Author's Note: This is my first story here, so I'm hoping this goes well. I'm putting a new spin on a cliche idea, which I don't think has been done on this site yet. Feedback is always appreciated.

A huge thank you to LunnaValley23, one of my good friends, who sketched and painted the cover art. Go read her work, she's amazing!

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon

Astrid didn't know why she had agreed to letting Ruff drag her to that place. Maybe it was because Rachel "Ruffnut" Thorston was her best friend, or maybe it was just because it had been too long since she had last given herself a chance to have some real fun. But now, sitting at the bar and drumming her fingers on its smooth surface as she waited for her drink, she wished she hadn't.

Eret placed her drink on the bar in front of her, a knowing grin on his face. "So, for my own safety, where did that blonde madwoman you call a friend disappear to? Home, I hope?"

Astrid took a sip of her drink. "No, she's around here somewhere. Probably hitting on the guy who drives that motorcycle out there." She gestured to the tinted windows facing the parking lot.

Eret's chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just glad that I don't have to hide in the backroom tonight."

Astrid rolled her eyes. She brought her glass to her lips as she surveyed the room. If Ruffnut was going to get lucky tonight, then so was she.

She spotted Ruff at one of the tables, fawning over a tattooed guy that she didn't recognize. The guy had one of his muscled arms slung around her shoulders, and Ruffnut didn't seem to mind at all.

She let her eyes stray to the table in the corner of the bar, where Scott Jorgenson was sitting with his obnoxious football friends. Two giggling girls were sitting with them, hanging on his every word. Astrid looked away, uninterested.

At one time she had been one of those giggling, popularity-obsessed girls, her biggest problem deciding what color shoes to wear with her outfit. She had dated Scott for a few magical months in high school, and he had been everything she had expected him to be. Dumb, ignorant, and utterly perfect. Every teenage girl's vision of Prince Charming. But then she had grown up and realized that she couldn't spend her whole life trying to fit a mold that she just… didn't.

Her eyes landed on a man sitting alone just a few feet away from her at the bar, a drink in his hand. His emerald eyes scanned the room, almost as if he was looking for someone, but no one stepped forward.

Astrid took another swig of her drink and set it down on the bar. She bit her lip as she looked the handsome stranger up and down. He was tall and thin, but his clothes clung to his form just enough to make her blush. His auburn hair was slightly long, and she wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

Mr. Mysterious pulled a phone from a pocket in his jacket and smiled. She wondered if it was his girlfriend that had texted him or his mother. She had certainly dealt with both when she was with Scott.

Astrid cleared her throat and looked back down at her drink. She wasn't going to get ahead of herself tonight. This was her night to just have fun.

But she couldn't help it when she glanced at him again from under her lashes. She sat up straighter when she noticed that his eyes were on her, a lopsided smile on his lips, and looked away quickly.

Astrid's heart fluttered in her chest when someone sat down next to her.

"This seat isn't taken, is it?"

Astrid looked up and found herself staring into the most brilliant pair of green eyes that she had ever seen. They were the color of a lush forest, and sparkled with childlike curiosity that made her smile.

"It is now," she said.

Mr. Mysterious chuckled and leaned against the bar. "You're very witty, you know."

Astrid finished the last of her drink. She slammed the empty glass down on the bar and waved Eret over. "Another one of those," she mumbled. Eret nodded and disappeared.

"Don't compliment me," Astrid said.

"Why not?" He asked.

Astrid huffed. "Because complimenting me won't get you anywhere tonight."

"What makes you think that I plan to get anywhere tonight?"

"Why do you keep asking me stupid questions?"

Mr. Mysterious laughed this time and ordered something when Eret returned with Astrid's drink. He stared at the rows of bottles glinting behind the bar.

"So what brings you here?" he asked.

"My friend forced me to come here with her. She's off with some guy," Astrid sighed. "I know she's drunk by now, so I have to stay and drive her home. You?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "It's just been a long day."

Astrid nodded and chewed her lower lip anxiously. She watched as Ruff danced with her tattooed friend from earlier to loud, thumping music that made her head hurt.

"That your friend?" he asked suddenly.

Astrid followed his gaze to Ruff and nodded. "Unfortunately," she said. He chuckled and took a swig of his drink.

"You know, you have very pretty eyes," he observed.

