Heart of a Dragon (A Hiccup x Astrid HTTYD AU Fanfic)

Chapter 31: Lie or Half Truth

My body felt a bit heavy and ached here and there but it was manageable so I was good to go.

I took a shower and changed into some casual shorts and shirt.

I dialed Fishlegs's number, "Hey dude?", "Hello Hiccup. What's up?" he asked, "Are you home? Wanna train?" I replied, "Sadly no. The family went somewhere." he told me, "No worries. Have fun." I responded, "Thanks dude. See you when I see you." the call ended and I laid back down on my bed.  

I felt Toothless crept up to me, "Hello bud." I picked him up and put him on my chest, "What do you want to do?" I asked him and he jumped off of me and went straight to my pillow to sleep, I chuckled as I slowly stood up and walked downstairs to watch something on TV. 

- - - - - 

Astrid's POV

I arrived at Heather's, "HEATHER! I'M HERE!" as I barged in  since I knew the door would be left open,  I saw her peeked from her bedroom.

"Come up here. Let's chill first. Amanda's still not here." Heather told me, "When was the last time Amanda wasn't late? Never." I declared as I walked upstairs to where she was.

"Astrid!" the twins cheered, "Yeah. Yeah. I'm here." I replied, Heather was lying on the bed and the twins were sitting on the floor munching on a platter of fruits.

"You want some?" Tasia asked, offering me the fruit platter, "Thanks." I took a grape from the platter and sat beside Heather on her bed.

"Hey A." I heard Heather called me, "Hmmm?" I hummed a reply, "You and Hiccup are technically official, right?" she asked suddenly which caught me by surprise, "I guess so... In a way." I replied in a slightly awkward manner.

"I'm just curious..." I heard Heather said out of the blue, "Curious? Curious about what?" I replied grabbing a grape from the platter on the bed, "You and him." she took a bite out of the slice of watermelon she was holding, "What's there to be curious about?" I asked eating a grape again, "I know you're not the type to fall so easily and based on what I heard from someone called Frank, you two haven't seen nor heard from each other since he left and even when he returned." she told me, "Wait. You talked to Frank?" I replied, "Yeah. I talked to him after the try-outs and asked if he knew about you two and he was caught by surprise." she responded munching on an apple slice. 

"I can't still wrap my mind around you and him being in a relationship. Something just doesn't add up." Heather added and it made me stop from grabbing another grape.

"It's not really surprising, you know." Rebecca chimed in, "What do you mean?" Heather sat up, "Hiccup and Astrid were inseparable back when we were kids." Tasia explained and I felt a slight increase in the speed of my heartbeat. 

"Really?" Heather looked at me with a teasing grin, "Yep! I even forgot the number of weddings the two of them went through." Rebecca said, "We were always the Maids of Honor." Tasia admitted, "You two stop talking." I felt my face blushing, "Woah! You're actually blushing." Heather pointed out, "No, I'm not." I told them and they just started laughing.  

"So this was like a rekindling of an old flame." Heather said. "Is it? Did I like Hiccup in the past?" I wondered, "Uh... I guess you can say that." I figured that I should just say what they wanted to hear, "That's why it was easy for me to fall for him since I already have feelings for him, just hidden deep inside." I added and they started giggling and squealing in high pitch.

But while I was telling them that it also made me wondered if I was really lying or something really pushed me to ask him out of all people to be my 'fake boyfriend'. 

- - - - -

Hiccup's POV

Three days passed by without any significant things happening other than being swarmed by the other students, who watched the try-outs and I can say that I'm having a hard time coping with the new found attention.

I knew that the news would spread like wildfire but I didn't think it would be this fast, I thought only the audience or spectators and handful of others would know but I was being stopped in the hallway by other grades as well and being asked numerous questions, and being threatened which I know would happen too since Astrid is the pride and joy of the Berk Institute and the most sought-after girl in the nation.

The Dragons Basketball Team became my top priority since the qualifiers are just around the corner. We trained after classes about 4 hours to make sure the team have a good chemistry and to strengthen our bond as a team.

The camaraderie, teamwork, and the feeling of being in a team were something I missed. 

Having people that have my back on and off the court gives you a sense of satisfaction and relief.

We did drills, exercises, and scrimmages, we were all going hard in training, every end of our sessions, you can almost fill a plastic cup with sweat and nobody is complaining since we all are aiming for the same thing and that is the National Championship. 

Since the Men's Basketball Gym is near the Women's Basketball Gym, I could see if Astrid and the others have finished their training. 

Our training just ended, me and Fishlegs were sitting on one of the benches, "Our trainings just get harder and harder." I heard him remarked, "It still fun nonetheless." I replied while wiping the sweat off of my body, "You're weird. You are the only one I know that gets excited when the trainings get harder.", "I'm not weird, it's just fun knowing that you can still improve that's why, I like playing against much better players than me. And I can't wait to see our opponents for the qualifiers and the nationals.", "Me too. I can't wait to play against the top players of the country.", "That's the spirit." I pat his back and I continued wiping my body before changing into something clean and dry.

"Are you done changing?" Fishlegs asked, "Uh, yeah." I replied, "Let's go home." he told me, "Let me talk with someone first. It will be quick, I promise." I told him as we waiting outside our gym's doors, "Why am I here? Are you trying to rub my face in the fact that I don't have anyone?" he told me, "For moral support." I smiled at him. 

A few minutes later, I saw Astrid with her teammates exiting their gym. I walked to them, "Hi Hiccup!" I immediately heard Tuffnut, "Hey." I replied, "What's up?" Ruffnut chimed in, "Nothing really. Just the same with you guys; training followed by a lot more training." I remarked which made the laugh.

"I'm sure you're not here for us." Heather pushed the twins forward as Astrid and I stayed behind them, "Hi." I greeted, "Hey." she smiled, "It seems you're getting comfortable about us." she added, "Kinda." I replied, "So what do you want to talk about?" Astrid asked, "Not much. I just wanted to deepen the foundation on the eyes of others that we're really a thing by approaching you in public." I responded and she looked at me funny, "Where did this come from? You watched a rom-com movie, didn't you?" she pointed out, "Something like that. It's research." I declared and she laughed. 

"I should be thankful that you're playing your role very seriously." Astrid put her hand on my shoulder, "Who wouldn't want to be your boyfriend-" my eyes widened "I-I mean that acting as your boyfriend. It is not really hard when I-I'm doing it with someone I'm comfortable with." I blabbered, trying to clarify myself. 

"To tell you the truth, I couldn't see any other person perfect to act as my 'fake boyfriend' other than you." Astrid spoke, "Likewise." I responded as she pulled my arm over her shoulder as we walked towards the gate. 

"See you tomorrow, babe." I heard her say as she catch up to her friends, I was waving at her when I heard a loud cough, "You seem to forgot about me." Fishlegs glared at me, "What?! That's crazy... I would never." I replied, "You're not a good liar." he told me, "I'm not lying." I replied, "You just lied again." he told me again, "No, I'm not." I said, "See. Lie." he responded and this continued until we got to the bus.