A/N: Okay, trying my luck at JohnDave here, so, yeah. I do not own Homestuck.
"Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday dear John,
Happy birthday to me." I smiled a bitter smile, "And many more to come."
It was six minutes past midnight, and my childhood friends just cancelled their plans with me. I had felt pretty heartbroken, since my dad had been hyping me up about my birthday for the last few days, and I hadn't noticed that it had gotten to me.
I honestly didn't really like my birthday. I was fine with other people's birthdays, but, a day dedicated to me, sounded really selfish in my eyes, and I didn't like it when a group of people stared at me, expecting me to do certain things, and in the end, it made me dread next year's birthday.
Then again, I wasn't a party person. I liked small gatherings, not huge parties. I didn't have anything against them, just didn't really like them.
A distinct ring came from my computer, and I sat down at my desk lazily, and saw pesterchum open, like always, and a new window was open, red text shining back at me. I really didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment.
-turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 12:14 AM-
TG: hey john surprised youre still awake
EB: yeah, I couldn't sleep :B
TG: I see
TG: whats up?
EB: just finished watching Con Air. Best. Movie. EVER.
TG: ….i see
EB: ?
TG: is something wrong, john?
EB: Noooooooope! Why do you ask?
TG: seems like some things bothering you.
EB: nope. :B
TG: okay. cool.
EB: hey, Dave, I'm going to try to go to sleep again, so, good night.
TG: nite john
-turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 12:21 AM-
I flopped back unto my bed, burying my head into pillows, muffling the groan escaping my mouth. How did he catch on so quickly? I mean, it's a bit a hard to read expressions through a computer, right? I stifled another groan, realizing the time. I still had school the next day. I wasn't lucky like Rose who had her birthday in December, and the chances of a snow day on her birthday was quite high, unlike my birthday was in April, and in Washington no less.
I sat up and walked to my closet, pulling out a pair of blue pajamas, and slipped them on, turning off the light on my way to the bed. I collapsed onto the mattress, face first, letting out a long groan, dreading school the next day. I reached up and turned on my alarm, setting it to 5:30 AM, and then slid under the covers, waiting for sleep to drag me under.
I laid there for a while, making out shapes on my ceiling, thinking about what the next day would hold. I spent hours trying to fall asleep, until I gave up, and quickly brought my computer to my bed, popping in a random movie, watching the movie with blank eyes, only registering the movie had actually been playing when the final credits started to roll. I sighed and looked up at my clock, the time reading 4:45 AM. I quickly decided that it was about time to get up anyways, so I untangled the covers from around my body, and slowly got up, the side effects of pulling an all-nighter already rearing its ugly head. I walked about house, not worried about waking my father, since he was on a week-long business trip.
I stumbled into the kitchen, pulling random things out of the fridge and cabinets, spacing out as I munched on stale cereal. After I had rinsed my bowl and spoon, and walked back up to my room, dressing in a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, and a big blue hoodie. I walked down the stairs once more and picked up my back pack at the bottom, and I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and walked out the door, since it was only five o'clock, I would have plenty of time to simply walk to school. I started down my driveway, hitting the road. The sun hadn't risen yet, and I didn't expect it to rise anytime soon. I set to a fast walk, and pulled out my phone, opening pesterchum, only seeing no one online. Not like I could blame them, different time zones were hard to work around, especially when balancing school and homework in the mix.
But, for some odd reason, I felt the need to tell someone about the small things that were running about my mind, even if they were half asleep. I was just about to pester Dave, when my phone rang. I closed pesterchum, and opened my messages, seeing that the newest one was from my father.
Hello Son. My Work Trip Has Been Extended. Happy Birthday. How Old Are You Now?
I stopped walking, just staring at the black text. My own father didn't even know how old I was. That just hurt. My mother was dead. My nana was dead. I only had Jade as a sister, but she didn't even live with us. So why was it so hard for my father to remember how old I was? I would maybe understand if he got my birth date wrong, but my age? Even worse, this wasn't the first time this had happened. Multiple times in middle school, I had retaken tests after school, and I would have to wait five hours after the test because my own father had forgotten his only son. He went on business trips, and then almost forgot what I looked like. It wasn't a silly joke he pulled on me either. This was pure forgetfulness. And it hurt. It hurt more than it should have.
I could feel tears start to form and I blinked them away quickly. I wasn't to cry for the bastard this time. I turned on my heel and headed for home. Once there I stomped up the stairs to my bedroom, deciding to not go to school. I threw my backpack onto my bed and I stormed up to my bedroom wall, where a giant US map hung, and I placed my finger on Maple Valley, the place where I lived. Grabbing a red marker from my desk, I drew a line, from Maple Valley through Idaho, to Montana, down to Wyoming, to Nebraska, through Iowa, into Illinois, Ohio, then West Virginia, into Virginia, then dropping down into North and South Carolina, into Georgia and into Florida. Then, I hooked it into the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi, crossing into Louisiana, and then ending in Texas.
I was going to go on a small trip. But if I was going to leave on my own, I was going to have fun. Traveling half the country would be worth it, and as a bonus, I was going to be seeing my best bro, Dave. And I wasn't going to change my mind.
