I woke up before the other two, to my surprise. I may not have been late anywhere, but I sure as hell didn't wake up earlier than nine. And my watch read 7:14am. I groaned, gently sliding away from Umbreon so I wouldn't wake him. He looked so peaceful, a slight smirk on his face. No doubt dreaming of a victory over Ash that we had gotten years ago. I chuckled to myself and got up to go take a piss. And boy, did I have to go! I sighed as I relieved myself and yes, the toilet seat was up! Knowing there was some time before my friends woke up, I decided to shower. I hadn't for a day or so and I was already beginning to stink. Undressing hastily, I hopped in the shower and stood under the water for a while, even though I went in to bathe. I just couldn't stop thinking about yesterday.
"Why HAD I said that?" I asked myself aloud, facepalming. Man was I being an idiot! Weeks ago, I was fawning all over the hot girls in Kalos while I went there to study from Professor Sycamore. I hadn't seen Kamryn in years and the minute I see her, I'm falling all over myself and flirting like no other, with my best friend! But this was different… With other girls, I wasn't looking for commitment, just a one-time hookup or something. I guess you could say one-night stands. I liked the girls for their bodies, really. But with Kam, I kept having these feelings of longing when she wasn't next to me. I wanted to see her smile so I made jokes, hoping she would play along with me. I wanted to hug her and not let go…
I turned the water down to cool and sighed, letting the water run down my body. I hadn't felt like that my entire life of being around girls. I mean, of course the hot ones aroused me, but that was just thinking with my dick. I couldn't think like that with Kamryn; I just couldn't. I mean, for one, you don't just think of a person you've known since you were little like that; it's weird!
"What's wrong with you, Oak?" I said, shaking my head. I just couldn't comprehend it. Daisy was always saying that this would happen to me. She didn't like how I was around other girls, and she would say that when I found "the one", she would either regret me or I'd never get the chance to tell her how I felt. And maybe she was right.
Was it love? I may not have been in a committed relationship before, but I knew what love was. It had to have been. If it wasn't, wouldn't I have just thought of her like I did Ash? As my best friend? I pushed the thoughts from my head long enough to clean myself and get out. I wrapped a towel around my waist and looked at my reflection. I came up with a plan. I knew how I felt, and I had to tell her. All of these confusing feelings needed to be addressed. I thought that maybe saying it out loud to her face would sound crazy and I would be able to dismiss it and just say it was because I missed my best friend… Only, how would I do it?
A Pokémon battle. I was wanting to battle her anyways!If I won, I would tell her my feelings, why I've been so strange lately. If no, well, I'd worry about that if it happened, but losing wouldn't make me change my mind. I'd find some other way to do it! I smirked at myself. I came up with the best plans! Of course, I, Gary Oak, would win! It was a win-win for me; clock in another battle win and confess my feelings about the girl I cared the most about. Woah, THAT a weird thing to say. I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed an outfit from my bag: black denim jacket, beige cargo pants and black tennis shoes. It worked; needed to look like a badass if I was going to act like a wuss. I got dressed and woke Umbreon. The Pokémon seemed to understand my plan as I told him, his eyes lighting up. Smirking, I gave him a pat on the head and wrote out a little note to Kamryn.
With quiet toes, I snuck out of the hotel room and made my way through Celadon to the rendezvous point. I was determined to win, and I was going to. I HAD to. It excited me to finally be going after a girl rather than all of the girls chasing after me – who could blame them? But I was the most excited because I had finally found a girl worth chasing, rather than just some random hot chick. She'd been there the whole time and she was going to be mine. Though I would have to play at it a bit different than I would with the other girls. She wasn't going to fall for my cheap player tricks. She knew me better than those girls. This was going to be my hardest challenge yet.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam! Get uppppppppppppp!" I groaned. Why couldn't people just let me sleep in lately? I droopily opened my eyes to a wide awake Ash Ketchum leaning over me. I smiled and pushed him away. I loved the kid, but he wasn't the first thing I wanted to see in the morning.
"What is it, you turd? I was having a really kickass dream…" I yawned and he waved a piece of paper in my face. I snatched it and read it:
"Kam: when you wake up, meet me by the department store. I have a little somethin'-somethin' to ask you. Oh, and bring your Pokémon, loser. Don't keep me waiting. – Gary"
Oh that little ass! He knew my curiosity would get the better of me and I would have to go see what he wanted. I ran a hand through my hair and yawned once more, trying not to look as excited as I was for the random surprise.
