"I can't believe my boy is off to college!" Stoick cheerfully walked into the dorm, carrying an enormous box with ease. He had said this almost every single day since Hiccup had gotten the acceptance letter. Months and months and now… Hiccup couldn't believe it. He had been a senior only a short time ago, and now he had to start over again. It wasn't like he was leaving much behind; high school hadn't been the easiest for him.

Hiccup sighed as he placed his computer bag on the desk, looking at the sets of identical furniture. Two beds, two closets, two dressers, two desks, two of the bare essentials except the two college students. He quickly checked his watch as Stoick began unpacking boxes, wondering when he would meet his roommate.

Stoick cheerily hummed Pomp and Circumstance, as if he was already envisioning his son's graduation before he took a look at his son's face.

"Oh, come on, it's going to be great! Meet new people, get an education that's right for you, my boy needs the best!" Stoick exclaimed, trying to cheer his son up. The gentle pat on the back was more like a whack to Hiccup, and he steadied himself while Stoick looked around the dorm.

"This is where I had some of my best years…" He sighed nostalgically, as if he was seeing his dorm from thirty plus years ago.

"I know but-" Hiccup shrugged his fathers hand off his shoulder and looked at all his belongings.

"I know that in the past, new settings have been a little rough on you" The large man said, twisting his hands awkwardly. He was terrible at these kind of conversations, but he had really been trying to connect with his son.

"A little rough" Hiccup smiled, tending to the box Stoick had left halfway unpacked.

"Ach, you know what I mean! It's been hard for… everyone, but I know this will be it! I can feel it! This is where I met… where I began to make something off myself, and this is where you will too." Stoick pulled him away from the box, placing both his hands on his small son's shoulders.

"That's a lot of confidence you got going on here." Hiccup replied, shrinking as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Please just promise you'll try?"

"I've been wanting to do this my whole life-"

"No, please just… just try, put yourself out there. I'm not worried about your classes, Hic." His father looked at him with worry. Always the smallest, always the weakest, always the same answer when his father asked him if he had any new friends at school, it crushed him.

"I'll try"

"You promise?"

"I- I promise I'll try" Hiccup muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Good! Now- Stand up straight-" Stoick practically picked him off the ground as he made his son stand up tall. "And lift up your head- now that's how I want you to carry yourself, girls love it"

"Dad-"

"Ok- ok! I know! I'm just… Hiccup, I hope you know how proud I am, I know you'll do great." Stoick said sincerely.

"Dad" While the boy rolled his eyes, he could tell his father was being sincere.

"I remember when I got you your first Lego set, and the first time your little garage doodads didn't explode and the first time- oh, would you look at me" Stoick cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at Hiccup, as if he was hoping gravity would keep the tears from falling. Before Hiccup could console him, Stoick took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together.

"You'll do great things… I know it…" Stoick nodded, trying to keep himself together and he quickly turned back to the boxes. Hiccup watched his father clumsily empty the boxes, every once in a while sniffing slightly and rubbing an eye. Hiccup could remember a time when his father wasn't as open with him. Times were different when Stoick was younger, and having a son like Hiccup made him realize he needed to be more emotionally available, especially after the incident.

The bed was made, the clothes were unpacked, posters were up and the picture of his father and himself was placed on the dresser. His cat had his own personal frame. Everything was in its place

Hiccup could tell his father was going through a variety of emotions as they parted.

"Keep your nose in your books, but not too much, call if you need anything- just remember to have fun but balance responsibility." Stoick breathed, his voice cracking a little bit as he stuck out his hand. Hiccup could tell it was his father getting in the way of himself.

"Goodbye, dad." His arms wrapped around his father's massive frame, and Stoick immediately reciprocated. Hiccup turned slightly purple as his father crushed him, letting it all out.

