Okay, *tosses the chapter at you* Here's the next chapter though it's just a filler. You'll get something more important next time. So yeah, have fun with that.
~*Dave Strider*~
My eyes slowly opened as I woke up, unaware that I had ever even fallen asleep, with my shades on at that. I immediately noticed John sitting on the floor next to my bed, his upper body resting on the mattress as he slept with his head on his folded arms. I thought about waking him up but decided not to. I wondered what time it was and when I looked to my alarm clock for the answer, I found that it wasn't in its normal place but on the floor across the room; broken. That must've been what I had thrown at Bro last night. Holy Jegus, I felt like shit. Physically and mentally. I mean, I was seriously a huge douche last night to Bro and John and he still stayed by my side all night and eventually fell asleep there too. The action alone told me just how worried he was.
I sighed deeply and carefully got out of bed so not to wake John before silently making my way downstairs. Maybe I'd make him some cereal or something for when he got up. Nah wouldn't want it going soggy, that's just gross. I could try to make him some actual food up I didn't feel up to it and I don't think I could do it left-handed. I looked down at my right hand to see that it was swelled up a lot and had turned a bit of a bluish purplish color. It must be infected or something. Bro did say that he wasn't done with it before I chased him away. I'd have to ask him to look at it when he got up.
When I got downstairs, I was welcomed with the sound of silence. It was kind of eerie… it was like everything was actually still. Not even so much as the wind was heard. No yelling neighbors, no cars driving around outside, no pissed off drivers shouting and honking at each other, there was nothing… nothing but silence. There was something… something dreadfully peaceful about it.
Then there was a sound to break the silence, a door opening and closing then footsteps coming up the stairs which was followed by their owner.
"Oh, hey, I didn't expect you to be up for a while." Bro said and I just sort of stood there.
"Were you expecting John?" I asked and he sighed but nodded.
"Yeah he said he'd be down around this time."
"He fell asleep." I stated and the other nodded again. "What time is it anyway? I kinda busted my clock…"
"Yeah, I know. It's a little after two and John said he needed to be home after school for something having to do with Jade."
"Oh yeah, they're working on a thing together…" we stood there for a while in an awkward silence before he finally stepped closer to me and hugged me, taking me by surprise at the sudden action. I thought he would be mad at me for what I said and did yesterday but… but he was showing me nothing but love and kindness.
"I love you Dave." he whispered, kissing the top of my head. I felt tears in my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his torso and held onto him tightly as though I was drowning in a vast ocean and he was my one and only lifeline.
"I love you too Bro." with that, we were good. I didn't need to explain how sorry I was and he didn't need to explain how he understood. This was all we needed to know.
"Now let me see your hand." he ordered softly as we pulled away from each other's embrace and I lifted my hand up so he could examine it. He took a few minutes doing that before sighing deeply as he released my hand so I let it drop to my side. "I'll start working on some parts for it today." he said as he started back down the stairs.
"How much are you gonna have to replace?" I asked and I saw him shrug.
"I'll have to wait until the swelling goes down to tell but I know I'll have to replace your knuckles and maybe one or two of your fingers though I'm hoping they'll heal on their own." he called back and I stared at my hand for a moment.
"Thank you." I called down to him but received no answer as he had probably already busied himself with stuff. Forgetting why I even came down here in the first place, I now made my way back up to my room where I found John still fast asleep. I lay back in bed and stared at him, knowing I should wake him up so we could get him back to his place but I didn't want him to go, I just wanted to watch him.
Coming up with a solution, I carefully reached my hand into his jacket pocket to find his phone though it wasn't there so I checked the other and, thankfully, it was there. I would just call Jade and tell her to come here instead. I thought about calling her myself but I didn't have her phone number and even if I did, yeah… my phone was currently laying on John's bedroom floor… in pieces.
