So far away
A/N: For the record, I did not write this, my friend did. He just wanted to upload it through my account.
I'm not writing anything at the moment, but I am playing Titanfall. It's pretty awesome, so if you have a copy, add HugeEmperor5416 on Xbox Live and whatnot.
An encounter in Café Cyclone
A/N: The characters are intentionally vague. It's a writing style. Also, the dialogue is alternating. Just go along with it.
Deep inside Lumiose City, along Vert Plaza, lies a peculiar café known as Café Cyclone. This café is special that it is mainly based on kindness, such as giving tips to the bizarre regulars of this café, such as an impersonator, or the not-so-famous poet Lord Baird III, or even the Furfrou that always seems to ask for money for a coat styling, yet never actually gets one. It is situated at such a hidden part of the labyrinth that is Lumiose that not much people know about it. Even then, its gimmick makes this café unique, with word-of-mouth spreading quite fast among the gossiping streets of Lumiose, where style prevails among all. As a result, this café is quite jam-packed, with tourists coming in to see the impersonator showcase her talent, hear Lord Baird III with one of his poems and even give the Furfrou enough money to get someone to style its coat at the salon.
A lady then enters. She has this aura of style around her, with her clothing bought from the Lumiose Boutique, where one has to be of great style to enter, and where everything inside is of great cost. Her jet-black hair glimmers with the light, its beauty shining through its unkemptness. Her eyes are of color hazelnut, shining uniquely amongst the many, many people inside. Her poise is to be beholden, and her grace is quite exceptional. Some of the others start whispering about how she might be the Pokemon League Champion, the Savior of Kalos, the one who befriended Legendary Pokémon, such as Yvetal, Zygarde, Moltres and even the deranged Mewtwo. But, she pays them no heed. She tips very generously to the regulars, acting as if the money she just handed was at no expense. She even is delighted over the impersonator's ability to copy the major people in her journey, such as Gym Leaders, and listens intently over the poems of Lord Baird III. It seems she is a regular here too, as they immediately greet her welcome inside the café, and the Furfrou goes to her happily as soon as he sees her. She then sits down near the counter, grabbing some Moomoo Milk and drinking it. A random man then enters the café, tips the regulars and takes his place near the lady. He then speaks.
"Why hello there, beautiful!"
The lady does not mind the trite approach and continues drinking with a frown. The lady then slows her drinking down to a sip and looks forward wistfully. It seems that some tears would start flowing down her hazelnut eyes, but they don't. Even so, the expression on her face was perceived by the man as one of sorrow, of guilt, and most important of all, one of heartbrokenness.
"So, why does a pretty lady have such a long face?"
"Shut up."
"But…"
"Please."
The man is rebuffed by the lady. But he persists with his perceiving and analyzing. He notices that she is on the edge of bursting into tears. He drops his approach of being a skeevy guy, just as a few tears drop into her drink.
"Hey, I noticed your tears."
"What about it?"
"I'm asking you."
The lady then toughens up, braces herself for what she's about to say, for what she feels right now hurts so much. The man braces himself as well for what she's about to say. He knows it will hurt her, but maybe he can help. This is, after all, Café Cyclone, the café in Lumiose which practically runs on kindness.
There is silence. Much silence. The café runs along and continues, while there is silence between the two. The lady then breaks the silence.
"So far away…"
"Come again?"
"I'm often so near him, and yet, I often feel that I'm so far away from him…"
The man notices she's about to tear up while talking. He pulls out a handkerchief and offers it to her.
"Here. This should help. Please continue."
The lady wipes her face with the handkerchief and continues.
"My rival. He's a dense fart."
"Oh, what harsh language!"
"I speak the truth. He is very dense."
"Oh. (ahem) Please continue."
"Okay. So, as I was saying, he's a dense fart. Throughout our collective journeys, we grew together. My first impression was that he's so aloof, being all snarky and that, but then after the forest, I started to see him differently."
The man ponders to himself as the lady drones on about how dashing her rival is. He sees the lady's badges. It seems that she has all the badges of the region. What's more, she has a Blue Trainer Card, different from the regular Green card. She must've done something of great renown. At least, that's what he learned about Trainer Cards from the Pokémon League. Maybe the rumors around the café were true. But maybe there weren't. Anyways, he is then called out by the lady.
"Excuse me, are you still interested?"
"Yes, I am. Could you continue, please?"
The man thinks if he had seen her recently somewhere. He knows the who's who of this region. Maybe it is her, but maybe it isn't. He still chooses to continue along.
"So, again, as I was saying he actually cared for us. As someone who just moved in Kalos at night, then woke up with 3DS in hand, I was surprised how warm the neighbors were. But he... He cared so much. My opinion of him warmed. But he too can be dense."
"How dense are we talking about? Like, Red dense? As dense as a Groudon dense?"
"No. Even worse. He deserves to be in his own tier of density."
"Oh?"
