FOUR:
Astrid had brought sandwiches out of habit and the girls had politely observed her tuck in as they bought their expensive salads and warm meals and Atali had bought her a fruit salad and a drink which Astrid had opened her mouth to decline but which Atali had refused to countenance.
"You can always pay me back some day," she said easily. "We take turns-though Heather sometimes brings cakes in. Enjoy!" Blinking, Astrid had nodded.
"Thanks," she said and popped the can open. Heather handed her a brownie.
"Mint choc brownie," she offered and Astrid stared. "Look, I bake all the time. The others love these-and I always bring spares because…"
"Are those brownies?" The familiar voice of Snotlout closed quickly and Heather just rescued the sweet treat from a grasping hand. "Hey!"
"That's Astrid's!" she scolded the stocky boy and he stared at her as if she was talking alien.
"But...no one owns your brownies!" he protested. "And...Astrid?" His blue eyes widened in shock and then appreciation. "Looking hot, Hoff!" She stared at him in shock.
"Um...you talking to me?" she asked. He winked.
"You are a hotty!" he confirmed. "I mean...you were all grungy and ugly and suddenly-BAM! You're all beautiful with that hair and those legs and that…"
"Snot…" Heather growled, seeing his eyes fixated on the blonde's chest.
"...whatever! And wow-is that lipstick? I mean you are a hotty! You been holding out on us, Hoff?" the stocky jock gushed on. Heather face-palmed.
"Nope, I was just dressing practically," Astrid said tightly. Huffing, Mindy elbowed Snotlout.
"Hey, hey-remember me?" she asked pointedly, her eyes narrowing. "Your girlfriend?" Snotlout looked at her with an apologetic expression.
"Aww baby-don't be jealous," he said patronisingly. "I was just making Hoff feel good. I mean-she's your friend now, isn't she? And as she's stopped being ugly, she deserves to feel good?"
There was an awkward silence as everyone processed his words. Astrid blew out her cheeks.
"Wow-I really don't even know what to say about that," she commented dryly. Atali shook her head with a wry smile.
"You know Simon Jorgensen? The least tactful guy in the whole Archipelago?" she began in an amused voice. "I believe he paid you a compliment, Astrid. Well, as close as you can get from him…" The girl sighed.
"Thanks, I think," she managed and looked over to the others. Mindy snuggled against Snotlout and the stocky boy pressed a surprisingly tender kiss to her cheek before he looked over at the other guys, who were bringing a tray of burgers and hot dogs.
"Thug, Eret-you guys are the best!" he called and waved, his eyes brightening as he saw the double burger with extra fries they had gotten for him. He grabbed it and bit in with a sigh. The others crowded around the table, hauling up chairs and divvying out the hot food. Ruffnut accepted a spicy yak burger with extra chillis and gherkins and Astrid found a hot dog placed in front her her. Eret winked.
"Looking good, Astrid," he said and smiled as he sat opposite her. She frowned.
"What are you after?" she asked him directly. He blinked. "I mean, a couple of days ago, you asses were threatening to put me in a dumpster if I didn't do your classwork for you-in front of the damned teacher, no less. And now you want to be friends? Why should I trust you?" She poked the hot dog. "Is this booby-trapped? Poisoned? Laced with laxatives?"
"I'm wounded at the accusation…" Snotlout mumbled through his mouthful of burger but Astrid folded her arms and scowled at the boys: Atali cast them a look, reminding them obliquely of their plan.
"We wanted to apologise," Eret said calmly, The boys had decided he was probably the best spokesman, for he was the smartest and had the best social skills. "Look, we know we treated you badly, Astrid and I don't think we realised how badly we had behaved. But seeing you called out of class when your Mom was taken ill made us all think and re-evaluate our own conduct." She raised a cynical eyebrow,
"And you expect me to believe that?' she asked sarcastically. "Suddenly you saw the light? Developed a conscience? Maybe actually realised other people have feelings?" Thuggory chuckled.
"Not exactly-more like we were shouted at by another student," he admitted with mild chagrin. "So we had a discussion and realised we weren't being fair to you."
"Hmph," Astrid grunted, eyeing them suspiciously. Her gut was telling her that she shouldn't let her guard down with them-because they had been a bunch of asses for years. And a leopard doesn't change its spots...especially not overnight, she thought warily. And then she smiled.
"Oh-kay…" she mused thoughtfully. "So if you are serious about being nicer to me, is there anything you may want to say?"
"Such as…?" Snotlout asked, wiping his mouth delicately on a paper napkin.