I was about to start looking for Jade in his contacts when I noticed a familiar icon on his homepage which was stupidly of that Ghost Buster's slime ghost thing. Huh… that's odd, I didn't know John used Pesterchum. I just had to get his chumhandle and start trolling him, it'd be great. I ran the program only to stare in shock at the very familiar blue text and the screen name I was presented with.
ectoBiologist.
I couldn't believe my eyes… I looked down at John for a brief second before my eyes read countless lines between blue and red, the latter color belonging to the chumhandle turntechGodhead.
I couldn't believe this… these were our conversations… all these pieces that I've been trying not to put together fit perfectly and became the full picture and wouldn't let me deny it anymore… John Egbert is my Derp, my best friend of over six years… the person I was in love with.
Then my eyes scanned the last bit of the messages. The part that made me run and the part that he sent after.
EB: well i dont know what to do about this because it's…
EB: it's hard to say…
TG: take your time
EB: i don't really even know him yet but i think i like the new kid i've been telling you about.
EB: his name is dave and he's a really great guy.
- turntechGodhead [TG] got disconnected -
EB: uh… what just happened?
EB: is everything okay?
- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -
- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -
EB: sorry i disappeared like that, i had to take care of something but i'm back now.
EB: though it seems you're not.
EB: oh well you just probably fell asleep or something.
EB: i'll talk to you when you get up.
- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -
I felt like crying. He had to deal with all my shit but he was still trying to be happy for, well, me. I looked at my hand, realizing that it was for nothing. Because he… he liked me. Oh my god- he… he liked me! John… EB… he liked me! I… why am I panicking? I should be happy, right? But I wasn't- well I was but I- arg! I don't know! I'm so confused! John is EB- my Derp! If he finds out who I am, he'll hate me! But I… I want to tell him! I want him to know! What do I do?
"Dave?" I heard his lazy voice call and I turned back to him after mentally slapping myself in the face to pull my shit together.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad you're okay. I was worried." he mumbled, looking up at me with his eyes only half open yet still filled with so much care. Suddenly it was okay for me to accept those eyes. It was okay for me to love him. I didn't feel like I was betraying Derp anymore because he is Derp. I felt his warmth touch me and I didn't feel the need to push it away and cower into the darkness. It was enough to make me want to melt and hold him and cry and tell him I loved him and never let him go and tell him who I am. But I held it in. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't face rejection from him… not from him.
"Yeah, no thanks to you." I joked and he chuckled lightly as he moved his glasses up on his face to rub his eyes.
"What time is it?" he asked, getting off the floor to sit next to me on my bed.
"Time for us to get you home." I stated. "You didn't have to miss school just to be here, I can handle myself you know." I stated and he just shrugged tiredly.
"I wanted to."
"Well school's gonna be ending soon so we better get you back." I said as I stood and made my way to the door with him following. While my back was turned to him, I closed Pesterchum on his phone before turning and handing his device back to him. "Here, I think this fell out of your pocket while you were sleeping."
"Oh, thanks." he yawned as he took it and slipped it back into the pocket I had found it in.
"Don't mention it." I whispered a response. How could I suddenly want him gone like this when just a minute ago I wanted nothing more than for him to stay? I had to sort my feelings out before they drove me mad.
~*John Egbert*~
I stared down at my phone, retracing the words displayed before me for the hundredth time.
- turntechGodhead [TG] got disconnected -
That's what it said when I had finally stopped chasing Dave after he ran away yesterday long enough to check my messages. Judging by the time stamp, it looks like that happened right around the time Dave had thrown his phone at my wall. That brought a few strange thoughts to mind but I didn't really understand them. Maybe it was all just a coincidence and I was over thinking it. I just couldn't shake the thoughts away. I mean, yeah I could choose not to think about it and whatnot but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of my head that wouldn't go away. Whatever the case may be, I just hoped God was okay.
When the Striders brought me back here, I picked up all the pieces of what used to be Dave's phone and gave them to Bro before they left. I doubted he would be able to repair it but I figured I'd give the pieces back to their owner anyway. It was better than leaving them on my bedroom floor.
