Camp Murder (Inanimate Insanity)

Chapter 21 - Confessions

The dorm was quiet the following day. It was more empty than ever now. They'd gone from 9 to 4 teammates within the space of a month.
The weather was less-than ideal today; dark clouds spread across the sky, blocking any traces of sunlight and giving the camp a grey glow. Thick fog nestled through all nooks and crannies, settling itself in the dorm and intensifying that heavy feeling of guilt from the night before.

"Hey Test Tube." Fan spoke gently, yet the girl still jumped. Her green hair was untamed and she was still clad in striped - and rather nerdy - pajamas. "Gosh," she let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were Paintbrush."

Unsure of how to respond, Fan sat beside her on the bed, an awkward silence lingering between the two of them. What was he to say about everything that unfolded in the mansion last night? "Test Tube, I just..."
"Thank you Fan. Um... I'm glad you don't, uh, hate me. I expected that you'd probably want to avoid me after last night." Test Tube's voice broke with the memory of the previous evening.
"H-hate you? No, I think you're pretty great." The redhead rested his cheek on Test Tube's shoulder. "I was angry, and confused. I can't help but blame myself for this... though it wasn't my fault at all. Lately I've been so demotivated, like, what's the point? What are we even fighting for? I don't want the prize money anymore. I just want to go home. But we can't, can we? MePhone won't allow that. I haven't even used my phone much, haha..."

Pausing, Fan wiped hot tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. "What I'm trying to say is... Thank you too, I guess. Without you I don't know if I'd even wanna get out of bed this morning. What an interesting character arc, huh? Depressed nerd. Eh..."

Slightly shaken by Fan's sudden emotional outburst, Test Tube paused for a short while to form a sentence. "I didn't know you felt like that." The words came out pathetic and meaningless. She mentally punched herself.
"Do you?"
"Do I...?"
Fan gazed at her with sad eyes. "Do you feel like that too?"

"Golly, Fan, I... I feel a lot of things right now, but I'm...not good at explaining stuff like that."
"Yeah, I get it." The fanboy lifted his head from her shoulder and, with apprehension, took her hand. "Y'know, Testy... I'm feeling a lot too - F-feelings that I thought only existed in fiction. For you. Is that w-weird?"
"N-no... You can't, Fan, I- What do you even m-"

As if saving his butt, Lightbulb slid onto the bed between the two. "What are you nerds talkin' about?"
"You seem cheerful." Fan couldn't help but smirk at Lightbulb.

'Already back to her usual ways, huh?'

"Yeeeahhh..." The blonde pursed her lips before grinning. Incidentally, a soft ray of sunlight drifted through the dorm window. "I figured someone had to. I miss Marsh but we gotta take care of ourselves too, right?"

A short ways away, Paintbrush turned over in their bed. They were having NONE of that.

Mind still clouded by Fan's unruly confession, Test Tube muttered, "H-h-how mature of you..."
"I had a-" Turning to see if Paintbrush was listening, Lightbulb continued. "-super good idea. What if we held a camp talent show? Not for the actual show itself... Just to lift spirits, y'know? And in Marsh's memory."

The air grew lighter with the idea. Fan could just imagine it... the whole camp, both teams free of the stress of competition, doing what they love and spending time together? The last part sounded scary, but right now nothing could be better. "That's a great idea! I wanna help! Can I host?"

Relieved that her idea was well-received, Lightbulb cheered: "YES! You too, Testy? I'll go tell MePh-"
"Wait," Test Tube interrupted. "L-let me tell MePhone."

Stiffly, the scientist hopped to her feet and dashed out of the dorm into the chilled morning air. "What's her problem?" Lightbulb asked. Her face grew intrigued when Fan blushed.
"I dunno, we were talking about stuff and she just..." He stifled a giggle. "She'll get over it. Wanna make some props or something?"
"Do I?!"

With only the company of themselves, Fan and Lightbulb spent the next few hours busily working away at a disco ball, decking the microphone out and prettying eachother up with glitter. Midway through their work, the dorm door opened and afternoon sunlight illuminated the floor. Test Tube walked in, sweaty and still clad in pajamas. She averted Fan's gaze completely. "Good news is that MePhone said yes; bad news is that he made me set up the stage... I calculated the chance of that happening and it was only... two in... fifty-thousand and..." The tall girl trailed off when she saw Paintbrush's sleeping form. "...Gee whiz."

"They've been asleep all day." Fan stated, more interested in gluing a sequin to a piece of fabric.
Lightbulb chirped, "It's chill! Even Painty can't resist a talent show. They can't stay in bed forever."

'It sounds more like she's trying to convince herself.' Fan thought.

"Well then," The blonde rounded up all the props in her arm and nudged past Test Tube at the doorway. "We have a show to set up, sillies! Follow me."

Uneasy by Lightbulb's almost-forced happiness, Test Tube followed compliantly as Fan trailed behind to pick up fallen tinsel.