Woop! New chapter! I promise you that this story is starting to het somewhere. This chapter and the next two really get it going.

I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

Read on!

The next day was slightly easier to start as the knew what they were getting into. Toothless was still grumpy as anything about being woken but he got up. They all found it easier to walk through the double doors surrounded by the other students. And as they headed off to their separate classes, it didn't seem as daunting as it had the day before.

"Hey Henry. Hey Frank." The two boys turned around to see Astrid behind them.

"Hey Astrid," Frank replied with a smile. The three of them then headed off to their first class walking together through the hallways.

"And this week you will be receiving an assignment!" The class was flooded with groans as the teacher wrapped up the lesson. Mrs Smith rarely gave assignments but when she did they usually had a short time frame. "You're assignment will be on the classification of plant life. I want proper examples and I want it printed. I will not spend hours trying to decipher your sloppy handwriting when I don't have to." She paused to pick up a sheet of paper that sat on her desk. "You will also be working in pairs."

Everyone began glancing around hoping they could work with their friend. Hiccup only hoped that he and Fishlegs wouldn't be paired together. While he would like to be with his friend, all of this was still very new to them and he hoped that they would be paired with someone who actually knew what they were doing. Mrs Smith began reading off the list and some people seemed ecstatic to be working with one another and others seemed less pleased.

"Frank," she began and Hiccup hoped it wouldn't be him. "You'll be with Alfie." Hiccup and Fishlegs both shared a look. They had both been thinking the same thing and they both seemed relieved .

"Henry you will be working with Astrid." The two looked at each other and smiled. They might actually enjoy this. They both got along well enough.

The rest of the lesson was free time to discuss meeting arrangements and how they would go about the project. Frank was quickly found by Alfie and they began introductions. Hiccup was soon found by Astrid and the two easily fell into comfortable conversation.

"Ok so, let's start with the easy thing. Meeting. My house or yours?" Astrid asked taking out her pad.

"Do you really think mine is a good idea?" Hiccup deadpanned.

"Right," Astrid replied nodding. "Big family. Mine it is. Do you want me to write down the address for you?" Hiccup nodded and she scribbled the number and street onto a piece of paper before handing it over.

"Thanks," Hiccup replied looking over the paper in his hand.

"Or…" He looked back up to see Astrid with a thoughtful look on her face. "We only have a few days so why don't we start today. You could come with me after school. I'll text my mom and tell her I've got company for a project and she'll basically leave us be." Hiccup thought it over. It would probably be best to get it over and done with, and if they had to meet up anyway, which day wouldn't make much difference.

"Ok," he smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"Great!" she smiled happily. Just then the bell rang and the two decided that if they didn't see each other for the rest of the day that they would meet outside the school when it was finished.

The two didn't end up seeing each other again until the end of the day. They had no more classes together and Hiccup spent the whole of the break in the library. He had studied how to interact with people in school but he had no idea how to interact with them in their house. Where there customs in this land that differed from his own? He had no idea but he decided to find out. In the end all he could find was that it was polite to remove shoes at entry and that when it was a first visit, it was polite to make a nice comment about the house, and about the food if here is any.

Hiccup said goodbye to Toothless and the others at the front door at the end of the day. Fishlegs wished him luck and made him promise to tell him everything since he too would be going to his project partner's house. Hiccup watched the group walk off towards the forest where the mill was as he went over what he would say in his head.

"There you are! I haven't seen you all day!" he heard from behind him. Turning around he saw Astrid running down the steps to join him.

"Sorry, I had to go to the library in the break," he said as she stopped beside him.

"Were you looking for anything in particular?" she asked as they started walking.

"No," he lied. "Just fancied a quiet place to study." He hated lying but was finding it easier the longer they were in this world.

"You really like to study, huh?" she commented with a laugh and an elbow nudge to his side.

"Not really," he replied. "I just don't like not knowing. I understand that I'll never know everything but I like to try my hardest to learn as much as I can."

"That makes sense, I guess." She stared forwards in thought.

"You're pretty smart too though," Hiccup added quickly. "You must study a lot too."

"Yeah," Astrid replied slowly. "But only cause of my parents. They want me to be the best at everything."

"I get that," Hiccup replied. "I always try to do my best so that my father could say that he's proud of me." That was a truth. "But I guess I'll never know." That was a lie.

"I'm sorry. Here's me rambling about my parents when you… Yeah. I'm sorry." Astrid said realising her mistake.

"It's ok," Hiccup replied with a reassuring smile.

"Well that's my house, anyway," Astrid said stopping. She pointed to a small white house on the other side of the street. She picked up the pace as she crossed the road, Hiccup close behind, and jogged up the three steps to the front door, digging her key out of her bad and placing it into the lock. She pushed the door open to reveal a small entryway with coats and a few shoes beside the door. She quickly hung up her coat and Hiccup did the same. He was about to take his shoes off, as he had read that that was the polite thing to do, but Astrid stopped him.

"No need to take your shoes off. Unless they're covered in mud they're not exactly going to make a huge mess anyway," she said with a smile. "My mom has always said she couldn't see the point in taking off shoes just because you walk into a house."

