"And that was when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, a rather compelling yet overly dramatic scenario, if you ask me." Your English teacher spat. You were lucky to have Mr. Vantas for creative writing and English.

You had Gym with Mr. Zahhak right after Lunch, which was followed by English. Technically, you had Mr. Vantas for three periods; because of lunch they would smash two forty minute classes together and call it one.

Mr. Vantas was okay, if it wasn't for the fact his youngest son was always arguing with him. Karkat was one interesting kid, if you do say so yourself. Even with his bad attitude, he's made you laugh a multitude of times.

You've been attending this new school for two weeks now, and the only contact you've managed with the doped up clown was a few hellos and small conversations. You found he would rarely ever come to school; Meulin told you he's been attending more than usual.

He sure was an interesting character, you'd give him that.

Kurloz pov

Kurloz leaned back against the bathroom stall, eyes staring solemnly at the wall. He slowly brought up what appeared to be a blunt to his lips, taking a deep inhale… then a shallow exhale.

He ran his lithe fingers along his purple belt, then down his black jeans, letting out a small grunt. Taking another hit, Kurloz scuffed his face. He hadn't had a good fight nor fuck in such a long time. Maybe that would take away some of this depression that took home in his heart?

Yeah, a good fuck… Definitely hadn't had one of those since Meulin. Since… Meulin…

Meulin.

A small growl rumbled through Kurloz's chest as he finished his blunt, flicking the remains in the toilet. As he exited the school bathroom, the second to last bell rung throughout the hallways. All Kurloz had to do was survive English with Mr. Vantas.

Kurlolz walked into class unprepared and high. Possibly the worst combination to be while in English class. He sat down next to the new girl; what was her name? Oh, right. (Y/n).

He poked her side, brown-indigo eyes looking her up and down while he waited for a reaction. She jumped up in surprise, a deep red straining her face. "O-oh, hi!" (Y/n) stuttered. Well, that was pretty motherfucking adorable.

Kurloz quickly signed, 'Do you have a pencil I could all up and fucking borrow?' He froze; facepalming hard. She probably didn't know the first thing about sign language!

To his surprise (y/n) slowly handed him her pencil, a shy smile on her face. "I only have one pencil, but its fine. You can keep it." She was smiling at him… Most girls were scared of him. His appearance definitely wasn't one a girl who wasn't looking for an interesting night would smile at.

Or one that wasn't Meulin, that is.

The male had messy, shoulder length black hair, and almost always sported his clown-like makeup. Kurloz's brown eyes had a hue of indigo, stitches painted on his lips, and multiple piercings over his face. He wore a heavy-set, zip-up hoodie with a skeleton pattern for the cold weather soon to come, purple belt, black skinny jeans, and purple army boots. They added an inch, making him 6'4.

Kurloz ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, about to protest to the cute girl's offer. A small ahem caught their attention, looking up to see Mr. Vantas glaring down at him and (y/n).

"Ms. (y/l/n), Mr. Makara." He addressed. Kurloz stared silently as he raised his eyebrows at (y/n). "May I ask as to where your pencil is? As I just said, and may I do repeat myself, you need to write down some notes." Mr. Vantas gestured towards the promethean board.

(Y/n) shifted awkwardly under the intense glare of the teacher, looking down at her (f/c) sneakers. "I'm sorry, Mr. Vantas… I thought it was here, but I must have dropped it in the hallway." Kurloz watched her with wide eyes.

Why would she support him like that? Getting in trouble with Mr. Vantas wasn't an easy trek. And Kurloz… Well, Kurloz thought he was hated all around.

With crossed arms around his chest, Mr. Vantas inspected her closely for any sign of a lie. (Y/n) held a sincere look; besides her cheeks burning red from the embarrassment of being called out in class. Kurloz felt a pang of guilt for getting this sweet girl in trouble; he didn't mean it. He just needed a stupid pencil.

"Well, Ms. (y/l/n)… Considering the circumstances in which you're always prepared for my class, I'll allow this small misunderstanding to slide." As the teacher talked, he walked to his desk and picked up a sharpened pencil, walking back over to the two of you.

(Y/n) smiled in relief, taking the pencil in one hand. "Thank you, Mr. Vantas. I'll make sure to carry an extra pencil from now on." Mr. Vantas nodded in approval and walked back to his desk.

With a large sigh, his deep brown-red eyes showering the kids sitting in the room, Mr. Vantas leaned back to grunt. "Today," he started, pulling up his belt, "We're going to watch a presentation on Romeo and Juliet; to get to know the deeper foundations of the literate beauty."

Mr. Vantas had a love hate relationship with this book. It was weird. It wasn't even a requirement for him to teach the book (considering you already read it last year), but he did so regardless.

One of the girls in class got up to turn off the lights, flashing every boy she saw a white smile. Kurloz leaned over on his desk, laying his chin on his forearms as he eyed the promethean board.

It only took a few minutes before Mr. Vantas was enveloped in total rapture with the video, giving Kurloz some leeway. The male ripped a piece of paper out of his notebook as silently as possible, figuring a gesture to thank (y/n) would be appropriate.

