With Every Step
Prologue -
Nepeta Leijon was a very... complicated girl. She was always teased or made fun of by other kids, but her buddy Equius Zahhak would always stand up for her. Her love for cats was almost unnatural, and she loved to play pretend. But one day, in 5th grade, without warning, Equius had to move for a couple years. Nepeta was devastated. Her best friend had said, "It was very suddenly planned, and I didn't have enough time to tell you..." She had replied with a "I hate you!" and ran away. She regretted it the moment it happened because it was the very next day Equius left.
But maybe it was a blessing in disguise? Because only 2 days afterward a new guy came rolling in.
"Class, meet Karkat Vantas. He's moved all the way here from California! Karkat, would you like to say something to your new classmates?" The teacher had introduced Karkat in the nicest way possible, but all Karkat could say was:
"Fuck all you guys." It was needless to say he was sent into the principals office straight away.
But it was also in those 2 days that Nepeta had gotten the worse treatment of her peers. Without Equius around, no one was there to scare them off. But when Karkat came, he sure scared them off good. The first time he had stood up against the bullies was at recess, when they had Nepeta cornered against a fence. They kept laughing and laughing and laughing, throwing insults like Babe Ruth threw baseballs. She cried and cried, curling up against the fence in sheer horror. But just when it got too far, Karkat had burst in and punched the leader of the three, knocking him onto the ground. The whimpers the bullies made were priceless.
"You guys are such lowlife fucks to go around bullying girls? You're a bunch of wimps," he had said. Nepeta stared up at the small, angry boy in awe. It was then, and just then, she had fallen in love.