Part 6

I gripped the bucket handle with both hands as I carried it down the dirt road toward my house. The smell of fish floated up toward me and I wrinkled my nose. How did I get stuck with this job, anyway? Hauling buckets of water around to put out fires was better than this.

When I reached my house, I dumped the fish out of the bucket and into a metal pot, and then took the empty bucket back outside. I sat down on the front step, trying my best to enjoy the beautiful day. Everything was perfect: the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The children were laughing and playing, the women chatting happily, and even the men working on house repairs seemed lighthearted.

I, for one, was becoming more and more restless as the sunny day wore on. It was almost noon, and there was still no sign of Hiccup. He was fine, of course-or so everyone told me-he was still in a coma from yesterday.

Gobber said it was a good thing that Hiccup was so unconscious when they replaced his leg. I would bet. And I was far away when they did it.

Yesterday, as soon as Stoik had discovered Hiccup, he sent a group of men-along with Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Snotlout-to fly on dragons back to Berk and then bring the few ships that were left in the harbor back to the island. I begged Stoik to let me go back with them, but he wouldn't oblige. So I was stuck on the island with everyone else, waiting in painful suspense for the ships to arrive so we could go home.

"So." I'd heard someone say as I sat on the rocky ground of the island the day before, my knees to my chest. I looked up and noticed Ruffnut standing above me. She sat down right next to me and didn't say anything for a while.

"So what?" I asked quietly. It bugged me that she'd started a sentence and didn't finish it.

She looked straight ahead. "You've been acting... really different lately." She said it like it was a statement that didn't really require an explanation.

I followed her gaze, staring out at the empty beach in front of me, lonely and hopeless. I sighed. "Yeah. I am different."

"I think we're all a little different." She concluded.

I absent-mindedly picked up a handful of pebbles and let them sift between my fingers. She was right, and it was so weird. Two weeks, and none of us were the same person we'd been years ago. And I knew why. Apparently, so did Ruffnut.

She let out a short laugh, leaning back and planting her hands behind her. "Hiccup." She said, shaking her head.

I glanced over at her. "What?"

She was was still looking ahead. "That kid," she grinned. "sure likes to surprise people."

I had to agree with that. Despite the dismal mood I was in, a small smile spread across my face. "You have no idea." I murmured.

For the first time, she looked over at me, studying me for a moment. "You really do like him."

I closed my eyes, then put my face in my hands. "I don't know." I stammered. "I thought I hated him. We all did." Hearing those words, they just seemed wrong. Mean. And they seemed fine to say back then, but now, it was different.

"But then?"

"But then, last night after he won the tournament..." I sighed. "Something happened, and everything just changed." After a few seconds, I looked up. "Oh, this probably all sounds so cheesy."

"No," Ruff cut in unexpectedly. "For once, it sounds like the truth."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking over at her.

"I mean that it all makes so much sense. Why you've been acting so... different."

There was that word again. But it was the only one that ever seemed to fit.

She continued. "Yesterday, after the tournament, you were so mad at Hiccup you looked like you wanted to kill him. Then all of a sudden you were defending him. You knew his plan, and you were right behind him..." She trailed off. "And you were even the last one of us to start liking him."

I thought about that for a moment. And then I realized that to someone who hadn't been there that night, it really would be confusing, they way I was acting lately. Those few hours seemed to turn my life in a totally different direction. And I was still trying to figure out which direction it was.

Ruffnut and I talked until the ships arrived. It was a great distraction, something to keep my mind off of the more serious matter at hand. And it worked.

"Hey, Astrid."

I looked up now, squinting from the sun as Snotlout stood before me. "Oh, hey." I replied quickly, standing up from the step.

"We were just wondering if you wanted to come with us. We were gonna take the dragons out for a little ride." He said.

I glanced around me. "Um... thanks. But I'm not up to it right now."

He creased his eyebrows. "You sure?"

I nodded. "But you guys have fun though," I told him, picking up the empty fish bucket. He looked at me for a few more seconds before shrugging and turning around to leave.

