Nepeta wasn't ever really lonely. She always had her lusus and her moirial, Equius. Even with them, she felt that something was missing. Every time before she went to sleep, she felt like something should be with her, or was it someone. Sometimes, Nepeta would ask Equius if he felt what she felt before going to sleep, and his answer would always be no. After about the fifth time of Nepeta asking, Equius became worried about her, wondering what could possibly be bothering her.
As our young Nepeta soon gets more friends and meets Karkat, she finds herself feeling flushed. At first, she didn't know who it was, but after a few seasons, she found out that her flushed feelings were for Karkat. She wanted to tell Equius about these feelings, but she thought that it would bother him, so she kept it to herself.
As the flushed feelings grew more and more each time Nepeta talked with Karkat, when she would talk with Equius, Equius could tell that something was different. He asked her one time, and she said that she was just being herself, not wanting to tell Equius her feelings for Karkat.
Soon, Nepeta would draw pictures of her and Karkat together, and she became obsessed with the idea that Karkat has actual flushed feelings for her. That's what made the upcoming rumor so much more painful.
One night, as Nepeta talks with some of her friends, one of them mentions Karkat. Nepeta wondered why they mentioned Karkat, and they talk about him for a bit. Through that friend, Nepeta learns that Karkat might have flushed feelings for Terezi instead of her. After finding this out, Nepeta kept herself to her cave, and wouldn't talk with anyone.
Equius quickly found out that Nepeta was keeping to herself, he tried to talk with her, but she would never answer. One day, Equius so really worried about his moirial that he made the long journey to her cave to visit her. There, he found Nepeta all alone, lying on the ground with a picture of her and Karkat together next to her. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to have not noticed that Equius was there.
Equius goes over to Nepeta and sits next to her, saying with a worried voice "Nepeta, what is wrong?" Nepeta opens her eyes and looks at Equius.
"Nothing's wrong with me, Equius," says Nepeta, lying a terrible lie.
"Something is wrong with you Nepeta, please tell me what it is," says Equius, "I'm your moirial, I'm here for you." With that, Nepeta told Equius what was wrong with her, and Equius gently comforted her. Once Nepeta was good again, they both roleplayed together, making Nepeta very happy that she has a great moirial with her.