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1.
"Alright guys," Two called out to the 42 contestants of TPOT, "Now that the first episode is over, feel free to explore your new hotel!"
The contestants flocked to the hotel in droves. Each team ran in one after another, contestants getting mingled and squishing through the set of double doors. Are You Okay? stood further back, some slowly making their way over. None of them were in a particular rush. Tennis Ball would stick with Golf Ball, the ladder heading to her factory due to "it being more stable for my well-being to use my prior housing anyways", TV followed them because they were scientists. Eraser and Puffball had already run off to the hotel, leaving Pen and Fries.
Fries seemed offly distant to Pen. He wasn't usually to speak much, and was nonchalant and a bit rude at that, but it nagged at Pen that something was wrong. Once it was just the two of them (and Black Hole awkwardly flying around, seeing he couldn't really enter the hotel in the first place), Pen finally spoke up.
"Hey, Fries," Pen spoke, walking over to his new teammate, "You okay? Something seems to be bugging you."
Fries scoffs, "Why do you want to know that?"
"Well, for one, we're teammates now, it'd be good for us to bond, and two, you got pretty roughed up that challenge," Pen explained.
"Not wrong about that second part," Fries mutters, "Lost all my fries for that."
Something clicks in Pen's brain with Fries statement, "I could always help you find your fries! Would that make it easier for you?"
"...Yeah. It would," Fries lets a small smile flicker onto his face, "You don't have to, though, I ca-"
"But I want to help you! As teammates, y'know?" Pen cuts Fries off, not letting him try to get Pen to back out.
Fries nods, "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with."
And with that, the two boys were off to retrieve the lost fries.
2.
Whatever compelled Golf Ball to make weekly team meetings that were forced really pissed Fries off. At the very least she could make them optional! Such a stupid, stupid bossy bot. He didn't really feel like he even fit into the team dynamic in any way. Tennis Ball followed Golf Ball, TV relayed information, Puffball caused trouble, and Pen and Eraser were all buddy-buddy. Fries just felt so... out of place here. Everything would be the same without him, maybe Puffball would be a tad sad because he would be gone. If only this was BFDIA, where he could ditch the team to be solo. The only place where he felt he truly belonged.
But, of course, there was more to each of his fellow teammates. Most of all, of course, Pen.
It was another afternoon after one of these horrible forced meetings. Fries was sitting in the grass as his team dispersed, plucking out each yellow blade and going over their finer details. Eraser and Puffball seemed to be getting along fine, hopefully she was making another friend? Golf Ball, Tennis Ball, and TV all left for the former's factory. And Pen, well, Pen was just staring at Fries, a look on his face that mixed concern with contemplation.
Eventually, Pen walked over, sitting down next to Fries. He watched the repetitive motion of plucking, examining, and tossing, letting the two sit in silence for a moment before speaking up, "What's up?"
"The sky," Fries dead-panned. He wasn't exactly in the mood today.
Pen nodded, "Not what I meant."
"I know," Fries voice was blunter than usual, "Why are you even talking to me?"
"Something seems to be bothering you," Pen pointed out.
Fries raised an eyebrow, "How can you even tell?"
"I can see it in your eyes," Pen explained, "They get dull, if that makes sense. They usually carry this air of indifference, but it's not there when something's bugging you."
"You... You notice that stuff? Even the stuff Puffball wouldn't?" Fries contemplated his teammate's words.
Pen nodded, "I do. So, if you don't mind, what's bugging you?"
"It's... kinda stupid," Fries mumbled.
"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Pen explained, "But if it's something you'd like to talk about, I'm all ears."
Fries looked at his teammate, sighing, "I'd rather not. But... I don't mind your company."
"I can stay as long as you'd like," Pen smiled, "I don't have plans."
The two boys spent the afternoon together, staring at clouds and trash-talking their ever-bossy team leader.
3.
Fries limped out of a denser patch of the trees regrown by Two after the destruction caused by Four's dumb challenge, covered in mud. It was just his luck that Puffball wanted to venture into the forest and had no one to do it with, due to Eraser and Pen being caught up in an intense gaming session of Mario Kart 64. The mud wasn't his worries, though, he spent plenty of time covered in dirt and grime to the point it was second nature to him. The problem instead was with the reason why the adventure stopped in the first place. Fries had a really rough trip at one point, and it really hurt to put pressure onto his ankle. Of course, Puffball had said to wait and let her get help, but Fries was too independent to actually listen to her.
In the distance, Puffball was zooming over at an extremely fast speed, with surprisingly, someone other than Fries atop her. It was Pen, clutching on for dear life, an expression of fear plastered on his face as he pressed himself as close to Puffball as possible. Fries annoyingly stared at them, until Puffball slowed down and got to him.
