Falling for Secrets | Goggles x Rider | Splatoon Manga Ship Story

Ch.8 Loosing

Headphones gazed over to where Rider was standing, who then turned around and left feeling awkward.

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„Huh, what's that about?", Headphones muttered and got her attention back to her teammates.

„Sorry guys, I overslept again!~", Goggles explained, but something didn't feel right.

Specs mumbled something inaudible and Bobbles asked where he was this morning.

„Oh-", Goggles looked at them for a moment and continued: „I was with Rider"
Headphones couldn't believe what she just heard... THE Rider? The Rider that HATED Goggles? Is that why she saw him alongside Goggles before he joined them? The long haired girl was amazed.

„Rider? Why him?", Specs was clearly shocked.

„Because I didn't want to be home alone", he answered hesitantly, his smile fading away.

„So you rather hang out with him then with us?", Specs said, clearly offended.

„You didn't ask to", Goggles stated with an anxious expression, extremely atypical of him... That answer seemed to anger the other boy even more as they started a small argument, despite Goggles barely defending himself.

Headphones was puzzled. „Why would Rider ask Goggles to stay over? Was it after he found him yesterday? Since when are they that good of friends?", she wondered. The girl shook her head, still confused.

„Guys", Headphones started to interrupt them: „Let's just use the time we have left till midday, alright?" The boys shut up, leaving Specs annoyed and Goggles blanky staring at her.
Something felt eerie about the way Goggles acted today, or rather didn't act...

„But all the stages are occupied at this point", reminded Bobble Hat.

„Well, we can just join a random turf war then", Headphones suggested and the others nodded. Their usually goofy friend didn't look at her and his smile didn't return.

The team went towards the lobby, Bobbles and Specs upfront. Headphones grabbed Goggles' arm, making him stop in his tracks. He looked at her and smiled faintly.

„Are you alright? You seem a bit depressed today", Headphones asked softly with a worried undertone.

„Uh.. yeah. I'm just tired. You know, me and thunderstorms", he chuckled, smiling brightly.

The inkling girl loosened her grip and they continued to follow the others. Team Blue entered the lobby, soon being randomly assigned to battle another team that they've never heard of in the Kelp Domes. The other team consisted of three boys and one girl, all with light green ink color. Goggles usually sprints to the middle of the map as soon as the turf war starts, inking the area on his way there. But when the battle started this time, Goggles just stayed around the spawn point, inking every corner, barely getting near the enemies or their ink. Whenever Headphones got splatted, she could spot Goggles staring into nothingness.

During the last minute of the battle, loosing mercilessly, the girl swam towards her friend, tapping him by the shoulder from behind, causing him to flinch and swing around.

„Oh-" A smile formed on his face. „What's up, Headphones?"

„You don't seem to be focusing on the game", she said, getting a weird feeling from Goggles' sudden change of emotion.

„Ah", he chuckled, „I just have some things on my mind. Sleepless nights don't help, haha~"

Headphones scanned his face, trying to make sense of how she should react, noticing his tired eyes and chapped lips. „What kind of things?", she asked further.

He looked at her for a moment, smile slightly fading. He opened his mouth, ready to speak, when the two of them noticed Specs respawning, his gaze spoke confusion.

„Why are you standing around like this?", he wanted to know. Goggles closed his mouth again, peering over to Headphones, with wide eyes, silently pleading her not to say anything about their exchange. She understood and kept quiet.

Specs walked towards them, but the timer was over and the results were in... 84% to 10%.
„That was terrible", Bobble Hat stated cheerfully.

Team Blue's leader eventually forgot about his teammates exchange as they competed in more random battles, failing miserably each time. Headphones continued to notice Goggles' strange behavior, but she didn't find the right time to talk to him again.

Noon arrived and the four friends made their way out to the Plaza in defeat.

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Ahh my broken Switch arrived back from repair and I'm really down because the data couldn't be saved. Something about a defective motherboard. I hope I can cheer some people up with this fanfic though! <3
18.06.2020
746 words