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After a well rested night, Merida woke up and sat up in her bed half-conscious, recalling the odd events of the day before. The thought that fully cleared her clouded and sleepy mind was the encounter with that boy and his... wolf. Yeah, that confused her too, but the idea was slowly starting to feel less bizarre.
She ruffled her wild curls, “fixing” it after streching her limbs and avoiding a cramp in her leg. Her eyes turned to the small alarm clock set up in a small cabinet beside her bed, she had slept way too much. In any other day that would be a problem but since it was Sunday, she couldn’t care less.
Her feet touched the cold floor, getting used to its coldness, Merida stepped off her bedroom and went to the bathroom. The second floor of her house was awfully quiet, either her three little brothers were sleeping, na unusual behavior to the “wee devils”, as Merida liked to call them, or they were plotting something. Not against her, obviously. Because if they are, retaliation would be inevitable.
Merida stepped into the bathroom and stared at her reflection. As the water ran down the sink, she tied her wild hair in a high ponytail, cupping in her hands a bit of water, tossing in her face and rubbing her eyes. Making her way downstairs, the smell of butter on the pan and bacon popping in rapid succession quickly entered her nostrils, as if it was calling her like na old cartoon. Entering the kitchen, she met quite a familiar scene, Maudie cooking for her family a delightful meal, her brothers giggling at a probable plot and stuffing a piece of cake in their mouth, and finally her father concentraded in his newspaper.
Fergus noticed her entrance and kindly smiled at her, “Mornin’, lassie.”
“Mornin’, Da.” She walked around the table and ruffled each of her brother’s curly hair, “Morning, my wee nightmares!”
Maudie served Merida a fresh cooked cake and a cup of coffee, “Good morning, Merida.”
“Mornin’, ‘Die.” She sat on the table, starting to eat her breakfast.
“So, Merida...” Her gaze turned to her father, “I need your help to pick up some things at a friend’s house.”
Merida hinced at his request, “Does it needs to be today? I kinda have something up.”
“Oh, don’t worry, lass. It won’t take much of your time and besides my friend has a kid your age, so you won’t be alone.”
Merida groaned and rolled her eyes, “Da’, did mum told you to set me up with this guy?”
“No! You know what I think about that. I just said that because I know how you get when you’re bored, plus you never know who might change your life.” Fergus took one last bite of his cake, leaving the table, heading to the garage to ready his truck.
Merida sank in her chair and frowned when she heard her brothers giggles at her, “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny. When you guys get to my age, you’ll see.”
The triplets shook their heads in denial.
She finished her meal and took the dirty dishes to the sink, letting the water in them, setting it aside to naturally dry.
Merida went upstairs to her bedroom and headed straight to her wardrobe, choosing a new change of clothes. Her wardrobe was mix of awfully tradicional dresses and the moody teenager basic kit. She picked a dark green flannel, a white t-shirt and jean shorts which were modified by her mother to look “decent enough”, covering her toned thighs and reaching her knees. Heading to the bathroom and locking the door, she turned the shower on, tilting the knob just a pinch to let the hot water hit the tiles.
While the water steamed the glass box, Merida took her clothes off and stepped into the hot shower. Her mane immeadiately touched her back, if anyone were to see her hair down, they would confuse Merida with another person. She let her thoughts ran through her mind, what would she say when she met Hiccup again? Their encounter the day before was pure coincidence, such a low probability of ever happening that Merida felt embarresed for not being able to see ahead in a normal conversation with someone she felt genuinely had the same problems as her.
She stepped off the shower, drying her mane and putting her clothes on.
“Merida! Are ye ready?” She heard her father yell from downstairs.
“Yes! Just a second!” She gathered her bow and arrows (just in case, you know), her phone from the charger and headed downstairs. “Let’s go.”
Both of them walked to their garage. Her father gathered some stuff and placed on the back of his truck, she entered the front seat and waited for Fergus. Soon her father came into the truck and turned the engine on, the smell of fresh oil in the air. The moment they exited the driveway and went down the road, Fergus looked at his daugther’s thoughtful expression. “What’s on your mind, lass?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
She turned her gaze to the tinted window, “Come on, Mer. I know that everywhere, something happened.”
