Accidental Fiancé

22: Direct Hit

Twenty Two: Direct Hit

As soon as the show was over, Astrid had to head for the airport to join the team for their away match against the Shivering She-Devils. Hiccup and Cami accompanied her to the Terminal with Hiccup carrying her bag and feeling like he was floating as she held his hand all the way to check-in. As she paused, she turned to him and took her bag.

"Go kill them-not that you would actually kill them but I mean...um, I think you know what I mean, Um...yeah..." Hiccup rambled as she smiled.

"So where's the sassy, confident guy from the TV studio?" she teased him.

"Stuck in traffic-he sent me instead..." he sassed and sighed. "Be careful and good luck." He paused. "Not that you need it because you're awesome and brilliant and..."

"And you always need luck," she reminded him, rising onto tiptoes and kissing his cheek. "Both of us." He hugged her and then kissed her back.

"Be safe, Milady," he smiled. "I'll be cheering you on!"

"You better be," she smiled and then turned to the check-in. "I'll be watching."

He watched as she was handed her boarding pass and handed over her case and then she glanced over her shoulder at him, flashed him a swift smile and walked on into Security. He stared after her for longer than was strictly necessary before turning back-and finding Cami staring at him thoughtfully, her arms folded and wild blonde hair moving in the light breeze from the main doors.

"You know, you got it bad," she commented as his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest. "Don't worry-I won't give away your secret. C'mon, sport-let's get you a coffee on the way back."

"I think I may need something stronger," he muttered and she winked.

"I'm sure we can manage that," she grinned and he nodded.

"At least I can cheer her on tomorrow," he muttered as they wandered back to the car.

oOo

He was sitting on the couch, flicking through the channels aimlessly that night when he saw a trailer for the upcoming programme that had him going rigid with fear and his heart racing in his chest. Woodenly, he thumbed the volume up using the remote, his eyes fixed on a picture of him and Astrid-but coloured in a menacing red and black. The voice over was more suited to a movie trailer than a talk show:

"The dark side of the Archipelago's Golden Couple-a cheating boyfriend and a scarlet woman. And in the middle...the innocent victim of these two selfish and callous users. On 'Ron The Viking' tonight, we have an exclusive interview with the abandoned fiancee of Hiccup Haddock, the man now supposedly engaged to the Soccer Valkyrie. Stay tuned-after the break!"

"Oh Thor," Hiccup muttered and grabbed his phone, desperately firing a text through to Astrid...but as the trailers ended and the brash theme music sounded, he knew that she hadn't seen it. He texted her again, more desperately and then he groaned. Maybe her team was like the International Team-no phones. So he tried one last time and then stared at the screen as Ron 'the Viking' Bergstrom walked forward.

The host was a large man-solid starting to tend to fat with a broad frame and faded reddish hair, his eyes dark and intelligent in a calculating face. His suit was a loud brown tartan with a cream shirt and an orange striped tie. He was brash and very smug, grinning insincerely at the audience as he rehearsed his intro.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" he roared. "It's a privilege to have you sharing your evenings with us!" He grinned and looked into Camera Two. "My special guest this evening is a woman who has been wronged. Arabella Harsem imagined she had a perfect life with her fiancé...until he met up behind her back with his former school friend, Astrid Hofferson. Suddenly, Arabella loses everything and he ends up engaged to the most famous woman in the Archipelago!" There were boos as Hiccup's picture-a very unflattering one-flashed up on the big screen behind the host. "So let me invite the woman herself to tell her story. Give a big Viking welcome to Arabella Harsem!"