AN: ok there is way too many red squiggly lines in this this is making me suffer. Oh shut up me noone reads this part anyways you know that. Enjoy the next chapter I spent half my life writing!
~AP
Karkat walked into the school grounds, his backpack slung over his shoulder. As he walked to his group of friends, people stared and whispers and mutters that they thought he couldn't hear were exchanged. He did hear, of course, but he wasn't going to flip out about it. He was used to it. He'd been the topic of popular and unpopular kid's whispered talks before school for a long time now, and he knew it. He was as much the school's whisper-topic as he was the laughing stock, and he honestly stopped giving a fuck back in his playground days. He took note of his friends faces. Most looked distraught, depressed and everything he was last night. But he wasn't going to let that show. Because only Gamzee, Sollux, and now Aradia and Tavros had ever seen him be that weak. Sollux stared at his friend. Karkat knew Sollux could read him like a book.
Sollux used to be one of the people who beat him up after school, and Karkat had once (It was a secret not even Gamzee knew) cried and begged the taller teen to back off. Sollux had seen what he was doing was wrong. Or that was what he said. Karkat suspected he had pitied him, but back then, everyone pitied him. He dumped the popular gang and started to hang around with Karkat and the gang. He'd apologized countless times for the bruises and grazes and cuts caused by him and his gang, and it did annoy you a bit.
Sollux could see through the confident, comforting mask Karkat had held for years. And he knew it. His friend's eyes (one red and one blue) followed Karkat as he walked up to where everyone else was. Nepeta was crying. He hated that. He hated it when his friends cried. Karkat rushed up to the girl, who was about his size, and pulled her into his arms as she sobbed. "K-Karkitty...I-I...W-why..." She cried, balling her fists up in his shirt. "I-it's n-not...F-F-fair!"
"I know, Nep, I know it's not fair." Karkat said comfortingly. "W-why t-them? W-why n-not me?"
"Nep!" Karkat said, holding his friend at arm's length. "Don't think like that! We love you as much as we love them, and it wouldn't help anyone's hurt if it was you instead of one of them!"
"I'm sorry, it's just-"
"No! No more it's justs! You can cry, Nepeta, and you can be sad, because that's natural, but I'm not going to let you blame this on yourself and if Tav or-..." Karkat took a deep breath. "If Tav or Mary were here they'd say the same."
"I miss it, Karkitty."
"...Miss what?"
"Being innocent. Being a kid. Laughing and smiling and having fun in a world we thought had no depression or sadness or tragedy. I miss it all."
"I know, Nepeta. I know."
School went by as usual. Gamzee was probably still with Tavros at the hospital, considering he wasn't at school. It was strange. Without Mary, Gamzee and Tavros there, it just felt...weird. The school day was uneventful. Things went along as normal, apart from a couple of people's sadness and other's whispers. Karkat was walking home when it happened.
He was just walking, as he usually did, when he was confronted. It was the gang that used to beat him up. "Hey, freak! Heard another one of your mates died, who'd have thought?" One of them said spitefully. Karkat clenched his fists. He had done this before. They made him angry, he striked out, and then he got beaten up. He knew they had a knife, and they were much bigger than him. Sollux is going to catch up with me, Karkat thought. "Freak, you're not talking. Has your freakish catty friend got your tongue?"
"Don't talk about Nepeta like that."
"Shut your mouth, freak. We say what we want."
He should have stopped himself lashing out and punching the guy. They were bigger than him. He mentally cursed himself for not walking away as he took a blow to the face. Karkat fell to the floor with the force of the blow. The group gathered round, kicking and punching him from every direction. And all the short boy could do is close his eyes and wait for it to end. He got kicked hard in the head, then everything went black.
When he came around he was at his house with an ice pack on his face. His dad was at his side. "Hello, son." He said softly.
Shit, Karkat thought, I never told him about the bullies...
As if he could read his mind, his father said: "Sollux told me. He found you knocked out in the ginnel on the way home."
"Oh."
"Son, I need to talk to you about something." Dad said seriously.
"What is it, Dad?"
"I've been thinking and...Son, we're moving." His father said.
