Road to Splatsville

“Wait? Is that too formal of an invitation?”

Shortly after reuniting with Octavio, the copy of my file showed up in my mailbox. Wyatt had gone to check the mail that morning and I remember him laughing in the foyer. 

“We’re still getting other people’s mail! It’s always 806 or 810!”

“What’s it now?” 

At the time, I didn’t get a full glimpse of who it was addressed to or who the sender was. You think I would’ve recognized the Octarian emblem keeping the envelope closed.

“Westley Summers.” He snickered. “Which is a new one, but for once the address is actually ours.” The violet Octoling rolled his eyes and tossed it onto the counter with a slight thud. Who knew how many papers were jammed in there. “Eh, I’ll put it back in the mailbox later.” He mumbled before getting distracted by the junk mail in his left hand.

I quickly swiped the envelope off the counter. “It’s cool. I’ll do it.”

Wyatt glanced at me with a shrug. “More power to ya,” He chuckled before reading aloud the rest of the mail to me.

When I was finally alone, I unsealed it. I wasn’t surprised that Octavio addressed it to my birth name but hearing it out of Wyatt’s mouth made me jump. While I had already skimmed the notes on Octavio’s phone, I still dug through the paper copies for hours. There were a few photographs from awards ceremonies and a couple reviews that some higher-ups had written about me, but that was it regarding new information.

Not like rereading it hurt my head any less.

I finally had physical proof of who I was but the more I thought about it, the more stressed it made me. While I was finally able to match up the last of my mem cakes—the lost soldier had to be Ren and the lost neighbor must be River given the colors—I was still scared.

I had no reason to fear my friend’s reactions to the news, but what the hell came after this? My only mission was finding out who I was, meaning I was lost again. It’s not like I was the real me anyway. Westley seemed like an upgrade that I was miles away from reaching, so I froze.

It felt like when Stewart left.

How was I supposed to fix everything else? How would I find Ren or my family, or convince River not to hate me anymore?

I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself, so for almost a week, I stayed inside, constantly rereading that file while praying an answer would appear. I couldn’t help but think back to how it was in Inkopolis. Maybe it was easier to be braindead—I was carefree and bubbly. While I’m smiling in every picture from Splatsville, it doesn’t have the same undertones.

Maybe that was part of growing up.

Everything lost its glow and although Westley grew to hate the military, he still had a glow to him that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get back at this age. That was the saddest part.

But unlike how I felt after the situation with Stewart—it wasn’t sad enough to make me cry. Only sad enough to make me freeze up and wallow in silence, separated from everyone.

I knew it was awful and it’d only make me feel worse, but I stayed in the apartment for ages. Whenever I talked to anyone, I felt fake as if I was observing every interaction in third person. I hoped the isolation would allow time for self-reflection and I’d stop stressing myself out, but instead I ended up with a migraine that only got worse as the week progressed.

The more I thought about any of it, the worse I felt.

I stood at the kitchen counter in my sweats, eating the rice pilaf out of the pot on the stove that I had managed to burn around the edges. It was the middle of the afternoon, but this was technically my breakfast as I’d only gotten out of bed less than an hour ago.

As I stared at the heap of dishes in the sink, I overheard my phone ringing in the other room.

The sound hurt my head, but I’d only make myself feel worse by trudging in there just to turn it off. I had made the mistake of taking pain meds on an empty stomach a few days ago, and puked after like fifteen minutes, so now I was trying to eat something while waiting for it to kick in. But despite finally getting enough sleep, I found myself dozing off at the stove until there was an aggressive knock on the front door. 

It wasn’t one that I recognized.

Wyatt’s knock was light, Cyrus’ was fast, Radian’s was always to a tune, and Alaias usually just yelled my name from outside.

When they knocked again, I dragged myself over to the foyer and tried looking through the peephole, but the moment I got on my tiptoes, the door swung open and cracked me in the head. I staggered back with a curse, only to see Radian in the doorway, panicking.

“Holy fuck! Are you okay? I didn’t know you were right behind the—”

“No!” I groaned, clasping my forehead with my eyes shut tight, waiting for some of the pain to subside. “Did you pick my fucking lock?!” I glared up at him and he looked guilty for a second before the expression washed away and his cocky demeanor resurfaced.

“So what if I did? It’s not like I could contact you any other way. It was a last resort.” He scrunched up his nose and let himself in, but he paused, brushing my hands off my face. “Real shit though. Is your head okay?” He pecked my forehead, but it caught me off-guard, and he rolled his eyes when I couldn’t muster up a response.

I closed the door as the Inkling leaned against the armrest of the couch, arms crossed. The way he glared at me as I approached him made the short journey feel like a long walk of shame.

“Have you been actively avoiding me?” He scoffed as he spoke lowly, visibly pissed. “You don’t answer my texts, you ignore my calls, whenever I look for you, I can’t find you, but somehow everyone else always knows what you’re doing!”

The Inkling suddenly laughed, still staring me down. “At first, I thought I was overthinking. Maybe I missed something. Maybe you’d come around—fuck, I don’t know!” He anxiously fiddled with his collar. “No one else understood why I was freaking out since apparently I was the only one out of the loop!”

“I-I haven’t been actively avoiding you,” I mumbled.

“Don’t give me that shit!” He snapped and I stepped back. “You’re not at the record shop, you’re not at the Battle Pot when Wyatt says you’re going to be!” He rolled his eyes. “I figured he was the best person to talk to, so I ask him what’s going on and he looks at me like I’m an idiot! ‘Ravi’s fine,’ he says. ‘He was playing Rainmaker earlier!’ he says.”

“You’re not an idiot!” I exclaimed and swallowed heavily. “I lied. I’ve been lying to him all week or everyone…I guess. I haven’t been out doing a damn thing.” I turned away from him. “I just said I was so you guys wouldn’t freak out and you’d leave me alone. I’m sorry.”

“The fuck?” 

“I-I don’t have some vendetta against you,” I tried to explain softly, rubbing my arms. “I’ve been avoiding everyone.”

“What the fuck—why?! If you just wanted some breathing room, you could’ve fucking said something! Who just disappears for a week!” He looked me over with a hint of disgust. “That’s a very Stewart thing to do! I hope you know that.” The Inkling hissed. “I thought you wouldn’t wish that shit on anyone else!!”

I immediately avoided his gaze, gripping the bottom of my shirt. “I’m sorry—”

“If you were gonna go MIA, at the very least I expected you to tell me! You’re my fucking boyfriend, right?” He asked anxiously and I caught his voice crack. “I haven’t seen you since that night. If you had different feelings about the whole thing, why didn’t you just tell me? I don’t wanna be dragged along,” Radian let out a shaky sigh. “If you hate me, just say it. Or if you just agreed to be my boyfriend because you were high and didn’t want me to feel bad, say that instead!”

“Radian, that’s not—”

“You promised you were gonna talk to me about what’s been going on! And instead you just ran and like, hid in a corner!” He flung his arms up. “Is this the fuckin’ continuation?! What the hell even happened?! What?” He scoffed. “Did you fuckin’ kill somebody! No matter what, I don’t have the right to judge—just look at me! I just want—”

The Inkling suddenly stopped, quickly trying to wipe away the first tear that fell but within seconds his face was soaked. I only knew of him crying when he’d open up and that was always a miracle. The worst time was when he told me about his parents…and everything that happened between their death and meeting me almost a decade later. He sobbed for an hour, but given that he’d been burying the feelings since he was fourteen, it wasn’t surprising.

Still, if you managed to make Radian Gorbuscha—the emotionally constipated loner, —cry, then you really fucked up. Talk about being a sorry excuse for a boyfriend.

“I-I just want you talk to me…” He cried softly, pulling his shirt up to his face while trying to calm himself.

I hesitantly grabbed his hands. “Hey… I’m sorry.” I held him tighter. “I’m so sorry. I mean it. I didn’t mean to freak you out or make you think that…I was lying to you about my feelings or anything like that. It’s not about you,” I muttered.

“I’m just going through…something.” I slowly let go of him. “I’ve had a migraine for more days than I can count. I feel like shit. Yes, I want to hide in a corner until it all goes away, but it won’t. I keep thinking I can move on or solve it on my own, b-but here we are.”

Radian wiped his face and looked me over with worry. “Did someone do something to you?” 

“No—”

He grabbed my chin and lifted my head, so I’d finally look him in the eye. “Tell me the truth.”

“I’m telling the truth!” My cheeks burned as he stared down at me.

Whenever I was upset, Radian often worried about there being a second party involved. It wasn’t bad. I’m sure he only worries about me encountering another Stewart and getting my heart ripped to pieces…by someone I trusted with my soul. Either that, or he was paranoid that I managed to get hurt in a similar way to him. I’d never wish a betrayal like Stewart’s on my worst enemy, and Radian felt the same regarding his history of sexual assault.

He never had someone to confide in or keep him safe. After he told me, I slowly started noticing how he prioritized providing things to loved ones that he was never able to receive.

I pushed his hand away and walked over to the couch, pulling out the file from underneath that I’d been reading incessantly like a devotional. An emotionally degrading devotional. 

I handed him the thick folder. “No one did anything to me. Except for…me, I guess. I’m the king of internal conflicts,” I laughed shamefully, and Radian gave me a somber look, ignoring the papers in his hand for a while.

“God, man.”

“It’s fine.”

“Ravi…”

I walked past him into the kitchen and finally put the rice away since I was desperate for something to do. I kept my back turned to the Inkling, but eventually I heard him sifting through the documents. 

That was the only sound for a while. Each time I heard a page turn gave me a chill. 

I felt like I was gonna throw up.

Maybe taking medicine on an empty stomach wasn’t the issue. It was probably just my nerves, as if I could fix that.

“Who the hell is Westley?”

I cringed before glancing over my shoulder at Radian. We quickly made eye contact, but I didn’t say anything. The room went silent again until I heard him gasp. 

“Oh God. You’re Westley, aren’t you?” He raced over, turning me to face him. “You’re Westley!” He beamed.

“Y-Yeah…” I mumbled and watched as Radian’s hype withered.

“Isn’t this what you wanted…? You wanted to know who you were, right?” He glanced at the folder before placing it on one of the kitchen stools. “What is that—your military record? Isn’t it even better that you figured it out without Stewart?”

I hesitated and then shrugged. “I’m happy knowing I’m someone other than Raviyoli, sure, but it doesn’t feel right. At the end of the day, it still doesn’t feel like me.” I sighed, hiding my face as my head throbbed again. “The name sounds familiar and so are all the words on those pages, but that’s not me.”

Radian chuckled awkwardly. “Yes, it is. No shit it doesn’t feel like you, man. Think about how long you’ve gone without these memories,” He gestured towards the documents. “The memories that finally tie everything together, at that. But that doesn’t mean that’s not you.”

The Inkling smiled a little. “That ID photo is definitely you.” He snickered. “Same nose, same eyes, same grin, same freckles. Even your piercings are the same. You were just a whole-ass child.” Radian laughed but the sound was comforting.

“Y-Yeah…”

“How long have you had this? Hell, how long have you been freaking out about this for?”

I gulped. “I mean, this was mailed to me not long ago, but it’s a copy of the real thing. I…ran back into the general I worked beside and when he realized I had amnesia, he pulled up my file on his phone. So…” I bit my lip. “I’ve known I was ‘Westley’ for at least a week now.”

“Exactly a week?”

“Like, last Thursday.”

“When we hung out.” His eyes widened. “No wonder you were acting so weird! Well, you were high,” He snickered. “Well, now I get why!” Radian walked back over to the couch, laughing harder. “You were freaking out about that! W-Why are you freaking out about this?”

“I feel like I have to remember how to be myself. Sure, I was a kid, but I was more real than I feel right now,” I sighed, holding my head while wishing I could laugh at the ordeal like Rad could. “I-I’m fucking scared. I can’t explain it. I guess it all just feels surreal. I finally know who I am or who I’m supposed to be, but I can’t live up to it. What am I supposed to do now? My memories might be back, but everything’s still foggy!”

“How are you gonna live up to…yourself? You already have. That’s you. You shouldn’t have any crazy expectations of yourself right now.” He squinted. “More importantly, you shouldn’t be comparing yourself to your past which is significantly different from today. Change is good. Why are you being hard on yourself?”

“Because I’m sure if I had never deserted, my life would be on track. I never would’ve gotten amnesia, lost my first best friend, forgot my sister—”

“Pause!” Radian quickly leaned forward from the armrest. “You have a sister?!”

“Yeah,” I laughed coldly. “Ren. I think she’s twenty-two. And I fucking forgot her. I forgot my own sister. Westley would never do such a thing. I’m sure Westley was a great brother…until he abandoned her.” I trailed off.

“Aw, I bet she’s adorable!” Radian smiled before cutting himself off. “I’m metaphorically slapping you, though. Stop separating Ravi and Westley and being hung up on your past. You can’t change it! And it’s not like you went and intentionally hit your head, so stop being mad at yourself for having amnesia! Shit happens, okay?” He rubbed my shoulder. “You should be proud of how far you’ve come, given where you came from and what you’ve been through.” He smiled. “I know I am.”

“You…are?”

He smirked. “Yeah. You’re a badass ex-soldier who doubled as an engineer. You’re bilingual, you’re strong—emotionally and physically, you have a charming personality. You’ve overcome growing up as an outcast, endured the army, saved the world twice like it was nothing!” He grinned, trying to count on his fingers. “You’ve put yourself out there, paved your own path, got over a ‘break-up’—you’ve experienced life and when you were knocked down, you always got back up.” Radian moved his hand over to my face, caressing my cheek. “And I don’t know how. Even now, I don’t know how you woke up without even knowing your name, pushed through, and got this far.”

The Inkling gazed at me, and I happened to notice his blush. “The moment…my life fell apart in that regard, I gave up. I’m still surprised that I lived to see my twenties. You bet your ass I’m proud of you.” He smirked. “You don’t need to keep freaking out. Think about it.” He sat on the armrest and held my hands, looking up at me. “At first, you were convinced that you’d never learn about yourself or your past without Stewart, yet here you are. I’m sure you’ll find your sister or repair any old relationships from when you were a kid, cuz you’re you. And you’re hard not to love. Anyone who knows you should know you’d never go out of way to hurt them.”

I smiled as my cheeks burned. Honestly, my face was starting to hurt from smiling, but at the same time, I felt like I could break down at any second.

“But,” Radian went on. “You don’t need to do that right now. Just fuckin’ chill dude. You’ve deserved it.”

“But I just feel like there’s something I should do! I can’t sit down and relax knowing my sister is lost out there somewhere.”

“Ravi. If your sister is anywhere as smart, beautiful, or innovative as you, I’m sure she’s fine,” He chuckled. “Just breathe.” He returned to his feet. “The only thing you should be doing is celebrating.”

“Celebrating?”

“Duh.” He rolled his eyes. “I expected that on the day you learned your name, you’d be bouncing off the walls and shit. Instead, you’re borderline crying.” He snickered as he noticed my watery eyes. “But it’s cool.”

I shoved him. “Shut up.”

“Regardless, you deserve a celebration. You’ve been ‘Raviyoli’ for six years now. It’s the end of an era! You gotta go out with a bang!” He smirked. “And a party is probably the easiest way to tell everyone what your actual name is.”

I snorted. “Or I could just text them.”

“But will you, though?” Radian squinted as I went quiet. “Exactly. Just consider it! But in the meantime…” He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him. “What do you want me to call you?”

“H-Huh?” I choked, instantly distracted by how close he got to me. 

“Raviyoli or Westley? I mean, they both end with ‘ee’ which makes them good fits. They’re equally cute. They also have satisfactory nicknames—Ravi or Wes. Then again,” He mumbled with a smirk. “‘Westley’s’ starting to do some pretty good shit to my brain.”

I shoved him lightly, but he quickly pulled me back in. “Don’t be weird.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t…know. You’re the first person I’ve told so I hadn’t gotten that far.”

“Well, ‘Westley Summers’ has my vote. Not that ‘Raviyoli’ isn’t adorable, but ‘Westley Summers’ is perfect.” He pecked my nose. “Also, your initials spell ‘WES’ which is sick.”

“Er, yeah…”

Radian raised an eyebrow with a suspicious grin. “You’re so indecisive. How annoying.” 

“W-What are you making that face for? The fuck are you plotting?”

The Inkling leaned into my ear. “I don’t know, Westley,” He slid his hand down my back. “What do you what me to be plotting, hm? You know I’ll do anything you ask for.”

I instantly flinched thanks to Radian being Radian, but also from hearing my name. I couldn’t lie—it was nice. And it was particularly satisfying hearing him say it although I knew he was trying to be suggestive.

“So, what’ll it be, Ravi?” He snickered, locking eyes with me.

I laughed softly. “You can call me Westley.” I muttered. “It’s kinda nice.”

“Oh, fuck yeah!” Radian beamed before lifting my chin and kissing me without hesitation. I expected it to be short-lived, but he proceeded to keep us pressed together as he traced my spine, refusing to pull back until he reached my tailbone.

“C-Chill,” I leaned back, grinning. “I haven’t even showered today yet.”

“Okay, and? I don’t fuckin’ care.” He kissed my ear. “This shouldn’t surprise you. You disappeared for a whole week. I’m only making up for lost time.”

I tried to wrestle myself out of the hug, pushing his shoulders. “Can’t you at least wait like ten minutes?” I laughed. “I promise I won’t be that long!”

Radian grabbed my arms and placed them on his waist. “Nope. This is revenge.” He smirked, pressing his lips against mine again. When he loosened his grip, I continued to cling to his jacket and felt him smile into the kiss. His hands proceeded to wander up the front of my shirt but when he pressed me against the couch, I let out a whimper which only drove him to increase the pressure.

“You like that, Westley?” He muttered against my lips.

“Shut up.” I mumbled, tracing his ear with my fingertips while trying to ignore how satisfying that was starting to sound. “…Yes.”

Radian leaned back and laughed, and I scrunched up my nose, growing more embarrassed as he stared at my whole face. Though, he eventually sighed and rubbed my bottom lip, just smiling.

“I missed you.”

I glanced down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” The Inkling took a deep breath and hugged me, and I instantly closed my eyes as I felt him bury his face in my neck. “I’m just glad you’re okay. At the end of the day…you know that’s all I care about,” He mumbled, holding me tighter.

Even once Radian had let go, I continued to cling to him. Despite his mindset towards his life, I was always impressed by how he would consistently encourage me. I hated knowing he had given up on himself, but it was impossible to ignore. He couldn’t care less about himself or where he ended up, whereas people like me and Cyrus got all the love he had. He never prioritized himself.

It was sad.

He could never believe that anyone liked him. He was quick to jump to the conclusion that it’d all be a sick joke in the end and given what I learned about him as a kid, it didn’t seem too far off.

Cyrus was his only friend growing up and while the other Inkling’s family was happy to take him in after his parents died, Radian didn’t want to inconvenience them. Cyrus wasn’t popular, but people knew who he was. Knowing that he was housing the creepy orphan from the next block over would probably tarnish his reputation a bit, not that Cyrus would care. He loved him but even once Radian learned to accept it, he still felt it was a waste of energy.

I hoped that by assimilating into my crew, he could repair his self-confidence. He deserved to have friends. He had people who cared and worried about his well-being—and even if it wasn’t romantic, he was loved. Alas, the man claimed that he never learned how to because his parents died when he was so young.

That’s why he was afraid of telling me. He thought it’d instantly fall apart. 

And yet it was the middle of the day and he should’ve been asleep, but he stayed in my apartment for another hour before finally returning home. I think the words scared him, but it was clear he knew how to love, even if the actions were small. It was obvious I consumed every inch of his mind, but I loved the ways he displayed it. Hell, I awoke the next morning to a text from Radian, drafting out the entire party to…celebrate me having a name, I guess.

Frankly, I didn’t think he was serious, and I doubted anyone would indulge in such a thing, but according to Radian, Cyrus and Onyx were already on board, and Cyrus was desperate for me to let him host at his place. It seemed like a joke on my part— “yeah, that’ll never happen,” but the idea of Cyrus’ condo being full of my favorite people who were happy to celebrate me was a nice feeling. It wasn’t until I got my record that I relearned my birthday. For years, Stewart would just celebrate the day he found me, which was just as sweet, but I wasn’t used to parties in my honor.

Still, it didn’t take long for me to get on board. I’d get an excuse to dress up, drink, and be the center of attention which would be a nice change of pace. 

The group chat quickly grew into a mess, so we met up at Cyrus’ place to talk it over. I got too excited and already told them my name was Westley, but there were other friends who would still experience the surprise. Wyatt probably had the best reaction—he was thrilled that our names started with the same letter now.

“You know, I’m just glad you officially have a name that’s not a food you’ve never eaten,” Alaias joked while digging through one of the fridges in the kitchen.

Cyrus, Onyx, Radian, Wyatt, Alaias and I were the party planners, but Alaias was the peanut gallery and Cyrus was the idea man. Radian was writing them down before the other Inkling forgot seconds later.

“So, what’s the dress code? All white? All black? Formal? Casual? Formal-causal?” Wyatt leaned on the coffee table, grinning.

“Formal-casual isn’t a thing.” Onyx snickered. “But it should definitely be formal. Maybe a black theme? Westley looks the most badass in black.” She smirked at me, and I rubbed my arm, chuckling. “And I’m assuming that’s a priority of yours.”

“Yeah. That has my vote.”

Radian ripped another piece of paper off the Christmas-themed notepad that he found in one of Cyrus’ many junk drawers. “Bet.”

“I feel like we’re planning a wedding.” Cyrus beamed. “It’s kind of sweet! You’re marrying yourself!”

We all gave him a weird look as Alaias instantly started cackling. “What?!”

Onyx had been circling the outside of the conversation pit and squatted by Cyrus, pecking her boyfriend on the cheek. “Ignore him. When he gets too excited, he stops making sense.”

“Hey!” 

“Shush. It’s cute.” She continued walking around. “Regardless, we just need the basics down so I can start on the invitations and send them out. Then we can move to the menu and decorations.”

“You sure as hell know your way around party planning…” Radian mumbled, rolling his eyes. “I wanted to be the brains of the operation.” He blushed a little as Onyx kept walking. I had no reason to keep staring at her, but she was making me dizzy.

“I’m a woman of many skills. You can be second-in-command if you’re really that pressed.” She gestured to the notepad. “I mean, you’re recording it all. That’s something. We can’t let Caspian forget everything,” She teased as Radian sighed.

“Eh.”

I laughed and scooted closer to him, leaning on his shoulder for a few seconds. “You’re doing great, lieutenant.” I pecked him on the cheek which made him smile a bit, but he was still visibly annoyed.

“So, what’s the date?” Wyatt asked.

We looked around. “How about the thirty-first? That’s easy to remember.”

“Probably because it’s the end of Sizzle Season.” Alaias chuckled and walked back over to our side of the room. “How about the first? It’s a Friday so people like Radian Jesse can get shitfaced without worrying about work the next day.” The hybrid taunted and for the fifth time this hour, the tension between them returned.

“I think Friday’s a good idea!” I grinned. “It’ll be Friday night, so people will have been busy all day trying new weapons and attempting to speedrun their catalogs. It’ll be a fun way to end the night. There’ll be a lot to talk about so there shouldn’t be any awkward silences.”

“Oh, you bet your ass I’ll prevent that!” Cyrus beamed. “Do I have permission to invite work friends?”

Onyx finally sat down next to the Inkling, raising her hand. “Me too. Maybe not work friends, but people who don’t piss me off.”

“Yeah, sure.” I laughed. “As long as I have my favorite people here, I don’t care. The more the merrier! Especially since your place can probably fit like two-hundred people.”

“Damn right!” Cyrus tossed a pillow at Radian. “Yo, can you two kiss and make up already?” He snickered, noticing the aggravated staring contest between him and Alaias. “Are you writing this down?”

Radian rolled his eyes, clicking his pen. “Yes…” He droned before glancing at the hybrid, still ticked off.

“You know what I think would be fun?” Wyatt’s face lit up as he pulled Alaias closer, hoping to distract him. “If you guys are inviting work friends, then I think we should allow plus-ones! Some people can just be invited by word of mouth, but your favorite people,” Wyatt raised his eyebrows at me. “Should be allowed to bring extras.”

“Oh shit, that honestly sounds pretty awesome.” Onyx chuckled. “Imagine the variety.”

“That has my vote too.” I nudged Radian as he kept writing. “Each plus one will also get a plus one.”

Cyrus snickered. “Are you putting that on the invitation? That could get out of hand.”

“It’s the city of chaos,” I proudly placed my arms behind my head. “I’m keeping the theme.”

“Well, it is your party!” Wyatt laughed. “But do you think plus ones would be upset that they didn’t get their own invitation?” 

“Eh…maybe?  But I’m sure when they arrive and see how many people are here, they’ll understand why we mailed out ten invitations instead of a hundred.” I chuckled.

Radian ripped another piece of paper off the pad and placed it in the stack. He handed me the pen so I could list who’d get plus ones and…plus, plus ones. From the get-go, Cyrus, Onyx, Wyatt, Radian, and Alaias were the main guests. However, Onyx forgot to make herself an invitation and decided she was Cyrus’ plus one. 

I was desperate to invite Zephyrus but had no clue of her whereabouts and leaving a lone invitation in Alterna didn’t seem like the smartest idea. Hence, I made sure to invite Eric. I couldn’t celebrate my name without at least one of my favorite agents.

Unsure of his residence, I texted CQ Cumber a picture of the invitation despite not having contacted him in months. I constantly tried to invite him to hang with my crew in Splatsville, but the man didn’t seem to have a life outside of work. He didn’t believe in sick days nor vacation days, so I doubted he’d make an appearance. Alas, I wanted him to know he was on my mind.

I swore there were more people I wanted to invite, but I was tired of stressing my brain so as a last resort, I hoped they’d arrive as plus ones. I had become influenced by Cyrus’ scatterbrained excitement.

After the menu, attire, music, and decorations had been decided, Radian and I went on a double-date grocery run to Hagglefish Market with Alaias and Wyatt. My roommate and I often roamed the place at random, but this time we needed to get fresh fruit so the hybrid could make cocktails. To no one’s surprise, Alaias and Radian said next to nothing, but you could tell the two of them were at least satisfied that their boyfriends were enjoying themselves.

