FOUR:

"How's it going, son?" Stoick poked his head round the door and looked into the basement studio that his son had created since the loss of his wife. Hiccup still had his bedroom upstairs but after the accident, he had initially found the stairs difficult so Stoick had made the basement-which had a small elevator to ground level-a temporary bedroom and living area. Artistic and skilled as a painter, photographer, sculptor and tinkerer, Hiccup used the space for his projects-and latterly, for his coaching sessions for various cast members of the pantomime. To one side, a vintage Harley Davidson was in the process of being rebuilt, several paintings were hung on the wall as well as his dead mother's photographic equipment and a framed selection of her work-mainly images of the happy family they had been before the impact that ripped them apart.

Hiccup looked up from the workbench, apparently unscrewing a component from the centre of a plush rat. He frowned, picked out a piece of fluff and sighed.

"Great, Dad-it's going just great," he said unenthusiastically. Stoick walked forward with a home-made strawberry shake, the plump pieces of fresh strawberry suspended in the thick ice-creamy treat. He rested the drink by his son, along with a plate of home-made cinnamon and apple star-shaped cookies.

"The type of 'great' that's about a twentieth of an inch from 'utter catastrophe'?" he asked wisely, perching on a reinforced stool. Hiccup sighed.

"Not quite that bad," he admitted, absently taking a still-warm cookie and munching away with a sigh. "Half an inch at least. Hey-these are great, Dad," he said gratefully. Stoick nodded.

"New recipe I got from Gobber," Stoick admitted. "So what's worrying you?"

"Worried? Me?" Hiccup asked quickly, an almost guilty look in his eyes. "I'm fine, Dad. And you have far more important…"

"Nothing's more important than my son," Stoick reminded him sternly. "And said son is absolutely incapable of hiding his emotions…" Hiccup gave an embarrassed laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You noticed?" he mumbled. "Um…sorry…" Stoick took a cookie and bit into it thoughtfully.

"Nothing to be sorry about, son," he said. "But I hate seeing you concerned. Anything I can do to help?" Hiccup sipped his milkshake and sighed.

"Not really," he explained. "I mean, the cast are at least all trying…mostly…"

"Have they stopped playing pranks on you?" Stoick asked and Hiccup nodded.

"Um…Astrid saw to that," he confessed.

"I was very worried when you came home bright green," his father confessed, munching away. "Astrid, you say. I know you've been going round to her house recently…" Hiccup face-palmed. Trust his Dad to put two and two together and make grand babies!

"I've been helping her with her lines and her acting," he explained. Stoick winked.

"But she asked you to help her," he reminded his son.

"Oh Thor…" Hiccup groaned. "Have you been talking to Gobber?" Stoick grinned.

"Stranger things have happened," he reminded his son. "Have I told you that your Mom and I got together when we had to do a Biology Project looking at worms and lice?" Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Bleurgh! And yes…about a hundred times…" he replied sarcastically. "I usually end up wanting to take a shower after you tell me all the details. Bleurgh! Honestly, Dad-we're just friends…"

"But you do like her," his father stated. "Maybe you might want to tell her? Or show her? Or ask her out?"

"Agh! And no," Hiccup gabbled urgently. "Look, Dad-Astrid is an amazing, beautiful, smart woman and she is so totally out of my league I should probably be locked up for even thinking about that! I mean, she is being chased by the School Quarterback and was being pursued by Snot before that…"

"And she's not going out with either of them, is she?" his father guessed wisely. "Meaning those aren't the people she's interested in." He frowned. "And why are you operating on a plush rat?"

"Prop for the humorous rat-chasing scene in Cinderella," he explained. "Dad-I don't think she's interested in anyone. At all." Stoick reached over and patted his son on the shoulder.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am of you in the way that you have responded to not being in the pantomime?" he asked gently. "You have been incredibly organised, dedicated, brave and determined. And those are qualities that any father should be proud of in his son. Carnaby and Eretson have been crowing about their boys' parts in the play-but I guess they are the least engaged and most lazy of your cast?" Hiccup's eyes widened. "I know the sort-entitled and unwilling to work for anything. They expect everything given to them on a plate."

