Hi there all! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from me, I, and myself. Honestly, I was hoping to post this chapter a lot sooner, but then finals happened and my foot healed, so I've been busy getting all my shit together. Anyway, here you all go. Lots of new characters introduced here, and a little more Hiccstrid. Hope you like it!

And a shoutout here to PuppeteerOllie for being an awesome beta for this story. Thanks a bunch, pal!

Guest reviewers…

Nightstorm: Yeah I'm not planning on giving up on this just yet! And agreed, a busy schedule can really get in the way of pretty much anything extra you want to do. Anyway, I'm glad you thought it was badass, since it's my goal to be a badass at everything. ;) Thanks so much! Hope you like this new chapter, too.

TheNightFury: (all reviews) Well, maybe everyone will find out… but just not now. And yeah, he's already a badass, he doesn't need to be pumped up anymore! He's even becoming a little TOO much of a jerk, don't you think? Anyway, I'm so glad you like the story, and sorry for the late update. Thanks a bunch! :)

Night of Fury: (all reviews) Yeah, Pet Day was a little interesting, wasn't it? Toothless certainly made an impression all right. Thanks so much for the reviews! Hope you like the new chapter.

Tada: Haha, Captain Hiccup is coming along! I'm in the middle of writing the big battle, so it's taking a while. Hoping to update soon, though! Thanks!

Jack: Yeah, I have been sorta pairing the gang together, but I've got different plans for both Fishlegs and Heather. I mean, Heather likes military guys, and Fishlegs has a crush on Riley Thorston. We'll see how that plays out… :) Anyway, thanks so much for the review, Jack!

Blacksmith: Thanks so much for the review! But haha, 'Milady' is just the goofy nickname Hiccup has used in the movies. I carried it over – I don't think it's creep-like, just a nickname. Anyway, I'm so glad you like the story! Here's your update! :)

Guest1: Yeah, yeah, Snot's finally learned his lesson. He's found his place – and now he wants to get out of it. He deserved it, though. He's kind of a jerk. LOL. Thanks for the review!

Guest2: So glad you like the story so far! Sorry for the slow updates, but I'm a busy boy rn. Hope you like this new chapter!

And that's the guest reviews! Thank you all for dropping one off! Now on with the story, you all have certainly been waiting long enough. LOL. Read on!

"Henry Haddock, to the principal's office, please. Henry Haddock to principal's office. Thank you."

"Well, shit." Henry shouldered his backpack and turned away from his locker in the Junior hallway. Heather, a couple lockers down, grinned at him.

"The school system never forgets," she informed him, slamming her locker. "You're about to get in serious trouble about your wolf."

Henry sighed, putting his backpack in the locker and spinning the dial. "I suppose I knew this was coming," he said ruefully. "But it'd better not be Scott who told on me or I'll be kinda mad."

"Scott's not a tattletale," Heather mused. "He has a million faults, but ratting isn't one of them."

"Well, someone did," Henry grumbled. "I guess I'm not mad, but Principal Oldman wasn't very happy with me last time I was in his office. Maybe he'll hit me with some harsh punishment."

"Keep your fingers crossed," Heather laughed, as Henry locked his locker and turned to make the walk to the office.

"Wish me luck," Henry muttered, giving Heather a rap on the head with his hand as he passed.

"Uomph. Good luck, jerk. May you be put on the cleaning detail for weeks."

"Love you too, Heather," Hiccup called back, and then shouldered his way through the crowd of students. He noticed, not for the first time, that a lot of girls looked at him and kept looking. He was amused, but took no notice of them.

In a few minutes he arrived at the Principals Office. With a regretful sigh, he turned the knob and entered the reception room, where the secretary was waiting.

"Hello, Miss Olivia," he said, walking over to her desk. "I'm back, are you proud of me?"

"Oh, Henry Haddock again," Miss Olivia mocked, remembering him from his last visit. He had introduced himself then. "What a surprise."

"Your sarcasm doth injure mine feelings," Henry grinned. "What, I'm not THAT big of a troublemaker."

"This is your third day of school and your second visit here," Miss Olivia commented, arranging papers and laughing. "I know a troublemaker when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now."She took off her glasses and glanced sternly up at Henry.

Henry raised his hands defensively. "All right, all right! Although I'm not really sure what I did this time."

"Well, go find out from Mr. Oldman," Miss Olivia said, putting her glasses back on and turning to her computer. "He's available, and since I called you a few seconds ago he's probably expecting you."

"Well all right then," Henry rapped his knuckles on the counter and then reached over to steal a lollipop from the jar on Miss Olivia's desk.

"Henry!" Miss Olivia reprimanded, but laughed. "You certainly aren't very nervous about seeing Mr. Oldman."

"Well what's the worst he can do to me, make me clean bathrooms?" Hiccup grinned, unwrapping the lollipop and sticking it in his mouth. "I've faced a lot worse than angry principals on my life, believe me. Anyway, say a prayer for my soul, Miss Olivia." Henry turned to enter the Principal's office.

"For the soul of a thief," Miss Olivia sighed, shaking her head. "Are you going to be sucking on that lollipop when you go in there?"

"Yup!" Henry called back, opening the door to Mr. Oldman's office and stepping in.

The principal was busy with papers on his desk, and Henry pulled up a chair, sat down, and stretched his legs. Mr. Oldman looked up.

"Henry Haddock."

"Yessir." Henry twisted the lollipop in his mouth. "I was called here. What's up, sir?"

Mr. Oldman glared at Henry, obviously displeased at his lack of care. For a second he seemed about to order Henry to remove his lollipop, but if he was, he decided against it. He laid his arms on the desk, leaned forward, and spoke.

"Mr. Haddock. Friday was our annual 'Bring your Pet to School Day,' as you know. Apparently you brought a wild, uncollared WOLF into the school. This wolf attacked another dog and also dragged a student through the halls. You did bring a wolf into school?"

"I did." Henry rolled the lollipop in his mouth. "But Toothless is not wild, and both of those incidents are completely excusable, sir."

"Are they? Do explain."

"Toothless did not attack another dog, sir. The dog attacked him, and he defended himself. There was no blood, no injuries, he did it flawlessly, ending the fight without an issue. And he was not dragging a student through the halls in an aggressive manner. The boy, who is a friend of mine, wanted to Toothless to drag him, so I let him."

Principal Oldman snorted. "He wanted to get dragged around? I find that hard to believe."

"It was Tommy Thorston."

"Oh!" Principal Oldman leaned back and chuckled. "Now I don't find it hard to believe at all."

Henry laughed with the Principal. "True enough, sir. And as for the fight with another dog, you can check the security cameras to confirm what I said."

"That won't be necessary." Principal Oldman leaned forward again. "All right, Mr. Haddock, this was slightly overdone. To be honest with you, I was looking for any excuse to cancel the event on Friday, and when people came in here saying your wolf was dragging someone around I jumped at it without even investigating. So really, this is my investigation right now. You are not in trouble."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "I'm not?"

"Not unless I find that you lied. Right now your story seems rather plausible. I'll look into it a little more."

"Feel free."

"So who was the owner of the dog that attacked your wolf?"

Henry lit down on the lollipop, and it crunched in his mouth. He looked up at Principal Oldman. "I'm assuming if I tell you, that owner will get in trouble?"

Principal Oldman said nothing.

"Well then." Henry stood up. "I forget his name. Check the security cameras if you're really that interested in finding out who he was. Frankly, I don't think you are, I mean, I wouldn't be. Is that all, Mr. Oldman?"

Mr. Oldman stood up. "Just two more things, Mr. Haddock. One, next time you bring a wolf to school, he's required to have a collar and a leash. And two, if you ever walk into my office with a lollipop in your mouth again, I'm going to put you in detention for a week. Am I clear?"

Henry grinned, but then wiped it off. "Yes sir!" He said enthusiastically, and then walked out, the lollipop still in his mouth.

Thanks to his trip to the principal's office, Henry was several minutes late to his first class of the day, which happened to have most of his friends and all of his enemies. Scott Jorgenson was across the aisle, but Astrid, Callie, and Heather all sat around him and made the class very fun. Callie and Heather were sure to toss in sly comments about Henry and Astrid during the conversation, but it was all in good fun.

After the day of school, Henry swung down the halls to the locker room to get changed. It was his first day of running practice.

The boy's locker room was – interesting. As it was his first time actually appearing in a full locker room, Henry was both confused and amused at the crazy stuff that went on. He saw Scott, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut on one side of the room, but they were with the football team and Henry passed them up. Instead he sat down at his own locker, next to a small, quiet kid with a quiet smile.

Henry already knew most of the boys in the locker room, and in a few seconds he was joining the group, throwing things and making inappropriate jokes like he was born to do it. But he noticed the quiet boy never spoke, but whenever someone made a joke he smiled to himself. Henry immediately became interested in the boy. He wasn't talking, but he was listening. The boy was dangerous.