"I told you to stay put!" Puffball reprimanded.
Fries scoffed, rolling his eyes, "I told you I don't need help."
"Yes you do!" Puffball argued, "You tripped, tried to stand up, and winced in pain. I'm trying to help you! You know I can't get dirty, it's impossible to clean stuff out!"
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much! I worked alone for over a year! 'Help' is something I never needed, and something I'm not going to accept," Fries spat.
Pen took one of Fries' hands, holding it within his own, a voice calm and soothing, "It's okay to need help sometimes. Even if you don't want to accept help, you need it right now. Puffball's right, just look down at your ankle."
Fries rolled his eyes, looking down to see that his ankle had swelled up, desperately needing attention. He sighed, "Fine."
"Alright then, let's go," Pen lifted Fries up to carry him, relieving pressure from his ankle.
Pen took care of Fries for the rest of the day, with Puffball helping out.
4.
Fries stood against the hotel, one of his feet sitting against the wall as the other dug into the ground. Pen and Eraser had started a game of tag Puffball quickly got in on. Golf Ball, Tennis Ball, and TV were going somewhere, but ended up joining in on the game of tag. His team was bonding with each other. Having fun. Releasing pent up energy. Pen seemed the most serious out of everyone, dashing at full speed out of the way whenever someone got close, and stealing sneaky tags when he was it. But, especially since he wasn't playing, Fries could see Pen quickly running out of steam for the game.
As he stood watching, Fries noticed Eraser walk over to Pen, the two talking, although Fries couldn't make out what they were saying. He could see their expressions though. Eraser seemed a little concerned, surprising for him, and Pen seemed hesitant and trying to continue playing. Fries could very easily guess what their conversation was about - which was the fact Pen definitely needed a break. But Pen seemed to not want it, until Golf Ball walked over and said something as well. Eventually, Pen walked over to where Fries was, slumping down on the wall and heavily panting.
"Hey... Fries..." Pen spoke between pants, "Why don't... you play... with them?"
Fries shrugged, "Not particularly interested."
"But... you never... play with... us..." Pen protested.
"Why should I?" Fries asked, "I'm already plenty happy without it."
Pen thought for a moment, "Well... you could... always... get pent... up emotions... out..."
Fries nodded, thinking, "I can see how that's helpful."
"See?... Why... don't you... join us..." Pen asked.
"How about this," Fries put up a deal, "We wait until your back in shape to join back in, and I'll join as well."
Pen nodded, "Sure..."
The two sat in silence for a moment, watching their teammates play, before Pen questioned, "Why... don't you... join us?"
"I..." Fries hesitated, "I don't... exactly feel like I fit in? There's a dynamic in the team, and I'm not part of it. I'm like, the side piece."
"I don't... see it that... way," Pen smiled, looking up at Fries.
Fries looked down, "Really? ...Then how do I fit into this team? It's dynamic?"
"Well..." Pen explained, "You're... kinda what... connects all of us... in a way... I know you aren't... friends with Golf Ball... but you are... with me, and Tennis Ball... and Puffball... you join us together..."
"Oh. I... don't think I realized that," Fries smiled, "Thanks."
Pen gave a thumbs up, "No problem."
Once Pen was ready, the two rejoined the game of tag, thrill running through Fries body. Pen really was right - Fries did fit into this team.
5.
The light drizzle outside was a refresh to some (like Tree and Grassy) and a dampen to others. Fries felt especially prone to this. He wasn't a particularly antsy guy, but he had to admit he much preferred the feeling of the sun coating his back in warmth than the feeling of an artificial floor beneath his feet. He could technically be outside when it was raining, but that messed up his cardboard exterior and made him feel sluggish and felt terrible overall. So, like a few other contestants, he was one locked inside during bad weather like this.
He sullenly stared out his bedroom window. He shared his room with Puffball, and although she really struggled to get clean from most things, water wasn't one of them. In fact, she was outside, happily flying through the rain, and he was watching her from the safety of their shared bedroom. His finger tapped against the glass in a rhythmic pattern, matching that of the rain keeping him bound inside with nothing to do. He could see so many objects just having fun, and he longed for their freedom.
His sulking of not being allowed to go outside for his own safety was interrupted by a soft knock accompanied by the creak of the door barely moving from him having it cracked open. Turning around, Pen was the one on the other side, a crooked smile on his face.
"Hey dude," Pen walked over, "How you holding up?"
Fries expression did not match Pen's, as he stared back through the window, "...I... I wish I could go outside..."
"I mean, I can't recall a time I haven't seen you outside, I guess it makes sense why you're down," Pen stood next to him, watching his fellow combatants play.
