"Caroline, I still can't believe you forgot the extra sleeping bag," the "hostess" and one of my best friends, Isabella, complained.

"I said I was sorry," I countered.

"We can't have sleeping bag boxing with only three sleeping bags," she complained some more. "CC, just go call your mom in the dining room."

"Where?"

"Ugh. You've been to my house every weekend since, what, sixth grade and you still don't know your way around?"

"I barely got my own house down," I justified.

"Whatever. Just go up the stair, then do like a U- turn to the right and you'll be in the kitchen. Cross the kitchen and hang a right. The dining room is right there. No one's really home, so you'll have some quiet to call your mom to get the extra sleeping bag." I rolled my eyes. "Since it is your turn."

"What happened to your spare spare?" Hope, my other best friend asked.

"Brother took it camping," Izzy and I said at the same time.

"In this weather?" Hope asked. I had to admit that it being early March in Pennsylvania wasn't the warmest place.

"Yeah, I know. He's always been crazy, as you guys know," Izzy ranted. "I mean, why can't he get some common sense?" Hope and I shrugged. "Will you go call your mom now?"

I stood up from the pillows that Izzy and I scattered across the basement floor. I climbed up the stair, nearly tripping on my long blue pajama pants several times. I pulled my phone out of my large pockets as I entered the kitchen. I pressed my finger to the screen and unlocked it. I entered the dining room as the passcode screen popped up. I stopped walking and made no move to type my passcode.

It was a pair of black jeans that stopped me. My eyes traveled up to see a dark gray sweater, pale skin and messy black hair. His hair looked like it was a lot longer than it was because his bowed head made most of his hair fall in front of his face and eyes. He slowly looked up from the phone in his hand. Our eyes connected and we stared at each other for a minute or so, taking in all the details of the other.

I noticed his slightly sunken in face, but a curl of my brown hair fell in my face and blocked some my vision. I reached up to move it, but he moved his arm a bit as if to stop me. I saw my blue eyes reflect in his eyes. I blushed a bit as he did, but we didn't look away. I felt so enchanted at the encounter that I almost missed Izzy yelling at me.

"Hey, CC!" Izzy called. "Did you call your mom yet?!"

I slowly turned my head to answer, not breaking eye contact until I could barely see him. I fully turned my head to yell back, "Not yet! Just give me a minute." I quickly spun around to a pair of gray socks and black jeans sprint up the stairs. I sighed at the now known fact that I would probably only see him in my dreams now. I had been so enchanted at the moment and the recall that I didn't realize Izzy walking towards me.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I spun to face her.

"Yeah. Yeah. Hey, quick question. Do you have cousins?" I asked.

"Yeah. I mean, who doesn't? Why?"

I faked my answer, " 'Cause, girl, I totally saw someone who looked just like you yesterday, when I went to the store."

"Well, they wouldn't have been my cousin, then."

"What?!" I was quite shocked. I knew the guy had been family, but cousins? "Do my ears deceive me? Your cousins don't like you?" I examined her dirty blonde hair, tanned skin and green eyes. She defiantly didn't look like the black hair and pale skin boy I saw moments before.

"I mean, your cousins don't look like you," she said as the door bell rang.

"PIZZA!" We shouted as we ran, well - she ran and I followed - to the door. We got the pizzas and sodas and headed back down to the basement. I turned my head a little as we reached the top of the stairs and saw the guy again. I stopped for a second before I followed Izzy down the stairs.

"Finally! I'm staving," Hope said, grabbing the pizzas. She flipped open the lid to the top one, grabbed two slices and set the other box on the pillows. She started to stuff them into her mouth when there was a knock on the basement. We looked at each other. The door opened and the guy came down the stairs. He did look at me once before looking at the pizzas.

"Aunt Clare said I gotta share a pizza with her," he said quietly. We looked at Hope before she grabbed the bottom box and held it out. He grabbed it and said, "Thanks." He went up the stairs without another word, or noise.

"Who the freak was that?" Hope said after she swallowed her huge bite.

"That was my weirdo cousin," Izzy shook her head, ashamed.

"Why is he here?"

"He's staying with us until he can go back home," Izzy looked a bit sad.

"Uh-huh. What's wrong with his house?" I asked.

"He said he needed to come here for a while." Izzy quickly shook her head. "So, are we gonna eat or not?" We ate the pizzas by the time my mom showed up with the extra sleeping bag. When I brought it down, Izzy and Hope had decided that we would box after we watched a movie or two and told stories.

"Okay. That one was pretty good," I began.

"You have a better one?" Izzy crossed her arms.

"Actually, I do." I smiled as I began my story. It was a spin-off of a story I read online, so I knew it would be just the right amount of scary. As I finished, Hope was rocking back and forth. "Geez, I'm sorry, Hope. I didn't mean to scare you. I just was trying to make it scary."

"Way to go, CC," Izzy rolled her eyes. Somehow, Izzy was able to calm Hope down enough for us to say goodnight before falling asleep.

I woke up to see the guy standing over me. I got freaked out and backed away from his flashlight. He tried to hush me without making noise. He pointed up and I nodded. I climbed out of my sleeping bag. We walked up the stair, but I tripped towards the top. He quickly turned off his flashlight as I heard Izzy stir.

"CC, where you going?" She asked.

"I need some water," I said, putting pressure on my busted lip.

"Okay. Just come back soon." With that, we finished climbing the stairs and closed the door. We walked into the kitchen where he turned on the light. I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light.

"Well, [freak]! I didn't mean to make you trip," he said, examining my busted lip. He got a napkin and got it wet. He passed it to me. I placed the cool napkin on my bleeding lip. "Now I feel so [freaking] bad. Geez. I'm so sorry."

I giggled, "Stop apologizing already." He closed his mouth. "Wow! That shut you up." I giggled some more from the little sleep I got between the time I fell asleep and the time he woke me up. "So, you got a name?"

"Well, duh, [freakbutt]. It's..." he paused. "What the [heck] is yours?"

"I'm Caroline, or CC, as Izzy calls me," I smiled. "So, what is your name? I'm guessing your last name isn't Lambert." Izzy's last name is Lambert.

"No, it's not. It's Vantas. I'm Karkat Vantas."

DUH DUH DUN! R&R PLEASE R&R