Then Henry laughed at himself as he put on his running shorts. He was still thinking that he was in the wild. The small kid next to him was no threat at all, he was just – well, quiet. Henry glanced at the kid one more time, then someone he did not yet know spoke up, addressing him directly.

"Ya, you're Henry? The new school badass?"

Henry looked up in the process of taking off his shirt. "Sure, that's me."

"The kid who beat up Scotty?" the boy asking was sitting across the aisle, wrapping a piece of tape around his wrist. "This what I be hearing?"

"Yup, that's me," Henry grinned, taking off his shirt.

"Whoaa!" The boy looked at Henry's shirtless figure. "Someone's gonna have a hot girlfriend with a body like that."

"Already got one, pal," Henry quipped, picking up his running tee shirt. "Who are you, man? You a runner?"

"Yessir yessir!" The kid extended a hand. "Johnny Trotter. Running and talking trash is all I do."

"Johnny," Henry smiled, shaking the hand firmly. "I think I've heard your name before in reference to really fast people."

"Some people say I'm fast, but I like to say I'm lightning," Johnny quipped, exposing a set of teeth that was slightly crooked. He had the most impish grin that Henry had ever seen.

"Lightning, huh?" Henry chuckled.

"Oh yeah," Johnny grinned. "It's all in the electric charge. I've gotta stick my fingers in the wall sockets and power up before I go race."

"Well why don't you go stick your dick in the wall socket, Johnny," someone called, and the locker room laughed.

Johnny picked up his underwear, which he had just taken off several minutes ago, and flung them at the one who spoke. Henry never saw people dodge an object with such enthusiasm.

"Why don't ya'll shut up, huh?" Johnny snorted, cutting the tape that he just put on his wrist. "It ain't my fault I can run on electricity."

"You run on sugar and cocaine," someone else called. More 'ooohs' and howls of laughter.

Johnny ignored it turned back to Henry. "Anyway, as I was sayin, I'm a speed demon. I actually do run on sugar, pal. Gimme a pixie stick an hour before the race and I'll run down a jackrabbit."

Henry grinned. "You're the best at West High, huh?"

"The best and the sexiest," Johnny laughed, stripping off his own shirt and standing up. "Look at this raw power, boys!" He called, doing a muscle pose. "I'm my own favorite runner and your girlfriend's favorite runner too."

Roars of laughter erupted from the boys. Johnny was a skinny guy, with a runner's build. He was muscled, but it was all lean and hard. He did NOT look good in a muscle pose.

"There's a thing called the gym, Johnny!" Someone called. "Go to it!"

"Do you even know what a girlfriend IS, Johnny?" Another yelled, and the catcall was accompanied by a flying sneaker, which Johnny dodged.

"Steroids, boy! Use them!"

Tommy Thorston suddenly appeared at the end of the row of lockers, dressed in his football gear. With the shoulderpads he actually looked strong.

"Shut up, Johnny!" He called, flinging a cardboard lunch box at the brown-haired goofball. It struck Johnny in the shoulder as he tried to duck, and uneaten French fries spilled over the lean boy's back.

"OOOOOOH!" Everyone cheered, and Johnny, yelping, hopped to his feet. "Ya'll football slimeys! I'll have ya! I'll rip your legs off!"

"Try me!" A giant lineman, in uniform, shouldered Tommy aside and spoke to Johnny. "I'll take you anytime, tough guy!"

"All right, I'll fight ALMOST all of ya!" Johnny laughed, once more causing the boys locker room to erupt in laughter. "Geez, can't you leave an innocent kid alone?"

"Innocent?" Someone shouted. "The day you aren't doing something bad I'll have a million bucks!"

"When am I ever bad?!" Johnny shouted.

"You know, if they searched your locker, how much weed would they find?" Someone laughed.

"A lot, probably," Johnny replied, and there was another group laugh.

Henry was merely sitting, listening and laughing at the whole scene. Johnny was taking it all in good fun, and the boys were all teasing him in good fun. The whole locker room atmosphere was one of total and absolute goofing off and no sense of seriousness whatsoever. Even though everyone was doing their best to roast Johnny, he could tell that Johnny loved it. And everyone else loved it too.

"Weed is what makes the world go round," Johnny laughed, reaching down to tug on his shoes.

"Your glorious running career will be over the day they do drug tests at school," another person called.

"The day they do drug tests at school half the students will be in jail," Johnny retorted. "Geez!"

Suddenly a strong, well built boy pushed through the line of football players and slammed his hand against the nearest locker three times.

"Running team! Coach told us to meet on the track in ten minutes fifteen minutes ago! What's the matter, you lazy clowns?"

"It's Johnny's fault, Stanley!" Someone shouted, and the newcomer, Stanley, sighed.

"It's always Johnny's fault, I know. Johnny, see this?" Stanley showed his clean running shoes. "This is my foot, and you can find out in about twenty seconds how much force it can apply to your rear end." Stanley checked his watch. "Nineteen."

"Hey!" Johnny was scrambling to his feet, and all the other runners in the locker room were doing the same. Apparently Stanley, when he was demanding hustle, was not to be trifled with. Henry hurriedly laced up his shoes and stood, even as the rest of the runners began to hurriedly file out.

"About bloody time," Stanley called, with a grin on his broad face. He had blonde hair, so blonde it was almost white. "Johnny, hustle up. And you!" He pointed at Henry. "You a new kid?"

"Yes I am," Henry acknowledged, and Stanley stopped to shake his hand. "Awesome. Astrid's new recruit, huh?"

"Yep," Henry grinned. "Henry Haddock."

"Stanley Heisenberg." Stanley smiled. "I'm the team captain, third fastest on the team."

"Pretty sweet," Henry nodded, and Stanley draped a sturdy arm across Henry's shoulder.

"All right, this team has only three rules. One. Don't be a dick. Two. Follow rule number one. And three, don't mess with Stanley."

Henry laughed. "Based on the chaos I just saw in the locker room," I'm assuming you have to enforce rule three often?"

"Not much anymore." Stanley laughed. "They've all learned not to mess with me, and they're all good kids, so they know whatever I tell them is for their own good. As the captain I have to keep them all in line, but as I always say, there's a time for running and a time to do nothing. I'll goof off with you all when it's appropriate."

"Disciplined, huh?" Henry chuckled.

"Oh yeah." Stanley dropped his arm from Henry's shoulder and pointed at his wrist. "Where's your watch, Henry?"

"Oh, crap!" Henry looked at his wrist and saw he had left it in the locker room. "I'll be right back. Meeting on the track?"

"Yeah. Hustle, Henry!" Stanley called, as Henry turned to jog back to the locker room. "The girls are already out there waiting for us. You don't want fifty girls mad at you, trust me!"

Laughing, Henry ducked into the locker room, turning the corner.

And ran slam into a football player, smashing against the shoulderpads. Off balance, he fell onto the tiles, back against the wall.

"Oomph. Sorry," Henry grunted, grimacing. "My bad."

The football player had stepped back slightly to take the impact, but now he stared down at Henry. Henry looked up.

It was Scott Jorgenson.

"Whoops," Henry grinned, getting to one knee hurriedly.

Scott didn't say anything. He stood above Henry, in his football spikes and pads, and his helmet in his hands. Henry was on one knee, and for a second Henry thought Scott was going to kick him. But then the big quarterback just smiled, turned to the door, and tapped his helmet on Henry's head. Then he was gone.

Henry got to his feet. At least Scott hadn't decided to cheap shot him, but he had been surprised. He had forgotten how strong Scott actually was. Getting knocked on his ass had reminded him pretty quick, and Scott had babied him by simply tapping him on the head with his helmet. It didn't feel right.

Turning back into the lockers where he had just left, Henry was expecting to see no one, but he was wrong. The small quiet kid with the glasses was still there, picking up the spilled cardboard lunchbox that had been thrown during the chaos earlier. He had his back to Henry, and the boy carefully put the box in the trash can.

Henry looked at the bench where he had left his watch, and saw that it was gone.

The small boy turned around.

"Oh," he said, his voice strong but quiet. "Your watch. I picked it up for you."

Reaching into his pocket, he extracted Henry's watch and handed it out to him.

Henry stepped forward and took it. "Thanks," he said, looking the small boy over. The kid was dressed in high-quality running gear and nice running shoes. "Are you on the running team too?"

"I am," the boy replied. "And so are you."

"The clothes give it away, huh?" Henry extended his hand. "I'm Henry Haddock."

The small boy took Henry's hand, and Henry noticed that the tiny kid barely came up to his shoulder.

"Hi. I'm Duncan Moore, but before you get to know that name, stop. No one calls me that, I go by Lil' Duke."

Henry grinned, and the two runners shook hands. "Well Duke, nice to meet you," he said. "You new to the team? A freshman?"

Duke smiled. "I sure look like a freshman, don't I?" He gestured to himself. "So small and quiet, am I right? But no, I'm actually a Junior."

