After class, Karkat decided to avoid talking to Tavros. Part of him was screaming with rage, demanding bloody vengeance. Another part seemed…hesitant. Don't play all your cards yet. You mess with him, you get in Gamzee's spotlight again. Kanaya said he seemed apologetic too. Not that 'apologetic' means he doesn't deserve to get his face beaten in. Speaking of Gamzee…despite being on the top of Karkat's FUCK THIS NOISE list, the guy had been positively scarce ever since the first day of school. What the fuck did that mean? Blueprints, that's what.
Karkat headed to Kanaya's dorm. When he got there, his knocking went unanswered. Alright, that was pretty predictable. He stood outside her door for a moment, trying to figure out what the next step would be. A few girls came in through the hallway door, giggling. He stepped aside, letting them past. Two of them looked at him, one smiling awkwardly, and one…sneering, raising her eyebrow at his less than put together appearance. She tossed her hair and turned to her friend. Karkat glared at the girl's back. Step on a lego. You have no idea about the shit in my life and how well I'm dealing with it. The group's chatter blurred together in his ears, but suddenly the word 'pizza' floated to his ears. Well…he was kind of hungry. He wasn't really hungry for the overpriced pizza from the cafeteria, though versus the fare for a taxi (R.I.P.: one overly attentive friend with a car), the former seemed more practical.That was the worst part about college- getting food came out of your own money, and if you didn't have any of that, you were shit out of luck. To the cafeteria it was, then.
When Karkat stepped into the cafeteria, the first thing he noticed was the lack of people. That is, the lack of people sitting at tables and lounging on the couches. There was a huge mob in the middle of the room, making a huge ruckus as they surrounded something. Some students had phones held up over the crowd, recording whatever was in the center of the circle. Others stood in the back, hands over their mouths and necks craning to get a better view. While Karkat was deciding whether he wanted to go see what the problem was or take advantage of the confusion to order a slice of pizza that actually came quickly for once, a hand grabbed his arm suddenly. He flailed, trying to pull his arm back.
"Woa, motherfucker, calm the motherfuck down!"
Karkat froze when he heard the slightly raspy, sluggish voice of his least favorite person. He turned, wide eyes looking right up at Gamzee Makara.
"Probably shouldn't go all up over there, brother. Seems like there's some motherfuckin' shit goin' down." Despite the (fake) concern in Gamzee's tone, a lazy and wicked smile was pulling the corners of his mouth up. Karkat hated it. He wrenched his arm out of Gamzee's grip.
"Yeah, wow, really? I never would have guessed that there might possibly be some point of interest over there, where everyone is gathered around AS IF THERE IS SOMETHING INTERESTING THERE. Jegus, Makara, I didn't think you could state the obvious any better, but there you go, outdoing yourself again and again," Karkat spat, ignoring the frantic voice in his head: drop it oh my god what are you DOING get out, don't pick a fucking fight you douchetard. "What else are you doing that's terrible and stupid, besides being generally awful?"
Gamzee didn't seem to be all that bothered by Karkat's irritability/total stupidity. On the contrary, his smile grew.
"Not much, motherfucker. Heard you met my new roommate. Tav says you're pretty okay- a little hotheaded, though. Tone it the motherfuck down a lil' bit next time, maybe. You are coming to the party this weekend, right, brother?" Karkat stared at the floor, avoiding Gamzee's eyes. His face felt hot, but a cold sweat seemed to be breaking out on his skin. He looked up when Gamzee gestured to the crowd, now parting. Karkat stared as Vriska stormed out of the crowd, holding one eye with a badly scratched arm covered in blood. A fight? She didn't spare him a glance as she pushed past him and left the cafeteria. A hushed 'ooooh' rose from the crowd when another person staggered past the broken ring of people.
What the fuck.
Eridan slowly walked towards the door, where Karkat and Gamzee were standing. His glasses were off his face, broken halves clutched in his fist. The rings he wore were covered in blood, as well as his nose. He stopped when he reached them, and grit his teeth.
"Get the fuck away from Makara, Kar. He's trash walking. A dreg," he said, narrowing his eyes. Karkat stared at him in disbelief.
"Eridan, what the fuck-" Karkat was interrupted by Gamzee's measured drawl.
"I could be saying the same to you, motherfucker. I'm not the one getting my rings all bloody, bro."
"Cute. You just take your time with all a that pretendin', Makara. Your hands are fuckin' drenched in blood. You just wash 'em a lot," Eridan hissed. Karkat felt like the situation was elevating. Wasn't this the kind of situation they usually said to avoid? Or say 'fuck no' and back away, hands outstretched in a clear signal that you're not read to engage in combat, this isn't a self-defense book you fucking retard.
"Both of you shitheads get the fuck out of here," a voice said calmly from the doorway behind them. The three turned to look at the speaker.
What the FUCK is going on.
Sollux stood in the doorway, Terezi slightly behind him. Sollux's arms were crossed, and Terezi had a straight face for once. She stepped forward, a certain swagger in her step that sent a chill down Karkat's spine.
"I think you're breaking probation, Gamzee. Remember our deal?" She asked, looking down to somehow inspect her nails, like she wasn't blind. Oh right. Terezi's stupid deal. Gamzee's lips twitched downwards a little. He turned to Karkat, smile renewed as it flitted back.
"I didn't forget, chica. Don't worry, I'll be leaving now. You're going to the party with Karkat, right? Motherfuckin' righteous, I'll look forward to seeing you two." Gamzee finished with a lackadaisical wave, then sauntered past the little group and left. Sollux never took his eyes off him, calmly watching from behind his glasses. Once he was sure Gamzee had left, he turned to glare at Eridan.
