(A/N: Ok, I know this chapter is short. It was going to be longer, but when I saw how long it was becoming, I split it up into two; the next one, and that one is still going to be long. For now, I hope you enjoy what I have. Oh, and please excuse Riley's behavior in this chapter.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 9: The Argument

Riley was confused. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she was mad at Jordan. Whenever her thoughts turned to him, she would get angry. And all her thoughts seemed to be about the bad things in their relationships. The arguments, the cancelled dates, the disagreements, the disappointments. While there may not have been many, all her thoughts seemed to focus on the few that there were.

On the other hand, she also found her thoughts drifting to the imaginary boyfriend she had thought up several years ago. Back before she had any relationship experience, she had daydreamed of her dream boy. After all, what girl didn't at some point? And although she was happy with Jordan, at least she had been until today, she found herself wishing that Jordan could be more like the one she had imagined.

I.B. rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Yes, yes, that's good. It's working. See how happy you are when you think about me. See how angry and sad you are when you think about him."

He skillfully manipulated the controls sending more feelings of anger and sadness towards thoughts of Jordan, and more feelings of happiness when she thought about him.

"Realize he's not good enough for you," I.B. insisted. "Realize that no real boy is good enough for you. No one is better than your perfect ideal boyfriend."

The day rolled by, and soon it was time for lunch. Being mid-December, it was too cold to eat outside, so all the students were holed up in the cafeteria.

As per the norm, Riley and Jordan sat together at lunch along with their friends. This time though, a bout of anger hit Riley as Jordan sat down across from her, courteous of I.B.

"Hey, Riley, can I talk to you?" he asked.

I.B. scoffed at that. "For all the good it will do," he said in a bored tone, sending a feeling of disgust through her.

Riley scowled. "Freedom of speech is a given," she muttered coldly.

Jordan winced. "You're mad. I knew you would be. I should have let you know sooner. Did one of my band mates tell you?"

Riley raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Yes, what do you mean?" I.B. asked, suddenly interested.

Jordan now looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Wait, you mean you didn't hear? Oh boy, I thought you were mad because…"

"Because what?" Riley demanded.

Jordan gulped. "Well, Nathan managed to get our band a really good gig. The pay is nice, and it'll get us good recognition. Also, I could really use the money."

Riley was confused. This was a good thing. Great even. Why would she be mad about this? On the contrary, she should be happy for him, but for some reason, she wasn't. Ever since this morning, it was as if someone or something was preventing her from feeling any joy when she was with Jordan or thought about him. But why?

"Ok, well, that's great!" she said, trying to feign the enthusiasm she didn't feel but knew she should. "What's the problem?"

Biting down on his lower lip and rubbing the back of his head, he tried to find the right words to break the news to her. "See, here's the thing. It's at the same time as your game against the Swift Sticks."

At once, the good news became bad news as she realized what this meant. Jordan would have to miss her playing in the semi-finals. She'd been so looking forward to the game and wanted him to be there, but now he was blowing her off for his band? How could he?

In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't really fair to get upset with him. Well, not too upset anyway. He may be her boyfriend, but he had a commitment to his band mates as well. His friends were counting on him, and he couldn't turn his back on them.

She loved the fact that he was in a band, and she was glad he enjoyed it. She wanted him to have fun, and for his band to be successful. To ask him to abandon his friends just to cheer her on would be selfish. After all, he had come to all her other games.

All the same, she still had the right to be disappointed that he wouldn't be there for her. Yes, she understood that he had other commitments, but it was still a let down.

I.B.'s face lit up at this unexpected development. It provided him with the opportunity he needed, and he immediately triggered Riley's anger and sadness controls.

"You're blowing off my game?" she demanded. "For real? It's the semi-finals, Jordan. You're really not coming?"

The boy's shoulders sank. "I'm sorry. Nathan signed us on without saying anything to any of us. I tried to see if we could change the time we would perform, but it was a no go. I have to show up, I can't let the guy's down. They're counting on me."

Riley slammed her palms down on the table, drawing the attention of the other kids, but she didn't even notice as her anger spun out of control. "And what about me? I need you too! Am I not important enough?"

He winced at her harsh tone. "You know you are. But if I don't show up, this could damage the band's rep. They can't perform without me, but I could still cheer for you and wish you luck if I'm not at the game."

