Hi there everyone! Kazuko here with my latest work, Love is like a Musical! This is my first long Homestuck fanfiction, and I will be having a lot of fun playing around with the characters! Basically, they are all humans and in high school. They are in a mixed-grade class in their final hour of the day, so all grades are included. Some chapters will be short, others will not. I will probably update this one more often than my other long fic, Giving up the Gun, but I'm not sure if it will be as long as GUTG. So good luck, have fun reading, and stay safe as you venture through my interpretation of human trolls! :D
Homestuck and its characters belong to Husslepuff, and I do not claim them as my own. The only things I claim are the time, effort, and feelings that I put into writing this.
Staring hard at his schedule, Carter's brow knit in confusion. "Last period... In the auditorium...? ...Musical theater...?" He muttered, confused. As far as he could recall, he'd made sure that elective was nowhere near the top of his choices. As he made his way through the halls of his new school, carefully studying the map of the building, he got lost two or three times and managed to be late by three minutes. He yanked open one of the double doors, rushing inside. The others were just getting settled, their chatter still far above a whisper. Carter looked around, hoping to see a familiar face from any of his previous classes. He spotted the weakling (Taren, was it...?) with the faux hawk from biology, seated beside the creepy looking punk from language arts. Looking to the other side of Taren, Carter vaguely recognized the girl he sat behind in bio. Her shoulder length, strawberry-blonde hair was a bit messy. The girl she was sitting with was trying to fix it, her face a bit red and her mouth moving a mile a minute around her buck teeth. Carter hesitated at the top of the aisle, shifting his red backpack on his shoulder, unsure of where to go. A booming voice echoed through the auditorium.
"Oh, what do we have here?" The voice rang through the room, silencing everyone immediately. A tall, slender figure sauntered up the aisle toward Carter. He wore white dress pants, a green button down shirt, and dark green suspenders. He was looking down upon Carter hungrily. His lips quirked into a smile as Carter squirmed.
"I-I'm sorry I'm late, I got lost." Carter grumbled, looking at the floor. He then looked up at the instructor once more. "I'm Carter Vantas, sophomore, and this is my first day here."
"Ah yes, Carter. I was wondering if you'd died. Three whole minutes, wasted by losing your way! Did you not pay attention on your tour of the building?" The man rolled his eyes. Carter's cheeks heated up, flushing slightly.
"I-I didn't receive a tour of the place." Carter didn't break eye contact. "I was handed a map, a schedule, and was sent on my way."
The teacher was silent a moment, glancing around the room briefly from student to student. The other, what, nineteen or so broke eye contact immediately upon being looked over. The he turned his gaze back to Carter. "My name is Doctor Donald Scratch, but please only call me Doc Scratch. It'll be a pleasure to have you. Now then, find a seat. We're about to start our vocal warm ups." Scratch turned on his heel, headed back to the stage.
"B-But I...!" Carter began, remembering his predicament and taking a step forward. Scratch stopped, looking over his shoulder.
"Did I stutter?" His brows rose a fraction, and his eyes were cold. Carter swallowed hard, freckles on his cheeks hilighted by his blush. He didn't back down, though.
"No sir, but I wanted to know-" He began, but was promptly cut off.
"If you have a damn problem with my class, take it up with me afterwards." Scratch's tone was even, just barely emphasizing the last word in the sentence, but there was an underlying, almost threatening tone.
Carter was tempted to retaliate, but after another few seconds worth of staring at the other, bowed his head. "Whatever..." He grumbled, keeping his eyes trained on the floor as he shuffled toward the nearest row of seats. He dropped his bag into the third seat of the row, slumping into the fourth. Doc Scratch made his way up to the front of the house, disappearing behind a pair of black curtains. He reappeared seconds later on the stage, quickly taking center and making some sort of hand gesture. Everyone stood, and after taking a second to realise what was going on, Carter joined them. Scratch waved his hands a bit, and everyone began spreading out through the rows. Carter slid to the right a bit, then imitated Scratch and spread his arms at his sides. As his hands lowered back to their sides, a hand brushed his. Startled, Carter glanced up to see someone scowling at him. The other boy's thick framed glasses made his eyes look large, and would be inviting if they weren't so angry. Carter scowled back, but moved to the right a bit more. As they continued to stretch, Carter would sneak a glance or two at the boy.
His hair was a brownie-blonde, with a bleached-blonde shock of hair running up the middle. His face was slender, heart shaped, without a flaw in sight. His large, rectangular glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose perfectly, and his perfectly shaped lips pursed ever so slightly as he stretched. He let out a small sigh here and there.
The few times the other had made eye contact with him, Carter could feel the slight blush rising on his cheeks. He would quickly look away, pretending he hadn't noticed the other looking at him. He self consciously avoided opening his mouth as much as possible. He hated his braces, and was glad he would be getting rid of them in another year.
As everyone else sang, Carter mouthed the words. He pretended to sing. He refused to do the actual singing part. He hated to sing in front of anyone other than his cats, and even then it was a challenge.
