Homestuck x reader

The gymnast (Nepeta x reader)

Of all the days you had to sprain your ankle, it had to be on Friday.

You had been eagerly speed-walking down the hall to the stairs, everyone going in the opposite direction. You knew about a less-used set of stairs that barely anyone went down at the end of the day. You squeezed past the last person and went through the door that led to the top of the stairwell. You raced down the steps, eager to begin your weekend. You were going to read all those books you checked out from the library, play video games, catch up on your favorite show, it was gonna be gre-!

In your rush, you placed your foot half-on, half-off a step. Your foot slid off down to the next step, and you instantly felt something rip in your ankle. You doubled over and tumbled down the stairs. You didn't know how, but your head never connected with any concrete.

You lay in a fetal position when you came to a stop. The world was spinning and your ankle felt like someone had made a clean cut through the ligaments. You lay there, trembling and hissing, clutching at your foot.

There was a cry of alarm somewhere and a face appeared over you.

"Holy crap! Are mew okay?!"

You grunted and said through gritted teeth, "I twisted my stupid ankle!"

"Holy kit! I, um, okay, hold on!"

Arms went under you and lifted you up. You felt the bounce of the person carrying you walking.

The girl was... a troll. She had wild dark hair, like all trolls, orange horns shaped like cat ears, and gray skin.

As you began to become more aware of your surroundings, you realized that you were a little bit close to the ground. No wait, this troll girl was just incredibly small! How the hell was she carrying you?!

"Uh, h-hey," you said, voice husky from pain. "You don't have to carry me. I can walk."

"Mew just spurrained your ankle! I can't let mew walk!"

You noticed only now that she incorporated cat puns into her speech.

"Where are you taking me?"

"The nurse's offhiss!"

'Oh dear,' you thought.

"Oh. Oh, no, I don't think they'll help."

"Nonsense! They're trained!"

"Have you ever been there?"

"No, but- Here we go!"

You had reached the nurse's office.

The troll girl kicked at the door. A couple seconds later, a woman came to the door. She looked tired and strained.

"What?" she said in a flat, pissed voice. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of the tiny girl carrying you.

"She spurrained her ankle! Do mew have ice?"

"..." the woman took a minute to respond. "No. I'm off duty."

"But-" the girl started.

"OFF. DUTY." she said loudly and closed the door firmly in your faces.

"Rude!" the girl said. You squirmed in her arms and she hesitantly put you down.

"Thanks for carrying me," you said as you stood on the foot that wasn't swelling. "I think I can get home now."

"But you're still hurt! Can't I at least walk mew home?"

"You're sweet, but I think I can-" you gasped and winced as you tried to put weight on the injury.

"That's it. I'm walking mew home."

You decided it was pointless to argue and accepted her companionship.

~~~~~

Turns out you kinda did need her. You couldn't put any weight on the foot without having something to lean on.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" you asked.

"Nepeta."

"I'm (Name)." You hesitated. "Thanks for... all this."

"No purroblem!" she chirped. "I don't have to do anything fur a meour."

"'Meour'?"

"Hour. Sorry."

"Oh, you're fine."

There was a pause.

"What do you have to do in an hour?"

"I'm a gymnast! I have practice at 3:15."

"Cool! Do you do anything with cheerleading?"

Nepeta stopped walking with you. You looked down at her. She was giving you the most disgusted, unimpressed look you had ever seen.

"... Fuck... no..." she said.

"Why the face?" you asked earnestly. "A few of the cheerleaders are nice!"

"Sorry, but they just... I HATE wearing skirts and having to cheer fur someone regardless of whether they're good at what they do or not. Plus, everyone thinks you're a slut, fake, or both. Or something else. I don't know. Anyway, I just find it more purreferable to not associate with them."

"That's... you do realize you're stereotyping them, right? In fact, one of the cheerleaders on the squad is asexual."

"I..." she blinked. "Really? Huh."

You walked for half a block.

"(Name)? How did mew know that one of the cheerleaders is asexual?"

"... Because I dated her. Johanna Karlsson? The redhead with violet eyes? Wears round glasses during school?"

"Ooooh. Yeah, I've seen her. What's it like, dating a cheerleader?"

"It's really not that bad. She was actually pretty nice and fairly smart. We went for about 2 months before she decided to devote her time to cheer practice rather than having a girlfriend."

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah. I just... I understand that everyone has lives to get on with, but it still hurts."

"Tell me about it." Nepeta said this quietly, with the tone of someone who completely understood on a level higher than you thought.

"Anyway, what's gymnastics like?"

