Authors Note:

Ok, I realized a thing (with the help of a lovely friend, thank you much HT) that with what I was changing, I was changing the entirety of the story and it would be changed so much that you guys might not take kindly to it. So I've instead gone through to fix the grammatical mistakes, as well as the tense and POV mistakes, but that will be all.

*coughs* on another note, HAPPY 4/13 EVERYBODY

So I unfortunately didn't start on the change until literally this morning so I'm just going to post chapter one once more, but hopefully I should be able to get the other chapters posted sooner rather than later!

(my original plan was to post five each day but I don't know how well that'll work out now, maybe one per day)

I love all you guys and I'm so sorry for taking it down in the first place, it was an idiot mistake (/-\)

But I got you baes, I hope you all have a Happy Homestuck day!

"You're a mess...Tangled in your confidence...You think you haven't sinned..." I mutter quietly, glancing from the screen of my computer to the bridges on my guitar, re-adjusting my fingers to match the chords. I strum them a few more times before moving onto the next verse. The room is poorly illuminated, due to the only light source being from the computer screen.

"Well you're unstoppable...your walls are impassable..." I sing these lines a bit louder, trying to keep them in tune with the chords. My voice cracks slightly, making me grimace in shame. I faintly hear yells coming from the kitchen, which is three rooms away. The angry shouts permeate the walls and invade my room. I shake my head slightly and quickly memorize the chords, now attempting to drown out the voices leaking through the plaster.

"I think you're better off looking alone, if the boys that chase your hips could just find their way home..." I begin to trail off slightly as my gaze travels around my room. My eyes find an old picture, hanging on my wall by a thin piece of wire. The colors are almost bleached out, but the faint outline of a smile peeks through from the glare on the frame. Ears twitching slightly, I now detect loud sobs from the kitchen, but there is still yelling, so my assumption is that it's my kid cousin.

"-and at the end of the day, you think to yourself...my body is a product being sold on a shelf..." I pause again, but now it's because I hear a soft scream, too high-pitched for it to be anyone but my cousin. I strum a few more chords just to occupy myself as I listen closely. It has fallen silent, and silence is never a good thing in this apartment. I stiffen as the sound of heavy footsteps pounding down the hallway reaches my ears.

I throw my guitar gently onto the bed, silencing the strings before standing up, hearing the footsteps get closer. As I expected, my thin door slammed open, the doorknob forming an even deeper dent in the weak walls.

The form of my dad darkens my doorway, his features hard to discriminate from the dark of the hallway, as well as my room. I can see he's holding something in one of his hands, which makes a spark of fear freeze my veins. He takes one more step into the doorway, and tosses a loudly sobbing Nepeta onto my floor.

"Shut the damn kid up," He sneers, before spinning around and shutting the door once again, making a few bit's of plaster rain down onto my head, the dust sticking in my dark brown hair. I flinch slightly, quickly flipping off the door before crouching down next to my crying cousin.

"Nep? Try to calm down alright, what happened," I ask soothingly, pulling her into my lap and setting my chin on top of her head. The seven year old tries to stop her quiet sobs by shoving her head into my chest, beginning to wet the front of my hoodie with salty tears. I merely hug her closer, not wanting my dad to come back and yell some more, although according to the quiet outside my room, he's most likely lying in wait.

"H-he w-was yelling-g a-a-at m-mommy again," she stutters, her voice muffled in the grey fabric of my hoodie. I frown, already deducing that fact from the loud shouts from earlier. She calls her aunt, my mother, mom, since hers died in an accident a few years back.

"But Catnep, why are you crying?" I question again, gently threading my fingers through her hair. I take note that she isn't wearing her cat hat, and that her hair is ridiculously tangled. I would get up and grab my comb, but she has a death grip on my neck.

"Nepeta..." I say, using her full name to let her know I'm serious. She pulls back from my chest, leaning all the way back so I could see her face. My breath hitches and anger began smoldering deep in my chest. Her cheek was an angry red color, and I could see the faint outline of finger marks. I take her shoulders and pushed her away, standing up.

"I'll be back Nepeta, stay here alright," I murmur, kissing the top of her head. I walk out of my room, quiet as a mouse. The door makes a soft click, which makes me flinch for a milli-second before springing into action once again. My socked feet make little sound on the carpeted hall as I hurry down it to the kitchen area.

