Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was lunch time, and Lightbulb was sitting with Fan and Test Tube, while Paintbrush was off making up a test, which caused them to take a lunch period later in the day. They were simultaneously eating in silence until Fan started complaining.

"Lightbulb, I really can't take this, it's so obvious you like Paintbrush, it hurts at this point." Fan stated, staring blankly at Lightbulb. She scoffed as she ate her lunch, the chatter of the students around them almost drowning out her thoughts.

"Not to them!" She complained, flinging a pea at Fan's forehead. He gasped, obviously offended, and flicked her forehead. They were even, at least for now.

"Fan, if you're so smart why don't you get them together? How about you devise a plan?" Test Tube challenged, not in a rude way. Lightbulb silently agreed with her statement, vigorously nodding her head. Fan rolled his eyes, and taking up this challenge, actually thought of one.

"Hey wait, I have an idea! You know how we have that sleepover in two days?" Fan sat up as he talked, and he put down his eating utensils.

"Yeah...?" Lightbulb said, both her and Test Tube nodding. Neither of them followed at that moment.

"Meet with Paintbrush after school, and tell them that you have a hang out planned later with your friends, and that you told your friends you have a date now and you're going to bring them with you, even though you don't. And then tell them you now need someone to fake date you! Obviously, ask them to be your fake date." Fan smirked, proud of himself. Lightbulb sat up, and smiled, making a pros and cons list up in their head. She found absolutely no cons, and gasped.

"It's perfect!" She said at the same time Test Tube said, "It's terrible." Lightbulb and Fan both scoffed at her, with Lightbulb going a little further, clutching her invisible pearls, leaning away from Test Tube. Test Tube pinched her nose bridge between her index and thumb, realizing she really didn't see any flaw with Fan's plan.

"There's marginal room for error there Fan, what if Paintbrush says no? What if they're really repulsed, what if they find this really weird and never want to talk to you again? And even if they do say yes, they're just going to be fake dating you, which might be worse than unrequited pining." Test Tube explained, ever the pessimist.

"Oh come on Testy! I've known Painty for years, I just know they'll be as down as the downwards dog!"

"Yeah, and all due respect Test Tube, but if we don't get the ball rolling between these two, I'll literally go insane. Lightbulb has been crushing on them for. Two. Whole. Years. I will actually combust if this goes on for another second." Fan explained, exasperated.

The table went silent for exactly a second before Lightbulb spoke again simply calling out Fan. "Welp, looks like you're a liar." She said, Test Tube giggled, as Fan sighed annoyed.

"Look, let's just get 'Operation get Paintbrush to realize they like Lightbulb' going so I don't have to combust!" He exclaimed, tired of his friends.

Test Tube finally seemed to agree, forgetting her entire spiel rather quickly, it's not like she had any other plan.

---

"Let me get this straight. You told your friends you had a date, and now they're expecting you to bring some mystery date to your hangout so they can meet this non-existent person?" They attempted to understand the situation Lightbulb had just gotten herself into. They leaned on the brick wall as Lightbulb herself held her own hands and stood there bashfully, rocking back and forth.

"Painty I was under extreme stress! What else should I have done?" She replied offhandedly, even though this was way more than she was playing it off to be.

They sighed, not unkindly. They'd been best friends for so long, there was nothing they didn't know about Lightbulb. There was nothing about Lightbulb they didn't admire. They were friends for life, and part of them already knew how most of this conversation would pan out.

"You, y'know, could've told the truth? Is it that hard to not- hey, why are you telling me this?" They paused. "...Lightbulb, please don't tell me you've thought up a plan that was solely dependent on me agreeing to your shenanigans." Her grin only grew wider, as she'd realized she'd been caught.

"You got me Painty, you know... you're quite smart, and have I ever told you how awesome you are..." She attempted to butter them up so they'd agree. It was creepy how wide she was grinning. Paintbrush was both amazed and horrified by this fact, wishing she would stop. Regardless they refused to get all tangled up in her nonsense again.

"No matter how hard you try to persuade me, I will refuse. I got something Fan will never have, a backbone."

Lightbulb paused all of her actions in order to figure out if this was in reference to the fact that Fan was a pushover, or if this was a smart person joke that she didn't get. Or, a better option! Fan was secretly a bug, and he really did have no backbone like a little insect.

"Does Fan secretly have a little eggs- eks- eggsohsk-!" She excitedly started. They stared at her confusedly.

"What." Paintbrush deadpanned.

"Like bugs! With their silly outside bones! The- the- eggsohskele-bits!" Lightbulb exclaimed much too quickly, like she had just had an epiphany.

"...An exoskeleton?" Paintbrush sighed, as their brow furrowed.

"YES! It's like they have eggs forever! So unfair, I want a little egg! I bet Fan or Test Tube would too..." She muttered, getting way off track.

"No, Lightbulb, no more distracting, why are you telling me about your fake, sad, dead, love life?"

"Well, Painty I have the pitch of a lifetime!" She said, back on track and just as excited as ever. (Maybe not as excited when she beat her record of eating as many cookies as she could in one sitting, and then immediately threw it all up. She then declared she would beat her record after that.)

"...Yes, as you've said-" They barely got out before Lightbulb continued.

"Have you ever been single?" She exclaimed as if she hasn't been friends with Paintbrush since middle school.

"Yes, Lightbulb, all of my life actually."

"Well then why don't you fake date me for this hangout?!" She proposed, back to swinging back and forth on her heels.

Quite frankly, Paintbrush was astounded. Did she not hear herself? They stared at her with a blank face, and then they sighed, yet again. Why couldn't she have asked literally anybody else.

"Lightbulb, no offense. But why would I ever date you?" She scoffed, as she looked at them offended.

"What do you mean?! I'm the whole package! I'm awesome, I can't do math, and I've been put in jail before! What's not to like?" They simply stared at her in annoyance.

"Those are three reasons why no one would ever find you attractive, or as good girlfriend material." They stated, mildly tired of Lightbulb's fuckery.

She scoffed once again, "Just so you know, someone left me a love letter in my locker just last week! And answer my question already!" Paintbrush was too hung up on her first statement. Who was asking Lightbulb out? They don't know why but their heart sank a bit. They felt a little disappointed, and frowned a bit.

"Oh, well..." They were losing her, they needed to act happy so she wouldn't catch onto their... weird feelings. "No, I won't 'date' you." They put quotation marks for the word.

She slumped a bit, her terrifyingly massive smile finally dampened. But they weren't happy with this. Why weren't they happy? They'd gotten what they wanted, their stupid brain just wouldn't process this right.

And right before their stupid brain could process anything more, they folded. "Fine, I'll be your fake date, but only for one night. That's it."

Her posture was regained, and she rushed to them.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you Painty! You don't know how much this means to me!" She hugged them, tightly, on her tiptoes because Paintbrush was just too tall for her to hug properly.

They don't know why, but they blush a little. Actually they do know why, it's because they're outside the back of their high school in spring, it's probably more than 80 degrees out, and Lightbulb is clinging onto them. It's far too hot outside for physical contact.

That's totally why their face feels all hot.

Totally.

--

"Bye mom, bye dad, I'm going to Lightbulb's house." They said, opening their front door. It had been two days since Lightbulb and them started fake dating, and still, every time they thought of Lightbulb, they blushed, and their stomach felt all mushy. 'This is gross, why am I fake dating her. I feel so embarrassed.' At least that's the closest thing they could pin the feeling to be.

They heard their mom very faintly okay their expedition, and they were off, walking to her house. Paintbrush was given no instructions as to where they were going or even what to wear. All Lightbulb told them was that this was "super important" and that they needed to go to Lightbulb's house by 3:30 today, lest they decide being killed in their sleep by Lightbulb was a good way to go out.

It was spring, yet it felt like mid-summer, because please explain to them why it was 85 degrees out in spring? They were wearing oversized gray jorts, a random band tee-shirt, a fucking massive belt, layered necklaces, and a couple rings. They aimed for casual, but wore one of their best outfits, just in case it wasn't a casual hang out with Lightbulb and her friends.

A couple uneventful minutes passed, and they knocked on Lightbulb's door. They really don't know why they did though, it's basically their second home, they're allowed in quite literally whenever. But for some reason now, it feels weird, like it's the first time they've ever been over. Like it's the first time they've ever talked.

They hear Lightbulb run to the door and skid to a stop, opening it. And there she was, Lightbulb, their best friend, the girl they'd taken care of for years. Their "girlfriend".

She was panting, and in her normal clothes, white shorts, a random yellow baggy crop top, mismatched socks, and her millions of bracelets.

"Hey Painty, why didn't you just come in? You always do that! I thought you were like, a policeman or something!" She asked, half of her hair in a loose ponytail, and the other in her hands as she was tying it up. And the thing is? Paintbrush really didn't know why. Why weren't they acting like usual? Why did her voice make their hands feel sweaty and weird? Why did her smile make them want to smile right back at her? It's not like they haven't talked before, it's quite the opposite! Why now? The only difference is that they were "dating", they don't see what the big deal is! It's not like it's for real! Not like they'd want it to be.

"Hello? Earth to Painty! Don't be going to Mars, we've got a date!" She said although, she never emphasized the fact that it was fake. Her hand was waving vigorously in front of their face, her other hand was tapping their shoulder. They were brought out of their trance, and they blushed more. They brought their hand to the back of their neck and apologized.

"Oh, sorry, I'm just not really in it today."

She scoffed, and rolled her eyes playfully. "Obviously! Anyways, They're picking us up in like twenty minutes."

"Hey, wait where are we even going? And who are we going with?" I'm so prepared. They thought, walking into her house, and closing the door behind them. It felt like they were somewhere they shouldn't be, rather than their best friend's house. They felt like they were overstepping. It's not like anything changed! Why are they so nervous?

"It's just Fan and Test Tube, it's not anyone you don't know! And we're going to an arcade! Then we're going to sleepover at Test Tube's place! Don't worry, I already packed your bag!" They processed all of this as they walked to Lightbulb's room, confused by the last part.

"Wait- what do you mean you packed-" Lightbulb swung open her door to reveal two tote bags on her pale yellow bed.

"Did you sneak into my house?" They asked, already knowing the answer.

She shrugged and put on a bashful unknowing look. "Your parents said that I could come in whenever, and gave me a spare key so I just assumed..." They sighed and face palmed, though not in annoyance, in another weird suppressed emotion they can't name. One they won't name.

"How many times have you even broken into my house then!" They walked over to her bed and flopped on, keeping their legs swinging off the bed. Lightbulb shrugged and walked over to her vanity, finishing her hair, she put on some make-up, Paintbrush thought she looked good without it, but they didn't dwell on that, they knew it made her feel more feminine, so they didn't judge. They just wished Lightbulb could see herself how they see her, perfect the way she is.

"I wouldn't call it breaking in..." She hummed, " It's simply me overstaying my welcome at odd hours of the night!"

"Hey wait! When did you even pack this! Do my parents know?" They asked, afraid for their privacy. They sat up in her bed, watching her apply her eyeliner in one fell swoop, with both looking basically the same. They watched in wonder, looking at her eyes, her hair, her lips. Why am I looking at her lips?

"Let's just say they're... oblivious." She smiled, spraying her face with... something, Paintbrush wasn't really the most knowledgeable when it comes to make-up. Her eyes flashed with many emotions, as she noticed Paintbrush staring at her, and they realized quickly after, averting their eyes. This quick action made them feel a lot less sure of themself, and they started rethinking every choice they made to get to this point.

",Oh." They let out, turning their head away. Lightbulb seemed to not notice this, or not care, and she continued humming a song as she put on earrings and a necklace.

A few fleeting awkward moments passed, and Paintbrush decided this was way too awkward to be a conversation between them. They were comfortable with Lightbulb, they never excelled at eye contact, but with Lightbulb it just came so naturally. They always found physical touch a little unnerving, but with her it just felt right. They were always a loner until Lightbulb came, and introduced them to all her friends. They'd never really thought about this, not until now.

"So... you got a love letter?" They finally said, their curiosity getting the best of them. Paintbrush doesn't miss how bitter asking this makes them feel. They try to push it down. They're even pretty sure their neutral demeanor contorted into a frown. Unlike Paintbrush, Lightbulb sits up at this and blushes a bit.

"Well, um- it was just... I didn't say yes, but it just makes me feel appreciated. I didn't know anyone really cared for me like that." At this they feel stupid, why do they care! Lightbulb can date whoever they want, but it doesn't help the fact they feel a little more relaxed. They feel... better(?) knowing she doesn't like whoever it was.

"Lightbulb, you know I care about you. Me, Fan and Test Tube all care for you, you know that... right?" They try to stop their last word from sounding so desperate, but they can't help but feel disregarded. They can't help but feel like she doesn't care about them. They look down, trying to push down their emotions. Trying to suppress them. (In doing so, they miss how Lightbulb smiles a little, puts her hands in her lap, and looks out hopefully.)

"Lightbulb, why are you making me write a fake love letter for you, is this black mail?" Fan asked, using a different handwriting from his own just in case it was.

"No Fan, Testy told me this master plan because she couldn't help me helplessly pining for Painty." She said, smiling at the thought of them.

"Which is..." Fan asked, looking up at the lovesick fool.

"She told me to say I got a love letter, to see how Painty reacts!" She exclaimed.

"How is this a master plan?"

"Ugh, you're like, book smart but you're just soooo everything else dumb! If they don't care, then they don't like me, if they're jealous or... I dunno, then maybe they like me?" 'Maybe I have a chance.' She thought. Fan heard it as a question and less so like a statement even though that's how Lightbulb meant it. Fan nodded and continued to write the letter, almost finished.

"Oh yeah I have to ask, are we following through with my super awesome hang out plan?" He asked kindheartedly, folding the note into thirds, putting Lightbulb's name in the center with a red heart around it.

"Yeah," Lightbulb smiled, looking off wistfully. This made Fan smile, as he pushed the note to Lightbulb, putting down his red pen.

"Why don't you just tell them you like them?"

"It's obvious they don't like me, but I just want to feel close to them."

"Okay Lightbulb, keep up with your silly plans. But one day you'll learn it's better to just rip off the band-aid." He told Lightbulb sagely.

"Hey guys! ...Oh god, whose dog died?" Fan said, immediately changing his tone as he saw Paintbrush looking away from Lightbulb, and Lightbulb, who was now looking at them.

"Fan, no one's dog died, because nobody in this house currently has a dog." Test Tube said, walking in after Fan, holding both of their bags. She put them right next to Paintbrush and Lightbulb's bags, sitting on the floor. "Also, when were you going to tell us that you were dating, you know, we're all one friend group, you should really keep us in the loop." She chided.

Fan sat right next to her, staring up at Lightbulb expectantly. Lightbulb walked over to Paintbrush, gently grabbing their hand. They stared up at her, grateful for her distracting them from spiraling.

"Don't be fooled Testy, we just started dating, you guys are the first people we've told, and rightfully so!" Lightbulb said cheerily, as if the tension in the room wasn't so thick it was palpable.

"Well it's nice we haven't fallen off of our spots as your 'best friends forever, like totally, I will not let you guys go, and if you ever stop talking to me I'll kill you' status." Test Tube smiled, reminding them of Lightbulb's 'official friendship title' for the entire group. They watched as Lightbulb perked up, excitedly gasping realizing Test Tube remembered.

"Tubular, I'm ecstatic you remember the b-f-f-l-t-i-w-n-l-y-g-g-a-i-y-e-s-t-t-m-i-k-y pact! You're a true blue friend!" She smiled, leaning onto Paintbrushes shoulder. Their face burned as they looked down at their lap.

"I'm not blue." She stated, as she stood up from her spot on Lightbulb's circular pink carpet to grab the four bags, the sound of glass resonating from one of them. They immediately knew what it was, and knowing Fan and Lightbulb, their accusations were correct.

"Lightbulb, we're all under aged, why?" They asked, almost tired and dizzy at the thought of getting drunk. They've only had a little alcohol before and that was at a party. They weren't blackout drunk that night, but the feeling of waking up the morning following wasn't exactly pleasant. She only cartoonishly shrugged, letting go of their hand to do so. They ignore how this makes them feel so empty, as she sat up, grabbing their wrist so they'd stand too. Fan was taking his and someone else's bag, and moving towards the door with Test Tube.

"It can't hurt, plus, good 'ole Tube-o's here to stop any of us before we get too rowdy. Also, her parents are both in a different city studying at a new lab for the weekend." As Paintbrush stood up, her hand moved from their wrist to their hand. Now physical contact wasn't unfamiliar to them by Lightbulb, but most of the time when Lightbulb was leading them somewhere, it's her holding their wrist. Her hand wasn't even that far from where it is normally, so why are they so dizzy and flustered by her actions? They pushed this down like most emotions they felt, and trailed behind Lightbulb, who was pulling them along to Test Tube's car.

They all got in with Test Tube driving, Fan in the passenger seat, situating the bags around him, and Lightbulb and Paintbrush in the back, sitting next to each other.

"Lightbulb, I know you never do it, and you're not slick, buckle up!" They complained, reaching over her to grab the seat belt. She froze up, her hands completely void of motion, as their own hands reached over her. She stuttered a bit, but ended up saying nothing, they really don't get why though, they were only helping her stay safe. They handed her the seat belt, and she fumbled to grab it, and once she did, they pulled out their phone, looking at the lock screen, which was a blurry picture Lightbulb took of herself with Paintbrush in the background trying to get their phone back, and set as their lock screen months ago. They were too fond of the moment to ever change it, and it quite frankly felt wrong having it as any other picture. They finally entered their password, and went over to their parent's contact in their messaging app, to tell them they were staying the night at Test Tube's. This was okay'd, and they shoved it back into their pockets. They snaked their hand into Lightbulb's, trying to be a good actor. (They won't admit they did this because their hand just felt so empty.)

