A/N: Hey all! So I just went through and touched up on this story by removing some things to make it flow a little better - a wonderful suggestion from someone who had read it a while back. I hope the updates to the chapters make it easier/better to read! As always, thank you for showing interest in my stories! :D Please enjoy!
"Welcome to Pallet Town!" the sign displayed the words in gigantic, bold letters, though they were noticeably faded. It had been so long since I had passed the sign at the beginning of my Pokémon journey. This was my hometown; and I had been invited back by Professor Oak, as a celebration for us Pokémon trainers of Pallet.
C'mon, only a little further now.
"Ah, Kamryn!" Professor Oak answered the door to his lab with extreme haste. "It has been too long! Come in, come in!" I couldn't help but laugh; Professor Oak was always such a rambunctious old fart.
"Ash and Gary had gotten here just a little before you and now we can start the party!" Oh, of course. Ash and Gary were always a step ahead of me. He walked off into another room as another figure passed him.
"'Bout time ya got here, loser," and there he was. The pompous Gary Oak.
"Took ya long enough!" He propped himself against the wall, striking his usual "I'm-better-than-you" pose. I scoffed.
"I'm never late, Gar-Bear, everyone else is just early." I said, flashing him a victorious smile when he cringed with a scowl. He had always hated that nickname; I'd given it to him when we met, so long ago, even before our leaving on our adventures. He smirked as he thought of his rebuttal.
"Well, Kami, not everyone can be as fast as Gary Oak," He winked, as if I were in on his raunchy joke.
"Um, gross," I shook my head, half disgusted, half embarrassed, then looked around, "Hey, where's Ashy-Boy?" The three of us used to be quite the team. We were inseparable as kids; but since we left on our Pokémon journeys, we didn't see much of either other anymore.
"Pi, Pikachu!" I'd recognize that cry anywhere!
"Oh hey Pikachu!" I held out my arms as he ran to me and gave me a Pika-hug.
"Pikachu, you traitor!" Ash Ketchum snickered as he followed his partner into the room. Here we were; the gang was here now. "
"It's been a long time since we were all together, hasn't it?" Gary uttered, wrapping his arms around Ash and me. "And Gramps is throwing a party just for us! Aren't we lucky?!" I pried his hand off and giggled. It was kind of cool how Grandpa Oak would throw us a party.
"Aw, c'mon, Kam, don't you like it when I touch you?" Gary smirked as I rolled my eyes and Ash punched his arm.
"Don't be such a sleaze, Gary! We're here for a good time!"
"I was only joking. Jeez, Ash, when did you care about being such a gentleman anyways?" I set Pikachu on Ash's shoulder with a kiss on the head and left the two to bicker, finding out the actual party was in Oak's ballroom. I'd been to Oak's lab many a time and never had I seen even a glimpse of a ballroom. I'm sure he had a lot of free time to build it or something without having to worry about his pesky little grandson and his friends demolishing everything, though. I recognized many people, some trainers from different towns and even my mother.
"Kamryn! My baby!" My mother had to screech and my face was flooded with motherly love. "Why don't you ever visit me? I've missed you so much! Come, tell me and everyone about your adventures!" It was true that I hadn't gone home to see my mother, but she did leave out that we had video called quite often, so its not like I completely ignored her. My mother had a tendency to be overdramatic.
As I began to talk about my journey through the regions, starting with my birth region first of course, a crowd began forming around me, totally engulfing me, very much intrigued with my stories. After a while, and in the middle of my tale of Hoenn, Gary and Ash came in, noticing the crowd around me. I stopped my speech to wave a hello to my best friends. I received in return a wink from Gary and a smile from Ash, and of course, Pikachu too.
"Oh look at that! Kamryn's almost as famous as me, Gary Oak!" Gary thundered jokingly over the crowd and was overrun by fan girls, and just fans in general. I was sure he enjoyed the attention of the girls but I kept catching him look over at me every now and again as he shook hands, gave out hugs and blew kisses to the girls. It was strange.
"Don't worry about Gary, Kami," Ash said, giving me a huge, long-awaited hug. "You know how he is around the girls." He laughed, petting Pikachu affectionately. Speaking of girls…
"How are you and Misty, Ashy-Boy?" I jeered, pinching his cheeks playfully. He turned a deep crimson as he turned away.
"N-none of your business! … Well… We're good…" It was such a good thing to hear. Misty had liked him for a long time, but the oblivious Ash had no idea, until recently. The redheaded water trainer had been with Ash for a while, that much I knew, and because Ash was so well known in Kanto, his and Misty's relationship began to leak out a little.
