That's the Beauty of Broadway [Hiccunzel]

(Two) Irony's a Beauty

(Two) Irony’s a Beauty

Ever since he left the Haddock house, Hiccup had considered himself a man without a past—that was because he cringed thinking about it. Still, he felt a sort of emptiness, like a part of him had been taken out. Even though it was a part he didn’t like, it was still an important part, and he wasn’t used to not having it there. And yet at the same time he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off him. Emotions were a strange thing--more complicated than playwriting, Hiccup would say.

          Hiccup had no intention to talk to his dad. He was pretty sure things would only get worse. That was a conversation he wasn’t ready to have yet. In fact, he had no intention to talk to any of his relatives—especially not Snotlout.

          Still, there were a few names from his past that he planned to remember. Astrid Hofferson—his best friend since crawling years, who hadn’t made fun of him at school and claimed him to be cool, for instance. Actually, other than that, at the moment, she was the only person he could think of.

           When he told her about his leaving home and starting a new life, she’d been sympathetic, but excited. For the plans of a play, she’d been ecstatic. He knew it was hard to make her excited—that was an achievement.

~*~

          On Friday evening, Hiccup finished dinner and was about to grab his notebook when a thought shuddered through him.

          Entrance exams.

          He’d been so caught up with his job and his play that they hadn’t passed his mind for the past week. He really needed to hit the books if he wanted to get into university.

          He knew what that meant. He was going to have to postpone his play for a while.

          For him, that was a big sacrifice. Sunbeams had gotten to a point where it was part of him—he needed it like food and drink. But if it was going to become a reality, he had to spend less time on it. Well, that was ironic.

          Maybe he didn’t 100% need to get into university, but you never knew, and he wasn’t taking any chances. Every bit of information was something he could use to make his play the best it could be. Every fact brought him closer to Broadway.

          Hiccup put down his notebook, then ran down the street to stock up on schoolwork.

~*~

          Hiccup loved fantasy books. He couldn’t say the same about textbooks.

          “God, why does college work have to be so… complicated?” he muttered under his breath, flipping through a math book. Why can’t I have photographic memory or something?

          He scribbled a few notes in his notebook—his school notebook—then continued reading. Around every ten minutes, he felt like throwing everything out the window and screaming insults at whoever invented entrance exams.

          This was going to be harder to get used to than he’d hoped.

~*~

          The next few weeks were agony. Hiccup had to juggle work and studies, and he wasn’t even in college yet. That left nearly no time for Sunbeams.

          He would study until three, then try to fit in some play development, but his eyes were already drooping by that time. He usually fell asleep around half an hour later.

          Hiccup was worried that his mind would slip off the roll he’d been on. Whenever he set to work, his mind was already sluggish from lack of sleep, so not everything was getting done the way he wanted it.

          Once or twice, after work, he would sneak a peek through the pages and wonder why he’d added this, or erased that. Really, the things he did when he was tired...

          It’ll be worth it in the end was the only sentence that kept him going.

~*~

All that time studying had really been worth it. Hiccup couldn’t say he breezed through the entrance exams, but he kept reading  questions and thinking, I’m so glad I studied, because he certainly wouldn’t have passed if he hadn’t read about this or made notes on that.

          By the end of every subject, Hiccup was exhausted but satisfied. He was fairly confident that he would pass—maybe not at the top, but definitely in.

          With a contented sigh, Hiccup put down his pencil and reached for his play-notebook. But his eyelids were already drooping, and mid-grab, his head sank on the table and he was in dreamland.

~*~

          Even though he’d been expecting it, the feeling he got didn’t betray him. Hiccup had been accepted to the local university, and he was absolutely on top of the world.

          He was so pleased with himself that he’d treated himself, Astrid and Kristoff, who was a fellow grocer from the Shop-Right, to McDonald’s.

          “Congratulations, Chief. I want box seats on opening night. When it hits Broadway.” Astrid grinned.

          “So, you’re gonna write your play now, huh?” Kristoff asked, while tearing through a hamburger.

          Hiccup took a sip from his Coke can. “Well, actually, I’m finished with it—the writing, at least. I still have to get some songs and dances and stuff in, but the writing is the biggest part, so… yeah.”

          Astrid nodded and bit into her burger. “It’s going to be a huge hit on Broadway.” She grinned. “Right, Chief?”

          Hiccup laughed a little—he hoped she wasn’t joking because he genuinely hoped that it would happen. “Yeah… heh… you got it.”

          “Broadway, huh?” Kristoff finished the burger and attacked the fry box. “You might wanna start smaller.”

          “I know,” Hiccup agreed. “I’m still not sure where I want to send it first, though.”

          “Well, if I were you—” Kristoff paused to get another mouthful of fries in—“I would take your play to my old school. High school, I guess, since the play features adults. They usually accept original plays, and stuff like that. I’m pretty sure they would like your play. I could get you in.”

          “Hm. I will think about that, Kristoff. Wow. Thanks a bunch, actually.” Hiccup started to get excited; his career had a chance of starting faster than he’d thought.

          “Sure.” Kristoff swallowed. “Well... right now all I can say is good luck.” He laughed.

          “Oh, in theater, saying good luck is considered bad luck. We say break a leg.”

          “Um. Well… break a leg, then.”

A/N: Heyyy, me again! Thanks for reading, guys. All the votes and reads mean so much to me <3

Anyway, the next chapter is almost done being written so… yeah. I decided it would be okay to post this already. xD

Dedicated to @anotherhobbit because she is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to meet. She also has a great LotR fanfic, check it out on her profile.

Bye!