I seriously need to stop starting and not finishing stories. I have this habit of going and going…and then writers block hits and much later on a new idea pops into my head….oh, well. Sorry! Sign of a bad writer, maybe?

So - I have not updated for a while. I have been reading through my "Separated but Inseparable" story and I cannot believe how long ago I started that one. Here it is two years after Covid came and remains, and I started that not long after Covid started taking hold. Hubs and I avoided Covid for two years and I caught it first…I NEVER get a fever and I couldn't sleep, I was tossing and turning with chills and hot flashes all night…and slept A LOT for a few days before we were able to get some tests strips and I tested positive. I was negative two days later with some nasal congestion…Aaron tested positive a few days later and he only had some tiredness and much more congestion than I did. Weird how this virus affects everyone so differently!

I have been trying to come up with something else to write about as of late. I honestly want to write, want to get something different down and I just….can't. But - I have had a little bit of this lingering in my head for several weeks and kinda just want to put Hiccup in a situation without Astrid really there to be more of the verbal, assertive person she is and put Hiccup in a vulnerable situation again….Astrid is here, but she isn't aware with what Hiccup is really dealing with.

****TW - this story does deal with bullying. Just so you know.

….

It was rare for Hiccup to be overly distracted in class. But, it was Friday and he had plans that he was very much looking forward to. Heather was in town for her Spring Break, and their parents had a dinner date they were going to. So, they'd arranged their own double date with Heather and her boyfriend, Sage. Although he was slightly nervous about these plans, he was looking forward to all four of them hanging out at the house and playing euchre and eating homemade pizza.

The clock ticked away over Mr. Brice's head, and Hiccup sighed as he glanced at the clock longer than he'd intended to. As the red line ticked way with each second, he could actually hear the "tick…tick…tick" in between the words Mr. Brice was saying.

Suddenly, the class shuffled, pulling him out of his daze, and he realized everyone was pulling out their hardback books from under their seats. As he pulled his book out, he anxiously glanced at the blackboard for any sign of what page they were turning to. His face grew a little hot as he glanced around, hoping to catch what page Mr. Brice had asked them to turn to. Glancing over Hannah Tate's shoulder, he saw they were turning to page two-seventy-two.

His anxiety eased up as Mr. Brice asked them to read the assignment silently. Glancing down and flipping through a bit, he realized the short story assignment was only eight pages long, and at the end they had to answer ten questions.

"Do what you can of the assignment in class, and then what is not completed is homework. I will attach it to your weekend assignments in the school portal. The assignment will be due on Monday at class time."

Pulling out his notebook, he ripped out a piece of paper and wrote down the assignment on it, then folded it up and placed it between the pages the questions were on. He never completely trusted the portal. This was his back up.

He read through his assignment, however about four paragraphs in he realized he was not comprehending any of the words in full. He was simply going through the emotions. Taking in a deep breath, he sighed, and glanced back up at the clock. Fifteen minutes.

His foot shook viciously with impatience. All he had to do was hear that bell ring. After that, he would need to go to his locker, exchange out a few books and folders, then meet Astrid at the car. From there they planned on going to the grocery store to pick up the pizza ingredients, and then homeward bound they would be. Then, the evening would officially begin.

In the last five minutes of class, everyone started closing up their books, pulling their belongings up from the nook under their seats, and waiting for the bell to ring. Hiccup shoved his book into his backpack, making sure he had his assignment paper tucked gently in the back. He moved the bag over to his right shoulder and sat strangely in the seat just so he could rise and leave.

The bell rang, students jumped from their seats and began to scramble out the door.

As Hiccup waited for the crowd to disappear, he looked over at Mr. Brice, told him to have a nice weekend, and followed everyone out.

The hallways were crowded. Students were talking loudly, some screaming over the heads of others to get their friends' attentions before they left. Others Hiccup could hear were making plans to meet up and watch the basketball team to watch the semi-final. It was the first round, and it was all most of the jocks and popular crowd could talk about all day.

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Hiccup had asked Astrid before they'd made plans with Heather and Sage.

She nodded with a smile. "Staying in sounds better."

To be honest, Hiccup had been worried about Astrid over the last few weeks. Her mother had made the comment a few times about how outgoing she once was. And, honestly Hiccup had noticed she'd stopped gravitating to going to sporting events or possibly even hanging out with a few of her girlfriends from the volleyball team or the swim team on the weekends.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to be with me all weekend." he'd told her.

She'd simply shook her head and said, "I'd honestly would rather spend Friday nights with you instead of going to watch some jerks shoot hoops."

