Chapter 3

"Good job, Astrid!" Gobber called as he watched Astrid spike the ball over the net. The blonde girl nodded and rested her hands on her knees as she bent over, waiting for the next serve. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the green-eyed boy standing by Gobber with his arms crossed. They made eye-contact and Astrid glared at him like she usually did when she saw him.

It had been a week since Hiccup agreed to help Gobber assist with the volleyball team everyday after school. Although he wasn't fond of the idea of seeing Astrid all the time, he saw no harm in at least helping his boss. During the practices, he usually just stood off to the side and threw back the balls if they went outside the court, though sometimes he would give some tips to the team members.

Today would be a lot different.

"Hiccup, get in there," Gobber said out of nowhere, causing everyone, including Hiccup, to stop and look at him. "Wait, what?" Hiccup asked as he looked at Gobber with a strange look. "You want me to get in there and do what, play?" Gobber nodded and Hiccup shook his head. "Please don't start with this too."

"Just play a game, lad. It won't do any harm," the man said in a calm voice.

"Fine, but one game, that's it," he said and pointed a finger at Gobber.

Gobber smirked. "Well, in that case," he turned to the team members and raised his voice. "Hiccup will be playing against Astrid's side of the net!"

Hiccup widened his eyes before he closed them and groaned. "Thank you, for making my life easier."

"Not a problem, Hiccup," he said and patted the boy's back and pushed him to the other side of the net. "Now get in there!" Reluctantly, Hiccup walked over to the other side and stood in front of a glaring Astrid.

"You can't even play," she sneered.

"Well, hello to you too, Milady," he said sarcastically.

"What did I say about calling me that?" she snapped, and Hiccup shrugged. "Dunno, I don't really pay attention to what you have to say, so..."

Astrid growled. "You're unbelievable."

"Whatever you say," he answered back with a chuckle before he heard the ball being served.

He watched as another girl from Astrid's side bumped the ball with her forearms and another girl bumping it over the net when it came to her. The girl behind the one next to Hiccup did the same and when it flew over to him, it went too far for him to get it where he was standing. He slid on his good knee and managed to bump it back over the net. Some of the girls on his side of the net cheered for him before getting their heads back in the game. Astrid saw the ball coming to her so she jumped up and spiked it down onto the other side, hitting it against the floor before another girl could touch it. Her side clapped and she smirked over at Hiccup who only shrugged and went back into his stance.

They played for another fifteen minutes when they came to the final game for the day. Astrid's side was next to serve and when the ball flew over the net, Hiccup was the first to bump it back to the other side. Another girl from Astrid's side set it and it went over to the girl in front of her who passed it over to Astrid. The blonde bumped it over the net, only to have Hiccup spike it down at her feet, causing her to fall backwards. The rest of the girls gasped as they looked back and forth between Hiccup and Astrid.

When Astrid rose to her feet, she rounded on Hiccup. "You did that on purpose!"

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "No I didn't."

She stomped her foot down and growled at him. "What the fuck is your problem, fishbone?"

At the name, Hiccup walked over to the net and glared down at her through it. "Want to know my problem? My problem is you." Astrid faltered a bit and looked at him. "What?" He pointed a finger at her and frowned. "You're my problem, Astrid. And don't bother to ask me why, because I have a huge list of reasons that you don't want to hear."

"You think I can't handle your stupid reasons."

"Oh, but my reasons are anything but stupid."

"You know what? Why don't you go do something that you can actually do. Oh wait, but you can't do anything for that matter–"

"Alright, alright, enough you two," Gobber said as he stepped forward. "Practice is over, now get yer stuff and go home."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Hiccup said as he gave Astrid another look before he stormed away.

When everyone had left and Astrid was the last one remaining, she turned to Gobber and ran a hand through her hair. "What the hell is up with him, Gobber? I've barely known him for like what? A week, and he's already such an asshole to me, and frankly everyone from what I've heard."

"So you've been asking about him?"

Astrid shrugged. "Not really, I would just talk about his shit attitude and people said he's known for it and the way he is."

Gobber sighed as he gathered his things. "He wasn't always like that, ye know."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, that there used to be a different Hiccup who was kind and forgiving." She slowly walked over to him and for a brief second, he saw a look of concern on her face. "What happened?"

He shook his head. "It's not my story to tell or anyone's for that matter. But let's just say that he had every reason to have built a wall around himself." And with that, Gobber left the gym, leaving a stunned Astrid.

Hiccup drove back to his apartment and stormed up the stairs and through the door. He threw his keys on the table and flopped down onto the couch, putting his head in his hands. Toothless rose his head from his spot on the movie pit before he jumped off and trotted over to his best friend, sensing his different change in mood. He put his paw on Hiccup's knee and made soft mmh–mmh sounds and tilted his head from side to side.

