NOTE: Eridan is part australian in my story ! so i tried to slip in a few australian slang terms /)v(\ feel free to correct me if any are used the wrong way because im not good at this oh goodness ;A; though its not often since eridan tries not to use the slang as much anymore since he thinks its weird if he used it when hes now in america but it sometimes slips into daily conversations since hes so used to it from being in australia for almost 10 years ! c:
"Hey, hipster."
Yeah, that sounded about right. You were wondering where Karkat was this whole morning.
"G'day Kar," you greeted back, glancing up for just a second from your phone. "W-where have you been all mornin'? I've been w-waiting for my chauffeur for like, tw-wenty minutes already."
Karkat glared at you, though it was merely a narrow of the eyes and not exactly intimidating. The poor guy must be tired.
"You don't even pay me, douche! You have no right to call me that!" Karkat snapped. You chuckled lightly, nodding as you stood up.
You, Eridan Ampora, an aspiring artist who also wrote music in his spare time, 20 years old and not having your drivers license yet, it was surprising that your moody roommate was the only person willing enough to give you a ride to the train station. It's not like you had many friends anyway, but yeah most of them didn't have the time to drive you wherever you wanted to go unlike Karkat who did absolutely nothing during the day but play video games and bother his obvious crush over Pesterchum. It's real cute watching him mutter to himself with a flushed face whenever the girl said something supposedly 'stupid', says Karkat.
"Alright, don't get narky on me mate. Let's just get goin' already," you said. "I don't w-wanna be late like yesterday."
It was a quiet drive, aside from the loud music blasting from the cars speakers (Karkat had an odd taste in music).
You were bored, to say the least. It's the same routine everyday and you are sort of getting sick of it. Something exciting to happen is currently on your wish list, not like anyone ever paid any mind to your imaginary agenda.
"Kar," you piped up, not glancing away from the foggy window, "I changed my mind. I ain't goin' to w-work today, take me to that other train station. Y'know-w, the one closer to the shoppin' district."
You could feel Karkat's eyes on you, giving you an odd look.
"And why the fuck should I? I thought you didn't want to get fired, you fuckass! Eridan, do you know how far we are from that district now? God, you don't even pay me to drive you-!"
Letting out a dramatic sigh, you held out a ten dollar bill in front of the latino.
"Just, come on!" you snapped impatiently. "Please, Kar? I just remembered that I had to go pick up something," you lied, waving the bill in front of his face. Karkat saw straight through your lie, though because the guy was such a sweetheart, he obliged. Snatching the money out of your hand, he shoved it down his pocket before setting the car to drive and doing a quick u-turn, earning a few honks from passing cars.
Sighing, you relaxed in your seat as you watched the buildings that the car sped past.
"Cheers, Kar. See you later," you thanked the latino as you shut the door. Karkat flipped you off before he sped out of the parking lot and back to the apartment you shared. Oh, how you loved that boy. You weren't afraid to admit it either, though Karkat always thought of your advances simply as you being... uh, you. It sort of hurt you a bit since you really did find yourself attracted to your roommate.
Sighing as you fixed your scarf around your neck, you turned to gaze at the train station you out of nowhere wanted to head to instead of the station you usually took. No trains here would be taking you to where job is located, you knew that, but whatever. You'll just take a random train and step off at a random stop and see where that takes you.
After the usual long trek up the stairs, you stepped inside the building and looked around. It looked the same as your usual station, though this one was more crowded. You stepped up to the machines where you paid and got your ticket before moving to step on the escalators when something stopped you. A loud and slightly raspy but soothing voice reached your ears. Street performers weren't an odd sight for you, rather they were a frequent occurrence when you left the house. Every now and then you would even listen for a few minutes before leaving and completely forgetting them after the next five minutes.
You didn't understand how this performer was any different.
Slowly backing away from the escalators, earning a few complaints and insults, you moved to the crowd surrounding the voice. You were enchanted, this person's voice had captured you. The voice wasn't anything special. It sounded like any other street performer yet somehow they captured your attention.
You pushed through the crowd, wanting to get a view of this performer. Finally making it to the front, you couldn't help but feel just a tad bit disappointed. You're wide imagination was expecting the enchanting voice to belong to an enchanting human being- rather, you were met with the sight of a regular guy with messy hair, a baggy sweater, and horrendous red-and-blue glasses. The singer was pretty average, really. Tanned skin, tall and skinny build, he also seemed to be around your age. That didn't make the spell any less effective on you, though.
Standing silently, you watched the man as he sang. You could hear a light lisp in his voice and you could not help but find it endearing. The lyrics weren't original, rather they were songs that are widely popular during your generation. You hated the music nowadays, yet that didn't stop you from listening to the performer.
