You Are Never Alone

Prologue

Crowded spaces, chattering students, over enthusiastic tutors. Her soft footsteps tapped with her uneasy pace. Yet, with all the buzz around her in the very first class of her university life, the only thing Astrid could hear clearly was the pounding of her heart.

She felt eyes glue onto her as she made her way to a corner of the lecture hall, furthest from the stage. It wasn't too far for her to miss out on anything important from the lessons, plus barely anyone chose the top benches to be seated at. Well, 'barely' was the word to bear in mind.

Out of the corner of her eye, a man sauntered up the steps in her direction. Distracted by a phone call he was on, he didn't seem to notice Astrid's presence as he picked the seat right in front of her.

The young man huffed as he silently listened to the recipient's concerns, rolling his eyes. Being able to hear the voice on the other end made Astrid curious, lifting her eyes to watch him. Suddenly, he turned around to face her, his free hand held up apologetically with a grin on his face. His swift motion caught the blonde girl by surprise, making her jolt back as her face turned red. Noticing her reaction, the man's smile disappeared. Instead he just nodded and gestured gently to her, before turning back to finish his conversation.

"Alright, look I gotta go, but promise you'll come to town this weekend and see my new place for yourself. You know Hookfang means too much to me to have him left behind like this Ma." He paused for a moment and sighed. "Thank you, love you too." With that he hung up his phone.

What Astrid didn't expect was for him to turn back to face her once again, this time more slowly and carefully. An arm rested on the bench back while his other held out in a friendly manner towards her. "Hey uh... I didn't mean to startle you earlier on when I turned. I was trying to apologise for being kinda loud... but yeah I'm truly sorry for disrupting you and I hope you're alright."

Astrid gulped, her palms sweaty as she shook her head slightly. "N-no, I'm sorry I shouldn't have been listening and it's my fault for being here anyway. Look, I'll move away so us both can have some privacy."

"Woah woah, there's no need to move away, and technically I'm pretty sure the entire hall has heard my conversation," he remarked with a laugh. "Anyway I'm new here, don't have any friends here yet, how about you?"

"I..." Astrid trailed off. When truly was the last time she had a friend? Maybe when she was aged six, but that was too long and even the word 'friend' seemed so foreign to her. Having a friend meant having to trust them, yet the people she did had only let her down.

She dropped her gaze to her hands as she fumbled with her sweater's zipper, her fingertips cold and hands trembling. Her mouth opened to speak, yet no sound was produced. All that escaped was a very tired, sorry wheeze.

The man watched silently, familiarising himself with her situation. He pushed himself slightly further away from her, giving them a bigger gap as he observed her reaction. When she finally looked back up, all she did was apologise.

"Oh no I'm so sorry I understand I made you uncomfortable, I-I can't help it-"

"Hey it's totally fine, and I'm not uncomfortable. You need some space and I understand it," the young man raised his hands as he interrupted her panicked ramble. "I don't really know what you go through, nor how you feel, but believe me I've got no intentions to hurt you or anyone."

He smiled softly, giving Astrid a warm sense of security, one that she only felt with her parents. For the first time in days since she moved to the city, she cracked a small smile. "Thank you."

"No worries."

"And I'm sorry."

"No issues, no sweat."

The young man slid back to his original spot after monitoring her body language for signs of discomfort. He then held out his right hand towards Astrid, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. "Well I'm Snotlout Jorgenson, the one and only son of Spitelout Jorgenson."

Astrid raised an eyebrow, the name sounding rather familiar to her.

"He started the 'Lout n Proud Mayo Company'."

Oh. Stifling her giggles, she raised her right hand nervously towards Snotlout's, still shaky and sweaty, but the boy didn't seem to care. They shook hands firmly as the blonde smiled. "I'm Astrid Hofferson, we're not a known family but we're fine together."

Snotlout just nodded and grinned. Deep down however, he knew the battle she faced just to say those words. Astrid didn't have to tell him straight to his face to find out, but sadly not everyone would realise like he did. She needed a friend, a true one, and in that moment he vowed to help her overcome her struggles, no matter how minuscule his part would be. That's what friends are for after all.

As the lecture was about to start, Snotlout gestured towards the spot next to Astrid. "Would you be comfortable?" Although a little hesitant, she knew he was a person she could feel safe around. A nod was all she gave, and all she needed to do as her new acquaintance moved next to her and began taking out his notepad.

As they listened to the lesson, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Her eyes lowered to glance at Snotlout's notes, where he scribbled a message for her. "Not going to interrupt the class, but if you ever have questions, I'm willing to ask them for you. You've got a friend in me."

Astrid smiled. A friend.

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"Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Hofferson," Snotlout greeted his new friend's parents as he shook their hands. "It's an honour to meet you finally for a dinner."

It was almost three weeks since the pair first met in their lecture hall. As Astrid grew more comfortable with Snotlout, her parents pressed to meet the young man. Mrs Hofferson smiled gently back at him. "The pleasure is ours."

At that moment, Astrid excused herself to the bathroom, leaving the Jorgenson with her two most favourite people in the whole world. As soon as she was out of earshot, Mr Hofferson's tone dropped to a whisper. "How did you do it?"

Snotlout just scrunched his face in confusion as he sipped some water. "I'm sorry, but do what?"

"Gain her trust. My daughter hasn't had the confidence to let us meet anyone in ages."

Mrs Hofferson's gaze met Snotlout's, tears filled in her eyes. "It's really important to us knowing that she's able to make herself in the world. In the past few years we never forced her to seek help against her will. We had to make her promise us she'll work on herself and take good care. Now we're just hoping she'll finally understand what to do on her own."

The young man took a deep breath and sighed. So his assumptions were right. Anxiety, the monster. His jaw clenched, thoughts whirling through his mind. Why hadn't they talked her into seeking help before it reached such a severe state? It was too late to dwell on that anyway. If they weren't going to guide her, a person who genuinely cares and understands would. A friend would.

Astrid returned to the table and sat down silently, unwilling to question the slight tension over the group. Suddenly, Snotlout just let out a snort, pointing to a dish in the menu. "Hah, whole quail set for two, nah I'm wolfing it all down."

No matter how insignificant Snotlout appeared at that moment, she could never predict that he would've been the person who would give her the biggest nudge and support on a road of recovery.

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A/N: Hey guys! So this is the start of a new fanfic WAHOO. I hope y'all enjoy it!❤️
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A HICCSTRID FANFIC, NOT A SNOTSTRID ONE. Snotlout is Astrid's best friend in this fanfic, so I hope you don't mistake them as a developing 'relationship' :,)
Besides, Snotlout will have some else ooooooooo wink wonk👀