Where has the time gone?
So I lost my USB drive and I really didn't wanna have to write it on the computer, restarting it, but YOLO. I had this idea to make Jack have a Guardian-type thingy where he could only be seen by Hiccup and Astrid, but I realized that his adoptive mother had spoken to him.
Happy Birthday.
Jack
After taking fish to the dragons, she did everything she could to help around the house. She knew that they had been overstaying their welcome. Although it was much better to have people scowl at you than to have them beat you and lock you up like her father had.
Again, she shuddered at the thought of it. One time, when she had been eight, he had locked her up for two weeks with only bread and water. It was only after she yelled for help for an hour straight once he left the house that bucket found her screaming in the cellar. After he brought her father into it, there was no hope of getting help. As he had motioned from behind Bucket that he'd beat her extra if she told him anything. She had ended up telling him that she locked herself in, and him making remarks on what a "clumsy child" she was.
She never wanted that to happen again. That was the main reason that she had gone with Hiccup. The thought of it shook her. Maybe she was only there because she didn't see him as a threat. She didn't know if she was trying to make him or herself feel better. Did she love him? She didn't know. Maybe it was just a friendship. Maybe it was even less. Maybe she was just intoxicated by the dragon rider.
Astrid pondered these questions. She didn't know what might happen. Would she, gender roles taken into consideration, be forced to marry? She wanted to wait a while before doing anything. She had scars of her own topped with bruises. If she could, she would hide that fact from him forever. She didn't want him to be caught up in the whole mess. She didn't want to hurt this boy, whether she loved him or not. He was so helpless and fragile and words alone could trigger his injuries. The boy was also a genus. He could figure just about every problem that had a solution. That was useful. Maybe she did like him.
Once she had finished all of her work for the day, she tip-toed up the creaky stairs. After she knocked on the door gently, she heard some quick shuffling and a weak, "come in." Hiccup was fixing his hair, making an attempt to look halfway decent. "Hello beautiful," he croaked out. Astrid was annoyed with it, but gave a plastered smile. He was always trying to be sweet and kind to her, and she would admit (along with a little blushing) that he was a good kisser.
"Hey Hiccup," she greeted him happily. She supposed that her current situation was much better than her previous. She was happy to be there, caring for him, rather than caring for her father's needs. Much like Hiccup, her mother had gone away when she was a baby. But she wasn't dead. Astrid didn't think she was anyway. She had gone on a mission to barter, and when the ship got back, her crewmates insisted that she had stayed by choice in some faraway land.
Ever since that point her father had assumed that she was dead, and gone forever. After that, he developed a problem with mead and ale, drinking as much as his gigantic body could hold. It changed him in a strange way. While most drunks would pass out, he would bark orders and threaten to whip her. When he was completely sober, he would cry and drink more.
"Astrid?" She had dazed off into her visions, staring at the wall. "Oh, uh, yeah?" Hiccup frowned concernedly, "You okay?" She turned away, embarrassed, and tried to decide whether or not to tell him of her father. "Um, yeah." She stood silent another moment. "Hiccup?" "yeah?" Astrid's eyes almost started to water. Her voice cracked, "can I talk to you about something?" "Sure," Hiccup said unknowingly.
He moved to the side of the bed and patted a spot for her to sit. She lied down and put her arms around him. "oh," he blushed, "I thought we were going to just be talking. She looked up into his eyes and he immediately turned his expression to one of concern, "What's wrong Astrid?"
She sniffled, "I have to tell you something – a secret." Hiccup stroked her arm with his thumb. "Okay." "My dad was abusing me," she lifted her shirt a small amount. Hiccup immediately got the wrong idea. "He didn't! You're pregnant? That bastard is gonna pay," Astrid couldn't help but giggle a little, "No no no, Hiccup." She lifted her shirt a bit farther to expose scars and bruises that she was covered in. Hiccup gasped. He didn't know what to say. He began to cry into her shoulder.
