Ok, here we have something I asked for a prompt for. And boyyyy did I get it. The prompt for this was 2,500 words in total. So if I don't write more than that I may as well have posted the prompt.

Popular Hiccup/Geek Astrid!

There will be a POV shift, I'll aim for halfway but no guarantees.

-HTTYD-

"So Hiccup, you have a date for prom yet?"

Hiccup cast a glare at the posters on the wall, attracting girl after girl to him like flies on roadkill. It was common knowledge he was as yet unattached; there were even rumours he was gay.

"I uh, kinda have my eye on someone."

The girl; he thought her name might be Harriet, frowned in disappointment. Hiccup tried not to look, knowing he would want to say yes to assuage his own guilt.

"Who?"

Hiccup didn't answer, keeping his eyes down. He was sure it would be noticed if he looked up and saw her in the hallways. If only he could manage to ask her. Then by some miracle, she might say yes.

Most people didn't really see Astrid. She wore glasses and hoodies, jeans and Converse. Astrid was top of their classes, a fiercely intelligent hard worker with little time for anyone and anything else. He knew one of her few friends - Heather - who Hiccup regularly pestered to ensure Astrid had not yet acquired her own date for the prom.

While he worked up the nerve to ask her. Oh, Hiccup was popular and had friends and girls begging him to be their prom date, but when it came to Astrid Hofferson he was a gibbering mess. Those big blue eyes and her cutting wit, her golden hair that practically glowed under the sun. Even the way she braided her hair, all under and over and a little bit strange. It was as unique as the rest of her.

More than that; Astrid seemed completely unaffected by what he knew drew most people to him; his families money. His mom wrote travel books, and his dad... Stoick 'the Vast' Haddock was something of a celebrity. He was the mastermind behind a very popular line of games. Vikings Versus Dragons.

If people weren't after Hiccup's money, they wanted exclusive merchandise - Hiccup had a one of a kind VVD jacket where the picture on the back showed a dragon winning the fight - or free games.

Astrid wasn't a gamer; she couldn't care less what Hiccup's dad did. All she wanted to do was keep her grades pristine, top of the line. Hiccup knew why. Her family weren't well off, and she wanted to go to university. Academic scholarships were likely a lifeline for her.

"Hey look, it's Dorkstrid!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at Scott, a lesser evolved life form who existed to drink beer and play sports. He was, on occasion, funny and a fiercely loyal friend if he deemed you worthy, but he was also a bit of a bully. A broad, muscly arm slung around Scott's neck.

"Scott, unless you want me go back to calling you Snothat, you'll shut up."

Dagur was Heather's older brother, and he worked at their school teaching PE. As Heather was friends with Astrid, and as Dagur lacked any tolerance for bullies but had plenty of raw muscle... Scott shut up instantly.

"Whatever you say Dag."

Hiccup took the opportunity to slip away from his group of friends, catching Astrid alone outside.

"Hey, Astrid!"

She turned around in confusion, reading glasses folded and hung on the collar of her hooded jumper.

"What do you want?"

Hiccup was already nervous, and her hostility was understandable but unhelpful. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to smile but it didn't feel like it translated onto his face well.

"I was wondering... would you consider going to Prom with me?"

Her face was a picture. Clearly, she was somewhat stunned. After a minute she regained her composure. Hiccup's palms were sweating.

"I'm not going. Sorry to disappoint."

And with that, she immediately made a very speedy exit. Impressive when they were already outside. Well, he had tried. And been ruthlessy disappointed. Hiccup supposed it could be worse; he hadn't been rejected as a date specifically. She just wasn't going.

That did surprise him a touch - everyone was going. It was a rite of passage or something. And for most, an excuse to get dressed up only to make a fool of themselves. Why wasn't Astrid going?

Maybe Heather would know.

It took Hiccup a bit of work to get Heather alone, because his 'clique' was one of those that floated around as one giant entity instead of individual people. Eventually, he managed to get her to one side.

"Why isn't Astrid going to prom?"

"Whoa whoa. You asked Astrid to prom?"

Hiccup nodded. Heather eyed him suspiciously

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

Heather crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I mean is it some kind of prank where you stand her up or some bet to take the most unexpected date?"

"What? No!"

She seemed quite surprised, arms unfolding and one hand going to play with her braid.

"Then... why?"

Hiccup tried to compose a less dorky answer, but he couldn't.

"Because she's Astrid. She's smart. Tough. A little scary. But... she's beautiful."

Heather looked at him rather strangely.

"Wow."

