“Sollux! Hi!” I sigh again for the third time today. I share a look with Karkat as the source of the greeting bounds towards me.

“Here we go agaiin,” I mutter to myself, setting down my fork and turning down the volume on my iPod.

Aradia reaches our lunch table, her tray full of rice and meat, with a Snapple on the side. She has a wide grin on, her yellow eyes lit up. “Can I sit with y’all?” she asks. Karkat and I look around our basically empty table, unable to reject her. I nod and she happily sits down next to me, too close for comfort. I inch away, already at the edge, but I’d do anything to get some space from her.

“H-how’2 iit goiin?” I ask tentatively.

“Oh you know, exploring the ruins again! I found this cool rock in there today!” She pulls out a rock that fits in the palm of her hand. It’s yellow, flecked with a little red, seeming to shine brightly with several colors in the light. “Awesome right?” Aradia looks into my eyes, hoping for some sort of acceptance.

“Uh…yeah,” I answer, wondering why she’s even trying so hard. I don’t really like ruins and artifacts; I’m more for computers and hacking.

Aradia beams at me, the acceptance obtained. She opens her mouth to say something, but then Terezi saunters to the table, casually sitting next to Karkat. “H3Y TH3R3 K4RKL3S,” she greets, kissing him. Karkat blushes and mutters a hello, continuing to eat his pizza. “OH, SUP M3G1DO.”

“Hey there!” The ram-horned troll grins at Terezi, then slides closer to me. Again, I move away, halfway off the bench. I start eating my taco, awkward silence filling the table. I turn up the music again, distracting me from the voices starting to creep back into my ears. Karkat starts nodding to nothing in particular, Terezi’s nuzzling up to him, and Aradia’s stuffing the rice into her mouth. I furrow my eyebrows. II2 2he gonna choke…?

“Yo Aradiia, calm down wiith that…” I say. She looks up at me in mid-chew. She miraculously swallows the huge chunk of beef and smiles.

“It’s okay Sollux, I can handle it!”

“Well…okay…” I turn away from her and resume eating my taco.

“Hey Sollux?” Aradia asks.

“Yeah?” I begrudgingly turn to her again. She’s nervously rubbing her arm and biting her lip, her gaze towards the floor.

“Would you…like to…? Ugh damn I can’t say it…”

“JUST SP1LL 1T M3G1DO,” Terezi bursts out.

“SHUT UP, TEREZI,” Karkat half-whispers. Though really, the guy can’t whisper. I shoot them a look and they shrug at me.

Aradia gives a small laugh. “Well…I was wondering if…you’d like to hang out with me?” The second she finishes her sentence, time stops for me. Or goes in slow motion, I don’t know. All I know is that basically crazy girl just asked me out. I glance at Karkat, asking with my eyes, What the hell do II 2ay?! Karkat stares back with wide eyes, unable to come up with an answer.

I look back at the ram-horned troll. “U-uh…where would we hang out?”

“Oh, the ruins! I-if you don’t mind, they make me feel comfortable.” She smiles sheepishly.

I suppress a groan. IIt’2 alway2 the fuckiing ruiin2...can’t we go 2omewhere normal? “Aradiia--” I begin to say, but she cuts me off.

“Y-you don’t have to answer now or anything! Just think about it okay?” She gets up from the bench, her tray practically empty. Damn 2he eat2 fa2t… “I’ll be waiting!” She giggles and walks away, a spring in her step. Terezi, Karkat, and I watch her dump her trash in the garbage and leave the cafeteria. Once she disappears from sight, Terezi starts laughing loudly.

“What the hell Terezii?!” I ask.

“SH3 L1K3S YOU,” she guffaws.

“N-no 2he doe2n’t!” I protest.

“R11GHT, SO SH3 D1DN’T JUST 4SK YOU OUT?”

“Ugh iit’2 ju2t the ruiin2...” I sigh.

“WH3R3 SH3 C4N S3DUC3 YOU.” The teal blood keeps on laughing.

“I THINK TEREZI’S RIGHT, SOLLUX,” Karkat points out. “SHE DOESN’T ASK JUST ANYONE TO THE RUINS.”

“Guy2 2hut up!” I feel my cheeks heating up with embarrassment. “Even iif 2he doe2 liike me, iit’2 not liike II’m gonna 2ay ye2.”

“4W, YOU’R3 GONN4 BR34K H3R H34RT…” Terezi pouts.

