All of Homestuck and it's characters belong to Andrew Hussie.
"Karkat!" the voice of a little girl echoed through the underbrush, "Karkat? Where'd you go?"
A little boy wandered his way beneath the canopy of trees, feet crunching the dying leaves in the direction he was treading. His auburn hair shined brightly in the autumn sunlight as he searched for the child the voice belonged to, scanning his surroundings for any possible sign of her.
"Terezi? I'm over here," the little boy shouted aimlessly, trying to locate which way her voice was radiating from. He meandered further into the forest, aimlessly walking in circles, searching for any sign of her.
"Karkat? I can't hear you. Where are you?" she hollered back. Her voice seemed as though it was drifting further and further away, almost blending in to the rustling of the wind and the chirping of the birds.
Now he was running in a frantic search for his companion. He ran mindlessly through the woods, dodging branches and stomping through mud puddles, not caring that his sneakers were becoming water logged and grimy.
"Terezi? Terezi?" he yelled, eyes taking in the overgrown landscape encircling him. He continued running as fast as his short legs could carry him until he reached a small clearing. He stopped and glanced at the area in which he was contained. He had no idea as to where he was. For miles around him stretched vast wilderness untouched by civilization, all except the grove where he was currently standing. The grass seemed as though it had been groomed and there wasn't a single weed to be seen. The trees made almost a perfect circle around him, making him feel as though he was in some sort of enchanted thicket. Then all of a sudden, a tiny voice called out from behind him, making him jump.
"Karkat?" her voice whispered.
He pivoted to face his friend, momentarily catching a glimpse of her raven hair and hazy eyes. However, once he had completely faced the area where she should have been standing, she had already vanished.
...
Karkat woke with fright as he felt himself get jostled awake by a pothole the bus had run over. As he collected himself from his abrupt awakening, he felt the throbbing sensation in his head re-surface. Damnit; he thought. After four hours of sleeping you'd think this fucking headache would've gone away. He sank back down into the plush and lumpy seat, recalling the dream he had been awaken from. It wasn't the first time he'd had that dream. It was one of the several reoccurring dreams he'd accumulated over the years. He hated it though, because it often stirred up aching feelings of nostalgia and longing. It always seemed to re-open that void feeling inside him that he so often tried to contain and it always reminded him of something that had been numbed long ago; the feeling of friendship. After all, the dream was about the only close friend he'd ever had.
He was five years old when he met her. The first time he ever saw her was on one of his usual trips to the forest just beyond his backyard. It was overcast that day and air smelled of late summer and he was at his usual spot, pitching a fort of sticks and leaves. Up until he noticed a pair of cherry red rain boots next to him.
He looked up to find a young girl, about his age, peering down at him. She had a quizzical look on her face, her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her teal raincoat.
Her curious expression slowly morphed into a grin as she asked inquiringly, "Whatcha building?"
"A fort," he grumbled.
"It doesn't look like a fort," she replied.
"Well it isn't done yet," he sneered.
"Can I help?" she asked.
"No," he retorted. This was his chunk of the forest and his alone. He found it first, so he figured she could go and find herself some other place to play.
"Why not?" she whined.
"Because it's my fort and I get to make the rules. So you don't get to help," he stated with annoyance. However, she still persisted:
"Please?" she begged.
"No."
"Please?"
"I said no."
He continued weaving in sticks as she glared at him. Karkat didn't really take much notice. He figured if he ignored her enough, she'd eventually get bored and leave. However, she didn't. Instead she stood there plotting, but not that Karkat was at all aware of that.
"How about we make deal?" she bartered, smirking at her brilliant plan.
"What kind of deal?" he asked, as he finally decided to stand up and face her. She was about his height, though he could've been a little taller. Her black hair was shoulder length and curled upwards at the ends and her skin was on the pale side. All in all, she had a fairly normal appearance, except for her eyes. Those were truly unique. The both eyes were an all-over shade of a hazy white, except for the faint outline of irises and pupils.
Karkat stared at her eyes; absolutely transfixed.
He finally asked, "What's up with your eyes?"
She giggled and replied, "I'm blind!"
Karkat stood there stunned. How could that be possible? She sure didn't act like she was blind. He always thought a blind person would be like one of those old people he saw at the senior center who walked with canes and toppled around; certainly not a child who seemed perfectly capable of identifying her surroundings and moving around in a coordinated fashion.
"So you're blind, huh? Well then how could you tell I was building a fort?" he asked skeptically, still uncertain of whether or not she was lying about her condition.