"I'll be callin' you tonight- I'll take care of Toothless- The house is goin' to be so empty- I told myself I wasn't goin' to cry, I didn't want it to be harder than it is." Stoick teared up. Hiccup hugged his father tightly, just now realizing what his father would be going through. He would be alone… Sure he had Gobber and other friends, but Hiccup couldn't help picturing his father in their empty house. Mom had left, and now he was leaving too.

"I'll try- I'll really try, I promise, I'll visit on weekends too." Hiccup sniffed, now feeling the pain of the separation, even if it was just a few miles. After they parted, Stoick was furiously rubbing his eyes, trying to hide the tears from his son.

"I'll- I'll leave you to settle in- call when you can- you have Gobber's number? Ach, I know you do- goodbye, son." Stoick walked into about everything as he tried to back out of the room but with another awkward, tear filled wave, he was gone.

Hiccup sat on his bed, looking around the dorm as he fiddled with the hem of his green t-shirt in his hands. Truly alone now… He supposed he should be more excited, it wasn't like he was leaving too much behind, and it wasn't like his father was too far away, he was in state, in fact, in city. Yet his stomach churned. What if it was like last time? Four more years of loneliness coupled with maybe another four years of solitude if he went to graduate school, and then however many more years of seclusion before finally retiring and dying.

"That's exactly what I should be thinking about." Hiccup muttered, running a hand through his hair.

It was going to be different. He and his father had grown closer, and he knew he could to talk to him when things were hard. He would miss Toothless immensely… maybe if his roommate was reasonable enough, they could perhaps keep him here. Pets were of course prohibited in the dorms, but Hiccup didn't always listen to people.

"Well… this is it! It's going to be great!" When no reply came to answer his pep talk, he quickly jumped up. This would be a good time to go take a better look at everything. Sure he had visited before he decided to come here, but now he could really take a look around.

The lanky boy stuck his head out of his dorm room, almost checking if anyone was around. With the Berk U insignia embellished around the lanyard, key attached, I.D., wallet, and phone as his tools for his new surroundings, be embarked on what he thought of as an adventure.

It was eerily empty, he thought it would be packed. Perhaps he was incredibly early. He made his way down the flights of stairs, only to be met with a stampede of students. Hiccup squeezed through the crowd and out the door.

The weather was nice; it had been a warm summer. The sun was out, but the breeze made the heat bearable.

The campus was littered with students moving in. Giant boxes were being carried, suitcases being dragged, he was sure he saw a girl carrying too many stuffed animals.

Hiccup ducked and dodged students, happy to have unpacked already. He went to the library, to the buildings that would be holding most of his classes and finally to the cafeteria for a quick snack.

He passed the gym and peered in. Maybe this was the year he would finally start working out. There were already students in there working out. How could someone be that motivated? His eyes scanned until they fell upon a girl on the treadmill. Her blonde ponytail bounced as she ran. She looked very intimidating, just from the way it seemed she was giving the treadmill a workout and not the other way around. The scowl on her face soon turned to him and he realized he had been caught. Hiccup sheepishly waved snack, forgetting the banana was in his hand. She raised an eyebrow only to wave back and she returned to her work out.

Hiccup continued his adventure, his mind traveling as he walked as he ate the banana like a lost five-year-old. He had seen a good few faces, but he had yet to see his cousin. He could barely handle spending the weekend with him… but it had been a long time, perhaps the meathead had matured. Hiccup had wondered how he had gotten into the school at all, but a legacy baby coupled and a great football season had gotten himself situated nicely, Hiccup doubted he could've gotten in on grades alone. The lanky boy shook his head, realizing how condescending he was being. Just like his cousin, he was a legacy baby, so he had something going for him before he applied. Football scholarships vs merit scholarship, two different skills but with the same results.

He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as he accidentally bumped into a girl.

"Pardon me-" Hiccup stuttered, his banana somewhat squashed into his face from the collision.