I took the bucket around to the side of the house and dipped it in the water trough. It probably seemed weird that I didn't want to go with them, but flying just wasn't the same if Hiccup wasn't there. I guess I really just needed to pull myself together a little more. I could tell it was going to be a long day.

When I'd scrubbed out the bucket, I carried it back to the house and set it next to the door. Then I wandered down the road in the general direction of the harbor. But the distant sound of a crowd shouting behind me made me stop and turn. I noticed a group of people gathering around something, but from as far away as I was, I couldn't tell what it was.

I started to slowly make my way over to the crowd, just to see what everyone was so worked up about. What I noticed next, though, made me pick up to a run. A stumbling, hectic run toward Hiccup's house.

When I finally reached the crowd, I found an opening and squeezed my way through. As I tried to slow my breathing, I looked at Hiccup, who was facing the other way. He was smiling at something Gobber had said, lifting up his peg leg. I must have missed the beginning of the joke, because all of a sudden everyone laughed.

I made my way over to him, not exactly knowing what I was going to do once I got there. But I guess my natural instinct took over because the first thing I did was reach out and punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He exclaimed as he spun around to face me. Other than a few scrapes on his face, he didn't look too badly hurt.

I felt myself relax after that, and a small smirk spread across my face. "That's for scaring me." I quickly explained.

Then, maybe it was just the knowledge that he was alright. Maybe it was just something I knew I needed to discover for myself. But in that moment I felt something warm fill me.

Hiccup shook his head in confusion. "W-what?" He stuttered, waving his hands. "What, is it always gonna be this way? 'Cause-"

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed onto his shirt, moving closer to him. The next moment seemed to pass in slow motion: Pulling him toward me, slowly closing my eyes, and watching him do the same. Those seconds that our lips touched; everything inside of me going off. Every bit of worry I'd felt over the past twenty-four hours slowly melting away, being replaced by this insanely wonderful feeling that was impossible to describe.

Too soon, it felt, I pulled back, relaxing my fingers and letting go of him. Everything came into focus again as I opened my eyes.

Hiccup blinked a few times, still coming back around. Then he glanced at me. "...I could get used to it." He murmured after a few moments, giving me a soft smile.

I felt my face flush as I grinned back.

"Welcome home." Gobber said, handing Hiccup a saddle and a tail for Toothless. Hiccup beamed up at him.

Just then a door slammed open. "Night Fury!" We heard someone yell. Hiccup and I simultaneously looked over at the door to his house as someone else shouted, "Get down!"

Toothless jumped out from behind the crowd of people, climbing over top of them in order to reach us. After knocking a few people to the ground, he landed in front of us. I shook my head and looked over at Hiccup. He gave me a sheepish grin, and then we burst out laughing.

I led my Nadder over to Hiccup, who was finishing up the rigging on Toothless' new saddle. A few moments later, he stood up and wiped his hands on his tunic. "Okay. I think we're good to go." He said, smiling over at me.

I climbed onto my dragon and gripped the rope with both hands.

Hiccup pulled himself onto Toothless and I heard the metal click as his prosthetic foot locked into place in the stirrup. He shifted the weight of his foot and the fake half of his dragon's tail opened up. Hiccup took a deep breath, then leaned down and patted Toothless on the side of his head. "You ready?" He asked him.

The dragon gave him an excited grunt opened his wings.

Hiccup then glanced over at me, and I grinned and gave him a quick nod. He turned back ahead and leaned forward, and then they shot into the sky. I flew off right after them.

We dove up and down, darting around buildings and cliff edges. In a way it reminded me of my first experience with riding on a dragon-crazy and wild. But this time I was in control.

One by one, the other teens joined us as we flew past. I don't remember how long we were out there, but I didn't want it to end. Those few moments of feeling weightless were just indescribable. Kind of like everything that had happened in the past two days. The crazy, the heartbreaking, the amazing moments that were all part of the ending. Everyone who'd hurt me-all the things I thought I'd lost. The sad times, the happy times, and everything else... were worth it. Because I'd gained more than I ever imagined I could hold.

There ya have it! PLEASE, please review! You have no idea how much it means to me. What did u like? What should I improve on? Stuff like that.

Thanks for reading! ^_^