That Friday, Roxy decided to go to Jane's to talk in person about whatever had happened between her and Jake, and Rose decided to come along, because, wow, she hadn't actually hung out with John in a while, which was kind of a bummer. So Roxy and Rose went off to their best friends' house, and Jane was clearly distressed already when the Lalondes came through the door, so Rose thought it best to leave Roxy and Jane to their discussion. Roxy sat down on the couch next to Jane as Jane explained the entire situation; how Jake had tried having a conversation with her about their "stuff", as he'd put it, and directly asked Jane if she had feelings for him and she immediately panicked and said no.
"Wait, wait, wait," Roxy said, trying to wrap her head around the story Jane was telling. "I'm confused, why'd you tell him no?"
"I don't know, I panicked! And I know Dirk is going to ask Jake in some ostentatious fashion, and they'll end up going together, and I'll just be third-wheeling along the whole time because I haven't been able to make any other friends," Jane said. Roxy hated seeing Jane so down in the dumps. It was literally the worst. Roxy's phone went off and she turned off the volume, not bothering to see who was messaging her.
"Hang on. Gotta give Janey 100 percent BFFsies attention!"
Jane let out a sigh. "Thanks for listening, Rox. I just… don't really want to go to the dance with them if they're going to be, like, a date. But I also don't want to miss my last Homecoming dance!"
And then, Roxy had a brilliant idea. "Jane. Jaaaaaaneeeeee! What if… what if I went with you? Not like, as a date or nothin' obvi, but just for funsies? I haven't gotten to see any of you guys bein' up at the college."
"Is that… is that an option?"
"Yeah! I can't get a ticket 'cause technically I'm not a high school student, but you can get me a guest pass. Then I get to hang out with all my besties and enjoy the dance and you don't have to go alone!"
Jane pursed her lips, appearing to think it over for a moment before beginning to nod. "Yeah… yeah, I can do that!" Roxy cheered, letting out an excited laugh.
"Yeah! Hey Rosie!" Roxy shouted into the other room. "I'm goin' to Homecoming!"
Rose rolled her eyes at the news, glancing at John. "Great," she muttered.
"What, you don't want Roxy to go?" Rose knew John didn't really understand the particular dynamic between Rose and Roxy. He and Jane got along too well, seeming more like siblings than cousins, but even then, a brother/sister relationship was very different than a sister/sister relationship, and especially one strained by alcoholism.
"It's not that I don't want Roxy to go, it's that she can get a bit…" Rose paused, searching for the right word, "...excessive in environments like that. And she's practically an adult, and entitled to do what she likes in college," Rose said, even though she was pretty sure the authorities wouldn't agree that a 17-year-old should be drinking at all, "but I was hoping her habits wouldn't have an effect on my Homecoming dance." John sort of slowly nodded at Rose, looking like he was trying to understand, but didn't really get it.
"Well I'm sure it will be fun anyway!" he said. Apparently Jade's continuous optimism had become contagious. Or maybe Rose was just jaded. But it was hard to refuse a smile, especially with someone she'd known for so long. Thinking of Jade, Rose was reminded that they were supposed to go shopping together that weekend.
"At any rate, I was planning on going dress shopping with Jade this weekend. And now I suppose Roxy will want to come with me, and probably bring Jane along. We may as well make it a full group and Dave haven't gotten your dress shirts yet, have you?"
"Uh…" John muttered. "I don't know about Dave, but I haven't."
Rose pursed her lips. "Knowing Dave, he probably hasn't either. Can you do me a favor and message Jade? My phone died."
"Yeah, sure thing."
John spent a few moments tapping away at his phone, then paused and looked up at Rose.
"Hey Rose, Feferi is getting everyone together for pictures before Homecoming. It sounds like Jade and Dave are in."
"Are you asking me if I would like to join everyone?"
"I guess."
"Yes, that sounds fun," Rose said, smiling a bit. John grinned back at her, then returned to the conversation with Jade.
Rose's phone had a message waiting for her when she got home and turned it back on.
turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]
TG: so were all going shopping together or some shit?
TT: Yes, I assume you are still in need of a dress shirt for Homecoming.
TG: i dont know how to feel about that assumption
TG: but im kinda glad actually
TG: the alternative was going shopping with dirk and jake and
TG: i dont really think i can deal with those two
TG: well jakes p cool actually but dirk seems kinda clingy
TT: This is… a new development.
