Chapter Text
Since the beginning of BFDI, all the way to TPOT, Golf Ball and Tennis-Ball have been inseparable. They will ALWAYS be together, no matter what. However, one day during a challenge, Tennis Ball notices something.. Rather odd, for himself.
-
"Alright team! If we want to win, we’ll have to work together! I say, we split into teams—that will give us a HUGE advantage in the challe.."
That was where she had cut out for him. He was sitting at the table their team was at, and he was.. Well, not the best at hiding his blushing face whilst directly looking at the girl across from him.
He admired her features, the way she spoke, the courage she had of taking leadership during challenges, she’d never be afraid to speak her opinion. That’s why he stayed with her, he felt comfortable and at home with her, not just some useless guy.
He was snapped out of his thoughts, when someone tapped his shoulder. He glanced up, seeing Pen and Eraser standing there, Eraser looked annoyed, standing behind Pen with his arms crossed, looking at the ground.
Pen however, had a smile on his face, "Hey, bro. Me, you and ‘Raser got teamed up for the challenge, let’s go before Golf Ball starts yelling at us.." Pen mumbled, and turned away from the ball, to look at his pouting boyfriend. Pen put a hand on his shoulder, and Eraser rolled his eyes.
Tennis Ball was a bit surprised for a minute, why had he been paired with them? Why didn’t Golf Ball choose him for her team? Why—
"Tennis Ball!" A loud voice barked, and he knew immediately who it belonged to.
He whipped around, and stared down at Golf Ball, smiling. "Hi Golfie! What’s up?" He asked, a tone of happiness flooding his voice.
She then began to re-explain the plan to him, and told him why’d he had been paired with Pen and Eraser. She finished, and began turning away, "Also, try not to be so distracted next time, TB." With that, she walked away to TV.
He stood there for a second, shit, had she seen his staring? God, he was so done for. He decided to brush that thought away, and ran to catch up with Pen and Eraser, whom already began walking to start whatever their goal was/job assigned.
He caught up to them, and began slowing down, now walking their pace. He listened to their conversation, a bit nosy, but, curious.
"I’m telling you, ‘Raser, I don’t think she meant it like that—" Pen was cut off by Eraser, who seemed mad.
"Bro! She is so annoying! She can’t just insult me and get away with it! If Blocky was here, he’d say the same thing." Eraser said, and crossed his arms.
Oof. Tennis-Ball hadn’t known Pen that well, but knew Blocky was a soft spot for him. He decided to cut in, trying to make the peace.
"Sooo—any ideas where to start looking for the supplies?" Tennis-Ball asked, and the two boys turned to look at him.
Pen thought for a second, and slowed down. He stopped, turning fully around to face TB, "I was thinking we’d check the hotel, bro. I mean, where else do you find utensils like that?" He shrugged, and Tennis-Ball smiled, extending his leg to pat Pen’s shoulder, but was slapped off by Eraser, who looked mad.
"Okay, bro. No need for the touching." He growled, and wrapped an arm around Pen’s waist, rolling his eyes. Pen looked down at him, confused.
Tennis-Ball muttered an awkward apology, before the three set off again to finish the challenge. A little bit before reaching the hotel, Eraser cut in, breaking the silence.
"So, bro, what’s your deal with GB? You were staring at her and looked like a fire hydrant earlier," He said, and Tennis-Ball immediately turned a bit red in the face again.
"I-I don’t know what you mean!" Tennis-Ball said, his voice going up an octave. Eraser’s smirk widened, and he continued.
"Aww," He mocked, "Does TB have a crush on his nerdy ass girlfriend?" He snickered, and was elbowed in his crotch, and he immediately crouched down, grabbing his pants.
Pen rolled his eyes at the dramatic mess, acting like he wasn’t the one whom inflicted the pain. He turned to Tennis-Ball, offering a small smile as an apology, before picking up Eraser off the ground, and they arrived at the hotel.
Hours had passed, and Tennis-Ball was sitting in his dormitory, waiting for Golf Ball to show up for their nightly study session. That was friends did, right..? No. That’s not what ‘friends’ did, and he knew it.
He groaned, and put a leg up to his face. He was REALLY overthinking this by now, but couldn’t get it off his mind. Did he really have a crush on his best friend? Was he gross? How would she react? He didn’t know.
Maybe Eraser was right, maybe he DID have a crush on his best friend. No matter how hard he tried to shake the thought, it didn’t work. He sat up suddenly, and decided to call off their study night. He was about to open his door to go tell GB, but the door flung open, followed by the girl he loved.
He froze for a minute, before wiping the remaining sweat off, and greeting her, "Hey, GB! Ready for.." He cut himself off, when she slammed a textbook on the table.
Before he could muster anything else out, she spoke in a loud voice, "Alright. You’ve been distracted lately. We need to regain your focus if you and me are going to make it far through this competition."
"We could have lost today, TB. And the viewers might have blamed you, my assistant and right hand man."
Assistant. That’s all he was to her, how stupid could he be for believing anything more in their relationship. He groaned internally, and forced a smile.
