I'm Leaving Forever (a HTTYD Runaway Fanfic ~ Book 1)

1 - Looking Back Before Leaving

"You've done it, Hiccup!" Gobber exclaimed, wrapping his arm around the Viking's shoulder, "You've done it! You get to kill the dragon!" Hiccup's entire body stiffened. He couldn't kill the Monstrous Nightmare. After what he's learnt these past few weeks, he wasn't sure if he could even threaten a dragon.

Hiccup didn't have to turn to know that Astrid was giving him one of her iconic death glares. He could feel the flames of her azure eyes drilling holes into his head, making him even more tense and defensive than he already was. And that tension never left him when Fishlegs lifted him into his shoulder, or when the rest of the group surrounded him, cheering. 

He just didn't care.

His father's praises, Astrid's death glare, the congratulations of the entire tribe. They were all muted and blurred out from his focus. 

Hiccup didn't believe that this pride had any meaning behind it. Everything was fake. Especially considering that in his eyes, this wasn't an honour he won, but instead an act of treason towards his best friend who changed his view on dragons and on himself. This was all an act.

But he was later jolted out of his thoughts when he was set down in the middle of a deserted village. 

"That was awesome, H!" Tuffnut said.

"And on top of that, you get to kill the Monstrous Nightmare!" Ruffnut added on, "good on you! Just make sure that you spill a lot of blood," The thought that he would have to essentially do what Ruff wanted made Hiccup shudder and wish he was already on his way to Toothless. Then Snotlout came up to him.

"You know, if someone told me that Hiccup would be the one to come out top of Dragon Training, I would've definitely punched them so hard that they would've blacked out for a week," Hiccup's blood instantly started boiling and his hand curled into fists, which he kept hidden from view in his sleeves. Though Snotlout never did punch him so hard to the point where he would black out for a week, Hiccup knew that if he got the chance, Snotlout would've certainly went for it. 

That's when it really hit him. What was there on Berk for him? Not this 'honour' considering that it was something he never wanted in the first place. Everyone seemed to thrive off ridiculing, scorning and complaining about him. And there was absolutely nothing he could contribute to the tribe, despite being the heir to the throne of Berk. Although he hated to admit it, but before he met Toothless, he may have considered ending his life. He had nothing to live for so why should he bother going on? But that changed when he met Toothless. The Night Fury, despite knowing nothing about what went on inside Hiccup's mind every day, helped him heal, bit by bit, and showed him that he was worth something. 

So if he wasn't going to take his life, he could do the next best thing.

Run away. 

But before Hiccup could formulate a plan, he felt a force come into contact with his shoulder, pushing him to the side.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder, "seriously, Snotlout?" Snotlout laughed.

"But seriously, good job, baby cuz," That comment made Hiccup roll his eyes.

"I'm older than you,"

"By two months, what's the difference? And besides, I like calling you that," Hiccup sighed. Snotlout was never one to treat him like his cousin, just like his dad didn't really treat him like a son and Spitelout, who never treated him like his nephew. Of course, it didn't matter now that he was planning to run away. So sad that Snotlout doesn't have a punching bag anymore.

The village was mostly void of any people, seeing as they were likely to still be at the arena so it provided Hiccup with a clear opportunity that wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. Now he just needed to find a way to leave Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins and that required an excuse. But what? When it came to honour and victory, Snotlout and the twins were all in for it. Fishlegs, not so much, but that didn't mean he didn't need some sort of reason to leave. But on the other hand, Hiccup didn't know how much time he had. For all he knew, it would be few minutes and the Vikings would once again be crowding the centre and probably showering him with compliments. With no other way out, Hiccup went with the latter option and began to move away from the group of teens.