Chapter One: Life As It Is

I'll be honest. My life pretty much sucked.

Maybe it was because I had asthma, or the fact that I was just born small. But no matter the reason, I still remained an easy target for bullies to torment. Not that I ever complained back to them, of course. If I did, I'd be in much more trouble than I already was.

Often, I thought about standing up for myself. To face the bullies, or to confront my father who completely avoided me, and tell them all what I really thought. I sure had a lot of things to say. But the moment I reached my school, or saw my father's sour expression when he noticed me, my courage immediately vanished. I couldn't change the way things were. That was just life as it was.

And, soon, I learned to live with it.

Sure, some days were more painful than others, and sure I sometimes grew a little irritated with my surroundings, but I kept on going. My mother was the reason why. She'd whisper encouraging words into my ear as she checked up on me when it seemed that no one else cared, she'd always be there just to listen, and she would always stick up for me when my father's temper was too harsh for our liking.

Oh, my father… Stoick Vast Haddock, Mayor of the quaint little town of Berk. He had only been given the job a few years back, but that was all it took for him to forget that I existed. I missed my father a lot these days, with the bullying going on at school and generally... life. He used to set aside some of his time to talk to me, or spend a day fishing at the pond when I was feeling down.

He used to.

Now, I barely ever seem to get his attentino, and when I do, we usually just share a quick "hello" and "goodbye", but he'd never even bothered to look me in the eye.

Mom always said we'd spend more time together in the future; she promised that if I waited only a little longer, his schedule would die down.

It never did.

In addition to family problems, I also had school problems, and bullies alongside it. No surprise there.

First, there was the giant boy, Simon, who absolutely despised me- but everyone called him Snotlout because of a rather disgusting incident from the year before. He was the worst out of all of the other bullies, never ceasing to make fun of something I did or cause me to trip on my way to the next class. And to top it all off, he was also my cousin, with a father that had serious anger issues who was teaching gym class at my school. How I was related to such people, I still had no idea. I figured I must have had to have been adopted.

Then there were the prankster twins, Remy- Ruffnut- and Tom- Tuffnut. Whenever anyone saw a loose guinea pig in the hallway, or a science test tube exploded confetti, the twins were always behind it. Unfortunately, they had taken a liking of using me as their "experimenter", and I often came home with my hair smoldering or wearing a sign that said KICK ME! on my back.

There were other bullies as well: Alvin, Dagur, Savage, and even a few more. They never seemed to tire of humiliating me throughout the years.

Next was Frank, or Fishlegs. He wasn't a bully- far from it-, but he did hang out with the group. He never personally said something offensive to me, but it hurt to know that he would always just stand there and watch me getting beat up without lifting a hand to help.

Finally, there was Amanda Hofferson... she preferred everyone to call her Astrid with her love of the universe above us, which only made her more entrancing. She was beautiful, with a stunning blonde braid and blue eyes that made her especially likeable.

But I wouldn't want to get on her bad side any day. She was the toughest girl in the whole school, on the volleyball team and the basketball, and I knew she wouldn't hesitate to punch or knock somebody out if she felt the need to. I had had a crush on Astrid ever since I first laid eyes on her, and I still dreamed of her noticing me and giving one of her rare smiles.

But how could that ever happen? I didn't even think she knew my name.

Still. Underneath all my… well… self, I had some interesting qualities. First off, I could draw. I could sketch, paint, doodle away for hours without a care in the world. And my art wasn't bad at all. My mother keeps on saying my art is one of the most prettiest things she's ever seen- but then again, she's my mother. What else could I expect her to say?

Now that all these introductions are done, I should probably make some introductions, like who I am and what I'm here to say.

Well, I'll answer for you.

My name is Hiccup Haddock, and despite what everyone else believes...

I'm more than I seem to be.

I let out a sigh as I entered the school building. Almost automatically, I hunched over, trying to keep as invisible as I could. I wasn't in the mood for any more bullying today. I had had to stay up late the night before studying for a math test, and I would be too tired to try and fight back against them.

Not that I would win, anyway.

I made it to my homeroom on time, which was math class itself. I exhaled in relief when no one tripped me in the hall. Maybe today wouldn't be that bad.

After finding my seat, I tossed my backpack on the floor and dug out my math book. The room was almost full by now, but my teacher, Mr. Ryker, still waited with obvious impatience. I frowned. I had never liked him, as he was always trying to prove me wrong or get me in some sort of trouble. And it just so happened that his younger brother, Mr. Viggo Grimborn was the principal of the whole school. That meant if I got in trouble in this class, I'd get in trouble with the principal too.

Oh joy.

Mr. Ryker gave the clock an annoyed glare, like he wanted it to speed up somehow. There was still one more minute before the bell rang, and he wasn't happy that he still had to wait. Finally, the steady stream of students died down, which meant everyone had taken a seat. The room was full- except, there was still one place empty.

I felt myself reddening when I realized just whose desk it was.

It was hers.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Grimborn," she said as she entered the classroom. "My dog, Stormfly, got sick last night, and my mom had to take her to the vet before dropping me off this morning."

My head turned in her direction, and I could feel my eyes widen at her. Astrid Hofferson was standing right there. I tried to appear relaxed, but that was impossible. Astrid was right there. Ten feet away from me. Living. Breathing.

Mr. Ryker snapped me out of my trance with a sharp comeback to Astrid. "See that it does not happen again, Amanda."

"Astrid," Astrid corrected, shifting her backpack on her shoulder.

My math teacher rolled his eyes. "In my class, we go by our birth names. We don't go by nicknames of such."

"But what about Hiccup?" Astrid pointed out. "He has a nickname."

I froze. Astrid had said my name. She knew I existed… that I was in the same room as her…that I was someone worthy enough to know the name of...

Heat rushed to my cheeks. "Um, actually, it's not a nickname," I said, surprising Astrid. I doubted she'd ever even heard me talk before. "I was given the name Hiccup at birth."

Astrid blinked, studying me. I was acutely aware of her dazzling blue eyes piercing into my soul. "Really?"

All I could do was nod. She was talking to me.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Hofferson," Mr. Ryker quipped, shutting the door. "We're already late enough as it is."

Astrid nodded. "Of course, sir." She made her way through the sea of desks until she reached her own, which was on the other side of the room. I tried to make eye contact in case she wanted to acknowledge me, but she was too busy getting out her books to notice. Besides, Snotlout was in the way- and that was when he noticed I was sitting right next to him.

Snotlout glared over at me, his fists tightening on his math book. Just the way his sneer was twisted made me shiver. "You don't stand a chance with Astrid, Hiccup," he hissed, keeping his eyes on Mr. Ryker in case he would be called out. "Face it, Useless. No one likes you. And certainly not Astrid."

Oh? And she'd prefer you more? I wanted to say back, but I held my tongue. Arguing with Snotlout would only get me a sure black eye later on, and I didn't wish for that. Still, the words hurt, so I forced myself to drop my gaze and stare down at my desk, silent. I heard Snotlout snicker in triumph from beside me; my heart sunk. Yet another battle lost.

Sighing, I looked up at Mr. Ryker, not at all eager to learn the things I already knew.

As I said before, life sucked.

But it wouldn't be until later on I would realize just how much.