Chapter 7.
Day 645
Today is the start of N's third day staying at my house.
It also marks the third day of my not being able to eat anywhere outside of the kitchen.
When my mother suggested to N that he could help out with cleaning, he took it to a whole new level. It was his first day living here when he found me eating in the living room. He watched me eat like a hawk, his eyes flickering around my plate. The minute I was done, he rushed towards me, grabbed the plate and went to wash it.
My mom thought it was hilarious. She would always crack a joke relating to N's housekeeping, but he was oblivious to her jabs. He would continue to attack the couches with a lint roller as if no one was there. Sometimes, I would just sit and watch him. It was free entertainment, and I had a front row seat to N making an idiot of himself.
It was also extremely cute.
The spotless house wasn't the only good thing about N's compulsive obsession with cleaning. It kept him busy and free from any breakdowns.
That's probably why he likes it so much. I thought to myself as I watched him vacuum.
I barely heard someone knocking on the door over the sound of the vacuum. I jumped up to go answer it while N started to push the vacuum into the hallway.
"Remember to watch out for the cord!" I called over my shoulder. I opened the door with a giant smile plastered on my face. It immediately disappeared when I turned to greet the visitor.
"Hey." Cheren said, shoving his hands in his pocket.
He was the last person I'd expect to see. I hadn't spoken to him since that night in the parking lot, and I avoided him even more when I was told he had a crush on me. I didn't feel comfortable; I desperately wanted him to leave. I was going to talk to him again eventually, but I wasn't ready to do it yet. Dealing with N's problems has drained me. I don't have time for myself right now.
I crossed my arms against my chest. "Hey."
He hunched over. "Mind if I come in?" He asked.
Before I could answer, he pushed himself past me and into the house. "Is anybody home? I hear the vacuum."
I was too shocked to say anything or act against him. I just stared at him, my eyes wide. Before, he would have never stormed into my house.
What's wrong with him?
But Cheren's change in demeanor wasn't my main concern right now. I had to get him the hell out of my house before he realized it wasn't my mom cleaning in the hallway.
"Cheren, you have to go." I breathed, grabbing his arm. "I'm really busy. You need to come back another time."
I had almost dragged him out the door when I heard the sound of the vacuum shut off. I muttered a curse. Cheren stared at me in shock, as if he had never heard me say a bad word before.
I rolled my eyes.
"Touko!" I heard N yell, "If you leave the door open, bugs will come in!"
I slapped my palms against my face and groaned. What a way to make an entrance, N.
"Is that-?" Cheren gasped. Before he could finish his question, N swung around the corner of the hallway, panting for air.
The minute he saw Cheren, his face fell and he looked away awkwardly. "Oh, sorry." He muttered and began to leave the room.
"You're back?" Cheren asked in disbelief, a rough edge to his voice. "And you're here?"
N turned around, lifting his chain defiantly. "Yeah." He just about growled. "Is there a problem?"
"There is!" Cheren shot back, taking a step towards N. "Do you know how much hell you put her through?"
N narrowed his eyes, "If I wasn't welcome here, then Touko wouldn't had let me stay. That's not for you to decide." As if in response to Cheren's threatening gesture, N took a step towards him.
I clenched my fists. I was pissed beyond belief, but most of all, I was nervous about what N might do. In no way was he violent, but he was fragile enough that almost anything conflict related could trigger one of his attacks.
On top of being nervous, I was confused. It was totally Cheren's character to be rude, but N just didn't seem like that kind of person. This was one of the rare moments where I didn't have an explanation or theory for his peculiar behavior.
I jumped in the gap between them, putting my palm on Cheren's chest. I didn't touch N for obvious reasons, but I still held my arm out threateningly.
"Stop being stupid!" I snapped.
"Touko, you're the one being stupid!" Cheren huffed, taking a step back. "He left you hanging for years and now you're taking him back?"
"I'm not in the mood for your shit right now." I shouted. "You need to get out."
