A/N: Hi everyone! Well, here there's gonna be a bit of a plea from Fear and the others to try to get Joy to come back to them. But don't worry, they'll have a much bigger part to play in the chapter after next one-I hope to get chapters of this story up a lot quicker. Anyway, onward!
Joy could not have felt more relieved as she gazed at Riley in her arms. Although her response was slow, the lithe blonde managed to shine her own relief in her eyes. Hope flickered in them like an everlasting flame, and that was more than enough for Joy to burst with tears of...well, joy.
"Did you hear that, Riley?" the yellow emotion exclaimed happily, relieved more than anything that she and her mother had been able to win Riley's case. "You can go to school! You'll finally get to go to school!"
The younger girl could only smile, still overwhelmed after what she had just endured moments before. But the feeling was incredible elation, and she felt the strength return to her weak body.
That had been so scary, the fight, the heated words, and the fact that she was considerably "nothing more than an experiment" in Aggravation's eyes, all so terrifying. Yet, as always, Joy had been right by her side, and saved her once more. Riley also was grateful to Delight and Panic, both who had clung to her side and debated for her right. She knew the latter had some sort of intimidation problem when it came to interacting with Aggravation—and with the red-orange emotion's temper, it would be hard for anyone to fault him for it. And despite everything, he had been so brave to stand up for her like that.
And yet he was the father of someone who absolutely feared her?
Guess it wasn't always like father, like son. Panic was a hero to her, just like Joy and Delight. And she couldn't have been more fortunate to have these good people speak heavily of her name with honor, willing to defend her right to get out there and enjoy life as a normal Terracordian did.
Panic swallowed the lump he didn't realize he had in his throat. To think he actually talked down to the most tempered of the emotions on the team. Him of all people. He half-expected some sort of verbal clobbering—or even physical—that would leave him damaged for days. But somehow he won over Aggravation. They all did.
He turned to see that Riley was looking so much better. The light in her eyes and face were coming back, looking much more healthy and happy. He smiled to himself, grateful that he had won her case. She really could use the extra education. It would prepare her further for the life that would come soon enough. Although seeing how much closer she and Joy were pained his heart. The closer they got the harder it would be. And the fact that Delight became part of the project to look after the child was already making it hard enough. Like she would be willing to be Riley's substitute mother.
Why did this job have to be so complicated?
Delight rubbed her forehead, stunned she had been verbally brutal toward her colleague. She hardly got angry, neither did her daughter. But Riley meant so much to both of them, and for her rights they would argue endlessly.
She was only grateful that they managed to pull Aggravation's temper in before things could have likely mentally forced herself to black out—perhaps permanently—from being so overwhelmed with depression. After all, the part-emotion was still trying to figure out what basic feelings were, and not even the team was certain of her capabilities yet. Could she force her mind to go into a shut-down?
Delight didn't know, and she never wanted to find out.
But now Riley could finally go to school. Hopefully, she would learn to interact with others besides Joy, and maybe make new friends. Delight turned back to Aggravation, who was just beginning to cool down. He was still peeved, but what else was new?
"Thank you for accepting our proposal," she spoke, her voice almost sickeningly sweet just to spite him, "I'll call the school right away and further other things for her registration."
The red orange emotion glanced at her, his expression a mix of defeat and annoyance. "Fine," he grumbled.
"Oh, Delight, good thing you mentioned that," Panic stated as he turned to her, "I'm already starting to plan about how Riley's file would turn out. I'll get a list with contacts, which is us, followed by possible excuse notes in case PE gets too hard for her."
Delight chuckled. "Panic, PE is basically just playing. Nothing will happen."
"You never know," he grimaced, "there's always dodgeball... I still remember what happened with Fear that one time."
As happy as Joy was that Riley was going to be able to get an education, Joy winced slightly at the memory. Back when she and her friends (save Anger) had attended elementary school together, several of the grades had had a dodgeball tournament on field day. Being a few months older than Joy didn't give him much of an advantage, as the lanky emotion was still becoming used to his growth spurt he was going through. And just as Joy was about to score a point, Fear got in the way and accidentally got hit right in the head.
He ended up getting a bad concussion from that, and Joy was still amazed that her jittery friend had forgiven her for it immediately once he stopped talking nonsense.
But she was sure that Riley would be fine—she was pretty sports-capable already. "Don't worry," she added to Riley, "I'm sure you'll be great with sports!"
As Joy hugged Riley tighter, the part-emotion's mind was at ease once more, the feeling of hope reignited just like all her other desires. School sounded so appealing, like the city she and Joy had explored last night. While Riley still feared for how she would interact with people her age, if there were those like Joy, then she was sure to never be alone.
"Isn't this awesome, Riley?" Joy gushed. "Oh, man, we need to get you ready and everything!"
Riley blinked at her. "Ready?"
