AN: I know there's some fics portraying Candice as a little older, but she's going to be fifteen in this fic. It's just... I don't know, she doesn't look like she's twenty or something. She just screams "romance loving teenager" to me. This also applies to Cheren. Bugsy would be around twelve to thirteen.
The apartment complex gym leaders lived in looked like any other concrete building someone might find in the city. Sure, it looked old on the outside and inside. There were many windows out the front and two glass doors. The back side had a fire escape route, which was a staircase and ladders. Inside, the walls were gray and the hard floor was covered in green carpet. Eight apartments usually lined the walls, depending on the floor. A staircase led to all the six floors. An elevator was next to it, but it was unused.
A group of three gym leaders were chatting in the hallway of the first floor. Specifically, Cheren, Candice, and Bugsy. Ever since they moved in to the apartment complex, they've become great friends. All three of them knew a lot about some kind of subject.
"It's a hot day today, huh?" said Bugsy.
"Yeah," said Cheren, "How are you feeling Candice?"
"Oh I'm fine," said Candice, "I always keep my cool no matter the weather."
"Well good for you, Canned Ice!" said Bugsy. Sometimes he, along with Candice, tried to make their names sound punny.
"Oh Bugsy! You know I always have a sweater tied around my waist, right?" said Candice. "I'm from Snowpoint City. And what about you, Cher-em? Wanna go up or something?"
"Oh, um, yeah. Let's go up." The three of them walked up the staircase and passed by Norman.
"Hello there," he greeted. "What are you three up to today?"
"We're just heading back to our apartments," said Cheren.
"Okay then. Can I have you two boys for a second? You can go, Candice."
"Oh whoops! I forgot I have to do something with Gardenia! Thanks for reminding me! Kinda," said Candice and rushed upstairs. Norman waited until she was out of earshot.
"So you're at that age where you're spying on girls or something?" asked Norman.
"Wait what-?!" both Cheren and Bugsy exclaimed. "No it's-!"
"If you have anything to say, say it when we're done. We should have a talk about the Swellow and the Combee. Just in case something goes wrong when you're with Candice," said Norman. In the next moment the three of them were headed to his apartment on the third floor. Norman's apartment looked ordinary on the inside. It had a small kitchen, bedroom, and a living room with a tiny TV. Bugsy and Cheren went to the kitchen and sat down at the table while Norman grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the living room.
"This is how it all starts," said Norman as he opened the book to a random page, "The pituitary gland. It may be small, but it has big plans!"
Cheren and Bugsy looked at each other uncomfortably. This whole deal was a big misunderstanding! They're only friends with Candice, and Norman thinks otherwise!
"I assure you this sounds bad at the start, but trust me, it'll tone down. That's how my daughter felt when I talked to her about it," said Norman, calming them down. From then on, Cheren and Bugsy waited impatiently for it to end.
...
"So you're telling me that you might date one of them?" asked Candice to Gardenia. She was in her apartment.
"Yeah. I really want to go out with Roark. Or Burgh. But I'm a little afraid that they're going to say no when I ask them," said Gardenia. "Do you've anything to say about this?"
"I know asking out on your first date might make you nervous, but go for it! Just forget what they might say when you ask. Don't hesitate at all," advised Candice. Turtwig bounded on over to them.
"Tur Turtwig!" it cried.
"See? It even says you should do it!" said Candice.
"Now that you say it... I think I'm feeling confident in myself. Thank you Candice!" said Gardenia happily.
"No problem! Just ask me anytime when you need help in hookups," said Candice and left.
...
"Now that is done for today, I'd like you two to take care of these," Norman opened a cupboard to get two Pokémon eggs and gave them to Cheren and Bugsy. "When you are done, give them back to me and don't do anything to them. Just observe them," he instructed.
"O-okay Mr. Norman sir," Bugsy hesitated as he received the egg.
"You take care," said Norman.
"We will!" said Cheren and exited the apartment, followed by Bugsy.
"Can you believe we're actually doing this?" said Cheren. His voice had hints of annoyance as he said it.
"No. At least we're getting the talk, not someone younger. Like Tate and Liza," said Bugsy.
"Oh. Right," said Cheren, completely forgetting about the twins.
The two of them went back to their apartments, spending their nights keeping watch at the eggs for three long hours until giving in to sleep. The next morning they returned the eggs to Norman.
