Changing Strider's Life Ch.8

Ding dong.

"Bro let me out already! I need to leave!"

"No way in hell!"

I am Sollux and I can hear them shouting. I sigh and shift my weight from one foot to another. I press the bell again, surprised that there is even a bell.

Finally a tall blonde with spiked back hair answers the door. Bro Strider. "Hey Bro."

"'sup? So you really are the one taking the li'l man on a date."

"Er… yeah."

"Upstairs, first door on the left, here's the key." Bro throws me a key and I catch it and look at him questioningly.

"Okay." I head up the stairs quickly and try to go into Dave's room, which is locked. I sigh and realise what the key is for. I unlock the door and walk in. "Dave?"

I see Dave sitting on his bed, looking bored. He's wearing a red short sleeved shirt with a pair of black jeans that have been a bit worn with time along with his normal red converse. He looks up at me, shades on his face as normal. "At last, I can get out of here." He stands up. "Er… why are you in so much more casual clothes than me?"

I look down at my own clothes and laugh a little. I'm in a short sleeved black top with a pair of grey jeans and black shoes. I also have a loose grey cardigan on. "I wasn't sure what to wear."

"Me neither actually…" I notice Dave's shifts a little, uncomfortably. "So is it movie first then dinner or the other way around?"

"Dinner first actually. No need for a jacket, it's warm out."

"Okay." Dave bites his lip slightly and adjusts his shades, even though they don't need adjusting. Is Dave Strider nervous? Have I, Sollux Captor, managed to make Dave Strider, the stoic cool kid, nervous? I smile a little.

"Ready to go?" I ask, walking forward and holding out my hand.

"Of course I'm ready," Dave says and then takes my hand. I pull him up, to his surprise, and lead him out the room and downstairs. Bro is gone.

All of a sudden something is placed on my back. I jump and shout out, spinning around. The thing on my back is removed and is now in the hands of Bro Strider. Dave looks like he wants to laugh but is trying to keep his straight face. The puppet in Bro's hand is the cause of my jump.

"What the hell is that?" I ask, gesturing at the puppet.

"Cal. He just wanted to say good luck and have fun," Bro says, with an impassive expression. It's kind of unnerving since his look never breaks unlike Dave's.

"Um, sure," I answer, a little unsure. The puppet, named Cal, is kind of creepy if I'm honest. It's just… looking at me. "Well, I guess we'll be back by midnight."

Bro raises an eyebrow. "Midnight? So it's a long date. See ya then." Bro just disappears and I stare at where Bro was just a few moments ago.

I feel Dave start pulling me to the front door. I start rambling. "He just disappeared. Like poof." I hear Dave sigh and I'm still shocked at how Bro disappeared. After we get to the ground floor of Dave's building, he's had enough of my rambling and just clamps a hand over my mouth.