Mrs. Hofferson had thought it a little odd her daughter was "distancing" herself from her friends. However, her father had indicated to his own father that he wasn't worried like Mrs. Hofferson was.

"Personally, if she's with Hiccup I know she's safe," Hiccup had overheard him say.

Although it had warmed Hiccup to know that her father trusted him, it also concerned him. He felt - bland, some days. He felt he didn't live a very exciting life, especially after his accident. He'd resorted to leaving for school and coming home and practically barricading himself in the house. At least, that was before he'd gotten his prosthetic, and before Astrid's bubbly personality and encouragement. She honestly brought out the better in him after his accident had knocked him back from his normal activities.

For instance, this date night with Heather and Sage. If it had not been for her, he honestly would not have given Sage more than a polite hello, a small conversation and would have disappeared back into the background of he and Heather's lives. With Astrid, who had always gotten along well with Heather, she'd practically pushed him through his comfort bubble.

Making his way down another corridor to his locker, the crowd seemed to be dissipating. The echoing sounds of the lockers shutting around him grew fewer within a moment. This pushed him to hurry as he hadn't wanted to keep Astrid waiting. He swapped out a few of his books, neatly placing them into the inside of his locker upright. As he finished zipping up his backpack, the door slammed shut on him, and he felt someone place a heavy hand on his shoulder, and pushing him forward.

"Hello, Hiccup," someone said quietly behind him. His instincts had told him to duck, and protect his thin frame as much as possible. He'd been bullied by Snotlout a lot in the past, and his goons. He didn't even recognize the voice of the person. He could tell whomever stood over him was easily almost a foot taller than he was. They were also wearing a varsity team jacket of some sort.

When no blow to his body came, his eyes started drifting upwards, and he was met with the piercing stare of Brock Savage. The guy was pretty husky in the shoulder region, and intimidating in general. His dark, undercut hair was pulled back in a small ponytail behind him. He hadn't had the sides cut for some time so with the ponytail he looked a little shaggy. Brock was a senior, and on the basketball team, although he wasn't necessarily built or near as tall as some of the other members of the varsity team.

"Hi - Hi, Brock," Hiccup said. They'd never really formally spoken. Yet, Hiccup remembered him in the car the day that Snotlout drove past the house, calling him Tripod shortly after his surgery. The thought pushed him to brace his good leg, just in case he needed to catch himself. The bullies in the school, when they'd started to set their sights on him, always like to try to kick the back of his knee or the prosthetic in hopes of knocking him down. It was one reason why Hiccup had continued to bring his crutches past the PT's recommended time-frame once he'd been fitted for his prosthetic. The jock was intimidating, and very much like Snotlout in Hiccup's mind. However, Snotlout did have a compassionate side, whereas Brock never really seemed to feel guilty for the mischief he caused. Despite the panic flooding through Hiccup, he wondered what Brock was really wanting. If anything. Perhaps this was just another game the bully was playing.

"Your step-sister is Heather, isn't it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He seemed to be sizing Hiccup up a bit.

That was a strange question for him to ask.

"Uh - no. Her mom and my dad are dating." What was he wanting to discuss Heather with him for?

"You guys talk though, right?" he asked him.

"Uh - " Hiccup held back the full sentence that almost came out of his mouth. His nerves were getting the best of him. He glanced down the hallway on both sides of him quickly, and realized he and Brock were the only ones remaining within eye sight. Great…"Yeah, we talk here and there."

"She's in town right now, right?" he asked.

Hiccup hesitated. Clearly, Brock knew she was. He'd probably seen her out and around at some point during the past week she was in town visiting with Katherine. She'd arrived home just last Thursday night after a final exam. Katherine had actually come and picked him up for a PT appointment early that afternoon, and the woman was glowing with how excited she was to have Heather home for a week.

"Dude, she's home, isn't she?" Brock asked, pulling Hiccup out of his thoughts.

"I'm not entirely sure what she's doing," Hiccup said. Truthfully, outside of their evening that night, he had no idea what Heather's plans were. When she was going back, or if she was staying in town after tomorrow.

Brock rolled his eyes. "C'mon, man. Don't play dumb." His face narrowed, and he shoved Hiccup's shoulder into the locker heavily. Thankfully, Hiccup remained balanced on both of his feet. He placed a hand against the locker behind him to help keep him upright again, just in case. The panic rushed through him and eased. He forced himself to remain more guarded for the next possible hit.

