"Huh?" you say. "Didn't I already read chapter 2?". Nope this is all new content! I condensed the two previous chapters down into one since this is officially now an ongoing story! Oh, geez what do I get myself into...You don't really have to go back and read chapter 1 if you don't want to (but if you do I won't stop you I don't run your life). If you're a new reader you can ignore that just continue on doing what you're doing.
The apartment's that housed Astrid and Ruffnut were on the brink of derelict. Halfway between student housing and first apartments for 20-somethings that didn't know what they were doing with their lives it had seen a lot of misuse. It was a four story building with exposed pipes, crumbling drywall, and the permanent smell of years worth of pot. But there was always a silver lining. And that would be the people that lived there. Ruffnut and Astrid had been friends since high school and were overjoyed at living in the same building. As well Tuffnut, Ruffnut's twin brother, resided on the top floor across the hall from his sister. They had lived in the same apartment for a stretch but noise complaints had threatened to evict them both if they didn't split up. There was also Snotlout and Fishlegs, other friends from high school, who lived on the bottom floor and were probably quietest of the bunch. The five had been an odd bunch of friends in high school and they had all figured they would grow apart when they left that hellscape, split up into separate schools and paths, but by some odd little miracle within 5 years they had come back together.
Some things had changed. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were both working towards their masters in astrophysics (which no one believed at first until the two went on a rant about magnetohydradynamics), Fishlegs was in school for biology, Snotlout was well on his way to becoming a firefighter and Astrid had... well Astrid had lost her scholarship.
Then there were the things that were the same as ever. Snotlout still hit on her every chance he got (and his pickup lines hadn't improved in years), Fishlegs still went on rants about fauna classification that no one could follow, and the twins would always find a way to cause the most amount of destruction with the least amount of resources. And Astrid questioned why she chose these losers to hang out with.
Their standard hangout back in high school had been Fishleg's basement. These days their base camp was the rooftop terrace of the apartment building.
10 years ago it might have been nice. There was evidence that the buildings owner meant to build a community greenhouse and set up gazebo's. Now all that was left were empty wooden garden plots that were overrun with weeds and stacks of warped wooden beams. A few months back the twins had hauled up some old furniture they'd found on the side of the road- wicker chairs and couches and even a pretty decent desk and lo and behold a decent hangout was born.
"So, rooftop party next week? " Ruffnut asked through a mouthful of poptart. After Astrid had run out to grab them coffee her friend had been kind enough to treat her to a gourmet breakfast- poptarts and spoonful's of peanut butter and nutella. "Tuff and I are gonna be done with this paper by then so we gotta celebrate."
"You know you can't celebrate completing every assignment right?"
"Live a little, Hofferson. Don't harsh my vibes."
"Ugh." Astrid spooned another glob of peanut butter into her mouth and washed it down with bitter coffee. "Fine. Everyone else coming?"
"Haven't asked Snot yet- but if you're coming you know he'll be there like stink on Tuff's armpits."
"Gross."
"So dish." Ruffnut spread her legs out on the couch, propping her feet up on Astrid's lap. "Leave no ab undescribed."
"It's just- I had this image in my head built up of him and then he opens the door looking like that. I didn't even think that was my type!"
"All swimmers bod and stuff?"
"Yeah exac- hang on how did you know that?" Astrid pushed Ruffnut's feet off her lap.
"Uuuh... lucky guess?"
"Oh my God- you knew! You little shit." Astrid punched Ruff in the stomach- the other girl retaliating by pushing her away with her feet and trying to block any more incoming punches. "You totally knew what he looked like and you let me go on believing he was some sort of creep. When did you meet him?"
"I don't even know the guy's name! I just bumped into him coming out of your apartment one night, okay?"
"Well I for one think you should invite him to our party next week." Tuffnut appeared on the back of the couch for a moment before falling off it backwards to avoid Astrid's right hook.
"Tuffnut?!" Astrid yelled. "How long have you been there?!"
"Since before you got here. And it was really inconsiderate to not bring me a coffee. Tall, non-fat latte with a caramel drizzle and a extra vanilla shot."
"You could have warned me he was here!" Astrid exclaimed at Ruffnut who had returned to shoving her mouth full of poptarts and alternating spoons of peanut butter and nutella.
"I 'idn' 'ow!" Her friend tried to speak through a full mouth and Astrid looked at the offending boy to translate.
"She says she didn't know. Which makes sense. I just came in to grab her key for my place because I locked myself out again but then there's this totally cool stain down here that looks like Fishlegs and I got distracted."
" Oo be 'air" Ruffnut swallowed the mouthful of junk food. "That stain really does look like Fishlegs."
"Ooooh my God." Astrid covered her eyes with her hands. "Why am I friends with you I could do so much better."
No, she really couldn't. She had no other friends. This was her life and she was surrounded by complete idiots. She took a minute to compose herself- news of this would have eventually spread back to Tuffnut anyway and she should know by now that it was stupid to assume she was safe in anyone's apartment but her own.
"Okay. One: I'm not inviting him. Two: Why would I even consider inviting him. And three: your coffee order is ridiculous and Starbucks is shit and I'm not paying for it."
