Hello readers! Here's a one-shot I had been planning to write for a while, and now here it is! So sit back, relax, and enjoy reading.
I do not own Pokémon in any way.
Paul's P.O.V.
The lights were dim and flickered as shadows cowered on the bare ebony floor. Rain poured outside and lightning illuminated its droplets on the closed glass window. Thunder boomed loudly as if it were warning me of some sort of incoming danger. But all this didn't scare me.
I curled comfortably on a black leather sofa reading a thrilling horror fiction book called 'The Shadows of the Darkrai'. I was deeply absorbed, and I was on the part of the book when the main character tries to escape from his dark dream when I heard a sound apart from the thunder and the pitter-patter of the rain. No. They were footsteps, those footsteps. I would recognize them anywhere. They were no ordinary steps, and they didn't sound like walking nor running, but something different. Something much worse. I squeezed my eyes tightly as he approached nearer, his steps echoing like tunnels with each step. Lightning flashed again just as he entered the room.
"Reggie," I hissed under my breath, not daring to open my eyes. My brother didn't walk or run, but instead he skipped into the room like a child. He skipped into the room, and I could almost see that goofy grin on his face.
"Hey Butter-fries!" he called out enthusiastically. Don't ever bother asking me why he calls me that sometimes.
The silence was shattered like glass. All that peace and quiet ruined, thanks to my obnoxious brother.
"You're still reading that book?" he laughed loudly. "I told you it would be too scary. Just look at your expression!"
I opened up my eyes and looked at him blankly. I have a feeling my eyes looked blood-shot for squeezing them closed so tightly.
"What do you want?" I grumbled through my gritted teeth as my eye twitched. He should have known by now that I absolutely hated being disturbed while reading a book.
"I have a surprise for you~!" he said in a sing-song voice with a sly look.
Oh no, not a surprise... Surprises were Reggie's way of referring to something he knew I wouldn't like.
"What?" I snapped, not wanting to know the answer. Of course I had a bad feeling about this.
"We're having some guests over!" he replied with a smirk.
I waited for him to continue. Who are these guests? I thought to myself.
"That's all!" cried Reggie, but I could see a glint in his eye. He looked at me expectantly as I stared on. I knew there was something more to it, regarding the way he was acting, and I could tell he was waiting for me to ask whom. I decided to humour him.
"Who?" I sighed, causing his smile to grow even bigger and more evil.
"That's the surprise!" he snickered. "You'll have to wait and see."
A few hours had passed since my brother had told me that there was a surprise. He had told me to stay in my room and not come out until he said I could. I obviously was more than happy to do so since that meant being alone again.
After a while, I heard the doorbell ring downstairs, and I heard Reggie answer it.
"Hi Reggie!" I heard Gary's voice say. Wait a minute, what's Gary doing here? "Does Plum-Boy know 'bout the party?"
Party?! What party? If Reggie is gonna have a party right now, I would really make him regret it! That traitor... And I thought he was doing me a favour by letting me be alone.
"Sshh!" said Reggie loudly. "It's meant to be a surprise!"
"Oh, I get it!" cried Ash. "Paul's brother, you are a genius!"
"I hope he likes it," I heard Leaf say.
Ash, Leaf, Gary... How many people did that fool invite?
"Lower your voices, people," May was speaking quietly, but I could still hear her clearly. "We don't want to ruin it."
"Everyone fitted into Drew's limousine somehow!" said Dawn. "So that means we are all here!"
"IT'S PARTY TIME!" Gary hollered. "HIT THE LIGHTS AND CALL PAULIE-BOY DOWN!"
What. Is. Going. On? I couldn't stand it anymore. I stormed out of my bedroom door and headed downstairs. And I thought I would get peace and quiet again. But a party? A party?! This was too much. Reggie was gonna pay for this, and so will all those intruders.
But as I reached the bottom step, a wave of something that smelled good reached my nose. Fresh oranges. The lights were closed, but I didn't care. At the moment, I forgot all about my shattered silence. Instead, I just felt like eating an orange, that's all. I would deal with the fools later...
Just as my foot stepped into the kitchen to get the delight, the lights flickered on.
"Surprise!" everyone shouted so loudly that it made me flinch.
It was really strange.
There were orange balloons everywhere and everyone was throwing oranges around. For some reason, there was a disco ball hanging in mid-air, and most strangely, my Chimchar was bouncing around the walls yelling "I'm a Darkrai!" in a squeaky voice. Wait a minute... Since when did it learn how to speak English?
"What are you waiting for?" laughed May tossing a carton of orange juice to me. "Come join the party!"
I was the center of attention. I hate being the center of attention.
Everyone was looking at me with goofy smiles. Dawn and Leaf took some of my orange juice from the refrigerator and ran out of the house before I could stop them.
"We did this all just for you!" cried Ash joyfully. The last three words echoed in my head over and over again. This is a nightmare!
Just then, my eyes fell onto something at the back of the room. Maybe this was a nightmare. There stood a shadow; it was a Darkrai, and it winked at me.
I suddenly noticed that the carton of orange juice May had tossed to me had now grown Swablu wings and was heading towards me in full speed! I quickly ducked, but there was no need to do so. It stopped right above me and exploded, soaking me with orange juice.
Reggie laughed. "Sorry Butter-Fries, but you deserved it!" he said. "Wake up Sleepy-Head! Paul! Paul!"
My eyes snapped open upon hearing my name. It took me a moment to realize that Reggie was holding an empty glass of water and I was soaking wet. Guessed what happened?
"When I said go up to your room and not come out until I said so, you went up and fell asleep on your chair," explained my brother. Then he snickered. "I bet you were having a nightmare after reading that book," he teased patting the book that was still in my hand with two fingers.
"No," I lied, rolling my eyes. I gave him a weird look.
"Oh right," he replied sarcastically. "Must have been a coincidence that you were mumbling 'intruders stole my orange juice' in your sleep."
"It wasn't a nightmare," I repeated.
"Sure. If you say so." Then he added, "The guests already came and left. I tried calling you but you didn't come down so I gave them your orange juice as an apology."
"You did what?" I demanding angrily standing up.
"Just kidding," he laughed. "Ooh. That nightmare of your must have been ba-ad!"
I didn't reply. There was no use of arguing, I knew.
"That was not funny," I mumbled to myself so he wouldn't hear.
"Anyways," Reggie sighed with a smile. "I'm going downstairs. Care to join me for some orange juice?"
I knew he was still teasing me. Chuckling to himself, my brother headed down without waiting for a reply, leaving me alone in my room. With a deep breath, I closed my bedroom door and settled back into my chair. Now that he was gone, I could have some relaxation again.
I figured that reading the book might have been the cause of the nightmare, but I didn't like admitting it. Even to myself.
I turned the book around and looked at the cover. It was a picture of a boy screaming on his bed while a Darkrai was shadowing over him. Just then—and I'm positive I wasn't imagining it—the Darkrai turned its face towards me and winked. It winked. I blinked a bunch of times and looked back at it. Slowly, it turned its face back to the boy who somehow looked even more terrified.
Maybe I shouldn't continue reading this book after all... Why bother taking the risk?
Finished! I hope you liked it. R&R and have a great day!