Hello everyone
How is everything? First of all I hope you are doing well and having a good time.
I'm sorry for the delay in publishing this new chapter of "The Long year", I hope you enjoy this new chapter, I admit that I was very happy to see that many people liked it. And although I recognize that, as I mentioned in the first chapter of the story, the fanfic is not a priority, I will try to take less time to publish a new chapter.
I also want to thank once again the immense help of Maly2003 in helping me correct the text and make it better understood, I am very, very grateful.
Whiskerface:I like to see insightful people when reading the chapter, what I can tell you is that the relationship between Gobber and Hiccup is very tense, not because of the leg, but because of something that Gobber did and for Hiccup it was a betrayal at the time what happened.
And yes, they both like the look of Hiccup, but I'm going to anticipate that there will be several clashes between Hiccup and the other young characters.My intention is also to make a fanfic that is not cluttered with cliches regarding the HTTYD world, many that are seen in other fanfics, or not to do the typical thing simply because of absurd things like "Hiccup would not do this" or "Astrid's character is like that And that's how it should be."
And now, I hope you enjoy the chapter =).
The first thing Astrid saw when she opened her eyes was the ceiling of an unfamiliar bedroom. At first, she didn't know where she was, but the memories of the previous day sprang to mind all at once.
She looked at the clock, seeing that it was ten-thirty in the morning. Normally, Astrid was one of those early risers; her alarm clock was always set for eight in the morning. Her mother said that it was impossible for her to stay in bed more than five minutes after her alarm went off. But, after all of the work yesterday, and the video call with her friends taking longer than expected, she thought it best to rest as much as possible.
Astrid straightened up and looked around her new room. It was that time of day when the sunlight was facing the back of the house, so her room was submerged in that pleasant shade of summer mornings. Her things were all unpacked, her furniture in its place, and not a box in sight. Realizing that, Astrid began to feel a bittersweet sensation.
On the one hand, she felt really comfortable here—she could see herself settling into a routine much faster than she ever expected, but she couldn't shake the feeling of homesickness; the shock of being in a new place hadn't yet worn off, which seemed silly given she had only moved from one house to another—not even to another town or city. Her friends were still there, her high school was still there, but at the same time, she felt out of place.
The blonde didn't know if it was because she missed Hofferson House, a problem with the new house, or from suddenly living with two men in her senior year of high school. And, she suddenly realized, her senior year of high school was going to start in a week! It wasn't just the recent changes in her life, this was her last year as a student at Berk; things were bound to be different from last year.
She got out of bed and flipped the switch next to her nightstand. The electric blinds slid away with the sound of a whirring motor. It was one of the many things Hiccup had shown her of her new room the day before, simple but practical. The front yard of the house seemed very calm, the sun's rays blanketed most of it in the morning light, but the house still cast a long shadow. When she opened one of the windows, Astrid felt a cool breeze enter the room, almost cold enough to give her goosebumps. That was Berk—they could have a few glorious days of summer, but practically as soon as they were past the solstice the cold of autumn did not take long to appear.
From her room, she could see the main entrance, through which they had come the day before. She traced one of the enclosing walls to the edge of the cliff, where it opened up to reveal a winding set of stairs that led down to the beach and the event hall. The walls looked to have been there for an eternity, all the moss and lichens that infested the brickwork attested to it, but the wall seemed solid as the first day it was built. And while she was observing every detail of that part of the house, it occurred to the blonde that she could take advantage of the week before classes started to get to know the area, like that path that was in the back garden that led to the forest. It would be good for her when she needed to come and go without first being given directions every time, or when she wanted to go for a run.
With that idea in mind, Astrid went to her closet and started looking for a towel and some clean underwear. She may have put everything neatly away, but the blonde was still having a hard time remembering where everything was. After searching for a minute, Astrid gave an exclamation of triumph at finally having located the things she needed, and victoriously closed the closet before heading to her new bathroom, only to stop short and turn.
On her bed was Toothless, Hiccup's cat. Even knowing that he was a mixed breed and not fully wild, she couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by the size of him, lying down as he was, he took up a good part of the bed. His black fur was shiny and his green eyes stared at her, unblinking.
