A Promise To Keep

A Surprising Turn

Hiccup stayed with Astrid for another hour, during which, he gave her the first book of the Viking and Dragons series that he was supposed to give her on Monday. Soon, they said goodbye to each other, and Hiccup headed home.

The fear that he had while he was going to the hospital was no longer there as he headed home. He felt such relief, seeing that Astrid was OK, but there was still a sense of unease in him. It was small but bothered him. It was the idea that her incident was a sign. A sign telling him that her time was coming closer. But as he sat on the bus, watching the scenery pass by, he tried not to think too much into it. He didn't want to have another thing to worry about that he already did.

The next day at school, he was finally able to tell people that Astrid was OK when asked and that she should come back to school next week. That allowed the tension around him to subside, but there were others, like Heather, who were not convinced. But, as he said, the next week, Astrid came back, bringing things back to normal. At least, as normal as they were from his point of view.

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

The month of April arrived, with the trees now fully covered with flowers and with the warm wind, the coats were off, and t-shirts were being worn. It was getting close to the Easter holiday, where the students would have their 2-week break.

Another day of school came to an end and students were heading home. Hiccup, as usual, was walking from school. However, he wasn't down the street he would always go to head home. He had his phone in his hands, using a map application to guide him through unfamiliar streets. His eyes were primarily focused on the phone while occasionally looking up to make sure he didn't bump into anything. After walking for 20 minutes from school, he came across a house that was similar to his at the end of the street.

He put his phone away, into his trouser pocket and walked up to the front door. He stood by it, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door.

He waited for about 10 seconds before the door opened. Behind it was a woman in her 40s, with brown eyes and long, blonde that was tied into a ponytail. There were some winkles on her eyes, but nothing too visible.

"Hello? Can I help you?" She asked, looking confused at him.

Hiccup gulped a bit but kept his composure. "Umm... hi. Is... Astrid in?"

The woman gave an even more confusing look. "Whose asking?"

"Hi-Hiccup... ma'am." He answered nervously. The woman looked at him a bit more before turning around, facing the stairs behind her.

"Astrid!" She called out.

"Yes, mum?!" Hiccup heard the familiar voice of Astrid answering, to now he knew as her mother.

"There's a boy named Hiccup, who wants to see you?"

"Oh great! I can take it from here, thanks!" Astrid replied. With that, Astrid's mum slightly closed the door and headed back to whatever she was doing, leaving Hiccup outside. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked around, waiting. Soon, the door opened, revealing Astrid behind it.

She was wearing a simple light blue tank top with dark blue leggings. Her hair was not braided like usual, but instead tied up behind her. Once she opened the door, a smile came upon a face.

"Hey, Hiccup." She greeted. Hiccup waved back before being allowed in the house. "Glad you could make it."

"Your mother... didn't look happy to see me." Hiccup mentioned as he took off his shoes, thinking back to how she was looking at him when she opened the door.

"Oh, don't worry. It's not you, personally. She's just not used to people she doesn't know coming into our house." She explained as the two walked up the stairs. They then walked down a small corridor where she opened wide a door in the middle.