AN: So I lied and this chapter isn't the same as the first. Okay. Jesus fuck this chapter is longer than the last one, oh my god. This is a surprise. Anyway, I typed this super fast so I'm sorry for any typos, nyah.

Karkat had spent a few minutes crying and dabbing a tissue at his cut before he finally bandaged it. He also managed to clean up any blood. He didn't, however, return to the bedroom. As it if mattered, the door was locked.

Sollux POV

I threw my glasses across the room. This is stupid. You should be able to handle this. You shouldn't even care. At least he's not dead, right?

Oh, god, what if he was dead? What if he cut again after I left? I should've stayed, helped him...

I wiped those damn tears off my face. What, you suddenly care? No, you always cared. You're just a stupid fuckass who's too afraid to show any real emotion. How pathetic. You-

What was that? Did he just slam the doodr? What door wwas it? I should've gone and out and checked.

Nope. Too scared to do that. I'm sure that Karkat hates me now, anyway. If I'd gone out there, he'd probably have pucnehd me in the face. Even if I had just wanted to tell him I l-

Never mind.

So instead of checking on my boyfriend, I curled into a ball on our bed and hugged his pillow.

Karkat POV

"God, Gamzee," I whimpered. Wow, I'm pathetic. "He doesn't even care."

Gamzee had known about my, uh, problem for a while now, so he was the first person I thought to bitch and moan to. He lived in an apartment by himself, so I could roll up my sleeves and cry on his couch without anybody else seeing.

But that didn't make it any less embarassing.

He was sitting next to me, holding one of this dumb fucking horns. The fact that he still had them made me want to set fire to his whole fucking building. At least he had the decency to stop painting his stupid face.

"Well, bro, you've got yourself a motherfucking problem, don't you? But I doubt that Sollux really doesn't care. What'd he say when he saw you?"

"He said, 'Clean up this fucking mess.' God. He should be more like you! Oh, shit, makes it sound like I'm coming on to you. I just- I mean, you saw me and you went 'Shit, Karkat, what happened?' Is is so hard to even pretend to care?" I rubbed my eyes, fighting off tears.

"And then he just left?" Gamzee continued. Suddenly, I didn't want to talk about this. This is stupid.

"I should go," I blurted, sitting up stiffly. "Bro," Gamzee said sternly, "I can't help you out if you don't fucking talk to me. Open up; spill your guts."

I swallowed a Fuck you, Gamzee and just nodded. I sat there, piecing my words together, when he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah..." I mumbled. Then, clearer: "He walked out then, back to... our room. Then I did what he told me to do, cleaned the fucking bathroom. And now I'm a fucking mess on your goddamn motherfucking couch." I had clenched my hands, which were now by my sides, into fists. My nails dug into my skin.

"Well..." Well what, motherfucker? Ugh. "If you asked me, I'd say that Sollux just has his own way of coping with this bullshit. You don't know what he felt when he saw you. Man, he probably freaked out-"

"He had the balls to tell me to clean the fucking bathroom, Gamzee!" I cried.

"Quiet," he snapped. Sighing, he mumbled, "Alright, it's getting late. You can sleep here," he said, patting the couch, "but I really think you should go home and talk to Sollux."

I groaned. "Thanks, but no thanks. You'll just lecture me every chance you get. I can sleep on my own fucking couch. No promises, on the talking, though." Even as I said this, my voice was shaky and I was extremely doubtful.

"S'what Palemates are for, bro." He nodded, and drew his hand back from my shoulder. "Now get out of my fucking house."

I felt him grinning,b ut I just stared at my knees, suddenly having lost the ability to move. I felt each beat of my heart; every breaht rattled my frame. I was sure Gamzee's face fell then, because he nudged me and asked if I was alright.

"Maybe," I mumbled, "I'll stay at Terezi's, or something..."

"No, man," he said. "You know her and Strider just split up, right? Two vulnerable mtoherfuckers like you guys alone in the same house? At night? Bad news for you, bro. Stay here or go home."

"God, Gamzee, I'm not a fucking child anymore. I don't need you to take care of me," I huffed.

He raised an eyebrow, as if contemplating how to tell me that I must be fucking insane.

"Shithive maggots," he decided.

"What?"
"You must be shithive maggots. I said it right, didn't I? You were always the most colorful motherfucker in that aspect. I mean, Karkat, you burst through my door sobbing, and twenty minutes later you tell me you don't need a motherfucking babysitter? I'm beginning to think I should worry abotu you, man. Just, stay here tonight, okay?"

It took a lot of arguing, grumbling, and of course cursing, but I agreed to sleep on his stupid couch for the night.

It took even more arguing until I finally let him call Sollux and tell him I wasn't dead or anything stupid like that. Originally, Gamzee'd wanted me to do it, but I called him a fuckass a lot until he changed his mind. Stupid fuckass.

Even so, I was hardly hesitant in asking Gamzee what had been said over the phone when he walked back into the room.

He did that eyebrow thing again. "Well?" I demanded. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?

"Well, since I'm a good friend, I promised Sol I wouldn't tell you a bunch of this shit. But, mostly what went down ist hat you can go home whenver you want, 'cause he's gotta talk to you, real bad, Kark-"

"Fuck him. He had the chance to talk to me when he walked in on me slitting my fucking wrists! Or how about before then, huh? When I actually wanted to be with him? He's such a dumbass, I-

"Shut up, I wasn't finished," Gamzee growled. "He wants to talk to you, and I don't really want to listen you to cry all night, bro. No offense." I scowled. "It's like ten right now," he continued, "and I'm not gonna make you walk home in the dark. So I'm gonna ignore you when you wake up screaming, and you're out of here first thing in the morning, okay?"

Did he have to act like such an asshole? I supposed treating me like a six-year-old girl wouldn't have helped, either, but damn. Harsh.

"Whatever," I growled.

Gamzee meant it when he said he'd ignore it when I woke up screaming.

Sollux opened the door and luaghe.d HIs laugh was cruel, cold. He took a couple steps closer to me, his arm stretched out.

His fingers curled around my arm and he pulled me close. He took the razor from my hand, and that's when I started shaking. It was like my legs suddnely couldn't support my weight and I collapsed. Every part of me was numb, except for where Sollux gripped my arm. Me own blood flew freely between his fingers.

He was turning the blade in his free hand. He turned his wrist upward abruptly, jerking my arm to a nearly impossible angle. Then Sollux pressed the razor - that with my now blurrly vision caused by blood loss and straight up pain was just a glint of silver in the air - to his own clean wrist.

It cut through his skin easily. he carefully drew a straight line, looking perplexed.

Then Sollux tossed the razor behind him and crouched down beside me. Half-counsiously, I pressed my bleeding arm to his. His sweet, honey blood mixed with the foreign red blood leaking out of me.

He grabbed a handful of my hair with his other hand and leaned down to kiss me.

Then I screamed.