The Sense of Me

Chapter 3

You shouldn't have gone to town. It's busy today. You pull up your hoodie and keep your bag close; you don't like shoppers this time of year. Too festive. Fuck them. The air clears a bit as you head to your favorite coffee shop, the idiotic Christmas shoppers must not like this part of town. Whatever.
You walk in and sit by the window, you take out a book and wait to order. The waiter is reasonably nice that you don't know what to order, he says he'll surprise you. Cute.
Wait.
Bad Karkat.
No.
You try to focus on reading your book, the coffee place is always quiet so it isn't too difficult to sink into your novel. You zone out a bit, not even realizing that the waiter had given you a drink. This happens sometimes. Your trance is finally broken when you stop reading to question a character's movements but
Fuck.
It's him again.
That fucking guy from the bar.
He's sitting nearby.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
You look back at your novel, trying to focus as you sip your beverage. Pumpkin spiced latte. Good choice, waiter. It barely takes you a minute to realize it isn't working. You down your beverage, shove your book in your bag, pay and leave.
But he follows.
You've had enough. You flip around and grab him by the collar - before he has time to react you've already thrown him into a nearby alleyway. As you walk closer, you hear his heavy breathing. Out of breath already? Pathetic. You swing a punch, hitting him in the jaw, "Why are you FUCKING following me?!" Although you try to sound intimidating, your voice comes out fearful.
He raises a hand to his jaw, feeling the area you punched. He doesn't look at you, "What are you talking about...?"
You throw another punch, this time, it hits his chest. He recoils more than you expected. His breathing grows heavier. "Everywhere I go, you're there! Fuck, you're fucking creepy!"
He grips his chest, "Listen-"
"NO!" You grab the stomach of his shirt and lift it up, trying to hold him in place, "No! Fuck you! Stop following..." You trail off as your eyes wander.
You notice something.
There are bandages wrapped around his chest.
You drop his shirt, he grips his chest in response. He opens his mouth to speak, but you deck him before he can find the words to say, "Are you a fucking idiot?!"
He pauses for a moment, "...what?"
"That's dangerous!" You pull out your phone, "That's why I can hear you before I see you..."
The air around you both seems to get warmer. But he stares blankly at you. "...what are you talking about?" His voice is weak. Now you know why.
You pull up an Amazon page and show it to him, "Here, these are safer than bandages." You gesture to one by Underworks, "These ones are softer."
When you look at him, you see the almost...amazement in his eyes. You let him hold your phone so he can scroll, and he does. You point out some that are on sale and others that are good for their job.
The air gets warmer again.
The clouds around your mouths remain but it's somewhat.
Nice.
Being there with him.
He taps on one to bring it up, he looks over it steadily, "...is this one okay?"
"Yeah." You scroll down a bit on the page, "You can read the reviews of people who've bought it." He takes a moment to read the reviews. You look at the ground. "...sorry I attacked you."
As he chuckles, you look at him, "It's fine, if I were you I'd attack me too." Fucker's smiling.
You gently nudge his side. "But were you following me?"
"No, just a bunch of freaky coincidences."
"You were staring at me at the bar on Friday."
"You're hot, okay?"
You both laugh a bit. He looks back at your phone, checking over something. "...I...I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I can't buy this."
The air gets colder. "What? Why not?"
He returns your phone to you, "I don't have the money. And I don't have Amazon." He shoves his hands in his pockets.
You pause. Thinking. Then tap some things on your phone, "I'll buy it for you-"
"Wh-what? No, I can't let you do that."
You shove a finger to his mouth to shush him. Your hazel eyes stare into his glasses. He moves your hand, "I can't."
"..." You look back at your phone. This thing could save his life. You don't know him but something primal is burning inside you. Something that won't let you allow him to just walk away. You extend your hand to him, "I'm Karkat Vantas, an ex-marine."
He seems to hesitate, but he shakes your hand, "I-I'm Sollux Captor, a computer scientist." His hand his small. Soft.
You smile a bit at him, "Cool." You take a small sheet of paper out of your pocket, "Do you have Pesterchum?"
"Yeah, I do actually."
You offer the small sheet to him, "Here's my tag, message me. I'll get that binder for you."
"Karkat-"
"No, I'll text you when it arrives and you can come get it. Okay?"
He sighs and takes the paper, "Fine."