"And your family doesn't have a clue?" her roommate asked, sitting with her feet on the chair, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear.
"Nope," Astrid said, placing the open box on the counter. "Help me decide which of these I should use."
"Still, don't you feel, I don't know… kind of bad? I mean, you've been lying to them for two years—"
"Five," Astrid corrected, before, "that doesn't make it better, does it?"
"No, darling," Heather chuckled.
"Well, whatever keeps them off my back," Astrid said. "Honestly, it's like my family is convinced I'm this giant ticking clock, just waiting for the perfect man to sweep me off my feet and pump me full of babies."
Heather made a face at the imagery, before venturing, "And it would be the end of the world for you to tell them the truth? That you've been single for the past five years when they thought you've been in a committed relationship?"
"And have them start setting me up with guys again? Do you remember the debacle of '09?"
"Oh right," Heather nodded.
"No, this is much better," Astrid said, taking out one of the picture frames, staring at the contents.
To her family and friends of Berk, the man posing in the placement photo was the man of her life. Her boyfriend of five years. He was handsome, that's why she chose his photographs, but not too eye catching. He was normal looking, the kind of guy you brought home to your family. With his messed auburn hair, large, intelligent green eyes, and that quirky, half-smile… He was exactly the kind of man her family would want her to have.
"Don't you think your family is going to catch on when another year has passed and they haven't met this awesome guy?" Heather asked.
"What? He's dedicated to the local soup kitchens," Astrid said, shrugging and sending Heather a grin. "My family loves that."
"Don't you think they'll want to see him eventually?" Heather prompted. "And besides—it's been five years. Don't you think they're going to expect something more?"
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked her.
"I mean…" Heather wiggled her shoulders a little before sighing. "I mean, you've been 'together' for five years. Either it's going somewhere or it isn't. Which is it?"
"You mean…" Astrid put the frame down and crossed her arms, "You think he would propose by now?"
"I guess?" Heather said. "I mean, where do you see this relationship going?"
"I don't know," Astrid said, deadpan, "He's a picture in a frame. The extent of our 'relationship' is the inside of my wallet."
"Kinky," Heather said. "Still, you need to protect your cover."
"I don't have time for this," Astrid said, throwing up her hands and grabbing the pictures. "I'm going to scan these before I leave for the airport."
"I still think lying to your family is going to bite you in the butt someday!" Heather called after her, as Astrid walked to her bedroom to get ready.
Astrid ignored the flight attendant's worried inquiries as she debarked the plane, holding the bag in front of her. She paused at the gate, wondering how long it would take for her body to get used to still land. After a moment, she threw the full bag away and walked towards baggage claim.
"Astrid!"
She turned to see Alicia walk towards her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Al," Astrid returned the hug. "Not to tight! What about the baby?"
"The baby is fine," Alicia said, stepping back. "Unless you've got something to tell me?"
"Oh no," Astrid shook her head vigorously. "Trust me that is not— not even in the ball park."
"Is that so?" Alicia said, raising her eyebrows. She looked her over, "You don't look so good."
"Oh, I… I got motion sickness of the flight," Astrid said, "I'm fine now."
"Really? You never get sick when flying," Alicia said, frowning.
"I think I ate some bad peanuts—or something, I'm fine, really," Astrid said. She spotted her luggage, and grabbed it.
"So, Jason didn't come with you this year?" Alicia said, sounding disappointed. "You know, we're starting to think he's avoiding us."
"Oh no, no," Astrid said, walking with her sister towards the parking garage. "He's just really busy this year—lots of volunteering."
"Yeah, we know. He's got some perfect hobbies," Alicia said, shrugging. "You know what refusing to meet the family means, don't you?"
"What does it mean?" Astrid asked, mentally preparing herself for the lecture she was about to receive.
"It means he's not serious," Alicia said.
Astrid rolled her eyes, "He's serious, Al. He's just busy."
"I would believe that if any of us had met the guy," Al muttered.
"He's serious," Astrid insisted. "In fact… he's proposed."
