Everytime we Touch

Forever & Always

The morning after, Astrid woke up to the vibration of her phone. She stretched out her hand and picked it up.

"Hey, baby. How was the party? Love you, James"

Her eyes widened. She let it fall back on the bedside table and turned around.

She almost gasped. Hiccup was sleeping peacefully beside her, his mouth half open and his arm draped over his bare chest. The memories hit her: his arms around her, his soft kisses and his hands trailing gently along her bare skin. Her encouraging him, his sweet words whispered in the crook of her neck.

She glanced down and paled: yep, it was all real.

She got off bed and picked up her dress that had been thrown in a corner. As she was wearing it again, Hiccup began to stir and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Morning" he said, his voice muffled by the pillows.

"Hey" she whispered awkwardly. He widened his green eyes at the sight of her.

"Already running away?" he asked bitterly sitting up and it took all of her willpower not to stare at him.

"What?" she said, blushing.

He scratched the back of his neck "I knew you would have regretted it", he sat on the edge of the bed and began to dress himself, hiding from her.

She swallowed "It's not like that" she finally managed to say "But... I have a boyfriend"

He glared at her "Who seemed to be one of your last thoughts last night"

"My inhibitions... they weren't working"

"You ENCOURAGED me!" he yelled at her and she took a step back: he had never raised his voice with her "Do you even imagine how embarassing it is? I just slept with my best friend who has a boyfriend and on whom I have a crush since middle school because she told me it was okay. I TRUSTED YOU!"

He caught his breath and looked at her with a pained expression.

"Hic..." she began, but he held up his hand.

"Don't tell me we were drunk and didn't know what we were doing because we weren't. And you know that. I remember every single word you said to me"

"I have a boyfriend"

He looked at her intensly "Then you should've thought of him before playing with me. I can't trust you anymore"

The last sentence hit her like a boulder and she stumbled.

When she was able to think again, he was already running down the stairs, shirt and hair messier than aver and the jacket on his shoulder.

Astrid picked up her skirt and followed him.

"HIC!" she shrieked.

"Leave me alone!"

"No, please wait! Let me talk!"

"No way"

They had reached the parking lot "Don't go!" she pleaded.

He opened the door of his car just as she slipped and fell, hurting her knees. At first he seemed terrified, ready to help her, but then he looked at her with an icy glare.

"Go find someone else to play with, Astrid"

He slammed the door shut and drove away.

Astrid didn't realise she was crying until she fekt Valka's hans on her shoulders "Honey, what happened? Why are you crying?"

"I messed up everything" she sobbed, hiding her face in her red dress.

It was almost five in the afternoon when the door of his room opened. Hiccup glanced up to see Astrid standing in the doorway wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt his mother surely had lended her. Her hair was down and her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying all day long.

He had to restrain himself from wrapping his arms around her and kiss her senseless, telling her everything was okay.

"What are you doing?" she croacked gesturing for the bags he was fullfilling.

"Packing" he stated in a cold tone "Did you really think I would stay in the same room as you?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. It was so strange to see her that way, that broken. He had only seen her cry once, when they were twelve and her beloved grandfather had died.

"Please, don't..." she cried "You're everything to me"

His face grew red "That's not true. At least not anymore. You have a boyfriend, you said it yourself"

Before she could reply, he held out his wrist. He wore a leather bracelet identical to the one she wore on her ankle. They had bought them when they were on holiday with their families at ten. There were three words written "Forever & Always"

It was silly and childish, but for all those years he had truly believed they would have been forever and always.

He started to take it off and she flinched "Hic, no... please"

He threw it at her and closed his last bag. She stared at it, stunned "You can't be serious"

His heart sank. He took a step forward and kissed her forehead "Goodbye, Astrid"

For a moment she grabbed his wrist, but her fingers were too weak and he slipped aaway easily.

The last thing he saw before turning away was her collapsing to the ground, the leather bracelet held to her chest and her body shaken by sobs