EIGHT:

As Finn pulled up outside the School, there were beautifully-dressed seniors milling around and the anxious shape of Heather waiting, looking stunning in a fitted strapless silver gown. Dagur was at her side, his Tuxedo pressed and a bronze bow tie at his throat. He looked uncomfortable and the shapes of the other jocks, all teasing him probably wasn't helping. Astrid unfastened her safety belt before she smiled to her Uncle.

"You have a fabulous time, Astrid," he murmured and kissed her cheek. "Call me when you want to be picked up and I'll be there."

"What will you be doing?" she asked and he grinned.

"Leisurely bath, a super-hot pizza and binge-watching 'Guess My Vegetable'," he admitted without shame. "Gods, I miss a normal life. And that show...it's just like being home..." Astrid chuckled and opened the door. She had fond memories of her Father and Uncle sitting in front of the TV watching the hit game show, each with a can of mead in his hand and yelling the answers in the 'speed vegetable' round from before her Dad had died.

"Have fun," she laughed and watched him drive off as she turned to her friends.

"Astrid!" Heather's yell coincided with her running forward to hug her. "I thought you weren't coming!" Hugging her back, the blonde gave a shrug.

"I was out with Finn and we just lost track of time," she said. "I mean, we were catching up. I've been out of contact for three years and...well, it was just like being back to before Dad died." The raven-haired girl looked ashamed at her irritation and sighed.

"It's fine," she sighed. "I sometimes forget how lucky we all are to have all our family. It's just...Dag was just getting a bit worried..." But Astrid sighed.

"I always keep my word," she reminded her friend. "Even though it feels like I'm just doing this to make Dag feel okay. I know this is a big thing for you all but it's not really for me. And Dagur isn't my Valentine." The muscular man walked up, his carrot-red hair gelled up almost into a short Mohican and clean shaven and he shrugged. Fortunately, the others had vanished inside, making the conversation less awkward.

"I can live with that," he admitted, offering her his arm. "If you can?"

"Platonic," Astrid said sternly. "No smooching, no trying anything on, no acting out for those muttonheaded nitwits you call your friends. I will dance once with you and then I will decided whether or not we do any more. Okay?" Dagur's green eyes widened and then he smiled, leaning forward.

"You know you're not my type either?" he murmured and she nodded.

"Heather told me years ago," she whispered back. "You're better than those morons, Dagur. We can still have some fun watching them make idiots of themselves..." He held out a fist.

"Don't leave me hanging," he asked her with a twinkle in his eyes. "Friends?" With a small smile, Astrid touched her fist against his.

"Friends," she confirmed as he offered her his arm and she slid hers through it. Heather grinned.

"You look fabulous, Asti," she added as Astrid blushed.

"You look pretty fabulous yourself, Heather," she replied. "Shall we go in and face the music?" Heather rolled her eyes, for she knew that Thuggory was already inside and would be chugging the supposedly-not mead punch and making snarky comments about the other Seniors present at the dance. The School Gym was decorated with hearts and streamers and cupids and muted romantic music was playing. There were a selection of tables to one side and the buffet was laid out, with Snotlout standing by it, his plate piled high with food. Atali was hanging onto the tall and muscular shape Ryker Grimborn.

Astrid paused and sized up the powerful young man. Looking older than his years, Ryker was the tallest man in the room, very muscular and with his head shaven and a mere stripe of a beard straight down his chin. To Astrid, it seemed that must be some College fashion, because certainly she had never seen anything similar in Berk, a land of lush, full beards. His dark brown eyes were rather cold and he held himself as if everyone else was below his notice-though his eyes lingered on her for a moment too long and she felt as if she needed a wash. Of course, the other jocks were hanging around him in a starry-eyed gaggle of pretty obvious fangirling and their dates were trying to look interested as the famous graduate held court but it was clear Mindy wasn't happy that Snotlout was barely acknowledging her existence and Ruff was looking bored. Even Atali-who was hanging on Ryker's arm and soaking up the elevation in social status of being the date of the famous College Football star-was looking slightly bored as he talked Football.