Henry's eyebrows went up, and Duke chuckled. "Another disbeliever, huh?"

"Not disbelieving, just surprised." Henry strapped on his watch. "Naturally people have told you all the time that you're short for your age so I will, too. You're short for your age."

Duke laughed. "I – I kinda figured that out," he grinned.

"So," Henry said as he finished strapping on his watch, "Why are you still in here? Stanley ordered us all out and no one's allowed to disobey Stanley's orders, right?"

"No one but me." Duke smiled. "I'm allowed to stay back here. I like to clean the locker room."

Henry took a step back and looked at Duke with newfound interest. Here was a kid who was not shy but quiet, not big but firm, and apparently he liked cleaning the locker room.

Henry spoke slowly. "You're not like most other kids, Duke. Sorry for being so blunt, but I've only been in society for a little while."

Duke nodded. "Go on."

"Well, see, most people can be classified," Henry went on. "When I first saw you I thought, 'oh, there's just another shy kid.' But here, talking to you, you're not shy, and you also like to pick up garbage? I'm sorry, I can't place you, Duke."

Duke smiled, showing his clean white teeth with braces.

"No one can," he grinned. "When people try to describe me they can't."

"So how would you describe yourself?" Henry asked.

Duke's smiled faded. "I don't know, Henry. I'm just a kid who's trying to make his mark on the world, that's all."

"And running cross country will help you make that mark?" Henry asked.

"I think so," Duke answered seriously.

"Oh? Scholarships?"

"Yes."

Henry grinned. "I'm sorry, Duke, but you don't look like a fast runner to me."

Duke grinned back. "And you look more like a model than a runner, Henry."

Henry laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Really, though, how fast are you?

"Well, Alaska has about ten top-notch runners," Duke said, picking up a plastic bag and tossing it in the garbage can. "First and foremost, there's Eugene Franz."

"I've met him," Henry commented. "He's a badass."

"You've met the next one too," Duke added. He pointed to the door. "Believe it or not, the next fastest in all of Alaska is Johnny Trotter."

"Dear God," Henry laughed.

"A goofball normally, but you should see him on the course," Duke grinned. "The third fastest is – well, there's no real word for it except asshole."

Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, his name is Thaddeus Butcher, but everyone calls him Thug," Duke went on. "God, he's the meanest kid alive. He'll do anything to win, and he's right behind Johnny. Some say Thug'll beat Johnny this year. He runs for a team in Fairbanks, so we don't face him often, only in the large invitationals."

"Gotcha," Henry nodded. "And who's fourth?"

Duke grinned. "That's me."

Henry's jaw dropped. "No way."

"You'd never guess it, right?" Duke laughed. "But these short little legs of mine can move like a windmill. I eat hills like candy and I run the tangents well."

"Uhh, that all went right over my head," Henry laughed. "This is my first running practice."

"Right," Duke said. "My bad. Basically I just run a very smart race, and I've got sudden bursts of speed. That puts me in fourth, but I'm nowhere close to getting Thug or Johnny, let alone Eugene."

"Very impressive," Henry was surprised. "So with two of the fastest runners in the state, why has West not won the State Championship as a team yet?"

"Distribution." Duke spread his hands. "The team that has the lowest score wins the meet, and the way the points are calculated takes the top five places for each team, adds them up, and the lowest wins. Johnny and I give West fantastic points, and Stanley can manage a good placing, but we have no one else after that."

"I see," Henry rubbed his chin. "So if I was in the top ten, could we win?"

Duke closed his eyes, doing some quick math in his head. "Yes, we could," he said. "It'd depend on where you placed and the rest of the spread and all, but that'd put us up there with South High – the biggest competition. Eugene runs for them."

"I follow you," Henry said.

"So you think you can place in the top ten?" Duke asked.

Henry opened his mouth to answer, but then someone kicked the locker room door open with a crash, and both boys whirled. It was Stanley.

"What are you two sorry losers still doing in here!" Stanley yelled. "Henry, how long does it take to fucking put on a watch?! Duke, how long does it take to clean up a fucking locker room!? I'll clean up your guy's case with my boots here in a minute! Get your asses to the track! Holy fuck!"

Henry and Duke did not stay to question Stanley. They darted past the yelling senior and ran down the halls, Duke leading the way. He led Henry to a back door, which he threw open, and then the two boys ran to the track, where a large crowd of runners were already gathering, both boys and girls.

Henry and Duke ran up to the group, which was all sitting and stretching. Coach Naomi, with clipboard in hand, was calling the roll. Henry and Duke, with grins on their faces, dropped to the turf on the inside of the track and acted like they weren't late.

Coach Naomi's eyes darted above her glasses and took the two of them in, and Henry couldn't help but grin as he noticed almost everyone looking in his direction and whispering to each other. Already he was insanely well-known in the school.

"Henry Haddock and Lil' Duke!" Naomi called sharply. "Duke, you're allowed to show up late, but Henry, get it together. It's your first practice."

"Sorry, coach," Henry grinned.

"Mhm. Devon Harley!" Coach Naomi kept calling the roll.

Henry took the time to survey the group of runners and coaches. They were all siting, stretching in a semicircle around the coaches, and there were three others besides Coach Naomi. Henry saw Astrid and Heather on the other side of the semicircle, and then he saw Johnny Trotter, causing trouble in the middle. But he was more interested in the coaches.

He had already met Coach Naomi before, and she was standing erect with her clipboard calling the roll and making marks. Next to her was another coach – a tall one who looked very strong, and seemed to be helping Coach Naomi.

Then there were the other two, a man and a woman. The man was standing with a quiet smile on his face, and he was dressed to run, in a tee-shirt and shorts. He was silently surveying the group unnoticed.

On the other side of Coach Naomi was the second female coach, and she seemed different. She looked fit and fast, but she didn't stand up straight. She was slouching, slightly hunched, and did not look confident. Henry made a mental note.

"And that's all!" Coach Naomi lowered her clipboard. "All right, so let's get to business! Johnny, shut up and listen! We're doing a forty minute medium run on the coastal trail. As always, make sure you're not running alone, run with someone who has a watch, and no walking! Johnny, shut up!"

Johnny spread his hands. "I didn't say anything, coach!"

"No, but you were about to, I saw it in your eyes," Coach Naomi pointed her pen at him. "I'm going to bring duct tape for your mouth next practice."

"But – but then I won't be able to breathe!" Johnny whined. "Coach, do you want your best runner to die of suffocation?"

"I wouldn't even mind that much," Coach Naomi laughed. "Now get up and get running, all of you! We meet back here on the track in forty minutes for a cool-down and core workout. Move, go, git!"

The bustle of kids got up and got running, as Coach Naomi ordered. Henry was about to follow Duke out, but just then Stanley Heisenberg arrived, walking into the track.

"Varsity boys!" He called. "Meeting on me! Let's go!"

Duke turned to Henry. "Why don't you join us?"

"Me?" Henry raised his eyebrow. "I'm not Varsity yet."

"No, but from what I've heard about you it's likely you soon will be," Duke said. "Let's go."

Henry shrugged, and allowed Duke to lead him over to Stanley, where a group of four other boys stood. The male coach was there also.

Duke and Henry walked up, and Stanley nodded at them. "You brought Henry, Duke? Good." He addressed the group. "Boys, this is Henry Haddock. He's new to the team and running in general, but he's spent all his life in the wild and he's fast. He just be the man we need to make this a State Championship team."

Henry stared levelly at Stanley as the group of boys looked at him.

"Yeah baby," Johnny Trotter grinned.

"Look, Stanley, how do you know all that?" Henry asked. "It's not really a secret, but still, I'd like to know where you learned that."

"A girl talked to me about you," Stanley stated.

"Astrid?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Henry chuckled. "Well, OK then. She's probably pumped me up a little much, boys."

"I doubt it." It was the male coach. He stepped forward and put out his hand. "I'm coach Larry, and it looks like you can run well, Henry."

Henry shook the coach's hand. "Well, I hope to learn," he said. "It's nice to meet you, Coach. If you see anything at all that you think I can improve, my form, my style, anything, let me know. I wanna be fast."

"Will do." Coach Larry smiled. "It's your first year, so you'll have a lot to learn. That's my job."

"Well, Henry, I think you've met most of the boys," Stanley said, stepping forward. "I'm Stanley, you've met Johnny and Duke, so there's just these two punks now." He put a hand on the next boy's shoulder. He was an African-American boy with a smile and a lot of muscle. "This is Timothy Jones. We all just call him Jones because there's two other Timmys on the team."

"All right Jones," Henry gripped hands with Jones, and made a mental note at the boy's powerful handshake. Jones was strong.

"Nice to meet you, bro," Jones smiled, showing his big white teeth.

Stanley turned to the last kid. "This is Calvin Biggs."

"I saw you in the locker room," Calvin commented, reaching out to shake Henry's hand.

"Right, I saw you too," Henry said.