TG: yeah i guess he like
TG: asked jake to homecoming?
TG: in some flashy and ostentatious way but i dont have the deets
TG: and now theyre boyfriends or some shit
TT: That was quick.
TG: not really dirk has been kinda pining for a while
TT: Right, I mean the development into a relationship.
TT: I suppose it is Jake.
TG: yeah
TG: anyway group shopping trip im down
TT: Alright.
TT: We'll be by to pick you up tomorrow morning.
TG: cool
TG: hey were you planning on going to the football game
TT: Not particularly.
TT: Why?
TG: because
TG: bros gonna be back in town that night and id rather not be home when he gets here
TG: so you wanna go?
TT: Sure, Dave.
TT: We can go to the Homecoming game.
TG: sweet
TT: But I have to ask
TT: Is everything alright?
TT: It's not like you to avoid Bro's return.
TG: what yeah its fine
TG: just need a little space now and then
TT: Dave, he gives you nothing but space.
TT: He's gone half the time, isn't he?
TG: well yeah but i mean
TG: can we not do this right now
TG: cant a guy just want to go to a football game?
TT: I suppose…
TG: damn it rose theres nothing fishy going on dont give me that shit
TT: Alright.
TT: If you say so.
TG: i mean
TG: so maybe he and i sword fight on the roof
TG: and maybe he kicks my ass
TG: but its fine
TG: im good
TT: Dave!
TG: what
TT: You can't seriously be deluding yourself into thinking that's normal.
TG: rose its fine i swear
TG: just trying to not get a beatdown right before homecoming
TT: Dave, I…
TT: You shouldn't be living with him if he's doing that.
TG: ugh
TG: knew i shouldnt have said anything gdi
TG: its just training
TG: he wins these practice strifes
TG: hes not beating me or anything
TT: Um.
TT: Alright. I will take your word on this.
turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]
Roxy also had a message waiting for her, one she was very surprised to see, having forgotten that she and Calliope exchanged Pesterchum handles in preparation for a class project, and one that had been waiting hours for a response.
uranianUmbra [UU] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG]
UU: greetings!
UU: hello?
UU: roxy?
UU: shoot, did i type the name in wrong?
uranianUmbra [UU] is now an idle chum!
TG: shoot!
TG: sry was dealin with a BFF crisis and didn see this earlier
TG: callieeeee
TG: am so sooo sry
UU: oh, that's quite alright
UU: what was the crisis, if you don't mind my asking?
TG: ohhh
TG: boy troubles
UU: oh
And then, too nervous to give Callie the wrong idea, Roxy amended her statement, even though it seemed a given that Roxy was not a straight person since they'd met, after their initial meeting in English class, again in Skaia U's QSA.
TG: i mean
TG: with my friend jane
UU: oh!
TG: yeh had to go help her deal n stuff
UU: Well you sound like a good friend.
Roxy spent most of that evening chatting with Calliope, about life, about their families, and then finally, they started chatting about their group project, and then the next morning, she and Rose set off to round up their friends, stopping first at Dave's house, then Jade's, and then at Jane and John's. Rose was sitting up front, and before too long, her phone went off.
grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]
GA: Good afternoon Rose
TT: Oh, hello, Kanaya.
Rose thought back to their last Pesterchum chat. That had been weeks ago, and Rose still felt a bit foolish about it, but in this case, it was probably best to just play it off.
TT: I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever hear from you again.
TT: It'd be a shame if your jade text ceased to grace my inbox with its presence.
GA: Oh
GA: Yes well I was just pondering
GA: I will be attending the football game this Friday in support of my sister
GA: She's running for Homecoming Queen
GA: I was hoping you might accompany me?
Damn, this would have been a perfect opportunity to spend some time alone with Kanaya. But Rose couldn't bail on Dave. Something about that didn't sit right with her. Dave insisted that they were just practicing, in case Dave ever needed to actually fight someone, but Rose got the feeling that Dave wasn't being totally honest, neither with her nor with himself.
TT: Well as it turns out, I was already planning on attending the game.
TT: I trust you won't mind if Dave tags along?
GA: Of course not.
TT: I appreciate that.
TT: It seems like he is having a…
TT: Um.
TT: Rough time at home lately.
TT: Socializing more might be good for him.