"Of course, silly!" the yellow emotion giggled. "We need to talk to Disgust's mom about getting you something nice to wear, or we can go shopping to get some clothes for you! Oh, and school supplies! I remember seeing a cute lunchbox at the store I just know you'll like!"
She turned to her mother with excitement, clutching Riley's hands.
"Mom, we need to do some serious "going to school" shopping for her!" she exclaimed.
Delight smiled. "Of course, sweetheart. Anything for Riley." Her eyes dazzled as she looked over the younger girl.
"Hey, you guys are wasting your time..." Aggravation grumbled. "Just go before I change my mind."
Delight frowned at him for a moment before grinning back at Riley. "We still need to run some tests on you before we resume anything else," she told her gently. "Would that be okay?"
Riley felt no fright about this, feeling spirited as she gave Joy's mother a nod. "I don't mind," she said quietly.
"Good!" Delight said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Panic, let's go check over Riley's stability ratings. Let's record what we got. I want to make this fast so we can start calling the office at the school."
"Will it be the one I attended?" Joy asked hopefully.
"Of course," her mother responded. "What better school for Riley to attend than the one you did?"
"Yay!" Joy cheered before embracing Riley once more. "You're so going to love it there! Epiphany Elementary was the best!"
Riley merely smiled, nodding.
"Alright, kid," Panic said as he gestured for her to follow him to a nearby table, "let's check you over before checking you out." He chuckled at his own wording before looking at a clipboard he picked up.
He then lifted his gaze before turning to Joy.
"By the way," he told her, "my son called. He wanted me to ask you to call him back as soon as possible. Says he and others have been missing you."
"Will do!" Joy assured, though she tried to hide the brief frown that flickered across her face. She knew that Fear and the others were probably going to beg to see her again. Without Riley.
They missed Joy, and she missed them too. And yet... Riley needed her. Now more than ever.
Still, the least she could do was call, especially since now Delight and Panic were looking over Riley, hooking a series of wires to her armband to measure her progress and talking to her excitedly. Now was a good time to call Fear, since if he and her other friends did say anything against the possibility of them being around Riley, the girl in question wouldn't have her self-esteem lowered once again.
And Joy never wanted to see a look of near-suicidal despair in Riley's eyes like that ever again.
Giving Riley a small wave and mentioning that she'd be back. Joy picked up her phone off of the table before exiting the lab. Just in case Fear said something that might otherwise upset Riley. Taking a deep breath, she then dialed Fear's number. Heard it ring once. Twice.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Fear!" Joy exclaimed, delighted to hear her friend's voice.
"Joy, thank goodness you're okay! We've been worried about you the past few days!"
"Why worry?" Joy asked, keeping her chipper attitude in her voice. "You know me, I'm pretty hardy!"
"I mean around..." Fear sighed, his voice lowering as if whispering a secret to her. "You know..."
Joy sighed. "Fear, trust me—"
"I trust you!" Fear babbled quickly. "It's Riley I don't trust!"
"Riley isn't gonna hurt me. She's fine, we had such a GREAT time yesterday!" She found excitement bubbling in her chest as she spoke, her own memories of the day before filling her mind again and recalling how it was one of the most fun days of her life. "Riley actually got to try food, and I taught her about sports, and we rode on the wheel—"
"M-Maybe you could come over sometime today?" Fear interrupted hopefully. There was slight sadness laced in his voice, as if the fact that Joy was spending so much time with the being he feared most unnerved him. "Without, um, Riley?"
Joy sighed. "Fear, she's fine."
"You don't know that!" Fear's voice was becoming more desperate. "Being around her like that could be dangerous, especially with her being all unstable like that!"
"I've been sleeping over and I'm still fine—"
"You were WHAT?!" Fear's surprised shout was so loud that Joy had to hold the phone away from her ear. "She could have attacked you!"
"She was asleep in her container!"
"Joy, please..." The slight frustration in Fear's tone was slowly vanishing, replaced by a worry that was so signature of him and one of the things that Joy found so sweet and endearing. When it wasn't frustrating her of course like right now. "I just... I just want things to go back to how they were. We all do."
A frown crossed Joy's face. She wasn't sure what to say, her heart torn in two different directions. She missed Fear, and her other friends, very much, but Riley was still learning so much about things, even more ignorant of the world than a toddler. Riley needed comfort and guidance, and Joy was the most able and willing to provide what she needed socially.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to respond, the lab door opened to reveal Panic and Delight joining Riley out of the lab. Riley looked fine and distinctly happier than she had been earlier that morning.
Riley's happiness and eagerness to go caused Joy's heart to leap in her chest. "Sorry Fear, gotta go, I'll call ya back later, bye!"
"But—"
The dial tone sounded from the other side, indicating Joy had hung up.