The group nodded and greeted Dagur and Ryker leaned forward, taking Astrid's hand and kissing it with a small smirk, his deep voice greeting her insincerely. Resisting the desire to pull her hand away, she gave a tight smile and retreated to Dagur's side as Heather found Thuggory and he gave her a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, winding an arm possessively around her waist. In fact, the whole thing felt to Astrid incredibly forced and false, a charade for the benefit of the other students rather than a date with any meaning or actual affection. Heather smiled at Ryker and he granted her a slightly lecherous kiss on the hand as well.

"Drinks!" Atali announced, looking over at the group. "Astrid, Ruff-could you get us all some punch?"

No 'please', Astrid noted silently and nodded, turning away to the table. Ruff peeled away from the uninterested Eret and to her surprise, Dagur came as well.

"You need more hands than you two have," he murmured as they headed over to the buffet table set at the side of the Gym and Astrid began to spoon out ten glasses of what was optimistically called 'punch'. She sniffed-it clearly contained just fruit juice, or at least was meant to, though she could detect the edge of alcohol on the smell and knew it had been spiked. Finishing ladling out the glasses, she found Ruff had located a tray and they also gathered a plate of canapés before they returned.

"I thought you'd got lost," Atali said lightly, helping herself and handing Ryker a cup. He accepted it with a grunt, taking a sip and pulling a face.

"Rather weak," he commented disparagingly as he snatched a handful of the canapés while the others all grabbed their drinks as well. Snotlout grabbed another huge portion, almost clearing the plate before the blonde had a chance to take a single morsel.

And no 'thank you' either, Astrid added silently, her eyes sweeping the room. Pretty much all the Senior Year were there and as she looked around, her eyes alighted on a trio at the opposite side of the Gym, glasses of 'punch' on their hands. Fishlegs looked self-conscious in a dark blue Tuxedo, a velvet bow tie and a pair of too-tight dress pants while Tuffnut was looking odd in a loose Tuxedo and a bright orange bow tie. Beside them, Hiccup stood in a slim-fit black Tuxedo and black dress pants looking self-conscious, his auburn hair framing his face and his emerald eyes flicking up at just the right moment to meet Astrid's. He blushed and quickly looked away as she felt her lips tilt in a small smile. Dagur nudged her.

"You know, there is a dance where you can ask whoever you want to dance with you," he murmured, munching a mini spring roll he had rescued from the Snotlout onslaught. "I know I'm going to be asking my choice of dance partner." Dipping her head with a smile at the reactions of the rest of the group, Astrid sipped her punch and grimaced. It was probably far more alcoholic than it should be and by the way Thuggory and Eret were chugging the punch, things may get rather more amusing later on in the evening.

"May I have your attention?" Principal Queen announced over the microphone. "I would like to thank you all for coming and hope that you all enjoy this Valentine's Dance. I would hope that you would respect the school rules and your fellow students while you are here. I now declare this dance well and truly started!"

Immediately, the music revved up and some much more recent songs blared at a much higher volume. Atali grinned, grabbing Ryker's hand and shoving her glass into Astrid's hand.

"Look after this!" she said urgently. "Come on, Rykie! Show me what you got!" Chuckling, he thrust his glass at Astrid as well and she barely managed to juggle it as he swung Atali away, his arm around her middle as they launched into an extravagant spin round the dance floor. Carefully trying not to spill the drinks down her dress, she managed to offload them onto a chair and then glared at them. The contrast with the film set couldn't be more stark: there, everyone had been friendly, welcoming and had treated her like one of the crew while here-despite very protestation to the contrary, Atali had relegated Astrid to the role of servant.

Catching her expression, Heather drifted over.

"You okay?" she murmured as the blonde took a deep breath.

"Yeah, good," she said shortly as her friend glanced over at the redhead, pressed unnecessarily close to the big College Football star.

"Don't mind Atali," Heather said, seeing her expression. "Sometimes, she doesn't think. And I know she has been so excited about Ryker being her date tonight..." Frowning, Astrid turned to her friend.

