Well, here's a shorter chapter.

I think I might leave this story to rest for a while after chapter 3 here, because I've got quite a bit of other things that I really wanna write. So, I might be putting Small Town on hiatus. But, don't worry! I'm not abandoning it, I promise!

*Please note that I also changed my Pen Name and my icon, if you haven't noticed. I've decided I didn't want people that know my Tumblr to find my FanFiction so easily, considering they both had the exact same name and icon. But, you guys still get my update e-mails, right? And if you've been with this account since the beginning you would know that I've actually changed my FanFiction 'identity' like, 5 times. XD

Chapter 3

Ruffnut was always like this; often worrying about Astrid a little too much and then lecturing her about why you shouldn't do this and why you shouldn't do that. She was like a second mother to her, and enjoyed that role very much without a doubt. But it was all because she just wanted to look out for her. Even her own self didn't know why she looked at Astrid that way. She guessed she never really had a little sibling she loved to pick on except for Tuffnut, but he was just obnoxious, in her mind. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were the only children in that house, and they never really had as much care as the girl had for Astrid when they were growing up. If Ruffnut never grew up with that delicacy, then that was all she wanted for Astrid. She was just 'her little baby' who she loved to tease and make fun of but love her nevertheless. She was her younger sister, and they both loved to look at it that way.

Now, Astrid was aware of the fact that Ruffnut tried so hard to look out for her a little more than she needed to, but she still didn't mind the way Ruffnut would push her around and sometimes treat her like a child. She was older, and they were best friends, so Astrid could understand that. She would have normally gotten sick of it by now but then she realizes that the only reason Ruffnut would do that is because she cares about her, and that made her feel so good inside. Astrid never had an older sister, or any siblings for that matter, so who else would talk her into making the right decisions when her mom wasn't there? Besides, the way Ruffnut would give her advice and comfort when she needed it the most was the most amazing feeling in the world because sometimes she felt like she couldn't get that anywhere else.

Astrid listened silently as she sat on the end of Ruffnut's bed with her hands in her lap and her eyes to the wooden floor, her clothes and hair still damp from the rain outside. Her fingers fidgeted together nervously as she listened to sound of Ruffnut's rambling voice, pacing back and forth in front of her- getting quieter when she'd turn her head and walk further, then louder again when she'd reach in front of her- and all over again. She didn't know how long Ruffnut had been lecturing her, more like scolding her for being out in that stupid cold rain. She hadn't really been listening much intently, though at this point. She got bored after about a minute of it when she realized that Ruff was pretty much just saying the same things over and over again.

"I can't believe you would do that. What in Hel were you thinking?! You could have frozen to death out there." The girl instructed, her hands gesturing to nothing in particular as she continued to pace back and forth in front of Astrid. It was quite cold that night, and she couldn't blame Ruffnut for the way she was reacting, so she had no say in this. All she had to remember was that this was just her way of showing that she cares, and Astrid appreciated that more than anything. If there was one thing needed to know about Ruffnut, it was that she just had a different way of doing things.

"Ohh, just wait until I tell your mother about this." She continued, grumbling through her frustration and looking down at the ground. Astrid realized the twin hadn't even looked at her for the past five minutes because she was too busy rambling nonstop, not even giving Astrid a chance to reply before she would start talking again. But Astrid just remained her eyes to the ground below her, her mouth twitching as she chewed on the inside of her cheek, waiting for her to finish or at least take a breath.

It was far, far past midnight. Sitting here, Astrid could feel the weight of her body pulling her down, thirsty for an hour of rest. She had been everywhere tonight and all she wanted at this moment was to sleep. Sitting on this bed, she couldn't help thinking how easy it was to just fall on her back and close her eyes, but she couldn't with Ruffnut talking like this. She scanned the room, her head barely moving as her eyes lay upon the other bed across the room where Tuffnut slept. Luckily, he was at Snotlout's tonight. If Tuff ever saw Astrid like this he would only make fun of her for being the cry baby he thought she was at times. Sometimes when Astrid would come over and Tuffnut was here, he would only tease her and be a jerk to the girls. But, what can you expect from Tuffnut Thorston? That's why she couldn't be more thankful that she was here with Ruffnut and nobody else. Astrid just felt allowed to break down, and do anything in front of her or with her that no one would ever know and she wouldn't have to worry about.

"Are you listening to me?" Astrid snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Ruffnut's voice. She looked up as the twin groaned frustratingly, clenching her fists and pointing them in the air, nowhere in particular. Astrid was like a dog on a leash In Ruffnut's eyes; always wanting to explore and do what she wasn't supposed to but she did it anyway. Sometimes that girl would never learn, and teaching her was like teaching a child. Ruffnut knew everything about her by the way she acted ever since a few years ago. She knew Astrid just wanted to be able to do her own thing all the time, but she still needed some sort of guardian for that so she didn't run off unexpectedly or something. Astrid was definitely the one to do that.

