Inspiration is coming thick and fast for this story, so I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer - I own nothing really.
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Chapter 8: Rumour Mill
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"These films are so predictable!" Leaf sighed.
They were always the same thing. Stupid girls walking right into the trap and getting killed by the masked man with a machete.
Boring.
"Just shut up and watch the movie," Gary yawned, smiling to himself as Leaf leant against him.
"It's so cold in here," she grumbled.
Gary smirked, putting his arm around her. "Better?"
She smiled. "Surprisingly better. You seem to radiate a lot of heat."
"So I'm hot?" he grinned.
She shrugged, looking up at him with a cat-like grin. "I really don't think I should answer that question."
Gary was amused by this, but chose not to say anything as they continued to watch the movie.
Leaf watched as the girl nervously crept into the kitchen asking if anybody was there. "She looks like Michelle."
Gary laughed. "I wish it was Michelle, the fucking whore."
"And this is coming from the supposed manwhore," Leaf giggled, using Drew's choice of words from the previous day.
"Shut up!" Gary whined, throwing the cushion at her.
Leaf smirked, getting up from her position. "You are so going down, Oak!"
With that, she grabbed two cushions and aimed them for his face. However, he caught them and threw them straight back at her.
"Hey!" she growled as he laughed.
"You're so cute when you're mad," Gary grinned.
She scoffed. "Oh yeah? Do you find this cute?" she dived onto him and made sure to dig her elbow into his stomach.
"Not cute as such...but I won't deny that I don't like it. I love a girl who knows what she's doing," Gary smirked.
"Everything has to be sexual with you, doesn't it?" she sighed.
"Well you are on top of me right no-OW!" Gary broke off from his sentence as Leaf yanked on his hair.
She laughed as Gary whined at her to leave his precious hair alone.
The second she loosened up, he grabbed her wrists to stop her from doing anything else. "You're so unruly...perhaps I should tame you Leafy?"
She laughed. "Not happening. Now let me go!"
"But I don't want to," he purred.
Both of them continued their battle for dominance, getting completely lost in the moment. Leaf managed to rip away from him and leapt back onto the floor, before Gary stood up and chased her.
"I guess...you got me cornered," Leaf pouted as Gary stood over her triumphantly.
"Oh...the possibilities of what I could do to you right now Leafy..."
"Try me," the brunette grinned. She had no idea how this had happened but this was far more exciting than those movies. Her heart was racing as Gary's smile twisted into a smirk.
He was dying to kiss her...but he wanted her to kiss him first. He wanted her to want him.
Gary didn't lust after girls, they lusted after him. He didn't want Leaf to be any different.
But as Gary opened his mouth to reply, the doorbell rang.
He looked at Leaf, who began to laugh. "Answer the door, idiot."
Gary rolled his eyes with a sigh, before walking into the hallway.
Damn, he just had a taste of Leaf's flirty side and now it had gone. He wanted it back.
However, his problems grew even larger as he opened the door to an angry female. The girl he was supposed to be with last night...
"Where were you last night?!" she shrieked.
Fuck, Gary thought. He couldn't exactly tell her that he was in Saffron City, sneaking into a Team Rocket meeting. Then he walked Leaf home...
"I was busy," he spoke. However, this just made the redhead even more angry.
"Busy. Busy?! I waited for you all fucking night and you didn't even show! Why didn't you tell me you weren't coming?!"
Gary scratched the top of his head. "Look, I'm..."
He stopped as he realised she wasn't even looking at him. Gary turned around to see Leaf walking into the hall.
The girl looked back at Gary, and she was absolutely seething. "Oh, now I understand. You were busy with her!"
"Uh, what?!" Leaf blinked.
She glared at Leaf with such hatred. "Don't even try playing innocent with me you little slut, I know what you're doing here!"
Leaf was shocked, her eyes glazed over with anger. "Excuse me? Who even are you?!"
The girl laughed. "I'm Annabel. The question is, who are you? The new girl, hooking up with Drew Hayden AND Gary Oak? Ha! Which boy will it be next week, Leaf?"
Gary growled. "I think you've said enough."
She cocked her head to one side. "Oh, and what are you gonna do about it?"
