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Hiccup had been mindlessly pressing buttons on the arcade machine for the last ten minutes, his eyes focused on something behind the machine that was taking up his attention instead. He couldn't tear his gaze away, yet his fingers were still working away on the buttons of the machine in front of him as though he was still playing.
In actual fact, his time limit on the game had expired minutes ago. However, Hiccup was unaware as his gaze remained fixated upon the two figures standing a little way away from him at another machine.
"Excuse me?" A small voice called out to Hiccup, releasing him from his trance and distracting his gaze away from the couple.
Turning to look at the voice, Hiccup found a small child standing beside him and looking longingly between the machine and Hiccup. Looking down at the child and momentarily forgetting about his previous attention, Hiccup smiled and spoke to the child.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Hiccup asked curiously, tilting his head questioningly as he addressed the child. Nodding nervously, he pointed an unsteady finger towards the machine that Hiccup had parked himself in front of.
"I want to go on that machine." The child announced, their finger continuing to point at it as Hiccup looked between the child and the machine.
Understanding instantly, Hiccup moved aside and smiled apologetically at the child.
"Of course, you can, I'm sorry." Hiccup replied, watching the kid bound happily over to the machine and ignoring his apology as he was finally allowed access to the machine behind Hiccup.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Hiccup lifted his gaze back up to where the young couple had been and found that their figures had mysteriously disappeared from view. With a mild sense of panic rushing through his body, Hiccup walked over to their last known location and searched fruitlessly for their figures, yet could not find them anywhere in sight. Hiccup punched the machine in front of him in annoyance, not realising that the machine was currently occupied by another visitor of the arcade.
"Hey! What's your problem, dude?!" They called out, popping their head out from the confined space of the arcade machine.
The arcade machine itself was quite a sight. The exterior of the machine looked like that of a safari vehicle, with the wheels and windows of the vehicle making up the walls of the machine and the roof enclosing the player within its space and completely closing them off to the rest of the arcade. Hiccup always enjoyed these types of arcade machines as they allowed people to shut themselves off from the rest of the people around, enclosing them in a dark and intimate space.
However, the head that peered out from the side of the arcade vehicle, looked less than impressed by Hiccup's disturbance and eyed him with a threatening glare. Momentarily losing his footing, Hiccup stumbled back a step and retracted his hand from the exterior of the machine that he had unconsciously left there after the impact. His eyes met the deep, blue eyes of the machine's occupant and the confused expression colouring her face as she peered out to inspect the source of the disturbance.
"You okay? Or do you get a kick out of disturbing other people's fun times at the arcade?" The girl asked sarcastically, raising her brow at the boy standing frozen in place in front of her.
Yet, her words did little to disturb his still figure as he continued to stare at the girl as she looked at him from her place in the machine. The awkward silence between them, and the loud blaring sounds from the machine caused the girl to roll her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Look. You can either join me in shooting the crap out of some zombies or whatever, or you can go off and sulk somewhere else." Her words lingered in the air before Hiccup as she disappeared back into the car shaped machine and the darkness within. Looking around him for a moment, Hiccup pondered over the decision, whether wallowing in his own self-pity would be better than trying to enjoy some time with a relative stranger.
Hiccup decided on the latter.
Climbing inside the machine, and sitting awkwardly next to the girl, Hiccup found hismelf instantly regretting his decision. The colourful pictures and blaring text upon the screen before the two of them seemed to screaming at Hiccup, and as he sat awkwardly still, he further regretted his decision.
"You gonna play?" The girl asked, gesturing to the plastic gun still sitting in its holster in front of Hiccup.
Looking between the girl and the gun, Hiccup suddenly realised himself and fumbled with the gun before fitting it steadily into his grip. Smiling at his clumsiness, the girl turned her attention back to the game and focused her aim but still keeping an ear on the guy beside her.
"So... What's your name, pretty boy?" The girl asked with a smile, only glancing at Hiccup as she spoke to check if he blushed.
Which he did.
"Erm, it's Hiccup." He swallowed nervously, missing the target on screen and allowing the girl to steal his kill.
"You missed."
"I know."
