By the time Karkat pulled into their driveway, his grin was wiped off his face and nervousness had set in. He set his bag on his shoulder and hugged the pot of carnations to his chest.
If asked, he would not admit to keeping his closed fist poised above the door in preparation to knock for almost 5 minutes. I'm going to knock. I just spaced out for a bit. That's all. He wondered briefly why he was trying to convince himself of such.
Just as he was about to rap on the wood quietly, the door opened to reveal Terezi grinning her razor-sharp smile. "Are you ready to come in now, Karkles?" Was all she got out before the flowers were thrust into into her chest. "For the patio." Karkat muttered, watching Terezi's long gray tongue curved along one of the flowers.
"Good choice, Karkat." She said, turning quickly and practically floating to the patio doors. Karkat followed, setting his bag onto the couch.
She put the pot in the place where the yellow tulips once stood. Her tongue shot out experimentally, tasting the air. "Perfect." She turned to give Karkat a hug which he welcomed gratefully.
The next few weeks had gone without a hitch. Karkat and Terezi had gone on their first date in months (they went to see Brave. Many a sloppy makeout was performed in the back of the theater), Terezi seemed pleased with the patio arrangements, Karkat got his job back (his friend Sollux works in management), and he hadn't seen a single hair on Sunglasses Guy's head.
On this particular morning, Karkat had the rest of the day off of work. He unlocked the front door and pushed it open. The living room was surprisingly empty and dark, save for Terezi's laptop glowing from where it sat.
From the doorway, he could see Terezi sitting on the patio with Sunglasses Guy. They weren't doing anything in particular, but Terezi looked distressed, a rare occurrence. Her companion had a scowl on his face, something also rare.
Karkat didn't know why he snuck to the slightly cracked patio door to listen to their conversation. He didn't know why his insides were about to explode. All he knew was that he wanted Sunglasses Guy gone and Terezi smiling her sharp smile like things have been for the past 2 weeks.
"You should come with me to – " The teal-blood abruptly stopped and Karkat took a chance to look out the crack in the door.
Sunglasses Guy and Terezi were both looking at him, smirk and shark smile in place. "Vantas, you have got to be the worst sneak in the world." The blonde said.
"Shut the hell up. Why are you here?" Karkat growled out, staring at this feet with a glare and pulling his sweater closer in defense.
"I was just leaving." He replied, coolly standing and putting a hand on Terezi's head between her horns. "I'll pester you later, TZ."
She turned to Sunglasses Guy, expression blocked from Karkat's vision. "Bye cool-kid." There was a tinge of something to her voice. Karkat pretended to not notice the way Sunglasses Guy's hand lingered on Terezi's head, as if he was saying a final good-bye.
There was a thick, almost tangible silence long after he left and Karkat felt as if he was choking. Terezi had not turned her head from the spot where Sunglasses Guy had stood.
"Terezi – "
"A ficus would look good in the corner over there." She interrupted, face still hidden. "Didn't you say you were going to Wal-Mart today? Stop by the garden center."
The employee immediately wormed her way into his reverie and Karkat wondered if he would possibly see her again today. He pushed out the thought when Terezi stood up and made her way to the living room, pulling her laptop onto her skinny legs and typing briskly with nimble fingers.
Karkat had a feeling he was nicely being kicked out. "I'll be back, I guess." He said slowly, making his way to the door.
"Eat lunch without me." Terezi said, eyes not moving from their spot on the laptop screen.
"Kay." Karkat felt unnaturally subdued. He closed the door behind him and made his way back to his car. Next thing Karkat realizes, he's in the parking lot at Wal-Mart, staring dazedly at the at the car parked in front of him. He shook his head quickly to clear it. He didn't even want to think about what Sunglasses Guy and Terezi were talking about. Getting out of the car, he walked towards the garden center, finding solace in the thoughts it brought.
