It Takes A Man

Author: Nightstar Fury from Nightstar Productions.

Rated: M for Mature.

Disclaimer: I do not own the HTTYD movies, series, or shorts. And any of the songs I use I don't own either so don't get huffy with me. Anyway...Enjoy! :)

Chapter 3; Get Comfortable.

Allison had just gotten back from the store and just in time too because the winds were getting stronger, she was worried that Jay might not be warm enough. Thankfully though she made it and brought Jay inside first to lay him in his crib while she folded up the stroller and put the diaper bag away, once all that was settled she went back outside and picked up her groceries to take them inside when she heard a dog barking, she ignored it and kept moving and then in the silence as she was about to walk inside she heard someone call her name, she turned slowly with wide eyes to see Hunter Haddock standing there across the street on the sidewalk, then behind him Francis, Scott, Trevor, Rosalina, and Cassie. All her old friends that she left 2 years ago.

'Shit...' She thought in fear almost seeing him there, seeing them all there.

"Allie?..." Hunter said slower now as he slowly walked across the street towards her, Allison backed up slowly.

"Sorry, you got the wrong girl." Allison said quicky trying to retreat into her apartment, before she could Toothless bounded across the road and practically tackled her down. He jumped up and licked her face.

"Its definitely you, Allison. Toothless only jumps up on one person and that is you." Hunter chuckled a bit as he rubbed Toothless's head and his dog settled down. "Gods its been so long since we've seen you, what...happened?" Hunter said to her slowly. Of course she couldn't get out of it, Hunter was right. Toothless only jumped on her for some reason. She was caught and couldn't run. Allison sighed closing her eyes and picking up her bags.

"You want to know the truth then come inside but keep your voices down." Allison told them as she turned and walked into her apartment with her bags in her hands. Hunter was a little surprised to hear her tone, why wasn't she happy to see them after two years? She seemed almost upset they saw her. Hunter looked back at them as they closed the door to the apartment after Francis got the keys as they headed across the street now and entered Allison's apartment. When they were all in she shut the door and opened a few curtains to let the light in.

Right away they saw a small bathroom on their right, then a bedroom off to the left. Straight ahead was a tile floor kitchen, on the right was cabinets, above and below, a window over the sink, then a small wrap around counter. On the left was a fridge, small counter space then stove. Then ahead was a red carpeted living room with a small television on a stand, few movies, two couches and a rocking chair. Astrid put the bags on the counter and began to put things away slowly as the others watched her wondering about everything. A week ago they were saying they'd never see Allison again and yet here they were standing in her living room.

"You guys can sit down..." Allison said softly. They all took a seat with Hunter, Cassie, and Trevor on the little love seat couch, then Scott, Heather, Francis, and Rosaline on the big one. Allison finished putting her things away then walked in to the living room sitting on one of the stools from the counter as Toothless came over and laid his head on her lap looking up at her with his big green eyes, "Hey Toothless. Missed you too buddy." Allison said softly as she reached her hand over and began to stroke his head and rub under his chin making him close his eyes relaxed.

"So...This is a nice place you got here..." Scott said breaking the silence.

Allison shrugged, "Its affordable and suits my needs. Been here for 9 months, going on 10."

"Wait, you've been here for 9 months...?" Heather asked.

"Yep." Allison nodded.

"We've been across the street for the last 6 months...How have we never seen you?" Trevor stated.

"I don't leave my apartment often unless its for the store or doctors appointments." Allison admitted.

"But still...Where have you been all this time? The last time we saw you...It was that day during junior year...You just left." Hunter asked now deciding to ask the obvious question. Allison sighed getting up off the stool and almost hugging herself as she turned the opposite way from them.

"Well for 9 months...I've been here. The rest...I was on Berserk Isle with my ex boyfriend..." Allison said looking down.

"WHAT?" They yelled in shock, she whipped around to hush them quickly. It fell silent as she looked towards the bedroom door.

"Is your boyfriend here and sleeping or something?" Trevor asked curiously, she shook her head. Allison sighed, thankful Jay was still asleep.

"The walls are...really thin and my upstairs neighbors...don't like a lot of noise is all..." Allison lied, she didn't want them to know about Jay. She was only going to tell them where she'd been, she didn't want to mention having a child too. She wanted them to go and leave her alone but of course now that they knew she lived there her only two options were to deal with it or move. The second options was exactly affordable right now so she had to deal with them living across the street.

