Lightning fast update! OHMYGOG this was a long chapter. I'm guessing the first three chapters are going to be sort of intro chapters to get the main characters in place. I've honestly never written a fic with so many characters. X3 It's sort of exciting. I had a lot of fun with Terezi in this one. :3 Hoep ya'll enjoy and again I apologize for the word vomit.
****Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck. This is for fun and not profit. ****
~John POV~
Walking to the steps of the school was fine. Climbing up the insane amount of said steps was still ok. What wasn't ok or even remotely fine was the hoard of teens walking, running, standing, and…was that kid doing a handstand?...all in the front lobby of the school that made you freeze and break into a cold sweat. This was crazy.
A shoulder roughly bumps into you making you realize you're blocking the entrance. You turn to apologize and move, but they're already gone. Trying to suck it up, you marshal forward, bumping elbows and backpacks, as you make your way slowly across the floor. Some people give you a glance, but that's it. If you had been back home, you probably would have been shoved up against the lockers for what you were doing.
Maybe going to a large school isn't so bad. A smile starts to spread across your face until you find yourself being knocked off your feet and go sprawling across the floor. Or not.
"Hey, watch it you dork!" You glance up, righting you glasses that slipped during the fall. "What are you looking at, wimp? Wanna go?" The girl in front of you is terrifying and you don't know if it's because she has an eye-patch over her left eye or if it's the creepy spider web tattoo that's peeking out from the collar of her shirt or if it was the glare she was giving you with her one good eye. It just might be all of that together.
"I…I-uh…no" You stammer and mentally face palm. Way to go Egbert.
"Vriska, you're scaring him." A slender girl leaned down and held out a hand for you to take, which you do, grateful for the help. "She doesn't mean it. I mean, she does, but don't hold it against her." The second girl's smile is soft and strange as she moves a lock of her long brown hair out of her face.
"Whatever," The spider chick, Vriska, snorted. "Like I would waste time on a puny thing like him. I mean, come one, he's like, five four or something."
Ignoring Vriska, the strange girl holds her hand out again for you only this time for you to shake. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Aradia. You can call me Ara if you like."
"John." You smile shyly again, glad Ara seemed like a nice person.
"And I'm Vriska." The spider chick speaks up again, clearly upset that Ara had left her out of the introductions. Peeking at her, you give a timid smile as acknowledgment.
"Well, I hope everything is alright, John. I'm sorry that this is probably the first greeting you've gotten as a freshman." You start to nod only to stop short. Freshman?
"Oh, um, actually, I'm a senior here." Smiling again, a sudden blush over takes you as both Ara and Vriska stare at you with widened eyes.
"You got to be fucking me." Vriska looks at you head to toe. "Damn boy, didn't they ever tell you to drink milk?" Huffing a bit at her attitude, you can't help but get a little defensive.
"I'm not that short. I'm pretty average." Both girls look around the still crowded lobby at the student population, most of which were at least a head taller than you.
"Of course," Ara smiles. "I'm sorry for the mistake, it rarely happens." She eyes me with renewed interest. "Which is rather strange." You stop from pointing out that she is equally, if not more strange, than you. But you bite your tongue; you just met her, she could be your first friend.
Of course, that's right when the bell rings. Students scatter all directions and you feel a wave of motion sickness take over at the dizzying speed they all seem to weave and dodge each other to make it to class before the tardy bell rings. Ara and Vriska are already heading different ways while waving at you.
"Hopefully we have some classes together, John." Ara smiles and you pray that you do. She seemed so nice.
"Later, shrimp!" Vriska sashays away and you really don't feel any dread at seeing more distance between the two of you. Checking you schedule, you see your first class is English room 211.
Not wasting time to unload some stuff in your locker, which after you check turns out to be on the third floor, you race up the stairs to the second floor and look for your first class. It's pretty close to the stairs and you're happy that you can set down your heavy burden inside. But when you open the door, what you see is the last thing you would have ever imagined. It takes a couple of seconds of blinking to really understand what the hell in going on in the room.
A boy, almost as short as you, has one foot on some dude's desk and is yelling eye-twitching profanity at said dude while a girl with a crazy tan and wavy hair is holding him back by his black zipper hoodie. The dude behind the desk is sitting as if he wasn't getting the extended sailor's edition of every cuss word in the universe thrown at him. He stared ahead with a slight frown on his lips and his eyes hidden behind those 3D glasses. Another girl was practically on top of another guy, drawing on his notebook over his shoulder with crayons. You wonder if she's comfortable so close to the guy because he's sweating buckets and it's just…ew.
"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL YOU GUTLESS FUCKING BASTARD! YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN JUST GO WITH THE FUCKING FLOW? WELL FUCK THAT AND FUCK YOU, YOU IGNORANT PIECE OF WORTHLESS SHIT THAT EVER GRACED THIS STUPID FUCKING EARTH!"
"Karkar, cam down. Please, the teacher will be here soon." The girl tugged on…Karkar?...again and tried to pull him down.
"FUCK THE TEACHER! FUCK THIS SCHOOL! THREE GOD DAMN YEARS OF THIS STUPID MEANINGLESS DRABBLE AND IM STILL STUCK WITH INSUFFRABLE BASTARDS THAT JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO FUCKING STOP!"
