Astrid sighed as she stepped out of the car and looked up at the building rising before her. She waved at Ruff as she drove off. She checked her phone one last time before pushing the door open and scanning the coffee shop for a familiar face.

It had been nearly a month since she had seen him at Scott's party, and she missed that lopsided grin and those bright green eyes. She smiled when she saw a hand raise from one of the corner tables. She walked over and took a seat across from him.

"Hey," Hiccup said.

"Hey yourself."

"Still witty, I see." There was that grin she had missed so much for the past few weeks.

"Of course. Now are we going to order or not?" Astrid laughed.

Hiccup grinned and followed her to the counter. The teenage girl behind the cash register gave them a small smile as they ordered their coffee.

"$5.97," she said quietly, refusing to meet their eyes.

Hiccup reached into his pocket and handed her a ten dollar bill. Astrid glared at him as she slapped a five down on the counter.

"I can pay for my own coffee," she hissed.

The girl looked between the two of them and then down at the single receipt. "Um, so… do you want me to print another receipt?"

"No. I'm paying separately for the mocha," Astrid told her.

"No she isn't. Just one receipt is fine." Hiccup nodded at the girl and she handed him the receipt and change before scurrying off.

"I can't believe you did that, you ass." Astrid drummed her fingers on the counter as they waited, her lips pursed.

"Believe it. Oh, here's our coffee," he said. He took the steaming foam cups from the girl and handed one to Astrid. They walked back to their table in silence and took their respective seats.

"So, tell me about yourself," Hiccup said. He took a sip from his cup, his emerald eyes watching her over the edge.

"Well, I have a greyhound. Her name is Stormfly." Astrid looked down at her cup didn't drink from it. There was something about the smell that made her feel nauseous and she feared that the girl might have messed up and put something wrong in her coffee.

"Oh no, a dog person. I have a cat, Toothless, and I don't think he would be too happy if he knew about this," Hiccup chuckled.

"Toothless?"

Hiccup set his cup down and crossed his arms. "One of his front teeth is chipped. I was fifteen when I found him and that was the first thing that I thought of. Except my dad didn't think it was as adorable as I did."

"Why not?" Astrid asked.

"I found him as a kitten under someone's car during a storm. I hid him in my room for weeks before my dad found him under my bed when he was looking for one of my screwdrivers. He was mad but, even though he won't admit it, I know he has really warmed up to Toothless," Hiccup explained

Astrid nodded. "I wish I could see Stormfly more often. She's with my parents in Minnesota, so it's really nice to see her when I can. We got her when I was nine and she has always been there for me when no one else could be."

"That's what I love about animals." Hiccup smiled at her.

Astrid lifted her cup to her lips. The taste that filled her mouth was horrible. She felt her stomach lurch and the cup slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, sending hot coffee flying everywhere. She jumped up and stumbled to the bathroom.

She didn't even care that there was an older woman standing at the sinks when she threw the door open. The woman looked her up and down as Astrid ran into a stall. She heard the woman leave as she fell to her knees in front of the toilet and threw up what little breakfast she had eaten before rushing Ruff out of the house to meet Hiccup.

She flushed it and sat back against the stall door and drew her knees to her chest, trembling. The horrible taste lingered in her mouth and her stomach continued to roll. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

The door creaked open. "Astrid?"

Had he really come into the women's bathroom to find her? God, he was too perfect. Astrid really didn't know how she had gotten so lucky. She buried her face in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt her makeup smudge under her fingers. "Go away, Hiccup."

She saw him stop outside of the stall through the gap between the green door and the tile. "Astrid, what's wrong?"

So many things were wrong, and just when she had thought that they wouldn't be, that she had found the right guy. He probably thought she was sick or something- but the truth was that she had no idea.

She had gotten sick twice when she had gone back to Minnesota. Her mom had been worried, and suggested that she take a test. Looking back, Astrid wished that she had. Not that she was pregnant, because she couldn't be. She still had school, and work, and her whole life ahead of her. She couldn't be pregnant.

But it explained everything. The sickness, her sore breasts, the breakdowns.

Ruffnut was worried too. She had panicked when Astrid had broken down and started bawling when she saw that they didn't have any chocolate ice cream, because chocolate ice cream always made her feel better, and they didn't have any. But then Astrid had remembered that she had eaten an entire carton of ice cream the previous week, and that made her worry about her weight. She couldn't gain a ton of weight if she wanted to be the volleyball captain. That had made her scream even louder, and people from down the hall had knocked on their door.

