Letting go of the Past

by KingGodzillaTheApocalypse

My first fanfic! please give me some credit. based and inspired by the best story I've read "The past defines the future -NFS lover". Hiccup left berk after Astrid tells everyone about his secret. 5yrs have passed Astrid realized her actions, now she wants to apologize to him, will Hiccup forgive and forget the past and start over as friends? or more than friends? (HICSTRID!)Enjoy!

14. Chapter 14: Us as Friends

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD

HI GUYS, I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE, SCHOOLWORK HAS BEEN PILING UP RECENTLY AND I HARDLY HAD ENOUGH TIME FOR WRITING THIS, SO I'M REALLY SORRY, BUT ANYWAY HERE'S CHAPTER 14. I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Chapter 14: Us as Friends

NORMAL POV

"Brother, tell everyone to stock their food…looks like winter is coming up" Armag said as he looks at the sky while the snowflakes fall on their faces. Apoc nodded and faced everyone, "OKAY EVERYBODY! WINTER IS COMING UP SO PILE UP WITH MUCH FOOD AS YOU CAN BEFORE THE WHOLE SEA AND THE FOREST FREEZES UP, NOW GO!" Apoc yelled. They were still at the shore when it started snowing. It has been snowing for days but they had hardly noticed it, but it's not their fault for not noticing because the snowfall somehow always occurred during the night and everyone's already asleep at that time, though this sudden change isn't just a normal season for them, it's something special and they call it Snoggletog. Though that should freeze everything up, from the seas to the forest…but in their cave, it's about to get a lot warmer as something starts to bloom again and it starts with a sorry.

HICCUP'S POV

It's been two weeks since that 'day' happened and I have been avoiding them ever since. I just have to avoid them so I…I mean we wouldn't get to another fight because I don't want any fights anymore, I want some peace for god's sake, isn't that hard to ask…but I wouldn't blame them because how can I ask them that when I, like I said, avoiding them and I did that by hiding from them in a small cave on the summit of this mountain, so basically I've been living on top of them…for a whole week and it's kinda ironic actually, because I'm the one who built that house and I'm the one who's not in there…Though I have been sneaking around the house during nights to…to check them, then I would sometimes hear them talking and laughing with each other which made me kinda jealous…and sad.

"I have to forgive her" my subconscious told me. I knew that was the only way I could fix all of this mess, but…but there's something that is really stopping me to do it and I don't know why. "Why couldn't I just forgive her?" I told myself. "Maybe…Maybe I can't…I can't forgive her because of the fact that I…I do still lo-lo-love her…and because of that meeting we had days ago…and adding the things I said…" then my thoughts dispersed when a voice spoke, "you're day dreaming again, are you?" Ruby said. Ruby is a Nargacuga, another dragon species I discovered, her species is almost the same as the night fury the only difference is their body structure, if Toothless's wings is separated from his front limbs, hers is attached to it, like a bat, though her kind doesn't breathe fire or anything but they shoot spikes from their tail like a Deadly Nadder and other than that they're the same…oh and instead of black scales, they have black fur…and she's the one who's accompanying me here on the top.

"So what are they doing now?" I asked her. "You really like torturing yourself, do you?" she said. "Just please answer my question" I demanded. Ruby has also been telling me to just forgive her, but not the way Heather and Toothless do. "They're doing the same…laughing and talking… and something about you drooling over someone's body" Ruby said. "Heather's telling her that!" I exclaimed, "O great! Thank you for humiliating me". Ruby then giggled at me, which puzzled me and kinda irritated me a little, "You're feeling self-conscious? I thought you don't care about her anymore?" she teasingly told me.

"I don't" I said with a cold tone so she would stop. And because of that, it kinda made an awkward silence between us, but then after that Ruby spoke again, "Oh and here's the coat you asked" she said and tossed me the coat I asked her to get from the house. Then I stood up and wore the coat that was made from bear skin. Thank the Gods she had this because it's really cold in here that I can't feel my toes anymore and I feel that it's going to get colder because night is already approaching. "And Hiccup, they're already looking for you…they're kinda getting worried right now" Ruby told me. "They saw you get the coat?!" I assumed. "No, they didn't see me but apart from the things that I heard from their conversation…I heard that they were getting worried about you" she told me.

"Hiccup I know that you're hiding from the three of them but please at least try showing up to Armag and Apoc, they're already asking everyone if they know where you are…and you know me, I'm scared to lie at them" Ruby added. "I'm going to that…just not now" I said. "Come on Hiccup, they not going to talk to you about it again" Ruby said.

Actually I have been hiding not just from Heather, Toothless, and… and Astrid, I have also been hiding from Armag and Apoc because last two weeks they also tried to talk to me about her and I can say that it pretty much ended badly.

(Two weeks ago)

I just got away from a 'talk' with Heather and now I'm on Grimm's back, a Bone Knapper, heading back towards the mountain. "You're really causing me time from getting all the food I need for this winter you know" Grimm told me. "I'm really sorry about this…I just have to get away from them a little bit" I told him. "And please no more questions about what's about it" I added. "Okay, okay" he said.

"Thanks Grimm" I thanked as we landed at the cave. "You're welcome…I'll be leaving you with them then" he said and immediately took off. "Wait…with them?" I thought and turned around and saw Toothless and along with him is…Astrid. "Damn it….I should have told Grimm about my problem" I thought because if I had told him that, he wouldn't have left me here. Now this right here is a really awkward moment, we were averting each other gazes, except from Toothless who was giving me a death glare.

Then I tried to look at Astrid, she got her left arm holding onto Toothless for support and she was completely looking away from me, of course what would I expect after all the thing I said to her, but I was wondering why she was out of bed, her leg isn't in any shape to walk so why was she out? Then I got my answer when Toothless spoke, "Let's go take a walk somewhere else…the path is blocked here by some kind of insensitive man" he said, pertaining to me. "Hiccup, hold it in, clam down" I told myself, trying not to burst just because of that.

Then Toothless started to move away but Astrid didn't. I started to look at Astrid and she looked like she was holding herself from doing something. Then it hit me, I totally knew that this awkward moment would turn into another conversation. Then I saw that she was about to speak but before she could say a word, I quickly ran away from them. I didn't turn back and kept running. I ran towards the nest and not the house because I know that sooner or later they are going to be in there, which is going to be bad.

Then I stopped, trying to catch my breath from running. "Why am I running away?" I thought. "You can't run away forever boy" A big voice said. I turned around and saw Armag, he was looking at me with a serious face. "What do you mean, I can't run away forev…" Then I realized that he must be talking about her, about Astrid…no, not just Astrid, but my past. "Who told you about that…no let me guess, Heather, am I right?" I said, beginning to get irritated. "That girl sure is a good person you know" Armag said, "Because she stood up for another person because of some certain reason…even though that what that person did is unforgivable" he said.

"Armag, please not you too, come on! I really, really don't want to do this talk again" I said but he still continued, and what can I do, I can't literally stop him. "I'll just ask this, have you ever tried listening to her?" he asked me, but I kept a heads down, and ignored him. "I'll take that answer as a no, but try to and maybe you'll find what you have been longing for…" "How am I going to find that in her…In fact 'why' am I going to find that in her?" I said. "Boy you already known that answer a long time ago" he replied.

"Can you explain that to me when that long time ago was the time when she betrayed?!" I angrily said. And to let everybody know, I'd never thought that I'd get angry at Armag like this. "That wasn't her fault, it was yours to blame" he said in a serious tone. I was about to ask him how did it became my fault but he already answered me, "it's your fault that you trusted her, you knew that she doesn't like getting thrown off from her position on that dragon training you all humans called, and yet you still trusted her…" Armag told me.

"You're a fool to trust her, and you know it…." He added. "Yes I'm a fool! I'm a fool because I was really madly deeply in love with her that time, I admit it! And because of that foolishness I risked the lives of my friends, the friends who I knew all my life…I'm already an outcast back then, I was shunned, abused and bullied at that time, I wouldn't be surprised if the gods said that I'm the most unloved person that could have ever existed…everyone hates my guts, my father is treating me like I'm not his own…" "So you're blaming all of that in her? Is that what you're trying to say boy?" Armag cut in.

