A/n: Hey again! So here's chapter 2 of my book, "This is What I'm Good At". Hope ya enjoy it! :)
I might be a bit slower for the next chapter because exams are coming up, but oh whale... ... No... No no, don't you da-. *screeches and dodges an axe thrown at her* I'm sorry, oka-! *dodges five other axes* I SAID I WAS SORRY! *cries* I hate exams... ;-;
Oh, and what are your thoughts on the cover? I made it, so...
Yeah! And, as promised, shout-outs!
Dante Stormcloud: Yeah, I know right? XD What's that all about?
gravityfallsforev: Here's your update, friend!
Red-Knight: We'll see ;) Soon enough.
BloodshotJW: Well, hopefully this is enough to suffice? :/
Lightclaw's Shadow: No need to wait any longer, my friend! Here's chapter 2!
Rhoynar: Oh, I will surely continue this!
This chap may or may not have some feels in them. Honestly, I'm crying while writing. Does that mean something? I'm not good at writing some scenes, so... Yeah, I'm just gonna let you guys review what you think about this chap.
Hiccup's POV
The minute I got home, my face cleaned and dried from the blood, I ran up to my room and slammed the door shut.
My father wasn't home. Of course he wasn't. He's almost never home when I am. He arrives late when I'm asleep and leaves earlier before I wake. That's our tradition. Meaning to say, I almost never see him, save for Sundays.
Good thing it's Tuesday, especially in this situation. I don't want him home now, especially for what I was about to do.
I grabbed a duffel bag from my closet. I only used it whenever I went on camping trips with my father. That hasn't happened for a while now... It's probably been around, what, three years since our last one? Four? Yeah, that...
"Wait, Gobber..." I mumbled. I can't just leave without at least visiting Gobber today. 'I'll just pass by for a while. Who knows how long I'll be gone?' I thought. Might as well.
I threw the duffel bag on my bed and covered in with my pillows and blanket. I sleep messily so if ever my dad came home early, he'd just think I'm the lump on my bed.
I left my room and ran down the stairs, shoving my phone in my pocket. Grabbing my leather jacket with two green stripes running down both sleeves, I exited my house and got on my motorbike, revved up the engine, and drove off towards Gobber's place: A bar he calls "The Forge".
As I arrived at the bar, I slowed my bike to a stop. I dropped the stand and got off it, letting it lean on itself on the ground. I walked over to the entrance with my hands in my pockets. I leaned on the door with my back and pushed it open that way, spinning around and walking inside when the door reached its limit. The chimes that hung above the door twinkled its familiar tune. "Knock, knock. I'm home," I called. I heard the familiar tap, clunk patterned sound of his boot and wooden peg on the wooden mahogany-glossed floor. "Hey, Henry!" he replied, coming over and grabbing me in a large bear hug. I winced from the pain I endured earlier, but I hope he didn't notice it. Luckily, he didn't.
"It's been a while since ya last visited here, boyo!" He clapped my shoulder. "How's it been?" he asked. I shrugged. "Holding up," I replied nonchalantly.
No matter how close I am to Gobber, I just can't tell him what I've been going through.
"That's good to hear," he told me. "Come on, yer just in time to work your shift."
'Oh... Right, forgot about that...'
I had the thought of asking Gobber if he could hire me for a part-time job here at The Forge as a waiter. My shifts were every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I worked from four-thirty to eight, so I guess I'm here for a while...
Business is kinda slow, that much I'll admit for today's shift. Not much people were coming and going today. For the past two hours I'd already been here, only around twenty-five people came and went. Probably due to the fact that it's very hot outside and people are too lazy to get out of their homes. I'd be, too. Although it was cooler earlier... Either way, once the clock strikes between six-thirty or seven, this place'll be packed.
I heard the chimes above the door sound, signifying that a customer or two had entered. I was just looking down at the table I was wiping clean, with my waiter's uniform on, which was basically a combination of my white long-sleeved polo, my black jeans, and my black Converse. I also sported a dark blue tie and a silver name tag with 'Henry' printed across it. "Hey, welcome to The Forge, what can I ge-." I froze.
Astrid! She's here! Does she always come here?
She was staring at me with wide eyes. Neither of us moved for what seemed like ten minutes, but it was really only ten seconds. I was snapped out of my trance by the sound of someone hitting their table to get my attention. I glanced at Astrid for another brief second, before making my way over to the customer.
I saw her sitting hunched over at the bar counter, tracing the design patterns with her fingers. I walked over to her and sat on the barstool next to her. A pretty bold move in my case, actually. Neither of us uttered a word and just stared at the counter for the longest time. Then she spoke. "So... you work here...?" she asked. I looked up at her, but she still hadn't lifted her head. I nodded. "Yeah... Not the best job out there, being an eighteen-year old already working at a bar, of all places. But it does pay well. Plus, Gobber's like a father-figure to me." I told her. I heard her hum in response.