Before I could hear a reply, I was pulled back roughly. My heart skipped a beat and I gasped in shock as I lost my footing. I braced myself for a fall, but instead of landing on the hard floor, arms wrapped around me. N was hugging me.
It was different, though. His fingers didn't dig into my skin like usual; this was a real, affectionate hug. But, I didn't feel the same way as I did when other people hugged me. He curved his body so that I fit into him perfectly. His lips barely brushing my neck, and his hands were precariously close to my breasts.
The way he held me was almost… sexual.
I took in a deep, shaky breath and stayed still. So many emotions flooded through me… Excitement. Nervousness. Love. Surprise. Pleasure. Lust.
Lust, definitely lust.
"She told you to get out." N murmured. His breath tickled my neck, and I was so preoccupied by N's closeness that I didn't notice Cheren leave. The only thing that alerted me to his exit was the slamming of my front door. I felt a little bad about how N treated Cheren, but I wasn't worrying about that now.
Call me easy, but I was absolutely willing to let N do whatever he wanted with me. I've never felt this way before, the anticipation was almost excruciating.
"Our Lord N." A voice hissed.
I jumped and N abruptly let go of me, panting. My whole body felt completely weak, but luckily, I stayed standing. All those feelings were gone in an instant, and I resisted the urge to scream out of frustration. I crossed my legs, disgruntled.
I then realized my sexual frustrations were the last thing I should be concentrating on at the moment.
I spun around to see the three familiar, hunched up bodies that I had become accustomed to on my Pokémon journey.
The Shadow Triad always appeared out of nowhere. Before, I was always excited to see them because they would lead me to N. Now that they were in my living room and had completely ruined my moment, they were less than welcome.
N straightened his posture and smoothed his hair. He looked slightly surprised, but he regarded them warmly. I just stood behind him with my arms across my chest, glaring daggers at them.
"Lord N," the one in the front hissed, "We sense your distress."
N shook his head, "I'm sorry. It's over now."
The lead member dipped his head and in an instant, they were gone. Whenever they disappeared, it sent a shiver down my spine. It made me uneasy. After all, they could transport anywhere. I looked behind me warily.
N gave me a sideways glance and started to walk into the kitchen. Before, I would have let him walk away, but I was too annoyed to just let him leave. I needed answers.
"What was that about?" I asked. He stopped and pursed his lips, turning on his heels.
"The Shadow Triad is trained to appear when they sense a bad change in my emotions…" He explained, slightly embarrassed.
I bit my lip. That's not what I had meant. But being the coward that I am, I just went along with it. I thought I'd be brave enough to bring up the moment, but I chickened out.
So instead, I asked my usual curious question. "Are they the ones who were with you when you were away?"
His forehead creased. "How did you know I stayed with someone?"
"N…" I said softly, "the first night you were here you had a breakdown in my room. There's no way you could have survived all that time alone."
He stared at me, taking it what I had said. His eyes slowly slid down and he sighed.
"I'll tell you in the kitchen." He murmured, turning around without waiting for my response. I rushed after him, anxious to feel his closeness again.
I hopped on the counter top and let my legs dangle over the edge. N sat on the chair and grabbed my legs, wrapping his arms around them like he was hugging a stuffed animal. I gasped and hit my hands against the counter to regain my balance.
I laughed breathlessly, but N was staring at my legs. He didn't have a hungry look in his eyes; in fact, there was absolutely no expression on his face. He was completely blank.
I became quiet. I knew N was getting ready to tell me a story, and given his track record, it was probably going to make me depressed.
He rested his chin on my leg. "Before I came here, I was staying with a former Plasma grunt. She had found me one day and offered me to stay with her." He paused. "Actually, she literally begged me to stay with her. She was really young and was spouting some stuff about how I was still her king, no matter what had happened."
I narrowed me eyes. N had stayed with a girl?
"I stayed with her for most of my time away. She never asked anything of me. I just assumed she enjoyed my presence." He shifted in his chair. "She was gone a lot, but it didn't bother me. She was very flighty and jumpy. If I would start to have one of my…" He blinked and flexed his jaw. "She would run off, terrified. The Shadow Triad was the ones who were always there, popping in at the times I needed them. The only reason I stayed with the girl was because she was nice to me."
