"Oblivious Dummies"

||Fireball's POV:||

I sank deeper into my seat, the icy air of the room wrapping around me like a cold shroud, reminding me of the chill that had settled in my heart ever since that moment. Ever since the incident, I had been wrestling with a tempest of emotions that threatened to spill over. Why on earth would he kiss me, so tender and unexpected, only to turn around and ignore me completely, as if it had never happened? My mind raced, desperately trying to piece together this baffling puzzle. A part of me felt utterly betrayed, gnawing at the question of whether I had misjudged him all along. Was he really the nice guy I had always held him to be?

“Look, Fireball, you have to understand, things have been... complicated,” Pound said, his gaze dropping to the floor as if the weight of the truth he was holding back was too great for him to bear. I watched him shift uncomfortably, his body language screaming discomfort, clearly anxious about facing the reality of what lay between us.

“Complicated? That doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore you! I care about you, Pound! I’m still right here for you no matter what!” I replied earnestly, my voice rising slightly as I poured every ounce of myself into my words. My eyes pleaded with him, desperate for him to see just how profoundly his silence impacted me. I wanted him to feel the urgency of my resolve, the desperation woven into my tone.

“Thanks… I really appreciate it… but I-I should probably get going now.”

His words hit me like a physical blow. No! I had just gotten a chance to talk to him! My heart raced, and I shot to my feet, a flurry of thoughts swirling in my mind as I scrambled to keep this fragile moment alive, to stretch the conversation just a little longer.

“So, did that kiss mean absolutely nothing? Did you just… I don’t know… kiss me in a friendly way? Did it not mean anything to you?!”

The words tumbled out in a frantic rush, bursting forth like a dam breaking under pressure. I was fuming—could anyone blame me? We had spent over two years together, building a friendship filled with laughter, secrets, and an unspoken bond, and now he thought he could kiss me and act as though nothing had changed? It felt utterly infuriating.

“That is not fair!”

he exclaimed sharply, his voice ricocheting off the walls with an intensity that both shocked and enraged me. Not fair? How was it unfair for me to demand clarity after he had taken such a bold step?

“Not fair? How on earth is that not fair?! You kissed me and made me believe we were heading toward something real! And then you ghost me! How is THAT fair?”

I shot back, my voice rising in defiance, refusing to let him deflect the blame. Who would see me as anything but the victim in all of this?

“It’s complicated! Okay?!” His frustration was palpable, each word delivered with tension that hung heavy in the air between us.

“I don’t care if it’s complicated! Just tell me the truth!” I pressed, my heart pounding as though it were going to burst through my chest. I needed to know why he was avoiding me!

“Glitchy saw the kiss!”

he blurted out, the gravity of his revelation crashing down around us. My eyes widened in shock, disbelief washing over me. That little fuck… no wonder everything felt off!

“They what…?”

My heart sank as the implications began to swirl in my mind, fury rising within me at the thought of what Glitchy might be doing. I could feel the urge to lash out, to confront them brewing within me. I was ready to explode.

“Yeah, so… Glitchy saw the kiss, and now they’re blackmailing me. They want me to help them and Beer Keg win in the challenges.”

The stark reality of his words hit me like a cold wave, dousing the fire of my anger and replacing it with a sorrowful understanding.

“Oh…”

The weight of his confession hung heavy in the air, dampening the flicker of hope that remained.

“I’m sorry, Fireball... The kiss was a bad idea.. I shouldn’t have done it…”

His voice was tinged with regret, a genuine ache that mirrored the pain in my own chest.

“It’s okay, Pound. It wasn’t... a bad thing!”

I tried to reassure him, but doubt lingered like a thick fog between us, suffocating the warmth we had felt just days ago.

“Maybe it was…” he murmured, his expression painted with conflict and shame.

“So now what? Are we just… nothing? Am I nothing to you?”

The question dangled in the air, filled with unspoken fears and insecurities that clawed at my heart.

“I don’t want to be nothing! I want to be something!”

he exclaimed, a spark of passion igniting in his voice despite the chaos surrounding us.

“Then let’s be something! Who cares if people know we’re a couple? They’ll be supportive!”

My words poured out, charged with urgency and hope, a desperate plea for clarity.

“It’s not that easy, Fireball! This is reality TV! Everyone in the world is going to know about us!”

His voice trembled under the weight of this painful truth, resonating through the air like a heavy drumbeat.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t figure something out! You can’t just say it was a mistake and walk away! You can’t throw all of this away just because you’re scared!”

I urged, my heart racing with a mix of fear and determination.

“I know it’s just hard! Okay?! Everything is messing with my head, a-and I’m afraid of the consequences and im afraid of what Beer Keg and Glitchy are going to do and—”

“What am I to you, Pound? What. Am. I. To you?”

I pressed, forcing him to confront the depth of this tangled mess we found ourselves in. I just needed him to say something—anything—that could convince me that kiss wasn’t just a fleeting moment to sweep under the rug.

“I... I don’t know. I’m not sure yet…”

His uncertainty pierced my heart deeper than I’d anticipated. I clutched my chest, a wave of despair crashing over me as it felt as though I had been stabbed. Turning away in anguish, I didn’t want him to witness the vulnerability that spread across my face.

“Fine. Whatever then…”

I muttered, the weight of disappointment pressing down on me like an immovable anchor. I took a hesitant step away, wrestling with the urge to turn back, to kiss him one more time, to reassure him that everything would be okay—to comfort him, to do anything to erase the hurt that hung between us.

“Wait, Fireball! I—I’m not...!”

he started, but I could sense the widening chasm between us growing, and I didn’t know if I could bear to hear anything more that might slip from his lips.