"It's quite alright." She replied quickly, straightening her sunflower top before heading into the dormitory. Hiccup heard the accent, what was it? British? Irish? It was enough to make him know the girl wasn't American. He wondered how many places the students came from. This wasn't that big of a college, yet he had met a surfer dude, a professional trainer, and now a girl from the UK.

He paused for another moment, realizing it was his dorm building. He had inadvertently made a loop around the campus. With a shrug, he finished his banana, and returned to his dorm. It seemed the halls were filled with students now, all in a frenzy to unpack. The dorm was stacked, girls on one floor, boys on another. Stoick told Hiccup they did this because the cleanliness of the girls balanced the smell of the boys. In his time, the dorms had been separate, and the smell and mess was so terrible, it led to this.

Hiccup climbed the stairs, noting that it was true. The second floor had a palatable scent, where the third already had the musk of who knows how many boys. The heat didn't make it any better.

He wondered if he could perhaps trade dorm rooms with someone on the second floor.

He walked down the hall, fidgeting with the lanyard around his neck and met a few others. He realized he was off to a terrible start because no one else had the lanyard around their neck, instead it stuck out of pockets or bags. Hiccup quickly righted his wrong, stuffing the string and keys into his pocket, but now he could feel the eyes. The eyes of everyone he past in the hall on the way to his room, every freshman pausing to glance at him. He hadn't felt this when he was outside, but now in a confined space, it was almost like he couldn't stop thinking about it. He felt fear bubble up until he saw a pair of eyes dart to his leg.

"Chipper" Hiccup replied to the blonde guy as he held out his prosthetic leg. It was a complete lie, but it was fun to mess with people.

"That's gnarly, bro." The blonde freshman immediately dropped his skateboard to hold out his fist. Hiccup tentatively looked at it.

"You gonna pound it or what? Oh… the chipper got you that bad?" The blonde quickly grabbed Hiccups wrist, forced his hand into a fist, and made him fist bump. "That's called a fist bump, I'll teach you next step when you're ready."

"Uhm… alright." Hiccup mumbled, raising an eyebrow before continuing his path to his room, which was the door next to the blonde.

"You're an ok dude!" The blonde said quickly before doing a quick salute and ducking back into his dorm.

"Dude put his leg in a chipper… on purpose." He said quickly, kicking his skateboard up at his sister.

"No way" Her eyes were already wide as she caught the board.

"He's way cool- stop touchin' my stuff!" He said as he snatched the board away.

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Hiccup watched the blonde go back into his room, and decided that being friends with the neighbors was for another time.

To his surprise, the door was unlocked and he paused, wondering if he was going to meet his roommate or if he had accidentally left it like that. He already knew his roommate, well only a little bit. The college had a dating website, that's the only way he could describe it. You'd answer questions about yourself and be matched to someone similar enough the algorithm will think you'll get along with. It didn't tell you that much though. Hiccup knew his roommates name, and a picture of him. The guy looked nice enough. He also knew he was going into the sciences just like him, but he couldn't remember what branch.

Hiccup slowly opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. The picture that he had seen or that you uploaded seemed like a mugshot, and had not prepared him for this.

His roommate seemed to be a giant. Hiccup was a pretty tall guy, he had sprouted up and was still growing, but he was still skinny as a twig. The roommate didn't seem to hear him, and simply continued unpacking, humming slightly as he organized his side of the room. He had opened the window, which Hiccup greatly appreciated, to let some air in. Instead of just introducing himself, Hiccup silently backed out, closed the door, and reentered the room, making enough noise to draw the giants attention. The boy turned around, and to Hiccups surprise, a huge smile was already plastered on his face. The roommate quickly stuck out his hand, and soon Hiccup's entire arm was being shook out of it's socket by his overly friendly roommate.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet ya!" The boy smiled, letting go of Hiccups hand after seeing him wince. That was not what Hiccup expected.

