Leaf sat silently on top of Gary's bed, watching and listening to the rain as it cascaded down the window. The only other noise that pierced the darkness of the room was the sound of Gary's keyboard as he studied for his college entrance exams.
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In all honesty, Leaf should also be studying for her entrance exams, or job-hunting, or anything really. They were all graduating soon and while everyone else was off preparing for their futures or studying for exams, all she was doing was sitting there, staring at the rain.
It wasn't like she hadn't been thinking about her future. In fact, it was all she could do. She would push it to the back of her mind and try to focus on other things, but it still remained. Scratching and nagging at her during every waking moment.
But it was moments like these that were the worst. When she had nothing to occupy her mind, and the dam broke free. Flooding her. Drowning her. Until nothing was left.
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Leaf was no fool though. She knew that nothing would change if she just sat there. But what could she do?
She had no excelling grades, so there were no specialized college classes she could take. Average ones? There were so many to pick from that it made her woozy. Suppose she could just get a job. However, she had no particular hobbies or talents that could be turned into a career. So what, there are many jobs that don't require such things. But which should she pick?
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Leaf knew however, that this was not what was stopping her. She knew it was something else. Something deep and black in her heart that she didn't want to look at, didn't want to admit.
It was fear. Fear, that rooted her to the ground, and blocked her from taking her first step into the future. But what was she afraid of?
Many things. What if she took a wrong step? What if she didn't like anything? What if she couldn't find anything? What if she wasn't good enough? What if she was stuck forever, in a job that she hated? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if?
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Leaf groaned and hugged her legs close to her chest. She needed to do something. She needed to get her mind off of it before it crushed her.
She slowly scanned Gary's room, neat and orderly like always. His game system still lay out from the last time she was here, but she had completed all of his games long ago. His bookshelf was filled to the brim with research notes ant textbooks, no reading material for her there.
Her gaze rested on Gary's figure, silhouetted against the light of his computer. Why won't he turn around? Why won't he see her and her troubles and help her? She was so lonely.
Leaf lightly touched her foot to the ground and silently closed the gap between her and Gary. She carefully wrapped her arms around his frame and gently rested her head on his shoulder. An ocean of words filled the screen as Gary continued to type, unperturbed.
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Leaf hated that keyboard. Hated the noise it made. She couldn't explain it, but it felt like a timer that was counting down the time she had left.
She squeezed him, and softly nuzzled her head into his neck for comfort.
'I'm busy.' Gary responded, without looking away from the screen.
When wasn't he busy, he hadn't been free for months.
'Let's go do something,' Leaf offered hopefully.
'It's raining,' he pointed out.
'There's a bed right over there,' she whispered seductively into his ear. 'I'm sure we can find something to do there.' She ran her hands across his chest and lightly nibbled on his ear.
'No.'
'Why not?' She pouted.
'I'm busy.'
'When aren't you going to busy?'
'When my exams are finished.'
Leaf's arms sagged and she stood up straight. 'Fine,' she sighed.
'Look,' Gary began as he spun his chair around to face her. 'I'll play with you later, okay?'
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'You'll play with me?' She repeated in disbelief. 'I'm not eight.'
'Then can you please let me study,' Gary asked.
'You study all day every day, can't you take a one hour break to at least talk to me.'
'I'm sorry. But this test is very important and I need to pass it.'
'Please, you're Gary Oak,' he winced slightly. 'Of course you're going to pass.'
Gary's eyes narrowed. 'I'm sorry that I don't have the time to sit around without a care in the world like you,' he said, barely moving his lips.
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'Is that what you think I do?' Leaf asked, astonished.
'What else. Every day, all you do is come over and distract me from my work by playing games.
'I come over here, because I want to be with you.'
'Then you should understand that this is important to me and that I need to concentrate.'
'All I asked for was a moment, a minute even of your time. Was that to much.'
'This university is very prestigious, every minute counts. Only a very minimal amount of applicants can even hope to pass, let alone finish their course.'
'Come on, you aced the mock exam, of course you're going to pass.'
Gary rapidly stood from his chair, surprising Leaf. 'It's not that simple, not that you would understand.' He growled.
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A low rumble could be heard in the distance as the rain hammered against the window.
'What do you mean?'
'Do you even think about your future. About a career or school. Or do you plan to just sit around my room for the rest of your life?'
'Of course I've thought about it.'
'News to me. So what's your plan?'
'What?'
'What's your plan?' He gestured to himself. 'I plan to go to university and specialize in the restoration and upkeep of prehistoric pokemon.' He flipped his hand towards Leaf, provoking an answer out of her.
Leaf said the first thing that came to mind, hoping to put an end to the conversation. 'I plan to go to work.'
It didn't work. 'Where?' Gary questioned.
Leaf hesitated, 'I...'
'Where?' He pressed.
Leaf crossed her arms and looked away adamantly. 'I don't know.'
'See. You don't have anything planned out.'