"Hellooo. Earth to John." Jade called to me as she waved her hand in front of my face. She had come to my house after school like we had planned a few days ago to rehearse for the school play and she also brought me the work I missed in class today. Of course she had asked why I hadn't been at school and though I hated having to lie to her, I said that I slept in and didn't feel like going after I finally got up. She lectured me for a moment before dropping it. Do you have to ask if I told her about the events that took place yesterday? Of course I didn't. On the drive to my house a while go with the Striders, Bro told me to just act as if Dave had been at my place all day yesterday playing videogames or whatever and that he left some odd hours later. I'm supposed to talk to the girls about going over to their house this weekend, so either tomorrow or Sunday, where we will all discover Dave with a busted hand. He said to act surprised as if I didn't already know how it happened or that it happened at all. I would learn 'how it happened' when the girls did. From there, I could act normally again. I appreciated that Bro was trying to make it so I wouldn't have to lie… I hated lying to those I love.
I shook my head a little to clear it, trying to return from my thoughts back into the real world.
"Yeah?"
"You missed your cue and threw off this entire rehearsal." she complained and I sighed, leaning back in the dining room chair. We were sitting at the table going over our lines for the play in a few weeks. It was a pretty big deal for the school and for Jade but I didn't understand why Jade needed to suck me into her strict practicing. I was practically just an extra with, like, four lines. They were easy and I already had them memorized. Jade had a more important role. She wasn't playing the lead like she had wanted but she was casted as the second witch and she seemed to be very okay with that. She claimed that she was able to connect a lot to the character and she really did seem happy with it so I was happy for her.
"Why do I have to do this Jade? I'm just an extra." I whined, dropping my script and my phone on the table.
"The King's Heir is not an extra!" she lectured and I rolled my eyes.
"He is when he has four lines."
"He has five lines. You'd know that if you would take this seriously." she pushed my script closer to me but I didn't take it as I groaned and hit my head on the table.
"I always take this seriously our first few times through this but I get so bored with it because I don't have anything else to do. We've gone over it so many times; I almost have all of your lines memorized." I informed her and she sighed as her straightened shoulders dropped in defeat.
"Okay, look, I know I've been riding you pretty hard on this but I'm just really excited about it." she said, looking at me with those big puppy eyes of hers. I looked away before she got me to agree to going over it one more time without even asking.
"Why don't you ask Rose to go over it with you?"
"But Rose isn't in the play." she stated and I shrugged.
"So? I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help." she seemed to think about it before sighing again.
"Alright, I'll ask." she submitted as she pulled her phone out of her backpack.
"Call her; I need to ask both of you something." my sister eyed me curiously but did as I said.
"Yes Jade, what can I help you with?" Rose's voice asked through the speaker of my sister's phone.
"Would you be willing to help me go over my lines sometime since John is being a baby about it?" Rose giggled at that and I blushed lightly.
"I am not being a baby about it; I'm just bored with it because we've read through this stupid script so many times." I objected and Rose shushed us both as Jade continued to tease me.
"I would be more than happy to help. In fact I have a friend that I was going to practice with so you can just join us when we meet up on Monday." Jade and I both looked at each other oddly.
"What friend?" Jade finally questioned.
"Oh right, I haven't told you about her. Well she helped me out the other day and we just started talking after that. She plays the healer in the play." Rose explained and the girl next to me perked up as if she understood everything now while I remained just as confused. I wasn't familiar with the rest of the cast.
"Oh you mean Kanaya. She's an amazing actress."
"Really? I haven't seen her perform yet but I'm looking forward to it."
"Yeah she's really good. You know I always thought you two would be good friends, you're so similar." the girls continued to talk for a minute before Jade finally allowed for me to speak again. "John said he had something to ask us." her eyes turned to me expectantly.
"Yeah." I nodded as I leaned forward to get closer to the phone so Rose could hear me. "Yesterday while Dave was here we were talking about possibly gathering at his house this weekend… since he's suspended and all." I was nervous… worried that I would be caught in my lie. I hated lying. But Jade beamed at the new information.
