A/N: Characters belong to DreamWorks, Disney/Pixar. I do not own them. I only own the OC's I create.
Come What May
Hiccup stared at the giant brick building before him. Vines crawled up the sides of the beige walls, nearly covering the windows. The thing was at least five stories tall and had windows that looked pretty old and pathetic. Shoot one had a giant crack in the middle. Most of them had old fashioned AC units sticking out. Hiccup groaned, knowing that a very hot August awaited him inside. But alas, he might as well get used to it, considering this was where he was living for the next year.
He held on to his suitcase while Fergus and Elinor made themselves busy arguing over what to carry inside first.
Hiccup held on to his new ID and key, attached to his brand spanking new lanyard, decked out in their school's logo. It was incredibly cheesy, but it helped not having to fish through his pockets.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at a now very familiar white-haired boy who looked up at the building.
"Not gonna lie…that's pretty ghetto." Jack mumbled to him.
Hiccup scoffed and looked up sadly.
"What floor are you on?" Jack asked.
"Four." Hiccup sighed.
"Hope they have an elevator." Jack said as he hoisted up a small refrigerator.
Hiccup smiled as he watched Jack struggle.
"You could help me you know." Jack grunted as he tried balancing the thing.
Hiccup smiled and shook his head deviously.
"Some boyfriend you are." Jack mumbled as he walked ahead, "Let's go."
Hiccup sighed and opened the door. People bustled around, parents yelling at each other and their kids as they tried figuring out where to put things, RA's trying to give directions, and nervous looking kids who had the same face Hiccup was wearing trying to figure out why on earth they were doing this.
He found the elevator and led Jack and his parents to it. They hurried inside, crowding around next to at least five other people with luggage and boxes. It was cramped and stuffy but Hiccup had Jack next to him to make him feel a little better.
Truth be told, his stomach was in knots about the day. This was it. Hiccup was finally in college. It was a strange feeling of freedom and yet…nervousness of what was to come.
Would he fit in? Would he do well in classes? Could he make it on his own? All these thoughts and more ran through his anxious brain as the elevator stopped and went at each floor, more people leaving and getting back on at the same time.
By the time it reached the fourth floor, Hiccup could breathe again, but only a little bit. He looked down the hall as he walked out and finally looked at his sheet of paper, his hands shaking visibly.
He led the way to his new room: 424
He took a breath and swallowed as he tried his key on the door. Only the door opened in a flash and surprised looking hazel eyes stared back at him.
Hiccup stared at the kid, not sure what to say. I mean…the long blonde hair was kind of a strange thing to see.
The guy narrowed his eyes, "You Hiccup?" he asked in a lazy drawl.
Hiccup nodded.
"Guess I'm your new roommate." The boy smiled mischievously.
Hiccup put on a quick, nervous smile and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you."
The guy stared at his hand lazily and shook it, his eyebrows shooting up, "Whatever. Name's Tuffnut Thorston. You can call me Tuff or Tuffnut, but if you call me anything else I'll…I'll…" he struggled for a minute, trying to figure out where he was going with his train of thought.
"Are you done yet?" A rough female voice called from behind him.
"Shut up! I'm thinking!" he yelled back at her.
He moved aside and Hiccup walked in with his family and Jack, who were staring at the boy, not sure what to say or do.
"I claimed the top bunk and that side over there." Tuff said as he walked to stand next to a blonde female. Hiccup suddenly did a double take. The girl next to him was just as tall, just as rough looking, and had the same scowl as him. Shoot they both even had the same long blonde hair.
Jack was thinking the same thing obviously as he set the small fridge down and looked around.
"I remembered you said you had a weird leg, so I figured top bunk was mine." Tuff shrugged. The girl elbowed him, "Oh yeah, this is my twin sister, Ruffnut. But I'd just ignore her considering she's about as useful as a yak."
"Yak's are useful you bonehead." She grunted as she finished moving some furniture around to make room for Hiccup's boxes and luggage.
"Oh yeah and I'm glad you brought the fridge and TV. I set up the microwave already and the game console is over there." He drawled, pointing around.
Hiccup only paid a little bit of attention. True he knew his roommate's name and they'd contacted each other via email briefly to discuss what to bring, but he never expected this.
"So…Tuff was it?" Elinor asked sweetly, "What are you majoring in?"
He shrugged and stared at his nails, "Astronomical Physics with a minor in Theoretical Physics. Nothing big." He said in the same lazy attitude.
Everyone merely stared.
Ruff rolled her eyes.
Elinor coughed, "And…do you go here as well?" she asked her sweetly.
To give the girl credit, she did smile politely at the woman and seemed to take on an air of respectability, "I'm in the Economics program." She shrugged as well.
Hiccup could only stare at them as Jack shrugged and began helping Fergus unpack some things.
