When we got home Rufioh was still gone, Gamzee walked over and slumped down on the couch with an exhausted sigh "Not even twelve in the afternoon yet and today has been so fucked up." I walked over to the couch and sat down "Yeah….hey Gamz." He looked at me "Yeah Tav?" "I've uhh been meaning to ask." "What's up bro?" he asked as he sat up. "Why…why do you like us…you know…Hoods, you're supposed to be one of the worst to hate us, you know? Since so many people you grew up with hate us." He put an arm around my shoulder "Not all the motherfuckers I grew up with hates Hoods, my cousin Kurloz, he taught me that class and reputation, none of that fucking matters." I tucked my head on his shoulder "Your cousin?" "Yeah, that motherfucker showed me well…how to be me and not somebody else." I looked up at him "How?" he gave me a kiss on the cheek "Kurloz, the way he grew up. He hated the war he hated seeing so many people dying and because he's mute he never had a word in anything. Until one day he met this miraculous girl, she was a Hood but she didn't act like it. She hated the war too, she told him a few years back there was a shoot out at her place, and someone shot her…the noise of the blast made her deaf, he said she was lucky that she couldn't hear the fights. She told him he was lucky he didn't have a voice to get involved." He sighed, hugging me "Whenever my pops was away, he would bring her over. She was so nice to me…it was like having a mom again, She told me that I should never get involved with this kind of shit, to be my own man, to be who I want to be and not what this war wants me to be…I thought of Kurloz and his girl more as if they were my parents. They told me not all Hoods are bad, that some even wanted it to be over. I have to admit when I was just a little kid I HATED Hoods I never knew why, I guess it was just because everyone else did. I was surprised how they were so open about their relationship in public, how them being branded didn't faze them at all. They even took me out with them, when people gave us looks I would try to hide, but then she would tell me that there was no shame in it, there was no shame in liking Hoods." He held me closer and have be a quick kiss on my forehead "but then a three years ago, motherfucker proposed to her, they got married…and left, they wanted to take me with them. But my pops didn't let them…I still write to them, I missed them so much when they left. My pops didn't even notice, so then I would just walk around both sides of the tracks, no one noticed me so I was lucky I was never beaten for it. Then the next year…I met you, when I saw you…you looked like…well…you reminded me of them, both of them. You were so shy but you weren't afraid or even walked away when I told you who I was. That's why I take the bullshit comments and looks we get in school, because there is no shame in it. There's no shame in loving someone that's different, and I learned that from them, and every day I thank the mirthful messiahs for that." We both laid back down on the couch. "Your cousin sounds amazing, what was his girl's name anyway?" "Meulin, Meulin Leijon"
lEIJON? wHY DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?
Before I could open my mouth to ask Rufioh finally walked in, his shoulder was bandaged up, but there were still stains of blood on the gauze and his sweat shirt. I quickly stood up and walked over to him "You okay bro?" I asked in a worried tone "Yeah, Kankri got it bandaged up. I just need to lay off on using this arm for a while." Rufioh said as he rubbed his shoulder "Uhh, bro…I need to ask you something." "Sure little bro what's up?" I turned and looked at Gamzee who was right behind me "Uhh, Gamz wants to know if he can…uhh…live here? He's afraid someone might try to hurt us again and he wants to stay." Rufioh looked at Gamzee with a serious look "What about your 'rents man? Aren't they gunna worry about you?" Gamzee put a hand on my shoulder "Nah man, my parents left a few years back, I've been on my own for a while." (I didn't know if he was lying or if he was implying that he did prefer Kurloz as a father figure.) "Well if you're serious about it, then sure man." Rufioh said in a chill tone "Should I pay rent?" Gamzee asked, Rufioh chucked "Nah man, us Hoods stick together. We're like family." Gamzee pulled me closer and chucked "Yeah, we're like family."