I woke up alone the next morning. No one in bed. No one on the couch or chair in the main room. Gamzee must have left to go to his 'work' most likely. I run my hand over my naked chest, feeling all the new jagged scabs across my chest. I sigh and look around the empty motel.

It's so messy. I'm tempted to just clean, but Gamzee would probably snap at me and say that it was a waste, since it will only get messy again. I need to do laundry anyway.

I walk back into the bedroom and pull the sheets off the bed, gather what dirty clothes I could and wapped them all in a dirty blanket. I set the pile next to the door. I look down over myself. I can't go out wearing just a pair of sweatpants. People would question me if they see me with a bunch of bruises and cuts.

I walk back to the bedroom, grab one of Gamzee's shirts and pull it on over my head. I reach under the mattress where Gamzee 'hides' his cash and I pull out a handful of quarters. I quickly count them and put them in my pocket with my watch.

I quickly walk back out of the bedroom and grab the pile of clothes and walk out of the motel room towards the small laundry room the motel residents use. It has a few washing machines and dryers, but they all usually work the same.

Once there, I open one of the washers and shove the clothes and sheets in. I sigh as I buy the soap and dump it into the machine. I push in a few quarters and sit down in one of the provided chairs.

Waiting is the worst part in my opinion. Its so boring and stupid. Why can't they come up with a way that washes your clothes really fast and really well so I wouldn't have to sit here like a fucking idiot. I growl and pull out the quarters I still have left. I'll need three quarters for the dryer... So I have... a whole dollar left. Lucky me.

I glance over at the rarely used payphone. Gamzee and I have a home phone, but we don't use it much. Only when Gamzee gets too lazy to go out and shop he orders his pies and alcohol to be sent to the room.

I look down at my hand. The numbers of Sollux's phone numbers are smudged. Not that it matters, it's not exactly difficult to remember his number. I glance again at the payphone then the four extra quarters. I doubt he'll even answer. He won't remember me anyway. No way he'd remember me.

I tsk and quickly walk over to the payphone. This is so fucking stupid. I press two of the quarters into the slot and dial the numbers.

555-2222

I hold the phone to my ear and look towards the door as it rings. I gulp and feel my face heat. This is so stupid. This is such a fucking bad idea. What if Gamzee finds out? What would he do?! Would he-

The phone clicked. "Hello?" and unfamiliar, nasally voice said.

"Uh... Hello, is Sollux there?" I ask quietly. This is so fucking stupid.

"Hehehe, yeah. He's in the bathroom. I stole his phone," the voice chuckled. "Are you his new boy-"

'Mituna!' a distant voice yells through the phone. 'Get the fuck away from my phone!'

I hear a few curses and the phone rattle before it goes silent again.

"Hello," a more familiar voice asks.

"Uh, Sollux?" I ask, rubbing my feet together in nervousness.

"Yeah? Who's this?"

"It's... Uh... It's Karkat."

"KK! I'm so happy to hear from you! What's up?"

I gulp and glance towards the dorr, paranoid someone's going to walk in. "N-Nothing... Gamzee's gone for a couple hours, so I'm jus-"

"This isn't a booty call, right?" Sollux teased, even so I felt my face heat up.

"N-No! No! I just... I was... He..."

Sollux laughed. "I'm just kidding. But seriously, your... boyfriend, is the one who... well... gave you those bruises?"

I gulp and grind my teeth. "Y-Yeah... He... He found your number on my hand the other day... And uh... kinda flipped about it..."

Silence. Dead silence. I gulp.

"S-Sollux?"

"I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I'm so sorry, KK! I d-didn't know he would.. I'm sorry!" I felt something fill inside me as he said that. Only a little though. It made my heart sink in want. I want more of whatever Sollux seemed to give.

"It's not... a BIG deal... He's done worse.." I leaned against the wall. "Please don't worry about it. I can deal with him. I don't need you worrying about me too."

"But... it's my fault... I was..." He sighed. "Alright. I'll try not to worry, but I won't stop hoping you realize what you really want from your relationship."

I paused. What do I want? I don't get to ask that. I don't get to wish, or hope for anything. Gamzee makes my decisions for me. Gamzee and only Gamzee... Right?

"Yeah, uh... Um, s-so how are you doing then?" I ask awkwardly. Again, I rarely talk to people.

"I'm fine. Mituna's being a jackass like usual. My dad's out of town for the week. He probably just went to go to his slutty 'mistresses' house." I could hear the mocking tone in his voice. I smiled at the strange change in Sollux's voice.

"Was that one girl at the park your girlfriend?" I ask curiously, my feet continuing to rub against each other.

"Kan? Oh, no. No no no. She's beautiful, and I'd honestly tap that ass so hard. But she plays for a whole different team, if you know what I mean."

I chuckle. Strange way to mix words, but still. "Yeah, I get it... She's... kinda like me?"

Sollux paused for a moment. "So you're all guys, huh?"

I feel my face heat up. I know that tone. The tone he said that with. I had heard it with my brother, Kankri, when I told him I was gay. He called me a sinner and went on talking how wrong I was, then told our dad... They practically disowned me then. I lived with them, but we never talked. They refused to even let me eat with them, or watch movies with them. Like I had some disgusting feature about me they couldn't stand to look at.

"You don't like it, do you?"

"Hum? Like what?"

"You don't like the idea of me being gay... One dude wanting to fuck another dude. It's weird for you... isn't it?"

"What?! No! I love gay dudes and chicks. I'd be lying if I said I haven't gotten myself off once or twice thinking about another guy myself. But I personally, wouldn't consider myself gay or bi for it."

I gulp and look at the washing machine. It should be done soon. "Sollux. I think I'm going to need to go soon. My clothes are going to need to be changed over soon."

Sollux laughed lightly, it made my heart smile. If hearts could even do that. "Where are you?"

"I'm in my motel's laundry room... I had to clean my sheets and... uh... they had a payphone... so I..."

"Yeah, I get it. Hey! You should come over sometime! We could talk longer and I'm sure it wouldn't be so awkward in person," Sollux said happily. "How's that sound? And... And, if you need to get away from what's0his-bucket, you can come stay over here until things cool down."

I gulp. "Um... Okay... Would I be able to remember your address?"

Sollux seemed to laughed loudly. "Yeah. Yeah. It's easy. 22 Hydra lane. It's about three blocks from the park we met at."

I felt my heart beat pick up. He's only, at most, ten blocks away from here. And we're just talking on the phone. I chuckle at the thought. "It's strange."

"Yeah, my dad's obsessed with twos. I've tried gett-"

"No, not that," I interupt. "We're only a couple blocks from each other, but we're just talking on the phone."

Sollex paused. "yeah. I guess it is kind of funny." H chuckles slightly. "So, can you remember the address?"

"Oh. Y-Yeah. 22 Hydra lane. Got it."

'Sollux! Get your gay ass down here and do the damned dishes!' the familiar nasally voice yelled from Sollux's end.

"Ph, shit. KK, it was amazing talking to you, but I gotta go... uh... hack the government."

I chuckle at the idea. "I'm sure you'll have great luck with that from the kitchen sink."

Sollux laughed loudly. "Alright. Call me some other time. Or just visit, the door's always open!"

'SOLLUX FUCKING CAPTOR!'

"Ugh. I gotta go, KK. See ya."

"Yeah... Bye."