Karkat stumbled into a smoky room past the front door, the cloying smell sticking to his skin and airways and making him cough. He grabbed someone's shirt next to him and dragged them, tripping over their own feet, so they were face to face. The guy looked out of it and stunned.
"Where is Gamzee, bumblefuck?" Karkat snarled, baring his teeth and punctuating his words with a harsh shake. The guy smiled stupidly.
"Wha..what?" he chuckled out, eyes vapid and unfocused. Karkat shoved him away, growling.
"Fucking useless…where the fuck is he?" The haze in the room made it impossible to identify the figures scattered around, silhouetted by crappy yellow lightbulbs that cast a weak glow to the room. He stepped over someone lying on the ground, before a hand grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulled him back.
"Look- it's, it's Gamzee's little boyfriend!" a giggling girl on the couch said, tugging at Karkat. The other couch dwellers looked up from whatever they were doing- some awful combination of sopor and other shit, probably- before breaking out into terrible sounding laughter. Karkat grit his teeth and tore his shirt out of her grip.
"You know where he is?" The girl just laughed some more, then raised an eyebrow at him.
"You could have a lot more fun with me, you know. Gamzee don't mind sharing!" She was doing something vaguely obscene with her mouth. Karkat sputtered for a second, temper already lost.
"You look like you're thirty, shitface, and Gamzee's my goddamn roommate, why would we even- never fucking mind, you can shut the fuck up and tell me where he is and maybe I won't call Chris Hansen on your predator ass." There were a few snickers, and someone pointed towards the back of the house.
"He's probably in the kitchen or back room, baby." Karkat rushed in that direction, leaning into the kitchen, where the only people inside were a couple making out. No Gamzee. He ran through the kitchen into a back hallway. There were a few people talking lowly, who glanced at him dismissively. He lunged into the first door he reached.
"Gamzee!" No luck. He finally found what he was looking for in the third room. Gamzee was laying across a bed, arm over his eyes. Two girls sitting on the bed were passing something between them. They scurried away when Karkat stormed over and grabbed Gamzee's arm. "Gamzee! Wake the fuck up, asshole, shit." Karkat crawled onto the bed, slapping Gamzee's face and shaking him. Gamzee just laughed a little. Karkat turned to the girls, who were watching. "What the fuck's wrong with him! What did he do?" Gamzee finally woke up a little, focusing on Karkat.
"…Kar? Heyy motherfucker. What's goin'…what are you all doing here?" He was slurring his words. Karkat glared at him.
"You're fucked up on some shit, that's what. You called me an hour ago. Come with me, right now, I had to pull so many fucking favors with Eridan, you have no fucking idea." Gamzee's head lolled to look at the girls. "Gamzee, are you okay? Fuck, what did you take?"
"S-sopor, I think. Shit's good."
"Shit is not good, idiot." Karkat tugged Gamzee up, struggling with the much taller body. He finally got Gamzee up, and they staggered out, past all the druggies and drunks and party people. Karkat sucked in fresh air as soon as they escaped the stagnant atmosphere of the house, and locked on to Eridan's car, waiting outside. He dragged Gamzee over to the back door and shoved him in, then crawled over his legs and slammed it shut.
"Kar, shit, you didn't tell me you were bringin' someo- is that Makara?" Eridan had turned around in his seat, eyes narrowing when they landed on Gamzee's dazed face.
"Eridan, not right fucking now. Hold off on the inquisition for five goddamn minutes and get us out of here. Oh my god. Fuck, I don't know if he needs to go to the hospital or not. God…GAMZEE, STAY AWAKE."
"You're a damn fool, Kar," Eridan muttered, stepping on the gas. Gamzee hit Karkat on the shoulder to get his attention. Karkat focused on his friend, slumped down in the seat next to him.
"Thanks for coming after I called, my brother. Can you do a motherfucker one more lil' favor?" Karkat stared at Gamzee's face intensely, until Gamzee held something out for him to take. A little plastic bag filled with a weird green gel. "Keep this all for me…it's kind of bad if anyone catches me with it right now." Karkat's eyes were glued to the bag. Eridan glanced at it in the mirror and did a double take.
"Shit." Don't take it.
"Just for a little while, motherfucker."
"Oh my god, Kar, is that-" Don't take it.
…
"You're a motherfucking miracle, Karkat."
Karkat felt like someone shoved him back into his head, and jerked as he woke up. Looking right at the side of Sollux's sleeping face. Karkat shoved himself back away from Sollux at the speed of light, only to slam his back and head hard against the wall behind him.
"ARGH, FUCK. SHIIIIT!" Karkat ground out, clutching the back of his head. Sollux scrunched up his face and finally opened his eyes, turning to glare sleepily at whatever the racket was.
"Jegus, KK, do you seriously start bitching the second you wake up?" he asked, sleepily rubbing his eyes. Karkat grit his teeth and focused his anger on Sollux.
"WHAT. THE FUCK. ARE YOU DOING. IN MY BED." Sollux rolled his eyes.
"Well, I was sleeping until some fuckhead woke me up." Karkat pushed himself up, and he felt his face getting hot, for no fucking reason.
"Why were you sleeping in my bed, you idiot?"
"KK, seriously, it's your own damn fault. You fell asleep on me, and you're so fucking clingy that I just gave up and let you sleep." Karkat stammered uselessly, before scowling.
"Then you can fucking get out now." Sollux shrugged, and threw a leg over the edge of the bed. Karkat stayed where he was, feeling aggravated and tired. He was pretty sure a headache was forming as well. Sollux, still stretching his arms and neck by Karkat's bed, looked back down at him.
