AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you read the previous chapter (20) before the 26th of January, I have updated it since then. As always, enjoy and review!-Manic-Catastrophe

The glass doors slid shut with a silent hiss, enclosing them in a small tube. Karkat had quickly learned that while they were riding the elevator, everyone was to remain silent. The rule was unspoken, and not really a rule at all, but he still assimilated Rosa's and Kanaya's habits with regularity. Surprisingly enough, Kanaya broke the silence after looking out over the darkening city.

"Mom is not going to be happy that you got in a fight with Equius. Even if you were defending yourself, that type of thing is not acceptable to her."

"Hey, he was holding me up by my throat! He would have killed me!"

"I'm not arguing that. I think that you had every right to defend yourself from him. Also, I'm leaving it up to you to bring it up."

Karkat groaned in dismay. "Really? Can't we just let it slide?"

"If you think that hiding this is the best way to deal with it, go ahead. Just beware, she notices everything in detail."

Karkat made other noises of frustration, but soon fell silent. Hmm, how's 'Hey, Rosa! A jock at school tried to kill me so I broke his nose!' No, maybe 'Hey look at these fancy markings on my neck!' Ach, that's stupid. He continued his brooding silence until the soft chime of the elevator summoned him away from his thoughts. Startled, he was halfway out of the elevator when he realized that this was the wrong floor.

Kanaya hid her laughter when she saw Karkat fling himself back in the elevator, his face coloring as he turned to look out over the city. At first it looked like he was embarrassed, but as she turned she saw that the late afternoon sun was responsible. Apparently, the elevator had stopped on this floor because the wrong button had been pushed. The mistake was rectified and a few seconds later, they both stepped out onto their floor.

Karkat lagged behind as Kanaya stepped out into the hallway. "Are you coming, Karkat?"

"I will in a bit. I'm going to go up to the roof." He pressed the corresponding button on the elevator and was carried up. Kanaya thought about following him, but decided to give him some time before pestering him.

Karkat stood a few feet from the edge of the building, looking out to the west. I just can't do this. It's hard to live like this. It's fine for people who know how to, but I spent the first fourteen years of my life living under a rock! Scowling, he kicked a pebble and sent it dropping down the canyon of buildings. Still frustrated, he sat down on a bench. The metal was cool to the touch, even through his jacket, but he liked that.

They expect me to put on a mask, to hide my feelings? They do it well. I can't! God, Karkat, you're such a stupid emotional train wreck. Grow a pair, how's that? He sat there, head in his hands, feeling the sea of emotions churn in his heart. You don't deserve this, Karkat. You have no right to intrude on their daily lives like this. Ugh, you're such a waste of space. Now look at you. You're hiding on the roof because you're afraid to tell Rosa the truth! How pathetic are you?

He lurched to his feet suddenly, eyes full of determination. Well, let them base their opinion of me off of the truth! He marched over to the elevators and rode one down to his floor. When he got to the door of his home, he hesitated. Are you sure you want to do this? Yes. He knocked twice and the door opened.

"There you are Karkat. Kanaya mentioned you went up to the roof for a while."

"Yeah, needed to think for a while. It's a lot to take in at once."

"I'm sure." She ushered him in and shut the door. "So, how was your first day back?"

Well, that could have gone better. Karkat was lying on his back with an ice pack wrapped in a thin towel around his neck. Rosa had not reacted well to the news. Instead of yelling and hitting him, like he half expected, she had only exhibited an air of… disappointment. In many ways, that was worse than physical abuse. When he had shown her the bruises on his neck, she treated it like it was a matter of life and death. Karkat had protested, saying that it was nothing. Thus, he was lying on his bed with what felt like a collar of ice around his neck.

"Karkat, dinner's ready!" Kanaya's voice called out from the kitchen. The smells wafting through the apartment were enticing, true, but Karkat wasn't very hungry.

"I'm not really hungry right now… could you save some for later, maybe?"

"Karkat, you should eat."

"I said I'll eat later."

"Okay…" the suggestion in her voice was clear: You'd better eat.

From that afternoon on, Karkat went up to the roof every day after school and nearly every night, too. Kanaya never followed him after school, but on nights when she couldn't sleep, she'd go up to the roof and he'd be up there. She didn't disturb him; she could tell he wanted to be alone then.

