Hello everyone. This was a short oneshot I wrote for the Pokemon Special discord server in July for our event. Anyway, this oneshot isn't necessarily tied to my other fic, but you can imagine it as being in the same universe. Hope you enjoy it!
Five chairs surrounded a round table, a small source of sound in an otherwise quiet lounge. Playing cards were spread out across it, around some coins, a few dollar bills and a card shuffler. A round of blackjack, also known as twenty-one, had just ended between four players. A smile began to form on the face of the dealer, a brunette woman with large blue eyes.
"Hand it over, sports boy," she said smiling. "You chose to up the ante, so it's mine now."
Across from her a dark-haired male sat in shock, with his signature red eyes wide open. The likelihood of her beating him was rare in the first place, his hand held a king and a ten, amounting to a twenty for the game. She managed to score the rare twenty-one, with an ace and a king.
Yet, in his arrogance he chose to increase his bet; offering up one of his most valuable possessions. Without saying a word the male reached for the top of his head, grabbed his red cap, and threw it at the center of the table, before walking away without a word.
"Aw, you're no fun," the brunette said once again, winking. "If you wanna come back, for round two just knock on my door later!"
Dejected, the young man sulked his way out of the lounge, down the hallways, before entering an elevator. As the elevator doors closed he let out a small sigh, and hit the button leading up to his room.
Once he arrived to the dorm room, he noticed his roommate, who was the occupant of the fifth chair in the lounge below. A green-eyed male was sitting at his desk, highlighting some sections of his textbook.
"Oh, you said you were busy," Red, the male who had just entered the room stated. "I thought you meant you had a class or something."
"Nah, I just got bored watching all of you being played for suckers," the brunette male who took a break from highlighting his textbook replied. "Where's your hat?"
"I, uh, I decided to up the bet because my cards were hot," Red slightly stumbled over his words, before scratching his head. "I mean how exactly does she score a blackjack at exactly the right moment?"
"By cheating," Blue, the other occupant, calmly replied lazily flipping through a page in his book. "You didn't notice it? She obviously had the game rigged."
Red thought back to the game for a moment. Green, the brunette girl who was the card dealer, had been in charge of the deck for multiple rounds. She dispersed the cards in a clockwise order, but each of the cards were pretty standard, none of them were marked with anything to give away. The hands were different each time too, the red eyed male thought to himself. Unless…
"The card shuffler! That sneaky- hey wait a minute?!" Red said aloud as he arrived to the conclusion.
"Hm?" Blue responded still refusing to look up from his book.
"If you knew what was going on, why didn't you say anything in the beginning?!" Red responded more forcefully.
"Why would I?" the brunette responded. "I chose not to play for a reason. Plus, you were too wrapped up in the game to begin with. I thought it would've been better if you figured it out on your own. "
"Well, I got her now!" Red marched off, heading back to the lounge where they had all be playing earlier. That sneaky thief, I'll get that hat back and then more, he thought while pushing the down button for the elevator.
As the doors opened, one of the other card players from the hall entered the hall. While exiting, the blonde male named Connor, greeted his hallmate.
"Uh, hi Red," Connor timidly spoke. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, where's Green?" Red huffed. "That thief owes me my hat back."
""Um, she ended the game recently, she said she got a call and needed to go right now," he replied, as Red replaced his spot inside. "I honestly can't tell you where she went."
"Ugh, well thanks Connor," Red said before pressing a few buttons.
"Well you can always wai-," the blonde said as the elevator doors closed on him. "I mean she lives in the same hall dummy."
Upon reaching dormitory's ground floor, Red rushed through the lounge, jogging through its corridors, pushing through a series of doors in haste. Eventually he reached the exit before taking a pause to think of where Blue could possibly be. Probably the ATM's, depositing all of the stolen money.
He proceeded to sprint toward the ATM's, using his natural athleticism to maintain his stamina across the campus. After passing through another dormitory, one of the campus' open-air spaces, and a few buildings, he eventually reached the space; yet to his surprise, she was gone. Dammit, too late.
Dejected, Red decided to go into the campus athletic center, and relieve his current state of distress. He planned on going through some quick drills, the weight room and maybe, if he saw any other of the basketball team members, a quick scrimmage.
To get to the gym, Red passed through the campus business building, where he noticed a figure in a familiar black outfit; wearing his signature hat. Aha! Got her, he thought while slowly approaching the building, but he stopped.
