Welcome! This is my first uploaded Homestuck fic so uh, go easy on me? I have a few unpopular ships here (I have preferences, oh well). This fic includes the dancestors and brief mentions of the ancestors. This also deals with different types of issues, such as anxiety, schizophrenia, homo-erotic themes (I wasn't sure how else to word that), and a lot more. It's not an entirely sad story but it isn't entirely happy either. But please, enjoy, tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own Homestuck because everybody would be alive and happy if I did. I own this idea, I suppose, though.

Alternia High wasn't the best high school around, not with all the fighting and sexual escapades that were always reported. But, it wasn't the worst, far from it. If you were to ask any of the students they'd say it was an entirely normal, boring school. At this boring school, on the first day of the new year, a not so thrilled senior was trying desperately to get out of his older brother's car.

"And be sure to bring me any of the papers that they give you," Kankri rushed, reaching over to fix his younger brother's hair. "School forms, calenders, all of that."

Karkat Vantas nearly hissed as he swatted his brother's hands away from him. "Okay, okay! For fuck's sake, Kanrki, I'm not a stupid freshman!"

Kankri Vantas paused, arching an eyebrow as he stared at the seething boy in the passenger seat. He rolled his crimson eyes, then, shaking his head. "No, you're a stupid senior and I don't want you slacking off or falling behind."

Karkat rolled his eyes as he ran a hand through his oak brown hair. Shit, had he brushed it?...Yeah, yeah he did. "Please, if anyone's gonna slack off or fall behind it'd be Gamzee."

"That's mean and can upset him if he heard that," Kankri sighed, looking away. "Go on, he's probably waiting for you inside."

Karkat grabbed his backpack, heaving a sigh as he opened the door to his car. He paused half way out, looking back at his older brother. "Go out and do something today, by the way. Don't just sit around at home. Go hang out with Kurloz or something."

"Just go to class," Kankri huffed, waving his brother's comment off.

Karkat rolled his eyes and got out of the car, shutting the door a bit louder than needed behind him. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way towards the front door of the school. Other students were littered about, Freshman looking for the classes they didn't look for during orientation. Sophmores attempting to act like they know where their classes are, even though the classes are on the side of the school they never once stepped foot in. Juniors knowing where to go, but not wanting to go because, well, fuck it, probably. Then, the seniors, lingering around and practically radiating the entire 'I'm a Senior, finally fucking almost done' vibe. Karkat was no better, though. The school didn't feel entirely different, just a bit more relieved that it was the last year he'd spend in the school he hated.

The halls were loud, as always, but he knew he'd find his friends in the lunch quad, which meant he had to walk through the school until he got to the doors that led out to the quad in the center of the school. He as able to avoid the people around him, to his inner glee. Karkat hated people. It wasn't a phobia or anything, he just fucking couldn't stand people. He was five feet of pure, social interaction hating rage. He made do with it, though, because really it could be worse.

His friends were exactly where he knew he's find them, bunched together at the two lunch tables they had pushed together in a corner of the grassy quad. Karkat trudged over, nudging his best friend when he got there. "Scoot over, fuck ass."

The other shifted, looking over his shoulder with wide and dazed eyes. He smiled, that damn awful and goofy Gamzee Makara smile. "Karbro! Good to motherfucking see you."

Karkat rolled his eyes as Gamzee all but pulled him into his lap, hugging him. "I saw you last weekend, Gamzee; you slept over." He shifted once, sighing when it became evident that Gamzee didn't plan on letting him go.

Gamzee chuckled, a deep and rumbling sound that made Karkat jerk a bit. "I still up and missed you."

"Wanna be less gay?" The blonde across from them scoffed, fixing his shades over his eyes. Dave Strider, grinning smugly as he sipped from that god awful apple juice box (seriously, how fucking old was he?), cocked his head to the side.

Karkat snorted once, frowning at the blonde. "Fuck you, Strider."

"Nah man, you aren't my type," Dave replied smoothly.

Beside Dave, John Egbert let out a small chuckle. John was a decent looking boy, one Karkat had known almost as long as he knew Gamzee, and trusted pretty well. John had black hair that he kept short, so it was out of his face at all times, and wore glasses that had a habit of falling down his nose. He had buck teeth too, a common flaw that their group of friends playfully teased about when the time arose. He nudged Dave once. "Be nice, Dave."

"I'm always nice," Dave assured, finishing off his apple juice box.

A few of their friends weren't here yet, namely Vriska, Terezi, Rose and Kanaya. Everyone else was here, absorbed in whatever it was they were doing. Karkat looked around, trying to see. Sollux, their blonde haired gamer friend (really, he was on his laptop all the time when not at work or school) had a PSP in his hand, probably fighting away on some new game he bought; same old story. He looked up once, offering a quick smile at Karkat "Hi, KK."

