First, I'd just like to say HAPPY NEW YEARS GUYS!

2014 is gonna be a hella rad year, I can just feel it. I mean, with the HTTYD2 movie coming out in the summer and everything, how could it not be? I'm just so incredibly pumped for that movie, I can't even put it into words, augggh!

Anyways. So. Yes. I am still alive and this fic is still alive as well. These last two months though have been somewhat chaotic for me with college apps and mid terms and personal shenanigans and all that good stuff. Not to mention the complete lake of motivation that came over me by surprise as well, but you guys don't wanna hear about that.

Oh yeah, and warning! There's, like, a whole bunch of Frostbite/Rainbow Snowcone in this chapter, so heads up. It's not like gross, God-make-them-stop kinda stuff, just flirty awwwwwww kinda stuff.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews and love! I appreciate and cherish each and every one of you, oh yes, I love you all so very much!

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Normally, on Sunday mornings, only one of two things manage to wake me up. There's either the sun that peers through my blinds, telling me it's about time I stumbled out of bed and got the day started. Then there's Toothless, who'll take it upon himself to climb up on to my pillow and start licking the inside of my ear, mostly, I'm sure, just because he wants to be fed.

This particular Sunday though, I'm not awakened by either of these two things. Instead, as my eyes begin to clear after being opened into slits, I see a tiny, blonde girl jumping up and down on my bed beside me, chanting something like, "HIC! CUP! GET! UP!" over and over again, her legs pumping so hard, her head almost smashes into the ceiling fan.

"Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamiiiiiiiii," I let out, rolling on to my stomach and hiding my face in my pillow. This is even worse than having Toothless' tongue in my ear.

"Oh, good! You're up!" Cami cheers, still jumping, despite having gotten my attention. Obviously she's having way too much fun to stop now, much to my displeasure.

"What are you doing here?" I say into the pillow.

"I am your prisoner for today! Do with me as you will, master!" The springs of my mattress stop their squeaking, and a cushioned thud that can only be her falling down on to my bed beside me replaces them. I hear muffled words escape her mouth, completely unable to be understood.

Removing my face from the pillow, I turn towards her and grumble, "I have no idea what you just said.

Her reply is just as incoherent as before.

"Have you seen Toothless anywhere?" I ask next, rolling on to my back and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

She talks into the mattress again, saying words I can't make into a real sentence.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Same reply as before.

"You wanna help me finish off the ice cream for breakfast? Or... lunch... or... whatever time is it?"

That gets the small girl's attention; she's moved up into a downward dog, her blue eyes full of life and excitement. As I pull myself up, clumsily trying to readjust my shirt that's almost turned itself in a complete one-eighty, her joyed expression changes and she studying me with narrowed eyes.

"Are you messin' with me, Burp?" she asks, sitting up and jabbing a finger at me. "'Cause I don't like it when people mess with me."

"Do I look like I'm messing with you?"

Rubbing her chin, she looks me up at down. "I can't tell with you."

"Well, I can assure you that I'm not messing with you."

She pauses, still studying me, then asks, "Can I have the strawberry ice cream?"

"I... don't think we have strawberry?"

"Yes, you do."

"We do?"

"I saw your dad put it in the fridge a couple days ago. Mom and I were here and I saw it."

"Okay. Sure. Fine. You can have the strawberry ice cream."

At hearing this, she rockets up off the bed and tumbles down on to the carpeted floor, letting out a piercing cheer of triumph that makes my ears throb for a moment. As I move myself out of bed, running my hands through my no doubt chaotic hair, she shouts at seeing Toothless now sitting in the doorway; he had probably been resting on the back of the couch downstairs, but became curious when he heard all the commotion coming from up here. As soon as Cami starts rushing towards him, crawling on all fours, he jumps and darts back down the stairs, probably to go seek shelter under my dad's bed.

I listen to Cami making her way noisily down to the lower level of house as I wobble into the bathroom and start running the shower. While waiting for the water to get to my preferred temperature, I wonder what I'm going to do today with Cami tagging along, something that limits me on a lot of options. I suppose we could just stay here, keep Toothless company and watch a movie or two, but then again, I don't really want to stay indoors today; I've been doing too much of that lately anyways. Something tells me too that Cami probably won't last long locked away inside either, considering her impossible amount of energy.

I shower, hoping and praying to every god I know that Cami doesn't hurt Toothless in her pursuit to capture him, or worse, burn down the entire house in some freak accident. After drying myself off, putting on my prosthetic, and throwing on the first clothes that my hands make contact with, I go downstairs to find her sitting happily on the couch, Toothless lying on the armrest on the opposite side from her, keeping his distance. She's holding a thick, hardcover book in her small hands, flipping though it while humming loudly and swinging her legs.

"What'cha got there?" I ask, moving into the kitchen and towards the cupboard where we keep the bowls. I told Cami we'd have ice cream for lunch - it can't be for breakfast, considering it's nearly eleven now - and I have to keep that promise.

Cami lifts the book from her lap and flashes it towards me, despite the fact that I'm too far away to make out any of the pictures. "Mom got it for me for my birthday last year!" she exclaims eagerly. "It's everything anyone could ever want to know about dragons!"

