- 4 -
Janine
What was Falkner's problem, anyway? All night, he'd been acting weird. Distracted weird. Glancing across the room every two seconds weird. And it wasn't like him at all. The Falkner she knew listened to her. He looked at her like there was no one else around. And he made her wonder if maybe, just maybe, he thought of her as something more than a friend.
Tonight, the Falkner she knew was nowhere to be found. When she got close to him, he backed away. When she smiled at him, he barely smiled back. And she didn't know what he kept looking at, but it was seriously starting to get on her nerves. All she knew was that they really needed to sort this out, and it looked like she would have to be the one to do it.
Janine gathered up all the courage she had. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Falkner shrugged, but it didn't do much to hide how tense he was.
Then, in what had to be the worst timing in the history of the world, DJ Mary came out of nowhere and asked them if they'd mind doing an interview. Falkner, looking downright relieved, was quick to agree.
And so Mary got down to business, failing to notice the look of utter frustration on Janine's face. "We're here with Falkner and Janine, two of the Pokémon League's newest stars. How's the life of a Gym Leader these days?"
"Pretty good," said Falkner. "Especially when you get to go to stuff like this."
Janine resigned herself to the fact that this interview was happening whether she liked it or not, and decided to just get it over with. "Yeah. I mean, being in charge of a gym isn't easy. But if training Pokémon's what you want to do, it's the best experience you can get."
"Some might say the two of you have it harder than most. Do you feel a lot of pressure to measure up to your famous fathers?"
She didn't have to think twice about that one. It was something she and Falkner got asked all the time. "I don't know if pressure's the right word for it. But I've looked up to my dad my whole life, and it makes me want to work hard so I can be as good as him one day. Maybe even better."
Falkner smiled at her. "That's exactly how I feel."
"I'm sure we can expect great things from both of you, with attitudes like that. All right, I have to ask. If your fathers faced each other in a Pokémon battle, who would win?"
"Mine," they both answered immediately.
"You don't want to bring that up." Janine laughed. "We'll be at it for days."
Falkner was laughing right along with her. "We've been at it since the day we met."
"You two are too cute for words." Mary beamed at them. "And you've hardly been apart all night. Everyone's dying to know—any chance of a romance in the near future?"
Janine was at a loss. How could she answer that? She didn't even know what the answer was. She searched Falkner's face for some kind of hint as to how he felt, but all she saw was a hundred different shades of awkward.
His answer wasn't exactly what she'd hoped for. "No comment."
"Uh, yeah," she echoed. "No comment."
"Well, then, it looks like their lips are sealed. Janine and Falkner, everybody."
Janine let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, thankful that the interview hadn't gone any further. No one had warned her that the life of a Gym Leader would involve having to discuss her not-quite-relationships on live radio.
No comment. What did that mean? Well, obviously, it meant the question was a total invasion of their privacy and Falkner wasn't having it. But if the answer was no, that they were nothing more than friends, that he didn't have a clue what DJ Mary was talking about, then wouldn't he have just said so?
She had to find out. "So," she began. "That was interesting."
But Falkner wasn't listening. He wasn't even looking at her.
She craned her neck in the direction he'd been facing. Her father was talking to Karen. Karen was wearing a ridiculously short dress. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. "Guys. You're all the same."
That was enough to get Falkner's attention. "Huh?"
"You're staring at her." She pointed at Karen. "You can't be serious. She's way too old for you."
"Who, Karen? I didn't even see her."
"Sure you didn't."
"I didn't. What are you so upset about, anyway?"
She decided to come right out and say it.
"You." She lowered her gaze, not nearly brave enough to face him as she continued. "I thought you liked me. I wanted you to. But tonight, it's like you'll barely even look at me. So was it just me, or…"
She didn't know what else to say. Whatever happened, she just hoped he wouldn't think it'd be too weird for them to stay friends after this.
Falkner reached out a hand and gently tilted her chin upward until her eyes met his. "It wasn't just you."
And the instant she saw his face, open and honest and just a little bit scared, but unmistakably happy, she knew she wouldn't regret her words.
"It's funny, you know," he confessed. "I was going to ask you out tonight. Or, that was the plan. But then, well—"
"Then what?" she couldn't help but ask. "You saw something more important on the other side of the room?"
He shook his head. "I saw your dad and I just couldn't do it."
"My dad?"
"Look at him. It's like he wants to sic his Toxicroak on me."
Her first thought was that her dad would never do that. But then she caught sight of his expression. He only ever gave her that look when she was in a lot of trouble. "Is he always like this?"
"All the time."
"Come on. Let's go talk to him."
"But—"
"Come on." She took him by the hand. She wasn't going to give him a choice.
Truth be told, she had no idea what she was going to say or how her dad was going to react, but the feeling of Falkner's hand in hers was reassuring. It was a bit sweaty—he had to be nervous, for obvious reasons—but she didn't think she cared much.
She let go, though she wished she didn't have to, and tapped Karen on the shoulder. "Is it okay if I talk to my dad for a second?"
