Chapter 10

Hiccup held a pencil in his left hand and began sketching across an empty page. He deliberately ignored the teacher's current lecture, finding himself too focused on his task to bother himself with schoolwork. He wanted nothing more than to move on to the next class; the only subject he eagerly wanted to attend.

Innately, he acknowledged that drawing dragons had become his major coping mechanism. It let his mind drift off, giving him an easy way to escape the reality of his situation, subsequently tempering his need to see Toothless once more. Everything else became background noise once he put lead to paper. Quick deliberate strokes soon formed into a round and bumpy head. He added a pair of wide circular eyes, a sharp toothed grin, and a lolling tongue. A bulbous body with a matching tail finished the rough sketch.

Then his mind snapped to attention. Forest green eyes narrowed in concern the moment he heard the teacher mention something that made his stomach turn.

"I will divide you all into small groups," his basic business management teacher, Mrs. Larson, announced, "The challenge will be to conceptualize a start-up business with your teammates and to build it into a successful enterprise. I expect that you would collaborate with one another and submit the best output. This project will make up half of your total grade."

Hiccup hunched his shoulders. His fingers enclosed around his pencil in a tight grip, almost breaking the thin piece of wood into two. Group work made him recall bitter memories. Past experiences made him dread it. Sitting inside a room full of people who openly ridiculed him gave him an inkling of what could be the inevitable outcome of this endeavour. He took a quick glimpse to his left only to see Fishlegs twiddling his thumbs in a nervous manner.

Perhaps he was not the only one who dreaded this sudden turn of events.

"I will call your names," Mrs. Larson's feminine voice rose above the groans and complaints of her students. "The first group will be: Snotlout, Camicazi, and Ruffnut. Gather together and discuss your plans for the project."

Hiccup exhaled a hefty breath of relief, not realizing he had been holding it in trepidation. The tension in his neck and shoulders loosened up. He knew all too well that he had just evaded a potentially difficult situation. With Snotlout grouped right off the bat, the probability that he could be grouped with someone easier to work with would be pretty high. He chanced a look behind his shoulder and saw Ruffnut and Camicazi already gathered around his cousin's seat.

Snotlout smirked obviously pleased by the gender of his chosen teammates.

"Come on, ladies," he said as he flexed his biceps, "Gather 'round your future Crown Prince and bathe in the glory of my presence. My pretty princess and Heather can also join us if they want to." He wiggled his eyebrows at Astrid who immediately scowled and avoided his gaze.

"Ugh, do I have to?" Ruffnut whined, "Honestly, I'd rather be with handsome over there..." She wiggled her fingers at Eret then pouted like a bratty kid when the object of her affections frowned in return.

"And I'm grouped with a pair of idiots," Camicazi grumbled as she rolled her eyes. The petite blonde crossed her arms in displeasure and huffed at a strand of hair hanging over her face. Her frown deepened into a scowl when Snotlout continued to flex his muscles while Ruffnut blew kisses towards Eret.

Hiccup chuckled at Camicazi's ire, feeling quite relieved that he wouldn't be the one to deal with Snotlout and Ruffnut at the same time.

"Settle down!" Mrs. Larson instructed, clapping her hands together to garner the class' interest once more, "The next group will be: Fishlegs, Eret, and Heather..."

Fishlegs' face brightened up at the mere mention of Heather's name. The husky boy quickly shot up from his seat, accidentally shoving most of his things to the floor in his haste. He waved a hand in excitement, his grin widening even more when Heather reciprocated with a small smile. Dimples showed up on the girl's rounded cheeks and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Eret, on the other hand, puffed his chest and straightened his spine to stand taller, sizing up the other male in an obvious act of machismo.

Hiccup watched it all unfold with a brow arched in interest. It was quite clear that this group's dynamics would be distinctly different from the first team. He felt a pinch of envy, wishing that he was the one grouped with Fishlegs; the only person in class who acted civil towards him.

Then he blinked, suddenly aware that his given name was called, along with two others. His green eyes widened in surprise when it finally dawned on him.

He was grouped with Astrid Hofferson.

Hiccup tilted his head towards the right only to see Astrid already standing by his side. She looked on edge, shifting anxiously on her feet as her blue eyes gazed determinedly towards the floor. Shoulders stiff and hunched forward as she clutched her bag closer to her body.

Her discomfort was palpable.

He studied her, not able to guess what to expect. He knew all too well that her behavior had been unpredictable at best. The same girl who'd cheerfully toured him around the school premises had also been trying to actively avoid him for the past four days. It boggled and piqued his interest, making him want to uncover the true reason that halted the growth of their budding friendship.

Astrid often looked hesitant whenever he tried to start a conversation. She would bite her lip and give him one word answers. Sometimes she would excuse herself, slipping away from his reach whenever Snotlout was around the vicinity.

Yet even if she noticeably tried to stay away, Hiccup noticed something that puzzled him even more.

Astrid looked absolutely miserable.

She gradually withdrew from any sort social interaction with her peers and would be visibly upset whenever Snotlout ramped up his flirting. Sometimes Hiccup would see a spark of fury behind those captivating blue eyes. Astrid would ball her hands into fists as if tempted to throw a quick jab to the solar plexus, but her rage would quickly fade away. Hidden and replaced by a look of annoyance and frustration.

Hiccup gave her a small smile, hoping that perhaps this time around her behaviour would turn out differently.

"Hey," he began, keeping the tone of his voice light and engaging, "I guess we're grouped together."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Astrid said as she shrugged her shoulders.

