(Berk)
It happened so fast from them actually having a conversation with Hector to them seeing him immediately jump into action when the horn sounded and he rushed off to fight-of course it worried his parents, siblings, and even Astrid but they had to have faith that he would be okay and call again soon. They all sighed after the call ended and although it showed Hector online still-they knew he was busy. "Maybe...we can catch him on the news again?" Heather offered.
"Not likely-he said front lines and I don't think the reporters are allowed that close to battle," Spencer informed lightly.
"Not like any of them would get close with Hector there-he reamed that reporter a new ass after that one mission," Darius sighed heavily.
"Well he had every right to. Her being there put a lot of people at risk," Astrid said next.
"Well I guess that's it for tonight. It was almost 11pm for him when he called-after this fight he'll probably go to sleep. He looked exhausted," Val said gently as they closed down the windows on the computer and stepped away from it.
"So Astrid, you and Jessie officially done?" Reina asked as Astrid nodded to her.
"He raised his hand to me-I never thought he'd do something like that," Astrid sighed heavily closing her eyes now.
"And you like our brother?" Darius asked looking at her now curiously.
"I-I do but I...doubt he feels the same about me. I was hoping to talk to him about it all," Astrid replied.
No one said much else aside from that. Everyone but the Haddocks ended up leaving around 9:30pm-Astrid went home after being dropped off by Drew, Mandy, and Danielle. Skylar took Freddie, Reina, and Trent home. Jessie didn't bother going-he wasn't everyone's favorite person right now with what he tried to do and would have probably succeeded if not for Hector stepping in and giving a pretty firm warning to Jessie to stay away from Astrid or else he'd put him on his ass when he got back from Iraq when the tour ended in August-if that remained still. Hector mentioned the orders could change depending on situation. School was back in session now since everything from the storm had been repaired-as was the vent and window Hector had to break in order to help them.
Astrid kicked off her shoes and put her phone on the charger as she laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling while going deep into thought about everything in the last month or so. She broke up with Jessie the night before Hector left and he'd been trying to get her to come back but Astrid refused to be with someone who would have hit her for a little harmless flirting. Astrid did have a crush on Hector-he was nothing like what they all thought he was. He was smart, funny, cute, and strong. She couldn't get the image of him shirtless out of her mind and he'd always looked that way but they never noticed because he was quiet and a know it all in school? They should have given him a chance-he was really awesome. Still a sweetheart and kind but he was cool too and she felt awful for what she and the others did to him two years ago. She never should've hurt him like that and now he had to be hurt and confused with the fact that before he got on that plane-she kissed him on the lips.
Astrid actually wanted to to be with him or try to be but she assumed he wouldn't want any part of something like that with what had happened but she could try right? All she had to do was be able to talk to him alone with no interruptions which was really hard with him deployed when things like tonight could happen whenever. She'd talk to him one way or another, she just needed time to figure out what to say to him-then she'd tell him she wanted to talk. With that decided on, Astrid yawned and finally turned over to go to sleep.
(Iraq; Three Hours Later)
Three long hours it took to push the enemy back but finally the base was safe again and everyone who had taken part in the fighting was beyond tired and dragging their feet to get back to their barracks with groans and yawns. "I'm ready to sleep for a week," Thaxter mumbled.
"You and me both bro," Hector replied with a yawn of his own.
"Get some rest, Nightwave. And Dragon platoon-Bludvist found soldiers to cover your guard at 0700," Alex Holgerson told them.
"Tell him we appreciate it, Major Holgerson. Night to you sir," Hector nodded as they all got to their barracks and began to get off their gear and climb into bed after bathroom runs. "Finally..." he sighed out closing his eyes and stretching his arms and legs.
"Night guys," Tallon told them, there were a few responses of 'goodnight' from others before the light went off and everyone knocked out pretty quickly.
(The Next Afternoon)
The next Hector woke up-the first thing he did was check his watch: 1300 or 1pm. He'd slept that long? Hector sat up slowly holding his head and looked around as he noticed others in the barrack were already awake. Was he the last one up? That was rare for him. Normally he woke up with everyone else because the slightest inkling of noise had him on alert. "Hey, hey. There he is," came Tallon's voice.
