Well, this chapter is a college!stuck AU dedicated to rachel! She's a lyrics goddess too
Also, Gamzee is genderbent in this one, so he pronouns will be she. got it? Okay! LETS GET FIC-E

Gamzee sat in her dorm room, bored out of her skull. Her black hair was tangled, but purposefully. It was always how she looked. Another thing she always looked was high, she was pretty much always stoned out of her mind, because without that high, she became extremely volatile, Almost like a man-made isotope. Her purple eyes were always glassed over and she always had on a goofy smile. The only time she wasn't high was when she was sleeping, and that was when she needed it most because of the night terrors clawing at the inside of her dreams. Other college students loved her, but they didn't know the real her.

Her boyfriend Tavros didn't really mind, though he wished he was able to help her. He wanted her to be able to be around him without being high as a kite, but it was just how she was. Tavros knew what he had gotten into when they had started dating, so he couldn't really complain. Gamzee's flaws would never push him away because he was totally and deeply in love with her. They'd been dating for a little over a year, and he had gotten used to all of Gamzee's quirks, the pot smoking, the faygo drinking, her love of Insane Clown Posse, and even her room that was always a mess (though they almost always hung out in his room).

For Gamzee, it was just one of those nights. One of those nights where she needed to get as high as possible because her love was gone. Tavros was visiting his parents that weekend, so she was all alone. She could text him, but she really didn't want to seem bothersome. Honestly, what she wanted most was to hear that cute stutter of his and that shy tone. He'd only been gone two days so far and already she missed him. She couldn't help but laugh spitefully at herself as she took a final hit from her bong. 'You're pathetic.' The voice inside her head hissed, and then it continued, 'Do you honestly think you can get rid of me by smoking a little pot? How do you expect to get rid of your own personality? I'm always here, you've got me. But where is Tavros? Out visiting his dear parents? That's what he'd like you to think.'

Gamzee shook her head and ignored the voice that always nagged at the back of her skull. Tavros would be back tomorrow and everything would be fine. Her conscience was always louder when he was gone, it made her miss him even more. Pot alone wasn't helping this time, in the past few days that voice had gotten progressively louder, as though every day without Tavros was a day that the dark side of her could grow stronger.

In a sudden surge of anger, she punched a wall and her fist began to bleed. "God damn voices..." She mumbled under her breath as she rubbed her bruised knuckles and walked over to her mini-fridge, hoping to find some munchies.

Her search was fruitful when she found an unopened bag of Doritos in her cupboard. "Hell. Yes." She exhaled, relieved as she sat back on her bed to munch on her chips.

A little more than half the bag was gone by the time Gamzee decided to text Tavros. She texted him, "Hey babe, hows the parents :O)"

Not long after, he replied, "It's okay I guess,,, I just wish I was able to be with you instead,"

And back and forth they went, texting each other throughout the night, talking about everything and nothing. Everytime the two talked it was almost like meeting each other for the first time, they never ran out of things to talk about. It was the type of relationship that others envied. Their circle of friends always complained about how cute the couple was, wishing they were able to have their own relationship like theirs.

As the effects of the pot started to kick in, Gamzee could feel herself becoming drowzy. She texted Tavros goodnight before slipping into her purple polka dot pajama pants and black tank top. This was the part she hated, knowing she would go to sleep. Gamzee bit her lip as she thought about what terrors would plague her that night, but she was also excited because the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner she would be able to see Tavros again. That simple fact was enough to put a goofy grin on her face as she turned off all the lights and sunk into her bed. 'Sweet dreams,' Her conscience cackled, knowing full well the types of dreams she was going to have that night.

With a pained sigh, Gamzee closed those purple eyes and fell into a deep yet fitful slumber. She dreamt of murder, murder by her own hands and she was surrounded by the blood of those closest to her. Not just her family and friends, but Tavros as well. Their blood was on her hands, literally. All of a sudden, the floor fell out from beneath her and she was in a court room, she heard the verdict 'guilty,' and the loud repetitive banging of a gavel. Before she knew it, her eyes flew open and she was awake, yet the banging continued.

Rubbing her eyes, she slowly got out of bed and with a raspy voice said, "I'm coming!" as she walked over to her door and opened it. Not soon after the door opened did Tavros wheel himself in and almost knock her over with a hug. She hugged leaned down and hugged him back, very surprised, but then he placed a sweet kiss on her lips. When he pulled away there was a slight blush to his cheeks. "I uh... I missed you." he stated, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

That brought a genuine smile to Gamzee's face, and she said, "I missed you too, Tav." She was very glad he was back, and since he'd been in her room she had yet to hear that voice in her head. She almost forgot that she wasn't high yet.

Tavros leaned over in his wheel chair and looked over to Gamzee's left and raised an eyebrow. "Was I, uh... Interupting something?" He asks, noticing Gamzee's drug paraphernalia still strewn around the room from the previous night.

"Actually, no." She smiled at him genuinely and then added, "I don't think I'm going to smoke today. I don't think it'll be necessary."

