Author Notes!
Oh man I finally finished it! I'm actually proud at how this chapter turned out- the plot is going to be revealed bit by bit by small bit soon, soon dear readers =u= I honestly wanted this chapter up last Monday, but I procrastinate like an idiot, so you get it now! At least you don't have to wait much longer! -hearts for everyone-
So, without further adieu, let me address reviews! (you'll notice I'm a total goof in my A/N's, but the story is so serious OTL)
Bucketswag: I will be honest, I kinda flipped a bit when I saw your review- Monstrous Shenanigans is one of my favorite stories, and it felt kinda overwhelming to see that you had reviewed my story! ^^; But thank you for the review, and I'm glad chapter one was interesting- it just felt kinda boring to me.
IcyShadowsFTW: Ehehe. Dave's death. -shrouds self with cape mysteriously- I can't give out my secrets just yet! But don't worry, this plot line is... It is perfect! Thank you for your review!
UnsureDemonWarriorBrianna: Actually, there is, and it won't really clarify very well in the story, so I'll give you a brief run down- basically, you get black-banded if you're different and your difference can't help society, like Tavros' disability, Terezi's blindness, Aradia's ability to hear voices... etc. It'll get easier to see in the story, no worries! Thank you for the review! :D
Rue the Reviewer: Here's more! Thanks for reviewing!
LAVEN-YULLEN: Aww, well thank you anyway! Don't worry about leaving inteliigent or even coherent reviews- I treat them all the same! And thank you for this one!
GlassSoul: -dramatic wiping away of the tears- Thank you, dear Glass. Thank you. AND YES, YES YOU WILL BE. INTERNET BRAGGING RIGHTS, FOR THE WIN. And um, no more dark, evil talking, because I promise this plot will play out better than what you expect ;-; Please don't get on Skype and try to kill me again? Ehehe. Just kiddin'. Keep reviewing- you know they are my crack, Glass :D
PockyDelirum: Wait no further! The next chapter is ready for viewing! Ehehe. Thank you for your review!
kittenguts: If my best friend's reaction to the plot (which was "O_O wut is... i dont... words.. air... -death-, and she doesnt even ship dave/john) is anything to go by, then I think you all will be pleased with the way this plot turns out! Thank you for your review!
Also, don't worry- this is probably going to be the only chapter I give out review answers like this. I realize that's a lot of A/Ns, so I'll just list off all the users who reviewed and thanksies that way!
Without anymore interruption or delay... Enjoy chapter two!
Disclaimers: I. don't. own. it. Nope. Andrew Hussie does.
Labeled
Chapter Two: Never Let It Show
The beeping of his computer brought him back down to earth from his thoughts, and he turned away from the window and the walls, back to his computer screen. A familiar chumHandle flashed onto the window, earning a frustrated groan from Dave as he tentatively (and unwillingly), opened up the chat, instantly greeted with violet text, and his cousin, Rose Lalonde.
-tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-
TT: Hello Strider.
TG: go away lalonde
TG: not in the mood for your psychoanalytical bullshit
TT: Well, I wasn't planning on doing so, but now the idea has penetrated my thoughts.
TG: fuck
TG: for real rose
TG: im seriously not in the mood
TT: Don't worry, Dave.
TT: I'll spare my therapist behaviors for when you aren't in a terrible mood.
TG: thank you
TT: But, I am panicking.
TG: whats up
TT: Mr. Egbert's son went missing.
TT: As far as we know, he hasn't been kidnapped.
TT: Yet, he hasn't been home since this morning, and we can't find him.
TG: did he just not come home
TT: He hasn't, no. If he did, then he must have left without his father's knowledge.
TG: whoa
TG: kids got guts
TG: sneaking out of his house like shits gone mission impossible
TT: Yes, Strider, you would get along great with him.