"So... now I've gone and embarrassed myself, any clue why she's not going?"

Heather looked around, then sort of beckoned Hiccup a little ways along so they were even more alone.

"You know her family aren't rich."

He nodded, having an idea where this was going.

"Yeah?"

"Well Astrid refused to let them spend money on a dress and all that for one night. Especially when she wasn't expecting to have anyone to go with. Shame really, she came with me when I went to pick my dress and I only managed to her to try one on but damn my girl looked amazing in it."

Hiccup was thinking quick, made a snap decision.

"Will you take me to look at the dress today?"

Heather continued to eye him suspiciously.

"Are you seriously going to buy her a dress to guilt her into going with you?"

"What? No!" Hiccup genuinely meant it "I don't even care if she wants to go alone or with someone else, but I can't have her not going for such a reason when my family has more money than I know what to do with."

She tapped her foot, then eventually relented.

"We'll go after school."

"Thank you Heather. And... don't tell her, obviously. I don't want her to eat me alive and spit out the pieces."

"That's a lovely image."

Hiccup grinned.

"Hey, that girl is fierce! She would make a good dragon. Or Viking, for that matter."

Heather rolled her eyes.

"You've been playing your dads games for too long. Come on, there's still a class to go before school is out."

Hiccup was all but tap dancing with excitement, even while knowing it didn't mean Astrid would go with him he just really hoped it would put a smile on her face. Heather was leant against his car looking like a hood ornament, and since he didn't usually drive her home Hiccup reckoned there would be wild speculation as teenagers were often prone to. Never mind that Heather was publicly dating Justin.

"Where are we going?"

"Head for the high street."

He did so, parking in the nearby car park at Heather's instruction. He took off the tie he had on and tossed it in the car, freeing a button or two by his collar before shrugging on his leather jacket again. Remembering he was normally home by now, Hiccup pulled out his phone and dialled his mothers number.

"Hello?"

Hiccup couldn't explain why, but his mothers voice always made him smile.

"Hey mom. I haven't been murdered, kidnapped or abducted by aliens. Delete as appropriate."

It was a little running joke of theirs.

"Oh you daft boy. Where are you?"

"High Street. Heather needed a ride... you need anything while I'm up here?"

"You could pick me up some ink, I'm running low."

Given how much the woman wrote and doodled, Hiccup wasn't surprised.

"You got it. See you later."

"Love you son."

"Love you too."

He hung up, seeing Heather smirking at him as he slipped his phone back in the inside pocket of his jacket.

"What?"

"Momma's boy."

"And proud. Shall we?"

Heather nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder while Hiccup checked his bank card was in his wallet. They left the car park, minding not to get hit by the multitude of people who had shopping to do after school let out. Dodging a people-carrier, two minivans and an industrial sounding SUV, they escaped the multi-story and breathed in fresh air.

Well, fresh-ish. Hiccup could smell stale beer from the nearby recycling containers, and as they passed those he smelled greasy chips. His stomach rumbled in appreciation but oily hands and a dress shop sounded lile a bad mix. He didn't want to be killed by a mad seamstress armed with knitting needles.

"Here. It's basically that one in the window, but 'sapphire' blue" Heather rolled her eyes, and Hiccup suspected it was because her boyfriend was overly particular about colours since he was into painting "instead of..." she leant closer to squint at the label "ruby crimson. So. Red?"

Chuckling, Hiccup followed her in and felt mildly boggled by the range of colours available. His suit and accompanying shirt were black, red waistcoat and red tie. His mother had momentarily gone spare when Hiccup insisted his black boots have red laces, but ultimately Hiccup had won her round.

"Can I help you two?"

The woman looked a bit mad with a tape measure dangling from her neck and a ruler brandished like a sword, but Hiccup summoned his courage and called Heather over to rescue him.

"That one in the window, you had it in a great shade of blue. You still have it?"

"Would that be aqua, teal, turquoise, ocean or sapphire?"

"Sapphire."

The woman swept away and Heather rolled her eyes again.

"She sounds just like Justin. Oh no, she's coming back."

Hiccup suppressed a laugh as the scary shop lady returned, holding the same dress in three sizes. She held them up against Heather, tsking.

"It'll need to be taken in, you're a bit too skinny."

Heather growled, but pushed her hand away.

"It isn't for me!"

"Well I hope it's not for him."

Annoyed by her attitude at that point, Hiccup quipped back.

"No, blue isn't my colour" he turned to Heather "do you know Astrid's size?"

"Yeah. This one."

