"Isn't this pretty exciting Ethan? A concert between two of the greatest rock and roll artists around? A powerful flash of the best punk artist and the best pure rock singer. A thrilling battle between the poisonous fumes of Homika and the—"

"No way! Me and Wiggler were relaxing and enjoying the great day when you dragged me here," he said, shooting a glare in the direction of his blue haired friend. Crystal shrugged it off as she was wont to do and looked over at the other poor sap she had dragged along, her younger cousin Lyra.

"And—"

"What's the big deal about these two anyway? They have awful outfits too. I mean Roxanne wears a schoolgirl outfit and…what in the world does Homika wear?" She said with a yawn.

Crystal stopped walking and barred their path. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Oh you two are so hopeless! Do you really want to skip out on an on stage Pokemon battle between two great Pokemon trainers? On stage, with a rock concert as the background singers! When's the last time you saw something like that?" She yelled. Hearts seemed to form in her eyes as she turned away from them. "I can't wait to see what new battle strategies they've come up with. I've got a notebook, tape recorder and—"

Before she could finish, Silver walked past her and bumped into her, his head buried in a book. Crystal stumbled forward a few steps but recovered pretty quickly. Silver didn't seem to even notice and kept walking on. "Hey Silver!" Lyra said. He finally looked up from his book, in time for Crystal to march over to him and point a finger in his chest."

"H-hey, what's the big idea? Why don't you watch where you're going? You almost knocked me over! That's pretty rude, don't you think?"

"Huh? Stop standing in the middle of the road. It's a road, not a room, it's where people walk or bike," he said in an annoyed tone. Crystal shot daggers at him.

"You jerk! Apologize!"

"Why should I?! Take a hike!" He said.

Crystal got up in his face. "Take a hike? Why don't you take a hike you…you jerk! You're all mean to Pokemon, you shove people around—"

"Silver, what are you reading there?" Ethan asked, eager to break up the ensuing battle. He closed the book and sighed.

"It's just a book…about the history of Team Rocket. I was just checking it out."

"Team Rocket is nothing but the baddest of news. Why in the world would you want to read on them?" Crystal asked.

Silver rolled his eyes. "Maybe I just want to learn more about them."

Ethan could see where this discussion would go and it was nowhere good. He strode forward and grabbed Crystal by the arm as he pulled her away. "Well good seeing you, good luck with your reading!"

"Hey, Ethan…what are you doing? Let me go!"

"No can do!" He said, even as he struggled to pull her along. Boy she was a bit stronger than he thought!

"Really Ethan, you don't have to be so rough. I can handle myself just fine," Crystal said as they neared Goldenrod where the concert would take place. She rubbed her wrist and sighed. "I just can't stand the sight of that guy! He makes my blood boil, such a jerk! I've never met anyone like him!"

Lyra giggled. "You sure do talk about him a lot. Don't you think Ethan?"

He looked over at his Wigglytuff, Wiggler, who didn't seem to hot on keeping this discussion going. "I…I don't know what you're talking about Lyra."

"I think you do! Come on Crystal…admit it! You've got a crush on Silver and you can't stand it!"

"I don't have a crush on Silver! Where did you get that crazy idea?!" Crystal yelled at Lyra, who cowered from her older cousin but still giggled and smiled.

"Oh come on, just admit it!"

Crystal looked away. "How about you admit your crush? I know you have a big time crush on…someone," she said as she cast a casual glance in his direction. What was she getting at? Lyra noticed a blushed.

"H-h-huh? I I don't know what you're talking about. Y-yea, I don't know what you're talking about! Tell her Ethan!"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. "I'm not a part of this!"

Crystal leaned on his shoulders with a mischievous look in her face. "You already have your eye on someone. I wonder who it is…"

Did she really know? Nah there was no way! "I like my single ways—"

"Is it that cute gym leader from Olivine? Jasmine isn't it? Or perhaps Erika from Celadon?"

"H-huh? What are you talking about?" Lyra asked, her eyes getting wide with interest. Crystal giggled.

"Oh just a little birdie has been telling about some rumors. You know, I've also heard you might have a thing for a certain icy gym leader from Sinnoh…or was it perhaps—"

He gently pushed her away. "Stop it. None of that is true. I'm a friend with a lot of the gym leaders—"

"A lot of the girl gym leaders," Crystal said and he shook his head.

