The sun peeked through the slightly dirty window and in between sea blue curtains to touch Nepeta's face softly. Little commotion in the quiet little coffee shop allowed her to concentrate on the flustering thoughts rampaging throughout her mind and attempt to straighten them out. The clock on the wall to her furthest right read four thirty six pm. A soft smile pulled on the corners of her lips. He's always a bit late. Her slim fingers fondled with the straps on her messenger bag, toying with the charms that hung loosely from the sides. Her untouched latte released whisps of steam that danced toward the ceiling in the sun's warm beams. The itching sensation to pluck her phone from her short's pockets was soothed with a slight shake of her head. He does whatever he pleases. He loathed being rushed. He's always been like that. She looked over at the window and examined her appearance, reassuring herself that she looked presentable and not like she had just rushed through the cramped sidewalks of Maine. Once she was satisfied with her hair, she resigned to gazing outside and watched everyone scramble about, people with places to go, things to do, homes to return to, yadda yadda.

The person she was waiting so patiently for caught her eye as he hustled past her window, and she sat up straight, hurriedly wrestling with the zipper on her bag to fish out her notebook and camera. Her friend opened the door with a little too much force and took two long strides into the shop, pausing to glance around, panting slightly. He wore a dark brown hoodie and baggy black jeans. His blackish brown hair looked wind tousled and his fists were clenched. No surprise there. They were always balled up tightly. His fingernails would often leave little pink indents upon his chalk white skin, the only thing that portrayed the fact he was albino. He and Kanaya had both done a good job covering up his ivory hair and red eyes with contacts and hair dye. But he'd have to make do with his pale skin. Not that Nepeta was bothered by it, oh no. Actually she was quite fond of its creamy complexion.

"Karkat, right here," Nepeta called out with a blinding smile. She waved at him and he locked onto her and her location. He ducked his head in greeting and tromped over to slide into the light green booth, a look of discontent upon face.

"Fucking stop light wouldn't turn to walk, took its sweet time changing," He complained, slumping against the seat and bringing his backpack onto his lap. "The people who work the damn thing need to get off their lazy asses and fix it, or I'm going to give them something to work on." Nepeta shook her head with a chuckle as she withdrew the remaining folders from her bag. "Is that mine?" He asked after a minute, nodding to the forgotten coffee.

"Hm? Oh, yes that's yours." She stole a glance at him as he reached over to claim his prize. She admired the length of his arm while partially hiding herself behind a kitten themed folder.

"Anyways, down to business- Ow, fuck that's hot!" Karkat flinched and ran his tongue over his pale lips, wincing as the burning liquid stung his lower lip. A few people turned to give him disapproving glares, but Karkat, as he always does, plainly ignored their presence as he tentatively set the cup down and rubbed his burn.

"You're supposed to blow, hee hee."

"I can do whatever the fuck I want, did you take the damn pictures or not?"

"Yep, they're right here," she complied. Nepeta tossed the pictures onto the grey table, along with notes containing information about the location. "I took the pictures yesterday somewhere around six in the morning."

"Why so early," He asked curiously as he flipped through the pictures. He nodded a bit, looking mildly impressed. Nepeta shuffled her feet and looked at her thigh highs shyly.

"There aren't many people at the bay so early in the morning. The sun was peeking over the ocean too. It looked real pretty."

"Looked cold, too."

"Not really." Karkat set down her pictures and gingerly removed his own photos from his maroon backpack and set them alongside her own. Nepeta tapped them, questioning him with a look whether or not she could take a look, and her friend nodded, withdrawing his notebook from the depths of his bag, along with a pencil.

The images Karkat managed to capture often floored Nepeta by their precision and angle. He really had a talent for photography! She smiled as she flipped through them, admiring a certain picture of a lighthouse looking over a cliff, its light shredding its way through the darkening skies. "Karkat, your pictures are sooo cool. I wish I were this good."

"They could be better," came his gruff response, As he scribbled down more notes that he might have forgotten to jot down. "The angles are off." She glanced back down at the pictures in her hand. How in the world could they get any better than this? They looked so flawless!

"I think they look fine, Karkitty. Better than mine." She could feel the tint of blood rise to her cheeks as blush blossomed upon her face.

