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

Chapter 23

Astrid's P.O.V.

I woke up to find myself still in Hiccup's car. I didn't even remember falling asleep. "Astrid," a voice echoed into my ears. I look to my side to see Hiccup looking at me in worry. "Are you okay?" he asks softly with a background of raindrops on the windshield.

"Uh, yeah. What happened?" I ask drowsily.

"Uh, you asked to take a drive and fell asleep," he said, obviously covering something up. I decide to go with it.

"Oh. Where are we?" I ask, my eyes adjusting to the gloom.

"Turn around and I'll show you," he says and I do so before my vision is blocked by some sort of cloth. Then, everything comes back. He was gonna take me into the woods and leave me for dead.

"No!" I snap, ripping the neck tie off my eyes. Hiccup looks at me in confusion. "No blind fold," I tell him forcefully.

"Okay, okay. Let's go then," he says before getting out and going to my side of the car before opening my door. I reluctantly get out and he quickly leads me to the door of a building to try and keep us dry. We go inside and he turns on the lights before something explodes and next thing I know, multiple people are shouting "surprise". When my eyes adjust, I see confetti falling around me and Hiccup's group with giant smiles on their faces.

"You didn't think you could keep your birthday from us, did you?!" Heather asks as I stare around blankly. It was some sort of banquette hall or something.

"I was gonna try," I tell her before starting for the door. I let out a yelp as Hiccup picks me up and throws me over his shoulder before walking somewhere. "Hiccup! Put me down!" I snap and he does so before pushing me back into a chair.

"Okay, normally I'd let this go, but no. You gotta relax," he says as he takes a step back.

"Okay, you gotta punching bag?" I ask, crossing my arms. Then, Snotlout rolls something in front of me that had the twins hanging upside down.

"Punch us and win a prize!" Tuffnut cheers. I roll my eyes but can't resist a punch to his spot. He screams in pain as he doubles over. "This was not part of the deal!" he squeaks.

"Okay, this was great, really, but- oh, boy look at the time," I say, looking at my bare wrist, "I am so tired. I'm gonna start home and don't do anything like this with my personal information ever again." I dart out the door before Hiccup can grab me again. I stop by his car, get my bag, and stuff my hands in my pockets as I march down the street with my hood up.

"Astrid wait!" I turn around as Heather runs after me and raises her umbrella so we can both fit. "That wasn't cool," she says.

"What's new?" I ask with a shrug.

"I'm not kidding," she says.

"You think I am?" I ask.

"We throw you a surprise party on your birthday and it's too much for you to say 'thank you'. Hiccup is letting you live with him and you avoid him in school. Everyone's been nice to you since you got here- well, minus Snotlout tripping you on your first day, but he does that to everyone- and all you do, is try to darken a room," she says, her eyes glittering with shame that she was trying her hardest to wound me with.

"Heather, I'm just a person who doesn't like positivity in general. I always assume the worst because every time I got my hopes up, they've fallen farther that my feet. Every single time. I didn't ask you to do this party, I didn't expect it of you, so if you want me to apologize for not wanting it, then I guess I'm sorry. I didn't ask Hiccup to take me in, I didn't ask for this bracelet that I don't deserve," I show her my wrist, "and I didn't ask for my dad to abandon me in this town! People do stuff that you don't ask for, and you have to deal with the outcome. Whether you're on the receiving end or not. You have to deal with what comes next. Well, this is what's coming next. Are you prepared? Because I am." With that, I walk out from under the umbrella and turn the corner, her gaze burning holes in my hoodie. 

At Hiccup's house

I walked through the door to find Hiccup standing there, waiting for me. "Where were you? I didn't see you on my way home," he says as I wring my hair out onto my jacket.

"Took a detour. I'll start packing," I tell him, pressing the bracelet to his chest as I walked passed him. I go to the room and start stuffing things into my duffel bag.

"What do you think the outcome is?" Hiccup asks, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms. I freeze in my packing to stare at him. "Heather recorded your conversation. Answer the question," he orders, walking toward me slowly.

"You are gonna kick me out and I'll move back to my apartment so you never have to see the ungrateful ***** again," I tell him as I stuff my clothes into my bag. I fill it and move on to another one, pausing as Hiccup starts unpacking the one I just finished. "What are you doing?" I ask. 

"Delaying you," he replies casually. I try to repack the bag but he just keep unpacking it. Soon our arms are almost tangled and I yelp as he flips me onto the bed. "You're not leaving," he says as he pins my shoulders to the mattress.

"Yes I am," I tell him as I try to push him off me.

"Astrid, I will stay like this all night but you are not going back to that apartment," he says more forcefully.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because I want to talk to you and I have a feeling we'll need more than tonight to get through the topic."