"Not now, Toothless," Hiccup grumbled, but the dog wasn't having any of it. Toothless shoved his head between Hiccup's forearms and starting licking his face, emitting a small laugh from the boy. Hiccup rose his head and smiled at the mix-breed and rubbed his head. "How is it that you manage to cheer me up so easily?" Toothless barked and wagged his tail happily. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."

Toothless followed Hiccup into the kitchen where he began to cut up some meat and put in Toothless's favorite dog kibble. He shook it around in his big metal bowl with his name etched onto the surface to mix the two items together before he placed it on the ground and went to go fill his water bowl. Toothless sat patiently and right when Hiccup put down his water bowl, he chowed down on his food. Hiccup laughed before he went to go make himself a tuna sandwich and grab his favorite drink–strawberry Nesquik. He might be turning seventeen the following year, but his love for his favorite drink will never die down. He walked over to his movie pit couch and made himself comfortable as he reached over and grabbed his sketch book and pencil and turned to a blank page. With his sandwich in his right hand and his pencil in his left, Hiccup stared at the page as he hovered the pencil over it.

After staring at the blank page for five minutes, he sighed and nibbled on his sandwich. He still couldn't shake off what happened at the gym earlier today with Astrid. She was the first person to ever really rile him up the way she did. Hiccup may have an attitude and a temper, but he never lashed out at people; he would snap at them of course, but never really yell or anything. In class he always had to put up with her glares and her constant snapping at him whenever he called her "milady" or said something sarcastic. She managed to get on his nerves in seconds that she could hold a record. They hadn't even known each other for a month and he already hated her–well, not necessarily hate since he wasn't the type to hate on others, but more of a strong dislike. He disliked her attitude. He disliked her personality. He disliked the way she handled things. He disliked her constant snapping and glaring. He disliked so many things about her yet, there was something else about her that he couldn't stop thinking about.

Was it her stunning, goddess-like looks? Her strong attitude? The way she worked hard for her passions?

He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but there was something there that he actually liked about her. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he looked down at the paper and widened his eyes. He didn't know how long he had been zoned out for, but during that time, he had found himself actually drawing Astrid. It was a portrait and he had gone into so much detail with it to her crooked smile, to her small freckles, and even to the small strands that stuck out of her mostly perfect braid. He smiled a bit at it before he frowned and tore the page from the book and threw it towards the trash bin, but missed, causing it to fall next to it. He decided he would pick it up later when he got up.

After some time, Hiccup got up from his spot on the couch and walked back over to the kitchen and placed his empty plate in the sink. He went over to the basketball rack and picked up a ball and bounced it a few times before he moved around the space and shot it into the hoop. He dipped the ball between his legs and around him before he shot it again. He practiced for another ten minutes until he stopped and sat on the floor. He found himself staring at his foot for a long time as his mind wandered off again, opening a door at the back of it that he had tried to keep locked.

"And there's number thirty-five making his way around the last lap," he heard a loud voice say through the speakers. "Unbelievable! He's pulling in quick right behind number twelve, twenty-six, and four! And...oh! He just passed number twelve!"

He felt his feet pounding against the tartan track as he rounded the turn, passing the boy to his right. He felt cool air come in and out of his nose, knowing it was easiest for him to breathe that way than through his mouth. He never looked back and never looked to either of his sides knowing it would just distract him. He was scrawny, yes, but he was fast and that was what mattered in this race. Seeing that there were only two boys in front of him, he picked up his pace a bit.

"And there he is, passing number twenty-six, folks!" he heard the man say as he passed the boy donned in black and yellow. He stared straight ahead at the last boy in front of him and saw that they were rounding the last turn, the finish line straight ahead of them. He sprinted, ignoring the aching feeling in his legs and his sore feet, as he reached the boy in front of him. He saw him look back and pick up his pace–the boy may be fast, but he was faster. When they reached the metal bleachers, he sprinted with everything he had, passing the boy and making it past the finish line and bending over to catch his breath.

"Passing the finish line is Hiccup Haddock, from Berk High School," the man said over the speakers. "He will be your first national's winner to win all four chosen events." The crowd cheered as Hiccup stood up from his bent position and he watched as the other boys made it past the finish line. The last boy he passed made eye-contact with him and sent him an angry glare. He knew that boy had a streak of winning races, and when he was put up against him and other boys like him, he knew he'd be heavy competition.

"Hiccup!" he turned his head to see his father and Gobber walking over to him, big smiles plastered on their faces. Behind them was the rest of Hiccup's track team who were cheering and running over to him. They lifted him up and cheered his name. He made eye-contact with Stoick who was beaming proudly at him, seeing his son as a champion. When he was set back onto his feet he felt one of his teammates tap his shoulder and jutted their thumb over their shoulder to three people making their way over to them. He looked at them and saw that they were carrying clipboards and wearing suits, much like his father.

