EDIT:: SO I AM THE BIGGEST LAME HEAD DUMMY AND MADE A DUMB MISTAKE.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS ENTIRE STORY IS DEDICATED TO THE WONDERFULLY AMAZING COCONUTCINNAMON.
I TOTALLY FORGOT TO MENTION.
THE GAG AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER WAS LIFTED DIRECTLY FROM A SHORT AND HILARIOUS COMIC THAT SHE WROTE AND DREW. SHE IS IN THE PROCESS OF COLORING IT AND I PLAN ON MAKING A PANEL OF IT THE COVER FOR THIS BOOK.
I SHOULD HAVE WAIT FOR HER TO FINISH IT AND I AM A BUTT.
YOU ALL SHOULD GO CHECK OUT COCONUTCINNAMON ON TUMBLR BECAUSE SHE IS AMAZING AND ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED ARTIST I HAVE EVER SEEN
Sorry for that. OwO I had to fix this problem.
I'm actually on time for this update, heh. But because the last one was so late, it feels too early.
As you know, I have left my day job. Things are going to be very hard for me for quite a while. I am still thinking about setting up a way to donate to me, but this site censors the name of the website in question. I will keep you updated.
After this story ends, I will finish up Out of Place, then begin Always by my Side.
Please review! It's what makes me want to keep writing. Thank you all!
Chapter 6: A Scene by the Sea
"It should be just a short walk this way. It says to look for the wall of palm trees..."
Fear, with his long face buried in the wrinkled paper, was carefully studying the Imagination Land map and mumbling aloud as he plodded along the trail of colorful puzzle pieces. Since the beach was such a new addition to the mindscape, he wanted to make one hundred percent sure he was going the right way. To get lost on a day like today when he was so determined to prove his worth to Joy; it would be beyond mortifying.
Walking just beside him, obscured from his vision by the crinkled mess, Joy excitedly tensed all the muscles in her golden form. She was so thrilled at the thought of visiting a beach. Sure, she had been there when Riley had visited the shore. But this would be the first time the emotion herself could experience the sun, the sand, and the surf upon her own glittering skin. This was a whole new experience, one that was almost too exciting to bear. But she did her best to keep her excitement contained. The mind worker had been right; now was the time to 'take it easy'. Fear needed to relax after the terror he had experienced aboard the massive thrill ride. If something were to startle him now, Joy thought, he would surely bail out from the entire adventure.
Lowering his eyebrows into a perplexed expression, Fear began to carefully fold the paper along it's worn creases. He had never seen even a single palm tree in the entirety of the mindscape. How then, he pondered, could there possibly be enough to form a full wall of them? Something didn't seem right.
No sooner did his eyes refocus on the path ahead than he had his answer. Just a few feet further down the colorful path stood a literal wall of brick and mortar. It's surface had been coated in a thick layer of sky blue lacquer, on which someone had painted dozens of cartoony interpretations of palm trees. Located in the center of this lonely brick wall was a huge white door decorated with the words 'Paradise Shores', with a bright red 'NOW OPEN' sign hung somewhat carelessly upon it's brass handle.
As they continued their approach, Joy felt her face droop unconsciously in mild disappointment. The entrance to this new beach section of Imagination Land certainly hadn't wowed her. It appeared so fake and haphazardly thrown together. She could only hope that what layed beyond the door was more exciting and true to life than the wall before her. But, as she had with her excitement, she kept her disappointment hidden, focused on keeping things as calm as possible for Fear.
The lavender emotion placed a quivering hand upon the door knob. He hesitated only long enough to cast a glance towards Joy, who held her breath in ecstatic anticipation. Fear smiled, managing to muster a small amount of confidence. He may have failed with the roller coaster, but a beach was something he knew he could handle. Earning this pebble, he decided, would be a walk in the park.
Fear quickly threw the door open, and the two emotions gazed in awe and wonder at yet another miracle of the mind realms. Inside the seemingly inconspicuous door frame was an entire shoreline; with a sunny sky and rolling surf stretching as far as their eyes could see. The endless miles of shimmering, finely ground sand were completely abandoned; barren save for the sparsely arranged blue umbrellas the mind workers had left for visitors. Off in the distance, they could see mammalian dorsal fins breaking the waters surface to breach for air, exhaling in plumes of ocean spray.
No longer able to contain herself, Joy sprinted past Fear and through the entryway, giggling excitedly at the feeling of the sand beneath her bare feet. Fear exhaled a blissful sigh as he watched her tromp away, always happy to see her so full of life. With a wide grin forming across his face, he carefully stepped through the door after her, turning to close it only to realize that, from this side, the door appeared on the side of an impossibly small shed in the endless dunes.
