Chapter Text
The first day of school is the one day every single child and teenager dreads for their entire summer. That fateful day, that one day in either August or September can simply ruin your entire mood.
Loud beeping, muffled yelling. Dozer lay in his bed completely sprawled out like he just fell from a 20 story building. His brother—Kookoo—was next to him—no, underneath him, trying his best to wake up the sleepy cat that was on top of him.
“D0ZER!! GET Y0UR FAT ASS 0FF 0F ME!!” Kookoo yelped, his tiny wings puffed up with anger. The two brothers’ sister walked into the room, and upon seeing the two in the mess they were in, she started chuckling. Litany walked over to the two and turned off the alarm that was blaring in the background.
“Y’kn0w, f0r a cat, y0u’d expect his hearing t0 be better.” Kookoo pointed out, completely giving up trying to get his shorter, albeit fatter brother off of him.
“I don’t blame you.” Litany said quietly. She gently lifted Dozer’s sleeping mask and took his hat off. Litany began flicking his ears back and forth, and eventually, about 3 ear twitches later, Dozer opened an eye slowly.
“What are you doing..?” Dozer mumbled, still half-asleep.
“M0rning, deaf Brit.” Kookoo greeted, the poor virus still trapped underneath Dozer.
Upon hearing “deaf Brit.” Dozer’s ears pinned back and he scrambled to get off Kookoo, “Excuse you!?” he hissed.
Litany rolled her eyes, “Come on you two, get ready for school, we need to get there in an hour.”
“Oh, fuck me, I forgot we had school today.” Dozer complained, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“Idi0t, we literally t0ld y0u LAST NIGHT that we were starting sch00l again.” Kookoo flicked Dozer in the back of the head. The giant cat hissed, swiped a paw at his brother, but Kookoo dodged out of the way before the claws could nick him.
Kookoo flung himself out of bed and ran to be the first to the bathroom. Dozer was too tired and lazy to bother to chase after him. Putting on his robes and getting his slippers on, he stretched, squeaking as he did, and raised a paw and started cleaning himself.
Dozer made his way out into the dining room, still swiping a paw over one of his ears. Litany sighed, “Dozer, do you seriously have to do this in the dining room?”
The strong smell of food made Dozer stop, his nose twitching, he completely ignored Litany’s question, “Hm, what are you cooking today?”
Litany rested her eyes on Dozer, his paw still raised, and then glanced back to the pan, “Just some bacon and eggs.”
Dozer hummed, “Average school breakfast.” He smiled, sitting down at the table. The two siblings sat in relative silence, the only noise breaking through the blanket of quiet being the sizzles of the bacon in the pan.
Eventually, Kookoo made his way into the kitchen, trying to fix the pin on his hat, “S0, what are we g0ing t0 tell every0ne we did 0ver the summer?”
“Eh, I mean, no one really talks about it, don’t they?” Dozer asked, still feeling sleepy.
“Gleeber always talks ab0ut his summer being ab0ut g0ing t0 fuckin’ Paris, 0r g0ing t0 Japan 0r s0me shit.” Kookoo shifted in his chair, pulling his feet up on the table.
This made Litany snap her head 180 degrees, “Get your damn feet OFF the table.”
The virus instantly sat normally in his chair, stumbling a bit, shocked at how quickly Litany caught him. Dozer snickered, covering his mouth to keep his laughter from escaping his lips.
Kookoo kicked Dozer under the table, and he returned the favor, one of his claws catching on Kookoo’s skin, “0W!! BITCH Y0UR CLAW SCRATCHED ME!!”
“Good!” Dozer leaned back in his chair, his cocky smile appearing on his face. Kookoo rolled his eyes—if he could even do that.
The three siblings all ate breakfast together, then Dozer and Litany slinked off to get into their usual outfits. Dozer came out of his bedroom with his usual white tank-top and some shorts. He knew he wouldn’t be able to wear his sleeping cap, so he dug through his closet and found his little crown that he loved wearing. He plopped it onto his head, his ears slipping through easily.
Dozer walked back out into the living room, with sandals on, and sat down on the couch. Kookoo fidgeted with his tie. The two sat quietly and waited for their sister to come out of her room.
“What do you think she’s gonna wear?” Dozer asked, curious.
“0bvi0usly n0t her usual 0utfit.” Kookoo responded, his tail whipping from side to side.
Dozer sniffed, “We don't usually see her wearing something other than her dress—apart from her PJ’s, obviously.”
