VERY IMPORTANT NOTE. PLEASE READ: I've been under a rock for a while, but I spent that time refurbishing this story and cleaning up the chapters and such. For all intents and purposes, this is a brand-new chapter within the context of the story. As in: It's never been seen before. It fucking brand-new, bitches. All preceding chapters have been polished and uploaded. The originally planned chapter ten will appear as chapter eleven. I highly suggest you go back to the beginning and give this story another read-through before you come back to this new chapter.
But yes! I'm back! For now. I'm a little stuck on chapter 14 because I'm writing characters I've never written before and there really isn't a good existing precedent for their interactions.
The last half of this chapter was a little therapeutic to write. It's what I wish my section leader had done about Ashlyn, but the silly girl didn't even know there was a problem.
Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. I do own an assortment of OCs, a few of whom are trying to make me regret creating them.
How to Train Your Marching Band
Chapter Ten: Small But Fierce
Another band camp "tradition" that was still holding firm was naptime. Basically, it was exactly what it sounded like; a half-hour of quiet time in between sectionals and full band rehearsal. Not all of the kids took advantage of the half-hour, but they were still encouraged to keep it down for the sake of the kids who could actually nap on command.
When the lights went out across the band suite except for the back hallway, Hiccup stepped over the kids who had decided to sprawl out in ungainly positions and take up as much room as possible, and got out of the band suite and up the stairs to Gobber's office. The door was partially open and he knocked on it before poking his head in.
"Ah Hiccup, nicer shiner." Gobber said almost admiringly, flashing the teen a grin. "Missed seein' that. Where'd ye get it?"
"Snotlout punched me."
"Did ye punch him back?"
Hiccup scowled. "Y'know, you're the fourth person since yesterday to ask me that." he said. "Am I somehow the school's walking soap opera or something? Is my life more interesting than everyone else's and they're all trying to live vicariously through me? Everyone wants to know if I punched my cousin back. And everyone wants to know what's going to happen between me and Astrid--"
"What is goin' to happen between you and Astrid?" Gobber inquired. He dodged the fierce glare. "Alright, don' look at me like that." The former dragon hunter waved a hand. "Ye need somethin' or did ye just come to be sociable? I don't see much of ye anymore."
"You see me just about every day as it is." Hiccup pointed out. Gobber had a standing invite for dinner with the Haddocks and was over every time his schedule was clear. That is, nearly every night since he didn't have the paper-grading responsibilities of other teachers.
"That's not my point. Yer getting older an' I'm seein' less of ye." Gobber reiterated. He gave a theatrical sniffle. "Then, one day, yer gonna look back an' wonder why ye didn't spend any more time with yer dear Uncle Gobber..."
Hiccup closed his eyes briefly in exasperation. Gobber was less of an uncle-figure and more of the mentor-figure that Hiccup hadn't actually asked for, but had gotten anyways. Still a confidant when he had wanted to talk to an adult, but didn't feel like he could go to his father. Sometimes, Gobber produced gems of wisdom, but most times, you wondered why you have gone to him for advice in the first place.
"I need to talk to you about one of my rookies. Ashlyn What's-her-face." Hiccup replied, silently berating himself for forgetting the last name.
"The one ye got out there runnin' laps? Probably shouldn't have her out there doin' that, with this heat." Gobber said in a slightly admonishing tone. "Ye make any headway on resolvin' the little problem between her an' Marie?"
"That's just it. I don't know what's going on. I don't even know where to start. There's no point in talking to Marie; she doesn't know what the hell is going on either." Hiccup said. "And Ashlyn barely listens on the good days, so I'm afraid she'll just blow off anything I say. I don't know what to do with her and I'm starting to want her gone."
"Hiccup, ye know I don't like kicking people outta this band." Gobber said, a touch sternly. "I don' agree with ye that she's a bad player. If she was bad, I wouldn't have let her into this band in the first place. She signed up. She wants to be here."
"Well, she's not acting like she does. If she wants to be here, she'd cooperate and listen to people and actually try. She's not making effort, Gobber." Hiccup grumbled. "And that is actually the only problem Marie has with her. I think the rest of it's in Ashlyn's head. I think Ashlyn is the one doing all the hating. I mean, the two don't even socialize enough to start breeding contempt." Hiccup explained.
