A Hiccstrid Story | When worlds collide

Birthday Bug

This one turned out longer than I expected, the next one will be pretty short but definitely important to the story.

***

The few weeks that followed were fairly uneventful.

But today was Astrid's birthday. And of course, Hiccup had a super-secret surprise party planned.

"Hey, are you okay?" Heather wondered as Astrid emerged from the bathroom, looking pale as a ghost.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." She rasped sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay," Heather sighed, knowing all to well that Astrid was feeling a little less than fine. "I'm gonna head out and find Fishlegs."

"I'll meet you at the clubhouse," Astrid smirked, knowingly.

"Can you at least act surprised? Hiccup worked really hard on this party." Heather pleaded.

"Okay. I'll act surprised. Now go. Hiccup will go nuts if you're late for his last-minute checks." She chuckled.

***

"Heather! Good, you're here." Hiccup cheered. "How long do we have?"

"An hour at most," Heather informed. Hiccup was pacing around frantically to make sure everything was as it should be and trying to keep the twins away from the food.

"Hiccup. Maybe you should tone down the excitement a little, she's looking a little tired." Heather suggested. "She's been up most of the night."

"Is she okay?!" Hiccup worried.

"I think so. I'm gonna head back just to make sure. I'll text you when we're on our way."

***

"SURPRISE!" The gang cheered as the girls finally made their way into the treehouse. Astrid jumped back in 'surprise'.

"Thanks, guys."

Hayden made his way over to the birthday girl and pulled her close as Snotlout and the twins darted towards the food table.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, sweeping the bangs from her face. "You're looking a little peaky."

"I'm fine. I'm just hungry." She chuckled.

"Then I suggest getting some food before those guys eat it all." He gestured to the others who were all making a mess of the food table.

***

The party was perfect. Just Astrid and her closest friends.

"Okay, time for presents," Hiccup announced. Astrid perked up instantly. The group all made their way over to where the blonde was stationed on the floor.

"Me first!" Heather called. She handed Astrid a rather large box. Astrid tore open the paper and pulled out a pair of familiar boxing gloves.

"Yours were looking a little worn and I remember you saying that you liked mine so, I got you a pair," Heather explained.

"I love it! Thank you."

"This is from me and Tuff," Ruffnut explained as she handed the blonde a mess of wrapping paper.

"My purse?" Astrid stared at the item in her hand.

"We wanted to get you something we know you use all the time!" Tuffnut told her. "No need to thank me."

"How did you even get it?" She wondered.

"Ruffnut is a master pickpocket." Tuffnut gestured wildly for dramatic effect.

"I'm not proud of it." She shrugged. "Well, maybe a little."

"Snotlout?" Heather gestured.

"I didn't know I was supposed to bring a gift. Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift." He defended.

"It's traditional... among people," Hayden informed. "Never mind."

"This one's from me!" Fishlegs practically threw his gift at her in excitement. He loved birthday's no matter who's it was. "It's a scrapbook." He explained as she opened it up.

"Which brings us to my gift." Hiccup smiled. "I didn't have time to wrap it, it only arrived about twenty minutes before you got here." He explained. "It's a Polaroid camera. You're always saying that you wanted to take more pictures of all of us together and now you can."

"Thank you." Astrid smiled. "All of you."

"We actually have one more present for you." Hayden smiled nervously.

Astrid tilted her head in curiosity until the group parted, revealing...

"Carter!!!" Astrid cheered. She jumped off the floor to embrace her old friend in a hug.

***

Carter was getting to know all of Astrid's new friends, and catching up with Hiccup.

Hayden was shaken out of his thoughts when he noticed his girlfriend sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, her arm clutching her stomach, her knees tucked up to her chest and her head rested on her lap, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Astrid?" He raced to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Hiccup. It's just a cramp. I probably just ate too much." She explained.

Heather wandered over with a glass of water for the sleepy blonde.

"Astrid, maybe you should go and get some rest." The raven-haired teen suggested. Astrid shook her head.

"I'm fine, Heather." She fibbed.

"Really?" Heather folded her arms and rose a brow questioningly at her roommate. "Because you didn't look so fine when you were rushing back on forth to the bathroom, heaving your guts up all night."

"Heather!"

"Astrid, if you're sick, why didn't you just say something?" Hayden pouted. Astrid glared at Heather.

"I'm sorry. But I think he has a right to know. If you were my girlfriend, I would want to know that you're okay." She explained. Astrid sighed, unwilling to admit the truth in her statement. Hayden swept her bangs behind her ear before placing the back of his hand against her forehead, then her cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You worked really hard making sure everything was perfect, I didn't wanna ruin it." She explained. "Besides, I didn't feel this bad when I woke up. I should've gone easy on the cake."

"Do you wanna go back to your room?" He asked.

"No, I'm okay now." Hayden and Heather both glared at her. "I promise, I'm okay now."

She hopped off the floor to join in the party.

Hayden didn't leave her side for the few hours that followed, little did he know, he was about to get a call that would turn his world upside down and everything he had ever known would disappear.

***