Something just didn't sit right with him. As he sat at his table and eyes Heather's form carefully from his seat, he felt the slightest urge of discomfort seeping into his mind. He still didn't know what to make of it- was he not happy? Of course he was happy, Heather saw that herself. Was it the slightly humid temperature of the place? Impossible- it's LA, it's always humid. Maybe it was the emptiness in his hands, which was usually occupied by a pen or a book , or his guitar.

No, no, no. He just couldn't quite place it. It seemed Heather had noticed his discomfort too as she slid a hand over his and squeezed gently, drawing his eyes up to meet hers.

"You alright?" She asked, a good bit of concern evident in her tone as she spoke. It had been a few weeks ago that they'd talked about meeting up there before their big recording session. They'd been so excited about it- Hiccup mostly about the song they had planned and Heather mostly about seeing him again. Don't get it wrong- he loved her and was dying to see her again. And yet, he felt so odd.

He could place the feeling then, as the waitress brought out a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza to their table. She had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, eyes similar to that of the deepest ocean. It was that blonde girl from a few weeks ago. Not the waitress, but the waitress reminded him of her. Why? Why was he so hung up on that one girl? He was happy, or at least he felt happy with Heather. But she plagued his mind even now.

"Yeah I'm good. Just feeling a bit down is all." Is his initial response- masking his true emotions under a barely thought out lie. He wanted to see her again, to have another run in and possibly learn more about her. But as he thought of this, his mind felt so dirty- so wrong.

And it was wrong.

He has a girlfriend! He's had a girlfriend for two years now! Two amazing years, and he wasn't willing to throw away. So why the Helheim does he feel this way? Is he a cheater? One of those monstrous assholes who play with girl's emotions and then drops them for the next pretty face? The thought of that alone made his stomach turn in ungodly ways. For the love of Thor, get a grip!

"We can leave if you'd like. Just head over and start warming up at the studio." She said, a soft smile grazing her features and making his heart skip softly.

He knew for sure then, he still had a lot of love for Heather. So why did he feel this way? He prayed he'd get over it, prayed he'd find a way out of these emotions and back into her arms where he belonged- where he'd belonged for the past two years now.

"That'd...that'd be nice honestly." He'd replied, watching as she gathered her items back into her black handbag and moved from her seat. He followed suit, the both of them soon walking out of the restaurant with their food barely touched.

As Hiccup exited the building, an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over him. He began to walk alongside her towards his car and took her hand without a second thought. Soon they were on their way uptown to the Studio.

Berk

Astrid's eyes fluttered open and she struggled to push herself out of the bed. The second her feet hit the cold hardwood floor seemed to be the second she fully woke up and realized something- she was off work today. So she ignored the alarm she'd placed the previous night, having beaten it anyways, and moved towards the bathroom just across the hall.

A shower and several routine hygiene tasks later and she found herself refreshed and ready for whatever the day held for her. She wasted no time in changing her clothes, donning a red button up shirt with sleeves that stopped at her elbows, a pair of blue jeans and some brown boots with a blue headband.

Once dressed, she headed out to her small car and took off into the town, her primary destination being the cafe just up the block.

It was a quaint little place, ran by a rather burly black haired gentleman named Alvin. Alvin was kind, but had a temper to him. He loved the art of making coffee almost as much as he did the art of meadery. As she set her order- a venti caramel macchiato, her eyes shot up towards the television that rested on the wall beside the menu.

There he was again- that same auburn haired figure that had haunted her mind since meeting him at the mall. He and his bandmates newest video was playing for all to see and hear throughout the place.

The men were in a suburban neighborhood, watching on TV as they played a promo for a celebrity group's appearance at an upcoming show. The boys gave one another a look before leaping off of their old couch and rushing outside to the car that awaited.

Hiccup rushed to the driver's seat and attempted to start the vehicle, but to no avail.

It was then the lyrics and instrumental began to play, with the transition shot showing them all playing their instruments in the rain. It soon focused on Hiccup as he strummed his guitar and finally sang.

"Can you leave me here alone now?

I don't want to hear ya say, that you know me

That I should be always doin' what you say

'Cause I'm tryin' to get through today"

Those lyrics seemed to resonate with her and she bit her tongue, her drink soon being slid across the table and into her hand. Why did they seem to hit her so hard?

She'd pondered the question but soon found the answer. Because this man still hadn't left her mind.

"I don't want to think about you

Or think about me

Don't want to figure this out

I don't want to think about you

Or think about nothin'

Don't want to talk this one out"

The scene transitioned once again, to all of them rushing away from the vehicle and leaping over a fence into someone else's backyard, seemingly making their way through a family's barbecue to reach the other side. Astrid gave a small chuckle as she saw Tuff being chased by the family's dog as Eret crossed the fence and reached over to pull him up.

"This time, I won't let you bring me down

Won't let you shut me out

This time I know, I don't want to think about you"

The boys kept running, making it into the city and cutting through several alleys on their trip. They ran to the end of one and found it fenced off, a black Van with an image of several instruments driving past the other side as they turned to find another way.

The group soon made their way around to a park, cutting through the center of it to reach the road on the opposing side. Hiccup bumped into a jogger as she ran by, taking her off her feet. He helped her up before carrying on their way.

