I would like to start off by apologizing for not being on a regular upload schedule. My life has been pretty hectic and I feel really awful about that. Maybe we could agree on an every other week schedule? That sounds good. Perhaps there will be an occasional weekly upload.

Also, hopefully you won't kill me after the last chapter. I'm sorry. Actually no I'm not. Mwahahahahaha.

Anyway…

DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Homestuck. Yes, Hussie does. We have established this. On with the story.

Chapter 5

Kanaya ran down her street, counting houses. One, two, three, four, five! This is it! She tested the door, and found it was indeed unlocked as Ms. Lalonde had said. She ran upstairs and found Rose's mom standing at what was presumably Rose's door.

"Oh thank goodness you're here. I'm going to leave you two, because I suspect she won't open the door if I'm around. Will you try getting through to her?" Rose's mom pleaded. They looked very similar, Rose and her mom. Kanaya imagined that's what Rose will look like eventually. She hoped to be around to see that.

"Sure thing Ms. Lalonde. I will try."

"Please, call me Roxy."

"Alright, Roxy. I will see if she will open up to me." Kanaya turned towards Rose's door and Roxy went downstairs.

"Rose? R-Rose it's me, Kanaya. Will you please open up? Can we just talk about whatever is wrong?" She heard a sniffle on the other side of the door.

"No. I can't let you see me like this."

Oh my gosh. It's worse than I thought. Kanaya, trying not to panic, searched for a key. After searching to no avail, she took a bobby pin out of her pocket and picked the lock on Rose's door. She opened it to find something she never thought she would ever see from anyone other than her sister.

The room was fairly in order, but in the middle of the floor, lay Rose. She was covered in bruises and blood, and she was surrounded by half-drunken bottles of spirits. Kanaya gasped and put her hand up to her mouth.

"I said GO AWAY!" She threw a shoe at Kanaya, narrowly missing her. Her aim was pretty good for someone who seemed so wasted. "You don't want to be near this monster."

"Rose? Rose… what happened? Oh mon dieu Rose, this is not you."

"Awful isn't it? It hasn't been this bad in a looooonnggg time." Rose's words slurred as she sat up to face Kanaya. She reached for her trash can and vomited.

Kanaya walked over to Rose and sat down next to her. "Rose… you didn't go home because you were sick did you? What really happened? And please tell me the truth. You really have nowhere else to run. Not that you can run anyway, let alone stand up."

Rose looked at Kanaya, tears filling her eyes. "I… Vriska beat me up. She said she had to punish the one who taught you to be sarcastic, and she assumed that was me. I'm so sorry."

Kanaya's eyes got really big. Well, that explained the bruises. "Don't apologize. This is my fault. I shouldn't have said anything to her. I'm so sorry." Kanaya fought back tears and hugged Rose.

"I was so upset that I came home, stole some of my mom's bottles, and locked myself in here. I don't care what happens to me." Rose said, articulating each word carefully.

Kanaya sighed. "Okay. We will talk about this tomorrow, when you can think. For now, let's talk about something else. I brought some food." She pulled out the two containers of meatloaf, giving one to Rose. "Eat. I'm sure it will help."

Rose took the container, but couldn't manage to open it.

Of course, she won't be able to do much tonight. Kanaya took the container from Rose and opened it for her. She picked up the fork and began feeding her. Rose didn't bother fighting her.

After they had finished eating, Rose stared at Kanaya. "What Rose?" Kanaya asked curiously.

"You know Kanaya, you are a really great person. I love that we know each other." Rose said, eyes starting to droop.

"I'm glad I know you too, Rose. Hopefully tomorrow you and I can sort things out and-" Kanaya was cut off mid-sentence by Rose's lips meeting hers. Kanaya wondered for a second if she should fight it, but the other girl's lips felt right against hers. They were so soft and tasted like wine. She loved it. They seemed to fit just right and they were so- No. This isn't right. What am I doing? Kanaya broke the kiss, face turning redder than a tomato, and Rose fell asleep on the floor. Kanaya sat dazed for a minute, still wondering what just happened. I mean, she probably only did that because she's drunk. But why did I start enjoying it? I have only ever had one relationship, and that didn't go extremely well, but it was with a guy. She decided not to dwell on what had happened. She grabbed two pillows and blankets from Rose's bed, putting one pillow and blanket with Rose, and one with her, and drifted to sleep.

Rose woke up with a startle when she saw Kanaya sitting next to her, reading a book. She sat up, and put her hand to her head. She had a serious headache.

"Oh good. You're up. How are you feeling?" Kanaya asked with a motherly concern.

