Red (Davekat)

The Aftermath

*deadpan* UwU

<Tu s'appelle Dave>

Bro, the slap didn't even hurt that bad. It just felt so... jarring to have someone who I trusted with my life to just do something like that to me. I felt even worse for threatening him. I knew that Karkat wasn't exactly an angel when it came to dealing with those matters, but fuck. That didn't give me the right to say that I'd hurt the guy.

Groaning, I went up to my bedroom and slammed the door, flopping onto my bed. I wasn't even mad at Karkat. My pride? In shambles. My ego? Shattered. God, I felt like such an ass.

I tried texting him at first, but once I realized that I still had his phone, I went ahead and deleted the messages almost instantly. I didn't know what to do. He couldn't have gone home because it was too far away for him to make the trip in the dark. Not to mention the rain. Shit. I sent him out there by himself, in a sketchy-ass neighborhood, in the rain, at night. I am a despicable human being.

Tossing on a jacket and grabbing the things that Karkat had left behind, I got into my car and drove slowly down the dimly lit street. I didn't find him. Not that I was really expecting to. I could barely see three feet in front of me. Even if there were any buses scheduled to run by that late, Karkat didn't have any money to pay the fare.

I bashed my fist against the steering wheel of my car, "Dammit!"

I continued to drive for at least ten more minutes before I had to give up and go back home. A part of me hoped that I would see Karkat at my door, trying to get my attention, but when he wasn't there, I felt my heart sink. Biting my lip, I returned to my room, spending the rest of the night contemplating why I was such a horrible person.

<We'll be Karkat now>

I went back home the next morning. I had a feeling that I had intruded enough on Sollux and Eridan's privacy. They were nice enough to give me some money for the bus, so I took the first one I could find. The cramped, stale air of public transportation was not something that I ever wanted to experience again.

When I arrived back at my house, I was greeted by Kankri, "Y9u're h9me early."

He sounded a little concerned, so I shrugged him off, "I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT."

"Suit y9urself, 6ut I'm here if y9u need me," and just like that, he returned to whatever it was that he was doing. A part of me wished that he had tried just a little harder to get me to talk to him. I guess I just can't help but surround myself with people who don't seem to care that much about me.

The rest of the day was spent sulking in my room listening to music loudly so that I wouldn't have to think. Thinking was what got me into half of the messes that I ended up in. Maybe I just needed to not think as much.

By the time I was starting to feel just a little better, the weekend was over and I had to go to school. Great. I couldn't wait to deal with everyone there. What if I saw Dave? I really didn't want to, but I knew that it would likely be for the best if I did.

The process of actually getting to school was a blur, but it all seemed to sharpen back up when I could hear Dave calling me before I had even entered the campus. With a sigh, I stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face him. At least, not immediately.

I heard the sound of his shoes making contact with the concrete of the sidewalk after I heard his car door closing. Did the bastard just sit there all morning to wait for me to walk by?

"what do you want, strider?" I mumbled as I crossed my arms and finally turned to face him. He looked fine. He didn't even appear to be disturbed in the slightest. Of course. Dave wasn't the type to give a shit.

"Well, I just wanted to give you your stuff back, Karkat," hearing him say my name made me grit my teeth. He sounded so... deadpan. I guess it was no more than usual. I was just getting used the the special treatment I had been getting, I suppose.

"oh... thanks," I took my phone and hoodie back from him.

"So..."

"what?" I asked when he stopped speaking.

"Is this it?"

"what do you- OH," I sighed and shrugged, "dave, it would be kind of pointless if i just broke it off with you at the first sign of trouble. so no. this isn't the end."

"Really?" he sounded doubtful.

"really. however... i do think that we need..."

"Therapy?"

"i was gonna suggest a break, but therapy would be a good idea as well."

"A break?"

"yea. we both just need a little time from each other without the pressure. i guess now that we know each other's boundaries or some shit, we just need some time to figure shit out. at least, i know i do."

"Oh..."

"listen, strider, i care about you. a lot. but things clearly aren't working. i just need some time away from you so that i can think. it would probably be good for you too."

"I guess you have a point, but..."

"it's not like i'm breaking up with you."

"Sure sure, but how often to people who go on breaks get back together?"

"well, if we want to make this work, we have to do something. if we don't get back together, it just means that clearly, it wasn't meant to be."

"I see..." he paused for a moment, "there is something I want to say though. Whenever you're ready, I do want to talk about what happened, okay?"

"of course. just not now. it's too soon and i know that i'd just get upset, okay?"

"Yea..." I could tell that he was still hesitating on something, so I hugged him. It was a gesture that he quickly returned, "I do love you, Karkat."

I sighed and pulled away from him, "and i love you, okay? see you around," I waved and backed away from him before walking up towards school to start the day. Dave and I may not have been perfect, but I was confident that we could work things out. Not only that, but I wanted to work things out. I knew that we'd be alright... Right?

This isn't usually the type of announcement that I give, but you ever just go through a break-up so bad that even after 7 months, it still makes you sick? It must just be the holidays coming up. Anyway, sorry for that, you didn't come here for the emotion dump or a short chapter lmao. Have a good day my lovelies! I'll see you next time 💜💜