After a few years, things were going well for Hiccup in the city; he had made some new friends in Heather, Dagur, his new housemates, and some of the other guys in school. He'd also settled in well, joined a few after school clubs, one of his favorites was the art club which was on Thursdays after school. That was where he'd met one of his new friends, Amir, who'd, moved to the city from Sweden a few years ago, he was also friends with one of Heather's closest friends, Elizabeth, she was a pretty funny person to hang around with, and she had what Hiccup thought was a cool hair color, mint green, it was dyed of course, but it looked awesome. The school itself was pretty small, but it was a good small, the teachers were fun and there was one teacher that he got on well with, his gym teacher, Mr. Treacherous, though everyone called him Mr. A. He knew Hiccup's mother, because they were in the same classes in school, so Hiccup thought it was pretty cool, especially because he found out that his mother wasn't very good at sports either. Right now, he was sat in the library with Heather and Amir, and they were all getting a start on the homework that they had been given that day, and everyone had their headphones in listening to a form of music that they liked, when Hiccup felt something hitting his shoulder and he turned to find Amir joining them.
"Hey Amir." He smiled.
"Hey Hendrick, what you guys doing?"
"Just homework." He shrugged. "Nothing special."
"Oh, well I was wondering if one of you could help me with my university application." He asked them, looking at the group.
"Of course, pull up a chair and we'll all give you a hand." Elizabeth told him as she put her workbook away, and Heather done the same, looking at Amir and waiting for him to be settled.
They spent the rest of their free time helping Amir with his application, they had all applied for the same university and they were going for a talk at the university and a tour for their grounds, Heather was driving since Hiccup was still saving for a car and Amir and Elizabeth had still yet to pass their lessons. Everyone was excited that they were now finishing high school together, despite not starting together, but right now, they didn't care. But there was another reason why they were excited, in a few weeks Hiccup would be turning eighteen, and whilst they all knew what to do for his birthday, Hiccup hadn't given it any thought at all. When Amir's application was finished, they all headed down to the homeroom so that he could give it in before the deadline of the end of school that day, then they made a mad dash towards their last class. Luckily they were all in the same class, and that turned out to be Hiccup's favorite - Art. As they all sat down, the listened to the teacher discuss their topic, before they got started. Within minutes of finishing time, Hiccup was finished with his drawings and he waved goodbye to his friends as his teacher let him leave.
Hiccup walked outside to where he saw Vladamir's car pull up and he smiled, jumping into the passenger seat. One thing that had definitely improved over the past few years was Hiccup's ability to understand Vladamir's accent.
"Goud day?" Vladamir asked as he drove.
"Yeah it was alright, sent off my university application, so just waiting now."
"Vou'll get in." Vladamir told him. "Your sister will pull some strings if you ask her."
"I know, that's one of the perks of having your oldest as your lecturer if I do get onto the course." Hiccup laughed. "Anyway, are we off to the gym now?"
"Dah, and you've got va shift in vork tonight, remember?"
"Unfortunately." Hiccup laughed.
"Vust von't make it too vate, you vknow vhat your sister iz like."
"I do." Hiccup laughed. "Are you guys nervous about your graduation on Monday?"
"Not veally." Vladamir shrugged. "More relieved vhan anythink." He smiled at the thought. "Vit's good vhat we all have jobs afterwards too."
"Yep." Hiccup laughed. The rest of the drive to the gym was quiet, and they got there to find Ezekial, Carmen, Dagur and Aster already there. Hiccup remained with the guys as they all hit the weights, but Hiccup and Vladamir hit the treadmill first.
Meanwhile, the years had certainly been kind to Astrid, in the way of her looks; she was still the most beautiful girl in school, and now that they were in their final year, she and Ruffnut practically ruled the school. Yet Astrid was still haunted by the fact that she lost Hiccup, and Ruffnut could see it. Astrid hadn't dated anyone since then, even though there were some pretty hot guys in their year, whilst Ruffnut had finally settled on a relationship with Finlay 'Fishlegs' Ingerman, after having a relationship with nearly every guy in their year and above.
