Badaboom. I am back in action. *puts on sunglasses*

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Chapter Twelve: For The Best

"Well, son… It's like this…"

Dad ran a tired hand down his face. He seemed to have aged years in moments, wrinkles creasing his brow like crumpled paper, and all of a sudden, I noticed his gray hairs were much more noticeable than before.

Meanwhile, my heart was pounding like a hammer.

It can't be that bad, I tried to calm myself. There's been too many bad things happening lately for there to be anymore.

But the tone of Dad's voice as he spoke next said otherwise.

"As you know, your stay in the hospital was long, productive… and expensive." Dad cleared his throat and raised a hand at my alarmed expression. "I know what you're thinking, Hiccup, and don't worry. We're not in financial trouble. A little low, yes, but nothing serious."

I released a shaky breath. At least I could cross that off the list.

"So… what is it, then?" I asked nervously. Toothless whined from under the table.

Dad intertwined his fingers together, looking me straight in the eye. "As I said before, we're not in serious financial trouble. But it is something to be addressed. So, a week and a half ago, I got a call."

A beat.

I whispered, "From where?"

Dad leaned back in his chair. "I'm the mayor of Berk, here, Hiccup. I hoped to run for another term, but it just isn't paying what I need it to at the moment. The call I got was from Weston, Connecticut. They… they've been looking for a mayor to run their town down there, and since your case was on the news, they heard about me as the mayor of Berk here and called." He looked down at the floor. "I haven't made any certain decisions yet about whether to take the offer or not, son. I wanted to wait and see what you thought."

The news crashed down on me heavily. I had grown up in Berk. I had always gone to school in Berk, had friends (or rather, a few acquaintances) in Berk- everything in Berk. Now, we were moving many states away?

Being from a small town in Wisconsin, I had always preferred things small. We had never moved once in our lives. My family was here, my new friends were here. Simple. But this job offer of Dad's-

"Weston is a profitable town, Hiccup," Dad went on as if that would somehow change my mind. "Very rich citizens and housing. I think you'd like it."

I looked up at him with a frown. "So it's already settled, then? We're moving and I don't get a say in it?"

"Of course you do," he said gently. "But, I just think a new start would be what's best for us right now, what with your leg… and your mother gone... Don't you agree?"

I surprised myself with answering, "No."

I didn't want things to change- again. I found that I actually didn't want to leave Berk. I had just begun a new start with Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff, and Tuff; I didn't want to end it. Right after we had forgiven each other for the things we'd done, I would just pack up and leave?

Dad looked as surprised as I did. "Hiccup?"

"No," I repeated, standing up from the table. I didn't even stumble. "I don't want to go."

He sighed. "Sometimes things are for the best, Hiccup."

"Not this." I shook my head. I couldn't believe this was happening. And it hurt to know that just as soon as I started to make friends, to finally get Astrid Hofferson to notice me… I had to give it all up.

"Just wait a minute, Hiccup," Dad ordered, rising from the table as well. "I said I was still thinking it over."

"From what I've heard it's already settled," I muttered and started to limp away from the table, Toothless close as my heel.

"Hiccup-" Dad made a reach for my arm, but I avoided him.

"I just need some time alone!" I pushed my way over to the staircase, my thoughts racing a mile a minute.

And for the first time ever, I made it upstairs and back inside my room that night, all with my prosthetic on.

I didn't feel happy, though. I just felt a whole lot worse.


Gobber came over the next morning.

I wasn't sure whether he was there to help me out of my moodiness towards Dad, or just the fact that I hadn't seen him for awhile. He'd been out of town looking for job offers, (though Dad had told me he'd also been "sightseeing" around the world) and now he was back.

When I heard Gobber come through the front door, I managed to make my way downstairs without Dad's help. Thankfully, he'd had the sense to leave me alone last night and we hadn't spoken since.

"Hey, 'iccup!" Gobber grinned from ear to ear as he saw me, then happily swaggered over and wrapped me up in a crushing hug.

"Glad to see you too," I rasped out, the air being stolen from my lungs.

Gobber chuckled and released me. I staggered for a moment but quickly regained my balance after he helped steady myself.

"So, 'iccup, how've you been lately? What with the, eh…" He gestured to my missing foot. "That."

I smirked. I knew Gobber was the best person who understood my situation because he was an amputee too. He'd lost an arm and a leg a few years back, though they hadn't been lost as drastically as my left foot had been. Dad had muttered something about a tussle with a bear, but I never pressed the subject.

"It's… getting better, I guess," I said, shifting on my feet. "Still hurts sometimes, but it's manageable."

Gobber nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, yeh just keep on takin' that medicine, yeh hear? Back in my day, when I lost these," he lifted his fake hand and metal foot, "they didn't have much to soothe the pain."

I frowned. "How old are you anyway?"

