Hey you lot! I applied to adopt this story from the lovely Adazula, and actually got the privilege of finishing it! Special thanks to her for allowing me to do this. The first five chapters belong to the original author, everything here on out belongs to me (with characters and so on belonging to their respective owners). As always, reviews are appreciated, but not necessary.
Please do note there might be a mild trigger warning for this chapter. Thank You.
Hiccup's POV
Helen must have some sort of "mother sense," because the moment I had unpacked my last bag, she appeared in the doorway, her hand outstretched. I groaned, but handed over the cigarettes. She held out her hand again. I shrugged my shoulders innocently, but she saw right through it. She found every last coffin-nail I had, even the Marbalos I had hidden in my secret Bond pocket.
Brenna came in a minute later, hobbling along slowly on her prosthetic legs and cane. She plopped down on my bed, sighing. "No one ever tells you what a pain in the ass these things are."
I nodded my head, my attention still on my book.
"One of these days I'm gonna tell those doctors where they can shove their prototype crap."
I laugh for the first time in years. It feels like all of that pent-up laughter is trying to break free. Once I can breath again, I thank her.
She looks questioningly at me. "What for?"
"The first laugh anyone's gotten out of me in the last four years. Well, that isn't sarcasm."
Now it's her turn to laugh, her brown eyes twinkling with mirth.
"I think you just might be a decent human, Mr. Haddock."
I shuddered, the all-to-familiar name causing on of the more vivid memories to surface.
-INSERT LINE BREAK HERE INSERT LINE BREAK HERE-
"No! Dad, stop!"
"I won't listen to the likes of you, you worthless pig. Get outta my sight."
"Please, Dad. You need to stop drinking-"
SLAP!
Tears streamed down my face as I held my raw cheek in my hands. My body was wracked with sobs, but my father looked on with only disgust.
"Sniveling, weak little runt. Always crying. No wonder your mother abandoned us."
My feet pounded on the carpeted stairs, tears stinging on the angry red marks on my face as I left for my room, for my sanctuary in a house of turbulence and turmoil.
-INSERT LINE BREAK HERE INSERT LINE BREAK HERE-
"-iccup? Hiccup, are you alright?"
I shook my head. "What happened?"
Brenna looked at me concernedly. "Your eyes were unfocused, and you started shaking. You might have even started crying at one point."
"I, I think it was just a flashback. I'm fine."
She didn't look swayed, but said nothing.
"I need to use the bathroom." I told her, clumsily transferring myself into my wheelchair. Wheeling myself to the bathroom, I patted my pockets out of habit, looking for my cigarettes. I didn't find any. No surprises there, but I guess old habits die hard.
Brenna's POV
Hiccup was...different. He was so reclusive and anti-social; it clashed horribly with my amiable personality. But at the same time, I felt drawn to him. He was a very interesting person, wrapped in shrouds of mystery. Mind, I wasn't one to talk; I had yet to tell him my story.
He wheeled himself out of the loo a minute later, looking tired. I left the room, cursing at my prosthesis, leaving him in peace. Hearing the door shut a minute later, I figured he just needed some time to himself. There's an old proverb that all things blossom with time; maybe it applies to Hiccup.
And yet, as I look at him, he seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into himself. He needs someone he can trust; someone to be his friend.
"Lightbulb! Lightbulb!"
A brilliant idea just struck me. Call me a genius, 'cause this is going to work, and only hellfire and damnation can stop it now. Probably not even that.
POV: Unknown (Perhaps the Evil Author's)
Whilst Brenna orchestrated her diabolical plots, Hiccup was blissfully oblivious to the impending chaos that would soon wrap him up and whisk him away. His eyes were trained unseeingly his cast, memories flashing at random through his mind. Some happy, some angry, most of them sad. One in particular kept on flashing through his mind.
It was the day that he and his father realized Valka wasn't coming back. His father hadn't really said anything, he had simply went in his room and locked the door. When the door opened again, all traces of the loving father Stoic had once been had left with his wife. That was the day that Hiccup lost not one, but two parents. That was the day Hiccup felt a part of him shrivel like a paper on fire. Burning, just like the happy family they once had been; turning slowly to ash and drifting slowly through the air into oblivion.
