The next few months passed by in the blink of an eye for most of the student. Week in week out it was work mixed with the occasional party and not much else. The gang continued to work on their courses with the occasional study session in the library and their, now, weekly routine of watching a movie at Hiccup and Fishlegs' dorm. The November test week passed without much of an effect on any of them as it was a very laid back test week, being the first for all the courses.

Soon after Snoggletog passed as well; with almost no one going home to see parents and family due to the fact that the winter came on hard that year and many people couldn't make it off campus. So they hunkered down together in the dorms and common rooms of the dorms for the snow and ice to pass for a week or so. Eventually, February had rolled around and they were beginning to wind down before their first holiday of the year they would get to spend off campus.

Over the few months time, the gang tightened up together becoming much better friends and much more tolerant of each other quirks till eventually, no one seemed to notice Snotlout's bragging or Tuffnut's idiotic behaviour or Astrid's violent (albeit toned back for her friends) gestures. They had truly grown into a very close friend group. But out of all people in the group, it was Hiccup and Astrid who had grown the closest of all.

Astrid found herself telling Hiccup things she had only ever told to Ruffnut before as she began to regard him more and more as one of her best friends, if not her best friend. Speaking of her best friend, Astrid had also noticed that Ruff had begun to spend more and more time with Fishlegs and Astrid had found herself smiling a couple of times at the thought of Ruff finally getting in a relationship with a guy who truly cared for her as a person; it was what her friend deserved. Anyways, Astrid and Hiccup had become really comfortable with each other over the course of the moths and it was not uncommon for Hiccup to show up to Astrid's clubs to show his best friend some support in her practice and even the few races she had participated in and won, of course. Everything seemed like it was leading towards the coupling off of two members of the gang who everyone else had seen as inevitable for the longest time. But of course; life had to get in the way.

Astrid's heart was beating heavily and her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest as she crossed over the finish line. The coach blew the whistle and wandered over to her as she recovered from her run. Her legs felt like lead but that was to be expected when she had just run 3000 metres.

"Well done Miss Hofferson," the coach's voice boomed, "you were a whole 5 seconds faster than your personal best. Keep up the good work and you will be ready for state races in no time." Astrid smiled on the outside at the praise but secretly within she was scolding herself. She knew she could do much better she just had to work harder to achieve it.

When she had finally recovered enough to think a bit more she looked up towards the stands and noticed something strange. Hiccup wasn't there. The spot where he usually sat alone to watch her run and cheer her on was empty, she felt a small tinge of sadness in her chest but it quickly went away. "He probably had some work to do," Astrid thought to herself before the coaches whistle pulled back her attention to the task at hand.

"Ready to go again Hofferson?" He asked.

She was.

Thirty minutes later a very tired and very sweaty Astrid wandered out of the fenced of racetrack towards the changing rooms that were situated in a large block about 100 metres away from the track. Her mind wandered away from where she was and she began to think about why Hiccup hadn't shown up to watch her practice. She was sure that he was just busy doing work but usually, when he had work to do he would just come and do it outside whilst watching her, perhaps he was ill, he had to be ill, there didn't seem like any other reason he would blow her off. She resolved to go to his dorm after she got changed to check on him as she pushed open the glass doors of the changing block.

She headed towards the girls changing room, down the long room that resembled the inside of an indoor pool as it linked on to the schools' fitness centre which had a swimming pool in it. Astrid was about to turn the corner when she stopped, seeing two people just down the hall from her. One, she recognised immediately as Hiccup and the other she realised, after a moment, was Heather. Hiccup was pressed up against the wall, his face hidden to Astrid, with Heather's arms on either side of him. He had a bundle of daffodils in his hand that was drooped down at his side. Astrid perhaps would have noticed how uncomfortable his stance looked but she could only focus on their heads as Heather leaned in and kissed Hiccup (the Hiccup she thought liked her and whom she liked) on the lips. She didn't need to stay any longer.

2 hours earlier

"I can't do it any more Fish," Hiccup said as he laid out on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Fishlegs was leaning over his desk working on some of his Chemistry work whilst half listening to Hiccups rambles. "I can't pretend like all I want to be with Astrid is a friend… Not when I want so much more…"

"Why don't you just tell her then Hicc," Fish replied absentmindedly.

