Disclaimer: Everything in Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie. I have nothing. Sadly. Besides OCs.

PROMPT: With Dirk gone, Jake can't think straight. He's lonely and hardly ever leaves his apartment. His cousin John comes to visit him sometimes, and one day, he brings his friend with him. Said friend immediately catches Jake's eyes. He looks just like Dirk, except his shades are much less stupid and pointy. He demands himself to get in this boy's pants before he leaves, and it doesn't matter how he goes about doing so, as long as he achieves his goal. - From a friend.

Dirk was gone.

That was the first thing that always came to mind whenever he had to shuffle around his apartment- the same apartment that had once belonged to the two of them, as they'd been so in love, so happy together, until Dirk had one day realized that nothing was right, that he wasn't gay. He'd only been forcing himself into being gay, to make everything seem better than it really was-, forced to look at everything that had once belonged to the two of them.

It hurt him. So badly. But he couldn't bring himself to leave, to find somewhere else to live.

Hell, he couldn't even bring himself to leave the home at all, to go get groceries or anything like that. John was doing that for him now, even though his cousin continues to come and go as he pleases, to make sure that he was alright and everything.

Even though he wasn't.

But a lot of things tend to change when you remain locked up in an apartment for almost a year, with just one or two people coming to visit you every now and again. Like today, for instance; John had brought a friend with him.

A friend that looked like his Dirk- no, not his-, but with less pointy, stupid- but adorable-, shades, these ones more normal. And the hair.. It was the same platinum blonde, just differently styled, and this boy seemed ever so slightly taller.

"Jake?" Asks John quietly, waving a hand in front of the ex-adventurer's face, snapping the green eyed male from his reverie as he noticed he'd been staring.

"...Quite sorry 'bout that," mutters Jake quietly as he offers a pale hand, the tan that had once been a part of his physique no longer there due to hardly any sunlight. "I'm Jake English, John's cousin."

"Dave Strider, Dirk's brother," Dave answers, shaking the hand. "I know about you from him. Sorry about what happened. We, all of us, had no clue he was going to do that to you."

Jake flinches back, yanking his hand free and moving away from the two, although on the inside he was crying out to Dave to just help him stop the pain. Maybe another Strider was what he needed, in order to make him feel normal again, to make him happy, and to get him back to his adventuring self.

"John, I.. I need more groceries." He mutters softly, peeking in his fridge before he turns, forcing himself not to look over at the blonde male as his gaze went straight to John. "The card is on the couch, so just take that. I'll be in my room. Just.. C-come say goodbye when you're going to go, but don't bring /him/ with you."

With that, Jake shoots a small, feeble glare at Dirk- no, Dave!-, before he turns and hightails his way out of there, so he didn't have to look at him anymore.

John merely watches him go before he helplessly looks to Dave, sighing as the two said nothing before he made his way to the couch, grabbing the card that Jake had been talking about.

"We'll be back," John calls out, getting nothing in reply, before he tugs Dave out the door and down the stairs so they could go shopping for Jake.

When Jake hears the door close, he visibly relaxes, but the pain in his mind doesn't leave, not after seeing someone so closely resembling the man that had left him for no reason, besides stating that 'he wasn't gay, hadn't ever been gay, and didn't love Jake'.

Flinching back against his door, he sniffles, yanking his glasses off and placing them down on a nearby side table before he slid down, palms of his hands pressed against his eyes as he tried to keep himself from bursting into tears.

He wasn't even able to tell when he began shaking.

And this was just day one of the torture he was about to be going through, since Dirk- DAVE-, was visiting his cousin. Jesus fuck this was going to be a horrible few weeks for him.

John returned not that long after they had left, both his and Dave's arms loaded with groceries that would hopefully last his cousin for the next week, and if not, then he knew that Jake would call if he needed anything.

Quietly, the smaller male tells Dave to wait for a moment as he headed off to Jake's room, entering and closing the door softly behind him.

"Jake..?"

Quietly asking this, he moves over to the lump beneath the blankets, looking him over for a moment before he sat himself on the edge, reaching a hand out to shake Jake awake since he seemed to be sleeping.

