Hiccup laid awake staring at the sleeping girl next to him. Astrid seemed much less unintimidating in this state and her innocence really shined through. He had expected her to be hostile after they had brought Darkshot home but the anger within her had all but diminished. Astrid might not be in favour of dragons but that didn't mean she was altogether unfeeling and heartless. Upon seeing the baby dragon in so much pain, Hiccup detected a hint of sympathy in her eyes. He liked to think he might have influenced her a little.

Astrid suddenly shifted in her sleep and a few loose tendrils fell over her nose. Hiccup resisted the urge to brush them away.

Frankie had stayed over because of Darkshot and was currently occupying the couch downstairs. The bed in Vivian's room was available but Frankie didn't know that and Hiccup preferred to keep it that way. His sleepovers with Astrid were naught but her seeking comfort in a foreign environment. She trusted him and he didn't want to give her any reason not to.

While studying the flaxen haired beauty, Hiccup's mind briefly flickered over to his longtime crush. Ingrid had suggested a movie date at their local theatre. The word 'date' still tasted peculiar on Hiccup's tongue. He never imagined he would be going out with anyone, let alone one of the most popular girls in school.

Astrid mumbled something in her sleep, curling her fists and disrupting Hiccup's reveries. Her mouth had now turned into a pout and she was frowning. Hiccup wondered if she was dreaming of something unpleasant or perhaps her homeplace.

She always went into great details about the war and even the internal conflict between Berk's Chieftain Henrik the Ferocious and the head of the Jorgenson clan who had been next in line to take over after their previous leader had passed away. But she rarely spoke much of her own family. Maybe it was a delicate subject so Hiccup never pushed it. All he knew was that the Hoffersons were acclaimed, proud warriors much like Astrid herself and that she missed her parents, often calling for them in her sleep.

Hiccup didn't know how but somehow Astrid had shifted closer to him and when he finally dozed off, he could feel the heat of her body radiating next to him.

-,-

Frankie cooed at the baby dragon in his arms, looking no less enamored nearly two days later.

Astrid rolled her eyes at the sickeningly sweet sight and took a spoonful of 'cereal' in her mouth. It was something that had made her grimace the first time but she had now grown more accustomed to the taste, even enjoying it. The most difficult thing to get used to thus far had been the 'toothpaste'. It was supposedly a substitute for the herbal-leaf paste she was used to cleaning her teeth with but had a much more sour aftertaste.

Hiccup appeared at the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes. "I can't believe I overslept and missed class again, why didn't you guys wake me up?"

Astrid snorted. "It wasn't for the lack of trying, trust me."

Frankie, still in his own bubble, smiled brightly upon seeing his disheveled best friend. "Hiccup I was thinking we should try to find Darkshot's family," he proposed. "As much as I love the little guy, he needs to be with his own. Aw, look at him," his voice grew more adoring. "He needs his parents."

Hiccup let out an awkward laugh, scratching the top of his head. "Not tonight, Frankie. I, uh.. I have some other plans.. for tonight," he mumbled, cheeks turning slightly pink.

Frankie eyed him skeptically while Astrid quirked an eyebrow.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up dramatically. "Oh for the love of- I'm meeting Ingrid tonight," he blurted out. "...at the movies."

Frankie let out a surprised gasp. "Hiccup! You finally asked Ingrid out? That's amazing!"

Hiccup shook his head. "She is the one who asked me out," he admitted.

"So what, you have a girlfriend now?" Astrid teased.

Hiccup grew even more flustered. "No, Ingrid is just-"

"The girl he has been pining after for years," Frankie interjected and Hiccup shot him an annoyed look. "What? It's the truth."

"I didn't peg you as the pining type," Astrid snickered. "Makes sense though."

Hiccup ignored her playful dig and sighed to himself. "While I'm gone, I don't want you guys to get into in any trouble," he warned. "Or do something crazy like, I don't know, stalk me on my date or something," he added in jest before retreating to his bedroom to get ready.

Frankie and Astrid shared a knowing look.

-,-

"I'm bored," Astrid groaned, sprawled all over the couch while Frankie binge-watched something on Netflix. "And these moving pictures are giving me a headache, ugh."

Frankie gasped in offense. "How can you say that? This is the best show ever!" Darkshot suddenly jumped off his lap to gnaw on the carpet.

"I respectfully disagree." Astrid sat up and stretched. "Let's do something else."

Frankie shut off the TV and narrowed his eyes.

"We could try to find another dragon," she suggested innocently, tracing a finger across the sharp blade of her axe.

