This is Inanimate Insanity 2, I swear!

1.5 The First Storm

Two days have passed since, and Marshmallow couldn't feel any worse.

She sat by the window, her head positioned on her hand, watching the rain pour down in waves, millions of droplets falling at a time and drowning the grass. The darkened skies continued to grow, the wind howling, the windows threatening to cave inwards and let the storm invade.

The sorrowful face painted on Apple hasn't even remotely faded from her memory. It stained her, tainted her thoughts, and only made her feel guiltier for her words. That day was marked as a step backward in her quest for higher ground. But the wind was howling, the rain kept pressing, and Marshmallow worried that her struggle with her redheaded nemesis wasn't over.

"Do you need something?"

She didn't bother to turn to see who was standing next to her. In fact, she was low on energy compared to the usual, for obvious reasons. The rain wasn't helping.

A steaming mug was placed next to her arm. She could feel the warmth radiating off of it and suddenly felt a lot warmer.

"Thanks Sherry..." She said, glancing to the side just to confirm it was him. The two of them had gotten a little closer, having a bit of small talk during dinner and texting over the night. Come to think of it, she talked to Sherry more than anyone else on her team, despite Sherry rarely talking.

Sherry, in his usual silent manner, sat down next to her. They both looked back into the rain, as the storm only grew bolder and stronger. Sherry finally decided to break the ice. "Apple still bothering you?"

Marshmallow sighed. "Yeah... It's just... I'm still guilty about it. I mean... I know I've repeated this to you almost a thousand times, but all I want is for things to work out between us."

Marshmallow felt a small hand pat her on the shoulder, much different in comparison to the large and heavy hands Paintbrush had.

"Thanks..."

She fell into silence.

The mug that Sherry had given her was full of hot chocolate. Marshmallow smiled to herself. Christmas was a long way ahead, and.the drink was way out of season. Nonetheless, the small gift warmed her heart.

She glanced at Sherry. The pink haired boy had his head turned towards the window, his eyes glazed over as if he was reminiscing a memory of the past. Or maybe that was something exclusive to her, and she was making the assumption that it happened to everyone.

"I'm sorry..." Marshmallow said. "I'm just... Tired of this. Tired of Apple. Tired of Fan. Tired of drama."

Sherry looked at her, his eyes soft and sincere.

"I mean... I don't even know anymore, Sherry. I'm just... Worn out."

"Hard to believe we haven't reached the second challenge..." Sherry whispered.

Marshmallow laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty much doomed, aren't I?" She paused, before sighing. "I'm sure things will speed up once we all get into the 'game show' mood... It's still vacation in my head."

"Technically this is our vacation."

Marshmallow squeaked as an arm wrapped around her neck. She whipped around to see Cherry, standing half naked, wearing boxer shorts and holding a piece of bread in his hand.

"What's up? Staring at the rain?"

Marshmallow nodded, averting her gaze from his poorly developed abs. "Yeah... Pretty much."

"Mmm..." Cherry scrunched up his face. "It's not that interesting to me."

"What's not interesting to you?"