He wondered if the employee was wearing her nametag this time. It felt weird referring to her as "the employee" all the time. He didn't even know why he thought about her. She was just a weird, dorky, attractive Wal-Mart employee with an odd accent and undecidable nationality.
Karkat entered the garden center entrance and looked around. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what the hell a ficus looked like, let alone what is was or where to find it. A sweeping glance showed him that there was only on employee present, but it wasn't the employee. He didn't have time to recognize the feeling in the pit of his stomach as disappointment.
"Karkat!"
At the sound of his name being yelled across the center, he whirled around, heart employee wasn't even wearing her uniform this time, much less her nametag. She was wearing a flowing white cotton sundress with small green leaves dispersed equally throughout the pattern. On her feet, surprisingly, were a pair of white tennis shoes, which she was unsurprisingly able to pull off.
"It's so nice to see you here! I was about to go on my lunch break, but is there anything I can help you find?" Her grin seemed brighter today, but her eyes seemed to be bit more baggier.
"Go on your damn break, I'll just get one of these other idiots to help." Karkat crossed his arms and looked to see if there was anything that looked like it would have the name "ficus".
She laughed as if Karkat was the funniest thing in the world. "Consider this thanks for the Butterfinger!"
"I only gave it to you because I hate Butterfingers, that's all!"
"Sure, sure." There was a knowing twinkle in her eye that Karkat would not describe as cute. "What are you looking for?"
Karkat sighed in defeat. "What the fuck is a ficus?"
"It's a small tree good for porches and things of that sort. They're very strong; hard to kill. Follow me!" Jade took off, full of energy as always.
The troll reluctantly complied – though he knew he wasn't that reluctant – and followed her to the back wall. "These are ficus." She said, pointing behind her with her thumb. She bent down and picked up a shiny red pot, holding it up. "Oh, your girlfriend will love this, am I right?" She grinned stunningly.
Karkat found himself wanting to grin but held back. Her smile was infectious. The lack of response did nothing to deter the girl from happiness as she put the pot into Karkat's arms and picked up a nice looking ficus. "Let's go pay!"
Karkat hated the way the girl rendered him speechless. He struggled to find something to say that wasn't a string of "uhh"s. They made it to the cashier and set down the items.
"Uhh, what are you still doing here? Your break started 10 minutes ago." The cashier, a brown-blooded troll, looked at his watch. "Just helping one of my favorite customers." The girl said happily.
At the mention of Karkat, the brown-blood turned to regard him, but let out a raspy gasp. "That's, uhh, Karkat!"
The girl next to him gasped too. "You mean this is Karkat? Oh my goodness I'm such an idiot, why didn't I make that connection? How many short, angry red-blooded trolls named Karkat are there?"
Karkat bristled. "Shut the fuck up, I'm not short!"
The other two shared a laugh. "Yep, that's Karkat! Oh man, I'm so glad I finally got to meet you! I've heard so many great things about you." The girl clapped her hands in amusement and Karkat thinks he's never witnessed anyone this happy to see him in his whole life.
"Calm the fuck down! How do you two idiots know me?" Karkat growled, but neither of the two were affected.
"Karkat, I'm uhh, I'm Tavros." He received a blank look. "I'm Gamzee's matesprit."
It was Karkat's turn to give a look of shock. "Gamzee?"
Tavros nodded, a grin set in place. "I was Gamzee's matesprit a month before before, uhh, you know..." he trailed off awkwardly before shaking his head and pulling back up the conversation. "He probably didn't get much time to, uhh, talk to you about me."
Karkat swallowed slowly and tried to digest the situation. "Gamzee...is he...did he ever...?"
The brown-blood's smile grew. "He's in his last week of rehab. He gets out this weekend."
The employee next to Karkat seemed to buzz with excitement. "Tav, when do you get off of work? We should all go meet up with him for dinner!"
Karkat recovered from his shock long enough to spit out a question. "Wait, so who the fuck are you? I get that Tavros is his matesprit, but why the hell are you here?"