"Can somebody please let me finish what I'm trying to say here?! But to answer everyone's goddamned question about me blaming everything on her, my answer is yes!" I said. "Then you should stop!" Armag yelled with a large stomp and a loud low growl, which…I'm going to admit that yes, I got scared and it also made me shut my mouth for a second. Then what he said next made me reconsider about everything, "You are starting to become one of them" Armag said. That made me angry because how can he tell me such a thing when he's not there, I held in my anger and started to walk away. I hoped he doesn't stop me, and he didn't but at the exit, someone was already blocking it and it was Apoc.

Apoc was looking at me with a serious face, then he gestured his head towards Armag, telling me to go back and what can I do? I can't protest…literally. I faced Armag again and as soon as I turned back he spoke again, "You're becoming one of those people you and Heather speak of…your friend Heather explained everything to me…she said that everyone in that village of yours ridiculed you for who you are, they made fun of you, teased, shunned, ignored you, shoved you away and all other possible ways to discriminate you and all of that is because you wanted to make a change…you did that by making contraptions that should have made life easier for those people, but somehow it all backfired on you, badly… but you still pursued to change and those people still did the same…and believe me, I want to kill people who act like that"

"But my point in all of this is that girl…Astrid is now doing the same, she's trying to prove herself to you, proving that she can change…but you're wasting it because you're doing the same thing those people did, you're shoving her away and I know that you don't like this at all but your becoming like your father, a stubborn man" That really made me think over everything I did because what he said is the worst thing I want to happen to me and I know that Heather has already told me about the stubborn part but I haven't thought about it that way until now and thinking over it really made me felt something…and I think, I think its guilt.

I felt guilty because for me what my father did was something unforgivable, no let me rephrase that, what he did was 'really' unforgivable and now that someone has told me that I'm becoming like my father, it really made me reconsider everything, and about…the things I did to…to Astrid. But then Armag spoke again, "Now think about it" he said. Then I heard Apoc grunting as he stands up from the exit and moved aside, opening the exit again. Then that's when I made an exit and found Ruby on the way.

(Present time)

"Hey Ruby what else were they talking about and no more side comments" I said but she still did. "Then torture yourself it is" she said while I just rolled my eyes is annoyance. "They were talking about an event called Snoggletog, you know that? Because from what I heard it's an event that is supposed to be celebrated by 'everyone' and not alone" she said. That took a hard blow right at me because I forgot that Snoggletog is coming up and…and I can't believe that I am going to celebrate it hiding from them. Not that I blame them but still do I really have to celebrate it like this?

"I know" I replied ruby with a gloomy tone because with all of those suck in my head, it really made me feel depressed a little bit…no, not a little bit but a lot. I sighed in disappointment to myself, "Well…this is going to be a sad one for me" I thought then I laid down on the wool that I sleep in. "sleeping it off again huh?" Ruby said, "Yeah…probably" I said then after that, I started to think about everything…again. "What would had really happen if I did forgive Astrid?" Here we go again with that golden thought of mine that always succeed in giving me headaches. "Well not that it matters anymore…besides it's already too late…for me…because tomorrow is Snoggletog" I thought and drifted off to sleep, though I assumed to early that I was too late because this day was about to be a turning point of my life…Though I didn't expected it to be early.

"Hiccup I'm sorry…but your sleep has to wait" Ruby suddenly said, "…Someone found you"

HEATHER'S POV

"Where is that Hiccup?!" I said, frustrated about where he really is because I am sure that I have asked every dragon on this damned mountain and they said that he was there a while ago or he was with her, with him... I don't know anymore! "Can someone just give me one sign that he's still here" I said. "Heather would you stop whining! He's not going to leave…we just have to keep searching the place" Azriel told me. Hiccup has been hiding from us a for two weeks now and I am really furious that he's doing it just to escape from her and from us, I mean who the hell does that, yeah I get his situation but hiding from us for two weeks straight is already exaggerating and what's really pissing me off is that Snoggletog is a mere hours away and he's still missing.

"Hey can we rest for a…" then she suddenly stopped and looked at a certain point, "is that Astrid?" Azriel said. I looked at where she was looking and we did saw Astrid but she was mounted on Stormfly and it looks like she was following a…I don't know what dragon that is but it's black and it's furry. "Do you know what dragon is that?" I asked Azriel. "No and what's that in…her mouth?" she said. "That dragon is a she? I'm impressed you could tell from a distance" I said. "Hello…I'm a dragon, duh! Anyway what I can't see is the thing in her mouth but it looks like it's an animal or something…" Azriel said.

"Yeah, but why is Astrid following that?" I said and because of our curiosity, we decided to follow her, "Let's go check it out" I said and followed her…without her noticing us of course. Then after a mere few seconds of following each other, the dragon that we were following flew up to the mountain top, beyond the clouds. We still kept our distance from her and the dragon by hovering inside the clouds, it's pretty hard hiding actually because night time is already approaching and the clouds are slowly disappearing, but either way I think we can still hide in a bunch of clouds.

Then after that, the black dragon that we were following landed and so did Astrid, she was still following the dragon and I still don't know why but then I saw a little fire where the black dragon was heading. "Azriel can you look closer on that bonfire" I told Azriel. "What bonfire…oh, never mind I already saw it" but then she giggled. "What's funny?" I asked her, "You're not going to find this funny, but kinda irritating…or even furious" she said and because of that I now know who was in that bonfire and it was none other than Hiccup.

"Oh and the thing on the dragon's mouth was not an animal, it was a coat for him" Azriel said. "I don't care about that, I care about him and the fact that this is my chance of telling how ridiculous he's been acting…" "And get in Astrid's way of talking with him?" Azriel suddenly cut in. Now I get it, Astrid knew that that dragon was going to Hiccup because of that coat that was in its mouth so she could talk to him…again. "So are you going to destroy that chance or listen to them?" Azriel asked me. I am sure that I don't want to destroy that moment because it's bad and so is eavesdropping, mostly if it's something personal, but I think I'm going to listen to them. Though not because I am intrigued or curious, it's because I am going to give Hiccup another chance to fix everything with her…but if he doesn't, he will surely going to get it, now that I know where he is hiding.

"I think I'll listen to them…but not because I'm curious or anything…" "I know, I know…you're just giving him another chance to fix everything with Astrid" she said and I'm surprised that she knows. "Well let's go" I ordered Azriel. Then when we got closer to them, I told Azriel to land me in an unseen safe distance and when she did, I was just in time to hear the whole conversation because the dragon that we were following was just about to wake Hiccup. "Hiccup you better not blow it this time…or else" then the conversation starts.

ASTRID'S POV

Heather and I was just talking about her past after they left berk. It was a pretty awkward topic but I can tell that I had fun talking with her and who would have thought that the best friend that I was looking for I can find in Heather, sure Ruffnut is a good friend too but she can be kinda weird sometimes. Though it kinda made me sad too actually, apart from missing Ruffnut and the others…I didn't thought that being friends with Heather can be this fun. "Wish I became friends with her years ago" I sighed at that thought. I know that Heather is doing all this so I could take my mind off from…from Hiccup so I wouldn't worry much about him, but he was actually the one person that I can't keep mind off.

"I'm sorry" those were still the words that were playing back inside my head when he enters my mind and when that happens, I can't help it but to feel really depressed but what made me really depressed right now is that we're still not talking to each other and to the fact that he still hates me and still won't forgive me…and what's worse that I'm celebrating Snoggletog with it…and with those things rolling inside my head again, I knew had to calm myself down before I get into any further thoughts and broke down in tears again, so to calm myself down, I went to the balcony that Heather added to the house. I leaned on the railings and stared at the sunset for a while.

