Chapter 2
The previous night was actually better then Karkat thought. His food was great and he stayed up all night watching a few romantic comedies from his huge ass collection. All in all, the night was pretty nice. Shockingly, he slept peacefully through the night and woke up at about 11:15 a.m. the next morning. Frankly, it was the best night ever in his book. Rubbing his eyes, Karkat let out a groan before he yawned and looked at his phone. He had a few messages from some friends he sadly has to leave behind, like Kanaya, who was one of his best friends, and Sollux. One was the motherly figure and the other was like a natural born asslicker with a gift of being able to hack and program computer shit.
He messaged Kanaya back, telling her he was okay and just woke up. The messaging went back and forth for a while before he grunted as he got up and decided maybe it was time for him to take a shower. Scratching his head a little, he groaned, still feeling a little groggy before he actually got up and went to his bathroom. He still wasn't quite use to living alone, but that didn't he didn't like it. He actually loved it. It was quiet, unless you could the TV he would have on at times when watching something, and it was violence free.
As Karkat showered, he started to think of something he could possibly do after he unpacked everything. Maybe he could look online to see what type of places were here. It seemed like that's he would have to do for a while since he wasn't familiar with the place, or maybe he could go out for a drive and look around that way. Though the possibility of getting lost was like 1,000 to one. He did have his GPS though, but he still didn't want to risk getting lost in this city. Once he got out of the shower, dried off and got dressed, he went into the living room and started to surf the internet for places he could go to. Well, there was a café near by, that was a plus. There was a park, a mall, a bakery, a skating rink and a pool and more. Wow, okay, so he had a lot of options.
With a hum and a tap to the chin, Karkat chewed on his lip before settling on going to the café. Maybe that had great coffee. The Cancer put his shoes on and grabbed his keys before he went out the door. Soon he was sitting in the local café, sipping on a mocha frappé and gazing outside. It almost seemed like it was going to rain. His eyes wandered around, looking at some of the signs and made a 'hmph' sound. Wait... He squinted over to the circular object he saw in the background. Was that a Ferris wheel? Maybe he could go check that out sometime.
Seeing as he was getting bored with just sitting there, he got up and decided to go for a small walk. Today wasn't his day though, because as soon as he took on step, he bumped right into someone, spilling his frappé all over his shirt. He growled under his breath before he looked up, crushing the cup in his hand. This asshole again?
"Watch where you're going shitfucker." Karkat said, sort of mocking the guy he had bumped into for the second time. The guy looked like a grade A fucking hipster. The purple strip in his hair and the square glasses, it said it all. Not to mention, the way he seemed to carry himself around. Karkat doesn't even to know the guy to see how he held his head high as if everyone below him were nothing. It aggravated Karkat so much because he found it to be so ignorant.
"W-well you're so fucking short, I didn't see you. You're like a cockroach trying to av-void death." The hipster made a face as he looked at the mess on Karkat's shirt, probably glad none of it got on him.
All Karkat could do was glare at the male. So what if he was short? He also had a temper if the dick would rather see that. Well, so much for going for a walk. Instead of counting and starting even more bullshit, Karkat just took a deep breath and walked out. During the years, Karkat's always had to deal with anger management shit. Now that he was a bit more mature, he was learning to cope with the anger by taking deep breaths or, sometimes, using a stress ball.
By the time Karkat arrived to his apartment and changed into a new shirt, there was a knock at the door. He already had a feeling he knew who it was. Once he went to open it, a small groan escaped his lips. Yep, it was exactly who he thought. It was that John guy.
"Hey! I was wondering if you were doing anything later tonight?" John's peppy-like voice made Karkat's ears ring
"No, why? What's tonight?" Karkat didn't know what had possessed him of asking why, but to late now.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the fair. It's only in town for two more days before they pack up and leave. If you want to come, I can meet you at six!" the smile on John's face and hope in his eyes made it hard for the Vantas to say no.
"Fine, I'll go."
When the time came for the party to start, Karina stood on the stairwell, looking down at her father just before she began to step down. One step at a time she finally reached her father, who was waiting to take her to the ballroom, which was full of people. Her father stuck his arm out so he could escort her to the ballroom. Growing nervous, Karina wished nothing but for this night to end.
As soon as the doors opened, the music filled her ears. The violin sounded so pleasant. Her eyes scanned across the room. There were crowds of people. She knew they were just waiting for their chance to try to win her over. Luckily, Karina's face wasn't exactly a popular one. Though she was beautiful, she always tried to keep to herself, which meant not many people knew of what Karina Vander looked like.
Once her father gave her the nod, he seemed to vanish. She was on her own now. Great, just what she wanted. Although she was hoping she would be left to herself in her room, where it was quiet and she didn't have to try to impress anyone.
Soon the elegant lady in the crimson ball gown, walked through the crowd. Despite everyone not knowing who she was, she still felt as if they could sense that she was the daughter of the infamous Mr. Vander.
The music seemed to pick up just a little bit. At that time, Karina noticed someone staring directly at her. She felt chills run down her spine and the hairs on her arms stood straight up. The male started to walk over, and in all honestly, he was pretty handsome. Though, that didn't mean she was going to make him her husband.
"You look a little lost." The strange, yet attractive man said as he approached Karina.
"I just got here, I couldn't help but wonder what the young Vander looks like." She said, trying to keep her identity anonymous.
"Well, would you care to dance? Maybe you could find her. I'm sure she's out dancing. I heard she's not only a beauty, but an excellent dancer."
With that said, Karina couldn't help but agree to the dance. Besides, the music had a great tempo. Before too long, the two were dancing, their right hands together, her left hand on his shoulder while his was on her small waist.
"What's your name?" She asked, wanting to be able to address the guy properly.
"Edward," he gave a smile, his eyes sparkling from the light hitting them, "do you want to give me a fake name, or am I allowed to call you Miss. Vander?"
The comment caught the 16 year old off guard. She blinked before smiling. "No, I'd prefer you to call me Karina."
