CHAPTER TWELVE

(yoooo, sorry for the wait. I can't believe I forgot to update over the summer, oopsies. Well, have some DaveJade action ;)

Your name is Jade Harley and you haven't quite caught on to what's happening.

Dave's eyes seemed to be so wide in shock that you swore you could see some white behind those shades of his. John was standing with his mouth hanging open, looking between you and Dave. It looked like both were trying to find words, but nothing came.

"Um..." You mumble, glancing between the two. "You...know my brother?"

Dave stayed silent. He looked tense, as if he wanted to dash away. John shook his head, seeming to snap out of it. "Yea, Dave." He say in a hard voice. "You know my sister?"

"Uh...yea."

You blink in confusion, sensing the hostility. You flash a weak smile. "Uh... well this is cool huh? We all know each other. Me and Dave were gonna go to a carnival today."

"Were you?" John folded his arms.

Dave chuckled slightly, "What a coincidence, huh bro?"

John suddenly lunged forward, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Both boys took off running at full speed.

"Oh my god! What?" You quickly run after them, people on the sidewalk were staring and trying to dodge out of the way. The dummies were running right across the street now!

"You never said you were dating my SISTER!" John yelled, taking a flying leap at Dave.

"I didn't kno-! Uhf!" John tackled Dave to the ground, rolling onto the grass.

"Hey! Hey, knock it off! Why are you fighting? JOHN!" At your loud yell, they both look up. Both boys glasses were askew. You huff angrily, giving them your hardest glare. What the hell? "Get off each other NOW!"

They both comply and scramble away from each other. Dave starts brushing the front of his jacket off, frowning at John, who seemed to be looking anywhere but at him. You fold your arms across your chest, glaring at them both crossly. "Anyone want to tell me why you two just attacked each other in the middle of the street? Honestly, what are you thinking?"

"Sorry, babe. There's been a misunderstanding." Dave mumbled, still lying on his back. John stood up to brush grass off his jeans.

"Misunderstanding? You refused to tell me who she was for the longest time! You bastard, this is why isn't it?" John spat at him.

"Hey, dont be mean to each other!" You yelled at John, but Dave was yelling back too.

"I didn't know, man! How would I have know she was your sister, you have different last names."

"I told you her name!"

"Well, shit, guess I forgot." Dave sounded furious. "Why is it such a big deal? We haven't done anything."

"Boys! BOYS! I can't believe you're fighting over this! John, I told you I didn't want you to be an overprotective brother when I moved here, and this is taking it to an extreme! You're apparently friends, right? Dave's been nothing but kind to me since we met!"

Dave looked at the grass in what appeared to be embarrassment. John said nothing.

"Are you mad because my first relationship is with someone you know?" You said to him. He looked away.

"He's basically my best friend... Dave, you goddamn idiot. Yea, I've got a problem. Especially because I'm only now finding out! Shit, how long has it been? A couple months?"

"Please don't be mad, John. I...I really like Dave. And I hope he likes me too! So please don't be mad, I'm trying to start a new life here, remember? How can I do that with you protecting me from everything?"

"Shit, Jade. Of course I like you too..." Dave stood up and looked at John, "Egbert, if it means anything, I take her seriously. I'm not gonna hurt her, I promise." He mumbled. Your heart swelled, it was nice hearing him talk about you so sweetly. You couldn't help but smile at him. He covered his face with a hand.

John sighed after a long moment. "Well, we should be meeting the others soon...This was quite the...surprise. But Dave, I swear to god, if you do anything-"

"Johnny! You're coming too?" You cut him off. You really hated when your brother was angry... you had such high hopes for today, too. It was really a surprise that John was one of the friends Dave was talking about. Makes sense though, now that you think about it. He new Rose, after all. But why didn't he tell John about you?

"Yea, Jade." John said slowly.

"Then can we go? I want to see my first carnival." You blinked your eyes at him sweetly.

He sighed and smiled, "Yes, yes. But I've got my eye on you, mister." He shot a glance at Dave, who huffed and mumbled something under his breath.

And off the three of you went, in heavy, awkward silence. You noticed Dave was keeping his distance as you all walked to the meeting place, in the park. You frowned. And you had such fantasies about today...holding hands, going on rides, cute couple stuff! But none of that would happen with John breathing down your necks.

