"Hm, th'o we've both got computer ap'th huh," Sollux says with a smirk, ruffling my hair while holding his schedule in his opposite hand.
"Fuck you, I bet you're incompetent with computers," I growl, fighting his hand away from my head once again. My own skills are lax, and to be honest I didn't even want to take the class, but it was the best class left, so I had to take the opportunity. A change seem to go over Sollux's expression as he looks at me, almost shocked.
"Oh no, dude you DID NOT just in'th'ult my th'kill'th," He exclaims in a horror-filled voice. His eyes, that I still can't quite determine the color of through the shades, are wide.
"So what if I did?" I scoff, crossing my arms defiantly. We're almost to the classroom, and the halls were practically empty, for which I was glad, it's always easier to argue in silence. But it also made me feel slightly self conscious with the way our voices are echoing.
Wait what?
I brush that thought quickly from my mind and refocus on the conversation.
"You know what? Ju'th't for that, I'm going to crash your computer for you," He replies with a sneer, shoulder bumping me to the side.
"Watch it asshole!" I growl back, shoving into him in petty retaliation before rushing through the doorway of the computer lab and claiming a seat. Sollux just grins as he follows me, taking the seat next to me of course. I already have my earbuds out as the computer boots up, and I plug them in, because lets be honest, whenever someone's on a computer, the first thing you open is YouTube, even when you're at school.
I glance up at the board, because the teacher had yet to make an appearance even though final bell had rung a few minutes ago, maybe he'd left a note. I have to squint to read it, of course I had chosen a seat in the back of the room.
Had to leave to make copies, don't kill each other, don't get on "bad" sites. The link to your assignment is written on the board if you wish to actually be productive.
"Yes! Free reign!" I hiss happily, pumping my fist in the air. I log onto the computer, using a school account and not my own, and begin opening different tabs, one for the chat client, one for YouTube, and the final for the first assignment that I wouldn't be working on.
However, a minute after I have everything open, the screen flashes white for a second before blinking into black. I sit there for a few seconds before leaping forward and slapping my palms on the side of the computer monitor.
"What the fuck?!" I yelp, patting it and shifting to view the sides, maybe I had unplugged a wire or something?
"Hahahahahaha! You didn't believe me!" Sollux laughs, clutching his stomach in breathlessness. His face is flushed as he continues laughing at my pissed off expression. His glasses begin to slide down his nose, and it's only then that he pauses his almost hysterical giggles to push them up.
"What the fuck, Sollux, turn it back on," I say lowly, stepping back and standing over him.
"Chill out KK, we have work to do don't we," He chuckles, then turns to his own screen and begins tapping keys. I can't tell exactly what he does, but it turns back on my computer, so I don't really care.
"Yeah yeah," I mutter, then re-open all the things I had before. Once I'm logged into the client, I see that Gamzee has messaged me a few times
[terminallyCapricious has begun chatting with carcinoGeneticist]
TC: yO KaRbRo YoU tHeRe?
TC: HeY
TC: WeLl Me AnD tAvBrO ArE lOoKiNg aT tHe SoNgS
TC: HeH :O)
CG: GAMZEE I JUST NOW LOGGED ONTO THE CLIENT
CG: HOW THE FUCK DID YOU EVEN MESSAGE ME
TC: WeLl YoU wErE LoGgEd On FoR a FeW mINUtES
CG: YEAH YEAH
CG: I'LL OPEN THE REGULAR MEMO
CG: JUST RESPOND TO THAT OK
TC: AlRiGhT kArBrO :O) HoNk
[carcinoGeneticist has ceased chatting with terminallyCapricious]
"Hey Sollux," I say, glancing over at him.
"Hm?" he murmurs, continuing to tap away on the keys, the screen a seemingly random gaggle of numbers and letters.
"I'm opening the memo now, I'll send you the link," I growl, annoyed by his indifference.
"Alright KK."
[carcinoGeneticist has begun chatting with twinArmageddons]
CG: CIRCUS OF THE DUMBASSES
TA: oh my gog ii2 that really what the memo ii2 called
TA: holy 2hiit what po22e22ed you?
CG: WHOA WHAT SORT OF STUPID QUIRK IS THAT?
CG: AND GAMZEE IS THE ONE WHO TECHNICALLY CAME UP WITH IT
CG: I DIDN'T REALLY CARE
TA: well ii'm laughiing iinternally at the moment
TA: my 2oul ii2 dyiing from the hiilariity
CG: FUCK YOU
[carcinoGeneticist has ceased chatting with twinArmageddons]
I glance over and see that Sollux is actually fighting back laughter. I snort and turn back to my screen, plugging up and clicking on a Get Scared playlist. I gladly retreat into the world of Music and Beats, which drowned out everything else.