"No one really asks me about it, so I never know what to say." He muttered embarrassedly. I patted him on the back and grinned. Ash was never really the one to worry about the girls; that was all Gary.
"It's all good, Ash, I'm just glad you're happy." I smiled again. I did mean that; Ash was a good friend; almost my brother. And now, with us being eighteen and nineteen, he deserved a good girl.
As I looked around again, the group around Gary was dispersed and Gary himself was nowhere to be seen. I didn't think anything of it; I'm sure he just got bored of the girls always fawning over him. I decided to take the opportunity of no one crowding me to get some alone time. I hated being in big crowds, even if it was chockfull of people I knew. I said a short bye to Ash and Pikachu and slithered my way through the people and to a vacant room. Professor had really gone all out with this whole building onto the lab thing. You couldn't even tell that it was so big on the outside! So misleading!
I sighed. I wasn't much of a party person. I preferred to keep to myself and read a book or something at home. People made me tired. It was late after all. I caught a glimpse of my watch: 00:42 (That's midnight, if you didn't know; Military time was easier for me to understand).
"Yup, past my bedtime," I joked aloud, yawning and stretching out on the closest sofa in the room that I could see in the dark. I didn't have any idea where the light was and there was no need to turn it on if I was going to pass out. I didn't think Professor Oak would mind; we used to do it all the time as kids. I began to close my eyes as a voice shocked my eyes open.
"Whatcha doing hiding out in here, Kami?" Gary Oak again. Wait, how did he see me in the dark? He turned the light on, laughing as it caused me to jokingly hiss and cover my eyes. He was such an ass. Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed him strolling over to me, his trademark smirk on his face.
"Go away, Oak, I need my beauty sleep," I sneered as I teasingly waved a hand away at him, as if to say "Away now peasant." He only laughed and took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa to me.
"Don't be like that; I only wanna talk," Talk? Gary doesn't just talk. That's so weird. I shot him a cautious but eager glance. He smiled.
"It's been forever since I've seen you. You're my best friend, remember? Well, other than our idiot, Ashy-Boy. And you can't lie; I know you've been dying to see me." My breath caught in my throat. I never told anyone but I had always admired the cheeky guy. He wasn't cocky, in my opinion, just confident. Don't get me wrong, I adored Ash, but Gary gave me a different feeling, somehow.
"Pfft, you wish, asshat." I stuck my tongue out at him, playing it off. He didn't seem convinced and nudged my shoulder.
"How have you been, Kami? I've seen Ash more often than not, and not a glimpse of you." That was true. I was pretty much on my own through my journeys. I had crossed paths with Ash only a few times, but it seemed I was always too far behind the brown-haired wonder. We preceded in small talk, about badges, regions, Pokémon. And honestly, it wasn't too bad. He didn't bore me like other trainers did. I had heard so many other stories; yet, I seemed fully and completely interested in his tales.
"All the way to Kalos, huh? That's pretty wicked, Kam! I was only there for a while. Oh, I'm a Pokémon Professor now. Jealous much?" Gary pulled out a card with a picture of him, looking all smug in a professor coat similar to his grandfather's. It fit him, to be honest. It was nice to see him follow his grandpa and become a professor; better than him becoming a Pokémon Master, that was my job!
As I continued my stories – he didn't seem to want to talk about himself, for some weird reason – I began to notice him scooting closer, ever so slightly. He was finally close enough for me to feel the heat coming off of him.
"Gary, why are you so damn close to me?" I cut my words off to push him away, but before my palm released his chest, he grabbed it.
"Kam, I've missed you," Before I could protest, he pulled me in for a hug. And not one of those little hugs, either. One that warmed my heart, with my head on his chest. His body began to shake, and I noticed he was crying. For real crying.
"Hey hey, what's the matter?" I wiped his tears with a free thumb and looked at him. Gary Oak looked pitiful. I'd never seen him cry. "Don't cry, ya little shit. You're Gary Motherfucking Oak. You don't cry." That made him smile.
We sat like that for a long while, him just smiling at me and me wiping his tears. It was just so strange; we don't see each other in forever and he starts crying on me. Gary Oak, of all the people in the world. He looked so helpless, even with the sincere smile on his face.
He'd told me and Ash when we were little that his parents were gone because of the war, and other than his sister Daisy and Grandpa Oak, he was alone. That's the day we all promised to be best friends, even after we left on our journeys. We needed to be together. But our trips pushed us away from each other.
After a couple minutes of the awkward staring, he began to take notice of what he was doing and dragged himself away from me, reluctantly. He wiped his eyes and nose with a sleeve and grimaced.
