Karkat: Wake Up Already

I woke with a start, taking in a deep breath after my eyes flashed open. My body was aching horribly, and it seemed that every part of me from the waist up was on fire. I started leaning up, groaning through all the pain, when a hand pressed on my chest. I quickly gripped it causing someone to say "Hey hey, chill out! It's just me." I looked over to see that it was Dave, sitting next to my bed. I threw his hand off my body "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

He replied after pulling his hand back to his side, saying "Well someone had to watch over you after what happened, and it wasn't going to be anyone else. So I just stayed here." Everything flashed back into my head at once, and my face grew hot. "Oh…right." "I take it you remember what happened now?" "Yeah…"

Dave leaned back in the chair he pulled up, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes and groaned. I knew what he wanted me to say, and he wasted no time in trying to get me to say it. "I'm not saying it, so wipe that smug look off your face before I knock it the fuck off." "Karkat, you have to admit it. I was right, just say something like it and that'll be the end of this."

"I'm not saying shit, alright? The fact is that you had no proof they actually would do anything, so it wasn't exactly hard for me to believe that it was just a joke."

"Yeah? Well it wasn't. And if you just listened to me, this never would have happened in the first place!"

"And how the fuck was I supposed to know? When someone like YOU tells me something, it's usually some dumb bullshit that makes me look like an idiot. So trusting someone who continuously likes to play on my gullibility and trust like a complete tool and then just decides to start being an actual person isn't exactly at the top of my fucking to-do list."

He sat in his chair, not making a single sound and just staring down at the floor. My stare was directly at him, asking him to go ahead and try to explain himself. He looked up at me and said "…well you should have known." I fell back into my bed with a loud yell and dropped my arms next to me. It caused a shock of pain to surge through my head, and was an instant reminder that that night did happen. I continued none the less "Jesus Christ Strider, do you even hear yourself some times? Or does it just all come out like a fucking shit waterfall?"

"Hey, I'm so god damn sorry that I SAVED you from whatever they were doing to you!" He said standing up and beginning to raise his voice. That was basically an invitation for me to join. "Who said I even needed your he" "YOU did. When you called ME, remember?" My words failed me for a second, remembering my desperation.

I got my voice back pretty quickly though. "That was just because I didn't know what they were going to do, and you were the only person who I could call! So don't fucking flatter yourself." "Bullshit, Vantas! I was the only person that could have defended you and you knew that damn well."

"The only thing I knew was that you were open on my phone and I had to get help! That was it, Mr. High-and-Mighty!"

"Right, I'm sure that was it. And I'm sure you never thought about me once during that entire thing?"

"You know, you're not exactly the apex of my entire existence."

"I never said I was."

"You sure are talking like you are!"

"And you're saying I'm not?"

"Yes!"

"Then did you think about me or not?"

I stopped. I did remember specifically thinking about him. But that was just because he was the only one that knew about my situation, nothing more. Probably. "…like I said, it was just because you were the last person I talked to" "So you did." I flinched and bared my teeth, the blunt reality of it was almost painful. "Yes, Strider. I thought about you once or twice while I was getting my shit beat in. Are you happy now, you egotistical fuck?" "Yes, actually. And I'm not egotistical, I just wanted you to actually admit to something for once."

We both were still and silent for a little, contemplating what the other said. Dave dropped onto his chair, leaning back and crossing his arms again. He sighed and kept going "Look, I know I haven't been the best. I don't blame you for not believing me, but I honestly didn't want you to get hurt." I turned my head and grit my teeth, because part of me wanted to sympathize with the douche bag, but I didn't know if the other parts wanted to at all. "Okay, whatever. Thanks for helping me, now quit with all the mushy crap, it's going to make me vomit." I turned back over to face him and he had a slight smile on his face. "What the hell are you so giddy about?"

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to even acknowledge the fact that I helped you. Would have caught me off guard, if it was possible." I scoffed and threw a pillow at him "Oh fuck off, you narcissistic ass-wipe." He laughed after catching it, and I found that my anger was kind of gone. I could feel a smile coming onto my own face, which I quickly shut down by biting my tongue. This was getting too weird.

I coughed and said "What day is it?" He pulled out his phone and took a glance "It's Thursday, 4:13 P.M." That meant I was out for almost an entire day, and tomorrow was their gig. I couldn't be this roughed up for a performance. "Fuck, alright, tell everyone we're going to have practice tonight at 7 and"

"No."

I stopped mid sentence, my gaze turning into a glare pointed at him. "What." "No, you can't leave your bed, we're not having a practice." "Strider, this isn't your decision to make." "Considering I saw your wounds? Yeah it fucking is."

I wanted to battle this too, but in all honesty I was sick of fighting, so I just grunted and took whatever I could get. "Boy you sure are driving this "I care about you" bullshit right to fucking home plate, aren't you? Fine, we won't have a practice. But we are performing tomorrow." "I don't know about that, you looked pretty screwed up, man." "Do you know why I was beat? Because we apparently landed a gig with one of the most important people in this town, and they didn't want us stealing their thunder or some dumb bullshit. So if we bail, their mission was successful, and we wouldn't be hired fucking anywhere. This isn't up for debate."

He sighed and put on a concerned look, but eventually conceded "Alright, we'll play. But you better not push yourself too much, we don't have the money to put you in a hospital." I stuck my tongue out at him, mumbling some insults at him and starting to get out of my bed. "Woah, I don't know if you're ready for that yet, Tiny Tim." "I can fucking walk! Jesus, when did you turn into my father?"

He looked kind of stunned, but he shook his head and put up his hands, backing up to give me some room. My feet barely touched the floor and I shot an "I told you so" at Dave. But it was all downhill once I stood up. I was able to walk, but a simple twitch of some chest/face muscle would cause me to yell out in pain, let alone using one exclusively. Dave began walking towards me, saying "Hey, you proved me wrong, now get back on the bed before you eat shit."

"If you touch me I'm going to skin you alive!" I yelled, but right after I got really dizzy. My vision got a bit fade and I reached out for a wall or anything really. Dave grabbed my arm and held me up, even though I was almost slumping. I stayed silent, not wanting to say a single word. I could feel his smirk on me, and I knew he was getting so much enjoyment out of this. "So, back to your bed then?" I nodded with a huff, crossing my arms. He easily picked me up and dropped me on my bed lightly.

I soon fell asleep again, trying to get away from the pain searing in my body. But for some reason, I just really didn't want to. And what scared me more than anything, was that it might have to do with Dave.