Hi guys, sorry about the long wait! And sorry about the semi-short chapter. I promise that the next one will be longer but yeah…My life has officially spiraled out of control…Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

~90sbaby112

Chapter nine:

I looked up at Equius with a shocked expression on my face.

"Wait…What?"

Equius' face turned a brighter shade of red.

He cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his shoulder length hair.

"Uh…Do you want to go out with me sometime?" He said again.

My heart was pounding at a million times per second and I swore Equius could hear it.

I scratched my head awkwardly. I looked around as if trying to find the answer written in the sky.

My ears were burning at that point and the seconds became longer and longer. Finally, I looked at him and sighed.

"You like me?"

He looked shocked that I had said anything.

"Um, yes, yes I do like you…I have for a while?"

He cleared his throat. "Since grade eight to be in fact."

If I had been drinking something I would have definitely taken a spit take. But unfortunately, I wasn't so I had to keep my shocked feelings to myself.

"G-grade eight?"

He nodded. "Yes, I've liked you since grade eight. I think it started on the first day of school when we were waiting for the doors to open outside the bootroom. You were standing next to the basketball court watching Sollux play…You were wearing a knee length grey skirt, a maroon bunny hug, white knee high socks, black converse, and your hair was in a half pony tail tied up with a red bow."

I couldn't help but smile. That was a great outfit! But, then I felt slightly freaked out.

"Wait, you remember that?"

He face suddenly looked puzzled.

"Well, yes I do remember…You just looked so…Beautiful…"

Heat arose on my cheeks.

"Oh…"

We stayed quiet again until I realized he was waiting for me to say something. I started stuttering.

"I-well you s-see…" I sighed and took a deep breath. "Look Equius I…"

I looked up at him again and couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt.

There he was pouring his heart out to me and I was rejecting him.

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath.

"Look I just got out of a relationship with Sollux and…And…"

I opened my eyes and mentally groaned. Why couldn't I just say it?!

"Look I'm not sure if I'm ready for a relationship but I'll…I'll think about it okay?" I spat.

His face lit up with hope.

I gulped.

He nodded. "Alright, I will respect your wishes and let you think about it."

I nodded and offered him a slightly fake smile. "Okay well I'll let you know…Uh…I have to get home before Damara starts to worry about me."

He nodded understandingly.

I nodded back. "Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay bye-"

I think he was going to say something else but I didn't let him. I quickly got up and ran home.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell is wrong with you?" Damara demanded when I ran into my house and slammed the door behind me.

I looked at her in complete shock while breathing heavily.

She raised her eyebrows while leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.

I groaned. "UGH! Can I just kill myself?!"

She suddenly looked alarmed. "Have you been taking your pills?"

"What?!" I demanded.

"Have you been taking your pills?" She repeated.

"What pills?!"

She groaned. "Aradia Megido! You haven't been taking your pills!"

"WHAT PILLS?!"

"Your pills for your depression!"

"Oh…Those pills…"

"Yeah those pills!"

I rolled my eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?!"

"You just said you wanted to kill yourself!"

"UGH! It's normal for everyone to say that, it doesn't mean they do!"

"Yeah but you're different! You've tried!"

"Can you please not bring that up?!"

"Then tell me what's wrong!"

"Nothing Equius just asked me out!"

"Equius? Horuss' little brother?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

She looked at me blankly for a couple of seconds and then busted out laughing.

"That is the funniest shit I've ever heard in my entire life!"

"Shut up Damara?!"

"How long has he liked you? Since you were four?!"

"No! Only since grade eight!"

She laughed even harder.

I sighed heavily. "Come on Damara it's not that funny."

"You're right! It's fucking hilarious!"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen to get some Mac N Cheese.

Damara was still laughing her ass off as I sat down at the dining room table shoving cheap, cheesy pasta down my throat.

"Aradia I-I can't!" She fell down and started rolling on the floor laughing.

I wanted to get down and punch her.

"Damara! I honestly don't understand why you're laughing so hard!"

She shook her head, her face turning red. "Me neither!"

"I hate you."

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"Nope!"

"UGH! I hate you so much!"

She shook her head and smiled. "No you don't!"

I was about to shout back when suddenly, the door bell rang.

She immediately shot back up and ran towards the door.

"Damara no!" I ran after her to get to the door before she could, but she beat me.

She swung the door open and tried to brush the hair escaping her bun away from her face.

"Oh, hi Sollux, what are you doing here?" She asked with a huge smile still plastered on her stupid face.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I ran up to Damara and pushed her out of the way.

"Hey!" She shouted as I pushed her against the wall.

I looked up at Sollux who had his eyebrows raised from behind his glasses. My face immediately turned red.

"Um, hi?" He said, making it sound more like a question.

I nodded. "Hi."

There was a moment of awkward silence when suddenly:

"You can feel the awkwardness…."

"Damara shut up!"

She cracked up again and nodded. "Alright, I'm going to go eat my food. I'm hungry anyways."

I waited until she was out of ear shot and turned back to Sollux who was just standing there staring at me.

I nodded slowly. "Can I help you or…?"

It was like he had been snapped out of a trance. "Oh, yeah I wath jutht…thtopping by to thay hi?"

I wrinkled my eyebrows. "Is that it?"

"Yeah-wait! I mean no…I…"He face palmed and sighed heavily.

"Sollux? Are you okay?"

He shook his head and then looked up at me. "I wath jutht wondering if you thtill needed math help." He spat.

