Karkat shuffled through his growing pile of papers for his schedule. Ah, there it was. Third Hour: Adv. Social Studies with Mr. Strider. Flipping the paper over, he found that the room was only on the other side of the building. He started off in that direction, but paused when an unexpected grumble erupted from his stomach. Shit, that won't be awkward at all in the middle of fucking S.S. class. Although, when did I last eat? Karkat thought about it for a moment. Certainly not this morning, and probably not last night. Maybe… breakfast yesterday? It seemed to fit.
Gritting his teeth against the noise, the glare off the walls, and his split head, Karkat set off to Mr. Strider's room. The crowd swirled around him, the chaos compounded by his height. Eventually, it thinned as he approached his next class. The room was in an area on campus that had very little traffic; the only people there were in classes within the little mini-courtyard. Glancing around, he found his room, but- Oh great. She's here, too? How long is she going to try to "help" me? I already told her to leave me alone!
The door flew open from the inside, allowing Karkat and his class to enter the room. A voice, presumably the teacher's called out, "Whatever seat you sit in, it's your seat for the whole fuckin' semester, got it?" The class seemed taken aback by his language, but quickly decided that this must be a "cool" teacher. Karkat ambled over to the desk closest to the door and made like he was going to sit down. Quick as a whip, Kanaya was sitting in the seat next to his. So, Karkat walked as far away from her as he could get and sat there. There, she's out of the picture for this class. But, wait, fuck! I'm sitting right in the front! Shit, can't switch either.
Glancing back at Kanaya, he was somewhat surprised to find her smiling softly at him, meeting his disgusting, freakish red eyes with her brilliant emeralds. He turned around as quickly as he dared, mind blank. Wh-what the FUCK? The pity is bad enough, but now she's playing the "genuine care" card too? Why? What can she possibly see in me? What can she see in a weak, worthless piece of shit like me?
As Karkat beat his fist on his desk in confusion, Mr. Strider began speaking from his desk, "Alright, here's some ground rules. Pretty basic stuff: no shouting; no throwing stuff; no vandalism, y'know, the damn school rules. Damn, you've heard all this shit three times already. I have one class rule: You call me Dave, or Strider. No goddamn titles in here…"
Karkat once again ceased paying attention to the rambling teacher, opting to inspect the room. Nearly every square inch of wall space was covered in record album covers. Oh great a fucking DJ as a teacher. Nice job D.H.S , really pulled through with this one. His inspection of the room continued as Strider began to call out what sounded like attendance. Surprisingly, his name was the first one he called out.
"Karkat Vantas?" Strider called. Karkat gave a noncommittal grunt, but to no avail. "I'm afraid that won't cut it Karkat. Were you even listening?' At this, half the class suddenly stopped chattering, all of them paying attention. "I was just saying that since this is a social studies course, we should all get to know each other a bit first. You are to stand up, introduce yourself, tell us your age, and something we should know about you. Got it now?"
As the class made various noises of assent, Karkat realized that this was an unexpected trap. But why are you so reluctant to let her know your name? That won't cause too much trouble, right? Realizing he was stuck no matter what, he decided to just give in. He stood up, but that made no difference as to how easy he was to see. "I'm Karkat Vantas, 13 years old." He sat down, but damn Strider wouldn't let it rest.
"I think you left out something Karkat. What do you want us to know about you?"
"There is nothing more that you need to know about me, you ignorant fuck!"
"Are you sure?" Dave just wouldn't let it rest, "There must be something."
"I am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT sure that there is NOTHING you need to know about me!" Karkat was fully aware of the consequences of revealing any information about his life, or suggesting he was in a less than ideal situation.
Once, his dad had restrained him on the floor while he carved I WILL DIE BEFORE TELLING PEOPLE ANYTHING into his back. Karkat had been at school, and attempted to drop hints that he was living in hell. Somehow, his dad found out and went berserk that afternoon. He had left Karkat tied to the floor as the blood flowed from his wounds. Hours later, when Karkat had nearly slipped into anemic shock, hid dad decided to keep him awake by upending a bottle of rubbing alcohol onto him. He was in third grade at the time.
KANAYA'S P.O.V.
Kanaya carefully watched the unnamed young man as they filed into the classroom. Mr. Strider's instructions for finding a seat actually made it easy for her to find a seat next to her unwilling charge. She sat down in the chair next to him, only to turn and see him walk as far away as possible from her and sit there. Since she could not see his face, she studied his posture when gaps in the shrinking crowd would allow. He sat slumped over, seemingly trying to protect his front torso from blows. She saw him turn to look at her, and she finally saw his eyes. Before, they had always been shadowed by his hood. But, when reflecting the light, she saw that they were a beautiful, deep ruby color. Even looking at them brought a small smile to her face. Such a wonderful color.
Quickly, she studied his face, brought into the light for the first time since she had seen him. She was expecting something that would prove her suspicions unfounded. She wanted to be wrong about him. But she could tell right away that his life was hell in one way or another. His face was pulled tightly over the bones. The skin was an unhealthy, pale white that made her want to cry just to look at it. But best, and worse, were his eyes. They were, as she had previously seen, a brilliant ruby red. But, they were sunken deep into the sockets and had large dark bags under them.
As he began to turn away, she noticed another thing: his eyes had large blood vessels running through them. But… you only see those in women who have given birth, or in people who have undergone extreme physical pain. But to see them in someone so young… she gasped aloud. He-he's been abused, maybe still is. How can he go on, even in the way he is now? She was brought out of her ruminations when Mr. Strider began to talk.
"Alright, here's some ground rules. Pretty basic stuff: no shouting; no throwing stuff; no vandalism, y'know, the damn school rules. Damn, you've heard all this shit three times already. I have one class rule…"
The monologue continued for several minutes, while he detailed the objectives of the course, major projects within the class, and the day's activity. As he talked, most people ceased listening to him, but Kanaya kept her ears open, but her eyes on the small, pain-filled boy in the front row. He was looking around the classroom, and from his body language, he was not impressed.
"Karkat Vantas?" Strider called. Kanaya heard a tiny noise come from somewhere in the room, but couldn't place it. "I'm afraid that won't cut it Karkat. Were you even listening?" He began re-explained the day's activity, and she saw the small, tense, hooded figure tense up even more. Then, to her delight, she saw him stand up. So, that's your name. Karkat. She let the name roll around in her head as he spoke. Such a wonderful sounding name. I wish he would have just told me during study hall.
Kanaya was startled out of her reverie when Karkat began to yell: "I am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT sure that there is NOTHING you need to know about me!" She watched as he threw himself down into his seat and the next person got up. He sure is afraid to open up at all.
When her turn came, she was about to start speaking, but before she could, five long, deep tolls of the bell came, and anything she might have said was lost in the noise. She picked up her bag and left the room. Looking at her schedule, she noticed her fourth hour class was algebra, all the way across campus. Glancing behind her, she saw Karkat exit Strider's room, rifling through his stack of papers. He glanced up, saw her, and turned away. To most people's eyes, he would have appeared normal as he walked to the corner of the building. But Kanaya saw what most people wouldn't: his entire body was quaking in fear.