Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck or the characters.

You lay on the bed in your small, three-room apartment. It's almost ten-o-clock at night. You are looking at a picture of your ex-boyfriend. He has, well, had a copy of the picture. You're pretty sure he destroyed it when he split.

Your name is John Egbert, and you don't know why you're putting yourself through this pain.

Jake left you two years ago, but it still hurt. You weren't fully over him. He had left you for some tool who wore pointy shades and loved puppets. At least he had the decency to break up with you before started anything with him. That doesn't make it right, though, you argued with yourself.

You hear a knock on the door and shove the picture in your nightstand. You don't know who could possibly at your place this late at night. Rose had a night shift at the hospital, Jade was probably already asleep, and Dave was most likely highlighting as a DJ in some hyped up club. You didn't have any other friends, so you were utterly clueless.

When you get to the door, you look through the peephole. A man with mussed brown hair is standing outside with a duffle bag. He looks frantic. His shirt and green jacket are wrinkled, as well as his khaki shorts. Your heart nearly stops.

"Why the hell are you here?" you shout through the door.

You can tell he is very frazzled when he speaks, "John! I know we got off on bad terms, and I'm really, truly sorry, but could you please let me inside? You know, now!"

You sigh and slowly open the door, but Jake rushes in. He runs around the room, examining everything before placing his bag down and sitting on the couch. The older man buries his face in his hands, and you stare at him. The two of you stay like that for a while, before he looks up.

"I've done something really bad, John."

This frightens you. You swallow hard and ask a question you wish you didn't have to. "Like, robbed a liquor store bad, or..." Your voice trails off.

"John, it's lifetime in prison bad." He returns his face to his hands and you can see he's shaking.

"Fuck...what the hell did you do, Jake?"

When he finally speaks again, his voice is higher than usual, "Dirk cheated on me. I found out earlier today," he takes a sharp breath and his voice cracks, "I didn't mean to! It all happened so fast!" He's practically about to burst into tears.

It takes you a second to comprehend what he's saying, but when you do, the world around you goes hazy.

"Jake...please tell me you didn't."

He just nods, and curls into himself a bit more.

"Holy shit, Jake! I always knew you were trouble. I always told you, 'keep the guns out of the house!' Did you listen? Of course not! N-now you've done it! It was only a matter of time before you snapped! I hated that man for stealing you from me, but he didn't deserve this!"

"John, I know I have no right to ask, but you're my only hope. May I please stay here?" Jake emerald eyes were staring at you, full of regret and fear.

You sigh, you know you shouldn't. Harboring a criminal is illegal. "Why me? You left me, Jake, so why should I be punished by your presence." You were going to say yes, but you needed a reason first."

He placed his elbows on his knees and wrung his hands, "This least important reason is that you live in a small apartment in a small town away from everyone. The most important reason," he paused, "is because I still love you. I never stopped, but Strider, he captivated me. Now I realize it was all manipulation."

You're frozen to the spot and you feel a bit dizzy. You only now realize he's holding a photo in his hands. The same one from your drawer. He still loves you. The room goes black.

Your name is John Egbert, your murderous ex-boyfriend loves you, and you just passed out.

== John: Be the guy worried about the unconscious guy (you).

A/N- I've been thinking about this story a lot, and I think I might make this multiple chapters. I don't know, we'll see as it goes on. Please review, follow, and/or favorite, so I know how I'm doing! Thank you for reading!

~ZB