Since Sizzle Season was ending, this was the best time to get any fruit before it got cold, and as we walked through the market, I noticed an enormous crate of lemons. They were so perfect they looked fake. Wyatt noticed I had stopped walking and turned around. 

“What? What do you see?”

I didn’t take my eyes off them. “Lemons.”

He snickered. “Lemons?”

I grabbed his shoulder, grinning. “We could make so much fucking lemonade with those! We’d probably have enough to have alcoholic and non-alcoholic batches!” I pointed back at them. “Some could be strawberry and, I don’t know, maybe raspberry? I’m blanking on other fruits.”

The small Octoling started laughing with me. “I mean, sure! It depends on how much they are! I know someone gave us a budget,” He dug in his pocket for the list.

“Cyrus told me he’d pay for the whole thing.”

“Jesus! Really?!” Wyatt blurted. “Oh my God!”

“I told him I’d pay him back and he said no, so I offered to pay back half, and he said he’d fight me if I tried to give him any money at all.” I snickered. “I know he likes spending money on people, but he’s sacrificing his place on top of that!”

“God, I love Cyrus so much…” Wyatt hummed, rubbing his face.

“Don’t let Alaias hear you say that.” I snickered.

“He already knows.” The Octoling waved me away. “Anyway, go get your lemons. I’ll be back—I’m gonna go find our better halves.”

“That’s probably a good idea. It’s been like a whole year and I’m still afraid they’re gonna kill each other if left alone for too long.”

Wyatt rolled his eyes. “On God.”

As the boy walked off, I made my way over to one of the tents and stared at the crate. The woman behind the counter gave me a stank eye when I finally looked at her.

“You good?” The Inkling raised an eyebrow.

“Er, yeah. Sorry.” I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. 

“You looking for anything specific?”

“We have fresh strawberries!” Another Inkling girl beamed from the back, holding a few of the containers over her head until someone took them from her and put them on display for the customers. 

“Actually, I wanted to know if I could buy that crate of lemons.”

The girls went wide-eyed. “What? Like, the whole crate?”

I chuckled. “Y-Yeah.” I pulled out my card. 

“How in the hell—no, wait.” She pushed her wavy, teal tentacles out of her eyes. “Why in the hell do you want that many lemons? And how are you even gonna carry them back to your car?”

I pulled up my sleeve and flexed my arm. “I’ll be fine. Promise. I wanna make lemonade.”

“What—”

A man behind her groaned. “Holy shit, Mila, if he wants the lemons, just let him buy the damn lemons. What’s it to you?” He grumbled while stacking some empty crates.

“Mind your business Stuart Little,” She snapped back as he let out another groan. “Ignore him—he’s always got attitude. He’s honestly just here for participation points,” She rolled her eyes. “And muscle.”

I laughed awkwardly, as he seemed harmless to me.

“Anyways,” She took my card and held it up to the reader on her phone. “You can pay now, we’ll store them in the back with your name, and you can pick them up once you’re done browsing. Just so you don’t have to carry them around all day.”

“Sure!” I beamed as she handed me my card back and pulled out a piece of paper.

“And you are?”

“Oh! I’m Westley!” I grinned. It felt nice to say. “W-E-S-T-L-E-Y.”

She clicked her pen and glanced at me. “Oh, like from the Princess Bride. Cute.”

“Oh.” I snickered. “Yeah!” I watched as ‘Stuart Little’ grabbed the crate of lemons and put them behind the counter. He did a double take but all I did was smile back at him. He seemed like he needed it. I barely caught a glimpse of his face, but I noticed his earrings were lemon slices.

“Hey,” I leaned over. “If you’d like, I can invite you over to have some of the lemonade I’ll make with those!” I pointed to his earrings. “I’m assuming they’re your favorite fruit, maybe.”

The Inkling glanced back at me and shrugged. I noticed a crack in his full-moon glasses.

“Don’t bother with him,” Mila mumbled. “He’s a wet blanket.” She finished writing and handed the note to the boy who taped it to the crate. “Regardless, if we were to sell out of anything today, the last thing I expected were the lemons,” She laughed.

I kept staring at the boy.

How could they call him Stuart Little? Like the little mouse? He was taller than all the girls, hell—he was taller than me. There was nothing little about him. He deserved a better nickname.

“Anyways, just be back here around eight. We’ll be packed up and ready to go by nine, so you’ve got time.” She handed me a map. “Just in case you get lost, we’re Lars’ Produce—by the harbor.”

I folded it up. “Wait, who’s Lars?”

She chuckled. “All of us. It’s our last name. Anyways,” Mila gestured towards the boy, and I started noticing the similarities between them the longer I stared. “He can help you take the crate to your car later today if you’d like. It’s the least he could do…” She mumbled and went to help another customer.

I kept staring at his back to me until he glanced over his shoulder again.

“What?”

“I-I don’t know. Sorry. I just like your earrings.”

His eyes went wide, and he blushed, turning back around. “Thank you.”

I kept waiting for him to look at me again, but he wouldn’t. Then again, he was working. Eventually, I left the stand and found Wyatt and the others. We investigated a few more tents—I got some raspberries and strawberries, Radian was enjoying all the free samples, and Alaias kept investigating all the exotic produce. After another hour, we returned to the car and the three of them picked up my lemons on the way.

Though, as I crammed all our pickings into Alaias’ ride, I noticed them whispering about something off to the side. At the sound of the trunk closing, the violet Octoling flinched, and I raised an eyebrow.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing important.” Alaias waved me away and walked to the driver’s side, getting in.

“Wyatt’s face says otherwise…” I mumbled as Radian went to sit in the back as my roommate anxiously ran to the passenger side.

As Alaias drove, I leaned forward and tapped his shoulder. “It’s not supposed to be a surprise party,” I chuckled. “Tell me your ideas!”

He turned up the radio. “Trust me, it wasn’t important.”

“Alaias…” Wyatt mumbled, tugging his sleeve, as I glanced over at Radian who broke his gaze from the window and gave me a weird look.

“What?” The Inkling snickered. 

I scrunched up my nose, turning back to the others. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Alaias mumbled as Wyatt sighed and turned down the radio. “Now, sit down.”

“We saw—” His boyfriend turned the dial back up, cutting off the smaller Octoling, who lightly shoved him. “Alaias!”

“Who’d you, see?!”

“We saw Stewart.” Radian crossed his arms, visibly annoyed as the two in the front seat started bickering.

“What?!” 

“There’s no way to know it was him!” Alaias exclaimed, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “We saw a white boy with turquoise tentacles! That’s all!”

“It looked like the photo you described!” Wyatt explained. “I’m serious!”

“You only saw him for like ten seconds! He looked nothing like our Stewart!” The hybrid scoffed. “Hell, he’s not even Stewart to us! He’s Rav!”

“And you just weren’t gonna tell me?!”

Alaias clicked his tongue. “Because we knew you’d freak out!”

“I’m not freaking out!” I yelled as the hybrid pulled into the garage adjacent to Cyrus’ place.

“Well, you’re yelling,” Radian mumbled, and I quickly glared at him.

“Tch, and you’ve been awfully quiet.”

“So what?” He rolled his eyes and leaned on the window. “I have nothing to say. You know I fuckin’ hate that guy. The last thing I want is to see him. He should stay wherever the hell he is,” Radian mumbled. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“What stand did you see him at?!”

“No.” Alaias hissed.

“No?”

“I don’t remember and even if I did, your lovesick ass would probably run back to Hagglefish if I told you, and I refuse to enable that.”

As Alaias pulled into a space, I hastily unhooked myself and leaned over the center console. “Fuck you! I’m not a child! That’s not your job!” I snapped. “And I’m not lovesick!”

I glanced at Wyatt who couldn’t hide his guilt. “We just…well, I don’t want you to go into another depression over him. Especially not before such a positive event. I don’t want his presence or even his absence to steal your joy.” 

The Octoling slowly left the car, and I followed him as Radian tended to the trunk. I could tell by his scowl that he was holding in a spew of profanities about Stewart, so I figured I’d leave him be. Making him explain would only worsen the situation. Stewart was the only person Radian ever got angry about in such a way.

“Alaias feels the same way,” Wyatt went on. “He just comes off as harsh, so I have to translate for him sometimes.” He sighed and rubbed my shoulder. “We’re all on the same page.” The boy gestured towards Radian and his boyfriend. 

“And,” Radian suddenly chimed in. “There’s no proof it was really him. It’s been two years since all of you saw him. I doubt you’d recognize him at first glance, even Wes. Y’all are freaking him out over what was probably nothing.” The Inkling grabbed all the bags in one go. “So, shut the fuck up.”

Alaias hastily grabbed the back of Radian’s shirt. “Watch your mouth! You play no part in this. You’re a Splatsville kid—not an Inkopolis kid, so mind your fucking business! You didn’t know Stewart like we did!”

The Inkling slowly turned around and I glanced at Wyatt who was already panicking.

“Radian.” I began, but he quickly glared at me.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t tell me to—”

The Inkling dropped the bags and grabbed Alaias by the collar. “I know all I need to know about him. Who cares if you two were chummy back in the day. He fucking abandoned Ravi—er, Wes! He’s a bad friend! Who gives a shit if he was ‘good’ before? He’s tarnished his reputation!”

The hybrid shoved Radian off him. “Don’t fucking touch me, freak! We all had a connection with him and since you supposedly love Westley so much, maybe you’d understand that bringing that shit up is bad news!”

“Oh, so I’m the bad guy for actually keeping him in the loop?” He shoved Alaias back. “I’m not gonna keep secrets like he’s a fucking toddler. Honestly, you’re the one freaking out as if the douchebag killed himself or something!”

I swallowed heavily. Out of all the places Stewart could’ve gone, I never considered him being…gone. He didn’t seem like the type to act so rash, then again, he successfully hid numerous things about himself. I could only hope the three of him saw him today.

“Oh, shut up, Radian.” The other man mumbled. “Stop trying to act all high and mighty. How about you let not only the oldest, but most level-headed one take the reins. You add unnecessary drama all the time and I’m so fucking sick of it!”

“Alaias,” Wyatt hissed. “Stop.”

“We’re all adults! I don’t understand this superiority complex you’ve gained from being born a few years earlier than us, as if that’s magically made you wise and mature. You’re just a fucking drunk! Know your place!”

“Know my place? You’re the fuckin’ runaway from the red-light district!” He forced a laugh. “I get nauseous just looking at you and yet you wonder why I hate you? You’re revolting!” Alaias pointed at me, and I flinched. “I don’t want you infecting him! You’re a parasite!”

Radian scoffed. “Oh baby, you just don’t like that there’s another six-foot-tall man around your age with actual fucking sense and a mind of his own to oppose your jackassery. Oh, I take that back!” My boyfriend waved his arms. “You’re just jealous that I’m more man than you’ll ever be!”

Alaias scrunched up his nose and I glanced at Wyatt holding his head.

“You always wanna fuckin’ fight! How about I finally give you a solid excuse,” Radian leaned towards him, squinting. “Which is it this time? Are you on your period again or am I another outlet for your constant PMS-ing?”

“Radian, holy fucking shit,” I mumbled.

“If you wanna play dirty, I’ll play dirty!” The Inkling glanced at me. “I’m done walking on eggshells around you while you go around and target every aspect of my life!”

“Don’t you dare compare your rancid sex-life to my real-life problems.” Alaias stuck his finger in his face. “You chose to be a slut! I didn’t choose this!” He gestured to himself.

“Call me that again, I fucking dare you.”

Alaias scoffed. “What? You think I’m scared of you? Scared of getting an STD, maybe!” The hybrid rolled his eyes. 

“Alaias!” His boyfriend yelled.

“Hate to break it to you, but you’ll always be a homeless prostitute who thinks he can blend in with the regulars.” Alaias continued and I noticed tears welling in Radian’s eyes. “New flash, Radian! Once you’ve made a name for yourself, there’s no hiding it! We’re all just pitying you at this point. Well, I know I’m not.”

Wyatt noticed me clenching my fists but stuck his arm out, stopping me from proceeding. Alaias wasn’t insulting me, but my heart throbbed as I noticed Radian trying to compose himself. 

“‘Oh no!’” Alaias mimicked Radian’s voice. “‘My parents are dead!’ Womp womp.” He laughed. “Maybe you should go to therapy instead of trying to fuck every living being you see to cope!” I noticed a vein bulge on his hand as his temper worsened. “I hate that you’re here—it’s like you pollute the goddamn air but I could at least tolerate you if you kept your damn mouth shut.” The hybrid leaned in, mocking him. “But you always feel the need to make yourself known!” He scoffed. “As if you’re not just a fucking background character that passerby urge you to avoid. You’re not a part of this!” Alaias exclaimed, gesturing to our group.

“I’m Westley’s boyfriend—” The Inkling’s voice cracked, but he still stuck out his chest. “What the fuck are you talking about?!”

Alaias laughed in his face. “Yeah, right. I don’t give a shit what you say, and I refuse to believe it. Keep living whatever fucking fantasy that is but keep that disgusting shit over there. He doesn’t want you and we all know you’re still a godforsaken whore that could probably never even commit to a person you couldn’t stick your dick in—”

Radian finally punched the hybrid with enough force that he almost fell over as me and Wyatt winced at the sight.

“Jesus, Radian! Just ignore him!” I ran over and grabbed his hand, only to be caught in the crossfire as Alaias returned the hit.

“Goddammit,” I heard Wyatt mutter before collecting the remaining bags. “I’m not doing this. And you promised you wouldn’t do this,” He hissed at Alaias before grabbing my arm and storming over to the elevator.

“Wyatt, wait—”

He hit the number to the lobby as the doors closed. “No.” I noticed him shaking. “Let them fight. Let them behave like children. Who cares?” He scoffed. “We’re not babysitters.”

I grabbed some of the bags from him.

“I refuse to get involved. I’ve been consistently telling Alaias to get off Radian’s ass, especially after we found out Radian was taking it all to heart and slicing his fucking arms open!”

My stomach turned.

“I know his temper’s terrible, but that doesn’t excuse it. We talk about it constantly—how he needs to put his judgements aside and just be happy for him—happy for you, and mind his business! Radian’s part of the group!” I flinched as Wyatt kicked the wall of the elevator. “Why can’t he just be happy you finally made another friend?! Radian’s background isn’t any of our business and we have no right to judge. We’ve all gone through different shit.”

Eventually the doors opened, and Wyatt stormed down the hall, still muttering in anger.

“I was poor, I was kicked out of the army, one punch could probably break my arm, I’m practically blind after nine pm—and yet, no one shits on me. All Radian’s been doing is surviving and making the most of nothing. He lost his parents and his home—at least he tried to make money to get himself back on track! It’s not his fault for stumbling into a career that’s practically impossible to escape. He didn’t know…” Wyatt whispered. “He was desperate, b-but at least he tried something, right? He wasn’t like one of those druggies on the side of the road, y’know? He just wanted to fix everything….”

“Wyatt…” I mumbled as we entered another elevator that reached Cyrus’ floor. Everything he was saying was true and it was talking all my energy not to break down at the thought.

“I love Radian. He’s my friend.” He whispered, finally looking at me with watery eyes. “Cyrus loves him, Onyx loves him…Alaias is the only one who’s yet to come around. And he promised he’d compromise for you, especially with this party, and here we are anyway.”

“Y-Yeah…” I finally said. “I can’t lie. It upsets me too. Especially when you look at it from my point of view. Yes, Radian’s a cocky jackass, but when he made me cry that first night, he’s watched his words ever since. Alaias influenced an abundance of Radian’s self-inflicted injuries months ago, but he’s barely changed his ways even after we all learned of it. I don’t get it. Alaias acts like Radian has no feelings for the sole fact that he’s hypersexual and has a questionable past.”

“It’s simple. It’s because he doesn’t fucking care. Alaias…tends to be stuck in his ways about a lot of things.” Wyatt muttered as the elevator dinged and we made our way down another hallway. 

“Is it a genuine issue in your relationship?”

“No,” He sighed. “It’s often about external things, which I rarely care about…except for this.” He rang the buzzer by Cyrus’ door. “If he doesn’t get his act together, he’s uninvited from the party. And yeah, I’m not the host or the birthday boy, for lack of a better term, but I’m still making the executive decision.”

“What about Radian?”

“What about him?” The lock clicked and he opened the door. “The party’s for you. Your boyfriend should be there. Radian hasn’t done anything wrong. He never does.”

“What’s this about Radian?” Cyrus asked as we left the foyer and found him trying to clean his kitchen.

Wyatt proceeded to explain the altercation going on downstairs as I placed the bags on the counter, but I never got around to grabbing the crate of lemons. The violet Octoling went on another justified tangent with Cyrus, so I slipped out and returned to the lobby.

Honestly, I had forgotten about Stewart.

He was probably the last mystery guest that I couldn’t name while creating the invitation list. It would be nice if I could invite him or even just share the news, but his whereabouts were still unknown and there was no telling if he’d even care. 

For once, I wasn’t pressed.

Two years was more than enough time to get over him. He might as well be dead to me. There was no doubt I missed our friendship and was pissed by his sudden change of heart, but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t go back in time to continue being the Westley from that era, and I couldn’t go back in time and prevent my relationship with Stewart from crumbling.

As the elevator opened, I was startled by Radian standing in front of the doors with the crate of lemons, preparing to go upstairs.

“Oh, shit.” He muttered. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I chuckled as he stepped in and stood in front of me before I pressed the button. Aside from his minor nosebleed, he looked alright. Radian was scrawny, but he could throw a good punch. He wouldn’t have made it this far if he couldn’t.

“You okay?” I handed him a tissue and he tended to his nose.

“Yeah.”

“…You sure?” The elevator eventually chimed as we got to Cyrus’ floor, but neither of us walked out. “Alaias was saying some pretty shitty stuff.” I mumbled, noticing that his eyes were red.

“So was I. I’m no better than him.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I’m used to it.” Radian added.

I gulped and lightly touched his arm, staring at our warped reflection on the door. “D-Did you want me to stand up for you?”

“No.” He declared.

“But—”

“It’s not like he was lying.”

“Yes, he was,” I rubbed his arm. “We’re not pitying you. We like you—’we’ excluding Alaias of course…” I added under my breath. “And I, for one, know I want you.”

I noticed him blush, but he only shrugged, wiping his nose again.

“Radian—”

“Yeah, but I’m still a disgusting whore. And an outcast.” He gripped the crate. “I’ve been an outcast my whole life.”

“You’re not a—”

“Don’t try and refute it Westley,” He suddenly looked at me with teary eyes. “It’s fine.”

I gulped and slowly removed my hand from his arm. “I remember when we first met, and you claimed you wore the term ‘whore’ as a badge of honor.”

The Inkling sighed, adjusting how he held the massive crate of lemons. “Huh. Yeah. I guess I still do, but every now and then it does some actual damage.” He shrugged, forcing a smile. “Sometimes the truth hurts. Especially when you’re trying to change.”

The Inkling gazed at me. “When I first met you, I was content with my dysfunctionality whereas now I’d actually be kinda pissed if I didn’t wake up tomorrow. Because then I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

I felt my face heat up and when Radian noticed my blush, he pecked my forehead before finally leaving the elevator.

“Anyways, it’s fine. I’m not gonna dwell on it.”

“I mean,” I mumbled as we moved down the hall. “If you want to talk about it, you can. I know you’re not the type to do that but—”

“It’s fine. You already heard enough of what he said,” Radian looked off to the side, exhaling. “It only got worse after you left. Someone deserves to be spared.”

I stared at the ground, biting my cheek.

“Regardless, it’s kinda hard to dwell on it when I’m looking at your pretty face,” He glanced back at me. “It’s like you’re about to be famous. I’m inexplicably obsessed with you right now.”

I rolled my eyes as we arrived at Cyrus’ door. “Aren’t you always?”

“Yeah.” He nudged me. “But more than usual. Your excitement is not only cute, but also very contagious.”

“You’re back.” The yellow Inkling announced as we walked over, noticing Wyatt laying on the kitchen counter, still tense. “You alright?”

“Yep.” He placed the crate down and his roommate raised an eyebrow.

“Who the fuck got all these lemons? And why?!”

“That’s a question for Westley Summers,” Radian snickered as he approached Wyatt who looked like he needed a drink. I heard him mutter an apology to my roommate, to which Wyatt gave him a confused look. I couldn’t pick up most of the conversation until the Octoling got panicky.

“No, I’m not mad at you,” He sighed.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Why the hell would I be mad at you? You were provoked. You’re not in the wrong. I’m mad at my boyfriend,” He started speaking faster. “And last time I checked, you’re not my boyfriend, so stop asking if I’m mad at you before I actually get mad at you!”

We all grew stiff, and Wyatt blushed.

“Fucking…” He rubbed his face and climbed off the stool. “I’m gonna…go.”

“What?” I reached out to grab him, but he avoided me. “Where?”

“I don’t know. To the…store…to buy more pitchers. I’m sure three won’t be enough for all the cocktails and lemonades you wanna make.” He forced a laugh.

“Don’t go out to look for Alaias,” Radian suddenly said, and Wyatt stopped in his tracks. “I don’t know where he went.”

“And it’s getting dark,” Cyrus warned. “You’re not supposed to be out late. You’re blind as a bat—you’ve said it yourself.” The Inkling chuckled. “If anything, let one of us go with you.”

Wyatt continued to the door, keeping his back to us. “No.” He insisted before slipping into the hallway.

The three of us looked at each other, but Radian panicked the most. “Alaias just hopped in his car and drove off. God knows where he is! He knows he fucked up, so he freaked out and bailed. Wyatt’s never gonna find him,” He groaned and pulled on his braid.

Cyrus rubbed his arms. “It’s weird to see Wyatt like this,” He let out a gloomy sigh. “I feel so bad…”

Radian stormed over to the door. “Fuck it. I’m going with him whether he likes it or not.”

“W-What?” I stammered, worried about if the two of them managed to find Alaias. It wouldn’t take much for all hell to break loose again. “Radian!”

“If anyone’s the best tour guide for Splatsville after hours, it’s me. I’m his only chance at not getting lost or…ending up on the bad side of town. Last thing I want is for him to end up like me,” He muttered and left the condo while Cyrus and I stood there stunned, listening to his footsteps slowly disappear.

“Welp. The Westley Name Party could probably make bank from a behind the scenes documentary.” The Inkling sighed.

“Especially since Alaias was gonna make all the drinks.”

“Lucky for us, Radian wrote them down.” Cyrus left for a few seconds, returning with a folder full of all the party plans. “We’ve got every recipe.”

I perked up. “Seriously?!”

“Yeah!” He beamed and grabbed the scattered pieces of paper Radian had ripped off the notepad. “And we already bought all the booze yesterday so we’re actually all set. I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck as he wandered over to the kitchen. “I know shit’s weird right now, but we’ve got a deadline. Like sure, it’s not tomorrow but…”

“It’s soon enough that we might as well get started.” I chuckled. “Yeah. I doubt we need four people to make alcohol.” 

But we were mistaken.

Given how many taste tests we had to perform for each drink, we were decently drunk by the end and there were no words to explain the mess his kitchen became. It’s good he was rich and had a maid but even I’d feel bad if they had to clean up this catastrophe. 

We made the first few drinks before clumsily visiting the grocery store to buy more pitchers since Radian and Wyatt had yet to return. Everything became a blur after I finished juicing sixty-seven lemons. Still, that was another task completed. It’s a good thing Cyrus had two fridges we could jam eight massive pitchers into.

By Monday, the caterers had been accounted for and as the RSVP texts started rolling in, I finally began to feel the hype. Cyrus had to work, but he still allowed us to wreak havoc in his condo while we continued to brainstorm the smaller stuff.

For a while, it was just me, Onyx, Cyrus, and Radian—Wyatt and Alaias were repairing their personal lives. But forty-eight hours after the incident in the garage, Alaias finally came out of the woodworks and apologized. It was hard to tell if it was truly genuine, or if he was faking because Wyatt was metaphorically holding his E-Liter to his head.

Shit was still tense, but Alaias didn’t say much as we prepared for the end of the week.

By Thursday, the last thing on the list was attire and though we decided on a black and white theme, I still had no clue what to wear. Onyx had me try on at least seventeen outfits, but none of them felt right. But at the eleventh hour—sixty minutes till showtime—I made up my mind. I was dying to wear my favorite red high-tops, but they were way too casual, so I dug through my closet and let my Deep-Sea Metro boots see the sun once more. I styled my two-tone jeans with a white dress shirt and a black suit vest.

I was paranoid that I looked like a waiter, but Wyatt was elsewhere, so I didn’t get his opinion on my fit and it was too late to change now. I ran down to the lobby and saw Radian outside, leaning on the convertible Cyrus let him borrow. He wore all-black, and his button down was open to show like half of his chest, but it exposed his collar, so it worked. Truthfully, Radian looked good in everything. 

The Inkling’s eyes lit up when he saw me, and he opened the passenger door as I ran over.

“Hey!” I grinned, noticing his blush as he quickly became distracted by me.

“Hey. You look…” He snickered. “So fucking good.” Before he let me into the car, he held my shoulders and examined me. “Are you wearing eyeliner?!”

“A-A little, yeah.” I chuckled. “Mascara too. It doesn’t look great, but I tried!”

“I’ll happily redo it for you,” He beamed and pulled me into a kiss which I think neither of us expected to go on for so long, but I couldn’t care less. The taller Inkling ran his hands down my sides, and I flinched, laughing into the kiss.

“Quit it, you know I’m ticklish,” I mumbled against his lips, as he let his hands relax on my hips.

“Yeah, and? I love your laugh.”

I rolled my eyes as he leaned back, smiling. “I wanna go ‘how’s my birthday boy,’ but it’s not a birthday party!” He chuckled. “So…” He smirked. “I guess I’ll just say, how’s Westley?”

“I’m good. Really good!” I grinned. “How are you?”

“Who cares how I am?!” He eventually let go of me and we got in the car. 

“I do!” I poked his side, and he handed me some stickers. “What’s this?”

“Everyone at the party’s gonna get a nametag, including you, most importantly. It’s funny, but it might also be useful for Cyrus and Onyx’s friends and all the plus-ones who have no clue who Westley is or what he looks like.”