Gary gave her a nasty smirk before slamming the door in her face.
He turned back around and saw Leaf trying to hold back tears. He took her into his arms immediately as she shed a few tears.
"Leaf...please don't cry..." he murmured.
But Annabel's words had seriously hit home. "Is what she said true? Is that how everybody sees me..?
Gary wanted to lie to her so much, hell, he was good at it. But he just couldn't do it.
Rumours had been going around about Leaf. Judgemental, pathetic rumours, but people were still talking.
"People are always going to talk, Leafy. You can't let it get to you like this..."
Leaf wiped away her tears. "I know...I...it just hurts. They don't even know me and they've judged me. I'm friends with you and i've merely spoken to Drew and a few other guys, and they just start rumours that I'm sleeping with them all?!"
Gary smiled - a genuine smile - and spoke, "They thrive on drama, trust me I know. Whatever happens, you know the truth, Leaf."
Leaf grinned. "Where would I be without you, Gary?"
He smiled. "I have no idea."
She broke their embrace, before heading back into the front room.
"You don't have to leave, you know..." Gary spoke as he watched her putting on her boots.
"I know...I'm just not in the mood anymore." she sighed. "I...I'll see you on Monday."
"Sure," he murmured, giving her a swift hug before she walked out of his door, giving him a wave and a smile as she left.
He watched her go before closing the door. He partially blamed himself for the events between Leaf and Annabel.
He really hoped this wasn't going to escalate any further.
"Hi Leaf," Misty yawned as she met up with her friend outside the school gates.
"Hey Mist," she replied, before walking inside.
But something was wrong.
Everybody was looking at her. The whispers began. The giggles and glares started up.
"Misty..." Leaf whispered.
Misty knew what was going on. "Just ignore them. They have nothing else better to do with their lives," Misty spoke that last part far louder, so the whisperers could hear her.
They were in the same class together, so Misty walked with her. "Is this about Saturday?" the redhead asked.
After Leaf had gotten home from Gary's, she'd called Misty and spilled everything to her.
"Yeah. Annabel must have told everybody about me being at Gary's on Saturday..."
"That bitch..." Misty growled. "This school is full of bitches, trust me Leaf we've all been a victim at some point while we've been here. They'll get bored of you and move on to the next one."
"What was their problem with you?" she asked.
Misty seemed almost vacant. "I...uh..."
Leaf had never seen Misty stutter before. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me..."
Misty responded immediately, as the bell rang for class. "I want to tell you but we have class...it's only battle class, would you ditch with me if I told you?"
"Of course I will," Leaf responded almost immediately. She really didn't want to go to battle class anyway, all the gossip girls were there.
Leaf and Misty snuck off to the toilets. Leaf slung her bag on the floor and yawned.
"So Mist...what happened?"
Misty smiled half-heartedly. "Don't tell the girls about this, please..."
Leaf blinked. "You...you haven't told anyone?"
"No. Anyway, this shouldn't take too long. Two years ago...Brianna found out that I...I was crushing on Ash."
"Ash as in Ketchum?" Leaf questioned. "You liked him?!"
"Yeah," Misty sighed. "This was long before he started dating Melody. So anyway...Brianna found out, Arceus knows how, and she used it as dirty blackmail..."
Her eyes began to water, as if she was trying to repress a bad memory.
"What did she do to you?" Leaf whispered.
"She turned me into her personal slave, that's what she did. I'd do everything she asked of me...I'm...I'm so ashamed of myself!" Tears escaped from Misty's eyes and she wiped them away furiously.
"They're all so horrible..." Leaf gasped. She tried to put her own problems aside for a moment.
"It wasn't what she made me do that was the major problem...it was the fact that she was spiteful enough to hang a simple crush over my head like that!"
Leaf took Misty into an embrace as she cried. Seeing the redhead at such a low was honestly so scary for Leaf. Misty was always the one comforting everybody else...it was strange.
"So whatever you do Leaf...d...don't let them get to you. They'll get bored of you, I promise."
"Why can't we just tell somebody about them? Surely the school doesn't tolerate bullying..." Leaf asked.
