A/N: ... Oh my glub, I am such a derp. I uploaded this in the doc manager last night and never actually posted it to the fanfiction. -_-' Chapter 38 will be out in a few hours, sorry about that gaiz. ^^'

A FINAL WHAT?

"Why do you even give a shit?" Dave scoffed. "I thought you were over him."

"Are you seriously bringing that up again?" Terezi answered, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Dave, I don't know how many times I have to tell you it's not like that."

"Oh yeah? Sure fooled me. I forgot, it's completely normal for someone to risk their neck for someone they don't feel anything for. My bad."

"Me not having flushed feelings for Karkat doesn't mean that he suddenly ceases to exist. He's my friend, Dave," she emphasized the last word. "And I'm not just going to stand idly by while he gets hunted down and killed by highbloods."

The Knight crossed his arms defensively, trying to maintain his coolkid stance of indifference. It was faltering, though, and he had a feeling that his girlfriend could tell. He couldn't help it; sometimes it felt like Terezi really did still have a thing for Karkat.

This spontaneous, 'I must protect him' bullshit definitely wasn't helping that.

"I didn't say that," Dave countered after a few moments. "All I'm saying is that it kind of gets under a guy's skin when he sees his girlfriend willing to put everything on the line to protect some douchebag who used to have the hots for her."

"Jegus, Kanaya was right," the blind troll said with a sigh. "You don't get it. I never should have told you about this."

"Perfect, let's start keeping important shit from each other now. Then we can be exactly like you seem to want things to be between you and that grouchy midget."

This last stab actually seemed to piss Terezi off, because she then turned to poke him hard in the chest with her cane. She looked angry, and Dave mentally braced himself for her wrath.

"Maybe if you stopped caring about something other than how you're being affected for once in your fucking life, you could understand why this is bothering me. You're still hiding behind this stupid front of yours, even after all these months, and now you're bitching because I'm genuinely concerned about the well being of my friend? You know Karkat is important to me, and yet you continue to antagonize him at any waking second. All you care about is yourself, Dave Strider, and you can't even get out of your own self-absorbed bubble to realize it."

"Well maybe I fucking care about you too," he snapped back. "And maybe I care that you might not really feel the same. Plus, if you're keeping all this shit from Karkat, what the hell are you keeping from me?"

"Nothing!" Terezi yelled. "The only reason I'm keeping this a secret from him is because Kanaya doesn't want to stress him. Finals are next week and he's probably going to be freaking out enough as it is."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Heaven forbid he be stressing over saving his own neck, he's got all these bullshit college tests to take!"

"It's not. My news. To break," Terezi hissed through gritted teeth. "As far as keeping things secret, you insensitive asshole, the only reason Kanaya even let me tell you was because I didn't want to keep something like this from you!"

Dave rolled his eyes behind his shades, smacking the troll's cane down off of his chest. He was done arguing about this shit. Whatever, if Terezi and everyone else on the fucking planet wanted to come together to suck nubby asshole's dick, that was their problem. What did he care? He didn't, and he wasn't going to keep this screaming match going between the two of them.

He needed time to cool off.

"I'm going out," he said, turning to leave the room.

"Dave, come on," Terezi huffed, a note of exasperation in her voice.

"No. I'm going out for a while, I'll be back later."

As if to finalize the matter, the blonde haired boy popped his ear buds in before opening the door to exit. They were both angry right now, and the best thing they could do was give each other space to calm down.

Maybe Terezi could go talk to Karkat, since he was so fucking important to her.

His middle finger went on this string, then his index on this one, and the rest didn't touch anything.

Then he just had to...

Carefully sort of...

Gamzee gently strummed his fingers across all six strings, keeping his hand near the round hole like Rose had instructed. A sweet, harmonious sound came out of the guitar, and he smiled widely at his accomplishment. Apparently, shit got to be arranging itself all musically like with these little miracles called 'chords'.

And he'd just learned his first one.

"Fuck yeah," he mumbled to himself, playing the chord again several more times. "So motherfucking mirthful."

He was currently sitting under a tree in the park, determined to figure out at least five of the many chords on the chart Rose had printed out for him. Karkat hadn't seemed to enjoy his practicing in their respiteblock, so he'd ended up taking his guitar elsewhere. At first, Gamzee had been at a bit of a loss for where to go, but getting some fresh air at the same motherfucking time turned out to be the best idea he'd had all week. Something about it was just very relaxing; the voices in his mind seemed to get their hush going whenever he was focusing on this music making noise.

It was nice.

Maybe one day, when he got better, Karkat would even actually want to listen to him play.

Gamzee looked away from his guitar for a few minutes, taking in the scenery around him. As far as he could see, he was the only one around. It was still fairly early in the day, not even noon yet, and while the world was starting to warm up with the sun, it wasn't quite there yet. The natural lighting was still pretty mild, but not quite so much that he couldn't clearly see his guitar or his chord sheet.