"Maybe that's the problem." Gobber suggested with a brightening expression.
"No, we cannot lock them in a practice room and expect they'll come out best friends. Absolutely not. That'll just make it worse."
"Eh, it worked for me an' yer dad."
"Yeah... Gobber, my dad's first words to you were: 'That's my girlfriend yer starin' at, ya one-legged lout!'" Hiccup affected his father's cultivated Scottish accent, even though Stoic hadn't had the accent back in college. "And then you sort of -- punched each other until you decided not to hate each other."
"And here we are today." Gobber spread his arms in a 'ta-da!' gesture.
Hiccup blinked. "If I shut them in a practice room together and make them talk it out, Ashlyn won't come out alive. She's an idiot." he deadpanned.
"Then work around that. If she's as much an idiot as yer suggestin', lay it out for her in simple terms." Gobber said. "I know yer new at this, but ye gotta take charge and sometimes, takin' charge means gettin' tough. And by gettin' tough, I mean--"
"I can guess." Hiccup interrupted. The band director's former career had infiltrated his current one more than it should have been allowed to. "Gobber, I'm not going to scare her into submission. I don't do the respect-through-fear thing."
"I know, but if ye want to get her to start listenin' to ye, ye need to stop all-- this first," Gobber made a encompassing gesture that caused Hiccup to roll his eyes. "An' let her know that ye aren't playin' around. Think like Marie."
"No one can think like Marie."
"Give it a try, Hiccup. Yer section leader now. Ye give it yer best shot an' a half b'fore ye come back to me, got it?"
"I don't do respect through fear--"
"Hiccup..."
"Okay, okay. Big scary senior section leader. I'll give it a shot." he said reluctantly, waving his hands. "But I can't make any promises it'll work!"
He left the office with Gobber beaming in approval. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and huffed out a sigh. It was packed with exasperation and frustration and a few other '-ations' he couldn't readily identify. That feeling had come on him again; the one that had him think he had done something horrendous in a past life and karma had come back around to bite him. He wasn't a confrontational person; just assertive enough to keep people from thinking they could take advantage of him. But he was surrounded by people who considered violence an acceptable method of getting things done.
"Hey, what's with the frowny face?"
Hiccup jumped, stumbling back against the bottom step. Astrid was standing right there. He would have walked right into her if she hadn't spoken up.
"What frowny face?" he asked, going on the defensive.
"The one you have right here." Astrid poked a finger to his forehead. "You look sarcastic whenever you frown, but the real emotion shows up here."
"So I emote with my forehead. Are you gonna make a big deal out of it?" Hiccup waved her hand down and tried to scoot past her, but she blocked his way. "Okay, what? This isn't about what happened before lunch, was it? I thought you were mad at me."
"First of all, I'm not mad, I'm annoyed." Astrid corrected. She raised a hand sharply when Hiccup inhaled to speak. "Secondly, it's not you I'm annoyed at. I'm annoyed at a certain pair of little schemers who have just enough brain cells between the two of them to really be trouble."
Hiccup made another move to speak, but the colorguard captain covered his mouth with the palm of her hand, making him turn pink around the edges and lose the will to interrupt.
"Thirdly, I don't know how much you overheard in the bathroom and Marie might have mentioned some thing you really didn't want me knowing," She had to squash a smile at Hiccup's 'aw man, now I'm really dead' expression. "But I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. We've been friends for years, Hiccup. This has weathered hormones and puberty and everything else. I like what we have and I don't want to lose it over the silly things that we can just as easily talk out."
Talk? You don't do talk. You do punch and shout! Who are you and what have you done with Astrid?! Hiccup wailed in his head, since his mouth was still covered. Crap, how far back into the friendzone did she shove me?...
"Now," Astrid withdrew her hand and poked his forehead again. "You're making a mopey face like someone walked off with your Christmas candy and I'm having a hard time ignoring that. What's going on?"
