Well…long time no YOPS. Fear not, though for I have brought you another chapter! I think it's time for a little venture into Hiccup's life. Just to see what kind of character and where he's coming from. What do you all think?

Review Replies:

century99: Thanks. Half the reason for such an ending is because I only have a vague idea of what will happen in this story. Most of it is just being written as I go along, really.

Midnight' Dragon Conqueror: That would be because Heather plays a larger than usual role in this story. You'll soon see what I mean (maybe even in this chapter, perhaps). As for relationships, most will be largely one-sided. Of course, I did say "most" and not "all".

bedheadforeva: There'll be an explanation (though probably quite simple) about Hiccup's closing statement sometime in the near future.

Angryhenry: Yep. More explanation about that will come up eventually.

Hoytti: Thanks! Sorry to keep you waiting.

Dragonbow117: Thanks. I don't know why it felt lame to me. Glad to hear that it wasn't, though.

Guest (anonymous): That's good, but I decided against changing the title. Yes, it is serious. That is why I hope to include light-hearted moments (such as that first phone call) to take some of the weight off the topic.

Sullyranger: Here's the next chapter. Sorry for making you wait so long for it.

Now…on to the chapter with the title that is not creative!


Chapter 3: Hiccup's Thoughts

Hanson Harrison Haddock III disconnected his most recent call. That woman…girl…had been something else. Having worked as a personal angel for Heavenly Hopes Hotline for almost three years, Hanson had talked on the line with many people, young and old, male and female, but that girl was unlike any others. She claimed to have depression (and Hanson most definitely was not disagreeing), but her voice had sounded so confident.

Why am I overthinking this anyway? I'm never going to hear from her again. That's how it works here. I, of all people, should know that well enough. Surprisingly, many angels do not stick around very long. In fact, most do it simply for some type of community service and then leave without looking back when they've met their requirement. Hanson was one of the "angels" who had been there longest.

He liked the work. It was not usually hard to talk with the callers and they never had to see him. Not that Hanson was unattractive. He had been pretty geeky back in high school, but once he'd entered college, Hanson had grown out of the nerdy stage in his life. The only thing that Hanson felt self-conscious about was his prosthetic foot and lower leg. When Hanson was 15, he had a major accident involving his Black Labrador, Toothless, and an oncoming car. Long story short, his left foot was crushed beyond repair by the front tire of the car and the doctors in the emergency room of Berk General Hospital were forced to amputate it. Toothless had also lost his back left leg that day. Hanson knew that he should not feel self-conscious about this, but he still did and that's why he enjoyed coming in to work for the Hotline. No one at the call center and none of the callers knew there was anything different or strange about him.

On the walls of the plain call center, were posted "rules" for which the "angels" were to abide. Hanson had read the various posters many times; he practically had the words memorized now. He knew them well enough to know that they weren't actually rules. Instead, they were suggestions made by the Company to "prevent unnecessary hardships". Reading the posters, Hanson could just imagine what was going through the minds of those who came up with the posters. "The callers…you wouldn't want to personally get to know most of them. They're…different…strange. So follow these absurd rules." Hanson could just imagine some higher-up, perhaps even the developer of the Hotline, saying those words (or similar ones) to some committee who would just merely nod their heads and agree.

Hanson had a wild imagination which would run even more while in the plain call center. Perhaps that was just another reason why he was such a great "angel" for the Hotline. He did not have to see the callers with whom he spoke; he could help them feel better just by talking with them. Like tonight with that girl, for instance. He had just known that she would feel better if she would just take deep slow breaths and it had worked (even if she did not want to admit it).

Returning his attention from the sign on the wall that he had been absently staring at for several minutes, Hanson checked the computer screen in front of him. Phone numbers displayed upon the screen. They were the phone numbers that belonged to the callers, people waiting for "angels" like Hiccup to pick up their call and talk with them. The "angels" could choose any of the numbers; that was the most common way that calls were connected. When callers called the hotline, though, there was an option to connect to a specific "angel". If a caller selected this option, the phone that sat upon that "angel's" desk would ring. That was the only way those phones would ever ring. Personal calls were only to be taken on cell phones. Company phones were to be used strictly for business and nothing more.