"C'mon, we gotta go!" Ash urged, and pushed me out of bed. I landed on the ground with an "oof".
"Damnit, Ash! I'll go when I'm ready!" I laughed and pushed him off the other side of the bed, dashing to the bathroom before he could react. I showered fast and put on my newest outfit: a black vest, a white tank, torn up jean shorts, black and pink combat boots and a white and pink cap to top it off. I had to look cute if I was going out into one of the busiest cities in Kanto! I walked out of the bathroom to see a dressed Ash, pacing at the door. He hadn't a reason to be so excited but he was. He was such a silly kid. I grabbed my bag and he noticed my presence, jumping up and down.
"Let's go, let's go!" He exclaimed, throwing the hotel door open and running down the hallway with Pikachu. I giggled and wondered how Misty put up with the kid. He was always so hyperactive and naïve at the same time, but it was a good combination. I caught up with him in the hotel lobby and we made our way to the Celadon Department Store.
The city seemed to have grown considerably since I had last came on my first adventure through Kanto. Where Erika's gym used to be was taken over by a park for Pokémon and kids alike. I wasn't a big fan of the smaller people, but I had to admit, they were cute running around with baby Pokémon. I pointed to them so Ash would look and he smiled, petting Pikachu's cheek. He and Pikachu had been through a lot, and I'm sure it reminded him of when they first started their adventure. We continued past the park and I had to reluctantly push myself past the Game Corner. It was a reason why I had been in Celadon City longer than I should have on my first journey; I liked slot machines… I made a mental note to come back and play there once we found out what Gary wanted.
"I wonder what he wants, Kam," Ash thought aloud and I shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Ashy-Boy," he playfully punched my arm at the sound of his little nickname. I let out a pitiful "ow", not believable at all, and he knew it. I smirked and ran ahead of him, now really impatient to see what the spikey haired boy wanted. As we got closer to the Department Store, I began to notice a figure like Gary leaning on the building, and sure enough, when I got into eye's range, it was, with his faithful Umbreon at his side. He looked so… well mature, for some reason. His outfit brought out his, for lack of a better word, toughness. I couldn't lie; it did make my best friend look striking, and he had to of known it by the way he was smirking, though it was his signature sneer. He knew how to dress to impress, but why so snazzy? I was well intrigued by his slight change in look and I shot him a curious glance when we made it to him.
"What is it, Kami? Am I just too attractive for you?" Gary Oak snickered, posing in a way that would have put a runway model to shame. I looked at him then Ash and couldn't help it; I broke out laughing, Ash following suite. Gary coughed shyly from our responses. "I'm just kidding, but Kam," His voice stopped our laughter and he looked serious, pausing for a second before he proceeded, "Pull out three Pokémon; we're going to battle." What? Battle? I ignored his demand and folded my arms, a cocky smirk on my face. I knew Gary was an expert batter, but so was I and I thought he'd be more used to having people ask him, instead of vice versa.
"What, you think you can beat me, Gary Oak?" I scoffed, tapping a foot impatiently. He shook his head, his eyes piercing me.
"Seriously, let's go," He nodded to Umbreon to lead and the Pokémon obeyed. I sighed as I took my hat off and tied my hair up out of my face, putting the hat back on. That's when you knew shit was getting real, when my hair went up and Ash gasped. He knew, because it was similar to his action of turning his hat backwards. I turned to the raven-haired boy.
"You'd better be rooting for me, Ashy!" I shook a finger at him and smiled. He nodded eagerly, getting a glare from Gary.
"I'll be Kam's cheerleader and Pikachu will be Gary's!" He said, hoping that Gary wouldn't be mad at him that way. Since they were guys, Gary thought he always had to have each other's backs. And Ash would feel bad if he went against that. It didn't bother me; I had this in the bag. I was champion in two regions; Gary couldn't beat me.
"Well, don't cry when you lose, Oak," I shrugged and dug out three pokéballs. I threw out the first one I grabbed. One of the Pokémon I had gotten in Kalos. "Go, Kiara!" I shouted and out popped my female Pyroar, her mane waving in the wind. Gary's mouth dropped when he laid eyes on her. I don't like to toot my own horn, but she was a sight to see. Ash gasped and pulled out his pokédex to get some information about her. I chuckled. Looked like I was ahead of the two boys. Finally.
