Roxy's POV
Roxy was smiling gently at the back of her dear friend's head. It was really, really nice to see Nepeta again. No matter how much time they spent together, it never felt like enough. They'd only first met their first year of college together when they were eighteen; not nearly as much time as Nepeta had spent in her other friendships, but both parties agreed it felt like so much longer than three simple years.
"Okay, that should be it." Nepeta stood up and put her hands on her hips, grinning proudly at her set up. Roxy leaned her head on her friend's shoulder in order to see over it; she didn't understand what there was to feel accomplished about. It looked like a battlefield of crisscrossing wires and volume adjusting landmines; one wrong step and you may just deafen the entire crowd. Nepeta's keyboard stood shakily on top of the mess. It teetered slightly when Nepeta pressed a key or two, making sure it was connected properly. The notes sounded loudly through the huge base speakers on either side of the little stage/platform thing she was allowed to use for the night.
"I still don't understand how the Egberts can afford all of this stuff." She slid her hand over the top of the speaker to her left. She played another key, letting the vibrations shiver through her hand. "Like, seriously, how can they pay for this gorgeous house, four kids, two college tuitions, soon to be four, and all of this tech just by owning a little local shop?" Nepeta expressed her confusion to Roxy, who sat down on the pile of wires, ignoring the ones that poked painfully into her butt and thighs.
"Janey tells me she's the heir to a huge baking company. They aren't related by blood, but the lady who runs it likes Jane's skills and helps them out a lot. Like, a lot, a lot." Roxy explained. She glanced around the massive room they were in, which was technically the basement. It had a second kitchen down there, mostly filled with junk food and snacks though for occasions just like this. But it also included a spacious area – perfect for dancing – and, best of all, a bar. With plenty of alcohol stored behind the counter. Roxy's eyes traced all along the shelves, bottles all lined up perfectly on them. She poked the inside of her lips with her tongue, chewing on the inside of her cheek until a little coppery-iron taste started to overwhelm her.
It's technically not the new year yet. Roxy though to herself. I can get away with a few loose morals, a drink or two without breaking the rules. It couldn't hurt, right? She started to become more and more sure of herself, positive that it could work, if done early enough. She was just about to stand up before Nepeta's head swung in front of her from above, interrupting her gaze. Roxy yelped in surprise.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked, smiling curiously. Roxy giggled at how silly she looked, her hair hanging all above her head and her earrings dangling just by her eyes.
"Ooh, nothing." She rolled her eyes to the opposite side of the room, trying to seem casual and like she didn't just puncture her cheek while thinking about getting drunk. She scrambled for a quick and believable lie. "Just . . . How delicious Jane's food's gonna be!" Roxy ducked under the curtain of hair Nepeta was making and leapt to her feet. "Come on, we gotta steal some before she sets it all out!"
They raced to the stairs and were tripping over each other in a competition to see who could reach the kitchen first.
I have to get back down stairs soon. . . A voice echoed in the back of Roxy's brain as she got a thick swat to the knuckles by Jane as she snatched up a large sugar cookie. I have to get to it. I have to. The uninvited guest kept plaguing the delightful girl's thoughts, always somehow dragging her back under into addiction.
Karkat's POV:
Jane smiled sweetly at Karkat as he came into the kitchen. "Hey Jane." He said, shuffling kind of awkwardly near the doorway. Normally he'd be his loud and obnoxious self, but seeing Dave there had kind of set him off kilter; besides, he was in her house, at her party and she had requested him for help. He may have been a prick, but he wasn't that much of one.
"Hello Karkat. Could you hand me that plate?" she pointed to a large glass plate that sat on the counter near him, holing a cute little stack of cupcakes.
"Oh, sure." He carefully held it out to her, trying to keep all of the delicious pastries from falling.
She whisked it away, no problem, and put it next to a number of other assorted foods. Chips, crackers, cookies, cake, and little tiny macaroons that were so perfectly put together Karkat honestly wondered if she'd simply bought them from the store. But he knew better than to question Jane's skills, and kept quiet. "I'm going to need your help with bringing all of this down to the basement soon. Guests will be coming before you know it and John's friends tend to get cranky without food." She giggled and patted out the apron that covered her beautiful blue dress before returning to rushing around the kitchen to set things up and put cooking materials away, etc.
"But, uh, Jake said you needed me to help make. . ." He internally sighed at how stupid he'd probably sound, questioning it. "Coffee cake?"
She paused in her relentless flitting about and shot a cheeky Egbert grin at him. She calmly walked to the coffee machine that was shoved into the corner, among other appliances, and held up the almost entirely full pot of liquid heaven. In her other hand was a cute mug with Charlie Brown on the side.
"Code name." She poured a heaping amount for him and grabbed a creamer off of the counter, holding both out to him. "I thought you might want to have a little extra boost for the night. I know you don't like staying up, at least not on purpose, so I thought this might help." She beamed up at him as he took the gifts before turning back to her work.
