One Step at a Time

So, this story is proving to be more popular than I thought which makes me super happy and when I'm happy, I update! But before I let you guys read, I'd like to say, thanks for all the name submissions for Leaf's mum. I had a good think over it and since she's meant to be pretty serious and conservative, I've decided that she'll roll by the name of Karen as submitted by Pesky Midnight. So thank you sooooooo much for the name submission and to everyone who gave suggestions! This chapter is dedicated to all you guys!

Just a quick note to say that italics = flashback or thoughts.

Chapter 3

Second day of school and Leaf still didn't feel like she belonged there. Even though she received no heckling from the other students today, she could hear them snicker and whisper about her when she walked on by. The looks that they gave her when she passed confirmed it all, and when her mother came to pick her up, she didn't ask her about her day, probably thinking that not being called in was promising; at least that's what Karen had convinced herself it meant.

The only form of hassle really was when Gary had taunted her. He knew she had a secret. How did he know? Did Olivia see more than she was welcome to when she viciously snatched her journal yesterday then told him? They were snickering about something when Leaf saw them together yesterday. Or did he sneak into the principal's office before she was called down and peek inside it since it looked out of place? There was a world of possibilities and however he found out made Leaf both curious and uneasy.

But that thought only occupied a small fraction of her brain. The thought that had grabbed the bulk of her attention was of the brown haired girl from the park yesterday. She seemed so nice at first then BOOM! She couldn't get away fast enough. Leaf had asked her mother to drop her off at the local park and Karen reluctantly followed her instruction to do so.

The park was not empty like it was yesterday. There were maybe five or six little children in the park with their doting parents. They played on the monkey bars and the slides, leaving the swings empty to sway on their lonesome.

Leaf didn't know why she had asked her mother to drop her off at the park. It's not like she enjoyed playing on the swings or anything like that. But somewhere deep down, maybe she just wanted to bump into that girl from yesterday again, maybe, just maybe her strange behaviour had picked at her interest. Surely she didn't act that way normally.

Leaf let the swing's cold seat come in contact with her, making certain that the cool seat was beneath her, she sat down cautiously, keeping an eye out for the brown haired girl. Her eyes kept cropping up in her mind. They were so vivid, so emotional when she spoke. They looked fragile even, something that Leaf felt they had in common, something she could relate to. It had been a while sonce Leaf had encountered someone she felt that way about.

Whilst Leaf's head was lost in thought, the swing next to hers became occupied.

"Hi there." Smiled a girl who took the swing next to Leaf's and made no effort to make the swing raise her up then down and so on. "Are you new around here?" she asked, focusing her attention on Leaf.

Leaf turned to face the girl blankly. Blue hair. That was a bit out of the norm though Leaf had to admit that she had a very warm vibe about her. Her smile was glowing, showing her pearly whites off brilliantly.

"Hello?" The girl waved a smooth, milky hand in front of Leaf's face.

Leaf shook her head. "Yes." Leaf answered, not saying more than necessary.

"And you go to Pallet Public School?" the blunette asked, tilting her head to one side, letting her blue fringe droop to one side.

Leaf shook her head. Who was this girl? She seemed nice and all but it made Leaf wonder did all people in this neighbourhood go about talking to people they don't know?

The blunette narrowed her eyes at Leaf. "Wait, so you go to the private school?" she asked and Leaf nodded, contemplating the girl's expression. "Ouch." the blunette said, "it's unusual for someone who goes to the private school to live in this part of Pallet Town."

Leaf found that odd. Why was it unusual? And why was 'ouch' her first comment? Was there some sort of feud between posh and non-posh? That seemed like a likely explanation, probably the most likely. The blunette looked like she had been brought up well: beautiful, albeit weirdly coloured locks that framed her small face; perfectly made up eyes that brought out the sharp blue; and the posh cotton of her baby blue sweater top and pink checker skirt outfit that made her seem posh but not completely out of place.

Leaf was about to ask her why it was unusual for her to be out of place by living in this neck of the woods, but the girl cut her off, taking Leaf's silence as an opportunity to slip in an introduction. "I'm Dawn Berlitz by the way."

Leaf nodded as she watched the girl swing back and forth. Leaf found it hard to introduce herself when the girl wouldn't sit still, or do anything close to sitting still for that matter. Leaf let a big huff of air escape her mouth and blow her hair out of her face as a sign that she gave up trying.

Xxxxxx

Leaf made sure to head home earlier before she set her mother off in some sort of panic again. It took her a lot of time to get a word in edge ways with the girl who had introduced herself as Dawn. Leaf had decided that she was a motor mouth, spoke quickly but not so much efficiently – whenever Leaf asked her a question, Dawn would start an anecdote of some sort and then at the end of it, maybe answer her question. Leaf did however manage to introduce herself.

Dinner was quiet tonight despite the presence of both her parents, and the silence didn't even feel natural. It was the type of silence that spelled secret and that made Leaf uncomfortable; it was like her parents were keeping something from her. Leaf brushed that thought out of her mind as she excused herself from the dinner table, her parents making no effort to stop her like how they would when she was younger.

