Chapter Text
“God, how did I not notice it before?”
“Please shut up…”
“God I think I can only see an indent,”
“YOU’RE NOT HELPING ME CALM DOWN!”
Mephone4 stood behind Kernel as he stared at the giant bruise on the back of his head, almost unable to take his eyes off of it. He really wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed it before, but now that he had noticed it, it was hard to forget about. Mephone4 glanced towards Test Tube as she hurried back with bandages and an ice pack.
“Mephone, quit gawking at the injury on the back of Kernel's head and hold the ice pack in place,” She said quickly, Mephone rushing over to do so. Kernel shivered slightly and hissed at the coldness, stiffening up slightly. Test Tube quickly but carefully wrapped the bandages around Kernel’s head, almost nearly covering the entire top of his head. “Hey um, you don’t mind if the bandages go over your right eye, right?”
Kernel waved his hand dismissively, rolling his eyes as he chuckled again, “Not like I’m using it anyways…” he responded, hugging himself and Test Tube nodded and continued back to her work with the bandages, securing them with a safety pin on the back of his head. Testube stood back and sighed, it wasn’t perfect, you could still see bits of the bruise sticking out from under the bandages, and thanks to the icepack, there was now a large lump on the back left side of his head.
“That… should be could for now…” Test Tube smiled nervously, glancing over at Mephone4, he seemed just as worried as her. “How long have you had this headache, Kernel?”
“The past few hours I guess? Ever sense I woke up, I’ve had a real bad headache.” Kernel rubbed his head, squeezing his one good eye shut as
“Was it worse when you first woke up?”
“Oh definitely, granted, everything was a bit blurry, but the pain was unimaginable,” Kernel laughed slightly, rubbing his arm as he tried to stand up, stumbling slightly as he tried to balance with the new weight on the back of his head, “It was like I was beaten over the head with a metal pipe… Which, would explain the bruise actually.”
“And the sudden loss of memory,” Mephone4 said, fiddling with his finger, letting out a heavy breath he didn’t know he was holding, “By the way, how much, do you remember? Like, from before you woke up today?” Mephone4 asked, Kernel turning towards his slowly, averting his gaze as he thought.
“I, remember, going to school and stuff, and… I think I own a company? It starts with an M, I think… Oh, and I lied about my name being Kernel, I actually don’t remember my name all too well, I just know it had a K sound in it! Oh, and-” Kernel continued to ramble on about small things he seemed to remember, nothing being considered important though, just, vague generalizations that anyone could assume about him.
“I’ve, never seen amnesia this intense…” Test Tube mutter, walking closer to Kernel, a small smile appearing on her face, “it’s almost fascinating!” Test Tube exclaimed, catching both Mephone4 and Kernel off guard. Kernel’s tinted a bright pink in response, putting his hands behind his back as he looked away nervously, trying to find his words.
“You’re fascinated by me? I mean, like, I mean your fascinated by, by what’s wrong with me-” Mephone4 couldn’t help but let out a wheeze as he watched Kernel struggle to communicate, the amnesiac completely unsure of how to respond to Test Tube. Test Tube walked away slightly to pick up the clipboard again, picking up her pen as well.
“Kernel, you mind if I run some more tests? Like, on your brain? I wanna see if we’ve discovered a new form of amnesia!” Test Tube said excitedly, the cob unable to think of a response before Mephone4 grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off towards the exit of the lab.
“I’m sorry Test Tube, but let’s wait until the giant wound on the back of his head heals first, or at least until his headache goes away completely.” Mephone4 said, quickly forcing Kernel’s glasses back onto his face, Test Tube pouting slightly, before sighing and nodding, crossing her arms.
“You’re right, well then, I guess I’ll see you both, tomorrow?” Test Tube waved them both goodbye as they left, Kernel waving back happily. Kernel wasn’t sure as to why Mephone4 was in such a hurry to leave, was it really so important? Maybe he wanted to finally talk about the dad thing? Kernel honestly didn’t know, but one thing’s for sure, he couldn’t stop thinking about what test Tube said to him, how she said his condition Fascinated her.
