Author's Notes:
Ayyyy, it's been quite a while. I've kinda got sidetracked by the Sword Art Online light novels and the House of Hades book .-. Anyways, I bring you to a chapter done in Leaf's prospective. I feel as if I could've done better, but oh well.
But before I let you continue, I have something to say about my other story. I'm sorry to say that I'm going to be deleting it. It's just that I really didn't plan it out well, so I'm going to take it down. Hopefully in the future, I'll be more prepared for that story and I'll post it back again.
Anyways, as a disclaimer, I don't own Pokémon or most of the characters/settings. I only own Charlotte as a character. Leggo!
'I can't believe it's already been a week.' I sighed as my legs swung from the counter. I was currently home alone, since Ash had a date with Yellow and Paul and May were out shopping. Of course that girl can make Paul do anything she asks for; poor guy's wrapped around her finger.
As I slid myself off the counter, I began to prepare myself some breakfast. As I mixed some batter for pancakes, my mind began to wonder. It first landed on the phone call Barry made to us yesterday. He exclaimed that Dawn didn't want to tell him anything—saying that the past hurt her too much, (luckily May made sure Paul's mouth was shut at this part) and demanded the truth. So, we all took turns explaining out past. First Ash, talking about Misty, then Paul about Dawn, then May with Drew (she left out what had happened a few days before) and finally myself with Gary.
I'd expect him to explode from all this information, call us out, or at least yell at Paul for 'hurting' his girlfriend, but the dolt took it with surprising calm. He said that he wouldn't take sides, but did apologize for Gary's behavior.
I flinched at the memory, but shook my head as my thoughts continued to wonder. Then there was Red, sweet, moronically comforting Red. Every single day he'd visit me, give me a lily or offered to take me out. He has all his studies to do, yet he's still looking after me. But…even he can't deny that something between us had changed. I noticed that I've smiled less and less, and he's been more and more cautious.
I frowned as I placed a pan on the stove and finished making myself some breakfast. Boy, I'm happy my mother taught me how to cook even though I didn't want to. And I got to say, I'm a pretty damn good cook as well.
As I sat down and began to eat, my mind couldn't help but remember what had happened with May. I still couldn't believe that they are here, in this town. After four years you'd think they'd get the hint that we don't want to see them. But no, they're here, somewhere in this town. Luckily, we haven't seen them after the Drew incident, but we're still wary. From what had happened between May and Drew, our ex-boyfriends/girlfriends seem to mean business.
I'm just happy that May rebounded so quickly. After the night of the incident, May woke up a bit dull, but was still mostly all smiles. And she's lucky she has Paul—who is like her guard dog. He's like the protective older brother May never had, which is weird in that sense because they like each other.
Shaking my head, I finished eating and vetoes against drinking anything other than a cup of water. Now with my head clear of any past thoughts, boredom started to seep in.
"Ughh…I knew I should've gone with May and Paul…" I went to go wash my plate and then walked towards the living room. It wasn't really big, but big enough for me to lay down on the carpeted floor and think. Now….I could go to Red's house, but he said that he has a lot of studying to do… I could stay here and watch TV….but there's almost nothing on day-time television.
Sighing, that left me with one last thing: the park. I haven't been there in a while…and I could use the exercise. So, getting myself up I quickly went up to my room and fixed my hair into a messy ponytail and sunglasses. I was already changed into a regular T-shirt and skinny jeans, with within a few minutes I was out of the house.
The park wasn't too far away, about a five-minute walk and I'll be there. Gosh, I'm so happy that there aren't any ravenous fans here. Don't get me wrong, I love my fans, but some of them are a bit too….erm….eccentric for me.
Soon, I managed to get my way to the park with a couple of hellos from the locals. I placed my sunglasses on my head as I took a small stroll. Little kids were running around on the grass, some friendly wild Pokémon were playing as well.
"Ah…I wish I could have a Pokémon…" I muttered.
