(A/N) Here's a new chapter fellow readers! Thirty two hours till I have to start school back so that's going to be awful. Please Review!
Also to my only reviewer EtGlorriana96, thank you for reviewing and complimenting my writing maturing, it means a lot.
"See you Monday?" Hiccup asked Astrid who nodded. "Perhaps. Night Hiccup." Hiccup hugged Astrid as they stood on her front door step, Astrid fixing the time on her watch. It was around 4:00, both of them having gone window shopping and flying before hand.
Hiccup pet Stormfly who nudged him affectionately, a laugh escaping his lips. Astrid watched as he laughed and played, admiring his smile and energy. Suddenly her mom called her name, indicating it was time for Hiccup to go.
"Bye Hiccup, mom needs me for dinner." Astrid said. She reached for Hiccup's collar who moved to quick, grabbing her waist instead and quickly kissing her. Astrid pulled back with a smile. She ran inside, whistling for Stormfly to follow. Stormfly purred wile nudging Toothless, seeming sad.
"Don't worry girl. He'll be back." Stormfly squawked happily at Hiccup's words, nudging her new found friends rider. With that she ran inside, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone to leave. Hiccup didn't leave yet though, thinking about Astrid.
Suddenly Hiccup realized Astrid had left her door open, and stepped forward to close it. As he was closing the door though, Hiccup heard a call from inside. Unable to help but let curiosity get the best of him, Hiccup listened in.
"You were supposed to be back earlier!" A woman's voice who Hiccup recognized as Ms. Hofferson shouted. Hiccup flinched, listening for Astrid's response. The girl did have a habit of losing her temper after all. What surprised Hiccup was when Astrid's voice was anything but confident. She sounded small and sad.
"I know mom. I was out with someone." Hiccup suddenly felt upset. How in the world could someone break down Astrid so much she sounded so defeated? "Who could possibly be more important than your sick mother and her job young lady?!" Hiccup heard a crash, and peeked inside to realize Astrid had tripped on a table leg after backing away from her mother, the girls ankle still caught on the table leg. He would've thought she was pushed, but realized Ms. Hofferson was a fair distance away from her and didn't seem to look aggressive. She was in a wheelchair so wouldn't have been able to push Astrid with the distance.
"Mom I try to help as much as I can! Don't you understand? I need a life to! I help you with your treatments like I'm supposed to! I hold you when you experience the occasional seizure! I even search everywhere in the house to give you your inhaler when you refuse to use breathing treatments! I'm doing what I'm supposed to! Helping you make sure your boyfriend has a good time by setting stuff up and being here to deal with the Bastard is not something doctors or anyone have expected me to do. Th-that's your own problem."
Hiccup felt tense and upset by Astrid's outburst. He knew he wasn't supposed to see this, but Astrid's situation just wasn't fair or right. Her mother was scolding her for something she shouldn't be held up to. Secretly Hiccup wondered if Astrid's stern, aggressive, independent nature was a side affect of being held to so much. Hiccup would've been angry to.
"Go to your room!" Ms. Hofferson shouted. "What!?" Astrid sounded surprised. "You heard me. Grounded." Astrid clenched her fists, biting her lip. Hiccup could see it, she wanted to fight, but held it back. "Fine." Her voice was defeated once again. "But I'm not being nice to Will." Ms. Hofferson looked enraged, but Astrid took off running upstairs to her room before she could say anything else.
Hiccup couldn't take it, he silently shut the door and got on Toothless. Just as predicted when Astrid got to her room she opened the big window she had wile calling for Stormfly to go flying. Hiccup flew Toothless up into the tree beside her window. He wasn't going to let her get in even more trouble just because she was angry.
"Astrid don't!" Hiccup shouted, holding out his hands wile standing on the large tree limb. Astrid went dead silent, beyond surprised and more shocked. A silence flew between them, Hiccup and Astrid tense wile holding their breath.
Finally Astrid couldn't stand it. "Y-you were eavesdropping?" Astrid's voice was quiet, but she had a hint of anger in it. Hiccup froze, trying to find the right words. "Astrid I know people who have pretty bad lives a-and I-I was just...I was w-worried. I-I heard yelling and wanted to make sure y-you were okay." Hiccup's voice was quiet as he stuttered, and Astrid could hardly understand it.
