Love and Basketball
Chapter 21: Prom
"A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other...Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever"
Astrid's POV.
"So you're going to the prom with this guy?" Astro frowned as he stared at Austin who was waiting for me, standing in front of his truck. "You hardly know him!"
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my jacket, just in case it gets chilly. "He is a good guy and he won't hurt me, I'll be fine…It isn't like I can go alone anyway,"
Astro rolled his eyes. "Whatever," He waved the camera in the air. "Aren't you two going to take pictures or something…?"
"I'll take some at the dance and bring them back," I walked out the front door. "See you whenever…"
Astro didn't answer, he just closed the door behind me; he is probably just going to play video-games all night. I walked down the porch steps and made my way towards Austin, when I got to his truck he gave me a hug before pulling away.
"You look nice tonight," He grinned.
I looked down at myself; I wore a short tight purple dress with black high heels. I had my light black jacket on, slipping off my shoulders lightly.
"You don't look half bad yourself…" I nodded at him, a smile grazing my lips.
Like most couples we decided to wear the same colors. He had a purple dress shirt with a black tie, black dress jacket along with black dress pants.
"Ready to go," He held the door open for me.
I smiled. "Let's…"
Hiccup's POV.
"So let me get this straight," Rachael muttered as she helped me fix my bow tie. "You're going to your Senior prom...Without a date? But somehow by a mysterious force in the universe, Fishlegs has a one?"
I chuckled as I fixed my hair while looking in the mirror. "Yeah, I guess so..."
Tonight is the last day that I will be in this stupid school and then I will finally be graduating, thank you lord! I can't take any more High School drama; I hope college isn't like this…But when I first came to this school I thought that my Senior prom would be awesome. I predicted that Fishlegs and I would both have beautiful dates, we would dance our asses off, and then after it we would all go out to eat and just talk about how much fun our High School years were.
But; I don't have a date, I hate dancing, and all my 'friends' have seem to abandon me except for Fishlegs…Austin might be a friend of mine but seeing as he is going to the dance with Astrid, I'm holding a grudge against him.
"Anyway, thanks for helping me out Rachael, it means a lot..."
She shrugged her shoulders and stepped away when she was finished fixing my tie. "No problem," She smiled. "You look great by the way...Mom would be so happy to see you right now, but she would be pissed since you messed things up with Astrid."
"I'm working on it," I rolled my eyes before looking in the mirror. "Thanks for helping me get my suit together," I smiled down at my little sister as she fixed my green bow-tie.
She gave me a toothy grin. "No problem, when Astrid sees you she is going to regret breaking up with you!"
"I hope she does," I sighed. "So," I looked over at Rachael. "How do I look?"
For prom I decided to wear a green bow-tie with a lighter green dress shirt, black dress pants, suspenders that were the same color as my tie, and I carried my black dress blazer folded on my right arm. I didn't want to go all out for prom seeing as I hate about 95% of the people there, but I still wanted to look good for Astrid as well; my suit really matched with my green eyes.
She smiled. "Let's just say, you clean up nice for a guy without a date…"
"Whatever," I looked at the clock. "I better get going, Fishlegs and Rose are supposed to be picking me up any minute now…" I spoke as I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
She scrunched her eyebrows as I opened the front door. "Don't you want to wait for dad, he might want to take a few pictures…"
"No," I smiled. "I'll bring some home for him, don't wait up!" I closed the door behind me before going down my front steps.
Just as I predicted, Fishlegs and Rose were waiting for me out in her silver Mercedes; I hurried over to them and got in the back seat. Rose had decided to wear a nice mint green dress that was strapless and stopped at the top of her knees, Fishlegs had a suit to match with her dress; they make a pretty cute couple.
"Thanks for giving me a ride guys," I smiled as Rose pulled out of her park and onto the road.
She smirked at me from the mirror. "Thanks for not being late,"
Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah, you look nice dude; love the suspenders!"
"Thanks," I grinned. "You two look amazing by the way; you might even win prom King and Queen…"
To be honest I had never thought about becoming prom King until now, but I could honestly care less if I won or not; but I would most likely lose. Even if I was nominated nobody would vote for me seeing as how I treated Astrid, I knew Justin and Cobi would betray me but not Josh and Jeffery; they were actually pretty down to earth.
"I voted for you dude," Fishlegs smiled. "I wasn't even nominated."
My eyes widened as I looked over at Fishlegs. "I was nominated? No fucking way,"
After everything I did they still nominated me?
"Yeah," He smiled. "Even if everybody hates you, no offense,"
I shrugged. "None taken."
