Cycling Road Rage

Lyndon could not believe that Spring Break was almost over. The months had flown by and he had lost count on how many events he and Amelie had attended around January. Lizzy had still been leaving him drawings and writing him poems and while they weren't officially a couple yet, Lyndon felt optimistic. The first bike ride back in October had been a success and even Tyler West looked like he had enjoyed himself. Amelie had decided to make a bold move and invite Tyler and Lizzy for another bike ride with them. They had both agreed and after getting dressed, Lyndon quickly headed over to Amelie's house.

"Hey, Ams!" he shouted as he walked through the back gate of the McKinley home. "You ready?!"

Despite the fact that Amelie was nowhere to be seen, her backyard was full of activity. Elyse was instructing Mike Snowe on some complex acrobatics, Craig was working on their bikes, and Amelie's Pokémon were leaving prints on the large white banner on the grass.

"Looks like a circus back here!" Lyndon remarked.

"And the clown has arrived," Craig countered. "Hey, Lyndsey, why don't you stop standing there like a jackass and come help me with your bike."

"Obviously you're not a morning person..." Lyndon replied with a grin as he went to help Craig with the bikes. "So, how has your Spring Break been, Craig?"

"I shaved my cousin's eyebrows off and he ended up kicking me out for a few days," Craig explained. "So, I stayed at Johnny's and we played video games and swam in his pool whenever he wasn't out playing tonsil hockey with Jen. All in all, it was alright."

Lyndon nodded and watched as he adjusted the new chain around Amelie's bike. He turned his attention to Elyse and Mike. They had started with a few easy cartwheels before upgrading to more complicated aerial flips. It was obvious that they were on even ground during their first several acrobatic feats, but Elyse quickly overtook Mike once they got to the more difficult flips. While Lyndon could tell that he had natural talent, Elyse's rigid practice schedule allowed her to surpass him.

"Pay close attention, Mike," she told him. "If you mess up at the competition, you'll end up getting hurt – or worse, you could end up losing."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" he asked in confusion.

"No..." Elyse replied sternly.

"Okay..." Mike said. "I need to head home anyway, so we'll have to practice more on another day."

"Are you done with your ballerina tricks, Mascot Boy?" Craig taunted.

Mike slowly backed up towards the gate as a grin formed on his face. "Are you done playing mechanic, douchebag? By the way, my dad needs his oil changed. Think you have enough grease in that hair of yours to help out?"

Craig shook his head and gave a slight smirk as he charged at Mike. The younger boy was quicker and managed to hop the gate seconds before Craig reached him. He was able to grab onto Mike's left leg, but he kicked his way free before racing down the street. Lyndon and Elyse laughed as Craig yelled threat after threat at the mop-haired jokester.

"Alright, I better get going," Elyse said as she headed out of the gate. "Lyndon, tell my sister that I'm going over Nadine's house for a while."

"Will do!" Lyndon replied. He turned his attention to Amelie's Leafeon. "Hey, Darren, is Amelie in the rec room?"

He nodded his head before returning to the banner with the other Pokémon. Lyndon walked into the house and Craig followed behind, slamming the door in the process.

"You know you can wait outside, right?" Lyndon told him.

"Not really," Craig replied. "McKinley owes me money for fixing the bikes and I'm not leaving until I get it."

"Whatever, man."

"Anyway," Craig continued. "So, you all are doing another little double-date thing? Wow, that's so lame and Lizzy Haze freaks me out."

"Consider that another reason I like her," Lyndon said with a grin.

Craig didn't reply and the two boys quickly made their way into the McKinley recreational room. Amelie was running full-speed on one of the treadmills and Lyndon instantly knew why. Whenever she was nervous, Amelie could not sit still and at the rate she was currently running, her anxiety must have been at its highest point.

"What the hell are you doing?" Craig asked her as he approached the front of the treadmill.

"Running," Amelie answered matter-of-factly. "What's it look like?"

"You're not going fast enough," Craig said simply. "Here, let me help you out."

He began turning the speed up and it took a moment for Lyndon to realize what he was doing. Amelie's eyes widened as her legs started to drag behind her. Craig laughed loudly as Lyndon made a move to help his friend.

"Lyyyyndoooon!" Amelie shrieked. "Turn it off!"

"Nope!" Craig said gleefully as he held back Lyndon with a strong grip. "We're helping Amelie get into shape for her date!"

Moments later, Amelie went flying off the machine and tumbled towards the wall. Lyndon helped her to her feet and she promptly elbowed Craig in the ribs. He groaned in pain, but did not lose that infuriating smirk of his.

