This is the first "real" chapter. I really have no idea how this is going to work out, I think I'm as much in the dark as you are ;-)

I want to thank everyone, who read this story and decided it was worth their time.

A special thanks to the guest, who left me a review. Honestly, I would have jumped up and down if I wasn't sitting on the bus. You made my day, seriously!

Again if you find mistakes, point them out!

I will just leave you to read now, okay?

P.S.: I'd very much appreciate it if you leave me a review!

The next time she saw him was about three days later, just as she and one of her best friends were sitting in the nearest café to the campus. Astrid had just sipped on her coffee when she saw the lean, tall young man with the auburn locks walking up to the counter and putting his order in. The blonde examined Hiccup from head to toe and eventually her eyes got stuck at his jeans-clad behind. At least until Ruffnut nudged Astrid with her elbow and brought her out of her trance.

"Are you okay? You've been staring at that guy's ass for five minutes straight... - Wait is that dude Hiccup? Hiccup Haddock from high school?"

Astrid couldn't help the blush rising to her cheeks as Ruff brought up her eyeballing his behind.

"Yeah, that is Hiccup. Why?", she answered as innocently as she could manage, trying to forget the inappropriate thoughts she'd been having only minutes ago which included Hiccup but excluded any clothes at all.

"Oh, just because he got hot. I mean he changed school in our freshman year, right? Now, we're in our freshman year in college. So, we haven't seen him in about four years. How could he grow up from this lanky dork to be this handsome hottie?" She looked over to her best friend, only to find her staring. Confused, the Thorston girl asked: "Why the hell are you staring at me like this?"

"I'm just taken aback by the fact that you just said something that didn't include something perverted, blowing stuff up or both, you know?", Astrid grinned cheekily at the other blonde.

"I, on the contrary, think you have been thinking about something very, very inappropriate. You're resembling an overripe tomato.", the girl with the braids teased.

This was it. Astrid snapped, she couldn't take it anymore: "Just shut up, will ya? You're acting as I've been this little", she showed a small space between her thumb and index finger, "from jumping the guy's bones. Yeah, sure he got hot but I'm not going to do the nasty with him." At least not anytime soon, she thought.

"Doing the nasty with who?"

Hiccup.

Apparently during her scolding, Hiccup, who got his order, had approached them. Fortunately, he'd had only heard the last part of their conversation so the blonde wouldn't die out of embarrassment. But she hadn't accounted for Ruffnut in her equation.

"Hey, Hiccup. Long time, no see...We were just talking about Astrid jumping your bones...", of course, Ruffnut decided to ruin her life by spilling all of her secrets.

Hiccup at first seemed puzzled, then he burst out laughing. "That's a good one, Ruffnut! Like Astrid would ever think about jumping my bones out of all people."

Right now, Astrid was glad that Hiccup still seemed to be insecure about himself. Normally, she would have tried to talk some sense into him. That he was an amazing person and should stop thinking so low of him. But for now, she was relieved that he didn't believe the blonde traitor across from her.

Luckily, before Astrid could reach across the table to strangle her roommate to death, Hiccup spoke again. This time he turned towards her: "By the way, nice to see you, again...You know, after bumping into each other the other day?"

Even though she wasn't looking at her female friend, the young woman could practically sense the question in her eyes.

"Yeah, I remember. It was just only about three days ago, right?" There was no need to tell the handsome boy in front of her that she had been counting the days since she last saw him. Really, no need at all.

"Right. Well, I need to get going...I have to...ahm...study. Exactly, I have to study!" The way he needed to convince himself, confirmed both of the girls' assumptions: He was fleeing from this awkward conversation. "I guess, I'll see you around? So...ahm...bye"

Before either one of the blondes could even mutter an answer, Hiccup Haddock was gone and out of the door.

In a poor attempt trying to steer clear of the obviously following interrogation, Astrid chuckled nervously. "Who needs to study now? I mean, it's only the end of the second week."

As Ruffnut glared at her incredulously, she knew there was no point in denying Hiccup's statement about running into each other.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You ran into Hotcup Haddock three days ago and didn't tell me right away?! Are you insane or the worst best friend ever?"

Astrid couldn't help herself. She tried to keep her laughter locked away, but when her suppressed snort came out, she just decided to roll with it and laughed wholeheartedly.

"What? What is so funny? Care to explain?!", due to the fact of being left out of laughter, Ruff grew more irate and more confused by every passing second.

Sensing the irate and confusion, Astrid spluttered words of explanation: "Hot...Hotcup...Hotcup Haddock, really?! That's...puh...the nickname you're going with?" Speaking it out loud, only made her laugh harder.

Ruffnut mocked fake shock "What? How can you not like it? Besides, I mean he did get hot and his name's Hiccup. So yeah, Hotcup. It's the only logical reasoning and I fully intend to use it for a very long time."

"You are unbelievable." The blonde dearly hoped her friend had forgotten about Hiccup and what he said.

"If you, my flaxen-haired friend, think I've forgotten about you bumping into Hotcup, you are sorely mistaken. So, spill!"

Although she didn't feel like it, Astrid couldn't help but smile. She could always count on Ruffnut and her prying nature.

After Ruffnut's interrogation, Astrid got home later than usual since she flew into the campus library to make her homework.

At least, that's what she told her prying roommate.

Actually, she went there to make sense of her "meeting" with Hotc...ah...Hiccup. At the one side, it was so much fun to see him get flustered, on the other side it had stung today to see him leave.

She was just so confused. It was probably the best to sneak past Ruff and go to sleep for the day.

Cursing Hiccup and the effect he had on her wouldn't do her any good, although it seemed tempting and sleeping would be next to impossible with her emotions being in a turmoil.

Well, she could at the very least try.