"Are you hyped about tonight?" Ruffnut asked.
"What's happening tonight?" Astrid asked, just playing with the pasta she'd bought from the canteen a mere half an hour ago.
"We're going to the hotel in the city to get ready for the university day tomorrow?" She reminded. "Astrid, are you seriously still thinking about Hiccup?"
Astrid just shrugged, staring at her rather sad and mixed up salad, and this caused Ruffnut to continue.
"Astrid, it's been four years, you really need to let it go." Ruffnut told her. "You've got to get over him, he wasn't worth it."
"He was worth it Ruby, you know how I felt about him, how I still feel about him." Astrid told her. "I really screwed up, and what if, when I eventually get to the city and happen to find him again, that he has a girlfriend or something?" She asked.
"Then you move on and find a much hotter guy to make him jealous." Ruffnut shrugged, taking a sip of her can of cola. "Come on Astrid, look Eret's been trying to ask you out for weeks, maybe you should just go for it."
"I'll think about it." Astrid asked.
The rest of the day passed much too slowly for Astrid, and she walked to class with her head low. She'd promised herself that she would wait for Hiccup, but what if he did have another girlfriend and that he didn't love her anymore, could she deal with that? At that point, she mentally slapped herself. She was Astrid Hofferson, she could deal with anything! Those small words were what saw her through the rest of the day and to her home where she finished getting her overnight bag ready.
Around dinner time that night, there was a knock on the door of the Hofferson residence and Finn Hofferson answered it, and seeing that it was Ruffnut and Fishlegs, he let them right in.
"Astrid, Ruby and Finlay are here." He called up the stairs to her niece.
"I'm coming." She shouted back, and Astrid grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, giving her Uncle a goodbye kiss, she ran back out of the door with her friends and down towards Ruffnut's car. Just as she had thrown her things into the boot of her friend's car, the sound of a dragon landing sounded, and they all turned around to find a Razorwhip land near them and Astrid's Aunt Sarah slide off the back and into Finn's arms.
"Aunt Sarah, I've gotta go, so I'll text you later." Astrid told her Aunt as she ran over and hugged her before she jogged back to her friends. "Bye Silver!" She called back to the dragon and she received a dragon cry in return as she shut the passenger door.
"Alright, let's go." Ruffnut smiled, and she drove off, all of them waving out of the windows to Astrid's Aunt and Uncle who shouted for them to be careful as Ruffnut drove away. The drive to the city was long and boring, since they only had the radio for company, and Astrid found her thoughts going to that of Hiccup as she wondered how he managed to pass the time when he left, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. Astrid might have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, they were outside of a small travel hotel, and Astrid got out with her friends, walking to the reception and she let Ruffnut ask for the key to hers and Fishleg's room first.
"Reservation name?" The receptionist asked.
"Ingerman." Ruffnut told them.
"Ah, you're in one of our double rooms, room 197." The receptionist stood up from their seat and walked towards the wall of keys, and he picked up the right key, before handing it to her. "Enjoy your stay."
When Ruffnut had moved, Astrid got her own, and she was the opposite side of the hallway to Ruffnut and Fishleg's room, so they all headed up to their rooms together once they had their things. When everyone got to their rooms, they bid each other goodnight, before Astrid locked herself in her own room and set down her bag. She liked her room, it had a double bed which she now had all to herself, and beech colored furniture to go with the pale green walls and the cream carpet. She got her clothes for the next day out of her bag and she hung them up, looking over her outfit choice. It wasn't smart and it wasn't casual, she liked to think that it was in between; it was a checked shirt, smart jeans and a pair of black flat shoes. She left them on the door of the wardrobe and took out her pjs next, putting them on the bed, before she quickly changed, taking out her toiletries and putting them away, before putting her bag in the corner and settling down in bed. Her mind wandered to what tomorrow might be like and the type of people that she might meet. Would she know anyone? Would she even get accepted? That was one of her main worries, what if they thought that she wasn't what they wanted from a student? She'd given her application in that day and she'd been worrying about it since she sent it in. however, she pushed her worries aside and soon fell asleep, the early start for college and the drive had tired her out, so sleep was welcomed with a dreaming Astrid. The next morning, she was woken up to a morning call on her room phone and it was from reception, she had never been so grateful to be woken up by someone. She quickly dressed, brushed her teeth and got her handbag, notepad and pencil case from her luggage bag before she headed down for breakfast, meeting Fishlegs and Ruffnut at a table.
