We're getting into finals season for college students. So I might not post chapters on time, but I'll do my best. Or I might have to skip a week. Just bare with me.
—
"Put this on my tab," the man stated, setting down a box of lightbulbs.
"Alright, what's the phone number?"
"Uh, it's under my wife's number," he rattled it off.
Astrid typed it in diligently, "So…East Town Hookah Lounge is what comes up."
The man slammed down the light bulbs, probably breaking a few. "THAT BITCH!" He whipped out his phone and made a call while Astrid stood nervously watching him. "You want to tell me why the hell that sleaze-ball's Hookah Lounge comes up with your number at Gobber's?!"
There was a pause.
"What do you mean 'we're just friends'?!"
The man slapped down five dollars to pay for the broken lightbulbs, before storming out of the store.
"What was that all about?" Tuff asked, pinky in his year.
"…no idea."
"Well, if any of these lightbulbs work, we can finally replace the one in the bathroom. I'm tired of pooping in the dark."
Astrid blanched, "We might be better off not seeing the horrors of that room."
It was a pleasant Wednesday evening. It was warm enough to leave the door open so the sounds of summer could be enjoyed.
Hiccup came out of the back room, a collection of PVC pipes under his arm.
"Hey, what're you up to tonight?" Astrid asked him, patting her hands on the counter.
"Well, Fishlegs is coming over and we're going to watch a movie. Why? Did you want to come see Stormfly?"
"That was the plan! What movie?"
Hiccup juggled the pipes, looking between his two friends. Then he finally answered, "Bambi."
Tuffnut burst out laughing. "Wow! What a wild and crazy Wednesday night!"
"Shut up."
Astrid smiled in good humor. "Sounds good to me, I haven't seen Bambi since I was a kid."
"Cool. We'll order some pizza, too. So don't worry about dinner."
Her smiled widened, "like I'm going to say no to free food."
He grinned, "speaking of free food," he rested the ends of the pipes on the floor. "What are you doing on the 4th of July?"
"What day is that?"
"It's a Monday."
"Probably sleeping, among other things. Why?"
"Well, every year my dad throws a party. We invite the neighbors, some of my dad's co-workers, and Gobber's gang. Dad makes some ribs on the grill and we play games and sing songs. And then at night, the 'kids' go out on Eret's boat and we watch the fireworks being shot off the pier."
"Oh wow, that sounds fun!"
"We want to invite you, and also extend the invitation to Scott and your dad."
"Oh…" She screwed up her lips. "I'm almost positive Scott will say no. He always goes drinking with Dagger—er, David on 4th of July. But…my dad might be up for it. Um, is it at your house?"
"Yeah, on our deck."
"Hmm…it might work, if we can get a wheelchair up those front few steps."
Surprise crossed over his face before he turned thoughtful. "I think we can figure something out."
"Cool! I'll let him know. It all depends on how he feels that day."
"We'd love to have you guys. What's better than enjoying the summer with your family?"
She shrugged.
He picked the pipes back up. "One other thing, are you allergic to dogs? Fishlegs is bringing Meatlug over tonight."
"Meatlug? What kind of name is that?"
"You should know by now not to ask that question." Tuff scolded.
Hiccup, on the other hand, loved to let Astrid in on all the nuances. "So Fishlegs has a cat named Meatball, and when he got the dog as a puppy, he named it Meatlog to go with the cat. The guy at Petsmart just spelled the name wrong on the dog tag."
"Oooooh…" she nodded. "While we're on the subject of names…"
Tuff butted in, "Fishlegs bought some Salmon Roe on his first trip to the store. But he stuttered and called them fish legs instead of fish eggs. Therefore, divine punishment."
"Oh that's mean." Astrid admitted.
"Ah, he's over it." Hiccup added, placing the PVC pipes in a box on an end cap. "He likes it now, even his mom calls him that."
"Hello!" Fishlegs looked in the door, just getting out of work.
"Speak of the devil!" Hiccup called with a smile.
Fishlegs frowned, "You guy were talking about me?"
"We always talk about you." Tuff snickered.
"Astrid wanted to know how you got your name."
"Oh, well you see I came to buy fish eggs—…"
"Too late, Fishface." Tuff interjected. "We already covered it."
Fishlegs pouted.
"Six o'clock already? Time just flies!" Astrid stated, with a pleasant smile.
"Are you joining us for movie night?"
"You bet! Who doesn't love some animated deer?"
"You know, this is actually your fault." Hiccup added, coming to stand in front of the counter.
"My fault?"
"You had that Disney Princess CD in the car, and I realized I hadn't seen Aladdin in forever. So I told Fishlegs, and we've been going through all the Disney films since then."