"I dunno...maybe, say...an apology?" she suggested archly. "For being such asses. And trapping me in a dumpster?" There were a number of shared looks and then Thuggory cleared his throat.
"You're right," he admitted.
"And we are sorry," Eret added, his brow furrowing. To Astrid, their actions looked as if they hadn't even considered the concept of apologising.
"Really," Snotlout put in, cracking open his can of cola. "Very very sorry…"
"Completely," Dagur added, arriving late but picking up on the vibe. Heather had spoken to him because she knew that he was better than he showed when with the guys and she had asked him to look out for Astrid. She didn't want her friend subjected to any more mean tricks...no matter their ulterior motive for associating with her. Astrid nodded.
"Wanna prove it?" she teased them. "Say...by putting whichever one of you thought it was amusing to ambush me in a dumpster themself for an hour and seeing how they like that!" There was silence over the table and all eyes looked at her.
"I believe it's called restorative justice," Ruff piped up. "A popular concept in some European legal systems…" Eret glanced at Thuggory, his closest friend and the two shared a silent conversation. Snotlout was the one who had led the whole affair...but there was one person who had mentioned the idea in the first place-and who had been the only one who had been shocked that they had actually followed through his throw-away comment after telling them explicitly not to even consider it. And that person was easily expendable in their plan.
"You can bank on it," Eret said seriously. "We will do as you ask and that person can spend a lovely time in the smelliest dumpster we can find." Astrid gave a small smile and bit into the hot dog.
"Thank you," she said. "Maybe you'll realise it isn't any fun at all."
But Eret was staring past her, his dark eyes narrowed.
It may be more fun than you realise, he thought.
oOo
Hiccup was walking slowly back towards his car at the end of the day. He had been late in the library, finishing an assignment for one of his AP classes which he had wanted to hand in before he left school. Life was busy at the moment and he was keen not to fall behind on his studies. After all, since he lost his chances at any sort of active lifestyle or sports placement, he needed his academic achievements to be spot on. He had wanted to be a pilot but the loss of his leg had put an end to that hope-so he was aiming for aeronautical engineering with the hope of one day, managing to get up into the skies.
He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and emerged into the car park. It was getting gloomy, the low grey clouds scudding in the grim sky, a bitter wind howling down from the north. He rounded the corner and gratefully headed along the short path to the car park...and then he found himself grabbed from behind.
"HEY!" His voice was loud in the windy gloom but the two or three people hauling him back didn't stop.
"We've got a job for you, peg leg!" Snotlout sneered as he and Eret pinned Hiccup's arms.
"I'm not doing anything for you!" Hiccup said furiously, thrashing and struggling. His prosthetic leg caught Eret on the shin and the taller boy gave a yelp, cursed and limped as he gripped Hiccup even tighter.
"Oh, you will," Thuggory laughed as they dragged him round the back of the school, behind the maintenance shed and the boiler room-and towards the large blue dumpster. Laughing, the dark-haired football player lifted the lid.
"Yeah-you're gonna get Astrid to like us," Snotlout scorned him. "She wants the guy who thought it was a good idea to trap her in a dumpster to get a taste of his own medicine. And it was your idea!"
"And I told you muttonheads that it was a mean and unacceptable thing to do!" he protested. "You are the ones who took the decision to actually do it!" Snotlout grabbed his kicking legs as Eret hoisted him bodily in the air.
"But she didn't ask for the people who did it-only the person who thought it was a good idea," Snotlout told him smugly. "That was you!"
"GET OFF! No, it wasn't!" Hiccup yelled. "I said it was a possibility but it was a mean thing to do-while you decided it was a good idea and got the guys to actually do it! You should be going in…"
"Too late!" Snotlout scoffed as they threw the auburn-haired boy in and slammed the lid down, flipping the catch down. "Enjoy your learning experience!"
Hiccup lay on bags of trash, breathing hard as he heard them laughing and high-fiving as they they walked off to go home. Shocked and winded, he paused for a few moments before he realised the stench was awful. Urgently, he scrambled up and tried to lift the lid-but they had made sure it was locked so try as he might, he could only lift it an inch or so-just enough to see out. And enough to give him a chance to yell.
And yell he did, shouting in the off chance that the school janitor or one of the teachers may walk past and release him. But even though he shouted until he was hoarse, he remained trapped. Finally, he fumbled in his bag for his phone and peered at the screen, his teeth chattering in the cold. His hands were clumsy and he was feeling weary. And he groaned-only 3% charge. He knew that Fishlegs was out at his pottery class and his father was out of town. Gobber would be in the shop now but wouldn't hear his phone: it had to be Tuff. So praying that the male twin would be awake and focussed, Hiccup dialled.