The girl frowned at him. "Hey, I don't have to take this from you, you jerk! Not while I'm off duty." She raises a tan fist at him, looking only slightly menacing.
Okay, maybe really menacing.
"Shut up!" Karkat squeaks, at a loss for words.
"Guys! You, uhh, could still get in trouble. Just introduce yourself; everyone knows you're a pacifist anyway." Tavros was quick to nip the fight in the bud. Karkat readily pushes thoughts of ashen quadrants and turns to the girl inquisitively.
She loosens her fist and extends a hand. "My name is Jade Harley." Karkat looks at her hand like it's covered in germs. She leans forward and uses her other hand to force Karkat to participate in the handshake.
"Jade's my moirail. Though I suppose we act more in the human "friendship" sort of way." Tavros explained. Karkat withdrew his hand from Jade's and crossed his arms again. "Fan-fucking-tastic. Even a damn human can fill their quadrants better than I can and these pink monkeys don't even practice the shit."
Tavros looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean? Isn't Terezi your matesprit?" Karkat wondered how much of his life story was shared with these idiots.
"Look, I don't want to fucking talk about it." Way to go, Karkat. Make it as awkward as fucking possible. The brown-blood fidgeted nervously. "So, uhh, Jade. I get off around 5. Do you think you could give Gamzee a call and tell him to come to the usual spot around then?"
Jade nodded enthusiastically. "Karkat, you're coming too, right? Gamzee will be so happy to see you!"
Karkat scoffed. "Of course I am." He still sounded defensive, as if they were questioning his relationship with the troll. Then again, I haven't exactly been giving them any evidence of how great of a moirail I am.
"Wonderful!" Jade looked at the watch on her wrist casually and then did a double-take. "Dang it, I only have 30 minutes left for lunch." She seemed like she was turning to leave, but then she paused and turned back with a small simper. "Uhm, Karkat. Would you like to join me for lunch?"
Karkat cocked a brow. "Why the hell would I want to eat lunch with you?" He was glad he kept the real question from escaping his gray lips. Why would you want to eat lunch with me?
The girl wore a frown. "Hey, you could've just said no! You don't have to be a jerk about everything." She turned to leave again. "Bye Tav."
The red-blood immediately regretted his decision in saying no. He held his hand back with his other, to keep from grabbing Jade's wrist. "Bye Jade. See you later." Tavros waved and turned to Karkat. "Well, let's, uhh, scan your items."
The silence was awkward, nothing but the sound of cars and the beeping of the register. "You know, uhh," Tavros paused, looking down at the ficus nervously. "Jade always eats at the Panera Bread across the street. If you hurry, you could still eat with her." When fixed with a glare, the brown-blood went back to scanning. "Just something to think about." He pressed a few buttons on the register. "Your, uhh, total is $43.73."
If he were to be asked about it, Karkat would have denied any implications that he was being quicker in his movements. He slid his card and signed his signature. Tavros handed him his ficus in the pot along with his receipt. "Hey, uhh, thanks for deciding to come see Gamzee. This'll mean the world to him."
"Yeah, whatever." Karkat grabbed the ficus. He wanted to tell Tavros that it means the world to him too, that he's just as excited to see Gamzee.
He rushed out of the center and acted like he didn't hear Tavros' soft chuckle. He pushed the ficus into the passenger seat. His head swiveled around quickly to look for the Panera Bread. He fought the swell in his chest at the realization that not only is it close by, but he could see Jade exiting a small Volkswagen Beetle. Minding basic driving laws, he sped as fast as he could to the adjacent parking lot, pulling up safely next to Jade's car.
I can't believe I'm doing this. Karkat facepalmed. He pulled his sweater close, despite the sweat collecting at his brow. He wanted so badly to go back into the safety of his car and hide from Jade. Does this count as cheating? Karkat didn't know why the thought crossed his mind. But he couldn't really fight it back. As much as I hate to admit it, I am attracted to the fucking pink monkey. But fuck, I'm not flushed for her. She's just...Karkat violently shook his head. There's no way I'm flushed for anyone but Terezi. End of discussion. She's just a friend. Not even that.
