Chapter 11

It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon when Hiccup heard the door open and close. "We're home dad!" He heard Zephyr's voice all the way from the kitchen as well as Nuffink stomping up the stairs.

"Nuff what did I tell you about running up stairs!" Hiccup admonished while dressed in his 'Kiss the cook' apron and holding a mixing bowl.

"Oh my Thor dad, can you not!" Zephyr groaned as she saw her dad in that ridiculous apron. It had frills around the edges and Zephyr just looked embarrassed to see her dad in it. There was a giggle behind Zephyr and Hiccup finally noticed that they had company.

"Maddie, what brings you here?" Hiccup asked as he turned to address the teen. He didn't let go of the mixing bowl though.

"I got something to ask you Mr. H," Maddie said while looking slightly unsure. "That is if you have the time."

"Of course I do," Hiccup answered. "Just take a seat. Don't mind the baking. I'm making tonight's dessert."

"Which is?" Zephyr was curious and she frowned when Hiccup gestured to the pineapple on the table.

"Pineapple pie. First time I'm trying this recipe." This caused Zephyr to make a face like pineapple didn't belong in pie. Hiccup rolled his eyes. She'd inhale a pineapple pizza but makes a face when it goes in a pie. Sometimes he couldn't understand his kids.

"Zeph why don't you go freshen up. Daddy needs to have an adult conversation." he told his daughter. Zephyr didn't seem to object, already somewhat bored. She proceeded to trudge upstairs leaving Maddie and Hiccup alone. "So tell me what's up."

"You really think I'm an adult?" Maddie asked. "My parents don't seem to think so,"

"Well.... Uhm... the questionable pictures aside. You do seem to have a good head on your shoulders."

This statement caused Maddie to groan. "So I'm guessing they told you... you know... about the pictures. Dad's a bit of a gossip I guess and he really never had many close friends before. At least not ones that didn't stab him in the back." Maddie mumbled that last part but Hiccup still heard it, though he didn't think he should have. "It's not what you think really," Maddie then said. "But it relates to that. It's actually two problems I'm dealing with and Andrew suggested I should get an unbiased opinion before talking to my parents about it."

"So what's it you need help with?" Hiccup asked with a frown.

"Okay, so like, there's this really cute guy a grade above me. His name's Dillan," Maddie gushed a bit.

"You have a crush," Hiccup stated more than asked and Maddie nodded. "So.... football, runner,...." Chances were the guy was a jock. Girls were always drawn at times to the athletic type.

"Oh Thor no," Maddie quickly said. "He's in the chess club. I honestly don't think I could date the athletic type. Dad's the athletic type..." Maddie shuddered a bit. "Too similar."

"Okayyyy......" Hiccup blinked as he continued to apparently delve further into the teenage mind. Which he would soon find out was a scary place to be.

"He is so adorable. With his hazel eyes and those glasses," Maddie giggled a bit more. "The only problem is he doesn't know I exist."

"Ah, so that's the crux of your problem." Hiccup nodded.

"Yeah and I overheard some of the girls say Dillan likes pretty girls. So I thought maybe he didn't notice me because I'm not pretty enough," Maddie muttered as she held her hand against her face.

"I couldn't ask my parents if I was pretty. They'd just say that I was." Maddie gestured wildy. "They are basically programmed to say that. So I sent Andrew some pictures so he could be objective. The pictures are all gone too. He deleted them cause they don't turn him on." Here she laughed a bit. "I apparently am not his type, though he is trying to get the attention of the school's linebacker."

"Of course my parents freaked," Maddie groaned again. "They had me invite Andrew over for a chat. When he arrived mom was cleaning her Baretta on the kitchen table."

"I think the message was received then," Hiccup stated as he made the pie crust while continuing to listen.

"I just wish they didn't," Maddie muttered. "Andrew's the first friend I made since moving here. You know he almost mowed me down on his skateboard at school. That's how we met actually. This actually leads me to my second problem."

"Which is?" Hiccup asked.

"My friend back in Maine," Maddie confessed. "I think she's jealous."

"We keep in touch you know. We chat at night," Maddie had her hands in her hair at this point. "We've been friends since the beginning of Middle school. I've been telling her about life here and she's been keeping me updated on everyone there. But recently....." The teen frowned for a few seconds. "Recently I think she's been blowing me off."

"What makes you think that?" Hiccup asked as the pie was forgotten.

"She's literally ghosting me." Maddie stated. "For the last four nights I've texted her but got no reply back. I was genuinely worried about her so I texted the other people in her class but they basically told me to F off. I honestly don't know what happened. One of the girls that is a former classmate even called me a tramp."

"It hurts you know," Maddie groaned. "And I don't want to tell my parents because I know they'll flip."

"But you have suspicions?" Hiccup questioned.

Maddie nodded and muttered "I think she's jealous because I told her I made a friend here and now...... now she's starting up all kinds of rumors in my old school."

"I just don't know what to do right now," the teen sighed.

"Well..... I don't know if my advice will help but given from an outside perspective I can see several red flags." Hiccup's tone suddenly got serious. "First off, you're a very pretty girl. If your crush doesn't notice you then he's either blind or not interested. You'd save yourself a lot of heartache if you moved on."

"And what about my friend?" Maddie asked with a frown.

"Is she really your friend though?" Hiccup questioned. "Friends don't ghost each other like that."

"Well it's not the first time that happened," Maddie revealed. "In Middle school she'd ghost me for a week or so before coming back."

"And this was a regular occurrence?" Hiccup frowned more now when Maddie nodded.

"Maddie, that's not what friends do." Hiccup stated. "If she has a habit of ghosting you then don't you think you're just a convenient friend for her?"

"WHAT?!" The teen's head snapped up as she looked at Hiccup with a confused gaze.

"A convenient friend. You're just the friend she comes back to once she's bored of others." Hiccup explained. "And given the hostile nature of your former classmates, maybe you making another friend stirred up something possessive in her."

"This is a lot to take in," Maddie muttered.

"I'm just speculating though." Hiccup said. "With all you told me it would be the conclusion I'd come up with." he then added "Though I do really think you should talk to your parents about this. They might overreact but that just shows how much they love you."

Maddie nodded as she was pensive. "You've given me a lot to think about. Thanks Mr. H," the teenage girl smiled genuinely. "Andrew was right. Sometimes an outside perspective can put things into place."

"I'll be getting out of your hair now,"

"Wait," Hiccup said as he quickly walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a Tupperware container. "I made some Baklava. Give this to your parents for me."

"Sure Mr. H though mom has dad on a diet." Maddie shrugged as she waved goodbye.

"Dagur never said anything about a diet," Hiccup mumbled more to himself in the now empty kitchen. "Though he did beg me to make that dish,"