Alright, final check-ups. Laptop-check, one bag of clothes that look roughly the same, but in a cool way-check, one bag of ridiculously awesome stuff like his katana and a few jars of dead stuff-check, casual everyday backpack that was practically empty-check, and most importantly, the shades-always a check and always god damn rad as hell. Dave thought to himself while he got all the stuff out of the trunk of the cab.
The straps of the two heavy bags supported by each of his shoulders were digging painfully into them, but the blond ignored it, walking the short distance across the street to his college. The strap, along with the fabric of Dave's shirt was definitely going to leave marks on his shoulders. Though, his face remained expressionless through the burning while his hands were loosely holding the ends of the straps. It would take a lot more than that for him to break his cool.
There was really almost a cliché setting around the place: the perfectly mowed, sickly green lawn with a few trees to make it look more like nature and not like a mini golf field, where pretty much everything was made from plastic, those motivational posters on the nearby stands with things like 'anything is possible if you believe in yourself' written on them, a few older students walking along in their representative college T-shirts and caps giving out flyers, smiling at everyone and everything as if they had a scorpion shoved up their ass. John would love this place, Dave thought.
"Would you hurry the fuck up, I'm melting over here!" Karkat shouted impatiently waiting near the entrance of the huge building. He kept tapping his foot as a nervous tick and moving his dark hair out of the way so it wouldn't stick to his face.
"Yeah, because screaming will help you cool down." Dave replied walking in the same regular pace that was not too slow or too fast, just right. Karkat sighed with an unnecessary eye roll, swiping away a lock of hair that fell back on his face
"Just go get your god damn papers sorted, I'll take your disgusting fucking bags to our room." He liked to emphasize his swear words usually by scrunching up his face a bit to show that yes, he was indeed disgusted by those bags.
"I love it when you spoil me like that babe." Dave said curling up the corner of his mouth in a barely visible smirk as they were walking in the building. Karkat stopped in his tracks like he was just stung and turned around slowly
"The fuck did you just call me you shitstick?" he asked narrowing his eyes, almost snarling at him in a way that was supposed to look threatening but really didn't.
"You know, your face can stick like that if you're not careful." Dave said ignoring the question and pointing to his face which was almost comically fuming right now.
"Do you wanna sleep in the fucking hallway tonight?"
"Oh, don't be like that babe." He replied with the same smirk on his face completely unfazed by Karkat's famous 'shocked/disgusted and about to go on a murder spree' face. He was gonna love living with this guy, he could feel it.
"If you don't stop calling me that, I'll piss in these bags, you got that asshole?" he threatened raising his eyebrows
"Don't you fucking dare touch my stuff." Dave's smirk disappeared in an instant. He had the tendency to pour out his words in a quick yet articulate manner when he was angry, like he couldn't hold the words in.
"Then stop calling me 'babe.'"
"Fine." Dave sighed with a defeated slump of shoulders "I'll meet you in our new room in a few."
"Oh actually..." Karkat started saying and Dave stopped in his tracks watching as his roommate was struggling with saying something "I was kinda planning on going around campus and meeting with a few people I know…" he started to explain throwing in an eye roll or a sigh to make it seem like he didn't really care about the things he was saying
"Dude if you wanna go out, you don't need my permission." Dave interrupted him "You're free as a fucking bird, that's what college life is all about." Though, Karkat was giving him a wide-eyed expression
"I didn't ask for a fucking lesson in philosophy. If you had let me finish, I'd have offered you to come with me and meet some people you douche."
"Oh, yeah sure that sounds pretty cool." Dave shrugged while Karkat let out a frustrated groan
"Just don't embarrass me in front of them; they're a year older than us so just be fucking cool for once."
"Me? Bro, do you see me sweatin' in this heat? Not a chance yo, 'cause I'm cool like this sick ass beat…" Dave started an unexpected improv while Karkat stared at him with the most horrified expression
"Oh my god" was all that he could mutter under his breath as Dave went on
"You gotta let it go, make a note I'm chill like the pill. Smooth as ice like Mr Bond with a license to kill." Dave finished with a small satisfied smile on his face
"Sweet Jesus do you ever shut up?!" Karkat asked incredulously almost shouting. "Just don't even speak ever, oh god." He gave Dave a disgusted look and turned to head off to their room, while Dave's smile grew bigger
"So if 'babe' is off the table, I can still call you honey bunny right?" he called after him and saw as Karkat once again stopped in his tracks just to shake his head as if Dave was an imbecile, purely for the dramatic effect.
"Well I gotta call ya something." Dave shrugged innocently as Karkat stormed off loudly and quickly.
