i swear i'm not 12

Maybe had I been in a different place, Chris, that would’ve mattered. But I meant what I said, I meant my words, that I might never be able to dissociate love and David. And how would that have been fair to John? And now to know that his absence was isolation due to danger he couldn’t bare to put me in to know that for six months he lived in silence with the thought of me keeping him alive? I could not describe my love for him if my life depended on it. My heart is his, my entire life is his. 

I was never anything but honest about this. And while I may have sympathy for John, it’s only because he didn’t listen to me that he suffers this way. 

i’m sorry rose

i hate saying it because i know it’s not good enough but i am really really sorry and i really hope you know that i’m more sorry than there are stars in space

i was so so wrong and i just!! i’m sorry i didn’t mean to mess up again i love you so so so much and you probably don’t want to hear that but i do

He knew the situation just as well as you did. I confided in him. 

Obviously, he didn’t even know me. 

okay well then blame john too.. but i can yell at john and still explain things to him

even if he didn’t he wanted to!! he spent a whole night memorizing silly pick-up lines and even tried them on me!!

Don’t worry. I blame you just as much as I blame John. 

And, since this is apparently foggy for him, he never had a chance with me. Ever. I thought I made that very, very clear.

none of this is john’s fault so please don’t blame him!!

and i’m not sure if he had a chance with you or not but he really thought he did. so much so that he was sulking in his room by himself!! he did really like you rose, i know he did.

“She what? Wtf Rose.”

Dave shakes his head, grumbling to himself, “Who the hell kisses a hottie like that and walks off with their ex what the fuck are you playing Rose. Fucking save some for the rest of us. Trying to make Christina Perri proud by collecting your damn jar of hearts or something not cool.”

He’s cut off by John, clearing his throat in attempts to forget everything he may or may not have said out loud (honestly he doesn’t even realize when he’s thinking or speaking). 

“Well dude just think. Somewhere out there there’s a you who wasn’t a dumbass and asked her out earlier. Probably got rejected but who cares that guy learned the hard way that you don’t crush on Rose. And hey if she’s happy that’s good, she deserves to be happy and shit. Even if it isn’t with you” 

He pauses, glancing around the room for a minute before looking back at John.

“That’s.. Oddly comforting.”

An alt that didn’t fuck up. Okay. That was something he could get behind. The ‘probably got rejected’ part made him both cringe and chuckle a bit. Dave seemed to be trying really hard to cheer him up and he was pretty grateful for that.

John rarely went to bars. He wasn’t really a drinker. That was one of the only things that kept him from going to college parties and things. He didn’t want to get drunk.

That’s right. Just open up Egbert. Damn was it really this easy to get people to talk to you about how they feel? No wonder Rose did it so often this was a piece of cake. A hot piece of cake. Wait what? 

“Dude long stories are my favorite stories. The more complicated the better man, just tell me everything. Paint me a picture of all this so I can assess this shit. Make battle plans or whatever.” 

Dave watches John as he talks about what was up, nodding along with a few hmms. With his arm comfortably draped around the other, he looks over at him. “Well see here’s your problem.” 

“She kissed me first.”

John groaned and hid his face in his hands. Dave had a point, even if he accidentally called him hot. Though he was serious when he said that he just wanted Rose happy. That’s all Chris and him really wanted, because she was usually so sad. That’s what Chris said at least.

Dave often forgot that he wasn’t as close to John as he thought. He constantly projected his feelings for his timelines John onto him, and he considered them extremely close. This was probably why he had his arm around him after having just kidnapped him from his own house. 

He looked over to Roxy, who had waved to John semi-awkwardly when he arrived. “Rox could you like, not chill here for a bit. I feel like me and John have some stuff to talk about and it might get deep. He’s sensitive like that I’m just saying.” 

Roxy simply shakes her head and dismisses herself to Jake’s house, patting John’s head and ruffling Dave’s hair on her way past the couch. She leaves with a zap, Dave immediately beginning to talk when she’s gone.

John sighed. He also guessed there was really no way to get out of this, so he might as well use it. Rose and Dave where really the only people he could called friends besides Chris. He and her usually spent most of their time together, and they had no problem with that, but it’s good to have other friends too.

“Chris says it’s more complicated than that but she really doesn’t want to explain because it’s kind of a long story? And she’s not sure what Rose would be okay with her saying and what she wouldn’t be okay with.”

He paused.

….

> There is no response. However, moments later, there is the zap of a transportalizer and loud footsteps that seemed to be growing closer. Suddenly the door to John’s room is kicked open, Dave looking around the room quickly. With disheveled hair it definitely looked like he hadn’t planned on coming over. He spots the two, and takes action immediately. Prying Chris from John’s arms, he picks her up and gives her a quick kiss before setting her aside. He then proceeds to grab John and throw him over his shoulder.  

“Ain’t no bro of mine gonna be upset over some girl even if she is my sister in some bullshit timeline way.” 

> With the struggling teen over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Dave takes off out of the room and down the stairs back to the transportalizer. The two of them are transported directly into Dave’s living room, where Dave promptly slam dunks John onto the couch. With an extremely startled Roxy watching them from the kitchen, Dave throws a blanket over John’s head and sits beside him.

John was probably just as startled as Roxy. He didn’t even know that Dave was coming, let alone expecting the Strider to kidnap him. When he’s on the couch he looks around and gives Roxy a small wave before having the blanket thrown over him.

John listened to Dave’s rambling, rolling his eyes at certain parts. Was he really calling him ‘bro’? They had talked, what? Twice? Guess he didn’t have too many friends.

He guessed it wouldn’t be too bad, being bros with his little sister’s boyfriend.