Becoming Grace

Fall was my favorite time of year. The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet as I ran. Not from anything. Not to anything. Just for the sake of running.

Unfortunately; Sunyshore City isn't technically the best place to run. So naturally; I left the confines of the smog-filled city that fateful autumn morning. I enjoyed the breeze that ruffled my hair; cooling me down when the bright sun became unbearable.

I subconsciously searched the rocky outcroppings and the beach for the familiar flame-red hair. The sweetest boy in the world.

We were 15.

I continued my jog; shaking his image from my thoughts. My footsteps fell back into perfect rhythm. When the sunrise finally peaked over the water; the light was blinding. I stopped my jog and waltzed down to the beach. Dirty, holey tennis shoes lay abandoned in the sand; socks beside them. I prodded the water with my big toe; testing the temperature.

Ice cold. Perfect.

I sighed and lay down; hands folded neatly across my chest; and feet submerged in the cold, salty water.

"Alana? Are you okay?"

I kept my eyes shut and coolly responded. "No, Weston. I died about an hour ago. Thanks for asking."

I felt him plop down in the sand beside me and sigh. After a few moments of silence; he felt the need to complain.

"You know; sarcasm like that really turns most people off. You should try being nice for once."

One eye cracked open. He was leaning directly over me; tousled red hair playfully flipping back and forth in the breeze. I had to contain myself. "So if my sarcasm is so distasteful, why are you still here?"

He smiled and returned to sitting upright. "I said most people. Not all."

He picked up a rock and tossed it; skipping it eight times. I sat up and picked up another rock; and tossed it, imitating his motions.

Plop.

I grumbled in frustration.

"You're hopeless, Alana."

He skipped another rock; as if to prove his point. I stood up and dusted the sand off my bottom. Then, I playfully kicked seawater onto him.

Soaked, he jumped up; and we were off; racing down the beach. The wet sand squished between my toes as I sped ahead of him. He may have been good at skipping rocks; but I ran faster than a Rapidash. I didn't stop until I heard Wes plop down in the sand behind me; defeated. I smugly jogged back to him.

"See? Why would you want to be able to skip rocks when you can run that fast?"

I teased. He laughed and shook his head; before rising reluctantly. "I have to go, Alana."

I looked down at the sun-baked sand beneath my feet. "Yes… I know."

Then, he surprised me, by swiftly kissing my cheek. I blushed, and he began his long trudge home. I wiped the sand off my feet and grabbed my sneakers. I waited until he was out of my sight, and then began the jog home.

I was too distracted by my tingling cheek to notice the ocean breeze. The crunch of the leaves. The bright sun. The car speeding down the road.

I failed to notice as the driver purposefully veered off their side of the road; headed straight for me. Or the fact that the driver was a man I knew all too well. I did notice; however, when it collided with me; snapping bones everywhere in my body. Then; everything went dark.

I lay in the hospital bed; staring at nothing. My legs were useless. I was told I'd never walk again unaided. No more morning jogs. I couldn't cry; my tear supply seemed to have been drained at that point. I hadn't spoken to anyone since the accident. All my broken bones had been healed; the 'accident' being months ago. I was hospitalized on the simple fact that I was depressed. I hadn't gotten out of bed since the accident except to go to physical therapy; which was mandatory.

"Alana? You have a visitor," called a nurse gently from outside the door.

I said nothing; and continued to stare blankly at nothing. It as either one of two people. My mom, or Wes.

Even he failed to interest me. He only visited because he pitied me, anyway. What would he want to do with a cripple?

"Hey, Alana. I brought you some flowers for your collection," said Wes as he tip-toed in.

My eyes temporarily shifted to the table; filled with the baskets of rainbow-colored flowers Wes brought me every time he visited me. So I got new floral arrangement at least every other day. He sat on the edge of my bed; like always.

"So… anything interesting on TV?"

My eyes rested on the bland white wall. He sighed and drummed his fingers on his leg. He abruptly stood up.