Stoick and Gobber walked over to them and as he watched as they talked, he saw both men's eyes widen before they turned over and gestured for him to come over. Hiccup walked over to them and smiled at the older people who smiled back.

"Um, Hiccup, these people are from some of the biggest colleges in the country," Stoick began and gestured to the three people. "Oh, really? That's cool," Hiccup said as he looked them over. One by one, the three shook hands with Hiccup before Stoick introduced them. "This is Jeremy Foley, Bernard Muir, and Kevin White. They're all the athletic directors at the University of Florida, Stanford University, and Duke University."

Hiccup widened his eyes at the men before him and they all chuckled before they shook hands with him. "Pleasure to meet you, Hiccup." The boy stumbled over his words until he found them. "W-What are you all doing here?"

Gobber looked at the men who nodded and he smiled at Hiccup. "They all want to offer you scholarships for track and even cross-country."

Hiccup's green eyes doubled in size even more as he tried to take in the information. "R-Really? You want to offer me scholarships to your universities?" They all nodded before Bernard stepped forward and spoke. "You're one of the finest runners we've ever seen. As creepy as it might sound, we've been watching your races since you first started. You have great stamina, great commitment from what your coach had told us, and give everything you've got in your events. That is a true runner, and we all believe you deserve these scholarships, all you have to do is choose which one you think fits you most."

The runner looked at them all and beamed. "Thank you so much, it means a whole lot to me. How would I know who to choose?" Jeremy stepped forward and smiled. "Easy, you'll be visiting our campuses and getting a good look at what we have to offer to you." Kevin nodded in agreement. "You can take as much time as you need to choose. But know that we're all happy to offer you this scholarship. You have great potential in being a star athlete and runner."

Hiccup felt himself come back to reality, his eyes wandering over his foot until he felt his prosthetic beginning to feel uncomfortable. He reached down and tried to yank the pant leg of his jeans up but it got caught on his prosthetic. He felt his blood boiling and sweat running down his neck as he tried to pull at his jeans. He grunted and whimpered in irritation before he managed to get his pant leg free and fumbled with the silicon of his prosthetic. He growled when he couldn't unlatch any of the straps and he began to pull on it. He gritted his teeth, trying to get it off of him as his body starting twitching and his mind kept wandering back to the days he had his foot still.

When he had everything planned out for his life.

His breathing began to change into short, quick breaths, and his face contorted with pain as he tried to take it off. He yelled in anger when he finally managed to yank the prosthetic off and threw it across the room, causing it to hit the wall across from him. He looked at what remained of his left leg and a small sob escaped his mouth as he put his head in his hands and cried softly.

He heard a small squeak and turned his head to see Sharpshot bounding over to him, his nails making small scratching noises against the wooden floors. He hopped onto Hiccup's knee and stood on his hind legs, putting his small hands on Hiccup's forearm. He squeaked again, this time to get Hiccup's attention, knowing something was wrong with his best friend. Hiccup slowly rose his head, eyes red, and face streaked with tears. Sharpshot wedged himself between Hiccup's arm and began to place small licks at the tear stains on his cheeks. Hiccup smiled and held his hand out to the rat who hopped onto it. He gently scratched his head and Sharpshot squeaked in pleasure at the gesture.

"I'm sorry, Sharp," he said quietly as the rat looked at him. "I just miss the way things were before." The rat squeaked and tilted his head as if telling him to continue. "It's just..." he paused and thought for a moment. "I had everything planned out. I would keep running and winning my races until I finished high school, and then pick the scholarship and university that offered what I wanted. Then the accident happened and I ended up losing my leg."

He heard heavier footsteps come towards him and when he looked up he saw Toothless standing in front of him with his prosthetic in his mouth. He whimpered and dropped it at Hiccup's feet, nudging it closer to him. Hiccup smiled knowing what the dog was trying to do.

He picked it up and straightened out his leg before he set Sharpshot on his shoulder and began to slip the prosthetic back on. "Thanks bud," he said softly and rubbed the dog's head. Toothless suddenly pounced on him and pinned him down as he licked his face, getting Sharpshot in the process. The rat squeaked in annoyance and ran over away from them and began to lick himself clean.

"Agh! Toothless you know that doesn't wash out!"

Astrid awoke the next day feeling quite odd. She couldn't stop thinking about what Gobber had said after practice the other day about Hiccup. Did he really used to be different at one point? As much as she tried to convince herself that it was true, she only came down to one answer: no. Hiccup was nothing was a rude, sarcastic asshole that she wanted nothing to do with. He got on her nerves more than anyone else ever had before and it irritated her more than the guy himself.