"I guess you DID spend some time in Kalos, huh?" Gary said, and quickly spewed a command to Umbreon, "Umbreon, psychic!" Without having to yell dodge, Kiara avoided the attack.
"Hyper voice!" I ordered and she retaliated, though Umbreon barely got out of the way. Just as I was about to shout another command, Gary beat me to it, making Umbreon use skull bash. Kiara lost her footing and tripped, getting pummeled into the ground. I gasped as I ran to her. I didn't think a single attack could take one of my prized Pokémon out! Umbreon was a toughy, alright. On the sidelines, Pikachu sang cheers as Ash booed.
"What was that about me losing?" Gary jeered and I glared daggers into him. Putting my focus back on Kiara, I petted her and returned her to her ball, wasting no time in releasing my next choice of battle participant. Out popped my Meganium, Willow. She was the starter Pokémon I got from Professor Elm in Johto. Gary and Umbreon looked unfazed as he proceeded with a shadow ball attack. Despite her effort to dodge, Willow was hit due to her slow speed, though the hit did little noticeable damage. She may have been slow, but the Pokémon could take quite a number of blows until she started showing fatigue.
"She's a powerhouse, Oak. You should have been nicer to Kiara! Because you're about to be thumped! Willow, frenzy plant!" My Pokémon responded with her name and preformed the attack. The ground began to tear as roots emerged from the ground and ensnared Umbreon. The Pokémon broke free after cries of worry from his trainer were barked but he didn't seem like he could hold out much longer. It was Willow's strongest attack, after all. He jumped back to Gary, crying quietly when he got back into a fighting stance. I actually kind of felt bad for the poor Umbreon. I never resulted to using that move unless we needed to, but then again, it proved he was a ripe opponent for us to have to use that move. It thrilled me. And when I got excited, I got cocky. "C'mon Gar-Bear, you'll have to be better than that before you can even think of beating me!" I loved taunting him!
"Umbreon, use hidden power!" Gary barked. He looked completely mesmerized in the fight; I knew the kid hated to lose, especially to one of his best friends. Because of frenzy plant's power, Willow was forced to rest for a bit, and was hit by a semi powerful hidden power. It knocked her back and after my order, retaliated back with a strength attack. Umbreon was thrown back, just barely missing Gary. And he was definitely out of energy.
"Attagirl, Willow," I praised, petting her as Gary comforted his fallen Pokémon and he chose his second one. He tossed a pokéball and from it came a Dodrio, who just happened to have a type advantage against my Willow. And I'm sure he knew that. Especially with the next attack he uttered.
"Dodrio, peck attack!"
"Willow, magical leaf!" My Pokémon tried her best to counter but the bird heads just pecked through her leaves and straight to her. She withstood the attack, but even she knew that Gary had the advantage here. I growled under my breath as I thought of a way to get past the three-headed bird. The two cheerleaders continued their cries, both as transfixed on the fight as me and Gary were. I decided to stick it out; my Pokémon were always as determined as I was and hated having to be returned. "Try a giga drain attack!" I said, knowing it wouldn't do much good. His Dodrio dodged and pecked at her once again, taking her energy away. I could see Gary's face light up, though not in cockiness. I couldn't really explain; he just seemed really enthusiastic for the fight to end, though I knew he would prefer it to with his victory.
"Willow, you did great," I murmured to my fallen Pokémon and withdrew her. Two to one. I was beginning to feel discouraged – as was my cheerleader – but I smiled deviously when I remembered my third choice for the battle. Gary and Dodrio gave me a confused look as I tossed my final pokéball out on the field.
"Zephora, it's your turn! Let's stomp them!" My new fairy Pokémon popped out of her ball with such grace that… well she just was graceful, damnit. Suddenly, I heard Pikachu cry a cheerful cry and I looked over to see the Pokémon had been completely infatuated with mine. I giggled and shot Gary a spiteful smile. "Let's just see how you deal against her. If you think you can win, then you're crazy! Dazzling gleam!" Zephora nodded and jumped at Gary's Dodrio, shooting her same-type attack with ease. It hit Dodrio head on, stunning it. I figured that Gary hadn't spent much time in Kalos if his Pokémon were confused with the new Fairy types.
