Hello there!

Thank you for clicking on my story. Quick info: it's a modern AU one-shot. The teens are in the last year of high school so about 17-18 years old.

Disclaimer: I don't own How to train your dragon – books, movies, nor TV series.

With that being said – enjoy!

NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL

Astrid was absolutely furious. And freezing. And that was a very dangerous combination for a Hofferson.

She knew that finally accepting going on a date with Steven 'Snotlout' Jorgenson would bite her in the ass. That muttonhead was trying to ask her out for such a long time, that the girl finally agreed, if only to free herself from the horrible pick up lines. He was supposed to attend her volleyball game and then take her out for a dinner. Snotlout, the gentleman he was, didn't come. He sent her a text just before the game saying that something came up but 'calm down, Babe, I'm gonna pick you up after it finishes'. Astrid rolled her eyes at the very much disliked nickname but didn't thought much about it.

And now, it has been an hour since the match ended and Snotlout was nowhere to be seen. She should've expected something like that from him, really. The blonde teen looked at her watch once again and groaned angrily. She winced when she saw her breath. Berk was most definitely not a warm place and standing outside in the middle of the winter in the evening was not pleasant. Astrid shivered slightly and rubbed her arms. She tried calling that jerk once again but he still wasn't answering. Suddenly, a black car drove onto the high school parking lot. It wasn't Snotlout's, she knew that much, and her stomach twisted slightly at the sight. If she died, she was going to haunt Snotlout till the rest of his days.

The black Camaro stopped a few feet away from her and Astrid wondered if it'd be smart to head back to school. Slowly, not to look suspicious, she took a few steps towards the building.

"Astrid?" she heard a faint, nasally voice coming from the car. She turned around to see Etran 'Hiccup' Haddock. She recognised the guy from a few of her classes. Hiccup, as everyone called him, was a person that preferred to stay in the shadows. Astrid vaguely remembered the auburn-haired boy attending the same middle school as well. He was a toothpick then and for that he had been one of the main targets of the bullies, with Steven in the lead. She pitied him but did nothing to stop it. Sure, he was a little cute, but Astrid had other things to worry about then, mainly keeping her grades high. High school came around and at first the boy stayed the same, lanky self. But then, after coming back in the junior year, a different Hiccup arrived at the school's door. He was taller, his jaw was sharper and he filled out nicely. Astrid wouldn't notice it if it wasn't for the fact that the person sitting in front of her on maths (yes, you guessed it – Etran) was suddenly blocking her view of the board. After that revelation Astrid had trouble not noticing him, which was more than slightly unnerving.

Hiccup was standing by the open door of his car, uncertain expression on his face. Astrid, relieved that the owner of the car didn't turn out to be some creep (at least for now), came closer. As embarrassing as it'd be, she could always ask him to give her a lift back home. The auburn-haired teen brought a hand to his neck.

"Um, Snotlout, I mean Steven asked me to d-drive you home." Seeing her surprised face, he backtracked. "I-I mean if you don't want to-"He made a move to return to his car, at which Astrid quickly trotted closer and grabbed his arm gently. Hiccup had a slightly terrified look on his face.

"No, I would be very grateful if you did." She sent him a half-smile. "I was just surprised that Snotlout asked you to do that." At that Hiccup's hand made its way back to his neck.

"Yeah, I mean, he got held up by Uncle Stewart, Steven's dad, and he told me to pick you up, trying to convince me by mentioning some 'cousins' codex', which sounded completely ridiculous-"

"Wait, you're Snotlout's cousin?" Her blue eyes went wide at the revelation. She would've never thought… the two boys were completely different, both in the character and the appearance. Plus, Snotlout was Hiccup's main bully and even now, when the Jorgenson teen stopped doing that to some extent, it was clear that they didn't like each other. "He never mentioned that."

"Figures." The taller teen mumbled under his breath. Astrid shivered once more as the cold, Berk air hit her. Hiccup immediately straightened his back.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Here." He went to the other side of the car and opened the door for her, which caused Astrid to slightly raise her eyebrow. It was cute, she'd admit that. Both teens entered the black Camaro and the blonde girl felt her stomach rumbling slightly. She turned her head around to see if Hiccup heard it but fortunately it didn't seem like it.

"So, um, where do you live?" Hiccup turned on the engine and started backing up the car. Astrid took a strand of her blonde hair and turned it in her fingers, uncertain. Should she ask?

"Or we could go somewhere? "she proposed. Hiccup definitely didn't expect that, his green eyes going wide. He even stopped the car, which was fortunately still in the parking lot. Astrid had to fight the blush that threatened to escape under the taller teen's intensive gaze. The girl was known to be forward but maybe she was just being pushy now?

"You want go somewhere… with me?" Astrid nodded, sending him a small smile.

"Yeah, I mean, Snotlout was supposed to take me out for a dinner and to be honest I'm kind of hungry, so…" she trailed off, shrugging. Hiccup drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"O-okay. Where would you like to go, then?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye and started driving again.

"Take me somewhere you like." Hiccup nodded hesitantly, muttering something that sounded like 'right, right' under his breath. He looked really stressed which made Astrid worried if maybe she made him feel pressured. She noticed he kept glancing at her from time to time, as if making sure that yes, she was still there. Or maybe she looked weird or something. She's been standing in a wind for some time, her hair must look strange… And her outfit wasn't that nice, either and- wait, why was she worrying about stuff like that anyway? It wasn't like she was on a date with him, right? Well, it kind of depended on how you looked at it… And it wouldn't be so bad for it be a date, she supposed. Astrid was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice Hiccup has pulled up in front of a restaurant.

