Black and N

The wind was blowing the window curtains with a gentle summer breeze. I had kicked the sheets to the foot of the bed, trying to get comfortable as I lay there restlessly. I shut my eyes, trying to control my breathing to fall asleep. I counted softly to myself imagining myself falling into a deep sleep. But nothing.

My mom called for lights out an hour ago, but I was still awake, I lugged over to my dresser and picked up the pokeball that was on top of it. I went back to my bed and laid there while looking at the pokeball I had in my hand as I twirled it in between my fingers. I saw how it caught the moonlight on its red and white surface. There were some scratches on its smooth surface from wear and tear over the years, but nothing serious. I pressed the little button on its center and let the ball settle in my palm as it opened. A pink haze fell over me and my bed as I saw Musharna floating above my bed.

"Hey, girl." I reached up and petted my Melby on her forehead. She hummed happily at first but after a little bit she crooned worryingly and nudged my hand down with her nose. It had been a while since I let her out. She knew why I called her today. "I'm sorry Melby. It's just that I can't stop thinking about him. Help me just for tonight. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep for a while. I promise I'll take you all to the park tomorrow." Melby floated gently onto my chest crooning softly. She cuddled against me affectionately. "That's my girl."

Melby floated up, sprinkling a glowing green powder above me as she went in circles. I black out.

We're lying on a hill overlooking Nimbasa City and I can see the Ferris wheel from here. The sun is just starting to turn orange and I'm exhausted from today. Today N came back from his journey to try and understand himself better. That's what he told me. I still didn't know what to feel but I can't say that I'm not happy he's here with me again. I look back to the carnival. They started to turn on the colorful lights with the setting sun. This is one of the first places we met each other. N said this was our first date. That's probably why he picked this spot.

'I loved you from the first second I saw you', he said to me. 'I knew I needed you…because I was sad and lost and I seeing you made me happier. And everything that happened with us.' I could see N beginning to cry. 'I'm sorry Black. I'm sorry for the fighting and…'. I hold him close to me as he cries.

He disappeared from my life for a few years on the back of his Reshiram. I remember how I waited every day for him to come back. I would wander around Unova battling and trying to listen for any word of a green haired boy, hoping I could catch a glimpse of him, even if he disappeared after that. I thought that if I saw him, I could make him confess to me that what he said was a lie that he just used me, or if it was me just hoping for it to be something more and that I was allowed to move on.

I wanted to know if he felt the same way. I didn't know what to feel anymore. And the longer I waited for him to come back, the less I could imagine nothing happened. I began to hate him and still feel scared. I don't think I've ever gotten over that. I look down at him buried in my chest. It's going to be a while before I feel safe with him again because I'm still scared that he can disappear if I close my eyes.

N looks up at me as he tries to smile with tears still on his face. He whispers 'I love you' as he pulls me close. I whisper I love you too as I try to hold everything in. I'm scared what will happen if I let it out. Maybe he'll leave forever.

'Are you ready?' N turns back to me as I look off the mountain cliff. 'No.' I'm holding onto his shirt, trying to get a better grip. We're high above the ocean, N's suggestion. I close my eyes and hold onto N tight, 'Ok, now I'm ready.'

His Reshiram dives off the edge before I know what happened. I scream as I hold onto N's waist. The Reshiram twirls and dives and settles down. I open my eyes a little and see the water passing under us. I can see the clouds that pass us as we head up into the sky. N nudges me a little, 'You can open your eyes now' I laugh, 'Too late.'

N smiles back at me and kisses me. 'It'll only be a little longer, I promise.'

I smile giddily and ask 'where are you taking me?' The Reshiram's beautiful wings flap majestically and I can see her tail burning with a suppressed flame.

'It's a surprise.' He pats the dragon's back. 'Reshiram, go a little to the left there' The Reshiram tilts a little and I tighten my grip on N as my stomach begins to unsettle.

We land in a clearing in the woods. N leaves me for a bit and wanders in the woods for a surprise. I look around at the wild pokemon. They seem so peaceful here. I hear a rustling behind me and I see N escorting Liligants into the clearing. They seem a little older than many of the other Liligants I've seen before. The flowers on their head are larger but slightly wilted and they welcome me with warm and understanding sounds. 'These are some of my friends and guardians from when I was young, Lily, Vivian. This is Black. The Liligants come up to greet me. Not long after, some of the younger Petilil come out of the bushes. They are shy at first but they are excited and some start dancing happily around me.