"Looks like you'll fit right in here, Henry," Calvin commented, clapping Henry on the shoulder.

Henry nodded, looking at Calvin. The boy was the tallest of the bunch, with a shock of sandy hair and a touch of freckles. He wore a basketball tanktop.

"And that's the Varsity team," Stanley announced. "It's supposed to be seven runners, but we had three graduate last year and we've only replaced two by now. The returners are myself, Duke, Johnny, and Jones. Calvin is new and so are you."

"All right." Henry nodded, looking at all the boys. "So then. Shall we run?"

Johnny grinned. "A no-nonsense man!" He laughed. "He wants to get right to work! We've gotta winner already!"

"But he's right!" Coach Larry called. "Get running! The team has already left, go and catch them! And forty minutes hard effort! If I see one of you without a sweaty face at the end of the day, I'll flay him!"

"Yes coach!" Johnny saluted. "We're off!"

"Move!" Stanley called, beeping the button on his watch. "I've got time. Forty minutes from now!"

Henry hurriedly set his timer, hearing the unfamiliar beep of the device that was to control his life for the entirety of the cross country season.

With a thunder of feet, the six Varsity boys' shoes landed solidly on the track for several paces until Stanley led the way out the gate and onto the grassy embankment on the side of the parking lot.

"We're headed to the coastal trail," he said coolly, his breathing steady. "Henry, I know you're new, so just stick with us and don't do anything stupid, like follow Johnny."

"Hey, I like to try – interesting side routes!" Johnny laughed, his long, muscled legs striking the grass with smooth power. "It's part of my day's work."

"You don't know what work is, Johnny," Jones laughed. "Why don't you come to the gym with me after practice? I'll show you how to work."

"No thank you, future Mr. Universe!" Johnny raised his hands. "I'm not gonna pump iron with you! I'm gonna go home and play Xbox after practice."

"Boo," Stanley snorted, his thick thighs bulging as he ran. "Xbox 360; wasting teenager's time since whenever the hell it was invented."

"What do have against Xbox, Stanley?" Calvin asked. He was in the rear of the group with Duke. Henry, Johnny, and Jones were in the middle, and Stanley was leading.

"Everything!" Jones called. "You're a freshman, Calvin. You haven't heard Stanley grump about video games for the last FOUR years."

"Look, video games are terrible," Stanley said. "Seriously, there's like nothing good about them. What happened to going out and playing ball in the street?"

"All those kids got run over by cars," Johnny cackled.

"Oh, shut up, Johnny," Jones laughed. "Not all drivers are as bad as you are."

"That's not even true, though," Stanley argued. "All drivers are bad these days, thanks to the distraction of cell phones."

"And here we go, Stanley's speech on cell phones," Johnny sighed.

"Look, I've got nothing against cell phones," Stanley expostulated, turning his head slightly to talk to the people behind him. "They're awesome, actually. But we can't overuse them. There's a time and place to doodle on your phone, and so many people violate that. Phones in class, phones in cars, phones while walking, they're all over! I've got a problem with idiots that use their phone at the wrong time."

"Ok, we get it," Calvin laughed. "Chillax, Stan Lee."

"Do not call me Stan Lee!" Stanley laughed. "I'm not gonna start writing comics."

Henry was listening to the banter with interest, but when Calvin said that he didn't understand. He broke in.

"Stan Lee? Who's that?"

Johnny whirled, staring at Henry as they ran side by side. "What?!"

"Did you seriously just ask that?" Calvin called.

"Yeah man, you don't know who Stan Lee is?" Jones asked seriously.

"All right, boys," Henry raised his voice. "Let's get one thing quite clear right away. I'm a dummy. You hear that!? I'm a dummy! Just a few months I was living in a cabin, alone, in the middle of nowhere. All I know how to do it hunt, trap, fish, make a living off the land. I know nothing about this world, its inner workings, and its phrases. I'm a clueless dummy. Yes, I do not know who or what Stan Lee is, so get used to it. I'll be asking these questions for at least a year."

Henry stopped, pausing to take a few deep breaths. Talking while running at a good pace was hard. The group suddenly passed across a road and onto a side street.

"Wow," Johnny commented. "So you're totally new to all things… wow! Do you know what getting laid is?"

"Johnny," Duke sighed, speaking for the first time, but Henry laughed.

"Yes, I know what getting laid is, Johnny," Henry replied. "This is my third day of listening to teens talk, I mean, come on."

"But you don't know who Stan Lee is," Calvin grinned. "All right, have you heard of Spiderman?"

"Yeah!" Henry lit up. "I saw the Spiderman movie."

"Oh really?" Anyway, Spiderman is a fake character that was created by Stan Lee. He wrote comics, and Spiderman was a comics superhero."

"OK, bear with me," Henry sighed. "What are comics?"

The boys all roared with laughter, and Henry sheepishly bent his head down and took it with a grin.

"All right, brace yourself," Calvin laughed.

For the next ten minutes in the run all the other boys explained all kinds of worldly things to Henry. From comics to Netflix and chill, they gave Henry all the things they could think of. In the meantime they reached the Coastal Trail, which was a fine paved trail that ran along the coast. There was a marvelous view, and the run was pleasant. The Varsity boys, being the fastest group, soon caught up to the other groups and passed them all – except the Varsity girls. They were still ahead, but soon the boys turned a corner and saw them in front of them.

"Wow, those girls are moving fast today," Johnny muttered, checking his watch. We're only twelve minutes in."

"We need to pick up the pace," Stanley grunted. "All this chatting has slowed us down."

"Oh, everyone, shirts off!" Johnny called. "We've gotta show off."

"For crying aloud, Johnny," Calvin chuckled.

"Come on, we're getting hot and sweaty already anyway," Johnny laughed, stripping off his shirt. "Jones, aren't you hot?"

"Your girlfriend thought so," Jones taunted, but he too took off his shirt.

"Yeah boys, shirts off," Stanley ordered, taking his off as he spoke.

"Yes sir!" Calvin took off his tanktop, and then Henry stripped off his tee-shirt. Then the Varsity boys tossed them all on a bush on the side of the trail.

"We'll get them when we come back," Stanley told Henry, as he saw Henry look questioningly. "We do it all the time. Welcome to running."

"All right," Henry said. He turned to look at the boys, all shirtless – except Duke. Duke still had his black tee-shirt on and showed no sign of taking it off.

"Duke, you gonna get with the program?" Henry asked.

"Oh, not Duke," Stanley turned to look at Henry. "Duke never takes off his shirt."

Duke spoke. "I don't like it."

Henry shrugged, looking at his watch. "Well then, OK."

The boys were now fast catching up to the varsity girls, and Johnny elbowed Henry. "So is it true you're dating Astrid?" He asked, nodding at the blonde girl who was leading the girl's team.

Henry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so," he replied.

"Nice going, boy," Johnny grinned. "She's fine. Boys, Henry's dating Astrid."

"My man!" Jones clapped Henry on the shoulder. "Good going."

"You tap that?" Calvin asked cheekily.

"Boys, come on," Henry laughed. "Give the poor fellow break. And shut up, the girls are gonna hear us."

"Let em!" the boys were now right behind the girls, and Johnny shouted. "Hey, girls, is Henry dating Astrid?"

"Nooo!" Henry groaned.

Several of the girls turned to look and laugh, and Heather shouted. "Oh yes she is!"

Mortified, Henry ran alongside the girls with the group, even as all the girls and boys laughed at him.

Astrid, at the front, turned and looked at the girls, then glared at Henry, her cheeks red.

"All right, everyone," Henry laughed, running alongside Astrid. "We are dating, OK?" He took Astrid's ponytail and flipped it over her head into her face.

"Hey!" Astrid spluttered, flicking it back. "Don't touch my hair!" And then, raising her hand, she smacked Henry on the back, the noise making a giant crack on his bare skin.

"Yeow!" Henry yelped, and the boys all roared with laughter.

"Five star!" Calvin laughed. "Astrid's a savage!"

"What was that for?" Henry groaned, rolling his shoulders. A red hand mark was already appearing on his back.

"That was for – everything," Astrid informed him, a quirky smile tugging at her lips.

"Well," Henry snorted, "Not sure what I did to deserve that."

"Oh, stop whining and go run," Astrid laughed, her smooth, firm pace not budging. "You should be moving faster than us."

"All right, I'll run," Henry grinned, and, lowering his hand, smacked Astrid on the butt.

"Hey!"

Yelping, Henry took off, running ahead. Astrid took two steps to follow and then stopped. "You ass!"

Henry looked back, laughing. "Don't hit me next time!" He grinned. "Gods, I'm glad I'm faster than you! Boys, let's go! I don't wanna stick around!"

Everyone on both the boys and girls team was laughing now, and Johnny turned to wink at the girls.

"Aight, see ya'll," he grinned. "Let's catch Henry, boys! Move!"

