Author: KatNep date! Aww so awkwardly cute. XD

Credit for this chapter goes to the following people:

Jaek as Karson Vantas
calculatedFlame as Nelly Leijon

== Go on a date

He had left the disgusting sewers, returning to his studio to change, showering and all that shit, washing the dye out of his hair. He pulled his black hoodie on and gray cargo pants. Well, two days left. Maybe. Unless they were wrong. He still felt good, not bad at all. It was like being away from the hospital was better, who knows. He was walking around now, hands stuffed into his pocket. He felt like seeing Nelly today and hanging out. No more stupid 'super' shenanigans. They were moronic, and he just felt like relaxing a bit. He pulled out his phone, and sent Nel a message, 'CG: HEY. FEEL LIKE GETTING A BITE TO EAT TODAY OR ARE YOU BUSY?'

Nelly slowly closed her phone, leaning against the wall in disgust. She was stuck. She couldn't upset Vriska, or she would reveal her secret. And she couldn't upset the Dignitary, or she'd be definitely screwed. Her phone pinged at her, and she picked it up, annoyed. Then she looked at the message, and felt a little leap in her stomach. It was Karson. AKA, the person she had a huge crush on, and one of her closest friends. She quickly texted back. "AC: :33 sure! where do you want to go?"

He ruffled a hand through his white hair, contemplating before he pulled out his phone to answer her. 'CG: NOT A FUCKING CLUE. ANY IDEAS? WHY DON'T WE JUST MEET UP FIRST?' He continued walking around aimlessly, not sure what direction to even go in, seeing as they had yet to make any decisions.

She stood up, glancing awkwardly at her coat. There were still some residual bloodstains, and the hole was stitched together very messily. Maybe he wouldn't notice. She put on her hat and grabbed her bag, texting as she walked. "AC: :33 m33ting up sounds good. where are you? im purrrtty near the docks. we can m33t somewhere in the middle.

Replying to her, he typed, 'CG: YEAH ALRIGHT. SEE YOU THERE.' He began to scramble off towards the docks, off to see his friend. Meh, he should look nicer. Wearing a fucking hoodie and cargo pants, but whatever. He wasn't rich, what would he wear, a fucking tuxedo, haha right. Well. He swooped into a convenience store on the way, picking up some cheap flowers. It would be nice, he guessed. Or. Whatever. They looked cruddy, but again. What the fuck ever. They looked nice, and you're supposed to bring gifts when visiting someone, that was like a code of civility or some shit. To bear gifts. Even though, he wasn't exactly going to her place or anything. Social formality was such a nuisance.

She stiffened slightly, quickly typing back. "AC: :33 dont go to the docks. m33t me at the park just by it. the one with the rusty statue" She walked to that park herself, grinning like mad. She was kind of tired, the circles normally under her eyes more pronounced than usual, and her side still hurt, but she didn't care. It would be nice to relax with friends.

'CG: WELL ALRIGHT THEN.' He was a bit late, having made a pit stop. Man, he was tired. Escaping from the police and deceiving a friend took a lot out of a person. But with what little time he had, he didn't really think he should spare any hours on sleeping. Eventually, he made it to the park.

She bounded to her feet, forcing herself not to tackle him, but walk over instead. "hi karson" she said cheerfully. "hows it going?"

"ER, I'M FINE. HERE." He extended a hand, giving her the flowers. "THESE ARE FOR YOU, OR WHATEVER, THAT SOCIAL FORMALITIES EXPECT THAT I DO. BUT... YEAH. WHATEVER. IT'S LIKE A THING ABOUT BRINGING A GIFT WHEN MEETING, OR. SOMETHING LIKE THAT." He shrugged awkwardly, and sort of, or tried to hug her like a friend does to a person when they haven't seen each other in a while.

She took the flowers, blushing slightly as she hugged him back. "oh you shouldnt have thanks..." She glanced away bashfully, holding onto the flowers. Then she winced slightly. Her side was still acting up. She quickly replaced the grimace with a smile. "so what sort of stuff do you want to eat?" she asked.

"NO IDEA." He shrugged. "MAYBE WE COULD JUST START WALKING AND MAYBE WE'LL FIND SOMETHING WE WANT." He offered her a hand. If worst came to worse, he would just suggest having fun and pickpocketing or shoplifting a convenience store for thrills. Something small but still amusing. OR. Maybe sneaking into the theatre to watch a romcom. Yes. That sounded very good.

She smiled, taking the hand. "that sounds fun" she said, beginning to walk. "sorry if im a bit distracted. i didnt get much sleep..."