“Okay, bet.” I grabbed a sharpie out of the glovebox as Radian turned onto the road. I laughed quietly as I started making nametags for every name anyone’s ever called me. The Inkling drove smoothly for once so he wouldn’t jack up my handwriting, but despite being my boyfriend, I didn’t expect him to be the one picking me up. Mainly since he still didn’t have a license. And while I didn’t need to be there early, Radian would normally still be asleep right now.

“Yo, aren’t you tired?”

Radian glanced over. “Hm? Nah, I went to bed early so I could be up in the afternoon to chauffeur my prince.” He winked. “Also, to help Cyrus with his unavoidable last-minute decisions.”

He paused.

“I also had two energy drinks and I’m inexplicably wired right now.”

I laughed. “Oh God! You never drink those! And you had two?!”

The Inkling waved me away. “It’s cool—it was hours ago. I’m mellowing out. Anyways, question,” Radian smirked as he drove. “You wearin’ anything under that?”

I blushed. “Under what, my vest? Yes, my dress shirt. And under that? Yes—you know I always wear compression tanks.”

“Damn.” He snickered.

“Yeah,” I proudly rolled my eyes. “If you’re trying to be freaky, it’s gonna take a lot of effort to get me out of this.”

The Inkling clicked his tongue. “Yeah, yeah—no surprise there. I just figured I’d make sure I know what I’m working with. I can psych myself up to get through three layers!”

“You’re seriously planning for it?!” My cheeks burned as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Ha! I just put this on, man!”

“I’m just playing,” He glanced at me, still displaying a suspicious grin. “Somewhat. Bottom line is you’re fuckin’ stunning. You’re definitely gonna be asserting dominance over all the attendees.”

I leaned back on the headrest, smiling at him. “Shush.”

“You’re crazy sexy.”

“So are you,” I mumbled as he eventually pulled up in front of Cyrus’ condo.

“You think?!” He beamed as I unhooked my seatbelt and pecked him on the cheek.

“Is that even a question? Duh. I just typically find a synonym.” I stepped onto the sidewalk. “Anyways, you comin’?”

He chuckled, covering the spot where I kissed him. “I-I’m gonna park in the garage—I’ll be in later.” He blew me a kiss. “You’re the VIP! You’re not allowed to be late!”

I laughed, watching as he drove off. It was weird entering the condo from the front, as the doorman welcomed me in and escorted me to the elevator when I explained who I was here for. I stuffed the many nametags into my back pocket after sticking the ‘Hello, my name is Westley,” one to the front of my vest. 

I continued to fool with my outfit on my way into Cyrus’ place, but I was immediately distracted by the abundance of balloons and streamers. Cleanup was gonna be a pain, but the yellow Inkling didn’t seem to mind as he ran around in his spikey black tailcoat. Even at parties, he was on brand. I guess punk was in his blood.

“You’re right on time!” Wyatt beamed and ran over to me, already wearing his nametag. He tackled me with a hug and soon Cyrus joined him. “Where’s Radian?”

“Parking.” I shrugged.

“God, that might take ages,” Cyrus smiled a bit as he pulled some glowsticks out of his pockets. “He always forgets the garage code.”

“Don’t forget the fact that he doesn’t even have a license.” I smirked, examining Wyatt’s tux as he loitered beside me. “He can’t park for shit.”

“Ha! You don’t have to tell me! Dude parks over multiple lines but eh, we still love him.”

“Truth.”

As I walked into the middle of the room, I noticed one of my favorite songs playing, but I couldn’t find any of the speakers. Still, the sound quality was amazing as I examined the rearranged layout of Cyrus’ place. All the food was covered on the kitchen island, the non-alcoholic drinks were by the French doors to the patio, and all the cocktails we made were at the bar on the other side of the room. On top of the juice boxes, sodas, and blatant bottles of wine, we lost track of how many drink options there were.

Cyrus told me the cakes were in the mini fridge in Radian’s room so no guests would get into them early on. He had also grabbed his Wii from his parents’ place, hence why Alaias and Onyx were already having a Just Dance battle. Our secret goal was to occupy the hybrid so he wouldn’t stir up anything else.

After Wyatt and Cyrus stopped fawning over me, the Inkling kept fixing all the technical difficulties between the TV speakers, game consoles, and the microphone that Onyx whipped out of nowhere so she could officially assert dominance as the MC.

I was drowning in excitement as the clock ticked down, humming the Chirpy Chips song that played overhead. I was eyeing one of the lemonade pitchers when someone grabbed my shoulders, and I immediately ducked out of their grasp.

“Chill, Pretty Boy, it’s just me,” Radian cackled and pulled me back up.

“You know not to do that!”

“Eh,” He poked my cheek. “It’s funny. Anyways, come with me.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the stairs.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m fixing your makeup.” He explained as I followed him up the floating staircase that always tripped me up when drunk. I noticed that Cyrus had even gone as far to decorate the mezzanine balcony, as if it wasn’t already fancy enough. It was an indoor balcony—I didn’t think he could make it anymore lavish.

Radian dragged me into the bathroom adjacent to his room and I washed my face to remove what I thought was a decent attempt at eyeliner.

“Where did all your other nametags go?” The Inkling asked while digging through the cabinet as I dried my face.

“Back pocket,” I muttered into the towel. “I already put on my ‘Westley’ one, though.”

“Nice.” He snickered before leading me to the bench by the tub, popping off the eyeliner cap. “Close your eyes.” He whispered while lifting my chin.

I did as told, but immediately flinched when I felt the pencil on my eyelid. Not only did I never wear makeup, but I sure as hell didn’t have experience sitting through someone applying it on me. 

“Stop moving.” Radian chuckled. “Unless you want raccoon eyes.”

“I’m trying!” 

“God, you’re adorable,” He mumbled before moving to the other eye as I continued to sit there awkwardly. The music was muffled from outside the bathroom and as Radian moved, the charm on his collar jingled. Something about the sound was always comforting.

“Why are you smiling?” The Inkling asked suddenly.

“What? I dunno,” I muttered. “I’m excited, I guess.” I held in my laugh in fear of moving too much and making him start over.

I heard the cap click back onto the pencil, but I wasn’t sure if he was done and was paranoid about getting stabbed in the eye. Though, I felt his hands on the side of my face and shortly after, he kissed me softly. I hummed as he followed my movements, progressively lifting my chin higher. I felt his free hand start sliding down my side and I smiled.

“Alright.” He whispered against my lips, breaking the kiss. “Done.”

He stood up straight and I kept grinning while watching him return to the counter to organize his makeup bag. I followed him to check out my reflection in the mirror and Radian eyed me, hugging my side as I flexed.

He pecked the side of my neck. “I fuckin’ love seeing formal Westley. Even though part of me wants to take it all off.”

“Shut up.” I chuckled and tried to lean away from him, but he kept me close as we stared in the mirror.

“Anyways, you like?”

“Fuck yeah.” I made eye contact with his reflection, blushing. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” He stuck his hand into my back pocket, and I rolled my eyes, though I realized he was only doing so to get the nametags. “I’m glad I could help.” He smirked while peeling off the stickers and placing them on the back of my suit vest.

“What—? Why are you putting them back there?!”

He laughed. “Cuz, the Westley one’s gotta be front and center.” Radian explained while covering me in the various stickers. However, he grabbed the remaining blank one and started writing another name.

“More?”

“Yep.” He stuck it by the others. “‘Pretty Boy.’”

I whipped around, trying to see it in the mirror. “What?! No way you put that on me!”

He shrugged, grinning. “So what? You’ve got every nickname ever up there, so might as well add ‘Pretty Boy’ since that’s my nickname for you. Or maybe it’s a pet name. I actually don’t know,” The man snickered.

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, then how many do I have now?”

Radian cleared his throat. “‘Raviyoli, Ravi, Viyo, Ravibobi, Feral Agent 8,’” He smiled while reading my back as I stared at him in the mirror. “Then there’s just ‘Eight.’ And then, ‘Agent 3, Wes, and Pretty Boy.’ That makes nine.”

I burst out laughing. I knew I probably looked like an idiot from far away, but I couldn’t lie, it was a great idea. Anyone could approach me from behind, knowing me by one of my many nicknames, and after turning around, they’d learn I’m officially Westley. Why else would it be front and center?

Radian smiled at my expression and suddenly pushed me against the counter. “Then again, I probably should’ve waited to put them on you so I could feel you up.” He caressed my chin. “I can’t not, especially when you look like this.”

“What?!”

“What?” He raised his eyebrows. “I oughta get it all out before your guests get here, eh?”

Before I could respond, Radian kissed me softly but became gradually more aggressive the longer we were pressed together. I flinched as he slid his knee between my legs but the moment the whimper slipped out, he slid his tongue into my mouth. The Inkling ran his hand across my hip, eventually lifting my leg.

“This cool?” He muttered.

“Mm.” I instantly pulled him back into me which made him smile into the kiss.

I could tell Radian was trying not to mess up the nametags by scrunching up my vest, but eventually he untucked the front of my shirt, caressing my abs in a way that made my chest tingle. He let out a soft groan as I bit his lip, to which he lifted me onto the counter so I’d quit straining my neck. I wondered why my heels weren’t enough until I realized he was also wearing ankle boots. 

At this point, I was kinda in the mood to remove some of my layers. I rarely stacked shirts on top of my compression tank, and I was burning up thanks to his wandering hands. Radian paused to take a breath, smiling as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He seemed satisfied, but I grabbed his face, kissing him harder. Whenever a sound slipped out, I was always embarrassed but it was hot when it came from him. Maybe it was the lower octave of his voice, or because he always sounded desperate when he did so.

I started Frenching him again, focused on the taste of his saliva, the smell of his cologne, and the jingling of his collar until the bathroom door slammed open and I bit Radian’s lip on accident.

“Westley!!” Cyrus beamed as I almost slipped off the counter. “OH—”

“Fuck!” Radian blurted and covered his bottom lip as he stared at his roommate. “Dude, seriously?!”

I immediately kicked Radian away from me as if that would convince him that nothing had been going on.

“S-Sorry!” The boy’s entire face was flushed. “I thought you were doing his makeup! I’ll go—I didn’t mean to—”

“I mean,” The Inkling laughed, now standing like a yard away from me. “I was! Got kinda distracted, though...” He proceeded to ogle me like some animal in heat.

I eyed him, blushing. “Shut up! Shit, man!” I glared at Cyrus, egging him on to get to the point.

The yellow Inkling shielded his eyes. “W-We all just had one last question for you! Er…we wanted to know if you wanted to greet the guests one by one or make some sort of grand entrance after like twenty minutes or so…”

I glanced at Radian, still oddly scrunched up on the counter. “I’ll wait. I’m excited, but I’m also in no rush.”

My boyfriend nodded aggressively. “Mhm, mhm, I’m picking up what you’re puttin’ down.” Radian snickered. “Cuz you wanna keep doing this.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as Cyrus’ blush spread to his ears. “I’ll stay up here until like, half past seven.”

The smaller Inkling gave me a thumbs up and scurried out of the bathroom, closing the door back, to which Radian hastily walked over and locked it.

“So,” He began, smirking. 

I scoffed. “He ruined the vibe,” I mumbled, still calming my nerves as I slowly climbed off the counter, careful not to roll my ankle as I landed back on the title.

“Yeah, right!” Radian ran back over to me and grabbed my waist, preparing to lift me up again, though he grabbed me at a weird angle, and I wriggled, laughing.

“Augh, no! I’m ticklish there!” I sputtered as he successfully lifted me up after a few more tries.

“Shut up! You’re fine!” He grinned as I wrapped my legs around him again. It was satisfying to feel like I was the same height as him for once.

He started showering my face with kisses as I laughed at him. He eventually made his way back to my lips, but when he went to move, I lined his face back up with mine and kissed him for longer. It was hilarious how tempted he was to start unbuttoning my vest and eventually my shirt but was also stopped by his paranoia of crumbling my abundance of nametags that could just be rewritten. Instead, I found myself unbuttoning his shirt until I could freely rub my hands all over his bare chest, which always made him hum quietly.

Though, I eventually broke the kiss and leaned back for a second, beginning to wrestle my clothes off. Radian raised an eyebrow, pleasantly confused.

“Damn, you genuinely want a quickie or something?”

I got stuck in my tank top, but he quickly helped me out of it. “Augh—” I squirmed, throwing my dress shirt back on. “I-I don’t know what that is.” I laughed awkwardly, loosening my legs from around him. “I’m assuming it’s something weird if it’s something you know, and I don’t.”

“Maybe,” He grabbed my hands so I couldn’t keep redressing and looked me over with a suggestive grin.

“Does it have anything to do with quick-e-marts? Y’know, like the one by my complex?”

Radian laughed and kissed me for a second, still smiling when he leaned back. “Not at all.” He slid my shirt back off. “It just means spontaneous, time-crunched sex. Since, y’know, you’ve gotta be front and center in a few minutes.”

I grabbed his shoulders, pushing him back. “What?! Of course I don’t want that!”

The Inkling laughed. “Uh, yeah!” He lightly ran his hands down my sides. “I didn’t think so! That’s why I asked!”

I rolled my eyes, squirming a bit. “Shut up.”

“I just want us to be on the same page.” Radian let go of me. “Like, real fucking shit. Sometimes you surprise me,” He shrugged. “I don’t wanna do anything to make you uncomfortable. Or hate me. I know I joke around a lot, but I’m serious.”

I stared at the tile, fully aware that I had an obvious blush. He had already noticed a while back that my fingertips get pinker when I’m nervous.

“I do…appreciate that,” I replied softly.

“You also have your own ‘Ravi’ versions of stuff. Well, ‘Westley’ now,” He chuckled. “Who knows? A quickie to you could just be aggressively making out for five minutes.”

I chuckled, though we were way past the five-minute mark. 

“Like, ‘fooling around’ to you is nothing like ‘fooling around’ to me.” He smiled. “Which is cool—I don’t care. I just don’t wanna confuse shit.”

“Yeah.”

His smile faded a bit. “I’m sorry. Did I make shit weird?” He groaned. “Fucking hell,” He mumbled under his breath, now talking to himself. “God forbid I shut the fuck up…”

“What?” I rubbed the side of his face. “Radian, you’re fine.” I pulled him back into me with my legs. 

“You say that but when I slip up and start talking about the logistics of shit, you get embarrassed and then…stop.” He looked to the side. “You already have trouble going with the flow and I tend to make that worse,” The Inkling mumbled, visibly ashamed. 

I forced a laugh. “Rad, chill!”

“But I feel bad when I get carried away!”

“But you’re not getting carried away in a bad way,” I smiled, slowly pulling his face closer to mine. “Yeah, I’ll admit blatantly talking about…anything sex-related tends to irk me. But I’d rather you bring it up than leave it up to interpretation.” I snickered. “Y’know, like after you confessed to me, and we never decided what we were.”

Radian laughed softly. “For months.”

“Three months.” 

“Probably more!” The Inkling let me put my shirt back on and helped button it up. “If you really wanna get into the specifics, the ‘first’ time we kissed once we were actually dating or even once I said I liked you, wasn’t even the first.”

“I know…” I covered my face, laughing with him. “It had to have been more than ten by then.”

“Oh, I know it was more than ten.” Radian stated proudly. “Every time I kissed you, I held onto the memory, thinking ‘he’ll never let me do that again.’ Trust me, I remember each and every time.”

“Okay, now that’s embarrassing. You’re allowed to shut up now.” Before he could respond, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft kiss. He played with my tentacles as the desperation from earlier eventually returned, and I found his tongue back in my mouth.

Despite the discomfort, I was glad he was always worried about how I felt or what I wanted. I never really knew what I wanted, but I knew where I’d draw the line. Radian being so obsessed with my consent and ease was probably the bare minimum, but it’s not like I had anything to compare it to. And bottom line, it made me feel good. 

I considered asking Wyatt about how he and Alaias did things…but I also didn’t wanna know them that well. I didn’t need outside sources to make sense of our business. I was fine with the watered-down, Westley and Radian version of ‘fooling around’ and everything else under the sun.

As I had my hands resting in the back of his pants, I felt his phone vibrate which he ignored the first few times—still kissing me until I couldn’t breathe. Though, eventually he broke the kiss with a curse and checked his notifications.

“Damn,” He mumbled. “Alright, Cyrus wants me to greet people with him and hand out nametags and shit…”

“I guess that means there’s a posse down there.” I unlinked my ankles, freeing him though I really could’ve used another hour with him.

The Inkling sighed and I quickly stared at the wall as he readjusted himself. “Yeah. Welp, I guess I’ll see you down there in a bit.”

“…Yeah.”

He watched me. “You good?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “It’s just crazy that it’s finally real.”

“On God.” Radian kissed me softly one more time before walking to the door, checking his phone again with a grin. “Six minutes Westley Summers, you’re on.” He saluted me. “Don’t touch your face—you’ve got makeup on.” He reminded me before slipping out the bathroom, leaving me on the counter, laughing softly.

I patted my lap to the muffled music outside before I eventually heard the microphone squeal, signaling that Onyx was about to get the party started. I quickly threw my suit vest back on and ensured all the nametags were intact. I restlessly checked myself in the mirror—adjusting my ravioli earrings, tucking in my shirt, untangling the chains on the side of my pants, until I quickly realized that Onyx nor Cyrus had given me a signal. Hence, when I finally heard the room go silent, I ran over and proudly opened the door.

The lights were dim and various fairy lights and LED lights were illuminating the walls and much of the balcony. It was dark enough to set the mood, but light enough that I could at least see the crowd of people downstairs. I scared the shit out of Onyx who almost dropped the mic.

“I wasn’t done yet!” She whispered loudly. 

“Y’all didn’t give me a signal!” I whispered back, laughing as we played hot potato with the mic before the Octoling shooed me away. I awkwardly tapped the top despite knowing damn well it was already on and working.

I leaned over the balcony and let out a shaky exhale after I ran out of ways to stall. 

“Hi.” I cleared my throat, flinching at the microphone feedback. 

“So, I’m starting to feel like I should’ve written a speech for this.” I laughed into the mic as Onyx started covering me in glowsticks. “But I appreciate all of you who made it and were willing to celebrate such…an odd thing.” I snickered. “Like, who the hell celebrates names, right? We’ve got birthday parties, graduation parties, baby showers, but names? I guess that’s a new one for the books. Maybe I’ll start a trend.”

I glanced down to see my ankles and arms covered in the illuminated bracelets, but when Onyx gave me an okay, I walked over to the stairs.

“I’m delighted to know there are so many people who are willing to indulge in my bullshit, but just as a show of hands, who already knows me? Even vaguely is fine,” I chuckled awkwardly as about a quarter of the room raised their hands.

“Eh, not bad, not bad.” I scanned the crowd and happened to lock eyes with Radian who stood beside Cyrus at the front door. He gave me two thumbs up and I felt my cheeks burn.

“Well, not to trauma dump or anything, but for the past five or six years of my life, I’ve actually had amnesia.” I shrugged and leaned against the banister. “I forgot who I was, but I tried to just go with it. I adopted the alias ‘Raviyoli,’ which people quickly vibed with after seeing my earrings. Ironically enough, I’ve never actually eaten the food.” A few people laughed.

“Alas, one can only tolerate not recognizing their reflection but for so long.” I found Wyatt in the crowd. “At the very least, I at least had friends who had my back the whole way. My brain may have been a mess, but those who truly mattered, stuck along for the ride.” I snickered. “Y’all know who you are.”

“Frankly, I might still be a mess, but at least now I can proudly put a name to it and wear it with pride. So, to all those who have no clue who I am and to those who previously knew me as Raviyoli—I’m Westley Summers!”

I flinched as the array of people downstairs cheered.

“And to any nosy motherfuckers out there, my middle name is Eric!” I stated proudly. “Meaning Eric—if you’re here—news flash! We kinda have matching names!” I instantly recognized my friend’s shout and my smile widened, knowing he had made it. 

“And as you can tell,” I spun in a circle, displaying my nametags. “I’ve gone by many names over these past few years. So, if you forget I’m Westley and call me Ravi instead, I won’t be upset.” I shrugged. “At the end of the day, all that matters is that I know who I am. Hell, I’ve been waiting for closure for six damn years.”

I did a slight bow as my guests applauded again. “Now we can let the chaos ensue! Welcome to The Westley Name Party!” I shouted into the mic before handing it back to Onyx. “Oh!” I quickly leaned into the Octoling, yelling back into the microphone. “And make sure you guys pick up a nametag too!” I laughed before carefully running down the stairs in my heels as the music started playing again.

It was awesome being able to recognize people’s cheers from the crowd, but before talking to anyone on the first floor, I rushed to the bar and grabbed a massive cup of lemonade. I’d be dammed if I went through all that effort and never got to enjoy my creation. And yet I almost spilled half as I turned around and noticed Zephyrus standing directly behind me in a black, shimmery cocktail dress.

“Shit. Sorry,” She chuckled, backing up. 

“Holy shit!” I immediately searched for someplace to put my cup, only to shove it into Wyatt’s hands who stood beside me. She went stiff as I hugged her, but still returned the gesture. 

“I’m so glad you’re here!” I beamed and leaned back, still holding onto her. “I didn’t have your address, so I wasn’t sure how to invite you, so I just prayed—”

“That Eric would bring me?” She smiled. “Yeah. I’m thankful he let me know.” The Inkling admitted, though it was honestly hard to hear her over the music thanks to how soft-spoken she is.

I placed my hands on her shoulders, examining her fit. Despite us both wearing heeled boots—hers were knee-high—she was still taller than me. When I looked back at her face, I noticed her accessories.

“Are those fusilli earrings?!”

She laughed softly. “Yeah. I couldn’t find any ravioli earrings online, so I figured they were the next best thing. I wanted to dress for the occasion.”

“God, they’re so cute, Zeph! You look so pretty, I could like, die!”

The Inkling looked to the side, blushing. “Thanks, Ravi. I mean, Wes. Or Westley.” She held her head. “Ignore me.”

“Nah, it’s cool!” I laughed. “I wouldn’t be wearing all these nametags if they weren’t options, right?”

She rolled her eyes and patted my shoulder. “You’re adorable. That being said, I think Westley is a nice name for you. It’s cute.”

I rocked on my heels, grinning. “Aw, pshh. You know the funniest part?” I asked as she raised an eyebrow. “That day you caught me not-necessarily-eavesdropping on you and Octavio was the same day I learned I was Westley. In hopes of fixing my amnesia, he showed me my record from when I worked under him.”

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly!” I beamed. “And it kinda worked!” I did jazz hands. “So, now I’m throwing a party!”

“As you should.” Zephyrus patted my shoulder and started pouring herself two drinks.

“Then again, if I hadn’t been avoiding Octavio like the plague after Alterna, I’m sure I would’ve been able to throw this party months ago,” I muttered, staring at a few of the guests who walked by. 

“Hey, at least it occurred though, right? Maybe there’s a reason why now was the right time.” She shrugged. “I’m mainly just pleased I got to see you again. You always have such good energy…” She mumbled, looking me over as her blush deepened. “And your smile’s contagious.”

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck as she quickly averted her eyes.

“A-Anyways,” She cleared her throat. “I promised Eric I’d get him something to drink. He was overwhelmed by all the options. Honestly, I am too.” 

“Eh, I got a little carried away. I made all the lemonades! Bought sixty-seven lemons for ‘em, actually.” I stated proudly and pointed to the labelled pitchers.

The Inkling snickered. “God, you’re a riot.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Your life would be so boring without me.” I grinned. “But anyways, yeah! It was good to see you!”

“You too.” Zephyrus gave me a slight smile before walking off and disappearing into the crowd. I turned around to see Wyatt still beside me, drinking my lemonade.

“What? Dude—”

“Don’t dude me.” He smiled. “I’m a very simple man. If you hand me a drink, I’ll drink it and if you hand me food, I’ll eat it. You should know you can’t give me consumables to hold.” The Octoling returned my cup and I proceeded to drink the last inch.

“She likes you.” Wyatt suddenly said as I was about to walk away, chuckling.

“What?”

“She likes you.” He repeated, smirking. “As a typically reserved individual, I can tell.”

I blushed and waved him away as I recalled her kissing me at the New Year’s dinner party. “Eh, we’re coworkers. It’d be weird.” 

“…And you’re dating Radian,” The Octoling added with an uncertain expression.

I blinked. “And I’m dating Radian.” I laughed. “Okay, I know forgetting about that is probably concerning but we were a ‘situationship’ for so long that sometimes the fact that he’s my boyfriend still surprises me.”

“That and how you wanted nothing to do with him back when y’all first met.”

I aggressively crunched on the ice in my cup, obviously ignoring him as he laughed at me. I eventually left his side to survey the house. Since Cyrus owned the entire top floor, there were also guests outside on the balcony, which also permitted Onyx to include ‘rooftop party’ on the invitation.

Speaking of which, I noticed the purple Octoling conversing with a small girl who happened to be wearing something like my attire from the Deep-Sea metro. She was wearing all black…except for her blue cardigan. I got a glimpse of her nametag—Vivian. 

My main task, aside from bothering all my friends, was introducing myself to the guests I didn’t recognize, like her. No one was getting the gory details, but it didn’t feel right being the man of the hour and not making a connection with all the guests. I made my way onto the other side of the room, closer to where the dance battle was occurring when I crashed into a man who was probably just as tall as Radian.

“Oh, shit! Dude, I’m sorry!”

He shrugged. “No sweat. At least I wasn’t carrying nothin’.” 

I wasn’t sure if I was more embarrassed by the fact that I crashed into him or crashed headfirst into his chest since he wore a black leather jacket without a shirt underneath. Technically he was following the dress code, but I wouldn’t be pressed either way, especially once I realized whose washboard abs I walked into.

“Holy fuck. You’re Micah. The Micah!” My eyes widened.

The Octoling glanced at his nametag and then mine. “And you’re the Westley,” He laughed awkwardly, moving his tentacles out of his face. “The stickers are helpful.”

“No, I mean like! From Deep C Squeeze!”

The man didn’t seem too fazed, but he was never the bubbly type anyway. Aside from Off the Hook, he was my favorite artist and the only rapper I liked, especially since he was amazing at singing on top of that. Nabo was the brains behind the operation who made the music—a combination of rock, hip-hop, and EDM. 

