Foes, Rivals, Or Something More?

Week #1

Its early Monday morning and everyone gathers before Eridan's house just as he's about to leave.

"W..what are you all glubbing doing here?! If my father sees he will be enraged!"

"Clam it up Eridan we just wanted to see you off...im sorry...." Feferi says with a frown.

"I told you all not to,"

"Too bad ED," sollux says.

"Look we decided to give you these thing so instead of complaining shut the fuck up and take all of these items with you asshole, "Karkat says as he hands him a box full of the gifts from the others. Eridan takes it and looks up at everyone his eyes watering up.

"T..thank you.....e..everyone.....and im sorry......" He says with a whimper.

"Ed there's one thing in there you will need so keep it with you at all times," Sollux says. The boy nods and gets in the car as he finally travels down the road and watches as the distance between him and his friends closes.

Sollux stares with his hands in his pockets clenched up into fists. "Let's go guys...school is about to start..." He says with a growl.

Meanwhile, Eridan enters his form room which was currently unoccupied by anyone else to his luck. He unpacks everything and then sets the box he received from his friends into his lap. He opens it up and it turned out to be items that reminded him of everyone. Kankri and Karkat left him a stuffed crab plushy, and a whistle. Feferi left a cuddle fish plushy, nepeta a mini version of her shipping wall, equius a picture of some sort of horse beast, kanaya another scarf with her color; Gamzee and his brother left him a few bottles of faygo, including a plushy one. Latula and Terezi left him with a mini skateboard and one of terezis little.dragon plushies. Porrim and Aranea left me books on sewing and history. Vriska a spider plushy, Rufio and Tavros left him a copy of the Peter pan movie, and Sollux a bumble bee plushy, but when he held it it seemed far too heavy. He opened it up realizing it had a small pocket and noticed a small phone inside. It was better than nothing. He smiled a bit and saw the note hidden as well.

'Ed this phone is being paid for by my father and Karkats father. Don't worry about calling or.texting, you dont have limits on those. Everyone's numbers are already in there so don't worry about all of our numbers. Everyone has your new number as well so message us when you can.

"From, Sollux'
Eridan smiles as he put the phone into his pocket. He stands and fixes up his clothes and looks in the mirror at himself. The uniform was something he would have get used to, especially with its dull ugly brown colors. He grabbed his school bag and headed to his first class. He slowly walked along the halls and noticed that the school was an all male private school. He didn't mind it, but for boys who have been here for a long time without being around females; anything could happen. And that's what he was generally afraid of. He entered into his first class and sat in the back near the window. However, what he didn't know was that all the seats were assigned in a matter of ABC order, which meant he would have had to sit upfront. Once the teacher walked in he noticed this and forced Eridan upfront expecting that he would know what to do. Truth was that the confused Ampora had no idea what his father had signed him up for. With no friends or any type of conversations to be had in class, he was on his own. Once he finished his classes for today he decided to go through the handbook that he signed without reading it. Which with most handbooks he would never do. Signing these booklets were like signing a contract when it came to private schools. Especially when private schools are given the right to do whatever they find necessary in order to tame you, and get rid of unwanted behaviors for good. He sat outside against a large tree and tossed the handbook into his bag. He pulled out his phone and noticed the amount of messages he recieved from everyone. Everyone except Sollux who had originally gave him the device. As much as he hated Sollux, he still considered him as a rival of some sorts of maybe a friend. He couldn't quite figure out what Sollux meant to him now. He shook the thought aside and leaned against the tree. He sighed.

"This is glubbing frustrating,"

At the regular school, Sollux sat in his first period silently. It was rather odd. He was silent. There was no one bothering him. Not anymore. Eridan was no longer around. The class was awkwardly silent and the teacher was just overjoyed that atleast one Ampora was gone. He sighs and looks at his phone, debating as to whether or not he should really try messaging him. He didn't miss ED. Or atleast that's what he tried to persuade himself into believing.

'He's just a prick, hes just another prick that's out of my life now. This is good. But if that's the case why did you give him that phone? Why were you the first to have your parent to speak to his? Why did you try talking to him before? Why did you save him from the older jerks? Why why and why do you feel like absolute shit?' he thought to himself. He held a hand to his head and sighed. 'Why the fuck am I fighting myself for?'

At lunch he sat away from the others in order to clear out his own thoughts over the whole situation and tried to decide whether it was good or bad that Eridan was away.

"Guys do you think Sollux is....feeling a bit lonely?" Tavros asks.

"I thinks he's missing Eridan's annoying complaining and whining and self parading," Vriska says with a sigh of sarcasm.

"Knowing Sollux it is possible," feferi says.

"Yeah I think so too," Karkat says.

"Well I think I know someone who can answer all of our unanswered questions," Equius pulls out his phone and dials Aradias number. He puts it on speaker for everyone to hear.

"Hello?"

"Aradia! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Feferi says with glee.

"Oh oh! Feferi! Hello!"

"Hey aradia Karkat here, we all have some fucking questions we need answered. So we were hoping to speak to you first hand on this whole bullshit mess of a sad tragedy as I like to call it,"

"Everyone's.there?"

"Yes we are all gathered around Equius's phone like an occult of idiots that would circling a dead baby over a pit of fire,"

"Um okay...so what's up?"

"When was the last time you spoke to Sollux?"

"Um when after he got into a fight with Eridan and he told me about his father's decision to have him placed in a private school why?" She asked.

"He's completely out of it. Like deep in within his own mind set of dark paradox space where the only thing that will fucking breathe through his lungs is utter despair." Karkat days.

"I'm not surprised...actually"

"Serious? Tell us everything you know,"

"Well when Sollux first moved up here and we met, he always spoke of Eridan saying he hated with a gleaming passion but he also enjoyed the games they played and everything they did together as rivals. I always teased him saying they were just friends. As the years went by he tried finding Eridan's name on the chats but could never figure out which was his, and his father wouldn't permit him to hack the computers or do anything like that. So I had to find it, and when I did he completely became filled with a joy that I have never seen before. But then his father told him about moving back over there, and he was infuriated! Mostly because he didn't want to leave me but his second debate he mentioned one night was that he didn't know if Eridan would remember his face, or if he was still going to be the same. The days before he moved he was more enraged about it all even more so than ever. The night before he started school he kept going on and on about Eridan with a voice that screamed fucker all over the place,"

"Well...shit this guy cares too much of a lot doesn't he?" Karkat asks.

"I would think so...I broke up with him for another reason besides the long distance...."

"Which is...?"

"I think...even he may not know it yet...but he will....I think he was more into being with Eridan than anybody..."