Things went quicker in the office than he had expected. All he had to do was open his mouth and say the words 'campus' 'freshman' and 'roommate' and the old lady behind the desk gave him a form to fill out not even lifting her head from her tasks.
Dave initially planned on staying in his room all day, just to chill and get used to his new temporary home, maybe mix a beat or two on his sweet ass turntables. Those thoughts had been making camp in his head all day. The images like the small yet airy room with better acoustics than his previous room, a place for all his stuff, a comfy bed, and for once some cool people living nearby, preferably, with a few gorgeous not too cocky and perfectly dateable chicks living just across the hall. Of course that was far fetching it, but Dave could dream.
He had so long to think about it, he was actually waiting until he got to be alone with his ill beats and maybe a few beers like he would be waiting for a good, deserved nap after a tiring day. But nevertheless, he met up with Karkat no less than five minutes later.
The day was too warm for his taste. His shades kept slipping off his sweaty nose, but Dave refused to take them off.
Karkat led him around half of the campus continuously mumbling about the hellish weather and how 'bathing in fucking lava would be pretty refreshing in comparison'. Dave tuned out most of it and looked around the place he would be spending four years at, feeling little regret about leaving his home. Dave never really gave it much thought, he just assumed that he was just cool like that, he could adapt to new things like a god damn chameleon. But like a really awesome and smooth chameleon who could pick up girls and make some sick rhymes too.
They approached a group of four other students who were all lying on a big blanket continuously laughing. Though, as Dave and Karkat got closer, and Dave could see them better, he realized that all the cackling was coming from only one particularly loud girl with short, mousy hair and bright red shades.
Then there was another dark haired girl with a long floral skirt lying on her stomach, peacefully reading some book and seemingly ignoring the loud girl. Dave already admired her ability to not give a fuck.
Near her was a scrawny looking guy with small, round glasses and a worried look etched on his face as he was sitting cross legged and wildly flipping pages of a text book in search for something.
And lastly there was another guy with possibly the messiest hair he had ever seen, who was the only one paying attention to what the loud girl was doing by nodding his head in agreement and smiling non-stop. He looked like the oldest even though he and his other three friends were all in the same year. It was probably his unshaved beard and sunken eyes that were forming this weird vibe around him, which gave Dave a bad feeling.
Before they could get at a speaking distance with them, the loud girl suddenly stopped her rambling and raised her head swiftly like a dog when it hears the word 'treats!' Dave could swear to John's non-ironic love for Nic Cage that he saw her slightly sniff the air around her, before a grin spread across her face and she flung herself at their direction
"Karkat!" she exclaimed jumping into his arms with all the grace of Bambi on ice.
"Hey get the fuck off me you freak!" Karkat started struggling but she seemed to have a strong grip for a short and fragile looking girl. "Get your filthy hands off of me you clingy turd fly!"
"You haven't changed one bit." She said letting go with a bit of disappointment in her tone. The rest of the group greeted him less enthusiastically than the loud girl
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Karkat started ranting. "Can't you act like a regular non-sociopathic person for once? The concept of personal fucking space must not be that familiar to you. It's something you do not cross! If I could I'd probably extend mine to the size of god damn Texas and have barbed wire and armies of zombies protecting it and even then you'd-"
"Hey I'm sure we're all thrilled to hear the ending of that story," the loud girl interrupted him putting her hands on his shoulders "but are you going to introduce us to your friend?" she said motioning to Dave. The entire group's eyes suddenly turned to the blond like he had appeared just now.
Even if Dave was overwhelmed by this sudden attention no one would know since his eyes were shielded and his face was carved into a constant mask of coolness.
"Fine." Karkat sighed, slumping his shoulders, agitated that his rant was interrupted "Guys this is my new roommate Dave." He said in a bored tone stepping back. Dave responded with a casual "yo" directed to everyone and no one in particular at the same time.
"Dave this is Terezi" he said with an exasperated sigh and an eye roll pointing to the loud girl "Kanaya, Sollux and Gamzee."
Dave was about to respond but felt someone take hold of his arm. The loud girl was all up in his sweet personal space suddenly, touching the fabric of his shirt, his hair and his shade-oh hell no.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked stepping back out of her reach. The loud girl frowned
"Getting to know you silly!"
"Can't you do that without climbing on me? Or is this some messed up way of feeling me up. In which case I'm flattered, but lady I don't even know you or-"
"I wasn't trying to feel you up!" she said stepping back turning bright red
"I see that you neglected to inform Dave that Terezi is blind." The other girl, Kanaya said calmly to Karkat with a hint of… it was hard for Dave to name it. Was it slight sarcasm?