Micah always had creative rhymes, attire, and ways of presenting himself. I had never seen someone with tentacles as long as his—in an interview he claimed he’d never cut them and punched his middle school principal when he tried to enforce the heavily gendered dress code. He was never in the army like most Octolings, which I assumed would be a solid inspiration for his work since he was covered in seaweed too.

I never idolized people, but in the same way Wyatt had an itty-bitty fanboy crush on Cyrus, I felt the same way towards Micah.

“Oh pshh, yeah.” He dapped me up, but I was caught off guard and messed up half of it. “Sup.”

I grinned. “I never expected you to be here! You’re like—famous! But you don’t even know me!” I laughed. “And yet you came to such a weird celebration!”

Micah waved me away. “Hey man, a party is a party. And I’ll always jump at the opportunity to attend a party hosted by Onyx, or just to support fellow Octolings, like you.”

“Wait! Onyx invited you?!”

“Harley, actually. But they’re a package deal.” He snickered and I gave him a confused look. “Y’know, Harley. Harleman—Cyrus Harleman.”

“Oh shit, yeah!” I covered my face. “Ignore me. My brain’s running like a hundred miles per hour.”

“No sweat. I like the hype.” He smiled. “You’re glowing, man.”

“I’m having a good day!” I admitted like an idiot, immediately embarrassed as he snickered. 

“I’d be a bit skeptical if you weren’t,” The taller Octoling glanced around the room. “Somethin’s not right if you throw a party for yourself without getting a damn thing out of it.”

“Y-Yeah! True!” I crackled my knuckles. “I’m more than pleased that’s not the case. I honestly keep thinking it can’t get any better but then boom!” I gestured towards him. “My favorite rapper is here! Like, what the fuck?! You’re a celebrity! You could be anywhere else right now!”

Micah smiled. “You’re surprised to see me as if you’re not best friends with a celebrity.” The Octoling glanced over at Cyrus, sweating through his suit playing just dance against three other people. I overheard Radian cheering for him. “Onyx, too. Your party’s literally in a condo.”

I felt my face burn. “Well—” I looked away from him. “Y-Yeah.”

“By the end of the night, you’ll be famous too. Everyone in Splatsville is gonna know Westley ‘Raviyoli’ Summers. Word gets around.” Micah warned me as I followed him to the kitchen. He made himself a bowl of fruit salad but proceeded to pick all the grapes out.

I laughed. “You’re probably right.” I started eating the fruit he excluded, and he stared at me in silence for a second before cackling.

“Y’know, you’re chill. I like you.”

“You like me?!” I blurted with my mouth full, immediately shielding myself with my hand.

“On God. You’re authentic. It’s appealing.” He examined an oddly small strawberry that wound up in his bowl. “And yet you’re surprised that so many people are willing to celebrate you.”

I made an attempt to bite all the skin off one of the grapes. “I’m…just used to people thinking I’m a bit weird.”

“Weird is good.”

“N-Not always,” I mumbled. “Like having amnesia. I think that’s bad weird.”

Micah scoffed. “Ew, don’t get all sad on me. What would be weird is if you intentionally gave yourself amnesia. That’d be bad weird. But man, life’s a bitch. Despite the unpredictability, you’re clearly good at goin’ with the flow. That’s respectable too.”

“That’s…true.”

“Pause. What the fuck are you doing to that grape?” 

“Skinning it alive?” I snickered. 

“Valid.”

“I get fidgety when talking to certain people.” I shrugged and finally ate the decrepit fruit. “So the grapes are my victims for now. Maybe that napkin is next.”

Micah snickered. “What? Do I scare you?”

“I mean…” I droned, smiling. “You do practically tower over me. And you are a bit chill to the point where it’s intimidating, but not really.”

“Wow!” He beamed, laughing. “You gotta get better at lying!” 

“S-Shut up! It’s fine!”

“Heh, I’m so used to people seeing me and acting like I’m on a whole different plane than them. I can never have regular conversations with people like this.” Micah leaned against the counter and handed me the rest of the grapes. “Squid kids will fuckin’ asking me for my autograph while bowing, man, it’s nuts. I’m literally not that fancy.”

“I mean, I’m not gonna bow but you’re definitely cooler than me.”

Micah raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you in the army or some shit? Harley told me.” He twirled some of the seaweed on his finger. “Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m cooler than you. Technically I could live in luxury like this,” He looked around the condo. “But I choose not to. I don’t think I really deserve it.”

“But you earned the money!”

“True, but Nabo’s my partner in crime too. She makes all the music; I’m just the wordsmith. I tend to let her take more of the earnings.” He mumbled. “I already like how I live. I don’t need a mansion or sixteen servants or a diamond grill.”

I snickered. “That’s pretty humble.”

“You ain’t hear this from me, but I fuckin’ hate influencers and shit. Most wealthy people get on my nerves…” He muttered, glancing around the room at the other guests. “Meanwhile, I’m still surprised I even got this far. Still, unlike most artists who are my… ‘mutuals,’” He practically gagged. “They tend to just do it for the money. Or their fans. I just do whatever the fuck I want.”

“Knowing what I know about you, that makes sense. And that’s why you’re my favorite musician!”

“Heh, yeah, man. You ever wonder why I rarely agree to interviews? Cuz everyone gets mad when I say outta pocket shit. I’d get cancelled if there was a camera on me right now!” He laughed. “But that’s how I’ve been my whole life. My music’s like that. Honestly, that’s just goes for most rappers.”

“You stand out in a good way!”

“I would say I try, but I really don’t.” He smirked, placing his hands behind his head. “Anyways, you into any other rappers? You look too soft for rap, no offense.”

I rolled my eyes. “I like rock, mainly. Do I look too soft for rock?”

Micah examined me. “Hm. Maybe. You look like you’d be into classical but that’s thanks to the suit vest, honestly.” He laughed. “Like some sort of pianist. But more power to ya! Rock is fresh and it definitely gets my vote when indie artists add rap verses and shit,” He proudly explained. “You like what you like.”

“Hell yeah!” I beamed. “I can kinda vibe with any genre, but rock’s my favorite. Oh, also you mentioned Nabo! Is she here?! I wanna see her too!”

“Eh, she’s out of town,” Micah mumbled. “I wanted her to postpone her trip so we could come together, but she just urged me to go.”

“Damn.”

The Octoling nudged me. “I’ll give her your regards though. If you’re cool with me, you’ll be cool with her, no doubt. Anyways,” He smirked. “Since I still like you and everything, you want an autograph?”

“Fuck yeah!” I pulled a nametag out of my back pocket. I was hoarding several extras just in case I remembered any other names. I handed him the sticker and he pulled out a pen, placing it on the counter as he signed it. I watched him quickly scribble some graffiti letters, meanwhile it took me way too many tries to get those kinds of fonts down.

Happy Westley Day? Ha!
Love, The Micah

He handed me the sticker. “Since you keep referring to me as the Micah and everything.”

I laughed, rocking on my heels as I stared at it. “Thank you so much!” I beamed. “A-Am I allowed to give you a hug? I know you’re not a hugger, but—”

“Eh, you’re one of my homies now.” Micah pulled me into a quick hug, patting my back. “It’s cool. Also, the bar is scaring me. Do you recommend anything?”

“I…actually made all the lemonades.”

“For real?” His jaw dropped. “You’re insane. How many lemons did that take? Or did you use premade lemonade.”

“A merge of both, but it’s still fresh!” I placed my hands on my hips. “Sixty-seven.”

Micah laughed. “What the fuck, Wes. You’re actually becoming my favorite person at this party—not just cuz it’s your party.”

“Hey, what can I say? I’m a pretty loveable Octoling!” I claimed. “My favorite is probably the raspberry lemonade, and there’s some sangria with the same base if you’re in the mood for booze.”

Micah patted my shoulder. “Thanks, ‘ppreciate it. I’ll probably find you later.”

I happily watched him walk off before looking back at the sticker, noticing he wrote his phone number on the back.

I got Micah’s number.

The Micah’s number.

I knew damn well he wasn’t the type of person to give his number to fans—everyone knew he had countless burner phones. Everyone wanted to be in his business and with a physique like that, he’d get stalked constantly so I couldn’t blame him.

I fast-walked around the party, searching for Wyatt and quickly caught a glimpse of Alaias out on the balcony. I slipped out the French doors and interrupted their conversation, jumping in-between them as the hybrid almost dropped their drink.

“Wyatt!!”

He squealed. “Shit, Ravi! Wes! What?!” He laughed. “The railing is a glass pane which is not helping my fear of heights.”

“Then why are you leaning on it?” I snickered.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d come and scare the bejesus out of me, damn!” He rolled his eyes as Alaias quietly drank his beer beside us. He hadn’t said much to me since he fought with Radian, aside from apologizing. “Anyways, what’s up?” He leaned into my ear, whispering. “Is it fast? We’re kinda having a breakthrough.” 

“Oh shit. Uh, yeah.” I showed him the nametag. “I just wanted you to see the autograph I got from Micah. He gave me his number!”

“Wait, the Micah? That really hot rapper with the red, curly tentacles that are super long?! And he’s like Radian’s complexion!”

I laughed. “Yeah! He gave me a hug too!”

“Look at you, damn! Befriending your favorite artist!”

“Well, you befriended Cyrus!”

Wyatt blushed. “That’s true!”

“Anyways, that’s all! I’ll leave you be.” I smiled before wandering away from him onto the other side of the roof where there were still people. I had never actually been over here before—there was a small water feature that mimicked one of those infinity pools along with varied seating and lots of greenery. The third quad of the roof—where the infinity pool actually was—was fenced off. As I stared at the water, someone came up behind me, wrapping their arms around my waist.

“Don’t punch me.” Radian snickered, holding me tighter. “It’s just your boyfriend.”

I sighed. “You’re lucky you approached me slowly.”

“I know.” He kissed my neck, hugging me from behind. “How are things? You seem like you’re having fun.”

I leaned back into him and closed my eyes, placing my hands over his. “You too. You smell like pot.” I laughed softly. “Where the hell did you get weed from?”

“I smuggled it in myself.” He stated proudly. “This is technically my house too. It was in my room.” He laughed. “And I gave Alaias some, so he’d be nice to me.”

“No wonder Wyatt said they were having a breakthrough. I don’t know if he knows his filter is gone, but I’m sure a win is a win in his case.” I mumbled, trying to recognize the muffled song playing inside.

“You wanna go for a dip?”

I leaned up, gazing at the water again. “I don’t wanna go broke having the dry cleaners try and get chlorine out of this.”

“That’s what skinny dipping’s for.”

“You can.” I attempted to give him a look, but the angle was off.

“You’re no fun,” Radian whined and started nibbling on my ear, making me flinch.

“Hey! People are gonna see!”

He glanced at the window, snickering. “Nuh-uh. It’s darker out here than it is in there. We’ll be fine,” He mumbled, leaving a trail of kisses down the side of my neck, just light enough that it was giving me a chill.

“You explicitly said that earlier was your chance to get all of this out before the party started!” I laughed, leaning my head to the side.

“Well, yeah. That was for earlier.” He admitted and turned me around, pushing me against the concrete partition. “But you were the one fangirling over that rapper,” He mumbled and leaned in, but I covered his mouth.

“Oh my God!” I grinned. “Are you jealous?!”

He furrowed his brows. “No. I just wanna kiss you,” He claimed and moved my hand, pressing his lips to mine for a split second.

“I don’t have a thing for him!”

“Yeah, but your type is tall, dark, and handsome.” Radian lifted my head up, kissing my chin and eventually my neck again as I gulped.

“S-Stewart wasn’t tall, dark, and handsome.” I laughed again but as I felt his teeth graze my Adam’s apple, the sound quickly melted into a moan. “He was short, pale, and…conventionally attractive.”

“Tastes change.” He muttered, snickering. “That’s pretty fuckin’ funny though.”

I rolled my eyes as he kissed me again, caressing his ears as his hands wandered. No surprise there. The sound of the water was nice background noise, and I couldn’t help but notice Radian tasted like lemonade. He ran his hands down the front of my vest as his lips eventually trailed my jaw.

“Stop,” I chuckled softly. “Don’t get me all worked up again.”

“Eh, that’s on you for being a sensitive amateur.” Radian hummed and I felt his teeth scrape my neck.

“Fuck you!” I laughed.

“Regardless,” He lined up our faces, pressing his nose against mine. “I’m only kissin’ you.”

“Your hands are wandering…” I closed my eyes as I felt his lips on mine again.

“My hands always wander,” The Inkling muttered as I smiled into the kiss, interlacing his fingers with mine so he’d quit feeling me up, not that it bothered me. It barely took a minute for him to get squirmy and try to detach himself from me, but I refused to let up, snickering as he broke the kiss.

“Wes.”

“Hm?”

“Wes.” He repeated with a glare, though it was impossible to take the look seriously. I couldn’t help but laugh. “You know I’ll go insane if I can’t touch you.”

“You’re touching me right now!” I joked, squeezing his hands as he whined like a toddler.

“Wes.”

“Saying my name won’t make me let up,” I explained with a smirk. “You’re only worsening your insanity…maybe I like hearing you say my name over and over again.” I mumbled, noticing a glint in his eye.

“Oh?” Radian leaned in and bit my earlobe as a small yelp slipped out of my mouth, making him laugh. “You bet your ass I’ll take note on that. Glad you finally made up your mind.”

“Shut up—!” I let out another squeal as he slid his tongue across my ear and the moment I loosened up, his hands were back on my hips.

As he kissed me again, I pulled him further into me, following his rhythm until his hunger eventually dissipated, he finally released me.

“You good? You got it all out?”

Radian scrunched up his nose, smiling. “Shut up.” 

“You’re kinda cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not! W-Wait, you think I’m cute?”

“Mhm.” I pecked him on the cheek before walking over to the alternate set of French doors. “Just don’t freak out—he’s not my big fantasy man or something.”

“Aww…” Radian gave my puppy-dog eyes. “Because I’m your big fantasy man!”

“I don’t have a big fantasy man!” I laughed. “Or even a fantasy for that matter! Cool your jets!”

“Booooring!” He yelled across the water. “My fantasy is you and me half-naked in that pool! I’d prefer butt-ass naked, but I’d settle for half because I want you to be comfy.”

“Shut the hell up!” I whipped around. “Don’t you make me come back over there!”

I heard Radian laughing as I eventually slipped back inside, expecting him to follow me, but he continued to stare at the pool. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found him in there an hour later, fully clothed. The build-up of chlorine water didn’t affect us like freshwater or even the ocean, so I knew he was likely to take advantage of it.

As I talked to a few other guests, I noticed that Cyrus was still dancing his little heart out as Onyx and her friend watched him in awe from the other side of the room. I eventually approached them, and Onyx put another glowstick on me.

“Having fun? I saw you talking with Micah earlier.”

“Yeah! You’re awesome at this party planning shit!”

She snickered and glanced at the pink Octoling. “Oh, this is Vivian, by the way! An old friend of mine.”

I reached out to shake her hand, but she hesitated, so I just gave her a thumbs up. “I assumed as much—you two have been talking the whole night.”

“Well, I didn’t expect her to show, so now I refuse to leave her side,” Onyx grinned and put her arm around Vivian, whose face lit up.

“Did you invite any plus-ones?” I asked her as she adjusted her cardigan. “I’m trying to say hi to everyone in the room.” I laughed. “Which is actually becoming harder than I thought because some people are outside and every time I turn my back, another guest comes in late.”

“Oh, I tried to invite my roommate! But…” Vivian sighed. “He refused to come, but I’m happy to see Onyx at least! He’s missing out, but I’ll definitely bring him a slice of cake. There’s gonna be cake, right?!” She perked up.

“Yeah! We’re just waiting to bring it out.”

The smaller girl clapped and Onyx chuckled. I checked my phone, knowing the plan was to bring it out halfway through the party, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glare. When I looked at the front door, I was immediately blinded by a tall, dark-skinned Octoling suddenly entering the room, dripped out in a blindingly white suit. I wasn’t mad that he was better dressed than me, but the added shimmer hurt my eyes. He looked like royalty with his long, baby blue tentacles, and his silver crown that rested atop them.

I noticed Howdy appear from the crowd and run over to him, so I waved to Onyx and Vivian before following him. I mainly just wanted to know where he got the suit.

“I apologize for being fashionably late,” The man bowed, snickering as he eventually stood up straight and grabbed a nametag off the side table. “Did I miss much?”

“Now, only the boy’s big reveal!” Howdy nudged me as I noticed he was wearing two nametags: ‘Howdy’ and ‘Bently.’ “He was funny as all get out!”

The Octoling stuck his nametag to his chest, fidgeting with the duffle bag he was carrying like a purse. “I’m so sorry!” The man immediately grabbed my hands, locking eyes with me after seeing my sticker. “It was a fight to get out the door—I wish I could’ve been here sooner!”

“O-Oh!” I glanced at his chest in slight confusion. “No sweat, Prince Nelly!”

“You sure?!”

I grinned. “Yeah! There’s still food and games going on.” I gestured to the other side of the room. “The food’s over here and drinks are over there, and we’ll probably bring out the cake soon since you can’t have a party without cake.”

“Ha!” He nudged me. “I like you! There’s no bigger truth!”

Howdy rocked back and forth on his heels and from his smile, I was getting the feeling that this was his plus one. No wonder, since Nelly could understand him perfectly.

“Also, what’s in your bag? Not that we’re doing bag checks or anything.”

“Oh! My girlfriend’s in here!” He said casually, glancing down. “She’s shy, so she’s in swim form.”

I locked eyes with Howdy who shrugged and adjusted his white cowboy hat.

“O-Oh!” I hesitated. “O-Okay! Well,” I looked around, confused. “Make sure she gets a nametag too, I guess.”

“Surely!” Nelly beamed as he grabbed another sticker off the table. “I’m gonna go investigate the consumables. I shall return, then again, I doubt you’ll still be standing in this same spot.”

I chuckled. “Probably not, but I should be easy to find. I’ve got the most nametags on!” I bragged and displayed my back to Nelly, whose face lit up.

“Ah! Of course! Because you’re the VIP!” 

Nelly suddenly removed his crown and placed it on my head. “This should make you easier to find too.” The Octoling rubbed his chin, examining me. “Hmm…yep! I think that’s good. You’ve got the most nametags, glowsticks, and now you’ve got just the right amount of bling.” He let his wrist go limp. “I knew your outfit needed something.”

I grinned, adjusting the crown. “Oh! Uh, thank you! I promise I’ll give it back!”

“I have no doubts!” The Octoling said and turned to Howdy. “Bently, my beloved—care to escort me to the ‘fixings,’ as you usually say?”

The red Octoling laughed and followed Nelly, but I couldn’t catch what he said through his accent. That was my first example of a plus-plus one scenario. Radian invited Howdy, Howdy invited Nelly, and…Nelly brought his girlfriend in a designer duffle bag.

I continued surveying the room for a while, befriending those who were primarily part of Cyrus and Onyx’s crew. I anticipated most of the guests questioning the event, but everyone was on board. There was good music and good food—those who didn’t already know me weren’t pressed about the deep meaning behind it all. Given the carefree nature of most Inklings, it wasn’t a surprise when they were unfazed. Although, a few Octolings understood where I was coming from thus hinting that amnesia amongst my species was more common than I thought. If anything, I’m sure a bit of memory loss went along with a bit of Octavio’s brainwashing, intentional or not. 

As my feet grew tired and I planned to rest on the couch to watch Cyrus’ dance battles, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. It was hard to hear my ringtone over the music, but I instantly noticed CQ Cumber’s caller ID—the last person I expected to contact me. I quickly answered, only to rush out of the main room so I could hear him on the line.

“Hey!” I beamed into the phone.

He laughed. “Hey. Sorry to call you right now. I’m assuming you’re at the party?” He paused. “I heard a bit of commotion in the background. I know it was today, although I forgot the time frame.”

“No need to apologize! It’s nice to hear from you,” I leaned against the wall. 

“Same goes for you,” He sighed. “I’m sorry I’m not there with you and your friends. I wanted to make it, but I figured the least I could do was give you a call once I realized the lack of space in my schedule. Texting didn’t seem sincere enough.”

“It’s alright!” I chuckled.

“No, it’s not,” I noticed the tension in his voice. “You’ve invited me to numerous things ever since you moved to Splatsville, although I’ve only made two thus far. I apologize.”

“CQ, it’s seriously okay. You’ve got a busy life—I’m not gonna hold that against you,” I eventually sat on the floor. “You’ve got a demanding job, whereas I’m living the life of a frat boy until I mature, quit spending all my hours at the Battle Pot, and finally find myself a big boy job like you.”

The man laughed into the mic. “Firstly, there’s nothing frat boy-like about you. Secondly, don’t rush it. Enjoy your freedom while you still have it. You’ve been through enough. You’re overdue for some rejuvenation.”

“Eh, I’ve been out of the Metro for six years now.”

“But those six years also incorporated hills and valleys, did they not?”

I chuckled, recalling his front row seats to the altercation with Stewart. “Very true.”

“Alas, do you have any cash apps? I’d still like to send you something to make up for my absence. Worst case scenario, I can mail you a check.”

I tensed up. “W-What?” I laughed. “No, man! It’s not like a birthday party—I’m not asking for any gifts! All I really wanted was your time. It’s funny how many people were willing to give up their evening to celebrate something so bizarre.”

CQ sighed. “And yet time was the one thing I wasn’t able to give you.”

I paused. “Yeah, although technically you still are. You found the time to call me, day of.”

“And that’s enough?”

“Yep.”

“Well…that makes me feel a little better. You’re too nice, Eight.” He stopped. “Wait, am I still supposed to call you that?” He groaned. “Well, if I was there, I’d know what to call you.”

I overheard him cursing under his breath. Hearing CQ drop an F-bomb was never something I thought I’d witness.

“H-Hey, it’s chill. I’ll still respond to any of my nicknames, so don’t fret.” I grew tired of holding my phone up to my ear and put it on speaker phone. “Although, my official name is Westley. Westley Summers.” I laughed. “Westley Eric Summers.”

“Full government name and everything,” He chuckled. “I like it. I’m looking at your contact photo—I think you look like a Westley.”

“Thank you!”

“Well, aside from recovering more of your lost memories, what else have I missed?” He cleared his throat. “I’d prefer to reconnect over dinner, but it’d be easier to talk now than have to catch up on another year of missed events while I try and find an opening in my schedule.”

“It’s alright! Well…” I hummed and placed my phone on my knee. “I got my Dualies to five stars, and several other weapons to four stars. I’m sure you don’t know what that means.”

“I don’t, but congratulations regardless.”

“Thanks! Oh, I also got a boyfriend! That’s probably the only notable thing that’s happened since we’ve talked.”

“Is that so? I’m happy for you! This is your first relationship, correct?”

I groaned. “Yeah… It’s going well though. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks now but if we had stopped beating around the bush early on, we’d probably be at the three-month mark by now. We were in an unspecified situationship for a while.”

“Is that like friends with benefits? I’m not on track with the new slang these days.” He laughed awkwardly. 

“Me neither. Apparently, there’s an actual definition for situationships but I use it to describe us since neither of us knew what the hell was going on,” I mumbled. “We’d make out, but we never talked about why the hell we were making out for months on end until a few weeks ago.”

“That’s—”

“S-Sorry,” I cut him off. “That’s probably TMI.”

“No, it’s alright. Everyone’s been in that phase of life—you’re inexperienced, but since you’re an adult by the world’s standards, you feel like you should know what’s going on. Alas, it’s good you two got on the same page. I’d say all that matters is that you’ve got him now, hm?”

“Definitely,” I laughed. “I love his company. Even when we were just friends, I enjoyed his company.”

“What’s he like? You’ve yet to drop a name.”

“Oh shit,” I snickered. “Yeah. His name’s Radian. I call him Rad since…he’s pretty rad,” I shrugged and flattened my legs, grabbing my phone again. “He’s tall and he smells good. He saved me from drowning during a Salmon Run wave, actually.”

“Oh? Seems like you’ve got a damsel in distress pattern occurring, given the circumstances in which you met Stewart.”

I cringed. “Eugh…yeah. Radian’s ten times better though. He’s transparent and blunt, and while it took him a while to bring up about his past, he still opened up without any bloodshed, which was a nice change.”  

CQ Cumber laughed. “That’s a good start.”

“He’s annoying, but the good kind.” I chuckled. “He’s flirtatious and feisty and it was irritating when we first started hanging out, but now I love it. He’s just so different from everyone else in my friend group and it’s weirdly attractive,” I mumbled to myself. “Given how I am, it looks like we’d clash, but we’ve melded into one another. I like it…a lot. I can be spontaneous with him, he’ll listen to me ramble for hours—it’s amazing.”

“I can hear in your voice that you love him. Now that you’re describing him, I think we’ve met. When I was first able to see you in Splatsville, he took a group shot of us and your Inkopolitan friends.”

I felt my cheeks burn. “Oh yeah! Damn, that was a while ago. It’s been more than a minute, so I’ll send you a photo of him.”

“I remember him taking a jab at how we evolved out of the water and yet I devoted my life to working in the ocean’s depths,” I chuckled. “I didn’t know how to respond.”

I sighed. “Yeah…that’s him. He typically leaves people speechless with his smart remarks or suggestive flirts, although I eventually learned how to respond,” I chuckled. “His transparency is nice further down the line, but in the beginning, it’s painfully harsh.”

“Yes, I noticed his lack of a filter. Although, given his constant proximity to you, I’m sure you’ve tamed him a bit.”

“Barely,” I laughed. “Now his eccentricity is just condensed and constantly directed at me. He’s impossible to tame, but I think that’s what I like. There’s never a dull moment with him, even in the middle of the night when we’re stoned to the point where we’ve run out of words.”

“Everyone needs someone with that energy so I’m glad you’ve found your person. I look forward to the next time I’m free. I’d love to witness your banter.”

“Oh God,” I laughed. “You’d be scarred for life, but sure.”

“That’s possible, but you’re the peer that keeps my life interesting. There’s never a dull moment with you either, Westley.” He chuckled. 

“I’m glad to be that person!”

“Alas, it’s about time I return to my post. It was nice hearing your voice and what you’ve been up to. And congrats on the name.” He paused. “That seems like such a weird thing to congratulate…” He mumbled.

“Exactly! Still, thank you! Hopefully I’ll see you before New Years?”