Tavros looked at her in shock. Gamzee without pot was like a boxer without gloves, improbable. "What changed your mind all of a sudden?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Let's just say that it's an experiment." She hugged him again. "I just don't want to be high around you all the time, you know? It's not fair to you. You deserve the best me that I can give, and I don't think that me being high all the time is what you need." She buried her head against his neck, and he played casually with her tangled morning hair.

"W-well I uh.. I think you're perfect no matter what state you're in, because well, I uh.. I love you, Gamzee." Tavros said, pulling Gamzee's head from his neck and looking into her purple eyes.

Gamzee's eyes widened as she stared into Tavros' chocolatey brown ones. They had been together for over a year, but neither of them had actually said 'I love you' out loud to one another. Sure, they both knew it, but it's always better to hear, that way you know the feelings are genuine. Her heart beat soared as she stood there in silent awe.

She must have been silent for quite some time because Tavros looked even closer into her eyes, as though searching for some indication that she had heard him. As Gamzee realized this, she smiled again and said, "I love you too, you big goof."

Tavros let out a relieved sigh. "Y-you uh, you scared me there for a minute."

"Hehe.." She laughed awkwardly. "I'm really sorry, I was a bit surprised, you know? We've never actually said it to each other like that."

Tavros thought about that for a moment, and then looked as though a light bulb went off in his head. "Oh that's right! I'm sorry I've never said uh... that... before. But I've always loved you!" His cheeks flushed red and he looked down.

Gamzee smushed Tavros' cheeks together playfully and said, "You're so cute. Wanna go get some breakfast?"

"Sure! But uh.. don't you wanna change your clothes first? You're still in your pajamas."

Gamzee looked down as though she had forgotten what she was wearing. "Oh. Right. Yeah I should probably do that." She shrugged and pulled off her shirt and pants and went over to her dresser to find clothes for the day.

"Y-you're uh... You're not wearing any clothes." Tavros noted, covering his eyes.

Gamzee looks over at him. "Mmmhm. How else am I supposed to change? You don't have to cover your eyes you know, it's no different than if I were wearing a bathing suit or whatever."

"I know but, uh.. I've never seen you in actual um... underclothes... before."

Gamzee chuckled. "Underclothes? Really? Say it with me honey, panties. Pan-tees. It's no big deal. Plus, we've been dating for almost two years, I think it's okay for you to see me like this." She stops looking for clothes and puts her hands on her hips, standing directly in front of Tavros. "Open your eyes." She tells him.

"O-okay." Tavros then opened his eyes and looked up at Gamzee, who was still only in a bra and underwear. He felt his cheeks heat up but tried to focus only on his girlfriend's face.

"See? No big deal." She deduced as she kissed him and then went back to picking her clothes.

She finally settled on a pair of pants with holes in the knees and a black and purple T-shirt and threw them on then quickly fixed her hair before throwing on a bit of makeup, though she didn't feel she really needed it. "All right, I'm good. You ready?" She asked Tavros, who had rolled himself next to Gamzee's bed and was looking through one of her many music magazines.

"Sure. Where are we going?" He asks, putting the magazine away and wheeling himself closer to her.

"To the DINING HALL!" She shouted excitedly. Noticing Tavros flinch she shrugged apologetically. "Sorry! Can I wheel you around?" She asked, poking at the handles of his wheel chair.

"Uh... S-sure." He stuttered as he looked up at Gamzee and smiled a genuine smile. "Just don't try to race with me like you did last time." he asked as a shiver ran down his spine at the memory. She had almost made him get ran over by a car.

"Heh.. hehe... I'm still super sorry about that babe. Won't happen again. Scouts honor!" She promised, crossing her heart.

"Okay, let's go then!" Tavros said excitedly.

"That's what I'm talkin' about! Let's go get some motherfucking pancakes." She giggled.

Gamzee opened her door and then came back for Tavros, wheeling him down the hallway, into the elevator, and out the front door of her building. She walked towards the dining hall happily pushing Tavros in front of her. She really did love him. Usually that was the point where her conscience would butt in but she heard nothing, so far so good.

Walking down the street the two made small-talk, Tavros talked about the visit to his parent's and Gamzee told him about her uneventful evenings. She explained the pure joy she felt when she found the bag of Dorito's the night before and Tavros' tinkling laughter ran out. Whenever she told him stories that happened while she was high, he couldn't help but laugh, they were so ridiculous! But also cute.

The couple reached their destination and Gamzee pushed through the automated doors. "Awesome. Time for breakfast. Man I dreamt about breakfast last night." She lied as she pushed through the line for the breakfast bar.

"Ey, what do you wanna eat?" Gamzee asks, handing Tavros a plate.

"Uh... Bacon... uh... scrambled eggs... and um... pancakes."

"Sweet, same as me!" She noticed as she put the requested foods on Tavros' plate for him.