Heather plucked it from the irritating woman, then made a shooing motion and as there were new customers, the cow ran off. Hiccup took an actual look at the dress, smiling to himself. It was perfect to go with Astrid's beautiful eyes. As he stopped staring, a display behind Heather caught his eye.

"She needs shoes right?"

"Yeah, but Astrid would never wear heels. Honestly you would score a bigger hit getting her a pair of Converse in this colour... oh Thor, that's what you're gonna do isn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, grinning.

"That big sports store carries alot of colours. What size shoe does Astrid wear?"

Heather came along, which was probably lucky for Hiccup when it came to how he was going to get it to Astrid without being lynched. He only just remembered to get his moms ink.

"I will not cover for you if she's mad."

Laying the dress bag on the back seat alongside the shoebox, Hiccup straightened up.

"I don't expect you to. Just get her out of the house for like twenty minutes, and make sure her parents don't think I'm a rapist or something for wanting to sneak into her room."

Rolling her eyes again - he was amazed they didn't roll right out of her head - Heather tapped out a number.

Humming to herself, Astrid tapped her feet under her desk as she worked on her homework. Grades were her priority if she wanted a scholarship for university. Her parents certainly couldn't afford to send her and Astrid would rather not leave with a lifelong debt.

Plus... Astrid liked to be the best at everything. So top marks were a pride thing too.

The landline rung, quickly answered by her dad who yelled to her mom to take it. Astrid rolled her eyes. Pushing her reading glasses up her nose as they tried to escape in protest of the long essay she was writing, Astrid glared as her phone trilled, interrupting her while she was 'in the zone' of King Lear. Snatching it up to silence the annoying tone, Heather's name came up on the display so Astrid reluctantly flipped it open to answer it.

"Is it important? This essay won't write itself."

Heather was used to Astrid's brusque tone, especially if she interrupted Astrid while working.

"Uh, kind of. The shoes I bought online don't match and I don't really have the time to order new ones. Will you come help me pick out a new pair?"

Astrid took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose while sighing loudly.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"I guess, but tomorrow I won't have Dagur offering us a ride. I'll buy you dinner at the fancy noodle place as a thank you?"

Already knowing she was going to be wheedled into agreeing, Astrid sighed again.

"Alright, fine. Where shall I meet you?"

"We're on the way to your house now. Ten minutes?"

Of course she was. Astrid stood up, stretching and feeling the bones in her back click and crack.

"I'll get changed."

"Wow, it'll be such a difference when you change one pair of Converse and jeans for an almost identical set. Perhaps you'll even wear a different shade of green jumper."

"I hate you."

Heather laughed. She heard Dagur laugh alongside in the background.

"Love you too. See you soon."

Astrid hung up, tossing her phone aside in irritation and regretting it immediately. She stood watching it bounce on her immaculately made bed with a wince. She couldn't afford to replace it if it bounced off and broke. Thankfully it came to a stop, staying on the cushioned plane of her bed, nestled amongst black covers patterned with blue stars. It was a little juvenile, she guessed, but it wasn't like anyone saw them.

The mirror on her wall next to the poster of the Periodic Table she had was sore viewing - her fringe was sticking up oddly from Astrid running her fingers through it in frustration, and her hair braid was coming loose. She changed out of her pyjama bottoms and slippers - comfortable homework-doing attire - for black jeans and her favourite brown Converse. Her favourite hoody was in the wash, so she yanked on a faded black and red one she'd liberated from Heather when the girl said she was gonna throw it out. It was soft and comfortable, and Astrid liked the faded dragon motif on it.

Fixing her hair and cleaning her glasses, Astrid straightened out her desk again ready for when she got home. The discarded slippers and bottoms looked messy, but only Astrid would be coming back for them. A distinctive loud knock at the door told her Dagur had arrived, compounded by his loud, jovial greeting before shouting up the narrow staircase to her.

"Astrid!"

"Hey Dagur."

She greeted from the top of the stairs as her parents loitered by the door. Everyone was smiling, and it was mildly unsettling to the tired teen girl.

"Let's get this over with. Heather is bribing me with food to go outside, so I don't need dinner."

Her mother kissed her cheek, and Astrid reluctantly hauled herself toward Dagur's big green truck. It rattled and rocked and made ominous noises, but Dagur was far too attached to 'Shattermaster' to ever admit he needed a new one, and the thing still ran.

"Your chariot awaits milady."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going. I have homework."

Dagur boosted her up to the cabin, shaking his head fondly.

"You gotta chill little sis. Your grades won't slip because you took a little break. All work and no play makes Astrid a scary dragon."