[carcinoGeneticist has opened memo: CIRCUS OF DUMBASSES]
CG: ALRIGHT DOUCHES
CG: MEMO OPEN
[twinArmageddons has responded]
TA: 2up everyone
TA: 2o what2 the poiint of thii2 agaiin
CG: TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SONG WE WANT TO PLAY
CG: DID YOU SERIOUSLY FORGET THAT EASILY WHISP-BRAIN?
TA: 2hut up kk
[adiosToreador replied to memo]
AT: sO I'VE LISTENED TO ALMOST ALL OF THE SONGS
AT: aLL I NEEDED TO DO WAS LISTEN TO THE FIRST MINUTE OR SO OF THEM
AT: bUT I CAN READILY SAY THAT THERES ONLY TWO I'D BE COMFORTABLE WITH MAYBE PLAYING
AT: uH,,, THE OTHER I KNOW IS HARD FOR GUITAR
CG: DONT EVEN
CG: I *ALREADY* KNOW WHAT YOURE GOING TO SAY
CG: *SIGHS DRAMATICALLY*
TA: what
AT: iM ONLY REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH PLAYING DON'T FORGET
AT: SO UH,,,
[terminallyCapricious responded to memo]
TC oH yEaH!
TC: tHat OnE iS mY fAvOuRiTe As WeLl MaN
[tipsyGnostalgic responded to memo]
TG: i liek that one too
CG: SO I GUESS THIS IS UNANIMOUS
CG: RIGHT
TA: yeah a2 far a2 ii can tell
TC: mOtHeRfUcK yEaH bRoThEr :O)
AT: iT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME
CG: ALRIGHT THEN
CG: WE CAN START WORKING ON IT SOON I GUESS
CG: WE HAVE ALMOST MORE THAN TWO WEEKS
CG: IM CLOSING THE MEMO NOW
[tipsyGnostalgic left memo]
[terminallyCapricious left memo]
[adiosToreador left memo]
[twinArmageddons left memo]
[carcinoGeneticist closed the memo]
I sit back and rub my hand through my hair, probably spiking it up more, but my lack of sleep is catching up again. The loud music helps keep me awake, but only barely. Plus I have another hour of school left, at least it's only an hour. I sigh and pull out the piece of paper, re-opening Don't Forget once again. After only a few minutes of writing, I get another alert from the client.
[twinArmageddons has begun chatting with carcinoGeneticist]
TA: ii don't even know why iim doiing thii2
TA: becau2e you're an iignorant a22hole
TA: but do you thiink you could help me learn the guiitar part?
TA: ii thiink ii can learn iit, but ii want two make 2ure iim learniing iit riigt
CG: HOLY SHIT
CG: YOU'RE ASKING ME TO HELP YOU?
CG: I MEAN, I CAN AND I WILL
CG: BUT I HONESTLY AM SHOCKED
TA: well fiine
TA: bee patroniiziing
TA: but can ii come over twoniight?
TA: twomorrow iim bu2y, 2ame wiith the next day
TA: ii mean ii know we 2tiill have a few week2 or whatever
TA: but miight a2 well get a head 2tart riight?
CG:...
TA: ?
CG: OK
CG: YEAH
CG: I JUST HOPE...
TA: hope what?
CG: NEVER MIND
CG: YOU CAN WALK HOME WITH ME
TA: ok
TA: talk wiith you later kk
CG: FINE
[twinArmageddons has ceased chatting with carcinoGeneticist]
I begin worrying my hair, I'm not sure what I have just gotten myself into.
The last period passes uneventfully, world history taught by "Dirk" went by quietly, although him and Dave were obviously related, in more ways than one. When final bell rings, I hurry down to my locker, telling Sollux to meet me by the front door. I grab my backpack, nodding to Gamzee as he leaves, and hurry out to wait for him.
While waiting, all my anxieties come crashing down once again, the ones that I have barely managed to push out of my mind. What if my dad was awake, what if he did plan something for me and Nepeta, or my mom, what could-
"Hey!"
I jerk my head up, staring into Sollux's frowning face. I assume that he has been waiting there for a few minutes, because he looks pretty annoyed.
"What?!" I snap, then flinch. I hadn't meant to sound so harsh. He scowls and leans back.
"You were zoned out, the last bus left five minutes ago," He states. My eyes widen and I frantically begin looking around for a clock.
"What time is it?!" I ask, jogging outside to see the clock on the front when I realize there are no clocks in the hallway nearby.
"uh, 4:02," he says, glancing at a watch on his wrist.