"Hi," Karkat grunted back.

Beside Sollux was a smaller girl with light brown hair covered by a blue, cat eared beanie. She was writing something in a note book and, with a small and cautious sigh, Karkat reached over to tap the notebook. "Nepeta, what are you writing?"

Nepeta looked up and smiled charmingly. "Fanfiction. I really fell behind over summer because Equius and I hung out alot...soooo I have to start planning out my updates. I just started this new book, too, and I have so many ships!"

Karkat rolled his eyes and turned to look at Equius, who was watching Nepeta write with a lazy expression. "You kept her from her fanfics? Equius, how could you?"

The black haired teen sat up a little straighter, steel eyes wide, as if he really thought he did something wrong. "I...I didn't mean to keep her from her-"

"Karkat, be nice to Equius," Nepeta huffed. She shook her head once before smiling and nuzzling one of Equius' arms. (Nepeta, didn't those muscles make that hard?) "You didn't keep me from anything, Equius."

Karkat watched the male flush slightly and smile at Nepeta. He had a feeling that there was something between the two of them, he had that feeling since their freshman year. The other's insisted that Nepeta and Equius were just good friends but sometimes...

"You two are so cute," Jade smiled from the other side of Dave.

Jade Harley, who was smiling softly as she always did, looked back at Karkat. "Whats your sixth period class?"

"Sixth?" Karat echoed. "Hang on." After a bit of handiwork, Karkat was able to shift around enough in Gamzee's lap to pull his back pack over. He retrieved his class schedule and looked it over. "Family life with Dave's brother's boyfriend."

"Jake's Family Life class?" Dave smirked. "We all do, too. Well, except Feferi and Jade. They've got like a study hall class or some shit. Most of us have Family Life, though. I talked to Jake about it before, he said he won't be too hard on us."

The perks of Dave's older brother dating one of their teachers. Karkat sighed. "What the hells family life, anyways?"

"Learning skills that'll help us in the adult world," Aradia Megido muttered as she pulled out her ear buds. Her long brunet hair tumbled past her shoulders, her candy red highlights standing out against the dark color. She shrugged once. "There's some sort of really important project in that class, from what I heard."

"Sounds like a lot of motherfucking work," Gamzee stated as he plopped his chin on Karkat's shoulder.

"It wwon't be that difficult," Eridan Ampora (Karkat really didn't like the guy) scoffed. He had his hair dyed this year. It was still light brown, like they all remembered, but he had a purple streak running through it, probably for some hipster reason that Karkat didn't give a shit about. "It's suppose to be an easy A class."

"What's an easy A class?" The voice was soft, kind. Kanaya gave each member of their rag-tag group a soft smile before sitting down. "Were you referring to Jake's class, by any chance?"

"Yeah, pretty much all of us have him for sixth period," Sollux stated absently.

Tavros, who had remained silent up to this point, nodded. "Y-yeah. It's suppose to be an easy class..and we all know Jake pretty well so..."

"Sounds motherfucking grand," Gamzee chuckled in Karkat's ear. Karkat jerked and elbowed the other in the chest, shaking his head.

Tavros smiled a bit as he watched Gamzee huff, knowing the other wasn't irritated at Karkat. Tavros tore his eyes away from them and nearly groaned when an all too familiar face came into view from across the quad. Vriska Serket was, for lack of better word, intimidating at best. She was pretty, with long dark brown hair that she usually wore down, and had a personality that was enough to over power almost anyone. She strolled over with that confident walk of hers, the walk that Tavros couldn't stand. Really, he didn't understand why he had dated her in sophomore year...oh shit, she saw him staring. He was in for it now, he knew it. Vriska never ceased to piss him off.

"Sup losers," Vriska was all grins as she sat down between Tavros and Gamzee, slinging an arm around Tavros. "Hey Tavros, been missing you all summer. Where have you been?"

Tavros shifted and glanced away, getting only a sympathetic glance from Kanaya. "Been home...just busy and-"

"And no time for me," Vriska smirked. "Too bad. I'd be bored to tears with you around anyways. Nice hair though, by the way. Rufioh do it for you?" She said, referring to the boy's bleach blonde Mohawk.

Tavros glanced away, shrugging Vriska's arm off of him. "Yeah. I asked him to."

"Cute," Vriska snickered. She propped her chin in her palm, looking over at John who was already staring at her. "Nice seein' ya, Egderp."

John huffed, rolling his eyes. "Hey, Vriska. Nice seeing ya."

Dave made a small noise. "Vriska, what's your sixth period?"

"Jake's family shit class," Vriska replied, shrugging. "Guessing all of us have it?"

"Most of us," Eridan muttered.

Vriska nodded. "Yeah, Terezi and Rose do, too."

Gamzee chuckled. "It's gonna be mother fucking fun."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "Can you not laugh into my ear, fuck ass?"