"What the fuck are you doing, getting in fights? I thought you'd be above that, or something," he said, sounding oddly exasperated. I figured Eridan would be punching Sollux right now, while he's at it. Eridan almost flinched, eyes flickering to Karkat's.
"I had…a good reason. For a friend. You gonna take him away from me too?" Sollux stared a little longer, then exhaled, uncrossed his arms, and turned to leave.
"You're lucky Feferi guessed what was going to happen, or we wouldn't even have known you got in a fight," he called back to Eridan. Eridan's face fell.
"F…Fef told you…told you I was gonna do somethin'? She wanted to help me?" He was stammering. Sollux's lip curled.
"Don't flatter yourself. She was worried, yeah. But she said it's still your stupid decision, and your fault if you get hurt. She's just a normal person who doesn't her back on people."
Terezi spoke up. "I'd leave if I were you, Eridan. I think security will be here soon, sniffing around for the troublemakers." She said 'security' in a sing-song voice, her grin growing big. Eridan scowled.
"Mind your own business," he spat, then pushed past to the door. He turned to Karkat for a moment, and looked liked he wanted to say something. Karkat glared expectantly, but Eridan just huffed and left, scarf billowing slightly. Terezi and Sollux were quiet, looking at Karkat curiously.
"What the fuck is going on, KK? Why was Gamzee bugging you again?" Sollux asked after no one said anything.
"Drugs?" Terezi offered helpfully. Karkat's eyes flew to hers, daring her to say one more fucking word.
"Okay, I don't fucking know, alright?" Karkat said, gesticulating with an exasperated arm wave. "I don't even know where I am half the time. That shit? That 'come to my party motherfucker, a motherfucker has questionable motherfuckin intentions for you' shit, that's all he ever does." He grit his teeth and made a frustrated noise. "I'm going to fucking die, he's going to kill me, and there is nothing I can do about it."
"KK, shut the fuck up! Just tell the goddamn school administration!" Sollux said, smacking Karkat's arm.
"And they'll do what, exactly? I have no evidence of anything, just a stupid scar and a retarded testimonial that sounds more like minor sexual harassment at most. 'HE SAYS THINGS TO ME!' Yeah, fuck, if there's one thing I learned from my parents, it's that you need a real strong case for action to be taken."
Terezi cleared her throat. "Your intriguing and mildly worrisome comments about your dysfunctional family aside, you could take it to the cops. Somebody has to start the file on a future serial killer, might as well be you, Karkat. Gotta build up the small stuff."
"Maybe if someone had reported a hostage situation last year…" Sollux said, trailing off purposefully.
"Maybe if someone shut the fuck up so I could think about this in peace…" Karkat mimicked. Sollux rolled his eyes.
"You're retarded," he said simply, then looked over at Terezi, who was waiting, leaning against the walls. "Well, you seem like you're used to this fool's stupid shit, Terezi. It's your call."
"Die in a bucket, Sollux, it's my damn call," Karkat muttered.
"My expert advice is that we get some help from the authorities, but if Karkat wants to be a wannabe macho mafia baby then he can just wait for someone to corner him in a dark alley and offer him some concrete shoes and a nap in the river," she said. Sollux leaned back against the wall opposite from hers and crossed his arms.
"Fine. Hands off. For now. But if that guy tries to hurt you or something, you have to call for help, fucking dumbass." He didn't sound completely satisfied, but it did sound like his interest had moved on. After his gaze hadn't moved from Karkat for a few seconds, Karkat nodded, just to get him to stop. Sollux finally looked away and began to walk down the hall. Karkat watched him go, stomach flopping in a weird way. He felt eyes on him, and turned to find he was face to face with Terezi's scrutinizing gaze.
"Can I help you?" he asked, face feeling a little hot.
"Oh, nothing. I just remember when I was the one your face turned a delicious candy red for, while your insides were all a'fuzzin and you broke out into an amazingly gross cold sweat-" Karkat growled and swiped at her. Terezi just laughed and hopped away.
"You're going to die alone, Pyrope. Get out of my sight, since I can't get out of yours or anything," he sniped halfheartedly. 'Cause it's all true, and everything about it is awful. Fuck.
"You're so cute when you're being stubborn, Karkles. I can practically hear 'Dreamweaver' seeping out of your head when you're around that guy." The sounds of security guards running towards their location prompted them to start walking away from the cafeteria, still bickering amicably.
"Jegus Christ, Terezi, are you enjoying your pain medications? Sollux would definitely not be assigned 'Dreamweaver', goddamnit. He's like fucking…fucking…I don't know, some other terrible power ballad. Stevie Nicks. Have you ever seen a woman taken by the wind?"
A peal of laughter erupted from Terezi. Karkat had a scowl on his face, but inside his spirits were lifting immensely. He let himself push aside, at least for the time being, the terrible developments of the day, instead focusing on Terezi's stupid stupid jokes and her annoying, kind of contagious cackling. Not like he would laugh too, but he almost felt a smile twitch into existence, and he realized that the last week or so had been hanging on his lips, making an already prominent frown into an outright permanent scowl. They walked side by side, hands brushing each other. Terezi leaned into him as she insulted his haircut, and he felt pretty sure that if he hadn't already tried and found that he couldn't, he would love her.
I'm sorry this took so long to write. It's been tough finding time to do anything, let alone write. Actually, it's getting pretty close to the end! Maybe another chapter or two? Anyways...enjoy.