to her. Her father didn't even look at her, he was looking pointedly at the small stage set up in the middle of the court. A man in an immaculate suit stood between two large speakers and was holding a microphone. Astrid recognised him as the Principle, Mr Hendrick.

She eyed the crowd, it seemed that everyone had turned up, and that's when she saw him, the foul mouthed kid. He sat across the other side of the court, on the opposing stands. He sat with his back hunched and his jaw clenched, it looked as if he were trying to sink into his chair. She would corner him after this was done, what was he even doing here? Somehow it felt right to punish him for the way her parents were acting, like if she broke his jaw her parents would be proud of her and love her again. It was a stupid thought, but some go to extreme measures for validation and approval. She vowed to at least hit him once this was done.

She was snapped out of her thought by the Principle tapping the mic softly and saying "Testing, testing. Ok…" Astrid turned her gaze to the principle on the stage below "Welcome students and respected parents. My name is Greggory Hendrick, but most people call me Gobber" a few of the students laughed and the occasional adult. "Most of you would know me as Mr. Hendrick. But anyway, the reason you are all here today is because your children have shown a succinct aptitude in their respective sporting fields. As you all know, the Berk College has just opened up a scholarship for students who are looking at a career in a sporting area. 40 of your faculty have applied, but only three will have the chance to impress Berk's scouts. I know this should be the time when I remind you that even if you do not get this scholarship that should not dissuade you, the three that the faculty have chosen are chosen from their individual brilliance. Nothing more, nothing less. So, without further ado I will call three students and their parents or guardians up to the stage" he glanced at his paper "In no particular order, Steven Jorgenson" She clapped, her boyfriend, who was nicknamed 'Snotlout' for some reason stood up and bowed graciously before jogging down the steps and onto the stage. He shook the principles hand and stood silently behind him, with his father and mother behind him supportively.

"And next we have" he glanced at the paper again, "Astrid Hofferson" a huge weight lifted off of her chest and she turned to face her parents, who were grinning slightly. This scholarship could redeem her bad grades. They all walked slowly down to the stage, Astrid shook the principles hand and muttered a thankyou before standing proudly next to Steve.

"And last but not least, my student, who I have coached since he entered high school" the crowd chortled "Harrison Haddock"

Astrid scanned the crowd and looked or this person, she had never met nor heard of a Harrison Haddock. Then she saw him, walking down the steps from his seat, not accompanied by an adult.

No, the geeky nerd can't be up here for a sporting award, he just can't. Obviously he's just going to the toilet or to get some fresh air, but no, he walked straight onto the stage and shook the principles hand before standing next to me. My mouth was open in shock and indignation.

"And where's your father, Harrison?" the principle asked, taking his mic away from his face and shielding it with a hand so the sound wouldn't carry

"He's not my father" said Harrison, jaw still clenched, how can one keep a solemn expression on their face for so long?

The principle nodded "Is he coming?"

Just as Hiccup was about to answer the door to the gymnasium opened loudly and in walked a squat man.

Somehow Harrison's jaw clenched tighter.

The man was obviously drunk, he stumbled onto the stage "Glad you could join us" said the principle

"Of course I came" the man slurred "I'm the boy's father"

"Not my father" Harrison mumbled

"What did you say to me, boy?" he spat, rounding on Harrison. It felt odd, standing here, next to the boy I wanted to beat the shit out of and suddenly feeling a twinge of pity "Think you could hide this from me, did you? I found that application in your trash can, think I wouldn't be here to celebrate" his words were becoming less audible as he spoke

"You're drunk, Gerry" said Harrison calmly.

The man grabbed Harrison's arm tightly, the boy winced for a millisecond. The entire gymnasium was dead silent, you could hear a pin drop. Astrid could tell this was hurting him, but he wasn't about to let it show. The principle looked very worried

"Gerry, let the boy go" he said, placing a soft hand on the older man's shoulder

"This little shit…" he started, gripping tighter

"Gerry" said the principle more forcefully "We don't want to get security involved, do we?"

The man's shoulders relaxed and his grip on Harrison weakened.

He stumbled off the stage and though the door he came in. The principle cleared his throat. "Well, so there we have it, our three contestants. Steven Jorgenson, Astrid Hofferson, and Harrison Haddock. Thank you for attending"

The crowd slowly dispersed. She looked at Harrison who was holding his arm where his 'not-father' had grabbed him, and that's when it clicked 'Hiccup'. This kid is 'Hiccup' the shy boy who would hand out with her and Freddy in the third grade, how had she forgotten? But the Hiccup she had known had two great parents, who she had met, what was this Gerry guy doing here? Being a childhood friend did not let him off the hook, neither did his drunk 'not-father'. Obviously this was a one-time thing, Gerry probably had forgotten and was drinking on his day off, and then he remembered and came here. Yes, that was it. He was only upset because he was drunk, this probably is the first time this has happened to Hiccup.