"I didn't," Gamzee huffed, smiling still.

"You did," Karkat muttered back.

"Take the lovers spat somewhere else," Dave snickered. "Like the bathroom or something."

"Fuck you." Karkat kicked Dave under the table, smirking when the blonde hissed in pain.

The rest of their group laughed and Dave huffed, rolling his eyes behind his shades. Eventually everyone else showed up, Rose with her nose buried in a book and Terezi yelling about some new band she had gotten into; normal stuff. Karkat shook his head to himself, leaning back into Gamzee as he watched his friends interact.

They'd been a giant group since sixth grade, when Karkat had finally decided to take Gamzee's advice and join the group. Karkat and Kankri had moved into town when Kankri was in the seventh grade; Karkat had been in fourth grade at the time and his only friend had been Gamzee. Gamzee had been friendly as ever, clinging to Karkat and making sure the shorter boy was never, ever alone. Sometimes, it was a pain in the ass. Gamzee had other friends, namely Tavros and Terezi, and Karkat had been okay with that but never wanted to get involved. He wasn't social awkward, that was his brother's end of the spectrum...he just didn't care much for people. But, eventually he had met John, another one of Gamzee's friends and, well...he got tugged into the group. It was a huge group, one that didn't make any sense at all. All of their older siblings were involved together, too, Gamzee's older brother dating Nepeta's sister and so on. It was a mess and half the time they were all arguing but Karkat couldn't imagine having any other friends. Nope.

The bell for first rang and they dispersed, Dave, Terezi and Karkat heading to math. They had the same class (seriously, these teachers never learn do they?). They sat in the back, Dave in the middle, and Terezi let out a small chuckle. Her hair was bright red this year, a nice change up from her usual light brown. She kicked her feet up onto the desk and looked at Dave. "So was that awkward or what?"

Dave lifted an eyebrow, pushing his shades off and wincing at the light. "Shit, give me a second." He dug around in his back pack for something. Dave, their group learned in sixth grade, was hyper sensitive to light. It had something to do with his eyes, the red color meaning he had nowhere near enough protein where it should be. It made him wince in even class room setting lights, which got on the blonde's nerves. Thankfully, his Bro had managed to get him prescription eye drops that made the light tolerable. After putting the eye drops away, Dave sighed and looked back at Terezi. "What was awkward now?"

"You," Terezi stated, rolling her hazel eyes. She moved her feet off of her desk and leaned towards Dave. "I was only there for like, five minutes and I could feel your jealousy sky rocket, cool kid."

Dave huffed and leaned back in his desk. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Karkat scoffed. "Please, like you weren't glaring at John and Vriska while they talked."

It was no secret in their group how Dave felt about John...except to John. The poor boy was eternally clueless, though that was probably for the best in this case. Dave was a hopeless case, they all knew it. Shifting, Dave stared straight ahead. "I wasn't glaring, man. Don't know what you're talking about."

Terezi and Karkat shared an equally exasperated look but didn't have the time to say anything. Other students were filing in, the teacher following close behind.

"Will you get off of me?" Sollux hissed, elbowing the boy behind him in the chest.

Eridan winced, swatting at the blonde and missing miserably. First period P.E. sucked major balls and Sollux knew it. Having Equius and Feferi in the class was an up side, but having Eridan, too, was a bummer. The two snarled at each other, having been graced with the lovely pair of lockers right next to each other. Eridan huffed, running a hand through his 'stupid hipster hair' as Sollux would say. "Don't flatter yourself. I wwasn't on you."

"Right," Sollux hissed a he yanked off his green t-shirt. He threw it into his locker and threw a smug smirk towards Eridan. "You can't resist me."

"Oh yes, because that hideous lisp is such a turn on," Eridan spat back, smirking when Sollux flushed angrily. He tugged off his T-shirt and set it in his locker.

From the left Equius sighed, rolling his steele colored eyes as he tugged on his P.E. shirt. "Will you two stop arguing?"

"When hell freezes over," Sollux stated simply, tugging on his P.E. shorts. The locker room was loud enough as it was, Equius wasn't a fan of hearing the two arguing on top of all of that.

The three boys dressed quickly, Equius having to rip the two apart in the door way when Eridan made an attempt to trip Sollux. Seriously, the two were worse than fresh man girls. They barely made it to the gym, only because Equius was dragging them both by the fronts of their shirts. It wasn't anything new, though, so Feferi wasn't too surprised. The dark skinned girl crossed her arms, lifting an eyebrow as the three boys came to a stop in front of her. "Were they fighting already?"

"Obviously," Equius murmured, letting the other two go.

Eridan huffed, wiping his shirt off as if Equius had some sort of germ, and looked at Feferi. "He started it."

"Bullshit," Sollux lisped, glaring. "Fef, he tripped me!"