"Sorry...We'll keep it down. Just tell us what happened to you, you literally just bailed on us that day. Hunter told us you left the school during lunch and got into some car and were gone, and even that night we went to ask your parents and they said you left with a friend. Was it your boyfriend?" Rosaline asked now.

"Yes. It was. I dropped out at 17, moved to Berserk Isle with him, got my GED and then after a year...Things just weren't working so we broke up. My parents had kicked me out so I found my own place and been here since..." Allison sighed to them.

"Why the hell...or who the hell did you date from Berserk Isle...That's an hour and 30 minute drive like North-East of here..." Francis asked now.

"I met him...the night of the football game, the one held a few days before the Halloween dance...We just started talking a lot and then got together." Allison replied.

"Oh my Gods, you got with that guy who was eyeing you up from the bus right? The quarterback from the other team!" Rosaline blinked.

"Yep, Devon Landvik. He gave me his number...We texted and talked a few months then decided to get into a relationship...And we agreed to keep it a secret until we figured something else out...I got really behind in my studies and when they told me I was gonna have to do summer school and stay back a year...I dropped out. Devon picked me up at the school...My parents kicked me out for dropping out, then I just moved to Beserk with him for a year...When things stopped working...I came back and well...Here I am." Allison explained. Sure she left out some major facts like the abuse, constant sex, and the fact she had a child but they didn't need to know that.

"You dated that player? Oh Allie...You should of told us so we could warn you..." Cassie said sadly.

"Um excuse me, you two are the ones who told me to go for it..." Allison remarked.

"That was before we knew the truth about him..." Rosaline frowned a bit.

"Why do you think I left him? Because he changed and showed...me his true self. Everything I thought I loved was just an act..." Allison closed her eyes. Hunter got up to walk over to her in hopes of comforting her but she almost shied away sadly.

"Allie...Its okay, you're...home now and you have us again. Just like it used to be." Hunter tried, then through the silence they heard whimpering and finally crying. Allison sighed a bit, as she moved away from them and towards the bedroom. She entered it quietly as she picked up Jay, then changed him. The others eyes widened when they saw him Allison come out holding the baby boy in her arms. "Allie...Is that...a baby? Is that why you told us to be quiet? Are you baby sitting?"

Allison faced them now, a serious look in her eyes. "Yes it's a baby and no...I'm not babysitting. This is...my son." All of their mouths dropped open. There was an awkward silence in the room for a good 3 minutes, "This is why when I got back to Berk...I didn't come looking for anyone...Because I was pregnant, and 3 months ago I gave birth to this little guy." Allison opened the cupboard up with Jay's bottle things in it as she made a quick 4oz bottle, added the water, then gave it a shake before sitting down and feeding it to him.

"So clearly you left a lot out of your story." Scott mentioned first.

"Look, I wasn't planning on running into anyone today...I was pretty sure you'd all forgotten about me..." Allison mumbled.

"Allie really? You just...disappeared from Berk. Of course we haven't forgotten you, we were talking about you last week actually. Saying how we looked for you all of summer before senior year...You were our best friend...and you just left us all without a word." Heather stated.

"I made a lot of bad decisions...I'm not proud of any of them, but this lil guy right here is something I will never regret." Allison sighed looking down at her son with a soft smile as she moved some of Jay's very thin and light blonde hair that had orange tints in it.

"So can you tell us the real story?..." Rosaline asked curiously.

"After he's back to bed, he's awake ahead of schedule right now...He wasn't due up until 4." Allison said lightly, the others nodding just watching her feed her son.

"What's his name?" Cassie asked gently after 5 minutes.

"Jay Michael Hofferson..." Allison replied softly as Jay finished the bottle and she put it on the table beside her as she adjusted the burp cloth on her shoulder and burped him, after that he began to cry again. "Ssh now little one. I know, you're still sleepy." Astrid soothed as he stood up and began to rock him while standing, just swaying a bit. The cries became soft whimpers.

"Can we help at all?" Heather asked.

"He knows something is different, its been me and him since he was born...Just ssh..." Allison said putting a finger to her lips as she pulled her phone from her back pockets and scrolled a few times before pressing something and turning the sound up while she continued to rock Jay in her arms as a light tune began to play.