"Aww man, if I had known that, I would have joined you guys! Have you already watched Sleeping Beauty?"
"Nope, not yet!"
"Good. That's my favorite!"
"Speaking of Sleeping Beauty," Fishlegs interjected, "we should study for our art history exam."
"Summer class?" Astrid asked, considering she had been out of school for nearly two months.
"We noticed we both had to take a humanities course to graduate, so we decided to take Modern Art and Modernism together over the summer. I'm going to see Picasso's ghost haunting me in my dreams." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't get me wrong, art is nice…It's just DADA that kills me."
"Dada?"
"Just Google it sometime."
"I made flashcards." Fish stated, pulling them out of his backpack. "Do…you want to take turns?"
Astrid snatched the cards out of his hands. "I'm bored out of my mind. I'll read the title and whoever can name the artist and the year gets a point. I'll buy the winner a soda."
"I hate competitions…" Hiccup muttered, conceding anyway.
"Summer."
"Muuuuucha, 1896." They answered in unison.
"The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood."
"Kyle, 1883." Fishlegs answered.
"Pyle." Hiccup corrected.
"Pyle. Right."
"I guess you both get that point." She tallied the points on a sticky note. "The…Rakish Brigantine."
"N.C. Wyeth. 1914." Hiccup declared.
"Christiana's World,"
Fishlegs had it this time. "Andrew Wyeth, 1948."
"A Nude Descending a Staircase."
"Ugh, Marcel Duchamp….1912." They both groaned.
"Okay, what's wrong with this dude?"
"So this dude tried to enter a urinal called 'Fountain' into a major exhibition in 1912—" Hiccup started.
"But he was rejected, and his worked ended up getting printed into a magazine instead."
"Which wouldn't've mattered, except now it's considered one of the greatest pieces of art of the 20th century. Up there with American Gothic and Passage of Time."
Astrid tapped the cards against the counter and stated simply, "you guys have this covered. No need to study."
—
At 8 o'clock, Astrid headed over to Hiccup's house while he helped Gobber close up shop. His house had quickly become a second home for her, better than any other friends. Even family.
"Hey there lass," Stoick greeted as she came in. He sat at the kitchen table, various papers around him. "Just get out of work?"
"Yes, sir. Hiccup should be following behind soon." She took her shoes off at the front door. "Are you sure it's okay if I just come in like this?"
"As long as there's a car in the driveway, I don't mind if you barge in. I'm the Chief of Police, Toothless is a decent attack panther. I'm not worried."
"Oh, well, of course there's nothing to worry about. I just meant…isn't it impolite?"
Stoick roared with laughter. "What need do vikings have with manners?!"
"Again with the viking thing…" she muttered.
"You see lass, Gobber, myself, and numerous other business owners have family ties to Scandinavia. You probably do, too."
She smiled. "If the name Hofferson says anything, I might assume so."
His laughter was joyful, and almost hurt.
How long had it been since she last heard her own father laugh?
Quickly recovering, she went to Stormfly's cage to let her out. Only to find that she wasn't in there in the first place.
"Umm…" but before she could ask Stoick where she was, she heard a squawk followed by, "Astrid's here, Astrid's here."
Toothless strolled into the room with Stormfly perched on his head.
Astrid shook her head, "Oh girl, now that you can get around, you're just as lazy as you want to be!"
The bird leapt and landed on her shoulder. "Laaaaazy bones!"
Hiccup and Fishlegs came in 15 minutes later, with pizza.
"Who's hungry?!"
The assembled crowd roared in starvation.
Fishlegs held his tiny dog in hand. A black face surrounded by fuzzy white fur with bugged eyes and lopsided teeth.
"What is that?"
"It's a shit-pug." Proclaimed Fishlegs, quite proud of himself.
"I'll say."
—
Astrid forgot how sad Bambi even was. Here she was watching a fawn wander through the desolate snow filled woods and tears bit at her eyes. But she refused to cry.
It was only a movie, after all.
That is, until she heard Fishlegs choke out a sob.
"Are you crying?"
"Are you not?!" He spat back.
"Oh come on, it's a deer."
"It's not just any deer," Hiccup clarified. "It's Bambi's mom!"
"Oh Jesus, are you crying too?!"
"Shut up." He sniffed.
"I'm going to hug my mom and tell her how much I love her when I get home." Fish sobbed.
"I'm going to Skype my mom and tell her how much I love her." Hiccup also sobbed.
Astrid scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Doesn't this make you want your mom?!" Fish accused.
She grit her teeth and looked away harshly. "I never want to see that bitch's face again."