Her hand felt tense, but as she grew used to it she relaxed, and intertwined their fingers around their own. They smiled a bit at the sentiment, even though deep down there was a nagging feeling, and a voice telling them this was all just fake.

"Are we all ready?" Test Tube asked, prepared as usual.

"Yeah!" Fan said, putting on music. Immediately Hamilton played, and Paintbrush smiled.

"Wow, I almost forgot how bad Fan's music taste is." They said, smirking. It wasn't bad music per se, they just liked making fun of Fan, I mean, who doesn't!

"Hey! I'll have you know Hamilton is nothing short of an awesome musical and Lin Manuel Miranda is a lyrical genius!" He defended, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well do you know who is short?" They said, staring at Fan. He scoffed, and rolled his eyes.

"I am not short!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes in disbelief. And as they went on bickering, they noticed that Lightbulb hadn't said anything ever since they'd gotten in the car.

They paused their nagging, and looked to Lightbulb, who kept her eyes on her lap, not far from where hers and their hands were interlinked. Her face was really red, and they really couldn't tell if it was too much blush or what. They lightly nudged her shoulder.

"Hey, do you want me to let go?" They asked, they didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. To this she looked up at them quickly, almost shocked they brought this up.

"No!" She said really loudly, (but really when was she not.) They thought, but not in a rude way. She then cleared her throat, realizing her mistake, her face somehow growing redder. They just looked at her fondly.

"Sorry, it's okay, I was just lost in thought!" She said halfheartedly. They felt only kind of reassured, and looked back to Fan, who was no longer bickering, and was chatting with Test Tube.

"So... whose bright idea was it for this hang out?" They asked conversationally, still worried Lightbulb really was uncomfortable. She didn't seem all too honest when they asked her initially, so they really just wanted to make her feel normal again.

"Oh! Yours truly! Tube over there was chatting about how her parents were going to be gone for a while, so I thought up a hang out idea no one could pass up!" She said cheerily, clearly distracted. They mentally patted themselves on the back, and smiled to themselves. They looked out the window, watching the buildings pass by, they could tell they were close to the arcade, if they were going to the same one they were thinking of.

"It really is a good idea." They complimented, looking back over to Lightbulb who was ducking away, hiding her face from them, Paintbrush really didn't know why though, they've stuck with Lightbulb ever since they first met, and they've been with her through all her good, bad, and ugly, although they never really saw Lightbulb as ugly. Not now, not then, not ever. She was always just perfectly her, and they were glad she had always stayed roughly the same.

Well, she had changed throughout her years, but she still stayed... they didn't know, Lightbulb was just always so uniquely her. They liked that about her.

–

Test Tube parked into the spot for the hundredth time, as Fan was sticking his head out the window, telling her that she was close to the line. He kept on doing this as Test Tube tried over and over to please him, after what seemed to be the millionth try, she finally spoke up.

"Fan." Her eyebrows furrowing as she looked over to him.

"Yeah?" He responded innocently.

"Shut up, you're not helping." She finally stopped the car, ending the parking torment for good. To this he scoffed, looking away and crossing his arms.

Lightbulb unbuckled, and basically leaped out of the car, or well attempted to. She was in the middle seat and it didn't quite work with Paintbrush in the way. She ended up stumbling, almost tripping, but ultimately ended up fine, due to her arm shooting out and grabbing the passenger seat's headrest.

"...You good?" They asked, helping her regain balance completely.

"Yeah, I don't really know what I was thinking." She smiled, finally climbing out of the car, and putting her hand on the back of her neck out of embarrassment. They had finally unbuckled their own seat belt, and considering Lightbulb's exit, got out quite gracefully. They dusted off their jorts, and looked up to see Lightbulb waiting for them with an outstretched hand. They gladly took it, and they both jogged over to Fan and Test Tube, who had gotten pretty far ahead. Were they really that slow? They questioned, as Test Tube pulled out her car key, locking the car behind them.

"-Going on tour, in this city! I can't believe it!" Fan rambled to Test Tube, who rolled her eyes, playfully.

"Yes, I know Spoiled Lemon is going on tour next month, Fan. You want to know why I know this? You've told me this at least 17 times this week, you jeebweezer!" She elbowed Fan in the ribs while saying this, with Fan visually stumbling to his side. To be honest, they would also hit Fan if they had to listen to him rant about the same trashy band 2763 times a day. Their heart goes out to Test Tube, it must be rough being his best friend or whatever they are, their relationship is too close to be just friends, and they have this weird family dynamic going on between them and this freshman named Bot. They have to be more than friends... right?

"Fan is just so forgetful, Testy! He barely remembers his own height and tries to call me short sometimes, it's funny, but it's getting lame!" Lightbulb said, for the first time in like, forever.

"Hey! Just so you know, I am currently keeping up with 6 different blogs while writing my own! My brain is busy!" He tried to deflect. It didn't work, it just showed his geeky side.

"A lot of people can do that Fan, your brain is just small." They insulted, Fan obviously done with them.

"You guys are mean! When I become rich and famous, I will not share the wealth!"

"Silly Fan, forgetting the difference between if and when! It must be his small brain kicking in!" Lightbulb said beside them. Test Tube snickered, and once again, Fan crossed his arms, muttering probably curse words at them all.

They entered the arcade behind Lightbulb, who was dragging them along to a game. They were all kind of regulars here, and already each had their own cards. They trailed behind her as her shoulder length blonde hair blew in the small breeze they both had garnered. All they could do was watch her as they were pulled around. They could only assume Test Tube and Fan were behind them, because they couldn't handle taking their eyes off of her pretty blonde hair.

She brought them to a stop at this shooter game they've never seen, they'd always skip these kinds of games. It was a two player game, and there were two right next to each other, perfect for the four of them.

"Can we please please please play this one Painty?!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down. They admired her for a second before they brought themselves to their senses. This is totally normal, she's a pretty person! How could they not!

"Uhh, I've never played it but sure." They sat in the oddly sticky seat (they didn't want to think about it), and started up the game after Lightbulb sat down too.

They grabbed the fake gun that was attached to the machine, ready to attempt to win. The game started as Lightbulb's screen flashed the same neon green color, and they were off! There were zombies coming at them from all sides, and they really tried their hardest to win, but they just weren't that good. They had lost two of their three lives, and they were basically on their deathbed. Sneaking a quick glance at Lightbulb's game they could tell they were really bad, with her at three hearts, and gaining a power up which allowed her to have four hearts. They sighed, looking back at their own game, shooting two zombies quickly. They got a boost letting them fire two shots at once for a certain amount of time, and they used the hell out of it. After maybe a minute? They got hit with a wave of zombies, and they couldn't handle it, dying almost immediately after. They had gotten a score of 7325 points, and they looked to their right, seeing Fan cheering on Test Tube because he had already died, with a grand total of 5790 points. Paintbrush snickered to themselves, it was nice knowing they weren't dead last.

Lightbulb was still going at it, with 8455 points, and still going strong. They turned to her, their body now fully facing her. She was really swift, knocking out about 3 at once. They admired her... skills, watching her play the game, silently cheering her on as not to distract her. After two more minutes, they heard Test Tube die in game, and they looked over to see she had 10,295 points. Fan patted her on the back and she smiled, they both rushed over to watch Lightbulb as she continued on in her journey. It wasn't too long before she died, but she did amass 10,955 points. Pleased with herself, she smiled as they all celebrated her victory. None of them got any place overall, but it was still fun. They had gotten their tickets for their amount of points, and they had gone off to different games. Fan and Test Tube stuck together and went off to wherever, and they had stayed with Lightbulb.

She had directed them to this neon racing game, and she sat down, patting the seat beside her. They complied, not really having any opinion on what games they liked and didn't like. They were just not as good at some games as they were others.

They had gotten third place, with Lightbulb in fifth, against a bunch of NPCs. The entire 'date' went smoothly, both of them having fun playing together, with Fan and test Tube occasionally joining them to watch them play games, or just play together.

–

At the end of the day, they all amassed a lot of tickets together. They went over to the prize booth, calculating what they could get. Ooh, they have my favorite candy. They thought. They were very tempted to get it when they heard Lightbulb whispering to them. At first they tried to ignore it, because they wanted to have an accurate number, but in the end, her whispers were getting so loud she was basically just talking to them.

"What!" They said to shush her, kind of fed up with her antics.

"I really want that! Doesn't it remind you of someone!?" She said excitedly. They followed her finger, their eyes eventually landing on a red crab stuffed animal that was in a showcase trapped with a bunch of others. Lightbulb was obviously thinking of Baxter, and they really couldn't say no to her. It was 2,500 tickets, and they looked at how many they had. They had 6,115. They really wanted to say no, just for the hell of it, but this was Lightbulb they were talking about! For some reason it was really hard for them to say no to her, so they eventually folded. I guess I don't get candy.

"Fine." They muttered, folding up their tickets nicely for the worker.

"OMGA, THANK YOU PAINTY! YOU'RE THE BEST!" She jumped up, hugged them, let go and started jumping around in a circle around them, a bag in her hands flapping up and down with her. Fan and Test Tube for some reason didn't question this, still counting their collective tickets.

"Hey wait, do you not have any tickets?" They asked, they very vividly remember Lightbulb jumping up and down and bragging about beating them a lot.

"...I may have already gotten something." She said cheekily, holding her own hands in front of herself, she held a bag limply, looking away to try to avoid their inevitable outburst. But they just weren't angry with Lightbulb recently. They just sighed, and to be honest, they already expected this.

"What did you even get?" They asked calmly, surprising themself.

"Oh! That's just for me to know and for you to find out!" She smiled a toothy grin. They couldn't do anything but smile back, and they walked up to the worker, handing her the tickets.

"One crab plush please." They said, looking over to see Lightbulb gravitate towards them. The lady put the tickets into the machine, and she grabbed the plush.

"Anything else for ya, darling? Ya got 3615 tickets left, we can put this on your card, or you can get something now." She said with a heavy southern twang, passing Paintbrush the plushie which she got from under the counter earlier. They technically could buy more, but they refused.

"Um, put it on the card please." They said, handing her the plastic arcade card. She went over to the machine that had previously ate Paintbrush's tickets, and she punched in some numbers, humming quietly. She quickly handed them their card, and told them to have a nice day. They thanked her, turning to face Lightbulb.

"Here." They stated, handing the little Baxter over to her. Her eyes lit up as she gazed into the embroidered eyes of the plush, she hugged it tight, and then went up to Paintbrush as she hugged them too, her arms around their neck.

"I love it." She said into their shirt. They blushed, grateful she couldn't see their face, as they awkwardly hugged her back, wrapping their arms around her. This hug lasted for a bit, and every second made their stomach flip more. Hugging her just felt right for some reason, and they really couldn't tell why. Their heart sank a little when it ended, but when they looked at Lightbulb, her face was red too. It's probably the bright neon LEDs. They thought to themselves. That's exactly what it was. It had to be.

Fan had bought a tacky blue bow tie with yellow polka dots. They really don't get why he picked it, but they really didn't want to think about it. Test Tube didn't buy anything, and just put all of her tickets on her card, as per usual.

"Test Tube, you never get anything! You're going to be ticket rich!" They said, smiling at her.

"I just don't find anything at the booth of worth." She said, shrugging.

"Why don't you get something for Fan or something?"

"Hm, maybe I will. Not today though, what did you buy?"

"Just a crab plush for Lightbulb, it reminded her of Baxter."

"Ah, I thought she was going to pick that." She smiled. Baxter was Lightbulb's old pet. It was originally a class pet for her class in the fourth grade, but she liked him too much, and thought it was a bright idea to keep him at her house when it was her time to take him home. She lied to her class about him dying in some weird freak accident.

"Yeah, I wasn't going to buy anything, but she asked, so I had to." At this statement, Test Tube smiled a weird knowing smile that they didn't want to question.

"Well Paintbrush, one day I hope you'll understand something Lightbulb, Fan, and I understand." She said sagely, walking towards the other two. They stayed back, watching her make her way over to them. What does she mean by that? It doesn't matter anyways, everything is fine. They reassured themselves. They walked over to them at long last, standing next to Lightbulb. How they always did. How they always would.

–

"Who wants to play a drinking game!?" Lightbulb exclaims, jumping out of her spot on the bed. They recoil as to not be hit by her outburst. Their eyes go to the door, which opened up revealing Fan, who had just ordered pizza.

"I mean, I'm down." Fan says, sitting criss-cross next to Test Tube. They move down to Test tube's carpet, weighing the pros and cons of Lightbulb's plan for the night.

Cons, they'd most definitely get drunk, they'd have to take care of a tipsy Lightbulb, they might blab to them about their most embarrassing moment, or like, be forced to spill a secret, there's also brain damage... Okay, then what are the pros? I'll be drunk. That could be a con, never mind. They would not be called "a party pooper" by Lightbulb. Awesome, that's inevitable anyways. Saying yes would stop a huge argument about a tie breaker... Test Tube will probably say no, but Lightbulb and Fan are already down, so if they say no, they will be a tie, and if they say yes, it'll just be a majority vote yes. Definitely more cons.

"I mean, as long as I can tell you guys when enough is enough, I'm totally okay with it." Test Tube said, completely subverting Paintbrush's expectations. Great, it doesn't even matter what I say.

"Sure..?" They finally say. Lightbulb once again stands up, walking over to her bag, pulling out a couple bottles.

"Sooooooooo.... truth or dare, or never have I ever?" Lightbulb questions, sitting down next to them.

"I don't care." Paintbrush admits, fixing their hair.

"Never have I ever, and if you've done it you drink!" Fan exclaims, perking up. Test Tube silently agrees while simultaneously leaning towards Fan.

"Alrighty! Age order! Oldest goes first!" She exclaims, looking towards Paintbrush. She wordlessly grabs their hand, sending shivers up and down their spine as they mentally panic.

"Uhhhh, I don't know, never have I ever lied to skip school?" They said lamely, they usually never partook in drinking games, or parties in general. They were probably the least experienced with games like these, and Fan and Test Tube were here for crying out loud!

"C'mon Painty, that's an easy one! get better questions! Also, you're supposed to say something you've never done, I know you skip!" Lightbulb complains, taking a hefty swig of her drink. Fan does as well, leaving Test Tube and Paintbrush with lidded drinks. (They assumed the asker wasn't supposed to drink.)

"Never have I ever, uhhh, I don't know, kissed someone?" Test Tube asks next. Watching Fan and Lightbulb drink.

"Wait Fan, who did you kiss!?" Lightbulb exclaims, as if she hadn't just drank.

"It wasn't on purpose! I just kissed a random girl on the cheek in middle school prom! I don't know how it happened okay? She forced me!" He defended, blushing from embarrassment. Or was he already drunk, Fan seems like the type of guy to get drunk really easily.

"Lame! It wasn't even on the lips!" Lightbulb pointed out, her energetic movements shocking Paintbrush.

"Test Tube never classified!" He declared, crossing his arms.

"It counts." Test Tube simply stated, looking over to Lightbulb.

"Anyways, Never have I ever, used a fake ID!" Lightbulb exclaimed, looking around. They felt kind of guilty, but still drank. In their defense, it was a dare, and they did end up getting a drink from a random liquor store. They didn't even drink it though! They just gave it to Knife for one of his parties. No one else drank.

"What! How come I didn't know! Hey wait, that was a throw away question anyways, I didn't think anyone would actually drink!" Lightbulb grumbled, furrowing her brow, and throwing out her arms.

"Hey! In my defense it was a dare and I didn't even drink the liquor, I gave it to Knife!" They said, their eyes darting around sheepishly. Fan shrugged, and Test Tube seemed unaffected.

"Never have I ever had a crush on my best friend." Fan said nonchalantly. Him, Test Tube, and Lightbulb, all drank in unison, leaving Paintbrush in confusion. (Lesson learnt, askers do drink.) First of all, Fan was apparently supposed to ask a question that didn't apply to himself, and who did Lightbulb like?! They know Fan and Test Tube have something going on, but Lightbulb?

"Who?" They asked, whipping their head to Lightbulb. They seriously do not know why this comes out so harshly, but it does, and they only kind of feel bad. "Was it Bottle?"

"Pfft, you think I'd like her of all people? She's my friend, but eugh, no." She smiled in a way Paintbrush had never seen her smile. It eluded them, and what confused them more was why did Fan and Test Tube know, while they were left in the dark about this? They truly wanted to let it go, but something deeper in them wanted her to spill the beans, and for the mystery to be solved, but for some reason she wouldn't budge on this one. Maybe they'd ask her when she was more drunk. Is that taking advantage of someone? Does it really matter though? They know like, everything about her.

Apparently not.

"Oh, yeah um okay. Never have I ever, played spin the bottle." They said, picking a random idea from their brain. No one drank, and the game went on.

---

"Painty!! I just wanna tell you you're pretty awe-some! Have I ever told you that?" Lightbulb exclaimed, hugging them from the side. Her breath reeked of alcohol, and her face was pretty flushed.

