Chapter Text
“Can you believe that I’m running against Pin ? This is unbelievable!” Pencil was furious .
As Pencil stepped foot into the cafeteria, Book and Ice Cube quietly snickered, earning themselves a nasty scowl from Pencil.
“What’s so funny ?” she sneered.
Concerned, Book nudged Ice Cube, putting an end to their hushed laughter.
“Pencil, don’t you remember? Pin loves to lead. You couldn’t have forgotten what she was like in middle school!” Book remarked, nervous about upsetting her friend group’s leader.
Pencil could never forget it. Pin was insistent, overly-intense, and power hungry . She made it her life’s purpose to ensure things went her way . She may have mellowed out now, for reasons Pencil had never understood, but that didn’t stop Pin’s never-ending quest to be on top. At least in Pencil’s eyes.
A part of her missed that part of Pin.
Nevertheless, Pencil was enraged. “How could she possibly have the audacity to run for president again after all the rumors we spread! She shouldn’t be allowed to show her face around here!”
“That’s not exactly something to be proud of, Pencil.” Ice Cube muttered.
“Are you forgetting how she treated you two? Like actual garbage! It’s embarrassing how she didn’t let go of the swing incident until years later, Icy. And Book, she tormented you for months!”
“I mean, Ruby and I did embarrass her pretty badly. Dumping a bucket of paprika on her during Prank Week must have done a number on her. I think you need to calm down Pencil.”
“I will not calm down!” Pencil seethed. “And you two better watch your attitude. There’s a reason you guys are alternates.”
Book gulped, while Ice Cube simply rolled her eyes, going unnoticed by Pencil.
The trio sat down, with Pencil sitting across from the other two, and unpacked their lunch. Well, Book and Ice Cube did. Pencil simply took out her laptop, the sound of keys clacking dominating through the noisy cafeteria as she typed away.
“Aren’t you going to eat your lunch?” Ice Cube asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich.
“Who has time for lunch when there’s a campaign to run?” Pencil responded angrily, as if that was the most obvious answer. “I wish Match or Bubble were here. Maybe they would actually help me.”
Ice Cube scoffed. “You love to talk about how badly Pin treated us, but when will you realize that you’re worse-”
“What Ice Cube meant to say was-” Book interrupted, hoping they wouldn’t break out into another argument. “We think it would be a good idea for you to take a break. You seem really stressed!” Book swiftly closed Pencil’s laptop, giving her a warm smile.
None of that mattered to Pencil anymore. Not Ice Cube’s attitude, nor Book’s concern. Because that’s when Pencil saw her, sitting a few tables behind Book. Pin was seen handing out cookies to Coiny, Leafy, and Firey, smiling oh so effortlessly. And genuinely. It disgusted Pencil.
The floor screeched as Pencil’s chair rubbed against the hard cafeteria floor. Without taking a second to push her chair back in, Pencil stormed her way over to her campaign rival.
“I think we should go to the library later this week to work on my campaign posters! Are you guys-”
“Pin.”
Stopped in her train of thought, Pin looked up, only to be met with her .
Pin usually didn’t have Pencil on her mind much - she didn’t have a reason to - but ever since she learned that she would be running against the most popular girl in school for class president, it was all she could think about. She thought that they had left their rivalry in the past, and that Pin could finally mature and move on, but she knew damn well that this election would have a nasty ending. Not only was Pin worried for her mental health, but for her reputation as well.
“Hello Pencil,” she greeted her opponent cordially.
Pencil slammed her fist on the lunch table.
“Cut the crap Pin. How dare you run against me for class president?
Pin looked over to her other friends, confusion filling their faces.
Be mature, Pin. Don’t go back to your old ways.
Pin tried so hard to convince herself not to give in, not to give Pencil any more attention than she typically received. Pin could’ve taken a bite out of her sandwich and ignored her.
But egging Pencil on for old time’s sake couldn’t hurt too much , right?
“Oh, I didn’t know that you owned the title of class president now,” she responded hesitantly, but smugly.
Pin could practically see the flames engulf in Pencil’s eyes. Oh, she was mad .
“Don’t get too overconfident Pin,” Pencil inched closer, her gum’s scent dancing on Pin’s nose. “I’ve done it once, and I can do it again. I’ll make your life miserable if you try to take this from me.
“I can’t take something from you if it already belongs to me.”
Pop.
As if Pin hadn’t even spoken, Pencil’s bubblegum was splattered all over her face.
All Pin could see was red.
“I’d suggest you clean that up before potential voters see this.” Cackling, Pencil walked away.
“Oh my gosh, Pin! Let me help you clean that up,” Leafy declared as she reached for a napkin, stopping in her tracks when she looked over at Pin.
Pin was off of her high now. She wasn’t the same determined girl from a minute ago, the one who thought that messing with Pencil was no big deal.
The weight of the situation finally settled in for Pin as she began rocking back and forth, holding herself tightly while tears were fighting to escape her eyes.
“I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t-” Pin’s mumbling came to a halt upon a hand reaching over her shoulder.
“Pin, you can do it, I know you can. Don’t let Pencil get in the way of becoming class president.” Coiny comforted her. Or, at least tried.
“It’s not that,” Pin responded dryly.
“It’s not about… you know,” Leafy started as she cleaned the gum off of her friend’s face.
“I can’t let Pencil humiliate me again.” Just like that, tears started spilling out of her eyes. “I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”
“I don’t think so,” Firey added. “She needed to be humbled to be honest.”
Angrily, Pin got out of her seat. “Do you not remember all the rumors she spread about me? About how I had a secret crazy paprika obsession? Or how I was wheelchair bound for half a year? Or how I had a burn book talking shit about my own friends?” She practically yelled, causing some of the surrounding students to give her worried looks.
“It’s not like any of those are true!”
“One of them was true.” Pin muttered quietly, sitting back down.
Pin looked at her feet, embarrassed at the memory. Many people miraculously come out unscathed after a car accident. But not her.
Coming back from her 6th grade violin recital late at night, a drunk driver hit her mother’s car, nearly killing them both. Pin wasn’t physically capable enough to come back to school, so she did her classes online for the rest of the semester. She returned to constant bullying, with people making fun of her for “re-learning how to walk” and calling her nasty insults.
Pin was hurt, but she wasn’t surprised. Learning that Pencil had been airing out her personal matters did nothing but rub more salt in the wound.
Pin didn’t want the rumors to affect her mentality, but they caused her mental health and self-perception to shred to pieces, which she found much more embarrassing than the rumors themselves. Pin was supposed to be confident. She wasn’t supposed to care about how others saw her. But she did, and it had sent her into a spiral.
Leafy lifted Pin’s face up, tucking her short bangs away. “Pin, I know that things were pretty bad back then, but you stayed strong. You preserved and fought through it. And not many people can say that they became class president in middle school after facing horrible rumors.” A small chuckle came from Pin’s mouth. But it was short-lived.
“Whatever Pencil throws at you, you’ll be able to handle it. I promise.”
Pin sniffled. “I don’t even know how she knew about the car accident.”
“What car accident?” Firey asked bluntly, quickly receiving a harsh slap from Coiny.
“We’re here for you Pin, no matter what.” Coiny reminded her.
Pin knew her friends were being sincere, and she tried to stay optimistic, but her stomach did somersaults at the thought of how Pencil could ruin her next.