Merida rolled her fingers, considering her father’s argument. He knew every secret she carried in her heart, even the embarresing ones, the ones that she wouldn’t tell a soul in her life. Might as well trust him with this one too.
“I... met a boy yesterday. In the woods.”
“A boy?! Did he did something to ye?!” For a moment they almost went off the main road. “Explain now, Merida.”
“Da, relax. He didn’t do anything to me, and even if he did, I would just kick his ass.” Fergus calmed down a bit, “We talked for a while and... I promised we would meet again today.” She turned to her father, “It wasn’t half bad.”
Fergus sighed in relief and let out a loud laugh, “Jesus, lass, almost gave me a heart-attack. So... you made a friend?”
Merida turned her gaze to the buildings passing by and smiled a bit, “I guess I did.”
“But don’t get too friendly, if you know what I mean.” Fergus said laughing while slapping the wheel.
She blushed and slapped the logs that Fergus called arms, “Knock it off, Da!”
When the laughing stopped, Fergus focused on the highway ahead. Merida noticed that the tall buildings were growing fewer, getting replaced with tall oak trees and dark grass fields.
“So, dad... Where this friend of yours live again?”
“He runs a small community just outside town. A really cozy place.”
“So he’s a hippie?”
Fergus let his laugh echoed through the pick-up truck. “No, no. Just a guy that prefers to do things with his bare hands.”
“And what are we going to pick up with him?”
“Where do you think the meat in our house comes from?” Fergus made a sharp curve, “The man has the best sheeps of the region.”
Looking at the windshield, Merida could see in the hills up ahead a small amount of wooden houses, straight out of a period where the most logical way of conquering honor was through dueling with the enemy to death, with a hint of modernity, of course. A very rural place, peaceful and seemely friendly.
As they entered the main gates, Merida looked at the window, surprised to see that... it was just a normal neighbourhood with na unusual amount of sheeps roaming the sidewalks. Fergus called for her but the new scenery hypnotized his daughter, he called again louder, startiling her. He laughed, “Welcome to Berk, lassie.” They rode for a while, Merida legs were aching for movement, and thankfully for her, they had reached their destiny.
Fergus pulled up on a driveway, turning the engine off and stepping out of the car, Merida followed his steps. They walked to the front door of a massive house, clearly made for the leader of this community, the dark oak suited very well with the stones that served as detail and as a way to not set the whole house on fire. Fergus knocked on the door two times and waited, after a few seconds they heard small steps creaking the wooden floor.
As door fully opened, the small figure of a boy revealed itse–
“Hiccup?!” Merida tongue was quicker than her mind.
“Merida?!” He said equally loud, his voice cracking a bit. Hiccup had on a long-sleaved blue shirt and shorts, his prosthetic leg fully in the open.
The teens stared at each other with their mouth hanged, a small blush in both faces, until Fergus broke the silence, “Lad, is Stoick home?”
“Uh... Yeah, he is. Please, come in.” Hiccup moved to the side as they stepped into the house. He closed the door and guided them to the living room. “I’m going to call him, just a minute, okay?”
“No hurry, lad.” Fergus said sitting in the couch with Merida beside her father. As Hiccup went upstairs, na uncomfortable silence fell into the room, Merida tried to think on a way out but nothing came in mind. No excuses. Fergus simply smiled and nudged his daughter, and trying not to laugh too loudly at Merida’s unknown awkwardness, he says, “So... That friend you were talking about?”
Merida blushed and closed her eyes, “Yes.”
Fergus nodded and snorted, “Now, that’s one hell of a coincidence.”
Fergus continued to tease her until they heard heavy steps coming down the stairs, followed by a metalic clink mixed with creaking of the wood. Merida then saw the massive figure that her father talked about, his face unshaken by their presence. If Fergus weren’t her father, that would be the largest man she’s ever saw. Arms as large as a tree trunk, a long and imposing beard, piercing green eyes. They stood by the end of the staircase, the tension in the air became thicker and Merida couldn’t why. Fergus stood from the couch, Merida following his lead, both men stared at each other. Suddenly both of them snickered and let out a thunderous laugh, turning the air around, opening their arms into a hug.
