TWENTY EIGHT.

"You're lying!" Atali spat. "These are clearly fakes. You can't come in!"

Hiccup felt anxiety tighten his stomach as he faced the vicious girl opposite him. Atali's green eyes flashed with malice and her expression twisted her pretty face. Her titian hair was swept up into a sleek bun and she wore an elegant and expensive sleeveless black gown with a large satin bow on her hip and a glittering necklace around her throat. Atali was acting exactly as he had anticipated and for a moment, a wave of hopeless resignation swept over him. This was just what had happened the last year and-to a lesser extent-for much of his life. Just when something looked good, fate or the Norns would throw some giant spanner in the works and his life would take a turn for the worst. Automatically, he shifted his weight slightly onto his right leg, his prosthesis clicking softly as he took a deep breath.

"Then you have a problem," he said clearly. Atali pressed her lips together in a furious expression.

"The nerve, you one-legged thief!" she snapped. "Trying to pass off fake tickets..." He frowned.

"Actually, I bought the tickets in good faith from one of your committee," Hiccup repeated. He pulled a folded packet of papers from his inside pocket. "I was issued with an official receipt." Atali frowned as she saw it, stamped with the Prom stamp and then tossed her head.

"I decided Justin wasn't allowed to sell tickets because he would sell one to you," she announced breezily. "So I made sure he was only given fake tickets."

"Have you heard yourself?" Astrid asked her, her voice edged with anger. Hiccup could feel her grip tighten ferociously on his arm and he almost winced. "You are sounding crazy."

"So you believe that because you are on the Prom committee that you can hand out fake tickets?" he asked Atali. The redhead gave a smug smile.

"Fakes."

"It doesn't matter," Hiccup told her sternly. "I paid money in good faith. I received a receipt in return for what I thought were real tickets. Justin sold what he believed were real tickets." He turned over another piece of paper. "And the money has been deposited in the Prom account of which you are the signatory. Here is the deposit receipt. So therefore you took money for fake goods which you supplied. You've just admitted to fraud."

Atali stared at him.

"Fraud is a criminal offence," he told her clearly. "So I'm calling the police. Now."

"They wouldn't waste their time coming to a High School Prom," she said hastily, her eyes still mocking. He leaned closer.

"Have you forgotten who my father is?" he asked her softly. "Dad worked for the Tourist and Island Development Board for twenty years and he knows everyone! One phone call and the Chief of Police will be here in person to arrest you!" The girl glared back at him.

"You're bluffing!" she hissed.

"Am I?" he asked her simply. "You see, you're deluding yourself, Atali. Prom is a School event, not your personal party. So you don't get to exclude people who you don't like because, as a Senior, I have an equal right to you to attend. Irrespective of whether you are on the Prom Committee or not. You see, everything you did to make the Prom happen doesn't matter at all when it comes to who has a right to attend."

"I'm the Chair of Prom Committee, you one-legged worm, and I say who attends!" she spat. Hiccup unfolded another piece of paper.

"Nope," he told her bluntly. "You see, after your little outburst in the lunchroom, I went to see Principal Queen and she confirmed that everyone has a right to attend-despite your nasty, dirty tricks." He turned over the email and showed it to her, rewarded by her mouth dropping open and face paling. "So she sent this email to every staff member-including all of those here and copied to me, just in case-so they all know that any Senior who attends with the money for a ticket MUST be allowed into Prom, no matter what you say."

"But...but..."

"So by my reckoning, you have two choices," Hiccup told her firmly. "You either honour these perfectly good Prom tickets and allow my beautiful girlfriend and I to enter or we call over Mr Grimborn who appears to be hovering just behind Fishlegs, trying to work out what is going on and he can explain the Principal's wishes to you in words of one syllable which your tiny brain may be able to understand. You see I have the money for two more tickets in me...and if I have to hand it over, I will...but that will them mean the police WILL be called because you have defrauded me and already taken my money once for fake tickets. That will be a nice Prom memory for you, won't it?" His voice hardened. "Your choice."

"It's all her fault!" Atali spat, a finger stabbing at Astrid. "All Nerdstrid had to do was accept her place!"

"Excuse me?" Astrid snapped, her eyes flashing. Hiccup wrapped an arm around her slender waist to try to restrain her. All his plans relied on them getting in without Astrid getting excluded for brawling at the entrance.

