I woke up to see Test Tube trying to put something out. She was murmuring to herself.
"Should I wake them up? No, no, I got it under control... but if it burns down I- oh, OH, GOD-"
I shot up, alarmed. There was a huge fire in front of her, roaring so loud I was surprised Paintbrush didn't wake up.
Hurriedly, I shook them awake. "Painty! Wake up!"
They shook their head, then put their arm over their eyes. "Whaaaat?" they muttered sleepily. "Lightbulb, it's late.."
"Paintbrush! Wake up, now!" I whisper-shouted urgently. At that, they shot up and looked around wildly. Their eyes rested on the fire and they backed away, eyes wide and mouth gaping.
"OH GOD- UH- G-Good morning!" Test Tube laughed awkwardly, smiling at me and Paintbrush while trying to hide the massive fire behind her. "It's late! Maybe go back to- uh.. bed?"
Paintbrush glared at her. "Were you trying to kill us?"
Test Tube looked taken aback as she stumbled for words. "K-Kill you? Of course not, I- I would never!"
Paintbrush grabbed me and pulled me close. "I seriously doubt that. You're a scientist, but I didn't know you fit the insane spectrum!"
Test Tube looked offended before speaking again. "Really, Paintbrush? You seriously think I'd try to even hurt you? I've seen what you can do. You can make flames come out of your bri-.. OH GOD RIGHT THE FLAMES!"
She turned around, and with a quick sigh, splashed water on the flames, making them dimmer and dimmer until the flames left us all in the dark.
I heard a lightswitch. But no light had come to focus. Just darkness.
"Oh golly gee.. uh, let me try again, this thing's fiddly.."
I heard another lightswitch flick. Then another. They became more frantic, clicking wildly. Finally, they slowed to a stop.
"Well, guys, this is something. Uh, we are out of power."
You could see Paintbrush's bristles start to spark in the dark. "What?!"
Test Tube started stumbling for words again. "I- It's not my fault! The flames must've burned through a cord to the lights or something, I- I-"
"Test Tube!" I said, interrupting her. "You're fine. It's not that big of a deal. We can just try to find, uh, other sources of light!"
"Can't you light up?" she asked, still trying to find the broken cord.
"I have to feel a strong emotion to do that."
"Oh, really?" I heard Paintbrush say. They sounded like they were smiling.
"Yeah, I-"
Then I felt something scoot closer to me.
"What the- who is that?" I whispered, frantically trying to fight the thing.
"Calm down, Lightbulb. It's just me."
Paintbrush?
"Why are you so c-close?" I asked, blushing a little.
"Do you feel anything?" they asked, grabbing my hand.
"Uh.. yeah."
Suddenly the whole room lit up, illuminating me and Paintbrush. Test Tube looked up in surprise.
"Wow, right now, guys? We have a crisis on our hands!"
"Well, Killer, I was just trying to give you light!" Paintbrush spat, glaring at Test Tube.
"For the last time, I wasn't trying to kill you! Where did you even get that idea?"
"Well, were you trying to, I don't know, wake us up at all? No? I thought so. Maybe you should try to communicate!"
As I listened quietly to the argument, I thought about Paintbrush. Did I really think they were doing that to hint? Of course not. They want to be friends, and friends only. I can't be caught up in my feelings for them.
I sighed, feeling something new. Sadness? No, this was deeper. Heartbreak?
...I think so.
I sighed, and the room went dimmer and dimmer until it was completely black again.
"You good?" Paintbrush asked, gripping my hand tighter. I wasn't going to fall for their antics this time, though. I stayed silent.
"Lightbulb, I asked if you were okay."
"Yeah," I said, "I'm just tired."
"Do you want to sleep together? I'd be okay with that. I can tell you're sad."
"No. It's fine. Just leave me alone, Paintbrush."
I hopped out of bed and stumbled blindly to another room. I just wanted to be anywhere else. I didn't want to be by them right now.
Wandering around the lab in the dark was scary, sure, but it was also comforting. It left me alone with my thoughts for a little bit.
"Stupid." I told myself, hitting my forehead with my palm. "You really thought for a minute, huh?"
I chuckled at myself. I actually thought that they'd like me in that way. It's like Fan said; the game is too important.
But is the game really more important than relationships?
I felt like I was on the verge of tears. I knew I was far away from them, far enough away so they couldn't hear me.
So I dropped to my knees and cried.
I cried for a while. Soon enough I'd curled into a ball and tried to sleep, but to no avail. I'd just kept crying about Paintbrush.
A couple hours later I heard a voice yelling.
"Lightbulb?! Lightbulb, please, come back! Where are you?!"
It sounded hoarse, and I knew who it was.
Paintbrush.
I got up and tried to be quiet. It was still dark, so they couldn't see me. I was fine with that.
The feeling of sadness almost lit me up, but I stopped it. Eventually I started to walk around, using the walls to guide me around the lab.
Then, to my terrible luck, I bumped into someone.
"AH-" they screamed, punching me in the face. I stumbled back, holding my eye, which was cracked.
"Test Tube, I told you I'm looking for Lightbulb! I-"
"Paintbrush," I muttered. "It's me."
"I-..." They went silent.
"Why were you looking for me, anyway?" I said, unable to keep the anger out of my voice.
"Because I-"
"Because you what? You 'care' about me? You 'love' me? No. You don't. So stop acting like you do. You're just gonna use me for my vote in the game. It's all about the dumb game, right?" I yelled, subtle light starting to shine from within me. I could kinda see Paintbrush's face. They looked guilty and hurt.
Good.
I kept going. "Fan said he couldn't be with Knife because of the game. But once you're out of the game, does that really matter? I don't want to be used. Please, you've already punched me in the face. Leave me alone."
I sat against the wall and buried my face in my legs. I felt Paintbrush sit next to me. I turned away from them.
"Look, I.."
They tried to start speaking but couldn't. Angrily, I sighed. The subtle light became more noticeable.
"Can you at least face me?" they asked.
Begrudgingly I turned to them and they pulled me close and I couldn't hold it in. I cried into their shoulder as they soothed me.
"I'm sorry. I've been mad for a petty reason, I just thought you were only using me.."
They shook their head. "Actually, I wanted to do that. I'm glad I got the excuse to," they added, squeezing my hand. I smiled softly.
"Love you."
Did I really just say that? Oh god, now I'm totally dead!
They were silent for a moment. Then, quietly, I heard them say:
"I love you too."
(A/N: Told you there'd be more.. I'm going to bed now, this took me like two days and 1238 words I love you idiots sm
