Go get her, Painty! || Inanimate insanity

Jealousy | Chapter 1

As soon as they were far enough from Fan, they let out a sigh. What does he mean by love? As in platonically? Or romantically? They assumed it was just another one of his teases and ignored it. They had planned on going to the hot tub to relax since all of the stress, the random late-night staying-ups, the intense SWEATING every time, and thinking about someone. Since it was a Wednesday, Salt and Pepper were not allowed in the hot tub and without Salt or Pepper, Balloon won't dare go inside. He loved the gossip there and all the company. They reached the door and went in.

They put their slippers on the shoe rack, hung their towel behind the door, and faced the hot tub just to see Lightbulb, maybe half-asleep, in the tub. They instantly put on their "oh god" face.

"What are YOU doing here?" Paintbrush asked, harshly. Once they thought they could relax, is when the Lightbulb comes back.

"Huh? Oh! Painty! Nothing much. Just chillin'!" Lightbulb sat up, enough for her to face Paintbrush properly, "What got your bristles all tangled up?" She got up from the tub and sat on the edges, still facing Paintbrush. 

"I just wanted to relax. But since you're here, there's no way I could do that." They then turned around, walking to the door. "I'm gonna go now-" 

"WAIT!!" Her voice echoed across the room, sounding desperate for company. Paintbrush stood still and then turned around.

"What?" Paintbrush asked, sounding VERY irritated already. "Why don't you just enjoy yourself here?"

"But I don't wanna be alone!! Come here!!" She put her arms out, acting like it was a hugging request. "I'll try not to bother you. (as much)" 

They hesitantly agree and go inside. It was warm enough for them to let out a sigh of relief. Lightbulb smiled and kicked her legs a little, making little waves. Paintbrush also smiled, due to the relaxing sensation and the little bubbles that were coming out behind them. The silence was between the two, and the awkwardness grew. Paintbrush opened their eyes a tad bit and looked at Lightbulb. 

She was still kicking her legs and smiling, unbothered and oblivious to the glare Paintbrush was giving her. They eyed her up and down and almost drifted off the sleep... 

*BANG*

The door swung open, hitting the wall and startling Paintbrush and Lightbulb. She almost fell off but was lucky enough for Paintbrush to catch her. They pulled her back into the hot tub and looked at the door. There stood Fan and Test tube, chatting about geeky stuff. Paintbrush gave them a glare then shook it off. Test tube and Fan noticed them soon enough. 

"Oh golly jee. Did we interrupt something?" Test tube asked the two, expecting something happened between them. Lightbulb just had the straightest face and Paintbrush had their mouth agape. 

"Erk, not really..." Paintbrush finally spoke. Test tube put her towel on another chair and walked to the hot tub. 

"Can I join in?" She asked. Paintbrush and Lightbulb looked at each other and were seemingly communicating with eye contact. Test tube just stood there, awkwardly waiting for an answer. They then nod and let Test tube in. She sat near Lightbulb, stretching. 

Fan sat on ANOTHER chair, and took out his phone to start blogging. Lightbulb and Test tube started chatting about typical stuff they agree on, while Paintbrush sat there with a frown. They were there too, but Lightbulb wasn't talking to them. Were they annoyed because more people were there or were they just jealous?

---

As they sat at the kitchen table, they eyed Lightbulb again and felt something hit them. She was chatting with Nickel, who sat across them both. They gave a glare at Nickel and started chewing their food. They didn't even notice Lightbulb shaking her hand in front of them until she started shouting. 

"Yo! Mi Amor!!! WAKE UP!!" She nudged them enough to make them slip out of their trance, "You're angry again!"

They looked at her and blushed. Mi Amor is a new nickname. They then looked away and continued eating their food. 

"Don't ignore me!! And don't just act like you weren't glaring at money guy over here!" Lightbulb kept flailing her arms around, acting mad. They just glared at her again and continued eating. 

Lightbulb had a surprised look on her face. Paintbrush completely ignored her. They would usually do this but ever since they mended their friendship, they would spend more time with her. Did she make them mad? Or were they just jealous?

---

Salt wanted to host another party so Oj told everyone to go to the pool. Most of the contestants were chatting away while some were in the pool and eating. Lightbulb was rambling about crabs to Fan while excitedly flailing her arms around again. Paintbrush got out of the pool and walked to Test tube. They both began chatting away random things. A few minutes later, Paintbrush got hungry and went to the bbq station. They saw Lightbulb and Fan together and frowned. They also gave an angry look at him.

They waited for their bbq to finish cooking but suddenly Baseball approached them. 

"What's up, PB?" Greeted Baseball. He was holding a cup of strawberry punch. 

"Nothing much. Just hungry." Paintbrush then slicked their bristles back, saying those words with a deadpan expression and a deadpan tone.

"Alright... Anyway, it looks like you've been eyeing Fan with a nasty look. What's on your mind?" Baseball asked. Paintbrush just kept their deadpan- never mind. 

They ignored him and picked up their bbq. They put on their usual toppings and walked passed Fan and Lightbulb with their deadpan face. The two looked at each other and shrugged. 

Why were they acting like this? Were they just annoyed? 

Or were they just jealous?

---

I actually had something planned for the chapter this time but STILL

Anyway I hope you enjoyed it!

970 words

(edited on 6/19/22)

- cleaykk