Seven: Complications

The match against Lithuania was hard but Astrid had scored during a 3-1 win and the Archipelago Team returned home in triumph. And after the standard return home to flashing bulbs and crowding journalists, Astrid had been grateful for the club car that had swept her to her very modern, spacious and familiar apartment in Archi City and as she clambered out, thanking the driver for taking out her cases. But as she opened the door and walked into her home, she realised how quiet it was. She had been surrounded by her family, her friends, her team and the eternal scrum of her life until now, when the door slammed closed and the silence enfolded her.

Automatically, she took her case to her room, unpacked, put her washing in the machine and then walked into the shower and relaxed. It had been a hectic couple of days so she finally settled on her white leather couch, clad casually in leggings and a lycra top and closing her eyes. The main room was very large with a huge window occupying most of one wall, a semicircle of white leather sofas on dark wood floor boards, white walls and dark wooden shelves with white and blue ornaments and occasional white framed photographs of Astrid, her parents, her friends and her football teams. A large frame in the lobby held her first National Team shirt and her shining white kitchen with black granite work surfaces was pristine.

Staring at the photo of her friends, Astrid stared at the skinny shape grinning at her side, his emerald eyes shining with happiness and auburn hair a bit wild. Hiccup looked happy and carefree-for all that he had been intermittently bullied throughout his school career for being small and unimpressive…and being the Mayor's son. But Astrid and their friends had looked out for their friend and they had all been close.

Until I left.

The buzzer sounded and Astrid checked the camera on her phone, then let Heather in. The raven-haired woman was smart in her grey pant suit and was insanely cheerful but at least she had brought a giant caramel latte, which Astrid accepted gracefully.

"No muffin?" she asked hopefully and Heather gave a big grin and produced a red velvet muffin which Astrid snatched and ran away with, curling on the furthest couch and taking a huge bite.

"What happened to the health-conscious football star?" Heather asked smugly, biting her apple and perching next to Astrid. The blonde had to swallow her mouthful of muffin before she could speak.

"Oh, I haven't had breakfast and I have had it up to here with journalists asking me things about my fiancé and if we've set a date and…honestly, I will be glad to get that Press Conference organised and end this whole misunderstanding…" Heather coughed and almost choked on her apple.

"You may want to think again," she advised as Astrid sipped her coffee and stared at her.

"Sorry?" she said warily. "You haven't organised the Press Conference, have you?" There was an awkward silence.

"Um…no…but in my defence, I have been extremely busy with media requests, advertising companies really wanting you as a brand ambassador and of course, Team Astrid which is selling out of EVERYTHING! I mean, the entire line has sold out and we've got an urgent order for twice the first run-which is already almost sold out on pre-orders…"

"What?" Astrid spluttered, spraying red crumbs on her couch. Heather nodded.

"My friend-there are orders from all over for your products," she said sternly. "You are currently scorchingly hot property. I mean, a secret engagement-to someone no one knows anything about and who is actually frighteningly cute-it's the perfect publicity…"

"It was an accident…"

"It was fate!" Heather said urgently. "Has he got an skeletons in his closet? Is he gay? A drug lord? An embezzler?"

"Um…no…pretty sure Hiccup isn't any of those things," Astrid said. "I mean, he's a nerd…"

"Well duh!" Heather laughed. "I mean, that was obvious…"

"But he's a nice guy," she said, feeling she had to defend her friend. "He's decent and honest and really doesn't deserve to be caught up in all of this…"

"And yet…he could really help you if he carries this through…" Heather mused. Astrid sat up abruptly and glared at her friend.

"A sham engagement?" she growled. "And what happens when we don't marry?" Heather smiled.

"That's the perfect thing-he can explain he can't adjust to your stellar lifestyle, break it off and leave you as the poor abandoned women," she said smugly. "Loads more sales and markets to explore and all your engagement memorabilia…"

"Memorabilia?" Astrid repeated incredulously.

