Jason awoke to the sound of his phone alarm. Without opening his eyes, he reached over to grab his phone and shut it off. But he wasn't on his bed and his phone was in his pocket, not his bedside table. And his phone certainly wasn't this soft. Or round. "So what the heck am I holding?!"
Something stirred beside Jason. Surprised, the squid opened his eyes. He nearly screamed but bit his tongue to stay quiet. He very quickly retracted his hand."Did I just...But I...Oh Cod!" His worst fears had come true. He had fallen asleep on the couch beside Thea. And it wasn't like she was in his bed. Jason was in hers!
Jason tried to get up but quickly discovered that he was stuck between Thea and the back of the couch. "Oh no, not this carp again!" Thea was on her side facing Jason, lightly and contently snoring, and unconsciously leaning against Jason with her arm over his waist. This caused the uncomfortable squid to turn a darker shade of red with every passing second.
She was somehow still sleeping through the soft alarm in Jason's pocket. "Must be catching up on yesterday's lost sleep." Jason reached down and just barely grabbed his phone. He shut off the alarm. Still no movement from Thea.
Jason lay there for a little while, not sure what to do. He didn't want to wake Thea up again. He had learned his lesson on waking her up a few times now. But they needed to get ready for work for the day and Jason didn't think he could take the position he was in much longer.
Beginning to panic, Jason franticly searched for something to help his situation. Out of desperation, he stuck his hand between the couch cushions. Jason didn't know what he expected to find in the couch, but what he did find made him eternally grateful for his Nana.
With some effort, Jason rescued the yellow squid plushy from the jaws of the couch. How and why it got in there didn't matter. What was once a source of great embarrassment was now Jason's only hope of getting out without waking Thea.
Jason slowly moved the yellow plush towards Thea. He put it against her chest. He flinched when Thea unconsciously snatched the plush from his shaking hands and rolled slightly away from Jason. He was free! And she was still sound asleep.
Jason sighed in relief. "This girl has sleeping issues." He inched his way up the back of the couch, being very careful not to touch Thea. He was almost out when he grabbed the wrong pillow on the head of the couch. He slipped and fell right on top of the sleeping Octoling. "Oh carp!"
There was a loud screech followed by a dull thud as Jason met the wall...face first. "What is it?! Where are they?! How'd they get here?!" Thea jumped off the couch and looked franticly around for the danger. Her eyes landed on the groaning heap on the floor. "Ah! Jason! Are you ok?!"
Jason was face down rubbing his nose. He raised a hand and gave a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'm good!" came his muffled reply. "How can such a sweet girl have such terrible sleeping habits?!" He thought.
"Are you sure?" Thea asked with concern.
"Mhm hmm." Jason groaned. He felt something trickle out of his nose. He wasn't sure if he was bleeding before or after the wall. "Can you get ready for work while I make breakfast? I thought we could go turfing with some friends after work."
Thea perked up. "Really? Awesome!" The cheerful Octoling hopped off to get ready for the day. The yellow squid plush dropped to the floor in-front of Jason.
Jason stared at the plush for a moment, then slowly got up, cradling his nose. "I have to tell her. Everything. But...how?
"How could this happen?!" Jason raged, swinging his blaster wildly. Thea was laughing. Sam was laughing. Jason wasn't laughing. The three were walking out of Deca Tower, having just finished a game.
"Three splats?!" Jason continued his rant. "How could I have gotten just three measly splats?!" He pointed a finger to Thea. "And you got 13?! What kind of sick training did they put you through?!"
"I don't know!" Thea got out between her laughter. She spun her new favorite ink weapon, the Dualies around her fingers. "I just aim and pull the trigger!"
"Bullsquit! There's no way you lucked your way through that!"
"Hey, Hey!" Sam interrupted, barely containing his laughter. "Try not to get splatted every few seconds next time!"
"They must've been using some illegal gear! They were moving way to fast to be using standard gear! And I swear that sniper was using bullet time or some other superpower carp!" Jason rattled on. He was clearly very salty about their last game.
"Dude." Sam stopped him with a grin. "I'm a sniper. I would know when someone is cheating, or when they just have good reflexes."