"Do I make you nervous, Hiccup?" The girl smirked as the game loaded the next stage. Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh and readjusted his position. Cracking his neck, and steeling his resolve, Hiccup became more determined than before.
"Not nervous, no. Just off guard, that's all.." He admitted quietly, muttering his words slightly.
"I caught you off guard, what? By calling you 'pretty boy'?" The girl chuckled as she watched Hiccup's jaw muscle twitch momentarily. She knew she had got him. "I wonder what else can make you blush..."
"What's your name? You know mine, tell me yours." Hiccup quickly replied, cutting off her words suddenly to steer them away from this mildly uncomfortable conversation.
Noticing his stealthy conversation changer, the girl smiled and nodded. She would allow for this change of subject, she especially wouldn't purposefully make him uncomfortable. Especially when they have become someone she has taken a particular liking too. Clearing her throat and steadying her aim as the next level screen came into view, she didn't spare a glance at Hiccup as she replied.
"Astrid. My name is Astrid." Hiccup smiled, also focusing his attention on screen and allowing the rest of the arcade to fade into the background.
"It's a nice name."
"Have we upgraded to small talk? Is that why you wouldn't let me keep flattering you?" Astrid chuckled, "Well, if that's the case... could I ask you a question? If it's not too personal."
"Ask away, we got nothing else to talk about."
"Who was that girl you were watching?" Her question unsteadier Hiccup's aim and allowing Astrid to once again steal his kill on screen. "Damn, am I good or is your aim just that bad?"
"How long have you been watching me?"
"Long enough to see that lovesick puppy look in your eyes, and enough to figure out who that girl is to you."
"So why did you ask me?"
"Because I want to hear you say it."
Her words were followed by a long silence between them, only interrupted by the constant, muted sounds of arcade machines whirring and popping in the background around them. Hiccup turned to meet Astrid's eye, only to find her gaze waiting for him with a smile. As he stared at her, he wasn't sure how he felt - he especially couldn't formulate it into words. His mind told him to confide in her, to trust her. But his aching heart screamed at him to run away, that it wasn't yet healed.
But how could she hurt a scar that had not felt a wound?
"Can I guess?"
"I thought you wanted me to say it?"
"Yeah, well. You were taking too long." Astrid complained as she adjusted the gun in her hand and waited for the next stage to appear on screen. "If I get it wrong, you can correct me." Hiccup shrugged, not forbidding her from trying. "Okay, so... Was she an ex?"
"No,"
"An old friend?"
"Not really."
"Okay... Oh, was she your first love?"
"No," Hiccup almost laughed at that guess. But he managed to keep his chuckles to a minimum.
"Your crush?"
"Basically," He shrugged.
Astrid groaned loudly, and for the first time missed her target on screen and allowed for Hiccup to get the last kill of the level. She tried her best to hide her anger and hurt pride from the action, deciding that this boy was worth her time more than winning an arcade machine. But she would always be a sore loser.
"Well, which is it? How can she be not really your first love and basically your crush? What is it?" Astrid vented angrily, her frustration at losing the game overtaking her calm desire to learn more about the boy playing beside her.
"Wow, you really don't like to lose do you?" Hiccup chuckled, noticing the turn in her attitude. He smiled to himself at the cute fists of frustration that she was trying hide from him and the pouty scowl she had decorating her expression.
Hiccup would have found it adorable, had he not also found it incredibly terrifying.
"Don't test me, pretty boy." She warned, but the nickname only caused Hiccup to roll his eyes. There was no cute blush for Astrid to fawn over and calm herself down.
"Relax, it was one game. Besides, you still won." Hiccup gestures to the screen where their final scores were being displayed.
"Then, as a winning reward, tell me who the girl is?" Astrid smirked, a new glint to her eye that warned Hiccup of this girls power.
"You really want to know that bad?"
Astrid nodded eagerly, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"Okay, fine..." Hiccup sighed, "She and I used to be in the same class and I had a major crush on her. But when I asked her out, she rejected me and crushed my heart." Hiccup slumped down into his chair, his head lolling down and laying limp upon his neck.
Astrid furrowed her brow and shook her head sadly.
"You had a crush on her?" Hiccup nodded, as though still putting himself for such a foolish action. "That was it? You had a crush on her?"
