John is allowed to stay over at our house, because of my extremely persuasive mother. Meulin and Nepeta didn't bother us; they were more focused on the 'canon' ship. Nepeta was actually in Kankri's room, which was the attic. You can easily pull the stairs down, and my dad prefers to leave them down when it was just the two alone together. Uh, Kankri and Aureli, I mean. We head to my room, which is the first room on the right, in our hall connected to the kitchen. It's a mess; clothes are everywhere. My dad says that if I can't get my room clean by Sunday, I don't get my candy. Candy is fucking delicious, don't judge me. But I have a secret stash underneath one of the loose floorboards.
"So, Karkat!" John begins. "Wanna work on our homework together? I mean, only one of our classes is different."
"Whatever," I answer, taking out my stuff. "So... I need to create a country..."
"Shouldn't Gamzee and Tavros be helping you with that?" he asked.
"No," I respond. "They didn't help me with anything else before, why would they help now?"
"Because you have three days left to do it," John answers. "Do you have any ideas?"
"No. I suck at coming up with anything."
"Well, think of yourself as a leader of this country. What would you name it?"
"Why the fuck would I want to lead a country?"
"I dunno. Pretend you do! What do you want to call it?"
"I dunno. Magic-y Magic-y Bullshit Island."
"Karkat, be serious!" he says, laughing.
"I don't know. Let's call it Snow Island and put it beneath the equator."
"Why?"
"Because the sand would be white like snow, and the dipshits that discovered it were too mentally challenged to realize it was sand."
"Well, that's good! I guess, I mean, I wasn't in the past, so I don't know what they'd think. Probably that. Any people on the island beforehand?"
"Uh, no. Well, like, maybe one, because... the rest of his people died out."
"Why'd they die out?"
"I don't know! They just didn't survive! This is a fictional country and this stuff happened in the past whether it's real or not!"
"Aw, Karkat! You're doing good! Really good! Why'd they die out?"
"They all got cancer, or something..."
"All but one?"
"Yeah. Their people is naturally cancerous, but he was the most recent generation and it had built up a natural resistance to cancer."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Well that's cool."
"John. I feel like a small child. You keep asking me 'Oh what's this' and 'Oh what's that'."
"Karkat, I've only asked you what the people are like and what you want to name the country."
"Whatever. You could help a bit."
"Aren't I helping?"
"No. Not at all."
"Yeah I am! I'm helping you unlock the power of your imagination!" He grins, and I punch him in the arm. "Ow!"
"You asked for it."
"No I didn't."
"In what way didn't you ask for me to punch you in the arm?"
"I didn't say, 'Hey Karkat! Can you punch me in the arm?'"
"Okay." I hit him again.
"You dick!" He laughs. "Let's just move on... Write what we discussed-"
"There was absolutely no cussing in the previous conversation."
"Whatever! Just write shit down, and then get your French out."
"We don't have homework for French."
"Oh yeah! Well, we don't have any for math either, and you said that you can play guitar and violin! Let's hear!"
"Fine."
I go into my closet, and pull out two cases. My guitar case is obviously bigger than my violin case, and my violin case has a bright red 'TW' on it. The story behind this, is that when I was seven, and learning to play violin for the first time, I was really bad. Really, really bad. My brother, at age ten, heard me practicing, and did everything he could to stop me. But then my dad came and shooed him out of my room, and I kept practicing. In the middle of the night, or maybe later that night while I was watching TV and he wasn't, he snuck into my room and stuck taped down the strings, and spray painted 'TW' on my case. I was able to get the tape off the strings, but not the trigger warning off my case. I take out my guitar, and tune it. I don't have a guitar pic, but my palms have always been insanely dry. They don't crack in the winter or anything. They're just pretty insensitive. Due to this, I could always just play the guitar without much pain.
"What do you want me to play?" I ask. "I can play a shit ton of stuff."
"'Bittersweet' by Panic! At the Disco?" he requests.
I begin playing the acoustic version of that song, and he's smiling like a small child, and murmurs the lyrics as I play.
"I'm just setting,
I'm just setting a trap,
And I'm not pulling, no,
I'm not pulling for you,
You're just pulling at me.
I'm not a betting man,
But this is a sure thing.
I've been to Tokyo
And to South Africa.
