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Dave punched Karkat in the face.
It was only a matter of time, really. Because, c’mon, Dave Strider’s not an idiot, and he can certainly tell when his girlfriend is cheating on him, especially when it’s with the one and only Karkat Vantas. Karkat should be glad he’s being spared his life, being the insufferable brat he is.
Dave saw the whole thing happen through his ebubbles. It was like a scene straight out of a movie: crying, a heartfelt apology, saying, “I know you won’t take me back” to get her to take him back. Karkat even knew it was a ridiculous cliché. But it worked. And Dave saw.
You’d hope that for once, Karkat would let someone be happy. Someone who deserved to be happy; someone who could count the number of times he had truly been happy on just his fingers and toes. For fuck’s sake, Karkat had a whopping eleven friends before Sgrub. It sounded pathetic, even to Dave, to say it as if eleven was a lot. But Dave had three. If you counted the friends made during the game, Karkat gained three more friends. Dave gained two. That is, if you counted Tavros (who, he’d like to add, died), and Dave’s now ex-girlfriend, Terezi.
She was an exuberant, confident, ever-cackling girl who grinned and licked things, pranked and drew things, cared and loved things. Dave was worthless in his bizarre eyes, but Terezi’s blind eyes saw a good person. Terezi, a beautiful troll who had gone out of her way to be his friend, then girlfriend. Now ex.
Certainly, the universe must have been against Dave Strider. It gave him a super awesome bro, just to find out after years of liking him that he’s, “not a homosexual.” That was kind of upsetting, but it was a crush, and Dave could live with just having him as his best bro. Thanks universe, for keeping them apart for another three years after that. Keeping Dave away from John and a cute, nerdy girl named Jade. Jade with her smiles, support, compliments, quirks and kindness, was an all-around likable person. Too bad she’s apparently dating his half bird-half ghost self from the future. Really, universe?
The only one he never had a crush on was Rose, and she turned out to be his sibling. Fan-fucking-tastic, really. Out of all people, he was stuck with her on a meteor with aliens for three years, too. The only good thing to happen to him for a long time was Terezi. And then he didn’t even have her left. All because of that good for nothing Karkat Vantas.
God, Dave hated him. He thought Karkat liked John, anyway. Then Jade. Now Terezi. Was Karkat’s sole purpose to ruin Dave’s life? It seemed that way. Well, Dave wouldn’t stoop to Karkat’s level of mentally ripping someone apart, but he was a master at strife, and he wouldn’t be doing any metaphorical stooping if he beat Karkat up. That’s why he punched him.
The next punch he threw was aimed at Karkat’s gut. Karkat spat blood and clenching his fists, hissed, “What the fuck are you doing Strider?”
Dave ruthlessly kicked him in the stomach as a response, which caused Karkat to land on his back with a crack that sounded not unlike bones breaking.
“Are you stupid? I’m strifing with a world class dick. What does it look like, Vantas?”
“It looks like you’ve fucking lost it, you dumbass,” Karkat choked out.
“No, it looks like you’re losing, you bastard.” Dave kicked Karkat’s nose hard, hearing a satisfying crack! that told him it broke. “Do everyone a favour and die. No one likes you.” Then Dave added quietly, “no one but everyone.”
“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were confessing to me.”
“Excuse me?”
Karkat struggled to get up, but managed. “Black feelings, kismesises, all that shit, you know? But you’re just being a jealous little fuck, so if you don’t mind I’m going to go find my girlfriend, then my moirail, and after that talk to my friends and go to sleep to talk to all my other friends. What are you going to do, Strider? Mope around, I bet. Face it: if there’s one person who no one likes, it’s you.
“I mean, do you even like yourself, Strider? I didn’t think so. Look, I’m not trying to be mean or whatever, but you’re down right terrible and you deserve to be told the truth. Your sister doesn’t even want you around, but she and her girlfriend are too kind to tell you. Your own girlfriend is sick of you. Why do you think that is?”
Dave blinked back tears, and tried to think of something witty to say. But there was nothing to say. Nothing but, “You’re right, Karkat,” but he wasn’t going to admit that. Not to his face. He thought for too long, and Karkat got tired.
“I’m going to go now. Just…I’m sorry, but it’s the truth, okay?” Karkat struggled to find anything else to say. So he didn’t say anything. He left, unknowing that by the next morning, there would be one person less on the meteor.