"My god Lightbulb, you've said that at least 4 times already tonight, how much did you have?" They said, wrestling Lightbulb off of them. They're mind was clouded enough, they didn't need the added stress of physical contact! But it always come so naturally with Lightbulb? Ugh, Why is this a problem now?!

"Fan? How much did she have?" Paintbrush asked, swatting the very clingy Lightbulb away from them. She stumbled back, shook her head back and forth in surprise, and then she "walked" (Fell is a better word) to Test Tube, hugging her instead.

"Dude, she literally just had her bottle and like the three drops left in mine. I think she just gets drunk easily." Fan shrugged, seemingly unaffected by the alcohol.

"Makes sense, she's already way too energetic alone, her with energy drinks is a nightmare, with alcohol, I should've seen it coming." They admitted. They kind of already foresaw this and accepted it, but still, they wished it wouldn't have played out tonight like this.

"Yeah, it's like she's always chaotic, it's not like expected her to mellow out or whatever." He said lamely, putting the bottles in a plastic bag, then placing them in Test Tube's trash can.

"No, that's drugs." They laughed, the drinks making them kind of dopey and giggly. Fan laughed in reply, and pulled out his phone, probably to update one of his blogs or whatever. They looked over to Test Tube and Lightbulb, and it seemed she would need some help with her in her drunken state. They decided to be a good "partner" and they walked over to the other two.

"No, Lightbulb you jeebweezer! You're saying it incorrectly, it's potassium!" Test Tube chided, flicking her lightly on the forehead.

"Who cares about potatosism! I'm in need of bananas Test-tacular!" She complained, with both of her eyes closed, fully trusting that Test Tube would hold all of her weight. Instantly they felt bad for leaving her with Lightbulb, especially now that she was intoxicated.

"You need help?" They asked, placing their hand on their hip.

"Yes please, she can't even say potassium!" She fussed, quickly brushing her bangs out of her eyes, immediately putting it back onto Lightbulb's shoulder so she wouldn't fall.

"Hey! Lightbulb, go text... uhhhh, Baseball, I'm sure he'd love to hear about your night!" They exclaimed, to motivate her. She immediately perked up, somehow holding her own weight, and she ran over to her phone, charging on Test Tube's bed. She slammed into the bed, causing a disarray to all of Test tube's pillows. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, she likes cleaning. They tried to reason with themselves.

"Y'know, you're really good at that." Test Tube simply stated out of the somewhat blue. They snapped out from their ...trance? No matter what it was, they stopped staring at Lightbulb, and looked to Test Tube.

"Eh, once you've been around her for a while you get to know her." They say offhandedly, not really thinking about it, not really thinking about them together.

"Yeah, but she's known other people for just as long as you have, maybe even longer, and none of them know her as well as you do. Is what I'm trying to say at least." She smiled at them gently. Now that they think about it, they did know her well. They may know her better than they know themself. They know her favorite colors, songs, hobbies, her pet peeves, her worst subject, her worst enemies, it was shocking the inordinate amount of space she inhabited in their brain. They knew all of this. They know all of it. All except one thing.

"Hey, Test Tube, what best friend did she used to have a crush on?" They asked, biting the bullet. (ouch painty)

"Aww, someone's jealous, it's nice to know your relationship is stable. But unfortunately, I have sworn to secrecy, it is the only thing Lightbulb has ever told me explicitly to never tell a soul. Although you are dating, I refuse to tell you." God, not even a tipsy Test Tube would budge? They were never going to get to the bottom of this.

–

Everyone was simultaneously brushing their teeth in Test Tube's obnoxiously massive bathroom, with Lightbulb having some... issues. Getting Lightbulb to get ready for the night is tough, and doing it while she's drunk is an entirely different story.

"Why do w-e need to bruss our teeth?" She whined, spraying toothpaste on Test Tube's mirror. She spat it out into the sink, ignoring the fact she only brushed for around thirty seconds, took a sip of water, gargled it, and ran to the guest room. They simply rolled their eyes, rinsing her toothbrush and putting it away in the designated cup. They continued their brushing.

After a few minutes, they were all done with dental hygiene, and Paintbrush went to where Lightbulb was sleeping. Instead of finding her in her bed, she was on the balcony, sitting on one of the two chairs there.

Huh, she must've not been able to sleep. They walked over to the glass slider door, and opened it, embracing the warm night breeze.

"Can't sleep?" They asked, short and sweet.

"I just have a lot on my mind."

"So this is your getaway?"

"I guess so." She seemed to have sobered up since the last they've seen her, and they were suddenly less worried about her being on the second floor balcony with only her tipsy friend to try and stop her lest she fall off, somehow slipping through the rail enclosing them.

"I also have a lot on my mind." Who did you like?

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Don't play coy. Don't mess with me when my mind isn't stable. I may or may not end up bawling my eyes out. I don't want you seeing me weak. Even though you already have.

"Who did you used to have a crush on, or do you still like them? Why would you fake date me if you like someone else? Or, is this like a revenge scheme? Or do Fan and Test Tube really not know and I was lied to?" Finally having the chance to vent, they blurted out nearly an entire train if thought. Who are you kidding Paintbrush, you blew it. Years of friendship ruined. She's uncomfortable now.

Lightbulb paused, looking off into the distance, past the guard rail, past Test Tube's telescope and to the night sky beyond them. The view was almost cinematic if they were being honest with themselves.

"... It's you silly." She said softly after a moment, as if the words were fragile china that might shatter at any moment.

"...what?" And everything started crashing down on them. She liked them. Her scheme wasn't for revenge. It was for love, and god did Paintbrush not know what to do with this information. Sure, they were more comfortable with her than anybody else, sure they talked with her the most, sure the thought of her made them smile, sure having any physical contact with her was the best thing that's ever happened to her, and sure they've... Oh god. They did like her.

Not only did they like her, but they liked all of her crazy ideas, her escapades. They liked her personality, her face, her clothes, her eyes, her smile, her mannerisms, her exaggerated body language. They liked a lot about her. They loved her.

Now that they think about it, if this feeling is apparently love, they've had a crush on her for a while. A long while.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like me, but I just..." She trailed off, her gentle words flying away in the warm night's breeze. They looked at her, as she scrunched up in her chair, putting her face in her knees, and crying- Oh dear god, she was crying?

She really did like them. She liked them so much she'd cry over the thought of their rejection, and that hurt, god it hurt. She loved them. And they loved her back.
But of course she didn't know that.

"Oh, Lighty, please don't cry." They begged, their tipsy state stopping them from calling her her real name.

"Why not! It's over! You hate me, who wouldn't after telling you like that! I didn't mean to say it, I just- god there's no saving this." She cried. She reached out to hug Paintbrush, but she stopped herself right before they could move to her. She folded in on herself, snifffiling and gasping for air between muffled sobs.

Paintbrush didn't know what to do. They felt so awkward simply watching their best friend cry next to them. So they didn't. They stood up in a rush, moving to her seat. They knelt on the floor in front of her, and hugged her tightly.

She sucked in a breath quickly and sharply, looking up at her "partner". Her face was a mess and it hurt them deeply. Her eyes were watery, and her nose was running too. Her mascara was a mess, running down her flushed cheeks, and her lips (God, her lips.) were curled in a permanent frown. Some of her baby hairs were sticking to her face, with her perfectly applied eyeliner smudged and disconfigured.

She almost hid her face back behind her knees, but they didn't let her, placing their index finger under her chin, stopping her. Lightbulb, with no other options, was forced to look at them, but not wanting to, she fought back, like always, averting her eyes from their face.

"Lightbulb, who told you that?" They said meekly. They watched her sad expression shift to one of confusion.

"I like you too, hell, I love you too." They smiled, finally admitting it to her, and themselves. They felt a tear of their own roll down their own flushed cheeks.

She pauses, and for a moment she stops shaking, and she stops crying.

"...really?" Lightbulb whispers lamely. They smile at her, wiping her tears, trusting she won't hide her face behind her legs again.

In a flash, she does end up hiding her face, though not with her own body, but in the crook of their own neck, as she hugs them. Paintbrush freezes up, but Lightbulb warms them, and they slowly wrap their arms around her, happily.

"Painty I'm so happy I could just kiss you!" She exclaimed, not thinking.

"OMGA, can I kiss you?" She asks, grabbing them by their shoulders, her pretty blue eyes no longer sad.

"Uh- um," They started shocked, they didn't expect their night to pan out this way, and this shocked them. They felt their face get hotter, as they looked into Lightbulb's hopeful eyes. Her hopeful face.

"O-of course," They said finally. Shocking even themself.

"You sure? You don't look ready." She pointed out matter of factly.

"I-I am!" They lied. "Are you?"

"Painty I've liked your for like two years by now, goddamn I'm ready!" She smiled, still firmly gripping their shoulders.

"O-okay, wait that long?!" They exclaimed. That was almost half as long as they've been friends. Were they that oblivious?

"Painty, if you're not ready, you can just tell me, I can wait." She smiled, comforting them, but no! They made her wait two years, and they wouldn't let her wait another second. In a rush, they closed the short gap between them, catching her by surprise, but oh, they were the one who was surprised, because kissing her just felt so right.

Their heart beat loudly in their chest, and just the thought of actually kissing her caused a wave of conflicting relief and panic to sweep over them. Because who were they to be kissing Lightbulb? They were kissing the pretty, dazzling, chaotic, Lightbulb. While Paintbrush was just regular old Paintbrush, tired, annoyed, Paintbrush. It was really unfair, the comparison.

The kiss ended too soon, and all they wanted to do was crawl into Lightbulb's arms, and be able to stare at her forever.

They simply stared at Lightbulb for a long while, kind of fulfilling their wishes. Her face was one of excitement, and wonder. They could only imagine what their own looked like. Their eyes flickered down from her eyes to her lips, just for a second, but they didn't do it accidentally per se.

"...So," She finally said, whispering lowly. And as if all of their past actions hadn't occurred to them before, everything came crashing down on them all at the same moment, and they felt a million emotions, but none were regretful.

"God, I just did that." They sighed, face palming affectionately.

"Yes you did!" She exclaimed, grabbing their hand. They stood up, taking her with them. They opened the door, choosing to not acknowledge what just happened. She let go of their hand, and jumped into her bed. They chuckled to themselves, watching her get comfy.

"Well, good night." They smiled warmly, looking at her one last time before leaving to their own room.

"Wha- oh c'mon Painty, you really think I'm going to let you leave?" She chided, sitting up in the bed. They looked at her confusedly.

"What, am I being forced to sleep on the floor?" They joked, but Lightbulb didn't see it this way.

"No, dummy, sleep here!" She exclaimed, patting a spot in the bed beside her. They froze. We are kind of, together? This is normal. This is completely fine. But why are they still so shocked? And frozen? And flustered?

After a bit of them just staring at her, she patted the spot again, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

Come on Paintbrush. You like her, she likes you. Just do it. Slowly and definitely not surely, they made their way towards the bed. They were flustered, and embarrassed, and excited, and they were feeling too many new emotions at once. Lightbulb made them feel things they had never felt before, and it scared them. But as long as they were in this with Lightbulb, they're sure about everything. Everything but the two of them. Something about Lightbulb just made them want to be perfect. Not perfect for themselves, but for her. They felt like they needed to impress her, because obviously she deserves the world. Lightbulb is beautiful, and wonderful, and perfect, and seraphic, and they need to be perfect too. So she doesn't leave them. Obviously.

They shakily clambered into bed with her, their face probably beet red. Lightbulb on the other hand, was excitedly bouncing up and down. As soon as they got settled, Lightbulb wrapped her loving arms around their neck, obviously excited.

"Oh! I'm so excited I love sleep overs! And you! OMGA, Painty, it's my two favorite things combined!" The blushed, reveling in her compliment.

"You're my favorite too." They said weakly, still shocked from the entire night. At this, she gasped, as if it wasn't clear.

"Really?" She said shyly, retracting from the hug. Paintbrush yearned for contact.

"Of course, why wouldn't you be? You're the full package, you're awesome, you can't do math, and, you've been in jail, what's not to like?" They smiled, reusing her exact reasons. Those are just three reasons among many.

"Wha- hey! You said those were unlikable features!" She exclaimed, lightly smacking their face.

"Lightbulb, no part of you is unlikable." They smiled, wishing they had the confidence to kiss her again. They were slowly getting more comfortable with her. Well, that's wrong. They were always comfortable with her. They just needed to adjust to the new... title? Relationship? They didn't know. But whatever Lightbulb wanted. They wanted too.

For once, Lightbulb was silenced. She sat there, holding her own hands, bashfully looking away.

"...Really?" She said after a beat of silence.

"Always." They laid down from their position sat up in bed, attaching themself to her. With their arms around her midsection, and her face resting just inches away from theirs, they stared into her pretty blue eyes. Her face was pretty in the streams of moonlight from the night sky. Her lips pulled into a smile, and her hair a mess around her face, they pushed her bangs behind her ears, making sure it would stay. Lightbulb's tired eyes watching their every move.

"You know it's scary right?" She said suddenly, their hand falling from her face.

"Everything is scary." They replied, not knowing what she meant.

"No, you. You're perfect. You're smart, and quiet, and you have good manners, and you're pretty without even trying in a way that drives me mad. And me? I'm... I'm obnoxious, annoying, loud, and ugly. What do you see in me?" They didn't know she felt this way. They feel like they should though. They are who Lightbulb goes to for help. For advice. For care. For affirmations. For fun. But clearly she didn't see it that way.

"Lightbulb, don't say that. You're not ugly, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. You're beautiful, and kind, and caring, and sure, you can get loud at times but that's what makes you you. And I wouldn't trade that for the world." They comforted, hoping this would help her as much as she'd helped them over the years.

She said nothing in return, but cuddled closer to them, her arms around them as well. They enjoyed the moment, opening their eyes to see her one last time before the night's end.

"good night," They heard a sleepy voice mutter beside them.

"Good night." They repeated, sighing, closing their eyes. They fell into a deep sleep, cuddled with Lightbulb until the morning when they were to depart. They hated that fact.

–

They woke up with a light drumming in their head and someone in their arms. They could assume who it was before even opening their eyes, and they kept them closed a few moments longer, battling the sun's rays which fought off the sleepy in their eyes.

Surrendering to the morning light, they opened their eyes, admiring the girl they were holding. They then remembered they had things to do, and hold Lightbulb forever was unfortunately not one of them.

They let go of her, getting off the bed. They retucked her, so she wouldn't be cold, and they left, heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

After they finished, they went to the kitchen, looking for food. They were allured by the smell of food, tainted by a different clashing scent.

As they got closer they realized it was Fan and Test Tube. They were cooking breakfast, and using context clues it seemed like Fan was burning something.

"Fan, you jeebweezer, you cooked that bacon for too long!" Test Tube exclaimed, presumably lightly smacking him.

"It's not my fault! It's like it burns immediately after it touches the pan, I don't even get time to react!" He fussed.

"That's because you put the stove on high!" Paintbrush had finally gotten to the kitchen, revealing a... sight to say the least.

Test Tube was attempting to finish whisking pancake batter while she left Fan to cook bacon, but she wasn't able to since Fan was burning every single piece. There was a pile of burnt bacon on a plate next to Fan, as Test Tube lectured him about cooking safely or whatever.

"Test Tube, do you need help cooking, it's clearly not Fan's strong suit." They laughed a little, their head only hurting a little from last night's activities. She turned around at the sound of their voice, smiling at them.

"Good morning, that would be most delightful, yes." Her annoyed tone dissapaiting quickly.

"I'll just set up the table then." Fan sighed, defeated. He left the kitchen with a stack of plates and utensils.

"So, what am I doing?" They asked, assuming it was to finish off the uncooked bacon.

"Cook the rest of the bacon, please. I don't even know what to do with the burnt pieces though." She sighed, mildly perturbed by the food waste.

"Oh, I know, Lightbulb can eat it! She loves burnt bacon." They smiled, thinking of her.

"Golly, you sure do know a lot about her! Also speaking of, where is that girl?" She asked innocently, getting rid of any small chunks left in her pancake mix.

"She had a lot to drink last night, she's out cold. I'm gonna get her some water and headache medicine, she'll want that." They said without really thinking, their want to keep her safe and happy kicking in.

"Good thinking," Test Tube said, as they finished cooking the last slice of bacon. None of the ones they cooked were burnt. Ha, take that Fan!

They turned off the stovetop, walking over to her cabinet. Searching around ibuprofen or aspirin or something like that, they found a little jar of aspirin. Satisfied with their results, they attempted to open the lid, but they ultimately failed, leaving them helpless.

"...Test Tube?" They asked, slightly embarrassed they were struggling with the child lock, they turned around, hoping Fan couldn't hear their desperate cries. He most definitely could.

"Yes, Paintbrush?" She said, flipping a pancake, revealing a perfectly golden brown side.

"I regret to inform you I can't surpass a child lock." They said lamely, defeatedly handing the bottle to Test Tube.

"Ha! Loser! You're such a child!" Fan insulted from the dining room. They rolled their eyes as Test Tube effortlessly overcame the lock. They stared at the bottle only semi-in-awe.

"Hey, at least I'm not the size of one!" They shot back. They took the bottle, thanking Test Tube, while shaking out two little tablets. They twisted closed the bottle, placing it back on the shelf, and they retrieved a pink glass, filling it up with room temperature water for Lightbulb. They personally preferred ice water, but they didn't think it was the best idea for hungover sleepy Lightbulb. She'd probably choke on the ice.

