The Valkyrie and the Valedictorian

Part 3

3:

Graduation Day.

He gazed at the image, taken in his own sitting room with candles reflecting in the mirror and the pair of them kissing tenderly. They had taken another, more formal picture as well but he loved the original, showing him and Astrid on the evening that they had finally confessed their feelings. She had broken up with Erik and there was no impediment to them properly being girlfriend and boyfriend...except Hiccup's own reticence and the fact that she was leaving school. But that reticence hadn't stopped him from being her best friend and possible boyfriend so he had accompanied Ingrid to Astrid's Graduation.

It had been weird, attending a Graduation other than his own-it had never been a thought that had crossed his radar at all-but dressed in his best suit, shirt and tie, his hair tamed and eyes sparkling, he had found himself seated among the parents waiting for Astrid to receive her scroll. He recognised many of the Seniors and as he watched, he found his anger at Erik growing. The jock was popular, joking with his friends and lauded by the Principal for his athletic prowess but no one mentioned how he had behaved-truly, what happened at Prom stayed at Prom.

Except...there was markedly less applause for Astrid when she stepped forward for her Diploma than all of the others. Somehow, she was blamed for her anger at the popular student's treatment of her. However, Ingrid and Hiccup cheered loudly and he made sure that he snapped the shots of her receiving her Diploma. Her brilliant smile at his loyal support had been worth all the effort and he hadn't cared at the murmuring it had earned him for his complete lack of decorum. And he didn't care at all about the eyes that fell on him when he embraced Astrid and kissed her urgently after the end of the ceremony. Photos were taken of Astrid with her Mom as well as Astrid and Hiccup for posterity but it was the time they spent together that meant the world to them both. And he could feel the waves of relief rolling off Astrid as she left the school for the last time.

He sighed. Astrid had deferred going to College because she had a plan. She knew that he was aiming for the Engineering Programme at the Berk Campus of Archipelago University and while she was intending to study Physical and Sports Therapy, she had decided she was going to spend the year improving her kickboxing, earning some money and getting a job so the pair could start University together. And the unspoken implication was that she could also spend some of that time out with Hiccup, taking him out for proper boyfriend-girlfriend dates without having to hide their relationship. He sighed and glanced up at the Graduation gown, hanging ready to be donned.

They had it all worked out...until life intervened once more. And then, the best laid plans had gone sideways...again...

Senior Year.

Becoming a Senior hadn't signalled much of a change for Hiccup. He was a bit taller and a little more cynical but Thuggory and his friends continued their persecution of him, never once considering that he was no threat to them and that he had never made any move to interrupt their own lives. The twins continued to be on-off friends, concentrating on their own projects and craziness while Fishlegs had almost completely devoted himself to Heather and their friendship, leaving Hiccup isolated. What was worse was that there was no longer even the possibility of catching sight of Astrid during the day though she made a concerted effort to text him several times during the day to cheer him up. Especially since he was taking AP classes in all subjects and was working furiously hard.

Two weeks into the school new year, a new student joined the Seniors. She was blonde, petite and sassy and she made no bones that she was interested in Hiccup. What was worse was that he actually knew her: Camilla 'Cami' Bogthorpe, the daughter of the former Mayor of Bogby, a town about fifty miles away. They had spent summers together when they were children and Cami latched onto him as soon as she arrived, grateful to have a familiar face. Knowing how miserable it was to be isolated, Hiccup had generously taken her under his wing, introducing her to his friends and making sure she got to know the rest of the year. Even Thuggory had foregone his favourite pastime-tormenting Hiccup-to leer at the pretty blonde and it had twisted his insides to see her grin back at the darkly handsome jock, her blue eyes glittering. Cami was vivacious and perfectly capable of making up her own mind-but seeing her warm to his tormentor made his world a little darker.