"He called me over to Café Soleil. I thought that it would be something else, something more profound…"
She then blushes out of embarrassment and makes a disgusted face. After that, she finishes the Moomoo Milk and pulls one out of her bag. She offers one to the man, who respectfully declined. He is in anticipation over what exactly happened to her, as someone? Someone more dense than Red? So dense that he's in his own tier of denseness? This, he has got to see or hear for himself."
"He just called me over so that he could propose-"
"Wait, propose?"
"A rivalry…"
"A rivalry?"
"A rivalry over to become the better Pokémon Trainer."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Really, he just got my hopes up. Ugh."
"Did you actually show any hints?"
"That's only one tale of his denseness."
The lady gulps a bit more of her Moomoo Milk. She seems a bit less sad now than before. The man notices, but chooses to stay, because this story's getting interesting for him. Seriously, when someone proposes, a romantic proposal is usually the first thought, but then, a rivalry? This guy must be so dense over what a proposal means.
"So, I started dropping hints again from here and there. Maybe because I wanted his attention. I didn't fall THAT in love with him until much later. I just wanted his companionship and such."
"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing! Just go on. I'm interested."
"Okay, so at Route 7, something happened, and I was going to partake in a double battle with him! We were against our neighbors. I trained beforehand in an effort to impress him, but he didn't notice me much more."
"So, what happened?"
"At least he had fun. From there, we went to Ambrette City together."
She wistfully looks forward, as if she's remembering a really sweet event. He decides to walk out, but he then decides against it. He's invested in the story already. He just decides to wait her out. And wait. And wait. And wait. She then continues speaking."
"When I finally arrive at Ambrette, he grabs my hand."
"Wait-what? Why?"
"I told you, he's dense. He brought me over to the Fossil Lab and introduced ourselves. I thought he noticed me, as he then asked me to go over with him to the Glittering Cave."
"Ooh-la-la"
"Stop with the side-commenting."
"Sorry…"
She takes a sip of her Moomoo Milk and takes the handkerchief to wipe away the milk moustache, then speaks again. The amazing thing with all this is that she still has the poise and gracefully does so.
"He brought me over to Glittering Cave to help look for an assistant for Fossils. Seriously… At least we kicked some Team Flare butt together. We look great as a team. Sigh…"
She wistfully looks forward again. She must really like that mental image of her and her rival together. Was it then that she started to fall in love with him? Or was this hindsight or even rose-tinted glasses? She drinks the Moomoo Milk down. She tries to pull another one out, but she ran out of them. So, she decides to ask the bartender for some drinks. He complies. She then gave him a generous tip. This is, after all, Café Cyclone. Tips are the norm to show kindness. The man also orders some drinks for himself as well." She takes a sip of her drink and continues.
"So, we went ahead after Cyllage to Geosenge. But Geosenge won't be important. Yet."
The lady coughs a bit, clears her throat and continues.
"We then went to Shalour City. Tell me. Have you heard of Mega Evolution?"
"According to what I know, the Pokémon needs two mediums to evolve in battle momentarily, a held item and something by the trainer."
"That's right. And I had to fight him over it. He suggested it, and he was so sure to win. Sadly, he didn't. I did. He… He just looked so sad… I…"
She stops speaking for a while. She tears up, crying silently over her victory. The man pats her back for a while. She stops crying, wipes her tears away, and continues.
"I… I felt so guilty. It's like I crushed his dreams of being the better trainer. I felt broke up over this, that I stayed silent while he was talking about Mega Evolution. It didn't feel right that he should still stay strong after I crushed his dreams. I didn't even mean to…"
She stops again. She orders another drink, and sobs a bit. Eventually, she regains her composure. The man is still there, listening intently. She continues again.
"I felt like a terrible person, so I went away from the tower and went to the gym to battle Korrina. I defeated her with ease. Yet, she sensed my problem in the gym battle and told me to follow her. And so I did. I followed her, and this time, she taught me how to harness the power of Mega Evolution on a Lucario that followed me around. It was in a battle. I barely won that one."
The lady stands up from her seat, goes to the impersonator. The impersonator then mimics Korrina, who then obtains a very generous tip. The impersonator thanks the lady and the lady goes back to her seat. She continues her story.
"Where was I? Yeah. On my way out of Shalour, I saw him, my rival. I tried to avoid eye-contact with him, as I still felt guilty over beating him. But then, he stopped me. He had a bittersweet smile, but he came over to give me something."
"Was it his love?"
"…Didn't I tell you to stop commenting?"
"I'll shut myself up now."
"To continue, he gave me HM Surf. He said that it was to continue the journey, but maybe it was his way of trying to come on to me? I don't know."
She chugs down the Moomoo Milk down her throat. She then orders another one. She gets misty-eyed, but continues on with her story, after another sip.
"But then, I realized, I am in love with him. I am in love with my rival. Why? He was dashing, as I said earlier, and he was willing to swallow his pride. I can't do that…"
"So from there, what happened?"