For the past week, this has been the only place where I can calm myself down…and I'm grateful at Heather for building this…though I don't know if Hiccup approved this or not but what I hate is everything is still the same and nothing is changing. "Hiccup please…just please give me one more chance" I said to myself while staring at the sunset…come to think of it, the sun and the moon is somehow close to my situation right now. I'm the sun and he's the moon and no matter how hard I try to shine or to rise up in the sky I will never reach him…this time. That thought of me and him really disheartened me because even if I tried to think it over, it's true…no matter how really hard I try nothing will ever change between us.

If I could just really go back in time to fix all my mistakes with him, it would be really great because I know that if I didn't 'rat' him out or not just that but all the other wrong doings I did…things would had really turned out great right now. I could be flying with all the dragons I wanted five years ago if I…if I just listened to him that time, I could be even talking to all of them right now…but I just had to do it my way and now this is what I get. "Is there even a way…or even a chance that I could fix things with him" I thought. Then after a few moments, I noticed that this place is starting to lose its effect on me because…tear drops are falling one after another again.

I was barely holding myself to give in to the pain again, I tried to wipe it but they still kept coming slowly, drop by drop. "Gods please, help me with him for the last time" I whispered to myself. I already did what I can just for him to forgive me but why is this still happening! But on top of all that, now I know how Hiccup felt all these years…I now know the feeling when you wanted to talk to the people you like but won't even listen to you, the feeling when someone doesn't care about you at all…the feeling when someone won't forgive you for a mistake…the feeling of being alone…and all of those, he felt and suffered when he was in berk, with us, and I feel like…It's like the whole world turned upside down. He was on the top now and I'm on the bottom. Then a thought entered my mind, "Maybe I should just give up" though if I did that everything I did to him will haunt me forever…but if it's what he wants I will do it.

I tried to wipe the tears off again but it still kept coming. Then with all of that stuck in my head again, I decided to just go back to bed and try to sleep it all off. But when I was about to go in, I heard a creaking sound from the wooden floor and a movement of a table…I think, it was coming from down stairs. It made me curious because no one was inside the house other than me because Heather just left the house with Azriel to look for Hiccup because he's been missing for two weeks which worries me and saddens me...a lot, and for Toothless, I don't know where he went. I gently walked outside the room and then I peaked behind the wall then I saw a black figure of a dragon. At first I thought it was Toothless, but as I looked closer I realized that it wasn't him. The dragon has some kind of beak and it was holding a coat. It only has four limbs instead of six like Toothless and its wings were attached to his front limbs…and the edge of its wings looked like it was blades.

Then I saw that Hiccup's room was open, I assumed that the dragon came out of there…and because of that I realized that this dragon was going to Hiccup. Then after that, the dragon went out of the house. "This is my chance" I thought to myself and then after that, I followed the dragon.

It was a good thing Heather taught me a thing or two about dragons, because if she hadn't I wouldn't know how to catch up with that dragon because I can see that it's pretty fast and also my leg still hurts a little when I walk so I'm at a disadvantage if I'm going to follow somebody like this, so to follow it, I called Stormfly. Stromfly's injuries has already healed and she has been lively ever since. Heather told me that Hiccup was the one who treated her wounds, I am grateful that he did take care of her because right now she's the only one I got, though I'm surprised that Hiccup hasn't noticed that she was the Deadly Nadder from the berk's arena…well that's what Stormfly told Heather.

Then I did the call for Stormfly and in a few seconds she was right in front of me already. "Hi Stormfly" I said and scratched her chin, "Can you help me follow that dragon?" I whispered to her and looked at the black dragon who just took off. I quickly received a yes when she lowered her whole body in front of me. Then I immediately hopped on to her back, "Okay girl, let's go" I said and then we took off.

We followed the dragon from a distance because it looks like it was looking around, knowing if someone was following. Then as the time goes by, the sun was setting in and the sky began to darken, making it hard for us to follow the black dragon. Then suddenly it flew straight up to the sky, beyond the clouds. Stormfly reacted on her own and followed the dragon. We hid in a bunch of clouds, still away from the dragon that we were following. Then after a few seconds it landed in a small cave.

I saw smoke coming out of the small cave and there was light, I assumed it was a bonfire and then I saw another figure, near the light. "That must be him" I thought to myself and to confirm it, I told Stormfly to get in a little closer and she immediately responded and then I did saw him. I saw him and he was feeling…like he was thinking about something, though because of that I felt like I should not continue to do this because what if I was in those thoughts, like how I destroyed his life or ruined everything and I am sure that he's telling his self not to forgive me. Then after that I saw him lie down with the coat that the black dragon brought him. But before I could decide if I was going to do this or not, Stormfly acted on her own again because right after that, she went beyond the cloud level, revealing ourselves and then not so long after that, she landed in front of the small cave where Hiccup was without even hesitating.

The black dragon that we were following was already staring at us with a shocked expression I think and Hiccup was still lying down. I was thinking of just leaving him while he was still like that but right before I knew it…he was already looking at me and I can only tell one thing I saw the moment we stared at each other, I saw anger.

NORMAL POV

Astrid first words were, "Hiccup please just listen to me…" but due to Hiccup's hatred over her, he didn't let her finish and he started to rain her words that could hurt much more than a dragon's teeth piercing through skin. "You're never going to stop bothering me are you?!" Hiccup said. "Hiccup…please just lis…" but Hiccup stopped her again, "Can't you see that I'm keeping myself away from you! And yet you're still trying to bug me! What is wrong with you?!" Hiccup angrily exclaimed.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with me?! How about you! What's wrong with you…I just want you to listen to me, just for once" that's what Astrid wanted to say but she can't because she knows that Hiccup has all the right to do that. "Hiccup please…just listen to me" she pleaded but Hiccup was too stubborn to stop. "What do I have to do for you to leave me alone...I'm already keeping myself away from you or do you want me to leave…like you forced me to do five years ago? Tell me Astrid, what exactly do you want from me?" Hiccup said. "I just want you to listen to me, please" was the only thing that Astrid wants from him but Hiccup was still blinded by the past for him to realize that. Astrid wanted to say something but Hiccup kept cutting in and the next thing he said made her stop. "You're taking away everything from me again Astrid"

Astrid wanted to ask how but before she could, Hiccup spoke again, "when you came here, Toothless already sided with you, I don't know how or why but he did and ever since that we haven't seen or even talk to each other…And it's not just Toothless, you even got Armag and Apoc to side with you…even Heather" Hiccup said in a rather cold and serious tone. "I finally met Heather again…the only friend that I know who is still alive and I'm happy that she is because of all the times I stayed and lived on that…place, they were only the people that was there for me…but thanks to you, were always on each other's throats every time we came to talk about you…or even see each other" Hiccup said, "Oh and Snoggletog is just around the corner and I was looking forward to celebrate it with them…but thanks to you again I'm going to celebrate it by myself, so thank you for ruining it" Hiccup mocked.

Astrid on the other hand was now in a loss of words because of what Hiccup said to her, she forgot the things she wanted to explain to him. Though she didn't forget the only word that she wanted to say from the start and it was 'sorry', that's the only thing she wanted to say…but because of Hiccup's rage she can't even say a thing. Astrid was now looking down in shame, sadness, pain and a lot of devastating pain and if someone has to look her in the eyes, all of it was visible and those weren't the things that was just visible from her eyes…there were also tears, but Hiccup still fails to see that because of his stubbornness and insensitivity and to the fact that he still haven't gone over that past.

"Now what else do you want to take from me! You already took my home, not just once but twice and now you're starting to take it away from me again, you already succeeded got my friends to side with you, and where ever I go you always seem to somehow find me, as expected of b-berk's greatest female Viking..." Hiccup said and those words he released to Astrid were much worse than being mauled by a dragon, "it's like you're trying to drive me away…" he added. Then a long silence occurred between them, only the cold breeze of the air was the noise you can hear but thanks to that, Astrid finally got a chance to calm herself down and managed to speak again.