"And three answers." Tuffnut hopped back up on the back of the couch and began to tick off fingers for each retort he gave. "My coffee order is not that hard to remember- even Ruffnut can do it, you should consider inviting him so his only memory of you isn't the girl who harassed him while he was practically naked, and finally- you're inviting him or I am."
One of the worst things in the world was when either of the twins had convinced you of something. Astrid had been talked into many schemes before and they had all ended badly but somehow she just kept going back to them. It was a vicious circle.
(Line break)
Astrid waited until she was about to leave for work before she attempted to knock on her neighbors door. She had spent a little too much time fixing her hair- as if a nicely done braid could erase his memory of her straight out of bed hair. Her work uniform was easy, a black lowcut shirt and skinny jeans, paired with kitten healed boots. She slipped her purse on over her shoulder, opened her door, took a deep breath and walked over to knock on the door she'd threatened to break open that morning.
She had to knock a second time before she heard any movement from inside- and then waiting for him to open the door felt entirely too long. When he opened the door (thankfully wearing a shirt this timee) his eyes widened.
"I swear I wasn't singing this time!" He held his hands up apologetically.
"No, uh, no! That's not why I'm here." Astrid bit her lip and tried to steady her voice. "I'm just here to apologize for this morning."
"Oh!" That seemed to reassure him a bit. "No worries, I've been there. I mean- I've never threatened to break someone's arm for singing but hey no one's perfect."
"Thanks. Anyway, a couple of us are having a party next Friday and we wanted to know if you wanted to come?" Her grip on the strap of her purse tightened.
"You're inviting me?" His eyebrows furrowed together. "Seriously?"
"Yes, but if you don't wanna come that's fine too- it's not like a big party or anything like that. Just me and my weird friends hanging out on the roof."
"I'll see if I can make it- I mean it would be good to talk to you more while I'm not nearly naked."
Astrid tried to fight back the blush that was rising in her face.
"Yeah- it'd be nice to talk to you while I'm not crazy hungover. We're gonna be heading up around 10ish probably. So, uhm, see you then?"
"See ya later alligator." He gave a small wave as she moved to turn away.
"Oh! My name. It's Astrid." She added before she left.
"Hic-Hammish. Mine's Hammish."
(Linebreak)
The rest of the week passed by uneventful. It seemed Hammish had taken her threat to break his arm seriously and she hadn't been awakened by his singing in days. As well rested as she was it felt... odd. Even a little lonely. And the boy kept popping up in her mind in the weirdest places.
A customer ordered some type of green cocktail? His eyes popped into her mind.
She saw some high tech gadget? She thought of his prosthetic foot.
And the whole thing peaked when a song by Night Fury came on in the middle of her bussing tables and she expected it to be sung by that nasally voice and was jarred when it wasn't.
She could never confess these things to Ruffnut. She would never live it down. Astrid Hofferson hadn't had a silly crush since 9th grade. And Tuffnut was still making fun of her and asking her if she wanted them to have a spring wedding or a fall wedding. Grade 9 was a rough year for her.
So when the day of their party arrived she made sure to dress casually. And she definitely did not reapply her eye makeup twice, or try four different style of braids. Walking up to the roof she felt confident that she'd covered her weird little fixation well enough.
"Woah, Astrid. Dressed up, eh?" Ruffnut burst out laughing as soon as she opened the door to the roof.
"What are you talking about?" She flicked her braid over her shoulder and moved to sit with the others.
"That's your best bra." Ruffnut gestured to the bosom in question. "I've seen your tits in every state and that's always the bra you wear when you're trying to impress someone."
"Goddammit, I always forget you're weirdly obsessed with my boobs." Astrid flumped down on an empty wicker chair as Tuffnut tossed her a beer from the cooler sat beside him.
"You do have really nice boobs." Tuffnut added and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Thanks, Tuff."
It was another 10 minutes before Snotlout and Fishlegs arrived, both carrying a stack of pizzas and another cooler. Fishlegs barely was able to drop his stack of pizza before the twins leapt onto it.
"Hello, Astrid, you're looking exceptionally hot today." Snotlout sat down on the chair next to her as she reached for a slice of pineapple pizza.
"Nu-uh dude. She's on lockdown tonight for you." Tuffnut grabbed 3 slices and piled them together. "Astrid's invited this guy who lives in the building that she want to-" Ruffnut came to her rescue by shoving all 3 slices of pizza in his mouth at once.
"What?!" Snotlout leaned towards her. "You can't just invite some outsider here! This is my sacred space!" He gestured around to the crumbling building and piles of garbage.
Snotlout was in the middle of explaining how this rooftop temple was necessary for him to be able to function when the door to the terrace opened and Hamish stepped out.
"Oh!" Astrid stood up to greet him. "Guys, this is-"
"Hiccup?" Snotlout jumped up and beat Astrid to greeting Hamish... Hiccup?
"Haha, how you doing little cousin?" Snotlout asked as he grabbed the lanky boy and swept him into a headlock.
