"Do we really have to be here?" I groaned as we stepped out of the car.

"Don't be like that, Astrid! They've invited us over for dinner, isn't that nice of them? Besides, I think we all need some time off from our other troubles, don't we?" My mother asked, lightly squeezing my shoulder as her bright eyes lit up.

I wrapped my arms tighter around myself as the chilly air blew past me. "I guess ..."

"That's the spirit! Now let's enjoy this dinner and when we get home we will leave you be for as long as you like." My father beamed as he walked up beside us.

"Really?" I raised a brow at him, receiving a confirming nod in response.

It had been a couple of weeks since the 'incident' at my house. Nothing much had really happened, or changed for that matter. Though nothing had changed, things seemed to have become a little awkward between Hiccup and I since our almost kiss. The scale had shifted and we were now equally avoiding each other, which kind of broke my heart but at the same time I didn't really have the energy to care.

Fast forward to where we were now, slowly making our way up to the front porch of the Haddock house. A couple of days prior, my parents had gotten a phone call from their old friend the mayor of Berk, also known as Stoick Haddock. They had talked on the phone for ages and it had ended with him inviting us over for dinner at the Haddock residence to 'catch up'. Let's just say that I was not to keen on seeing Haddock Jr. again.

My parents rang the doorbell as I attempted to shield myself from the elements. The familiar barking of Toothless echoed through the house as the sound of heavy footsteps became louder and louder right before the door swung open. The first thing that hit us was the mouth-watering smell of whatever was cooking in the kitchen. Stoick spread his arms wide and gave both my parents a hearty greeting before picking me up and giving me a bone-crushing hug.

"Hoffersons! Come on in, dinner is ready any minute now!" Stoick beamed as Toothless came running up behind him, circling his feet before greeting us all by jumping around and barking loudly.

"Hey, boy." I greeted the dog with a grin as I scratched him behind the ear, which he seemed to enjoy. The Labrador wagged his tail happily as he leaned into my hand.

My parents chatted with Stoick for a minute before he lead us to the dining room. The room was a rather large space off the side of the nice kitchen where the wonderful smell of what I believed to be chicken originated from. A large oak dining table stretched from one side of the room to the other, surrounded by dark leather chairs that stood in contrast with the white painted walls. My eyes followed the large table, which had been set with fancy, rectangular plates and a large vase of flowers. But it was what I found at the end of the table that sent a jolt of electricity down my spine.

Sitting casually at the end of the table was Hiccup himself and beside him was none other than a gorgeous brunette in a beautiful v-necked red dress that made her look like a goddess. There was only one thought raging through my mind as I watched the couple smiling and laughing with each other: what the hell was Valerie doing here?

"Hoffersons!" Hiccup greeted as he got up from his chair and made his way over to us. "I didn't hear you come in, it's been a while!"

"That it has." My father grinned at Hiccup as he vigorously shook his hand.

As my mother shook Hiccup's hand, a warm smile on her face, I noticed her eyes land on Valerie, who had followed Hiccup's example and gotten up to greet us. "Who is this young woman?"

"You must be Mrs. Hofferson! I'm Valerie Morris, Hiccup's girlfriend." Valerie flashed that beautiful smile of hers at my mother as she shook her hand. I had to physically restrain myself from gritting my teeth at the mention of her relationship status with Hiccup.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Valerie!" My father's grin grew wider as he shook her hand as well. The girl had known my parents for the entirety of 2 minutes and they already loved her. Gods, how I wished she would just be a heinous bitch.

"Hey, Astrid, how are you?" Hiccup asked as he casually stood beside me, not bothering to shake my hand as we watched Valerie interact with my parents.

I fought not to glance longingly over at him and instead kept my focus on the people ahead of us. "I'm good. You?"

Hiccup stuck his hands inside his pockets. "I'm good too."

Oh my gods, it was still awkward between us because of that damned almost-kiss. I mentally smacked myself for being such a dumbass and ruining my friendship with Hiccup. I was about to launch into a whole apology speech when Stoick strode back into the room with a plate of steaming chicken on a bed of salad and other vegetables. Strange, I hadn't even noticed him leaving.

We all sat down at the table and began serving ourselves. Stoick and my parents talked about his cooking as Hiccup took up the job of serving us all drinks. When he and Valerie very obviously began flirting as he poured her drink, I forced myself to focus on my chicken, fortunately for me, it was delicious.

Finally, I had enough of just shutting up and staring at my plate, so I turned towards Valerie —who was sitting on the other side of Hiccup— and asked the question that had been gnawing at me ever since I had entered the dining room. "So, Valerie ... you're a part of the family now?"

Gods, that had sounded way more aggressive and bitter than I intended it to, but Valerie seemed to take no notice of my tone. "I suppose you can say so, especially since I've been spending so much time here lately."

Valerie and Hiccup shared a knowing look and suddenly my appetite vanished.

