Summary (of the chap): Hiccup's having a bad day, no, a terrible day, but luckily, he's got a good friend to help him out.

Thank you for everyone who are still reading and reviewing! Your comments are so important to me! :D

CB73: Thanks for reviewing! I really like Gobber and Hiccup's relationship in the show (and in this fic), he's like a second dad for Hiccup in many ways and in this fic, he's kinda like a guide as well, since he's been through similar situations...

Luna Nightstrider: Your comment was so full of energy it made me smile! Thank you!


That's What Friends Are For

Fishlegs looked to the side when Hiccup put his tray of food away, only half of it was touched. "You're not gonna eat the rest?"

"I guess not." The skinny boy mumbled, supporting his head on his hands.

"May I…?" Fishlegs pointed at the tray; he was still hungry.

"Suit yourself." Hiccup waved as he grabbed his backpack, searching for something inside. He had actually already looked for it and he knew it was at home, but he insisted anyway, just because he could be mistaken. Meanwhile, Fishlegs stole the rest of the French fries on Hiccup's plate.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Astrid put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… Does anyone have any painkillers?"

"No, sorry…" Astrid said as the twins shook their heads on the other side of the table.

"I think Snotlout could have some, he often gets injured on his practices or games…" Fishlegs thought out loud.

"Where is he, by the way?" Hiccup closed his backpack again.

"He's with the basketball team. They'll have a game on Saturday." Astrid shrugged. "What's wrong, Hiccup? Would you want me to take you to the infirmary?"

"It's just… just a headache… Can the nurse give us pain killers?"

"Technically, she doesn't have strong medications. They prohibited it after someone got sick after getting a medicine…"

"Yeah, but people say it was because the student was only faking he was sick to skip classes." Ruffnut said, gesturing with the fork for emphasis.

Tuffnut agreed and grabbed his juice, saying before he drank from it. "So it was his own fault if you think about it…"

"Great…" Hiccup mumbled in a sarcastic tone.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you there anyway? You can at least rest until classes are done or until the headache goes away…"

"No… I'll just ignore it and go to class…" He sighed and slowly stood up. "See you guys later…"

Astrid and Fishlegs observed him walking to the cafeteria exit. He was limping more than usual, but both friends didn't know what else they could do, Hiccup was very private, he didn't share much and they were giving him his time to get used to them.

They continued their classes normally after lunch. And Fishlegs was so concerned about the literature test on the last period he forgot about what happened at the cafeteria as he desperately reread his notes for the test. He was walking through the corridors, heading to his locker to get his Biology textbook for his next class. He looked at his watch and hurried before he was late.

A loud thump of something falling caught the chubby boy's attention and he saw Hiccup on the ground, collecting his things that have been scattered on the ground when he fell. Most people passed by barely carrying enough to deviate from the fallen boy. Fishlegs didn't think twice and turned to his direction, he knelt on the ground to help him get his books and papers.

"Thanks…"

"No problem." Fishlegs got everything and then stood up. He still had his mind in his notes, so he didn't think of helping Hiccup up until he saw how slowly he was moving. Only then, he extended his hand. "Hum… you okay?"

"Yeah… Just got a backache to add to my luck…"

"Indeed, we carry so much weight it should be illegal." Fishlegs laughed at his own joke. However, as he looked at his friend's face, his smile vanished. "You don't look so good…"

"Thank you for summing that up…"

"Come. I'll take you to the infirmary."

"No, I think I'll call dad and ask him to pick me up earlier…"

"Okay, you can wait him there or else you might get into problems waiting on the corridors."

He sighed in defeat. "Okay, then…"

Fishlegs volunteered to help Hiccup with his things and guided the limping boy there. The bell rang in the middle of the way, but Fishlegs paid no mind to it. When they arrived at the infirmary, the nurse wasn't there.

"You can lay down here and I'll go look for her, okay? I've seen her sometimes in the teacher's room, so maybe she's there." Fishlegs left Hiccup's books and backpack on a chair and also left his own heavy backpack so he could help Hiccup get to the bed.

"Okay… I'll call my dad…" He mumbled, clearly feeling awful and pressed the phone to his ear while Fishlegs walked away.

Down the corridors, he had the idea to ask Snotlout for his painkillers, since Hiccup seemed to be in pain for a long while now. His hand went to his pocket, but his phone wasn't there, he had forgotten it in his backpack. Since he was still near, he turned back with quick steps.

At the doorway, he heard an unfamiliar voice; the sound was different, as if it came from speakers.

"Hiccup? What's my favorite godson doing calling me at a time like this? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I was…" Hiccup's voice came in a moan. That was when Fishlegs realized Hiccup has been forcing himself to seem normal until that moment and now he was crumbling.

"Okay, what's going on?"

Fishlegs slowly got near, not sure if he should interfere, but too curious to back away now. Hiccup was lying on the bed, bent in an awkward position holding his left leg, the phone had its speakers on and it was somewhere on the bed near Hiccup, but Fishlegs couldn't see it. Hiccup couldn't see him since he was facing the wall.