"The water feels perfect!" Joy exclaimed, her ankles submerged in the frothy surf. "We just have to go swimming! You said you packed towels and swimsuits, right?"
Fear stopped just short of the water and felt the color rise to his face. "Y-yeah." He coughed nervously, swinging his backpack around his shoulder and onto the moistened sand. Before he could react, Joy quickly unzipped the largest compartment and dug wildly through the contents, eventually removing the blue and white two piece suit Fear had located in the laundry.
Suit in hand, Joy began bounding back up the shore. "Come on!" She laughed. "There are some changing tents over this way!"
Fear returned his backpack to his shoulders and sighed, following the glittering dust of golden particles that trailed from Joy's form. The light specs lead the way to a cluster of tall square tents by the beach's entrance shed. The ecstatic emotion had already darted into one of them, zipping the loose and billowy flaps shut behind her. Fear took his place in the tent directly beside her's and sealed himself inside.
The tent was illuminated by the small amount of sun that seeped it's way through the bright white roof, the only feature present within a single bench half buried in the sand. Fear haphazardly tossed his backpack onto the seat and once again mournfully sighed, lowering his head and feeling his hair-like antenna do the same. He had only barely brought himself to change into his lightweight summery outfit currently upon his form. Now he would be forced to wear even less, exposing more of his frail and pathetic body to the world. He tried to remind himself how positively Joy had responded to his first outfit change, but his mind still had him convinced that his weak physical being was something to be ashamed of. Still, he had no other options; Joy was dead set on swimming. He wasn't about to disappoint her. Not again.
Fear removed his summer outfit and replaced it with a modest pair of dark red swim trunks. After packing away his shirt and shorts, he glanced down at his bare chest. His bones were so prominent, he could literally trace the outline of his own rib cage within his slender torso. The lavender creature sighed. Overcoming this physical flaw, he thought, would require a whole lot of pebbles.
Deciding his best option was to draw as little attention to his form as possible, Fear threw his pack over one shoulder and marched out of the tent, trying his best to look nonchalant. But his display was without audience; Fear had actually beaten Joy in getting changed. She was only just emerging from her cocoon like tent.
"Ready to go!" Joy chirped, and Fear quickly whipped around in her direction. As his eyes fell upon her shape, he could feel his entire face skyrocket in temperature. So much of her glittering golden skin was now revealed, more than Fear had ever seen of her perfect form before. As sweat began to form on his skin, Fear realized he was staring and hurriedly turned his eyes back to the beach.
"W-w-we... I-I... I... Sh..." Fear attempted to communicate, but stopped himself only seconds in. It was clear that his mouth wasn't about to cooperate, not with how hard he was shaking as his super heated face dripped with sweat. Instead of embarrass himself further, he simply stopped talking altogether and chose to just show Joy what he was doing instead of try to explain.
As Fear began awkwardly stepping toward a nearby umbrella, Joy couldn't help but smile. She didn't have to ask if he thought her swimsuit looked good on her; his mindless stuttering had already answered that question. As she followed behind, she took note of his own appearance in this highly revealing new outfit. She hadn't actually voiced it often, but she was extremely fond of Fear's svelte physique. She didn't really know how to explain it. Something about his unique proportions seemed to make him aesthetically pleasing to the eye, even, she'd admit, attractive. But the only person she had ever admitted this to was Sadness, on those random sleepless nights when the two roommates would freely tell each other their own secret thoughts. She couldn't tell Fear himself. Even compliments, she worried, could scare the poor critter off, especially if they were even the slightest bit intimate.
So while her instincts told her to say something sweet to him in return for his awkward way of complimenting, she forced herself to remain silent. Continuing plodding through the deep sand, she sighed, mildly upsetted. It seemed she would have to find a way to calm his nerves before she could really open up to him about her inner most feelings. The mind workers advice repeated once again in her mind; her best shot was to take it easy.
Feeling a little less flustered and more in control of his own mind, Fear confidently threw his pack towards the base of a colorful beach umbrella. Digging quickly through the contents, he located and retrieved a long, royal blue towel and laid it out across the shaded sand. Once placed, he dove back into the bag, this time removing a brilliant orange and yellow towel. This he placed directly next to the first, looking to Joy with a blushing smile and gesturing towards the bright cloth.
