Rose's eyes slowly opened....instantly being met with the light of a ceiling fan directly above her. She noticed that she was covered up by a blanket, and she used her hand to push herself up to sit, beginning to realize that she was previously unconscious on a couch.

Rose looked around her location....seeing a simple, yet expensive living room, and from there, saw a fireplace that was lit up to bring comfort and warmth into the area. She tilted her head and slowly took the blankets from off of herself, then shifted her body to rest her feet on the ground.

She stood up slowly and walked towards the fireplace, feeling it's heat flow from the inside and make contact with her legs. She looked at a photo that was resting on top of a shelf above the fireplace, then gently took it off and looked at it.

The picture alone was enough for Rose's body to completely freeze up. A picture of the squid sisters smiling and waving to the camera while standing on opposite sides of a weird old man.

Marie: so.....

Rose felt a shock of slight fear run through her body for a second after getting startled. She turned her head and saw Marie leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, looking into her eyes, but not with any form of aggression, hatred, or even jealousy, but rather confusion and concern.

Marie:.....you're......Dawn's friend, huh?.....you were the one that helped her beat Scarlett....

Rose began to shake a little from Marie's words, making the idol hesitate a little to continue along with her words. Marie simply sighed after noticing Rose's state, then stood up straight from the wall she was leaning on and began to walk towards the Octoling.

Marie: chill out....I'm not gonna hurt ya....

Rose:.....

Marie walked up next to Rose and in front of the fireplace, but instead of interacting with Rose, Marie leaned down and grabbed onto a little chopped log of wood that was next to the fireplace, delicately and precisely throwing the wood inside the fire to ignite it for a little longer.

Marie stood up straight and stretched for a second before turning back and walking over to the couch, sitting down and patting next to her while looking at Rose.

Marie: c'mon....

Rose:.......

Rose hesitated, but then walked over to the couch she was previously sleeping on and sat down next to Marie. She looked at Marie, seeing her beautiful golden eyes, which made her body tense up, still believing that she was in a dream. Marie slightly tilted her head at her as if she was thinking on something, then folded her hands together.

Marie:......how long have you known Dawn?.....if you don't mind me asking...

Rose:.....*looks down*......

Marie:.......I understand this is....a little unexpected and weird for you.....heh...right?......what are the odds that a random cephalopod would have the chance of meeting the squid sisters in person like this?......

Rose:......

Marie:.......I'm guessing you're just.....shy?......the silent type, maybe?....

Rose shook her head at Marie's statement and pointed to her scarf that was around her neck, which made Marie raise her eyebrow slightly at the Octo.

Marie: what's wrong?.....

Rose opened her mouth a little and tried to speak delicately, but all that came out was a tiny scuffle of distortion when she moved her lips. She let out a tiny cough and Marie saw a little drop of blood seep from the Octo's mouth, but she wiped it away before it made any progress down her face.

Marie:.....you can't speak.....

Rose:......*nod*.....

Marie:......shit.....now this is gonna be 10 times more difficult.....

Rose:....*looks away*

Marie: no need to get sad for feel sorry....whatever happened to you was definitely out of your control.......uh.....let's see....

Callie: Mariiiiiiie! I lost my phone! Have you seen I-

Marie and Rose looked behind themselves on the couch to see Callie standing behind them from recently exiting the hallway, and once Callie laid her eyes on Rose, she smiled brightly and squealed a little, running over to Rose and grabbing her, which made Rose whimper from embarrassment.

Callie: you're awake, oh my cod! she's so adorable!

Rose: *little blush*.....

Callie: where are you from!? Do you have a favorite squid sister's song!? *gasp* what's your favorite food? It better be crusty seanwiches! I love those so much!

Marie: she can't speak, Callie....

Callie: wait, for eel!?

Rose gave Callie a little nod before lowering her scarf a little to show her a little sight of her scar, which made Callie freeze in concern until Marie gently tapped her.

Marie: focus...

Callie: huh?.....o-oh right...sorry..