The man wasn't attracting a lot of attention, just like every other street performer. Most of the crowd looked tired, just listening to have something to do while they waited for the train. It didn't seem like he was earning a lot of money either. You felt a little bad for the guy, he didn't look like he was getting by so well.
After about ten minutes (you were pretty sure you already missed your train), the crowd had died down and only you and about two others were still watching. You don't know why, but you felt a bit dumb just standing there, cold coffee latte in your hand as you stared expressionlessly. You didn't know how you should be reacting, anyways. It's not like you're the only one, so you didn't exactly understand why you felt so rude right now. Maybe you should just go now. Get another ticket and take the next train.
Right then, though, the singing had stopped and the man stood up and began packing.
The thought of getting another ticket quickly distinguished as you began to walk up to the performer. What were you even doing? What were you going to say? Good job? Ha, a chance for this charming boy with a lisp to flip you off. You honestly didn't want that, and that sort of irked you. Why did you care?
It was too late to turn away now.
"Um..."
The guy looked up as he was cleaning the lenses of his glasses to gaze confusingly at you and damn- damn he had a pair of fine eyes. The left eye was a soft, chocolate brown while the other was a vibrant cerulean blue. You couldn't help but find yourself more enchanted by this man.
You were snapped out of your daze when the street performer awkwardly coughed, trying to catch your attention. You flushed when you realized you were staring, you also pouted when you realized his glasses were on again.
"Uh, excuthe me," the man said awkwardly, and he also sounded slightly irritated, "do you need thomething? I know I'm quite the looker, but it'th kinda rude to just thtand and thtare. Can you hurry too? I gotta catch the train..."
Biting your lip, you sort of glanced around nervously, twiddling your thumbs as you tried to find something to say.
"W-well... I, uh..."
The man groaned, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as he lifted up his guitar case. "Alright, you're wathting my time. I gotta get going." Pulling on his backpack, he pushed past you to begin heading down the stairs. You don't know what got into you, but you ended up following him. You could tell he noticed. Turning around, he snapped, "Ith there a problem, dude? I thwear, I'm not afraid to call thecurity if you're going to follow me around like thome freak. Jutht leave me alone."
Well, someone has attitude issues.
You really were a loser. You shouldn't have stopped to listen, why didn't you just drop it? This guy wasn't any special anyway. Letting out a huff, you quickly moved to open your satchel. After a few seconds of rummaging, you yanked out your wallet and opened it, pulling out a five dollar bill and holding it out.
"Just... just here, take it, alright?" you said blunderingly.
The boy glanced down at the money then back up at your face. You felt a bit anxious, beginning to think he was just going to flip you off and leave you in the dust when instead you heard a small snort. Your eyes widened as you looked up to gaze at him to see him smirking.
"All that jutht to give me thome cash? You're a funny guy. Thankth."
Briskly taking the money, the performer turned around and continued his trek down the stairs before exiting the building and out onto the platforms. You watched him, you watched his every move as you stood stiffly on the stairs, ignoring those who rudely pushed past him. Not knowing what got over you, a large grin made its way onto your face. Letting out a laugh, you ran down the stairs and out the doors, running past the singer before hopping up onto the train that was currently stopped there, completely ignoring the fact that he didn't pay for a ticket.
As the train closed shut and sped away, the street performer, named Sollux Captor, smiled lightly. He witnessed the whole scene and he thought it this man was quite endearing. A bit awkward and gawky but... endearing.
"Where were you this whole day fuckass?!" Karkat snapped, jumping up from his seat on the couch when you walked through the door.
You grinned, dropping all your bags and moving to sit your roommate down and sitting down beside him.
"I w-was in Brookfield," you replied as if it was the most casual thing to happen to you, which it was actually since whenever you got even just the least bit excited, you did something totally out of the normal to celebrate, like today for instance. Karkat's eyes seemed to bulge out of his skull hearing your response before he tackled you to the couch, shaking your shoulders. "Brookfield?! Are you fucking mad, that's like 10 miles away from Chicago you asshole!" Karkat turned to narrow his eyes at all the bags you had dropped by the door before turning back to you. "And you ended up fucking shopping for hell's sake, are you shitting me?"
You shook your head, sighing as you smiled contently. Karkat groaned, moving to just sit on top of you.
"What am I going to ever do with you, oh my fucking god."
Laughing softly, you sat up to meet Karkat's eyes. "I met someone, Kar. I met someone at the train station you dropped me off at." Karkat groaned, wiping a hand down his face. "Really now? And why the ever-loving fuck would I care?"