Joy, her entire being tingling with excitement, quickly flopped down onto the towel provided to her. As Fear gently took a seat on the towel beside hers, Joy folded her hands behind her head and contentedly closed her eyes. The crisp smell of the salty ocean spray flew across the shore on a warm summer breeze. The golden emotion listened to the rolling surf moving in a moon guided rhythm, accented by the excited clicks and whistles of the aquatic creatures porpoising through the air. Her smile widened and her entire figure glowed. This was the beach experience she had been hoping so long for.
Joy was roused from her trance like state by the sharp sound of a zipper. Her eyes fluttered back open and she turned, watching as Fear carefully opened the smaller front pocket of his purple backpack to reveal a small bottle of off white colored cream. He took the squeeze bottle firmly in one of his large lavender hands, tossing the backpack away, and put a small helping of the goo into his other palm.
"What is that?" Joy asked with a smile, sitting up on her elbows.
Fear began to apply the cream to his exposed shoulders and forearms. "Oh..." He mumbled shyly. "I-it's sun screen..."
Joy tilted her head as she watched him continue to coat himself. "Do emotions get sunburns...?" She asked innocently. She knew for a fact that she had never had one before. Only through Riley had they ever experienced the pain of unprotected, sun exposed skin. And it had been a nightmare of pain, blisters, and slimy aloe everywhere.
Blushing slightly, only to coat his colored cheeks in more of the white sunscreen, Fear shrugged his shoulders. "I... Don't actually know." He chuckled. "I never have before... But, then again, we've never had a place like this with such a realistic looking sun. I figured it's better safe than sorry."
Joy giggled. It still seemed like a silly idea to her. But Fear seemed to live by the phrase Better Safe than Sorry, just as much as Joy had learned to Always Stop and Smell the Roses. Maybe, she decided, she could prove to Fear that she was willing to be focused on safety as well. After all, Fear seemed to only see her as enjoying terrifying activities that involved the risking of life and limb. So she decided that, rather than argue with him, she would follow the example he had given.
After he had coated every inch of his exposed skin but before he could return it to its pouch, Joy held out a hand towards Fear. He glanced up at her, an expression of mild surprise on his blotchy fuscia and white face.
"Could I use it too?" She asked sweetly.
Fears entire face lit up at her question. The other emotions always teased him for being so cautious. But Joy was... actually agreeing with him? He felt honored and validated by her request. "Sure!" He grinned awkwardly, and dropped the small bottle into her waiting golden hand.
As Joy began to apply the lotion to her own glittering skin, Fear felt the familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach, and he turned his brightly colored face towards the water. As she began to hum once more, Fear tried his hardest to focus his thoughts on the shimmering rolling sea before him, attempting to lower the temperature in his cheeks.
Suddenly, Joy thrust the bottle back into Fear's unsuspecting hand. As he turned to try and question the bizarre behavior, Joy threw herself stomach first onto the towel and gestured toward her glowing back.
"I can't reach." She explained. "Could you please get my back?"
Fear's entire face erupted into a deep crimson blush, his antennae appendage standing almost completely straight. He was thankful Joy's face was turned towards the towel beneath her and not towards his flustered reaction as he carefully studied all the subtle dips and grooves in her back.
Before he even had a chance to recover from the shock and embarrassment, Joy quickly made it worse. "Oh, hang on." She mumbled, lifting up slightly and fumbling with the knot in the back of her swim suit top. "I want you to get my whole back, just in case." She managed to coax the string loose, then layed back down onto her stomach with her top unattached.
Fear's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He could feel the sweat dripping from his face, a tremor surging up his spine. The thought of touching her bare back, it tangled a knot deep within his stomach. He tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to do this...
But Fear had to fight through. This was definitely another opportunity for a pebble. He let the last one slip through his fingers; he couldn't miss this one too! So, even through his shivering and sweating, he lowered his eyebrows into a determined expression, and he squeezed a helping of sun screen into his trembling hand.
Fear had only just started on applying the cream to her shoulders when he felt her entire figure jolt in realization. In an instant, she bolted upright with a gasp and whirled around to the startled creature behind her.
"Ah! My summery clothes!" She exclaimed. "I left them in the changing tent!"
And with that, she turned and charged back up the dunes to the colorful tents, kicking clouds of sand with every step..
Fear, whose jaw had dropped and whose heart had stopped when Joy had leapt to her feet, sat frozen, blushing from his cheeks to his toes. He was still for a moment or two, only forcing himself out of the trance with violent shakes of his head.
"J-J-JOY!" He shouted, unable to control his stutter. "JOY P-PLEASE. PUT Y-Y-YOUR TOP BACK ON!"