"You should have been grateful for being included by me and my girls," Atali told her superiorly. "You knew what we wanted-so you should have taken us to see your Uncle and visited his film set as soon as we graciously included you in our group!"

"And then you would have dumped me like day old trash," Astrid murmured. The redhead smiled condescendingly.

"Maybe," she smirked.

Certainly, her eyes confirmed.

"And maybe you should have realised that as someone far smarter than you, I would see through your obvious attempts to befriend me solely for what you could get out of me," Astrid told her bluntly. "Yes, I was flattered because no one likes being alone and treated badly for so long-but being pretty and well-off doesn't make you friend material. It makes you a caricature, a person who represents everything that is wrong with the culture in our school. It makes you shallow, vain and blinded by your own prejudices and propaganda so you cannot see what really matters. Friendship should be based on honesty, decency, caring, shared interests and values. It took me only a couple of days with you to realise you were never friend material. You wanted a pet, not a friend!" She flicked her icy gaze over at Tora and Kari, who were hovering behind their leader, dressed in plain black satin strapless evening gowns. "I see your current puppies got the dress code and are obediently waiting for you to snap your fingers for them!"

Atali flung a hateful look at her.

"You're not coming in!" she hissed.

"Mr Grimborn!" Hiccup called and waved and, to Atali's horror, the stern Deputy Principal walked forward.

"Is there a problem, Mr Haddock?" he asked, his dark eyes sweeping over Atali. Hiccup could see him taking in the receipts, the email and the tickets. "Ms Winger?'

"I believe Atali was just about to stamp our tickets for entry," Hiccup said. "She was telling us that someone has been circulating fake tickets but that she would never penalise someone who bought a ticket in good faith when someone else committed a criminal act to ruin their Prom through selfishness and spite. After all, Prom is the one social event that all of us Seniors have every right to attend to celebrate the end of our school career!"

Behind Atali, Tuff and Ruff were sniggering, Heather was trying to hide her grin and Fishlegs seemed to be having a bout of coughing. Dagur-who had drifted over to see what the hold-up was-was also grinning broadly.

"While I admire your public-spirited attitude, Ms Winger, perhaps you should defer your gossiping until everyone is safely admitted," the teacher told her shortly. "There appears to be quite a line formed while you have gassed. Hurry up and admit them!"

"Let me," Hiccup said, reaching over, grabbing the stamp and smartly stamping the back of the disputed tickets. ADMITTED gleamed up at him like a personal triumph. He smiled brightly at Atali as he scooped up his papers and the tickets. "Thank you kindly," he added and swept Astrid through to join their friends.

"Take over!" Atali spat at Tora and swept into the Gym, shoving past the group of friends, her cheeks flaming with anger and humiliation. Mr Grimborn cocked an eyebrow, having read the subtext and nodded before he returned to the Gym while Astrid kissed Hiccup on the cheek.

"That was brilliant!" she told him, smiling in relief. "I thought I would have to punch her..."

"Which was precisely what I was trying to avoid," Hiccup confessed. "I have no doubt you could have flattened her and probably put her in traction but that would have meant you missed out on the evening as well. And that would have broken my heart." She rested a hand on his cheek.

"I would never want to miss spending time with my brilliant boyfriend," she admitted, leaning against him. "You had an answer for everything."

"Would you really have called the cops on her?" Dagur asked. Hiccup looked into his pale green eyes and then nodded.

"I would do anything for Astrid-and nothing would stop me from punishing someone who tried to steal her Prom," he said seriously. "Atali is motivated solely by spite and sometimes, people who are entitled and use their advantages to hurt others for no good reason need to learn that actions have consequences."

"You mean that one day, she'll meet someone meaner and nastier than her and on that day, she may regret not choosing to treat others with respect and decency," Heather commented.

"I would have actually said that one day she'll meet a bigger and meaner bitch but you said it better," Ruff confessed. "Now can we go and have some fun?"

They all headed in and paused, impressed at the beautiful decorations. The Committee had outdone themselves and Justin and Tuff entered a very serious discussion about how much was too much in the field of interior design. There were round tables set throughout the back half of the Gym, each set with ten places, crisp white tablecloths and white and red flowers. Juniors dressed all in black pants and polo shirts were acting as servers, circulating with fruit punch and soft drinks and trays of canapés. Seniors were laughing and joking in groups while music played softly in the background. Teachers were circulating as well, joking with their pupils and congratulating them on their school careers. Hiccup spotted Atali, standing with Eret and Thuggory with a sour look on her face.