"So, ready for today?" Ruffnut asked her.
"Yep." Astrid nodded.
"Even though you might bump into Hiccup?"
Fishlegs looked between the girls as Astrid glared at her best friend for the use of Hiccup's hated nickname, but Astrid nodded. "Yep."
Breakfast finished in awkward silence for Fishlegs, and he was glad when they went to Ruffnut's car to drive towards the university campus and they all stared at the main building, that stood in all its modern majestic glory and they seemed to be in awe.
"Can I help you?"
The voice behind them came from a young woman, with bright purple hair and a French accent, but she was also wearing a blue t-shirt labeled: 'STUDENT HELP'.
"Are you here for the university day?" when they all nodded, so did she. "Right, well follow me please, we're gathering all students into a room where they can mingle and talk to some of us helpers and have coffee and breakfast." She explained as she led them to a room that was packed with people.
As the three moved towards where they could see a concession stand with coffee and toast and some muffins, they all picked up a cup of coffee and looked around the room. There were certainly a lot of people, each being from different nationalities and backgrounds, all with their own stories to tell, but then something caught her eye – a mess of auburn hair.
"It can't be…" She told herself, and she followed the mess of hair to man who stood tall, and was well muscled, but it wasn't that noticeable. He tried to make sure it was who she thought it as by searching for a metal leg, but she couldn't find it in the mass of people, and nor could she see those piercing green eyes that she once fell in love, and she knew that she was still in love with. But sadly the figure never turned around; at least not in the time she was staring at him. Soon her attention was taken by a guy with ginger hair getting everyone's attention.
"Good morning students, my name is Dagur Dragonsnare, and I am one of the helpers today, I'm sure that some of you have seen us around, we're all wearing the blue t-shirts." He gently tugged on his t-shirt as he spoke. "Now, we have a quick talk in the main hall, but first we'd like everyone to sign their names on his piece of paper and what school they're from as they leave the room. Many thanks in advance." He told them, just as he put the papers on the desk and left. Astrid waited for the room to thin, before she signed her name and she quickly scanned the names, she found a few names she recognized: RUBY THORNSTON, BERK HIGH; FINLAY INGERMAN, BERK HIGH, SHAUN JORGENSON, BERK HIGH, these names put a smile on her face to know that she was amongst some friends, then she saw a name that made her freeze: HENDRICK HADDOCK, DRAGONS HIGH. So Hendrick was here, she just had to find him, and that was going to be a challenge. But she was Astrid Hofferson; she was up to a challenge.
Hiccup was sitting comfortably in the hall where the talk was taking place, in between Amir and Heather, with Elizabeth sitting on Heather's other side. He was waiting for the other students to fill up the rest of the seats so that the talk could begin, and he froze at seeing a familiar golden braided individual walk into the room. He immediately recognized Astrid, her blonde hair in her signature braid, her ocean blue eyes, and her beautiful body. His mind certainly hadn't let him forget her as he had grown up, he wondered if she'd recognized him, she seemed focused, maybe she was looking for someone, then he realized, he'd seen Ruby Thorsten here; she must have come with her.
"Are you okay?" Heather whispered to him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not a ghost, but along those lines." Hiccup told her in a whisper.
"Wanna talk about it?" She asked.