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him and set her own drink down. "I thought I told you to quit complimenting me. I'm not the easy plaything you're used to."

His grin fell a bit. "That I'm used to? What makes you think that I have picked up women in bars?"

Astrid looked him up and down. She gave him a blank look.

"What?"

"Your whole outfit. It just screams: 'Please Take Me Home." It really fits you," Astrid said.

"Wow, I think that's a bit long for my license. How about just 'Me?'" he laughed.

Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed. As adorable as the guy was, his sarcasm was annoying. At least he wouldn't be cracking jokes when she got him back to her apartment, because that would be a deal breaker. She really had to check up on Ruff though.

"But I meant what I said. You really do have pretty eyes," he said quietly after a long pause.

Astrid's eyes met his green ones. The corner of her lips lifted in a smirk. Then she was twisting her fingers in his dark hair and crashing her lips over his. He wrapped a thin arm around her waist.

She nipped at his lower lip and soothed it by swiping her tongue over it. He moaned and opened his mouth so that their tongues could meet. He tasted like cool spearmint and alcohol, which made her shiver. Maybe she could pick up some spearmint gum on her way home.

She grabbed his hand and placed it on her thigh. It ran down to her knee and back up to play with the hem of her dress on her upper thigh. Astrid moved to the edge of the bar stool she was sitting on to give him more access.

He pulled away, breathing heavily. He hesitated before asking, "You wanna get out of here?"

As much as she wanted to scream yes and drag him out to her car, Astrid looked over her shoulder and scanned the bar for Ruffnut and her tattooed partner. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find either of them. "I can't."

"I live right over on Riverfront, I can bring you back."

Riverfront street? Her apartment building was on Riverfront, right next to the old ice cream shop with its checkered tile floors and red booths that she and Ruffnut sometimes visited during the summer.

"Near the old ice cream shop?" she blurted.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Astrid shook her head and looked down at the bar. This was her chance to live, to have some real fun. "How do I know that you aren't going to kidnap me or something?"

He stood and offered her a hand. "I guess you'll just have to see. But I promise that I won't disappoint."

Ruffnut had her cellphone. She could call Heather or get a cab if she needed a ride. Astrid knew that the guy that had been with her would be stupid if he tried to do anything she didn't want, so she was not worried. Ruff had taken karate with her brother as a kid, and would no doubt put him in the hospital, drunk or not.

Astrid took his hand and let him lead her outside to his car. She felt a wave of courage rush through her veins as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. He grinned at her, his green eyes glowing in the darkness.

They turned on several streets before finally coming to a stop in front of one of the many apartment buildings on Riverfront. Astrid bit her lip as he led her inside and up the stairs to his apartment. He pinned her against the door as soon it was closed, his breath warm on her neck.

Their eyes met for only a second before his lips were on hers and his hand was slipping under her dress. Astrid, her mind clouded by alcohol and lust, let him pull her toward the bed.

Astrid woke up with a pounding headache. She groaned and reached for her phone, which she always kept on her nightstand at night. She lifted it and squinted down at the bright screen, confused. A black cat with piercing green eyes met her eyes, part of it's scruffy tail missing. A notification popped up suddenly.

One unread text message from Frankie.

Astrid let her curiosity get the best of her and swiped her finger over it, unlocking the phone. She read the text silently.

Hey are you going to be at D&D this weekend? Scott and Tuff will be gone so it's just us.

She bit her lip and glanced at the man behind her. His lips were parted slightly, his hair falling over his closed eyes. She looked back down at the phone. She tapped the text box and typed in a message. She pressed the send button with a small smile.

What about our girlfriends?

The phone chimed as a new text popped up from Frankie: LOL. What girlfriends?

So did that mean Mr. Mysterious was up for takes? Because she certainly wouldn't mind having him around after a long week of exams and late shifts at the café.

She chuckled to herself. He stirred a bit next to her, but didn't wake up as she sent a quick reply to Frankie.

With a girl right now ;)

The bedroom was silent other than the buzz of the morning traffic below and the low purring of the cat. She drummed her fingers against the sides of the phone while she waited.

No way Henry! Who? You have to tell me who fell for your science puns this time!

Henry? Science puns? What the hell had she gotten herself into?

Mysterious blonde, she replied.

Ooh mysterious! You should ask her out, you've been mourning you know who for too long and it worries me.