"I didn't want to leave and risk the chance of not finding anybody who treated me better than she did. But then, one day, she took me out with her for the first time. I found it odd, because she would always leave me at her house. But I was desperate for any kind of interaction, so I followed her eagerly."
N looked down so that his hair covered his eyes. His bottom lip was quivering. He looked so pitiful, and I desperately wanted to give him a hug, to tell him everything was alright. I stayed still. I needed him to continue his story. I needed to know everything about his past, for his sake.
"I was confused because the building he took me in had a lot of doorways. She dragged me along with no regard for my problem… I was frantic. The whole place reminded me of the castle, and the way she pulled me nearly made me fall apart right there."
"But finally she made it to the room. By that time I was ready to go into any room, so long as to get out of all the hallways. She opened the door and I rushed in. It was then did I notice the giant Plasma symbols that were hanging all over the room. She explained to me how she hoped to recreate Team Plasma, and she needed me to lead her. She already had hundreds of former members lined up to continue the goal of Pokémon Liberation."
I clenched my teeth. This girl hadn't taken him in for his well-being; she did it to use him. She hadn't even cared about his break downs. I stared at the top of his head in disbelief. How could someone be so cruel? Especially with N being as sweet as he was.
"I didn't want that, not after I had seen how great humans can be with their Pokémon. She started to yell at me, but I didn't know what to say. The Shadow Triad appeared and they transported me out of there, but it was already too late. Once I got back to her house, I went crazy. I broke all the dishes, threw the chairs against the wall, and tore up the couches… I totally destroyed everything. I left before she could arrive home."
He glanced at me. "That was about two weeks ago. The night I came back here."
"Wow." I murmured. It was all I could muster.
He took a deep breath. "That's why I had broken down so easily that night. I was already on edge. Riding on Zekrom had calmed me for a while, but it was just… too much for me." He closed his eyes and smiled. "Have you noticed that I have been fine this whole time with you? It's because I know you care about me, I can tell by the way you watch over me. This house is free of any stress. It's my safe haven."
"You're right; I do care about you a lot." I murmured, rubbing circles on his back. "I really enjoy having you around."
N sniffed, and I wondered if he had been crying. I tried to sneak a peek at his face, but he grabbed me and pulled me off the counter and onto his lap.
I was blushing furiously as he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. It was nothing like the hug he gave me earlier, this one was friendlier.
"Okay," I said, fighting back any hyperventilation. "Enough of that. Can you tell me why you reacted so angry with Cheren earlier?"
"Oh." He said nervously. He rested his arms on my legs, oblivious to my blushing face. "It was just… He took a step in front of you."
I laughed. "And?"
This time, it was his turn to blush. He opened his mouth a few times before he actually said anything. His eyebrows knitted together and he looked at the floor, as if trying to remember exactly what he had done.
"The way he did it. It was as if he was protecting you." He unwound one of his arms from around me and scratched his head. "Like you were his. I didn't like it."
I let his words sink in, and when they did, I felt even more embarrassed with being on his lap. He had gotten jealous, extremely jealous over me.
I nearly gasped when I realized what he had done. The reason he had hugged me so intimately was a display of ownership. He was showing Cheren that I was his, and only his.
N was fighting dirty, and he sure as hell knew how to play the game.
I was seriously surprised. I had no idea he could act so deceiving. He performed that little stunt so he could chase Cheren off, and though I'd never get him to admit it now, that's exactly why he had done it. He had beat Cheren and also had me playing to his own tune at the same time.
I would have been pissed off if I wasn't extremely impressed.
I smiled to myself. There was no questioning N's feelings for me now, the only question was when things were going to start happening between us. In a way, I hope it won't be for a while. N had toyed with me in the worst way possible, and I was stupid enough to fall for it. I wasn't about to lie down and let him get away with it; I still have some unfinished work to do.
Let the psychological warfare begin.