"Don't touch me," he snaps, slapping the hand away before he ducks beneath his blankets again, curling up further. "Don't bring him back here. I don't care if he's your friend. He... He reminds me too much of.. O-of you know who. I keep calling him that name inside of my head, and it hurts.. It hurts so much, John."

And here came the tears once again, although he forced himself to remain quiet as he wept beneath his blankets, once more shaking fiercely as he laid there.

"I have to bring him, Jake... He's my friend. I can't just leave him at home while I come see you. And hey, maybe it'd be best for you to talk with him. He's not Dirk, Jakey. He won't do that to you. I won't let him. Hell, if you ended up with him, I'd make sure he didn't ever hu-"

A loud slap resounds throughout the room, Jake sitting up now, hand outstretched, green eyes glinting with anger and obvious sadness.

"Don't you even think of trying to tell me that whole shpeel of 'if you date him, I'll make sure nothing wrong happens!'. You said the same thing with Dirk, and now look at where we are, John." He says, flopping right back down and yanking the blankets over his body, hands curled into fists around the fabric of his blankets.

Slowly, his hand moves up to touch the tender red spot on his face, rubbing gently before he drops his hand to his lap, sitting there silently for a moment. As the moment passed, he forced himself to smile and stand up.

"Sorry, Jake. I'll keep quiet about that kind of stuff," he says. "We'll see you next weekend. Try to force yourself to eat each day, even if you aren't hungry. Bye."

With that, John left quickly, ignoring any questions that came from Dave as he slammed the apartment door shut, locking it with the key he'd been given.

Jake didn't even bother to say goodbye.

Next week.

The next weekend was quick in coming, and when Jake received a phone call from John, stating that only Dave would be coming since John was sick, Jake was reluctant as hell in opening the door to greet his cousin's friend.

"Hello," mutters Jake as he awkwardly stands there, forcing himself to just stare at the ground instead of looking up at Dave's face.

Dave, however, didn't even give a reply, just gently shouldered past Jake and into the apartment. When the door was closed, the taller of the two wasted no time in pressing Jake against the door, the smaller's back to the door, the taller's hands on either side of his head, his hips pressing against Jake's.

"D-Dave!" Yelping, his hands were quick to move up and press against the Strider's chest, green eyes wide as they stared up into shade covered eyes. "What do you think you're doing? You're only supposed to be here to get the card so you can get my groceries!"

"Yeah, well, that's not the only reason I'm here. John's sick, so he sent me, which means I can do what I wanted to do when I met you last weekend."

"Dave, we're strangers! I hardly know you, and this is hardly appropriate, so if you'd please release me already!" He squeaks, shoving at Dave's chest.

"No can do, English," answers the Strider as he leans down, smirking faintly as Jake's head thumped against the door in a vain attempt at getting away.

Sadly, he couldn't, and the younger male's lips met his, gently at first before more pressure was applied, a tongue flicking out to pass along Jake's lower lip, asking nicely for entrance.

Entrance that of course was not granted, as Jake feebly continued to attempt to push Dave away from himself, not wanting this at all.

...Well, maybe a tiny part of him did want it..

"D-Da-"

He goes to say Dave's name, wondering if it would somehow snap him out of this, but immediately the ex-adventurer regrets it as a pink tongue pushes past his parted lips quickly, forcing entrance to explore inside of his mouth, much like Dirk had done with him.

Jake doesn't even notice it when tears begin slipping down his cheeks, or when he begins reciprocating the kiss, arms moving from Dave's chest to his neck, wrapping around him and pulling him down closer, so that it was easier for them to kiss.

But that was when Dave pulled away, with a quick kiss against his lips afterwards. Gently untangling himself from Jake, he looks down at him. "Where's the card so I can go shopping?"

"...Th-the.. The couch. Where it always is." He meekly says, slipping past Dave and quickly hurrying to his room where he locks himself in, tears still streaming down his face as he stood there, unsure of how to take what had just happened to him.

First thing first, though, Dave had just fucking kissed him. And not even one of those small little pecks that those cute little couples did, but a full out French kiss. And without even asking him if he was alright with letting that happen to him.

Growling softly, suddenly, the now angry boy grabs his phone from his nightstand, dialing in John's number and calling him, ignoring the sound of the front door opening and then closing. When John answered, he was prepared to give him a piece of his mind; until he heard just what John decided to greet him with.