"Not my fault you can't wwalk correctly," Eridan shrugged.

Feferi sighed, rubbing her temples and looking at Eridan. "Leave people alone or I'll call Cronus."

Eridan scoffed. "Because he's so scary."

But Eridan still fell silent and Sollux did too. Sollux eventually left them to shuffle over to Aradia, who had finally showed up with her class. He smiled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come here often?"

Aradia scoffed and then snickered lightly. She turned and faced Sollux, twirling a strand of candy red, high lighted hair around her finger. "If I get to see you here, I will."

Sollux fought down a blush and smiled, leaning over and pecking the girl on the lips. Feferi and Equius watched, Equius sighing softly. Feferi glanced at him from the corner of her eye before adjusting her glasses and pushing some of her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "You don't still like her, do you, Equius?"

The tall boy jerked and blushed and, oh god was he sweating already? "N-...Well, I mean it...I..."

"Obvviously he does," Eridan muttered, typing away on his phone. "Not that it matters. She's head ovver heels for that loser."

"That loser has a higher GPA than you," Feferi reminded, walking over and plucking the phone out of the other's hand. Eridan gasped and huffed and the girl smiled sweetly at him. "Seriously, you two argue more than ever lately. Just kiss and make up already."

"Howw dare you," Eridan gasped, face flushing brightly as he snatched his phone away from her. He shoved it in the pockets of his lame P.E. shorts and sighed. "As if I'd evver kiss that moron."

Equius chuckled and leaned back against the wall behind him. He watched Aradia and Sollux across the gym, watched how Aradia laced their fingers together and how Sollux blushed softly. It made him a bit sad, and Nepeta was sure to pester him about it later, but for now he'd ignore it. He'd liked Aradia since the eight grade, but he hadn't been able to muster up the courage to tell the girl. Nepeta had bugged him about it, even offered to set them up if she had to, but Equius had still kept it in. Then, in sophomore year, Sollux asked Aradia out and that was that. Equius didn't hold a grudge towards Sollux for it, though Vriska had made said he should have been at least a little mad, but how could he be? Sollux made Aradia happy so what right did Equius have to be angry?

But if only Nepeta wouldn't hold the grudge for him...

Nepeta had received the text from Equius about twenty minutes into her Drama class. Aradia had P.E. the same period as Equius, Sol and Eridan which only meant two things. Eridan and Sollux were going to argue and Aradia was going to be all over Sollux. Nepeta stopped listening to her teacher's voice as she let her mind wander off. She could see Equius now, all awkward and gawking like he always did. Honestly, the boy was helpless sometimes and it actually made Nepeta feel bad. She knew later Equius would eventually tell her that P.E. made him sad, She'd listen like any best friend would, then she'd be angry in Equius' place. It wasn't that Nepeta hated Aradia, because no, she loved Aradia to death. Aradia was a sweet heart when in the right mood and it was nearly impossible to hate her, but Nepeta could get frustrated with her. Really, it was second hand frustration. Equius was unable to hold any sort of grudge, the entire group of friends wondered how, and he always brushed aside his bitterness towards Aradia's relationship so easily. Nepeta knew Equius wasn't as in tune with his emotions like Karkat could be and it frustrated her. Equius could be so...nice sometimes. Though, she supposed it was a good thing. So, Napeta got angry for Equius, as much as Equius didn't like it.

"You look mad," The whisper by her ear made the girl yelp and nearly fall out of her seat. She huffed, throwing a sharp glare at Tavros, who smiled sheepishly at her.

"Warn someone before you go yelling in their ear," Nepeta muttered, sitting up straighter.

Tavros scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I whispered to you, dude. But really...you uh, look mad. You okay?"

Nepeta nodded and leaned back. "My ships aren't working out."

Tavros paused, narrowing his eyes and then sighing. "Equius?"

"Equius!" Nepeta nodded, throwing her arms up. She had no care for the lass going on around her at this point, but it was drama so it wasn't that big of a deal. "Why do all of you people have to be so difficult?"

Tavros shrugged, picking up a pencil and scribbling idly on the side of his desk. "Which people?"

Nepeta pulled off her blue beanie, fixing her messy brown hair as she spoke. "Well, mostly Equius and Dave, I guess. I mean, how long have they had crushes?"

Tavros chuckled and looked back at the girl, setting his pencil down and shrugging. "Well, I mean they both kind of have valid reasons...Aradia is dating and John...well, he's straight so Dave can't really tell him how he feels."

"Well...still," Nepeta sighed, tossing her beanie onto her desk. "Doesn't it bug you? It'd be like...like if Gamzee was madly in love with someone for years and never made a move on them! You'd be pretty frustrated, right?"

Tavros glanced away, nodding slowly. "Uh...y-yeah, I guess so..."

