OK, update time! Honestly, I really don't have much to say, other than thanks for all of the reviews! They make my day!

Disclaimer: I am not in denial. I am not writing seven How to Train Your Dragon fan fictions as we speak! Ok, so I am, but you can't prove it!

Chapter 7 Astrid

"Tonight we'll change our lives. It's so good to be by your side. We'll cry! We won't give up the fight! We'll scream out at the top of our lungs, and they'll think it's cuz we're young. We'll feel so alive!"

I couldn't help smiling for the entire day. So Hiccup still loved me! And he wouldn't be easily sucked in by Isabella's shallowness. If my idea went according to plan, then everything was going to turn out ok. And then I could rub Bella's big fat face in it. My heart still pounded when I thought about how he told me that he still trusted me. I never remember ever feeling this way about any other guy. There was no way I was going to let Isabella win.

Time seemed to slow down as I waited for nightfall. We had agreed not to tell anybody, of course, not even our friends. When Ruffnutt had asked what I was so cheerful about, I simply replied that I couldn't wait for our plan to work. I had a hard time trying not to look too pleased when I saw Isabella; there was no way I was going to let her find out that Hiccup and I were not about to give up.

Snotlout, for his part, was being brilliant in flirting with the little witch. I was extremely pleased to look upon her annoyed face and see her beautiful features melt away. She tried hard to remain polite to Snotlout, gently declining his advances, but I could tell it was hard for her. Snotlout was intolerable.

When I entered the mess hall for lunch, I saw that Fishlegs and Toothless were arguing about something, though I wasn't sure what. I walked over and sat down near them, close enough to hear their conversation without interrupting.

"And there's no way you could fit in the hall anyways," Fishlegs was saying, pointing a finger at the dragon. Toothless snorted angrily. "Right, Hiccup?" Fishlegs added, turning to his friend. "There's no way a dragon can be your best man, right? Therefore I should be your best man, right?"

"I'm not doing this," Hiccup replied with a sigh, waving a hand in the air in a dismissive manner. I scowled slightly at my plate. There wasn't going to be a wedding if I could help it. As I continued eating, Snotlout came over and sat down next to me.

"She's putty in my hands," he snickered, indicating Isabella. I cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm sure she is," I replied. "But don't talk in such a loud voice. I don't want anyone knowing about our plan." I glanced around and was relieved to find that nobody was paying attention to us. Sighing, I turned back to Snotlout. "Keep up the good work," I told him in a low voice. No matter how this went, it was going to end badly for her. I would make sure of that.

…

I lay in my bed for a while, listening to the gentle snoring of my dragon, Spikestorm. She lay beside my bed in peaceful slumber, while the rest of my family also drifted off. The family of Skullheads downstairs snored louder than my dragon. Perfect. Nobody would hear me sneak out.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling and started counting to fifty. To make sure everyone was asleep, just like Hiccup told me. It seemed forever before I finally hit fifty and I almost leaped out of bed. Slipping on something quick, I stepped around my sleeping dragon and out the door of my room. I crept down the hall, careful not to step on any of the floorboards that would give me away. Finally, I held my breath as I proceeded towards the front door, the snoring Skullheads serving as obstacles to freedom.

As I got outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing could stop me now. I hurried up the hill towards Raven Point, the place where Hiccup had agreed to meet me. It was a special place, he had told me. That was where he and Toothless had spent most of their days when the war of the dragons was still going on. I remembered the cove well.

Hiccup and Toothless were already there when I arrived. Hiccup was leaning against the dragon, his eyes closed as if he was asleep. But when he heard me coming, his eyes snapped right open, and he smiled at me.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologized. "I couldn't think of an excuse to leave so I had to wait for everyone to fall asleep."

"My father knows I'm still mad at him, so he tries to keep his distance," Hiccup told me, nodding. "He probably figured that I needed to clear my head or something."

I sighed and leaned against Toothless next to him, closing my eyes. "I hate having to do this," I growled. "Running around and pretending that everything is perfectly fine and only loving each other at night."

Hiccup's eyes widened with surprise at the mention of love, like he hadn't considered that we could ever possibly be in love at such a young age. I smiled at his expression and turned away to see Toothless turn his head and give me a wink.

"I guess it's not entirely my father's fault," Hiccup told me with a sigh. "I mean, he's just trying to do what's best for the tribe. I don't feel betrayed because of that. I just wish he could have told me sooner, you know? It's just so hard and confusing."

"You know he doesn't want you to be miserable," I pointed out. "If anything, I think he's the most hurt by all of this. Seeing his own son not in charge of his own future. It must be painful."

"I know," Hiccup replied with another sigh. "I guess he doesn't deserve it when he only wants what's best." Toothless said something I couldn't understand because I couldn't speak Dragonese. Hiccup nodded. "I know I should forgive him, Toothless. But I just can't. Not yet."