So many places,
That you may say I've seen them all!
But my favourite place
Is the warm embrace
Of holding your hair back in a bathroom stall!"
I join in at the chorus, because fuck it, I can sing if I want. Also if I'm playing a song, I can't not sing it.
"Everything I do is bittersweet
You could tell me secrets that I'll probably repeat.
I'm not trying to hurt you;
I just love to speak.
It feels like we're pulling teeth,
So bittersweet.
I guess that's how it's gotta be,
I guess that's how it's gotta be.
All that hate is
Gonna burn you up.
It keeps me warm at night,
Warmer than anyone!
I think how many drinks I've had,
No more in either hand,
I'm slurrin' on purpose.
And it's certainly worth it!
Everything I do is bittersweet..."
"Karkat you're really good at this!" John cheers, after we're finished the song. "What can you play on the violin?"
"It's a work in progress, but I can play a song I'm writing," I mutter. "It's called 'Crustacean'."
"Cool!" he grins. "Let's hear it."
I begin playing the song, and John listens attentively. I finish what I've got thus far, and he smiles widely.
"Wow, you wrote this?!" he gasps, his eyes brightening with his face.
"Yeah," I answer. "Having cancer gives you the chance to do a lot of stuff."
"Not for me," John informs me, still smiling. "Cancer was really painful. Like, I'm not even talking about when I got my leg hacked off. I'm talking about learning to walk again. That was really painful. It really didn't help that Jade and Jake were around while I practiced. I mean, it makes sense. Their older sister just died; I was the only one left. Ha, but let's not talk about painful cancer experiences! Dude, what else can you play?"
"I can play a shit ton of stuff," I respond. "Just request, and there's an amazing chance I know it. Request the fuck away."
I had played until John couldn't take it anymore. Now we're playing video games. We're playing the Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, and I called being player one, so he's player two. Red Link. John, of course, remarks on how 'cute' it is that I have old gaming systems like the GameCube. At some point, maybe halfway through the game, I pause it, and go to the loose floorboard at the end of my bed. I pry it up, and take a handful of the candy. Like I said, I stash candy. Basically, I buy big boxes of candy, and put them there. The strange thing is, is that there's a small hole there, like as though the house was built to hide something there. After deplacing the floorboard, there's a little golden lock. The first time I opened that lock, I had to pick it. The key was in the concrete box. It's silver, and looks too big for the lock, but it fits. It has a cancer sign on the end, in bright red. I basically lock my candy in a well-hidden, well-protected vault. I throw a pack of peanut M&Ms at John, then grab one for myself, lock up the vault, then sit down beside him again.
"All you need is a passcode lock and a fingerprint," John remarks with a grin.
"Shut the fuck up," I mutter, picking up my controller. "It's the only hidden place in my room."
"Ha, it's okay," the blue-eyed boy laughs. "It's cool that you have a hidden cubby like that in the first place."
"GUYSIT'STIMEFORDINNER!" Nepeta yells, bursting into the room. She looked a little disappointed, but was still smiling.
"What the fuck, Nepeta?!" I exclaim. "How many times have I told you to fucking knock before you enter my fucking room?!"
"Pretty much every day of my life!" she smiles happily, and stands taller, as though she's proud of annoying the shit out of me. "But it's time for dinner!"
"I heard you," I state, getting up.
"Karkat..." John groans. "Can you help me up?"
"No fucking way," I tell him. "You sat down, you can get back up."
"But, Karkat, my leg...!" he continues
"Fuck you, and fuck your leg," I mutter, as I help him up.
"Thank you," he grins.
"Whatever!" I exclaim.
We head downstairs, and... my dad made turkey. He only makes turkey on special occasions. And, y'know, when someone brings a new friend home. Kankri is sitting at the table, and, as usual for when she comes over to our house, Aureli is helping our dad. Meulin and our mom are also already at the table, and Nepeta sits with them. I sit down a seat away from my brother, and John sits between him and me.
"Hey, Kankri," John greets.
"Hello, John," he says in reply. "How are you?"
"I'm pretty good, you?" he continues.
"Quite fine," my brother responds. I can't help but notice that he's completely out of it. He's staring at the spot in front of him, and is fiddling nervously with his fingers. Or possibly excitedly. I'm not entirely sure; his face is so devoid of expression it's hard to tell, and he doesn't seem unhappy.