I laugh, opening the freezer and grabbing the frost covered strawberry ice cream carton. "You really like dragons, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. What's there not to like?"

"Touché."

"But there's some really cool dragons in here," she goes on excitedly, placing the book back in her lap and flipping through the pages. "Some I didn't even know existed until I read about them in- oh, oh, oh! Like this one!" The small girl jumps up and runs to the square island stationed in the center of the kitchen, where I'm preparing our ice cream meals. She takes a seat on one of the bar stools as and turns the book so it's upwards for me, pointing at a pitch black sea serpent-like thing with bright green eyes, a long, thin tongue sticking out from between its pointed teeth.

"This guy here is called the Doomfang," Cami explains seriously. "He can hypnotize you and he shots blue flames out of his mouth that can freeze a man alive! With super-fast speed and unbeatable hunting skills, the Doomfang has only been seen by a small amount of people… that is, if they live to tell the tale."

"He looks kinda like Toothless here, doesn't he?" I ask as Toothless himself jumps up on to the counter to join us, and I rub under his chin, causing him to let out a serious of purrs. "Have you ever seen a Doomfang before, Cam?"

"Naaah, but I will one day! I'll be sure to tell you about it when I do, alright?"

"Sounds good. What else is in there?"

Cami flips some more through the pages, seeming excited to see that I've taken an interest in her dragon book. "These little guys here are called Venomous Vorpents," she goes on as I plop ice cream scoops into our bowls. She's stopped on another page that depicts a small, yellow creature with a long body and sharp, pointed tail. "Though it may be ridiculously small, its sting is extremely fatal. Not one person has ever lived through a Venomous Vorpent's sting. EVER."

"May I make an observation?" I ask, putting two scopes into Cami's bowl.

"You may."

"None of these dragons seem particularly nice. Are there any, like… you know… good dragons? Like, dragons that won't try and kill you on spot?"

Cami takes a moment to digest what I've asked her, and then goes right into flipping through the humongous book again, muttering under her breath words I can't make out. By the time I've finished preparing our ice cream and have stored the container back in the freezer, she's apparently found something along the lines of my request.

"It's called a Common or Garden dragon, also known as the Basic Brown," she tells me. She lifts the silver spoon I set in her bowl, a lump of pink ice cream sitting in its cradle, and takes a large, satisfying bite. Once she's swallowed, she continues. "They're the most familiar breed of dragon known to man and they're… honestly not that awesome. They suck at hunting, and all they have for their defense is their claws and spines."

I smile as I shoo Toothless off the counter, since I noticed him eyeing my ice cream. "Sounds like my kinda dragon."

"You're weird."

"I bet they're fast, since they're so small. That should count for something."

Cami skims the page for a moment, cramming another large scoop of ice cream into her mouth while doing so. "It says here that they're only fast in retreat."

"I guess that's the only time when it really matters."

"That's true. They're still sucky dragons though."

"You take that back."

"Make me."

"I have an idea," I say, taking the seat beside her on the island. "How about we go on a dragon expedition today. You know, to try and see what kinda dragons we have here in Berk. We can even take your book there so we know which ones we can approach and which ones we should get away from."

The amount of thrill I see in Cami's eyes is indescribable. If I didn't know better, I'd think no one had ever offered to go on a dragon expedition with her before. Now that I think about it though, no one probably has.

"That's the best idea EVER!" the small girl yells, jumping up and down in her seat, almost knocking her bowl of ice cream clear off the island, which I can tell Toothless wishes would happen. "Oh man! Since it's forested and dark here, we'll probably find, like… a Brightclaw or a, a, a," She gasps, her eyes growing wide. "An Exterminator! Ooooooh man! Those are so cool! They're transparent, so you can see their organs and stuff!"

"What about a Basic Brown?" I ask. "Do you think any of those are 'round here?"

Cami rolls her eyes, not seeming impressed by my question. "I don't see why not. But c'mon, Burp! Basic Browns are lame! There are so many more cooler dragons to find out there!"

"Speak for yourself," I say. "I'm gonna find me a Basic Brown if it's the last thing I do."

.

.

"Jack! Come down here!"

I'm up in my room, scanning the pages of a book my father allowed me to borrow about an ancient, ruined city he referred to as Pompeii when I hear my mother's voice call up for me. I let out a heavily annoyed sigh, folding the corner of the page I'm on down and shutting the hard-backed cover. Leave it to my mother to be the ban of my entire afternoon with only using four words.

My mother is positioned in the foyer, speaking to someone I can't see outside the front door. When I hear a voice that I'd be able to pinpoint anywhere, I quicken my step down the stairs, my heart throbbing at a ridiculously fast pace.

"Hey, Jack," the small girl I recognize only as Tooth greets me, cocking her head as she sends a toothy grin my way. At seeing her, my thoughts instantly go to last night, sitting in a circle with everyone, and the kiss she planted on East's lips.

"Hey, Toothy," I say back, trying my best to keep such thoughts out of my head and off of my face.

"Ana here was wondering if you could hang out today," I hear my mother informs me, startling me by actually knowing Tooth's real name. By the pleasant smile on the woman's lips, I can tell that she's fine with me doing just this, which causes some anger to well upside of me. Sure, I can hang out with Tooth, because she has nothing to do with bikes, but when it comes to Hiccup, oh no, that's a no go.