Over at the park, Fear pulled back and stared at his cell phone in defeat for a good ten seconds. He knew that Joy cared for the other girl, even when she was first forming. But now that she was awake, even though her appearance and nature were terrifying and something that should not be, Fear was amazed—and a bit hurt—that Joy could spend so much time around her.
Sure he knew that Joy was a good judge of character at heart, but Riley... Riley was different. He knew that Joy had often gone to visit Riley over the past few years as she was developing, the others only stopping by on mere occasions and Fear himself only daring to say a word to the forming part-human once before deciding he'd never go back in there again.
There were only two exceptions to that. The first was those times where his dad called to ask him to bring something from home, but when those times did arise, Fear had his mental list prepared:
1. Enter lab.
2. Give Dad what he needs.
3. Run out and don't acknowledge Ri.
It was a schedule he made sure to strictly follow in those instances. But the only time he dared to speak to Ri was when Joy was also there, and she begged him to at least say something to Ri.
It was usually just a shaky hello, but at least even a word had seemed enough for Joy. And seeing her smile meant the world to him.
Too bad it wasn't enough now seeing as Riley had woken up.
The nerve-like emotion sighed, sitting on the park bench beside his friends. They all looked at him, waiting for the news.
"No luck?" Disgust was the first to speak up.
"No luck." Fear let out a dejected sigh. "I miss Joy."
"We all do," Anger muttered, "but it seems that Riley is taking up all her time. The kid's like a toddler, jut let our parents handle her!"
"She really seems to get along with Joy," Sadness pointed out. She felt that her cousin had the right idea in trying to befriend Riley, but even Sadness couldn't help but feel a bit uncertain.
"That's the problem, don't you see?" Fear exclaimed, leaping up from the bench and pacing in front of them. "Maybe Riley's just waiting for Joy to really let her guard down, and then once Joy's in no position to fight, like if she's asleep and Riley's out of her container..." He slammed his right fist into his left palm. "BAM, Joy's gonna be mauled! Or killed!"
"Or mauled then killed," Anger muttered.
Disgust let an irritated groan. "I don't think Riley's gonna kill her, I just want Joy to hang out with us again." She kicked the grass with her foot. "Without Riley."
Fear and Anger nodded in agreement.
Sadness, feeling sympathy for Riley and Joy but empathizing with her other friends as well, didn't want to pick a fight with either side. "We can just try calling her tonight and see what she says."
"Fine," Anger muttered.
For a moment, there was silence between them. Joy's enthusiasm always brightened up their sports days, and without her around to come up with the wacky rules she sometimes did (like soccer-freeze-tag), the park seemed dull to them even though the sun was shining.
Anger's fists were balled, and the others thought they saw what looked like steam rise from the top of his head. "Wacky sports or not, let's just play baseball or something, and let's do it before I torch a tree or something."
The group went over to the equipment storage that Joy usually left, and Fear stepped forward to get the equipment, though his thoughts were elsewhere. If they did meet up with Joy, she'd likely bring Riley along. And Riley could hurt them. Or freak out. Or trap them in an alternate dimension with some freaky human-emotion powers.
The thought made Fear so jumpy that he started rapidly tossing the ball, bat, and bases to the others in a haphazard manner, not even focusing on where they landed.
Or who they landed on, for that matter, seeing as the bat hit Anger on the head. The pain and frustration caused Anger's head to be set alight, and had that bat not fallen to the ground it would have been torched into ashes.
"HEY, WATCH IT!"
Sadness sighed, feeling a bit well, sad about the whole situation. Why couldn't everyone just come to an agreement?
Back at the lab, Joy managed a grin in Riley's direction.
"Come on, Riley!" she exclaimed. "We're going school shopping!"
As mother and daughter led the part-emotion away, Aggravation peered from the slightly ajar doors of the lab. His frown deepened while Panic smiled with content at the trio.
"She's getting too comfortable in our world," the bulky emotion told the lanky one with a grunt.
Panic glanced at him, sensing even more bitter disapproval in his tone. "At least she'll be ready for when the time comes," he stated. "She'll be very prepared for life on Earth.". He looked pleadingly at his superior. "Is it really such a bad thing that Joy gave her a name?"
"Once one is named, they get attached to the namer," Aggravation snarled. "I had planned to not give Ri a human name until the day before she left!"
"Seems like Joy had other plans."
Aggravation scoffed. "The kid better not get into a fight at that school or the whole operation will take even longer!"
Panic bit his lip, feeling anxious as well, but he tried to wave it aside for the sake of Riley's growth. "Well, so far she hasn't shown any signs of violence, just uncertainty. No need for that defense system of hers to activate. And it's a school, the teachers are there, no one will try to harm her."
He swallowed before he looked in the direction said girl had left.
"At least, I hope not..."
A/N: Yes, there is going to be a bit of Starnerve in this story, though the main focus in general is going to be on the relationship between Riley and the other characters, don't worry. :) I'll try to get the next chapter up a lot sooner. Read and review! :)