Riley wasn't sure why he was nervous about visiting Volkner at his gym. He'd finished training with Lucario at around noon, and now he was walking to the gym with a deck of cards and no idea what he was going to do once he got there. He walked inside and quietly shut the door behind him. When he turned around, he got his first look at some of Volker's "renovations." It was pretty amazing.

It didn't take him long to find the alternate route, which was a rather unsafe looking set of black metal stairs that led up to a catwalk. He followed the catwalk through the second room and into the last room, where Volkner sat, sulking in his chair. Luxray was napping on one of the beams. Riley silently walked down the stairs and into the metal box. Volkner didn't seem to notice him.

"Hey," Riley greeted with a wave, which made Volkner shoot up out of his seat.

"Wha- Riley, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to challenge you," Riley said with a smile. Volkner looked confused.

"Wait, I thought you said you were a coordinator!?" Riley pulled out the deck of cards in his pocket.

"I never said I challenged you to a pokémon battle." Volkner snorted, rolling his eyes, but seemed happy all the same.

"Alright then, I accept your challenge. What type of battle?"

"Do you know how to play poker?" Riley asked. Volkner nodded and grinned mischievously.

"I never would've guessed you were the gambling type," he commented as Riley pulled the cards out of the deck.

"Oh, I'm not. I just like to play cards." He started shuffling them.

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Fairly certain, yes. Cut the cards, I'll deal."

For the next hour, they sat Indian style in the metal box, playing poker, blackjack, go fish, Texas hold'em, and several other games, some Volkner hadn't previously known how to play. And for a guy who didn't gamble, Riley was annoyingly good at poker and most of the other games they played. To Volkner's surprised, Lucario joined them after the first hour. Though he was still cold towards Volkner, and his opinion of him obviously hadn't changed, he at least managed to be civil. Riley and Volkner casually chatted as they played, and Volkner seemed to get a little less moody. Just a little. This was how Flint found them a few hours later.

"Hey Volkner!" he called out, running up to them. Noticing that Volkner wasn't the only one there, he added "Oh, hey Riley." Riley just nodded without even taking his eyes off his cards. "Anyways, you wanna come over to the castle? Aaron got some new songs on Rock Band, and I finally found my drumsticks! I have NO idea how they got in Lucian's room though."

"Will there be alcohol?"

"Yeah, but not a lot. Cynthia thinks you've been drinking WAY too much, so she's limiting how much we all get."

"Damn."

"So you coming? Oh, you can come too Riley, if you want."

"Uh, actually, I'm thinking about staying home tonight…" Flint looked offended.

"Volkner, I swear I will MURDER you if choose getting wasted over hanging out with me. Besides, I think the bar's still getting repaired."

"Damn. I guess I have no choice then. Riley?" Riley was already putting the cards back and shoving them in his pocket. He stood up and brushed the imaginary dirt off his clothes. Lucario grunted and leapt up to one of the high widows. He disappeared through the opening, obviously no longer interested in hanging around with them.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Flint asked.

"I'm not sure. Don't worry about it though. Are we leaving now?" Volkner sighed and got up as well.

"Yeah, alright."

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! I'm SO going to kick your ass on Sonic Riders!"

"Whatever." Riley was quiet as they walked out of the gym and to the port where their boat was waiting. He was watching Flint and Volkner curiously. Flint was doing all the talking and seemed very exuberant and energetic. Completely the opposite of Volkner, who seemed bored and a little tired, but Riley could tell he was at least paying attention. The boat ride was quick, and Flint was only too happy to drag them into the castle. As fancy as it looked on the outside, the living room was very…relaxed?

Lucian was reading a book (how novel.) and Aaron was playing some video game on the ridiculously huge plasma screen TV. It looked like your typical bachelor's pad. Cynthia was talking with Bertha on the couch when they walked in.

"Hey guys! I'm back! Oh, and this is Riley. He's crashing at Volkner's place for a while, so I decided to bring him with us." Riley automatically bowed in greeting, then straightened up.

"Nice to meet you Riley," Cynthia said politely. Riley nodded and smiled back.

"Hello dear! I'm Bertha by the way," the older woman introduced herself.

"My name is Cynthia."

"Aaron! Gah! Stupid zombies! Die already!"

"Lucian." Lucian went back to his book.

"And I'm FLINT!" Flint shouted. Volkner rolled his eyes.

"He already knows who you are, moron."

"Well, yeah, but I felt left out…" Flint pouted for a moment before springing back up and shouting "To the Wii!" Flint dashed over to where Aaron was playing and attempted to grab the controller.

"NO! FLINT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I'M ABOUT TO DIE!"

"Oh come on, you've beat that game, like, a bajillion times!"

"Just let me finish this level!"

"You just started this level!"

"So!? Hey, give it back!" But it was too late. His character died, and it was game over. "Oh great! Thanks a lot Flint! What was that for!?"

"We're playing Rock Band, c'mon!"

"I call the green guitar!" Aaron grabbed the guitar in question, completely forgetting about the game he was playing before. Riley stood by the couch and watch them set up. Flint pulled out the drums and started the game, and Volkner grabbed the lightning guitar. Cynthia looked at him questioningly.

"Aren't you going to play?" Riley shook his head.

"I think I'll just watch if you don't mind." Cynthia nodded and turned back to watch them play. Volkner was the only one who played on expert, and he was pretty good at it too. Flint played on easy. He just liked making a lot of noise, and wasn't too concerned about missing notes. Aaron went on hard bass. Riley watched them play a couple songs, idly tapping his fingers to the beat.

"Hey young man, why don't you give it a shot? You haven't played at all yet, and you're supposed to be our guest!" Bertha said.

"No thank you, I'd rather watch."

"Nah, come on Riley! It's fun!" Flint called out.

"Here, you can use my guitar!" Aaron said, practically shoving it at him before he could protest.

"No, that's okay, I don't want it."

"Pleeeeeeease?" Flint begged. Riley hesitated, then finally gave in and strapped on the guitar. Flint jumped up and cheered.

"Fine, I'll play." He stepped up in front of the TV and tried to figure out how to get the thing to work.

"Something wrong?" Flint asked. Riley frowned.

"How do you play this thing?" Volkner looked only mildly surprised, while Flint seemed flat-out dumbstruck.

"You've never played Rock Band!? What about Guitar Hero!?" Volkner got up and walked over to him.

"Are you left-handed or right-handed?"

"Right, I guess. I can use both to write though." Volkner grabbed his left hand and placed his fingers on the correct keys. Then he put his right hand on the black thing that was sticking out and put his fingers so that his thumb was resting on the black thing. Then he stepped back.

"This is the strum bar," he said, pushing the black thing on his guitar down with his thumb. "These are the keys." He pressed a few quickly to demonstrate. "To play a note, you have to press the right key and hit the strum bar at the same time. The green key is kinda like a select button, and the red one's like a back button. Just on the menus though, not when you're playing. Got it?"

"I think so," Riley said, experimentally pressing a few keys and strumming. Volkner nodded.

"Alright then, go ahead and pick one of the beginner songs. Make sure you put it on easy though. I'll help you through the song." Riley nodded. Flint looked at them and shrugged.

"You can tutor Riley while I go get a movie. Oh, and Riley, how would you like a hot date tonight? I've gotta go pick up the girls anyways. I'm sure one of their friends wouldn't mind tagging along."

"Sure," Riley said, not really paying attention. He was too busy focusing on trying to hit the notes as they came across the screen.

"You're forgetting to hit the strum bar," Volkner reminded him.

"Right, sorry about that."

"Nah, you're doing fine. Watch your fingers."

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE, I'M BACK!" Flint yelled. Volkner looked up, but Riley was still concentrating on the screen. He'd almost mastered all the songs on medium, but the rhythm on this one kept messing him up. Flint led four girls into the living room and pointed out the seats. "Hey, guys, turn off the game! It's not nice to ignore your date!" Volkner sighed and turned the game off. Riley was disappointed too, but put the guitar down nonetheless. Then he realized what Flint just said.

"Date?" he asked, confused.

"Are you Aaron?" the short blonde one asked.

"Aaron's in the other room getting food. Riley, this is Ariel, and she has agreed to be your date tonight. Volkner, you're with Cheryl. I'll be right back Liza, I've got to order some pizza." And with that, Flint left Riley and Volkner to their fates. Well, Volkner actually didn't look too stunned. He just walked up to his date, introduced himself, and flomped down on a beanbag beside her. Riley was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Riley?" the pretty brunette asked. He snapped out of his daze and looked down at her questioningly. "My name is Ariel, and, um, you're my date, right?" Date. He was on a date. He was surprised but quickly recovered. He bowed towards her politely.

"I apologize for my rude behavior. I was not previously aware that I would be going on a date. My name is Riley, as you guessed." She looked down at her lap disappointedly. Riley cocked his head to the side, confused again. "May I ask what's troubling you?"

"I-I'm so sorry. I thought, well, I thought you knew. But it's okay, you don't have to be my date." Riley sat down in front of her so that they were eye level and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and met his eyes, and he smiled at her.

"I never said I didn't want to be your date. On the contrary, I would be happy to spend some time with you tonight. Alright?" She blushed and smiled shyly before nodding. He moved to sit in the beanbag beside Ariel so that the six of them were in a cozy little circle.

"Aw, that's so sweet," the short blonde girl sighed. Riley saw Volkner trying to hide his laughter behind one hand, and was having limited success. Riley gave him an annoyed glare, then turned back to his date.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Riley asked politely.

"N-No thanks," Ariel answered.

"Hey Aaron, did you get the hot Cheetos?" Volkner asked. Everyone looked up and saw Aaron carrying four bowls of various snack-type food items, with Flint close behind.

"Yeah, I got 'em."

"Aaron?" the short blonde girl asked hopefully.

"Yeah?" Aaron said, putting the bowls down in the middle.

"Hi, I'm Katie! You're pretty cute!"

"Really? We'll you're pretty cute yourself. Want some chips?" Aaron asked, sitting in the beanbag beside his date. She giggled and nodded. Flint plopped down beside Liza and opened his soda.

"So, introductions everybody! Tell everyone a little about yourself," Flint said eagerly. "I'm Flint, the awesomest sexiest fire-type trainer EVER and a member of the Elite four! I'm from Jubilife City, I like battling and video games and other awesome stuff, and I'm awesome." Volkner snorted.

"I'm Liza. I'm a pokémon coordinator from Veilstone, and I love all cute pokémon. I really want a Jigglypuff, but they're so hard to find!"

"My name is Aaron, the Bug-type master of the Elite four. I love my beautiful bug pokémon and playing video games. And I like annoying Lucian. It's funny."

"Everybody likes annoying Lucian," Flint said. Aaron just shrugged.

"My name's Katie, and I'm a coordinator too! I love cute pokémon and cute guys. Oh, and I'm from Sunnyshore."

"I'm Ariel. I like swimming and my specialty is water-type pokémon. I help out at the pokémon center sometimes, but I usually help put on shows with my pokémon. I'm from Sunnyshore too. I like anything romantic."

"I'm Cheryl, I work at the Pokémart here and I'm from Sunnyshore. I like playing video games and shopping. That's pretty much it."

"I'm Volkner. I'm from Sunnyshore, I'm the gym leader here, and I like vodka. Your turn Riley."

"Alright then. I'm Riley. I guess you could say I'm a pokémon trainer. Lucario is my partner."

After introductions were made, they all just talked amongst themselves. Katie got all snuggly with Aaron, Flint kept hitting on Liza but was getting absolutely nowhere, and Cheryl was getting frustrated with Volkner not paying attention to her. Riley was a perfect gentleman towards his date and made sure he paid plenty of attention to her.

After the pizza got there, Flint started the movie. Of course it was a horror movie, so the girls would cling to their guys for protection. It seemed to work on Ariel well enough. Riley felt awkward with her clinging to him through the movie. The whole time, he just wished the movie would end so she'd let go. He was NOT comfortable. The only thing interesting that happened was when Volkner got up halfway through to go use the bathroom. When the move FINALLY ended, Flint escorted all the girls to the boat back to Sunnyshore. Aaron had fallen asleep on the floor.

"Flint, what was all that about?" Riley asked, a little ticked with him.

"Oh, every Friday, one of my friends gets a bunch of blind dates for all of us and we hang out. It's like a tradition."

"Okay, but why did I have a date!? I didn't want one!" Flint looked surprised.

"What, you taken?" Riley blinked, then sighed tiredly.