"I can't take it on my own. I can't make it all alone. I'm powerless, yeah I confess. I lose myself in my excess. I'm powerless..." It took them by surprise to hear her start singing. "Now I remember all I've done. Now I know why I was numb. I'm powerless, how I obsess. I lose myself till I'm' out of breath. Resented all, I had to hide...Been living with this shame inside." Allison closed her eyes lightly rubbing her son's back.

"And I could lie to myself, and say 'I'm strong enough'! But I know in time I'll self destruct, in the greatest 'scape and endless rush. And I could try to tell myself, 'There's no one I can trust'. But I know I need humility, help to save my soul and sanity. Lord, I'll never give it up...I'm completely powerless...I'm completely powerless." Allison took a breath calming down, everyone still watched intently. Amazed by how fast she managed to get her son to relax and start closing his eye as he fell asleep.

"I could run eternally, from all the hurt inside of me. I'm powerless, and I can't rest. I abuse myself till my life's a mess. The more I fight, the more I lie. I push my pain down with my pride!" They watched her adjust her arms so that way Jay was laying across her stomach and his arm was under hers, his head resting on her chest almost completely asleep.

"And I could lie to myself, and say 'I'm strong enough'! But I know in time I'll self destruct, in the greatest 'scape and endless rush. And I could try to tell myself, 'There's no one I can trust'. But I know I need humility, help to save my soul and sanity...Lord, I'll never give it up. I'm completely powerless...I'm completely powerless...I'm completely powerless." She paused the song by tapping it as she kissed his forehead.

"Sweet dreams little man." Allison whispered as she took him back in to the bedroom and laid him down in the crib, flipped on the monitor in there and then turned on his mobile hanging over the bed before exiting the room and shutting the door quietly. She turned the other monitor on which sat on the table where the bottle was. "And before you ask...Yes, Devon is his father. He just doesn't give a shit about him..." Allison mumbled as she took the finished bottle to the sink to clean it.

"What a prick...How can anyone abandon their own child..." Cassie frowned sadly.

"As far as I'm concerned...I don't care. Jay is the most perfect baby a single mom on her own could ask for..." Allison said putting the bottle in the strainer to dry then got another one out and prepared it for the next feeding before sitting back down in the rocking chair with a sigh.

"Allie...Tell us what happened the last two years..." Hunter asked softly looking at her.

"Everything I told you before was the truth. I started dating Devon after he and I met at that football game. We talked about 5 months before decided to date. On my 17th birthday...I gave him my virginity. Afterwards when I'd turned 17, after being told I'd have to do summer school and repeat the 11th grade...I dropped out and found a GED program. Being I'd dropped out that day, I couldn't stay so I had Devon meet me at the school and I didn't have the heart to tell any of you I was leaving. In the car...Devon asked me to move in with him since it was just him and his dad who apparently was never home. Since I was considered an adult by Archipelago laws...I said I'd live with him. My parents found out I dropped out and kicked me out. So the next day when my parents were working, I snuck back in the house to get my things and was gone and on Berserk before they got home." Allison started closing her eyes.

"That's why they seemed so cold when we asked where you were..." Heather pouted.

"We went looking for you there and were told you left with a friend after choosing to move out." Francis added in.

"Hah, that's the lie they gave you to cover up them kicking me out?...Wow." Allison forced a small laugh shaking her head. "Anyway...Things with Devon were fine for a while, we were both working and living in his dad's basement. Then around 6 months afterwards...We started to argue a lot, and it just got progressively worse." Allison rubbed her arm a bit.

"Allison...Did he get abusive with you?" Hunter asked firmly.

"At first I thought he was just trying to get me to get out of his way but...When it didn't stop...I felt trapped, and scared to make him mad. The first time he put his hands on me, we'd been in an argument and he tried to storm out. I was standing in the door way...He grabbed my arms and pushed me to the side and against the wall...I had a few bruises from being grabbed so hard. I just let it go...Then it kept happening and I wanted to leave him but I had no way out...I didn't have a car or any money, not enough to get back to Berk..." Allison looked down.

"You should have called one of us, Allison. We would of come in a heartbeat!" Heather exclaimed remembering to keep her voice down.

"I didn't have a phone. My parents shut mine off and took it after kicking me out. And I was afraid to use the house phone, because he'd always check the outgoing and incoming calls. If there was a number he didn't recognize...He assumed it was me trying to leave him and I'd get hit...He made it so I could only work 3 days a week for 4 hours, and he'd always pick me up. I had to have dinner ready when he got home, I had to do all the cleaning, and cooking..." Allison trailed off.

