Room 43// An Inanimate Insanity College AU

22- Trip & Fall

"Alright class, considering the underwhelming amount of students present, there will be two people in a single cabin instead of four as was intended. I will be assigning dorms to each of you, although since each has four rooms supplied you are free to switch as you see fit. Now..."

Paintbrush kind of zoned out as Professor Easel assigned cabins, sneaking a few glances Lightbulb's way when they were absolutely certain she wasn't looking.

They were paired with some girl in their class they were unfamiliar with, and the two of them didn't really speak outside of a curt hello as they packed away their things.

Then it was a tour of the mountains, including a small town district nearby the cabins. Paintbrush looked at all the stores in consideration, wondering if they should take Lightbulb out to one of them. Would that one seem too much like a date? Would that be boring?

Honestly, nothing was boring when it came to Lightbulb. She was so funny and just... herself. But Paintbrush didn't want to screw this up.

...Feelings were hard, man. They kind of miss being oblivious to their feelings; at least then they wouldn't have to find a way to swallow the pill of Lightbulb not liking them back.

Because she didn't. That much was clear. She was so beautiful, and great, and there was just no way. They weren't going to get their hopes up; that much was certain.

They didn't even know if they actually loved Lightbulb yet; sure, their heart sped at the mere thought of her, but it could just be an innocent crush that'll go away.

...The thought of that kind of hurts their heart. Okay, love then. For now. If they're wrong, then... well, nothing's really lost, is it? They're keeping this fully to themselves; and Marshmallow, they suppose.

"And over here is the hiking trail, which each class will be taking part in throughout different intervals. There will be many opportunities to take pictures, so feel free to do so whenever you see fit as long as you don't split off from your group," Professor Easel explained, gesturing to the beginning of the hiking trail.

Paintbrush vaguely remembers packing a camera; their mind feels numb, because of the cold and the walking and...

How's Lightbulb doing? They wonder. Her class was behind theirs, whispering to each other as they walked toward the hiking trail as well. At that moment, Professor Easel instructed the class to keep walking or else this would take all day.

Paintbrush followed obediently, despite the part of them longing to fall behind and look for the familiar head of brassy blonde hair in the small crowd behind them.

However, it was made clear that wouldn't be necessary when their shoulder was tapped twice in a quick succession. Paintbrush whipped their head around in shock, eyes landing on the exact girl they had been daydreaming about no more than a moment ago.

"Hey," she said, mischief gleaming in her eyes. The blue-white snow behind them really made her stand out; all bright colours, a vibrant red parka and yellow earmuffs that Paintbrush doesn't remember packing.

Her eyes themselves were an electric shade of blue, so unnatural and so absolutely beautiful. Paintbrush never really had a favorite color before, but they could live in the shade of blue that were her eyes.

"Hi," they said plainly, voice just louder than a whisper. They walked on with their class, Lightbulb walking slightly behind. Paintbrush was already in the back, so they didn't have to find an excuse to walk alongside her.

If they had to, though, they would have. It's a bit of a scary thought, how far they'd go for someone they had just fallen for. Maybe it's been going on longer than they thought.