"Do you need to slow down?" Astrid asked with a playful grin.
Hiccup shook his head. "I'm fine," he reassured her. "Unless you need to take a break?"
Astrid snorted, "Oh please. I haven't even started warming up yet," she muttered.
Hiccup chuckled at her before focusing back on the path ahead. Unlike Astrid, Hiccup wasn't much of an athlete but running alongside her every Sunday morning had become a favorite part of his weekly routine. If only to stay in shape.
It had still been dark outside when they met up by his house today.
By the time the sun was beginning to set, they found themselves sprawled out on the wet, cold grass in exhaustion.
Hiccup turned to look at Astrid, his eyes momentarily grazing over her chest rising and falling as she tried to steady her breathing.
"We are crazy," he blurted out. "Who else wakes up this early on a weekend to go jogging? We are insane."
"Maybe," Astrid laughed. "But you love it."
Hiccup simply smirked, pausing for a moment, before suddenly rolling his body over hers.
Astrid grimaced at his weight pinning her down.
"Ugh. You are rubbing all of your sweat on me. Get off."
"Nah. I think I will stay like this. You are way comfier than the hard ground."
"Hiccup," Astrid groaned. "You are squishing me, and I'm probably going to end up coated in your body odor."
"Good," he grinned at her. "That will keep the predators away."
"Seriously Hiccup," she huffed, though he could make out a hint of a smile, and pushed against him lightly. "Get off me. Now."
"Nope."
-,-
The following day, Astrid was standing by her locker, skimming after her English assignment when Eret Hunter passed her by. Her eyes widened comically and followed him all the way down the corridor until he was out of view.
Astrid Hofferson wasn't exactly short on potential suitors. In fact she was pursued often enough but turned everyone down.
The new British exchange student Eret was however a whole another matter.
He might be the only person that had ever caught her eye, while she was thus far, all but invisible to him.
Astrid sighed to herself, and then almost jumped in surprise when Hiccup tapped her on the shoulder.
"Isn't it too early in the morning for you to be drooling after Jon Snow?" he teased, arms folded across his chest in an awkward pose.
Astrid scoffed. "I wasn't drooling," she denied, slamming her locker shut with so much force it almost made Hiccup wince.
"Sure you weren't," he mumbled.
Astrid bit her lip, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I just don't understand what his problem with me is. What did I ever do to him?"
Hiccup shrugged, following her into class at the sound of the bell.
"Maybe he knows you have a crush on him and is just trying to let you down gently?" he suggested once they seated down next to one another.
"I do not have a crush," Astrid grumbled to herself, watching from the corner of her eye as Eret entered the classroom.
-,-
"I still don't get what you see in him," Hiccup nudged her while they sat on the ratty couch in his basement playing video games later that evening. "He has got obnoxious douchebag written all over his face."
Astrid shook her head. "Not true. He donated blood to a children's hospital last week."
"And then publicly bragged about it? Yeah, that's real humility right there." Hiccup retorted sarcastically.
Astrid swatted him on the arm playfully. "Okay so he might be a little cocky but that doesn't automatically discredit all the good he has done."
"Scott adopted a stray dog but I didn't see you making moon eyes at him. Or me when I gave away my favorite jacket to a homeless guy and bought him dinner no less," Hiccup continued relentlessly after elbowing her back. "Face it Astrid. The only reason you want Eret is because he is playing hard to get. You want what you think you can't have."
Astrid stayed silent for a moment before pursing her lips thoughtfully and setting her console aside.
She turned to Hiccup with a wicked smile, crawling towards him on all fours suggestively.
"I didn't know you did that," she purred, running her hand up and down his arm, making him turn red. "That was very kind of you. How may I reward your good deed, sir?"
Hiccup shot her an unimpressed look.
"Ha ha. Very funny."
"What? I'm being completely serious here," she said but soon broke into laughter.
Hiccup laughed along if only to dissipate the sudden awkward tension.
"You are wrong though," she whispered once her amusement diminished. "That's not why I want him."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, eventually turning his attention back to the screen. "At least you finally admit that you like him," he mumbled.
"Shut up."
A/N: I had to rewrite this chapter a bunch of times. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the reason I even bothered updating. :)
