Faking It

So, since I did not complete the require amount of fics by the set date of the 20 by 20 challenge, I have to do the punishment that I listed in the rules below. The changes and new rules are:

Since I am required to take requests for the punishment stage of the challenge, I am not placing limits on how many fics may be written for each category and there are no limits to how many songfics may be written for each category or in general.

The completion date is further off so that I have enough time to write quality fics based on requests as well as prompts I give myself.

The amount of punishment fics (minimum) is 20. But if the number of requests exceeds 20 before the due date, then I have to write those as well. Past the due date, no requests/prompts may be accepted.

If too many prompts are requested (and it's clear that realistically I can't write them all before the due date, the date for writing them-NOT taking requests- will be extended).

The number of fics from the original challenge MAY NOT be included in the count of the punishment fics.

NEW ADDITONS (AS OF 8/16/10): For the reading- if a chapter fic is being read and the fic is not finished by the time the challenge is over, the requirement for having read it is to have every chapter until that point read/reviewed. For writing- If writing a chapter fic, the chapter length must be 4000 words at least in order to be counted as a fic for the challenge.

THE DUE DATE FOR THE PUNISHMENT CHALLENGE has been extended to September 20t h. The due date for all prompts is still AUGUST 21ST.

The challenge? – To write twenty one shots before my twentieth birthday. Officially this challenge is going to be called "The Twenty by Twenty Challenge" and I have until my birthday, July 23rd at 5PM (since that was the time I was born), to write 20 one-shots from any category. The Rules: a) I am not allowed to repeat any categories more than twice. b) I am only allowed to write each one-shot in a minimum of 2000 words (not including the A/N). c) (Within reason) I MUST accept any one-shot requests from readers (in terms of prompts). d) I must use the following piece of dialogue in the fic somehow: "No, I wanted fries with that!" or if it's a song-fic, use all the lines from the song in the piece somehow.

EXCEPTIONS: For categories that have a subcategory, the total of one-shots allowed in that category may be doubled. EX: Star Wars EU. For each category, the use of a song-fic as a prompt may be used ONCE per category. RESTRICTION: All songs may not be used more than once (songs used in previous fics, as long as they are not one-shots, may be used again for this challenge).

Restrictions on Accepting Prompts: The following types of prompts are ones that I will not write on principle (I mean no offense to anyone who does write them, but I myself won't): fiction or non-canon pairings (except for one or two non-canon pairings, I will not write these). 2. Porn fiction. 3. Hate fiction (I have yet to read those but I am sure that there are some out there and I refuse to write them or read them). 4. Anything that breaks the rules of FFN or my moral beliefs/principles. 5. Disney Channel fics or fan fiction that I have no familiarity with (in order to write well, I must write fan fics about books or movies that I've already read or watched).

The punishment? If I am not able to write twenty one-shots by the time my birthday arrives, I will a) Have to write twenty more one-shots (time span TBD) b) I will have to accept writing any kind of one-shot (no matter how ridiculous)- please note: the same rules for accepting prompts or requests as before apply here. c) I will change my username to the first request that anyone gives me (for one week)- again, within reason (I will not accept names that are crude, obnoxious or offensive in any way). Lastly I will have to read/review 10 fics from each of my fandoms-only the ones I've written in though (requests from readers of my fan fiction welcome).

I didn't mention this in the first one-shot, but with song-fics, the number of words DOES/CAN include the song lyrics. But this only works for song-fics. Songs may not be inserted into other fics to complete the word count.

Without further ado, here is the next one shot of my "Twenty by Twenty Challenge."

A/N- So I was mulling over some Astrid/Hiccup possible stories in my head and I came up with this idea based on the idea of faking things you actually mean. You'll see how that works into this piece. =)

This takes place a little into the beginning of the movie and acts as an alternate scenario.

Enjoy!

-Don ^_^

Astrid heaved a long sigh of relief. This was the fifth, or was it sixth…? Yes, the sixth time today that she had been chased down by the members of her village. Either it was the overly eager mothers or fathers who wanted to approach her about dating their sons or the sons themselves would approach Astrid about dating her.

Astrid of course, had only two interests in life: fighting and taking care of her own family. She had no interest whatsoever in the guys dogging her for a date and possibly for marriage. Astrid wanted no part in either. She didn't like how dating always lead to unnecessary distractions from the tasks at hand. She had seen how many of the girls who had dates would lose concentration while training if their boyfriends meandered by.

It was a waste of time to Astrid to bother with emotions when the entire village could use as many hands in the battle against the dragons as possible. Especially with, Astrid thought with infuriation and a large amount of annoyance, The village idiot always messing things up.

Astrid knew that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the son of the village Chieftain, Stoick the Vast, but the smaller Haddock was anything but impressive or showed any sign of having the potential to measure up to his father in any way shape or form.

Just when things were going well for the village, Hiccup would show up and set something on fire, hit someone with his bad aim with a weapon, or accidentally let a dragon get away with most of their food for the season.

