Adrenaline rushing through his body, Hiccup lifted his head to see what had happened. At first, he simply thought someone ran right into them coming around the corner. But, it was very obvious that was not the case.
Brad Crawford was one of Snotlout's friends. Well, at least they ran around together on the occasion. Both were muscular, except Brad was every bit of half a foot taller than Snotlout. Hiccup was certain he had at least fifty pounds on him compared to himself. He cringed seeing the smirk sliding across Brad's face.
"What is your problem?" Astrid said sternly, backing up towards Hiccup.
"My problem?" Brad said with a fake chuckle. "I don't know, Astrid. Let me see-you ditched me for this one-legged freak!"
Hiccup did not appreciate Brad's tone. Struggling to catch his prosthetic to the floor, he grabbed the banister along the wall to pull himself up.
"Brad, when will you get the picture?" Astrid said. "I have no interest in dating you-"
"One date, Astrid. That's all I ask-"
For a second Hiccup thought his chest was caving in. What was Brad even talking about? He'd never actually seen Astrid talk to the guy. Brad was a senior, if there was a class they had together it would have been gym class, or one of the electives. And, it wasn't Trig. After all, Hiccup knew Brad had flunked algebra once because they'd been in the same class together freshman year.
"I will not go on a date with you," she said again. Hiccup noted the emotion in her voice. She was both angry and fearful.
Brad took another step forward, and Hiccup bolted. He pulled Astrid behind him, keeping himself between she and Brad.
"Leave her alone," he said coldly. He almost did not hear himself speak.
"What's that, twerp?" Brad asked.
"I told you to leave her alone," he replied. "Can't you take a hint? She doesn't want anything to do with you."
"Oh, she did," Brad said, crossing his arms in front of himself, putting his chest out. He peered down at Hiccup as though he were an ant. "That was, until you had to go all heroic."
Hiccup glanced back at Astrid, but made sure not to keep Brad out of his vision. "What's he talking about?"
"He's just being a jerk," Astrid said.
"Up until that car accident, I had Astrid calling me every night, texting me good morning, sending me kissy faces-"
"Now you are just being ridiculous," she said to him, her tone in her voice raised. "I was helping you with your Senior essay-"
"Yes! Then you ditched me for this sack of bones-"
"Enough!" Hiccup said aloud, to both of them. He turned his attention back to Brad. "I don't know what kind of relationship you've had with Astrid, nor do I care. She's clearly told you to let her be. She wants nothing to do with you. So, let us go-"
"I'll let her go," Brad said coldly. "But-you-you I want to beat the snot out of!"
"He did nothing to you!" Astrid said.
Hiccup felt like his world was spinning. Perhaps it was all a dream. How could Astrid even be interested in someone like him? She was a star volleyball player, an excellent swimmer, and beyond his rank when it came down to popularity, friends and sports. Perhaps, if he hadn't gotten hurt over the summer, things might be different. Maybe they would have started talking a different way, verses the crazy accident that pulled their worlds together.
For years, since Kindergarten, their worlds had crossed. They'd barely spoken to each other, ever, even after being on the same track team for the last five years, had the same classes together, and even had done group projects together. Somehow, over the last six weeks, they'd formed this relationship. She was the first person he'd actually felt a connection to, a true connection. Even if they were just friends, not actually dating, he felt as though he could tell her anything and everything. She was so easy to talk to...
Perhaps this was why Brad had his eyes on her so badly. Perhaps while she was helping him with his report, for reasons unknown to him, he'd fallen for her just as he had with her kindness.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brad move closer, and instead of rushing at Brad to push him off, he turned towards Astrid, pushing her out of the path of Brad. He heard her gasp loudly, actually heard her body hit the stone wall less than six or seven feet away, but at least she was out of the way.
Hiccup felt Brad on top of him, together they'd fallen onto the set of stairs, then down the four or five steps, Hiccup huddled into a ball, trying to protect his face from Brad. He felt a swift fist connect with his hip, which immediately made his leg throb all the way down towards his prosthetic. He held in the wince, hearing Astrid yell "Get off of him!"
