First of all, I would like to point out that I am still working on all other stories. I've had some extremely personal issues that I've only told two or three people about and haven't really had time to write much lately. You know how it is, though, you get the inspiration, you write the story. This is a modern AU and therefore contains swearing. If you don't like this, please consider clicking/tapping off. Don't go up in flames at me; I've warned you now. I'd also like to say this: oh my god thank Thor we have lunarflower on Tumblr! Go and check out their artwork, it's brilliant.

Finally, I'd like to welcome two new characters to a few of my HTTYD stories! The first one is not an OC. She was in the original books... she is Camicazi or Cami for short! I'm really excited about bringing her into the stories, as she is Hiccup's old childhood friend(previous story vibes anyone?), and is paired with...

Esther! (pronounced Ester) Hiccup's long-lost slightly younger sister was taken by dragons a few months before Valka, and Hiccup was never told about her. She is an OC. In this AU, Valka was kidnapped when Esther was one week old, and Esther herself was kidnapped when she was five months old. Lots of kidnapping!

Both Cami and Esther will appear in this story, and I hope you enjoy it. Especially lunarflower.

WE SHALL HEREBY IGNORE THE FACT THAT HICCUP INHERITS ANYTHING FROM HIS FATHER AND LET THEM CARRY ON WITH THEIR LIVES LIKE NORMAL DEPRESSED UNI STUDENTS.

Astrid's Point Of View

After his father's death, Hiccup was... different.

He didn't concentrate properly on anything apart from work and uni, wouldn't speak to us much, and on some days, wouldn't even eat.

The share house we all lived in- me, Hiccup, Heather, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Cami, Esther, Ruff and Tuff- had become gloomy and miserable without Hiccup's cheer and awful jokes lighting it up. Also, he'd stopped playing the piano now. The old keyboard now stood in the corner of his room, dust collecting where it was visible on the natural keys and middle C stuck right down. Hiccup hadn't touched it in weeks.

Esther had tried to talk to him. It had been hard for her as well, but Hiccup had to live with the guilt of knowing that his father had died for him.

Needless to say, with Hiccup's stupid stubbornness getting in the way, she hadn't gotten him to talk.

We'd all tried. Countless times. Since we're in a different state from where all our parents live, not even Valka can talk to Hiccup.

So I guess it was all up to me.

"Oh my Gods, Astrid!" squealed Imogen Turner, jumping out from the bathroom at me as I walked to class one morning. "Lachlan Nelson just asked me out, oh em gee, oh em gee, he's hot as f-"

"Wow, calm down. Miss Cooper gets cross if we swear," I said, and then lowered my voice. "Fuck her and her rules."

Imogen giggled, and then Heather came running up to us with Cami, Esther, and Ruffnut close behind her. "There's... Oreos in... the vending machine again!" panted Heather, trying to spread the news and catch her breath at the same time. "Calm down, LOL!" Imogen said, forever Miss I-talk-in-text-language-IRL. I frowned. "I don't want any."

They stared at me. "What do you mean, you don't want any?" demanded Cami finally. "What's wrong with you, girl?"

"I just don't feel like it today," I replied. "Oh shit, I'm two minutes late for biology! Gotta dash!" I ran away from my group, feeling slightly guilty for it. I glanced at my watch. 7:23 AM, it read. Class started at 7:30.

"Hey, Astrid!" called a male voice from the other side of the hall. I smiled. "Morning, Fishlegs!"

The boy walked over to me and held out a note. "From Hiccup. He says to meet him in the far corner of the library at lunchtime." I rolled my eyes, exasperated. "The library. Of course. You and the others too, or just me?"

Fishlegs frowned and scratched his head. "It says, Meet me in the far corner of the library. Need to talk to you guys, so I think he means all of us. Thoughts?"

"Huh. Yeah, probably," I mumbled quietly. "You think he's okay? I mean, he hasn't really been... okay... not since last year. Should we go talk to him now?"

"Mmm," agreed Fishlegs. "Perhaps."

"And we need to get him playing the piano again! It's become really quiet without the Moonlight Sonata being played over and over."

My head whipped around to find the source of the voice that had just spoken, as it had not been me. "Snotlout?!" I exclaimed in surprise. Snotlout blew a kiss at me. "Me, sweetheart."

I scowled. "I'm not your sweetheart, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm actually engaged. And since when do you care about Hiccup?"

Snotlout gave me a rather pathetic scowl back, and replied, "Since his father died and he got depression."

"Oh, I s- Woah woah woah, wait a minute. What did you say? I thought I heard 'he got depression'?" I demanded in disbelief.

Beside me, Fishlegs looked equally shocked. Snotlout looked at us seriously, his tie askew like usual. "I was looking for him last week, went into his room to see if he was there, and there were the diagnosis papers on his desk. I asked him about it, and he practically begged me not to tell you guys and the others."

"Oh, Hiccup," I sighed sadly. "Why won't he tell us though?"

Fishlegs opened his mouth to speak, but Snotlout interrupted him before he could even speak. "Because he's Hiccup. He tells everyone he's fine, trying not to make us worried about him when all he's actually doing is making everybody ten times more worried than if he hadn't said anything at all."

"Surprisingly accurate personality measurements, Snotlout," responded Fishlegs, finally getting a word in. I nodded, and said, "So, Hiccup's depressed. He won't talk, he won't eat, and on top of all that, he's depressed? Great!"

"Has he got any antidepressants?" asked Fishlegs sensibly. "On the diagnosis papers, there was a prescription for them, but I don't think he's got them yet. One of us'll have to drag him off to the medical centre later today or tomorrow," Snotlout told us. I groaned. "I'll-"

"No," stated Fishlegs firmly. "Your essay is due in next week. I'll do it."

"So is yours!"

"Look, guys," said Snotlout, seeing the probably death-provoking glare on my face."You both have essays due in next week, and you need to study. We could ask Heather, Cami, or Esther, but they're all busy with essays as well, and the twins are obviously out of the question. Hiccup will refuse to drive himself; he and I are the only ones who've finished our essays. I'll take him."

Fishlegs and I nodded, understanding the logic behind this statement. "Okay then. I'll see you in class, it's in like room 386 or whatever and I'm still on the first floor. See you guys later. If you get a chance to speak to Hiccup before lunch, tell him I said hi, and that we need to talk. Thanks!" I dashed over to the staircase after saying this and began racing up it.

And so my skyward climb to room 386 began.