AN: Hey, guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, but here's the third chapter of A Strider's Memory! We finally get to see another character besides Dave and Bro and... Gosh, I feel like you people are going to kill me after this chapter. -takes refuge under blanket- Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck or the characters. That would make me Andrew Hussie and I am most certainly not Andrew Hussie.

Your name is Dave Strider and you can't fucking believe it. The very moment you walked into the apartment, you knew exactly where everything was. Oh yes, this was most certainly your shitty apartment. What put the fucking icing on the cake, however, was that you couldn't fucking believe you couldn't remember you shared the apartment with someone, much less somebody who claimed to be your own brother. Okay, it wasn't just a claim. With all the shit the guy knew about you, you knew damn well that he wasn't joking around in the slightest when he said that you were his younger brother. Either that, or the guy was a serious creep who just so happened to know where you live, when you were born, what you did in your spare time, what you ate all the time, and what your favorite drink was. Yes, the guy very well could have been a stalker. Ah, shit, you felt so stupid now… Oh well, it was kind of too late now, wasn't it?

"Welcome home, lil' man."

The statement nearly made you jump out of your skin. During your thoughts, you somehow managed to find your way over to the couch only to sit down and lean back to relax. That state was shattered as soon as you heard 'Bro' speak randomly behind you, leaving you wondering how the hell he managed to do that without you noticing or even hearing him. You said nothing, but instead nodded in response, leaning back against the couch once more with a content sigh.

"Lil' Cal missed you, too."

"Who the hell is Lil' C- Holy Jesus fuck!" Out of nowhere, a creepy ass puppet randomly appeared right in front of your face, causing you to nearly fall off the couch and your shades to fall half way off their perch, hanging by an earpiece. Damn, that puppet was fucking creepy and you would be damned if you didn't see the slightest smirk of amusement on Bro's face. Ugh… You hated puppets. They were just… They were just plain no and the puppet with its blue eyes and gold tooth was no exception to that thought.

"Aww, is that any way to treat part of the family?" Bro asked almost mockingly, setting Lil' Cal down on his shoulder so casually as you fixed your shades into their rightful place once more. Really, it was no shock to you how natural that creepy thing seemed to look on his shoulder. The dude was weird to begin with, might as well have a weird obsession over something… Even if it was an obsession with something that you had a major problem with.

Once again, you said nothing in response to the question and reached for the remote, only to have it suddenly disappear and for your bro to be sitting right next to you, TV remote in hand. Now there really was no doubt that this guy was your brother, or at least related to you somehow. The only person you knew that could pull off a flash step like that was yourself but seeing Bro do it just confirmed that he was, no doubt, a Strider.

"Only I get the remote," he said firmly, turning on the TV.

"Fine. Just don't turn on something shitty," you replied, kicking your feet up naturally on the coffee table. In an instant, Bro knocked your feet down by nudging them off with his own foot.

"Get your fucking feet off the table. We eat there, you know."

"Fuck you. I was just trying to get comfortable, asshat."

"Language."

You rolled your eyes but kept your feet off of the table, sitting there in silence until…

"My Little Pony!~"

The lyrics of the theme song reverberated in your ears and you slowly turned your head to look at Bro, your mouth hanging open slightly and a somewhat disturbed look in your eyes. This guy. This tough as hell dude with ironic anime shades and a deep, baritone voice liked My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic… The thought had to settle in your mind before you spoke up again.

"I thought I said nothing shitty."

"Language," he corrected you again, although you knew that he was just doing it to be annoying now, "and what are you talking about? My Little Pony is the shit."

Your hand met your forehead with a rather loud and firm 'smack', clearly signifying your face-palm. Not the smartest idea, as that brought back your headache very quickly and you couldn't help but wince a little bit as the migraine pounded against your skull once more. Shaking your head a little bit as your hand lowered, you said nothing more and just decided to forget about it to watch the show with Bro, attempting to ignore your brain feeling like it was going to just pound away at your skull like a fucking jackhammer.

As soon as the show ended, Bro brought out his phone and sent a quick text to somebody before shoving his phone back in his pocket. You would have asked who the hell he was talking to, but you quickly figured you most likely wouldn't care (or even if you did, wouldn't remember who said person was), so you kept your mouth shut.

It took another episode of MLP before the doorbell was rung and you groaned softly. You just got rid of your goddamn headache, and here it came again just to be an asshole. Cursing softly, getting another mocking scolding from your brother, you got up and answered the door to open it. However, as soon as you did, you wheezed in pain as you were trapped in a rib-crushing hug by a boy a few inches shorter than you, and sporting a messy black mop that one could hardly call hair on top of his head.

****************Be the Bastard Squeezing the Fuck Out of Dave***************

You didn't mean to hurt him! Really, you didn't! You were just so happy to see him again!

Your name is John Egbert, and you couldn't believe your best friend was awake and out of the hospital.

You clearly remember the day you got a text from Dave's brother, Dirk. The text was obviously frantically typed, as there were a few spaces missing and a few spelling errors which wasn't common for the man. But as soon as you read over the text and saw 'hospital' you knew something terrible must have happened. You've never heard of a Strider bring landed in the hospital, so this was really serious. Without reading anything more, you rushed over to that hospital only to find that your best bro was unconscious and in a hospital bed and they had no idea when he was going to wake up. Needless to say, you were kind of an emotional wreck after that. Dave was the only person that you could truly talk to. Yes, there was Rose but she was analyzing, and Jade was as well. At least she was analyzing in a friendly way. You never understood how women could read others like a book at times…

But, anyway, Dave Strider was your very first friend since you moved from Washington. He was the only person that seemed to put up with you and since you met in seventh grade, you two stuck like glue. Through break-ups, birthdays, pet deaths, and anything else that went on in your lives, you were with each other through thick and thin. You were inseparable, and it was crushing to hear that Dave was in the hospital, unable to see you or even hear you speak to him. You knew very well that the blow was harder on Bro, but you couldn't help but feel your heart shatter as well, and you stayed by Dave's side while you cried and Bro rubbed circles on your back, silent tears falling from his eyes as well.

It was harder, too, knowing that Dave just might have never woken up and you would have never been able to tell him how much he meant to you and how you really felt about him. Yes, you loved Dave Strider, your best bro, the person that you joked around with and laughed and teased and pranked all the time.

It did take a while for you to accept it - years of claiming 'no homo' to everybody tended to do that - but once you did it was like a whole weight was lifted off of your heart, and you came to accept that maybe, just maybe, you were a tiny bit homo… Especially for your best bro. Of course, the teasing did continue, but you couldn't help but hope that every time that you and Dave joked around about being attracted to one another, that he was telling the truth.

So, when you got the text a mere half hour before, saying that Dave was awake and at home, you did rush to your car to drive there. A smile was permanently planted on your face the entire drive there, and you couldn't help but feel your stomach turn with the excitement of seeing Dave again. What you didn't see, however, was the last part of the text saying that your best bro lost his memories.

"Dave, I missed you so much! I thought you would never wake up!" you blurted out quickly, lifting your head to look at the slightly taller blond, who was extremely tense.

A long silence passed and you couldn't help but see Bro's small, pitying frown as he sighed. You gave both Striders a weird look, silently questioning why nobody was saying anything to one another.

"Come on, guys, who died…?" you asked, trying to lighten the mood. The words that came out of Dave's mouth next, however, sent your world and heart crashing down to the ground.

"Bro… Who the hell is this kid?"