Splatoon: Number's Game
Chapter 3
"Dude, that was so awesome! We had a real hot streak going!"
"Yeah. See, I told you that if we stuck it out, things would swing our way again. Did I not tell you that, Evan?"
"Yes, Alex, you did. No need to rub it in, haha."
8 watched as two inkling boys walked out of the meeting area for Turf Battles. As night was already taking form over Inkopolis Square, she had been waiting for Agent 3 to come and pick her up, but it was beginning to seem as though she wasn't really coming.
Meanwhile, Alex waved goodbye to his friend as they began to walk off in their separate directions. He turned away and began to walk towards the subway. As he made his way there, he saw a strange octoling girl, a very pretty one, sitting on the floor against the wall.
Alex's eyebrows furrowed a bit as he saw her. She seemed to be waiting for something or someone, but it was hard to tell. The octoling girl looked at him and tilted her head curiously. Since she'd already caught him staring, he decided to walk over and stand at her feet.
"Hey… Um, are you alright?" Alex asked.
8 nodded her head, but began to look around a bit. Alex looked where she was looking, but saw no one in any direction nearby.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Alex asked.
8 nodded her head again, but then she took in a breath. Her eyebrows lowered; her expression conveyed uncertainty. Alex hummed and crouched down to be eye level with her.
"Nighttime is gonna be here soon. The night battles will be starting soon. Do you think that your friend will be here by then?" Alex asked.
8 didn't respond at all, but continued to look at him with the same expression.
"Hmm… Do you know your friend's number? I could let you call 'em on my cell." Alex offered.
8 shook her head. Alex exhaled sharply.
"Ah, okay… Um, well, I have some friends that could probably help you find who you're looking for. In the meantime, would you be willing to come home with me?" Alex asked.
8 raised an eyebrow at him.
"Um!" Alex began to stutter, "I-I didn't mean it like that. I mean, uh, just to get outta the cold." He scrambled to explain himself better. 8 smiled in amusement.
8 adjusted herself so that she could stand up slowly. Alex stood up as well, looking back down at her. She reached up and curiously tugged on the mask that he wore over his face, pulling the straps off from around his ears so that she could look at it.
"Yeah, uh, that's mine… Ready to go?" Alex asked.
8 looked back up at Alex and nodded, handing the mask back to him. He took it and shoved it in the pocket of his jacket.
"What's your name, by the way?" Alex asked.
8 paused for a moment, then held up 4 fingers on each hand. Alex looked at her hands in confusion.
"Your name is 4?" He asked absently.
8 shook her head and tapped her hands together, still holding up the 4 fingers on each hand. Alex tilted his head upwards a bit as he tried to piece this together.
"8." He said.
8 nodded quickly to tell him that he was right.
"Okay, 8. Well, my name is Alex. It's a pleasure to meet you." Alex introduced himself, holding his hand out to her.
8 looked down at his hand, looked back up at Alex, shook his hand in return, smiled, and brushed her hair back slightly.
"Cool. Not one for talking much, are ya?" Alex commented.
8 shook her head and rocked on her feet a bit.
"Haha, okay. Well, you can stay with me until we figure out where you need to be. We just gotta take the subway to where my car is parked." Alex said, gesturing to the escalator that led down to the subway. 8 looked back at it and nodded.
Alex and 8 stepped into the subway car, walking through the center aisle and sitting down in two seats next to each other. Alex sat by the window while 8 took the aisle seat. As the train pulled away from the station, 8 began to look around curiously.
There weren't a lot of people in the other seats, but that wasn't what 8 was focused on. The general feeling of being in the train, the way that it moved, the sounds that it made, the way it felt dark in spite of the lights above them…
It reminded her of something she didn't like.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked, looking at her and noticing her discomfort.
As the lights flickered above them and the train passed through a tunnel, 8's head shot over to look at Alex with a wide-eyed expression. Upon seeing the look of concern on his face, she swallowed and nodded in response to his question.
"Okay. You just look a little pale. It's only one stop, so don't worry. I still live in the city. Once we get out of here, the parking garage is just right across the street." Alex laid out the steps for her to make her feel at ease.
8 nodded her head again.
The parking garage brought on an entirely different kind of discomfort for 8.
They came up from the subway, crossed the street with the starry night sky above them, and entered into the garage. They took an elevator ride up to the fourth floor. On the fourth floor, Alex led 8 through a lineup of cars as he silently searched for his.
8 looked around worriedly, with the bad feeling that there were eyes on her that she couldn't see. With no one else in sight but Alex, she stepped a little closer to him so that way she wouldn't feel quite as anxious.
"Here we are." Alex said, pulling his car keys out of his pocket and unlocking his car. 8 peered around Alex to look at it, and her eyes widened yet again.
Alex's car was sleek, painted a dark blue, with a design that embodied both racing and luxury. Alex pressed another button, and the doors opened from their hinges that were on top, rising up above the car: suicide doors. 8's eyes glossed over; she was enamored.
"Hop in." Alex said, walking to the driver's side and getting inside. 8 nodded and got in the passenger seat.
Alex pressed a button, and the doors closed on both sides. He pressed the engine start button, and the car roared to life with a smooth purr. 8 flinched a bit with excitement, feeling like she was about to enjoy a ride. Alex put his seatbelt on, and she did the same.
"It's not too far from here." Alex said to her before putting the car into drive…