Forgiveness, Not Forgotten
Fear for all reasons was the one who properly had the most influence on Riley's sense of safety, or at least he believed he did. For him the days ever since puberty were perhaps the roughest he'd had to deal with.
If it wasn't dealing with the worry and stresses of imagining what high school would be like, it was trying not to freak out over small life incidents.
Though now he felt less alone in ever since the four newest emotions finally settled themselves into Headquarters. But if he had to admit to himself, it also hadn't been easy.
Fear was still struggling with the factors of having to put up with the now crowded main floor as he tried to grasp the console. His own input was dialed back ever since the extra hands had stepped into Riley's mind.
"Hello! Disgust to Fear! Can you hear me?!" Disgust barely waved her hand towards Fear as he jumped back at least two feet away. Her already perfected smirk only grew as she waited for her scared friend to ease back his shock of purple hair that was standing curled tight.
He stammered for a minute before crossing his arms, "Yes, I can read you loud and clear, what?!" He didn't mean to sound so snarky, but an emotion can only take so much.
Disgust rolled her long lashes and adjusted her emerald green dress, "Well I wanted to ask what your opinion about our new guests is?" She whispered it carefully, trying not to make eye contact with Anxiety. She flipped her perfectly neat hair and gave a small pout.
"Uh..my opinion? You're asking me what I think?!" Fear couldn't believe his own ears, while he and Disgust were friendlier nowadays; she still tended to treat him as a nuisance.
In his own defense though it wasn't like he didn't try to talk to her, it was more…wellbeing a shier emotion it made it hard to express himself. He guessed that it was one thing he and Embarrassment held in common.
"Well I think they're all really trying to help out now, even after the 'camp incident' happened. It's been nicer, calmer, well I'd say even Anxiety seems to be more open to out help" Fear said, edging away as Disgust gave him a long hard stare.
She slid into one of the seats nearest the console, and tucked her feet in, "Yeah I see your point" Disgust gave tiny sigh before lowering her voice again, "But I still am pissed off!"
"Puberty has been a real kick in the points so far I must admit" Fear reached down to tug at his houndstooth sweater before tugging at his collar nervously, "But don't you want to at least give them all another chance?"
Disgust's mouth went wide open, leaving her gaping with a mixture of her own reluctance. "Seriously Fear, really"?
Her voice echoed off the higher rafters of Headquarters, causing at least seven of the other emotions to look at the both of them.
Fear was simply trying to shush the now enraged Disgust, as she channeled something closer to Anger's domain of influence. As Joy shrugged both shoulders and went back to the challenge of the new video game that hadn't left Riley's mind since it first came out.
Disgust however wasn't in the mood for this bull so early in the afternoon, literally looking as if she was debating to smack Fear or simply let it go. The tangent aura of the room though now was how many stares were still on them.
"Uh Disgust..can we not talk about this here?" He asked softly, biting his upper lip while lowering his hands as if it would calm his friend.
"No! I think it's the perfect time to speak up actually!" She drew herself out of the chair and grabbed Fear by his shoulders, "Why not express what and how we both feel!" She looked utterly deranged by now, as her face curled into what Fear would call a 'Grinch-like' smile.
"You're scaring me Disgust"
"Everything scares you. A paper bag scares you!"
"That was one time" Fear said, thinking back to the time he had literally gotten his own head stuck inside the 'paper bag of doom'. He thought everyone had forgotten about that…
With the now defiant Disgust strutting right into the middle of the floor, he felt his hands start to sweat. Great now she's going to start something.
His jitters became nerves and those became a flustering of complete and utter chaos as the green emotion cleared her throat. His head curl dropped all the way down.
"Okay all eyes on me now, stop whatever you're doing and pay attention!" Disgust yelled right as Anger came into the room holding a small piece of cake and dropped it onto the ground.
The red emotion muttered a few choice curse words, as Joy and Sadness locked eyes and backed away from the console.
Fear saw that Ennui barely gave any sign that she had heard anything as she played on her phone, and Envy jumped up onto the couch. Her little feet dangled over the cushions edges as the light blue ball of energy sat listening intently to her heroine.
Embarrassment hid behind the mind manual shelves just as Anxiety ducked overhead giving Fear a side eye.
All attention now on Disgust she smirked, "So anyways as you all know, I think of all of you as associates. And as my associates I want to just say this" Her smile grew larger as she pressed a hand to flip her hair again but was interrupted by two voices.
