Behind the mask

Shattered

"I have something to tell you,"Astrid said, her eyes nervous. Hiccup frowned, leaning forward to take her hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked her in a concerned voice. Astrid was very anxious and that alarmed him. He stared into her eyes. "Please...you've helped me so much...I want to help you..."

"You can't," she said in a choked voice. "I-I'm a horrible person, Hiccup..." He crouched to stare into her blue eyes, seeing them swimming with tears.

"Astrid..." he said gently. She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I was the one who told Mr Treacher about Snot and Dagur starting the fight!" she blurted out.

He stared at her and pulled back, her hands falling from his. He shook his head.

"Y-you...told Al...?" he mouthed, his face stricken.

"It-it was an accident!" she said urgently. "I-I didn't mean any harm...and I-I thought it was unfair that you were being blamed when it wasn't your fault..." He stared at her.

"I stepped up and took the blame...because I knew what would happen if the real people got blamed," he told her in a toneless voice.

"I-I only realised that when I saw how everyone was treating you..." she said and his brows dipped.

"Yeah..."he said, his voice growing cold. "About that...you saw how badly everyone treated me...I was abused, ignored...I was literally on everyone's hit list. Snot and the team were after my ass. And Dagur...well, he threatened that if I didn't find who turned him in, he'd kick the crap out of me."

"I-I'm sorry..." she began but he rose to his feet and glared down on her.

"Sorry? I supposed you are," he said coldly. "But did you for one freakin' minute think how absolutely hellish my life was as a result of that? Did you consider for one minute standing up and being honest?"

She nodded her head, tears trickling down her cheeks. "But-but...I knew they would all turn on me..." she whispered. He stared at her coldly.

"What?" he snapped.

"I was afraid everyone would turn on me...and I-I didn't think I could stand that..."

"And it was only Hiccup Haddock...and he was a pest and screw-up anyway so it wouldn't make any difference, right?" he asked her acidly. "It wouldn't matter that he was punched or abused or threatened. That everyone blanked him, that even his friends blamed him and ended up kicking the shit outta him? Was that what you were thinking?"

"I-I..."

He gave an angry sound. "Astrid. For once, try being honest with me...because at the moment, I am having difficulty believing anything you told me was nothing but a lie..."

"That's not true...!" she protested.

"Then answer!" Hiccup snapped. She paused and nodded.

"I was scared to step up because it would affect my popularity...and you were so unpopular anyway...I didn't think it would make a difference..."

"And when you got to know me...? What then?" he asked.

"I-I felt terrible..."

"But not bad enough to tell the truth!"

"And what would that have done?" she retaliated desperately. "It would have turned everyone against me...they would all look at me like a sneak for telling the Principal and a coward for not owning up sooner...but it wouldn't have made you any more popular! So what would have been the point?"