“Hopefully. That’s practically two whole seasons away, meaning I should have some planning time. Still, enjoy the rest of your party.”

“Thank you!”

The phone clicked and I watched as his contact photo reappeared. It’d been a while since we had a call and one at that length, too. It was often a one-minute check-in to ensure each other’s existence.

I eventually migrated back to the main room and sat beside Eric on the couch after grabbing my fourth glass of lemonade. As if we hadn’t already bartended enough, I added some soda just to see what would happen. On the kitchen counter, Micah left a bowl of grapes with saran wrap over it, labeled ‘Westley only,’ which I enjoyed before finally eating some hot food.

Eventually, Eric left the couch and joined Cyrus in Just Dance, but as I sat there for longer, I noticed it had become a competition and after more than an hour, no one had beaten him yet. When Eric was banished to the loser circle—as was everyone else in the house—I stood up and challenged him.

“Oh, you wanna go?!” Cyrus laughed, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt. His suit jacket and tie were already laying on the TV stand. He handed me a Wii remote. “Let’s see what you got!”

I started scrolling through the song options as I rolled up my sleeves. “So, from that I’m gonna assume that you’re not just gonna let me win.”

“Of course not!”

“Even though it’s my day!”

“Cry about it!” He stuck his tongue out as I selected a song, now paranoid as the whole room homed in on me attempting to beat him. I wasn’t good at dancing. My freestyling was weird and the only thing I could do and look cool while doing it was breakdancing, which Just Dance had nothing of. Still, I gave it my all and danced my ass off for five minutes to an early 2000s party song.

The crown frantically switched back and forth between our avatars which had the crowd freaking out. However, at the last second, Cyrus got a badly timed cramp and missed the last golden move, placing me in the lead with ten seconds left in the song. Exhausted after hours of dancing, Cyrus laid on the ground, accepting his loss as everyone cheered me on.

Howdy appeared out of nowhere and lifted me up, spouting something unintelligible, clearly excited. I heard the squeal of the microphone and looked up to see Onyx on the balcony, trying to calm herself down and quit laughing.

“A-Alright,” She huffed. “Now that my boyfriend’s finally got his ass beat, I think it’s time for cake.”

“Fuck yeah!” I beamed as Howdy put me down and I ran over to the drinks, grabbing a handful of ice out of the cooler and eating it. I grabbed a water bottle for Cyrus and handed it to him as he still laid there, but I could tell he was laughing with everyone.

Someone nudged me and I looked over to see Zephyrus, smirking. “Do you have any idea how many people have stuck their hands in that cooler? And you just ate ice out of it.”

I shrugged, smiling. “Ice is ice.”

“You’re nuts.”

“I would say you are what you eat, but I’m allergic.” I snickered and the Inkling laughed. It was nice seeing her face light up in such a way.

“Touche!” She leaned into my side, smiling. “You wanna fight me in Just Dance? Or are you too exhausted,” She glanced at Cyrus, borderline dead on the ground, though half of his water bottle was empty now.

“Damn, you really like fighting me, huh? What would this be? The third time?”

The woman blushed. “Shut up!”

I laughed as she grabbed Cyrus’s remote and changed the profile. I let her pick the song and watched as Onyx had Radian help her carry the cake to the kitchen. Everyone was waiting on me to grab the first slice, even though it wasn’t a birthday party, but after Zephyrus beat me, we ran over to the counter. Radian snapped a photo of me laying on the marble next to the cake that said, “Raviyoli Last-Name? More like Westley Summers!” in hot pink icing with a little octopus drawn in the corner.

I left everything cake related—size, flavor, decorations—to Cyrus and Wyatt and they did not disappoint.

I grabbed my first slice along with one of the mini cupcakes to accompany it before everyone else started grabbing theirs. I poured myself a glass of dessert wine which we had found in Cyrus’ liquor cabinet and sat outside on the balcony, eating like a king. All my friends joined me on the patio seating, including Micah, but the moment Radian noticed, he scooted closer to me, and I glanced at him, laughing.

“Man, can’t I eat my cake in peace?”

Wyatt snickered, watching as Radian laid in my lap. “Nope.”

I think the more Radian fawned over me, the more Zephyrus began to notice there was something going on between us. I had never told her because she never asked, but since we had a mutual wavering crush for a while back in Chill season, I probably should’ve mentioned it. Still, Radian’s antics amused her.

Radian’s antics amused everyone, even Alaias for once, but that was probably just because he was high. Wyatt snapped a photo of Radian being…Radian and laughed at his phone but the Inkling eventually sat upright as my friends talked amongst themselves.

“Oh, by the way,” He suddenly grabbed my tentacles. “I noticed the ends of these turned blue earlier.”

I held them out so I could see them in my peripheral vision. “What?! Blue??”

He chuckled, amused by my shock. “Er, yeah. The ends were orange for most of the day since I wouldn’t stop kissing you.”

I smiled while playing with my octolocs. “That’s…weird. I mean, I would assume that maybe it’s thanks to Wyatt, but his ink has a little more purple to it.”

“And despite living with him, your tentacles never pick up his color.”

“True…”

“Are we talking about Westley’s ink?” Cyrus leaned forward with a grin. Despite how his face would light up, you could still tell he was exhausted from earlier. “I noticed it too! I was trying to find any Inklings or Octolings with blue ink that you knew in there…but yeah, Wyatt is the only contender, and the color isn’t exact.”

“When did it change? Were they orange when we were by the pool?” I squinted at Radian, and he smirked.

“Hell yeah.”

“And they were still orange when you were talking to me and Vivi, but when I saw you later on during your dance battle, they were blue,” Onyx chimed in, stealing one of Cyrus’ many cupcakes. “And still are, obviously.”

“There’s a fuck ton of people in there,” Alaias mumbled. “Do you know anyone you’re close to with that ink color?”

I hesitated, staring at the array of snacks and drinks on the glass tabletop. “No.” I laughed softly, quickly perking up. “Well, who arrived at the party between me talking to Onyx and dancing with Cyrus?”

“Everyone’s been signing the guestbook, right?” Micah asked. “I know I did.”

“Nelly!” Eric exclaimed. “The guy in the white suit! Y’know!” He covered his mouth, snickering. “I’m sure everyone knows. He’s like a walking disco ball. And you’re literally wearing his crown.”

“Oh shit, yeah!” I paused. “But he’s not the right shade of blue,” I mumbled, playing with my tentacles until I realized something. The same day I learned I was Westley, I learned I had a sister. Octavio had no description of her, but whenever we were in the same proximity, he claimed the ends of my tentacles turned blue and hers turned pink.

If no one else was a valid contender, her presence was the only reasonable explanation. 

“My sister is here.” I mumbled.

Radian leaned forward with an eyebrow raised. “What?”

I quickly stood up. “My sister is here!” I repeated loudly. I was excited, but equally terrified. “Maybe she came in sometime after Nelly and I just didn’t notice! It’s not like I have a face to look for…”

“Since when did you have a fucking sister?!” Cyrus exclaimed, offended. “No one told me this! Did he tell any of you guys this?!”

Wyatt and Radian awkwardly raised their hands.

“I overheard.” Alaias admitted, “But I honestly didn’t think he was serious.”

Cyrus was crazy upset that he and a few others were left out of the loop, but as they all tried to go over the ‘Westley timeline,’ I ran back into the house, searching for my sister even though I didn’t know what to look for. I noticed Nelly on the couch and ran over, startling him as I slammed my hands on the armrest.

“You!” I huffed. “Do you know anyone with ink this color?!” I asked anxiously, pointing to the ends of my tentacles as an example.

The bedazzled man blinked. “Uh, yeah? My girlfriend!” He beamed. “Why?”

I stared at the duffle bag on the floor, but it was open, and no one was inside. The nametag was stuck to one of the pockets, but the cursive was too curly and borderline illegible, hence I assumed Nelly had written it for her.

“Shit!” I blurted, returning his crown before wandering around the various areas of Cyrus’ condo in search for an Octoling with royal blue ink. After ten minutes, I got exhausted and sat by a random fern in the corner, trying to wrack my brain. I realized that any smart person would’ve just asked Nelly what his girlfriend’s name was and to describe her appearance. Knowing him, she was probably his phone lock screen, but when I looked back at the couch, he was gone. 

I don’t know how I managed to lose a man in a white, shimmery suit, but the same could be said for losing my own sister. It was impressive but pathetic.

I sat on the ground with my head in my knees when someone poked me. I looked up to Radian squatting beside me with a worried smile, but his jaw quickly dropped.

“Westley—”

“I don’t know where she is…” I cried softly as Radian shielded me from potential passersby. “A-And I lost the guy in the suit a-and—”

He cupped my face with a sigh, wiping my tears. “Wes, it’s gonna be okay. Just breathe. You still have the rest of the night. Your tentacles are still blue.”

“Yeah, but there’s always a delay! Nelly said his girlfriend was shy! What if that’s her and she got anxious and left?!”

The Inkling lifted my chin and kissed me softly for a few seconds. When he leaned back, I covered my mouth, avoiding his eyes.

“W-Why’d you do that? I’m not in the mood for—”

“Because if she had left already, your tentacles would’ve turned orange again when I kissed you. They’ll be blue until she leaves because even if you haven’t seen her in years, she’s still your sister. That bond is stronger.” Radian blushed. “I-I’m assuming. That’s just my guess,” He admitted softly.

“It’s not a bad guess,” I mumbled.

“Here, stay still,” He pulled a tissue out of his back pocket and started wiping the area around my eyes. “I don’t want you to give yourself raccoon eyes,” He chuckled while carefully drying my face in a way that wouldn’t smear the eyeliner.

“Thank you.”

He kissed my cheek. “Of course.”

“You’re a good boyfriend,” I laughed softly, and his blush deepened.

“I-I try.” He smiled, kissing me one more time before standing up. “Anyways…if you wanna take a break from your personal scavenger hunt, Wyatt and Cyrus are wasted and trying to get contenders to either play Twister or have a Wii Sports tournament.”

“Those are quite the opposites.”

Radian helped me up. “Yeah. I’m sure we’d get some hilarious videos out of it though.”

“True.”

“Just an idea,” The Inkling pulled me into a long hug before searching for our roommates.

I continued to stand in the corner, taking deep breaths until I felt like regular Westley again. I went over to grab another cup of lemonade, but that was the one thing we were already out of. I sighed, grabbing a different cocktail before going onto the patio for some fresh air. I snuck out the back door to the pool where I hopefully wouldn’t be interrupted, but as I approached the gate, I noticed someone already loitering over there.

She had something in her hands as she stared at the water. I could only assume that she was watching her reflection, but I got the vibe that she wanted to be left alone. Due to the lighting, it was hard to tell if her ink was the right shade of blue, but I’m sure someone dating Nelly would’ve pulled up in a wedding gown to match his vibe.

She wore a two-toned cocktail dress—the left was white, and the right was black—accessorized with silver, glittery wedges.

I watched her for a while. No doubt she was in the zone and the last thing I wanted was to startle her and cause her to slip and fall into the pool. I eventually finished my drink and sat it on the edge of the partition, climbing over the gate. Though, my jeans got stuck and while I managed to land upright, the amount of metal clanking I caused was unbearable.

She jumped and turned to me as I brushed off my pants, trying to act normal. “Hi. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The woman squinted at me, pissed. “Did Nelly send you out here?” She mumbled.

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“I-I promise I’m not.” I smiled awkwardly, slowly approaching her. “I mean, I know him. I’m sure everyone knows him, but he didn’t send me out here,” I chuckled. “I came out here to indulge in my own pity party.”

She raised an eyebrow, and I glanced down, noticing she had a mem cake in her hand. I had never seen anyone else with one before. I couldn’t tell who or what it resembled, but when she noticed me staring, she hid it.

“U-Um, well, can you do that…on the other side of the pool or something?” She mumbled. “I was here first.”

“Oh…sure.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I guess. Since the pool’s blocked off.”

“What are you, the party police?”

“I mean…I’m the reason we’re having the party in the first place. To clarify, I’m Westley.”

She stared me down but eventually her gaze softened, and she looked back at the mem cake in her hand. I wasn’t sure if she had noticed my nametag or if something else removed her edge.

“Thus, the Westley name party.” I continued awkwardly.

“Ah…I see.”

“So, while I’m not technically the party police, I’d feel bad knowing someone’s not enjoying themselves. Like yeah,” I shrugged. “I can’t ensure that everyone’s having the time of their life, but my main goal was to at least say hi to everyone. I think you were the last person I needed.”

The Octoling chuckled softly. “Well, that’s nice of you. Truthfully, I’m not really the party type,” She admitted softly. “But Nelly was dying to go and refused to let me stay home. I think he just wanted an excuse to dress up, as if he doesn’t dress up on a daily basis,” She muttered under her breath.

“You don’t like to dress up? You look nice though!”

She looked down at herself, smiling a little. “Well, yeah…thank you.” She rubbed her arms. “I just feel exposed…even if I look nice. But Nelly wanted me to stand out with him. Then again, I don’t think I could ever outshine him.”

I laughed, staring at the water. “God, yeah. That guy. He seems sweet though.”

“He is.”

“If you’d like, I can get you a jacket! Cyrus might as well bleed Annaki gear so I’m sure he could find you something.”

“Oh.” She looked up as a plane flew overhead. “I’m fine. Thank you though. You’re a good party host.”

“I’m glad!” I beamed. “Given that it’s my first time and everything.”

“You’ve got a good energy.”

“Heh, I get that a lot! You too, honestly!” I grinned as I noticed a bit of blue tint her ears.

“Y-You think?”

I nodded aggressively. “Yeah! I just get a good vibe from you.”

The woman finally looked at me straight on as and as the light reflected off the water onto her, I noticed the end of her mohawk was pink. I was quickly mesmerized by the thought of it really being her, but the direct eye contact scared her off and she turned away.

It had to be too good to be true.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” I pointed to her hands. “Is that a mem cake?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” She played with it a little. “I carry him everywhere I go.” She admitted softly, but I noticed her voice crack. “I-I’m sorry. It’s a long story, and a sob-story at that.” She hid the figure again. 

“Is it…like a comfort thing? I can understand that.”

The blue Octoling stiffened, glaring at the water with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “I don’t know.” She let out a shaky sigh. “I just keep thinking that one day I’ll find the boy he resembles. But I’ve been thinking that for a while.”

“Ren,” I mumbled, and she quickly looked my way.

“What?”

“You never told me your name.”

The woman paused in confusion, scanning me until her eyes eventually landed on my tentacles. She raised her hand to her own and glanced at the mem cake in her hand before hesitantly placing it in my palm.

She didn’t say anything but was trembling as I slowly took my eyes off her and examined it. He had the same hairstyle I wore years ago and my exact piercings, but the face was blurred. Still, too many things matched for it to merely be a coincidence, especially the blue tips of his pink tentacles. Even in the darkness, I could tell he was my complexion and I recognized the uniform from my ID in Octavio’s records.

“I-It’s you, isn’t it?” She whispered, on the verge of tears.

My eyes widened as I finally stared at her again. “…Is your last name Summ—” but before I could finish the question, Ren broke down, startling me, but the moment I witnessed her sobs, I started crying too.

And I couldn’t stop.

I attempted to return her mem cake, but instead she fell into me and all I knew to do was to hug her like my life depended on it. I couldn’t consider anything else. She crammed her face into my neck, clinging to my vest as we cried in each other’s arms for ages. I had never cried that much before—not when I was alone in the army or after Stewart abandoned me—never. 

She smelled like home, and it made my heart throb.

I had no idea where home was or if it was even a place I could return to nowadays, but holding her made me feel like a kid again.

“I-I missed you so much,” She managed to get out.

Everything about her suddenly felt familiar. I knew that voice, I knew that smell, hell, I even knew the sound of her cries, and it hurt.

“I’m so sorry, Ren.” I whispered, holding her tighter. “I’m so sorry.”

I hadn’t seen her since I was seventeen.

That was when I left the army and even then, I rarely saw her onsite. We were in different sectors on top of being different genders, and there got to a point where I couldn’t sneak out to see her or River anymore. That was when I felt alone. I had no friends and no family, but if I had stayed in the army, at least I wouldn’t have lost every memory of her.

Now we were the same height, or maybe because she was wearing heels. It was weird to see her all grown up but I’m sure she felt the same way about me.

“I-I’m so sorry I left,” I sobbed. “I know you probably fucking hate me—”

She aggressively shoved me back, holding my shoulders. “How could I hate you?!” The mascara was dripping down her face. “You’re my brother!”

“But I abandoned you!”

“But you didn’t do it on purpose to hurt me,” Ren slowly wiped her face. “Right?”

“No one in the army wanted me around. It stopped being fun once the basic training ended and I stopped seeing you so often…” I admitted softly, sniffling. “I knew if I didn’t get out of there…I’d do something rash.”

Her eyes widened.

“I didn’t have anyone, and I was tired of it. I wanted to be happy again. I knew anything was bound be to more interesting than those underground domes, so I ran to the surface.” I explained. “But I…got hurt on my way there and ended up with amnesia from my injuries.”

“Westley…”

“I-It happened years ago now. But I’ve been trying my best to dig around for bits and pieces of my past, but it wasn’t until a year ago that I really made progress,” I mumbled. “A few months back I ran into Octavio who gave me a copy of my file from when I worked under him, and that’s how I learned my real name. And that…I had a sister.”

I showed her the stickers on my back. “I went by the name Raviyoli before and that’s a long story too,” I wiped my face. “But I’m just happy I have you. I don’t care about anything else right now,” I hiccupped before pulling her back into a tight embrace.

“Well,” Ren began, muttering into my neck. “You saw my mem cake…you’re not the only one who had amnesia.” She clarified. “I couldn’t be mad at you if I didn’t know you. Still, I at least knew someone was missing.”

“By the sound of that, it seems you got the better end of the stick,” I laughed weakly. “Especially since you knew who you were, at least.”

“But I still lost my mind,” She whispered, instantly holding me tighter which made me tense up. I immediately wanted to find whoever hurt her and pummel them into the ground. I killed Commander TarTar—I could surely kill whoever played the antagonist in her life.

“Who hurt you?”

My sister shook her head.

“Ren, please…”

“I can’t talk about it right now.” She finally looked up at me. “Not tonight…I just—” She inhaled sharply. “I never thought I’d see you again o-or remember you again and I don’t care about anything else right now—” The girl broke down again and I eventually led her to the pavement as she cried in my lap.

The sound made my chest tighten again as I rubbed circles on her back, but as I continued the motion, she looked back up.

“Y-Y’know, when we were upset as kids, Mom rubbed our backs like that…”

“Counter-clockwise?”

She smiled a little, leaning on my shoulder again. “Mhm.”

“Do you…know where she is?” I asked softly, my voice shaking as I felt another twinge in my throat.

“Mom?” She sighed. “No. I have vague memories of our neighborhood and the house we grew up in, but any addresses or phone numbers are blurry. It all…”

“Kinda feels like a distant dream? Yeah.”

“Y-Yeah. But you’ve at least seen Octavio since deserting!” She took a deep breath, still hugging me. “Maybe he’ll know. He probably has contact information for them. Was there any contact info on your file?”

“Not that I recall. Actually,” I stared at the water. “There was a landline number I tried calling a while ago.”

“No dice?”

“No dice.” I mumbled. “No longer in service, as to be expected with a landline.” I rolled my eyes. “There were a lot of notes on there. The schools I attended, my GPA when I enlisted—I think our address may have been up there but no Inkopolitan GPS is even aware of the domes. I don’t even remember how to get back there…” I admitted sadly.

“Then our only resource is Octavio, maybe.” Ren finally sat up and wiped her face, smearing some of the eyeliner that had dripped down her cheeks.

“Jesus, you look like you should be working at a haunted house.”

She lightly shoved me. “Shut up! Same goes for you!” Ren smirked. “Makes sense for me but why the hell are you in makeup? You gay or something?”

“I mean, a little.”

“Holy shit, so that rumor was true?! I was joking!” She grinned.

“What rumor?!” I felt my face burn.

“When we were still going through the basic training, a rumor spread that you were caught fooling around—AKA making out—with one of the scouts in your sector.” She gave me a look. “And apparently it happened twice.”

I shrugged playfully. “Not like I would know!” I pointed to my head. “Amnesia.”

“You wouldn’t be smirking like that if you didn’t recall it!”

“I mean, it sounds vaguely familiar—I can’t lie. I was lonely as shit. And relatively bored.” I rubbed the back of my neck. 

“And apparently you got a hard-on in the group shower once,” She mumbled under her breath while pulling a mirror out of her bra and finally realizing how smeared her makeup was. “Geez.”

“Who fucking told you that?!” I leaned forward.

“River!” She tried to wipe her face with her hand, but it honestly made it worse. “Do you remember that or something?” She shrugged. “I stopped seeing you around so eventually I only had rumors to go off of. River was usually my messenger until he went MIA too…”

I held my face. “Augh, I can’t believe you got news of that!”

“And then you switched sectors, right? Cuz all the guys tried to kick your ass. Well, they thought they could since you were younger, but you still beat them and then got transferred for fighting.”

The altercation started playing in my mind. “Wow…yeah.” I shook my head. “Man, that was ages ago,” I sighed. “I mean, we were teenagers so of course we were acting like idiots.”

“Horny idiots.”

“I wasn’t making out cuz I was horny!” I laughed. “Ew! Why am I talking about this with you?!”

She closed her mirror, grinning. “I dunno! I just wanted to know if you were actually gay or not. I mean, I’ve got a boyfriend,” She glanced at the full-length window beside the pool. “Obviously. Lionel. I’m still bi though.”

“Okay, well that actually makes this a little less awkward.” I chuckled. “Same goes for me with like...a sprinkle of ace.”

“So, it never really had anything to do with finding the right person,” Ren teased. “Like mom would always say.” She shrugged. “Still, I guess that’s not really news. I always thought you had a crush on River back when we were younger. I mean, you showed interest in a ton of girls, but you followed River around like a lost puppy.”

I scoffed, grinning. “He was my best friend!”

“You can have crushes on your best friends! That’s why adolescence sucks. Everything’s confusing,” She snickered. “Hence, why I’m glad it’s over, but in our case, everything still makes no sense.”

“Real shit.” I rubbed my eye and stared at the black smear on my hand. “Like, River actually hates me nowadays.”

“What? Why?!”

“I think he thinks I abandoned him.” I paused. “Well, I did. Still, a little after I got to the surface, I ran back into him, but my amnesia prevented me from recognizing him. So, I think he thinks that I intentionally ditched him and acted like I was someone new who didn’t remember him.”

“God, Westley! That’s awful! Did you invite him to the party? Y’know, to clear all that up.” She pointed back at the house.

“…No. I don’t know his address and I doubt he’d travel all the way from Inkopolis to Splatsville just to attend the party of his ex-best friend.” I sighed. “I plan to try and fix everything though. I’m tired of losing best friends,” I muttered under my breath.

“I’m sure,” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “But hey, by the looks of it, you at least have a ton of regular friends who love you enough to celebrate something so bizarre.”

“Yeah, but—” I flinched as I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket, beginning to blast Fly Octo, Fly. Ren started bobbing to the song, but after a few seconds, she gave me a weird look.

“Aren’t you gonna answer it?”

I grabbed my phone and silenced the ringer. “No. I’m talking to you.” The screen displayed Radian’s caller ID, but I put it back in my pocket. “I talk with him like every day,” I chuckled. “Can’t say the same for you.”

“Oh!” Ren patted herself down. “Shit! Nelly has my phone!” She proceeded to wrestle my phone out of my pocket. “Oh, he’s pretty,” She muttered as Radian’s ID eventually vanished. “Give me your number! So I don’t lose you again!” The Octoling laughed.

“Oh, yeah!” I unlocked it for her and let her create a contact, to which she also added a poorly lit, weirdly angled photo of herself for her profile.

“I’ll burn this city to the ground if I lose you again,” She muttered to herself before returning my phone.

I snickered. “Damn. Angry black woman, much?”

She shoved me. “Behave! And shut up! You know me!” She snickered. “My circle’s really small. I hold onto everyone for as long as I can.”

“Well, you’re gonna be part of my circle now. This loner shit is for the birds,” I snickered and brought her back to her feet. I prepared to leave the pool, but she refused to move.

“H-How big is your circle?”

“Probably average.” I counted on my fingers. “For my main crew, I guess it’s about six of us. But when it comes to teams…” I pondered again. “Well, we kinda mix and match. But—” I jumped as I heard the aggressive clanging of the metal fence and looked over to see Radian badly stick the landing.

“There you are—fuck, dude!” His eyes widened but he proceeded to cackle. “What the hell happened to your face?!”

“Shut up!” I tensed up, smiling a little.

He noticed Ren half hiding behind me and smugly crossed his arms. “Oh, so I see how it is. You’ll sit by the pool with some chick, but God forbid you join your boyf—”

“Radian, shut up!” I cut him off, blushing profusely. “She’s—”

“I like your nose though,” The Inkling continued and pointed to Ren who only hid behind me more. He looked back at me, now concerned. “Jesus, why have y’all been having a pity party out here?!”

“Radian, stop, like actually.” I stepped to the side so he could see Ren better, but she followed me. 

His ears twitched. “I—sorry. I’ll go.”

“Nah man, just chill.” I chuckled softly and took a big step away from the other Octoling, leaving her front and center. “I found her.” I smiled. 

“Her?” Radian’s eyes quickly went wide again, almost sparkling. “Holy shit.” He muttered as Ren quickly scurried behind me again.

I glanced back at her. “Y-Yeah.”

“No wonder I like her nose.” He grinned as she blushed a little. “She has the same nose as you! She’s so cute!” Radian leaned to the side to see her. “You’re very cute.”

Ren gave him a smile and he glanced at me.

“Sorry. I tend to be a lot in all the wrong ways.” He stuck his hand out and Ren hesitantly shook it. “I’m Radian. You can call me Rad, if you want, but if you forget my name altogether, that’s cool too.” He snickered and my sister chuckled.

“I’m Ren. Ren Summers,” She said softly, looking my way for a second. “O-Obviously.”

“Her hands are so soft,” Radian mumbled before letting her go, visibly embarrassed by verbalizing his thoughts. “I live with Cyrus—the guy who owns this place. I used to be homeless, actually!”

She raised an eyebrow.

“You know Gone Fission Hydroplant—?”

