New Beginnings (Hijack)

Part 10

Hiccup bundled up in his brown leather coat as he walked Toothless. The poor dog was so ecstatic that Hiccup was home, he hardly let Hiccup go anywhere without him now. Hiccup decided to make it up to him by taking a walk every day, snow or sleet.

Toothless loved the snow so it really didn't matter to the dog at all, half the time he just ate the darn stuff and rolled around until his black coat turned into a white one. Then he'd shake it off and make a mess once he came inside. It was just the kind of chaos Hiccup always expected when he came home, so he really didn't mind, considering he really did miss his dog. Toothless was his best friend and always had been. When Hiccup was learning how to walk with one leg, it was Toothless who helped him, never judging him or making him feel like he was slow or crippled. Toothless had always been the one to stay by his side and comfort him when he was crying about his dad or his mom.

And when it came time to decide if he would give up the dog, he found that he couldn't. Toothless was a part of him and always would be, shoot he still needed his dog in times of need, and he just wished he could take him to college, but unfortunately that couldn't be so.

Toothless barked at something up ahead and nearly ripped Hiccup's arm from his socket as he lunged happily.

"Whoa! Toothless! Stay! Bad! Stop! Halt!" Hiccup cried over and over, hoping to get his dog to settle down and keep himself from tripping face first into the snow.

Toothless was wagging his tail and whining and Hiccup squinted to see a figure walking towards him. He squinted his eyes against the cold and he hugged his green wool scarf tighter around his neck.

He tried to make out who the figure was in the white coat with fur on the hood. The person had their hands in their pockets and was wearing a gray and white stripped hat that covered long blonde hair. Hiccup could tell it was a girl based on the fur boots she wore and then it hit him.

"ASTRID?!" he called happily.

The girl smiled and ran towards him, her arms outstretched so she could hug him. He practically spun her around, but remembered he was holding a dog leash and could slip on the snow, so he stopped in time.

"I missed you so much!" he cried, tears actually coming to his eyes.

She hugged him tighter and smiled, "I missed you too."

"How are you? What's Harvard like?" he asked her excitedly.

She frowned and shook her head, her hands going into her pockets again; a sure sign that something was wrong. Hiccup knew the pose after years of being her best friend. When she was scared or had nothing to say, her hands retreated.

Hiccup's face fell for a minute. He looked around and then smiled warmly at her, "What do you say we go to my house? My mom's making hot cocoa. And Jack will be over later."

She brightened at that and nodded.

They walked back to his house in silence for a while and Hiccup could definitely tell there was something off about her. He'd never really seen Astrid look so...defeated. Come to think of it, this was the worst he'd ever seen her look. Upon closer inspection, her eyes were baggy and she wore hardly any makeup to cover it up. There were black smear marks that were fairly visible at the corners of her eyes, a telltale sign that she'd been crying. On top of that, she looked as though she'd lost weight. Even her hair wasn't as vibrant as it used to be.

They walked into his house and shook off all the snow, Hiccup removing his green hat and scarf and hanging them up with his coat. He managed to shake off his boots without losing his leg and then helped Astrid with her coat.

He released Toothless who bounded to the kitchen to search for scraps of food wherever they be.

Hiccup led her to the kitchen where his mother stood at the counter, mixing batter and making cocoa with cookies.