Strangely enough, Love had invited Lonely out to the beach not far from Zajed. He hadn’t expected it to happen, thinking that his lunch out with them hadn’t gone as well as it could, but it had apparently been better than he thought.

Confidence wasn’t going to be there as far as he knew, but Happy would be. He liked them, the small amount of time he had spent with them. And for whatever reason, they seemed to like him. He didn't think he'd made that good of an impression but the fact that they'd invited him out anyway made him smile. For the first time in his long life, he felt welcome. He still didn't feel like he belonged with them, but he was sure that it was only a matter of time.

The beach wasn't somewhere he'd visited since his first explorations of Zajed centuries ago. To get there he had to go through the whole town, which used to easily get him caught by Sadness or Disgust. This time, Love was walking with him and no one dared to oppose one of the most popular emotions in the town. They stared, the faces of people he didn't know the names of judging him so harshly. Word had spread, that much was obvious.

But hadn't Confidence said that most of them could feel, that he was one of the few still under their control? They were all trying to keep up appearances, but why? There was no point in it. If so many of them came out and said the truth, then there wouldn't be an issue. Lonely had been the only one to do it, the one person so far under their control. The rest of them might not listen to Sadness's rules, but they still didn't want to upset the calm of Zajed.

"Don't mind them," Love said when he caught him staring back. "They're jealous of us."

Lonely swallowed the lump in his throat with a gasp. Hadn't he been the one to force Love and Happy and Pride out of their safe peace with Sadness? No, it had just been Confidence, who didn't seem to care that much. The others had followed all on their own. And Lonely's confrontation had been the thing to push them to do it.

He, of all people, had inspired them.

"They're scared," he said. He understood it completely.

Love shrugged. "They shouldn't be," he said as they walked through the marketplace. It had been a long time since he'd bought books and when he looked at Wisdom's stall, the old man stared back at him with a look he couldn't decipher.

"I'm scared," he replied when he turned away.

"Yes, but you're brave. They aren't," he said. For someone named Love, he was so completely different from how Lonely expected. Judgemental and harsh, but still kind. "We were all scared, but it doesn't take much to allow yourself to be true."

He shrugged and bit down hard on his lip. Love was right, but he made it sound so much easier than it really was. "Maybe one day," he said, hope blooming in his chest. It would be a dream if one day all of them could be true to themselves, be who they were supposed to be, but he knew it wouldn't happen for a long time.

The streets began to thin out as they walked in comfortable silence. The smell of the ocean made him smile and the waves rushing across the shore was loud in his ears. He'd only ever seen beaches when he'd been working, never seeing the point in going alone. The humans all went with people, even if they still felt lonely while they were there. He longed to run down the stone streets and dive headfirst into the salty water, but he held back.

Happy was already waiting on the sand for them, waving when they appeared. Like last time he had seen them, there was a picnic blanket set up high on the sand, but no sign of Pride. "Hi, Happy," Lonely said when they hugged him, smiling in their shoulder.

"Hi!" they said as if they hadn't seen him in a long time. "Did you bring swimmers? The water's perfect today."

He gestured to the bag on his back. He'd also made a tart, using the fruit Confidence had grown (with his permission, of course), but he wasn't sure how well it had turned out. When he pulled it out, Happy gasped and took the container from his hands. "You didn't have to make anything!" they said as they put it down with the rest of the picnic food. "This looks so good. Thanks, Lonely!"

His cheeks flushed with a strange mix of embarrassment and pride. Unsure of whether to embrace it or push it away, he dropped his bag onto the blanket and changed into his bathers in a nearby changing tent. It was already strange to not be doing something with Confidence, but it was nice knowing that there were others out there who were trying to get along with him.

When he came back, both Happy and Love were already in the water, jumping along with the waves like he’d seen children do when he was working. He took a deep breath, feeling more than a little naked in the bathers, and stepped towards the shore. The water was cold but refreshing and it brought a smile to his face.

“Come on!” Happy called to him, gesturing for him to follow them. Clenching his fists, he ran in after them, splashing water everywhere. Love laughed at him as he joined them and he couldn’t help but grin back.

He felt like a child, something he had never been if he were going by human standards, splashing and playing in the water. People could have been staring at him, there could have been a massive crowd on the shore watching and judging, but he didn't care. He jumped along with the small waves, letting them push him back towards shore, washing over his head and making his eyes sting. Love and Happy laughed loudly, the former jumping onto his back occasionally. There wasn't much chatter and Lonely found that he liked it, laughing along with them.

Eventually, he sat next to Happy on the sand, letting the water wash over his bare legs. "I know we're not doing much, but are you having a good time?" they asked, but they sounded worried.

"I am," he said and smiled at them. "I haven't come down here before."

"Love and I come down here all the time. Usually, it's just us, Pride doesn't like the sand," they said with a shrug. "Confidence comes sometimes, but he decided not to this time, even after we said you would be coming."

Lonely had no idea what that meant, so he said the only thing that came to mind. "I don't mind. It gives me a chance to make other friends, I suppose," he said. Every time he opened his mouth, he was unsure of what the right thing to say would be. He went with what his gut told him, but that didn't stop him from overthinking every word said, every expression pulled.

