We're in the double digits now! I remember writing some of chapter 1 on the stairway at school...also NEEEEEEEEW CHARACTER!
WARNING: Without spoiling it, this chapter contains slightly heavy stuff near the end!
"QUARTZ WAKE UP! WAKE UP! QUAAAAARTZ!" Celeste shouted into the sleeping boy's face as she repeatedly shook him. Quartz woke up, annoyed. "What?" he asked in a grumpy tone. "We're going into the town today!" smiled the older octoling. "Cool." yawned Quartz, falling back asleep. Celeste gasped. "HEY WAIT NO! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!"
In the kitchen, Ember was getting her toast ready. "Seriously guys?" she muttered, awkwardly looking over and Haru and Cerulean making out on the couch. "It's too early for this."
"He's awake!" Celeste called out to Ember. "COVER HIS EYES! THERE'S SOME SPICY STUFF GOIN' ON!" shouted the inkling. Her yelling caught the attention of the New Squidbeak's captain and agent 8, who sheepishly looked at the other three. "How much did you see?" asked the two, nervously.
Quartz made toast for breakfast, like Ember did. He sat at the table, trying to sneak a taste of Cerulean's coffee because he was still sleepy. "What's so exciting about town anyways?" he groaned. "I like the shops, they sell a lot of sweets." said Haru. "Sweets?" asked Quartz, his ears perking.
"The best part about the town is obviously the quirky restaurants!" sighed Ember. "Where else can I get cheese flavored cheese?!" Cerulean was in disbelief of her stupidity. "The…cheese store?" he muttered, not sounding much smarter.
"I like watching those two argue." said Celeste. "They've always been like this." laughed Haru. "I wish I had such a nice friend." he sighed. "Dad Haru?" asked Quartz. Haru shook his head, telling him that "It's nothing."
The first thing Quartz did when they got into town was take in the surrounding environment. Many cephalopods were running around, carrying big and heavy shopping bags. A lot of shops that were unheard of in Splatsville dominated the streets. He loved the fresh countryside air too.
Haru began taking Cerulean to a hidden corner. "HAVE FUN GETTING CAUGHT MAKING OUT IN PUBLIC!" waved Ember, causing several people to look at them. "Quartz! You gotta check this place out!" exclaimed Celeste, taking him to a restaurant.
Ember frowned. "I'm lonely."
Inside, an inkling waitress with long orange tentacles, blue and yellow eyes, and a bucket hat greeted them. Her name tag read Sunset. "Welcome to Manta Diner, what can I get for you?" she asked. Sunset has a sophisticated aura, and Quartz picked up on it immediately. "Water." he said. "Water, alright…And you?" Sunset asked Celeste. "I'll have a cheeseburger and large fries and a large soda pop!" replied Celeste. "Gotcha." nodded the inkling, who went off into the kitchen.
"Snob." said Quartz. "You're so judgmental bro." sighed Celeste. "I can just tell by the way she looked at me." muttered the younger octoling. In the kitchen, Sunset could faintly hear a fight break out. "What now?" she scoffed, peeking from the door. Her eyes widened as an expensive ceiling light was knocked off, falling to the ground and shattering.
"OH SHIT! THE MANAGER'S GONNA KILL US!" wailed the siblings. Sunset marched out of the kitchen, shouting "DAMN RIGHT I AM!" She grabbed the two before they could run. "You're gonna have to pay that back!" she growled.
Quartz sighed in relief. "My dad Haru has a lot of mon-"
"Shut up!" snapped Sunset. "You two are gonna work for me!"
"WHAT?" shouted the two.
"There's uniforms in the back." said the inkling.
Quartz scowled at her. "I'm not working for your stupid fucking shack."
Sunset scowled back at him. "You will."
A little while later, Ember felt hungry and was looking for somewhere to eat. "Manta Diner, sounds good!" she exclaimed as she walked in.
"Hello, welcome to Manta Diner. Fuck you." groaned Quartz, before realizing who it was. "Oh, hey." he said. Ember burst out laughing. "That snake in the kitchen forced Cel and I into the service industry." he sighed. Ember kept wheezing. "Aw man! I haven't seen someone so hilariously bad at their job since the time my brother worked at Bass Buy!"
"Don't tell me he has some disturbing backstory too!"
Ember was confused. "What?"
"Y'know, Haru's sister." said Quartz.
"Oh, well no! My lil' brother Flint is probably chillin' at home playing smash or something." replied the inkling girl.
