I'm back. Yes back. Chapter 2! Yaaaay! I 3 anyone who reads this. Cookies to reviewers. YES. Abe will get something big and scary later on so that he can be all, "OH NO WHAT DO I DO NOW?!" Yes. Other suggestions are welcome as well. This story grows as I grow. Yeah, yeah. Enjoy!
Also. I don't own Pokemon.
Abe stepped on to his back porch with an arm full of Poliwag. He had tried all along the way to set it down, but each time he had stooped to place it on the ground, it had promptly begun to cry and all sorts of terrible sounds with its mouth. How such a little, adorable creature was capable of creating such a disturbance, he didn't know, but he was starting to think that he would never have full use of his arms ever again. Poliwag showed no signs of wanting to be put down and refused to let Abe put it down so things didn't look so good for Abe's future. It all only served to increase his annoyance at matters. Not only had he been duped into getting the one Pokemon he honestly didn't want, but now it wouldn't listen to him? Weren't the little creatures supposed to do whatever you told them to do? Maybe taking Poliwag back to the professor was not such a bad idea. After all, they would both be happier. Abe wouldn't be able to make Poliwag cry and Poliwag wouldn't remind Abe of the endless taunting he'd endured growing up. Yes, that seemed like a happy arrangement indeed.
He tilted his head downward and stared at the dozing little lump that was snuggled up against his now damp chest. His heart constricted almost painfully at the thought of separation now. What was this? A half-hour's walk and he was already starting to become attach? Ah, so that's how it worked, was it? They look up at you with big, dopey eyes and make cute, gurgling noises and then, bam, you were hooked. Goodbye freedom, hello trainer-hood. Well, Abe was not going to be fooled so easily, not a chance of that. Refusing to be taken in for another ride on the big-eyed, sympathy-card express, Abe cleared his throat and abruptly turned his attention to the door. A sly smile crept across his lips and he stepped over the creaking back step before drawing nearer to the doorway.
There were four square windows located near the top of it and golden light streamed from the kitchen to the outside. The glass was somewhat dusty from the outside looking in, Abe noted while crinkling his nose. It wasn't the dust that bothered him, just the fact that his mom was more than likely going to make him clean it the next day. Along with who knew what else! Chores, he had decided a long time ago, were not his favorite things in the world; in fact, they were his least favorite things ever and the only things that ever made him wish he had siblings. Then he'd have someone else around to help lessen the load.
Heresy. Dividing the work meant dividing the attention and if there was one thing Abe loved, it was his mom's attention. He'd just have to accept the fact that it came at the price of cleaning dirty windows and pulling weeds out of the garden. Just then, his mom moved by the door to get to the sink, her white sun dress billowing with each step she took. Theresa Aberdine was a pretty woman. Long red hair, bright blue eyes, and creamy, pale skin; a real, natural beauty is what Abe had heard her called, much to his pleasure. It always brought a smile to his face to hear people say nice things about his mom. As if they were somehow, indirectly, complimenting him as well.
Indirect compliments were the only ones Abe ever got and he was more than eager to take them too! But as it was, he was pressing his lightly freckled nose up against the dusty glass, peering through it into the kitchen, trying to locate his mom. She was at the sink like he'd thought, and he grinned as he crept along the outer wall of their tiny house over toward the large rectangular window that was situated in the wall right in front of the sink. Crouching down so she couldn't see him, he set Poliwag's sleeping form down on the wooden floor and then prepared to pounce.
"Hi mom!" Theresa's eyes immediately widened as she dropped the cup she had been rinsing to the floor in fright, hand going to her chest to stop her rapidly beating heart. Abe relished the scene before him like a thirsty man eying a well: soap flew everywhere from when she had jerked her hands out of the water, dishes wobbled dangerously near the edge of the counter, and his mom was paler than she normally was. All-in-all, it was a successful prank and the mischievous sixteen year old felt proud of his efforts. It wasn't often that he got a one-up on her and he soaked in the moment, oh yes.
"Abe!" Her voice cracked like thunder and her eyes flashed angrily. "You... You..." Her soapy finger wagged in admonishment and she set the other damp hand up on her hip, staring down a straight nose at him with wild blue eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a single braid, but it's copper-colored strands flew out and stuck out at odd angles, a testament to their curly nature. But for all of her fire-and-brimstone appearance, there was no real menace in her voice and Abe knew it. He was standing there with his arms folded and braced against the window sill, the window being raised to let in the cool evening air and let out the heat she'd stirred up while cooking. Not a care in the world. He didn't have the decency to look afraid. She dind't mind, though. Never did.
"So..." The grin was back in his voice–not that it had ever left–and his gaze actively roamed around the room, for the moment skipping over his mom as he tore the room apart with his eyes.
"So..." Theresa continued, sweeping away the shards of glass on the floor. "She's out front, but before you go–" She took the chance that he might still be standing there and looked up even though she knew he wouldn't be. Sighing and shaking her head, she wasn't surprised, she smiled to herself and resumed her sweeping. What a boy she'd raised. Didn't even bother to ask her how her day had gone or whether or tell her that he'd gotten his first Pokemon.
--
Briskly, Abe turned around the corner of the house and bounded into the front yard with both hands on his hips. His alert blue eyes immediately began prowling around for what he was after and when they didn't find it... well, he felt a little disappointed. He'd been so excited to hear that she was still here that his hopes had immediately leapt through the roof, but now reality brought them crashing down. What if his mom had been trying to tell him that she'd been in the front yard about to go and he had somehow missed her? Abe pouted as he stalked further into the yard, the dry grass crunching beneath his feet as he went. It hadn't taken him -that- long to get around front, had it?