"It's not my fucking job to tell him your boring ass life stories." Karkat snapped back and then turned to Dave "But yeah you should probably know that she is blind, so she operates mostly by touch and hearing."
"Holy shit, you don't say." Dave replied in an even tone. Dave was embarrassed, but yet again it was impossible for the others to see it "Sorry for freaking you out like that." He said turning to Terezi "But don't ever touch my shades again, that's not alright."
"Fine fine Mr. cool guy." She replied in a mocking tone.
"So, Dave" Kanaya sat up straight, interested in him "how are you liking Florida? What are you going to study here?"
"Oh god Kanaya leave him alone or at least start with the most important question, how the hell did Karkat talk you into being roommates with him? Did he bribe you?" the specky guy, Sollux, asked closing the book but still tapping on the edge of it nervously, while Terezi laid out another blanket for the both of them to sit on.
Karkat was about to snap back at him, but Dave started talking over him
"Yeah sorta, he's gonna repay me in sexual favors."
"If you two don't shut the fuck up about this, I will not only piss in those bags, but go out, eat some hot, spicy Mexican food and shit in them as well." Karkat said quickly before anyone else cut him off
Meanwhile, Sollux tugged on Terezi's sleeve suddenly and said in a hushed voice
"Ten bucks says those two won't last living together longer than Gamzee and Tavros."
"You're on." she whispered back with a challenging look on her face. In the meantime Dave noticed that the Gamzee guy wasn't even paying attention to anything around him, even though the deal was made literally right in front of him. Was he maybe deaf? Dave thought and hoped to god he wasn't going to start sniffing him too.
Gamzee just kept rocking back and forth slowly, humming quietly in a high pitched tone making his voice sort of break and sound uneven. Dave was pretty confused until he saw the half burnt joint in his hand.
"Holy cockstorm balls, Gamzee and Tavros are living together now?" Karkat exclaimed surprised…well not really it was more of a sarcastic surprise "Those two stoned ass weirdoes deserve each other I guess."
"Yes, Gamzee forgot that dorms are mostly for first years like you guys and ended up renting the first apartment available." Kanaya explained matter-of-factly "and if you are suggesting that they are now living together as a couple, I'm afraid this is where you're wrong." Her speaking manner resembled a talking text-book. She and Rose would probably get along.
Terezi and Sollux were talking to each other about the bet probably, while Gamzee hadn't stopped humming. He was now humming a really high pitched note in short intervals.
"Who the fuck even cares? It's easier to keep track of fly farts than your relationships." Karkat remarked in a truly angry tone this time and looked away right after.
Sweat was forming on Dave's forehead uncomfortably, and the humming just wouldn't stop.
"So Dave, what are you going to study?" Kanaya asked again
"Uh yeah, right" he was trying to concentrate through the heat, but the humming seemed to have been getting louder and louder "So I'm gonna be all up in the-" the note went half a tone higher "music business like producing and mixing cause I can make some sick ass rhymes yo."
He could feel the blood pumping through the veins in his temples and his heart beat echoing in his ear drums loudly
"So, that hideous thing that you said to me earlier was supposed to be an example of that you dipping dick spack? That horrible set of words that could make an onion cry was supposed to be your rhymes?" Karkat asked outraged.
It wouldn't stop it just wouldn't.
"Hey don't go on dissing my rhymes-" it wouldn't stop. Dave's finger twitched "-they're every bit as sweet as-" why wouldn't he just shut the fuck up "as-uh-" a bead of sweat dropped down from Dave's nose "Could you fucking knock it off?!" he snapped in Gamzee's direction above his usual tone of voice. The rest of the group went quiet and stared at him with wide eyes. Shit, that was so not cool.
The only one who didn't see the significance in Dave's little outburst was Karkat and thank god for Dave he was the one who saved him from the heavy silence that settled in between the group.
"Thank fuck you finally said something sensible." He replied loudly and then turned to Gamzee "Has anyone ever told you your voice sounds as beautiful as my nails being dragged across a fucking chalkboard?" Dave's heartbeat was going back to normal, though, he was still sweating.
"Thank you, man." Gamzee replied after a pause looking sincerely thankful for the insult. His movements were slow, uncoordinated, giving the impression of a mental patient "You always were a nice motherfucker." He said emphasizing the word 'motherfucker' with such fondness as if it were a sweet nickname.
"That wasn't a compliment you pre-developed tool!" Karkat said outraged that his words were taken the wrong way.