"WHAT?!" Karkat shouted. He couldn't stop himself shouting. His dad sighed.
"I was afraid you'd react like this."
"DAD! My friends, they need me."
"Not as much as I do. It's become too much of a risk, Karkat. You getting bullied, the accidents and everything. I can't lose you, Karkat."
"And you aren't going to! Dad...Please." He began to beg his father. "You can't do this to me. I've made friends, Dad. Friends who I love and who need me and I can't leave them alone."
"I know you don't like the idea , son, but its for your own safet-"
"NO!" Karkat screamed. "I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT MY OWN SAFETY, DAD! I'M WORRIED ABOUT THEIR SAFETY!"
"WELL I'M WORRIED ABOUT YOUR SAFETY AND THEY ARE TOO!"
"DAD!"
"WE'RE LEAVING TOMORROW!"
Karkat ran to his room with tears in his eyes, ice pack still held in death grip to his aching head. He dropped into his PC chair and logged into his Pesterchum.
carcinoGeneticist [CG] created a memo: EVERYONE GET THE FUCK HERE RIGHT NOW
terminallyCapricous [TC] responded to memo
TC: KaRkAt?
twinArmageddons [TA] responded to memo
TA: what the fuck ii2 goiing on?
arsenicCatnip [AC] responded to memo
AC: :33 Karkitty? whats wrong?
CG: UGH OK JUST COPY AND PASTE THIS TO THE OTHERS OR WHATEVER
CG: DAD'S MAKING ME MOVE
TC: No FuCkInG wAy
TA: oh hell to the fuckiing no
AC: :33 *ac looks sad* really, karkitty?
CG: YES
CG: YES FUCKING WAY
CG: WE'RE GOING TOMORROW
TA: KK are you ok
TC: WhY wOuLd He NoT bE?
TA: he got beaten up agaiin after 2chool
TA: when ii found hiim he wa2 out cold
CG: YES I'M OK
TA: what type of ok? ii'm not okay but i'll make you thiink 2o becau2e ii don't want you to worry ok, or actually ok.
CG: ANYWAY
CG: IF I DON'T GET TO SEE YOU GUYS TOMMOROW BEFORE I LEAVE
CG: I CAME TO SAY GOODBYE
CG: I NEED TO GO, BECAUSE I NEED TO START PACKING ):B
TA: ur not fuckiing ok kk
CG: I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS
terminallyCapricous [TC] ceased responding to memo
twinArmageddons [TA] ceased responding to memo
arsenicCatnip [AC] ceased respponding to memo
carcinoGeneticist [CG] closed memo
Karkat sighed and logged off. He needed to start packing. He noted boxes near his door, and started packing things. He chucked all his clothes (He didn't have a very large amount of clothes.) into a small box, then started packing other possessions into the rest. He finished quite quickly, leaving only a mattress and bed frame, his desk and drawers and his PC. Suddenly, his phone beeped from his pocket. He had a text from Gamzee. It said: "cum 2 my place. we're gonna have 1 last movie marathon b4 u leave." Karkat grinned.
He left a note for Dad explaining where he was going, grabbed a duvet from one of the boxes, and ran to his best friend's house. Gamzee answered. He didn't even need to tell him to come in. Karkat ran into the living room and threw his duvet onto the was there. Gamzee's dad and brother weren't home. Gamzee explained they wouldn't be back till tomorrow, then went to the kitchen, claiming he was making snacks. Karkat sighed and followed to assist him.
The other's arrived quickly, and when Karkat and Gamzee had carried the last of the snacks out of Gamzee's kitchen, the huge sofa was covered in multiple different colored duvets. Aradia's ghost was resting at one end of the giant sofa, and everyone was curled up in their duvets. Sollux was at the other end, next to which was your red duvet, then next to yours was Gamzee's indigo spotted one, and then Tavros's. Tavros was already sat there, his wheelchair folded up and resting against the door frame. Gamzee stood up.
"Right! You all know the rules. Three movies, each of a chosen category, chosen by three people who are chosen out of a hat. Drum roll please!" Everyone patted their legs or the sofa arms in a drum roll.
"And tonight's category is..."
