iv.
She doesn't get fired, because apparently Hiccup is Stoick's son, which makes Snotlout his cousin. He's also working in the shop for the summer, just like her.
Great. Even more chances to embarrass herself.
When the shop's not busy two days after he starts his summer job, he comes out to talk to her, leaning against her desk. He has a bit of grease on the side of his nose, and she finds it strangely adorable.
"So I realize I didn't exactly introduce myself when I came in the other day," he says, drumming his fingers on the wood. "I'm Hiccup, Hiccup Haddock."
"I know," she finds herself saying.
He raises his eyebrows, and she mentally cringes. Why does she always sound so stupid around him?
"You were a senior when I was a freshman," she elaborates. "It's hard to forget the quarterback of the football team."
He ducks his head, but she notices he's grinning a bit.
"So… where do you to school?" she tries.
"NYU," he replies.
"Really?" she asks, and she can't help but get excited. "New York City?"
He raises his eyebrows, amusement on his face, and he nods. "Yeah, you know, I just… I didn't really wanna stay in Berk. But I come back here every summer to work for my dad, to spend some time with my mother.
She nods she nods seriously. "My father have been saving since I was one for my inevitable New York education."
He laughs a bit at that. Her heart pounds loudly in her chest.
"Yeah, well, I just kind of… decided, I Guess. New York sounded as good a place as any to go, and I really like it there. So I'm glad that it all worked out."
"You've been there for two years?" Astrid asks.
He nods. "Yep. Studying mechanical Engineering."
"That's so cool!" she says.
He chucks. "Crazy, isn't it?"
She studies him for a second, lips pursed. "No," She decides. "That's not crazy at all."
He looks at her for a second, looks at her like he is seeing her for the first time, and her heart skips a beat.
"Hiccup!" They both jump a bit as Gobber pokes his head around the corner, and nods at Astrid before turning to Hiccup. "There's a carburetor back here that needs fixin'. Are you gonna get to work or am I gonna have to fire you for flirtin' with the receptionist all day?"
Hiccup laughs, saying he'll get back to work, but Astrid feels her cheeks burn as she blushes, the color surely becoming permanent, etched into her skin.
"See you around, Astrid," he says lightly.
"See you," she squeaks out.
Once he and Gobber are gone, she puts her head down on her desk. She still feels an awkward freshman around him. Why does he have this effect on her?
v.
He starts taking his lunch break at the same time she takes hers, and he's usually already sitting at the table in what is basically a kitchen, although it's really just a room with a microwave, a refrigerator and a single, solitary table. He always smiles at her when she walks in, and sits down and opens her lunchbox, feeling incredibly self-conscious about herself. He probably thinks of her as a child, playing pretend at begin a working girl.
They talk about New York a lot, but they also talk about Hiccup's family life. She learns more about Valka, Stoick, Gobber and Snotlout. She doesn't know how she didn't know that Snotlout was his cousin back in high school.
"So what about you?" he asks one day. "Any siblings?"
She shakes her head. "Just me," she tells him.
"I see," he says slowly, and then he goes back to his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, She feels like she should say something else, something to break the awkward silence that seems to have fallen over them, but she doesn't know what. She seems to always be helpless when it comes to conversation with Hiccup.
Luckily, he breaks the silence instead.
"So… what if I said I'd like to get to know you outside of the workplace?"
Astrid chokes on her food, a noddle nearly shooting down the wrong pipe, and she coughs violently for a few minutes. Hiccup looks incredibly concerned, hands up and seemingly ready to help. She manages to cease the coughing fit, swallowing the noodle with a loud gulp.
"I'm sorry?" she asks.
"I, uh…" Hiccup pauses. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she says nervously, wiping at her mouth with her napkin.
The silence falls again, nothing but the clinking of silverware as they both eat their food in silence. Astrid's just finishing up her lunch, about to throw away her trash, when she feels Hiccup's fingers on her wrist.
Her heart pounds in her chest as she glances up at him, eyes wide, and he clears his throat before asking, "Would you like to go out sometime? With me? Like, outside of work?"
She stares at him in shock. "I- I…."
"Astrid?" he tries.
She Thinks she might pass out. "I… I can't." Her words come out louder than she intended, and he retracts his fingers from her wrist like she's burned him.