'Well sorry, I don't have the same connections as Oak's grandson.' She spat, 'I'm sure it must have been so hard for the grandson of a researcher to decide to become a researcher.'
'Don't try and change the subject away from the fact that you have no idea what you are going to do.'
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Leaf's grip on her arms tightened. 'Shut up.'
'Instead. You shut yourself in here without a single worry. But, I suppose you're right. I do have connections as Oak's grandson. Is that your plan?'
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She held a quivering hand over her mouth, trying her best to hold back the tears. 'Shut up.'
'To ride in the Oak bandwagon for the rest of your life. Carefree. Cause if that's not your plan, then I don't know what is.
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She scrunched her eyes closed and covered her ears. 'Shut up.'
'After all, time's running out.'
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'SHUT UP!'
She broke. All of her rage and anxieties consumed her. Blinded, she effortlessly pushed Gary aside and reached for his keyboard. That accursed keyboard. She tore it, smashed it, destroyed it and flung it against the wall.
Gary stared on in wide-eyed disbelief as the black, empty shell of his keyboard clattered lifeless against the floor. To never make another sound again.
'What is wrong with you?' Gary screamed to the violently shaking, sobbing mess that was Leaf. 'Can't stand hearing the truth?'
A muffled no could be heard through Leaf's hands.
'No?' He continued, undeterred. 'Then why do you sit in here everyday, watching me work my butt off, while continuing to do nothing as each day passes by?'
Nothing. All he got as a response were tears.
'Why?'
Nothing.
He took a step forward and clutched Leaf's shoulders, forcing her to face him. 'Why?'
Still nothing.
Frustrated, at his boiling point. Gary shook her, 'WHY?'
Leaf removed her hands from her face, and Gary saw it. He looked into those red, tearful eyes and he saw it. Her vulnerability, her pain, and above all, her absolute terror.
Looking into her eyes had hurt him more than he could ever have imagined. He knew what she was going to say before she even said it.
'Because, I'm scared,' and just like that, she was gone.
Gary stood alone in his empty and dark room. Filled with regret, he rubbed his hands across his face and groaned. How could he have been so blind.
Leaf ran.
Her mind was blank. Her vision blurred in and out of focus as tears continued to stream down her cheeks and mix with the rain. Her throat was coarse, and the howling wind made it hard to breath. Her feet stung with every step she made against the hard, rough surface of the road.
But still, she continued to run. Anywhere. Nowhere. It didn't matter, as long as she got away. As long as she didn't have to hear what she didn't want to hear, see what she didn't want to see, face what she didn't want to face.
Suddenly, a sharp pain jolted throughout her ankle, and she fell. She skidded across the soaked concrete, every corner of her body screaming in agony.
She made no attempt to rise or move. Instead she cried, she banged her tiny fists against the surface of the road and she screamed and cried her heart out. Letting it go, letting it all go felt so good. All the pent up feelings in her soul poured out onto that road, mixed with the rain, and washed away.
'Oh my god Leaf, are you okay?' Gary called in a panic as he skidded down beside her to assess the damage.
'Go away,' she croaked.
'No,' he responded, without even giving it a second thought. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and tried to sit her up, but she was limp. 'Come on Leaf, get up.'
'Go away.'
Giving up on his endeavors to make her rise, he decided to sit by her. Slowly rubbing his hand back and forth over her back. 'Why are you running Leaf?'
No answer.
'Why are you scared?' It was hard for him to see her like this, but it must be even worse for her. 'Tell me,' he pleaded, 'let me help you.'
Gary sat there, continuing to comfort her as the rain beat down on them. It was a good five minutes before Leaf stirred, but Gary didn't mind. He was prepared to wait there all day if he had to.
She slowly crawled towards him, wrapping her arms around him; she buried her face into his chest. Gary reciprocated the embrace, all to willingly.
'I'm afraid,' she finally breathed.
'Yeah, I got that idea. But what are you afraid of?'
'What am I going to do?' She sobbed. 'I've wasted all my time doing nothing. I've destroyed my life.'
'Calm down,' Gary reassured her in a sweet voice as he began to gently pat her head. 'You haven't destroyed your life. There's still plenty of time.'
'To do what?' She cried. 'I have nothing. My grades suck and I don't have the skills or talents that everyone else has... or the time now to. I'm worthless.'
'You're not worthless.' Gary stated, trying his best to halt her downward spiral. 'You're spirited, funny, gorgeous, and you keep me in line.' He kissed her on the head for every point he made.
'Yeah. Let my just put that on my resume,' she scoffed.
'My Grandfather would hire you,' he chuckled. He heard an intake of breath from her, probably the closest to a laugh that he was going to get right now.
'But what if I'm not good enough,' she continued. 'What if I fail, what if-.'
'Jeez,' Gary interjected. 'You sound like a broken record.' Gary was about to open his mouth, but paused. He needed to think, he needed to consolidate his thoughts and make sure he didn't say the wrong thing. 'I'm not going to haphazardly tell you that you'll succeed at anything you put your mind to. But the only way to find out is if you try,' he emphasized.