I deserve everything that I have coming to me…
"You still led your team to victory at your last Basketball game and you guys won Divisions," He paused. "Doesn't that mean you guys get a jacket and a ring?"
I nodded. "Yeah, coach is going to give them to us at graduation tomorrow."
At least I gained one good thing from all of this High School madness, I lead my teach to States and will be remembered for that; and maybe I can encourage other new students.
"We're here you guys," Rose spoke as she parked the car as closest to the school as she could. "You can hang out with us if you want Hiccup,"
We got out of the car and made our way inside the building, our prom was taking place in our Schools gymnasium. When we got inside I looked around at the decorations; they had tables for people to sit at and relax with green and yellow balloons tied to the chairs, streamers around the floor and balloons floating in the air, and on top of our stage were a band playing music for us. The people in the band go to our school and are Seniors as well.
The place was already packed with people; they were dancing, taking photos in the photo-booth, and some people were over by the punch table as well as the snack table. I didn't see anyone who I knew there, but right now I'm just looking for Astrid. I'm not going to follow her around all night, I'm only going to say 'hi' and be on my way.
When I was about to speak to Rose and Fishlegs I spotted Jeffery and Josh over by the snack table.
Why is Jeffery here? Isn't he a Freshmen…
Turning my attention back to Rose I smiled. "That's okay, I'm going to say a few words and just hang out…"
"You sure dude? We have no problem-" I interrupted Fishlegs.
"Guys, I'll be fine." I reassured them before walking over to my current teammates.
Jeffery and Josh haven't talked to me in two months; they didn't even give me a chance to explain what really happened. I know that they betrayed me and I really shouldn't be talking to them right now but…I always had this feeling that they really were my friends and they weren't trying to fuck with my head.
I mean, they were the only ones who actually were real with me and actually gave me good advice about my relationship with Astrid. The least I can do is tell them what really happened and hopefully they can forgive me for being such an asshole…
When I reached the snack table I tapped on Jeffery's shoulder, a small smile on my face. "Hey,"
"Wha-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw me. "What are you doing here...?"
Josh turned around as well, his mouth stuffed with shrimps. "Dude you've got to try the shri-" He glared at me, looking me up and down quickly before moving up to my face. "The fuck do you want? Nobody wants you here,"
"Look," I sighed. "I know you guys hate me for what I did to Astrid an-"
Josh interrupted me. "I warned you! I told you to treat her right and to not fuck things up but no, you decided to ditch her at the party for that slut Heather…"
"I know, I know," I held my hands up. "I talked to Astrid about it and she forgave me-"
Jeffery frowned. "Just because she forgave you doesn't mean we are going to forget about everything you did! It just doesn't work like that."
"Yeah," Josh sneered. "What made you even go home with Heather?"
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter now,"
"Yes it does, why did you dump Astrid on the spot like that?" Jeffery growled.
"Guys…"
Josh agreed. "Do you know how much you hurt her?"
"Guys."
"She wasn't herself for months…" Jeffery confessed.
"Guys!"
Josh glared at me. "Why did you do it? Was it all just some sick game that you were playing?" He chuckled darkly. "You become popular and then drop her on the spot, huh? Was that your plan? Why did you do it?"
"Because my mother died and I was drunk off my ass!" I shouted, my face hot, fresh tears pouring down my face. "My mother died and I didn't want to deal with anything and she took me out to some party where she admitted that she and Snotlout planned it all from the start!"
I spat out at them, not caring who was looking. "Is this what you wanted to hear? About how Snotlout got some guys to beat the shit out of me and how I was locked up in my room for months because I was such a fucking coward that I couldn't even show my face to her!"
"And then…" I shook my head. "Then when I finally got her to forgive me, I was stupid enough to think that we would get back together by just snapping my fingers; but no! She was too busy hanging out with another guy and left me with a broken heart, but I guess karma really is a bitch though…"
My voice finally lowered as I forced my tears to stop. "And it took me two months to realize that I really don't deserve her and that if I was given the chance to change things I would…"
And now I probably embarrassed myself in front of the whole school with my loud outburst…
"Come on Hiccup," Fishlegs grabbed my arm and pulled my away from the crowd that was formed around me during my whole explosion. "We can go outside so you can get some fresh air before coming back inside,"
When we made our way to the front of the building I shook my head, the music inside had started up again and it seemed that everyone had went back to dancing and having fun; probably trying to forget what just happened.
