Complicated - Dirk Strider x Reader

Chapter 1 - Gambling

Dirk

"Who, um... Who do you have a crush on, Jake?" Tavros asked, fiddling with the cards in his hands.

"Do blue people count?" Jake asked casually, placing down another card on top of mine. I laughed and watched Dave take his turn.

"Avatar girls don't count, Jake." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, everyone here knows you have the hots for me."

"Okay, first of all, Neytiri is not just an 'Avatar girl'. And secondly, for fucks sake, Strider, I do not have a crush on you! You and your fantasies can go fuck yourselves." his cheeks went pink and I smiled. I knew how to get Jake flustered, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He slammed his card down on top of the pile and won the game. "Check mate." he hissed in an annoyed tone.

"Jake, we're playing crazy eights." My little brother, Dave, rolled his eyes. Tavros and I laughed again, and Jake rolled his eyes right back at us.

"I know, I still won! Pay up, Strider!" he spat.

"Okay, okay, relax, English." I handed him a five dollar bill. Satisfied, he flashed me a grin and leaned back in his chair.

"And who do you have a crush on, Dirk?" John asked, lounging in his chair with boredom and swinging his house key on his finger.

I looked around my room. I hadn't noticed the sun going down until just now. The sky outside was a golden color, and it emitted a soft light on my pile of hats and huge monitors, which were turned off in the event of a "guy's night". I looked down at the round table that I had brought in. Cards were spread out before me, and poker chips and cups of various types of soda were spread out among my friends.

"Aren't you gay?" John spoke once again, bringing his eyes from his keys to my shades.

"I dunno. Bisexual, I guess." I answered.

"John, you can't just ask someone if they're gay," Sollux interrupted from beside Tavros. His red and blue shades were resting on his head to reveal his multi-colored, green and blue eyes. "it's rude."

"Well what else am I supposed to say? 'Hey Dirk, do you like to suck dick?' or how about, 'If I kissed you right now, would you be okay with that?'" John replied smugly. Dave chuckled a bit and shuffled the cards.

"The answer to both of those questions is 50% yes."  I replied. I heard Jake scoff at me as he munched on a pretzel stick.

"Oh, stuff it, Strider, stop hitting on everyone, you blasted jerkwad." he said. I smiled more and was about to reply with another witty comment before John spoke up again.

"So, Dirk, who do you like?" he repeated, then stared at me with tired, blue eyes. John looked so tired from partying the night before. His dad was out of town for the weekend, and Vriska dragged him into going to a party with her. She got completely drunk, and John was up WAY past his bedtime.

"No one." I said, watching Dave's hand flick more cards in front of everyone - seven cards for each player.

"Really?" Sollux raised an eyebrow. "I always thought you had a crush on Jake."

"Sollux," I said while Jake laughed mockingly. He, too, seemed tired and overworked. It was a rough week of school for all of us, but it hit John and Jake the hardest. That party certainly didn't help their bad attitudes. "those times have come and gone. But, I'd always be open to the idea of getting back together." I leaned my face close to his. The tan boy that was about my age pushed me away, his face red again.

"Not in a million years, Dirk Strider. Not in a million years." he mocked.

"Well, have you ever considered being in a relationship with anyone and not losing them in the first four months?" Dave commented. John and Tavros both burst out laughing. I didn't find this funny, but I chuckled along just for the hell of it.

"Shut up, Dave. It's not like you could keep a boyfriend, either." I claimed. Everyone was laughing now except me and my brother.

"Tell you what, bro," Dave said once everyone had calmed their laughter. "I bet I can stay in a relationship longer then you."

"Was that a wager?" I perked an eyebrow with interest. "What do I get when I win?"

"If  you win," he corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. "you get a healthy relationship."

"Bullshit. No dice." John encouraged.

"Yeah, John's right, Dave, you chicken or something?" I challenged. His brow furrowed.

"Fine then, you picky bastard. If you win, you get to have my game consul and  I'll let you take apart my computer for you robotic schemes."

My eyes widened. "Really?! Fuck yes!" I grinned.

"Now, wait, if you lose," he said quickly, "you have to throw all your Smuppets and Cal into the ocean, one by one, and watch them drift away."

"No, not Cal! Cal's like my fucking best friend!" I whined.

"You can get him back, you'll just have to swim." Everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. But I choose who you date."

"And I choose who you date."

"Fine. Deal."

"Deal." We shook hands, and everyone else was watching us with interest. I knew I wouldn't lose - Dirk Strider never loses. (Only to Jake. Sometimes.)

"Okay, you have to get Karkat Vantas to fall for you." I challenged. Both Sollux and John's eyes widened.

"Oh shit, that's a tough one." Sollux said in his lispy tone.

"Got that right," Tavros added under his breath.

"Pfft. Easy. He'll be like puddy in my hands once I'm through with him," Dave said, though I could sense that the confidence in his voice was fake. "Okay, I'll pick for you now." he pondered. Sollux, Jake, John and Tavros all started barking out names of boys and girls from our high school.

"What about _____?" Jake said. Everyone froze.

"_____? As in, the _____??" Tavros gawked. "They're one of the most popular people in the entire school - probably the most prestigious, too." ((A/N: For equality reasons, I'm making the "reader" character have gender-neutral pronouns. Problem?))

"Oooh! That's a great idea, Jake." Dave smiled with amusement. That was never a good thing. "Right. You have to get _____ to fall for you, and it has to last for at least 9 months."

"Deal." I said, more confidently then I felt. We spit on our hands and shook them.

"Sorry, John, but for the sake of this bet, we'll have to postpone our relationship." Dave winked at the smaller, black-haired male.

"For fuck's sake," Jake and John both said at the same time. Everyone laughed, and it felt like more of a girl's sleepover then a guy's night.

Jake won crazy eights again.

I was too distracted thinking of my farewell speech for Cal that I would be saying when the time came for me to lose this bet.