The Edge
Pairing; Toothless X Hiccup
Setting; Modern AU
Rating; M for Mature
Disclaimer; I do not own the HTTYD or any of the music that is used. Everything belongs to its original creator/artist!
13: Wanted To Know
The group consisting of Ashley, Heather, Ford, Zack, Roslyn, Travis, and Seth sat there with their mouths hanging open, and eyes widened at the information they had just received from Harvey. All the friends had done was ask Harvey if they could meet the new owner the building that used to be the home of Dragon's Cove, and was now The Edge Bar & Nightclub. At first, Harvey said they had already met the owner, and when that confused the gang of seven, Harvey stated that they were looking at the proprietor. That moment was all they needed to understand that Harvey owned the place they were in. The shock and disbelief were overwhelming to process, and truthfully, they weren't sure he was telling them the truth. Harvey had always been known to crack jokes, and have wild ideas about things, but owning a joint like the one, they were in? The group wasn't sure if they could believe him or not.
Seth snapped out of the daze. "Wait, what did you just say?"
Harvey chuckled a bit. "I said; you're looking at him," he repeated for his younger cousin.
"You own the nightclub?" Ford wondered.
"I do," Harvey nodded to confirm. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Hang on, back up," Roslyn out her hands up and shook her head.
"This place that we're in; you own it? Not…manager or whatever, but own?" Travis asked.
Harvey laughed a little at their confusion and disbelief. "Correct," he replied.
"Alright, so you own the club. Who built it?" Zack asked.
"That would also be me," Harvey stated to the man that he still disliked.
"I don't…understand any of this, Harvey," Ashley informed softly.
"It's not that hard to grasp, is it?" Harvey wondered.
"Well, yeah, a bit. The last time we saw you Dragon's Cove was here, and now just under three years later, there's a nightclub and bar that you own, and built?" Seth blinked. "My parents never mentioned any of this to me,"
"Aunt Jamie and Uncle Samuel tried, Seth. You were always working and had moved out. All this," Harvey motioned to the club, "happened pretty fast, and things haven't slowed down since." he finished.
"Well, the last time we ever talked was when you wished me a Happy Birthday," Seth shrugged. "That was three years ago,"
"My apologies. At that point, the crew and I were trying to save Dragon's Cove still," Harvey mentioned.
"So when did all this happen?" Ford asked.
"Uh, bought the building in October 2013, had the renovations going until a week before Christmas of the same year, opened it up, and it's been like this since," Harvey smiled.
"Harv, we could use a little backup behind the bar!" Kevin called to him.
"I'm coming. Sorry, but hey, enjoy the night," Harvey told them before he got off the booth and moved to behind the bar to help out with customers.
"I guess we won't be finding out much more tonight," Heather remarked.
"Well, I mean if he's the owner of this club, then he's gonna be busy," Zack reminded.
"I guess so," Ashley sighed. After four years of no contact with their friend, they find him owning The Edge Bar & Nightclub, and by the Gods, it was really successful too! The group looked around in awe of everything they saw; raving and happy customers, the design of the club, the music choices, everything was stunning. What shocked them more than the information this place belonging to Harvey, was learning that he built it.
"Can you believe all this?" Travis asked his friends.
"I probably wouldn't if I wasn't seeing it with my own two eyes," Roslyn stated, agreeing with her twin. The friends looked to Harvey behind the bar with Kevin and Andrew because he was trying to help them out through the rush of customers leaving the dance floor to get drinks and take a small break. Harvey was fast at bartending; he had drinks ready to go before customers finished paying. Also, Harvey had some moves while he was mixing alcohol, then serving it. Honestly, it was exciting to watch.
"I have so many questions," Ford said.
"It seems we'll have to wait to ask them. Harvey's busy right now, and I would prefer to talk to him in a calmer environment," Ashley responded.
"I agree, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. Look at this place; it's hopping," Seth chuckled.
"The bouncers did mention that this was one of the hottest clubs around," Zack reminded.
"That makes sense as there aren't many places like this around. Joints like these are for bigger areas like out West," Ford interjected.
"Yeah, other clubs we have close by on the mainland are strip clubs, both male and female ones," Roslyn stated with a nod.
"Looks like Harvey pulled it off here, though," Heather looked around again.
