New chapter, yay! Thanks for all the reviews guys :*
Read on~
"D-Dave?" John's jaw dropped as he stared. Karkat looked between the two.
"You know each other?" His frown deepened when he noticed John was pale and on the verge of tears.
"Long time, not see, huh?" The blonde laughed uneasily, and the ebony dug his nails into his palm to keep himself from bursting into tears on the spot.
The pain that had been hidden for so many years was rising. And the bitterness left a bad taste in John's mouth. He could remember exactly how Dave rejected him. he had been crying when he ran up to the Strider's door. He fully expected his best friend to welcome him in with open arms. The last he expected was a 'sorry' with a hint of an apology and a door in his face.
"John? John, are you ok?" Dave's face was a mask of concern as he reached out for his ex friend, but John immediately pulled back, shaking his head slowly.
"Are you still upset with me about that? It's been years. I told you I'm sorry." He sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. John rubbed at his eyes furiously.
"You abandoned me! You were my only friend and you—" He broke off and quickly looked down. The raw pain hit him hard, and the first few tears dripped down. Karkat flipped off the other trolls, which was a signal for them to stay away, and leveled his gaze at Dave.
"What did you do, Strider?" He growled. He didn't know why, but he was starting to hate Dave even more than he usually did. He reached out for John, and the small boy dissolved into tears, clutching onto him tightly.
The troll's glare intensified, and he wrapped his arms around the shaking teen. Dave's face was a mask of pain and regret. He touched John's shoulder, and the boy flinched away, giving a small wail.
"Don't touch him." Karkat snapped. He led John back to the car and told him to wait before going back to the confused trolls and a now pissed off Dave.
"Listen up. I have to go because of John, but we can meet next week or something. And you—" he narrowed his eyes at Dave, "Stay away from him. I don't know what you did, but clearly he is still upset over it. So don't come near him."
Karkat turned and went back to the car. The drive home was silent except for John's sniffling and an occasional whimper. As soon as they got home. John sat on the couch and buried his face in a cushion. The troll sighed; he had no idea how to make the boy feel better. He didn't even know when he started caring. He went upstairs and tried to think of comforting things.
John couldn't stop crying. Dave thought he was just going to be forgiven, right off the bat, in a second, just like that? John wouldn't have been homeless, lonely, and heartbroken if the blonde had just accepted him.
He sobbed into the cushion, wishing the earth would just swallow him right now. Karkat was upstairs, probably trying to ignore him. He sniffled and looked up when he felt a tap on the shoulder.
Karkat was standing there, looking flustered. He was holding a stack of movies and what looked to be like chocolates. John stared at him in confusion.
"Well, you were upset so I didn't know how to make you feel better—I mean stop crying like a wriggler—so here." He gave him the movies and chocolates.
John stared at him for a while longer before jumping up and flinging himself at the troll in a tight hug. He was crying, so Karkat thought he had done something wrong, but when he saw the smile on the ebony's face, he relaxed and smiled a little.
~x~
Karkat sighed and smiled down at the sleeping teen. They had watched three movies and John had finished the chocolates. He had also taught the troll how to make hot chocolate, and the troll had burnt his tongue, much to John's amusement. John was curled up on the couch, his head near Karkat's lap.
He absentmindedly ran his hand through the thick black locks, humming a song from a TV show he had watched a while ago. He sighed and looked at the clock, deciding it was late. He scooped up the teen in his arms and carried him upstairs. John was pretty light which made sense. He was made up of sharp bones and jutting joints, which he supposed wasn't the boy's fault. He tucked the human underneath the sheets and patted down his hair before going to his own room.
Today had been a long day. He sighed as he got into his own bed, sliding underneath the covers as he slowly fell asleep.
A few hours later he heard sobbing, and groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He trudged to the guest room and sat on the edge of the bed. The teen was thrashing around, tears snaking down his face as he whimpered.
Karkat tried to pick the boy up, but John started to scream, so he quickly back tracked on that plan and settled for shaking his arm.
"Egbert, wake up! John, it's just a dream!"
The ebony sat up straight with a gasp, his eyes wide and his breaths quick. Karkat took this opportunity to pull him into a hug. H wasn't good at reassuring words, but when John hugged back and started to cry into his shoulder, he figured maybe he was doing a decent job with this whole interaction thing.
He stayed there for a long time, gently rubbing John's back and waiting until the crying ceased to sniffling, and the ebony finally fell asleep. Karkat tucked him back under the covers and left the room, so exhausted that he could barely walk. As soon as his head hit his pillow, he was out like a light.
John woke up in the morning with dried tears on his face. He went and used the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face before heading downstairs. It was around noon, and he supposed the troll was still sleeping. He had a vague recollection of having a nightmare and Karkat comforting him. his face flushed as he realized he probably acted like a baby. With a sigh, he made himself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table to eat.
For the next few hours, he watched TV and waited for Karkat to wake up. He decided to take a walk and threw on a jacket, which smelled like Karkat—sweet and spicy. He blushed at what he was thinking as he strolled around in the park. When he came back, he was surprised to see a panicking Karkat running all around the house. When their gazes met, John knew he was in trouble.
"Egbert! You dumbass, where the hell did you go?!" He yelled, and John opened his mouth to stammer out a reply, but the troll wasn't done.
"You can't just take a stroll without telling me, god dammit!" His voice increased in volume until something hit John.
"Wait…you were worried about me?" He asked in disbelief. Karkat's face flamed and he snarled, "No! I—" he couldn't find a suitable lie, so he huffed and stomped away.
John laughed and caught him from behind in a big hug.
"Aw, don't worry beep beep meow! I think it's sweet~!"
"What did you call me?" the troll's eye twitched as the ebony gave giggle.
"Beep beep for 'Kar' and meow for 'kat." He explained in amusement.
"Egbert, you better f*cking run!"
The rest of the morning was spent with the two chasing each other around the house. Screams of laughter (from John) and yells of anger (from Karkat) could be heard from any of the surrounding houses.
I think this is a decent chapter. Oh, and if you think the drama with Dave is over, you're highly mistaken. Just wait until next chapter! *evil grin*
Review, maybe?
~samx
