Locked Wheels

Chapter 4

As Karkat walked into school on Wednesday, he kept finding himself keeping an eye out for that Dave kid again. He didn't see him as he walked to his locker, and he thought he was in the clear, until--

"Well, hello again, sunshine. Long time no see, yeah?"

Karkat closed his eyes and sighed shortly. "What is it now?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to say hi to my bestest friend in the whole entire world," Dave said, leaning over and tightly hugging an arm around Karkat.

The other boy's cheeks flushed and he tensed. He pulled away and scowled down at Dave. "You know touching someone without their permission is technically molestation, right?"

"I didn't know hugging your friend was considered molestation."

"We're not friends, remember?" Karkat said flatly.

Dave gasped softly. "We're not? I could have sworn we were." Dave shook his head and looked down. "What a shame. A-are you sure? I'm pretty sure you said we were friends."

"We're not."

"Oh. Ok. What was that at lunch yesterday, then?"

Karkat's cheeks flushed again. "I... I-I didn't have anywhere else to sit, ok? That doesn't count. It was my first day. I was nervous. I wasn't thinking straight."

Dave snapped his fingers. "Oh, that reminds me. Did you ever get that phone from your brother?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you had a phone yesterday, and all you did was say something about your brother and then ran away." He quirked an eyebrow. "Did he have your phone?"

"I didn't say he--" Karkat sighed again and ran a hand through his messy hair. "No. My brother did not have my phone. And yes, I have one."

"Can I--"

"--And no, you can't have my phone number," Karkat snapped.

"Aww, why not? I wanna get to know you." Dave looked him up and down and grinned. "You seem cool."

"No."

"C'mon, man, at least give me a chance," Dave said, pretending to pout. "Besides, you hardly even know me. How could you possibly hate me already?"

Karkat cut his eyes towards Dave and scowled. He turned away from him and walked into the classroom next to them. Much to his dismay, Dave followed him.

"Stop following me," Karkat muttered.

"I'm not."

"You literally just--"

"No, I mean this is my first period, too." Dave shrugged. "Saw it on your schedule yesterday, but you got here like halfway through the day so it didn't really matter much. I don't know why you're in this class, though. Usually it's all juniors and seniors." Dave looked up at Karkat and grinned. "Must be fate."

"Shut up. It's not fucking fate. I was in this class in New York." Under his breath, he mumbled, "Maybe you're all just stupid."

Dave hissed softly and then whistled. "Oooh, burn. You cut me deep, KK. You really do."

"Don't call me that," Karkat snapped suddenly, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Why not? KK sounds cute, just like y--"

"Just... don't. Ok?" Karkat looked away and walked to his seat. "Just leave me alone."

"How could I possibly leave someone as cute as you alone?" Dave purred, rolling after Karkat.