In a few seconds the Varsity boys had caught up to Henry and then left the girls behind. As soon as the boys were out of range, Heather tittered and elbowed Astrid.

"You two are hella cute together."

"Yes you are," Katy, another of Astrid's teammates, smirked. "He's a nice guy, too. How'd you two hit it off so well, Astrid?"

"We – we met a while ago," Astrid stammered. "You know how he's like, not used to society? He used to live on his own, in the wild."

"Right, I kinda heard about that," Katy affirmed. "You know, Henry's like, already all over the school?"

"Well, yeah, he showed Scott up and everyone loves him," Astrid laughed.

"Not just that," Katy said. "They like him because he's popular – and he – he doesn't care."

"What do you mean?" Astrid looked questioningly at Katy.

"Well, I mean, he's not stuck up," Katy explained. "I mean, look at Scott, he's Mr. Popular, but he will ignore anyone who's not. Henry though, he doesn't get the whole popular thing, its funny! He talks to everyone, from the nerds to the football stars."

Astrid nodded slowly. "Gotcha."

"You like him?" Katy smiled.

Astrid smiled back. "Maybe a little bit."

In an hour and fifteen minutes, the practice was over, and the team was heading back to the locker rooms to change and leave. Henry was utterly exhausted. It had been some months since he had done any intense work, and the run with the Varsity boys was very difficult. However, they didn't even seem fazed. Henry felt weak among them.

Slowly, he wiped sweat off his brow and began to walk back to the school.

"Hey Henry," Someone said, and Henry glanced up to see Coach Larry.

"Hey Coach," he acknowledged. "What's up?"

"Not much, but I saw you run today, and have a few suggestions."

"Oh really? What did you see about me, Coach?" Henry stopped and wiped his brow again, looking intently at his coach.

"Well, you're very strong, Henry. I've never seen anyone show up to their first day of practice and stick with the Varsity boys like you did. Very impressive. However, your running form absolutely – sucks."

Henry and Coach Larry laughed, but then Larry got serious again.

"I'm not joking, Henry, your form looks horrible. You absolutely pound your feet on the ground, and your shoulder and neck muscles are tight and tense. Also, your hands look really strange while you run. You carry one of them higher than the other."

Henry nodded. "OK."

"That's taking away a lot of potential speed." Coach Larry looked quizzically at Henry. "Actually, it's like you're running with an imaginary weight on your shoulders. Are you used to running while carrying something?"

Henry blinked and then laughed. "Right!" He grinned. "When I would run, I would almost always have a buckboard on my back with meat, dead animals, or traps. Heavy weight. And my hands – haha, I'm often running with a rifle in my hands."

Coach Larry grinned. "That explains it. All right, Henry, you've got a lot to work on. You have spectacular running muscles, your core is powerful, your legs are absolutely ripped, and your shoulders are strong. But you're not running properly to maximize your breathing and strength. Tomorrow I want you running around the track with me watching, and I'll tell you what to fix and how to fix it."

"Thanks a bunch, Coach." Henry shook Larry's hand. "I appreciate it."

"Look, Henry, I need to know how committed you're going to be to this team," Larry said, shaking Henry's hand. "I think you've got great potential, but only if you're willing to come to practice every day, listen, and give 100% effort. Can you do that? If not, you're wasting my time."

Henry smiled. "One of my rules in life is if I'm going to do something, I'm going to put 100% into it," he said. "If not then why do it? And I've decided I'm going to run."

Coach Larry grinned. "Perfect. See you tomorrow. Our first race is on Saturday, and I'm interested to see how fast you'll be. If you can run well enough to impress me, you'll be on Varsity for the first race."

"Thank you Coach." Henry nodded.

"All right. Go hit the showers, Henry. Good work today, you put in a lot of effort."

Nodding, Henry turned and walked to the school. Johnny Trotter appeared by his side and walked with him.

"So how was your first practice, Henry my boy?" He grinned. "Tired?"

"Yeah," Henry groaned, as Johnny pushed open the door to the school. "Forty minutes of running I can do, but you guys go pretty fast. I'm not used to this style of running."

"Aw, you'll get used to it, bud," Johnny grinned, his crooked teeth showing. "Running is something that you can't easily just be good at, it come with practice. To get fast you've just gotta RUN."

Johnny grinned.

"Practice makes perfect," Henry agreed.

"That it does. And speaking of practice, would you look at that."

Johnny grabbed Henry's shoulder to stop him as they passed by the door to the exercise room at West.

There, inside, his back to the door, was Scott Jorgenson. He was standing in front of a punching bag, slamming his fists into it and practicing his moves. A coach was standing beside him giving him tips. Scott's powerful punches struck the bag with clean force, and he was moving fast.

"Whoa," Henry muttered.

"He's practicing for you, Henry," Johnny chuckled, turning Henry and walking down the halls again. "Scotty doesn't like to get beaten, and you beat him – thoroughly. I saw that video. Scott now knows you're better than him, so he's gonna train till he's better than you. Then he'll fight you again."

"I don't want to fight him!" Henry sighed. "OK, I humiliated him, I get it, he wants to get even. But geez."

"Oh well. It'll take him awhile to get good enough to beat you. And hey, I was wondering – look out!"

Johnny's warning was too late. Astrid had snuck up behind them with her towel, and gave Henry a solid whack on the butt with the towel.

"Yikes!" Henry spun and laughed. "Geez, Astrid."

"That was payback," Astrid grinned, flipping her towel over her shoulder. "Don't just think you can spank me and get away with it."

"You five starred me," Henry grimaced, twisting to look at his back. "Johnny, is that red hand mark still there?"

"It ALMOST faded." Johnny laughed. "Let me fix that." Raising his hand, he walloped Henry on the back again. Henry howled.

"Gawd!" he groaned. "Leave the poor kid alone!"

"Put your shirt back on already!" Astrid laughed. "Then it won't happen."

"But I'm about to go shower," Henry said. "What's the point of putting in on if I'm just going to take it off again?"

"Yeah Astrid, if I had a chest like that, I'd go shirtless too," Johnny grinned, laying a sweaty arm across Astrid's shoulders.

"Uggh, well, there's your locker room." Astrid pointed, pushing Johnny's arm off. "Go shower, dummies. I can smell you both."

"Where are you going?" Henry asked.

"To shower too, duh," Astrid brandished her towel and walked to the door to the girl's locker room.

"Oh hey! Can I join you?" Henry laughed.

"Oh, in your dreams, big boy," Astrid called back, and vanished into the girls' locker room.

Johnny whistled. "She said in your dreams. I want to dream your dreams, Henry."

Henry laughed, elbowing Johnny in the ribs. "Stow it. I can smell your jealousy more than my own sweat."

"Seriously, you two are gonna be a badass couple," Johnny laughed, as the two boys walked into the locker room. "But I've one important piece of advice for you in your relationship."

"What's that?" Henry asked.

Johnny stopped and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. He leaned in to whisper. Henry leaned in too, interested. Johnny spoke.

"Use a condom."

"Oh, for Thor's sake!" Henry shoved Johnny away, even as the blonde boy burst out laughing. "You're a loser, you know that?"

"Oooh, a loser?" Johnny cackled. "We'll see who the loser is on Saturday, boys! First race of the season!"

"YEAAAH!" The locker room cheered.

"Who's gonna run their shoes off tomorrow?"

"WEST!"

"Who's gonna be badasses tomorrow?"

"WEST!"

"Who's gonna win tomorrow?"

Silence. Then… "South," someone called.

"Oh, screw South!" Johnny pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the bench by his locker. "Are you saying we're gonna lose to those chubby babies in black and gold?"

"Babies?" Jones, wearing only his towel, spoke up. "Eugene Franz, Yacine Taylor, Aiken Bennett, Sam Brown, and Camden Crowder? That's an army."

"Screw all of em!" Johnny shouted, taking off his shorts. "Sure, Eugene, Yacine, and Aiken are crazy fast, but Sam and Camden aren't that good. All we need to do is have ONE more runner beat Yacine or Aiken."

"Stanley can't beat Yacine or Aiken," Calvin Biggs argued, from the bench by his locker.

"Who's taking my name in vain?" Stanley stepped out of the shower door, drying his blonde hair with his towel.

"We're talking about the race on Saturday," Johnny said, opening his locker and taking out his towel. "We're talking about how you can't beat Yacine or Aiken."

Stanley grimaced. "You're right, boys, I can't," he sighed. "Look, they're just faster than me. I've been running against Aiken for three years and Yacine for two. Not once have I beat them in a 5K race."

"Then we're doomed tomorrow, essentially," Calvin grinned.

"Unless," Johnny announced, "Henry here can beat one of those two. Then we can win."

Stanley looked evenly at Henry, wrapping his towel around his waist. "Well, Henry? How about it?"

