Chapter 5
Hiccup didn't know how it happened but it happened. One day he was having a mini-heart attack over his LSATs, the next month he got the Harvard acceptance letter. While his parents wanted him to follow in their footsteps and Gobber was sad that he was leaving the garage they all helped him pack his stuff into the moving van. Hiccup's red mini Cooper just couldn't fit it all.
"Now Hiccup, if you ever need food, clothes or......" Valka started but Hiccup said "Mom I'll be fine.. I can do my own laundry."
"Just remember not to mix anything red with your tidy-whities."
"MOM!" Hiccup blushed as Valka hugged him. Then it was Stoick's turn. It was a little awkward, Stoick trying not to squish Hiccup. "Son, I got something for you." Hiccup's father trailed off before giving him a package. Hiccup accepted it and opened it there only to turn a furious scarlet.
"OH MY GOSH DAD!!" Hiccup shouted as he closed the box so fast. "Condoms!" he whispered as he tried to stave off the blush.
"Well ya are a grown boy." Stoick chuckled. "There was a very good deal on a bumper pack-a hundred and forty-four condoms-for only ten dollars. That should keep you going for a while maybe...We might want grandbabies but not soooo soon. And you need to use pro- DAD!" Hiccup interrupted.
"A hundred and forty-four Stoick? Gobber asked curiously. "I doubt the boy will use them all this semester. Why I remember when I was his age..." Gobber reminisced with a fond smile.
"OH MY THOR!" Hiccup shouted as he pressed his hands over his ears. "LALALALALALA-NOT HEARING THIS!!! LALALALALA"
I'll.... Eh... just go say goodbye to Throk and Cami," Hiccup said as he excused himself. When he got to them both of his friends enveloped him in a bear hug but it was Cami who proceeded to squeeze the air out of him. "Can't.... Breathe... Cam-i....." Hiccup wheezed out as he patted her shoulder.
"If anyone gives you any trouble... you just give me a call and I'll come down there to sock 'em!" Camicazi told him.
"I can handle myself Cami." Hiccup laughed. "Besides shouldn't you be working towards your degree in childcare?"
"Don't you worry!" Cami smirked. "By the time you become a lawyer, I'll be the best darn social worker in Berk... no in the STATE!" She smiled proudly. Hiccup had no doubt that she'd make a great social worker. For all her sneaking around and pants stealing Cami had quite a soft spot for kids.
The ride up to Harvard was actually pretty uneventful except for Toothless getting all huffy in his pet carrier. The black Persian gave an angry hiss when they neared their stop and Hiccup drove into a small pothole.
Hiccup picked up the pet carrier from the car once he stepped out and the moving men were already busy unloading stuff. "Here we are bud. Harvard," Hiccup said as he gazed upon the old style dorm room. Toothless however, just gave a disinterested meow. By the time all his boxes were in the room Toothless was frazzled and decided to duck under his pillow with only his fluffy tail sticking out. Hiccup didn't really know if it was in protest of their moving or just a cat thing. Sometimes Toothless could just be a weirdo.
Hiccup decided to let his cat sulk and instead go to check out the grounds. He was walking out of the dorm and towards one of the courtyards when he saw her. He inwardly cursed. Did Fate have it in for him? Meeting her just as he settled in. Heather had already arrived and she was checking the board with a map of the campus. Hiccup took a deep breath and started walking towards her. 'Come on you can do it!' His mind shouted. 'Just walk on by. Act like you don't see her. Let her notice you! Play hard to get, damnit! Those jeans don't make your behind stand out for nothing!' Hiccup wasn't sure why his inner voice suddenly sounded like Cami but his legs were already moving and he didn't think he could stop them. Hiccup looked the other way, towards the courtyard where students were gathering, as he passed the board. He was nearly homefree when a voice stopped him.
"Hiccup?" He turned to see that Heather had spotted him.
"Hi Heath-" his greeting was cut short when Heather said:
"Hiccup this has got to stop!"
"Huh?" Hiccup merely cocked his head to the side as Heather continued.
"I know we broke up so that should have been it. I can't have you following me around like some lost puppy."
"Wait...." Hiccup stopped her and asked "You think I came here to see you?" Well he did, he actually masterminded an entire career change to win her back but she didn't need to know that. 'Play it cool Hiccup. Catch her off guard,' his inner Cami said.
"Why else would you be here?" Heather questioned with a frown.
"Oh silly, I go here now!" Hiccup laughed as Heather's expression turned more incredulous.
"You..... go... here....." Heather asked slowly. "You..... got into Harvard Law?!"
"It's not that hard," Hiccup stated. "Wait-is it meant to be? Well I got to go. I want to check out where all my classrooms are. Ciao." With that said, Hiccup turned back around and walked away casually. In his mind he was a sputtering mess and his stomach was doing flip flops but another side of him was cheering. Hiccup wanted Heather back yes, but a little payback wouldn't hurt either. That incredulous expression made his day.