"What do you mean by that? Who do you know and why would they make you paranoid?" Hiccup secretly cursed Astrid's curiosity, but deep down he knew she had a right. He would want to know the truth to. With a sigh, Hiccup decided on what he should let lose.
"You tend to worry when you live with people who have screwed up lives Astrid. I've learned more than you can understand about how messed up some families could be." Astrid was more than confused, but she silently climbed onto the branch Hiccup was on.
Hiccup sat down on the branch, wrapping an arm around Astrid. Toothless and Stormfly jumped from the tree so they could play on the ground below. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping Astrid." Hiccup started, Astrid leaning into his hold as their legs dangled above the ground below. Leaves changed from the fall fell around them, making the moment peaceful.
"It's fine. I know you were worried. I just...I don't understand exactly why Hiccup. Why do you insist on never telling me the hole story?" Hiccup sighed wile looking down. "I really don't know." They sat there without keeping track of time. Eventually the sky started darkening and a black truck pulled up.
"Is that-" "Yeah, will." As Astrid said her mother's boyfriend's name it sounded like venom was dripping from her tongue. Hiccup took both of Astrid's hand in his, making her face him. "Astrid I care about you more than any race, any school activity, and more than any secret. I need to know that you'll be okay when I'm forced to leave." Astrid listened to Hiccup's words, looking into his eyes which glistened with worry, indicating he was telling the truth.
"I'll be fine. H-He's not abusive or anything but just likes to shove people around and is really rude. He's always barging into my room and always talking sexually to both me and my mom. It's unnerving and uncomfortable. The only reason I don't report the guy who's already been to jail once is because my mother claims she loves him." Astrid explained, causing Hiccup to wrap a protective arm around her.
"I can stay." He said quickly, not really thinking about the consequences of decisions, but wanting Astrid to be safe. Astrid smiled warmly, holding Hiccup's hand. "That's not necessary Hiccup and I can't risk you or me getting caught. I have a number and you a night fury. If anything happens I'll call you okay? The guys going to be living with us so I've got to get used to it." Hiccup nodded sadly, hating the feeling of being so helpless.
Hiccup called Toothless who caught him when he jumped from the tree branch. Astrid made Stormfly fly her down, but admired the trust Hiccup put in his dragon. "I see what you mean by how odd your connection is. It's a curious topic to say the least." Hiccup smiled, patting Toothless' head.
"Yeah, well Toothless isn't any ordinary dragon." Hiccup used both hands to hold Astrid's head, laying a tender, caring kiss on her forehead. Astrid smiled, and suddenly became overwhelmed when Hiccup pulled away. She threw her arms around him, Hiccup finding no problem in the hug.
"Thank you Hiccup. Your the best friend I've ever had." Astrid pulled back, letting go of him completely. "And I...I love you." The words were so quiet, but Hiccup heard them. He was surprised, and by the time he recovered and tried to say he loved her to, Astrid had flown up to her window and back into her room.
With a sigh of annoyance and frustration by this hole situation, Hiccup got on Toothless wile scratching the dragons ears. "Common bud, let's get home." Toothless nodded, taking off into the sky. Hiccup flew as fast as he could, but something wasn't right.
Flying as fast as they were Hiccup felt it wasn't enough. Something in him which always craved the speed like an addiction hit him hard. It begged for more. Hiccup knew he couldn't get much more speed, the wind physically hurting him. He wanted more though, and just needed a way to forget any kind of pain.
Forgetting the world around him and letting everything go Hiccup was not alert. He let Toothless take control, the feelings building within him unbearable. He couldn't take it, and simply went numb, not caring about anything. Toothless sensed all his riders emotions that were thrown on him as they connected, and the anger, sadness, and frustration allowed him the energy to fly much faster.
After they finished a few laps around town, Hiccup and Toothless landed at Magnus and Jacob's home. Hiccup got off his dragon and sent him to the stalls with Barch and Meatlug. One look at Toothless and he knew the dragon was exhausted. Hiccup silently felt guilty for letting the dragon fly so fast just because he was angry. In all honesty Hiccup wasn't that tired. He was just...confused.