But, despite everything her eyes told her, she trusted that the cat would not do anything to hurt her. As soon as she met the ferocious-looking feline, she could see that he knew how to behave. Besides, her mother and Stoick seemed not to be concerned and, if she were perfectly honest, she was a bit in awe of how he interacted with Hiccup, showing him so much affection. At least, that was the impression she got last night.
Slowly, she approached the cat and sat next to him on the bed, with the animal's eyes following her every step. Extending her hand carefully, she began to stroke his head. Feeling her hand on his head, Toothless began to purr. Astrid would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying giving pets every bit as much as Toothless was receiving them. Hiccup had told her a little of where Toothless came from, but her intuition told her there was a story there—a good one—and she was more than a little curious.
Suddenly, as if someone had thrown a switch, the cat lifted his flattened ears, jumped off the bed, and then left the room. Astrid was puzzled for a few seconds but shrugged and left her room. It was time to enjoy his new bathroom. When she got to the bathroom, Astrid couldn't help but be amazed again. Since the bathroom was east-facing, sunlight cascaded through the window and reflected off all surfaces. Yes, Astrid was going to be very happy in that room.
An hour later, Astrid was clean and dressed. She had chosen a short-sleeved blue T-shirt and baggy gray jeans, prioritizing comfort over style. She went downstairs and headed for the kitchen. Before it was even in sight, she could smell the appetizing scent of coffee and toast, and realized that, despite the very filling dinner the night before, she was very hungry.
As she pushed open the doors, she spotted Stoick sitting at the head of the table with a huge mug in his hand that read: 'Chief's Coffee'. In the other, he had a copy of Express International—a highly respectable newspaper that covered news all over the world, but especially on the continent where Berk was located.
Hearing her enter, the mayor looked up from the newspaper and smiled. "Astrid, good morning." Stoick pointed to the side counter where there were more cups and a pot filled with coffee. "Your mother told us that you like to have coffee in the morning. Lucky for you, this is a house of coffee lovers."
"Wow, thank you very much." Astrid reached for a cup of coffee, the smell of it reaching her nose and making her almost sigh in happiness. Both she and her mother were borderline caffeine addicts—their world-renowned self-control being the only reason neither had ever succumbed.
With a coffee cup in hand, the blonde took up the seat next to the mayor. In addition to Stoick's cup of coffee, there were several plates of food—sliced fruit, toast, some bacon, and a basket of muffins. Along with several flavors of jam, butter, and plenty of syrup, it truly was a breakfast fit for a chief.
Astrid conceded that, given the mayor's intense work life, he needed a good breakfast to start the day, something that Astrid thought was great, she and her mother also used to have a strong breakfast to start the day strong.
Once she had served herself a healthy portion and started eating, Astrid couldn't help throwing small glances at Stoick. For someone who had only lived with his son in recent years, he looked especially relaxed as he sat there with her—probably down to spending so much time with her mother than a comment on the pleasure of her company, but Astrid felt a certain happiness, though she didn't know what it was exactly.
"So, Astrid." The girl jumped at the sound of the mayor's voice. "How was your first night in the house?"
"I had a very good night, thanks for asking." Astrid took a big gulp of her coffee.
"Did you end up very tired yesterday?"
"A little, but moving in went way quicker than I imagined. I can't believe it's all done and I've been here less than a day." It was true; she didn't know how they'd done it, but the Haddock men had been more than accommodating and exceptionally helpful..
"Well, like I said yesterday, both Hiccup and I wanted to make sure you are comfortable and happy from the minute you arrived, anywhere in the house from your bedroom to your mother's garage space." Stoick pushed the newspaper aside and kept staring at Astrid without smiling. "But I shouldn't take all the credit; my son worked much harder than I did."
"Well, I appreciate it very much, and I'll be sure to thank Hiccup as soon as I see him." Astrid commented with a smile. "By the way, where is he?"
Stoick glanced at the back garden door, the one that led to the woods at the back of the house.
"If he's not hanging around here, he'll be off on one of his walks." Stoick laughed. "For someone who loves being surrounded by machines and tools, Hiccup is a nature-lover at heart."
Astrid made another mental note about the young Haddock to add to the list she'd been making since yesterday. She wondered if he was doing the same to her. For the rest of breakfast, she talked to the mayor about different things and Astrid found herself having a very pleasant time.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that your mother left early for the ranger station—something about preparing for the fall and winter seasons."
