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Fireball cracks open his eyes to the morning sun shining through his hotel room window. "Ugh..." Fireball mumbles as he pushes himself off the mattress, practically peeling his body off of his bed. Stumbling to the bathroom, Fireball checks his appearance in the mirror.
Not... terrible. He looks tired, but not ghostly like the day before. Leaving the bathroom, he grabs and unplugs his phone by the bedside table. He presses the on button to be greeted by the photo he had taken of him and Pound before everything messed up, he had forgotten he had been longingly staring at it the night before.
Fireball frowns heavily. Day ruined. And he just woke up, great, just great. He sets his phone back down after clicking out of his photos app, best not to take it to the challenge anyway, he doesn't have the money to buy a new one if he breaks it doing one of Vaseys stupid challenges.
Fireball hurries down the steps to the lobby. It was 12:30 and on average the challenges usually started at 1pm. As soon as he reaches the last step he instantly regrets waking up. His fellow contestants sat around, gossiping and yelling.
Fireball presses his thumb against his mouth, a small habit he learned sometime during his childhood. He aimlessly wanders around the room, opting to lean against the bar rather than interacting with everyone. "FIREBALL!" Fireballs eyes snap up at the sound of his voice being shouted by a loud, very recognizable voice.
"Hey, Caramel Apple." He grunts out, hoping his sour response would deter his new friend. "I wonder what today's challenge will be!" Caramel Apple muses, leaning against the wall next to Fireball. Fireball slumps, he's stuck with him now, isn't he. Guess it's better than being alone, "what do you think, Fireball!", almost. "I'm not sure, hopefully something easy." Fireball replies dryily.
Eventually after a bit of conversation (mostly on Caramel Apples side), Mirror walks over. "Hey, guys!" She smiles, though Fireball can tell it's forced. "Hey Mirror." Caramel Apple exclames, "FINALLY, THE TRINAMIC TRIO IS TOGETHER!" Mirror giggles before looking up at Fireball, who, at the moment, is sulking next to them.
"Fireball, can I talk to you privately for a moment." Mirror says, strongly, like he has no option but to comply. "Huh? Oh, sure." Fireball sighs as he follows behind Mirror. She leads him into the.... second lobby? He's not sure where they are but it's not far from everyone else. "What is it?" Fireball asks, scowling.
"What's happening with you and Pound?" Fireball feels his heart sink to his stomach, he feels sick, "Ever since you guys spoke, a day or so ago, you've been really down in the dumps!" She throws her hands in the air to punctiate the sentence.
Fireball glances down, unable to meet Mirrors gaze. "Nothing, we just decided that we needed to make other friends." Mirror raises an eyebrow, "Fireball...." "FINE!" he growls crossing his arms, he can feel tears clawing at his eyes.
"Pound kissed me last week and Glitchy saw so now their blackmailing Pound, so Pound thinks it was a mistake and I thought it was a good thing and he says that it wasn't and I-" Fireball takes a quick breath, tears running down his face as he opens his mouth to continue rambling, "A-and he keeps saying he wants to be something but we can't? He's such a coward, I just- " Fireball glance back at Mirrors face to see she's glancing behind him... At the door.
Quickly spinning around he sees a wide eyed eyed Pound standing at the door, "I- the challenge is starting soon." He says quickly before running off, and all Fireball can do is stand there. Eventually, Fireballs body catches up to his brain and he starts to sob, "Oh, shit, I-" Mirror whispers to herself trying to help Fireball calm down.
As Mirror is kneeling down on the ground next to Fireball, trying to keep him calm, she hears Vasy yell, "THE CHALLENGE IS STARTING, COME ON!" She shouts. Mirror bites her lip, she wants to stay with Fireball but she doesn't want Yearbook all alone with Service Bell out there.
Fireball notices Mirror starting at the door, "You can go." He weakly mumbles. Mirror glances back, hesitantly she asks, "Are you sure?" He weakly smiles, "Yeah, I'll be fine." Mirror nods before running off.
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After the challenge, Pound quickly runs back to his room. His mind was still playing back everything that had happened recently, everything with Glitchy and Beer Keg.....and Fireball.
Pound rolls on to his back as he stairs up at the ceiling. Fireball... Pound feels that dreadfull feeling creep into his chest. Fireball doesn't think he cares about him, when obviously he does! Pound lo-likes Fireball alot! So, so much, but a relationship between them just.... Isn't possible. Not here.
Pound presses his palms against his eyes. It's for the best! "Fuck...." Pound still feels bad though. He sits up and hops to his feet. Fireball looked pretty rough earlier, and he knows it's his fault, even if they can't... be a thing, he can still care about his friend. Pound needs to make sure he's ok.
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Fireball slides out of bed when he hears a soft knock at his door, "Who is it?" He mumbles, the door squeaking as it's steadily opened. When Fireball sees that shiny, silver and gold glint he knew oh so well. His eyes widen before he throws on a fake face of displeasure.
"oh, Pound, what are you doing here."
Fireball watches Pounds face turn hurt, then hesitant, before opening his mouth, "I just wanted to know if your ok, you seemed... Upset earlier. And I know you don't want to see me but Im still your friend" Fireball huffs and rolls his eyes, "Don't pretend like you care!" He snaps, "just leave."
Pound frowns but doesn't back down, "Fireball, I mean it. I do care about you, whether you want to believe it or not." Fireball feels his defensive act crumble as he growls and turns around and walks back into his room, leaving the door wide open, which Pound takes as an invitation to step inside. He shuts the door behind him but doesn't get any farther into the room.
Fireball sits on the edge of his bed, he pulls his knees to his chest as he stairs at the floor. "Fireball?" Pound decides to risk it and walks over to his 'friend'. He sits on the bed next to him, leaving enough space between them for both of them to be comfortable.
Fireball turns his head to look at Pound, "What?" Pound fiddles with his hands, "I- I'm sorry. I- I have... I just can't..." Fireball sits up a bit straighter as he notices Pounds eyes are watering. Fireball reaches over and puts his hand on Pounds shoulder, "Pound, it's alright. I- I'm sorry too, I know your scared, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless." Fireball reaches his other hand over and forces Pound to face him, "Pound i- I love you, and I know we can do this, together."
Fireball hears a gasp from Pound, he can't decipher whether is a good or a bad gasp. Suddenly feeling very self conscious he glances off, looking everywhere but at Pound. "Fireball..." Pound warily whispers, moving one hand to the side of his face, instantly startling Fireball into finally looking at Pound. "i- i-" Pound stutters, he wants to say it, he really, really does. "I love you too." He give a soft smile, tears sliding down his face as he wraps his arms around Fireball, pulling him into a hug. "Really?" He mumbles, tightly wrapping his arms around Pound, afraid this was all a dream or a sick joke.
Pound pulls back so he can see Fireballs expression and so he can see his own, "Yes, I do." He wipes his eyes, grinning slightly as he feels himself shake. Fireball lets his mouth upturn into a small smile, "Does that mean you want to try, y'know, being something." Pound feels anxiety twinge in his chest but the feeling is quickly overturned when he sees Fireballs hopefully expression.
"I- I think so."