Astrid faced Heather and winced, her head pounding but she had known this moment was coming. Heather was frowning, Cami was scowling and Ruff was grinning lazily, twirling her braids and inspecting the hung over girl.

"Astrid, Astrid-I'd never had thought you had it in you, young lady!" she teased. Astrid gave a huge groan.

"Ruff!" she sighed.

"No, it's awesome," the female twin grinned. "I mean, Miss Goody Two-Shoes has a boy-the Class Pest, no less-as her lodger! Who'd have thought it?"

"You have a boy living with you too!" Cami pointed out. Ruff instantly pulled a face.

"Yeah...my girly brother hardly counts!" she protested, pulling a face. "And he's been living with me since before I was born!"

"So when you go to College, you'll be moving away from him?" Ruff pulled a face.

"No, that would be weird!" she said instantly as the girls all smiled. No matter how much Ruff complained about her brother, the truth was they were inseparable and would do anything for each other. Ruff without Tuff was unthinkable. "But you don't have that excuse, Miss Class President..."

"Fine!" Astrid huffed, sitting cross-legged, flicking her braid over her left shoulder and chewing her lip in thought. "But girls, this is NOT gossip, okay? This is private."

"Ooh, you like him!" Came jumped in.

"I'm serious," Astrid said sternly. "This isn't a laughing matter." Heather nodded, seeing the determination in Astrid's eyes.

"What's up?" she asked. "Why is he here?"

"Because...he asked me," Astrid said lamely. The girls looked at her-and began laughing.

"What is so funny?" Astrid asked icily.

"Come on, Ast! You can't expect us to believe you would just help Hiccup Haddock out!" Heather said incredulously. "I mean, you hate him! We all do!" Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...about that..." she said in an embarrassed voice, swiping her bangs from over her left eye. "I...er...just said what you expected me to say..." The laughing stopped and they stared at her in shock. "Look. Hiccup isn't such a bad guy and he...well, he's helped me out more than once. When he called in desperate trouble, I couldn't turn him down."

"When did this happen?" Cami asked.

"You know Ruff's party?" Astrid asked, lowering her voice. They nodded...and she sighed. "You know I was attacked?" There was a pause and they all looked shocked.

"We thought Dogsbreath had just hit on you..." Heather murmured.

"It was more than that," Astrid said in a low voice. "He attacked me...and he would have...but Hiccup rescued me..."

Three jaws dropped and they stared at her in shock.

"He got me out of there and walked me safely home," she admitted quietly.

"Really?" Heather asked in shock. Astrid nodded.

"Look, he's just a boy," she sighed. "And under his sarcastic exterior, he's actually an okay guy. He's decent and he has his own problems." She paused and looked up...to meet a pair of emerald eyes at the doorway. Hiccup leaned against the doorframe.

"Want me to explain?" Hiccup asked wearily, a hand still resting against his battered ribs. She nodded gratefully and he limped in, self-consciously settling on the desk and meeting the astonished gazes of the girls. "Look, Astrid was-and is-very kind to me." Heather scowled, not sure why he was here.

"Are you blackmailing her?" she asked.

"Why is that always the question?" he sighed. "No!"

"Then why are you here?" Cami asked. He sighed.

"I was thrown out of my home and I was going to freeze to death," he admitted in a quiet voice. They stared at him and every eye was disbelieving. Astrid huffed.

"The Monday after the party, he was cornered by his friends because he helped me," she explained. "He was supposed to be helping me with my Art...but he didn't show. I went looking for him...and found he had been badly beaten by his friends for rescuing me." The girls stared at her. "I told him he could call me if he needed to. I offered him a place to stay then but he said he was okay...but something happened. On the Tuesday, late, he called me. He...sounded broken and I told him to come over. He was freezing, he had a nasty cough and he had no one else to turn to."

"Boy, sounding really needy here," Hiccup grumbled.

"That was weeks and weeks ago!" Ruff accused Astrid. "And you never said a word...?"

"You kept agreeing with us when we commented about him!" Heather said with a frown. Astrid sighed.

"Would you have believed me if I had said 'leave him alone, he's a good guy'?"

"Of course not because everyone knows..." Cami argued.

"Exactly," Astrid says. "Everyone knows. But really, no one does."

"But he's always in trouble," Ruff pointed out.

"Not because I actually do anything," Hiccup murmured.

"Except the odd smart remark," Astrid reminded him and he managed a slight smile.

"Yeah...but I'm so good at those..."

"In your dreams," Astrid shot back. "But in class, the teachers always single him out. He's the first to be made to stand up and attempt the work or do the test."

"That can't be right..." Heather murmured and forced her mind back...realising that he was in fact always the first student to be called on, usually sneered at, humiliated and then left as the other students were treated...more fairly...

"Yeah, the teachers all really love me," he murmured.

"But despite that, your grades have really picked up..." Astrid pointed out. There was a pause and the boy gave a small smile.

"I think that may be down to you," he admitted. She smiled back.

