Masked Feelings (Mask x Bobble)

Piranha Problem

Bobble was walking through Inkopolis making her way to Piranha Pit. She held her usual smile, but today wasn't like usual. Her father had been harsh once again and she needed to be alone. And with today being Blue team's break day meant she could do this. Once she was at Piranha Pit she walked to the platform on her left. Once she was there she leaned on the rail before her smile faded and she began to cry unaware anyone was there.

"Bobble, is everything alright?" Came Mask's voice from behind her. He had been next to the conveyer belt that went up when he heard her crying. This was the same Inkling he had hated for a bit because of how happy she had been, but seeing her crying had him concerned.

The moment Bobble heard him she went silent letting herself crying silently while he came up beside her. She didn't like for anyone to see her when she was like this. Not even her team knew about what went on at home or that she often isolated herself to cry. There was only one squid who had seen her cry and that was Headphone.

Mask sighed and looked down at the water. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. We all have dark secrets we don't tell others. If out of fear or to keep those close form worrying." He knew what it was like to keep secrets. "Though you are allowed to cry when things are rough."

She listened to him before letting her sobs become audible again. It was some time before she was ready to talk again, but kept her eyes covered with her hat. In the time she took to calm the two had gone to where Mask had been sitting. "I...I'm sorry you had to see me like this..." She kept her voice low. "I've just been feeling stressed but I didn't want the others to worry..." She hoped that this lie would be good enough for him.

He sighed putting the comic down to listen to her. "Then you should take this day to have fun. We could go to the arcade if you'd like. Or we could go back to my house. I have all kinds of comics we could read." Mask wanted to do what he could to cheer her up. " If neither of those are appealing then we could sit here and listen to music. "

She chuckled a bit  before her usual smile came back and she pushed her hat up. "Sure! Reading comics and music sound like a lot of fun!" She got up before Mask did as he gathered up his comics and led her back to his place.

Once there they went inside and Bobble began to explore the house. It was rather nice with pictures of him and his family on the walls. His room was kind of neat and everything had a place. When she came back to him he had taken his mask off and had put it on a shelf. "Mask, why'd you take your mask off?"

He turned around and sighed. "Well, I have Hay Fever. Being outside with it off makes me sneeze like crazy." He told before going to his room and she followed him. I'm the room there were Off the Hook and Squid Sisters posters on his walls. He went to work looking for a comic series she might like. "So, what kind of things are you into?"

Bobble thought for a moment. She enjoyed all kinds of comics, but her favorite were ones about ordinary squids and their friends. Those always made her happy because they reminded her of her and her friends. That and they usually had a romance in them. "Do you have anything that has some romance in them?"

Mask looked through the comics before he found one. "This is about a girl who finds a magic amulet and becomes the protector of Inkopolis. At the same, in her normal life, she's trying to keep everything from finding out her secret and in those places her crush is often there." He set them all down for Bobble to read.

"That sounds cool!" She exclaimed before picking the first issue up, sat down on the bed, and began to read smiling. Mask sat down beside her reading a hero comic.

Time passed and they were beside each other and rather content before Bobble began to get a phone call. She looked at who it was. "Excuse me but I need to take this." She got up and left him sitting alone in his room. It was a few minutes before she came back in. While her smile was still the same something was off about her.

"Bobble, everything alright?" Mask was concerned about her because she may have been smiling but she seemed fidgety now. He had only seen this in the other kids when he was growing up.

"Oh it's nothing ~! Dad just wants me to pick up some groceries on my way home!" She sat back down beside him and went back to reading but she couldn't seem to keep her legs still.

They passed the time by reading the comics, listening to music, and talking about their teams. Nothing in-depth. Just stories about what they had done before Bobble's phone began to go off like an alarm.

She got up before turning him. "Well, it's about time I got home. Dad doesn't like it when I'm late and I've still got to get the groceries."

Mask nodded before getting up and followed her to the door. "Maybe tomorrow we could have a Turf War. For fun this time." He honestly just wanted an excuse to see her again. She was the one who showed him that he didn't have to hate those who were always happy. At least he thought she was always happy.

Bobble nodded smiling. "Yeah! That would be really fun! But Goggle is the one who you'll have to talk to about a rematch. But I'm sure he'll agree!" She opened the door and walked out waving to Mask. She sighed before making her way back home knowing what her father would do to her if she was late getting home again.