Coroyakuza

Twenty Three|| Tension

N-Pacer couldn't help but feel automatically uncomfortable as soon as Headphones opened the door to her apartment. She didn't mean to be rude, but the yellow inkling lived with very high maintenance people so she just wasn't used to how the other gangs in Inkopolis had to live. She sucked it up though, knowing it was her fault she was in this situation. Headphones wanted to have a sleepover with the taller girl so they could get to know each other a little more. She agreed, not knowing what to expect from a commoner's living situation. She hadn't been in a normal home before. Coincidentally, Rider and Goggles were there in the middle of an argument.

"Just tell me the truth, Rider! You're telling me you didn't steal it for money and I want to believe you, but why did you steal it?"
"Gogs, you know I can't tell you that. It's really personal—"
"Y-You aren't smoking any of it, are you?" The hint of disappointment in his voice was so prominent, it made N-Pacer kind of sad. "N-No! Goggles, I wouldn't ever do that kinda stuff! Not when we're together," Rider assured, holding the smaller boy's hands. "I've seen you smoke before."
"That's different, that's just weed. And I promised you I'd stop smoking that, didn't I?"
"You stole meth from us and you can't tell me why, Rider. That's the situation right now. Just tell me."
"Why are you so concerned about it? It's not like it was yours anyway—"
"You broke into my house, Ri!"

They suddenly noticed the yellow and blue inklings at the door and blushed in embarrassment. "H-Headphones! You're back! With, uh, a friend?" N-Pacer gave him a small and nonchalant smile. "My name's N-Pacer. I'm from the Monarch Gang," she briefly introduced. A hand flew up to Goggles' mouth. He scurried over to the tall girl and hugged her. She let out a small gasp as he did so. "Thank you so much for visiting Bobble. It means a lot to her. And I'm so sorry for your loss," he said as he let go, giving her a small smile. The yellow inkling bit on her lip. "Goggles—" Headphones was hastily cut off. "It's okay. Thank you." The shorter boy gave her a small smile before rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said awkwardly, turning back to Rider, who was sitting on the couch and running his hands down his face. "It's okay, really. We'll be in my room," Headphones said, grabbing the yellow inkling by the hand and leading her to her bedroom.

The shorter girl's room was the cleanest room in the house. She did most of the cleaning in the house but N-Pacer could tell she spent a lot of time organizing her room. "I'm sorry about that. And I know these small houses aren't really your forte but this is what I have to work with. I hope you don't mind." Strangely enough, once N-Pacer walked into Headphones' room, she felt at ease. The dim-lit room was comfortable and neat; just like the yellow inkling's own bedroom. The only light source was a table lamp standing on an organized desk. The wall in front of the desk was adorned with paintings and drawings. "You did those?" Headphones shook her head. "Bobble." N-Pacer admired all of them at once. The short tentacled girl was certainly talented. Headphones sat on her neatly made bed, looking down at the blue hearts sewn into the thick white quilt.

"You're quite the bookworm," the yellow inkling pointed out, staring at the large bookshelf against one of the walls. The books were organized in alphabetical order. Headphones blushed. "Yeah, I like studying human stuff in my spare time. It's interesting. Their anatomy is a lot more different from ours. They only have one heart while we have three," she said with a nervous chuckle, fidgeting with her fingernails. "I, heh, I didn't know that," N-Pacer muttered, sitting down next to Headphones. She noticed a small box TV sitting on a dresser. "Wanna watch something?" the blue inkling offered, grabbing a remote from off her bedside table. "I'm sorry if this is boring, but can you put on the news? I like being updated on what's happening," N-Pacer admitted with a sheepish smile. "Not boring at all! I watch the news all the time. Once I turn this TV on, a news channel will be on," Headphones guaranteed with a small giggle, pressing the power button. Sure enough, the news was on.