"Hiccup…please…" "I'm not going to forgive you…ever" Hiccup said. And that was it, Astrid fell on her knees and just released her tears in front of him because those words were the only thing she didn't want to hear from him…it was much worse than all the things he made her realize from the time this mess had started…and for Astrid, it was like she was experiencing the pain of leaving her family again. Hiccup here on the other hand, admitted to his self that he was surprised to see that happen because this is the first time he saw Astrid really cry in front of him, he even felt a bit of guilt tingling in his chest and that made him confused. "Why am I feeling guilty" He thought to his self, "She brought this on herself and she deserves it…" still being arrogant. Though on top of all that, it made him wonder "…but is that how really devastating for her, for me not to forgive her?" he thought.

Then after that, something came whirling to Hiccup, good thing he evaded it in just a split second, but the one who threw it wished he didn't. "I AM TIRED OF YOU BEING ARROGANT!" An angry voice yelled. Hiccup looked at where it was coming from and there standing with a really angry face was Heather. Astrid didn't even bother to look anymore because she doesn't care anymore if someone heard all the things they just talked about, all she cared right now is that Hiccup won't really forgive her and those were the most painful words that she would really hear from him, in fact those were the only words she didn't want to hear from him. Astrid wanted to beg Hiccup again to forgive her but she was now too devastated to even speak a word…and with all the pain building in, she decided to just run away. Astrid turned her back from them and ran towards Stormfly and with that she left them.

Hiccup and Heather watched her leave without a single word but with only a cry is what they heard from her before she left. Then with Astrid gone, Heather released all her fury that she has been holding since Hiccup and Astrid started talking to each other, and she can say that it was a nerve-wracking conversation but now that Astrid's gone she can finally let it out. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Heather yelled at him again. "Oh great, now what are you doing here?" Hiccup retorted. "She only wanted some understanding and she specifically said that she wanted you to listen to her! Not to rub everything she did and caused to you in her face! And that's the second time you did that to her!" Heather yelled.

"This is none of your business Heather…" Hiccup said but Heather cut him off, "None of my business! You were the one who involved me in your very 'stupendous' speech…I'm so happy that I finally met her…" Heather said, imitating the words he said a while ago to Astrid, which Hiccup found annoying and a little bit painful because those words were true and sincere but Heather just mocked it. "So don't tell me that this is none of my business" Heather added. Hiccup couldn't say a word after that because he was feeling depressed now. "Hiccup you don't know what she's going through right now and I am telling you that it's really hard for her, so if I were you watch whatever is going to get out of your mouth!" Heather warned him.

Though what she said to him made him angry again. "What she's going through?! How about me, I'm also going through something really hard right now! A lot of it is about her and some of it is about what's happening right now and some…" "That's not 'going through something hard' that's just you playing stubborn! You just can't move on from the past can't you?!" Heather cut in. Now both of them are really angry, both of their hands were curled into fist, their faces are in a frown, the only thing left to engage them into a fight is either another word or a sword. Azriel can see that, so in order to break them apart she thought of an excuse or anything to get her attention.

"Heather that's enough…Astrid really needs someone right now before she does anything harmful to herself again" Azriel cut in, though that wasn't an excuse, that was real because Astrid really did something dangerous to herself before, and that was Astrid actually tried to kill herself by jumping off the cliff but luckily Stormfly caught her before she could jump and Heather just got there that time to witness it. They didn't know why Astrid did it but she was crying again when she did that, so they guessed that it was about Hiccup again. Heather was really furious at Astrid that time, I mean anyone would get really mad if you knew that your friend tried to kill her or his self, but Heather understood Astrid's situation so she just let it pass, though she still did scolded her.

And with that event on Heather's mind, she started to get really worried for Astrid while Hiccup was confused as he didn't know what Azriel meant when she said that. "I'm going to talk with you later…" Heather said with a very serious firm tone and then she left Hiccup alone. "Well…that was something else" Ruby suddenly spoke but Hiccup was still in a confused and little bit of worried state. "What did they mean 'before` she does something dangerous again'?" He thought and he was left with that, but he knows that it's something not good as the word 'dangerous' was in it. But as Hiccup's stubbornness took over him again, he placed that thought aside first and faced Ruby. "Uh what are you still doing? They're coming back later to 'talk' with me again, so let's go" Hiccup told Ruby. He expected her to follow her, but this time she didn't, "No…That girl's dragon whispered something really scary to me…and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to follow her" Ruby said and after that, she went back to sleep while Hiccup on the other hand, waits for Heather to come back though as he waits for her, one certain person was about to leave.

(Meanwhile)

Heather and Azriel just arrived at the original cave and they immediately went to the house to check on her but when they did, no one was there. Heather got really worried because she was thinking that Astrid might really had done it, kill herself. "Astrid's not here" Heather said to Azriel as she tries to catch her breath from running around the house. "Well did you check the other rooms?" Azriel worriedly asked. "Yes I did but she's still not there" Heather said. "Don't you think that she…" "No! Let's not jump into the conclusions, she has got to be here somewhere" Heather said, really worried where Astrid really might be.

And as they really can't find Astrid, Heather started to get really worried, as in really worried. She wanted to fly down to the mountain to see if she really had done it, but she was too scared because she doesn't know what to do if she really…dead. But then all that worry dispersed when a deep heavy voice spoke to them, "If you're looking for the girl, she's with her dragon inside the nest…and she's crying" Heather looked behind them and Armag was standing there with a really serious face…and that could have meant one thing for Heather and that is Armag's angry.

"Where is he?" Armag asked her. "He's inside small cave on the top of this mountain" Heather answered. Armag didn't answered and just looked up at the cave of the ceiling, wondering already what he's going to say to him when he got up there. Heather saw what he was intending to do but she wanted to that, "Don't worry…I'll talk to him later" Heather said. Armag looked at her and just released a very strong exhale through his nostrils, trying to keep his temper in.

When Heather got to the place where most Nadders were, she saw that all other Nadders staring at Stormfly. All of the other Nadders were quietly staring at them because under Stormfly's left wing was the sound of a girl mourning in sadness. Heather started to approach them but as soon as she took a step, Astrid stopped her, "H-Heather pl-please…please leave me alone" Astrid begged but Heather knew that she wasn't just going to leave her like that, especially now that she's in that condition "Astrid…you know I won't…" Heather said but Astrid kept telling her to just leave her alone, "He-Heather just please leave me alone" Astrid said stammering.

Heather though, just ignored what she said and still pursued to comfort her. Heather went closer to Stormfly and gently moved her wing out of the way and when she moved it out of the way, Heather saw Astrid clutching on her knees while she was still crying herself out and for that, she really felt sorry for her. Heather then sat down beside her, "Astrid…" "W-why can't he just listen to me...I know what I did five years ago and I know that…that those we-were unforgivable…" Astrid said but for Heather, those weren't true. "Astrid…it just came to me that the thing you did five years ago…wasn't your fault"

Astrid was surprised and confused at the same time when Heather said that, "Heather how did that…" "Astrid you didn't know that this was going to be the result of what you did five years ago…and besides it's his fault stealing your place at…" but then Astrid stopped her because she really doesn't want to talk about that. "Heather please don't continue that" Astrid told her. "Alright, I'm sorry" Heather immediately apologized. Then a long silence happened between that, except for Astrid's sobbing, echoing through inside that part of the nest. But then Astrid spoke again, "Heather please tell me that there is a way that he can forgive me…because…because I have tried everything I already could but why does it always end with me crying and him telling me everything I did years ago…and it really, really hurts" Astrid said, "I just wanted him to listen to me…just for once but why can't he…" she added.

Astrid kept crying and crying and she wouldn't stop as those hurtful things kept going back to her head and the most hurtful one were Hiccup's words a while ago, "I'm not going to forgive you" then after that pressure began to fall on Heather, she wanted to say something but she was scared that she might say more words that could hurt her. But she still decided to speak, "Astrid I know that you wanted to earn his forgiveness but telling him what you did back on…back on berk…is the only way he'd listen to you or it's either that or something miraculous happens to him" Heather said.