"Dodrio, snap out of it, and use tri attack!" The three-headed creature responded with an attack of fire, ice and lightning, but Zephora dodged the first two. The latter elemental attack got her and she stumbled back.
"Shake it off, sweetheart!" I yelled and she nodded.
"Go Kam! Go Zephora!" Ash cheered.
"Pi-Pikachu!" It seemed that Pikachu had switched sides because of Zephora, much to Gary's dismay. He seemed dejected from that, but nevertheless kept on attacking with Dodrio. He called out a peck attack that was dodged by Zephora and I ordered her to do her return attack. And because we had such a close bond, he knocked Dodrio right over. A flash of disbelief flooded over Gary's face for a second as he rushed to the side of his Pokémon. He was down for the count. One more to go!
"Way to go, cutie!" I exclaimed, hugging my cute pink eeveelution. Gary sighed and returned Dodrio. He was beginning to look worried, but shrugged it off as he released his final Pokémon: Blastoise. It may have been his very first Pokémon, but that wasn't going to stop me from beating him. It didn't scare me, in fact, I thought it was quite cute. "Having to resort to your very first Pokémon, huh? Doesn't mean we'll go any easier!" I taunted and he rolled his eyes.
"Blastoise, get it with a hydro pump!" He yelled, pointing for emphasis. His Pokémon prepared the attack and Zephora looked horrified. I wouldn't want to get hit by that thing's most powerful attack either! As she was about to jump out of the way, the hydro pump hit her and flung her back, soaking me in the process as well. I groaned and shook the water from my body. Gary couldn't help but laugh and I swung a fist at him.
"You won't be laughing after this, Gary! Zephora, use return!" She obeyed and much to Blastoise's alarm, knocked the startled creature over onto its shell. The poor Pokémon struggled to get off of its back but was having little success. I felt bad attacking a defenseless Pokémon so I ran over and helped his poor Pokémon up. Gary looked really surprised that I helped Blastoise, but he shook it off and ordered another attack.
"Blastoise, rapid spin!" Blastoise barely missed my pink Pokémon and she countered with a fairy wind, only making the big turtle twitch. Willow may have been a powerhouse, but so was Blastoise. I could tell she would just have to continue with return if she were going to win this for me. So that's I what instructed her to do. It was a bunch of hits and misses, on both sides, though Blastoise was using his entire moveset against Zephora. As I said the next attack for Zephora, I began to notice that a whole crowd of people had formed around us, making a sort-of people arena. We had just about equal support, though many women were on Gary's side. Typical, though.
After numerous returns, I could see that Blastoise was beginning to get tired. We were whittling his energy down. I heard cheers from my supporters after shouting yet again another return to Zephora. And Gary's supporters, well they were a little less enthusiastic. Through the voices, I could hear many of them saying "whoop her ass" or "teach that bitch who Gary Oak is", just fangirly things like that, as if I didn't know my best friend was Gary motherfucking Oak. Bitch please.
"Alright, Zephora," I started as she got up from being hit by a water gun attack. I knew she wouldn't last getting hit by another one of his attacks. "Use moonblast!" It just happened to be her strongest fairy type move and I didn't want to make the Pokémon battle any more than they had to. Gary ordered one last hydro pump and the two attacks hit at the same time, battling over which was stronger. Though after a few seconds, Zephora's moonblast powered through the hydro pump and hit Blastoise. Even with the power dwindled by the attacks' interaction, Gary's massive Pokémon stumbled back and with a weak cry, toppled to the ground. My fans shouted with happiness over my victory and Gary's were less than enthusiastic. And Gary himself look distraught. As if he just lost a best friend, but deep in thought. I didn't kill his Blastoise, only made the poor thing faint, so what was that look for? He brushed off any attempt from fangirls to make him feel better, though he smiled at them – making many of them swoon, yuck – as if to keep up his feeling façade, but being his best friend, I saw through it. What was he thinking about so intently?
"Way to go Zephora!" I praised, patting her on the head and she replied with a quiet purr. Ash ran to Gary's side, trying to get Gary to smile, finally getting him to when he started making his silly faces. I returned Zephora to her ball and swung my arm out at the crowd to get them to disperse. It's not like they even really needed to be there anyways. Surprisingly, they obeyed my hand motions, aside from a few, who had either stayed behind to gossip about it or didn't think I had the right to tell them to go. As I was making my way to Gary to tell him good job, one of his female fans stopped me.