Callie let go of Rose and back away from her with an embarrassed smile on her face as well. Marie slouched a little on the couch with a sigh, and all Rose did was place her hands on her lap in a polite manner and continued to look down at her own lap.

Marie: alright......starting over.....you're probably confused, I'm guessing?....like.....why you're here in the first place....

Rose: *nods*

Marie: well...I asked you earlier on Dawn.......your friend....

Rose:.......

Callie: y-you're probably wondering on how we know Dawn....heh....uh.....

Even though the situation left Rose still confused, the two cousins began to sweat and tense up from nervousness of revealing Dawn's true identity to her.....Callie bit her finger and looked away while Marie took a deep breath and looked into Rose's eyes.

Marie: well.....Dawn is associated with us.......

Callie:.......s-she's our friend!....

Rose: *looks at Callie*

Callie:....*mumbles*....more like....w-was our friend......

The idols left an awkward silence behind their voices, and Rose thought to herself for a second before reaching into her jacket and pulling out her trusty notepad, then began to scribble in it, which confused Callie and Marie. Just as Marie was about to ask a question, Rose ripped off a piece of paper and handed it to her, catching her off guard a little, but she eventually took it and began to read it.

~~
"What do you mean by "associated"? "
~~

Marie: well.....Dawn was......

Callie and Marie both looked at each other, debating on who would continue....Callie looked away from Marie and began to get slightly upset, and once Marie saw that look, she tried to continue herself.

Marie:....look.......what I'm about to say.......is extremely secretive....I need you to never tell this to anyone......

Callie: yeah.....If you do.......bad stuff....might happen to Dawn......and potentially.......us too.....

Marie: do you understand?......

Rose: *nod*.......

Marie: okay......well.......Dawn........is associated with us because back then.......to us.....she was known as agen-

Just then, the three girls heard the rustling of the front door, and when they all turned their heads over to the front door within the distance, they saw it open up to reveal an Old Squid man, carrying a big bag filled with snacks and cooking ingredients.

Callie: Gramps!

Rose sat in silence as she watched Callie hop off the couch and run over to the old squid, hugging him and earning a little chuckle from him. When Rose looked at Marie, she saw Marie look back at her, then she opened her mouth to speak, however, Rose immediately noticed Marie doubting herself, closing her mouth and shaking her own head and standing up from the couch as well, walking over to the old squid, and after Rose took another glance, she saw a name tag on his ripped and colorful cloak that read "Craig Cuttlefish".

Marie: Hey Gramps...

Cuttlefish: *smile* good afternoon you two.

She saw Cuttlefish's eyes look over towards her, which made her flinch slightly from her nerves suddenly shooting through her body.

Cuttlefish: I see you two brought in a new guest.

Callie: Yup! *hmph* Gramps, say hello to Rose!

Cuttlefish: Rose, huh?......*chuckles* that's a nice name.

Rose:....*tiny wave*.....

Cuttlefish: would you like to join us for dinner, Rose? I just got back from shopping.

Rose grew a slight smile and gently nodded towards the old squid as Marie grabbed the bag of food within his hand, looking inside of it.

Marie: spaghetti, huh?

Callie: I knew it!! I could smell it from the bag!!

Marie: Callie.....how did you smell a box of plain, uncooked noodles?

Callie: no silly! I smelled the pasta sauce in there!

Marie reached into the bag and pulled out a glass jar of tomato sauce, then looked back at Callie, still very confused.

Marie:......it's tightly sealed in this glass......my point still stands.......

Callie: shut it!

Marie: Callie....you shut it.

Callie: I already told you to shut up first!

Marie: does that matter? Your statement was irrelevant regardless-

Cuttlefish: come on girls, no arguments.

Cuttlefish grabbed the bag and ingredients from Marie, walking over to the kitchen and placing them down while Callie and Marie stood in silence from embarrassment,

Callie/Marie: sorry gramps.....

Cuttlefish: it's alright.....now then!....let's start making this spaghe-

Just then, a ringing noise from a phone expanded throughout the room, and Cuttlefish, after feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took out his phone to see who was calling, and once he saw the name, he stood in shock for a slight moment, but then shook his head and walked away from the two idols, down the house and pointing towards the bag of ingredients.