“2o? 2he ha2 plenty of other choiice2.” I shrug and continue to eat my taco; it’s getting cold and I’m not gonna keep on wasting my breath talking about if Aradia really likes me or not. I put the volume on my iPod close to max, drowning out whatever Karkat and Terezi might be saying and the ever-present voices. II wii2h II diidn’t have two lii2ten two them all the tiime…

~**~

I feel Karkat nudging me after a while, pulling me out of my music-filled bubble. I take off an earphone and look up at him. “LUNCH IS OVER,” he says simply. I look around to find most of the cafeteria empty. Damn, II’ve been out of iit for a long-a22 whiile…

“Oh 2hiit! Thank2 bro, II wa2 about two mii22 Computer 2ciience.” Karkat shrugs nonchalantly. “Bro you okay?”

“YEAH, I’M FINE. I’M JUST WORRIED ABOUT YOU.” He doesn’t look at me.

“Why??”

“I DON’T KNOW MAN, BUT LATELY YOU’RE MORE INTO YOUR IPOD THAN ANYTHING ELSE.”

“Dude you know why II do that…”

“I-I KNOW, BUT NOWADAYS I’M THE ONLY PERSON YOU HANG OUT WITH.”

“Well you’re my be2t friiend, nothiing wrong wiith that…”

Karkat looks flustered, wringing his hands and staring at the floor. “JUST…SPEND SOME TIME WITH ARADIA, OKAY?”

“WHAT?!” I shriek. “Me?! Wiith her?! Oh HELL no!!”

“SHE’S NOT SO BAD REALLY.”

“2he’2 crazy! Who chiill2 at the ruiin2 for fun?! No. II won’t hang out wiith her. II refu2e two.” I cross my arms.

“WHY DO YOU DISLIKE HER SO MUCH?” he asks me, finally meeting my eyes.

“2he’2 weiird bro! 2he LIIKE2 funeral2! 2he can 2ee the dead man, don’t tell me that’2 not weiird.”

“YOU CAN HEAR THEM, AND YOU’RE ALL ABOUT DOOMSDAY DEVICES.”

“That’2 liike half--!!”

Karkat puts his hands up. In surrender or to calm me down, I’m not really sure, but I don’t care right now. All that matters is that my best fucking friend is trying to hook me up with Aradia of all people! “LOOK, SOLLUX, I JUST THINK SPENDING TIME WITH HER WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOU,” he insists.

I aggressively get up from the table, stuffing my iPod in my pocket. “Nah bro II get iit. You’re ju2t gettiing tiired of me.”

“SOL--!”

I brush past him brusquely. “Whatever man. II’m out.” I briskly walk out of the cafeteria just as the late bell rings.

~**~

I’m walking out of the building, earphones in, music blasting, hands in my pockets, when suddenly someone shouts, “Peek-a-boo!” at my face. I let out a half-yell and put up my hands defensively. The person puts my hands down gently, and I realize it’s only Aradia. I see her mouth moving, but I can’t hear her over the music. “What?” I ask, albeit a little loudly.

She takes an ear bud out. I flinch; I don’t like it when people take out my earphones without my consent, but for some reason, I just let her do it. “Sorry for scaring you!” she says.

“IIt’2 uh…cool.” I take the ear bud away from her and turn down the volume slightly, still keeping the voices at bay. “What’2 up?”

“O-oh, I was wondering if you’ve thought about what I asked you…” Her face flushes a little. I remember what Karkat and Terezi said about her liking me; I can’t see it being true.

“Um…what exactly would we be doiing?” I turn down the volume more.

“Anything you want really! I just want to be at the ruins.” She smiles sheepishly, her yellow eyes bright with hope.

I hear the voices starting to creep back in my head, Karkat’s among them; it’s his urging words to say yes repeating over and over again. “Anythiing?” I ask

“Yes! Will you come?”

I sigh. “Ye2, II’ll go.” The second those words leave my mouth, I see Aradia lighting up, her smile widening; she looks like she just saw Santa or something.

“I’m so glad!” She takes a step towards me, an arm outstretched, but she stops herself and smoothes her wild hair instead.

“2o…when are we gonna…?”

“Oh, now if you don’t mind!”

“Whoa what--?”

“Come!” She grabs my hand and leads me away from school. Her hand feel2 2urprii2ingly warm and 2oft, I muse inwardly. “You’re not busy now right?” She looks back at me expectantly.

“Uh…riight.”

“Great!” Aradia continues to pull on my hand, guiding me to the ruins. I let out a small breath. Miight a2 well, iit’2 ju2t one day.