The troll pushed the glass doors open, the rush of cool air conditioning erasing the blasphemy from his head. Scanning the restaurant, he could see Jade settling into a booth with a sandwich, chips, and a green tea. He sauntered across the restaurant, deciding just to go for it, without preamble. He plopped himself across from Jade, staring pointedly out the window.
There was a moment of silence before Jade spoke. "Want the other half of my sandwich?" Karkat finally met her eyes. She had the knowing twinkle in her jade eyes again. "I always save the other half for dinner, but since we're all getting dinner together, I have a spare half." She ended her with a crunch of potato chip. "And I'll share my drink if you get another straw."
Karkat glared at her. "I don't need your damn food."
The human sighed, as if she had been dealing with Karkat for years. "Watch my stuff." She said, getting up from the booth and disappearing around the corner. When she returned, she was holding a plate and a straw. She sat back down and immediately got to work. She took one half of the sandwich, half of the chips, and even half of the pickle and placed it on the other plate. Tan hands pushed it Karkat's way and the sight of food made his stomach sing.
He gave up on his rough act and cradled the sandwich in his hand. After taking a bite, he looked up at Jade. "So what the fuck are you anyway?"
She cringed. "One, talk without food in your mouth. Two, "what the fuck" do you mean?"
Karkat made no effort to close his mouth. "What are you? Like race or what the fuck ever."
Jade, however, took the time to chew her food. "I'm Hawaiian, you jerkass. Born and raised." She frowned in thought. "Do trolls have different races?"
He paused to shove a potato chip in his mouth. "Unless you count hemotypes as a race, no."
The girl tapped her chin. "Well if you think about it, hemotypes could be races. Lowbloods could be compared to how black people used to be treated back in the day, and then highbloods could be counted as white. And then of course there are sea-dwellers who think they're better, so that could be counted too. But just as all races are equal, all blood types should be equal. Though, that's not the case."
Even though she is human, Jade looked as if she were talking from experience. Karkat ventured that Tavros must have been subjected to many hate-crimes as Karkat had, and Jade and Gamzee must have had to console him on many an occasion. On that note, being seen with Gamzee must have cut Tavros a lot of slack, since Gamzee was a highblood.
"Yeah, well, we can't always get what we want." Karkat said bitterly, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth.
Jade seemed sad. "Do you ever...you know?"
"Do I ever what? Be the victim of a hate-crime? More often than not. If I travel with a highblood or a human, I don't generally get attacked." Karkat chewed on the pickle, looking distant. "But hey, who gives a fuck about what happens to me. I'm just a mutant lowblood."
There was a silence that made Karkat look up.
Jade had on the most pissed off looking pout in the world. It was adorable yet menacing in its ferocity. "Karkat Vantas, you listen here. You have a brown-blood who gives a fuck about you, a purple-blood who gives a fuck about you, a teal-blood who gives a fuck about you, and me, I give tons of fucks about you. So don't say that." She clenched her fists. "We don't care about what blood color you have. If anything, I like your red blood because it makes me feel closer to you than other trolls."
Karkat couldn't fight the blush rising to his face. That Jade had cared about him that much, having not known him for that long, touched Karkat.Then again, he thought, Jade's known me longer than I've know her.
"Yeah, yeah, what the fuck ever." He said flippantly, not at all showing how he really felt.
Jade had the knowing twinkle in her eyes again and Karkat was beginning to find it endearing. "Gamzee's good at portraying you correctly." She commented, staring at him in wonder.
Karkat secured the frown on his face to keep from letting the curiosity show. "What the fuck did he say about me?"
The human grinned. "All sorts of things. Namely that you are the world's greatest moirail." She smiled. "Most of the visits were talking about you. Gamzee thinks the world of you. Tav and I have been waiting forever to meet you. Like...2 years?"
"When did Gamzee...uhm..."