"That's not true! I am a friend with a bunch of the male gym leaders too. I even get along with Lance and you know how—" he began to say before Wiggler's squeaking distracted him. He looked over at him and frowned. "Hey, you're supposed to back me up here!"

Crystal tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh it's okay, it's all right Ethan. You're just friends with all those girls, just friends and nothing else. Just friends—"

"You sure like to focus on that," he said in an annoyed tone. He looked up and noticed a pair of sad looking teenagers in hoodies that looked like Homika's dress. It seemed to be one of the official clothing items for the Homika fan club, better known as the Gooberz. Crystal stopped joking around when she noticed them too.

"Hey you two! What's with the sad faces?"

One of the teens looked up at them, a young looking guy with a few scars on his face, at least that was all he could see since the guy preferred the hood of his hoodie up. "You didn't hear?"

Crystal, Lyra and him all exchanged looks with each other. "Hear what?" Crystal asked.

"The concert got canceled—"

"Canceled?!" Crystal yelled, causing him to wince from her loud voice.

"Yea, Roxanne and Roark went missing and no one knows where they disappeared to. It's a mystery to everyone. They were in their trailers not too long ago and all of a sudden, poof!"

Ethan turned around. "Oh, well that's just too bad. I'm going back to—"

"Ethan, Lyra, neither of you are going anywhere," Crystal said as she grabbed their shoulders. "So they vanished? That is strange. Roxanne and Roark have been looking forward to this for a long while, they wouldn't just skip out on a battle like this. Something is up!"

"Please don't tell me you suspect foul play," he said. Crystal nodded.

"I do! I think it's time we head over and see if we can learn anything!"

"Can't you do that by yourself?" Lyra asked.

"Are you kidding? A detective is nothing without a pair of assistants!"

"You're a detective now?" He asked with a groan. He knew what that meant, trouble, trouble and a lot more trouble.

By the time they arrived at the Pokeathelon arena, the crowds that had gathered there for the concert, had largely vanished, with only a few stragglers hanging around. There were a few police combing the area but so far, there didn't look to be much activity. It really didn't look like anyone was too concerned. "You know…maybe they know something we don't," he said.

"I wouldn't bet on it! Okay here's the plan! Lyra and me will go inside and ask some questions. Ethan you walk around here and see if you can find anything!" She said as she pointed in his direction. He let out a sigh, knowing there was no stopping Crystal when she got like this. Many times he had tried to get out of it but she always found a way to drag him back into so by now, he had just given into his fate, that he would always get dragged into her crazy plots.

"Okay, me and Wiggler will get on it—" He began to say but of course Crystal had already dragged Lyra away. He watched the two girls hurry away and folded his arms. "And there goes Crystal, off on another wild Pidget chase. When will she slow down?"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he nodded. He turned and noticed a few large trailers sitting off to the side. One of them had a large Scolipede painted on the side, with the words Homika spray painted across in teal. He rubbed his chin. "This couldn't be her official trailer, right?"

They walked closer to the trailer, which looked about as long as a normal trailer. He noticed the lack of guards and shrugged. "Maybe it isn't, maybe it's just here for promotions—"

"What the f*** are you doing goober?" A loud and shrill voice said. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Homika standing a few feet behind him. She was dressed in her signature outfit, the strapless mini dress with teal and purple stripes and knee-high boots. She had a lollipop in her mouth, which she took out and waved in his direction. "Are you a peeping tom? Because if you are, I'm gonna f*** you up something fierce!"

"A peeping tom? No, no way!" He said, shaking his head. "I was just taking a look around. I'm just trying to find any clues that would tell me why Roxanne and Roark vanished."

"F*** man, didn't you guys already come by? You asked me a bunch of questions and everything."

"I'm not with the police though—"

"Then f*** off," she said as she turned her back to him. She was cute but what an awful attitude! He looked at Wiggler and sighed. Then again, Crystal would have wanted him to question everyone.

"But I could still use your help. Ummm, let's see…how do I do this? Oh right, when did you see the two of them last?"

Homika put her hands on her hips. "Is this a f***ing joke? Don't f*** with me or I'm gonna—"

"Just the facts ma'm," he said. He looked over at Wiggler, who gave him a curious look.

"F*** fine little boy. The last I saw of Roxanne and Roark, they were at their trailer, practicing as usual. Roxanne is a bit of a perfectionist and always wants to make sure everything comes out perfect so that's what they were doing. That was…I guess an hour before they vanished."

He nodded. "So would Roxanne and Roark have any reason to leave?"