Frankie scoffed at her, crossing his arms in disapproval. "I'm not helping you find any dragons to kill, Astrid. No way."

Astrid huffed, mimicking his body posture. While the two teens had their staredown, Darkshot sneaked over to the kitchen.

"How can you still hate dragons?" Frankie spluttered, miffed by Astrid's stubbornness. "I mean, look at him! How can you not find this absolutely adorable?" Frankie's eyes scanned the room for the dragon in question but Darkshot was now nowhere to be found.

"Darkshot?" It was suddenly eerily quiet in the room.

Both Frankie and Astrid bolted up and ran out to the kitchen just in time to see the small dragon slip out the backdoor.

"Darkshot! No!" Frankie cried, his attempts to catch up to him all but futile.

-,-

Hiccup and Ingrid stood in line to get popcorn and red vines. Hiccup tried taking deep breathes to calm his nerves, especially every time Ingrid turned to smile at him.

He was dressed better than he usually would, wearing a black button down and dark jeans accompanied with a brand new pair of kicks. His hair was also styled differently although still held the signature unruliness. Despite his best effort, Hiccup couldn't help but feel that Ingrid was completely league out of his league. Clad in a short skirt and a crop-top which showed off her perfect figure, her eyes were covered in dark smokey makeup and hair pulled into a bun with some curls escaping out. She looked gorgeous, almost too good to be true and definitely too good for someone like him.

They didn't speak as much as Hiccup had hoped to and he had to be the one to inaugurate every conversation they had so far. Not wanting to seem too desperate, Hiccup eventually settled with the silence and patiently waited for the movie to begin. The theatre wasn't very crowded but in some ways that was the preferable option as it would mean a less noisy audience.

-,-

Frankie panted, sweat coating his temple as he tried to keep up with Astrid.

"I can't believe you made us run halfway to town," he complained while Astrid twirled her axe, looking thoughtful for a moment before starting to run again. Frankie groaned in annoyance but followed suit.

They searched around every creak and corner until they discovered a dark alley where they heard loud hissing sounds coming from the shadows. Frankie remained on Astrid's tail, trembling in dread as she guided them towards the supposed disruption.

"Do you think that was Darkshot?" he asked shakingly.

Astrid held up a hand and stopped short to try to listen for any distinctive noises. "It sounds like him," she agreed. "Either that or it's some other dragon with an equally annoying cry."

Suddenly two bright yellow eyes became visible in the darkness and Frankie squeaked in fear, quickly finding cover behind Astrid as she raised her axe. In a matter of moments the entire area was filled up with a strange purple gas. Astrid's eyes widened. "Frankie, we need to get out of here, now!" she yelled and dragged the husky boy with her as fast as she could. Just as they made it to safe ground, a minor explosion erupted behind them.

"What was that?" Frankie shouted, his heart racing viciously.

"A dragon," Astrid grumbled. "Not like any I have seen before." She curled her fists and glared at the dark smoke.

When she finally turned to regard Frankie again, she saw him slumped down on a bench in hopelessness, face resting in his hands. "We are not going to find Darkshot, are we?" he mumbled sadly. "Hiccup is going to be so disappointed in me."

Astrid sighed before joining him. "It wasn't your fault."

"You are right, it was yours," Frankie chided. "You probably left that door open on purpose!"

Astrid scowled at his false accusations. "I did not!"

"You hated him," he argued. "Admit it, you always wanted to get rid of him!"

Astrid opened her mouth to retort something when her voice suddenly died in her throat. "I, uh.. Frankie.."

Frankie snorted to himself. "Thought so."

"Frankie!"

"Save it, Astrid."

Astrid rolled her eyes and then socked him on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?" he whined. She grabbed him by the chin and turned his head so he could follow her eyeline and see Darkshot skip inside the doors of a building on the other end of the street.

"It's Darkshot!" Frankie shouted happily and then stood up abruptly to give Astrid a suffocating hug. "We found him!"

Astrid forced a smile, finding it difficult to breathe under his hold. "So what now?" she asked as he released her.

Frankie contemplated their next actions for a moment when it suddenly dawned to him exactly what building Darkshot had snuck inside. "Oh no.."

-,-

Hiccup tried keeping his eyes on the screen but it was hard to enjoy the movie when all he wanted was to relish in the fact that Ingrid was sitting so close next to him to the point their arms were touching slightly. He almost got caught staring a couple of times and ended up stuffing his face with popcorn. If Ingrid was put off by him, she gave no indication of it. She seemed rather absorbed by the movie, paying little attention to her surroundings.

