A/N: This is an updated chapter.

~Webs


BE THE BLACK-HAIRED YOUTH

Owing Karkat for the race had never sat well with you, and it only grew worse as time wore on. You didn't speak to him again after the race, sixth and seventh grade passing without communication of any kind, and you're well into eighth-grade before you even begin to think why; you're not sure if it's because you just didn't like owing him, or if you were waiting for him to make the first move.

And maybe he finally catches onto that by October of eighth grade, stopping you as you left the school around five (You don't enjoy going home too early thanks to your brother's girlfriend constantly being there, so you usually just loiter around school until you really should be getting back).

You'd been leaving out the back doors so you could take a shortcut down an alley when you felt eyes on you, sending a shudder clamboring down your spine and making you turn to try and find the owner of said eyes. Your gaze almost immediately finds him, perched on the edge of the school shed's roof like a gargoyle, and looking right at you.

For some reason, you distinctly remember him having black hair, not this... faded red color he seems to be sporting lately; perhaps he died it? His eyes, though. You're positive that he'd had brown eyes, but what's leering at you is practically cherry red. You have no idea if that's even possible genetically.

"Sollux." You turn yourself completely to face him, letting him know you're listening, spying a woven necklace around his neck with a funny symbol for a charm.

Before you can ask what it is, or what he's doing up there, he's jumping off the roof to land on the blacktop with eerie, cat-like grace, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, sticking his hands in his hoodie pockets. "Long time no see..." you say cautiously, a bit put-off by the fact it seems he was waiting for you. He raises an eyebrow in surprise, and you can only assume it's thanks to your lack of lisp from rigorous therapy with your aunt.

"Long time no see," he replies carefully, as if wary of you.

"Do you need something?" You try to sound bored, but you can't deny he's piqued your curiosity as to why today of all days, he's chosen to speak to you.

"You haven't see anything strange, have you?" You tilt your head to the side in confusion, and a little bit of disbelief. Is he for real?

"Strange how?"

"Strange as in dangerous?" You're pretty sure he's screwing with you, but he has a rather impressive pokerface, so you're not sure anymore.

"No, I haven't seen anything." You nod towards the school. "I haven't been out much today." He looks away, chewing his lip thoughtfully for a moment, before turning around and waving over his shoulder.

"Then it hasn't happened yet. Be safe on your way home, Captor."

"H-Hey, wait!" He ignores you and leaps back up onto the roof and quickly disappears over the other side, leaving you in a state of frustrated shock.


Kicking a piece of gravel angrily, you trudge your way home, your hands shoved deep in your pockets. Having taken great pride in being the smartest in the school, you do not like to feel stupid, and right now, you feel pretty stupid. You have absolutely no idea what Karkat could have been talking about, and you're pissed off to no end about it.

Be safe on your way home your ass. Nothing is safe in Derse. Only people with a blackbelt can walk around after nightfall, and those who didn't were jumped and either killed, or beaten to the point of disability. Take Tavros, for example, the kid in your class that was jumped by Vriska Serket, one of the most notorious gang leaders, and he's stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Or that Hussie kid, some semi-famous web author or something, who killed off a main character, and was attacked by a rabid hoard of fans. It took the police weeks to find everywhere they hid the pieces of him.

So, no, you have no idea what Karkat meant by "be safe". As far as you know, safe is relative.

"Captor!" You inhale a deep sigh as you pause and turn to face your best friend, just as she barrels into you, not having the ability to break (she hasn't since some accident she'd had in second grade; you still have no idea what happened), and you both end up almost toppling to the ground. You growl as you catch her, but she doesn't seem to notice, jumping up and down excitedly despite your arms still being around her.

"Calm down, AA, what the fuck."

"Oh shut up, Mr. Grumpy Gills." She smooshes your cheeks together while you sigh and let her, always having had trouble telling her off. "I have exciting news."

"And what would that be?" She grins.

"That kid that's always staring at you is moving schools!" Causing you to pause, you mull over her words briefly, before raising an eyebrow.

"Who now?"

"The boy that's been staring at you since fifth grade!" You gently take her hands into yours and remove them from your face, letting out a soft sigh.

"Again, who now?"

"Karkat Vantas? You ran the relay with him, stupid. Red hair, super cute?" Your eyebrow immediately drops and you're suddenly hit with a... slimy feeling. Karkat's probably some sleazy dick that's trying to mess with you. Ew.