"F*** no! She's been looking forward to this for a while now. She wouldn't miss it for anything. Are we f***ing done already?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Ummmm where is their trailer?"

"F*** off," she said. It looked like this conversation was pretty much over. He tipped his cap to her with a sly smile.

"Thanks for—"

"You f***er, shut up. I have a few questions for you since you felt the need to waste my f***ing time!"

He shrugged. "Okay, shoot."

"First off, who are you?"

He chuckled. "Oh my name is Ethan Gold, I'm from New Bark Town—"

"Sounds like a f***ing hick town."

He shrugged. "Hey, it's home."

Homika rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Second question, are you the only person doing this little police work?"

"Actually it was my friend Crystal. She dragged me and Lyra here to watch the concert but once she heard what happened…she uhhh…" he said as he drifted off. Wiggler let out a squeak and he laughed. "Yea, she went into detective mode so here I am."

Homika pointed her teal lollipop in his direction. "What kind of friend?"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. "What do you mean what kind of friend? She's just a friend, a childhood friend. We grew up together. All three of us grew up together."

"Oh."

He looked around a bit and noticed that she seemed to relax a little after his answer but why? Why was she so concerned about Crystal and Lyra? Girls were so weird. "So is that it?"

"I don't know, f*** I'm bored."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well if that is it, I'm gonna look for Roxanne and Roark's trailer, I need to check it out."

"You think you can just waltz in there all wily nilly? Who the f*** do you think you are…though you do seem familiar," she said. He chuckled a bit.

"You may have. I competed in the last Pokemon League Tournament here. I finished in second place to Crystal. People…well they sort of know me around here so if I felt like helping out with this, the authorities won't mind."

"You don't even know where her trailer is."

He nodded. "I don't but that's what I'm going to do. Unless you know where it is and—"

"F*** off, I'm not your assistant!"

He shrugged. "Okay okay, sorry I asked. Thanks for your help Homika," he said as he began to walk off. He only ended up walking a few feet before he felt her grab his shoulder. "Hey!"

"Shut up! I'm coming with you."

Wiggler let out a surprised squeak and he couldn't help but share his sentiment. Just a minute ago, she wanted him out her sight and now all of a sudden, she wanted to come along? "I don't get it—"

"I said…I'm coming with you. Is that so f***ing hard to understand?"

"It is when it seemed like you just wanted me out of your hair not so long ago. Like a few minutes ago even—"

"I changed my f***ing mind! Got a problem with that?" She yelled as she glared at him. Well he kind of did have a problem with it since she was such a hot head but then again, he didn't want to tick her off and end up getting chased away either. Might as well go along with it.

"Not anymore!"

"Good. Now sit still, I'll be back," she said as she turned away.

"Huh, where are you going?"

"I'm going to change!"

Ethan and Wiggler exchanged looks again. "Uh…you've lost me now. Why do you need to change? Are you afraid of someone seeing you?"

"Of course! I don't want to attract attention or anything! What do you think will happen if people see me walking around with some rural hick?"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak but he just patted him on the head and smiled. "They'll think that the potty mouthed rock star finally found someone—"

"F*** you!" She yelled as she stomped off. He looked at Wiggler and laughed as he sat down on the warm grass. Wiggler plopped down on the grass and looked up at the sky. He was about to do the same but felt one of his Pokeballs rattling around. He looked down and noticed which one.

"Oh boy, looks like Pitch wants out," he said. Wiggler looked at him and let out an annoyed squeak. "Yes I know you two don't get along but well you did promise to take turns with him on who gets to be out of their Pokeball," he said as he held out Wiggler's Pokeball. Wiggler let out an annoyed squeak and shook his head. "Oh come on, none of that. You agreed to this so stop being such a baby," he said as he summoned Wiggler back. He took out the other Pokeball and let his Rufflet, Pitch out of his Pokeball. The little bird shook himself off before taking his perch on his shoulder.

After explaining to Pitch the situation, the little bird let out a chirp. "Yea yea, I know we got sucked into another one of Crystal's trips. It's okay. It's probably something simple and then—"

"You know, it's really f***ing weird how you talk to your Pokemon like that," Homika said. That was quicker than he thought. He got to his feet and turned around. Homika had ditched her outfit for a large hoodie that came down to her thighs. It had red and pink horizontal stripes, which matched with the stockings she wore which came up to her thighs. She had traded in her boots for a pair of brown shoes and she pulled up the hood over her head as she walked up. He looked at her and then at her outfit.

