Story Note: Conflictingshipping/OldRivalshipping. Gameverse - no particular place on the time-line, however. Rated K.

Warning: A bit sad. Hence why it's under 'Angst'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

He Thought
by. xxBurningxx

That she would always be by his side.

"Greeeeennnn," she pestered him, pulling at the sleeve his shirt. He disregarded her and allowed his focus to remain on the book in his lap. She wasn't exactly willing to settle for this, however, because only Arceus knows she'd get her way if she wanted to spend the evening with her long-time rival and friend. After much prodding, poking, hand-waving, and much to Green's dismay, kisses on the cheek, he finally relented and closed the tome with a short sigh. Looking up at her, he couldn't help but be taken away by her simple beauty; long straight mocha hair, simmering blue eyes, adorned in her normal outfit and the cherry to top it off being her traditional red and white hat.

"What do you want, pesky girl?" he asked lazily with an apathetic tone, desperately trying to make it seem like he could care less. He couldn't quite pull it off, because somehow a smirk kept flitting across his face.

"Let's go hang out! You're always just sitting around training or doing boring things like this!" she told him cheerfully, pointing towards his large research book. He seemed to consider it for a few moments, and she got the feeling he was taking extra long to decide on purpose just to tease her. She grinned and smacked his head. "Come on, stupid," she drawled out, tugging on his sleeve again; this time he didn't keep himself plastered to the chair and got up, allowing himself to be dragged to where ever it was she decided to take him.

That she would never betray him.

Green gazed affectionately at the slumbering girl. She was so stupid, falling asleep outside like that in the cold. She'd surely catch something if she wasn't careful, and he was a bit upset that she'd be so reckless, but at the same time, he was used to it by now. He leaned down and picked her up bridal style, and he would be lying if he said blood didn't rush to his face when she mumbled little incoherent nothings and nuzzled her face into his chest, still too deep within unconsciousness to understand that she was in her rival's arms.

He returned Blue to her house, and she remained in equilibrium during the entire agonizingly slow walk there. Her mom greeted him cheerfully, and noted that her daughter looked so peaceful curled up the way she was, and allowed him to take her to her room. Once he returned, Green found himself in a small-talk conversation with Blue's mother. "She's such a silly young girl, always falling asleep outside, and all kinds of other stuff. She's lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend lik-"

The moment the word 'boyfriend' was out of her mouth, Green instantly tensed up at the suggestion. "O-oh. I'm not her boyfriend," he interrupted her, making sure his point was across. He could feel his cheeks tinge, and he desperately hoped that hist face wasn't too incredibly flushed. He was positive that she would take note of his body language and read him like an open book, because if there's one thing Blue was known for, it was her ability to predict how someone felt in the romance field, and like they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

She just smiled politely at him, and said, "Oh. Well I wouldn't have been able to tell, either way."

His blush only deepened.

That nothing would ever get between them.

She giggled and wiped the whipped cream off his nose, and he couldn't help but smirk and roll his eyes. He wondered how she convinced him to go with her to the Spring Festival in the first place, but he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying the evening with her, even if it was just as friends. Her smile was about as contagious as the plague, and when it was aimed right at him, he couldn't help but feel like he was going to melt. There was also a very pleasing sensation about encountering his "fangirls," and watching as they glared at the two of them walking together.

The night rolled right along, and soon the sun had settled below the horizon, leaving only the numerous lit lanterns to illuminate their faces. When Blue had asked him if he wanted to go to the festival with her, he'd been ecstatic. Not that he would ever let her know that; instead, playing it off like he didn't want to, until finally relenting after much pestering and bugging. He thought that it was sweet that she asked him before anyone else, like Red for instance. Every time he saw her clinging to him, he could just feel the knives prodding at his heart.

He looked over at the girl walking along side him, nibbling at the Pokeball shaped cake-pop, and when she noticed, she held it out to him, offering a bite. He shrugged her off, telling her that he didn't want to catch her germs, but she only grinned and continued to eat it herself.

His heart did somersaults at that smile.

That she was only running away from her emotions.

"Blue! Where do you think you're going?" She heard him call out after her, anger tinting his voice. And maybe perhaps even a little hurt there too, but she couldn't tell through the haze of frustration and confusion clouding her thoughts. She stormed away from the spiky-haired brunette, gritting her teeth. She felt like screaming. Nothing seemed to make sense, and it wasn't even Green she was mad at, per se. It was the way her heart raced a hundred miles an hour when he talked to her. The way her chest ached whenever she saw him sitting with one of his "fangirls," chatting up a nonsensical storm.