Hell, maybe they could even become friends? Kurloz figured that was a long shot

Kurloz glanced to his right at the young girl. She had (h/l) (h/c) hair that flowed perfectly around her face, a black hoodie with what you assumed was her favorite band plastered on the front, blue jeans, and (f/c) sneakers.

Sighing smoothly he started to scribble on the piece of paper, running a tan hand through his messy hair. Kurloz sure as fuck hoped she didn't just give him that pencil because she was intimidated by him. That would be awkward.

Your pov

You watched the presentation with lidded eyes, cheek resting on one of your arms, which was firmly propped up on top of your desk. Man, was Romeo and Juliet boring the third time you had to learn about it.

A bony finger poked your shoulder gently, causing you to almost bolt out of your chair. You stared at the clown beside you, holding your chest as you steadied your breath. Kurloz quickly signed a 'oh, shit. Sorry about that.' You smiled softly, shaking your head as if to say it was okay.

He pointed towards a folded paper now lying beside your arm. Wow, were you out of it or what?

You quickly, yet silently, opened the paper to reveal sloppy handwriting. It must be from Kurloz. 'Hey, thank you a shit ton for letting me borrow your pencil. I didn't mean to all up and get you in trouble or no shit.' You found yourself smiling at his words.

'No problem! It's honestly my pleasure. Keep that pencil, and if you ever need another one, just ask me.' You wrote in a rather messy manner, but you had the dark to blame. Silently, you slipped it back over onto Kurloz's desk, bringing your attention back to the board.

In no time he had written you back, barely glancing at you as he handed it back. 'Thanks, sis. Honk! Anyways, you seem pretty motherfucking interested in this book. You like Romeo and Juliet?' Well, if he was fooled enough to think you were into it, Mr. Vantas must think you praise the book at night…

'Nah, just really bored. I guess its fine, but I've already been taught this book a few times so.' You sighed, shaking your head. It didn't occur to you that you were talking to Kurloz Makara.

You both wrote back to each other for the rest of class, learning small bits and pieces about one another. You explained to him how Neck Deep was your absolute favorite band, and Kurloz explained to you how he liked practically anything.

(AN; if you don't like Neck Deep, or don't know who they are, you do now.)

It was funny to imagine Kurloz listening to country.

He also told you about his little brother Gamzee, who was a year younger than him. You laughed when you read that; it wasn't hard to see how they were brothers. They both were around 6 foot, black, wild hair, brown-indigo eyes, and that clown makeup they always wore.

It definitely wasn't hard to misinterpret them as brothers, if not practically twins.

Now that you were walking out of school, you had to face real life. You were planning on searching for a part time job.

You walked into town, which wasn't that big, nor far from your school. You decided to start at a very small market just on the outskirts. You heard they needed help.

Walking into the store brought you peace; it was so small and nice… "Ah, hello (y/n)." You looked to your side to see the owner, Mr. Bucks, who happened to be a family friend.

You grinned widely, walking over. "Hey! I didn't know you worked at Bucks." You paused for a moment. "Wait, now the name makes sense… Woah."

The old man chuckled cheerfully, shaking his head. "No problem. So what brings you here?" He asked, arranging the lollipops in a small can so they were all facing up. "Oh. I heard the store needed more hands around and I just wanted to stop by to see if I could get a job or something."

Mr. Bucks grinned, nodding eagerly. "Of course, we'd love to have you here! I'll have our bagging boy come by and show you the ropes." The old man disappeared into the back and soon appeared with… oh boy. You have to be joking.

Kurloz fucking Makara works here? You'd be working together? You thought you would die of a heart attack right there.

Kurloz was just as surprised to see you as you were him. "I didn't know you worked here…" You muttered as he walked over to you, rubbing the back of his neck.

'Yeah, I've been working here for a few months. I have to find some way to pay rent.' Kurloz signed to you, a soft smile on his lips. Rent? That must mean he lives alone…

You grinned at him, leaning back on your heels as you searched for the words to say. "Interesting… So, Mr. Buck said you'd help me around?" You asked. Kurloz nodded, leading you around, explaining with his hands what you would do. "Where is the rest of the staff?"

Kurloz looked back at you and shrugged, 'Not sure. I know there's other staff, but considering this market is so motherfuckin' small, I guess we don't work on the same days.' You nodded softly, making a low 'ah' sound.

As Kurloz finished showing you around, Mr. Buck reappeared with a green polo, handing it to you. "It appears you two know each other! Friends from school?" He questioned. You both nodded in unison. "That's great to know! (Y/n)," he turned towards you once again, "you start working at 5pm till closing time tomorrow."

You twitched your eyebrow in confusion, rubbing your thumb along the shirt in your grasp. 'Closing time is at 10.' Kurloz offered you the answer. "I expect you on time! Just because I know your parents doesn't mean you get any leeway!" Mr. Buck scowled.

Kurloz patted your back, giving you a thumbs up. You smiled gratefully at the both of them, waving as you made your way all the way home. Why didn't you just drive?

Once you got home, you broke the great news to your parents, and went straight to bed. You were incredibly excited that you now had a job, but now you would be working with that mysterious man… Maybe things won't be so bad?

I mean, he can't smell of weed all the time, right? You hoped not. Anyways, you better get to sleep. Tomorrow will be chaotic; you can assure yourself that.