My longest story yet I think! Yes, it's still for the Great Race Competition on PokeWrite, but I personally think it's a good story. Enjoy!
A girl was walking through the streets of Pallet Town. She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of her home town compared to all the big cities in the many regions. It was good being home.
"Leaf, wait up!" called a boy behind her. She turned around, fixing him with her chestnut brown glare, her arms crossed. "What's the matter Leaf? Don't you remember who I am?" the boy asked her, a worried look on his face.
"No, I don't. Why? Did you forget?" Leaf replied with a straight face. The auburn-haired boy looked stunned. Leaf then smirked. "Geez Gare-bear. I didn't think you were that gullible. Is being stupid a profession, or are you just naturally gifted at it?"
"Leafy, that's mean. Why can't you be nicer to me?" Gary whined, a fake pout on his face.
"I'll try being nicer if you try being if you try being smarter," Leaf snorted, flicking her brown hair over her shoulder.
"Come on, I'm not even flirting with you this time," Gary complained, exasperated.
"Hm. That's right," Leaf realized. "Spill it Oak. Who're ya dating now?"
"I'm not dating anyone," he protested. "Can't I just have a conversation with an old friend?"
"Nope. At least, not if that friend is me. You're always flirting with me," Leaf snorted, fixing her white hat.
"I haven't flirted with or dated any girls since the Silver Conference."
"You mean since Ash beat you."
"You're hurting my self-esteem."
"You could stand for your ego to be deflated."
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back to Pallet?"
"I didn't tell you?" Leaf questioned him. Gary nodded. "Then I guess it was none of your business."
"Please just give me a chance. Go on a date with me tonight," he begged her.
"Why would I do that? We tried that back before we started our journeys, and you cheated on me. Why would I trust you now?" Leaf demanded.
"Because I've changed," Gary informed her.
"This is why I didn't tell you I was coming back," Leaf sighed. At Gary's confused look, she clarified, "I knew you would make all these excuses, trying to get back together with me. You haven't changed a bit since I last saw you." Leaf sped up, leaving Gary behind, stunned.
'Is that really what she thinks?' he wondered. 'Does she really think I haven't changed since the Silver Conference?'
-oOo-
"I can't believe him!" Leaf fumed. She was climbing the stairs to the Oak Research Lab. "He hasn't changed at all!" She arrived at the lab, walking in the front door without knocking. Professor Oak looked up when she slammed the door shut behind her.
"Why, hello Leaf! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" the Professor exclaimed.
"And I wasn't expecting to see Gary here," she responded. Professor Oak looked confused at this statement. Then he sighed.
"Did he do it again?" he asked her.
"No. He says he's changed but he hasn't at all," she huffed, looking at the stack of scientific journals on the coffee table. "Did Tracey leave these here?" she asked the Professor.
"Why yes, he did. Why do you ask?"
"I called earlier this week, and Tracey picked up. He asked if I wanted to talk to you after our introductions, but I told him no. I figured if you knew that I was coming, you'd tell Gary, and I didn't want to end up running into him." Leaf shot Professor Oak an apologetic glance, then returned to leafing through the books. "I asked him to find some books on the subject of Legendary Pokemon for me. Do you mind if I borrow these?"
"Not at all," Professor Oak replied, returning to what he was working on. "If you need any help at all, feel free to ask me."
"Thanks," Leaf told him sincerely, picking up the stack of books after replacing the one she had been looking at. "I'll see you later Professor," she said leaving.
-oOo-
"Hey Gramps! Have you seen my journal? I left it on the coffee table," Gary Oak called to his grandfather while combing the lab.
"No. But I did see Leaf. She was picking up some scientific journals about Legendaries that Tracey left for her," Professor Oak told him.
"Dang it! Where did I leave it!?" Gary asked himself, running his hand through his spiky auburn locks.
-oOo-
Meanwhile, at her house, Leaf was organizing the many journals by their subject. Then she found one that was different. It looked the same as the others, but its contents were anything but scientific. On the first page, it had 'Property of Gary Oak' written in the bottom right corner. This caught Leaf's attention.