"Here I am," Hector mumbled-he had a pounding headache at the moment and didn't want it, "How long you guys been up?"
"Since 1100. We kept it quiet so you could sleep though," Evan smiled to him.
"Thanks. I didn't think I was that tired," Hector stated getting up and stretching a bit before making his way to the bathroom-he came back out after a minute or so and sat on the edge of his bed to check over his phone. Couple of messages of his family asking if he was okay and to call to update them when he got a minute to do so. He could do that now but didn't feel like it.
"What's up-you got the face," Tallon asked him moving down to sit beside him.
"Just thinking about stuff, Tal," Hector offered a smile to him.
"Thinking about Astrid huh?" Viktor asked him and Hector sighed heavily nodding.
"I just don't know what to do-ya know? She admitted to liking me, she even friggen kissed me before we left to come back here," Hector looked down. He knew he'd have to face it sooner or later but still, it was a lot to consider in the long run but he couldn't just ignore it because he still loved her and had only prayed for something like this to happen since that day two years ago. That Astrid would wake up and realized Jessie was a damn asshole, that day had come and yet Hector was stuck on pursuing it or not.
"I think you need to talk to her dude," Ryan offered. "There's clearly a lot to talk about and the only way to get those answers to your questions are to talk to the source of the situation-that would be her,"
"I know that-I've just been dreading it. Asking all those questions about two years ago, why all of a sudden she likes me. Honestly a little afraid to know the answers because I have a feeling I won't like them," Hector admitted with a heavy sigh.
"Well it's your choice, Hec. But you know it's the only way to find everything out or you are just gonna stay confused like this," Thaxter added. Hector knew they were right, he had to talk to her or he'd never figure anything out. He checked his watch again-it was about 10am in Berk and his guess would be was that she was in class. He knew Gobber would probably let him talk to her if he called but he also didn't feel everyone needed to hear this conversation between them.
"Fuck it, I'll tell her we need to talk and leave it to her to decide when she wants to. We got guard tonight-does anyone know?" Hector asked.
"Nope-Holgerson came by this morning to let us know we're off so we have time to recover a bit," Ryan told him.
"Good," Hector said as he found her number in his phone since she'd given it to him over Skype about two weeks after he returned to Iraq. He pressed it and put it to his ear to wait and see if she'd answer-if not then he'd leave a message.
(Berkian Academy)
It was the middle of Algebra when she felt her phone vibrate against her leg and the metal of the desk, "Huh?" she said a little surprised and pulled it out.
"Astrid-no phones," Gobber reminded calmly.
"Sorry it's just...Hector is calling me and I'm not exactly sure why," Astrid replied, Gobber seemed to turn around quickly at this statement and then Darius as well as Heather did the same.
"Answer it!" Heather said quickly, "I want to know if he's okay from last night's attack," Astrid looked to Gobber who nodded for her to go ahead, she pressed the button and put it to her ear.
"Hi, Hector. How are you?" Astrid said as she then put it on speaker and set it on her desk.
"I'm fine. Just woke up actually. How are you?" Hector replied calmly.
"I'm...alright. Sitting in Algebra. Your brother and sister say hi too and want to know if you're okay after last night?" Astrid responded to him.
"Last night sucked but yeah, I'm fine. No one in my group got hurt other than utter exhaustion. Hence why I said I just got up. Attack lasted three hours straight before we pushed the fuckers back. Lieutenant Colonel Bludvist found us cover on our 7am guard and we've been sleeping this whole time," Hector yawned.
"Lies and slander, Hector. You slept this long-the rest of us were up at 11am," came Tallon's voice from the background.
"Shuddup you ass...Anyway. I can tell I'm on speaker by the echo so, hey Gobber, Darius, and Heather," he stated.
"Hi laddie. How's things over there?" Gobber asked now.
"Quiet right now-not sure how long it'll last though. Sorry for calling during class. I'll keep it short." Hector told him.
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're alright. Hope to see more of ya next time ya come home. Still September?" Gobber inquired. "Unless you're getting another leave?"
"I don't know anything about another leave right now. As far as I know it's probably not happening. September is still the end of the tour for now-but that's six months away and can change," Hector replied calmly.
"Are you going to call home tonight or do you have guard or a mission to do?" Heather asked lightly.