"I guess since we're here, we should enjoy the atmosphere a bit," Seth suggested to the friends, and they agreed; the group was there and had a VIP spot thanks to Harvey thinking about them regardless of how much time had passed since they'd been in one another's presence.
"So, does Harvey take care of us or what?" Travis questioned.
"Cali, could you come here for a second?" Harvey called to a female server with golden blond hair and dark blue eyes that had been walking by. The woman moved to the bar with a smile.
"Yes, boss?" she said.
"My cousin and friends are in my VIP section, and it's their first time here. Would you be a dear and be their server tonight?" Harvey asked.
"Sure!" the woman, Cali, replied. After that, the female got her tray and moved towards the group. "Hi. Welcome to The Edge, I'm Calista, but everyone calls me Cali," she introduced. "Mr. Haddock has asked me to see to all your needs during your time here this evening. Can I interest you in a drink or snack perhaps?" Calista wondered.
"Oh, uh, we haven't been here before. Any suggestions?" Roslyn inquired.
"All of the customer picks are on this," Calista smiled as she handed them a sheet of paper. "Every six months, the boss lets the patrons choose their favorites, and those are the featured items until the next vote," she explained. The friends decided on three snacks to share, then each ordered a drink. "Excellent choices, I'll have them to you in no time," Calista turned and went to the bar to place the drink order. Right away, the group saw Harvey get to work on their beverages.
{An Hour Later}
Everything seems to slow down a bit as Harvey got a chance to get out from behind the bar when it was under control by Andy and Kevin once more. Seth, Ashley, Roslyn, Zack, Travis, Heather, and Ford were watching everything that took place; noticing quickly that on the next hour since their arrival, there was a live performance by the house band.
"How is everything?" Harvey asked.
"It's great, Harvey. All of it is, it's incredible," Ashley said.
"Thanks. In the beginning, we weren't sure how this would turn out, but hey, three years later and this place is booming," Harvey chuckled a bit.
"That drummer is hot," Roslyn beamed.
"Oh, you mean Eli? Yeah, he's good at what he does. Every hour, he's on stage drumming, but the rest of the time he's serving tables," Harvey stated.
"Is Eli one of the new members of the staff?" Heather asked.
"We noticed some of the old crew too," Seth nodded.
"All of the first workers to Dragon's Cove are still here. Morgan, Storm, Kevin, Sean, Andy, and me. New additions are Eli, Cali, Winter, Brett, Brady, Nicole, Fayth, Vinny, Robert, Garth, Hank, CJ, and Sebastian," Harvey informed.
"So, what do they all do or just different spots?" I recognized Nicole and Fayth, they were at Dreki Soul, weren't they?" Ford asked.
"That's right. Nikki and Fay wanted full-time jobs, or so I heard when I was in Berk visiting my folks, and I offered them a job with me. Now here they are working bartend and servers," Harvey enlightened. "Everyone has trained for any position; I made sure of that when we opened, but some of them are just best placed in one spot," he added.
"Alright, so CJ and Sebastian are…bouncers outside?" Zack asked.
"Yep. Clayton James or CJ and Sebastian are my main bouncers. Garth, who is on bar #2 right now, is also a fill-in if one of the others needs a break," Harvey nodded to him.
"And…Winter, she was on stage at 9 pm when they did the performance. I only ask because Calista is our server, and we know who Morgan and Storm are," Heather wondered.
"Very observant, but you always have been, Heather. Yes, Winter is a member of the house band along with Brett, Brady, Eli, and Trayden," Harvey replied. "Eli is drums. Brett and Brady switch off between who goes on and what they play, Winter plays bass, piano and sings backup, and Trayden is lead singer,"
"Okay. So, Kevin and Andy are here at…bar #1 I assume?" Ashley mentioned as Harvey nodded, "Who are the others?"
"Vinny, Robert, Garth, and Hank are bartenders or barbacks. Brett and Brady, when not performing on stage, work all the music and lights. As I said, they switch off. If one is performing, the other is working backstage," Harvey explained. "Depending on the night and time of year we're in, I put my aces in their places. Kevin and Andy are always bar #1, as it was back in Dragon's Cove, but I give them a helper. Vinny and Robert are brothers, they work well together, so I make them bartenders with one bar back up. Sean is usually paired with Hank, Fayth, or Nicole for the outside area or bar #3. The rest act as servers,"
"Where are you usually?" Zack questioned.