"Well, good riddance." Aradia grins triumphantly and starts jumping again.

"See? I knew you'd say that." She calms down a little and slips a hand into yours, and squeezing. "Are you heading home?"

"Yeah," you respond a bit distractedly, head tilted a bit to the side in thought. "I stayed late 'cause Equius has Nepeta over again..."

"You really did like her, did you?" You send her a small glare and start walking again, shaking off her hand but letting her follow.

"No, it's not that." You use to be head over heels for her. "I never liked her." You use to keep her picture under your pillow. "'Sides, she's too old, right?" She's actually only a year older.

Aradia smiles knowingly and skips a couple of steps ahead of you happily, swinging her arms and leading the way to the house that she had visited a million times. You grumble and shove your hands in your pockets, waiting to get to the door to take out your key. Your friend immediately darts into the house and trots to the kitchen to peck both of your dads on the cheek, who both grin and greet her cheerily. "Sollux!" Equius calls from the kitchen as you toe off your shoes. "You didn't say Aradia was coming over!" You sigh and massage your temples, dumping your bag at the foot of the staircase.

"If it's a matter of having enough food, you eat like a horse, and she can split with you," you grumble towards your brother, ignoring a wave from Nepeta, who's perched on the counter to "help" with dinner, which smells like lasagna?

"Nah, I can just share with you!" Aradia jumps at you from nowhere, clamping onto your arm and jolting you to the side as he peck your fathers' cheeks on your way to the table.

"I'm not sharing with you, Aradia." Rubbing your head again, you make an uncomfortable sigh at the migraine setting in; you haven't had one of those since you were little, so what today has caused it? Maybe Karkat drugged you?

Taking seat, you snort at the thought and ignore concerned looks from your parents prompts about school, only answering with a shrug and getting the rest of your homework out.

Aside from Aradia, no one bothers you for the next blissful twenty minutes, only marred by the increasing pounding of your head. You eventually give up on your work and lean your head into your hand, biting your lip until Equius calls everyone to get their food.

It's on your way to the kitchen for the plate held out to you that your knees suddenly feel weak, buckling out from under you so you slide to the floor with a soft thump. The thumping of your head increases to the point your vision clouds over, throwing the previously-bright kitchen into shadowy fractiles and blurred shapes. You vaguely hear the chaos the house is thrown into, but a pressure against your head pushes against you until you're thrown into complete blackness that almost seems worse than the split colors of before.

The blackness has a sense of... space that shifts you off kilter and makes you uneasy, as if you're rather in a black room than an expanse of nothingness; you feel caged and disoriented, aware of so many people calling your name, you realize it's more than just your family. There are thousands of voices all trying to vye for your attention, and you just want to rip your ears out.

Rising from the blackness, steadily like someone is running towards you, you see a blurry figure moving towards you, their shouting increasing in volume until it drowns out the rest, your name cutting through the darkness before you're thrown back into your body with such force, your breath is knocked out of your chest.


"I'm going to have to ask you to come with us, Mr. Captor." You don't move, frozen on the hospital bench you're seated on with a paper cup of water in your hand. Some random ass doctor is looking down at you with a smile that can either mean candy, or some form of medieval punishment, holding a clipboard and gesturing to an exit that won't take you through the lobby, where your family, and Aradia, are waiting for you.

"I want to talk to my dads."

"I'm sorry, we can let you do that." Doesn't something like this deserve your parents to be in the room with you? This seems to wrong, this whole situation, and you know going with these men is going to be the worst idea.

"Why not?"

"They don't have proper clearance," he says vaguely, setting the clipboard on the counter with a soft sigh and fidgeting with something in his pocket.

"Proper clearance for what?" You get slowly to your feet, still not trusting your legs and using the chair as support. "They're my parents."

"Not anymore." He turns around with something hanging from the end of a chain, the doctor quickly slipping it around your neck before your can protest. At first, you're just miffed, but then the strange... almost-pendant starts to burn you a little bit through your shirt, and you feel weaker than you had even during your episode earlier.

"Wh-What is this?" You try to pull it off, but the doctor catches your hands.

"I will not repeat myself, Mr. Captor. You will come with us." You can't even resist him as he pulls outside and towards a parked car with two burly men waiting for you in the backseat. The doctor returns to the building with the same, fake smile he'd had on before, and you can only imagine what lie he's about to feed to your family.