I mustered up the courage to spark a conversation with her. "So..." I started with the same thing she had. "How long have you been coming here? To The Forge?" I asked. She shrugged. "A month, I guess? I don't really remember how long it's been since I started to show up here," she said. I nodded. "Why, though?" I questioned further. She sighed and shook her head lightly. I was about to tell her to forget I asked, before she spoke. "I'd been having some family problems lately. Usually, I just come here to try and forget about them without my parents finding out. Although, sometimes... it doesn't help me at all..."
'Why was she telling me all this...? And how... Why is she actually comfortable with telling me this?'
"I bet you're wondering why I'm actually comfortable with telling you this, aren't you?" she asked me. I stared at her, surprised that she knew what I was thinking. "Hmph... Guess you thought I was such a perfect girl, huh...? That I had the best life in the world, and had everything I wanted. But the truth is, that... I'm not perfect. My family's broken, and been that way, ever since my brother died three years ago."
Ah... I remember her brother. Jason Hofferson. He was a great person. Three years older than the two of us. Most of the time, if he saw me getting picked on in the school corridor, he'd come up to me and get the bullies off my back. Now that he was gone, well... no one was there to come to my rescue anymore.
Damn... It's as if he died just recently... I was there to witness his death.
Flashback; three years earlier
I was cornered by Snotlout and his goons again. Great... Damn it all... "What's the matter, Useless?" he taunted me. "Scared? Need that guy Jason to come in and save you again?" He just laughed at me mockingly. "Bad news for you... He ain't coming to save you this time."
I was just sitting on the swing in the town's park, when Snotlout came up with his two jock friends. They saw me sitting there and started to tease and mock me, eventually backing me into the wall.
"What's the matter, huh? Huh!?" he mocked me.
"Leave me alone, Stan!" I yelled at him. His face turned red and scrunched up in anger as he grabbed my shoulder and shoved me downwards. "Never call me that! You runt!" He told his goons to pick me up and hold me still. "Never call me that name, you got that!? You got that, runt? Useless? Hiccup!?"
Across the street was Jason. I saw him walking, and he looked my way, right when I didn't want him to.
"Henry!?" he called. He turned and prepared to run across the street to my aid again, if necessary. "Let go of him and leave, Snotlout!" he yelled. "Just try and make me, Hofferson! You know what'll get me to stop? Let me date your sister! Or else nothing good will happen right now!" Snotlout yelled back, challenging Jason.
I could see his face turning red even from across the street. "No! Get away from him, Jorgenson!" He didn't check the road before he ran across.
Meaning to say... he didn't see the incoming bus until the horn blew at the last second.
But it wasn't fast enough. It didn't stop in time.
And neither did Jason...
"JASON!"
Snotlout's jocks dropped me as the three of them ran off. I got up from the ground and ignored the pain as I rushed up to Jason's laying, unmoving body. The bus driver had gotten off the bus and so had a few passengers, yet some remained inside, mostly mothers trying to stop their children from seeing what had just happened.
"Jason?" I called right as I got to him. He was limp. There was a gash on his forehead and blood flowing from it, staining his blonde hair. His arm was bent in such an angle that, up to now, I have no idea how to describe. "Jason?" I tried again. There was no response. His eyes remained closed.
"S-someone call an ambulance..." I started crying. "Call an ambulance!" I heard a few shuffling noises behind me and someone talking to an operator, before I heard a faint voice. "H-hen... Henry..." I looked down. It was Jason. His eyes were cracked open, but instead of seeing his familiar blue eyes, I saw dull, pale eyes that held no life in them. "Jason? Jason, you're gonna be alright, okay? You have to be alright!"
I saw his head shake, and I also saw him struggle to do so. "Protect my sister for me... Okay...?" he choked out. I nodded. "Y-yes, yes, I'll protect her for you. B-but you have to live! Come on, Jason!"
He smiled faintly."You're the strongest person I know..." His head lolled to the side as he said that. "Protect her for me..." was the last thing he said before he completely stopped moving. And breathing.
Nothing.
Lifeless.
Dead.
He was dead.
The only person who stood up for me and protected me... is dead...
I couldn't believe what had happened. Everything was moving so slowly, and yet everything that moved was a blur. I couldn't hear any sound other than my ragged breathing. Time stopped, yet everything kept moving. I heard the faint sound of sirens echoing, and saw a blur of people put Jason on a stretcher and carry him into the back of an ambulance. I stood up and watched. Watched, as my friend, my first friend, my last friend, be taken away from me.
"Jason..."
Flashback ends
So, you see? I'm practically the main reason why he's dead. He died trying to protect me. Because I was weak... I was too weak to save myself! AND I COULDN'T SAVE HIM!
