Don't Forget About Me

Chapter Two: Consultation

Karkat's best friend John was a beanpole of a boy; tall, thin, and lanky with messy black hair and protruding front teeth. Karkat wasn't sure how they were such good friends. He'd mostly chalked it up to the fact that SBURB had been a rough time for them all and John had been there for him, but now he was starting to second guess John's motives. Though John would deny it, Karkat felt John's feelings for him were a little more than platonic. Not that Karkat minded; he just didn't want to hurt John's feelings by telling him he didn't feel the same way. So he kept his knowledge secret, the only other person with knowledge of it being Rose, whom they each confided in in such manners.

As Rose crossed his mind, Karkat booted up his desktop PC and logged into Pesterchum. Rose's handle appeared with a yellow emoticon beside it. He clicked it, eager to tell her of the . The messaging application appeared. Rose had contacted him already.

- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 07:24 –

TT: Karkat, I need to speak with you.

TT: Karkat?

TT: Are you asleep? I'm afraid it is rather important I relay this message, given the current time.

- tentacleTherapist [TT] is now an idle chum! -

CG: ROSE? I'M HERE NOW.

TT: Oh, good, there you are.

TT: I have some news from John.

CG: URGH, CAN IT WAIT? I HAVE SOME THINGS I NEED TO TALK ABOUT FIRST. THEY'RE A PRETTY BIG DEAL.

TT: I don't see why not.

TT: Go on, then. What do you need to say?

CG: LAST NIGHT I MET THIS KID NAMED DAVE. HE SAYS HE PLAYED SBURB WITH US.

TT: The name does not sound familiar. You're sure it was "Dave?"

CG: POSITIVE. HE SAID HE WAS A MEMBER OF YOUR SESSION.

CG: HE KINDA LOOKED LIKE DIRK- HE SAID DIRK AND HE WERE SORT OF BROTHERS BUT NOT? KIND OF LIKE HOW ROXY'S YOUR TEEN MOM BUT NOT ACTUALLY.

TT: I have no recollection of a fourth member of our party. But who knows? The Game has played many tricks on us before.

TT: Who's to say it didn't wipe our memories of him?

CG: THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT.

CG: THOUGH IF HE IS JUST PLAYING TRICKS ON ME HE'S DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF IT.

CG: HIS STORY MATCHES OURS NEARLY WORD FOR WORD.

TT: This is very interesting. Where did you say you encountered him?

CG: A DREAM.

TT: …

CG: YEAH, I KNOW, DREAM BUBBLES HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND SINCE THE GAME.

CG: BUT I SWEAR I WAS IN ONE. IT KINDA LOOKED LIKE THE LIBRARY ON THE METEOR, STRANGE AS THAT SOUNDS.

CG: AND THERE WAS A GOD TIER THERE- DAVE- WHO APPARENTLY HELPED US WIN THE GAME BUT WE DON'T REMEMBER HIM.

TT: Are you sure he was there? He wasn't just some strange mind trick?

CG: POSITIVE.

CG: HE WAS AS REAL AS I AM.

CG: AND HIS STORY LINES UP WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED TO US, SAVEFOR THE MONTH AFTER THE GAME.

CG: IF YOU'VE NEVER BELIEVED ME ABOUT ANYTHING, ROSE, BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY WE ARE MISSING SOMEONE.

TT: How did he prove it to you?

CG: HE KNOWS THINGS.

CG: HE KNOWS OUR NAMES AND OUR FAVORITE THINGS.

CG: HE HAS YOUR NOTEBOOKS FOR JESUS' SAKE.

TT: The genetic one or the wizard one?

CG: ALL OF THEM.

TT: …

TT: I thought those were lost.

TT: You're telling me someone in a dream bubble has copies of my notebooks and journals?

CG: YES, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING.

TT: This is rather unfortunate.

CG: WHATEVER.

CG: JUST...

CG: LET'S KEEP THIS BETWEEN YOU AND ME FOR NOW, OKAY? AT LEAST UNTIL I CAN PROVE DAVE'S PRESENCE IN OUR SESSION.

TT: Alright.

TT: Before you go, I'll give you the message.

TT: John's looking forward to meeting you today.

CG: OH MAN, THAT'S TODAY. I FORGOT.

TT: I trust you have a gift for him?

CG: GIFT?

TT: Check your calendar.

TT: Goodbye, Karkat.

Karkat said his goodbyes and stood, walking to the closet and snagging a black sweater. It was still chilly, even for mid- April.

April. He froze, craned his head to read the small desk calender on his dresser. April thirteenth.

The date was John's birthday. And Karkat had all but remembered to buy a present. What kind of horrible best friend am I? He scoffed in his head, rushing to get ready. He was already running behind; he'd made plans to meet John in less than an hour.

It was time to go gift shopping.

Fifty-seven minutes and an insane amount of running later, Karkat arrived at the small cafe on the square. John was seated over towards a window, pouring over a menu and swirling the ice cubes in his drink with the straw. He didn't notice Karkat until he sat down across from him.

"Oh, hey!"

"Hey, John," Karkat wheezed.

"You okay, dude? You look like you just ran a marathon," John laughed as Karkat took a swig of the soda in front of him.

"Shut up," he managed between pained breaths. "I was running late, okay?"

"I know," John grinned teasingly. Karkat frowned and placed the gift on the table.

"Hey, I can just take this back if you want," he joked back.

"Karkat! You didn't have to get me a present!"

"Oh, you really don't want it? I was kidding, but I'll take it back if you want."

John took the blue box and shook it. "What is it?"

"Open it and find out, birthday boy."

John ripped it open and squeaked- literally squeaked. "The Nicolas Cage box set! How did you guess that was what I wanted?"

"Egbert, admit it. If there had been anything even remotely entertaining in the store, you would still have gotten this." Karkat rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.

The waitress flipped open her paper pad and asked them what they wanted. After they finished, John went back to reading the list of movies in the set. Karkat grinned to himself. He'd made the right choice.

"Thanks for the movies," John said, finishing off his caramel java-lanche and unlocking the door to his house. He smiled at Karkat and threw his arms around him.

"Happy birthday," Karkat whispered into his hair. John squeezed and pulled back, hands on Karkat's shoulders.

John closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.

And he leaned in.

Karkat could feel his breath on his lips and had time only to think oh before they connected. The kiss was chaste and John tasted like coffee and caramel. When he pulled away, blushing brighter red than Karkat had ever seen him before (though John was easily flustered).

"Karkat...?" John muttered after a few minutes of awestruck silence from his best friend. "Um..."

Karkat blinked and came back to earth from his thoughts.

"John, I... We need to talk."

Next chapter choices:

Karkat: Talk to John

Karkat: Talk to Rose ((Would be set a day or so later))