There was no denying it. Jade loved college. Sure, assignments were a pain in the ass, and lectures could be boring sometimes, but she loved the freedom of it all. The city excited her, and she made so many new friends, like her roommate, Rose, even after living together for only a few months. She also got on great with Rose's girlfriend, Kanaya. She practically lived in their dorm half the time. It was Kanaya who introduced her to Karkat.

One of Jade's favourite things about college is that everyone is a friend of a friend!

She tried reminding herself why college life is so great as she sat at a computer in the library. The library itself was quite modern, with white walls, white chairs and desks, and white shelves with loads of books that where organised into labeled sections. At the back the were desks with computers, where Jade sat, three word documents open in front of her, and a power point. She rubbed her temples, took a few deep breathes, and vowed to never let her assignments to pile up like this ever again. She came here at around one o'clock, and it was nearly five. She decided she had had enough for one day, as she saved her work and shut down her computer. Tonight couldn't come soon enough.

She walked out of the library and into the canteen. She really needed a coffee. As she walked towards the shop, she checked her purse, hoping, praying, that she had enough… Yes! She did! She went straight to the machine and got herself a paper cup. She really wanted a pumpkin spice latte, but this would be good enough. It wasn't even Autumn. Admittedly, she had an unhealthy obsession with pumpkins. As she went to pay, she wondered if it could even be considered unhealthy if the item of obsession is a fruit.

"Why the fuck are you staring off into space now?" Her attention was brought back by the grouchy voice beside her.

"Oh, just thinking about pumpkins." She said, looking at the boy. Karkat more or less always had a scowl on his face, even when he wasn't angry, it was just his normal expression. As she got to know him, she began to see him for the nerd he really was; the nerd who loves really cheesy movies and video games, and only sometimes gets irrationally angry over simple things that upset him.

Honestly, it all just made him even more adorable.

"Why the hell would…" He started, but quickly thought better of it. "Never mind. I probably don't even want to know."

"It's great to see you too, Karkat."

"You're weird, Harley. You know that?"

"And you aren't?" He just rolled his eyes at her as their turns to pay came. Then they went into the canteen and sat at the fountain.

"So how are you getting on with you're assignments?" He asked. "Kanaya said you had a lot of them."

"I'm halfway there, I suppose." The thought of them gave her a headache.

"Did you leave it till the last minute again?"

"The last week and a half, actually." She corrected.

"It was a figure of speech."

"It's a crappy figure of speech. Who leaves work to the very last sixty seconds?"

"No one-"

"Exactly" she said with a triumphant smile.


"Ugh, whatever." He gave up. Sometimes, she's just to head strong to argue with. Maybe that was what he liked about her? She was always so sure of herself at times when most people wouldn't be.

"What about you?" She asked. "How are you getting on?"

"Okay, I guess." He said. He hadn't expected college to be this hard, but it's nothing he can't handle. "Tonight's my night off from studying, so I'm just going to watch a few movies."

"You're not going to John's surprise party?" She asked. Karkat thought she seemed a bit disappointed, but that couldn't be right.

"No. I was going to, but I'm not really in the mood." He explained. "Are you going?"

"Yes, Rose, Dave and I have spent ages planning it, after all." She said. Dave literally invited everyone they all knew. Everyone was going, except Karkat. He felt distanced from all of them, and honestly, he felt like a loser. Jade's phone beeped, and he looked at her as she read the text she just got.

"Well, I have to go now. Rose wants me to help her get ready before we go to help out." She said, rising up from her chair and putting on her jacket. She was leaving, and Karkat wasn't sure if he wanted to be a loser anymore.

"So, I guess I'll see you on Monday?" She said as she was about to go.

"Actually… I think I will be there tonight." He decided.

"Really? That's great!" She said, beaming at him, and he knew he made a good choice.

Thanks for reading!