They got a napkin, and placed the two tablets on it, setting it up on a chair. They put their phone down next to that seat. They liked sitting next to Lightbulb. Fan was already sitting down across from them, furiously typing on his phone, probably updating a blog.

"You know, it was very CHILD-like of you to say that to me. Very IMMATURE." Fan said, not looking up from his phone.

"It was very CHILDISH of you to pick an argument with me Fan, very unwise and JUVENILE of you." They fought back, checking the time. 12:04, Lightbulb should be up by now.

"I don't appreciate you Paintbrush." He said simply, furrowing his eyes at the digital keyboard.

"I don't appreciate your height. You look like an ADOLESCENT." They prodded once more before the friendly argument dissipated. It always did. Almost always.

"Breakfast is served! It would've been waffles, but Nickel has said my waffles are bad. Pancakes and bacon instead, no eggs courtesy of Fan. Also we have syrup!" Test Tube exclaimed, taking the seat next to Fan, leaving one seat empty.

"Hold on guys, I'm gonna get Lightbulb." They said, sitting up, and pushing in the chair. They walked off to where she was sleeping.

Lo and behold, Lightbulb was still there, not tucked in how they left her, because she moved a lot in her sleep. Also partially because she was already awake. She was in a bit of an unruly position that they would've laughed at if she didn't look so dazzling. Even with smudged eye makeup and hair strewn about her face she still looked darling. They couldn't understand it. It was rather unfair.

They moved to the bed, leaning over it instead of getting in, knowing Lightbulb and the promise of sleep would drag them into its clutches and never let go.

"Lightbulb, what're you doing? There's breakfast ready." They smiled, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked up at them.

"I'm trying to figure out if it was real." She said quite simply. They didn't get it.

"What?" They asked, sitting across from her.

"Last night. Do you really love me? Did you really kiss me? Or was that just wishful thinking, or a dream?" She asked, sighing.

"Of course it was real. I do love you. I always have, and I always will." They blushed a bit, recalling the kiss and all the moments that led up to it. And all the moments that unfurled after it. She blushed back at them, smiling at their kind words. They enjoyed her presence, and all that she brought.

"Prove it." She challenged, her demeanor suddenly going back to her normal devious smile.

"How?" They asked, lost in her train of thought. And her eyes. Her eyes had a sudden twinkle of mirth, and she mischievously smiled.

"Kiss me." She crossed her arms jokingly.

"Wha- I'm not just going to kiss you!" They deflected, crossing their arms as well.

"C'mon! I liked it too much for it to be an isolated incident!" She cried, suddenly grabbing both of their hands, single handedly driving them mad in the best way possible.

"Jeez, I guess we can," They replied offhandedly, hiding their excitement. She could get them to do anything at that point. That thought scared them.

She fist pumped, excited by her victory, and she leaned in. They did too, their face most likely red as a tomato. The kiss was just as good as the last, any physical contact with her driving them mad, to the point of insanity. They memorized every part of this moment, and hung it up right front center in their mind. They know there was no way they'd ever forget her. Or the feeling of being with her. It was too much. But they know they'd never get enough of her.

Star struck eyes gazed back at them, as they leaned back, carding through Lightbulb's hair. Her face was red as she looked away from them.

"Was that enough proof for you?" They asked, getting up out of bed.

"More than enough." She smiled, bounding out, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth. They waited outside of the door for her, relishing in every minute they'd shared together. It was like she was embedded in their brain, and there was no way she was ever leaving. Not even in death.

After a few minutes, she walked out, grabbing their hand. Hers was cold, presumably from the sink's water, and they really couldn't mind.

They were basically dragged to the dining room, and Fan and Test Tube had already started eating. They assumed they took too long ogling Lightbulb.

"My head hurtssssssss." She complained for far too long, as she sat in Paintbrush's chair.

"Excuse you, that's my chair! Get out!" They exclaimed upon arrival.

"Wh- Painty, it's just a chair, why are you making a huge deal out of it?!" She countered. They rolled their eyes as they tried to push her out of the chair. It did not work.

"Because, I literally put headache medicine on your plate, that's at your chair!" They informed her angrily, violently gesturing to her chair.

"Oh." She begrudgingly moved to the seat beside theirs, drinking out of the glass after placing the two tabs in her mouth.

"Wow, Lightbulb has zero survival skills." Fan pointed out, placing his fork down onto his plate.

"Whar?" Lightbulb said, trying not to spit out a mouthful of water.

"Do you trust Paintbrush won't poison you? If Paintbrush was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?" Fan joked. Lightbulb finally swallowed her mouthful, her mouth agape at either Fan, or the massive pile of burn bacon in front of her.

"I am immune to poison thankyouverymuch, and if Painty were jumping off a bridge, it would probably be because I forced them too!" She defended herself and Paintbrush. They silently poured syrup on their pancakes.

"Wh- why are you making Paintbrush jump off a bridge?!" Fan countered.

"Probably because Baxter fell and I can't swim! Someone has to get the poor guy!" Lightbulb yelled, Test Tube chuckled a little, while they tried to hide their fear. Nice to know she values Baxter more than themselves.

"I'm going to block out Lightbulb and everything she says regarding me for the next... ten minutes." They said, taking a bite of the pancakes. They were really good, and they dont understand why Nickel would say her waffles were bad. He was probably being hateful, or sarcastic.

"Good idea, Paintbrush!" Test Tube agreed going on her phone. They did the same.

A minute later of silence they get a notification from their message app.

Lightbulbbb
woukf u ingore me if i sayd i luv you???'

"Absolutely." They said, turning off their phone. Fan looked at them confusedly. Test Tube was too focused on some science article (presumably) to care. Lightbulb pouted, furiously typing on her screen.

Lightbulbbb
what the fkip
☹️

–

"Bye guys, I hope you enjoyed the sleepover! Let's do this again sometime, yeah?" Test Tube waved, as Lightbulb and Paintbrush stood out on her front porch.

"Of course!" They smile, gently waving. Lightbulb beside them vigorously waved to Test Tube, Fan still inside, yelling bye to them.

"See you at school!" Lightbulb smiled. Test Tube closed her door, leaving them being strewn along by Lightbulb, who was holding their hand. They liked the new change of pace.

They walked to Lightbulb's house, with both of their bags slung over their right shoulder.

"So uhh," She started, although trailing off, losing her train of thought. "Are we still fake dating?"

This question almost made them stop all of their movements. They liked being close to Lightbulb. They liked holding her hand, and cuddling with her, and doing all sorts of things with her while knowing they both had mutual feelings of love for each other. It was affirming, and they enjoyed the peace it brought them. But then again, they didn't want to be fake dating. They wanted to be with her for real.

"I'd rather not." They said, making up their mind. They didn't want to live a lie. They didn't want to be close to her only in public. They wanted so much more. Lightbulb's general swagger slowed down, and she lost the pep in her step. She clearly wasn't following their train of thought.

"No, Lightbulb not like that." They stopped, taking her with them. Under the morning sun, they grabbed both of her hands, gazing into her ever blue eyes.

"I mean that as in I don't want to fake date you. I want to be your partner for real." They said strongly.

"Well, only if you'll be my girlfriend." They tacked on lamely, looking down at their beat up converse.

They saw her own shoes step towards them as she pulled them into a tight hug.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend." She said from the crook of their neck. They sighed, relieved, hugging her back albeit looser.

She retracted from the hug, leaving the restless for more contact, as the sun shining down on her only accentuated her beauty. They gently kissed her cheek, quickly ducking away to hide their blush. Their brain attempted to hinder it, but it wouldn't work.

"So, uh. Let's get to my home before my mom starts calling me." She said, averting her eyes, stopping them from seeing her red face. They smiled to themselves, letting go of one of her hands, leading her home.

"Yeah." They agreed, adjusting the bags on their shoulder.

–

"Why did you bring four toothbrushes?" They asked, staring at Lightbulb with slight amusement, as they helped unpack what Lightbulb had put in her bag.

"What if we all forgot our toothbrushes?" She shrugged, putting away all the clothes that she had packed for herself.

"First of all, you packed both of our bags, and you put one in my bag, so you knew I would have one. Second of all, it was at Test Tube's house. Obviously her own toothbrush would be there!" They exclaimed, pulling out her make up bag.

"Well, maybe hers grew legs and walked away, and you, I dunno, ate yours!" She fought back, scoffing.

"What's stopping the four you packed from growing their own legs?" They criticized, throwing out their arms in confusion.

"They would never, my toothbrushes love me!" She said. They placed the make up bag on her vanity, reaching again into her bag. They pulled out a bag that looked vaguely familiar. They realized from the little symbol on the middle of the bag it was from the arcade.

"Oh, Lightbulb, you never told me what you spent your tickets on at the arcade." They pointed out, holding the small plastic bag. She stood up from her spot, making her way over to them.

"Oh, well I saw this, and I thought you might want it." She smiled bashfully, giving them the opening to open the bag.

Lo and behold, it was exactly what they refrained from buying, their favorite candy. They felt happy Lightbulb remembered it, and they also felt seen. They knew everything about Lightbulb, but the thought of her knowing everything about them kind of felt foreign to them. They smiled down at the candy, then hugged Lightbulb, who was taken by surprise but still accepted it, hugging them back.

"Thank you, I love it." They smiled, knowing they loved something else much more. "I love you." They said. And for some reason, saying it aloud made everything feel so real. But they could only hope she would say it back.

"...I love you too." She said, tightening her hold.

–

"Oh yeah, Painty, fake dating you? It was all a trick because I like you." She said seemingly out of the blue as they took a bite of their tomato cheese sandwich. At this statement Fan nearly spat out his sip of water, while Test Tube simply looked shocked.

"How could you say that so nonchalantly? That was our master plan! You betrayed the pact!" Fan exclaimed. They suppose this should be a surprise to them, but they stopped fake dating a couple days ago, and they kind of guessed as much.

"Paintbrush, Lightbulb is simply joking. Please refrain from listening to her." Test Tube tried to reason with them, as she tried to soften the blow.

"Okay, guys geez. First of all, I know. Second of all, if I didn't know any better I would be under the assumption that you guys thought we were dating for real. Third of all, you guys are really good liars. And actors. You guys should star in a show, like a reality show or a sitcom." They said, slightly shrugging. Both Fan and Test Tube sat there dumbfounded, trying to consume and compute all of the new information that they were both hit with like a truck.

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop. Turn. Explain." Fan said, a little frazzled and demanding.

"Yes, what he said." Test Tube said, still a little shell shocked.

"Um, after we brushed out teeth, I kinda confessed to Painty on your balcony in the guest room. And they were all like, 'I like you too', and then we kissed, and then we slept, and then we woke up, and then we kissed again. Blah, Blah, Blah, we walked home, we started dating, abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, everything is awesome!" Lightbulb exclaimed, giving them the cliff-notes version. Also known as the very paraphrased, edited, shortened, and more confusing version.

"Oh.' Test Tube staggered, processing all of the information Lightbulb had just spat out at her.

"Yeah." They confirmed.

"And you didn't tell us immediately? What about the 'best friends forever, like totally, I will not let you guys go, and if you ever stop talking to me I'll kill you' thing! You're supposed to tell us these important things right after they happen! Why did you tell us sooner?" Fan yelled a little concerned, the kids at the table behind giving Fan a dirty look.

"I seriously don't know why we didn't say anything." Paintbrush admitted. "Why didn't we tell them?" They asked Lightbulb, turning their head to face hers.

"Uh, I don't know. I guess I wanted to test Fan's theory?" She said, shrugging, confused herself.

"What theory?" Test Tube asked, taking the words right out of their own mouth.

"Don't you remember Test Tube? Fan said he would implode if I didn't confess to Painty anytime soon! I wanted to see if the little guy would combust!" She exclaimed, throwing out her arms, narrowly missing Paintbrush's face.

"Oh, fuck you." Fan simply said.

"Wow, Fan! You're a lab rat. Nice to know I'm not the only one putting your life in danger for the sake of science!" Test Tube openly admitted, not minding the massive crowd that is all of their grade in the lunchroom.

"My god, you guys are literally going to be the death of me." Fan said, face planting.

"Yup! That's how the saying goes!" Lightbulb happily exclaimed, grabbing Paintbrush's hand underneath the table. They intertwined their hands in hers, and turned to look at her for just a moment. In that one moment, they saw her wonderful face, and she was smiling. They smiled right back at her. How they always did and always would.

Til death do us part.

13261 words

Chapter Text

"Hey Paintbrush!" Lightbulb exclaimed, bounding towards them.

"Yo," They replied plainly, looking at their own phone rather than their best friend.

"So, I just wanna say that I did something really really really awesome and I need your full attention so I can feel validated!" Hmm, she's never like this unless something actually big happens. I'm curious anyways, I'd better listen. They put down their phone and looked up to her, resting their chin on their hand.

She started rummaging through her backpack, eventually pulling out a shiny note card. She proudly placed it on the table in front of them, and she ran around the side to sit next to them. They stared at it blankly, not really understanding what she wanted them to do with it.

'Happy seven year Aniversiry' It read. It was a white card with pink glitter all over the front side, with a little drawing of them, with paintbrush sitting down, and Lightbulb hopping around them. It made them smile.

"Flip it over silly!" She giggled, checking her wrist like she was wearing a watch. Her face faded into one of panic when she just saw her normal wrist, and she patted herself down until she realized her other time telling device was in her right pocket. She pulled it out, checking the time for real this time on her phone, and she sighed, obviously relieved. What's she all anxious about, does she have to be somewhere? They giggled to themselves, and turned over the pretty card.

'Omga, seven years!!1 thats almost half of fourteen!!! (one more year til that just u wait painty>:))))) woahhh

anywaysss HAPPY FRIEND-AVERSARY. IM SUPER HAPPY TO BE YOUR BEST FRIENDDDDDDDD!!1!1!!1!2!2!22211 THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE, IT TOTALLY TOPS THE LAST SIX FAVORITE MOMENTS OF MY LIFE!1 (EVERY OTHER FRIEND-AVERSARY WEVE HAD LEADING UP TO THIS)

THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIENDDDDD
:DDDDDD

YOUR BEST FRIEND, LIGHTBULB:)'

Yeah, she totally thought people putting ones instead of exclamation points was on purpose, because this is hand written letter. They thought to themselves, smiling fondly. None the less, this was a nice gesture that they kind of expected by now. Every single friend-aversary (Lightbulb called it that because she couldn't spell.) they had leading up 'til now, she'd come up with a reminder for them, so this wasn't really mind blowing, but still it was a nice reminder that told them she loved them. It's nice knowing she cares.

"Woah! Seven years already? That's wild." They smiled, looking up to her, leaning their head on her shoulder.

"Um, no! Mx. wise guy! Not yet!" She pushed their head off her shoulder playfully. They smiled, although confused.

"What? It's literally the same day you talked to me at the lunch room, what are you saying?" They stared at her, their eyebrows furrowing. She had a blank smile on her face, while she stared at them.

...

A few moments pass, and nothing has happened, and as soon as they think to bring it up Lightbulb's phone goes off, a loud bass booted version of her favorite song playing. She excitedly shut off the alarm, and jumped up, taking Paintbrush with her. What the hell is happenin- Oh. Goddammit this is the third time!

They shake Lightbulb off of them, and check their phone at the table. The little white numbers confirming their suspicions.

12:17 pm

Of course she'd done the same thing she'd done for the past three years, and of course they'd fallen for it again. It was like clock work, they should've expected it!

"HAPPY FRIEND-AVERSARY FOR REAL PAINTY!!! AREN'T YOU EXCITED!" She cheered, jumping up and down, with a wide smile on her face. They won't lie, it kind of made them smile too.

Her smiles were contagious.

Some things really do stay the same.

Paintbrush was sitting alone at the end of a lunch table. No one seemed to want to talk or even interact with him. He felt left out, it hurt him, but it wasn't like he himself was attempting to make friends. I guess that's what I get for not trying. He thought to himself.

It was about the first week of school, and every lunch he spent alone, he gazed at the analogue clock on the lunchroom wall like it was the moon itself. In reality, it wasn't gazing, it was simply boredom mixed with a distaste for the loud cafeteria.

-

"Um, hey! I saw you eating alone and I wanted to be friends?" A little boy with blonde hair suddenly said to them. He looked up, at the boy, looking away from the clock. It was lunch time and Paintbrush didn't have anyone to talk to, still even by the second week now, so he simply sat alone, eating a limp cheese sandwich, while staring at the clock, waiting for 12:35 so he could leave. He had nothing else to do, and classes were so boring without friends. This was worth a shot. It had to be.

"Oh, um sure? I'm Paintbrush." He said meekly. He worried the other boy would change his mind, so Paintbrush quickly sat up, fixing his drab posture.

"I'm Lightbulb, I'm just started at this school this year!" The boy smiled.

"Oh, really? I've been here since elementary school, sixth grade isn't really that different than I thought it would be." He laughed softly, and moved over so Lightbulb could sit. He did, and they faded into causal conversation.

"Wow, really? I was all over the place in elementary, my mum kept getting different jobs, but now I'm here! And I think I am for good, Mom seems to like it here." He smiled warmly. "I like it here best though, I like this town, I like the people."

Paintbrush could get used to a friend. He liked not being alone. He liked not dreading school. He liked not being last pick in class. He was already used to it. He was already comfortable with Lightbulb.