"I'm up for it! Let's do it tomorrow!" she exclaimed and I sighed in relieve, thinking that things might actually go as planned.
"My mother has somewhere to go tomorrow just after noon so I can see if she would be willing to pick you two up and drop us off at the Strider Residence." the blonde girl suggested and Jade's smile widened.
"That sounds great!" she beamed and I couldn't help but to smile as well. I picked my phone back up from the surface of the table where it waited for me to text Dirk- er, Bro. He had given me his phone number so I could tell him when we were coming over and in case I needed anything else from either him or Dave. He hinted that I could text or call his phone if I wanted to talk to Dave since his phone was currently… unavailable.
"rose's mom might be bringing us over around noon tomorrow. and by 'might be' i mean that rose hasn't asked yet but it's pretty much a definite yes."
The answer was a bit delayed but still pretty fast.
"We'll see you then."
Tomorrow it was. I was rather excited to get to see my entire family together though I just hoped that it would go better than that last time.
~*Dave Strider*~
I sighed as Bro continued to work on my hand which had indeed gotten infected because I was an idiot and didn't let Bro finish what he was doing last night but the infection wasn't bad so it was going to be easy to get rid of and Bro said all the swelling would go down in a few days. He was just wrapping it up nice and tightly instead of putting a cast on it like he probably should be doing but I wasn't complaining. We casted one of my first broken bones and I hated it. I would rather risk dealing more damage to the injury and suffer the pain than be locked up in a cast. Which is exactly what I'm risking right now by not requesting a cast but there was no way in hell I was going to stick my right hand into one of those damned things for who knows how long.
I heard Bro's phone beep and vibrate in his back pocket with a new text but he ignored it to finish wrapping up my hand before looking it over.
"John and the girls will be here around noon tomorrow." he told me and I nodded though I had mixed feelings about that. John was coming over tomorrow… my best friend and crush. I can't believe that I was so stupid as to not have figured it out before now- well technically I had but I didn't want to believe it so I pretended like all the evidence wasn't there in front of my face and that I didn't know who he really was. I was in denial. Although I guess that since I really did know the truth all along and I've already freaked out about it is why I wasn't freaking out so much about it this time around. I just… I don't know, I guess I just felt numb to it now. Like I just gave up on caring about it… all the shit I got on my plate must have just become too much and finally flipped the fuck over. Speaking of shit on my plate, let's recap, shall we?
John is ectoBiologist, my best friend.
I've got the hots for that boy harder than a meteor can hit the Earth.
John admitted to being gay after all that 'no homo' shit he's been spewing for years.
John has a crush on me.
And the most outstanding thing of all… was that we have liked each other so damn much from the first time we started talking… and we were able to do it all over again. I got to fall in love with him for the second time. And I was oddly happy with that.
Bro sent a quick text back to who I assumed was John, probably just saying 'okay' or something before he helped me get my arm into a sling and ordered me not to take it off like I sometimes would but this time, I was in so much pain every time I even moved my hand- my entire arm in general- so I wasn't even thinking about removing this thing since it kept my arm still thus reducing my pain.
"Listen, Dave, I know a lot of shit has been happening," Bro started though he didn't tilt his head up to indicate that he was looking at me and I didn't feel his eyes on me so I guessed that he really wasn't. "But for everyone else's sake, just play it off normal. Alright?" he finished and I nodded again, remaining silent. 'Normal'. That's a word I rather disliked. Normal to me was the mask of a 'Strider'. I was a Strider so I needed to act like a 'Strider'. I needed to be cool and aloof. I needed to be cold and calm. Uncaring and mysterious. I needed to be… ironic. These are the basic qualities of a Strider and I was a Strider so I needed to act like it even if that's not really who I was inside. I needed to make Bro proud.
I don't really have anything to say, I've been doing a lot for some cosplays I'm putting together and it's been taking up a lot of my time so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up though I'll try to get it up soon. I love you all, have a great day!