Cuttlefish: can you two get started while I get this call?

Marie: Mhm...

Callie: leave it to us, gramps!

Cuttlefish nodded with a smile on his face, then walked down the house further and into his own room, closing the door behind him and looking back at his phone, accepting it and putting it up to his ear.

D: thank cod.......Cap, are you there?........

C: of course squiddo....it's pretty rare for you to call like this....is something wrong?

D:..........yes......I have some questions....

C: go ahead.

D:......is an Octoling girl at your house right now?.....her name is Rose....she has red tentacles and green eyes.....she's also very silent, and has a scarf around her neck.....

C: oh, yes she is, how'd you know that?

D:...........

C: she's such a nice Octoling, an-

D: FUCKING-.....UUUUGH!!

Cuttlefish jolted away from his phone after hearing the sudden outburst, and from the other end of the call, Dawn groaned in annoyance, but tried to quickly calm herself, pinching the bridge of her nose while feeling her blood rush through her body.

D:.....sorry.....

C: it's okay, Squiddo. I know how you are.

D:....I just.......I want them to leave me alone....

C: I tried to reason with them on the subject, but they refuse. They just simply want to apologize to you to get on good terms......ever since you left....things haven't been the same for them.

D: well good. I don't care.

C: are you positive you don't want to simply hear them out, Dawn?....

D: no...not in a million years.......what have they ever done for me, Cap!? I was fighting Octarians and putting my life on the line every single day to keep Inkopolis safe and secure. I was bruised, beaten, and wounded on my missions, it was horrible!

C:........

D: I barely slept, I almost never had time to myself! My skin turned pale from all the blood I lost and my exhaustion of working for hours every single day! I look like a freak now! Nobody ever wanted to help me!

C:.........I helped you....

D:...........I......I know........you were the only one who made me happy.......

Cuttlefish could hear a slight tone of sadness from the Inkling's words, and he was simply too saddened to speak to her. He closed his eyes and let out a little sigh just as Dawn did the same.

D:........I don't want Rose anywhere near them......Cap........please.....they'll ruin everything for me......

C:......I'll see what I can do......

D:....thanks.....

C: I'm sorry that you're going through all of this, squiddo......I deeply...apologize.......you received my letter and package.....right?....

D:.....I did...........

C: I hope you take care of those.....I know they meant a lot to you.....

Dawn stayed silent on the phone, and Cuttlefish waited for a response...but nothing came for quite some time. He looked down, knowing that sadness was overwhelming Dawn at the moment, knowing that she wanted to be alone.

C: I'll do my best to get this situation handled with Rose.......take care of yourself, Squiddo.....

D:.......I'll try....

Dawn hung up the phone and Cuttlefish started to think to himself for a slight moment. He looked over to a shelf that was in his room, portraying a picture him standing in between Agent 3, and Agent 8.

Cuttlefish walked over to the shelf and grabbed the picture, looking at it and seeing Agent 3 specifically....Dawn...wrapping one of her arms around him with a beautiful smile on her face....a smile of pure joy and happiness......

He looked at Agent 8, seeing her confused, yet adorable stare. He spent a long journey by her side.....getting to the surface and merging in with inkling culture....but her surface life would only last for so long.......

Cuttlefish:.......Agent 8......if only you were still here.........

Cuttlefish shook his head and placed the picture down on the shelf once more. He scrolled through his contacts on his phone before finding the number he was looking for, pressing it and holding his phone up to his ear, hearing the ring of the call before it stopped after it was accepted by the receiving end.

C:.....Pearl?...Marina?

P: yooo! What's up, Gramps?

M: hi Mr. Cuttlefish!