"Well done," he said, "You managed to take care of the eggs without breaking them. This might've been itching your head a little, but do you know what Pokémon are in them?"
"No sir," said Cheren.
"The Pokémon that are in these eggs are Pidove and Sentret," said Norman, "Now, let's move on to the next thing."
Time for more of this talk, thought Cheren and Bugsy, as Norman explained whatever to them. When they were done, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since we're done for today, I suggest you should do something with Candice," said Norman.
"Like what?" asked Cheren.
"I don't know. Let's see... How about you walk around with her outside?" said Norman.
"No, I'm not so sure about that. She is a social butterfly after all."
"What about a sleepover?" chirped Bugsy. "It's perfect right?"
"Great idea Bugsy!" Cheren piped in. "She would love that!"
"Then it's settled," said Norman. "You two have a great night."
"Thanks Norman. I hope you too," wished Cheren and left with Bugsy.
"We should ask Candice if she's okay with the sleepover," said Bugsy. Both of them went upstairs and knocked on Candice's apartment door. She answered the door.
"Oh hi you two!" said Candice. "You need anything today?"
"Actually, we have something to ask you about," said Cheren, "Are you okay with having a sleepover at your place tonight?"
"Yeah! That would be totally great!" said Candice. "See you later!"
"See you later too," Bugsy said as they started to leave. At their apartments they took a shower, changed out into pajamas, and brought sleeping bags to her place. Candice was wearing blue pajamas when they arrived.
"Hi again guys!" said Candice. "What should we do now?"
"Um, we didn't eat yet," said Bugsy.
"Same here," said Candice, "I have some roasted Farfetch'd if you like."
"That's fine," said Cheren. The three gathered at the kitchen and helped themselves to rice and Farfetch'd.
"So what do you wanna do after this?" asked Candice.
"Maybe watch a movie. I'm kinda curious to see what you have," said Bugsy.
"I've a bunch of romance movies," said Candice, "Which one do you want to watch?"
Cheren and Bugsy shuddered at the word romance. Unfortunately, Candice noticed.
"Huh? You don't like those kind of movies?" asked Candice.
"We're fine," said Cheren. "We can watch whatever you want."
After dinner, they dug through Candice's movie collection until she found the movie Titanic. She put it in the DVD player and played it. Throughout the movie they remained silent. At the end, Candice asked, "So how do you guys think about the movie?"
"That movie's sad. I think I actually cried when he died," said Cheren. He glanced at the windows outside. It was already night out. "I think we should sleep right now."
Bugsy yawned. Both of them got their sleeping bags and went to Candice's bedroom. They laid them out on the floor. She hopped on to her bed.
"Good night guys," she yawned while she said it.
"Good night," they said back. They must've been really sleepy, because when they woke up, it was already noon. Candice was dressed in her usual attire.
"Wake up you two! It's already twelve!" she said.
"Huh...?" Cheren and Bugsy said in a dozed off manner. They fully opened their eyes when Candice mentioned that their breakfast was getting cold. "We're up, we're up!"
At breakfast time, Candice watched them eat. The two boys thought she already ate.
"I'm kind of curious as to why you asked for a sleepover," she said.
Cheren and Bugsy abruptly stopped eating and looked at each other. Should we tell her? they seemed to say. Uncomfortably they told her about the talk they had with Norman. Her grin slowly disappeared.
"Oh, I did not expect that," Candice said. "I'll go tell him." She left her apartment as Cheren and Bugsy heard her footsteps downstairs.
Candice knocked on Norman's apartment. He opened the door.
"What brings you here Candice?" he asked.
"I want to tell you about the talk you're giving to them," she said. Norman's heart skipped a beat.
"What about it?"
"Cheren and Bugsy are only friends with me. Nothing romantic going on. I hope this whole thing was just a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Candice nodded her head. Norman felt embarrassed about this. That talk was for nothing.
"We're ending this now. Please?"
"Well, let's think of this as a heads-up okay? Just in case something went wrong," he said. Candice left the apartment and checked on her friends.
"I told him," she said, "Everything's fine now."
"Thanks Candice. For saving us all that trouble," both Cheren and Bugsy said.
"No problem," Candice said.
AN: I now regret that Cheren pun I made in the beginning. Originally the movie they watched was Twilight.