-Stage One: The Meeting-

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Getting paired up randomly made him feel nervous. He wasn't exactly the most normal kid around, his love for clowns and ICP often made him standoff-ish, his face paint scared off people as much as his scars did. He was far from normal but he didn't mind-but having to be paired up with a random kid for three days made him want to pick at his hangnails until he fucked up the skin. The more he thought about it the worse he felt, he felt bad about the unlucky dude that would have to stay and 'guide' him through the campus, opening his room and schedule for some incoming weirdo freshman.

The email had said they would receive a call from their mentor to be able to come up with a meeting spot and some identifiers. Gamzee now regretted the three missed calls that were still left unseen, the first time he wasn't anywhere near his phone but the other two were intentionally unanswered. He didn't even know how to begin the conversation, much less keep it going and not scare the guy. With a sigh he searched the email to gather his things, mainly a sleeping bag and his stuffed bear from his Grandad-

His heart pounded at the clanging on the table, his phone was thrumming and vibrating, almost sliding off the table before suddenly stopping. Gamzee frowned, usually calls lasted much longer, and once the mobile device was in his hand he couldn't help but smile-

Hey Gamzee! My name is Tavros Nitram and I'll be your guide during your stay at UCA! It's kind of chilly over here so make sure to pack warm clothing and a sweater. }: )

Gamzee recognized the last name and began to search his memory bank, huffing at the seemingly deja-vu feeling overcoming him. His fingers flew off the keys, already at ease from being able to message instead of having to control his breathing during the call.

Hey Tavros, I'm real excited to meet you over there, what college do you belong to if ya don't mind me asking. And what kind of dorming do you have? Thanks for the tip and I'll make sure to keep toasty. : o) Oh, and I dig the smiley, lol!

Hitting send made his hands twitch, casting waves of uneasiness and joy through his heart- he was still nervous about this guy, he was someone important-someone worth remembering through the haze of drugs and endless schoolwork, he had somehow existed even after grueling hours of community service and clubs.

I'm in the Derse suites-we don't use the term dorms here since our living quarters is more like a suite than a hotel. I have a double so we will be having another person in the room besides you. I like your smiley too, it's really cute! Ha ha, uh-what high school do you attend? Your name seems to ring a bell.

His tongue swiped over his chapped lips, picking at the peeling skin with his teeth as he replied back, so he wasn't the only one stumped with the bleached memories-

Thanks man, I totally love yours too, it's a bull-right? I go to Hussie Highschool, it's a few hours away from UCA so I dunno if you've ever heard of it. How should we find one another, should I wear something for you to look out for?

Gamzee put down his phone briefly to collect his things, stuffing them into his bag and trying to get everything inside without any issues. He began to scan his closet for clothes that would be easy to spot, hearing the buzz and dropping the blanket in hand to check his phone, Tavros seemed to be a really cool guy-hopefully he could keep this chill relation even in person.

No way! I went there too! I graduated from their last year, are you in the Highteir SLC? Maybe you can wear a bright colored hoodie? If you have one I mean, cause if you don't then maybe a hat or something like that would be cool. And it is a bull, wow-you're really smart! Wait, are you Kurloz's brother?

The smile soon flipped into a scowl, breaking his lips again and he hissed in pain, he hated his older brother for many reasons-too many to list without him going bat-shit.

Yeah, I am-I had Reina and Makarin this year, and I do think I remember you. The name really stuck, but I can't recall what exactly you looked like. We met in a club or something, right? Sorry for being a goldfish-since my memory sucks so hard. And I can wear a purple hoodie, no prob.

For the moment he abandoned all his schoolwork and packing, moving to lay down, feeling around his sheets for the end of his phone charger. He found it and blindly jostled the phone till it finally beeped with confirmation, setting it beside his head and waiting to hear the muffled vibrations. He closed his eyes and he continued to delve into his memories. Okay, so Nitram...Tavros Nitram. He had brown hair? He sighed and put his hands over his eyes, keeping his sight dark until the message went through-

Oh gosh, I love them both-did they ever get together? I know Reina is head over heels in love with Maki but he's going through a messy divorce-yet it's obvious he's somewhat interested in her! Oh and tell Reina that I love her! Sorry for not speaking up sooner, I just wanted to be sure that you were the guy I thought you were. We actually had only one class together, Reina's Calculus class-remember? You even sat behind me since you had a higher grade in the class, and I would bug you a lot?

Gamzee soon recalled the boy, a beautiful and exotic male with a clean mohawk and gentle green eyes. His voice was often low but very soft and sweet-he loved hearing him talk, but loved his pale green eyes even more, especially when they were directed at him. He was the coolest nerd, his nose and lips being full of metal and matching his orange braces, and even with his bulky hipster-esqe glasses he still proved to be the freshest rapper. It was a shame, they only had a semester together due to Tavros' jump from AB to BC within the year, yet Tavros never completely beat him despite being his senior. The memories of sharing notes and having after school tutoring sessions were what inspired him to continue school and look forward to college. The beautiful boy had worked hard to get into his dream school, UCA made him happy and nearly crazy.

UCA couldn't be any more perfect Gamzee! They have my major and I can play tennis over there, and my boyfriend got accepted as well! Thank you so much for all your hel-

He wanted to slam his phone, to say he was feeling ill and not go to UCA anymore. He should have chosen another university, he was accepted to nearly all of them except for his dream schools-Makarin told him they weren't that great of schools, but he had boasted about attending his number one choice for his masters the first day he met him. Reina said that it probably wasn't meant to be but when his brother chided him for not doing enough it came to his attention that he really didn't do enough to get in. Out of eleven colleges he was accepted into eight, but he still chose UCA-

==:Gamzee, this may be the universe telling you something. Maybe this is a better school for you, and you won't be so far away from home. Also, you have lots of friends going with you, and I do know some of the graduates that already attend are some people you are acquainted with-

Fuck the universe. He wanted to get away from these people, the only tolerable souls here were Karkat and Sollux, everyone else could go die in hell. The universe hates him, this is just a way to make him suffer even more, especially since his ex planned on attending as well. She even got into the same college house as he did, so there would be no avoiding her. Kurloz would make his life a living hell, he had a feeling he would end up getting pulled into his apartment despite being a freshman. Motherfuck-