Astrid was all too familiar with the trials of the colder seasons, when hikers and mountaineers managed to get themselves into all sorts of sticky situations. Not to mention the ilegal hunters—they'd become a real problem these last few years, even when the weather no longer favored their illegal activity.
"Now, I have to go to the town hall to continue preparations for the end of the summer." Stoick stacked the plates and carried them to the sink. "Do you have something in mind for today or for the last few days of vacation?"
"Well, today I plan to familiarize myself with the house and the area. I'm planning to see my friends tomorrow and prepare for when classes start." Stoick smiled when he heard her.
"Always so ready for everything." He picked up a briefcase by the kitchen door and turned to see her. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me or your mother. Hiccup will be here too, although he comes and goes as he pleases."
Stoick waved goodbye and left the kitchen. And for the first time since she arrived, Astrid found herself with time alone in the house. Good—she didn't mind her own company and had a full day ahead of her. She gathered her breakfast things and headed toward the entrance of the house.
As she walked out the front door, Astrid lingered on the porch, looking at everything outside. It was almost noon now, so the sun had just reached its peak and began to pleasantly warm her surroundings. She first wanted to take a look at the garage, to familiarize herself with how everything was arranged and organized—they hadn't yet told her as much, but Astrid suspected that the Haddock men liked to have everything in its place.
During the move the day before, Astrid noticed that there was another way to access the garage, a door on the side of the building, which could be found by going down the steps to the side of the porch. As she approached the door, she could see that it was made of metal with frosted glass panels and looked to be quite robust. She glanced at the lock and realized that she didn't have a key to open it, which somewhat frustrated her little exploration. But then Astrid remembered something and ran back to the house, only to return a few minutes later with something clasped in her hand.
The night before, just after dinner, Stoick had given her and her mother matching keyrings that resembled dragon scales with a number of keys dangling from the hoop. In Berk, there was an abundance of folklore and mythology regarding the ancestors of its inhabitants, with many stories centered on legendary dragons. Festivities such as "Dragon Day" or the "Dragon Fire Festival" were very popular among Berkians, and very famous in other cities. Astrid had seen plenty of trinkets similar to this before.
But upon closer inspection, Astrid noticed that these weren't like the cheap plastic souvenirs you could find in any seafront store. They were so much nicer than that.. Her mother's was purple and hers was light blue. Stoick explained to them that this way they'd both be able to come and go as they pleased and Astrid imagined that among them would be the one to the garage door.
There were four keys. One was an electronic device, which Astrid assumed was from the front door, another which, due to the shape it had, must have been the main door of the house, and two more identical but of different colors—one black and one green. The blonde guessed the green one would open the door that led to the forest at the back of the house, while the black one would have to be the one for the garage door.
Groping along the wall with her hand, Astrid found a switch, which when flipped, turned on the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. As one could tell from the outside, the garage was large. Astrid noticed two wide spaces in the middle, several meters across, where she imagined her mother and Stoick left their cars.
On every available wall of the garage were metal shelves and drawers. Opening one slightly, she took note of all the hunting and climbing paraphernalia inside. One more thing she had discovered about the Haddock men: they liked outdoor activities. Little by little, they were becoming less than strangers. Astrid also noticed the wheel marks in the rightmost bay of the garage—marks she would recognize anywhere since they were from her mother's vehicle. As she got closer, she noticed that just as they had made a place for her in their house, Hiccup and Sotick had left that place for her mother and her work equipment. Astrid was familiar with pretty much all of her mother's work gear—after all, she had helped her many times to clean and maintain it.
A metal cabinet and shelf butted up against the worktable, and right above it was a huge map of the Berk landscape, full of special ranger markings. Assorted accordion folders and binders filled the shelf, holding information regarding her mother's work. Although she didn't like to take so much work home, being the head of all the team of Berk's only rangers at Berk often meant there was no escape forced her to always have those things at hand. When Astrid opened the wardrobe she could see the different clothes that the rangers used, from thermal jackets to camouflage trousers and every kind of boot imaginable. Her eyes landed on the steel hooks attached to the front of the wardrobe, which Astrid imagined were used for one of her mother's most valuable possessions—her bow.