Henry spread his hands. "Look boys, I'm fast, coach thinks I'm fast, but I've never ran a race before in my life! I can't even tell you if I'll finish the race alive, I just don't know. I know we're battling South High and Service High tomorrow, and South is our biggest competition, but I just don't know how fast I am." Henry shrugged. "On Saturday, we'll see."

"That's the spirit," Jones nodded.

"Well then." Stanley walked up to his locker and opened it. "It's a possibility, and before it no longer was. We've gotta run our hearts out on Saturday. Johnny, fly like some girl's dad is after you with a shotgun. Duke, no one beats you but those two. You follow me?"

Duke nodded quietly.

"Then I'm gonna beat Camden and Sam," Stanley breathed. "Calvin and Jones, you need to beat Sam too."

"I'll sure as fire try," Calvin grinned. "But this is my first time racing him, and his PR is better than mine."

"Doesn't matter, beat him anyway." Stanley turned to Jones.

"I can do it." Jones smiled easily. "I can take Sam."

"Do it, then." Stanley grinned. "Then all we need is Henry to beat Aiken or Yacine."

Henry smiled. "I'll try, boys. I'll try."

"Good." Stanley finished drying himself off and motioned at Johnny and Henry. "You two need to shower. Get in there!"

After showering, getting changed, and a little more joking with the boys, Henry was the first to finish. He walked out of the locker room and turned to leave.

"Hey," someone called, and Henry turned to see Astrid leaning against the wall. She straightened up.

"Well hello, Milady," Henry grinned, turning.

"Geez, you boys take forever to shower and clean up," Astrid laughed, jabbing a thumb at the boy's locker room. "I thought girls were the ones who were slow at that kind of stuff, but I guess I was wrong."

Henry grinned. "We were discussing race strategy for Saturday. I thought girls would do that too, but I guess I was wrong."

Astrid laughed, and walked down the hall with Henry. "We don't need to discuss race strategy," she smiled. "South has a fast boys' team, but their girls' team is slow. We're going to win easily."

"Really? Getting cocky there, Astrid," Henry quipped.

"Maybe I learned a thing or two from you." Astrid jabbed Henry in the ribs. "I've never seen someone as cocky as you are."

"I thought you knew Johnny Trotter," Henry grinned.

"Oh, pfft, Johnny is just a vulgar goofball," Astrid snorted.

"But he's cocky, too."

"Whatever."

Henry and Astrid arrived at the door, and Henry pushed it open. The two stepped out into the warm fall day, walking towards the parking lot.

"Where did I park again?" Astrid muttered, feeling in the pockets of her jeans for her car keys. "I always forget these things."

"I don't need to remember," Henry laughed. "My car is so awesome I just have to look for the most badass one in the parking lot."

"Oh, shut up," Astrid laughed, pressing the unlock button on her keys. "Oh, there's my car. Right in front of my face."

Astrid and Henry walked up to Astrid's silver Prius, and Henry grinned, leaning on the top of it.

"I remember the first time I saw this car," he smiled.

"So do I," Astrid smiled back, tossing her bag in the passenger's seat. "I also remember getting a gun pointed at me by some cute boy that same day."

Henry narrowed his eyes and looked slyly at Astrid. "Watch it, As."

"Hey, I'm allowed to call you cute." Astrid pushed at Henry playfully.

"Cute, though? That's childish. I'd prefer handsome or sexy."

"Oh, you're just a big dork." Astrid laughed, and Henry wrapped an arm around her neck, playfully hugging her.

"Oh, so I actually have a question for you," Astrid hummed, sliding an arm around Henry's waist and snuggling up against his chest.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Henry dropped his hand to Astrid's shoulder.

Astrid looked up at Henry. "So my mom wants you to come over for dinner sometime this week. You can meet my dad, too. Can you do that?"

"Oh no," Henry laughed. "OK, I've seen enough movies to know how awkward family dinners can be with a potential boyfriend. Do I HAVE to do this?"

"Yes you do," Astrid admonished, smirking up at him. "What, I thought you weren't afraid of anything."

"I'm not, but if I don't want to why should I?" Henry asked.

"Because – a pretty girl is asking you," Astrid smiled.

"And who says you're pretty?"

"You did!"

"Oh, I did? Right. I forgot."

Astrid laughed. "You. So are you gonna come?"

"I still don't want to."

"I don't care. Come."

"You hit me today. Twice."

"And you spanked me."

"Only once."

"Whatever!" Astrid laughed. "I'm pretty sure you could joke forever, Mr. Haddock. Come on, answer the question."

Henry sighed. "When?"

"Saturday, this week. After the race."

"Uggh again."

"Stop being such a big baby," Astrid tickled Henry. "Say you're coming."

"Ok, ok, fine, I'll come!" Henry laughed.

"Good boy." Astrid winked at him. "And really, it won't be that bad. My parents are really chill. You already met my mom."

"Yeah," Henry said. "But I really hate formal-ish dinners."

"What do you have against dinner? You like to eat, don't you?"

"Well, yeah!" Henry chuckled. "But I just eat whenever I want to, you know."

"Well then a little change will do you good," Astrid informed him.

"Fine," Henry grumbled. "I said I'd come. Well, I've gotta go home."

"Take me with you," Astrid teased, still holding on to Henry. "I haven't seen your house yet and I want to know what it's like."

"It's – small." Henry laughed. "And I'm just going to watch The Amazing Spiderman. Calvin insisted that it was better than the Spiderman I had seen. He gave me the movie after practice."

"I like Spiderman…" Astrid hinted.

"But you can't come to my house!"

"Why not?"

"Because Gobber -" Henry hesitated.

"Gobber?" Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Is Gobber some wild animal you have roaming about in your house?"

Henry laughed. "Pretty much, yeah! Gobber is my adopted father."

Astrid looked confused. "Gobber? That's a terrible name. And why can I not meet your adopted dad?"

"Because -" Henry laughed then shrugged. "Why not? I'm just warning you, he's – odd."

"All parents are odd," Astrid argued.

"No, Gobber is – different," Henry grinned. "Look, Gobber is crazy. He's like me, but with less limbs and more beer. He's spent all his life hunting and trapping, and all he does in his free time is curse, talk shit, and drink beer. But he's also a great guy." Henry nodded. "Oh yeah. He's a great guy."

Astrid looked quizzically at Henry. "Well, you just listed the traits of the typical high schooler," she laughed. "Curse, talk shit, and drink beer."

Henry laughed. "You don't understand. Oh well. Follow me to my house and we'll meet Gobber. Then we can watch the Amazing Spiderman in my room."

"Sounds like a plan." Astrid unlaced her arms from around Henry and pulled out her keys. "You lead the way, and don't go speeding!"

"But speeding is fun!" Henry grinned. "You're just going to have to keep up."

"If I lose you I'll text you," Astrid growled, getting into her car.

"But then I'll be texting while driving!" Henry called, as Astrid sat down in the drivers' seat.

"And since when do you care about safety?" Astrid retorted.

"Never! I just thought you might."

"I've given up on you." Astrid slammed her door shut.

Henry laughed, and Astrid started her Prius, he jogged down the parking line to where his black Corvette sat. Swinging in, he pulled out his keys and started the car, quickly backing out.

Looking behind him, he saw Astrid behind him, and he gave her a salute in his mirror before pulling forward. Just then a car shot out from the other end of the parking lot, moving at a breakneck speed. It honked and then jerked straight for Henry.

Cursing, Henry slammed on the brakes, and the car, still headed straight for him, suddenly swerved, missing Henry by four feet and then skidding to a halt beside Henry's corvette. Henry turned to see who almost hit him.

In the driver's seat of the other car was Johnny Trotter, laughing, and in the passenger's seat was Tommy Thorston. They were both laughing like they had just played the best joke ever.

"Yeah, fuck you guys!" Henry flipped them off through his window. "Fuck you!"

Shaking his head, Henry gripped his wheel as Johnny hit the gas again, leaving. Henry remembered his car – it was a dirty grey ford. He made a mental note to draw some obscene message on it later.

Astrid honked at Johnny as he drove by, and Henry, despite himself, laughed.

"Welcome to high school," he muttered, and then pulled out of the parking lot, Astrid behind him.

It was a fairly short drive to Henry's house, but he deliberately turned on his turn signal late and made sudden turns just to make Astrid mad, who was following him. However, she was a good driver, certainly better than Henry, and she stuck on his tail all the way to Henry's neighborhood, where he pulled into a driveway in front of a small, single story house with a battered green pickup truck parked out front.

Taking out his keys, he opened the door and stepped out, even as Astrid pulled up into the drive behind him.

Grinning, Henry watched as Astrid stepped out of her car, a scowl on her face. She slammed her door and shook her fist at Henry.

"You were purposely trying to lose me, you ass!" Astrid growled.

"No, I just forgot where I lived," Henry teased, as Astrid walked up to him.

"Yeah right. Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Sorry, Milady." Henry slid his hand around her waist and tugged her into a hug. "You're just fun to tease."

"Am I?" Astrid brought up her hand and punched Henry in the stomach.

