Primarily Yours

Chapter Fourteen

John stumbled out of the car with his head spinning, leaning on Nepeta to keep himself standing. Terezi drove like a blind person- how did she even get a license?

"That was pretty good!" she said cheerfully. "I drove really well considering I can't see anything."

"Wait, what?" John asked in a panicky tone of voice. Terezi looked at him and took off her glasses, revealing hideously damaged eyes. Their original color- it might have been green- was overshadowed by the mass of torn-up blood vessels.

"Had a bit of an accident a few years ago. Now I mostly get around by smell. But don't worry- we got here alive, after all!"

John looked at Karkat fearfully. "You let a blind person drive a car with four other people in it?"

He just shrugged. "I was in a hurry. Besides, we're here aren't we? Let's go inside. The others are waiting."

Dave and Rose were clustered together outside of the door, looking fearful. Jade was talking to Kanaya- her smile wide and sincere. It seems the two had struck up a friendship despite the terrible state of their partners.

Rose's eyes widened when she saw John and Karkat walking up to them (Terezi, Gamzee, and Nepeta were forced to wait outside for obvious reasons). She waved her hands frantically, trying to keep them away.

But Dave noticed them before they could.

Now, if John thought he was mad at the ice-cream shop, that was nothing compared to this. His mouth curled in a pained grimace, fists clenched, color bloomed on his cheeks. "What the fuck are you two doing here? I just wanted to learn about a damn game, not meet my two least favorite people."

Karkat looked at him calmly, not showing any emotion. "You'll see, Dave. Just go inside. I promise I won't bother you."

"Won't bother me? You're bothering me just by existing! I said I never wanted to see you again!"

"I know."

Holy shit, Karkat has nerves of steel.

"Just go inside the room, Dave. It'll all make sense."

Dave glanced at the door, frightened. He wasn't trusting them- he knew this wasn't what he was told. But when Rose took his arm, a calm expression on her beautiful face, he let her lead him in.

Jade whispered in his ear, "I hope this works out." as she walked next to him inside.

There was a circle of chairs arranged, about half of them occupied. The oldest member was a blonde woman with pale eyes and black lipstick, a serene smile on her face. Clustered around her were various kids- almost all of them teenagers.

John took his seat between a brown-haired girl with glasses and a dark skinned boy with short black hair. They each shot him a friendly smile, which warmed him slightly. Maybe this would help him, even if it didn't work out like it was supposed to.

"Hi guys!" said the blonde lady in a cheerful voice. "Would you like to introduce yourselves? I'm Roxy- and this is the support group for LGBT+ kids."

Dave's eyes widened with sheer horror and his muscles tensed, ready to run. But Jade grabbed him arm and kept him firmly in his seat. Her normally kind face was twisted in a steely expression that told everyone he was going nowhere.

On the other side of the circle, Kanaya was doing the same to Rose.

Roxy looked at John with oddly colored eyes- a pale sort of pink. "Want to stand up and introduce yourself?"

The moment had come... he drew up all the confidence he had and stood proudly. John looked Dave right in the eye when he began to speak.

"My name is John, and I'm in love with my best friend.

"He doesn't know it- he thinks I'm dating his sister. But she knows I never could. The problem is, my best friend won't admit to himself who he really is. He thinks he can hide his true self. And you know what? I thought so once, too. Then I learned you can't hide forever.

"I learned that eventually secrets come out, and that there's nothing wrong with being yourself. I just hope he finds that out too."

John sat back down, all of his courage drained out of him. He didn't think he would be able to say it- to tell the truth in such a raw way.

The look on Dave's face, though, made it worth it. Mixed in with anger- hurt- even fear- was the tiniest glimmer of pride.

And John felt pretty proud when the others burst into applause.

Applauding for him.