Night 1: Meditation

"Okay so, what it says do is turn down the lights and just listen to the audio, but you can close your eyes if you want."

Paintbrush shut the blinds on the window, preparing the room for the first of many boredom cures. Fan nodded at them, almost nervously. Complete darkness was not his favorite, but he'd get used to it.

Fan was on his back, staring at the yellow ceiling somberly. He tried his best to be interested in this, after all, the main purpose of meditation is to focus and calm down. He wanted nothing more than to take his mind off his last minutes as a contestant.

"Okay," Paintbrush laughed a bit as they crossed the room, "which one sounds better: 'soothing thunderstorms' or 'ocean waves'?" they emphasized each title, amused at how pretentious each one sounded. The light switch flicked and the room disappeared.

Fan rolled over to face the sound of their voice, "Who even came up with these anyways? Also, the ocean one. Storms freak me out." He shuddered, he was glad the weather had been calm tonight.

Paintbrush found their way back to their own bed, "Good to know." They sunk into the sheets, trying to get comfortable with mild success.

Fan was skeptical. He wasn't sure beach noises in a stuffy room would calm him down too much, but he was willing to try it if it meant distracting himself from earlier.

"By the way, where did you get the idea?"

Paintbrush propped themself up on their elbow, "I just googled 'Stuff to do when you're bored,' I'm following the first list that came up." They both shrugged, though neither could see it.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Fan's reluctance was obvious.

Paintbrush started the video on their phone, flipping it over screen-down on the bedside table. The sounds of a far-away ocean began to fill the silence. The two of them lay there, eyes open to the dark room.

Fan was not relaxed. This didn't do much to distract him, in fact, he felt alone with his own thoughts. He regretted every second of the spat he had with his dear friend. She never cried in front of him before then, and the first and only time she did, it was all his fault-

"I cant do it," Fan sat up abruptly, Paintbrush stopped the video and turned on the lamp. They stared at one another, sharing the same look. Fan was exhausted, Paintbrush seemed to be too.

"Lets just watch TV instead. Don't be afraid to fall asleep either, I can tell you need it." Fan rolled his eyes. He wasn't tired, not one bit!

He was out cold within ten minutes of bad sitcoms.

Paintbrush, however, was not. They were wide awake and intended to stay that way. Their phone untouched on the nightstand from where they had left it. They were somewhat disappointed that the meditation was unsuccessful, and supposed there needed to be a certain mood for it to work.

Fan rolled over, the sound drew Paintbrush's attention to him. They pitied Fan, but understood. He needed some time to come to terms, and they had expected so much out of him already. The twinge of guilt faded. He would be okay- they knew he would.

Their phone buzzed, and it made Paintbrush jump. They hurriedly grabbed it and rushed into the hallway. The orange walls greeted them warmly, and so did the sudden rise in temperature. Out of panic, they forgot to see who was calling them, they answered anyways.

"Hello?"

"Painty this is important so buckle up."

Ah, Lightbulb

What their friend had said made them nervous, but they listened. "Okay, what is it?"

Lightbulb could be heard shuffling around a bit. Taking a deep breath, she began speaking softly:

"I may or may not have just let it slip that I'm in love with 'Tube. To her face. While touching her face, actually." Lightbulb's voice faltered, but she continued to ramble.

Oh. Oh wow. Huh. Who would have thought? Not Paintbrush.

They couldn't find anything to say.

"...Painty? You there? Sorry if this is a bad time. Jeez, I'm stepping all over boundaries today."

Their brain only wanted to say one word:

"What?"

Immediate regret.

"I mean- Sorry, I just didn't realize-" Paintbrush stumbled over their words and took a breath, "What did she say?"

Lightbulb was glad they heard her after all. "Uhh, not a whole lot. She said she wanted to talk about it in the morning, let the whole Fan thing blow over first. I- I think I made her uncomfortable."

Fan, right. Paintbrush still had him to worry about. Not how they felt right now. They cleared their throat. "Just see what she has to say tomorrow, alright?"

Lightbulb's end went silent for a moment. She had picked up on her friend's tone. "Are you okay?"

"No," They did not elaborate.

Lightbulb became just the teensiest bit frustrated. Could anybody at all talk to her without being weird right now?

"Is it- is it me?" Paintbrush froze. Their friend sounded upset, she clearly wasn't herself. How were they supposed to respond to that?

"No! No, it's all me," great job at being convincing, Paintbrush, "I'm sorry. I don't want to take the focus off you."

"See, that's what I mean," Lightbulb picked the conversation back up, "She was talking about Fan and I couldn't keep my hands to myself," her voice wavered, "My timing was horrible, it wasn't even on purpose! I just gave her more to stress over."

Paintbrush stared hard into the wall. They wanted to say something, but no words came to mind. They sighed, back flush with the wall. They slid down to sit on the carpet. The floor was a bit cooler, and gave a bit more space to think.

"Well, are you doing okay? You're so worried about Test Tube, but what about you?"

Lightbulb laughed a bit, "I can't say I'm holding up as well as I'd like to be. I'll get there! It's just- even if me and 'Tube figure this part out, there's still more to do after that."

Paintbrush shifted a bit, "What do you mean, more?"

Lightbulb had said too much. She tried to bury what she just let slip in ambiguity, "Well uhh, you know, gotta figure out what shes cool with first of all." Her voice was filled with anxiety, "I can't overstep again, and that's only if she wants this in the first place!"

"Hey, hey. Calm down over there. The world isn't gonna end, you know."

Lightbulb was convinced, but she joked, "How do you know that? The sun could just blow up tomorrow and we'd never see it coming."

Paintbrush rolled their eyes, "You're lucky you said that to me, if it were either of the other two they'd be proving you so wrong right now." They heard her quiet "hehehe" and waited for her to say more.

"All right, I officially feel better. Thank you for that. I'll call you to tell you how it goes, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Lightbulb paused, she wanted to say more, "I miss you very much." Her voice seemed to fall.

"I miss you too, so does Baxter," another laugh from Lightbulb rang through the phone.

"Tell him goodnight for me!"

Paintbrush smiled, "Will do. Goodnight Lightbulb."

"G'night," there was a pause, and the call ended.

Breathe.

Paintbrush tried to calm themself down. Okay, think rationally. Any concerns about Lightbulb should not be centered around themself. She's going through a tough time and supporting her is the right thing to do. Dang, Fan too. Paintbrush internally laughed, Test Tube sure was stirring up the emotional soup for everyone as of late.

Just then, they realized how long they've been on the hallway floor. Paintbrush figured getting back inside before anyone happens to come upon them would be productive enough.

They stood and slowly opened the door. Good, Fan was still asleep. The lamp was on, they could see his face. He slept with his mouth wide open, Paintbrush suppressed a giggle. They trudged to their side of the room and crept into bed. Not to sleep, just to sit and stare at the muted TV.

Paintbrush silently thanked whoever invented subtitles. Even if whatever was playing was garbage, it was still something to do. The thought brought them back to meditation. Fan hadn't liked it, but Paintbrush figured they could use some time to calm down once and a while.

After a few episodes of trash sitcoms, they glanced at the clock. 4:32AM was just about what they expected. They were getting tired. Maybe, just today, they'd let themself fall asleep early. They clicked on their phone and opened the notes app. Typing a check mark next to "meditate."

Paintbrush rolled over to face Baxter's aquarium. Turning off the lamp, they whispered, " 'Night, Baxter."

very sorry about my hiatus. ty for reading💕