"UGH! WHY WON'T YOU JUST H8 ME ALREADY!?"
Those words were all he could hear. It was 3 am, and he was sitting on his bed, staring outside at the rain falling hard. He had been sitting there for hours, just thinking to himself. How was he going to go to school on Monday? It was a Friday night and he only had one thing on his mind: Vriska.

He turned his attention to his phone, that of which was now buzzing. He checked it, it was a text message from his best friend, Terezi.

H3Y, BUDDY HOW 4R3 YOU HOLD1NG UP? :]

He never knew why she typed like that. Then again with his phone's keyboard not functioning properly, he could only type with inverted text. So he didn't fall too far from the weird typing tree.

uHH,, nOT DOING TOO GOOD,,, wHY? wHO TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS UP

UH W3LL, K4RK4T S41D TH4T YOU W3R3N'T DO1NG SO HOT 1N CL4SS TOD4Y

oHH,,

H3 TOLD M3 1T W4S SOM3TH1NG W1TH VR1SK4? :/

uH,,, yEAH, UH,,, i MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE CONFESSED MY HUGE CRUSH FOR HER,,,

OHHHH… SH1T

OKAY W3LL TH4T W4S 4 SH1T 1D34

yEAH, i KNOW,,,

YOU KNOW HOW VR1SK4 1S 4 HUG3 B1TCH

SH3 WOULDN'T H3S1T4T3 TO BR34K SOM3ON3'S H34RT DUDE

i KNOW, bUT,,, i THOUGHT THAT i WAS DIFFERENT,,

WHY

SH3 N3V3R T4LKS TO YOU

sOMETIMES,, lIKE IN SCIENCE CLASS,,, sHE'S NICE TO ME,

TH4T'S B3C4US3 SH3 DO3SN'T W4NT TO G3T 1N TROUBL3

,,,

L1ST3N

1 TH1NK YOU SHOULD TRY TO FORG3T 4BOUT H3R

B3C4US3 1T WON'T H4PP3N, SORRY

,,,i GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT,,,

WH4T D1D SH3 3V3N S4Y TO YOU 4NYW4YS? YOU DON'T H4V3 TO S4Y 1T 1F YOU DON'T W4NT TO

,,,sHE ASKED WHY WON'T i JUST HATE HER ALREADY,,,

...OH SH1T

SOUNDS L1K3 4 H4T3CRUSH TO M3

OK LOOK, 1F YOU SMOOTHT4LK H3R TH3 R1GHT W4Y, 1 TH1NK THOS3 F33L1NGS COULD TURN… YOU KNOW… ROM4NT1C

yOU THINK SO?

Y34H, 1T'S WORTH 4 SHOT

dO YOU,,, hAVE HER NUMBER?

Y34H, BUT 1T'S 3 1N TH3 MORN1NG, DUD3

1 DON'T TH1NK SH3'D B3 UP

iT'S WORTH A SHOT, RIGHT?

1F YOU 1NS1ST :]

A few minutes passed, and finally he got a response again with Vriska's number. He stared down at it. Maybe she was sleeping… or maybe she wouldn't even respond? What if she sees it and she just ignores it?

Tavros sighed. I guess there's only one way to find out, right? This might be a stupid idea… but love makes people do stupid fucking things.

After finally gathering the courage to even enter the number into his phone, his shaky hands started typing away.

uHHH,,, hI, iS THIS vRISKA'S PHONE,,? tHIS IS tAVROS nITRAM, FROM SCHOOL,,,

aLTHOUGH i THINK YOU MOST LIKELY REMEMBER ME,,,

After pressing send, he quickly tossed his phone to the other side of his bed, bringing his knees up to his chest and staring at it. He sat there for a minute or so, then sighed at the lack of response. "I knew she wouldn't respond." He whispered to himself and went back to staring out his window. Another minute later, his phone buzzed. He assumed it was Terezi, asking for results. He opened up the new message.

...Hey nerd. What do you want? It's fucking really l8 at night.

He felt like his heart stopped and started up again. He smiled, but also felt a major burst of anxiety. Panicking, he quickly responded.

oH, YOU'RE AWAKE,,, uH, wELL,,, i JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT,,, eARLIER TODAY,,,

Today? What happened today.

dO,,, dO YOU NOT REMEMBER? wHEN i,,, uHM,,, CONFRONTED YOU DURING LUNCH,,,

...Oh… So YOU'RE that kid. Uhhhhhhhh, ok, what is there to talk about?

yOU,,, gOT REALLY UPSET,,, aND ASKED WHY COULDN'T i JUST HATE YOU ALREADY,,,

Ugh, yeah. Listen, 8uddy, don't get the wrong idea and think that I have a h8 crush on you or something. It's not like I like you, so let's just establish that right now.

