Sorry about the sad tone of the last chapter.

This chapter is a little lighter, but short, sorry. The next one is really long, but this was the best place to break the scene.

Since I'm practicing writing a novel length story (I'm thinking 100K+ words - around 30 chapters, 2-5K words per chapter) I have to introduce people and relationships as if we're seeing them for the first time. There isn't a lot of action in this chapter, but I need to create an emotional dynamic between two of the characters.

I know things feel like they are moving slow, I can feel it too. Please be patient with me while I go through the newbie death-throws of learning how to set a proper plot pace. (hints on how to do this are welcomed)

This chapter should have some humor and some teenaged angst, but otherwise it should be a pretty light read.

Last Warning: Buckle up, Buttercup. We've got the throttle opened wide, and a straight road ahead.

Chapter 4
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Dispirited by the events of the previous night, Hiccup walked slowly home, shoulders slumped, his mind consumed with a foreboding triggered by his conversation with the smithy. The same cruel thought that haunted his mind earlier re-emerged, burning anew in his tired mind.

"No," he mumbled, feebly shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge the tormenting thought, only to have it return with an even greater vigor. "I couldn't have been the cause..." His brow furrowed as he desperately tried to convince himself it was true, suspecting in his heart it wasn't.

Hiccup's feet felt leaden as he trudged along, his burned and bruised body competing with his extreme exhaustion, each vying for body dominance to force him to collapse. By pure strength of will, he kept moving forward through the town square unnoticed by the mass of people who busily rushed by, hurriedly cleaning the damaged decorations ruined by the previous night's downpour, intent on keeping to the tight preparation schedule for Winterfyllith.

Shuffling mechanically, eyes half-lidded from fatigue, the small boy glanced wearily at the celebratory items that had been strewn around the structures, his mind replaying the romantic story he'd been told the previous night. While it was exciting, and filled with many unexpected and confusing details, it didn't exactly help him determine a proper gift to present. On the contrary, he felt considerably more confused having to process all the new information which swirled in his foggy mind like a building storm.

Only vaguely aware of where his feet led him, Hiccup wandered through the random cluster of people who busily scurried across his path. As if by some cruel, ill-fated joke by Loki, the crowd suddenly parted, and the dirty and disheveled teen found himself walking directly toward Astrid Hofferson who had just emerged from a nearby building carrying an assorted bundle of items in her arms.

Hiccup's forward motion almost stopped as he became entranced by the visage. A lopsided grin broke unconsciously across his face, eyes staring dreamily at the blonde who stared forward impassively as she approached. Focused solely on the young female, he lost all motor control and tripped over a nonexistent pebble. Awkwardly lurching forward, he fell and landed roughly on his hands and knees, emitting an "oof" as he hit the ground. Hoping beyond hope that the object of his desire hadn't seen this horrendous display of monumental clumsiness, Hiccup froze on the ground, eyes closed, wishing desperately that the Gods would just open the earth beneath him and swallow him up so he could just die now.

Offering a quick random prayer to any listening deities, Hiccup whispered, "Please... oh Gods, please...no, no, no, no..." his heart thundering against his rib cage. The cowering teen took a moment to regain his composure before squinting open one eye with trepidation. Immediately, he froze, eyes widening at the site of two small, well-worn fur boots only a short distance away. With an audible gulp, he recognized the boots and cringed.

Fueled by an intense embarrassment that seemed to burn like fire, a flow of brilliant red suffused Hiccup's face from hairline to collarbone. Slowly he raised his head, mouth agape, as his widened eyes slowly crept up the female's body, drinking in every minuscule detail. Framed by the light of the rising sun, streams of sunlight fell on, and through her flaxen hair, making Astrid look like a Valkyrie sent straight from Valhalla by Odin himself. In spite of himself, Hiccup exhaled and grinned.

When emerald-green met crystal-blue, the young male gulped, terror ripping through his body as his mouth started moving automatically, his head shaking back and forth as he tried to say something... anything. Finding himself suddenly struck mute from the teen beauty's stony look, the boy-genius panicked and awkwardly stuttered, "H-hi, ah, I-I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry. Sorry. Y-yeah, really sorry. I-I, ah, hope I'm not in your way or anything." Before going silent, his face turned an even darker shade of red. 'Well, so much for being the smooth and cool uber-Viking,' Hiccup thought, his eyes still focused on hers.

