#howtotrainyourdragonfanfiction

[guestbusters-blog1]

Chapter One: Life As It Is

I'll be honest. My life pretty much sucked.

Maybe it was because I had asthma, or the fact that I was just born small, but no matter the reason, I still remained an easy target for bullies to torment. Not that I ever complained back to them, of course. If I did, I'd be in much more trouble than I already was.

Often, I thought about standing up for myself. To face the bullies, or to confront my father who completely avoided me, and tell them all what I really thought. I sure had a lot of things to say. But the moment I reached my school, or saw my father's sour expression when he saw me, my courage immediately vanished. I couldn't change the way things were. That was just life as it was.

And, soon, I learned to live with it.

Sure, some days were more painful than others, and sure I often grew irritated with my surroundings, but I kept going. My mother was the reason why, actually. She'd whisper encouraging words into my ear as she checked up on me at night, when it seemed that no one else cared, she'd always be there just to listen, and she would always stick up for me when my father's language was too harsh.

Oh, my father… Stoick Vast Haddock, Mayor of the quaint little town of Berk. He had only been given the job a few years back, but that was all it took for him to forget that I existed. I missed my father a lot these days, with the bullying going on at school and whatnot. He used to set aside some of his time to talk to me, or spend a day fishing at the pond when I was down. He used to. Now, I barely ever seem to see him, and when I do, we usually just share a quick "hello" and "goodbye", but he'd never even look me in the eye.

Mom always said we'd spend more time together in the future; she promised that, if I wait only a little longer, his schedule would die down.

But it never did.

In addition to family problems, I had school problems as well. No surprise there. It wasn't that I was failing my classes. No, not at all. It just had to do with the other students. And the bullies.

First, there was the giant boy, Simon, who absolutely despised me- but everyone called him Snotlout because of a rather disgusting incident from the year before. He was the worst out of all of the other bullies, never ceasing to make fun of something I did, or cause me to trip on my way to the next class. And to top it all off, he was also my cousin, with a father that had serious anger issues teaching gym class at my school. How I was related to such people, I still had no idea.

Then there were the prankster twins, Remy (Ruff) and Tom (Tuff). Whenever anyone saw a loose guinea pig in the hallway, or a science test tube exploded confetti, the twins were always behind it. Unfortunately, they had taken a liking of using me as their "experimenter", and I often came home with my hair smoldering with smoke, or wearing a sign that said KICK ME! on the back.

There were other bullies as well: Alvin, Dagur, Savage, and a few others. They never seemed to tire of humiliating me throughout the years.

Next was Fishlegs. Now, he wasn't exactly a bully, but he did hang out with the group. He never personally said something offensive to me, yet it hurt to know that he would always just stand there and watch me getting beat up without helping.

Finally, there was Amanda Hofferson- but she preferred everyone to call her Astrid, due to her love of asteroids. She was a breathtakingly beautiful girl, with a stunning blonde braid and shimmering blue eyes that would captivate anyone. But I wouldn't want to get on her bad side any day. She was the toughest girl in the whole school, and I knew she wouldn't hesitate to punch or kick somebody if she felt the need. I had had a crush on Astrid ever since I first laid eyes on her, and I still dreamed of her noticing me and giving me one of her rare smiles. But how could that ever happen? I didn't even think she knew my name.

Still. Underneath all my… well… myself, I had some interesting qualities. First off, I could draw. I could sketch, paint, doodle away for hours without a care in the world. And my art wasn't bad at all. My mother keeps on saying my art is one of the most prettiest things she's ever seen- but then again, she's my mother. What else could I expect her to say? I was also pretty smart for my age, and excelled in math, science, and languages. I don't believe I've ever gotten below an A for a grade.

Now that all these introductions are done, you're probably wondering who I am, why I'm here, and wondering just what kind of story I have to share.

Well, I'll answer for you.

My name is Hiccup Haddock, and despite what everyone else believes, I'm more than I seem to be.

I let out a tired sigh as I entered the school building. Almost automatically, I hunched over, trying to keep as invisible as I could. I wasn't in the mood for bullying today. I had had to stay up late the night before studying for a math test, and I would be too tired to try to fight back against the bullies.

Well, not that I would win, anyway.

I made it to my homeroom on time, which just happened to be math class itself. I exhaled in relief when no one tripped me in the hall. Maybe today wouldn't be that bad.

After finding my seat, I tossed my backpack on the floor and dug out my math book. The room was almost full by now, but my teacher, Mr. Ryker, still waited with obvious impatience. I frowned. I had never liked him, as he was always trying to prove me wrong or get me in some sort of trouble. And it just so happened that his younger brother, Mr. Viggo Grimborn was the principal of the whole school. That meant if I got in trouble in math class, I'd get in trouble with the principal too.

Mr. Ryker gave the clock an annoyed glare, like he wanted it to speed up. There was still one more minute before the bell rang, and he wasn't happy that he still had to wait. Finally, the steady stream of students died down, which meant everyone had taken a seat. The room was full- except, there was still one place empty.

I felt myself blushing when I realized just whose desk it was. It was hers.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Grimborn," I heard her say as she entered the classroom. "My dog, Stormfly, got sick last night, and my mom had to take her to the vet before dropping me off here."

My head turned in her direction, and I could feel my bright green eyes widen with awe. Astrid Hofferson was standing right there. I tried to seem relaxed, but that was impossible. Astrid is right there. Ten feet away from me. Living. Breathing. Being her beautiful self…

Mr. Ryker snapped me out of my trance with a sharp comeback to Astrid. "See that it does not happen again, Amanda."

"Astrid," Astrid corrected, shifting her backpack on her shoulder.

My math teacher rolled his eyes. "In my class, we go by our birth names. We don't go by nicknames of such."

"But what about Hiccup?" Astrid pointed out. "He has a nickname."

I froze. Astrid had said my name. She knew I existed… that I was in the same room as her…that I was someone worthy enough to know the name of... heat rushed to my cheeks. "Um, actually, it's not a nickname," I said, surprising Astrid by speaking. I doubted she'd ever even heard me talk before. "I was given the name Hiccup at birth."

Astrid blinked, studying me. I was acutely aware of her dazzling blue eyes piercing into my soul. "Really?"

All I could do was nod. She was talking to me.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Hofferson," Mr. Ryker quipped, shutting the door. "We're already late enough as it is."

Astrid nodded. "Of course, sir." She made her way through the sea of desks until she reached her own, which was on the other side of the room. I tried to make eye contact in case she wanted to acknowledge me, but she was too busy getting out her books to notice. Besides, Snotlout was in the way- and that was when he noticed I was sitting right next to him.

Snotlout glared over at me, his fists tightening on his math book. Just the way his sneer was twisted made me shiver. "You don't stand a chance with Astrid, Hiccup," he hissed, keeping his eyes on Mr. Ryker in case he would be called out. "Face it, Useless. No one likes you. And certainly not Astrid."

Oh? And she'd prefer you more? I wanted to say back, but I held my tongue. Arguing with Snotlout would only get me a sure black eye later on, and I didn't wish for that. Still, the words hurt, so I forced myself to drop my gaze and stare down at my desk, silent. I heard Snotlout snicker in triumph from beside me; my heart sunk. Yet another battle lost...

Sighing, I looked up at Mr. Ryker, not at all eager to learn the things I already knew.

As I said before, life sucked.

But it wouldn't be until later on I would realize just how much.

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Total of 5 chapters so far... please fave, follow, and review if you can! :D I’m aiming for 80 follows by chapter 6. Have a great day! :)