The Friendship

Chapter Nine | Young Unrequited Love

~HICCUP~

After the next day's training session, I decided to start building the boat which explained my being at Berk from the past. I may have told Little Hiccup my secret (well, one of them), but since I had already bought the supplies, it was the least I could do. Little Hiccup had offered his help, which I took gratefully. The two of us worked in silence at the harbour, our clothing soaking up perspiration that can only be the product of hard labour.

Giggles brought the both of us out of concentration. "I don't get what you tow find so special about him. It's not like he's a real viking like me. Look at him! He's almost as scrawny as Hiccup!" Snotlout scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but he's still got muscle. Nice, toned muscles," Ruffnut sighed as she started to daydream. "Hi there, Tufflout!" she called out to me in a flirtatious voice.

I glanced up at Little Hiccup, pleading him for help with my eyes. He merely shrugged, and I sighed, getting up from my knees to greet the gang, a phony smile plastered across my face.

Ruff's eyes brightened. "He just smiled at me! Oh gods, he is so sweet." I groaned inwardly as the viking teens approached. "What are you working on?"

"Well, um, since my boat was destroyed by a dragon, I need to make a new one before I can go anywhere. Hiccup here was thoughtful enough to help," I said, sharing (well, I suppose not) credit.

It was then that the group noticed Little Hiccup. "Hiccup really is a nice guy. He's always there for us when we need him," Astrid spoke up, holding out her hand for me to shake as she lied through her teeth. "Don't believe we were properly introduced. I'm Astrid." I pretended to be oblivious to this fact and shook her hand firmly.

I complimented on her skills in the ring, which earned me a hard punch on the arm as she blushed involuntarily. Grimacing, I rubbed the spot, unable to shrug it off.

Tuffnut was excited from one of my statements. "A dragon destroyed your boat? Did it explode? We like our explosions," he told me, "we" meaning himself and his sister. The fraternal twins knocked their helmets together, the siblings' signature move.

Snotlout interrupted. "I bet he couldn't even kill the thing. Probably went running, crying to his mommy." Some things never changed. Snotlout, for example.

"Do you think it might have been a new species?" Fishlegs inquired, eager to know more. "All we've ever seen are Nadders, Gronckles, Zipplebacks, and Nightmares."

"And Night Furies," Little Hiccup added. Undecided whether he wanted to continue working or listen in, he remained crouched, but continued to listen to the conversation.

"As far as we know, it's only one Night Fury," Fishlegs corrected him.

"And I," Snotlout interrupted (yet again), "will be the one to defeat the beast."

"What are you talking about? It's gonna be me. It's my destiny. See?" Tuffnut boasted, revealing a mark resembling a red dragon underneath his sleeve.

"Your mom let you get a tattoo?" Fishlegs gasped.

"It's not a tattoo," Tuffnut stated. "It's a birthmark."

Ruffnut was unimpressed. "Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."

"Yes it was. You've just never seen me from the left side until now."

"It wasn't there yesterday," Snotlout doubted. "Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?"

I decided to slip away as the group began a heated argument about Tuffnut's possible birthmark. I could feel Astrid's heated gaze on me as I got back to work, picking up my hammer. The teens' squabling faded away, and Astrid's footsteps followed closely behind.

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I was busy being lazy and binge-watching Arrow (Which is a great show. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't watch it. He's basically Batman. Go watch it, people. I'm serious.) on my March break. The point is, I've updated now! If anyone has any ideas for my story, tell me. I'll try to update in a few days, but it's hard to get back into the rhythm of things. We'll see what happens.

xoxo - @DragonMaster1908