"Oh, sorry…" Hiccup muttered, "These are my parents, Fergus and Elinor."
Both parents waved and helped unpack.
"And this is my b…friend Jack." Hiccup stuttered. It bothered him that he just couldn't tell everyone that he and Jack were together. But he needed to play it safe, especially being in a new place where he had no clue if being gay was looked down upon. He didn't want his first year of college being ridiculed and made fun of. Jack understood and actually suggested he keep quiet about the whole thing, insisting that he just wanted Hiccup safe.
Jack smiled sadly and waved.
"Yeah whatever." Tuff said, staring at Jack's hair as though it might ease his boredom and give him answers to life's questions.
The twins continued their unpacking in silence while Hiccup and his family did the same. To give his mother credit, she did buy him some nice things that gave the small and rather bland room some color. By the time all the heavy lifting and major unpacking was done, all that was left were small things for Hiccup to put away. He helped his family take the empty boxes to the car and he tried not to feel his stomach knotting and twisting as he anticipated the end coming.
This was it. He was finally in college.
They finished putting things away and Elinor turned to him, pulling him close to her, "I'm so proud of you! Call if you need me." She mumbled, trying not to cry herself, "And be sure to study hard, and make friends…and…and…"
"Elinor, stop." Fergus said smiling as he put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "Now lad, you can do it. You're going to have loads of fun up here! I know I did!"
Hiccup smiled at him and nodded.
They both got in the car and Hiccup finally looked at Jack who was looking down at the ground sadly, kicking loose stones in the pavement. He looked up and smiled weakly, hands behind his back.
Hiccup came over and hugged him tightly. Jack squeezed him back.
He could tell it took everything in Jack to not start crying. Hiccup knew because he felt the same.
"You gonna be okay?" Jack asked, still thinking about how strange Hiccup's roommate was.
Hiccup nodded into his shoulder.
"I love you." Jack mumbled quietly.
Hiccup let a tear fall as he smiled, "I love you too."
He wanted desperately to kiss his boyfriend. It ached him to know that this was the last time he'd see him for a while.
Jack let go slowly and looked Hiccup in the eye, "Have fun." He smiled.
"You too." Hiccup choked.
Jack finally let go and walked towards Fergus' car and watched as Hiccup walked up the steps to his dorm room. He turned one last time and waved sadly, putting a small smile on his face for them. He walked inside and took small steps that felt like lead towards his room. He decided to use the stairs because the elevator was so packed he just didn't know if he could stand the crowded thing for much longer. He trudged up the stairs, only passing a few students who were chatting away about upcoming events that he didn't care about right now.
"Hiccup!"
He turned very suddenly and saw Jack racing towards him. Hiccup didn't have time to say anything as Jack pushed him against the wall and kissed him fiercely in the privacy of the stairwell.
"I'm sorry; I couldn't leave without doing that." Jack admitted, smiling breathlessly.
Hiccup smiled and hugged him one last time, finally lifting his face to kiss his boyfriend goodbye, savoring every second. They broke apart, both misty-eyed and pale from the sadness they both felt.
"Promise me you'll be okay?" Jack asked him.
Hiccup put his forehead's to Jack's and grinned, "I promise."
Jack nodded and broke from him, taking his hand carefully. They gave each other one last look and Jack left. Hiccup found a window in the stairwell where he could see them take off. Jack seemed to catch his eye before getting into the car. He smiled hopefully and got in.
Hiccup waved weakly and put his forehead against the pane of the window, heaving a heavy sigh.
….
Hiccup was putting some of his things away on his desk and organizing his books while Tuffnut sat on his bunk bed and stared at a truck magazine.
Hiccup had to admit that the place actually looked real good. For it being small, he was amazed at being able to fit a small TV with a shelf of games and movies next to two desks and a fridge with a microwave.
Luckily both had enough posters to put up to give the room some color. Tuff had brought a huge amount of monster truck and wrestling posters while Hiccup stuck to his dragon art and Flogging Molly poster that Jack had gotten him for graduation.
Hiccup's face was pretty blotchy from his silent crying but Tuff didn't seem to say anything about it or make fun of him so Hiccup actually gave the guy credit. That or he really just didn't care.
"So…" Hiccup said, trying to make conversation, "Physics huh?"
"Yeah." Tuff replied.
"Same as me. Only I'm doing mechanical engineering and physics." Hiccup said, hoping he could keep a conversation going.
"Mhm." Was all his roommate contributed.
Hiccup sighed. Well, at least the guy was quiet.
They heard a knock on the door and Hiccup walked up to get it. Ruff was standing there with a few other people, looking as though they were going somewhere.
"You ready yet?" she yelled across Hiccup towards her brother who had done a random roll off his bunk bed and landed on his feet magically.
"Yeah yeah." He muttered, grabbing a jacket.