"I bet with all those different schools you forget pretty quick." Paintbrush said, attempting to give Lightbulb opening to lead the conversation. He wasn't used to friendly interactions lasting more than just a few words.

"I've never remembered that well! My mum said I got this from my dad! I've just always had a bad memory." He smiled, laughing a little. His eyes closed a little when he laughed, and the way his hand shot up to cover his mouth was very endearing. And contagious.

Paintbrush couldn't help but smile right back at him. He found a new friend, and this friend was very smiley.

---

Every year was different, heck every day was a surprise when they hung out with Lightbulb! In sixth grade they built their friendship, getting used to each other.

In seventh grade, they both started to find out more of themselves, and they used each other to learn and grow more. Paintbrush learned they were non binary, and Lightbulb figured out she was trans.

In eighth grade, Fan and Test Tube became their fast friends. They both transferred to the school that year, both from different states. Lightbulb recruited the two, and she introduced them to Paintbrush at lunch.

In ninth grade, they started talking less, due to having less classes together. Lightbulb went off to talk to Baseball, Nickel, Bottle, and Cheesy while they started talking to Marshmallow. Fan and Test Tube stayed together, meeting a seventh grader named 'Bow'.

In tenth grade the four them were reunited when they all had the same homeroom and lunch. Bow changed their name to Bot, and they changed their pronouns. They were all closer than ever, hanging out almost every night, like a ritual.

And now? Well, eleventh grade was now. They all hung out, with Bot now being in the same school as the four of them. Fan and Test Tube started dating, Lightbulb got crazier and more energetic, and they supposed they had stayed somewhat the same. And every day with Lightbulb reminded them of that one fateful day, September 14th, 2017, at 12:17 pm.

1374 words

Chapter Text

"The airplane is taking off in five minutes. We ask that you please fasten your seat belts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Thank you, happy flying." The flight attendant's cheery voice boomed over the speaker.

They looked down at their lap, where they were texting their long distance girlfriend Lightbulb. It was her birthday, and they had planned to fly over to see her. Finally, after three years.

--

"Test Tube, why are you fussing so much about my birthday party?" Lightbulb whined, exaggerating her bad posture to further extenuate her annoyance. It was 11 am, the party was at four, why is she getting ready so early?

"Well- I just wanted your twenty-first birthday to be special, it's a big day seeing as you live in America. You can legally drink now, although it's not as if you haven't been already." She said, tying another balloon to its post.

"Yeah, but it's not that special anyways, I planned to just video call Painty all day, now what?" She complained, crossing her arms. She didn't miss how Test Tube hesitated before grabbing another balloon.

"Oh, well sorry. I just want you to be happy with the people who are here with you now!" She smiled, leaning her head to her side, her long green hair falling with it.

"Okay, thank you." She smiled back, admittedly it was kind of her.

All of a sudden, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and saw a text from her partner, she excitedly threw herself on the couch ready to talk to them.

PAINTYYYY<333333333333
sorry lighty, can't text for a couple of hours, i have this massive college test i didn't study for at all:(
i hope you have a happy birthday, ill chat with you in a bit
i love you<3

Lightbulb
it's okey C:
i understand
pass that test !1!!1!
i love you moreeeeeeee<3

PAINTYYYY<333333333333
<3

She sighed, she wished she could've talked to them more, but she understands how much they allegedly need to pass this test for college. In just a few hours you can call. You can wait until then. She reassured herself. You got this.

--

It hurt them to lie to her like that, but it was for the greater good. Visiting her was supposed to be a surprise.

They sighed, shutting off their phone after putting it on airplane mode. They planned to sleep the entire flight to be well rested when they saw Lightbulb. They were visiting for a week, and they wanted to be ready.

They put on the headphones, and put on their favorite playlist, shimmying around in their seat, getting comfortable. They luckily had a window seat, and they leaned their head onto the glass, closing their eyes.

They let themselves drift off into sleep, one induced by Will Wood, and Paramore.

One odd sleep later they were idling around America in the check-out line. They pulled out their phone, sending a quick few texts to Test Tube, checking if their time management was correct.

Paintbrush
hey, how are we looking time wise

Test Tube
Assuming you've just landed, you're good. The party started an hour ago, and the drive here is about forty minutes. Fan and I will stall for time, come when she's just finished cutting the cake. I'll text you your cue. Or Fan, I might elect him to do so for me.

Paintbrush
awesome sauce
really nervousl ol

Test Tube
You'll do fine. You'd be surprised about how well I am at stalling. And lying, I'm good at lying too.

Paintbrush
lol sure tube
gonna text lighty
ttyl

Test Tube
I'll see you soon!

They changed the contact to Lightbulb's excited to talk to her after the flight.

Paintbrush
guess who's all studied up
they call me albert einstein

Lightyy :)
woah there partner
identity theft is no good

Paintbrush
awe come on, thats only frowned upon in some countries

Lightyy :)
canada and america both frown upon you
your a disgrabe

Paintbrush
yeowch
gotta warn ne nefore you decide to roast me

Lightyy :)
i only half meant it :')

Paintbrush
canada or america?

Lightty :)
...
its botg
i lied to preserve tour feejings

Paintbrush
awh man

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting in line and doing customary check outs, they were finally in their uber, driving to Lightbulb's house. Or, what they assumed Lightbulb's house was, because Test Tube just sent them a location, and they could only trust her. It's not like they could just ask Lightbulb what her exact address was without being inconspicuous.

Paintbrush
hey birthday girl
whatcha going

Lightyy :)
just partyinf
would be a lot better if you were here:C

Paintbrush
bummer
im always up in canada

Lightyy :)
yeah:(
why do i gotta be from southern americaaaaaajajwjndjdje

Paintbrush
thats what im sayin
oh
gotta go to
dinner time
roommates calling me
ttylll pretty girl
i love tou<3

Lightyy :)
byebyeeeeeee
uh
ttyl handsome... they?
i love tou roo<3

Paintbrush
...
thanks?

Lightyy :)
bacon bacon bacon

They giggled to themselves, buying themselves time. They were only ten minutes away from her house and they couldn't wait.

They had met online way back when three years ago, and started dating a year and a half ago. They confessed by accident of course, and they were a bumbling idiot about it, but somehow Lightbulb found it attractive, allegedly at least because here they are now, standing strong together.

They'd texted everyday. They'd call just as often. They'd fallen asleep together on call. They were in love. And nothing had changed. Being in a long distance relationship was hard. They missed her daily, and the only thing they had ever wished for was to feel her touch. To hold her hand. To hug her. To cuddle with her. To kiss her.

And it was finally happening.
In seven minutes.

And all of a sudden, everything took years to happen. Seconds passed like hours, and oh, don't even get them started on the minutes! But a few short millennia passed, and they were hiding, with their back against her porch, texting Test Tube.

Paintbrush
plesa tell me eberything is going good

Test Tube
Um, sorry Paintbrush. Fan accidentally told her you were outside.

Paintbrush
what.

Test Tube
He's super sorry, He told me to tell you that. I'm sorry too, I know how much you wanted this. We apologize sincerely.

Paintbrush
say sike right now.
are you kidding me?

Test Tube
Unfortunately, no. Lightbulb is coming outside right now.

And before they could hide, or even text Test Tube about how angered they were, the front door burst open.

As they heard it slam open, they felt their heart break into two, as their legs seemed like they fell out from underneath them. Their arms felt like jello, and they wanted to cry their heart out. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. They didn't plan for it to end like this. They didn't mean for this to happen. This couldn't be how they first met. All because of Fan.

They were disappointed, livid, and depressed all at the same time, it honestly confused them more than it overwhelmed them.

They squeezed their eyes shut to stop any tears from falling, while they balled their fists. They wanted to punch the wall. This wasn't how they wanted it! They couldn't allow it! They-
They just wanted space.

"Hey Paintbrush!" Two voices said at once. What? Lightbulb didn't sound like this, and she can't do mitosis (not yet), what is this? Despite their angry feelings, they bit the bullet and looked up.

This wasn't Lightbulb.

Wait,
This wasn't Lightbulb!

"Golly, sorry I lied to you, Fan just told me how funny it would be to prank you! I also need to prove you wrong, because I am a good liar!" They looked at Test Tube in shock. Oh, and Fan.

"Hey, Paintbrush! Oh, and before you yell at me, she has no idea, she's finding a knife to cut her cake, and she wouldn't dream of looking out the front door, I'm pretty sure she's arguing with the real Knife because she wants to use him as the cake knife." And all of a sudden it all made sense. Fan can keep a secret when he knows it's really important, Test Tube holds mini-grudges against people and loves proving them wrong, and Lightbulb would totally use Knife as a cake knife.

Before they could think, they stepped forward to the both of them, and hugged then loosely. Not only because they're both great friends, but also because they're sure they would have never been able to do this without them. Ever since they had had this idea, they texted Test Tube non-stop for planning help. Without her they would be stranded in a ditch somewhere. And without Fan, they'd probably be in Vegas winning millions, Paintbrush isn't really sure what he added to the team other than slight morale and useless facts about a band they didn't care about.

They seemed to both be collectively confused, but they accepted the hug, and without even realizing it they shed a tear. It was nice knowing they were close with their online friends. So close they could literally touch them.

A few nice moments later, they let go, wiping their damp eyes.

"You'd better hide Paintbrush, Knife can only deflect for so long. I'll text you when she's about to blow out her candles. We following through with the plan?" Fan said, opening the front door once again.

"Yeah, I'll be in the closet Test Tube told me about." They smiled, slowly gaining their wit again after a sappy moment.

"Well come on Paintbrush, we're both accepting of the fact you're gay, you don't need to go back in hiding!" Fan jokes, as they all walked in. Test Tube looked around the corner, seeing Lightbulb entertained and focused on...Base...ball? They think that's Baseball at least.

"Fuck you." They rolled their eyes, slipping off their shoes, behind a wall so their girlfriend wouldn't see them.

"Go, go quickly, that closet. Everyone at the party who is capable of keeping a secret knows you're here, they won't tattle!" Test Tube ushered Paintbrush towards a door, pointing to it to make it as clear as possible for their little brain. She took their luggage and stuffed it in a corner.

They passed by groups of people chatting, only a few noticing them. One of the few who did notice them stopped talking to whoever here had bright orange hair, and mimicked zipping his lips and throwing out the key. They smiled at the white haired boy, and he continued talking to the Orange guy.

They finally made it to the closet, shutting the door behind them, panting only a bit. Their hand traveled up the wall, flicking on the light switch when they felt it. It was a rather spacious closet with not too many things, but a few jackets Paintbrush recognized to be Lightbulb's from the many pictures she had sent them over text, or even when they would video call. It felt surreal being in her house, and seeing the jackets made it feel so mental. They were in Lightbulb Bright's house. They didn't think that would happen for a while. At least not until they were done with college. But here they were. They stepped towards the jackets, touching them to make sure that they were real. That this was real. The coats were real, and there, and they were surprisingly soft. They blushed a little, happy at the prospect.

Their phone buzzed in the pocket.

A single text from Fan.

Fannual (on hit list)
its go time

There was no time for them to let him know they acknowledged the text, but they knew he knew they were waiting for this text. And they know he knew that they knew he knew so they assumed this was fine.

As they opened the closet door, they heard a chorus of singing voices. It wasn't the best rendition of Happy Birthday they'd ever heard but it wasn't exactly the worst.

They snuck around the back of the group, and stood right behind Lightbulb. Everyone saw them, and some were better at hiding this than the others but that was alright, because Paintbrush knew that when Lightbulb smiles widely, her eyes close. They also know she's extremely happy when anyone is singing Happy Birthday, even if it isn't directed to her, because the thought of getting older eludes her. So they presumed she couldn't see Yang (They're pretty sure) excitedly pointing at them. Yin smacked his hand over Yang's mouth, and he lowered his pointed finger but he glared at his brother.

With everyone's eyes still on them, they waved quietly, as they finished the song. They decided not to join in, just in case Lightbulb heard them, and as she blew out her candles and made her wish, they remembered everything with her. And they remembered how close they were to her. And this made them immeasurably happy.

The candles went out and everyone cheered.
This is your chance Paintbrush, come on, you can do this! They looked at Fan and Test Tube, and Test Tube signaled for them to do something, but they were too nervous. Unfortunately Lightbulb saw that.

"Whatcha doing Tuber?" She asked innocently. Now or never.

They hesitated before doing so, but they did it finally. And it was better than they had ever expected or even dreamed of. They wrapped their arms around hers, which were just by her sides, they also placed their head on her shoulder, relishing in the moment. Memorizing her scent, her little gasp in shock, and just the way she felt right in their hold.

They could tell she was shocked in the moment, but when she saw them in her peripheral vision it was clear. First of all, her jaw dropped, and she turned around quickly. When she realized it really was them, she jumped up out of her chair, quickly wrapping her arms around their torso.

It was all they could've dreamed of, and more.

"Painty, is that really you?" They didn't miss how her voice got caught in her throat, and the way they could tell she was close to tears due to the tremor in her voice. Her voice sounded different from when they were on call. A good different. They kept their head in her shoulder so everyone wouldn't get the delight of seeing them cry, but oh they most definitely were.

"Yeah, it is." They smiled wider than they already were, and they stopped hugging her, grabbing her by the shoulders to just get a good look at her. By god was she prettier in real life. Their eyes watered up as they saw hers did too, and they wiped her tears away. This didn't do much for the onslaught of tears their face brought her.

"... I don't know what to say." She whispered. They gently held her face in their hands, to admire her. It was beautiful, and breathtaking, and they were starstruck, and speechless. Her seraphic smile warmed their heart, and they just couldn't take it anymore. They also broke down into tears. Happy tears.

After a bit of them just crying with everyone watching, the crowd had dispersed to give them privacy, and they had collected themselves enough to talk. Lightbulb had not.

"Y-you're here? Really? This isn't a dream?" She got through sobs. Fan had gotten them a tissue box from her table, and it seemed almost empty at this point, her trashcan looked full of used facial tissues.

"Really, Lightbulb. I'm here." They smiled, holding her fondly. She wouldn't stop crying, but they wanted her to stop. It's bad luck to cry on your birthday anyways.

They wiped her tears once again, and she actually held her composure for a bit longer.

She was shocked, but happy. Paintbrush couldn't say this enough, but it was perfect and everything they could've asked for, and quite possible more. They loved her, and she loved them. And after all those years, their wishes finally came true, everything they had ever dreamed of. And it was beautiful in so many ways. And Paintbrush loved her for so many reasons.

They wanted to run away and hide just so they could be alone while they obsess over this day forever, but they also wanted to take Lightbulb's hand and drag her a million places, and do all of the things they'd ever dreamed of doing with her for real now.

And just like magic, Lightbulb was done crying. They stared at her for just a moment, savoring the shocked look in her eyes. They smiled. She did too, wiping her own eyes.

--

The party was still going strong. They were wandering alone while Lightbulb was in the bathroom. They sat down on the couch next to the white haired boy that saw them earlier.

"Oh hey, you're Paintbrush right?" He asked, turning away from the orange haired guy.

"Yeah, who are you?" They asked, semi-lost. Lightbulb had probably already told them about him but she never gave them a face. That, or they were too distracted by her own face to pay attention.

"I'm Paper, and he's my boyfriend Orange Juice! Just call him OJ though." He smiled, as OJ adjusted himself on the couch to better look at Paintbrush.

"Oh, you're the two who've been dating for seven years already. Lightbulb told me." They recalled, still somewhat baffled by this fact.

"Yup, ever since we were fourteen!" OJ exclaimed enthusiastically.

"So you're the guy I saw earlier?" They asked Paper, turning their entire body to face them now.

"Yeah, Fan told all of us to 'Look out for a degenerate with brown hair and a shady look about them.'" He said, slightly chuckling, while pulling out his phone, unlocking it, and scrolling up to a text in a group chat.

"fan"
chat if theres a degenerate with brown hair and and shady look about 'em running through the house dw, thats lightbulb's pratner.

oj simpson
Okay I'll be on the look out for Lightbulb's pratner

"fan"
fuck you

girly doll obsessed freak
that's papers job
goddamnit, someone tell trophy to stop changing my name

oj simpson
Lol

They chuckled lightly at the texts, only slightly offended by Fan's comment.

"Wow, thanks for telling me. Gonna attack Fan later." They smiled. OJ chuckled at the memory of the earlier texts, covering his mouth a little.

"He also told us that if the degenerate's hair wasn't brown then to hit them a bunch with brooms like a rat." OJ pointed out, putting his hand back in Paper's.

"Nice to know a colorblind person didn't smack the shit outta me." They laughed, seeing Lightbulb frantically run out of the bathroom, presumably looking for them. She whipped her head around dramatically, scanning the area until her eyes landed on them. They held both of their hands up as if they'd been caught, and stood up, walking over to her.

"Nice talking to you two! I'll see you later!" They said over their shoulder.

"Nice seeing you too! Have fun with Lightbulb!" Paper said cheerily.

"Have fun with your pratner." OJ said jokingly, they heard OJ get lightly hit, quietly saying 'ow'.

"Hi Lightbulb!" They smiled, holding her hand. It was wet.

"Ew! Why don't you dry your hands after washing them?" They quickly withdrew their hand, wiping it on their shirt. She gasped, offended.