The girl didn't have a caring guardian besides her mother, and when Máría wasn't around, Ruffnut was the first in line. She had even told Astrid's mother that she'd make sure she didn't do anything too spontaneous, because Astrid was known for that quite commonly. Sure, she knew how to handle an axe and defend herself if she needed to, but curiosity wasn't exactly about defense, and it could sometimes take her too far. That probably wasn't the route anyone was looking for.

Ruffnut stopped for the slightest pause, and Astrid had built up some sort of hope in her stomach before she only started talking again; it was something about 'consequences' and 'thinking', but Astrid just sat there ashamedly,realizing that Ruffnut's say wasn't making her feel any better. So much for that idea. Although she knew Ruffnut was absolutely right about everything she was telling her. It would have been best not to run out in that freezing rain with nothing but bare legs and a loose, thin cardigan although she didn't really have a choice. She just panicked and didn't think. She was lucky to be welcomed into the Thorston's home tonight.

Astrid didn't want to say anything, what good would it do? She had given up on that a long time ago, and she figured that fending would only make Ruffnut ramble even more. Either that or she wouldn't have been listening in the first place. Astrid looked up at Ruffnut from underneath her bangs, barely moving her head.

"What were you doing out there, anyway?" Ruffnut asked as she turned her back to face the tall wooden dresser against the wall, and began to dig her hands through the drawers. The dresser reached to about the crook of Ruffnut's chest, with very few little trinkets on the surface, with a large dirty looking glass positioned in the center.

Astrid could barely see what she was doing, her back now facing her as she could only vision Ruffnut's elbows jolting out and moving in all directions as she continued to vigorously scour through the drawers, her voice still muttering under her breath. And she realized that this was the first time tonight Ruffnut had actually asked her a question and let her speak.

She sighed softly, her entire mind hesitant. She wanted to tell Ruffnut what had really happened… she would understand, wouldn't she? Of course she would. Astrid was sure of it, and she knew she was going to have to tell her eventually because Ruffnut was the best when coming to identify a lie. There was no point in trying that.

"My dad hit me." The girl said finally, her voice sounding careless, yet almost shaky. She figured that saying it now and outright would be much easier than the other way around. Dropping hints or explaining it in detail would only make her feel worse, and remind her even more about it when she really didn't want to. It felt weird to speak after such a long time of silence.

Ruffnut couldn't help but realize how soft, simple and quiet her voice was. -Too quiet. And that was when she realized that this was beyond what she had thought. Although… not quite shockingly.

Her head snapped up from the drawers and immediately stopped every inch of movement in her; her searching arms slowing down to a stop to rest on the wall of the open drawer in front of her as her eyes widened, shocked, and all of a sudden guilty. She remained still and quiet, didn't turn around to face Astrid for she suddenly felt terrible for making Astrid feel worse than she already was this whole time. Hel, that girl had enough to deal with today so why did she have to go and make it worse? But, she didn't know, so really, it's not her fault.

But… her dad? Wow. Ruffnut knew Astrid's father, and knew everything that went on in that family more than anybody else. Nobody really talked about what happens in the Hofferson house because nobody really knew. And those that did, just remained quiet. But Astrid had told Ruffnut everything, so a part of her actually wasn't that shocked by what she was hearing. She just never thought it would happen now. Not today. She didn't feel that she needed to ask questions or even open her mouth. That would only make it worse for Astrid's case. She could tell the girl was already heartbroken tonight. Her wide eyes relaxed, nearly transforming into a sad and confused expression, although she all of a sudden knew everything just by those four words. There was just a part that somehow couldn't believe it- or didn't want to believe it. She dropped her shoulders, her eyes darting everywhere in front of her, her mouth in a thin line as dozens of thoughts had flooded her mind. She didn't know what to do.

Ruffnut blinked and turned her head with her eyebrows lightly creased as she laid her eyes upon Astrid. She was still sitting there, her eyes looking everywhere but her face, trying to avoid Ruffnut's gaze as the girl's hands fidgeted together continuously with her head down low. Ruffnut could see the sadness in her face, couldn't imagine what was possibly going on in her head right now. The twin sighed quietly as the silence remained. Neither of them knew how long they had been like this, the sound of the faint rain and wind still storming outside through the walls of the house. But for some reason, it didn't feel long at all.

Astrid's gaze remained to her lap, realizing the tiredness of her eyes and her exhausted body. "Here," She heard Ruffnut, not even having the slightest chance to look up and see what she was talking about before a pile of garments suddenly hit her chest and fell into her hands. Her head instinctively snapped up, her face confused. "Put these on."

Astrid creased her brows sharply, but didn't say anything. She looked down and held the clothing out in front of her, examining the garments in her hands. It was a loose and thin tunic, the color a light and faint yellow with a pair of old, black wool pants that looked like they had been cut from the bottom so they lengthened up to the upper thigh to look as a pair of shorts. They were quite nice actually for an outfit of old cloths that were clearly used only when doing messy work or sleeping in. She was surprised she had never seen Ruffnut wear these, even around the house. She should have at least once because Astrid had been over at the Thorston's more than enough, and was most likely to see her in them at some point. But then again, Ruffnut was never the one that made a big fuss about changing her outfit every day.

