I. Am. So sorry. I know. I am shamefully bad about updating because I got close to the end of this chapter and figured out my journal with all my ideas were gone. So I had to scrap and build and plan further ahead with what I already got. So. Sorry TvT Another short note is my bad if how I portrayed Nepeta was kind of ditzy. I got a lot of negative feedback on her when I showed some friends and I kind of just said, "Well, screw you! I have to update NOW." And to add unfortunately, I have school and EOI's are coming up so the work load is getting a bit stressful. I might end up doing another long pause, but I'll try to keep consistent because the few of you I have reading this mean so much to me. And I just want to thank you. I'll probably go back in and revise a bunch of stuff in this chapter later, but whatever. It's here. Thank you again to those that are still with it even now. That means a lot. /)v(\ Enjoy~

Chapter 3

U Mad, Bro?

It was a rainy Saturday morning, and every now and then, Gamzee had this day completely to himself. No counseling, no group sessions, not even Karkat around to hound him up one side and down the other. However, it brought him great distress to be alone. When left by himself for too long in a quiet environment, it gave him time to think. Think about things he was guilty for, consequences he couldn't avoid, relationships he destroyed, and just his past in general. And the more he thought, the more he downed on his pills to keep himself sane.

That was why he was out in the pouring rain on a walk. His ear buds were in and Artic Monkeys gave a pulse in his ears.

Often, thoughts crept into his mind as he listened to certain songs and he couldn't help, but appeal to them. As the male singer sang in his melancholy voice, Karkat buzzed in his mind as the lyrics pressed on him.
But I don't know if you feel the same…

Karkat's usual anger was never the same when it came to Gamzee. He was a little softer in his tone, a little more relaxed in his features when confronting him than when confronting anyone else. It really made Gamzee grin to notice the way he let up when they were together. He just wanted to wrap his arms around him and hug him close and spin him around because the joy of having a friend that cared and supported him was something he thought to be jovial. But he knew Karkat too well. He'd only push him away at that point and distance himself.
As I do. We could be together…

Sometimes, Gamzee would wake up late at night and pull himself up from his spot on the couch and drag his feet over to the other's room. He'd crack open the door and see his pale little body curled up under the covers, his brown locks poking out from underneath. He'd smile and come inside, tip-toeing over to his bed and sitting beside him. He'd lean over and gently pull the covers down to reveal the other's sleeping face and grin; leaning down to kiss his forehead. Soon after, when he'd gotten his visual fill for the night, he'd turn to leave, but the little ball would shift and curl around him, his arms trying desperately to wrap around his waist.

If you wanted to. Do I wanna know…

If this feeling flows both way?

Gamzee sighed and look up at the sky where his feet eventually stopped. "This is getting hard on me, Tavbro." He groaned waving his thoughts away. He knew Karkat would never feel the same way he did. If he even found out about clown feelings, he'd probably leave and Gamzee feared that the most. He feared it because he knew there wouldn't be enough medication to prescribe him from losing his mind. It meant he had to play it cool and neutrally with his emotions so that Karkat wouldn't get suspicious or scared and leave. He didn't want his Karkat to leave. He was his drug, his substitute addiction that drove away the old one, and there wasn't anything in the world to cure him from it.

Karkat began packing his things when a buzzing in his pocket started him patting down his pants. He flipped it open and held it up to his ear with his shoulder.
"Hello?" He grunted, nearly dropping his computer.
A tiny chuckle came from the other side and he smiled slightly, knowing exactly who it was.
"Nepeta?"
"Nyahh~ Hello, Karkitten!" She squealed and he chuckled.

"What's up?" He asked, throwing the strap of his bag on his shoulder. He grabbed his coffee and took the phone firmly into his hand.
"Oh nothing, you know, other than the fact that I'm coming into town next Friday."

His eyes widened and he smiled. The energetic girl chuckling on the end at his sudden silence, was none other than Nepeta Leijon. She was Karkat's childhood friend due to their parents working together as missionaries. Ever since, they'd been attached to the hip.
"That's great! What day?" He pushed out the door and started down the sidewalk.
"Pawbably Friday. Will you see me in? I'm not quite familiar with that part of town." She asked an optimistic bounce in her voice.
"Totally. Just text me…what…time." His voice slowed as his eyes caught sight of a familiar man across the street in an alleyway. He was leaned against a wall, a girl in front of him.
"I have to go. Text me the details."