I.B.'s grin widened. "Let's throw a few insults in there," he said, pressing a few of Anger's buttons that would make Riley want to say a few choice words. It would be up to her if she said them or not, but cranking up her fury helped loosen her tongue.

"I can't believe you're going to miss my game for your stupid band," she snapped angrily. "It's not like it's actually going to go anywhere."

She regretted the words as soon as she spoke them. She didn't know why she said that. The words had just popped into her head, and the next thing she knew, they were spilling out of her mouth. She didn't think his band was stupid. She liked that Jordan was part of one. She thought it was really cool. But what she said was hurtful, and also hypocritical. After all, it wasn't like she was going to go pro or make it big with her hockey either.

Jordan looked hurt, but then his eyes narrowed. "I said I was sorry. I don't want to miss your game, but my hands are kind of tied. I you'll win though, and I'll definitely be there for your championship game. I made sure to tell Nathan not to book us any gigs that day."

"Oh, but you booked one on the day of the semi-finals."

"Not me. Nathan did; he's the band manager. And I can't say no. It's good for the band, and the pay is good too. I really need the money for…"

He trailed off, and Riley gave him a suspicious look. "For what? Need the money for what?"

He looked away. "Nothing."

Riley had had enough. "Well, I guess it's worth more to you than I am."

She grabbed her lunch and left the cafeteria, fully intending to eat in the library. Jordan called after her, but she ignored him. In the back of her mind, she wondered what had come over her, but presently, she was too angry to dwell on it.

I.B. sat back, very satisfied with how things were going. This argument was just the catalyst he needed. He glanced at the wall of memories, seeing it full of red and blue memories from the encounter.

"And now to remind her of her perfect boyfriend."

He summoned the memory of himself declaring that he would die for Riley. He'd let that run a few times so Riley would see what a real boyfriend should be like. Jordan should have been willing to drop everything important to him and do anything for Riley, regardless of the consequences. This just supported his argument that he was the only one for Riley.

"And now to play the ace up my sleeve."

He inserted the light bulb in the shape of a broken heart into the control panel, planting the idea in her head that she should break up with Jordan. She stopped walking as the thought occurred to her, but shook her head and continued on her way.

I.B. frowned. So she didn't take it. No matter, he would just leave the idea in the control panel so it remained in the back of her head. In the meantime, he would continue to manipulate her feelings for his benefit and play bad memories of Jordan and good ones of himself.

"Lets see, which one is next?"

"TripleDent Gum-"

"NO!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)(-)-(-)

"Joy, Joy, wake up."

The voice sounded like Sadness, literally, and the speaker gently shook her. It pulled her out of the depths of unconsciousness, but not quite enough to wake her up.

"Just slap her," an angry voice demanded impatiently. "We don't have time for her to pull a Rip Van Winkle on us."

"Oh my gosh, what if she's dead?" cried a fearful voice.

"Um, Emotions can't die, idiot. Lets just do what Anger said. Here, I'll do it."

A painful slap struck Joy's cheek, and her eyes snapped open. Disgust stood over her, lowering her hand as the others looked on.

"There, she's up," the green Emotion replied.

Joy sat up, rubbing her cheek. "Yeah, I'm up. Thanks for that." She got shakingly to her feet. "How long was I out?"

"Not long," Sadness replied, the same time Anger said, "Too long."

Ok then. She looked around the room, not recognizing where they were. "Does anyone know where we are?"

Sadness pointed to the ceiling. "We fell from up there."

Joy looked up, seeing a recall tube hanging from the ceiling. "Huh. I wonder if we climb back up there." She turned to the others and clapped her hands. "Ok, which of us is the lightest?"

Anger raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, I'm thinking if we climb on each others' shoulders, we'll be able to pile up high enough for the one on top to reach the tube."

Fear's hands slapped against his cheeks. "That's hazardous!"

Anger grinned, almost mockingly. "Then you better be ready, 'cause you're the on going up there."

The purple Emotion jumped away from him. "What? Why me?"

Disgust scoffed. "Duh, 'cause you're the lightest. Just look at you, you're a twig."

Joy sized them up. "She's right, Fear. You'll have to make the climb. Sadness, you get on Anger's shoulders. I'll get on yours, and Disgust will get on mine."