Maybe. Astrid texted him back before turning the phone off and returning it to the nightstand. Mr. Mysterious' grip on her waist tightened when it vibrated and chimed with a new text. He mumbled something into his pillow.

Astrid stared up at the unpainted ceiling and wondered what kind of mess she had gotten herself into. She had gotten drunk and slept with a total stranger-Henry-who turned out to be an all out geek. A hot geek, she would admit, but she didn't do geeks. And now she knew that he might have used her to get over his ex. Not that it should have mattered to her, because she had used him too.

She sighed when he rolled onto his other side and tugged the blankets tighter around himself. Astrid threw her legs over the side of the bed and wasted no time in finding her dress and pulling it over her head. She cursed under her breath when the zipper caught on a loose thread, and decided to just leave it. She was frantically stuffing her underwear into her purse when she heard him move.

"Fish?" he called, his voice still hoarse from sleep

Damn it, damn it, damn it. Astrid held her breath and stared at him with wide eyes, her heels dangling precariously from one hand and her purse clutched in the other. From its spot on Henry's chest, the cat seemed to be smirking at her.

She never did like cats.

Astrid watched his chest rise and fall for a few minutes before opening the door and running down the hall on the balls of her feet. She passed through another room, which she guessed was some sort of living room based on the TV and couch in the center. She stepped carefully over a towering stack of Xbox games, her purse just barely touching the one on top. For a moment, she could have sworn that her heart stopped.

The stack teetered for a moment but did not fall, much to Astrid's relief. She nearly smiled at the sight of the door. She pushed it open and shut it firmly behind her, not caring if Henry woke up or not.

She looked at her reflection in the brass plate on his door that read 11B. Her hair was a mess and her eyeliner had smudged under her eyes. She frowned and turned away, taking in the familiar hallway.

Astrid found it odd that he happened to live not only in the same building as her, but on the same floor. Her own apartment was only two doors down from his. She unlocked it and dropped her keys on the counter, along with her purse.

She looked down the hall and was somewhat relieved to see that Ruffnut's bedroom door was still closed. She was probably hungover, so Astrid figured that she would not see much of her. She placed a bucket outside her door just in case. Best friends or not, she was not going to clean up someone else's puke after the night she had had.

Heather was nowhere to be seen, as usual. Her door was open, everything inside neat and pristine, and Astrid could see that her leather jacket wasn't hanging up next to the door.

Astrid ran a hand through her disheveled hair as she closed the bathroom door behind her. She narrowed her eyes at her reflection in the mirror over the sink and turned away to turn the shower on, not wanting to see any reminders of the night before on her skin. She unzipped her dress and stepped out of it, sighing. She dropped it in the laundry hamper. It felt nice to not have the fabric hugging her waist so tightly that she was forced to take shallow breaths to avoid splitting the seams. She stepped under the warm spray of the shower.

She squeezed a small amount of her vanilla shampoo into her hand and began to work into her hair. She raked her fingers over her scalp, her eyes falling shut. The water pounding against her back was oddly soothing.

Blurry bits of the night before slowly came back to her as she stepped out of the spray to run a loofah over her flushed skin.

Astrid leaned against the wall of the shower and groaned. Even with him asleep and two doors away, he had taken control of her thoughts. She put the loofa back and began to wash away the suds scurrying down her arms.

Astrid growled and banged a fist against the wall of the shower. A bottle fell from the shower caddy and hit the floor with a loud crash, probably waking Ruff and her tattooed friend in the next room. Damn Henry and his stupid Dungeons & Dragons and all of his science puns. She couldn't close her eyes, couldn't think, without seeing him.

Astrid bent to pick up the bottle and returned it to the caddy. She turned off the shower and grabbed her fluffy blue robe, hanging from it's hook on the wall next to Ruffnut's purple one. She slipped it on and pushed her wet hair back from her face.

She crossed the hall to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She changed into a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, then braided her blonde hair over her shoulder.

For no reason at all, she wondered if Henry had woken up yet and seen the texts she had sent to Frankie. She hoped he did, because she had no doubt that he was the type of guy that would keep a hook up a secret.

Astrid smirked as she left her room. She went into the kitchen and pulled a bowl from one of the cupboards. She set it on the counter, grabbed a spoon, and went into the pantry to find the Cinnamon Crunch she had just picked up. She filled her bowl and poured milk over the cereal, then sat down at the counter, pulling her laptop in front of her.