Karkat often would pace the roof, constantly in culture shock between then and his previous life. At least, that's what he thought they knew. Tonight, a chilly November night, aws no different. I've been here for two months and I still am astounded by them. How can they be so lighthearted? How can they even look me in the eye? I don't deserve this. It's all so strange, I almost want to go back to the way it used to be…

A familiar voice jolted him out of his internal monologue. "Careful what you wish for…"

Karkat froze in terror. Memories floated to the surface, still as sharp as the knife that made them. "Dad?" he croaked, his voice giving out. The insane grin he received confirmed his fear.

"Finally started using the pathetic mush you call a brain, have you?" the grin stretched wider, a knife appearing in his hand. "Now, if you make a noise, I won't kill you. Not immediately. I'll make you watch as I slit your pretty girlfriend's throat." He laughed as Karkat's eyes grew wide and he shook, partly from the cold, mostly from dread. "Then, after that, I'll stab her mom in the heart a few times. That'll be fun, won't it?"

Karkat's breath caught in his lungs. He pictured the scene and shuddered.

"And then, when both of 'em are dead, I'll let you fly. Right off the building." He laughed again, sounding even less sane than the last time Karkat had heard him. "But, that's only if you make noise. It's your choice, really."

Karkat nodded slowly, still mostly paralyzed by fear. His resolve was nearly broken when a foot shot out and kicked him in the ribs. He felt one crack, though not the same one that had been broken before. The force of the kick carried him to a few feet shy of the building's edge. He twisted to look at his dad again. He was kneeling right next to him, bringing his hand down on Karkat's arm. He remembered the pain all too well of having his arm pierced by a knife. This was worse. When the knife went in, his dad jerked it around, causing massive wounds to appear in his arms, limited only by the size of his forearms.

He could not scream, so he clenched his jaw against the pain. His dad gave a final laugh before shoving him the last few feet off of the building. Realizing that it made no difference now, Karkat screamed, in terror as much as pain. He saw the ground approaching him, and he knew that this was the end…

"Karkat! Karkat! It's alright, you're safe. Shhh, it's alright." Kanaya's voice woke him just before he made an unattractive red puddle on the sidewalk. He bolted upright, panting, batting Kanaya's hands in the process. He looked wildly around before seeing Kanaya was there. "Shh, calm down Karkat. It's just a dream."

"Dream?" he winced at the hoarseness of his voice. Looking down at his arms, he saw that they were still whole, albeit thin and pale. "I guess… it was a dream… after all. It was so real…"

Kanaya heard the fear in his voice, saw it in his eyes. It was even worse than it had been on the second day of school. She said nothing, just let Karkat lay back into her lap, where she resumed stroking his hair. Soon, his breathing slowed and his body loosened.

"It felt so real, Kanaya," He looked at her with wide eyes, "I could feel it…" he shuddered, rubbing at his forearms, "I can still almost feel it."

"It's just a dream Karkat, you'll be alright."

He sucked in a breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. "I was on the roof and he appeared behind me." Kanaya needed no explanation as to who he was. "He threatened to…" he trailed off, his body wracked by sobs, "He… th-th-threatened to k-kill you two." He lost all coherence as he was consumed by fear and relief.

He didn't say anything about what happened to him… interesting. He values us more than himself? Possibly. She sat there comforting him, trying to get him to let her in.

Eventually, he regained some of his composure. "He said that… well… if I were to scream… that he would… kill you." Kanaya gasped in horror. "He said he'd start with you, making me watch as he slit your throat." He paused, his body trembling.

"Shhh, it was all a dream, okay? He's not out there. He's not going to find you."

Karkat ignored her and continued, "And then, he said that he'd stab Rosa through the heart. It felt so real, I thought it was real."

"What happened to you? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, n-nothing. You woke me up right after that."

"No, I am sure that something more happened. You were rubbing your forearms when you woke up."

"Dammit. He stabbed me through the forearms again, but this time he made the gash through the entire area between the two bones."

"Oh, Karkat, that's awful!"

"And then he threw me off the roof. You woke me up right before I hit the ground." He closed his eyes again, another shudder running through his body. "I don't want to go back to sleep, but I'm so tired…"

"It's alright, Karkat. I'll be here for you."

He smiled briefly, the motion momentarily wiping fear from his face. Then, he was asleep. Kanaya stayed awake for another hour before falling asleep where she sat.