She wasn't pregnant. Not possible. It was only one time.

"Astrid, what's wrong? Let me in."

"I-I want to be alone," she said, her voice cracking.

"Are you sure?"

"Please just give me a minute, Hiccup. I'm fine."

There was a pause. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside then."

Astrid opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She listened as the bathroom door closed behind him, leaving her alone. A sob left her lips.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She dialed the first number that came to mind. She sniffed and wrapped her free arm around her knees as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ruff, I-I need you to come get me," she said softly like she wasn't ready to believe what was really happening. And she wasn't.

"Why? Did he hurt you? Because I swear, I'll beat his scrawny ass if he did-"

"No. It's not Hiccup. I think. I don't know. I just need you to come get me right now," she said.

"Astrid, what is going on?"

"I really don't know, Ruff."

She heard Ruffnut's car start and sighed. "I'll be there in a few minutes. But I'm expecting an explanation when I get there," Ruff said.

"I'll try."

Ruff hung up and the line went dead. Astrid turned off her phone, then turned it back on. She looked at the bright clock and the date under it: July 24th, 2015. Scott's party had been on June 26th. That was four weeks ago, meaning her period was a week late. Shit.

But maybe this was just her period. She did have a habit of stress-eating around that time of the month, and it did explain the soreness and breakdowns.

Her phone chimed with a text from Ruff, and her train of thought went off the rails.

She stood slowly and left the bathroom, keeping her eyes downcast to avoid seeing her reflection out of the corner of her eye. She passed Hiccup as she walked to the door, and bit her lip when she saw that he was mopping up the spilled coffee with a rag. His eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Astrid!"

No, no, no, this was not how her plan had gone in her head. She walked faster and kept her head down. The door was only a few feet away now, she could make a run for it if necessary.

"Astrid, hey! Where are you going?" Hiccup called.

She pushed the door open, the little bell above it ringing, and ran outside. She climbed into Ruff's car. They left the parking lot, and Astrid's heart sank when she glanced over at the mirror and saw Hiccup standing outside, watching them go with a confused look on his face.

Astrid had practically dragged Ruffnut with her through the store. She wasn't going to do this alone, even if it meant bringing Ruff of all people with her.

They stopped in the middle of one of the colorful aisles, and Astrid swallowed the lump forming in her throat. This was it. She was going to find out the answer to all of her problems and it all depended on the contents of that little box.

"Give me your sunglasses," Astrid said.

"What? No." Ruff crossed her arms and leaned against the shelves.

"Give me your fucking sunglasses, Ruff!" Astrid glared at her and snatched them when the other girl tossed them at her. She slid them on and took a deep breath to calm herself. It didn't work. She started to search the rows of boxes.

"Are you worried that someone is going to recognize you? Because if you're-"

"Don't say it," Astrid growled as she picked up a pink box labeled First Response .

Ruff rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, people are going to know when you get all fat and emotional. And guess who else is going to find out? Your nerd hookup."

"You know, maybe instead of criticizing me you should help me. I don't see anything stopping you." Astrid grabbed another box. This one promised 99.6% accurate results. That was good enough for her. She threw it in the blue basket on her arm.

Ruff grumbled something as she stepped forward and scanned the shelves. She picked out a box and threw it at Astrid. "Here, that one has five pee sticks in it. Says that results are guaranteed as early as five days after your missed period. When was that?"

Astrid dropped it in the basket and ignored her question.

"Do you really need four boxes? Isn't one enough?" Ruffnut asked as she stood up.

"No, because one might not work. This is serious, Ruff." Astrid turned to look at her but saw that she was gone. Great. Her crazy friend was wandering around Wal-Mart.

She started to weave her way through the aisles to the checkout. Something blue sitting one of the end shelves caught her eye. She stopped and picked up the card, shifting the basket on her arm so that she hold it up.

Congrats.

Hitting the bottle is about to take on a whole new meaning.

Astrid chuckled as she finished reading the card. It was something Hiccup would say, so for some insane reason she dropped it in the basket and continued toward the checkout lines. He had to find out and she would rather that he be smiling and confused instead of taking the nearest exit on the highway.