"Um, yeah, I'm gonna go now…" He got up in a rush and left the room without looking back at me. He was acting so weird, not like himself. I could only think that it was the party tiring him out, as he was his usual self before I had left him and Ash alone. Perhaps he had already let the waterworks run with Ash earlier, if he really missed us? I left it at that and soon passed out from all the abnormality.
The trademark Dodrio woke me up with a start the next morning. I rubbed my eyes sleepily then blinked away my drowsiness, later noticing I was in my old room at my house. I guessed the Professor or one of the boys brought me over, though deciding after a bit it wasn't of huge importance. I slid to the edge of the bed and reached for my suitcase and backpack I carried with me on my adventures. The suitcase, of course, had clothes and the backpack housed my pokéballs. I grabbed an outfit out of my suitcase and walked to the bathroom to shower.
It was such a relief to shower; you didn't get to often on the road, as disgusting as that sounds. I let the water run down, just standing there. I couldn't get my mind off what happened last night with Gary. I mean, it was so unlike Gary to show any emotion like that, other than being angry or smug, of course. I shrugged to myself; it had to have been a one-time thing, and I cleaned up fast, wanting to find my best friends as soon as possible.
As I was putting my underwear on, I heard the front door slam downstairs, followed by footsteps and voices. Sounds like they're already here! I thought excited, pulling on short shorts, and just then, I saw Ash and Gary burst through my bedroom door (I don't close my bathroom door, because, well it's my bathroom). I shrieked in embarrassment, folding my arms across my almost bare chest.
"Heya, Kami!" Ash exclaimed, completely oblivious to my lack of a shirt. Gary, on the other hand, snickered, his eyes obviously on my folded arms.
"Just so excited to see us, you couldn't keep your clothes on, eh, Kamryn?" He jeered, putting emphasis on my first name. I scowled at him through a deeply flushed face and slammed the bathroom door shut.
"Not funny, Oak!" I yelled, pulling a loose fitting tank top over my head. I heard him chuckle and Ash ask why I slammed the door. I threw the door open again, grabbed my backpack and smiled at the innocent boy. So naïve. "Because Gary Oak is a fucking pervert!" I stuck my tongue out at him and before Gary could jump at me, breezed past the two of them downstairs to see my mother at the dining table. I knew she'd heard the conversation and only laughed.
"I'm gonna go out with them, okay Mom?" I said, hugging her. She nodded.
"Just come back for dinner. We have catching up to do!" I sighed, smiling through my irritation. She always wanted me to have dinner with her, but I couldn't lie, she always made good food! Before I could call to the guys to come on, they were bounding down the stairs, arms linked and singing who knows what.
"You guys are nuts!" I giggled, linking arms on the other side of Ash and waving to my mother as we skipped out the door. "So what are we gonna do today, guys?" I smiled as Pikachu jumped on my shoulders from Ash's and Gary stopped us before we got to Route 1. He took his arm away and walked ahead of us a little bit.
"What's he doing?" Ash whispered to me as he took back his partner and I shrugged in reply. After a few meters, Gary turned around.
"You guys remember, don't ya?" Gary called back to us, and we ran back to his side. "This is where we started our journey. Well, me and Kami did, then Ash's lazy ass finally got up!"
"Hey!" Ash whined, and I couldn't help but laugh. Gary gave him a friendly punch in the arm.
"Well, you shouldn't have slept in, you idiot!" Gary replied, ruffling the other boy's hair.
"C'mon guys!" I exclaimed, coming between the two of them with a hug, "I actually wanna go do something today, not listen to you two bitch!" Gary's rebuttal was a pat on my head.
"Quiet now, child. The adults are talking." He grinned like a mad man when I swung a fist at him, only for him to catch it in his hand, then the other one.
"Oooooh, he got you Kam!" Ash sang, Pikachu giggling. I glared at Gary and he only beamed, squeezing tighter on my hands. He was such a smug bastard sometimes!
"Gary, let goooooo…"I moaned, showing off my pouty face. Him and Ash were suckers for my pouty face. He held on for a couple minutes before letting go with an eye roll.
"Fine then, princess, let's go." He laughed, wrapping arms with Ash on the left and me on the right. "To Viridian City!"
I had to admit; I loved being able to hang out with my best friends again. We used to be so close that the whole town of Pallet called us the Three Musketeers. Cliché, I know, but it fit us. And still did.
