Sollux stared at the game going on on the screen, his fingers moving expertly with the game, insanely good on expert mode, and yet his head was barely in it. For reasons he wasn't sure of, his body just remembered how to do it, as well as his subconscious, no matter how fried his brain was. He'd been at it for three days, when he wasn't sleeping, and he had yet to slip up. He guessed it helped that Karkat had been completely ignoring him all that time.

Really, Karkat had been ignoring everyone. He hadn't touched his phone, much less looked at it. Mainly he just slept. He hurt so much that that's all he really could do, besides change his bandages, eat, and not talk to Sollux. He hadn't even bothered to get dressed. Sollux didn't care if he walked around in boxers, so that's exactly what he did.

Now, though, he actually felt better for once, and settled quietly on the couch with a bowl of potato chips, watching Sollux play.

"You're good." He remarked, surprised at Sollux's skills. He had never expected it with the way he acted around computers, which was really just frustrated.

Sollux didn't look at him. "I didn't think you were ever going to talk to me again."

"I'm actually feeling better today. Things have been rough lately."

"Is it like that a lot for you?"

"More than I'd like sometimes."

"That's more exciting than my life. I just sit here all the time."

"What's stopping you from changing that?"

Sollux paused his game and looked back at Karkat. "Have you soon the medication regimen they force on me? They would never let me out alone."

Karkat nodded. "Right. I dunno, if you really wanted to get out of the house, I'd take you I guess."

"Really?" Sollux cocked his head. "But I thought you didn't like me."

Karkat shrugged. "I don't dislike you. You. . .just caught me at a bad time kid. I'm chill most of the time, seriously."

Solluxed nodded. "So you'd really do that for me?"

"As long as you don't care where we go, and you just stay chill."

"I can do that!" Exclaimed Sollux happily.

Karkat smirked. "Alright." He looked down at his boxers. "Gotta put some clothes on first though, and shower or something. We can go when I'm done."

Sollux smiled and then went back to his game.

o0o0o0o0

The stadium for the fights was pretty empty at this time of night. It didn't really matter much for Karkat, in fact it was probably better with Sollux along. He just wanted to prove his point, that he wasn't take down so easily He'd chosen this bright red v-neck t-shirt over his tank top today, and wore his jacket to cover the bruises he could. It didn't hide the fading bruises on his face from Terezi, but he had a tough sounding excuse for those at least.

Sollux looked around in awe at the huge concrete space, eyeing the cage in the middle, and the people walking around, finding seats. Karkat noticed him staring, and dragged him to a couple of very safe seats. He didn't particularly want Sollux accidentally pissing someone off in this crowd. That would be a total pain, and he was slightly afraid Sollux might fry someone with his random spark fits.

Karkat hoped to stay inconspicuous and not have to deal with anyone, but obviously Nitram had a different idea. He swept the isles on newly polished metal legs, Aradia following him. Karkat pulled his black beanie further down over his bleached hair, hoping they wouldn't notice him.

"So you weren't scared away afterall, Vantas." Said Tavros, standing next to his seat. "Back for more?"

Karkat looked up at him, a bruise under one of his eyes, his lip slightly swollen on one side. "Do I look masochistic to you?"

"A little bit." Replied Tavros. "You'd have to be to keep a kismesis like yours. . .or you're just really desperate."

"You don't know anything about me, Nitram." Countered Karkat flatly.

"Fair enough. Who's your friend?" He motioned to Sollux, who was staring blankly at them.

"Oh, this is my roommate, Sollux Captor."

Tavros said something back, but Sollux didn't hear it. He wasn't feeling well all of the sudden. The two trolls looked familiar, though he didn't think he'd met them before. The first troll. . .Tavros. . .blood everywhere. . .chainsaw. . .wheelchair. . .He couldn't sort out the images very well. They were worse than what he'd gotten when he'd met Karkat, but not nearly as bad as what he got from Aradia. Her body flickered. Alive, dead, robotic explosion, love, resurrection, blindness, time, death, kill, must hurt, mind control, sparks, tears, devastation, don't eat the mind honey under any circumstances . . .suddenly everything snapped back into place. Mind honey? He'd never even heard of mind honey. He didn't know this girl named. . .

