Here is a very late Thanksgiving Day fic! Not so much romance, but still some! One-Sided HeartSoul, mention of SoulSilver!
You don't get everything in life.
Ethan learned that the hard way. Chasing the girl of his dreams, while trying to become the champion. Would he have been able to achieve his dreams one day? Yeah, he would have been able to, had he not kept trying. Even when it was clear as day, he kept trying and trying, making a complete fool of himself. For what though? In the end, it led to heartbreak.
It took time to process it all, and to see what he could do to fix it. However, as time went by, he noticed he couldn't do anything. Some Pokegod must be laughing at his misery, and he could just imagine Ho-Oh laughing at him right now. Why did he have to have the one-sided relationship? Why not someone else? Did he.. deserve this?
He never did anything wrong to anyone, and he neve-
"Ethan?"
The boy looked up, and his heart ached at the sight of Lyra. Lyra's eyes shined with happiness, and it made Ethan's gray eyes seem dull in comparison. A forced smile was all he could muster, though the brunette was oblivious to it as always.
"Is everything okay Ethan?" Lyra asked, concern in her voice.
Ethan nodded, making the brunette smile. "Good! I was beginning to worry something was wrong! Marill was extremely worried as well!" Marill waved, and Ethan nodded in acknowledgement.
"Now, why don't we hang out like old times?" Lyra suggested.
Should they? Its been a while since they've hung out. It's not like it used to be. Ever since his heart cracked, he hasn't been able to smile fully. Everything was dull now, and it seemed like it'd be that way forever. Heck, even the neighbors were surprised to see the boy outside these days.
"Ethan? You seem to stare off a lot these days.." Lyra muttered.
Ethan quickly shook his head, forcing the smile on his face to grow. It hurt, faking smiles for the girl he still loved. Lyra shook her head, her smile growing once more.
"Well then Ethan, would you like to hang out?" Ethan nodded.
He had nothing better to do anyways. He reached forward, grabbing her hand. The brunette pulled him up, giggling when he staggered. Ethan felt his heart skip a beat, and for a moment, he thought he'd have a good day, something he hasn't had since his heart was broken.
"Lyra?"
Then he had to come.
His heart fell once more, shattering when Silver walked up to Lyra. His rival for Lyra, though instead of the hero winning, the villain wins. Silver nodded in greeting, and Ethan forced himself to do the same. He couldn't stand Silver, the way he was treated by the cocky boy, and the way he treated everyone else. He especially hated Silver because..
Silver had Lyra.
"Silver! I was wondering when you would come by!" Lyra squealed, hugging the stoic boy. Silver forced down a blush, rolling his eyes and hugging her back, which made Ethan gag. He hated seeing Silver and Lyra together, but what could he do?
"Ethan, do you want to spend Thanksgiving Day with us?"
Silver looked surprised, and mildly annoyed. Ethan was about to decline when the brown-eyed brunette frowned, "Silver, Ethan is my best friend! Why don't we all just hang out?" Silver thought it over, his silver eyes staring into Ethan's grey ones.
"Fine. If it'll make you happy." He answered, smiling when Lyra squealed happily.
Ethan followed the lovebirds, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. He couldn't handle it. Why was he going? His house was only a few feet away, he could run to his room, lock himself inside and never come back out. Instead, he was here, following Lyra and her boyfriend to the Kotone household.
Lyra opened the door, "I'm home! Ethan and Silver are here!" She yelled.
Her parents greeted the three teens as Lyra closed the door, skipping over to the table. The tremendous aroma of all the food filled the air, and he almost forgot that he was around the girl he could never have.
Almost.
"Come on Ethan!" Lyra cried, dragging the boy towards the table. Silver sat down from across the quiet boy, thanking Lyra's mother and father for allowing him to join them on this day.
Did they even know that Silver is the son of Giovanni?
Ethan resisted the urge to glare at him, opting to stare down at the cup Lyra's mother placed in front of him. The water reflected his face back at him, and the sorrow showed over everything else. How could no one else notice how depressed he was?
"So Ethan, how have you been?" Lyra's father asked quietly.
Ethan shrugged, and for a second, he could have sworn he saw sympathy in Mr Kotone's eyes. Did he.. know?
"Alright," Lyra's mother cheered, placing turkey down onto the table, "Enjoy! Make sure to say what you are thankful for!" Lyra smiled, immediately snatching some food.
"Lyra, what are you thankful for?"
"I'm thankful for being able to travel Johto! I'm also thankful for Marill, my family, and for meeting my wonderful boyfriend Silver! I'm thankful for having Ethan as a best friend as well!" Lyra said, smiling brightly with a few tears.
They all went on and on about the things they were most grateful for, such as having one another, or in Silver's case, having Lyra in his life. Ethan's forced smile never left his face as it was now his turn to say what he was most thankful for.
"Ethan, what are you thankful for?" Mrs Kotone asked.
The kind family waited for Ethan to reply, and the boy took a deep breath.
"I'm thankful for being able to travel the region and collect the badges, winning the league."
"I'm thankful for having my family, and for having my Pokémon by my side, as well as having met everyone else.."
"I'm thankful for Silver coming into Lyra's life, to make my best friend happy.."
"I-I'm also thankful.. for having Lyra as a best friend."
That is all he'll ever be.
A friend.
Yeah, I tried the line per speak thing or whatever.
Never again xD I like writing in paragraphs. I hope you enjoyed! Poor Ethan...
-Pichu