When we left N and I were walking through the woods holding hands. 'They seem nice.'

'They were some of my best friends growing up.' He looks down sadly. 'I was all alone back then. For a while I was stranded in the woods. But one day two Petilils came up to me and offered me food.'

'They must have been very brave' I said

'They were. Eventually I started to learn how to take care of myself but they were always there for me.'

I tell him 'I'll be there for you too.'

I take off his hat and kiss him.

Me and N bring out our pokemon to go fishing with us. I let out my Sawsbuck and Rufflet to roam around by the lake and N lets out his Vanilluxe and Clinkclang. I see my Sawsbuck wander off in the forest, before I go after it N holds me back. 'It's mating season for Sawsbuck. Maybe you should let him stay back for a while. He'll find his way home.' I nodded at N. I guess Sawsbuck has to have his own life.

We got back to the lake. Readying our rods, we cast our lines far into the pond. Maybe I'll catch something besides Basculin this time. I lay back and relax. I hear the wild Ducklett quack to their mother as they swim on the pond. I look at N with his cap over his eyes. He must have stayed up late. He falls asleep in my lap 'Warn…mrrmm…..all the others….fishes.' I laugh to myself. That's why we haven't gotten anything.

I hear bug pokemon buzzing off in the distance. I begin putting down my rod, but before I do I get a little tug on the line. I lift up the floatie from the water and there's a Tympole nibbling on the line playfully. I guess this one must've not heard the message. I get a bucket full of lake water and let the Tympole dive in. It splashes happily in the water. I wake up N and show him what I caught. 'But I was warning the fish not to get caught.' I laughed, 'yeah and you talk in your sleep too, but I guess this little guy didn't get the message.' N looked down at the Tympole, 'We must let him go back into the water.' All the other pokemon walked over to see what was going on. N looked back at the Tympole putting his ear near the bucket. 'He says he was the one warning all the other pokemon. But in the end he wanted to see what was up on land for himself.'

The Tympole nodded at me 'So does he like it?' N crouches before the Tympole rubbing its head. It jumps out of the water and flicks its tail happily. N nods, 'yeah he wants to see more. Since you caught him Black, you should show him the world. You are its guardian now.' I kneeled before the fish. 'Well, I'll name you Trina. And I'll show you what an amazing place the world can be.'

N and I walk home with a bucket for the only fish we caught that day.

I find myself running down a street breathlessly. 'N!' I run to the edge of town pushing past the people and soon I find myself pushing past the bushes and snapping branches trying to get there. The darkness of the forest is suddenly broken by morning light as I run onto the mountain cliff. I see N packing his luggage onto Reshiram as he gets ready to leave again.

'N! I hate you!' He looks at me sadly, after a moment of silence he decides to respond. 'I'm sorry. They're calling me back. I need to go.' I want to run up and grab him, to convince him to stay here with me but before I can two men suddenly hold me back while a third one dressed in ninja attire walks over to N and hands him a letter. N nods and glances at me. He walks over and the two men let me go. I don't want to hug him but he grabs me and embraces me. He leaves before I remember how I was going to convince him to stay. I suddenly remember how I felt before as I watch N flying off again on his Reshiram. 'I hate you N. Don't come back.'

Suddenly my thoughts are empty and I don't remember what I was thinking just now. I look around my room and I touch my face feeling tears. Why was I sad? I get up just enough to see my Melby sleeping next to me. I hold onto her like a teddy bear. It croons sadly as the pink mist it gives off slowly disappears and it falls asleep. I wonder why it was so sad. I sleep nuzzled next to it. Maybe it will feel better in the morning.

I go downstairs for breakfast. Sitting at the table, I feel drained. My mom and her Audino make breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches and eggs. I eat it quickly before going outside to feed my pokemon. I release my pokemon team. Musharna, Braviary, Sawsbuck, Scrafty. I go out into the storage house and grab the berries. I watch them eat their food happily. Melby's seemed to have lost her appetite this morning. I go back to the storage and pull out the more expensive and tastier food. She nibbles at it at first, but then starts to eat heartily. "Are you all right now?" She still seemed kind of depressed. Maybe some fresh air will help her. I promised to take my pokemon out for a walk. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah.

As we walk through the park, my Sawbsuck takes the lead, trying to make it safer for the rest of my pokemon, scouting for any potential threats to eliminate. I laugh, looking at the only pokemon here, small Purlloins and Lilipups that the families bought as pets. I think back to breakfast. I remembered how I felt, like I was missing something. My Melby nudges my arm. 'What is it?' She floats over to the swing and sits on one of them. I sit on the swing next to hers, and Melby pushes both of our swings with her Psychic.