"Mah boys!" You heard a female voice call loudly. You looked up and saw Vriska raising her arms to the sky. Rose and Kanaya stopped talking and looked over at us, smiling with friendliness and a hint of amusement. Vriska was wearing a beanie and a heavy jean jacket, you giggled when you realized that's what John's explanation of a 'hipster' sort of looked like. You're not exactly one to talk either, however. You work in a Starbucks. Ah, the things you learn by being around fellow 'young adults'.

"Vris!" John called back, mimicking her gesture. They hugged in greeting and began mumbling to each other.

"Hey Dave. Jade." Rose nodded at them.

"Greetings. It is good to see everyone together." Kanaya's short hair fluttered around in the soft wind. Her eyes were as warm and friendly as her voice.

Dave grunted in response. Was he still upset about what happened with John?

Rose and Kanaya were dressed up nicely, as usual. Rose's silvery blonde hair was tucked under a knitted hat, and she wore a long black jacket over a cute dress. Kanaya was wearing a similar outfit, but with more earthy colors, both had black tights on.

"I can't wait to go see the fair! Sorry we're a little late. There were some...complications." You glanced over at John. He raised an eyebrow at you and Rose clicked her tongue.

"Ah, I'm assuming the big reveal didn't go over so well?" She tossed her scarf over her shoulder and smirked at Dave.

"That's right, you fucking knew!" John huffed at Rose. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's simple, Johnny. It's called, 'respect for people's private lives'. I wanted them to be ready to tell you themselves, but I suppose there was a bit of confusion."

"'A bit?'" Dave scoffed. You frowned.

"Well, we're past it now! Right? We can still have fun today, I'm glad to be here with all of you." You put on a smile and nervously brushed against Dave's arm.

"Hells yea! Let's go crash a carnival, bitches!" Vriska seized John by the arm and dragged him toward the wide entrance before he could protest. She winked over her shoulder at you.

You smiled, looking out at the festivity before you. Even though there was a chill in the air, everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Autumn was now in full swing, and the kids all seemed to be super thrilled about playing on the rides. You felt just as thrilled, if not more. Momentarily forgetting about John's hostility, you grab Dave's arm with excitement.

"Where should we go first? I'm so pumped for this!"

Vriska grinned, "Well we're going on the biggest ride, right John?"

"Wha?"

Rose smiled, "Me and Kanaya want to go check out some of the booths, we can all meet by the food stands later. Sound good?"

"What? No!" John protested, glaring at Dave. "Doesn't sound good! I-"

"Let's go!" Vriska ran off, pulling a distressed and confused John behind her.

"Have fun, you two." Rose winked at them as they walked off, Kanaya green lips pulled up in a smile.

Before you knew it, you and Dave were left standing alone in the middle of the crowd. Neither of you talked for quite some time, before Dave coughed awkwardly.

"Eh..erm. How bout we hit up some of those smaller games? For you to start off with. The ones with prizes n' shit." He said slowly.

You grinned. Even if Dave wasn't feeling that happy at the moment, you were determined to make this day awesome! "Bet I can win more than you!"

Dave sputtered, "Um, excuse you. I'm a pro."

"Don't worry, babe. Ill win you lots of cool stuff." You giggled and slid your hand into his. He scoffed and looked away, ears turning red.

By the time you two were done running around playing dumb carnival games, you had lost track of time. You had both been pretty damn good at winning stuff. You especially were skilled with the games that utilized a gun of some sort. Dave had been a bit better at the high striker hammer game. As time progressed, he seemed to get more and more comfortable and relaxed. It made you happy to see him laughing and having fun.

"Think it's time to go back?"

"Hm?" He looked over at you, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing the palm of your hand.

"Is the Dave gettin hungry?" You giggled.

"Yea, I spose. I guess we can try to find the others. Show off all of our loot."

You looked down at the group of miscellaneous toys and blow up weapons, you had had to get a bag to carry it all. You and Dave had even managed to win a giant stuffed snake. Dave currently had it wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

With that, you headed over to the food carts. Everyone was smiling, even John was being friendly again, though suspiciously. Dave, the dork, had insisted on 'paying for the ladys fine cuisine'.