"Later." He told her, and the two gave a small smile to each other, before they listened to the talk that had started.
When it was over, they were each told to sign up for their own classes, and Astrid and Hiccup both done just that, their first classes were bearable, both Hiccup and Heather chose Art, whilst Astrid found herself in Sports Education with Elizabeth, and the two girls got talking.
"Hi, is anyone sitting here?" Astrid asked, gesturing to the seat beside Elizabeth.
"No, go right ahead." Elizabeth smiled, her Australian accent making Astrid smile.
"Thanks…I'm Astrid by the way." She told her, holding her hand out to her.
"I'm Elizabeth, mate." She smiled, shaking the blonde girl's hand.
"Nice to meet you, so you're from Australia?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah, I'm from Perth to be exact." She smiled. "What about you?"
"Berk Isles." Astrid told her.
"Awesome, I have a friend who's from near there, Heather; she's originally from Destroyer on the Destroyer Isles."
"Awesome, that's not far from Berk." She smiled.
Elizabeth smiled as between the lecturer talking and describing the course, they got to know each other a bit more. Then it was time for their next class, to which the girls promised to stay in touch.
"Hey, do you have Mebook?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah." Astrid nodded.
"Awesome, look me up, my name's Elizabeth Buttons." Elizabeth smiled, before she left Astrid in the hallway, writing down her new friend's name on her hand, before Astrid to went to her next class.
Astrid spent the rest of the day in introduction lectures and when she was directed to where lunch was being served, she quickly found Ruffnut and Fishlegs.
"Hey, there you are, we were just about to go looking for you." Ruffnut told her.
"Yeah, I got lost." Astrid told her as she put the tray with her lunch on, down on the table. "So, how are things?"
"They're great, this place is amazing." Fishlegs gushed, but Astrid switched off as he started giving them facts about the school and his class – Fishlegs had decided to try out Biology and Physics, which Dragon Training thrown on the side, that was there last taster lecture that day and they were all excited.
"I wonder who our teacher will be." Ruffnut gushed. "Maybe it's someone who is young, hot and male?"
"Hey." Fishlegs frowned.
"Oh, sorry babe, it's nothing against you." Ruffnut told him, kissing his cheek, which made him blush.
Astrid rolled her eyes at them. "I just hope they're nice and relaxed, I hate the uptight teachers."
"Guys, we'd best go or we'll be late." Fishlegs pointed out and quickly the other two got up and almost ran from the table and outside to the arena where their last introduction was. However, getting in there they were given a surprise, there was no teacher, just the prospective students in the arena. They all looked around at each other, and Astrid soon spotted Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth!" Astrid shouted, dragging her friends with her as she got over to her new friend.
"Hey Astrid." Elizabeth smiled. "You're taking Dragon Training too?"
"Yeah." Astrid beamed. "Oh, nd these are my friends from back home, Ruby and Finlay."
"Hey." Elizabeth smiled. "Come on; let me introduce you to my friends."
Elizabeth led them over to where a girl with hazel eyes and long black hair stood, with two guys, one with tanned skin, short black hair and a small black beard and moustache, and the other gy was the auburn haired guy that Astrid had seen earlier.
"Hey guys, I want to introduce you to someone I met in sports." Elizabeth gushed, before she turned back to Astrid. "Okay, this is Heather, and the guy on her right is Amir, he's from Sweden and the other guy is Hendrick, he's from around these parts." She smiled. "Guys, this is Astrid Hofferson, and her friends Ruby and Finlay." As everyone else introduced themselves, Astrid and Hiccup just stared at each other.
"Hendrick?" Astrid whispered.
"Astrid…Uh…Hi Astrid…" Hiccup stuttered.
Astrid was about to say something else, when there was suddenly a squawk from above and everyone looked up to see a green Deadly Nadder and an orangey-red Timberjack land on the ground, though the Deadly Nadder put down what looked like a wheelchair first, and Astrid had a suspicion that this class might be her hardest one yet.