The next day when Karkat got to school, he had a black eye. When I saw him that morning in the library, I literally dropped everything and ran up to him. I stared at him, and took his face in my hands in total disbelief. I ran my thumb under the black eye, and he winced.
"Sorry, sorry.. Oh, my god Karkat, what happened to you?"
"I.. I got mugged on the way here, and they kicked me around a little. I'm okay, dont worry about me.."
"Don't worry about you?! How can I not? Here, come sit down, and let me get a better look at it.. okay?" He just sighed, and nodded, following me to my seat. When he sat down, I pulled his hood off, and Equius, Sollux, and Gamzee all gasped and started questioning him. He told them the same thing he told me, and told them he was fine.
"KK, you do not look fine, we need to take you to the nurse or some shit-"
"I told you, assholes, I'm fine!" He snapped, leaning back in the chair. I kneeled in front of him, and examined it a little better, and sighed.
"He's right, it's just a black eye, there is nothing we can really do, except maybe let it heal. I could get Kanaya over here, see if any of hers or Rose's makeup could cover it, but otherwise, we should just leave him alone."
"..Whatever, but I don't want people seeing Kanaya slather my face with goopey makeup shit."
I nodded, and got up, and left the library to go to the bathroom, where they usually were in the mornings, touching up makeup. I walked up behind them, and tapped Kanaya's shoulder.
"I need your help."
"Oh, Nepeta! Finally, you ready to try a little makeup? Well, here, I have the perfect shade of eyeshadow, it's Green, and it would look perfect on y-"
"No, not that kind of help, i-"
"Oh! Are you looking for that kind of help? Do tell me dear, what is her name?"
"No- Kanaya, It's Karkat! He came to school with a black eye, and I was wondering if I could bring him in here so you could cover it up."
"Oh... why, yes, I-I might have some concealer- Bring him in. But he'll need an excuse in case other students see him leave here... How comfortable are you with him? Enough to make out a little?"
Twenty minutes later, Karkat had been dragged to the girls room, Kanaya worked her magic, and now he only looked like he hadn't slept in a week. We explained to him that we needed an excuse for him to have been in the girls room, and a common one Kanaya and Rose had seen, was couples making out. So Kanaya gave me some lipstick to put on, and then let me kiss him as much as I wanted. She and Rose promised to turn around for comfort's sake, but we still heard them giggling.
I got up on my tiptoes, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, blushing hard at being so close to him. He leaned down to make it easier for me, and he smiled nervously, wrapping his arms around my waist. We leaned in, and got really close, close enough for our foreheads to touch, and I hesitated.
"Come on, Nep, it will be fine... just.. pretend it's a really long kiss to make bad dreams go away..?" He said softly, giving me a reassuring smile.
"Right... we're just friends who make out a little with each other when situation calls for it, right?" I replied, giggling nervously.
"Always.." He said, before leaning in, and gently pressing his lips to mine. My stomach did a flip flop, and I closed my eyes and kissed back, pulling him closer to me like I had seen people do in movies...and how people did in fanfics. What else did people do in fanfics? Tongue? NONONONONOOOOOO no tongue..that's...weird.. What about- is he rubbing my back? That feels really nice... what if I just.. yeah, play with his hair a little- hello wall, nice to be pressed against you.
I felt Karkat pull away, and take a small breath, and let out a little laugh. I couldn't help but laugh as well because this was so awkward. I glanced at Kanaya and Rose, and they were just smirking, before I leaned in and kissed him again, because though it was awkward, it felt so good...and just..right. I never wanted the moment to end, but then the bell rang, and we had to leave. I pulled away, kissed his cheek for good measure, being sure it left a mark, and gathered my stuff. Kanaya insisted I reapply, just so everyone knew it was my lipstick, so I did, then I left.
Karkat stuffed his hands in his pockets, and as we walked out of the girl's room, he was smiling like crazy, and he looked like he won the lottery. People stared, some smirked knowingly, and a few other just gaped. My face felt hot, but that didn't matter. I only had one thought running through my head all day. I kissed Karkat Vantas. I've fallen for Karkat Vantas. And holy mother fuck, have I fallen hard.