33. Tears - Terezi Pyrope [Homestuck]

[Here's a small trigger warning: mild verbal abuse. Also, please note that, in this one-shot, you are a mutant blooded troll just like Karkat. Oh, and you're also dating the desperate fish guy. Sorry. :\]

[Your Point of View]

You hung up the phone with an exhausted huff, rolling your [color] eyes with a mild sense of irritation. With a glance at your friend, Terezi, you simply shrugged your shoulders and tugged at the hem of your black shirt, glancing down at the grey symbol adorning it. You hid your blood color just like your friend Karkat, and for the same reasons. He and Terezi were the only trolls that knew your true hues, and the only two that you were willing to allow know them. Even your matesprite didn't know.

"I cannot believe he would cancel on me like that. Can you fucking believe him, Terra? Recently he's been such an asshole. I mean, more than he usually is. . . he's also been pretty distant. . . ," You trailed off, falling onto your bed while clutching your favorite pillow, a puff of air blowing out from under you.

Terezi only responded with a shrug.

"That's the way he is with all of us. Why would that be weird?" She asked you, her head tilted to the side in a manner of curiosity.

"Because, Terra! Because Eridan's never really been distant with me. I mean, I've always been able to read his emotions! Well enough to the point where he once accused me of being telepathic, quite literally!" You whined, rolling onto your back in the process. "I mean, he. . . , " You let out a groan before continuing, "Recently, I haven't been able to read him as well as I used to. All I can come up with is that. . . well, that he may be hiding something from me. Terra. . . you don't think that he would do anything that he needs to hide from me, do you?" Your face was filled to the brim with anxiety, along with a hint of fear for the fact that maybe he did. That he had possibly been doing it all along. That maybe he had never had any red feelings for you from the beginning. That maybe, just maybe, to him, it was all just a big game.

"Well, Eridan can be quite unpredictable at times. If he were to try to hide anything from you, the only thing that comes to mind would be cheating," She answered rather nonchalantly. Before you could give even a brief sigh of negativity, Terezi spoke up once more. "I'll be here if you need me, though. Just in case he is. . . You know that, right, [Name]?" Terezi's expression was concerned with a hint of something else, though you couldn't quite tell what.

You finally had the time to give a response, and it consisted of two simple words.

"Thank you," You gave her a soft, grateful smile as you slipped your pillow beneath your head. After a few moments of silence, you noticed Terezi let out a small gasp with a glint of something along the lines of excitement in her blind, red eyes.

"I have an idea, [Name]!" She stated, latching her hands over yours before continuing. "Why don't we go do what you had been planning?" She suggested, "Whatever your date was with Eridan, I'm sure you can do it with me! Only with a little less redrom. That way you won't have gotten all dolled up for nothing! You look cute, so you should show it off, don't you think? Even if Eridan isn't there to see, it'll be fun for me to smell guys staring at you. I could pick them out of the trolls and we can laugh at them. That'll cheer you up, huh?" She gave you a small, joking eyebrow waggle, her glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose slightly.

You laughed at her suggestion before getting up off of your bed and brushing yourself off.

"Alright," You gave, "let's head out now, then. The sooner the better, as they say." You headed to the door of your respiteblock, Terezi following close behind you.

After the whole mixing of races between Trolls and Humans, you had been very curious about the humans' culture. After a bit of studying, you found out just how diverse it was and sort of gave up. However, you had taken quiet a liking to the American Human facilities called Malls. That was where you had planned to go with Eridan, before he'd canceled on you.

You both headed out the door and, being the only sighted troll between the two of you, you were the one to drive. After boarding the car, you started it up and began the short drive from your hive to the mall.

The two of you chit-chatted about what you planned on doing there, a plan eventually developing between you. Let's just say when you two got to the the mall, you'd have a lot of laughs.

Soon enough, you arrived and parked, grabbing your ticket for the whole time tracking thing. You both walked into the mall laughing like a couple of idiots. It was time to put your plan into action.

Terezi swiftly unfolded her dragon-headed cane and put it to use, though you both knew it wasn't needed.

"Okay, find a good one. One that's gullible and nice, so they'll believe you no matter what," You whispered into Terezi's ear, earning a giggle from her.

"Of course!" She replied, "But I think you're forgetting something." You tilted your head slightly in confusion, until the realization donned on you.

"Right. Let's go get you dolled up for your, 'boyfriend,'" You said with an excited giggle.

:=:Time Skip to About an Hour Later:=:

You had finally finished with Terezi, having done her makeup for her as well as dressed her up. She had a light dust of teal blush on her cheeks, and some deep grey and purple eyeshadow. Her lips were covered in the usual black lipstick, and her eyelashes adorned extentions. Her hair was pulled to the side and curled a little bit, with a few dragon jewels clipped into several different places. She wore a long-sleeve, black lace top over her usual shirt, giving it sort of a fancier appearance. In place of her usual pants was a pencil skirt pulled up to her waistline over her shirt.

