A Chance Meeting

Chapter 4

Quick AN: to the guest that left a comment that disliked how I was portraying Ruffnut, thank you! I don't hate Ruff at all, I actually quite like her. I'm portraying her as such a terrible person because it's from Astrids POV and she's the one in the wrong. I've laid very small hints that Ruff isn't a complete jerk, but hopefully this chapter clears things up. I used Ruff as a way to show how Astrids perspective towards the world shifts throughout the story. I haven't watched any of the TV shows in a very long time and didn't remember her being poor, so I'll make sure to keep that in mind when I'm writing the future chapters. I hope you like what happens in this chapter. If not, please feel free to tell me; I always welcome criticism.

Astrid: Wanna meet for lunch?

I was lying in bed with the window shades up. It was a strangely good morning and the suns warming rays dancing across my skin made everything surreal. I felt so confident that I'd decided that today would be the day to ask Ruff about potential jobs for Hiccup. I hadn't run the plan by him yet either, but I was feeling untouchable this morning. Like nothing could go wrong today.

Ruff: already have lunch plans with Tuff. Dinner?

I sent a quick response saying that was fine. Ruff may not like a lot of people, but she loved her brother. Sure, they would always be at each other's throats, but the second someone else tried to get under Tuffs skin it was game over. I still remembered freshmen year of high school when Ruff knocked out some upperclassmen's teeth when they tried to haze her brother. She'd gotten suspended, of course, but the message was clear. Don't mess with the Thorstons.

We decided to meet at a local café around seven. I'd been there a few times before and it was only a few minutes away from my apartment. That way I wouldn't have to waste money on an Uber or something.

The toilet in the bathroom flushed across the hall and the faint sound of water coming out of the faucet could be heard. Hiccup must be up. I thought about getting up and joining him, but my bed was way too comfy to get out of. For some reason the blanket always seemed fluffier in the morning. I did have to pee though...

Not yet. I could hold my bladder for a few more minutes.

"Hey, Astrid." There was a light knock on the door. "I was just about to start making breakfast. Would you like anything?" we'd gotten eggs and bacon at the grocery store, but I was never a fan of eating a hot breakfast.

"I'll make a bowl of cereal when I get up." I made sure we picked up Frosted Flakes, milk, and bananas from the grocery store last night. One of my favorite ways to start the day was to cut the bananas up into thick slices and dump it into the bowl of cereal. "Thanks for the offer, though."

He walked away, presumably to make his breakfast, and I just continued to lay in bed. It was almost surreal how easily I'd adjusted to Hiccup staying with me. If you told me a week ago that I'd met someone I'd met off the streets stay with me, and enjoy it, I'd have laughed until the sun went down. Yet here I was.

I wondered how long Hiccup would stay, or maybe the better question would how long I would let him stay. I mean, he had to leave eventually. If I let him stay here too long, he might get the wrong idea. He was here so that he could get back on his feet. I wasn't going to let him become a freeloader, or that anything was to happen between us...

I mean, yeah, I think he's handsome and has a great personality (from what I've seen), but I'm not good at relationships. I've always messed them up.

That's actually how Ruffnut and I first became friends. It was after my first breakup and she'd found me crying in the school bathroom. Stefen, the boy I'd been dating, told me that I hadn't been committed enough for him. He'd been upset at how rarely I'd text him first, or how I liked to sit with other people during lunch occasionally. Looking back, it was stupid to even date that young, but at the time it'd hit me like a pile of bricks.