C: *tiny smile* hello girls.....there's something I need to ask of you two....

~~~~~~

Dawn looked at her phone after hanging up on Cuttlefish, with only a stern, yet depressed look on her face. As she was sitting on her couch, She put down her phone and allowed her head to hang low.

Dawn was about to allow her thoughts to wander freely, but before she got the chance, her stomach grumbled loudly, signaling for her to grab something to eat. She stood up and looked over towards her small kitchen, approaching it as she rolled her eyes.

Dawn:......maybe a bowl of cereal for lunch.........for the hundredth time in a row.

Dawn reached out and grabbed the handle of her fridge, opening it and looking inside, seeing barely anything but condiments on the shelves. She noticed her carton of milk that was sitting at the top shelf, and she grabbed it, instantly feeling how light it was.

She shook the carton and noticed that there was barely any milk even left inside of it, making her slightly annoyed but also confused.

Dawn:.....why did I....even put this shit back in the fridge if it was empty?....good job me.....

She tossed the carton in the trash and looked deeper in the fridge, still questioning herself. Ever since the splatfest, she wasn't able to think straight, usually losing herself and not paying attention to her actions most of the time, which basically led to many stupid mistakes.

She noticed a To-Go box from a fast food place, and she reached down towards it, picking it up, but almost instantly gagged from it's smell, which made her turn her head away from it in disgust.

Dawn: yup......that's expired.....

She tossed it in the trash and let out a sigh, looking at her freezer and decided to open that instead, but exactly like her fridge, the freezer was basically empty as well, showing nothing much besides a ice tray in front of her.

Dawn:....well, I knew I needed to go to Mako Mart eventually......

She closed both doors to her fridge before walking away and grabbing her boots, sliding them on her feet and tying them. She walked over to her couch and grabbed onto her hoodie that she took off earlier before she called Cuttlefish, sliding it on her body and putting her phone in her pocket.

She opened up her door after placing her backwards cap onto her head, then closed the door behind herself, using her keys to lock it. She super jumped away from her home and soared through the sky, going in the opposite direction from Inkopolis.

With today being the last day of the splatfest, many cephalopods were going to give it their all in order to win for sure. The competitive nature between Inklings and Octolings alike, but sometimes a match could be ruined by a single person. Inklings call Octoling's pit dwellers, and Octoling's call Inklings promise land parasites.

Deep in her mind, Dawn definitely knew that Inklings all around far and wide, don't understand the term "promise land parasites" but as soon as Dawn met agent 8 for the first time, she began to understand what the term meant.

From what 8 told her, the promise land was simply the surface, a land where entertainment and peace was taking place at all times, and every single Octoling believed within those lies. Once Octolings got to the surface, it was the complete opposite of what they expected.

The term of peace, a singular missing piece in the puzzle of happiness and splatting. The atmosphere, relaxing breeze, and fresh gear is what stood out definitely. The only problem about the surface....is the Inklings themselves.

Octolings didn't see a good first impression of the squids, and it felt as if the Inklings were a plague....roaming parasites, and if they didn't exist, a perfect lifestyle would be introduced to them completely, but that would never happen....not in a million years.

Octoling's can even take things too far themselves, because not every single one of them is perfect. Seeing inklings walk around with many cuts and bruises from fights with Octolings was a normal day for an average cephalopod. Many of the innocent, the ones with pure hearts would even get dragged into the conflict, and all it does is make society crumble even more than before.

Dawn landed in front of Mako Mart and let out a very long sigh as she shook her head, and not paying attention to the cephalopods who walked past her after coming out of the store themselves.

Dawn:.......(just in and out......I don't wanna be here longer than I need to.....)

When she walked inside, her body was instantly wrapped in a blanket of warmth from the inside temperature of the store. Inklings, Octoling's, and Jellies all roamed the store with shopping carts of their own, grabbing drinks, snacks, and frozen foods to eat and enjoy within their homes.

Dawn:..........alright.....let's see what I'll spoil myself with this time.....

