Slowly, very slowly, the class filed in. There were wooden desks, and Astrid and Fishlegs were both sitting in the back, so Hiccup went along with them. He dropped his bag next to the desk and sank down. He could have swore he heard the chair creak. The school looked pretty rich from the outside. Why was it in such bad condition?

A large man walked into the room. Not as big as his dad, but big enough to easily throw him across the room. He wore a sneer and walked right up to him. He heard Astrid's sharp intake of breath.

"Mr. Haddock, I presume? It is...so nice to finally meet you. My name is Mr. Grimborn."

"Like the mayor?" Hiccup blurted, forgetting manners for a second. Well, the man did look scary, so maybe it was wise not to be polite with him. Or maybe it was stupid.

He smiled, a smile that sent shivers down the boy's spine. "I'm his brother."

While there wasn't that much...facely resemblance, both of them had a creepy vibe going for them, so he believed Mr. Grimborn right away. The man wished him good luck in school and then walked to the front. Right then, a girl came running into the room frantically.

Mr. Grimborn looked up. "Ah, there you are. I thought you were going to be late."

"Never, sir." She sat down in the very front, where a chair seemed to be reserved for her.

Astrid and Fishlegs were whispering next to him as the first class, History, began with a recap of the previous week's lessons. Mr. Grimborn asked a question. "Now, why was the trip to America a failure the first time Norbert the Nutjob went there?"

Norbert the Nutjob? With a name like that, America should should consider itself lucky, really. Many students' hands went into the air, including the two blondes next to him, but the teacher picked on the girl who had come in last.

"Heather."

"There was a huge storm, sir," she recited, as though it had been drilled in her brain, "but we believe that it was some kind of monster that actually did the damage. Perhaps the Lochness Monster. Or what about..."

Hiccup raised his hand as she went on, actually sounding like a robot. The man ignored him, and then he asked another question, and another. And each one, the girl - Heather - answered. Mr. Grimborn did not pick on anyone else. Hiccup turned to Fishlegs in confusion and the boy winced, signalling that he would explain later.

The only thing he learned in that class was that Heather was the only one who actually got to learn the history of Berk.

Lunch was outside in the courtyard. Neither Fishlegs nor Astrid had actually asked him to join them, but he tagged along with them anyway, looking around at it all.

"Say, Fishlegs," he began, walking in step with them; Astrid was reading something, "why does Mr. Grimborn only pick on that Heather girl? The other teachers don't do that."

"It's very hard to say exactly why. All we know is that Heather's older brother, Dagur, helps the Grimborn brothers with something. They've been seen talking a lot, especially since the news of your arrival. So I guess they favor her."

Hiccup shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't matter. History is usually the least important subject anyway."

"History is the most important subject."

That was Astrid. She snapped her book shut and gave him a look. "I don't suppose you would know that, being new and all, but many people would be offended if they heard you suggest that Berkian history is not important." She turned to Fishlegs and huffed. "Aren't you going to ask him?"

"I thought you were!" Fishlegs squeaked back, looking at Hiccup nervously. Said boy adjusted the straps on his bag, burning with curiosity now.

"We agreed -"

"Astrid, that is not -"

"Don't play that game with -"

"I'm not playing anythi-"

"Hey, babe."

That was neither of the two blondes. Instead, it was a stocky boy with black hair. He was shorter than Astrid, and yet he had called her babe, so that must mean they were dating. Hiccup's heart sank, but who was he kidding? He never had a shot with her anyway.

"Don't call me babe. Snotlout."

Oh. Well, that made things a bit better. He saw the crestfallen expression on Snotlout's - Snotlout's? - face but it immediately turned to a smirk when the boy's eyes fell on him. Next to him were two kids - twins. A boy and a girl who wore identical grins. The male spoke up. "Is this the new kid?"

"Don't even think about pranking him," Astrid said sharply. He was surprised, to say the least. Why was Astrid sticking up for him like that? She barely knew him. Snotlout opened and closed his mouth a few time before huffing.

"Fine. We won't."

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, at your service," the girl quipped, holding out her hand expectantly. Hiccup shook it and then she squeezed it. "Whoa. Feel that grip, Tuff."

"Move. Let me see." The boy shoved his sister aside and clutched Hiccup's hand as though his life depended on it. "You're right. He could choke us to death if he wanted to." He pulled back, gasping and pointing. "Murderer!"

"Uh…"

"Oh, for Thor's sake." Astrid rolled her eyes. Thor? These kids were getting weirder by the second. He remembered his old high school. Well, there he had been a nobody. Surely, this would be better?

Fishlegs interrupted before the twins could say anymore. "Anyway, there was something Astrid, I mean, both of us," he amended, seeing the girl glare at him, "something we both wanted to ask you. Is it possible you could take us to your house?"

"Take you...to my house?" he repeated, confused. Could it be possible that they actually wanted to be friends with him? Maybe they could -

"To look around! Berk Manor was off limits before," Fishlegs explained excitedly, his eyes lighting up.

Oh. Of course. They weren't interested in him, they were interested in the house. It was a letdown, yes, but maybe he could make the most of it. When people spent time together, they usually bonded anyway. And that was a very naive thought, but it was a start.'

Ignoring the biting feeling in his chest that told im very clearly that they would never want to be friends with him, Hiccup responded with a weak smile. "Yeah. Sure."

"Thanks," he heard Astrid say quietly; he almost missed it. She looked as though she was about to say something else, but then Tuffnut interrupted.

"You guys are going to Berk Manor? I wanna come too!"

"Me too!" Ruffnut and Snotlout both exclaimed at the same time, before everyone falling into a quarrel, in which many threats were passed around. (He also heard Astrid call Snotlout "son of a half troll", whatever that meant.) He would have felt honored if this was a fight over who got to hang out with him or something like that. But it wasn't. Stupid house should feel lucky. Everyone loved it.

"It's okay, guys," he cut in, holding his hands out in a calming manner, "you all can come. After school today. My dad will be thrilled."

"What about your mom?" Snotlout questioned. "Won't she be upset if we all just come barging in."

"I - she's not my mom. Step mom. She lets me do whatever I want, really."

All of them seemed to have questions, but Hiccup mumbled a quick excuse for the bathroom and fled, hoping none of them would remember that he didn't know where the bathroom was. Inside the building, he rammed straight into someone. It was Heather, and she fumbled as she picked up her fallen bag.

"Sorry," he offered.

"Forget it." She brushed her hair out of her face. "Hey, if you want someone to show you around town, tell me. I could help."

He gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks." None of the other teens he had met had offered that. As she walked past, he thought maybe Heather wasn't that bad.

But now was not the time to dwell on her. Now was the time to mentally prepare himself for questioning from the kids, his father, and his own self, the last one asking what on earth he was thinking inviting a bunch of wild kids to his house.

And why they wanted to come so badly.