"I can smell and taste things and know what they are! Like, all the colors have a taste and a smell. Oh, and even objects have this sort of scent to them. Like the fort you're building, I don't really know how to say what it smells like, but it smells like a fort. It's not a very good fort though, so it kind of stinks!" she replied, laughing at her snide comment about his fort.
Karkat glared at her, his brows furrowing in anger. He let out an exasperated sigh and then stated, "Whatever. It's good enough for me. So what's this deal you wanna make?"
Terezi's laughter died down as proposed her deal, "We flip a coin. Heads, I can play with you; tails, I leave you alone."
Karkat stood and contemplated for a moment, thinking about whether or not he should agree. He figured though, that if he accepted there was the possibility she would leave him alone, so several moments later, he nodded his head in agreement.
"You have a coin?" he asked.
"Yeah I got one," she said as she pulled out shiny nickel from the pocket of her raincoat, handing it to Karkat. He retrieved it and flipped it.
Heads.
He looked over at Terezi, who stood staring at him expectantly, blank eyes watching him.
"Well?" she asked.
"I guess you can play with me then…" and muttered.
"Yay!" she shouted, jumping slightly, "Alright! Let's fix your fort!"
Pulling on his arm, she dragged him away towards another spot in the underbrush, "C'mon Karkat! I know a great place to find sticks!"
He trudged along behind her, until he stopped for a moment. Looking at her curiously, he asked, "How'd you know my name?"
"You told me! Remember?"
Actually, he couldn't remember, but he figured it must have just escaped him.
"Well you never told me your name."
She smiled and said, "Terezi. Terezi Pyrope."
He smiled back. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
...
Karkat ran his hand through his auburn hair, sighing deeply. It always made him feel quite melancholy to think about Terezi. He hadn't really thought of her much in recent years though since she did move away in third grade, but for a while she was all he could think about. During the time after she had just left, it was impossible not to think about her. He had lost one of the only people he ever cared about, and the worst part was she just left. No goodbye, no warning, she just moved away.
Third grade was an awful year for him. Right before Terezi had left he had suffered from a massive concussion after blacking out and falling down a flight of stairs. The result was a weeklong stay in the hospital. He didn't remember much of the incident, only that the whole time he was there he was heavily medicated. So heavily medicated in fact, his memory of the incident was like watery paint smearing together into one muddled mess; a complete blur of recallable events. Nothing of that week was coherent; all he knew of was the aftermath, which was that he had to take daily dosages of medication to keep the headaches down and the occasional doctor visits.
That reminded him, he probably should've brought along those meds, since they probably would've helped him nurse the migraine and whatever brain trauma he'd sustained. However, he was eighteen; he figured after nearly ten years since the concussion incident he wouldn't need to take them anymore. He then made a mental note to pick up some aspirin. That'll have to suffice for now, he thought.
His mind then wandered to the worst of the aftermath though, Terezi had moved away the week he was gone. That's what his mother told him after Terezi didn't show up at their usuall meeting place.
"She probably would've told you if you were home that week, who knows? Now stop crying about her and go and play with some of your other friends." she said, her voice cold with lack of empathy.
The problem was he didn't really have other friends. Sure he had some kids to play with at recess, but whenever anyone tried to get close to him or invite him over for a play date, he simply shrugged them off. Terezi was the only best friend for him, and no one was ever going to replace her. Every day he would turn down requests to go over to the other kids' houses since he knew after school time was for Terezi and Terezi only, since he didn't see her at school. She was home schooled because of her disability, so the only time Karkat ever really saw her were those few hours after school. But that was enough for him; she was with his best friend in the entire world and those few hours were always enough for him.
That's why it crushed him so much to learn that he'd never see her again. For nearly a whole year after her move, he would still go outside every day to their exact meeting spot with the fleeting hope that she'd be there to greet him with her usual, "Hey Karkat!" and lick on the cheek. That was her special way of greeting him. "You taste like cherries!" she'd always told him. He'd then wipe his cheek with his shirt sleeve and go off on a long speech about how licking people was gross, but secretly, he felt slightly endeared that she would do that, not that he'd ever admit it.
But with time, he learned that there was no hope she'd ever return so he gradually lessened his visits to the forest, and for good measure. The forest was now a place reserved for him and Terezi; not just him. Going alone just felt wrong. He needed to forget her, and as the years drove on Terezi Pyrope, as far as he was concerned, was just a figure from his past that sometimes lurked through his dreams.
With that last passing thought, he transitioned back into the light doze he had been interrupted from before, hoping to calm his headache. But also in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, he'd dream of Terezi. Maybe this time, he'd find her.
AN: Sorry this took so long. :( Writer's block. I'll try to get chapter 4 up soon! Thank you to all the wonderful reviews! It really means a lot to me, you have no idea.