I lead the way to Viridian City, as I knew the city was housing the traveling Pokémon carnival. We couldn't just sit around like dumbasses and talk like girls! And I knew my friends well enough to know that they would love to go. Especially Kam. She had always loved the games, even if she wasn't too good at them. She released our arms when we were within eye's range of the carnival.
"Oh fuck yes!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down, and with a huge grin on her face, grabbed Ash and pointed. "Look look, Ash! The carnival!" The raven-haired boy's eyes looked equally excited and all I could do was sigh. They were such little kids. They may have grown in size and age, but not in heart…
"C'mon Pikachu! We're gonna go win that stuffed Lugia!" Ash took off without us; having already spotted a game booth that interested him and leaving me alone with Kam.
"So whatcha wanna do?" I smirked, slithering close to the starry-eyed girl. "Do you need me to win you a pokédoll because you can't do it yourself?" I nudged her shoulder and she glared at me, rolling her brown eyes.
"I'll have you know, Gary, that I can win a stuffed plush by myself." She stuck her tongue out playfully then grabbed my hand and led me to a game booth. She wasn't always so feisty. She had been hella shy when we met, but me and Ash changed that. I liked that about her; she wasn't afraid to be herself anymore.
"I'm gonna win that!" she exclaimed, pointed to a huge stuffed Mew, her finger shaking eagerly.
"Heh, go ahead and try. I'll be here when you can't." I loved teasing her. With Ash, I could tease him and he'd fight back, but with her, she'd just whine and/or hit me. It was hilarious. After scowling at me, Kam turned her attention to the game. It was pretty simple; you just had to throw the rings on the bottles. Easy enough… for anyone other than Kamryn. I watched her with curious eyes as she tossed each ring, clearly missing her target, and after a quiet, grumbled curse, she picked up another only to have the same result. The guy running the game was trying to hide a smile, but it was hard. She was so confident yet nothing went right for her. And she was getting so pissed. It was annoying to see. Before she tossed her ninth ring, I grabbed her wrist and took it. I had to stop this embarrassing scene.
"Let me do it, Kami, you suck," I sneered, and effortlessly flung it in the direction of the bottles without looking, smirking when I heard the "clink" sound of it connecting to a bottle. Success. Kamryn gasped, her jaw dropped open.
"Now how the hell did you do that?!" she barked, putting her hands on her hips. She was so sassy when she was irritated. "Is this damn thing rigged or something?" The guy behind the counter made eye contact with me and we shared a laugh. She was so naïve. I patted her head with an amused sigh.
"No, Kami, you just suck ass," I lifted an arm up to block her incoming punch and poked her side in retaliation. If you ever wanted her to squeak like a mouse and stop everything, that's what you needed to do. She frowned, a defeated look in her eyes, but a zesty smirk lined her lips.
"Better than sucking dick like you do!" she laughed as my face darkened to red and I scowled.
"You don't say things like that in public, you little shit," I grumbled, putting more money down to get more rings. Before she could ask what I was doing, I tossed the ten of them, all wrapping around a bottle. I stunned not only her, but also the booth guy. I simpered madly as I grabbed the Mew plushie Kamryn was pointing to earlier and gave it to her. The smile on her face couldn't have gotten any bigger.
"Thank you, Gar-Bear!" She yelled, jumping at me with an affectionate hug. I liked her hugs; they were so warm. Or maybe that was just my face from her calling me that stupid fucking nickname in public. I lowered my head in embarrassment – she had said it so loud that passing people had heard it and laughed – and grabbed her hand and dragged her off to find Ash.
"Awww, are you embarrassed, Gary-Poo?" She giggled like a schoolgirl when she said that. Gary-Poo? What the fuck? I growled to keep myself from going off at her. I caught sight of Ash and Pikachu at a funnel cake vender and threw her into them.
"Do something with this pest," I mumbled to him, ignoring Kamryn's taunting smiles and laughing.
"Aw, Gary, did she call you Gar-" I slammed a hand over Ash's mouth to keep the name from being heard once again. I hated it. HATED it. And they both knew it. Ash licked my hand to get it off and I stuck my tongue out in disgust as I wiped it on him.
"Gary, don't be a dick. We're not hurting you," Kam tutted through a mouthful of funnel cake. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't ever stay mad at her, or even Ash. She was just such a kid; she grinned so big taking another bite out of her funnel cake, squeezing her new Mew plush in her other arm. And Ash, well, he was pretty much the same way, just with a Pikachu and no plush.
"I'm not a dick, but I have one," I winked at her, hoping she would continue with my joke. I enjoyed flirting with her just so she would yell "ew" or roll her eyes. But I guess secretly I wanted her to flirt back. I mean, not that I liked her like that. She was just my best chick friend; I wanted to be able to joke with her.
