"...the first time Steven complained about me?" Steven immediately acquired a wide eyed expression. "Which time is this?" Frita gave him a half-hearted glare. "The time you tried to stop me from hugging you." Then she smiled, chuckling. "Or rather, the time you actually thought you COULD stop me from hugging you." Jethro laughed and Felicia gave a small smile, a little unsure of how to respond. "Hugging?" she asked. Jet explained all about Frita's bone crunching death hugs and Felicia's eyes widened. "Oh." Steven shook his head.
"Yup. I was a bit of an idiot." Jethro interlocked his fingers, put his elbows on the table, and put his hands in front of his mouth, his nose resting on his knuckles. "Do tell us a story, Mr. Stone, we're dying to hear," he said in a low accent with an eyebrow raised. Before Steven could begin, Frita warned Jethro about putting his elbows on the table and how Siebold would yell at him if he got caught.
Steven cleared his throat, apparently able to tell they were about to get into an argument, and changed back to the original topic. "Anyway…"
Frita had known Steven for a while then, and the incident in question happened right after she had finally gotten her confidence boost and been able to break out of her shell. She had been called back to Hoenn by Wallace, something about clothing and being a model or something like that, when she ran into Steven in Rustborough. She had seen him leaving Devon with his father and had given a loud squeal. "Stevie!"
Steven, unused to the sudden nickname, had turned in surprise upon recognizing the voice it came from. Frita had run at him full speed, and he had tried his best to run away. He couldn't exactly shake her though, she was pretty fast. He had spotted Wallace coming down the sidewalk and had run straight at him. Wallace tilted his head in confusion but before he could do anything, Steven grabbed him by the shoulders as he passed the Sootopolis Gym Leader, pulled Wallace in front of him, and whirled so that they stood back to back.
Frita had come to a screeching halt in front of Wallace mere seconds after the switch had happened, and she was not pleased. Wallace's eyes widened before a hint of irritation crossed his face and he turned around, grabbing Steven by the waist and hefting him forward. "Here, take him."
"Wallace no!" He yelled as Frita latched onto him, giving him his first taste of her bone-crunching hugs. "The...betrayal!" He wheezed as she hugged all the air out of his lungs. "Use ME as a human shield will you?! HMPH!" Wallace huffed and continued down the street toward Mr. Stone, who chuckled as his son flailed wildly in an attempt to break out of Frita's grip. He flailed a little more until she hugged him tighter and then he pulled a mock dead face.
"Honestly, I thought I was gonna die." Steven took a sip of his drink and looked at Jethro and Felicia as they laughed. Frita let out a snort, grabbing Steven around the shoulders. "Well, that wouldn't happen so often if you'd just COME HERE AND LET ME LOVE YOU." She squeezed him tight and he flailed. "Stop it! That's embarrassing! People are staring at us!" Frita let him flail for a few more seconds before giggling and letting him go. He let out an indignant snort and fixed his now messy hair. Frita straightened his crimson ascot a second later.
"You love me and you know it." Steven rolled his eyes. "I almost regret it," he muttered. Frita's eyes widened and she slugged him in the shoulder. "Ow! Arceus almighty I said ALMOST!" They had a glaring match for a few seconds before Steven let out a sigh. "You're so difficult." Frita glared at him, "And you're such a snob!" Steven glared back at her, "I am NOT a snob!" Frita shook her head. "Oh yes you are, you spoiled rich kid!" They continued arguing until they both received a firm clap on the shoulder by Siebold, who was giving them a VERY intimidating death glare. "You're good friends, but I will NOT hesitate to throw you out of this restaurant if you can't behave yourselves." The last two words had a slightly malice laced emphasis. "Yes, sir." Frita blurted, more out of habit than actually recognizing Siebold's authority. "I apologize for our outburst," Steven added. Siebold nodded. "Good. It would be a waste for you to be kicked out before tasting the food." And with that, he turned and walked away. Jethro and Felicia had stopped laughing abruptly, and Jethro looked amongst them. "Never anger one with the personality of the sea," he muttered. "They can be just as threatening as the raging waters themselves."
