Chapter One: An (Un)Welcome Arrival

Davin huffed angrily as she stared out the window of her new bedroom. It was bare- uncomfortably so- since she hadn't really bothered to unpack her stuff in the two days she'd been in Berk, but it wasn't like she really cared.

Berk. Her mother's small, insular, boring hometown. When her mom had told her that they'd be moving to the backwater town once the divorce was finalized, Davin had thrown a fit. Not only had her parents ruined her life by splitting in a bitter, chaotic divorce, but now they were forcing her to move away from all of her friends, the house she'd lived in her whole life, the city she knew- everything that had mattered to her and brought a semblance of normalcy to her messed-up life. She'd screamed and railed, saying she wouldn't move, but unfortunately- as she knew from her friends' parents' divorces- when a married couple split as spectacularly as her parents had, the kid's opinion was rarely taken into account.

"Davin!" her mother called from downstairs. Davin sighed heavily and slid off her bed, thumping down the stairs- making her perpetually bad mood pointedly obvious- in her torn-up, floppy jeans and black-with-a-butterfly-pattern shirt. When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she plodded into the kitchen where her mother was waiting.

Putting the two together, it was quite obvious which parent Davin looked most like. Although there were elements of her father in her- her nose, her eyesight, her mule-headed stubbornness- when Davin stood next to a picture of her mother when she was young, most thought that the picture was of Davin.

Her daughter's foul mood not lost on her, Mirabelle McLaughlin mentally prepared herself for the fight that would inevitably happen during the course of the conversation. Her curly black hair, so similar to her daughter's, was pulled back out of the way, making her harried and lined face more visible. Mirabelle wasn't old, but the past three years had taken a definite toll on her, something that Davin, when she bothered to admit it to herself, often noticed and felt guilty about- a thought that swam into Davin's head, making her think twice about her intention to start an argument for argument's sake.

"Yeah, Mom?" Davin said, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice. Her green eyes, hidden as usual behind the necessary glasses, seemed to Mirabelle to be as tired as the woman felt.

"Dinner's ready," Mirabelle told her. The two black-haired women settled themselves at the table, about as just-unpacked and unadorned as Davin's room (and the rest of the house). For the first few minutes they ate in silence, the only sounds being the clicking and clacking of the silverware on the plates.

"So, have you unpacked anything yet?" Mirabelle asked.

"Not really," Davin said dispassionately. "Just haven't really been in the mood."

"Well, you'll have to unpack your school things," Mirabelle told her. "You start tomorrow."

Davin dropped her fork, looking at her mom incredulously. "I thought we were going to give me a week to get used to Berk."

"You don't really need a week, honey. You've been here once or twice, and it isn't hard to get your way around- Berk's not that big a town."

"So? I only know the way to the high school and to the farmer's market. And the last time I was here was that summer vacation when I was six and got the stomach flu halfway through the trip. I barely went anywhere."

"It's perfect timing, though, Davin. Tomorrow is the first day back after winter break, so you won't be coming in mid-semester or anything."

"That doesn't matter, Mom!" Davin exclaimed. "I can't believe you didn't even tell me!"

"I didn't think it needed discussing, hon-"

"God, this always happens!" the girl yelled. "You two decide everything about my life and ask my permission after it's done!" She stood up from the table and stomped to the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Mirabelle called.

"To my room!" Davin yelled back. "Or did you already decide that for me, too?"

Once the angry thumping had subsided, Mirabelle dropped her head into her hands, rubbing her temples wearily. She flinched at the audible door slam.

Davin fell back on to her bed with a whoosh, balling up her fists. It wasn't that she minded going to school the next day. It was the fact that her mother had made the decision without asking her that made her angry. She rolled over onto her side, curling up into a ball as she stared at her blank, unwelcoming wall.

Well, originally I had this scene planned out that she was arriving in Berk, hence the title. But I couldn't come up with a better title. So. There.

Well, after a little break (in which I was working on HELL ON EARTH a.k.a. my Chemistry final project), I banged this out today. Like literally, fifteen minutes ago. Altogether, I wrote this chapter in about twenty minutes. So forty minutes round trip. :D Hope you like this, the idea was bouncing around in my head earlier today, and I'd wanted to do a story like this (HTTYD AU in modern times with my OC) ever since I read Principles and Elements by Grim Revolution. So. There. (Why do I keep saying that?)

So! As always, please please PLEASE read and review! I love to hear from you guys! And I know you're tired of hearing me say that! But it's true! So read/review! DO IT! ^^; Please?

~Rebel-Angel-Hero