When they got back to ground level, Mephone4 let out a sigh and Looked at Kernel, who was still lost in thought as looked at the ground, completely zoned out for the time being. “So, now that we’ve gotten you bandaged up, let’s get you a place to sleep, I know someone who runs a hotel!” Mephone4 said, Kernel not responding as he continued thinking to himself, Mephone4 just shrugging and walking off, Kernel following closely behind.
“... Sh-she said I was fascinating…” Kernel let out a giggle as the most stupid smile appeared on his face, Mephone4 letting out an annoyed, almost disgusted groan.
“No, she was fascinated by your amnesia, not by you…” the phone replied, Kernel still smiling as he rubbed his cheek.
“My amnesia is a part of me, so ya know… it still counts. She still likes a part of me at least…” Kernel responded, only giggling more and Mephone4 scowled, trying to figure out why Kernel was acting so weird all of a sudden, stopping in place as he turned to look at Kernel. He would’ve been disgusted if he wasn’t still unsure.
“Do, do you have a crush on…” Kernel’s face immediately flushed at Mephone4’s words, waving his hands dismissively, more or less in panic as his eyes looked on Mephone4, once again struggling to find his words.
“Pfft, no no, I just, think she’s really nice, and cool… and smart… and pretty… and smart… and…” Kernel started giggling again as he covered his face, smiling happily at his own thoughts “She called me fascinating~…”. Mephone4 stared at the mess of a man in front of him, almost acting like a child with a crush over someone calling him fascinating, it was, awkward to say the least.
“Kernel I… Dude you literally just met her… Chill out…” Mephone4 said, placing his hands on Kernel’s shoulders to try and snap him out of it, Kernel looked at Mephone4, frowning slightly as he thought about it, now feeling more embarrassed than flustered. It’s not like he’d even have a chance with someone like Test Tube, she seemed too occupied with her own stuff, plus, Kernel barely knew anything about him. Regardless, whenever he thought about test Tube, his heart fluttered slightly, his cheeks tinting a slight pink.
They eventually made it to Hotel OJ, and luckily, Kernel was welcomed to stay there, despite some confusion from OJ as Mephone4 explained the situation. “Mhmm, so lemme get this straight, this guy tried to kill you, a lot, but now he’s not trying to kill you, but only cause he’s hit his head so hard he can’t remember his own name?” OJ repeated back to Mephone4, glancing over the Kernel, he was looking around the lobby of the hotel calmly. Mephone4 simply nodded, rubbing his face slightly as he glanced back at Kernel, looking back at OJ calmly.
“Yeah, He’s, fine I guess? He’s blind in his right eye, and has an icepack strapped to his head to help with his headache and bruising, but other than that, no real problems with him,” Oj nodded as he grabbed a room key, handing it to Mephone4.
“Well, I guess it could be worse, I’m sure he’ll get well acquainted with at least a few people,” Mephone4 smiled at Oj before walking over to Kernel, dragging him off to his room.
“So, just remember to follow the hotel rules, there's a good few other people here, so I’m sure you’ll make good acquaintance with some of them, Just um…” Mephone4 look at Kernel as they stood in front of his room door, handing him the key, “... try not to weird them out…” Kernel took the keys and nodded, smiling, opening his room door entering the room, looking back at Mephone4. “Well, goodnight, Kernel,” Mephone4 said, walking away as Kernel closed the door.
“Goodnight champ! See you tomorrow!” champ, chAMP, C H A M P?! Mephone4 nearly crashed when he heard Kernel call him that, still shocked that Kernel had the weird thought of being his father. Mephone4 truly hoped he wouldn’t have to see Kernel tomorrow, cause that’s a conversation he knew he couldn’t avoid forever, so he’d just avoid it for as long as he could.
Meanwhile, Kernel flopped onto his bed, another stupid smile creeping on his face as he let out more giggles. He knew it wasn’t important, and he knew he’d never have a chance with her, but he thought he should at least indulge in his crush when in private, at least then no one will have to see him act this weird in public, that is something no one wanted. “Hm… I should get some sleep, I’m clearly out of my mind if I’m acting like this, as an adult nonetheless” He took off his glasses and turned out the light, pulling the covers over him as he tried to get comfortable.
And let's just say getting comfortable is not easy when you have a giant icepack on the back of your head.