"Please romcoms." Karkat whispered.
"Horror!"
"oooooooooooooh!" Everyone said in perfect unison. Gamzee then brought out the hat.
"First Person: Me! WOO!" Everyone laughed at that. "Second: Terezi! And third: Sollux!"
"Hell fucking yeth." The destined three picked their movies. They watched Gamzee's first. It was 'Woman In Black'. By the time the credits rolled, Karkat was shaking and Sollux was laughing. "That wath tho boring. God, kk, if you're thcared at that jutht wait until my movie."
Terezi picked 'One Missed Call'. Karkat surprisingly watched most of this, despite the terrified look on his face. In the middle, Sollux paused it and said he needed the toilet. He went out. Karkat's phone rang the tune from the movie. "FUCK!"
Karkat then attempted to climb upon Gamzee's head. Sollux came in holding his phone out and laughing. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
The movie continued. The credits rolled. Sollux's movie was next. It was called 'The Cabin In The Woods'. Sollux was right, this did scare him a lot fucking more. During the first death, Karkat's face was buried in said person's shoulder and he was muttering: "Fuck." Over and over again. Eventually Karkat got stuck into the story. It was at the part where the athlete says: "I'll be back. And I'll have cops and choppers and fucking machine guns and those things are going to pay." Then he tries to get across and hits the invisible wall and Karkat screamed: "NO!" along with the main character. By the time the credits rolled Karkat was hysterical. "THEY CAN'T JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT! WHERE'S THE FUCKING HAPPY ENDING!"
"There ith no happy ending."
"WHY THE FUCK NOT!?"
"Becauthe it'th a horror movie, kk. There ithn't meant to be a happy ending."
Gamzee put in Scary Movie to calm down and by the time it was the end, the last sentence yawned by Karkat was: "Doofy turned into Cronus Ampora."
Everyone was sleeping comfortably on the huge sofa when Karkat awoke. He found himself curled into Sollux's arm with Nepeta sprawled across his lap and Gamzee leaning on his shoulder. Suddenly, Karkat's phone rung loudly, waking nearly everyone. They hadn't been deep sleepers since the first incident. Nepeta jumped and fell onto the floor. Karkat pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was Dad. Sighing, Karkat pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.
"'Morning Dad." He yawned.
"Son, you'll have to say goodbye to your friends, it's time to set off."
"...Ok then."
"See you in a minute."
"Yeah."
Karkat sighed. He didn't want this time to come. Not ever. "Guys...Its time for me to go." Karkat stood, being careful not to step on Nepeta. Everyone looked at him with sad eyes. There was a silence, then Feferi hugged him. When she talked, it sounded like she was crying. "I'll never forget you, Karkat." The next one to stand up was Nepeta, who also hugged him. "I'll miss you so much." Vriska just nodded at him. It was a sign of respect, coming from her. Aradia could no longer be seen, but sobbing could be heared. Kanaya nodded too. It wasn't that she was similar to Vriska, she just wasn't the hug kind of person. Eridan gave Karkat a quick nod. Equius shook his hand. Tavros smiled up at him. Sollux and Gamzee hugged him in a manly sort of way.
Karkat's dad arrived, and Karkat stuffed his duvet into the back of the car, then looked back at his friends. Suddenly, Terezi rushed up to him and pressed her lips to his. As she broke away, she said: "I've always wanted to do that." As Karkat climbed into the car, and they drove away, Karkat waved out of the window, even for a couple of minutes after the sillohettes of his friends were long gone. He leant back into his seat and sighed. He'll miss them. He'll miss the happiness they gave him. His life was going to be a whole lot harder from now on, and he knew it. He'd been beaten up before and he didn't suspect it would stop, even if it was different people. And without someone like his friends to fend them off, who knows what could happen? He wasn't worried about him being beaten up or knocked out or even killed by bullies. He was worried about his friends and their reactions and their problems. He remembered something Gamzee had said to Sollux after Aradia's death. We'll always be alright, as long as we have each other.
But he didn't have them now.
All he had was himself and his Dad.
And that thought scared him.
And he hated this new place already.
Review?
~AP