The group took their time in getting photos taken, singly, in couples and as a gang, precious memories that they could look back on in years to come. Hiccup, Fishlegs and Tuffnut also snapped some pictures on their phones and Tuffnut decided he was an internationally famous photographer, leading to him lying on the ground to get a worm's eye view of the group...until Ruff trod on him on purpose. Then they all grabbed drinks and snacks.

"Hey Astrid-these canapés aren't anywhere near as good as your Mom's!" Ruff called cheerfully.

"Oh thank Thor," Astrid murmured. "She was fretting about them all week. I swear Finn and I have eaten nothing but canapés for the last three days while she made sure they were perfect!"

"I could have survived on those croquettes for a week," Fishlegs admitted.

"Your Mom is a great cook," Hiccup added but Astrid sagged.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" she grumbled half-heartedly. He squeezed her hand.

"My dear Astrid-I know you aren't really a cook...but that doesn't matter," he said honestly. "I can cook well enough for the both of us. You can wave an axe like a proper Norse warrior, act, look amazing, throw a spear like a Greek warrior, speak three languages, grasp anything in science almost before the teacher has finished explaining it and you're smart, sassy and beautiful..." He blushed as a smile lit her face and he cleared his throat. "Um...my point is that we all have different strengths and weaknesses and quite honestly, if you could cook as well, I may as well just go and hide in a cave because there would be nothing left for me to do..." She smiled and dipped her head.

"Except you always know what to say to make me feel better," she told him. "You're patient while I'm hot-headed. You protect me and care for me like no one every has before. And I know that you are absolutely perfect for me..." She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. "Never fear that you aren't my equal, Mr 'Top marks in every year he had been in even when he was a jock asshole'." His eyes widened in mock indignation.

"I'll have you know that wouldn't even fit on my sports kit labels," he protested. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is bad enough..."

The twins made vomiting noises loudly enough to jolt them back to the fact the rest of the group were photographing them and making comments about how cute they were. Justin looked like he was about to burst into tears while Fishlegs was definitely dabbing the corners of his eyes.

"Guys-let's grab a table," Astrid suggested, glancing around and seeing that the tables were starting to be occupied. Only the head table-Atali's, of course-had a specified seating plan, meaning the other tables were at the discretion of the students, so they could choose who they wanted to sit with. Mindful of who Atali would choose for her table, the gang found a table to one side, by the large windows that still cast light from the bright sunny Berkian evening into the Gym. Hiccup and Astrid, Fishlegs and Heather, the twins, Justin and Dagur all took their seats and then glanced at the two vacant seats. Hiccup shrugged.

"Whoever wants to sit with us is welcome," he said. "Because we know that the people who don't like us won't want to."

"Are these seats taken?" A familiar voice made them all look up as Snotlout and Mindy stood by the empty seats. Mindy was in a satin navy blue full length gown with a bow on the left shoulder and a sparkling choker while Snotlout was in a traditional dinner suit with navy tux and bow tie. The gang all exchanged looks and Heather smiled.

"Not at all-please join us," she said and Mindy gave a genuine smile. The raven-haired girl guessed that Atali had been giving her a hard time for thwarting her plans for a double date with Eret and Thuggory. They had glanced at Atali's table and seen her minions' names by places there, presumably acting as dates for Thuggory and Moomin to maintain her illusion of being the Queen Bee with her Football Star dates. It had shaken Heather that her friend-or more accurately, the girl who had acted as a friend for the previous three and a bit years-had so much desperation to cling to her idealised image that she was willing to spend her Senior Prom with a couple of clingy wannabe Juniors and three Senior Football players, none of whom were actually more than acquaintances. Then she shrugged: whatever made the other girl happy, provided her happiness didn't cause others misery. Sadly, Heather suspected that Atali hadn't finished in her campaign to try to make herself look better at Astrid's expense.

