Chapter 6:
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Days passed and Hiccup and Astrid we're slowly starting to get along.
Astrid discovered that this guy was indeed just the sweetest under those cold and sarcastic apparences. They talked a lot. She learned that his dad was the sheriff of the town and that he split up with his mom at his birth, but got back together when he was 15. That's when he met for the first time his sister because his mom took his sister with her while he stayed with his dad.
Now they were a happy family and everything was right in it.
He never wanted to share his sister name or her job. She couldn't know why but she just couldn't insist since she didn't want to share anything about her own sister either.
No matter how many questions and how kind and understanding he was, she never gave up on shutting up about her own family. It was just too hard and too shameful for her to say she actually was literally rejected from her own parents when he was having the best family ever.
Hiccup would ask once in a while but each time she closed the subject quickly, and he didn't insist more.
It was a Friday morning. It was really sunny outside, which happen to make Astrid in a good mood. She even woke up in advance.
She got dressed up for work and decided that she would take her breakfast outside. She gave Stormfly her daily seeds and left. She got to her car and looked at the sky, then inhaled deeply.
-"It's going to be a good day!", she said enthusiastically.
She climbed into her vehicle and drove to the mall.
She took her time on the road, checking the time to see if she was late but she wasn't.
Yep, a really good day was ahead of her.
She arrived at the mall and went to the Starbucks. No one in the line.
That was just perfect as she was really hungry.
She ordered a grande cappuccino and two donuts. She bought also one of their Cesar salads for her break because it was hard to resist when the best salad in the world was just in front of her, with only a glass between them.
She paid and walked away. She looked around the mall and people were starting slowly to gather. She considered wondering around the shops but she knew she could lost track of time and actually be late. Thing she hated the most.
So she walked back to her car.
She stepped closer to the stairs to the parking lot when she heard someone calling her behind her back. She perked an eyebrow and turned around.
She froze.
-"Astrid! Hey! Oh my god! It's been so long!"
Astrid just stared at the girl in front of her. She was petrified. She even almost drop her drink.
Her voice was stuck in her throat, the shock way too big to say anything.
-"It's me! Alexa! You remember right? We were neighbors and went to the same middle school!", the girl kept talking.
Astrid found control again and just nodded. She swallowed hard and spoke with a dry throat.
-"H-hi. Y-es. I... remember.", she shuttered.
-"Oh my god! It seems like an eternity! That's so cool we find each other again! To add, in a mall! What are the odds?!", Alexa laughed.
-"Yeah. The odds.", Astrid breathed.
-"Do you remember when we had that fight and then - then, your mom and mine were taking our defense. But then you had to apologize! That was so funny!", the other girl continued.
Astrid tightened her grip on her bag with her donuts and on her drink. She even almost made a hole in the cup on how hard she was holding it.
She tried to focus on being steady and mostly, not to let her tears coming.
-"Oh! There is my mom! Mom! Look who I found! You remember Astrid right?!", Alexa called.
A tall woman walked closer toward them. She had short brown hair and looked weirdly at Astrid. But then she grinned.
-"How could I forget. It's nice to see you.", the older woman said, still with that big grin on her face.
Astrid felt her blood went cold but also felt a wave of heat taking over her inside and just wanted to throw up right now.
She needed to go away. Far away. From them. She couldn't let the past happen again. She needed to move.
So she shook her head and spoke at last.
-"N-nice to see you Celine. I-I'm late for w-work. I have to go.", she said hurriedly, about to turn around.
-"Wait! We should hang out! What about you come one day at our place! We just moved in a few weeks back!", Alexa clapped in her hands.
-"O-Oh.. I'm pretty... busy. I can't but.. t-thanks for proposing.", Astrid tried.
-"Oh non sense! I'm sure we can find a moment!", Alexa insisted.
Astrid had to refuse. She just had to. She couldn't back to being close to them. She needed to be strong and say no...
-"O-Okay.", Astrid nodded
...but she was too weak.
••••••••••
Hiccup was stretching his leg and doing some warm up exercices in waiting of Astrid.
