Hey, sorry about the delay but my computer has some issues and I've been busy with school. Also, to the guest who asked why I was referring to Gamzee as 'they' I headcanon Gamzee as non-binary/genderfluid so 'they' was the best pronoun to use. Hope that answers your question :33
I don't own Homestuck.
Chapter Two
The car rattles down the dirt road towards your father's farm. Gamzee catches you looking in the rear view mirror again and smiles from the back seat. You've been checking for the past hour to make sure he's still there. A voice in the back of your head keeps telling you he couldn't possibly follow you this far.
"So how has your week been?" your father asks, catching you off guard.
"S'been g-good," you lie out of habit. It's obvious that he doesn't believe you, but his tactic seems to be to let you talk about it in your own time.
"That's good. Rufio missed you."
"He a-always misses me," you reply, smiling a little at the thought of the bull you've raised since he was a calf. You named him after your favorite character, though you tell your cousin you named it after him just to be nice. He wanders around the house like a large dog, and, as little as he was when he was born, he may as well be.
"Hey, Tavbro," Gamzee whispers, leaning close even though your father can't hear them. "Who's this Rufio dude?"
You wait for a particularly loud part in the music playing through the radio before you respond, muttering quietly that Rufio is your pet. Gamzee nods as your father drives down the road and in front of the tall house.
The two story house where you spent most of your childhood stands tall in front of you, a couple of lights on in the first floor window. Rufio the dwarfish bull nearly tackles you as you walk in the door and you pet him behind the ears, easily avoiding his horns out of habit. Your father throws his keys on the kitchen counter, turning to smile at you.
"So what do you want for dinner? We can order a pizza," he suggests. "I didn't have time to go to the store, so there won't be a ton of diversity in the fridge until tomorrow."
"Pizza s-sounds good," you say, starting for the stairs up to your room. Your dad nods and you leave the room, readjusting the bag on your shoulder. Gamzee floats idly up behind you and follows you into the dark, half-empty bedroom. The bed is on the floor, owing to the fact that Rufio likes to sleep with you and still thinks he's a lapdog. Well, lap-bull...
You turn on the light, the ceiling fan slowly spinning to life, and throw your bag down on the bed, sitting down next to it. Gamzee sits next to you, looking around the room with the large grin you've noticed never seems to leave their face.
"What's that medal for?" they ask pointing at the plastic gold medal hanging from the corner of your mirror. You scratch the back of your head, laughing a little.
"I-in, uh, sixth grade I w-won a P-Pokemon tournament. It's th-the only thing I e-ever really w-won. N-not very, uh, a-athletic o-or an-anything." Especially not since the accident, you think. The wheelchair you were stuck in made that a little hard. Rufio noses the door open and wanders over next to you, laying his head in your lap. You scratch his ears absentmindedly, looking around for something else to talk about.
You're not sure how long you and Gamzee just sit, enjoying each other's company, but the silence is broken by your father calling up to you.
"Tav! Someone's here to see you!"
Your thick eyebrows furrow together. No one ever comes to visit while you're with your dad. Plus, it isn't like you have many friends...Who could be at the door? You stand up with only some difficulty (your leg doesn't trouble you near as much as it used to) and limp down the stairs, your crutches holding you steady. Aradia is waiting for you in the doorway and she waves, smiling as she catches your eye. She steps inside, pulling you into a slightly tentative hug.
"I went by your house, but your uncle said you already left for the weekend," she says with a shrug. "I wanted to try and catch you before that, but I guess I was a little too late!"
"I haven't seen you here in a while," your father says, patting Aradia on the shoulder and shaking her hand. "It's nice to see you again!"
"Same to you, Mr. Beldon!" Aradia says brightly. "I just noticed Tavros seemed a little nervous today, so I wanted to come say hi and check on how he's doing."
She looks at you again and you suddenly notice the worry behind her smile. Of course she's worried about you. The two of you have been friends since the third grade. You can only imagine what she must have been thinking when you started skipping class.
"I-I'm doing f-fine, thanks!" you say, trying to match her smile. "S-sorry if I worried you!"
The strong feeling you get when you say that shocks you for a second, but you realize that you don't just mean for today. It's a miracle she hasn't knocked down your door and dragged you into some impromptu therapy session. You hope the look in your eyes is enough to express that and your father smiles down at the two of you.
"Why don't you two go look around town for a while. You have a few hours before it gets dark," he suggests. The car keys in Aradia's pocket jingle as she grabs them.
"I think that sounds fun! We can take my car."
You just sort of nod, vaguely aware of Gamzee hovering behind you, and follow Aradia back out the door. Your father calls something about being home before dark and the two of you wave in response. Tossing your crutches in the back seat, you crawl into the front of Aradia's old car, reminded again that you need to take your driving test. You must be the only one in your senior class that doesn't know how to drive...