Dawn grabbed a little hand kart and began to walk around the store by herself, looking at many products that were spread on the shelves. She walked into the sweets, cakes, and candy isle, turning her head over towards the many pastries.

Dawn:....the Octo buns are sold out....fuck.........well......at least now I know what team is gonna win the splatfest........

Dawn was about to turn and walk away, but from the corner of her eye, she then noticed the last box of Octo buns in the far back of the shelf, hiding in the darkness, which made her turn back and reach deep In between the shelves, grabbing the box and placing it in her hand kart.

Dawn: never mind.....I actually got lucky for once.......

She walked out of the isle and continued on her way throughout the store, grabbing little snacks and microwaveable meals, then placing them into her hand kart.

Dawn heard many cephalopods around her that were shopping as well, but also mumbling while looking in her direction, which only made her roll her eyes at all of them

Inkling boy: isn't that....

Inkling girl: the squid who defeated Scarlett..........yes.....it is......

Dawn:.....

Inkling boy: what the hell is she doing in a grocery store?

Inkling girl: what are you talking about?

Inkling boy:...*shrugs* sometimes I forget that she's even an Inkling because how ugly she is. surprised that she doesn't eat out of a garbage can like a bottom feeder.

Dawn stayed silent from the rude comments of the cephalopods near her, and all she did as a response was shake her head and walk away from the cephalopods and into another isle, and as she continued through the isle, she noticed that she was in the fragrance and beauty isle within the store, which only made her scoff as she saw the many pictures of beautiful Inkling and Octoling girls that were sponsoring the products.

Dawn looked over at a jar on top of a shelf, and grabbed it to see an Inkling girl with amazing tentacles that glistened on the cover.

Dawn: "Slim sea silk......smoothens and protects your tentacles with delicate care......"

Dawn looked at her own tentacles and saw how ruffled and scratched they were. Her scars being from her Agent experiences and her tentacles were ruffled and messy because of her own laziness.

Dawn sighed and placed the jar back on the shelf and continued to walk through and pass by a Jelly employee within a work uniform, stretching its arms to the top shelve and placing down glass jars filled with candle wax.

Dawn looked at the Jelly for a slight second, then looked up at the top shelf to see one of the candle jars leaning from off of the shelf a little bit. She saw the Jelly stretch another time and place down a jar on the same shelf, but the slight force of the jar touching the shelf was enough to shake it and make the other candle jar topple over and fall off of the shelf, about to shatter on the ground.

The Jelly quickly reached it's arm over and tried to grab the jar, but it missed by a split second. Within that time, Dawn ran over and reached her arm out, catching the candle jar just inches above the ground, and the Jelly wiped it's head in relief.

Dawn leaned back up and looked at the label of the glass jar, seeing the red flowers and wax in it, and for some odd reason....she stood stiff......it's title stated "Garden Roses"....making her mind go blank for a second....

Dawn:........

Dawn looked at the red wax and her body began to move on it's own....her eyes slowly shut as she brought the jar up to her face and smelled the candle, which made her body feel very limp and warm within a relaxed state.

She let out a breath gently and slowly as her mind felt at peace for a slight second......and after her moment of silence, she felt something poke her forehead to catch her attention.

Dawn opened her eyes slowly and in front of her stood the Octoling herself........Rose....which made Dawn's heart drop to her stomach, and she quickly shook her head after shutting her eyes once more, then when she opened them again, instead of Rose in front of her, it was simply the employee Jelly who was pointing to the candle in her hand.

Dawn:......oh......no uh.....I'm not interested.....

The Jelly then held its arm out in front of Dawn's body, requesting for the candle back, and Dawn, feeling embarrassed, gently handed the candle back to the Jelly, then they continued to stock the shelves as usual.

Dawn:.....sorry....

Dawn walked away from the Jelly and could feel how fast her ink was pumping in her body, and she pinched the bridge of her nose while letting out an embarrassed groan.

Dawn:.....( what the hell am I doing?....)

Dawn walked out of the isle and continued to walk until she got back to the Food section of Mall Mart, walking into the breakfast isle, looking around, then grabbing onto a box of cereal that was branded as "Octo-O's" and she put the box in her hand kart, still struggling to wrap her head around her previous actions towards the candle.