"When I wake up here tomorrow

Things will never be the same, cause I won't wait

Cause you won't change, and you'll always be this way

Now I'm gonna get through today"

The band had finally reached their destination- but found the front entrance to be crowded by raving fans and excited reporters. They would have made an attempt to break through but found it futile, opting instead to run towards the back of the building.

They made it through the back entrance, a security guard pulling open the door for them. Soon they made their way through the backstage area and were eventually taking the stage, picking up instruments. It's revealed that they were running to get to their own show.

"This time I won't let you bring me down

(Bring me down)

Won't let you shut me out

(Shut me out)

This time I know, I don't want to think about you"

The song was now being performed on stage, rather than in the background. Astrid found it to be a surprising yet rather simple video concept, but brushed those thoughts aside. Though her gaze lingered on Hiccup's form on the television for a moment. Something about him just kept sticking with her since their meeting...or rather, meetings. Something she couldn't understand.

"Alright, Let's get the ball rolling." Came Gobber's voice through the speakers. Heather and Hiccup both stood in the recording booth, headphones on and smiles fixed upon their faces.

The instrumental for the song began to play in the headphones, neither of them moving to say a word for a moment. Finally, Hiccup began speaking into the mic. He began to play with various sounds for the song, soon settling on a more baritone sound for his voice. The harmony that he and Heather produced together was unique- the mixture of pop and punk coming together almost like a perfect symphony.

With the song finally done, and the vocals finally recorded, Gobber took to his table to begin mixing the sound. As he did this, Heather joined the boys of Race to The Edge at a snack table that had been set up in the corner.

"That was awesome!" Tuff exclaimed as she approached, holding a hand for a high five. Heather returned the gesture with a smile and soon found herself being pulled underneath Hiccup's arm.

"You guys ready to debut it?" Heather asked the group, gaining a few mixed reactions in response. As much as they'd enjoyed the initial recording of the song, they still felt a bit iffy about its release.

What if there was some sort of backlash? That was always the question they held. All great bands had some sort of backlash at some point, so they expected it with every new release.

But it was shrugged off, for now at least. "I know I am." Hiccup responded with a smile before turning to his band mates. "What about you guys?" He asked

The response was simple, or at least simple for them. They were smiling hard and he could damn near feel the excitement radiating from each man.

"Always ready for the fans to hear something new." Eret said before picking up an orange slice from the table and popping it into his mouth. He'd always been the more levelheaded man of the group, even when Hiccup seemed to fret over things. His calm response was expected.

Hiccup knee Snot would boast. "They're gonna love my riffs on this one." He said with a proud smile upon his face. "They always do."

Tuff gave a small shrug as he fiddled with a cantaloupe- attaching various fruits to its exterior via toothpicks. "Dude I'm just ready for the vid. I've got an idea for it already! How do you guys feel about extreme pyro and exploding pandas?" He asked, not once looking up from his work.

The others shared a joyful glance at his idea and seemed to usher him on with it.

"I'm glad ye're all so excited." Gobber said as he approached, clapping a hand onto Hiccup's skinny, yet lean, right shoulder. "Because ye're performing it live on Mala next week!"

"Wait what?!" Snot asked as he dropped his smile and turned to face their producer. "Next week? Why so soon?"

"Gotta get it out while it's fresh eh?" Gobber responded with a toothy grin.

"Aw come on! I had plans for next week!" Was snot's response then- Gobber and Hiccup's faces dropping into unimpressed looks.

"He didn't even tell us the day, Scott." Was Eret's chime into the situation, the Brit rolling his eyes at the shorter man's antics.

"It's next Thursday."

"Then I'm definitely not available." Was the stocky young man's response then , Eret's eyes rolled as he looked back to Gobber.

"We'll be ready." The young Brit state's with a smile and a gentle swat to the back of Scott's head- swiftly stopping the stockier young man from replying or arguing it.

"Ah know ye will lads. Now then- out with ye! Go and do whatevah it is ye do outsidea work!" Gobber called, gaining smiles from the group- save for a slightly scowling Scott, as they all made their way out of the studio.

Hiccup bid farewell to his friends and gently pulled Heather closer to him as the two walked over to his car. "So , speaking on next week. Will you be ready?" Heather asked with a subtle smile as she leaned against the car, Hiccup shrugged in response.

"I'm always ready."

"Yeah, yeah. But I know TV interviews make you a little nervous. So I just wanna make sure." She responded, getting a smile from him as he rested his chin upon her head. "Trust me, this will be the last thing to make me nervous.

{But one other thing will make me lose my mind.}

Hofferson Home

"So I saw the new Race to The Edge music video today." She'd begun, her eyes staying trained on the television across from her as Freyja perked up.

"You watched one of their videos??" The younger Hofferson asked, her elder sister using the temporary distraction to kill her character off in the PS4 game they'd been playing.

Freyja's eyes moved back to the screen in a rush as she gave a huff. "So unfair." She muttered as Astrid chuckled and leaned back a bit.

"Yeah, but only because it was playing in the cafe. It was pretty cool I guess." Was her plain response

"Was it Don't Wanna Think About You?!" Freyja asked then as she began to load another game, Astrid giving an abrupt nod of her head.

"Yup." She'd said, popping the p at the end of her statement.

"I love that song! You gotta listen to some more of their music Ast! They're amazing!" Her little sister chirped as she started the next game, Astrid smirking as she ruffled the younger one's hair.

"I'll think about it."