Chapter 24 - Diner

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    Lightbulb swung her feet eagerly, waiting for Fan, Test Tube, and Bot to get in the backseat of Paintbrush's car. They adjusted the rearview mirror to see their friends behind them. "You guys all buckled?"

    "Yep!" Bot chirped, practically bouncing up and down. The five of them had been wanting to go out to eat one day, and since it was winter break they all finally had the time.

    This was a very special outing for Bot in particular since this was their first time going out to a restaurant. They were clearly excited as on the way there, they kept asking Test Tube lots of questions. "It's nothing special, Bot. It's like fast food, but better," Paintbrush commented, stopping at a red light. Bot sighed and leaned back in their seat, "I know, I'm just really happy!"

    Fan chuckled and put his arm around Bot, pulling them closer to him. "You're really happy?" He asked, looking down at them fondly.

    "Yeah!" They agreed while nodding their head up and down. He smiled, "Well that makes two of us. I love this place! It's all 50's themed and they have amazing chicken tenders and fries!"

    "Good chicken tenders?" Paintbrush butted in, pressing on the gas as soon as the light switched to green, "Well let's hurry up, I'm hungry."

    Lightbulb giggled at their enthusiasm. She put her hands in the pocket of her hoodie and felt something pinch her finger. She rolled her eyes and pet its hard shell. "Come on, Baxter, you can wait a little bit longer!" She whispered inaudibly.

    "Welcome to Starlight Diner, how many people in your party?" The waiter asked, walking up to the pedestal.

    "Just 5 today," Paintbrush confirmed, putting their car keys in their pocket. The waiter nodded and grabbed enough menus for them before leading them to an open booth.

    The seats were a comfortable red and white striped leather, full of stuffing. The table had a silver base with a white marbled top. Various condiments and a box of napkins were placed in the middle.

    Lightbulb glanced over to Bot to see how they were doing. Their eyes sparkled with intrigue as they marveled at the neon signs and vintage decorations scattered around the restaurant's interior.

    "They look mesmerized," Paintbrush observed, leaning closer to Lightbulb. She nodded, looking back over to them. A snicker escaped them, "They're so cute."

    "They are," she agreed. Paintbrush sighed and picked up their menu, pulling away from their proximity. Lightbulb's face darkened with a mischievous idea. As they were distracted, Lightbulb reached into her pocket and pulled out Baxter. She discreetly leaned over and placed Baxter in Paintbrush's lap.

    He scurried onto their other leg and they jumped at the feeling, a silent cuss escaping their lips. They spotted it was Baxter and sighed angrily. "Paintbrush?" Test Tube asked, raising an eyebrow, "Are you okay?"

    "I-I'm fine. Just almost slipped out of my seat is all," they lied, placing their menu back down on the table. Test Tube shrugged and went back to her conversation with Fan, while Bot still gazed around at the decorations from in between their parents.

    Paintbrush chuckled and picked up Baxter, keeping him hidden under the table. He closed his eyes as they caressed the top of his shell gently. "You little rascal, you scared the shit out of me," they murmured, "how did you get here? Oh, wait."

    Their gaze met Lightbulb's as they looked up from the sea animal in their hands. "Why the fuck did you bring him here? I'm pretty sure crabs aren't allowed at diners!" Paintbrush whispered sharply. Lightbulb attempted to hold in her laughing, finding their reaction hilarious, "I brought him exactly for scaring you! Besides, he needs to get out of the house sometimes. He can't just be cooped up in his cage all day."

    They huffed, leaning back in their seat while continuing to pet Baxter, "Well, maybe don't scare me with him next time." Lightbulb watched them, noticing their smile was the same as when she hugged them. She looked down to Baxter, who was almost out cold. He looks so calm. They care about him so much... wait.

    Lightbulb glanced back up to their expression. She then connected the dots. Paintbrush was looking at Baxter with care. Paintbrush looked at her with the same care. A smile stretched across her face, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a server coming up to their table. Paintbrush was startled, too, and quickly handed Lightbulb Baxter.

    "Hello there everyone, my name is- Lightbulb! Hey, girl!" The waiter exclaimed as they saw her sitting at the table. Lightbulb quickly realized it was Ruby. "Ruby! Heyy!"

    Ruby giggled sweetly before taking out a notepad and pen, "Alright, is there anything I can get y'all to start with? Any appetizers?"

    Lightbulb looked back to everyone who all shook their heads. "No, I think we're okay," she said.

    Ruby nodded in understanding before piping up again in her usual, cheerful voice. "So what would we like to drink today?"

    The 5 of them all ordered their drinks. A Coke for Paintbrush and Fan, water for Test Tube and Bot, and Orange Fanta mixed with Coke for Lightbulb. Everyone looked at her weirdly as Ruby jotted down her answer with no problem and went off to the kitchen.

    "So, Lightbulb," Fan started, pulling out his phone, "I listened to the song you and Paintbrush made the other day. I love it! I really like how your vocals compliment each other, and it's also really catchy."

    "Thanks, Fan! But, most of the work was done by Paintbrush. I only came up with a few lyrics and sang the song," Lightbulb responded.

    "Don't shortcut your credit, you were also moral support," Paintbrush added, noticing Ruby coming over with their drinks. She gave them out accordingly and pulled out the familiar notepad from earlier.

    "So, what would you guys like to eat?" She asked, waiting for someone to respond. Fan was the first to say something. "Me, Bot, and Paintbrush," he started, pointing to the person he was referring to as he said their name, "will have the chicken tender basket."

    "I'll have the Savannah burger!" Lightbulb said next, taking a sip from her drink.

    Test Tube said she didn't want anything and waved Ruby off politely. "Tubesters! Why didn't you order anything?" Lightbulb wondered aloud, tilting her head. Test Tube giggled, "Because I'll eat anything Bot doesn't eat," she admitted.

    Fan shrugged after drinking a bit of his coke, "She does this when we have dinner all the time. Don't worry about it. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Paintbrush, have you checked your charts yet?"

    "My charts?" They repeated, pulling out their phone with a suspicious look. "Why, exactly?"

    "Just look," Fan replied. Lightbulb peaked at their phone and watched them pull up Spotify. To both of their surprise, their song was the most popular one they had made yet, even though it was released a week prior. Her face lit up as she threw her arms around Paintbrush's neck, "We did it, Painty! We went viral!"

    They chuckled and put their hand on top of hers, "Yeah, we did."

"Maybe it's because it's a love song," he reasoned, "those usually always get popular."

Lightbulb looked over to him with confusion, pulling her arms away from Paintbrush. "Love song? No, it's about mine and Painty's friendship!"

Fan smirked and glanced over to Test Tube. "Okay, whatever you say."

A\N\\ THEYRE STARTING TO GET POPULAR!!! Anyways, I'm gonna try to add in some more BFDI characters since I haven't added many yet

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