Astrid was not naive—she had always known that her mother's work had its dangers, especially because her mother had always made a point to drill awareness into her daughter, but there were many more dangers than those that nature presented. Illegal traps, poachers, smugglers who used natural areas for the businesses of shifting their merchandise; the list was long and that was but one of the reasons why her mother had been teaching Astrid to defend herself ever since she was a little girl.
Her mother had familiarized her with different kinds of hand-to-hand fighting, as well as what to do if she got lost in the forest, first aid, and how to get help in whatever emergency situation she might ever find herself in. And one of the things that she had taught her most seriously was with the use and handling of different types of weapons—from hunting knives to firearms, like shotguns and hunting rifles. Although Astrid enjoyed this type of thing, she always kept in mind all of her mother's warnings, above all to respect the power of those things.
Her curiosity satisfied with that part of the house, Astrid left the place as she had found it, and went out to take a deeper look at the front yard. Sunlight covered the entire front yard, making the stairs leading down to the beach look especially inviting. Astrid approached that part of the garden and leaned on the railings that lined that strip of cliff, just above the stairs, and looked out across the beach.
The beach wasn't small, but it wasn't overly large either. She could see that just at the other end of the beach there was a small cabin and an equally small pier, although the blonde couldn't tell how well-kept they were from so far off. Right next to it was another set of stairs that went up that part of the cliff where Astrid imagined was the meadow where the mayor held parties and events.
Astrid enjoyed the views and the ocean breeze for a while before following the stone path that wound around the garage and into the backyard. She had already seen a little of the garden yesterday from the kitchen, but hadn't yet been able to fully explore. That little path between the garage and the ivy wall made her feel like she was at the beginning of a fairy tale, especially with the end of the path magically spotlit by the sun.
The first thing Astrid noticed when she reached the garden was the scent of wet grass, and, as soon as she laid eyes on the garden, she knew that it was going to be one of her favorite places in the whole house. The backyard was huge—bigger than Astrid had thought it was. The wall that bordered the cliff face continued until it met a thick railing made of wood and stone, which overlooked beautiful views of the sea.
Deeper into the garden was a gazebo-type structure that might've been used for garden parties or other mayoral functions. Stuck right in the corner between the wall that separated the forest and the railing that faced the sea was a huge stone barbecue, with space to cook up a plethora of servings, as well as a stone and brick countertop next to it. A sturdy wooden table with several chairs sat not too far away, and Astrid noticed that around all this there were several poles with pulleys, which Astrid imagined were used to hang an awning and cover the entire area to protect guests from the elements—be it rain or sun.
But, if there was something that had caught her attention most in that part of the house, it was the huge stone hole in the center of the garden. Around it were several sturdy wooden benches covered in blankets and furs. The blonde imagined that was where the mayor, his son and his friends gathered around the fire.
After touring the garden a few times and seeing everything, Astrid ended her adventure around the Haddock residence. She walked to the kitchen doors and when she was about to enter the house she noticed something. It was a small stone path that ran from the backyard to the front yard, circling what was Hiccup's workshop and room. The path looked narrow, the trees and plants had invaded everything. Astrid didn't think it was worth picking her way through—in the end it was going to take her back to where she had started. But, if there was one thing that Astrid couldn't bear, it was the feeling of not finishing things.
Carefully but determinedly, the blonde made her way down that small stone path. Every step took her deeper into a small forest, so thick with trees and plants that barely any sunlight shone through. But it didn't take long for her to see the other end of the road, the midday sun lighting the way. At the end of the walk, Astrid could feel the fresh air passing through her, something that she appreciated a lot, but that wasn't the only thing she noticed. Unlike when she began the exploration of the Haddock house, the doors of Hiccup's workshop were open and noise could be heard inside.
Astrid couldn't really hear what was going on in there, some music was playing and it seemed like Hiccup was talking to someone while moving things. Here the blonde was at a crossroads, on the one hand it seemed wrong to poke around someone else's private space, but on the other hand she was extremely curious to see the space occupied by young Haddock. And amid her indecision, Astrid swore she could hear the voice of her friend Ruffnut.
"It will just be a quick look—in and out."
In the end, the blonde decided to listen to her friend's voice inside her head. Little by little, and without making much noise, she got closer until she was right next to the open doors, the music was still playing but Hiccup's voice was no longer heard. Carefully, Astrid slowly poked her head in and took a good look.