"You don't like losing very much do you, Jason?" Thea giggled.
"I don't have a problem with losing!" Jason hissed through his teeth. He was starting to calm down but was still very much full of salt. "I just hate that I'm no good at Turf Wars!"
"Well, we've been going at it for a while now. We should take a break." Sam shrugged. "Look, there's Arthur!" Sam pointed to a table in the middle of the Square. Sure enough, Arthur was sitting at the table, waiting on them. He was browsing on his phone and sipping on a latte.
Jason huffed, tying to calm down. "Ok. Let's take a break. I'm hungry anyway."
Jason, Thea, and Sam walked over to Arthur's table. "Oh hey, guys!" The Octoling greeted. "How's the turfing going?"
Sam laughed. "Going as in going back to spawn base? Yeah, in that case, it's going!" Jason just grumbled something about snipers.
"Ooooh...so not that bright?" Arthur winced.
"Yeah, we're going to take a break and get something to eat" Jason sighed.
"Ok, sounds good." Arthur nodded.
"What are we going to eat?" Thea asked with an eager voice and that adorable smile.
That darn smile. Jason couldn't help but smile too. "What do you guys feel like?" he asked.
"Pizza!" Sam said quickly.
"A burger sounds nice." Arthur quipped up too.
"Pancakes!" Thea bounced.
Jason laughed, the sour mood fading fast. "Ok. Well, we probably could get everyone's favorite. How about me and...um...Arthur get the food?" Arthur perked up. Jason pointed to Sam and Thea. "You two can take a break while we're gone."
"Sound's like a plan." Sam nodded.
"Sure!" Arthur grinned and got up out of his chair, stretching his arms out. "I was getting bored anyway."
"Why don't you join us for the next game?" Thea offered.
Arthur thought for a moment. "Eh, it's not really my thing but...sure. No harm in trying. I'll join you guys next time."
"Awesome!" Thea grinned.
"Here's some cash for the pizza and a drink." Sam handed Jason some cash.
"Thanks! We'll be back soon" Jason pocketed the cash and turned to leave with Arthur, but looked back over his shoulder. "Hey, behave!" He ordered with a serious face, pointing between Sam and Thea like a parent scolding their children.
Sam hung his head in mock shame. "Ok, Ma..." Thea giggled at this
Jason laughed and left the square with Arthur. Sam let out a big sigh as he eased into a seat at the table. He propped his feet up on the chair next to him. Thea sat down across from him and watched the business of the city.
"So, Thea, how's work going?" Sam asked.
"Oh, it's not bad!" Thea smiled at Sam. "It's fun, actually! I like working with people. Especially Octolings. Speaking in my own language every once in a while is nice."
"I bet it is!" Sam nodded. "Living in a foreign city must feel a bit weird sometimes. You certainly seem to be distracted by it a lot!"
Thea laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Inkopolis is definitely more lively than my old town...or the training base." She mumbled that last part.
"Ah...yeah..." Sam realized he'd better change the subject. "Soooooo...I hear you're taking Inkling classes. How's that coming along?"
Thea brightened up. "It's difficult for sure! Your language is definitely harder to learn on paper than by ear!"
Sam laughed. "Really now? Well, everyone thinks learning to read and write is hard."
"Yeah, I was struggling for a while. It's frustrating work." Thea broke into a wide grin. "But Jason is doing a good job of keeping me sane!"
"Ha! There's no way you can stay sane for long with that silly squid! I'd go crazy after just a week!" The two of them laughed.
When they had calmed down, Sam spoke again. "Well, I get to hear a fair amount of Octarian in the city. I'm curious about the written format. Can you show me what it looks like on paper?" He
"Uh...sure!" Thea beamed. She wasn't expecting to get to talk about her language or culture. Especially since, in Inkopolis, Octoling immigrants were expected to respect and learn Inkling culture and traditions.
Sam grabbed a few thick napkins from a nearby restaurant table and produced a pen from his backpack. He handed them to Thea. "So...um...where do I start?" Thea asked, not sure what to do.
