The Space Between Us

Chapter Fifteen

"And that's why you should never trust clowns." Mr. Egbert was saying to a bored John and a raptly listening Jade. "My pancreas has never been the same after that incident.

"Dad, I thought you loved clowns." John muttered. "They're all over the house."

"Love them? I'm utterly terrified of those joker-demons! You always drew clowns in your sleep, though, so I thought you liked them."

John stared blankly at his dad, then shook his head as if trying to get rid of a bad dream. "I'm not really feeling up to a deep father-son talk right now. I'm sure we've had enough of that with Rose, Dave, and Mrs. Lalonde."

Jade smiled at her friend. "Normally I'd say we always have time for sappy heart-to-hearts, but Dave and Rose are walking towards us. They look happy."

"How did it go?" Mr. Egbert asked. "Is she doing okay? Did she say anything about me?" His blue eyes were lit up and he was as giddy as a little kid with a crush. Maybe... maybe this whole dumb marriage thing might work out after all.

Yuck, John thought. Now the sappiness is getting to me too.

"She went back to sleep as we were leaving." Rose said with a small smile. "But she promised to try and change things for the better."

"Mom also said that you're the hottest man she's ever met." Dave said gleefully, his eyes twinkling behind his sunglasses.

Mr. Egbert grinned widely. "Well, I think I'll go and sit with her until she wakes up again... might be nice for her to have some company... you kids have fun now!"

John stared at Dave blankly. "She didn't really say that, did she?"

"Nah." He replied. "But it made your dad happy. Isn't that all that matters? I think they'll be good together, anyways. No need to worry too much about this." Dave looked towards Jade, who'd been sitting there quietly the whole time. 

"I'm sure Jade is really grateful right now that none of her immediate family is getting married to our immediate family. Having her as my stepsister would be good for the plot of some weird porn and not much else."

She smiled before punching him on the shoulder (none too gently). "Don't talk about weird porn with me, Dave. Not now and not ever."

He mock-pouted and took her hand in his. "Hey- Rose? John? Since all of this stuff has magically worked itself out in fifteen chapters, I think I'm gonna go home with Jade. Seeya!" Dave cried, waving goodbye and holding his girlfriend's hand tightly.

"Did you understand anything he was just talking about?" John asked.

"Not a word, but I try to tune him out most of the time anyways."

"Yeah... me too." 

"Wait!" John cried as he stood up abruptly. "There's one plot point left unresolved in this clusterf*** of a story!"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, looking at John like he'd gone crazy. "Now you're talking like Dave... What do you mean by unresolved plot point?"

"That issue with you and Kanaya and Vriska! Her being a huge a** and trying to mess up your relationship and all that jazz."

"Oh." Rose said quietly. "It looks like she messaged me while I was with my mom... I'll look at it now."

John punched his fist into his palm with mock-toughness. "If she cheated on you, I swear I'll beat her up. Just ignore the fact that I'm a skinny geek with no real muscle."

GA: Oh My Rose I Am So Very Sorry
GA: Vriska Got A Hold Of My Phone While I Was Out With My Mother
GA: I Believe She Broke Into My Home 
GA: Which Is A Bit Creepy Now That I Really Think About It
GA: I Sincerely Hope I Have Not Worried You In Any Way

TT: It's all good darling <3

"Darling, huh? And a heart emoji? Things are really getting serious." John said with a smirk. "It is quite convenient how that potential mishap resolved itself in time for our story to end."

"You're acting weirdly self-aware, John. Go back to being gay and a little stupid."

"Rose, everyone is stupid compared to you." Her friend said gladly. He was right- she realized- everything had resolved itself quite smoothly. It was almost uncanny how nicely things had gone for the four of them.

"I know that look- you're worrying, aren't you? Something crazy is sure to happen soon enough. Until then, we can all just relax."

"And make out."

John blushed deeply. "We can do that too."