A couple weeks ago, I spent an afternoon at an amusement park and while I was there, inspiration struck. That is how "Spooked" came to be. I actually have a few other one-shots that this day inspired. Let me know if you want to read them. I can promise that you wouldn't regret asking for them!

Ah, that reminds me. In this story, Hanson Harrison Haddock III "Hiccup" and Astrid Hofferson are both twenty—so appearance-wise, they look like their counterparts from the second movie…just with more modern-day clothing (which I might describe in this one-shot—depends how the flow of the story goes).

Spooked

Hiccup's planned amusement park date with his girlfriend Astrid Hofferson had gone perfectly so far. They were having a wonderful time and it had been well worth the two-hour drive from Berk to Raven Pointe. Though there was rain in the forecast, the sky had yet to unleash its wet torrent upon the park.

It was approaching dinnertime, but neither Hiccup nor Astrid thought about their hunger; they were having too much fun to stop just yet. Already in just the span of one day, they had the opportunity for a free ride (which was rare in a pay-as-you-ride amusement park) on one of the wooden roller coasters, been scared shitless on a plunge-like ride, and even gotten mildly wet on the park's "log jam" flume ride (much to Astrid's dismay—which had caused Hiccup some pain…and the formation of a nasty bruise on his right arm).

In the back of the amusement park, almost hidden by the nearby vendors and flashy rides, stood an attraction that was designed to look like a house. Painted yellow in color with a ticket booth gazebo out front, the park's infamous "Haunted House" stood waiting…and Hiccup was ready. Gripping Astrid's hand, Hiccup raced toward the almost-empty line. "Come on, Astrid. I want to ride this one now!"

"Are you sure, Hiccup? We could always stop for dinner and ride this later."

Hiccup smiled as they approached the end of the waiting line. "You're not scared, are you, Astrid?" he teased his girlfriend.

"No, of course not!" Astrid scoffed. "I'm just trying to see some reason here. It's getting late and we do need to eat dinner."

"Well, dinner can wait. Besides, we're almost there!"

The ride featured a continuous flow of cars so there was little wait time, much to Hiccup's satisfaction. Not that there had been much wait time for any of the rides today, though; most guests had probably stayed away because of the weather forecast.

When it was their turn to board, Hiccup and Astrid handed the ride attendant their tickets and climbed into their car. Looking over, Hiccup thought he saw Astrid shaking slightly, but he figured it was just from cold. The temperature had cooled off a little as night approached. Besides, Astrid Hofferson was fearless. Hiccup knew that she would love this ride. "Just remember, if you get scared, I'm right here, Astrid. I'll protect you," he teased again with a laugh. In reply, Astrid simply punched his arm. "Hey!" he told her. "You already punched that arm. I think you hurt the bruise that's there from earlier!"

"Oh, there'll be a lot worse than a bruise there if you tease me one more time about being scared, Hanson!" she told him, drawing out his real first name to its full syllable length.

There was no more time to talk as the slow-moving ride began. The car followed along its track, bumping open the doors to the house and plunging Hiccup and Astrid into total darkness. Before the attraction began, the car passed through another set of doors, bumping them open again and Hiccup felt Astrid jump at the sound. He dismissed the thought though. Maybe the car is off-balance?

The car passed through room after room, showing the attraction's wide array of spooks and terrors to Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup smiled at the sights and memories. This attraction hadn't scared him since he was ten and it had become one of his most favorite rides at the park. He loved the musty smell combined with the scent of the oil of the tracks. Throughout the ride though, he kept feeling the shifting. There's no way that Astrid is scared of this. She's Astrid Hofferson, Fearless Astrid Hofferson. A little old spookhouse wouldn't scare her!

Toward the end of the ride, around a bend, was the truck. The truck had one light and a loud blaring horn sounded as the car approached, the light startling riders out of darkness. Hiccup was ready for it. He knew it was always placed at the end. It used to be at the very end, mounted onto the last set of doors and that would scare the living daylights out of young Hanson Haddock. Sometime over the years, the ride operators had moved it. Now it was less scary, but he'd have a hard time telling that to Astrid. As the car approached and the horn sounded and the light shone down on them, Hiccup's laughter could not drown out a very un-Astrid-like scream.

What was even more startling was her muttering afterwards. "I'm done. I'm so done. Just get me off of this thing!"

Hiccup did not know whether to comfort Astrid or not. Would she get defensive? Surely he was not meant to have heard the muttering. Still, he decided he would rather be in pain than be branded as a bad boyfriend for not attempting to calm his girlfriend. Gripping her hand lightly (which was a little hard in the darkness), he whispered, "It's okay, Milady. The ride's almost over."

Sure enough, one bend in the track later and the car bumped open the final set of doors, releasing the light of day upon Hiccup and Astrid. When the car stopped, Hiccup stepped out first, carefully placing his right foot and left prosthetic foot on the ground to steady his balance. Though he had walked with the prosthetic for five years now, he still found that he had to be careful lest he wanted to take a tumble in public…which was very embarrassing, even for him. Once he was safely out of the car, Hiccup offered a hand to Astrid to help her out.

Another ride attendant sat nearby, making sure all riders exited safely. As he passed the attendant, Hiccup told the older man, "Great ride. She loved it," as he gestured to Astrid next to him. His girlfriend said nothing, but did make sure to deliver yet another punch to his already-abused arm. "Why is it always violence with you?" he asked as they walked away from the Haunted House. Hiccup knew already that he was going to have to figure out an explanation for the nasty bruise that had surely formed…and was probably still continuing to form on his arm.

Once they had walked a short distance away from the Haunted House, Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Huh…who would've thought that 'Fearless Astrid Hofferson' is scared of haunted houses?" he joked.

"I…I just don't like things crawling on me…in the dark," Astrid tried to justify, but Hiccup wasn't buying it and he knew that she knew. "Okay, so I'm scared…a little, but this secret dies with us, Hanson Harrison Haddock III!" she warned, poking his chest sharply for emphasis.

Hiccup knew better to argue…especially since Astrid had used his full name. She only used it when she was upset with him and he knew it. Usually, she just called him by his nickname "Hiccup". Yes, Astrid was very serious about this, so Hiccup already knew the reply he needed to say. "Secret's safe with me, Astrid."

Probably should've mentioned this before, but "Spooked" actually takes place in the middle of the other one-shots that I mentioned in the opening AN. That's why there's little backstory and such.

Want to read the other one-shots? Let me know! I'll gladly write them up for you!

Posted: August 3, 2014