I haven't really tried to enjoy myself lately. I begin remembering back to when I left home for the first time. How Bianca and Cheren constantly bugged me for battles and encouraged me when I didn't win against a gym leader. They were always there, worrying about me and cheering me on. Then I remember how I ignored their calls, walling myself in my room. Melby was giggling on the swings next to me, but slowly stopped when she felt my sadness. I feel bad "Don't worry about it. Let's try to enjoy today."

A little kid walked up to me. "Can we play with your pokemon?" I looked at them, excited to see these powerful pokemon so close to their home. "Sure, I guess." The kids said thanks before running off and telling the others. Some of the kids ran towards my Braviary perched on a nearby tree. Berry showed off his wings span to the kids who 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at how wide it was. Then he flew off into the air, doing twirls and nose dives for the kids as they jumped and screamed in excitement.

Others were checking out my sawsbuck. Simon's antlers were just about to turn to fall as some of its leaves were changing color. Simon looked stoic as the kids petted his soft fur. Some of the kids decided to gather small flowers and decorate Simon's antllers. Simon didn't seem too mind too much, and after they showed him his own reflection he even seemed to like it a little.

Scrafty was posing for the kids and some of the boys went up with her and posed too. Sydney even started karate chopping down trees for them, showing off what she could do. She must like this crowd a lot because she rarely does it.

My Melby just stayed by me. She was wondering what I was thinking. I was looking around at the pokemon enjoying themselves. I wonder why I can't do the same. I miss having to battle for my reputation and I miss all the new people I Got to see. I stood up off the swing, "Well Melby, I think it's time for a new adventure."

I went into my room, grabbing my backpack and trying to find all my supplies scattered around the room. My Tympole made puckering noises as she watched me from her bowl. She flipped out of her bowl and splashed back in making a small puddle. She had gotten restless lately too. And I remembered that I promised to show her the world. "Hey Trina,, looks like we're going again." She swam arund excitedly making a bigger puddle around her bowl. "But I'm going to have to catch you in a ball so you can come along with me." Trina never wanted to be put in a ball, but she was excited to come along with me. I reached under my bed for a storage box. I opened it up to reveal a dozen or so pokeballs. I blew off the dust and grabbed one. I looked over at Trina "ready Trina?" She jumped out of the water as I tossed the pokeball for her. And in a moment, she was caught.

It was nighttime and I was finally done packing. I had everything ready for the morning and I decided to go to bed early. My pokeballs were ready in my belt. My clothes and supplies were packed up. And my mom gave me a new outfit and pokegear for the journey. The moonlight was coming in softly from the window and I began to close my eye. This time I don't have any problem falling asleep.

I see N again. My memories of him are all beginning to fade. I remember us running through an open field in the moonlight to go swimming at night. We take off all our clothes and jump into the water. I give a little yelp when the freezing water touches me. N hears me and swims over to me. We cling close together to keep warm and kiss.

I hear the window opening. I sit up in bed and reach for my pokebelt and look over. And see N climbing into my room. "Black."

I stare at him, trying to figure out why he came after this long. "Get out."

He walked over to me "Black, I need you. Something is happening in Castelia city and I need you besides me. Everybody's in danger." I look down at the pokebelt in my hands. It wasn't because he missed me. I kind of wish it was. It's petty, but it's true.

"No, N. I'm not going with you." N sat on the bed besides me and hugged me, but I pushed him off and stood up.

"This isn't about us anymore. We're through. We've been over for a long time and it's too late for apologies N." I grab my luggage and get dressed, snapping on my pokebelt. "Now if there's really any trouble then I'm going by myself." N sat on my bed looking sullenly at the floor.

"I understand Black. You can't forgive me for what I've done." He looked up at me. "But still I won't give up on you."

I stare coldly at him. "Well then that's your choice I guess." I decided to head off. This might be early, but Unova needed me again. I look to the moon and I whistled. A gentle breeze wafted through the air and suddenly a small lightning bolt jumped between the clouds. I saw Zekrom's silhouette flying across the moon as he flew back to me from his home. He landed next to my window welcoming me after a long absence and we give each other an understanding nod. I jump on his back, N releasing his Reshiram to fight alongside me. This wasn't about me and him anymore. That chapter was over. I'm going off to make a new story.