Rose squinted her eyes, trying to remember what happened yesterday. "Fine, I think. Head hurts. Why are you here? You weren't supposed to be here until later tonight."

Kanaya looked at her like she was a hurt deer. "Rose… How much of last night do you remember?"

"Well, I got home because I… I got beat up by Vriska, and then… Then I… Oh no!" She looked down, seeing all the bottles around her. She put her head and her hands and just kept repeating "Oh no oh no oh no! Not again! Dammit! Why?"

Kanaya took Rose's hands away from her face and looked into her eyes. "Rose, what's wrong. Why are you so upset about this? I mean, I know it's bad to drink this much, but why are you freaking out?"

Rose sighed. "It's a long story. You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Lucky for you I've got plenty of time. Try me." Kanaya said to Rose, almost challenging her.

"Okay. So, a few years ago, Dave's dad was my stepdad. He and my mom were really happy for the first year or two, then he started getting controlling. He would abuse me, my mom, Dave, and his brother Dirk. My mom put up with it because she needed the money he brought home, but she also said she still loved him. One night, she found out he had been cheating on her, but she didn't want to give up the fact that she was supposed to have this picture perfect life. So, to escape the idea that her world was shattering, she would heavily drink. Sometimes it wasn't that bad, but other nights she would verbally and physically abuse me and Dave. Dave's dad eventually left us, leaving Dave and his older brother in my mom's custody. But the drinking and abuse from my mom didn't stop. It only got worse. Dave got the worst of it, especially after his brother went off to college. He never really did much about it up front, no more than I did anyway. I could tell it really hurt him not to have a strong male figure around him all the time. One night I came home from my friends' house, and I found Dave in the bathroom cutting himself."

Kanaya flinched at that and instinctively held her arm. "Rose… that's awful!"

The blond sighed. "Oh but it gets worse. I just about lost it then and there, seeing him like that. I felt like I didn't have anyone who I could really depend on. He's better about it now, especially since his brother finished college in Houston and moved back here to be his legal guardian. My mom sent herself to therapy, and her drinking problems got a lot better, but they still haven't quite gone away. I never made very many friends after that, unsure of who to trust. I went to therapy for about a year after all of that happened, but the therapists never really understood what I was going through, so I caught myself once or twice drinking the night away. I would wake up the next morning crying, because I am turning into my psychotic mother. Last night was by far the worst it's ever been, though. So that's why I'm freaking out."

Kanaya just looked at her in shock, unsure of what to say. Eventually, she broke the silence. "Rose, that's terrible. I had no idea that it was so bad."

Rose hiccupped and sniffled. "Yeah. Quite exciting compared to your good life I'm sure."

Kanaya wiped a tear from Rose's cheek. "I wouldn't say my life was that hectic, but it definitely wasn't amazing. See, my parents were killed when I was little, leaving my sister Porrim to take care of me. She was about 16 at the time. She saw the murder of my parents with her own eyes, so she went crazy and eventually went on drinking episodes. Because of that, she couldn't keep a job very long. Between that and her love of alcohol, cigarettes, tattoos, and piercings, we never had much money, and kept hopping around from place to place. I have never had a full year at once school since my parents died. Because of that, I stopped trying to make friends, because I wouldn't know if I was staying there for a semester, a month, or a week. It always varied. When we moved here, Porrim said she was going to try hard to lay off the drinking and find a stable job, providing I find some friends and make an effort to like it here."

Rose stared at Kanaya in awe. "Wow Kanaya, I guess we do have some stuff in common."

"Yeah. Okay, so I have a proposal for you. I will stop if you stop."

Rose looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean? I mean, I know you mean stop drinking for me, but what about you?"

Kanaya hesitated for a second, but eventually continued. "Okay, so no one knows about this, no one on this entire earth, and you have to promise to keep it a secret. Ugh you're going to hate me."

"I promise I won't. Tell me." The blonde leaned in closer.

She sighed. "Okay." Kanaya shrugged off her jacket slowly and hesitantly, revealing cuts up her right arm. Some of them were old, so faded you could hardly see them, but others were clearly more recent, red and raw.

Rose gasped. "But Kanaya, why?"

"Well, when Porrim would go on another one of her episodes, she would yell at me sometimes for being useless or whatever. She never hit me, but being how young I was, the words hurt. So this is the result of that. The deal still stands. I'll stop if you will."

Rose shed another tear and choked out. "Okay."

Kanaya pulled her jacket back on and hugged Rose tightly.

After a while, they pulled back from their embrace, and Rose asked. "Kanaya, what all did I do last night? Did I hurt you at all?"