You hated to say it, especially because she's your friend, not to mention you already had a matesprite, but damn. . . she was gorgeous. If you had the chance and knew that it wouldn't hurl your friendship into total ruination, you'd make-out with her without a moment to lose. Screw breathing. Air is for the weak. You most certainly weren't weak.

You took a deep breath and smiled at your handiwork.

"[Name]," Terezi's voice snapped you out of your odd little trance, "I smell boring what were you thinking?" You giggled before answering her question.

"Terezi, you may smell boring to yourself, but just trust me. You look stunning," You told her simply. Once you finished your statement, you handed her cane to her and giggle once again, this time in excitement. "Now come on! We need to go find us a gullible human male!" You said, the most shit-eating of grins on your face.

You both then walked off towards the human Food Court. You looked around before spotting a slightly attractive human male. Well, he was probably as attractive as any human male could become, so you settled for him.

"The guy with brown hair in the grey shirt and black shorts. Is he gullible at all? Nice?" You questioned Terezi. She sniffed the air and turned her head towards the boy.

"The most gullible of them all," She said, grinning from ear to ear, "And he is definitely nice."

"Alright!" You said, "Then I will be right back." You sat Terezi down and put your purse on the table before going straight to work.

The boy was paying for his food at the cash register of the Panda Express, and just when he finished and began to walk back to his table, you realized that you had, "accidentally," left your purse with Terezi. With a small gasp on your part, you turned. The perfect chance. He was walking between you and your table. You could easily bump into him and pull it off. And that is just what you did.

You wasted no time in dashing towards your purse. Just as you had guessed, you ran straight into him, causing him to fall to the ground, you on top of him. Admittedly a bit dazed on account of the collision, you lifted yourself up over him. He let out a small groan and just as you were getting a closer look at his face, he looked up at you. Your eyes came into contact, and after a rather awkward moment of silence, you apologized to him.

"I am so, so sorry!" You looked around and began picking up the boxes that had held food only moments ago. That food now, however, was sprawled across the floor. "Oh my fucking God, I'm really sorry, I'll buy you more. Jegus, I cannot believe myself right now," You forced a blush of embarrassment onto your cheeks. You had always been one hell of a liar. I mean actor.

"No, it's all good," His voice. Oh my fucking sweet baby Jegus, his voice. It was very possibly the most attractive voice you'd ever heard, or at least as attractive as a voice could get in your opinion. "It's not all that bad. Other people have it much worse than me, so why waste precious time on being mad?" He said with a shrug.

You smiled lightly at this, revealing your sharp fangs, though they were much less sharp than most other trolls' fangs. "I still insist that I at least buy you the same thing you already had," You told the boy sternly, earning a light chuckle from him.

"Okay, fine," He answered before swiftly adding, "but, uhm. . . it would be nice if you'd get up, though. People are staring." He peered around, his arms resting on the ground beside him, ready to hoist himself up. You blinked and looked around, noticing that people were, in fact, staring.

You quickly stood up and brushed yourself off, your [length], black hair swishing slightly as you did so.

"Sorry, again. . . ," You apologized once more, a cherry tinge creeping onto your grey cheeks. Despite the fact that the hemospectrum had become nullified on account of the Alternian-Human Alliance signed a few sweeps ago, you still felt ashamed of your blood color. On account of this fact, you would always hide your face if ever you blushed, even if it was willed. That being said, that is exactly what you did. Pulling up the collar of your shirt, you tucked your face behind it in a feeble attempt to hide your blush.

As soon as the two of you were out of earshot of Terezi, you put a panicked expression onto your face, peeking back at your friend.

"Hey. . . ," You trailed, turning your attention to the boy beside you. He hummed in response, and you were quick to explain your 'situation.' "Okay, I'm still sorry about what happened over there, but would you mind helping me out with a bet?" You asked him, reaching your hand out and lightly grasping the end of his jacket sleeve.

The boy only blinked at you upon hearing your request; it was all he really could do. "Pardon?" He questioned, blinking once more in slight shock.

"Well. . . ," You rocked back and forth between your feet. "Do you see the girl over there?" You pointed to Terezi, earning a small nod from the boy, "Well, about a year ago when my matesprite broke up with me, she tried to distract me by betting that I couldn't get a new matesprite within a year. I have about a month left until the deadline, and I brought her here today with a promise that she'd meet him. You seem really nice, so I thought that maybe you'd be willing to help out?" You looked up at him after finishing your explanation, your eyes glossy with hope. You had never made a bet of any kind with Terezi, of course. It had just been your plan all along to toy with some human male just for shits and giggles. "I mean, you don't have to. I don't want you to be too uncomfortable. . . ," You added, playing with a strand of your thick hair.