"Why?" she asked. "I mean, she hasn't mentioned him at all until this dance." Heather frowned. "Look, I have heard you all discussing boys and dates for the last few years. So where did this come from?" Heather rolled her eyes.

"I think Atali messaged him and followed him since just before graduation," she confided in her friend. "She's mentioned it when we go round her house-I mean, she has a huge picture of him there-but she's kept it a secret until now. I think especially for this event!" Astrid's frown deepened.

"Isn't that kinda shallow?" she asked. "I mean, either she's with him because they like each other-in which case, you either talk about it or you don't-or you're just using each other for the image."

"Which is really shallow," Heather agreed. "Yeah, I know. I know she likes the idea of going out with a local hero and College Football star and I know he has found it looks better for his image to be dating a 'girl from back home' but I'm not sure if either one of them feel any real affection."

"So that isn't going to end well," Astrid commented. Sighing, Heather nodded.

"I'm not sure Atali has thought this through either," she admitted. They glanced at the couple and Dagur stuck his hand out invitingly. He winked.

"Let's get this over, Hoff," he said with a grin. She rolled her eyes.

"You know, I actually hate being called Hoff," she told him but took his hand and allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. It wasn't what she had envisaged when she had dreamed about being a Senior at a dance. Somehow, the younger Astrid had seen herself on the arm of a handsome and wonderful young man, who had adored her...and Dagur really wasn't that guy. Younger Astrid had even asked her Uncle Finn about dancing when he had practiced with her.

"I've seen Mom and Dad dancing-and they always look so happy." Finn had chuckled.

"Dancing with the one you love is a special moment, when the world melts away and it is just the two of you and the music, It can be the most amazing experience..."

"And what if you aren't with the love of your life? Isn't it...weird?"

"My beloved niece-you have a very binary view of life. Dancing is a skill. It may be needed in social circumstances. It can be fun. Maybe you could think of it as 'try before you buy'."

"What are you smiling about?" Dagur asked, his voice confused. "I mean, I'm trying the best I can but I'm not really much of a dancer. Heather's the one with the moves..." But the blonde smiled and shook her head.

"It was something that Finn said to me when I was younger and he and my parents were teaching me how to dance," she explained. "He said that sometimes dancing is like 'trying before you buy'. But I don't think he ever envisioned me dancing with someone who would be wanting to shop from the same menu!"

Dagur stared at her and then burst out laughing, his gentle grip on her waist tightening as he leaned forward.

"You know, I think my sis really messed up in not sticking with you," he admitted when he had calmed down a little. "You are so much smarter and much more fun than those spiteful bitches she hangs with." Astrid gave a melancholy smile.

"She did what she felt was right," she admitted.

"Which actually wasn't," Dagur shot back. "You know, you could have been pretty mean to her and me. You've known her forever. And you know all about my illness..." Eyes widening, Astrid shook her head.

"Dag-you have Bipolar," she said in a low voice. "That is your business and no one else's. It held you back two years while you were really sick and if the muttonheads here don't think to ask why you're in this year, then it's not my place to betray your confidence. You take your meds and you are able to live your life normally. I know the other jocks don't know because they're such massive asses that they would be snarking at you about it all the time-like they turned on Hiccup." To his credit, Dagur looked ashamed.

"Yeah...that was pretty vicious," he admitted.

"And I can't understand why," Astrid commented. "I mean, he didn't do anything wrong. He escaped from a horrific fire and lost his leg-and then you guys make his life worse by dumping him! Why?" They spun silently for a few moments.

"Because he wasn't perfect," Dagur admitted. "He was incomplete."

"But he is the same person," Astrid reminded him. "He didn't change when he suffered such a horrible trauma-you guys did." Nodding, Dagur sighed.

"It was really shallow," he admitted. "I mean, for all of them, 'superficial' could be their middle name! But they are just obsessed with looks-and if someone isn't perfect, they just want rid of them."

"Why do you hang with those muttonheads?" Astrid asked. Dagur gave a one-sided smile.

