One day, snacking on a piece of leftover cookie pizza, Marshmallow got something rarer than gold: a moment of solitude. It was pretty crazy, actually: even when Marsh attended OJ's wild parties every day, she felt lonelier than she did now, with Apple dragging her by the hand around the sunny island.

(If you told Marshmallow a year ago that Apple was a handholder, she wouldn't have believed you. Nowadays, it was a reality she dealt with anytime Marsh didn't avoid it. It was weird and childish, quite like Apple herself, actually. Not that Marsh minded that much...)

'Wonder if she'd do it if she knew I liked girls.'

The thought made the smile drop off of Marsh's face— where on Earth did that come from? Just as quickly, she scoffed at herself: of course it shouldn't change anything.

Sure, it was true that Apple came from a rural area. (This was one of the few things she knew about Apple - she talked a lot, but seldom about herself.) Still, Apple probably had no idea what it meant, and even if she did...

Come on, she wouldn't hate Marsh, again. That, fundamentally, contradicted who Apple really was, outside of the hurt and fires.

Or so she figured.

'My first time alone in forever, and I think about THIS?'

Why was she even entertaining this train of thought? It wasn't like being gay would ever relate to Apple, anyway. Their quaint little friendship had settled into the mold of something perfectly platonic, something of which Marsh couldn't be more grateful. It was nice to have a close female friend she didn't yearn for more with.

"Marshmallow!" Apple ran over. "I NEED to show you this thingy I found!"

Apple's hand made a grab for Marsh's hand, but Marsh didn't let her have it as she stood up. "Are you going to get us lost again?"

"No, I promise!"

⁂⁂⁂

"It just grinds my gears when they change the YouTube layout like that! The old version was so much better. Y'know?"

"Mhm."

As much as Marsh appreciated Apple's company, there was no polite way to say that, if Marsh had cared before, she certainly didn't STILL care after Apple droned on about it for ten minutes. (Apple clearly lost track of what she was supposed to show Marsh, but was trying to distract her from it while continuing to walk her in circles. She was not subtle.)

"It takes forever to use sites when they change stuff. Climbing trees is way better, a tree usually never changes except when..."

As Apple rambled on, Marshmallow only half-listened, murmuring responses as little as she could get away with. There were much more important things to think about, after all. It was only around five, but the clouds cast a downright ominous shade over them. A low rumble of thunder sent a shiver up Marsh's spine.

Most of the island was grassland, so when Marsh spotted a cave in the distance, she knew she had to make do. She grabbed Apple's hand and started towards it. "...Marsh, where're we going?"

"To that cave. We can shelter there until the storm blows over."

"Ohh, I didn't know we were getting one'a those."

"Look around, genius," Marsh snarked.

She wished she could be as unobservant as Apple was. After getting beat up all the time, she'd never have the luxury.

When they got to the cave, Marsh looked around, quietly marveling at the place. It was made out of dark gray stone. Pretty blue and purple gemstones were embedded within its walls, so bright they almost seemed to glow.

"Wow..." Apple breathed.

It was then that recognition dawned on Marsh. "...It's a lot nicer when you aren't getting eaten."

"Wha?" Apple turned and smiled at Marsh. "Let's go-"

"You go explore." Marsh crossed her arms. "I'll get some firewood."

"Ohh, Marshmallow, you don't have to be scared! I'll protect you no matter what!"

"...Right," Marsh replied. "I'm still not going."

Apple laughed again, then realization dawned on her face. "Aw, you're serious."

Marsh huffed. "Don't get lost or... grabbed, or whatever," she said, before spinning on her heel and leaving the cave.

⁂⁂⁂

The storm was in full swing a little later that night. The rain beat down on the Earth all around the cave's entrance, but Marsh found herself focusing more on the gentle crackle of their campfire.

Was it a little weird to sit so close to one after what happened with Yin-Yang? Yes. But it was also cold, so cold, and Marsh wanted nothing more than to curl up in a blanket (not that MePhone would ever be so kind as to offer one). So the fire would make do. The warmth was a fair tradeoff for the fact that staring into the flame filled her with unrest.

'It'd be nice to not think for once.'

She eyed Apple enviously. Her companion lay gently snoring next to her. She didn't care that it was cold, she didn't care that this stupid show was taking too long. It was impossible to tell if she was affected by bad memories the same way Marsh was.

