I'm gonna try to start uploading chapters every Friday, we'll see how that goes. Honestly, this one could have easily been two chapters, but I have an outline and I'm trying to stick to it, so here's a nice long read for you.
%O%
Little Miracles:
Anticipation
Monday, March 2nd 2015
Nepeta was almost skipping as she walked home from school. Her head was abuzz as she thought about working with Karkat on their art project, and she already had several ideas— some relating to the project, others about getting to know that boy. She glided down the sidewalk, taking the time to notice a little flower in the grass, or a bird tweeting overhead.
Nepeta loved springtime. It was easily her favourite season, and the trees were just starting to bud with the promise of new life. There was a chill in the air, but as the days wore on, it seemed to be getting less noticeable. Not that it would even matter if the air was freezing cold— nothing could get Nepeta's spirits down after her stroke of luck today.
She'd spent the rest of her school day thinking about Karkat, and about how she now had a reason to talk to her crush. She was eager to see him at school tomorrow… but anxiety festered in the back of her mind.
What if he doesn't like me? What if he thinks I'm just a weirdo? The heavy thoughts drifted through her mind like glaciers, and Nepeta stopped skipping down the sidewalk. She shook her head in an attempt to cast away those pesky negative feelings.
You'll be fine, she told herself. He seems nice enough, all you have to do is be normal. Nepeta soothed her thoughts and started walking again, a little less gleefully this time, wondering how the coming day was going to go.
She made it to her house not long afterward. As she strode in through the front door, Nepeta saw her sister Meulin sitting on the couch. She was absorbed in the task of knitting something. It was a teal creation, and fairly long— Nepeta assumed it was a scarf.
Meulin must have noticed the motion of the door, because she looked up from her work and waved to Nepeta, smiling all the while. Nepeta returned the gesture as she shut the door, then followed it up with a series of more complex hand gestures— sign language. She asked Meulin how her day was, and she replied that it was going very well. Nepeta signed back that she'd had a great day at school, and that later on she was going to tell Meulin about it, because she had some news. Meulin signed that she couldn't wait to hear it, and Nepeta replied that she'd tell her at dinner.
With that, Meulin picked up her knitting needles and returned to what she'd been doing. Nepeta was just heading back to her room when a fluffy white cat jogged into the living room to greet her.
"Pounce!" Nepeta chirped, happy to see her little companion. She squatted down and started scratching behind his ears. "How're you doing buddy?" she cooed. Pounce flopped onto his side, purring in response, and Nepeta started rubbing his belly. Meulin stopped knitting and watched in silence as her little sister played with the cat, a smile stuck on her face.
%O%
Karkat was laying upside down on Gamzee's bed, his eyes tracking a blade of the ceiling fan above him as it went around and around. At this point, he barely realised he was even doing it. He was so deep in thought that nothing else really registered in his head. He sighed occasionally, but that was pretty much all he did for a while.
The only noise in the room besides the fan's quiet whir was Gamzee rummaging through his closet. Karkat had practically forgotten his friend was even there, and he jumped a bit when Gamzee tried to get his attention. His shaggy head popped out of the closet, and there was a gleam in his eyes.
"Bro, I found it!" he shouted, and Karkat jumped a little.
"Jesus, Gamzee!" Karkat yelled back, sitting up. "What are you talking about? The hell did you find?"
"It's that book I been telling you about, come check this out!" Gamzee waved his hand, motioning for Karkat to get off the bed and come look. Karkat couldn't recall Gamzee talking about any book— it must have been while he wasn't paying attention.
"Since when do you read any fucking books?" Karkat asked his friend, as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed, pushing himself off. Gamzee emerged fully from the closet and turned around to face him, brandishing what was probably the most colourful tome Karkat had ever seen.
"Don't you remember, bro? I told you I was squatting on this little wonder, right? A book full of art, and like, instructions to make art, and shit like that. I'm telling you, if you're a bro who's looking to make some magic in the world, this book, it's… well it's a straight up—"
"Gamzee don't you fucking say it."
Gamzee just looked right at Karkat, and grinned that wry grin of his. "It's a straight up miracle, bro."
Karkat just sighed heavily, snatching the book from Gamzee's hands. He turned around and walked back to the bed, opening the book as he laid down. The smile on Gamzee's face didn't fade; he knew he'd managed to pique Karkat's interest.
"I figured, y'know, since you got this whole thing going down in your art class, you could make some use of it or some shit." Gamzee came over and sat at the foot of the bed, gazing across the room and out his window.
"Yeah, thanks." Karkat was thumbing through the pages, staring blankly as words and pictures flickered in and out of view. Really, he only gleaned one fact from his investigation: a lot of shit concerning art had been pressed into this more-or-less average book. Privately, Karkat acknowledged that it actually was an impressive object— but he refused to call it miraculous. Still, Karkat kept looking through it.
"You like it?" Gamzee asked him.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, it's cool and all… really cool."
Karkat didn't look up from the book, he was too busy thinking about how he could use it to save his ass. One of Karkat's biggest concerns was that he knew almost nothing about art. The extent of his ability was pretty much doodling stick figures and sloppy recreations of scenes from movies he liked.
He couldn't help but think that he was majorly fucked. Nepeta was the best artist in that class, and he barely knew how to draw a straight line. She'd probably wind up doing all the work and he'd just be sitting there, completely useless. He frowned at the idea.
"You all good, Karkat?"
"Yeah man, I'm fine," he said, but Gamzee seemed unconvinced.
"A'ight, come on. Spill it," he said. Gamzee turned so that he was sitting cross-legged and facing his friend. Karkat pouted for a while, then decided to sit up as well, arms linked around his bent legs. He set the vivid book by his side, and it dipped slightly into the covers. He'd almost curled up into a ball.
