Hiccup's P.O.V.

I laid on my bed and grunted as my black German Shepard, Toothless, jumps on my chest. "Toothless, come on. No dogs on the furniture, remember?" I say as I push him off, making him whine.

"Hiccup!" my dad called as he walked through the front door. I sighed before standing up and running downstairs. "Hey! No running in the house," Dad snaps as I meet him in the kitchen.

"Sorry," I say as I grab a cup from the cabinet.

"Now, this weekend is your 18th birthday. I expect you to get off your butt and get a job," he says as I fill the glass with water.

"Dad, I volunteer at the hospital whenever I can," I tell him as I lean my back against the counter.

"Stand up straight!" he snaps and I push off the counter before straightening my back. "And I want you to get a real paying job, so you can start helping out around here," he says.

"Yes, sir," I mumble after a pause.

"Speak up!"

"Yes sir!" I repeat more clearly, almost shouting.

"Good. Now go get your homework done," he orders.

"Already did, sir," I say before he looks at me with a fire in his eyes.

"Excuse me?" he asks. I froze.

"I said I already have it done...had a free study hall," I tell him.

"Don't talk back!" he shouts, "Now get in your room and don't come down until dinner." I down the remaining water and put the glass in the dishwasher before walking upstairs, Toothless at my side. I don't think I could stay here much longer. Dad was way too uptight with all his rules and orders...

Astrid's P.O.V.

I stood next to my brothers hospital bed with crossed arms. He wasn't meeting my glare and fiddling with the blanket. As it turns out, he had deliberately sat in the middle of the road, on a bet that if he got hit, he would win $100.

"Idiot," I hiss. He holds up his hand and puts his thumb and index finger into a pinching position, shrinking the distance between them so they were almost touching.

"This close," is all he said. He was that close to joining our father. That close from escaping our mother, and everything else. That close to relaxing. He might be the most laid back person in our family, always throwing caution to the wind, but he never got to actually let his muscles melt. I grabbed a chunk of his hair in my fist and moved his head to make him look at me.

"Once you get out of here, you will be in so much trouble, with me as much as Mom," I growl. I roughly release him before storming out of the room and to the parking lot. I jumped into the bed of Eret's pick up and banged on the roof before the vehicle sped off. Heather and Ruffnut were back there with me, both looking at me expectantly. "He's awake, he's stable, and he's in big time trouble," I tell them.

"Go easy on him," Heather says, making me roll my eyes. She's had a crush on him since the day he gave her a ride home.

"Don't tell me to go easy on my own brother. If he can take a car, he can take my wrath," I snap.

"Whatever, lets just get to the cafe already!" Ruffnut shouts.

"Ugh, I'm sick of the cafe!" I groan, crossing my arms and dropping my head over the rim of the bed.

"Well what do you suggest?" Heather asks.

"Easy. Park," I say with a shrug before Ruffnut bangs on the roof of the truck five times. 

When we get to the park, I jump out before the truck is at a complete stop and run for the lake. I slow to a walk as I hear the truck speed off down the road. I smirked. They were ditching the party-pooper. I taught them well... I walked across the open space of the park before getting to the treeline and jogging into the trees.

3 hours later

After a while of wondering through the woods, I come across a road and follow it. The sun set about an hour ago and I was just procrastinating going home to the empty house. What with Alex in the hospital, and Mom at the bar. I come to an intersection and look left and right before debating which way to go. If I went right, that'd bring me to town and I'd run into the guys. Left, would take me into the country for the crows. Back would lead me to my house, and straight would take me...I don't even know where. I shrugged and walked forward, passing under a streetlight. After a few minutes of walking, I come to a neighborhood of large houses.

"Oh....the posh suburbs," I murmur to myself, my breath billowing from my mouth in a cloud of fog. I walk through the streets to get a look around; I've rarely visited here.

Hiccup's P.O.V.

It was almost 10:00. Dad was silent at dinner and wouldn't even look at me from his newspaper. Right now, I was looking around the neighborhood with my telescope, trying to find something interesting. I freeze as I see it. Astrid was sitting on a bench under a streetlight. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked around. She looked kinda like a lost angel as she gazed at the sky. I took my eye away from the telescope to see that she was a little down the street. I hesitated before opening my window.

"Astrid!" I call, making her look in my direction in confusion. I waved my arm to get her attention before she stood from her bench and walked toward my house. I then rush downstairs, passing my dad in the living room. "I'll be right back, dad," I tell him before going out to meet my classmate.

"Oh, hey, Toothpick," she greets, sounding slightly shocked at the sight of me.

"What are you doing out here?! It's almost ten, shouldn't you be at home?" I ask as I meet her at the end of the walk.

"Um..." she trails, avoiding my gaze as she rubs her arm. "Uh, y-you know me. I-um-I'm a juvinial girl who can't go a week without sleeping with someone. You know, what was that word you used?....I'm a sl-slut," she seemed nervous and I know she didn't think of herself that way. "Breakin' every rule I can," she continues awkwardly, "Defying my mom, and...stuff."

"Stop talking," I order and she nods.

"Thank you," she says, lowering her gaze to her feet. That's when I notice the chill in the air.

"Here, why don't you com inside," I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her to my house. "Dad, this is Astrid Hofferson," I say as I take her to the living room. "We're just going to talk in my room about a project."

"Just use protection," he says distractedly as he reads a magazine.

"What?!" Astrid shouts before I usher her upstairs. "Toothpick, let me go!"

"No, don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's saying," I tell her as I take her to my room and close the door. "I thought you lived on the other side of Berk, what are you doing over here so late?" I ask. She flops down on my bed.

"Just wanted to avoid an empty house," she says, staring at the ceiling, "I mean, yeah the streets are pretty empty too, but at least every now and then, you come across and all-night trucker. Besides, I've always felt more at home on the streets."

"Still, you are barely dressed for the weather that's coming; it's gonna snow soon," I scold.

"Your dad side's taking over isn't it?" she laughs.

"No, that was common sense," I say, hands on hips.

"Well, I guess that's something I don't have," she sighs.

"I'm sure you had it at some point. Bet it's still there somewhere," I say, sitting next to her.

"Well, if it is, it doesn't want to be demonstrated," she says tiredly. "Haven't you ever had that?" she asks, "A need to do something stupid, so strong you just do it, no matter what tries to stop you?"

"I can't say that a need to do something stupid is tolerated in my family," I say.

"It's not tolerated in anyone's family! That's the beauty of it!" she exclaims.