"QUARTZ! CELESTE! FIVE MINUTE BREAK!" shouted Sunset. Celeste walked over to Quartz and Ember. "Whatcha doin'?"
"I'm telling Quartz all about Flint!" answered Ember. "He may have not suffered some crazy injury or died, but he's still very important. In fact, I don't think I would have been an agent without him." she smiled, then noticed the look in the siblings' eyes. They clearly wanted to hear more.
Flashback…
Six years ago…
An 18 year old Ember kicked her shoes off, hung her bag on the back of a chair and comfortably sat down on the couch next to a 15 year old inkling boy.
"Hey Ember! Anything cool happen in town?" asked Flint.
"This lady named Marie wanted me to help her find her cousin, but I dunno." replied Ember.
"What don't you know?" he asked.
"You know our parents expect a lot out of me, so I don't know if I can help her. Doing stuff like fighting bad guys sounds awesome, and the look in her eyes was so beautiful…"
Flint gave her a sympathetic, yet stern look. Their parents didn't have high expectations for him like Ember, so his views were a bit different. "Why should they dictate your life?" he asked.
"If only it was that easy." she sighed. "It is!" Flint said. "Ember, you're never gonna be happy when you sit your ass in a chair all day studying stuff you don't care about!"
"See ya when I'm done, Flint. I'm gonna do it!" smiled Ember confidently, putting her shoes back on. "Now that's more like it." smirked Flint.
Present day…
"I was really different back then." said Ember. "So, when are you actually gonna confess to Marie?" teased Celeste. "Uh…Soon." replied Ember, awkwardly laughing off the question. "GET BACK TO WORK!" shouted Sunset. The siblings sighed. "I'll have your biggest burger!" said Ember in a sassy manner, waving the two away.
Quartz took the order to the kitchen. "That would be our heart attack burger." said Sunset, who began cooking it. "You really think I'm a snob?" she asked him. "Yeah. You're dressed to the nines and you're a bitch." scoffed Quartz. "Not surprised you think that." sighed Sunset, frustrated. "You just wanted to pick on us." grumbled Quartz. "You two broke something not only expensive, but important to my mother." said Sunset. "Your mother?" asked Quartz, softening his expression. "This is her place, but tourist season is too exhausting for her to work here, so I come here for the summer." replied the inkling. "Very snobbish, I know." she added sarcastically.
Quartz understood that Sunset really cares about her mother, a figure that Quartz spent years yearning for. "...Sorry." he mumbled. "Hm?" sounded Sunset, focused on the job. "I guess you aren't what you seem." he said. "So…Sorry, I'll get back to work."
"A softie on the inside, are we?!" laughed Sunset, embarrassing Quartz. "Sorry, sorry! You're a good guy, Quartz." said the inkling, giving Quartz Ember's order. "Do your best out there!"
As Quartz came back to the kitchen, a ton of customers suddenly walked in. "Did you see Agent 4?" asked a customer to another. "Yeah! She said this place is great!" replied the other. Sunset overheard it curiously. "Agent 4?" she asked herself. "Ember either wanted to torture us by giving us more work or she really supports small businesses." Quartz sighed to himself.
"GUYS! THERE'S TONS OF CUSTOMERS!" exclaimed Celeste from the dining area, rushing around the tables and writing down orders at an insanely fast pace. "WHO'S NEXT?" she shouted to the customers.
"Is she always such a showoff?" asked Sunset. "She's a bit extra but I like it." replied Quartz. "Wait a second…YOU SHOULD BE HELPING HER!" shouted Sunset, pushing him out of the kitchen. The orange inkling girl began making the first batch of orders. "Agent 4…Why is she out here? I've heard about her being around Splatsville lately, is she traveling the world or something?" She sighed, watching her two part-timers run around the restaurant.
A few hours later, the two were still doing their jobs while Sunset began fixing any damage she could. "WHO FORCED MY SON INTO WORKING HERE?!" shouted a familiar inkling. "And daughter, I'm here too!" added Celeste. The entire restaurant awkwardly looked over at the scene.
"Shut up, Sunset isn't a jerk who deals drugs or whatever." sighed Quartz. "Honey, you're causing a scene." whispered Haru, pulling him to an empty table. "Who is this Sunset?" asked Cerulean, who was very suspicious. "She's running this place alone so she can take care of her mother." answered Quartz. "I want to help her, because I never got to help my own mother."