"I don't know who you think you are, but Gary will get his revenge on you. He doesn't lose often and you bet he'll be wanting a rematch!" the girl flipped her hair behind her shoulder and placed a hand on her hip. Must have been one of the girls he had a small fling with; or she was a really committed fangirl. Either way, I didn't care. I only rolled my eyes and struck my sassy pose.
"Look hun," I scoffed, "I've known the kid since we were little, and have been able to stay his friend without having to try and get in his bed. So step aside." Her jaw dropped from my words and I flashed a slight smile as I walked past her. Best insult I had ever thrown at someone! I made my way to Gary and gave him a hug without even saying a word. He returned it immediately, without hesitation. I could hear his heart beating, as it slowly began to beat faster. He was so warm, and I could hear him sigh softly, contently. After a few mind-numbing seconds, he pulled back, though it seemed hesitant.
"That was a good battle, Kami," he smirked slightly, taking my hat off to rustle my hair like an older brother would. I pushed his hand away, groaning from my mess up hair, and fixed it, placing my cap back on and smiling up at him. Ash nodded swiftly.
"It really was, guys! You had me gasping and cheering and booing and-"
"Ash, I know, you were right behind me, remember?" I spat happily, nudging the boy gently. He laughed and high-fived Gary.
"So what are we gonna do for the rest of the day, guys?" Ash asked, turning his head to the department store. He must have wanted to see how much the store had changed over the years. That sounded good to me.
"I think I wanna go shopping. What about you, Gar-Bear?" I turned my gaze to the brown-haired boy, elbowing him out of the trance he seemed to be in. He blinked a couple times and nodded. This wasn't like him. He must have had something on his mind. I didn't want to press the matter in public in case it was something "private" and I grabbed the boys by their arms, linking them with mine. "Well then let's go!"
"Oh wow, I think I liked it back when we were ten," I groaned, looking at a map of the remodeled store. It was considerably larger, with several new departments. It was confusing as hell and I tossed the map to Ash. "Here, you make sense of this. I'm going with Skittles to that little lava cookie kiosk. I want some!"
"But if you can't understand it, how am I going to?" Ash moaned, tilting the map upside-down. I rolled my eyes and took the map back. We were all hopeless; a group of teenagers who couldn't understand a map. But in our defense, the piece of shit had way too much stuff on it, so it was hard to read… But the smell of cookies took my focus off of the map and I sniffed my gaze to a cookie booth.
"Well, let's just go get some cookies and look around," I said, holding a happy little Skittles in my arms. While walking over to the cookie booth, I looked at Gary. He seemed distant now, which wasn't like him. I would have thought he would be ogling the cute girls that walked past him and giggled. I shook my head and pulled out some money, Skittles and I were going to eat a shitton of cookies!
"Hi there!" the vendor welcomed us and waved a hand for us to come closer. "We sell the specialty cookies from Hoenn: Lava Cookies!" I inhaled the scent of freshly baked cookies and reached out to take a couple, but as I was, another hand took the ones I was going to get. I looked at my supposed cookie thief to see a quite handsome guy beaming at me. He had deep brown eyes with matching brunette hair. On his head was a black and grey checkered fedora and he wore a red and black unzipped jacket with a plain white tee and black jeans. He was just gorgeous, and I wasn't one to get all mushy-gushy over a fucking guy.
"Three cookies for this lovely lady, please," he told the vender and handed him his own money. I looked at him in awe; I had my own money! I didn't need some guy to pay for me. Though I did appreciate the compliment. The guy handed me the cookies he had paid for and smiled at me again. I couldn't help but flush slightly from the attention I was getting. This didn't happen every day! "I saw your battle outside. You were pretty awesome out there! You had to have been to beat Gary Oak!" Had no one really heard of me outside of Pallet? Jeez. Before I could thank the guy for the cookies and compliments, Gary stepped between us.
"Yeah well it's an honor you know of me dude, but you can go now." He spat sarcastically. He seemed tense, keeping his eyes on the stranger. But the guy laughed, not at all intimidated by my tall friend.