Astrid already knew that since she decided to leave berk, it's not just because she wanted to earn Hiccup's trust but it's also because of her pride. Astrid just didn't want to tell that to them that but because of that pride, because she let that pride took over her, this was now the result, a heart-piercing moment every time they see each other. But on top of all that she still doesn't blame him for everything that's happening right now, she still thinks this was her fault but Astrid didn't know that the girl beside her, Heather, doesn't think it like that anymore. Heather was now blaming Hiccup.

"Astrid look at me" Heather told her, but Astrid was too 'down' to look at her or even do anything. "Astrid look at me…" but Astrid still ignored her, so Heather took her face and made Astrid to look at her. "Look if you're still thinking that this whole mess is still your fault…well don't…it's not your fault anymore" Heather told her, now trying to cheer her up. "How is that…" "You said it yourself, you have tried everything you can and if Hiccup can't see that…it's now his own damn fault, not yours" Heather said but that still doesn't reassure Astrid because the fact that Hiccup won't forgive her is still that.

Heather can see that she was not even close of cheering her up as Astrid was still clutching on her knees and still crying. "Astrid please, stop crying…you need to stop doing this, look at you…this isn't you anymore" Heather worriedly said. "H-how? Tell me how, when the one thing I want can't happen anymore…" Astrid said, "I-I just want him to listen to me..." she said again, really desperate for Hiccup to forgive her. Heather came to one thought because of that, "You do have feelings for him…you just don't realize it" Heather thought. "And it's because of him" she muttered angrily.

Then with Astrid loosing hope of Hiccup forgiving her, she decided to leave the mountain and just let things be. Astrid then suddenly stood up, "Astrid wait! Where are you going?" Heather asked. "Heather…please tell Hiccup…I'm…I'm sorry" Astrid said, she was still crying though not that much but there were still tears falling. But Heather was worried about what she said, because there's a lot of meaning in those words and one of them is to kill herself and that worried her. "Astrid what are you going to do?" Heather worriedly asked. "I-I'm…I'm going to leave…if-if he wants me gone, then so be it…" then Astrid started to walk away.

"But Astrid where are you going to go? You can't go back to berk because they will surely brand you a traitor…remember you left with a dragon, and because of that they could even put you to death" Heather told her but Astrid has already decided and she has no intent of going back on her word but Heather here was still not going to let her, so she decided to leave with her even if it means to leave Hiccup again but that thought made her sad because she and Hiccup had only been reunited with each other for half a month and in those days all they did was always get angry at each other every time but Heather was blaming him that she has to do this because if he could had just let go of the past and forgive Astrid, everything would be okay but he just had to let his hatred take over him. "Then I'm coming with you" Heather said.

But Astrid's response was a "No" she said and before Heather could ask why, Astrid already said the reason, "Hiccup needs you…and we kinda heard how happy he is to see you…and besides I don't want to take you away from him because…because don't you think I have already taken a lot away from him…so I better think you stay here" Astrid said and Heather was amazed by that because after all this time, after all Hiccup said to her, Astrid was still thinking of what's going to make Hiccup happy instead of herself and what amazed Heather more was the small wry smile she gave because Heather knew if all those things happened to her, Heather admits that she can't even talk or even have a thought if that happens to her but Astrid was still giving her a smile, it may be small and there still maybe tears falling from her eyes, she still give out a smile…but that smile was only forced because deep inside Astrid is really devastated and Heather knew it . "But…" she tried to protest but Astrid stopped her again, "it's really okay Heather…I'm Astrid, I'm going to find a way" Astrid said, and with that she left Heather.

Heather and the other dragons watched her walk away with Stormfly supporting Astrid by her side and there Heather was, feeling useless again as she can't do nothing about Astrid…and it's all because of one man, Hiccup. "Hiccup you insensitive, arrogant, stubborn, stupid man" she thought really furious before she rushed up to Azriel. Azriel just lowered her whole body and let Heather mount her. Heather didn't say where her destination was because both of them already know where they wanted go, and it was no other place than where Hiccup was, at the mountain top.

And because of Heather's fury that Azriel was sensing she rushed to the top and in just a few seconds they were at the mountain top again. Then as they approach the cave, Heather saw that Hiccup was already staring at them. "Looks like that dragon followed what I told her" Azriel said but Heather kept silent because she was too angry to say anything, all she wanted to say are not for her but for the other person that she's looking at right now. Then as they landed, Hiccup was the first one talk.

HICCUP'S POV

"Now what do you want to talk about?" I asked as soon as she left Azriel's back but to tell the truth, I'm actually scared of what she's going to say right now because things always turns upside down when both of us talk like this and every time that happens, at the end I'm always the one getting scolded, pondering about the things she said. I was about to ask her the same question again even though I already know that it's about Astrid…but the next thing she said to me was unexpected. "We're leaving" Heather told me seriously "What? Why?…" "What do you mean why? You clearly don't want Astrid here, right? So she's leaving and for that, I'm coming with her" that made me immediately admit and realize a lot of things, like my own…selfishness and…and stubbornness, yes I'm admitting it now, because of my selfishness and stubbornness I made her leave. I want to make her stay but I think it's too late for me now, because knowing Heather, I know that she doesn't go back on her word…and the thought of me being alone again made me really depressed.

"Why is it hard for you to move on and just forgive her? Isn't five long years already enough for you to possibly do that" Heather said. "I'm telling you this again Hiccup, you might not know it but she actually did a thing that's really worth an apology for the thing she did to you back then" Heather said. But because of that, my depression shifted into confusion and anger again. "See this is one of the reasons I'm still angry at her, what could she had probably done for you to be angry at me like this! I bet even Toothless know what that means!" I angrily said then I saw that Heather was about to talk again, probably yell at me but I wasn't finished and I want to end this confusion because it's really killing me. "Heather you don't have to keep me confused all the time! You can just tell me what the hell that means and if that's the reason why you're acting like this, maybe I could have understand…and…and I would have forgiven her" I said but I didn't know that saying just that would worsen the situation.

"You're really an idiot when it comes to this, are you?" Heather told me though that's what I have been saying a while ago about being confused. "See this is what I mean, I don't get what are…" "I'll give you one hint!" Heather yelled at me, "Her dragon, the Deadly Nadder…" she said but I still don't get…wait, I remembered that dragon told me that we had met years ago…but where? "Heather there's a lot of dragons around the world…" then she cut me off again, "That doesn't ring a bell to you?! That seriously didn't ring a bell to you?!" she yelled at me again. "Okay, that dragon told me 'it was nice meeting you again' so I'm guessing that we had somehow met each other years ago but like I told you there's a lot of dragons that I have met and can you just please stop yelling at me, I'm standing just right here, I'm not on the other mountain!" I said, irritated from her.

Heather then let out a frustrated and angry sigh and then she calmed herself down by inhaling a lot of air and then, "You know what, there's no point arguing with you! Because if you can't get that, it's either your just really stubborn, which you already are or your just plain dumb, so I'll be leaving!" Heather said but that really irritated me because I'm right here confused about everything she just said, trying to figure out what I can remember then she suddenly leaves me just like that, and with an insult! "Fine! Because you know what! It's no use talking to you either, if you really can't tell me then…" Then I stopped because when I looked at her, her hands were already curled into fist and they were shaking.

Then Heather turned to me again and when she did, I took a step back because I can really see the anger, no it wasn't anger anymore it was rage. Heather was looking directly at me in the eye, and that really got me the chills, but what scared me more was that she was gritting her teeth. Then suddenly she yelled at me, but the words she yelled made me realize everything I did, especially to Astrid. "SHE GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU!" Heather yelled.

At first I didn't get what she meant by that but as she continued to tell me about it, the more I realized it. "What…" "She gave up everything for you and this is how you repay her! You repay her with your freaking stubbornness! With your goddamn stupidity Hiccup! With your marvelous mouth that always say hurtful words! Is that how you repay someone who did something like that for you?!" Heather yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you really that dumb of a person, Hiccup! You clearly didn't see what she did for you?!" Heather exclaimed and then, from that point, I know that the next things that will come out of her mouth will definitely hurt through my heart.

