Chapter 1
This is my first time dwelling in HTYYD fanfic. also my first time testing Modern AU, and my writing's gotten rusty lately. Any mistake pointed out and constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Thanks ;)
The auburn-haired young man lifted his head to have a look up at the red brick building that towered over him. Its 6-storey height, however, was unable to block the afternoon sunlight that had shunned brightly and forced his eyes to squint to look at the structure.
The lanky lad decided that if he continued to stare and analyze the design of the building under the extreme sunlight he might – probably, maybe – render himself blind, so he just shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath before taking a step towards the three-centered arch that led to entrance of the buildings. He found it difficult to make his way past the young adults who stood in groups hogging the morocco red wooden double door that formed the main entrance while holding on to his box of belongings and a rather heavy bag slung over his left shoulder. The place buzzed with life as chatters, sometimes yells, could be heard throughout the building but it didn't bother him as he only had one question playing in his head. On repeat.
"Where the Hel is room 608?"
Just as he approached the first flight of stairs he could feel panic starting to crawl up his chest, he heard his name being called from the floor just above him.
"Harry Haddock?!" Harry looked up to see a man in a white t-shirt calling down to him. The man started rushing down the stairs to greet Henry with a broad friendly smile.
"Name's Shrek, welcome to DreamWorks University. This is where you're gonna stay," the man stretched his right arm out to offer a handshake. Henry Haddock quickly examined the man standing in front of him. He had short dark brown hair with a fringe sprouted to his side. His shirt had the phrase "Ogre-time!" in green, and one could tell that he was rather muscular as the baggy shirt still wrapped around him.
"Ah!" Shrek said after realizing Henry's hands were occupied. His smile was still disturbingly broad. "Sorry. Didn't realize you were carrying stuff."
"Hiccup," Harry said while lifting his box to show it to 'Shrek'. Shrek tilted his head a little to the right and raised his left eyebrow, as if to show he didn't understand. A few seconds of awkward silence ensued.
"That's what everyone calls me," Henry 'Hiccup' tried to break the silence. "We're using made up names right?" More awkward silence.
"That's my real name, Shrek Myrke."
"Ah, sorry." Hiccup gave an awkward smile showing his gritted teeth.
Way to go, Hiccup. First day here and you're already losing friends. Wait… when on Midgard did you even have friends? Oh right… those clowns.
Shrek let out a laugh before saying "Doesn't matter, lad. Most people tend to get confused at my name, except Fiona." Hiccup could hear the content in Shrek's voice when he mentioned Fiona.
Hiccup felt as though his skinny arms were going to detach from his torso at any moment, and his face must have shown it, as Shrek quickly offered to carry his box up the stairs, with one hand. Show off.
"608 is located at the sixth floor, kid."
Hiccup flinched when Shrek said 'sixth floor', but he was totally uncomfortable when the bulky man called him 'kid'. "Kid?"
"You're a freshman," Shrek chuckled. "Of course you're a kid."
"But I'm eighteen."
"And I'm twenty-two, and you're still a kid." Shrek turned to him. "Well, you do look like one."
Hiccup shrugged at the comment. "Has anyone mentioned you sound like a drowning Mike Myers with a Scottish accent?"
Silence dominated the atmosphere between the two guys following Hiccup's remark as they walked up the remaining two flights of stairs and towards the door at the end of the corridor. It has the number 608 on it.
Shrek slot the key into the keyhole with his free hand and twisted the doorknob before giving it a hard push. "Here ya go, kid, the keys to your room."
Hiccup looked down at the key in his hand. It was only one key. Why did Shrek say key'S'?
"Now remember," Shrek started after placing Hiccup's belongings on the bed near the left wall, his smile still plastered on his face, but not as broad. "The room's for two people."
"That explains the two beds." Hiccup said dryly.
Shrek let out a sigh, and muttered something under his breath about a donkey and nerves. "Anyway, good luck at DWU, Hiccup!" and left, closing the door.
Hiccup just stared at his belongings for a while until he heard the door open. Hiccup rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Now wha – guys?"
Standing at the door were three guys and a girl. They stared at Hiccup for a brief moment, before the girl with two blonde braids leaning on the door frame opened her mouth. "Uh guys, I think we got the wrong room."
The guy next to her, who looks exactly like a carbon copy of the girl with a long face and blond hair tied but tied into dreadlocks, nodded. "Yea, aren't we looking for a short, scrawny, muscleless, chubby-faced kid?"
There was a snort from the muscular shortest guy with wavy black hair that swept back. "There's probably a hopeless hiccup during check in and he gotten the wrong room."
Hiccup just let a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Guys, for real, it's me."
The looks on the four faces clearly showed they weren't convinced. The black-haired guy just looked at Hiccup from top to toe. "Sorry, stranger. No idea who you are. We probably got the wrong room. You do sound familiar though."
"I see even in college you're still confused as ever" Hiccup shrugged his shoulders "Snotlout."
A unison of gasp followed. Then, a large and husky guy with blonde hair stared at Hiccup for a brief moment before his eyes widened in shock "Holy mother of THOR? IS THAT YOU, HICCUP?!"
"Ye –" Hiccup heard cries of "HICCUP!" and "Harry!" before finding himself locked in a group bear hug, and he swore he heard his joints along whole body crack from the tight hug he was given.
"Err, guys?" he found himself gasping for air. "Can't – breathe?"
It took a moment for the other four to realize they were suffocating their friend who stood in the middle. The large guy smiled sheepishly while letting out a small chuckle. "Sorry, we just got excited. We haven't seen you since Berk High."