"I think he's taking the loss bad," he chuckled, sliding past Gary to be in front of me again. "I'm Riley. And you're Kamryn, right?" I nodded, not knowing what to say. I mean, what could I say? Some random attractive guy just bought me cookies and gave me compliments; at least I wasn't tripping over myself – give me a break! I looked at Gary. He was really beginning to appear frustrated with this guy. He didn't do anything but buy me cookies and introduce himself. Why was he being like that? I noticed Gary's fists clench and I swore Riley did too. "Well, I'd better go." He bought cookies for himself and turned to leave, "Hopefully I'll see you around again, cutie!" He flashed me a wink and a wave as he jogged off to the escalators to the floor above. I muttered out a soft "thank you" and blinked a couple times, making sure I was following what just happened correctly and I wasn't off in some cookie-caused daydream.
"Well he was really friendly, huh Kami?" Ash mused, quieting down when Gary flashed him daggers. "What's up your butt, Gary?"
"Yeah, Gary," I added, putting a head on my hip, "Why were you being such a dick? He wasn't doing anything bad, though it was fuckin' weird to have a guy buy me cookies…" My voice trailed off as I continued to think of the situation that just happened. I kept my eye on Gary, and his face just seemed to light up red in anger. He clinched his fists and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, just shaking his head and putting his hands in his pockets.
"I'm gonna go look around," He forced out quietly, the anger noticeably gone from his visage. And before Ash or I could respond, he walked off. Gary was acting so weird lately and I was going to find out why. But I figured I would let him simper down a bit before I pried. He needed to talk to his best friend and Ash sure as hell wasn't going to take him seriously. But first…
"Myahhh!" Skittles took a bite of one of the cookies in my hand, filling her mouth so much her cheeks puffed out, and I couldn't help but squeal in happiness. I had the cutest Pokémon, and THAT was a fact!
"You are just too adorable! Ahhhhhhhh!" I squished her affectionately and took a bite of one of the other cookies, offering the last one to Ash and Pikachu, with Ash being the one to take it. He broke it in half and gave one part to Pikachu.
"Why do you think Gary was being like that, Kam?" Ash asked, munching on his half of the cookie and leading us to the PokéGift store. "Is he just sore from losing, like the guy said?" I shrugged in reply. It was a possibility; Gary didn't like to lose. But I just had a feeling it was more than that; why else would he just so… "rawr" to a random guy? He liked when people knew who he was. I finished up my cookie and allowed Skittles to finish hers before I addressed Ash.
"I think I'm gonna go to the Game Corner, okay? You know how I am about those slots!" I gave my friend a wink and he laughed. Oh, he knew, he knew very well. Grandpa Oak would take us there when we were kids, and that's when my obsession began. I'd ask almost every day if we could go back, though I would always get told no and go pout in the corner. I made it back during my first journey and… well, I was beyond broke once I was forced to leave.
"Okie doke! Me and Pikachu will probably stay here for a little bit, then go find Gary," He replied, giving me a hug before trotting off. That was good; maybe some guy time would help little Gar-Bear. I rushed out of the department store before I got wrapped into window shopping – which I had a really bad habit of, kind of how I got my new outfit. Luckily for me, the Game Corner was in the same place it used to be, minus the prize center next door. I walked through the door like I was hot shit and found the nearest slot machine. The damn thing required coins, duh, and I pulled out my coin case – thankfully it still had coins in it! I set Skittles on my lap and put in three coins, waiting for just the right time to press the buttons. As I was about to hit the first one, a hand stopped me and, once again, I looked up to see Riley.
"Well hi there," he purred, pressing the buttons for me and – only with beginner's luck! – got straight 7's. My mouth dropped and I stupidly looked from him to the machine's screen and back to him. He laughed, collected the coins he'd won and placed him in my coin case. "Just think of it as a gift for a cute girl," I blushed and looked away shyly. I never had a guy be nice to me like that, other than Ash and Gary, but then they'd pick on me, the way my best friends did.
"W-well thank you, but…" I pushed out, but I couldn't accept this. I tried to hand them back to him, but Riley shut the case and smiled, waving an index finger at me.
"Nope! I won these for you!" he tutted. Why was this guy being so nice to me? He'd never even met me! My curiosity killing me, I asked him that question. "Because you're the champion in Hoenn and Unova! That's a HUGE thing! I'm a big fan and when I heard you were back in Kanto, I just knew you'd have to come back to Celadon! I had to meet you!" Well he was right about that. It was cool to hear that I had fans, especially attractive ones, and my face turned red with a shy smile.