Kookoo nodded, and silence overtook the living room once more. Dozer checked his phone; 7:48 AM. He glanced over to the hallway that led to their rooms, a soft light emitting from underneath one of them.
Kookoo tried to do the same, but he squinted. Dozer snickered again. “Why are y0u laughing at me?”
“When are you going to cave in and get glasses?” Dozer asked, craning his neck to look up at his brother.
Kookoo let out a small clock chime sound, and flopped back down onto the couch. Dozer followed and stared directly at the side of Kookoo’s head. His gaze burned into the other.
After what seemed like forever, Litany finally escaped the confines of her room, wearing a baggy, crop-top sweater with some high-waist jeans and boots. The usual flower clip she had was nestled carefully on her head, “Alright, let’s go nerds.”
The two brothers looked at each other and then back at their sister, not expecting her to wear something like that. They got over it quickly, and dashed to the car.
“SH0TGUN!!” Kookoo shouted the moment he stepped foot outside. Dozer hissed in frustration; he didn’t like sitting in the backseat. Litany grabbed the keys, unlocked the car, and got into the driver’s side, Kookoo following in the passenger seat, and Dozer begrudgingly getting into the back.
The car sprung to life, and the three were on their way to school. Dozer lay sprawled out in the back, at least happy he could lay down comfortably. His tail swished, and he looked at his phone with interest, “Hm, says here that Builder Brother’s got griefed last week.”
“THE BEST PIZZA PLACE IN ALL 0F R0BL0XIA??? Y0u g0tta be j0king!” Kookoo exclaimed, turning his head to look back at Dozer.
“I’m not! 7n7 and c00lkidd did it after they were dared to do it.” Dozer pushed himself up a bit, “It was at one of Chance’s parties.”
“Trust Chance to always host one of those, and for it to cause destruction.” Litany rolled her eyes, watching the traffic lights.
“Also, apparently, Sprout broke up with Astro.” Dozer commented after scrolling a bit.
“HAH!” Kookoo exclaimed, “0h my g0d! I saw that c0ming fr0m a mile away! I knew they’d break 0ff s00ner 0r later!”
After a lot of talk and gossip, the car pulled into the school parking lot. The three got out of the car, grabbing their backpacks and bags and anything else they brought. They made their way to the front of the school, looking out at the tables, spotting everyone in their usual groups.
Blot, Looey, and Yatta were huddled together, talking to each other. Griefer was playing a game on his phone, which attracted a crowd of people surrounding him watching; Dozer spotted Ire and Avery in the mass. Sword was talking to Gigi and Flutter, with Gembo lurking nearby, eavesdropping most likely. Ze was arguing with Aubree over something, and JX1 backed him up.
“Dozer! Over here!” The usual squeaky voice of Mime caught his attention, and he spotted the small little snake-like creature sitting at a table with their own brothers; Drain and Elkman.
Looking around and noticing Kookoo and Litany broke off from him, and padded over to Mime and sat down, “How was your summer?”
“It was good! We mostly stayed at home, but I went to a few parties.” Mime shrugged, their tail curled.
Dozer nodded, “Right… Did you hear about Builder Brother’s?” He asked, he knew that was the only thing he could really talk about apart from Sprout and Astro.
“Oh! Yeah, yes we did.” Mime nodded, looking at 7n7 and c00lkidd who were snickering and laughing loudly over near some of the other hackers and myths, “Those two are trouble, I tell you.”
“They’re fun at parties, at least.” Drain muttered.
Mime nodded, and then shifted their attention to Dozer again, “Hey! Chance is hosting another party this Saturday, you going?”
Dozer’s eyes widened a tad, his tail tip twitched, “I mean, sure, why not?”
“You still have… the stuff?” Mime leaned in and whispered, hoping no teacher was nearby.
Dozer knew instantly what Mime was talking about, and sighed, “I’ve been trying to quit, ever since Kookoo and Litany found out, but I still have a stash.”
Mime’s smile widened further, “Great! Gleeber’s gonna try to smuggle alcohol in using his Gleeberjuice bottles. It’s gonna be whole night of drinking, and maybe, just maybe, some fucking.”
Dozer chuckled, bringing a paw up to his face, “Of course you’re the one excited about getting laid.”
Mime shrugged, “Eh, maybe the bathroom hustle isn’t enough for me.” They giggled, “You never know!”