You see, not everybody could have a Pokémon. The government viewed them as a sort of 'military animal' because of their powers. So, of course, only the military were allowed to own them and battle with them. The only way a civilian could get a Pokémon was either befriending a wild one or one of their loved ones who's in the army died and they passed their Pokémon to their family. It's pretty sad.
I had fallen so lost in thought that I didn't realize that I was about to crash into someone until it was too late. I managed to catch myself before I fell and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Leaf?" was the person's baffled replied.
I recognized the voice as I look at the person on the floor. She had long, light auburn hair and soft green eyes. She had a warm smile on her face as she said kindly, "Well…It's been a while, Leafy."
"D-Daisy…?" I was completely shocked to say the least. Daisy Oak, the girl I saw as a sister growing up and Gary's older sister, was right there in front of me. I offered my hand to help her up, which she took.
After brushing a bit of the dirt off, she smiled at me again, "You look as if you've seen a ghost Leafy. C'mon, let's walk for a bit."
I nodded as the two of us began to walk. I felt a bit uncomfortable as we walked together, but she seemed perfectly calm. That was the good thing about her—she was always calm and collect—which is such a complete contrast to Gary's obnoxious and rather rude personality.
I scowled slightly at the thought of Gary, but then, I heard her giggle, "So, Leafy, how's it been? It's been about five years since I last saw you."
"Yeah…ever since you got married and left me." I said jokingly.
"Oh please, I was supposed to be the one crying at my wedding." She replied back sarcastically. Apparently all the Oaks are a sarcastic group in general.
I let out a long sigh, "Anyways, I've been doing great. I'm pretty sure that you heard that I'm in a band?"
"Naturally."
"And other than that….Nothing else really; Music's the only thing on my mind right now. How have you been, Daisy?"
"Well….after I got married, my husband and I moved to Johto so he can continue his research about the Pokémon there. I've gotten a degree in the Pokémon field, so I'm trying to become a researcher like Grandpa Oak as well." She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, "Poor Grandpa, he's been hard at work recently."
"He's always been a hard worker." I smiled warmly. Old Oak was a complete Pokémon fanatic, always studying their behavior, their moves, everything. He's a high esteemed professor to say the least.
Daisy, who was about an inch or two taller than me, looked down with curious eyes, "And how were things between you and Gary?"
The warmth that had entered my body when I started talking to Daisy soon left, and chills went down my spine. My happy smile turned into a small frown. Daisy's smile also vanished as she said, "Um…are you two fighting? What happened?"
I looked at her, incredulous, "You….you don't know anything?"
She sighed, shaking her head sadly, "Well….more or less. About four years ago, Gary called asking to talk to my husband, you remember Derek right?"
"Yes, of course. He's…."
'He's the reason why Gary had the guts to ask me out.' I thought, but the words just couldn't leave my lips.
Daisy nodded softly, "Gary said it was serious and he needed to chat with Derek. I passed it to him and the two talked for hours. When he hung up, I asked him why my brother would rather talk to him than me, but he kept his mouth sealed. Said it was private. About six months later I went to visit and I saw Gary hanging out with a blond girl. I asked Grandpa Oak about that, but he got angry and refused to tell me anything. I was hoping I'd see you in Pallet Town, but then you were never there—until I found out that you were in a band."
"W-Why wouldn't he tell you? Gary was super close to you, wasn't he?"
Daisy rolled her eyes, "But he's also prideful. He wouldn't tell me something that damaged his ego or heart unless I pried it from him. Since I moved out, I never had the chance."
I crossed my arms, deep in though. Gary was the type of guy who would proclaim to the world that he got a new girlfriend. Hell, he did that to me when we were in school. He even rubbed it in his sister's face more—just because he can. So, why wouldn't he tell her?
Then, Daisy's voice took me out of my thoughts, "By the look on your face, Leaf, it looks pretty serious. Tell me what happened. I want to help."