"A few weeks after you left." Jade answered. "It took a while for him to get used to it. The same thing happened as last time, so we had to relocate him a few times."
Karkat raised a brow. "Last time? What do you mean?"
The girl frowned a bit. "You know, the first time Gamzee tried to get into rehab? You were there..." Her eyebrows knitted together. "Oh my God, he didn't tell you, did he?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" The troll raised his voice, sounding frantic.
"I...don't think it's my place to tell you, especially if Gamzee didn't tell us. I'm sorry, Karkat." Jade gave him a sheer look of pity that made Karkat's face flush redder than ever.
"A-At least try and cover your pity." His voice was embarrassingly high. He coughed into his hand to at least recover some of his dignity.
Jade looked confused. "What do you – Oh my God." Realization lit up her features. "Karkat, I swear, I didn't mean to hit on you! I – I just..." Her face was dusted a light pink. "I'm so sorry, I forgot."
"Fuck, it's fine. I'm one of the few idiot trolls who actually still worries about pity and filling quadrants. Most have conformed to your stupid ass ways." Karkat picked at the skin around his nails, glaring bitterly.
Jade rested her head onto her hand. "Is that what's going on with Terezi?"
Karkat turned his glare to the girl. "And why the hell should I tell you?"
She pouted. "Because Gamzee won't. He said "If ya'll wanna know then ya'll should all up and motherfucking ask 'em when you see 'em.""
A small, gravelly chuckle bubbled it's way out of Karkat's mouth. "That was the worst fucking impression of Gamzee I've ever heard in my entire life."
Jade wore a soft smile on her face. "What?" Karkat wiped his face. He figured he had food somewhere.
"You do have a cute smile."
Karkat started to fidget. Jade was giving him an odd look. He panicked. "Terezi doesn't do quadrants anymore." Shit, why did I say that?
Jade leaned forward. "Go on?"
The troll heaved a sigh and continued. "I had asked Terezi to be my matesprit 3 years ago. Originally, she had declined. She said she didn't follow the troll culture anymore. Then she told me that she would, however, be my girlfriend. And here we are."
The human gave him a look of sheer surprise. "Wait...is this Terezi Pyrope?"
"What the fuck about her?"
"Do you know someone named Dave Strider?"
"Sounds like a douche-bag."
Jade frowned. "Nevermind." She shook her head and looked down at her watch. "Anyway, thank you for eating lunch with me, Karkat. I have to go back to work." She took a quick sip of the green tea then pushed it to Karkat. "You can keep it." She adjusted the strap on her bag "Oh yeah," she reached into her purse and pulled out a pen and a notepad in the shape of a pumpkin. She scribbled something onto the paper and put it next to Karkat. "I forgot. That's the address to the usual place. Below that is my phone number in case you need any help."
Karkat gave her a half-hearted glare, but didn't say anything as he grabbed the green tea and stood next to her.
"Remember, come around five." Jade grinned, her buck-teeth showing slightly. "See you later."
The troll waved lazily. "Uhh..." He kicked his foot, sending a few stray crumbs flying. "Thanks for the food or whatever." He looked down at his shoes.
Jade touched Karkat's elbow. "Anytime." The two walked out together and she waved one more time before donning sunglasses and ducking into her car. Karkat sat down into the driver's seat. He stayed still until Jade drove away. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Deciding he wasn't going to entertain any thoughts about what the hell just happened, Karkat pulled out of his parking spot and made his way home. He rolled down the windows and cranked up the radio to both cool down the warmth in his cheeks and not give his brain enough room to think.
When he makes it home, he is greeted with nothing but silence. "Terezi?" He sets the ficus down next to the doorway and looks around the house for Terezi. It's a quick chore as their house is the size of a small apartment. "Terezi, where the fuck are you?"
Guess she went out... Karkat scratched the back of his head and took out his phone. As much as he disliked to admit, he hated it when Terezi did that without telling him. I mean she's blind for fuck's sake. He never brought it up to the teal-blood because she was simply too prideful. So he mainly just complains that it costs too much for her to take the bus all the time and he should drive her.
