I gently tugged at Paintbrush's sleeve. "Look," I whispered.
Paintbrush looked at the bush and froze. "Lightbulb.. is that a-?"
I nodded. They looked at me, and without a word, pushed me inside the cabin and closed the door. I pressed my ear against the door and heard furious clanking sounds. They were breaking the camera.
I could hear some yelling too. It sounded like Baseball.
"Paintbrush, what're you doing?! It's 2 in the morning!"
"Well," then the rest was unintelligible. I pulled my ear away and jumped when I saw Test Tube standing there.
"Why are you up." She didn't sound like she was asking, more like she was demanding.
"I- er.. I was going to the bathroom?-"
She looked unconvinced. "You're a really bad liar."
I looked down at my slippers self-consciously. "I know." I told her about the camera and my tic-tac-toe board. By the end she sighed and said, "I see. Well, I'm gonna go back to bed. Don't do anything dumb."
I looked to the door and prepared to go get Paintbrush, but then saw the door handle jiggling. "Dumb- door!-"
It was Paintbrush.
I opened the door for them and they came stumbling in, surprised. "What the- oh."
I lowered my voice and said, "I uh- I don't feel safe. That camera's making me paranoid."
They sighed and I sat down on my bed, inviting them to join me.
"Yeah, well, Baseball wasn't fond of me breaking it. I think he planted it there. Who knows, there might be one on here. You never know."
I looked around. None in sight, but I wouldn't rule it out yet.
"Oh- sorry. Uh, you good?"
"Can you sleep with me tonight, maybe? I uh.. am kinda scared."
That obviously took them off guard, because my face lit up, casing myself to light up as well. "Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
They laughed and waved it away. "Honestly, I'm kind of paranoid too. You're fine."
"So.. is that a yes?"
"Just one night."
I laid down and they laid beside me. Soon enough, I felt myself drifting off.
The Next Morning!
I woke up to see Paintbrush hugging me, fast asleep. Fan was pointing and shaking Test Tube's shoulders. "I knew it! I. Knew. It!"
My face went a bright red and I sat up quickly, casing Paintbrush to gasp in surprise at the sudden movement, almost falling off the bed. I caught them.
"Oh my god Test Tube, look, it's just getting better! I can't even- I knew it!"
I pulled Paintbrush back up, laughing. They laughed too and blushed, looking away.
"What's so funny? The fact you two were caught cuddling? Give me my money, Tube!"
Test Tube rolled her eyes and gave Fan 20 bucks. My eyes went wide. "You guys bet on us being together?"
Fan started to speak then stopped. He stuttered, "Uh- well, uh-"
"Well Test Tube can keep her money. We're not dating."
He looked shook. "But how?? You two were literally-"
"We-" But before I could continue, Paintbrush covered my mouth.
"We were watching a scary movie, a-and I got scared. I asked to sleep with her. It's not that big a deal, alright?"
Test Tube fixed me with a confused stare, and I shrugged helplessly. Paintbrush grabbed my hand and led me outside to where they couldn't hear us.
"I don't want the rest of the team paranoid, so let's just keep this between us, okay?"
I sighed. "Fine. But can we actually watch that scary movie you mentioned tonight? I have a couple ideas for what to watch."
They looked startled for a moment, then wary. "And why are you all of a sudden wanting to spend time with me?"
"Cuz I feel like you hate me, and I want to start to get to know you. That alright?"
They thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll trust you."
I smiled. "Wonderful."
Then I realized we were still holding hands.
I think they must've realized too, because they quickly let go. I laughed and waved as I left them.
Test Tube met me by our cabin and pulled me aside. "So what was that all about?"
I sighed. "Painty wants the team to not be paranoid. Mind not telling them?"
She nodded. "Sure." Then walked away.
I smiled at her as she walked away. After, my face fell. Why didn't Paintbrush want to tell anyone? Oh well. It doesn't really matter.
My thoughts got interrupted by yelling.
I walked to the elimination area to see a fight between Trophy and Knife.
Oh, great.