For once he saw a look of worry as she stood in line, one that he had never seen on her familiar face. Despite his current disdain for her actions, Red usually knew Green was one of the chipper hallmates. She was always inviting; asking anyone with their dorm doors open if they wanted to join her for food at the dorm cafeteria, or if they wanted to play video-games, or watch a series or a movie in the hall lounge.
Yet, inside the business building she looked very concerned. As Red got closer to the building, she eventually reached the clerk's window and had a conversation with one of the business reps. Sensing a bit of concern, Red decided to take a seat on a bench near the building and wait for her.
After a bit of time passed, Green exited the building and began walking back in the direction of her dorm before she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Green!"
"Hm," she turned around before looking in the voice's direction. Considering the mood he was in earlier, she debated whether she should just ignore him or head back. Taking the fact that she would have to deal with him eventually anyway, due to their quarter's proximity, she decided to approach him and respond.
"Hi Red," she responded trying to force a smile and sound upbeat. "Um, you feeling better from the game?"
"Never mind that," he responded. "Is everything good in there?"
"Hm," Green thought. "Well are you heading anywhere?"
"No."
"Let's walk back then," she stuck out her hand, to get him off the bench.
"Uh, well I can get myself off this, but since you insist," he replied grabbing her hand.
"Pfft, ok we get it ," she joked as he got up. "Just think of this as another one of my ever-so gracious favors, meaning you owe me one."
"What?!"
"Ever heard of humor?" she chuckled, grabbing for his cheek as they walked past one of the campus buildings. "Or is that jerk of a roommate making you far too serious?"
Red just took a moment to smirk and reflect back on his companion. While he had always thought she was attractive, a trait many people in their hall immediately agreed with, she always had a sense of playfulness. Despite still holding a tinge of resentment for getting wrapped up in her scheme, her bright personality did liven up his hall and was a refreshing break from his roommate's cold demeanor.
"I mean you're unpredictable, Green," he replied smiling, this time poking her side while her guard was down. "By the way, nice hat, where'd you get it from?"
"Oh, this old thing?" she said patting it."Some dork in my hall lost it in a bet."
The brunette then winked and stuck her tongue out at him, as he just shook his head and smiled. After passing the main university lecture hall they crossed a street, into one of the open-air recreation spaces, filled with grass, trees and a few benches spread out far away from each other.
"Ah," Green let out, a bit relieved. "Red, you have it all figured out don't you?"
"Hm," he said as they continued walking through. "What do you mean?"
"I mean this whole college thing, you know what you want to do and everything," Green stated as they approached one of the benches. "You seem to be on your set plan, with basketball, your major. I haven't even chosen that yet."
"Um, I wouldn't exactly say that," Red said with nervous laughter as they both proceeded to sit down on the bench. "I think I just sort of lucked out with it. The university offered the full ride and like kinesiology is offered here so I just went with it. I mean, I would love to go pro, but I gotta be realistic."
"Yeah…" Green replied still looking down at the grass from the bench. "I really just don't wanna put more financial pressure on anyone. The business office said they were having some issues with my financial aid money for next semester. It may not be able to cover everything."
"Oh," Red said, feeling a small tinge of guilt for his earlier outburst. "I'm sorry Gr-"
"Don't be. Red this isn't something that's your fault or anything and the last thing I need is someone feeling sorry for me," she snapped back. "I mean, I know I can cover it, I'm just really worried if I or my… my parents have to go into any more debt because of me."
"Wha- what do you mean?" Red questioned.
"I don't really tell people this, so can you swear to just not mention it to anyone yet?" Green asked the male, in confidence.
He turned to look at his companion on the bench, who stared at him right back with her eyes focused. Her eyes looked like they were holding back some emotions, but she remained relatively well composed. Red nodded, knowing that she was placing a great deal of trust in him.
"I was a ward of the state," she began. "I hopped from foster home to foster home after my birth parents died. It wasn't exactly a good life, until I was finally placed in the care of my parents. I'm not gonna lie, I was a brat in the beginning, but they were patient and genuinely loved me. I eventually did well enough my last couple of years in high school, so I was able to get accepted here."
Red just kept his eyes focused on her as she continued.
"Because I was a former foster kid, I was eligible for a partial scholarship here and a good amount of grant money," Green explained. "Even so, it gets, tough at times. My parents have volunteered to help me, but I refuse to take it. They've done so much already it just wouldn't be fair."
In a sudden gesture, Red wrapped his arms around her, partially because he didn't know how to respond, and because it felt like the right thing to do. While Green was somewhat caught off guard, she did the same.