I don't voice how much this upsets me though. Instead, I ask her if I can go, to which she agrees, as long as I'm home before dinner.

Once the front door is closed and Tooth and I have made our way through the front lawn and to the dirt road, the tiny girl turns swiftly to face me, causing me to stop in my tracks, and asks, "Do you think your parents know about how you snuck out last night?"

I raise an eyebrow, practically forcing myself to keep my cool while I'm with the girl I suppose I officially, uh… what was the word Hiccup used last night? Oh, right. Like like.

"No, I don't think they do," I tell her truthfully, running my hand through my hair. "I mean, I did everything I could to make it seem like I wasn't out. I even washed my jacket as soon as I got home so it wouldn't smell like smoke."

"Yeah, same. My parent's would've flipped if they knew I had gone out."

"Are they over protective or something?"

"A teensy bit, yeah."

"On a scale from 'not caring at all' to 'my parents', how protective are they exactly?"

The small girl playfully bumps me on the shoulder with hers, a little grin forming on her face. "Oh, be quiet you."

When I ask her what we're going to be doing today, she tells me she has this place in mind that she wants to show me; she says it's a place her mother and her once hiked to when they had just moved to Berk and were exploring the woods together.

"My mother's a real nature freak," Tooth explains to me as we move down the shoulder of the road and towards the forest, sounding a little embarrassed to admit this. "She's into all that kind of stuff, you know. All the different bird calls and animal tracks. She tried to get me into it, and I find it fascinating, sure, but I'm not, like, ecstatic about it."

"I don't really know that much about your family," I think out loud.

She gives me a weird look. "And… what? Do you want to know about my family?"

"Well… yeah. I mean, I find you rather… uh… ugh, what's the word…? Oh! Interesting. So, I don't know. You probably come from a pretty interesting family."

"You know, using the word 'interesting' to describe a girl really isn't the right way to get her to like you, Jack."

I frown. "To like- wait, what?"

Tooth just lets out a laugh, patting me briefly on the back. "I'm just messing with you."

As we come to the edge of the woods and start heading down an already manmade trail marked by a sign and boulders, Tooth begins to explain to me who exactly the Farry family is. She tells me of her mother and father, Rashmi and Haroom, living in a place she refers to as Bangladesh. Her father was even a dentist then, only work was hard to find, since the people in the city she lived in were often impoverished and couldn't afford proper dental work. Her parents worked hard to support their family, but as Tooth grew older and her mother became pregnant with Baby Tooth, it seemed that they had no real future in Bangladesh. With the money they had saved, they packed up their belongings, said goodbye to their relatives, and moved here to America, where they hoped Dr. Farry's dental career would be more successful.

It took some time for him to move up the ladder to where he is today, since he started out as a simple dentist's assistant. By the time Tooth had entered middle school though, he had found a job here in Berk, a town in need of a general dentist, and took it without a second thought. Since then, Berk's where they've been, her father checking up on all the residence's teeth, and her mother working as one of the receptionists at his office.

"What about you?" Tooth asks me as we climb over a large mountain of rocks in the way of our path. "You barely ever mention anything about your family to me. You got something to hide?"

"What are you talking about?" I laugh, keeping a close eye on her stepping, ready to catch her if she happens to misstep and fall. "I told you about my mother and how she locks me away in my room, trying to 'keep me safe' from the dangers of the world."

"Fine, I'll give you that. Geez, that sounds a lot like Rapunzel, now doesn't it?"

"Ra-whata?"

"Rapunzel. It's an old folktale, you know. Girl with extremely long hair, locked away in an isolated tower by her mother. Everyone knows that story."

Not knowing how to respond, I just shrug - my go-to gesture for dealing with things like this.

For the first time however, Tooth isn't satisfied by this answer. Instead of simply passing the opportunity to question me, she turns, stopping us from advancing further, and asks, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… never seem to know anything I'm talking about."

My mouth opens, but nothing but air comes out. I get the same tight feeling in my chest that I had felt the day I had told Hiccup about my mental condition.

"What do you-"

"Oh, don't pull that card on me, Jack," Tooth snaps, genuinely sounding agitated by my lame attempt at dodging the subject. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't act like you don't."

The look in her eyes - the determination, but sincere need to know what's going on - tells me that she expects an answer, and she's expecting it right now. Knowing her, she's probably had this question pent up inside for the entire time we've been friends, or at least since she's noticed the issue at hand - she just never had the courage or real reason to ask me about it until now.

Why am I so hesitant about telling her the truth? She's my friend, someone who's been here for me this entire time, helping me get out of the house when I desperately needed it. She even did all that without me asking her to, which is more than I could've asked for. Not to mention, she's also the girl I like like and have like liked for some time now, so that must stand for something. Doesn't she deserve to know the truth, especially now that I know that it's been picking at her all this time?

"It's… it's a little complicated," I tell her shortly, shoving my hands deep into my pockets, giving them something to do. "And a little… well… I don't know."

