(A/N):
Alrighty kids it's that time of the week where I got misgendered again-
Y a y-

Oh my cod I didn't write Poly S4 who am I-

The song lyrics are in order of when I heard them while I wrote that's why lyrics are skipped

Songs (both by SIAMÉS) :
No Lullaby
Summer Nights

I have two song fics in the works, but today really just punched me in the gut,, I spent three hours writing this yikes-

. . . means focus character change

____
Mask leaned into his pillows as he closed his eyes. They burned as he listened to both the music playing from his laptop and the callouts from the three voices on Discord. The burning was to be expected. He had been staring at his laptop with a blank look on his face for a few minutes. Mask was muted on the call, not that it would matter if he wasn't. All the other three would get was the music playing from his computer. Jersey was lost to the world of TF2, and Mask couldn't blame her, it looked like a fun game. It just sucked how he was just... there. Like his existence had been forgotten.

"Got sniped from somewhere."

"Alright, I'll scout it out."

The entire call had been weird to Mask. Jersey would use his pronouns, yet the other two didn't. Mask had physically flinched when their use of pronouns influenced Jersey's for a bit. It was his voice that was the problem. His stupid high pitched voice.

It was ironic how he hated his voice when he was younger and tried to make it be more feminine, but now he resented how high his voice had gotten.

The more he thought about his flaws the more aware of his body Mask had become. Mask didn't remember the anatomy of his body unless he was reminded of it, reminded of how wrong it was. He subconsciously pulled on his hoodie to make it appear more baggy, his eyes still closed.

He stayed in the same position for while before the ding of his phone brought him out of his mind. Was it the notification he had been waiting for all day? He quickly reached for his squid phone, the screen coming to life.

Mask frowned.

Just someone from school.

'At least it's something,' Mask thought to himself, opening his lock screen. Ah, it was the nightly high five video.

"Hey Mask! Time for your high five! And the question for today is: got any family history stories?"

Usually, he hated seeing a smile on other cephalopods faces, but for her he made an acception. She was one of the only squids and octolings that checked up on him anyways. Mask sighed through his face mask as he angled the camera in a way it only showed from his neck up and started recording:

"Heeeey Orca, I doooon't have any storieeees. I apologize foooor that, but anywaaaays high five..."

He released his thumb from the record button as he recoiled his hand from the camera. Mask quickly pressed send as he heard that voice of his. Cod why did he do that again? Why does he even speak?

Shaking his head, Mask put the phone down and rubbed his hands over his face in a rough manner. The call had gone silent, indicating he disconnected. He wasn't surprised when his absence wasn't mentioned. All Mask got when he hopped back in the call was the laughter of Jersey and her two friends.

Mask stared at the stars on his ceiling. Maybe he should... no, there's no way he would want to talk to Mask. Especially at 22:10. Mask would just be a nuisance. Mask was always a nuisance.

"Where's the love when you were left all alone? So alone..."

The lyrics brought Mask to tears as he recalled picking himself up when his parents got divorced. He was only five years old, and he spent a good chunk of his life blaming his birth for the cause of it all. After all, his parents had never fought, at least, not in front of him. Maybe if he never lied to the divorce therapist, he'd be able to be happy like everyone else.

He shook his head.

Happiness was never an option for him.

Mask bit the inside of his cheek, tearing a small piece of flesh from it. A bad habit he has along with biting his lip, fingernails, and skin around his nails.

He stared at his phone as the familiar ding sounded again. He didn't get his hopes up, he knew it was Orca liking the video.

The cyan squid couldn't help but stare at the DMs on inkstagram. He was right there. Right under Orca's username.

Before Mask knew it, he sent a text.

CyanicalSquid:
You busy party squid?

The immediate response made his heart skip a beat. The feeling to get rid of Orca's notification gone, and the call drowned out.

It was just Mask, the music, and Aloha.

PartyKing:
Busy texting the most adorable squid ever~

"Tell her when it rains... I don't feel it. Tell her I'm to blame...didn't see it."

CyanicalSquid:
Don't joke like that, what are you actually doing?

"Winter snows don't hide my woes I can't lie to you."

'Fitting,' Mask thought as he called the pink inkling out on his bluff.

PartyKing:
But you are >:(
Whatever, I just finished a small painting of just... pink I guess.

Mask chuckled. He wanted to call the other cute, but that would be hypocritical and above all, he couldn't.

CyanicalSquid:
A canvas with only pink?
To be honest I wouldn't expect any less from you Aloha.

"Heading to a party, and the night air feels alive."

PartyKing:
What can I say? Pink looks good.
But it'll look even better with cyan~

Mask choked on his saliva. This flirt...

CyanicalSquid:
ALOHA

He could practically see the sly smirk on Aloha's face as the other typed.

"Hey guys I'm going to hop off right now."

Mask's ears perked up at the sound of Jersey's voice and he quickly left the call. Jersey sent him a goodnight message, but he delivered a half-assed one as he saw Aloha answer. She used to do the same to him when her and Full Moon where getting together in the old days when they were all gaming buddies instead of turf war teammates, so it was kinda payback.

PartyKing:
What~? I'm not wrong and you know it.
The colors work well together.

"It's summer time, singing al green in your car, heading to a party...and the night air feels alive."

Mask turned down the music as he tried to catch his breath. This squid was going to be the death of him. Out of all the squids, it had to be one who is all about having a good time, one who enjoys his life. Mask calmed himself and replied back.