GA: Oh
GA: A rough time?
TT: Yes, but it really isn't my business to share.
TT: I needle and pry when it comes to him because he is family and I'm worried about him, but I'm not sure he'd appreciate me telling all our friends about the situation.
GA: Ah I see
GA: Well I was going to attempt to convince Karkat to join me at the game
GA: Perhaps we could all meet up.
TT: Sure, that sounds like it would make for a nice evening.
GA: I'm looking forward to it.
grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]
Well, at the very least, perhaps Karkat would serve as some sort of distraction for Dave. Maybe both of them could have time with their respective crushes, hopefully without impeding on each other too much. Oh well. Back to the matter at hand, which was to say, finding a dress. Roxy was very enthusiastic about the shopping trip, to literally nobody's surprise. She dragged Rose and Jade and Jane into the dress store, Jane and Rose notably more hesitant than Roxy and Jade. Still, Rose went about it very methodically, rather going on the pink rampage her sister was going on. After a while, all the girls had several options to try on, leaving Dave and John on their own. Dave still looked a bit flustered, even after having years to get over John, and Rose just sort of smirked at him. Dave frowned back as Rose disappeared into a fitting room. After a while, Rose heard a conversation from outside the stall, as the girls had all been showing each other their dresses in search of confirmation or rejection.
"Janey, it's that one. You… you HAFTA get that one," Rose heard Roxy say.
"Oh? It's a bit short, isn't it?"
"Janeyyyyy, please! 1- There are gonna be loads of dresses shorter and more hip-hugging than that. 2- You're hot as fuck, stop worrying about your bod and love yourself," Yeah, Rose wondered how Jane hadn't picked up on Roxy being bi, she was anything but subtle, "and 3- YOU LOOK AMAZING. Pleaaaaaase, get this dress. For me?" There was quiet for a moment, nothing but the rustling of fabric.
"Oh, alright, Roxy, I'll get this one."
"YES! Rosie! Come see Jane's dress!" Rose bustled for a moment, finishing pulling on the current dress she was trying on before stepping out of the fitting room. The dress Jane currently had on certainly did suit her, and Rose wasn't quite sure why she'd initially objected.
"Oh, that suits you, Jane," Rose said, prompting Jane to smile at her.
"Yours suits you, too." Rose looked down at her current selection and then moved towards the mirror. She loved the color, not quite purple but not quite red, almost like wine, and the neckline was certainly unique. Plus the beading on the bodice was simply gorgeous.
"Oh, I'm glad you think so. I think I've decided on this one." Rose turned towards her sister. "Roxy, have you chosen yet?" She was sure there was a note of impatience in her voice, because Roxy moved quickly back into her stall and came out in another dress.
"Okay, okay, so technically this isn't a dress, but it's my favorite so far." Roxy was wearing what looked like a plain pink silk dress cut into two pieces, the bodice cropped a bit shorter so that her midriff was showing. Rose didn't say anything for a moment.
"If that's your favorite, Rox, then you should get it," Jane said.
"I just knew you would say something like that!" Roxy laughed a bit, glad to have such a great best friend. Both of them returned to their stalls to change out of their dresses. Rose waited for a moment, hoping Jade would come to a decision soon, and she sure did, emerging from the fitting room with a galaxy-esque dress, a very deep black velvet bodice coated in sparkles that imitated the stars blinking in the deep blackness of space, with a green trim going around the entire thing.
"They call it the 3AM dress!" Jade explained, her eyes brightening with excitement. After another moment of group approval, both Rose and Jade changed back into their clothes and made their way towards the registers, Jade apologizing to the boys for taking so long, before heading up to the department store for John and Dave to make their purchases. Rose lingered a bit closer, while Roxy and Jade were distracted in the jewelry department. John held up a purple-ish shirt to himself and looked up quizzically at Rose.
"Rose… do you want me to match your dress?" he asked.
"What?"
"Isn't that… a thing you're supposed to do? Match with the person you're going with?"
Ah, a sweet gesture. Rose couldn't help but smile a bit at him. "John, I appreciate your being so considerate, but I know for a fact you'd prefer a blue shirt to a purple one. It sounds as though we'll be going in a large group, anyway, so I'd rather you wear what you like than accommodate me." A flash of relief crossed John's face, and Rose couldn't say she blamed him.