Hiccup and Merida were beyond confused. They both knew that their fathers are friends but the tension set seconds ago told otherwise.
“Fergus, ye old bastard!” Stoick said in between laughs.
“Stoick, you sea-weed eater asshole!” Fergus the hug, with a big smile, “How are you, old friend?”
“Been well.” Stoick turned his gaze to the red-haired girl beside his friend, “And who’s the lassie?”
“This is my daughter, Merida.”
Merida stretched her hand to shake his massive hand. As they shook hands, Stoick laughed and said, “Tight hold. I like that. Merida, this is my son, Hiccup.”
Hiccup waved at her with a nervous smile.
“Now, if you kids excuse us, we have a lot to talk about. So run along. No funny business, Hiccup.” Stoick and Fergus walked towards the kitchen, leaving the teenagers alone in the living room.
An awkward silence fell as the adults left the room, and the only sound made by any of them was the rapid tapping of Hiccup’s metalic leg. Never before Merida had been this quiet, she couldn’t understand why a minute ago she was confident that she would come in and make herself on par with the adults but now the saltiness of her sweat was starting to bother her eyes. Hiccup finally said something and made his way upstairs, she followed his lead and both of them stepped in a room that smelled like oil, a bit of rust and... a small hint of lavander.
Hiccup’s room was very interesting place, to say the least. A somewhat organized place separated in three sections in that... some meter squared bedroom. By the right corner, a unmade bed with his phone on it and a jacket hanging in the headboard; By the left corner, a worktable with textbooks from school and some notebooks piled weigthing on the top left corner of the table; and right in the middle, where a window that the summer Sun shone its light through, a desk with a PC and a drawing tablet.
“You draw?” Merida said breaking the silence. Hiccup had sat on his bed, quickly turning the tablet off.
“Yeah, kinda.” He muttered as he tried to tidy his bedroom as much as possible.
“Can I see it?” She said already grabbing one of his notebooks and flipping through the pages.
“Hey! I didn’t–“
Impressed was an understatement to what Merida saw in that sketchbook. Merida sat on his bed, flipping through the pages and admiring his drawings. Sceneries, people, a few designs of clothes, maps and things that she couldn’t tell what it was at first glance. “Hiccup... Did you drew all of these?”
Hiccup, sweating out of his mind, put his hands in his pockets, “Yeah, in my free time. It helps me clear my mind, y’know?”
“These are really good, lad!”
“They’re not that good,” Hiccup sat beside her, stretching his hand, asking the sketchbook back on which she placed gently in his hand. “But I appreaciate it.”
“So... Tell me about it.”
“Huh?”
“You said you would tell me about your wolf, so... C’mon, tell me about it. By the way, where’s Toothless?”
Hiccup shooshed her and quickly got up from the bed, running to the door and checking if anyone was around. He closed the door and sighed in relief. Merida stared at the boy dumbfoundedly while he spiraled around the room, she stood up and interrupeted his spiral by holding his shoulders and staring into his eyes. “Can you stop freaking out and tell me what’s going on?”
“Sorry, but please don’t say his name so loudly. Thin walls.”
“Who? Toothless?” Hiccup pressed his index finger in his mouth. Merida rolled her eyes and whispered, “Toothless?”
Hiccup sat on the bed and passed his hand through the waves of his hair, “Yeah. The thing is that... my dad kinda doesn’t know about him.”
“Well, that’s expected. I mean, it’s not exactly common for a teenager to be friends with a wolf. Except in movies.” Merida sat beside him, her back touching the wall, “So, where is he now?”
He moved to the wall, “There’s a clearing a couple miles from here, I made him a place to sleep and since it’s near the forest, he can hunt any time he wants.”
Merida noticed that their shoulders were slightly touching but as he talked, she moved a bit to the side. “I normally see him after school and spend the rest of the day with him.”
