♡ goggles x rider ♡

Chapter 9: Introducing Gloves

[Hey so remember how the contest is taking place? Yeah... There will be more in-depth Goggles x Rider next chapter hopefully c:]

"There you are!"
Glasses ran up to Goggles, with Headphones and Bobble following right behind. It had been a day since they last saw each other, back at Crusty Sean's. The group sat down at the nearest bench to start a conversation.
"The sign up sheet for the Square King Contest has just been put out," Headphones informed him. "We thought it would be better if you went along with us." Her hands held onto the seating for support as she leaned over a bit to see everyone better from the end of the bench.
"Yeah! Thanks guys!" Goggles exclaimed. "Let's go then!"
The walk was not long since they were already in the square — that's just where the contest was taking place. At the base of Deca Tower was an already busy line itching to get their team's names down on the form. There was no time to wait, so the four of them stepped right in line. Glasses was the first to strike up a conversation.
"Goggles, how come you didn't come with us yesterday on break?" he asked. Headphones wondered this as well. And for Bobble... you can never tell what's going on in her head. Either way, they had expected him to show up late, but he didn't show up at all!
"Yeah, it was so much fun!" Bobble exclaimed happily.
Vivid memories of the time he had spent with Rider rushed to the blue inkling's head. A barely noticeable blush appeared on his cheeks. "Oh! I just... Um... I had a coupon for a free drink at the café!" he replied messily, scratching the back of his head. Goggles wasn't necessarily lying, as he did use his coupon, but also wouldn't go into detail and reveal the little event that took place. Lucky for him, his friends simply accepted the response they were given.
Blue team was just a few spots behind the front of the line when they spotted an inkling with bold green tentacles looking back at the group. He was closely inspecting the four, which made Headphones slightly uneasy.
"You four seem familiar... It's like I've seen you guys somewhere before," the inkling said, finally breaking the odd silence. "Anyways, you can call me Gloves!" He stuck his hand out to what seemed like the leader of the four to him. Goggles happily greeted him back, shaking his hand perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
I wonder why everyone thinks Goggles is the leader of our group, Glasses thought, though not too deeply. He moved in front of the group and introduced himself to Gloves.
"Hey! I'm Glasses, leader of team blue. It's nice to meet you," he greeted politely. He hoped this would clear a few things up.
The other had a lightbulb go off in his brain. "Ohhh! You guys are the idiots from Inkopolis Plaza!" Gloves realized, tapping a finger to the side of his head. His eyes closed as he laughed it off. "Never thought I'd see you guys in person!"
Goggles smiled. "Yep! That's us!"
Glasses raised his voice. "GOGGLES WE'RE NOT IDIOTS, YOU IDIOT!" His specs were tinted white as if steam was coming out of his head.
"I heard you beat the S4?" Gloves asked, returning his hands to his pockets. He walked backwards as they got closer to the sign up sheet. "That's pretty impressive coming from you guys. Why don't we train together after this?" The four members of the blue team would take the request into consideration for a moment before coming to a unanimous decision.
"Gladly!" Headphones answered with a smug grin. "But only if your team is good enough to handle us!"
"It's a deal!" Someone else on the green team tapped Gloves' shoulder, signaling for him to sign up. He turned around and signed his name inside a thin box on the sheet of paper. "See you guys there!" he said, before leaving the line with his group. Blue team was right next in line, and got their names down as well. The four seemed to be having more fun than usual, and completely forgot the original purpose for entering the contest: to save Crusty Sean's food truck business.
Both teams, rather than hosting a private battle, met at Sheldon's training grounds. It took significantly less time and was much easier to do. A few other inklings were here as well, some alone and others training with a friend or two. As they unpacked their weapons, Glasses thought it would be a good idea to get right to the point. He explained to the others that they only recently had started batting in Inkopolis Square instead of the Plaza, which made Gloves occasionally tease them about not being fresh. However the big issue was their new specials. They were not yet used to them and could not unleash their full potential.
"I can be a target if that helps you guys," Gloves brought up. "There's a respawn point right around the corner, so I'll be fine."
The co-leader of the neon green team, Half-Rim, helped Headphones learn to use her stingray efficiently. Meanwhile, Gloves abused his dodge-roll ability to avoid it. The splattershot's splashdown and slosher's tenta missiles were much easier to teach. The inkbrush's baller was the only thing left to work on, although Glasses had been doing a pretty good job so far.
Another inkling had been watching them train from afar, standing atop a high ramp, holding a dynamo roller that gave off a golden glare. "Blue team is already at it, huh?" he spoke to himself out loud. The amount of dedication this single team put into turf wars was impressive. It made him feel proud, in a way.
Gloves shifted his gaze towards the tall figure that faced their direction. "Hey, who's that creep over there that's watching us?" he asked while nudging Goggles. His eyes focused on the yellow-green inkling to try and see if it was someone he recognized. Suddenly Goggles jumped, with excitement in his eyes.
"That's Rider! He's my... best friend!" he beamed. The blue inkling flailed his arms around to get the other's attention. "HEY RIDER! OVER HERE!"
As expected, it caught Rider's attention. The first thing he noticed was that someone he didn't recognize was next to Goggles. Just who could this new person be? He flicked his roller and took his squid form, letting him have a comfortable place to land in after jumping.
Rider switched back to his humanoid form. "Who's your little friend here?" he asked.
"That's just Gloves. He's pretty cool!" Goggles answered without hesitation.
"I am one of the freshest squid-kids around," Gloves added, resting his arm on the blue inkling's shoulder. He received a glare from Rider that suddenly made him want to take his arm back off.
"Did you sign up for the Square King Cup contest yet? The sign-up sheets are up!" Goggles brought up.
[I think I used too many ups there...]
"Of course. I was actually not too far behind you in line."
"YAAAAY! That means I get to cheer you on at the contest!" he exclaimed, and ran up to the other inkling to wrap his arms around him.
Rider was blushing hard, fighting the urge to not hug him back.
"Goggles, you f-fool..."