Typical Nerd

Chapter 39

2 years later...

Elsa's POV

It's been 2 years. A lot of things happened over those span of years.

High school at Berk wasn't as fun as I had expected it to be. We graduated, but it didn't even feel special. The atmosphere was just not the same. When Astrid left. When Hiccup's father died. Relationships were broken.

I never heard anything from Astrid over the past years. She stayed silent. That heartless girl. But then again, she went to her grandparents' place in the countryside. Maybe telecommunication isn't possible for her. But she sure did cause a lot of trouble when she left.

Her gang... was just not the same. They were together for the first few days when Astrid had left, but then they started to cause a ruckus at school with their daily fights. It was quite a mess for a while, until one day, people didn't see them together anymore. Ruff and Tuff were the only ones who actually acknowledged each other, but with Fishlegs and Snotlout... they all just gave each other the cold shoulder. It was as if there was no history of friendship in them at all. They were like complete strangers!

But the relationship that had my heart broken the most was Jack's and Hiccup's. I never would have imagined that their lifelong friendship could end just like that. It just wasn't possible.

Hiccup was the one who changed the most in my opinion. Ever since his father died, he started to involve himself with things less. Jack had tried to reach out to him, but he never really succeeded.

He tried to understand Hiccup at first, thinking that he just needed time and that he was still grieving. Still, he tried his very best to get Hiccup back to his normal self. He did everything that he could, even if it costed him his pride. But what really made Jack start to lose his patience was when Hiccup had decided to quit the basketball team. I still remember their conversation that day.

"Already?? You haven't even played any tournaments yet!" Jack had confronted Hiccup once he heard the news.

"I decided to just focus on my academics this time. Sorry, Jack. That's what dad would have wanted."

"No. I think Stoick would have wanted you to live and continue doing what you love! He would have wanted you to never give up and continue to aim high for for your passion!"

When Jack said that, Hiccup shot him a glare.

"I'm sorry, but this is for the best. Who are you to even talk about my father like that.." Hiccup had muttered the last part, but we were still able to hear it. I still remember how hurt Jack looked after hearing those words from him. It was an emotion that I have never seen him wear before.

"Dude, you're going too far. I've spent almost half of my life with you and your father. I'm the one who knows you best."

Hiccup just sighed heavily and turned away.

"I'm gonna say this one more time. I'm sorry. But my decision is final. I'm not changing my mind."

Jack was so mad that day and all I could do was comfort him. I told him that there may be things that we don't know about, or that maybe Hiccup was carrying a lot more on his shoulders than we thought. Jack just nodded at my theory and left it at that.

But even when weeks have already passed, Jack still ate with me at my table during lunch, and Hiccup would sit in another. Jack had tried so hard to approach him and try to make them eat together once again, but Hiccup always pushed him away. Hiccup would just eat silently and only looked down on his food. Although there were times I could see him glancing quickly at where Astrid used to sit at lunch time when she was here. Hiccup wouldn't allow anyone to sit at his table except for just one person. Merida.