“Your dad doesn’t notice you missing the whole day?”
“He’s too busy maneging Berk. I mean, he’s not wrong for running the town, ‘cause you know, someone needs to feed them. Although, some of the people here need a little less feeding.”
Merida snorted and elbowed his side, “The shy kid is acid, isn’t he?” They both laughed with a slight blush in their cheeks.
When the laugher subsided, they both sat in a comfortable silence. The sun shone in a orange shade through the dimmed lit room, both teenagers incertain what to do next.
Damn, what to do now?
Hiccup was completely different to what Merida expected or thought, to what she expected him to be, that being a weird and nerdy creep who was way too quiet in the classes they shared and a way high pitched voice, to her taste. But reality always dismisses imagination and turns into a completely different outcome. To what her eyes had seen, to what her ears heard,... To what her heart had told her, he was trust worthy, kind and weirdly funny guy. But when Merida came to that conclusion, a question appeared in her mind, intriguing her even futher.
“Hey, Hiccup?”
He looked at her, “Yeah?”
“How come you don’t have friends?” The words she chose were a bit too harsh, Merida regretted her voice tone. “I mean, you’re a cool guy so I thought you–“
“It’s okay, Merida.” He crossed his legs and unscrewed his prosthetic, setting it aside, “I don’t know why. Maybe I’m a little too quiet and people assume I don’t want to talk.”
“But actually, I think that... i’ve been quiet for so long that I forgot how to talk at all.” His voice became raspy and his tone lowered.
The air in the room thickned and Merida regretted even asking him, but she couldn’t help but to put herself in his shoes and understand his behavior at school. Hiccup got up from the bed, heading worktable and organizing his textbooks.
“Oy,” Merida bumped her elbow in his side, “How about you show me around?”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s get out of this room and you show me what this place has to offer.” Merida said heading to the door, “C’mon.”
Hiccup followed her through the hallway, going downstairs, and grabbing his jacket by the couch. As they were about to head out, Hiccup remembered about the two burly men in the kitchen, who were oblivious about their departure. “Wait, Merida.” He whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t we going to tell our dads that we’re heading out?” He pointed towards the kitchen.
“Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup...” She placed her hand on his shoulder, “Rule n°1 when hanging out with me: No parents or mention of them. Plus ma dad and yours probably won’t even notice we did go out because we’ll be quick as a bunny.”
The boy looked at her smirk and then to the front door, her mischivious energy transmitting to him. He smirked back, putting on his jacket and opening the door for her, “Ladies first.”
“Then go first, milady.” Merida made na exagerated bow and giggled.
Hiccup blushed a bit and laughed, “Oh, shut up.” He passed through the doorframe, hearing her giggles behind him.
Both of them took a deep breath, enjoying the warm air in their lungs, and so their tour had begun.
For a community that estabilished itself far from any central urban point, Berk was a very well and wealthy town, and as the duo passed by the stone streets, Merida noticed signs of modernity with a tall telephone tower connecting the humble wood and stone houses with the modern world. Hiccup explained that most of the adults had to move to the main city in order to work and gain their income, and the children spent their days in school until taking the bus back to Berk, so most of kids learned to be independent in a early age. But ever since Stoick had been elected as the leader and official representive of Berk in town meetings, everything changed for them. What was a small village that was a mere source of agriculture and textil material became a independent town that rivaled with Burgess, of course, both towns had a mutual and peaceful agreedment to cooperate between themselves.
As they passed though the town, they walked in front of a workshop that appeared to be closed that day, a voice came from inside, calling Hiccup as soon as he passed in front of it, “Oi! Hiccup, ma boy, c’mere!”
Hiccup rolled his eyes a bit and quietly apologized to the red haired girl, “What is it, Gobber?”
“I need ya help with some models. Some people ordered forniture yesterday and it was a last hour thing, so come on, put on gloves and let’s get to work.” The man, Gobber, tossed him a black apron and made his way back to the workshop.
“H-hey, Gobber.” The man looked back, “I can’t today, I’m kinda busy.” Hiccup slightly nudged his head to the redhaired girl watching all of this with a grin in her face.
