He and Confidence had spent more time together over the last few weeks, doing what they usually did. There wasn’t much change to how they acted, except the fact that they sat closer together, held hands when they walked down the street and shared sweet kisses every now and again. It was calm, it was nice, and it only made Lonely more worried about when things would change.

For the most part, he tried not to let it get to him when he was with Confidence or his new friends. He wanted to be happy, but with the lingering awful feeling in the back of his mind, it was hard. Sometimes, the others noticed it and Confidence especially tried to reassure him that it would be fine, but all of them knew that the promises were empty.

At that moment, he was at Confidence’s home, getting ready to leave so he could go home and work. “I’ll come by yours when I’m done,” Confidence said and hugged him tightly. “I can even make a tart if you want.”

“That would be nice,” he replied and smiled at him, heat in his cheeks once again. Even though their relationship had evolved into something unexpected, he still blushed almost constantly. He thought that it would go away, but if anything, it was worse. Not that he minded too much.

One short kiss, another smile, and Lonely was back out on the streets of Zajed, heading for his home. It was a long walk, but a relaxing one. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t focus on whether or not people were looking at him, he just walked. Despite everything, despite the unknown, there was a part of him that was truly happy.

He had friends, had whatever Confidence was to him, hand a home he liked and more than enough books. All he had to do was make sure it stayed that way. He’d been stagnant for so long that he didn’t want to go back to it. The change was a welcome one and even if things kept changing, it was better than the stillness he’d had for centuries.

From what he could tell, Confidence seemed happy too. It was the least he could ask for. Of course, they were still learning how they worked with each other and Confidence was constantly making sure that he was comfortable and sure of himself. Emotions may be new to him, but he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be happy.

The walk up through the hills and fields was quiet and he quickly grew excited for what he would do when he got home. He still needed to work, and there was a book he wanted to read, but Confidence would come around that night when they were both done with work.

His excitement was ripped away from him the second his home came into view. At the door stood the two people he didn’t want to face. Sadness and Disgust hadn’t seen him yet; he could easily turn and run away, but he knew he needed to face them eventually. Some things needed to be said.

Sadness narrowed their eyes as he walked up the stone path to his house. “You shouldn’t be out and about, Lonely,” they said, as if it even mattered anymore.

He said nothing, couldn’t think of anything to say. After days of waiting for them to make an appearance, nights of practising what he would say to them, he was completely silent, his mind blank. His hands shook at his side and there was nothing he could do to stop them, his stomach aching with nervousness.

“I’m disappointed,” Sadness said, but Lonely was sure they couldn't be. They couldn’t even open their eyes to the truth. “I had thought you at least understood the importance of what we’re trying to do here. All we want is the best for humanity.”

None of them had ever met humans. How would they know what was best for them? “Wouldn’t it be best that we had some insight into their range of emotions? So that we could work with them properly?” he asked. It was logical, reasonable, but he knew that neither of them would listen to him.

In fact, Disgust scoffed at him. “You’re far too optimistic, Lonely,” she said. “That’s not how we work. If we were meant to feel like humans, we would have been born as humans. Confidence and the others have taught you lies. It is time you accept the truth.”

“I have,” he replied and crossed his arms over his chest.

For a long moment, all they did was sneer at him, as if they didn’t know what they were supposed to say. Finally, Sadness sighed. “You knew this was coming, Lonely. There’s no avoiding it now. We all need to do our part to make sure humanity feels what they should be. Because of you, they aren’t.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing! You’ve never been lonely, Sadness, you don’t know what it’s like. Without me, humans would be happier,” he said and let out a loud sigh. “But I understand the importance of our work. I have been working, there is no reason for you to isolate me. Let me be happy, please.”

“We’re not supposed to be happy,” Sadness hissed and grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. “You know what needs to be done. Work needs to be completed, we can’t feel, no matter how much you or Confidence or all the others think you do. It is an anomaly, one that needs to be fixed.”

A sick feeling settled in his stomach and he tried to pull away, but Sadness held on tighter. “What are you going to do to the others?” he asked in a weak voice.

“We have things planned. You don’t need to worry about them now,” Sadness answered. He couldn’t tell if it was a lie or not, he never had been good at reading people, especially not when there was so much panic in his mind. He wasn’t thinking clearly enough to figure it out. “All you need to do is listen to us, follow us, and you won’t have to worry about anything again.”