Dozer rolled his eyes. Mime had had this thing where during lunch, or even during class where they had a free period, in the boys bathroom, you could pay Mime with certain amount of money just for them to get you off, or fuck you senseless. That was just what Mime was known for around the school, and a certain someone had been Mime’s main customer…
Dozer’s gaze floated to the circus troupe as they all practiced their usual tricks together for whatever they were planning to do tonight, or maybe even during Chance’s party if they were going. Mime noticed Dozer’s attention was elsewhere, and clicked their tongue to try to get his attention again.
Instantly, Dozer’s head snapped towards Mime, his pupils dilated a bit. Mime started snickering and Dozer’s ears pinned back a bit, his pupils turning back to slits, “Bloody hell, do you seriously have to do that every time you want my attention back?”
Mime giggled, “It’s not my fault you’re clicker trained!”
Dozer growled, “Litany trained me early, shut up…”
The snake-like creature leaned forward, resting their head in their hands and their tail tip flicked from side to side, “I’ve always found it interesting that your siblings have bird-like features, don’t they?”
Dozer recalled Kookoo having tiny wings, and Litany being able to turn her head 360 degrees—similar to an owl. Slowly, he nodded, “Yes… they do.”
“And you have cat features, don’t you?”
It was starting to hit him now. Dozer reached up with a paw and felt his ears; soft, with a tuft on the top. He looked down at his hand; sheathed, sharp, black claws and paw pads. He flicked his tail; big, fluffy, large. He started thinking…
“Mime, are you trying to say I might be adopted?”
“I’m just pointing out the obvious!” They shrugged, leaning back again. Mime turned to Drain, “Don’t you agree?”
Drain looked at Dozer for a second, then nodded—though, it wasn’t very visible, due to Drain not really having a visible head.
Dozer huffed, adjusted his crown, then looked down at his phone. It was 8:15. “Class starts in 15 minutes, what do we have this year?”
Mime instantly pulled out their own phone, checking their schedule they screenshotted from the website they checked grades in, “I have Art 1, English 10, IM2, and ASL 2. What about you?”
Dozer pulled up the website, logged into his school account, and looked at the classes, “Hm, I have IM2 with you, if it’s 3rd Block. There’s also Video Production, Biology, and World Studies.”
Mime clapped, “Hooray!! We have a class together! I hope John and Blot have it too.”
Dozer smirked, tilting his head, “You’ve taken a liking to Blot ever since you started that little bathroom hustle.”
Mime froze up at Dozer’s comment and hissed quietly, “Oh, shush! It’s just- He’s… good at what he does. He- …Yeah.”
Dozer let out an amused mrrrow at Mime’s defensiveness. Mime leaned back and crossed their arms and legs, bouncing a leg impatiently. Eventually, the slight tension eased, and the two continued to talk before the bell rang, and they said their goodbyes and made their way to their classes.
The walk to class was strangely quiet, no one else was talking to their friends as they walked. Dozer felt awkward walking alone, until he ran into Rue walking towards the Video Production classroom.
“Hey, Rue.” Dozer greeted.
Rue turned to look at Dozer and waved, “Dozer! Good to see you again. How are you?”
The two walked into the classroom and kept talking until they reached two empty seats, “I’m alright, still tired.”
The two talked for a while longer until the bell rang again signalling that class was starting finally. Rue and Dozer were sitting with 2 other kids he didn’t recognize; they must’ve been Freshmen.
The teacher went on the usual introductory presentation; class rules, the syllabus, bathroom policies, phone policies, they all got the deal. Dozer sat in relative silence as the teacher continued to talk. He yawned, still not fully awake, despite sleeping for 10 whole hours last night.
Rue prodded Dozer in the side and he jumped, his eyes shot open and he tensed up, his ears alert and his tail puffed up. Rue looked like they were holding back laughter as Dozer looked at them. He rolled his eyes, wrapping his tail back around himself. Rue chuckled, “Sorry, Dozer. You were falling asleep…”
Dozer flicked an ear, his crown shifted, “It’s alright. When do we get our computers to work on stuff?”
One of the kids he didn’t recognize shrugged, “I dunno, soon hopefully.” Dozer stared at the two new kids; one of them had cyan hair with some robotic-like aspects, while the other looked like your average ARG entity—that might’ve been exactly what they were.
Rue looked at the robotic one, “Hey, what were your guys’ names again?”
“I’m Andre and this is Assimilation. We just call him Assim for short, though.” Andre leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. Assimilation kept quiet.
“Don’t like talking, I take it?” Dozer asked.