The stern look evaporates from Tooth's pink eyes then, and the gentle and concerned Tooth I know all too well returns to me. "What's complicated? Jack, you can tell me."

And so I do. As we continue our trek through the maze of trees, I tell her everything that I can remember about the accident and everything that followed: the small details that the doctors filled me in with, and how I lost my memory due to a blunt hit to the head. The day I woke up in the hospital, unaware of who I or anything was. Emma helping me relearn simple words, playing games and testing me to better my memory. My parents, scared and over protective, keeping me bound to the house in attempt to protect me from hurting myself again. I even tell her about the nightmares I've been having constantly since Emma's departure, the terrors of the shadowed figure and how it taunts me and shows me things I never wanted to see.

The entire time, Tooth listens, being unbelievably understanding about everything I'm telling her, not reacting at all like Hiccup had when I had told him. She just nods and asks questions accordingly - that is, until the end. The idea of my dreams containing such horrid images seems to disturb her, and I don't blame her.

"Have you… told anyone else about these dreams?" she asks me apprehensively.

I shake my head, remembering a moment only a couple of days ago when my dad asked me if I was sleeping well, since I had appeared to him to be tired. I had had the opportunity to tell him then, to get these nightmares off my chest, but I chose not to, too afraid of frightening him and mother to the point of making me return to that dreaded hospital. "I'm afraid of how they'd react to something like that. My parents… they may not take it well."

She doesn't say anything at first, appearing to be thinking over my words as we continue to walk up the hill we've stumbled upon. After a moment though, she quietly says, "I can understand that. I promise I won't tell anyone."

I can't help but smile. "Thanks, Tooth."

"I'm sorry though. That you have to, like, deal with all of that. It must be so awful, not remembering anything about yourself or other people."

There's a lot I could possibly say to that - that she's right, that it's awful and I hate it with a burning passion - but I don't. The words, like back in my earlier days of being conscious, just don't seem to come to me.

We eventually arrive to the point Tooth had been aiming for us to reach; it's an overlook, making the entire town of Berk and then some visible at one, overwhelming time. I can see the main downtown area, along with the red letter sign for The Ring sprouting through the surrounding trees. I can see the houses located in the outskirts of town, like mine, and the bay area, boats like tiny models stalling at the docks. The sun has just passed the midday point, and not a cloud in the sky is to be seen. The mountains engulfing the other side of the town tower of it, making the buildings seems so much smaller than they really are.

"This is incredible," I breathe, having never laid eyes on a sight like this before. Who know that such an ordinary town like Berk could look so beautiful from above.

"It's even better during sunset," Tooth says next to me. "When the sun just hits those mountains over there, it lights up the entire place. I wish everyone could see this."

"Thank you, by the way," I get out. "For, you know, showing me."

I see her smile out of the corner of my eye. "Of course."

We remain up there for some time, taking a seat on a cluster of rocks off close to the jungle of trees. We talk, but about less weighted topics, which I'm relieved for. Being able to just talk with Tooth, none of my problems bringing me down, is such a blessing and I try my hardest to cherish every moment of it.

Eventually, we run out of things to talk about, but continue to appreciate the view as the sun moves lower and lower into the sky. Tooth is perched on a rock only a couple of feet away from where I'm sitting, her dark legs crossed and the loose tank top she's wearing blowing a bit in the gentle breeze. I'm watching the movement of her shirt, which leads my gaze to wander up to her face, specifically her lips. By noticing the curve of them, the color and smoothness, I can't help but be reminded of the previous night again, knowing that those very lips that I would love to be able to touch touched someone else's not even twenty-four hours ago. My train of thought is broken suddenly though when I look up and see her watching me watching her. I feel my cheeks grow terribly hot as I briskly look away, shifting my sight to the same sky that's been out there since we arrived, trying to appear like I hadn't just been catch appreciating the being that is her as a whole.

She doesn't let me get away with it though.

"Can I… ask you something?" is what she says to break the silence, and I can instantly feel my heart going absolutely nuts.

Trying to play it cool, I laugh and say, "I don't know. Can you?" but I'm sure she can still hear the nervousness in my voice.

"Excuse me for being so, uh… well, so blunt, but… do you… you know… like me?"

Despite the fact that I know exactly what she means, since I had had this very conversation just the other night with Hiccup, I play it dumb. "Well, yeah. I mean… you're really easy to talk to and fun to be around. Why wouldn't I like you?"

She rolls her pink eyes, smirking to herself as she chuckles, which eases some of the tension I'm feeling in my shoulders and neck. "You know what I mean."

"Do I?"

"Jaaaaaaack."

Suddenly, at realizing the conversation we're having, my head starts to spin and my body feels like both jelly and a rock at the same time. "What do you want me to say?" I ask, unable to look at her anymore. Seeing her face, knowing that she can read mine like a book, is just too much for me to deal with right now.

"I don't know," she says, seeming unnaturally calm. "Maybe the truth?"

"You want the truth?"

"Yes. I want the truth."

"Fine. Okay. Yes. I like you."

"As more than just a friend?"

"Yes. As more than just a friend."

She nods her head once, turning away from me and looking back out to the clear, blue sky, now getting slightly darker due to the sun's position. I try and sneak a peek towards her, to see exactly what her face holds, but doing that would mean allowing her to see what my face holds, and I feel too flustered right now to allow that to happen.