“No,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere. The things you told me when I awoke, they may have been true once, but they aren’t anymore. We’ve changed, but you’re still stuck in the past. There’s nothing you can do to me, not now.”

It should have sounded confident, but his voice shook as much as his hands did. His wrist was still trapped in Sadness’s hand and he pulled again, wrenching it from their grip. They glared at him and he could tell they were angry, they just didn’t realise it. They never would, not even his words would be enough to convince them.

Disgust scoffed and strode forward. “That’s enough, Lonely,” she said and colours swirled in her hands, the same magic they used to create things. “It’s time to go. This is for the best.”

“You keep saying that, but you’re wrong. You’re so wrong,” he said and stepped away. He couldn’t let them take him, not when he had finally found happiness, found the truth. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re going to leave, go back into town and never bother me again.”

Disgust laughed and somehow that wasn’t enough to show her the truth. “Rebellion has made you stupid,” she hissed and strode closer to him. The colours swirled still, growing fiercer and fiercer. “Listen to me-”

“No!” he roared and she froze, staring at him with wide eyes. “You will leave! Even if you force me away, I will come back! This is the truth and I will never forget it. You can’t do anything to me anymore!”

But words wouldn’t work. He had to force them to leave. He channelled his magic, the same magic that allowed him to pass on his emotion, allowed him to create anything he wanted. It would save him because he could only save himself. No one else could do it for him.

There was nothing physical, it was just a force that pushed and pushed, wishing for him to be safe. The wind whooshed in his ears and over it, he could barely hear Sadness and Disgust’s yells. Tears made his vision blur but he couldn’t wipe them away, not until he was safe. “Leave!” he screamed, his throat aching with the effort. “You can’t hurt me anymore!”

Back and back they went, yelling all the while and trying to push back with their own magic. But it was his home, under his control and they couldn’t do a thing to him unless he wanted them to.

He could feel both Sadness and Disgust trying to fight back against him, but never in their history had their powers been used to fight one another. None of them knew what would come of it, but he couldn’t stop. All he wanted was for them to get as far away from him as possible, he wanted to be safe.

Harder and harder he pushed, ignoring the other powers swirling around him. His throat was raw, his eyes stinging with unshed tears, but he never stopped. Then there was silence. He blinked away the tears to find the path to his house empty, Sadness and Disgust. He’d done it, he’d driven them away.

And he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with them gone. Sighing loudly, his body trembling, he sat against his front door and stared down the path, waiting for them to show up again. But they never did. Hours he waited, ready for another fight, but the path was as silent as it usually was.

Somehow, he had done it. He knew it wasn’t completely over. Sadness and Disgust wouldn’t stop until they eventually accepted the truth, but that could take centuries. For a few more weeks, Lonely was safe, he could be happy, but first, he needed to calm down.

It felt almost impossible, but he had to. He’d done it, they weren’t coming back, he didn’t need to panic anymore than he already had. There wasn’t just him to worry about though. Sadness had said they had things planned for Confidence and the others. He couldn’t let them be hurt as well. It wasn’t just his own safety he had to take into consideration.

It had to wait. He couldn’t do anything if he was panicking. So he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, counting his breaths and focusing on the sounds around him. Time passed slowly and he concentrated on every single sound, a distraction from his thoughts. It was something Confidence had suggested to him a few weeks ago, and it worked well.

Eventually, there was a new sound, one different from the wind rushing through the trees and the grass. Footsteps. His eyes shot open and he stood, ready for whatever Sadness and Disgust brought with them. But it wasn’t them, it was Confidence, who walked up the path with a picnic basket in hand.

He froze when he saw Lonely, staring at him for a second before jogging towards him. The picnic basket fell to the ground as Confidence wrapped his arms around him. He wasn’t even crying, but somehow, he still knew something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?” Confidence whispered, running a hand down his back. Lonely had sworn he’d been calm, he had composed himself, but the feeling of Confidence’s hands on his back and his words in his ear made the tears spring from his eyes again.

He couldn’t speak and instead allowed Confidence to take him inside, whispering soothing words in his ear all the while. He’d kept himself safe for the moment, but he couldn’t help but feel awful about it. It might be over for a while, but things would never be completely happy, not until Sadness and Disgust realised the truth. Until then, he could let himself be comforted, let himself feel a little bit of happiness.