He sent a few texts her way.
THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOU DECIDED TO VACATE THE HOUSE. YOU KNOW I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
FUCK, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME DIE AN EARLY DEATH. LOOK, JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE ALRIGHT.
Karkat pocketed his phone and plopped himself on the couch, reaching for the TV remote. He's blinking slowly and at some point he's thinking he's had his eyes closed for a long while. He looks at the clock on the wall. "3:47." Karkat whispers to himself and rubs his eyes. Must have fallen asleep.
He picks up his phone, fully expecting to have received a text from Terezi. He feels his stomach dropping in his abdomen when his phone is devoid of any text alert messages. He speed dials Terezi's number and taps his foot impatiently.
"Hello - "
"Terezi!"
"You have reached Terezi Pyrope - "
Karkat slammed his phone on the ground. "Fuck!" He picks it up and dials her number again, pacing around the room.
"Hello, you have reached - "
"God dammit!"
"Hello, you - "
"Shit!"
"Hello - "
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Karkat shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed his keys from the table. He quickly jogged to his car and yanked the door open. He wasted no time in pulling out of the driveway. Speeding dangerously, he grabbed for his phone again and pressed speed dial.
"Sup?"
"Sollux, have you seen Terezi anywhere?"
"No. Why?"
Karkat slammed his hands on the steering wheel and let out another curse. "She isn't answering her phone and it's been 3 hours!"
"Calm down." He could tell the yellow-blood wasn't calm, himself. "Have you checked the college?"
"I'm doing that right now."
"Keep calling her. I'll call all our mutual friends." Karkat nodded, then remembered Sollux couldn't see him. "Sure." He hung up and quickly called Terezi.
"Hello. You have reached Terezi Pyrope. Obviously, if you're hearing this message then I'm not able to pick up the phone. Just leave a message and I'll get back to you. Or not." The troll recognizes that message as the one she's had for 3 years now.
"Terezi, where the fuck are you? It's one thing to leave without fucking telling me, but at least answer your damn phone."
This continues the entire duration of the ride to the college, Karkat calling and leaving voicemails escalating in language and volume. By the time Karkat's reached the college, he's left several messages. He glanced at the clock. 4:05. He burst through the double doors and runs through the corridors and into the main office. "Has Terezi Pyrope showed up to any of her classes today? I'm Karkat Vantas, I'm on her emergency contacts."
The lady at the desk types on her keyboard wearily. "She was reported to have left in the middle of her first one of the day."
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"
The woman looked offended. Karkat rolled his eyes and ran out the door, back into his car. He resumed his earlier practice of calling repeatedly. Deciding to check Terezi's usual bus stop, he sped in the opposite direction of the college. He jumped out of his car and to the bus stop. He waited until a bus arrived and he jogged in, showing the driver a picture of the teal-blood. "Have you seen her on your bus today?"
All the driver had to do was shake his head and Karkat was propelled out of the bus and back into his car. His phone went off and his heart sped up, only to feel disappointment when it wasn't Terezi.
"What?"
"Have you seen her yet?" Sollux sounded calm, but his lisp was worse than it usually was.
"No. Dammit all to hell. I'm going to assume that no one else has either." Karkat raked his mind of where to look. He turned his glare to the clock. 4:30. "Shit, Sollux, I'm gonna have to call you later." He hung up the phone and went through his pockets, pulling out a small crumpled paper. He dialled Jade's number.
"Hello?"
"Harley." He cringed. "I can't make it today."
He could practically feel her frown through the phone. "Why not?"
"Well," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Terezi went missing."
Jade gasped. "Are you serious?"
"Why the hell would I joke about that?" Karkat snapped.
"Sorry...just. I'll get Tavros and Gamzee to help look for her. Would she have any reason to leave the area?"
"No."