She started to remember. It was around grade five when she had stopped hanging out with Hiccup, he was just too dorky. Sure he was nice, but around that time all the other boys started to get taller and more muscular, Hiccup just, didn't. And her popular friends had been calling her out on it, so one day she just ignored him, she hadn't spoken to him in seven years. What right did he have coming back into her life when she was just getting it sorted? And what sport was he apparently good at? The Hiccup she had known was a clumsy loser when they were children.

As far as she knew, he still was. In fact she had complete forgotten about him until she had seen the way he nursed his arm. It was one time at school when Steven had punched Hiccup in the arm, hard, when Hiccup wasn't looking. She was still friends with him at that time, for the next 30 minutes of their lunch break he had stood, solemn and hurt as he clenched his arm.

So, this begs the question, why does he have to come back into her life now? She going great, she's got the quarter-back of the football team as her boyfriend, she's captain of the lacrosse team, and she's nearly up for Valedictorian, she knows she second, behind some random.

Once the crowd had dispersed the principle turned to Hiccup and gave him an once-over "You ok?" he asked

Hiccup forced a grin on his face "Why wouldn't I be, up for a full ride to Berk"

The principle nodded "Your parents would be proud"

He nodded "Thanks Gobber"

The principle turned to use "Well done, you three. You've made it, now, you'll have four months to train before the scouts arrive, so I suggest you use your time wisely"

"Four months" piped up Steven "That's gonna be easy, that's like 6 whole weeks"

While Steven was probably the most attractive guy in the school, he lacked a brain. She could see a grin forming on Hiccups face, another reason to hate him, she could see him judging Steven, even though he didn't know him. Wait, this is Hiccup, of course he knows Steven. It still doesn't allow him to just judge Steven because he isn't smart.

She'll definitely have to fuck this guy up later.

"Is that all?" asked Hiccup

"Yeah" said Gobber "You can go, just remember to train hard and you'll all be fine"

Hiccup waved and walked towards the door. I turned back to my parents "I'll be a sec, I have to go do something" they nodded and I jogged to catch up to Hiccup, who had just walked out of the back door of the gymnasium. The back door lead to a corridor lined with lockers, she recognised this area as the junior students area.

"Hiccup" she called after him, he stopped and turned

A scowl formed on his face as soon as he saw who it was "What?" he snarled

"What the fuck?" she said, closing the steps towards him "Thinking you're so high and mighty, thinking you're better than me" only later did she realise the hypocrisy of these words "Think you can talk to me how you like and insult Steven like you know him"

He raised his hands in surrender as she stormed close "Astrid, what the fu-"he was cut off when she grabbed his hand and yanked it backwards. He let out a gasp of surprise before she spun him and rammed him into the lockers. He slumped to the floor, grasping at his shoulder.

"Oh big tough guy, not talking shit now, are you?" she snarled

"ASTRID!" yelled a voice from behind her. Fuck, it was the principle. "Astrid, what in god's name have you done?"

She opened her mouth to answer but no words found her tongue, instead it was Hiccup that spoke.

"She did nothing" he said

"Then what's wrong with your shoulder?" asked Gobber, Astrid stared open mouthed at Hiccup.

"Nothing, I felt a little light headed and fell, Astrid just came to see if I was alright" said Hiccup, eyes never leaving Astrid's. There was something malevolent in that grin, like she now owed him something.

"Is this true?" asked Gobber

"Ah…yes" she said

"Well, run along then, I'll call an ambulance, looks like his shoulder popped out" only now did she notice the way his right arm sat, his shoulder was pressed against his cheekbone. It was definitely dislocated, she didn't mean for that to happen

"I…ok" she said simply

"Relax" said Gobber "He'll be fine" that was not what she was worried about, if he were to tell anyone, her chances for this scholarship would be demolished "You'll probably see him soon enough anyway"

"Why is that?" she asked as she turned

"No one told you?" he queried, she shook her head "Harrison is your tutor for AP Physics, and Maths. He is set to be Valedictorian after all" That was it, that evil grin he had given her when he told Gobber the lie.

"Oh" was all she could think of "Sounds great" and with that she hurried down the hall, back into the gymnasium, back to her waiting parents.