Yarn stares anxiously at her phone.

'Wanna go to the beach today?'

Her trembling finger hovers over the send icon. Her forehead beads with sweat and her breath sticks in her throat. She gulps.

'It's just a friendly little message. He won't think it's weird or anything. You've gone to the beach plenty of times before! It's fine! It's not weird at all!'

She told Diamond she was going to do it. She was going to ask Hot Sauce out. Diamond was even nice enough to give her a pep talk and everything! She had felt so confident in the moment, but now...

'Come on, Yarn! What would Diamond say? Uh...just go for it! Stop being a wimp!'

She glares at the send icon, glowing blue in her face.

'Just do it already!'

She winces, shuts her eyes, and jabs at the screen. She peeks at her phone after a few seconds.

The message is sent.

"Okay! Okay okay okay. Good job, Yarn."

Now all she has to do is wait.

And wait...

And wait.

She waters her plants and takes a walk. She doodles a bit. She reads some of her favorite fairytales.

All while checking her phone every minute.

Still no reply.

But not left on read either, so that's a good sign.

Yarn groans. Time seems to have slowed down for her. She's exhausted from her heart bunching together in anticipation of a message, and then nothing happening. Maybe this was a mistake. She lays on her couch, aimlessly kicking her feet in the air.

He's probably busy, is all. Busy cleaning, or getting groceries, or hanging out with other people...maybe he's already taking some time at the beach? So asking him about going to the beach is weird...is it too late to delete her message?

Ping!

Yarn jolts and snaps up her phone, staring wide-eyed at the screen.

'Sure! For a walk or to chill?'

Butterflies flutter up a storm in her stomach. She smiles as her fingers fly across the keyboard.

'To chill! Beach towels, umbrella, and a cooler with snacks! I can bring those, so don't worry about it :)'

'Okay, wanr me to come over to help?'

'*want lol'

Yarn giggles. He's always so thoughtful.

'Yes please! Thank you!'

'Alright! I'll be over in 5-10 minutes :)'

'Kay, see you then!'

She resists the urge to put a heart at the end, and squeals to herself. She did it! She asked him out!

Sort of. Asking him to go to the beach is only half of it. But the small victories count! Yarn jumps up from the couch and nearly floats around her house getting ready.

There's a knock on her door.

"Coming!" Yarn scurries to the front and opens the door, facing a smiling Hot Sauce, with a medium sized red wagon behind him.

He waves at her. "Hey!"

Her heart soars. "H-Hey! I have everything here, I'll just...get that."

"Here, let me help."

As the pair carries the beach supplies to the wagon, Yarn notices an air pump and a deflated floatie already inside.

"Oh, you brought the floatie?"

"Yeah! In case you want to get in the water, you can use this." He smiles warmly at her.

Yarn blushes and keeps her eyes on the old wagon. "Thanks."

They arrange everything inside the wagon, and set off. Hot Sauce takes the wagon, and Yarn takes the cooler.

Yarn breathes in, already smelling the ocean salt in the air. A warm breeze brushes through the fairly busy street under the blazing afternoon sun.

She glances up at Hot Sauce, walking beside her with an amiable smile on his face. The sunlight shines brightly off his glass, bathing him in an angelic aura.

Or maybe that's just her. Yarn's smile widens, and she stares at the sidewalk to avoid weirding him out. Hot Sauce is just...perfect. Goofy, respectful, kind...she's lucky to have him as a friend.

And maybe today they could be something more? She wants to hope so. He had to have seen something in her all those years ago. Something special in her lack of strength, courage, and general lack of any unique qualities.

But she's not that girl anymore! She's grown more confident. More self-assured. She's much different from the scaredy-cat in the dark forest.

And she hopes Hot Sauce feels the same way.

The constant grind of concrete on wheels turns into rattling as the road transitions into wooden boardwalk. Yarn holds out her free hand, and the beach grass tickles her palm. Ocean waves crash distantly in the background.

