Do You Blame Yourself?

[Chapter 13] - Sun Rays And New Dreams

The first thing Peso saw when he walked into the kitchen was Kwazii chugging an entire water bottle with Tweak and Barnacles cheering him on. "Did I seriously wake up for this?" he asked.
"Yes, yes you did," Shellington mumbled, picking his head up from his hands.
"And I'm sorry you had to," Inkling added.

The water dripped down from Kwazii's mouth. "Oh no," he said, laughing. He kept laughing and that wasn't helping. Kwazii looked over at the doorway just to see Peso. "Peso!" he shouted, almost spitting out the water in his mouth. Kwazii then started choking, and he covered his mouth before turning around and spitting it all out into the sink.
"That was the worst idea we've had in ages," Tweak said.
"How much water did you drink?" Barnacles questioned. Kwazii just looked up, the water still pouring out of his mouth.
"An entire bottle, matey. You literally dared me to," he spat.

No, he actually had to spit that out, along with the rest of the water he drank. "That was the worst thing I've ever done, I'll be back," he added before turning away to leave.
"Where are you going?" Peso asked just before Kwazii passed by him.
"I'm just going to the bathroom," he said. "Why do you want to know? You want to join me or something?" Kwazii added. Peso whipped his head around.
"No," he said, walking away. Kwazii walked out of the kitchen with a quick smirk.

"Okay, that was weird, but..." Peso stammered. Tweak looked over at the medic with a smirk.
"But?" she asked. Peso looked over at her.
"Excuse me?" he asked. Tweak crossed her arms.
"Didn't want that to sound offensive, so don't take that seriously," she said.
"Don't worry I didn't," Peso said, smiling and holding up his hands in defense.
"But what do you mean, "but,"?" Tweak asked. Peso kept his hands in the air but he held up one finger.
"I don't know why I said that," he admitted.
"All right then..." she muttered.

Kwazii looked in the mirror. He held up finger guns before laughing. "Aye mamas, you free today?" he said, getting extremely close to the mirror, shaking his hands which were still in the finger guns position. Kwazii then broke down laughing, putting his hands on his knees to prevent himself from falling. "Okay I think my bladder is about to explode," he muttered.

The rest of the crew were sitting in the kitchen, or they all were at least in the kitchen.
"Where is Kwazii? He doesn't usually take this long in the bathroom," Peso noted.
"How do you know how long Kwazii takes in the bathroom? Do you time him or something?" Tweak asked. Peso whipped his head up just when Dashi almost choked on her cereal.
"Okay, that was funny," she said, pointing towards Tweak. As soon as she had said that, Kwazii walked in.
"Did I miss something?" he asked. Everyone stopped and looked at each other.
"No, no you didn't," Peso said. Kwazii sat down slowly, glancing around.
"All right, then," he said. Silence hung in the air.
"So, how's your wrist feeling, Captain?" Peso asked, looking over at Barnacles.
"It's feeling better already," he said, smiling. Peso smiled back.
"That's good. What about your arm, Kwazii?" he asked, turning his attention to him. Kwazii looked up.
"Same as usual. It feels good," he said.
"Good, good..." Peso added, trailing off.

Kwazii was just staring at the table, processing something. "What does it feel like to die in your sleep?" he asked, looking up and at the rest if the crew.
"I wouldn't know, I haven't died yet," Shellington said with a smile.
"I know that, Shelly, but like..." Kwazii added, his words trailing off. "What would it feel like?" he added.
"Maybe just sleeping and never waking up?" Tweak suggested.
"What would you see when you do die?" Kwazii asked.
"Kwazii, just eat your yogurt," Peso said. "I really don't want to talk about death at nine in the morning." Kwazii looked up towards Peso.
"All right, all right," he said, putting his hands up in the air.