The place seemed bigger inside than outside, and Astrid noticed that it was separated into two parts. The first part, where she stood, was what she imagined the workshop area to be. On both sides there were work tables, various machines, and tools. In the center of this half, there was an iron plate covering something.
The back of the place seemed to be Hiccup's bedroom area. Astrid noticed that it was two stories, the mezzanine was accessed by a ladder, and underneath there was a living room area, with a sofa, a television with shelves on both sides full of books and what appeared to be video game consoles. On the left side there were more shelves full of books, notebooks and more, and attached to the wall, in front of a window, there was a table with a computer and several screens.
And from what little she could see from where she was, the top level had a bed, more shelves, and what looked like cabinets and drawers. The truth was that Astrid had visited plenty of friend's houses before, but she'd never seen a bedroom as incredible as this. Satisfied with what she'd seen, Astrid was about to leave there and enter the main house, or at least that was what she intended.
"What are you doing here?"
Astrid didn't remember ever having jumped a jump the moment she heard Hiccup's voice behind her. She slowly turned and came face to face with the mayor's son. Hiccup's face wasn't angry, at least not very angry. Astrid saw that he was looking at her with curiosity, but also that he was not very happy to see her there.
"Well ... I ..." For the first time in a long time, Astrid didn't know what to say, and the feeling made her start to blush a lot. She felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and it didn't look like Hiccup was going to let her go without an explanation.
"So?" Astrid pulled herself together and realized she had to say something, after all she had been caught in someone else's room snooping.
"I ... I'm sorry Hiccup, I was going through the whole house and the surroundings to get to know it better, and when I came back from the backyard I saw the doors open ... and well I guess my curiosity won me over."
Hiccup didn't say anything, just stared at her, making Astrid nervous. Images were already passing through her head of what her mother would say when she found out that on the first day in her new house she had been caught snooping in someone else's room.
"Okay."
If Astrid could see her face in a mirror at that moment, she would most likely have seen a silly, surprised face. Hiccup wasn't upset that he caught her snooping?
"Really?"
"Well, I'm not going to lie to you, I don't like anyone entering my room without my permission; not even my father enters if I don't let him, but I imagined that you'd find this place sooner or later." The blonde felt a huge sense of relief when she heard those words, but she knew that what she had done was not right.
"Thanks Hiccup, and I am so sorry to have entered without your permission, it was not good." Hiccup smiled at these words.
"No harm done, really. And since you are here I want to take the opportunity to tell you something I had planned to tell you later, when you and your mother were more settled in the house."
"Tell me something?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I agree with what my father says, this is not just our house, it's also yours and your mother's. We may have invited you here, but you're more than guests now; feel free to make your life as you will do in your other house."
Astrid felt that a small weight was lifted from her—despite what Stoick had told her, a small part of her could not help but feel that she was a guest who was going to stay for a long time. But hearing Hiccup say that, for some strange reason, she knew that was not the situation.
"Wow, thanks, Hiccup. It's honestly a relief to hear you say that."
"No problem, and I want you to know that this isn't me giving you permission, because you don't need it, but you know you can bring your friends and whoever you want, right? The only thing I ask is that they respect the house and do not enter here."
"Yeah sure, I get it."
"Perfect, I'm glad I was able to tell you. And if you don't mind now, I have a bit of work to get through, so I'll see you at dinner."
Astrid understood that that was her signal to get out of there, so she nodded and walked out into the front yard, a little embarrassed that he caught her, but glad she had been able to talk a bit with Hiccup.
The rest of the day passed without further incident, while Astrid continued with her exploration of the house, to see where everything was. The mayor's office seemed beautiful, simple and imposing, it reflected much of him. Something that the blonde noticed was that some of the doors were locked, but her curiosity had already gotten the better of her once today, and that was enough.
The afternoon arrived and Astrid was leaning against the window of her room, taking advantage of the cool breeze from the sea. Hofferson's House burried deep in the woods. She and her mother were not used to the little things that came with living in a house in a place like this and Astrid was happy to discover them one by one.
She had her cell phone in her hand, she was waiting for a call from her friends to talk about meeting everyone tomorrow, as she had told Stoick in the morning. It wasn't going to be a party or something like that, but rather a meeting between all of her friends from her high school. It was something they had been doing for a long time, so they could catch up and help each other with some things from the beginning of the school year. Astrid loved their group gatherings, it was fun to listen to all that they had been doing during their vacations and share the excitement of the last days of summer. But with that, Astrid also realized one thing, that this was the last year they would do it. This was going to be her and her friends' last year of high school, and she knew that surely many of them would go to the same college as her, but a feeling of emptiness appeared in her stomach, thinking about it.
