Gary gave her a half hearted smile. "So, you don't hate me?"
Pearl shook her head quickly. She could never hate him; even if she said the words (and she said them rather often), she doubted she would ever mean them. But still—Gary wasn't going with her to the Pokemon League?
"Why?" she repeated, her voice slightly wobbly. She cleared her throat and hoped he wouldn't notice. She didn't want to be a baby about it. She could go on an adventure by herself; she was a big girl, after all.
He ground the toe of his old black sneaker into the cement sidewalk.
"I have to help my dad out this summer. He wants me to follow in his footsteps as a Pokemon professor and all, so I'm gonna be helping him do research and stuff."
"Can't you change his mind?"
Gary raised his eyebrows. "You've met my dad, right?"
They both laughed at this. Gary Senior was one of the most stubborn people Pearl had ever met. Once he had made up his mind about something, even the apocalypse wouldn't change it. Gary Junior's mother, Eva, had wanted to call him David but her husband had adamantly insisted on his son taking his own name.
Goosebumps popped up on Pearl's arms when she thought about travelling without Gary, but she tried to ignore her fear. "You don't even want to be a Pokemon professor, though," she said, an edge of hysteria in her voice.
"How do you know that?" Gary crossed his arms and grinned. "Did you read my diary?"
"Of course not!" Pearl exclaimed as heat flooded her face. As an afterthought she added, "You have a diary?"
Gary leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Yeah, but don't tell anyone." He pulled away and winked at her.
Pearl's head spun. Every time he was near her face...
"A-anyway, I know that you want to be the champion of the league. You've been talking about that ever since we were little. So you have to come with me. Your dad would be evil not to let you go," she said.
Gary sighed. "Pearl..."
"C'mon, let me try." Pearl pumped her fist in the air with sudden determination. "I'll convince him using my wit and charm!"
"What charm?" Gary said innocently.
Pearl growled and Gary took off. Pearl ran after him, her long blonde hair flying behind her in the rush of motion. People and pokemon watched them go by; some faces showed nostalgia for the good old days of youth and young people in love, others wondered what was up with kids these days, while still others were full of envy since their glory days were gone. The pokemon merely watched with curious interest, contemplating whether they should start having fun and running as well.
Pearl finally caught up to Gary, who was leaning nonchalantly on the front wall of the Pokemon Research Center where his father worked (he worked in Sunyshore City, but lived in Veilstone; flying pokemon were very useful!). "What took you so long?"
"Shut up," Pearl panted as she staggered up to him. Her lungs felt as if they were burning and her muscles ached, but she felt great; almost as great as when she had beaten Volkner earlier that day, but not quite. Nothing could compare to the thrill of winning a battle!
"You really need to exercise more." Gary dodged her sluggish punch. "I'm kidding!" His eyes softened as they looked at her. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Yeah." Pearl held her head high and walked into the Pokemon Research Center without another word. Gary followed her, eyes darting around apprehensively as if he were about to be attacked.
They walked into an elegant waiting room, decorated sparsely with flowers and some minimalist paintings of legendary Pokemon.
Gary tugged at her arm. "Look at that one!" He pointed to a black and white sketch of Mew that hung opposite the receptionist's desk.
"If you're trying to distract me, it's not going to work," Pearl said, shaking his hand off her arm. She flashed him a grim smile as she marched up to the receptionist.
The petite raven haired lady looked up and beamed at her. "Can I help you?"
"Could I see Professor Oak, please?"
The receptionist, whose name tag read Molly, turned up the wattage of her smile. "Oh, so you're a new pokemon trainer?"
"Uh—"
Molly typed a few words into her computer. "What's your name?"
Pearl was taken aback. "Um, Pearl Recue, but I—"
"Pick a colour: red, blue, or green."
"Uh...Blue?" Pearl shot a desperate glance at Gary, but he was reading a trainer's magazine. His shoulders were shaking with laughter from above his reading material.
"Great, you're all set." Molly handed her a pamphlet. "You'll be getting Piplup." Molly suddenly noticed Gary and waved at him. "Hey there, Gary! Here to see your dad?"
"Yes," Gary said in a strange voice, the magazine still covering his face. He put it down and practically skipped over to where Pearl was fuming silently. They followed Molly into the elevator and it stopped on the 10th floor.
"Professor Oak's office is right down this hall," Molly explained to Pearl. Pearl nodded along politely as Molly rambled on. She already knew all this; she had met Gary's father countless times already. Speaking of Gary, she was going to kill him once they were alone.
The beige elevator doors finally closed on Molly and Pearl whipped her head around to look at Gary.
Gary raised his hands. "Whoa, you look scary."
