Author's note: It's been a while. On, thy trusty steed, to victory or ya know the next chapter.
Hiccup's perspective
The doctors had scheduled an operation on my leg for the next day so I was stuck here in the hospital. My dad had come about 3 hours after the incident with Scott to see me, so that was nice.
He had organised another meeting with the school board about me being attacked at school but this meeting was almost guaranteed to go just like all the others. I would get injured, my dad would get angry, he would arrange a meeting with the board, and the board would say there's nothing they can do about it.
I don't even know why my dad tries to sort it out anymore. I've only got to wait till the end of the year, then I can be rid of Scott forever. Boy, do I look forward to that day.
KNOCK, KNOCK
The door opened before I could respond and Astrid came running in.
"I'm going to kill that son of a-"
"Now now, Astrid, it's not that bad; oh, who am I kidding, I hate that guy. Only several more weeks 'til we can be rid of him for a lifetime!"
"What do you plan to do with your life after graduating Hiccup?"
"Have no idea; I'll wing it," I responded
"Sounds like your life story"
"Touché," was all I could come up with. She was right though. I never really had any in-depth plan with anything I ever did. Whenever we were given an assignment, I'd make a plan for what I'd do, then I'd change the plan and do something else, get half-way through the assignment, then procrastinate on finishing the rest of it.
My train of thought was interrupted by Astrid saying, "I'd like to go to university to get a degree in psychology. Everyone says I'm very violent, so I'd like to know what causes people to have different character traits"
"I always knew you'd try to stop being violent," I said sarcastically, which, in turn, earned me a punch on the shoulder. "That, young lady, is a step in the wrong direction," I remarked.
"Oh, there's plenty more where that came from"
With that, we continued poking fun at each other.
Astrid's perspective
A few hours later, a nurse came into the room and told me visiting hours were over. Hiccup and I said our goodbyes and I headed off. I started the long walk home, making another mental note to get my car fixed. When I got home I went upstairs to start my Mental Abuse To Humans homework. I didn't get much of the dreaded subject done before I was called down for pizza. My family has a tradition, so every Friday night, we order pizza and eat in front of the TV.
"How's Hiccup today?" my mum asked quite suddenly.
"He's got an operation to set the bone tomorrow. But otherwise, he's fine"
"Really, that bad."
There was an awkward silence before she continued, "I was wondering if you'd ever found out what happened to his leg, I don't mean Scott breaking it but how he lost it in the first place?"
"No-one except him and his dad know. There were rumours but he hasn't given anyone a confirmed answer. I'll ask him again"
"Tell me what he says, dear"
"I better get on with my Mental Abuse To Humans homework"
"Mental Abuse To Humans?" my mum asked.
"Maths mum, it's maths" and with that I headed upstairs.
Narrator's perspective
Hiccup was allowed to leave the hospital the day after with strict instructions to take it easy. The op had gone well and he was told he'll be able to near as much walk with his prosthetic leg, in a few weeks' time. Stoick arrived at the hospital after work that day to pick up his son, anything to get away from his desk and a calculator. Stoick worked as an accountant which he hated.
Stoick pulled up outside the hospital in his Toyota Hilux pickup truck and headed inside. He walked over to the receptionist. She was a short lady with curly brown hair and glasses. On her chest was a name badge that read "Gloria".
"How can I help you?" she asked as Stoick walked over.
"I'm here to get my son. I was told he was being released today," Stoick replied.
"What's his name?"
"Henry Haddock" noted Stoick
"I need some form of identification, Driver's license? Passport?" admitted Gloria.
Stoick handed over his driving license.
"Everything checks out. The out-patient room is down the hall, first on your right."
Stoick thanked her and headed down the hall. He found Hiccup inside, sitting in a wheelchair and talking to a doctor. Hiccup noticed his father enter the room and wheeled over.
"How are you today, son?" asked Stoick.