He smirked, letting his own joke settle into his stomach because, damn, it felt good to have that sense of humor, the one thing that hardly anyone could touch. Dave's fingers settled over the keyboard again, getting ready to type up a smart-assed analogy back to Rose when he heard it.
When he heard a scream.
Blue eyes darted uneasily around the snow-flurried streets, and he gripped his backpack strap with his hands, huddling his arms closer to his chest, almost like that would protect him. The sun was already beginning to set and he swallowed down the fear in his throat over an uneasy lump, turned around to check behind him, and kept walking. His pale cheeks were frozen and flushed red from the icy wind, his black hair spotted with specks of snow, coat soaked from all the melted ice and scarf doing absolutely nothing for him.
In retrospect, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea- he knew this wasn't a good neighborhood, that the crime rate on these streets is what made it seem so high in the rest of the city, and someone with his social standing would have never been seen here. But it had seemed like fun- skipping out on going home right after school, exploring the parts of the city he really didn't seem to know about, and then going back after a few hours before anyone had even noticed he was gone. But that was three hours ago, and he never planned to stay out for more than an hour. Now, he was lost in the worst place to be stuck for a teen small enough to be in junior high with absolutely no fighting skills what-so-ever.
He started to panic.
Just as he rounded the corner to take a shortcut (at least he hoped it would have been a shortcut), his walking was interrupted by a face-full of a gray coat and the smell of liquor. His blood ran even colder than the air as he heard that rumbling laughter come from the same person he ran into. "Well. What are you doin' out here all alone?"
He backed up a little, smiling nervously, wishing that hopefully he could get out of this with that smile of his (that everyone liked to call derpy). But it wasn't doing much. "I-I…" The man stepped forward with one step, carrying the distance of six of the black-haired teen's. He squeaked, feeling the calloused, rough hands grab his wrists hastily, lips pulling back over teeth to give an evil grin. "N-No, lemme go!"
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle…"
He screamed, shrill and ear shatteringly loud, hoping someone around here gave enough of a care to come help, just as he was thrown roughly to the ground, wrists pinned above his head with one hand, the other foreign hand tracing down his chest. 'No, no, no,' he cursed in his brain, tears rolling down his cheeks as his captor flipped him over to lay on his stomach. 'God no, god no, god no…'
"I bet you're a virgin…" the man said, voice thick and smooth with alcohol, hands running down his back, the shocks of bad vibes felt even through his coat. One hand groped his ass and he whimpered, sobbing into his sleeves. "Haha, you are. This is going to be fun…" He could feel a hand fumbling with his zipper ('No, no, no!') before it backed behind him to deal with his own zipper. He shut his blue eyes tight, doing his best to block out what was about to happen when there was a quiet shuffling at the opening of the alley.
"What the fuck?"
It startled him out of the mind block he formed and he could hear the man behind him growl. "Strider, go the fuck away," the man snarled out, and he was almost grateful that he stood, zipping his pants back up. "I'm a little busy here."
"Yeah. Busy with some random twelve year old on the street? How cool."
He held his tongue- he didn't know who this 'Strider' was, and as far as he knew, it could have been this man's friend. He just curled up away from the both, against the brick wall, holding his backpack to his chest for protection, to hold something so he could feel safety, in the least. He saw the man, his posture definitely annoyed, stand, then with a rude gesture to the newly arrived visitor, walked out of the other side of the alley. "Enjoy him, you fucker. I bet he was a nice lay, too."
His blue eyes were filled with tears that he quickly wiped away, but didn't move, only flinching when he heard the sound of sneakers on snow walking toward him. He just curled up more when a face and platinum blonde hair came into his vision, eyes staring right back at a pair of dark shades. A hand came toward him and he jolted, moving away before it made contact. "Whoa, chill kid, I seriously ain't gonna hurt you," he blonde kid said, waiting for him to relax a bit before putting a hand to his cheek, frowning. "You're freezing. You seriously need to head back home before anyone knows you're missing."
