The Valkyrie and the Valedictorian

Part 2

2:

Graduation Day

Unconsciously, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He never went anywhere without it, never let it out of his presence. A small smile lifted his lips and he gazed at the lock screen, showing an image of Hiccup and his parents, taken at his fourteenth birthday, the last image of them all together that he had. He sighed and gently slid his thumb over the image of his mother, seeing her smile light her face. She shared his green eyes and her long dark chestnut hair, lightly streaked with grey, was braided in a fat plait over her shoulder. Her hand was on his shoulder with her husband's on hers, enfolding the whole family in his grasp.

Stoick Haddock, Mayor of Berk, was almost seven feet tall, immensely powerful built and had a real presence. His flaming red hair was cut short but his huge braided beard covered his upper chest. A large nose dominated his face, topped by intelligent grey-green eyes. But his huge smile showed how proud and delighted he was of his small family.

Nine months later, it had been shattered. Stoick rarely smiled now though he still said comforting and supportive words to his son, but he had buried his grief in duty and left Hiccup alone or with Gobber more than he should. And it had done little to help Hiccup's own grief and sense of rejection when his father missed more events than he attended-including his last day of school. He rubbed his thumb over his mother's image once more. His first day of school had included both parents, proudly driving their only, much-wanted child to his first day of High School. He closed his eyes and recalled his mother's hug and kiss and his father's bear hug, which had crushed the air from him-as usual-before his Mom had scolded his embarrassed father into letting him go. And as he had walked into Berk High for the first time, he had glanced back to see them smiling and waving at him.

Today, neither one would be there. One was dead and the other...couldn't be bothered.

Then he opened the phone and stared at the other images in his folders, including that first one that Dagur and Gobber had taken, that day in the Forge in Junior Year...

Junior Year.

Astrid had texted him as she promised and despite the fact that Hiccup had almost convinced himself that she didn't mean it and her offer had been a serious pity offer, he had been overjoyed at her invitation to come over to her house. So he had arrived two minutes early, parking up and sitting in the car until the appointed time because his mother had always told him it was rude to arrive early for a visit. And then, blushing and half-convinced he would be turned away, he walked to the door and rang the bell.

Astrid opened it with a rush, her face split with her huge grin and he had offered her flowers-with another bouquet clamped in his hand for her mother. Her eyes had widened at the generous gesture and she had hugged him before hauling him in to show him to her mother. Ingrid Hofferson had been wary and frankly astonished at the scrawny lad her beautiful daughter had brought home as her friend. It was plain she suspected him of some ulterior motive-especially when she learned that Hiccup was only a Junior-but when she watched the two interact, she had decided to keep an open mind. Somehow, it was plain the two shared a connection, their interactions easy and playful but clearly close. So she had left them to it.

They started texting, every night before bed and during the day just to cheer the other one up. Hiccup knew that Astrid was frustrated with her job as Erik's girlfriend, having to go to parties as his date and expecting him to vanish off as soon as they arrived and were seen in search of his true paramour. Often, she would do the rounds to locate anyone she knew, have a dance and then retreat into a corner and text him. In fact, Hiccup was sure that he had spent more time talking to Astrid at parties than Erik ever had and that made him feel sad. No one would credit badass Astrid Hofferson with feelings but the fact that she had to spend the evening texting a Junior because her date would go off every single time made him feel sad.