Leaf shut the room door behind her and tried to lock it, only to realise that her new room didn't have a lock, probably a sign of her parent's paranoia that Leaf would try something life threatening. Leaf sat at her desk and opened her top desk drawer, pulling out her journal and opening at the page that seemed to open up naturally thanks to its over-creased spine. Leaf's fingertips brushed across the photo on the page delicately as she reminisced about what was.

"Leaf, you don't know how much you mean to me."

Leaf giggled and blushed. "Of course I do!" she said back. "You've told me this like a million times before, even more frequently recently." She pointed out and let her head rest gently on his chest.

He responded my wrapping an arm around Leaf's shoulders and resting his head on top of Leaf's head, inhaling the dampness that dominated her natural scent. They sat in the quiet of the room, the fire burning soundly in place and the carpet soft and caressing beneath their ice cold skin. The snow outside had started to mount up, forming a solid two inches in less than four hours.

"I really mean it." He said in a low whisper. His hand dug about in his pocket, looking for something that he had saved up his money to buy. He pulled open a small velvet box and raised it to Leaf's drowsy eyes, and flicked it open to reveal a small, twisted gold band that embedded a small white gem in the middle.

Leaf's eyes widened when she saw it. It was old and she knew it, an antique. "This, it's your-"

"My great grandma's ring, I know." He finished for her. He had anticipated her reaction and so far, he right about everything. "I want you to have it."

"Really?" Leaf gasped. She had the box in her hands and the ring was out of its slot. "For real?"

He nodded. "For real, Leaf. It's just my way of saying how much you mean to me, now and always." He took the ring out of Leaf's hand and slipped it on her left ring finger the proceeded to plant a soft, sealing kiss on her soft lips.

"Leaf, Leaf honey."

Leaf woke up from the gentle shake she felt. She looked around her and saw her mother's face, yet another concerned expression. It was then Leaf realised that she had fallen asleep while reading her journal again.

Xxxxxx

Leaf strode into her half-filled registration class and took her seat. Erica was sitting at her desk while Gary was nowhere to be seen and if Leaf was lucky, which she was hoping she would be, things would stay that way. Or if he did show up to class, Leaf hoped that Erica would send him away again.

Registration class passed quickly, it didn't even feel like ten minutes! Leaf rose from her seat and headed towards the door. She tried to blend in amongst the leaving mass, hoping that if Gary was lurking nearby, he wouldn't spot her. She had a feeling that she knew what he'd go for if he had her cornered: her journal. But luckily, since the incident, Leaf has kept that locked away in her drawer that has only one key that sits safely round her neck.

Erica watched as the brunette navigated her way through the sea of students and tried to get her attention. She had news to tell the girl, though not what she knew Leaf wanted to hear. Erica stood at the door, her hand gripping the edge of the door frame as she watched the skinny, almost malnourished-looking, girl move further and further down the hall. Breaking the news to Leaf was going to have to wait, but what really mattered now was getting her first period class to settle down. She turned to do just that when she saw him strut coolly down the way that Leaf went. He gave her a cold look that sent shivers down her spine, one that she had seen before and that she wished she hadn't ignored.

Xxxxxx

Leaf had wondered her way successfully to her first period maths class. At least almost. She could see the room that she had for maths yesterday and the day before, and the teacher standing at the door as he welcomed his class in with his warm eye smile.

She wasn't exactly late but most of the students had cleared out of the halls already and a few teachers had already shut the door to start their lesson to the unenthusiastic souls that sat before them. She panicked as she heard the last of the doors shut and the sound of not only her own footsteps but an extra pair behind her. She could tell by the sound that the owner was a boy who what's to know things, things that he need not know about.

Don't run, Leaf. That's a sure sign that you're scared.

Leaf tried to listen to her head. She didn't run but instead quickened her pace and walked straight past her class. The teacher had shut his door already and was probably unaware of the danger that Leaf was finding herself in. She sped walked straight through the maths department and into the art department and eventually out through the back door and into the stairwell that linked art to science.

Leaf tried to control her erratic breathing once she made it through the double doors. She stopped and leaned her back against the white stone walls and held a hand up to her painfully hard thumping chest, trying to sooth it. She knew that she didn't have much time though. At any moment, she was going to have to find another place to hide. At any moment, she was going to hear the swing of the doors open and feel those stone cold blue eyes watch her squirm.

And then she heard it, her cue. She peeled herself off the wall and half ran, half walked up the stairs and could've started to cry when she saw that the next set of doors was shut. Opening them would inevitably give him enough time to catch up to her and do bad things to her. She had one hand on the door.

So close. If she hadn't stopped to calm herself down. Maybe she would've missed the sharp tug round her wrist that made her arm pop from its socket and the flashing, multi-coloured spots she saw before she blacked out.

Xxxxxx

And it all goes downhill from here for our beloved Leafy. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I made Dawn appear in this chapter so now there's only Misty and the boys to bring in. I know exactly how but it's going to take a few more chapters before everyone has made an appearance at least once. Just thought I'd clear that up, though no one was confused about it to begin with.

Anyway, like always, reviews are much appreciated!

Silver-hedgehog