"How can I tell her. I mean what if she doesn't like me back? What if it ruins our friendship?" Hiccup said, voicing his deepest worries out loud to which Fishlegs audibly scoffed.

"We are talking about the same Astrid right?" He asked rhetorically, "the Astrid who quite clearly has a crush on you."

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"For someone who constantly calls Snot a muttonhead you are just as bad of a muttonhead," Fishlegs replied with a laugh, "seriously dude, just think about how Astrid acts around you compared to the rest of us. It is more than obvious that she is into you."

"That is just because I am closer to her than everyone else is," Hiccup said.

"Exactly," Fishlegs replied, "And the reason she let you get that close to her and know so much about her is that she likes you."

"As a friend."

"A more than a friend."

"I don't know." Hiccup replied sceptically.

"When have I ever lied to you dude?" Fishlegs asked, "Just think about it all." With that Fishlegs got up from the desk and headed towards the door,

"I'll give you some free time so you can ponder over it... and, hopefully, just ask her out already."

Hiccup did think it over. In fact, he thought it over and over and over and over again up until the point where the only thoughts in her head were Astrid-related thoughts. Her face, her laugh, her smile, her personality, her sense of humour, the way she showed affection bu punching him lightly. All the things he like, no he loved about her. And how she acted towards him, the jokes, the openness, the messing about. But surely they were just friends right. She couldn't like him as anything more. I mean he was Hiccup and she was Astrid. He was a screw-up and she was perfect. He was the nerdy kid and she was the beautiful athlete. But he was the nerdy kid who the beautiful athlete always talked to; the screw-up who the perfect girl always made time for; and the Hiccup who Astrid always opened up to.

She couldn't like him, she couldn't, but maybe, she could.

By the time he had quieted his mind, it was almost 8'o'clock and he had missed almost all of Astrid's practice. But in all this time he had come up with one revolutionary thought. Perhaps Astrid Hofferson did like him. It was a gamble but all the evidence Fishlegs had given him and his mind had come up with pointed towards that exact conclusion. That the girl of his dreams actually liked him back the same way he liked her. It made him both incredibly happy and extremely nervous at the same time. As he walked alone across campus towards the changing rooms where he had decided to surprise her and talk to her about his feelings, he picked a few of the newly flowering daffodils from around the campus (they were Astrid's favourite), gathered up every ounce of courage he had in his body, and walked into the changing block. Taking up a position leant against the wall outside the girls changing room.

After about ten minutes he looked down at his phone. "Astrid's practice just finished, she should be here any minute now." He thought to himself, "I hope that the daffodils keep her from killing me long enough to explain why I didn't show up." A second later, he heard the door to the girls changing room click open and a black-haired girl who he had very little like for came wandering out. She saw the flowers in Hiccup's hand and immediately turned to face him.

"Oh Hiccup, how did you know daffodils are my favourite?" She said batting her eyelids at him and drawing closer, "You are such a romantic."

"They're not for you Heather," he said calmly back at her although the situation was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. She had changed her position so her arms were either side of his head, boxing him in."They're for Astrid."

"Oh, just forget about that slag," Heather said venomously back as she leaned in and shoved her lips onto his. He was too shocked by what Heather had just called Astrid to stop her. But he didn't, he would never, kiss back.

Astrid spun around on her heel. She needed to get out of there. Her emotions were running wild and she could hardly think, as tears started to well up in her eyes. But none fell. "Hoffersons don't cry." She thought he liked her, she had fallen for him and there he was. Missing her practice to hand out with and then kiss Heather, the girl she disliked most in the world. She knew there must be a reasonable explanation but she didn't want to hear it right now, not from him. She needed something else, someone else.

She headed back over to the racetrack and immediately spotted him. Eret. He was muttonhead much like Snotlout; six foot one with massive bulging muscles; the kind of guy who would be on the rugby team and be followed around by a bunch of lackeys; the kind of guy who would treat you poorly and not care about your emotions; the kind of guy who only wanted sex from girls and only dated girls for their bodies.

He was the exact opposite of her type.

He was everything Hiccup was not.

But everything Hiccup was not, was what she needed right now.

Well this hurt to write. Guess we will have to wait a little longer for Hiccup and Astrid to get together and that sweet, sweet Hiccstrid fluff we all love.

Comments are really appreciated as I like to know what you guys think about the story. :)

Till the next one,

-Pluckycross