Lulu: I sense that i've been gone too long...i'm going to be changing that by adding this right now, and a few other chapters I'm currently working on later...please don't kill me! *proceeds to hide under the desk and hands the readers the new chapter* sorry if it sucks a bit, I'll be adding the ages of the kids to the chapter names so you know how old they are because man do they grow up fast! Enjoy~
NOTICE: IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS FANFICTION, PLEASE DON'T REPORT ME; JUST TELL ME YOUR ISSUES WITH THE PARTICULAR FANFICTION, AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO FIX THEM. I REALLY DON'T LIKE LOSING THE PRECIOUS FANFICTIONS THAT I SPEND TIME WRITING. NO MISTAKE IS TOO SMALL FOR ME TO BE NOTIFIED OF. THANK YOU
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HOMESTUCK, FOR THAT IS OWNED BY ANDREW HUSSIE.
WARNING: THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FANFICTION AND THEIR PERSONALITIES MAY NOT BE TRULY CORRECT; THIS IS BECAUSE THE AUTHOR (aka Me) MAY EITHER INTERPRET THEM DIFFERENTLY THAN THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE INTERPRETED, THEY MAY BE CHANGED IN ORDER TO FIT THE SPECIFIC AU, OR IN WORST CASE SCENARIO, THE AUTHOR (again, Me) MAY HAVE HAD THEIR PERCEPTION OF THESE SPECFIC CHARACTERS CHANGED DUE TO READING TOO MANY OTHER FANFICTIONS CENTERING AROUND THESE SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. PLEASE READ THIS FANFICTION WITH THESE THOUGHTS IN MIND.
POV used in this chapter: Rose (The Felt)
Your name is Rose, and there is no possible way in this world that you are getting on that bike. It was towards the end of winter and you were staring at the pink and purple monstrosity that Scratch had bought to torture you if anything else. It wasn't as if you hated the pink and purple paint job (well ok, you really didn't like pink, you liked purple though), gaudy as it was, but they were in a mess of floral and splotch patterns that made you cringe. It was as if someone had gotten Caliborn to paint the bike (which was probably what had happened, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to try upstaging his sister's talented art skills with his own decent ones).
You paused and began to analyze your behavior. Why should you be afraid of a bike? Sure, it was a horrifying mesh of colors, but why should that stop you from riding it today? Maybe it was because of the size. Apparently when Scratch had said he was getting you a bike, he really meant it. The bike was obviously too big for a 7 year old like yourself, probably more suited for an adult that was twice your height. When your sister, Roxy had attempted to climb on the thing, she couldn't even reach the pedals! Even Gamzee, the tallest of the Felt Kids, couldn't attempt such a feat.
Another perfectly acceptable reason you didn't want to ride was because of the season. Even if winter was somewhere in-between half-way and almost over, there was still ice on most of the streets and large, fairly dangerous potholes on the more melted avenues. Plus, there was increased traffic on the roads and the snow in your lawn was still high despite the melting. It would be way too dangerous to try riding a bike right now!
And yet…you turned over to Scratch, who had already gotten out a camera for the occasion. Doc Scratch was a weird old man, with ghostly pale skin that almost mimicked his naturally white hair, and unnatural bright green eyes not gained from color contacts. Over the years, you had gotten to know this man as your adoptive parent, though you're not sure that he was a good replacement compared to the original. Your mom had been both a workaholic and an alcoholic, but at least she wasn't very perverted towards you and Roxy (whether it was intentional or unintentional, Scratch always gave you the creeps). You're not sure why he wanted you to do this, but then again he was weird about those kinds of "father-daughter" things (you had begun psychoanalyzing him at some point, and you think that maybe he had a daughter before you…he was old, so it was entirely possible, though you weren't sure).
Standing in the way of the path to the safe (well, safer) confines of your home were Vriska (of course, she had started taking bets since even before this was started), Roxy (she was more physically in the way than anything else…you swear she'd found her way into the adult's drink cabinet again, because she had been oddly giggling and swaying for the last hour and was literally leaning on the door for support), and of course, every other Felt Kid (another thing you picked up about your friends is that they really look hard for sadistic entertainment). You seemed to feel that at least Kanaya was cheering you on, and that made you smile.
Kanaya had been your best friend since you had arrived here, confused and a tad grief-stricken due to your mother's untimely demise (though granted, you didn't actually remember too much about her), and every day she was always been beside you (both of you were somehow strangely on a higher level of intelligence than most of the Felt Kids, though that might just be your own hubris talking…you'll have to write that down in your journal later, along with a note for Jasper if he's listening. Honestly, that cat is always disappearing; you wish he would stay when the adults came around instead of just disappearing into thin air). You know that she probably tried to interfere before, though it wouldn't have done any good; the only one who could tell Scratch what do was Lord English, and he was busy running the casino chain that the Felt members used as both a money source and a mask to the public eye (not that it did any good; everyone knew the identities of the Felt, as well as the Midnight Crew. They usually just keep silent because they know what'll happen if they don't). Most of the other adults were either away with their green-haired boss, or they had no problem sitting on the front porch of the Felt mansion while watching Scratch's odd attempt at who-knows-what.
"The bike will not harm you, Rose, I can promise you that." Scratch called to you, and you were all too sure that he was lying. 19,000 people a year get hurt on bicycles, and about a fifth of those people are kids…maybe not all of them are your age, but they're still kids! (You've got to learn to stay off the internet; it only invades your mind with paranoia. You'll never understand how Roxy can be so into it at her age). Another thing that bothered you was that this bike had no training wheels at all…you'd at least feel safer with some training wheels on the bike.
You sighed, sooner or later you would have to do it, you'd have to get on the stupid bike and humiliate yourself. Might as well do it now, while you still had your dignity (you'd have to analyze your sense of pride with Jasper at a later date). With the helmet fastened just a bit more on your head, you climbed the bike in an attempt to reach the seat, frustrated by the fast that Scratch had to have books attached to the pedals so that you could reach them (such a waste of precious books). With a slight sense of danger, a twinge of fear, and maybe even a dash of adrenaline, you began to pedal with all of your might. For a moment, you believed that you could do anything; being on that bike, taller than you ever had been before, you thought that you could ride all around the world and back faster than anything alive, and it was amazing. You could've gone anywhere you wanted to and no one could stop you.
And then of course, you fell off the bike and skinned your knee. Practice makes perfect, right?
Lulu: End~ See you next chapter~