Anger scowled. "Why am I on the bottom?"

"Because you're the strongest."

The red Emotion's annoyance instantly vanished. "Oh." He made a muscle and grinned. "Cool."

Fear didn't look happy about this at all. "This isn't going to work. We'll never be able to remain upright."

"Ah, sure we will," Joy assured him. "I stood at the top of over a hundred of I.B.'s copies in the past. Now come on, let's do this."

Hesitantly, Sadness climbed up onto his shoulders. Joy followed suit, then Disgust. Trying to remain balanced, they attempted to convince Fear to make the climb, but the purple Emotion was letting his… fear get to him.

"Will you just do it already!" Anger snapped impatiently.

Fear shook his head. "This has 'danger' written all over it!"

"Fear, come on," Joy pleaded. "Riley needs us. You have to do it. For her."

Fear was fidgeting, seemingly torn between his duty and his very embodiment. Eventually, the insistence of the others caused him to give in. "Alright, alright. Score one for peer pressure."

He walked over to the multicolored tower of Emotions and began climbing, not doing too good of a job of watching where he was stepping.

"Ouch! That's my face!"

"Watch my glasses!"

"Fer, yer foo iz in muh mouf!"

"Where do you think you're grabbing me, pervert!"

"Sorry, sorry. My bad. Sorry."

He finally managed to make it to the top, and was somehow able to balance on Disgust's shoulders. He reached for the tube as the tower swayed beneath him, his fingers grazing against the bottom.

"Hold still," he called down to them.

"Easier said than done," Anger grumbled, trying to remain calm.

Unfortunately, Fear didn't hear him. "Hey, stop moving!"

Anger's head ignited. "I'm trying!"

Sadness lifted her leg away from the fire. "Hot! Hot!"

The tower collapsed. Fear jumped just before he fell with them. He grabbed onto the tube, hanging on with all his strength as the Emotions fell in a pile on the ground.

Grumbling, Joy looked up, seeing the purple Emotion dangling from the tube. "Fear, hang on!"

Now that was easier said than done. "I… I can't!"

"Don't be a pansy!" Anger snapped. "Get up there!"

"Anger, please, let me," Joy begged. "This calls for positive reinforcement." She looked back up at Fear. "You can do it, Fear. This is your moment. You're biggest job is to keep Riley safe. Well, she needs you now. Show everyone what you're made of."

Her words seemed to have some affect as Fear became more determined. "That's right. She's right. This is my moment. Don't worry, Riley, I'm coming."

Clinging to the tube, he slowly pulled his body up. Raising his leg, he lifted it until he managed to get it inside the tube. This made it easier for him to pull himself up and crawl inside.

Once in, he pressed his back against the tube in a fetal position, breathing heavily from the exertion. "I did it… I did it!"

"Great job, Fear!" Joy called up to him. "Now climb up the tube and get help!"

"Sure, no problem. Just give me a minute to catch my breath."

"You're an Emotion!" Anger shouted. "You don't need to breathe! Now start climbing!"

With great reluctance, Fear did as he was told, slowly shimmying his way up the tube. The Emotions watched as he disappeared into the ceiling, hearing his grunts and groans echo down the tube.

Eventually, his grunts turned into a scream. At the same time, almost mechanically, the Emotions took a step back. Fear came tumbling out of the tube, falling flat on his face.

Anger looked down at him with hooded eyes and a bored look on his face. "Well, that didn't work."

Almost shyly, Sadness raised her hand. "Um, why did we try to climb up the tube anyway? Shouldn't we have looked around for another way first? There's bound to be one."

The red, green, and yellow Emotions stared at her. On the floor, Fear lifted his arm and pointed at her. "I'm with Sadness," he muttered, and his arm dropped down again.

Behind them, a confused voice spoke up. "As amusing as that was, could you tell me what you're doing here?"

The Emotions whirled around. It seemed they weren't alone.

(A/N: Ooh, looks like someone else is with them. But who? A mind worker? Another imaginary character? Where are they anyway? Lots of questions that need answers. One other thing though, I'm aware that Riley is acting like a bit of a b*tch. I'm sorry about that, but just keep in mind that it's not really her fault, because she'll be having that attitude for a little while. I'm really excited for next chapter; I've got big plans for it, so look forward to it.)