HTTYD: You Don't Know the Meaning of "Nice"? (Hiccstrid)

Chapter 19

Hiccup's P.O.V.

Astrid looked really uncomfortable. ...Alright, fine, I'll give her a break! "You know what, I've got something for you," I tell her before reaching into my pocket. I pull out a 6 by 1'' box and put it on the table, where her plate would go when it got here. She hesitates, staring at it with blank eyes. I reach over and grab her hand from the table before putting it on the box. "Open it," I order and she sighs. My guess is she was remembering my threat. I am so glad she doesn't know the principals number. Astrid pauses for one more moment before slowly opening the lid. Her eyes widen as they see the silver and emerald bracelet.

"P-Please tell me these aren't real," she breaths as she examines the piece of jewelry.

As real as my concern for your well being, is what I wanted to say. But that might just creep her out. "Yup, they are," I tell her before she snaps the lid closed and puts the box back on my side of the table.

"I can't accept that, please tell me you kept the receipt," she whispers, her voice hoarse.

"I did not," I say with a shrug and she buries her face in her hands.

"How much was it? I'll pay you back," she says, panic edging her words, "Or, you can give it to Heather, or-- or Ruffnut, or-" I cut her off by dipping my finger in my water and flicking a drop in her face. She looks at me in confusion as she sees my smirk.

"I got this for you. Why can't you accept it?" I ask.

Astrid's P.O.V.

"B-Because I'm not worth it, Hiccup," I tell him. Maybe if the jewels were just bits of glass, then I might be able to accept it, but real emeralds?! Not to mention they were green! That color keeps coming back to bite me.

"Not worth it?" Hiccup asks.

"I'm a stupid teenager who works at a mechanic's, a cafe, and City Hall. I'm a 16-year-old girl who was abandoned by her father twice and her mother every day. I'm a girl who can barely keep up with her rent. I'm a girl who hardly affords an education. I'm a girl who is expecting medical bills from the hospital any day now. I'm a kid who's had drugs in her system for a week before, without her consent or knowledge. I'm an adolescent that isn't normal. I'm basically dirt. I'm not worth it," I repeat myself, accidentally growling a little on the last sentence. I hadn't noticed, until now, that around the middle of my 'speech' Hiccup had taken the bracelet out of the box and was now reaching for my wrist. Before I can pull it away, he grabs it in a gentle hand and wraps the piece of jewelry around my wrist, clipping it into place. When he's finished, he looks at me with uncharacteristically kind eyes.

"There's a difference between not being worth it and not deserving it. Which one are you talking about?" he asks.

"Both," I tell him only to have him grin at me.

"What do you think you're worth? Why don't you think you deserve it?" he asks and I have to keep my shoulders from slumping. Here we go again with the questions.

"I think I am worth 0.1 cents, and I don't deserve it, because of the reason I am here. Vandalism," I say and he takes his hand away from mine before picking up his phone. I bury my face in my hands as the light from the screen shows on his face. "Please don't call," I beg to hear him chuckle.

"Okay, the police are gone you can stop hiding," he says jokingly, making me look at him to see he was smiling as he swiped through some stuff. He then shows me a picture of me cleaning the graffiti. "If you were a person who didn't deserve an emerald bracelet, then is this person not you?" he asks.

"So I cleaned it, so what? That doesn't mean I deserve this, thing!" I say, holding up my wrist. He's about to say something but I beat him to it. "I get in fights, I show you no gratitude for trying to give me shopping money, I give you no thanks for paying for my dinner tonight, I grant you no trust even though you've only tried to help me. And that brings me to the question of 'What have I done to deserve your concern?'" I ask him. He pauses, staring at me with those deep, forest green eyes. Not wanting to talk anymore, I stand up and run through the restaurant, out the front door. I jog up the parking lot a few feet before groaning in frustration. "Stupid heels!" I snap as I rip my shoes off and throw them in a bush.

"Astrid!" I look behind me to see Hiccup running after me. 

I take off toward the near by forest. Once I reach the tree line, I pull the skirt of the dress up and over my head. I throw it into the branches of a pine tree before running deeper into the thick grove, bare-foot and in my shorts and tank top. It was a little chilli but I didn't care. I just heard Hiccup's feet chasing me, making my heart pick up speed and my legs shake as they thrust through the undergrowth.

"Astrid! Wait!" Hiccup shouts, sounding distant. I run a few more feet before skidding behind a tree and pressing my back to the trunk. Hiccup runs into the mini clearing and looks around, his back to me. I silently move to the other side of the trunk so that my back is to his. "Astrid!" he called. I feel around for a rock before throwing it high over his head and into the bushes. It was slighted to his right, making it seem like I was trying to turn off the trail he was taking. He looks in the direction of the noise before running forward. 

I wait for his footsteps to fade before running in the opposite direction he took. After about half a mile of jogging, I slow to a walk, rubbing the scrapes I got on my arms from branches and thickets. Lightning strikes over head, soon followed by a burst of thunder. I look to the sky as rain starts to fall. Still walking, and slipping on mud, I come to the outskirts of a park, also recognizing it as the one down the street from my building. A familiar shadow flashes from the corner of my vision and I look in the direction to see a bush, a few feet away. It looked strangely like Hiccup. I look at my wrist and gaze at the emeralds, wishing I had left the bracelet at the table for him to take back. Well...maybe I can sell it and give him the money? One thing was for sure: I couldn't keep it. My mom would have a field day if she found out about it.