I lightly pushed Radian. “Okay, that’s enough. Don’t give her your life story.”

The Inkling snickered, suddenly grabbing my waist. “You know you’re the only one who gets my life story. She’ll get the past year. That’s as far back as I’m willing to go.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to move his arm off me as Ren stared at us, but Radian often enjoyed my embarrassment a bit too much. I pulled back as he tried playing with my tentacles, amused by the blue tint. 

From their interaction, I could tell introducing her to my entire friend group might be a bit of a stretch. She somehow seemed shyer than when we were kids. I assumed being around so many people in the military would’ve changed that, but amnesia fucked me up, so why would it spare her in that sense? 

“I’ve seriously got to fix your eyeliner,” Radian lifted my chin, snickering. “Again. Like, it’s already bad out here so I can only imagine how you’ll look in the light.”

He started leaning in, but I smacked him off me, blushing. “Y-Yeah, shush.”

He laughed and attempted to touch me again, but I dodged him. He gave me a weird look before smiling at Ren again.

“If you want, I can help you with your makeup too! No one does makeup better than a queer.” He stated proudly.

“She’s queer too,” I muttered.

Ren fidgeted with her mem cake, panicking as she dropped it. “U-Um,” I quickly handed it back to her. “That’s alright. My boyfriend did mine…but I appreciate the offer.”

“Oh.” I sensed a twinge of remorse in Radian’s voice. “Yeah, no, that’s cool. No sweat.” He glanced behind him. “Well, it was nice to meet you!” He seemed to force a smile and gave me a slight glare before clumsily throwing himself back over the fence. 

“Hey—” I reached out to grab him but missed him by an inch with a curse.

I glanced back at Ren who smiled. “He’s nice.”

“Y-Yeah. Sorry. He’s weird.”

She shrugged and started walking to the other side of the pool. “So are you.”

I followed her, confused. “Where are you going?”

“To the gate that’s unlocked. So, I don’t have to do parkour in heels,” She chuckled. “Not that the heels are the issue,” She stuck the mem cake in her bra. “It’s mainly the dress.”

“Understandable.” I continued to follow her around the pool and out of the terrace, curious about her route.

“Where are we going?”

She glanced back, rolling her eyes. “In through the back entrance. I mean, I know it’s blocked off, but I can get to the bathroom on this side without anyone seeing me like this.”

“Damn, did you tour the house when I wasn’t looking or something?”

She laughed as she walked to my right side, as she constantly would as a kid. It was nice having her beside me again. “Somewhat. It’s a pretty place.” 

We were soon greeted by a smaller set of French doors that we snuck through and eventually ended up on the second floor. She was referring to a guest room up here, but I tended to ignore all but Radian’s. Hence, we switched up follow the leader, and she trailed me to his bathroom. I closed the door back, feeling slightly awkward being in here without him, but I grabbed my towel from earlier and washed my face, eventually moving so Ren could do the same.

“Doesn’t Nelly have your stuff?”

“Hm?” She messed with her eyemask in the mirror. “Yeah. I don’t care about applying it again but just in case he wants to, my face is clean, and I don’t look like I ‘belong in a haunted house.’”

I snickered and started digging for Radian’s makeup bag. “Valid. Well, I’m not trapping you here then.”

She shrugged. “I wanna watch you fix yours.” I glared at her and she glared back, smiling.

“Don’t mess me up.”

“No promises.” She sat on the counter beside the sink while I continued digging through the cabinet, confused. I found an old pair of studs I had left at Radian’s place ages ago, along with my favorite deodorant. I had no clue what the fuck it was doing in his cabinet. I sure as hell didn’t leave it in there.

“Damn, you’re really breaking and entering.” Ren smiled down at me.

“Shut the hell up!” I reorganized his cabinet and stood up after closing it back. “Maybe it’s in his room…” I mumbled as Ren sat on the counter with her legs crossed, amused by my shenanigans while quietly making fun of me.

I opened the door to Radian’s bedroom and flinched, finding the Inkling lying on his bed, smoking a joint. 

“H-Holy shit. I didn’t know you were in here,” I laughed awkwardly as he lay in the middle of the mattress with one hand behind his head. He slowly looked me over before taking another hit.

“Sorry. A-Anyways,” I cleared my throat. “Do you know where the eyeliner is? I swear I saw you put it back in the cabinet.”

“Should be on the right side in the back.” He stared at the ceiling. “It’s a mess in there. Good luck.”

I smiled, rubbing my ears a little. “I found my old studs in there. Oh! And my deodorant!” I laughed.

“I like how it smells.” He took another hit, gaze still stuck to the ceiling fan. “Smells like you.”

I felt my face heat up and I kicked the door closed slightly. “W-What are you doing in here?”

“Recharging my social battery.”

“And this makes what? The fifth time?” I joked, pointing to the joint as he finally sat up with an unamused look.

“First, actually.” The Inkling clarified, crossing his legs. He stared at the cracked door. “Ren in there?”

I looked around awkwardly but proceeded to smile. “Yeah. She thinks you’re nice.”

“Maybe that’s a Summers thing. I’m not known for good first impressions.” He inhaled some more smoke, exhaling a ring. The sight always made me a bit jealous as I was never able to figure out the technique and would cough up a lung instead.

“Are you gonna stay in here for the rest of the party?”

“No.” He raised an eyebrow. “I just needed…wanted to be alone for a minute. There’s not an area that doesn’t have people—even outside.”

“True…” I chuckled, slowly realizing that I was preventing him from decompressing. “I’ll go then. Sorry.” I started walking back to the bathroom but turned back. “When you’re done with that would…you be willing to do my eyeliner again?”

“Okay.”

“No, I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t feel like it.”

Radian sighed loudly, collapsing back onto his bed. “I don’t care.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the doorknob, preparing to leave, but I couldn’t ignore his tone. I closed the door back and stormed over to his bedside, looking down at him as he once again, wouldn’t break his gaze from the ceiling.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You were so chill earlier and now you’re acting like I shot your dog or something. If you’re mad at me, just say so.”

The Inkling took another hit, but I quickly grabbed the joint from him with a scowl.

“Westley.”

“Don’t ‘Westley’ me. Talk to me.” I demanded, holding it just out of his reach as he tried to sit up. “Is it about Alaias? Did something else happen? Is it the party?”

He shot up, startling me into dropping the blunt back into his vicinity. “It’s you!” He yelled, only to quickly sigh and look away from me, mumbling. “Are you embarrassed of me or something?”

“W-What?” 

“You were dodging me like I was the fucking plague earlier,” He glared at me but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. “I get that you fluster easily but I act like that constantly regardless of witnesses and suddenly now it’s a bother?” He rolled his eyes. “Especially after everything we did earlier—like what the fuck, man?”

The joint eventually died and he stood up to throw it away, not bothering to relight it. “Have you had enough Radian for one day or something?” He muttered, glancing back at me.

“What? No…”

“Stop pussyfooting around and tell me what your deal is this!” He shouted. “It’s like you—!” He stared at the door to the bathroom. “You don’t want your sister to know me.”

“That’s not it at all, Radian.” I rolled up my sleeves, fidgeting. “I want her to know you! I want her to know all of you guys! She’s just very withdrawn and I don’t want to scare her or put her in an uncomfortable situation.”

“It’s not that at all.” The Inkling sadly gazed at me from across the room. “You don’t want her to know that you like me which has nothing to do with that.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

“Fucking exactly.” He muttered and walked past me to the door. “I get that you’ve never been in a relationship before and everything’s kind of nerve wracking, but neither have I and I still know that’s a dick move.  Unless you’re trying to surprise her, I don’t see why I couldn’t make myself known as your boyfriend. We already know she’s dating the prince of disco.”

“I-I’m sorry,” I muttered, but he seemed to ignore me.

He opened the door to the bathroom. “C’mon, I’m doing your eyeliner. Let’s get this over with.”

I sheepishly followed him to see Ren still sitting on the counter. I was surprised she hadn’t left, but she always enjoyed being to herself. I doubt she had any strong urge to return to the party.

“Hi again,” She said quietly to Radian who gave her a quick smile as I sat on the other side of the counter.

“Sup.” He did a double take. “You really do have a nice face,” He chuckled softly. “The light helps.”

“I just have Wes’ face, although we’re not twins or anything,” She muttered. “Clearly. I’m like your complexion.”

Radian dug through the cabinet and found the eyeliner, but his smile eventually faded as he looked at me again. I instantly closed my eyes, partly because he couldn’t apply the makeup otherwise but also because staring at him made my heart drop. I don’t know why I avoided him. I don’t even really know what I was embarrassed of. She already knew I was into men so that wasn’t an issue, and yet my boyfriend was angrily smoking pot in his room to cope with my actions.

I flinched again when I felt the pencil on my eyelid as he held my chin, and Ren chuckled.

“Dork.”

“Shut up.” I muttered as the Octoling giggled again.

“You’re really good at that.” Ren whispered.

“I have many years of practice. An embarrassing amount, honestly,” Radian laughed softly. “I’m still taking the compliment though cuz it’s somewhat harder to do for someone else. At least to me.”

“Can you only do eyeliner? I can only do eyeliner.” 

“Well,” He snickered, “I’m not a drag queen, so I don’t have an eyeshadow pallet or anything. Well,” He paused. “Onyx gave me everything in that makeup bag aside from this eyeliner, but I don’t use any of it.” Radian switched to my other eye. “Doesn’t mean I couldn’t learn, though.” He finished. “You want me to try and do your makeup or something?”

I could only assume she shrugged when I didn’t hear a response for a while. “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you since you said doing it for other people is tough.”

“Yeah, but people I like get special treatment. For instance, this gives me an excuse to stare at your brother’s face. Y’all have good genes.”

Embarrassed, I looked at Radian who quickly glared at me. “Close.”

I angrily followed his orders and caught Ren giggling again. “He’s always been very unruly.”

“Exactly.” Radian lifted my chin a bit higher as I felt him lean closer to me. “That’s part of the reason why I like him so much.”

“Me too.”

“You should see him in public matches though. He’s a gremlin.” Radian stopped drawing for a second. “A gremlin in a hot way, but still a gremlin.”

I clicked my tongue as I felt the pencil on my other eyelid. I felt like he was intentionally taking forever, but he was also high so maybe his steady hand wasn’t so steady anymore.

“Shut up,” He muttered to me.

“Um, I have a question,” Ren began quietly, and I gulped.

“Ask away, Pretty Boy’s sister.”

“D—Did you forget my name already?” She snorted.

“No! You’re Ren! I remember, I promise!” Radian exclaimed. “I’m just playin’. Go on though,” He chuckled.

“Did you really live at Gone Fission Hydroplant before this? Or were you just trying to get me to laugh or something…?” She asked softly. “I don’t have your whole vibe yet.”

“Both. I lived there for…” He paused. “I don’t really know anymore now. More than five years but less than ten. I left after meeting Ravi—er, Wes.”

“Oh my fucking God.”

“Eh, shit happens,” He mumbled.

“Radian, I feel like you’re drawing a dick on my face. Why are you taking so long?” As I moved my head, he grabbed my chin again.

“Shut up and stop moving.”

“He’s not,” Ren explained. “You look good!”

I sighed as Radian and Ren returned to their conversation that always sprinkled in some flirtation Radian directed at me. I couldn’t see Ren to know if she was amused, confused, or indifferent to his shenanigans. Eventually I heard the cap click onto the pencil, my chest loosening up knowing I was finally free. Though, as I opened my eyes and went to slide off the counter, Radian forcefully pushed me back on the marble, grabbed my chin, and kissed me.

I barely let out a short gasp as he angrily pressed his lips against mine. I already knew he was pissed, but the way he held my face and kept us pressed together made it obvious. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity knowing Ren was on the other side of the counter.

Eventually he pulled back, dropping the pencil into my hands with a scowl.

“You know I fight fire with fire.” The Inkling stared me down before wiping some saliva off my lip. “Don’t fuck with me.”

I stared at him wide-eyed before he waved at Ren and disappeared back into his room, but when I looked at my sister, she held onto the same expression.

“Wow—”

“Shut up.” 

I clumsily slid off the counter, barely sticking the landing as I put his eyeliner away and threw the bag back into the cabinet. I ignored Ren’s desperation for an answer until I looked up and her face was an inch away from mine, making me jump.

“J-Jesus—back up! Lemme out the bathroom!” I stammered but she kept grinning at me.

“Okay.” She took a big, awkward step to the side, slamming her heels down, only to step gracefully in the direction of Radian’s room. “I’ll just keep talking to Radian then.”

I grabbed her and pushed her back out the door as the sounds from the party flooded our ears again. “Nope.”

“Well, you’ve got good taste.”

“S-Shut up.” I scrunched up my nose as we walked across the balcony to the stairs.

“Then again, is he just the default pervy guy in the friend group? You know, that turns everything into a sex joke and tries to sleep with everyone.” She chuckles. “I get that vibe from him too.”

I sighed as we both awkwardly went down the stairs in our heels like baby ducks. “He’s…yeah. He’s the pervy guy but he pretty much only directed it towards me. He never flirted with anyone else, really.”

“So, he kisses you randomly for the sake of embarrassing you.” 

I stopped at the landing. “Well…”

“Well?”

“He kisses me randomly for the sake of embarrassing me because…he’s my boyfriend,” I muttered. “And I’m assuming that’s what boyfriends do. I’ve never had one before.”

Ren grinned. “Oh my God.”

“Shut up!” I waved her away and walked over to the bar, grabbing a beer since the sangria had been devoured. I offered one to her, but she politely declined.

“You love him,” She teased, leaning into me and I groaned.

“I don’t.”

“‘He says, blushing profusely.’” Ren snickered. 

“I mean, I do! Like, duh! But also, be quiet,” I rolled my eyes. “I could ramble about him for hours…but I won’t. Maybe over text though.”

“Hehe, you’re adorable. I missed you.”

I smiled. “I missed you too. But also, shut up.”

We walked to the other side of the room, only to run into what Radian warned me of—the Wii Sports tournament. Wii Sports Resort, actually. Howdy was going nuts on table tennis as Nelly cheered him on from behind the couch, but he quickly noticed his girlfriend although I didn’t think his smile could get any bigger. Radian was hot but Nelly was the prettiest man I’d seen in my whole life. Clear skin, long eyelashes, chiseled features, straight teeth, perfect lips—not that I wanted to kiss him or anything. He looked feminine in the manliest way possible, like he needed to be painted.

“Ren!!” He ran over and embraced her as she laughed softly into his shoulder. “You’re out and about!” He pecked her on the cheek once she leaned back.

“I’m out and about.”

“You were outside for a while. Are you okay?” He asked as his eyes drifted to me. “Oh, you found Westley!” He smiled in my direction but after a few seconds, his eyes landed on my tentacles and as it did with Ren earlier, it clicked.

“You found Westley,” He repeated softly as Ren pulled out her mem cake and handed it to him.

“Mhm.”

Nelly snickered. “I don’t need the comparison, Love. You’ve already showed me that enough times.” He sighed. “I just feel stupid for not noticing it earlier. Lord.”

Ren kissed him on the cheek. “No sweat. All that matters is that I have him now.” She hugged my arm. “Westley Summers.”

“And Ren Summers.” Nelly’s eyes seemed to sparkle, and he gasped. “You guys have the same nose! Aw!” He leaned closer to us, examining our faces. “I knew something good would come from inviting you to this party. Getting out more isn’t always bad.”

She blushed a little, letting me go. “Shush.”

“And no wonder I liked you so much!” The prince placed his hand on my shoulder. “You’re almost like a clone of Ren! That is, when it comes to your aura and your nose.” He snickered and suddenly pulled me into a hug. “You’re now my brother-in-law!”

Ren pulled her boyfriend off me. “Bad Nelly,” She whispered with a cute scowl. “Don’t freak him out. We’re not even married!”

I grinned as I caught Nelly whisper back, “Not yet,” which made her ears tint royal blue. “Anyways,” he cleared his throat and shook my hand like normal. “It’s nice to meet you again. Truly.”

“The redo!” I laughed. “Same to you.”

He pulled me in, leaning over my shoulder. “Between you and me, I haven’t ever seen Ren smile this big,” He whispered. “So, thank you.”

I chuckled softly. “Well, I found her on accident.”

“Nevertheless,” He still held my hand. “If it weren’t for your party, you would’ve never had the chance. I know it’s technically a weird event, sure, but Bently gave me the synopsis—you deserve to have a celebration in your honor. You deserve to know who you are and where you came from, and I’m glad the stars aligned so you could find your last piece.” He glanced over at Ren who was distracted by Howdy aggressively swinging his Wii remote.

“Family means a lot to me…is all,” He slowly released me. “Sorry.”

“N-No, it’s okay. Thank you. You’re very kind.”

He smiled a little. “I’m just happy Ren finally has a little piece of home. She’s been lost for so long.”

My chest tightened as I looked at her again. “Me too.”

I knew that feeling all too well.

The two of us watched her from the other side of the room for a while. Nelly was delighted to see her smiling meanwhile I was just thrilled to see her in general. Still, I knew if I watched her for too long, I’d break down again. I always had a slight fear that maybe I was asleep and none of this was real. Maybe I’d wake back up in my squadbay on that top bunk, still fourteen. Maybe I hadn’t even awoken to find myself in the metro yet. Nonetheless, I knew my feelings were too real for it to be some imaginary scenario.

I grinned, watching as Cyrus persuaded her to join them and slipped on her wrist strap. She looked both excited and terrified, but it was an expression I remembered faintly from when we were kids. As the older brother, it was my job to show her the world. Then again, I was a little ball of chaos, and she had a right to fear what I’d end up getting us into.

I perked up as someone slowly ran their hand across my back and quickly found Radian behind me, smirking.

“Oh, you done your pity party?”

“Piss off.” He pinched my side and I yelped. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“I’m kidding,” I laughed softly. “Anyways, you alright?”

“Yeah.” He slid his hand down my back, and I noticed his ear twitch, growing slightly more orange. “Are you mad at me for kissing you?”

I grinned as he followed me over to the kitchen where I investigated the cake remains. It looked like a bomb site, but Radian snickered as I started eating the globs of icing. “When the fuck have I ever been mad at you for kissing me?”

“I don’t know man!”

“Kissing me is like, the least insane thing you do.”

He shrugged, visibly distracted by my awful table manners. “Yeah, but I still remember the few times when I leaned in to kiss you and you gave me the vilest death stare,” He smirked.

“Well,” I paused. “Sometimes you can’t read the room. But you’re usually fine.” His blush increased. “Regardless, no, I’m not mad. If it makes you feel any better…I told her.”

He leaned in and wiped some icing off my face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, you technically gave me a pretty good opening—I won’t lie.” I laughed. “It was fine. Embarrassing, but fine.”

“Literally everything embarrasses you.” I walked over to the sink to wash my hands, but Radian grabbed my wrist. “It doesn’t matter if you’re alone or in a room full of people.” He continued and I raised an eyebrow, sensing a possible ruse. “Like…” He droned on, “If I were to do this.”

He started sucking the remaining icing off my fingers, refusing to break eye contact or let me lean far enough away from him.

“S-Stop!” I laughed, anxiously looking around as I immediately started sweating. “Onyx is literally staring at us from the other side of the room—she’s giving you the dirtiest fuckin’ look imaginable.”

“And?” He mumbled, dragging his tongue down my index finger.

Despite how gross it was, I couldn’t advert my eyes. In the end, I would still wash my hands, but I also wanted to see how far he would go. It’s like he was making out with my fingers. The worst part was that it was actually kinda hot.

“S…Stop,” I muttered, watching him closely.

“You don’t sound like you really want me to.” He snickered. 

I went quiet, confirming his observation with my lack of denial. I had plans to pull away but eventually he licked my hand clean, and I didn’t have a reason to anymore. I stared at my slobbery fingers and awkwardly brought my hand to the sink, mumbling.

“Ew…”

The Inkling leaned on the counter beside me. “I think I can add that to my mental list of shit that turns you on.”

“That did not turn me on!”

An orange Octoling standing by the island glanced at me and I quickly felt my cheeks burn. “That did not turn me on,” I hissed lowly, drying my hands with a paper towel. 

Radian laughed, clearly unfazed by the situation as usual. “Eh, well it did for me.”

“What?!”

He laughed harder as I shoved him away from the sudden posse of people who approached the snack counter. “I’m kidding!” I eyed him and he covered his mouth, still grinning. “Well, kinda.”

“Radian!”

“Anyways,” The Inkling cleared his throat and stretched. “You care if I drink now?”

I blinked. “What?”

“You chill if I get drunk?”

“I—” I slightly cocked my head to the side. “You haven’t been drinking? Is that just cuz you didn’t wanna get cross-faded?”

“Hm?” He patted my shoulder, laughing again. “Nah. Honestly, I didn’t even think of that. I just knew this event was a big thing and no one really knew what to expect. What if you needed me but I was too shitfaced to do anything? I’d feel awful.” He shrugged. “What can I say? You’re my top priority.”

I blushed. “O-Oh.”

“Who knew if you’d get a rush of emotions or memories, or just need to step out to talk about something serious. Especially with your wavering migraines and all.” He flashed me a smile, somewhat aloof. “Clearly, all of that happened on some level since no one predicted your sister showing up. Especially since some of the party planners didn’t even know you had one,” He smirked, glancing at Cyrus basking in attention from the Wii Sports competitors across the room.

“Yeah… Howdy invited Nelly and Nelly brought Ren with him.” I mumbled, playing with my tentacles. “Still, thank you. I never would’ve considered it, despite you obviously being the type to get shitfaced at parties.”

“Well, it also helped that this was upscale and not at a frat house.” He placed his hands behind his head, scanning the room.

“Okay, fair. Still though!” I continued. “That’s really considerate of you. And you were over here thinking you’d fuck everything up if you tried to date me.”

He let out an overexaggerated groan. “Shut uppppp. Let me be irrational and paranoid. You’re cute. I get irrational and paranoid around cute people. It’s that easy.”

I laughed and leaned up, pecking him on the cheek. “If anyone’s cute right now, it’s you. Still,” I repeated. “Thank you. I didn’t think I needed to okay it, but yeah—you can go and get shitfaced. Hell, Cyrus and Wyatt already beat you to it.”

Radian playfully nudged me before immediately whizzing around groups of people to reach the bar. If it weren’t for already knowing the layout of Cyrus’ condo, I probably would’ve gotten lost. By now, the fancy drinks I made with Cyrus were gone, leaving behind cans and bottles, or the non-alcoholic stuff. 

Radian quickly grabbed a beer before looking back through the cooler and handing me a pink can. “A wine cooler, for the Pretty Boy.”

I snatched it from him. “Shut up. Dork.”

The Inkling climbed onto one of the bar stools, surveying the girls beside him before noticing I was homed in on Ren again. As if he wasn’t already tall enough, the raised seat allowed him to effortlessly rest his arm on my head.

“Haha, you love her.”

I shot him a side glance. “No shit, really?”

“I just can’t believe she’s dating the prince of disco. Right?”

I chuckled, muttering into the can. “Yeah. Honestly, I wonder if he’s actually a prince. The honorific is written on his nametag, and he has a crown, for God’s sake.”

“I’m willing to bet all the jewelry on him is real, too.”

“It’s too damn sparkly to be fake.” I snickered, taking another sip from the drink Radian chose for me. It was honestly pretty good. “He’s so…perfect. For him, wearing fake anything is probably a crime.”

“You think he’s rich?”

I moved Radian’s arm off my head. “Is that even a question?!”

He laughed as I grabbed my phone out my pocket and messaged my sister.

Ravi: Is your boyfriend actually a prince?

I watched her from across the room as she pulled her phone out of nowhere and glanced around for me. I guess she had gotten her phone back from Nelly’s bag, but I don’t understand how it fit in her bra. Especially since her dress was strapless so where the fuck was it going in the first place? The void?? Onyx would do the same thing and it confused me just as much, but it was funnier knowing Ren did it too.

Ren: no. he’ll cry if you tell him otherwise tho

“Ask her if he’s rich!” Radian chimed in, watching over my shoulder.

Ravi: Radian wants to know if he’s rich

Ren: how is that even a question??? 

“Ha!” I turned to laugh in his face, and he grinned. “I told you! Silly stupid! You’re silly stupid!” I aggressively pointed at him, and he grabbed my hand.

“Quit it or I’ll deepthroat your fingers again.”

I immediately jumped away from him. “Gross! No! Touch me and I’ll kill you!”

“You liked it! Stop acting like you didn’t!”

“Just don’t say it like that!” I laughed and glanced down as my phone buzzed.

Ren: i heard you scream from across the room lmao

Radian grabbed my phone and I quickly whipped around. “No no no—what do you think you’re doing?!” He started typing and I reached over his back as he turned away from me, scrunching into a ball.

“Radian! Hey! Behave!”

“Can’t,” He snickered as I started trying to tickle him to make him drop it, but he wouldn’t let up despite his laughter. “I’m drunk.”

“Lies! You haven’t even finished your first beer! And I know this isn’t default stoned Radian either. Hey!” I pulled him into a chokehold but within seconds, he gave me my phone back.

“Ha! Done! Loser!”

I frantically read the screen.

Ravi: Hi it’s Radian ur brothers just scared of saliva guess what I did

Ren: LMAOOSDJKSDK NO

Ren: GROSS

“Radian, oh my God!” I quickly texted her back as my boyfriend laughed without a care in the world.

“I don’t have siblings and neither did Cyrus, so this shit is fun!”

              Ravi: I’M SO SORRY

              Ren: WHERE ARE YOU EVEN

              Ravi: NOWHERE

Radian read the screen over my shoulder, but I instantly locked it as he leaned into me. “If I make you scream again, she’ll find you. What do you say?” He smirked and finished the can, struggling to crush it.

“Fuck no! Mainly because I don’t know what that even entails!”

He slid off the stool and caressed my ear. “Fuck around and find out, eh?”

I laughed as Radian returned to the cooler and came back with another drink.

“Can number two—now the party’s really about to start.” I snickered, glancing at my phone again.

              Ren: I’M COMING FOR YOU I AM INSIDE UR WALLS

              Ravi: PLEASE DON’T LMAOOO RADIAN’S (almost) DRUNK. STAY FAR AWAY FROM HIM

“God, sober you is already insane. The last thing Ren needs to see is you fuckin’ intoxicated,” I teased and leaned into his side, slowly finishing my drink.