Yarn and Hot Sauce step onto the hot sand, but it's not hot enough to make either of them recoil. The warm grains stick to the soles of their feet, and settle in the space between their toes.

"Oh! The sand's nice and warm today!"

"Yep. Where do you wanna set up?"

The beach isn't so busy today. They pick an empty spot and take their time setting up- neither of them are in a rush. Yarn lays out two beach towels and Hot Sauce props up a colorful beach umbrella, dragging the cooler and wagon underneath it.

Yarn lays back on the beach towel and sighs. She always makes a point of enjoying the sun whenever she goes outside, but today seems more refreshing, somehow.

Hot Sauce lays beside her on the other beach towel and smiles. "Anything you want to do, or..?"

"N-Not right now. I just wanna lay here for a bit."

"Cool, cool."

Background noise fills the silence between them. Children laugh as they play in the sand and surf, the occasional seagull calls out to its fellow birds, and the waves crash and roll in the water before spilling onto the shore. The sun beams down on them without a cloud in the sky.

Beach vendors are busy up on the boardwalk. Someone's collecting seashells hidden in the wet sand. A group of objects laugh as they chase the seagulls standing in the tide. Sandcastles are being built further from the water. Some older objects hop across the bigger rock formations leading further out into the ocean, where the waves are louder and the salty spray is merciless.

It's the benefits of living so close to the ocean, especially in a less densely populated area. It's familiar: warm weather and beach trips, the smiling faces of friendly neighbors, and the easygoing nature of everyday life. It's safe. Secure. Comforting.

Yarn's still scared, in her opinion. She probably always will be. She's scared of being alone, of monsters, of the dark...those will probably never go away.

And then when Hot Sauce became her friend, it was like a candle was lit. Her own light in the darkness. Everything became a little less scary.

He never forced her to be less scared. He never pushed, judged, or yelled. He let her grow. Encouraged her. He inspired her to be stronger, and also reassured her he accepted the scared little girl she was. It was exactly the kind of love she needed. The kind she still needs.

In truth, she doesn't want anything to change. Under the afternoon sun, laying on the beach next to her best friend...that's all she wants. Change...is another thing that's scary to her.

When she realized her feelings for the first time, there was dread. Dread that everything would change after she had finally found a friend. But it didn't.

Of course, harboring feelings and expressing them outright are two entirely different things. Yarn's gone over this exact decision dozens and dozens of times.

Let everything be the same? Or...chance it? Because she's probably going to explode if things stay like this.

She said she would. It's just scary.

That doesn't mean it has to stop her.

"H-Hot Sauce?" Her voice comes out as a soft whisper.

Hot Sauce turns to her. "What's up?"

"I-I wanted to...a-ask you something!"

His eyebrows furrow. "Sure, but...are you okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I..." Yarn clears her throat and turns towards Hot Sauce. Face to face, laying across from one another...it's suddenly hotter than it was before.

"I-I really..! I really like you! An-And I was wondering if...if..."

Her voice loses strength, and she covers her burning red face with her hands. "I-I'm sorry..."

"No, no! Don't be!" Hot Sauce gently pulls a hand away from her face. "You want to...date? G-Go...on a date?"

He laughs awkwardly, and rubs the back of his neck with his other hand. "I've uh...felt the same way for a while, actually...can you believe it? Haha..."

Yarn nearly forgets how to breathe. "I-! Yes! Uh, um....n-now?"

"Well- Do you want to?"

"Uh..." Yarn feels a strong compulsion to stay here. "Maybe not now? Could we keep laying here instead?"

"Yeah! Of course!" Hot Sauce nods. He notices his hand still holding onto her wrist. His hand moves carefully, until his fingers intertwine with hers in a soft grip. Yarn scoots a bit closer to Hot Sauce, and they smile warmly at each other.

The sun shines brightly in the sky as the day in Seaside Village moves onward.