Astrid was startled by the sudden ringing of her cell phone, and it snapped her out of her thoughts. When she looked at the screen she saw that it was Heather who was making a video call to her.
"Hey Heather, how are you?" Astrid couldn't help noticing that her friend had her black hair all tousled, full of twigs and leaves and dirt stains on her face, and she showed enormous fatigue.
"Nearly dead from exhaustion, dirty as hell and with half a forest in my hair, but I'm fine," replied the black-haired while she removed the branches and leaves.
Astrid couldn't help laughing. Like many families and people who took advantage of the last days of vacations to spend a little more time together, Heather and her brother had taken the opportunity to hike to the mountains near Berserker, her ancestral town. And the blonde knew that although her friend liked the area, she didn't reach the same level of excitement as her brother when it came to that kind of thing.
"How are you? How was your first day in the new house?" she asked as she continued to remove branches from her hair.
"Well, it wasn't bad…" For the next few minutes Astrid was regailing her expedition to the Haddock residence. She was a bit hesitant to tell her about how Hiccup caught her sniffing around, but in the end she told her, making her friend unable to stop laughing, while Astrid kept blushing.
"Ruffnut would be proud of you," she managed to say as she tried to hold back her laughter. Heather knew how this kind of thing affected Astrid and although it was a bit malicious, she enjoyed seeing her like that.
"Don't even think about saying anything to her, she would never let me forget it and I don't want to give her weird ideas when you visit here."
"And you say Hiccup didn't get mad?"
"No, I mean, he was confused to find me there, but he was only annoyed at most. I guess he doesn't really like having his privacy invaded." Astrid tried to remember young Haddock's face when she caught her snooping. "But even so he was very calm, he listened to me and he told me that this was our house, but to respect his privacy." Heather nodded when listening to her.
"Well, Hiccup has never been one to get carried away easily by his anger." Astrid was surprised to hear her friend.
"How do you know?"
"Astrid, that Hiccup and I met doesn't make us friends, we met through our parents when we were children and over time we saw each other at different events and parties."
Astrid knew that Heather's father had been the mayor of a small town, not far from Berk, called Berserker. Sadly, that small town was currently, except for a few people, uninhabited. Berserker always had a bad reputation of being a city with a lot of crime and corruption, for many criminals it was a perfect place to be under the radar after a crime or to hide their money. When she and Heather had just started high school, the situation was untenable in the city, since day by day many people moved to other places, nobody invested anything in the city, and even the criminals themselves ended up leaving. The city went bankrupt, and Heather, along with her family, moved to Berk. So what her friend told her made sense, since they met themselves at one of the mayor's parties in Berk.
"And what was Hiccup like at those parties or events?"
"Well, I don't mind telling you, but haven't you and him known each other since you were little?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, I imagine that if someone knew him better than me it would be the people who knew him since he was little, how was Hiccup when he was little?"
Astrid went blank when she heard the question from her friend. She had known Hiccup since they were children, but she hadn't put much effort into remembering those moments until now. Although many were of moments playing or celebrations, she also remembered other moments not so beautiful.
"Well, I remember he was very shy, he hardly spoke or said much. But that didn't stop him from playing with others, he had a huge imagination." Astrid's small, fond smile didn't go unnoticed by heather. "He also used to think up a lot of huge plots, many were fun but others led to disaster, Ruffnut and her brother woke up when that happened."
"Wow, it sounds like being with him is a little adventure."
"It was, but…" The black-haired woman saw how the smile disappeared little by little from her friend's face.
"But?"
"As we got older, the townspeople looked down on Hiccup."
"Why's that?"
"Well for them he didn't fit much into how he was supposed to be a Berkian you know: strong, huge, ready to wipe out anything if necessary." Astrid didn't feel very comfortable remembering those moments. "Plus his father was Stoickthe Vast, one of Berk's most beloved mayors, Hiccup and he were not alike at all and people had no problem letting him know, in all aspects."
