Lulu: Hello my most likely angry readers. Sorry about the long wait, but ever since I started school, It's been hard finding time to post chapters..anyway, this chapter may be a bit angst-filled. This will also be the last chapter where all of the characters are 9 and I've also decided to shorten the amount of chapters left to write for this particular fanfic (meaning now instead of over 20+ chaps left, there's like 11 after this one). 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 HAVING TO LOSE FANFICTIONS AND REUPLOAD THEM ALL OVER AGAIN. THANK YOU

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HOMESTUCK, FOR THAT IS OWNED BY ANDREW HUSSIE. ENJOY

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 specifically targeted in this chapter: Rose (The Felt), Mysterious Guest (confused? you'll most likely know by the end).

Your name is Rose, and you see a lot of things. Most of these things can't be seen by others, but you can see them! You can! Everyone says that it's all imaginary, but it's not. You're nine years old now, practically an adult, so when you say something's real, you mean it and others should respect that. Of course, they don't, but that's really their problem, isn't it?

You sigh, taking another sip of tea. Beside you is your cat, Jasper, who is definitely real! Not fake! He's a pretty black kitty that you'd taken care of ever since you were little. You remember that he'd been run over at some point, but nevertheless, he still follows you in his adorable little suit. It was the one you'd made for him when Mo- no, when she had put him in a box. Admittedly, though, it was a very pretty box.

After he went into the box, he came back to you, of course, but he was slightly different. You can no longer truly pet Jasper, as your hand always goes through his form. He also carries a very mystical aura about him, and people tend to unconsciously back away from his presence (which is why people who say that he's not real are hypocrites! Hypocrites you say!).

Still, Jasper wasn't the only invisible being, there were so many others; there was the woman that followed John, Jane, and Feferi's Dad around, and then there was the couple that kept close to Dave and Dirk and-

"Rose, I apologize for interrupting, but you've nearly spilled your tea again." Kanaya has interrupted you from your daze and you quickly readjust your cup, placing it back on its little plate on the table. Kanaya is not an invisible person, and she can't see invisible people either, but she does believe you, much more than anyone else. She's your best friend, the one who's been beside you since you came to the Felt Household.

"Sorry about that, Kanaya. I'll be more careful." You smile at her, and then you pat the seat next to you. "Do you want to join me for tea, Lady Kanaya?"

"Of course, Lady Rose." She sits down, partaking in a freshly-poured cup of tea. "If I may ask, will there be others be arriving?" She gestured to the table, and you looked and noticed that two other cups had been placed. One of them was for Roxy, of course, but when did you add the other one? …meh, you'd probably just grabbed two and forgotten about it…then again…

"Rose!" before you could analyze the situation further, you felt your body being wrapped in a tight, uncomfortable embrace.

You looked up to see Roxy, and to anyone else, she would've looked like she was in shambles; her hair was frizzing and splaying all over the place, her clothes were ruffled, and her eyes were half-glazed. From the looks of it, she'd raided Crowbar's cabinet again, even though she'd been grounded several times already for doing so before. Later, you'd have to sit her down for another well-needed therapy session. Right now, however, she had to face the mighty wrath of your hairbrush!

BE THE FOURTH GUEST

You are the Mysterious Fourth Guest, and though they didn't know it, you've been here the whole time. In fact, you'd been here for a very long, long time. They couldn't see you anymore, and they hadn't been able to for a while now. Even little Rose, who'd been the more sensitive child, hadn't been able to notice you anymore; you were a constant presence now, something she could overlook, something she could pass every morning and never notice was there.

If things were different, if you could've done something, they wouldn't be here. If you knew what was going to happen that night, you would've stayed at home with them. You would've stayed and held them, you would've given up all the drinking and the one-night stands and called up that nice guy from the bakery. You wouldn't have made them orphans, forcing them to live in a big green house with strangers all around. You wouldn't have let Roxy follow in your footsteps, or forced Rose to pick up the pieces. You probably would've let Rose meet Kanaya, though the circumstances would've still been different, probably better than they were now. There were so many things you could've and would've done, but you didn't do any of it; instead, you left them behind for some cheap vodka. So, what could you really do to atone?

You looked over to the three girls, finding that Rose had finally finished fixing Roxy's hair. The cat, Jasper, was also near them, but he seemed to look bored, quickly moving away so as to sit on your lap. In the past, you left little for Jasper, but things had changed since then, and now you absolutely adored him and his soft, fluffy fur. You allowed him to stay there for a while, watching the three other girls begin their fancy tea party. And even after the party was over, those three still hadn't remembered to clean up the fourth tea cup…though, it wasn't their fault that they'd forgotten. People tend to forget a lot things that are taken by those who no longer exist.

Lulu: End~