Walking inside Hiccup saw the clock above the stove. It started playing music just as six o-clock arived. Magnus was dishing some leftover soup she had out of the crockpot, and Hiccup decided to help her. "Hey Hiccup. Fishlegs told me where you went. How did yours and Astrid's practice go?" Hiccup frowned, remembering everything that happened. Like he was going to push all that nonsense on his foster parents though.
"It went okay. A bit tiring, but good as a hole." Hiccup washed his hands and started making hot chocolate for the twins, tea for himself and Fishlegs. Suddenly Jacob entered the room, looking exhausted. Hiccup saw fingernail marks on his arms, and noticed which direction he was coming from.
"Hey Jacob. Tuffnut doing alright?" Jacob sighed, biting his lip. Hiccup was grateful he was able to take so much with such great patience, otherwise the twins might be in a much worse place. "He uh...he's been better. So..." Jacob popped his back and washed his hands for dinner.
"What's for dinner?" Jacob asked wile making him and Magnus coffee. "Left over soup and rice." Magnus replied, coming from the back with extra plates. Suddenly Fishlegs entered the room, his head buried in a book about Viking ships.
"Hey Hiccup. How'd it go?" Hiccup was a tad bit surprised. How did Fishlegs know where he was without even looking up from the book? "Uh...it was okay." Fishlegs nodded, smirking in a way that made Hiccup blush. Of course their morning conversation was still on his mind.
Ruffnut entered the room, her eyes red from crying. Hiccup became worried, walking up to her. "Hey Ruff. What happened?" Hiccup held both of Ruffnut's arms wile sitting beside her on the couch in the rest area, across from the play station.
Ruffnut sighed, her voice becoming a whisper as if she didn't want anyone, especially a certain twin, to hear her. "Remember when we were talking about Alec the other day?" Hiccup now listened carefully, leaning in closer to Ruffnut.
"Well I was telling Tuffnut that he should let me talk to other people about my past and stop being such a worry wart. I get it, he has trust issues, but a girl can only take so much ya know? Anyways, the conversation only made him more protective. He was yelling at me when Jacob came in. Tuffnut told him 'he got to close' with anger in his voice. I got kind of scared of how dark Tuff's tone was, and took off down the hall. Tuffnut tried to go after me, but Jacob grabbed him."
Hiccup listened to Ruffnut's every word, his hand on his chin when she finished wile he pieced things together. "That would explain why Jacob had injuries after coming from you guys' room. Where is he now?" Hiccup asked, curious and worried at the same time.
"He's asleep. Wore himself out after an hour of fighting." Ruffnut explained. Hiccup nodded, hesitantly putting an arm around her for comfort. "You know you can talk to me right? I may not be your twin, but we are still kids of the same house." Ruffnut smiled, hesitantly allowing Hiccup to hold her.
The two sat there, waiting for dinner to get ready. Despite Ruffnut tensing in his hold, occasionally squirming away from him, and not letting Hiccup have more than one arm near her for some sort of fear two hands were more dangerous, Hiccup was glad he could let Ruffnut have someone else there for her for once. She deserved someone other than her protective twin, and for some odd reason, Hiccup felt a bond be shared between them. One he couldn't explain. It was like a sort of protective instinct and longing to help her because he was older. Hiccup never had siblings so had no idea what this feeling was, having not lived with many other teens.
Magnus and Jacob watched Hiccup and Ruffnut, smiling warmly at them. "I think he's warming up to her more than others." Magnus said wile smiling at Jacob. "I agree. I don't know how but...it almost seems like with Tuffnut out of his way, Hiccup's developing some sort of a bond with Ruffnut, wanting to protect her. It's almost brotherly actually." Jacob replied in a whisper, kissing his wife's forehead. They both were cut off from their conversation when the oven beeped, indicating the rice was ready and it was time to eat.
(A/N) Hey fellow readers! So if your wondering, yes the bond between Hiccup and Ruffnut does play a part. Reason I'm so focused on it is because with the way Tuffnut is, I don't think he'd ever bond with Hiccup. That is, not unless Ruffnut was bonded with Hiccup so he had to play the part. More to come soon I promise! Though updates might be a tad bit slow considering I can't stay up till like 2 AM like normal thanks to school starting back in now 31 hours. Your amazing!
Plasma Snow peace out!