"We're off tonight-Bludvist wants to give us a break to recover since we pulled an eleven hour guard then three hours straight fighting last night. Anyway-As I've been asleep about ten hours and missed breakfast, I'm hungry but I called with a reason," Hector said firmly.
"And why did you call Astrid but not us?" Darius questioned.
"None of your damn business. Astrid-take me off speakerphone please," Astrid blinked a little but did so.
"Okay you're off now," she told him.
"You and I need to talk about a few things. Since I'm off tonight-I'll leave it to your discretion of when to call and talk. Anytime after you're out of school is fine for me. The ball is in your court, Astrid-if you don't call by midnight my time then I'll know my answer. I'll be waiting," after that he hung up the phone on her as she lowered it with a sigh.
"What's the matter?" Reina asked.
"He wants to talk to me about a couple things. Said it was up to me to call him anytime after I'm out of school," Astrid said biting her bottom lip. So if she didn't call him tonight-he'd assume it was just a sick joke about her liking him. That's what his words meant to her. That meant she had no choice if she wanted a chance with him-she would have to call him tonight. Astrid put her phone away now nervously-this was her chance to be with him.
(Later That Night; 9pm-Iraq)
Hector was sitting on his bed with the phone just in front of him. On his time limit for her-she had three hours left to call him if she was serious about talking. Hector had already eaten dinner and his friends were leaving him be as they understood that this was serious for him. Tonight decided if he would end up with her or forget all about it and move on. Tallon had a bad feeling about it as he had since the start when she admitted to liking Hector-he didn't trust her. She broke his heart two years ago and why would that suddenly change now that Hector was in the military. They glanced over at him when his phone began to vibrate on the bed and sure enough-it was Astrid calling him. Hector took a deep breath, "Well here goes everything," he picked it up and hit the green answer button while putting it to his ear, "So you decided to call?"
"I've been...wanting to talk to you for a while I was...just nervous," Astrid answered lightly.
"Weren't nervous when you kissed me a month ago. I assume you figured out why I said we needed to talk?" Hector stated.
"I did. You...want to talk about the me liking you thing?" she asked to confirm.
"That's right. I don't really understand it, Astrid. Two years ago-we were in this same situation at school. Jessie had left you-you were upset, I was there for you and you started to like me saying I was better than him...can you understand why I'm one confused and two extremely hesitant to any of this?" Hector asked her.
"I do, Hector. And I'm...so sorry about all that," Astrid said to him quickly.
"Stop. I don't want you to say anything unless I ask you to. Okay? I don't know how long the connection will stay this good so I don't want to waste time talking about something that has no bearing on what I wanna know," Hector said instantly.
"Yes, of course. Anything you wanna know-I'll tell you." Astrid replied to him.
"And you'll be completely honest with me?" Hector inquired.
"On my honor, I will be honest with you." Astrid informed confidently as Hector sighed, and so it would begin.
"Alright. Then I gotta know where this came from, Astrid. I mean you said Hell would have to freeze over and I would have to be the last guy on earth for you to ever be with me and even then you wouldn't be happy about it. Why do you suddenly like me? When did it even start?" Hector asked her.
"Believe it or not-it started when we found out you had joined the military. It wasn't instant and...I didn't start because I suddenly realized how awesome you are. I actually...always found you to be incredibly attractive even with all that happened-I just never told the others that. I didn't just...form a crush on you out of the blue, Hector. Jessie turned into a real jerk after it came out where you'd been for seven months until that day when we saw you on TV. I had small feelings for you when we...I guess dated for two weeks. You were always so kind and caring-willing to do anything to make me smile but at that time also-I didn't want to be with a guy so...easy to please. If that...makes any sense?" Astrid explained.
"It does yet it doesn't. So elaborate for me. If you didn't want me back then for those reasons-then why would you want me now when I'm literally the same guy? Did you suddenly just decide that it's okay to be with a guy who would do anything to make his girl happy?" Hector questioned.