"Thanks for listening," she said, in a soft enough voice where only he could hear her.
After a few moments they slowly split apart from their position and sat in silence. The sun was retreating behind some of the hills beyond the university, night time was approaching and many students who had been around campus had been heading back to their dorm rooms. Red got up first, and this time he offered his hand to his blue-eyed companion, which she accepted as she got up.
"I guess I got you back on that favor," he joked.
"You're such a dork," she replied, elbowing his side. "Anyway, let's head back."
They walked back to their dorm building, through the corridors, into their hall in peaceful silence. As they approached her room they embraced once again, this time not as long but simply as a gesture between friends.
"Oh hey," she added before she departed, reaching for the hat."Would you like it-"
"Nah, not like this anyway," Red remarked in a snarky manner, his competitive spirit flaring within him. "Another round tomorrow, I have a feeling luck is gonna be on my side."
"Whatever you say, you dumb jock" she chuckled. "Just don't be surprised if you have to walk back to the hall in your underwear."
"Oh, trust me Green, you're gonna have to watch out tomorrow."
The next day approached and this time five people were huddled across the same lounge and table as last time. Red dragged Blue to join him again this time, but this time the other male had an ulterior motive. In exchange for joining the game, Red agreed to do his laundry for a month.
Green had still won a small majority of the six rounds they currently played, winning four of the six. Yet for the seventh round, as she was about to load up the cards into the shuffling machine, Red stopped her.
"Hm, I think Blue should deal this one," Red stated. "He looks bored just sitting there doing nothing."
"Um, no it's fine," Green said defensively. " I mean how do I kno-"
"Hey don't worry, he even brought his own deck," Red responded.
Blue brought out his cards, flashing them in front of her.
"You can even check through them, if you want," the dark haired male added. "Just put them in the machine Blue and you're good to go."
"Hmph fine I guess," Green remarked, knowing that her con may have been delayed."Here let me up the ante though. If I win this round, we go back to me dealing and using my deck, in addition to the money we bet."
"Alright, if I win, we end this game right now, and go on a date," Red boldly remarked.
Everyone who was at the table currently had their jaws drop at the sudden announcement, except for Blue, who rolled his eyes.
"Oh, you're on Red. I'm really liking this confidence," she replied back, winking.
Blue placed the cards into the shuffler. He had noticed how Green had been using the machine a certain way every time she won, so he decided to exploit that to Red's advantage this time around. Rather than give them out clockwise however, he gave them out counter clockwise.
After all of the cards were dispersed, Red smirked at his hand.
"I up the ante, 25 of my meal plans," he remarked. "Anyone want to call."
Everyone except Green dropped out, as they decided not to call on the red-eyed male even if he was bluffing.
"I'll call it," the female brunette replied, throwing his hat into the center of the table."No way you can bea-"
"Twenty-one," Red smirked holding an ace of spade and a king of spade in his hand, the highest combination available.
"What?!" Green erupted. "How could you, wait a minute. You, You! Ugh!"
She silenced herself before going further, knowing that she had been exposed. Any further comment would reveal that she had the card shuffler rigged in her favor, exposing her plan.
"Looks like we're done everyone," Red boasted, proud of his victory. "So Green, about that date."
"Heh," Green got up defeated. "Meet me out front in thirty minutes. If we're going out you better not be wearing basketball shorts and a tank top."
As promised Red arrived with his red vest jacket, blue jeans and signature cap while he waited in front of the dorm building. Green arrived ten minutes later, in a blue blouse, red skirt and a handbag by her side.
"I thought you said 30 minutes," Red joked as he saw the brunette girl approach him.
"What's a date without being fashionably late," she joked back, grabbing his arm. "Where to, oh champion of champions."
"I actually have somewhere in mind," he replied. "Just follow me."
They walked a block away from the dorm to the campus transit center, where they caught a train leading downtown. After passing through a few stops, they stopped at Celadon Street, the heart of the city.
"So, I'll admit I didn't have any set plan," Red came clean.
"Oh really, that's surprising for a last minut-"
"But, there's the craziest antique and collectors store over here," he chimed in, pointing to a three-story building. "I'm pretty sure you can cause some havoc in there."
"Oh how romantic," she rolled her eyes.
"Hey you agreed to it, let's go," he said, this time grabbing her hand on the way in.
While Green didn't admit it, the shop was kind of fun. As soon as they walked in they played around with some of the shop's vintage clothing. She tried out some pink neon colored boots, and white fluff which looked like it was from the an older time near some of the clothing sections. Red flipped through all of the old sports almanacs and memorabilia.