"Yes, if you keep coming over so often I might have to soundproof Hiccup's room!" Stoick guffawed, my parents following his lead as they struggled to keep their amusement to themselves. I, on the other hand, felt the color drain from my face as my dinner threatened to climb back up my throat.

Hiccup and Valerie were bright red as Hiccup snarled at his father. "Dad!"

"Oh, take it easy, Hiccup, you know I was only messing with you!" Stoick chuckled, as if his little joke was still lingering inside of his mind.

I neatly folded my napkin before placing it on the table and getting up. "You'll have to excuse me, but I need some fresh air."

I felt the eyes of everyone gathered in the room following me as I made my way around the dining table, but as I was about to exit the dining room, a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Honey, are you feeling alright?" My mother's brows were knitted together as she studied my face, looking for any sign of illness.

I nodded as I yanked my wrist free from her grasp. "I'm fine, don't worry, I just need some air."

Without further protest, I left the room in favor of the chilly porch. I grabbed my jacket on the way out, earning a tilt of the head from Toothless as I made my way outside and plopped down on the steps leading up to the front porch. I put my head in my hands as a cold breeze blew past me.

I couldn't stand it a second longer, seeing the two of them so happy together and rubbing it into all of our faces. I couldn't stand the thought of the two of them fucking in Hiccup's bedroom and I couldn't stand the thought of her actually becoming a part of his family.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I watched the silent street. I was probably the only one out in the cold weather. Subconsciously, my mind wandered up the driveway and to the famed drain spout. A picture of me half naked on the roof flashed through my mind as I remembered what had happened a year before. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips at the memory. How could a year feel like such a lifetime ago?

Having been caught up in my memories, I failed to notice the front door open, releasing a large black dog followed by someone I didn't really want to speak to. Hiccup sat down beside me and I was suddenly snapped out of my daze.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how you were doing, you didn't look so good in there." Hiccup admitted as his eyes followed the dog that was rolling around in the thin layer of frost covering the grass.

I glanced over at him for a second before turning to look at my shoes. "I'm fine, I just needed some air."

Hiccup shot me one of those gorgeous smiles of his and I could feel my heart melting into a big sappy puddle in my chest.

We sat in silence for a minute, only this time it wasn't as awkward as it had been earlier in the dining room. Hiccup kept on watching Toothless as I got caught up in my own thoughts. For a moment I was convinced I would be able to keep my curiosity to myself, but I eventually blurted out what I had been pondering about for the past 15 minutes.

"So ... you're getting some action, huh?" I asked, trying to sound as playful and casual as possible and not like I was genuinely curious, which I was.

Hiccup chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, like he always did when he was nervous or uncomfortable. "You heard that?"

I felt my stomach drop. So it was true. My heart constricted painfully in my chest. "It was pretty hard to miss."

Hiccup studied his nails as he refused to meet my gaze. "My dad was just kidding. Valerie and I ... we're not quite there, yet."

Yet. It was like someone had sent a jolt of electricity through my heart and revived me. So he hadn't slept with her yet, maybe there was still hope? I was about to answer him when a series of buzzing came from my back pocket.

I picked up my phone and was faced with 9 notifications, all from Eret. I groaned as I slammed my hand against my forehead. I had forgotten about my plans with Eret, again. After the episode at my house, Eret and I had been texting a little bit, agreeing to hang out as friends so that he could apologize for what had happened at my house. Our original plans had gotten cancelled due to unexpected issues on Eret's side, so we had decided that we would hang out a week later, which was now.

"Fuck." I cursed as I shot him a text, asking to reschedule, again. Hiccup raised a brow at me as he awaited an answer.

"Eret." I replied, waving my phone in front of him as evidence.

Hiccup shook his head as he let out a chuckle. "I can't believe you're still talking to the guy."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why did he have to sound so damn condescending? "What's so wrong with that? We're just friends."

"Yeah, right. You know he just wants to get back in your pants, right? That fucking pedophile." Hiccup growled.

"What the fuck is your problem, Hiccup? Why are you acting like such an ass?" I snarled, something he probably hadn't expected judging by the look on his face.

"I'm just saying it as it is, Astrid, that guy is literally a pedophile! I think we should sue him for statutory rape." Hiccup spoke and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What the hell was his problem?

"Are you fucking kidding me, Hiccup? You do realize you're out here preaching about something you know nothing about, right?" I snapped at him, failing to keep calm as I spoke.

Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly, as if he'd said nothing wrong. "Judging by what you told me about your relationship and the way I've seen you two together, I think I know more than enough."

"Who are you and who the fuck do you think you are?" I spat as I got up from the stairs, taking a step away from him. "Had you known anything about mine and Eret's relationship, you would've known that he hasn't touched me in any way, shape or form that I haven't agreed to, you would've known that he and I never had sex!"

A look of guilt suddenly washed over Hiccup's face as he seemed to realize what he had said. "Astrid—"

"No, fuck you, Hiccup." I snarled as I began walking away from him. "You're an asshole, just like every other guy on this goddamned planet."