A Hiccstrid Story

Chapter 16

The night after the Haddock's garden party found Mable getting ready to go out to dinner with Jack, Elsa and Derick. Heather, Astrid and Natalie were sat in the room while she was trying to find a dress to wear. The topic of conversation however, was on the events of the previous night. "I can't believe Hayden didn't punch him" Natalie mused out loud as she thought back to the previous afternoon. "Agreed" Heather said, "I can't believe they went through all that and survived." Astrid smiled, "strong wills to live I guess. I wonder what will happen to Simon." Mable held up two more dresses to the girls who shook their heads at them.

"By the sound of the conversation before he read the file" Mable started, "he will be in a large amount of trouble." Heather suddenly let out a sigh, "Theo told me about how classified the whole ordeal was so it won't surprise me if he gets arrested for espionage." Mable held up another outfit to the girls, "that's the one, he will love that" Natalie confirmed. Mable sighed and went into the bathroom to get ready. "Well regardless, I think that we won't be seeing him any time soon" Astrid finished the conversation. Heather and Natalie nodded before Natalie said what they were all thinking, "not that we will miss him. Met him once and he seems like a dick."

The girls all laughed but went dead silence as Mable emerged from the bathroom in a casual but cute outfit. She was wearing a black skirt with a warm red top and black leggings covering her legs. "That is amazing" Heather gushed with Natalie and Astrid sharing a look. "I think Derick is going to have nothing bad to say" Astrid said. Natalie jumped up and walked over to her friend, "I think he isn't going to be able to take his eyes off you." Mable's cheeks reddened slightly as she became a little embarrassed with her friends. "Oh shut up guys" she jokingly said as she made her way over to do her hair at the desk sat on one side of the room.

Astrid's phone rang to which she quickly answered upon seeing the caller, "hey Hayden, what's up?" The girls looked at her as she listened but didn't say anything. Humming occasionally to whatever was being said over the phone, Astrid sat as Hayden talked to her. "Alright, thanks for letting me know" she said suddenly, "bye Hayden." The girls all looked at her, "well?" Mable questioned from the desk. Astrid glanced at them and then back at her phone, "Simon was just arrested by MPs." The girls all looked at her, "who?" Natalie questioned. Astrid casted her eyes over to Natalie, "Military Police. They investigate crimes related to the army personnel. Seems Hayden wasn't lying when he made that phone call." The girls all burst out laughing as Astrid finished her sentence.

Mable finished up her hair through the bouts of laughter coming from her friends. "What charges is he facing?" Heather questioned to which Astrid shrugged. "I'll get more details from Hayden when I pick the car up tomorrow" Astrid commented. Natalie smirked, "so when are you going to ask him out?" Heather laughed as Astrid glared at Natalie, "never, I only just got my memories back so I am not just going to jump back into a failed relationship. Besides, I don't feel the same way about him anymore." As they were joking around with Astrid, Heather's phone buzzed which she checked to find a text from Derick, 5 minutes away. "Mable" Heather addressed, getting her attention, "Derick is 5 minutes away, you better go downstairs and wait for him."

Mable stood up and led her friends downstairs to the front door. She gathered her shoes and put on her heels before standing at the door waiting for her date. A few moments later, a set of lights appeared outside the door, before Derick appeared at the door. "Hey guys, ready to go Mable?" he asked once the door was opened by Heather. Mable nodded, said goodbye to her friends and then followed Derick as he led her to his ford ranger. Both safely inside, he proceeded to drive through the residential streets and into town. He parked outside a place called The Great Hall. Derick got out first, made his way around to the passenger door and opened it, allowing Mable to exit.

"Jack and Elsa are waiting for us already" Derick stated as he offered her his arm. Mable smiled and took it as he led her into the restaurant and over to the hostesses stand. "Welcome to The Great Hall" the woman said, "do you have a reservation?" Derick smiled at the lady and answered her question, "we are here with Jack Snow?" The woman nodded and led the pair to Jack's table off to one side of the dining room. "Hello you two, glad you could make it" Jack said as he stood to greet them. "Mable you look amazing" Elsa gushed once the pair had sat down. "Thanks Elsa, The girls helped me pick it out" Mable said as she picked up the menu to look at what she wanted.

"Did you hear about Simon getting arrested?" Mable asked as a conversation starter. "Hear about it?" Jack questioned, "we were there when it went down." Elsa smiled at Mable as Derick explained, "Hayden texted us when it was going down so we all met up to see it happen." Mable nodded her head in understanding before looking back at the menu. "We also got to see his house get torn apart while the MPs checked for any classified material still in his possession" Derick continued to explain. Mable gasped as she thought about how devastating that would be if it happened to her.

"That's not all" Jack stated, "his contact who got him the file has also been arrested. Turns out the guy is a low level officer in the army." Jack smirked, "sorry, was a low level officer." Mable laughed as she thought about how unfortunate that is for the individual and his family. "Anyway, enough military talk" Elsa said flatly, "what would you guys like to eat? The meal is on us." Mable looked at Derick who had a mischievous smirk on his face as he looked back at the menu. "That is a mistake Elsa" Derick giggled as he started choosing what he wanted. Mable watched with curiosity as he did so, loving how Derick's brows quivered when he had chosen an item.

The waitress came to their table with a notebook in hand, "what can I get for you guys?" she asked. Jack looked at the waitress and answered the question for both himself and Elsa. Mable gave her answer followed by Derick who ordered a lot of food, more than she could comprehend. However, the waitress left with the order and proceeded to the kitchen to have the food made. "I will never understand how you can each so much and yet stay so buff" Jack laughed. Derick shrugged his shoulders, "I never know myself, I just hope and pray my friend," he joked back. Mable giggled at their antics, as did Elsa who covered her mouth as she did.

"Well Derick" Mable softly said, "what was it like in the military?" she asked. Realising what she had just said, she quickly added, "besides what happened in Kandahar." Derick smiled and started explaining about his time in the army, from basic training, to ranger training, all the way to Special Forces training and his time with the Night Furies. Mable listened intently to the story, marvelling at how impressive the tales were that he was telling. It was nothing new to Jack however as he had lived it and Elsa already knew the stories. Derick kept telling stories until the dinner was served before them.

The conversation over dinner was kept short while they ate the foods they ordered. As Mable was eating, there were two thoughts running through her head. One was of how good the food was. The second was of how good looking Derick was. It was a thought that had ran through her head since the day they had met. He just seemed so right for her in a comforting yet odd way. Like 2 different slices cut from the same fruit. As such, Mable was hopeful that when he took her home, he would ask her out on a second dinner. A more, private dinner.

The rest of the night passed swiftly, much to Mable's annoyance. After the food, they had ordered drinks and spent the time talking and getting to know each other. Jack and Elsa left a little while after food, making to let the staff know he'd pay for the pairs drinks when he popped by the following afternoon. Mable and Derick had quickly learned a lot about each other, so much that they liked and also what they did was in common. It hadn't been much of a surprise to either of them at how well they got along. They both liked and were drawn to danger, both enjoyed solving difficult situations and more importantly, both valued trust over everything else.

When it came time to end the evening, Derick drove Mable back through the residential streets all the way to the Hofferson's house. As he pulled up outside of the house, he unclasped his seatbelt to let her out when she put a hand on his. "Derick" she said softly, "I'm not very good at this kind of thing but I was wondering if you'd like to do this again. Just the two of us though." Derick laughed a little which caused confusion to sprout onto her face, "I'd love too" he confirmed. "I would have asked once you reached the house" he threw out as a side comment. Mable then thanked him for an amazing night, let herself out of the car and walked up the drive leaving Derick with a single thought, damn that woman.