"I like you too," she says abruptly, and let me tell you, hearing those words escape her lips caused me to feel the most abnormal and confusing feeling I've ever experienced in my short time of being conscious; half of me is frantic, because hey, the girl I like likes me back, but at the same time, it's also like THE GIRL I LIKE LIKES ME BACK?

"Really?" is all I can let out, and it sounds pretty bad, because it comes out as more of a squeak than an actual word.

She giggles, which lessens the tension some more and allows me to relax some. "Really really."

"So… last night… with East…"

Her head turns in my direction so fast, I'm surprised I didn't hear a sharp snap. "Noooooo, no. No, no, no, no, nooooo," is how she replies, letting out a laugh as she shakes her head, causing her ash colored hair to sway over her bare shoulders. "We're just really good friends, alright? Like, trust me. Last night was weird for the both of us, I'm sure."

"I don't know. He didn't seem to really mind it…"

She's silent to this, but I can feel her still staring at me, her mouth left agape at my remark. After a moment, she quickly turns away, her cheeks turning pink slightly. "Well… whatever. I don't like him like that, and if he likes me like that, then… well, tough luck, because it's not going to happen."

"Well, that's a relief to hear," I sigh, and she leans over and playfully punches me in the arm, shaking her head and telling me that I'm a horrible person.

I look down at my watch then and realize that it's nearly six, which means we have less than thirty minutes to hike our way back down this monster of a hill to my house for me to make it in time for dinner. Tooth doesn't hesitate at getting up, brushing the dirt off her shorts, and leading the way back down to the familiar dirt road.

We talk the entire way down, about what both of us liking each other means, obviously. I ask her what normal people do when they realize there's a mutual attraction to each other, and she explains the concept of something she calls "dating". It's all confusing at first, but she breaks it down, saying that dating someone is the second step of four when it comes to romantic relationships. First, you like a person; second, you date them - assuming they like you back; third, you get something called "engaged" to them; and fourth, you get married. I question her further on this topic, asking her if you have to marry someone you date, which she finds more than amusing, I can tell. She answers each of my queries, doing what Hiccup often does when he's forced to do the same: talking slowly due to thinking over his words. It makes me happy, seeing her take in the fact that, before this summer, I literally can't recall a thing so effortlessly. It makes me wonder why I was ever afraid to tell her in the first place.

By the time we reach the end of the trail, we've come to an agreement. I wasn't very elated about it at first, but the tiny girl had some pretty solid facts that I couldn't deny and made more than enough sense.

"So we're not going to date?" I ask her, shoving my hands in my pockets as we stand in front of my house. I look into the windows to see if anyone's looking out at us from the kitchen, where my mother is more than likely to be stationed, and luckily no one is.

"Not right now, no," Tooth tells me simply. "You just… you seem to have a lot on your plate right now, you know. I mean, you've got your parents to worry about, and getting them to like Hiccup and all your other friends. And then there's just everything you have to make up for because you can't remember anything, and that's just going to make school really tough for you, I can tell."

"And the nightmares," I add on with a sigh.

Her sigh follows mine. "And the nightmares." I look down at my feet, my hands still hidden far in my pockets, but I'm forced to look right at her when I feel her hand take a hold of my chin and maneuver my face to her level.

"If you ever need to talk, Jack… you know I'm here, right?"

"I know." To reassure her, I send a smile her way, which she returns.

"Good."

Without warning, she removes her fingers from my chin and kisses me quickly on the tip of my nose. As I'm letting this action set in, the heat on my face becoming overwhelmingly obvious, I notice her face get hot as well along with mine, which causes me to relax; knowing that someone else is embarrassed alongside you always makes you feel better, that I'm certain of.

.

.

Cami and I aren't necessarily successful at finding any dragons, I hate to say. We search high and low on the outskirts of the woods near my house for at least an hour and a half, yet we come up with nothing. We do manage to find a whole log full of lizards though, who all scatter within seconds of being discovered, but that's the closest we got to a real live dragon.

The little blonde's bummed about this, to say the least.

"I could've sworn there would've been more dragons around here!" she says with a huff, placing her hands on her hips. "We used all the right tracking methods. We even did the stupid mating calls just to try and fool 'em! Where are all the dragons!?"

"Maybe it's too hot out for their taste?" I suggest, taking the dragon book from her hands and stuffing it in the back compartment of her turquoise backpack. It's gotten way too hot out here for my taste, that's for sure, and I'm ready to get inside to some nice, air conditioning.

"Dragons breathe fire," she reminds me. "They're immune to the heat!"

"Hm. Good point. But hey! We're humans, so we're not so immune to the heat."

"What's your point?"

"How do you feel about getting some niiiiiiice, coooooold milkshakes?"

"Depends," Cami goes, following me as I make my way over to where my bike is waiting for us, leaning up against a tree. "Are you buying?"

"Do you even have money on you right now?"

"Oh, I guess not. Looks like you're buyin'!"