"IT'S ALRIGHT. I'M PRETTY TIRED TOO." He began walking off to a plaza or some place to look around and shop(lift). And get something to eat, of course. He was still pretty hungry.

Nelly walked with Karson, falling into a comfortable silence. Finally, she spoke up, a little sheepish. "so when did you get out of the hospital?" she asked. She didn't want to bring up uncomfortable subjects, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

He looked over to her for a moment, nodding to answer her, "A DAY AGO OR SOMETHING. I SNUCK OUT." He shrugged and stuck his other hand in to his pocket, still holding into her hand with his right. He looked around at the stores they passed, trying to come up with an idea of which to enter.

She blushed slightly, squeezing his hand. "so youre feeling better?" she asked shyly as she looked at the shops herself. She wasn't really seeing them, content to go wherever Karson wanted.

"SORT OF." He answered promptly, as they continued their stroll, until he reached one of his favourite diners. He opened the door and gestured her in, and hailed a booth to be seated in. Homely. He and his dad would always go here when he was younger, to the point the waitresses all knew him since he was a boy. It was nice to see a few familiar faces, especially with what little time he supposedly had.

She followed him into the diner, looking around. "i dont think ive been here before. its nice." She smiled, looking at him. "im glad youre feeling better. if you need help with anything, just ask me. ill do whatefurr i can."

He picked up a menu and handed her one, nodding. "YEAH, THANKS." It was a quaint little diner, but still his favourite. "YOU SHOULD TRY THEIR BURGERS. PRETTY GREAT." He grumbled, looking around, capturing it in his memory. Yes, it was always so homely. He would miss the place.

She smiled, thumbing through the menu. She wiped some sweat off her forehead, feeling slightly shaky from her side. "maybe" she said. "im not all that hungry" In fact, she was feeling mildly nauseous.

"UM, ARE YOU OKAY? YOU DON'T LOOK SO WELL." He set his menu down and paused to observe her behaviour. It was a tad unusual, but he hadn't paid much mind to it. "YOU LOOK LIKE YOU COULD USE A DOCTOR."

She glanced away. "im fine" she lied. "just tired." He of all people should know that she couldn't go to a doctor. They would see her ears and tail and lock her up. Karson was lucky, in some ways. His mutation caused him problems, but people wouldn't lock him up to study him.

"I.. I KNOW A GUY, A DOCTOR THAT COULD HELP YOU." He inquired abruptly, quite concerned for her well being. She was a close friend after all. And he didn't prefer seeing her so disorientated.

She blinked at him. "im okay really. theres not much that can be done. i stopped the bleeding."

"THE- WHAT." This was definitely news to him. He hadn't known she was injured. "WHY- WHAT. HOW- WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING? WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?" He rubbed his face in his hands stressfully, sighing aloud, "GOD, NEL, YOU WORY ME SICK SOMETIMES."

She tensed up, biting her lip. She hadn't meant to mention it. "i got hurt." she said carefully, trying to think of something to tell him. She hated lying to him, but she didn't want him to get involved with the dangers she had been facing. "i can take care of myself."

"WELL, ALRIGHT. IF YOU SAY SO." His face was still contorted with worry, but he chose to let it go, seeing as she didn't want to see a doctor. With that, he decided to get along with their lunch/dinner/whatever, and order himself his usual. A hamburger, chips, and a malt.

She ordered chicken fingers and kept the water they got when they were seated. She fell silent, feeling guilty for lying to him.

Munch munch munch. "ARE YOU OKAY? YOU'RE NORMALLY NOT SO QUIET. IT'S WEIRDING ME OUT." He held his hamburger in his hands, occasionally biting it, or chewing on some chips.

She smiled wearily. "i just had a tough day." she said. "and im tired." That was true. She just wasn't going to tell him what had been so tough about her day.

Munchmunchmunch. "IF YOU SAY SO, NEL." He finished slurping his malt, and eating his hamburger, now only chowing on a few fries, before he crumpled up the paper and went to go toss away his trash, and sitting down again. "WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO NOW?"

She finished her own food quickly, and shrugged. "i dont know. honestly i think i could do with a nap..."

He nodded. "ALRIGHT THEN. WOULD YOU PREFER I ESCORT YOU TO YOUR HOUSE OR..?"

She shrugged. "thatd be nice." she said softly, smiling at him. She picked up the flowers he gave her, smelling them.

He got up and left enough cash to pay for them both and a tip, leading her out the door.

She slipped her hand into his, walking in step with him. "thanks. this has been great."