Chapter Text
==> Become a Strider
Your name is Dave Strider and today is your first day of elementary school. You are eight years old and going into third grade. This is a bit different for you because you are so used to being homeschooled by your brother.
“Don’t worry, little man,” your brother tells you as he walks you to your class. “Just stay calm, everything will be alright.” He smiles at you, ruffling your hair.
“But, Bro,” You whine, beginning to pout. “Why can’t you just homeschool me like you usually do?”
“I told you this before, Dave, we don’t have the money for it.” Bro sounds wistful before he gets down on one knee, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Tell you what. If you have an awesome day at school and don’t throw a fit, I’ll take you to go get ice cream. Alright?”
Your eyes light up behind the too large triangular shades you wear on your face. You nod eagerly, making Bro chuckle.
“Go on, then.” He says as he shoos you away and into the class. You look back at him and he nods for you to go on. With a gulp, you continue to walk in. Some of the children already seated amongst their friends see you and instantly begin whispering to one another. You try to ignore it as you push the shades up on your nose.
Your platinum blond hair is cut short, curling slightly at the tips around your ears. Your bangs are cut short as well, swept to the left of your face. Freckles litter your cheeks and nose, the tips of your ears. You're small for your age, but that’s fine with you; Bro always tells you that once you have a growth spurt, you won’t be so little anymore.
You walk up to the teacher, and tug on her hand. She’s wearing a black skirt that goes to her thighs and a white, button up blouse. Her eyes are a dark chocolate brown, the same color of her hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail. She smiles at you.
“Hello, there. You must be new.” She coos, kneeling down in front of you. “I’m Ms. Pepper. What’s your name?”
“Dave Strider,” You mumble, kicking the carpet with your foot.
“What a handsome name!” She declares, making a few students look over at the two of you. Ms. Pepper hands you a few papers for you to give to Bro and have him sign then shows you to your seat.
“You’ll sit here for now, until I make a proper seating chart.” Ms. Pepper nods to herself, lightly tapping her chin with a well-manicured finger. “There is one problem though, Dave.”
You look up at her, confused at what she means. She taps the side of head, as if to indicate something, but you don’t quite understand. Seeing this, she says, “Your shades. You’re not allowed to wear them in class, I’m afraid.”
A few kids snigger, but instantly hush after they get a stern look from Ms. Pepper. You feel your cheeks heat up as you feel the stares of a few kids in your class. You shake your head.
“I have to wear them, Ms. Pepper,” Your voice is quiet; you didn’t want to be talking about this. You didn’t want to be embarrassed like this on your first day. “My eyes are sensitive to the light and hurt when I don’t have them on.” Which was the truth.
“Hm... Well, all right. Just bring a doctor’s note tomorrow so I know you’re not lying.” She pats your shoulder lightly before walking back to her desk.
You sigh and sit down, taking out a folder and placing the papers you had been given in it. After doing that and shoving the folder back into your backpack, you feel someone tap your shoulder.
You see a girl with a short bob that curls around her ears, her hair jet black. She wore dark red glasses – even the lenses were tinted red to where you couldn’t see through them. She had red studs in her ears. The girl wore a bright red dress with frills on the ends and red shoes that looked a lot like the ones Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz wore. Man, did she like red.
“I’m Terezi,” she grinned toothily at you, “You’re Dave, right?”
You nod. “Yeah.”
“I understand how you feel with the glasses thing.” She put in, taking the desk next to you. Even her backpack was red. Yeesh.
“You do?” You sound surprised, though you try to hide it (and fail terribly).
“Yep! You wanna know why?” Her voice had dropped to whisper as she leaned close to you. You felt a bit claustrophobic, but ignored it for the moment. You nod and she raises a hand to her glasses.
“I’ll show you, but on one condition, Mr. Strider,” She almost cackles.
“What is it?”
“You have to show me your eyes too! Got it?”
She held her other hand out to you, like she wanted to shake hands to confirm the deal. You hesitate for a moment, chewing on your bottom lip. Then you nod once again and shake her hand. This time she does cackle, making a few of the other students glance at you two momentarily before looking back towards the board.
Once no one else but you is looking, she takes her glasses off. Her eyes are brown, but they’re a creamy and cloudy brown. Your eyes widen as you blink in surprise.