Nepeta nodded, more to herself, and pulled out her phone again. She shot another text to Equius, looking over to Tavros to see the boy staring at her curiously. She arched an eyebrow up. "Yessss?"

Tavros blinked and then shook his head. "Do you uh...do you get so worked up over the Aradia thing because you like Equius?"

Nepeta snickered and shook her head as she set her phone down. "No way! Equius is like, my best friend. I don't even like people like him."

It was Tavros' turn to arch an eyebrow. "By people like him you mean...?"

"I mean guys," Nepeta replied with a lazy shrug. "I thought you knew that. I don't like guys, Tav."

Tavros flushed and looked away. "O-oh, no I...I uh, didn't know that. I thought that...I uh-"

Nepeta's soft chuckle cut him off and the girl smiled at him when he looked back at her. "Chill. It's fine. I don't exactly broadcast it, anyways. But no, I don't like Equius. I just don't like how passive he can be. Like, what the hell?"

Tavros could only nod in agreement because, really, he was worse than Equius when it came to that sort of thing. But, Nepeta knew that so neither of them were going to say it. They tuned back in to their teacher who was going over class rules and expectations; the usual first day back routine they'd dealt with every year. Honestly, Tavros couldn't wait to graduate and be done with everything.

The entire day went by slowly for everyone. Senior year, apparently, started off lame as all hell. Sollux's brother had told them that when they finished junior year, but hardly anyone listened to Mituna. Now, though, it was obvious Mituna had been right. It had been boring in their classes, just a usual run down of procedures, rules, expectations and getting to know everyone. Most of their classes were seniors only classes so really, they knew everyone. When lunch came around they all crowded at their table, the same table they'd claimed freshman year when most of their siblings were still seniors. The only ones who had graduated back then were Nepeta's sister, Eridan's cousin Cronus, (he was more of an older brother though, if Eridan really wanted to be honest) and Feferi's older sister, Meenah. Now they were the seniors, though, and what a group they made. Lunch was spent loudly, all of them excited and talking over each other, except for Gamzee who listened with content and Dave who pointedly ignored everyone in favor of playing Flappy Bird.

They didn't all meet up again until sixth period. Their teacher wasn't there yet so everyone plopped in their seats. Karkat had showed up first with Sollux, both of them having had History together, and the two of them sat up front. The desks were set in pairs, two each. When Gamzee strolled in he paused, blinking at Sollux who was sitting by Karkat. Karkat stared back at the dark haired teen, watching him shift on his feet. Come on, Gamzee was clingy but he wasn't going to make a big deal was he?

"Gamzee," Shit, when did Tavros show up? He waved from a few rows back, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. "You can sit by me i-if you want."

Gamzee's smile made Karkat sigh in relief. Gamzee ruffled Karkat's hair as he walked by, smiling that dopey grin as he sat down by Tavros. "What is up, Tavbro? Haven't seen you alllll day." He slung an arm around the boy's shoulders, grinning.

Tavros chuckled and shrugged Gamzee's arm off. "It's only been two class periods, Gam."

"That's like, forever though," Gamzee stated seriously, head tilted.

Tavros couldn't help but chuckle. Gamzee was too much sometimes, always so absent minded on the surface. Most of their group still found it hard to believe that Gamzee had straight A's. Tavros honestly didn't understand it either. The rest of their friends, save for Feferi and Jade, filed in. They sat at their desks and chatted until the bell rang, then settled down...

Now if only their teacher had shown up.

"Where the fuck is Jake?" Dave asked out loud.

"He lives with you, you should know where he is," Vriska snapped from across the room.

"Bro, do I look like the dude's nanny?" Dave asked, rolling his eyes. He gave Vriska a small smirk. "Maybe my bro kept him home."

"Doubt it," Aradia murmured, seated next to Terezi and drawing on the red head's hand with a sharpie. "Saw him earlier before fourth period started."

As if summoned by the teens distress and shit talking, the door opened and Jake English strolled in. He wore cargo shorts with a white T-shirt, a smile on his lips as he stopped to leave back against his desk. He crossed his arms, looking them all over. "Good afternoon, lads and ladies."

"You're late," Dave called, leaning back in his chair. "Where'd you go, Jakey?"

"Your brother showed up," Jake replied with that smile still in place. "I don't think you want to know what I was doing."

Dave's face turned bright red and the others snickered, John nudging him from beside him. Dave huffed and pushed his shades further up his face. "Gross. TMI. Like, why?"

Jake chuckled back and took a breath. "Well, I've been waiting all summer for this class, I must say. It's nice seeing all of you, though it's a shame Jade and Feferi didn't get this class. Seemed they lucked out." He pushed off of the desk and put his hands on his hips. "Now, welcome to Family life and Life Skills. Before we go any further, let me make one thing clear. This is not, in any way, an easy class to pass. Get that idea out of your minds right now."

