Face Value

Part 9

A/N: Yes, I know that Ryker is the older brother in canon but in this, he works better as a bit younger-but his personality is no more charming! And yes, Viggo is the 'teacher' Mr Grimborn. On with the action...

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NINE:

Time had ceased. Nothing else mattered in the whole Universe because Astrid Hofferson was kissing him. He could breathe in her floral scent, her closeness intoxicating. The pressure on his lips was everything and yet so gentle and it was all he could do to kiss her back, his breath stolen. And then she pulled back, leaving him totally breathless and flustered and aching to prolong the contact.

"Wow," Hiccup breathed, his emerald eyes wide with astonishment and a goofy smile curling his lips. "Um...wow." Astrid have a small chuckle.

"And I broke him," she said playfully as he cautiously raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the soft skin under his touch. He leaned forward, his forehead resting against hers and he exhaled.

"I-I...yes..." he mumbled. "I mean...thanks?" She gave a coy smile.

"Hiccup-haven't you realised that you are the only person here worth kissing?" she asked him gently, pulling her head back to stare into his shocked face.

"Um...persona non grata here," he reminded her. "Well 95% of one anyway..." She started giggling and he managed a smile as well. "But won't this cause you some grief?" he asked her more seriously, still standing still in the middle of the dance floor. The music had started again but couples were dancing round them.

"You know, I really couldn't care less," she said honestly. "At the beginning of the week, they weren't my friends, they were just assholes who treated me like nothing. And I am not nothing and never have been. And when they see that my Uncle is someone famous, suddenly they are all over me. And while it's nice to have friends once more, they don't always treat me well. No please and no thank you. Being dispatched like a servant to fetch them drinks and snacks. Snotlout was very plain that I was only included because they want to meet Finn. And that I should be grateful they are deigning to include me!"

"But Heather is your friend as well," he pointed out gently, resting his hands back on her waist and gently swaying to the music once more. She shrugged and then rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning close so they could talk once more. "And you have looked so much happier, so much more vibrant with friends..." She quirked an eyebrow.

"You been watching me, Haddock?" she teased him and he nodded with a smile.

"Well, you make the rest of them all look like Ugly Betty, Astrid," he quipped back.

"Harsh," she commented.

"But not inaccurate," he replied with a small smile. "Heather is pretty but the rest...are very ordinary. And the guys are a bunch of..."

"Asses," Astrid completed. "I asked Dagur why he still hung out with those losers..."

"Because they're not losers," Hiccup answered tonelessly. "They act like they own the school and everyone owes them...but they are outstanding football players, when all is said and done. They do at least have something real to offer..."

"And so do you," she told him sternly. "I mean, you're smart, you're kind, you're caring, you're thoughtful, you're hot..."

"Not hot," he corrected her.

"Hot. Definitely hot," she smiled back.

"I am like a few degrees above Absolute Zero compared to you, Hofferson," he teased her.