30 Days of Inkopolis Drabbles!

Day 13: Friends

"Wouldn't it be fun it we were roommates, Kai-chan?" Elise squealed. With one hand on the grocery bag and the other resting in Kai's, the orange Octoling looked at her friend expectantly, eager for an answer.

"Wh-what...I guess so, yeah!" Kai fumbled a bit on her words as she squeezed Elise's hand a little tighter.

The Octoling girl giggled and gave her a grin. "I was just thinking- going grocery shopping with you like this was so much fun! I could totally see you and I doing, you know, chores and house stuff together like this. Right?" A bubbly grin masked a trace of melancholy on her face.

Kai took a moment to look for the right words before replying. "Right!" Kai chirped.

A few moments of peaceful silence passed as the two girls rode the train back to Wakame District, where the twins' townhouse was. Kai contemplated on prying to see what was going on with Elise, but ultimately decided to wait a little. She took Elise's hand and brought it to her lips to kiss it delicately.

Right after, the Octoling girl's top lip began to quiver ever so slightly. She turned suddenly to face Kai, and sighed.

"Can I-"

"I knew that was coming. Go right ahead- I'm listening." Kai reassured her.

Elise nodded gratefully, and began to speak her mind. "So, I um... I started seeing a boy recently. He was really, really cute, and he was a gentleman!" She scooted closer to the yellow Inkling as she spoke. "I thought we were going steady for a few weeks, and then I found out that he was seeing like, three other girls. "

Elise sighed heavily, already exhausted. Kai sighed equally as heavy, and threw her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"He was one of those, huh?"

"Yeah!" Elise exclaimed angrily. "I'm so mad at him, but I feel like I'm more mad at myself.

"Why?"

"Because. I feel like everytime I try to find a boyfriend, everything goes wrong!"

"Ellie-"

"What's wrong with me? Am I not pretty enough or something?"

"Oh my cod, no!" Kai shook her head 'no' vigorously. "There's nothing wrong with you Ellie! It's just, you're just- dating is hard, okay? I've tried it way too many times, so trust me- I know!"

The orange Octoling rested her head on Kai's shoulder before replying. "That's true, I guess. But that's why I was thinking! Maybe I could just live with you instead, you know?"

Kai's heart started racing. "I mean, sure? But I thought it was your dream to get married and have kids?"

"Y-yeah..." Elise began. "It was my dream, but I hate dating. Whenever I do, I get nervous, my belly hurts, and I start feeling like....like I'm not good enough or something! It's bad for my health."

Kai snickered at her last remark. "Uh-huh. But that doesn't mean-"

"When I'm with you, I don't feel any of those things! I feel safe, and loved!"

"Wh-what-" The yellow Inkling stammered. Her sudden confession caught her way off guard.

"Please, Kai-chan, " Elise said with a pleading look in her eyes. "We don't have to do anything romantic- we can just get our own little place and do friend things, like what we're doing now. We can... we can have bunk beds and cook together. We can..."

"Stay up all night watching movies, stay out and party as long as we want..." Kai picked up where she left off.

The yellow Inkling blinked hard a few times to make sure that she was still awake. This was what she's always dreamed of! What Ellie had described was her perfect life goal that nobody ever seemed to want to make work. Maybe, just maybe they could do it together.

"Elise."

"Y-yeah?" The orange Octoling picked up head, surprised by Kai's sudden shift in tone.

"Let's both start saving up some money. If we start now, we can prolly put together a security deposit on a nice loft or something."

Ellie squealed, and in her excitement, nearly dropped the grocery bag. "A loft? I would love that! And we should get one with a balcony so we can drink hot chocolate and look at the stars out there!"

"Whatever we want!" Kai grinned. "But one thing's for sure!"

"And what's that, Kai-chan?"

"As long as you're with me, I'll make sure that you're never lonely."