"Snotlout? Oh, great. Just great. I should have known you would be here." Hiccup/Hamish pulled free of the headlock and stared down at his shorter cousin.
"Babe- Is Hiccup the guy you invited?" Snotlout jerked a thumb towards Hiccup and screwed his face into one of disbelief.
"I guess?" Astrid stared at the two- trying to spot any family resemblance, too shocked to even smack Snotlout for calling her babe. "I didn't know you guys knew each other?"
"Uh, we all know Hiccup. He went to high school with us. Or for grade 9 at least."
And suddenly Astrid remembered. That scrawny little toothpick of a dweeb who sat to the far left of her in her first science class who was always tripping or breaking something. The kid who looked about 3 years younger than the rest and had a tendency to stick himself in corners. And the boy who vanished after his first year without much fanfare other than teachers on the first day back asking where a "Mr. Haddock" was.
"You're that kid who flooded the gym!" Tuffnut shouted from behind them.
"Ugh." Hiccup slapped a palm over his face and groaned. "Yeah. Yeah that was me. But usually I like to introduce myself with my name first. Y'know? Hi, how ya' doing, oh cool my name's Hiccup because I can't escape that name- then we can get to a full recap of all my most famous screw ups."
The group settled back into their chairs, Astrid dug Hiccup out a beer from Tuffnut's cooler, who then launched into a spiel about how their gym had gotten flooded in the first week of school.
"So this kid doesn't make a single basket all class. Things are getting tense. The coach was, like, yelling super loud at him to at least get close to sinking a single ball and then-"
"And then I managed to throw the ball and smash one of the sprinklers on the ceiling." Hiccup took a large swig from the bottle in his hand.
"Exactly!" Tuffnut shouted. "Dude, that was awesome."
The two descended into bickering about whether or not Hiccup flooding the gym was awesome or not and Astrid took the opportunity to lean over to Snotlout and speak in a whisper.
"You didn't tell me you knew my neighbor. Or that you were cousins with him!"
"I didn't think I had to provide a family tree here! He's the one that told me this place was cheap to rent. And then I told you! Plus I kinda thought you guys knew and just didn't really care! It's not like he and I have a big family dinner every Sunday."
"Aww, we can have family dinners if you want, Snotlout." Hiccup crooned from his space in between Astrid and the twins. The twins and Fishlegs had converged, talking about papers and the nerddom of academia.
"No way, Useless, I thought you were still all holed up doing your little hermit thing."
"Very tactful, Snot. You always know just what to say."
Astrid hadn't seen it before but now that the two were talking she could see an odd family resemblance to them. And then there was the way to joked with each other, obviously having grown up together. It was odd but he fit very well into the group. He could handle Snotlout's arrogance with ease, and hadn't run off at first sight of the twins and she'd bet that he and Fishlegs shared some weird common interest. She leaned back into her chair, it creaking with every movement, and sipped at her drink. Within 15 minutes Snotlout and the twins were bashing each other with old pieces of plywood- with Fishlegs begging them to be careful and that there were probably all sorts of deadly mold spores on those planks.
"Sorry about, uhh, not telling you that we knew each other." Hiccup snapped Astrid out of her musing on how many smacks Snotlout could go before he would be concussed.
"Oh, geez." She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Don't even worry about that. I should say sorry for not recognizing you. And for... all of this." She waved her hand towards the rest of the group. "Especially Snotlout."
"Nah, I spent too many childhood summers with him. I can deal."
"I can't even imagine that." She downed the last sip of her drink, hopping up to grab another for herself and a second for Hiccup as well. "Has he always been like this?"
"Actually he was way worse before high school. This is the Improved Snotlout Jorgenson."
"Jesus..."
Yeah, tell me about it. I swear I have a weird cowlick here from so many noogies as a kid."
"Hate to break this to you but your hair is almost entirely cowlick." She raised an eyebrow at him and stared at the mess of lengthy hair.
"Oh haha very funny." He deadpanned. "I should have taken a picture of your hair that morning if you really wanna go for hair jokes."
"Hey!" She gave him a punch on the arm. "We're supposed to be leaving all that in the past."
"What?" He laughed. "Says who?"
"Says me. Just now. You wanna test me? I could still probably break your arm." She moved to roll up one of her sleeves before he held his hands up in surrender.
"Alright! It's good! All in the past!" He grabbed his drink and held it out to here to cheers.
"Here's to...uhhm... new beginnings. And not getting my arm broken. It's very nice to officially meet you , Astrid." He tapped the lip of his bottle lightly on hers, making a small 'tink' sound, before taking a drink to seal the cheers.
"And it's very nice to officially meet you too, Hiccup." He furrowed his eyebrows at the name. "Sorry." She continued. "But it really does suit you better than Hammish."
Hah! Who was worried that I would go the entire story calling Hiccup Hammish? lol can you even imagine. And a teeeeensy bit of plot trickles in! Man I'm really tired... I probably should have just left it without an update instead of working all day but I can't help it... this story is just so fun for me to write... And I wanted to get things on track. Please make me sleep.
Your reviews are literally my life blood. I love you all. I'm going to sleep.