Severed Ties: An angsty 3/8 fanfic

Chapter six

"Are you ready to go, Three?" Eight stood right outside of her apartments door. She wore a black bandana on her head, a band tee, leggings and boots. 

"Almost. Just gotta tie my shoe." Three replied from the living room. After a short pause, the sound of shoes stomping the floor came from the living room, and three walked up to Eight. She wore a plain white t-shirt with the words "STAY FRESH" in inklish, shorts and pink shoes. "Sorry. I got caught up in making sure I  looked decent..." Three glanced down at her clothing.

"Dont be nervous, Three. I'm sure Four will be excited to see you came back." Eight said.

"Tch. Four gets excited when they see anything." Three sneered. Eights face quickly went from a smile, to stone-cold. 

"Three, I've been meaning to talk to you about this," The octoling gently grabbed Three's hands. "About the other night...We cant stop pretending that it didnt happen." Three was clearly uncomfortable, but she replied calmly;

 "I know, Eight. But I dont know where to start. I guess I want to say sorry for dumping all of that onto you..." Three avoided eye contact with Eight.

"I dont want an apology, I just want to make sure youre okay and here to stay." Eight rubbed Three's hands with her thumbs.  

"I cant stay here. I dont have my stuff And I dont even have an apartment. Ill come back, though. I just need to find some way to get away from my parents." Eight let go of Three's hands. 
"I'm just glad you'll come back. When do you plan on leaving?" 

"I was planning on leaving this week. I took the bus last time, and ill take it again."

Eight nodded her head, and held the door open for Three. The two agents began walking down the street. 

"I forgot to mention, Three. Agent 4 is living with Marie and Callie  now." Eight turned her head to the inkling.

"What did their parents say about that? They're only 14 after all." Three looked up from the ground. 

"Their  parents  dont know about Four being an agent, remember? They're fine with Four living with a friend as long as they have contact with them. You know Fours parents are really chill." Eight replied.

Three didnt reply. She kicked a small pebble on the ground as she walked. Three had always secretly envied Fours parents. While hers had always been at work and never gave her much attention other than being strict, Four was very open with their parents. The two reached the square, and headed to a drain nearby. both turned into their squid forms and entered the drain. 

"Three!" A young inkling raced across the valley over to the group. They pulled Three into a tight hug. 

"Hey, Four." Three's tone didnt get  much more enthusiastic. 

"Typical Three, always sounds like shes in a depressing movie." A sarcastic voice sounded from behind the group. A young adult inkling with grayish-white hair was standing in the middle of Octo valley, her kimono flowing in the wind. 

"Hello, Marie." Three smiled slightly. Four let go of the inkling so she could greet the former idol. Maire hugged Three, before pulling away with a disgusted look. 

"Remind me to get you deodorant next time we meet..." Marie half-joked. Three rolled her eyes light heartedly. 

"Wheres Callie?" Eight approached from where she was standing on the drain. 

"She went off to the store. Shell be back to see Three, of course." 

The others having their own conversation allowed Three to examine the valley. Nothing about it really changed. The tiny house that the squid sisters and Four lived in was the same as well. 

"Where have you been Three?" Four finally asked. Everyone fell silent. Three and Eight shared an uncomfortable glance at each other. Four had never known anything about Three's strict parents, or her unbearable guilt, but Marie did. 

"I uh," Three cleared her throat. "Just needed a break from all of the agent work." 

"So... You just left because you were tired of working?"  Four was visibly upset. The look on their face made Three realize her mistake. 

"N-no its not like that! I wasn't leaving forever--" Three was cut off.

"What if something happened to us!? What if the world was at stake again and you just- left!?" Three nervously stepped back as Four's voice became angrier.

"Four, maybe we should change the subject--" Eight tried to calm Four's fury.

"NO! She left us without saying any thing! You know how upset we were when she left! You know how upset I was!" Tears began flowing from their orange eyes. 

"Its not completely my fault! Theres more to the story than you think, Four." Three attempted to defend herself. "My pare-" Four turned her back to the inkling and ran back into the small house, slamming the door. There was nothing but silence. 

"I really was an idiot for leaving..."