You laughed, laying back down.
"He's real w-wonderful, Kar!" you exclaimed. "There's absolutely nothin' special about this bloke, and he's a street performer, and he has the most charmin' lisp ever and he almost- dare I say, almost- flipped me off but I made the guy snort instead and it w-was a beaut sound, just like his singin' and I w-wanna hear it again. So tomorrow-w one hour earlier than usual you are drivin' me to that train station again, Kar. W-we are makin' this happen! Don't even get me started on his eyes! Glorious! They w-were-!"
Karkat slapped you after that. Your cheek stung, and now you were just sort of sitting there dazed and confused.
"W-what...?"
"You're such a dumbass, I swear!" Karkat snapped. "You barely know this douche and here you are yappin' to hell about him. It's so fucking irritating! Dude, just listen to yourself. What do you even fucking know about him? Nothing! Nothing except the fact that he sings on the street and train stations everywhere to earn money! He could go and goddamn kill you in a shady corner for all I fucking know. Remember what happened to last time you and your sorry ass fell head over heels just as you met them? You wrecked havoc!"
"Remember what she said to your fucking face when she broke up with? She couldn't handle you and for fuck's sake you were so wrecked. Don't let this douchesack be another Feferi. Fuck it all! I just..." Karkat breathed heavily after the long rant, leaning down to hide his face in your chest. "I just don't want you getting hurt again... fuckass..."
You bit your lip as you watched Karkat, slowly reaching out and awkwardly petting his head.
"Kar," you started slowly, wanting to find some way of calming him down. Despite the fact that you were absolutely touched and ecstatic about the fact that he cared about you so much, you don't like seeing the latino like this. "It's not like I'm gonna go crackin' onto this guy... I'm just... just..."
You trailed off.
What were you even doing? Why were you so hung up on this singer dude anyway? You barely knew him. Slowly, you were starting to second guess yourself about everything, and your face contorted into expressions unreadable. That was the last straw for Karkat apparently.
"You know, fuck you and fuck your dumbass boy crush fantasies! Watch me give a single fuck!" Karkat exclaimed angrily, climbing off of you and pulling you up with him by your scarf, dragging you to the door.
"Kar, w-what are you doin'?" you asked worriedly, your voice rising by a decimal. "Fuck, don't tell me..."
Karkat opened the door, forcefully shoving you out before slamming the door in your face after a final shout of 'fuck you'.
Well... damn.
Alright, to be honest you weren't really expecting the night to go down like that. It actually wasn't a rare occurrence being kicked out by Karkat. Though, this time you felt like this was serious. The latino would sooner or later feel bad about kicking you out and allowing you back into the apartment- you had a feeling that wasn't going to happen any time soon once you checked your phone and attempted calling the other, realizing he shut his phone off.
Looks like you're going to have to find somewhere else to retire to tonight.
Karkat hadn't called or texted you once. You were beginning to feel anxious, scared that maybe you blew your chance of ever getting together with Karkat. You really did like that boy (though you were kind of getting confused about that too now that you met that nameless guitar boy), and now you weren't even sure if he reciprocated the feelings just a little bit.
You groaned, running a hand through your hair. None of your other friends would be awake by now, and you didn't want to attempt to wake them up with your petty pleas to stay the night, knowing that they would flat out reject the idea and maybe even kick you out with any hesitation. Also, you didn't have your wallet. You had left it in the apartment with the rest of your bags and couldn't even grab it when Karkat kicked you out. So cross out heading to a hotel and getting anything to eat. Damn.
As you turned a corner to begin walking across the road when something caught you off guard.
A singing voice. A singing voice that was all to familiar with that light lisp to it.
It was him.
You sped off the rest off the way, earning a few complaints from those crossing beside you as you shoved past them. You let the voice guide you to him, hair blowing in the wind as you searched around the area with wide eyes for that familiar face that you found yourself daydreaming about through the day. You furrowed your brows, shaking your head as a way to get those bad thoughts out of your head. What are you thinking? You had Karkat!
As you ran, you began to wonder... what made you think that this guy was going to let you do what you wanted to ask him? It isn't really a good probability that he was going to let a stranger he had met only once and didn't even know the name of retire for the night in his home. You felt like laughing just thinking about it. Though you didn't stop searching for the nameless boy, wanting to at least give it a try. Plus, maybe this was your chance to get to know the guy. To add to the list of reasons, you really needed a place to sleep. You weren't going to resort to sleeping on the filthy ground and have yourself completely vulnerable to all the dangers of the night. Fuck that.
After rounding a corner after about five minutes of more running, you spotted that pair of dorky red and blue glasses.