"The one that doesn't know when to stop it you." 3D finally spoke up with a light lisp on his S's. That just sent the smaller one into another fit of vicious rage.
"Sollux, that really isn't helping here."
"It's his fault, Feferi. If Karkat can't keep his cool, he has no one to blame but himself."
"DON'T FUCKING TALK ABOUT ME LIKE IM NOT HERE!" Karkar/Karkat yelled at the ceiling before redoubling his efforts to grab at the one named Sollux.
You feel like you're watching some sort of drama or skit. It seemed so surreal.
"Aren't they just purrrfectly hilarious?" You jump just a bit to see the girl that had been coloring standing next to you. When had she made it over?
"It's…something else." You wouldn't have exactly used the word hilarious. "Shouldn't someone stop him?" The girl purrs/laughs.
"That'd be a bad idea. Feferi knows what's she's doing." The small girl glances up at you and it shocks you that you hadn't seen how much this girl looks like a feline. "I'm Nepeta by the way. It's a purreasure to meet you." For the second time this morning, you shake hands.
"John. That last pun didn't quite work out." You smile and she gives one back, cat-like.
"Hehe, yeah, my bad." Before more can be said, a rather large man walks into the room and seems to take up the entire doorway which is where you still stand.
You can't tell where to look, his crazy hair that was pitch black and seemed to have been tamed into a sort of pony tail or the ridicules bright purple tie around his neck that stood out against this black clothing.
"Take your seats." He barely spoke above a whisper but the entire class obeyed and scrambled for a chair. You find yourself diving for the first available chair and wiggle your backpack off to fit right. There's something abut this man's voice that makes you not want to do what he says, but it's like he'd throw you out the window if you didn't. The man's dark eyes are staring at the center of the room. You turn to see that the loud kid is still on top of the desk. He opens his mouth to no doubt spit out more curses but you hear the barely audible "Sit" come from the man and the kid moves to the closest empty chair, which, as luck would have it, is right next to you.
"Good morning class. For those who don't know me, you can call me Mr. H. This is English IV and hopefully you are all in the right class. Since it is the first day of school, I'd like you to take time to talk quietly," There was a pointed gaze to the kid, Karkar? Karkat? You still didn't know which was right. Some kids laughed but it was cut short. "and get to know some of your new peers." He waved and gave us permission to go ahead.
Most of the students already seemed to know one another, but a couple actually turned and asked for names and interests. More than a little scared, you turn to the boy in the black hoodie and open your mouth the squeak a polite hello (because it would have been a squeak and probably not really polite) but it seems like he had similar ideas.
"What-up, fuckass. I'm Karkat." Wow.
"Hello Karkat." Is all you manage to get out before Karkat is really staring at you.
"Damn you must be short, I didn't even see you in the room." You don't point out that he was probably too busy screaming to have noticed you. "You might even be short than me. Hell yeah." You guess he's gotten his share of grief for his height and you can sympathize. "So what's your name, fuckass?"
"I'm…John." No shake this time.
"You new?"
"Just moved here a couple of days ago."
"Cool, fresh meat." He gives a toothy grin that you swear you see pointed teeth but it's gone almost as soon as it came. "If you need any help getting around, don't fucking come to me. I'm busy enough as it is without noobs like you crying to me to show you around."
"O…k." This conversation is really strange. Maybe your old home town was just too small to hold many different personalities. It was defiantly a culture shock. That makes you remember Jade. How was she handling her new surroundings?
~Jade POV~
The swirl and thunder of the crowds was deafening. You never realized how sensitive your hearing was until you had entered this echoing hall that seemed to shake your very foundation. Twirling into the doors of your new school, you feel your bag bump against someone and with a start you dive into the crowd before whoever you bumped can turn around and yell at you (or try to offer an apology).
This was nothing like Jake, your older cousin and guardian, had told you. This wasn't just big, it was large on a massive scale. Even John's early morning pep-talk was starting to fade and be replaced with a sense of dread. You sorely wish your internet friends were here with you. You figured if you were with them, in real life, that anything might be possible. Even saving the world.
That makes you giggle and able to wade through the throng of people with slightly more confidence. You had to be confident or else the other students would fall on you faster than you dog Bec on a stake. You also had Jake to think about; he had worked so hard for his new job and moved them from their secluded island to Texas of all places.
Work this out. For Jake. That had been your mantra since Jake had dropped you off from his beat up green Jeep. For Jake.
Too caught up in your thoughts, you stumble into another body and this time there is no time to abscond. The girl in front of you turns with a slightly frown on her face as you apologize.
"Come on here. I'm the blind one; running into people and claiming it was an accident while sneaking in a lick is my thing." It occurs to you that she just said 'lick'.
"I…didn't lick you." You're mildly confused by the girl's words. She was blind?
The girl shrugged, causing her cherry red dyed hair (there's no way that it's a natural color) to bob above her shoulders. "Your lose." She grins and you admit to yourself that it's rather creepy. She has on red glasses that make it impossible to see her eyes. Weird. "What are you staring for?"