"Um, Astrid?" said girl jumped slightly in her seat. She turned to him and saw him gesturing the building behind the car's window.

"Oh, right. Sorry." The teen felt an unknown wave of embarrassment once more. She never got nervous around boys, why was now any different? Astrid got out of the car and stood before the entrance of the restaurant.

"The Forge?" she looked at Hiccup, questioningly. The taller teen's face flushed slightly at that.

"It's good. I think so, at least." He opened the front door for her and they entered the building. As soon as she came inside, a delicious smell of home-made food hit her and her stomach reminded her of its presence. The interior instantly took her back to Viking times as that was the well-executed motive of the eatery. Astrid wondered how come she lived in Berk her whole life and she'd never been here before. They came to the front desk of the restaurant at which a buff blonde-haired man was standing. His moustache was tied into two, long braids and he had a small Viking helmet on his head. Upon closer inspection Astrid noticed the man was lacking his left hand, at the place of which there was a metal hook. Upon seeing them, the man smiled widely.

"Hiccup, what are ya doing 'ere?" the man asked in a thick Scottish accent. Then his eyes caught Astrid and he wiggled his eyebrows slightly, making Hiccup's face red. "Oh, I see." He looked around and frowned.

"I'm afraid we don't have a free table right now. But ya can still 'ave a take-out from 'ere and a nice, romantic evening somewhere else. Perhaps the arbour?" At that the poor boy's face became even redder and even Astrid felt herself slightly blushing at the man's words.

"Gobber, um, it's not a d-"Hiccup started weakly.

"We can do that, thanks." Astrid shot Gobber a smile, ignoring the nervous boy next to her. The man handed them the menus, not before winking at the auburn-haired teen. The two teens picked what they wanted the most, trying their hardest not to look at each other.

"Righty-ho! I'm going to leave you two alone." After saying that, he left the two teens in an awkward silence.

"Heh, Gobber." The taller teen chuckled nervously, pointing to the space where the said man was a second ago. Astrid couldn't help but crack a small smile – he was just too cute when he was embarrassed like that.

"So, you and Gobber… you seem to know each other well?" she asked with a smile still on her face. A smile made its way on Hiccup's face as well.

"Yeah, he's my dad's best friend." The blonde teen noticed, relieved, that the boy seemed more relaxed. "He's actually my godfather as well."

Somehow they hit it off from there. With each sentence he seemed more at ease, he stuttered less and he seemed more confident. Astrid found out that Hiccup was funny, smart and a very good person to talk to. She really enjoyed his company and she didn't regret that it was him and not Snotlout that arrived at the parking lot. Their meals came and they didn't even have time to argue about who would pay because Gobber announced in was on the house. When Hiccup tried to protest the only thing he got in response was a good-hearted laugh and a pat on the back. It's not everyday little Hiccup finds himself a date. Especially not a one so beautiful.

Hiccup didn't say a word to deny it this time. Astrid didn't either.

They drove to the arbour near Berk's woods just like Gobber suggested. Sure, it wasn't the warmest place to be but as soon as Hiccup noticed Astrid shaking slightly, he offered her his jacket. Even though she protested at first, in the end she accepted it and boy, was she glad – it was so much warmer. The food was great, though the company was even more so in Astrid's mind. They talked and laughed, as if they were old friends catching up. The blonde girl found out that she absolutely adored Hiccup's laugh and his goofy smile. How had this happened that such an interesting, smart person hasn't caught her attention sooner?

And the fact that he wasn't bad to look at was a plus too.

Time flew by quickly and soon it turned out to be quite late. Reluctantly the teens got back into the black Camaro and this time Hiccup drove towards Astrid's house, which came into view too soon for her taste. Biting her lip, the girl looked out of the window, thinking. She swiftly grabbed his phone.

"Astrid, what-"

"I'm giving you my number." She stated as if it was something obvious.

"Number?" For Hiccup it didn't seem so obvious apparently. Astrid rolled her eyes slightly.

"So we can go out sometime." Seeing his expression she added less confident. "If-if you want of course."

"No, I mean yes. I would love to." Astrid tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear… and punched him in the arm, causing Hiccup to yelp.

"Why would you do that?" the auburn-haired teen exclaimed, rubbing his 'injured' limb.

"That was for not arriving earlier." He looked at her, his eyes green and wide. Before he managed to say something, she grabbed his collar and kissed him on the cheek. "That was for… everything else. I had a great time. Thank you." He gave her another one of his goofy smiles which she gladly returned. After that she exited the car and waved him goodbye from the porch. Once she came inside, she sighed, content.

"I take it wasn't as bad as you thought it'd be?" her mother asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad after all." Astrid smiled widely. She heard her mother chuckling softly.

"By the jacket you're wearing, am I right to assume it wasn't Steven that you've spent your evening with?" The teen's blue eyes went wide. She didn't realise she was still wearing Hiccup's jacket. Astrid's cheeks flushed as her mother shot her a knowing look.

"Would you look at the time? I'm going to bed. Goodnight. "she quickly said and ran upstairs. Astrid entered her room, threw herself on the bed and checked her phone. She received some texts from Snotlout asking if his 'dumb' cousin brought her home and when would their date be. She frowned, as she felt her good mood from earlier slipping away. Fortunately, those weren't the only texts Astrid has received. There was another one, from an unknown number. The girl felt herself smiling again.

I had a great time too. Hiccup

A/N:

So that's that. I hope you enjoyed it. :) If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes – I apologise. English is not my first language.

I know that the name Etran may seem a bit strange but it actually exists. There are seven people in the world recorded with that name. I just felt it'd fit for Hiccup, as both him and the name are special and a bit extraordinary.

Till next time!

~InsertACreativeNameHere