I twisted and turned in bed, my mind refused to settle down. One thought nagged at me, refused to go away. Red. My idiot rival, who had gone to train on top of Mt. Silver. The ebony haired pokemon league champion was stuck in my head, and the thought of him made my heart race, my blood pound, and my cheeks flush. Of course, we've been rivals almost since birth, so the mix of emotions was driving me crazy. On one hand, I strove to become stronger than Red, to be able to defeat him; but on the other, I suddenly wanted to see red, to be with him, but it was so confusing, I couldn't sleep or eat properly! I had never felt like this before, I was completely overwhelmed by the flood of emotion. I dug his fingers into my hair and leaned on my knees. Why the fuck can't I get him out of my head?! I thought, I was desperately trying to decipher the emotions, but it was pointless.
At last I got up and started to prepare my teams breakfast, unable to cope with all this. Red had started appearing in my thoughts a few weeks ago, and he steadily began to occupy my thoughts more and more. Why'd you have to go up that damned mountain, Red? You were already the strongest pokemon master! I thought as I fed Eevee. The little pokemon chirped at me, it was quite obvious she could see the change in me and she was concerned. I sat down beside my pokemon, she was my first pokemon, my best friend since I was ten.
"I don't know why, Eevee, but I miss him. I can't get that stubborn ass out of my head." I said, stroking the little pokemon's soft fur. She chirped sadly at me. "Thinking of Pikachu, right?" I sighed and scratched her behind the ear. I had no idea how long I sat there, but finally I got up and got dressed, ready for the challengers of the day.
I came back home, exhausted. I'd lost every match, because of the stupid red-eyed trainer who wouldn't get out of my head. I'd practically given away four badges that day, my distraction affected Eevee too, and the other pokemon on my team. "This is ridiculous! I can't even battle without him getting in the way! This settles it, Eevee, we're going after Red!" Eevee chirped excitedly "Yes, and Pikachu too." I chuckled.
A sudden knock on the door jolted us back to reality. I answered the door, although I was rather annoyed by the disturbance. "Oh, hi Blaze." I greeted the black and red haired trainer and her flareon. These two were bonded just as strong as Eevee and I, and they were the first in a long time to beat us purely out of practiced skill. The two were strong, as were her other two pokemon, a venonat and a vulpix.
"Hey Green! Flare here wouldn't stop bugging me, she wanted to say good-bye to Eevee before we head out." Blaze laughed. Her flareon bolted inside and greeted Eevee excitedly, her fiery pelt flared up. I smiled and laughed at the two as they played in my living room.
Then, an idea hit me "Actually, Blaze, can I ask a favor?" I smiled at my new friend.
"Yeah, sure, anything Green." She leaned against the door frame, her short black and red hair tussled by the wind.
"I need you to look after the gym for awhile, Eevee and I are going away on a uhh trip." I said, my thoughts back on Red. "We need to visit an old friend."
"Let me guess, Red?" Blaze smirked "No problem Green, we'll stick around and deal with the challengers that come our way." She laughed and scooped Flare up.
"How'd you know about Red?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"You talk about him more than you realize." Blaze laughed "You were really good friends, weren't you?"
"Yeah, he was amazing." I muttered. "We're going to grab a few things, and then we'll be off. I'm not taking my other pokemon." I said and picked up Eevee.
"No problem, we'll look after the others." The young trainer grinned "We'll have tons of fun."
"Thanks Blaze!" I kissed her cheek and bolted out the door, Eevee clutched in my arms. Blaze stood there a moment longer, her face flushed red, as she watched me run off. She smiled then and went inside, her cheeks still burning.
I didn't stop running until I reached the base of Mt. Silver, cold wind rushed down through the trees and blew back my hair. "Vi vi!" Eevee yipped, her fur fluffed up against the cold.
"He's up at the top, Eevee. Let's go." I muttered, my voice full of determination. We set off up the mountain, climbing the cold frigid ledges. I had, however, neglected to grab anything to keep me warm in the sub-zero temperatures. Despite the cold, we pressed on, unwilling to turn back.
I groaned and clutched Eevee closer to my chest, the cold wind biting at my skin. Eevee chirped and cuddled farther into my chest. I had put her inside of my large purple shirt to make sure she didn't freeze in the sub-zero temperatures. I was beginning to regret coming up this stupid mountain without any supplies. No, I did regret it. I regretted it completely, Eevee and I would freeze in a matter of hours now, and it was all my fault.