"I saw her last night at Wal-Mart," Brock said, staring around the hallway. Hiccup could sense he was looking around just incase someone saw them face to face the way they were. Hiccup couldn't run, he knew with the prosthetic Brock could outrun him. Had he still had both of his own feet, he may have been able to dodge and outrun him, like he used to do with the bullies in elementary school and junior high.

Suddenly, Brock's hand went into the inside of his jacket, and he pulled out a sealed envelope. He pushed it close to Hiccup's nose. "Give her this for me." He held up a sealed envelope into Hiccup's face. "Give her a call, and get this to her within, like, the next hour. The sooner, the better - "

"I - I won't see her that soon - "

"Then text her that you need to meet up with her right away!" Brock urged, shoving Hiccup's shoulder into the locker hard again. Hiccup's head hit the hallow metal. He still remained on his feet, again feeling his blood thumping through his body. He could now feel his ears thumping violently.

"Brock - I don't think -"

"Do it!" Brock whispered at him, suddenly grasping the chest of Hiccup's hooded sweatshirt. "If you don't, I'll know." He shoved the envelope at Hiccup's chest, waited until Hiccup placed his hand around it, then released Hiccup's hoodies, turned and walked down the hallway, shoving his hands into his letterman jacket pockets as if to hide the evidence of his bullying.

Hiccup spent a moment collecting himself, then he glanced down at the envelope in his hand. On the front it said "Heather" with hearts around the entirety of her name that was written in some sloppy cursive. A sick feeling overcame Hiccup then, but he had to wave it off. Why was Brock setting his sights on Heather, practically out of no where? It just didn't make sense.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs on the opposite side of the corridor, pushing him out of his shock. He bent down and placed the envelope into his book bag, and as he was zipping it up he heard, "There you are!" He felt his heart slow down, knowing at least someone was there, and especially since it was Astrid.

Her last few steps she skipped, plopping down directly in front of him with both feet together. She held a mischievous grin on her face as she adjusted the strap on her bag over her shoulder a bit.

"I was starting to worry you'd taken the bus on accident," she had said.

He shook his head, feeling the tension ease a bit with her presence. He reached around her shoulder, and pulled her braid gently over her shoulder, playing with the small loop on the end of it. His eyes then met her's, which were peeking through her gold frame glasses today.

"We still need to go get the ingredients for that pizza," she reminded him, looping her arm around one of his, steering him gently in the direction they needed to go.

He gave her a forced smile, nodded, and walked with her locked arm-in-arm down the hallway to leave the school grounds.

….

Hiccup had to push Brock's request and envelope out of his head to enjoy his evening with the girls and Sage. The young man arrived just after Heather did, dressed in a pair of dark pants and a button up shirt. His blond hair was side parted, and he was clean cut. when Hiccup had greeted him at the door, he could sense that Sage was just as nervous as he'd been himself upon meeting the guy. Heather had warned he and Astrid of this.

"He's a really nice guy, but it takes some time for him to come out of his shell."

"A little bit like Hiccup, I would say?" Astrid had said, and Heather gave Hiccup a small grin and nodded.

Despite the fact that Hiccup and Heather hadn't really crossed paths in the school, they'd gotten along. With her at college and Hiccup at home, they hadn't really gotten to know each other a lot. But, unlike himself, Heather was not shy at all. She was very much like Katherine, both welcoming, and honestly attentive and a comfort to be around. She was polite and bubbly. And, she and Astrid were no strangers even before Hiccup had started seeing Astrid, and Katherine and Stoick had started dating. Heather had been on Astrid's volleyball team for three years. So, the girls knew each other decently well.

"Heather told me to bring the drinks," Sage said as Hiccup showed him inside. Sage had brought two different twelve packs of pop, Dr. Pepper and Sprite.

After settling down to pizza and a pop, they'd decided to play Euchre. It was boys against girls.

"I'm not that good," Sage said to Hiccup quietly, making eye contact with him.

"Eh, it'll be all right," Hiccup said. The last thing on his mind was beating the girls at cards. He wasn't the most competitive person on the planet, which was probably one reason why his sport of choice was cross country, and then track just so he could still run in some form.

They'd found out that Sage and Heather had actually shared a class together, which was how they'd met.

"So, very early in the class Sage came up to me, and asked me, if I would mind if we went and copied the homework problems for Algebra. He was still 'waiting' on his college book to arrive in the mail." Heather gave Sage a knowing look. The boy had an amused look on his face, as he accidentally Euchred he and Hiccup. "Turns out, he never actually ordered his book. It was sitting in his dorm room the whole time. So, for three straight weeks after our assignment was given we'd head over to the library together and run the pages he needed for his assignment - "

"I at least paid for those pages," Sage said.