"Alright, please stand so we may say 'grace'," my father orders. We all do as he says, and as we open our mouths to recite the typical dinner prayer, John quickly shouts:
"GRACE!"
Nepeta bursts out laughing, but Meulin begins the prayer, regardless (once again, she's deaf; she has her eyes closed, so she can't read John's lips), and my mom is trying extremely hard not to smile. Kankri just has this shocked look on his face, but whether it's because of the statement or because he was snapped so abruptly out of his thoughts is unknown to me, and Aureli is chuckling to herself.
"Perfect," she laughs. "John, that was perfect."
My dad looks like he's about to scream at us. But, as a 'composed gentleman', he's taken a mental vow to not do that. I'm also laughing, and as soon as our laughter dies out, the room is in complete silence, other than Meulin finishing her prayer.
"...Amen." She opens her eyes, and sees everyone smiling. "What happened without me? You guys...!" Nepeta began giggling again. "What's funny?"
"Nothing..." dad mutters, sitting down. He stabs the two-pronged fork into the turkey a bit angrily, and serves everyone a piece.
"Thank you," everyone mutters when they receive their piece of food. My dad serves everyone everything. It's how he is with guests; he never makes extra, but wants to make sure there's enough for everyone.
"So, guys, guess what's happening in roughly two weeks?" Aureli asks excitedly.
"Winter vacation?" Nepeta guesses.
"Nope!" the guest denies, still excited. Kankri and John look at her curiously. "Yeah, I know I didn't tell you. I wanted to tell everyone at once, because then I can answer your questions." They nod. "Okay, so, my sisters are coming!" John drops his cutlery.
"Like, all the way from England?!" he gasps excitedly.
"Yeah, pretty much," she grins.
"Oh, will the twins be coming?" Kankri asks politely.
"Eden will, I know that for sure," the girl affirms. "She might even stole away and stay here until my other sisters notice she's gone! As for Eren, I'm not even sure if they'll let him on the plane, let alone willing to come."
"Wait, England?" I ask. "I didn't know you were English." I go to take a drink of water.
"Oh, you didn't, Karkat?" she responds, in her fucking English accent. That is no fake accent, either. There's just something a real accent has a fake one doesn't. And she continues, in her accent, "John also has a bit of an accent. It's in our family. I rarely ever use it, anyways. I mean, teenaged girls aren't the only people affected by accents." She's almost looking directly at my brother. I don't think I've ever seen him legitimately uncomfortable before. I mean, when he's even slightly uncomfortable, he starts spouting things about triggers and shit, but he's quiet, and kind of looking away. He might actually be lost in his thoughts again, which is weird, because he's never like that. The fuck is wrong with him? "Kanny, you're spacing out." She pokes him, and he jumps a little bit. Meulin jumps afterwards. I'm assuming that she wasn't paying attention, either, and saw the sudden movement.
"So, where do you plan to go with your siblings, Aureli?" Mom continues.
"I dunno," she responds. "There's this con around the time they'll be coming up... Maybe I'll go to that with them?"
"Wait a sec," John stops her. "All your sisters? Even Caleta?"
"Wait, what's wrong with Caleta?" Nepeta asks. I'd actually completely forgotten about her; she'd been unnaturally quiet.
"It's..." Aureli frowns, trying to think of the right words. "It's kind of like autism... But not quite. She'll practically be autistic, because she's slowly losing control over everything, but... she can still think. It's hard to explain. You have to either be in her mind or be her caretaker, Aquini, to understand."
"Will her caretaker be coming?" I ask.
"Probably," she responds. "Okay, I'm going to eat, now."
The rest of dinner is silent, and very awkward. Kankri finishes first, then Nepeta, Meulin, my dad, my mom, me, John, then Aureli last. We all get up and put our dishes on the counter.
"So, John!" Nepeta begins after everyone but me, him and her have left the room, "do you want to stay over tonight?"
"What the fuck Nepeta?" I demand. "You can't just-"
"I'm asking John a question!" she protests.
"Why the emphasis on 'asking'?" I wonder.
"So, John, what do you think?" my sister continues.