"How about you start from the beginning?" Sam shrugged. "Show me you're alphabet?"
"Ok." Thea nodded. She wrote out each letter of the Octarian alphabet, naming them off as she went. Sam watched as she printed each character. They didn't look like anything from the Inkling alphabet. Strange characters and symbols. And strange names to go with them. Sam scratched his chin. He was completely lost.
Thea finished writing out the Octarian alphabet. She then wrote something else. It looked like a sentence. "What's that mean?" Sam asked.
"It's an Octarian greeting." Thea grinned. "See, here's my name." She pointed to a word in the sentence.
"That looks really cool!" Sam smirked. "Can you write something else?"
Thea laughed. "Of course I can!"
It took Sam a moment to realize the absurdity of his question. When he finally got it he laughed too. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean it that way!"
"It's fine!" Thea waved it off. "What do you want me to write?"
Sam thought for a moment before chuckling again. "How would you order a pizza in Octarian?"
Jason and Arthur were walking along the side-walk, meals in-hand. Large pepperoni and onion pizza for Sam, fresh and hot pancakes for Thea, and a burger and fries for Arthur. Said Octoling was already munching away on his fries, sharing with his Inkling friend. They had just one more stop to make. Fish 'n' chips for Jason.
"S-So," Arthur struggled to get out between his snickers. "James looks at Barry with the same wisp of a smile and says, 'Could've been worse. Could've happened to me!'" Both Arthur and Jason broke into laughter.
"Pffffft! Wha?! That makes no sense!" Jason laughed.
"Yeah, but it got you laughing so it worked!"
Jason laughed again. "True, true!"
Jason and Arthur had been exchanging stories and jokes as they walked to each destination. As they conversed and got to know each other a little better, Jason found himself liking the Octoling more and more.
Arthur was quite intelligent and witty. He wasn't a very flashy in-your-face, life-of-the-party kind of guy. He was more like the cool dude that stays humble and likes to be friendly for the sake of being a good person. He tried to stay positive with humor and cheerfulness. A quality that Jason wished he had.
"How many jokes do you have?!" Jason asked, still snickering.
"Too many!" Arthur grinned. "My favorites are the long ones. The ones with a long set-up before the punch-line. That way the punch-line hits hard. It sounds like a normal story and then BAM! Laughter!"
"That's really clever! Do you come up with them?"
"Oh I've made up a few. But I mostly just repeat ones I've heard. They're hard to get just right." Arthur shrugged.
"Heh, I bet!" Jason agreed. The two walked in silence for a bit. "Hey, Arthur?"
"Hmm?"
"Just wanted to let you know, you're a pretty cool dude." Jason smirked. Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jason continued, "I'm sorry I didn't pay you much attention when we first met. I was kind of shy of Octolings and I'm sorry if I made you feel ignored or left out."
Arthur listened to Jason with a smile.
"Hanging out with Thea has helped me a lot with my awkwardness...I think. A-and now that I've gotten to know you a little better, Arthur...You're just such a cool dude." Jason chuckled and Arthur joined him.
"Thanks, man!" Arthur nudged Jason's shoulder with his. "Means a lot. I don't have many friends here and I'm so lucky to have you as one!"
As they continued their walk to the store to pick up Jason's meal, Arthur watched Jason turn his head as they walked past an antique shop. "Jason?"
Jason kept his gaze on the antique shop. He was silent for a moment. "Arthur, you can go on ahead. I need to see something."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Uhh...are you sure? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine...Just ask for Jason's order. I've already paid on my phone." Jason walked back to the shop.
"Uhh...ok" Arthur stood confused. Jason closed the door behind him and Arthur was alone. He sighed and continued the walk to the fish 'n' chips store.
Sam drummed his fingers along the table. He was leaning against his hand, propped up by his elbow. Thea sat in the chair across from him, practicing her Inkling alphabet. Their conversation had ended a little while ago and now Sam was bored.
Sam glanced at his phone to check the time. He sighed. In reality, Jason and Arthur hadn't been gone for long, but when you're mildly hungry and craving pizza, you could experience the passage of time differently from everyone else.
