Hiccup's eyes widened and he drew back, shocked.
"A… A…" He stuttered, standing up.
"Hiccup! Wait!" Astrid stood up as well.
"I… I should go!" Hiccup made for the door, but Astrid was faster.
"Oh no you don't." She smiled, locking the door and putting the key in her pocket.
"But… You don't hate me?" Hiccup wrinkled his brows.
"No! I don't hate you! Why would I hate you?" Astrid was thoroughly confused.
"B- Because…"
"No. Don't answer that." Astrid held up a hand in a gesture of silence. "Hiccup Haddock the Third. I must admit that when I first met you, I hated your guts. But since then… You've grown on me. You stopped being so utterly infuriatingly annoyi g, and… Hiccup, I love you."
Beka, who had come into the room during Astrid's speech, nearly dropped her dinner tray. Her jaw dropped nearly as far as the tray would have fallen, and she quickly retreated back into the kitchen to give her daughter some privacy.
Hiccup stood frozen, rooted to the spot from sheer surprise. Astrid smiled.
"And… And… Will you go to the cinema with me tomorrow?" Astrid faltered a little, as if worried Hiccup might bite her.
"Astrid…" Hiccup faltered eventually. Today was a very shocking day.
"It's okay if you don't want to!" Astrid said quickly.
"Astrid, I would love to. And I love you too." Hiccup said solemnly.
They both cracked smiles, and took each other's hands.
~~~?~~~
So, 6 days later, they went to see the new comedy film, New In Town, having got themselves a week off.
"That was so funny!" Exclaimed Astrid.
"Especially that bit at the beginning, where she-" Hiccup continued her sentence.
They both collapsed in a fit of laughter at the thought of the scene.
"It was… Haha… So good… Haha… The way it ended!" Astrid gasped in between bursts of laughter.
"Ahhh, it was…" Hiccup sighed, flopping down on a nearby bench. Astrid joined him.
"Astrid Hofferson… Will you be my girlfriend?" Hiccup blurted.
"Yes!" Astrid exclaimed, hugging Hiccup again.
~~~?~~~
Two days later, it was time to go back to school.
"I can't wait to tell Heather and Ruff and Tuff!" Astrid muttered to herself as she dressed. "I wonder what they'll think!"
"Don't forget your new physics book, dear! It's on the sitting room sofa." Beka called through to Astrid's room. Beka had prudently decided to behave as if she knew nothing about the whole affair.
"Thanks, Mum." Astrid called back, and skipped through to the room with a very light heart indeed.