"Geez, sorry I wanted to see you! Be grateful I actually washed my hands!" She half-joked, wiping her hands halfheartedly on her shirt, immediately grabbing Paintbrush's hand again after. They like how nicely her hand fits in theirs. They would never forget the feeling. Nor the fact that her hands were still slightly damp.

--

A couple hours of last and it very well might have been the best day of their life. The party had a nice spread of food and drinks, there were movies playing, and some people were playing games. They had spent most of the time talking to people, trying to remember everyone's names and other important things, but no matter what they were doing they were always with Lightbulb. When they would get up to refill their drink she would get up too, when they went to the bathroom she would wait outside. It was heartwarming to see her dedication, kind of like of she was their bodyguard. They feel as though it's a little unnecessary, but deep down they know they would do this for her too. It's a mutual and unspoken responsibility they've both taken upon themselves to do, and they liked how they both had the same thought process.

"You know, you don't really have to come with me everywhere I go. I don't mind it really! But if you want to talk to someone else you totally can." They said, bringing it up to her attention. They don't want her to think just because they're here, it doesn't mean she has to spend all her time with them.

"What! No, I wanna be with you! Painty don't forget I was just gonna video call you all day if Test Tube didn't plan this entire party. Or if you didn't have to study for your stupid test." She said, with spiteful intonation at the reference of tests.

"I didn't have a test?" They said, scanning their brain for anytime they've mentioned a test to Lightbulb.

"Oh... wait that? Yeah, I didn't actually have a test." They said plainly, mildly amused Lightbulb didn't know they were lying.

"What! You lied to me! That is not okay, and I think we need to break up." She said jokingly. They hoped.

"No, I lied because I was flying here! It was good-naturedly!" They defended, only slightly raising their voice.

"Well, I didn't know I was dating a plant!" She snapped back, making them giggle. They found her sense of humor funny and honestly really attractive. It might be one of their favorite things about her.

"All these years you've known me and you didn't know I was a plant? It really shows how much you listen to me." They replied, crossing their arms, playing into the friendly banter. They turned their head away, trying to make it seem more convincing.

"I listen so much! I know more about you than you know about yourself! I'm in your brain, Painty!" She fired back.

"I'm a plant, I don't have a brain!" They said simply, not thinking about the opening they had just given her.

"That explains a lot about you." She said with a wide tooth grin, her eyes closing. Her smile only looked more radiant off of a computer screen, and it made them a lot more flustered than they thought it would. They decided to give this one to Lightbulb, surrendering to her antics.

"Okay, jeez I admit, I'm all out." They lie, they definitely have plenty more insults to throw at Lightbulb, but they hold back.

At this statement, she throws up both of her arms in excitement, cheering loudly. Nobody looks twice, already used to Lightbulb's shenanigans. They weren't exactly new to them, but they did assume they were so loud due to her microphone or something, lesson learnt, Lightbulb is extremely loud. As she cheered, excitedly jumping around and terribly dancing, all they could think to do was admire her. Looking at her fogged their mind, and everything they ever knew about themselves was replaced by an overwhelming joy and wanting to be with her at all times. It was a lovely feeling that they felt more often than not, and it makes them wonder how they ever did live without her in their life.

---

"Have a nice day everyone!" Lightbulb cheered, aggressively waving at the last few people to leave the party. Those two people just so happened to be Fan, Test Tube, and Bot. It actually wasn't shocking that they were the last to leave, seeing as they insisted on helping out clean. It was actually really helpful since Bot would use her 'super cool extendy limbs' to reach the high-up decorations. Paintbrush is sure they could reach these on their own, but it was nice to not do as much work, plus Bot seemed excited to, so they weren't going to take that away from her.

"Man, that was a lot of cleaning." Lightbulb said, flopping onto her couch. They sat down next to her, sighing.

"Yeah, glad Fan was there to do all of the short people jobs." They joked, turning to face her. She giggled, hiding her smile behind her hands.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Lightbulb asked, her voice suddenly small in her empty house.

"Of course! It'll be so much better without you lagging." They chuckled a bit, standing up, grabbing their phone, bottle of water, and Lightbulb.

"Shut up! My wi-fi was laggy that day!" She defended herself, running over to her pantry quickly. She pulled out a bag of gummy worms, a bag of chips, and a soda can.

"Do you want your favorite?" She asked, they didn't know what this entailed, so they had to ask.

"Favorite what?"

"Soda, duh. Do you want a cherry coke?" She reiterated, dropping her head back.

"Oh, yeah. Wait, how did you know that was my favorite?" Paintbrush questioned, not quite recalling ever telling her this little tidbit of information.

"Oh, you never did, but whenever we would video call you would either be drinking coffee, Monster, or Cherry coke. I don't have Monster because I drank it all, and I'm too lazy to make you a coffee." She explained, looking at them with a lopsided smile.

"Oh," They said lamely, taking in what she had just thrown at them. They didn't know she was that attentive. What else does she know that she's silently picked up on? They pondered, lost in thought. Maybe she did know them as well as they did her.

"Well, do you want it or not?" She asked once more.

"Oh, well if you're offering I wouldn't mind." They finally stated, walking over to her, pocketing their phone, grabbing the soda from her hands. They very easily decided they did not want Lightbulb dropping the soda, causing it to explode and make a sugary mess they'd have to clean while she profusely apologized.

She led them up the stairs to her bedroom, which looked exactly how it did on call. They don't know why but this shocked them. It was odd seeing everything they've seen on their computer and phone right in front of them, so real they could literally pick it up and touch it.

It had the same pale yellow walls, with her bed in the center, up against a wall with windows over the headboard. She had a nightstand on both sides of her bed, one more cluttered than the other with a lamp, a phone charger, random trinkets and medications, a remote, and a tissue box. The other table simply had a collection of candles, and a bottle of lotion. Her desk was against the same wall as the TV, although off-centered so it would be in the corner farthest from the door. It housed her computer, headphones, water bottle, notebooks, and such. Her walls were adorned with posters of her favorite bands and Spoiled Lemon. On her ceiling was a flag.

Lightbulb flopped onto her unmade bed, dropping the bagged food on it simultaneously. She grabbed the TV's remote on her nightstand, quickly turning it on, while tucking herself in. They chuckled to themselves, placing the soda on the nightstand, crawling into bed next to her.

They nervously shifted their weight to get under the blanket as well, taking off their hoodie leaving them in a black shirt. They threw it to the foot of her bed, moving closer to Lightbulb, as she scrolled through movies on the TV.

"Soooo, what do you want to watch?" She asked, putting down the remote, opening the bag of gummy worms.

"I don't really know. Do you want to watch something new, or..." They trailed off, feeling kind of awkward. This felt like visiting the house of someone you barely know to do a school project. Even though they know Lightbulb like the back of their own hand, it was hard adjusting to actually being with her.

"How about Showvember? The first time we watched it you had to leave halfway through and we never actually finished it." She smiled, fondly thinking about the memories.

"It is not my fault my roommate threw up, okay!" They slightly raised their voice, still in disbelief she thought they did that on purpose even though that made literally no sense.

"Well, maybe you gave them food poisoning for whatever reason, I don't know!" She fought back, slowly typing the show's title into the search bar.

"Why would I ever want to leave you?" They said, throwing out their arms dramatically.

"I dunno!" She said, finally playing the show. They playfully rolled their eyes at her as the show started, with Bill walking over to Map and Keypad.

The two fell into comfortable silence as they cuddled closer to her. She ended up with her head in their chest as they sat up against the headboard. Their stupid heart started beating faster, but it slowed down with time as they got used to it. They're sure she noticed this, but they didn't want to bring it up just in case she didn't actually know.

--

After the show, they just started talking. It felt nice being with her, getting to actually be next to her, and they don't think they'll ever get used to the feeling. They were talking to her about the randomest things, finding any excuse to drag out this conversation. They didn't want this night to have to end, even though they would just fall asleep in her arms.

A comfortable silence fell upon them, and neither of them made an effort to stop it. They were enjoying each other after hours of riveting storytelling and conversation. Paintbrush enjoyed the calm of just simply being with her. It felt as though she was always doing something, and having Lightbulb sit still in quietness was a commodity. They looked up to her ceiling, which in hindsight, would be a calming notion, but it was not as they forgot right above the head of her bed, was a lesbian flag with Eric Cartman in the middle of a heart.

Seemingly out of the blue, Lightbulb quietly whispers to them, saying, "You know, I'm not really supposed to tell you my wish when I blow out my birthday candles, but I guess I can because it already came true."

"Why? What was it?" They ask confusedly. They look over to Lightbulb who was laying off to their left. Her beautiful eyes staring off into the distance. They grabbed her hand under her duvet, causing her to turn her head to them.

"To see you." She whispered, smiling with her eyes.

5008 words

Chapter Text

tw: cheating, self harm, bullying, alcohol, very brief mention of suicide

"Hey, could I have a bottle of vodka, or like whatever you have that's strong?" A blonde girl asked Paintbrush, taking their attention away from the glasses in front of them that needed cleaning. She was wearing a nice big oversized long sleeved sweater and oversized jeans, a stark and drastic difference from what everyone else was wearing. It was a hot summer in South Carolina, they didn't understand her fashion choice, but they weren't going to judge.

"Um, you sure? That sounds like a lot." They asked unsure. Paintbrush didn't feel like giving someone way more than they should have, they hated when they'd have to tell Soap someone just left their bar stool for the bathroom, although it's not like she didn't love cleaning.

"Yeah, I've just been feeling a little down in the dumps, what with my boyfriend cheating on me." She sighed, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

"I get that. How about I give you a shot glass and if you want I can refill it whenever you want?" Paintbrush asked, suddenly feeling a wave of empathy for this girl. She looked beautiful and seemed kind, they don't quite understand why someone would want to break her heart.

But then again, they know nothing of this girl. All they know is what she looks like and how they enjoy talking to her. She seems very conversational. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Sure, you can just open a tab for me." She sighed, pulling out her phone, as if looking for a notification. She put it down on the counter quickly after checking it's screen.

"Under what name?" Paintbrush asked, pulling out a clean shot glass, "And does Ketel One work?"

"Lightbulb," She let out a weak smile, "And whatever you have, I don't want to be a bother." She chuckled under her breath weakly. They nodded to show they had heard her, and they walked over to where they stored the remaining vodka. They grabbed a bottle placing it in front of her, wiping up the condensation that had dripped off.

"Thanks," She looked up at them from where she was, just in time to see them pour her glass. She grabbed it just when they were done, held it up to them briefly as a cheers, and drank it all at once.

They were a little shocked, they didn't clock her to be fast drinker, but they didn't say anything, filling up her glass once again. She didn't immediately drink it, but she did eventually, unflinchingly so.

--

"Paintbrush?" She exclaimed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. She wasn't being disruptive, but it was amazing how many times she had done it. They looked up from their dingy work uniform to address her.

"Do you mind if I talk to you about everything? I lost both my boyfriend and best friend in the same day and I don't have really anyone anymore." She asked, looking almost unaffected by the alcohol.

"Sure, there's not many people at the bar seeing as that couple just left." They replied offhandedly. This'll make tonight move a lot quicker. They thought to themselves, feeling a pang of guilt for thinking of someone else's pain as a quick way to pass the time.

"So you know how I was cheated on, but I've been thinking about it for a while and I really can't tell what's what now." She started. They nodded in comprehension.

"Well it all started in like high school, Glasses, my ex, was like, the guy who defended me from all my bullies. My regular bullies were like this jock named Trophy, and these two girls Pepper and Salt. They'd like pick on me for all these little things like what I was wearing, my voice, my hair... It was an entire ordeal. Anyways, Glasses would always stick up for me, and the bullying died down, until it was like once a week. Me and glasses became quick friends, and it was a friend group between me, him, and my now ex best friend Lipstick." She sighed, "It was perfect. He was perfect." They hummed in understanding. They'd gone through false love before, they knew exactly how reminiscing felt. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand, reliving her past memories.

She continued, a small smile evident on her face, it worming it's way onto it despite the sad tale. "Lipstick was like your typical popular girl, and she definitely would have been one if not for the fact her family was really poor. She only had hand-me downs and everything, but I never saw a problem with it. For like months, it would be just us where he would be terribly flirting and I wouldn't notice because I was oblivious, and Lipstick would always be hyping up Glasses. And then one time we were hanging out, and he just kissed me, and I kissed back, and it ended in us making out and that was when we started dating. And at this point, Glasses just looked like a nerdy boy with black hair, an interest in space and NASA, and a bad fashion sense, but over time he just started looking better. Like when we graduated all his acne cleared up, he started dressing better, and he started having more friends. Lipstick never liked him or showed any feelings like that towards him ever since we met so I thought it was all okay. Like she was never into guys with black hair, she dated football players, not my boyfriend. But graduation when we were all at a party, she was acting all touchy with him. I didn't say anything because she was drunk and he wasn't reciprocating, so I acted like I didn't notice. I didn't want to notice." She sighed once again. They felt like this was when the story would start to turn sour.

"Me and Glasses went to the same college, SCTC, although I didn't really want to go. I wanted to go to the same college as my parents to save on a lot of money amongst other things, but he fooled me into going, so me and him shared a dorm. Every night it was the same thing, we'd get back from class at our own times, after lunch he'd say "I'm hanging out with the boys!" And he'd go off for about two or three hours, come back at dinner where I'd cook for both of us and then we'd return to his bedroom where we would make out. Some times we'd just cuddle, sometimes other things would happen, but it didn't matter because I was happy, and everything was fine! Lipstick didn't go to college because she went straight into working for her family's restaurant, which was finally getting them some money, so she wasn't so drab with old clothes, and poor." She said, taking a little sip of her remaining vodka. With nothing else left to do with her hands she awkwardly started twiddling her thumbs.

"Then, one day in April, I get a message from a friend who I only talked to a little, her name is Test Tube. Anyways, she sent me a picture of Glasses and Lipstick when I had just started cooking dinner. They were out in a fancy restaurant I had always wanted to go to, and she was waiting their table. She was texting me everything they were saying, and it was mushy shit I don't like, like 'I'll have the Santa Fe Chicken, and my girlfriend will have the spaghetti,' and 'I don't think we'll get to your house tonight, but I'm sure tomorrow we'll have some fun at yours.' Test Tube got a recording of them actually saying things and it just made me really doubt everything. In the video he said, "I found this restaurant from a friend, and I thought it would be a good place to celebrate our seven month anniversary. I got you this promise ring, it means we'll always be a perfect match, and no one will ever get in our way." And in the video you can see him put it on her left ring finger like a fucking wedding ring. And then they kissed. On the lips." Lightbulb's eyes started to water a little, but she roughly wiped her eyes with the end of her sleeve. She averted her eyes and looked to the floor. Paintbrush felt a burning sensation in their stomach, they hoped this was the worst part of the story. They didn't want to live on with the information that this sweet girl's life was ruined within a few nights.

She sniffed, trying to stop herself from crying. "At dinner that night he said he wasn't hungry, so I ate my share and put his in the fridge. When I went to his room that night I didn't want to kiss him, but I didn't want him to think something was off, so I kissed him, like always, and he just started touching me everywhere. It made me want to vomit. It's not as if I wasn't used to his touch, but being touched by him while he was sneaking off to be with my best friend made me sick. I couldn't sleep that night, so I snuck out of his bed and decided to look through his phone, but I didn't know the password. I tried random numbers, my birthday, my phone number, nothing worked. So I tried Lipstick's birthday. Surprise surprise, 8/19/04 worked. I really hit the jackpot when I started dating this guy!" She joked although no one was laughing. "I went through everything, his social medias, his contacts, his gallery, nothing. He didn't even follow Lipstick on anything, his gallery was pictures of his family and us, and the last text he had with her was just him asking what I wanted for my birthday. I was super confused, and I was really doubting my entire life at this point. I was like, 'You're making this out to be more than it is, you're fine, you're in a perfect relationship, Lipstick would never date him!' I was just gaslighting myself because I didn't want everything to be bad again. When I was bullied relentlessly by Trophy, Pepper, and Salt, I wasn't doing to good and I found unhealthy ways to cope. I didn't want to relapse all these years later so I just dropped it. I took too much melatonin, fell asleep next to him and missed my class the next day."

A new onslaught of tears fell from her eyes once again, and she didn't try to stop it. Paintbrush isn't sure there's anything absorbent enough to collect all that was falling from her eyes. The story made them sick to their stomach, so to stop from thinking about it, they grabbed a few napkins from below, placing them in front of Lightbulb. She looked up, smiled ever so slightly, and took one. Her eyes were drowning in their own tears, but other than that you wouldn't have been able to tell she was crying at that very moment. It looked more like she just finished crying. She probably had.

"When he left after lunch to go hang out with his friends, I decided to check his computer. I know it was for the best but some part of me really wishes I didn't. I knew his computer password because he told me it years ago and I guess he never changed it. Big mistake. I checked his everything, and I saw nothing, until I went to check his Gmail, and there it was. An entire conversation with her starting all the way back in the summer right after high school ended. And it was starred in his inbox. It made me sick. Every one had sexual intonation, flirting, and worst of all were the ones where they would insult me, calling me stupid, ignorant, dumb, slurs of every color, and they were just trash talking me. It was worse than what Trophy said. It was worse than Salt and Pepper. It was worse than what I could ever prepare myself for. And in that second, I just closed the laptop and cried. I cried until I couldn't, and when I stopped I just went to the bathroom and made like 14 year old me! I let my wrists cry like how they did all those years back, and I just stayed there. I used the old bread knife, and I kept myself locked in my bathroom." Paintbrush audibly sucked in a breath, and they couldn't tell if it was disrespectful or not. To be safe, the quietly apologized in such a low decibel they're not even sure they said it at all. They felt as if they were going to be sick, which perplexed them because they were never too shy to guts and gore.

