AN: Wow, chapter 6! I think this is a record for me! Get the confetti! Anyway,thanks reviewers, favouriters and followers! This isn't that well written, really. Anyway, I felt like updating because I don't know I just did. Enjoy! :)
~AP

Karkat was storming towards the flat of the leader of those dicks. He knew he should be comforting Sollux or something. Oh yeah, and he seemed to have forgotten that the guy was ten times bigger than him, and could probably squash him. He was too angry to remember that. Or that he was the older brother of the leader of the kids who beat Karkat up after school. Might've been useful to remember that.

They were outside, leaning on the wall, probably talking about another person smaller than them to ruin the life of. Karkat stormed up to them, despite the sensible part of his mind screaming that they were bigger than him and Kankri wouldn't want him to do this. Of course Kankri wouldn't. He had stuck on to the children's belief that him and his friends could deal with it. But they didn't deal with it. So Karkat was going to deal with it.

"Hey, look who it is!" Tyler was the name of the youngest of the two. Karkat's tormentor. "Thought you'd ran away with Daddy, freak!"
"Dream on, Lindall." (Last name, of course. Karkat wasn't going to call those scum by their first names.)
"Aw, did you miss your clown boyfriend?"
"He's my best friend."
"Sure he is, Vantas."
"Vantas?" The older one said, laughing. "As in Kankri Vantas, that dick who died in the fire?"
"What, did you do anything really cool to him?"
"Didn't need to. Freak did enough damage on himself."
"He wasn't a freak!"
"I don't need you to tell me lies. He was the freakiest nerd ever!"
"I'M ABOUT FIVE SECONDS FROM PUNCHING YOU! STOP INSULTING MY BROTHER!"
The next two words that came out of his mouth did it. "Make me."

Karkat threw his fist at the older boy, hitting him in the nose. He got a much harder punch back, in the stomach. Shit.

Karkat woke up with an aching head. He was on Sollux's bed. Wait, why was he...oh yeah, Sollux's brother died, he tried to give the bullies what they deserved. Right. Sollux was staring down at him. "ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY FUCKING MAD?! DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARED I WAS WHEN I FOUND YOU?! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, GOING FOR THEM, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, ON YOUR OWN!? THEY COULD'VE KILLED YOU!"
"I'm sorry, Sollux. I was angry because-"
"I KNOW YOU WERE ANGRY! I WAS ANGRY! DID YOU FORGET HOW BIG THEY WERE? HOW TYLER BEAT YOU UP AFTER SCHOOL? DID YOU?"
"I-"
"OR MAYBE YOU FORGOT HOW SERIOUSLY INJURED THEY MADE YOU AND YOUR BROTHER, SO MUCH THAT SOMETIMES I HAD TO DRAG YOU BOTH TO THE FUCKING HOSPITAL!?"
"Sollux, I-"
"OR MAYBE YOU FORGOT WHAT THEY MADE KANKRI DO? WHAT THEY MADE HIM DO?"
"Sollux, please-"
"OR MAYBE-"
"SOLLUX!" Karkat was shaking now. All those things Sollux had just pointed out were the things he was trying desperately to forget. "P-please, stop."
"...I'm sorry, I know you-"
"Don't. Just, don't. I need to go home."
"Karkat-"
"It's late, Dad'll be worrying."
"Karkat, don't be angry. Please."
"Goodbye, Sollux."

Maybe he was harsh on his friend. But he did need to get home.

