Author's Note: Hellooo everyone! 'Tis me, Moon, and I'm back once again with another edition to my one-shot collection, "Sticks and Stones!" =D I don't have much to say this time around, so I hope you guys enjoy this one-shot! =D

Summary: Hiccup had never been paid attention to. But now that he is, it's taking some getting used to. So, when the twins go a little too far with a joke about his leg and overall "weak" attire, Hiccup learns that he doesn't have to put on a show and act like he's alright with a little help from Astrid. (Pre ROB)

Put On a Show

Hiccup had never been paid attention to. So, it took him a while to get used to all of the attention that he was getting after defeating the Red Death and saving his tribe.

Hiccup never thought that he'd be called a hero. He never thought that people would actually acknowledge him when he walked through the village. Although, he never thought that he would tame a Night Fury, fly a Night Fury, or even make friends with Astrid Hofferson herself, so he wasn't entirely surprised by people taking notice of him.

But that didn't mean that Hiccup was used to the sudden amount of attention he was getting. Now that he wasn't overlooked anymore, Hiccup had to get used to people saying hello to him, making contact with him, and even being waved to as he walked through the village. He had to get used to people asking him for dragon advice, he had to get used to people congratulating him—cheering for him—after defeating the Red Death.

Hiccup wasn't entirely comfortable with the change yet; he was slowly adjusting, and Astrid could tell. He was talking to people, laughing with people, and he even spent time with her and the Dragon Riders. Astrid was glad that Hiccup had finally gotten what he deserved after all those years of being made fun of. She wished that she had realized how amazing he was sooner, and she wanted to take all of those years of ignoring him back, but the best she could do to make up for that lost time was to spend as much time with Hiccup as possible. And that's exactly what she did. Hiccup and Astrid had become close friends, and they were often seen talking to each other or racing each other on dragonback around Berk.

As Astrid spent more time with Hiccup, the more she grew fond of him. Hiccup was unlike any other viking Astrid had ever known, and she knew that she hadn't been very kind to him back then, but he still forgave her when she said she was sorry. Astrid still didn't know how Hiccup was able to forgive her and the entire tribe of Berk so easily, but she was glad that Hiccup wasn't holding a grudge against them.

There were other things that Astrid perceived about Hiccup too. His sarcasm, his dry humor, and his quick thinking and inventive ideas that made him separate from most on Berk. Astrid also noticed a couple of habits that Hiccup had, like how he would use his hands very frequently when he talked, or how he would stammer when he was nervous. And then there was the habit—a habit that Hiccup probably used the most—was how he would sometimes hide his true emotions from people and deal with them by himself.

Astrid had not seen Hiccup do it often. But when he did, she couldn't help but feel concerned for him. Hiccup never really liked to show how he was really feeling in front of people, and he often used his sarcasm to hide them. Astrid had offered that if Hiccup needed help—any help at all—she was always willing to assist him. But Hiccup had reassured her that he was okay, although Astrid already knew that he really wasn't.

He puts on a show too often, deemed Astrid. Hiccup had grown so used to hiding how he truly felt while he was shunned by the rest of Berk, and even though he wasn't made fun of, overlooked, or teased anymore, he still hid his true emotions sometimes, even though he had people who wanted to help him.

Astrid walked on the bridge toward the former Kill Ring (which had been dubbed "The Ring" by other Berkians since dragons had come to live with them) with Stormfly following close behind. Astrid had only known the Deadly Nadder for a short amount of time, but she already loved her dragon, and she felt bad for attacking her back when she and the other teens were still in dragon training. Astrid was surprised by how fast things had changed. It seemed like Berk was never at war with dragons in the first place. They were everywhere. On rooftops, inside houses, and they flew over Berk with no fear of being shot down. Astrid liked the change, and now that her new dragon companion Stormfly was one of her best friends, she couldn't bear to think about killing a dragon. She never wanted to go back into that practice again.