After the two got all the food they could eat, they found an empty table and Gamzee pushed Tavros up to it before sitting in her own chair. Tavros looked down at his food and sighed. Gamzee noticed and asked, "What's wrong Tav?" She filled her mouth with pancake but still looked concerned.

"I wish I could get these casts off already. Being in a wheel chair is making people, uh.. look at me funny."

"Maybe it's because you're so cute! Besides, you only have a couple weeks until those casts come off. They make you look pretty badass." She smiled warmly before shoving more food into her mouth.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, once you tell them the story behind how you broke them it's pretty badass."

Tavros sighed. "Gamzee, failing at skateboarding to the point where you break both of your legs doesn't sound very uh.. 'badass' to me. It makes me sound like a uh... like a dork."

"Yes, but a very cute dork." Gamzee teased.

The two continued their idle chatter and continued to eat until their plates were completely devoid of evidence that food was ever there. "Ahh that was so good!" Gamzee stated, rubbing her full tummy happily.

Tavros just laughed, he found everything Gamzee did to be extremely cute.

Later on they both ended up back in Gamzee's dorm room and just relaxed and talked. Gamzee even took an hour to draw on Tavros' casts. She drew all kinds of swirls and patterns on the brown casts with black marker, making an almost psychedelic look to those drab casts. When she was done she capped the marker and whiped her forehead. "There, all done."

Tavros looked down at the designs and his smile was huge. "W-wow Gamzee, they look great, thank you."

"Anything for my boyfriend in need." She said before standing up and sitting on her bed.

"so, uh.. you never really told me why you didn't need to get um.. high today. So why? Just wondering."

"I've told you about that voice I hear when I'm sober right?"

"Mmhm."

"Well I figured out another way to deal with it. I realized that when I'm around you, that part of me is just.. silent."

"R-really?" Tavros asked in wonder.

"Yup." Gamzee nodded. "I realized that last night. Today was the test run. It seems to be working though, but I have one more thing to ask."

"W-what is it?"

"Would you stay the night with me tonight?"

Tavros knew that Gamzee didn't mean anything lewd by that, but his cheeks turned red none the less. "Uh... S-sure."

Gamzee beamed. "You really are the best," and then she kissed him on his cheek.

Tavros chuckled. "I'll stay with you whenever you want."

"Good!" If Tavros hadn't had casts on his legs she would have tackled him, but luckily she refrained.

So, Tavros and Gamzee waited out the night, talking more and more about nothing, eating junkfood, and watching movies. Gamzee was the first to yawn when night time came. "Are you tired already?" Tavros, who had managed to get himself next to Gamzee in her bed asked."

"Mmm.. yeah, I'm a bit tired. Can we sleep?" She asks, her eyes half lidded. She was obviously tired.

Tavros smiles sweetly. "Of course."

The two lay next to each other, Gamzee pressing her face against Tavros' chest and inhaling his sweet scent. To her his cologne smelled like her favorite flavor of Faygo, grape. His tanned skin was warm and his long hair was soft against her fingers. "You're amazing." She murmured against his chest.

"No, you are. Get some rest, okay?" Tavros replied sleepily.

Gamzee laughed tiredly, "Alright. Goodnight Tavros."

"Goodnight Gamzee."

And they fell asleep. Gamzee had been scared about having nightmares again that night, but just as she thought, none came. Instead she dreamt of Faygo fountains and lovely dates with Tavros. It was the sweetest dream she'd had since she was a child, it was almost hard for her to believe when she woke up the next morning that she hadn't woken up crying or screaming in terror. In fact, what she woke up to was a smile on her face that matched Tavros', who had been watching her sleep.

"Mmm.. Were you watching me?" She teased, pressing her face against Tavros' chest, still groggy from just waking up.

"Uh... Y-yes, but I couldn't help it! You're just so cute when you're sleeping!" He admitted, laughing gently.

"Hmm.. About how long have you been up?" Gamzee asked looking up into Tavros' brown eyes.

"Oh about... an hour I think? That doesn't really matter though. Did your experiment work or uh.. did you just want an excuse to sleep next to your crippled boyfriend?" He managed a cute smirk. It was rarely that he ever did that, but it made Gamzee's heart thump.

Gamzee smiled and blushed, "Yes, it actually did work. Wanna know what it was?"

"Mmmhm."

"I was testing a theory about my nightmares and that voice. That voice doesn't talk when I'm with you, so I wanted to see if you could take away my nightmares too. You must be like my own personal dream catcher because it worked." She kissed him on the lips sweetly. "Thank you for staying with me Tavros."

Tavros holds Gamzee tight in his arms, "I'll uh... I'll come stay with you any time Gamzee, you know I will. You just uh... You just have to ask!"

"I know Tav. I know."

With everything sorted out, Gamzee was able to stop using pot as a way to make herself feel better. With practice, she was even able to stop hearing the voice completely, even when Tavros wasn't around. Sometimes Gamzee still had nightmares, but they were nothing like they had been. Tavros had saved her, and she was grateful, grateful for the love of her life, her prince.

Well that was this chapter! Tell me how you like it!