"Well, we're all on the Football team, we do most of the same classes and Eret is in the group," he told her unselfconsciously as the music ended. He bowed. "Thanks, Asti. Now all I have to do is work out how to ask Eret to dance."

"Good luck with that," she said genuinely. "If he's that shallow, he'll cling to the popular illusion of having a girlfriend rather than admitting what he truly is..." Dagur winked.

"I'll take my chances," he said and walked back to the group with Astrid following behind. Then she blinked as Snotlout intercepted her.

"Fancy a spin, Hoff?" he asked as she backed up a step.

"Snotlout-you haven't danced with your date yet," she pointed out. He rolled his eyes.

"Mindy isn't much of a dancer and the Snotman is awesome on his feet," he told her. "I can't afford to look bad with a clumsy partner..."

"Snotlout-Mindy is your girlfriend and she wants to spend time with you," Astrid said in an exasperated voice. "Ask her to dance."

"Are you turning me down?" Snotlout asked in a tight voice and Astrid frowned.

"Yes," she said simply. "Go and ask Mindy!" He scowled, the expression surprisingly ugly.

"You should be grateful that we're even talking to you!" he sneered. "I mean, the only thing going for you is that you have a famous Uncle and..." Mindy surged forward and grabbed his arm.

"Snotty!" she hissed and hauled him back. "Come and have another drink..." A little taken aback by his vehemence but not really surprised, Astrid looked over at Heather, seeing her friend's jade eyes widen in shock. Atali looked as if she had swallowed a lime and Ruff was looking uncomfortable.

"Boys!" Atali said falsely. "Honestly. Snotlout's massive ego and tiny brain don't speak for all of us. He's just a total muttonhead!"

"Who is her Uncle?" Ryker asked with a frown.

"The famous film producer Finn Hofferson," Ruff piped up cheerfully, winking at Astrid. She was interested to see what the Football Star did with the news. And as Ruff clearly expected, the man turned to Astrid with a wide predatory smile and took her hand.

"Can I have this dance?" he asked.

oOo

Over the other side of the Gym, Hiccup was watching the popular gang and felt a pang of jealousy as he saw Astrid dance with Dagur. The two were smiling and talking and as they swayed to the music, a part of him was wishing that it was him dancing with her. The time he had spent with her-however limited-had just reinforced that she was smart, interesting, kind and genuine. And he found that he was starting to fall for her, despite the fact they weren't even properly friends.

"Here," Tuff told him, pushing a glass of 'punch' into his hand. "You've been staring at her almost since she arrived." Hiccup sipped the liquid and grimaced.

"Thor-how much alcohol did they put in here?" he asked, coughing. "And yeah. I mean, she is the most beautiful woman in the room and they've been treating her like a servant so far."

"Go over there and talk to her," Fishlegs suggested, munching a handful of potato chips. "I'm sure she would appreciate it."

"Oh look-she's turned down Snotty," Tuff grinned eating a handful of peanuts. "And he looks totally mad."

"I see your sister is stirring things up," Fishlegs commented, seeing Ruff's grin and the resulting scowls. Chewing his peanuts, Tuff chuckled.

"She may be in the popular crowd but she is still a Nut," he reminded them. "And sometimes she has to have some fun. Though she does like Astrid for real..."

"So do I," Hiccup murmured.

"Then go and ask her to dance, muttonhead!" Fishlegs told him abruptly.

"I can't dance," Hiccup replied stubbornly, shifting his prosthetic leg self-consciously.

"Neither can 99% of people in this room!" Tuff pointed out, gesturing to his sister and Eret, who had headed onto the dance floor. Ruff stuck her arms in the air and began to bounce up and down, trusting to the elastic and boning in her strapless gown. "My sister among them."

"Hiccup-what have you got to lose?" Fishlegs asked him more practically. "From what you told me, she is waiting for you to ask her!" Tuff was more direct, shoving Hiccup forward.

