Torn [Hiccup x Reader x Jack]

Chapter 9

You stared at the night sky, still halfheartedly looking for a trace of Jack. "I can't believe he just left me here," you muttered. You'd at least hoped to get some answers from him about your past and who you were. You wracked your brain for the questions you'd had; the flashbacks you'd had, but nothing showed up. Groaning, you lay down on the rocky ground, finding a patch of moss that seemed to be softer than the rest. You glanced up at the sky again, and were immediately wonderstruck by the star-filled heavens.

You started humming absentmindedly, searching for the lyrics to this song that you knew you knew. One verse slipped into your head, and you tried out the words, fitting them to the tune.

'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars
I'm gonna give you my heart
'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars
'Cause you light up the path

You stopped singing, trying to remember anything else from the song. When the words and tunes slipped your mind, you sighed frustratedly and laced your fingers over your stomach, crossing your legs. And that's how you fell asleep: Lying on the ground, going around in circles, trying to remember things that just wanted to stay gone.

You awoke with the bright sun streaming into your eyes. You stretched, yawning, and looked up with a contented smile on your face. That changed quickly as you realized that you were not alone. A harsh voice chased away the remaining foggy strings of sleep and woke you up entirely.

"Do you have any idea how worried you made us?"

"Astrid!" You scrambled back on your hands and knees, getting at least three meters away before getting to your feet, your body tense.

"I swear Hiccup had a heart attack when he realized that his pretty little guest wasn't at the Twins' house," she snarled, advancing. You backed away, clenching your fists. "And then he woke up the whole village to go look for you! You had us out of our minds with worry, and here I find you having a peaceful nap under the stars!" This time there was no backup, no Hiccup to send her a dirty look and tell her to back down. And you realized that that was the way you liked it.

"So come on, then," You snapped. "If you're so angry, fight me then!"

Astrid stopped, confused, but the glare still on her face. "What in Valhalla do you mean?" Your face burned. She had been giving off such a killer vibe that you had assumed she meant to hurt you, but apparently that wasn't so. "Sorry," you muttered. "I guess you just seemed like you wanted to..."

She cocked her head to the side, an eyebrow raised. "Fight you? Well then, you thought wrong."

You looked away, brushing a strand of (h/c) hair away your eyes and biting your lip. "Anyway, we should get back, right?" Astrid scoffed. "Wish you'd thought like that when you had us looking for you."

You both trudged up the path, an awkward silence stretching between you. Astrid mostly had to lead the way, since you were only following the frost last night, and you had no idea where you were going. You fixed your embarrassed gaze at the trees and the sky, looking at anything but her. When the break in the undergrowth you were walking in seemed to widen and morph into an actual footpath, Astrid finally spoke.

"Look, when I saw you on that boat..."

You froze in your tracks, panicking. You had hoped to avoid that subject and the resentment that went along with it, but when she brought up the fact that she had gotten you thrown off the boat, a boiling fury seemed to swell in your gut. You clenched your teeth and glared at the ground.

"I only did it because I had a dream- a vision, really- and it told me that you were a Draugr, and that you'd destroy our village if I didn't keep you from coming here." Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet; somehow that made you on edge even more.

Your eyes narrowed. "Explain the dream."

"In it, I was standing in Berk. All the dragons were dead or dying, all my friends and family were bleeding out on the ground. The island was on fire but the ocean was gone, there was no water, nothing. Just an endless world of fire. Everything was destroyed, and in the middle of it all I saw you. You had Hiccup with you. I watched as you took a sword from your belt, and you slit his wrists and throat. You watched him die, you watched the world die, (y/n), and you were laughing."

You stood, shaken. There were no words, nothing that could explain how you felt. You now knew that Astrid did what she felt was right, was the only way to keep this from happening, because you knew what you would do if you ran into the very person from that nightmare. You suddenly forgave her for her unkindness in that moment, because she must have been so utterly terrified to see that dream come true.

Astrid looked you straight in the eyes, her steely grey orbs boring straight into your very soul. "I don't hate you," she said. "We might even become very good friends someday. But trust me, if this nightmare comes true, I won't stand there and watch."

She stepped closer, grasping your shoulders so tightly they hurt. "I will tear your body and soul into pieces."

You swallowed nervously and mustered a smile. "I promise I will not let that happen." Astrid nodded, a smirk appearing on her face. "Come on," she said, turning and breaking into a jog. You ran after her, mulling over her dream in your head. "I found her!" you heard Astrid say as if she was on the other end of a tunnel. You looked up at the sky for one last search for Jack, and when you looked back down, you were met with huge, worried green eyes.

"(y/n)," said Hiccup.