"I thought you were going for something that wouldn't attract attention—"

"You walk around with a Wigglytuff and now you have a Rufflet on your shoulder like a f***ing parrot. I fit in just fine."

"Well okay…but we can't call you Homika."

"I know that! You can call me Roxie—"

"And you can't act like—"

"F***, I know that too! I'll portray myself as a girly girl who is a fan of Roxanne…and I feel like I'm gonna puke."

He laughed. "Okay Roxie—"

"Stop laughing about this! S***, I can't believe I'm doing this," she said. Pitch let out a chirp asking why she was doing it but Ethan wasn't about to translate that. "Shut up bird. Okay, follow me Ethan."

Roxie led them around the trailer and past a few other trailers that sat nearby. Nearly all of them were unmarked and looked pretty nondescript to him. Perhaps Roxanne and Roark didn't want anyone to know what their trailer looked like and surrounded it with similar ones? "Hey Roxie, what does their trailer look like?"

"It looks like a rock. Well they painted it to look like one. I think it's drabber than all these other ones. Who the f*** paints their trailer like a rock?"

He shrugged. He didn't care about the whys, he just needed to know what it looked like. So they needed to find a trailer that looked like a rock, that shouldn't be too hard to find. It would have to be the biggest looking rock around. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked amongst all the trailers and after a bit, he felt Roxie's arm brush against his. He looked over at her. "Something up?"

She looked at him and frowned. "No, why?"

He looked away and his eyes fell on a stone gray colored trailer a few feet away. He hurried over to it and hurried around it to the other side where the door lay. He stopped in front of it and waited for Roxie to catch up, which she did a moment later. She bent over and gasped for air. "Hey, warn me before you just dart off like that! F***, I'm not fit like you."

"You don't look that out of shape to me."

She sat up straight and glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed. "It means I thought you looked like a healthy girl."

She blushed underneath her hood and looked away. "Sh-shut up! F*** you!"

He stepped up to the door. "You know, where are the security guards? I expected there to be some around…I mean—"

"We have Pokemon, remember? Why would you need guards when you can pull out a Pokemon and scare them away?" Roxie said. He nodded as he opened the door. He pushed it open and stepped inside. It looked like the interior of a nice and roomy RV, except with posters and musical instruments lying around. He stood in the middle of it and folded his arms. He scanned the couches and floors for a few before he heard Roxie clear her throat.

"The f*** are you doing?"

"Trying to see if there was any evidence of a struggle or…"

"This is how the place usually looks so if you think there's been a struggle…there hasn't. Or at least that's what my eyes tell me."

"Oh it usually looks like this?" He asked as he walked past her and to the other side of the trailer where the kitchen sat. He looked around the countertop, cluttered with Pokeballs and rocks. Roxie walked over and picked up one of the rocks.

"Who the f*** leaves rocks on their kitchen counter? Who?"

"A bunch of—" he began to say before she pressed the rock in his chest. He looked at her and she frowned.

"I swear, if you say a rock related pun right now…I'm gonna kick you're a**."

"Are you always this mean to everyone?" He asked as he walked back to the center of the trailer. As he did, the door to the trailer opened and Crystal poked her head in.

"So what did you find out?" Crystal asked after she had dragged the two of them out of the trailer. Ethan shrugged.

"We hadn't found much but it didn't look like there were signs of a struggle so—"

"But we can't rule out that a crime was committed!"

"A crime? Aren't we just jumping to conclusions now?" Ethan asked. Crystal wagged a finger at him.

"Of course not! Just because there weren't signs of a struggle, doesn't mean all is well! What if they were suddenly gassed?"

"Gassed?" Ethan, Lyra and Roxie said in unison, with Pitch adding in a chirp for good measure. Yep, she had gone off on one of her trips and good luck trying to drag her down from Cloud Nine.

"Yea! That way, they wouldn't have to struggle to remove them. They could just pick them up—"

"But if they had done that, the place would have still smelled like gas. Or something would have lingered since the windows were closed."

Crystal frowned. "Well that is true."

"We still need more questions answered first before we jump to conclusions."

She nodded. "So, where is Homika? I'm sure she's seen them recently, she could tell us—"

"Already ahead of you chief. I talked to her and she said the two of them were practicing in the trailer an hour before they disappeared. She told me that the two were looking forward to this and wouldn't miss it for the world."

