You are now John Egbert.
"What. The. Fuck."
The words escape from your mouth before you can stop them, but you hardly even notice. You're so lost in your thoughts that you stare right through the fumbling Dave sitting before you, who doesn't need to be so focused on avoiding your gaze, as you're not noticing any of your surroundings at the moment.
So many thoughts are running through your head, you don't know which one to attend to first. The most prominent of them all is confusion, but for all the wrong reasons. You should be confused because your best friend just kissed you, but you're not, and that's exactly why you're confused.
Dave's lips on your lips, his chest on your chest, it should've been weird, but for some reason, it wasn't. Actually, it felt very, very right, like you'd been expecting it all along.
But even more confusing than that, you find yourself wanting to kiss him again.
But that would mean... no, you couldn't be... but then again, why else would you want to kiss Dave?
And slowly, piece-by-piece, your thoughts come together and lead you to one massive realization: you have fallen for Dave Strider.
The sudden understanding hits you like a ton of bricks. Not because you're surprised, but because you're finally understanding that this is exactly what you wanted, exactly what your subconscious always knew would happen. You almost feel stupid for not realizing it sooner.
You blink and return back to reality. Dave has moved from where he was sitting and has taken to pacing across the small room. Ready to tell him what you should've been able to long ago, you open your mouth to speak, but close it immediately when he turns to face you.
Before you can even register his extremely distraught expression, Dave holds up a hand to stop you from speaking. "Don't say anything, please, just give me a second," he begins, pain evident in his voice. "I don't know what came over me. But I do know that I'm sorry, John. I'm so sorry, and I totally understand if you don't want to be friends anymore."
He waits expectantly for your response, looking almost scared, unable to say more. Why he would be scared of what you have to say, you're not quite sure. "Sorry? Why are you sorry?"
"Why am I sorry?" What seems to be anger flares behind his words. Not anger at you, anger at himself. "Because I just kissed you, John! Because I'm your best bro, and bros don't do that! Because I just ruined our friendship!" He sighs, and the anger is replaced by remorse. "I didn't mean to put you in a position like this, Egbert. I know you're 'not a homosexual,' blah blah blah, and I don't expect you to be, so I shouldn't have done that."
You pick your words carefully before answering. "Maybe I'm not a homosexual," you say, "but I guess I could be... Stridersexual?"
Now Dave is the confused one. "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." you struggle to find words to convey your emotions. "I mean that I never thought I liked guys, and I still don't think I do- I only like one." You close your eyes so you don't have to see Dave's reaction. "What I mean is, I really didn't mind when you kissed me, and I wouldn't mind if you did it again."
You open your eyes cautiously, and see a rare sight. Dave, the coolest kid in cooltown, has no idea what to say. After opening and closing his mouth several times, like a platinum-blonde fish, he finally settles on an appropriate response. "Really?"
You smile at his reference to what you know is his favorite movie: Shrek. With a sort of giddiness bubbling up inside you, you answer him appropriately. "Really really."
And that's when you find out that sometimes, second kisses are better than first ones.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Neither you nor Dave ever officially asked the other out, but you didn't need to. After your first kiss, everything just seemed to fall into place.
Your friends took the announcement extremely well, though each in a different way. Rose rolled her eyes and let you know that she knew it was coming all along. Nepeta squealed and hugged you both. Sollux displayed utmost indifference, which was only to be expected. Tavros offered a feeble smile and his congratulations. Even Karkat managed to grumble out, "it's about time," with barely any trace of rudeness.
The only problem was Vriska. Even though Dave said that it was obvious for ages, you'd never realized she had a crush on you. Now she couldn't be in the same room as you without sulking and glaring at Dave. But that could be overlooked.
Neither of you are quite sure how, but somehow, within the first week of your relationship, Dave's brother found out. He displayed his feelings on the matter by coming into Dave's room and setting off a confetti popper while you and Dave were in a rather compromising position.
Your dad doesn't know, and neither does the general population of your school. As much as Dave doesn't seem to mind what people think, you do, so he's agreed to keep it on the down-low for now.
The rest of January passed wonderfully. Well, the week of it that was left, anyway. February started out even greater, but with Valentine's day fast approaching, you began to worry about what to do for Dave. A week before the big day, you try pestering Rose for ideas.
-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 22:39 --
EB: roooossseee
EB: i need your help
TT: To what do I owe this pleasure, John?
EB: should i do something for dave for valentines day???
EB: i mean, we havent even been dating a month!
EB: but it feels like its been way longer than that, you know?
EB: and hes probably gonna do something for me and i dont want to look like an awful boyfriend!!!!
TT: In my opinion, Valentine's Day is an unnecessary holiday.
TT: Why do we need a special day in which to do something special for our significant others? Shouldn't we express our love for them every day?
TT: Valentine's Day is over-romanticized by the media, and is truly just a time when businesses and corporations can make more money by publicizing their products as perfect Valentine's gifts and decor.
EB: blaarrrrgghhh, youre no help! ill ask jade. >:(
-- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 23:02 --
Frustrated with Rose, you close your chat with her and open a new one with Jade.
-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 23:02 --
EB: jade!
EB: can you help me out??
GG: sure! how can i help you?
EB: i need your opinion on something
You repeat the story to Jade, and anxiously await her response for what feels like 10, but is actually just 2, minutes.
GG: if it feels right to you, go for it!
GG: but if you cant think of anything, dont worry about it! im sure dave wont care
EB: what do you mean?
GG: *sighhh*
GG: i mean, do whatever your gut is telling you to do!
GG: if your gut wants you to give dave something for valentines day, do it! and if it doesnt, then dont!
EB: right now the only thing my gut wants to do is throw up :/
GG: hehe! :B well, im sure youll figure out what to do! goodnight, john!
-- gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 23:15 --
You close your laptop with a sigh. Neither of your best friends were any help. If anything, they just left you even more confused than before.
Luckily, you didn't need to worry about that, since as soon as you drifted off to sleep that night, the solution to your problem came to you. And what a wonderful solution it was.
Now your only problem is waiting another week for what you're sure will be the best day of your life.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Well, here it is! The chapter that has been so anticipated by all!
I might've messed it up a lot, I don't know, you'll have to tell me. Do not spare my feelings, I would rather know a harsh truth than a sweet lie.
Thank you to everyone who commented and voted on the last chapter, please continue to do so! I value your feedback more than I do air.
Well, I guess that's it! The next chapter will probably take about 2-3 weeks because I'm going on vacation next week. If you have any questions about the date of the next update, message me or comment!
Thanks again!!
~M