Hey everyone! Back for more I see.

Not much to talk about now, except for this: expect a lot to happen in the next two chapters.

Stuff's gonna go down.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of this stuff called Homestuck which is actually owned by Andrew Hussie

Chapter 19

"Are you excited for Valentine's day, Rose?" The raven asked her friend as they proceeded out of their last period class and headed home together to work on a French project.

The blonde shrugged. "Eh. I'm not sure. I mean, I usually only get things for my friends, and to me Valentine's day is an overrated holiday corporations use to make more money off of flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears." She shifted her bag on her shoulder. "I like going the next day and buying all the candy on discount."

Well, that's good to know I guess. I won't go out of my way buying chocolates before Friday if she's just going to buy them cheaper. I'll use that money to buy her something more meaningful I suppose. Kanaya started running through a list of possible things to buy for her friend when she was suddenly stopped by their friend Jade jumping in front of the two girls.

"Hey Rose, Kanaya! How are you guys?" The perky dark haired girl asked.

Kanaya smiled. "Fine, thanks. What's that you have in your hand?"

"Oh this?" Jade asked, raising the paper that was held in her one hand. "This is actually for Rose. A person I know asked if I would give it to you." She thrust it out in Rose's direction.

The blonde cautiously took the offer. "Thanks. Um… why did you give it to me though. Not that I don't think you're cool, but why not the person who gave you this letter."

The girl's eyes got big behind her glasses. "Uh, they just didn't want to speak to you in person or something. I don't know. Oh look at that, I've got to go home. See ya later." She waved and scurried off.

That was weird. It's probably nothing. The raven thought to herself. "Shall we continue home?"

"Yeah…" Rose said absentmindedly. "I guess we'll just read this when we get back to your place if that's alright with you."

Kanaya nodded, and the girls walked faster than usual home, not waiting long to open the letter written on a pastel purple sheet of paper.

The blonde cleared her throat and began to read aloud. "My dearest Rose. While you may not know me very well, I am quite familiar with you. I see you everyday and long to get closer to you. Even if you don't realize, we share many similar interests, so I think that we would get along great. But this letter is about being more than just friends. Rose Lalonde, I would like to take you on a date. More so, I would like you to be my Valentine. I will be awaiting your response tomorrow morning in the courtyard before school. Signed, Eridan Ampora."

The raven just stared blankly at the page filled with messy handwriting, not sure what to say.

"Well," Rose started. "That is… something."

Something? What do you mean something? Who does this 'Eridan' think he is? He probably doesn't know Rose at all. You know what? That's it. This is probably just a bet. I mean, it couldn't be real because no one has been through the stuff we have in the past few months. No one has seen more lows, been in more tragedy, and no one has kissed Rose more than I have. No one is allowed to have my Rose, only… Kanaya stopped her thoughts, realizing what she was saying. My Rose? She's just a friend. I mean, not that I deny having kissed her, several times. Or having loved and savored every single kiss her sweet lips have shared with mine, but that's entirely beside the point! Right?

"Kanaya? Something wrong?" The blonde looked at her with a concerned look.

The raven snapped out of her own thoughts. "Huh? Oh right. I'm fine. Just spaced out is all. Who is this Eridan guy anyway? He a friend of yours?"

Rose snorted. "Hardly. He's a freshman that I've seen poking his head around school a few times. He's a total nerd, and has no problem spoiling things for people. Like, once, he told me the ending to a show that I hadn't finished yet. I was so mad, but he didn't seem to catch on to how mad I was. Anyway, he follows Feferi around like a puppy dog, for what reason I don't really know."

"So, you aren't really surprised by this letter?" Kanaya asked, hoping she knew the answer.

The other girl shook her head. "No. Well, not totally. I knew he had a crush on me, I just never thought he would have the guts to say anything about it. Not to me at least. It's fine. I'll just tell him I'm not interested. He's annoying and I don't want to date someone who is one, a freshman, and two, a guy. That's not totally my style. I'm not against dating guys personally, I just see myself having more of a future with a girl is all."

Kanaya cheers internally, knowing that she still had a chance with Rose. Not that we would date anyway. We're just friends after all. "Cool. Anyway, we should probably start on that French project, huh?"

"Yeah totally. Let's go get started." The blonde agreed, and the two pulled out their spirals and began working.

The next day rolled around, and Rose was more than ready. "I'm just gonna let him down easy. He may be annoying, but he's just a kid. He doesn't deserve to have his heart broken like mine has been." She explained to Kanaya.

The two girls walked to one of the school courtyard planters, where a freshman was standing. He had big glasses perched on his nose, medium brown hair with one purple streak in it, and porcelain skin covered in freckles. He wore blue and purple striped pants, a scarf that matched, and a simple black t-shirt. He perked up when he saw the girls walking his way. "H-hi Rose. Did you get my letter?"

