Chapter One

John rested his head on his hand, eyes closed. A smile spread across his face as images of his best friend (and his crush), Dave, passed through his mind. He let out a quiet, loving sigh as he softly said, "Dave."

"What?" Johns eyes snapped open as he looked to his side, heart racing.

"H-huh?" he stuttered. God, he sounded so stupid.

"Dude, you said my name. You need something?"

John gulped. He just sat there for a minute, staring at Dave with a nervous look on his face. Say something, you idiot! ANYTHING! "Oh, n-no. I was just thinking."

Dave cocked an eyebrow at the awkward, shorter male. "About what?"

John facepalmed himself in his mind. Shouldn't have said that. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it." Dave shook his head slowly as he looked back down at his iPod, continuing to play Temple Run. John exhaled deeply, trying to hide his slight blush. God, you're such an idiot! He laid his head on the table, staring at the clock until study hall was over.

The bell rang about half an hour later. Dave was so focused on his game that the bell had cared him a little when it rang, making him jump. John covered his mouth as he giggled. Dave smirked at his friend.

"Okay, dude. Laugh it up," he said, lightly punching him in the arm. John smiled his dorky smile, grabbing his blue backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. He walked out of the class, Dave following close behind as they headed to the cafeteria.

"So dude," Dave started. "What were you thinking about earlier?" John kept his eyes forward as they widened. A light blush started spreading across his face.

"I told you it was nothing you need to worry about," he shakily replied.

Dave smirked as he noticed John's blush. "Dude, you're totally blushing. You've got a fucking crush on some girl, don't you?"

John could feel the blush deepening as his heart pounded in his ears. "N-no I don't!" he snapped.

Dave chuckled. "Fine dude, you don't have a crush." When they got to the cafeteria, they walked to their group of friends. As usual, Karkat had his arm around Terezi as they made out in front of everyone. Tavros was feeding Gamzee food because of his broken arm, giving him pecks on the lips every once in a while.

Dave gave a disgusted look towards Karkat and Terezi. "Get a room."

Karkat broke his lips away from Terezi's and glared at Dave. "Shut the fuck up, Strider. You're just jealous because I have a girlfriend and you don't."

Dave clenched his fist. "Well what if I don't want a girlfriend?! What if I want a boyfriend!?"

Everyone's eyes widened as they all looked at Dave. Gamzee opened his mouth to speak, finding it difficult to say what he wanted. "Yo, are you motherfuckin' gay, Dave?"

Dave clenched his fists tighter. He was so tempted to punch something. Or someone. "I never fucking said that!"

"But you implied it," Karkat pointed out. Dave looked around at everyone. He was scared. He wanted to say it, but he was afraid of what they would say. Sure, Gamzee and Tavros were both gay, but this is Dave Strider we're talking about! The ladies man!

Just tell them, he thought. "Okay, yeah. I'm gay. So what?" Karkat burst out laughing, which made Terezi smack him in the back of the head. Dave growled at the shorter male.

"Dave?" John looked at his tall friend with a look of concern. Without warning, he spun around, storming out of the cafeteria.

Not too long after, Rose and a very excited Jade walked up to the group. "Hello everyone," Rose greeted. John looked up from his food, smiling at Jade.

"Hey sis, you seem excited."

Jade smiled back. "I'm always excited, silly!"

"So where's Dave?" Rose asked. John's smile turned into a frown.

"He left after confessing that he was gay because this guy." John pointed at Karkat. "Started laughing at him." Rose smiled a bit.

"So he finally confessed."

John's eyes widened. "Wait, you knew!?"

Rose chuckled. "Of course I knew. You guys tell me everything. I know Karkat has an obsession for romantic comedies." Karkat blushed a little as Terezi started giggling. "I know Gamzee has a tattoo of a bottle of Faygo on his back." A wide grin spread across Gamzee's face. "And I also know that John has a..." John quickly stood up from where he was sitting.

"Okay, I think we heard enough." Rose looked at John in realization. The bell rang for sixth period, the last period of the day. As John walked through the halls, he looked for Dave but couldn't find him. He sighed sadly as he walked into chemistry class, sitting next to his lab partner, Jessica Barker. God he hated her.

John took out his notebook and flipped it to a blank page. He started drawing hearts all over the paper, writing Dave's name in them. Usually Jessica minded her own business, but she couldn't help but look.

"Whatcha got there, Egbert?" She looked over his shoulder, noticing one of the hearts with Dave's name in it. She gasped softly. John quickly covered the paper, and glared at her.

"It's none of your fucking business, Jessica." Jessica glared back, looking back down at her own work.

When the school day ended, the bus ride home felt like it took hours. When John got off the bus and up to his room, he quickly logged onto pesterchum. He noticed that Rose was also online.

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

EB: Rose.

EB: I need to talk to you.