"No," I shook my head and pushed him back to the entrance. "You go have fun with Rose while I sit here and cool down…"
He frowned. "Hiccup,"
I smiled. "I just need some time alone…"
Hesitantly he walked back inside while I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.
Yeah, great start to the night so far Hiccup…
Astrid's POV.
"I didn't know you could dance…" I smirked at Austin as we walked over to Ruffnut who was sitting at a table with her date.
She decided to bring one of the Football players with her, she told me he liked her for a while now and when he found out she ditched Fishlegs he asked her to attend prom with him. His name is Chad and he has short brown hair which is gelled back right now. They wore matching colors just like everybody else, dark green.
When we got to the table Austin pulled my chair out for me, Ruffnut smirked. "Aren't you the little gentlemen? He can dance and has manors,"
"Yeah well…" He shrugged bashfully.
Before Ruffnut could tease him any further one of my friends from the cheer-leading team ran up to me, careful not to trip on her heels. She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my seat.
"Astrid you have got to see this," She pointed at the crowd of people who were over by the punch table.
She led me to the large crowd while Ruffnut and the others followed us close behind. We shoved a few people out of the way to get a better view of…Hiccup?
What the hell is going on right now?
He was yelling at Jeffery and Josh while they stood there shocked.
"Is this what you wanted to hear?" He started. "About how Snotlout got some guys to beat the shit out of me and how I was locked up in my room for months because I was such a fucking coward that I couldn't even show my face to her!"
Is he talking about what happened a few months ago? Is that why he wouldn't talk to me up front, because he was afraid?
"And then…" He shook his head. "Then when I finally got her to forgive me, I was stupid enough to think that we would get back together by just snapping my fingers; but no! She was too busy hanging out with another guy and left me with a broken heart, but I guess karma really is a bitch though…"
He wanted to get back together, why didn't he tell me when we were talking at my house? But then again I don't know if I would have taken him back that fast, especially with the state that I was in at the time…
His voice lowered. "And it took me two months to realize that I really don't deserve her and that if I was given the chance to change things I would…"
I forced back tears as I watched Fishlegs drag Hiccup out of the gym. Everyone stood around awkwardly, looking at Josh and Jeffery who were still trying to take everything in; as was I.
"Come on guys," One of my friends named Kevin spoke into the microphone; he is the main member in the band who is playing for us tonight. "Let's get back to our prom and just relax…" He started playing his guitar. "This song goes out to all of the Seniors who are ready to get the hell out of this school!"
Everyone turned their attention back to the band and cheered, they all went back to what they were doing in hopes to forget about what just happened.
I looked over at Austin with a sorrowful look. "Austin I-"
"It's okay Astrid," He smiled. "Go, I'll just dance with people who don't have a date; it's fine."
I nodded quickly before quickly walking out to the front door; the hallway was empty as I searched for Hiccup. Just as I was about to go and check the front of the school a hand grabbed my arm tightly.
"Where do you think you're going?" My eyes widened as I was meet by Snotlout.
I tore my arm away from his grasp. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on house arrest…"
"How did you know about that?" He frowned.
I shrugged. "Hiccup told me of course,"
"Oh well yeah, they let me out early…" He smiled at me, showing his teeth in the process. "It is prom after all, one of the most important moments of your life,"
Yeah right…
I nodded and pointed to the dance. "Okay, I better get back inside before Austin starts worrying."
"Austin?" He choked out. "You do know what that guy did to you right?"
"I know what you did! Beating up Hiccup while trying to break us apart…" I spat out.
He held his hands up. "I know, and I'm sorry but…Can we talk about this outside or something, please?"
Why should I talk to him after all the shit that he pulled…?
"Please…?" He muttered.
I sighed. "Fine, lead the way."
Hiccup's POV.
"Tuffnut, I found him…" A deep voice spoke as they picked me up by the collar of my shirt.
I tried to push them away but they punched me hard in the stomach a few times, causing me to cry out in pain.
"Shut him up and toss him into the car, Snotlout should be getting Astrid right now," Tuffnut spat out as they tossed me into the trunk, slamming it closed once I was inside.
Suddenly hit with a wave darkness I tried to make out what they were saying, it was kind of hard to hear since everything was muffled by the trunk.
"Let me go Snotlout!"
Astrid!
I heard him chuckle before the trunk opened and he pushed her inside with me, I tried to move and get out but Tuffnut and his friend had punched me a few times and I was still pretty sore. Snotlout then slammed the trunk shut and then I heard the front doors closing before the car took off and out of the parking-lot.
"Ugh, I'm really getting sick of this shit..." I muttered before looking out into the darkness, trying to find Astrid. "Are you okay?"
