Chapter 10: Tensions Part 2

Guyver's POV

I'm an idiot…I mean, army girl's an idiot, but I just…said that…

I hope Sarah doesn't hate me…

I just…need to sit down and think…

"Hey, Guyver?" A voice called out. It was Octim, who swapped the helmet for his goggles. "Are you okay?"

"Of course not!" I freaked out. "I just said that…and right in front of Sarah!"

"I'm sure Sarah knows you weren't serious." Tim assured me. "I mean, you're already dating. I'm pretty sure she won't break up with you because you said something stupid."

"It's not just that." I sighed. "I mean, with all the stuff Sylvia said…is that what most Inklings think of us? That they either don't care or just hate us?"

"I-I'm sure it's not." He said. "I mean, I made a couple friends who know I'm an Octoling. They don't care."

"You never mentioned having friends in town." I noticed. "Come to think of it, you haven't talked much about yourself at all."

"I-uh…a bit, shy I guess…" He admitted. "I never really got out much back home...I never really planned on Ink Battles in the first place…"

"Then why did you come here?" I asked.

"Well, I told my mom I just wanted to see the city for a while." He explained. "She eventually agreed, and we'll be moving here soon, but I kind of hoped I could maybe get into music."

"Let me guess…" I started. "You want to be a DJ?"

"How'd you know?!" He seemed shocked.

"Well, it seems to be the only type of musician that we Octolings aspire to be." I remarked. "I mean nothing against it and if you want to, more power to you, but our king's a DJ, Marina's a DJ, I've heard tunes in a facility from an Octarian DJ, and in my life I've seen little kids buying turntables, aspiring to become DJs."

"Sorry I'm not original." He chuckled.

"You know, you should show me your friends some time." I told him.

"Oh, you'll love them!" He got excited. "They're in their own band and everything! They're still kind of starting out though…"

"Are they good?" I asked.

"I'll show you!" He grabbed my hand. "They like to practice around the Canal."

We took me all the way to Snapper Canal. When we got there, three Inklings were practicing on their instruments. Two were girls, one with her hair tied in the back on drums, one with her hair long on one side on bass, and the third was a boy with spiky hair similar to Otis's on guitar.

"Hey guys!" Tim called out.

"Oh, hey Tim!" One of the girls called out.

"Hi Tim!" The other called out.

"Hey, little man!" The guy waved. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Guyver." He introduced me. "I'm on his team."

"Oh yeah," He looked at me. "You told us about that. Glad you took my advice?"

"Yeah!" He cheered. "We already won a match in the tournament!"

"Nice, but careful," He warned. "Tougher opponents await…trust me, I know."

"Sooooo…who are you three?" I asked.

"I'm George, the bassist is Sheryl, and the drummer is Carol." He introduced his band. "They're my sisters."

"And we're 'Name Pending'!" Carol told us.

"Name Pending?" I asked.

"We don't have a name yet." Sheryl admitted. "Well, we used that name in a competition last year and I guess it stuck. So how's the DJ stuff going for ya, Tim?"

"Not great…" Tim sighed. "I still can't find any DJs in Inkopolis who'll teach me."

"What about Marina?" I suggested.

"Oh yeah, because she has the time." George rolled his eyes.

"I happen to know Marina." I told him. "Maybe I can get her to show him some stuff."

"Well, if she has the time, then good." I could tell he didn't believe me. "But I don't think she has enough time on her hands with the news, Splatfests, and such."

"…Sooo, anyway…are you guys practicing?" Tim asked.

"We're actually wrapping up." George told him. "We're packing up now."

"Aaaaww…that stinks." Tim whined.

"Hey, there's always next time." George assured him.

"Well, guess it's back to my apartment…" Tim lamented.

"Where do you live, anyway?" I asked. "If you only started battling recently, how'd you afford to live here?"

"I-I'm staying with some people from who came from Cirrina the same time I did." He told me. "They said I could stay as long as I clean up and don't bug them…"

"So they aren't friends..." I pointed out.

"No…but it's a place to stay until my mom finds a job, packs our stuff, and buys a place so we can move here." He explained.

"I'll walk with ya, little man." George said. "Make sure you don't run into trouble."

"Same here." I said. "I need some time to think of something to say to Sarah."

"I'm not gonna ask…" George wisely decided.

George waved his sisters goodbye for now and we walked towards Tim's apartment. While we were walking, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched. Eventually, we got to Tim's apartment. We waved him goodbye as he went up the stairs. After that, it was just me and George.

"So how'd Octim meet you?" I wondered. "He doesn't seem like the type to approach people to make friends."

"He actually ran into me while I was practicing alone near the canal." George explained. "He seemed lost and scared, so I asked him what was up. He never said exactly what, but he seemed to cheer up after listening to me practice. It was a little bit after that that I introduced him to the rest of my band."

"Wonder why he was scared…" I said.

"Maybe just moving to the big city was a bit much for him." He suggested. "Well, that and he mentioned some sketchy people walking around."

That would scare anyone, I guess...

"Well, guess I should head back to my apartment." I said. "Sarah's probably worried about me…"

"I'm not gonna ask what happened," He restated. "But I hope it goes well."

"Thanks…" I nodded.

We soon split paths and I started walking home. I was about halfway there when I got that feeling again. I looked around and no one was there aside from a couple people walking up and down the sidewalk. I kept walking, but still had the feeling I was being watched. I decided to retrace my steps and walk by the canal. There weren't many places to hide there and it was pretty echo-y in there, so if someone was following me I'd hear their footsteps.

When I got to the canal, I decided to play it casually and pick up a couple pebbles the throw them in the water. I then turned to walk down the side of the canal. A few bridges passed and I'll go back onto the sidewalk. After a couple minutes of walking, I started listening for anything behind me…nothing…I kept walking.

It wasn't long before I started getting tired of walking along the canal. I started walking up towards one of the bridges when I saw something out the corner of my eye. I quickly grabbed a small rock off the ground and spun around…only to find Tim right there. He looked terrified.

"Tim?" I couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here?"

"W-we got into an argument…then a fight..." He explained. "They locked me out…"

"Wow." I still couldn't believe it. "Some roommates you're staying with…"

"Can I stay at your place until tomorrow?" He asked.

"Sure." I shrugged. "You can crash on the couch."

"It's a shame how people treat you…" A figure above us remarked. It was some Inkling wearing shades…at nighttime… "But it's a good thing I've found you again…"

"Excuse me, who are you?" I had no idea who this was.

"G-Guyver, we need to run…" Tim sounded petrified.

"What?" I was confused.

The figure hopped down to our level.

"Now, let me help you, child." He pulled out a knife.

"Oh no…"