"I'll be downstairs." The girl said as she began to walk out the bedroom door, her voice tired and plain and unable to be identified with any emotion. Astrid quickly snapped out of her thoughts on the garments as she stood up quickly, letting them fall out of her lap as Ruffnut had already made her way out the bedroom door. Astrid ran up to her, grasping the doorframe with both hands as she let all her weight lean, sticking her head out the doorframe and craning her neck to the side slightly. "Hey, Ruffnut?" She asked.

Ruff stopped, turned her head to see Astrid standing there in the doorframe; the most innocent smile on her face, no matter how slight it was.

"Thanks." She said, her tone smooth with a hint of a crack in her voice. Ruffnut could tell by the way she was looking at her that she meant that more than anything, and Ruffnut couldn't help when the corners of her lips forged into a smile… for the first time that night.

She looked at Astrid, her eyes gazing deep into hers, and that was when she realized that she really had helped her out a lot tonight. And she felt good about that. She loved Astrid as a friend more than anything, and she suddenly felt a pang of happiness inside her because of that.

Ruffnut inhaled, her chest rising heavily as she closed her mouth, then opened it again. She motioned her head to the side. "Get some rest." She said with a faint smirk, and turned around again to head downstairs.

Astrid smiled widely, shook her head, her chest tensing into the smallest breath of laughter, for she knew clearly well that Ruffnut welcomed her beyond words.

She was just never the one to show it.

ooo

Astrid had woken up quite early that morning being the riser she was. The sun was completely above the horizon and was shining like any other day, although it was only the dawn of morning and the chirping birds had just come out. Daylight on Berk's mornings often came before any of the Vikings were even awake.

She didn't need to try and be the least bit quiet as she snuck past the sleeping Ruffnut, because that girl was the heaviest sleeper Astrid had ever known who would almost never wake up to anything. She had known that full well from past experience. She quickly changed out of Ruffnut's borrowed clothing and into her own garments that she had left to hang on the footboard of the bed the night before. They were dry by now, although she was definitely going to change out of it as soon as she got home because she couldn't stand the feeling being filthy as she was, even though it wasn't that bad. But she had been in wet then dried clothes that resulted in a strange, grassy smell that spread to her skin, adding that she hadn't had a shower the day before and her hair was tangled as Hel.

Astrid looked back at Ruffnut one more time; her face was mushed up against the mattress as she lazily lay on her stomach with her hands crookedly by her sides and her mouth slightly open as Astrid stood on the opposite end of the room by the door as she finalized the adjustments of her clothing. Ruffnut was by far sound asleep, probably dreaming about whatever that girl thinks of in her unique mind…

Soon enough, Astrid headed downstairs and immediately hopped out the front door, finding herself pacing quite quickly as she made her way back to her house, for some reason not even wanting to look up at anything or anybody today. It was as if she was trying to hide her face, which she was in a way. Something inside her felt weird to be out here- walking the same path she had taken last night on what she called a 'tiring journey'. Whenever she would look up in front of her, her imagination could see the exact rain and darkness surrounding her. Just like the night before. And it felt strange. She felt ashamed and didn't even know why. None of these villagers knew what had happened although she still felt embarrassed that it did. Every Viking acted completely normal, she just didn't feel normal. She was too scarred by this place now.

Once she reached her house, she pressed her weight against the heavy door and gripped the knob as she cautiously peeked her head inside and shifted her vision all around the house to scan the place before stepping in completely. It felt weird to be alertly entering your own home as if you weren't supposed to be there and would get caught if you did. She had been gone all night, and nobody knew where she went. She would think that at least her mother would be waiting for her first thing, and was probably up all night for that matter. But the house seemed surprisingly vacant. There was not a human figure in sight, nor a sound.

Although, she figured the silence and the vacancy was a good signal that allowed her to feel safe. Safe. It didn't feel right for her to be using that word in terms of her own home. She walked forward. Her father was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, and considering she hadn't eaten since yesterday, she'd been quite starving for a while now so she quickly grabbed an apple from the wooden fruit bowl on the counter as she brushed past the kitchen and headed up to her room. She needed a bath.

Replies:

Tasermon's Partner: Well, thanks! 'Cul-de-sac', yeah. Kinda sounds (and spelt) strange, so it sort of questioned me too but I looked it up and apparently it's cul-de-sac. Also, porch lights don't necessarily mean lightbulbs. I am also obviously aware of how I portrayed Astrid's life and Astrid's feelings. How I wrote it is how I picture it, and I try not to include the series in this because I don't really even like the series, to be honest. Sure, she can hop on Stormfly but that's not the point of the story that I'm going for here. Astrid can still feel the way she does. And you're right, she will have to come home eventually: back to her parents and her chores! Thanks for the review!

Sweettea8: Hey! Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! You got it spot on.

fantasyfreak23: Thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much that means, I really appreciate it. :) You are a true motivator.