Hiccup looked up from his sad state of reflection and furrowed his brow. Now, it was his turn for confusion to overtake him and watch Astrid smile without knowing why.
"Why are you smiling like that's a good thing? She crushed my heart, she hurt me. She even switched classes so that she couldn't be near me." Hiccup explained, as though he was reliving the pain of those memories once again.
"If she was your ex, I would have suggested that you and I go stalk her and lock her up somewhere as revenge." Astrid smirked, living the idea in her head and enjoying the panicked screams of the girl trapped in the freezer room.
Sweet revenge. Always best served cold, sometimes literally.
"What do you suggest we do now that you know she's my crush?" Hiccup asked, regretting asking after speaking as he watched the expression on Astrid's face change.
"I would suggest that you and I go find her, and show her that you are better off without her. Possibly even show her what she gave up." Astrid shrugged, an evil smile on her face.
"What do you suggest?" Hiccup didn't know how he had become engrossed in the plan, or why he had so quickly agreed to it, but now he couldn't back out and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Well, my job is easy. I just need to look as in love with you as possible." Astrid shrugged, as though that problem was simple to overcome. Hiccup wasn't sure it was as easy as Astrid made it seem. "But your job is to be a man of impeccable manners."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple, but difficult. That's why only a few guys on this earth can accomplish it." Astrid readjusted her seat so that she was facing Hiccup properly. "Basically you need to do stuff like: hold doors open for me, help me into machines, stand with me as though your protecting me, making me walk along the emptier part of the path whilst you walk on the side with the people so only you bump shoulders. Then there's grabbing the side of the table so I don't hit my head when I've bent down to grab something from the floor. Or holding your hand against the car roof whilst your holding open the door so that I don't hit my head on the way into the car..."
"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?" Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle, seeing a small glint of admiration flashing across her eyes as she spoke.
Astrid shrugged and her expression fell.
"What? Is it obvious that I haven't had a boyfriend?" Astrid admitted shyly, embarrassed that she let her girly side get a hold of her.
Hiccup shook his head and smiled. He didn't know what it was, but something inside him told him to keep this girl around. She was worth keeping.
"Come on," Hiccup stepped out of the machine, but quickly turned back around and held out his hand for Astrid to take.
"What?" Astrid asked, switching her gaze between his hand and his face. Hiccup continued to smile.
"Let's go and complete your list." Astrid smiled at Hiccups answer and quickly took his hand in hers. "Where do you wanna go first?" Hiccup asked, excitedly dragging her out of the machine and steadying her on her feet whilst looking around the arcade for his next target. Astrid chuckled at his excited attitude and straightened her jacket with a quick flick of her hands.
"You're eager, aren't you?" She laughed and looked about the arcade for her next arcade machine. "How about that one?" She pointed to a classic racing arcade machine, fitted with the plastic motorcycles controllers. "I bet I'm a better driver than you."
Hiccup smirked and looked over to Astrid, carefully lifting his arm to drape over her shoulders. Astrid watched his movement nervously, but once she saw the searching expression in his eyes, desperate for permission, she smiled and allowed for his arm to rest upon her shoulders. Hiccup fully wrapped his arm over Astrid's shoulders with her permission, and smiled cheerfully, quietly dragging her over to the machines.
"Don't be too confident about that, blondie." Hiccup joked, trying out the nickname. But it was not one that Astrid appreciated.
However, a rejection of the name never escaped her lips.
With a helping hand, Hiccup helped Astrid mount on her plastic motorcycle whilst Hiccup mounted his own with a sense of experience and ease that made Astrid nervous. Yet, she braved a confident smile and placed her money out for Hiccup to take, sharing in the fee for the machine. Hiccup placed the money in the machine and it fell through with a satisfying clink.
Soon, the arcade whirred the life and the screen illuminated happily with their respective perspectives. Astrid adjusted her position and got ready to race, ignoring Hiccups quiet confidence.
However, Astrid would soon learn that his confidence was well placed, earning him the top spot with plenty of time to spare ahead of Astrid. With a huff of frustration, Astrid dismounted her bike and jokingly shoved Hiccup off of his.
"How the hell are you that good?!" She asked angrily, feeling like she'd been duped.