Dawn:......(now I'm hallucinating shit......and out of all fucking things....it's her.....)

She looked over at another box of cereal that was branded "Pearl Swirls" and the cover of the box displayed the Off The Hook squid herself: Pearl, pointing towards the bowl of pink cereal with strawberry milk.

Dawn:........(as expected from someone like her.....)

Dawn only walked a little farther to get to the refrigerated beverages, and from there, she opened up the glass door and grabbed a carton of plain milk, then continued on, grabbing her head and looking down at the ground from her frustration.

Dawn:....(I just.....can't believe that it was her.........I've had hallucinations of 8.......and sometimes 4........but......Rose?....)

She looked ahead and saw a Jelly mopping over a wet area within the store that was blocked off by a "Wet Floor" sign, and Dawn made sure to walk around the Jelly, seeing it give her a tiny wave, and Dawn awkwardly waved back at it.

Dawn: (it was just a one-time thing....I know it......it was only because I smelled that damn Candle.....the irony that it was a Rose Scented candle too....it's annoying....)

Soon, Dawn went into one last isle to get most of the things she needs, simple snacks and quick meals. Dawn looked down, then kneeled to get lower, staring at the multiple cups of ramen. She took 5 cups and put them into her kart, then walked by while grabbing microwave meals.

Dawn:.....I believe this is enough.....

Dawn walked over to the self checkout section that was currently occupied already by 3 cephalopods, but from the corner of her eye, she saw one last checkout station that was completely empty and ready for use.

She let out a sigh of relief and moved forward to claim the spot as her own, but before she even took her third step, an Inkling boy walked past her and rudely pushed her out of the way with his shoulder.

A pure look of annoyance and disgust was all over her face as she watched the Inkling boy place down his items and begin to scan them. Dawn gritted her teeth and began to walk towards the boy, opening her mouth to speak to him, but before she could say anything, a voice was heard from a service station next to her, that just finished serving one of the cephalopods from before.

Monitor: >Thank you for shopping at Mako Mart. Have a nice day!<

Dawn hesitated for a second, then looked back at the boy, and instead of going after him, Dawn shook her head and scoffed at him, walking towards the other scanning station instead.

Dawn: fucking asshole......

Dawn began to scan her items one by one, watching her price go up and up for every product she scanned, and from her final item, she looked at the price and groaned, scanning her phone to digitally transfer her cash into the machine.

She grabbed her bags and walked out of Mako Mart by herself, seeing that the sun was slightly lower than before.

Dawn: just a bit longer....the final night.....then the splatfest finally ends.......

Just then, Dawn looked behind herself to see the same inkling boy from earlier, carrying bags of his own and walking over towards an Inkling girl, handing her the bags rather aggressively.

Inkling boy: you better not drop the bags like last time, Nina. I expect a delicious meal when we get back home.

Dawn:......(Nina?.....)

Dawn began to think while staring at the Inkling girl as she held onto her bags, then thought back to BlackBelly Skatepark.

Dawn:......( the one who hit Rose....I wasn't expecting to see her ever again.....)

Nina:.....y-yes, Max........*fake smile* anything for you.

Max, the Inkling boy who encountered Dawn in the store, crossed his arms and scoffed at Nina. Max then slightly turned his head and noticed Dawn who was looking directly at him, glaring and making eye contact with her.

Max: can I help you? Get the fuck out of here.

Dawn:.........

Dawn shifted her attention towards Nina and saw her still struggling to hold the bags, but in that process, Nina looked at Dawn, and from recognizing who she was, began to shake rapidly in fear, slightly backing away from her.

Dawn simply looked back and forth at the two, and all she did was simply shrug and walk away from them, paying no mind to them at all.

Dawn: not my problem.

Dawn turned into her squid form and used her two squid suction cups to stick to the bags. She super jumped away and turned back into her human form, now holding the bags in her hands as she soared through the sky, and then suddenly, her phone rang with a notification, which made her now carry both bags with one hand as she reached in her pocket and pulled it out to see a text message from Pearl.
~~
P: yo, what's up?
~~
Dawn stared at the message, then sighed as she began to text her back.
~~
D: what?

P: okay look......I already know you don't like long conversations, so I'm just gonna cut it short.