~~~~~

"There's my house." You announced. Nepeta helped you get up the front steps to the door.

"Thanks, Nepeta."

"It's no purroblem! Have a good weekend, (Name)!"

You opened the door and entered your house as Nepeta turned and jogged down the sidewalk, away from your house.

"I'm home!" you called out.

"Welcome home!" you heard your dad yell back. He was in the kitchen, and from the smell that wafted through the room, there was a pizza in the oven. Your dad strolled into the room, a round tray under one arm.

"How was- OHMYGODWHATHAPPENEDTOYOURANKLEJERRYGETINHERE!!!" He shrieked. You heard heavy footsteps coming slowly through the house and your pa came in.

"Christ, Milo, what-..." Your pa stared at your ankle. He looked up at you, then back down at your ankle. "Well... Shit. That's one swollen ankle."

"Jerry! Language!" Your dad fussed over you while your pa nonchalantly picked you up bridal style and carried you to the couch. He set your leg on the coffee table and examined your ankle. Your pa gently prodded and turned your foot asking you what hurt and how badly. He was a doctor so he was sure to know what he was doing.

Your dad hovered anxiously.

"Is it broken? Do we have to go to the emergency room??"

"No, it's just twisted. Nothing an ice pack and some rest won't fix."

As your dad bustled off the the kitchen to prepare an ice pack, your pa sat next to you.

"So... who was that troll girl that walked you down the street?"

"Oh, that's Nepeta. She's pretty cool."

"Hmm," your pa's eyes had a playful glint to them. "Pretty cool or pretty AND cool?"

"Paaaa," you groaned. That was his way of asking if you had a crush. He put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm just asking."

"I guess... I just need more time to decide."

"Did you at least get her number?"

"No... But I did find out where she does gymnastics."

"If you need a chauffeur, I'm your guy... or your dad, but he'll probably want to come in with you to actually meet her."

"Meet who?" Your dad asked as he entered the living room, ice pack in hand.

"Just a friend," you covered up. Your dad squinted at you. He may overreact and fuss, but he wasn't dumb. However, you would need to have this conversation another time.

~~~~~
Over the next week, you saw a lot more of Nepeta. She found you sitting in the library during lunch and invited you to join her friends. Her friends, all trolls, were... an interesting bunch. There were only two who you realized you had classes with. Terezi, the blind girl, who you had physics class with, and Feferi, with whom you had English and history class.

You stuck close to Nepeta to avoid the more intense trolls and found that she was best friends with the captain of the weight-lifting team, Equius Zahhak. He nodded silently at you and whispered to Nepeta. You couldn't be 100% sure, but you were pretty certain that he was trying to weed anything out of her that would incriminate you. It seemed as though she told him nothing satisfactory, because he stopped whispering, but you could feel his narrowed gaze on you the entire time you sat with them. As the week progressed, he seemed to become less wary of you, but still just as supercilious. Perhaps due to that weird hemospectrum system that existed within troll society. You thought it was cool to have different colors of blood at first, but, according to some of Nepeta's friends, if they hadn't integrated with human society long ago, half of them might not have even made it to preadolescence. That you found frightening.

The next week, on Saturday, you pulled up in front of the gymnastics center.

"Need anything before you go for the kill?" Your pa asked. "Breath freshener? Pick-up line suggestions?"

"No thanks. I just want to watch for a bit."