"Y-Yeah.. No worries-Golf Ball. I’ll be more careful and pay more attention, let’s get to studying." He finished, and sat down at the table, waiting for Golf Ball to sit across from him. She did, and she began to speak, going page after page.
Again, the green ball found himself unable to look away from her, oh, how he loved her. He wished she reciprocated those feelings. But, he knew it wasn’t true. He didn’t have a shot with her, they were just friends..
"So-Therefore.. I feel like we’d have a better chance of winning if we split those two up, and if we added these two as a pair, their skills would accumulate in challenges!" She finished, turning to Tennis Ball, who grinned and nodded, pretending he heard everything she had just said.
She looked at him closely for a minute, before nodding, and grabbing the textbook, and standing up.
"I’ll see you tomorrow, TB." She brushed off, and began walking, not caring for much of a response.
He looked at her back, "Bye Golfie.." He muttered, before watching his door close. He felt his heart sink, did she really only see him as.. A partner? Someone to discuss things with? Nothing more? Not even as a friend?
He continued to overthink the whole night, barely getting ANY sleep at all. He woke up in the morning with a groan, staring at the clock. Shit! It was 10:35! He whipped his head up, jumping out of bed. He ran to the door, opening it and rushing to the hotel’s elevator.
Thankfully, it was there on time. He rushed into it, and pressed the lobby button. He sighed as he saw the elevator door close, and leaned against the wall, feeling it go down. He sighed, and looked down.
He still thought about her, even knowing he didn’t stand a chance. He didn’t even notice the girl standing by him, a questioning expression on her face.
"Uhm, Tennis Ball?" Needle asked, and he looked up at her.
"Oh," He forced himself up, "Hey Needy-"
SLAP!
Ow.
"Sorry.. Needle. What’s up?" He asked, looking at her while rubbing his cheek. She shrugged, and pointed to his face.
"You look a little.. Flustered. I mean, you didn’t even notice me standing beside you." She told him,
"I did! I just.. Didn’t say hi. Because I’m tired." He lied, and hoped the girl would believe the shitty lie. She nodded, still skeptical but didn’t care much, as they were reaching the lobby floor.
He stepped out of the elevator, and scanned the room for his team. He noticed Two hosting a Cake at Stake, and smiled, waving to the Team8’s, who were up for elimination today. He walked past them, and out the lobby doors, stepping into the sunlight.
He looked over, scanning the perimeter, not seeing Golf Ball anywhere. However, he did see Pen, Fries, and Eraser sitting at a picnic table a few feet away. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but caught a few words here and there.
"I’m telling you, bro. He’s obviously down bad for bossy bot." Eraser groaned, looking at Pen, who had his arms crossed.
"You’ve been rude to him, lately, man! What’s your problem?!" Pen raised his voice a bit, "So what if he likes his best friend, that’s the point of friendship!"
Eraser rolled his eyes at Pen’s obliviousness, and turned to Fries, who was eating a pack of Oreo’s. He locked eyes with Eraser,
"Dude. You see it too, right? He’s like all crazy eyed for the bitch." Eraser said, awaiting an answer.
Fries finished chewing, and shrugged once more, "I don’t know." He said, "I don’t really.. Care, ya’know? Yeah, he follows her around like a lost puppy, but what can ‘ya do?" He said, and popped another Oreo in his mouth.
Eraser nodded, at least Fries agreed. He turned back to Pen, who was now pouting on his side of the bench, with his arms crossed tightly around his chest.
"I don’t get why it’s such a big deal, just let them be, they can figure out their own stuff, ‘Raser." Pen said, and turned to look at his boyfriend.
"I’m not obviously obsessed, I’m just curious why he liked a bossy bitch girl like her." Eraser said casually, "And plus, when did you go so soft, Pen? It’s annoying, honestly."
Annoying. That’s what his boyfriend thought of him. Pen was done trying to reason with him, he stood up, putting a finger in Eraser’s face,
"Fine! You wanna be a stubborn prick and be obsessed and obnoxious with something that DOESN’T involve you, be, my, fucking guest." Pen said, and stormed off, hands at his sides.
Eraser and Fries sat at the table, looking at Pen storming off, then to each other.
"What was that about? Pen never yells?" Fries asked.
Eraser didn’t have a response, Fries was right. Pen didn’t get angry a lot, and when he did, it was for a good reason. Pen was mad at him. Eraser wore a scowl on his face, and looked at the ground. Fine, he could be dramatic. He didn’t care..
Did he?
Tennis Ball watched as Pen stormed past him and into the lobby, watching as he ignored the stares from everyone inside. Tennis Ball felt a twinge of guilt form a knot inside his stomach.. He’d never seen Pen upset before.
Even in BFDI, he was the chill guy, the guy who cared for others. He was the guy who didn’t care about a plan, who just went with what his friends said.
Maybe he could help him express his emotions.. Yeah! Then Pen would like him. Tennis Ball smiled, skipping up the stairs and going to Pen’s room.