I felt something crack. I looked down. My hand was on top of a broken shot glass, and some shards were stuck to the palm of my hand. It bled a bit, but it was nothing compared to what I felt.
"Henry, are you alright?" Astrid asked. I'd forgotten she was here. She doesn't know that I was the reason Jason was dead. I don't know how she'll react, what she'll think of me if I told her. "I-I-I'm fine. I just..." I heard a throat being cleared and looked up to see Gobber peering his head out the employee's office. "Yer gonna have to pay for that, ya know," he said. I nodded and turned back to Astrid when he left. "You look... like you're about to cry," she told me. I blinked my eyes and rubbed them with my clean hand, sniffing and looking away from her.
"N-no... No I'm not," I said.
"Yeah, you are." She looked ready to punch me if I didn't say what was on my mind
'How the hell could I possibly tell her the truth? This is the closest I've ever been to her, and this may very well ruin whatever progress I'd made!' I thought, refusing to look at her. "Henry... Tell me..." she pleaded.
'Wait, is she... pleading...? I've never seen her plead before.'
"Uh... I-it's just that... I do-on't know how to tell you... what I want to..." I choked.
"Try me," she said.
I took a deep breath and sighed, before looking straight into her eyes and speaking in a voice wherein only she could hear, and no one else. "You remember the day your brother died. You know how. But the thing is... you don't why, right?" I asked her. She nodded in reply. "You see... I was... there, when he died. I saw how. I saw why."
She gasped lightly, but it wasn't enough to draw anyone's attention. I saw a few tears peeking out of her eyes as I continued. "Your brother... H-he was pretty much, the only person who stood up for me. Wh-who protected me against Snotlout for most of my life. A-and one day, he just...
"He was across the street when he saw Snotlout beating me. S-so he ran. H-he didn't bother to check both sides of the road and just ran to my rescue. B-but then... he wasn't fast enough, and the bus that was driving down that road, just..." I sighed and felt my own tears start to well up right as Astrid's started falling. "He died... trying to sa-ave me, Astrid..." I choked on my words. "I was... too weak to protect myself that day... A-and I was too weak to save him..."
I heard the barstool she sat on scrape the floor, and turned very slowly to see her taking slow steps backwards, her hand over her mouth. "Astrid, I-I-I'm s-so so-."
"He died because of you...?" she croaked. I nodded and stood up, turning towards her. "Astrid-."
"Don't!" she hissed. "Don't come near me..."
I stood still. I'd expected this kind of reaction, but it still hurt. So much...
She turned her back to me and walked as fast as she could without attracting that much attention to herself until she was out of the bar. I faced downwards, and noticed a little dark spot on the ground I stood on. It took me a moment to realize that my tears had started falling. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I had to get out of here.
I left the bar, hopped on my bike, and rode off. I sped down the street towards my house and skidded the bike into its garage. I hopped off the bike and took off my helmet while running into the house and slamming the door shut.
I ran up to my room and dug out my duffel bag from underneath the pile of pillows and blankets. I opened it up and continued to throw stuff in; my skateboard, my clothes, my sketchpad, a towel, a blanket. I cushioned my laptop between the layers of my blanket and flipped the lid of the bag, zipping it shut. It was then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, unlocked it, and looked at the notification. It was from my dad. I tapped on it and the messaging screen popped up.
Hiccup, I'm sorry I'm not home to see you again. Hopefully though, you enjoyed your shift today?
I'm sorry to say this. Truly, I am. But I won't be home for a while. Something's come up, and I have to hop two towns to get to it. I didn't want this, and I'm sure you don't either.
I'll be leaving first thing in the morning. I'll do my best to be back as soon as I can.
I love you, Son. I hope you know that.
Love, Dad.
Oh, dang it... What... do I do now...? Dad's message... Is it true? I don't know...
But then my face contorted into anger. If he loves me, then why doesn't he tell me himself and not through technology? Why hadn't he been there when I needed to talk to someone? Why hadn't he been there to protect me the way a father should!?
I've had it. I tossed my duffel bag in my closet and shut it, heading to the bathroom and taking a shower. Once I got out, I put on the clothes I'd use tomorrow morning, after Dad leaves.
I'm gonna let him go... I'm gonna let go of Gobber, Astrid, my father, my schoolmates, my bullies, my entire town.
Now they just have to let me go.
A/n: Alright, so there's the chap! Sorry I wasn't able to update this earlier. Something went up with FFN, and I couldn't log in. :/ Welp, least, from what I know, I ain't the only one that experienced that.
Oh, and I won't be able to update any of my stories next week due to the fact that semestral finals are coming up. And I gotta focus on them. Don't worry though! Once Friday's exams are over next week, I'll be on for sure!
So there's that! Don't forget to fave, follow, and review!