The numbers displayed upon his screen did not look familiar. None were local and there were none that he had answered previously. Some callers were so regular that Hanson could hear the caller's voice when he saw certain numbers. He also knew which of those "regular calls" to avoid (although, he did not try to make a habit of this). Because he only had about ten minutes left in his night, Hanson closed out of the computer program and shut down his computer. That was another lesson he'd learned very early in his time with the Hotline: Don't start a call too close to your ending time because you might end up staying for at least an extra hour…and the Company hated that—they did not like to pay out at the overtime rate.

On his way out of the call center, Hanson's eye caught one of the other "regulations" posters. This one stated to never reveal personal information to your callers. Again, Hanson laughed to himself. Wouldn't want to get too friendly with depressed people, that must've been what the Company Heads had been thinking. Because of this poster, Hanson had adopted the alias "Hiccup". The name had been a childhood nickname and most of his friends automatically called him Hiccup already anyway.

When Hiccup had told his name to that girl and she had questioned it, this poster was the one he had been thinking about as he calmly gave her his answer. Some "angels" still preferred to use their real names, but "Hiccup" was the name Hanson was more used to hearing, so he was quite okay using it here. In fact, the only people who called him by his birthname were his parents and his teachers. His parents did not see how their son could like such a strange nickname.

By this time of the night, there were very few "angels" left at the call center. This particular center, because it was located in the small town of Berk, was not staffed around the clock. There were some centers (mainly the ones in larger cities) that did keep "angels" in the center overnight, though. Hiccup would never want to work at such a center. He couldn't anyway—not with his college classes taking up his daytime hours; as much as he liked his job, he still needed sleep so he could do well in his classes.

Finally, Hiccup was ready to leave. As he left, he heard one of his fellow "angels" call out a "Bye, Hiccup" to him. She must not have been talking with a caller…or maybe she was. Hiccup knew her well. He was certain that she had a crush on him, but he could not say that he reciprocated the feelings. No, Hiccup was far too busy right now to worry about love and girlfriends. Succeeding in his studies at Berk University, his parents constantly reminded him, was top priority. Not that he understood why it should matter anyway; he was doomed to succeed his father as CEO of the biggest company in the area. What need would he have for the business degree that his father had all-but-forced him to pursue?

It would be a short drive home so Hiccup did not rush right out to his car. The nights were getting colder and in a few short weeks it would be near or below the freezing point after dark. This was the norm in Berk, Hiccup would know. He had lived in this town his entire life. Though Hiccup was used to the cold, he still walked quickly to his car once he had left the building.

The car would barely even be warm before Hiccup would arrive home, but the car seats and steering wheel did not bother Hiccup. In fact, he barely gave much thought to them. Instead, his thoughts were elsewhere. As he drove home, Hiccup's thoughts returned back to the girl he had talked with just before his night ended. He was still thinking about her as he pulled into his driveway five minutes later.

When Hiccup had chosen to pick up her call, he had decided on her number because it was the only local number on the list. It was only now as he was walking into his house that Hiccup finally pieced together everything he knew about the girl. She has a local number which means that she lives around here. She said that she attends a university so that must mean…that she attends Berk University! Just like me!


Would've posted this sooner, but…well, personal/offline issues. Basically, my family (who I've told before many times that I have undiagnosed depression) decided to say and do some things to trigger that…purposefully. Like…again, they said that I was wasting my time by writing. How is that...nevermind. Then, I was kind of…stood up by friends…which was just fantastic…y'know seeing those same friends posting statuses and pictures and…uh…yeah…sorry for rambling. It's been a bad day and, no, I really don't feel like talking about it (even though I did just rant about it).

Long story short…I just didn't feel like writing the very last little bit. At least I did get it out though (cause my parents went to bed and I can just be alone now). Good thing is a longer chapter, yes?

P.S. I can't believe I haven't updated this story in over a month. Sorry, guys!

Thank you all for reading and supporting Your Own Personal Savior!

Posted: November 23, 2014