She sighed and shifted to get comfortable. "Besides being thrown into a trunk...I'm great,"
Alright lets think Hiccup...I can probably get my phone out and text Fishlegs to come and get us, but I still don't know where we're going...
I reached into my pocket, wincing when I twisted my arm the wrong way; Astrid lay a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I nodded, even if she couldn't see it. "When they were putting me in the trunk they punched me a few times...But I think I can text Fishlegs and tell him to come find us, but I don't know where we are going,"
Astrid gasped. "And I can text Austin, maybe they can send a search party..."
"Yeah, lets hurry up before Snotlout comes back..."
Fishleg's POV.
"Have you seen Hiccup at all since his big freak out?" Rose asked as we took a seat at one of the tables after our dance.
I shook my head. "He told me he needed some time to think and be alone,"
She frowned. "But it's been twenty minutes, maybe you should check up on him."
Before I could answer I got a text, I pulled out my phone and opened the message.
H: Fishlegs, Astrid and I were kidnapped and stuffed into Snotlout's trunk! I don't know how he got out of his house arrest but he did, send help; we don't know where he is taking us though. HURRY!
I stood up from the table, causing my spoon and fork to clink against the metal plate. Rose eyed me questionably and placed her hand on my arm.
"What's up...?"
I shook my head. "Hiccup and Astrid have been kidnapped by Snotlout, we have to get help!"
"You heard to, huh?" I turned around to see Austin, he showed me his phone. "Astrid texted me too,"
I ran my fingers through my hair. "What are we going to do, we don't even know where they are!"
Austin smiled and pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I have a plan, but it's kind of risky..."
"Do it." I answered immediately.
He nodded and put the phone to his ear as we all ran outside, Rose following quickly behind.
Snotlout's POV.
"So where we taking these two?" Tuffnut asked from the passenger seat.
I shrugged, pointing to his friend Jimmy in the backseat. "First we're taking him home because his parents are looking for him, and then...I really don't know."
"I thought you planned this out man," Tuffnut groaned. "Can't we go to your place?"
I scoffed. "What if the police do a check up? Then I'll be in even more trouble," I glanced over at him. "What about your place,"
"My parents are ho-" My phone interrupted him, I pulled it out and answered it quickly.
I groaned. "What?"
"What's up Snotlout..." Austin spoke over the phone.
I glanced at Tuffnut. "It's Austin...What do you want, traitor."
He sounded surprised. "How am I a traitor? I brought Astrid to the dance so you could get her, and I didn't try stopping you; did I?"
"True," I paused as I turned a corner. "But what about when you told me yourself that you weren't going along with the plan anymore?" Tuffnut nodded in agreement.
Austin laughed on the other line. "I was saying that stuff because she was standing right next to me, I even kept her away from Hiccup the whole time! So how am I the traitor?"
True...
"He has a point," Tuffnut mumbled as I parked the car, letting Jimmy get out so he could go inside his house.
He opened the door and thanked us before closing it.
"I say we forgive him, he did manage to keep Hiccup and Astrid apart for you..." Tuffnut added.
I sighed. "Alright Austin, you can start making it up to us now...I have Astrid and Hiccup locked in the trunk now, but we have no place to take them; any ideas?"
"My grandmothers place, she is out of town visiting some family..." He suggested. "I can meet you guys over there in a few,"
I smiled. "Alright, we're on our way."
Hiccup's POV.
When Snotlout and Tuffnut opened the trunk it had been about thirty minutes since they put us in there in the first place. I was surprised to see that Austin was also with them, a sinister smile appearing on his face as they dragged us inside of his house; tying us each to a chair.
"Told you I got your back Snotlout," Austin smiled, taking a seat on the couch.
Snotlout nodded. "Good shit bro, I knew you would never betray me..."
"Aww, the whole gang is back together." Tuffnut smirked. "If only Heather were here,"
Astrid and I watched the whole scene unfold from the spot where we were tied up at, trying to process what was going on.
"What's going on here?" She questioned.
Snotlout smirked. "Austin here was just using you the whole time,"
"You're lying," She shook her head. "Austin would never do that,"
Snotlout smiled. "Poor baby, he never liked you. He was just taking advantage of you during a hard time like that so you wouldn't fall back in love with Hiccup,"
My heart skipped a beat.
I snapped my head to her, eyebrows raised; I whispered. "You loved me...?"
"Loved..." She blushed and hid her face. "I still do,"
I felt tears start to form in the corner of my eyes as she continued to explain, looking me in the eyes during her whole explanation.