"Hey, H," the familiar voice replied immediately. "How are things?"
"Not-not g-g-good…" Hiccup said urgently. "The g-guys have tr-trapped me in a d-dumpster…" Tuff burst out laughing.
"For real?" he checked and Hiccup groaned.
"This isn't a j-joke, T-Tuff," he managed. "I'm f-f-freezing...and they've l-locked it…" There was a pause.
"Where are you?" the male twin asked in a serious voice.
"B-b-behind the-the b-b-boiler h-h-house…" Hiccup managed. "P-p-please…" And then his phone died. He stared at the blank scream and gave a scream of rage, slamming his fists against the dumpster lid in fury and despair because he hadn't got a confirmation that his friend would come, just the hope. And he was shivering so hard now it was difficult to do anything. So he curled up in the corner, his hands stuffed in his sleeves and coat zipped as far up as it would go, praying for rescue.
He was almost dozing in his own little icy pool of misery when he heard steps and voices.
"There it is," a male voice said. The steps grew closer.
"The lock is on," a female voice added. "He wasn't getting out of here any time soon." There was a click. And finally the dumpster lid lifted to shine a brilliant flashlight straight in Hiccup's eyes, dazzling him. He started and flung his arm across his eyes.
"Hiccup!" The trapped boy sighed in relief at Tuff's voice and tried to move-but he was so stiff and cold that he could only groan. The male twin was up like a shot, flinging a leg over the side of the dumpster and sitting there, leaning in and grabbing his arm and hauling him up. Another shape grasped his other arm and pulled as well and the frozen Hiccup wondered if he was seeing double-until he realised that he was being helped out by Ruffnut-dressed in almost identical combat pants and boots, khaki snow jacket with fur-lined hood and black scarf.
Finally, they manhandled him out and Tuff wrapped a blanket around him while Ruff gave him a hot water bottle in the shape of a plush black dragon to cuddle and then poured him some hot chocolate from a flask.
"All I could come up with in time," she apologised and Hiccup nodded, wrapping his icy fingers around the hot cup and trying to settle the shivering so he could take a sip of the almost-scalding liquid. He winced and had to blow on the cup to cool it down a touch...but he looked up and gave a grateful smile as the first sip hit the back of his throat and slid down.
"Th-th-thanks," he stammered, his teeth chattering again. They had almost stopped when he was in the dumpster, so cold he could barely feel anything and he wondered if the guys had intended on coming back and letting him out or if they had just left him to die. "I r-really am g-g-grateful." Tuff rubbed his shoulders to try to warm him up.
"Can you walk?" he asked in a concerned voice and Hiccup nodded-but when he took his first step, his stump stabbed a vicious pain up his leg. He dropped his cup and grasped wildly at the leg, his eyes wide with pain.
"Owww…." he grunted and then gritted his teeth. "I'll be f-fine…" Ruff retrieved the cup and sighed, then nodded to her brother and between them, they hauled him along until they finally reached the car park and Hiccup's abandoned car. The male twin took one look at the shivering boy and then nodded to his sister.
"I'll drive him," he said decisively. "You follow in the car, can you?" She nodded without arguing, helping the frozen Hiccup into his own passenger seat and then heading back to Tuff's beat up brown Jeep, following them as Tuff very carefully drove Hiccup home. They pulled up to the darkened house and peered in.
"Is anyone at home…?" Tuff asked but Hiccup shook his head. The Haddock home was an impressive house over a hundred years old, with impressive gables, high roof and Victorian features.
"Dad's away," he mumbled. "Central heating will be on...but I'll need to make a fire…" Tuff sighed.
"I'll see you in and make sure you're okay," he decided, nodding to his sister as they helped Hiccup limp into the fine hall and close the door. Still frozen, the boy was almost bowled over by the black collie-German Shepherd cross with his extremely waggy-if truncated-tail and unusual green eyes. Hiccup mustered a weary laugh.
"Toothless!" he gasped as the dog licked him furiously. "Yeah, I was nearly a Hiccupsicle.." The Shollie whined and nuzzled him urgently. "I'm okay-thanks to Tuff."
Before he could protest, Tuff was knocked down by the dog and licked very thoroughly as Ruff backed away.
"I had absolutely categorically NOTHING to do with his rescue. At all. Even slightly," she said hastily as Toothless gave a doggy grin and jumped on her anyway. "UGH!" she added as Tuff got up to a drooping seated position.
"Who did this?" he asked seriously. "You could have died."