He sighed, sitting up and reaching for a book to read. Searching for over ten minutes, Hiccup didn't manage to find any books that weren't non-fiction.
'Freddy must read a lot of very dull books.' he thought to himself. 'All of these books, and not one of them is fiction.'
Hiccup didn't think he could live without Harry Potter, or Percy Jackson, or the Lorien Legacies; heck, he'd even take the How to Train Your Dragon series just about now. But while this house may not have any decent books, the library did. He'd have to start buttering Mrs. Ingerman up about taking him there.
In the meantime, there was a notebook and a pencil on the desk. He could almost...just...reach...it...
THUMP.
Mrs. Ingerman's feet pounded on the stairs, but Brenna beat her to the room. Hobbling to Hiccup's side, she carefully helped him up.
"Goodness, what was that?" the concerned mother asked, peering at him.
"Err, I just fell down. I'm fine, really."
The two women looked at him, not quite buying it.
"I was just trying to get the paper, and I fell off the bed." he said, smiling, albeit forcibly.
Mrs. Ingerman smiled back, brushing her flour-covered hands on her apron. "Well, I'll get back to my baking. Try not to break your other leg."
Hiccup scowled as she left. One might have heard him mutter "I'm not five," but it went unnoticed.
-INSERT LINE BREAK HERE INSERT LINE BREAK HERE-
Dinner was a rather terse affair. Small talk was made, but awkward silence reigned supreme. Hiccup picked at his food, even though Mrs. Ingerman was an excellent cook. He said he wasn't hungry. The mother teased him good-naturedly about spoiling his appetite. He smiled politely, and excused himself to bed.
As ten o'clock drew near, and all were asleep, Hiccup lay in his bed with a flashlight, the notebook, and a pencil. As he was putting the finishing touches on a dog, he heard whimpering coming from Brenna's room. His wheelchair silent on the carpeted floor, he opened her door a crack and peered in. Brenna lay on her bed, quiet and still.
Just as he turned to go, she cried out, her body thrashing on the bed. It was the first time in five years he had felt fear for another human being. He was at her side in an instant, shaking her shoulder. She reacted violently, her arm swinging to strike him in the side. He ignored the pain, shaking her shoulder persistently.
She woke, gasping in fear. Her eyes darted around the room like a caged animal, her breathing was quick and panicked. She visibly calmed when she realized where she was, but that didn't stop her from drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs before starting to sob.
Hiccup wasn't quite sure what to do. He opted for awkwardly getting out of his wheelchair to sit on her bed, rubbing her back comfortingly and reassuring her that she was safe. She released her legs, instead hugging him. Hiccup tentatively hugged her back, hoping that one day, they might be able to finally put their pasts behind them.
After a while, Brenna pulled away, wiping her now runny nose on her sleeve. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and her cheeks were tear-stained. But she was better.
"Thanks. You know, for that. You didn't have to do that for me." Benna said, looking at her lap.
"It was the humane thing to do. And you're welcome."
They sat in silence, but this silence was comforting instead of thick.
"I'm sure you would have done the same for me, you know." Hiccup said, before plopping himself ungracefully back into his wheelchair.
"I probably would have. It's the humane thing to do, after all."
-INSERT LINE BREAK HERE INSERT LINE BREAK HERE-
Well, there's the first chapter that I've written for How To Fix A Life. Special thanks to Adazula, for letting me adopt this story, my parents, for dealing with my insanity while the chaos of adopting a story and actually having the enthusiasm to write unfolded, and to Aldi Food Stores, for selling your wonderfully cheap and delicious tea that gave me the energy to write this.
I will warn you, I am absolutely horrid at deadlines, so this story will probably update at the speed that the cogs in Donald Trump's-Oh, I'm sorry, president Trump's-brain turn. Maybe slower, if that's physically possibly.
~Best Wishes, Joan McCreedy
P.S. I have posted a poll on my profile. Brenna and Hiccup: a platonic relationship or more that that? I just want your opinion, it won't change the plot. Probably.