Sam racked his brain for something to do. He had already caught up with all the news and social media on his phone. He couldn't see anyone else that he recognized at the Square. He couldn't think of anything to talk about with Thea. So he sat there, slumped on the table, doing nothing.
Suddenly, a smile slowly crept across his face. A mischievous smile. He had struck an idea.
"Thea?" Sam asked for the Octoling's attention nonchalantly.
Thea looked up from her writing. "Yes, Sam?"
"How are things going with Jason?"
The tapped the pencil she was borrowing against her chin. "I'd say it's going well. He's really nice to me and he's provided me with everything I've needed."
"Oh really?" Sam asked with sarcasm so clear any Inkling would instantly know that he was up to something. But Thea wasn't an Inkling, nor was she fully used to the way Inklings spoke. "How nice?" Sam asked.
Thea was a bit confused by the question. Nevertheless, she tried to answer truthfully. "Uhhhh... I think pretty nice? He's bought me clothes and food and got me a job. He listens to me and he's helped me through some problems."
"Well, do you think he "likes' you?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
Again, Thea was confused. "Do you mean as a person?"
Sam mentally facepalmed. "No, no. I mean, does he 'liiiiike' you?" Sam stressed the word to be more clear.
Thea blush and looked away. "U-uhmmm...I guess? I-I don't know. Maybe? He did say he has an awkwardness around girls. Maybe that's it?"
"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Sam continued.
"O-oh he just acts a little weird...sometimes." Thea explained. "I've just shrugged it off. Everyone has their little quirks."
Sam again pressed on. "Oh? What sort of weird stuff?"
"Well..." Thea thought about all the mornings she'd had at Jason's place. She thought about how each time he was in pain and/or on the ground. She had thought such behavior extremely weird or worrying but had ignored it as a personal issue for Jason. She didn't want to upset him.
But now that Thea thought about it, Jason had never returned to his bed last night. In-fact, what had happened that morning was very similar to Thea's first morning in Jason's apartment. These thoughts lead Thea down a tunnel of realizations. The tunnel led all the way back to the military camp and all the bad memories of the life she was trying so hard to forget.
Sam watched as Thea's face went serious. She was thinking hard. Just what he wanted.
"A-actually...Jason has been really weird at times." Thea admitted. "B-but he's so nice the rest of the time!"
"What if he's only nice that to make up for his awkward moments?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"N-no! He's just being nice because...because..." Thea struggled to find an excuse.
"Because that's his plan." Sam finished for her. Thea gave him an odd look.
"He wants you to trust him. He wants you to think he cares." Sam leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms behind his head, closed his eyes and sighed. "He does this every once in a while. He gets a kick out of it or something I don't know"
Thea was now completely lost. "What are you talking about?"
Without opening his eyes, Sam continued with a big grin. His prank was coming along nicely "Jason of course! He takes in girls like you, befriends them, gains their trust. Then, he bangs 'em when they least expect it."
Thea tilted her head. "He...what?"
Sam opened one eye to see the confusion on the poor Octoling's face. He mentally facepalmed again. Of course, she wouldn't understand the slang. "He 'gets frisky in bed with them.'"
It took a second for Sam's words to sink in. Thea connected to dots and figured out what Sam meant. She tried applying that to Jason and suddenly, it all just added up.
"Wait, what?!"
Sam didn't think he'd ever seen such a red face. He could've sworn he saw Thea's normally turquoise tentacles turn purple for a second. The look of shock and embarrassment on the flustered Octoling's face was priceless. Sam wanted to burst out in laughter, but that would ruin the prank. He needed just a little more time.
"B-b-but w-what about the clothes he bought me?! They must've cost so much! A-and what about Inkling classes? And getting me a job? Why would he do all that?" Thea sat in disbelief.
Sam leaned his head back into his hands, still grinning like a fool. "Like I said. He wants to gain your trust." He shrugged. "As for money, he's actually quite wealthy. That job at the Nautical Dinner pays really well. He just doesn't live a wasteful, rich lifestyle and saves everything."
Thea's head swirled. How could this be? Had Jason really been planning to take advantage of her this whole time? Surely there must be some explanation for this!