She lifted a spoonful of cereal to her mouth as the laptop turned on. She opened the web browser and froze, her fingers pausing over the keys. She typed in Facebook and clicked the first thing that popped up.

She swallowed another spoonful of cereal as she clicked on her profile. Her own face appeared on the screen, a picture from high school where her smile was too fake and her makeup too heavy. She made a mental note to change it later.

"Whatcha' doing?" Ruffnut asked as she sat down next to Astrid, startling the other girl.

Astrid dropped the spoon, splashing milk all over the counter. "Ruff! What is wrong with you?!"

The other blonde smirked. "Too many things, but that's why you love me."

Astrid stood and grabbed a towel to clean up the milk. She let herself release a breath that she didn't know she had been holding when she saw that her laptop was fine. She threw the towel in the washing machine and retook her spot in front of her laptop.

"So, who are you stalking now?"

Astrid rolled her eyes and opened her friend list, then clicked on Scott Jorgenson's picture. Why she was still friends with him she didn't know, but she had a feeling that there was a connection between him and Henry.

"I'm not stalking anyone. What happened to your friend from last night? Did you scare him off with all the kinky stuff under your bed?"

She browsed through Scott's friend list, and froze when she spotted the same pair of mysterious green eyes from the night before.

Henry Haddock. Like the fish haddock. Astrid hated fish.

He was right there, everything there was to know about him at her fingertips, but all she could think about was fish and how impossibly soft his lips were. Wait, what?

She didn't even realize that Ruff was talking until the other woman flicked the side of her head. Astrid turned her glare on her.

"I didn't scare him off. He had a girlfriend. But why are you, of all people, so interested in a guy?" Ruff asked.

"I'm not interested in him, Ruff." Astrid minimized the page and shut her laptop. She stood to take her bowl to the sink.

Ruffnut followed her. "I saw you leave with him last night." Seeing Astrid's blush, her eyes widened. She clapped a hand over her mouth and cackled. "Oh God, you fucked him, didn't you? Perfect little Astrid Hofferson finally got laid!"

Astrid smacked her arm. "Shut up. It was just sex, nothing more."

"Yeah, you say that now. Wait until you have six kids and drive a minivan."

"Rachel!"

Ruff winced and clutched her chest dramatically. "Ouch, not the 'R' word."

Astrid huffed and grabbed her laptop. She went into her bedroom, then collapsed on her bed. She was just about to open it and check out his profile when Ruffnut appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, you're coming with me to my brother's stupid party next Sunday, right? I don't what kind of moron he is for having a party on a Sunday though. Ugh," she said.

Astrid sighed and pushed the laptop away. "Ruff, we have class the next day-"

"Oh come on, lighten up! We went out last night and you had fun!" Ruff pointed out.

"Yesterday was a Friday," Astrid mumbled.

Ruff wasn't listening anyways. "'Cause I don't wanna be alone with him and his dumb friends all night. They'd probably try to get me to do weed again or something."

Astrid looked down at her chipped fingernail polish, thinking. Could she really afford to be late for class on Monday with the exam next week? That test was everything. If she screwed up and missed something important, she might as well dedicate her life to playing Dungeons & Dragons with Henry and his nerd friends. Ugh.

But Ruff was right. They really didn't do much anymore except sit around and make fun of ridiculous dramas on TV. Last night had been the first time that she had gotten into bed with someone in almost a year. And a year was a long time for Astrid Hofferson.

Astrid looked up but didn't meet Ruffnut's wide eyes. She found herself staring at an old poster of a band that she had liked in high school, for some reason taped up on her wall even though she didn't remember any of their songs.

"Fine. I will go to this stupid party with your brother and his idiot friends for one hour. One hour, Ruff. And I'm leaving as soon as he starts offering to show people the tattoo on his ass," Astrid hissed.

Ruffnut laughed and crossed her arms. "He only did that once. I still remember when he got that-"

"Please do not finish that sentence. I really don't want to hear about how your brother got his own name tattooed on his ass."

"Whatever. We're going to have fun tomorrow night, so be ready," Ruff called as she disappeared down the hall.

Astrid sighed and opened her laptop. Facebook popped up, and then she was staring into those beautiful forest green eyes again. "I really wish I was, Ruff."