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Chapter Eight : Choices

A twenty one year old Hayden Haddock laid on the bed in his room. His home was a small two story house, a total of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a single kitchen along with a small living room. It felt empty without his father, and he was still recovering from Afghanistan. Midday sun shone through the window… He groaned, realizing there was nothing to eat.

When Steven passed away, Hayden inherited everything, including debts. Unable to find a job, and unable to pay off debts. Who wanted an unstable and crippled man working for them? No one. Sure there were finance support groups. Emotion support groups. Some other kind of group therapy here and there, but what he really needed was a job. He sold the family furniture, savoring every dime and dollar and immediately putting it towards food and debt payment.

And he finally found one, a mechanic's position at an auto-shop. After working for several months, and eventually paying off some of the smaller debts, Hayden was finally able to afford refurnishing the house.

"Hey Haddock, Boss wants to see you in his office!" Agnar, a co-worker, announced.

"Alright!" Hiccup shouted back, and wiped his grimy hands on a towel nearby. He had been tearing an engine apart, cleaning each individual piece, then putting it back together. Hiccup tossed the towel on his shoulder, and approached the office, opening the door. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

A middle aged man with flaming red hair and acid green eyes sat in a leather chair behind a wooden desk. "Yes. Please, have a seat." He gestured to two upholstered chairs.

Hiccup opened his mouth and closed it again, then finally found the right words to say. "Uh, with all due respect Sir, I'd rather not get the chairs dirty."

"Oh, right. Very well then." The man said, and stood up before walking around the edge of the desk towards him, then leaned back on it with palms on the desk. "I understand that you've been looking for money, Haddock."

Hiccup nodded urgently, thinking about the month's bills and the other debts he still owed. "Yes Sir... that's why I have this job."

"I have a proposition for you, Mr. Haddock. You see, my other associates and I require a man of your… caliber." The man said, and Hiccup was catching on to where this was going.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, and thought it over. Reward for turning them in? Yes. Will he be out of a job? Yes. Should he accept?

"What do you need." The boss grinned madly, and gave him a slip of paper. Hiccup read the paper, and looked up at the boss. "Are you sure?"

"Not at all. That is only the first target. The second and third are expected to have more."

'I'm defecting.' Hiccup thought to himself. 'Damn. What's more important. Money, or morals.'

"If you're having second thoughts, you can walk out of here." the Boss said, rubbing his palms together.

A very tempting offer. Hiccup fought against himself for a moment… "I'm in." He said firmly.

"Good. Call me Dagur." And with that handshake, they both knew that in the end they'd betray the other.

Hiccup sat in the library at a computer cubicle, cycling through the files on the USB that the Hamada brothers had given him. A video file began playing, from the perspective of a street cam, and he followed the motion of a black van traveling during the night. He looked at the date, and recognized it to be the night that his home had fallen victim to arson. Toothless stared at the screen, growling slightly when he saw Hiccup's scowl.

VIDEO:

The van parked in a neighbor's driveway, and a masked man opened the side door, then jumped out with canisters under his arms. Hiccup would have to thank Hiro again for the HD quality. From the camera's perspective, the side mirror of the van reflected a small amount of light from a nearby streetlight, allowing anyone with the video to see clearly that Agnar was driving the van.

Hiccup scowled, remembering his 'encounter' with Agnar after the incident. The bastard gave up Dagur's name in a heartbeat. A flash of the other man's bloodied face entered his mind, and he shook his head to clear the thought. He rubbed Toothless' head as he watched the video.

"Thought I'd find you here." A voice said from behind. He stood up quickly and whirled around, covering the computer screen. It was Tuffnut.

"Oh, it's you." Hiccup said, relieved. "How's it going?" He shook his hand, and gestured to the seat next to him.

"It's been better." Tuff said with a grimace while sitting down. "I-uh… Do you get nightmares?" His tone was low, and Hiccup knew the tone all too well.

After sitting again, the auburn haired man nodded, and said dryly, "I'm going to sound like a hotline commercial… but it really does help to talk about them."

"...That's why I came to you." Hiccup looked at him in surprise, and arched a brow.

"Me?" He asked, gesturing to himself, and turned back to the computer screen, closing out of the video player. Tuffnut nodded. "I-I'm all ears then." Toothless was laying against the cubicle wall, but perked up and trotted over to Tuffnut.