Every time she had something to say, he'd come back with some snarky comment. The fact that she had two classes with him and had to see him after school at her volleyball practices riled her up. When he made her fall yesterday, she had never been more humiliated in her life even if the girls on the team said nothing and looked afraid. Even though he had said he didn't do it on purpose, she couldn't bring herself to believe him. He irritated her. End of story. But then again, there was something about him that didn't seem all that irritating.

Yet, she refused to think more about it. She didn't even know that the guy existed before last week, so why should she care or even think about him? But even as she got ready and left the house to go to school, she still couldn't stop thinking about Gobber's words.

If Hiccup had been a different person before, what changed? She wanted to ask him herself, but when Gobber had said that it wasn't his or anyone's story to tell, something in his voice changed when he had said his next words.

"But let's just say that he had every reason to have built a wall around himself."

Part of her wanted to believe his words, and part of her even wanted to change the way she treated him, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. If he was going to still be an asshole to her, then so be it, she would be twice the asshole he was.

Astrid walked into her film class and sat down at her usual spot. She found that the seat next to her was empty and she frowned. Hiccup was always in class before her, if not earlier than all the other students. Just when the bell was about to ring, she saw Hiccup walking into the classroom, looking tired as ever. He quietly apologized to Mr. Phillips and sat down at his computer next to her. That's when she noticed that his eyes were red and puffy. Had he been crying yesterday?

After the teacher gave them the clear to work on their latest projects, Astrid looked at Hiccup and actually felt...concern? Before she could stop herself, she turned to face him and leaned her head to look at him more.

"Are you okay?"

Hiccup scoffed. "Oh look, it actually has a heart." Astrid frowned. "I'm was just asking if you were okay since you look horrible." Hiccup turned to look at her and smirked. "Thanks for the compliment, Milady."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "What's up with you and calling me that?"

He shrugged and clicked the mouse around on the screen. "I don't know. It's kind of grown on me, even if you think otherwise."

If she was being honest, the nickname had actually grown on her. Though, that didn't mean he still irritated her and the name irritated her as well, because they did. She crossed her arms and rested them on the table. "Well, you basically say it everyday to me, so it has grown on me. But it still irritates me," she paused. "And so do you."

Hiccup chuckled. "I could say the same to you."

"How nice," she joked. "Now seriously, are you okay?" Hiccup frowned at her weirdly. "I wouldn't expect you to ask me something like that, you know. Since we literally bite at each other's throats all the time." She rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "Look, I'm just trying to be nice. But apparently, it's not really working."

He sighed and shrugged. "You want an answer? Fine. I'm okay."

"You don't look okay."

"Astrid, you wanted an answer. I gave you one. Now leave it alone," he said lowly, and for the first time in her life, Astrid found herself backing down from asking him anymore about it. They sat in silence as they worked on their computers before Hiccup spoke.

"So, how's practicing for basketball going?"

She groaned. "Honestly, not good. Gobber says I'm lacking things from my form and I keep messing up when I go to shoot the ball. He also says I need to work on blocking and trying to avoid getting the ball taken." Hiccup laughed softly at her response. "Gobber's always pestering about the littlest things. It's usually because he wants you to do well on the court."

"I know, but he doesn't even really show me, mostly because he can't since he lost his hand and his foot," she said, but she didn't notice when Hiccup stiffened at her words. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You seem good at sports, but yet you don't actually play on a team."

Hiccup shrugged. "Not really a team player type, as you can tell." He was lying to her, and he knew that. But he couldn't tell her about his prosthetic or even the rule regarding sports in his case.

"Because of your shit attitude?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and he laughed. "Exactly because of my shit attitude." They fell back into silence again and Hiccup smiled out of nowhere, causing Astrid to give him a weird look. "What?"

"I just realized that this is the first time we've actually been somewhat civil to each other."

Astrid gave him a crooked smile and rolled her eyes for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. "I'd give it an hour before we start going at each other again, mostly because I still don't like you."

Hiccup smirked. "I still don't like you either, Milady."

A/N: So Hiccstrid is making a bit of progress, but take Astrid's words on them going at each other again. Knowing them by now, it's bound to happen the next chapter. Did anyone catch any hints on what's to come in the next chapter? (Hint: it's in the last part.) Well, I finally added a flash back to Hiccup's running days and I even added in the actual athletic directors from those universities, but it was still quite sad to write it. Though Hiccup has a past that's going to be quite hard to write because spoiler alert: losing his foot wasn't the only thing that changed Hiccup. Our modern day dragon rider has secrets of his own, you know. But, I won't be revealing that until later on in the story.

I know it seems confusing that he's actually a runner yet knows how to play other sports, but I'll be explaining that sometime soon in later chapters as well. When I thought of this story, I wanted to make Hiccup an actual student-athlete. He's still nerdy, but with an athletic twist. (;

Also, thank you guys so much for the many reviews, follows, and favorites! This story already has 1,100 views on just the first two chapters! You guys are awesome, so thank you again. (: