Chapter 4

We got to Petalburg city without too much conversation after that. It was awkward enough after what happened with our little brawl. The city was actually pretty cute. There were a lot of ponds where the corphish splashed about and played what looked like tag with each other. The hedges were neatly trimmed and the houses kept clean and fresh. The wonderful scent of the ocean filled my nostrils. I inhaled, savoring the scent. The only oddity of this town was the gym, which must've been built before the other houses because of how old it looked. Pieces of paint were chipping off, the roof whistled in the breeze, and the door was splintering.

"When the last gym leader retired," Steven started, "he didn't leave much money to fix up the gym. He was quite the aggressive battler, as you can see." Steven put a hand on his hip, scanning the gym with disapproving eyes. "I hope this new gym leader puts in some work to fix it."

"Is that him?" I asked, pointing to a man that was carrying two paint buckets. He wore a maroon jacket with a collar popped halfway to his cheek, black jeans with a hole or two in them, and more grease on his head than hair. He set the two buckets down on the entrance to the gym and began taking in the sight of his surroundings. The door had to be worked on, the arch was broken, the windows cracked, and the paint there in particular in need of several more coats.

Without a second thought, he raised his foot and kicked the door straight through the middle. His leg went straight through, splintering wood and rendering the door utterly worthless. I was surprised how fast Steven was at his side.

"What on Earth are you doing, Norm?!" he scolded under his breath. I approached, keeping a good distance. I wasn't sure how Steven reacted when he was angry, so there was a chance I could get on his bad side.

"Renovations," Norm replied. "The door would have to be shaved down paper thin to look any good. I thought the best way to fix it would be to get a new one."

"But breaking the door achieves...?"

"I need some firewood for wife. The storm hit us hard last night and our heater isn't in the best of shape after it." The gym leader reached forward and pulled the door right off its hinges like some sort of monster. He turned towards Steven, nearly decapitating me with the block of wood, and smiled. "You know my name already, but I'll do this just for the hell of it. I'm Norm, the new Petalburg Gym Leader." He held out a hand that Steven took right away.

"Steven Stone. Pleased to meet you."

"Huh. You're the champion." Norm sounded a bit surprised. "Pretty young for one, I'd say. What are you? Sixteen?"

"Nineteen. Youngest ever in this region. Only beaten otherwise by Red in kanto. He got it when he was ten." Norm threw his head back in a laugh. From where I was crouched, he nearly slammed me into the ground like a whack-a-mole, so I scurried away and by Steven's side. The leader saw me and blinked. "Hey, you're that girl from Littleroot. Sapphire, is it?"

"O-oh, yes." I shook his hand when he offered it. "I'm not really famous around here. How'd you know my name?"

"My son and wife live next door to you. Moved in yesterday. He saw ya leaving your house and went to say hi, but you weren't home. I guess it's cuz you came here."

"Son?"

"Yeah. Oddly enough, we named him Ruby." I made an odd face. I thought being named after a stone was weird enough. But to have someone next door to me have a name like it, too? The coincidence was just outrageous. "He should be here soon to help me paint the place. You feel like lending a hand?" He held out two brushes that hadn't touched paint yet. I grabbed mine right away. "Ah, she's got the idea."

"I would join you, Norm," Steven said, nudging me discreetly with his elbow, "but Sapphire and I have to head to Rustboro to talk to my father. We have some things to settle." Norm got a faint shine in his eye.

"Ah, I see it now." He poked me in the forehead with the other brush. "You two haven't told him you're dating yet." My face turned so hot that I could almost feel it tanning. My lip twitched and my eyes went wide. Steven just raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know where you got that from, Norman, but I can assure you we are not dating."

"Not yet." He leaned down to be at even height with my eyes. "By the looks of Sapphire here, it won't be long before you two get the grooves for each other. Trust me, I'm a father. I can tell these things." Now Steven was blushing. He managed to wipe it off his face in record time, however.

"Norman."

"Right, right. Champion business." The gym leader stood up and leaned back with his hands on his back, popping his spine in multiple places. Now my face wasn't red, it was pale. What sort of gym leader was he? He was unusual, that's for sure.

I was about to comment on his terrible display when someone shouted in my direction. I turned to look in the direction of the voice. Next thing I know, I'm being knocked off my feet, wind yanked from my lungs, and dropped onto the ground. I was able to break the fall, but as soon as my arms went out to the side, the boy who had tackled me fell right onto me.

An awkward and accidental kiss followed.

The two of us opened our eyes and both slowly pulled away, twitching in complete bewilderment. He was young, maybe a year or two younger than me. His eyes were sickly pale and his hair was an odd sort of lighter green. The coat he wore was dirty, as if he had just been rolling around in the grass for quite some time. He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat caught and he lifted his arm to cough. It wasn't just a normal cough, it was an extremely wet and sickly one.

