Mericcup One Shots

That Guy part 2

As Merida rode Angus that day, she found that she could barely clear the jumps as her mind was so distracted. Eventually she gave in to her inner thoughts and led him back into his stable, stroking him gently.

"I know," she murmured, running her fingers through his mane. "I don't understand either." She sighed and picked up her shoulder bag, rummaging in it for a moment before producing two apples, one of which she held to his mouth. He sniffed it before taking it between his teeth in one mouthful. Merida bit into hers too, stroking his face by way of goodbye.

Besides, she still had that Science she needed help with. That was due tomorrow. In spite of herself, she allowed herself a small smile.

Hiccup jumped a mile when he saw 'meri.dunbroch@gmail.com would like to Skype' appear on his screen. He sat up, his heart beating furiously, ran his fingers through his fringe and waited a second before pressing 'Accept'.

"Sorry," Merida jumped in before Hiccup could even speak. She sat at her desk, grabbing a pen and her Science book, as well as her revision guide. "Had to get to the stables cleaned up, I hadn't seen Angus for a day or two."

"Who's Angus?" Hiccup asked, glad he didn't have to start the conversation this time.

"My horse," Merida smiled. It was one of the rare times he'd seen her do so and he felt his cheeks heat up. "Probably my best friend too. I haven't got many. Screw that. I don't have any."

"Um," Hiccup mumbled, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He really didn't know what to say to that if he was honest. Merida saw him and laughed.

"You can be part of the extremely elite club if you want," she grinned. "If you can stand being around someone that boring, that is."

"Excuse me," Hiccup raised a finger, as though he was making a point, "I may only have met you properly today but from what I've seen generally, you are an incredibly un-boring person."

"Is that your way of saying that you think I'm a nice person?" Merida laughed.

"Basically," he shrugged, picking up his revision guide. "Now, what did you need help with?"

~ * ~

"Are you kidding me?" Merida sat up a little straighter at Hiccup's last words. It was about two weeks since their encounter on the school field, and the pair of them had become firm friends. Now they skyped each other almost every night, to do homework. They'd finished all their homework hours ago and now they were just talking. Innocently talking. It was great. She'd never enjoyed conversation in years, especially not with a boy. "You did NOT just say that."

"What?" Hiccup asked, raising his hands up. "All I said was that I've never heard of Simple Minds!"

"That is blasphemy in itself."

"Hmph. Maybe you should go and get some taste."

"You should go and listen to The Jeweller, Part 2 and then we'll see who's got bad taste, shall we?"

"Challenge accepted," Hiccup grinned. "I'll hang up and YouTube it. I'll get back to you the moment it's finished."

"Deal," Merida folded her arms smugly. The line went dead, and with every passing second she knew she was winning.

Unfortunately, to Hiccup it looked like Merida might win this wager. This song was good, unbelievably good. The guitar solos were simple and not too overpowering, and this singer's voice! God, it was good. He was almost sad when it was over. It was then that he realised the time. Midnight, and he had school tomorrow. Crap.