Astrid entered the Ring and looked around to see that Hiccup, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins were inside. The Dragon Riders had been spending a lot of their time in the former Dragon Training ring. It was their hang out place, a place where they liked to stop by and spend time with each other. Astrid wondered what they were going to do that day. Go racing to Dragon Island and back? See who could perform the best aerial trick on their dragon? Astrid smiled to herself at that thought. Hiccup always won, but that didn't make the challenge any less enjoyable.

"Hey, guys," greeted Astrid as she entered the ring. She placed her hands on her hips and watched as Stormfly went to greet the other dragons. She turned to her friends and asked, "So, what's the plan for today?"

Hiccup stood up enthusiastically. "Well, I was thinking that we could head down to Raven Point and practice stealth. My dad was thinking about having dragons help with patrolling the island, so I thought it would be nice to give him a hand and start training our dragons to do just that."

"So, we're going to go down to Raven Point to play hide and seek?" said Snotlout.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It's not hide and seek. It's stealth training, which will come in handy if we're in a place with our dragons that require us to stay hidden."

"I think that's a great idea, Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

"Me too," said Astrid. Having been training herself in stealth since she was younger, Astrid knew how important being furtive was when it came to patrol or battle. She had a good grasp on being stealthy already, but she knew that there was always room for improvement. She would also get to teach Stormfly how to be quiet and secretive.

"But doesn't Toothless already know how to be stealthy?" asked Snotlout. "I mean, he's a Night Fury."

Toothless snorted from the corner.

"Yes, Toothless is a Night Fury, but his scales only allow him to blend into the night or dark areas," stated Hiccup. "But for this type of stealth training, we're going to be sneaky and hidden in daylight."

"This is going to be so cool," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah," Tuffnut agreed. "Although I think Hiccup and Toothless will be the best at hiding."

"Why?" asked Hiccup curiously.

Tuffnut shook his head as if it were obvious. "I mean, look at you." He gestured to Hiccup. "You could probably stand behind a tree and no one would even notice you. You're a stick."

Ruffnut nodded. "He's right. I bet you could lie on the ground and people would think you're a twig." She snickered. "Or a thin metal rod, since your leg is metal."

Tuffnut gasped. "Wait, wait! He could be a nail!"

"A splinter!" added Ruffnut.

"A screw!" Tuffnut said in between laughs.

"Oh, oh! How about a needle!" cackled Ruffnut

Snotlout was laughing as well, but Fishlegs and Astrid remained silent. They knew that Hiccup's prosthetic leg wasn't something that he was comfortable with yet. He didn't like to talk about it, and whenever people brought it up and turned it into some kind of joke, he felt hurt. It was the same with his thin attire. Hiccup had been called scrawny, weak, bony, anything that was an offense to his build. He wasn't strong like most vikings. He wasn't very tall or big either, but that didn't mean he wasn't special. That didn't mean he should be treated like he was nothing.

As the twins and Snotlout chortled with laughter, they didn't notice how Hiccup was pursuing his lips. They didn't notice the blank, almost emotionless expression that he had on his face, and Astrid was just about to snap at the twins and Snotlout to stop when Hiccup suddenly put on a grin and laughed right along with them.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha! That's…that's real funny, guys," he said with feigned amusement. Fishlegs and Astrid were surprised. The Hofferson girl knew that if she was Hiccup, she would have felt hurt by what the twins had said. She would have felt angry too. But there were a few things that Hiccup did that told Astrid that he had been affected by what the twins had said.

His laugh. It sounded dry and forced. His laughter didn't sound anything like the way it did when he was amused or entertained. Astrid watched as Hiccup's laughter eventually died down, and he was still wearing a smile. A fake smile. He was acting as if the twins' joke hadn't hurt him at all. Astrid knew otherwise, though.

Tuffnut suddenly gasped. "Wait, I got one more! If Hiccup were to hide next to the ocean, people would mistake him for…a fishbone!"

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut howled with laughter, and Astrid felt enraged.

"Would you three stop?" she snapped. At the tone of her voice, the twins and Snotlout immediately seized their laughter. "I can't believe you three! You guys don't know anything about respect, do you? And you don't seem to know when to shut up either!"

