Things Do Get Better (HTTYD Modern AU)

A School Crush

I can say school wasn't all that bad. Like I said before, I enjoyed Physics lessons and hanging out with Gobber from time to time helped. But there was one other thing that kept me sane and that was my crush. Yes, I had a crush at school and her name is Astrid Hofferson.

Man, what can I say about her? Everything, if I wanted to. She's strong, focused, supportive and so beautiful. And before you ask, I can talk about her like this because, believe it or not, she's my girlfriend. In fact, after I finish writing this part, we're going to celebrate our 3-year anniversary! But it wasn't always like this.

I guess you can say we were similar, in that we were very focused with our work, during lessons and even with our homework. We also had aspirations – while I want to be an engineer, she wanted to be a sports coach. But trust me, we were very different. For starters, she was very good at sports (hence why she wants to be a sports coach), which was helped by the fact that she was a very athletic person (and still is). She'd always get the best grades during those lessons.

The most noticeable aspect about Astrid was that she didn't tolerate nonsense. So, I guess it would come as a surprise to you that she would hang out with Snotlout and that group. No, she didn't mock me like the others, but her being around them was probably the reason why I didn't hang out with her before. That and I was afraid what she would think of me.

I know I said I didn't care what anyone thought about me, but this was Astrid. She was different and I should know. I know her since primary school. I never thought about wanting to be in a relationship with her, not once, but it would have been nice if I could talk to her. But with her hanging with 'Snotlout's gang' and how clearly focused she was at school (possibly more focused than I ever could), there was no chance that even saying 'hi' to her could ever happen. 

Or so I thought.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was after school and I was in the school library, sitting at a far table, doing some additional work, but more importantly, was working on my Physics homework. It was a past exam paper, which was a bit hard, but nothing I couldn't handle. Gobber would love to say that to fully prepare for our exams, we would have to do the hardest questions available, so he would hand us one every two weeks.

I was so focused on the work, calculating pressure and figuring out the effects of electromagnetic radiation (told you I was a nerd), that in a way, I couldn't hear any of the sounds that surrounded me. That's the effect Physics had for me and why I desperately wanted to become an engineer.

"Hey." I was in the midst of writing when I heard that voice. Why I heard that voice and not anyone else didn't bother me. Because I knew that voice. I slowly lifted my head up, since it was down while I was writing.

And there she was. Her blond hair braided behind her and while some hair went over her eye, I could still see her blue eyes shining in the light. Astrid was standing on the opposite side of the table I was sitting at, looking straight at me.

"Oh, umm...hi...hi, Astrid." I stuttered. Talk about making a good first impression. But you really can't blame me. This moment was something I could only imagine in my mind. And yet, she was there. In real life.

"How did she know I was here?" I thought. I never made it known I'd hang out in the library. Or maybe I was so predictable, that it just made sense to her.

"Are you doing your Physics homework?" she asked, clearly showing that she wasn't hear for small talk (otherwise, she'd probably have done that already).

"Yeah... yeah. I'm uhh.... just doing that now." I've never felt like more of a nervous wreak than that day, and judging by the facial expressions she was giving, that first impression definitely went out of the window.

"O...k. Anyway, I have a feeling I might get really stuck on this, and I want to do well. So, could you help me?"

"This was a joke, right?" I thought. I mean, Astrid Hofferson was asking me for help.

"Why... why not Fishlegs?" I asked. Fishlegs, as I mentioned before, was part of the 'Snotlout's gang', but like Astrid, didn't mocked me as such. He was just as smart as me, honestly, seemingly enjoying Physics lessons as well. I guess you can already tell that we're good friends and can geek out every once in a while.

"He left early, so I had to go to you." Now everything made sense. She probably would have never thought about asking me for help if Fishlegs was here. Surprisingly, that revelation calmed me down a bit.

"Ah, then yeah. I can help you." I answered.

She gave a nod of appreciation. "Thanks." she said. She grabbed a chair and sat at the table, still being opposite of me and began working straight away. Like I said, she was a no-nonsense worker. I went back to my work as well.

Except when she would ask for said help, we mainly worked in silence, not making any small talk with one another. I didn't really mind that much, especially since I suspected that she probably didn't want my help.

As I worked, I would occasionally look up from my work, seeing her so focused on her work. Her eyes were glued to the paper and she didn't make such movement, expect the movement of her hand as she wrote and pushing her hair away from her eye every so often. To me, it felt like an honour watching her work.

Then, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I didn't pick it up the first time, but when it rang a second time, I had a feeling it was important. I excused myself from the table, stepping about a meter away before getting my phone. Seeing that it was my dad, I answered.

"Hey, dad."

"Hiccup, umm... quick question. When are you coming back home?"

I raised my eyebrow "I... don't know. Why? Do you need me to...?" Before I could finish my sentence, I heard loud barking over the phone.

I chuckled. "Toothless misses me, huh?" Toothless had always have a hard time when I'm away after school. While this wasn't anything new, it seemed to be worst that day.

"Yes, and the neighbours are not happy." My dad mentioned.

"Umm... Give him his toy and hopefully that should help. If not, then... I'll try to get home as soon as possible." I suggested.

"Ok...ok. Cool. Well, then.... I'll see you later." And he quickly hanged up. I think he felt embarrassed about the call, which was a rare thing. I didn't think about it too much and went back to the table.

"Sorry about that." I said before going back to my work. Astrid gave a simple 'hmm' before focusing back on her work as well.

"Who's Toothless?" I looked up from my work, surprised that Astrid asked me that question. I mean, I assumed she'd heard my conversation, but I didn't think she'd cared.

"Umm.... he's my dog. Black Labrador." I explained.

"Oh. That's cool." Just when the surprises couldn't be enough, she actually said a nice thing (I think).

"Uhh... thanks." I said. She nodded at me before continuing with her work. I did the same, trying not to think too much about what had just happened.

After about 20 minutes, we had both finished our exam paper, and we were preparing to head home, with Astrid already ready to go (as usual).

"Thanks for the help." she said.

"Umm... Sure. Happy to help." I smiled. She was about to walk off when she stopped and turned around.

"It's Hiccup, right?" she said.

"Yes, that's my name." I think I said that with a bit too much confidence.

She then smiled at me. "Between you and me, I think you're smarter." Then, she left, leaving me to recall the words that was just said. There were way too many surprises for me to take in one day.

And luckily, it wouldn't be the last.