i.

Astrid Hofferson is a little taken aback when Snotlout Jorgenson corners her after the last day of school, a certain glint in his eyes.

"Astrid babe, would you be interested in a job this summer?"

"I'm not your babe."

"Look, I'm going to spend some time in my grandparents' house in New York , and I need someone to take over the secretarial duties at my uncle's auto repair shop. Can you help me out? It makes good money!" He's smiling at her now, looking at her hopefully.

"Uh, sure!" She squeaks. "I mean, it'll help me pass the time, when I'm not doing my summer soccer training".

"Excellent!" Snotlout squeals, giving her a one-armed hugged. She hates when he does it. They are friends – sort of – but only because they're on the same group of friends. "Why don't you come on over tomorrow and I'll show you around?"

She nods. "sounds great."

He smile at her before he leaves the room, and she doesn't know it yet, but she's in for quite the interesting summer

ii.

So basically, you'll answer the phone and schedule any appointments that need to be made," Snotlout finishes, leaning against the desk slightly. "Any questions?"

"No, it seems pretty straightforward," she answers with a nod. "I think this will be a pretty decent summer endeavor."

Snotlout just raises his eyebrows, shaking his head before pressing onward. "Anyways," he says pointedly. " I don't think you'll find the job too difficult."

"Plus it'll look good on my university application, having a summer job," Astrid adds.

Snotlout nods. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my uncle and Gobber, and you can get started tomorrow."

iii.

She's been working at the shop for a week, and she's already bored. She likes Stoick and Gobber well enough, but it is just the three of them, and Gobber usually are in the back working with the cars, and Stoick never is around. Occasionally she gets to deal with a customer or take a few phone calls, but other than that, she sits idly at the desk and tries not to watch the clock.

She's sighing when a guy walks in the door a little after two, and she immediately sits up a little straighter. He's tall and absolutely gorgeous.

Her heart about drops into her stomach when she realizes who he is though. Hiccup Haddock. He was a senior when she was a freshman, and she has not seen him in a few years. He looks the same yet not at the same time; he's filled out a little more, and he looks more like a man than a boy. She supposes he is a man, though, at least now.

Her Checks burn as he looks around for a moment, and she wonders if he ever knew about the massive crush she had on him. She gulps, and she does the first irrational thing that comes to mind: She ducks under the desk.

She hears his footsteps on the cement floor, and then she sees shadow hover over her as he peers over the desk. Hesitantly, she peeks up at him.

"Er, hi," she squeaks out.

"Hi," he says, the corner of his mouth quirking up in amusement.

She swallows. "I was, er , I was… looking for a paperclip I dropped earlier =, but it seems it really is lost!" She raises herself up so she's siting in the chair behind the desk once more, and she feels like an absolute idiot. Her cheeks are practically on fire.

"I see," he says, his smile spreading across his face.

She really wants to crawl back under the desk, but she refrains. She tries to remain professional, but it's Hiccup Haddock, former quarterback and her first crush, and she'd be lying if she said she isn't a little flustered. "Can I help you with something?" She asks, trying to keep her tone business-like

He seems to find this amusing as well, and he's still smiling, his eyes bright. She feels like he's making fun of her a bit when he says, "Yeah, Stoick around?"

She nods. "He's in the back. I can go get him if you'd like…"

"Nah, it's cool, I'll just go talk to him," he says, and then before she can open her mouth to replay, he steps around her and into the back.

He turns around before he completely disappears, however, and he says, "Thanks for the help…"

She stares at him for a few seconds before she realizes he's waiting for her name. "Astrid", she chokes out. "Astrid Hofferson."

He smiles again. "Thanks, Astrid." Then he's gone

She doesn't know if she should go after him or not. He seems to know Stoick, so she hopes it's okay.

She really doesn't want to get fired on her first week on the job.