"Astrid, i-it's fine," said Hiccup. Astrid spun around to face him, and she could tell that he was anything but fine. Hiccup was stiff, and he had a beseeching expression in his eyes that was begging for her to stop.

But before Astrid could retort, Hiccup told the others to go and prepare for stealth training and the Riders all flew off on their dragons, heading off to grab whatever they thought they would need for the training session. Astrid stayed behind with Hiccup, and she watched as he walked over to Toothless, tightening the straps on his saddle even though they already looked secure. He was trying to distract himself.

Astrid sighed and walked up to Hiccup's side; she crouched next to him. She watched as Hiccup's hands fumbled to different places on Toothless' saddle, and he glanced at Astrid once or twice before continuing what he was doing. Astrid stayed quiet for a while. Then, finally, she said, "So, how are you?"

"Fine," replied Hiccup.

"Are you sure?" asked Astrid. "Because what the twins said back there—"

"Was hilarious," Hiccup interrupted. He forced another smile. "I mean, it's perfect. I'm a fishbone, a stick, a splinter, a twig. Oh, and I'm a nail too. How funny is that?"

Astrid stared at Hiccup, her blue eyes examining his every movement. She could see right through his act. She could tell that he wasn't okay. She could tell that he was hurt. She could tell that he was putting on a show again.

"Hiccup, don't lie to me," Astrid said. She placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and the Haddock stiffened. Astrid didn't remove her hand despite this. "What the twins said back there was really hurtful. You don't have to pretend—"

"I'm not pretending," Hiccup said emphatically. He moved to yank one of the straps on Toothless' saddle and the Night Fury let out a small whine. Hiccup patted his dragon's side.

"Sorry, Bud," he mumbled. He moved to fiddle with another part of Toothless' saddle, but Astrid stopped him.

"Hiccup, talk to me," she said. His green eyes met hers and Astrid continued. "You're not alright. You're hiding how you feel but you don't have to act like you're okay. If the twins offended you, if they hurt you, just say so. Get it off your chest. Because I know that if I was in a situation like that, I wouldn't be laughing or smiling."

Hiccup chewed his lower lip and Astrid gripped his hand.

"Just tell me how you feel," she said. "That's all you have to do."

Hiccup sighed. "I…I really didn't like what the twins said back there…" he conceded. "I've always been called weak, scrawny, and useless, and when they started comparing me to all of those things…and then they brought up my prosthetic leg…"

"I know," said Astrid. "They're…they're real muttonheads."

"Y-yeah…" Hiccup looked down. "But…they were just kidding around. I shouldn't feel offended or anything…"

"No, Hiccup," said Astrid. "What the twins said was mean, and they shouldn't have brought up something that you aren't comfortable talking about. Your leg is a touchy topic, and the fact that they were calling you scrawny and thin wasn't okay."

Astrid squeezed his shoulder. "Hiccup, I know you don't like showing how you really feel, but it's good to talk sometimes. You don't have to act like you're fine, especially when something like what happened just now happens. I'm here for you, Dragon Boy. And I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind talking either."

Hiccup didn't respond, but he nodded, letting Astrid know that he was listening. The two stood up and Astrid realized that she was still holding Hiccup's hand, but it was the auburn-haired teen who pulled away first.

"I…thanks, Astrid," he said. Hiccup gave her a small smile. A true, unfeigned smile. "I'll try my best to be more open."

Astrid smiled back and nodded. "So, should we go and get ready for stealth training?"

Hiccup nodded. "Or…we can sneak in a quick dragon race before meeting up with the others at Raven Point."

"I'm in," Astrid said, and she quickly ran to Stormfly and mounted her, taking to the sky before Hiccup did. As the two spun and twirled through the clouds, racing each other and going as fast as they could go, Astrid realized as she looked at Hiccup, who was smiling like there was no tomorrow, that this would probably be the last time he would hide his true emotions and he'd finally start being more open when it came to his feelings.

There was no need to put on a show anymore.