Hiccup walked back to his desk. He should have known his roommate already had friends and was probably going somewhere. He tried not to let it bother him, but to be honest, he wished he could be that lucky.
The door was about to close when Tuff suddenly paused and looked back at Hiccup, "Hey."
Hiccup looked up curiously, Tuff avoided his eyes and shrugged, "We're gonna check out the campus diner…wanna come?"
…
Hiccup couldn't believe he was actually walking around campus already with a group of people. Granted they were all freshmen and had no clue where they were going, but it felt nice to be part of something going on and checking out the nightlife around his new campus. Ruff had brought her roommate Heather with her and apparently another couple of people as well.
They all seemed so laid back compared to him and he wished he could be that relaxed.
"So, you Tuff's roommate?" Heather finally asked as she fell behind in step with Hiccup.
He nodded nervously and she smiled, "I'm Heather." She introduced kindly. Hiccup smiled at her and finally noticed how pretty she really was. She had long black hair and bright green eyes. She seemed real nice and he found that he liked her already, "I'm Hiccup." He said, holding out his hand. She shook it, chuckling.
"I'm guessing you're Ruff's roommate." He said.
She nodded.
"What are you majoring in?" Hiccup asked.
She smiled, "Bio-medical science. I want to go into pharmaceutics." She shrugged.
Hiccup wondered if everyone around here was so determined and brilliant. And yet…they all seemed so…relaxed about it all. He knew he was going to be a nervous wreck.
"You?"
"Oh." He muttered, "Um…Mechanical Engineering." He shrugged.
"That's cool. You gonna build cars or something?" she grinned.
He shook his head, "Nah, I actually wanna develop prosthetic body parts."
"Whoa." She said, sounding impressed.
He rubbed the back of his neck, "Not much really." He muttered.
"No, that's really cool." She smiled kindly at him.
He smiled back at her and looked away nervously, still admiring the campus view and yet still dreading the following days of adjusting to life on his own. He frowned as he thought about Jack and how much he missed him. He wondered if he was thinking about him or if he was just as worried about his first day as Hiccup was.
"No offense but you seem real nervous." She giggled.
He blew out a breath, "Do I? Nah!" he laughed, hoping to relax a little, "I'm way too muscular to be scared...the campus wouldn't know what to do with all….this!" he grunted jokingly and flexed his non-existent muscles.
Heather giggled loudly, "Okay, you got me."
"It's up here." Ruff said loudly, interrupting them. They followed the group and Heather continued conversing with Hiccup.
"So what classes are you taking this semester?" she asked him.
"Well, your basic starter classes." He admitted and she nodded, "Intro to Engineering and Technology, Design, Calculus, Chemistry, and Humanities."
"Cool! I'll be doing Chemistry and Humanities too! We might be in the same class." Heather said excitedly.
Hiccup found himself smiling, thinking about how great it felt to actually know he could look for a familiar face in his class and feel comfortable to sit by them.
"We should sit by each other, I know I'd feel less lonely." She chuckled.
He smiled and nodded, "Yeah, can't blame you there. Not sure how good company I'll keep, but I'll do my best." He laughed.
"Hey, you aren't so bad." She laughed, lightly tapping his arm.
Hiccup smiled; glad he was at least making progress. And it wasn't even the first day of classes yet!
They made it to the diner and looked around curiously. It was definitely a campus diner for sure. Students of all kinds were milling around, some playing pool and others chowing down on food in their collective groups.
Hiccup looked at the walls, noting the color red and the painted dragon logo shooting fire out of its mouth; The Changewing Dragon. Hiccup knew he'd like it here.
He also began noticing pictures of sports teams as well as sorority and fraternity paddles on the walls.
He recognized Fergus' fraternity name and smiled; Theta Psi Omega. His uncle had been regaling Hiccup with stories of his brotherhood all summer long. Hiccup knew that if he really wanted to make him proud, he'd at least check out rushing events.
"Checking out the paddles?" Heather laughed as they waited in line.
"Yeah, my dad's a legacy in the Theta's so he encouraged me to check them out."
She nodded and grinned, "Yeah, my mom was a Phi, so she's been bugging me to join."
"No pressure for us then." Hiccup laughed.
His phone vibrated and he took it out, glancing apologetically at Heather for a second. He opened it and smiled brightly to see Jack's name.
You hanging in there?
Hiccup's gaze softened as he read the text and he quickly typed a response:
I'm already making friends and exploring the campus! But I really miss you.
"Family?" Heather chuckled.
Hiccup looked up a little surprised and smiled nervously, shaking his head.
His phone vibrated again: I miss you too, but that's awesome, Hic! You'll have to tell me all about your first week when we Skype on Saturday!
Hiccup smiled and he nodded happily. That's right! He and Jack had made a plan to Skype every Saturday when they could. Not to mention they'd text and phone all the time, but there was something about seeing each other's faces that always helped Hiccup feel a little closer to Jack.
