Thanks for saying you liked it Black ninja, and I will update my IkariShipping story as soon as I can!
I don't own Pokemon.
Chapter 10: Mental Exhaustion
Tuesday, September 30th
"Are you serious Subaki?" I slammed my hands down on our lunch table earning me irritated stares from nearby peers and 'oh really now' stares from my own friends.
"I have never been more serious in my entire life!" I had just told my friends about the tournament going on in just a few months at the arena. You know, the one where I am going to catch my big break!
"It seems kind of dangerous..." Felicity told me, taking a piece of string cheese.
"Well it's a good thing that you're not my mother!"
"And it's really for everyone?" Athena questioned, as she took a spoonful of soup. I nodded excitedly.
"It really is! I looked it up online last night and everything! It's just like every other tournament, except that anyone fifteen and older is allowed to enter!"
"You're not fifteen." My Eevee friend was quick to inform me.
"I know that Felicity, but the Tournament is taking place this summer, by which time I will be fifteen!"
"Liar," Athena mumbled under her breath, taking another sip of soup. I gaped at my psychic type friend. I really did hate it when the Kirlia girl used her skills to her own advantage. Traitor...
"What's she talking about Subaki?" Felicity whirled on me, her long fuzzy ears twitching annoyedly. I groaned loudly, leaning back and hoping that by some miracle Felicity would just drop this whole thing.
"Oh come on you guys, just let her be! Subaki's just about the best there is when it comes to battling, and I think she'll do just fine!" Rocky, my Snubbull friend, grinned, showing off her large canine teeth. I did the same, showing my own larger than average canines. Felicity shook her head.
"She's good, but she's not the best. You said it yourself, anybody can enter that tournament, and you could get seriously hurt!" I puffed out my cheeks, resting my chin in my hand.
"I can take care of myself..." I mumbled back to her.
"Subaki-"
"Look Felicity, this could be my big chance, finally people will notice me for my true skills! It's not my fault that it's going on just a couple of weeks before my actual birthday, and I'm sure no one will actually notice!" I stared hopefully back into Felicity's normally warm and gentle eyes, waiting for her to reply once again. Finally the brunette sighed.
"Fine, but I want no part in your scheme."
"You won't go!?" I shouted incredulously, leaning nearly halfway across the table.
"I did not say that now sit down! I will NOT help you get into the tournament, but obviously I will go and watch you battle. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt and I wasn't there to help." Finally satisfied, I sat back down with a proud grin stretched across my face.
"Are the rest of you going to enter? I mean, it'd be awesome to battle you guys seriously for once, but if you're going to you'd better do it soon. Once word gets out about this tournament, I guarantee that the spots will fill up faster than an Extreme Speed!"
"I totally would, but I'm even younger than you Subaki, and if my brother enters he'll find out and kick my butt for sure!" Rocky replied. My eyes went in a circle, landing on Felicity next. She shot me a glare and replied sharply.
"Definitely not." Rolling my eyes, I next set my sights on Athena.
"It is a bit intriguing... But I'm afraid my battling skills aren't quite up to par, so I won't be entering." I nodded, disappointed yeah, but it was their decision to make. My brows furrowed when I realized that I was missing one answer.
"Hey... Where's V.V?"
"V.V. isn't entering!" Felicity snapped at me, to which I recoiled quickly.
"I was just wondering where she is! She always sits with us, doesn't she?!" A quick look around the circular table showed that I was right, and immediately all four of us began to search the busy cafeteria for any sign of the hot pink ears and hair that were so recognizable.
"I... Think I found her?" Finding where Rocky was looking, we definitely saw V.V. Of course, none of us understood why she was there, sitting with the most despicable people in the school. Innocent little V.V, our V.V, was sitting in between the two people we all hated most. Kira Parks, and her best friend, a Meowstic girl who had transferred from Kalos a few years back by the name of Alani Young.
"V.V..." Athena said under her breath, frowning slightly.
"Oh Arceus no!" I shouted, standing up and just about ready to head over there and take our Skitty back, but Felicity yelled my name and Athena grabbed me by the arm to stop me. "Why shouldn't I go?! We all know what they're trying to do! They're going to either hurt V.V so bad that she won't be able to come to school without crying, or they're just trying to get at the rest of us through her! Everyone knows how naive V.V is!"
