Feeling gentle hands shake me awake, I sleepily blinked open my eyes, realizing the light in my room was on. The culprit who was waking me up was blurry thanks to my bad sight, but I could tell it was my sister. I yawned, about to sit up, but I felt her push on my chest, keeping me down.

"Alyssa, what the hell-"

"Shhh. Tenta's next to you and still sleeping." She looked over to my left, and sure enough, Tenta was sleeping soundly right next to me. His chest slowly rose up and down with each breath he took in and exhaled, the little fucker must've made his way out of bed when he was sure I was asleep. I gaped at the sight for a moment, before shaking my head slowly and looking back up at Alyssa.

"What the hell do you want, 'Lyss?" I whispered, rubbing my eyes to rid them of their sleepiness.

She looked back at Tenta, before looking at me in the eye, "Let's go in the pool today."

I threw my head back and groaned, "'Lyss, you know I'm not that much of a swimming person."

She laughed, "I know I know, but I invited Cassidy and Miles to come and hang out with us in the pool for a while."

"What?!" I hissed, before covering my mouth with a hand and looking down at Tenta to see if he woke up. He stirred slightly and rolled over on his stomach, but other than that he was still sleeping like a baby.

Alyssa punched me in the arm because of my fuck up, before reassuring me, "Chill, you know those two so well, you shouldn't even be nervous about Tenta being seen by them. They're our friends, best friends as a matter of fact, plus they know how to keep secrets. Cassidy may be a blabbermouth but she wouldn't dare utter a secret unless given permission. Miles is quiet enough as it is, I'd doubt he'd say much. You told him so many secrets all the time I lost count."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "How did you know that I-"

"Plus...I already... maybe sorta kiiiiinda somehow toldthemaboutTentaalready?" She spoke the last part quickly and quietly, but I knew what she was going to say as soon as I heard the first word come out of her mouth.

Sighing roughly, I pinched the bridge of my nose, "You know what? Fine. I accept this. When are they coming over?"

"Right now, actually."

I stared up at her with a blank expression.

"...Get out of my room."

She left with a giggle, rushing out of my room and into the hallway. She stood to where I could fully see her in the doorway, and I could see that she was wearing blue goggles on her forehead and a yellow two-piece swimsuit. Or I assumed anyway, as she was a blurry mess since I wasn't wearing my glasses. "I'll see you in ten!"

Rolling my eyes, I fully sat up and started to stretch my arms after being asleep for so long. I glanced down at Tenta, giving a squid a gentle rub on his head (the part not scarring up, mind you), before standing up and grabbing my swim trunks from one of my dresser's drawers and glasses, heading into the bathroom to change. I normally would've done it in my room but with Tenta in there? No. No matter how heavy of a sleep he was in, I wasn't going to risk it.

Exiting the bathroom with my trunks on, I made my way down the stairs and towards the backyard to where the pool was at. I saw Terrell on my way out, the man standing in the kitchen and cooking up an omelet for himself to consume.

"Hey, Will! You didn't tell me Tenta was done showering last night, so I had to come up and take his clothes while you two were sleeping. I thought the both of you were going to share the bed, I didn't think you two would share the floor."

"Sorry, bro. I was going to tell you but Tenta distracted me with his assholeness. I tried to make him take the bed and I take the floor for the night, but he snuck out in the middle of the night and went to sleep right next to me."

Terrell hummed, "Sounds like he considers you a good friend already."

I rolled my eyes, "I doubt it. The little fucker was just trying to be one of those guests that reject your generosity."

My older brother shrugged as he poked at the omelet with his spatula, "Seems odd that he'd sleep right next to you if he was simply disregarding your generosity."

"...." I turned on my heel and walked away, choosing to opt out of the conversation and make my way out into the backyard. I heard Terrell laugh behind me, the sizzle of his omelet cooking clear in my ears.

Once outside, I looked up and found a couple lingering clouds. I checked the weather channel yesterday, so I knew a rather big storm was going to happen later on in the day today. It was still safe to go swimming for now, so I had no worries.

"William!" I heard from my left, and I turned to see Alyssa entering the backyard wooden gate with our two friends, Cassidy and Miles. They both waved at me, Cassidy's wave was hyperactive and eccentric while Miles' wave was small and calm. The three of them walked over to me, stepping over the grass with bare feet and meeting me on the pavement.

Cassidy was a sixteen year old caucasian girl with blond hair, her bright and blonde hair hugging itself around her head in little waves. Her face was decorated with freckles, and her green eyes sparkled with excitement and mischief. Miles was her slightly younger step-brother, fifteen years old, pale and blank but wise. His choco-brown hair was smooth and curled at the edges, and his eyes were chestnut unlike his sister's. They were both wearing their own swimsuits, Cassidy wore a blue one piece with frills at the bottom to form a little skirt, and Miles wore swim shorts that showed off sharks, a sea animal he was fond of.