Fishlegs immediately shut up and riveted his eyes back to the screen.
Hiccup on the other hand, tried to pry at the open wound. "What happened?"
"She bailed, and that's all that matters."
Hiccup nodded once, sagely, and pretended like nothing happened.
—
The rest of the movie went well. After it ended, the group continued to talk about trivial things until midnight. Then Astrid declared that she needed to get back home.
She departed the Haddock house with a heavy heart. Every time she left, it felt like she was leaving a sanctuary. Not just because of Stormfly, but for some indescribable feeling. Hiccup's house had a warmth and lightness that she hadn't felt in a long time. Not since she was a kid at home, and everything was still okay.
When life made sense.
I kind of noticed something wasn't right
In your colorful face
It's kind of weird to me
Since you're so fine
If it's up to me your face'll change.
Astrid always cranked her music too loud. It helped to block out the anxiety ridden noises and clanking her jeep made.
If you smilin', that should set the tone
Just be limber
And If you let go, the music should groove your bones
Just remember
Sing this song with me.
She tapped her other foot idly. Despite it being so late, she knew her roommate was probably still awake. As much as wanted to get home to sleep, she dreaded the confrontation with her. This year alone, she had gone through three roommates, and the new one wasn't panning out to well.
Ain't nobody love you like I love you
You're a good girl and that's what makes me trust ya
Late at night, I talk to you
You will know the difference when I touch you.
Suddenly, the air conditioning went out and the 'check temperature' light came on. The gauge read all the way into the red. "Shit…ah…" She rubbed the dashboard. "Please please please get me home…or at least to Meijer to get coolant."
The jeep had other ideas.
As she slowed to a stop at the desolate intersection, the car shook violently, and the steering wheel refused to move. The vehicle came to a stop. No matter how much she pushed the gas, the jeep didn't budge. The engine didn't even rev.
"Great! Fantastic!"
People are so phony
Nosy cause they're lonely
Aren't you sick of the same thing?
They say so and so was dating
Love you or they're hating
When it doesn't matter anyway
Cause we're here tonight…
Astrid turned off the car, silencing JT. She pounded her fists on the steering wheel.
Steam started to billow from the hood of the car, but in the dim green glow of the traffic light, it looked like smoke.
"Oh no…no…" She whispered. Moving quickly, she pulled her keys and grabbed her phone, then got out of the car. All sorts of fluid dripped from the hood. "If there was ever a time to be a car person…" She took out her phone and called for roadside assistance. Of course, this wasn't the first time she had to get a tow, so she was used to the automated messages and prompts you had to go through just to talk to someone. Finally, finally, a real human picked up.
"Hello, Miss Hofferson?"
"Yes! Thank God, I'm stuck in the middle of the road at an intersection, my car is smoking—…"
"I regret to be the barer of bad news, but it appears that your coverage with us expired."
This could not be happening. "…what?"
"It looks like your mom is the name the account is under?"
"That's correct."
"It looks like she removed the Jeep Grand Cherokee from the coverage."
"…I just had insurance two months ago. I just had a tow!"
"This happened last month, you just missed our grace period. If you get in contact with your mom and have her add you back on, we can still cover this incident."
Astrid fought to keep her composure, but her voice trembled heavily. "I'm sorry…I don't have anyway to contact my mom…"
"Alright…" The man on the line spoke gently, trying to console her. "Are you okay? Do I need to call an ambulance?"
"No, no…I'm fine." She sniffed. "Just…just shock."
"Okay, well Miss Hofferson, I can still call a tow truck for you, if you'd like."
She didn't know what to do. There was no way she'd be able to pay for all of this without insurance. She didn't even know if she could afford insurance on her own. "I'm sorry, I need to talk with my boyfriend first. Maybe we can figure something out."
"Alright Miss Hofferson, sorry we couldn't help you. Call back if you decide on the tow truck. We can always set you up on your own account."
"Thank you, I appreciate it." And she hung up.
Completely defeated, she dropped to her rump on the road. Her car continued to smoke.
The phone screen glowed ominously. Scott's picture shone up at her, as she had to come crawling back to him. Every time she thought she could stand on her own feet, life knocked her down and she had to depend on him.
She hated herself for it. When she graduated, she had such a bright future, and she couldn't wait to spoil her parents when she became the best lawyer in New York city.
This wasn't her plans. Thousands of dollars in debt to a man she wasn't in love with anymore. An inexperienced nurse with no parents and a crappy apartment with a psychotic roommate. And now this.
God really liked shutting doors in her face.
Her finger hovered over the phone icon next to his name.
Not this time.