"Fine, just want to go home," Hiccup replied
"Well, that's why I'm here, so let's go." They headed down the hall and out the main door of the hospital. Stoick lifted his son into the truck and put the wheelchair in the back. They headed back home.
It had been 3 days since Hiccup returned home and he hadn't been to school since Scott happened. Astrid finally had time to go visit after some of her own family had come and gone after a family get-together.
She drove her newly fixed car up to the Haddock house and knocked on the door. She heard a clatter and a bang before the door was opened by Hiccup. The remains of his dinner were splattered across the floor.
"What happened here?" Astrid inquired.
"You scared me. Wasn't expecting anyone to come over," he replied nervously.
"Well you should've known I was going to come over at some point. Sorry I couldn't earlier, family gathering."
"It's fine. But would you mind helping me pick this up?" he said gesturing to the new mess on the kitchen floor.
Astrid nodded and she wheeled him into the kitchen. They spent a few minutes in silence before Astrid asked "Just wondering, how did you lose your leg in the first place? It's been on my mind since Scott broke it."
Hiccup shot her a cold glare before replying "It's none of your business." He didn't mean to sound harsh, but this was a touchy subject for him and he didn't like to talk about it.
"Well sorry. Just thought friends were supposed to trust each other with secrets," she murmured under her breath.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" an exasperated Hiccup replied. "It isn't something I enjoy talking about."
"You don't talk to anyone about it Hiccup."
"Well maybe I don't want to, Astrid!" his voice became quiet and menacing "You don't know what I went though. Just leave the subject alone."
Astrid knew she wasn't going to get anywhere. Hiccup was the most stubborn person she knew, so instead of arguing more, she stormed out the door, leaving Hiccup with a half-tidied floor.
Hiccup knew he was overreacting, but he didn't like the subject being brought up.
Astrid's perspective
I stormed out the door, completely forgetting about my car being there, and headed along a path that led through the small forest on the edge of town. I knew I'd pushed him too hard to give up one of his greatest secrets, but I still felt justified in my search for answers. Angry at myself and Hiccup, I kicked a rock. By the time I realised it was immovable, it was too late. My foot collided with it and I cried out in pain.
I sat down on the accursed rock nursing my bruised foot for quite some time. I pulled out my phone and realised it was 9 at night. I managed to stand on my foot and start on my way home.
There was a rustling in the bushes behind me.
I turned 'round only to be met with the black of the night. I turned back to the direction of the house and there was the rustling again.
I caught sight of something moving. As the thing moved into the moonlight, I saw something large and black there.
A Night Fury.
Hiccup's perspective
God, was Astrid annoying sometimes. And to talk about my leg when it clearly isn't something I wanted to talk about? How could she? My dad was the only other person to know about my leg and I'd prefer to keep it that way. But what Astrid said about trust really hit home. We were best friends but this was too personal.
To clear my head, I wanted to do one of the only things that made me feel better, fly.
I wheeled myself out on the back porch and down the small ramp into my back garden. After I lost my leg I quickly discovered that my dragon form still had all four legs, so that was a relief.
I got out of my wheelchair and hopped over to the back of the shed. Over the past two years, I'd got better at changing forms quickly, so in no time, the tingling subsided and I was now a large black dragon.
A flap of my wings later and I was airborne.
Soaring through the clouds at just under the speed of sound was amazing, the feeling never got old. Up here I had no worries, no mending leg and no Scott.
After the sun had set a few hours later, I landed in the town's timber forest to try and catch fish in a small cove. I don't know why, but in my dragon form, I have a strange urge to eat lots of fish. I normally hate fish.
After my stomach was satisfied, I flew out of the cove and landed once again about 500 meters away. I saw the flash of some mirror thing in the moonlight and I decided to investigate. What I found scared me, a person.
Astrid
Author's Note: this chapter is longer than the first two put together! It's about 1700 words! Sorry again for the wait, but I can't exactly give you specific dates for chapter releases. I'll try to make them as often as possible.