9

9

Gamzee stood below a streetlamp in the dark, a cigarette between his lips. He ran a hand through his hair and thought about what had recently happened.

He had gotten into another fight with his father. He was eighteen, a high school dropout, and had no intentions of going to college. His father claimed Gamzee was wasting his life with the band of stoners while they played tasteless s**t that nobody appreciated. So Gamzee had left the house, not wanting to fight about it. He knew that his father didn’t like or understand his way of life, and Gamzee just didn’t care. He was happy with who he was and didn't give a rat’s a*s about what anybody else thought.

Reflecting on this, Gamzee walked through the dark streets to a familiar neighborhood, Keevan’s neighborhood. He always went there after a spat with his dad. Keevan always knew how to cheer him up.

Gamzee took a drag on his cigarette, taking his time. He knew his old man wasn’t going to just let it go this time, so Gamzee was prepared to never go back there again. He passed an Internet café. Gamzee paused outside and shrugged, deciding to go in and get himself some coffee. He stubbed his cigarette out on the brick wall and dropped it on the ground.

Gamzee entered the café. Considering it was almost ten o’ clock at night, it was nearly empty besides a Korean girl at a table by herself with her laptop computer and the boy working behind the counter. The boy was Eridan Ampora, one of Gamzee’s friends that was still in his sophomore year of high school.

“’Sup, Eribro,” Gamzee said, walking up to the counter. “Can I get a medium decaf over here?”

“Hey, Gam,” Eridan replied. “Sure thing, I’m about to close up soon, so thankfully you’ll be the last of the day.” Gamzee thanked and paid Eridan and looked around the café while he waited for his coffee. Gamzee couldn’t help but think of how familiar the Korean girl looked.

“’Scuse me, sis,” Gamzee said, walking over to her. “I’m probably wrong, but do I know you from somewhere?” She looked up at him, startled.

“U-uh, I...I...” She couldn’t form words from her surprise.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” Gamzee said, grinning a bit. “You just had that look about you that made me think I know you from somewhere.”

“Gam, your coffee’s done,” Eridan said, setting Gamzee’s coffee next to the register.

“Thanks a ton, m**********r,” Gamzee said, taking it. He dropped a dollar into the tip jar, and when he turned around, he saw that the girl was gone. She had left a piece of paper on the table, though. Gamzee walked over to it and picked it up. It was some kind of notes for a research paper.

“Is that Aestus’s?” Eridan asked.

“Uh, I guess,” Gamzee said.

“I’ll hang onto it, then,” Eridan replied. “She’s always here with her computer.”

“Alright, then,” Gamzee said, handing the paper to him. “Hey, why did she act so startled when I talked to her?”

“I dunno,” Eridan said, shrugging. “All I know about her is that she has this major crush on a guitarist from some underground band.”

 

Gamzee finished his coffee by the time he got to Keevan's house. He threw his cup away in the garbage can out front and went to the front door, finding the key under the mat. He opened the front door, put the key back, and closed the door behind himself and locked it. The lights in the living room were on, so he figured her parents must’ve still been working.

He slipped off his shoes and made his way upstairs to the guest room where he usually slept. He walked in and was going to turn on the light, but was surprised to see someone already asleep in the bed. That someone was a boy.

Gamzee quickly closed the door and went to the very next door on the left, which was Keevan’s room. He opened her door and turned on the light. Keevan immediately opened her eyes and sat up, surprised.

“Gamzee!” she shouted in a whisper. “What are you doing?” He closed the door and asked, “Who is in that bed, Keevan? Who’s in the guest room?”

“My friend, Karkat,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “He doesn’t get along with his mother very well. He ran all the way here from his home. I couldn’t let him go back there after the, um, little spat they had, so I let him sleep in the guest room.”

Gamzee froze after hearing Karkat’s name. It couldn’t have been the same Karkat...though Karkat wasn’t exactly a popular name. Gamzee clenched his teeth, his brain working a hundred miles an hour.

“Gam, you can sleep on the couch downstairs,” Keevan offered. “I can get you all set up. My parents won’t mind.”

“I’m not staying here,” Gamzee said. “Sorry to wake you up, Kee.”

“But, Gam"”

“Goodnight,” he said, leaving her room. And with that, he left her house, locking the door behind him with the key from under the mat.

He didn’t want to remember what happened, but the memories came back, anyway. Gamzee walked all the way back to that street lamp and sat under it. He cried until morning.

 

Aestus read over her blog post again, scanning for errors for the third time. Her grammar and punctuation were perfect and her spelling was correct. She silently applauded herself and clicked send. She took a sip of her coffee.

Behind her, she heard someone enter the café. She quickly pulled up a blank word document, remembering she had a paper to write about the workings of the brain once stimulated by the sound of music. She took her notes out and scanned over them, holding in a yawn. She had to get it done. She had to.

“’Scuse me, sis,” a familiar and rough voice said. “I’m probably wrong, but do I know you from somewhere?” Aestus quickly turned and looked at who spoke to her.

It was him. Gamzee Makara. The guitarist from the underground band she had been following.

“U-uh, I...I...” she stammered. She didn't know what to say to him.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, giving her an irresistible grin. “You just had that look about you that made me think I know you from somewhere.”

Eridan announced that he had Gamzee’s coffee from the counter. Gamzee turned to take it. Aestus took the opportunity to close her computer, zip up her bag, and leave. She wasn’t ready to converse with him. Aestus didn’t even realize until she got home that she had forgot her notes at the café. It was too late to go back and get them. She cursed herself for being a nervous idiot.

She thought about Gamzee. She had never seen him without his makeup before. And now that she has seen his true face, she knew it was certain.

The little crush she had on Gamzee wasn’t just a little crush.