She backed out and went to another contact and dialed him before she lost her nerve.
"'erro?" Came Hiccup's muffled voice from the line.
"Hey, it's me…uh, I'm kind of in a jam."
She heard him spit before he spoke much clearer, "what kind of jam? Lock yourself out of your house?"
"No…My car stalled out…i-it's smoking? I think…and dripping?" She hated the way her voice gave away her fear and uncertainty.
"Okay, I can come get you. Did you call your insurance company?"
"Yeah…I'm not covered anymore. So…I—I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."
He was quiet on the other end. Then she heard his voice distantly talking to someone. Finally he responded, "where are you?"
"I'm at the intersection of Zoschke and Paw Paw."
"Well, at least you're not at a busy intersection. Just hang tight, and I'll call you back in a little bit, okay?"
"Okay…"
The phone beeped. Now all she could do was wait. She took deep breaths, doing her best to stay calm, but nothing was working. Her hands were shaking now too.
12:48.
Soon her phone rang and she answered it quickly, "Hey…"
"I'm on the road, you still there?"
"Like I could go anywhere…"
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine Hiccup, don't worry."
"I always worry about my friends. Did you call a tow truck?"
"No…I—"
"Good, I took care of it."
"…you took care of it?"
"Yeah, and my dad is sending an officer over right now to report the incident, but you won't get a ticket. Don't worry. He might get there before I do."
That warm and light feeling was returning. And she began to calm down.
"Do you have anywhere to be the next few days?"
"No, just work. Scott's busy this weekend."
"Cool, you can stay with us, since our schedules are almost the same this week."
She felt a lump in her throat. "That's super generous…but…"
"You'd come over a bunch anyway to see Stormfly. And this way you don't have to rely on anyone for rides. I know you're a strong independent woman who don't need no man."
Except she did, even if she hated to admit it.
"Unless, Scott would mind," he offered. "It is kind of weird to have your girlfriend stay at some random dude's house. I guess you could always stay with him…"
Astrid confessed something that she hadn't to anyone else. "I've never been to his house."
"You…you've been dating this guy for two years, and you've never been to his house?!"
"Nope."
"Why!? How?! That's insane!"
She shrugged, but he didn't see it. "We always hang out at mine. Something about a crazy, filthy roommate. Which in all honesty, he can't be worse than mine."
"Oh yeah, you got a new roommate, didn't you?…Cindy? Sadie? How's that going?"
She noticed he was trying to get her mind of the smoking vehicle in front of her, and she appreciated him for it. "She thinks she's a wolf."
"…what, like a furry?"
"No…okay, so…" She laughed, "I'm sitting in the living room right, and she comes up to me and goes, 'Astrid, how do you think of demons?' And I'm like, 'uh, they're bad?' And she says, 'Well, that's a misconception. Demons can be good and evil, I know because I am one.'"
"Oh nooo."
"Then she goes, 'My birth name is Elenor, and I am the princess to the demon kingdom of Bathor' or something like that, 'I am half vampire and half werewolf.'"
"Oh noooo."
"I'm not making this up! Then she says, 'my kingdom is in another dimension and I have come to this realm to warn the humans of a great darkness that is falling. But I don't want to, because I hate humans.'"
"Oh nooooo!"
"And now that she can be her true self, she crawls on the floor on all fours and barks."
"How old is she?"
"27."
"OHHHHH NOOOO!"
She laughed. Her body was relaxed and she breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's what I'm dealing with."
"Oh man, you have the worst luck."
"Coming from someone who only has one leg, I'm going to say that's pretty bad."
A tow truck pulled into the intersection. Though, it was an older one, just a hook on the bed. The driver hopped out.
"The tow truck's here, I'll see you when you get here."
"Okay, good."
"And Hiccup?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks…for everything."
She heard him hum into the phone before hanging up.
"Alright, lass, let's take a looksy." Gobber hobbled over, dressed in his pajamas.
"Oh hey," she greeted, surprised. "I didn't realize you were my tow."
"Of course!" He preached, "I do a better repair job than half the mechanics in this town!"
"What about the other half?"
He shrugged, "We're on the same level." He stepped over to the car and sniffed the air with a hum. Then he flicked his finger over the hood, tasting it with his tongue. "Yep, just as I thought."
"What?"
"You blew the radiator. Common problem. Shuts off the main computer for safety. Lucky for you, I have a spare radiator and a clear four hours on Friday."
The uncertain ground at her feet suddenly became solid as tears bid release once again. "You mean…you can fix it?"
"Sure! But only because I like you a lot, got it?"
"Would it be weird if I hugged you?"
"No lass, I don't think it'd be weird at all."