She was twenty minutes late already, which was unusual from her. But being late once in a while isn't forbidden and it can happen to everyone.
So he wasn't worried but still, couldn't help wondering.
Suddenly the door opened with an Astrid holding a Starbucks cup and a brown paper bag.
-"There you are! I thought you would be afraid of keeping up with your challenge.", Hiccup teased.
But Astrid didn't answer. She just nodded. She put the cup and the bag on the small table near the door and walked toward the bars.
She stopped in front of it and froze. She didn't move, just stared at the bars.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow and took a crutch, since he was now allowed to use them, to step nearer her.
She wasn't blinking. Totally paralyzed. Almost a statue.
Hiccup was now getting worried and put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump and gasp.
-"Ah! I-I'm sorry! I'm late. Let's uh.. let's do the.. exercices.", she said, shaking on her feet.
-"Are you sure you're okay?", Hiccup asked.
-"Yeah! Yeah yeah! Let's do it.", she walked toward the carpet pile.
Astrid took a carpet then walked toward a corner of the room. She shook her head and then went to Hiccup. She looked around, then at the carpet, then at the bars and then scratched her head, looking like she was totally lost and didn't know what to do.
Hiccup was confused and now worried. She did not look like the girl that made him change his mind about walking.
She looked like she was scared and totally freaking out.
-"Astrid. Is something wrong?", he tried again.
-"No! No no! Everything is great! I just.. I'm thinking. What should we do.. what I... I mean... I'm figuring it out!", she shuttered, moving her arms in the air and her eyes searching for gods know what.
Hiccup noticed her hands were shaking badly and her face was getting paler. She was also at the verge of hyperventilation. Astrid stumbled on her feet and put a hand on her forehead.
-"I uh...", she mumbled before falling on her knees, gasping for air.
Hiccup let the crutch fall and jumped on his good foot to kneel next to her.
He took her by the shoulder and clicked his fingers in front of her eyes. She was having a panic attack. He knew those symptoms way too well.
After his accident, he had a long period dealing with those attacks and it took some time to control them. So the second she started to shake and that her eyes were glimmering, he knew what was happening.
-"Astrid hey, look at me! It's okay! You're fine. Look at me. Hey hey, look at me.", he took her face in his hands and planted his eyes in hers.
Astrid tried but was still desperately searching for air.
-"Okay now focus on me. Look at me breathing. Inhale... and exhale.", he said while blowing air with her.
She coughed but did inhale and exhale with him. Her hands were gripping his wrists, trying to hang onto him for dear life.
She kept doing the same thing for the next two minutes. Hiccup didn't stop as well and was still holding her face. Once her breaths were finally back to normal, she coughed and squeezed her eyes hard.
-"It's okay. You had a panic attack. It's alright now.", he whispered gently.
Then it was too much for Astrid.
Her heart screamed and exploded and she went limp in Hiccup's arms.
She shook violently, letting her tears pass through her eyes and gripped Hiccup's shirt like it was the only thing that would make her stop from falling.
She sobbed, quietly, but Hiccup still could hear it clearly. He put his arms around her and rubbed her back slowly and softly with one hand, while the other was on her hair, caressing it. He rocked her, left to right, cradling her.
-"Shhh, it's okay. You're okay now.", he said in a murmur.
Astrid's cries stopped at the sound of his voice but she didn't want to let go. She felt way too good in his arms. She felt safer. And that's what she needed to feel right now.
Her hands came on his back, her arms wrapping his torso. She was now hugging him. She felt him returning the gesture and couldn't help but sighed of contentment.
She wanted to thank him, for helping her avoiding fainting. But her voice was somehow stuck. So she just closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. A mix of ashes and man deodorant. She liked that smell. Like she was secured and protected.
-"Thank you.", she managed to mumbled.
She felt Hiccup's smile against her head.
-"Anytime. That's what friends are for.", Hiccup said so softly that it sounded almost like a lullaby.
She choked a sob before smiling.
They stayed this way for the rest of the training, holding tight on each other.
This day was supposed to be good.
But beside confronting the past she thought she forget, it was indeed a good day now for sure.