Cancer and Cat

First of all... Fail title is fail! xP Anyway, this story is a humanstuck AU. Also, I'm just gonna warn you right now that there is character death. So on that depressing note, try your best to enjoy what I've written xD and remember that I loves you all. Oh by the way, sorry if Karkat and Nepeta seem a little OOC.

Disclaimer: I believe Lord Hussie is to thank for Homestuck.

Chapter 1

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, you are eleven years old, and you are currently playing a fun role playing game with your best friend Equius. He is the brave and strong stallion while you are the small and cute kitty cat. You both go on your imaginary quest until the school bell rings, signaling the end of recess. You are very disappointed that you couldn't save the damsel in distress before the terrible dragon got to her, but you wave Equius away as you skip merrily to your second to last class of the day. The sun is shining and you wonder what could possibly be any more perfect about this day. However, a cry of frustration cuts you off in mid thought, and you look over at a very short and angry kid. You know this child to be the new kid, who moved from two states over. He's not very talkative to other kids, and always seems to be grumbling about something. Also, his appearance is somewhat odd for a kid his age. For one, he looks like he's going bald. His hair is also a very pale, almost white color. His skin is even paler, and his eyes are like rubies, shinning in the early morning sun. He may be different, but it doesn't matter to you. As long as he's nice, you think you two could get along nicely. You slowly approach the boy, who looks at you with disgust.

"What the heck do you want?" he snaps at you. You are taken aback by his crabby attitude. He looks at you impatiently, expecting an immediate answer.

"Well, I... just, uh..." you sputter, not really sure what to say. His expression grows even more enraged and he yells at you. He's practically the angriest fifth grader you've ever seen.

"Well get on with it! If you're gonna comment on my lack of hair, or how my eyes are red, just frickin' do it already!" You stare at him, confused.

"Why would I do that? I just wanted to say hello." you say, unsure of what he'll do next. He is shocked at your comment, and his expression softens.

"Oh... well ok then. What's your name?" the boy asks, not really meeting your eyes. You smile and respond.

"My name's Nepeta! What about yours?" you ask excitedly. He meets your eyes this time as he speaks.

"My name's Karkat." he says shyly. You giggle and he suddenly turns confused and angry. "What the heck are you laughing at?!" he practically shouts. You calm down and explain yourself.

"I just think your name is cute! Karkat. Kaaaarkat. Karkitty!" you say, testing out different ways to say it. You decide that you like the name Karkitty the best, because you love kitty cats! Karkat just sighs, obviously frustrated at you. You stop giggling because you feel bad for him. He must get a ton of questions of why he's different from most kids. Which is what you are wondering right now. You really want to ask him, but you feel like you'd be rude if you did. He sees that an internal conflict is taking place in your head, and an awkward silence has now formed between you two. You also realize that you are now eight minutes late to class. Ms. Paint will not be happy at all.

"So, uh, shouldn't you be getting to class, Nepeta?" he asks, stuttering a lot in the sentence.

"You should too Karkitty!" you say defensively.

"Well, I don't really know where my class is. Those idiots moved me today." he says with disgust. You tell him that you can help him find his class, and he looks at you thankfully. However, he still doesn't smile. It sort of bothers you, and you decide that one of your personal goals is to get the crabby kid to crack a small smile, no matter how long it takes.

After leading Karkat to his class, you skip back to your own, with a pass so Ms. Paint won't get too mad. Today's math class is very boring as usual, and you don't really get it anyway. So, you doodle, like you usually do. What your working on right now is what you call a shipping page. Nobody, not even Equius understands why pairing people together is fun, but it's purely for your entertainment. It may be a little bit silly, but you hope that maybe you can be added to your own shipping page someday, because right now you think that guys just find you too weird to even talk to. Well, except for Karkat. You think about him while your subconscious decides to make you draw him. You are so busy drawing him on your shipping page that you aren't aware that the teacher is speaking to you until a ruler smacks your desk and you jump a foot out of your seat and let out a yelp of surprise. You hear snickers and see people smirk at you as the teacher angrily speaks.

"Ms. Leijon, I would appreciate it if you stopped drawing and paid attention." You blush furiously as you apologize. For the rest of the period, you can't believe you were even thinking of Karkat. You hardly know him, yet there was something about him that was just... intriguing.

For the next few weeks, you notice that Karkat is missing from school a lot. After being gone for a whole week, you begin to worry. You decide after your last class ends that you should ask Ms. Paint about it, because it's weighed heavily on your mind for quite awhile now. When class ends, you approach your teacher.

"Hello Nepeta! What can I help you with?" she asks cheerfully.