Riding on my bike definitely heightens Cami's dampened spirits, which is good, since I honestly don't think I could've stood anymore of her complaining about not finding any dragons. At first, when we had been going from my house to the woods, she had been sitting on my lap as we rode, which made pedaling too difficult for me. We fixed this problem easily by me lifting her up to sit on the handlebars instead, which she was more than excited to try, being the little daredevil she is. So, as we barrel down the streets towards The Ring, Cami's having the time of her life, the wind causing her crazy mane to fly in every direction, and I'm just hoping and praying to every god I know that neither my dad or Bertha happen to see us, for my sake.

The Ring's decently crowded as we roll into the parking lot, me holding onto the little blonde by the hair - she had told me she was going to attempt to jump off the handlebars while we were still moving, and there was no way I was letting that stunt happen. Once we pull to a complete stop and I kick the kick stand down and into position, she's off, faster than I've ever seen even Toothless move, shouting something back at me about wanting every type of sprinkles you can get on her milkshake.

We don't wait to be seated long. Right as we walk up, me telling Cami to behave herself or else no milkshake, I notice Astrid look our way, say something to the waitress she's talking to, then roll over to the hosts stand, where we're standing.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. You here to cause some trouble?" she greets me as she comes to a quick, professional stop on her skates. She moves her bangs out of her eyes with just a flick of her neck, something she does so naturally and with such grace, it'll always impress me, no matter how old we are or how long her bangs get.

I smile and shrug. "Why else would I be here?"

She rolls her blue eyes as she grabs two menus from the menu basket, and for some reason, the gesture makes me want to grin like an idiot. It feels nice, even natural, being able to joke around with Astrid again like this. I had been aware of how much I had missed it before we made up last night, but I wasn't aware that I had missed it this much until now.

As Astrid leads us to our table, which is the table I usually sit at of course, Cami decides to speak up and make her presence known, like she always likes to do.

"Are you Hiccup's girlfriend?"

Astrid, appearing to be not only a little startled by the girl's presence, but also the question, stops rolling and stares down at Cami. When her eyes move up to meet mine for an explanation, I dodge them as fast as I can by looking up at the suddenly really interesting ceiling.

"Because, if you are, then I think you deserve better. You're way too pretty for him."

That gets a smile out of the older girl. "You think?"

Cami nods, taking a seat in what's usually my chair. "Oh yeah. He's my babysitter and today's his first day. Honestly… he's going a really horrible job at taking care of me."

"Excuse me, but how am I a horrible babysitter?" I insert as I take a seat in what's not my usual chair. "I've been doing everything you want to do today, despite the lack of appropriate transportation I have. I'm even buying you a milkshake!"

"You didn't find me a dragon," Cami reminds me with a straight face.

Astrid speaks then, directing her question towards Cami. "I'm sorry, but, uh… have we met before? I feel like I should know you or something."

"I'm Ze Great Cami Bog, the evilest Dragon Knapper of the North America!" Cami introduces herself without even missing a beat. Her hands fly into the air as she jumps in her seat, making her own cheering and applause sounds as I can't help but let my palm meet my face. No wonder her mother doesn't like taking her out to public places.

Astrid gives me a look that asks Is she for real? I return it with a look that says Just roll with it.

And, being Astrid, she does. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Cami," she says with a smile. "What can I get for you to eat today?"

"We'll just get two medium chocolate milkshake, please," I tell her, taking the plastic knife Cami's found and is about to use to dissect a sugar packet with. "Extra sprinkles on both, but make hers rainbow and mine vanilla."

"Hey! No! I want to order for myself!" Cami tells me, flicking the sugar packet at me and hitting me square in the nose, which causes Astrid to laugh a little under her breath. Turning towards the older girl, her earlier hostility being replaced with a business-like tone, Cami says, "I'd like a large chocolate milkshake with rainbow sprinkles, please."

"Medium. She's getting a medium," I correct her quickly.

"Says who!?"

"Says me. I'm buying, remember?"

"You two sound like a married couple, I swear," Astrid laughs as she jots down our orders in her notepad. "I'll be right back with your order, alright? Hold tight." She gives Cami a little wink, then rolls off, dodging other waitresses and tables as she goes.

"I like her," Cami goes once Astrid's reached the ordering station. "Is she your girlfriend? I want her to be your girlfriend."

"Hate to break it to ya, squirt, but she's not my girlfriend," I tell her, playing with the corner of the sugar packet she had earlier thrown at me.

Cami lets out a heavy sigh with a little too much drama behind it. "Not faaaaaaaair."

As we wait for our order, Cami convinces me to play a couple of rounds of tic-tac-toe with her, a game provided on the children's menu that Astrid gave to us. She ends up taking the game too seriously, like she always does, and even comes up with this whole strategy completely dependent on… well, nothing really, to insure her that she'll win every round. Needless to say, I would've won every round if I hadn't allowed myself to lose every once and awhile, just to keep Cami from getting too upset about it. She doesn't seem to notice my obvious mistakes though, excited to see her "plan" working so well. I don't say anything about it; just congratulate her when she wins and tell her better luck next time when she loses.

