Yes hi, here's the end sorry you had to wait so long. I wrote this all in about 4 hours. I may regret posting this tomorrow.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Three chocolates later and Karkat's brain finally whirs back to life.

"Fuck…"

Gamzee definitely should've killed him. He's seen the dark clown lover break noses for less contact than that. Maybe it's because they're at a formal dance? That's not it, or maybe it is? Maybe Gamzee doesn't want to be thrown out, because then he can't put his juggalo moves on Terezi.

Saved by Terezi again huh. Karkat lets out a bitter chuckle at the irony, though a new wave of nausea hits him when he imagines the two of them entwined on the dance floor, her hand on his shoulder, his on her hip; just swaying to the music.

Karkat's fist hits the dessert table as he tries to shake the mental image out of his head. He hates to admit it, but Equius is right, he needs to do something.

Terezi definitely won't want to dance with mister emo clown. Even if she doesn't like Karkat, which she definitely doesn't, he's still better than Gamzee right?

Anyone would be better than Gamzee. With his mind somewhat made up Karkat heads back towards the ballroom, mumbling under his breath as he goes. "It'll be fine. Just walk up and ask her to dance. Worst case she says no and then you're only the stupidest two legged being to ever walk on this planet." Such an encouraging pep talk brings Karkat very little comfort, but he's used to it.

Karkat is one step into the hallway when he catches a few familiar voices around the corner. Both are familiar for different reasons. One is his long time best friend and crush, and the other, well, they were just talking a few minutes ago.

"Was Karkat in there?" The voice is tinted with concern, and Karkat feels a tinge of guilt, he's probably the person she's worried about.

Karkat can almost imagine the sickening grin as the second speaker waits his obligatory three seconds before responding. He would punch that smug expression of his face if he wasn't sure that the other teen could beat him to a bloody pulp. It might be worth it though, just to get one swing in. Karkat clenches his hands into fists, displeased with how small they become.

The hall becomes deathly quiet, and Karkat realizes he completely missed whatever Gamzee said, just one more screw up to add to today's list. Terezi's responding again, her voice sounding even more tense than it did a moment ago.

"I thought I was perfectly clear before, I don't want to be at the dance with you. That includes dancing with you. Now if you'll excuse me." Karkat hears some generic rustling, and then the distinct tap of Terezi's cane as she moves down the hallway.

Quick on his feet as always, Karkat hustles back into the dessert room. No way he wants to be caught snooping on their conversation; that's only asking for trouble. He tries to act as chill as possible, which is super easy for him since he's chill all the time. Even so when Terezi turns the corner her gaze burns into him, and he can't even laugh nervously since three pieces of chocolate are crammed into his mouth.

Super smooth Vantas.

He has a few seconds to choke on the candy as Terezi taps her way over to him, she's a little slower since it's her first time in this room. Fortunately, Karkat doesn't gag, and he's able to mumble out a hello when she finally reaches his side. "Heyyy," Karkat wrings his hands together and keeps his eyes fixed on them. Better there than on the pretty girl who smells extra good tonight and seems to be trying to stand as physically close to him as possible without actually touching.

Terezi seems as confident as always, "You've been in here for a while." Terezi turns her head towards the table of desserts, but surely she can't actually see the insane number of chocolates Karkat's consumed. "If you eat too many sweets you'll get fat you know." She turns back smoothly and motions to poke him in the stomach, but pauses when her finger is only a few inches from his shirt. Her hand drops after a moment, but Karkat barely gets a moment to comprehend what happened before she takes a step away. "Let's dance."

It's not a question, not even a command, more like a given. Of course they're going to dance. Karkat follows wordlessly. His eyes are still aimed down as they walk, and if he were bolder he'd reach for her hand. But he's not very bold, and to be rejected this quickly would be more than his fragile soul can handle.

The pop music is still blaring when they enter the ballroom. Karkat spots his friends mixed into the conglomerate of high school students, but they don't notice the latecomers. Terezi stops near the edge of the group, it would be difficult to push through everyone and they can always join up with their friends later.

Karkat leans towards her nervously as she turns to face him. "I'm not a very good dancer," Karkat raises his voice slightly and makes sure to speak into her right ear, earning a small smile from the shorter teen.

"Don't worry, no one is, and I can't see you anyway."

That's a very good point, though it doesn't stop everyone else from seeing him. Karkat shuts his eyes and lets the music wash over him. It's some upbeat song that he's never heard before; it probably came out within the last three months. His eyes are still clamped shut when a warm hand brushes against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" That's the second time she's asked that tonight, and Karkat wonders if she can feel how tense he is from that one little touch.

Karkat reaches up and touches the back of her hand as gently as he can, though really it's because he's still unsure of what to do. He tugs her hand away from his arm and down by their sides, her palm nestled between his thumb and remaining fingers. "Yeah I'm fine." Her hand warms under his fingers, and Karkat almost can't hear the pounding music as his entire focus is on their awkward hand hold.

Then Terezi's hand is gone, and she's grooving away to the music. Cleary a much better dancer than he is, but oh well he's come this far. Karkat lets himself relax, even if all he can do is the robot, that's still better than nothing.

After a few dances, Karkat feels like he's getting the hang of it. At least he can stay in time. Terezi also seems to be having a good time despite not being able to see him. On second thought, that might put a damper on her experience.