~**~

“Why do you always have your music blasting in your ears Sollux?” Aradia asks me innocently. She’s currently trying to balance herself on one foot while hopping on large rocks. I feel this tug in my chest to protect her in case she harms herself. Waiit…that’2 2tupiid…II don’t even liike her… I shake my head from the feeling.

“Don’t you already know? II hear the voiice2 of the dead and loud mu2iic keep2 them away.”

“Yeah I know. I just thought that there was more to it haha!” Her laugh echoes through the ruins. After hearing it so much this past week, I’ve grown to like her laugh, the way it sounds so genuine and happy. II wii2h II wa2 happy liike that…

“2o what’2 wiith you and these ruiin2?” I call up to her. She looks like she’s about to fall, and again I feel the urge to go catch her or something.

“They help clear my head! And they help me practice my archeology skills haha!” Just then, she restores her footing and keeps on hopping along.

“That’2 why you have the whiip and the hat?”

“Yup! Helps me get in the zone!” She then sits down on a rock and looks down at me. “Come up here silly! You’re too far away!” Even from here, I can see her pouting and patting a place next to her.

“Whoa II’m not about that liife AA.”

“Come on Sol!” I blush a little at that; I know that most people call me Sol, but when it comes from her, it has a nice ring to it. If I wasn’t so concerned about my safety, I’d totally would go up there in a heartbeat. But 2tiill…

“Um…II don’t really liike heiight2...”

“Aw that’s no fun!” Aradia crosses her arms, pouting more. Damn II wanna kii22 tho2e liip2...waiit what the fuck? “Try?”

I start to feel sweat forming on my neck. I shake my head. “II don’t…II’m 2orry.” Quickly, I pick up my book bag from the ground and I start to hurry away, when:

“Sollux wait!” I immediately stop and turn, just in time to watch her gracefully hop her way towards me. At the last rock, she says, “Don’t go.”

And just like that, I set down my bag again, feeling this magnetic pull towards her. “Okay,” I say quietly.

The ram-horned troll lends a hand out to me. I step towards her and take it. She pulls me to the first rock and we both sit down on it, not saying anything. Yet it doesn’t feel awkward; it’s as if we’re connected in this weird way, where words aren’t really necessary. “You know I see the dead right Sol?” Aradia asks suddenly. I notice that she hasn’t let go of my hand…and I don’t want her to.

“What? Y-yeah II know.”

“I understand that you like making computer viruses for impending doom to go with your visions.”

I laugh awkwardly. “You make iit 2ound liike II’m crazy…”

“I don’t think you’re crazy though. I don’t have visions, but I do wait around for an apocalypse like you. And I have the dead haunting me as well.” She shrugs a little, as if it’s just a typical thing for people. I want to ask her if she feels overwhelmed by it all too, but I don’t think it’s relevant to ask her now. Wiith her, words are unece22ary… She meets her eyes with mine, and I get that it does get to be too much for her, which is why she spends so much time here at the ruins. We look towards the oncoming sunset, the sky changing to varying shades of red and yellow. Right here, I can pretend that the world’s about to end and we’re witnessing it all. I don’t know how, but we both seem to understand that we’re both black sheep among the trolls; we kinda want the apocalypse to happen, and our whole lives have been filled with death, seen or heard. And you know what? That’s okay with us.

After a long moment, Aradia rests her head on my shoulder. I instinctively let go of her hand and put my arm around her shoulders instead, petting her hair. “II liike you,” I suddenly whisper, mentally kicking myself. Dumb-a22!

But without missing a beat, she answers, “I like you too. I’m glad I asked you out.” I hear the smile in her voice.

“II feel liike II came cra2hiing iinto your world…”

“But now that you’re here…” She glances at me meaningfully, licking her lips. Just that alone tells me everything. Slowly, oh so slowly, I lean in to kiss her. God, her lips taste just as good as I’d imagined: like strawberries and chocolate. She wraps her arms around my neck as I tangle my fingers in her hair, not wanting to let go.

Finally, we stop to take a breath. Aradia pulls away a little, smoothing her hair, while I recollect my thoughts when I realize: I don’t hear anything.

I actually hear silence.

Excited, I nudge her. “Yeah Sol--?”

“II don’t hear anythiing.” At that, she furrows her brow.

“I…”

“Don’t you get iit AA? II don’t hear anythiing. No voiice2, nothiing. Ju2t 2weet 2ilence.”

Aradia widens her eyes, lighting up again. I open my mouth again to shout in joy, but she puts a finger on my lips. “Shh,” she whispers. “Just enjoy the silence, my black sheep.” Then she kisses me again, and I let myself fall into her.