Karkat blinked and smiled back briefly before dumping a massive amount of creamer into his mug. "Thanks Jane. I really, really needed this." He sighed contently and gulped down most of it.
"'Ey!" she lightly patted his stomach with the back of her hand. "Drink it, not inhale it!" she scolded, laughter evident in her voice.
"I am!" he joked back, setting the cup aside only to end up turning back around at the sound of footsteps coming towards them from one of the hallways.
The kitchen had two doors that both lead into hallways. One of them was right by the front door; that hallway lead to the coat closet, a bedroom, the stairs to the second floor and if you walked straight down it you'd end up right in the main living room.
The other entrance was almost on the opposite wall of the first. That hallway lead to the first floor bathroom, the stairs to the basement and also lead to the main living room.
Before either Jane or Karkat could react, two excitedly giggling girls came bursting through the second doorway and began plucking sweets off of the table only to shove them immediately into their mouths. "Hey!" Jane growled, slapping one of the girls' hands harshly as she tried to pick up a sugar cookie. "Roxy, you know the rules! No eating until the other guests arrive!" Jane put the sugar cookie back on its rightful plate and plucked a macaroon straight out of Nepeta's hands. "That goes for you, too, Nep! I worked hard on all of this and I don't want you to go and eat it all!"
She crossed her arms angrily over her chest and huffed at the two. Nepeta's head lowered and she slowly stepped behind Karkat, as if he were a suitable shield. Roxy just giggled and snuck a sandwich behind her back. "Ooh-kay Janey. No more snacking, promise." She held up her right hand, as if it would make Jane believe her.
"Mm-hmm, right. Just get your little butts moving to help get this all downstairs." She settled her steely glare on the only guy in the room. "Karkat, make sure they don't eat anything. Or you'll all get," she paused for effect, dragging a large wooden spoon from one of the open drawers behind her. "The Spoon!" She held it in front of her threateningly. "And I'll get Terezi to help with the punishment." She cackled.
"What punishment?" Terezi's voice suddenly piped up from the first doorway. They all turned to see Terezi's head sticking out awkwardly from the wall, appearing as though she didn't have any body to match it.
"Ooh, the punishment for eating any of my food before anybody arrives." Jane answered, as if Terezi just randomly interjecting in their conversation were the most natural thing on Earth. "Would you mind assisting them in bringing it all downstairs?" Jane asked.
"Nah, I'd rather just help with the punishing." Terezi's full body appeared in the doorway and she waved her hand dismissively at Jane's invitation. "Also, the doorbell rang while you guys were bickering. Probably some more guests, so I recommend getting a move on with those treats." She cackled.
The food was all finally moved downstairs and just in time, too. Guests started pouring into the house just a few short minutes afterwards and before Karkat knew it, Nepeta was forced downstairs to entertain them. "You're going to be singing tonight, right?" she'd asked him, eyes light with uncertainty.
He crossed his arms and sighed dejectedly. "Yeah." He answered, too tired to fight.
"Yay!" she squealed, forcing her arms around his neck for a hug. "Thank you, Karkitty! I swear, you'll love it!" she told him before spinning around and dashing down the stairs to squeeze her way through the already gathering crowd and get to the stage.
Karkat sighed again and leaned against the wall next to the bathroom, shoving his fingers through his dark hair. In the back of his head, he wondered when the caffeine he ingested would kick in; another little voice questioned if it already had.
The bathroom door few open without warning, startling Karkat out of his daze. He jumped and stood up straight, staring at the person who stepped through the doorway.
"Oh."
Dave's POV:
"Goddamn it." Dave growled as he stood in the bathroom, hands resting on opposite sides of the sink. He glared down the drain and grit his teeth. Jade knew. Jade knew about his little attraction to the Bakery Boy – Karkat, Kitkat, Kit-a-Kat, Karkitty, the list of nicknames he'd thought up went on and on because c'mon, Karkat was so perfect for coming up with nicknames for – and now she was going to tell everyone. She was probably doing it as he sat there and thought and waited and anxiously cracked his knuckles (nervous habit, don't ask).
He couldn't let her do that. I mean, Rose probably already knew and he had a sneaking suspicion that John knew as well. He was pretty okay with his small group of close friends knowing about his interests in someone. But if Jade knew, it wouldn't stay in their little social circle for long. She'd tell Jane, or Jake or Roxy or Dirk or Nepeta or. . . God, she'd tell Terezi.
That thought terrified him more than he thought it should.
Sure, Terezi was a dangerous person to confide in at times, but she took most serious things with a level head. However, when it came to liking someone. . .
Plus, she was old friends with Karkat. She could just go waltzing up to him at any second and straight away tell him. Oh, god.
Dave suddenly felt the urge to find his friend and make her promise not to do anything rash. He flung open the bathroom door quickly and stepped out, prepared to run around the entire house just in order to find one of the insane girls he'd befriended. Jade or Terezi, it didn't matter to him. He just needed to get to them and –
"Oh."