"I'm an idiot…" He mumbled and moved, lying with his belly up and covering his eyes with his hands.

"You're not an idiot, Hiccup. You're just getting used to it. It's a lot to take in, I know. So what happened, exactly?"

"I had phantom pains at night, I barely slept so I took the kit from my backpack to take some painkillers at night… I mean; I didn't want to go all the way to the kitchen. But then, I forgot my kit on the table, which meant that my extra sockets were there, too. So now, during the day, my stump shrank and it's kinda loose so that, added to the phantom pains coming again during lunchtime, made me walk in a weird position, so now my back hurts, too…"

"And let me guess, because your leg is not fitting properly, it's hurting you."

"Yeah... I think I'm gonna get a rash or a blister again. I don't know, I don't want to take it off and put back on again, I'm afraid it'll hurt more… Oh, and because it's not fitting properly, I already fell twice just after lunch…" He sighed. "Dad's gonna freak out if he knew about it…"

"Speaking of him…"

"I tried calling him, but I think he's in a meeting…" Hiccup said. "Could you…"

"Okay, I'm coming to get you. Just send Stoick a text so he knows where you'll be. I'm on my way. I can get there in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks…"

Fishlegs was sure he was not supposed to hear this conversation, so when it was done, he walked away before Hiccup had ended the call. He was feeling awful for listening to such a private conversation, but his curious side didn't let him move!

He grunted at himself as he walked through the corridors. "I shouldn't have heard that… I shouldn't have been there…" He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. "No, Fishlegs. You didn't listen to anything; you don't know anything. That's it! You'll act as if nothing's happened and when he's ready, when he wants to, he'll tell us about it. Yes. You can do it!"

By then, he arrived at the teacher's room, but the nurse wasn't there. So he had an idea, maybe the nurse was already coming back to the infirmary, but he'd quickly go to the gym see if he could find Snotlout.

"Hey, Snotlout!" He called. The basketball player looked at him, grabbing his backpack at the end of the training.

"What do you want, Fish-face?" The chubby boy rolled at the nickname, he was used to it, but he didn't like it anyway.

"Do you have any painkillers?"

"Why?"

"Why do you take them for?"

"Yeah, what I mean is why do you need them? Did you bang your head on your books?"

"Very funny. But no. Hiccup's got a bad headache."

Snotlout opened his backpack. "Let me see… I think I have some in here… Got it!" He produced a small box from it, Fishlegs reached out to grab it, but Snotlout moved it away, there was a smirk on his face. "Just tell everyone that I was the one who saved the day!"

"Yeah, yeah… Deal. Just give it to me already." He grabbed the box. "Geez, how does your ego fit in that head of yours?" So he ran away, back to the infirmary.

"So your godfather is picking you up?" The nurse asked. She had arrived a few minutes earlier and he had explained everything.

"Yes."

"Very well then. You'll need the principal's permission to leave earlier, so I'll go ask for it. "Will you be fine on your own for a few minutes?"

"Yes." He repeated.

When the nurse returned saying she didn't see anyone on the way back, he was sure Fishlegs had forgotten about it and went back to class, which wasn't a problem, he knew his friend needed to get back to class. Therefore, it was a surprise to him when he heard a voice coming from the entrance.

"He won't be alone. I can stay here." Fishlegs turned to the nurse. "I went looking for you, but I didn't find you."

"You should be in class."

"I know, but it's already started anyway, and I'd like to help my friend, if that's okay."

The nurse sighed. "Well, alright. I'll allow it this time and then I'll take you to your next class so you won't have a problem with your teacher. Now, I'll be back in a minute." So she quickly walked out of the room.

Fishlegs then came forward with a box of medicine in his hand. "Do you think these will help?"

"Yeah, these ones are really good… How did you get it?"

"Snotlout… And believe me, he's gonna boast about it for at least a week."

Hiccup chuckled at it, imagining the scene. He took the medicine asking Fishlegs to grab the bottle of water from his backpack.

The nurse came back a few minutes later with the principal's permission to leave the school. Not long after that, Hiccup received a message from Gobber; he was waiting for his godson by the entrance.

The nurse went with Hiccup all the way to the entrance, helping him walk there and Fishlegs took his belongings to the car. Hiccup sat on the passenger's side and thanked his friends as he got his backpack and books from him. He closed the door and opened the window.

"No problem. And text me later, will you? I'll want to know if your headache got better… And if you want to, I can get your homework from the other classes and send you through email."

"Thanks. I'd like that. But won't it be a problem for you?"

Fishlegs laughed it off. "Well, that's what friends are for, right? When I get sick, I'll be waiting for your email with my homework."

"Consider it done." He said and waved good-bye. As the car started to drive away, Fishlegs could hear the driver say something like "Told you I was right."


So, I really wanted Fishlegs to be the first to know because I think he's the kind of Person that would really respect his space like that and I thoguht Astrid would be too obvious... Besides, I'm planning something different for when Astrid finds out.

So, did you like it? Please tell me in the comments below!