It has been two months since Hiccup was rescued. He would still cry sometimes and have horrible nightmares, but he was getting a little bit better each week. He still wasn't himself, but he started leaving his hut more often. He still wouldn't tell them what happened, but the gang has been patient and has never forced him to tell. Hiccup appreciated that a lot.
Astrid has also been sending terror mails to Stoick once every two weeks updating him about how Hiccup was doing.
Just when they thought he was getting better, things took a turn for the worse.
One day, they were having lunch at the clubhouse. Hiccup still didn't eat much, so he only ate a few bites and just stared at his food while the rest of the gang were chatting happily. And then Snotlout decided to speak.
"You know what? This is getting really annoying Hiccup! It's been two months already! Just tell us what those pirates did to you! Is it so hard?!" He shouted.
Everyone looked up.
"We have been really patient with you, but this is too much! I mean it isn't so hard to tell somebody what happened! Just tell us already! You are wasting our time!" Snotlout continued to shout.
"Snotlout!" Fishlegs yelled.
"What is wrong with you, Snotlout?! Hiccup will tell us when he is ready! Don't force him!" Astrid yelled.
Hiccup was silent. He didn't say a word.
"I'm just really annoyed with him right now! And maybe Hiccup is just overreacting. Whatever happened to him was probably nothing serious! He is just a big baby who can't handle anything." Snotlout said angrily.
Hiccup's eyes widened.
"You know, maybe you deserved it! Maybe you deserved whatever those pirates did to you in that ship!" Snotlout said without thinking.
The gang gasped.
"How could you say that!" Tuffnut said.
"Yeah, you don't even know what happened! What if it was something really really bad?!" Ruffnut said angrily.
Just when Astrid was about to speak, Hiccup banged his fist on the table and got up.
"How could you say such a thing, Snotlout! You have no idea how much I've suffered in that ship! You have no idea what they did to me! Why did you have to say that?! Why?! Nobody deserves to go through what I did. Even the most horrible person in the world don't deserve to go through such torture!" Hiccup shouted and glared at Snotlout. He was starting to tremble.
"Yeah, I have no idea what happened because you refuse to tell us! Just man up and tell us already!" Snotlout shouted back.
Hiccup was so angry, he walked to Snotlout and pushed him with all the strength he got and screamed. But Snotlout didn't fight back because he was shocked. This was the first time Hiccup has ever done such a thing, so it surprised him. The rest of the gang just sat there and watched them in shock. Hiccup was about to leave the clubhouse when he spoke.
"I hate you, Snotlout! You hear me? I hate you! I hate you so much!" Hiccup shouted and left the clubhouse with Toothless.
When he left, Astrid finally spoke.
"Look at what you've done, Snotlout! What is wrong with you? You just had to make things worse, huh Snotlout?! Don't you dare go near him ever again!" She yelled and left the clubhouse to look for Hiccup. The others glared at Snotlout and left, leaving him alone in the clubhouse. He sighed.
"What have I done?" He said to himself.
Hiccup was back in his hut. He was screaming and banging his fists on the wall until it hurt. He rested his forehead on the wall and started to cry. His desk was right next to him, so he kicked it with anger. And then something dropped.
It was a knife. When he saw it, a memory suddenly came back to him.
He was 15 years old. It was before he found Toothless. He was in his room sitting on the floor against his bed. He was crying with a knife in hand. It was the day he shot down Toothless but nobody believed him. It was also the day he finally gave up, because he just couldn't take it anymore. He was going to end his life.
He was about to reach out for the knife when Astrid came in.
"Hiccup? A-are you okay?" She asked. Hiccup turned around to look at her. He quickly hid the knife with his right foot. His eyes were puffy and his face was wet from the crying. Hiccup shook his head. He was not okay. His lips started to quiver. Astrid approached him and hugged him.
"Don't listen to Snotlout. Don't listen to whatever he said. Okay?" She let him cry on her shoulder.