In Crimson // Coroika Vampire AU

Nothing More

How odd, that Bobble was. A constantly cheery girl, carefree, bouncy as her bob and a beloved member of the underdog Blue Team. She was captivating to Mask, in an infuriating way. How could a person be so... bright?

He squinted his eyes.

And why did she cover her eyes?

She stood across the Square from him, chatting with her teammates. Mask sat in the shadows obscuring the Grizzco building, watching curiously. Not that he wanted to go and talk to her, but he was certainly tempted to. For no particular reason. He wouldn't dare make an attempt while the rest of the Blue Team was there, though. Bobble already having the knowledge that he had gone to talk to her of his own free will was humiliating enough- imagine four people. It made his skin crawl to think about.

Almost as though a god existed, however, the three teammates stood up from their seats, giving friendly waves to the girl of the day before walking into a nearby clothing store. Bobble watched them leave, then leaned back in her seat, pulling out her phone to look at something. Mask's heart skipped a beat (and then he winced at how stupid that was), sensing the opportunity.

I shoooooouldn't, this is ridiculous, he thought to himself. I don't actually caaaare. He turned around, ready to sneak around to the train station and be done with the whole day, when he heard her laugh ring out throughout the Square. For any other Inkling, the sound would've melded in with the rest of the city symphony, but for him, her voice was clear as a bell. He clenched his fists. Fuck. Fine.

Mask awkwardly slid over to Bobble's now-empty table, hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants. He didn't need to get too close before Bobble's head popped up from her phone, noticing a shadow casting across her table. Her simple smile became an even bigger grin upon seeing the boy. "Masky! You're here!"

Mask rubbed the back of his neck, clenching his teeth behind his gas mask. "Heeeeeey, Bobble."

Bobble tucked her phone away, directing all her attention to him. "I don't think we've ever talked outside of a battle setting before! What are you doing around here?"

Mask was hoping she wouldn't ask. "I was goooooooing to work, but it looks like they overbooked, so now I have nothing to do." He crossed his arms. "Only reason I stopped byyyyyyy, is all."

Bobble giggled, bringing her hand up to her mouth a little. "So, you're free then?"

Mask blinked. "Why do you phrase it like thaaaaaaat?"

Bobble glanced over at the clothing store. "Goggles and Specs and Headphones got their usual clothes pretty torn in a match we had yesterday, so they're in there, buying replacements. My clothes were fine, though, so I'm just waiting for them to come out! If you're here, though," she stood up and took a step closer to the boy. Mask gulped. He was taller than her, much taller, but her being this close made him nervous. "We could hang out instead!"

Oh, I did NOT sign up for it to go thiiiiiis far, Mask thought. Still, it was her offering, not him, which was significantly less embarrassing. An opportunity like this wouldn't come by every day...

That involved actually hanging out with Bobble, though. Gross.

Mask shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant (why did he have to try?) "Suuuuuuuure, if you insist."

Bobble squeaked happily, grabbing onto Mask's arm. "Yay! Let me text the others where I'm going." After doing so, she turned to Mask. "Where are we going?"

"Don't ask meeeeee, you're the one who made this a thing."

Bobble hummed. "I know a cool tennis place!"

"Sure, whatever."

And that's how the two ended up on a tennis court, spending the lazy afternoon hitting a ball back and forth. Admittedly, Mask wasn't having a bad time. He wasn't much of an athlete (yeah, yeah, Turf Wars, but...), but there was something immensely satisfying whenever he gained a point on Bobble, how her stance would occasionally falter, though her smile didn't. If I manage to get her through fucking tennis of all games, maaaaaaaybe I'll start believing in a god. They ended up being pretty evenly matched throughout their games.

Bobble served, then Mask hit, then Bobble, getting a mischievous hint in her face, angled the ball as she sent it back to him, clearly trying to trip him up. Mask gritted his teeth, stumbling over his own feet to reach the ball. He slammed his racket into it, accidentally sending it flying towards Bobble's face at a high speed. Shit! Before he could shout "look out", though, Bobble, with lightning-fast reflexes, calmly reached out and grabbed the ball.

Mask fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Hoooooow the hell am I an S4 again? He looked up to see Bobble staring down at him. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that!" He countered, standing up. "Hooooow did you maaaaanage to grab that? Your eyes aren't even open!"

Bobble giggled, delighting in his confusion. "I'm just that good, baby!"

Mask sighed, turning away from her to lift up his mask slightly to gulp down half a water bottle. He wiped his mouth, tugged the mask back down, and then looked over his shoulder at the girl. "Hey, Bobble?"

"Hm?"

"Whyyyyy do you always keep your eyes shut?"

Bobble hummed in thought for a second, finger on her mouth, as Mask readjusted his body to fully face her.

"Well, it's because I'm a vampire!"

"...what."

"Mm hm!" Bobble nodded. "I'm a powerful vampire from an ancient bloodline, and if you ever looked me directly in the eyes, I could control your mind and body and make you my devoted servant for all eternity!"

Mask stood there, silent for a second, before bursting into an uncharacteristic fit of small giggles. "Y-you caaaaan't be serious, pfft-"

"How would you know?"

"Vampire's aren't real, stupid! I didn't realize you had chuunibyou."

"Believe what you waaaaant~!" Bobble said, her cheeriness refusing to fade. "Now, are we gonna keep going or are you about to pass out? You look paler than usual, you know."

"Maybe I'm the vampire."

"I can't believe you're an S4."

"Hey!" yelled Mask, despite having had the exact same thought less than five minutes ago. "Turf and Ranked are diiiiiiferent. They're a lot shorter, for starters."

"Whatever you say!" Bobble said, very clearly having to hold back from teasing him further. "Give me your racket, I'll clean up and then walk you home."

Mask tried to protest that, if anything he should be walking her home, but Bobble, vampire or not (pfft, yeah right) was a force to be reckoned with, and surprisingly stubborn.

"Today was fun!" Bobble said cheerily, standing in front of the door to his apartment building. "We should hang out more often, ya know?"

"We'll see about thaaaat..." Mask said. "I'll seeeee you laaaater."

"Bye!" With that, Bobble left, walking down the street, and Mask stood at the door until her figure, illuminated by the soft twilight glow, disappeared behind a corner.

Well, that was interesting, Mask thought, as he walked inside, locking the door. Guess it was an okay way to kill some time. He tried to delude himself into thinking it was just that, a way to kill time. After all, it's not like he liked Bobble, or anything.

That's what he told himself as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep, and unable to get her laugh out of his head.