"Well, it's about Karkit- Karkat." you correct yourself. You can't believe you almost used his pet name that he always yelled at you about every time you two hung out. Ms. Paint frowns uncomfortably.

"Well, he's... in the hospital Nepeta." she explains with some discomfort. You gasp.

"Is he okay?" you ask nervously.

"Well... I'm not sure, dear. Why don't you visit him after school?" Ms. Paint suggests, eager to get away from the conversation. You nod and she tells you what hospital he's been admitted to. You hope the poor boy is okay...

School ends, and you find yourself begging your mom to visit a friend in the hospital. After some hesitation, she agrees. When you arrive at the huge building, it is raining very hard. The rain and the dark sky affect your mood, and you feel as if something's terribly wrong with Karkat.

"Um, excuse me?" you call nervously to the nurse.

"Yes? What can I help you with young lady?" the sweet elderly nurse asks.

"Um, I'm here to see Karkat." you say.

"Ok dear. What's his last name?" the nurse asks. You suddenly realize you never got his last name.

"Uh, I'm actually not sure." you admit sheepishly. The nurse just smiles and says she'll look. You thank her and wait for her to find Karkat's file.

"Ah ha! Vantas. Karkat Vantas, Cancer Ward, room 69." she says as she points to the hall where he is. You gasp and your eyes go wide with fear. You aren't exactly sure what cancer is. All you know is that it is potentially life threatening. The nurse looks concerned, but you assure her that the shock has worn off, and that you're fine. You turn and walk down the hall toward the room the nurse told you. But the truth is, you're not fine. In fact, you fear for Karkat's life. Finally, after what seems like two of the most antagonizing minutes of your life, you reach room 69. You politely ask the doctor stationed there if visitors are allowed at this time.

"Yes, but only for 15 minutes." he says. You slowly walk in to see Karkat, who is fast asleep. You almost don't want to disturb him because he looks so peaceful, despite the fact that his face is contorted into a frown, as if he's having a nightmare. You begin to wonder why the doctor even let you in in the first place. The doctor answers as if he can read your mind.

"This boy's been asleep for two days now, but so far no one has had any luck getting him to wake up." He sighs as he walks out of the room. You decide that you'll try and get him up yourself. You cautiously approach his bedside and poke him several times, while saying his name. He hardly stirs as you do this. After trying for about two minutes, you give up on that idea and think of others. How do you get some one who's in a deep sleep to get up? Well, the prince got Sleeping Beauty up with a kiss...

You can't believe you just thought of that. You blush furiously as you look down at him. Could it be a possibility? You swallow nervously as you decide to give it a shot. You've never kissed anyone before, so this is a totally new concept. A concept you probably will not understand until high school. Okay. Calm down. Just do it like the prince did. Just lean down, and give him a small peck on the lips. Five seconds should do. Your heart pounds as you lean down slowly, and before you know it, your lips are touching his. They are surprisingly soft, and you stay for about 10 seconds instead of five. You regret it immediately, because on the tenth second, his eyes quickly open, to find you starting to pull away. His expression turns from sleepy confusion to horrified in less than a second. He screams and sits straight up, almost bonking his head against yours as he does.

"Nepeta! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?" he yells, demanding an explanation.

"Well, the uh, doctors, they, uh, said that you weren't feeling so... good, and that you were asleep, for, a long time. So, I thought I'd try to wake you up." you stutter out. At this point, your face is as bright red as a tomato. He stares at you for a minute. You can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thinks about this. After about another minute, his expression softens, and he mutters a small thank you. You are slightly surprised at this, but it feels good to hear the grumpy kid actually being nice for once.

"So Nepeta... how's the shipping page coming?" he asks awkwardly, attempting to make small talk.

"It's fine." you say quietly. You don't really want to talk about your shipping page. You want to ask him about his cancer. And he senses it too, because he sighs.

"I already know you want to ask me about my cancer. I understand. So, here it goes." He swallows before he goes on. "I got cancer when I was six years old. It's liver cancer. My head has hardly any hair because of chemotherapy. So far, I've been pretty lucky to have lived this long. But recently, it's gotten worse. So I'm not going to school anymore." he explains, almost tearing up. You are shocked and terrified at the same time. You want to hug him. Or give him words of encouragement. Something to make him feel better. But you're not sure what to say. So you say the first thing that pops into your head.

"I'll visit you everday Karkitty!" you offer. He looks up at you. He is shocked, but seems to be greatful of the gesture.

"That... that'd be nice of you, Nepeta." he says, not really meeting your eyes. Still, he says it with genuine gratitude. You smile, and it's decided. The Cancer and the Cat were officially best friends.

So what do you people think so far? I know it's kinda short, but it is a short story. Anyway, rate and review please! And remember that you are all my favorite people ever ;)