You wince as your cousin applies eyeliner to make your eyes really pop. "How much longer? The bell is going to ring soon."
She rolls her eyes and puts the cap back on the pencil. "I'm done."
You look yourself over in the mirror. In addition to the eyeliner, she'd also put powder on you, which makes you look even paler than usual. You've got a black choker around your neck and chains hooked on the belt loops of your pants. You've also managed to get away with wearing spiked bracelets. The sight startles you a little. You know you've accomplished your goal. Hardly anyone fucks with Rose. Now no one will fuck with you either.
"It looks great, Rose. Thanks," you say with a small smile.
She nods and rubs your back. "You're welcome. Good luck." She grins as she walks out of the bathroom.
You gather your things and quickly head to class before anyone even notices that you were in the girl's restroom. You're a minute late to all of your classes throughout the day, but no one says anything about it. You think they're just too in shock to say anything. In fact, no one makes a sound as you make your way to your seat. No feet reach out to trip you and no one makes eye contact. It's like this all day until you finally get to study hall. You're able to plop into your seat in the back of the room next to John without having anyone utter a word.
John glances up at you and opens his mouth to say something, but then quickly shuts it. He then scoots his desk a little closer and clears his throat. "You look a lot like Rose today," he comments.
You nod as you pull out your homework and begin on the worksheet you were given in English. "Yep."
He sighs softly as he starts his own homework. "Well, I think you look nice today."
You scoff and mutter, "Bipolar much?" under your breath.
John frowns and grumbles back, "That's not fair and you know it, Dave."
"I think it's totally fair. You rejected me. I don't need you sitting here and calling me attractive. I'm trying to get over you," you retort in a hushed voice.
"I needed to think, okay?" He growls back quietly.
"About what?" You hiss.
"You! Me! Us!" He whisper shouts angrily. Your eyes snap to him as he raises his voice a bit. John winces and takes a moment to compose himself before he goes on. "Look, the idea of being gay never appealed to me before but... Hell, if I'm going to be gay with anyone, I want it to be you. I'm sorry I snapped on you last night and I really don't want you to change because of me but I-"
You roll your eyes and stand up your English book to hide your faces as you press a quick kiss to John's lips. His cheeks flare a bright red as his fingers graze over his lower lip. He quirks an eyebrow at you. "I get it. You're sorry. Do you still want to give us a chance?" He hesitantly nods, a small smile playing at his lips. You grin and peck his cheek before setting the book down. "You'll call me later then?" Again, he nods, smiling fully this time.
The bell rings as you stand, holding a hand out to him. John happily takes it in his own and allows you to walk him to his bus. He offers you a quick kiss to the back of your hand before he lets go and gets on. You practically float onto your bus and take your seat, completely submersed in your own cloud of love.
Then, something makes its way into your mind. Well, you should probably say someone rather than something. You're not even sure why you thought of them, but you did.
Karkat.
'What will Karkat think about all of this?'  You wonder as your bus makes its way towards your home. Surely he'd be happy for you, right? He's your friend.
"Oh. So you two are a couple now? That's fan-fucking-tastic," he retorts sarcastically when you tell him about the day's events once you get home.
You frown, furrowing your eyebrows. "Aren't you happy for me?"
"Yeah. Sure. Are you happy?" You cautiously nod. "Then there's no reason for you to be in the Dead Hearts Club. You're banished, Dave. Good luck with your new boyfriend," he snarls emotionlessly as he disconnects the call.
Your eyes widen in shock. Did he just kick you out? All because of John? What the hell?! That's not fair! You send him message after message but recieve no reply.
You huff in aggravation. Why would he kick you out? Was he jealous or something? That doesn't make sense, though. He's the one who told you to ask John out in the first place!
You rub your temples and try to message Sollux to no avail. You also try to message Aradia with the same result. Did he ban them from speaking to you?
You shove everything off of your desk angrily, clenching your fists so tight that your knuckles turn white. Fine. You might as well finish your homework. You begin to take your things out of your book bag when you feel something prick your finger. Yelping in pain, you quickly withdraw your hand and suck on the wound. The fuck was that? You dig around carefully until you find the culprit.
The blade from your pencil sharpener.
Emotions stir inside you. Should you use it now? Karkat would surely be proud of you for channeling your anger and following in his footsteps. Maybe he'd even let you back into the club.
What about John?
John wouldn't want you to do that to yourself. You glance between the blade and your phone. Then, taking a deep breath, you hide the blade in your phone case and decide that now would be the perfect time to call John.