"No! No. Actually, all that happened was you threw a shoe at me, which missed me. Then I fed you some meatloaf and you told me why you were so bruised up. Then…" Kanaya trailed off, not sure if she should include that last part.

Rose noticed there was more the other girl wasn't telling her. "Yes? And then?"

She stuttered. "A-and then… you kissed me for like half a minute and fell asleep." Kanaya blushed as she rushed through the sentence.

Rose's eyes went huge, and her face went bright red. "Oh my gosh Kanaya. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel so uncomfortable."

"No, don't apologize. You must have just not been thinking straight right? I mean, you were drunk off your butt." Kanaya responded, trying not to sound like she enjoyed the kiss just a bit.

Rose looked relieved. "Yeah I guess you're right. Well, since you're here, shall we spend today together instead of tomorrow?"

Kanaya grinned. "That sounds wonderful." The two girls got up and went downstairs to make breakfast.

"Hey Dave! Wake up, I want food!" Karkat was practically yelling in his ear. The two of them had spent the night at Dave and his brother's apartment.

Dave grumbled. "If you want food so bad, get it yourself." He turned over in his bed.

Karkat sighed dramatically. "Do you not remember what happened last time I tried to use that dang stove? I almost burned down your whole apartment."

Dave grimaced, remembering that morning. "Fine. You win. I'll get up." He got up, put on a shirt, and walked to the kitchen with Karkat. "What do you want to eat?"

"Do you have any eggs?" Karkat asked while messing up his already disheveled red hair.

"Yeah we have a few left. Thank goodness Bro is going shopping today." He took out some eggs and a pan. "So, what do you want to do today?" He cracked the eggs and put them in the pan, turning on the stove.

"Oh you know, I figured we would do our hair and nails and talk about boys. You know, what else would we do at a sleepover?" Karkat said sarcastically and smirked.

Dave turned around and looked at him, narrowing his eyes. "Alright smart alek, who do you have an eye on at school then? I know you have a crush on someone."

The boy did a double take. "M-me? Oh no one. No one at all."

The blonde boy looked at Karkat through his shades challengingly. "C'mon dude. I can tell you have a crush on someone. Is it Jade from Chemistry? She's pretty cute." He lightly nudged Karkat in the ribs.

"Wha- no hey cut that out! No it's not Jade. Fine, I do have my eye on someone. You know them." Karkat blushed. Dave knew he never blushed, so he must really like this girl.

"Alright then, who is it?" Dave took the eggs off the pan and put them on a plate. He put some toast in the toaster.

"You're mental if you think I'll just tell you!" Karkat said defensively.

Dave put his hands up. "Okay okay, I won't pester ya." He got margarine out of the fridge and started buttering the toast.

"Good. What do you want to drink?" Karkat asked quickly, clearly trying to change the subject.

Dave finished buttering the toast. "Just some apple juice." He picked the plates up and brought them to the table. Karkat came just behind him with a cup of apple juice and a cup of water. The two boys sat down and began eating.

A few minutes later, someone walked into the kitchen wearing nothing but boxers. "Morning." He put the coffee pot on.

"Oh geez Dirk, go put a shirt on! We have a guest over." Dave found a puppet on the table and threw it at his brother.

Without even turning around, Dirk caught the puppet before it hit him. "Don't. Even. Try. Me. Anyway, I know we have a guest over. You seemed to be in no modest dress yourself." He said, referring to his brother's own t-shirt and boxer shorts.

Dave rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I have a shirt on. Just because you're gay doesn't mean every other guy is."

Dirk turned around and narrowed his eyes. Dave couldn't actually see it through his glasses, but he knew they were narrowed. "Tch. Fine. I'll go put a shirt on." He trumped off to his bedroom.

"Sorry about that. He gets stubborn in the mornings. Probably 'cause he hasn't seen his boyfriend in a while." Dave continued to eat his breakfast.

"Do your parents mind that he's gay?" Karkat asked curiously.

Dave tensed up. "I wouldn't know. My mom died just after I was born, and my dad isn't legally allowed to be in the same state as me."

Karkat looked at Dave sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I- I didn't know."

" 'Sokay. Most people don't. It's not something I really talk about much. I try not to dwell on it. Anyway, if you're done, we can go play Halo or something."

"Yeah, that sounds great." The boys cleared their plates, and went to Dave's room to go play on the Xbox.

"So, I have a question for you." Kanaya said to Rose as she handed her the pancakes they made.

"Shoot." Rose responded, stuffing a forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

"Okay. I don't mean to sound rude, but lavender eyes aren't a natural eye color usually. Do you just wear color contacts? Sorry that sounds really arrogant." Kanaya cut off a small piece of pancake and put it in her mouth.

