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2:00am
It was only a five minute walk from Test Tube's lab to the hotel, but the frosty November winds were making what should have been a quick, leisurely stroll feel more like a trek through a harsh tundra environment.
Finally, she arrived at the front entrance of the hotel, and slipped in through the door. Test Tube crept through the hallway of Hotel OJ's second floor, her pathway dimly lit by the weak light of her phone. She entered her room as quietly as she could, and let out a sigh. It was a good thing Lightbulb was away on a trip at the moment, because she certainly wouldn't approve of Test Tube returning home so late at night.
On the opposite side of the hallway, a door creaks open, and the sound is followed by tired, uncertain footsteps approaching the scientist's room.
"Tee?"
At the sound of his voice, Test Tube freezes in place, her hands still on the door that she was just in the middle of closing. She slowly peeks out from behind the wooden panel, trying her best to act calm, when on the inside, her mind was anything but.
Outside of her doorway stands Fan, dressed in some nerdy pyjamas. Weak, silvery moonlight illuminated his face slightly. He looked tired, and his hair was a mess. Not that any of this really mattered to Test Tube.
She stared at his face for a little too long, before realising that she should say something.
"Fan? Good to see you again... buddy", she said, smiling at him.
Buddy?? Really?? How smooth.
She facepalmed internally.
"Yeah! Great to see you too!", he responded, before stepping in closer to hug her.
Despite his groggy, worn out look, Fan's tone was as energetic and cheerful as ever. He smiled right back at up her as Test Tube returned his embrace.
The two friends had always been quite physically affectionate with eachother, so the hug really wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but still, the sudden warmth and closeness made Test Tube's heart race.
"Golly, what are you even doing up so late?", she asked.
"I could ask you the same thing..."
The moment of silence that followed was thick with tension. Until suddenly, Fan's hands clung onto her white lab coat. He took a sharp and shaky breath in, and leaned further into the hug, as if he was afraid to let go of her.
"Hey... is everything alright?", she questioned, having taken notice of this.
Fan bit his lip (a nervous tic of his) and looked away from her for a brief moment before answering.
"It's just that... you were away for so long"
That cheerful, upbeat tone is gone now. His voice wobbles as he speaks – he's fighting back tears. He doesn't want to start crying, especially not here. Not in front of her.
"It was really lonely without you," his hands are shaking now, "And you weren't answering your phone or – or–" He stumbles over his last few words, and feels tears running down his face.
She probably thinks I'm pathetic.
Test Tube scrambles to try comfort him. It pains her to see him so distraught, especially knowing that it was due to her own actions. She fully envelops him in her embrace, holding him as close as possible. A wave of guilt hits her at full force as she hears his quiet sobs.
"I'm... really sorry Fan. I just..."
The truth is, she can't exactly tell him the real reason she's been away for so long. She had told him that she was going to be away for a bit, working on a big project, but that was a total lie. She was finding it difficult to focus on anything due to how... weird... she had been feeling lately.
Hours had quickly turned to days, as Test Tube tried to keep herself distracted with all sorts of unnecessary work. Rearranging all of her files in alphabetical order, adding some crazy hardware modifications to an old console she had laying around, and anything else that she could busy herself with.
The longer she spent there, the less wanted to leave, and before she knew it, a whole week had passed without any contact with the outside world. She escaped to the comfort of her lab to hide from her problem, which did nothing but make things worse.
But now her problem was quite literally standing right outside her door, in all of its terrifying beauty, and she had no choice but to face it.