A Complete Turnaround
Rated; M
Pairing; HiccupXAstrid
Disclaimer; I do not own anything HTTYD related. Everything belongs to its original creator.
Depend On Me
=Normal POV=
{Monday, December 13, 2021-2:00 pm}
(Archian Preparatory; DT Field)
Astrid was not seen for the rest of lunch. Fishlegs, Heather, and Hiccup didn't see her in Science after lunch hour either. However, going to Dragon Training; Hiccup arrived first and found Astrid sitting in the grass around the side of the stables. Part of him felt sorry for what she went through in the cafeteria, and then again; he found it difficult to feel bad when Astrid put herself in this position. Hiccup warned them all that this could happen, and they all denied the allegation of abandoning a friend in their time of need. Hiccup even said it last Thursday when Eret and the others left it on Astrid to pay for their meal knowing she'd just lost everything. At the same time, Hiccup wasn't sure that bit was right. It seemed there was mention that Astrid never told them until today that she was entitled to her parent's fortunes, but there was some snag in receiving them. What Hiccup did feel awful about was that Astrid learned today Eret and Ragna had been hooking up, and Eret cheating on Astrid since August, which was while Astrid did still have money, a home, and her parents. Hiccup tried to tell Astrid last Thursday to remember what he'd told her, and it seemed that she now understood what he was trying to get at.
Hiccup moved near Astrid, hearing her cry. "Astrid?" Instantly, she lifted her head and wiped her eyes.
"What do you want?" Astrid snapped coldly. Normally, Hiccup might take offense to it, but he knew what happened to cause this.
"As this class starts at 2 pm, and I'm your teacher; it's my job to ensure my students are okay," Hiccup said.
"Drop the act that you care, Hiccup. You and your friends sit at the table next to mi-The one I used to sit at," Astrid corrected. "You saw what happened, and Odin knows you don't give a shit what happened to me. Wasn't it you who just said back in November that Karma comes around? Well, there you go; I guess I got what I was asking for, right?"
"Astrid, I didn't mean it like-," Hiccup tried.
"That's what happened! Just a few days after you told me that Karma comes back to those who do wrong, my parents were killed in a fire, I have no family left. I lost my home, my fortune, my boyfriend, and friends. So I must have gotten what I deserved for being a bitch all these years," Astrid got up now, trying not to let the tears fall once more. "I've basically lost everything, and right now, I don't need the fucking I told you so, fake image of you caring how hurt I am from you! Just leave me alone! This is all your fault!"
Okay, now Hiccup was slightly taken aback by her remark. "How is this my fault?"
"Everything was perfect in my life! And then you had to come out as the kid is secretly loaded. You cause my friends to get jealous and go after you. You're the one who riled them all up with the do you know who your real friends are thing. You even said it to me last Thursday…That they purposely set me up, and no surprise; you were fucking right…I don't need to get attacked by you!" a few tears slipped.
At this point, Hiccup felt like he couldn't say anything else because of how upset she was. Hiccup knew it wasn't his fault, and he knew that one day, Astrid might take those things back. For now, though; it was best to walk away and leave her be. Hiccup sighed, then moved away from her to see the others coming onto the field.
"Let's pick up Friday's lesson with the rest of Triple Stryke," Hiccup told them.
"Where's Astrid?" Heather asked.
"I'm sure wherever Astrid is; she'll find a way to get the information from the lesson, so she doesn't fall behind," Hiccup informed, and then started on Triple Stryke's again. Astrid remained around the side of the building, crying silently, and listening to Hiccup talk about the dragon from last Friday. Astrid was a little surprised that Hiccup didn't give away where she actually was, and truthfully, she did feel sorry for yelling at Hiccup; he did only come over to ask if she was okay. Astrid knew it wasn't Hiccup's fault, and she shouldn't have taken her frustration out on him just because she was missing her parents while trying to cope with everything else going on.
I should apologize to him… Astrid thought. However, she wouldn't do it right now. Maybe after class, or in a couple of days after she figured out what the hell she was going to do now that she'd been ditched by her friends and ex; Astrid had no place to go except her car due to having no money. This, though, was a bit of an eye-opener for her; Astrid knew that she needed to get a job.
. . .
=Astrid's POV=
{Wednesday, December 15, 2021-9:50 am}
(Health Class)
As if things couldn't get worse…I've lost my car too. I thought I had more time with it, but as it turns out; the insurance policy was canceled due to the sudden death of my parents. Also, the car was repossessed by a company because my parents had still been making payments on it. With them gone now, the payments stopped and that meant these people could legally take the car back as theirs. I managed to use the last two days to look for a job before the car was taken, but I hadn't gotten any callbacks for an interview. As for a place to live…I've been staying in homeless shelters at night; there's one that's only about ten minutes from the school. I'd go there at night around 8 pm because I'd look for a job after school. I'd get a basic peanut butter and jelly, or ham and cheese, sometimes it would be soup for food. There was usually always bottles of water to drink. I'd get a cot, one pillow, and a blanket. In the morning; there were often rolls with butter, simple breakfast foods.