"He hasn't tried anything with me!" Thea again tried to defend Jason.
"Oh please!" Sam chuckled. "I saw him make a move on you at the party last night. He just missed the lips!"
Thea frowned and her face flushed again. "No! T-that was an accident! He tripped and fell on me!"
"A purposeful accident." Sam grinned, eyes still closed. "People do stuff like that all the time!"
Thea thought she was losing her mind. She didn't want to believe what Sam was saying, but he was making sense. Had Jason lied to her? Had he really befriended Thea because he wanted to 'bang her'? After everything they had done, after everything they had gone through, everything they had talked about. Could she really trust Jason?
"B-but why would he...I don't-" Thea was starting to break down. Running her fingers through her tentacles, she started to question everything. Her mind was racing to figure out what was going on. She had one last hope.
"B-but...H-he saved my life!" Thea was close to tears.
Sam again shrugged, unaware of the internal conflicts going on in Thea's head. He was simply enjoying how well his latest prank was going. "You were vulnerable. He saw a chance and he took it!" Sam opened one eye and looked at Thea. Time for the finishing blow. "Besides, I'm sure with a rack like yours, he just couldn't resist!"
Thea's face was already so full of blood she couldn't get any redder. She subconsciously covered her chest out of embarrassment. She was breathing fast and heavy. She didn't know who to trust. Who was telling the truth and who was telling the lies. She wanted Sam to be wrong. She wanted him to be wrong so badly. But it wasn't looking very good for Jason.
Sam finally opened his eyes and sat up straight. He was struggling to hold back the laughter, unaware of the turmoil in Thea's mind and the tears threatening to break from her eyes. This had to be his greatest prank yet. But now was the best part: revealing the prank!
"Pfffffffft-hahahah!" Sam laughed the hardest he'd laughed in a while. "Thea, you-"
"Hey, guys!"
Sam and Thea's attention was drawn to Arthur and Jason, who were quickly walking up to them. They were carrying the food they had ordered. Sam saw the pizza box and nearly forgot about Thea. "Grub's here!" he waved them over.
Arthur threw his now empty packet of fries in a nearby bin and ran up to the two at the table. Jason trailed behind, carrying most of the food, a serious expression on his face. Something clicked in Thea's head. When she saw Jason, she didn't brighten up like she usually did.
Sam was reaching for the pizza from his chair even as Jason was walking up. Jason laughed at his silly friend. "Sorry about the wait guys, I wanted to get somthi-" Jason noticed Thea's state. Her face was red and she was shaking. She looked like she was going to burst into tears. "Thea? Are you alright?" he asked with a frown.
Thea couldn't take it anymore. She quickly got up from her seat and tried to run, but she tripped on the chair's leg. She fell to the ground with a 'thump' and a cry of pain. "Thea!" Jason moved toward her to help but she quickly got up and ran for one of the Square's exits.
"Thea?! Thea! Wait!" Jason called out for her but she just kept running in a blind panic. He turned to Sam for answers. "Sam, what happened?"
"Whoa! She doesn't take jokes very well!" Sam blinked in surprise.
Jason narrowed his eyes. "What?! Sam-you!" Jason looked back to Thea. He saw her run through and exit, bumping into people along the way. Jason slammed food he was holding on the table and took after her. "Thea, wait!"
Sam and Arthur were left at the table. Arthur's eyes were wide. "What the carp just happened?!"
Sam just shrugged made a move for the pizza box. Arthur snatched before he could get it and held it out of reach. "Explain! Now!" Sam huffed in annoyance.
Wow. There you have it. The chapter where stuff goes down! Took a while but we got there! I wonder where it goes from here...
Longest chapter yet at over 4000 words. Phew! The conversations take a while to write. Need to make them entertaining while staying easy to follow and full of detail.
Well, we're on the home stretch now with just 5-6 chapters to go. Things are about to get a little crazy! Review for a golden star sticker and Follow me or the story for updates. I have big plans for the future so let's hope I can find find the time and motivation to follow them :P
Until next time,
Dashanerocket