"Ten cents a page," Heather said. "Whoop-tee-doo."

"That is a lot for a broke college student - and those pages just ended up in my math folder as a collection for weeks!" Sage insisted, and the two laughed. "Hey, but those little walks and talks somehow got your attention, right?"

"They did," Heather said, with a small smile.

After dealing out another hand, Sage asked, "So, you both are in the same grade, right?"

Hiccup nodded, and Astrid responded, "Since Kindergarten."

"We also did track together," said Hiccup.

"But, that wasn't what brought you both together, is it?" he asked.

He had a knowing look on his face, and Hiccup glanced at Heather, who was pinching her lips together. He knew she'd mentioned he and Astrid to Sage as a more than just, "Oh this guy is my mom's boyfriend's son" type of way.

"Uh, no, it wasn't that," Astrid said. "Hiccup just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Hiccup was thankful that Heather didn't mention the fact that Hiccup was actually grounded for sneaking into his father's liquor cabinet. It was a secret, to his knowledge, only Astrid knew. He'd told her about it very early on before they'd even started seeing each other, afraid she would have thought he was some party boy or some unruly spawn of Stoick Vast. However, Astrid never batted an eye with it. She informed him he was human.

"Yeah," Heather said. "He's got one nasty scar to prove it, too."

Hiccup went red as he led out that hand, and he could feel Sage looking at him for an explanation.

After they had completed the round, Hiccup rolled up his hoodie sleeve and showed Sage the scar Heather had been talking about.

"That - that looks like it was fun," Sage responded, wincing as he looked at it.

"Stitches and staples," Hiccup said. "I put my arm through a broken car window."

"Wait, wait, wait," Sage said, dropping the cards he was shuffling onto the table. "Now, I have to hear this story. It sounds far more dramatic than mine and Heather's."

They shared a nervous laugh, and over the next few rounds Astrid and Hiccup had taken turns telling him most of what had happened that night. They omitted the part where Hiccup had been admitted to the hospital for a blood transfusion, the fact his father was so busy with a case he'd actually had forgotten to come and sign Hiccup out of the hospital. Over the last year his father had become far more attentive, and it was easier for him to not get so caught up with his work. Somehow, Hiccup knew Katherine had helped his father not be that obsessive work-a-holic.

Stoick and Katherine had returned to the house from their own date around nine, and as Stoick helped Katherine out of her coat, he looked at the four kids, and said, "Katherine and I have the winners."

…

It wasn't until Hiccup had started getting ready for school on Sunday night that the thought of Brock and the envelope began to plague him. Sage and Heather were back at school, getting ready to start their semester up again after their Spring Break. He pulled the envelope from his book bag, and debated on whether or not to just throw it in the trash. However, it was not his to discard. Instead, he tucked it back in the back part of his nightstand drawer for possible safe keeping. He hoped that perhaps it was just an impulse thing that Brock was experiencing over Heather, and that it would be something forgotten the very next day.

Hiccup didn't like to pay attention to the people at school. He preferred to hide in the crowd, do his school work, and move along without conflict. He also didn't like to be noticed, except when he was walking down the hallways holding Astrid's hand the few times during the day he could walk with her to class, or to lunch together. They would get a few glances, but that was it.

Monday had come and practically was gone. Hiccup was gathering his items up after class at his locker. Astrid had stopped by, given him a quick peck on the cheek as she hurried along to her car to head to home. She and her mother were going to go visit her grandmother in the nursing home. Although Astrid enjoyed these visits with her grandmother, Hiccup sometimes dreaded them.

Astrid would go once a week, every Monday to see her with her mother. Sometimes, her grandmother would remember her and they would get along like they used to. And other times, the times that her grandmother struggled to know who was around her or where she really was, Astrid would be on the other end of the phone sounded very down. Hiccup had learned early on to never pry, and had honestly stopped asking how her visits were. Sometimes, despite how strong and upbeat Astrid was, these visits would knock her down to her knees. Hiccup had found it best to not ask and let Astrid tell him how things were if she so wished.

As Hiccup was leaving his locker and heading towards the bus, he felt a firm grab to the back of his hoodie, nearly choking him. The weight of his back pack pulled him off balance with the tug, and he struggled to stay upright until he was pushed into the nearest wall. Opening his eyes to see what was happening, he came face to face with Brock.

"Heather never came to the basketball game," he said to Hiccup just inches from his face.