"So, did he kiss you?"

...Oh.

"Was it a simple little kiss or did he go all out like he told me he was gonna do?"

Well, obviously it had been a planned thing. For all Jake knew, John wasn't even sick, and had just been pretending so that Dave could go on his own and execute his plan on making Jake feel horrible.

"I hate you so much, John. Yeah, he kissed me. Yeah, it wasn't a small little kiss. And you know what, I fucking liked it, and that hurts. Because I don't want anyone else but Dirk, and you very well know this and yet here you are, still trying to play matchmaker, and with Dirk's little brother, no less!" Yells Jake, voice rising with every word until he was full out screaming.

"Yeah, well, you need to fall in love again, and if that means you fall in love with Dave, then so be it! You need to start going out again, and hell, you don't want to go out and meet someone else, so maybe my friend is the best option for you, Jake! He might be Dirk's little brother, but at least even he is willing to give this a chance, to see if he likes you and if you like him!"

Jake was nearly in tears once again as he stood there, clutching the phone tightly as he glared at his wall, sniffling before he spoke quietly. "I don't want to fall in love. I don't want to meet someone else. I'm not ready, John. And yet here you are, trying to make me fall for Dirk's little brother who will just end up doing the exact same thing as his older brother."

With that, he hangs up, throwing his phone into the corner of his room, on a pile of shirts that were clean and yet not put away. As he stands there, he quietly sighs, trying to calm himself down, hands pressing against his face.

Swallowing thickly, he stalks over to his bed, sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed as he slowly kept himself from bursting into tears over something as small as already beginning to like the younger Strider that was out getting his groceries.

This was not going to be fun. He just wanted Dave gone and out of his life already, never to return, before he did end up falling for the Strider, and ended up getting hurt again. When he hears the ringing of his phone, he ignores it, flopping back on his bed.

At hearing the ringing cut off and the door to his apartment open and close once again- damn that stupid Strider for being so quick in getting his stuff-, he sits up, stiff as he glared at his locked door.

Yeah, it was locked, but if Dave was anything like Dirk, he'd easily be able to unlock it and get inside. That was how Dirk had gotten into their room countless times when Jake was mad at him and wanted to be alone. Of course those nights resulted in some amazing make up sex and all of that wonderful stuff.

But...

He didn't want to remember that stuff.

So when the lock clicked and the door was opened, he blinks at Dave, glaring after a few hesitant seconds, "Get out. That door was locked for a reason, you asshole." He snarls, crossing his arms over his chest.

Surprisingly, he was prepared when Dave said nothing and just further entered the room, hands flying back to stop himself from falling over when his shoulder was pushed to get him to lay on his back.

"I said get out! I swear, I will call the damn cops if you so much as try to lay a hand on me again!" He all but yells, using his feet this time, one kicking out and right up between Dave's legs, Jake giving a satisfied smirk as Dave backed away, wincing, clutching at his crotch. "Get out!"

Sighing, Dave just turns to leave, exiting the room before he paused and turned back, tossing the card to the other before turning and actually leaving this time. As Jake catches the card, he stares at the door before shaking his head and getting up, heading off to check what had been gotten for him this time.

When he sees nothing there, he curses loudly and stomps off to his room, grasping his phone and calling John back, cutting him off before he could say anything.

"That jerk didn't even get me my groceries like he was supposed to! And you say that I'm supposedly going to fall for his assholeish face?!" He all but yells, hanging up afterwards, not wanting to hear John's reply.

Everything this day was just shitty as fuck, and he really wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep on his bed. But sadly, he had to go out and get the groceries that the stupid Strider hadn't done.

Sighing, he tosses on some clothing to cover up his pale skin even more before he pockets his card, heading out of his apartment rather hesitantly.

And there he sees Dave, waiting, leaning against the wall opposite his door.

Fuck.

"I knew you'd end up coming out if I 'forgot' to get the groceries." He says, hands moving from his pockets as he pushed himself off from the wall, standing straight and stretching slightly. "This is good. First step to recovery is leaving your apartment and actually heading out to get some new human contact."