Aradia starts the car and turns on the radio to a classic rock station—neither of your favorite, but the only thing the car's broken antennae will pick up. You glance in the rear-view mirror as she backs the car up and see Gamzee sitting contentedly in the back seat. You assumed they were coming, but it's still a bit of a shock to see the transparent person crouched on top of your crutches.
"So are you really doing okay?" Aradia asks, breaking you out of your thoughts. It takes you a couple of seconds to respond but you nod with some conviction.
"Yeah," you say, repeating it as if you're trying to convince yourself as well. "Yeah I-I am."
Her eyes linger on you like she's looking for any hint that you're lying, but just smiles and turns her attention back to the road.
"Good. Where do I turn?" she asks and you realize it's been at least nine or ten years since she's been here. And she's definitely never driven this way.
"Take a left up here," you say, pointing at the upcoming intersection. She follows your directions, the ticking of the blinker the only sound for a few seconds. You glance back at Gamzee again, wondering why they're being so quiet, but they're just looking out the window, taking in the new environment. There isn't really much to see, you think, looking around at the tall grass lining the road. Still. You figure they have been stuck in your house for who knows how long. Any change of scenery must look nice.
"Oh! I love this song!" Aradia suddenly cries, turning up the radio. She doesn't waste a breath before singing along. "Mamaaaaa oooooooo! Didn't mean to make you cry!" You grin like an idiot as she starts singing in your direction. "If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters..."
She smiles at you and shakes your shoulder until you eventually sing along. Two minutes later the two of you plus Gamzee are singing at the top of your lungs, incredibly off key.
"Thunderbolts of lightning, very very frightening me!"
"G-Galileo!"
"Galileo!"
"Galile—oh! T-turn here!" you laugh, pointing to the right. Still singing, the two of you pull into the small town, the car shaking on the brick road. Aradia parks outside a store near the edge of town and kills the engine.
"So do you want to just walk around?" she asks. Your smile fades a little and you slowly let your face fall back into its neutral expression as you nod.
"Y-yeah, that sounds f-fun," you say, getting out of the car. The two of you walk down the street, Gamzee floating next to you. You're about to enter the local bookstore when you hear a voice behind you.
"Looky here! N-N-Nitram's back for the weekend!"
You stop, feeling like you've just been dumped in cold water as Gamzee accidentally floats through you, and turn slowly to see Nash Walker and his gang. They're all a year older than you and used to bully you mercilessly for your stutter when you went to school here. Judging by the way Nash called your name, they still do.
"Who's this?" Nash asks as they get closer. He jabs a thick finger in Aradia's direction.
"Aradia Megido," she says coolly, holding out a hand, clearly trying to be civil. "And you are?"
"'Megido'," Nash says, ignoring her question. "Where have I heard that name before...Oh! That's right! Don't you have a sister here?"
"Damara, yes," Aradia answers in that same voice, letting her hand fall back to her side. You glance between the two nervously. Aradia has never really been one for conflict, but you've seen her angry. It wasn't a pretty sight. "She lives with my mom here."
Just by Nash's grin you can tell he recognizes the name and what he's about to say, and apparently so can Aradia because before he can say anything she cuts him off.
"Can we help you?"
Nash shrugs, looking around to the other three boys. "We just wanted to come say hi to our favorite little buddy. Right Tavros?"
Your eyes shoot over to Nash, a little surprised at being addressed by your first name, but just try to square your shoulders and make yourself look bigger. Nash steps forward and you step back. Gamzee suddenly stands protectively in front of you, seeming to forget the fact that they're a ghost and completely intangible.
"P-please just l-leave us al-alone," you say, hoping you sound more confident than you feel.
"Or what? You gonna hit me with your crutches?" Nash laughs. Aradia steps forward.
"No, but I might."
A couple of the other boys laugh and Nash stands directly in front of her, at least a head taller. Aradia just glares back up at him, standing her ground.
"You wanna fight me?"
"Not if you leave us alone."
"And if I don't?"
Instead of an answer Aradia's fist comes out of nowhere, nailing Nash in the nose and you swear you hear it break. Nash staggers back, clutching his bloody nose.
"Ah! You bitch, what the fuck?!" he shouts thickly, spitting blood out onto the sidewalk. Aradia just shrugs, flexing her fingers.
"Sh-she did w-warn you," you say, unable to hide your smile. Behind you, Gamzee laughs, loud and raucous.
"She all up and knocked that motherfucker right on his ass!" they say. "I like her! You need to keep her around, Tavbro."
You grin at Gamzee but quickly pretend you're looking at Aradia before someone notices. Nash scrambles back to his feet, straightening his shirt and squaring his shoulders with a sniff.
"I let her do that," you hear him mutter to the other three as he walks away, leaving a small trail of bloody dots from his nose. Aradia smiles at you and you wonder why you ever stopped talking to her. In your defense, you kind of stopped talking to anyone for a while. But you're starting to realize that maybe opening up to at least one person wouldn't be too hard. Okay, two, you think as Gamzee accidentally floats through you again. This turned out to be a good day.