[SLOW UPDATES] potion - a fantube story

2

"Morning, Paintbrush!" Fan said, yawning loudly and stretching his arms for longer than he needed to. As usual they were doing their 2 hour hair care routine and not paying much attention to what the chronically-online boy had to say to them. The loud sound of their electric hairbrush was enough to snap him out of his questionable dream pretty quickly. Easily influenced by those around him, he decided he should follow their lead and get ready as-well, so he brushed his teeth and didn't bother to change out of his PJs before having his breakfast.

He expected Test Tube to be there, since they usually woke up at around the same time and it wouldn't be an uncommon occurrence for the two to have breakfast together. But this morning, it seemed to be different, as he saw the faint vision of green hair pass him and leave the hotel without even shutting the door behind her. He shrugged and decided to get breakfast anyways, assuming she'd be back soon. As he was grabbing his cutlery, he noticed a bowl carelessly thrown in the sink, and realised it had to be Test Tube's. He gave a slight chuckle, seeing as she was usually pretty tidy, and realising that this confirmed his earlier observation that she was in a hurry. He silently wished her luck with whatever she was doing.

Paintbrush came downstairs, having finished their daily routine earlier than expected.
"Hey, Fan.." They said, quickly darting their eyes around the room as if they were looking for something. "Do you know where Test Tube went..?"

"Nope, unfortunately she ditched us to go do something. Why do you want her?"

"I needed to ask her something." Their statement was straight and to the point, which sounded slightly out of tune since they usually tended to dance around any and all questions for as long as they could.

Fan slowly took his notebook out. "And what was that something..?" He was practically bursting with excitement. Fan might be done with the show, but that didn't mean he wasn't ready to jot down any and all information about the contestants that he could get.

"Juust.. advice. It's really none of your business, Fan. Nothing you would be good with, anyways." They flicked their hair back, blushing a tad bit. Fan noted this, and he was starting to get an idea of what the topic was.

"Mm, yes, interesting.. and does this information happen to have anything to do with Li-"

"OFCOURSE IT DOESN'T!! WHY WOULD I EVER BE THINKING ABOUT LIGHTBULB AT ANY POINT IN TIME-"
Their hair burst into flames, and, seemingly on cue, Lightbulb slid down the staircase on a dangerous cardboard slide and flipped face down on the floor right upon hitting the end.
Paintbrush ran over to her, shaking her worriedly before the bulb lifted her head to stare at them in a robotic movement.
"So... you don't think about me, Painty???"
A cartoonishly deep frown was painted on her face, which caused Paintbrush to immediately backtrack, saying "Nonono, I do think about you.. alot- I mean not in THAT way, I mean.. ugh.."
After a while of them frantically apologising, they realised they had worse things to be worried about, such as that horrible bruise on Lightbulb's forehead. Infact, they soon realised she had just been blankly staring at them for the past 5 seconds - clearly out of it.

"Are you.. uhm.. alright?" They asked, concerned for her wellbeing. She was pretty fragile, after all.

Lightbulb sat up. "Yeah, i'm perfectly dandy, Painty!- Wait, who are you..??" Her eyes locked onto Fan's. "What is THAT??" She yelled, quickly being met by a sniffle from the red-and-yellow haired boy.

"That's it, i'm taking you back to your bed to get some more rest before you hurt anyone else's feelings." Painty bridal-carried Lightbulb upstairs while she kicked her legs, yelling something like "GET OFF ME YOU LOVABLE FIEND!!", to which Fan could only imagine what Paintbrush's reaction was.

Now left alone in the hotel dining hall, he began to get bored. What could he do to cure his boredom, other than scroll through his phone?
Usually he'd ask Lightbulb or Test Tube for ideas in a situation like this, but Lightbulb was out cold, and Test Test was outside, so he only had his own thoughts. That's when he got an idea.
He walked up the steps and to his room, turning the knob and opening the door tentatively in case Paintbrush was already there. The coast clear, he went over to his drawer where he kept all of his old diaries. He sifted through the delicate books, trying not to tear anything. They weren't ancient or anything, but then again, at the time he didn't have the money for the best quality paper. Finally, his fingers grazed over a certain cover page - "Fan's Journal!! :D"

His journal from when he first joined the competition.

He sat down on his bed, flipping through page upon page of nostalgia. It would mention all sorts of things, like where he had slept that night or the food Mephone had provided his contestants that day. There were so many details about how he had felt meeting his idols for the first time and how happy he was to be on his favourite show. But there was one page that intrigued him the most.

February 2nd.
Dear Journal,
I talked to Test Tube for the first time today. She was really nice, actually.. She told me all about the different moon phases and other fun facts! It was nice to sit down and have someone to chat to, since nobody ever really gives me any attention.. I didn't think that anybody on this show actually cared about me! She's probably the smartest person i've met, now that I think about it.
I teamed with her for the challenge this time. We just talked more about the weird things in the world, and she taught me about things I thought I had no reason to pay any mind to. I felt.. valued for once. I hope we can talk again soon.

Fan smiled. Even after all this time, his feelings hadn't changed. He still held the same admiration he felt for her from the day they first met. He continued to flip through the books pages, pausing whenever he came across any interesting moments and laughing at all the fun times they had together. He smiled fondly, looking at how it all was back then. Sure, things were different now. He had a nice bed to sleep on, and he didn't need to worry about getting eliminated from anything anymore. But there were always things that stayed the same, like the care he had built for those he loved.
Fan subconsciously checked his phone and upon unlocking it, he realised he'd already spent 2 hours on this. Unsurprisingly, his mind wandered back to Test Tube. It had been a while, hadn't it?
Fan pulled his phone out and called her contact, which he had named '❤️💚' .. not like she was ever gonna see it.
The phone buzzed as Fan watched the button in anticipation for when she'd pick up.
"Hello, this is Test Tube-"

"Oh, Test Tube! Sorry to bother you, but-"

"You have reached my voicemail. Please check back later, as it is probable that I am busy at this time."

Fan was confused. Test Tube always answered his calls. She must be doing something really important.

"You may leave a message after the tone if you wish. *BEEP*"
He declined the call, opting to text her instead.

Fan: hey test tube! just wondering how you're doing, havent seen u all day >_>

Fan switched his phone off and flopped onto his bed, sighing loudly. He messed with his hair, wondering what to do.. There was nothing, really.
But hey, he could always go and down some pure caffeine. That always seemed to work.