For a moment, I considered not opening the door. For the first time in a long while, I didn't want to see him. He didn't know I was in love with him or that he had ripped my heart out, but it hurt so damn much at this point. How much more could I take before I exploded and screamed it in his face? What happened with Stacy yesterday had almost been the final straw. What was next?

He texted me saying he was at the door. He wouldn't leave, I knew that. As soon as he noticed I was acting differently, he'd want to talk about it. So I got up, took a deep breath, and let him in with a smile. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom."

He gave me that special smile of his, even if it had lost some of its shine. "It's all good." He placed his shoes in their spot and followed me to the dining room. "I think there's not much to do today anyway."

I stayed standing next to my chair and turned to him. He stopped too and studied my face. "Well, because we already finished the homework and there's not much left from the 11th-grade material. Just World War II, a bit about Mexico, evolution, and the rest of the Spanish vocab."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know." Then I looked away, sat down, and opened my Spanish book.

He remained standing for a few seconds, confused. "Is everything okay?" Carefully, he sat down beside me. I stared at the table of contents, but from the corner of my eye, I could see him watching me.

"Yes," I replied curtly.

While I searched for the right page, he kept staring. He didn't take out his materials or move an inch. His eyes just traced the outline of my face. Once I found the introduction to the Mexico section, I sighed and forced myself to look at him, too. "Are you going to get your stuff out so we can start?"

He ignored me. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Doesn't sound like nothing." Like I said, he wouldn't drop it.

"I said I'm fine, can you-"

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't be acting so weird."

"I-" I began, but stopped myself. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to start right now. So I went with the first lie that came to mind. "I'm just having a bad day, okay? Can you please get your things out?"

He studied me. "Is it because of yesterday?"

My heart leapt into my throat again. Last night, I'd hoped Stacy had lied, but apparently she hadn't. He had known, he had told her where I would be. I had to look away or I'd start crying.

"Yes," I said, my voice trembling, hopefully not noticeably.

He let out a deep breath. "It's never easy visiting the grave. It feels like losing them all over again."

My brain scrambled. He wasn't saying anything about Stacy? Seriously? Or had my hope not been for nothing after all? Maybe he didn't know?

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"That it gets easier because you move on, but every time you stand in front of that stone and read the inscription, it's like day one all over again. You're reminded that they're lying beneath the ground, never coming back. That they'll never walk through the front door again and you'll never hear their voice. It gets to you and can really ruin your mood. So I get why you're like this today."

Tears welled up as I looked at him. His gaze rested on me, full of sadness and understanding. He didn't know, she had actually lied. He really thought it was just because I was reminded of her death, not because his insane girlfriend had literally threatened me there. He was naive, so damn naive, but anyone in love was. I wouldn't tell him today, I didn't want to ruin the time I had with him. Instead, I hugged him and let the tears fall. He immediately pulled me close and stroked my hair.

"It's okay," he mumbled in my ear. "You're not alone. You never will be again."

Oh, Hiccup, what are you doing to me?

My heart could've burst with happiness and relief, but instead, it did me the favor of just beating fast and strong. Every part of my body that touched his tingled and felt warm. He felt warm, like a cozy blanket on the couch in winter. A beautiful feeling.

I pulled away and tried to sit upright again, but he cupped my face in his hands and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. We were so close I could feel his breath on my skin. My heart was bungee-jumping inside my chest, not that Hiccup seemed to notice, since he was distracted by my messy bangs, which he brushed from my eyes. If I leaned forward just a little, I could kiss him. Feel his lips on mine, like I'd wanted for months.

That thought made me look into his green eyes, which were already locked on mine, I smiled at him and sat up straighter, so he couldn't hold my face anymore. I might not like Stacy, but as I'd promised her, I wouldn't try to steal him away since I wasn't that kind of bitch. Hiccup had to realize it on his own and come to me himself.

I cleared my throat. "Alright, let's finally get started."

He gave me that special smile again, this time with its old glow.

❁

"No, Dad ... Dad, you can't do this to me," I said desperately, chasing after him. "This is the worst of the worst. Please, please don't."

He turned to me, clearly resigned. "What am I supposed to do? You know how your grandmother is, she always invites herself."

"Yes and I could handle her on her own, but does Aunt Lydia really have to come with her demon triplets? That'll ruin all of Thanksgiving."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. They've already made all the plans and you know they'll be on our doorstep next week."

I groaned in frustration. "Can't we just go to Grandma and Grandpa's?"

He shook his head. "Nope, they're out of town."

I groaned again, this time louder. "Why do they suddenly want to spend the holiday with us?"

He gave me a knowing look, and the reason dawned on me. "Because of Mom. Your grandmother said she wants to see how we're doing."

"Yeah, sure," I rolled my eyes. "Like she ever cared."