The sun was soon sinking back down, turning the sky grey. The weather was getting chillier everyday. It was amazing how the time had flown by. Having grown up on an island, it was hard to adjust to College life. But now you were able to keep up on work, and understand the subject relatively well. It was all thanks to the new friends around you that you could come here.

"Jade, you feeling okay?" You heard Kanaya's gentle voice.

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine. Why?" You look up suddenly. Everyone had turned their gaze on you.

"You look like you're about to cry, dear." She placed a hand on your shoulder.

"You okay, sis? Are you overwhelmed or something?" John's voice sounded concerned.

You felt Dave put his hand over yours. You felt his eyes looking at you intently behind those shades of his.

"I...I" Without warning, a tear spilled over your cheek. "I...thank you all. I just...I'm so grateful to know such nice people. Thanks for everything, guys. I feel like I actually have friends now." Your voice wavered.

"Aw, Jade! No need for crying." Rose smiled kindly.

"This girl is so sweet!" Vriska nudged John, "Of course we're your friends."

You smiled at everyone's kind words and couldn't help but laugh. You wiped tears away from your face with your sleeve. "Thanks guys...I had fun today."

Suddenly you felt someone's arms around you and heard Vriska "awww"-ing. "The day's not over yet." You heard Dave's voice mumble into your neck. "We can go on a ride at least."

"Yea, you two should go on that Love Tunnel ride! It'd be super cute." Rose giggled, her lavender eyes mischievous.

"Hey, no way!" John protested.

"Oh, John. It's just a dumb ride." Vriska elbowed him in the side. "Nothing much actually happens on those things."

"Just one ride, John?" You mutter sweetly. A romantic ride with Dave sounded like just the thing to make this day perfect!

John sighed dejectedly after getting a glare from Kanaya. "Fine. No funny business though."

"Course." Dave grunted, and leaned away from you. He stood up and held a hand out, "Shall we, princessa?"

You giggled at his silliness, "Yes, of course Master Dave."

John looked like he was gonna strangle someone as they walked away, hand in hand.

The ride was covered with pink hearts. It looked super fuckin cheesy, in actuality. You climbed in together and the ride rolled into the darkness, leaving the setting sun behind you. You let your mind drift, not paying attention to anything in particular. Dave's presence next to you became very pronounced. You could hear his soft intakes of breath, feel the warmth coming off his hoodie. It was only the mass of him next to you, and the feel of his cold fingers in yours. You looked away in embarrassment. You wanted to be closer to him. But like no time had passed at all, the ride was at it's end.

After you both got out, avoiding each other's gaze, you heard Dave mumble "That was kinda dumb."

You laughed softly, "Yea..."

You both walked for a little while in silence. The pathways were emptier now, people were leaving. The sky was orange and the air was crisp. How long had it been now? You were both just wandering. Where were you going?

After a long while you said, "Dave, I think the park is closing soon."

"Yea." He grunted.

"Should we head back?"

Dave didn't respond, just lead you onwards down the aisles of booths. You came into an area with absolutely no one in sight. It appeared you were at the back of the park, a secluded area. A little nervously, you mumbled, "Uh...Dave?"

"Can we kiss?" Dave blurted, turning to stand in front of you.

"What?" You said after a stunned moment. His face was turning pink.

"I... want to kiss you. Is that okay?" He mumbled, running his thumb over my fingers.

You felt something swell inside your chest, turning your face red. You smiled. "Yes, David. Kiss me." You breathed, leaning closer to him. You heard him release a sharp breath through his parted lips, and he leaned down to meet yours.

You touched a cold hand to his face as his lips moved against your own. You felt each others bodies press closer together, and Dave's fingers were tangled in your dark hair. The feeling in your chest was becoming overwhelming. Dave's breathing was heavy when he broke away, but only for a moment. You clutched the back of his neck and pulled him back, eager for more.

His lips were warm, your skin felt like it was on fire. It was perfect, embracing like this. You could almost feel Dave's heart pounding.

Finally, you both leaned away, red faced and hot. You reached up to gently slide his shades off his nose. He let you, red eyes coming into view, gazing heavily into your own. His hand was on your waist, and you moved yours to his shoulders. You moved forward, brushing your lips against the edge of his mouth. You closed your eyes and leaned into him.

"I love you." Your voice whispered against his skin.

Dave said nothing.