Mindy began chatting to Ruff while Snotlout and Dagur entered a debate over who was likely to be in the Football Team the following year and the time passed pleasantly as the young servers came round with appetisers of mackerel pate with melba toast, pickled nordic vegetables and micro-leaves. Fruit cordial and sparkling water was on every table and the Seniors tucked in without hesitation. After those were cleared away, there was the entree of roasted reindeer and yak, with fondant potatoes, buttered carrots, spring greens, sliced beans and rich gravy which had the Vikings among them inwardly cheering. Most Seniors had feared that Atali would allow her desire to show off overtake any sense and mean she would serve up some haute cuisine meal that would fail to satisfy the rather traditional Berkian palate. Hiccup was smiling knowing this was a meal that his father would honestly relish while Astrid tucked in as Justin explained to them that Atali had, in fact, wanted a showpiece-and incredibly expensive-'molecular' entree but she had been outvoted by everyone-including her minions, Kari and Tora.

"This is Berk. It's big hunks of meat and piles of veg all the way-even among those of us who wanted a more inclusive theme," Justin had explained with a grin over his pink dress shirt and rainbow bowtie. "I expected her to try to frame me for your ticket and I am grateful that you stood up for me..." Hiccup shrugged.

"You did nothing wrong and you were the only one with the courage to do the right thing, rather than just go along with Atali's nasty games," he admitted and raised his glass to Justin. "And thanks to you for all your work in putting this together. I think we all know that Atali didn't dirty her hands putting all these decorations up or organising this!"

"To Justin!" the others solemnly said and toasted him with fruit punch. Tuff nudged him.

"Good work, my man," he commented.

"I used your suggestions in the hallways," Justin commented, sipping his sparkling water. "They made for a stunning display that even Atali was speechless about!" Ruff rolled her eyes.

"Now he'll be unbearable," she groaned. Heather chuckled.

"Tuff knows his interior design...even if it's an acquired taste," she pointed out.

"I absolutely refuse to follow the crowd," the male twin put in loftily. "One day, you will all be begging me to decorate your apartments!" There was a pause and then everyone burst out laughing. Tuff deflated. "It could happen," he protested.

"Not in my lifetime!"Astrid told him directly. "Tuff-you suggested that a stuffed shark is the essential ornament for small rooms. When in fact a stuffed shark would fill most small rooms rendering them useless!"

"I object to any stuffed animals," Justin put in. "It's just sad."

"Et tu, Justin? And I thought we were friends!" Tuff moaned and dabbed at his eyes dramatically with a napkin.

"Gerroff my napkin!" Dagur grumbled, snatching it back. "Yours is still on your lap!"

"WHAAAAAA!" Tuff howled.

"He gets like this every time when someone disses the shark," Ruff noted conversationally as the servers removed their empty plates and brought round slices of lemon tart, vanilla Chantilly cream and mint and black pepper shortbread. Deftly, she stole Tuff's shortbread.

"Unhand my cookie, woman!" Tuff said, all tears suddenly gone. Grinning, Ruff took a huge bite of it-and then Tuff leapt on her. The pair hit the floor and began rolling around, scuffling. Hiccup's forehead hit the table

"Well, I guess it was too much to ask..." he commented as even Snotlout chuckled.

"Will you two muttonheads cut it out?" he sighed, nudging them with his crutch. "Or I'll steal both your puddings!" Two heads shot up in unison and twin glares left him with an unimpressed look.

"You wouldn't dare!" they growled. Snot grinned.

"Wanna bet your puddings on that?" he asked and there was a scramble as the pair flung themselves back in their seats and curled protectively over their plates, stuffing their faces urgently.

"Amazing," Fishlegs commented. "I have never seen anyone stop them fighting so quickly!" Snotlout flipped him an ironic salute.

"I have younger cousins on Mom's side," he revealed. "And sometimes I have to babysit when they come over and the adults are drinking. They're not that different from the twins except about ten years younger. And smaller. But behaviour...almost the same!" Astrid eyed him up with a thoughtful expression.

"Any other hidden depths you have?" she asked. He glanced around and then leaned closer.

"I grow tomatoes," he whispered. "In the fitness room at home-it's always warm and well-lit. Dad thinks they're some form of medicinal herb. But Mom wanted me to do something she likes as well as all of Dad's exercise regimes. And it does give you a buzz when you see them grow and flourish..."

"What feed do you use?" Fishlegs asked, ever the botanist. "And which strains?" Heather leaned towards Mindy and gave a sympathetic smile.

"I think it may take a while to get them back," she shrugged. "So how are things going with you and Snot?" But before Mindy could open her mouth, a voice cut across the group as three bulky shapes loomed over them.

"Ah-the loser's table," Thuggory said.