"Fine with me." Karen left with a surprisingly warm smile, and she felt sort of guilty for calling her old.
"Dad, you know my friend Falkner, right?" Janine's voice came out a lot shakier than she'd expected.
"Indeed." He turned to Falkner with a disapproving glance. "You seem awfully fond of my daughter."
Falkner let out a nervous laugh. "Well… we're friends. Good friends."
"I see." Her father paused thoughtfully. "Tell me, young man, what are your plans for the future?"
"I… I guess I haven't thought about it too much. I'm just… you know, trying to do my best with the gym for now."
"You don't aspire to be an Elite? Running a gym's enough for you, is it?"
Falkner looked hopelessly at her, tugging at the neck of his tie like he thought he was going to suffocate. "Well, that'd be a long way off. I mean—"
"Such lack of ambition. Why Janine speaks so highly of you, I don't understand."
She knew she had to say something. "He's an amazing Gym Leader, Dad. The other day, he took out someone's entire team with just a Pidgey!"
"He is a Gym Leader, and yet, he battles with a Pidgey."
She'd had more than enough. "Falkner, excuse us."
Falkner was gone before she could blink. She really couldn't blame him.
"Dad!" she yelled, causing quite a few people to stare in their direction. "What was that? Can't you see I like him? You're ruining everything!" And before he could say anything in reply, she stormed off.
It was so stupid, she thought, slumping onto a couch. Her dad was way out of line. Sure, he'd always been protective of her, but that didn't give him the right to insult Falkner. And what would Falkner think? She couldn't expect him to put up with that. And what if he didn't? What if he decided she wasn't worth the trouble?
As she got used to her surroundings, she noticed Morty giving her a curious glance from the next couch over. She glared back at him. "What are you staring at?"
Her remark didn't seem to faze him. "Are you all right?" he asked cautiously.
She was surprised he'd even bother. She didn't know Morty, not really. They'd met once or twice—he was a friend of Falkner's, too—but that was about it. So it was pretty nice of him to even pretend to care.
"Sorry," she said, feeling a twinge of embarrassment at how rude she'd been. "You startled me. What are you doing back here, anyway?"
"I have a lot on my mind." He didn't say any more. She figured he didn't want to talk about it.
"So do I. It's my dad. And Falkner." Just thinking about their conversation made her mad. "The things my dad was saying to him! And for no reason!"
"That's rough."
"Yeah. It was bad. Falkner's not going to want anything to do with me after that." She wasn't even sure if she was joking.
"He will. You're important to him."
"He said that?"
"I've probably said more than I should already. But I don't think you have much to worry about." Morty pointed across the room. "It seems like they're getting along fine."
Falkner and her dad were talking again. That couldn't be good. But somehow, they actually looked like they could stand each other's company. What was going on?
"Well, that's… new."
Just then, Falkner caught her eye and motioned for her to come over.
She got up from her seat. "I'm going to go talk to them."
"Good luck."
"Thanks, Morty. You too. With whatever it is."
Walking away, she could've sworn she heard him mutter the word whoever, but it really wasn't any of her business.
Her dad turned to leave as she approached, giving Falkner a pat on the shoulder that was almost fatherly. "I will let you and Falkner talk. He has something he wishes to ask you."
Janine gaped at Falkner, shocked by her father's sudden change of heart. "What did you do?"
A grin spread across his face. "Just got your dad's permission to go out with you. No big deal."
"How?"
"I don't know what came over me. He made me feel like I wasn't good enough for you, and I couldn't stand it. So I went right up to him and told him not to talk to me that way. He just stared at me for the longest time, and for a second I honestly thought he was going to kill me. And then—it was the weirdest thing. He told me my father would be proud."
That sounded like something her dad would say, all right. "You stood up to him. He'd respect that."
"So then I asked him," he continued. "And he was fine with it. But I have to keep my hands to myself and bring you home by nine, and if anything happens to you, there's a whole clan of ninjas out there who'll know where to find me."
"Of course." She sighed. She'd known there would be a catch. "Think you can deal with that?"
"I'll have to," he said earnestly. "Being with you means a lot."
Hearing those words, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and never let go. So she did… sort of. They'd have to let go eventually or they'd be getting some strange looks from the other partygoers pretty soon. "I'd love to go out with you."
"Well, yeah." Falkner laughed, holding her tightly. "I sure hope so, after I went through all that."
As they drew back from each other, they paused, their faces just inches apart, and all she could think about was how it would be so easy to kiss him. And when his eyes came to rest on her lips, she knew he had to be thinking the same thing.
Then reality set in, and she remembered that they were at a party with cameras everywhere and she wasn't even sure if she knew how to kiss and this probably wasn't the best place to learn with so many people around. But all of those things were no problem compared to her father's watchful gaze.
They'd just have to wait.
"Let's not push it," she whispered. "Not unless you want a shuriken in the head."
Falkner stepped back from her so quickly that he almost fell over. "You're kidding, right? With all this security?"
"You don't know a thing about ninjas, do you?"
Up next: Steven doesn't even like parties. But he's not the only one who feels this way…