"Oh," he says. "Um, yeah, right, of course…"
"I just… work and pleasure… you know…" She's babbling incoherently she knows, but he just nods, looking at anywhere but her face.
"Sure," he says, "totally. I totally get that. I'm, uh, I'm gonna get back to work, but I… I'll see you, okay?"
"Okay," she whispers, but she doubts he hears her. He's already out the door.
She groans, and she wants to bang her head on the table. She just shot down an actual real chance with the guy she's practically been in love with since she was fourteen years old, and now he probably won't even want to be friends. She knows this job is more important than some summer fling, but she still feels incredibly awful for turning him down.
She shakes her head, clearing her brain of dangerous thoughts. Her future is more important than any feelings she may have once held (or may still hold) for Hiccup Haddock.
vi.
Hiccup stops taking his lunch break at the same time as her, and she wonders if she really offended him. She misses him already, and she knows that it's dumb, but she can't help it. She misses the way he smiled at her, the way he'd laugh, even if it was sometimes at her expense.
She wants to talk to him, but she's still too scared. He was probably just asking her out as a friend anyway; he probably didn't mean anything by it, and now she's ruined everything.
She just doesn't know how to make things right.
Finally, after three days of avoiding her, they end up in the kitchen at the same time. He noticeably pales when he sees her, and he quickly mutters "Sorry" before heading for the door.
"Hiccup, wait," she says quickly.
He pauses, turning back. "Yeah, Astrid?"
Her heart flips over in her chest. "I… Won't you eat lunch with me?"
She watches his Adam's apple bob as he swallows.
"Please, Hiccup?" she asks, and she's aware that she's whining a little. "We're friends, right? I just want to eat lunch with a friend instead of by myself."
He sighs, but he pulls out a chair and sits down. She beams before sitting next to him, taking her lunch out of her lunchbox.
He still doesn't say anything, just starts eating his sandwich, and Astrid frowns. She was hoping she wouldn't have to start the conversation, but it looks like she will.
"Hiccup?"
He looks over at her in between bites.
"Are you mad at me?"
He swallows, then answers, "No, no."
"I feel like you are," she tells him quietly.
He sighs. "It's just awkward, Astrid," he admits, putting down his food. "I – I mean, I asked you out, and you shot me down, so how am I supposed to act around you?"
Her eyes grow wide. "I – you were asking me out?" She had kind of figured he was, obviously, but to hear him voice it suddenly makes her realize just how stupid she's being about the whole situation. He's a nice, attractive guy who apparently – for some bizarre reason – is actually interested in her.
He stares at her blankly. "I wasn't exactly subtle about it," he points out.
She shakes her head in disbelief. "I – people like you don't ask out people like me. You're about to be a junior at NYU. You live in New York City. You were the quarterback of the football team, and I've had this huge crush on you since I was fourteen. I'm just this – this high school girl with big dreams and hopes to get out of Berk. Boys like you don't – don't ask out girls like me."
She glances over at him to see him smiling, and to her chagrin, he begins to laugh.
"What?" she asks.
"You're adorable," he grins, and she thinks she might pass out because this isn't happening.
"You've really had a crush on me since you were fourteen?" he asks, tilting his head in curiosity.
Feeling the blush tinge her cheeks, she nods.
He leans forward a little bit, and she feels his fingers brush the back of her hand. "Then why won't you go on a date with me?"
She gives an involuntary shudder, and she licks her chapped lips. "We – we work together. It would be unprofessional…"
He shakes his head. "That doesn't matter," he whispers, and she desperately wants him to kiss her, right there in the break room, but he doesn't; he just leans in a little bit farther and whispers that he'll pick her up at eight. "Stoick won't care, and I really like you, Astrid. Please let me take you out on a date."
Mutely, she nods. "Okay."
He beams. "Great."
He gets up then, and she sits in shock for a moment before she squeaks out, "You don't know where I live."
He smirks. "I guess you'll just have to give me your number so you can text me your address, then."
She feels her cheeks burn, but she finds a business card on the counter and flips it over, hastily scrawling the seven digits on the back of it.
He winks at her as he accepts the slip of paper, and then he smirks, looking back at her as he leaves the room.
"I'll text you, and then I'll see you at eight," he reminds her.
She nods. As if she could forget.