"Oh, Eevee, I'm so so sorry, we're going to die here on this stupid mountain, we'll never see Red and Pikachu again, and it's all my fault!" I whispered. Eevee chirped reassuringly and nuzzled me, but I could tell she was sad, and scared. I felt like I was walking on stumps of ice, I could hardly feel anything past the numbing cold. At last my legs gave way and I fell against a rock, the icy surface scraped my skin, but I didn't feel it.
Eevee and I lay there, in the snow and ice, slowly freezing. The light had drained from the sky, millions of stars stared down at us, cold and unblinking. Eevee shivered against my chest, her warmth was slowly leaking away, while mine was long since gone. I began flickering in and out of consciousness, and the last thing I saw before I was sure I'd never wake up again was a pair of eyes, bright, red, and unblinking. I let the darkness take me, I was certain it was the end for me, frozen with my life-long partner Eevee on Mt. Silver.
I woke up with a groan, but was surprised I had woken up at all. What the fuck happened to me? I thought, my head throbbed and I still couldn't feel my feet or fingers. I lifted one hand to my head, and nearly screamed when it came away red from the bandages wound around my skull. "Oh god, please don't tell me this damned mountain took my hair!" I groaned.
"Don't worry, it didn't." Came a soft, almost inaudible voice. I snapped his head up, though I instantly regretted it as my stiff neck jerked and screamed at me in protest. My green eyes came to rest upon a pair of beautiful red ones, and then I took in an entire person. Red. His skin was pale and white, his cheeks hollow and his body equally thin, but I could still see the muscle underneath his frail appearance. Red sat several feet away, illuminated by firelight, and I noticed the smallish fire blazing about half a foot away from me. My muscles all ached, but I was relieved to be alive.
"Red." I choked out hoarsely. But my relief soon vanished. "Where's Eevee?" I asked, scared to know the truth. Suddenly two wild blurs raced into the firelight, a brown smudge rocketed across me and away, followed closely by a yellow rocket. Red nodded after the two creatures, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay, they were both okay.
"Why did you come here, Green? You could've been killed. You have a bad case of frostbite in you're feet, anyway." Red asked, his voice even and his face expressionless. I sat up completely, studying my surrounding before answering. We were in a massive cave, the entrance was far to our left and blocked by the hulking orange form of Reds charizard. I could hardly feel the hard stone floor and realized I was laying on a heavy piling of blankets, and covered with several more. Apparently Red didn't think I would answer "In any case, you won't be able to leave for at least two weeks." Then he fell silent as the two blurs from before came racing back. One jumped on me, and I smiled as Eevee chirped with joy and licked my chin as if to say 'you were wrong, we're okay!' The other, Reds pikachu, had climbed onto Reds shoulder, his cheeks sparking with excitement.
"I don't know, Red. I just had to come." I whispered, almost scared to break the silence. Suddenly I realized that my heart was pounding rapidly as I gazed at the other boy, and my neck and cheeks were flushed. Red obviously accounted for my blush from the frost-bite, but it wasn't that. It was because Red was there with me. I was quite certain that if Red were to leave the cave I would become as pale as the snow outside. Red nodded and scratched Pikachu's head, his bright red eyes glinted in the firelight. "H-how'd you find us?" I asked, my voice still raw and scratchy.
"Charizard smelled you, and he nearly ate you too. It was difficult to keep you alive untill we got here, you royally screwed up, Green." Red replied, but his even tone made the insults sting all the more, because I realised he must not really care if he couldn't even work up enough emotion to be angry. For some reason I felt crest-fallen, even though I normally wouldn't give a shit what Red thought. Fuck, I must be really screwed up. I'm feeling strange.
"Well, sorry I put you through so much trouble risking my life to visit you." I muttered, biting my lip. I thought he saw a smile playing on Red's lips, and suddenly I wanted to be closer to him, to eliminate the space between us. I shook my head a little, trying to shake the strange urge. But I couldn't, and the longer I sat there with Red so close by, but so far away physically, the more it clawed at my thoughts.