"Aren't your family worried?" Heather asked him, knowing how concerned her own parents would be if she went missing or moved out. The change was obvious as his shoulders sagged and his eyes slammed down to the floor. All the life left his face.

"I was thrown out by my step-dad for being a trouble-maker," he said quietly. "And I tried...Odin, I couldn't have tried much more...but there was no way I could just 'get along' with him. He drank, he hit my Mom a couple of times, he used to beat me..." He paused and ashamedly turned his skinny arm over, revealing a handful of circular burn marks. "He used to enjoy putting out his cigars on me if I hadn't done all my chores on time." Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "But I would have stayed...no matter how badly he treated me, I would have stayed for Mom...but she backed him. He finally turned her against me and when he threw me out, I went to see her...and she told me to go away. I tried ringing and she wouldn't take my calls. I-I...I didn't know what to do...and even the one person, the one friend I could always go to turned me away..."

There was silence.

"Your Mom cut you off...?" Ruff said softly. "Harsh." Hiccup nodded quietly.

"Your Dad? Couldn't you go stay with him?" Cami asked. The boy stiffened.

"Died five years ago in a plane crash," he muttered and they all looked shocked. He pressed his hands against his battered chest then sighed.

"I used to work in a garage but when I stayed there, I fought off some guys trying to break in an Gobber was mad at the mess I made...so...well, we argued and I quit and then I had nowhere. The guys wanted me to help them break into there and kill the dog that had bitten the robbers-Dagur's brother and his gang."

"Dog?"

"Toothless. My best bud," Hiccup admitted. "I-I had to go along with the crew...because they had already kicked the crap out of me and I had no clue what else to do. I-I warned Gobber and begged him to get the police or something...because the guys wanted to break in, kill Toothless and burn the place down. Dagur's brother is a crazed sonova bitch and he had a knife...so I had no choice but to break in for them...and then the cops arrived. Of course, they got away and I got caught...and, lucky me, I ended up taken home."

"Wasn't your Mom worried?" Astrid asked. Hiccup had never told her this. He gave a small, wan smiled.

"Al-my step-dad-did all the talking," he explained wearily. "She didn't say anything...she wouldn't even hug me when I was brought home! The cops bought the story about my being a trouble-maker and left me at home. Then he sent Mom upstairs...and took me out to the yard..." He paused and his hands tightened into fists.

"Hiccup...it's okay," Astrid said quietly but he shook his head.

"He gave me a pasting, Astrid," he said in a rough voice. "I'd been thrown out of my home once, I had been forced to help break into my friend's business and I was given no chance to explain, nothing. He beat me up and my Mom watched from the upstairs window...and then she turned away. After that...I couldn't find anywhere to sleep...and I called Astrid because she was my last hope..."

"Look, I was a coward," Astrid admitted. "I chose popularity over...well, being decent. Hiccup walks to the next stop so he doesn't get on the bus with me. We don't speak at school. He tutors me because that was asked by Miss Sylvester. And he waits round the corner from the school to walk me home. His friends have turned on him because he chose me over Dogsbreath."

The girls stared and Hiccup blushed. "Yeah...they decided that being one of the crew should mean I should've let Dogsbreath rape Astrid at the party,"

"So you're not hanging with them now?" Heather checked. His green gaze flicked up to inspect he black-haired girl.

"Ask your brother," he told her directly. "Ask him why I'm not one of the crew. He'll tell you it was because I refused to corner Astrid and do what Dog wouldn't. I don't know what your brother has against her but he's dangerous and crazy."

"I can't believe..." she began.

"Now who's being naive?" he shot back, showing the small scar under the right corner of his mouth. "Your older brother gave me this and threatened me with a knife to get me to break into Gobber's. Dagur came into the school while suspended so he could help them beat me a pulp for stopping Dogsbreath rape Astrid! Your brother is the problem...and I am on his list of enemies now."

"That's just...fantasy!" Cami protested, seeing Heather look distraught. "I know Dagur is a wild guy but he would never..."

"Fine!" Hiccup snapped, sliding to his feet and wincing. "Believe what you want. But I'm the only one here who's been beaten up by him. More than once...even though the guy is supposed to be my friend! I spend more time with him than any of you-so what the hell do you all know? Even Heather won't believe he's bad-but you'll all happily believe whatever you want about me! But I'm telling you he is crazy and dangerous and he will do something terrible if you don't take care!" Astrid stared up at him and frowned.

"But wouldn't the staff stop him?" she asked. "I mean...the teachers, the Principal...wouldn't they want him stopped...?"

"They don't care!" Hiccup shouted, turning away. "None of them care!"

"No, you're not right," Astrid said firmly. "They have a duty of care to us and if..."

"Duty of care?" Hiccup scoffed. "What duty of care? If they had any duty of care, they would ask why I turn up at school beaten up. Why I turned up at school dirty and in the same clothes. They would ask if there were problems at home that needed sorting. But they wouldn't do that because they already know..."

"But Mr Treacher would..."

"Astrid," Hiccup said, turning back to her with hatred in his eyes. "Alvin Treacher is my step-father."