"Yeah-if I could carry them onto set, they'd have me do it," Hiccup grumbled as his father chuckled.

"And I'll wager that their lack of contribution will be recognised by Mr Mulch and Miss Queen just as your excellent work will be," he reassured his son. "Mr Mulch has already called me to say how impressed he has been with you." Looking up, Hiccup felt his heart leap at the unexpected praise.

"Really?" he asked and Stoick nodded.

"Now will you ask that girl out?" he asked. "I'm sure she's just waiting for you to…" But Hiccup shook his head.

"Dad-sometimes, it's better to hang onto an impossible dream than accept hopeless reality," he said. His father sighed at the stubborn reply and sat back as Hiccup proceeded to deftly and intuitively reassemble the motorised rodent.

Oh son, he thought. I have seen the way that lass looked at you when she came round here last week for practice-and she has feelings for you as well. I just wish you believed in yourself the way I believe in you.

-o0o-

The class were all gathered in the assembly room for another practice, scripts out and moaning that they would never know their words. Snotlout was still struggling to learn his first line and the twins were punching each other. The door slammed open and Astrid stormed in, her face like thunder and she marched directly up to Eret, glaring at him.

"Hiya, Babe," he smirked. "How's my beautiful…?"

"You total slime!" Astrid snapped. "How dare you?"

"What?" Snotlout asked, looking up from his script.

"This arrogant ass has changed his Berkbook status to 'in a relationship with Astrid Hofferson'. Which he isn't. And is never going to be!"

"Babe-you know when you finally agree to practice kissing with me for the final scene, you'll never want to be with another guy and you'll be begging to be my girlfriend," Eret commented lazily. "I am simply the best!"

"What?" Snotlout's outraged yell echoed through the room. Even though he knew he stood precisely no chance with Astrid-having chased her in Freshman and Sophomore Years-Snotlout still clung to the fantasy that he was the most desirable male in the School.

"No, you're not," Astrid snapped, marching up to him, her fists balled. "You're an arrogant, self-absorbed, vain imbecile and you are the last person I would ever go out with. Honestly, I would rather go out with Hiccup Haddock than you! I…"

There was a sharp intake of breath and through her rage, Astrid saw everyone staring past her. "And he's behind me, isn't she?" She turned-to see Hiccup standing a few feet inside the room, his face completely bloodless and his eyes filled with a broken look. Guilt speared Astrid and she took a pace forward, her hand extended. "Hiccup-I didn't mean it like that. I wanted to say…"

He turned away-unevenly because he's still slightly unsteady on his prosthetic on tight turns, she thought automatically-and he almost ran through the door, the slam echoing through the silent room.

"What was that?" Cami asked.

"Hiccup has always liked Astrid," Fishlegs revealed quietly.

"But he never says anything," Astrid murmured.

"Because he knows everyone will laugh at him and you all just tolerate him," the husky boy said firmly. "Pretty much all of you were horrible to him when he was in the accident and there isn't a day when you don't tease him about the leg!"

"Aw, c'mon…it's really funny and I'm sure he knows it a joke," Thuggory protested smugly.

"You try putting up with it every day when the leg-or the fact you lost it-reminds you of the horrible accident where your Mom died and you almost did," Fishlegs snapped. No one had ever heard him this annoyed before and the twins were looking thoughtful. "I mean he kind of expects these two chuckleheads or the twins or Snot or even Heather and Cami to be thoughtless or just plain cruel. But you…he really likes you. And you had never said anything mean to him. Until now." Fishlegs took a step towards the shocked Astrid. "Congratulations. You've joined that club as well."

"But I didn't…" she protested.

"Yes, you did," Fishlegs told her. She glared at him and turned back to Eret.

"I would rather go out with Hiccup Haddock than you!" she repeated, her voice filled with anger.

"And where is your hop-along boyfriend, hmm?" Eret sneered. "Run away?"

"And you know why I would rather go out with Hiccup Haddock that you?" she snapped. "Because Hiccup is a decent guy. He's kind, generous, smart, sassy, cute, funny and actually listens when you talk. He asks, doesn't tell. And he is worth a hundred of all of you!"