Astrid peered around the corner of the building she'd been hiding behind and shook her head. She couldn't go anywhere without someone finding her. Astrid lifted her head and looked towards the woods. Maybe if she went in there, no one would find her. She was completely fed up with the encounters she'd had with all the suitors she could run into a lifetime, in just one week.

Astrid grunted and kicked the dirt as she walked down the path towards a small clearing. She climbed down through the narrow space between the rocks leading down to it and then sat down on the rock. She stared blankly out at the water, her eyes scanning it as it shimmered blissfully in the sunlight.

If only she could be that way, she'd be able to leave her current problems behind in an instant. But she knew lift wasn't that easy or simple. It never was.

"Astrid?" She nearly fell off her rock as she turned, seeing the last person she wanted to in her current state of melancholy. Gods, I'm pathetic. Hiccup hopped down through the narrow space between the rocks and crossed over to where Astrid sat, decidedly avoiding looking at him.

"I saw…" He began and then swallowed, "I saw Snotlout outside of the woods, I think he's looking for you."

Astrid grunted, "I know that."

Hiccup shifted and then rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Oh." Astrid half expected Hiccup to go calling Snotlout to this very spot or to grab her by her arm, in which case she would punch the living daylights out of his dopey face, and drag her over to Snotlout.

But Hiccup did neither of those things. In fact, he hopped down to the lower ground and crossed it until he came to the water. He then began fishing and didn't really bother to pay attention to Astrid at that point.

It was odd, that someone as worked up and nervous as Hiccup was, could suddenly become so serenely calm. It irked Astrid for some reason that at this moment, she wasn't the one who had complete control over her emotions. Maybe Hiccup had faked his lack of control this whole time or simply lost it because everyone was pressuring him about failing. Astrid knew that the pressure of doing well could cause people to do strange things. She'd experienced it herself. She was always expected to do well in finding a date or fight in a battle and when she didn't, she felt her insides sinking to the bottom of her stomach.

'Or maybe I'm the faker,' Astrid thought. She wasn't entirely sure why she was thinking about this now of all times. Why was she so concerned by Hiccup's calm demeanor that she was having doubts about herself? It made no sense and it only served to make her even more agitated. The sound of a boot clumping on the rock made Astrid look up. Hiccup was standing next to her, his green eyes bright with curiosity and could it be… concern? Hiccup didn't know how to care, he was an idiot who couldn't do anything right, how could he possibly know how to care about anyone?

"What do you want, Hiccup?" Astrid demanded. Hiccup backed up a little and then gave her a strange look.

"I don't want anything," He answered.

"Yes, you do," Astrid replied curtly, "You're always trying too hard to please everyone and you want people to pay attention to you. So don't tell me you don't want anything."

Hiccup fell silent for a moment and then he replied, "You're right."

Astrid blinked, "I am?" She felt surprise creeping at her from all directions. She had somehow figured out something about Hiccup Haddock that no one else had? It didn't make any sense. She was the one who was supposed to loathe Hiccup to the point where she paid no attention to him. Yet, in her ignorance, had she begun to notice more than she thought she had?

"Yes, you are," Hiccup said in a tone that Astrid could have sworn was gentle and sounded almost fond.

"What in Odin's name are you on about?" Astrid demanded. Hiccup smiled a toothy smile. That was all it took for Astrid to lose it. She stood up, fully intending to give Hiccup a piece of her mind, but her foot slipped and down she went over the rock.

Whump.

Astrid felt a searing pain shoot through her head and she rubbed it tentatively as she looked up to find two green eyes peering into hers. "Are you okay, Astrid?"

This guy is unbelievable, Astrid thought with exasperation. She about to thoroughly chew him out and then slug him for being nosy, but instead she fell off a rock and now he was kneeling next to her, concern written all over his face without a single sign that he'd sensed that she was about to hit him. If anything, he seemed to only care at the moment that Astrid wasn't badly injured.

"I just fell off a rock, Hiccup," Astrid said, "Do I look okay to you?"

Hiccup sighed, "Well, I guess that answers my question about whether or not you remember who you are."

Astrid scowled, "What in Thor's name is that supposed to mean?"

Hiccup sighed and for the first time frowned at Astrid. It was a look that Astrid never thought she'd see on Hiccup's face. She'd always seen his ashamed face as he was escorted away after messing up time after time. She'd seen his sad expression as he saw the other trainees getting ready to help out the village. She'd never, however, seen Hiccup look this annoyed or irritated. He'd either never felt that kind of emotion or had hidden it beneath many layers of dry wit and humor.

"You're always sarcastic and brutally direct with everything you say," Hiccup said, "Especially around me."

Astrid snorted, "Whose fault do you think that is? You're always screwing up! Someone has to put you in line."

"Thank you," Hiccup said, "For summing that up." He stood up fully and began to walk away. It was clear that this time, Hiccup shown Astrid a side of him that he hadn't to anyone else, yet she'd shoved his openness right back in his face.