"SHIT!" I yelp, then take off running, my backpack bounces against my back sort of annoyingly, but I ignore it. I see Sollux running after me out of the corner of my eye.
"Dude! What the hell!" He shouts to me, his voice hitched from lack of air.
"I've got to pick up my kid cousin!" I yell back, leaping onto the sidewalk and continuing to sprint. I know that it would only take five minutes to get there if I run, tops.
"You have a kid cousin?" He asks, sounding shocked, falling behind before speeding up again.
"Yeah, she's in second grade," I reply, seeing the elementary school beginning to loom in front of me.
"Nice," He mutters, keeping pace behind me.
I'm pretty sure that's the fastest I've ever ran, because I'm able to skid to a stop ion front of the school within three minutes. My vision is a little blurry from lack of breath, and I can't really hear anything over the sound of my own heartbeat. I'm pretty sure Sollux is behind me, but it's hard to tell.
After a few minutes, I'm able to straighten, and I look to see Mrs. Aradia holding back laughter, and some other teacher standing behind her glaring at me. Nepeta is grinning at me from between them.
"See Mrs. Vriska! I told you!" She shouts happily, running forward to tackle-hug me. I almost lose my balance, but Sollux is standing behind me, and I end up falling against him. I can feel his breath sort of whoosh out when my head hits his chest.
"Augh! Sorry Sollux, Nepeta! Don't do that!" I say quickly, then look down at my cousin.
"Heheh! Sorry Karkitty!" She grins, releasing my waist, "Mrs. Vriska said you weren't going to show up, but I knew you would!"
"Mrs. Vriska?" I ask, looking up. "and I'm only a few minutes late."
"I'm Vriska," The other teacher says, brushing her blue-black hair over her shoulder, "I teach science and math for your cousin."
"Ok, well thanks for waiting out here with her, I didn't mean to be late," I say nervously, grabbing a hold of Nepeta's hand.
"Yeah, don't do it again," She scoffs, then stalks back into the building. Aradia looks angry at this action, but turns back to me with a small smile.
"Sorry, she can be rather irritable at times, but she's be a good person, I've been friends with her for years," She tells me reassuringly. I smile and wave it off.
"It's fine, but seriously, thanks for watching for her, I didn't leave campus as early as I wanted to," I say, beginning to turn around.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Aradia yells to me.
I wave at her as I continue to walk, grabbing Sollux's arm and tugging it until he begins following. He's rubbing his chest, over the spot where my head hit him.
"Damn KK, you have a hard head," He winces. I snort and continue walking, not bothering to reply.
"Karkitty, who's he?" Nepeta stage whispers to me, tugging on my sleeve to make me lean down. I grin at her curiosity.
"A friend of mine, we're going to work on a project together."
"Oh, ok! What's his name?" She asks with an adorably curious expression.
"Th'ollux, my name i'th Th'ollux," Sollux says, cutting in before I could reply.
"Sollux? That's a cute name! Furry cute," She exclaims with a slight purr to her voice. Sollux stares at her for a few seconds.
"Cute? my name i'th cute?" He splutters in disbelief. I begin to laugh at him, which confuses him even more.
"Yeah! It's cute!" Nepeta says in confirmation, straightening her blue cat hat.
"Whatever you say Nep," I say with a chuckle, earning a sound of protest from Sollux. Before I realize it, we're in front of our apartment complex. My breath rushes out in a sigh when I notice and a few worries leak through my wall of thoughts, but I brush them away the best that I can and push open the door.
The lobby is silent, and there's no one at the desk, so I continue through the room to the stairwell, opening the heavy metal door with a grunt and ushering Sollux and Nepeta through the door.
"5th floor," I say, pointing upwards. Sollux nods and begins to skillfully run up the flights. I snort and follow more slowly behind with Nepeta, who keeps staring at her feet and counting the number of stairs we climb. When we get to the 5th floor door, I usher the two of them through and point down the hall.
I stop Sollux in front of the apartment door, and take another deep breath. It seems fairly quiet at the moment, but I know better than to get my hopes up too much. Nepeta fidgets nervously beside me, and she looks up with scared eyes.
With a final sense of dread, I unlock the door and slowly open it.
AN:
Quick heads up, I've got alot of tests and etc. this week, and since the end of the school year is nearing I'll have alot of projects and the like due. Plus it's my goal to get all A's for my final report card so I'll be working on extra credit or *shudder* homework alot.
Basically, I'll try my best to get out at least two chapters a week.
Rooster Teeth fans I've written some stories on here if you want to check them out,
and I love all of you guys that read this story, I hope you enjoy it!