The Dog Trainer (Hiccup x Reader) [ModernAU!]

11: Heather

"Whoa! What happened to you?"

Henry looked up from where he was waiting at in the airport. A few days ago, Henry received a text message from his long time friend, Heather. Apparently, Heather was coming to Berk for a visit from her international work. She worked sort of as a guard for the ambassador of Berk, he remembered her summing up one time. He thought it was a nice change to hear from her since the whole drama with you. He hasn't seen you for a week, not even at your work. According to Eira, you quit a long time ago, way before the news about you leaving was out.

He guessed you're leaving sooner than he expected.

Maybe, you left already.

His heart lurched at the thought of you not even saying goodbye.

Henry smiled sheepishly but he grimaced when  he felt the ache from his faded black eye. He stood up from his seat to meet Heather in a greeting hug. She hugged him back but stepped away to take a better look at him.

"Henry, did you get into a fight?" she asked, uncertain. She never heard of Henry throwing a fist at someone, let alone get into a fight.

Well, there was that one time in high school when he punched Sage.

But that's only because he was irritating the snot out of Henry and it was only one punch.

One that knocked him out.

He shrugged. "I got into a disagreement with someone," he corrected, "That's all."

They started walking to the exit towards his car he borrowed from his mother. Heather gave him a knowing glare.

"Okay, okay," he sighed. He walked a few steps a head of Heather before telling her about what happened. "I might or might not have gotten into a fight with Eric."

"You fought Eret junior?!" she gasped but her eyes were set ablaze with amusement. "Why did you guys fight?!"

Henry rubbed his neck with a grimace. He really didn't want to talk about you but he would feel rude if he dismissed the topic and not fill her in.

"Over a girl," he mumbled.

Heather paused, staring at him in shock. She then laughed once she let it process. "I didn't know we were still in high school."

Henry sighed in frustration. He was expecting a beat down, not a tease fest.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically, "Laugh it up."

They have finally got to the car and Henry unlocked it for her to put her bags into the trunk of the van. They got in the car with Henry behind the wheel.

When Henry pulled out to the main road, Heather asked, "So, who's the poor girl?"

Henry gave her a strange look before saying, "That's rude."

"Well, I mean you're only fooling around with her, right? Like you did with Ally," she said.

"What?" He jerked his head to her in surprise quickly before looking at the road again. "No! I didn't fool around with Allison. It was just a phase. Besides, this girl is completely different from what I felt for Allison a long time ago."

Heather stared at him as he continued.

"When I'm with her, I can't help but be breathless from her. She never stops surprising me. And she makes me feel like the greatest person I can ever be," he said softly.

Heather took a moment before whispering, "Oh my gods."

Henry glanced at her. "What?"

"Oh my gods," she said a little louder, "Hiccup, you don't just like this girl, you love her!"

He stayed silent on the rest of the way home.

~.~.~

"Now that that's settled," Heather sighed in exhaustion from the heavy bags, "Know any good coffee shops? I barely slept from the plane ride at all."

Henry thought of the coffee shop where you used to work at.

"Actually, I do. And they have a mean latte."

Then again, the reason he felt good after the drink was because you made it and he got to see you.

They drove over to the cafe after dropping off Heather's belongings at her old home. Henry was mentally preparing himself. He didn't want to be disappointed when he walked into the shop, yet he couldn't brush off the feeling when he walked through the entry.

"This place is cute," Heather said while shedding off her coat.

"Yeah," Henry said but he wasn't paying attention. He was leering at the back when he thought he saw a familiar [hair color] color.

It was probably nothing. Just getting my hopes up again.

"Go ahead and find a seat. I'll be with you guys in a minute." Henry heard a waiter say to the both of them.

They took a seat near the entry way and ordered their drinks to-go. When they received their drinks, Henry took a sip and noticed it tasted the same. He stared confusedly at his drink but still felt bittersweet from the reminder of what happened.

When they  stood from their table to go pay for the drinks, a figure emerged from the kitchen at the back of the cafe. The person wore a black zip up hoodie and a navy blue cap. Henry saw strands of [hair color] hair peak from the hood.

The figure bowed their head like they knew that he or she has been spotted. Henry craned his neck to try to see more of the figure's features. The person only walked faster to the exit.

Heather gasped when the person bumped into her, almost spilling the coffee. The figure didn't excuse themselves and started running instead. Heather's eyes followed the person in recognition and started chasing after the person.

"Hey, stop!"

Word Count: 952

Status: Unedited