Chapter 6 - It Was A Friday


A/N: Okay, so I just wanted to tell you that I 1) have no idea what I'm doing 2) honestly don't even know if something like an acute amnesia even exists 3) was too lazy to look anything up, like literally anything and 4) just slightly messed things up and I'm sorry.


She couldn't forget him.

No matter how hard she tried, his emerald eyes and that look on his face kept hanging on her mind. It had haunted her in her short, blurry dreams in the time of rest she had after yesterday's events. Now she just felt distressed and worried.

Distressed because Dr. Layton had explained everything to her and now she didn't know what was even left over of herself, and worried because she might never even get it back ... but if she only knew what she had lost ... a husband, as it seemed. Her family. She could remember her mother, her smile and her tired, dark eyes. What had happened to her? And what about ... what was it again ... Ruff! Rachel, what had happened to Rachel?

And the man ... from yesterday night ... his words were still echoing through her head, his hands had felt so rough and yet so gentle on her bruised skin.

She had found the rings on her fingers. Had one of them been his?

Someone cleared his throat. First Astrid thought it was the young nurse from earlier, Freya, but as she looked up, she found herself facing the sparkling pale blue eyes of Dr. Layton in front of her. He was accompanied by a younger man, probably in his twenties too, with a white coat and short, jet-black hair.

Dr. Layton smiled down to her and pointed to the doctor next to him. "Good morning, Ms. Hofferson. I hope you feel better again. This is Dr. Emrys, the head doctor of the neurological department. I'm sure he'll be able to answer some of your questions."

Astrid nodded and shook Dr. Emrys' hand.

"If you'll excuse me then, I'll come back later to check on you again.", the elder doctor intoned and silently left the room, closing the door behind him.

Emrys pointed to the chair beside Astrid's bed. "May I?" Astrid nodded. "Of course."

"So ...", he rubbed his hands together and carefully watched her face. "This must seem like and awful mess to you, does it ..."

Astrid hesitated but nodded slowly, absent-mindedly noting his British accent.

"Well ... yes, I ... you know, I ... remember things. I know myself, my life, my family. But ... everything after my graduation just seems ... wiped out. Arriving in college is the last thing I clearly remember." He nodded and leaned forward, hands clasped together.

"From Dr. Layton's report and the tests we made I've concluded that you have a case of acute amnesia, Ms. Hofferson. It, well, forces your brain to leave out a selected part of your life, from one moment on, in a particular period of time - in this case everything after your graduation. Other patients have this form of amnesia after accidents, too, some forget what happened just before the incident, some forget how to write or how to play the piano, because a certain amount of time was cut out of their memory and they have to learn it again.

So what I'm saying is, long story short, that there are good chances you'll be able to regain your memory. Through smells or sounds, for example. Or seeing familiar surroundings, talking to people you knew and have been close to."

With every word he spoke, Astrid's eyes lit up and she lifted herself up a little bit. "So ... you're saying ... if I'd go home with him ... it could help?"

She didn't even think about it, no, she simply assumed Dr. Emrys was completely familiar with the whole situation and knew just who she was talking about.

Surprisingly though, he did. Dr. Emrys nodded and smiled."Yes, it would. But you can't go home yet, not until we're sure about your physical state. But talking to him would be a good start, too." He smirked when her head shot up. "He's - he's here?"

The young doctor nodded and smiled brightly. "Yes. Would you like to see him?"

Without thinking, Astrid blurted out: "Yes!" She blushed. "Uh ... yes. Could ... could you ...?"

He grinned and got up. "Let's see what I can do. I'm sure he's around here somewhere."


Hiccup's head shot up when he saw the door of Astrid's room open and Matthew Emrys stepping out of it. Quickly, he got up and stumbled towards him. "And?", he asked, his heart pounding two times faster than usual. Matt smiled at him. "She wants to see you."

He gave him a pat on the shoulder while Hiccup felt just like crying of relief and let out a heavy sigh. "Thanks, Matt. I owe you."

Another pat. "Good luck, man."

Their eyes met and Matt had this 'It's Okay But Please Don't Mess It Up' look on his face. Hiccup nodded, then took a deep breath, turned around and braced himself to open up the door.


Astrid tried not to look like her eyes were constantly glues to the door, but failed miserably when it actually opened.

