His eyes widened as he started at the huge boy lumbering towards him, a very ugly expression on Dogsbreath's face. He gestured to his head, bruising over his forehead and stitches over an eyebrow.

"This is your fault!" he snarled. Hiccup backed up a pace.

"Really?" he shot back. "I think your hideous face matches your charming personality...neither of which are down to me! I think you have to blame genetics for your ugly mug..."

"You did this!" Dogsbreath snarled, slapping his meaty fist into his palm.

"Technically, it was the chair..." Hiccup pointed out and the gang all closed on him. Hiccup glanced beyond them, felt the locker at his back and knew this wasn't going to go well...but every eye was on him...

"Good morning, Mr Grimborn!" he said brightly and as the others spun in shock, Hiccup ran. There was no teacher, of course, but Hiccup had chosen one of the few members of staff that they all avoided crossing. By the time they had reacted, he was halfway down the hall and still accelerating. But as he heard them follow, he realised the flaw in his plan: they were all athletes, much faster and stronger than he was. He had the element of surprise but beyond that, it was four on one and they were closing...

He scrambled up the stairs, grabbing the rail and hauling himself up. He could hear them close and he sprinted hard until he reached the end of the hall, knowing there was only one place that could save him. He stumbled and almost fell down the steps and dashed to Alvin's office, panting hard and trying to grin at Marsha. The woman pursed her lips in annoyance.

"You again?" she said sharply.

"I just love our chats!" he grinned. "I'm sure Mr Mildew will have called...I'll see myself in..." And before she could answer, he burst into the office...and found it empty. He glanced around in shock...then smiled, flipping the lock on the door. "Mr Treacher...yes, me again..." he began loudly, walking swiftly to the desk and rifling through the papers. He found a note about his behaviour in the Math class, written in Marsha's curly hand and he smiled, ripping it up and dumping it in the trash. Then he looked up. He couldn't hide here all day and at some point, Alvin would come back and he would be in real trouble.

Quietly, he dropped every alternate paper from the desk in the trash, erased his open schedule from the computer and carefully loosened the attachments on his chair. Finally, he quietly opened the window, unlocked the door and then leapt out into the flower bed beneath the window...as he heard Alvin's voice growl at the waiting crew. He scampered away, rounding the corner just before the huge bearded head poked out, searching for the boy...but Hiccup was long gone.

He spent most of the morning in Gobber's shop, fixing a particularly stubborn Toyota that kept misfiring. The mechanic grinned in appreciation at the help, knowing the boy should be in school but understanding he needed to lose himself in a tricky mechanical problem rather than dwell on the dark place his life had become.

But he had a problem that he couldn't help focussing on: Astrid. He had been asked to tutor her and he had given his word. And while he had no intention of keeping his word to Alvin, it was a different matter to his Mom, Gobber...and Miss Sylvester. He straightened up, wiping his hands on a greasy rag and nodding to Gobber, who turned the engine over.

"Smooth as a baby's backside..." he grinned as it hummed softly. Hiccup slammed the hood down and sighed.

"If only everything was that simple," he commented and the mechanic stared at him.

"Lad, I couldnae fix that...yer only got it because you kept at it. Yer know there's a place fer ye here whenever ye need it!" he assured the lad and Hiccup slowly hopped up to sit on the workbench.

"Yeah, well I might take you up on that," he sighed. "The way things are going, I'll be out of home before Snoggletog and living in the back of the shop with Toothless!" Gobber fished in the drawer and located a packet of sandwiches-they consisted solely of a slab of cheese between two slices of bread but Hiccup accepted the one he was offered hungrily and munched rapidly through it. The older man looked at him with sad eyes, feeling his heart sink.

"Nae breakfast, laddie?" he asked. Hiccup nodded, his shoulders hunched as he devoured the food in a few bites. Gobber grinned and handed his own sandwich over...but Hiccup refused, his green eyes almost looking longingly at his friend's lunch...but he stubbornly shook his head.

"Gobber, I can't steal your lunch," he said quietly, hopping down to the floor. "I'd better get back. Se ya tomorrow?"

"Laddie...I wish ye would tell someone about yer problems," the mechanic sighed. "I hate seein' yer like this..." Hiccup quirked a lopsided smile.

"The second Mom wants to leave with me, I'm outta that house," he promised. "Until then...I look after her, as I promised Dad." And he gave Toothless a little pat and headed out the back door. He sighed as the cold air hit him and he stuffed his hands on his pockets then he started to walk back to the school, calculating that he was going to arrive just after lunch so he would be able to sneak into class and make his detention...and be there for Astrid. He shook his head. He was only doing this because Miss Sylvester had asked him: otherwise he would stay away from the school for the moment.

He flipped his phone into his hand and dialled Dagur, walking slowly as he headed back to the school.

"Yeah?" Dagur's voice was unfriendly.

"Dag-I need to talk," Hiccup said without preamble.

"Kinda busy, fishbone," Dagur said dismissively.

"Then tell me why the Crew are on my ass?" Hiccup asked him shortly. "Dog and Madguts along with Savage and Thug are chasing me to kick my ass. WHY?" There was a pause.

"You really don't know?" Dagur asked incredulously.

"Well, I can kinda guess but what the fuck?" Hiccup snapped, stopping mid-stride and glaring.

"You hit Dogsbreath over the head with a chair!"

"He was going to rape a girl!" Hiccup spat, his entire body tense.

"A girl? C'mon, Hicc! It was that uptight bitch, Astrid Hofferson! It would have done her good!"

"And if it had been Heather?" Hiccup growled.

"It wasn't. I wouldn't let that happen to " Dagur told him shortly and hypocritically.

"It shouldn't happen to anyone!" Hiccup shouted at him. "Gods, Dag! How-how can you possibly think this is okay? Dog is lucky she didn't call the cops!"

"But you attacked him..." Dagur reminded him.

"Dagur-I am your friend and I need you to make him back off!" Hiccup said angrily. "For Odin's sake! I couldn't let him do that to anyone..."

"Are you...friends with her?" Dagur sneered.

"Of course not!" Hiccup shouted. "I thought I was friends with you! And I have enough problems without Dog coming to kick my ass. Can you stop him?"

"Hicc...we friends?" Dagur asked him softly over the line. He tensed, his eyes widening in shock. He felt ice run down his spine and took a slow breath.

"Yes," he said roughly. "C'mon Dag-it's been three years..."

"And yet, you sold us out to Mr Treacher," Dagur hissed.

"I told you-NEVER HAPPENED!" Hiccup shouted.

"Then who did?" Dagur roared back at him.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Hiccup protested angrily. "Look, you have ta trust me! How can you believe..."

"Fishbone...if you don't have a name by the time I get back, I have to believe what I know," Dagur said coldly and cut the line. Hiccup stared at the phone and screamed in fury, then stomped back towards the school. Today had started with a smile but now, he was definitely on Dagur's hit list, his so-called friends were after him and he still had to tutor Astrid...which he hadn't got a clue about...

Lost in thought, he didn't pay much attention as he trotted back into the school...straight into Alvin.