For a very long time, she brushed these feelings aside, avoiding them as much as she possibly could. She refused, absolutely refused, to listen to what her heart so badly wanted to tell her. How could she possibly ever feel this way? He was her rival; someone she had to compete with. She was in denial, and yet, there was always some part of her that knew how she felt, even from the beginning. Just thinking about it made her heart jump, and she wanted to throw a fit. Ten years younger and she would have been rolling on the ground, pounding on the floor.

She found herself located within the heart of Viridian Forest, the trees and greenery encasing her, yet still doing nothing in shielding her from her own thoughts. What would he think if he knew? She could just imagine the humility in the scene that formed itself within her head; she could see him laughing his ass off at her with crystal clear clarity. He would probably think she was joking and then tease her about it later. The mere idea made her want to bury her face in her hands.

She did just that, and tried in vain to forget about Green Oak, if only for just a moment.

That maybe she was just kidding.

"W-what? Are you...sure?" he asked, shock still gripping his mind. The more and more he thought about the words she had uttered, the more it sunk in his chest like a lost survivor, struggling to escape a pit of quicksand. There was some part of his brain that couldn't quite grasp the concept. Maybe if she would have given him the news in a less blunt way, it wouldn't have knocked the breath out of him so much. He stared at her, dead straight into the eyes that had captivated him for so long, gazing right through the ocean contained in them. And yet, he couldn't read what she was thinking at all; the emotions written on her face were those of foreign origins, and the only thing he could draw was pain.

"Yes, Green. I have to...I just can't...Stay here any longer, otherwise I think I'll..." she mumbled softly, looking right back at him. He could tell she was struggling to get every group of words out, but he pressed further anyway.

"Why?"

"I...Green, I can't tell you."

"If you're serious about this...I think that you at least owe me a good reason," he told her, almost pleading. Reality of the fact that she was actually going to pull through with it was beginning to shake him; knock him off his feet. Why...He wasn't sure what he was gonna do with himself without her there. He didn't think he could survive a day without her face being there to greet him. How could she even consider leaving him like this?

"Green. Please don't make me tell you...If I do...I'll probably convince myself to stay, and I'm not sure if I could live with myself then," she said, so quietly he almost couldn't hear the last part. She broke their eye-contact, gazing silently down at her feet, praying he would just let her be. Praying that he wouldn't make the issue any worse than it already was. Every single day in Kanto was dragging her further and further into self-loathing and she just couldn't stand being around him for fear of what she might end up doing or saying. She glanced up, and he was still staring intensely at her, and she swore she could see the gears turning in his head, still trying to figure out why she decided to do this. That, or still catch up in the first place. Probably both.

"Blue..." he said to her, and it killed her. Never had she felt such an intense pain in her heart, and seeing such a pleading expression coming from her once-was rival was eating her up on the inside. She called her Flygon out of its Pokeball.

"Green, if I tell you why...You have to promise me that you'll let me leave. I'll say it once, and as soon as I do, you have to let me fly away. Don't say a word until I'm gone. If...You can promise me that, then I'll let you know."

He stared at her as she proposed her deal, and never had he felt so torn in his life.

"Fine. Say it, and I'll let you go."

That perhaps, this was all just one big nightmare.

"It's because...Green, I think that I've fallen in love with you."

That if he was lucky, he'd wake up in a few moments.

And then she was gone, and he didn't stop her because Green Oak never breaks a promise.

A/N: Because everybody loves angst and fluff put together in one story. I'm actually quite pleased with how this turned out. Chances are, there will be another one-shot to accompany this, titled 'She Thought' sometime in the future.

Format inspired from yellowseason's wonderful story, The Young Man and the Sea.

Anyways. Thanks for reading, and reviews mean a lot! I'm at the point that I'm just writing Conflicting/OldRival stuff just to satisfy myself, since no one seems to like/read it here. Really. I gotta get this stuff outta my system, whether you guy's like it or not. If you enjoyed this, I'd really appreciate it if you'd check out my other OldRival stories. Thanks!

*Edit: Re-uploaded to fix lots of present/past-tense errors I noticed whilst re-reading this. Hopefully, the quality has improved now! Thanks!