#lacusmors

“Don’t be stupid,” Ruff herself had told Astrid. “You’re gonna be fine. I mean, no roommate is better than me, but I promise there will be at least one person looking for a room who is not a complete nutjob.”

Truth be told, Ruffnut was actually a terrible roommate. She was messy and loud, and when her twin brother would show up unannounced the two of them would inevitably drive Astrid up a wall. Logically, Astrid knew all of this. In her HEART, though, she was just sad that her childhood friend was dropping out and going back home (which wasn’t completely unpredictable, but still). On top of that, she was terrified of finding a new roommate. 

“It’s not like anyone can be that much worse than Ruff was,” Hiccup told her on the phone. Astrid reluctantly agreed. 

And so here she was, Astrid’s new roommate. She told her something about just coming back from a few months abroad and Astrid being a life safer. The blonde just pointed the girl - Eleanor, was it? - towards Ruff’s old room without saying much. She looked sane enough, which should be a good sign. Astrid would probably start appreciating it soon. For now? She just missed her best friend.

There was no reason to be nervous, Astrid told herself. It was just a reunion, it would be fun, she’d get to see people she had lost contact with, though that was the problem itself. Rather, seeing one person in particular.

Astrid wasn’t quite sure where things went wrong. Eleanor and her had both agreed that it would be best not to hold high expectations about what they had when they left for different universities, but had promised to stay in touch, at least. However, either out of a complete lack of what to say or because it just made the distance sting even more, they just... Didn’t. They fell apart, and it had been a long while since Astrid last heard from Eleanor. Despite missing her far too often, she never reached out (also partly due to her stubbornness, quite honestly). Who’s to say Eleanor wanted to hear from her, anyway? She hadn’t reached out either.

She kept those thoughts in mind even as she walked among faces she hadn’t seen in years, smiling enthusiastically and greeting everyone she saw. Meanwhile, her eyes searched the place for the most familiar smile, though Astrid wasn’t sure whether she wanted to find her or hide from her. That decision was made for her by fate himself, when a common friend who was speaking to Eleanor waved Astrid over with that same enthusiasm everyone seemed to share. Astrid stilled herself and smiled back when she went over.

BUTTERFLIES - that’s all she could feel. Her body was numb, and yet she’d never felt so alive. How would she go about explaining all this to her sister, when every superlative was just not good enough? And her heart - oh, her poor heart - was still beating loudly, violently at the mere recollection of his touch, his eyes, his smile. Maelys could go on and on about all the things she had so quickly grown fond of in the other, but her voice never adjusted. She was living in those daydreams, lost inside her head. 

Late at night, as the two were lying in their shared bed, holding the covers over their heads, like they used to do when the stories called for a little secrecy ( a little atmosphere, more like it ), the younger Ashdown was making every effort to stop smiling as madly as she had been smiling since the moment Mr Bingley had asked her to dance. Certainly, the happy expression had tuned down when the two were separated, even more so when the girl realised this may have been the only chance at love and that it was doomed to begin with.

———- but that couldn’t stop her from feeling like the LUCKIEST person in the world. 

A giggle rather than words passed her dainty lips. Pale fingers of the one hand hiding her mouth, the other hand reached above to carry the weightless weight of the sheets. It was not until the brunette paid more attention to her sister’s expression that she regained her composure ( to some extent ). The smiling couldn’t stop, not entirely, especially not in the way that it made her eyes sparkle with joy, but otherwise Maelys found the ability to talk without inadvertently mumbling about things she could not yet understand. 

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