“Oh, didn’t saw you there, lassie.” The man lifted his safety mask and stretched his wooden hand, “Name’s Gobber.” Underneath the mask, a blond and peculiar man smiled with some of his teeth being either crooked or golden.
“Merida.” She shook his hand, “Hiccup’s just showing the town.”
Gobber eyes widen and his gaze turned to Hiccup with a sly smile, “Oh! I see... In that case, pardon the interruption.”
“Well,” Hiccup said already walking towards the exit with Merida following him, “Bye, Gobber!”
“See ya later, my boy. Oi, Hiccup!” The boy slowly turned to his employer, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
Hiccup hurried to the door with his face about to explode.
“What did he mean by that?” Merida asked raising her eyebrow.
“O-oh, you know, old man stuff. Nothing that matters.” He laughed nervously and slowed his pace, the girl walking beside him now. His face had turned back to normal but the sweat in his brow was very much noticiable.
The tour through Berk continued peacefully, Hiccup even allowed Merida to pet some sheeps on their way, the sight was utterly adorable. The breeze started to turn cold and the sun that tinged the horizon with na orange light had dissapeared and replaced by the Moon. Both of them made their way to Hiccup’s, messing with each other, giggling and laughing at Merida’s comments.
Hiccup guided her around the house, standing under his bedroom window. “Okay, let’s go.” He crouched and intertwined his hands together, creating a step for her.
“You sure about this?”
“Yeah, I can handle it. Now, c’mon.” Merida held his shoulders and placed her foot in his hands. “On three.”
“One. Two... Three!”
Merida jumped and Hiccup’s impulsed her body up. She maneged to grab the ledge, her strong arms pulling herself into his bedroom. She took a deep breath in the floor and remembered about the owner of the room. She sticked her head out the window and looked down, “What about you?”
Hiccup looked around, thinking about her question. “How strong are you?”
“What? I mean, not to brag but pretty strong, I guess.”
“Strong enough to pull a person up?”
“What?”
He took some steps back, taking a deep breath and ran towards the wall, using his good foot to impulse himself on the wall. When Merida realized what he was about to do, she stretched her hands and grabbed his arm mid-air, using her strength to pull him into the room. They fell on the floor with a loud thud, looking at each other and laughing loudly.
“You are full of surprises, Hic’. Where did you learn to do that?” She asked getting up and helping him to stand up.
“I’ve been sneaking out for years. It was either improvise or get caught.”
When the laughter subsided, they heard heavy steps get closer. The sound startled them, causing the teens to bump into each other and scatter to different parts of the room. Knocking on the door, Hiccup calmed himself and went to open it. “Yes, dad?”
“Fergus is calling Merida. They ‘re leaving.” Stoick stood in front of his son with his eyes staring at his soul.
“Uh... Yeah, okay. She’s going soon.” Hiccup said with a sad tone.
Stoick returned downstairs and Hiccup turned to Merida, who had her hands in her pockets. “You, uh... Hear it.”
“Yeah. Guess I should get going.”
“Yep.” Hiccup stepped closer. “Listen, uh... I really had fun today, Merida. Like, in years I haven’t had this much fun.”
Merida smiled softly and kicked her feet, “Me too, Hic.’”
They stared at each other for a couple of seconds and Merida made her way to the door, immeadiately going back in a hurry, hearing her father calling her. “Give your phone.”
“What?”
“Give me your phone, quick!”
Hiccup reached for his pocket and unlocking his phone, giving it to her. She grabbed the phone, rapidly tapping the screen. When she was done, Merida gave his phone back.
“You better answer me when I text you, okay?” Merida winked at him (immeadiately regretting her decision, by the way) and hurried downstairs, where Fergus waited for her patiently.
Hiccup stared at his phone, her number saved in his contacts. His first action was to bury his face in his pillow and scream of excitement, kicking his feet in his bed. Staring at the ceiling, his heart never had beat so fast before this girl showed up in his life.
And there he stayed, thanking whatever god that was up in the sky for giving the honor of meeting her.