Karkat leaned back in his chair and reached over, snatching Sollux's PSP out of his hand to get the blonde to pay attention. Sollux frowned and then looked towards Jake. "What could possibly be so hard in this class?"

Jake's smile widened, and Dave was smart enough to sit up straighter. "You have something planned, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Jake nodded. He sat on his desk and smiled. "As you all know, you all need to pass this, and all your other classes, to graduate. This class...see, I have a specific project for all of you. It's a year long project, one that will require constant work and attention. This isn't one of those projects with a dead line that you can bullshit the day before it's due. I don't exactly believe in such projects."

The teenagers had all fallen silent. Eridan shifted beside Rose and frowned. "Wwhat is it? This project?"

"All of you will be raising a child," Jake replied slowly. He watched the confusion settle in on their faces and then held up a hand to keep them all silent. "A robotic child, like those cliche baby's you see students get in movies. You will all be paired up and become parents. These babies have been built to monitor everything that happens around them. It records noise, how long it's cried, why it's cried and so on. You and your partner will take care of this child for the entire school year."

"Are you serious?" Karkat muttered, irritated. "Do we at least get to pick our partners?"

Jake shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I've already picked your partners. Sucks having a teacher that knows all of you, doesn't it?"

The entire class groaned. Karkat took a breath to calm himself. He had this. He could pass easily as long as he got a decent partner. Hell, he'd pass with flying colors.

Jake pulled out a clip board and smiled. "Shall I read off your partners?"

"No," John groaned.

Jake chuckled and looked at the list. "Alrighty...group one; Equius and Aradia."

Equius blinked, glancing towards Aradia. Aradia gave him a soft smile over her shoulder before turning back to whatever it was she was drawing on Terezi's hand. Equius gulped and looked at Nepeta who was smirking at him. The girl wiggled her eyebrows and Equius sighed, shaking head.

Jake smiled and continued. "Nepeta and Terezi."

"Awesome!" Terezi cheered, yanking her hand away from Aradia and turning around to stare at Nepeta. "We've so got this!"

Nepeta snickered and nodded, clapping her hands. "We're gonna be awesome moms!"

"Quiet down," Jake smiled. "Next pair... Eridan and Sollux."

"What?!" Sollux shot up, hands slamming down on his desk. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wwill not wwork with him!" Eridan spat in agreement, gesturing towards the angry Sollux.

"Then you won't graduate," Jake murmured, looking at both fuming boys. "This is also a life skills class. You know, where you learn about life? Life isn't fair. Suck it up, lads."

Sollux groaned and plopped into his chair, slamming his head down on the desk. Karkat chuckled and patted the blonde's shoulder, handing him his PSP back. Eridan sighed and rubbed his temples, looking away.

Feeling victorious, Jake continued. "Vriska, you'll be with Tavros."

Tavros squeaked and Vriska sighed loudly. Gamzee patted Tavros' arm. "Sorry, bro."

John frowned to himself. He had been hoping to be paired with Vriska, but oh well, now...

Vriska crossed her arms. "This totally blows."

"Sorry, dear," Jake gave her a smile and then returned to his list. "Rose and Kanaya, you'll be a pair."

Kanaya blinked and looked to the side, seeing Rose already looking at her. The two shared a small smile, Rose looking back towards Jake. "Sounds good to me."

"I...I agree," Kanaya nodded, smiling a bit wider.

Glad that at least a few of his pairs were happy, Jake went to continue. Karkat was a bit on edge. As long as he had a good partner, he'd be fine. Like...like John, yeah John was smart. Karkat could still pass.

"Karkat, you'll be with Gamzee."

"Son of a bitch," Karkat hung his head as he heard Gamzee let out a victorious laugh. He rubbed his temples, looking at Sollux. "Great. there goes my grade."

"Oh, boo hoo," Sollux snapped back, in no mood to be sympathetic.

Gamzee smiled to himself, satisfied as he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Motherfucking miracle."

"Lucky," Tavros muttered bitterly.

"And that leaves John and Dave," Jake set his clip board aside, smiling at the two.

Dave frowned, feeling his heart skip a beat. He was going to give Jake hell when he got home, but for now he settled for snorting out a laugh. "Me and Egderp? Sounds fun."

"Not that bad, I guess," John shrugged idly. He'd wanted Vriska, but Dave was his best bro so it shouldn't have been that bad.

Jake clapped his hands once. "Great! I want you all to sit in your assigned pairs each time you come in here. Get moved right now."

There were a few agitated groans but the class did as was told. They all sat where they needed to be, quiet and, for the most part displeased. Jake smiled to himself and walked across the room to a large cabinet. He opened it, pulling out a box that was too fucking big to even begin to fit in there. Seriously, what the hell Jake?

Jake set the box on top of his desk, opening it. "Alright. Ill call you up by pairs to get your children."