"We then went to Coumarine. He challenged me this time. This time I actively tried to drop hints, like flirt with him, or even going easy on him as well. This continued for the rest of our journey together. He would challenge me, I would try to drop hints of my affection, even go easy on him, but I still…win…"
She gulps down the Moomoo Milk down her throat. She orders another one, and sobs quietly. It seems that she's having a hard time remembering those things, but maybe it's that she keeps on crushing him again and again that's bothering her. After a while, she speaks, in between sobs.
"But we had to go back to Geosenge, something popped up. My neighbors, including my rival, all went there to stop Team Flare. It was there, I finally learned, I truly am in love with him. It was what he said that clinched it for me. He said, 'You're not in this alone! When I was in Lysandre's lab, the masked heroes told me what is going on. They also told me what Team Flare plans to do with the ultimate weapon! C'mon! Let's stop team Flare...No...We have to stop Lysandre himself! I... I want to protect my friends!' He's really dashing, and he cares. He cares so much…"
The lady swoons for a bit and gets misty-eyed. She takes a sip of her drink and continues.
"So, we went in their hideout. It was all a blur after he asked me to stick with him throughout the hideout."
"Isn't that romantic?"
"I wish it was."
"Sorry, go on."
"After all was said and done, the hideout started collapsing, he grabbed my hand! My hand! We then started running out of the collapsing hideout. All this time, he was holding my hand. His hand was surprisingly soft, all without the ridges and calluses expected of a Pokémon Trainer. And while all this was happening, my heart was beating fast, as we were so close in proximity… The thought of it just makes me swoon…"
And so, she does swoon. But she gets up a few seconds after to continue her story.
"We made it out, and when he faced me, you know what he said?"
"What?"
"I respect you as a friend."
"…What?"
"You heard me, 'I respect you as a friend.'"
"Did he say that with a straight face?"
"Yes. He did say that with a straight face."
"He's getting your hopes up, right?"
"Yes, he is."
She finishes up her drink, grabs another one, and finishes it up as well. She cries quietly, as she remembers what happened. She was considered a friend, nothing more. Just a friend… The thought falls on her like how a Pidgeot is brought down by a Smack Down. She tears up a bit. The man brings out another handkerchief silently and offers it to the lady.
"Sorry, but this is the last handkerchief I could give you. So, is this the reason why you are here?"
"No. It goes on further. After that, I flew away, as far as possible from Geosenge, all the way back to Anistar. I met a few of my neighbors along the way, but I was just focused on one thing. It was getting as far in my journey as possible away from him. But even then, when I went to Victory Road, I was him. He didn't look anything out of the ordinary, but I sensed his happiness."
She stops, turns to the man, and rants.
"How could it be, that he's so happy… and I'm not? I'm just so angry, and he's happy? But why…?"
She turns away and, through great willpower, stops the tears. She then continues.
"I battled him. I just crushed his team down. After he healed my Pokémon, I just skated away, without a word, with my hat down, to cover my face. Throughout the battle, I said nothing. It's just that, I just wanted to get away from him. It just hurts… so… much…"
She stands up from her seat and starts to walk out.
"Thanks for listening to me, Professor. Now I have to go. See you."
She walks out, tearing up. The Furfrou tries to catch up with her, but she went out. She then unleashes her Yvetal. She flies away, sobbing on its back.
The man is left speechless at what he heard. He plays with the fabulous curl on his head. No wonder why she seemed familiar. She did change how she looked significantly, though.
"May I have a drink, please?"
The bartender obliges. He serves a drink for the man. The man then tips the bartender generously. The man downs his drink with gusto and puts it down. He then wipes the remaining droplets off his 4 o'clock shadow.
The man thinks a bit on what he just heard. He heard about what she did, but all this? Through her journey? He has a lot on his mind. He then asks the bartender something.
"Is she a regular over here?"
"Yeah. She often goes here when she's sad. The poor girl. If only we could do something, but we don't know who she's talking about."
"No one knows, not the poet, the copycat, not even the Furfrou?"
"None, sir. No one knows who her rival is, although judging by her beauty, she is unrivaled."
"I can drink to that."
The professor immediately thinks on who could possibly have caught her protégé's eye. What he knew was that she often traveled with her neighbors, and that 3 of them were boys. Through many drinks, he tries to guess who is she pining over, and after many drinks comes up with someone.
"It might be Trevor."
"Who?"
"Never mind. Thanks for the food."
"No problem, Professor Sycamore. You are always welcome at Café Cyclone!"
Professor Sycamore walks out of the café. He definitely owes Serena one for snapping him out of depression and even saving the entirety of Kalos from his former friend, who went berserk and genocidal. So, he'll try to help Serena on this one. But first, a drink. Café Cyclone was known for its kindness, but not for its drinks.
"Maybe Café Soleil would do. I might even see Diantha!"
And with that, Professor Sycamore walks towards Café Soleil.
A/N: Oh Sycamore, how you are so fabulous, yet so wrong. You'll hit on any pretty face, you'll support your closest friends, even if they're oh-so-wrong, and you don't even know the people you're sending out to fill your Pokédex. As for Serena, she'll get better.
A/N: On a related note, I have not edited any of this whatsoever, so any dislikes and such will not be directed at me.