"Why do you think she came here alone and on a dragon's back?! that didn't seriously made you think?" to be honest, that did made me think and the thought that came to my mind was that she was here to…to bring me back on berk for my crimes, and the dragon is just a lure to bring me in…but now I am really regretting that I came up with that thought. "Or even just the dragon! That didn't made you think too?!" Heather told me but that thing she said about Astrid's dragon did made me think also, though I still don't know what was it talking about when we met…five years ago…I just realized it, that dragon was from back then, back from berk.

"Hiccup that was the dragon back on…" "…Berk" I said, finishing her sentence. "Thank the Gods you finally realized it?! But why couldn't you realize that a little bit sooner?" Heather said. "Yeah me too…wished I realized it a lot sooner" I thought to myself. But on top of all that, one thing still puzzles me, why couldn't they just tell me because if they did maybe…maybe this wouldn't be happening. "But why didn't you just all tell me that? Like you said, I could have realized it sooner if you just told me" I asked.

"Because Astrid told me not to" Heather said. "But why…" "I don't know okay!...I don't know why but she told me not to because…because…I don't know what's gotten into her but she said that she wanted to somehow earn your forgiveness and she did that by not telling you what she did for you…even though she knew that it was impossible, knowing what she did to you in the past" she said. "Hiccup she's here to apologize for the things she did to you but instead of forgiving her, all you ever did was make her cry! She already know what she did to you, you don't have to rub it in anymore!" Heather said. "She already has problems of her own and you're just adding more and more…No! In fact you're the whole problem here, you just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?! All she wanted is for you to listen to her, just to listen Hiccup but you kept bringing up the past and you know it's going to hurt her!" I didn't know how to respond to that because now that I'm thinking about it, it's like that's what I'm really trying to do. My intention was for her to realize her mistake, but now that Heather told me that, it's like I just wanted to hurt her through words. Then I kept listening to Heather and I know that as this 'one-sided conversation' go further the guilt that I'm feeling right now will eventually become pain and I know that it would hurt a lot but I'm willing to take it all in as my punishment.

"You always tell her something from the past and you wouldn't even stop until you make her cry! I mean what the hell! Why can't you just let go of that stupid past Hiccup…each one of us had already move on, even Toothless did! You're the only one left who hasn't! And can you just please tell me why?" Heather asked me but I just looked down in sadness, not knowing what to say. "Come on Hiccup, answer me?!" she demanded but I never even budged from my position, causing her to be a lot angrier. "Hiccup, I'm going to be honest with you that I also did the same when Astrid and I met again back at the village…I also didn't want to forgive her and then I did the same what you did, I said things that I didn't know that would totally hurt her but I'm regretting that I did that because I was wrong about her, because I always thought that when we left berk, everyone on that village became happy and I also thought that Astrid was really proud of herself for being the cause of that…but I was wrong because when I 'listened' to her, she went through things that I didn't think she would but she did, she said she can't sleep, she can't eat, she can't do things like she normally used to, she even stopped going at the academy and it's all because she can't handle the guilt of what she did to you, she even had nightmares because of that!"

That totally surprised me because I really didn't think that something like that would happen to her because through those fifteen years of staying in that village, I know that even a dragon would give Astrid nightmares but knowing that she had one because of what she did to me really made the guilt I'm feeling, heavier to bear with. "Hiccup do you know how hard it is for me to sleep every night in this goddamn cave to listen to her cry every time she sleeps and to wake up trying to keep my mouth shut about her crying in her sleep when she wakes up? Huh, Do you?!" Heather said. "That made me felt freaking useless Hiccup! I can't do anything for her, I can't make her stop crying because I know that the only who can do that is you!"

"Astrid's really going through all that because of me" I thought to myself. "And that's not the worse part, there was one more thing that caused her to leave berk and it's because she was sold by her own damned father" That made me angry for a moment because I know a lot of having a father like that and isn't the world already tired enough of having people like that! I mean don't they care about her?! We're humans too in case they don't see that! "and what's worse is that her father sold her to the Jorgensens" Heather continued and what she just said scared me because if there's something I didn't want to even see or even to happen that would be probably be it, because right now I'll admit that I still have some feelings for her and seeing her with that man or any other man would probably be the most devastating thing for me, but right now what's more devastating are the things I did to her. "And that was when she left berk, though because she did that, she can't even say goodbye to her parents and you know why, it's because she has to fake her death to leave" that made me confused because why does she has to fake her death, she could just leave without someone else noticing, but asking that to Heather was a mistake because when I did, it led me to hearing more things that really made me feel guilty.

"Why would Astrid fake her death if she could just sneak herself out of…?" "And what would the villagers think if she is missing and so is a dragon from the arena? Tell me Hiccup what would they think?" Heather retorted and she does have a point because for me those people's judging are worse than a judgment from the gods themselves. "They would accuse her of treachery and what would that leave her parents? A cursing of shame and being discriminated every day from those people for having a daughter branded as a traitor, like us…but now that she had faked her death, everybody knows that she died fighting with a dragon, giving her parents at least something to be proud of...but the price of that, she has to be alone for the rest of her life" Heather added and after that, I can already feel myself giving in to the guilt because for two long years, that's how I felt every day…and then with that thought going through around my head, I can feel that my eyes are starting to fill up with tears. "You see Hiccup even when she's about to leave the home where she grew up, she was still thinking what would be the good for the others instead of herself…and you know what, she did the same thing for you"

After that, I became really worried because the first thing that came to mind is that she already left the mountain because if that really did happen, I don't know anymore how will I say sorry if she's…gone, but before I could ask for Heather if she's still here, Heather spoke again. "You see I wanted to come with her but she stopped me and you know what she said, she said that it's better for me stay here, because for her, that would make you very happy" that gave me a sudden urge to see her so I can finally end this because I can now really feel the pain of the guilt. I can now even feel my heart pounding and I can say that it's really heavy and most of all, it hurts.

"Where is…" I wanted to ask for her but Heather cut me off again, "Oh now you wanted see her! And then what? You'll say sorry to her?" Heather said and before I could say yes she spoke again. "Do you know how long she was waiting for you to do that?!" Heather asked me but because now that I was feeling depressed, I can't seem to spit out another world. "Ever since you goddamn hid from us!" she yelled at me, "Astrid didn't tell me that but I can tell that she was really waiting for you to realize that! But you-you didn't even have time to think…you just kept hiding from us for your own selfishness! And for what?! So you don't have to face her, is that it?! Or so you could just run away from all this, but guess what? You can't!" what Heather just said was true, at least that is what I can say because it wasn't hiding what I did it was just me running away from my problems, but now because of what I did, it's them who was about to run away. "Hiccup she was always thinking of you since she came here or even further than we ever thought…she was thinking when will you come back, when will you face her, and when you will forgive her…but if you're going to see her right now, think about this first…"

"Do you still think that she can will forgive you? After all you did to her?" and that was it, I cried, those were the last words I needed to hear before I gave out. I didn't show it to Heather at first, I cried silently with my head looking down on the ground while thinking about what she said and to be honest, I think…No, I really don't deserve to be forgiven after all that I did to her since she came here, but I am begging the Gods right now to let her forgive me because I don't know what I'll do if all this guilt stays in my conscience forever.

"Well do you still think she'll forgive you?" Heather asked again but I can't give out an answer and just kept crying and because of that she continued. "See you can't even answer me! Then what will you even say to her…you just can't go to her and say you're sorry…you need to explain to her why you didn't forgive her and I bet you don't…" "HEATHER STOP! Please j-just…just stop…I can't take it anymore" I suddenly blurted out and then after that my knees just collapsed and I can say that it's because of the unexplainable pain and guilt I'm feeling right now. "Stop…just please stop" I said again and that was that, I kept crying and crying, making an absolute tranquil moment between us. "I get it, I'm the one who's wrong and I-I'm admitting that I don't deserve her forgiveness…and I'm-I'm sorry…I'm really sorry for everything" I said, still crying my heart out and from that moment on, all I wanted to do is see Astrid and say…sorry and to give me another chance to make up everything with her, but-but now…maybe I'm already too late because she…she could have already left the mountain by now.