"When he got home he called my name but I didn't reply. I couldn't, and I wouldn't have if I could anyways. My ears were filled with cotton, my mouth was bleed dry, the floor was redder than I'm sure his three incher could ever make her. My eyes were glossed over, and all I could think of was how I was so stupid to think my high school sweetheart would ever be mine forever. I felt like throwing up, and if I did that night I probably wouldn't be here. I would be drowned in my own fluids like a weak pathetic baby, who had just learned how harsh the real world was. Who had just learned how hard fate could hit you with it's cold unforgiving hand. It wrings you dry until everything is sucked out of you. Your hopes, your love, your dreams, your tears, your blood. Everything was gone. That night I declared I would be gone by sunrise, but something stopped me. Was it spite, was it an angel, was it God, was it my will to live? I don't know. And I still don't know whether or not I should thank that force and my lucky stars that I'm still alive, or if I should jump off a bridge and take it with me. But that night, he warmed up the leftovers from the deviled night before, ate them, didn't bother to call me, text me, nothing. He went to his room, and didn't bat an eye. Knowing he just got laid, I don't think he would have wanted me to be there at all anyways." She chuckled a little despite herself, tugging on her sweater's sleeves.

It all suddenly made sense why Lightbulb was wearing so much considering the setting. They felt guilt rack their mind as they remember questioning her outfit choice earlier, and they felt obliged to pray to God, although they're not religious at all.

"I was sat in the bathroom rotting in my own blood, sweat, and tears for literal hours. But I ended up cleaning myself up. I rinsed my arms, soaped them just to feel more pain, wrapped them up in bandages, put on a long sleeve jacket in 70 degree dorm, zipped it up all the way, scrubbed the floors as hard as I would have liked to scrub my skin off, and went to bed, taking more melatonin than the night before. I didn't go to class again. I told my professor I would need the next week off due to being sick, closed my laptop, turned off my phone, and I drove over to see Test Tube. I needed to talk to her. About everything." She paused, taking a deep breath for about ten seconds. They assumed she was counting backwards, and they didn't interrupt. It felt rude and they didn't want it to seem like they didn't care and was disregarding her feelings.

"She came over to my dorm while Glasses was at his class and she explained everything. She told me how she was all over him, and when Test Tube was walking by their table they would be talking about parties they were at recently and parties they would be going to. She asked me what I would do. I told her I would figure it out, thanked her, gave her a hug, and she left. The next day for lunch I made spaghetti. I actually made two bunches though, one for me and one for him. Mine was normal, but for his I put in five whole minced chilies in the sauce, added almost half the salt in it, and plated it all fancy like. I poured all of out milk, creamer, coffee, and other drinks down the drain, put all of the ice in our ice box in my water bottle, hid all of his and my toilet paper in spots he wouldn't find for a while, and I soaked and threw out all tissue boxes in the house. I packed up all of my essentials, and went to the front desk. I told them I wanted to leave the school. Of course they were all like, 'Oh, don't go, South Carolina Technical College has everything for you!', but I told them my situation and they let me go. I had a lot of paper work to do, but I told them I would do it soon. They said I could go back home now, but I'd have to come back soon at a scheduled time to finalize my decision. When I got back to my dorm, Glasses was already there and he was fuming. He asked me, 'Oh, what the fuck is wrong with you!' Or something like that, I don't know I'm paraphrasing. I try to block out that night. Anyways I told him that I knew he had been dating my best friend for seven months, and I also told him I was breaking up with him. He started manipulating me like crazy, you wouldn't even know! But I couldn't and wouldn't fall for it. I turned my back, grabbed my bags, threw his computer with all of his flirty Emails with Lipstick on the floor, hopefully breaking it, and I walked out. On the way out I saw his empty plate in the sink. Knowing he ate the meal gave me enough fuel to keep going. I told him, 'I hope that promise ring you gave to Lipstick does you guys a solid, because knowing you, you won't be able to keep your filthy cheating hands off another girl when you're with her!' And I walked off, calling an Uber to take me home. Revenge was sweet, but it still took a toll on me. A week later I was fully gone from SCTC, I had all of my stuff, I enrolled in where I originally wanted to go, and I now work at a cafe that's not too far from here. Everything was looking up, but seeing as I lost both of my closest friends, and had just relapsed, I still felt broken inside. That's why I'm here. I just need an escapism right now." Unpacking all that they had just heard, they had to sit in silence for a second.

"Oh, my god." Was all they could think to say because that was all they were thinking. Paintbrush couldn't imagine the immeasurable pain she was feeling, and they're not quite sure they want to. Lightbulb took one last swig of her drink, rendering it empty within a couple seconds.

"I'd like to think Glasses is happy with his decision to cheat on me. I think I am, but I don't know how to move on." Lightbulb admitted, hanging her head, still fidgeting with her sleeve.

"Well, I could help." They started lamely, "I know I won't get with your next partner."

Lightbulb looked up, seeing their kind smile and warm eyes, and covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle.

"I think I'll accept that kind offer, Paintbrush." The way she said their name felt kind of experimental on her lips, like she was trying it out for size. It felt different from when she'd been saying it over and over a few minutes earlier. They guess reliving all of her worst memories vicariously though her story sobered her up. They blush a little under the bar's low light, as the take her recently emptied cup from her end of the counter.

"Thank you milady, for that, I offer you, your drink on the house." They smile playfully. Paintbrush watches her as she moves along gently, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes.

"My, my, what a kind fellow you are. I must return the favor with my number." She offers primly.

"A note pad, and a pen for my prestigious ma'am," They say, grabbing a spare notebook for taking down orders. The booklet was unused, but this was important to them, so they gave it to her still, placing a pen ever so gently next to it. She scribbled down a few numbers, ripped it out the spiral notebook and folded it in quarters, holding it out in her hand. They graciously took it, putting it in their pants pocket, their hands grazing hers for just a quaint moment. They took back the note pad and pen, putting it back in it's rightful place, nodding at her.

"Thank you, I may see you soon." Lightbulb got up, picking up her purse and phone, curtsied, and walked off, leaving Paintbrush behind, simply wondering. Wondering how can she be so strong? How can she be betrayed by her two closest friends and not only pick herself up but also turn her life around? How can she just tell them all of that in one night and take off as if nothing happened? How can she keep moving on with life and not be so bitter and cruel? How does she still have faith in people after she'd be stabbed harder than Caesar?

All they know is they aren't as strong as her. And maybe sometimes that's okay.

3703 words

Chapter Text

Lightbulb doesn't think about the new student, well she doesn't want to. Sure, she's usually really outgoing. She's extroverted, loud, and basically knows everyone, so why doesn't she want to befriend them? There is no answer to that question as she spins her pencil around mindlessly, though that implies she has a mind and uses it most of the time- which she doesn't.

"-And he's the new student joining us for the rest of the year!" Her math teacher smiled. The student wore cropped blonde hair, silver jewlery to the max, and oversized band shirts.

Lightbulb didn't quite catch his- hers? The student looked quite andgergonous She couldn't tell solely on looks, but her teacher'd called him a boy, so she'd just roll with it. The boy opened his mouth to say something or correct the teacher it seemed, but he wasn't able to get a word in edgewise.

"Okay... Paintbrush, you can sit next to Fan, to his left." The teacher prompted Paintbrush, pointing to Fan. Fan was next to her, but Paintbrush would be sitting on the furthermost side from her. Dang, she was kind of interested now. Anything was better than Algebra.

"Oh yeah- and Fan, could you help him get prepared for class? By the way Paintbrush, you don't have to have all the notes, just get acclimatized." Lightbulb's teacher tacked on, walking over to grab a white board marker for the lesson.

"O-oh, I'm not a b-" The teacher cut him off before finishing, but he still did under his breath very quietly. "-Boy." He frowned to himself from what Lightbuld could see if she craned her neck just right to get a better view of him. Her? She didn't want to think about it for now. But if he wasn't a boy, what was s...he?

Algebra class flied quickly if you spent it drawing silly little doodles in the margins of your notes, Lightbulb learned that as she drew cookies, her friends, little animals, whatever she could think of. Cats, dogs, frogs, rabbits, anything really. The bell rung and she grabbed all of her scattered neon books, her general disinterest causing her to be the last to leave.

Well, almost the last to leave.

"Um, could you help me to my next class? I have Biology in F-283." Paintbrush asked her meekly. Surprised someone was going to her for advice, she was caught off guard until she remembered she knew nothing about this boy, meaning he knew nothing of her.

"Uh, sure? What was it? Paintbrush... No, that won't do, uhh..." She scanned him for any defining features, and then it hit her as she was looking back up to meet his eyes. It took way too long to see eye to eye with him.

"Tall Fella, let me guide ya!" She cheered excitedly, her energy picking up as her least favorite and coincidentally, first class ended.

"Oh- I, okay." He attempted, but couldn't quite get out as he was cut off by her skipping out of the classroom. He quickly followed suit as to not lose his only guidance. (He didn't want to talk to their previous teacher, she kept cutting them off!)

"So what was the class again?" She asked conversationally, her pace generally slowing.

"Biology, in uh room F-283." He said warily. He'd only half committed his schedule to his memory and he were genuinely unsure.

"Okie dokieeee, so you just turn thataway, pass a buncha doors until you see the one with a 283 on it! The numbers get bigger the further you go." She advised, skipping off, proud that she'd done good that day.

One question plagued Lightbulb's brain. What was Paintbrush? Like gender wise, seriously she couldn't tell. Maybe if she asked? But that was too boring! She wanted to do this herself so she could feel the pride of figuring it out.

Now where to start?
This was going to take a while.

At lunch Lightbulb looked around for somewhere to sit. Fan left early, and Test Tube was just plain gone. Boring!

She sat down at her normal table, usually full, but now it only sat her and her sad lunch.

"Hey, can I sit here?" A familiar voice asked, only kind of scaring Lightbulb.

"Oh, for sure!" She smiled, patting the spot next to her. She unzipped her unicorn lunchbox, pulling out a thermos of pizza bites.

"Oh, by the way, normally two other people sit here. You can stay! But just a head up!" She said, her voice friendly, and her mouth already stuffed.

"Oh, okay! That's fine with me. Who are they by the way?" Paintbrush asked, taking a bite of a baby carrot. He had braces on, and from a closer view she could see he had pretty brown eyes. She liked his eyes.

"Just my friends Fan and Test Tube, you've already seen Fan, but I dunno about Test Tube, she'd just plain not here. Anyways, don't tell them, but I think they both have a thing for each other." Lightbulb smiled deviously as she whispered the last part in his ear, despite the fact neither Fan nor Test Tube were there. In doing so, Lightbulb gained a chuckle from him, which made her smile in a more sincere way. His laugh was pretty in an odd way. She'd never thought she'd think laughs were pretty, y'know, because you can't see them, obviously. But somehow somewhere something in her just connected the two. Paintbrush's laugh equals pretty, like how grass in the summertime is green. It just felt like a basic fact of life. Of her life, at least.

"Really now?" He chuckled. Lightbulb could see now, his braces were a dark purple and black. Lightbulb liked the color combo, she thought it fit him.

"Dude, tell me they aren't basically married, they coded a little robot child together and they have this weird family dynamic going on, it's freaky." She smiled, her pizza bites already gone. She pulled out some chips from her bag, "slowly" eating them.

"Oh, and none of them suspect anything?" Paintbrush asks, continuing his lunch.

"Not. One. Bit. It's like they're both blind, I don't get it!" Lightbulb complained, throwing out her arms in frustration, not hitting Paintbrush by some miracle.

"Have your tried hinting to them?" He asked lamely, not knowing how to help with the seemingly hopeless task.

"Tall Fella, you don't even know. I have literally asked both separately 'What would you think if Fan/Test Tube liked you back?' And I kid you not, both of them said, 'what do you mean back?' Like this has to be delli-brite or like, planned!" She ranted, as the very thought of Fan and Test Tube's relationship gave her headache.

"Wait, they both said the same thing?" He asked, bemussed, not questioning Lightbulb's lack of correct pronunciation.

"Word for word." She deadpanned, her eyes narrowing in attempt to excentuize her point. Paintbrush surpressed a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand.

"They must hang out a lot..." He joked, fixing his hair a bit.

"Yeah, and speaking of, where did you live before now?" Lightbulb asked, Paintbrush ignoring the fact what that what he'd said didn't coorilate with what she just asked.

"Uh, in Canada, but I don't know French, I just apologize too much now." He smiled fondly. "We moved because my mom got a better job here."

"That's nice. I've always lived here." She kind of wished she lived anywhere else, like literally anywhere else, but she'd never been out of state.

"Oh really? The world must seem so small to you." He said conversationally.

"What?" Lightbulb asked, not understanding what he'd just said.

"O-oh I didn't mean to offend you, I just thought the world would be smaller to you because you don't travel...?" Paintbrush defended himself lamely, as she sat there still, dumbfounded.

"Why would me not traveling make the world small for me?" She questioned curiously.

"What? No, it's a saying. Like your world probably doesn't seem as big as someone who's been all over, y'know?" He explained weakly. Did Lightbulb really not know this saying or was she joking? He seriously couldn't tell.

"I-I don't get it."

"Just eat your lunch, Lightbulb."

"Okay!"

---

It had been four days since the two had met, and Lightbulb still didn't know what Paintbrush was. From what she saw, he seemed to get really keyed up when someone asked, and whenever someone called him a boy or a girl, it seems like he bit his tounge, and swallowed his pride. It seemed no one noticed. No one but her.

She truly didn't know what this meant and she was ready to give up completely. Truly she wanted to get to the bottom of it, but she was stumped. Her eyebrow furrowed as she threw her arms out in her bed fitfully. Her head hit her headpillow, and she kind of threw herself around loosely, not dissimilar to how her mind was trying to figure out Paintbrush's confusing everything.

She'd gotten into the most comfortable position in a while so she stayed still, her limbs stretched out like a starfish and her head looking straight up to her ceiling. It was a rather simple position and it was shocking how she hadn't thought of sleeping like this before. She was just to busy thinking of other things, she supposed.

She opened her eyes and from the daylight of the sun streaming into her room she saw her trans flag on the ceiling, hanging loud and proud for anyone to see. It reminded her about when she was still so confused, but looking back on it now it just seemed so silly. She felt so immature just a few years ago, and now look at her!

...Well, she's still confused, but it's not about herself, so she'd say it's an improvement! She's become less narcissistic. Heck yeah!

She still felt lost.

Lightbulb sighed, whipping the covers off of her stretched out body, jumping out if bed to her desk. She logged into her computer, going to youtube, and putting on a random video. It ended up being a video essay on a show she watched a couple years ago. Guess the algorithm was a little lost, but nonetheless she couldn't say anything because she too was lost in a maze of her own confusion.

The person in the video got to the part of the series where a new character was introduced. This character was non-binary, and they were kind if always Lightbulb's favorite. She liked their humor and their music taste. They also had this feeling about them that just made them seem so cool. Lightbulb didn't know how to describe the phenomenon, and so she just brushed it off.

---

"Hey Painty!" Lightbulb exclaimed, skipping to catch up to him.

"What's up Lightbulb?" He asked, his voice kind of lighter than usual. He seemed happier today. Lightbulb smiled at this.

"Wanna go to the park? I don't want to go home because then I'll have to do my homework." She muttered, her voice darkening.

"Psh, like you were going to do it regardless." He chuckled. "And yeah, sure. My mom doesn't care, she tracks my phone."

"Nice to know I shouldn't kidnap you when your phones on ya." She smiled, grabbing his wrist and pulling him across the empty road towards the park.

"Nice to know that was a possibility. I'll keep my phone sewn to my body if that's what keeping you at bay." He joked, jogging a little faster to keep up with Lightbulb.

"I always have scissors on me, thank you very much. You'll never escape me!" She cackled into the wind, running past trees, benches, off streetlights, and finally making it to the park that outlooked a man made pond.

"I never knew there was a park here," He admitted, taking in the sights. Lightbulb always thought it was kind of trashy, but to him it must be like seeing heaven.

"Yeah, ooh! I know a spot that over looks the pond, lets go!" She cheered, still holding his wrist, leading them to a hill that somewhat over looked the hills. Lightbulb placed her backpack down on the peak, looking at the waters somewhat below her. Paintbrush followed suit, but not before gawking at the admittedly mid sight. Lightbulb didn't think it was bad, but when you've lived in the same place for all your life, everything around you looses a bit of it's charm.

"My dad used to take me out here. Back when he was here. Uh, I kinda thought it would be a special place for me and him, but since he passed it doesn't seem as special. I don't think it's the same without him." Lightbulb sighed, looking past the pond to trees and a continuation of modern civilization byond the woods.

"I'm sorry for that." Paintbrush frowned marginally.

"It's okay, it was like four years ago. I've healed." She smiled gently, looking to her lap where she was holding her own hand.

"I lost my dad too," Paintbrush said meekly. "I didn't know him which is far less sad, but home life was very stressful nonetheless."

"That's still bad." Her demeanour dampening as she saw he was putting himself down to make her feel better. To feel more accomplished? To make her life seem more tragic?