"Hey Red, take a photo with that old-fashioned camera," Green joked while posing with novelty sunglasses and the vintage accessories from before.
He nodded and went along with the roleplay. Right after, Red got his cellphone and actually took photos while she wasn't looking. While they were walking up the stairs to another floor he sent them to her. Checking her messages, she saw the embarrassing photos, and nearly pushed him down the stairs before he caught onto the rail.
Some of the items on this floor where relatively newer, with clothes that were released in the past few years, which was rare for an antique shop. One item, a white hat for women, caught Green's attention.
"Try it on," Red said encouraging her.
She placed it on her head and looked at a nearby mirror.
"Hm. it's nice," she replied, before putting it back.
"I got you on this, if you want."
"Nah, it's ok Red," she smiled. "You're not getting out of dinner though, I'm hungry."
"Oh there's this cool ramen place across the street," he replied.
"Sounds great."
They walked down the stairs and out of the store, into the ramen place. Since it was a bit busy they had to wait a while before getting a seat, leading Red to think of something.
"Oh hey, I gotta use the bathroom, but the ones here are all full," he remarked. "I'm gonna head back to the shop real quick and use it there."
"Oh, ok," Green replied, thinking he was up to something.
About fifteen minutes passed before Red came back in. Green had already acquired a table at that point but hadn't yet ordered. While her companion sat down she noticed he had a bag in his hand.
"So the old lady that runs the shop only said she would give me the bathroom key if I bought something," Red nervously stated. "So I, uh, figured I would get one of the sports almanacs I saw."
"Pfft, Red always the one with the plan," she teased."This must be a good place though, I mean it's packed!"
A server soon approached the duo and asked them for their order.
"Yeah, we should get ready to order. I think I'll take the special number seven," Red stated.
"Hm, me too," she added as they both returned their menus.
"Excellent choice," their server replied. "It should be out to you shortly."
As the server left, Green became serious with her male companion, and decided to ask him about the game they just played.
"So you knew what was up," she questioned. "Why didn't you just rat me out?"
"I did think about it, but it didn't feel like the right thing to do," Red replied. "It would've caused a lot of tension in the hall. And to be honest, I didn't want to place you in the middle of that."
"Well thanks," she sighed. "I mean thanks for sticking up for me like that."
"All of us are kinda new Green," Red offered. "I mean we're all just trying to figure this college thing out like you are. Rather than push each other away we need to work together and help out one another as much as we can."
"Yeah," Green replied, having difficulty with what she wanted to say. She prided herself on her independence, years of feeling virtually alone had taught her how to fend for herself. Yet in doing so, she made herself skeptical of accepting help from people.
"Also, I thought it was best if I conned you back to teach you a lesson," Red chuckled.
"Like you could've pulled that off by yourself," Green retorted, launching a rolled-up paper napkin wad at his face in response.
The ramen bowls soon arrived, as both chatted for a bit and ate. Upon finishing, Red paid the bill and they both ventured on their way out as the sun began to set again.
"You know that old Sitrus Inn Hotel," Red asked, pointing to one of the old, yet immaculate buildings. "Let's get to the rooftop."
"It's for patrons only, Red," Green rolled her eyes. "Plus, I'm not the type of girl who gets a hotel room with a guy after the first date."
"We're sneaking in."
They approached one of the corridors accessible to the public, as a cake cart exited from a secret passage. The door remained open for a few seconds, long enough for the dark haired male to hold it open, as his date snuck in.
"Over here."
Red took Green's hand and led her to a few passage ways. They entered an old ballroom which hosted many older canvas paintings. Afterward, they reached a set of stairs that took them to the rooftop, which resembled the top of an old shinto shrine.
"Woah,this is, this view it's so amazing," Green paused. "Look over there, there's the campus!"
"Yeah," Red replied, overlooking what seemed like the entire city at that point."It's an awesome view."
As nighttime approached, the sun began to set. Green suggested that they sit on one of the ledges overlooking the city lake, surrounded by mountains, to have a perfect view of the sunset. Both sat down on the ledge as Green rested her head on Red's shoulder.
"Hey, I got something I wanna give you,"Red said reaching into his bag, pulling out the white hat from the store. "I just thought that you wouldn't need to steal mine if you had one of your own."
"You dummy," she said this time nestling her head within his chest. "Hey, I gotta ask something."
"What is it?"
"Whose side was luck on?"