The Only Exception ||Davekat||

Prologue

   I sat on the small bench by my window in my living reading a novel. The sunlight coming in through the window illuminated the words on the fragile pages of the precious novel. It was the day after we moved. I had woken up in a room that wasn't mine.

   I moved here a day ago with my guardian Kanaya Maryam for her new job in Alpine, Texas. A women exited from the hallway and stood in front of me. "Karkat..." my eyes trailed over her forum. She wore black flats, the women really did have some fragile feet. Above that was a long red skirt that extended from her waste to her ankles. And above that was a green long sleeved olive green shirt, with a black shirt over it that bared a emerald Virgo crest. Her smooth grey skin was flawless, she had dark brown pupils with yellow irises. A fang was visible from her black painted lips, she had short raven locks curled at the very bottom and medium sized yellow horns that had an arrow half on her left horn. I'll admit she was an attractive troll, and I could see why so many men and women fancied her. But I did not like women in the first place so the way she looked never really mattered to me.

   "Hello, Kanaya." She smiled and sat down at my side on the small piece of furniture by the window. I saw her dark pupils dilate and trace across the words from the paper. Her long lashes blinked. "O I see, you're reading that one over again are you?"
I nodded.

   I had actually read this one to Kanaya a few times, she did say the book was very well written. And she had no objections whenever I asked to read it over to her. "What chapter are you at?" She crossed her legs and set her hands in her lap, blinking.

   I grinned a toothy smirk at her and set my eyes down on the paper. "Ever After, Chapter 27." I replied. "Ah I see, um...would you mind reading it to me?" I nodded.

   "I can not sleep tonight, I can't sleep most nights now. Because thoughts of her will not leave my head. Her smile, her laugh, her frown, it's always there." My eyes drift from the paper over to her to see if she's listening. She seems enthralled with the story. And I return to my reading.

   As I continue reading through chapters the minutes continue passing through hours. And soon it is about eight thirty. I look up at Kanaya. "It's getting pretty late Kanaya, we still have a Christmas tree to decorate." Unfortunately. It was only autumn and Kanaya was already putting up those dam

   Kanaya nods at me, she stands from the bench stretching. She yawns quietly. "Sorry. I've just always liked that story." I nod and smile. "Yeah, it's one of the best..." My eyes drifted to the box of Christmas decorations as I sat the book back on its shelf.

   The rest of the night I helped Kanaya decorate the tree as we listened to terrible Christmas carols and ate dinner. I went to bed about ten thirty but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep.
I crawled out of bed and slipped on my normal clothes and a jacket over my black sweater.

   The streets of Alpine were pretty deserted at night. It wasn't like London at all, where we lived before. The fact that Alpine was a small town only helped the fact that not many people would be out at night. And I loved it.

   The silence was gold. The night air was fresh and cleared my lungs of the anxiety I felt during the day. Dim street lights lit a path from my neighbors. The sidewalk damp with rain drops from earlier.

   The sound of my feet making a pleasant tapping against the sidewalk almost brought a smile to my lips. Until I realized the foot tapping was not mine, but a young man's.

   He was taller than me, but I knew we were the same age. Sixteen about. He had snowy blonde locks and dark eyes. I could tell they might have been a lighter color, of perhaps green or blue. But it was too dark to see.

   His red sneakers were making that annoying tapping sound. He had his hands in his red sweater like mine. And black pants with red stripes down the side that clung to his legs.

   His head turned and his eyes looked to glare at me. I stiffened a little and felt a shiver from the cold down my back. Little did I know this boy would be the undoing of me for the next six weeks until I finally gave in.

▶▶▶

   I groaned stretching myself out of bed. Vision piercing sunlight shone in through my windows. I did not like Texas, I did not like the sun.

   I striped off my pajamas stepping into the shower. I kneaded my fingers through my curly black hair, washing it with cherry smelling soap. I rinsed my hair and washed the rest of my body and brushed my teeth.

   After getting out of the bathroom I put on my usual attire of a black sweater that was too big for me, gray skinny jeans, and black converse.

   As I was putting on my black hoodie with a picture of blood coming out of a cut on the back I heard Kanaya call me from down stairs. "Shit," I mumbled under my breath.

   "Coming Kanaya!" I yelled as I threw on my backpack and running down stairs. Nearly tripping over myself.