It was pretty motherfucking peaceful.

Turning his attention back to mastering his instrument, Gamzee almost hadn't noticed the subtle flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. It took him a second to realize that he had definitely seen something, and he looked up from the guitar once more.

At first, he didn't see anything all that out of the ordinary; it was just the same, empty park. However, the more he looked around the more he got the sense that something, or someone, had to be lurking nearby. After about a minute or so, curiosity got the better of him and he captchalogued his guitar before getting up to investigate. He had only half seen it, and he couldn't quite say what it was or where it was going.

Gamzee walked out to the middle of the park, carefully looking around to try and see whatever it was again. The park was still once more, though, and the only one moving about right now was him. Thinking for a moment, the tall troll closed his eyes and listened carefully to see if he could hear anything out of the ordinary.

Birds.

Cars.

Bugs.

… Talking?

The Capricorn opened his eyes and turned towards the direction he believed the sound to be coming from. It was very faint, but he could swear that someone was talking nearby. The closer he got, the louder the talking became, and it didn't take a genius to figure out where the speaker was as he drew closer.

The voice sounded female, and she was under the overpass.

With his mural.

It wasn't all that uncommon for patrons to stop by and admire the masterpiece-turned-crime scene, but Gamzee was just invested enough at this point that he decided to peak in and see who was there. Ever so casually, he ducked his head in to see, and was a bit taken back by what he was greeted with; four highbloods sitting around a fifth. Unlike the large trolls with indigo eyes, these five were undoubtedly members of his blood color; their faces were painted, just like his, and there eyes shone purple for the world to see.

Gamzee only knew this last part because now all five sets of eyes were trained on him.

"Who the fuck are you?" the troll in the middle spoke, and Gamzee recognized that the voice he'd heard must have come from her. "Haven't seen a motherfucker like you around the Purple Palace."

At a loss for words, the Capricorn blinked stupidly and tried to think of what he should do next. These highbloods were much larger than the ones he'd killed protecting Karkat, and he doubted he'd be able to take all of them in a fight.

If he was going to get out of this, he'd have to play this off somehow.

"Shit, I just up and got myself to admiring this bitching paint job," he said, casually glancing over to the mural.

"Well you've seen it. Leave, this doesn't concern some no name grunt."

Gamzee gave a slight nod and backed out of the overpass, happy for the chance to slip back out of this unintended situation. Once he was out, he continued to watch for any sign of them coming after him. It appeared that they'd mistaken him for some sort of ally, though, and now that he was gone he no longer mattered to them. Despite that, the whole situation made him very nervous and he could feel his prior calm from playing his guitar melting away. Who were these highbloods? What did they want with his mural? Would they come after Karkat like the last ones had?

Shit.

Motherfucking shit.

The tall troll swallowed hard before deciding to leave the park completely; it didn't feel safe with those strange highbloods there. On top of that, though he knew it was a bit silly, he really wanted to see Karkat and make sure he was okay.

His bro was going to have to be real careful with these motherfuckers about.

"Game fucking over. You lose, I win, now get your lazy human ass up and get more popcorn," Karkat demanded, crossing his arms triumphantly as the screen boasted player one's victory.

"Oh man, I knew I shouldn't have picked Ashrah," John whined but set his controller down anyway. "Okay Karkat, I'll go get the popcorn... The buttery kind or the caramel kind?"

"How about, 'the same fucking popcorn I've been eating since you forced me to play this wiggler's game with you'?"

"Geez, I never knew you had such a sweet tooth."

"Shut up, caramel corn is just better than eating little clusters of the artery clogging filth you seem to prefer."

"What? No way! Don't besmirch the good name of Orville Redenbacher!"

"... You are such a fucking idiot. He makes my popcorn too Egbert!"

"... Oh hey, I guess he does!"

Karkat growled at the human's stupidity and used his own controller to advance the screen. He really wasn't hating this as much as he liked to pretend, and there was definitely some satisfaction to be had in handing John's ass to him time and time again. As if anyone could hope to best him in this kind of thing. Hell, he could probably even beat Strider if he really wanted to.

Not that he'd ever actually sit down and do something as civil as play a video game with that douchebag.

But still, he totally could.

The nubby horned troll moved over the different characters, trying to decide which one he'd use to beat John down this time. There was a four armed muscular woman, she looked pretty strong he guessed.

This was turning out to be a fairly relaxed, easy day for the Cancer; none of his professors were assigning any homework lately, Gamzee was keeping himself entertained somewhere with his guitar, and he'd spent the last hour playing mindless video games and stuffing his face with that delicious caramel corn.

A troll could get used to this.

The door to the apartment-stem opened, drawing Karkat's attention away from the screen and to the two females who seemed to be spending a lot more time together lately. Each was carrying a decently sized armful of books, and upon seeing him they both shared the same, surprised look.

"... What?"

"Well, I suppose how you spend your own time is entirely your business," Rose said. "But aren't you nervous about your finals?"