"What?!" Alicia stopped, grabbing Astrid by the arm. "He proposed?" her eyes flew to Astrid's hand.
"There's no ring yet," Astrid said quickly, "You know how picky I am about that stuff. He wanted the proposal to be a surprise, but wanted me to pick out the ring. He proposed last night."
"Oh!" Alicia's face was bursting at the seams.
"It's not a big deal, and actually, I'd prefer if you didn't tell…" Astrid paused, "Actually, you can tell everyone."
"This is... this is great, Astrid," Alicia said, as she unlocked her car and got into the driver's seat. Astrid put her luggage in the back and got into the passenger side of the front. "You're going to love being married. And maybe even kids some day?" She started the car and began the drive to the suburbs. "I mean, would I have preferred to have met the guy? Yes. But if half the things you say about him are true, he's swell."
"Swell?" Astrid asked.
"Eric has been really into Downton Abbey," Alicia explained. "I swear, I sound like a flapper nowadays. You're getting married after spring, right?"
"What?"
"I'm due in April," Alicia said, "I need to get my body back before I walk down an aisle. I'm your maid of honor right? Right?"
"Oh, yeah," Astrid said, nodding.
"Because you were my maid of honor, and you're my little sis, and god be damned if I'm not going to be yours," Alicia said.
"You can be my maid of honor," Astrid said.
"Good!" Alicia said. There was a long pause, before, "So what made him propose? I mean, we were expecting it like four years ago."
"Oh, just… things," Astrid said.
"What things?"
"You know… stuff," Astrid said. "Personal stuff. I'm not ready to talk about it."
Alicia shot her a look, the look that made Astrid know she was trying to figure something out. "Okay," Alicia said slowly, but Astrid knew this was not the last time this would come up.
"Oh!" Astrid pointed at a shop, "Do you mind if we stop here? I want to get Stormfly some of the good stuff."
"Sure," Alicia said, pulling into the parking lot. "You know, if you care so much about what that dog of yours eats, you should just take her to live with you."
"I can't afford an apartment that allows dogs," Astrid said, hopping out of the car. "You coming?"
"Well, I suppose there won't be anything I can stuff my face with in there, so why not," Alicia got out the car and walked with her into the pet store.
Astrid bee lined for dog food aisle, and Alicia followed at a much slower rate.
"So," Alicia said, standing behind her, "What is this reason you got engaged? After five years of strictly dating?"
"I told you, I'm not ready to talk about it," Astrid said.
"Well, I'm not going to take no for an answer, so be prepared to tell me eventu… Jason?"
Astrid didn't respond, while her sister walked off.
"Oh my god," she heard her sister say, "It is you! Oh wow, I'm Alicia, Astrid's older sister—it's so nice to finally meet you!"
Jason… Astrid puzzled. Who does she know besides her fake boyfriend that goes by that name?
"What?" she heard a man's voice respond, sounding oddly nasal.
"Alicia?" her sister said, sounding slightly bemused. "Astrid, look who showed up!"
Astrid looked over. Her heart leapt into her throat as she dropped the can of food, eyes widening as the puzzled face of her fake boyfriend stared back at her in confusion, not a two dimensional picture in a picture frame at all, but a living, breathing person.
Those of you waiting for an update for White Oaks—I have not forgotten that story. I'm currently working on finishing writing it so I can edit it and post with as little stress as possible. I plan to resume posting chapters sometime in January.
That being said—I needed something cute and happy to work on over the holidays, because however much I enjoy White Oaks, it is not really the right story to work on in a time period that should be joyful and (preferably) as stress free as possible. So I decided to write a very short (with very short chapters), very cheesy, very cliché, very toothache inducing story. Pure, gross, unadulterated Hiccstrid with a touch of oocness to better fit into a classic, tooth rotting, stereotypical romcom worthy story.
You have been warned.
(I'd love to hear what you guys think of the story, whether you think you or anyone else on ffnet would be interested in me posting more chapters, or even (if you celebrate any holidays this time of year) what your favorite thing about the season is, and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible :D