Kanaya answered the door after a considerable delay. Karkat was kicking the wall impatiently when the door swung open.
"Oh, hello, Karkat," she said, a barely perceptible sniffle punctuating the greeting. Oh shit, has she been crying? Her eyes were the tiniest bit glossy. Crap, yes. Crying girls were not his strong point. Especially not a crying Kanaya. She wasn't one to cry easily, despite her flair for the dramatic. Karkat stepped past her and into the dorm. Kanaya owned a single dorm, so despite being barely eight feet across, the room was completely her. Brightly colored fabrics and posters hung from the walls, making it infinitely more charming than Karkat's own cement block. A dressform stood in the corner, a rough cut of muslin hanging from it in an unfinished design, and pillows were scattered all over the floor in random piles. Somehow none of it looked crowded. Kanaya sighed deeply, stepping over to the largest pillow pile and draping herself across it. Karkat looked at her, crossing his arms.
"Ok, what's the matter?" He moved to sit behind Kanaya, leaning back on the pillow pile so their heads almost touched.
"Nothing is the matter. I am just…" Kanaya didn't continue, stretching her arms behind her head so they dangled above Karkat. He grabbed them lightly, tugging.
"Come on. You've been fucking moping around since class ended, right?" Kanaya closed her eyes.
"I have started to…admire a mutual friend of ours," she finally said, the words careful and hesitant. Karkat tilted his head as he processed the new information. Why is that a problem? Kanaya probably wouldn't appreciate that train of thought, so he kept it to himself.
"Why is that problem?" Goddammit, didn't we just discuss why that wasn't what you would say? I hate you. Kanaya made a noise of frustration.
"Because…of Vriska, of course. She might still-"
"Kanaya. First. Fuck Vriska. Wait, fuck, no, I mean like…figuratively, jegus. But yeah, stop letting her fucking whims control everything you do. Secondly…who is it, you usually don't get to this level of Vriska anxiety unless it's serious. I haven't even noticed you liking anyone.
"Uh…please do not tell anyone. Especially not John or Jade. Or Dave." Huh? What do they have to do with…wait.
"John, Jade, and Dave? And…" Karkat trailed off. Oh. Kanaya Maryam had started to admire a mutual friend. Kanaya Maryam had started to admire one of a quartet of friends that they both knew. Kanaya Maryam…had a lady crush on Rose Lalonde.
Karkat hurried back to his dorm around seven, hoodie a tiny bit damp from where Kanaya had been pressing her face against his shoulder. He felt a little bad that she had been at that level of frustration without him noticing, but it was kind of Vriska's fault that she was freaking out so bad, anyways. Guilt tripping bitch. All of it was Vriska's fault. The dampness had become an ice cube on his collarbone, and it made him move faster. He didn't mind physical contact with Kanaya. The knowledge that the other was 'safe' from misunderstanding gave each of them the freedom of touch they avoided with others. Karkat wouldn't give up Kanaya for the world. She was one of the few people in it that he didn't hate. If Terezi was the storm that forced him to move on, Kanaya was the rock he could take refuge on for a little longer. He had reached his dorm, and began to fumble with his keys. He jammed the key in the lock and tried to turn it without much success. Why do these always make me feel so retarded? The room was empty once he got inside. Sollux, who was still decidedly on Karkat's hate list (sort of), was out. Karkat was mildly curious for all of two seconds, before giving up. Ruffling his hair, the tiredness set in. Finally, he'd probably be able to sleep through the night. He let himself fall onto his bed. The ceiling is so fucking ugly. After a few blinks, his head lolled to the side. Karkat was finally asleep, at seven p.m. on the second day.
"Hey there, motherfucker," Gamzee called to him from his place on the floor. Karkat set his backpack down, raising an eyebrow.
"Gamzee, what the fuck are you doing?" He asked with a snicker. Gamzee smiled up at him.
"I got something real nice today. Now I'm organizing my m&m's, bro. Alphabetical order and all." Karkat rolled his eyes.
"I'm gonna do you a favor and tell you they're all 'm'."
"Aw no, man, that's cheating." Gamzee turned to face Karkat fully. Something was…off about his expression. "I like that shirt." Karkat looked down at his shirt, which had the zodiac sign for Cancer on it.
"Uh, thanks…Terezi got it for me," he said. Gamzee's expression flattened momentarily, then turned into a leer.
"Looks like sixty-nine."
"Ugh! It's fucking Cancer, you incredible shit. Fuck you for saying that." Gamzee's only response was laughter.
He couldn't move when he came to.
gamzee's been getting weirder these past few weeks
He felt something on his wrists. Pulling on them experimentally…tied to…arm rests. He was tied to a chair. He tried to call out, something was stuffed in his mouth, blocking his tongue from working. Panic set in. He was finally able to take in his surroundings.
ever since i told him i was out of here
The dorm. Almost pitch-black, except for the light from Gamzee's desk lamp.
last day of school
Gamzee himself sat on his bed in the pool of light.
last night at school
something in his hands
IT'S THAT FUCKING SOPOR SHIT
He began to struggle against the ties, when Gamzee looked up, eyes glassy, and smiled.
A loud yell woke Karkat up. Ears ringing, his body tensed painfully for a few seconds. Sollux's face swam into view, leaning over him.