"No, but he left when I was born. It's really nothing," He looked upset. Well, obviously!

"It's okay for you to feel sad. You didn't get to grow up with something a lot of people did. Fomo and all, y'know?" She snapped at him, pointing finger guns at him.

"Thanks for that Lightbulb, you're always here for me. Even though I've known you for like a week and a half." He smiled with closed eyes.

"You know what they say! Uh, nosotros... nosotras???" Lightbulb panicked as she didn't know Paintbrush's gender for sure.

"Nosotros..?" She said lamely, shrugging her shoulders in a cartoonish way. She watched as his face contorted into a misunderstood mess, frantic and still ignorant she scrambled to figure out what her next words would be. Suddenly she felt like she hit a jackpot.

"Wait, it's none isn't it!" She said excitedly. She felt like she'd just cracked an important case. They smiled, their body visually getting less tense at Lightbulb's words.

"You're the first person to figure that out on your own." They smiled, almost looking like they were going to cry.

"Well, you know, I am awesome like that." She laughed, breathing easily like she'd been holding her breath ever since she'd met them.

"I-I'm gald your my friend Lightbulb," They armitted graciously, her heart feeling like it was in the clouds.

"I'm glad I didn't cave and figured it out myself," She semi-joked, turning to see them.

God, them. It fit so well. How could she have been so blind?

Caught up in her own thoughts and revalations she didn't notice Paintbrush crying at first, but when she did she was quick to act.

"A-Are you okay?!" She rushed, quick to recover. Quick to think, quick to apologize. But never quick with her realization.

"Y-yeah, it's just- I hate being misgendered. How did you know?" Their eyes glistening. Lightbulb gently wrapped her arms around their shoulders to comfort them.

"Me too. And you're not exactly unresponsive to being misgendered. I noticed when I first saw you." She laughed a little, also somewhat feeling breezy and saddened.

"Oh." They muttered, deadpanning for a second. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do you mean?" Lightbulb returned, seriously stumped.

"When you said, 'me too'?"They elabortated, wiping their tears. Lightbulb wasn't hugging them at the moment, but she was still closer than she'd been ever before.

"Well, I wasn't always a girl," She said, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious. Their jaw agape, and their eyes widened, it looked like they'd been hit by a bus.

"I,- I didn't- ...You pass so well!" They exclaimed, happy for her. They wished they were adgerogenous, but Lightbulb noticed so that was a small win. Lightbulb pushed their shoulder lightly, as a joke.

That's all it took. Small wins. Small steps. Everything would be okay if they would just step back and let things happen naturally, on their own. They smiled, happy they'd found someone who'd felt what they're going through. They both knew and understood. Paintbrush knew Lightbulb and them would be great friends.

2780 words

if you saw me use enby pronouns before the last scene... no you didnt;)

Chapter Text

Paintbrush doesn't want to think about the crush they've garnered, but that's not an easy feat when that's all they can think about.

"Hello??? Earth to Paintbrush!" Fan exclaimed, annoyed. They rolled their eyes. They preferred thinking about Lightbulb over looking at Fan.

"What do you want." They deadpanned, resting their face on their palm.

"To be entertained! You're being boringggggggggg!" Fan complained childishly. It was no wonder why though, he was clearly the size and shape of one. Fan gasped, annoying as always, as Paintbrush slowly died inside.

"Well, sorry I'm not constantly moving. If you want that go talk to Lightbulb." They stated, blind to see the repercussions of their actions. Fan jumped on this opportunity, pushing aside his cold lunch.

"Why are ya thinking about Lightbulb?" He asked mischievously, grinning scarily.

"No reason." They quickly attempted to cover up their past mistakes, but they couldn't. They just couldn't think straight.

"Oh, come on! There's always a reason with you!" He threw his arms out, trying to get them to crack. Fortunately they weren't that weak.

"Come off it! It's nothing." They fumed, their bad temper getting the best of them. They didn't want to seem mean, but it was hard to with their anger issues.

"Oh, I'll come off it." Fan smirked disgustingly. Paintbrush sighed.

"I hate you."

"I hate me too!"

--

"You're telling me you wouldn't buy a $20 hot dog?" Lightbulb asked randomly on their walk home together.

"No, Lightbulb. Do you have any concept of money, or do you just refuse to see your card decline?" Lightbulb gasped, offended, Paintbrush wanted to laugh at this but they'd already laughed 5 times through the entire interaction and they didn't want Lightbulb to think they were weird.

"Well, someone's having a bad day, and it ain't me!" She exclaimed, looking away to seem angry. They knew her better than this. They really don't like how much they know her. It's scary.

"I'm not having a bad day, I'm just worried about you!" Their volume raising only a little.

"Oh, well, just so you know, the government sends all their greatest spies to keep me in line, I think you can take a chill pill!" She smiled sunnily, the same smile they fell for. The one they basically live for. They allowed themselves to smile a little. Just a little.

"Well, how do you know that they're here if they're the greatest spies?" They asked, no longer feeling any negative feelings at all.

"Well, obviously because I'm awesome." She simply stated, crossing her arms in pride, skipping along, no longer next to them.

"Obviously," They joked. Of course it wasn't a joke though, Paintbrush thought she was the prettiest, funniest, best, girl ever. She was understanding, silly, positive, and just everything they could ever want. Everything but theirs, of course. That was the one thing they could never have. They supposed it wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to them. They frowned a little.

"Is someone thinking deeply..?" Lightbulb nagged a little, her neck craning to the side to get a better view of them.

"No, just buzz off," They said annoyed, but still unable to keep their love and care for her from seeping into their voice. They couldn't seem to help it.

"Okay, okay I won't push it." She smiled, sounding kind of defeated, but respectful of their boundaries. They'd added that to the pile of all the reasons why she was their favorite. This reason was burried far beneath the rest. But something bothered them. They liked their privacy, but sometimes when they were with her they wished she would just annoy them. They wished she would just keep on asking questions, keep on firing back.

They knew that if she kept on asking, they'd keep on giving. And soon there would be no secrets between them. They kind of wanted her to know every little bit about them. Even if that meant she'd know how they feel about her truly. How much they simply wished for something as small as her touch on a daily baisis. They kind of wish Lightbulb knew they liked her. But they were far too nervous for that. They couldn't do that in fear of rejection. No matter how much they wanted to break though.

"I'm sorry." They said out if the blue. Realizing she probably had no idea what they were talking about, they elaborated. "If I'm rude." They said after a small moment.

"I never said you were." Lightbulb's words were small and quiet, but still meant so much to them. Gone with the wind, but not out of their mind. It seemed as if all their trains of thoughts had stopped at that very moment, and in an act of stupidity or bravery, they don't know. They hold her hand. They don't intertwine their fingers with hers no matter how much they wish to, but they just hold her hand gently within theirs.

Lightbulb's general gait got a little more clumsy and hesitating, but she played it off normally. She took their actions as a response to her statement and stated quiet. Or maybe their actions had made her feel weird. They loosened their grip in fear of rejection.

In return, Lightbulb noticed and tightened her grip for them. Reassured, they smiled lightly, looking away so she wouldn't see.

--

"AHHHH, WHAT DO I DO?" Lightbulb screamed into her pillow, alone in her room, the door closed and locked so no one would be able to get in and bother more than she'd already been. Well, she wasn't bothered in a bad way, but still, how could they drive her so mad?

"I love them so much," She muttered to herself, declaring what anyone could figure out within seconds of just watching her talk to Paintbrush. Well anyone but Paintbrush, god!

At this point she wished they would see she was so helplessly infatuated by them so it'd spare her of the butterflies that erupt from her stomach whenever she'd even hear something so much as related to them.

She'd blush at the mention if art class because they loved art. She'd blush at the mention of the number 6 because that was the grade when she met them. She'd blush at the mention of soda because they'd always insisted on it over water. She'd blush at the thought of bracelets because half of the gifts she'd ever made them were bracelets. She'd blush at the word 'jacket' because all the coats in her closet weren't even hers. They were Paintbrush's!

Goddammit, everyone knows but them, and it's driving her mad.

Frustrated and flustered, she pulled her hair til it hurt, but not to the point where it'd fall out. Lightbulb hated getting up in the morning, but more recently, she'd get up extra early to overthink her outfit and make-up so Paintbrush would see her effort and compliment her. She was addicted to their voice, and it was all the better when they were praising her. It was music to her ears.

Clenching her fist tight to release at least some of her annoyance, she was only reminded of just a few hours ago when Paintbrush freaking held her hand. God, it was so intimate, yet so friendly. She felt so stupid, and so in love, and so pained, and so just overwhelmed by the thought of them. She just wanted them. She wanted Paintbrush's touch, their voice, their presence.

Just everything they could ever offer her, she would take gladly.

Just a few months ago, Lightbulb wished to have someone to lay awake thinking about. She wished for someone who she could daydream about, someone who would make her trip over her own words. She wanted so badly to have someone who would drive her mad with love. Little did she know it would be her best friend. Little did she know the repercussions of her actions. Maybe she shouldn't have wished so, but she couldn't see herself without Paintbrush by her side, partner or not. But seriously, it was hard for her to just be friends with them. They were cool, and funny, and kind, and just so pretty. It was astounding how pretty they were all of the time, even when they'd just rolled out of bed, Lightbulb couldn't help but fall harder.

Distressed and pained she wanted to cry her little heart out, obsessed and half mad, all she craved was their touch. If only she wasn't so shy.

--

On her way out of her last period to the school doors to meet Paintbrush, she saw a certain someone. Paintbrush's old best friend, Match. Lightbulb rolled her eyes and attempted to speed past her, but no matter what she seemed trapped next to her and her best friend Pencil. They were both talking about whatever. Except it wasn't whatever, it was about Paintbrush.

"Yeah, and when I was still friends with them they liked Lightbulb. I don't know about now, but I'm kind of curious." Match said to Pencil deviously. Lightbulb's face flushed, and she wished to stay and eavesdrop, but their idle gossip felt like false hope. Paintbrush and Match were friends a year ago! They probably don't like Lightbulb anymore. She missed her chance. She was too late. She sighed, swallowing her pride.

Walking faster, she saw Lollipop, one of Paintbrush's more current friends. She slowed a little to talk to her.

"Lolli, does Paintbrush still like me?" She asked, Lollipop seeming a little caught off guard by her question.

"Uh, yeah they still like you as a friend." Lollipop said, seemingly dodging her question. Lightbulb was getting a little desperate.

"No, like as in a crush." Lightbulb elaborated, determined to get a straight answer.

"Oh... No?" She said. Despite her words, Lightbulb saw through it. Either she didn't know, or they still did and she was avoiding the question. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Oh, okay, sorry I just overheard Match talking about them liking me a bit ago." She smiled, trying to keep the blush from spreading to her face.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, bye Lightbulb." She waved bye, a little frantic. Lightbulb saluted her, walking off to see Paintbrush. She didn't know how she would face them.

--

"She knows dude, you have to tell her somehow." Lollipop said, panicking for them through the phone. Paintbrush paced around their room, distressed.

"I can't tell her, she doesn't even like me!" Paintbrush fretted, scared and nervous.

"Dude, why would she ask me if you still like her if she doesn't care." Lollipop stated, ever level headed. That was a nice contrast to Paintbrush's crashing world. They should have never told Match about their crush.

"Uh, maybe because she thinks it's weird!" They rolled their eyes like Lolli was stupid. She wasn't, but Paintbrush was deeply stressing. This was not a time to nitpick.

"You weren't there, I saw how she was acting." She stated, like this would help. It doesn't matter. Nothing will come of this. Paintbrush is fine. Everything is fine. They're fine. On the walk home Lightbulb seemed a little keyed up, but that could just be them imagining things! It's nothing. They're okay. It'll be okay.

They just needed to play it safe.

--

They imagined gym class would be normal. They would just walk around with Lollipop. And since their regular gym teacher was absent so they had a free day, even better.

Entering the gym class, they waited until Lolli got out. It wasn't long, considering she was just grabbing a stick of gum out of her bag.

"Do you want me to talk to Lightbulb about this, seriously I'm tired of your pathetic pinning." Lolli asked, not unkind.

"Uh, maybe? I don't know." Paintbrush sighed, their hand on the back of their neck.

"Just tell me. I know how panicked you are, but trust me it's fine." Lollipop attempted to cool them down. They took a deep breath. She was right. Even thought Lightbulb was literally their entire life, they'd end up okay if all went to hell.

A couple minutes later, Test Tube walked up to them, asking a peculiar question.

"Hey, Paintbrush, do you still like Lightbulb?" She asked simply. They were still suspicious, Test Tube was just talking to Lightbulb, right before walking up to them. They knew this information would be relayed. They took a deep breath. It would be okay, even if Lightbulb didn't reciprocate their strong feelings, they would move on.

"Oh, um. No," They stuttered. Lollipop suppressed a laugh, hanging her head in shame.

"Oh, okay. Sorry for being a bother." Test Tube smiled gently to them, walking back to Lightbulb. They cringed at themselves, turning to the wall, ashamed of blatantly lying to Test Tube.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Lollipop asked as they died inside.

"Yes please. Don't tell her anything, just get information. I'm so confused." They admitted, although they know Lolli already knew. She departed to talk to them, and they were left to walk around alone until she came back.

As they were walking around, caught up in their confusion and curiosity, they saw Fan, who broke away from the group, going up to them as they passed.

"I heard someone likes you," He teased, walking back. They widened their eyes and gasped, taken a back. It couldn't've been true. How could a girl like Lightbulb ever like them? But evidently it was true. All signs pointed to yes. But how could it be? Nothing made sense, and their legs felt numb like their legs would fall out from under them.

Before Fan was out of earshot the quickly told him, "Fuck you." Only semi-jokingly. They continued walking, trying to act cool as their face heated up hotter than the sun.

Lollipop returned after some time with Test Tube again, they both seemed to realize that Paintbrush had figured out that Lightbulb liked them back. Although they allegedly didn't return such feelings.

"Paintbrush, go talk to her! She's highly distressed!" Test Tube rushed to say. Looking up across the room to her, they saw her. She looked just as distressed as they felt, and they just wanted to go over to her and hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. They wanted to dearly to do so, but they were just too scared.

"I'm nervous I can't!" They told Test Tube and Lolli, backing up until their back hit the wall of the gymnasium.

"She likes you back, go!" Lollipop assured them, watching them breakdown, sitting on the gym floor.

"I'm just so overwhelmed! I'm sorry!" They defended.

Lightbulb liked them back. She liked them back, and now she could be on the verge of tears because they lied. They were making her sad. They shot a glace at her from across the room. She was surrounded by a bunch of their mutual friends. She looked overwhelmed too. She looked just as panicked as they were. They were the only other person who knew how she felt at that very moment, and they were the only one who could help her reach some form of solace.

Paintbrush knew they were the only one who could calm the situation.

Paintbrush couldn't handle seeing Lightbulb so sad, so pained. They had to go to her. Waiting any second longer would only make everything worse. They shakily stood up, tripping over nothing but their own stress.

But as they drew closer to Lightbulb, it hit them how dangerous this all was. Did she really like them? It seemed so obviously so, but how could they be sure?

Lollipop lightly shoved them towards Lightbulb and they stumbled, but stayed on their feet. And there they were, stood right in front of Lightbulb. They very same Lightbulb they'd seen a million times before, but why now did seeing her seem so... different? Lightbulb looked up at once, but shocked to actually see them there she did a double take, standing up awkwardly.

"Uh, hi?" They said, mentally hitting themselves for acting so stupidly. Paintbrush wanted to run away and never see the light of day again if that meant they wouldn't have to face their fear of rejection, but Lightbulb looked the same way. Scared that she'd messed up their entire friendship somehow. Gaining some confidence, Lightbulb grabbed their hands, and holding both of theirs in hers, she just looked at them.

"I, uh. I like you? As more than a friend." Lightbulb stuttered, her face beet red. And there it was. Lightbulb liked them. She liked them. She returned their feelings. She wanted to be more than friends. She wanted everything they wanted from her. Overwhelmed and scared of the change that may come, Paintbrush didn't say anything, but looked down, embarrassed.

"Oh, I uh. I like you too." They finally said, biting their tongue, scared even though she'd just confirmed her love for them. She beamed, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Lightbulb brought them closer, closer, closer. Wrapping her arms around their neck, she placed her face in the crook of their neck. Not used to the touch, they hesitated before hugging her back, their arms around her waist.

They're sure they look like a complete idiot, but with all of their friends around them cheering, and Lightbulb in their arms, they couldn't feel any emotion but happiness. Sure, they were a little overwhelmed, but they were happy. Oh, so happy.

Their ears felt like they were filled with cotton and their eyes were tearing up. Sniffing a little, they burried their face in her hair, relishing in the moment, taking in all that she was. Everything felt insanely unreal, and they felt wholly greatful for just, everything.

Lightbulb pulled her head from their neck to look at them, also a little teary eyed.

"So, are we like..?" Lightbulb started, averting her eyes in fear of rejection. Paintbrush didn't see why she'd be scared of such a menial thing, but hey that's exactly what they feared, so they could hardly judge her.

"Of course." They said with a note of finality, but after a second of hearing themselves, they adjusted their statement. "I mean, only if you'd like that..."

"You're so silly! Of course I will." She smiled a little, looking into their eyes. They brought their hand to her face, wiping her eyes.

"I- I'm glad." Paintbrush choked out, smiling faintly.

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