Misty sighed. "We can't. Of course, they'll get a reprimand, promise they won't ever do it again, all that stuff. But the thing is...if you do that, you become Public Enemy Number 1. They'll never leave you alone...ever."
Leaf blinked, knowing that there was going to be no way out of this. "How do you know this..?"
"It happened to a girl in our year. Although, she's not here anymore. The bullying became too much after she told on Brianna, so she moved schools."
Leaf was shocked. Brianna was able to push someone that far, so they had to move to another school just to get away from her.
And now...Brianna wasn't even the worst one.
"But...you say it like Brianna's the Queen Bee?" she spoke.
Misty looked down. "She was...before Michelle arrived not too long ago. It was as if she just...stepped down from her position and handed it over to her, it was so strange."
"But Michelle is worse than Brianna...oh my god," Leaf whispered.
"Everything will be ok...just keep your head up, chick," Misty tried to console her.
Before both Leaf and Misty knew it, the bell had rung for second period.
"Let's go..." Leaf sighed.
Gym class. She was dreading it.
Walking into the sports hall with Misty, Leaf felt gazes on her by everyone else in the room. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, so everybody was standing around and waiting.
"What are you all staring at?!" demanded Misty, although she knew the answer. They backed off a little, that was until Gary made his way inside the hall.
He noticed that everyone's stare was on him and Leaf was looking at the ground, maybe she was hoping it would swallow her up right now.
What was going on..?
A few girls came rushing over Gary.
"Gary! Like, oh my god, are you fucking the new girl?" one of them asked, looking over at Leaf who had her back turned to everyone in the room. Including him...
"What?!" Gary blinked, clearly shocked.
"I heard from Stacy who was told by Sophia that Annabel said that she caught you and that Leaf girl having sex at your house on Saturday."
Gary was even more surprised. Leaf was merely at his house watching movies with him, and Annabel had exaggerated this to try and give Leaf the reputation of a slut?
Leaf meanwhile was almost frozen into place, willing herself not to cry. Those girls were like birds, mindlessly chattering to each other loudly; regardless of the consequences. Their words were killing her.
Everyone was talking about her, yet not one of them dared to approach her.
"I can't do this," she whispered to Misty. "I need to get out of here!"
"Leaf!" Misty yelled after her but Leaf had already gone, sprinting away to the only place she deemed safe around here.
Gary sighed, glaring at the group of cheerleaders and gossip girls who were currently making the poor girl's life a misery. He then ran out after the tormented brunette, stunning almost everyone in the room.
Especially his best friend Cameron.
May was watching the events from the sidelines, and knew where Leaf was headed. She quickly slipped out after her, unbeknownst to the others who were speculating twice as many rumours now, following them both.
Drew was stuck. He knew that that May, Leaf and Gary were going to the base, and his heart was telling him to go too. But how was he supposed to explain his absence the coach? He was the captain of the football team, he expected him to be an example to everyone else.
Fuck it.
Drew managed to slip out without being noticed, thanks to all the drama, picking up the pace as he made his way to the base. He entered the code and made his way down the elevator.
Walking forward, he saw Leaf in crying Gary's arms. The brunet looked as if he was about to cry himself.
Drew turned around to see May about to enter Professor Oak's office. "May," he spoke softly. She was so shocked to see him standing there.
She sounded slightly frantic. "What are you doing here?! People will notice you're gone Drew, you should go back..."
"I'd rather not go back," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
He also couldn't help but notice May's striking legs in those shorts of hers...
"I'm staying here with you guys," Drew smiled. May was taken aback, Drew usually tried to stay as far away from their dysfunctional little spy family as he could, and now he was volunteering to stay?
May shrugged it off. "Alright...I was just going to ask the Professor if he could arrange for someone to pick up our bags and bring them down here, come inside with me?"
He nodded, so she opened the door and they both entered the office.
"Drew and May? What brings you both here?" the Professor asked, surprised that the two of them were here without his consent.
"Something's happened to Leaf and she's really upset. She's outside with Gary right now. I was just wondering if you could ask somebody to collect all our things from the changing rooms and bring them down here?"
Drew added on to the end. "After we're dressed, we'll go back to class..."