"Who the fuck yelled," Karkat slurred, sleepy alarm making him panic. Sollux's hand was on his shoulder. Karkat rolled away from it, rubbing his eyes. "What the fuck, Sollux. Why'd you…why'd you wake me up?" Sollux shook his head.
"You were having one hell of a nightmare. You started flipping out, saying shit and stuff." Karkat stared at him, his dream sinking in and angry embarrassment coloring his features.
"What….what the fuck did you hear?" he hissed, sitting up to get closer to Sollux.
"Don't worry. Nothing that made sense. Are…are you ok?" Karkat's anger was…not going away. He fell back on the bed, hands going up to fist in his hair. Why am I so STUPID? FUCK.
"What time is it?" He ground out.
"Eh, like one-thirty in the morning. You've been out since I got back around eight." Sollux sat on the bed next to him. "KK…calm the fuck down. You're twitching." Karkat looked at Sollux furiously.
"Can you please shut the fuck up? You don't know fucking anything about me." Karkat tried to shove Sollux off his bed. Sollux grabbed his arm alarmingly fast, holding Karkat's wrist tight. "What the f-"
"You're right. I don't know anything about you. All I know is that you have a real bad anger issue and you act like a fucking war veteran. What the fuck is wrong with you, KK?" Karkat stared at him. Sollux waited patiently, watching Karkat's face. All of a sudden, Karkat went limp, arm held up only by the wrist Sollux was holding. He let go of it, and Karkat rolled over, facing away from Sollus. Karkat's back was a curl inward, and he looked smaller than before in his oversized hoodie.
"It was just about my old roommate." Sollux thought as much. John had told him a few things about Gamzee Makara. Karkat didn't say anything else, so Sollux got up and returned to his computer. Karkat mumbled something to the wall then, but it was too quiet to hear.
"What did you say?" Sollux asked. Karkat huffed in aggravation.
"I asked…are we still friends?" Sollux rolled his eyes.
"Of course, KK."
Karkat woke up early the next morning, sure of one thing. He needed to get to his house. He checked his schedule and saw that he only had an even class at seven. That's enough time. He needed a ride, though. After rummaging through his backpack, he emerged with his cellphone and scrolled through the contacts. He didn't want to call the number he was searching for, and usually never did, but this time he had no choice. When 'Eridan' appeared on the screen, he pressed call. Despite it being…7:23 A.M., apparently, Karkat knew he'd pick up. And…bingo.
"Hello? Kar, what the hell, it's so late," Eridan's voiced blared from the speaker.
"Early, fuckface. It's seven in the morning." There was silence on the other end for a moment.
"Damn. I've been playin' Pokemon all night. Didn't even notice."
"Good job, idiot. Listen, I need a ride. To my house."
"…Oh my god, your house? Really? Um, sure, wait, where is that?" Eridan sounded ecstatic, much to Karkat's annoyance. The guy had been desperate to 'hang out' for the entire time they'd been 'friends', or whatever they were.
"About three hours from here in a really terrible town." Karkat was starting to doubt Eridan would be up for this. His words were slurring already. "Actually, maybe tomorrow or something. You sound stupid."
"No Kar seriously, I can take you! When do you-"
"You need a ride somewhere?" A sleepy voice asked from behind Karkat. He turned to find Sollux, clad in boxers and a shirt, looking down at him.
"I-is that Captor? Tell him to fuck off, I'm driving you!" Eridan protested.
"No, but thanks, Eridan, just go to sleep. I'll see you later." Karkat hung up, and turned back to Sollux. "You have a car?" Sollux nodded.
"Yup. You need to pay me gas money though. I'm not rich like Eridan," he said. Karkat snorted.
"No one is 'rich like Eridan'. Do you have class today?"
"No, I have today off." Sollux Captor, owner of the perfect schedule, everyone.
"I have an evening class, so let's go soon-ish. Before my parents are around," Karkat said vaguely.
"That's fine." Sollux shrugged, then paused. "Uh, hey. Any reason why you're always sleeping in your clothes?" Karkat looked down. He was wearing the same hoodie and jeans as yesterday. He changed each day, but Sollux was right- not once had he changed into clothes more suitable for sleeping.
"I guess I just don't want to bother. I don't sleep through the night so it doesn't matter anyways."
"Insomnia?" Sollux offered, looking symphathetic for once.
"I don't even know. Whatever, it's not a huge fucking deal. Get ready and let's go."
Sollux's car was a respectable Honda Civic, about ten years old but in good condition. Karkat threw himself in the front seat, trying to avoid stepping on any of the numerous CD's scattered on the floor and seats.
"Jegus, got enough CD's, Sollux?" he asked with a sneer. Sollux didn't respond except for a shrug. Karkat was getting sick of that. He twisted around to look in the back, noticing the entire backseat was removed, replaced with speakers. "Holy fuck those are huge." Sollux turned the key, smiling.
"Installed it all myself." The car beeped once, Sollux turned a dial, then the volume increased on the loudest speakers Karkat had ever heard. He yelled something at Sollux, who took his time turning it down. "What was that, KK?" Karkat seethed.
"Thanks for the warning, fucknuts. Really appreciate it."
"Anytime, KK. Now where are we going?" Karkat explained the directions to his city, and they started driving. Thankfully, Sollux kept the volume down in favor of talking, and Karkat actually felt talkative enough to make use of it. The two traded stories and insults for the duration of the ride, until the exit for Karkat's house rose in the distance.
Exit 13B, 1 mi.