"Aradia Megido!" He shouted out suddenly, before clapping his hands over his mouth, realizing he'd messed up again.

Karkat, Aradia, and Tavros, stopped their conversation to stare at him.

"How do you know my name?" Asked Aradia.

Sollux looked at Karkat desperately.

"I told him about you." Blurted out Karkat, not sure if it was smart to come to his aid. "You're had to miss with your horns."

"They're impressive." Muttered Sollux, sending a look of silent thanks to Karkat.

Aradia scoffed. "Guess I should be flattered or something, but I'm almost disturbed that you were talking about me, Vantas. Wont it make your kismesis jealous, pretty boy?"

Karkat rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They talked for awhile longer until Tavros and Aradia finally moved on. Once they were out of earshot, Karkat turned Sollux.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing." Said Sollux, looking at his hands. "It was nothing at all."

The fight started, and Sollux couldn't find himself gleaning any entertainment value from it, though he pretended, as was his specialty, in order to make Karkat think his last touch-up wasn't falling apart as they sat. He was scared. Did they notice? Would they report him? No, it wasn't enough to warrant that. He couldn't stop thinking. He didn't want to think. He wasn't supposed to be thinking this way. Not again.

By the time the fights were over, Sollux was shaking. He felt kinda sick, and he couldn't stop thinking about Aradia. This was going to drive him insane. He needed to see her again. He. . .he needed to tell her. He needed her to remember, to remember everything with him, and he wasn't sure why it was so important, but it was and he couldn't ignore it.

"Alright, show's over. Let's go." Announced Karkat, standing.

Sollux stood as well. "Umm. . .I actually need to go to the bathroom."

Karkat sighed. "Fine. It's down there, by the stage, to the left." He pointed to one of the halls branching off from the platform.

Sollux nodded. "Okay. . .I'll meet you out front."

Karkat shrugged. "Okay."

Sollux waited until he was well up the stairs before running down to the platform. He had no intention of finding the bathroom. He needed to find Aradia. He needed to talk to her. It was important. He couldn't say why it was so important, but the pounding in his chest said it was, and he wasn't about to argue.

"Aradia!" He called, seeing her climb one of the sets of stairs.

Aradia stopped, and turned around, watching as Sollux ran up to her frantically. "What the fuck do you want?"

Sollux reached her, panting. "We, we know eeach other. You were exploring, and then you were dead because I think I killed you, and you became all white, and red, and a frog, and you were a robot, and there were so many of you, but you exploded, and then you were alive again and. . ."

"Listen kid," said Aradia in irritation, "I don't have time for this nonsensical shit." She took the front of his sweater in her fist. "What kind of joke are you pulling?"

Sollux stared at her in surprise. "It's not a joke. . .we used to be. . ."

That's when he did something stupid.

He took her face in his hands, and kissed her, pressing his lips against hers, remembering, until Aradia punched him in the gut, and nearly sent him tumbling down the stairs.

"What the hell?" Shouted Aradia in disgust. "Stay away from me, pervert." She slipped her hair over her shoulder and walked away.

Sollux stared after her. What was he thinking? What possessed him to think that it wouldn't make things worse? He got on his feet again, and ran to rejoin Karkat.

o0o0o0o0

"What was that?" Asked Tavros as Aradia made it up the stairs.

"Vantas's friend is nuts." Said Aradia. "He kissed me, and he was talking all this nonsense."

"Nonsense?"

"Yeah. Weird shit, like when Vriska needed her third touch-up. Something about killing me. He just made me. . .really uncomfortable. I don't know."

"You think we need to report him?"

"Yeah. I think so. I mean, either he really needs to be reported, or he's got a lot of nerve and he's a good actor, but honestly he seemed completely serious."

"Alright. Sollux Captor. He looked kinda out of it. I bet the police already know him well."

o0o0o0o0

When Sollux returned home, he didn't say anything. He went straight to his room and locked himself in, sitting on the floor, shaking, holding his head which screamed with pain and confusion as his vision flashed. He tried to pull himself together, but the paintings and chalk drawings on the walls still danced in a cacophony of fragmented memory. Not again. Not another touch-up. Not another muddy layer placed on his mind to hold back the memories, which wanted so desperately to come out. He couldn't take this anymore.