'That's what everyone says,' she said, dryly.
'Just because everyone says it, doesn't mean it's not true,' he argued.
'But, I'm scared Gary.'
'Everyone is... even me.' He felt her tense up. He couldn't stop now, she was focusing all of her attention on him. Now, it was his turn to be honest. 'I'm sorry for snapping at you before. The truth is... I'm just as scared as you are.' He took a deep breath. 'Because I'm Oak's Grandson, everyone expects me to instantly ace everything I do, no matter what it is. The pressure is enormous,' he sighed. 'That complete denial of failure, it drives me insane. But I keep pushing forward, I keep working hard. Because I don't want to ride on the coattails of my Grandfather for the rest of my life. When people see me, I don't want them to see Oak's Grandson. I want them to see Gary.'
Gary looked down at the cold, drenched figure before him. 'You know what gives me the strength to face this?' He felt Leaf shake her head deeper into his chest. He reached down and gently kissed her on the head. 'You.' He whispered. 'Whenever I'm worried or stressed while studying, I know. I know that if I turn around that you'll be there. Always.'
It felt really good to get that off of his chest, but it was enough about him. 'Why didn't you come to me? Ask for my help?'
'I didn't want to interrupt your studies,' she answered.
'So you instead decide to blow up in my room and smash my keyboard,' he jeered. He felt the pressure around his body tighten exponentially, and it became hard to breath. 'Ouch, Okay,' he gasped, 'not the time to be making jabs.'
He carefully unwrapped her arms from around his torso and pushed her away. Her face was red and puffy and a few wayward tears still trickled down her face. But he was so happy to see her.
Gary tenderly touched his hands to her cheeks and began wiping away her tears with his thumbs. 'Don't hide things from me. I don't want us to only be able to help each other when we blow up in each other's faces. I want us to be able to share our happiness, and our fears. I want to be with you, with every step you take, no matter what road you choose or what bullshit is throw our way.' He took her hand in his and kissed it, 'holding this hand,' he concluded. 'Okay?'
Leaf squeezed his hand tighter, and she was finally able to manage a weak, little smile. 'Okay.'
'Now,' he began with a grin, 'what do you say, to going back to my place, and getting cleaned up with a shower together.' With her hand in his, he steadily helped her up, and gave her the support she needed.
Leaf rolled her eyes. 'Really Gary. Only you would try to sleep with someone after this.'
'I didn't hear a no,' he pointed out, 'and afterwards, we can have a very long conversation about the future.'
'I'd like that,' she agreed, gaining her balance on his shoulder. 'But what about your studies?'
'Who needs to study. After all, I'm Gary Oak,' he proclaimed.
Leaf shook her head in disbelief before laughing. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek, 'don't jinx yourself.'
They both laughed, ignoring the wailing storm as it drenched them and tried it's best to force them down. They pushed through everything, hand in hand, with every step they made.
In the not so distant future...
Leaf's heels clacked loudly on the wooden stairs with every step she took. The gold ring on her left had made small scratching noises as she held onto the railing for balance.
She pushed open the bedroom door and immediately made her way over to the other side of the room. Pulling the curtains back with a sharp tug, the sun poured into the room, revealing the groggy, sleeping brown bush that was Gary Oak's head as he laid face down in a pillow.
She gazed over the sight of her husband with amusement as he tried his best to ignore the morning. 'Come on Garebear, time to wake up,' she called sweetly, slowly rocking him in the process.
'Leaf,' he grumbled irritably through the pillow. 'I was up all night grading papers. Let me sleep.'
'That doesn't change the fact that you have a lecture in one hour,' she grinned sadistically, she enjoyed this. 'Now get up.'
Gary rose sluggishly from his hiding place and turned to face her, eyes still half closed. 'Isn't my secretary supposed to listen to me?' he teased.
Leaf leaned across the bed, their faces mere inches away from one another's. 'So sorry sweetie. But I'm employed by the university, not you,' she teased.
'I just know my Grandfather had a hand in that.'
She smiled, 'who else can keep you in line.' she inclined her head and they shared a deep, loving kiss. Which broke just as fast as it came. 'Now get up,' she ordered.
'As you command,' Gary said playfully with a small bow.
Leaf waited for him by the front door, and shook her head disappointedly when he finally emerged. 'You look terrible,' she confessed as she fixed up his tie.
'Where's breakfast?' He asked ignoring the insult.
'There is none. We'll eat along the way.'
'But I want to eat your home cooked meal,' he whined mockingly. Knowing full well that he was just giving her a hard time.
Leaf tightened his tie around his neck, far to tight for comfort. 'Then get up early,' she said in a low voice. She turned to open the door as Gary chuckled softly and adjusted his tie; maybe he had gone to far.
'Now let's go,' she ordered.
'Yes ma'am', he obeyed.
Leaf took Gary's hand in her own and dragged him out the door. They continued on their way, hand in hand, as they always did. No matter where they went, or what they had to walk through.