The Professor rubbed his forehead. "I'll arrange for your belongings to be brought over here...but I don't want you to go back to class just yet."
"Why?" Drew asked.
The Professor smiled, yet his expression seemed so serious. "I have to see to Leaf, but I have something that I need you four to do for me tonight, and I need you to prepare for it now."
"What's going on Professor?" May asked quickly, knowing that something had happened.
The Professor glanced towards the door as Gary and Leaf walked in.
The fact that his womanising grandson had his arm around the tearful brunette definitely pulled at his heart strings.
He knew it; letting Leaf join their team was most definitely for the better.
"Hello you two," he smiled, before telling them what he had told Drew and May.
He quickly looked at Leaf. "Are you alright, Leaf?" he asked, definite concern in his tone of voice.
Leaf nodded, pushing all her problems out of the way for now. It was for the sake of the team. "I'll be okay Professor, right now I just want to know what's going on."
"Before we act, we need to prepare. Maybelle, I need you to search the Kanto archives and narrow down the searches to match the Legendary Caller as much as you can. I need a list of each teenage female in our region who could possibly be the Caller," Professor Oak looked over at May, who nodded.
The Legendary Caller was the name that the team had given to the Legendary controlling girl.
"What about the rest of us?" Leaf asked.
"I need you to go back to the secret Rocket base Leaf, I'll explain all in a moment. Gary, I want you to go with her."
"Sure, Gramps," Gary smiled. He wanted to spend as much time with Leaf as he could...especially after what had happened.
"What about me?" Drew asked.
"I want you to stay here with Maybelle. You're going to keep Gary and Leaf updated with May's findings, and vice versa."
"Sure thing." To be honest, Drew didn't mind about staying with May at all.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to miss an entire day of school for this? Is there something you're not telling us Professor?" May asked.
Gary snorted. "Of course not!"
The Professor put his hand on Gary's shoulder, turning to look at the intelligent brunette. "Ah Maybelle, so on-point as usual."
The were interrupted by a knock on the door. Their bags had been brought down here, as requested.
"Thank you," the Professor smiled. "If you four would like to go and change back into your clothes, we'll finish this talk afterwards."
They went their separate ways, to the changing rooms installed here.
Leaf began to walk down the stairs to one of the rooms, feeling nervous, yet almost excited.
Maybe she was going to find out who the Caller was, maybe she was going to stop Team Rocket!
However, her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a noise from behind her.
She turned around immediately, none of the others had headed the same way as she did...
Nothing was there.
She was sure she had heard something.
"Hello?" Leaf called out.
She was intimidated and freaked out by now. She turned around and walked a little faster, to hurry up.
As she was walking, the lights cut, submerging the frightened brunette in total darkness.
She let out a terrified gasp, as she couldn't see a thing.
No...it had to be Gary or Drew playing a joke on her. It had to be them. "Gary! Is that you?!" she called out. "Put the lights back on, this really isn't funny!"
She was shaking, so she turned on her tail and ran back through this never ending hallway. She heard a noise again, only this time it was closer...
"I give up! Whoever that is, you win, please just stop!" she shrieked.
However, her hopes of escape had cut short as she slammed straight into something. A human figure.
She froze for a moment. Who was this... As the figure recoiled and grabbed her, she screamed. He was a male. She didn't know who, but he was definitely masculine.
The figure slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the shaking brunette.
She tried to wriggle herself out, kicking and clawing with muffled screams...but it was useless.
She felt something sharp inject in her arm, and her body fell weak.
She was slipping from consciousness...
She couldn't fight it any longer, and this huge figure was taking her away.
Leaf slowly but surely succumbed to the darkness around her, letting it swallow her up.
Then...nothing.
Authors Note: OOOOOOOH. This is where the interesting stuff begins. I've been planning this out and it's all so exciting, there's a lot of mystery x) I'm actually nearly finished with the next chapter, although I'm losing inspiration for the other stories..
I hope you can drop a review, because I love reading them ^_^ Oh and thanks for 100+ reviews already! You guys are the best!
Sorry for the cliffhanger, it had to be done ;)
-Tay