"What we're not fashionable enough for you?" Anger blurted out, both of his hands trying desperately to pick up his fallen cherry cake.
"Well that and…"
"What she's trying to say is that we are all friends here" Fear said almost fretting over the slight squeak in his voice, "And that we all should get along, right?!" He gazed at the green diva with a slight hint of frantic hope.
But the green emotion pulled herself taller and spun around towards him. Locking one green eye on his now sweating face Fear felt the full force of passive aggression. Even as the only other sounds were the quiet munching of the floor cake by Anger and Sadness whispering to Joy.
"Maybe..but I feel that they should know that we don't forgive them yet!" Disgust twirled on her heels and proudly folded her arms, narrowed eyes not breaking off of Anxiety and then to the other three.
Fear could literally hear the noise of a pin drop just as the smallest of them all leaned forwards.
Envy now sat with her legs almost pressed together, a hard and shocked expression mixed with anger laced over her face.
Embarrassment though for all of his hiding and bashfulness stepped out from his safety corner and tugged the strings of his pink hood up. And just underneath the hood Fear could make out his slight nervous fluttering.
Ennui broke off her game and stared with tired, exhausted eyes towards Disgust. The now gloomy frown warped across her once dull face, "And what are you saying?"
"Now that's no true!" Joy said springing away from her perch and spun down to take Disgust's hand in her own and debunk this while situation, "We forgave and we forgot! It's all water under the bridge here!"
"No Joy it really isn't!" Disgust snapped, leaving Joy to only stare with a complete blank look, "It's not 'fine' or 'sunny' or 'forgotten' even. I know we all said we would try and work with them, but come on Joy..." Disgust distanced herself from the now dimly glowing light that was Joy, "It isn't just something to forget and you know it!"
Now the real tenseness sat across the whole room, making everyone within feel the heavy atmosphere cling to them as if it was a fog. Joy slowly blinked and held up her hands in defense, but for some reason looked to Fear and Sadness.
"You know Joy you tend to brush bad things under the rug and ignore what needs to be done and said at the end of the day" Disgust continued breaking contact by stepping away, "Anxiety hurt Riley! Those three didn't do much too even stop it from happening. So what now?"
Anger slowly came up folding his cake covered away behind his back, "Disgust we also made a huge mistake remember?!" His teeth grinded as his foot tapped as he moved closer to where Fear stood, "They need time to be taught, and maybe we could try and find a way to better work with them!"
Everyone in the room literally stood with mouth agape.
"What I can't be the reasonable guy for once?!" Anger yelled trying to wipe away the pink crumbs along his face.
"Yeah Disgust, we all did something like that and well I for one would like to try and give them a second chance" Fear said from his place near Anger, though he felt rather uncertain why she still needed to hold this grudge.
Joy though held a pale hand up, tittering on a single step, "I do tend to ignore the messy stuff but I'm trying".
"Are you?!" Disgust blurted out.
Joy for all of the lessons taught over the course of the few years now felt the tears start to run as she ran out of the main area. Not turning back to see the green emotion start to break down herself.
Now all seven of the other emotions glared at her, though Fear and Sadness both nodded to each other as Sadness ran after Joy.
Fear for all of his own issues, all of his own worries about what the other's thought of him, were washed away as he went over to Disgust, "I for one think we all need to take a break here. Anger, could you please finish cleaning up and help me at the console"
Anger only nodded, barely pausing to direct his full course of feelings to Disgust, "Happy now?!" He asked balling his fists into his pants pockets before shoving himself near the closest chair.
Disgust just stood in place, holding her arms protectively over her body, not moving. The pain in her chest willing up as the other four all voiced how they felt back at her.
Ennui oddly the first spoke up, tilting her head sideways like a cat as she slid off the couch, "Maybe we don't like you very much either. At least we can agree on that!" The darker purple emotion then spat onto the floor nearest Disgust foot and made off into the stairway.
Envy only pouted, a redness to her tiny youthful face as she too walked away, pulling on her bow in frustration.
Embarrassment was already gone.
Anxiety hung back, briefly staring back, green eyes at green, "I know we did the worst possible thing, I am still unable to forgive me for it! It was my fault, and well just to let you know… I forgive you".
She left as well, leaving Disgust just alone with her own thoughts.
"I just wanted to help"