Hiccup smiled and nodded, pulling his shoe back over his heel and standing up. He couldn't understand taking shoes off in the house either. On Berk, no one did that. Though, with floors made of rough wood that gave you splinters and the cold, harsh environment, taking off warm, thick shoes was just asking for trouble.

He quickly followed her into a room of the right which turned out to be a sitting room. The two sat down on the sofas and began pulling their books out of their bags. Then the door opened and a woman who held a few of Astrid's features walked in with a plate of cakes that smelled amazing.

"I thought I heard you come in!" She exclaimed as she stepped fully into the room. The placed the cakes on the small coffee table that sat in the middle of the room. "I was just baking some cakes, I thought you might like to sample a few."

"Thanks Mum! This is Henry, by the way. Our biology teacher assigned us a project this morning."

"It's nice to hear that you're getting a head start on your project. And it's nice to meet you Henry. Now I won't interrupt you anymore. I'll be around if you need me." And with that she left.

"Do you want one?" Astrid asked gesturing to the cakes. They looked like small round buns with a shiny glaze on the top.

"Sure, I'll try one," Hiccup replied with a smile. They both reached out and grabbed a cake. Though as soon as he bit into it, Hiccup immediately thought of home. The cakes tasted the same as the ones they usually had for Snoggletog. He always looked forward to Fishlegs' mother Thyra's Snoggletog cakes. He could never eat his own mothers, she couldn't cook to save her life. But Thyra was the best baker on the island.

"They're really good," Hiccup said as he finished his.

"I know right!" Astrid replied with a laugh. "It's her secret recipe. So secret, she won't even tell me."

The two laughed before realising that they needed to get started on their project. They opened their bools and started discussing their assignment, making notes along the way. They laughed a lot more than they worked but they got some of it done.

"How's it coming?" Mrs Hofferson asked as she walked back into the room.

"We're getting there," Astrid replied trying to hold back a laugh.

"Were you thinking of staying for dinner?" Mrs Hofferson then asked turning to Hiccup, who had not been expecting this question but realised just how hungry he was.

"I don't want to be a bother," he replied politely.

"Nonsense! I've made enough for four. If you want to stay, feel free!" And with that she walked out of the door.

"Come on! You can stay for dinner right?" Astrid asked him with a shove. He smiled and nodded and she grinned. They got up off the sofa and she led him through to the dinning room which was attached to the kitchen. At the head of the table sat a man with Astrid's eyes. There was a plate in front of him and three other plates were set around the table. Mrs Hofferson then walked in with a tray with four fished on it that had been roasted and placed it in the middle of the table. They all then sat down, Hiccup waiting to see where the others would sit before he picked the last chair.

"Honey, this is Henry," Mrs Hofferson introduced Hiccup. "He and Astrid have an assignment together and I invited him to stay for dinner."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Hiccup added.

"Well it's nice to meet you too, Henry," Mr Hofferson replied with a smile. "So how's the project going? All finished?"

"We're almost done but we've still got a bit more to do," Astrid replied.

The family then all reached out and grabbed a fish each bringing it to their plates. Hiccup seeing the last fish he supposed was his reached out and put that on his own plate. He watched as they all started picking apart the fish with their fingers and eating each small bite. It reminded him of home. This is how they always eat fish. Roasted over a fire and then picked apart and eaten by hand. He smiled as he joined them, not noticing Mrs Hofferson's surprise at his actions. She had forgotten to bring out the cutlery as they usually did when they had a guest. But he had just joined in without a word. She shook her head and went back to eating her own food.

Over dinner the two parents asked Hiccup a few questions which he answered with half truths as he usually did. They mostly asked about his family and so the cover story was told again. He laughed and joked around with Astrid a bit as they told of a few funny things that had happened in their classes. In the end all four of them were laughing together.

Eventually the time came for Hiccup to leave. He grabbed his bag and books from the sitting room and said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Hofferson. Astrid walked him down to the front door where he put his jacket back on and stepped outside the door.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then," Astrid said as she stood in the door.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow," Hiccup replied with a smile and a wave. She waved back and slowly shut the door. He grinned as he walked away, a giddy feeling filling his stomach.

Hiccup went back to the mill and walked up the stairs, falling face down on his bed. Toothless, who sat on his own bed, looked up as he walked in.

"Hey Hic, how was your assignment?"

"It's mostly done but we still need to finish it," Hiccup replied, though his voice was muffled by the pillow. "I have another problem now though."

"What's the problem?" Toothless asked sitting up a bit and leaning towards his brother. Hiccup lifted his head and looked at Toothless.

"I think I'm falling in love with a human."

Hey! So what do you think? Finally did another longer chapter. Yes! And I haven't done a cliffy in a while so, tadaaaaa!

Ninuhuju: That was the idea. Also planning a scene where Astrid finds out about it.

crazed ragdoll: Thanks!

Nightfurylov3r: He is a half dragon so…

Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Thanks!

An Amber Pen: We'll see what happens. Thanks!

StrongMan20: Don't worry. That'll come out.

Sarnakh the Sunderer: Don't worry, I have plans…

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Until next time!