Hiccup picked up his bag of red vines and tried opening it when it accidentally slipped out of his hands. Sighing to himself, he bent down to retrieve it but was then caught off guard by the sight of Astrid crawling on all fours under the seats, dragging her double-edged axe along with her.

Hiccup looked dumbfounded for a moment, blinking at the absurdity of what he was witnessing.

His phone suddenly buzzed and he finally snapped his head up to see Frankie standing by the end of the aisle, waving at him with a guilt-ridden smile.

Hiccup cleared his throat and sat upright again, turning to Ingrid with an uncertain smile. "I just need to take this phone call. I, uh.. I will be right back," he informed her. Ingrid simply nodded, eyes still glued to the screen.

Hiccup groaned inwardly before rushing over to Frankie. "Do I even want to know?"

Frankie laughed uneasily. "Eh, probably not."

-,-

When Hiccup had imagined how his first date would play out he definitely didn't expect to find himself on his hands and knees, crawling on the dirty theatre floor. He had initially spotted Darkshot hiding under someone's seat but the dragon was as naughty as they come and vanished again before Hiccup could even think to reach him.

After thoroughly rummaging all the venues with no sign to Darkshot, he eventuelly met up with Astrid and Frankie outside in the lobby.

"He is not in there," Hiccup stated, brushing the dust of his clothes. "Where could he have gone?"

Suddenly they heard a familiar screech and saw Darkshot hanging upside down from one of the chandeliers in the room. The dragon closed his eyes and momentarily dozing off to garner some energy.

"Okay, now is our chance," Hiccup whispered to his friends. "But how do we get up there without being noticed?"

Astrid cracked her knuckles. "Leave that to me." They were just about to set their plan into action when an unexpected third voice suddenly interrupted the tense situation.

"Hiccup, what's going on?"

Hiccup immediately spun around to see Ingrid standing behind him. "Ingrid!" he exclaimed in an over-enthusiastic voice, trying to cover up the fact that he had been caught offhanded. "Uh, what.. what are you doing here?" he stuttered.

Ingrid frowned at him, folding her arms over her chest. "You were gone for a long time and missed the entire second act."

Hiccup let out a forced laugh. "Right, that was.. something came up.. I'm really, really sorry about that," he mumbled. He noticed how Ingrid was now staring past him at Frankie and Astrid.

Hiccup stepped aside to introduce them. "Ingrid, you remember Frankie, right?"

Ingrid's face appeared devoid of any emotion. "He looks familiar, I think we might have a class together," she postulated.

"Three classes, actually," Frankie corrected her, mildly offended. "Four, if you count all of middle school."

Hiccup laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, and this is Astrid," he gestured over to the beautiful Viking girl. "She's.. well.." he trailed off, looking at Astrid and Frankie for backup.

"An old friend," Astrid finished for him, resting her axe over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow at the redhead in curiosity. Ingrid returned the sentiment, looking Astrid up and down with an unreadable expression.

"Interesting choice of outfit," she commented with a snide smile before turning towards Hiccup again. "I was thinking we could head out for a bite?" Hiccup hesitated far too long for Ingrid's liking and she ended up backtracking almost instantly. "Actually, you know what, I'm feeling quite tired so maybe another time."

Hiccup could all but nod. "S-sure."

He watched in regret as she walked away.

-,-

"Sorry for ruining your 'date'," Astrid said, leaning her head on the armrest sleepily. Darkshot was now safely tucked against Frankie and they had both dozed off to the light buzzing of the TV in the background.

Hiccup shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled while finishing off the leftover Chinese they had picked up on the way home.

Astrid sat upright and reached forward to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You are a great guy, Hiccup. If Ingrid doesn't realize that then it's her loss."

Hiccup couldn't help the small smile that formed on his lips. "Thanks Astrid."

His phone buzzed shortly afterwards, alerting him of a new text message.

Hiccup frowned slightly as he unlocked his phone to read it. "It's Ingrid," he muttered to himself. "She wants to go out again? I don't understand.. today wasn't an utter and complete disaster? Did I just hallucinate it all?"

Astrid shrugged, moving away from him. "Maybe she likes you more than you think."

Hiccup remained positively puzzled, still having a hard time believing Ingrid liked him in any capacity at all. "Maybe."

AN: Thank you for the amazing response! I still have difficulty believing how anyone could possibly enjoy this. The entire thing is like a crazy jumble of mess inside my head. xD