"Oh… They probably noticed," his own voice came as a shock, but he didn't panic or freak and cover his mouth up with his hands, calling himself 'stupid stupid stupid' over and over for even saying something like that. But there wasn't a flicker of emotion beyond those dark shades. He was just met with a smirk and the blonde kid motioning the alley opening.
"This place ain't safe. You really do need to go."
He swallowed down the terrible taste in his throat and stood, shakily, still holding his backpack close to his chest and watching the blonde kid from behind his glasses, how fluid his motions where we he stalked to the sidewalk (and he noticed- only wearing a short-sleeved red shirt and a pair of black jeans), then turned back with ease. "Better head out now, kid. This neighborhood is fucking insane." The concern he knew the blonde was hiding was almost endearing, and the black-haired teen couldn't help but smile and nod.
"Y-Yeah… Thank you."
The blonde waved his hand, brushing it off. "No big deal," and then turned and walked into the apartment building they stood in front of. Blue eyes blinked again and again, before finally deciding he was making stuff up and seeing things, because he knew he didn't just see a black band on his wrist.
Hallucinating- definitely hallucinating.
He popped open a fresh bottle of apple juice, tearing off the cap with a series of plastic clicks and then tossed it onto the cafeteria table. Dave took a tentative first sip of the juice, savoring the taste and how cold it was, before setting the bottle back down, staring at the amber liquid. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake off last night, how there was an unfamiliar teen in the alleyway next to his house. He didn't even ask the kids name, or why he was there- just swept into that scene like a knight in shining armor and saved the damsel in distress. Happily ever after, right?
Not for him.
Dave chewed the inside of his cheek to distract himself, trying to focus on that damn essay due in English today, or how he had to manage to scrap up an excuse of why he didn't do his Physics homework (real reason: video games, but the teacher will probably get something about Bro being gone and shit), when there a familiar figure approaching. "Hey, fuckass," his friend greeted, throwing a foil-wrapped hamburger onto the cafeteria table, a glare set in eyes and a scowl on his mouth as he set down his French fries. "Why the fuck do you always look so goddamn mopey and depressed when you sit by yourself?"
Dave smirked, taking a single fry from the boy's lunch and shrugging, ignore his angry protests. "Why do you have to look and sound so fucking pissy all the time, Vantas?" he asked, taking a bite of the fry and chuckling as the grey-eyed teen say down with a growl. "So, you're in a good mood."
Despite what anyone else, or he said, Karkat Vantas was his best friend in every sense of the word- he had been there for Dave the second Dave had moved to New York, and never backed down to helping him out, even with the stupidest shit. He lived in the apartment a floor above him, and while it wasn't automatically noticeable, he was black-banded, too. They had a habit of taking insults to each other first before anything else, but they could tell what the other meant, while everyone else thought they were just arguing. No one really understood their relationship. No one really had to- they didn't care about what anyone else thought.
"Fuck off," Karkat snapped, sitting down across from Dave with a huff, lips pulled up into a pout. Dave just chuckled as a lunch plate hit the table and they both looked up. "Oh, fuck me lucky."
"Shut up, KK." A pale, taller teen snapped, taking the seat next to Karkat as a dark-haired girl sat next to him, setting down her food with a bit more caution than the two before her. "God, listening to your voithe ith abtholute hell thometimeth." Sollux Captor glared over his plate lunch to Karkat, waiting for his move, knowing he'd snap back like he did every day, and Dave saw the smirk travel over his lips. He was Karkat's friend in the beginning, but lately had been more of Dave's than anything- the teen knew computer programming front to back, and wrote several code for a few neighborhood companies. Dave and Karkat had known him since they started middle school, and he even lived in the same apartment complex- right next to Dave. If Sollux could do anything better than coding and programming, it'd probably be annoying the ever-loving shit out of Karkat.
Karkat growled under his breath, about to say something back when the black-haired girl held her hand up, silencing the both of them from their argument and turned to Dave. "Hello, Dave," then to Karkat, "hello, Karkat." She smiled a little, dark brown eyes shining, and tucked some hair behind her ear. "How are you two today?"