He winked. "A lot older than yeh'll ever find out, laddie. Now come on, come on." He waved me towards the couch. "Let's sit and talk. Stoick," he turned around, still grinning at my father who stood by the door, "would yeh care to join us?"

Dad paused. He looked my way, but I quickly avoided his gaze.

I heard him sigh. "No thank you, Gobber. I think I'll find myself more useful upstairs."

His footsteps pounded away, getting more quieter as they disappeared up the stairs until they weren't able to be heard at all. Only then did I look up, and slowly edge towards the couch. Gobber was looking at me curiously. "What was that all about, 'iccup?"

There was no use in lying to him. He probably already knew about Dad's "plans."

"It's like he already decided we're moving," I sighed, looking down at my feet where Toothless sat. He flapped his tongue out and wagged his tail furiously. I bit my lip, unable to find amusement in the situation. "And he won't give me a fair say in it."

Gobber's hand rested on my shoulder. "Hiccup, I know it sounds… hard at first, to take up and leave the only place you've ever known…" He chuckled. "But what if there's something more out there that you want? Haven't yeh ever wanted to leave Berk before?"

His words struck home closer than he probably had intended them to. Always, somewhere deep inside of me, I knew that I was never meant to stay in Berk all of my life. I wanted to go off and explore the world. I couldn't do that if I was kept locked away forever.

I guess I always knew I planned to leave here someday. Whether it was going to be in twenty years or two months… I just had to go. I just didn't expect it to be so soon.

Gobber smiled. "I left home too, you know. Never looked back."

"Did you…" I hesitated. "Did you ever regret it?"

He slowly shook his head. "No. I found Berk, and I met yehr mother and father, some of my greatest friends in my life. I had plenty o' good times at home, sure, but there's a whole world out there, Hiccup. And it's just waiting to be discovered."

"I don't know," I managed out. I slid down on the couch. "I mean, he at least could've…" My breath caught in my throat. "He at least could've…"

"Could o' what?"

Gobber invited himself to sit beside me and watched as I shook my head.

"Never mind."

"Oh, come on." Gobber poked me in the shoulder. "Yeh can tell me anything. Yeh know that."

I looked away, asking myself the same question again. What was bothering me so much about leaving? One month ago, I might've been ecstatic at going away. I'd get to live in a new place with a new start, meet new people, go to a new school, maybe even get new friends.

But Berk was, well… Berk. It was home. We had our charming view of the sunsets, our homely settings, and several great fishing spots. My school was only a few minutes away. Our population was less than two hundred. The weather was never exactly nice, but it was never too horrible either. It was Berk.

How could I just… leave it?

"Hiccup?" Gobber asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What're yeh thinking about?"

"I don't want to go," I whispered. I felt childish for the sense of security I now had in Berk, but I couldn't push it away, either. "Dad's already made the decision. We're moving far, far, away, and as always, I don't have a say in it."

"Is that what's bothering yeh, Hiccup? Not having a say in it?"

I sunk more down into the couch's cushions. "I… don't know."

"Then what is it?"

"I told you, I don't know."

He chuckled. "Hiccup, if yeh don't know what yeh want in life, how do yeh know what yeh don't want either?"

He had a point. "I guess."

"Yeh guessed right." He let out a long sigh, leaning back beside me. "So, what do yeh think yeh're going to choose? To stay or teh go? It's a mighty important decision, but I know that somewhere deep inside of yeh, yeh know what's the right thing to choose."

Leave, my thoughts snapped. No one wants you here. You can have a new start where your father's working as mayor. You'll get new friends, new experiences, a new life. Doesn't that sound good?

It did.

"But…" I swallowed. "What about the others? What about my cousin, aunt, and uncle? My school, my friends, my whole life?"

Gobber looked me straight in the eye. "Hiccup, there comes a time in a man's life when yeh got to just let everything go and choose a new start. And even if yeh choose the wrong answer, you've got to stick to it. You'll make it right in the end. I know yeh, lad."

I had the horrible feeling that I was doing something wrong, but I still went on and said, "If it'll… make things easier… make Dad happy… then, yeah. I guess he deserves to move if he wants to."

Gobber reached over and ruffled my hair. "Yeh're learning, laddie. Yeh're learning."

"So, it's settled? I'm moving to Connecticut?" It didn't feel like any of this was real.

"Yeh are."

"And you're sure I'm making the right choice, Gobber?" I asked, turning to him with a newfound urgency. When he didn't answer, my concern doubled. "Gobber. Are you sure?"

"As I told yeh before, it's for the best," he said after a beat. "Don't worry, laddie. It is."

But deep down in my heart, I still didn't believe him. I couldn't even force myself to. The nagging feeling in my head kept asking the same question over and over again, and as much as I wanted to ignore it, I couldn't.

Because… what if it wasn't 'for the best'?

Well, my thoughts drawled. Then you just made the biggest mistake of your entire life.