Crystal beamed with pride. "Good, good! I'm happy to see you weren't just finding a spot to take a nap! Well we went to the arena but we didn't find out much. We have to figure out…why they would leave. It'd have to be for a very good reason!"

He nodded. "That's my guess…perhaps we could ask around, ask people who would know them—"

"Right! Well they come from wholly different regions, Sinnoh and Hoenn. Ethan, as the only guy here, it's only fair you go to the harsher Sinnoh! Meanwhile me and Lyra will head for Hoenn and ask around."

"Ummm…how can we be sure a crime was even committed?" Roxie asked. Crystal sighed as she looked over at Roxie with a look a parent might give to a confused child.

"Roxie Roxie Roxie, so far all the evidence points to something bad happening to those two. They would have no real reason to leave—"

"Aren't we just wasting time here?" Ethan said. Crystal tapped her cheek.

"Now Ethan, some ground rules. Remember to take some warm clothes, Sinnoh isn't the warmest place around and the freak snowstorm could leave you in a tizzy! You're only there to ask about Roark, no taking a massive detour to the north and visiting Snowpoint."

"Why would I visit Snowpoint?" He asked with an innocent look. Pitch let out a chirp of agreement but Crystal, as always wasn't buying it.

"Wipe that innocent look off your face, I know what you're up to. We're here to work! Work, work and work! No play! The millions of fans are counting on us to make sure this concert goes on!"

To be honest, no one was counting on them, no one even knew they were looking into it except them but would that stop her? "All work, no play…I got it!"

She smiled. "Good! Ah…and Roxie? I'm gonna ask you just go on home. Leave this work to the professionals!"

He looked over at Roxie and it didn't look like she was keen on this idea. He cleared his throat, hoping to stop the eruption of Mt. Homika. "Actually Crystal, Roxie is a pretty good trainer in her own right—"

"Ethan, how long have you known Roxie?"

"Ahhh well—"

Crystal put her hands on her hips. "Have you been concealing a secret relationship from us? Something on the down low?"

Something on the what? "Uh no, what are you talking about?" He asked. Crystal's smile grew even wider.

"It's okay if you don't want to explain Ethan. If you want to keep your relationship secret so you don't cause an international crisis, I'm glad you're keeping your wits about it!"

He and Pitch could only share confused looks. He felt Roxie lean on him. "Thank you Crystal! I really want to keep it a secret too, we'll make sure to behave ourselves!" She said in a cherry voice. Wow did that sound weird coming from her.

"You better!"

"What the f*** is her deal? Like really, what the f*** is going on in that mind of hers?"

Ethan leaned on the railing of the ship and watched the ship cut through the cool waters of the sea. After leaving Goldenrod, they had caught a ship at Olivine that would take them Sinnoh. "Crystal? Oh, that's just how she is."

"That's just how she is? That's all you got?"

He nodded. "Yea, you'd have to spend a lot of time with her to get used to the way she thinks. She's a very competent Pokemon trainer and all but her imagination does get the best of her at times."

"How old is she?"

"Same age as me, 19—"

"That's f***ing pathetic. A 19 year old should have a better head on her shoulders. I wanted to knock her head off…I felt like bashing my head against a wall!"

"It's Crystal—"

She grabbed him by the arms and shook him. "And you're…just okay with this? Why don't you speak up and say something?"

"I told you, this is just how Crystal is. Haven't you grown up with people as kids who had some little quirk? You just get used to it over the years."

Her eyes grew big and she looked away. "F*** no. I was born a rock star, I didn't have time for that s***."

He shrugged. "That's too bad."

"That's too bad? The f*** is that supposed to mean?"

He laughed as she entered defensive mode. "Nothing really. Well don't you have any friends that have some—"

"I don't have friends, I'm a rock star. What do I need with friends? I'm adored and loved by millions of f***ing goobers all over the world!"

"As long as you're happy."

"Who says I'm not happy? I'm perfectly happy, why would I want to get any closer to those f***ing goobers? Why don't you treat me like a rock star?"

He looked over at her with a confused look. "What?"

"You're in the presence one of the most popular rock artists of all time and yet you treat me like a normal girl!"

"I didn't realize that was a problem. Do you want me to treat you like a rock star?"

She folded her arms and seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a few minutes. "Well…no, I guess not. You can treat me like how you've been doing."

Pitch hopped down onto the railing and he pet him along the back. "Cool—"

"I have a question for you. Why does Crystal keep teasing you about this gym leader or that gym leader?"