A short guy with incredibly messy brown hair, deep mahogany eyes and the build of a model stood next to the bathroom and stared up at Dave. Dave's heart went from one thousand to zero in less than a second before spiking all the way up to ten thousand.
"Hi." Dave said, hoping that his face was remaining still and stoic. "Uh." He stepped out of the bathroom's doorway. "Do you need to go?" he gestured to the room where the light was still on.
Karkat shook his head.
"Ah. . ." Dave said before they both plunged into utter and complete silence.
(Well, not really, there were still people shouting downstairs and by now the music had started up, but apparently they had their own little muffler bubble because it seemed like there wasn't a single sound to be heard.)
This could not be more awkward.
Karkat's POV:
This could get a lot more awkward. Shit.
Dave's POV:
Have to excuse myself, quick. I've just been staring at him for like, a minute, fuck!
"Uhm." Dave cleared his throat. "I've got to go. Uh, see you around." He lifted his hand in a lame attempt at a wave before quickly absconding the fuck out of there.
When he reached the bottom of the steps he sighed, dipping his head forwards and slouching in on himself. "Why am I such a fucking idiot?" he murmured quietly to himself.
Shouts and cheers and jeers and funky music were all around him. The basement was already quickly filling up with people and the area reserved for dancing was getting rather crowded by now, but that didn't stop them from dancing. Dave let loose a tiny smile; he was finally in his element.
He walked calmly over to the food tables and grabbed a mini finger sandwich, scarfing it down within seconds.
Dave looked around the room, suddenly remembering what he was so desperate to do before falling into that awkward as fuck situation with Vantas. His eyes scanned the area, desperate to find a bright blue ball of insane cackling or rocking hair. Terezi was always one to go straight into the madness of the dance floor, despite her lack of eyesight. It always worried Jane and Kanaya, but she always found a way to assure them that she was fine and could just slap people who bumped into her, or got a little carried away, with her walking cane.
Jade, however, was often times the one to hang by the edges; large crowds made her feel claustrophobic, she said. But that didn't stop her from dancing like mad.
Dave looked down at the carpeted ground dejectedly. Finding them in a massive sea of growing people who were all dancing way too hard to the type of music that was being played was a feat not even he believed he could accomplish.
"Hey, bro." A deep and growly voice sounded beside him, accompanied by a hand on Dave's shoulder and the smell of weed. Dave jumped and looked up to see the grinning, painted face of Gamzee Makara. They never really got along, but Dave guessed he was a nice guy. He'd really mellowed out after being prescribed that legal marijuana, and especially after getting into a relationship with Nepeta. Dave had a sneaking suspicion that since she was usually one to be cool, calm, and collected, she managed to keep him subdued whenever he went off his rocker.
"Hey, Gamz, what's up?" Dave asked, trying to be casual.
"Uh, I think your sister's over at the bar. . . An' it ain't lookn' so good. . ." Gamzee got out, seeming almost guilty about having to tell Dave what was going on.
"Which one?" Dave asked, standing up straight. It didn't quite matter which one; both of his step sisters had problems with alcohol. But with Rose, she could be reasoned with. Roxy. . .
"It's Rox-sis." Gamzee mumbled out, scratching the back of his head.
Dave froze. "Damnit!" he shouted. Gamzee flinched. "I thought she'd put all of this behind her!"
He shook his head and patted Gamzee on the shoulder. "Thanks for telling me." He started to walk towards the bar, before stopping and turning around. "And it wasn't your fault."
Gamzee and Roxy had always been sort of close; those kind of friendships where they didn't necessarily see each other a whole lot, but still got along great. Gamzee had been the one who'd watched as Roxy purposefully intoxicated herself over and over again just to numb the pain. He'd been there with her through her rehab this past year and had been a really great friend to her. It seemed only natural that he'd feel guilty about not getting there in time to stop her from sinking back into addiction.
Dave immediately noticed the large crowd of people who stood in front of the counter. Most were leaning over the marble barrier to stare down and shout at someone who sat behind it.
Dave already knew who he was going to see when he stepped behind the bar, but it still didn't prepare him.
"Daveyyyy. . ." Roxy slurred. Dave sighed angrily.
"Daveyy-" Roxy interrupted herself with a hiccup. "Yyy. . . I'm srry, Dve."
The crowd of people erupted with laughter. Dave shot them all a warning glare that they didn't catch through his shades. "Alright, show's over folks." He said, kneeling down to pick the overly-intoxicated Roxy and hold her close. "Now beat it before I beat you."
"Dave. . ." Roxy murmured, obviously on the edge of blacking out. How did she drink so much so quickly? I just saw her an hour ago. Dave wondered to himself. "I'm, I'm so soorrryyyyy. . ." She started crying a little bit, so the sorry came out as a quiet wail.
"Shh, shh, shh, shh. . ." he whispered to her, kissing her forehead. "It's all okay. You're going to be okay."