"Was it just physical abuse?..." Trevor asked.

Allison shook her head, "No. Emotional too...Always calling me names, putting me down...Then there was him always wanting sex and if I refused to give it to him..." She closed her eyes again.

"He would...force you to have sex with him? And if you refused he hit you?" Hunter asked clear anger showing through now. He was in love with Allison, of course it pissed him off to know she was hurt and he never knew. Allison nodded.

"Allie honey that's rape if you said no, even if you agreed you still didn't want it! You should have him arrested..." Rosaline said quickly.

"I was terrified of him...I didn't dare test the limits of his patience or mood...But one day at work...A coworker noticed the bruises, she let me use her phone to call my parents and I begged them to let me come home. They said I could as long as I proved I had my GED and got a job right away. I agreed to it, and then the next time Devon was working...My coworker came and picked me up, drove me back to Berk. I started working at Dragons Nest again, and showed my parents my GED. Once I saved enough to get a phone again...I was going to call you guys...Then I missed two periods, and found out I was pregnant...And I just...didn't want anyone to know that I got knocked up by my abusive ex...My parents found out, and...kicked me out again. They gave me a month to get out..." Allison sighed.

"Oh my Odin, you should have called us! We have an extra bedroom in our apartment..." Heather said now.

"I was scared...So I found this place. Its about 250 a month...And I pay my own phone and electric...Island assistance for insurance and food. After moving here...I called Devon to tell him I was pregnant, and when I gave birth...He did have the right to know. He said it wasn't his kid and didn't care. I went through the pregnancy alone, the appointments, labor and delivery...I stayed in the hospital two days then...came home and just been raising him. I go back to work next week...And that's...everything." Allison took a breath.

"I knew something wasn't right..." Hunter sighed out.

"We wouldn't have judged you, Allison...We've all been friends since 5th grade, and if you'd needed help you could have told us..." Scott mentioned.

"I know, and so many times I've gotten close to calling but I always backed out...And thought I was better off alone." Allison looked down.

"Well you have us now. And we'll do all we can...Have you seen your parents since they kicked you out the second time?" Heather asked.

"Nope. They refuse to see me or Jay, they won't even acknowledge him as their grandson...They know my number and where I am...But just like Devon...They don't care. So its been just me and the lil man the last 9 months or so..." Allison shrugged.

"He's beautiful..." Cassie smiled softly.

"Yeah he is...Best baby in the world..." Allison smiled back.

"Aren't you like super tired from all the late nights?" Rosaline asked.

"A little but its part of being a mom. Jay is on a schedule...He gets a bottle every 4-5 hours...Sometimes 3, it depends." Allison stated. "My day starts at 5am. I get his bottle, diaper, and clothes ready. Then I enjoy some coffee, then at 5:30am he gets changed, dressed, and his bottle before going back to sleep until about 8:30-9am while I shower and get ready for the day. I change him, give him another bottle. So on and so forth. After the 9am feeding I keep him up for 30 minutes or so then he goes back to sleep and I clean the apartment. When he gets up again around 1:30, changed, and bottle before we take a walk up and down the street or go to the store. His final bottle of the night is around 1:30-2am with a little infant cereal to push him to 5 or 5:30am. Then we begin again." Allison said softly.

"That's pretty impressive. And he's not colic or anything?" Heather asked.

"Not at all and you saw how calm he is." Allison smiled lightly.

"When was he born?" Scott asked curiously.

"November 1st at 10:44pm in Berk General." Allison replied.

"How many hours of labor were you in?..." Cassie blinked.

"14 hours, then 6 minutes of pushing." Allison said.

"We're so sorry we weren't here for you..." Heather got up to hug her.

"Don't apologize...It's my fault. I didn't tell anyone what was going on." Allison said as she hugged Heather back, then Rosaline and Cassie.

"We're just glad you're okay..." Hunter said softly as he was last to hug Allison, time seemed to stop for him as he held her in his arms. He knew she didn't just bail for no reason, this Devon guy put it in her head she'd be better off with him and she agreed to it. With all she'd been through, even becoming a mom it didn't change how he felt for Allison. And now that she was back and living across from them, he could protect her. "Some of us really missed you, Allison." He added pulling from the hug and looking down into her eyes.

"I missed you guys too." Allison said softly as they all did a group hug, Allison for the first time in two years felt great and that everything would be just fine. She had her friends back, her second family. And it was even better because she was close to them, or the boys at least.