"Oh… um, ok, if you say so," John answered, and he and moved a little closer to Dave, while Rose walked back towards the other girls, deciding to give the boys a little space. She could sense an awkward conversation coming on as Dave picked up a red shirt, no doubt trying to figure if it would be close to something Karkat would wear.
The next week of classes went by quickly, and then it was the night of the game. Rose had to request a ride from Roxy, while she wagered Dave would be taking the bus. They met at the ticket booth, Rose a bit distressed by the crumpled expression Dave was wearing. She immediately took him by the arm, and Dave winced a bit.
"Dave, are you alright?"
"Yeah, just…" There was something else there. "Sorry. Tripped down the stairs on my way out. I told you, bro. I told you about stairs."
"Yes… yes, you have," Rose muttered, simultaneously acknowledging Strider's non sequitur, and expressing her concern for his apparent bruises. Dave seemed to shake himself into a pleasant-enough state for the rest of the night, though, and they made their way towards the bleachers. Rose spotted Kanaya from a distance, and Karkat's diminutive figure beside her. "Kanaya!" Rose called. Kanaya turned to look at them, and Rose made her way to Kanaya's seat, Dave trailing behind her a bit. "Hello, Kanaya," she said as she took her seat next to Kanaya. She fished a blanket out of her bag and began to wrap it around herself and Kanaya.
"Hello, Rose. How are you doing this evening?"
"I must admit, I was surprised you asked me about spending the game together." Rose was still embarrassed about her failure to ask Kanaya out, but this warm, cuddling-under-a-fleece-blanket feeling was pretty good. Dave was on Rose's other side, and Karkat on Kanaya's other side, and Rose knew Dave wasn't going to take initiative without some prodding from her, so she nudged Dave with her shoulder a bit, and upon Dave making eye contact with her (or the best he could with those shades; that whole light-sensitivity thing didn't apply here and Rose worried he was using them to hide something else.) she nodded towards Karkat sitting by himself. Dave sighed and circled around the girls to go sit next to him. "Don't mind him," Rose muttered to Kanaya. "He just doesn't know how to handle his emotions."
Overall, it was a pleasant evening. Rose was pleased simply to be talking to Kanaya, and to see Dave interact with Karkat more, despite their seeming "feud" with each other (which only consisted of giving each other not-all-that-derogatory nicknames). That is, it was pleasant until they ran into Eridan. They were walking four-wide down the path out of the stadium, and Dave knocked his shoulder into Eridan's chest.
"Watch where you're going, you fuckin' peasant!" Eridan yelled at Dave. Rose jumped in surprise, exchanging a glance with Kanaya.
"Dude did you literally just call me a peasant?" Dave said, stoic as ever.
"Eridan, what the actual fuck?" Karkat stepped in. "It was an accidental bump. No need to lose your shit." There was silence for a moment, and Rose felt a tension between herself and Eridan, and between Kanaya and Eridan as well, just before Eridan let out a sound of frustration and left the scene in a huff.
"What was that about?" Dave asked, something Rose didn't have an answer for. She couldn't really say she knew Eridan very well.
"Ugh, nothing. He's just a prick sometimes," Kanaya said.
"Best to ignore that guy when he's being a jackass," Karkat added, and the four left the stadium.
Homecoming was, of course, the next night, and Rose was thankful she didn't have to make the trip over to Feferi's with Roxy behind the wheel. Roxy, Jake, Dirk, and Jane were all meeting at the Lalondes, from where Dirk and Roxy got into an argument on whether or not Roxy was sober enough to drive. ("I've only had two today, Dirk, I'm fiiiine.") On the other hand, John's father had offered to drive John, Rose, Dave, and Jade over to the Peixes house. When they arrived, it seemed they were some of the last to do so, and John was immediately greeted by Vriska.
"Hi, John," Vriska said.
"Hey Vriska!" John made his way towards her and towards the crowd. Rose followed, sticking pretty close to Kanaya for obvious reasons. Likewise, Dave was sticking close to Karkat and Terezi, and Jade was the one who seemed most sociable, until she got roped into some kind of argument with Karkat. Their photo session seemed to take forever, which was sort of a given when there were 16 kids there, but afterwards, they were finally off to dinner.
At the dance, Rose found herself sitting across from Kanaya, who was leaning up against a wall, both of them making eyes at each other. John and Dave were on either side of Rose.