No. It hadn't. Confusion and annoyance warred for dominance over his face as he continued walking until he reached the front steps and threw himself on to them, not even sparing the house a second glance. He was sprawled over them, his eyes attentive to the road and his features torn somewhere between a scowl and a simpering pout. The dust of the day was just beginning to settle and the stars were brighter than ever in the inky blackness of the night.
Rather soothing, actually, if he wasn't mildly terrified of it all. Add that to his disappointment at getting a Poliwag and he was ready to go to bed and pray that this all turned out to be some kind of terrible dream. What he needed was his grandmother. A shame she had for some inexplicable reason decided that now was a good time to learn how to vanish. A dissatisified snort left his nose and a dull pain formed at the base of his neck almost simultaneously. The result was him nearly choking on the very air he was expelling through his nose.
"What did I tell you about that, Abe? You've got no more manners than a Pilowine!" A dry, crackling voice sounded behind him and Abe nearly tumbled off the steps in his haste to turn around. He ended up flopping on his belly rather painfully and staring up at the porch that had suddenly been drenched in a yellow light. His grandmother stood there with silver hair pulled in a bun and light green eyes narrowed into menacing slits. Unlike his mother, his grandmother was -very- intimidating and never failed to get an immediate response.
"Sorry, grandma... I thought you'd left!" His excitement was evident and his grin contagious because soon they both sported identical smiles and he'd scrambled up to the porch to hug her. She smelled of sweet grass and flour; it smelled like home to Abe and brought to mind images of cookies and brownies and breads and rolls and pastries and...hey! That's right! Pulling away from her, he gave her a probing stare. "You tricked me!"
She batted his accusing finger away and shrugged.
"I bent the truth."
"You lied to me!"
"Don't say that word, it's rude." Snatching said finger, she gave it a good wrench and made him howl in pain.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Abe leapt from foot-to-foot, whimpering until she released the offending digit and dusted her hands on her apron.
"At any rate... hm... can you say you're dissatisfied with the result?"
He paused in blowing gently on his finger as if she'd burned him instead of bent his finger and licked his lips. "Actually... yes. I... Grandma, he have me a Poliwag!"
Abe was surprised to see her smile. What? Didn't she feel as outraged as he did? Was she on the professor's side in thinking that he was too inept to get something a bit less... well, boring? His eyebrows furrowed into a tight frown and he huffed, sticking out his chest in righteous indignation that he knew he had a right to feel. "I can't believe this, grandma! You agree with him!"
"Now, Abe... Poliwag are fine Pokemon..."
"Cute too," his mother announced as she arrived on the porch, cuddling the Poliwag Abe had forgotten out back. At least he'd tried to forget but out of sight was definitely not out of mind. He scowled at it as it snuggled deeper into the protection of his mother's arms, hiding from the scathing glare its trainer was giving it.
"Aberely Icarus Aberdine! Stop that!" His grandma's hand stung him in the back of his head and he turned to her, but gave a substantially smaller version of the glare he'd given Poliwag.
"Cute! Cute! Cute! Yes. That's exactly what I want! A -cute- Pokemon!" His words were venomous and flung sarcastically at Poliwag as he stormed into the house, away from them all. Boys didn't train cute Pokemon! They just didn't! Tears clung to his eyes as he slammed his bedroom door closed and immediately begun peeling off his damp T-shirt.
It was an ordinary shirt. A pastel green, it was hardly worth noticing. But the wet spot on the front drew his attention and held it .Images of Poliwag sleeping curled into his chest emerged from the darkness of his mind, stroking his foul mood cautiously, but insistently. He could learn to love it, reason whispered. He could teach it and keep it safe and make it healthy and strong, his heart added. Even if it was cute, it was still a living being and deserved to be treated with respect. Abe sat on his bed and heaved a heavy high, rolling the damp shirt between his tired, aching fingers. A faint smile brushed against his lips.
Easy, it certainly would not be to raise something so mildly tempered... but... maybe... A knocking at the door brought him out of his reverie and he squirmed back into his shirt and strode across the room to open it.
"Hello–"
"Do not ever speak to this darling creature in that manner again."
Abe was surprised to note that it was his mother being so firm with him and not his grandmother. The normally kind lines of her face were hardened and she pressed Poliwag into his arms before setting her lips, the one's Abe had inherited from her, into an impossibly thin line.
"I will not allow..." Emotion made her voice thick and husky to the point were she had a hard time getting her words out. "Abe..." She had been crying, he could tell, and each tear he saw rise to the surface before being pushed back down put yet another brick in his stomach. He knew what was coming next and his head dropped in shame. She was going to tell him not to be like his father. To treat others with respect and kindness and to always be gentle with the hearts of others... That had to be it because when she spoke of his dad was the only time she ever became this emotionally out of sorts.
"Mom..."
"No, Abe. Let me finish." Theresa drew on all of her strength and sighed again. "You... you are a very special boy and maybe I've been to easy on you... but... Oh, Abe. I just don't want you to be like him. Ever. Please..."
"Mom..." Abe sniffed back his own tears and let her arms envelop him and Poliwag. She was only trying to do what was best for him and he was behaving like a spoiled brat. Over what? The fact that he'd been given an opportunity, but not the one he wanted? It made him feel dirty just thinking about it.
"Now... wash up for dinner." She smiled weakly, wiping away the moisture at the corner of his eyes, before moving back into the kitchen.
Abe walked back over to his bed and fell back on it, Poliwag hopping out of his arms and rolling alongside him.
"I guess life isn't so easy, is it, Poliwag?"
'Poooli.'
Abe smiled. "Thought not."