"Well…" I started, feeling a lump in my throat grow, ""There's really not much to say. I caught Gary cheating on me, I broke up with him. Found a new boyfriend. And now Gary's haunting my life."
"What do you mean by that?" Her voice was so calm and kind, that I had the sudden urge to cry.
Suddenly, I felt as is a million memories flash before my eyes. There was the time I met Gary, the time we went to school together, the times we played tag and all sorts of other games, the time we entered Junior High, the times where he'd rub all his girlfriends in my face while I preferred to stay single, the times where we'd just hang out and talk, the time when he asked me out and all of our dates. Then, the time we broke up, and the memories of what happened a week ago.
I felt my breathing quicken as tears formed in my eyes. I pushed them back as I took in a shaky breath. I looked at her, who was giving me a worried stare, but before I said anything, a sarcastic voice called out to us, "Well, look what we have here."
A single tear rolled off my check as Daisy and I turned to the sound of the voice. There he was—Gary Oak with his degradable girlfriend Charlotte, who didn't look so pleased to see me. Feeling my nerves steel at the sight of the girl, I retorted, "Hello there Charlotte, is your nose feeling any better?"
"Why you lowlife.." She growled at me.
However, she was cut off as Daisy clearly interrupted, "Gary. I didn't expect to see you here…."
He shrugged at her, "Well, I kind of live in this town now. My real question is, what are you doing here, and with…..her."
Gary pointed in my direction with his head as anger bubbled up inside of me. He didn't even dare to look at me. I gritted my teeth as Daisy answered, her voice surprisingly calm, "Studying. Derek had to come to the Sinnoh region to research the Snover population in the mountains and I had to study the grass Pokémon here in Majolica Town. And as being here with Leaf, we bumped into each other and decided to catch up."
He still didn't look at me as he scowled slightly, "Well, that's nice to know. Did she tell you her side of the story?"
"What do you mean my side of the story?" I spat out at him. However, he just ignored me—as if I were just an insect.
Daisy looked at me, then back at her brother worryingly, "What do you mean by her side of the story?"
That's when Charlotte, who was in murderous silence after my jab at her, whined at Gary, "This is so stupid! Let's just go—you can talk to your sister later."
"You can go—I have something so say to her now."
"Actually," Daisy replied, now for the first time, glaring at Gary, "It seems as if I have nothing to do with this. This is a matter between you and Leaf. It seems as if you two have some unfinished business."
She then calmed walked towards Charlotte and grabbed the blond by her shoulder and smiled forcefully. Daisy seemed as excited to be with that witch as if she were about to jump off a fifty meter cliff. She let out a small sigh, "Besides, I want to talk to my brother's…..girlfriend, in private."
Charlotte looked at Gary with pleading eyes, almost begging him to say no. However, Gary just nodded slightly, avoiding my glare, "That'll be great. You two can get to know each other better."
Completely flabbergasted, Charlotte turned and glared hatefully at me—as if I were the cause of all her troubles. Then, letting out a whiny scream, she stormed off. Daisy shrugged apologetically at me as she went after Charlotte.
There was about seven feet of distance between me and Gary, and he didn't even dare to look up at me. His posture seemed relaxed, but his shoulders were tense, and his mouth was fixed in a scowl.
Silence overtook us, and my anger levels were rising. I was waiting for him to say something. After all, he's the reason why we are both now forced into this situation. However, he stayed completely silent. The memories from what happened not too long ago tried to overtake me, but I pushed them back as I scowled.
Throwing my hands down to my sides, I rolled my eyes and turned round, "If you're not going to say anything—then I'll just be leaving."
I walked about three steps away, but then felt a hand wrap around my wrist and turn me around. I look up to see that he was now only a foot away from me. His green eyes stared intensely into mine. I felt a blush creeping up on me, but I forced it down. He still said nothing.
I tried to pull my wrist away, "Idiot…are you just going to stand there or are you going to say something?"
He then smirked, that irritating smirk that somehow got me to melt all those years ago, and then let out a chuckle, "You're still as fiery as ever."