"You do have room for improvement," Karkat replied after a moment. He reread the sentence in his head and leaned over to add on some more words. "Like... Like, you see in this picture?" He said, setting his pencil on his journal. He leaned over and sorted through her pictures, and revealed the picture of a tree she took at the park. "This picture could use just a little more space and maybe a different angle, maybe turning away from the sun instead of towards it. It would have brought out the shadows better." A small frown replaced her smile as she reached over and took it gently from in between his fingers. Sigh. He was right. It definitely didn't compare with his pieces of work. "Look, they're at least worth a B+ or an A. Mostly an A though, you did a pretty good job. Hey, look, don't get so crushed easily, they look fine. I'm just pointing out stuff you should remember next time, sheesh." He brought his coffee to his lips, gingerly this time, and gave it an experimental sip before he tipped his head back to guzzle what must have been half of its contents down.

"Can you help me next time?" Nepeta asked, hope lacing her inquire. Her pal set down the cup and stared at the pile of pictures on his right before looking up at her. He appeared tired, the bruised looking bags under his eyes standing out against his alabaster skin. He seemed to ponder the question for a moment.

"... Let's see, I can help you Saturday and Sunday. Maybe even Wednesday too. But I've got some extra curricular classes I gotta attend next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. If you don't mind waiting for me on Thursday I could probably stop by your place and help out with your math." He grimaced. "You're terrible at algebra." She winced.

"I don't mind waiting." I could wait forever. Her smile returned. Karkat replied with a small grin.

"Great. Oh, speaking of math, these are for you." His hand returned to his bag, and he retrieved a folder. He opened it and fingered through the pages until he briskly drew one, two, three pieces of paper, which he offered to her. "These are some algebra tips I took time to write down for you. You better be grateful, I spent a shit load of time writing them down."

"Oh geez..." She held them close and looked at him, hazel eyes wide. "Karkitty, you really didn't have to do all this for me.."

"Yeah, I didn't have to," He agreed, diving back into his notebook. "But apparently your grade is dropping down to a C+ because you're not catching onto math and if you fail this semester, I will mercilessly dump your ass into summer school classes and quiz you until all you can think about are variables and numbers. Also, I sort of feel like you need the help, so be glad I'm offering you some."

"Oh, I am grateful!" She exclaimed, wiggling in her seat. "It means so much that you actually take time out of your already busy life to help out someone as hopeless as me."

"Shut the fuck up, you needed help. Also I like spending time with you. You're my damn friend, idiot, and I happen to care about your future, too." The warmth on her face spread further across her face as she stared at him fondly, hiding her mouth with the notes. Such a kind, kind friend. She couldn't help but tend to the feelings she held deeply for him. It's just that he happened to reach out and help her get to her feet, besides her other best buddy Equius. Karkat was cranky and rude, sure, but she's seen times where he'd shown that caring side towards his other friends. "... Nepeta, I would really appreciate it if you'd stop staring at me like that."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" Frazzled, she hurried to tuck in the notes in a folder, along with her pictures, and stashed them away into her lime green bag. She then sat up to look at Karkat, towards the counter where a tired looking woman waited upon a man, over to the golden sun rays reflecting off the seats behind her friend, and finally out the window, where she propped her head upon her hands and gazed at the crosswalk in front of the little coffee shop. The sounds of brewing coffee, hushed chatter, and quiet music emanating from the speakers upon the wall filled the background, along with Karkat's furious scribbles. Nepeta relished the moment. Content washed over her and she sighed happily. Such a blissful state, sharing a nice day with a friend. Her gaze followed the turning blue of a truck when she was startled by a click and an electronic whine. She looked over towards Karkat, puzzled. He lowered his camera and grinned.

"Sorry, it was a good picture." Nepeta gaped at him, looked out the window, and back at the impish expression plastered on her companion's face.

"Wh- Karkat, I look awful today!" He returned the high pitched wail with a snort.

"You look fine, if you didn't I wouldn't have taken a fucking photo, now do you want to see or not?" Nepeta swallowed and rolled her eyes, accompanying it with a nod as she leaned over to view the screen upon his professional camera. Once again he had mastered the lighting and angle. Her face betrayed peace and relaxation, as well as thoughtfulness while she gazed out the window, a soft smile upon her lips and golden rays caressing her face. Flawless, as usual.