"Sooo, where's the little squid dude? Alyssa's told me and Miles so much about him!" Cassidy asked, looking around for the annoying little shit.

I nodded my head towards the house, "He's in my room sleeping, he'll probably be up soon but I don't guarantee that. One time he went to bed at ten and woke up at noon."

Cassidy's eyes lit up, "Wow! Talk about a heavy sleeper! Oh yeah, speaking of heavy sleepers, I once found a post online about this one dude who liked to lift weights so much he started doing it in his sleep! He was a bodybuilder who had sleepwalked all his life until he-"

"Okaaaay let's go swimming!" I quickly interrupted her before she went further. She paused for a moment, before nodding eagerly and heading towards the pool. She halted in her stride, then turned back to me.

"Where's the pool toys at, again?"

I pointed towards a small structure at the far corner of our backyard, "Over there in that small shack. We don't use the toys all that much unless our little cousins come over for a visit, or unless we just want to lay down in the sun on those big floaties."

"Cool! I'll go grab some floaties and noodles, and maybe some water guns too. We all could have a full on brawl!"

Alyssa clapped her hands and whooped, before tugging her goggles over her eyes and jumping into the pool without a care. A large splash of water washed over Miles and I, although I was the only one who was ticked off. 'Lyss soon resurfaced, shaking her head slightly and looking back over at us.

"Come in! The water's great today!"

There was no need to tell Miles twice, for he jumped in soon after. I was about to myself, but when I got a good look at the water, I froze. The swirling waves caught me off guard, and for some strange reason I felt almost intimidated by them. I quickly shook the feeling off and jumped in right after Miles, mentally dismissing the feeling as I felt the water take me in.

I resurfaced just in time to see Cassidy toss in the floaties and noodles. One of them almost landed on my head, but instead it barely nicked me on the side of my ear, and it plopped onto the water and began floating to the ripples we made. Cassidy laid the water guns she collected on the pavement beside the pool, before jumping into the body of water as well, her long blond hair blowing in the temporary wind as she descended.

Her large splash washed over all of us, making the three of us spit and sputter for a moment. We all then started splashing Cassidy in the face, who in turn thrusted her arms to wash big splashes upon all of us.

Our antics kept up like this for a while, until we all grew tired and started chilling in the pool. Alyssa, Cassidy and I were all resting on big floaties, while Miles was absent-mindedly going around the pool in a ring floatie. Cassidy suddenly sat up from laying in the sun.

"Hey! Is that the inkling you've been talking about, 'Lyssy?" She asked, adding Alyssa's nickname she called her at the end of her statement.

Sure enough, it was Tenta, the inkling silently walking into the backyard. I noticed that he was wearing yellow swim shorts as well, Terrell probably suggesting he should wear it. We all grew silent at his approach, and watched him as he looked down at all of us from the pavement.

Suddenly, Cassidy squealed, "Oh my gosh! He's even cuter than you said he was, 'Lyssy! I'm soooo jealous that you get to have an inkling in your house!" She slid off the floatie and moved towards the edge of the pool, climbing up the side Tenta was at.

"Hey cutie! It's very nice to meet you after all this time! You're so adorable, I wanna squish your cheeks so bad!" She squeaked, wringing out the water in her blond hair.

Tenta stared up at her for a moment, before looking around her and towards me, "Who?"

I pointed towards the overeager girl, "Cassidy. Her name is Cassidy."

He looked back up at her and reached out a greeting hand, "Hi, Cass-ee-tee."

She took his hand and shook it slowly and gently, "Hello, Tenta, you're very cute."

He nodded slowly, stepping away from her and towards the edge of the pool. He sat down on the edge and closed his eyes, basking in the warm sunlight. Cassidy giggled at the sight, stepping around him and climbing down one of the ladders into the pool. She swam over to me, whispering a question into my ear:

"Can Tenta join us in the pool?"

I went to answer with a no, but she already swam a small distance away from me, opening her arms wide with a large smile on her face.

"Tenta! Jump into my arms! Please!"

He glanced up at her, shaking his head and closing his eyes once more, just wanting to appreciate the sunlight. Cassidy tried to give the command again, but was ignored.

I watched her failure with amusement, turning to her and saying, "Lemme try."

Alyssa raised a brow, "You do know that inklings can't swim, right? It's common knowledge."

I looked over at her with a challenging grin, "Well, since he took a shower last night, I can conclude that it's not that they can't swim, it's that they don't want to swim. Inklings are not just hydrophobic by body, but also by mind."

"Are you implying that inklings just can't swim due to their attitude on water?" She asked, her sassy tone returning slightly.

"Exactly." I confirmed, turning to Tenta.

"Tenta! C'mon, jump into my arms." I clapped my hands, opening my arms wide and looking at Tenta expectantly. The inkling opened his eyes and looked over at me, shaking his head no and frowning.