Inhaling deeply, you slowly began to make your way to the street performer. You never felt so anxious in your life; this is just downright nerve wracking. What if this guy thought you were really trying to stalk him once he realized you found him again? And then you're going to ask if you can stay the night? Several scenarios, each getting worse and worse, raced through your mind as you stiffly walked over.
"-then athk me for a piethe of gum. Bitter and dumb, you're my thugarplum. You're awful, I love you-!..."
The sudden cut off in the chords made you wince slightly, taking in the nameless man's surprised face. Of course, he wasn't expecting this encounter. You looked completely worn out and disheveled, it wouldn't be a surprise if he had a few thoughts running through his head.
"Uh... hey?"
You swallowed before replying back, "Hi."
The singer placed down his guitar, standing up as he shoved his hands into his pockets before looking at you.
"Alright, tho uh, ith there thomething you need? Want your five buckth back? I don't think that'll be pothible becauthe I already thpent it on a thlithe of pitha." He smirked to himself for a moment, cocking his head to the side as he raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Or could you not get me off your mind? I know, I have that effect on people thometimeth."
You rolled your eyes.
"Yeah, actually," you answered nonchalantly, deciding not to try and be a gawky looking twenty year old.
The man chuckled, glancing around before turning back to you, eyebrow raised.
"You thtill didn't anther my quethtion, though." He shrugged. "What are you doing here exactly?" You sighed, beginning to twiddle your thumbs as you looked down nervously. "W-well, uh... actually, I w-was w-wonderin' if I could ask you a favor..."
Eyes widening, the guitar boy gave a curt nod.
"Alright, hit me."
"You don't think I could, oh I don't know-w... stay the night? W-with you...?" you asked awkwardly, being completely blunt with the request.
There was no way to avoid the fact that that statement sounded completely and utterly suggestive, but how else were you supposed to phrase your request? You squeezed your eyes shut, waiting for the obvious response back.
"Holy fucking thit, dude."
There it is.
"Uh, okay, how am I gonna thay thith? Dude, we only juth met you know," he said awkwardly, scratching his head. "I know I'm one hot piethe of ath but I don't think that'th gonna be allowed with me. It'th thort of... weird? Awkward? I don't know. You get the point, man. Tho that'th gonna have to be a no-"
"Oh for fuck's sake!" you snapped, starting to play around with the various rings on your fingers (something you did when you get irritated). "I ain't makin' any moves on crackin' onto ya, okay? Get that through your thick head, mate. I've been through a w-whole fuckin' lot tonight, aigh'? I decided to head to a different train station for no fuckin' reason and ended up findin' you w-which, might I add, has been messin' w-with my brain this w-whole entire day! I've been goin' mad! You must be a real charmer to have captured my attention here."
"But because of that, guess w-what?" you continued, you were on a roll and you weren't stopping now. "I ended up in goddamn Brookfield! And my bastard of a roommate- and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible- got so flippin' upset about everythin' and kicked me out. And I don't think he'll be lettin' me back in, okay? I have no one else to go to. I found you, and I thought w-why the fuck not. So just..." you sighed. "Just please? I'm beggin' ya, mate."
You completely avoided the fact that you did just admit that you were thinking about him throughout the whole day, but you would rather deal with that another time if it was ever brought up (which you hope wouldn't, you were embarrassed enough already).
The man stared at you for a moment for sighing, picking up his guitar case and walking up the steps.
"Okay, fine. But if you do anything to upthet me, I'm kicking you out without any hethitation," he mumbled. Beaming from ear to ear, you nodded, bolting up the steps to walk by the singer's side. "Crickey, cheers to you! I really do ow-we you a lot!" you exclaimed with glee, relieved that the other had agreed.
Opening the door for you, he said, "I don't even know why I'm agreeing to thith thit. It'th real thtupid but I'm tired tho fuck it. Lithen, it'th no big deal but I gueth the leath you owe me ith your name tho I can thtop calling you 'the hipthter without a name'."
You pouted for a moment, not liking it when people title you as a hipster.
"I ain't a hipster, or w-whatever you call them. I'm just a guy with an actual, uh," you paused, looking the man beside you up and down, "taste in fashion." You rolled your eyes before shoving your hands in your pockets. "Eridan, Eridan Ampora."
The other nodded, pressing the button to open the elevator.
"Cool, yeah. I'm Thollux."
Thanks for reading! It was kind of rushed since I wanted to finish this by tonight and I'll try and edit it another time. Anyways, thanks again! Can't wait for next chapter!
EDIT: Whoop, finally edited! Well, at least I hope I didn't miss anything. Plus I even added in a few things!