Did you know that there are people in the world annoyed with all the other people in the world

[selfhatred]

WHO: Karkat Vantas and YOU (open to all)
TONE: angsty, fluffy
RATING: T for KK's mouth
WHEN: afternoon/evening of January 13th
WHERE: starting in the library and going onward to Gryffindor tower
WHAT: Set after this. Karkat needs to cool his tits, so of course going to the library to find a crappy romance novel is the best thing to do. Unfortunately the universe hates you if your name is Karkat Vantas.
STATUS: Ongoing! Will alternate between action tags and prose as needed.


If there was one thing Karkat Vantas hated more than Dave Strider's ironic bullshit, it was people that felt the need to stare at him as he browsed the romance section of the library. He hadn't consumed a good (or bad as the case may be) romance novel all winter, so was it really that much to ask that he could just be left alone to his own devices and they got on with their studying? That would be great. Seriously. He should've known it was a bad idea to come down here and browse when dinner wasn't in session. Sometimes he just attracted the people who would rag on him about it and sometimes people would leave him alone and snicker behind their books.

Today was a day where the former happened.

Karkat had been leafing through some horrible novel or other when he heard someone make an obscene comment about him. Something along the lines of 'wonder if that fag over in the romance section has a boyfriend' or something like that anyway. He wasn't really paying attention and he didn't really care. Sadly such catcalls came with liking romance novels. As he moved through the section though, the twitch on his face got more irritating. Finally, he turned to the source of his annoyance, pointing a finger.

"Look here, nooksniffer. I like romance novels, yes. It's no big fucking deal. No, it doesn't make me a gay little fag, it just makes me interested in things above the norm for boys my age. It sounds like someone's in fucking denial, but I'm gonna have to turn you down. So sorry to do that. Maybe you should find someone else to be on the receiving end of your fucking fantasies before you go projecting onto another person's ass."

Glowering at the upperclassman, Karkat reached for the novel he'd been browsing and turned, whisking it away to the counter before the other boy could react. You do not make fun of Karkat Vantas' obsession for shitty romance, novels or otherwise. Period.

As if he wasn't pissed off already.

Comments

[cuddlefishpeixes]

Feferi laughed and put the pouch in his hand when he opened it to let her. "Pretty much!" she said brightly. "It's too bad you don't like sweets. Though I'm not really surprised!" She took a couple of extra steps to kind of cross in front of him, and turned and stopped.

"Karkat, you think of me as your friend, right?" she asked, softly. "And you know you can talk to me if anything's bothering you?" She smiled. "Or if you ever just need a hug!"

[selfhatred]

He weighed the pouch in his hand when she gave it to him. It seemed pretty heavy despite the size. When she asked if they were friends, he paused, shifting the pouch into his bookbag with the romance novel. Did he consider them friends? They'd never really talked before aside from a couple of times, and he mostly knew about her through Eridan when the git came crying to him.

Well...he guessed it couldn't hurt to have another friend.

"Uh...sure, I guess."

[cuddlefishpeixes]

Feferi smiled happily. "Don't worry, if there's anything in there you don't like, you can always share it with someone else!" she assured him cheerfully, watching him weigh the pouch in his hand and then slide it into his bag. She had a collection of little purses and pouches that was never the same twice, because she kept giving them away, and she usually didn't really give much thought to colour (Eridan liked purple, and she tried to give Tavros Hufflepuff colours). But that red one had made her think of Karkat.

Which was weird, because she usually didn't think of the crabby little Gryffindor that often! She'd heard about him from Eridan, but didn't speak in person with him at all, and on the journals hardly ever. She always thought she ought to, since Eridan trusted him, but she never got around to it.

Now she had a reason to! She beamed and hugged him tightly when he said that yes, they were friends. "By the way, I think it was really brave how you stood up to that jerk," she told him matter-of-factly. "And I'm sorry you had to deal with someone like that." She pulled away after that, and hefted her bag up higher on her shoulder. "We're not all like that," she assured him quietly.

[selfhatred]

His shoulders tensed a little when she hugged him. He wasn't that used to hugs, even when his Uncle's family or Gamzee forced him into one. After a moment or two when she finished speaking he pulled away from her when she let go. He didn't even know her very well and she was already hugging him. What was it with the people he knew and being cuddlers? Hell it was bad enough he shared a room with John. He was probably going to end up regretting this ever happened.

When she told him she thought it was brave of him to stand up to Mister Douche, he glanced away, shrugging a little. "I'm a Gryffindor. It's in my fucking job description." Karkat paused before glancing out the corner of his eye at her. "I know."

[cuddlefishpeixes]

Well, it was also that he kind of looked like he needed one. Not that Feferi wasn't ordinarily predisposed to handing out hugs like old people hand out licorice sweets.

She was used to boys who only put up with so many hugs - after all, she'd known Eridan since they were small.

She giggled when he shrugged off her compliment. "The Hat got another one right, then," she said. She was a little nervous, admittedly, before she caught that little glance. Then she smiled, although it was subdued and a little sad. "Good," she said. "I'm glad."