Leaving the shelter, I would get to the school for 7:15 am and use the girl's locker room to shower quick and get into my uniform before the 7:30 am bell. For now, this was all I could do until I got a job and was able to maybe stay in a motel room until Stoick cleared up this mess with the wills. The unfortunate problem is that my phone is off, and I downloaded an app that would let me get phone calls, but I need wifi for it to work. Thankfully, there's wifi at the school and most of the places around the city. I knew I couldn't be at the shelter for long; it was a temporary fix to a somewhat stabilized problem. I needed a backup plan, and right now; I don't have one. I have no job, no money, and no place to go. All I have to my name is my two suitcases, my wifi only hone, and Stormfly, but she's residing at Hiccup's for now.
Right now, I'm in my Health class. After Midterms; we'd move into Physical Education. I hated Health because I have it with everyone. Hiccup's and his friends, plus my former friends and ex-boyfriend. Nobody knew my situation, and I was determined to keep it that way for as long as I was able. I just needed to make it to graduation, and then I'd probably never have to see any of them again. None of this was ideal, but I had to make the best of what I did have. I just prayed for a job to come through; I didn't care what it was; I'd take anything at this point, and I've put in applications for employment everywhere close to the shelter and school.
. . .
{2:55 pm}
(Dragon Training Field)
Well, we've started Wooly Howl as of today, and Hiccup gave us the remaining five minutes to relax until the last bell. After completing Triple Stryke on Monday, we began on Snow Wraith and finished that Tuesday while starting Wooly Howl through the rest of today. Tomorrow would begin Night Fury; the last of the Strike Class dragons. We would conclude that on Friday, and then we were on vacation starting on the 20th, five days before Christmas. As it also turns out, we would be back to school Monday, the 27th through Thursday the 31st, then we'd have Friday the 1st of January 2022 off, along with the weekend before returning on the 3rd for Midterms. Starting on the 10th, we were in bonding, training, and flying for the rest of the year. I was already bonded, so I didn't need to worry about much in that department just like Snotlout, Minden, Heather, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.
I saw Hiccup sitting against Toothless, and working on something in his notebook. I really should go apologize to him for my outburst on Monday. Moving closer to him, Toothless began to growl, and I hesitated. Hiccup looked up to see me and put his hand out to relax the Night Fury.
"Yes, Astrid?" Hiccup asked.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for Monday when I yelled at you and said it was your fault all these things happened. I didn't mean what I said; I was just upset and frustrated about things. I do appreciate you coming to check on me, even after to horrible way I've treated you over the years…" I said sincerely.
Hiccup stared at me a few moments, then he sighed closing his eyes. "Apology accepted. I knew it was out of frustration, that's why I walked away," he said. I nodded, preparing to get my backpack to leave as the bell rang. The others quickly bolted off, and Hiccup stood to pack up his few items. "Astrid?" I turned to face him. "I saw your job application on the desk at Archia Burger," my eyes widened a little, and I looked down, embarrassed. "The other manager tried to call you for an interview and said you didn't answer. Have you found another job?" he inquired.
I shook my head. "No…My…Phone doesn't work without wifi, and the place I'm staying does have any," I admitted.
"Come in Friday at 3:30 pm for an interview, if that time is okay?" Hiccup told me as I was a bit surprised.
"O-Oh! Yes, that's fine…Thank you," I replied. Hiccup nodded as he threw his leg over Toothless's saddle, then the two were in the sky. I took a deep breath. Okay, so I had an interview! It wasn't a definite job, but at least I had my foot in the door at one place. Maybe things were finally turning around for me.
. . .
{Friday, December 17, 2021-3:30 pm}
(Archia Burger)
At 3 pm after school, I walked to Archia Burger and used the bathroom there first to freshen up a little before stepping out and standing before the counter where the cashier was.
"Will you be dining in today?" the female asked.
"Oh, no; I have an interview at 3:30?" I said.
"What's your name?" the woman inquired.
"Astrid Hofferson," I replied. The female moved down the line a bit into a side office slightly, then she returned with a smile. The girl handed me a cup.
"Just get a drink and have a seat; he'll be right out," the woman informed. I nodded, thanking her with a small head bow. I got myself a drink, then sat down at the table by the window in the corner. Five minutes passed before I saw Hiccup come around the counter with a few papers in his hand. And I keep forgetting he works here and is a manager.