"You hired him to fix the bikes because...?" Lyndon asked curiously.

"Necessary evil," Amelie answered. "We'd have to pay at least a hundred each if we actually went to the bike shop."

"Lucky for you, I give my friends discounts," Craig stated. "I only need fifty total."

Amelie reached into her pocket and handed Craig twenty-five dollars. He glared at her in disgust as he noticed the sweat on the money.

"I'll give you the other twenty-five when we get back later," Amelie told him. "Is that fine?"

"Fine..." Craig sighed as he pocketed the money. "But if I don't have the rest by midnight, Primeape and Nidorino are going to come and trample your bikes into the dirt. Now, listen up, losers. I put a new chain on both of them, I tightened the handlebars on Lyndon's, and I fixed Amelie's brakes. Give me a call if anything screws up again and I'll pay the bike shop a visit myself."

"Got it," Amelie said. "Listen, I need to hop in the shower and get dressed. Lyndon, can you go outside and keep watch in case Tyler and Lizzy show up?"

"On it, Ams!" Lyndon replied. "You just make sure you get behind your ears!"

"Spring! Ah, what a beautiful season! Perfect for work and play all day everyday!"

Lizzy rode into Amelie's backyard and was met with the surprised faces of Lyndon, Amelie, and Craig Kelton. She had never had a proper conversation with the shaggy-haired boy or any of his entourage. Whenever she would approach them, Craig would flee in fear. To this day, she could not figure out why he was so afraid of her.

"Hello everyone!" she greeted. "It-"

"What the hell is that?" Craig interrupted as he pointed at her.

Lizzy scratched her head in confusion. "Are you trying to point to my aura?"

"I think he's talking about your...transportation," Amelie said. "It's a-"

"A freaking unicycle," Craig finished. "You're taking that down Cycling Road? I already told Amelie and Lyndon that they were stupid for going at this time of the year when those idiots are there on their motorbikes causing trouble, but if they show up with someone on a unicycle, they're screwed."

Lizzy scratched her head once more. She did not understand why a unicycle would bother the bikers. It was called Cycling Road after all, not Bicycling Road.

"I like it," Lyndon remarked with a smile. "It leaves your hands free so you can eat."

"Alright," Amelie said as she recalled her Pokémon to their balls. "Once Tyler gets here, we can set off."

"I'm going to try to convince you idiots one last time," Craig began. "If you go down Cycling Road, those bikers are probably going to give you a hard time. Don't come crying to me when all your money and your Pokémon have been stolen from you."

"Aww..." Amelie taunted. "Someone's concerned! Wait until Felicity finds out."

Craig glared at her and folded his arms. "I don't care what happens to you losers. It's just that whenever you guys leave town, you're representing Saffron and I don't want you to embarrass us anymore than Lyndon already does."

"Hey!" Lyndon shouted defensively. "I make sure I only embarrass myself and it's not like I do it on purpose."

"It's whatever," Craig continued. "You're obviously not going to listen to me. Have fun getting your throat slit by psycho bikers. Plain ignorance as my sexy babe would say. See ya."

He headed out of the gate and crashed straight into the taller, teal-eyed boy. The force wasn't enough to knock either boy down, but it was enough to send Tyler's expensive bike to the ground. Craig smirked at him, but Tyler simply picked his bike off of the ground and walked inside to the yard. Lizzy admired how composed he was and even Craig himself could only continue on his way.

"Now that everyone's here," Lizzy started. "Shall we depart from here?"

"I'm ready whenever you all are," Tyler said cordially.

"Just give the word, Amelie," Lyndon told her.

"Well, there's no point in waiting," Amelie replied. "Uh...l-let's make this ride even better than last time."

The four cyclists took off down the road and made their way towards the city's west gate. Lizzy was almost certain that she was one of the few kids at their school who didn't live in the west or north side of Saffron City. It only took about seven minutes to get to the gate and after going through it, Lizzy was welcomed by the sight of Route 7. Being right outside two major Kanto cities as well as containing the Underground Path, the area was not the cleanest route. Trash was littered across the grass and Lizzy could hear faint noises coming from underground. Despite that, it was still a beautiful place and spring only accentuated it.

"Going through Celadon is going to take a good hour and a half," Amelie explained. "And that's if we take the shortcuts. So, how about we take a little break and get something to eat once we get into the city?"

"I'm down with that!" Lyndon said. "I'm starving!"

"I would also enjoy a nice meal," Lizzy added.

"I'll pay for everyone..." Tyler stated.