Her gaze lingered before moving to the broken sky outside.

'Maybe it's a me thing,' Marsh mused. 'It's not like this cave inherently brings back bad memories for everyone - I just got attacked the last time I was here. That's... it.'

Marsh sighed and hugged her knees close.

'...I don't get it. Everyone's forgiven me for my outburst. Even my worst enemy wants to be close to me. In fact, I'm good friends with everyone except- well, Taco and Knife, but I wouldn't even want to be. Why does it feel like something's missing?'

A flash of lightning fractured the sky; it was immediately followed by a deafening boom of thunder that made Marsh jump. A deep sense of dread filled her stomach.

'...What?'

She hugged herself.

'It's just thunder. Why am I so...'

Lightning split the sky, struck a tree not so far away. It tumbled to the ground with a crash.

Somehow, it was that that brought everything back.

⁂⁂⁂

It hadn't been raining on that day.

It was the sickening drop of things into water that should never fall in the water. It was the way the electricity danced across the pool's pristine surface for just an instant before the explosion. It was the deafening boom that threatened to blow you back because it was so strong.

It was the awful reverberation that lingered in the air after; then the tense silence that followed. That is, save for the echoes in Marshmallow's mind. She couldn't get her best friend's final, animalistic scream out of her head.

It was the smell of burned fabric that lingered in her nose for days.

The heartbreak and emptiness she put aside for months as she partied until she couldn't keep her eyes open.

⁂⁂⁂

'I blocked it all out! Why is it coming back?'

Marsh's vision swam. Her breathing was labored as she clutched her chest, staring beyond the cave's entrance; the shadows in the night seemed to meld into scary shapes.

Apple was still asleep. Marsh wouldn't be getting any, she was sure.

⁂⁂⁂

Marsh stared at her reflection in one of the deep puddles left by the storm, getting lost in her head the way many sleep-deprived people did. The dark circles under her eyes spoke the volumes that you wouldn't find in her voice, at the moment.

"Ya sure you don't wanna draw?"

Marsh was jolted out of her thoughts. It took her a second to realize that Crappy Cliff was miles away, and everything was quiet - save for the rustling of the branches of the tree she was sitting against. Apple looked worried.

Marsh turned her focus to the (thankfully, cloudless) sky. "I'm OK for now."

"It doesn't have to be drawing. We can do what you want."

"I want some time to think." Apple made a grossed-out noise. Marsh ignored it, "Listen, have you ever regretted anything?"

"What's regret mean?"

"Wanting to go back and do things differently, because you aren't happy with... how they went."

"Meh... I guess? 'S all in the past! The here-and-now is what's really important, whatever 'important' means. Things are great. We're buddies now."

"Maybe you have the right idea."

"I do sometimes! I'm way too busy to worry about it. I'd- I'd get so depressed if I did. ...Whatever that means." Apple tried eating a few pieces of grass she'd torn. She made a face at the strong taste, but that didn't stop her.

"Sure," Marsh replied, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Leave it to Apple to miss the point. "I guess we're different."

"Why? Calling everyone an idiot was kinda mean, but everyone knows you didn't mean it."

She did mean it, but Apple didn't need to know that. "Well, yeah, but I don't know... It'd be nice to go back and do things differently- Like how the last time I saw my best friend, we had a falling out, and things... blew up." 'Shouldn't she be back by now?'

"Today's a really pretty day." Apple was frowning, now. "And you have a new best friend now. "

"I-I mean-"

"One friend's all you really need. Maybe, and this is just an idea- you'd feel better if you forgot about that other person."

"What exactly do you take me for?! I can't just forget about someone I care about!"

"It happens sometimes," Apple mumbled, faltering. Marsh raised an eyebrow, but before she could respond, Apple added, "That makes no sense, Marshmallow. If she's not here and you have a new best friend now- why even think about it? You can't leave me again over someone stupid who nobody cares about! That's not how best friends work."

Apple jumped to her feet and grabbed her hand. "So let's just go find something to do, get your mind off it."

Marsh couldn't believe what she was hearing. Apple was smiling now, but Marsh could feel the unhappiness coming off of her like a radiator. The last time she'd gotten forceful like this, Marsh had gotten turned into a s'more on the hotel floor.

It freaked her out, but it also viscerally annoyed her. What gave Apple the right to tell her what was important? What on Earth was her angle?