Astrid glared tiredly, assaulted by a hug from her best friend as she clambered into the seat. Brushing an empty bottle and some burger wrappers, Astrid frowned.

"Your brother needs to clean in here sometime."

"I clean it every week. That mess is from me dropping someone's boyfriend at the art store yesterday. We stopped for food."

Heather stuck out her tongue as Astrid manhandled the resistantly stiff seatbelt around herself, then settled back as Dagur started up the truck. They trundled along, and Astrid decided she must be tired as she thought she saw Hiccup Haddock's car go past them. He lived with his parents in the more upmarket part of town, had no cause to be anywhere near her house. Their paths only crossed because they went to the same school.

Blissfully, Heather only took half an hour to choose new shoes to match her silver-grey dress. And the noodle restaurant was a little out of Astrid's price range, but totally delicious. Heather even bought her dessert, which Dagur finished when Astrid was too full even though he had already eaten twice as much as her and his own dessert that served three.

"Admit it, you feel better getting some air in your lungs."

"Eh. I guess. But I do need to get back and do my work."

"I know, and I appreciate you taking the time out for me."

Astrid smiled; Heather was good really. Just didn't understand how important Astrid's need for perfect grades was. Still, she appreciated her friend immensely.

"Here we are. See you tomorrow little sis."

Astrid said goodbye to the two, then slid out of the truck cabin surprisingly gracefully. She let herself in to the Hofferson home, heading through to deliver leftover egg rolls to her dad. Both parents were hanging in the kitchen, grinning like loons.

"Am I missing something?"

They both shook their heads, but it was unconvincing when their smiles didn't falter.

"What is it?"

"Nothing dear. Head on up to your room."

Ok, her suspicions were definitely piqued now. Astrid's parents never sent her to her room, politely or otherwise. She took the stairs quickly, opening her bedroom door and her mouth fell open in shock. Laid on her bed was the dress, the one Heather bullied her into trying on that looked amazing but cost way too much. Next to it was a shoe box, which she opened to find matching shoes.

Initially, Astrid was elated. Then it faded to allow guilt in. They shouldn't have done this. Whoever did it must have known Astrid never wore heels, she mused. That was a limited pool of people. Her parents were at the bottom of the stairs, still grinning.

"I thought I said not to-"

"We didn't."

Astrid faltered, mind clicking quickly as she thought of Heather's impromptu plans, the suddeness and coincidence of this dress appearing in her room. Oh, Haddock was dead if he thought he could buy Astrid as a date.

She hung the dress on the back of her door all the same, not wanting to crease it before throwing herself on her bed and angrily stewed before getting back up and doing her work. Even as she wrote and calculated and graphed, Astrid was steaming.

Her dad dropped her off on his way to work, which meant she got there fifteen minutes too early but saved them paying her bus fare five days a week. Hiccup's big black car was visible in the car park, so Astrid could murder him before classes even started.

Lucky really. Almost courteous of him.

Astrid stormed around the slow trickle of other early arrivers, seeking a mop of messy hair and a distinctive jacket. Spotting her prey, Astrid went over, ignoring his friends, and grabbed him by the tie before dragging him away harshly. Hiccup stumbled and protested in a slightly strangled voice, gasping dramatically for air when Astrid let him go outside away from prying ears.

"To what do I owe the murder attempt?"

"I don't know what you think you were doing, but just because I turned you down for prom doesn't mean you go around behind my back and try to buy my acceptance."

Done fixing his tie where she had tightened it, Hiccup held up his hands in defence.

"Whoa whoa whoa. That's not it at all!"

Astrid crossed her arms, glaring. The effect was lessened when her glasses slipped again.

"Then why?"

"Heather told me why you weren't going. I felt bad. But you don't have to go with me! I just hated the thought of you missing a rite of passage like prom because of a dress. Honestly? I just wanted to make you smile."

The bell rung and Hiccup escaped before Astrid recovered from her stunned silence. To know the dress, the size, the shoes... Heather had to be in on it. Sure enough, when Astrid found her friend, it was confirmed. Hiccup had told her too, that he didn't care if Astrid went with him so long as she was able to go.

"He even offered to pay the professional hair and make-up thing for you to come with us. You think I would have been part of someone trying to buy you Astrid?"

"... No."

Now she felt a tiny bit bad for attacking him. He was surrounded by friends, so Astrid resolved to to apologise to him later. She hadn't decided she was going with him.

Yet.

-HTTYD-

There is a part two to this, which is why it's not part of Hiccstrid One Shots... because it's a two shot!