"Oh, well, it's nothing big…" I waved a hand, trying to play it cool.
"It is though! Say, it may be a bit… blunt, but would you mind grabbing a bite to eat with me and heading back to where you're staying?" I pulled a derp face. Why in the hell would he want to go to the hotel? Sensing my thoughts, he added, "You see, I'm actually from Viridian, and I don't actually have a place I'm staying," He looked down in embarrassment. Well, I'd be getting a free meal out of it. It couldn't hurt, right? Plus, he didn't seem like one of Gary's fangirls who were overly happy to see him. And if he was, he contained himself very well. Skittles seemed to be down for it, by the way she was running in circles on my lap, though she may have just been chasing her tail.
"That sounds good," I smiled and stood up. Riley's face lit up and lead the way out of the Game Corner – it saddened me to leave so soon since I didn't play much, but hey, free fucking food! – And took me to a little fast food place inside the Department Store. His treat, so I ordered three cheeseburgers, giving a quarter of one to Skittles. He seemed really pleased to be able to do all of these things for me in one day; I could see him smiling at me from the corner of my eye as I ate.
"You're really adorable when you eat," he purred, taking enjoyment in my flustered reaction.
"O-oh, um thanks…" I said, and he stopped our walking – we were eating and walking out of the store – and I watched him pull out an iPod. He pulled out headphones and put one in his ear, handing me the other. Deciding to humor him, I took it and put it in. We sat down at a nearby bench to listen.
"Have you ever heard of "Oh Darling" by Plug In Stereo?" He asked, turning to the song, and of course I had! The song was the cutest little song in the history of cute songs! At least in my opinion. He smiled at my response and nodded, starting to sing the first part of the song…
I just didn't know what the hell to do. I messed up in being all jealous about that Riley guy. I couldn't tell her my feelings now. What if she just thought of it as a joke? I mean, I saw the way she looked at that guy; she was mesmerized. Sighing dejectedly, I sat down at a bench in the department store and kicked myself. What was I doing feeling sorry for myself?! Gary motherfucking Oak never gave up! If I wanted a girl, I was going to get her! I decided I was going to tell her regardless once we got back to the hotel. She needed to know, and maybe she'd regret me, but I'd make her fall for me, until she couldn't stand me. It surprised me how strong my feelings actually were and how fast I actually took to realize them. I couldn't lie; I knew I was a dense little shit at times, so this was a surprise.
"Yo Gary!" my thought were interrupted by none other than my best friend, the guy one of course, "You doing okay?" Ash was always such a softy, but I thought it was a good thing. One of us guys needed to be sensitive and it sure as hell couldn't be Gary Oak. I nodded and smiled at him, more determined than ever.
"I'm fucking great, Ashy-Boy!" I exclaimed, jumping up to chest bump my bro. He returned it and put an arm around my shoulder, that stupid smile plastered on his face.
"Just making sure. Me and Kam were worried about you; you seemed really mad at that Riley guy," As Ash brought up that name, I felt my hair stand on end. He was definitely competition and I wasn't going to lose to him.
"Man, fuck that dude," I laughed, playing it off like it didn't bother me. Suddenly, as I opened my mouth to continue, I heard singing:
"You seem quite nice for a girl with good looks
And I'm the kinda fellow that'll make you feel better when your life gets shook
So give it a chance according to your plans
I bet I'm not number one on your list to kiss, but please understand"
I wasn't too into the guy's mushy singing, and was just about to keep walking, until I heard a girl start singing.
"You seem quite shy, but you're oh so cute
And I'm the kind of girl that would love to be yours if you asked me to
So just take a chance, try to hold my hand
I swear I'd never let go
Just let me know if you'd be my man"
I guess the voice stopped Ash as well because we just stood in the middle of walking traffic to hear the singing. Boy was it amazing! Like the sweetest Jigglypuff, minus the putting you asleep part. Parts of me wished that Kamryn would say words like that to me, and we continued listening, awestruck.