And when Happy smiled at him again, he couldn't tell what it meant. "You don't need to be so nervous, trust me. We all like you," they told him and relief flooded through him.if that was the truth, then the only thing he had to worry about was Sadness and Disgust. "I'm heading back into the water. Are you coming?"

He shook his head. "No, I might get something to eat," he answered and within a few seconds, he was settled on the picnic blanket. His tart wasn't as nice as he hoped, but it was good for the first attempt.

He sat and watched Happy and Love race along the waves and whoop with joy. Even though he wasn't with them, it was still nice to watch. The cool breeze and the warm sun was soothing, it was a perfect day and he felt good for once, glad that he had been invited out.

There was still so much he needed to worry about, what with Sadness and Disgust being silent towards him, but spreading the news of his actions to everyone else. It was only a matter of time before they did something and Lonely had no idea if the others would join them. At least he had Confidence and his friends there to help him should anything happen. He'd finally found a little bit of happiness, he wasn't going to let anyone rip that away from him.

That didn't mean he no longer felt lonely. Even when he was out, he could still feel it deep in his heart, waiting to push to the surface. When he was home on his own, it reared its ugly head and there were still times where he cried himself to sleep or couldn't get out of bed. If only there was some easy way to contact Confidence or someone else who could help him, but there wasn't. He had to deal with it on his own like he had for centuries, but it wasn't as bad as it had once been.

Confidence had never asked about his panic attacks after he witnessed them, just accepted them as something that happened every now and again. He'd seen more than just the one when they were supposed to meet up, at least two others if he was remembering correctly. Both had been at his home, one regarding Sadness and Disgust, the other the same aa the rest. They were awful, but both times Confidence had been there, it hadn't been so bad. He'd helped him through them, made him tea and sat with him until he was calm enough to speak and breathe properly. Those days, they didn't do much but stay at home and read.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and he startled, we'd whirling around to face the new person. Fear stood there, pale-faced and smiling kindly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said. "It's been a while since I've seen you. I wanted to see how you were doing."

He sighed, relaxing once again. "I've been really good," he said but didn't know how else to explain it.

"It's good to see you talking to people, making friends. I know… I know Sadness and Disgust made it hard," he said, the smile morphing into a frown. "I don't agree with what they're saying about you."

"I don't know what they're saying about me," he admitted, his eyebrows furrowing. Fear's first sentence made him falter and his mind flashed back to the few conversations they'd had over the years. Fear had always started them and while they had been awkward and short, Lonely could finally realise what they were. Fear had been trying to be friends with him in the limited capacity that had been possible at the time and he'd chalked it down to pity.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice Fear opening his mouth to speak again. "They're telling everyone that you and Confidence and all the others are disobeying the rules, ruining things, trying to take over or something like that," he explained and shrugged. "Most of us don't believe them, but… But we're proud that you're able to do what you're doing."

It took him a moment to speak again, staring up at the young-looking man. "Why don't you sit with me?" he suggested and patted the space on the blanket next to him. "I made a tart."

It was the least he could do for someone who had tried their hardest to talk to him. They might not get along as well as he did with someone like Confidence, but Fear had been the only one to talk to him for centuries, even if he had misinterpreted it.

"I was with Confidence, but I'm sure he'll find me again," Fear said as he sat. Lonely hated the flutter in his stomach at the name and resisted asking where the other man was. He handed Fear a piece of the tart and checked on Love and Happy, who were still in the water.

He didn't know what to say to him, but he found that he didn't care all that much about what Sadness and Disgust were saying. It was strange to have spent centuries worried about what they would say or do, only to no longer care. All he'd had to do was realise how powerless they really were, but that wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for Confidence.

“I was thinking that maybe you and Confidence and the others would like to come around to mind one day,” Lonely said. The idea hadn’t even occurred to him until then, but saying it, it seemed like a good idea. “No one has been up there except Confidence, really.”

“You would invite me?” Fear asked, lips parted in surprise.

It took him a moment to say anything, stumbling over his words. “Of course, you have been kind to me. It is only fair. I want us to be friends,” he said, feeling more than a little awkward about it all.

“That would be nice, actually,” he replied and went to say something else when he caught sight of something over Lonely’s shoulder. “That doesn’t… That doesn’t look good.”

Immediately, Lonely shot around and bit down hard on his lip. Confidence stood in the middle of a nearby street, his arms crossed over his chest and not facing the beach. Two other figures stood across from him, far too familiar for Lonely’s liking. Whatever Sadness and Disgust were saying to him, Confidence didn’t like it.

None of them saw him watching and he couldn’t look away, even as the muffled sound of Confidence’s yells reached his ears. He couldn’t understand a word being said, but the rage on Confidence’s face was enough to make him nervous. Then it was over, the blonde man stalking away with one final yell and disappearing down the street.

Lonely hissed in a breath as Sadness and Disgust shared a look. Whatever their conversation was about, it hadn’t been good, but it was safe to assume that it was something to do with him.

“Well, it doesn’t look like Confidence is going to find me again any time soon,” Fear said and sighed, sounding as nervous as Lonely felt. “Can I stay with you?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. “Of course,” he said, but his mind was far away, still focused on Sadness and Disgust. None of them knew what they were planning, but it would all come to a head soon, that much was obvious and he was terrified.