"Nothing, just reflecting on the fact that Marie was on the right track with one thing." Hiccup complained. "I haven't really been a section leader the past three years because there's only been two of us and now I've got this rookie who's too stupid to listen-"
"Hiccup," Astrid laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "If there's one thing I know, it's that the people who join band are here because they really want to be."
"You're giving Ashlyn wa-a-ay too much credit--"
"And you know something else? You are a really good leader."
"When I'm not tripping over my own feet, you mean?" Hiccup drawled.
The blonde punched him in the arm so hard he staggered.
"Ow!"
"Don't sell yourself short!" Astrid barked, drawing herself up imposingly. "I mean it, Hiccup. You've got all the qualities of a natural-born leader. You just don't exercise them enough."
Hiccup rubbed his twinging arm. "Why do you keep punching me if I say anything remotely self-deprecating? Isn't it the mark of a humble, non-arrogant person to be able to point out their own flaws and accept them?" he questioned.
"You point out the labels that everyone's tried to pin on you since first grade." Astried said, her hands on her hips.
"First grade wasn't a great time for me, especially the first half--" Hiccup tried to say.
"But nothing. Your first grade class was full of morons and you knew it!" Astrid snapped. Hiccup definitely wasn't the most popular or well-liked person in their class, and while most of the playground bullies had grown out of their hair-pulling, line-cutting ways, they still weren't above the infrequent taunt about one's social status (or perceived lack thereof). The auburn-haired sixteen-year old was still a favorite target even ten years later.
"But you know something amazing? You're better than them. You've always have been and I believe you need to start showing it."
Hiccup looked at her incredulously. "So you want me to turn into Snotlout instead and boast about doing impossible feats with my face?"
"If you go that far, I'll kill you." Astrid promised flatly.
Hiccup shivered. Ah, there was the shouty, punchy Astrid he knew so well.
"But I have every confidence that you'll know how to deal with Ashlyn." Astrid went on, much less menacing. "So don't stress over it."
For a second, it looked like she was going to lob another punch at his shoulder, but given that he was still huddled over from the previous one, she decided against it. Instead, she smiled and waved, then went off to actually try and get some sleep.
Mood swing... Must be shark week 'round here. Hiccup groaned to himself.
Rotating his shoulder a few times, he let himself back into the band suite. He stepped over a few sprawled band-mates and into the lit back hall where Marie was bent over her notebook.
"Hey," Hiccup started, tapping her shoulder. "What are the odds I'm suffering karmic backlash for something I did in a past life?"
The scratching pen came to an abrupt halt, the tip actually veering off its intended path to draw a short line down the page. Marie looked up very quickly, blue eyes widening.
"Unlikely why do you ask?" she inquired, the words nearly running together she said them so fast.
"No reason, it just feels that way." Hiccup replied, scratching the back of his head. "Also, I'm going to talk to Ashlyn and I'm supposed to put the fear of god in her. How do you usually go about doing that?"
"Wow, you never come to me for advice about that." Marie commented in an amazed tone.
"Yeah well, that's where talking to Gobber got me." Hiccup explained. "So? Hit me with something."
Marie thought for a moment. "Okay, body language is important. You need to be the Alpha Asshole. Your best imitation of Snotlout should suffice. Ashlyn's an idiot, but she's got survival instincts. And try to ignore the fact she's got two inches and twenty-some pounds on you."
"It's more like thirty." Hiccup muttered. "Okay, so I do the dominance thing and then..."
"Threaten her. Mean every word. Do it with a smile."
She ended with the half-crazed slasher smile that usually sent people away in a cold sweat. Even though she wasn't trying anything, Hiccup still walked away with a chill trailing cold fingers down his spine. The sight of it alone... dear gods...
So my best impression of Snotlout...
Hiccup took a moment to think about the way his cousin presented himself. Snotlout typically somewhat aggressive in his everyday interactions; a natural-born bully, truth be told (thank goodness that had been curbed to something fairly manageable). All of his body language was confrontational and forward and personal-space-invading. He was a presence that could fill up a small room.
You know something about having a presence. Your judge from Solo-and-Ensemble told you that you had a good stage presence. He reminded himself, making his way to the front of the band suite. Hmm, maybe... Yeah, think Astrid. Small, but fierce.