"I. . . ," The boy trailed a bit breathlessly, an easily noticeable blush forming over his face. "Well, I suppose that it wouldn't hurt," He answered you, looking up to see that it was his turn to order his food.

You acted as though you were shocked, with just a twinge of happiness alight in your eyes as they widened. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" You said as you hugged him tightly, squeezing him around his waist.

"You're welcome," He said. You had just let go of him and turned around when you spotted a pair of oddly familiar horns across the human Food Court. Tilting your head to the side out of confusion, you began to make your way towards them. "Alright, why don't we order our food and put your-" The boy began, but quickly cut his words off, noticing your retreating form, "-Hey! Where are you going?"

"Hang on," You told him, concern lacing your voice. You distractedly held up a finger to him, trying to signal for him to wait. As you made your way through the mob of people and the figure became clearer, you found your mind trying to will your body to get away; to turn around and forget that you had ever seen what was so obviously standing before you.

Eridan picked up his food from the counter and looked down at Feferi with a smile on his face, nodding in the direction of an empty table. You could feel your blood-pumper's rate increase as you stepped cautiously toward who was no doubt your soon-to-be ex-matesprite. You slowly crept up to Eridan, and once you were finally within arm's reach of him, you made a noise.

"Eridan. . . ?" Your voice was just barely audible, but he heard you nonetheless. His posture went visibly rigid before he slowly turned his head and looked up at you. Red tinted tears streamed down your cheeks in thin lines, revealing just how far from him you would have been on the hemospectrum before the Alliance. No words had to be spoken in order for you to understand exactly what they were doing out together.

"[Name]-" Eridan and Feferi began simultaneously, though they were swiftly cut off by your angry voice.

"No!" You shouted at the both of them, "I don't need an explanation from either of you!" The sound of their voices in harmony made you feel sick.

Meanwhile, a certain teal-blooded troll on the other side of the Food Court smelled something sweet, bitter, and salty all in one. And she knew exactly what it was.

[Terezi's Point of View]

In a bit of a panic, I stood up and turned towards the origin of the scent, sprinting and weaving between people with surprising accuracy in spite of my blindness. I reached [Name], giving myself no time to slow down so as to not tackle her to the floor. And that is just what happened. In an effort to keep [Name] from injury, I quickly pulled the girl flush against my own body and twisted in the air just enough to land on the ground with her on top of me.

:=: Time Skip Because I Don't Want To Go Into Detail :=:

[Your Point of View]

You bit your lip harshly, causing your candy red blood to ooze from several different puncture wounds now littering the thin flesh just as you slammed the door to your respiteblock shut. Your hive stopped shuddering just in time for you to hear Terezi's thundering footsteps coming towards your location.

"[Name]!" The sound of Terezi's voice rang through your door. "[Name], please, let me in!" You held your stomach protectively, leaning against your door as she began pounding her fists on the other side. The rhythmic drumming soon stopped only to be replaced by the sound of Terezi sliding downward into a sitting position on the other side of the door, her back against the same spot as yours.

"[Name]. . . ," She trailed.

"I don't like the smell of your tears," She stated after a few minutes of silence. "If you let me in, I can take away the pain. Please?"

After taking a few deep breaths, you stood up and slowly opened up your door, careful not to let Terezi fall. You sniffled slightly, rubbing the tears away from your face harshly.

She swiftly stood up and turned to face you. Before you could even think of what to say, she had you pulled tightly to herself in a warm, comfortable embrace. As much as you hated to admit it, you were almost glad that you were crying if that was what happened. Hell, you'd have cried earlier when Eridan had canceled your date if it meant Terezi would hug you as she was.

"It's okay, [Name]," You were torn from your thoughts by Terezi's voice, "I'm here, and I always will be. So don't you worry about what some idiotic, no-good seadweller did to you. In fact, don't even give him a second thought."

You paused with hesitance before you slowly hugged her back, pressing your face into the crook of her neck as you tightly squeezed your eyes shut.

After a long silence, save for a few choked sobs here and there, and you finally calming down, Terezi's voice broke the silence.

"Hey, [Name]?" You pulled away a little bit and looked up at her.

"Yeah?" Your voice, despite being only a whisper, managed to crack.

"I know that this isn't really the time, but. . . I, sort of, maybe feel red for you."

You blinked at the initial shock of the statement. However, your face soon donned an elated expression.

"I think I get it now!" You said, "I feel red for you, too, Terra!" You pulled the taller troll into a tight embrace, earning a happy chuckle from her.

"Hang on, though, [Name]," Terezi pulled away, "What about Eridan? I mean-"

"What about him? As far as I'm concerned, that fishdick can fuck himself up the nook."

A moment of silence.

You both broke out into a fit of laughter, and as it ended, you two looked at each other. Slowly, your faces drew together, and within moments your lips connected, locked in a soft kiss.

"I human love you, Terra," You said once the two of you pulled apart.

"I human love you, too, [Name]."