"Okay," There was a shuffling coming through the receiver and Karkat could hear her start her car. "I'm going to call Tavros and tell them to split up. I'll call you if anything happens."
"Alright." Karkat paused. "Thanks."
"Of course." And then the line goes dead.
Karkat relaxes a little now that he and Sollux aren't the only two searching. He absently wonders how Gamzee will react to hearing about him. He wishes he knew Terezi was safe so he could go and see his ex-moirail after two long years.
He shakes his head. I need to be focused on finding Terezi. He dials Terezi's number again. By now, Karkat registers thunder roaring in the distance, clouds promising lots of rain. "Shit." What if she's stuck in this mess?
Karkat sped up and took the entrance ramp onto the highway. He continued calling Terezi repeatedly as he made his way to his next destination. He pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and looked at the clock. 4:56. Terezi's been gone for almost 4 hours. Probably longer. He began jogging hurriedly down each aisle for the teal-blood.
It was 5:30 when he had thoroughly gone through the entire store at least 3 times. He stopped by the entrance and bent over his knees, breathing loudly.
He pulled out his phone, moving to call Terezi again when his phone rang loudly. It was Jade. "Anything new?"
"Where are you?" She sounded out of breath and Karkat could hear a slamming door.
"Why the fuck does that matter? I'm not the one who's lost." He grumbled.
"I know where Terezi is. Just tell me where you are." Her voice was weary.
Karkat felt his heart race. "I'm at Wal-Mart."
"Okay, I'm about 5 minutes away. Wait outside for me." She said curtly and the line went dead again.
The troll wanted to ponder on why she sounded so angry, but quite frankly, his mind was focused on Terezi. Where was she? Why was she gone for so long? Why wasn't she answering her phone? Jade didn't sound panicked, so Terezi was probably fine. His brain followed the same mindset of Terezi, Terezi, Terezi as he walked out the door.
It started raining, and hard. Karkat couldn't see more than 50 ft away. He briefly wondered if Jade would get here safely, but his worries were gone as he saw the familiar green Volkswagen beetle pull up in front of him. He hurried to the passenger's door and pulled it open, ducking quickly into the car. Jade offered him a smile. Her hair was clinging to her forehead and her clothes were damp.
The car ride was silent. Karkat tried not to be curious, but failed when they pulled into a parking garage. "Where the hell are we?"
Jade smiled a smile that seemed just a little ironic. "You'll know when we get there." She hopped out of the car and Karkat followed suit as she paced briskly to an entrance and right into an elevator. When Karkat joined her, she pressed the worn button with a faded 10 printed on it. Jade's unnatural silence made Karkat nervous. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a long row of doors and a set of stairs. In front of one of the doors, Terezi sat, looking a mess.
Karkat took off running towards her. "Terezi!" He fell to his knees in front of her, hands on her shoulders. "Karkat, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked, looking genuinely shocked.
The troll didn't have time to answer as the door opened. It was Sunglasses Guy. "TZ, you should tell Vantas what's going on. As annoying as he is, it's still not cool of you to drag him on."
The teal-blood jumped up. "And what about you?" This was the first time Karkat had ever seen her this angry. "You don't think you're draggingme on?"
"I let you go 2 weeks ago. You're the one still holding on." He had a scowl on his face. "We've already had this fight and I don't think Vantas and Jade need to see it."
On cue, Jade walked up further. "You're at fault too, Dave. Have you even told my brother about Terezi yet? He's completely oblivious to the situation. You're lucky I could cover it up when I went to visit him the other day." Dave's face steeled, no expression showing. "I was planning on telling him when this whole business ended. So he wouldn't have to worry as much."
Karkat was completely confused. Was he the only one who didn't know what the hell was going on here?
"And Terezi," Jade turned to the teal-blood, who had slumped back onto the floor. "Karkat is the last person who deserves this. You need to decide how you feel about him before you hurt him even more and you need to do it now."
"Stop!"
