Silver was not a coward.
He had faced the dirtiest scum of the underworld and evaded the heavy hand of the police. In recent days he had even defeated Lance, the ex-champion. He feared next to nothing for he had confronted and beaten all who stood in his way.
Except one. The sweet girl with the infuriatingly tight hold on his heart.
And so here he was, in the Vermillion City Pokemart surrounded by rows and rows of heartshaped boxes of chocolates. And he was scared.
He'd planned on simply grabbing an obligatory box, checking out and leaving, until he witness a horror story in the making.
Just as he grabbed the cheapest box he could find, a couple just two rows down exploded.
"WHITE CHOCOLATE!" The girl screamed. Manicured nails crushed the tiny and expensive looking box and threw it onto the Pokemart tile. "I HATE WHITE CHOCOLATE!"
The poor (pathetic in Silver's opinion) boyfriend shook. "It- it was the most expensive one so I thought-"
"UGHHHHH! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ENOUGH ABOUT ME TO KNOW I HATE WHITE CHOCOLATE!" Mascara and eyeliner ran down her brightly blushed cheeks as she sobbed angrily.
"NO! I do! I-"
"WE'RE OVER!" she wailed and ran out the door, knocking over several cupid cutouts in the process.
Silver, and the rest of the occupants of the tiny store stood in shock staring at the victimized boy until Silver turned away.
Lyra would never do something as pathetic as that. He thought as he moved towards the register. But he paused and read the box.
'Hershey: Milk Chocolate'
That's good. That the normal kind of chocolate right?
He cast a quick glance back at the shelves
'Dark Chocolate'
'White Chocolate'
'Assorted'
It's a 25% chance…
He took a step towards the shelf.
'Hershey'
'Godiva'
'Ghirardelli'
'Canbury'
'Nestlé'
'See's'
'Lindt'
With each brand name his heart sped up.
WHY THE HELL ARE THERE SO MANY?
But it doesn't really matter right? Lyra won't care… Does the box shape matter? Or maybe the color? What was her favorite again? Red? No, blue…No it was definitely… uh…
The image of the sobbing girl from earlier passed through his mind and was replaced by Lyra. He cursed and grabbed his pokegear. "I'm going to regret this."
After only one ring the boy on the other end picked up.
"Hey! What's up Silver!" Gold's annoyingly cheerful voice rang over the phone and Silver cringed.
"I just need to know what chocolate Lyra likes."
He could practically hear his rival smirking through the phone. "AWWWWW! You're getting your sweetheart some sweet treats." He cooed.
"SHUT UP!" Silver hissed back. "Just answer the question."
"Milk chocolate's her favorite, but she'll eat anything." Ethan replied and Silver sighed.
See you were fine.
See's…
"Does brand matter?"
Ethan laughed. "You're really serious about this aren't you lover boy."
Before Silver could unleash the choice words he had stored up for the other boy, Ethan continued. "It doesn't, but I'd go with Ghiridelli 'cause it sounds fancy and romantic."
Silver quickly exchanged for the recommended chocolate and was about to hangup when Ethan caught him off guard.
"WHAT SHAPE IS THE BOX!" he demanded seriously.
"Uh… It's a weird slanted heart thing."
"OH NO! YOU CAN'T GIVE HER THAT! SHE ONLY LIKES OCTAGONS!"
"SERIOUSLY!" Silver panicked as he scanned the rows and rows of colorful chocolate boxes. Squares, hearts, circles, and triangles… BUT NO OCTAGONS! "THEY DON'T HAVE ANY! WHAT DO I DO?
Ethan burst out snorting with laughter. "I'm just messin' with you! That was hilarious! Come on Silver, she'll love anything as long it's from you."
"I. HATE. YOU."
Ethan calmed down on the other end of the line, but continued giggling. "That was cute. You really care about making sure she's happy."
"I hate you so much."
Silver hung up the phone and made the purchase.
It was true. Silver was afraid of one thing.
Losing the girl he loved.