"Rise and shine you dipshit, it's Friday and we need to get you checked into the school. Didn't you set an alarm when I asked?! We need to be there in 20 minutes, and if you aren't ready in 10 I'm breaking down your fucking door and bringing you to the school, no matter what you look like, and I know you get all fussy about your hair and shit like that." Dualscar pounded on Eridan's door, and he jolted awake. He quickly changed into the nearest thing and grabbed his hairspray and his glasses with two minutes to spare.

"Good morning you sleepy bastard, get in the car and we'll eat later." Eridan sighed at his father's harsh morning words, but he was always like this in the AM. The drive to the school was eventless and boring, as it was a short distance and they were coming later than all of the other students. They walked up to the building, finding the main office and sitting down with one of the directors.

"Hello! I'm this school's head of students and student affairs! Are you the new student, Eridan Ampora?" The woman was dressed head to toe in yellow clothing, with teeth bright enough to make her hard to look at. Eridan nodded, glancing around the office.

"All you have to do Mr. Dualscar is to fill out these forms, and Eridan can start school whenever he's ready!" The woman continued to talk about how great of a school they were and how much he would enjoy it in their community, but neither him nor Dualscar were listening.

"We have you in one of our close-knit classes, so that you can be easily accepted into their circle. We assure you, you won't leave this school friend-less!" Eridan smirked at that. What was so bad about being friend-less anyway? People were just annoying and petty. Especially the poor ones.

The next morning, Eridan awoke by the sound of his alarm and he stirred slowly. The sun was peaking through his blinds, casting shadows along his room. He stayed in bed a while, checking this emails and other things of the sort before fully getting up. After getting dressed, he made his way to the school, walking slowly. Many people around his age were also walking in his direction, and he assumed that they all were going to the same high school. A small group of girls were walking in front of him, and every other minute or so one of them would turn around and look at him before whispering to the others. He sighed. He was so done with being the new kid, and wondered what it felt like to be the observers. As he neared the school, he saw two of the people who had come up to his house the other day. One of them was short and blonde, wearing a green coat and hat even though it was only October. The other was a girl with a huge mass of brown hair, maybe a little shorter than Eridan himself, with an insane amount of freckles. Compared to most of the other girls she was rather pretty, but he didn't think much of it.

"Class! We have a new kid here with us, named Eridan Amp… Ampir… Ampur-" Eridan cut off the teacher, sick of the mis pronunciations.

"Ampora. Eridan Ampora."

"Yes yes, Eridan Am-pour-a. You can sit next to Nepeta over there, yes right in the back." Eridan recognized Nepeta as the blonde girl from earlier, and she smiled at him as he sat down.

"Hi Eridan! I didn't see you the other day when I came over!" She shifted her weight on the chair to face him when he didn't reply.

"You really are the hipster type, huh." She shrugged.

"What a boring thing to add to this class…" She turned back around, leaning on her hands.

"What makes you think I'm a hipster?!" Eridan said, looking at her with a certain level of disgust.

"I am not a hipster in the slightest!"

"You so are."

"Am not."

"You are sooooo hipster. Those glasses? And your 'I hate everyone woe is me'?" She sighed.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He turned away from her and pretended to listen to the teacher once more.

"Tch, 'woe is me'... Who does she think she is?" He mumbled under his breath. She chuckled and stuck her tongue out at him.

The bell rang for lunch, and Nepeta grabbed Eridan by the elbow.

"Come on hipster, let's introduce you to the neighborhood!" She let go of him once he began following her, and he saw her wipe her hand on her jacket. When he thought she wasn't looking, he tried to back away but she saw him and dragged him with her, much to his uncomfort. He didn't want to be introduced to the others. He wanted to stay as that kid who moved in and moved out, never seen or spoken of again. He heard the crowd of other teenagers before he saw them. The cafeteria was full of bustling bodies and hot breath, making Eridan loosen his shirt collar.

"Hi guys!" Nepeta rushed ahead to a group of maybe six people, squishing in between two of them. They didn't seem to be talking in group, but fighting and occasionally throwing insults. One of the kids at the table turned to Nepeta, and Eridan noticed how he was unusually pale with dark bags under his eyes.

"Nepeta, I swear to god if you eat my food again I will shove one of Aradia's dead animals up your-"

"Nice to see you too Karkat!" Nepeta smiled widely and then turned to the person on her right. He was muscular and seemed to be sweating all over the place. Eridan took a step away from the table. Nepeta whispered something to the sweating teen and he slammed a fist onto the table, making everyone quiet for just a moment.

"Hey guys! Sooo, guess what? That new kid who just moved in was drafted into my class! You all better be accepting of him, even if he is a hipster freak." Nepeta turned around to where Eridan was, but no one was there. She saw him slyly exiting the lunchroom, and she narrowed her eyes.

