The Pages Between Us (Karkat Vantas x Reader)

Chapter Eight

"How do you do this..." Your eyebrows furrowed in concentration as you made a careful crease in the faded receipt between your fingers. You had dreamt of folding a nice little star. The dream had followed you into your waking moments and you remembered the steps to it, albeit only vaguely. Dirk took a sharp right, forcing everyone to slide sideways. You were sandwiched between Sally the Puppet and the car door for several moments, and when the car was no longer titled, you groaned and shoved Dave's weight off.

"Dude! Have you ever heard of personal space?" You jeered, pushing Dave's cheek. The blond slapped your hand, and you slapped back, then he slapped back. Which resulted in a childish slap fight. Dirk took a double take at the two of you before groaning.

"Oh, for the love of— CALM DOWN. Can't you see we're entering the school-fucking-zone?" Dirk cried out in exasperation. "If I could have just one day without the two of you bickering in my goddamn car—"

Dave redirected his next slap to Dirk's arm, which was currently shimmying the car stick. "I don't think you should be using school and fuck in that order." Dave said smartly.

"Pervert," you teased.

Dirk turned around to give you both a behave-your-ass-or-imma-slap-you look. "Children." He said in a patient tone. "Get out of my damn car." Ah, yes. Dirk's signature line. You each bid Dirk good luck on his job before stepping out of the car and walking towards school.

"Why are you making origamis?" Dave finally asked, looking down at your hands. You were playing with your origami star... or rather, your attempt at an origami star.

You shrugged. "A friend and I have this inside joke of me making origami. I just want to see how he reacts when he sees me actually doing it." A smile pulled on your lips unconsciously. Dave quirked a brow.

"Why origami though?"

"Hmm. It's hard to explain." You folded the last part of your origami and held it in front of Dave. "Does it look okay? It's supposed to be a star."

"It looks like shit. Bye!" Dave said, sprinting away as soon as you made the slightest reaction. You rolled your eyes and pulled out your phone.

yourHandle is online.
YH: Hey, stupid!
YH: You there?
CG: WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF?
YH: Gasp!
YH: I am NOT stupid.
CG: RIIIGHT.
YH: Are you okay?
CG: I'M PEACHY.
YH: You don't sound peachy...
YH: If you need help or anything, you know you can count on me, Carci.
CG: I DOUBT THAT. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ANYONE HELP ME WITH.
CG: CLASS IS ABOUT TO START. TALK TO YOU LATER, K?
carcinoGeneticist (CG) went offline.
YH: Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll get better. Don't lose hope!
YH: Talk to you later! : )

You sighed, staring down at your phone. Tomorrow was going to complete the six months of friendship between you and Carci. You were actually going to ask if you could meet face to face tomorrow, but it's probably a bad time for him. "I can wait." You smiled, scrolling back in your chats. You knew so much about him, but at the same time, you knew so little. I didn't think flush-crushing over an internet friend would be this hard...

"Morning, bestie!" Achlys bumped shoulders with you jokingly. You tucked your phone in your pocket and wrapped an arm around your moirail's waist, hugging her.

"Morning, wild child." You greeted. "Where's Jade?"

"She went on ahead 'cause the teacher wanted to talk to her." Achlys shrugged before pointing a finger on your chest. "But I want to know about you. How was your date night with Vantas? Heard from a little blond bird that you two have gotten pretty close~!"

"Shut up, you!" You blushed. "You of all people should know who I like. And it wasn't a date night. The little blond bird invited Karkat over for movies, then I asked him to help me with my homework."

"And then?" Your moirail grinned.

"Then... well... he was surprisingly pleasant to be with..." A hint of red rushed to your cheeks. You grew suddenly bashful when you mistook the look in Achlys's eyes for mischief. "What's that look for?"

"Do you like Karkat?" Achlys questioned, tucking her hands behind her back like she was hiding a secret from your eyes.

"What? No!"

The grin turned into a pleased smile as Achlys walked onward without you. "Hmm. Okay then, whatever you say~!"

"What does that mean?" You blushed madly, walking briskly after her.

"Oh, nothing~!"

"I don't like him, okay?" You whispered defensively.

"I didn't say that you did." Achlys shrugged. You groaned in frustration.

"You're the worst."

First period flew by very quickly as it usually did. It was pretty easy to lose track of time during (favorite subject). The next moment found you joining the crowd of students as they spilled into the halls. "This school has the worst scheduling strategies ever." Jade complained as the two of you walked. "They can't even space out the classes evenly to prevent traffic in the halls— excuse me! Small! (huff) Human! (grunt) Coming through!" Jade yelled between shoves.

Achlys chuckled and positioned herself around Jade to prevent her from being crushed between the surrounding trolls. You sighed, finding yourself slowly being separated from your two friends. They had their second period somewhere else, after all.

You continued navigating through the hallway. The further you walked, the more absent-minded you became, with thoughts of Carci washing over you. You wondered about his problem, and silently hoped that he'd be alright. Did he get weirded out by your indirect confession yesterday?

"Ow!" You grimaced as you collided with someone. The force was great enough to cause the person to accidentally let go of their belongings. Textbooks fell with a thud on the floor, and one landed on their foot.

"AH! FUCK!" Karkat Vantas cussed sharply, crouching down to clutch his foot. "Watch where you're fucking going, damn it!"

"Karkat! I'm so sorry!" You gasped, plopping down to the floor beside him. "Does it hurt bad?"

"(Name)? Oh, for fuck's sake." Karkat groaned and began picking up his textbooks. You picked up the rest and handed them over to him. "Did you leave your head at home or did you just make it a point to not use it?"

You chuckled awkwardly. "Hehe. Sorry about that. I spaced out and bumped into you. It won't happen again, I promise!"

"Whatever. Let's just go to class." Karkat furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. He gestured for you to walk with him to second period. It was a feat in itself considering how difficult it was for you to match his long strides.

"Why the hell are you so tall?" You yelled accusingly as you matched his pace.

"The gravity is lesser on Alternia." Karkat replied haughtily. "Why are you so fucking short?" You blushed in embarrassment, shoving him.

"... Shut up."

-

AAAA I'm sorry for the late update, I've been busy applying to colleges. I actually have a greater chance of entering the college I want to attend because the admissions are looking only at our final grades from Grade 9 to 11. I'm pretty confident about my chances since I don't have to go through the entrance exam. I'm also relieved because I don't want to sit in an unbearably cold classroom, holding in my bladder while I wipe away my tears with my scratch paper. I'm hoping for the best. (crosses fingers)