I said the command again, this time with different results. He glanced over at where I was positioned and at everyone else. He stood up, unsure if he wanted to go back inside or follow my command, hesitation clearly evident from his body language. Cassidy gasped, uttering the word jealous under her breath, before growing quiet once more.

I said the command again and again, and slowly but surely Tenta made his way over to the literal edge of the pool, looking in with fearful eyes. I clapped my hands and opened my arms wide, knowing that he knew that I wouldn't kill him on purpose.

"I'll catch you, trust me on this."

Tenta looked down at the water, before looking right back at me. He bent down slowly and backed up a bit, before launching forward and landing in my arms, where I caught him successfully.

My sister and our two friends whooped and cheered at the action, and I looked at Tenta in my arms with a wide smile. He was grasping my arms uncomfortably tight, and shivering lightly, but he was okay. He looked up at me, and while I could see a lot of fear in his eyes, I also saw trust. I guess we were a littlepast the acquaintance stage and had moved onto being trusting friends despite our language barrier.

I grinned at the inkling, happily whispering in his ear, "Good joooob."

He gave a small smile back, though it quickly went away when he saw Cassidy messing with the floaties. He pulled himself closer to me, the both of us knowing the only reason he was in this pool was me, myself, and I.

Cassidy found what she was looking for, a ring floatie. "Here it is! Now the little guy doesn't have to worry about drowning!" She pushed the floatie on the water over to me and I managed to grab it after a small amount of waiting.

I looked down at Tenta, "Okay, dude, you gotta let go."

"No."

"Tenta, you gotta let go."

"No."

"Tenta."

"No."

"Tenta!"

"No!"

Sighing, I knew I wouldn't be able to get him to let go of me. I grimaced, knowing he'll put up a fight at what I'll do next.

I slowly began prying his hands off my arms, and as soon as he noticed it, which was instantly, he started hissing and flailing and creating splashes everywhere. Cassidy and Alyssa winced while Miles just looked on with interest, until I managed to fully pry the inkling from my grip and put the floatie around his body.

Eventually Tenta managed to slowly calm down, though he still looked mega frightened and jittery, which I felt guilty about. His hands were tightly grasping the floatie, so tight I feared it might pop, but it managed to hold strong. He did his best to linger by my side, constantly reaching out a hand to grab my arm to hold. I reluctantly told him as simply as I could that I couldn't stay with him the whole time in the pool, to which he grumbled angrily to himself.

After a while he grew quiet, watching us all hang out in the pool and not uttering a sound. He was calm after being in the floatie for so long, realizing that the object was keeping him afloat as long as he was in it. He still looked heavily uncomfortable, however, occasionally glancing at the water with wariness in his eyes.

Cassidy spoke up after she saw Tenta's pitiful state, "Maybe we should let him get out? I thought that he'd be having fun at this point but he seems so scared of the water around him."

I sighed in disappointment, knowing that she was right, "Yeah, we should let him get out. Tenta, do you want to get out?"

To our surprise, he answered with a small "no."

"No?" Cassidy and I said in unison, looking at the inkling in surprise. He was quietly looking at the water, curiously swirling a finger in it. He looked up at us for a moment sighed, before turning his gaze back to the water and swirling two fingers in it this time.

Cassidy tilted her head, "Do you think he's getting used to it?"

I shrugged, "Maybe? It's possible he realized that water isn't deadly as long as he doesn't flip."

"Or maybe he accepted that he's stuck with you and is willing to accept death without hesitation." Alyssa called from her floatie with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, swimming over to the pool's ladder and climbing out. "Okay, I'm tired of being in the pool, let's have a water gun fight or something."

Cassidy clapped her hands, "Oh! I am so in! Get ready to be annihilated! Miles, I know you're my sibling, but there's no friends and family in war. You're all going down."

Miles shrugged at her comment and smiled before heading towards the pool ladder and climbing out too. Soon, everyone was out except for Tenta, who was watching us and wondering what was going on.

We all picked up different water guns, Cassidy and Alyssa chose the tiny guns that shot quick and short shots, while Miles and I took guns that required pumping but could squirt far and long.

I looked over at Tenta, who was curiously staring at the pile of leftover water guns on the ground.

"Tenta, you wanna play too?" I asked him, holding up my water gun.

A large grin spread on the tan inkling's face and he slowly made his way over to the pool ladder, hinting that he wanted to join in. I walked up to the pool and reached over to gently push the floatie he was in over to the ladder to help him out, receiving a happy "thanks" in response.

Soon he was out of the pool, ditching the pool floatie and joining us on the grass. He looked down at the pile of guns, reaching down and picking up a water gun similar to Cassidy's and Alyssa's. He looked up at all of us and nodded, holding his gun as if it were his shooter in a turf war.

"Okay!" I announced to everyone, deciding to take charge, "This is a free for all. Everyone against everyone. The person who gets squirted the least in the next five minutes will get the leftover cookies in the fridge! Everyone ready?"

I got all nods.

"Let's go!"