It's about 1:30 in the morning when you stir from your troubled slumber. This was due to a flashing red light. It slowly fades in and out, and is even visible when you shield your eyes with the blanket. No matter how tightly you screw them shut, the red shines as brightly as ever. Eventually, with the anger and pain festering inside you, you throw off the covers and snap, "What the fuck is that stupid light?!"
Your eyes immediately fix on the source: a huge, glowing, red ball floating in the center of your room. It's got to be at least the size of a basketball. You force yourself to your feet, watching the pulsating apparition warily. It doesn't move as you grab a shirt and basketball shorts and slip them on. "What the Hell is this...?" You mutter to yourself as you cautiously step towards it.
It suddenly begins to move, causing you to freeze mid-step. It hovers over your computer, which whirs to life. The screen remains black, but the word, "Follow," glows faintly.
"What?" You ask. "You want me to go with you, whatever the fuck you are?" It moves to the window, dissipating through it as it hovers over the fire escape. Frowning, you open the window and step out. "Where are we going?" You repeat as it floats all the way to the ground below. Huffing in aggravation, you grab a pair of sneakers and slip them on, shutting the window and silently creeping down the numerous flights of stairs to the pavement of the ground floor.
Once your feet land on the asphalt, you hiss, "This is insane. I don't even know what you are or what's going on and I'm following you to wherever the hell it is you're taking me. Fuck, you probably aren't even a sentient being!" The light flickers quickly, as if to shush you. It then leads you around the front of the building to the bike rack there the tenants keep their bicycles chained up. The "creature" hovers above a grey and red one which has been left untethered to the rack.
You look from the bike to the being skeptically and question sarcastically, "What? Am I supposed to steal this thing and follow you to some undisclosed location?" The light flickers again and shrinks to a smaller, less noticeable size, fixing itself on the front of the bike. To anyone who didn't know better, it probably looked like a reflector.
"I must be going fucking bonkers... This must be another dream, so let's just go for it." You remove the vehicle from the rack and climb on. "So how is this going to work? If I'm supposed to stay straight, you'll just stay unlit, right? One flash for yes and two for no." The small ball flashes once. "So you must be a sentient being then. Are you some sort of specter? A poltergeist, perhaps?" There's a moment of pause before it flickers once more.
You sigh to yourself, clutching the handle bars tightly. "Great. More ghost fuckery. Alright. Flicker once if you want me to go left and twice for right. Okay?" Again, it flashes once. "Super. Let's do this shit."
You pedal out to the entrance of the complex, the light flashing twice for you to go right. You obey this and every command for what feels like eternity. You're led down the sidewalks of busy streets and down alleys between buildings until you're eventually led into the outskirting suburbs of the city. This is an area you recognize all too well. It begins to make you nauseous as it dawns on you where you're finally being taken.
As you'd anticipated, you arrive outside Karkat's house when the light begins to flicker wildly, signaling you to stop. Though you desperately wish to turn around and go back home, you're compelled by whatever force has latched itself onto the stolen bike you possess. You drop the bicycle in the driveway as the apparition separates itself from the repo-ed vehicle and returns to its normal size. You follow it up the sidewalk and to the entrance. The two of you pause outside the door as you check the handle. Locked. You're about to turn and leave when the creature disappears through the keyhole. A moment later, you hear a click. The door slowly creaks open, revealing the black emptiness of the house. You may be seventeen years old, but you almost piss your pants.
You're well aware that you can turn and run now. No one would blame you. You check the time on your phone. 2:03. You could be home before anyone notices that you and the bike were missing.
You're shaken from your train of thought as a lone flashlight rolls out of the shadows, hitting the frame of the door and coming to a halt. You carefully pick it up, fumbling around with the switch before you flick it on. The house looks just as it did before only darker. The glowing red light awaits your entry at the end of the hall. Making sure to stay as silent as a church mouse, you step inside, the door instantly slamming shut behind you. You yelp in fear, swinging the flashlight around as you search for the culprit.
You'll admit that you might've pissed a little that time.
"Wh-Who's there?" You demand nervously, your voice wavering as you speak. "P-Please, don't hurt me..." You whimper, your knees knocking together. You may be a "cool kid", but nothing is more terrifying than a real haunted house.
The light flickers violently to get your attention and you quickly rush over, seeing as how it's the only form of solace you can find in this godforsaken house. It leads you down the hall to the only room with an open door. The room is eerily bare. The only things inside are a desk, a chair, and a laptop.
The wooden floors creak beneath you as you hesitantly step into the room. The specter remains still, pulsating from its perch beside the computer. Once you're fully in the room, the door slams behind you yet again, causing you to visibly jump.
