2

2

Karkat woke up to the sound of his iPod alarm blaring. He flipped around on his bed and lazily grabbed it, tapping the bright screen to silence it. It was early in the morning. He turned to the window and saw streaks of sunshine only starting to peek over the tall buildings surrounding his apartment. The light landed on the floor, which was almost completely covered in trash and clothes. Karkat had been planning to clean up his room a week ago, but now he didn’t really give a f**k. He had school to go to. It’s not like cleaning up would make the place less of a living hell.

Karkat rolled out of bed and sloppily changed from his pajamas into his red hoodie that he’d worn for four days straight, and a faded pair of jeans. He didn’t even think to look in a mirror or freshen up at all. He just wanted to get his s**t together and go to school. It’s not like there was much to look forward to there, either, but it was somewhat better than his apartment. At least it seemed like there were living beings at the high school. Around home, it was just Karkat. There was his mother, too, but she might as well not have even been there. She was either working insanely extended hours in the home office or sleeping. Just have to keep paying the bills for this damn place, she had always told him.

As Karkat walked out of his room and into the kitchen, he saw his mother with her back turned to him. She had her cell phone held between her shoulder and her ear, and a mug of coffee in one hand, a piece of paper in her other. She was just letting out the occasional uh-huh and yeah just to let whoever was talking know that she wasn’t zoning out. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders, so Karkat presumed that she had been up all night working and didn’t get much sleep.

His mother turned around. Karkat looked at her, neither of them saying anything. She put down the piece of paper and held the phone in her hand, still listening to the person on the other line. Karkat held his breath, waiting for her to say something to him, or to at least acknowledge that he was there in some way. He waited, and waited.

Nothing. She turned back around and took a drink of her coffee. His mother didn’t so much as give him a facial gesture to show that she had even seen him. She had looked right through him. Karkat let out his breath quietly, through his nose. He clenched his fists. Why had he expected differently? What the f**k had he been thinking? That she would have turned around and put the phone down to give him a big hug and say good morning, sweetheart, then proceed to make him a hot plateful of homemade breakfast? He would have been a complete imbecile to have expected that.

Karkat briskly grabbed his backpack from beside the hallway closet and scrambled into his old tennis shoes as fast as he could. He exited the apartment and pulled his iPod from his pocket as he took the stairs rather than the elevator. He didn’t feel like waiting for the damn thing. Turning up the volume at full blast, he shoved the earbuds into his ears and stuck his iPod back into his pocket. Rushing down all the stairs and out the front door of the apartment building, Karkat kept his head low and his hood pulled up over his head. His backpack was heavy on his shoulders and his hands were pushed deep into his hoodie pockets. It was chilly out, even though it was sunny. Karkat grimaced, the music pounding on his eardrums. There wasn’t anything that would make his day any less of a pain in the a*s. Then he remembered something, feeling a chill from the wind.

Isn’t it her birthday today?

“Get out of my way, a*****e.”

Karkat looked behind him. Three junior guys, exceeding him in height by at least a foot and a half, were standing impatiently behind him. They wanted to sit at the table Karkat had sat down at in the cafeteria. He glared up at them angrily.

“I was here first,” he growled.

“And?” one of the guys said, leaning down on the table by his palms. “This isn’t your table. Get lost, kid.”

“Make me, dickhead.”

The boy sneered and took hold of Karkat’s backpack, tugging it upward, pulling Karkat with it. The junior flung him back out of the chair so he stumbled to his feet away from the table. The three guys quickly took the places that Karkat had been sitting around. Two more guys from somewhere else came and sat down with them. Two of them snickered at Karkat as he fumed. Karkat shoved his earbuds back into his ears and turned up the volume. He turned from the table and looked around for another table, but there wasn’t one. He sighed and went to sit against the wall beside the vending machines. He slumped over and pulled his hood down low over his eyes. It was going to be an awful day.

Karkat had only been slightly positive about that day because it was supposed to be Keevan Khan's birthday. Karkat had never actually talked to her before, but she had always said hello to him when he walked into homeroom. He never had said anything back, however. He had no clue why. He didn’t want to try getting into conversation with her and only being shot down. It was totally obvious that she was one of the most popular sophomores in the entire high school, and he obviously wasn’t going to have a chance with her. And to put the icing on the cake, she already was going out with one of the most popular sophomore guys, Jack Swanson. Karkat hated him to the pits of hell and back, his f*****g blaze-red hair, douchebag sunglasses and all. Was Keevan completely blind as to what a scumbag he was?

Karkat looked up from his hood and spotted her. Keevan was sitting where she usually did, with her friend that Karkat had never actually paid much attention to. Without Keevan there, the friend usually just sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria and drew s**t. Karkat didn’t really care to know about it. But he watched Keevan talk to her friend and smile. Karkat bit his lip a bit. She was so…cute.

People would occasionally wave to her or greet her with a happy birthday, but otherwise, Keevan just sat with her friend. But, of course, he had to show up. Jack, wrapping his slick arms around Keevan from behind, wished her a happy birthday. Karkat’s pulse raced and his fists clenched. He f*****g hated that guy. He knew there wasn’t something right about him, and he hated the fact that he, of all people, got to date Keevan. Not that Karkat would have had a chance with her, even if she was available.

Whatever, Karkat thought, turning the volume of his iPod down a bit. What the f**k ever. She can date whatever fuckass she wants to. It’s her problem if he breaks her heart or whatever s**t happens.

He watched the redhead walk away smugly from Keevan back to his douchebag friends. Karkat sneered. Keevan stood up from her table with her friend, and they walked away together. Karkat assumed they were going to Homeroom early. Karkat sighed and stood up from the wall. He might as well have started to Homeroom as well. As he got to his feet, a group of senior girls pushed past him, shoving him into the wall. They all snickered and kept walking. Karkat grimaced and clenched his fists tighter, feeling like he wanted to punch a wall in. F**k this place.

He started angrily to Homeroom, his hands pushed furiously into his pockets and one earbud in his ear. He reached the classroom and entered as other students did. On the board was a happy birthday message to Keevan. Karkat inhaled slowly and glanced over to Keevan’s desk as he walked in. She was looking over at him, smiling.

“Good morning, Karkat,” she said happily. Karkat looked at her for a minute.

Say something, fuckass, say something! He thought to himself in a panic. Say happy birthday, say hello, say anything, d****t!

Karkat turned away without saying anything and hurried to his desk. He didn’t look back over at Keevan. He had blown it. He sat down and pulled his hood down, covering his face, which he was sure was turning red.

F**k, f**k, f**k, Karkat repeated in his head angrily. He was never going to get anywhere. Maybe school wasn’t that much better than home was. The opportunity of talking to someone that Karkat had some fondness of came around, unlike at his apartment, and he had completely fucked it up.

Karkat had a feeling that it was not going to be a good day.