Hiccup just chuckled.
"I'm just that good."
"You lie." Astrid huffed and folded her arms, turning away from Hiccup.
With a chuckle, Hiccup dismounted his bike and stood before Astrid with a proud smile on his face.
"I used to play this arcade a lot as a kid, its what got me into motorbikes and also, why I got one of my own." Astrid shifted her gaze to meet Hiccup's.
"You have your own bike?"
Hiccup nodded.
"And that girl rejected you?" Astrid laughed mockingly. "What was she thinking?" Astrid smiled, but noticed a confused frown beginning to appear on Hiccup's face.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Oh, trust me." Astrid stepped closer to Hiccup, closing the gap between them and caused a soft blush to dust across Hiccups cheeks. "Boys with bikes are so much cooler and sexier than boys who play on the football team."
Hiccup gulped. Their proximity didn't scare him, instead it was the selfish desire that built up within him due to their closeness that made his eyes laser focused on Astrid's lips. Hiccup wasn't sure how much longer he could control himself. Clearing his throat to distract himself, Hiccup quickly looked away and avoided Astrid's gaze.
"So, where do you wanna head off next?" Hiccup asked, looking around curiously for their next target.
"Why not over there?" Astrid pointed to a particular game that was currently occupied.
Looking over in the direction Astrid was gesturing to, Hiccup found his eyes venturing upon a figure he had been hoping to avoid interacting with since he first saw her. Hiccup quickly turned his gaze back to Astrid and viciously shook his head in reply. However, Astrid was less willing to give up her decision and shook her head in response to Hiccup's reluctance.
"Come on, there was a reason I was getting you to do this." Astrid sighed as she took a hold of Hiccups hand and began dragging him over to the couple. "Aside from another reason..." Astrid quietly muttered to herself beneath the loud whirring and clunking of the machines around them.
Her words went unnoticed by Hiccup.
Arriving at Hiccup's dreaded encounter, Astrid took in the surroundings. This part of the arcade had older generation arcade machines. There were pinball machines and old Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat machines placed in a delicate array of retro colours and lights. Astrid immediately hopped on the arcade machine beside the couple, trying her best not to look at the girl's beauty and repress her jealousy. Instead, Astrid hopped up to the machine and gestured Hiccup to join her.
"Come on! Let's play, pretty boy." Astrid gestured Hiccup over with his new nickname, one that was sticking to Hiccup in a way he was not familiar with. At first it had been used in jest, but strangely it now felt warming and loving, like the way one would call over their significant other.
Hiccup hated how much he loved it.
"Coming, m'lady!" Hiccup called after Astrid, coming to stand beside her and place a tentative hand on the small of her back.
This was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the girl on the next arcade machine over.
"M'lady?" Astrid whispered to Hiccup who was leaned over beside her. Hiccup continued to smile and muttered through his teeth,
"I had to use a nickname for you. You did call me pretty boy after all." Hiccup pointed out as though the answer was obvious. But to Astrid, even his explanation made little sense. "Come on, let's play."
"Alright," Astrid decided not to question it further and inserted a coin into the machine. Listening to it clink into the machine, Astrid spared a glance over to the girl on the machine next to them. A small smirk stretched onto Astrid's face. "Could you teach me to play? I don't really know what I'm doing." Astrid looked over to Hiccup, hoping he would catch the lie Astrid was sprouting.
It took Hiccup a moment, but once his eyes met Astrid's and understood who she was gesturing to with her eyes, Hiccup understood instantly.
"Of course, it's quite simple to pick up." Hiccup smiled and positioned himself behind Astrid, taking control of her hands on the controls.
Taking a quick glance at the girl, Astrid saw the familiar glint of jealousy and anger flickering in her eyes. Trying to hide her glee and smugness, Astrid focused on the game and tried to distract herself from Hiccup's warm touch on her hands.
"Okay, like I've said, it's very easy to pick up. Just use the stick to move towards the guy and hit him using these buttons here." As Hiccup spoke, he guided the player on screen and expertly demonstrated his skills. Astrid was impressed, and slightly annoyed that she needed to play the helpless role of a clueless girlfriend.