Shifting the items in her arms, Astrid reached down her newly-freed hand and grabbed Hiccup under the arm, roughly hauling him to his feet. Taking a visual inventory of the terrified teen, she mentally noted his bandaged arms, and if possible, his even thinner build from only the previous week. She exhaled sharply wondering if his father ever bothered to feed him, or even notice enough to be concerned by the obvious burns and bruises; something she'd seen far too often over the years for her liking.

With a voice teetering on annoyance, she commanded, "Be more careful..." After a few moments of silence, the beautiful Viking maiden continued in a voice significantly softened, filled more with concerned than annoyance, "and... and eat more."

Having a quasi-conversation with the girl of his dreams both unnerved and thrilled Hiccup. He stared at her face with a nonplussed expression before a nervous hand shot up and wrapped around the back of his neck, rubbing nervously as he spoke, "Yeah, right. Yeah, thanks. I, ah, I will. I'll do, um, just that. I mean, I'll try to do both those things. Thanks." He smiled genuinely before casting his eyes downward anxiously to stare at his feet.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the timid teen looked up and blurted out, "Nice weather we're having". The obvious absurdity of the forced statement garnered a cross look from the blonde warrior who kept her eyes fixed on the fidgeting, auburn-haired boy. Hiccup realized his monstrous blunder and tried to salvage the situation by babbling out, "... well... I mean except for the thunderstorm last night which wrecked everything". Exhaling in defeat, he dropped his head, staring once again at his feet.

Astrid glared at the bony boy in front of her with quizzical eyes. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced down and wondered what possibly could be so fascinating about his feet that they warranted such focus and attention. The young male shifted from foot to foot as he felt the rise of goosebumps prickle his flesh from her heated gaze. 'Say something clever before she leaves. Say something that will make her remember you... Just don't stand here like an idiot...'

With his mind racing like a hunted animal, speeding from thought to thought, each lamer than the previous, the skinny teen finally muttered, "Um, well, I guess I should be letting you get back to, um, you know, your stuff." Praying his words didn't come across as pathetic as it sounded in his head, Hiccup grinned sheepishly, feeling extreme embarrassment grip his body for about the hundredth time in the last five minutes.

The obviously awkward and unpolished comment garnered a curt, stolid reply from the young female Viking, who found herself smiling inwardly at the sweet, blushing boy before her. "Yes, I should. Now if you'd excuse me."

As Hiccup stood face-to-face with the girl he'd loved since he was five, he tried to side-step her, but she moved into his way. Immediately, the small boy found himself again staring straight into the eyes of the flaxen-haired beauty. Without thinking, both teens tried to side-step each other again, only to find themselves repeating the awkward walking dance.

Flushing a brilliant red for the umpteenth time, Hiccup sputtered, "Oops! I'm so sorry. I'll get out of your way now." While attempting to let Astrid pass, they repeated three more rounds of the awkward dance before the red-faced boy gulped audibly, and relented. To his utter horror, Astrid had also stopped the dance and remained only a scant distance from his face. Hiccup stood frozen, his eyes locked onto hers, so close to her body that he could feel her breath on his face, smell the perfume of her hair, see the flecks of gold in her otherwise crystal blue eyes. He was utterly intoxicated being so close to the object of his affection, unable to stop the goofy grin that slowly etched its way across his lips, his eyes fell into a dreamy stare.

Lost in his enchantment, Hiccup mustered all his courage, and opened his mouth to speak when his sentence was interrupted by a shout from behind.

"There you are!" The familiar voice made Hiccup spin on his heal. Dread flooded his body when he saw Snotlout and his retinue approach. Turning quickly to face Astrid, he sputtered, "Well, it's been nice, ah, but I gotta run... literally."

Quickly he pushed passed the young girl and ran toward the nearest alley desperate to lose the bullies hot on his heels, one thought
pounding in his head, 'I'm so dead!'.