Next, they had all gone through a series of physical stretches and warm ups. A script was passed out to each person, and Scratch read off the roles of each person. When Carter didn't here his name the first time through, he was relieved. Scratch quickly killed that feeling, though.
"Oh yes, our newbie. He needs a part as well..." Doc Scratch tapped his chin, looking over the students before him. After a moment he smiled, rather evilly, and pointed his finger in the air. "Aha, I know!" His finger swung down, cutting the class in half.
"We have twenty even now." He stated. "You ten will work from the original script," he gestured to the left half, "and you ten will work with a different version." he finished as he gestured to the right. "I will watch both performances at the end of the year, and whomever has the better will receive both extra credit and some form of a prize."
When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Carter grabbed his bag and ran straight for Doc Scratch. The taller was just about to leave through a side exit on the stage when he cried out, "D-Doc Scratch, wait!"
The taller paused, turning around. He looked down at Carter from where he stood, looming even taller than he had before. Carter looked up at him, not stepping down.
"Oh you again, hmm?" Scratch quirked a brow, staring down at Carter. He didn't seem amused in the least. "Back so soon?"
"I want to know why I'm in this elective!" Carter exclaimed. "I didn't choose it, specifically freaking said I did not want it at all! So why am I here?" He knew he was shouting, but he was upset.
"Why, do you have something against theater?" Scratch was calm, nonchalant. "You are here because they do not have room for you anywhere else. It's that simple."
"But that isn't fair to me!" Carter cried. "I don't know anything about dancing, I can't act, and I am a terrible singer!" Alright, he knew the last piece was a lie, but he wasn't about to admit that.
"Mr. Vantas, if you please." Scratch sighed, seeming to be tired of their conversation already. "I have other important matters I must tend to. You haven't a choice but to stay in my class, and that is that. Now get going before you miss the bus." With that, he left. Carter groaned, slowly turning and walking to the back of the house. As he reached the double doors, pushing through them, a voice sounded behind him.
"Hey, nice w-work." The slightly scottish accent made Carter's heart leap. The redhead stopped dead in his tracks, not turning around but not wanting to leave, either. "I've never seen someone stand up to ol' Scratch like that before. Anyone else w-woulda been scared shitless an' just shut the hell up."
Slowly, Carter turned around. The boy he'd sat beside during class was standing behind him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"It was nothing..." Carter muttered. "All I fucking did was tried to ask him to lemme out of this shitty class."
"This class ain't by no means "shitty", I'll have you know-w." The other rolled his eyes. "My name is Ethan Ampora, nice to meet you." Ethan's hand came forward, and after a moment of hesitating, Carter's hand met it.
"What's up with the way you talk?" Carter asked as their hands parted. When Ethan puffed out his cheeks indignantly, Carter rolled his eyes.
"I have a speech impediment you asshole, I thought that w-woulda been obvious!" Ethan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "W-whatever. Hey, w-what bus do you take?"
Carter stared back at him blankly a moment before asking in a quiet voice, "...Whaddaya mean what bus do I take? There's more than one?"
Ethan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "There are four of 'em in total. This is a big city, you know-w. I am on bus tw-wo." He listed off several stops, and when Carter recognized his, he perked up slightly.
"Oh, my stop's Crystalbrook Court...!" Carter exclaimed. "Which is, uh, yours again?"
Ethan rolled his eyes once more. "Do you even listen to people w-when they speak at ya? My stop is at Ambercold Point, tw-wo stops before yours. Feel like ridin' together, y'know-w, before w-we miss it? It's already five of three. W-we have five minutes to get our asses out there."
Carter stared at the other in disbelief, only able to nod. He couldn't believe he had actually made a friend on his first day there. Ethan guided Carter to the back doors of the school, where the buses were every afternoon. As they walked, he gave Carter a miniature tour.
As they stepped on the bus, revealing their school IDs to the driver, Ethan grabbed Carter's hand and tugged him into the nearest open seat.
"This is w-where I alw-ways sit." He stated. "Nobody dares touch my seat, or they know-w w-what's comin' for 'em." Carter didn't know, nor did he think he really wanted to.
The rest of the ride was filled with quiet chatter amongst the two. When Ethan had to leave, however, Carter panicked. slightly.
He stood, sliding out of the seat so Ethan could depart, but before Ethan could leave, Carter grabbed his backpack.
"W-wait, um..." Carter awkwardly looked down at his sneakers. "Am I gonna see you tomorrow, too?"
Ethan merely laughed. "If you're gonna be on the bus and show-w up for class, a course."
Carter grinned up at the other, nodding. "Y-yeah! See you then." He then slid back into the seat, watching as the other made his retreat. He turned to the bus driver, pecked her cheek with a 'thank you,' and promptly stepped off the bus. Carter blushed faintly, wondering how anyone could be so bold. He spent the rest of his ride gazing out the window, a small smile on his lips. He was glad to have made a friend. He nearly missed his stop because he was so far gone into his thoughts.