MERRY (early) CHRISTMAS!

yeah can we not mention that there hasn't been an update of this thing in a crazy long time.

I was never going to abandon this. Shit just got super real after August cus I started my first year of college back in September, and the workload that I have to put in makes me really, really sad. It's like an essay a week, shit ton of art to do. It's just a nightmare 2/10 would not go back (oh wait i have to to get a levels ha)

But yeah, a lot happened in the space that I was gone. I started college, I went to October MCM (where I stared in the Homestuck Panel as Nepeta, thank you very much) and updates with some new characters and stuff! A lot has happened in those months!

Let's try and get this thing back to updating more frequently.

(also sixteen year old female seeks a beta reader who can put up with too many spelling errors, and enjoys long walks on the beach please and thank)


John: Do the boyfriend thing

Oh god, do you have to?

No, you were happy. You were totally happy to spend all your free time with your girlfriend instead of concocting more plans to meet your delivery boy crush. So happy.

Okay, you're just lying to yourself now, and it's getting past the point of being sad. The whole 'dating-a-highschooler' deal with Nepeta had recently become such a chore for you, and only a part of you felt bad for thinking that way.

But here you are, putting up with it day after day, taking Nepeta to the same café, to get the same food, and then dropping round the same thrift store, and looking at the same clothes and saying you'll buy them when you actually have the money, just like every day, for the past two months.

You deserved a fucking medal for putting up with this shit.

So, you and Nepeta walked through downtown Toronto, after you had gotten changed into something that made you look semi-presentable, her eating her regular meat feast pizza slice, you drinking a can of something that tasted cheap and sugary, making your way to whatever store was open at two in the afternoon on a Saturday.

"Gosh, I'm starting to get really bored of anime club!" She said, biting into her pizza. "It's like it's all just blurring into one big mess!"

"Yeah, I bet that stuff sure gets old fast. What with all the flashy lights and…cute girls with exaggerated limbs." You muttered, taking a swig from your can, trying to remember whatever you knew about anime. You didn't know very much.

"And I mean," She started, her cheeks stuffed with bread, cheese and assorted meat. "There's only so much a girl can put up with, ya know!"

"Yeah, that stuff sure does get old fast…" You muttered, walking in the direction of the closest hipster music store you could see and dragging her in.

"I know, right!" She said with a smile, following you into the store. "But luckily, a friend of mine got into Spiderbite a few weeks ago and wouldn't shut up about them! Hehe, and now I heart them just as much as you guys!" She smiled again and waltzed down the indie rock section, searching for her desired album.

"What's so special about them…?" You asked her, glancing at some various CDs by bands you had never heard of. "I mean, what have they got that we don't?" You pulled a Moscow Drug Club (or that was the name on the case) album out, inspecting the disk jacket, before putting it back where you found it, your interest diminished.

"Well, not like you guys aren't awesome!" She glanced up at you over the rack, her eyes shining with delight. "Even your grumpy drummer kicks ass!"

"Karkat." You pointed out, flicking through various CDs.

"Yeah! But Spiderbite are really, REALLY good. I read Mindfang's blog like everyday, she's soooo deep! I'd love to meet her one day!"

"No you wouldn't…" You muttered under your breath, abandoning your quest for decent music, and looking in the rock section instead.

"Like, oh my god, she's just…gah, she's my idol!" She then let out a small squeal of joy as she plucked out the album that she was looking for, her face ecstatic. "I found it!"

"Great." You said with a less than great expression. "Can we go now?"

"Oh, hello John!" You looked up from Nepeta at the sound of a familiar voice, and see Jane on the other side of the CD display, her party attire from the other night abandoned for a more practical thick coat and scarf for the weather outside. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Hey Jane, what's up?" You smiled and nodded in her direction, and she returned a courteous nod.

"Oh, same old, same old." She said with a polite smile, before glancing over at Nepeta, her smile slowly becoming a friendly grin. "And who's this?"

"Oh…this is Nepeta, my uh-" Friend? Girlfriend? Kid I'm babysitting? God, what were you're feelings for Nepeta anymore? You hardly knew yourself.

"Hello, I'm Nepeta, John's girlfriend! Nice to meet you!" Nepeta, of course, knew the right answer to your question, but despite it being the right answer, you couldn't help but grimace a little.

"Oh, of course John would go for the cute one, hoohoo!" She grinned saucily in your direction, and you could sense your pranksters gambit going down at her hands.

You turned to Nepeta and gave her an incredibly wrinkled ten dollar note from your back pocket. "Nep, you wanna go pay for that album?"

"Okay!" She said, taking the money and prancing to the counter to pay for it.

"You're a lucky boy, Egbert. She's a keeper!" Jane smiled again, and gave you a friendly nudge with her elbow, which actually kinda hurt.

"Oh yeah…" You said, rubbing the spot where she nudged, trying to hide how much pain you were in. "She's a keeper alright."

John: Take Nepeta home.

Gladly.

Later that afternoon, after spending about three hours in the arcade, you walked Nepeta to her bus stop, her clinging onto you, and you begrudgingly holding her hand like the good boyfriend you totally were, talking about your life story like you did most nights, and tonight the subject was your family.

"So your sister goes to U of T, huh? Hehe, that's so cool!" She said, smiling from ear to ear. "What are your parents doing in Europe then?"

"Parent. And I dunno, really. Gallivanting…spending euros on things…romancing my roommate's mom. You know the story." You tried to shrug off the whole conversation, because frankly, it wasn't the kind of conversation you liked that much.

You both walked a little longer, and with each step, your grip on her hand become looser and looser. You glanced down at her. She was so little, so young. You couldn't do it tonight, you wouldn't let yourself break her heart.

Not yet anyway.

"I'll walk to the bus stop myself." She said, letting go of your hand. "You live the other way and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you so much."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble." You insisted.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She smiled up at you, and if you weren't so fucking heartless, that smile would make you want to fall in love with her all over again.

"Um…thanks, I guess." You smiled back at her.

But before you could flinch, she had her arms wrapped around your neck, standing on her tiptoes and pulling you down to her level, so she could kiss you. It lasted for a second or two, and a part of you enjoyed the warmth and comfort from the young girls lips, but the other part of you, the part that seemed set on running your life, couldn't handle the closeness and made you pull away from the kiss, as if your soul would leap out of your body if you kissed her for a millisecond more.

She blinked at you, a little confused as to why you pulled away so quickly, and you can only give her an awkward grin back.

"Heh…um, yeah, okay, that happened." You said too quickly, giggling with nervousness between each word. "I'll, uh, see you at band practice tonight, okay Neps? See ya!"