"Wherever I'm needed at the time. I do a little of everything," Harvey shrugged.
"So, what was with the singing earlier? Didn't you used to do that for Dragon's Cove too?" Travis asked.
"Well, the crew thought it would be fun to carry that over from the old place since everyone liked it so much. When the club opens, I sing, and then every hour after that until closing is the band," Harvey stated.
"Wait, what do you mean the club opens?" Seth blinked.
"This is a night-club, so it makes sense to open it at night, don't you think? The club is only open from 8 pm to 1, or 2 am depending on the what night it is. Monday through Thursday is until 1 am, and the weekend is until 2," Harvey told them. "We're open seven days a week, starting at 10 am as just a bar, like Dragon's Cove was. At 8 pm, as you saw with the horn and noise, the club opens up,"
"Oh, that's a neat idea," Ford smiled.
"I thought as much, and so did the crew," Harvey responded.
"Now, how do you pick the song to sing?" Zack inquired curiously. Harvey took the tablet off the table beside their's and turned it, so the screen faced his friends.
"With this," Harvey stated. "Club-goers will vote on what they want to hear," he showed them the list of five songs to choose from. "I control the information from my laptop. All I do every night around 6 pm is give them new songs to choose from; whichever wins is what I sing live with the house band. And also, the patrons can request songs to be played throughout the night; this is where Brett and Brady watch it come up in the queue and play it after another song has ended. For the every hour songs, the customers can pick, and the highest vote will happen, or the band just selects something random to do,"
"Wow, that's cool. So, question?" Roslyn looked at Harvey, and he nodded for her to go ahead. "Do you only perform at 8 pm when the club opens or can the clubbers vote for you to sing again at a random point in the night?"
"Well, not by the tablet no," Harvey said. "However, if I'm asked I will,"
"So if anyone here told you to sing, you would?" Ashley blinked.
"If one person asked, no. If several did, as in the majority of the people here mentioned it to their server or bartender, then yes," Harvey answered.
"Wait a second. Isn't Trayden one of the staff members from Dragon's Cove? I remember him from the last time we saw you," Zack mentioned.
"Yes, I am," came Trayden's voice as Harvey turned his head to see him. "Harv, we've got a brawl starting outside. CJ got knocked into the wall trying to break it up,"
"I'll take care of it. Tell Garth to move outside and take CJ's place for a bit so he can sit down and recover," Harvey said to him.
"On it. Should I phone the authorities?" Trayden inquired.
"I'll let you know," Harvey informed. Trayden nodded as he headed off and Harvey muttered something to himself before he walked away from the group.
"Poor guy must be stressed out having to run this place and deal with the problems that arise," Heather frowned as the group of friends went back to talking and watching everything. Twenty minutes later, Harvey returned inside looking less than pleased. Trayden went to his side quickly, asking if he was alright, and Harvey assured that he was before returning to where his guests were seated.
"Sorry about that," Harvey stated.
"How bad was the fight?" Seth asked.
"Mainly two drunks shoving one another around, I broke it up and sent them both home in separate taxi's; it happens all the time, don't worry about it," Harvey said, apparently not wanting to talk about it. "So, how has life been for all of you since you know what I've been doing now," he smiled a bit.
"We all graduated college," Heather replied.
"Well, those three have," Roslyn giggled a bit. "I'm still working, and so is Trav," she added.
"Awesome for all of you," Harvey responded.
"My brother is getting married in August, and he has a two-year-old daughter named Melanie," Heather beamed.
"Awe, that's perfect for him," Harvey said.
Ford whispered something to Heather, then she nodded having almost forgotten. "Daniel asked us if we saw Sean to give this to him; an invitation to the wedding. I guess they lost contact, but Sean wants to see him there if he can get the night off," Ford handed an envelope to Harvey.
"I'm sure I can find him coverage that day. I'll make sure he gets this by the end of the night," Harvey nodded to them. "How are the rest of your lives going?"
"Ford and I are married with a son," Heather informed.
"About time," Harvey chuckled. "I believe late congratulations are in order then," he added.