CyanicalSquid:
Shut up 'loha

PartyKing:
Ok, ok, geez. Don't have to shorten my name on me.
Why'd ya text anyways? We don't really text at night.

Mask bit at his lip this time.

CyanicalSquid:
Just...wanted to talk to you

PartyKing:
Did something happen?

Another piece of tissue gone from his lip.

CyanicalSquid:
Well, not exactly. I just...ugh I can't believe I'm going to say this. I missed texting you today.

Might as well have told him you've liked him for two months and now since you started texting him about two weeks ago you can't go a day without texting him. Clingy ass-

PartyKing:
Oh? Have I finally broken the cold icy heart of Team Cyan's leader?

Mask rolled his eyes playfully at the text as he grabbed the pillow next to him and cuddled it. He totally wasn't pretending it the gal user. Totally not.

CyanicalSquid:
You wish.

PartyKing:
U know you care bout me.
But in all seriousness, what happened?

Mask played with the edge of his hoodie string. Should he tell the other?

Fuck it, if Aloha found him pathetic Aloha found him pathetic and that's that.

CyanicalSquid:
Just got...misgendered a bit in a Discord call and ignored a bit?
Probably my fault.
Should've got a gaming PC instead of blowing it on merchandise, I could've played with them.

Mask pulled the string.

PartyKing:
WHAT?!
Are you serious? Are you okay?
Dude it's not your fault at all!

Mask was too lazy to fix the now heavily unbalanced strings.

CyanicalSquid:
I'm fine now, I guess.
It probably was, I should've made an effort to talk. It was just... hard.

. . .

Aloha frowned at the text as he sat at his desk, holding a mini fan over the small canvas he had painted minutes prior to this conversation. He was angry at the fact someone had made Mask feel this way, but he was also being brought back to the fact Mask said he missed him.

Aloha's crush missed him.

The pink inkling didn't have a set time where he found out his feelings towards the cyan squid, but they were there and there was nothing he could do about it. Even if his heart strings were being slowly sawed away from being reminded Mask won't feel the same. He doesn't like squids who enjoy life, and Aloha was certainly one of those squids.

Nevertheless, Aloha still flirted, and it was always brushed off.

Aloha sighed as he continued to move the fan in a random pattern and began to type with his right hand.

PartyKing:
It's always hard to talk to people. Even I have trouble sometimes haha.

CyanicalSquid:
You? No, I doubt it.

Aloha chuckled.

PartyKing:
The rumors are true. In all seriousness, you never know how crazy people are these days, or just people who want to get in your pants.

CyanicalSquid:
Thought you liked that though.

Ouch. That hurt a bit.

PartyKing:
Still picky about who I take to bed, love.

Aloha almost dropped his phone. Did he just-?

CyanicalSquid:
Love...??

He did. Aloha set the fan down and brushed his front tentacle out of his face and behind his ear. Dear zapfish help him save this.

PartyKing:
Oops, that slipped out. I usually call Scuba love at time haha.

CyanicalSquid:
Oh...

Aloha face palmed.

PartyKing:
No no no, not like that. It's in a brother way? Or a family way, I don't know how to explain it.

Aloha felt invisible nervous sweat go down the side of his head.

CyanicalSquid:
Dude it's okay, if you want the relationship a secret I completely understand.

Aloha groaned. This is not how he wanted this conversation to go. He was supposed to be comforting Mask!

He took a breather. It was time, though it was a bit rushed...I'm sure it'll be fine.

PartyKing:
Mask- no- look
I don't like Scuba.
I like...you.

. . .

Mask rubbed his eyes for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the conversation. He was dreaming. He had to be.

PartyKing:
Mask- no- look
I don't like Scuba.
I like... you.

Nope, he wasn't dreaming because there those words stayed. This had to be some sort of lie.

CyanicalSquid:
No, you're lying.
No one could ever like me.

Mask wanted to rip the pillow, this joke wasn't funny.

He didn't get an answer for a bit, which further proved his point to himself. He was left on seen and he pushed his phone away from him, tears making their way from his eyes down his chin.

Ding.

Mask hesitantly looked at his phone.

PartyKing:
Mask, listen.
I know you don't like yourself, I know you aren't okay most of the time. I know you have flaws. I'm not asking for perfect, I'm asking for you. When you're having one of your periods of time where you're sad or feel invalid, I want to do more than offer a few words. I want to show that you mean something to mean and show that I care because I do Mask. I care a whole lot. I know this all probably not making sense, but I've never been good with explaining my feelings anyways. I just know that texting you, seeing you, and hearing you, is enough to get me through the day. So please believe me when I say... I really really like you Mask, cod I might even love you.

A smile broke a small stream of tears and so did a hoodie sleeve as it was used to gain better vision without the water clouding his eyes.

CyanicalSquid:
You know, it'd be really awkward if you just poured your emotions out to me and I just said I don't feel the same way.
I guess it's a good thing I do.

PartyKing:
It's not a good thing.
It's a great thing.

____
(A/N):
bleh emotions bad because I now might have a crush on a person- and ugh I hate crushes so much- love is shit kids-

I actually wrote this...two days ago and posted it to AO3-

Sorry if there are mistakes it was 01:22 AM and I was exhausted from being alive lol

Anyways, like always

Stay Fresh Off the Hook

Word Count on AO3: 2,041 words