"It wouldn't have been risking your life if you were smart enough to take care of yourself better." Red stated, a tiny but unmistakable smirk on his lips. "What would make you, Green, come running up here without even thinking of what might happen? Did the paparazzi finally get to you?" He asked, a note of his old childish self entering his voice. I huffed and glared at the former champion.
"I don't know!" I growled, sounding childish. I scratched Eevees ears until Pikachu came bounding over and started up a game with her again. Red smirked just a bit longer before becoming impassive again. "Dude, get over here, you must be freezing your arse off over there in the shadows." I grunted, propping myself up on one elbow, resting my chin on my hand. Red shook his head but moved closer so that the flames illuminated him and I saw that he was still only sporting a black T-shirt and vest with jeans. My mouth hung open. "How do you survive up here in just that?!" Red shrugged.
"You'd better get to sleep. You won't recover if you don't rest." The young trainer said, standing up. "I will move my own bed over here in order to monitor you." God, he sounds so fucking snobby. I thought angrily. Red dragged a sleeping bag over to the other side of the fire and lay down with his back facing me. I snorted and snuggled down into the blankets, Eevee crawled in with me soon enough, and watched the flames flickering until I drifted off.
I woke up much colder than before, I was covered in goose-bumps and I still couldn't feel my toes, but more worrying was that I couldn't see Red anywhere, and it scared me to be alone on this mountain. The fire was little more than warm embers now, Eevee was still curled against me, and she twitched happily in her sleep. Just as I was about to get up, Red and his charizard came into the cave, Red was (Scarily) still only wearing the T-shirt and vest, but he didn't seem the least bit cold. Scary. I sat up, putting my hands behind me for support, and Eevee jumped awake as soon as Pikachu followed them in.
A thin layer of snow powdered Red's strong shoulders and his tame black hair. I marveled at how well his hair stayed in place, because I knew Red never used anything in his hair, not even soap, because he once claimed that you body knows how to take care of itself without any of the chemicals most people pile on. And apparently he was right, because he never smelled, and his hair was the cleanest I'd ever seen. He came into the cave with a quick shake of his head, sending the snow in his hair flying. Charizard lumbered over to the fire and Red followed in silence, placed a few huge logs on the fire and sat down.
"Light it please, Charizard." He said softly, looking up at his pokemon. The huge dragon blew a small flame, lighting the fire again with ease. I started to warm up again almost immediately, I crossed my legs under me and sat up properly. I looked over at Red, his pale skin was given just a bit of color by the bright orange flames. Red didn't say anything, but he dug out a small package from his bag and unwrapped what looked like food. He shoved it closer to me, and I saw that it was an assortment of nuts and berries, most likely stored up over the summer months. I nodded my thanks and popped a few into my mouth, but I felt a but nauseous, so I pushed the rest back to him and laid down on my side, still facing him. Red slowly ate a handful of the nuts, leaving the berries behind. Pikachu and Eevee rean to him, and he fed them each a small pile of the food. I watched him curiously, I wondered how he managed to survive up here. There obviously wasn't any meat unless you hunted it down yourself, and I knew Red would never do that; it just wasn't in his nature.
"Good morning." I said, my voice was a little better, but it still sounded hoarse and raw. Red glanced over at me, his face completely impassive. If I hadn't known him since we were little I might have thought he was ignoring me, but he wasn't. This was just how Red was, silent and intimidating. I grinned sheepishly, for some reason my usual cocky demeanor seemed out of place, and I couldn't summon my usual smirk, so I settled for a smile. Red's mouth tugged up ever so slightly, but I didn't miss it. I never missed when he smiled, if I was within sight, that is. Eevee and Pikachu had started up a new game and disappeared into the shadows. "When do you think I'll be able to get up again?" I asked, trying to break the silence. Red glanced up.
"As soon as the pain in your feet recedes, assuming you can feel your feet by tomorrow." Red stated, his voice was still very soft, and his maroon eyes met mine for just a moment, but I blushed and averted my gaze quickly. What is wrong with me? This is Red! My best friend! I thought, but I couldn't shake the urge, the need to get closer to him.
"Wait, I can feel my feet, but they don't hurt." I said, confused, and pulled the blankets off me, examining my feet. They were a grayish frost bitten color, and it made me feel sick knowing that this was my skin, it was a part of me, this disgusting gray flesh. I shivered.