Andre nodded, “He’ll talk occasionally but mostly he’s silent. I talk for him.”
Assimilation rolled his singular eye and crossed his arms. Dozer had to admit, Assimilation reminded him of Seek. Like, a lot like Seek. Dozer couldn’t help but ask the question, “Do you know Seek at all?”
This got Assim's attention, “...Yeah. He’s a distant cousin.”
“I knew it.” Dozer smirked, turning to look at a few other kids crowded around a closet; he guessed that they were finally getting their computers. Dozer stood up, planning to get all four for the group.
Andre followed Dozer, “I can help carry the computers.”
Dozer’s ears pinned back a bit; he’d rather carry them all himself, be a show-off like he always was, but he had to admit, Andre looked stronger than he thought, so he—albeit a bit annoyed—let Andre help with the computers.
They made their way back to the desk again, Dozer gave Rue their computer and Andre gave Assimilation their own. The four all opened it, logged in, downloaded what needed to be downloaded, and then the teacher gave permission to run free for the rest of the block.
Dozer smirked, opening the familiar chat site everyone at school used. He logged into his account, and noticed there was a DM from Hatred sitting in his inbox.
His posture shifted. Hatred hadn’t talked to him since they left middle school. What could it possibly want from him? He opened the DM and was greeted with a very long text wall. Rue looked over, their gaze curious, and upon seeing the text wall their expression shifted to confusion, “Why is Hatred DMing you? I thought you two broke up.”
Dozer’s ears pinned back again and he gently swiped a paw at Rue, “Don’t mention that out-loud! You know how bad a reputation Hatred has!”
Rue squeaked and apologized, and Dozer turned back to his computer and began reading the huge text wall…
I know we don’t talk that much anymore, but I know you’re probably going to Chance’s party this Saturday. I just want you to know that whatever happens do not, and I repeat, DO NOT talk to Solitude or Greed. They’re getting on my ass because we dated, and everyone knows how popular you are, and the popular kid dating the hated kid who always got in trouble was a stain on your own reputation. Listen, we may hate each other, but let’s put that aside for right now. You need to avoid them spreading the fact we were dating, alright? If word gets out about that, who knows what could happen? Just because I’m telling you this shit DOES NOT MEAN I still care about you, fag. Maybe you’ll find someone else eventually, just don’t let it be me again, brit-boy.
Dozer felt his blood start boiling at the ending statement. Why can’t everyone just hop off his dick and stop teasing him about being British? He sighed, closing the DM and opening the usual group chat he shared with John, Mime, Jane R., and Ire. There were 27 new messages, and counting.
He looked over and noticed Andre and Assim talking in hushed whispers, while Rue was distracted playing a game Ire must’ve shown them. Dozer flicked an ear, and then watched the groupchat type away…
goonmaster9000: anyways GUESS WHO’S DOING THE BATHROOM HUSTLE AGAIN THIS YEAR
ragebaitedprick: bro we CANNOT be serious -_-
spreadthelove: they’re not lying, they keep talking about it in art
ragebaitedprick: oh LOSER imagine having a class with mime brah XD
ONTHEOFFENSE: im lucky i dont have a class with ANY of you freaks.
spreadthelove: aww, even me? :(
ONTHEOFFENSE: no, youre the only one excluded john cuz ur just cool like that
spreadthelove: thank you jane
goonmaster9000: THAT REMINDS ME is anyone going to chances party this weekend? 👀
ragebaitedprick: smh i wish i could go :/ me n rue have plans
sleepyPride: of course you and rue have plans you absolute lesbians.
Dozer chuckled at his one comment he made. Rue wasn’t in the groupchat, so Dozer could make fun of them all he liked. However, the consequences of his actions were sure to come…
ragebaitedprick: NAH NAH NAH NAH DOZER WE CANNOT B TALKING
sleepyPride: what? wdym?
ONTHEOFFENSE: dozer ur just as gay as ire and rue are lesbian
sleepyPride: the fuck im not
spreadthelove: jane’s kinda right here ngl
sleepyPride: LITERALLY WHO AM I GAY WITH
goonmaster9000: idk someone it might be me or jooohhhnnnnn
sleepyPride: YOU SHUT YOUR ASS UP YOU’RE GAY WITH EVERYONE!
goonmaster9000: true…
The bell rang. Dozer sighed, closed out the tabs, and closed his computer, and let Andre take them back. He packed up his stuff, and then headed out of the classroom to go to Biology.