Seventeen | A BFB Fanfic

Chapter 5: What Leaders Are For

It was nighttime. Every member of team Shut Up Lightning was fast asleep, dreaming of a time before the competition had started; a time where they didn't have to worry about finding food, or if the small cave they had taken shelter in would be enough to shield them from any unexpected changes in weather. A time where death was the last thing on anyone's mind. All of them were peacefully sleeping, being able to momentarily forget about the situation that they were in.

All of them except for Golf Ball.

She had hardly gotten any sleep for the past few days, ever since the competition had started, Golf Ball could never find the time to rest. She had always been an insomniac, even before Four came along, but back then she had had someone to be there for her when she was at her lowest points. She found that she had been able to sleep perfectly fine when she had her best friend at her side; when the two of them were together, it was as if all of her problems would disappear.

God, she missed Tennis Ball so much.

She missed being able to talk to him whenever she wanted, she missed his warmth and the feeling of his "fur" whenever she perched on his head or cuddled up close to him when they slept together. Honestly, she missed just being able to see his face. Golf Ball had no idea where Tennis Ball even was, and she was kept awake by the morbid thoughts that were racing through her mind. She had found herself checking the list that Four had given her team every few hours, just to make sure that Tennis Ball's name was still on there. Occasionally she would miss it, and begin to panic before looking through the list again and confirming that he was, in fact, still alive.

No wonder Lightning didn't let her be the team leader; how was she supposed to make sure that the four of them survived when her mind was already preoccupied with her worries about Tennis Ball?

She hated it. She hated Four, she hated the competition, she hated the stupid forest, she hated herself, she hated everything.

Suddenly, Golf Ball understood how Fanny felt all the time.

Logically, Golf Ball knew that it was understandable as to why she was so worried about Tennis Ball; after all, he was her best friend, and the two of them had known each other for longer than either of them could remember. Heck, they had known each other for far longer than they had known any of the BFDI or BFDIA contestants. Could anybody really blame her for just wanting to be able to know if her partner- or, friend -was doing alright?

What kind of leader would I be if I couldn't put my teammates over my own concerns, though? She thought to herself. Besides, it's not like there's any way for me to know where TB even is in the first place...

She shivered. She probably wouldn't have been so cold if she hadn't chosen to sleep so far away from her own teammates, but her pride prevented her from doing so. Lightning was the one who had mentioned that they should all probably stay closer together so that they could rely on each other's body heat, but Golf Ball had protested, concerned the Lightning would potentially electrocute them in his sleep. Cold as she was now, she didn't want to have to see his stupid smug face if she ended up proving him right.

Suddenly, as Golf Ball looked back at Lightning, an imaginary lightbulb appeared over her head.

Wait, maybe there is a way!

Golf Ball rushed over to Lightning, careful not to accidentally step on Pie or Woody, and somewhat aggressively began shaking him awake with her foot. "Lightning, wake up! I just realized something!" She exclaimed.

"Hold on, I'm waiting for the salad man to deliver my package..." Lightning muttered, clearly not even half awake.

Golf Ball pouted and shook him even more urgently. "Lightning, get up! This could change the entire competition for us!"