“She’ll probably love me regardless, it’s fine. Got them Summers genes, y’know?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I just can’t believe she’s dating the so-called prince of disco.” He smirked as we immediately found Nelly in the crowd. He was easy to spot. “Ren’s so normal in comparison. Well,” He paused. “I doubt anyone with the Summers genes are normal, but in comparison to Nelly, hell…” He trailed off, laughing.

“Shut up. I mean, opposites attract. Look at magnets. Hell, look at us.” I leaned on his arm. “Can’t get any more opposite than the asexual and the hypersexual.”

“Dude, I don’t know what’s funnier—you bringing up magnets first or immediately going to sex as a comparison.”

“Sexual orientation!” I clarified as Radian climbed onto the stool again. I followed just so he would stop using me as an armrest.

“It’s got ‘sex’ in it.”

“You’re dumb! Be quiet!”

He laughed and suddenly kissed me on the cheek. “Still, there’s obviously more to us than that.” When we made eye contact, he smirked. “I’m tall. You’re short.”

I scrunched up my nose, but I couldn’t be mad since it was a clear fact. Hell, the same went for Nelly and Ren. Then again, Nelly would definitely fit the ‘short king’ role if he wasn’t my height in comparison.

“I’m light skin meanwhile you’re literally my sister’s complexion,” I continued.

Radian poked my ear with his index finger, wiggling it. “I’m an Inkling, you’re an Octoling.” He paused. “Actually, I think Ren’s darker than me. If she were older, it would make sense! She stole all the melanin as the first born and then you got leftovers. But there’s no explanation for…” He looked me over and I scoffed. “This.”

“Shut the hell up.” I stared at my fingers. “Oh! I’m rational and you’re impulsive.”

“Heh, and I’m insane but you’re normal...enough.”

“We’re both insane!” I leaned into him after placing my empty can beside us. I considered getting another, but I knew I was the main culprit who drank most of the spiked lemonade. This far into the party, I was surprised I could even form cohesive thoughts between the alcohol and my never-ending excitement.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Radian chuckled softly. “You’re smart. I’m lowkey an idiot.”

I clicked my tongue. “You’re not an idiot, Rad.”

“Says the man who skipped grades, enlisted into the army at fourteen, and rose to a damn officer by the time he left despite STILL being a kid.” He looked me over with awe, but there was a hint of despair in his voice. “And then we have the high school dropout. Ren’s probably a genius too but Nelly’s gotta have like four degrees.”

“I think he’s your age.” I laughed awkwardly. “There’s no way he’d have four degrees. That being said, I never even asked what he did for a living or if he was even going to school.” I shrugged and looked back at Radian. “Still, if you’re really that pressed, you can get a GED. That or even take community college classes. I’m sure Cyrus would love to help you find your niche.”

“Hm.” Radian stared at his can as I spun in circles on the stool. “Eh, I dunno. I never had good experiences with school…”

“But that was K-12. College is different.”

The Inkling snickered, taking another massive swig. “You say as if you’re in college or something.”

I shrugged. “Okay, yeah, but I still learned stuff in the army! And Cyrus went to college too. I know he has a bachelor’s in…something.” I smiled a bit. “And back in Inkopolis, Stewart would randomly sign up for community college classes just to learn more about small stuff he was interested in. And knowing me, I took them with him because I had nothing else better to do.”

“And because you wanted to learn more about your surroundings which is valid. But it’s also cuz you loved him so much.” He squinted at me. “What a dream, huh? Going to school with your crush? You drop your books and he’s right there to help you. You gaze into each other’s eyes as he hands you one of your mem cake notebooks. He compliments the doodle on the front and then you start rambling about your hobbies and he just sits there in the hallway and takes it all in.”

“I…” I quickly turned away from him, blushing profusely. “I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or trying to…hype me up? You make so many weird fantasies involving me.” I snickered. “This sounds more like something you want. You want me to take classes with you so you can stare at me lovingly from across the room?”

“Yes.”

I blinked. “For real?”

He laughed. “I dunno. Real shit, I just feel like going to school with you would’ve improved the whole experience if we had…met back then. Before it all went to shit.” He started playing with my earrings. “Honestly, I just wanna hear your Octarian accent from like five years ago. I’m sure it was adorable.”

I rolled my eyes. “I mean, I’m sure there’s videos on my phone from my early Inkopolis era where you can hear it.”

“Will you send ‘em to me??” He leaned on his hands with a grin. 

“Sure. I just don’t feel like digging for them right now.”

I felt someone wrap their arms around me from behind but when I looked down, I instantly recognized the blue fingertips.

“Womp.” Ren laughed softly. “Found you.”

I quickly spun around in the chair but almost flew off it as a result and Radian choked on his beer. 

“From what you’ve told me, you talk to him all the time. If you’ve got a whole party of people, why are you hiding with him in the back?” 

“Says the girl who went through a secret door by the pool to avoid being seen,” I teased, and she scrunched up her nose.

“Duh-doi! Cuz my makeup was shit!”

I laughed as she stood beside me, seeing how fast she could spin the empty stool. “In my defense, I’ve been talking to everyone in here for three hours.” I glanced at Radian. “So, I think I’ve deserved fifteen minutes to decompress.”

“Hell yeah,” Radian chimed in. “Decompress by making out!”

Ren snickered as I tensed up. “We’ve literally only been talking!” I turned to her. “Don’t listen to him!”

“Eh, no judgement…at least not right now,” She squinted at me. “I just wanted to find you. Again,” We both laughed. “It doesn’t take much to please me today.”

“Do you wanna meet the rest of my crew? Or at least part of it? You’ve already met Radian,” I sighed and nudged the Inkling who leaned on my shoulder, cradling his drink. “Oh, and Cyrus! I saw you kicking ass in the Wii sports competition.”

She smirked, shrugging as if it didn’t require lifting a finger. “Eh, I’m a good fighter, even on old ass consoles. What can I say? Anyways,” She glanced behind her. “Cyrus is nice. A lot…but nice. He hugged me.”

“How long did it last?” Radian snickered.

“Twenty-seven seconds.” She gave us a thumbs up. “He was talking the entire time too. I dunno. He mentioned Annaki a lot, along with you and Radian, and specifically his Carbon Roller. I honestly don’t know how he got to that.”

“Sounds about right,” Radian and I glanced at each other.

“Oh, you’ve gotta at least meet Wyatt though! He’s sweet and chill—I’m sure you two will click. I mean,” I laughed. “He might hug you too but—”

“Oh? The violet Octoling with the pompadour?” She motioned his hairstyle as if they didn’t share almost the same one. “With the red eyes?”

“Yeah!”

Ren eventually stopped staring at the stool and sat beside me. “Oh, I know him! We get crepes together on Sundays.”

My eyes widened. “What?! How long has this been going on for?! He’s literally my roommate!”

“For real? I mean, maybe a few months or so? We play turf war a lot. I mean, we constantly lose cuz two snipers on one team isn’t the best balance, but it’s fun!” She beamed. “I can’t believe you were the roommate he was always mentioning. Then again, the name Ravi would never ring a bell to me.”

“Fair point,” I laughed. “Well, that’s easy enough. “You know his boyfriend?”

“Alaias? We’ve crossed paths maybe twice.” She snickered.

“Keep it that way,” Radian leaned forward.

“W-Why? Is he bad news? But Wyatt’s so sweet…”

“Eh, Alaias can be iffy at times,” I mumbled. “He’s chill with me until he starts fighting with Radian.” I shook my head. “Anyways, that makes Onyx, Howdy, Eric, and Zeph the leftovers. But you’ll probably meet Onyx through Cyrus and from the looks of it, Howdy is besties with Nelly.”

Ren paused before her eyes widened and she looked at me in dismay. “You mean the guy with the fuckin’ cowboy hat?!” She laughed. “You call him Howdy?! Westley!!”

“We all do! The ‘we’ being my crew. He doesn’t mind! He responds to it!” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I think he just likes being included.”

“Yeah, I get that vibe from him. He and Nelly are constantly fighting for their lives in ranked matches. They’re they craziest Splatling mains I know.”

“Imagining them battling together sounds hilarious.” I never would’ve assumed Nelly would use a Splatling. It seemed too aggressive for him, but I guess that evened out his princely side. He needed something badass.

“Regardless, I guess that means you’re free to go!” I joked. “You don’t have to worry about being subjected to any awkward introductions or icebreakers.”

“Thank God.”

“Aw, that would’ve been fun to watch,” Radian whined, hopping off the stool. He stretched as we all heard a sudden crack. “Ow. Eh, I’m probably fine.”

“Radian!”

“No sweat. I’m gonna go mingle.” The Inkling mysteriously wiggled his fingers at me.

I snickered as he leaned in and kissed me, though I think he lingered just because I was more embarrassed with Ren around. I placed my hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back, squinting.

“Okay, okay, no need to put on a show.”

“Killjoy.” He scrunched up his nose, but he always looked like a kid when he did so. Still, he planted a big kiss on my cheek before he turned to Ren and she leaned back, confused. Her face was screaming ‘if you kiss me, I’ll punch you,’ so Radian fist-bumped her and while it was weird, she seemed pleased by the interaction as we watched him walk off.  

It didn’t take long for the Inkling to complete his mission of getting shitfaced. While he drank at a reasonable pace, already being high didn’t help. My hope was that he’d only reach ‘happy drunk’ levels and spare everyone of the ‘touchy drunk’ levels I was always subjected to.

While I wanted to keep my sanity, I kept drinking since Ren and I didn’t move from the bar. If we were in the kitchen, I’d likely have killed time by eating instead—whether that be lukewarm fried shrimp or the remaining globs of icing. After locking back in and realizing I’d been rambling to my sister about Radian despite claiming I wouldn’t, I made a poor attempt to climb off my stool. I rolled my ankle and Ren tried to catch me, but I only ended up dragging her to the ground with me.

“Holy shit, Wes!”

I laughed. “Are you okay?!”

“Who cares about me? That shit looks like it hurt!” She pointed to my foot as I wrestled my boots off.

“Eh, I’ve been through worse. Fuck these though,” I snickered as I returned to my feet and pulled her up, happy to stand on flat ground.

“Oh my God—your socks.”

“Hm?” I glanced down at my one rainbow sock and one Squidmas sock, neither of which matched each other or the current outfit I was wearing. “Shit. Eh, well, no one should be staring at my feet anyway.”

The Octoling snickered as I gathered my small collection of empty wine coolers and recycled them. “Wait, did you drink anything?” I noticed her empty hands as we eventually made our way across the living room again.

“Nah, shit tastes weird. Always.” She shrugged. “I’m often the designated driver anyways.”

“Ah, the responsible one.”

She smirked. “Yeah, since I clearly can’t follow you as an example. Some older brother you are.”

“Shut up!” I laughed as she sat by the patio doors where it was easier to hear ourselves think. As I went to join her, Radian appeared behind me and grabbed my arm before I could sit down.

“Ravi! I mean—Westley!!” He beamed as my sister gave him a weird look. “Are you busy? You don’t look busy! You gotta see this shit!” He suddenly pulled me away but then paused. “Wait, where the fuck are your shoes?”

“Not on his feet,” Ren snickered.

“Not on my feet,” I repeatedly proudly.

“God, you’re beautiful.” The Inkling sighed as Ren and I glanced at each other, confused. “Oh, do you wanna come too?”

“I’m taking a breather. And I’m tired of third wheeling with y’all.”

Radian laughed. “Eh, your loss! You could always just get your prince,” He said before quickly dragging me across the room, but since I was in socks, it was satisfying to slide across the hardwood.

“Wait, where are you taking me exactly?”

“You’ll see…” Radian glanced back at me, smirking as he led me out of the main room and down the hallway. The music grew more muffled as we strayed from the party, though he paused before going around the corner. He held his finger up to his mouth, and then gestured towards the other side of the wall.

“Check it out,” He muttered as I peeked around the corner to see Wyatt and Alaias kissing as if they were the only two people on Earth.

I quickly leaned back. “What the—”

Radian quickly covered my mouth, shushing me. “They’re goin’ at it!” He whispered loudly, holding in his laughter. He peeked back at them before looking at me. “Hell, before I went to get you, Wyatt still had his shirt on!”

“How long have you been stalking them?!” I hissed. “Weirdo!”

Radian tried to stay chill, but his suppressed laugh turned into a snort and I had to cover my mouth before cackling like an idiot.

“Only a minute!” He whispered, grinning as we stood with our backs to the wall, occasionally looking around the corner. “I was gonna get more batteries for the Wii remotes and then I saw that and completely forgot what I was doing.”

I nudged him. “Perv!”

“Shh! Am not!” He rolled his eyes. “Given this past week, it’s kinda nice to see, amiright?”

I smirked. “I guess they really did have a breakthrough.”

We peeked around the corner again. The only part of his suit that remained on Wyatt were his pants as Alaias had him pressed against the wall, feeling him up like there was no tomorrow. As the hybrid started kissing his neck, Radian and I looked away again, though there was no ignoring Wyatt’s whimpers.

“Get a room, amiright?” The Inkling covered his mouth as he laughed.

“T-They’ve got a hallway!” I glanced back at them. “Then again, there’s a door right across from them.”

Radian pulled out his phone and squatted, inconspicuously watching them again.

“What are you doing?!” I whispered loudly, trying to pull his stupid drunk ass back behind the wall.

“Getting blackmail.”

“What?!”

He snickered. “Kidding! I’m kidding!” He shoved me back. “I’m getting’ pics for the Westley Name Party Photo Album!”

“I don’t want a gallery of my roommate making out with his boyfriend!” I laughed before managing to grab his phone and sliding down the hall in my socks.

He tried to quietly run after me but tripped on air and face planted onto the ground. I whipped back around, holding in my laugh to the point where I was almost crying as I watched Radian try and scamper off the ground, back down the hall, and eventually out of earshot of the two.

Once we made it back to the party, we crowded around his phone and realized Radian got some insanely clear shots of them. Not that I wanted clear shots of…that.

“Delete those!”

Radian wiped his face, panting. “Why? They’re not explicit!” He laughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. 

“I can’t believe you wanted to show me that!” 

“Well, I knew you’d find it funny! Look at you!” He gestured towards my face. “You’re literally on the verge of tears!”

“Because you fell like a damn cartoon character!” I explained, cackling now that I had no one to hide from. “I-I mean, are you okay though?”

Radian looked himself over. “Eh, probably.”

As I snooped through the Inkling’s phone again, someone tapped my shoulder, and I glanced back to see Eric and Zeph. Before I could even get a word out, Zephyrus smirked and shook her head.

“Oh my God, you’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Fuck you mean, ‘nuh-uh’?” Radian laughed and took his phone back. “So drunk you can’t even wear heels!”

I shoved him away as Zeph covered her grin. “Oi! Don’t you come at me!”

The Inkling cleared her throat as the orange Inkling smiled at our minor bickering. “Anyways, Eric and I are about to head out. I just wanted to give you a head’s-up.”

“Oh!”

“Thanks for hosting us.”

“Wait!” I frantically looked around the room. “We have party favors! You can’t leave without a favor!” I explained before leaving them by the door as I searched for Onyx, who pointed to the baskets I zoomed past. I grabbed two of the translucent, glittery gift bags and returned to the Inklings.

“There’s a ton of candy and a nametag holder, just in case you wanna keep them! And I think there’s some stickers and a keychain?” I scratched my ear. “I honestly forgot what I put in there.”

Zeph chuckled. “Damn, no spoiler warning I guess.” She smiled. “Kidding.” She examined her bag, trying to see what was insane.

“Thank you!” Eric beamed, quickly opening his and finding the candy. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom before I leave,” He waved at both of us before leaving the room, though Zeph proceeded to stand in front of me, staring at her bag.

I glanced around awkwardly and noticed Radian had disappeared, as he usually did when drunk. Who knew who he was stalking now, but all I could think of was how good it was that Ren didn’t follow us earlier, despite also receiving his invitation.

I looked back at Zephyrus who found a mood ring in her bag and stared at it on her finger, chuckling quietly. “See, you’re like in your twenties, and you’re drunk and in a damn suit vest, and yet your party favors scream ‘eight-year-old’s birthday party,’” She smiled at me.

“I-Is that bad?”

“No, it’s very Westley. I like it.” She shrugged. “I never really know what to expect when it comes to you,” She glanced at the bar. “Like you and your sixty-seven lemons.”

I snickered. “True!”

“I just wanted to…I don’t know,” Zeph mumbled with a shrug. “I know you weren’t able to invite me directly but I still wanna thank you for hosting this. I know it’s about you and your name,” She rubbed the back of her neck. “But it was nice to see you again outside of work.”

“Heh…yeah, honestly I worried that even if I did invite you directly, you’d be too busy being the Captain and all.”

“Well, yeah. I was actually this close to not coming,” She admitted softly. “Not that I didn’t want to or anything. But Eric explained like twenty times that I needed a break and that seeing your face does everyone good.”

I chuckled as I felt my cheeks burn. “Honestly, I think today’s the most compliments I’ve ever gotten,” I placed my hands on my hips for a second. “B-But yeah! I’m glad you came! Even if you had only stayed for like an hour, it still would’ve been nice.”

“Yeah, it’s been a second since I’ve seen you, seen you.” She paused and pulled a nametag out of her purse, though it had a lot written on it. “So, here.”

I read the sticker and quickly realized it was her address. If anything, I expected her number instead but…Zeph was never the best at social stuff. Then again, being pen pals seemed cooler than texting.

“Y’know, in case you host anything else. Or just want to say hi. I don’t know.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry.”

“Nah, you’re good! I’d love to!” I grinned at the sticker as she glanced at her ring. 

“A-Anyway, yeah. Thanks. And happy-name day?” She smiled a bit. “I’m not really sure what to say,” She mumbled to herself. “I’m sure Eric’s done by now though…”

I snickered. “Name-day works! No sweat! It was nice to see you!”

Zeph grabbed the doorknob but stopped before glancing back at me. “Westley, can I ask you something?”

I tensed up and looked behind me, fearing Radian had suddenly reappeared to eavesdrop and intentionally embarass me. Regardless, I gave her a slow, confused nod.

“Do you want to go out to dinner sometime? O-Or would like, your friend with the collar…be weird about it?” She muttered, refusing to look at me. “Despite our history, I still feel like I don’t know you, which feels worse now that we’ve even worked together.” She sighed. “A-And I know it’s my fault which is why I’m asking…I’m just…”

“Sure.” I shrugged. “I don’t see why not, especially since I often hang with Eric! I mean, yeah, he’s easier to plan around, but I’d like to get to know you too.” I smiled.

Zeph glanced across the room at Radian who was drunk wrestling…someone. 

“Don’t worry about him.” I laughed. “Honestly, I want all my friends to be friends, so hopefully you can join my crew too. Eric is already friends with Cyrus and whatnot.”

“Eh, I’m surely not ‘one of the guys,’ though.”

“Oh, you could definitely be one of the guys.” I snickered. “And now my sister would prevent you from being the only girl!” I beamed. “Still, no pressure. We can hang one on one or as a group. It’s up to you.” I shrugged as she smiled.

“Yeah. I appreciate it. Well, I’ll see you when I see you then?”

“I’ll see you when I see you!”

Zeph stared at me for a while with a confused look. If I were sober, I definitely would’ve been irked by it, but nothing could affect my nerves anymore. Personally, I thought it was great to see her straight on—no hat, no cape, and finally outside of work. Though as I zoned out, Zephyrus quickly leaned into me to the point where our noses almost touched, and I blinked, still smiling.

“You okay?”

She blushed as she quickly shut her eyes, scrunching up her face as she instantly moved back. “I—yeah. Sorry.”

I cocked my head to the side, blissfully unaware of the awkward silence as she looked at me again.

“God, you’re adorable,” She snickered and rubbed her face. “I keep forgetting you’re drunk off however many spiked lemonades sixty-seven lemons can make.” She sighed. “Sorry. Ignore me. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Hm? Okay!”

After giving her a quick hug, she made her way out and I found my way back to Onyx. She directed me towards the microphone to announce the table of party favors now that the event was nearing its end. I didn’t trust myself to make it to the balcony, so stopped halfway up the steps and made everyone aware of my elementary-schooler-like gifts.

Although it was unnecessary, I stood by the door as guests started leaving since it didn’t seem fair to greet everyone without thanking them for coming at the end. The few who slipped out early were primarily part of Cyrus’ crew, until I noticed Wyatt’s discombobulated ass finally return to the main room.

I held in my laugh as he seemingly looked around for me. I leaned off the wall and he jumped after noticing me in his peripheral vision.

“S-Shit. What are you doing there?” He grinned.

“Saying goodbye to everyone. That is, until I get bored.” I shrugged. “Given you were part of the planning committee, you shouldn’t forget, but still, be sure to grab a party favor when you’re ready to go.”

“Oh!” The small Octoling ran over to the table as I slowly noticed his shirt was buttoned up wrong. He grabbed two bags and moseyed back over to me, grinning. His face was visibly flushed from the alcohol.

“Or, yeah, you can grab them now so you don’t forget.” I laughed.

“Oh, actually, Alaias and I are gonna head out early. That’s why I ran back in here, really.” He played with one of the twist ties. “And I assumed you’d just pass it around.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna stay till the end?”

He smirked. “There’s like twenty minutes left.”

I pouted. “Eh, I just assumed we’d all have a sleepover after the guests left or something,” My smile quickly returned. “Are you all Westley-ed out?”

“Nah! I’m just gonna hang with Alaias for a bit before I see you back at home.” I noticed his blush increase but he suddenly shook his head and hugged me. “Anyway, Happy Westley Day!” He beamed.

“Thank you!” I chuckled as I returned the gesture. “Have fun with Alaias,” I teased as Wyatt rolled his eyes before leaving my side.

As a few more guests left, I noticed Radian beside Ren near the patio doors. She looked confused, as most did when approached by Radian, but I assumed it was harmless given her laughter. Shortly after I became distracted by them, my phone buzzed.

              Rad: Stop being the doorman and join the cool kid corner

When I looked up, the Inkling was waving me down as if trying to land an airplane. I scoffed and made my way over to the two of them.

“Since Radian doesn’t have any siblings, he’s decided that I’m his sister now too.” Ren gave me a weird look as Radian seemed proud of his statement.

“Cyrus actually said the same thing!” She added.

“We can all be one big happy family,” I joked, sitting on the ground in front of them as we faked gagged. “By the way,” I glanced at Radian, “Wyatt and Alaias left early. Just in case you’re looking for them.”

“No surprise there.” The Inkling shrugged. “Can’t have sex with a full-blown party happening down the hall.”

“They’re not having sex!” I laughed as my face heated up. “Why are you so obsessed with them?!”

“Get off my back! Ren agrees!” He nudged her and she tensed up.

“D-Don’t bring me into this!” She snickered. “Still, he told me what happened and yeah. They’re probably off to…fool around. It’s…the only clear answer.”

“I’d rather them leave early than risk seriously walking in on them.”

“I hate that you’re right.” I covered my face. “Eh, I’m just glad they’re repairing their relationship.”

“With drunk sex?” Ren muttered, smiling a little. “Yeah, right.”

“Hey, I can hope!”

I was reluctant to explain what transpired between Radian and Alaias right before the party but Radian, lacking his filter, gave her all the gory details. Surely, his lack of sobriety allowed him to make a joke of the whole situation, meanwhile, Alaias’ words still bothered me.

Regardless, at least it wouldn’t be a worry for the rest of the night.

As more people left, we returned to the couch, especially since I was starting to feel the consequences of laying on the floor. Cyrus was playing Wii Party with a few others while using the most horrendous Miis imaginable and seeing the minigame animations had me laughing to the point of tears again.

When they left, Radian, Ren, and I took their place. Onyx left, planning to return in comfier clothes, but warned that if she didn’t return, it was because she passed out after sitting on her bed for too long.

I assumed Ren would’ve left with Nelly, but her prince was both too tired and too drunk to be a reliable source of transportation. Especially since he decided he was gonna try and speak like Howdy, so no one understood either of them for the rest of the night. Regardless, in an attempt to stop Radian from getting any drunker, we shared all the cans he opened, and eventually nothing was coherent to me anymore. All I knew was that the Wii Party announcer’s gibberish was the funniest thing ever.

We tried playing friend connection just to get a sense of how much Ren and I remembered about each other, though I’m sure I would’ve made less of a fool of myself if I wasn’t drunk off my ass. There was no way Radian was better friends with Ren than her own brother.

Yelling into the Wii Remote that I was a better brother than Radian was all I remembered before I woke up hours later on the same couch, now upside down, and still dazed as hell.

The room was relatively dark aside from the fairy lights my eyes refused to focus on. I noticed Ren on the couch beside me, balled up with a hoodie over her dress. I noticed her Nelly-coded wedges beside her, but I eventually realized she wasn’t wearing Annaki.

That was my Zekko hoodie.

I stared at her for a while, trying to remember if I went all the way back home to grab it, but I don’t even know the last time I saw it. Hell, I vaguely remember complaining about losing it, but it was too hot outside for me to care. I rubbed my eyes but quickly flinched, remembering I had eyeliner on and noticed the slight smudge on my hand.

I struggled to get to my feet as I noticed Cyrus passed out by the coffee table, although I didn’t see Onyx anywhere nearby. I slowly wrestled off my suit vest before I heard some movement and noticed Radian in the kitchen’s dim lighting. I unbuttoned part of my shirt and he glanced at me from across the room.

“Oh shit, you’re alive.” He snickered as I yawned to the point where I became a little lightheaded.

“What are you doing…” I murmured.

“Cleaning.” 

“Hmm?” I mistakenly rubbed my eye again as I realized half the confetti on the floor was gone. “What time is it?”

“Four.”

I staggered over to him and he perked up, preparing to grab me before I caught myself on the kitchen counter. “PM?”

“AM,” He laughed. “God, you’re still drunk as hell.”

I leaned on the marble. “Mm no. I’m Westley. You’re still drunk as hell.”

The Inkling laughed and I felt his hand on my head. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Not particularly,” He caressed my ear. “My four AM is your four PM, remember?”

“Antemeridian and post-meridian.”

He snickered. “What?”