"Well I'd always been used to bad boys-ya know. A guy willing to take risks, who wasn't shy or quiet. And two years ago, Hector-that wasn't you. I'll...admit that I noticed a lot after you joined the military. I could see that joining made you more confident in yourself and things you did. But honestly-even after what happened, a part of me still cared for you. And when you were home those few days-we got to see it in person. To see the real you. Call it what you want, Hector but before the military you didn't have the confidence you do now and yes. I noticed it when you came back after a year and I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been to of not given it a chance before. I never should've hurt you the way that I did-you were never anything but nice to me," Astrid told him quickly.
"So it stands the same that like with the others-you never gave me a chance to be me and you only noticed it after I stopped giving a shit, joined the military, and you saw the real me that I'd always been. I gotta know know whose idea that was," Hector asked now.
"To hurt you the way we did?" Astrid asked him.
"Yes," Hector replied.
"It was Jessie and Skylar. Let's play with the losers heart it what they called it. A plan for Jessie to leave me, hurt me, and knowing your crush on me that you'd try to help anyway you could and then for me to fall for you and lead you on for a while before telling you it was just a game. But when I was playing that part, I actually did start to like you-I just...didn't see myself with someone who didn't stand up for himself against his bullies. You just...took it and took it, over and over again. You never fought back, Hector but I understand now why you didn't. Because you didn't want to become a bully yourself and I honestly respect that a lot," Astrid explained.
"And what sparked you admitting to liking me a month ago?" Hector inquired curiously.
"Jessie being a jerk-like he got worse after you saved us at the school. He's really jealous of you, Hector and hated the fact that all of us-meaning his friends-wanted to be friends with you. We all realized we should've given you a chance and when you decided to invite us to give us that chance we tried our hardest to show we were sorry. Like all of them are. Drew, Trent, Mandy, Freddie, Danielle. Not sure about Skylar-but Jessie wanted no part. He only showed up because I told him too. When he was being such an ass to you-I couldn't take it anymore. And knowing how much they and me hurt you with all you said. Hector, Gods, we're so sorry. Me especially. For never giving you a chance, for hurting you, and anything else in between. But I really do like you. Jessie and I are done for good. I...want to be with you," Astrid told him.
Hector sighed now. He still had no idea what to do but at least he had his answers. "I need to think about this-I hope you understand that, Astrid. I'm glad you realize everything now-but at the same time you have to realize that the damage was already done two years ago when this started. You didn't just tease me-you took my kindness, caring, my heart and pretty much cut it out of my chest all for their entertainment and your own too. Don't get me wrong-I like you. Maybe even love you, always have and part of me probably always will but you still hurt me bad and I don't know if I can let myself go through with this," Hector stated.
"I understand, Hector. And I'm...so sorry about that two years ago. But my feelings are real and if you give me another chance-I promise you won't regret it," Astrid stated lightly to him in a sincere voice as Hector sighed closing his eyes.
"I'll let you know when I've made my choice, okay? And me a favor, don't tell anyone about this conversation because I don't need their input while I decide," Hector told her calmly.
"Of course. Take all the time you need and let me know. If nothing else, I hope we can be friends..." Astrid said with a small smile in her voice.
"We'll cross that bridge if we get to it. For now, I think I'm gonna get some sleep and think about things. I'll let you know," Hector said, "Night, Astrid."
"Night, Hector. Sleep well," Astrid replied and then Hector hung up the phone and set it down. He sighed heavily closing his eyes as he put his phone on it's charger then laid back on his bunk.
"You alright?" Tallon asked him lightly.
"Yeah, just got a lot to think about. I'm gonna go to bed," Hector told his friends as he laid down in his bed and covered up with a yawn.
"It's only 9:20 at night...you can't possibly be tired," Thaxter mentioned.
"Honestly I just don't feel good right now so I'm gonna attempt to sleep it off and if that doesn't work then I'll go to the med tent," Hector rolled over and closed his eyes after coughing hard a few times then groaning.
"If ya need anything-let us know, okay?" Tallon reminded, Hector only gave a nod to him. Within the next twenty minutes he was out like a light. The barrack kept it down for his sake and they even dimmed the lights a bit to help out. His friends heard all of Hector's responses on the phone but they don't know what Astrid said to him-they wanted to know but at the same time it wasn't any of their business and Hector made it clear he needed time to think about things before deciding if he would be with her or not because right now they were sure of it that he just didn't know what to do.
