"So this is the mess hall. One bit of advice: No matter how bad the food may taste, eat it all and don't complain. You get on the chef's bad side, you're fucked," Dave drills you as you walk into the cafeteria where the other inmates are eating. The sleeping quarters are separated by gender, but the yard, mess hall, and rec room are all combined, so the tables are filled with groups of men and women. Some are solely women, some solely men, and others are combined. As you make your way through the line to get food, you can feel people glaring at you. You swallow thickly as you follow Dave, who looks over at you and asks, "Were you assigned a job yet?"
You blink and look up at him. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'll be in the library. What about you?"
He grimaces. "You're really making it difficult for me to protect you here. You couldn't have gotten a less wimpy job? I work as a mechanic. Y'know. Fixing the tv and lights and all that dumb shit. That's where I met a chunk of my friends," he replies as he leads you over to one of the rowdiest tables in the whole place. It's also the most full, being one of the few mixed tables.
Dave pulls up a chair, motioning for you to sit. You do so as he pulls up a chair for himself. Once he's seated, he grins at the group. "Hey guys. I want y'all to meet the new guy." Your eyes widen a bit as everyone's attention turns to you. Also, you didn't know Dave had that twinge of a southern accent. It's kind of hot. "This is Karkat. He's my new roomie. Make him feel welcome, yeah?"
A girl with glazed over eyes sniffs the air and grins. "He smells like strawberries. I like him." You inspect her further and come to the realization that she's blind. She then stands and walks over, licking your face. Your nose scrunches in disgust but you try to stay still. "You taste good, too," she purrs in your ear.
Dave pulls her away. "Back off. You're gonna scare him."
You look up at her, furrowing your eyebrows. "What're you here for?"
"Fraud." She grins. "I used to be a lawyer, but if I got stuck with a client I knew was guilty, I'd make sure to turn on them and call them out in court. Justice never sleeps."
"How long are you here for?" You ask.
She cackles and shrugs. "Who knows. What is time really? It's just a number."
"Puh-lease! She's just been in here for so long that she can't even remember!" A girl with long blonde hair and glasses scoffs.
"What about you, bitch? You're in here for three counts of murder!" The blind girl counters with a mad grin. "You really think your boyfriend is going to be waiting for you when you get out?"
"He understands! Tavros wouldn't leave me!" She snaps as she stands, slamming her hands down on the table.
This causes the blind chick to laugh even harder. "What? Are you going to kill me now? You know that no one else here is going to touch you except me!" The other narrows her eyes, pressing her lips together in a thin line as she slowly sits again.
The blind girl once again looks over at you, smile still glued in place. "My name's Terezi. That's Vriska," she says, pointing to the left of the blonde she was just speaking with. Clearing your throat, you move her hand so she's pointing to her. "Oh. Thanks." Her smile softens as she looks down at you.
You nervously release her hand and smile sheepishly. "No problem."
Dave narrows his eyes at Terezi and speaks up. "So. I should introduce you to everyone else." He points to a pale girl with auburn eyes and dark, curly hair. She smiles and waves a little. "That's Aradia. She's in here for murder, too."
"It was self defense," she corrects and shrugs."Apparently if someone breaks into your house, you can't kill them if they have their back turned."
"Right. Then we have Eridan. He's in here for killing his girlfriend." Dave continues with distaste, motioning to an even paler male with black hair. A strip in the front is dyed purple.
"Hey! She was sleepin' around. Besides, I didn't mean to kill her. I was trying to kill the guy she was with. She got in the way. It was an accident," Eridan growls.
Dave ignores him, moving to a short haired woman. She looks Indian maybe. She's tall with almond eyes and caramel skin. She smiles fondly at you as Dave introduces her. "This is Kanaya."
"You seem too nice for prison," you comment, leaning forward with interest. "What did you do?"
"I suppose, to put it bluntly, I was a pimp." You're eyes widen in shock, causing her to crack a small smile. "Yes, I was the ring leader of a group of women partaking in prostitution."
"Including myself," A girl with purple eyes and short blonde hair says with a small, halfhearted wave. "Though I was Kanaya's 'personal prostitute'." She muses with a slight smirk. "My name is Rose. Rose Lalonde."
Dave points back to the chef dishing out food. He's just as bulky as the guards, sporting a black ponytail in a hairnet. "That guy is Equius. He's a buddy of ours, too. He's nice enough, but sometimes he's too strong for his own good. He's in here for assault, though I really don't think he meant it. His girlfriend, Nepeta, comes to see him every weekend. She's a sweet girl. Very supportive and understanding."
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" A brunette chimes as he sits. Your heart skips a beat at the sight.
He's tall and fair skinned with brilliantly white teeth, though the front two are a little bucked. His bright blue eyes sit behind his glasses on the bridge of his nose. His face is lean, though you can tell he definitely has some muscle. You've probably been staring like an idiot because he smiles at you, hiding a chuckle. "I'm guessing you're Dave's new roommate?"
You blink a few times, attempting to snap out of your daze. "Y-Yeah. Karkat Vantas. Bought 40 grams of meth from an undercover cop."
The guy snorts and shakes his head, holding a hand out to you. "John Egbert. Hacked into my neighbors security cameras."
You quirk an eyebrow a you shake his hand. "Why'd you do that?"
John smiles sheepishly and shrugs. "I was bored."
You can't help but smile back as Dave finally intervenes. "So that's pretty much our friend group. We've got each other's back and now we have yours, too." You turn your attention to the group, blushing a little as your smile softens. Maybe prison wouldn't be as bad as you thought.