"…You okay?" Sollux asked after a moment. Karkat snorted, closing his eyes again.
"What, hear something interesting?"
"Just you, whining like a baby."
"Fuck you, Captor. Fuck you."
"You're in an adorable mood today. I'm gonna go shower. I have a class in an hour," Sollux said, sauntering over to his closet to grab a towel.
"Bluh." Karkat rolled over. He had a class soon as well, and seriously did not feel like getting ready for it. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and squinted at the bright rays shining through the window blinds. Fuck whatever day it is. He rolled out of bed and began to sift through his clothes for something clean. Need to do laundry soon, all two pairs of pants I have won't last forever. By the time Sollux was done with his shower, Karkat was done and had already left the dorm. The weather was getting colder and colder, and the student body was wearing more layers by the day. Karkat would need a new jacket soon. His old one had ripped at the end of the last winter, and thanks to his mom's overenthusiastic cleaning tendencies, had been lost to the garbage truck almost immediately afterwards. Guess I need to buy a new one.
After class, Karkat hurried to exit the campus. The sun had warmed up the air considerably, but there was still a frigid bite that seeped through his hoodie and shirt. He caught the crowded city bus just as it was leaving, and hung onto a pole as it swerved and jerked through the midday traffic. He finally got out on a street lined with stores, only to immediately lose his shit when a car he was passing honked at him.
"KAR! HEY!" Someone was yelling.
"OF COURSE THERE'S FUCKING CARS HERE, YOU FUCKING MORon-" Karkat whirled around, words rapidly flying out of his mouth, before seeing who had stepped out of the car. "Oh my fucking god, are you seriously STALKING me, Eridan?" Eridan closed the car door and jogged up, indignant expression all over his face.
"Of course not, that'd be fuckin' creepy. I'm just checkin' out the shops. There's a few new collections that a been put out since I went shoppin' before school started, an' I wanna look at 'em." Eridan said, then looked curious. "What're you doin'?"
"I just need a jacket so I don't die over the winter." Eridan looked excited suddenly. "A normal jacket," Karkat said suspiciously. "I'm not having some retarded shopping montage with you while you spend stupidly huge amounts of money on unnecessary shit you already have." Eridan tugged on his arm, pulling him towards an expensive looking shop.
"Aw, Kar, come on. We'll just look. I mean, buyin' clothes is awesome, and besides, you wear the same damn stuff everyday."
"So the fuck do you! Wait- I thought you buy your clothes from the thrift store. They seem…used," Karkat said, letting himself be pulled along. The pair entered the store and was greeted by a bored looking shopkeep.
"Naw, they only look that way. They're actually kinda expensive, to be honest. Not that I care, but it takes a lot a' money to look this good." Eridan held a double-breasted coat up to Karkat. "You know Kar, you could look pretty fuckin' okay if you weren't so lazy."
"Gee, thanks. You could look pretty fuckin' okay if you pulled your head out of your ass," Karkat mumbled. He pushed the coat away, and Eridan hung it back on the wall.
"I'm helpin' you look good an' you insult me, real nice of you."
"You're not 'helping me look good', you're making what should take five minutes take potentially hours." The two argued lightly from store to store, Eridan buying a few things, until finally they got to a place that seemed fairly affordable. After a going through about five jackets- 'At least buy something that doesn't suck, Kar'- Karkat finally found something that met both his requirements and Eridan's standards (sort of). It was plain, knee length, black, and had a stupid fur trim on the hood that made him look kind of stupid, but it was the only way he was getting out of the store if Eridan was with him. He put it on after paying, and left the store, Eridan following behind him. They both looked at the grayish blue sky as they walked back to the busstop and Eridan's car.
"You want a ride back to campus or Starbucks or somethin'?" Eridan asked as they approached the place where they had started and the bus pulled up. Karkat was about to accept the offer when he noticed a familiar head of long hair with two distinctive hair clips against the window. Aradia Megido was sitting on the bus, looking blankly ahead.
"No, I'm gonna go on the bus. Thanks anyways," Karkat said in a distracted tone.
"Suit yourself. Seeya, Kar!" Karkat waved and jogged to catch the bus. After swiping his card, he made his way back to Aradia. She looked up after a minute, and they stared at each other for an awkward few seconds. Karkat finally sat down next to her.
"So you're getting an award for what was possibly the most unhelpful pesterlog ever conceived in the history of college drug wars," Karkat said, breaking the silence. Aradia didn't turn to face him. Karkat's frown grew deeper. "Okay, I know you're really into the whole mysterious spooky thing, but it would be really cool if you told me everything you know in relation to Vriska being a sociopath and anything else that might have something to do with my death. It's so fucking riveting." Aradia finally looked at him, and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Well, there might be some way that what I tell you can help you…I'm going to the cemetery, though. It's the next stop."
"…why the…you know what, never mind. I'll go with you, and you can tell me everything you know, and everything will be beautiful and not so incredibly stupid, and then I'll leave you to whatever shit you need to do in the cemetery." Karkat said, crossing his arms and leaning back. Aradia nodded.
"That's okay, I guess." She paused, before clarifying,"I'm going to do some research. I'm a history major."
"…oh. That's not as depressing as I was expecting." Aradia didn't respond. Karkat looked at his feet uncomfortably. Ugh, this is pretty fucking awkward…is she seriously Sollux's type? Actually, never fucking mind, I can totally see that. Finally, an announcement for the next stop interrupted his thoughts. Aradia looked at him again.
"That's us," she said, grabbing the strap of her bag and standing up. Karkat followed suit, and after getting off the bus, they walked the short distance to the cemetery gates.