"Thank you. We got married in October 2013, then our son, Kyle was born the next year, in the same month," Ford said proudly as Heather brought up a picture to show Harvey, then handed him the phone.
"He's adorable, definitely has his mother's hair and father's eyes, nose too," Harvey complimented as he gave the phone back.
"Not with anyone, work keeps me too busy. One day I'll settle down if I find the right girl," Seth said next.
"Good outlook to have," Harvey told him.
"I just got out of a bad relationship, gonna take some time off then put myself back out there," Travis admitted.
"I'm falling for your drummer," Roslyn blushed while turning her head to look at Eli.
"Hah, I can introduce you two, ya know," Harvey offered. Roslyn whipped her head in Harvey's direction.
"Oh my God, could you really?" Roslyn asked, suddenly nervous.
"Sure. Let them get through their song, then I'll call him over for you," Harvey smiled.
"If you can do that, will you put in a good word for me with that Calista girl?" Seth asked. Harvey couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"I'll see what I can do," Harvey nodded.
"Well, Ash and I have been together four years this past February," Zack said.
"That's cool. Plans for the future?" Harvey asked.
"Nope," Zack shook his head.
"So, just gonna date forever?" Harvey arched a brow.
"What's it to you?" Zack retorted.
"Just curious. I mean if you're with someone four years, out of college, and settled in good careers, then why the heck not make things more permanent?" Harvey shrugged casually.
"Zack and I are just…taking our time, Harvey, that's all," Ashley interjected softly.
"Hey, I stuck by what I said in February 2012, Ash. Whatever makes you happy," Harvey stated.
"Uh, am I missing something here?" Zack arched a brow. "I thought he didn't know about me until May of that year?"
"Oh, I know a lot about you," Harvey remarked.
"Like what?" Zack demanded now.
"Maybe that you tried to sleep with Ashley after your first date, told her not to bring her wallet, and she got locked out of her dorm through the Christmas holiday because Heather was away. And having nowhere else to go with no money or charged cell phone that she walked an hour in a thunderstorm to Dragon's Cove to ask if she could stay with me," Harvey mentioned.
"You told him about that?" Zack looked at Ashley in shock.
"What do you expect dude? Ashley is one of my best friends, yes, she told me what happened and then she stayed with me for a week upstairs," Harvey informed.
"Psh, even so, she's with me so hands off," Zack huffed.
"Don't flatter yourself, princess," Harvey remarked as a few at the table stifled their laughter. "Ashley is my best friend, and I think she's drop-dead gorgeous, but I'd never date her. However, I can promise you this, my friend, that if I really wanted her that bad, I could make her leave you at the snap of a finger. Astrid wants to be with a man, not an immature child. Aside all that, I'm in a relationship, and happier than ever,"
"My parents mentioned you being taken, cuz. How many years you been with them?" Seth asked.
"Three," Harvey replied.
"Pfft. You want to get on my case about not settling down with Ashley when you've been in your relationship for three years and having a stable job and what not, but not settled down?" Zack laughed. Harvey grinned at him as the others didn't understand.
"You know, it's funny. The last time you made a remark about my life without knowing me, I started to dislike you, and it seems that four years have not changed my judgment about you. You're still a cocky asshole who thinks he knows everything," Harvey said as a few people gasped.
"Harvey!" Astrid said quickly.
"I'm not going to listen to it again, Ashley. Your boyfriend knows nothing about me, my life, my job, or my relationship, but I can assure all of you and him especially that it's more settled than you think," Harvey said firmly. The gang caught a glimpse of Harvey's left hand; mainly his ring finger, where shockingly enough, there was a white gold band in place. "As you've decided to agitate me this evening, Zack, I'm going to take my leave now since I have a business to run. The rest of you, I hope you enjoy your night. Feel free to visit anytime, I'm always here. Oh and Ash, do me a favor?" Ashley looked at him. "Teach your boy to mind his place before others. One day, he's going to mouth off to the wrong person, then get his ass beat, and put in his place. I would hate to have to be the one do that," After that, Harvey walked away.
"Alright, so was I the only one who saw the band on Harvey's finger?" Heather asked. The friend shook their heads; showing that they had seen it too. Honestly, none of them knew what to say. However, one thing was for absolute certain; they all wanted to know about the ring Harvey wore.