The Space Between Us

Chapter Seven

Jade pressed her body against Dave, feeling his strong chest through the soft fabric of his suit. His fingertips brushed her thighs clad in blue-striped tights, the ruffled skirt reaching halfway down. "I can't get over the fact that I'm here with you in a church bathroom." Jade giggled.

"It was your idea!" Dave teased, nuzzling his face into the side of her neck. "You better not back out on me now. It's not fair, not when you look so beautiful."

She sighed happily, grateful for this time with Dave. Maybe things weren't so bad- maybe she was just imagining it. 

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him and looking down into her eyes. "I know I've done some stupid things, Jade, but I love you more than anything. You know that, right?"

"I know." She replied, looking into his red eyes. Some people said they were scary, but Jade thought they were beautiful.

Dave didn't reply- he just bent down and kissed her, his mouth soft and smooth on her own. His hands reached up into his hair, knotting his fingers in it. Jade sighed with pleasure, kissing him harder.

Then the bathroom door burst open.

"Dave!" A female voice said, high and panicky. Dave quickly broke away from Jade, his face pale with fear.

Jade spun around and stared at the intruder, her heart catching in her chest for a moment when she saw the blonde hair. Was Ms. Lalonde here looking for them? Was she going to punish Dave?

She let out a tiny sigh of relief when she saw the bright orange dress and the lilac eyes of the girl in front of him. But there was something strange about Rose- her normally pale face was flushed red, her strange eyes slightly puffy.

Pulling away from Dave, Jade slowly walked up to her friend. "Rose? Have you been crying?"

It sounded for a second like Rose was about to object, but any anger quelled as quickly as it came. "Yes." She said softly in barely a whisper.

"Can I come in there with you guys? I don't want Mom to see me like this."

"Sure." Jade said softly, moving aside to let Rose into the crowded stall. A bathroom seemed a bad place to comfort your distraught best friend (and a bad place to make out), but hey. She could work with this.

"What's wrong? Is it Mom?" Dave's eyes flashed with anger. "Did she hurt you?"

Rose shook her head.

"Then what is it?" He asked, his voice softer now. 

She looked up at him from where she had sat down on the toilet seat. "It's about Kanaya."

"Oh..." Jade breathed softly. She had been overjoyed for Rose when she met Kanaya- had known the two worked well together, and that Rose cared about the other girl. Whatever happened between them, it wasn't going to be good.

"Vriska came up to me and told me Kanaya couldn't come. After she left, Karkat pointed out that it was really weird for her to have asked Vriska... after all, Kanaya hates her. They're exes."

Rose took a deep breath, trying to control herself, and continued on. "So I went to ask Vriska what the heck was going on. I texted Kanaya a little while and she didn't say much out of the ordinary- I figured it couldn't be that bad."

"Then Vriska told me the truth." Rose looked up at her friends, eyes swimming with tears. "Kanaya's mom is dying."

"What?" Dave asked in a strangled cry.

Rose nodded. "Vriska wouldn't tell me much, but it sounds bad. I don't know whether I'm more upset about her mom or the fact... the fact that she would tell Vriska and not me."

Jade crouched down next to Rose, hand on her shoulder. It was awful to see her usually tough-as-nails friend break down like this. "It's okay, Rose. You knows Kanaya cares about you."

Rose shivered when she spoke again. "I don't think she would do something... something like cheat on me. Especially not with Vriska. I need to trust her."

"What you need to do is talk to her and ask her what's going on." said Dave in a steely voice. He was clearly pissed about Rose's state of being and was willing to fight anyone who threatened his sister.

It was kind of cute, actually.

"I can't talk to her now!" Rose said. "I look like a mess. Plus, don't you think Mom will be pissed if we ditch her?"

Dave shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters right now is helping you- and maybe helping Kanaya too, if she deserves it. C'mon."

He grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her up, and pushed open the stall door.

"Wait- before we go." He paused, turning to Rose.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Kanaya's house?"