Alright, this one-shot might seem a little unfocused and strange, but it was something I wrote out in what could only be called a state of inspiration. I wanted to get it out there because it was an interesting idea for me. I'll explain it if you want afterward.

It was a normal day at school and it irritated Karkat to no end.

The halfa kept pace with everyone else in the hallway, his eyes kept to the floor as he forced himself not to growl at someone bumping into him. He'd been barely keeping up with his schoolwork, and his teachers were quick to remind of it when he fell behind, so he hadn't been in a good mood all morning. He'd been hoping for a ghost attack, something that made him feel dirty inside.

"Fenton!"

Karkat grit his teeth at the sound of Dash Baxter's voice, looking over to see the freshman holding Danny up against a locker. Typical. You'd think after the first couple of times he'd learn.

Karkat grit his teeth at the sound of Dash Baxter's voice, looking over to see the freshman holding Danny up against a locker again. Typical. You'd think after the first couple of times he'd learn. At least it was fun scaring the moron when he did this.

"I don't know how good you think you are at tutoring, but I definitely do!" Dash leaned into Danny's face, glaring into his victim's uninterested gaze. Karkat didn't know why the football player bothered anymore. Danny had been disinterested since day one. "You said you were good at astronomy, but I got a D on my last test. What gives?!"

"I tried to give you as much help as I could, Dash, but I can't work miracles. Ask Jazz if you want something better." The halfa snorted at Danny's retort. At least he was done trying to get into Dash's clique. "If you bothered to listen to me while I was talking to you, then maybe you would've gotten a B- or something."

Of course the overactive pituitary case took offense to that, quick to raise a fist. Karkat swiftly got behind Baxter, grabbing at the offending arm with a tight grip.

"Now I know I'm not seeing you try and pull this shit again, Baxter. I'm pretty sure I warned you about this last time you cornered my brother against a locker." Karkat took a little bit of pleasure seeing the freshman freeze up, chills going up the boy's spine at the sound of his voice. "I don't like it when someone tries to break a deal with me. Are you breaking up ours?"

"Uh, no! Of course I'm not doing that!" Dash let go of Danny, the raven haired boy dropping to his feet at the action. The football player took his arm out of Karkat's grip, walking backwards as he pointed finger guns at the two. "I was just talking with him about my grades! I hear Kwan calling me, so I'm gonna just..."

Dash turned and ran like a coward, Karkat rolling his eyes at the action. With that avenue of entertainment over with, he looked over Danny quickly. "He didn't get you too bad this time, right? Locker's can cut ya pretty bad if you hit them wrong."

"I'm fine. I could've handled him if you gave me a chance too, though." Danny wasn't ungrateful, Karkat knew that much. But that didn't mean he wasn't fourteen still. "I know puberty hit him like a truck, but it isn't like he got any smarter since middle school."

"Yeah, well, that takes the joy out of scaring the shit out of him. Maybe bulk up a little first before deciding to take him on, ok?" Karkat saw the familiar shapes of Manson and Foley coming in from the distance. "Your friends are here. Make sure Sam doesn't try to release another gorilla again."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

Karkat shrugged at Danny's question, his little brother just rolling his eyes before going to his friends. He could hear them exchange greetings as he turned around, quickly getting into their regular chatter.

"...You're brother is kind of an ass, but he does have a point." The halfa overheard Sam say. "I'm surprised you don't want to be more like him."

"I can't, remember?" Danny scoffed. "He's adopted. Kind of hard to turn out like him if we aren't related."

Karkat forced down a scowl as he moved down the hallway.

"I never like it when he says that. Seriously, did we have to tell him that shit a few years back?" Karkat vented to Jazz, laying down on his bed with arms waving above him erratically. "I know he doesn't mean anything by it, but god!"

"Danny did just get out of middle school, so you can't really blame him for his immaturity. You remember how you were when you were thirteen?" Jazz shivered, taking a break from writing her notes. She always did this during their talks. "I'm sure he'll stop that soon enough. Like you said, he doesn't mean anything negative about it."

"Still. Little jerk can be at least grateful he doesn't go home with a black eye from Baxter." Karkat let it go, putting his arms behind his head. "Maybe I should keep that star map rather than give it to him if he's going to act like that."

"Oh, now that's just cruel." Jazz bopped him on the head with her notepad, laughing softly. The halfa grumbled, rubbing his head as she went over another question. "Is there anything interesting going on in your ghost life? You haven't talked about that for a few days."