Pearl gave him a syrupy smile. "Let's go see your dad now, okay?"
"You're not mad at me?" Gary asked, green eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Pearl giggled airily. "Why would I be? You didn't do anything, after all. It's not like you didn't help me, or something." The corner of her right eye twitched. Gary took a step back, and Pearl took one forward, until they were face to face.
Gary was about to beg for her to spare his life when Professor Oak popped his head out from one of the many doors in the gray carpet lined hallway.
"What's all the commotion?" he barked, frowning at them. His unhappy expression didn't change when he saw who it was. "Gary, what are you doing here?"
"Uh..." Gary smiled at him sheepishly and his father sighed.
"I don't think I'm going to like this. But come into my office, you two." Professor Oak said wearily and retreated back into the room he had appeared from.
They did as instructed and Pearl gulped nervously. She suddenly really wanted to be out of that room, but she couldn't back down now. They sat on the leather chairs near Professor Oak's desk. Professor Oak was standing with his back facing them, looking thoughtfully out the window.
"Did you know that something strange is going on?" they both jumped when he suddenly spoke up. He turned to look at them, with the same emerald eyes that his son had. "My assistants have been getting abnormal readings lately. It seems like the power of the pokemon in the Kanto region has increased recently."
"Why, dad?" Gary leaned forward with an intent look on his face. "Did Ho-oh return again? Or maybe Lugia?"
"Yeah, why?" Pearl echoed. She cursed herself for sounding so stupid. But she couldn't help it; whenever she was in a room with the two Garys, she felt as if she was inferior to them. They were both so smart while she was just...average.
Professor Oak slammed his hands down on his desk. "We don't know and it's driving me crazy." His eyes came to rest on the papers that Pearl was clutching in her hands. "Are those the new trainer forms? I already gave you a pokemon years ago. Are you trying to scam your way into getting another one?"
"No. Your receptionist made the wrong assumption," Pearl said, thrusting the papers at him. Professor Oak accepted them and tossed them onto his desk.
"Well, what are you here for then?" He was clearly unimpressed by her explanation. Pearl tried to stay calm. Professor Oak wasn't mean; he was just a little blunt. And with all the weird things that were happening...
Gary surreptitiously slid his hand into hers and Pearl jumped back into the present.
"I'm here to tell you that Gary has to come to the Pokemon League," she said firmly, although her heart was racing with anxiety and something else. Something pleasant, but she refused to think like that. Their hands were still intertwined.
Professor Oak crossed his arms and glared at his son.
"Really? That's interesting. He certainly didn't seem to mind when I told him this would be his summer of training with me."
"He's too nice to go against what you want. Gary wants to go to the Pokemon League. It's always been his dream and—"
Professor Oak snorted. "You know what I think? I think that you have some silly crush on my son. You just spent months travelling with him. Now you want to travel with him again? How much attention do you need from him? He never spends time with his other friends..."
Pearl was shocked into silence and she sat there helplessly.
"Dad, "Gary spoke up softly, and his father paused to look at him. "Please don't say that about Pearl. She's my best friend and she's right. I do want to go to the Pokemon League."
Pearl looked at him out of the corner of her eye and he squeezed her hand encouragingly. Her heart thumped against her chest. Gary didn't seem to believe it, but she knew that what Professor Oak said had some truth to it.
Her hand slipped from his and she stood up. "I apologize, Mr. Oak. I had no right to try to change your mind. You are his father, after all."
Professor Oak appeared slightly embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Pearl, I—"
She forced her lips to curve into something that resembled a smile. "It's fine. Look, I really should head home." She laughed shortly. "I need to pack and all."
Gary stood up as well. She could feel him looking at her but she refused to meet his gaze.
"I'll walk with you. And then I'll pack later tonight." Gary shot a firm look at his father, who stood there, lines creasing his forehead.
"No, it's okay. Your dad is right. You need to learn the skills of being a Pokemon Professor," she said lightly. "He told us about all that weird stuff that's happening in Kanto. I'm sure that'd be interesting research. Besides, there's always next year, right?"
Gary Senior and Junior both stared at her. She flashed a false smile at both of them, feeling herself crumbling into a million pieces. She tried to control her ragged breathing, hating herself for being so weak, for needing someone to take care of her. Gary should live his own life, not follow her around to save her from getting hurt.
"I'll see you guys when I return from my adventure, okay?"
She left them staring at her retreating back.
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: This chapter was much longer than the other one. O.o
I hoped you liked it enough to continue reading this story and maybe even review, eh? ;
Not that I need reviews to live...I'll continue writing this without them 'cause I love this story 3
