howdy, name's ka. i wrote like 95% of this two months ago so its shitty
constructive critiques are welcome and really wanted
The clock clicked the 8:50 and Eridan's watch beeped, it was over at last. His seven hour shift at his shitty job was finally almost over, as his last table had finally left and the fact he couldn't get anymore. He wiped his hands on the black apron and headed to the kitchen to get a drink of water from his personal glass. Today was one of the worst days he'd had. The customers all seemed crabby and all apparently decided to get even worse if the place was packed, which it was.
Eridan worked at the town's closest Red Lobster. He didn't like the job, but that didn't matter. He had to get one otherwise his father would tell him he was a lazy bum just like his older brother. They didn't need the money; his dad owned one of the largest weaponry companies in the US. They could donate three-fourths of their wealth and still have enough to survive in extreme comfort. Besides, Eridan brought home a certain guest all the time that mooched off their luxuries; he couldn't be completely like his brother.
Speaking of that certain moocher, he hadn't come by yet tonight. He usually came every Saturday around 8:30 so Eridan could buy him a drink or something of the sort. He probably had missed the bus or he actually had something to do besides cry about his love life and sleep on Eridan's couch. Letting out a soft sigh Eridan dumped out the glass and placed it in the wash tub, heading out of the kitchen and to a small room for employees to leave their things while working. After grabbing his light purple jacket and the belongings out of the pocket he said good night to a few of coworkers and headed to the door.
Sure enough, there he was. Dressed in a shaggy grey sweater with poorly dyed black hair sticking out from under the hood, his eyes painted with little dark bags. His look shot directly over to Eridan who was leaning up against the wood pillar at the outside of the bar. Eridan made a small "tch" like noise before walking over to the shorter boy and placing his hand on his shoulder.
"You're late, Kar. I thought ya maybe had plans for once," ted said jokingly, looking down at him. Karkat simply slapped his hand off of his shoulder and muttered something under his breath. Eridan sighed and guided him into the restaurant to their usual table in the back where they rarely sat people except with large parties.
"I ain't buying you anythin' tonight, or at least not another five fuckin' drinks," Eridan scoffed, seating Karkat and himself at one of the many tables. Karkat still didn't say anything; he just kind of looked down at the table. "Why aren't ya talkin'? I know you come here 'ta get stuff of yer chest."
"I just wanted to get away from my goddamn dad and brother," Karkat muttered, looking away in attempt to make Eridan just shut up. "Am I not allowed to come here anymore for my own personal reasons like to get a plate of shrimp?"
"Ya hate shrimp. 'Sides if you wanted to be here by yourself you wouldn't 'a come durin' my shift at your usual time." Eridan gave him a bit of a dirty look, giving off another sigh. He scooted his chair back from the table and stood up. "I'll buy one drink if 'ya tell me what the fuck is up with you tonight. I'll even drive 'ya home so 'ya don't have to puke all over my dad's real fur rug again."
Karkat sat in silence while Eridan walked away, his head kept the direction it was originally at. He honestly didn't really care if Eridan did bring him back a drink tonight or if he just gave him a glass of water. He really did just want to get away from his house and in all honesty, his neighborhood in general. He hated where he lived, ever since a certain someone became their neighbors anyway. She just reminds him of his shitty middle school life.
Eridan returned a few minutes later with a black tray with four glasses on it, two tall colorful and probably alcoholic drinks and two glasses of water. He set the glasses down on the table and the tray on a different one. Sitting back down he stared at Karkat again, who was messing with the pieces of fruit on the top.
"Why are you so silent tonight, you're normally shootin' off left 'n right about what happened. Did 'ya finally get expelled at your senior year 'a school? " The older boy joked, picking up the glass and putting the straw to his lips. "Or did you fuck some stuff up with Tez again?"
"It's none of your goddamn business," Karkat snapped, quickly taking a drink of the frozen concoction. "Besides, we don't really talk anymore… now that she's going out with Dave or whatever she calls it. The only reason I see her anymore is when my stupid dad invites family over. And I'm not kicked out of school, thank you very much. I seriously just wanted to get out of my house."