"Why would this be in here?" she asked herself. She skimmed through it, finding multiple handwritten entries, all of which were dated. She stopped suddenly when she saw her name in one of them. It was the entry from the day she had broken up with Gary after finding him with another girl. It had even been her tenth birthday, and he was cheating on her! She felt the familiar heartache she got whenever she thought of those wonderful days when she had dated Gary, followed by the heartbreak of finding him cheating on her. She read what was written that day, expecting Gary to be expressing regret for being caught cheating on her:
"I can't believe that girl! Forcing herself upon me! And she knew I was taken! But she still kissed me! Then when Leafy came, that girl acted like she had no idea who Leaf was and claimed to be my girlfriend! I hadn't gone on a date with her ever! I don't even know her name! And now Leaf has broken up with me. I keep trying to explain that to her, but she won't listen to anything I say. But I'm gonna keep on trying because I can't stand having her angry at me."
Leaf couldn't believe what she had just read. She remembered that he kept trying to tell her it was all a misunderstanding, that he didn't even know the girl, but she hadn't believed him, dismissing it all as an excuse. Was this really how he felt? She kept looking through the journal. A year later, there was an entry from his journey that caught her eye. Apparently, he had just beaten Erika, the Celadon City Gym Leader. She read the entry, curious:
"I just won the Rainbow Badge. I should be excited, but I'm not. I can't help but think of the last time I saw Leaf. She had chosen Bulbasaur as her starter, and left without a word to me. I think the reason I'm thinking of Leaf is because Erika used grass-type pokemon, and not only did Leaf choose the grass-type starter, it's her birthday today. A year since we broke up. I still miss her."
Leaf continued to skim through the pages of the journal, looking for any reason why Tracey would have put it into the stack. She read through any entry that caught her eye, most of which were about her. Then she found the entry from when they met after the Silver Conference in Johto, where Gary had lost to Ash. By then, she had read multiple entries about how much Gary still cared about her. She wondered what he said about her after their fight, so she read on:
"I saw Leafy again for the first time since we both left on our journeys. I wonder where she's been. I asked her, but she told me, 'I didn't tell you? Then it must be none of your business.' It hurt to see her again, talk to her again, only to have her be so mean. But what hurt more, is when I realized I still loved her just as much, if not more, than I did when we were dating, but she still hasn't forgiven me, and still won't hear me out. I made a choice then. I made a vow that I wouldn't flirt with, kiss, or go out with any girl until she hears me out, no matter how hard it will be."
Leaf skimmed over the rest of the entries up until yesterday. Every day, they started the same way: "Today, I kept my vow. I also still haven't seen Leaf." She made up her mind. She was going to talk to Gary. She got up with the journal in hand. Then she headed out into the rainstorm towards the Oak Research Lab.
-oOo-
"Tracey, have you seen my journal? I left it on the coffee table this morning." Back at the lab, Gary still hadn't found his journal.
"No. What does it look like?" Tracey asked him.
"It looks like a scientific journal. I got it from Gramps way back when," Gary replied. At this, Tracey's expression changed, and Gary noticed. "What happened?" the spiky-haired boy demanded.
"I might have accidentally stuck it in the pile of books for Leaf," Tracey admitted. "The stack fell over on the table after you left, so I picked up all the books on the table and stacked them up." Gary looked like he was ready to kill someone at that point. Then he went pale.
"I hope she didn't read it yet," he whispered, then ran out of the lab, heading towards Leaf's house in the pouring rain.
-oOo-
The two met in the middle of town, rain pelting down all around them, both soaking wet. Leaf is the first to speak.
"Gary, I-"
"You read my journal, right?" the boy said, looking slightly downcast.
"I swear, I didn't realize what it was when I took it, and when I found it, I figured Tracey put it in there because there was something pertaining to the research I was doing," Leaf told him.
"I know. Tracey told me he might have accidentally put it in the pile for you," he informed her with a slight smile. "So, what did you read?"
"I read enough to know it's okay to say this: I never stopped loving you Gary Oak. And I know you didn't either, and you never cheated on me," Leaf confessed. Gary smirked.
"Then I guess it's okay for me to do this," Gary replied, kissing her passionately right then and there, and she kissed him back just as passionately. After they broke apart, they stood in silence, trying to catch their breath, until they both sneezed at the same time.
"Maybe we should go inside," Leaf suggested, laughing.
"Your place or mine?" Gary asked her.
"Probably mine. Your grandpa and Tracey probably wouldn't appreciate two soaked teens making out." They both laughed as they walked to Leaf's house.
I hope you liked the story. For the competition people, the word count is 1790. Yep. Definitely the longest story yet, though I might be working on a multi-chapter! Please review!
Wolfie Out! Peace!