I finally sat back up, grinning. “That’s what AM and PM stand for.” I gestured for him to lean in, and he let me mess with his collar. “Who found my Zekko hoodie?”

Radian gave me a weird look due to my detached thoughts. “What? Oh, me, technically. I stole it,” He smirked. “And Ren was cold, so I let her borrow it.”

“You stole it?!”

“I was gonna give it back!” He laughed, though it was cut short as I pulled him in by his collar and glared at him.

“Hmm?”

“I promise!” He tried to lean back. “W-What do you want from me? It’s Summer, it’s not like you were gonna wear it! And you were the one who left it here!” He explained, blushing. “And I kept it cuz it smells like you.”

“You really like how I smell, huh?” I mumbled, gazing at him. “If you wanna smell me, smell me. Don’t smell my stuff.” I loosened my grip on his collar, though he didn’t seem to mind how I was holding him. “I can’t believe you stole my deodorant.”

“Once again, that’s on you. Quit leaving your shit here,” He teased.

I scrunched up my nose and pulled him into a short kiss as he laughed softly.

“You taste like beer.”

“And you taste like gin,” I rubbed his bottom lip.

“You had like three different types of booze earlier, so I’m impressed that you never threw up honestly.” He looked me over. “How do you feel?”

“Like kissing you.” I mumbled to myself as the Inkling smirked.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

“Everything feels tingly. And warm.” I continued to rub his face, unable to avert my gaze. His eyes were oddly pretty in the mood-lighting and despite his look making me anxious, I liked it. “It’s nothing…new.”

“Sure, you’ve been inebriated countless times before,” He laughed softly. “Although, it’s rare for you to be so unstable you could barely walk over to the other side of the room,” He joked.

“It’s not like I have anywhere I need to go.” I pressed my nose against his, closing my eyes. “You were over here, so I migrated over here.”

“And if I continue cleaning the rest of the room?” He lifted my chin. “Then what? You gonna crawl after me like a baby?”

I glared at him but cut off his laugh as I kissed him again. Though, as he would lean back, I found myself following him, refusing to let up. I felt him smile and the feeling made me even more desperate to hold him.

“You’re so fuckin’ bad at kissing when you’re like this.” He mumbled, biting my bottom lip. “You’re so damn cute.” He slipped his arm around my waist, and I hummed as he brought us together. “The way I could just eat you alive…and you wouldn’t even see it coming.”

“Oh?” I played with his collar. “You say as if you’re not all talk.”

“Don’t tempt me,” He glanced across the room. “I’d rather not wake Cyrus, or your sister. And you need to lie down.”

“I can be quiet.”

Radian snickered and suddenly held my face, preventing me from kissing him again. “World’s worst liar. I can’t even do this without you squealing,” He raised an eyebrow as his hand slid past the waistband of my jeans and I yelped. 

“Exactly,” He laughed. “Not to mention, you can’t even stand without me holding you.”

“I’m fine!”

“Fine as fuck, no doubt. But you’re drunk as shit.” He teased.

“So are you!”

“But at least I can stand,” He whispered against my ear before lifting me up and placing me on one of the stools. “Stay.”

I rolled my eyes and laid on the counter again but as Radian leaned down, pressing our noses together again, I recoiled.

“Holy shit.”

“W-What?” He awkwardly stepped back.

“Zephyrus tried to kiss me,” I mumbled, and the Inkling laughed again.

“What?”

“T-The girl with that scar? It looks like the one on my back.” I covered my mouth. “Before she left, she tried to kiss me, and I didn’t even notice! Until now!”

Radian grinned. “I wish I could’ve been there to see that!”

“What? Me almost getting kissed by her? Wouldn’t that have made you jealous, too?”

He shrugged. “Nah. Shit just would’ve been cute. You being oblivious to a kiss is classic Westley.” He eyed me. “I love classic Westley.”

I felt my cheeks burn. “A-And what about regular Westley?”

“Hm?”

I fiddled with the buttons on my shirt. “R-Regular Westley,” I mumbled. “Do you love him too?”

Radian froze up and as he blushed profusely, I caught his ears twitch. “I—” He paused, immediately avoiding my eyes. “S-Shut up. Maybe.” He waved me away, and walked over to the opposing counter, grabbing the container of wipes. “W-Who cares?”

I laid on my arms and gazed at him, but after a minute, he turned back around and caught me staring.

“W-What?!” His blush deepened. “What do you what?”

I shrugged. “Dunno. You, I guess.” I smiled a little and eventually he returned the expression.

“You’re such a dork. Go back and lie down. And take off your jeans.” He chuckled. “No sane person sleeps in jeans.”

The Inkling sighed as I wrestled off my pants while sitting on the stool. He sighed, amused as I finally got them off and threw them at his face.

“There. Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

“Well, now if your pants go missing, you can’t complain. You know you left them here this time,” He taunted while folding up the garment.

“No, wait! Those are my favorite pants!” I tried to lean forward and grab him, but he caught me before I slipped off the stool and fell onto the floor.

“Chill, Pretty Boy. I’m joking.”

I attempted to steady myself after scooting away from the edge. 

“I’m Pretty Boy.”

Radian snickered. “Uh, yeah.”

“I like when you call me Pretty Boy.”

“Wait, really?” He perked up. “I thought it was like a love-hate relationship.”

“Eh,” I shrugged as he wiped down the counters. 

Given that Radian was up around five when finishing up last-minute party plans, that meant he’d been up for more than twelve hours now. It’s highly likely that he blacked out after me and I never had a clue, but you could barely tell we’d even thrown a party, aside from the remaining balloons and banners. I never knew he had a knack for cleaning, but it wasn’t until recently that he even had a place of his own to clean in the first place.

“I also think it’s cute when you call Ren, ‘Pretty Boy’s Sister,” I chuckled.

“Well, if I called her Pretty Girl, then it’d sound like I’m hitting on her.” Radian glanced back at me, smirking. “Then again, if we weren’t dating, would you let me hit on her?”

“What kind of hypothetical is that?” I snorted and slipped off the stool again, but I caught myself on the counter. “No!”

“Why not?!”

“Cuz.” I wobbled over to him and grabbed his shoulders from behind. “You’re weird. And can’t be trusted.”

“True.” The Inkling turned around and I went stiff as he lifted me off the ground. I knew I had no chance of fighting it, so I let him carry me across the room and eventually he sat me on the couch, handing me my jeans. I was immediately distracted by Ren on the other sofa who was still asleep in my hoodie.

At first glance, sometimes she’d resemble the way she looked when we were kids. The constant feeling of resurfacing memories was still gonna take me a while to get used to. 

“Are you listening?” I suddenly felt Radian’s hand on my head but when I looked up at him, he flinched. “Holy shit, why are you crying?”

“What?” I rubbed my face. “Oh. I dunno.” I smiled as he sat beside me. “I don’t feel sad.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I leaned on his shoulders. “You know, for years after my accident, I never even knew I had a sister. And while I wanted to find out who I was, I often tried to be in denial about my amnesia.” I sighed. “But what’s crazy is that learning my birth name didn’t give me closure. Finding her did.”

Radian rubbed my back. “She was the one thing you didn’t know you needed.”

“…Yeah.” I blinked slowly, but it lingered for almost as long as the blink that led to me blacking out. “And all this time, I thought finding Stewart would fix everything. I thought…he’d fix that empty feeling that I could never seem to escape. But,” I chuckled. “Ren did instead. Maybe Stewart had always just been a placeholder.”

“Wait, shit. Did losing him feel like when you lost your sister?”

“Oh, some level, yeah. Kinda. Primarily because we were so close.” I shrugged. “Ren was my best friend growing up and as I reached adulthood, Stewart took on that role. Underneath it all, losing that constant revealed that something was genuinely wrong.” I rubbed my face. “Fuck, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“I don’t mind.”

“But I doubt any of this is even coherent it.” I glanced at him, and he smiled.

“Nah, I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down.”

“You’re probably the only one. Drunk Westley’s a force to be reckoned with.”

Radian kissed my forehead. “All Westleys are a force to be reckoned with. That’s why I love him—er, you. T-That’s why I love—” He paused again as I wrapped myself around his arm. “Like you,” He clarified, while forcing a laugh. “Sorry, yeah. I didn’t expect anyone to wake up, so I hadn’t planned on articulating my thoughts between now and the morning.”

“Technically it is the morning,” I smiled up at him and realized how flushed he was. Part of that likely played into why he felt so warm against me.

Radian chuckled as I eventually released him and laid back down on the couch. I had to remove the TV remote from under my head and found my phone jammed into the cushions at the same time. Despite my eyes glazing over the moment I fell back, I watched as Radian returned to his feet and started grabbing scattered belongings off the coffee table.

Somehow, the jingling of his collar seemed louder than the air conditioning.

I watched as he paced to and fro, substituting as Cyrus’ housemaid, yet his movements seemed frantic. Although he was mobile and hadn’t lost his fine motors skills like me, he seemed more unstable than before. I stared at the ceiling as I heard his footsteps go past me again.

“Radian.”

“W-What?”

“You’re allowed to say it.”

“Say what?” He laughed awkwardly as his footsteps descended into the kitchen. “Wes, you’re shitfaced. Just go to sleep,” He mumbled. “I’m honestly surprised you haven’t passed back out yet.”

“Radian…” I whined as he returned to my side.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He glanced at me, still on the move. “Regardless, you shouldn’t take anything I say to heart because I probably won’t even remember what it was tomorrow. Same goes for you.”

“Exactly. Hence, you can get it off your chest now and wake up tomorrow without having to deal with the consequences.” As the Inkling went past me again, I pulled him onto the couch.

“The hell do you want me to say, Wes?” He mumbled. “And what exactly could I say that would normally result in potential consequences,” He laughed to himself. “Actually,” He muttered and leaned over me. “I could finally admit all the weird things I like about you. And the weird places I think about you. And the weird places on you I think about and the shit I fantasize about doing to you if you ever gave me the okay and—”

“S-Shut up! Honestly, I think that’s the one thing I might remember if you go into vivid detail!”

Radian laughed as I played with his collar. “Do you want me to?”

“…No!”

“You hesitated.”

“My processing time is slower, give me a break. But…” I eventually let him go, closing my eyes. “You’re probably right. You can go back to your four am chores or whatever while I try and time skip to my hangover.”

Radian rubbed my arm as I turned onto my side. Afterward, I assumed I had quickly tuned out his footsteps, until several minutes later when I realized he hadn’t moved from the couch. His knee was bouncing on the ground, and it was shaking me as a result, but it was causing me to doze off faster.

Until it stopped, and I felt him hold my hand.

“I love you.”

I looked at him and he froze when our eyes met.

“I love you too.”

“I didn’t…” He mumbled. “Wanna—I don’t know—freak you out. I didn’t know if it was too soon b-but when it comes down to it, I’ve almost known you for a year now and—” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve wanted to say it for weeks, man. And today I couldn’t fuckin’ get the thought out of my head,” He laughed to himself. “You were glowing all night and you’ve never looked more charming. I loved hearing your laughter from across the room and your smile was so genuine and I could tell by the way you looked at me that you were happy I was there with you and it just…sent my brain into overdrive each time.” 

“I—wow.” My face burned as I stared up at him.

“I-I just kept…saying you were beautiful as a substitute. Because I couldn’t think of anything else. Not even kissing you was a decent replacement,” He admitted softly.

“Oh my God,” I laughed. “I mean, I thought it was a bit off for you, but I liked it, nonetheless. Cuz I like you. And even though I never know how to respond, I get a kick out of you throwing compliments at my face.”

Radian slid his hand down my side, smirking. “I just…” He sighed. “I didn’t wanna be fucking drunk. Because I’m always drunk when I do some wack-ass shit and I didn’t want you to think, ‘oh he’s just drunk, he doesn’t mean it,’ because I do. I mean it so much that it hurts.” He forced a laugh. “Either that, or I really didn’t want you to forget if I even gained the balls to say something.”

“Well,” I grabbed my phone from beside me and showed him the screen. “It’s a good thing I started recording a voice note.”

His blush deepened. “W-What?!”

“If I had immediately fallen asleep after laying down, I didn’t want to potentially miss anything you said. That or…yeah, forget it,” I admitted and pressed stop as I handed him my phone. “Sorry, I know that’s weird as shit. You can delete it if you want—”

The Inkling dropped my phone onto the cushions and pulled me into a deep kiss as my groggy self struggled to get my arms around him. Although he was kissing me with the passion of someone irritated, I took him kissing me in the first place as a good sign.

He never said anything, and even when I tried to apologize, he’d cut me off and pull me back into him. I couldn’t get a word out for the rest of the night. Not that it mattered, since I’d been out of words ever since the party ended and desperately needed to recharge.

Although I had no clear memory, I was sure I fell asleep in the middle of him kissing me. The thought was beyond embarrassing, but at least I had yet to get confirmation, despite the feeling of his lips on mine being the last thing I remembered.

Waking up, however, was unbearable.

I was still on the couch with Radian on top of me, snoring on and off, but my head felt like it was in a trash compactor. I vaguely heard talking and an array of smells coming from the kitchen, but the sun worsened my headache and my body being stiff as a board added to the sensory overload. I struggled to get out from under my boyfriend but just sitting up already had me mumbling a slew of curses.

I shielded my eyes from the wall of sunlight coming from the balcony and cracked several things as I stretched. I nudged Radian back onto the couch as I noticed Cyrus, Ren, Onyx, and Wyatt in the kitchen. No wonder it was so damn loud.

When Ren noticed I’d risen from my grave, her face lit up.

“Ha! You look like hell!”

“Mm.” I rubbed my face, blindly making my way over to them. “Can someone turn that off?”

“What?” Onyx snickered. “The sun? Damn, Wes, how hungover are you?”

“Ugh, fuck.” I felt around for the cord to the blinds by the French doors. “Man, I dunno. Are y’all not hungover?”

“Oh,” Cyrus sighed. “I’m beyond messed up. From drinking too much, dancing too hard, and sleeping on the damn floor,” He muttered as I finally managed to get enough shade to open my eyes without squinting. 

“Same, honestly.” Wyatt snickered. “I left early drunk as hell, ended up going to Alias’ place instead of mine, kept drinking, got high as shit, and—yeah. I don’t even know when we went to bed, but everything hurts.”

Ren nudged him, smiling. “Everyone knew you weren’t leaving the party early to go home and go to sleep.”

A purple blush spread across the pale Octoling’s face. “S-Shut up! I mean—!” He suddenly pointed at me as I examined the breakfast on the stove, though I realized it was way past breakfast time after looking at the clock. “At least I kept my business to myself! I came in to see Radian literally on top of you! And you’re not even in pants!”

I blinked slowly, too tired to overreact or frankly even get embarrassed.

“Hm. Yeah.” I mumbled, glancing down at myself. On the upside, at least my shirt was still on—buttoned up poorly, but still on. “But if you’re implying we had sex, we didn’t.”

“Good, cuz I would’ve been in earshot,” Cyrus gave me a nervous look and I chuckled.

“You were literally blackout drunk.” I grabbed a cold waffle.

“But I wasn’t!” Ren leaned forward.

I scoffed. “Cool your jets. He might not have any boundaries, but I do.” I grabbed the cinnamon sugar. “Lots. I have lots.”

“And is one of them refusing to partake in the nasty with friends and family present?” Wyatt teased.

“Says the man who was half naked with his boyfriend down the hall from the party! Fuck!” I grabbed my head as I laughed too hard when his blush worsened. “And how is that even a question? Duh. Rule one is we don’t partake in the nasty.”

Ren cringed. “Wording it like that is somehow grosser than if you were to just say ‘yeah, we had sex.’” She smirked. “Can you not do this in front of my pancakes, por favor?”

“Are you the only one who’s not hungover?” I nudged her.

“Me and Onyx, actually. This is why girls rule and boys drool. Literally. Y’all passed out on the floor and drooled.”

“I did not.” I rolled my eyes, but everyone turned to Cyrus as he blushed.

“Oi, it’s my fuckin’ condo! I can drool where I want!” He groaned and massaged his head, quieting down. “Fight me.”

“You guys are so fucked up,” Onyx laughed as she poured herself a glass of water. “I don’t even need to turn on the TV this afternoon. I can just watch y’all trudge across the house like I’m watching the discovery channel.”

“You’re mean,” Cyrus droned while attempting to hug the Octoling, but she dodged him.

“Shower.”

He laid on the counter, whining. “I want a hug though…” He pouted as Onyx eventually gave in and at least pecked him on the cheek.

“See, you don’t remember, but you vomited your brains out last night and although your clothes are clean, I’ll be avoiding you like the plague until further notice,” She announced and walked out onto the patio.

“Boo…” Cyrus gave her a thumbs down, still laying on the marble.

“How long have you even been up for?” I asked as I sat beside Ren.

“Not long. It was just me, Wyatt, and Onyx for a while.” Ren eyed me as I made a mess of the cinnamon sugar while eating the remaining waffles. “Onyx and I made breakfast and then Wyatt showed up a few hours later, ate everything we made, and then we made more.”

The small Octoling flexed as we laughed at him. “What? I burned a fuck ton of calories last night! I needed it!”

“Not in front of my pancakes! Wyatt!!” Ren shouted.

“No, not—!” He blushed again. “We danced! And played Wii Sports! And Alaias and I ran around the city because we were too drunk to drive home! I actually got a ton of normal exercise,” He cleared his throat but as my eyes continued adjusting to the light, I noticed a few marks by the collar of his T-shirt. I unconsciously rubbed my neck, trying to recall if Radian and I ever went that far. I should’ve checked my reflection before ever stepping into the kitchen.

“Holy shit,” Ren mumbled and handed me a napkin. “What are you…?” She sighed and turned back to Wyatt as I continued to eat like a child. “Anyways, sure. We’ll definitely take your word for it…”

Wyatt laughed as Cyrus eventually dragged himself off the counter. We watched him struggle to climb up the stairs and after he disappeared into his room, we heard the shower. Ren started cleaning up after me, although I would only leave more crumbs whenever she scooped up a few and turned her back to put them in the trash.

“When do you think Radian’s gonna get up?” She wiped her hands as I glanced at the couch with a shrug.

“God knows. It’ll probably be hours.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Nocturnal. Forgot about that.”

“What? Is he your favorite or something?” I joked.

My sister rolled her eyes. “He’s funny! And weird! And he spills your Splatsville secrets,” She raised her eyebrows. 

I sighed. “Of course he did…” I mumbled with a smile. “What? Are you gonna wait until he wakes up before going home? Or wait, do you need a ride?”

Wyatt stared into the fridge. “I can get Alaias to take you home with me when I go.”

Ren grabbed my plate before I licked the remaining sugar off. “Nah, thank you though! Nelly’s gonna pick me up.” She placed the dish in the sink. “Eventually,” She laughed. “I don’t know when I wanna leave yet…”

I leaned back on the stool while attempting to fix my shirt. “Don’t you wanna go home and take a shower and stuff? And put on comfy clothes?”

“Well…” The Octoling glanced at Onyx leaning on the balcony outside. “Yeah, but I like talking to you.”

“You have my number!” I beamed. “And I can text you my address too.”

“Yeah, but I like talking to your face.” I snickered. “And yeah, I know that after today, it’s not like I’ll never see you again but,” She rubbed her face. “You slipped out of my fingers so easily back then and I didn’t even have a clue,” She mumbled before shaking her head. “I just don’t want the party to end yet. Ironic, as the party literally already ended.”

“Well, honestly, you can stop by Cyrus’ place any time and the chance of finding one of us here is highly likely,” I shrugged as Wyatt left to investigate Radian on the couch. “But I get it. Last night was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. Now that I have you, I know life’s only gonna get better, but I’m in no rush to leave.”

“I kinda just wanna follow you around for the rest of the day. And see what shit you get yourself into,” She smirked. “Like always.”

“Well, given my horrendous hangover, I doubt today would be a good example. My only plans are showering and passing back out.”

She leaned on her hands across from me. “You’d have to make it back home first, at least.”

“Eh, supposedly, but I’ve showered here before and Radian’s stolen tons of my shit…like my clothes…”

“And your deodorant.” Ren laughed. “He told me last night!”

I rolled my eyes. “Er, yeah. I mean, that hoodie you’re wearing is actually mine,” I explained as she looked down at herself. “Regardless, I’m sure Cyrus won’t care if you stay. Hell, you could probably even stay the night again. He likes hosting people…obviously.”

“I’ll never get how he does it,” She put the hood on and pulled the drawstrings. “I get antsy just when Nelly’s in my apartment for too long…”

“Ooo! You should let me tour your apartment!” I laughed as the girl immediately cringed.

“Pass.”

“Pass?!”

“Pass,” She repeated, smiling. “I’ll happily snoop around your apartment though! Then again, I pray it’s not as messy as your childhood bedroom.”

“Shush! It’s fine!” I waved her away. “And I always clean before anyone comes over. Well, except for Radian.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “He always shows up unannounced.”

“Given the little I know about Radian, that checks out.”

“He even picked my lock once,” I muttered as Ren gave me a concerned look.

“In his defense, I did kinda go MIA! And…avoid everyone, including him.” I shook my head. “Long story. It’s fine. Anyways,” I slid off the stool and stretched. “I can’t tolerate looking or feeling like this anymore, so I’m gonna take an express shower.”

“Alright, well I’ll watch Radian in the meantime,” She laughed, joining Wyatt behind the couch as they watched my boyfriend snore. 

“He’s quite handsome when he’s not being feral and horny,” The smaller boy joked.

“I know right!”

I rolled my eyes as I walked past them, but I eventually pulled to a halt and stared at Radian. He was always handsome, no matter what he was doing. Then again, I’m sure he felt the same way about me.

Though, I’m sure he’d use ‘beautiful’ instead.

I laughed to myself as I eventually made my way upstairs and broke into his bathroom again. My reflection wasn’t as bad as I thought, especially since I realized my excessive eye bags were primarily makeup caused. Alas, my mind went blank the moment the water hit me, and I forgot how long I’d been in the bathroom for. 

I snooped through Radian’s room in search of stolen items and found a pair of my basketball shorts and my Reel Sweatshirt—another Zekko item that I thought I’d lost in the laundry somewhere. The one pro was that because everything had been lost in his room, everything smelled like him. And though it had been a minute since he’d been with the Salmonids, that was always a mix of freshwater, deodorant, detergent, and a dash of weed. 

Although I was in the bathroom alone, I quickly embarrassed myself after seeing my reflection with the sweatshirt held up to my nose. When I closed my eyes, I thought of last night, or earlier this morning, technically. I was suddenly desperate to listen to the recording, but I had left my phone downstairs.

Despite still feeling like I’d just risen from my grave, I looked less like a zombie trying to disguise themselves as an Octoling. I was still groggy, but I eventually quit zoning out and left the bathroom. Wyatt and Ren were on the floor in front of the couch Radian was hogging, watching an old sitcom. Though, as I came downstairs, Wyatt’s phone started ringing and he ran into the hall.

“You were gone for forty-five minutes,” Ren smirked as I sat beside her.

“Well, I tried to be quick!” I laughed. “I failed, but eh.”

“I’m so glad I’m not hungover,” She teased as I reached over Radian and grabbed my phone.

“Shut up.” The Octoling started skimming channels as I realized it was out of charge. “Do you want pants?”

“Hm?” She glanced at me. “No, I’m wearing bike shorts under these,” She lifted her dress and I rolled my eyes.

“I would’ve taken your word for it!”

“Ha!”

I leaned on her shoulder as she surveyed the guide while still bundled up in my hoodie. Even though it was mine, she still smelled like home. I gave her an awkward side hug.

“Hey, you know I love you right?”

She took the hood off and glanced at me, grinning. “You do?!”

“Yeah!” I laughed as she hugged me back.

“Aww…” I expected her to let go, but she continued to lay on me. “I love you too. I don’t even know the last time I said that.” She sighed. “That sucks.”

“Hmph. Yeah…” I patted her shoulder. “Regardless, I hope you know you’ve always been my favorite person. I’m glad we can finally pick back up where we left off.”

Ren snickered. “And now that we’re adults, we can do shit like this!” She gestured to the rest of the room. “Go to parties, get wasted—”

“You say as if you drank a single ounce of alcohol and didn’t hide in your boyfriend’s bag for half the party.”

“Shut up!” She shoved me off her, blushing. “You get the point!” She chuckled. “Bottom line, I’m just glad you’re back. I’m glad you’re alive, I’m glad you’re back, and I’m glad you’ve been living life regardless of all the shit that’s happened. Meanwhile…I rarely leave my apartment.”

“Ah…”

“But,” She nudged me. “At least now when I refuse to leave my apartment, it’s not due to depression—it’s just cuz I’m a hermit.”

I clicked my tongue. “I’m gonna get Radian to teach me how to pick locks so I can drag you out, regardless.”

“Breaking and entering much?!” She laughed. “I dare you to try! I’ll call the cops.”

“Psh, overreaction much?” I grinned as I got lost in the sound of her laughter.

I was glad I didn’t have an empty spot haunting me anymore, especially once I realized that it wasn’t solely Stewart’s absence that was taking a toll on me. I had three undetermined mem cakes for a reason—I lost three of the most significant people in my life: A childhood friend, a first love, and a little sister.

River was the last person I needed to find, but I was still willing to settle for best two out of three.

For several years, I had always thought of my friends as family, but now that a fraction of my family was finally back in the picture, I was beyond satisfied. She remembered things I forgot, and vice versa. I loved being able to think back on things that happened before Splatsville.

Before Inkopolis, before the Octarian army, even.

Until recently, I never had anyone who knew me from back then. The furthest back I could ever go was seventeen, and without Stewart, Wyatt and Alaias were the only ones who even vaguely knew me back then. Back when I spoke broken Inklish, had an indecipherable Octarian accent, and was confused by everything ‘squidlike.’

I liked to imagine how Ren got accustomed to Inkling society, especially since I’d always been twice as social as her, hence she still had a bit of her accent. Honestly, I never wanted her to lose it.

It was comforting.

Everything about her was.

Despite being thousands of miles from the domes, she made the surface finally feel like home. The sunlight had nothing on the warmth her smile could bring me. Hell, her calling me by my first name truly made me feel like Westley—the one I thought I’d lost.

I never needed a party or an ID or some sort of confirmation to feel like I was the Westley I was supposed to be.

All I needed was her.