And after a few more seconds I suddenly I felt Heather place her hand on my shoulder. "It hurts right…" she said in a very calm voice, I was astounded by that because I didn't think that she would easily calm down after what just happened between us, even if I was crying. "I know because we've been through there…everybody does, it's just that the pain you're experiencing is a lot more painful than the others who's experiencing it right now…but there's a certain someone who's feeling the same thing and she's about to leave if you're not going to go to her" That gave me hope because that meant two things for me and that is she's still here and I still have a chance to do what I should have done the moment we saw each other again.

"Heather…Thank you…f-for telling me all this" were the only words that came out of my mouth, thanking her and after that, I stood up and embraced her, it didn't last long but before I could let go, she whispered, "I'm glad you're back Hiccup" and I can hear her crying when she said that, I guess she was happy. "Me too…and Heather, I'm sorry" I said before I released her from my arms. "I know…now go" she said and after that I looked for Ruby, who was already at edge of the cliff with her wings already opened, already waiting for me to hop on her back and then at the moment I got on her, we took off.

Then as we flew down the mountain, every single thing I did to her came flashing through my mind, even the words that I said to her started echoing in my head…from the moment I tried to kill her until to the point when we were having my stupid conversation that I'm stubbornly saying over and over again. I started to think again of what Heather said a while ago, if Astrid will still forgive me after all I did to her and it really got me scared and worried because the conclusion I came up with is that she wouldn't…No! Please I am begging the Gods to let her forgive me because I really don't know how I can live for the rest of my life if all that guilt really stayed with me, but I know that if that ever happened, I would literally have a serious breakdown and I am sure that I will even have nightmares because of this…but on top of all this happening to me, I have realized a lot of things and first of them is that I now know the feeling of guilt when you hurt a person you didn't know was going through a lot of painful things. I also felt the feeling when you wanted to say sorry but you just can't because you know that what you did to that person was something unforgivable and I also felt the regret of doing all of those things to that person…in short words, I basically felt what Astrid has been going through.

There was one more thing that realized and that is the reason why I can't forgive her and it wasn't about the past anymore, it's because I was…I was scared. I was scared on how I felt about her because I'm going to admit that I still have some feelings for her and because of the fact that I do, I got scared that she…that she won't love me back. I got scared that it might happen again, like it did five years ago and I can sure say that having that to happen again really hurts me…but now, I don't care anymore, I don't care anymore if she doesn't love me back or anything…all I want right now is for her to give me another chance and hopefully forgive me.

Then Ruby landed and as we did, I saw her…Astrid. I can tell that she was directly looking at me from a very far distance and I can also tell that she was crying, and because of that, it gave me more reason to go to her right now…but then, suddenly, she ran away from me.

ASTRID'S POV

I was in the room crying again. I just finished fixing the room and my things when suddenly, I felt a very heavy pang of pain in my chest. That's when I sat down on the floor and cried myself out again. I tried to control myself but it was no use, I just won't stop crying. I even tried to tell myself "I chose this" over and over again…but then, why am I still crying? I don't really understand what I feel…I feel that I should leave because it would be the better for all of us, but there's something really telling me to stay and for…for me that's what I want to do but I just can't figure out why. Yet the thought of leaving still overwhelms my thought of staying here because like I said it would be best for everyone…so all of us could at least have a piece of mind and possibly…h-happy.

That thought didn't help me get better at all because I know that the word 'happy' wouldn't apply to me because I really wanted to stay. I don't know what's gotten into me to get attached to this place because there's this painful feeling in my chest that always appear whenever I think about leaving this place. "Please…make me stay" I thought, still crying…but what's the point on staying, he already said it, he wouldn't even forgive me. Then after a few more seconds of thinking about it, I just decided to leave.

When I got outside, that painful feeling got a lot worse. I even began to feel a bit dizzy because of that, so to calm myself down I wanted to get some fresh air and I'm hoping that it will really help. Then suddenly Stormfly appeared beside me and nudged me by the arm, she has this uneasy look in her eyes when she got to me, like she was worried about something. I guess she was asking if I was okay, "I'm okay girl…we'll get going later, I'll just calm myself down" I said and caressed her beak. Though when I said that, I can still see a worried look at her. "Don't worry…I'm really okay" I assured her and after that, I went to exit the cave.

But then the unthinkable happened because when I was just meters away from the open air, a black dragon landed and on it was…Hiccup. My mind went blank after that, I didn't know what to do, I didn't had the time to think and because of that, I ran away from him.

NORMAL POV

"Astrid wait!" Hiccup yelled but Astrid kept running away from him, and he damn blames his self for the reason why she's running. Though both of them are on the wrong page, they were misunderstanding each other because what Hiccup wanted was to apologize to her but on Astrid perspective he was here to hurt her again, and because of that she got scared of him and tried to run away. Hiccup sprinted towards her while Astrid couldn't run properly because of her still healing sprain, in other words she was limping away from him.

"Astrid please wait!" Hiccup yelled again but Astrid kept running. "Why am I running away from him? Isn't this is what I…" but then Astrid's thoughts dispersed and even her running stopped when Hiccup did something unexpected, he hugged Astrid from the back. They nearly lost both of their balance from that but somehow, they managed to catch both of themselves. Astrid was surprised by what Hiccup did, shocked even but what really surprised her were the unexpected words that came out of his mouth. "Astrid I'm sorry!" Hiccup yelled while they were still in that position and his face, buried into Astrid's neck and what was more surprising was that he was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry" Hiccup said repeatedly and due to that, Astrid couldn't find any words to say but all she could feel was happiness and due to that, she cried.

Astrid was crying again, though this time it was tears of joy. Astrid was happy that he was saying that, but she didn't know why Hiccup was apologizing and it made her curious. "Hic-Hiccup…wh-why are you apologizing?" Astrid asked. Hiccup didn't replied for a moment as he tried to calm down his self and when he did, Hiccup released Astrid and faced her. They both looked at each other with red swollen eyes from crying, "Astrid I'm…I'm sorry…I-I really didn't know…" after Astrid heard that, she immediately figured out why he was apologizing. Astrid guessed that Heather got tired of his attitude and finally blurted out everything to him. Though now that Astrid had figured out what really happened, she doesn't know what to feel.

"Astrid I'm sorry, please forgive me" Hiccup said again and then he tried to look at her but Astrid averted her eyes from him because she was going through a feeling that she never thought she would and it's anger. Astrid felt anger because it took Hiccup this long so he could realize what she did for him. That anger was always present but because of the pain and guilt was more overwhelming than the anger she wasn't able to realize it until now. Though she wasn't blaming him because after all, she chose not to tell him what she did and she still thinks that what she did five years ago was worse rather than what he did. And with that travelling through her mind, Astrid can't find herself to talk to him anymore because now she was scared that she might say some words that could actually hurt him again and that's the last thing she ever wanted to happen that would ruin this chance. But because Astrid kept quiet, Hiccup thought that he now doesn't have a chance of getting her forgiveness. "Astrid please look at me…" Hiccup said and hoped that she would say 'I forgive you' and be over with this, but Astrid kept looking away from him, which was really destroying Hiccup's confidence about fixing this out. "Astrid please…I'm sorry" Hiccup said but still no answer.

Both of them were crying, tears like rivers flowing down from their faces. Then as Hiccup couldn't take the pain anymore, he suddenly fell on his knees and tried to beg Astrid again, "Astrid please forgive me…I-I really didn't know what were you going through…" Hiccup said. Astrid on the other hand, got surprised when Hiccup kneeled because she never thought that it would really come to this. "Astrid…punch me, kick me, if you want just please forgive me… " Hiccup begged. "Hiccup please stop apologizing, you're making me feel worse because I should be the one apologizing, not you okay! I caused you all this so it's clear that I should be the…" and then Hiccup cut her off, "No Astrid, you already apologized…I was just too stubborn to hear it out and accept it and because of that…I-I didn't know that I was hurting you more...making your situation a lot worse…and I am really sorry about that Astrid" Hiccup apologized again, desperate for Astrid to just forgive him already but Astrid still couldn't figure out what to say or even what she should decide because in this situation, she can tell that her anger was slowly rising because of what's happening. She already said to herself that she was not blaming him for that but to the looks of it, she was already doing it and her anger is quickly responding but thanks to the next words that Hiccup will say, that anger will revert into the feeling that she felt when she came here.

