I'm not usually going to do this, but this "chapter" is just a nice simple little companion piece to the last story. Enjoy!


"You know, in the end, the day you left was just my beginning…in the end."
-Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You), Kelly Clarkson

888

Astrid Hofferson was lucky to have a neighbor like Hanson Harrison Haddock III.

For the longest time, she didn't believe this. He was a nerd and she was a varsity cheerleader. It was common knowledge that they did not belong together in the same social circles. That was one of the reasons she had felt so attached to the new kid, Eret. Eret was everything that Hanson was not…until junior year, that is. Over the summer between sophomore and junior year, Hanson'd had a growth spurt and…was it even possible that he could look so…? She couldn't dwell on Hanson's changes, though; Eret was her boyfriend and that was fine with her…or was it? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

The changes didn't stop there, Astrid soon learned. Before homeroom one morning, Eret had told Astrid that he would be moving back to Norway (where he was born) at the end of the school year and that he felt it best they end their relationship. Inside, Astrid had been crushed. Sure, Eret had been her first serious boyfriend (they had been together for almost two years), but she had not thought it possible that their relationship would ever come to an end.

Somehow, she had managed to nod in agreement and keep calm the rest of the school day, but she knew that her friend Rachele had noticed. As soon as the school day ended, Astrid grabbed her homework from her locker and raced out to her shiny sporty car. Even in the comfort of her car, Astrid remained calm. It was only when she arrived home to her empty house that she plopped down on one of the couches in her living room and cried a little at her newly single status.

Surely the news had traversed the school populace by now. Astrid could hear the whispers already. Lovers like Astrid and Eret, two people so perfectly beautiful, did not just "break up". Oh Gods, the whole school is going to think I cheated on him, aren't they? They're going to think I slept with…

A knock had stopped Astrid from thinking any further…which was probably a good thing. She had not bothered to make herself look presentable. It was probably Rachele anyway. Her friend tended to show up unannounced. The person on the other side of the door had not been Rachele; it had been her neighbor. As it turned out, Hanson had stopped by to comfort her and, for reasons unknown to Astrid, she had told him everything.

They had been neighbors for as long as they had been alive and they even used to play together as kids, but Astrid had never expected to find comfort in his words and presence. Even after the way she had treated him throughout middle and high school, Hanson still promised to always be there for her.

He stayed true to his words. Sometimes Astrid would even stay up late texting Hanson as his comforting words always helped her to unwind after a stressful day of school. Though she would always spend half of her texts apologizing profusely about keeping him awake on a school night, Hanson would always text back, saying that it wasn't a problem or that he wasn't actually tired anyway (which Astrid always knew was a lie). No matter what, he would wait until she slipped off to sleep to end the conversation for the night. That way, Astrid would always have a comforting text to wake up to the next morning before school.

For a while, Astrid only associated with Hanson outside of school. In fact, it was almost the end of senior year before Astrid brought herself to talk to Hanson during the school day…and what a memorable conversation it was!

Astrid had not committed to a relationship since Eret and with senior prom quickly approaching, she was wondering if she would even be attending. Sure there were plenty of boys in the school who would gladly escort Astrid Hofferson to the formal dance, but she turned down every single one of them. If prom was a night to remember, Astrid wanted good memories and most of those boys just wanted to… Well, there was one boy that Astrid wouldn't mind attending prom with, but she was certain that he didn't want to go; he didn't seem like "the dancing type".

Hanson was at his locker when Astrid spotted him. Quietly, she walked up and stood beside him, blocking the paths to the lockers immediately next to his. "Hey, Hiccup," she greeted him, using the nickname that many of their fellow students would call him, a name that dated back to their middle school days.

The startled boy practically dropped his books and Astrid laughed slightly at his minor show of clumsiness. "A-Astrid…you…you're…here and…you used my nickname. That never happens." Taking a breath and regaining his composure, Hanson tried again. "I mean…what are you doing here? Not that I'm honored you stopped by my locker and all, but you just…never do that."

"I wanted to say thank you for sticking by me this past year and a half. I'm…really lucky to have a neighbor like you." Before she could think about her actions, Astrid gripped the front of Hanson's T-Shirt and pulled him close. She could feel the shock on the boy's lips as she kissed him, but he relaxed and melted into the kiss.

When they broke apart, Astrid started to walk to her homeroom, but Hanson stopped her as he spoke her name.

"Astrid?"

Turning back around, Astrid answered, "Yeah, Hiccup?"

"You're…probably going to decline because I'm sure it's not your thing and all, but…would you go to prom with me? I mean…you don't have to…I'm sure I could find something to do instead because I'm super popular and my schedule's probably already full anyway and…"

Astrid laughed at Hanson's attempt to divert from his original question and she found his underlying fear of rejection to be awfully cute. It was so much better than the boastful and proud nature of his younger cousin Samuel Jorgenson. As it turned out, Astrid did not even have to think about her answer to his question. Cutting off Hanson's rambling, she replied, "Hiccup, you are the only boy I'd ever want to go to prom with, so…I accept your offer."


A note on Hiccup's name: In Hiccup's piece, he was mainly referred to as Hiccup because he thinks of himself with that name over his real name. Astrid, however, mainly thinks of Hiccup by his real name (hence his confusion when she called him by his nickname). That's why this story mainly uses Hanson.

This story is shorter because most of the action was already told. Therefore, this one partially retells it, but goes further into the future as well.

Oh, and the texting was inspired by real life. Me and…well…I don't really know what we were. Something between friends and in a relationship, I guess. Well, we did that…but now we don't talk anymore. Hopefully Hiccup and Astrid have better luck.

See you next time inspiration (and good music) strikes!

Posted: August 14, 2014