You flinch because, if she's blind, how can she tell you're staring?
"I can taste it." It's like she answered the question you didn't ask aloud.
"Yeah, ok, bye." You turn, freaked out, and head for the staircase.
"See you later green girl!" Red head cackles from behind you and it makes you look down and frown. You're wearing a tan skirt and a white shirt with a blue design. She must have been lying about the whole color thing, you think as you reach to straighten your round glasses only to freeze. Your eyes were green. Was it possible? Was it scientifically possible that a person could taste color?
Pushing it to the back of your mind, you tried to focus on your schedule. Your first class was math. You frown again. It's Pre-Cal; you wanted Calculus AP. Debating whether to go to this class first and then ask for a transfer or the other way around, the first bell rings. You decide going to this class first won't harm anything; you already have advanced knowledge of higher maths from being homeschooled on the island with Jake.
It seems it was on the fourth floor, room 402. Making it to the top was nothing compared to hiking with your mountain and adventure loving cousin back at your old home. That thought sends a pang of homesickness that you try to shake out of your head.
This wasn't the time to be sad! As Jake would say, this was an adventure! New surroundings and new people to meet! You made a firm promise to make some new friends by the end of today. Once at the classroom door, you put your hand on the handle only to have it open as you come face to face with the red glasses you wished you wouldn't have to see again.
"Green girl." Another toothy grin. "Come on in." Temped to turn around and ask the office to switch you to Cal AP, you're frozen until the final tardy bell rings and you lurch into class not wanted to be late on your first day.
The classroom is a-buzz with the chatter of teens and the soft rustle of notebooks being brought out and opened for the first time. None of the faces really stand out to you, everything is pretty normal (excluding the weird blind chick who's still behind you) until a bit of red catches your eyes.
Over by the window, a blond boy sits with a pair of sunglasses firmly perched on his face staring out at nothing. His black skinny jeans look nice as dose the white and red shirt that had caught your eyes to begin with. He had his chin resting on his hand as if deep in thought.
"Mmmmm, I smell something deliciously red." You jump at her voice. Arching a brow knowing she couldn't see it, you reply;
"You sure it's not just your hair?" Nice one Jade, that was rude. But she just grinned even wider, if possible.
"I knew I'd like you, green girl."
Debating once again, "Jade." The girl cackles.
"The color jade?" You both seem to understand how ridiculous it is and laugh together. A small amount of tension escapes you. "I knew you were green."
"I hadn't thought about it that way. My eyes are green." The blind girl licked her lips as if remembering how something tasted.
"I know." Creepy. "Terezi by the way."
"That's not a color." She swats at you and surprisingly (at least for you) she hits you squarely on the shoulder.
"You're too funny, Jade." Terezi started walking forward and sat down at the desk next to the boy you had been oogeling. No, not oogeling, just…observing? Unsure, you make your way to sit behind Terezi.
"Yo mah bro. Mah bratha from anatha matha. How's is hanging cool dude?" Terezi waves her hand in a weird gang fashion only to snort and cackle. The teen with the sunglasses only seems to hear slightly and barely turns his head. This upsets Terezi.
"Daaaaaaaavvvvveeeeee!" She tugs on his long red sleeve. "Pay attention. I found a new thing. She's funny."
Taken back. "Thing?" Terezi just grins. That's all she seems to do.
"Look, look, look." She tapped the teen, Dave, with her cane. He finally turned and looked at you, at least you think he looked at you; it's sort of hard to tell with shades on.
"Sup." He nods. There's something familiar about him, but you can't really place you finger on it. Looking down, you see you still have colored yarn tied around your fingers. What could you be forgetting?
Terezi, on the other hand is bouncing. "She's Jade." Dave's eyebrows shoot above his shades.
"Is that the color you gave her?" He seems use to Terezi's weird way of going about things.
"No, it's her name. Perfect, right?"
"Damn," This time Dave turns fully towards you. Realization slowly starts to dawn on you and then hits you like a bullet train. How could you have forgotten? (Really, how?)
"OHMYGOG! Dave Strider?!" You nearly jump out of your seat. His head jerks back a bit but you see recognition slowly ghost over his face.
"You can't be that Jade, can you? Harley?" His mouth falls open when you nod enthusiastically breaking the stoic form he's held since you arrived. "Well double damn."
"I know!" You're too excited. "Oh my gog, I'm so happy that I get to meet you! This is amazing."
"You're telling me?" His stoic mask is back but he smirks a bit and leans in. "It's cool to finally meet you too, Harley. Out of all the possible schools you can to my shitty Sburb. Welcome."
With a sigh of relief, you relax again and melt into the background and Dave and Terezi go at it about how Dave knew you until finally the math teacher walked in, not even caring he was late. You had finally met Dave in person; how lucky! But you think back to a certain someone who you knew, absolutely knew, was crushing hard on this boy. Feeling kind of guilty, you stealthily pull out your phone and open the Pesterchum app. Better to ask the expert what to do on these matters.
All the while, you don't notice Dave's face stuck in that of deep thought as he began to connect the dots.
So many wordssssssss...Comment, review, etc. :3 Thanks for reading!