"When he's actually only about 90% of a person," Eret scoffed. Astrid glared and balled her fist to a sharp intake of breath from Heather, Cami Ruff and Tuff. Eret chuckled patronisingly as Astrid pulled her arm back and unleashed a right cross that a professional boxer would envy. Eret staggered back a few steps, his eyes crossed-and then he went down like a felled tree.

Astrid grabbed her bag in the completely silent room and ran for the door, sprinting down the Hallway in pursuit of Hiccup. But she reached the front of the school and burst through the main doors, still not having caught him up and as she watched, Hiccup's car-a black SUV-pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the road. Astrid ran to her light blue Porsche and floored it, speeding after him. It was mid-afternoon and the traffic was light so she was able to keep him in sight as he manoeuvred through the traffic and onto the main highway out of town up to Raven Point and then north of the island. Hands tight on the steering wheel, Astrid followed up onto the Pass and onto the highest part of the road, where it zig-zagged round rocky cliffs and by sheer drops until she saw him pull into an outlook on a sharp bend, the triple reinforced metal railings and the simple granite cross telling her everything she needed to know. She pulled in and killed the engine a few yards from Hiccup's car as she saw him clamber out.

His shoulders were slumped and the breeze riffled his messy auburn hair as he walked slightly unevenly to the rail, staring out over the sheer drop. Cautiously, she climbed out of the car and walked quietly towards him. He swallowed as he heard her approach and she could see him tense. Suddenly, 'sorry' seemed inadequate.

"Is this where…?" she asked him and he nodded. He was still pale, the few freckles dark against his skin and his expression was very hurt and unhappy, making her guilt stab her even more painfully. If she could have taken back her words-or at least the way she said them-she would have. But being Hiccup, he didn't tell her to get lost or refuse to talk about it: he answered her honestly.

"We were coming up from town to see Mom's Grandmother, Gothi, for Mother's Day," he explained. "Dad was working and was going to join us later. We reached the corner and this truck came straight at us. It didn't even try to make the turn and slammed straight into the car, hitting Mom head on." He chewed his lip. "I heard her say 'Hiccup'…and then there was just the crunching and screaming of metal and we were slammed sidewards. Mom was killed on impact and the car was rammed straight through the rails and over the drop. We flipped and the car landed onto that rock there…"

He gestured and she peered over the drop. Forty feet below, there was a huge grey granite rock still with scrapes and paint on the surface, even after two Berkian winters.

"Wow," she murmured. "It's a miracle you survived."

He nodded.

"I was trapped, my leg crushed and I was badly injured," he said. "The truck was hanging over the drop and if it fell, it would have landed on us and killed me as well. Turns out the driver had suffered a heart attack and he died in his cab before the first responders could make it. But there was a skinny black dog, a stray, that came to the car. Thor only knows how he scrambled down but he nuzzled me and dragged my bag from that bush over there, where it had fallen. Thanks to him, I-I was able to get my phone and call 9-1-1. And the dog then licked me and raced up to the edge, waiting for the police and ambulances."

"That's…amazing…" she murmured.

"He waited outside the hospital while I was inside," he said thickly. "Everyone assumed he was my dog-and when I saw him as I was wheeled out, down a leg and a mother, he barked and came up to me, all waggy and happy to see me and I just started crying like a girl…"

"Hey!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "And he just licked me and Dad took him home with us. He's still with me-I call him Toothless because he's missing half his teeth. He saved my life because I would have died if I hadn't been found when I was. But I still see that moment…and I see Mom turn to me and see her lips moving. And I-I was her last word…"

Tears were sliding down his cheeks and though he tried to turn away, he found himself wrapped in her arms, squeezing him strongly and as he buried his face in her neck and held her tightly, she realised that this was what he needed. And why she hadn't realised what he had gone through before.

I was so obsessed with my own life, my own goals that I didn't stop and look up, she realised. And Hiccup was always there, the smart and sassy guy who had that horrible accident at the end of Freshman Year but came back to school at the start of Sophomore Year and carried on like nothing had happened. But it had and he was mercilessly teased for it. And he never complained and always helped anyone who needed it. And working with him in the project has just shown me he is the best person in our class.

