Chapter Text
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The clock on the wall read 1:38 PM.
How much longer until this day ends? Seventh period had only just started, but it already felt like it had been going on for days. I slouched deep into my plastic chair, completely checked out from the math slop on the whiteboard.
With a sigh, I pressed my pencil into the wooden desk. I started doodling, losing myself in one sketch after another. Art always made me think of Paintbrush. I wondered what they were doing right now.
“Lightbulb, why don’t you go ahead and answer question 17?”
The voice fractured my thoughts. It was my teacher, Mr. Mephone. I didn't look up right away, my pencil still tracing lines on the desk.
“Earth to Lightbulb," Mr. Mephone called out, his voice dropping. "That’s strike one, miss.”
Shit. I snapped out of it, realizing the entire room was looking at me.
“Right, uhm. Question 18..?” I scrambled, trying to guess the right spot on the page. I wasn't even close.
“Try to pay more attention next time," Mr. Mephone sighed, shaking his head. "You’re lucky I haven’t given you detention yet.”
I stared down at my lap, my chest tightening slightly before I forced a careless grin. God, when would this day just end?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The rhythm of that goddamn classroom clock was driving me insane. I was not in the mood for mandatory schoolwork, but I had to accept the fact that it was obligatory.
Twenty minutes later, the hands finally crawled to 2:05 PM. It felt like an eternity, but we were finally being dismissed. Fan and Test Tube were lucky enough to share a class for seventh period, while I was left to rot here in Pre-Calculus.
Ring!
The bell finally cut through the silence. I grabbed my backpack, watching the other students flood toward the door. Taking one last glance at my desk doodles, I headed out into the hallway to find my friends.
“And then... it exploded right in his face!!” Test Tube shouted, her voice echoing down the crowded hallway.
She was loudly explaining how Fan had completely botched their science experiment, resulting in a face full of colorful chemical mixture.
“No way,” Paintbrush muttered. They looked like they were physically struggling to hold back tears from laughing so hard.
I smiled, feeling the heavy exhaustion of the school day instantly begin to lift. I jogged up to join them. “OMGA!! You’re lying! Fan, did that really happen?!??”
Test Tube looked like she was about to explode with excitement herself. She was wide-eyed with a massive grin, totally riding the high of being right.
“Mister 'I-know-how-to-do-this' over here insisted he could handle the formula much better than I could," Test Tube said, proudly brushing off her shirt like she was the most valuable scientist in the world. "Never underestimate a genius like me!”
Fan let out a defeated chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck as he admitted his STEM skills were lacking. “HEY! It wasn’t even that bad! Yeah, maybe I failed the experiment, so what? You’re totally overexaggerating, Test Tube.”
I looked left, then right, then left and right again as they kept bickering. God, they really fought like an old married couple.
“Hey, let’s settle down now, shall we?” Paintbrush interceded, rolling their eyes playfully.
I completely agreed with the sentiment, though Fan and Test Tube showed no signs of stopping their debate over who was superior.
“Maybe we could put the debate on pause?" I chimed in, flashing them a grin. "You guys never catch a break when it comes to glorifying yourselves, do you?”
Fan and Test Tube both stopped and stared at me like I had just uttered the most awful thing humanity could ever hear. But hey, I wasn't wrong.
“Oh, c’mon! Let us have our fun, Lightbulb!” Fan whined.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just head to the park instead, sounds good?” Paintbrush offered, trying to steer the group forward.
I nodded quickly, but the final decision was really up to the fighting duo.
“Hmm, sure! I could record some local ecological observations over there,” Test Tube mused.
“Test Tube!! Not everything is about science! Chillax, lady,” Fan groaned.
“And not everything is about fan-fiction and blogging, Fan,” Test Tube countered swiftly.
God, we get it, you guys act like a married couple, is what I wanted to say out loud. But if I actually said it, I’d probably get jumped by both of them right then and there.
We made our way to the nearby park. The walk was filled with talking, laughing, and random theories, though a good chunk of it was still just Fan and Test Tube bickering.
As we walked, I reached out and gently grabbed hold of Paintbrush’s hand.
Their skin felt surprisingly cold against mine, but I didn't care. It felt incredibly nice to just hold on to them. It made the loud noise of the world quiet down.
“The sunset is really lovely today, isn’t it, Painty?” I asked softly, looking up.
Paintbrush tilted their head up, taking in the sky. “Hmm... reminds me of the lesbian flag.”
I burst out laughing, the sound echoing across the sidewalk. “Out of all the things! The very first thing it reminds you of is the lesbian flag?!”
They chuckled, but they weren't wrong. The blend of the vibrant orange and pinkish sky was absolutely beautiful. But truth be told, out of all the things in the world, the sky really just reminded me of Paintbrush. Maybe it was because they were a lesbian, or maybe I just really loved their color palette.
When we finally reached the grassy field of the park, Fan immediately flopped down onto the grass. Test Tube plopped down right next to him. Within seconds, they were giggling and whispering about something, their eyes fixed on the clouds soaring across the sky.
Paintbrush and I walked over to a nearby bench, sitting down side by side to watch the other two have fun. The silence between us was comfortable, until Paintbrush suddenly spoke up.
“Want to... well, see my art? I mean, there isn’t much else to do.”
“AH!—God! You scared me so bad!” I practically yelled, jumping slightly on the bench before dissolving into a laugh.
“You get scared so easily!" Paintbrush laughed, nudging my shoulder. "I was just asking if you wanted to see my drawings.”
