Hiccup once again woke up with a pretty blonde in his bed. The same pretty blonde as before. Astrid, who he was afraid he was beginning to develop legitimate feelings for.

This time when he awoke, however, she was neither sleeping or hung over. Well, maybe she had a little headache, but it couldn't compare to the boy's throbbing head and rising nauseous feeling.

Astrid smirked as the brunette groaned in pain. "Wimp," She teased and he glared at her.

"Right. You say that now, but a week ago you were the one whining and moping around."

"I was not whining."

Hiccup nodded that she was and immediately regretted it. "And yelling. Obviously the smartest move when your brain is so friend it's numb." He said, mostly in wonderment. He'd never really been hung over before. There weren't really any (child friendly) words in his vocabulary to describe the feeling. Which was a reason he needed tutoring.

"I can start yelling again, if you want." It was mostly an empty threat, but Hiccup recoiled anyways, his eyes showing honest fear at the idea.

Astrid tossed him a malicious grin before pushing herself off the bed and heading to the kitchen to make coffee. She barely remembered where the ingredients were since last time.

Hiccup stumbled into the room and groaned gratefully at the sight and smell of the breakfast his friend had tossed into the microwave.

"Healthy selection." She commented, closing the freezer and shivering. He smiled sarcastically, unable to retort through a mouthful of coffee.

"So," Astrid poured sweetener into her own flowery mug before taking it in both hands. "There's a really good book we can use to help with your studies." She grinned and sipped her coffee when he made a face.

"Studies..." he repeated with his nose wrinkled. "Studying is for nerds."

"An eloquent argument, to be sure." Astrid would have looked genuinely surprised if it hadn't been for the mischievous glint in her eye. "Though by that logic I don't see why you should have a problem."

Hiccup groaned. "That was really lame. Okay, Mi'lady, what book?"

She grabbed her laptop - she had packed study material with her snacks and alcohol - off the coffee table and sat on the bar stool next to him, quickly typing the name into the local library's website search engine. "I know it's not at the school library."

"Saying that makes you sound like you're fourteen." The comment earned the brunette a slap on the arm.

"Library on campus. Happy? Oh..."

"What?"

XxX

The library that the boy and his tutor needed was a town away, and both felt more inclined to take the subway as Hiccup's car was in the shop after an unfortunate incident involving a stray cat who didn't seem to approve of the quiet hum his A/C made.

The subway wasn't due for another ten minutes, so the two were talking about their pets when Astrid stumbled backwards, turning curiously to find her purse yanked off her shoulder.

With the quick reflexes that come with being a cat owner, Hiccup grabbed the perpetrator's arm. " 'Scuse me, that's my friend's, sir."

The man pulled away, confident he was stronger than the boy, but being an animal trainer is not an occupation for the weak. The brunette tightened his grip. "I took karate for a year, you know." he said in a slightly more dangerous voice.

The thief narrowed his eyes and, after a moment's thought, pulled back to aim a blow at Hiccup.

The trainer dodged shakily, but wasn't so lucky the second time.

The sound of impact - and probably a girly screech - was drowned out by a shrill whistle. The thief dropped the purse and looked up to see a security guard running towards him. The bag landed with a jingle next to Hiccup's head.

Astrid stood over the groaning boy, smirking. "Obviously you took karate."

"I never said I was any good." He grinned back.

"My hero."

XxX

The pair found a ton of books on not only English, but three other subjects Hiccup was struggling in. Astrid snuck in a child's E-Z Study book, mostly to spite her friend, but also because study methods meant for kids were usually more helpful and less complicated than ones for adults.

They grabbed lunch at a nearby diner, pouring over their new finds and sipping milkshakes.

"Really, Astrid?" Hiccup glared at her, holding up a book. The cover depicted excited children doing what he could only assume was the hokey-pokey on a sentence diagram. "This doesn't even make sense!"

She shrugged, grinning as he tried to comprehend the picture.

"Gee, Astrid, what's a - and correct me if I'm mispronouncing this - noun?" He held the book open and was feigning confusion at the colorful animal that informed him that a noun was, in fact, a person, place, or thing. (Someone had scrawled "oR idEa" in orange crayon beside the bubble.)

"How have you managed to be sooo witty with such a limited vocabulary?"

"It's been a struggle." He flashed her a false weary smile.

"I can imagine." She scoffed and thanked the waiter as he cleared the table.

"You're welcome, you guys have a nice date." Both the line and hint of desperation in the man's voice made the boy at the table cover his mouth to keep from chuckling.

"We're not on a date." Astrid informed him, keeping her eyes on the paper she was checking over.

"Oh, really?" The waiter leaned one hand on the table, hiding the animal trainer from sight should she choose to look up.

The boy coughed to disguise a fit of laughter when the blonde's only response was, "M-hm." The waiter frowned and placed the last plate on his tray.

Hiccup looked up and watched him disappear into the kitchen.

"I think, I think, he was trying to hit on you." he snickered. "And you won't give the poor guy a second glance."

"Terrible aren't I?"

"The absolute worst. You obviously owe it to him to flirt back, seeing as he was kind enough to do his job and bring us food."

"I wasn't aware of that. Next time I'll try to be more courteous." She glanced up and grinned. "Unfortunately for him, I'm already interested in someone."

"Oh really?" Never mind that his heart sank into his stomach. "Who?"

Astrid's smile turned mischievous and she handed him the paper she was looking over. "You missed the ones I circled. Try again."

"Astriiiiid!"

I don't know ok (hides)
Also there are just one or two chapters left wow this is a weird feeling.

Please review and I'll give you a hug ok is that cool or if you don't like touching people i can just nod appreciatively in your direction