"There isn't much to tell. Things have been quiet lately, which is good." Karkat still felt the itch to fight something in the back of his brain, but was otherwise fine. Peace was a good thing. At least, it certainly should be. "I have been keeping an eye on things in the Ghost Zone, though. Trying to build some more relationships."

"Oh, like with Terezi and Nepeta?" Jazz's interest spiked then, something that was unusual. She never usually liked talking about ghost stuff, even after they were proven to be real by their parents. "Anything you're willing to say about them?"

Karkat thought it over, remembering a recent conversation he had with one of them.

"I really don't get why you stay in that house anymore sometimes."

Karkat blinked, Terezi's observation making him pause before he pulled out a book from her mom's library. He gave her a raised eyebrow as he brought it to the table stacked with other books he needed to study. "Mind explaining what you're talking about there, Pyrope?"

"I just don't understand. Don't you feel unsafe living with those two ghost hunters?" Terezi ran her hands over her book, reading the braille slowly. Her eyes did move to him, despite the fact they couldn't see him. "I get that they're your parents and all, but I don't think I've ever heard any difference to their rants about us. They're still dead set on ripping us apart for some reason."

"It's not like they can change overnight, Terezi. They need time to get used to ghosts first before they can start thinking differently." Karkat felt the usual discomfort when this situation was brought up. He understood their concern, but his friends didn't have to worry. "They've been putting all of their time into their research. It's only a matter of time."

"It's been months, Karkles. They've spent most of that time trying to make more weapons to kill us. I'm pretty sure I heard your dad talk about how if we got shot with one of their inventions that 'if they're screaming, it's working," Terezi's sincerity made him feel sick. She wasn't wrong, though. Jack had been proud of that invention, even if the description horrified him to no end. "I know you're counting on them loving you still, but I can't help but think..."

"I'll figure it out. They're not bad people, I swear." Karkat believed that, even when they shot at him. "Jack and Maddie... They'll see that things aren't what they think. I just have to keep trying, right?"

Terezi didn't look like she believed him and that hurt.

"...Terezi's concerned about Madd- mom and dad's behavior around ghosts, but I'm doing my best to reassure her. It's not like they can hold onto those thoughts forever."

"I'm sure you're right. Maybe we should talk about someone else. How's Vriska doing?"

"You know," Vriska threw an ice blast at Karkat, keeping her voice low as they sparred in front of an audience. She fed off of their excitement and fear, their emotions nourishing her bit by bit. "You've been accepting my offers to fight a lot more lately. Starting to get a little antsy, Phantom?"

"I wouldn't say that. Keeping you fed keeps you out of my hair, so why not let you indulge yourself a little more?" Karkat dodged the ice blast easily, sending a wave of ectoplasm with a glowing sickle. He felt himself breathe easier, a rare thing since he felt so wound up these past few days. "Getting to punch you in the face is always a rewarding activity, so I try to take any chance that I can get."

"Oh, you flatter me. Wanting to spend so much time trying to pin me down." Vriska played a few notes on her guitar, having the waves of sound crash into him. He got back up again quick enough so he could nearly kick her in the head. "Though I don't think that's right. It isn't like you don't have other ghosts to do this with too."

Karkat growled. He whipped a sickle on a chain out, capturing her and throwing her into the air. He hit her with a weak blast, keeping his power levels down since they weren't actually trying to kill each other. The familiar chill of an ice blast was welcome as it missed him yet again.

"Do you always have to act annoying when we do this? I'm doing a favor for you, so maybe keep it to standard battle banter." Karkat sent a small wave of fire, melting some blasts away. He got close, hitting her with the butt end of a sickle before dodging a swing of her guitar. "I'd be a little more thankful in the long run."

"Are you sure you're doing me the favor here? It seems like I'm saving you from boredom from your everyday life." Vriska tilted her head, stopping her assault for a few seconds. "Dare I say, I'm starting to think you're getting tired of being human."

Karkat may have reacted to that too harshly, tackling her to the ground. The two were able to avoid hitting it too hard, but Vriska did grunt in pain, Karkat letting out a groan too. The girl laughed as he pulled out the thermos, feeling done with sparring for today.

"If you want to stop pretending to be normal for a bit," Vriska said, smiling before she was sucked into the device. "You know where to find me."

The halfa wasn't sure how to feel about that statement.