"Okay, like this?" Astrid asked and perfectly executed the finishing move and completed the fight.
"You did it! Well done!" Hiccup celebrated as Astrid cheered and threw her hands in the air.
"I won! Thanks, babe!" Astrid cheered, turning around to face Hiccup and place a chaste kiss in his cheek.
It was an action that felt unconscious to Astrid, and she didn't think it through until moments later when her focus returned to the game. Hiccup on the other hand raised his hand to his cheek and smiled shyly. He tried desperately to hide his blush, but his efforts were disturbed by a harsh hand against his shoulder that jarred him away from Astrid's warmth.
"What the hell is your problem?" The girl that he had been trying to avoid, his school crush now stood before him with a face like thunder.
"What are you talking about, Heather?" Hiccup asked in confusion, furrowing his brow and throwing his hands in the air as a defence. Astrid watched their interaction curiously, waiting for her moment to intervene.
"You told me you liked me, and now you're hanging out with this bitch?"
"Hey!" Astrid interjected, offended by the word used to describe her. But Hiccup placed a calming hand on her shoulder to cool her temper. "I'm calm."
"Heather, what are you so upset about? I asked you out and you told me no. You rejected me. What was I supposed to do? Stay clung to you forever?" Hiccup defended himself, a new wave of confidence overtaking him. He didn't know where it had come from, but he liked it.
"I rejected you because when I asked you out first you rejected me! I wanted you to know what it felt like to be rejected, to have your heart crushed!" Heather yelled, giving Hiccup a sharp punch in the shoulder and pushing him back a step from the force. Hiccup let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes, but not yet braving a look over to Astrid.
"Heather, you didn't like me. I know you didn't. You just wanted me to like you because I was on the football team and you had been making your way through them all. I just happened to be next on the list." Hiccup explained, running a hand through his hair in annoyance at the girl's audacity. "Yes, I did like you in the end and I wanted to be with you. But then it was you who rejected me."
"Because you lost your chance!"
"I didn't know I was on a time limit!" Hiccup snapped back, his anger growing out of control from the confrontation.
It was at this moment that Hiccup felt a calming touch upon his shoulder, the fingers of which softly stroked his skin through the fabric of his shirt and instantly cooled his anger. Hiccup glanced towards Astrid and found her expression to be eerily calm.
That was worse.
"Look, Heather..." Hiccup spoke with a newfound sense of calmness. "I'm done talking about this. You fell for me and got clobbered, then I fell for you and got clobbered. You just have to ask yourself, is my demise really worth it for your happiness? Or could this be a lesson for yourself in learning what you truly want in your life? Not everything is a mistake, sometimes it leads you down the right path, leading you directly to the person you didn't realise you needed." Throughout his speech, Hiccup had slowly turned his attention to Astrid. His words seemed to be directed at her, his eyes searching her expression as he spoke and he hoped to find within them the same fluttering he was experiencing in his chest thanks to her touch.
"Heather, is it?" Astrid asked, turning away from Hiccup and towards the girl stood before them. "I want to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?" Heather spat out spitefully. Her frown deepened as Astrid spoke with relative calmness that annoyed her more than Hiccups words.
"Thank you for hurting Hiccup. And thank you for giving him that hurt puppy look that drew me to him in the first place. I don't think you realise what you have given up." Astrid smiled, turning to Hiccup and slowly reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek.
"Trust me, you don't know what you have gotten yourself into." Heather replied, clearly wanting the last word.
"Well, to tell you the truth," Astrid leaned over to Heather and whispered to her, "Hiccup doesn't know what he's gotten himself into with me either." Smiling, she withdrew her face and linked her arm with Hiccup's. "See you around, Heather." Astrid waved and directed Hiccup away from Heather and to some other part of the arcade.
"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked once they were out of earshot of Heather.
"Well, first you're going to take me out for a ride on that motorcycle I've heard about." Astrid smiled and stopped Hiccup in his tracks so that she could reach up to his ear and whisper her next words. "And then we'll see where the night takes us..."
Hiccup shot her a look of surprise, not expecting such filthy words to spill from such a beauty. But Hiccup wasn't complaining and tightened Astrid's hold around his arm.
"Well then, let's get started whilst the night is young!"