"Damnit, Alana; stop feeling sorry for yourself! You can't just lie here in bed and waste away! I won't have it. I won't let you."

I stiffened; jaw clenched. I had never seen him like this. Had he lost his patience with me after all this time? Would he leave me now; never visiting again?

My eyes burned; my only way to cry. I gripped my bed sheet tightly in my fist. He seemed to notice this; and sighed sadly.

"Get dressed. I'll be back in five minutes. By Mew; we're going somewhere today. I'm getting you out of that fucking bed if I have to drag you."

He shut the door; leaving me with the task of shrugging on an abandoned pair of running shorts. I considered not doing it; but his visits were the only real things I looked forward to. Wes re-entered five minutes later; as promised.

"You dressed?" he asked.

I threw back the covers to reveal the faded red shorts. He nodded. "Good. Now get out of bed and grab your walker. You need to do some stuff by yourself."

Infuriated he ordered me around like a baby; I slammed my hands onto the walker and swung out of bed; eyes glaring at him. His expression was emotionless; his face masked by determination. I slowly rose to my feet and began shuffling forward. This would be a long, long walk.

We walked far out of Sunyshore; out on my old jogging trail. I whimpered when we passed the accident sight. He was taking me to the beach. When my walker became stuck in the sand, I hit it angrily. Wes silently scooped me up in his arms; and we continued to the water's edge. He gently set me down on the beach. I shivered.

How I hate the ocean now. I loathe it.

The water laps up against different shores every day. Water has no limit to where it goes. To the bottom of the ocean. A wave crashing down on a forgotten island. Evaporation; causing it to rain and spreading it out across the world. Perhaps that's why I hated it the most.

No limits.

So… the question that rang through my head was why? Why had he brought me here; today of all days?

"Alana… please talk to me. I need to know you're still in there."

When I didn't answer, he skipped a rock across the water, though he messed up; a wave was coming in. The rock skipped once, and then made a telltale plop.

We were silent for a while; which unnerved me slightly, though I'm not sure why. When he spoke again; it was spoken wistfully.

"Alana; do you know why I brought you here today?"

I surprised him by shaking my head no. That was more than I had done in a long time.

He cleared his throat, and then continued. "I guess I just wanted to make today special; that's all. You only have your 16th birthday once, after all."

Realization struck me like a blow to the head. For the first time in months; I broke down sobbing. Tears flowed freely as I wept for the loss of my mobility, freedom, and for the wasted months. Wes cradled me in his arms.

"I'm sorry… I'm just so sorry, Alana. I didn't know you had forgotten. Please; stop crying," he pleaded.

He held me tight for hours; until dusk. My tears ceased to fall as we watched the sun set on the ocean; brilliant purples, pinks, and yellows streaking majestically across the sky and reflecting against the water. Wes gently kissed the top of my head.

"Happy Birthday, Alana."

I snuggled closer. "I love you, Weston."

He faced me; awestruck, and then we kissed. When the sunset had faded and the moon had claimed the sky; Wes took my hand and gently pressed a flat rock into my palm.

"Want to learn how to skip a rock?"

A/N: So; there you have it. Grace's story. Yes; a sad one... but life isn't always perfect.

Now to fill in some plot-holes that I just didn't feel like putting in this one-shot. It would dampen the effect.

In LITM; Wes says he can't remember ever giving his heart to another girl. This is because; when Alana died and was told by Giratina she could be brought back; she was allowed to become Wes's partner on the condition that he would not remember anything about her. She accepted because she wanted to ease his pain of her passing. Make sense? (:

LITM Chronicles have been a long time coming; it was hard to decide who to do first. Since Grace the Vulpix is not a favorite among the group; I wanted to give her some background.

LITM Chronicles will not be updated on a schedule; so if you read LITM and want to know of the characters pasts I would Story Alert this.

As always: reviews are greatly appreciated.