I wonder if this is what it feels like to have a younger sibling. All my life, I've been an only child, having to learn how to keep myself entertained and out of my dad's hair on my own. People around town have told me that my parents had been thinking about having another kid, but then the accident happened, and all hopes of me having a brother or sister were erased from my mind. It's never once occurred to me that, well, maybe there's still a chance. I feel towards Cami what I think any older brother would feel towards a younger sibling; when she' getting picked on, I want to help her and make the kids messing with her feel bad about it; when she's distraught about something, I want to make her laugh and smile so much, her cheeks and stomach hurt. Granted I didn't really like her to begin with, being the daughter to my dad's girlfriend who I'm still a little iffy about, but maybe this weirdo little blonde girl sitting beside me, going on about how close she was to creaming me in that last round, could be that younger sibling I never had and have always yearned for.

As Cami is deciding on her next all-so important move, which will decide the game and who'll win, I look up to see if Astrid's coming our way with our milkshakes yet. Instead of seeing her though, like I had hoped, I see the last person I wished to bump into not only today, but ever.

Lout comes marching up to our table, his elbow pads and gloves still on from biking here I assume, his eyebrows furrowed and a rock solid expression on his face. I recognize this look all too well. He's here to crack some skulls, or at least attempt to.

"Haddock!" he yells once he approaches the table, slamming his fists down so hard, the condiments jump in the air and spill over. Cami lets out a yelps, dropping the green crayon in her hand, startled at first, then furious at the large intruder for rudely interrupting our game. "I challenge you to a race! Two weeks from now! Noon! The racing grounds!"

"Excuse me?" is all I can respond with.

"I'm challenging you to a race, you numbskull!" Lout shouts, gritting his teeth. "Now be smart and accept it, or I'll pound you right here, right now."

I can hear Cami beside me start to get riled up, and I'm afraid of what she'll say to Lout if she gets the chance. The thought of her becoming involved in this issue is too frightening to me, so I place my hand on her shoulder before she can speak, keeping her in her seat and her mouth shut.

"May I ask exactly why you're challenging me to this race?" I ask with a calm tone. People are looking in on us, due to Lout's stupid little outburst, so I'm trying to play it cool.

"You embarrassed me during that race between me and that white haired freak friend of yours," he enlightens me, his dark eyes narrowed. "You can't just push me around like you did, got it? I'm bigger and better than you, therefore, I'm more superior! You gotta learn your place and I intend on doing just that with making you bite gravel."

Now, I want to say that these threats scare me, like they would any normal person, but then I'd be lying. I've known Lout Jorgenson since basically birth, and since he's been making these hate filled threats towards me ever since we started school, I've become pretty much unaffected by them.

I'm about to tell him to take his ego elsewhere before Astrid gets here and completely chews him out, but Cami beats me to the punch by standing up in her chair so she's the same height at Lout, and yelling, "Hiccup's a better biker than you, you horrible halitosis haddock! He could beat you in a bike race any day with his hands tied behind his back! You don't stand a chance against him!"

And this is exactly why I didn't want her to speak.

Lout appears to be a little shocked to hear such a small girl sending such strong words his way, but it's nothing he can't recover from. He throws me a glare filled to the rim with spite and hisses, "You better shut this little bitch up before I have to."

Something is set off inside of me at hearing him say these words. I'm taken back to nearly a month ago, stumbling upon the scene of Jack covered in blood and Lout referring to him as retard for even trying to beat him. I jump up from my seat, my heart thumping in my chest so hard I can feel it in my forehead, the malicious smirk on Lout's round face vanishing as he sees me approach him, nearly reaching only his nose.

"I swear to Odin and Thor and every other god that there is, if you dare say something like that to her or any one of my friend again, you will regret it."

Lout only looks threatened by me for a millisecond, but once he finds his bearings, he puffs out his chest, making himself seem so much bigger than he already is. "Oh yeah?" he asks with a smirk. "What'cha ya gonna do about it?"

"Woah, woah, what's going on here?" It's Astrid, thank the gods, that glides into the scene, two milkshakes in her hands as she looks hurriedly between Lout and me, standing nearly chest to chest. She flips her bangs out of her face and gives Lout the stink eye. "If you're causin' any trouble, Jorgenson, I'm gonna have to ask you to please leave the premises. We don't tolerate bullies here."

"Don't sweat it, sweetheart," Lout assures her with a cocky smile. "I was just about to head out, after Haddock here gave me his answer."

Astrid looks between us again, now seeming confused. "His an- what?"

Isn't this what I've always wanted? To be able to bike with the big kids, to have them actually take me seriously. All my life so far has been Hiccup's too weak to bike and Hiccup can't do anything right; just all the shallow kids in this godsforken town assuming that because I'm only five six and barely weight the same amount as my bike, that I wouldn't know how to turn a set of pedals properly.

And here I am now, being challenged by none other than Berk's "best biker" who only manages to get across the finish line first because he knows how to ride dirty. Well, Lout may be bigger and stronger and more privileged than me, sure, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to let him one up me in the only thing I'm good at.

"Fine," I say, trying my absolute hardest to look as intimidating as possible. "Two Saturdays from now at noon. The racing grounds."

Lout lets out a devilish smirk at my acceptance to his confrontation. "Good. Get ready to eat my dust, Haddock." He spats down at my feet, his spit nearly missing the toe of my sneakers, and swaggers off like he owns the place. People watching in turn back in their seats, either discussing what they just witnessed or just dismissing it all together.