"Well, they will hurt eventually. Just wait." Red stated casually, I started to get angry at how nonchalant he was about this whole damn thing. I could've died, and he just brushes it off like it's nothing! Suddenly, Reds prediction came true, a sharp throbbing pain shot up my leg and I yelped. "Told you." Red said, scratching Charizard's muzzle.
"Ohoh owww!" I groaned, shifting around. The pain became a constant dull aching, but every two minutes or so I got a harsh shooting of pain up my legs. "Sh-shit! Red, it hurts!." I moaned, adjusting myself into a laying down position again. Red moved closer to me, and my heart sped up.
"Let me see." He commanded. I moved around again and winced at the sudden sharp bursts of pain. He examined my feet and grimaced, gently prodding one foot. I hissed in pain and bit my lip. "I don't think you'll be fit to leave for at least a month. But, I do have something that should numb the pain a bit." He said and got up. I winced and curled into a ball, I'd never felt pain like this before. It almost made me want to cry, but I couldn't, not with Red around. No way. Red came back soon, with something that smelled funny and tasted equally weird, but within twenty minutes the sharp pains had subsided and I was left with only a dull ache.
"T-thanks." I stuttered. I blushed at the slight tremor in my voice and glanced away from him. Red leaned closer to me, and I felt my heart speed up, my neck and cheeks grew hot, my blood roared in my ears.
"Hey! Green! Are you in here?!" Someone shouted. We jumped apart, and I pressed a hand to my heart, breathing hard. Blaze, the black and red haired trainer, and her flareon entered the fire light. "Oh thank god you're okay. The news reports said there was a blizzard on the way!" She yelled and ran over to me, throwing her arms around my neck.
"Yeah, Blaze, I'm fine." I grunted. Blaze pulled away and looked at Red, smiling wide.
"So, you must be Red, right? You wouldn't believe how much Green talks about you, and then he just took off! Made me look after his pokemon and gym, too." She chuckled and sat down. I could have been mistaken, but I swear I saw a bit of color creep into Reds cheeks. He stood up and walked into the shadows, disappearing swiftly. "Wow, is he always that rude?" Blaze asked, slightly offended. I glared at her.
"He's not being rude, that's just the way he is." I grunted, snuggling down into my bed. "Anyway, I can't leave. I have frost-bite in my feet." I muttered, turning my back to her. What was Red going to do? Was he going to...kiss me? The thought sent flares of heat into my cheeks and right to the tips of my ears, and my heart started pounding. I smiled to myself and realized I wouldn't mind if he kissed my, if he got closer than friends were supposed to get.
"Oh that's terrible! I just beat the blizzard here, so I guess I'm stuck here for a day or two, until it settles down." Blaze kept talking, but I stopped listening.
"I've got to use the bathroom." I said quickly and managed to stand up. My feet complained, and I honestly wished I'd been more careful on the way up. I followed Red into the shadows, and suddenly something grabbed my elbow and pulled me into what I originally thought was the wall. I looked into maroon eyes and gasped. "Red, you scared me!" I whispered.
"I'm sorry, you would have run straight into a wall." He whispered. I smiled and felt that urge again, that need to get close to him. So, this time, concealed in darkness, I gave in. I pressed closer to Red, and realized he was against a wall. I moved closer, pressing my body against his. "Green, what are-" I cut him off and kissed him, softly, I felt like I might break this moment if I was too rough with him. I pulled back just a little, and I could still feel his breath on my face as I met his beautiful eyes. He looked at me, his cheeks had gone pink, and I smirked. I did that, I made him feel something visibly. He leaned forward this time, and we kissed again. I smiled against his lips and put my arms around his waist, I felt my heart pounding and I was sure he could hear it, but suddenly I could feel his heart beating just as fast against my chest. I blushed and pulled him closer to me, breaking our kiss. Red leaned into me, his chin resting on my shoulder, and I kissed the top of his head.
"Green?" He whispered.
"Hmm?" I murmured, content to hold him.
"I l-love you." I blushed fiercely and hugged him tighter.
"I love you too." I whispered, and I knew it was true. Only Red could make my heart beat like that, only he could make me blush, only he could make me nervous. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I didn't want the moment to end.