"I heard what you said during prom," I blushed at the memory. "And after hearing all of the emotions that you were feeling during that...I kind of realized that no matter how many times I denied my feelings for you during those few months, I knew that I would never get over you; no matter how horrible you made me feel."
I looked away at that. "Sorry again for leaving you like that,"
"It's okay," She reassured me. "After realizing how hard it must have been for you to adjust to your mothers death, I realized that you were just trying to cop with it and I should have tried harder..."
I shook my head. "Lets not worry about that, I'm just glad that we can finally look past this..."
"That was really cute," Snotlout snapped his fingers. "Austin, untie Astrid and put her in my room...Better yet, bring Hiccup so he can watch."
A shiver ran up my spine as I looked over at Austin.
"That won't be happening," Austin smiled.
Snotlout glared at him. "What are you..."
All of our heads turned to the front door that was suddenly kicked open, five police men ran inside. Two of them made a grab for Tuffnut and Snotlout while two others came and untied Astrid and I.
"What the fuck is this!" Snotlout shouted as he struggled to be released by the officer.
Said officer placed the handcuffs onto Snotlout. "You Snotlout have been charged on breaking your house arrest and for kidnapping,"
"Same for your little friend here," The other officer talking to Austin pointed to Tuffnut. "Now get them out of here,"
The two were pushed out of the house while Astrid and I stood up once we were untied, walking over to Austin.
"I knew you would never betray us like that," Astrid smiled, giving him a quick hug.
Austin and I gave each other a quick hand shake. "Thanks man, where is Fishlegs at? I texted him everything,"
Did he not show up to help us or something? Was he too busy with Rose to even care?
"I told him to stay at the prom just in case Snotlout caught onto the plan, we should probably go there before he starts worrying about you two," Austin said as we began walking out to his car.
The ride to the prom was quiet, I sat in the back by myself while Astrid and Austin spoke once and a while. I for one didn't feel like going back to the prom, but I really needed to show Fishlegs that I was fine so he wouldn't worry so much. And as for Snotlout, he better be locked up for a long time; he clearly can't be trusted and will never learn his lesson.
Once we got back to the school I looked over and found Fishlegs sitting quietly with Rose at a random table nearby. I smiled as Astrid grabbed my hand in hers, she pulled me over to the couple before letting go of my hand.
"Hey dude," I smiled at him.
He perked up and pulled me into a tight hug. "Dude, we were so worried! I thought that Austin's plan would have failed for sure, but I'm glad that you're here,"
"Hey," Austin frowned with his arms crossed. "I thought it was a pretty good plan," We all shared a quick laugh at Austins remark.
I then smiled at Fishlegs. "Everything worked out fine, rel-"
"Hiccup," I looked around to see Josh and Jeffery.
I held my hands up to surrender. "I'm sorry for yelling at you guys alright? But honestly," I smiled at Astrid. "It turns out that you weren't the ones I had to be forgiven by,"
She smiled up at me before looking back to the guys. "We don't want any trouble,"
"Neither do we," Jeffery pointed to the crowd that had now surrounded us. "I just think I speak for everyone when we say that we were wrong for treating you the way we did Hiccup, and wither you except our apology or not..." He pulled out something from behind his back. "We would like to crown you prom King,"
Josh smiled at Astrid. "And we would like to crown you prom Queen, if you two except?"
I glanced over at Astrid who had already taken her crown and placed it on her head. Without any more hesitation I placed the crown on my head as the crowd cheered for us, the spotlight was positioned on us.
"Before we dance," I pulled out the necklace from my pocket and showed it to her.
She gasped as I placed it on her neck. "You still have it,"
"Why wouldn't I," I pulled her in close as we danced to the slow music that was being played for us. "I know that graduation is tomorrow and that I'll be leaving for college the exact same day...But, at least we'll still have tonight."
She frowned. "Oh didn't I tell you?"
"Tell me what?" I stopped our dance.
She smiled. "I got accepted to the same college in California just like you, I'm leaving tomorrow...And I looked at the passport and we're riding the same plane,"
"Seriously?" She nodded and I picked her up and spun her around before placing her back on the ground. "This is great! We're going to be living in the same place and going to the same college,"
She nodded. "Looks like we have a lot to look forward to,"
"Yeah," I smiled. "But lets not worry about all of that now, lets just focus on this moment that we have now..."
She smiled along with me as I leaned in to place my lips on hers, cheers being heard all around the gym.
Maybe I was wrong about High School being a big waste of time...
.
.
.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
.
.
.