Story Note: Game-verse characters. Green - male. Blue - female. OldRival. Italics are small flash-backs if that isn't self-explanatory from the story. A little bit inspired by the song Ghost Towns by Radical Face.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters.

Ghost Towns
by. xxBurningxx

The moon was out that night, shining high and mighty above her head, shooting sly smirks at her every time she bothered to glance up. The wooden dock, elongated over a short expanse of cerulean sea, creaked under her footsteps with each step she took towards the end of the path. Rays of moonlight reflected off the water's surface, and although there were no lamps nearby, she could see everything around her without any difficulty; all around her shapes were illuminated with a pale glow that bounced off and radiated eerily.

Her heart ached with such a terrible throb that she struggled to keep a steady stride. As Blue reached the end of the dock, she placed her hands on the railing that was meant to keep people from falling over, closing her eyes. She was taking a sunbath in the moonlight because she always had enjoyed contradictions like that. A soft breeze caressed her, sending a shiver crawling up her spine and goose-bumps down her bare legs. The skirt and short sleeved top did no justice against the chilly forces of nature.

Maybe she shouldn't be so bothered.

Maybe this ache in her chest shouldn't be so intense.

Maybe she should be relieved, because really, most people would be absolutely thrilled at the idea of a recieving a break once in a while. A lot of people would love to sit down and not have to worry about being the best of the best every now and then. And who knows, there may even be a small part of Blue that feels that way, feels the way that most people would. Then again, maybe not because Blue never had been most people.

A small spark of anger poked at her. Who was he to just suddenly up and leave like that, anyway? Unova. Pfft. Unova! Who in their right mind would even decide to go that far away from their home? How could he possibly even stand the thought of it? How could he possibly leave her?

The thought makes her eyes shoot open, her pulse racing even though there was no good reason for it to be. What? No-no-no, that was a ridiculous notion because she didn't even have a role in this. How could she? What she thought, how she felt, how much it hurt, all of that didn't matter because regardless of her opinions, Green would make his own decisions without hesitation. She had learned this long, long ago.

A shaky sigh slipped past her lips, and she realized that the waterworks were close to spilling over and she had to put up a slight struggle to hold them back. Her usual vigor, the fire that she often times left unattended to flare high in the air, was now a smoldering pile of sticks and twigs threatening to lose its warmth. It flickered with small signs of determination and hope, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could stoke it and keep the pitiful hearth alive.

Different moments of her life, small little memories of happier times flashed through her head, swimming around with a slow paced leisure that made her want to scream. And yet, she found a smile, of all the things, flittering on her face at-

"Hey, you have something stuck in your hair..."

He plucked a small olive-green leaf out of her dark hair with a gentle tug, taking caution so as to not pull her hair by accident. She had just beat him in a pokemon battle, and in his own speaial way, she supposed that this was his way of accepting defeat without being a sore loser like he once was in their younger years. She thanked him and he shrugged without really looking at her.

"Whatever," he said apathetically, starting to walk away, "Smell ya later."

She smirked at the old phrase, and then watched him go-

and she couldn't keep the grin from sneaking its way onto her face. At the same time, she felt her heart clench and a single tear gracefully inched down her cheek. She shook her head and willed her thoughts to stop this. It wouldn't help her current state. Not at all.

"Hey, you idiot, give that back!" Green yelped after she had snuck up to his desk and snatched a paper from him. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran away with a mischievous grin. "Damn it..." he murmured under his breath, standing up and following her out the door of the research building. She was waiting for him outside, waving the paper in her hands tauntingly at him..

He leaned on the door's jamb, looking calm and collected. "Unlike some people, I actually spend my spare time doing something productive. Now, if you'd please go ahead and hand that back." Although, it isn't like he expected her to relent to his request just like that. Oh no. Not with Blue; never.

She shook her head and said tauntingly, "Come and get it then."

Green walked to her and tried grabbing at it, but she raised it above her head before he could. It was a lost gesture since she was shorter than him, but still. She was smaller and more agile than him, so it still proved a slightly difficult task to retrieve the paper from her. A few short moments later, he had trapped her into an awkward sort of one-armed choke hold, the other still grabbing at the document. Blue, all the while, was giggling her head off.

After he finally snagged it and released it, she "awwed" in dissapointment, but the grin on her face was still evident, and her cheeks were tinged pink from the exertion. He rolled his eyes, mumbling the infamous, "pesky girl..." before walking back to the building.

But really, if he was going to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that he almost enjoyed these little moments of playful fighting and teasing.

Blue found herself laughing under the moonlight's soft gaze, and for a moment, albeit short, she forgot why she was here and why there was an anvil sitting on her chest so damn painfully. It was nice, that quick few seconds of nothing wrong...but then it was gone and she remembered about how he would be gone-completely devoid from her life-for an entire year, over a thousand miles away from her.

She grit her teeth until her jaw hurt.

The day in Viridian forest had been peaceful; quiet and serene, gifting her with a nice spot to relax for a while. Blue had spent the majority of the day by the small stream that ran through the wooded area, basking in the soothing sounds it produced as water rushed past her.

"We need to talk."

Blue jumped and released a startled yelp, almost falling forward into the river from the large rock she was sitting on. He grabbed her flailing wrist right before she did however, and after he released him, she turned around with a slight pout of exasperation on her face. "For Arceus's sake, I've told you not to sneak up on me like that, jerk!"

He smirked, but it left his face as soon as it had arrived. Important matters, apparently. She looked up thoughtfully and gestured for him to say whatever it was that he needed to.

"I'll be visiting Unova for a while."

She gaped at him-

And the tears were already forming again. She didn't even understand. Why? Why did it matter so much what he did? She had hardly any good reasons to be affected by this. It really wasn't any of her interests anyway, and studying the region he'd never been to was one of his (current, at least) dreams. Who was she to try and stop him? Absolutely no one, that's who.

A cold gust attacked her and picked at her hair.

She watched solemnly as the beloved hat jump from her hands, carressed by the moonlit breeze. It drifted down, down, down towards the water, and for all it's worth, she couldn't really find it in herself to care. The pain was slowly slipping away, and the longer she spent outside standing on the dock overlooking the ocean, Blue felt a dull numbness taking place and settling over her, shrouding the embodiment of her spirit.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she stoped thinking. Just, simply put, quit. No more thoughts, no more of this painful game of whatever you want to call it. She was sick of it.

"Hey. I had a hunch that I'd find you here..."

Perhaps she was stuck in between consciousness and sleep, because at that point, she didn't yelp in surprise nor did she even flinch. Or maybe she didn't react because there was a certain part of her being that knew he'd end up locating her anyway. She made no movements to acknowledge his presence, and he sighed, walking up to stand beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and began rubbing small circles in an attempt to be comforting. She stiffened but didn't open her eyes.

He didn't say anything though, and perhaps that's for the better, because Blue didn't know she would respond to whatever he would say. The deed had already been done; he was going to Unova whether she liked it or not, and she would really prefer that he not make things for her heart any worse than they already were. He, at the very least, owed that much to her.

Yeah.

She was grateful for his elegant silence.

A/N: I realized that the ending for this really, really calls for more chapters...But meh. I suck at that and I've been procrastinating on my Grantedshipping story as it is. I dunno. Thanks for reading though! This was more just random stuff that sucks because I'm bored and don't have anything better to do (because homework is completely not relevant right now, obviously!).