Eridan's glass clanked on the table and he leaned back in the chair, giving Karkat a small frown. He stared at him for a few moments before speaking slowly, "Kar you're pretty fuckin' hopeless if you're not gonna get over the fact that Tez is datin' someone else besides you. Maybe if 'ya actually tried to be friends with her again you'd actually have a chance. You don't get girlfriends by watchin' them out your bedroom window."
"I told you I fucking gave up on her back when you still went to school. There's no use even trying to get back together with her if we haven't even been close all of high school." The younger boy had finished off his fruity drink, placing it back on the table right next to Eridan's drink. "Could we just leave already? I fucking hate talking here."
Eridan gave him a nod and he stood up, putting the glasses back onto the black tray. Digging his hand into his apron he tossed his car keys at Karkat. Giving him a small gesture to catch and to go outside, Karkat caught them with ease. He turned around and rushed the small back room, heading to Eridan's car in the back to wait for him.
He carried the tray over to the kitchen and dumped out the waters and the rest of his drink. He didn't really care that he wasted practically all of the drink, as he wasn't going to tell anyone that he ordered them anyway. No one really cared anyway, everyone secretly wrote fake orders for food and drinks after their shifts so they didn't have to pay for them. The glasses clanked into the little tub and he headed out of the kitchen to his car.
Exiting out of the back door of Red Lobster, Eridan walked over to his small, silver practically car which he purchased without his dad's permission. However, his dad didn't seem to notice that he bought it for himself. They had 11 cars that just sat in the garage, what's one more?
Karkat was sitting in the passenger's seat of the car blasting music so loudly that Eridan could hear it through the windows. He was staring off out of the window like there was something mesmerizing out in the lights of the dark streets that he's seen probably a hundred times. The older boy slammed his fist against the driver's window, breaking Karkat out of his little trance and turning down the booming radio. Eridan opened up the door and slipped into the low car, turning off the radio completely.
Eridan shifted the car into start and pulled out of the parking lot onto the road. They both remained silent for a few moments before Eridan turned his head and looked at Karkat.
"Were you intendin' at stayin' at my house like you always do? My dad said you gotta sleep in my room from now on. Besides he doesn't even want you over for a while."
"Tch, if you're goddamn brother even sees me over he'll tell your dad as soon as he walks in the door. Though Kankri said something about hanging out with him this weekend, so they'll probably end up over at your place anyway," Karkat groaned in response. He hadn't slept in Eridan's room in over a year and a half. Not because he didn't like it, but because of what happened last time. "Let's just go to your house, my house fucking sucks right now."
Eridan sighed at Karkat's poor excuse and drove the rest of the way to his house just as silently as he was before. He knew that Karkat hated sleeping in his room, especially with him in there. The Ampora house was a bit out in the country, however still on a large and private lake that his family shared with the Peixes. His home was more or less made up of two extremely large mansions with a half mile long driveway than a mere house like Karkat's family had. The shear size of the estate was big enough to house nearly two-thirds of the city quite comfortably. Bright white lights penetrating from the ground and from street lights above lit up the endless yard, guiding them where to go in the practically pitch black dark.
Karkat was lost in awe almost everytime he visited Eridan's. It stunned him that the fact that a simple family of four needed a house grand enough for a family of four hundred. He wondered what the Peixes estate had to offer, as Eridan had described it as being twice the size of both mansions along with other houses spread across the world. They even had even workers at their house than the Amporas did, which was at most 100 people, all of which lived in the smaller of the two mansions. Eridan had explained he actually didn't even know how many people worked there anymore, he stopped counting after junior high.
As the silver car finally came to the end of the long driveway, a small yet luxurious shack with another road leading off it appeared. A tall and seemingly older man in a black robin-tailed jacket stepped out carefully, leaning down to the passenger's window and carefully knocking his clean white gloves on the tinted glass. Eridan simply put the car into park and exited the car, leaving it running for the man. Karkat hesitated for a moment before scrambling out of the car and walking over to Eridan.
Karkat looked back over at the large mansion, which was an extremely short walk away. He forgot about how hand and foot served Eridan's family was. Their front yard was as clean, crisp, and consistent in length and there was a gently lit white path leading up to the grand front door of the mansion. Nothing looked out-of-place or messy, like one of those model homes he's seen in the magazines at the gas station or at the grocery store.
No matter how many times Karkat had visited Eridan's house, it never ceased to stun him how grand it was.