I punched him playfully in the arm, trying to get his mind off of the situation. "So are we going to do this thing, or what?" I asked him, trying to put on a gentle smile. He blinked at me before smiling.

"Sure," he replied. Toothless crouched down so Hiccup could climb on and he held his hand out for me. I gratefully took it and climbed up after him. Toothless immediately leaped up into the air and soared into the sky.

It was a cloudless night so the sky was glittered with billions of stars, that seemed to dim in comparison to the brightness of the moon. The sky was usually covered by clouds because it snowed so much on Berk, or it was choked out by the cover of smoke created by fighting dragons. Ever since we became friends with the fire breathing creatures, we have had the blessing of more star filled nights like that particular night. It was absolutely beautiful.

We were silent as Toothless flew us around, his tongue sticking out with glee. We didn't need to say anything. I was perfectly happy flying around in silence, clinging to Hiccup as he steered his dragon. It wasn't until we could start to see the first rays of the morning sun that Toothless decided that it was finally time to land.

I slid off the dragon and waited for Hiccup to join me. As soon as his feet touched the ground I leaned forward and kissed him deeply. I could feel his breath leave him and I pressed my body against his, reveling in the moment. I wanted it to last forever, just like so many moments before. But I knew it wouldn't. I still had work to do.

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked him in a quiet voice, barely removing my lips from his.

"Sure," he muttered back. We stood there close to each other for a long moment before Hiccup finally took a step back and pulled himself back onto Toothless and they took off. I stood there for awhile, watching the sky where they had disappeared. I sighed and slowly made my way back home.

I had almost made it back to my house when I suddenly heard a voice calling to me. "You're out pretty early this morning, don't you think, lady?" a small child like voice asked. I turned around but saw absolutely no one. Then I looked up and spotted a small, scruffy child on one of the rooftops. He was pale with freckles and shaggy hair and he talked with a lisp.

"What's it to you?" I growled in reply. "Besides, you're looking pretty suspicious yourself sitting on that roof. What do you think you're doing?" I shook my head. "Who are you anyways?"

"The name's Leech," the small boy replied. "I just needed some fresh air so I came out here." He carefully slid down the house until he was standing before me. As soon as I got a better look at him, I could tell he was a Skullhead. "I saw you sneaking out last night and I was a little curious about where you were going."

"Were you spying on me?" I asked, slightly shocked. I relaxed when he shook his head.

"I just saw you leaving is all," he replied. He looked at me expectantly. "So what were you doing?"

"Not that it's any of your business," I told him shortly. "But I was seeing someone. And you can't tell anyone either. It's a secret."

"A secret, eh?" Leech replied thoughtfully. He looked me over and smiled. "Hey, you're Astrid, aren't you?" I blinked at him in surprise.

"How did you know that?" I asked him.

"My sister and father have been talking about you," he told me. "About how you were Hiccup's girlfriend. I'm really sorry. It's terrible if you ask me. Isabella always gets what she wants." He sighed in frustration and kicked at the ground. I was surprised that this small Skullhead boy would care about my problem and be truly sorry for me. It touched my heart. He looked up at me suddenly. "I want to help."

"Help with what?" I asked surprise and taken off guard. He rolled his eyes slightly.

"I want to help you get back at Isabella and stop this," he explained. "Don't tell me you haven't thought of some way to stop her!"

"Well I have," I admitted. "But why would you want to help? I don't even know you."

"Because," he replied. "I'm tired of her always getting what she wants all the time. Mother and father are always talking about her and gushing over her like she's some sort of princess. Nobody even thinks about her poor younger brother. Some of my own tribe think she's an only child!"

Now I was really confused. "You're Isabella's brother?" I asked in surprise. "I didn't even know she had a brother."

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Leech exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Please let me help! I know my sister better than anyone else! She hates me! I can make her life a living nightmare!"

I hesitated. "I don't know…" I muttered uncertainly. He cocked an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.

"If you don't let me help, I'll tell everyone about where you've been sneaking off to," he threatened. Cheeky kid! He was clever.

"Ok, you can help," I told him, smiling slightly. "But you've got to do what I say. Got it?"

"Got it," Leech agreed, nodding his head excitedly.

"Good," I replied. "Then get out of here. I don't want anyone to know about this conversation. Meet me later in the great hall and I'll fill you in on the plan."

"Gotcha," he answered, saluting. Then he nimbly leaped back onto the roof tops and just like that was gone.

I am so sorry this took so long. I was having terrible writer's block and every Mondays and Wednesdays I have three uber long classes that don't get out until…late. But I finally finished so please don't tie me to a stake and burn me alive.

By the way, I just want you to know that I was planning on Leech being in the story from the very beginning; I just didn't know where to put him. I thought it would be fun for Astrid to have a fateful encounter with him. I hope you like him because he'll be appearing a lot more often. Don't forget to read and review, otherwise I won't have the motivation to update.