A/N

I feel weirdly obligated to explain some things before you dive into the story, even though I probably don't need to, haha! Sorry if this is horrible, it's my first published Homestuck fanfiction and the first chapter's a little short. I should probably mention that the two main pairings are PBJ and Solkat, though side pairings include Dave/Terezi, DirkJake and Rosemary, and perhaps some more that I haven't decided if I should include yet!

Warnings: Some violence, language, and adult themes, though nothing too bad because I tend to be kind of a wimp when it comes to writing that kind of thing xP

Disclaimer: Homestuck does not belong to me. I'm sure this was obvious from the start but I feel obligated to put it here anyway.

Chapter 1

Your name is Karkat Vantas, you are sixteen years old, and you previously thought that moving to this stupid town would grant you a fresh start, but the bad luck from your hometown seems to have followed you.

According to your dad, crime in this town was low. Perhaps lower than it should be. But that didn't stop it from looking like it was fucking shady as hell. "Go outside" he said. "Make some friends" he said. "It'll be good for you" he said. Well it didn't feel very good for you at all; it was giving you anxiety and you wanted to go home.

There was a nice, family-friendly park about a block away from your new apartment building. It was pretty small, resided next to some railroad tracks, and tended to be taken over by crazy-looking teenagers. Your dad had suggested befriending some of these teenagers, getting to know them before summer vacation ended so you wouldn't be stuck with no friends at school again. But there was no way in hell you'd be able to just go up and introduce yourself to the weirdos sitting on the monkey-bars. So, in the light and the heat of the late-June sunlight, you rush over to the one open swing and just sort of sit there. The other one's occupied by a five-year-old in a Cars 2 shirt and you do your best not to make eye contact.

The kid has to leave, and to your utter horror, one of the teenagers shouts at the top of his lungs "THERE'S A SWING OPEN" and soon they're all racing for it. You'd leave, but now you feel trapped, with one of them on the swing and the rest sitting on the ground around it. The one on the swing had dark hair and tan skin, with a baggy tee-shirt and glasses with one red lens and one blue lens.

"Hey, I've seen you around before," one of the teens sitting on the ground points out. He has hair so blonde it looks white and sunglasses so dark you can't see his eyes. "You normally avoid us. I don't blame you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"My dad thought it'd be a fucking great idea for me to make some friends," you mumble.

"Actually, it probably wath a good idea," the one on the swing next to you speaks, digging his heels in the ground and stopping his movement. He's got a lisp and it's a little annoying to you. "You gotta have friendth out here if you wanna thtay out of trouble."

"I thought this town had a low crime rate," you say again, slightly louder and less garbled but not by much. The blonde kid laughs.

"Where'd you here that?" He says. "This town is the exact opposite of 'low crime'."

"What the fuck?" You exclaim. "Thanks, dad, for giving me a false sense of safety."

"If he thinkth thith place ith safe you might wanna inform him otherwith," the one on the swing comments. "Thith place ith actually dangerouth ath fuck."

"If it's anything like my old town I'm sure I'll know how to handle myself," you grumble.

"We never got your name," a black-haired kid with square glasses changes the subject. "I'm John. That's Dave, Sollux, and Terezi."

Terezi, the only female of the group, grins widely and waves. She's got red sunglasses and choppy brown hair, her nose dusted with freckles. You think she's pretty cute, but she seems to be clinging to Dave and vice-versa and Dave doesn't look like someone who wants to be messed with, so you don't stare at her for too long.

"I'm Karkat," you say. These guys are actually quite a bit friendlier than you anticipated.

"Well, KK," Sollux says, putting a hand on your shoulder. "Lookth like you'll be thafe in thith town. For now." He laughs and you scowl. This isn't very funny to you.

"Don't call me KK," you state, jumping off the swing. "I think I'm gonna go home if you guys don't mind." Sollux grabs your wrist and you make a weird growling noise at him, turning your head so you can see his face.

"Not by yourthelf you're not," he says. "We have a thort of rule. No one goeth home alone, no one geth thtabbed by themthelveth in an alley thomewhere."

Your eyes widen visibly at the mention of getting stabbed in an alley with no one there to help you. Sollux notices.

"Relax, you're not gonna get thtabbed," Sollux laughs. "It wath an exaggeration. Can't you take a joke?"

"No, I am a heartless being devoid of the capability to sense when someone's being humorous," you spit. He laughs again.

"Whatever," he says. "I'm walking you home weather you like it or not. I don't know where you live, though, tho you're gonna have to lead the way."

"Fine," you mutter, shaking your wrist out of his grasp.

You have a feeling you're really gonna hate this town.