Ta dah! So chapter two has been completed. Chapter three is on it's way. Please continue to read this story as it progresses!

*Maybe I should add a warning, uh... The two brothers don't really get along. Karkat kind of hates Kankri. They get in a scuffle, or something of the like.

"Alright Kankri, you're gonna think I'm fucking cr—"

"Karkat Vantas!" Kankri shrieked, "How dare you barge into my room without knocking and how dare you use such vulgar language in my presence when you know it triggers me to no end! How absolutely disrespectful! I am ashamed to call myself your brother, who is supposed to be kind, respected, and nothing but nurturing towards you. Yet you still, ceaselessly, bombard me with such foul words and actions when I have done nothing of the sort in retaliation! I am appal—"

"Oh, zip it, butt-mouth." Karkat rolled his eyes.

"Butt-mouth?" Kankri inquired, "Karkat, dear, that could be seen as…" A glare from Karkat forced his mouth shut, tugging nervously on his turtleneck.

"I'm sorry for sticking my nose up in your private…space…I just needed to tell you something."

"Oh!" Kankri instantly brightened. "And what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Oh, so now the bastard's quiet. "Well, you're gonna think I'm crazy…"

Kankri nodded, "I already think you're crazy, continue."

"But I saw… uh… I mean, I think I saw a… um…"

"Yes, yes, please go on!"

"Ermm… Well it's sort of fucking hard to explain."

He flinched at Karkat's use of the f-word, "Karkat." He warned softly.

"Yeah, sorry, sorry. Anyway, I think it was a… well, a mermaid, to put it bluntly."

Kankri let out a delicate laugh, tipping his head back so that his curlier black hair fell away from his face. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh! How humorous, Karkat! Absolutely amazing that you could pull of that theatric with such a stoic expression, you're a natural. I am astonished that you don't want to go into acting, oh, oh, oh!"

Karkat's face began to turn bright red, anger flaring inside. "I'm not joking, you utter dickweed! I'm being totally serious right now and you're—you're—being a huge meathead about it and not helping at all!"

He stopped laughing, eyes wide in surprise. "What?"

"I'm serious! I. Saw. A. Mermaid. With my own two eyes!"

"You're being ridiculous Karkat, mermaids don't exist." Kankri sighed, "Or if they did, where is your proof?"

"Proof? Gamzee saw it too! He came with me to go see it! He showed me the damn thing." Karkat sputtered, cheeks still bright from rage (and maybe a bit of embarrassment, but Karkat would not admit to it).

"Ahh, yes, I see what's going on here." Kankri smiled sadly. "What other sorts of apparitions have you experienced? Were there any other sorts of strange symptoms to go along with hallucinations?"

"What?"

"Your friend, Gamzee, has drugged you."

"No, no he has not."

"Yes, yes Karkat he has! Don't you see?" Kankri furrowed his brows in concern, "I must tell father at once. You shan't be allowed to socialize with those sorts of people any longer. Yes, I'm going to tell him now." He stood up from his chair (now that Kankri was gone, Karkat could see his computer monitor…really Kankri? How interesting could your justice blog really be?) and placed a hand on Karkat's shoulder. "You need treatment. I can arrange a meeting with a nurse at once; mother will certainly be willing to help me… Yes, all I need is your father's permission and we'll be fine. Good, good, you'll be back to normal in no time."

He then proceeded to weave past Karkat and step into the hallway. He was halfway down the stairs before Karkat could react.

"Wait just a motherfucking second, I'm not doing drugs!"

"FATHER!" Kankri yelled, "I have good reason to believe that your son is doing illegal things with certain people that simply cannot be trusted. You should punish him at once for his misdoing."

"No, dad, it's okay! Kankri's just mad because I unfollowed him on Tumblr!"

Kankri sent him a poisonous glare, lowering his voice so that it couldn't be heard by anyone besides Karkat, "Oh, thank you for reminding me, dear brother. I'll be sure to invoke even more of my wrath than was aforementioned."

"Aforementioned? Jesus, Kankri, you're like the human embodiment of a dick-tionary."

Kankri paused in mid-step. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me, you vomit-inducing poser."