The music chooses this moment to transition into a slow song, and any looseness Karkat felt immediately is replaced with doubt. Terezi collapses her cane and tuks it into her purse before placing her hand firmly on his right shoulder. She steps in closer, her breath brushing against Karkat's chin when she tilts her head up to speak with him. "You have to place your hand on my waist."

"What?" Karkat can barely make out her words from the sensory overload, and it doesn't help when she simply grabs his hand and places it in its proper place instead of repeating herself. Her waist is warmer than her hands were, and Karkat fights a gulp when she starts to rotate slowly.

His classmates partner up around them, and Karkat glances around in search of his friends. He spots Sollux and Aradia across the dance floor, with Tavros and Vriska only a few paces away. Sollux glances in his direction casually. The nerdy teen flashes him a bright grin and a thumbs up before turning his attention back to his date.

Karkat turns his attention to his dance moves, being careful not to step on Terezi's toes.

Terezi really does seem like she's enjoying herself. How can she be having so much fun with someone like him? He's a terrible dancer, terrible company, and it's not like they're actually here as dates or anything.

If only you had the courage to ask her.

But he didn't, and that's fine.

"Hey," Terezi sounds nervous, which isn't that weird considering they're locked in a pretty close quarters situation. "About all of this." Terezi leans over Karkat's shoulder carefully. Her nose grazes his ear lightly, and when she speaks her voice is barely above a whisper. "I've wanted to tell you for so long…" her voice catches in her throat and she swallows deeply. Karkat can hear his own heart beat ringing in his ears, he knows what's coming.

Rejection. She'll thank him for the night, thank him for being such a great friend. Then she'll pat him on the back and move on with her life, just his dumb stinking luck.

"I really like you."

Wait, what? Karkat starts to turn his head, but his cheek pokes sharply against Terezi's glasses, forcing him to snap back. He instinctively leans back from the sudden pain, one hand leaving her waist to comfort his swollen cheek. It takes him a moment to finally focus on her words. Did she really just say that?

Maybe the endorphins in his brain are hallucinating the scene in order to spare him from what's really happening. "You like me?"

Terezi nods, "I love your smile when you think no one's looking. I love how much you care for others. I…" Terezi bites her bottom lip, "Sorry, I started rambling there. I've had this bottled up for a pretty long time. I know we're graduating from high school soon and I…" Terezi pauses for a second time, and Karkat remains silent so she can continue.

By now the two have completely stopped dancing; but Karkat hardly cares as his attention is solely focused on the teen standing in front of him. She's leaning away from his grip now, her chin tilted down towards the ground. "I know you don't feel the same and that's fine, I just." Terezi takes a step back to pull out of the embrace, and for a moment Karkat lets her slip away

"Wait a minute…" Karkat moves his hand back to her waist, locking her by his side. Now's his chance to say something cool and witty, but his face is getting hotter by the second. Can this really be happening? "I should get a chance to respond before you run off."

Terezi hesitates for a moment before stepping back into his arms. Her eyes, however, stay pointed downwards. Karkat needs to say something, and he needs to do it quick. Clearly she put her heart and soul into her confession, and every passing second is one where she thinks he doesn't reciprocate. He gives her waste a gentle squeeze and draws in a deep breath. "Terezi I…"

Terezi cuts him off, "sorry for ruining your evening."

"No that's not it." Karkat falls silent again, choosing to restart their slow rotation rather than attempting to speak further. His heart pounds in his chest, "I like you too, okay?"

Super smooth Vantas strikes again.

However, Terezi doesn't seem to mind how unoriginal the confession is and the corners of her lips creep into a genuine grin, "Really?"

Karkat can feel the joy radiating from her smile, and the urge to lean in and kiss her has never been stronger. She's already so close, and they're almost the same height. For the first time that evening, Karkat feels light. Nothing can stop him now, not even Gamzee. "Yeah, you make me really happy Terezi. When I'm with you things suck a whole lot less." Karkat grimaces at how ridiculous his explanation sounds, "sorry, I kind of suck at this."

"You're doing just fine, "Terezi beams, and her hand leaves Karkat's shoulder to caress his cheek. They hold the pose for a moment, not even noticing that the slow song is coming to an end. Fortunately for them, another slow song follows the first. It's a little faster, but no one pays attention to the hardly moving couple near the edge of the dance floor.

Terezi brushes her thumb over Karkat's freckles. She can probably feel his hot blush, but it seems to encourage her. "Can I kiss you? I know all of these people are around, but half of the school's made bets on us anyway." Terezi pushes up onto her tiptoes so their noses are almost touching, "and I really want to."

Karkat want to make a smart retort back, but instead he leans down to chastely brush his lips against hers. It's exactly as Karkat imagined it, soft and gentle. He leans back with a grin, "that was…"

Terezi snakes her arms around his neck with a sharp grin stretching across her face, "nice huh?"

Karkat can't help but smile back as he's tugged down for another kiss. A few other high schoolers have stopped dancing to watch the new pair, but they hardly seem to care.

Eventually the slow song ends and is replaced with more annoying pop. Karkat takes this as a queue to exit the dance floor. Terezi's all too happy to oblige and two head out to the hallway.

Once they get there Karkat feels a new wave of nerves even though the hard part is already over. "Will you go on a date with me?"

Terezi bursts out laughing at the question, "Maybe we should've done that first, huh?"

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it is."

I thought about the ending for a while, but I couldn't think of a cool way to tie everyone back together. I was a little too ambitious with this fic, what with having 10 ships and also throwing Nepeta in there. I think it worked out ok though.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you have any feedback.