October 25th-Humiliation/October 26th Abandoned

Hiccup didn't even greet his father as he entered their two story log house. He ran up the stairs, backpack slung over his shoulder and laptop under his right arm. His auburn hair swayed as he threw himself onto his bed, crumbled up green shirt sticking to his sweating skin do to his run home. He rolled up the left pant leg of his brown leggings and removed his prosthetic from his sore stump.

He'd thought they were his friends. Two boys who went to his high school named Dogsbreath and Clueless by their peers. Hiccup had never had people as close as him. Even his and his own father's relationship was strained.

Dogsbreath decided he was too thin to be a part of their 'strong' group and Clueless-being a follower-went with it. Hiccup's cousin Snotlout hated him, and though he was sort-of friends with Fishlegs Ingerman who was a grade higher than him, but the geeky boy was so busy with band and his club meets for different studies they could hardly hang out.

Then there was Astrid Hofferson. She was his first and only crush. Her beautiful blond hair, that blue tank top, jean shorts, wrist pains, and strong, tones limbs she sported while playing soccer. She was the top of the team and always had her hair in a braid that he admired. She was the only girl on the team who wore leather boots instead of sneakers.

Berk High didn't really have a dress code.

Of course there was Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but they were so close with Snotlout they refused to spend time with him in public. Sometimes Hiccup would join in on their prank wars but that was about it.

Dogsbreath and Clueless weren't very intelligent, and Hiccup had come to find out they were only friends with him because he was above average in his grade level and could help them with their homework.

Over the past two years, ever since he started Freshmen year at Berk High, Hiccup had been so busy with his stories and art he posted online for decent spending money, working part time at a garage with his mentor Gobber, working on his studies as his anxiety made him afraid to get lower grades for fear of being judged, and doctor's appointments for his leg...Hiccup had begun loosing weight rapidly. He wanted to be bigger and stronger, but he just forgot to eat often. He was also almost always skateboarding with his service dog named Toothless who was also missing a leg, so he burned calories quickly. Add in a high metabolism inherited by his now deceased mother, and he was the only 5'4 kid in the Senior class who only weight 90 pounds.

This was the reason Dogsbreath decided he wasn't strong enough to be a part of their 'skating gang'. A stupid name for a group of two boys who thought they were on top of the flipping world.

Hiccup opened his laptop while laying face down on his bed. He opened his Insta-Chat account where he wrote stories for people in order to earn money. He also posted pictures of him doing things like working at the garage with his prosthetic leg removed in an attempt to inspire other people like him.

Hiccup went through and scanned over the comments on his most recent post of him and Gobber wearing scary masks for Dreadfall. About twenty of said comments were about his thin structure. Six were hate, four were mentioning it among other things, and the other ten were girls and guys alike asking how he stayed as thin as he did.

Little did they know he didn't want to be this way.

The other thirty four comments on his picture were either asking how to request his work, promoting their own profiles, asking about the hours of The Garage, or making funny jokes about the masks that were so stupid Hiccup just had to laugh.

Then...one comment caught Hiccup off guard. Not what it said, but who it was from.

The profile was 'Nadder_Astrid', aka Astrid Hofferson from school. Hiccup's was NightFury_Haddock.

Hiccup read the comment a few times over.

I didn't know you worked at Gobber's shop! My dad takes his car there all the time! Love the masks. Actually, I don't often see you in school. You're always so busy but I've been meaning to ask you about something. My friends Thorsten_Ruffnut and Whip_Heather on here keep asking me if I can get you to help us out with something. Our team is in need of a strong pair of arms for carrying stuff around since our coaches assistant moved out of state. NightFury_Haddock, if you get this, please message me. For some reason, they see you a good fit.

Hiccup was beyond confused. Astrid wanted him to help out with the girl's soccer team? Of course he couldn't play because of the gender thing, but it seemed the team needed someone to carry equipment. He could do that. It was pretty much what he did at work. Well that and being an apprentice to Gobber until he was 18 and could legally work there on his own.

Hiccup was nervous as he went to send a private message to Astrid's profile. His fingers shook and he had to delete his message over and over again.

Nadder_Astrid, I got your comment on my post. I would be happy to help you guys out. It's pretty much the same thing I do at The Garage and Gobber won't mind me taking a few hours a week off in the beginning to learn the reigns. I totally understand if you would want someone stronger, just trying to be a help.

Astrid didn't message immediately, so Hiccup went to bed early and planned on talking to her at school.

Unfortunately he didn't know that a certain cousin had seen the comment Astrid had left.

---

The next day

Hiccup didn't even want to go to school. He hated school. He hated everyone there. He hated this.