"Yeah, you better run, you cowardly cowering cuttle-!" Cami starts, but I'm able to slap my hand over her big mouth before she can even finish the insult. When I remove it, she looks up at me, hurt and like she's about to protest at me silencing her, but I speak up before she can.

"Sit down and be quiet," I warn her. "You've caused enough trouble today as is."

"But I was just-"

"Cami, I am warning you."

"I was just trying to help you!"

"Hiccup, what's going on?"

I turn to Astrid, looking like a deer caught in headlights, the two sweating milkshakes still planted in her hands. Taking both of them from her grasp, I place them down on the table, tell Cami to stay put or Thor so help me, and lead Astrid away towards the kitchens, where we can talk in private.

On getting out of anyone's earshot, Astrid turns towards me and asks, "Did you just do what I think you did?"

"Depends on what you think I did," I say back.

"Lout just challenged you to a race."

"Yes, this is true."

"And you accepted it."

"This is also true."

"You're crazy. You're absolutely insane."

"Please don't pull the whole you're gonna die thing on me, alright, Astrid," I beg her, rubbing my throbbing forehead with my fingers. "That's the last kinda stuff I need to hear right now."

"O-okay, okay…" she whispers, looking timidly down at her roller skates. "I just… what are you gonna do?"

"Race him? I don't think I have much of a choice."

"But you do have a choice."

"No, I… ugh. No, Astrid. I can't back down from this, I just can't," I tell her sternly. When she gives me a curious look, wondering what exactly I'm getting at, I continue. "It's just… you told me that I should race against Lout, remember that? Way back at the beginning of the summer?"

"Hiccup, that was before-"

"You said you wanted me to race him so that I could have chance to put him in the rightful place - to knock him down a rung on the stupid, little ladder he stands on. Well, here's my chance. I now have the chance to show him that he's not the alpha male, that he can't just push me and people like me around just because he's bigger and whatever. I know that racing against him is risky, trust me, I know that all too well, but I think that's a risk I'm willing to take to prove myself. I mean, someone has to do this, right? And if no one else is going to step up to it, then, well, why the hell not me?"

Astrid continues to stare at me, a look on her face that I can't quite read; it's an odd mixture of both concern and awe, maybe even a hint of surprise. When she doesn't say anything right away, just continues to study me, I turn away, not being able to look her in the eyes anymore.

"Well… i-if you're gonna do this… I wanna help," I hear her say after a moment. When I look back up at her, she's playing with the end of her braid, twirling it around her pointer finger like crazy, telling me that she's nervous. "Y'know, to… to make sure you're prepared for it."

"Wait… r-really?" I'm a little taken aback by this offer, since Astrid doesn't seem the type to offer her services to someone… well, to someone like me.

"Well, of course, Hiccup! Don't sound so surprised!" she tells me with a laugh. "I mean… you're my friend, and… well… I wanna help you in any possible way that I can."

Only one word in that sentence snags into my mind and refuses to leave, causing me to have a hitch in my throat when I speak. "I'm… you consider me your friend?" I manage to ask, my mind racing in a countless amount of directions at once.

Astrid almost looks offended as her brows furrows at me asking her this. "Well, yeah, of course I consider you my friend," she tells me simply. "Sure, you're annoying as hell sometimes and you never listen to any advice I give you, but you have your heart in the right place, and quite honestly, that's enough for me."

I can't help but send her the biggest smile, hoping that she can see how much her words actually mean to me. "Thank you… thank you, Astrid. That… that means a lot."

She just shrugs my thankfulness off like it's no big deal, thought I can her trying to hide her smile from turning back towards the rest of the restaurant and away from me. "Yeah, well… you might wanna go drink your milkshake before it's ruined. Or that Cami girl drinks it or something."

"Yeah. I'll go do that." With that, I head over to where I left Cami, sitting by herself, indeed eyeing my milkshake, the little stinker.

As soon as I approach her, she slinks down in her chair, looking like Toothless after I've scolded him for pooping on my bed instead of in his litter box. The action makes me feel horrible for snapping at her earlier, but my mind had been such a mess at the time, too filled with rage and determination to be thinking straight.

"Are you mad at me?" the tiny girl asks, looking down at her lap.

I let out a small laugh, shaking my head as I take a seat beside her. "No, no. I just… that guy, Lout. He's just a real problem sometimes. Always gets me in a bad mood."

"Is he one of the guys that doesn't let you race?"

I nod, surprised that she remembers that conversation that we had about a week ago while sitting on the porch of my house.

"Are you gonna beat him?"

I shrug. "I'm gonna try."

That brings a grin to her face as she sits up straight in her seat again. "Can I come and watch? I've never seen a bike race before."

"I don't see why not," I admit.

"Cool! I don't like that Lout guy one bit, and I really, really, really, really, reeeeeeally wanna see you knock 'im into the dirt or something nasty like that!"

That manages to get a laugh out of me, the image of me somehow being able to knock beefy Lout off his bike and into the gravel. "I'll see what I can do," I assure her, taking my milkshake and putting the straw to my lips.