"You should've realized after our little screaming match."
His smirked dropped, "That wasn't my fault."
I finally managed to pull my wrist away, and then took three steps away from him. I pulled my hand closer to my chest—feeling suddenly over-defensive. He seemed to flinch slightly at this, but I ignored it as I said, "Gary, you embarrassed me in front of my friends, my boyfriend. You claimed that what I said to your… precious girlfriend was all in a fit of jealousy."
My voice was getting higher and higher with every few words, and the sting of tears assaulted my eyes as I spat, "And then you go on to claim that my feelings for Red were just to get over you? Then you have the nerve to say that it isn't your fault? That the reason why you broke my heart wasn't your fault? You're not a dense guy, so this shouldn't be that hard to figure out."
He glared at me, and I took another step back. However, he didn't seem angry. He seemed…..hurt. That good-for-nothing, pitiable excuse for a researcher looks as if I were the one who stomped on his measly little heart. As much as I tried, I felt my eyes go a bit watery. I let my bangs over my eyes as he whispered, ""You never let me explain…"
I crossed my arms, my bangs still covering my teary eyes. I don't know how I managed to still talk in a clear voice, "Then explain….Explain how what I saw wasn't you cheating on me. How what I saw was just a flicker of light or a delusion. Pray tell—I want to know."
Through my bangs, I saw him open his mouth as if to retort, but then closed it again. I let out a humorless laugh as I turned around again. A single tear fell from my eyes as my voice finally trembled, "You don't have an excuse…. just leave me alone. Go back to your easy girlfriend and go away."
I managed to walk a few more steps, but yet again, I felt his hand wrap around my wrist. As he turned me around, I was prepared to start telling him off, but his lips fell on mine and I suddenly didn't have the strength to yell.
I lost my strength as my knees went weak, but he wrapped his arms around me and held me up. My eyes were wide as he kissed me. The anger that I felt seemed to disappear, and the only thing I felt was our rapid heart-beats. I closed my eyes for a second, tears streaming down my face. I felt his hand brush them away, letting go of my wrist in the process.
Through the darkness, I saw countless memories of when I was younger, when Gary and I were dating; our dates to the beach…to the Viridian Forest… and countless more. I allowed myself to relax into the kiss, finally feeling a sense of happiness that Red never made me feel.
'Red…' I suddenly saw his smiling face and instantly, I opened my eyes and pushed Gary away.
"Red….oh Arceus….what have I done…?" More tears fell, and I felt as if I had betrayed the one person who loved me the most. I looked up to Gary, who held onto an emotionless mask.
Infuriated, I stepped up and punched him in the shoulder. I couldn't muster anything to say to him as he fell down. He looked at me with a shocked and equally angry expression. However, I ignored it as I ran away.
"LEAF!" I heard him yell, but I didn't look back. Tears continued to fall as I ran…and ran…and ran…
My eye sight was disoriented through the countless tears, but I pushed through as I ran out of the park. I ran down a couple of streets, and in the five minutes it took me to make it to the park, I made it back home in two.
I opened the door as I let out a choked sob, and rushed inside. As soon as the door closed I fell to the floor, bringing my knees to my chest and placing my head down.
I hated myself. I felt as if I had turned into the person I left long ago: A liar…..and filthy cheater. Even though the sobs and the gut-wrenching self-loathing, my lips still tingled from the kiss.
Everything seemed to be spinning around me, nothing seemed right. Even when Paul and May found me sobbing there ten minutes later, I could only muster this through my sobs, "I-I'm s-sorry…..R-Red….I-I'm s-so s-sorry…."
Ah Leaf, how broken must your heart be. As a little trailer, my next chapter is actually going to be about Ash's date with Yellow. And, of course, how can you have Ash without Misty? Be prepared for that.
Anyways, I've said enough. Leave a review if you liked the chapter and I'll see you all next time.
~PkerKairi.