“OH! Of course! I would love to!" I exclaimed, adjusting my backpack. "I would’ve said yes right away if you hadn’t startled me.”
Our giggles filled the warm afternoon air. Paintbrush opened up a chunky sketchbook, pulling it onto their lap so we could share it. The pages were absolutely beautiful, packed to the brim with abstract art, quick doodles, detailed portraits, sketches, and fully detailed info pages. As they flipped through, I noticed there was a specific section of pages that they carefully skipped over. I didn't mind because they probably just had some deeply private stuff in there, but it did make me wonder what was hidden beneath those pages.
“Painty, this... THIS is so good??” I turned my head to look at them in total surprise.
But looking at them right then felt different.
Suddenly, my stomach did five flips all at once. I didn't know what was happening to me, or what this sudden sensation even meant. It felt like my insides were burning, but in the best way possible.
That was when I realized we had completely stopped talking. We were just staring directly into each other’s eyes. One second passed. Then another. It felt like two whole minutes of pure, uninterrupted silence.
This is so awkward. Uhm.
“Ah, uh—thank you!” Paintbrush finally cleared their throat, quickly looking away. A soft pink flush crept up their cheeks.
It wasn't even hot outside, so I had no idea what was causing them to blush like that.
“Anyway.. how are you doing in art class?” Paintbrush asked, trying to break the tension.
A cool, refreshing breeze rushed past us, blowing through the trees. My mind briefly blanked out. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Art class.
“Mmm, pretty OK," Paintbrush continued, answering their own question. "Not much is happening because we’re approaching the end of the school year. How’s guitar class? You like the instrument?”
I stared at them as they spoke. God. They were just so... I didn't even know the word. They were so nice to look at.
I took in the details of their face. Their warm brown eyes, their mocha-brown skin, and the blonde, wavy wolfcut that framed their face so perfectly. They had a lot of face piercings that caught the sunlight, and the tips of their hair were dyed a bright pink.
- OH FUCK.
My brain short circuited. Were they talking to me?
“Lightbulb..?” Paintbrush waved a hand in front of my face, their brow furrowing with concern. “Are you... here with us..?”
“SORRY PAINTY!" I blurted out, my face heating up. "I... ehm. I kinda zoned out...
Sorryyy...”
Paintbrush gave me a reassuring smile. “Meh, it’s no biggie. There’s no need to apologize, Lightbulb.”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
A piercing scream shattered the peaceful moment on the bench.
Dear lord, what was it now? I looked over at the parking lot.
“FAN! WE HAVE TO GET SOME!” Test Tube yelled at the top of her lungs.
An ice cream truck had just pulled up by the curb, its tinny music playing in the distance.
Oh gosh, I thought, they're definitely gonna make me buy some. But honestly, it wouldn't hurt to have a small treat to end the day.
Test Tube and Fan practically sprinted across the grass, arriving at the truck first. I joked to myself that they were going to get kidnapped, but thankfully, the driver was just a regular guy selling ice cream.
I ordered one of those classic SpongeBob popsicles with the messed up gumball eyes. Paintbrush got an ice cream sandwich, Fan got a cup of Dippin’ Dots, and Test Tube got a simple vanilla cone.
With our treats in hand, the four of us happily laid down on the grass together. The sun was casting a long, golden glow over everything. It was a perfect afternoon.
“You wanna try my ice cream, Fan?” Test Tube suggested. She smirked playfully as Fan’s face instantly beamed with a wide smile.
“S-Sure, heh..！” Fan stammered.
I giggled, feeling a warm, happy sensation in my chest as I watched them interact. I turned back to Paintbrush, who was already aggressively chowing down on their ice cream sandwich.
“Slow down! You might choke, silly!” I teased.
Paintbrush stopped, their mouth full, and they couldn't stop laughing.
We quickly finished up our ice cream and played around the park for a little while longer. But eventually, the sun finished setting, and the sky turned dark. The long day was finally catching up to us.
We began the walk back home, eventually dropping Test Tube and Fan off at Testy’s house since Fan was planning to crash there for the night. Once they were inside, I turned to walk in the opposite direction toward my neighborhood. Paintbrush walked beside me for a bit until we reached our split.
“Yawn... Bye, Painty..!” I murmured, rubbing my eyes.
“Bye, Lightbulb! See you tomorrow!” Paintbrush called out, waving.
“...Okay..!”
And just like that, the fun and chill day was almost over.
I walked the rest of the way to my house alone. When I reached the front door, I turned the knob. It was already unlocked.
I stepped inside into complete darkness. The house was dead silent. There was no one here to greet me; my mom was probably still at work. Or somewhere else.
I set my heavy backpack down by the door and checked the time on my phone.
9:54 PM.
Trying to shake off the sudden, hollow feeling of the empty house, I ran upstairs to my room to see my pet crab, Baxter. He was sitting in the exact same spot he always did inside his glass terrarium.
“Hey Bax! Missed me?" I cooed, leaning against the glass. "I missed you soo much!
Awh..！”
I dropped a piece of dried shrimp into the tank, watching him eat.
With nothing left to do, I plopped down onto my mattress, completely exhausted. The silence in my bedroom felt incredibly loud. I lay there on my back, staring up at the dark ceiling.
I'm soo bored. What is there to do now? Ughhh…
I laid there in the quiet for about an hour, the thoughts I had been running from all day slowly starting to catch up to me.
Until suddenly, it hit me...
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