Ashlyn was in the front hall, talking in whispers to her friends. It was nearly pitch black up here and Hiccup had to step much more carefully. He trod on a few fingers and didn't lift his feet high enough some times, but he made his way over to his last-chair rookie with no real casualties.
"Ashlyn! Hey!" he hissed. "I need to talk to you."
He couldn't see her face in the dark, but he heard the frown clearly in her voice.
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now. C'mon." Hiccup said, letting a little bit of impatience into his voice.
He picked his way back out of the darkness with a little more grace. Ashlyn followed him upstairs and he showed her in to one of the practice rooms. Ashlyn looked back at him with this amiable sort of expression, like she was happy to play nice and say what he wanted to hear. In an instant, Hiccup felt something inside him snap into place and he shut the door of the practice room a little harder than necessary.
"Alright, we're going to talk. Actually, I'm going to talk and you're going to listen." he said, crossing his arms. He stood with his legs apart, but otherwise drew himself up in his marching posture for the best effect. It was designed to be assertive and commanding, after all. "Ashlyn, do you want to be in this band?"
"Yeah." Ashlyn said. Duh. She was thinking.
"Then why aren't you acting like it? Why aren't you listening to the veterans?" Hiccup inquired. "Especially the seniors. It's not like we don't know what the hell we're talking about; we've been in band for four years.
"Look, I've tried to be reasonable and cut you some slack on the account of you being a rookie, but I was thinking in terms of inches. You took miles. Sectionals are not optional, advice is not be tossed aside, veterans are not to be ignored, and whatever beef you have with Marie, don't bring it onto the field!"
He surprised himself when his voice rose into a shout that echoed sharply off the walls of the small practice room, but Ashlyn was even more surprised. She jumped back and hit the wall, her eyes wide and the blood draining out of her cheeks. A tint of fear overtook her expression. Survival instincts indeed. She was listening now.
"I don't know what she said or did that you took so personally, but Marie didn't intend for you to take it personally. She's not out to get you. Her only problem with you is your lazy-ass approach to band and you can clear that up if you buckle down and do what's expected of you." Hiccup went on. "Now I don't care what you do on your down-time. That's your time. Hell, I don't even care if you don't come back for the next season, but you're in this season and you're here to stay. So when we're out there in practice and sectionals and competition, the only thing that matters on the field is the show. That problem? It doesn't exist."
Ashlyn visibly shrank away from him. Her expression said that all she wanted to do was sink through the wall and disappear, but alas, the wall remained stubbornly solid.
"If you want to be a part of this band, you will give it your all. By 'your all', I mean drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Aching muscles and lips so sore they feel like they're going to fall off. If you don't feel like you've been put under a steamroller by the end of the night, then you're not giving it your all."
"I have asthma." Ashlyn said in a small voice.
"So do five other people here, but that's not stopping them. Keep your inhaler in your pocket." Hiccup pointed out. "Ashlyn, you're done screwing around. You're in my section and I'm the dictator. Your freedom ends when practice begins. Sectionals are mandatory short of ill health and family emergencies. I will make exceptions, but not often. If you cannot make it to a practice, I have your phone number and I will find out why. Is that clear?"
Sullen, but defeated, Ashlyn nodded.
"Good." Hiccup grinned, trying his best to imitate Marie's slasher smile. "I'm glad we had this talk. Because the dragons, you know... They're suckers for perfection and man, you haven't seen Hookfang flame 'til he gets angry."
He succeeded in turning the last-chair rookie a pasty white. Hookfang was boisterous and vocal (sort of like Snotlout) and tended to be one of the loudest draconian voices on the sidelines. (The dragons didn't actually care when the band did poorly, but it wasn't like Ashlyn knew that.)
Feeling tall and empowered and in charge, Hiccup let himself out of the practice room. He was feeling better now that he had made himself unerringly clear. He still didn't like the respect-through-fear approach, but he couldn't deny the result. Ashlyn had actually listened to and absorbed what he'd said. She would probably get some of her bluster back by tomorrow, but her ego had been cut down and it wouldn't be growing back any time soon.
Not quite the Alpha Asshole... Hiccup considered, smiling slightly. But it worked. That was all I needed.
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