"Never mind. Just don't do that again." He looked around for Volkner, but he was still gone. That was an awfully long time to be in the bathroom. "Flint, have you seen Volkner anywhere?" Flint looked around suddenly, as if he'd just noticed his disappearance.

"Where'd he go? We better find him. You go look that way, okay?" Flint walked out the door leaving Riley to search on his own. He walked down one of the hallways and checked the bathrooms, the training rooms, several other rooms he didn't really know the purpose of, until he finally found Volkner in the kitchen.

Leaning against the counter with several bottles lying around him. Another bottle was in his hand, about three-quarters full.

"Maledizione." Riley quickly walked up to Volkner and snatched his bottle away. Volkner attempted to glare at him, but it was rather pathetic.

"Give it back," he demanded, making a futile attempt at grabbing the bottle from him. Riley put it on the counter behind him and turned back toward Volkner. He seemed to be lost in a world of his own and was oddly quiet. Riley crouched down so he was at eye level with the other man.

"Volkner?" Volkner groaned and let himself fall on his side.

"Lemme 'lone." He stared past Riley, looking absolutely miserable.

"Here, let me help you," Riley said, reaching out towards him. Volkner batted his hand away, but Riley was having none of that. He scooped Volkner up despite his protests and walked back to the living room. By the time they got there, Volkner had quit struggling and settled for sulking.

"Flint?" Riley called. Flint was there in just a few seconds. He immediately facepalmed.

"Dammit, how much did he have?" Riley shrugged. Flint sighed. "Well, at least he's depressed drunk instead of crazy drunk right now."

"How often does he get drunk?"

"More than he used to, that's for sure."

"Is there anything I can do?" Riley asked, desperately wanting to help his friend. Flint shook his head.

"The only thing I can think of is finding a trainer who can give him a good battle. He's bored to death and he can't seem to find anything that interests him anymore."

"Mmm." Riley was quiet, thinking about what Flint had just told him.

"Here, just lay him on the couch. I've gotta get to bed. Night Riley." Riley nodded and Flint left. He gently laid Volkner on the couch and sat next to him. Volkner was still lost in his depression, staring up at the ceiling. Riley brushed some stray hairs out of his face, and Volkner finally looked straight at him.

"Perché fai questo per te?" Riley asked softly. Volkner looked confused.

"Huh?" Riley realized he'd spoken out loud.

"It's nothing." Riley sighed and looked at blank TV for a while. When he looked back down, he was startled to see tears crawling down Volkner's face. "Volkner?" He wiped the tears off and studied his face carefully. "Volkner? What's wrong?" Volkner shook his head and looked away. Riley gently turned his face back towards him. "Please Volkner, just tell me. If there's anything I can do…" Volkner snorted.

"Yeah right. There's nothing anyone can do."

"There's got to be something." Volkner sighed.

"I just want life to be interesting again. I'm so bored…God, I hate this." Volkner shifted a little and looked up at Riley. "You're not leaving, are you?" Riley smiled and shook his head.

"Not if you want me to stay." Volkner pushed himself up a little to make room. Riley moved to the cleared space and Volkner laid back down, resting his head in Riley's lap. Riley was a little surprised at first, but decided he was comfortable with this. Without thinking about it, he started playing with Volkner's hair.

"Hey. Riley?" Volkner asked a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"Tell me a story." Riley raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Aren't you getting a little old for bedtime stories?" Volkner shrugged.

"I like hearing you talk." Riley blushed a little at that.

"Well, alright then. What kind of story would you like to hear?"

"I dunno." Volkner yawned. "Somethin' about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah…" Riley laughed quietly.

"Why? I'm not that interesting."

"Nah, you're very interesting Riley. I wanna know more about you."

"Like what?"

"Like…that stuff you were saying. What language is that?"

"Italian."

"Can you say something in Italian?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I dunno. Oh wait, tell me a story in Italian!"

"You mean like a fairy tale or a legend?"

"I don't care., I won't be able to understand it anyways." Riley laughed at that.

"You have a point. Okay, let's see…C'era una volta ..."


A/N: Okay, another chapter is up. I get the feeling that my writing is getting worse, not better :/ My thought processes are so disjointed =P And I think my writing style keeps shifting as well. I keep adding things that probably don't fit with earlier chapters, and once again, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I think it's a little rushed at times :( Oh well, at least I'm writing again.