About a half an hour went by, and boy did it go by fast. Kwazii walked up to Dashi and tapped her shoulder.
"Hey, want to play checkers?" he asked. Dashi's face scrunched up in confusion.
"You never want to do things like that," she said, turning around in her chair.
"Today feels different, or at least it does to me," Kwazii said. Dashi looked up at him with confusion plastered on her face, but she smiled.
"All right then. Let's go," she said before getting up. "I usually don't do these things, but I've got some free time," Dashi added. Kwazii's eyes lit up.
"Woot!" he said, throwing his hands into the air before the two left the HQ.

"We could go to the library to play," Kwazii suggested as the two walked down the hall.
"We could..." Dashi muttered. The two poked their heads into the library, glancing around. "Where's Professor Inkling?" she asked, looking up at Kwazii.
"He's got to be in here somewhere- there he is!" Kwazii rambled on before pointing across the room. He practically leaped over Dashi just to stand right in front of the door.
"Hey, Professor! We've got a question!" Kwazii yelled, waving his hands frantically. Inkling looked up from what he was doing only to see the two standing there by the door, waving. 
"Oh, hello you two! What are you up to?" he asked. Kwazii bounced down the stairs with Dashi following behind.
"We were wondering if we could play checkers in here, just to get out of the HQ," Kwazii said, basically wheezing.
"Of course! You guys didn't need to ask, though," Inkling said. Kwazii turned around to face Dashi.
"Yay!" he slurred, throwing his hands into the air once again.

Dashi was focused on her next move. with Kwazii staring her down. "Choose wisely," he said. Dashi glanced up.
"I am," she added. Dashi picked up one of her pieces and moved it diagonally. Kwazii sighed.
"Oh, come on matey," he muttered. Dashi smirked.
"Didn't see that one coming, did you?" she asked, folding her hands. Kwazii tried to hide his smile.
"I was hoping you wouldn't see that," he added.

"All right it's your turn, Kwazii," Dashi said. She looked up only to see Kwazii staring out the window.
"It looks nice outside," Kwazii said, placing his head in his hands. Dashi also looked out the window. The rays of sun were shining through the water, and it was really pretty.
"You have a point," Dashi said.
"The sun always looks extremely pretty in the morning, and I just can't figure out why," Inkling added.
"Don't know what it is, but it looks awesome," Kwazii stated. He was looking at the water like he was in love or something.
"You look like you're in love with the sun rays," Dashi muttered under her breath. Kwazii's head shot up and he looked over.
"Well, you got the first part right, matey," Kwazii said, nodding his head slowly.
"You're joking," Dashi said.
"I'm not."
"You wouldn't just openly admit that without a reason," Dashi pointed out.
"I realized a little while ago that showing emotion doesn't make me vulnerable, it just shows that I'm not an idiot," Kwazii said.
"But you're not an idiot," she said. Kwazii sighed.
"That's not what I meant to say. Maybe it shows that I can feel things," he added.
"It's all right to show emotion. Sometimes that proves that you care," Dashi said with a small smile.
"I get that but, eh..." Kwazii trailed off. Everyone was quiet. "Maybe I just need advice on how to confess," Kwazii mumbled before slaming his head on the table.

"Sorry to interfere, but I have an idea," Inkling said. Kwazii and Dashi turned to look at him.
"What is it?" Kwazii questioned.
"It's very simple. Just be real to yourself. Be truthful," Inkling stated.
"Yeah, be truthful. But this time, to both the other person and yourself," Dashi said, adding on to what was just said earlier.
"I can do that," Kwazii said, raising his head up from the table.
"That's what I thought," Dashi said.

"Who do you like, then? If you're willing to tell us you like someone, then maybe you should just say who it is," she requested.
"Uh, I'm not telling you," Kwazii said, putting his hands on the table, preparing to leave the room.
"At least finish the game before you leave," Dashi said, motioning to the board. Kwazii looked down at it.
"All right, whatever," he said smiling.

Words: 1452 Words
uhh happy chapter before everything goes bad again lmao