"Astrid?" Astrid froze. That was Snotlout's voice coming through the forest. She scooted, trying to hide herself under the shadow of the rock. Hiccup cast a glance between the approaching figure of his cousin and Astrid as she lay on the ground, still too dazed from her fall to get up and move away. Without another word, Hiccup crossed to the narrow pathway through the rocks, where Snotlout had just appeared, his big form squeezing through.

"Oh, hi, Hiccup," Snotlout said in a disappointed voice. "Have you seen Astrid?" Astrid's breath caught. Hiccup was going to tell Snotlout where she was. He was going to point her out because of how she treated him just now. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the storm to arrive.

Hiccup paused and then shook his head, "No, I haven't." Astrid's eyes reopened. He hadn't told Snotlout where she was. He'd lied outright to his cousin, who could beat Hiccup up in an instant for lying about the whereabouts of the girl of Snotlout's dreams. Astrid shivered at the thought. She didn't like Snotlout and she knew she never would, at least, not in the way he wanted her to.

"Are you sure?" Snotlout asked, narrowing his eyes. He cast a glance behind Hiccup and noticed the axe on the rock. "You liar!" He clenched a fist and socked Hiccup hard in the jaw, sending him down to the ground. Snotlout then jumped down from the rock and immediately walked over to where Astrid lay.

"Are you alright, Astrid?" He asked. Astrid cast a glance back up at the rock above them where Hiccup was standing, holding the back of his hand to his bruised cheek and bleeding lip. He was watching Astrid with unwavering eyes and Astrid now felt a sincere sense of remorse for unintentionally dragging Hiccup into this. He'd done something none of the other men in the village would have: He left her alone. He left her alone because he understood the need to get away from the reality of the world sometimes.

"Fine," Astrid said, finally tearing her eyes from Hiccup.

"Good," Snotlout said with a grin, "I wanted to ask you something." He frowned as a thumping noise told him that his cousin had jumped down to the ground and was nearby. He turned his attention back to Astrid. "Will you go out with me?"

"She doesn't want to," Snotlout whirled his head around.

"What did you say?" Snotlout demanded, clenching his fists again, readying them to slug Hiccup once more. But the smaller Viking was standing his ground, despite the fact that his own knees were shaking and his face was paling at the sight of his larger cousin.

"She's going out with me," Hiccup stated and Snotlout blinked in surprise, looking from Hiccup to Astrid and then stared hard at Astrid, who was fighting to keep a straight expression.

"Is this true, Astrid?" Snotlout asked. Astrid nodded wordlessly, thankful that Snotlout had taken her nod as a final ultimatum and slowly made his way out of the forest. Hiccup watched his cousin go and then slowly extended his hand to Astrid.

"Why did you say that?" Astrid asked. "It's not true, so why did you say that?"

Hiccup remained silent for a few minutes, not looking at Astrid and keeping his gaze fixated on the ground. Then he looked up at her. "It's not important." He then started out of the forest.

"Wait, Hiccup!" Astrid said, finally regaining her footing enough to run after him. When he didn't stop, she grabbed his arm, locking it in her iron grip. Hiccup turned his head. Now she could see that his eyes were softer and filled with a bright array of little sparkling dots of light. "Tell me, why didn't you just leave?"

"Maybe I was tired of faking how I feel all the time," Hiccup said and Astrid felt through the way his words didn't falter that this was the truth. "About being a failure, about the other trainees, about my father and…" He bit his lip.

"And what?" Astrid demanded, tightening her grip on his arm. He shook his head.

"Never mind," He answered and Astrid let go of his arm, sensing that no matter how hard she hurt him at this point, he wouldn't tell her what was on his mind. It was as though she'd finally figured out that Hiccup wasn't at all the pushover and idiotic failure she'd thought he was. She couldn't force him to do anything now that she'd realized that the real Hiccup was caring and understanding. She didn't want to hurt him, because she knew he understood how she felt. It was a strange feeling not to want to hurt the person she thought she'd despised for so long.

She had been faking that she disliked him. As was the common truth with people, she had disliked Hiccup for having some of the same flaws she had herself. He understood her and he honestly cared. He'd never faked those moments when he'd looked after her with interest and a sense of amazement. It had nothing to do with all the things he'd seen Astrid accomplish. He'd seen right through her. Jerk, Astrid thought with annoyance, He knew all along and never told me.

"Hiccup," Astrid said, hesitantly, and he turned around. She walked over to him and he shut his eyes as her arm went back, her fist gently touching his cheek before dropping back to her side.

"That was for not telling me you understood what I was thinking," Astrid said and to Hiccup's bewildered expression she gave a brief smirk before kissing him on the lips. "That was for everything else."

Maybe faking that she liked Hiccup wasn't so bad. After all, he certainly didn't know how to fake a kiss.

A growl sent all thoughts from Astrid's mind and she jumped as a black dragon slowly made his way out of the bushes.

"Oh, Astrid," Hiccup said sheepishly, "This is Toothless." Astrid felt her eyes roll. She couldn't wait to hear his fake explanation for this one.

Fin. =)