God you hated dreambubbles. They were so confusing and you could get lost so easily if you weren't careful or jumped at the wrong time. Plus there was that stupid really strong wind you felt sometimes that would pop you in an out of bubbles really fast, no matter how much you tried to stop. And then there was that strange, slightly staticy noise that surrounded you when you passed from one dream bubble to the next.
Plus you were lost. You kind of should have mentioned that earlier.
You looked around your current location, LOLAR, and sighed. This was not the place you wanted to be. It's not like you knew where you were going anyway, though. But if you got to wherever it was you wanted to go, you would know.
The air felt slightly heavier for a second, and you knew that if you wanted to leave, it would have to happen in a few moments. You supposed that the longer you were dead, the easier it would be to pass through the bubbles, and you wouldn't have to wait for these damned passing times. But you were getting the hang of it! With those thoughts, you closed your eyes and leapt.
The static filled your head. You cringed and covered your ears. Although you knew it was only for a few moments, it felt like hours before you landed. The noise seemed to made you lose track of time. You landed on solid ground and opened your eyes to a happily familiar sight.
The snow covered land of LOFAF was just how it was when you have last been there. That just happened to be a few hours ago, but whatever. It felt like ages since you died. You smiled and spun around. A glimpse of something was standing a bit of ways away from you.
You stopped and walked closer to the figure and oh no. The blond hair blew in the slight wind as he stood in the snow, making everything much brighter than it should. His blood stained shirt seemed old and worn, but still looked wet. The holes in his chest told you what exactly happened and you felt a lump in your throat as you stepped in front of him.
He looked at you silently, seemingly focused on your face. You couldn't tell because of his aviators. He opened his mouth, but closed it.
"Jade," he said, and the way he said it made your heart heavy. It sounded so full of hurt. "Jade," he said again. "What.. What are you doing here."
You stared at him. Your mouth went dry and you had to swallow before you began to speak.
"I, um. I kind of, well… I died." A silence filled the air and you swallowed again. "It was a doomed timeline. Nothing to really be sad over. Everyone was kind of dead already, and I just so happened to be in the way of a sword! Yeah, umm, my dog is.. Not the best friend a girl could have. But most of the trolls were still alive! And I think one of them might have been going God Tier? And there was this cute little guy wrapped in a bed sheet! And I was flying around Prospit a lot! It was really fun, if you didn't count the weird things in the sky. And Rose and John were an item! Karkat apparently got them together? And, and, and oh my god, Dave, you were there and-"
You were suddenly crushed in a hug. It took you a moment to realize that holy shit Dave was hugging the hell out of you. He buried his face in your hair and tightened his grip, as if he were afraid that if he let go, he would be holding onto air.
You heard heavy breathing and crying that was a bit too loud for comfort and Dave pulled back. He studied your face and wiped tears from your cheeks. The crying was coming from you.
"I'm sorry."
You shook your head. "N-no, you don't have anything to be sorry for."
"I couldn't protect you."
"What? No no no, it's not like I'm your Jade, right? I mean, I'm from a different timeline, and there was nothing you could do about it!" You sniffled and wiped you eyes.
He seemed to swallow, and pulled you into a hug again. You wrapped your arms around him, too.
"Jade," you heard him say. "I know you're from a different timeline, but you're still Jade, and I want to say something to you before I chicken out again because I know at least someone will know. I know that's totally selfish and not fair to you, and before something happens to fuck up this moment clearly happening under the supervision of some deity, I just want you to know that-"
The wind blew quickly, and Dave's words got lost in the wind. No, not this again.
"You heard me, Harley? I-"
The wind picked up again and suddenly you were out of Dave's arms and in the staticy void in between the dreambubbles. Your breathing became quick and ragged, and you shut you eyes. Tears were starting to fall from your eyes again, and you tried desperately to stop. Fuck mind over matter, the world said, and you continued to sob.
You landed again, but disregarded everything and curled into a ball. You were not in the mood to do anything, and hopefully the wind would pick you up again and take you to a deserted planet or something.
After a few minutes of sobbing, you looked up and found yourself in a bedroom. You recognized it as your own, and though you were dead and the dead probably didn't need sleep, you dragged yourself into the bed and covered yourself with the sheets.
You decided that maybe if you tried to sleep, you would get relief from the sudden heartache you were experiencing.
And you were still lost.