Suddenly, the chest of his hoodie was grabbed up in Brad's beefy hand, and before Hiccup could even open his eyes to look, he felt a fist connect with his jaw. His head swung to the right, and he was on the ground again.
The taste of blood gathered in his mouth, and he could hear Brad panting loudly over his body, his face almost all the way in Hiccup's ear, waiting for him to move.
"Get up, Vast," he said. "I said get up!"
Hiccup lifted his head, and another fist connected with his cheek. Again, the taste of blood, only stronger. He choked on it as it gathered in his mouth. His head throbbed painfully. The light bothered his eyes. His only reason to keep them open was to make sure Astrid was all right.
"I told you to leave him alone!" Astrid yelled, and Hiccup heard her slap Brad into the face. Then, she gasped loudly, and Hiccup knew he had a hold of her.
He scrambled to his feet, again having a hard time placing the prosthetic onto the floor, but he stood and rushed after Brad. He hit Brad's arm, somehow forcing the lock on Astrid's arm to slip, and he heard her fall again from the force. Hiccup had somehow stayed standing, turning only to meet Brad's eyes.
"The lady asked you to leave her alone. And, that is what you should do," Hiccup said. "If you really wanted to see her, you would have left her alone. This isn't how you get someone to like you, Brad-"
Brad narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. "If you hadn't been there during the car accident-"
"Brad, that doesn't matter!" Astrid said to him. "You had no chance with me. The only reason I was helping you with that paper was so I could get NHS points for tutoring."
"Your text messages-"
"I never sent you any text with kissy faces, you idiot!" Astrid yelled. "You need to go back through your text messages and re-read them. You are living a fantasy-"
The brute's eyes narrowed, and he turned his attention onto Hiccup, who'd leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Blood filled the inside of his mouth, and he could barely see out of his left eye the throbbing was so bad.
"I am with Hiccup, Brad," Astrid said. "You need to accept that. Cornering me in the hallway-"
Hiccup felt his throbbing jaw clench.
"-And sending me flowers to the house-"
Hiccup's breath caught in his chest again.
"-And practically verbally abusing me because I turned you down to the dance-It all needs to stop."
Suddenly, Brad's eyes flashed, and he reached for the nearest item, a large trash can, and picked it up, throwing it across the hallway-at Hiccup.
Hiccup turned his back, blocking the sides of his head with his hands, and he felt himself thrown forward and into the doorway to the pool deck. He crashed through it and onto the wet tile floor, feeling his head snap when he hit. He could tell he was in the fetal position when he landed. He heard two men yelling, Astrid scream and a sob escaping her lungs.
"Get out!"
"What's your name?"
"We don't treat people like that!"
"Hun, are you all right?" a woman's voice.
"Hiccup!"
Astrid was at his side a second later. He could feel her hand shaking when she laid it over a shoulder so gently. He could tell she didn't want to hurt him more.
Hiccup remained in the fetal position on his side for more than a moment. His eyes remained closed, and he heard shouting.
The night he fell off the roof flooded back onto him. He could feel the wet evening grass on his body, soaking through his clothes as he laid there, pain flooding through his leg as he struggled to stay conscious. He almost thought he could hear his father's voice in the mix of the men asking him if he was all right. He almost thought he could hear the neighbor across the street yelling to his father asking what he could do to help.
"Hiccup!" Astrid said loudly. He felt pressure applied to his shoulder from her hand. "Hiccup, please-"
His eyes opened.
...
At home, Hiccup hung over the kitchen sink trying to rinse his mouth out with warm salt water. He still had the taste of blood in his mouth from where he'd bitten his tongue. After two or three spits, he would realize his mouth still was bleeding, so he'd take another swig of the water, swish, and spit it out again.
He could hear Astrid sniffling loudly behind him. She had lost it as soon as they'd walked through the door. Since Hiccup still had a mouthful of blood, all he could do was stand at the sink, holding her hand as she crumbled on the floor. He didn't know what else to do, nor did he feel as though he could do anything. He was having a difficult time shaking off that feeling that had come to him again.
The feeling only came to him in his dreams and nightmares. In the back of his head, he worried the PTSD was back, and his nightmares would wake up again. They'd been gone for four weeks. They'd been non-existent since November. It had taken him nearly five months, several trips to the psychiatrist, and two different anti-depressant medication to keep them at bay. Not to mention the long nights his father had to stay up with him from the night terrors.