He gave me an apologetic smile. "It's just one day, we'll survive. I've got to go, love you."

"Love you too," I said through gritted teeth and stayed standing in the hallway for a moment after he left. Thanksgiving was officially my hate holiday this year, hopefully they wouldn't show up at Christmas too.

When I dragged myself upstairs and threw myself on the bed, I vented in our group. I told them how my cousins always teased me and acted so superior just because they won competitions and all that crap. Jack and Elsa still didn't know I figure skated, since it had just never come up before, and now didn't feel like the right time to bring it up either, so I kept it to myself.

The three of them were totally on my side, calling them annoying, two-faced bitches and wishing me Hulk-level strength for Thanksgiving. I was going to need it. Even the next day at school, they kept telling me I'd make it through.

"You're better than them because you're a better person," Elsa tried to cheer me up. "You don't look down on anyone, you work hard, and you're a great friend. Don't let them make you think otherwise."

"They never actually say anything directly," I said, leaning against my locker. "They just bring their latest medals and rub their success in my face."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Because that's all that matters in life." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"If you've got no personality, flaunting medals is all that's left," Hiccup added supportively, flashing me a grin. Then his gaze shot down the hallway and the grin faded a little. "I have to go, see you in class." With that, he hurried off.

The three of us exchanged confused looks and turned to see where he went. Of course, there was Stacy beaming at him. She threw me a quick, sharp, warning glance before Hiccup reached her and they kissed. I looked away.

"He's not even walking you to class anymore?" Elsa said, her face twisted in disgust.

"Looks like it," I said, slamming my locker shut.

"I really hope he changes his mind soon," Jack said, taking Elsa's hand. "He's wasting his time with her."

I shrugged. "We'll see. Catch you later."

That's how the whole week went. We'd meet outside the building, walk in, Stacy showed up and Hiccup vanished until class started. Obviously, it was part of her plan to keep me away from him, only in class was he still sitting next to me. At lunch, he sat with her friends at a different table, which annoyed Jack and Elsa as much as it annoyed me, but what could we do? It was his choice, even if it was a stupid one.

Then Thanksgiving came and I just wanted to die. They weren't arriving until the afternoon, but the entire day was already ruined the moment I woke up. I couldn't think of anything but the metallic smell of their medals being shoved in my face. Couldn't I have just gotten sick? Then I could at least give them a little parting gift.

My dad wasn't in a better mood either, since he disliked the family just as much. "It's just one day, we can make it. Just one day." He said it like a mantra while preparing the salad for later. I helped with the side dishes, my grandmother was bringing the turkey since she didn't trust him with it. What a load of crap.

When the doorbell rang just before four o'clock, I wished I'd dug a hole in the backyard to crawl into. That would've been much more preferable.

My dad opened the door, both of us wearing forced smiles. My grandmother stood right there, back straight and chin slightly raised. Her dark hair was neatly curled, and she held the turkey in its packaging. Behind her stood Aunt Lydia, also with curled dark hair, and next to her were the three little devils, who, surprise surprise, also had their hair curled. They'd copied Grandmother in everything since they were little, even her appearance.

"Margaret, Lydia, hello," my dad said.

"Ned," Grandmother replied curtly. "Are we allowed inside or should we eat on the doorstep?"

As friendly as ever.

My dad stepped aside and opened the door wider so they could come in. As they passed, both Grandmother and Aunt Lydia gave me a once-over, judgmental glances that I had to fight not to roll my eyes at. My three cousins stopped in front of me.

"Hello, Astrid," they all said in unison, flashing their deceitful smiles.

"Hello," I answered.

They giggled and disappeared into the kitchen, where the others had already gathered. I didn't move. I didn't want to go in there, didn't want to be torn down and hear only the bad things. I'd been doing so well these past months. I was somewhat happy, even with a broken heart, I had friends again, good grades, was ice skating. They'd destroy all that in three seconds with just a few words.

"Astrid, where are you?" Grandmother called. My dad stood in the doorway, giving me a questioning look.

Then a spontaneous idea hit me, and without thinking it through, I ran with it. "Uh, sorry, but I forgot that a friend is coming over to study with me."

My dad raised an eyebrow, my grandmother appeared next to him. "Oh really?"

"Yes, he just texted me he's on his way. Totally slipped my mind." I really was getting better at lying.

"Hm," she said, eyeing me from head to toe. Apparently, jeans and a blouse weren't tidy enough. "If you've already made plans, then you should stick to them. Cancelling is always rude."

I attempted a smile. She disappeared back into the kitchen, and my dad grinned at me. He knew it was a lie. Now I just had to hope the other half would play along.

So I rushed to my room, grabbed my phone off the nightstand, and dialed Hiccup's number. He picked up after the second ring. "Yes?"

"Hiccup, I need a favor."