Living with Fries was great- but now that she was getting older, they would need an upgrade.
Sure, their little apartment was comforting and warm, but it was starting to get much too small for a fully grown object and puffball to share together.
She couldn't live in a hammock hanging over Fries' bed forever...they needed to find a new home.
But they would need some extra funds first...
~~~
The sound of Fries' alarm clock rang through the small room, causing Puffball to groan in annoyance and pull her blanket up further over herself. That was one of the worst things about sharing a room- her object friend had to get up early for work, and his alarm woke her up as well.
"Sorry- let me just-" Fries yawned out, stretching as he went to shut off his alarm. Puffball was a teenager now, and disturbing her sleep would only net a nasty attitude from her for the rest of the day, which Fries did not want to deal with. She already had a bit of a spice to herself by default, and a grumpy Puffball is just a recipe for disaster.
The potato-based object quietly got himself up, grabbing his phone, and heading over to the bathroom for his morning routine. He tried to stay as quiet as possible- leaving the shower and sink flow on low, and drying his fries out with a towel rather than the electric dryer he would normally use. Sure, he took his fries out when he showered (nothing worse than wet fries- ew!), but they'd still get a bit soggy from just being out in the humidity. Fries sighed to himself as he placed them back in his box, adjusting the potato sticks, and adding some fresh salt on top of the crispy snacks. They were starting to get a bit too soggy for his liking, he would need to swap them out soon.
As Fries worked on his morning routine, Puffball shifted around annoyedly in her hammock, trying to get back to sleep after being rudely awoken. She had excellent hearing, and could hear his every move in the adjacent bathroom, despite his best efforts. The furball grumbled out in frustration as she heard him turn on the tap again, as well as his subtle morning sniffles. Did he really need to turn on the water that many times? Why couldn't he just go brush his teeth in the kitchen instead?
Puffball tried to get back to sleep for a few more minutes, but even after Fries had finished up in the bathroom, she just couldn't fall back into slumber- she was up for good. Grunting, Puffball floated out of her bed, yawning and heading out to the kitchen. "Oh, hey Puffball- sorry for waking you up earlier..." Fries looked up from the stove, smiling sheepishly at his disgruntled roomate. The fluffy creature simply grumbled back in response pulling out a chair and flopping into place at the kitchen table. "What would you like for breakfast? We have eggs, toast, bacon-" "Bacon. I want meat." Puffball seemingly barked at Fries from the table, causing him to sigh in disappointment. This would be another one of those days.
~
Fries sat across from his fluffy friend at the table, slowly enjoying his eggs and toast, while Puffball ripped into the plate of fried bacon Fries had placed in front of her. She really didn't have the best table manners, chewing with her sharp fangs visible, but Fries knew that trying to correct her would just result in her snapping back at him rudely. I really shouldn't be surprised, really... Fries thought to himself as he took a sip of his coffee, breathing in the aroma. Now that Puffball was getting older, he had done some research on her species, and well, this kind of attitude was normal for her age. Her body was going through a lot at the time, and well- this lashing out was just one of the growing pains she'd be experiencing during this time.
"Turn on the TV! I'm bored!" Puffball finished her bacon, shoving the plate into the center of the table and floating over to the couch, flopping down lazily. "Okay- let me just clean up first, then I'll get it ready for you-" Fries picked up their dishes, placing them in the sink before walking over and turning on the TV for Puffball. A game show that she liked was playing- some kind of competition to win an island or something along those lines. Fries was never super interested in it, but he liked the background noise, and new a few people on it, although they weren't close.
Fries went back to washing the dishes, halfway listening to the episode on the TV as he cleaned off their plates. However, there was a certain line that caught his attention:
"Viewers, we have an exciting opportunity! In a few months, we will be selecting a new contestant to join the Battle for Dream Island. We will be accepting applications starting in April, and your auditions will be on May 1st. Please visit our website for more information, and good luck!"
Puffball hopped up from the couch, turning to Fries excitedly. "Did you hear the Announcer? They're accepting applicants to join the show! We could join, Fries! We could be on TV!" Her mood had seemed to instantly change upon the announcement, floating eagerly in the air. "Yeah- I heard that too- but I don't know if we'd be able to squeeze that in- y'know, with work and all. I just got this job back, I don't want to make a bad impression-" Fries was cut off by Puffball floating up to him, ruffling her fur excitedly.
"You won't NEED a job! If we win that island, we'll be set for life! You won't have to work, we can spend life in luxury!"
"Ok, and if we don't win?"
"They provide everyone with houses on the show- we can live there! And I think they pay you too!"
Fries kept bringing up points, yet Puffball seemed to have an answer for all of them, grabbing his laptop off the counter and trying to log onto the website using only her tongue. "Ok- let me bring it up- ugh, you're getting spit all over the keyboard!" The potato-based object took over control of the computer, navigating the website and pulling up their application section. Sure enough, he was greeted with a wall of terms, alongside a sheet to fill out with information. "Hmmm...let's see...must be 16 years of age, or with parental supervision...must have transport to and from game grounds...objects of all types accepted..." Fries scrolled down the list, reading all of the terms and conditions for entering in. "Well- there's a $20 entry fee..." "Please! I really wanna go on TV! I want to win prizes!" Puffball nuzzled up against her caretaker, her eyes sparkling in anticipation.
Fries felt his heart melt a bit at her expression- she had an almost hypnotic effect on him when she looked at him with those big, sparkly eyes.
"Okay, okay...let's get ourselves signed up then..."
~~~Author's Notes~~~
omg fries and puffball on bfdi for real????
also puff is moody teenager now- no touch SHE ANGY.
but yeah- we are finally getting into the actual bfdi timeline now so epic! this chapter takes place like march 2011 or so, since the bfdi debut took place in june of that year, and the auditions were in may.
also yeah this is kinda going off real time? so like puff was born late 90's (1998 to be exact) and fries is now old man (fun fact: using my math, Fries bfb is 40 whole years old in 2022, so old man moment)
also i was gonna be like "only 18 years in bfdi cuz legal stuff" but then i remembered that rocky and grassy exist, so yeah lol auditions are open for anyone lol
(completely unrelated to puff but grassy is literally like. an infant in his audition- he does not have father yet, so there is big sad there...don't worry little buddy, you'll get a papa soon)
so yus, puff gonna be on TV! sure hope that desire for prizes doesn't cause any issues in the future or anything...
-Fire