Chapter Text
Summer absolutely loved her hearing aids. It helped her so much in her daily life and it allowed her to listen to music. She wouldn’t admit, but she heavily relies on them and doesn’t like having them off. Though because of this, they cause problems. If she wears them for too long, they cause her to get headaches and she’s reluctant to take them off. Other times they randomly die because she forgot to charge the batteries or bring fresh ones.
She also mainly wore them to hear people talk!
Summer loves to listen to people talk. It’s her chance to learn more about them and she just enjoys people's voices.
Callie was probably the easiest since she tends to ramble a lot. Marie was a bit more difficult since she wasn’t good at conversations even when talking with Summer. Bianca was a good in between because she liked to talk and liked to ask questions that Summer was happy to answer.
And then there were days where Summer just didn’t want to wear them at all. Those days, she’d wake up feeling instantly overwhelmed and tired. She would either stay in her room or if she was at work, use paper to communicate.
Unfortunately this was one of those days.
Summer didn’t have work, so she spent most of her time in her room. She hadn’t left once since early that morning, causing some concern.
She knocked on the door before realizing that doing that was useless. She carefully pushed the door open and poked her head in, finding Summer curled up in her newly acquired bed. She looked up from her phone and gave a small wave.
Marie returned the wave, fully stepping into the room. “You okay?” She signed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Summer shrugged, forcing herself to sit up.
Marie hummed, getting an idea. “Maybe we could go out? Get some sunshine? It’s nice out.”
Summer blinked at her, her ears drooping slightly. “Go out?”
Marie smiled and nodded. “Yeah! I could get Callie and we could all go out on a walk.”
Summer felt herself deflate slightly upon Callie being mentioned, but was comforted by the fact that it was Marie who invited her out. Marie wasn’t one to go outside just because.
She smiled slightly and gave a firm nod.
“Alright!” Marie purred, standing up. “Get dressed. We’ll meet you by the door.” She left the room, closing the door.
Summer hopped up from her bed, gaining fresh energy. She went to her dresser and pulled out an outfit. She settled on a borrowed shirt from Callie, shorts, leggings, and a thrifted jacket. She also put on Marie’s green hat.
After putting on her shoes, she headed to the front door where Callie and Marie were waiting.
“What are we going to do?” She asked, tilting her head.
Marie pulled on her mask and put on a hat she got from Callie. “I was thinking we should go to The Reef. Callie was interested in looking for new clothes.”
Summer nodded and grabbed her bag that was hanging beside the door. The three headed out.
…..
The Reef was luckily not far from their apartment, being only a few blocks from the Square.
“I don’t think I’ve actually explored this place. Only ever played turf war here.” Summer signed, looking around in wonder.
“It’s mainly clothing shops here. Though it does have a cafe that’s pretty good.” Marie explained.
“Can we stop by one of the shops first?” Callie asked, grabbing her cousin’s hand. “Just one shop, then we can go to the cafe!”
Marie hummed. “Ask Summer. I did this so she could get out.”
“Oh, right!” Callie turned to Summer. “One shop. Then cafe?”
Summer smiled and nodded, earning a cheer from Callie. “I will get you something!” She grabbed her hand and dragged her to one of her favorite shops with Marie following behind.
Callie dragged Summer around, showing her the clothing options. She did offer to get her something, but Summer didn’t seem to like any of the options there. She was ready to give up and go wait with Marie outside when a skirt caught her eye. She picked it up to get a better look. It was long and bright yellow with a flower pattern.
Summer purred, turning to Callie to show it to her.
“Oh, that’s so cute. You should try it on!” Callie led the way to the changing room, carrying a few of her own clothes. She got a room for Summer and waited outside for her.
Summer set her jacket aside and pulled on the skirt. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, liking the way it looked on her. She stepped out to show it off.
Callie clapped upon seeing her. “Amazing!”
Summer purred, feeling her cheeks warm up. “They are cute. But they don’t really match this shirt.”
Callie smiled. “I will find a shirt to match! Wait!” She hurried off before Summer could stop her. She decided not to fight it, knowing Callie wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Summer got out her phone and sent a text to Marie, telling her about the skirt she found and that Callie was searching for a shirt to match.
While waiting for Callie, Summer decided to stand with their stuff while playing on her phone. She stayed unaware of her surroundings and kept herself busy with her phone, not noticing the male inkling that stood in front of her. She didn’t hear him talking to her and she was too engrossed in her phone to notice. The games on there were always too good of a distraction to her.
Summer only looked up from her phone when he got closer, looking upset at her. He kept talking and she was unable to read his lips, surprised by his sudden appearance. She went to motion to her ears, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist, causing her to drop her phone. She froze and stared at him with wide eyes, unsure how to react.
The male inkling shouted something before suddenly being jerked away, letting go of Summer’s wrist. She saw Marie now gripping the guy’s arm with a not-so-happy look on her face.
Even with a mask on, Summer could tell Marie was pissed.
Marie shouted at the guy and shoved him away. Summer watched as he scurried out of the store with Marie watching to make sure he left. She looked up as she carefully approached her, gently grabbing her wrist to see if it was bruised. It was luckily only slightly blue, not enough to bruise.
Marie let out a relieved breath, the anger leaving her features. “Are you okay, Summer?”
Summer nodded, but her entire body was shaking slightly. She leaned her head on Marie’s chest to feel her heartbeat.
Callie ran over after hearing the shouting, carrying a dark brown sweater. “What’s going on?! Marie what happened?”
Marie sighed, gently petting Summer’s head. “Some guy was bothering her and grabbed her. All I saw was him grabbing her wrist and shouting if she was deaf or something.”
“What?! He really said that? What a jerk!”
“Yeah. I yelled at him that she is deaf and basically scared the shit out of him,” Marie pulled Summer closer, feeling her become more relaxed. “He ran out. I don’t think he’ll be back.”
Callie nodded a little and looked at Summer, feeling concerned for her friend. “Is Summer okay?”
“She just seems to be shaken up. She froze when the guy grabbed her.” Marie gently lifted Summer’s head, giving her a soft smile. Summer returned it before taking a step back. “Are you okay Summer? Do you want to leave?”
Summer hummed, looking down at her skirt and then to the sweater Callie was holding. “I wanna try the sweater Callie picked out for me. And she should try the clothes she picked out for herself.”
Marie smiled and nodded, repeating it to Callie. She happily handed the sweater to Summer and watched as she went back into the changing room to try it on.
Summer relaxed more as she spent time with the two Squid Sisters, happily trying on her new clothes and watching Callie do a little montage with the clothes she picked out. She felt good once they were done and the trio went to the cafe Marie mentioned earlier, each of them getting a drink and having conversations.
Marie stuck close to Summer, worried if she left her side, the guy might show up again. Though she knew Summer could handle herself, the guy scared her enough to make her freeze. She still cared and worried for her, no matter how much she tried not to. But how could she not,
Summer leaned on Marie’s and smiled up at her, her cheeks flushing blue.
When she was just so perfect in her eyes?