"Yeah-I'm sure we can can several special editions-books, photoshoots, specialist photographs and items for your fans…" Heather mused.

"Oh Thor," Astrid muttered, face-palming.

"All we need is a few months-just enough to get rid of any accusations of this all being just for publicity…" Heather continued.

"Because of course that couldn't be further from the truth," Astrid commented sarcastically.

"Hey, bestie-I am doing this for your long term financial security!" Heather said, slightly irritably.

"And your 15% cut," her friend pointed out.

"…for both our long term financial security," she conceded. "Look-I'm sure he wouldn't want you to suffer for such a stupid misunderstanding…and it will be a hundred times worse because of the delay in denying the engagement…"

"Which you were supposed to have seen to while I was in International Duty," Astrid pointed out sternly.

"Because I was so busy dealing with all your commercial interests!" Heather retorted. "Look-at least talk to the guy. I mean, it's pretty obvious-and was during school-that he had a major crush on you, so I'm sure he would help you out…"

The look of shock and fear in his wide emerald gaze at the announcement flashed across her memory-as well as the furious reaction of his long-term girlfriend, Arabella.

"Not so sure," she said guardedly. "And what is actually in this for him? You're talking about exploiting him for my financial gain, ruining his relationship with his actual girlfriend…or maybe now ex-girlfriend, plunging him into the media circus and all so you and I can get richer. Heather-this is pretty exploitative and…"

"Well-you can at least ask him!" Heather suggested. "Or better-fly him here. I think we need to talk." There was a pause and Astrid nodded, pulling out her phone and opening her contacts. She stared at the list and then thumbed HICCUP.

oOo

The last few days had been unnerving for Hiccup, what with being back in his childhood room at his father's house, feeling like a failure and being texted twenty times an hour by a furious Bella who was incandescent that he had sneaked back, grabbed his few remaining things and escaped. Sure, his father was happy to have him back and evenings spent with his Dad and Gobber round the TV or chatting around the kitchen table were a nice change and certainly Toothless was so much happier back in the Haddock home, with the little black feline resuming all his favourite haunts almost as if he hadn't been away-but Hiccup felt like an utter loser. Being forced to move back in with his Dad after his relationship with Bella failed made him feel like the useless, pathetic nobody that she insisted that he was.

He was getting used to strange looks and his coworkers had teased him unmercifully for his 'upgrade' and he was once again struck by how few people seemed to like his current-or possibly former-girlfriend. Gobber and Stoick did tease him as well and he just took the teasing because there was nothing else he could do. He didn't want to contradict them until he had spoken to Astrid because he wasn't sure what she was planning to do to refute the 'engagement' story.

He had needed to buy some more jeans and shirts for work to replace the ones Bella had wrecked and he was working overtime to make up the extra money he had needed to spend on the clothes. His boss, Gary, had additionally given him a contract to modify the designs for a short range plane that was Berk Aero's best seller and he was working hard at upgrading the plans. So he didn't notice the impatient shape that walked directly to his desk and paused-then kicked his leg. He started and glanced up-to see Arabella glaring at him, her arms folded and blue eyes flashing with irritation.

"Gah! I mean…hi, Bella…" he gabbled, eyes widening. She glared at him.

"Isn't there something you should be saying, Hiccup?" she demanded coldly. He swallowed.

"Sorry?" he asked. She nodded curtly. "And shouldn't you be saying sorry as well?" Her eyes widened. "For-lemme see? Destroying my clothes? Smashing my dragon statuettes? Attacking my computer?" She laughed scornfully.

"Have you heard yourself?" she sneered. "Dragon statuettes? I mean, are you thirteen or what? How pathetic…?"

"Answer the question," he said in a firm voice. "Shouldn't you be apologising for destroying my possessions, just because you were upset? I mean, doing that…is also so thirteen!" She gritted her teeth and even growled in her throat, causing him to stiffen. He was only feeling emboldened because he was in a public place and he and Toothless were away from her. She leaned forward and he leaned back away from her.