"I'll be right back." She growled, running after him. She caught him right at the end of the hall, pouncing onto his back. They stumbled into a wall, and Eridan's glasses fell.

"JESUS, what the fuck?" Eridan turned, trying to see his attacker.

"You can't just run away from me that easily you hipster freak." He sighed when he heard Nepeta.

"I don't want to be introduced to those pale sweaty basement dwellers, alright? I'm fine just by myself, don't make this harder for both of us." He brushed himself off and began looking for his glasses. His surroundings were fuzzy, and Nepeta was just a green lump.

"Well, you don't have a choice. If you still hate them after meeting them then you can just go off 'weh'-ing and 'nyeh'-ing through the school year." She picked of his glasses from the floor, dangling them in front of his face.

"Also, you won't get your glasses back until you're sitting at the table with us." He sighed and tried to grab his glasses, to no avail. She gingerly grabbed some of his shirt and pulled him back to the cafeteria, making and 'bleack' sound and wiping her hand off again once they reached the table.

"As I was saying, this is the new kid!" Nepeta poked him and backed off, like he was some wild animal.

"Tell us your name at least. Don't just stand there like some kind of shy kid in a candy store." He heard a male voice with a heavy lisp and a condescending attitude, and he hated the person already.

"Tch, as if I'd tell it to someone as incompetent as you." Nepeta sighed and led him to an empty area, handing him his glasses.

"I tried, okay?" She said to the sweating mass beside her. Eridan rubbed his glasses on his shirt before putting them on again, looking at the people sitting near to him. He immediately identified the boy with the lisp, and was not too surprised at how lopsided he looked. The boy's glasses were obviously broken, with one lense shaded and the other plain. He was talking to a girl with wild hair and kind eyes, and Eridan wondered how a guy so horrible could ever become friends with a girl who was fair. He also saw the pale guy arguing to the lopsided weirdo, and Eridan wondered again how people like this could ever become friends. He suddenly felt a sharp poking at his ribs, and he looked next to him. The girl from the other day was sitting there, her freckles even more prominent close up. Her skin had a smooth tan-like complexion, and her hair made her face even more joyous looking.

"Hi! I'm Feferi! I think I came to your house, right?" She smiled at him, and he nodded.

"So, how do you like the school so far?" He ran his hands through his hair, feeling annoyed and ready to just leave this goddamned town. He didn't feel inclined to answer, and instead just tried to look away from her. She giggled at him and continued eating her lunch, talking to the others. Eridan was relieved that she didn't press the issue, and sat in silence for the rest of lunch.

Eridan found a note on his bed when he arrived at home, telling his that his father would be out until late doing 'business', but Eridan knew that he was probably taking the boss out for drinks, and wouldn't be back until the morning. He stopped by Cronus's room, but he was gone and would be until late. He walked back to his room, sighing. He slung his bag across the room, falling back onto his bed. He felt like something was different in this town, like things were going to blow him out of the water. He rolled over, plugging his phone into the wall. The doorbell rang and he groaned, looking out of the window. He couldn't see the person because of the small porch roof, and dragged himself downstairs. The doorbell rang repeatedly, and he heard some knocking as well.

"Hold on, jesus, I'm coming!" He reached the door, opening it. Feferi was standing outside, with three gallon containers of water. She was breathing heavily, and he saw a small cart outside.

"Feferi?" He looked at her in confusion, and she tiredly smiled.

"Hi Eridan! I didn't bring anyfin last time because I didn't have a cart, so I brought it now!" She started to pick up one, but she gave up and wiped her forehead.

"... Water?" He said in disbelief. What the hell?

"Yup! I figured that you guys don't have a filter, and you need to stay hydrated!" She began lifting one of the containers, carrying it to the door.

"I need to bring them in right?" She said, seeing Eridan standing in the way. He shook his head.

"Since when were you welcome in my house? I can do it alone." He took the container, rolling it through the doorway.

"Come on, with that attitude you won't make any friends!" She tried pushing pasted him, but he blocked her again, using his slight height advantage. Her bangles rattled as she continues trying to push him out of the way.

"I don't want any friends, thank you very much." He rolled in another container, waiting for her to leave. Instead, she glared up at him, pouting. He stared back down at her in a mix of annoyance and amazement. Why was she trying so hard? He couldn't be more obvious about his feelings towards friendship.

"I will become your friend Eridan. I swear!" She turned away and stomped off, dragging her cart behind her. He looked after her until she was out of his sight, and he rolled in the last container before retreating to his room once again. He completed his homework and finished unpacking silently, dwelling over the events of the day. He heard Cronus stumble in around eleven, tripping over something and never making it upstairs. Eridan stared out of the window until the sun began peaking over the horizon, sleeping only for two or three hours.