"Hello Eridan." Rose said, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. "I did get your letter. So, as it stated in the letter, I'm here to give you my response."

The boy grinned, clearly bracing for something spectacular. "Oh yes? And what would that be?"

The blonde sighed. "Okay. So, here's the thing. You have to understand that you're a freshman and I'm a Junior. We are very different people in that respect." Seeing how the boy's face suddenly drooped, Rose changed her tone. "However, I also understand that we have a lot of similar interests, so that's cool. You're a sweet boy, Eridan. I think that this is a very nice letter you wrote, and-"

Rose's rambling was cut off by Kanaya grabbing on to one of her hands and intertwining their fingers, making it visible for Eridan to see.

Damn Kanaya. I said I didn't want to break his heart. That would surely do it. Rose sighed. "Look, Eridan. I think that this letter is very sweet, but I'm not sure it-"

"You don't like me that way, do you?" The freshman sighed. "It's okay. I get it. I can tell that your heart has been previously dedicated to another. I'll just go then. Thanks for reading it and being such a cool person, Rose. Have a nice day." Eridan gave a weak smile, turning the other direction and sulking away.

Rose turned around to Kanaya, letting go of her hand. "Kanaya. That wasn't nice. I know you were probably just trying to help, but the poor kid looks so hurt. I didn't want to do that to him."

"I understand Rose, but you weren't going to let him down, you were going to lead him on, making him think he stood a chance. He never did, did he?" Kanaya asked as the two started to walk to their first classes.

The blonde sighed. "No he didn't, but that doesn't mean he deserved that." However, I'm not totally sorry. I didn't really want to tell him no, just because I can't stand seeing people unhappy. But he is really annoying, so it's not like I would have dated him or anything. What's done is done. I suppose it wasn't the worst thing in the world. I mean, Kanaya did hold my hand and get really jealous and protective of me. That's kind of a nice feeling, not gonna lie.

"And so he just left? No questions asked?" Dave asked after being relayed to a whole story about what had taken place for Rose and Kanaya in the morning.

Kanaya nodded. "Yeah pretty much. Though I think he wouldn't have left had I not decided to look super clingy."

The Strider chuckled. "Kanaya, that is probably one of the worst things ever. That kid was so upset because of what you did. I'm proud of you give me five." He held his hand up, to which Kanaya gave him a high five.

"So how's Karkat doing?" The Lalonde asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Not bad." Dave answered. "He said he managed to eat some food, which is progress. Now it's just a matter of whether or not he can hold it down. Poor thing. I wish I could leave and go take care of him."

The two girls looked at each other, smirked, then back at Dave. "What?" Dave asked.

"Nothing." Rose responded. "It's just hella cute that you love taking care of your boyfriend. Speaking of which, what are you gonna do for Valentine's day?"

"Actually, I meant to ask you guys about that." The boy responded. "I have no idea what to do. I haven't really ever been in a relationship before, so I don't really know what I'm suppose to make or do or buy for Valentine's."

"Just do something he enjoys." Kanaya offered. "Look, he likes rom-coms right? Do something related to that. If it makes him happy, and you're there, he'll love it. I'm sure."

The boy smiled. "You're right. Thanks guys." As he finished his sentence, the bell rang. "Well, I'll talk to you guys later, alright? See ya." He picked up his bag and headed to class."

He's so cute when he's sleeping. I should probably leave him alone. Dave looked at his boyfriend, who he had been taking care of all afternoon, and then left the room. He sat on the couch and pulled out his phone.

Dave: hey rose

Not even a minute had passed before he got a reply.

Rose: Hey Dave. How's Karkat doing?

Dave: better. right now hes sleeping, but hes managed to keep all of his food down so far and his fever is gone

Rose: Oh that's good. I'm glad to hear that.

Dave: yeah… oh i never asked you. are you going to do anything for valentines like hand things out to your friends? or even confess your love to someone…?

Rose: … Yes alright Dave you caught me. I actually am going to do something special for Valentine's day. Something big.

Dave: alright! what is it?

Rose: Okay so this is quite an elaborate plan, so I'm going to need you, Karkat, and John to help me out, cause this Valentine's is going to be one to remember.

Before you ask, no, I personally do not ship Eridan x Rose. If you do, cool, but I don't (hence me writing a Rosemary fic). The reason I decided to include that whole thing was because it was loosely based off of a personal experience me and my friend have had over the past couple of months. And it adds a little bit of comedy into the romance (but that's just my opinion).

Anyway, as always, fav, follow, comment, recommend, etc.

Toodles

~Jane