"... Karkat you're really good at this," She informed, looking up at him. He snorted once again.

"Like I haven't heard you say that in the past."

"No really, you managed to make me look decent!" His head snapped up. Nepeta swallowed. Oh gosh I can feel his breath on my wrist...

"Nepeta, stop, you look normal." He glanced away. "Adorable even. You looked so calm I just had to snap a picture." Flattered, Nepeta plopped back down, making the booth groan a bit. She twisted the ends of her hair. He called me cute.

"Hee hee."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, if you don't mind my asking, what took you so long?" The look he gave her questioned her memory.

"I had classes, idiot."

"Over spring break?"

"There's two weeks left of break, and yes, I'm taking classes over it. I need to keep improving and studying, otherwise I'll never pass." She found that hard to believe. Moody as though he was, professors at the college scrambled to make sure that Karkat was in their class. He was a highly recommended student and his talents often got included in calenders and postcards. He was an honor roll student. Granted he did miserably in middle school, via rebellious stage, but when he got into high school something seemed to kick in. He was seen less and less hanging out with his friends and spent more time cooped up in his room with his nose glued to textbooks. Never the less, Karkat's life road was pretty much set in stone. Nepeta herself on the other hand struggled to turn in most of her assignments and projects, earning her highest grade average a B. Sure it bothered her but she could never find the motivation to tackle the long assessments or scour areas to find the best location to take pictures. Her grade improved since Karkat had started kicking her rear into gear. Sometimes she dreaded seeing him by the door rather than rushing up to greet him. Even though he conquered most of her thoughts, she found it a bit irritating when he hounded her about what she learned and then herded her back to the classroom, where he'd make her collect any extra credit her professor had to offer.

Still, he was looking out for her, and it made her feel good. At least he cared about what happened to her. Whether it was because she was just his friend or maybe he felt the same way...

No no no, don't think like that! You need to cherish every moment you spend with him, I can't ruin this friendship we have! It was hard, keeping it a secret. No one knew of the crush she had on Karkat, and she tended her emotions with care to keep everybody from finding out. Especially him. What if he started avoiding her? Not only would he reject her feelings, but also if their friendship were to end...

"Nepeta, you dimwit are you paying attention?" Oh no! She flung herself from her emotional turmoil and sat up straight, alert. He looked extremely irritated.

"No, I'm sorry, what'd you say?" He rolled his eyes with a sigh and placed his elbow upon the surface of the table, propping up his head with his palm.

"I was asking if you wanted me to walk you home. God, do you space out when you're in class? You miss out a lot of pretty important shit, not to mention fall behind." She blew a piece of hair out of her face.

"For your information, I pay attention to everything the instructor says. I even write things down!"

"Alright alright, fine. That doesn't mean you should slack off during break though."

"... Karkat? Do you ever take a day to relax?" He scowled, not really approving of the way she switched the subject onto him, but he decided not to fight it.

"This is pretty much my break." What!

"That's really bad! Don't you relax on Saturdays and Fridays?"

"Not really. I study. And it isn't bad, because I'm still learning and improving."

"You aren't getting enough sleep, I can see it! I think you should relax little more, because you're always so tired looking."

"Fuck you, I can do whatever the hell I want with my life. Thanks for pointing out something wrong with me, please don't come again." He faltered as she shot him a hurt expression.

"... Karkat, I was only suggesting, you don't need to get mad..."

"Fuck, shit, Nepeta, I'm sorry, it's just, I mean-" He slapped his forehead with a groan. "Nep, please, I'm sorry. That was totally uncalled for, I'm a fucking moron. I've just been stressed and there's a bunch of shit going on right now, and... Ngh." She leaned forward, torn between resting a hand on his shoulder or giving him a friendly squeeze. Instead she just gave his arm an awkward pat and pulled back her hand so she could clasp it with the other.

"You're overworking yourself, Karkat. I think you should lay off the text books for a couple days and just take your classes. So after your done with your homework you should watch a movie or read a book." Karkat processed this, slightly nodding his head.

"Yeah, I might do that."

"You'll feel waaaay better, Karkitty. Trust me." Maybe it'll brighten up his mood a bit as well.