Before she could reply, he flipped his phone closed and pocketed it. He groaned, dashing quickly across the street mumbling irritably, "I hope I'm wrong."

"Gamzee!"

His eyes snapped out of his thoughts and zeroed in on the girl that called his name. His heart leapt a bit at the sight of her, but he kept a lazy grin on his face.
"If it ain't my pretty little spiderbitch." He chuckled as she strode up to him.

"Awh, is that really how you're gonna play, joker?" She smirked, wiping the last of his paint from his lips. He rolled his eyes.

Dark blue orbs stared into his chocolate ones as the stunning body backed him against a wall. They belonged to the cunning woman Vriska Serket. He gulped from the near venomous stare she gave him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and chuckled. She stepped closer to him, her chest pressing slightly on his. Her lips curled into a devious smile as she ran two fingers up his shoulder.
"I just wanna talk. That should be okay, right? No crime or harm done."
"Vriska, I don't think that's-"
"No, no I insist. Just like old times, alright?"
He stared at her. The way she bit her lip, the way her eyes stared deep into him through narrowed slits was near enough to make him do whatever she wanted. And by near, it meant it was and so he did.

His hands roamed down her sides to rest over her hips. His lazy grin widened and he pulled her closer.
"You know," He whispered, his voice coarse and low, "this is the exact motherfucking reason I broke it off with you. You're a damn whore."
She scoffed. "Oh sure. That's totally why." She had to roll her eyes to make the statement even more bubbly and it caused him to dig his fingers into her hips in irritation. Damn she was such a sass. In reaction to his sudden grip, she yipped and leaned forward. Her arms went up his chest and wrapped around his neck, running through the wet locks. She tilted her head and smiled as her lips brushed over his ear.
"I know exactly why we broke up. And you know, too, don't ya?" She brought her head back to look into his eyes. He stared back at her, although the lazy grin still on his face, his eyes held a fierce glare that dared her to say anything else about it.
"How're the sessions goin, huh? You clean, yet?"

He growled and brought his hand to curl around her throat to which she responded by simply chuckling and patting his hand.
"Still quick to anger, aren't ya, boy?"

She dug in her pocket and pulled out a tiny bag of white powder. She slipped it into his jacket pocket and patted the area. He reached inside of it, shaking his head as he began to pull it out, but soon enough a shadow fell on both of them and a pitched voice called out.
"What the hell are you doing?!"

Gamzee cocked his head to see Karkat standing at the mouth of the alley. His eyes widened and his hand pushed the bag back into the pocket and fell to his side. He looked back at Vriska to see her biting her lip seductively. She leaned in once more and pressed a kiss to his neck, in which he grunted in response, a red color tinting his cheeks. She whispered in his ear.
"How about when you're done playing…pretend…you give me call? I'd love to be your naughty girl again."

She shot Karkat a glance that spoke some words. They way her movements were, were just enough to get Karkat heated. He went down the alley, grabbed Gamzee's hand, and started pulling him. Gamzee could tell Karkat was pissed. Uber pissed. So pissed, he could put women on their periods to shame. He knew this because his first instinct wasn't to yell at him and draw attention. When Karkat went silent, he was secretly separating his emotions and bottling his anger. Gamzee knew he'd be getting an ear full once they got home. However, he tried for something. Anything.
"Karbr-"
"Don't fucking call me that right now!" He hissed. "Just shut the fuck up and we'll talk once we get home."

Gamzee could tell this was bad. He'd never seen Karkat so enraged to the point of wanting silence. But Gamzee nodded and kept his lips zipped. In the back of his head, though, he began thinking. Did Karkat see her give me the bag? No, couldn't have been that because he'd already put it away as soon as Karkat came. Maybe it was my hand around that motherfucker's throat? Karkat was pretty guilty when it came to violence, though. And behavior like that coming from Gamzee, he was used to. Gamzee normally got a slap on the wrist for doing it and life went on. So there was only one question roaming through his head.
Why the hell is Karkat so angry?