"Go forth, young paladin, and return not until thou hast won yonder fair maiden's hand!" he announced in a portentous voice. "And then grab us some blinis on the way back!" Handing his glass to Fishlegs, Hiccup locked his sights on Astrid and walked forward, dodging through the swaying couples and ducking aside as Ruff attempted a whirling dervish spin that took out three other couples. Astrid was staring at Ryker as he held her hand-and then she saw him approach and he saw her her expression grew relieved.

"I believe this is my dance," he said firmly. Glancing up, the bigger man scowled at the lean shape.

"Push off, nobody!" he sneered. "I asked first."

"And I believe the lady has yet to answer," Dagur put in. The College Football star snorted, looking disparagingly at Hiccup's shape, the determined expression tightening his features. The bigger man looked back at Astrid.

"She'll obviously prefer to dance with me rather than...this..." he scoffed but Astrid determinedly wrenched her hand free and took Hiccup's proffered hand.

"Wrong, Rykie," she smiled, her eyes locked on Hiccup's. "Why would I want to dance with you? You've just been smarmy and unpleasant to me. And you're here with my friend Atali. You should be dancing with her. While I am definitely going to dance with Hiccup!" The auburn-haired young man's eyes widened and he gave a surprised smile. He had been expecting rejection so as her firm grip closed on his hand, he found he was blushing slightly.

"Thanks," he murmured as she walked to his side.

"No, thank you," she breathed. "I needed rescuing just about now."

"You should know that I can't actually dance," he confessed as they walked onto the dance floor, well away from the wildly flailing Ruffnut. She smiled and turned to face him.

"If you can't dance properly-and most people can't-just try to sway with the music," she advised him with a smile. Gently she rested her hands on his tense shoulders and he cautiously grasped her slender waist, looking askance into her blue eyes. She smiled and they began to gently sway, Hiccup shifting his weight a little awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Sorry," he mumbled but she smiled.

"My Dad and Mom and Uncle taught me to dance because it was a skill they thought I would need," she told him, seeing how tense he was. "But honestly, what they said was that spending time together with someone you like is the best part. That it can be just the two of you and nothing else matters."

"Not even the popular group over there who are all glaring at you for coming to dance with a loser like me?" he asked softly.

"Definitely not people who are shallow two-faced users," she confirmed, her lips lifting in a smile. His emerald eyes widened and he glanced over at the group who were all glaring at him.

"Really?" he murmured.

"Certainly not them," she confirmed. "I mean, Snotlout just confirmed why they are suddenly all my 'friends'."

"Your Uncle," he said apologetically. Her eyes widened.

"You knew?' she asked.

"So did you," he reminded her. "Look, I like you, Astrid. I admire you. I wanted to be your friend for a long time. And I could see that you seemed happy to have friends and be part of the popular group. Would you have thanked me-a certified asshole who you wouldn't give the time of day to-for trying to ruin your new friendships?"

"Well, no...but..." she mumbled and he could see the emotions playing across her face: anger, disappointment, betrayal and he felt his heart sink.

"Astrid-would you even have believed me if I had come up to you or would you just have assumed I was trying to cause you trouble and stop you making friends with the popular group?" he asked her gently. "And maybe I was hoping they would be genuine. Some of them...Heather and possibly Ruff...could be real friends. What right do I have to deny you the chance of friendship?"

She stared up into his emerald eyes and saw his concern and his genuine worry that she would reject him because he hadn't told her of the others' motives. Motives that she had already discerned on her own-and which the others really hadn't been that subtle in hiding. And he was right: she would have reacted badly and may have told him to get lost if he had claimed her new friends were just using her...because she wouldn't have wanted to believe it...even though she suspected herself. After all, she was a Hofferson, a stubborn rock-headed Valkyrie and if she was told to do something, she was more likely than not to do the opposite. And Hiccup would have been blamed anyway.

"You're right," she forced herself to say. "I mean, you knew but it wasn't your business. You were the same to me as ever-and I suspected when they changed, it was because they knew about Uncle Finn. I mean, I hoped that they were being kind and giving me a chance because of Mom but in reality..."