" I really want to come out and tell you
Oh darling, I love you so"
"If you'd ask me for my heart, there's no way that I'll say no"
"Oh darling, just take a chance please"
"So we can stay together till hell starts to freeze"
"You seem quite right for a boy like me"
"And I wanna know would you treat me well
Would you treat me like a queen"
"Cause I'd like to show you and make you see"
"That although we're different types
We were meant to be"
"I really want to come out and tell you
Oh darling, I love you so"
"If you'd ask me for my heart, there's no way that I'll say no"
"Oh darling, just take a chance please"
"So we can stay together till hell starts to freeze"
"So I gotta ask you,
I can't be afraid
I gotta take a chance at love
So what do you say
Oh darling, I love you so"
"If you'd ask me for my heart, there's no way that I'll say no"
"Oh darling, just take a chance please"
"So we can stay together till hell starts to freeze"
The singing was absolutely amazing and it about had Ash to tears. It sounded too cutesy for me, but deep down, it was how I wanted me and Kam to be. I nudged the raven-haired boy to knock him out of his trance and he swore he wasn't about to cry.
"Yeah, right, you loser," I sassed, punching him in the arm and blocking him when he tried the same on me. We laughed. We had such a good relationship; nothing could tear us apart. "C'mon, let's go find the little shit we call Kamryn,"
"Okie dokie!" And I knew exactly where she would be: the Game Corner. She did enjoy the slot machines.
"Not here?" Ash huffed and I shrugged my shoulders. We had looked everywhere and asked everyone about Kam when we got to the Game Corner, but she was nowhere to be found. That was really strange. "Maybe she's back at the hotel?" Ash's guess was as good as mine, but I was beginning to worry. If she wasn't at the one place she was most excited to go to, wasn't that a reason to worry?
"We can go try. The city isn't really that big so if she's not there, we'll find her eventually," I believed my words, but still I was worried. It was starting to get dark and Kam was scared of being out by herself – she had a fear of being kidnapped, but who would kidnap an eighteen-year-old?
"You're really worried, Gary, aren't you?" Ash asked as we walked out of the Game Corner. I felt my face flush and tried my best to hide it. Pikachu patted my back as if to comfort me and I took in a deep breath.
"Of course I'm worried. Our best friend is alone. This may be a familiar city but we're her best friends – we need to protect her," I was astonished to hear Ash laugh at that and he flashed me a mature looking smile.
"She's a big girl, Gary, but I know. She feels the same way. But we're not kids anymore. There won't be any wild Tauros to come and attack her like back then," Since when did he think he had the right to talk to me like his inferior? Fucking dick! Still, he was right and all I could do was shrug. It was so scary back then, getting attacked by wild Tauros. Ash had irritated them by throwing pebbles at them and they started to chase little Kamryn, even though she didn't do anything. Me and Ash grabbed her hands and ran with her back to Pallet Town and climbing a tree. They weren't such smart Pokémon and me and Ash promised we'd always be there to protect her after that.
We made it to the hotel and walked in the lobby, asking the person behind the counter if he'd seen Kam.
"Oh yes, she actually went up to your room a while ago," the guy smiled, nodding his head when we offered him a "thanks".
"See?" Ash beamed, with an equally happy Pikachu, "I told you she'd be alright!" I rolled my eyes at the little shit. Think you're hot shit now, huh? Smiling and shaking my head, I was having a hard time holding in my excitement to see Kam. I couldn't wait to tell her; I was beginning to shake with anticipation. We made it to the door and Ash opened the door… well tried to. The knob was stuck, like it was locked. That was strange. She knew we weren't in there, so why would she lock it if she had the only key? I knocked on the door, irritated that she would do that. I didn't get a response, but I heard a muffled noise on the other side of the door.
"You hear that?" I asked Ash and he nodded. We knocked harder the second time, and still no response. "Maybe she's in the shower," I concluded and we were just about to go back down to the front desk to get a spare key when I heard a yell. Not a happy yell either. It was Kamryn, and she sounded terrified.
"Kam?!" Ash yelled, pounding on the door. She seemed to hear it and bawled back.
"A-Ash! Please he-" her voice got muffled again and I swore I heard another voice. I pushed Ash aside and began to jump at the door, trying to bust it open.
"Fuck! It's not opening!" I growled, "Let's kick it at the same time!" Ash nodded. I counted down from three to one and we tried kicking the door down. The first try was to no avail, but the second caused the door to topple to the ground and the sight we say was absolutely horrifying…