"Awesome!" Lyndon pumped his fist in the air and grinned. "Amelie, this guy's definitely a keeper!"

Amelie averted her gaze to the ground as a blush appeared on her face. She took a moment to collect herself before leading the group into Celadon City. They rode past the Pokémon Center and the Game Corner and took in the sights of the rich and colorful city. Though they all had been to Celadon many times in the past, it was nice to take in the view and notice the differences between Celadon and Saffron. After a while of trekking through the east side of the city, they finally arrived at the restaurant in Southeast Celadon.

"We're finally here," Amelie said as she hopped off of her bike. She reached into her bag and pulled out four chains. "Chain your bikes up before we go in...Lizzy, now that I think about it, you might be allowed to take your unicycle inside."

Lizzy shrugged her shoulders and handed the chain back to Amelie. The four of them walked into the restaurant and looked around. It was a small shop with a bar and six tables scattered across the clean floor. There were only three other customers and it probably wouldn't take long for the teenagers to get their food.

"I'll go order the food," Tyler said. "What do you all want? You can get whatever you want."

"The quiche lorraine looks lovely," Lizzy replied. "I think that would be a fine choice especially since I heard that one of the chefs is from Kalos."

"Amelie knows what I want," Lyndon said as he gave his best friend a light push towards Tyler. "So, why don't you two order the food and me and Lizzy will find a table."

"I..." Amelie stammered. "...Okay."

Lyndon and Lizzy took a seat at the table to the far right of the restaurant. They were seated side-by-side and Lizzy quickly inched closer to Lyndon. She gave him a flirty grin and he responded with a warm smile of his own.

"Amelie seems a bit...afraid..." Lizzy noted. "No one should be afraid of romance..."

"It's weird," Lyndon replied thoughtfully. "Amelie can do all these amazing things. She's pretty, talented, and kind, but I don't know, when it comes to simple stuff like talking to someone you like, she freaks out. I know how she feels. I'm usually the one screwing things up and Amelie has to come fix everything for me. I figure that the least I can do is help her since all she does is help me. Everyone else just sees me as Amelie's goofy sidekick, but she doesn't see me that way."

"She sees you as a loyal and true friend," Lizzy said. "Which is exactly what you are. Everyone sees me as completely insane...and well, they are right. Sanity is overrated anyway. So, shall we kiss again?"

"Wow..." Lyndon remarked. "You get right to the point, don't you?"

She grinned flirtatiously before taking her cap off and shaking her brown hair in place. Lizzy ran her hand through Lyndon's jet black hair and gazed into his emerald green eyes. She liked that they were the same color as the shirt she was wearing.

"The heart wants what the heart wants," she whispered into his ear before kissing him on the lips.

It was the exact same words she had told the tall blonde girl – who's name she now knew was Anika Heartlily – the first day she had started stuffing letters in Lyndon Tower's locker. Her methods were unorthodox, but she had not meant to give off any stalker-like undertones. Nevertheless, the results had been successful and she was already mentally writing her next poem.

She was Amelie McKinley. She was the girl who had the nerve to protest outside Silph Co whenever she suspected that they were involved in any kind of illegal activity that endangered people or Pokémon. She was the girl who had helped stop a Tauros stampede in the Safari Zone. She was the girl who could one day possibly be the president. Amelie could do a lot of things, but talking to a guy she liked was not one of them. It did not help that Tyler wasn't really one to start conversations. At the restaurant, she had noticed Lyndon and Lizzy easily talking with one another and she had even saw them kissing.

"How is it so easy for him?" she muttered as they continued down Cycling Road.

In school and in general, everything came easier to Amelie than Lyndon. It had always been that way. Lyndon would mess something up and Amelie would come and fix it for him. That was the way that things worked. Amelie wondered what she would do if Jennifer or Laila did some of the things that Lyndon had done. She did not think she would be so quick to rush to their aid like she did with Lyndon. The only other person would be Elyse and she was such a perfectionist that Amelie never had to worry too much. However, Lyndon was far superior in this one little area in life.

"Hey, Ams!" he shouted. "I think we're coming to the end! Yahooooooo!"

He jumped over the ledge and she followed suit. Lizzy and Tyler followed behind them and Amelie was amazed at how skilled Lizzy was on the unicycle. She expected her to at least slip up at some point, but she never did. However, the hard part was coming up next and Amelie knew that it would be a challenge for all of them.

"Alright," she told everyone. "Let's turn back around and head uphill."

"What's the hurry?"