Heather knew what that was like, she herself had been through the same thing being the daughter of the mayor of Berserker, even years after her father left office it still happened to her. The disapproving looks, the comments, the expectations of her and her brother…
"Then there was the building things, like I said, many were fun, but many others ended in disaster and the people of the town didn't like it very much when that happened." Astrid also remembered how people ignored him, except when it came to saying something bad about him. "And that also happened with the younger ones."
"You all?"
"The younger ones, me, and the others."
"What did you do?"
"Well, many of us ignored him, either because they didn't want to be around him or because their parents told them not to get close to him."
"Wow, that's taking very extreme measures, isn't it?"
"Well, for many adults in Berk, Hiccup didn't represent at all what a Berkian was, something that was very noticeable besides being Stoick's son, they were like night and day." Memories of epoch that kept coming back to Astrid's head. "They didn't want their children to be around him."
Heather watched as her friend was feeling a bit uncomfortable before continuing to speak.
"Others like Snotlout or the twins messed with him a lot, from practical jokes or ambushing him on the way to his house and ... well you can imagine."
"And you?"
"Me? What?"
"Did you did the same as them?"
"No ... well, I didn't, but it's not like I was very nice to him either."
"Because?"
"I don't know, it always seemed to me that he was never where he should be or doing his part as the mayor's son, always creating weird machines and causing trouble."
"And that bothered you?"
"Well yes, I mean no…" Heather enjoyed a lot when Astrid lost the ability to communicate. "You see at that time I began to stand out little by little in sports competitions, at Berk events and others. I started to having responsibilities, like organizing the youngsters at special events, something that Hiccup, as the mayor's son, had to do as well and he was never doing what he should be.
"You were tough since you were little, huh?" asked Heather
"Well, for me those things were always important, being part of the town and contributing." Astrid blushed a little. "He didn't seem to take it seriously, ever."
But suddenly Heather saw her friend's face change to one of confusion from one moment to the next. "Are you okay over there?"
"Yeah, it's just that ... I started to notice that shortly before I started high school, I stopped seeing him in all those things."
"Didn't you see him again?"
"No, the truth is that I spent a long time without seeing him now that I think about it, at the time it seemed strange not to see him with Stoick the first few times, I even asked his father, but he didn't tell me much else other than that Hiccup couldn't attend."
"Wow, that's funny," Heather commented.
"Because?"
"Well, also around that time, I stopped seeing Hiccup with his father at events or meetings." This comment from her friend aroused Astrid's curiosity a bit. "Not only at events, but also at some parties that were a bit more personal."
Astrid could once again notice her curiosity about the youngest of the Haddocks. The blonde wondered what things her friend could tell her, but she thought it best to leave it for when she and her friend met the next day. They talked for a while longer before Heather had to leave to help her brother with dinner before he set all on fire.
"Well then, see you tomorrow next to the station?"
"Yes, it's easier for us all to stay there, have something to eat all afternoon, we'll carpool with the boys and we will come there."
"Great, the truth is that it would be good to be able to enjoy the last of the holidays, before having to lock ourselves in class and stick our faces to the books." Heather commented with a drama that made it impossible not to make Astrid laugh. "See you tomorrow, blonde."
"Until tomorrow."
The moment she hung up the phone, Astrid noticed how dark the room was. The sun had set, although there was still a bit of orange light in sight, while on the other side, the night was breaking through, plunging everything into darkness. Without turning on the light, Astrid got up and walked over to her desk. The blonde couldn't help but think about the last words of her friend, while ordering some papers and folders. It was true, in a few days the holidays would end and it'd be back to classes, but this year was the last. Sometimes it didn't seem like a big deal, finishing high school and going to university, but other times she thought about all the changes, living in a new place, being more in the air with her, it was enough to make her nervous. But at the same time she felt excited, new challenges, new people to meet, make the decisions herself. It was a mixture of emotions that ran through her entire body.
But she still had a very long year ahead of her, as her mother had told her, and Astrid was planning to enjoy it to the fullest. And then there was her new home and her new roommates. She had always liked Stoick very much, he was often a role model for her and seemed to really love her mother. But the blonde, she recognized that her curiosity and attention was placed on the youngest of the Haddocks, what Heather had told her had seemed very curious and she wondered what else Heather had to say, but she would know tomorrow.
"But that will have to wait for tomorrow," Astrid thought when she heard her mother calling her for dinner.