But as he walked further on, another, bigger part of him was disappointed she hadn't walked after him, hadn't congratulated him or even bothered beyond dismissing him like an unwanted stalker...so he finally reached the end of the hall, rounded the corner and leaned against the wall.
Of course, the truth was he hadn't really wanted to go and do Law...that would have been his father's choice, though his Dad had long since accepted that his son was more the creative building type than an instinctive politician...but he had stubbornly followed his plan and here he was, halfway across the country on a course he didn't actually want to do with his probably still ex-girlfriend ignoring him or possibly mocking him, despite the fact he had got into Harvard Law on his own merits-and despite showing not one jot of interest in it little more than a month earlier.
Sighing, he turned and headed for the nearest door, seeking some fresh air, He had been cooped up in his Mini on the drive with a grumpy cat who puked when they went down hills. Unfortunately it had been a hilly ride so his car, his clothes and even his hair smelled vaguely of cat vomit...at least to Hiccup. Though he had no idea how Toothless managed it. He never knew cats were like TARDISes until now...especially where vomit was concerned. But apart from his nauseous cat and his ex girlfriend, he didn't know anyone really and he was now lost. He wasn't sure which entrance he had come out of and the door had closed firmly behind him. He was facing a modest courtyard and he had no idea how to get back inside. It would probably start raining next...
Not really looking, he struck out over the grass in the little yard, looking for a bench or somewhere to sit down and call his friends to tell them how much fun he was having...and not looking, he tripped over someone's legs and ended up face-planting on the grass.
"Are you alright?"
A female voice jolted him from lying on his face, hoping no one would notice him and maybe leave him here. He groaned and rolled over-to look up into a pair of sky blue eyes, placed on a very pretty face with a cute nose, clear skin and pink lips, framed by sun-blonde hair in a plait over one shoulder. The girl frowned, little wrinkles crinkling across her nose.
"Gu..glu...g..." he managed, temporarily losing the power of speech. She chuckled, her smile lighting his face and she stuck out her hand.
"Okay-either you've hit your head and have temporary aphasia or you've got a phobia of blondes," she teased him and his eyes widened.
"No no no no no I...I..." he managed.
"Ah, he's recovering," she smirked and grabbed his hand, hauling him his feet and looking up a couple of inches into his eyes. "Astrid Hofferson."
"What?"
"Astrid Hofferson. Is my name. And you are...?"
"Astrid Hofferson?"
"No, that's me. Do you have a name? You know, a proper noun that is commonly used to refer to you?"
"Fishbone!" he blurted and face-palmed. She burst out laughing.
"Really?" she laughed. "Thor, that's terrible!"
"NO!" he yelped. "No, my name isn't fishbone-but it's what they refer to me as..." She inspected him.
"A bit mean, if I might say," she commented. "You're not bad, Mr Fishbone. A little clumsy and prone to not looking where you're going so you trip over people's legs..." He blushed fiercely under her knowing gaze.
"Agh! I mean sorry. My bad. Definitely. Sorry. Um not for meeting you because you seem..nice..."
"Nice? Really?" Her tone was amused again.
"Beautiful? Witty? A bit of a tease?" he tried and she smiled again.
"I think you're recovering," she said. "Now can I have my hand back?" He started: he was still holding her hand from where she had hauled him up. He let her go with an embarrassed look.
"Sorry," he said again, still blushing. She gave him a kind look.
"First day Freshman, huh?" she asked and he nodded, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Now do you actually have a real name?" He nodded.
"Yeah...um...but you have to promise not to laugh," he said in a rush. She tilted her head.
"How bad can it be?" she asked him. He briefly stared at the grass.
"On a scale of one to ten? Forty two," he said.
"Which is coincidentally the meaning of life, the universe and everything," she quipped back. "I promise-Girl Scout's honour!" He took a deep breath.
"Okay...Hiccup Haddock," he told her.
She burst out laughing, doubling up in mirth.
"Hey-you promised," he said in a hurt voice.
"Sorry...I was never a Girl Scout," she managed and wiped her eyes. "Look-I am sorry. That was mean as well-and I try never to be mean. You should always treat other people how you want to be treated. I apologise." He swallowed.
"Apology accepted, Astrid," he managed without his voice wavering...much. She grabbed her books. "Um...do you go...here?" She shrugged.
"I kind of come here now and again..." she admitted and wound her long home-knitted blue scarf around her neck. His heart plummeted at her words, because it was obvious she wasn't in his class but her next words rescued his day somewhat. "Come on-let's get a coffee-as an apology for laughing at your name..." He blushed.
"I should probably buy you one for falling over your legs while you were sitting out here innocently reading..." he admitted. She checked she hadn't left anything behind and smiled at him once more.
"Tell you what, Hiccup," she said thoughtfully. "You buy me a coffee and I buy you a coffee. That way we're quits. And I think you look like you need to have someone to talk to."
"If I can manage to talk at all..." he mumbled as she chuckled again.
"The sass is strong in this one," she smirked. "Come on-if we hurry we can get a window table."
Suddenly Harvard didn't seem such a bad idea after all.