Face Value

Part 14

"Nope!" Snotlout told him, popping the 'P' arrogantly. "Why should we care when you're no longer one of us?"

"You mean apart from the fact I'm your friend, your cousin and your fellow student? Lemme think? Maybe because I'm a fellow human being?" Hiccup took a deep breath to calm himself and he sighed. "But you just measure people's worth in simplistic terms: football player, popular girl...superficial appearances, rather than anything of more substance," he told them. "My friends and I wanted to show the others that you don't have to be one of your shallow gang to look good or feel good about yourselves."

"As if anyone would want to learn anything from a loser like you?" Thuggory sneered.

"More people than you think," Fishlegs murmured to Astrid as they watched the scene unfold. The canteen was suddenly quiet except for a few hissed comments. "We've already had a dozen enquiries about tutoring!"

"More people than you think," Hiccup shot back. "Everyone can learn something from others. You think you know everything at eighteen and you're a total ass. And you know how pathetic it is that despite all of your protestations, you're here threatening me because you feel threatened by people you say are 'nothing', all because we didn't conform to your pathetic social expectations and instead, we chose to come in looking good and being confident in ourselves and in each other. And that means what you say and what you believe are two totally different things!"

Snotlout punched him in the middle again as Astrid leaned towards Fishlegs in the canteen.

"And has anyone noticed my boyfriend is getting beaten up?" she asked sharply as Dagur and Tuff scrambled up and sprinted off, with Ruff in hot pursuit. Astrid shook her head.

"It's in the boy's washrooms," she murmured.

"Can you see Ruff not going anywhere that Tuff does?" Heather asked her as Astrid winced. Hiccup punched Snotlout back but Thuggory tripped him and he went down, rolling and slamming his leg into Snotlout's knee. His cousin bellowed in pain and staggered back as Hiccup tried to scramble up-but Eret grabbed his hair and punched him in the face, slamming him to the ground once more. He tried to scramble away, curling up to protect himself and cover his head. The others crowded around him and started to kick as Dagur burst into the bathroom and shoulder-charged them from around the curled-up Hiccup.

"Get away from him!" he shouted as the other three glared at him.

"What the Hel, man?" Thuggory shouted at him.

"Yeah-we're your friends and team-mates!" Eret pointed out.

"No friend of mine would beat up someone just because they dressed up nicely for school," Dagur snapped. "I'm ashamed I thought you were my friends. I'm ashamed I believed what you did. I'm ashamed I helped you. But thankfully, I can rectify my mistakes. So you're not my friends-because you're all complete asses!" Tuff skidded in and dropped to his knees by the one-legged teen.

"You okay, man?" he asked as Hiccup warily opened an eye and lowered his arm.

"Um...more alive than I expected so winning so far..." he managed and moved, then groaned. "Ow. I take that back..." There was a gasp as Ruff erupted into the room. Everyone stared.

"What the Hel?" Snotlout shouted, still clutching at his knee. "This is the guys' bathroom..."

"No it's not!" Ruff growled, her fists balled. "It's some kind of sparring gym. You don't fight in the bathrooms!" There was a pause.

"Er...yeah, we do," Eret said awkwardly. "Guys always beat up other guys in the bathrooms!"

"He doesn't speak for me!" Hiccup piped up, still painfully sitting up as Snot and Thuggory nodded. "Never beaten anyone up in my life-and no intention to start."