"Ummph!" Henry grunted.

"Yeah, take that," Astrid snorted. "You deserved it."

"I suppose I did," Henry nodded, reaching into his car for his backpack. "All right, let's head on in. I was hoping for a second that Gobber was gone, but nope, that's his pickup truck right there." Henry jabbed a thumb at the ugly green truck.

"I still don't get why you're afraid to let me meet your adopted dad," Astrid mused.

"You will," Henry affirmed. "And hey, this is my small, smug house. Whattdya think?"

Astrid looked up to survey the outside of Henry's house. It was very small, only a single story, and didn't seem to have much square footage. But it did seem inviting and it was certainly fine looking.

"I like it," Astrid nodded. "My house is only about five times bigger, but whatever."

"I don't need a big house," Henry chuckled. "There's only two guys living in it. There's no need for a house as huge as yours."

"Parties!" Astrid laughed. "That's the best reason ever."

"I've never been to a high school party," Henry commented.

"Well, you soon shall," Astrid told him. "Homecoming is in like a month, and there's a dance and then a million parties happening. You're taking me to the dance, by the way."

"Am I?" Henry raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to dance."

"You – don't need to know anything to dance at a high school dance," Astrid laughed. "Uhh, I won't explain grinding to you right now. Ask the boys about it."

"All right then," Henry shrugged. "Let's head on in and meet Gobber."

"Cool."

Henry and Astrid walked up to the front door, and then Henry opened it and let Astrid step in ahead of him. He closed the door behind them.

"Listen to this," Henry whispered to Astrid, and called out.

"Hey Gobber!" He shouted. "I'm back."

Setting down his backpack, he lazily kicked off his shoes, while winking at Astrid.

"Oh, hey kid!" Gobber called from the living room. "How was school, huh?"

"So-so," Henry replied, as Astrid, grinning, tugged off her sneakers.

"Ya know, every time I ask that question, I feel like some mom who really cares about their child," Gobber called.

"Right," Henry laughed, helping Astrid take off her jacket. "And of course, you don't actually give a shit about me."

"Yep!" Gobber chuckled. "Geez, kid, yer a little shitbag, ya know that?"

Astrid gasped and started to laugh. She put a hand over her mouth.

"What's ten to the power of two, Gobber?" Henry called, grinning at Astrid and gesturing to the living room.

"How the hell should I know!?" Gobber shouted. "Don't start talkin Algebra to me agin, kid!"

"Well, what else should I talk about?" Henry asked, steering Astrid down the hall to the living room.

"Anythin but school!" Gobber snorted. "Talk about yer girlfriend!"

"Which one?" Henry called back.

"Hey!" Astrid hissed at Henry, jabbing him in the ribs.

"The one who ya should've shot a year ago!" Gobber answered.

"Oh, you mean this one?" Henry grinned, stepping into the living room, Astrid right next to him.

Gobber was sitting on the couch, watching the TV, with a bottle of beer in his hand. As Henry and Astrid walked in, he stopped and stared, lowering his beer from his mouth.

"What the hell?" He grinned, showing his busted teeth. "Henry, ya said you were goin to tell me before ya brought a girl over!"

"Yeah, and I also told you I would never bring a girl to meet YOU," Henry grinned. "So much for that. Gobber, this is Astrid Hofferson, the girl I told you about."

"Well hello there," Gobber said, clambering to his feet. He glanced up and down Astrid, from her small white socks to her sparkling blue eyes. Gobber's moustache bobbed as he spoke. "Yer a lot hotter than Henry let on."

"Gobber…" Henry warned.

"What?" Gobber set down his beer, and Astrid giggled.

"Nice to meet you, Mr -" She hesitated. "I guess Haddock isn't your last name."

"Don't mister me," Gobber grinned. "Hell, I've forgotten my own last name. Just call me Gobber."

"Ok, Gobber," Astrid laughed. "It's nice to meet you."

Gobber nodded. "You wanna beer?"

"Gobber!" Henry admonished. "She's still seventeen."

"Well, so are you, and you drink beer like you were born to do it," Gobber laughed.

"Oh dear," Henry groaned.

Astrid also laughed. "Look, I'm a highschooler, I've drank beer on a thousand occasions. But I don't like it, so I don't want any."

"Our beer is good," Gobber shrugged.

"All right, that's enough, Gobber," Henry grinned. "Astrid and I are going to watch a movie."

"Oh, you want this TV? I can go -"

"No!" Henry blurted. "Not this one. We're going to use the one in my room. We will NOT be sitting here with you."

"Oh, ya want some privacy?" Gobber winked.

"Gobber…" Henry groaned, and Astrid started to chuckle.

"Ya know, I kin tell ya all kinds of embarrassing stories about this kid here," Gobber nodded at Henry. "If ya care to I can -"

"All right, that's enough," Henry announced, grabbing Astrid's shoulder and turning her away. "We're going across the hall to my room. Bye, Gobber."

"No, I want to hear some embarrassing stories!" Astrid laughed, shoving at Henry.

"No you don't!" With Gobber laughing behind them, Henry tugged Astrid back into the hall and then into his room. Closing the door, Henry leaned against it and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Astrid burst out laughing.

"Oh, Gods," she gulped, between peals of laughter. "All right, you win. Your adopted dad is CRAZY."

"I told you, right?" Henry groaned, walking over to his bed and flopping down on it face first. "He was NOT meant for the city life, that's for sure."

"Are you sure you are, too?" Astrid glanced around the room. "Look at this mess, Haddock. And what are all these things on the walls!?"

Henry's room was like a small museum. Aside from all the stuffed animal heads and old pictures on the walls, there were shelves and shelves of curiosities. Wolverine skulls, giant pinecones, and rows of bear claw necklaces adorned the oak planks, and there was even a bearskin rug on the floor.

"Oh, those are all my old items from back in Soldotna," Henry muttered, rolling over on the bed. "Tons of stuff."

Astrid picked up a bear claw necklace and slid it over her head. "I like these," she grinned.

"Bear claws." Henry laughed. "Savage necklaces for savage girls."

"Hey." Astrid took off the necklace.

"You can keep that one if you want," Henry said, sitting up and reaching for his pocket. "I've got a ton of them."

"I can tell," Astrid laughed. "Henry, your room looks really weird with all this stuff in it. And that wolf head on the wall creeps me out."

"Well, if you don't like my room, feel free to go share a beer with Gobber," Henry laughed, pulling out the DVD case for the Amazing Spiderman.

"Well, good point," Astrid laughed. "There's a million bear heads in the living room, too. If PETA saw this house, they'd have a fit."

Henry snorted. "PETA people have clearly never been hungry before."

"Well, you can eat the animals, but you don't have to stuff them and mount them on walls," Astrid stated, walking over to Henry's bed. "I like your carpet, though. It's cool looking."

"You don't like the bearskin rug," Henry grinned. He gestured to the floor where the bear head leered up at them.

"No, I do not," Astrid laughed, sitting down next to Henry on the bed. "But whoa! Henry! What is this blanket made of? It's SOOOO soft!"

Henry laughed. "It's made of rabbit fur, stuffed with a bit of wool. Comfy, huh?"

"Oh my God." Astrid felt the blanket again. "I want a blanket like this."

"I can make one for you for, say… a thousand dollars," Henry grinned.

"A thousand dollars… no. You're joking."

"About that much." Henry stood up and walked over to the TV that was mounted on the wall, and inserted the DVD. "Fur doesn't come cheap."

"Then I'm going to steal this," Astrid grinned, rolling over on the bed and wrapping herself up in the soft fur. "You're gonna be out of a blanket tomorrow, mister."

"Oh, no, I'm not!" Henry tossed aside the DVD case and jumped onto his bed with the remote. "That blanket is mine!"

"Mine now!" Astrid and Henry began a tug-of-war over the blanket, with Astrid doggedly holding onto it and Henry pulling at the other end.

The struggle was interrupted by a sudden blast of music from the TV.

"Yikes!" Henry rolled over and grabbed the remote from the table alongside the bed. "WAAY too loud."

"I'll say," Astrid laughed, as Henry quickly turned down the sound. "Geez."

Henry didn't answer, because he was hitting the 'Play' button on the disc menu. The music changed and the beginning credits of the movie began to roll.

"You ever seen this before?" Henry asked, even as Astrid handed him one side of the blanket.

"Once, back in Louisiana," Astrid answered, as Henry threw his pillows back to the head of the bed, one hitting Astrid in the face. "Oomph!"

"Sorry," Henry laughed, as Astrid propped up the pillow and leaned back against it. "That was, believe it or not, an accident."

"You're not very trustworthy," Astrid grumbled.

Henry sighed, putting his pillow up next to Astrid's and flopping against it. "Love you too, Milady."

"Mhmm," Astrid muttered, as Henry wrapped his arm around her and pulled the blanket over both of them. "If you really love me, let me have this blanket."