"If it's alright with your parents," he responds, with the same grin he always has.
"MOM!" she yells.
"YEAH, NEP?"
"CAN JOHN STAY OVER?"
"SURE!"
"You can stay!" she cheers.
"No shit, really?" I mutter.
"I'm just going to text my dad and tell him I'm staying the night," he says, pulling out his phone and doing so. "Alright!"
"So, John, I'm assuming you're sleeping in Karkat's room?" my mom randomly appeared in the kitchen. "I know what your relationship is like around each other."
"It's nothing like that!" John protests. "My friend Dave told me that Karkat likes affection. So when we met at the Support Group, I thought he looked a bit lonely and sad and stuff, so... You know. I thought I'd give it a shot."
"Right," she agrees sarcastically. "That's something I believe. But, anyways! I just thought I'd let you know that we don't get sleepovers often. Actually, my husband's against it entirely. But, you know, it's a part of growing up or something. But my point is, is that we don't have any spare mattresses."
"Thanks mom," I mutter.
"I'll get Aureli to bring a clean change of clothes when she comes to walk us all to school tomorrow," John decides.
My mom leaves, and John and I go to my room. John's really, really excited.
"This is my first sleepover!" he exclaims. "So cancer kind of ruined all my friendships in elementary school, except for, you know, Dave, and I didn't really bother in high school because, well, Dave."
"Yeah, me too," I agree. "Like, not the whole story. Just that this is the first time I've had someone over."
"Well, that's cool," he says.
I go over to my laptop and turn it on. I'm just going to check pesterchum before I go to sleep. I like going to sleep early, because I prefer getting up early, not staying up late.
- caligulasAquarium [CA] began pestering carcinoGenecist [CG] at 7:54 -
CG: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET MY NAME?
CA: relax kar
CA: wwait you are kar right
CG: IF BY 'KAR' YOU MEAN 'KARKAT' THEN YEAH, THAT'S ME.
CG: BUT HOW IN THE NAME OF MY HOLY EX-PREACHER'S FATHER'S ASSHOLE DID YOU GET MY NAME?
CG: MY REAL NAME AND MY PESTERCHUM NAME.
CA: im another kid wwho goes to your school
CA: names eridan
CA: i think wwere in french together or somethin
CG: ANSWER MY DAMN QUESTIONS BEFORE I BLOCK YOU.
CA: alright calm dowwn
CA: remember a wwhile ago in the fifth grade
CA: i wwas that transfer student that went to your school for maybe twwo wweeks
CG: SHIT, THAT'S YOU?
CG: DIDN'T YOU IMMEDIATELY TRY TO 'GET POPULAR' BY BEING FRIENDS WITH WHAT'S HER NAME...
CG: PEIXES?
CA: fef and i are great friends noww ill havve you knoww
CA: but yes that wwas me
CA: and it wworked by the wway
CA: i wwas awwarded second highest position on the hemospectrum
CG: YEAH, BECAUSE FEFERI BRIBED EVERYONE. I DIDN'T CARE.
CA: oh
CA: thats a little bit disappointin
CG: YEAH, I'D IMAGINE SO.
CG: WHY DID YOU CONTACT ME?
CA: i just wwanted to say hi
CA: and i alse wwanted to invvite you to sit at our table tomorroww
CA: evveryone else wwill be doin it
CG: WHY WOULD I CARE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING?
CA: wwell your friends are goin
CA: gam wwas really fuckin easy to get he just goes with wwhatevver
CA: tavv wwasnt much harder
CA: i got sol too
CG: I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU GOT SOLLUX TO GO ALONG WITH THIS.
CG: BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
CA: why does evveryone ask that
CA: nothin
CA: i promise
CA: ivve been wwantin to get evveryone together again for a wwhile noww
CA: and since youre able to come to school again i though noww wwould be the perfect opportunity
CG: I'LL CONSIDER IT.
CG: BYE.
- carcinoGenecist ceased being pestered by caligulasAquarium at 8:00 -
"Oh my God, Eridan's such a prick," John sighs. "But what the fuck's a hemospectrum?"
"A long story," I respond. "A long story I'd rather not get into. But, I'm tired. I'll explain it in the morning."
"Okay, night!" John says, as we climb into bed, and I shut off the lights.