"A-Am I going to die here?" You cower, but the ghost does nothing. The light from the creature stops as you hold your breath. You're too afraid to move even a single muscle. Then, the computer springs to life, emitting a red hue as the ball begins to glow again. As the light grows, the ball begins to take a humanoid form. You watch as the general shape of a body becomes visible. Then, as the light from the computer and the mass dies down, the features of the apparition become apparent and the figure becomes definable.
It's the figure of Karkat Vantas.
Your legs give out as you drop to your knees, slack jawed as you stare in hopeless shock at your lost love. All you can do is whimper his name under your breath.
He smiles as the light fades to a dull glow. His voice rings through your mind, though his mouth never moves. "You actually came. I thought this would've all been too odd and implausible for you to follow me here. You went through a lot to find me, didn't you? I know you were here earlier. You made a good first impression on my parents. I'm glad."
It takes you a minute to find your voice. When you finally do, you can only force out one word: "Why...?"
He seems to snigger at that. "I wanted to see you one last time." His smile falters a little. "You see, it's been three years since I first left this Earth, at least in my human form. I vowed not to leave until I found my one true love. I couldn't leave until I found you." Karkat smiles weakly. "And I did. After three long years, I finally found what I was looking for. Or, rather, who I was looking for."
Once more, his smile fades. "But I only have eleven minutes to spend with you. Once 2:17 rolls around, I'll leave this place and go into an eternal sleep. I just wanted to thank you, though. For being here for me. So, I used all my remaining strength to make myself an orb so I could travel to you. I had to bring you here to my final resting place. I needed the strength to appear to you in my true form. I caused you a lot of trouble. I shouldn't have put your through all this pain. You're my soulmate."
You scramble to your feet as you panic. "We only have eleven minutes?!"
"Ten," he corrects.
"I can't lose you yet!" You exclaim. "I just found you again."
Karkat frowns. "I'm sorry. You and I can be together one day. Once you die. Naturally, I mean."
You shake you're head. "I can't, Karkat. You're here, but not for long. I need you to be around, but you won't be." You pause, feeling the floor shift beneath you. You glance down to find a loose floor board. Kneeling over, you pull the board up to find something you'd never thought you'd see again.
Karkat's revolver.
You carefully pick it up. "You're my motivation and, if you aren't going to be here to push me forward, then I don't want to be here either."
His eyes snap open in alarm as he holds his hands up defensively. "Don't do anything brash. This isn't a dream this time, Dave. Whatever you do now is permanent."
"Good," you retort. "That's what I was hoping for." You pop out the barrel, only to find it empty. Karkat sighs in relief, but you frown. Feeling around beneath the floor, you allow your fingers to graze over the ground until you find what you were looking for: A bullet.
You pick it up and place it in the gun, spinning the barrel as he'd done before. "Let's play a little Russian roulette," you offer. "Here. You can go first." You aim the gun at him, cocking the hammer back. Your finger slowly squeezes the trigger.
Click.
Nothing.
"One."
"Dave, please! Don't do this! You have to live your life!" The ghost pleads, his eyebrows furrowed in pain.
"What?" You ask. "Afraid I'll lose?"
"Yes!" He screeches as you cock the gun and place it to your head.
"Come on, Karkat. Have a little faith. How about this. If the game doesn't end by..." You check your phone. 2:12. "If the game doesn't end by 2:15, which is in three minutes, we'll quit. I'll go on living my life, and you won't see me until I die."
"If I lose?" He questions.
"If you lose and I shoot you, the same rules apply," you tell him simply. "I'll go on with my life."
"And if you lose...?" He asks nervously.
"Then I'll see you in Hell, baby," you smile softly as you pull the trigger.
"Dave!"
Click.
Nothing.
"Two."
He tears up, snarling, "You're playing fate, Dave!"
You scoff. "Relax, Karkat. It's just a parting game. We're playing fate together. We're deciding our future. Isn't that exciting?" You cock the gun again, aim at him, and fire.
Click.
Nothing.
"Three."
He places his hands on your shoulders, though you can't feel it. "I'm begging you. Don't finish this game. It's 2:15. You said you'd quit."
"I won't quit until the game is over," you reply. The gun cocks as you hold it to your head.
"If you love me like I love you, you'll stop," he argues.
"I do love you. Very much. If you love me like I love you, you'll let me take one last turn to make it even," you counter, your finger on the trigger.
"No. I'll take the loss. Dave, don't do it."
"Four," you whisper as you slowly pull the trigger.

Bang.