"I really am sorry," he said. "But they can still be friends as well...I mean, Heather was your friend before..."

"And she still is...but I know Atali isn't really..and I'm not sure about Mindy either. Or the boys..." And then she smiled. "But I think I have you." A small smile lit his face and his eyes warmed.

"I hope," he said gently, moving with a little more confidence. "I mean, I had it all planned. I was going to send you a Valentine on the 14th and ask you if we could possibly be friends? And then everyone gave you cards and you tore them up..."

"I kept yours," she reassured him. "It was the only one-because it was the only genuine one. And that was one more than I got any other year." Then she stared deep into his eyes. "You painted it by hand, didn't you?"

"Ah...well, you discovered my secret," he admitted with a self-conscious laugh. "I draw and paint. Not something my former friends ever knew about me-but which the guys do." He moved his head slightly towards the shapes of Fishlegs and Tuff, both of whom were munching prawn sandwiches and giving the couple a thumbs up.

"Why did they cast you aside?" she asked him directly.

"And boom! In for the kill," he quipped as he gently moved them round in a small circle, still swaying to the next tune that was playing, completely unconscious of the other couples on the dance floor. "It's a sensitive subject but very simple answer: I am incomplete. Only 90% of a person. And 90% isn't enough to be worthy of their friendship."

Astrid's sharp intake of air was audible even above Celine Dion and Hiccup sighed.

"Sorry," he said as she slid her hand across from its position on his shoulder to rest against his cheek, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"It's not your fault," she reminded him. "It's their problem, not yours. And you're at least 95% anyway." He managed a humourless smile from her small attempt at making him feel better.

"Hey, I tried that as well," he murmured tonelessly, "but overnight I went from being a friend to being nothing...all because I was injured in the fire, saving Toothless."

"Toothless?"

"My dog," he explained, a small, genuine smile lifting his lips. "He's only a mutt with the brightest green eyes and the most loyal, smartest temperament you could wish for...but he's my best friend..."

"Toothless?"

"Got him from the rescue centre as a puppy-and he had lost his back teeth from poor nutrition and probably abuse," he explained as they spun again. "But the moment I saw that scruffy ball of black fluff, the moment he saw me, I knew he was meant to be with me."

"So why have they still got such a downer on you...?" Astrid asked gently.

"They're assholes," Hiccup admitted gently. "They just have no idea...and see anyone different as less than human."

"And were you like that before...?" Astrid asked him. To his credit he paused and then he shook his head.

"No," he said. "My Godfather and sort-of-crazy Uncle is a double amputee-since the First Gulf War. So I've known him all my life missing a lower leg and a hand."

"IED?" Astrid asked and Hiccup gave a grim chuckle.

"Friendly fire," he said. "Gobber lost his limbs at the hands of his own side." Astrid blew her cheeks out, eyes widening.

"Wow," she commented. "That is pretty hard to accept."

"And he isn't at all curmudgeonly and grumpy about it," Hiccup added sarcastically. "At all. Not even slightly. No sirree! But I decided when I woke up that I would not let it change me. That I would face everything with a smile-because I am lucky to be alive. And I still have Toothless-though he lost half his tail. I am grateful for what I still have-even if others can only focus on what I have lost. And I guess, I have gained some things as well." He smiled then. "Fish and Tuff-two crazy guys who definitely aren't popular but are genuine, good friends, rather than the cruel, shallow people I thought were my friends."

"You are a remarkable man," Astrid told him gently and he shrugged.

"Me? I think you are much more remarkable. I mean, you lost your Dad, your life was totally turned upside down and you then lost your friends," he countered. "You coped. You carried on. You never gave up-and you supported your Mom who must have been as devastated as your were. You are amazing. I'm just a guy who learned some harsh lessons about how shallow and superficial his friends really are. And in that, I think I gained more than I lost. I tried to become a better person, a more decent human being. Not there yet but still trying. And I have better friends as well to help me through."

"And you gained something else," Astrid said suddenly. He looked up. "I think...you just gained me." And then, as the music stopped, she stretched up on tiptoes and kissed him.