Haru felt terrible, and was saddened by the younger octoling's answer. "That's very noble of you." he said. Cerulean fell silent for at least a minute before speaking up. "Hey, I get it." he said. "My parents were stabbed when I was really young. My older siblings did everything for me, but…" Cerulean got up and left. "D-Dad!" called Quartz.
"Give him some space." said Haru. "You reminded him of a sensitive topic." he explained. "I…didn't mean to." said Quartz, feeling really bad and almost tearing up. The older octoling hugged him. "I know." he said softly. "It's not your fault."
The moment came to an abrupt end when Celeste happily skated over. "WHAAAAAT would you like to order my good sir?"
"Just a cheeseburger, and one of those chocolate chip cookies for Ceru." replied Haru. "Celeste puts her all into almost everything she does." he smiled. "I noticed that." said Quartz. "At the canyon, I remember how determined she was to save me. Even in such a dark situation, she still kept her usual pizazz when confronting Octavia…" he added. "That's our neo agent 3 for you!" laughed Haru.
When the two's shift ended, the sun had almost set. "Meet ya at the house!" waved Celeste when she noticed Quartz slowing down. The dark purple octoling boy hung back when he saw Sunset watching the very thing she was named after. Sunset felt his presence, and didn't need to turn her head to know he stood behind her. "Sit with me for a while." she said, scooting over to make room for him. The octoling sat down next to her.
"You really aren't bad." mumbled Quartz. "You too." smiled Sunset. As the two watched the sunset, the inkling felt a rush in her heart. "I actually wanted to ask you something…" she whispered. "What?" asked Quartz in his usual drier tone.
"Quartz, I think I've fallen in love with you!" she cried. Sunset was met with silence, Quartz only shook his head until he found the right words to say. "I don't like girls in that way." he said. "There's also…these boys."
To his surprise, Sunset didn't seem too hurt. "Tell me about these boys, are they hot?" she asked, smirking. "You aren't upset?" asked Quartz. "I'm definitely a bit sad about being rejected, but you really don't know how much I want to be your friend." replied Sunset. "You're the only person I've met who finally gets me."
Quartz nodded. "Okay, now answer my question! Tell me what these boys are like!" she smiled. Quartz blushed and rolled his eyes. "F-Fine…There's this octoling named Kai, who's really cute and he's very sweet, even when he decides to do whatever Bay's doing…"
"And who's Bay?" asked Sunset.
"He's…" Quartz found himself losing his cool. "L-Look, he's super annoying but for some reason I'm in love with him too. He always wants to bug me, but…He also really cares about me, and I wish I could tell him how much I appreciate it."
Sunset smirked. "Awwww." This caused the octoling to look away, his face completely painted in blush. "Sorry, sorry! Didn't know you hated teasing!" shrugged Sunset. The two spent a few more minutes talking, until Quartz remembered something he needed to do after work. "I have to go." he told her. "There's someone I have to check on."
"Wait!" called out Sunset before Quartz could run off. She handed him her phone number. "Now go!" she exclaimed, giving him a thumbs-up. "One more thing!" she shouted, causing Quartz to sigh in impatience. She gave him a glass of water. "You ordered this?" she asked. "Oh, thanks…" mumbled Quartz. The inkling also gave him Celeste's order. "For your sister." she smiled. "Okay, NOW go!"
Quartz ran back to the vacation house and gave Celeste her cheeseburger, large fries and her large soda pop. "Sweet!" she exclaimed. Quartz went into Cerulean's room. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Sorry for reminding you of the stabbing…" Cerulean shook his head. "It's not that…" he sighed, looking at a picture frame. "Ceru, you always take that picture of that girl with you everywhere. Who is she?" he asked.
"My older sister." said Cerulean. "That restaurant boss looks almost exactly like she did when we were kids." he added, smiling slightly. "She was the strongest inkling I knew."
"Was?" Quartz asked, getting the hint that something happened.
"It's my fault she isn't here." Cerulean muttered, his tone sounding more serious. "I was a reckless 14 year old who couldn't fend for himself!" he lost his composure and tears began to fall. "I relied on her too much and that's what got her killed!"
"Ceru-"
"SHUT UP!" he snapped.
The young octoling quickly ran out in fear, and Haru saw everything. "Quartz, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned. "I shouldn't have asked…" mumbled Quartz. "Quartz, did you ask Ceru about earlier?" asked Haru. "Y-Yes…" replied the younger octoling.
"He's not mad at you, I promise." assured Haru. "I'll talk to him."
To be continued...
I'm surprised by how quickly I finished this-