"Guys, it's a dance. Don't just sit here all night," Rose said, just before taking her own advice and walking up to Kanaya. "Didn't take you to be a wallflower, Miss Maryam," she said.
"Ah, yes, well I'd hate to interrupt anyone's dancing."
"Seems we're all just bouncing around the group rather than sticking to one partner. Surely there's someone you'd like to join?" Somehow that didn't feel as subtle as it sounded.
"Ummm…" Kanaya's voice trailed. "Well, about that, I…" After another moment, Kanaya nodded towards John, who was chatting with Vriska. And Dave seemed to have stepped away from the table, too, specifically to pull Terezi away from Karkat, which Rose thought was an interesting move. "Seems you yourself just lost your partner. Would you like to dance?"
Rose blushed a bit. Oh, how the tables had turned. "Oh. Sure. It would be a pleasure." The two stepped away from the wall and danced just close enough and just slowly enough to get flustered by each other.
"Kanaya, je peux juste dire que vous avez l'air magnifique ce soir," Rose said, perhaps showing off her French skills a bit too much. Kanaya looked at her quizzically, and Rose let out a soft laugh. "You look beautiful."
"Oh. Oh! You do as well."
"Hm, thank you," Rose answered, and then she peered over Kanaya's shoulder, watching a scene unfold between Terezi and Dave.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I have my concerns about Dave's current living situation, actually…" From what Rose could tell, it looked like Terezi said something, Dave responded, and then went out the door Rose had seen Karkat go out moments earlier. Rose wasn't sure if Dave was trying to get away from the discussion with Terezi, or was going out to talk to Karkat. She chose to believe it was the latter; it was easier to swallow. "Looks like our cousins have a certain… let's say, interest in each other."
"I am going to be upfront, here, I know for a fact that Dave has feelings for Karkat, and I believe Karkat may be suppressing feelings for Dave." Okay, that second part was complete conjecture, though not completely baseless. Rose had no idea. But she did have an idea on how to find a reason to talk to Kanaya more. "My proposition is this: you and I collude to get them together." Kanaya thought it over for a moment before answering.
"Very well. Collude we shall." Rose smiled at Rose, and both of them returned to where they'd been sitting, but the peaceful moment didn't last long, as Terezi approached Rose with what was basically a confirmation of her fears.
"Rose… did you know Dave has scars all over his arms?"
Roxy hated how sad Jane seemed, just seeing Jake and Dirk together, and Roxy was also sort of upset with herself for drinking at all before everyone got there. All Roxy could really do was stick at her friend's side, noticing how much she was torn up when Dirk gave Jake a kiss on the top of his head. Roxy felt utterly powerless. She wanted to be happy for Dirk, but it was also kind of heartbreaking seeing Jane so upset. Ah well. Roxy had a surprise for Jane that night. Though Roxy wasn't pleased with the way she'd acquired it. College guys were fuckin' skeazy. After being at the actual dance for a while, though, Jane finally managed to get her butt on the dance floor and start smiling a little bit. This, of course, encouraged Roxy to share her surprise, and she pulled Jane out of the gym into the parking lot. "I brought a surprise, Janey," Roxy sang as she revealed the vodka she'd been hiding in the trunk.
"Wha- Roxy!" Roxy couldn't help but bubble in laughter at Jane's reaction. "Where did you even get that, Roxy? We're 17, for crying out loud."
"Some dude in my computer programming class bought it for me. Dude was trying to flirt, I told him what my favorite was and he bought it for me. 'Course I told him I wasn't interested, but made sure to take the shit first!'" So many guys had tried hitting on Roxy. Like, yeah, she knew she was hot shit, but it sucked that so many guys just saw her as a piece of ass, especially since it was always these god damn straight white fuckbois, and she was kind of developing a crush on Callie? It wasn't her fault; Callie was just so adorable, and Roxy wanted to start spending more time with her. But when these guys were offering to buy booze, well, Roxy certainly wasn't going to turn that down, as morally ambiguous (as Rose would put it) as it felt. Jane hesitated for a moment.
"I… I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life, Rox, but I certainly am not going to partake," Jane said, starting to walk back inside. Roxy let out a sigh. Was she… were people going to distance themselves because she liked to drink? Welp. Roxy opened the bottle and took a swig. This was a problem, wasn't it?