"I - I don't know why," Hiccup said quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with Brock. He firmly planted his foot again, as he had done before with Brock. His heart raced, and he willed it to slow down and stay calm.

"Did you give her the envelope?" Brock asked.

Hiccup didn't respond.

"Damn it!" Brock said loudly, and he thumped his hand against the wall beside Hiccup's head. Of course, Hiccup tensed up, readying himself for a possible hit. Brock calmed himself a moment later, then grabbed Hiccup's chin, forcing him to look at him. "Why didn't you give it to her?"

"I - I couldn't," Hiccup said. "She's with someone, Brock - "

He could see the hurt on Brock's face when he said this.

"How serious is she with this person?" Brock asked.

"Uh - I don't know," Hiccup responded. "They've been seeing each other for a bit - " Hiccup did the quick math in his head. No, Heather and Sage had been seeing each other since first semester, and that was in September. This relationship was going on at least five months, give or take a week or two, he figured.

Brock growled lowly, and turned his head every which way in the hallway to look around. It was then that Hiccup realized that Brock approached at just the right time. When very few or no one was lingering. If someone was around, they more or likely was avoiding the confrontation with Brock and Hiccup.

Hiccup knew Brock's reputation. He may have been on the varsity basketball team, but the guy did hang out with some bullies. It had been a while, but Brock had actually purposely knocked into someone in the hallway, causing a disruption. Quickly, Hiccup remembered it was Henry Hackenburger, a guy that Heather had graduated with the previous year.

Brock's hand hitting the wall beside his head pulled him from his thoughts.

"Do you have her number?" Brock asked him.

"No," Hiccup said automatically. He did, but didn't want to give it to Brock for obvious reasons.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Hiccup said, looking Brock in the eye. Somehow, he had sounded convincing to Brock, because the guy sighed and seemed to accept this.

"Can you get it for me?" Brock asked.

"Brock, why are you wanting to talk to Heather so badly?" Hiccup asked.

"It's none of your business, chump."

Hiccup backed down, and waited. He couldn't run, he couldn't dodge. All he could do was hope and wait for Brock to let him be.

From the wall behind Brock, Hiccup could see the time. He was certain at this point he'd missed his bus. It didn't linger very long at all for it's riders. The drivers had to pick up the high schoolers, get them to their stops and head to the elementary schools to pick up those children within the forty-five minutes of the high schoolers getting out. He would have to find a way home now.

A moment ticked by, before Brock placed his hand down from the wall, and turned away from Hiccup. It was evident that Hiccup let his guard down too soon, because as he reached for his back pack, Brock pushed him back against the wall again, his arm stretched over the front of Hiccup's shoulders, pinning him back. His head banged against the wall hard, and Hiccup felt his head swim.

"I'm giving you homework," Brock said. "You have until Friday to get her to come to the next semi-finals basketball game. I want here there, and I want her to see me play."

"That's an odd request," Hiccup said, and before he could breath another word, he felt himself pushed into the wall again.

"Ha, Snotlout said you could be ballsy when you wanted to be."

Hiccup took in a breath and let it out. Despite the panic that continued to rush through him, he was becoming overwhelmed with anger. He didn't like how Brock was treating him, and he certainly didn't like how Brock was acting when it came to Heather. Something was up, and he wanted to know why.

"What do you want, Brock?" Hiccup asked.

"I already told you." He smoothed his loose locks out of his face with his free hand, still pinning Hiccup to the wall. "You have until Friday - I expect to see Heather at the game. I am going to be that annoying teacher, constantly hounding you to see if you've made any headway with your homework."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at him.

"Meaning, every day this week, I am going to find you, and ask you if you've talked to Heather. If you tell me you have not, just picture the school day starting and stopping just like this." His fist connected with Hiccup's stomach then, knocking the air out of him, however Hiccup couldn't collapse to the ground. Brock's strength kept him pinned against the wall.

After a heavy push again, Brock walked away, leaving Hiccup leaning heavily on the wall. Brock's rushed footsteps faded away. Hiccup knew he was heading to his Dodge pickup to leave the school. As Hiccup stood up, will willing the breath to enter back into his lungs, thoughts plagued him.

Again, he didn't know what Brock's sudden obsession was with Heather. He also didn't understand why it was so important that he sees her at the basketball game. This was the second time he'd requested that she be at that game. Of course, the semi-finals were still going on. At some point, if the team continued to push forward in the tournaments, they could be playing in the division deciding game. It would be a long shot, but it was possible since they'd made it this far.

He needed to get a hold of Heather. She needed to know what was going on.