"I wouldn't be so sure. You seem pretty girly to me," she sassed, high fiving Ash for her comeback. It wasn't even that good.
"Are you assholes done?" I sighed. It was just that I was a guy, and being a guy, I didn't want silly little pet names that girls give to everything. It was embarrassing. They nodded simultaneously and we walked off to find another place of interest at the carnival.
"That was so much fun, guys!" Kamryn bellowed cheerfully, her arms filled with cute plushies. Ash had won a new backpack and a free night stay pass in Celadon City Hotel for four people. And me? Other than Kam's Mew, I didn't get much. I rode the rides. Rides are my shit. I felt something tug at my pant leg and looked down to see Kam's Skitty, Skittles. She had released her from her pokéball a while ago and she had followed behind, stopping every now and again to play with her tail.
"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu seemed to want Skittles to keep up, as if she was going to get lost. I may be a hardass, but I know when to say "aww" to cute Pokémon.
"Yeah, it was great! We HAVE to go to Celadon City soon with this!" Ash waved his ticket in the air. He was always getting the good stuff. I nodded. Celadon City was a favorite city of mine in Kanto. I loved the Game Corner. That's where all the hot chicks would congregate, and at Erika's gym too! As I thought of that wonderful sight, someone punched my arm.
"Quit drooling, Oak, it doesn't suit you," Kam sneered, flashing a superior smile then leaning down to carry Skittles with her plushies. She looked just like the dolls, other than her constant moving.
"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow then, okay?" Ash gave us a salute and with a farewell from Pikachu, they retreated into his house. It was pretty late, and I didn't want Kam to walk home by herself, so I offered her my company.
"Of course! I mean, if you're scared, you can walk with me. Or maybe I should walk you home." She was much more snarky when she was tired. That's why you never wanted to have a sleepover and invite her.
"Okay, Princess, you're definitely getting to bed," I half laughed as I grabbed her hand and led her to her house. She didn't protest, she didn't say anything, at least until we got to her house. She was usually chattier when she was tired, too. Maybe she was just too tired for anything. "Well, goodnight, Kami. I'll see you tomorrow." I said, holding in a yawn. But as I turned to leave, I felt arms around my waist and a figure on my back.
"Thank you, Gary. You were really sweet today," Kam sounded so exhausted. Her voice was tiny and so sweet sounding. It was so adorable, like a little Skitty. I couldn't help but smile, though I didn't let her see it.
"Well, I ain't sweet, but you're welcome. See you tomorrow." I turned around and gave her a real hug. I tried to break it, but she held her grip. I looked down at her, and the little shit had fallen asleep hugging me. How the hell do you even do that?! I blinked, not processing how it was possible. Skittles mewed at me from the ground and started mewing at the door. Soon, Kamryn's mom came out, and I swear I saw a smile cross her lips quickly.
"Oh hello Gary. Kam- oh. She's fallen asleep standing again. Here, let me get her." She pulled the girl off of me and held her in her arms, walking into the house with ease. I grabbed her dolls and Skittles – who really seemed to like me – and followed her to Kam's room. Her mom had already laid her down and tucked her in. She looked so small, so innocent in her minute bed. I tossed her dolls next to her bed and set Skittles next to Kam. The Skitty curled up in a ball and passed out quick. They were quite the sight. You could tell they were partners.
"Thank you very much for bringing her home, Gary," her mom nodded to me and left the room. That left me alone in a teenage girl's room, while she was sleeping – if it were any other girl, this would have been my dream, but this was my best friend. As I turned to leave, I got this strange feeling in my stomach and turned back to the sleeping girl. And I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I walked over to her and kissed her forehead. I kissed her forehead… what the hell? I blinked a couple times, trying to process what I just did. My face flushed. Before I could do any other strange thing, I hightailed it out of there. What the hell possessed me to kiss my best friend's forehead?
"Just… what the fuck, Oak?" I said to myself. I had just gotten back to my room and was kicking myself. "You can't just go around kissing your best friends. That's just weird!" I took deep breaths to calm myself down. It had to be my exhaustion, just like the night before when I broke down in front of her. It was so weird. I didn't even cry in front of my sister or Gramps! What was making me become so… girly in front of my best chick friend? I rolled into bed, trying to go to sleep and forget about what happened. Hopefully, Kam couldn't remember and I wouldn't ever have to explain myself. Because I had no explanation. All I knew is that whenever I was around her, my stomach would be in knots and I desperately wanted her attention on me. But that was only because I hadn't seen her in forever… right?