I sat up with him on my lap. This kid was tiny. He had no weight to him either. I pat him on the back, hitting different spots so it better cleared his airway of any mucus that was clogging his lungs. He managed to cough up whatever was harming him, but for some reason, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted in my arms. I tried waking him up, but he was out like a light. Though I was concerned, he was breathing peacefully.

"Oh, thank goodness!" A woman and a man in their mid-thirties ran up to me and kneeled to my height. "She caught him! She stopped him!" The woman took my hand and started shaking it up and down with unnecessary strength. "Thank you! Thank you! Whoever you are, thank you!"

I hadn't noticed because everything had gone by so fast, but Steven and Norman's jaws had dropped to the floor in surprise. I wasn't sure which part it was directed at, but they were still fairly surprised. Steven moved a few strands of hair from his eyes and dropped to the lady's height.

"Ma'am, is this your son?" he asked in a calm, soothing tone. I know this guy had a smooth voice to start, but hearing him use it to calm someone else was soothing me as well. The lady turned to him, her husband's arm over her shoulder, and nodded.

"Yes. Our Wally is a very sick child, he has been since birth. He's always out running away to try and show he's not sick, and when he does, he usually ends up like how he is now. I'm glad she caught him before he hurt himself!" She shook my hand again. "Thank you, again, young lady!"

"O-oh, no problem." I still had young Wally in my arms. Sick? Like gravely sick? The thought of someone who looked this innocent and young dying haunted me. "Is he going to be ok?"

"I'm afraid here, no." Wally's father took him from my hands and cradled the boy like he was a baby. He was small enough to do so. Now it looked as if he was just sleeping, as the green-haired kid curled up in his father's arm and sighed. The man turned to his wife. "We'll have to send him to your sister. The air in Verdanturf should be good on his lungs."

"We can't send him there by himself," she protested. "He'll never make it." That's when Norman stepped in.

"Have you tried giving him a pokemon?" The two parents stared at the new Gym Leader like he had offered them an obviously stupid solution. "He looks old enough to have one. Would it make you two feel better and I gave him one of the pokemon I caught on the way here?" He held up a pokeball.

"Wally is too weak to hope to ever be a trainer," his mom protested. "But then again…"

"He has been wanting one for a while." His dad stopped to think. "You're the new Gym Leader, right?"

"Yes. I'm Norman."

"Then will you take him to Verdanturf with that pokemon?" His dad sounded like he was beginning to beg. The looks on their faces said it all: if Wally wasn't to get to Verdanturf, he wouldn't last long. And from the look on Norman's face, it was impossible to do.

"I'll take him." Steven nearly got whiplash turning to meet my eyes. I stared at him with an intense look before turning to the desperate pair of parents. "Steven and I are heading to Rustboro. We'll stop and get him through the tunnel they have under construction while we're there." Steven was shocked at the offer, but from the corner of my eye I could see him slowly considering it. He crossed his arms.

"We would be glad to have him." The champion probably hated me for offering something so hefty, but at the same time he didn't seem to mind. He wanted to help Wally. "I can assure you, he'd be safe with us." Norman looked between the group of people.

"Are we in agreeance?" he asked. The two parents looked to each other, grim faces tight, then nodded. When they finished, they looked to us.

"You can take Wally with you," the father spoke. "But it had to be tomorrow. He needs a good nights' rest before he can travel."

"We understand," Steven accepted. "We'll meet in the pokemon center first thing in the morning. Be sure to pack any medication he'll need and write what he needs to take for us, just in case something happens." The two of them nodded again. Then, without a goodbye, the family took off towards the end of town that Wally had run from.

Norman, Steven, and I were consumed by silence until they had entered their house and disappeared inside. In fact, Steven and I wouldn't have even spoken if Norm hadn't nudged the champion with his elbow and whispered loud enough for me to hear, "You got a little bit of a love rival now, huh?"

Steven and I blushed wildly. "Norman," he whispered.

"Right, right. Champion business." The Gym Leader picked up his paint buckets. "Well, I've had enough excitement for today, the painting of the gym will be done first thing tomorrow." He set the buckets beside the wall and then pulled the demolished door from the frame. "I'll be taking this home. See you in the morning." Then he hauled the wooden scrap over his shoulder and started off eastwards, leaving Steven and I.

This time, there was no silence.

"Next time, ask for permission," Steven scolded. I turned to him and bowed my head slightly. "This time, however, I can see why you did what you did." I met his eyes. The silver depths were soft and understanding. "You are caring. I respect you for that." Then he turned away and started towards the pokemon center. I could see him blushing all the way to the back of this neck. I didn't follow. I stood there and wiped off my lips.

My first kiss was with someone I hadn't even spoken to yet.

Was he contagious?