There. There he was again, with his freckles and this disheveled, auburn hair.

"Uh", he started and slowly scooted closer to her. His eyes were basically drinking her in and Astrid would have almost blushed under his intense gaze.

"Good-good morning ... you look ... um. Better", he stuttered and ran a shaking hand through his hair. He was nervous as hell, Astrid could tell, but that was okay, she was too.

Again, she felt sorry for him. "I'm ... sorry for yesterday night. I shouldn't have-"

"Oh, no no, that's okay, really, I ... I understand. I pushed you. You don't have to feel sorry."

Astrid hesitated and felt like she could drown in the awkward silence any second. Her eyes were glued on his face. His eyes looked tired and he had dark circles under them. His hair stood up to every direction.

"Er, please, sit down.", she suddenly mumbled and pointed to the chair next to her.

Hastily, he sat down, hands folded in his lap.

"Did you ... talk to Dr. Emrys?", she asked in a low voice. "Yes", he replied softly and turned his head away when she looked at him, "he's an old friend of mine. He explained ... everything to me." So she had known him too, then? Why hadn't the doctor said something?

Astrid forced her eyes back into focus and suddenly noticed the metal attachment to his left leg. "What happened to your leg?", she asked, pointing on it. His lips curved to a partly bitter, partly tender smile.

"I lost it in a fire when I was fifteen. Woke up in hospital a couple of days later, and, well, let's just say I never had to worry about finding the second sock ever again." He chuckled softly and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. "After I got the prosthesis, I had to go through a lot of physiotherapy, that took almost a whole year. So I had to repeat a year of school. But it's okay - the leg thing, I mean. And I must admit, it does look pretty cool right?"

He smiled, and this time it looked almost honest.

But she knew how fake it was, his whole behaviour. This whole conversation ... there was something behind his smile that made her want to run away and hide because she didn't know what feeling he kept behind it.

"So it ... doesn't bother you at all?"

He shrugged. "Why should it? I consider it as a part of me, I think I ... got used to it."

Her eyes lingered on his prosthesis a couple of moments and then wandered up his body, up to his face - then she found his gaze on her. At the sight of his pale green eyes that had turned so soft out of all sudden and his thin lips that were curved to a gentle, loving smile, she felt heat creeping up her cheeks and looked away. He seemed to notice it and blushed furiously.

"S-sorry ...", he whispered hoarsely and hid his face in his hands for a moment. "I'm just not ... used to ... this."

There. He'd slipped. She had known there was something behind his way too easy smile and his too forced words.

"This?", she asked softly and he looked up again.

The young man shrugged and his shoulders jumped up and down as he tried to express with his hands he couldn't say with words.

"This whole ... situation. When I, when I look at you, I still ..." his voice broke. "I'm sorry.", he said again and this time he looked her straight in the eyes. Green and blue collided.

His face was so sincere and honest Astrid couldn't help but feel remorse. "It's okay. I understand, I'm not ... sure about this, either.", she replied, her voice almost a whisper.

He gave her weary smile and shrugged helplessly. "I don't even know where to start ..."

Astrid hesitated but smiled at him, gently leaning forward. "What about we start with your name? I-I know you told me yesterday, and-and I should probably have-", she started but broke off when he suddenly jumped up, holding out his hands. "No no, you don't have to - I'm Henry." He gulped and looked away for a second. "Hiccup", he added then, in a low voice.

"You called me Hiccup ... everyone does, though."

Astrid actually laughed at that. "Why would I come up with a nickname like Hiccup?"

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "You never told me. Just said it fits more than Henry. And somehow, everyone went with it and now I'm basically known as Hiccup to the whole town."

"Wow. I must've been really weird."

Hiccup grinned and Astrid noticed a gap between his front teeth.

She allowed herself to take in his whole appearance. And really, she had to admit he was quite handsome. His lanky body somehow complimented his actions and there was something about his grin that made her feel ... tingly? Was that the right word to decribe it? His forest green eyes seemed familiar, except from the night before.

She cleared her throat. "So, how ... how did we meet?" Her eyes asked 'Let's start here?' and he nodded, lips pressed together. Then, Hiccup started, his voice shaking every now and then, his eyes flickering to her face at some points, telling her their story.

"The day we met was a Friday ..."


A/N: Let's just pretend the ending wasn't super lame and continue with the story, shall we? :D

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