"... My final what?"

Kanaya and Rose exchanged a glance that told Karkat he'd just asked a stupid question. The Cancer scowled, turning away from them to look back at the television screen.

"Whatever, don't tell me. I don't care," he said defensively; these flighty broads weren't going to be getting the best of him today.

"Your final exams," Rose answered, despite his willingness to drop the matter. "Often times they count for a very large part of your final grade."

Whoa, wait what?

That caught his attention.

"They... they do?" Karkat asked, whirling back around to face them. "Fuck, why didn't any of my professors tell me we had an exam?"

"They never mentioned anything about finals at the end of the year?"

"... Well why the fuck are they calling it 'finals' and and not just 'exams' or 'tests'? That's bullshit! How am I supposed to even know what to study?"

"Normally they expect you to answer any range of questions on everything you have learned this semester."

Karkat's jaw dropped open at this revelation; how the hell was he supposed to remember every fucking thing he had learned this semester? For all four of his classes? By next week? Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

"I've got the caramel corn," John said chipperly, sitting back down in front of the television. "Ready for the next round."

"Why the hell are we playing video games when there's all these huge ridiculous tests? Fuck you Egbert. I'm locking myself in my respiteblock, none of you shitstains bother me."

"Aw, come on Karkat. One more game?"

"Fuck off!"

"... John, shouldn't you be studying too?" Rose asked with a smirk.

"Uh..."

Karkat absconded as soon as the attention was drawn away from him; he didn't have time to stick around and listen to this idiot fest. There were four tests to study for, apparently, and a week to relearn everything.

He'd have to get started right away.

"What is the most reactive element of the alkali metals?"

"Francium."

"The least reactive?"

"Lithium."

"Hydrogen hydroxide or Dihydrogen monoxide is more commonly known as...?"

"Water."

The alarm on Rose's cell phone went off, signaling that it was time for another tea break. She reached over and switched the alarm back off, smiling brightly at the troll sitting next to her.

"Well, it seems it's that time again," she said, getting up and heading over to the teapot on her dresser. "One lump or two?"

"Just one, please," Kanaya answered, folding her hand neatly across her lap.

Rose poured fresh cups both for herself and the glowing troll, stirring in one lump for Kanaya and two for herself. The Virgo had been helping her study since they'd gotten back home, and every half hour they stopped for these little breaks. She believe she was probably fairly prepared for her exams, but it never hurt to be especially prudent about these sort of things.

"The amount of knowledge you have attained in these past few months is astounding," Kanaya praised, accepting her cup of tea as it was offered. "I must say, I'm not entirely sure what most of these things I'm quizzing you on even are."

"Most of it's superfluous information, to be honest," Rose confessed as she resumed her seat on the bed. "No amount of knowledge can truly be considered 'a waste' I guess."

"I couldn't agree more."

"... So... how are you going to tell him?"

Kanaya hesitated at the question, taking a long sip from her cup before responding.

"If I might be candid... I'm not quite sure. He's in so much danger, you've seen how many of those trolls are roaming the city. Karkat doesn't suspect a thing either, we were all fooled by the same eye trick we've been using to disguise him."

"Well, they haven't exactly all been running around with Faygo bottles and face paint. It's an understandable oversight."

"Yes, yes, but still," the glowing troll said with a sigh, resting her forehead against the heel of her palm. "I just... I feel like I should have figured this out sooner. I had been to the Purple Palace before, I knew what those kinds of trolls looked like... why did I need this absolute, without a doubt confirmation?"

"... Kanaya."

"It's because I'm a coward. I didn't want it to be real, I didn't want Karkat to be in as much danger as he is, and now I'm afraid I've exacerbated the situation."

"Kanaya."

"For all we know, he could walk outside and be culled tomorrow. We have no idea how organized they are, or even how many of them have infiltrated the city at this point. The whole purpose in my returning was to protect him, and now I-"

"Kanaya," Rose said a little more firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "... What would you have done if you had known? You certainly can't run about slaughtering all of these highbloods in broad daylight. And what of the innocent ones? Surely there are some trolls here like Gamzee, who have disregarded the hemospectrum and are guilty of nothing more than possessing the wrong blood color."

The Virgo looked down at her hands, and though she appeared to be taking in what Rose was saying, she seemed to be struggling with it. The Seer could understand; no matter what, there was still that feeling that she should be able to do even more somehow.

"Karkat is very lucky to have a friend like you," she reaffirmed, offering a soft smile. "Everything is going to be alright, you'll see."

"... Is there any chance you know that for certain?"

"Well... I've got a pretty good hunch. Then again, my conclusion might be a little biased."

"Oh? And why is that?" Kanaya looked back up to meet her gaze.

"Because," Rose went on. "I know that, no matter what, we're going to be there for him... and for you. If those highbloods think they're going to run in here and destroy the happiness we've built, then they've got another thing coming."