"...Serket has been annoying, as per usual, but her reform program is working fine. Getting her into public fights keeps her fed, so sparring will probably keep on happening until we find something better."

"Good, good." Jazz ticked off something from her list, hesitating for a brief second. "And... And what about Vlad?"

"Plasmius? Why do you want to know about him?" Karkat raised an eyebrow, giving his sister a brief look. "What else can I say about him? He's a fucking creep."

"You'll have to submit to me someday, child! You know I'm the only one that can understand you!"

"Shove it up your ass, Plasmius!" Karkat threw a few blasts to the other halfa, growling as the old man continued to persist. God, you think someone would learn to take a hint. "Maybe if you'd stop trying to fuck my mom, I'd reconsider, but you can promplty fuck off until then."

"Not until your father pays for what he did to me. Maddie's love is wasted on him and I'm not resting until it's focused on someone who deserves it." Vlad noted the boy disappearing into the walls of the warehouse once again, forcing him to destroy them further. "You really need to let those feelings for him go, Karkat. He's just an idiot who's already gotten you killed."

Karkat rolled his eyes, realizing he was going on this tangent again. God, the old man could be such an incel sometimes. "I think we both know I'm incapable of doing that. Jesus, you really need to let go! How long have you been holding onto this grudge again? Twenty something years?"

Vlad destroyed a wall, almost nicking Karkat as it crumbled. The younger halfa took the chance to cut the lights as the dust settled, limiting Vlad's field of view.

"How long isn't what matters. Once you reach my age, you'll understand." Plasma was charged and then let go in a wide range, actually hitting Karkat this time. Vlad took the time to smirk, floating over to the boy's hurt visage. "If you live that long, that is. You really need to let go of some human attachments someday, otherwise they'll end up getting you killed."

Karkat rolled his eyes. He could hear the Fenton RV coming from the horizon and knew this fight would be over soon. He lurched forward, surprising Vlad as he slashed at the man's stomach.

Criticizing him for his human attachments. Then what did he call his obsession with Maddie?

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised about that." Jazz sighed. The situation with the older halfa was apparently just getting worse and worse. At least Karkat seemed equipped to deal with it. "How about something lighter. I've heard a few things on the grapevine about a romance going on..."

Thoughts of pink scales, a siren song, and some hushed words with a certain ghost flitted through his mind, making Karkat's face feel hot. He shook his head, sitting up and giving her a weird look.

"What's up with all of these questions? It's nice talking about it with you, but I know you don't like it." Karkat narrowed his eyes as her eyes darted around the room. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"I'm just... You've been spending a lot of time in..." Jazz struggled like that for a few moments before forcing herself to stop. She sighed, running a hand down her face before giving him a weak smile. "I'm making sure everything is going alright. I feel like you're drawing yourself away from people lately."

Karkat frowned, not entirely sure what that meant. She looked like she wanted to ask one more thing, looking down at the ground with a wilting smile.

"Are-are you still happy here? Do you still feel safe around our parents?" Jazz asked. The serious look on her face made him pause before he said anything. The halfa was silent at her inquiry, causing her to slump forward. "Nevermind. Sorry to throw that at you. I've just been feeling really stressed lately. I need to get back to my homework anyway."

Karkat felt like he should've said something then, but he couldn't think of anything meaningful. As Jazz walked out the door, he felt like anything would've been good to say after all.

He was getting stressed too. Maybe he should take a break...

"You end up here a lot these days."

"Huh?" Karkat blinked, his tired gaze looking over at Kanaya. She was working on one of Terezi's plushies, fixing them up from another one of the girl's 'trials.' "What did you say?"

"You've been showing up here more often. I'm sorry, it was just an observation." Kanaya patted him on the head, an apology for waking him up. "It's just something I've noticed. Is there any reason why you keep coming here?"

Karkat didn't answer for a few seconds, looking over the room they were in. He could see Aradia flying about, playing with her undead pets as they moved around the room. Sollux was arguing with Eridan as he waved the boy's phone around, most likely to rid it of another virus. Nepeta and Feferi were talking happily about a book they'd taken from the human world, Terezi and Vriska fighting in the background.

Karkat felt at peace, especially as Feferi looked over and gave him a small smile. Something in him uncoiled after days of it being wound up.

"It's the only place where I feel like I can relax."

Yeah, like I said, it's a bit disjointed. I'll explain more in the comments, though points if you guys can guess what it is.