"Did you just call me a dick-tionary?" Kankri seethed, pausing between each word for dramatic effect.

"Yes, I fucking did. If you don't like it, why don't you just go crying to your mother for support, huh? She'll side with you, like she always fucking does!"

"Karkat Vantas, I am THIS close to snapping!" Kankri held up his fingers, less than an inch of space between them.

"Yeah? Well I snapped a long-ass time ago!" He lunged for Kankri, knocking the wiry boy to the ground. "So you best shut the fuck up before I knock all your teeth out!"

"MOTHER!" Kankri wailed, "Mommy, Karkat is trying to injureme with physical blowsto the face!"

"It'll be more than just your face if you scream one more time, you shit-faced sissy!" Karkat pulled his fist back, expecting to be stopped by a shout from his dad or step-mom, even someone grabbing his wrist, but none came. It was too late to prevent his fist from smashing into Kankri's nose.

Is that blood? Oh my god, Karkat! Did you just punch your brother in the face? What an absolute dick move, man.

"Shit, did I do that?" Karkat gaped at his fist then at Kankri's bleeding nose.

"No, Karkat, it started bleeding on its own." Kankri grimaced, "Yes it's from you, what else could it be from?!"

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"I would have if I could have, trust me. It's not like I wanted you to punch me in the face!" Kankri hissed, "Ow…owww… my nose really hurts now, get off me."

Karkat stood up and started after Kankri as he scrambled to his feet, one hand managing to keep the blood off of his clothes while the other held his nose in a mediocre attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Karkat, come get me some ice while I wash away the evidence. Although, I am unsure why your father didn't step in…or why mother didn't intervene, I will mull those over once I am certain that the bleeding has stopped."

"Yeah." Karkat mumbled, walking dumbly into the kitchen after Kankri. "Yeah, I'll get you some ice."

"Make sure you wrap a hand towel around it so it's not too cold for my wounded flesh."

"I'm not dumb; I know how to do it!"

"Well, it would not seem as if you could perform such a simple task compared to how you are acting now. Are you quite alright?" Kankri asked, looking at Karkat while still keeping his face over the sink.

"I'm fan-fucking-tastic, it's you I'm worried about! Did that hurt?"

Kankri gave Karkat the most exasperated expression, "No, not at all. My face is merely swelling from joy and my eyes are tearing up with happiness. Yes it hurt! Why wouldn't it hurt? You didn't punch lightly by any means."

"Oh… Listen, Kankri, I didn't mean t—"

"Didn't mean to what? To hurt me? Insult me? Take a jab at my hobbies like they were nothing? Punch me while I was down? Trust me, Karkat, there are many things you didn't mean. Saying sorry, for you at least, is just an empty word. The way you throw that word at me, bumping into me, ruining my projects, laughing at me, it means nothing anymore. You can forget about the ice, I'll get it myself."

Karkat frowned, "When you say stuff like that it makes me feel really guilty and sorry. I can't help it if you make me want to apologize."

"Guilty? Then that means you did something wrong. You can try again next time, oh wait! There shouldn't be a next time if you've learned your lesson."

"I really am sorry, though. I'm sorry for punching you at least, that…was an accident."

Kankri cocked an eyebrow, "Well, I accept your apology for the punch then. Only the punch."

"Uh… I'm gonna go now. See you later."

"Goodbye, Karkat." Kankri held his still dripping nose over the sink while he reached for a paper towel.

"Karkat? Are you awake?" Kankri knocked softly on his door, opening it a crack.

What time is it? Karkat rolled over and looked at the clock. 2:43 am. Huh.

"I just wanted to tell you… I found a note on the counter. It seems as if mother and father are out for the weekend. They didn't tell us in person because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. There's lasagna in the fridge for us, for tomorrow."

"Thanks." Karkat muttered, "Now go away, I'm sleeping."

"Wait, one more thing, and then I'll go. I promise."

"What?"

"I won't tell your father about Gamzee. Even though I have good reason to believe he slipped you some…things…" Kankri shut the door. "Goodnight, please rest well, dear brother."

You guys can review this story too, if you'd like. Your criticism is always welcome, after all, I am not a professional! (and I promise I won't get mad if you say something harsh!)