Room 43// An Inanimate Insanity College AU

18- Christmas Special (in September... give in to the fanfiction calendar)

"Can't believe Fan ditched us!" Lightbulb exclaimed, flopping down onto the couch.

The group had just returned from the train station; Fan had to leave two weeks early because he was traveling out of state to see his family. Paintbrush had helped him pack while Test Tube and Lightbulb went out to grab pizzas for the occasion.

"He didn't ditch us, Lightbulb," Test Tube said with a lilt of humor to her tone. "He's just on holiday early; he'll be back."

"Nope, he ditched us," Lightbulb said, shaking her head.

"I'm tired," Paintbrush proclaimed, more sharply than they intended. "Can we all please sit in silence for like, two seconds?"

The room went silent for exactly two seconds, then a loud bang sounded from the kitchen. It was Lightbulb (because when was it not?) who had not so discreetly slipped into the room.

The volume of the bang was almost comedic, and Paintbrush's head snapped to the direction of it. "Lightbulb, why?" they sighed, as she banged a pan with a wooden spoon.

"I need to let my anger out," Lightbulb said plainly, hitting the pan once again. She grinned mischievously at Paintbrush, her eyes glimmering with mirth.

Paintbrush walked over and swiped the spoon out of her hand, trying to suppress the small smile they felt creeping up on them. Instead they kept a straight face, placing it back with the rest of the kitchenware.

"Wait, Fan isn't going to be able to compete in the Secret Santa for the dorms!" Lightbulb exclaimed. "Aw, this sucks!"

"Lightbulb, nobody is going to do that," Paintbrush said with a small laugh. "The only people who look at billboards are old people."

Lightbulb tried to think of a counter-argument, but when she came up with nothing she simply sat on the kitchen island and pouted, crossing her arms firm across her chest.

After a little while of sulking, Lightbulb seemed to completely forget about that entire situation. "We should decorate the dorm for Christmas!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

"We're... not going to be here for Christmas, though," Test Tube said confusedly.

"DON'T RUIN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!" Lightbulb yelled, causing both Test Tube and Paintbrush to go into a stummed silence. she cleared her throat and continued just as sunnily as she was before. "We should get a Christmas tree and place it by the door!"

Paintbrush would've said something about Christmas still being almost a month away, but they certainly didn't want to be on the direct receiving end for her sudden fury about ruining the Christmas Spirit. They honestly didn't care much for Christmas; they much preferred Halloween.

However, the dorm didn't do anything for Halloween and now they were going all-out for Christmas. Probably because it was Lightbulb doing the organizing, and with her it was a constant stream of all or nothing.

Lightbulb went about planning, extremely excited to plan yet another party. Her eyes clicked shut as her head hit the couch cushions. Paintbrush smiled fondly at the peaceful yet drained figure of Lightbulb, taking one of the spare blankets in the communal cupboard (thank the stars Test Tube thought of installing one) and draped it over the sleeping girl.

"I always had a feeling she'd like Christmas," Test Tube said, fixing up dinner for the now smaller group. She was making chicken wraps; something that had become somewhat of a staple dish of the past couple of months Paintbrush had been there.

...That was partially because it was one of the only things Paintbrush could actually cook, and they suspected it was the same for Lightbulb and Fan. Maybe they should pick up a cookbook sometime.