"Astrid," he sniffled, "you should have told someone." A tear ran down her cheek, "I couldn't." Hiccup looked up at her, "Why not? He was hurting you Astrid. Don't let anyone hurt you." She paused for a moment, "He threatened to kill me if I did." Hiccup gave her an expression of horror. "When we get out of here, we're going back to Berk."
Astrid made attempts to protest, thinking that the medicine was getting to his head, but it was no use. "That piece of shit will get what's coming to him." Hiccup felt a burst of strength and began to comfort Astrid by wrapping his arms around her. When she began to cry, he pulled her in towards his chest. The two fell asleep.
Hiccup awoke to a blonde girl sleeping next to him. For a moment, he was scared, not knowing what had happened the previous night. His mind defogged itself and he sighed in relief, but still curious, he lifted his head to see whether they both had their clothes on.
The sudden movement awoke Astrid. She looked up at him, smiling. "Hi," she giggled before burying herself back into Hiccup's shirt. Hiccup blushed. The door opened, and just as quickly shut, as Jack stood outside, "sorry."
Astrid stood up and straightened out her skirt. As she walked towards the door, she worked on quickly fixing her hair. When she got to the door, Jack was gone.
Jack's breathing was shallow, and his throat pained at the sight again. He was falling in love with somebody who already had someone. There was Ivar, and he missed him very much. He didn't even know if the boy was alive. Jack sat down and laid his head on the table. He had been sleeping on the floor recently, and that wasn't all that great for his back. He began sobbing softly. Why were the gods doing this to him? First of all, did he even believe in the gods?
He sniffled. Why was he even alive? He should have been dead with the rest of his family. He should have been gone. As soon as he picked up footsteps on the stairs, he left the house, going into the cellar. The storm had died down, but there was still three feet of snow on the ground. He cursed himself and the gods that he believed to be nonexistent for his sexuality.
He scoured the cupboards, finding that, even though he was hungry, he didn't want to eat. In fact, this had been happening for a while now. People had commented on his weight. It seemed to be spiraling down, but he liked it. It sometimes made him feel weak, but on the inside he felt strong for resisting the urge to eat.
He wondered how long it would take of him not eating for him to die. He didn't necessarily want to die; it just looked like the only way to get away from all of this. He didn't want to take his own life. If he could somehow make it look like an accident…
He missed Ivar. Jack curled up into a ball in the corner of the room and cried. When the cellar door opened, he ducked behind a barrel, hoping that whoever it was would leave soon. "Jack?" Astrid's voice called out. He tried not to make a sound, but after a moment of sitting, he unconsciously rocked into a broom behind him.
Astrid immediately came over, and he cursed to himself again as he tried to clear the tears from his face. He couldn't cry. That was not a Vikings' way, especially not a male Viking. He wasn't a Viking. He was weak. He stood up for Astrid to plainly see.
She almost jumped at the sight of him in the dimly lit room. "Come back to the house Jack," she pleaded, "Hiccup feels well enough to walk, and we think that we're leaving soon." Jack was very happy to hear those words. He wanted to leave that awful place badly.
His question was: was the rest of the world better? Was he going to find a better place? Were they going to find his Ivar?
Being infatuated with multiple people proved to be a problem, especially since he didn't know whether or not one of them was alive. He very much hoped that he could leave with them, but if they found Ivar, he'd go with that boy to the ends of the earth. He couldn't bother Hiccup. He liked Astrid.
Upon meeting in their room, the three teens discussed leaving. When Hiccup asked Jack the question, "How do you want to go?" he froze. Should he just tell the woman? Would she let him leave? Would he have to fake his death? Maybe just disappear?
"Uh," he stopped. He was old enough to make his own decisions, and she wasn't even his real mother! "I'm going to tell her, but if she doesn't like it, I'm going to have to be ready to run."
"Pack a bag," Hiccup smiled, "We leave tonight."
When you just can't even
Why are they just leaving now.
Like
Seriously
I have issues.