"I see you're already getting comfortable, I'm Hiccup." The skinny boy said with a slight laugh, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"I'm Fishlegs, I hope you don't mind that I moved some of your stuff, it was getting a bit stuffy in here." Fishlegs motioned to the window before continuing to unpack, though it didn't stop his talking.

Hiccup missed everything Fishlegs rambled on as he examined his new roommate. This guy was wearing jeans and a button down in the middle of summer. The pictures of his parents seemed to be all taken from a farm or who knows where.

The large boy turned around to see Hiccup looking at him, and he paused his one sided conversation.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited! I was real nervous about having a roommate, but you seem like a great guy. You're going into engineering, right?" Fishlegs said, closely examining a small potted plant he had pulled out of a box. It was dwarfed by the size of his giant hands, gently making sure the plant had survived the journey here. Hiccup suddenly felt guilty for not really looking at Fishlegs's profile.

"Yes, and you're going into…?" Hiccup said slowly.

"Biology- oh don't worry about it" Fishlegs replied, once seeing Hiccups face. "If I'm being honest, I forgot what you're name was."

"So, you're a plant kind of guy?" Hiccup asked, walking over to his bed, glancing at the other plants around the room.

"I'm not leavin' it with my parents, they'll forget about it, sure hope they don't forget about my baby-" Fishlegs explained as he set down the plant on the window sill to join the others. "I sure hope you don't mind me putting them there."

"You- you're baby?" Hiccup asked, his eyes getting wider. He didn't know what to think, or where to start with this guy.

"Yep, here she is! Raised her myself, found her eatin' with the pigs" Fishlegs said proudly, holding up a picture of a small bulldog. "It was real hard leaving her like that"

Hiccup took the frame and watched the large boy rub the forming tears out of his eyes. Well, at least he has someone who knows how he feels.

"I know how you feel… uhm- I hope you don't mind me asking…Where are you from?" Hiccup asked, handing Fishlegs his photo back. He couldn't help it. He had grown aware of the accent hallway through the conversation, and then the pictures and finding a dog with pigs?

"Texas, born and raised." Fishlegs smiled broadly, and put his hands on his hips.

"Wow" Hiccup finally was able to place the southern accent, and had to stop from smirking. His roommate was a giant cowboy.

"How about you? Your accent's pretty funny." Fishlegs said, giving him a quick smile before neatly folding up his boxes and pushing them under the bed. Hiccup cursed at himself for not doing the same thing, he may or may not have crumbled them up into disrepair.

"Born and raised… here." Hiccup replied.

"No way! So your family is like right here?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's nice, but I can't do anything bad cause my dad will know immediately, but I'm not planning on doing anything like that- how can you be wearing that?" Hiccup asked, looking at the scalding jeans and button down.

"What? I don't have a stain on it, do I?"

"No, it's just... a look"

"Is it like… too good looking?" Fishlegs asked sarcastically.

"Honestly, yes." Hiccup replied, to which Fishlegs had a good laugh.

"I'll change if it makes you feel better, but I'm afraid it won't be much different."

"How can you wear that? It's so hot out."

"Didn't I tell you where I'm from?"

"Yeah but- hold on- is that yours?" Hiccup asked, just noticing the small television in one of Fishlegs's boxes.

"Yeah, but I think I left my console back at-" Fishlegs began, trying to remember where exactly his video games and console were in his house, only to interrupted by Hiccup pulling a console, controllers, and a box of video games from under his desk. Fishlegs immediately set up the TV, and Hiccup sorted through the disks.

"I love that game." Fishlegs mumbled, only glancing at the one that Hiccup was holding as he turned the TV on.

"It's my favorite." Hiccup replied. The two looked at each other for a moment, and realized their roommate was perfect.

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trying to get back into writing!

The whole stacking of girls floors and boys floors is actually a real thing that my parents college had to do because of smell, and one of the boys tried to light the dormitory on fire and to fix that they brought in the girls? idk...

please leave reviews! thanks :*