I nodded and felt slightly confused. "Um, yeah I do but, you could've just texted me or asked in the hallway you didn't have to come all the way to my house…"

He nodded. "Yeah I know but I wanted to…Uh…I jutht…GODDAMN IT!"

I wrinkled my eyebrows. "Um…Are you okay Sollux? Do you want to come in?"

He shook his head violently. "No uh…Actually yeth I'll come in."

He gently pushed me aside, walked into my house and sat on the couch.

I gave him a bewildered look, shook my head and gently shut the door.

I went up and sat down next to him.

There was a moment of awkward silence. I was staring at him and he was staring at the floor while he twirled his thumbs in small circles.

The freaking quiet was killing me! I was about to say something when suddenly he turned to me abruptly and blurted:

"Do you like Equiuth Zahhak?"

"What?!" I shouted.

"Do you like Equiuth Zahhak?!" He began to raise his voice.

"What the hell?! What kind of a question is that?!"

"What do you mean what kind of a quethtion ith that?! It'th a mother fucking quethtion so fucking anthwer it!"

My jaw dropped and I gave him a you-do-not-talk-to-me-like-that-especially- in-my-house look. I was about to shout back at him and tell him that I don't have to answer his "fucking question" when Damara walked back in with an unlit cigarette in her hand.

"You better watch that fucking tone Captor." She said in her intimidating older sister voice. She brought the cigarette to her mouth, took a lighter out from her pocket and lit it.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Hey Damara." He mumbled.

She nodded and let out a grey puff of smoke. "Seriously though, don't talk to her like that."

Sollux let out a frustrated sigh but then nodded. "Alright I'm thorry."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to her."

Sollux's facial features softened as he turned to look at me. He sighed, only this time it was a soft genuine sigh.

"I'm thorry AA."

Suddenly, all the anger that had built up in my chest when he shouted at me disappeared. I sighed as well.

"It's alright Sollux just…Just tell me what's wrong."

He looked like he was about to open up to me when he remembered that Damara was still standing in the room while smoking. He turned to her.

"What?" She asked innocently.

He cleared his throat. "Would you mind-ya know…"

He raised her eyebrows. "Leaving? No."

"But-"

She shook her head. "No, you yelled at my little sister and swore at her…I'm not leaving."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine."

He turned back to me and took a deep breath.

"Tho, do you?"

I wrinkled my eyebrows. "Do I what?"

"Like Zahhak!"

"Oh! Uh…" I was blushing again. "Why?"

"Cuz I'm your friend and I'm curiouth."

I nodded slowly while trying to understand everything. "Uh huh…But, how-" I stopped in midsentence. "Did Equius tell you?"

"Tell me what?" I could tell he was trying to keep his voice down.

"Tell you that he was going to ask me out…" My voice got lower with each word.

He eyed me cautiously and nodded gently. "Yeah…"

I sighed and suddenly felt enraged for some reason. "Wait, why do you care?!"

He looked shocked that I had shouted at him. But he ended up shouting back.

"I told you becauthe I'm your betht friend! And not only am ijust curiouth I'm altho looking out for your wellbeing!"

I stood up. "My wellbeing?! What the hell does my wellbeing have anything to do with this?"

He stood up after me. "Are you kidding me AA?! It'th freaking Equiuth Zahhak!The guyth a creep!"

"Well why should you even care! You're dating Feferi!"

"Tho what?! You're thtill my friend aren't you?!"

"I don't even know anymore Sollux! You fucking ignored me for a long time! If we were still friends you wouldn't have done that!"

"UGH! Jutht don't bring that up okay?! I wath…Confuthed…"

"Confused?! Confused about what?! Come on enlighten me Sollux!"

He glared at me and then groaned. "Jutht…don't date him okay?!"

I scoffed. "You think that just because you tell me not to date him I'm not?! Well news flash for you Sollux we're not dating anymore!"

I regretted saying those words as soon as they left my mouth. But it was too late. I couldn't take them back.

He looked hurt, as if he had been slapped in the face. He closed his eye tightly and sighed heavily. After a couple minutes, he opened his eyes.

"You know it'th a good thing we broke up. I wouldn't want to thpend the retht of my life with thomebody like you!"

That actually hurt. "What…?"

"It'th why we broke up ithn't it?! We kept on arguing and fighting!? I don't want to thpend my time with thomeone like that!"

I shook my head. "But that wasn't it…" I whispered in a low voice that he couldn't hear.

I looked down at my feet and shook my head. I didn't realise I was crying until I looked back up at him.

"Get out." I ordered through my teeth.

"What?" He demanded with a look of disbelief on his face.

Tears began pouring down my face. "You heard me…Get out…Get out!"

He flinched and looked like he was going to argue back. But he thought it through and left without saying a word.

I stayed standing in the same spot balling my hands into fists and trying to stop the tears from falling. I was failing…

I jumped at the sudden sound of Damara's voice. "Well, that went…Well?"

I glared at her sitting on the couch, she looked like she was going to say something else but I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room before she could.

I sunk down on the floor in the corner of my room and started crying into my hands.

After a couple minutes I heard pounding at the door.

"Aradia! Aradia come out of your room please don't do something stupid!" She begged.

I lifted my head up and sniffled. I wiped my face as best as I could.

I took my phone out and tried to ignore Damara's shouts from the other side of my door.

I went on the recent contacts on my phone and clicked the most recent phone number. With a shaky hand I held the phone up to my ear and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" A husky voice answered from the other side.

"Hello Equius? This is Aradia; I will go out with you."

Okay that's it! Sorry for leaving you in suspense I'll see you guys next time!

~90sbaby112