Karkat huffed irritably, looking at Gamzee who sat beside him. The idiot was grinning like there was no tomorrow, chin resting in his palm. Karkat sighed heavily; it was okay, he could still pass. Gamzee wasn't terrible with school, he was pretty smart. Karkat was probably over reacting.

Jake tilted his head towards the class. "Eridan and Sollux, step up and receive your baby."

Sollux hissed under his breath, standing and shoving Eridan ahead of him. Eridan elbowed the blonde in the chest, smirking when Sollux gasped out in surprise. They stumbled over to Jake, both of them glaring heatedly, and Jake handed them a bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. "Congratulations; it's a boy."

Sollux took the bundled "baby" and looked at Eridan. "I hate you."

"Likewwise," Eridan snapped. He glanced at the "baby" and then back at Sollux. "Unwrap it."

"Fuck you, you do it," Sollux snapped as he shoved the thing towards the other.

Eridan took the baby with a small huff, unwrapping the blue blanket. It was no different from the baby dolls one would find in the store, though it had glassy green eyes and weighed a bit more. Eridan tilted his head and then looked at Jake. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Jake nodded. "Now go sit; there are other babies to give out."

Sollux and Eridan sat down ans Jake smiled again. "Aradia and Equius, step up."

The two walked up to the man, Aradia taking the pink bundle gently. Their "child" had stormy grey eyes, not too far off from Equius' eye color. She smiled, handing it to Equius. "Here you go, Mr. Dad."

Equius blushed and held the baby, stuttering a few times. "I...I...it's a girl." He managed weakly.

Nepeta smiled to herself, watching Equius follow Aradia back to their desks. She was going to bug the boy about this later for sure. Jake called her and Terezi up next and the two were handed a boy. He had vivid honey colored eyes and Nepeta grinned, cuddling the thing close to her. "He's so cute."

"This is gonna be awesome," Terezi smiled as she tugged Nepeta back towards their desks. "He's got two awesome moms."

"Rose, Kanaya," Jake smiled at the two quiet girls. "Come on up, lovelies."

Kanaya smiled at Rose as they made their way up. Jake placed their "daughter" in Kanaya's arms and the black haired girl turned to the blonde beside her. "Our child.." She murmured, giggling softly.

Rose laughed back and put a hand on her hip. "I'm a mom at seventeen. Call M-Tv."

"Very funny," Jake rolled his eyes. "Go sit down. Vriska, Tavros, come get your son."

Vriska shoved Tavros ahead and the boy took the "child" Jake offered. He stared at it and sighed, looking at Vriska. "So uh...looks like we're married this year."

"Just when I thought this year couldn't be any worse," Vriska muttered, rolling her eyes.

Tavros frowned and held back a sigh, leading the girl back to their desk. Jake called up Gamzee and Karkat and Karkat watched Gamzee shoot up and rush to Jake. Jake smiled at the tall boy's enthusiasm. "You two have a baby girl."

Gamzee took the pink bundle and peeked down at it, a wide grin on his face. "Aww, Karbro she's got the same eyes as you."

Karkat stood in front of the other boy, arms crossed. "Cute. Now lets sit the hell down."

Gamzee followed his friend with a smile, plopping down with the baby in his arms.

John and Dave stood up without being called. They walked up to Jake, Dave hoping that he was glaring hard enough to be seen through his shades. If Jake saw the glare he ignored it, handing them a pink bundle with a wide grin. "A girl."

John held the baby and smiled, looking at Dave. "She has my eyes."

"Poor kid," Dave smirked, taking the baby out of John's arms as he walked to his desk. John followed suit, sitting down.

Jake smiled and nodded, pushing his glasses up as he gazed at the now awkward class. "There. You are now all parents. This is going to take constant work, like I said. Communication. Compromise. Everything. Your chance at graduating depends on this. Try to not screw up?"

"Easier said than done," Sollux muttered. He looked at the baby in Eridan's hands and then groaned. "Great."

Jake could feel the tension start to settle over them but brushed it off. "Don't think you can all just ignore this, too. This class will make or break you. I can promise you that."

The teenagers all took a deep breath, collective and contemplative. The only upside, at least, was that they all knew each other. It was easier, they figured, than being stuck with a stranger all year. They were all familiar with one another, could help each other easily. That was probably why Jake had assigned this project in the first place. Dave would ask about it later, probably. If he remembered.

When the final bell rang, all of the teens stopped to stare at each other. Aradia hesitated and looked at Equius. "Uhm, do you want me to take her home today? We could switch off every day...?"

Jake had told them, quite kindly, that they were to figure out their own schedules. Compromise.

Equius glanced at the baby in his hands. Jake was setting down supplied by the door; bottles, diapers and other things that babies used. He looked back at Aradia. "If you uh, wouldn't mind...? I'll take her tomorrow, I promise."