D: okay?

P: The old man spoke with me on the phone about your.....situation.......so we're here to help.

D: I had a feeling he'd talk to you two....

P: okay so I just wanna make you aware of this. For this final day of the splatfest, Callie and Marie will only be performing for the first half of the night, and that's honestly a very good thing.

D: why is it only half of the night?

P: because for almost every single splatfest, we hold a "autograph meetup" for our fans. So within the first half of the night, me and Rina won't perform and sing. We would instead sign autographs for fans and take photos.

D: alright?.......

P: for the second half of the night, we'll allow the squid sisters to take our place and sign autographs for their own fans and take photos as well and we'll take their place and sing. The two would be very occupied and overwhelmed for the remaining half of the splatfest, so they'll totally get off your tail.

D: okay, but I want them gone for the whole damn splatfest, not just one half of it.

P: yup, I was getting to that. This is exactly why me and Rina are actually not accepting autographs this splatfest at all. We thought it through, and Unlike the usual routine, we'll take over the stage as the squid sisters stay occupied for both the 1st and 2nd half of the splatfest.

D:......and if this plan backfires?....

P: c'mon, both me and you know how blinded our society can be when it comes to any form of popularity. Everyone knows that today is the last day the squid sisters are gonna be in Inkopolis before they leave to do some other stupid shit far away. Like, our collaborations with Callie and Marie are very rare, so nobody would pass up the chance to get an autograph before the squid sisters leave again for cod knows how long.

D: I guess........what about Rose?

P: who?

D: The old man should've told you her name.

P: oh shit, that's her name!? My B. Cap would refer to her as "little Octo" over the phone lol.

D: as expected.

P: alright. Before I dig deep, tell me your plans for today.

D: I'm not doing anything. Staying home tonight because I already did everything I needed to do.

P: you already paid off that rent of yours?

D:.....I guess? I'm not gonna talk about that.

P: well okay then. But since you're not planning on going out to play turf tonight, this is perfect.

D: what do you mean?

P: look, so we kinda need your help when it comes to Rose. Me and Rina are gonna drop her off at your apartment to stay with you for the night.

~~

Dawn's eyes widened in shock from Pearl's text, and she almost got lost within her own head, but before she could, she noticed that she was still soaring through the sky, and descending very quickly. Dawn gritted her teeth and swiftly adjusted herself to safety land within flounder heights, catching herself directly in front of her door.

Dawn panted slightly and she pulled out her key after letting out a huff, unlocking her door and walking inside, and just as she aggressively shut her door, she placed down her groceries and sat down on her couch, continuing their conversation.

~~
D: Excuse me!? I already let her stay in my apartment once before, like hell if I'm doing that shit again!

P: why? I honestly don't see a problem with this.

D: I don't want to get involved with the squid sisters, and I don't want to get involved with Rose either. Why can't she just stay in her OWN APARTMENT for the night!?

P: well Rose obviously doesn't know our plan, so if we drop her off at home, she'll most likely wander off and head to Inkopolis, risking the likelihood of Callie and Marie seeing her, and I know that's not what you want because one thing will lead to another.

D:.....

P: if she crashes at your place for the night, you can obviously keep her occupied so she wouldn't leave.

D: fucking hell.....

P: yeah I know, I know. It's only for one night, Dawn, I know you can obviously push through. The second the splatfest ends, the squid sisters will be gone and you can go back to your normal routine.

D:.....

P: c'mon. It's just one single night.
~~

Dawn slouched on her couch and could barely clear the clouds inside of her head..........and after letting out a single sigh, she slowly began to type towards Pearl once more, feeling a sense of embarrassment and annoyance cover her face in the process.

~~
D: fine.

P: Hell yeah!! Trust me, yo, You hold up your end, and we'll hold up ours. We'll be over there soon, k?
~~

Dawn looked at the message, and instead of replying, she simply turned it off and took off her boots, then laid on her back and looked up at her ceiling, feeling herself get overwhelmed with her own emotions.

Dawn:......how pathetic can I get?.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Extra story art*

Rose art made by kiiicho_ika within their art style. Thank u very much!