Rose chuckled and swallowed her food. "No, it's a good question. No, I don't wear colored contacts. On my 10th birthday, my mom said I could do any one thing to my body that I wanted. I already had my ears pierced, and I didn't want a tattoo at 10 years old, so I went with colored eyes. So we went to the eye doctor, and they did some sort of surgery to genetically alter the color of my eyes. They used to be a muddy brown, and I wanted eyes no one else had."

Kanaya smiled. "That's really cool. I don't really like my eye color either. I might do that sometime too."

"No! Your eyes are the prettiest emerald green I have ever seen. I could stare at them all day. Like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz." Rose said. She stared at Kanaya's eyes for a while, then blushed. "Sorry, I know it's rude to stare."

Kanaya giggled. "It's okay. That's actually really nice of you to say. I have never liked the color of my eyes, so having someone say otherwise is nice. Thank you."

The blonde smiled. "It's my pleasure. Well, if you're done with your breakfast, we can go back up to my room. I need to know everything about you if I want to write that paper." She took both of their plates and put them in the sink. Both girls walked up to Rose's room.

"Okay, so what do you want to ask me?" Kanaya said while sitting down on the bed next to Rose.

Rose thought for a moment, then responded. "I know you have only been at this school for a week, and you don't know many people, but do have a crush on anyone?"

Kanaya was taken aback by the question. Is this her way of seeing if I felt anything from the kiss? Does she think I have feelings for her? Do I have feelings for her? Does she have feelings for me? "Uhhh… I think I like someone, but I'm not really sure. I have kind of gotten mixed emotions from hanging out with them.

"Ooooooooohhh who is it? Is it Dave? Please say no. I mean, if it is, good for you, but I think he likes someone else, I just don't know who."

Kanaya burst out laughing. "No, no it's not Dave. He seems too much of a cool type to date anyway. He's a good friend, but not really anything else."

Rose grinned and wiped her forehead. "Whew. Good. Well, if it's not Dave, then who is it? Please tell me, I want to know! If you tell me who it is, I'll tell you who I like."

"Intriguing. Since you seem more sure of your emotions, you say first, then I will tell you." Kanaya wanted to see if she should even follow through with her feelings.

"Fine, I won't directly tell you though, I will give you hints and you have to guess who it is." Rose said, sounding like a little kid.

Kanaya rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go."

Rose clapped. "Yay! Okay, so this person is one you know. They are a sophomore, dark hair, really smart, really good looking, and seems to have a knack for science and math."

"Hmmmmm… Okay before I answer I have a question for you. You look 16, but you're a junior. How come? Shouldn't you be a sophomore?" Kanaya asked, stalling so she could think.

"Yes, I was born in December, so technically I should be a sophomore, but I skipped a grade in middle school. Now, who did I describe?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Uh… is it John?" Kanaya guessed.

The other girl hesitated, then burst out laughing. "Heck no. John is a friend, but that is all he will ever be. Any other guesses?"

"No. Not really. That was my only guess."

Rose grinned a half-grin. "Well, maybe this will help." She leaned in and pressed her lips softly against Kanaya's. Kanaya's eyes grew wide and heat rushed to her face, turning it bright red. Should I break it off? Should I kiss her back? I mean, I still don't think I know how I really feel about her. Eventually, her passion took over her brains, and she let her eyes flutter closed and kissed her back. She didn't kiss with too much intensity, matching the other girls' movements, their bodies seeming to melt together. After what seemed like forever, even though it was only a few seconds, Rose broke it off, and smiled. "So, I guess that answers my question to you."

Kanaya with her head spinning, responded back. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Rose smirked and rolled her eyes. "I think you know what I mean. You wouldn't kiss me back if you didn't feel the same way. So, does it answer my question?"

"W-well, I mean…" Kanaya sighed. "Yes. I didn't think so, but after that, yes. It does. I didn't even know I could feel this way about anyone. Especially girls."

"Yup. That's how I felt a few years ago. But I have fully accepted that I am 50 shades of gay." Both the girls laughed at that remark. "I suspect Dave is actually the same and won't say anything."

"Yeah. I don't know him well enough to say anything on that side. Well, I don't know about you, but I want to watch a movie. What about you?" Kanaya asked.

"Yeah that sounds good. I kinda want a funny movie. How about Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"

Yes. Kanaya loved that movie. "Sounds awesome." Rose pulled the movie out of her bookcase, put it on, and cuddled with Kanaya.

Translations

Oh mon dieu = Oh my God.