"You know that was your fault?" she hissed. "You upset me and so you made me do it."

"And the lack of impulse control, bad temper and decision to do something you know is wrong is all your fault," he retorted. "And trying to blame someone else for your own deliberate actions is extremely…pathetic!" She leaned forward and laid her palms flat on the table. He inched his hands back.

"You know," she said in a low voice so that none of his coworkers could hear, "when you come back-and you will come back, because you are so useless that no one else will put up with your infantile, pathetic, worthless, scrawny, ugly self-I am going to beat you black and blue for that." He swallowed.

"Y'know, somehow hearing you say that makes a life of celibacy and living alone so much more attractive," he replied but she smiled coldly at the waver in his voice. She knew she had him where she wanted him.

"You know-that pretty friend of yours won't want to know how pathetic you are," she threatened sweetly. He felt his pulse jump and shook his head.

"You know, I think she already does," he told her quietly.

"Has she called you?" she taunted him, her smile triumphant. Hiccup started.

"Well…no, but she has been busy and…"

"And what?" she snapped. "If she was so in wuv with widdle Hiccup she'd be texting you all the time-just like me…"

"Pretty sure twenty abusive texts an hour doesn't constitute love," Hiccup told her with unexpected feistiness.

"And the papers?" Bella sneered. "I think they would be amazingly interested in what a cheating, abusive, deviant sonova bitch you really are unless you come home-right now-and make it up to me."

And take the beating, he realised, his breathing accelerating. He swallowed.

"You know, fun as it sounds, I'll pass," he said lightly. "Toothless is happy, my Dad is happy…"

"You don't deserve to be happy," she told him. "You're useless, right?" And then she leaned closer. "You either come home or my next stop is the police station. Where I tell them about my abusive boyfriend. How I'm scared of you. How you b-beat me. How-how you hurt me… How you-you forced me…" She paused and stared deep into his shocked eyes. "And who are they going to believe, Hiccup? A pretty, scared, small woman…or some man who is claiming his girlfriend beats him up? Especially since he's supposed to also be with the most famous soccer player in the Archipelago?"

His phone buzzed and he automatically glanced at the screen: ASTRID. He looked up with a smile.

"Sorry-gotta take this," he said. "It's my fiancé…" And he grabbed the phone, thumbing the green symbol to accept the call and backing away from Bella with immense gratitude. "You know the way out, right?"

She glared at him and then realised that someone else had come into the room. Immediately, she dabbed her eyes.

"I'm so sorry it worked out like this, Hiccup," she said tearfully. "Because I really really love you and it's so horrible you cheated on me with Astrid. I mean…what kind of man abandons his pregnant girlfriend…"

He stared at her in utter shock and then at the phone.

"Hiccup?" Astrid said.

"Sorry-gotta go," he mumbled and ended the call. "Wh-what?"

"I was going to tell you at the weekend but well…I just don't know what to say," Bella continued, dabbing her eyes. Hiccup glanced at Ryan, his co-worker, who was staring at him as if he was the worst person on the face of the planet.

"Bella-we both know this isn't true," he hissed.

"Come round and talk to me, at least," she said to him in a begging voice. In an agony-because he knew it was a lie, Hiccup glanced over at Ryan and Kenneth, another designer who had just walked in.

"Bella-you're killing me," he groaned and then caught the light in her eye. A chill ran down his spine. "Okay-I'll come round later to talk about this…" And then he paused and lowered his voice. "You have to promise never to speak to anyone about me," he said anxiously. She patted his shoulder gently, looking to anyone else, like a friendly gesture.

"I will expect you directly home after work," she told him sweetly. "It will be so lovely to have you back where you belong." And her voice hardened. "And leave the moggy at your father's. If I see him again, I can't guarantee what I may do…"