"Do you really think they'd do that to us?" Felicity asked quietly, her gaze fixated on the ground. I stared at her guiltily. None of them wanted to believe it. They were all so much more trusting than I was, and once upon a time all of us had been friends with someone within Kira's inner circle. And it was true that none of them had directly attacked any of us, except for Kira and her snide remarks all the time. And me. Kira, for whatever reason, had it out for me. But still, I can't just leave V.V there. With one last look of apology at my friends, I turned and made my way towards the foreign tables. I was noticed immediately by Alani, sitting on V.V's right side.
Alani Young transferred to our school from the Kalos region in the sixth grade. We'd been in the same class that year. I still remember her first day of class in the middle of the year, and how terrified she'd been. Alani and I had been pretty good friends for the remainder of that year, but the next, not so much. That was when Kira got ahold of her.
Alani, like I said earlier, is a Meowstic. Her skin is a warm chocolatey color. She has very long, very straight, navy blue hair, with a flick of hair for her bangs. Her eyes are very catlike, with red irises. Alani had huge white ears which folded in half neatly to conceal an eye like pattern, which aids her psychic type powers. She also has two poofy tails which start out with a navy blue, but ending mostly in pristine white fur.
I saw her whisper something to Kira, and the Mawile girl's eyes flicked up at me. I didn't slow down. I stopped behind all three of them, my arms crossed and a scowl upon my face. Alani turned around first, her face void of emotion. Kira was second, with a smug smile and taunting eyes.
"I don't remember calling for a dog," Kira said, feigning an innocent look. Various idiots laughed. Then V.V turned, nearly falling off her seat as she did so. My heart clenched when she saw me and grinned.
"Subaki! It's you, it's you! How are you, your dad wasn't too upset was he? I mean, with everything that happened and-" I quickly clamped my hand over the Skitty's mouth. The last thing I needed was to have Kira knowing about my personal problems. I took the opportunity to question the two girls.
"Why are you here torturing V.V?" Alani shrugged.
"We're not torturing anybody, we just asked if Vanessa wanted to sit with us today." My eyes narrowed.
"No one calls her Vanessa you know." Kira's smirk grew, and this time she answered me.
"Well we just thought that such a pretty name shouldn't go to waste, just because her own friends are too ignorant to say the whole thing." It took just about everything I had not to burn her face off. I instead opted for a smart comeback.
"Learn English you moron, because right now you're the ignorant one." Kira's scowl only lasted for a second, before she turned to V.V with a sickening smile on her face.
"What do you think Vanessa, would you rather be hanging out with Subaki's kind, or us?" I felt guilty instantly, V.V shouldn't have had to make a choice like that. But of course, the selfish side of me still wanted her to answer. She would say yes, I knew that, but I still wanted to hear it out of her mouth. I watched in anticipation as V.V's pink eyes nervously darted between all of us. Alani appeared less than interested, and Kira looked on maliciously.
"Um, well, you're all so nice, why can't we all just have a slumber party?"
"That's sounds like a great idea!" I sent a vicious glare at Kira, and replied bluntly myself.
"No." I felt awful when V.V looked at me with a heartbreaking expression, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. "Are you going to stay here V.V?" I looked at her meaningfully, not knowing what on Earth I would do if she did stay.
"I do miss everyone, so I'll go back with you Subaki!" As V.V jumped up, a feeling of great relief swept over me. I didn't even spare Kira another glance before quickly heading over to our table. The rest of the day went by very slowly, but thankfully without any more incidents.
Study Hall that day was the first time that Mitchell approached me that day. I was too exhausted to get angry with him when his teasing started, and he was quick to notice.
"Tired today?" I nodded tiredly, staring out the window of the library. "So... what happened last night, after I dropped you off?" Sighing, I closed my eyes, and recalled the night before. It had only been six or seven when Mitchell had brought me home last night. It was the moment I had been dreading all weekend, returning to my house and facing my father after all the nasty things I had said to him. But apparently I was destined to drown in my guilt even longer, because my dad hadn't been there, and to my knowledge he hadn't come home that night, and I hadn't checked this morning. My father often has to leave for long periods of time for his work, so I wasn't too worried.
"He wasn't even there," I answered Mitchell, who had been looking on anxiously. "So I'm fine, for now."