Aradia Megido was one of Sollux's best friends, whom Dave had met the year before when they all hung out together. The group was kind of like the outcast group. They all kept together, became a tight-knit group and usually there were two more of them, Dave's cousin and another, but Rose was missing and the other one was always hanging out with his boyfriend during lunch, and his boyfriend had a personal grudge against Dave.
"I'm good," Dave answered her, nodding in her direction, which they had agreed was the equivalence of a smile for him. Karkat threw in some long-winded explanation on why his day had been ruined because of Sollux's face, and Aradia shook her head softly, eyes down at the table as she did. Dave decided to shut up his best friend (rudely with "Karkat, shut the fuck up for a second" and earning Karkat's middle finger in return), then turned to the black haired girl. "How are you, Aradia?"
She smiled again, her smile always so sad and seemingly a mask to him before shrugging. "I'm okay. Just the usual issue." Dave knew about the "usual issue", and always knew to read it in his mind as "that one douche bag that isn't worth her time because he's an ass". He gave her a comforting pat on the back before she turned back to him, and to the apple juice bottle he still held in his hand. "Do you not have money for lunch?"
"Not today. I was late for the bus this morning, so I didn't get a chance to steal money out of Bro's wallet before I left. All I had in my pocket was a few quarters, so I got some apple juice," Dave said, playing it like it wasn't a big deal, glad the cafeteria was so loud otherwise Aradia would have probably heard his stomach growling.
The girl frowned, reached down next to her chair, dug through her bag for a moment before fishing out a few coins and giving them to Dave. "Go get a bag of chips or something- I don't want you to go hungry," she gave another smile as she said this, and Dave knew he couldn't refuse. Just because she was collected now, she wouldn't be if he had given her back the seventy cents she had just given him. He gave another half-hearted shrug (read: oh gog fuck aradia I love you so much right now) and walked casually over to the vending machines, putting in the change and entering in the number for a bag of Doritos, waiting as the spring that held it in place slowly turned. In the midst of his waiting, Dave stole a glance to the table. Sollux was holding his fork toward Karkat, an irritated look on his face, and Karkat shoved the fork out of his vision, his ears turning red, only meaning Sollux had said something embarrassing. Aradia was holding a fist to her mouth to stifle her laugh, raising her eyes to smile at Dave, waving a bit. They looked like a normal group of friends, and dammit, they were, but one thing had to be off, one thing just kept them from normalcy.
They were all black banded.
Dave took his chips out of the machine, opening them back up as he walked toward the table, seeing that smile on Aradia's face, knowing her head was filled with voices that were telling her hundreds of things in seconds, and then saw how Sollux plopped back in his chair, those 3-D glasses he always wore covering his dichromatic eyes, one amber the other blue, and then Karkat was a hemophiliac, only discovered when was younger and he would trip and skin his knee and have to go to the hospital before he bled to death, then Dave had god awful eyes and pale skin and platinum blonde hair. Albino. The animalistic albinism. He could deal if his eyes were a light, inhuman green- at least that'd be closer than the color he had now, but no, he was stuck with the form of albinism you found in mice and dogs and rabbits. He was a side-show freak, and the black band on his wrist proved it, the shades he wore on his face proved it, the way he carried his regrets and guilt and cold-heart on his back was proof.
He almost dropped his bag of chips as a kid came running out of the cafeteria around the corner, almost right into him, barely missing, but stopping to apologize anyway. "Oh, jeez, sorry!" He said, quickly, looking up at Dave with wide eyes, all fretting nature he had before gone, and replaced with genuine shock. "It's… you!" His blue eyes shone right into Dave's eyes, seemingly the only thing that couldn't be dimmed out behind his shades.
Dave couldn't stop the look of disbelief that passed over his face.
It was the kid from last night.