Hello everyone! For those of you who know my Tumblr page, Avelister, know that I have been working on this for some time now, and am very happy to say that Its finally underway!
Just a fair warning, this story is going to be filled with a good load of angst, because, well, its my favourite thing to write. Also, there will be some pretty gosh darn dark stuff in this fic, so I'm placing it under a higher T rating, but not quite sure if it files under M rated.
That said, I hope that you all enjoy reading this fic! I love getting feedback on how you like it so far, or if you have a helpful recommendation on how I could make it better. Really guys, I can handle criticism, so don't be afraid to dish it out at me. I also love being messaged on Tumblr! I love writing drabbles, so if you have any requests for drabbles for me, don't be afraid to send them! That all said, I proudly present to you, chapter 1 of Falter! Enjoy!
Falter Chapter 1:
Astrid sat casually at the edge of her roommates bed, feet dangling lazily, attempting to
block out Ruff's most not needed pep-talk.
"...But if you do, you should drop the kid before you leave."
"Ruff, I don't need this." Astrid interrupted, mainly peeved that her best friend was trying to convince her of this.
"Well, obviously you do, Hofferson! All Shane has done is practically ruin your life ever since you started dating him! I frankly don't even understand why you started dating him in the first place." she shook her head in slight disapproval. Astrid scoffed.
"When did you turn into one of those judgemental freaks?" Astrid commented, ignoring the dirty stare she received.
"I'm not being a judgemental freak, Astrid, I'm using reality."
Astrid let out a short laugh. "Since when did you start using reality? Cm'on Ruff work with me here."
Ruff rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in the air in surrender. "You know what, I'm not even going to try!"
Astrid let out another short laugh before standing, walking toward where her tennis shoes lay by the door.
"Will you be at practice today?" Astrid asked, looking over her shoulder at Ruff while she mindlessly tied her shoes for the umpteenth time in her life.
"Do you not remember how I ate asphalt last week? My ankle is still all banged up. Coach told me to stay out for 2 weeks."
"I still cant believe that freshman was ahead of you the whole time. She was ruthless."
Ruff scoffed. "You would think a freshman wouldn't do that well in her first meet for the 300 dash. Iv'e been proved wrong way too many times this week."
Astrid let out a breathy laugh, standing and leaning herself up against the doorframe.
"Remember what I told you about Shane, Hofferson. Drop him before regional's."
Astrid rolled her eyes, glancing down at her feet. She closed her eyes almost too tightly and let out a pained sigh.
"He's nothing but bad news, Astrid, and you know it. Let him go while you can."
She let the words Ruff had said almost absently sink in. It had been true. Shane had been bad news from the beginning. But what was it that was keeping her with him? Fear? No. Hofferson's wern't the types to be easily scared off. It was probably the fact that everyone expected them to be together. He was the star of the Berk college football team, and she was leading runner in state with numerous long distant records. And apparently that gave everyone a right to find them 'perfect' for each other.
She does't know how she gets herself into these situations. Shane could be abusive at points, but only when he had been out at a party and come back to her dorm room drunk at 2am. She should blame him for it. It should be put on his shoulders for what he got himself into, but she found herself believing it was her own fault at points for why he came back drunk.
"...offerson. Hofferson!"
The sound of Ruff's voice brought her back into the crule swing of reality.
"S-sorry, I...totally got lost in thought there for a sec." Astrid brought a hand up and ran it roughly through her hair.
"You should go. Practice starts in 2 hours, and by the looks of it, you need a nap."
"I'm fine, Thortson. stop mothering me around."
Ruff laughed and pointed toward the door."Get outa here, Hofferson."
Astrid forced a smile before opening the door and stepping out into the too small hallway, closing it when she was out. it was so familiar to her now. With doors aligning the whole left side of the wall, blue and white striped wallpaper cover the right side of the hallways walls, it had all became so normal to her eyes that it didn't register in her brain how much it still reminded her of her room back home.
Normal as it was, she walked down the eerie hallway, soon entering the small room that contained two glass doors that exited the building. She pushed the door open with ore force than necessary, and stepped out into the frigid November air that could only belong to Colorado.
She had moved to Colorado for the purpose of their athletics system, and the director of the track and cross county team,who had personally taken the liberty to contact her about the scholarship she had been offered. But that was two years ago.
Now here she was. A state-wide know star athlete expected to go to the Olympics when she graduated. A mentally and physically scared woman who had been through practically hell and back.
Astrid walked down the stone walkway toward the parking lot, wrapping her arms gingerly around herself, conserving as much heat inside the thin sweatshirt she had put on. as she stepped off of the walkway into the street, taking quick, long and tiered strides toward her blue Toyota, trying to warm herself. she she go and take a nap before practice, she asked herself, but quickly threw the thought to the side and decided on getting a quick Starbucks down the street, even though she was against drinking coffee before running.
As she approached the truck, she pulled out her keys, pressing the unlock button on the control pad to the truck on her key-chain.
No sooner, she had left the parking lot of the complex, turning onto Bowman and heading off into the direction of the nearest Starbucks.
She soon found herself lost in though once again.
Thoughts flooded her brain. Thoughts of Shane and why she was always so anxious and uneasy when she was aroud him. Was it the way he had threatened her when she told him she would leave if he continued his abusive ways. But of course, it was Shane, so he didn't listen, and he continued his way. so maybe it was fear the kept her with him fear the he would find ways to keep doing the the things he did.
The more she thought about it, the more she did realize that it scared her. He scared her. what he did scares her. How he would shove her around, occasionally slap her, or that time when he pinned her down to the bed, and he couldn't stop, wouldn't stop. no matter how much she had screamed at him to stop, no matter how many tears ran down her cheeks, he wouldn't stop.
Astrid painfully fastened her eyes shut at the memory. She took in a fast breath, her throat tightening.
She was broken, and couldn't be put back together.
She hadn't seen what came next. She didn't notice the light change from green, to yellow, then red. She sped though the intersection at an alarming rate.
Astrid caught a glimpse of the car coming at her from the corner of her eye, and in a flash, the span of a few precious seconds, the impact of the other car hit her, and the last thing she remembered was hearing nothing but screeching tiers and crunching metal.
And her whole world went black.
Wow! OK chapter one is done! I know, its a bit cliffy, but ill update as soon as I can. I don't have a schedule set in stone yet for updates, but ill work on it.
And yes, Shane (Snotlout) is a bad guy, I understand, but this story cant go where I want it to go if I didn't make it that way, so please don't be mad!
Ok guys! Please leave reviews if you feel so inclined, and follow my Tumblr, Avelister, to get frequent updates on how the story is coming along, and a bunch of other random crap! Hope you enjoyed, and until next time, peace!