She glanced over the hideous drop and wondered what would have happened if that lorry had dropped, if the dog hadn't helped him…if he hadn't made it.

My life would have been worse, she realised. I think all of ours would have been. I know he's helped Cami and Fish in the past. He always contributes. And this Pantomime would be a disaster without him. But more…he's the only person I know who is worth going out with! I wish I hadn't said what I said…in that way. But he deserves to know the truth.

She stroked his hair and felt him shudder.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I never meant you to feel bad. And you never let me finish." He sniffed and looked up as she reached up and wiped his cheek with her thumb.

"I would rather go out with Hiccup Haddock," she repeated. "Because he's smart and sassy and funny and brave. He's generous and kind. He helped me with my words-not just learning them but practicing them and learning to act them to the best of my ability. He managed to persuade everyone to do their parts. He's really disappointed at not being in the pantomime but he's thrown himself into making sure it's a success anyway, even though he won't be on stage. And he endures the most awful taunts when anyone else would have gone crazy and possibly shot half the class or stormed out and left the town…"

"No chance of that with Dad being Mayor," he mumbled.

"And you never mention that either," she reminded him. "Eret and Thuggory make sure everyone knows their Dads are on the Town Council but never you."

"But that would just be lame and pathetic, asking people to notice you or like you because of who your father is, not who you are," he said more firmly. She rested her hand on his cheek.

"And yet you are the only person who really understands that," she admitted softly. "And it's taken me far too long to realise that. You were just that really smart sarcastic guy who always sat at the front and who always just beat me in class order, no matter how hard I tried. I was so focussed on beating your marks, I never had time to get to know you. Until we did this project and I realised what an extraordinary person you actually are."

"And this isn't some cunning masterplan to sabotage my marks?" he asked her and her eyebrows rose as he sniffed and palmed his cheek.

"Damn, my super-cunning masterplan has been tumbled once more…" she smirked. He pulled back and sighed. "So will you?"

"Um…what?" he asked her.

"Will you go out with me?" she asked him.

He stared.

"What…like as in a girlfriend?" he managed.

"Well, I would be the girlfriend and you would be the boyfriend, I think, not the other way round and…you're not gay are you?" she suddenly asked and he blushed.

"Um…definitely not…" he gabbled. "I mean I like girls and I…you…I mean…girlfriend?" She smiled.

"That's what I was asking…" she said kindly. "I mean, you can say no…"

"No! I mean yes. Yes. Definitely yes."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes," he said and then he smiled. "Yes…" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"I thought you were never going to ask me," she explained. "And I have been trying to figure out a way…"

"Um…announcing to Eret how even I was better than him possibly wasn't it," he admitted.

"I never said even," she reminded him.

"I think my mind put it in," he admitted. She gently punched his shoulder.

"Muttonhead," she said with a roll of the eyes. "Look-I know you lack confidence and to be honest, most of the class have been horrible to you-but you have me now. As well as Fish."

"And Cami…intermittently," Hiccup admitted. "When she's not mad at me for something I have no clue about…" And then he looked down into her eyes. "So…what do we do now?" She checked her watch.

"Well, school is out now so I am sure the others will be texting me soon about what's happened…so shall we go back to my place and maybe…hang?" He looked self-conscious.

"I mean, if you wanted to spend time with your friends…" he mumbled.

"I want to spend time with you," she told him firmly. "I mean, if you want to…because you're my friend and I really want to get to know you better. And maybe…try some lines together?" Hearing the faintest uncertainty in her otherwise very certain voice, he smirked.

"Lines? That's where you're going?" he teased her and her eyes widened.

"And that is the sassy guy I've come to love," she told him teasingly. He blushed.

"Um…well, I have been in love with you for years," he admitted as she smiled up to him and took this hand in hers.

"Good man," she told him. "Let's go over to my house and you can tell me everything I don't know about you…" He grinned.

"Well, that should take maybe a minute so we will need to find something else to do for the rest of the time," he deadpanned.

"I'm sure I can think of something," she shot back as they headed for their cars.

"Oh Thor…" he mumbled as he blushed fiercely. "Gobber would never believe this…and I cannot tell Dad about this…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Milady."