"Astrid please, I'm really sorry…I really didn't know that you did that for me…I'm really sorry that it didn't came to my mind…I'm sorry for the things I did to you…for the things I said to you…I'm sorry that I didn't accept you apology when you were saying sorry for the things you did to me…I'm r-really sorry Astrid…I was just-just stuck so much to my…our past that I became angry and even held a grudge with anyone else that reminded me of it, and with you showing up all of the sudden, it kinda triggered everything that I was holding back, but now I'm regretting that I let my anger get ahead of myself…because when I did, all I gave you was nothing but pain through words without knowing that you were already going through something painful…and I'm really, really sorry for that Astrid" Hiccup explained while still crying his self out, but because of that, Astrid was left even more speechless. All she could now was cry.

"I'm also sorry Astrid because if it wasn't for me, you didn't have to leave your own parents…and Astrid I just realized it but…it was not your fault that I had to leave berk…it never was" Hiccup said and when he did, tears from Astrid's eyes came down like rain and the anger that she felt a while ago was now completely gone and because of that, she just gave in too. Astrid cried and fell down on her knees in front of him. "Hiccup please stop apologizing" Astrid said, "then whose fault it is Hiccup?" Astrid asked crying, "because I am tired of taking all the blame here and if there's really someone else who caused you this…I'll gladly pass down the blame to whoever that is and I'm going to hunt that person down even if that's the last thing I do…b-but there's no one Hiccup, I'm the only reason why you're living like this…and Hiccup I made the choice of leaving berk, so please stop blaming yourself you didn't do anything...and stop apologizing, you don't have anything to apologize for" Astrid said, still taking all the blame even if she was tired of it.

And then Hiccup asked a question that was really placed Astrid on the spot, "But why would you do that? I mean living alone is already hard as it is Astrid…and y-you have a life back there…I don't…so why? Why would you leave them…for-for me?" Hiccup asked.

This is what Astrid was waiting for, she's finally explaining everything to him and with him also finally listening to her and as she saw her chance, she didn't waste any more time, "I came here because I wanted to…to end this pain that I've been keeping for years because since you left berk…I can always feel it in my chest…at first I didn't mind it and tried to ignore it but then I started having nightmares about you…and then it got worse and worse until I couldn't handle the pressure anymore…there's something about you that is making me really worried and…sad and I know that it's because of what I did to you…because if I just listened to you that time maybe…maybe a lot of people and dragons didn't have to die fighting for each other…and maybe we could have been living in peace with the dragons for years now…but all of that chances left with you and it's because I drove you away…" Astrid cried a lot after that, her hands were covering her face and her eyes were now swollen from crying, and if humans run out of tears, hers would have been dried out by now. Astrid was really devastated as she remembers the time when Hiccup turned his back from all of them and left.

After that, Astrid kept crying and crying until she suddenly said again the words, "Hiccup I'm sorry" after that, Hiccup did the best he can do, she attacked her with a hug. Astrid was surprised at first but then Hiccup spoke the words that she was longing for and it was, "Astrid I forgive you" she just let her body react on its own and returned the hug. "…I forgive you" Hiccup repeated again and Astrid's only reply was, "Thank you…Thank you Hiccup". Astrid felt a huge relief when Hiccup finally said that, like a very heavy weight has been lifted off her chest, the guilt was not there anymore and most of all, the heart piercing pain was finally gone…and Astrid was very grateful to Hiccup for finally removing all that from her.

After that, Hiccup spoke again, "But can you forgive me too?" he said, still trying to take a blame for the hurting he caused her. "Then I forgive you too" was all Astrid said and she said that, Hiccup tightened because those words really made him happy. Both of them are still crying but this time it was not out of pain and agony, but it's because they were happy. Then after that, they kept that hug for half a minute until Hiccup remembered something very important for both of them and for that he took the liberty of releasing her from his embrace and then he said, "Oh and Astrid…Happy Snoggletog" Hiccup said with a smile and because of that, it gave a reason for Astrid to be more happy because she got to spend this year's Snoggletog with him and what made her a lot happier is that they were going to celebrate it as friends. That really made her happy and excited that she attacked him with a hug again.

"Hiccup…thank you" Astrid said again and after that, Astrid stood up and gave out a hand to help him stand. Astrid can now feel the start of a good vibe from both oof them and because of that, she finally now has the courage to ask one question that she was dying to ask him, "Can we start over? As friends" Astrid said and Hiccup happily replied a, "Yes" and Astrid was happy for that too but then, due to all the emotions Astrid is experiencing right now, she suddenly felt dizzy and because of that, Astrid nearly lost her balance but Hiccup caught her. "Astrid! Are you okay?" Hiccup asked, worried about what's happening to her. "Y-yeah…just got dizzy from…all this" she said with a very weak voice. Hiccup then tried to stand Astrid up but when she did, she mumbled, "Hiccup…I'm gonna pass…" and then she lost consciousness. Good thing Hiccup caught her again, then he started thinking that she might be really tired from all this and besides she still has a healing leg, maybe it still has an effect on her.

Hiccup lifted her up from her feet, making him carry her bridal-style and because Hiccup was holding her in his arms, he can't help it but to stare at her. It was like when they first met again, Hiccup saw the same thing about her and it was her beauty, though the only difference from that time is that there was nothing holding him back anymore from looking at her. Hiccup already knows why and it really made him smile that he can now look at her without any of his thoughts destroying it. Then as Hiccup stared at her, his heart began pounding and he knows why, "Yup…there's no doubt about it I still do like you" Hiccup thought and that made him stare at her for a little longer and because of that, he didn't realize that his head was slowly moving towards her…he was about to take a kiss.

And then, "Don't you think you're going way too fast?" Toothless blurted out suddenly from behind. Hiccup nearly dropped her when he came out of the blue, "u-u-uhh…I w-wa-wasn't do-doing anyt-thing" Hiccup stammered then he started to blush, really embarrassed. "I-I wasn't do-do…" Hiccup tried to deny again but Toothless cut him off, "Yeah, yeah I know you didn't do anything" Toothless said even though he knew what Hiccup was really doing. "But you know, I'm glad you're back…" Toothless told him. "Y-yeah…me too" Hiccup said. "…Except from the part that you tried to kiss her" Toothless teased and before Hiccup could protest again, he spoke again, "Anyway…let's get her inside, it's freezing for both of you out here" Toothless said and then he and Stormfly went first inside the house. Though before Hiccup went in, he first looked at Astrid again and thought, "Astrid, Thank you for being here with me…because you know, so far this is the best present I had in my miserable but somehow happy life…and that is us…as friends" and after that very sincere thought, they went inside.

Though as they have they're very fresh start as friends, they didn't know that more problems are about to arrive and it will include love, war, family, home, and an old friend. And it looks like war and love was already on the horizon. For love it already made it's move.

(Mountain top)

"Heather…are you sure you're okay with this?" Azriel asked. "Yeah…because this would be probably best for us" Heather replied. "Are you sure, you can stand it?" Azriel asked and continued, "…even though you're still…in love with him" It took a moment before Heather answered that but she tried not to give in to her feelings and said, "Y-yeah…" she hesitatingly said, "probably" she continued on her mind. Azriel though knew that she was lying, she can totally see in Heather's face that it will not be okay, "you chose this" she said, "…anyway let's go back, you're going to freeze up in here" and with that, Heather went back to the cave…with a heart readied to get hurt.

SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT IT? PLEASE REVIEW!J