They were immediately surrounded by a five teenagers on their motorbikes. They all appeared to be at least sixteen or seventeen years old and from the way they were dressed, Amelie assumed they were from Fuschia City. The first boy resembled a slightly shrunken Snorlax. He was tall and wide and had beady black eyes. The next two boys were identical twins with tall and weedy builds and greasy light brown hair. The sole girl in the group was noticeably curvy and had bushy red hair along with light blue eyes. The final one was the boy who had spoken and the one that was obviously the leader. He had olive skin and his eyes were hidden under a gray skull cap. The boy was shorter than all of his comrades and had a malicious grin on his face.

"Hey, Zeb," the girl suddenly said. "Check out their clothes. Fifty dollars says their from Saffron."

"Saffron?" the leader replied as he took a couple of steps towards them. His grin became wider. "You're all pretty far from home."

"Listen," Amelie started. "We have just as much right to be on Cycling Road as you do. Let us pass and we'll be on our way."

"Go ahead," Zeb told her. "Just hand over all your cash, your bikes, and your Pokémon while you're at it. You can keep the stupid unicycle."

Lizzy frowned at him and Amelie simply rolled her eyes in annoyance. The gang of wannabes were trying so hard to be threatening that it just looked silly. They were blocking the road, so they couldn't just bulldoze their way through. Getting into an actual fight with them would be even worse considering they had a numbers on their side.

"How about a battle?" Tyler spoke up. "We win, you let us pass."

"And if we win?" Zeb asked curiously.

"That's not going to happen," Tyler replied calmly.

Zeb let out a laugh and his cronies copied. "Look around, man. You and your little pep squad are outnumbered. There's no way you'd be able to beat all five of us."

"How about we even things out then?!"

The voice was unmistakable, but him of all people coming to their aid was shocking to say the least. Craig Kelton jumped over the ledge and hit the brakes on his bike. He put the kickstand up before hopping off of his bike and walking towards them. He sized Zeb up and down before he broke out into laughter.

"What the hell is so funny?!" Zeb yelled.

"I'm just laughing at the fact that these losers are being threatened by a midget," Craig replied as he pulled Zeb's skull cap down under his nose and shoved him into the nearby fence.

"Craig?" Lyndon said. "What are you-"

"I knew you idiots were going to do something stupid," he finished. "Someone worse than these ass-clowns could have found you and you'd all be dead. I don't care anyway though. I'm just here to make sure nothing happens to you all before McKinley gives me the rest of my money."

Zeb recovered and Amelie could see the fury on his once smug face. He reached for a poké ball and Amelie did the same. The twins stared down Tyler and Craig while Lyndon and Lizzy would have to deal with the girl and the enormous boy. Amelie had not expected a battle today, but she knew that things didn't always go according to plan.

"Golbat, let's go!" Zeb shouted.

Using Darren was out of the question if he had a Golbat. Jessie would be a risk to use due to her stubborn and overly-playful nature, but Amelie didn't have much choice. She tossed the poké ball in the air and as soon as the Ponyta materialized, she started trotting around happily, seemingly oblivious to the conflict in front of her.

"Jessie, focus!" Amelie commanded.

She neighed in response and turned her attention to the blood-sucking Golbat that was in front of her. It was time for battle and as long as Amelie and Jessie were able to work together, the odds were in their favor.

Although he did not show it, Tyler was more excited than anyone. He had always loved battling, even if his parents did not care for it. Now that he thought about it, the fact that it spited his parents was actually a bonus. However, he did prefer to battle alone and was not used to double battles, especially if his partner was Craig Kelton. Their twin opponents had Beedrill and Machoke as their chosen Pokémon and Tyler knew exactly which one of his Pokémon he wanted to pick.

"Nidorino!" Craig called out. "Get ready to squash these nobodies!"

"Riiiiiino!" he roared in reply.

Tyler noted that Craig's Nidorino seemed larger than usual and a bit more fierce. It was obvious that he was the strongest on Craig's team. He wondered how Fuego would handle working alongside Nidorino since the Arcanine was not a big fan of other people or Pokémon. Still, he would begrudgingly work with Nidorino so long as the poison Pokémon stayed out of his way.

"Okay, Fuego," Tyler said as he tossed the poké ball. "Stand by for battle."

The Arcanine materialized and let out a low growl as he faced the other Pokémon. The twins grinned in response and Tyler was not surprised to see that those idiots believed they had a chance.

"Get ready to lose, Saffron!" the first twin shouted.

"Yeah," the second twin added. "Because we're-"

"Flamethrower..."

"Dig!"