When he did, his Dad was waiting. "Where the hell were you?! And why do you have a black eye?"
"Something happened back in our old neighborhood."
"So important you needed to leave school for it?"
"Yes."
"I can't believe this. Your friend says boo to a goose and you're back there."
"Dad-"
"Honestly, it's stupid."
"Dad-"
"I get you miss them, miss our old life, I do too, but-"
"Mituna Captor's dead." Mr. Vantas froze and did a double take.
"Wait, what?"
"He commited suicide just after he came home from university."
"Oh...Karkat, I didn't mean-"
"I know you didn't. I went to give those bullies what they deserved-"
"Wait, he was bullied?"
"It was because of his mental condition. Oh yeah, he knew Kankri, apparently that's a deathwish."
"What do they know about Kankri?"
"They bullied him too. They made him-" Karkat stopped. He couldn't tell Dad. He promised he wouldn't tell.
"They made him do what?!" Mr. Vantas's voice was shaking with anger. What had these assholes made his son do?!
"...Nothing."
"It is something."
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"I promised him I wouldn't tell. Anyway, I tried to give them what they deserved and, well, it didn't go as planned."
"Oh."

Karkat walked up to John and his friends. "Hey, Karka-what happened?"
"No idea what you're talking about."
"You have a black eye!"
"Oh. "
"Just oh? Karkat, come on. You can trust us, right?"
"...My friend's brother committed suicide yesterday because of some bullies and I tried to give them what they deserved." John looked at Karkat worriedly, when his friend Dave spoke. "Suppose it didn't go to plan then?"
"Nice guess, asshole."
"...Hey, what's your chum handle on pesterchum?"
"CarcinoGeneticist. Why did you ask?"
"Because I have you on my contacts."
"So you're the asshole who pesters me when he's bored?"
"Ironic purposes."
"Sure, whatever."
"Hey, what was with the other day? You seemed fifty percent more pissed than usual."
"Things."
"OK, man. Not gonna question you. Sounded like you were going to break someone's face."
"Are you volunteering?"Dave stepped back, hands up in a sign of surrender. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Karkat, are you sure you're OK?" John said. "I mean, someone dying, that's a really huge thing." Karkat laughed tonelessly.
"If only you knew, John. If only you knew."
"If only I knew what?"
"There isn't point telling you."
"Yes, there is."
"No, there isn't!"
"Karkat!
"John."
"KARKAT!
"What?"
"Tell me."
"No."
"Why?"
"Past is past."
"It isn't to you, I can tell."
"How would you know how I feel? I met you fucking yesterday."
"Because I can just...tell. Look, Karkat, something's bothering you other than your friend's brother's death, I know it. And you can't keep it from us forever."
"I can try."
"OK, look, I'm not going to force you to tell us, but remember, we're here for you."
"Yeah, OK, John."

Nothing happened, really. At the end of the day, John, his friend Rose, and his other friend Jade all gave Karkat their chumhandles, reminding him they were there if he needed them. He didn't want them to be there. He wanted his old friends to be there. Friends that were about half an hour away.

Friends his Dad wanted him to ditch.

3 MONTHS LATER

Nothing had really happened. Karkat was settled into his new life, with his new friends, though of course, he still stayed in contact with his old ones.

Sollux had recovered the loss of his brother with the help of Gamzee and Aradia, and was back to his old self.

Aradia was still dead. But she was able to talk to everyone during the day now.

Tavros was disabled now, but everyone still treated him like they usually would.

Gamzee was, well, Gamzee. The same, faygo-loving, easygoing guy he was when he first met Karkat.

It was as if nothing ever happened. They all seemed to just...forget. Forget everything. Forget everyone who died, all the injuries, all the incidents. Kankri and Mituna just didn't seem to have ever been there. Aradia was still like a normal person. And, Mary was just another girl who got in an accident, like other people did all the time.

They had all just moved on. No more haunting nightmares, depression, anything. Sure, bullying was still there at Karkat's old neighborhood. But his friends were protected. Nepeta had Equius, and no one dared stand up to him. Sollux and Gamzee could handle themselves quite fine. Tavros had Gamzee. No one picked on most of the others, because they were either strong, or popular.

Of course, these were just Karkat's thoughts. He didn't actually know how his friends were doing. They didn't mention how school was or anything when they talked. But they were probably fine.

How wrong he was.

AN: Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh cliffhanger. Very mainstream cliffhanger, but hey, I run out of ideas sometimes. Next one has a lot of drama and stuff. Anyway, review if you liked! Or favourite or follow if you feel like it.
~AP