,,, oH,,,

LOL, what, did you think I would actually ever fall for you? ::::) I'm Vriska Serket, not some loser cripple.

hEY,,, tHAT'S NOT VERY NICE,,,

"Uhh, that's not very nice", do you know how stupid you sound right now?

,,,i CAN'T REALLY,,, hELP THAT i LIKE YOU, i DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHY BECAUSE YOU'RE,,, sUCH A FUCKING BITCH

Woah.

yEAH i SAID IT, yOU'RE A HUGE BITCH AND i DIDN'T FUCKING ASK TO GET A CRUSH ON YOU BUT,, iT'S FUCKING STUPID BECAUSE WHENEVER i SEE YOUR FACE MY HEART RACES AND,, uHHH, mY BRAIN FEELS LIKE FUCKING JELLY,, iT'S NOT FAIR, i DON'T WANT TO LIKE YOU EITHER, sO i'M SORRY THAT A FUCKING LOSER LIKE MYSELF IS BOTHERING YOU

...Hey, look, I didn't…

yOU DIDN'T WHAT, hUH ? lOOK i KNOW YOU GO AROUND HURTING OTHER PEOPLE, i'VE HEARD THE STORIES, bUT i JUST,,, i DON'T KNOW WHY BUT i CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD OK?

...Do you...really think a8out me that much?

yES, i DON'T KNOW WHY i CARE ABOUT YOU SO MUCH,,,

...That's… That's weird.

hOW IS THAT WEIRD,

...8ecause nobody has ever liked me like that 8efore, it's usually to get with me 8ecause I'm popular or for sex.

wELL i DON'T CARE ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE THINGS, i JUST REALLY LIKE YOU AND CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU,

bUT IT DOESN'T MATTER, i'M JUST A FUCKING LOSER CRIPPLE ANYWAYS,,, }:(

Tavros, I take that 8ack. I'm... I'm sorry.

,,,yOU'RE SORRY?

Yes.

He stared down at his phone, confused. Did Vriska Serket just...apologize to him? Holy shit. He had to tell Terezi.

tEREZI,,,

WH4T

vRISKA RESPONDED,

W3LL? :/

sHE,,, sHE SAID SORRY

...HOLY SH1T R34LLY

D1D YOU R34LLY G3T VR1SK4 S3RK3T TO 4POLOG1Z3?

Taking a screenshot of his conversation with Vriska, he sent it to Terezi.

…

YOU C4LL3D H3R 4 B1TCH

yEAH,

N1C3 ON3 LOL

yEAH HAHA,,,

W3LL? WH4T 4R3 YOU W41T1NG FOR? WOO H3R

hOW,,?

1 DON'T KNOW 1'M B4D 4T ROM4NC3

JUST UHH… T4LK 4BOUT… STUFF YOU TH1NK SH3 L1K3S

i THINK SHE REALLY HAS THIS THING WITH,,, sPIDERS?

Y34H, TRY TO WORK W1TH TH4T

oKAY,,,

,,,i FORGIVE YOU,

What?

i SAID i FORGIVE YOU, vRISKA

Why?

bECAUSE i HAVE A FUCKING CRUSH ON YOU, dUH

Oh. Right. Uh, well...I've...never had someone actually forgive me 8efore after 8eing such a huge 8itch.

wELL i GUESS i'M THE FIRST HAHA,

I guess so. Hey, tell you what. May8e tomorrow, you and I can go hang out somewhere? May8e a cafe.

,,,lIKE A DATE,,? }:D

I...guess? If you want to call it that…

oH GOODIE,, hOW ABOUT CAFE aLTERNIA DOWN THE STREET FROM THE SCHOOL,,? i WORK THERE,,, sO i CAN GET DISCOUNTS,

You work?

yES, i DO,

Cool. How a8out we meet at… 10 AM?

sOUNDS LIKE A PLAN, vRISKA,,,

Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow...Tav.

oKAY, vRIS, }:)

I'm going to head to 8ed now. Goodnight. ::::)

gOODNIGHT, sWEET DREAMS, }:)

He locked his phone and fell onto his back, staring up at his ceiling. Oh my god. A date with Vriska Serket, and it took minimal effort too. Maybe she DID have feelings… No, no. Like she said, she'd never fall in love with a cripple like him. But, he can dream…