Snotlout, Hiccup's cousin, had taken a screen shot of Astrid's comment. He then copied one of his pictures from his profile and edited it to make him look even thinner than he was with the background behind him being green slime.

He's written a whole paragraph on his post about Hiccup. Saying how he was in no-way jealous because he knew Astrid-who was apparently just playing 'hard to get'-was trying to get Hiccup to help because she pitied the kid who had no friends. He talked about Hiccup's mom dying in the car accident that took Hiccup's left leg. He said it was Hiccup's fault, that his own father had said Hiccup was throwing a tantrum like a toddler in the back seat and he had caused his mom to swerve during the storm. He said Hiccup snuggled with his service dog at night during storms because he was scared of storms like a baby-though he made sure not to logically say it was caused by PTSD.

The worst part was when Snotlout talked about Hiccup's father. Said that even Stoick hated his son for being so thin and weak. He said Astrid should never like him, made lies about Hiccup being bisexual which was not well accepted at the high school.

Hiccup was utterly humiliated. Snotlout-being a football jock-was followed by pretty much every person in school.

Hiccup lost 200 followers because of it.

He got comments saying he was awful for killing his mom.

People were telling him to kill himself.

Football players who liked Astrid were telling him to fuck off because she only pitied him do to his handicap.

Eventually Hiccup just decided he wasn't going to school. His father wasn't there in the mornings and Hiccup had perfect attendance other than today so no one would be calling Stoick about the absence. He instead read and wrote, drawing when someone would comment something that made him especially angry.

The hours flew by, and eventually Hiccup heard the school bus passing by his house. He refused to go outside. He wasn't going to be bullied by these people face to face.

Hiccup missed his mother. She was more connected to him then his father had ever been. She taught him how to draw, didn't mind his stutter when he was younger, and was one of the reasons he was so good at reading.

Now she was gone, and everyone at school thought it was the skinny, thought-to-be bisexual, one legged, awkward boy's fault.

Lost in his thoughts, Hiccup didn't realize someone was at the door until they knocked loudly for the third time.

Bracing himself for the worst with Toothless at his side, Hiccup quickly brushed through his tussled hair and straightened his shirt before opening the door.

He was surprised to see Astrid. At first he thought she'd accuse him of whatever everyone else was, but then he saw she didn't look upset. She looked...sad and worried.

"Can I come in? I want to talk to you?"

Forcing himself not to blush that Astrid was practically inviting herself into his house, Hiccup stretched his arm out gesturing for her to come inside. Astrid-ever the confident athlete-stretched her arms and sat herself down on the recliner, her legs crossed and hands in her lap. Her hair was a little messy and her face was red.

They must've had a hard practice that day.

"You have parents home? Uncles? Aunts?" Astrid asked as if in a regular conversation with someone she knew well. Hiccup shook his head and stood in front of her after locking the door.

"No. Dad's a business man and is hardly home on school days. Can I get you anything? Tea? Water?"

Astrid raised an eyebrow at Hiccup and began stretching her body over her crossed legs to ease the pain in her joints from practice. She looked at Hiccup from the corner of her eyes who was trying not to stare at the rather visible cleavage her tank-top exposed when she bent over.

"You got coffee? Black please."

Hiccup smiled somehow liking how calm and friendly she was as if they'd been friends forever. It made him feel nice.

"Sure. French Roast?"

"That'll do."

Hiccup made Astrid her coffee and grabbed himself a canned Root-Bear from the fridge. He also grabbed them both a handful of grapes in small orange plastic bowls.

They both ate in silence before Astrid decided there needed to be more talking in the room.

"I saw what Snotlout said. Please don't believe him. I would never date him yet he believes he owns me. The whole football team thinks I'm a total damsel because of him. I don't believe anything he said. I know you would never cause someone to die. I also don't mind your thin structure at all. Ruffnut's brother is as thin as you and he's an athlete."

Hiccup smiled to himself and blushed a little. He was surprised when Astrid moved from the recliner so she could sit next to him on the couch.

"Thanks. It means a lot that you're not one of the many people who think I'm a total screw up."

Astrid rolled her eyes and threw her arm around Hiccup's shoulder in a comforting way, gesturing with her free hand energetically as she spoke.

"Your cousin is Snotlout, Hiccup. I feel bad for you honestly."

Hiccup chuckled a little bit to himself at that. The duo chatted for a while longer about the soccer team and stupid jocks until Astrid's mother called her asking where she was. Hiccup led her out and let her take a coffee for the road.

He could get used to the rather confident Hofferson woman.