It was ten o' clock in the morning and village was as usual. The farm animals were shuffling in the barns, the vikings were hooping and hollering in amusement of the sunny day, and the dragons' wings flapped loudly in the wind. Hiccup could hear everything from his bed, and he squeezed his large pillow between both of his ears to block out the entire ruckus. His eyes turned to the stuffed dragon his mother had given him when he was just a baby. He remembered his father telling him about the day he threw the little thing into the sea. He was terrified of dragons when he was young. Hiccup laughed to himself in disbelief. It seemed impossible for him to ever view those amazing creatures as scary.

"HICCUP!"

"Oh Thor…" Hiccup mumbled to himself. The loud booming voice that he heard made his head throb. He just wanted some peace and quiet, but it seemed like his father was constantly upset and complaining about something. Whether it was about the village being low on food or how the sheep were excessively shedding their wool. "I'm coming I'm coming," Hiccup said, as he pried himself out of the warm yet incredibly squeaky bed he had used for years. When his prosthetic landed on the hard floor, he felt a huge tingling sensation go up his thigh. He quickly reached for the small chair near his desk. His head began to spin and throb again, while the tingling became worse. He thought that maybe he just got up too fast so he did his best to ignore it. He managed to walk down the stairs without falling and met eyes with the chief that was waiting for him.

"Son, I need your help. Can you work with Gobber to prepare for the festival were having this evening?" Hiccup wanted to roll his eyes and immediately go back to bed. He really never understood the point of festivals. People at festivals would just shout, laugh hysterically, and be excessively nice to each other in order to receive free food. It felt like everyone was sort of phony to him. Or maybe he just didn't really understand the point of socializing. He'd much rather pick up the food and eat it in the comfort of his own home.

"Of course, It's not like I rather be sleeping or anything," Hiccup said. He immediately saw the disappointed reaction in his father's face. For a slight moment, Hiccup sort of wished that he could take those words back.

He began to open his mouth to apologize but his father responded. "Gobber's in the forge right now, he's waiting for you. And the chief walked out the door. Every step he made caused a loud quake throughout the small house. Hiccup stood there alone, and sighed.

He dreaded walking back up the stairs, but he knew that he still had to get dressed and meet up with Gobber. Hiccup was only wearing a pair of dark green pants that hadn't been washed in three weeks. He felt sweaty and repulsive and couldn't remember the last time he took a bath. He touched his shaggy auburn hair and noticed pieces of it sticking up. He groaned and opened up his drawer of clothes. It was all the same, green tunics, green pants. No variety. He wore the same exact thing every day. It seemed practical to him. As he shuffled through the clothing, he noticed something he hadn't seen in a long time, a crimson tunic that his dad had gotten him for his nineteenth birthday. He smiled at the long sleeved shirt, touching the fabric with his hands. He slowly put on the tunic, and frowned. He felt like a Snoggletog tree. But the shirt was incredibly comfortable and he didn't want to take it off.

By the time he had made his way to forge, Gobber had already made large streamers of various meats. One was of seasoned but slightly brunt beef, another was of small pieces of grilled fish, and the other was of garlic roasted chicken. Hiccup's favorite. He inhaled the fresh garlic scent and it made his mouth water. He then realized he had forgotten to eat breakfast and quickly grabbed his stomach to stop the quiet rumbling. But Gobber noticed and laughed.

"Skipped breakfast, didn't yeh boy? Go on and steal a piece." He pointed to the large piece of chicken that Hiccup had been staring down for almost a minute. Hiccup hesitated for a moment, but looked at Gobber and nodded. He picked up the piece, still piping hot, and shoved almost half of it down his throat.

"Stoick said you needed my help with the festival," he managed to say while chewing the large sum of meat.

"Ah, I could use the extra hands. Could yeh grab the new silverware and bring it to the Great Hall?"

"Sure thing." He picked up a large wad, about fifty forks and spoons, and placed the majority of them securely in his new red tunic, using it as a holding mechanism. He was out the door, whistling a tune he heard from Fishlegs when his eyes detected a familiar blonde girl.

He stopped abruptly and frantically searched for the nearest bush he could hide in. But there was none in sight. He opted for Ruff and Tuff's house and thought he could hide in there. But it was already too late. She had spotted him.

"HICCUP!"

Dear Odin help me, Hiccup thought to himself. He hopped to the house as fast as he could without dropping any of the silverware but he was no match for the female viking.

"Come back here Hiccup!" His eyebrows rose at the young woman and attempted to hop faster, but it was no use. Before he knew it, he was pinned down the ground. The silverware scattered everywhere and became covered with grass and mud.

"Astrid, please!" He wheezed, trying to break free from her. Her hands gripped on his torso, making it difficult for him to breathe. "Ugh, get off."

"Not until you explain why you're running away from me!" She yelled, while staring angrily into his eyes.

"Well technically I wasn't running away from you. I was hopping, until you knocked me down and spilled the silverware out of-"

"Ugh, shut up. Just tell me why you're ignoring me."

"I-I'm n-not ignoring you. I-I've just-" Hiccup stuttered. He didn't know what to say. Him and Astrid's relationship had been on a confusing rollercoaster for the last few months. When they were friends, everything was much more relaxing between them, but as they got older and their relationship grew, it became a lot more difficult. Instead of having food fights and dragon training with the gang, Astrid preferred to have lunch dates and fly the dragons at night together. He appreciated it, but it made him feel awkward and scared. Astrid was his first girlfriend, if he were to put a label on it. He didn't know what to do at all. When should they hold hands? Should they even hold hands? Should they share food? Would she be okay with that? All of the questions made him want to stay away from her at times so he could get the chance to understand their relationship. But he was never going to tell her that.

"I've just been busy helping Gobber all morning. And I have to head to the Great Hall. If you want, we can walk there together and h-hang out?" He managed to say.

Astrid's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as she bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. "Um, alright sure."

He smiled back, but then remembered the soiled silverware that was sinking in the mud. "Ah, great," he sighed.

"Sorry about that," Astrid said, lending a hand to Hiccup as she helped him up.

"No worries, there's plenty more in the forge."