Nidorino burrowed underground as Fuego sent a powerful blast of fire at the other two Pokémon. The flames scorched Beedrill, immediately knocking the bug Pokémon out. Machoke managed to shrug off the attack, but was distracted long enough for Nidorino to pop out of the ground at full force and slam his horn into Machoke's chest. He fell back and collapsed onto the ground as both twins looked on in shock.

"Is it over already?" Tyler asked.

"Ha!" Craig taunted. "You guys suck! I mean, damn, I knew you were bad, but going down in one hit is just pathetic! Man, I wish Johnny was here! He'd have a blast!" He turned to Lyndon and Lizzy. "Hey, how are you two holding up?!"

"We're just about to finish this up!" Lyndon answered with a toothy grin. "Charmeleon, Fire Fang!"

"Staryu," Lizzy added. "Bubblebeam!"

Lyndon and Lizzy had the type advantages and Tyler knew that victory was assured. Charmeleon bit the girl's Gloom so hard that she let out a shriek of pain before rolling into the grass. Staryu's beam of rapid bubbles struck the large boy's Graveler and the rock and ground Pokémon managed to take a few more steps forward before falling flat on his face. The only two battlers that remained were Amelie and Zeb.

"Wing Attack!" Zeb shouted.

"Flame Charge!" Amelie countered.

The two Pokémon charged at one another and the force of their collision sent them to the ground. Jessie was faster and was able to get to her feet before Golbat could get back in the air.

"Get up!" Zeb shouted. "Now!"

"Stomp!" Amelie commanded.

She was relieved that Jessie actually listened to her as the Ponyta stomped down on Golbat's back. The bat let out a cry of pain and Amelie felt sorry for the poor Pokémon. She was glad that Jessie hadn't stomped on his wings and just wanted to end this as soon as possible. Golbat managed to get back into the air, but it was easy to see that he was in pain.

"Finally!" Zeb yelled. "Use-

"Take Down!" Amelie called out quickly. "Full power, Jessie!"

"Nyyyyyyyyyt!"

Jessie galloped forward and slammed into Golbat as hard as she could. The Pokémon went flying back into his trainer, knocking them both into the tree. At that very moment, Tyler was one-hundred percent sure that he liked Amelie McKinley. The battle was over and they had all been victorious. Zeb cursed at his friends and his Golbat as Amelie approached him with a look of disappointment on her face.

"You know, it's sad..." she said coldly. "I know a boy who is at least four or five years younger than you and he already has a Crobat. If a thirteen year old kid can treat his Pokémon with kindness, I don't see why you can't. Keep acting this way and you'll never be a strong trainer. That goes for your friends too. Leave before I call the cops!"

"Screw you!" Zeb shouted as he recalled Golbat and bolted towards Amelie. "Who the hell do you think you are-"

Craig's fist slammed directly into his face and Zeb screamed in pain as blood rushed from his nose. He quickly ran to his bike and took off. His gang followed suit and the five of them quickly disappeared towards Fuschia City.

"Whew!" Craig yelled out as he recalled Nidorino. "That was probably one of the swiftest ass kickings I've ever given!"

"Listen, Craig," Amelie told him. "I know you only came because I owed you money, but thanks anyway. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Whatever..." he replied. "Just don't expect me to come save your ass every time you get into something." He grinned and turned to Tyler. "Mr. West, you and I make a pretty good team."

Tyler simply nodded his head and Craig headed over to his bike. He took off uphill, leaving the other four trainers to congratulate their Pokémon. Lyndon and Lizzy gave each other a 'victory kiss' before walking over to the bike and unicycle that was leaning against the bushes. Amelie started towards her bike, but Tyler gently grabbed her arm.

"I...just wanted to say..." he began. "I thought you were amazing. This was the most fun that I've had in a long time. Thank you..."

"Umm..." Amelie replied as she shifted nervously. "Maybe we can plan another trip soon? Just...the t-two of us?"

Tyler nodded his head and smiled. He could not remember the last time he had a genuine smile on his face, but he would definitely remember this time even if he never smiled again.

A/N: And we finally got it done! It's spring time in the story and love is in the air. Fortunately, I think I was able to balance out the romance and the battling pretty evenly in this chapter. Also, we got deeper into the personalities of the characters and that's always a plus. Hopefully, the next update will be faster.

P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Lyndon Tower, Lizzy Haze, Amelie McKinley, and Tyler West.

Notes: Come to the forums to discuss this story, submit OCs for any of my other ones, or just chat. Anyone's welcomed.

Until next time!