The rest nodded with smiles now plastered on their faces. Snotlout – the one with black hair – eyed Hiccup from head to toe with wide eyes.
"I gotta say, WOW. What on earth did puberty do to you? You grew taller!"
"Puberty probably hit him late after we graduated," the long-faced male blondie snickered "And now he's taller than Fishlegs here. So you're officially the shortest among us, Snot."
Snotlout glared at the male and crossed his arms. "Shut up, Tuffnut."
Hiccup could only muster a smile. There was a time when the large husky young man standing in front of him – 'Fishlegs' – was about a head and a half taller than Hiccup. Now it was Hiccup who was a few inches taller than his friend. In fact, he was now the tallest among them. He turned to each of his friends. "Thanks for coming guys. Really appreciate it."
"Hah, I told y'all Cuz would be here," Snotlout let out a laugh and pat Hiccup on his back while looking at the other three. "And to think none of you believed me."
"Because you said the complete opposite, Scott Jorgenson."
"Whoa whoa, what happened to full names, Rachel Thorston?" Snotlout smirked while raising his hands defensively. Tuffnut glared at Snotlout. "Hey! Only Thorstons can call her that! The rest of you must call her Ruffnut."
"Says who?" Snotlout glared back at Tuffnut.
"Says me!"
"Everyone ignores you!"
"You're talking to me! How can it be 'everyone' if you're talking to me?!"
Hiccup brought his hand to his face when Ruffnut soon joined the argument as Fishlegs tried to calm the other three down. He lifted his head and scanned around the room looking for someone else. "Hey, guys, where's –"
"HEY! HEY! Astrid!" Snotlout cheered as he walked towards the door, where a girl with blonde hair in a single braid stood. "How are you doing, babe?"
Before Snotlout could place his left hand on her, she grabbed his outstretched arm and flipped him over, pinning him onto the ground. Snotlout let out a painful groan while he rubbed the back of his head. "The Helheim was that for?"
"Told you to stop calling me that. And don't touch me."
"Shut up, Astrid."
Everyone else snickered as Snotlout got back on his feet, but Hiccup just kept looking at Astrid. "I see nothing's changed, Hofferson."
Astrid turned her head to look at Hiccup, and then slowly walked towards him. He found himself drowning in her blue eyes as he always had, before he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder and snapped back to reality only to realize Astrid had punched him.
"That's," Astrid had a straight face, "for calling me by surname." Hiccup had a lopsided grin on his face, but it was quickly wiped off when Astrid landed another punch on his left shoulder.
"And that's for looking creepy."
Coos from the rest soon followed as Hiccup's eyes and mouth were wide in shock, but the shock didn't stop him from hearing Tuffnut say "Owh! Larv in the air!" and felt his face flush.
Ruffnut looked confused. "Wait, how did you recognize Hiccup so easily? Yea, we hugged him called his name and all."
"Yea," Tuffnut's eye narrowed suspiciously. "How did you recognize him immediately? It is paramount that you tell us immediately."
Ruffnut's head snapped to face her brother. "That's not how you use the word 'paramount'."
"It is."
"It's not."
"Yes."
"No."
"You don't know what it means. I do."
"Oh, really? What does it mean then?"
Tuffnut raised his hand and had opened his mouth to explain, but froze for a moment and closed it back again. Ruffnut broke into a grin and placed her hands on her hips as if claiming victory, before turning back to Astrid who was standing next to Hiccup. "So? You still haven't answered the question."
Astrid only shrugged her shoulders. "We've been keeping in touch, since graduation."
Four mouths went slack as eyes widened in shock. Snotlout was the first to regain his senses.
"Wait." His head was shaking, eyes still wide. "So you're saying that Useless here has been contacting you for the last what? Six months?"
Hiccup winced a little at his cousin calling him 'Useless'. Sure, Snotlout didn't really mean it and it's only a nickname now and Hiccup didn't really bother about it, but it did remind him of younger times when the bigger cousin was the bane of his existence until they were 14-years-old. He just looked at Astrid, who looked at him, before both of them turned back to Snotlout to nod in sync.
"Which during that six months Hiccup completely vanished from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr – "
"You could had just said 'social platforms'"
"Shut up, Tuff. I'm trying to be serious here. Ah, dung, where was I?"
"You were thrown by Astrid onto the ground."
"I didn't mean literally. What did I say earlier?"
"You were trying to be serious?"
"No. Before that!"
"'Shut up Tuff'?"
"ODIN'S BUTTHOLE!" Snotlout glared at Tuffnut, who had his arms crossed and looked back nonchalantly. "I WAS ASKING ASTRID SOMETHING!"
Tuffnut thought for a moment. "Nope, don't remember anything." Snotlout's face was red with boiling anger and his knuckles had turned white from balling his fists too tight.
"Guys," Hiccup interrupted. "Are y'all here to welcome me or argue till Thor-knows-when?"
Everyone had turned their heads to look at the auburn-haired youngster.
"Welcome you, obviously." "Argue!" "Welcome you to argue!"
The last respond from Tuffnut had Hiccup placing his hand on his face again. Why in Helheim am I even friends with these guys? University is gonna be so –
His train of thought was derailed by the sound of his stomach growling. He looked down at his belly and silently cursed at it before lifting his head up to look at his group of friends again.
"Well, whatever y'all came here for, I'm hungry. Who wants to grab something to eat?"
Hey Guys, LaidEffect here (obviously). Just came back to writing fanfic after being caught up with reality for too long. Btw, i'm gonna start writing on this story. and i'll also try to update Worlds Collide ASAP. luv y'all 3
R&R if can please ( ˘ ³˘)