"Sorry for the wait, Astrid. The other manager called out with a cold, so I get to do your interview," Hiccup enlightened.
"No problem, and tis the season to get sick, right?" I joked a little.
"Don't even get me started," Hiccup smiled. "Now, for this matter," he set the papers down. "The cool thing is that I already know a lot of this information, so we don't have to go through to check if it's right or not. Except for this number thing; we have to be able to contact you if necessary,"
"I just don't have the money to pay the bill…Hence the job searching…" I sighed lightly, embarrassed.
"I figured as much after everything you said on Monday. My dad is working on it, but finding a loophole in situations like these is very difficult; he's even got other lawyers he works with frequently looking it over," Hiccup informed.
"I appreciate that," I nodded.
"As far as hours you can work…Obviously; I know your school hours. I work Monday through Friday 3:30 to 10:30 pm. After graduation; I'll likely be here day shifts from opening to like 5 pm," Hiccup stated. "This says you can work any time after 3 pm to close Monday to Friday, and you're free on the weekends,"
"That's right," I confirmed. "I'll take anything I can get…"
"That's a good work ethic to have, Astrid. The problem is that with you being seventeen still, the labor laws won't let you work past 10:30 pm, like myself. And you can't work more than eight hours each shift. Also, this job doesn't allow employees to work seven days straight, we all get two days off, well, except for management. I take the weekends for Runa, naturally. Unless, of course; she has a doctor's appointment, then I choose one of the weekdays. Even after you turn eighteen, you could work longer hours, but the two days off bit remains," Hiccup stated.
"I understand," I responded.
"Great. No military work, no criminal history, no past job experience. I know you have transportation-," Hiccup began.
"Ac-Actually…I don't…" I stopped him.
"What do you mean? I know you have a car, the blue Porsche?" Hiccup asked.
I shook my head at him, looking down a bit. "I don't have it anymore…" I said. "I-It's in the shop," I lied quickly.
"How did you get here from the school then? A ride?" Hiccup questioned.
"I-I walked twenty minutes…" I fiddled with my fingers. Hiccup stared at me. "I've been walking everywhere until the repairs are made. It's okay, really. I don't mind…"
"As long as you're sure. Uh, you've seen the uniform here for crew members. We provide the shirt and hat or visor. You're in charge of the pants and work-safe shoes. Black, non-slip ones. And the pants have to be black too," Hiccup said.
"I have the black pants…Probably not the shoes," I sighed. Gods, I hated feeling so vulnerable like this.
"Do you have two forms of identification?" Hiccup inquired.
"My license and social security card, or my birth certificate…" I named, hoping that would be alright.
"All three are acceptable. Now…Starting pay here is minimum wage, which is $9.00 an hour. If you stay with us for six months; we bump it to $10. Make it a year, and you'll have $10.50 an hour. After that; it stays unless you move up to Shift Supervisor, Assistant Manager, or Manager. Each position makes something different. Me, I'm a Shift Supervisor, but I'm moving to Manager once I turn eighteen; I'm only not one now because legal reasons," Hiccup shrugged.
"So why does your badge say Manager?" I wondered.
"Cheaper to have a tag that says one thing as opposed to like five different ones. The shirts are the same too," Hiccup informed.
"Ah," I nodded, understanding.
"Anyway, this is about you. The other guy wasn't going to hire you because he knows that you and your…former friends have given me plenty of trouble. But since I'm doing the interview…I personally have no problems hiring you, as long as you're willing to work, Astrid. And no personal drama here. We don't tolerate any no call/no shows. Everyone works together and does their part to make things flow. If you're here; it's to work with the team to have a smooth shift. I won't go over everything right now, most of this information is saved for orientation. So, I'm going to hire you as a crew member employee to Archia Burger. I am working Saturday and Sunday this week because I needed two days off on Tuesday and Thursday. I want you to come back in tomorrow at 8:30 am, and we'll do your orientation, which is all the legal paperwork," Hiccup stated calmly.
"I can do that. Thank you, Hiccup…You have no idea what this means to me," I told him, slightly relieved. Hiccup nodded, shaking my hand. As he pulled away, though, I felt something there. Looking, I saw it to be a $100 bill. I stared at Hiccup, shocked.
"Turn your phone back on, and get the black, non-slip shoes for work. I will see you tomorrow morning," Hiccup said as he stood up holding the papers, then returned behind the counter. I couldn't believe it; Hiccup just gave me money to get my phone on and get what I needed to work at Archia Burger. I was stunned but very grateful to him. As soon as I got paid…I was paying him back. I knew, though, I couldn't let Hiccup down; he gave me this job because he knows I desperately need it. I don't have my parents, my home, my car, any money, friends, or a boyfriend anymore. This was me, on my own; I can only depend on myself for survival now.