Karkat realized the yell had been from him and he couldn't make himself stop. "Stop talking like I'm not fucking here! One of you better tell me what the fuck is going on or I will murder one of you and choke the rest with their entrails, so help me God. Starting with Sunglasses Guy."
Dave sighed. "Fuck, I'm tired of this." He rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "TZ and I were in a mutual relationship, you know? We came to each other whenever our partner wouldn't put out and shit. I didn't tell her I wasn't with John - Jade's bro - yet and she didn't tell me that she didn't even ask you. Anyways, we promised each other that we wouldn't get attached. I held that promise like a little pact baby and Terezi stone-cold dropped it like an abusive mom. This continued on for like two years, until about 2 weeks ago."
He paused, turning his gaze to the ground. "John was taken to the hospital. He was always a sickly little fuck, and I guess this made me realize that he could just up and leave me at any moment. So, I told Pyrope that I was ending all this shit. After that, I went and told Egbert how I felt and he turns out to feel the same way."
"Wait, so what the fuck were you doing at my house today?" Karkat felt a little numb and surprised at the fact he wasn't in a spitting rage.
This time Terezi spoke up, her voice hoarse. "I had called Dave over to try and convince him to run away with me. I found a college up north so I could better study law, but he insisted he stay with John and that he didn't belong with me." She paused, sounding like she was trying to swallow. "I had thought that Dave had felt the same, that he didn't really love John the way he says he does. Of course, I was wrong."
There was a silence through the hallway before Karkat asked another question, feeling small. "Have you really given up on the quadrants?"
"At first, no." Terezi pushed herself up and leaned against the wall behind her. "But when you asked me to be your matesprit, I knew I couldn't. I felt pity for you, but not in the way you were wanting. I decided I would let us be a human couple because there's something called an open relationship. That's what I was wanting." She made eye contact with Karkat and although she was blind, he felt her gaze was very eerie and knowing. "About the time you started human-loving me is when I started my relationship with Dave."
Karkat felt his body shake and he realized there were tears running down his face. So all of that has been one-sided? This whole fucking time, Terezi hasn't felt a bit flushed for me? These past 3 years have been a lie? He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Karkat..." He registered the voice as Jade's and he felt her hands on his shoulders. "C'mon, let's go." He shrugged her hands off his shoulders.
Before he knew it, he was running at Dave, fist high in the air. The blonde didn't flinch when he saw the small, angry troll charging after him. Karkat's fist connect with Dave's face. The human shook it off.
Suddenly, Jade was in front of Karkat, holding Dave's fist and he realizes he was about to get punched back. "Do you really think Karkat deserves to be punched, Dave? I know your first instinct is to punch back, but just think about who's really getting the short end of the stick here." Jade pushed his fist back and Dave stumbled for footing.
Karkat's eyes trailed to Terezi. He expression was full of sadness and pity, and that was the last thing that did him in.
The next thing he knows, he's taking off down the hall as fast as he can, tears falling down his cheeks as he readily holds back sobs. He takes the stairs instead of the elevator, practically flying down the steps in an attempt to distract himself. After about 5 flights, he's slowing down and noticing the need to breathe. By the time he finished the stairs and makes it outside, he's collapsing on the sidewalk, fighting for air as the rain soaks through his sweater.
He continues to fight making any noise when people pass by, but he's finding it almost impossible 5 minutes later. The sound of a car stopping in front of him made him look up.
The door opened and let out Jade, the girl running up to Karkat and pulling him up, leading him to the passenger door. She gently pushed him into the car and jogged her way around the driver's door, ducking in. She turned up the heat and it made Karkat realize he was shaking violently.
Jade pulled out of the apartment lot and sped down the road.
It was only when Karkat let out a small sob that she stopped on the side of the road and pulled him into an embrace. She rubbed his back soothingly, making little "I know"s and "It's okay now"s to accompany her "shh"s. She tried to ignore the shift stick digging into her stomach.
After all, today was the day that Karkat Vantas' heart broke.