~Attractions~ (An Inanimate Insanity AU)

12: Weekend Fun (#wowzers)

October 19th, Afternoon, Fan's POV:

It was Saturday. Me and my friends had planned to meet up at Baskin Robbins to hang out. Luckily, by the time Friday night rolled around, I started feeling better from the flu, so I was able to meet up with them. My dad had to drive me there, since my mother was at work and my brother was at a birthday party.

"So...where are you meeting your friends again?" My dad asked. I told him the place, and off we went. It was silent the whole car ride. It didn't really matter, since the ride was short. When we got there, I noticed that Paintbrush and Lightbulb weren't there yet. It was just Test Tube, smiling at me as I got out of the car.

"Hey!" She greeted me, her smiling widening. "How was your day so far?"

"Good." I responded, checking my socials on my phone. We didn't continue our conversation, we just stood there, waiting for Lightbulb and Paintbrush. After ten minutes, Paintbrush arrived. "Hey, guys! You're earlier than I expected." They smiled. Just as soon as they finished their sentence, Lightbulb's car pulled up. Before the car even stopped moving, however, she opened the door and bolted out, hugging all of us as she reached us.

"Hi guys OMGA I missed you all even though I last saw you yesterday how's your day been so far?" She said really fast to Paintbrush and Test Tube. "Oh, and Fan, I haven't seen you in days! How have you been????" She squealed, suddenly picking me up and twirling around. Paintbrush started laughing, while Test Tube had no expression on her face.

"Dude, short and light? Are you sure you aren't eleven years old?" Paintbrush teased. "Shut up." I grumbled, holding open the door to Baskin Robbins. The store was small and decorated in pink, with only ten flavors. Not very impressive, honestly.

"Ooh! Chocolate!" Lightbulb squealed, putting both of her hands onto the display glass. Paintbrush chuckled, placing their hands on her shoulders and backing her away from the display. There were two workers. One of them came up to us, chewing gum loudly. "Hey. What do you guys want?" She asked, tapping her fingers on the counter.

"Chocolate, please!" Lightbulb blurted out. Paintbrush ordered vanilla, Test Tube ordered mint chocolate chip, and I ordered strawberry. Paintbrush paid for it with their mom's money, which she gave to them to borrow, and we all had fun teasing Paintbrush about his plain flavor choice.

"Oh, come on, Lightbulb chose chocolate! That's like...the second most common flavor ever! And look at you, Fan, you cannot be talking, you got strawberry, that's basically the third most common flavor!" Paintbrush argued, which made us all laugh even harder.

We finished our ice cream incredibly fast, and then Paintbrush got the idea to go to the local park, right next to Baskin Robbins. Everyone agreed, and we all went for a little walk.

While walking, I noticed that Lightbulb and Paintbrush were in front of me and Test Tube, laughing their heads off at some sort of story or joke or whatever. I was just on my phone while Test Tube enjoyed the park scenery. As we walked over a bridge, she gasped, running towards and placing her hands on the bridge railing.

"Is that...? That's a Northern Leopard frog! Look!" She squealed. Of course she would get excited by wild life. I'm pretty sure she knows everything about nature. "Huh. You really like the...wildlife out there, don't you?" I ask lamely. She nods, staring at me. "Of course I do! There's a lot out there to learn!"

We just stayed there, continuing to enjoy the scenery. I didn't know what else to say, anyway, and I could tell neither could she. She chuckled, looking at Lightbulb and Paintbrush, who were currently examining a hill. Lightbulb then yelled, climbing up the hill and rolling down it on the other side. Paintbrush followed, but they didn't roll down. They helped Lightbulb back up, and she went to go do it again.

"Hey...you okay?" Test Tube asked. "You look pale. Are you sure you're still not sick?" She said, reaching a hand for my forehead. I backed away. "I'm fine. Just...just a little tired." I mumbled. "Come on, let's go see what Paintbrush and Lightbulb are doing," I said, walking away from her. I heard her sigh before hearing her footsteps. I then felt her hand on my shoulder.

"Hey..." She whispered. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Gosh, does she really care about me that much?

"I'm okay. Don't worry." I smiled, hoping that would be enough to reassure her.

To my relief, she smiled back, not enough to show her teeth, but it was enough for me to know she didn't have to worry about me too much.

"Hey, guys! Lookie this!" Lightbulb yelled to us, running down the hill. "Look how big this hill is! Fan, race you up!" She then proceeded to run back up the hill—backwards. "Wha—HEY! You're cheating!" I laughed, running after her. Paintbrush fell to the floor, laying on their back and sniggering so hard I thought they were having a seizure for a moment. Test Tube chuckled, hiking up the hill after us.

As soon as we reached the top, Lightbulb flopped face first onto the soft grass, then rolled over onto her back, watching the clouds. I chuckled, laying beside her. Her smile faded, but only a little, as she continued to stare up at the sky. She then turned to me.

"What do you think that cloud looks like?" (haha BFDI reference kinda)

She pointed up at a cloud that, to me, looked kind of like...Paintbrush's excuse of a hairdo. She laughed at my response. "Honestly, yeah, that's kind of true." She smiled wider, sitting up and taking out her phone to take a picture.

Test Tube and Paintbrush then appeared, huffing from the climb. Test Tube sat next to me, chuckling. "How do you have that much energy to walk up..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. She was too tired. Paintbrush, however, didn't look tired at all. They sat down next to Lightbulb, nudging her shoulder. We all just laid on the grass, watching as the clouds rolled by.

I don't know how long we sat there for, but suddenly, my phone dinged with a message from my mother. I pulled it out to read it.

Mom: It's getting late

Mom: Are you going to be home soon?

I texted her back, sighing. She asks this every time I go out with friends.

Fan: uh...u can pick me up now? i mean i havent been out that long have i?

Mom: You've been out for three hours, Fan. I'm telling your dad to come pick you up, okay? At Baskin Robbins, the same place you met up with your friends.

Mom: No arguing, it's late and dinner's almost ready.

"Guys, I got to go. My mom wants me to get home." I told my friends. They all groaned. "Awh, come on, convince her to let you stay a bit longer..." Lightbulb pleaded.

"I can't. My mom says I'm not allowed out until...what, 6:00 PM?" I replied, getting up from the grass. I proceeded to run down the hill. To my surprise, Test Tube was beside me. "It's probably best if I go home, too. I have to be home by 7:00 PM." She said sheepishly.

"Bye guys! See you Monday!" Paintbrush waved, and we both waved back. Lightbulb just flashed a cheery smile at us.

Me and Test Tube walked towards Baskin Robbins, silent. We didn't really have anything to talk about anyway. My dad's car was already in the parking lot. I turned to Test Tube, waving goodbye. She looked...sad to see me leave. Huh. I didn't think too much about it as I headed inside the car and my dad pulled out of the driveway. I suddenly got an idea.

I rolled down my window, peeking my head out and smiling at Test Tube as the car moved. I waved goodbye once more. She looked surprised. She chuckled, waving back at me enthusiastically as I disappeared from her view into the road.

I lied about probably posting a chapter tomorrow night...I decided to post this now because I have to go to bed and I can't put in another POV. and yada yada..so I hope you enjoyed this!!!