Karkat waited a few moments after Sollux had left before exiting the classroom himself. It didn't look like the teacher needed anything from his classroom and as he locked the door, he wondered why he gave a shit and just shut it without double checking. And this he regretted.

The hairs at the back of his neck stood on end as he kept his grip tight on the door knob. He considered going after Sollux to the principal's office, but he shook his head. He was safe.

Shoving the keys in his pocket, Karkat flipped the hood of his sweater over his head. As he walked down the hall, he purposefully walked with a loud noise with each step, so his own footfalls would echo off the walls as his comfort, so he would feel less alone. So he could hear if it echoed off of somebody else.

Once out in the parking lot, he felt less trapped by the school's buildings, but the open space made him feel more exposed. There was only one car out in the parking lot, sitting by itself. No trolls loitering on the campus.

He approached it, examining the design as he did. It was silver with two black stripes running from the hood, over the top, and to the tail, thick and solid. The tail lights came in sets of threes with metal bars in between. The interior seemed to be custom designed to fit a dual theme, the driver's side was completely red while the passenger's side was similarly blue. It was a very nice Musclebeast. Seeing it was comforting for some reason, if only slightly. It was definitely Sollux's car.

Karkat flipped through the keys, wondering honestly which one was supposed to open the door. He couldn't stand there for very long, as one of the other teachers might ask him what he was doing if they saw him.

"Crap," he cursed, imagining the series of events that would unfold if he was seen. He didn't want to explain anymore. He was done with that shit for the day.

He tested the keys, trying to open the door with whichever one did the job, his nerves starting to run down as he became frustrated. The thought of getting caught, of having to explain, having to even talk twisted his stomach in a sick knot as he anxiously tried to work faster. If Karkat was anything, he was a terrible liar. He didn't want to talk. Why couldn't the world just leave him alone? If he wanted to hide, he'd have to work faster. He wasn't getting anything done.

In his haste, Karkat dropped the keys and cursed a string of coarse language under his breath. He awkwardly got to his knees to pick them up, when a pincer-like grip took hold of his shoulder.

"FUCK!" he screamed, breaking out of the grip by smashing an arm into it as he twisted around. At that moment, the wriggler bit him viciously at having been submit to extreme stress and he had to shut his eyes at the intense pain.

"Karkat? Karkat, are you okay? Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare the shit out of you. Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck…" Sollux cursed, not know what to do as Karkat curled inward, gasping for breath. "Just- just try to calm down. It's just me."

"I know that now," Karkat bit back in between his labored breaths, "fuckass," he added.

Sollux let out a sigh, relieved to hear him still cursing. Although, another thought struck him that he would curse until his dying breath… Shaking the thought from his think pan, he snapped his fingers, unlocking the car and opening it immediately afterwards. He had to make sure the door didn't hit either him or Karkat.

He knelt down, reaching over to pick up Karkat, but his hands paused before making contact, remembering how the other had wretched his shoulder from his grip for the second time that day. He didn't want to hurt him anymore. He just wanted to help and grabbing him roughly seemed like the worst option.

"Karkat, I'm going to pick you up, is that okay?" he asked. For a moment, he wondered if Karkat heard him, then he saw the hood twitch in a motion that suggested consent.

With that, Sollux gingerly picked him up, careful not to jostle him as he hooked an arm under his knees and another around his torso so he was supported against his shoulder. Beneath his baggy sweater, he was thin, very light weighted, and surprisingly easy to carry.

"Hey look, you're an empress to be," Sollux joked, trying not to worry for the umpteenth time that day.

"S-shut up."

"I'll even buckle you in," Sollux offered, doing so after he had placed him in the passenger's seat.

"Fine. Thanks, I guess," Karkat muttered.

"You're welcome." Sollux tried to give him a small smile and succeeded. He closed the door and picked up his keys before crossing to the other side and entering the red driver's seat.

"You have no fuel," Karkat commented. "How are we supposed to leave?"

"Simple, simple," was his reply. He stuck the key in the ignition after buckling himself in. "I don't need any fuel. I've been meaning to take out that gauge for a while, but then I always think again and consider the gaping hole that would be in its place… In any case, all I do," he stuck the key in the ignition, "is turn on the car," he twisted the key, releasing the locked shift, "and set it in neutral," he shifted the stick into neutral, "and control it like that."

He stretched out his left hand to take control of the wheels when Karkat's hand shot out and grabbed Sollux's right hand, still placed on the stick shift, while stubbornly looking out the window with his hood over his head, hiding his face. Without looking, he could feel Karkat's death-like vice grip with his hand. Upon closer examination, he could see the other's knuckles shone through the skin covering it, which stretched tightly across, thin, to the lightest of greys.

"Don't… drive too fast."

Sollux gave a reassuring tilt of his lips, even though Karkat couldn't see it, and faced forward while simultaneously reaching with his psionic powers. "Don't worry. I got this."

He was unused to "driving" with one hand and he didn't have the courage to ask Karkat to let go of his hand, but it wasn't his first time doing so. He was a genius. Of course it was going to be easy, just not as easy as it was when he was alone. As he set the car in motion, he felt Karkat squeeze harder, impossible as it seemed, and it took a little more focus to safely guide them onto the highway. It seemed Karkat wasn't used to being in a car.

Once they were on the straightaway to his hive, Sollux was able to relax. There was no one else to potentially crash into them, so even Karkat's luck couldn't destroy them at the moment.

"Karkat."

The troll in question grunted in reply.

"Could you turn on the radio for me?" he requested.

"Why?"

"I'm a little busy," Sollux stated, "and I think it would be nice." He could visualize Karkat turning over his request in his think pan, trying to find some kind of argument or insult, but it seemed that it wasn't worth it this time.

Karkat reached over to flick the "on" switch to the radio, leaving Sollux's hand on the shift as he did so. Sollux frowned when the warmth left his hand. After Karkat turned on the radio, he awkwardly retracted his arm, but was stopped when Sollux removed his hand from the shift and gently took his wrist, guiding it back to its former position on top of his on the shift again. Karkat's eyes widened for a second before he turned back to glare out of the window. Sollux pretended not to notice as he began to hum along to a familiar tune.

The car ride felt significantly shorter when he had company, though it seemed that Karkat wasn't in agreement. Every now and then, as they neared his hive, Karkat's hand would loosen as if he was about to doze off, but he'd abruptly snap back, refusing to fall asleep. This worried Sollux slightly, even though he considered he shouldn't give a shit, but of course this was his favorite student.

"You can sleep if you want," he suggested. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

"I'm not tired," Karkat stated.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Fuck! Okay? I'm not any more tired than I usually fuck my life up to make me. I'm always tired, like I was born to lead sleep deprived fucking troll zombies to overthrow and rule Alternia in their half-awake, half-asleep daze. I'm here to destroy the organized blood-caste system with my crap-shit, lethargic, lackadaisical decisions riddled with mistakes caused by my lousy lack of logic."

"And that means you're tired. Right?"

Karkat sighed. "Yeah. I'm tired. Been tired ever since I found out about Gamzee's flipside. Especially ever since I was gifted with the greatest present that could ever ruin my sleeping habits."

There was a silent pause and Karkat sighed again.

"Not that I blame it though."

"You should sleep," Sollux said quietly.

"I will," Karkat promised, "once we get there. I'm tired."

Thank you guys. I appreciate it. Getting responses, any kind of (random) responses encourage me to continue with the story. I apologize, but a few of the next chapters will be somewhat filler-ish. I'll add some fluff to make it easier to grin and bear.