She groaned when she saw the cashier at the only open register. Tuffnut, her crazy friend's equally crazy brother and also Hiccup's roommate. Ruff was already there, something held under her arm as she talked to her brother.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Hofferson," he said.

Astrid glared at her as she put her things on the conveyor belt. Tuff swiped them over the register and began to throw them over his head into a plastic bag like a basketball. It was a wonder that he had been hired in the first place.

Ruff threw something in front of him just as Astrid was unzipping her red wallet and pulling out at twenty dollar bill. Tuff grinned as he threw the box of condoms in the bag.

"I don't think condoms are gonna do you any good now, Hofferson. Even the glow in the dark ones."

Astrid's glare left him and landed on his sister. Ruff cackled as she picked up the plastic bag. "I told you that I would buy them."

Astrid slapped the twenty down and grabbed the bag from her. Rain soaked through her clothing as she ran through the parking lot, Ruff at her heels. They jumped into the car as lightning flashed overhead.

Ruff grinned at her, her long hair clinging to the sides of her face. "So what's next? Onesies?"

Astrid held the bag in her lap, the edges of the boxes digging into her thighs through her leggings. She watched as raindrops hit the windshield and were whisked away by the windshield wipers. Her stomach was cold with anxiety and fear that she too would be whisked away if her suspicions were correct.

"Cribs?"

Astrid remained silent as Ruff looked over her shoulder and pulled out of the parking space. They turned onto the road, the start of the afternoon traffic just beginning to go underway. The silence was uncomfortable, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. She was still shocked by the fact that she, Astrid Hofferson, prom queen and star volleyball captain, could be pregnant with the baby of a guy she barely knew. That went against every rule she had made for herself, every plan she that had remained unwritten.

"Astrid. I know you can hear me," Ruff said.

Astrid turned in her seat to look at the other girl. "You want to talk about it Ruff? Fine, then let's talk about it. I had sex with a stranger, and now I might be pregnant even though I can't be, it's impossible because it was only one time, and I'm scared and I have no one and I don't know what to do-"

She ran a hand over her face and felt hot tears run down her cheeks, which made her sob harder.

Ruff rubbed her shoulder and offered her a small smile. "Hey, you have me and Heather. You have your parents. And you have Hiccup. He has been my brother's friend since fourth grade, I know him well enough by now that I'm sure when I say that he will be there for you. He's not that kind of guy, Astrid."

Astrid sniffled. "Thanks Ruff. Can we just go home? I need to take these and I would rather do it there," she asked.

"Yeah, of course. As long as I get to be the godmother."

Astrid set the timer on her phone for three minutes and placed it next to the pregnancy tests laying out next to the sink. She watched the seconds tick away anxiously. Each of those seconds made her heart beat faster, her breath harder and harder to pull into her lungs.

Part of her just knew that the tests would be negative, while the other remained on edge, unsure but ready to accept whatever result appeared in the little window in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

She leaned against the sink and closed her eyes. Why did three minutes have to go by so slowly?

Out of all the things she might have to do in the next few months, Astrid knew that the hardest part would be telling Hiccup. He had seemed so happy when they had met up for coffee -until she had spilled hot coffee all over him anyway- and she wasn't sure if she could take that away from him.

Not to mention the fact that she had no idea what the hell she was going to do if she did have a kid in eight months. She was still in college and rarely had time to fold her own laundry for God's sake! How was she supposed to be a mom? She couldn't just drop out of school, her parents had spent years saving up for her tuition. And even if she did drop out, she couldn't go home a failure. A pregnant failure.

Astrid checked the timer again. One minute and six seconds.

She looked up at her reflection in the mirror over the sink. The young woman looking back at her was unrecognizable. There was a dark coffee stain on her dark blue t-shirt. Her mascara had mixed with tears and run down her face in twin rivers on either side of her face.

But then there was that chance, albeit small, that she wasn't pregnant and there was no reason to worry. No one would ever even know about her little scare. She could get her degree and land herself a real job, maybe go back to Minnesota and settle down with a guy that would pay more attention to her than the sports game he was watching.

Even in her head, it sounded almost too good to be true after the morning she had had. But she clung to that tiny piece of hope as she watched the last few seconds dwindle away.

Astrid's phone buzzed, signaling the end of the timer. She held her breath as she looked through the result window at the pink symbol there.