Is this a real story that I can carry through with? I hope so. Also, I am not bashing any canon character, book or movie. Some people may seem bad, but trust me, no one is a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk. The only people who are bashed are minor OCs, and the ones who are supposed to be bad in canon.

Astrid was pretty good at basketball.

Not as good as she was at, say, badminton, tennis, or soccer, but she was good enough for people to whisper about the nerd having a sporty side. They weren't being mean, Astrid was a self proclaimed nerd. She was damn proud of being studious; it was not something people bullied her over. High school had definitely changed since the 90's, nerds were pretty appreciated in this time and day. Jocks were appreciated. Drama club was appreciated. Musicians were appreciated. The adults could complain about this generation all they liked, but the truth of the matter was that this was probably the most accepting generation ever.

Not that it didn't have its' problems. There were still bullies and idiots who got drunk every weekend (and weekday). There were still pathetic people. Douchebags. Jerks. Losers.

People like Camicazi. And Heather. And Snotlout. And Hiccup.

And then of course, there were the lunatics, like Dagur, who only seemed to want to terrorize everyone in the school. Luckily, she had never been a target, and probably never would be, of one of his insane plans.

Speaking of target, it seemed that it did not matter if she was good at basketball or not. Hiccup Haddock didn't seem to care. Astrid saw the smirk on his face when she was standing in front of him, guarding the hoop. The problem was, he was not aiming at the hoop. Her glasses were knocked off and a searing pain entered her head, and before she hit the ground and closed her eyes, she realized just exactly what the jerk's target had been.

His head was down, but his lips were still tilted upwards in a small grin. Not everyone got to claim they hit Astrid Hofferson with a basketball. These were pretty good bragging rights that would not be wasted.

It was a little cruel. But technically, it wasn't even his fault. It was Camicazi who had dared him to do it, to raise that basketball and hit the blonde pipsqueak (as though Cami wasn't a blonde pipsqueak) straight in the face. And yeah, he had accepted. But he couldn't refuse a dare from Camicazi; she'd never let him live it down. Neither would Snotlout.

And hey, he was getting punished for it. So everything was justifiable.

Not to say that Stoick Haddock's glare didn't make him a bit nervous. It always had, always would. And combined with the principal's, it wasn't very pleasant.

"You will be glad to hear," the principal, Mr. Johann, said, putting his elbows on the table, "that Miss Hofferson is fine. She recovered in the nurse's office. And her parents are not pressing charges," he added, when it looked like his dad was about to say something, "they insisted that their daughter's attacker get some punishment, though."

Hiccup snorted under his breath. Johann had always been one to exaggerate, but now the auburn haired boy wasn't sure if the guy was joking of if Astrid's parents had actually said that. Punishment? Who did they think they were, the head of the Supreme Court? If their precious little show off was fine, what did it matter if he got punished or not?

Then again, Hiccup supposed he was going to get punished either way, so Mr. and Mrs. Hofferson's words didn't really make a difference. His dad wouldn't let him off scot free, he never had. And he was dreading it too, because this was worse than ditching or mouthing a teacher. He had actually attacked someone.

Stoick stood behind him, tall and impressive, unlike his slouching son. The shame was written very clearly on his face.

"You will be doing community service," Johann went on, "is that alright, Mr. Haddock?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to protest, but Stoick beat him to it. "That's fine, Mr. Johann."

Oh, the question had been for his dad. That was kinda stupid. Shouldn't he get a say in his own punishment? Now that Stoick had agreed, there would be no arguing.

"When?" Hiccup asked, annoyed beyond belief.

"Spring break, of course. This next week." Johann looked surprised that he had even asked.

"What?" He stood up, enraged. "No, no, after. I have plans this week!"

"Son," boomed Stoick. Hiccup turned his furious gaze on his father, who put up a hand. "You hit the poor girl, now you're going to pay the price. This week is fine. What is he doing?"

"Are you aware of the orphanage nearby?"

Stoick nodded solemnly. "Of course. We've donated a few times."

"That is where he will be volunteering."

"Dad," Hiccup interjected slowly, "I am not -"

"Oh yes you are," he said, half threatening, "I've had enough of this nonsense. Maybe seeing the less fortunate will put you in line."

Oh great. Even Heather would make fun of him for this. He was gonna be a fucking babysitter. Instead of spending the week with his friends, getting drunk, maybe nailing a girl, he was gonna look after a few whiny kids. The gods hated him. Hiccup's fist clenched, and he thought about Astrid. She had probably requested this, just like her parents. Oh, when Spring Break ended, he was going to give her hell.

"I am going to kill Hiccup," Ruffnut announced, giving Astrid a glass of water. She drank it up gratefully. "Tuff, any ideas?"

The male twin's eyes lit up. "We could fill his bag with cockroaches?"

"Where would you get the cockroaches?" Astrid asked, honestly curious. Her head still hurt, but talking to the twins would calm it. Or make it worse than ever. One or the other.

"My basement, duh."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston were her best friends. They had been there since Kindergarten, and ever since they had somehow turned her hair pink in second grade, they had been friends. That was a long, complicated story, and Astrid was not feeling up to replaying it in her head. But the twins, along with a quiet boy named Fishlegs, was who she spent her lunch with. They weren't a typical lot, her and Fishlegs were study freaks, while everyone knew that the twins did not aim to get into any college. Ruffnut and her barely ever talked about guys or stuff like that, it was mostly about Ruff's latest prank, or listening to Astrid rant over her latest test and how she was certainly going to fail, much to the chagrin of the others, who knew perfectly well that she would pass with flying colors. But they were still friends, in a way.

Astrid got very panicked all of a sudden. "What time is it?"

Tuff took out his phone. "5:30. The nurse told us to leave but we told her to shove her nose up her -"

"We're in detention," Ruff hastily added.

"I missed the orphanage!" Astrid groaned in frustration, punching her own palm harshly.

"They love you, they're not going to fire you."

"Exactly. They love me. I let my group down."

"Hey," Ruff said quietly, "relax. They'll understand. Besides, you can spend all week with them now. Including weekday mornings. We might even stop by one day."

"As long as you're not cooking," Tuff said seriously.

She had an urge to punch him, but right now, her head hurt too bad. They were right, at the very least. She did have the whole Spring Break. And nothing was going to get in her way. It wasn't like Hiccup Haddock was going to magically get a job at the orphanage. Astrid had absolutely nothing to worry about.

I have a headcanon that the twins and Fishlegs were Astrid's friends in Modern AUs, if you disagree, ah well, not my problem. Hope you like this as it progresses!