Jake turns, quickly going to return to the inside of his apartment, but finds his path blocked by the blonde asshole. "Damn you, Strider! You and your brother both, for having those, er, flash steps!"

Sighing though, and accepting his fate, he turns away, growling quietly to himself about stupid Striders and everything as he began heading off, stomping, clearly annoyed at what he was being forced into, just because he'd decided to get his own groceries since Dave hadn't gotten them like he'd been supposed to.

The two don't talk on their way to the store, people they passed staring blatantly, whispering when they thought he couldn't hear them, little snatches that he caught being, 'Look, he's finally out again!' and, '...heard he was dumped roughly...' and of course his favorite one, '...that poor boy, I pity him for what happened...'

Fuck them. Fuck them all because none of them even knew the full truth as to what happened, just that he was a bit of a shut in now because of what his ex had done to him. None of them even knew what he'd done, much less how much it had hurt Jake!

"Can y'all stop whispering about him?" Dave suddenly calls out, surprising Jake, who stops, turning to stare up at the blonde. "He's right here. Big whoop, he's out of his apartment for the first time in a while, oh my god he's so sad because of what happened with him and his ex, but y'all don't need to be muttering when you think we can't hear you. So go on your merry way and stop fucking talking about him like you know what even happened."

Well. That was quite unexpected.

However, he does realize that there was no more whispering around him and he sighs quietly, merely sending Dave a thankful glance before he hurried off to the store, hands shoved in his hoodie- actually it was Dirk's, but he'd kept it hidden and it now belonged to him- pockets as he looked down.

"You need meat, vegetables, and grain items," murmurs the blonde as he walks next to him, hands in his pockets as well, his red eyed gaze darting to the dark haired male before turning away as he led him to a cart, grabbing it and pushing it along.

A small nod comes from the smaller of the two before he quietly talks, "Why couldn't you just get the stuff yourself? I'm not ready for any of this. It's been a year, and yet everyone is still whispering about what happened whenever I do come outside. This is why I like staying inside, and to myself."

Dave says nothing to that, unsure of how to really respond as he just walked alongside of the other, leading him down the aisles and choosing the stuff they needed in order for Jake to stock up for the week. Finally, though, he speaks, "Yeah, well, sooner or later you'd need to face them anyway, and it's better to get it done sooner rather than later. The more you wait, the worse it's gonna get. And I don't want you to get treated even worse for what happened with him; 'specially since it wasn't even your fault. It was his for getting rid of you, when you're the best guy and were perfect for him." He gives the smallest of smiles at that, glancing over at Jake again.

Jake just sniffles quietly, giving a small and weak nod. Perhaps Dave was right. Maybe it was time for him to start going out again. However, if that was what was going to happen, he didn't want to do it alone. Not until he got used to public life again. "F-fine. However, you better be ready to come see me every other day so we can go outside together. I'm not quite ready to do it on my own just yet."

The Strider just quietly chuckles at that, soon finishing getting the things that Jake would need for the week before leading the other off to the cash registers, holding his hand out for the card. When it was in his hand, he makes a soft noise of disapproval, hearing whispering about Jake from the next line over.

"If you've got something to say," he loudly says, looking pointedly at the women, "then say it to his face instead of talking about him behind his back. Y'all are such asses, thinking that you can talk about him just because he's finally out of his house. Oh my fucking god, he's not a shut in. Why the hell do you think he was for so long? Because of your fucking whispering about him!"

There's a quiet moment in the front of the store as the women looked at each other and then at Dave, and then to someone behind them.

The voice that Jake heard next sent shivers up his spine.

And not the good ones.

"Well, well, well. I heard my little brother was in town. I just had no clue that he was in town, fucking my ex. Guess that's why he's been locked away. You didn't want him telling people about how bad you are at sex," purrs out the deep voice, as the elder blonde Strider stepped out from behind the two women, arms crossed over his chest.

Two voices intermingle as one, one voice full of sadness, the other full of anger.

"Dirk."

Panda: Well, there you have it. The first chapter to my newest story.

It'd be nice for a few reviews or visits to read it!

I'll be updating biweekly, because I am still plagued by the troubles known as school and other dilemmas.

Thank you for reading!