He quickly replied: I can't wait. I love you!
He pocketed his phone and looked up at Heather who was looking at him with a questioning gaze but didn't say anything.
They quickly ordered their food and found a seat next to the twins. They were looking around as though bored with everything.
"So uh…" Hiccup cleared his throat, hoping to maybe get a conversation going, "Do any of you play sports?" he asked the group politely.
The rest of the group seemed immersed in their own conversation but at least Heather and the twins paid attention to him. Ruff and Tuff both shrugged and nodded in answer.
"What do you play?" Hiccup asked, taking a sip of his coke.
"I wrestle." Tuff said simply.
"I'm in soccer." Ruff said as well.
Heather chuckled, "I also play soccer, that's how we became roommates." She explained, "The women's soccer team gets here a month early so Ruff and I have actually been on campus for a while and gotten to know people."
"Wrestling doesn't start until winter so I had to come late." Tuff explained as well, picking up his fries and staring at them as though they may just give him an idea of why that would be so.
"What about you?" Heather asked.
"Uh…no…" Hiccup said, looking embarrassed, "I play violin and that's about it." He shrugged.
Tuff snorted and Heather shot him a look, "Well, there's tons to do on campus from what I've heard. They have all kinds of clubs and organizations to join, you definitely won't get bored." She smiled.
Hiccup nodded, hoping she was right. He took a breath and finally started to relax a little. Sure he missed his family, his dog, and Jack. But if he really put his mind to it, he knew he could actually have fun here, just like Jack said.
He grinned thinking about Jack and felt his stomach pain lessen as the evening wore on and everyone began actually enjoying themselves.
…
Hiccup and Tuff walked back to their room in a comfortable silence. Hiccup was becoming used to Tuff just keeping his mouth shut and grunting off and on and it bothered him less. Both noticed something on the door of their room, however. It was a large envelope that was addressed to their room. Tuff tore it off and brought it inside with them.
"What's that?" Hiccup asked.
Tuff shrugged and opened the envelope. He took out a sheet of paper and his eyes widened. Hiccup came over and noticed the Greek letters on the header.
"You didn't tell me you were a legacy." Tuff said as he handed Hiccup the letter.
"What?" Hiccup said as he took the letter and read it:
To Hamish Haddock III and Tuffnut Thorston,
The brothers of Theta Psi Omega would like to cordially invite you to our first rush event to be held on September 2, at 8pm at the Theta household. We have requested you specifically as legacies of former brothers in the hopes you carry on tradition with us. Please RSVP to our current president Alvin Torchwood. We hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
The brothers of Theta Psi Omega.
Hiccup stared at the letter and then looked at Tuffnut who was staring at him like he'd just grown an extra head.
"What?" Hiccup asked again.
"Wow…" Tuff said, getting closer, "We might actually become brothers."
"Uh…" Hiccup chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck feeling slightly weirded out at the sudden closeness they shared, "That is if we get in."
Tuff shook his head and Hiccup was shocked to see how serious he looked, "No, we get the bid because of our legacy status, we're basically like top of the list because of this."
Hiccup stared at him, "You mean we're basically in?"
"Not really. Dad said that you have to go through pledging or something like that, but they accept us to go through pledging."
Hiccup nodded thoughtfully and smiled, "Sounds pretty crazy." He admitted.
Tuff nodded and looked at the note. He then shot Hiccup a shy look, "Are you gonna accept?"
Hiccup thought for a minute and then nodded, "What the hell? I wanna make something of myself here at some point, might as well join."
Tuff nodded, a feeling of relief on his face and both signed the RSVP.
Hiccup was surprised to see Tuff smiling a little, "My dad told me how awesome it is."
"Yeah, my dad too." Hiccup laughed, but then frowned, "What is pledging exactly?"
Tuff shrugged, "Dad wouldn't say cause it's like super-secret stuff."
Hiccup nodded and shrugged, "I'm sure it's a piece of cake."
"Yeah!" Tuff said happily, "Besides, as roommates we have an edge." He smiled as he drew his fist up in a small cheer.
Hiccup smiled at him and actually felt excited for the first time that day. Who knew that one second you can go from an unpacking little freshman, to being accepted to pledge in a fraternity and make friends all in one day! It was official; college was going to be a breeze!
So excited to be back everyone! I have to say I had to smile at all the responses I got guessing who his roommate was. I know a lot of you said Dagur and I don't want you to be disappointed because he will be in this story, but I found a better role for him, don't you worry. I realized I hadn't written the twins in my story yet and I just couldn't believe that because I actually adore the twins in the movie/shows. So I had to put them in here. Kudos if you could recognize the other characters from the show! I really hope you liked it, second chapter is coming! Reviews always make my day!