I pass my parents bedroom, where the door was slightly open and the flicker of TV distracted me. I could hear mutters, meaning that my mom was in there talking to herself. The kitchen is dark, and that's the first hint that something was off. The light was always on. I try to brush it off and hurry over to the fridge.

I open up the freezer door, not even flinching at the blast of air. Reaching inside, I almost grabbed the ice pack, when the door is slammed shut on my arm. I don't dare make a sound, so I merely stiffen and grimace, letting my hand find the ice pack. I turn my head to see Silas smirking at face contorts into a mocking sneer as well, which clearly angers him.

"Well punk, what are you doing?" he hisses, putting more weight against the door. Another pained grimace crosses my features, and he revels at that.

"Fuck off," I mutter, trying to put enough weight against the door to cancel his out, but my small frame stood no chance against his larger one. Apparently that was the wrong answer. He first jumps back, releasing me and causing me to stumble. Right as I began to fall, he catches my shirt and jacket collar. Successfully yanking me up, he draws back his arm and he punches right under my left my will, a short gasp escapes my lips, and my hand flies up to my face. A short bark of a laugh escapes my dad's lips, and I turn to glare at him again.

Then I remember the cool ice pack clutched in my hand, Nepeta takes priority. I growl lowly, but spin around, avoiding the hand about to land on my shoulder. I'm shocked he doesn't stop me, but then that must mean he's got more prepared for later. Brushing away these thoughts, I rush back down the hallway, ignoring my mother once again, and retreating into my room.

Nepeta was right where I left her, but fresh tears are running down her cheeks. A sob escapes her as I close the door fully. Sitting down, I allow her to crawl back into my lap. I hand her the ice pack, letting her press it against the spot on her cheek. She barely protests when I gently start to sway us, it seems to calm her down.

"Karkitty?' she asks softly. I make a small humming noise in response. She twists er head slightly, trying to look up at me.

"Will you, um, sing for me?" she asks pleadingly. A sad smile alights my face, my eyes tearing up slightly. Her voice is so sad and lost, but at made me think of a something to sing.

"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said 'I'd never let you go'

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said 'don't leave me here alone'

But all that's said and gone and passed Tonight

Just close your eyes The sun is going down

You'll be alright No one can hurt you now

Come morning light You and I will be Safe and Sound," I let my voice trail off, feeling Nepeta begin to lean against me more, her breath deepening and slowing.

"mrm..." she mumbles. I smile again, but take that as a sign to continue singing. Her grip is getting a little slack, so I help keep the ice pack against her skin.

"Don't you dare look out your window Darling everything's on fire

The war outside our door keeps raging on

Hold on to this lullaby

Even when the music Is Gone

Gone

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I will be Safe and Sound," I trail off again, noticing that she is now completely limp, almost curled up in my lap. The only thing keeping the ice pack on her cheek is my hand, which is numb from the cool. Her breathing is completely even though, and the tears have stopped. I carefully pick her up, cradling her gently in my arms. On instinct, she leans into my warmth, which I don't mind. I hate how she has to do deal with all of this. I carry her back to her room, avoiding my mom and dad, who are in their room, silently brooding.

Nepeta's room is as dark as mine was, but at least her walls have some color. Crudely drawn cats doing various cat things decorate the walls, as well as pictures. Pictures of her and her mom, and her brother. I twist around, looking away from the photos and walk toward her bed. I lay her down, slowly drawing a blanket up to her neck. She stirs, but only to grab at a stuffed cat, hugging it close to her chest.

I backhand a tear, and spin around, walking out once again. The trek to my room is uneventful, and the moment I close my door, I practically tackle my bed, taking care not to land on my guitar.

My pillow muffles my scream, of both pain and sadness. The arm that got slammed in the fridge was my dominant arm, my right one. A large bruise was forming along my forearm, it was about as big as my hand. I can't inspect the punch I got to the cheek, but I could feel it was already a dark color. The nerve endings were giving me hell for it as well. I groan and sit up, looking over at my laptop. I bookmark the page then close out. Looking at the screen, it's already 3am. My alarm is already set for six, but I have a feeling I won't get much sleep.

School is starting tomorrow after all.