"Oh she seems to think my friendships with a bunch of these gym leaders is more than just friendship…and it's not."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, so stop listening to her—"

"Just which gym leaders are you good friends with?"

Pitch let out a chirp and fluttered away, not in the mood to see what would transpire. "Hey Pitch, get back here!" He yelled. He shook his head. "Oh whatever. Anyways, I'm good friends with Lance, Jasmine, Erika…there's also Candice—"

"Are you some sort of f***ing playboy?"

"You've been listening to Crystal too much. I told you—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a snowball flew out of nowhere and smacked him in the face, sending him backwards before he hit the well of the cabin. He wiped the cold and slush ball snowball from his face. "What the f*** is going on?" Roxie asked.

"I think we're pretty close to Snowpoint actually—"

"But who would cream you with a snowball?"

He chuckled. "I bet Crystal tipped them off about our coming here."

"Them?"

He got to his feet and laughed. "Candice and Maylene."

By the time the ship pulled into the harbor, he could see the two gym leaders waiting for them at the snow-covered dock. Seeing the snow reminded him that neither of them was really prepared for the cold but at least they weren't planning to stick here for long. Candice waved at them, her pile of snowballs heavily depleted. "Hey you two!"

He wiped his face again. "Thanks for the wet and slushy greeting. How did you throw them so far?"

"Candice isn't that strong! May May did that!"

He folded his arms. "You know, I'm finding it hard to buy that since you're standing next to the snowballs."

"Who is this?" Maylene asked when she noticed Roxie.

"Crystal told Candice you have a secret relationship?"

When Crystal let an idea run away with her, she did. No telling how quickly this would spread. "Uhhh—"

Roxie suddenly latched onto his arm. "Yea, like totally. We had to keep it a secret because well, who knows what the reaction would be?"

Candice leaned forward. "So how did the two of you meet? Candice wants to know all the crazy details!"

"Do we have time for it?" Maylene asked with the same deadpan expression she was known to wear. He had yet to see something that would surprise her. "We should probably head for—"

"Oh stop being such a sour puss May May!" Candice said. She shook her head. "So what about it you two?"

"C-could we get somewhere warmer?" Roxie said in a shivering voice.

"Told ya so," Maylene said. "We should split up, two of us go to Canalave and talk with Roark's dad, while the other two head for Oreburgh."

"Candice says we should go to Oreburgh and let the two lovey dovey love buttons be to themselves in the romantic and—"

"Candice, Canalave is nothing more than a harbor. Nothing romantic about a harbor," Maylene said.

"Candice knew that!"

"It's okay, we'll head over to Canalave and talk with Byron. Maybe he could tell us something, anything," Ethan said.

"Hey you two, Candice wants to see a little love?"

What in the world was she talking about? Sometimes he wondered if Candice and Crystal came from the same planet. "What?"

"A kiss!"

"I'm c-c-cold! Let's save it for later when we're not freezing to death, I promise Candice-chan!" Roxie said. Boy she agreed to that kind of quick.

"Okay but don't let me miss out!"

"F*** does she come from the same planet as Crystal? She keeps talking in the third person like…well who the f*** knows?" Roxie asked.

"You've been really controlling yourself."

She looked down the side of the boat. "F***, I don't know how long I can keep this sweet and bubbly act up. It's like every time I see or hear an idiot, I feel like…oh whatever, f*** it. This s*** sucks like a motherf*****."

He smiled as he folded his arms. He didn't know why but he always got a kick when she was like this, using more curse words than a ship full of sailors. "I think you're doing fine but…"

"Look, let's just keep this little mirage up of us being a couple. No one is the wiser."

"Well I'm more surprised at how easily you've accepted it."

"I'm bored as f*** here, I thought it would…be…you know fun."

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and she sighed. "Fun?"

She reached into her hoodie and took out a wrapped lollipop before unwrapping it and putting it in her mouth. "Look…I was thinking about what you said earlier…like much f***ing earlier when you asked if I had any friends. And I told you I didn't need any f***ing friends, right?"

"Yea, you did."

She pointed the lollipop in his direction. "Well see here, I was thinking. I know that's f***ing dangerous for a rock star, especially for me because most of the time my mind is on my music or other useless crap. Well I thought it'd be fun to try out, to try out a friend…to try this friend business out."

Pitch let out a chirp, wondering if this was such a hot idea. "I don't mind being friends with you but are you still okay with this—"

Before he could finish, she took out her lollipop and shoved it into his mouth. "Just quit asking so many f***ing questions."