“You’re blind?” You ask, astounded. Terezi cackles once again before slipping her red glasses back on.
“Everyone reacts that way,” she replied with a content smile, “But yeah, I am. Now come on, it’s your turn!”
“But.... How are you supposed to see if you’re blind?” You ask, perplexed.
“My five other senses are heightened, dummy. I’ll be able to tell, don’t worry.” She reassures you, but you don’t feel reassured one bit. Frowning, you look around to make sure no one is looking before sliding off the shades.
“Oh my gosh!” She almost screeches and you look at her alarmed. “Your eyes are amazing and they’re my favorite color!” She was squealing now.
You hurriedly put your shades back on. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“I won’t, hehehe.” Her snicker at the end doesn’t sound reassuring, but you trust her for some odd reason. “Don’t tell anyone I’m blind, okay?”
“I thought everyone knew already?” You raise your brows in question.
“Nope!” The blind girl replies cheerfully, pulling out crayons from her backpack. “They only know that I have bad eyesight.”
You nod as you understand what she is telling you. You look up at the teacher as she announces that today is a free day and you may do whatever you feel like, so long as it was nothing bad.
You turn back to Terezi, seeing she’s offering you a few crayons, smiling. “Wanna color with me?”
You nod, taking them with a smile, then scoot closer so you two can draw.
--
Bro is there, waiting in front of the school after class is over and school is let out. You give Terezi a hug before hurrying over to him. He smiles at you.
“That your new girlfriend?” He teases you.
“No! She's just a friend!” Your cheeks turn red, making Bro snort.
“Alright, you little shit,” He wraps an arm around your shoulders as he walks with you to the apartment you live in, which is only a block or so down the street. “You’re growing up, it’s time I teach you some things.”
“Like how to cook?” You look up at him, but he shakes his head.
“Something all we Striders share – how to hold our own fights and how to be cool. You up for it?”
A grin breaks out across your face, “Hell yes!”
He looks at you, raising a brow as he hears you use the ‘H’ word. Your eyes widen behind your shades and you quickly look away. He simply messes up your hair.
“Learnin’ already.” He smiles at you as you look back up at him.
Once you two reach the apartment, he gives you a cup of apple juice. “Got any homework?” He asks as he sees you ruffling through your backpack. You nod and take out the papers that had been given to you by Ms. Pepper and hand them to him. He looks them over before quickly signing them and handing them back.
After you put your things back into your backpack and in your room, you’re suddenly pushed forward forcefully on to your bed, knocking the wind out of your chest.
“Always keep your guard up,” Bro chides as you spin on your heel and look at him. His face is emotionless, same triangular shaped shades on. His arms are crossed over his chest.
“What was that for! I never even said I was ready,” You say angrily, throwing your hands up in the air.
“You said you were ready when you agreed to become a Strider. Stop bein’ a wimp, Dave.” Bro placed a hand in the middle of your chest, pushing you back. This time, you were expecting it and steadied yourself, making it to where you were only pushed back slightly and not back on to the bed.
You give a triumphant grin, but Bro only smirks.
“There’s a lot for you to learn, little man.”
You look at him quizzically and in the time it took you to blink, he’s gone, no longer standing in front of you. You huff in frustration.
As you go to turn around, you're shoved forward, falling face first into the carpeted floor. You hear a mocking voice in your head, ‘Always keep your guard up.’ With a groan, you pull yourself up, looking around cautiously.
You see a swift movement in the corner of the room. Bro was flash stepping, the cheater! As you see the shadow of Bro draw closer, you quickly figure out a plan in your head.
Within seconds, he’s on you, but you’re ready for him this time. As he nears you, ready to push you down once again, you spin on your heel so you’re face-to-face. He looks at you surprised and you take the advantage. You push both your hands hard on his chest, moving him back just enough to make your move. As he loses his balance for a split second, you hold out a foot and make him trip. He falls hard on to his back, a loud ‘oof!’ coming out of his mouth as the wind is knocked out of him.
“Shit,” he murmurs as he lifts his head up to look at you once he’s regained his breath. “You learn quick.”
You grin triumphantly once again and this time, Bro smiles back.
You were on your way to becoming a Strider.