"I have nightmares of working in Afghanistan." He paused. "But instead of seeing wounded soldiers or rescued people, I see my sister…" Tuffnut's hands shook slightly, and he had to grip them together to stop the shaking. "To see my sister in the worst conditions I've seen for victims… it terrifies me." Toothless nudged the blonde man's hand, and he patted the dog lightly.

Hiccup reached a hand forward, resting it on the other man's shoulder. "That's why we served, Tuffnut. To protect people from that fate." He turned back to the screen, and logged off of the computer. "I would never let anyone else suffer the same fate I did."

Tuff glanced at his watch, then leaned back in the chair to look up at the lights, and sighed."I guess that made me feel a little better. Thanks, Hayden." Tuffnut stood up, and patted himself down to make sure he still had his phone and wallet.

"If you need to talk again, you can find me in the abandoned subway tunnel near Raven's Point Bridge." Hiccup said.

"Thanks again, Hayden." They shook hands, and Tuff asked. "Hey, didn't you have a backpack with you last time we met?"

"Yeah it should be right," he turned around and gestured to the cubicle corner, "here." It wasn't there. He had left it at Astrid's. Hiccup unplugged the USB and stuffed it in his pocket, and scrambled to pick up his staff. "I guess Astrid has all my stuff."

"Astrid?" Tuff questioned.

"She-uh… let me stay the night. She forced me to, actually." He ran a hand through his auburn hair, and let out a small chuckle. Toothless snorted, and grinned at Hiccup's slightly flushed face.

"Sounds like her. Well, I'm gonna head back home, I have Game Of Thrones to catch up on."

They shared a laugh. "Alright then, see you around, Tuff." They bade each other goodbyes, and left the library in different directions.

Astrid had been watching netflix, studying, and a little bit of cleaning during the course of the morning. Her thoughts usually went back to Hiccup, prompting her to shake her head to clear it. Currently, she was lying across the couch, feet propped up on the arm rest, with a netflix show on.

Her gaze shifted to the backpack sitting propped up against the wall, and she realized that Hiccup had left it by mistake. Another reason to see him then, she decided.

A few minutes passed, and curiosity got the better of her. Astrid got to her feet leisurely, and padded over to the backpack. She was surprised by the weight, weighing much less than she had initially thought. As soon as she set it on the kitchen table, a knock sounded at the door.

Astrid peeked through the eyehole, and saw Hiccup standing in the hallway, dressed the same as earlier, but had a worried look. She opened the door, and placed a hand on her hip. "Want to tell me why you left like that?"

His eyes widened slightly at her tone. "N-no… Not really." He glanced through the doorway, and saw his backpack on the table. "Did you go through my stuff?" He asked in a small voice.

She stared at him for another moment, before answering truthfully. "No, I was about to though." They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before she asked. "Hiccup, do you trust me?"

A lopsided smile appeared at his lips, speaking louder than words. However, he still said "yes."

Astrid smiled, and he gave a small grin. "Good, because I need a favor." She let him inside, and the duo sat across from each other at the table, while Toothless lied down beside the couch. Hiccup then moved the backpack off the table to clear up some space, letting it slump against his leg before turning his attention back to her. "I need you to be my boyfriend."

Toothless perked up, and barked a laugh while Hiccup sputtered like a rusted car engine. "I-I'm sorry, w-what!?"

Astrid face palmed harshly, and explained. "My mom's inviting me to Thanksgiving dinner and she wants me to bring a 'boyfriend,'" She used air quotes around the word, "home." He gave her a disbelieving look, in utter shock with his jaw to the floor. She smiled sheepishly at him.

They sat in silence as Hiccup tried to wrap his mind around what she was asking, then he glanced at Toothless and saw him nod with a wolfish smile. He leaned back in the chair, and met her bright blue eyes with his own. "Alright… I'll help."

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In summary of the week and a half that I've been away: One AP US History CBA (like an official school district test), one AP US History exam, one AP Calculus exam, one english essay ( exam grade), an English CBA, a Physics CBA, and an astronomy exam. I took the PSAT today, which I think was a big waste of time.

In other news, GotB, FotS, and Dragon's Flame should all be getting another chapter this weekend. Since I had a crap ton of tests last week, these next couple weeks should relatively be slow weeks, with only minor grades like quizzes and practice essays.