She looked too cautious to be in his presence, nervously darting her gaze towards the back of the room where his cousin was. The smile on his face transformed into a frown and Hiccup threaded his fingers through his thick auburn hair, pulling at the roots in disappointment.

"Look, if you have a problem with me as your group mate then maybe you should ask Mrs. Larson to place you in another team."

Astrid's eyes widened, "Hiccup, I don't..."

"Its fine," he cut her off with a bite to his voice, "I'm used to people treating me like shit anyway."

Her face turned pale as she stared at him in shock. Her hesitation soon replaced by utter distress. Hiccup heard her mention his name several times but he ignored her, deciding to note down the instructions written on the board instead. He was used to rejection, used to people pushing him away, and doing projects on his own.

He would just add Astrid's name to the ever growing list of people who had disappointed him in the end.

A hand sharply prodded Hiccup on his shoulder, making him jolt in his seat. Cocking his head to the side, he saw Tuffnut Thorston standing beside a still stricken Astrid. The guy's lanky arms were crossed together, his mouth twisted into a sneer.

"I just had to be grouped with you, the missing foot guy," he said.

"Yeah, I'm so lucky," Hiccup's said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "being grouped with people who hate me and all that shit."

"I don't hate you..." Astrid spoke softly.

He heard the sincerity in her voice but he felt so damn tired of dealing with bullies and petty high school politics.

"Right," Hiccup scoffed, "as if you haven't been deliberately avoiding me all week..."

Astrid flinched, her guilty conscience clearly etched in her expression. She hugged herself, fingers digging into the flesh of her arms. This time she looked at him straight in the eyes.

"I know I have been avoiding you for the past several days," she confessed in a pleading tone, "but please believe me when I say that I have a valid reason why. I don't hate you, Hiccup... I never did."

She looked so upset and yet she kept her feelings at bay - a testament to her fortitude and resilience. Even if he resented her actions, something in her expression made his heart ache.

Hiccup couldn't help feeling conflicted. He knew he was sick of being ignored and avoided like the plague. Yet even with all her faults, he couldn't deny that he still wanted to be near her, that he still felt attracted to her, and found her beautiful beyond compare. A part of him wanted to give her a chance, thinking that perhaps they could still work together even just for one project.

Yet past experiences made him hesitant to trust someone whose motives he couldn't clearly figure out.

Tuffnut shrugged and flicked his finger at one of his dreadlocks.

"Look, I don't care about all your bickering but group work really isn't my thing," he said in a bored drawl, "Do whatever you want. I'll fund the whole project. Just put my name in when it's submitted. With Astrid on the team I'm sure it won't turn out to be a total disaster."

The Thorston twin shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking away...

"Fine," Hiccup scowled then spoke up in a clear voice, "I don't need to work with idiots anyway."

Tuff halted mid-step then slowly turned himself around.

"What did you say?" he demanded with a scornful twist of his mouth.

Astrid looked at the new student in horror. "Did you just call Tuff an idiot?"

"Well, I didn't really plan it," Hiccup hissed right back at her, "It just blurted out of my mouth."

He rubbed the back of his neck, chalking up his blunder to being born as a sarcastic smart ass with the uncanny ability spout bullshit at the most inappropriate times. Honestly, he could deal with Astrid's refusal to work with him, but he won't let someone like Tuffnut Thorston steal grade credits by dumping all the hard work on his lap.

Hiccup prepared himself, recalling every lesson in his martial arts training just in case he needed to block a sudden punch to the face.

Tuffnut marched forward towards the new student's seat. "What did you say?" he repeated with a growl.

Hiccup snorted.

Sometimes bullies were way too easy to predict.

"I said that maybe the reason why you don't want to help out is because you don't have the mental capacity to do so."

Astrid stared at Hiccup with pure panic in her eyes. "You idiot," she mouthed at him, "Do you want to die?"

Hiccup shrugged and gave her a nervous, yet cheeky grin. A part of him agreed that, yes, he was acting too carelessly. Call it male pride. Call it spontaneous stupidity. Call it ingenuity. He was mostly bluffing, but at least he had garnered Tuffnut's complete attention.

"I'll beat you with my face if I have to," the Thorston twin glowered, "I know I look like a hippie because of my dreads but I'm not fucking stupid."

"Then prove it." Hiccup laid down the challenge, "Help me out with the project and show me what you are made of."

For a moment, the two males silently glared at one another, clashing in an intense battle of wills. Then Astrid gasped in surprise when Tuffnut Thorston sat down on an empty chair, giving in rather than instigating a fist fight.

"Fine," Tuffnut cracked his knuckles, "I'm in."

Hiccup raised his brow, quite astonished that his bluff worked. Then he felt a sharp slap across the back of his nape. Looking back, he saw Astrid smirk at him.

"I'm in," she also announced.

Hiccup's jaw dropped at her declaration, "What?"

She settled her hand on one hip and cocked her head to the side, "Well, someone needs to keep you in line and make sure you won't do stupid decisions."

"I'm not an idiot," Tuff complained with a pout.

"I wasn't talking to you," Astrid smiled and lightly punched the twin on the shoulder, "So are we going to start our business plan or are we going to grumble all day long?"

Hiccup gazed at his teammates with a sense of wonder. He did not expect this outcome but he embraced it nonetheless.

"Great," he laughed and spread his arms, "Let's get started."

To be continued...

A/N: This scene occurred on the same day Stoick was confronted by his council. I will upload short chapters from now on unless I get struck by inspiration. I was stuck on the second part of this story but I don't wait for another week until I get it done so here's it is. I will upload the second part maybe two days from now. Have a great day everyone!