Intermission 12.5

The contestants who’ve reached the peak sat by idly. Most enjoyed the view of the snowy mountain ranges in the distance and the bright cloudy skies. Cursor wasn’t interested in sightseeing however, and in fact, it felt dreadfully bored as ever.

The only amusing thing about their situation was how Amulet barely made a head start in reaching the summit, considering she had the powers of telekinesis at her fingertips. The challenge was barely hard, even for fragile ceramics, so what’s the hold up? Was she that distressed at Gas Pump unceremoniously leaving the show??

Cursor looked around for anything remotely exciting—as they took a sip of hot chamomile tea the Teaset duo prepared. One missing person stood out in particular to them, that being Color Black. Similar to Amulet, they were shocked at their absence considering their obvious flying abilities.

Either way, without that fella around, Cursor had no interest in staying where it was now.

“Ugh, this party has been a drag so far…” Cursor bemoaned to Teacup.

“Well, it’s certainly not ideal to roast horrible hotdogs in suck freezing weather. But I’d much prefer that over rocky terrain!” Teacup nasally retorted.

God, how Cursor hated her annoying voice. In fact, they hated how weirdly friendly these two were towards them just because they opened up a bit about their family.

“Come on, Teacup… Tan Square’s cooking isn’t that bad.” Teaplate defended.

Cursor agreed with her, those hotdogs were simultaneously both burnt and half frozen. How can you fuck up grilling that badly??!

“Well, this shit is lame soooo I’m bailing out! Hopefully, Color Black is somewhere around down there!”

Nervously, Teaplate gulped and cried, “C-cursor!!? Are you sure this is a sound idea?! Without Madison to protect you, you might—“

“Ugh, no need to worry about me, alright Teaboy?? I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

And so, despite Alysa’s warnings and Teaplate’s pleadings, it took off in search for its missing companion.

-

Cursor bolted out of the scenery as fast as it could—trying to avoid the wrath of the crackling thunder from above.

It made a horrible mistake not bringing any weapons with it, and without Madison around, the freezing temperatures were starting to get at it.

Thankfully, they found a small divot on the icy land.

And it just so happens that it wasn’t alone.

“Cursor?! What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you did the challenges ages ago!?” Color Black interrogated.

“Well, yeah! But I came here to search for ya! Those losers at the top are just grilling abysmal dogshit, or staring at some ugly mountains. Scaling Everest is miles more fun that doing nothing at the summit!!”

Black frowned, “I would rather be on there, than in this stormy weather.”

A loud lightning strike came by, and Black shrieked in response. Cursor couldn’t help but laugh at their shrill expression.

“You know… While we wait for the weather to get better… You mind if I say something Cursor??”

Cursor restrained themselves from rolling their eyes. They knew that sad, pathetic tone all too well, Color Black was going to unleash a wave of weirdly personal bullshit onto them.

“What is it?” Cursor grumbled.

“I… Okay, you’re clearly not interested. I should just keep it to myself then.”

“Maybe. I mean, no offense but… I ain’t the type to enjoy performing emotional labor on randos.”

Color Black glared at it.

“…You think… listening to my problems is a chore…? Why would you ever consider me a friend in the first place then?!” Black yelled, as the ghosts of tears appeared on their face.

Ah, great. Cursor fucked up again, didn’t it?

But maybe it was too late to salvage whatever pseudo-relationship they had.

“Let me put this straight, Color Black. I like hanging out with ya. Playing pranks, exploring creepy places, all that stuff—but that’s it! I don’t want to be your therapist. I can’t even help my fucked up self properly, what makes you think I know how to help YOU?!”

Black stayed silent for a while at their response.

“… Let’s face it, Black. Why would anything we do on this show matter? You’re just an insignificant, replaceable speck on my life. After this season concludes, we’ll go back to our old lives. And forget about each other—“

“OKAY! I’M…FINE WITH THAT!! I… SHOULDN’T ASSUME THERE WAS SOMEONE OUT THERE WHO CARED FOR ME! FUCK ME FOR GIVING YOU CHANCE AFTER CHANCE, ONLY FOR YOU TO KEEP ACTING THE SAME!”

Cursor bit its tongue to prevent itself from saying anything more hurtful to them.

“I’m sorry for thinking… I could really be myself…” Black sniffled through tears, and they tossed their blue ribbon away into the windy air.

“I’m not even going to bother doing this challenge. I hope I get voted out so I don’t have to see you any longer.”

And with that, Color Black left Cursor alone as they travelled up the mountainous slope. As Cursor predicted, a Stormtrooper noticed their presence, and shocked their body with electrical energy. They screamed in agony until their body was presumably nothing but burnt dust.

Cursor smiled.

Finally…

They were tired of them always whining and moaning, and now, their time in the competition will be nothing but blissful peace.