They sat in silence for a moment. Glancing from the commotion outside, over to where a rather tight looking lady slammed madly on her laptop's keyboard, at each other ( for a brief moment ), and then make the circuit once more. They both started as Karkat's cell phone belted out loud rings of attention. He wrestled with his pockets and withdrew the racket, looking upon its screen with distaste. Her heart wrenched when his face softened into a smile as he answered. Nepeta looked away, respecting his privacy. She knew who it was.

"Terezi, hey. What? Pfft, no, I'm with Nepeta. Yeah. The usual." The usual? Hrmph. "She's doing good. What? No! Fuck you, Pyrope go smother in the sewer. I- What? Ugh. Whatever." He looked down at his nails, and the fumbled with a napkin. He seemed somewhat nervous? Bashful even? Her heart began to sink a little. "What? Uhh... Let's see..." He bit his lower lip. "... I need to help out Nep with school. Because her grade is slipping again." Is he trying to make me feel bad? "Here, let me ask. Nepeta, would you mind if I hung out with Terezi on Saturday?" No. I don't want you to. I want you to stay with me..!

"Sure!" She replied, forcing a cheerful tone. "You need to have some fun, anyway."

"Yeah, I'll see you Saturday. Okay. Alright, see you." He sounded so cheerful... The smile on her face ached. "Sorry, Nepeta. It's not like I want to ditch you."

"Yeah, I know. It's fine." He gave her a grateful smirk.

"You're smart. Just study the notes I gave you and you'll be fine. Seriously, study them. If I catch wind of you role playing or playing on the computer. So help me Leijion, I will storm over to your house and force you to study while I watch you. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Now- Wait, what time is it... Holy shit, it's six thirty? Fuck, lets get you home, Nep it's getting late! Don't forget your camera. Do you have everything? Okay, you do. Let's move, c'mon, let's get your ass home."

As she followed him out the door, she reminded herself.

I'm not the only one who wants to make him happy.

–

She waved to Karkat and watched him depart, a slight ache in her chest. She'd see him Wednesday, no big deal, only two days. Sigh. Yeah right. She turned and fumbled with the key to her house. She couldn't blame Terezi for assumingly crushing on him. Karkat was a special guy, full of talents, funny, great grades. She was content with him being happy with someone he loves. She has no say in his love life. It wasn't her decision. All Nepeta wanted was for him to be happy. That's all. She stole a glance at his vanishing figure one last time before she unlocked her front door and pushed it open.

Get a grip and study. Take you're mind off it.

She was greeted by a cheerful mew that echoed from upstairs. Immediately her heart lightened. Just a bit.

"Poouuuuuuunce, pounce pounce pounce De Leeeeeeeeeon, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere kitty kitty kittyyyyyyy~" She heard padded feet hit impact upon the floor as her loyal cat raced to greet her. She shut the front with her heel and carefully set her bag upon the floor. Her cat trotted down the stairs and strode up to greet her, all smiles. She grinned back down at Pounce as she pulled her feet out from the containment of her blue slip on shoes. She leaned down to scratch the white cat's back as she stood on her hind legs to knead Nepeta's knee socks. Sure it hurt a little, but she had grown used to the pricks of miniscule pain. "Hiiii, pouncy, hello hellooo," She cooed. "Do you want some food? Oh yeeees, I bet you do, hehe, c'mon!"

Even though she was in the presence of Pounce De Leon, she couldn't get Karkat or Terezi out of her head. Ugh, how lame. She shouldn't be bothered by this. Terezi was nice, and she was awesome at role playing. If Terezi and Karkat got together, she should be happy, not lament and spend her nights crying herself to sleep. She scowled as she scraped the remaining cat food into her cat's food dish. "I'm being so immature right now," she mused, setting down the dish in front of Pounce. "It's just a silly crush. He's twenty, I'm nineteen- actually he's just a few months older than me. But whatever, I'm too old for this!" She huffed, irritated. She leaped towards the living room, hands in the air. "No time for moping around, I've got studying to do!" Even though she rushed over to her bag and retrieved the notes, grabbed a pen and some crumpled paper, and collected her calculator, she couldn't entirely get into equation solving.

She still felt the dull ache in her chest as she spaced out briefly about Karkat and herself.