"I don't love you THAT much," Henry grinned, which earned him a punch in the stomach.

"That was NOT an accident," Astrid retorted.

"I can – feel that," Henry laughed, grimacing. "Why so violent, huh?"

In reply Astrid slid both her arms around Henry and snuggled up against his chest. "All right, I'm sorry too, smartass."

"I doubt it," Henry answered. "You're gonna punch me again in two seconds."

Astrid looked up at him, her blue eyes dancing. "Oh yeah? One, two." She punched him again.

"Gods, stop it," Henry groaned. "Look, the movie's starting. Watch it, instead of testing my great abs with your weak punches."

"Weak?" Astrid raised her fist again.

"All right, all right!" Henry laughed. "No, you're – very – strong, blondie. I mean, you ALMOST beat me wrestling the other day."

"All right, that's it!" Astrid tightened her grip around Henry's chest and rolled him over. "I'm gonna beat you, right now!"

"Yikes!" Henry grabbed Astrid's wrists and effortlessly held her hands away from him. "Get off of me!"

"Nope!" Astrid struggled, trying to free her hands, and, when she couldn't, tried a different approach. Bringing her knee up, she kneed Henry in between the legs.

"OOOOhhhh!" Henry groaned, letting Astrid go.

Astrid quickly grabbed Henry's arms and pinned them down, then straddled him.

"Pinned!" She laughed.

Henry was still groaning, writhing. "Gods, Astrid," he moaned. "That was a very low blow."

"I do whatever it takes," Astrid grinned evilly. Henry, underneath her, slowly blinked.

"I should beat you up for that," he grunted.

"Oh yeah?" Astrid leaned down, her face a few inches away from Henry's. "You wouldn't beat up your favorite girl, would you?"

"And who says you're my favorite girl?" Henry laughed through the pain.

Astrid's lips brushed Henry's. Henry tried to pull his hands away, but Astrid tightened her grip and kept them pinned.

"Who's your favorite girl?" She smirked, her lips grazing Henry's again.

Henry groaned.

"Who's' your favorite girl…" Astrid teased.

Henry grinned, his green eyes twinkling. "Who do you think?"

"Mmm," Astrid hummed, and her lips met Henry's.

And it was like that, Astrid on top of Henry, straddling him and making out with him, that Gobber suddenly opened the door.

"Yikes!" Astrid rolled off Henry and Henry abruptly sat up.

"Gods, Gobber!" Henry growled, sitting up. "Can you fucking knock?"

Gobber grinned, his crooked teeth showing. "Interruptin anythin?" He asked dryly.

"Shut up," Henry scowled.

Gobber's face turned serious.

"It's not that, Henry. You need ta come and look at this. In the livin room. Now."

Gobber turned and walked away as abruptly as he had arrived.

"Gods," Henry groaned, spinning and getting off the bed. Astrid followed, and Henry snagged her waist and planted a kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Dammit, Gobber," he grinned.

Astrid jabbed her thumb in Henry's ribs. "Yeah, you wish he hadn't interrupted, huh?"

"I don't know, he seemed worried," Henry commented, poking Astrid's ribs in return. "I wonder what's eating him."

"Should I come with you or…?" Astrid asked.

"No, stay here, hopefully it won't take too long," Henry told her. "Go ahead and explore my room, but do NOT steal my blanket!"

"No promises," Astrid laughed. "Hurry up, big boy."

"Grr," Henry growled. "All right, I'll be back in a minute, OK?"

Walking to the open door, he stepped out and swung it shut before walking briskly down the hall to the living room.

Gobber was standing by the couch, his arms folded.

"Look at that," Gobber gestured to the TV, which was showing the news.

Henry stopped short. The first thing he saw on the TV were body bags.

"What the hell?" Hiccup took a step forward. "What is this?"

"Listen," Gobber said tersely.

The TV anchor was speaking.

'It appears getting the bear will be far from easy, as this is only the hunter's second major attempt to bring down the beast, and it has resulted in three lives being lost. The hunters were out looking for the bear when they were attacked, mauled, and killed. The Red Death has struck once more. Kirsten Davidson, at the scene, has some more for us.'

The focus shifted to a young woman, who was standing by a Fish and Game truck.

"Yes, Kevin," she said. "The Red Death has indeed struck once more, and this time, instead of two children, it has killed three professional hunters. The whole town is abuzz with the shock, and word is spreading rapidly. No one seems to know anything about this bear or how to bring it down, but some Fish and Game officials state that there is one person who knows more about the bear than anyone else. He was the first to report a sighting of the bear some five years ago, and was the one who was chiefly involved in the organization of the hunt for it. He is known among the Fish and Game Rangers as 'The Boy with the Scar,' in recognition of the scar on his chin, which some say came from the Red Death itself. The boy has yet to be located, and if anyone watching this report knows who the boy might be, they should get in touch with the local authorities at once."

Gobber raised the remote and muted the TV. He turned to Henry.

"You hear that, kid?"

Henry was staring. "My God," he whispered. "Again! Again!"

"Yes, Henry." Gobber was grim. "Henry, ya know more than anyone that that bear can't be taken down by some half-ass monkeys from the lower forty-eight. They know that, too. That's why they want ya, Henry. You know this bear. Yer the only one who can take this bastard down."

Gobber walked over to the dresser under the TV and pulled open a drawer, bringing forth Henry's brand new Winchester rifle. He tossed it to Henry, who caught it. Then Gobber picked up Henry's old hunting knife and handed it to him.

"Ya haven't touched a rifle since we moved up here, Henry. I know this is what ya always wanted, a fun, calm city life, but it wasn't what ya were born ta do, kid. You were meant ta hunt. It's time, kid. Go and fuckin kill that bear."

Henry stared at the rifle in his hands, running his hand down the wooden handle.

"I know I'm a good hunter, Gobber," he said quietly. "But," he looked up. "I've thought about this a lot ever since I saw the first news report."

"Thought about what?" Gobber asked.

"The whole bear thing. Look, Gobber, my - my days of hunting that bear are done." Henry said firmly.

"What?" Gobber stared.

"They're done." Henry repeated. "They're over. The last time I fired a rifle I pumped a shot right into that red demon's chest." Henry nodded at the TV screen. "It didn't do SHIT. The Red Death then busted my old Winchester in half. It's still sitting there in the mud by the Kenai River, for all I know. I finally got what I wanted all my life, ONE good shot at that bear. I got it, and I almost died. Toothless almost died."

Henry walked back over to the dresser drawer and carefully placed the rifle back in its case. Gobber blinked slowly.

"But I thought ya wanted revenge," Gobber frowned.

Henry straightened up and looked at Gobber steadily.

"It's not my fight anymore, Gobber," he said. "I'm not going back down there to kill it."

"Kid," Gobber whispered in awe. "Men, CHILDREN are dyin back in Soldotna. Yer the only one who can take that beast down! If ya don't go, more people will die."

Henry spread his hands. "It's September, Gobber. The Red Death will go into hibernation soon. By the time I go down there and manage to get on his tail, it'll be too late anyway."

"Kid." Gobber scowled. "That's a lame-ass excuse and ya know it."

"I don't care." Henry slid the drawer shut with a thud. "I'm not at war with that bear anymore. If there were no professional hunters, I might go do it, but not now. The Red Death is not my concern, OK?"

Gobber looked evenly at Henry, and Henry looked back. The two stared at each other for a second.

"Hey, Henry."

Gobber and Henry turned to see Astrid standing in the doorway, Henry's blanket draped across her shoulders.

"What's up, Henry?" Astrid asked.

Henry turned and handed the massive knife back to Gobber. "I won't do it," he said firmly. "My rivalry with that bear is done, and I have a race to run on Saturday."

"I'm disappointed in ya, Henry." Gobber said sadly, taking the knife.

Henry didn't answer. He turned away and walked to Astrid, who, looking oddly at Gobber, turned and walked with Henry back to his room.

"What was that all about?" Astrid asked, as they went back down the hall.

"Nothing," Henry said quickly. "Just a little debate. Come, on, let's watch some Spiderman."

He gave Astrid's hair a playful tug, and as she punched him in return, he closed the door behind them.

Aaand there you go! Another long chapter, I guess… but hey, why not. And hey, here we've got a twist! Henry does NOT want to go hunt down his arch-nemesis… what's going on?! Is he hanging up his guns for good?
And one thing I realized after writing this chapter, I really didn't introduce the girl's side of things. So, next chapter, some'll be told from Astrid's point of view, and I'll give you all the girl's running team then. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon.

Oh yeah, and another announcement! I'll be posting a new HTTYD FanFic soon, one I'm co-writing with my favorite little brat, Crystallion12. She's pretty awesome, go check out her stories if you feel like. :)

And leave me a review! I love em. :) Holy smokes I had a lot of em last chapter, thank you all so much! Except you, TidePoolDevil, I don't want your reviews anymore. XD.

NatB.