Fries nodded, "I don't have anything to do if I can't go outside. I guess I'm just... bored."
"You? Bored?" Pen joked, laughing before his face fell, "But seriously, if you ever need something to do, I'm always down for a round of Mario Kart or two."
"I guess having something to do would help," Fries face lit up a bit, "Thanks."
Pen turned around, "No problem! The Nintendo 64 is up in my room, though. Come on!"
Fries turned around and chased after Pen, the two in an intense neck-and-neck race to reach Pen's room. Fries finally had something to do on gloomy days.
+1.
Tree sat next to Fries as he worked on his small garden, growing potatoes. The two were some of the earliest risers, and found it surprisingly easy for mornings to be simply silence between the two. Tree enjoyed the morning sun, and Fries enjoyed working on his garden. But something was nagging at Fries.
It was a bit past 8am when Fries sat up from being hunched over from his garden. He looked over to his companion, seeing Tree spaced out with a small smile on his face, clearly enjoying the sun. Fries cleared his throat, catching Tree's attention.
"Hey," Fries spoke, "What time is it?"
Tree looked down at his watch, "8:09, why'd you ask?"
"Oh," Fries muttered to himself, "Pen should have come out for a morning walk almost 10 minutes ago."
"Why don't you check in on him?" Tree suggested.
Fries looked over, contemplating Tree's words for a moment, "I mean... He's checked in on me plenty. I think it's time I repay the favor."
"Do you need me to finish what you started this morning?" Tree asked, "I don't want you to get behind on your garden."
"No, I don't, just enjoy your morning, alright?" Fries asked, standing up.
Tree nodded, "Go check in on Pen."
Fries walked into the hotel, planning to go to the cafeteria/breakfast area. Best case scenario, of course, was that Pen was being slow with breakfast and nothing more. But once he got inside, he saw Snowball and Two yelling in-front of the elevator because the former ripped the elevator doors open again. Something twisted in Fries gut at this, because who knows if someone was stuck in the elevator. And in the back of his mind, something told him Pen was.
Fries only knew one way to verify this. Besides, Pen's room was on the top floor, if he wasn't stuck in the elevator (hypothetically), Fries would already be well on his way to checking to see if Pen was in his room. The first flight of stairs was nothing, but once he reached the second floor he could hear faint sobbing from above. A word cracked in through the sobs, a voice Fries instantly recognized. It was quiet and faint, choppy and hoarse, but it carried Pen through it. And Fries knew he had to do something.
Fries ran up the next flight of stairs faster than he had ever run up a flight of stairs before. Floor three, and the sobbing was coming from below. That was good, that meant Pen wasn't super high up. The bad news, though, was that this meant Pen was stuck between floors. He needed a way to get Pen out without damaging the elevator...
And so, Fries screamed at the top of his lungs for the only one he knew could teleport someone, "TWO!!!!!"
Two quickly popped in-front of Fries, "Hey! What's the matter? You don't need to scream so loud."
"It's Pen," Fries' eyes looked down where the floor and elevator meet, "I think he's stuck inside the elevator."
"Oooh, yeah, let me just," Two snapped their finger, teleporting Pen onto the floor they were on, "There we go."
Pen instantly latched onto Fries leg as the ladder smiled, "Thanks."
"No problem. Just, don't scream as loud next time, alright?" Two asked.
"Yeah, I can keep that in mind," Fries said, looking down at his teammate he had grown ever fond of, "So, Pen, are you okay?"
Pen shook his head, "I- I've been st- stuck for like, I d- don't know, at least 20 minutes..."
"Hey, Pen, look at me," Fries tried his best to lean down, with Pen latched on his leg, "You're no longer stuck in there. I'm here. You're okay."
"B- but wh-" Pen tried to say something.
Fries shook his head, "No buts. Just me and you. Do you want to go back to your room?"
Pen nodded his head, eyes shimmering like a puppy. Fries picked Pen up into a bridal-style carry, walking up the stairs while carrying his teammate and friend. Pen latched onto his arm almost like a parasite, yet a lot less harmful and a lot more cute wholesome. Eventually the two got to Pen's room, Fries sitting down on the bed as Pen cuddled up next to him.
"I promise you this," Fries stated after the two had settled in, "I'll try my best to be there for you, especially with how much you're always being there for me. Deal?"
Pen nodded, "Deal."
Fries waited as the exhaustion from Pen's experience crept in, lulling him back to slumber. Fries wouldn't admit it, but... Pen was cute like this. Fries didn't mind staying inside for Pen's sake. He needed Fries right now, and Fries was going to do everything to be there for him.