"The jocks," Ruff piped up. "It was Astrid's fault...though she probably didn't realise what they had in mind."
"What? She actually asked for someone to be trapped in a dumpster?" Hiccup asked incredulously. But the female twin shook her head.
"She was really suspicious when the guys came up and started to be friendly with her," she explained, getting up and helping the limping Hiccup into the large and homely living room, with the three large brown couches in front of a huge granite fireplace, laden with kindling and paper. "So she asked them to prove they were serious about the frankly lame apology they offered!" She glanced at him. "No offence intended." Hiccup looked up wryly.
"None taken," he sighed as they sat him on the couch, took his coat and wrapped a folded blanket over him. Toothless bounced up and curled by his legs, gently resting his head in the boy's lap.
"So she suggested that as proof they were serious about apologising that the person who thought it was a good idea to trap her in a dumpster spent an hour in one himself. Just to see what it was like."
"Very cold," Hiccup mumbled, grabbing his shirt and sniffing, then giving a grimace. The ripe scent of trash had permeated his entire being and he knew he would have to wash everything including his coat to get the stench out. "And rather...fragrant…"
"I thought they gave in rather easily," Ruff commented as her brother looked at her thoughtfully.
"I guess they found a solution that meant they didn't have to spend any time in the trash but could still shmooze Astrid by telling her they had done it," he sighed. Hiccup's head dropped.
"And none of you think it's mean to befriend her just so you can cash in on her famous uncle?" he asked in a low voice. Ruff stared levelly back and shrugged.
"We all got something to offer," she rationalised. "Atali is rich, Heather cooks like a goddess, Mindy has an aunt who runs a boutique and we all get discounts from there, I am a bit of a makeup guru and Astrid can get us on the set of 'Son of Odin'. And in return, she's welcomed and becomes part of society once more."
Hiccup's mouth snapped shut as he digested her words, swallowing the response he wanted to retort because there was a sort of logic to her words. High School society was vicious and for many, was to be survived, not enjoyed. Yet these girls were offering Astrid a chance in return for something only she could offer. But what happened when her uncle left the island once more?
"And honestly, she's smart and a bit sassy and clever and has a great eye," Ruff added. "Atali is seething because she really is far more interesting than Atali. But Heather is her friend anyway and I would prefer her to Atali and Mindy, to be honest. She's not mean or spiteful."
"Except in trapping me in a dumpster…" Hiccup grumbled, accepting more hot chocolate from the flask.
"She never said trap, just spend time," Ruff corrected him. "That was all Snotlout." Hiccup sat back.
"My beloved cousin," he sighed and then looked at her. "You know, you're much nicer here than you ever are at school," he pointed out. Ruff grinned.
"Image," she apologised. "At home, I'm Tuff's twin sister. At school-someone so gorgeous you'd claw your eyeballs out to be with me." Hiccup raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "But I'll stop being mean to you-and the girls know not to say anything about Tuff. I punched Mindy when she called him a dreadlocked weirdo...:"
"But Tuff is a dreadlocked weirdo," Hiccup reminded her dryly. "He's one of my best friends but he is a weirdo…" Tuff grinned as the flames roared up in the fireplace.
"Guilty as charged," he called, placing logs in the flames to get the fire to catch. "Have you got any marshmallows?"
"Kitchen, second cupboard from the left," Hiccup said wearily as the male twin rose and headed confidently off as his sister looked at the auburn-haired boy.
"You in pain?" she asked and he nodded.
"Could I have my bag, please?" he asked. After she handed it to him, he fished out a small bottle and shook out two small pills, swallowing them without water. "I get phantom pains...where my leg used to be," he explained. "They can be crippling-and getting so cold really doesn't help." He sighed. "I'll recharged my phone and then call my Godfather. He'll come round and check I'm okay…" But the female twin plugged the charger in and set the phone within reach of the boy, before sitting on the rug.
"Nah," she said easily. "You're Tuff's friend so we'll stay here until someone else takes over." And she grinned. "And my idiot brother is going to cook marshmallows. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang around and watch him burn his eyebrows off?" Even Hiccup managed to raise a smile as Tuff raced in, with wooden skewers laden down with an assortment of marshmallows.
"You watch and I'll melt," he offered as the frozen boy looked over at Ruff. She shrugged.
"I'll get a jug of water...just in case…"
And though he was still cold and his stump was still jabbing icy pains into his leg, Hiccup felt a lot happier than he had since that morning when Astrid left. He sighed. She was rapidly becoming one of the Popular girls while he remained as an outcast, only fit for the trash.
It looked like he had no chance to ever ask her out.