"I'm just bracing myself, because this shit with Nepeta's gonna fucking suck."
Gamzee leaned forward as much as he could with his hands in his lap, and for once his face held nothing but seriousness. "But that's the thing, is you don't know that. It ain't like it's some kinda universal truth. Karkat, this girl could be the coolest motherfucker you've ever seen."
"What if she's not, Gamzee? What the hell happens then?" There was a pause, and Gamzee's gaze fell down to his own hands. They fidgeted with each other nervously.
"I know you been through some rough times, bro… but you gotta give her a chance to just be her friendly self and all. I'm serious and shit… like, she could be a little miracle in your life, like the one I've always been talking about."
Karkat grimaced at the word. "You never answered my fucking question," he spat.
"Well… Do you remember way back when we became friends, all those years ago?" Gamzee asked, a small smirk appearing on his face. "You hated me, bro. For a while, you did… But I kept bugging the shit outta you. I wouldn't leave you be. And I think, eventually, you went and decided I wasn't so bad, after all. And look at us now."
Karkat smiled a little as he retrieved those old memories. It was a warm smile, too— for once, nothing about it was forced. "Yeah, I remember that. Of course I fucking remember that. How could I not— you still bug the shit outta me. Anyway, so what?"
"Karkat, you gotta be letting people in your life sometimes. You're never gonna go nowhere if you assume the worst and give people that cold shoulder you got."
Karkat mulled this over for a while, sighing. "I'll try to be fucking friendly, okay? Jesus."
"That's the way, best friend. Open up, just a little bit, and life will surprise you. I promise." Gamzee's eyes lit up, happy that he was going to give it a shot. Gamzee held out his hand for a fist bump, and Karkat reluctantly tapped it with his own.
"Yeah? Well it better be a good fucking surprise." Karkat turned his attention to his new book, laying back on the bed to read it some more.
%O%
Nepeta was splayed across her bed, laying on her stomach and typing intently on her laptop. Music blared in her earbuds. Notebooks were strewn around her, some of them open and some shut. She'd been working on an essay for the past hour and half, and she was beat. She figured she'd earned herself a break, and switched over to Pesterchum.
It was then that she realised she'd yet to tell her best friend about the shocking development at school today. Her emerald eyes scanned down the list until she spotted his username— CentaursTesticle.
— ArsenicCatnip [AC] began pestering CentaursTesticle [CT] —
AC: *ac sneaks up behind ct and playfully bats at his hair*
CT: Hi
AC: *ac curls up in ct's lap and purrs contentedly*
CT: Nepeta what is it that you need
AC: *ac says she has great news to tell ct*
CT: Inform me of this news without the preposterous roleplaying
AC: but equiuuuuus!
CT: Nepeta you will cease this f001ishness at once
AC: rawr! youre no fun!
CT: I'm plenty of fun
AC: are not!
CT: I am so
AC: no
CT: Yes
AC: no!
CT: Yes
AC: nooo!
CT: Enough
CT: Tell me about this news of yours
AC: hisssss
CT: Now
AC: fine
AC: i got my partner for the art project today
AC: and
AC: its karkat!
CT: Oh heavens
CT: This is another f001ish joke isnt it
AC: no its not!
CT: Dont tell me youre actually working with that classless ruffian
AC: equius be nice! hes not that bad!
CT: All ive ever heard from him is complaining and profanity
CT: And he has associated himself with an unsavoury crowd
AC: equius! im really nervous and youre not helping!
CT: My apologies
AC: he always sits by himself in art
AC: he looks out the window and mumbles to himself
AC: maybe he just needs somebody to talk to
CT: Nepeta dont get too involved with that delinquent
AC: i want to help cheer him up!
CT: I forbid it Nepeta
CT: He is nothing but trouble
AC: you cant do that!
CT: I can
AC: no!
CT: Yes
AC: nooo! hes my partner so i have to talk to him!
AC: and im going to do anything i can for him!
AC: so thats that!
— ArsenicCatnip [AC] ceased pestering CentaursTesticle [CT] —
Nepeta slapped her laptop shut with a groan. She wasn't really surprised that their conversation went the way it did— after all, Equius basically saw himself as her personal bodyguard. But this was her chance, and she was going to make the most of it. With or without his approval.
%O%
Karkat was almost completely immersed in his colourful book. The diagrams of different art styles and techniques, while mostly foreign to him, held a sort of allure. Still, in the back of his mind, something was bothering him.
Karkat looked over at Gamzee, who was drawing something at his desk. He contemplated telling his friend about the other thing that had happened during the school day, but decided against it. Venting to that airhead would probably wind up being more trouble than it was worth.
The scene kept playing out in Karkat's mind; he'd been in chemistry, a class he shared with Terezi. Of course, she loved to be a distraction. She kept passing notes to him, flirting with him, and always gave him this crazy look, like he was a piece of meat she wanted to eat. It was really unnerving.
Why couldn't she just take a fucking hint? He wasn't interested in her. She was manipulative, and dramatic, and she just wanted him because she thought he was attractive. But he didn't want to tell her off, because they'd been friends for a long time. So what the hell could he do? Exasperated, Karkat set down his book and harshly covered his face with one of Gamzee's pillows, like he could smother the flashback he was going through. Gamzee turned around from his desk.
"You still got a weight all up in your mind, don't you?" he asked.
"Shut up," Karkat snapped from beneath the pillow.
%O%
This chapter was supposed to be out Friday, but the week's been a little crazy for me and the weekend was even more intense. Still, gonna try and keep to that Friday upload schedule. Also, as you may have noticed, I was unable to include the beginning quirks Nepeta and Equius always type. For some reason, this website really doesn't like those angled bracket things. It's very unfortunate.
As always, feel free to let me know what you think of the story so far.