Somehow, Astrid had made her way off of the floor and into the dining room chair.
For once, Hiccup didn't like being alone with her. And it had nothing to do with Astrid. He was terrified of being around her at that moment. With both of their nerves on edge, he didn't feel safe being around her alone.
"Did your dad or my dad respond?" he asked her, spitting out the last of the salt water in his mouth.
"No," Astrid said gently, almost with a slight hiccup in her own voice. "Want me to try Katherine?"
"Please," Hiccup said gently.
He'd learned over the last month that if he couldn't reach his father, Katherine wasn't too far. She actually paid attention to her phone going off, perhaps because she was always on edge waiting for her daughter, Heather, to reach her.
He heard Astrid tapping away on the phone screen. With each letter she pressed, it gave a small clicking noise.
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked, her voice almost pleading.
Shaking is head, he knew it was a mistake. His head pounded violently.
"Astrid, are you all right?" he asked after a moment.
"Yes," she said gently.
"You aren't hurt anywhere? I know you hit that wall pretty hard-"
"Nothing major," she said to him. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry-"
"Stop it, Astrid," he said sternly. "This isn't anything you did-"
"He came after you because of me-"
"He's just messed up in the head, Astrid," Hiccup said. He was tasting blood again, and he spit the taste out of his mouth. In the sink was a little bit of pink. Finally, it was almost cleared up.
They hadn't called her father about the incident. In fact, the only parent that had been called was Brad's, and that was when the police were escorting him out in handcuffs. But, Hiccup was confident Astrid's father would be hearing about the mess soon. After all, he was a detective that worked with the city policy department, and the county sheriff. They'd both actually been surprised when he hadn't shown up with the cops.
"Katherine said they are at the grocery store."
Hiccup nodded. "Okay."
He didn't know how his father would react. Hiccup had been bullied more than once, especially by Snotlout. In fact, Brad had also bullied him in the past, but not actually fit-on-face contact. More verbal than anything. Mr. Vast didn't really know much about Hiccup being bullied or named called. He'd never wanted to burden his father with the issue, and Hiccup was constantly trying as a young boy to stand up for himself like his father had often told him.
It was easier trying to pretend it never happened than trying to stand up for himself.
"Did they say how long they were going to be?"
"At the check out. Once they are done they will come home."
"Okay."
Ten minutes later, Hiccup could no longer stand up. He needed to go lay down. Swallowing some pain reliever, he grabbed Astrid's hand and led her into the living room. He leaned himself against the arm of the couch, struggling to stay awake.
"Hiccup, you might have a concussion-"
"I'll be fine-" he said to her. "I don't need another trip to the emergency room. I've been there enough in the last ten months."
He'd been there a total of four times since then. Before that, he'd only been to the ER once in his life.
"That isn't funny," Astrid said to him.
"I wasn't laughing."
She huffed at him.
A few minutes later, they heard the door open. They knew that Katherine and Mr. Vast were home.
Hiccup closed his eyes and waited painfully, readying himself for his father to become angry. Possibly. It was hard to tell what was going to happen with his father. His father could be calm about something or jump to a hundred in a matter of a second.
Instead, he felt a warm hand touch his forehead. It wasn't his father, but Katherine. Her touch felt good against his skin. Motherly. Perhaps that was what he needed instead of his father.
Perhaps, not needed, but craved.
"Stoick-"
"I'm all right," Hiccup said to her, forcing himself to sit back up despite how sore he was becoming. He didn't want her to worry.
"What happened to you?" Katherine asked him. Hiccup could sense her shock and worry all at once.
Both he and Astrid remained silent.
Mr. Vast had sat an armful of groceries down on the table and he crossed the room to check on his son. Hiccup saw the concern on his father's face grow. His father tilted his head back and forth, accessing the damage.
"Blimey," he said quietly. "The last thing I would have expected was to see you beat up. Hiccup-what-what happened?"
"I-kinda got into a fight with a kid at the fitness center-"
"Over what?" Mr. Vast asked.
"Long story," Astrid breathed.
...
What do you think?