Curiosity Kills the Cat (An IDFB Fanfic)

Chapter 31

"So," he started, trying to alleviate the moment. "Did you know Pin can walk now? She's been able to for nearly the past 4 weeks."

It took her a second to register the words he said, but when she did, she hummed. She didn't turn to face him, only responding hastily. "Yeah. I was there when it happened."

There? "When it happened"?

Her words sounded more apathetic than anything else, muttering words to herself as she stared at the papers in her hand. His head felt muddled with curiosity about what she had said. Pin never brought up Golf Ball during her talk. Although to be frank, he never asked more, just accepting the truth openly. But if Golf Ball was there, why hadn't Pin said anything about her?

He opened his mouth to talk but was stopped by her.

"We're a street away so I'll fill you in on what you need to know."

Coiny sighed, ready for what she had to say.

"So," she began. "there are two power lines that show signs of faulty behavior if you will. Right now we're just gonna fix one of them, which is the one most at risk of shutting off all power. Alright?"

He nodded, trying to push aside his curiosity.

"If everything goes well today, it means we can keep tabs on just one."

He turned his attention from her to the street faintly catching sight of Tennis Ball, who was eyeing the powerline overhead. He seemed to notice their company, giving them a wave with a grin. "Hey, Golf Ball! Morning Coiny."

"Do you have the supplies I asked for?"

He nodded with a smile. "Brought everything, including the lift you wanted."

Lift?

Coiny looked behind him, a scissor lift just off to the side. "I thought we were just gonna climb the pole," he spoke thoughtlessly, as if in awe.

GB rolled her eyes, handing her clipboard over for TB to hold. "How is any work going to be done if we do that," she said with a snicker. She began grabbing her hair, tying it into a bun.

"Well then, I'll head over to the distribution station to check the meter. I left your walkie-talkie on the lift as well."

She nodded, receiving her clipboard. "Give us a call when the meter goes back to normal."

"Sure thing GB."

He left without another word, leaving Coiny confused, his sight still stuck on the cables. He had worked with electricity before—sure—but not at this scale. It had been down at a center, reconnecting old wires and pushing levers and buttons. It felt like an undeserved upgrade.

The woman hit his shoulder, getting his attention. In her hand were gloves along with a helmet. "Here. You'll need these."

He faltered for a second, taking them with disbelief. So I really am doing this.

"A pair of safety glasses are by the lift for you," she said, putting on her pair of gloves. "It's in case we start a fire."

He remained silent, his gaze fixated on her, attempting to decipher her words. She quickly caught on, sighing.

"It was a joke."

"Oh. It's hard to tell when you don't change your tone."

She giggled at the comment, snapping the buckle of her helmet in place. "That's because we might start one."

He huffed as he began struggling to slip on the gloves. There was an absurd amount of anxiety running through his brain. How GB had landed on him out of everyone to help her was baffling to him.

"You ready?"

He glanced behind him, the girl already stepping onto the machinery. Clipboard in hand and with a simple toolbox sitting beside her, he exhaled profusely, stepping towards her. He meddled with his hat, trying to buckle it in place as he walked onto the platform.

"Great! This shouldn't take too long," she said, reaching for the walkie-talkie that was now clipped at her hip. "TB, we are ready when you are," she spoke, waiting for a response.

"Alright Golf Ball! I'm in front of the meter. I'll tell you if the energy spikes up!"

It was confusing to him. Despite his life being so evidently in danger, he didn't feel worried. At least, not to the extent he felt when he was with Leafy. It was always running from death when he was with her. Trying to escape it when sometimes there was nothing to fear. Now, here he was—despite being anxious about dying to electrocution—he was mostly unbothered.

The sudden jolt of the scissor lift rising shook him from his thoughts, instinctively grabbing onto the safety rails without another thought. He looked up, seeing the cables of the power line get closer with each millisecond.

"So, what exactly do we have to fix?" Coiny asked, his grip on the rail getting tighter unconsciously.

"Wow, geez. What DON'T we have to fix," she laughed briefly before calming down. She let go of the joystick, stopping just under the wires with another jolt.

"On a serious note, it should just be some old cabling. You know the shtick: corroded wires."

"So you want me to replace them?" His sight fell from above to her, who was opening the toolbox.

"No," she dragged the word out as she dug around the box. "You're more of, assistance than anything else. Aha! Found it."

She pulled out a screwdriver, closing the box with a thud. "I'll be doing most of the work. Just need you here to pass along equipment, read the blueprints and just in general, not be a nuisance."

Golf Ball began unscrewing the powerbox hung near the pole, hiding the bolts in the pocket of her pants.

"So you could have chosen anyone else?" There was a hint of annoyance in his voice with the question.

A soft chuckle escaped from her, as she unscrewed the last bolt. "Technically yes, I could have. But I trust you with this kind of stuff more than say, Gelatin." She turned around to face him, stuffing the screwdriver into her pocket.

"You. Trust me?"

A/N: I probably should have said Sunday Night instead of Saturday. Life really doesn't like me T•T

But I cut this chapter up into 2 because it's very long and I only got to edit half of it. :P 

Also I've been contemplating tagging this as mature because future chapters are a tad bit darker. I probably will but I figured I should advise everyone. :0

I will update this weekend so I'll see you all then!!