But then again, Dave thought, what kind of idiot could mistake that for a compliment? Unless Gamzee was doing this on purpose to drive Karkat up the wall. That would actually be pretty damn funny. However, that type of ironic depth seemed unfitting for a guy who looked like someone who could happily shit his pants.
"Hey lay off of him." Terezi piped up with an annoyed look
"Oh sure, his privacy you respect." He bit back harshly and Terezi visibly turned her back on him offended. In the mean time Gamzee turned his sleepy, red eyes on Dave
"I'm sorry man, I was just trying to get into my zone y'know?" Gamzee explained with his smile still present on his face. Seriously. It never left his face. "I should've realized that a poetic soul like yours would be more sensitive and emotionally unstab-"
"Hold on there, bubba." Dave suddenly interrupted "what poetic soul are you blabbering about?" he asked getting more and more confused by this guy. Gamzee looked taken aback like it was a ridiculous question, yet the smile never left his face, it just wasn't as wide.
"You take the simple words and you make miracles out of them by making them rhyme and giving them meaning, don't you?" he asked with childish wonder after taking another smoke
"Yeah sure, whatever man, but-" Dave started quickly, but Gamzee got ahead of him
"So you're a poet."
"It's called rapping you dick, I ain't no-" but Gamzee carried on as if Dave wasn't even there while Terezi was barely holding in her laughter
"There's even a saying: one does what one is, one becomes what one does." Gamzee starred off into the distance dreamily nodding to himself
"What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?" Dave said not really asking. Sollux sighed turning to Dave
"Yeah Gamzee studies philosophy." As if that was an obvious, self-explanatory reason for his behavior.
"Whatever man, I'm not a poet, I'm a rapper. I make songs not poems." Dave said and ruled out Gamzee as someone he didn't like.
"It's okay Dave, don't mind Gamzee." Terezi said after calming down "I actually know of this underground bar where you could show off your skills." She said seriously
"That would be dope." Dave said excitedly. Of course for him, expressing excitement meant raising his eyebrows a little bit above the top of his shades.
"Cool, if I remember correctly, they have poetry nights every Tuesday." Terezi carried on and started laughing, barely getting through saying the last word. Dave sighed barely visibly and contemplated adding her to the list as well.
Sollux joined in with quiet snickers that he was trying to hide while Kanaya rolled her eyes going back to her book.
"For the love of god stop it." Karkat chimed in finally, putting his face into his hand. He couldn't really keep quiet for long. "The jokes are almost as bad as your mother's upbringing skills." He said looking at Terezi and Gamzee. The later was already gone in his world though. His gaze was fixed on nothing, the hand holding the nearly burnt joint dropped down and Kanaya cautiously took it out of his hand.
"Oh my god, are you actually defending Dave?" Terezi exclaimed over dramatically, their previous quarrel suddenly forgotten.
"I'm not defending anyone!" Karkat was quick to correct. However, before Terezi could reply with an all-knowing look Kanaya interrupted their chat
"I don't mean to interrupt, but if you remember we have to get to the library on time." she said to the rest of them, nudging Gamzee slightly so he'd 'wake up'.
"But isn't that only at 3pm?" Terezi asked reluctant to get up and leave the conversation.
"Yeah but I don't have a watch on me. Hey Gamzee, you know what time it is?" Kanaya asked already putting her book in her bag
"A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure." He answered thoughtfully
"Dude, for once in your life can you just answer 'I don't know'?" Sollux asked a bit annoyed but nevertheless all of them were getting up and soon Karkat reluctantly waved them off as they left for the building far on the right.
"You've got some weird ass friends dude." Dave remarked once they started heading to their dorm
"Hey!" Karkat exclaimed defensively "I mean sure they're annoying and fucking psycho. I mean I really wouldn't be surprised if Terezi had killed someone in the past, but-" Karkat was once again having trouble phrasing his thoughts "Still, they are probably the only ones who are sometimes, more or less tolerable to be around." He said stuffing his hands into his pockets
"That was truly the most beautiful declaration of love I've ever heard." Dave said smirking once again
"It's not a declaration of anything you butt trumpet!" Karkat replied shoving him in the shoulder slightly
"It could be a declaration of love or independence, but don't fool yourself man, when your caring is reaching transcendence. You shout and you scowl like you're craving your vengeance, then you frown and you pout when you're not in attendance." Dave dropped that beat like a hot potato
"Fuck that shit, you're walking home alone." Karkat said with a disgusted look as he took the other path that lead…fuck knows where, this was Dave's first day here how the fuck would he know that.
"But you can't deny our love!" Dave managed to shout across the entire campus yard to Karkat and saw him raise a middle finger high up in the air for him to see