"No problem," Aradia took the baby after adjusting her backpack. On her way out she stopped, letting Jake fill up a diaper bag full of supplies before walking out. Equius sighed, standing off to the side to wait for Nepeta.

Nepeta took the baby from Terezi with a smile. "I can take her tonight, okay? Or if you want, we can have you take her weekends and I'll take her on school days."

Terezi hummed in thought as she took a diaper bag from Jake. "I think we can switch off day by day. If that's okay with you."

"Sounds great," Nepeta took the diaper bag from Terezi and gave her an awkward, one armed hug. "Talk to you later! Let's go, Equius!"

Terezi followed the two out, waving once to Vriska. Vriska offered a short wave before all but shoving the baby into Tavros' arms. "You take him."

Tavros hesitated. "Uhm...y-you're going to have to take him on weekends." He murmured. "I uh, I work on the weekends...so..."

Vriska raised an eyebrow, head cocked to the side. "You have a job?"

"Yeah, Eridan's cousin got me a job at uh, the store he works at," Tavros nodded as he wrapped the baby back up in it's blue blanket. "So, can you-"

"Yeah, whatever," Vriska was already on her way out the door.

Tavros frowned and sighed, adjusting the baby in his arms before taking a diaper bag from Jake as he left the room. Rose let out a slightly irritable noise as she looked at Kanaya. "Poor Tavros."

Kanaya looked up from their baby, her dark eyes soft and a small smile on her lips. "Yes...Vriska really should be a little nicer to him."

"Yeah," Rose murmured in agreement. "So, how do you want to do this...?"

Kanaya glanced down at the baby in her arms. "I can take her on school days; I don't go anywhere. Weekends my sister makes me go places sometimes, so if you can, could you take her on weekends?"

"Yeah, of course," Rose smiled. "And hey, you can call me anytime to come get her. We don't live that far apart. So if you ever need help give me a call."

Kanaya nodded slowly, her smile growing a little. "Yes, alright. I'll uh, talk to you later?"

"Let's walk home together," Rose suggested, already ushering the other girl up. "My house is on the way to yours."

Kanaya offered up another smile as her and Rose headed for the door. Rose took the diaper bag Jake offered, smiling at him. "See you later, Jake."

"Walk home safely, ladies," Jake replied back.

"Seems those two are pretty comfy," Eridan muttered as he came back to his desk. He held the diaper bag from Jake in his hand, looking expectantly at Sollux. "Are you taking the child?"

"Not today," Sollux stated, shoving the baby into the other boy's arms. "Tomorrow. Got shit to do today."

Eridan sighed and turned on his heel, Sollux following close behind him. Karkat couldn't help but snicker to himself as the two left the room. "Those two are going to kill each other." He faced Gamzee, watching the tan-skinned teen fiddling with the baby held a bit awkwardly in his arms. "You taking her, Gamzee?"

Gamzee blinked a few times, brown eyes wider. "Uh...actually bro, can you? Dad's home this week and uh, I don't think he'll be up and okay with the crying and shit...might get fucking mad."

Karkat knew how short Mr. Makara's temper was. He nodded, taking the baby from Gamzee's arms. "You can come over after school sometime. Maybe sleep over this weekend. Dad's out of town for a bit."

"If my dad's gone," Gamzee nodded slowly as he walked past Karkat. He took the supply diaper bag from Jake and walked back to his friend, helping slip the bag onto Karkat's arm. "He's uh, you know."

In Gamzee's language that meant he and his brother were in hot water with his dad...for whatever reason. But their dad was hardly ever home, and if he was home it was only for a short time. Karkat shrugged and held the baby a bit tighter. "Just text me for something, dumb ass. Don't piss the guy off. Tell your brother to keep his ass in line too or I'll send Kankri over to bitch at him."

Gamzee laughed and it made Karkat feel a little better. From his desk, Dave watched the two leave before looking at John. The other wasfinally ready to go. Dave stood up with John, stretching and feeling his back pop. "So, you taking the kid or what?"

John glanced at the bundle in his arms and then shrugged. "I guess so, sure. You want weekends?"

Dave shrugged back. "Doesn't really matter. We can just alternate whenever."

The two made their way over to Jake. John took the offered diaper bag and Dave stared ta Jake. "We're having a talk when you get home."

Jake smiled anyways, shrugging. "Sounds delightful. Can't wait."

Dave suppressed a groan, letting John tug him out. Left alone in his now empty class room, Jake smiled to himself as he leaned back against his desk. He'd tell Dirk the results later, they'd make bets like Dirk usually did. Those teenagers would all hate him by the end of the month. He just had to wait and see.

Welp, there's the first chapter. So far, a fairly nice mixture of possible pairings. The next chapter will introduce more of Kankri, Cronus and the other dancestors and we'll get a glimpse into what they do. Reviews? It'd be greatly appreciated guys.