"Do you know when he'll be back?" I shrugged, sighed, and continued watching outside. It was cloudy out, probably going to start raining again soon. "Anyways Subaki, how's your new highschool life going?" I was almost grateful for the change of subject, had it not been for the turn that would come later.
"It's alright I suppose. Hard." Mitchell nodded knowingly, in a way which I assumed to be faked. He was way better at school than he liked to let on. But I appreciated his efforts, at least.
"You know, have you got any plans this weekend?" I raised a suspicious eyebrow. Mitchell's tone was oddly awkward, as if he was nervous or something.
"Not after last weekend, I've had enough drama to last me a lifetime."
"Are you sure? I mean, Homecoming is this Saturday so..." I immediately sat up, staring at the Lucario with a confused expression on my face.
"Homecoming? As in the dance?"
"Uh, yeah, it got postponed for a little while there, but it finally looks like there's a set date. This Saturday."
"I'm not really into that kind of thing..." I watched Mitchell for a moment, and seriously hoped that he wasn't going to ask me. I'd had enough excitement lately.
"Right, right, I was just wondering if anyone had asked you yet, you know?" I nodded doubtfully, and decided to turn the tables.
"No one has asked me or anything, but what about you? You seem pretty popular." A proud smirk settled on the older teen's face, something I'm pretty sure was going to become permanently stuck there sooner or later.
"I don't like to brag," I rolled my eyes. "But yeah, people know me."
"Sooo has anyone asked you to the dance?"
"A few, a few, but I haven't said yes to any of them."
"You're not going?" My wide yellow eyes held a puzzled expression. Mitchell's own blue eyes stared down at me, and seemed to say something that I couldn't quite comprehend.
"I was kind of waiting." My eyebrows furrowed, and I further questioned him.
"Waiting for what?" I hadn't realized how close I was leaning in towards Mitchell in my curiosity. He appeared to be amused by this, and rested his chin in his hand.
"For someone else to notice." His answer only made me want to ask more questions, but the Lucario wouldn't answer anything more. I went home that night with too much on my mind.
My father still wasn't there, but Sandra was. She watched as I made my way upstairs to the loft, aka my room, and didn't say a word. I didn't know if my dad had talked to her at all, but knowing Sandra there was no way that she wouldn't know that something was going on. Thankfully though, she didn't press me on the matter.
I tried to do some of my ridiculous Algebra homework to get my mind off of my dad, V.V, and Mitchell's weird mood today, but I couldn't concentrate. I was mentally exhausted.
"This... Might be a terrible week." I went to bed at eight thirty that night, much earlier than usual. The only thing that ended up making me smile that night was the stuffed Spheal Mitchell had gotten me the previous day, and I fell asleep with it in my arms.
During P.E. the next day, my workout was even more vigorous than usual. I wasn't just punching a sandbag, I was assaulting it. Since our battle Mrs. Kolton had 'temporarily separated' Kira and I as partners. I couldn't imagine why she would put us back together, so for the moment I wasn't too concerned about it.
As my jumbled thoughts rotated their way through my brain my punches and kicks became more and more powerful, until I yelled in frustration, slugging the side of the sandbag so hard that the side ripped open. I looked down at my wrapped hands, and realized that they were throbbing in pain. I puffed a breath of air, and made my way to the athletic trainer's office for some ice. Mrs. Kolton was training some students in the beginner group at the moment, and I didn't' think that she'd be missing me anyways.
"Subaki!" I frowned, and turned my head towards the sound of my own name. A pair of very concerned looking turquoise eyes was looking down at my hands.
"They're fine, really." Mitchell, who had been with his own P.E. class quickly switched directions, heading straight towards me and picking up my hands in his larger ones.
"What the hell happened?!"
"Chill out, alright, I just got a little too into my training, that's all," Several people in the hallway gave us questionable looks, but no one said anything. I'm sure it must have looked strange, the two of us standing like that, my hands in Mitchell's. I wished that he would just let go already.
"You're hands are really bruised and swollen... And you've cracked a couple nails! They're bleeding Subaki, you have to be more careful." I only scowled at the Lucario teen. He doesn't need to be so protective, jeez. "I'm taking you to the infirmary."
"I don't need the infirmary, I'll just get some ice from the athletic director-"
"You're going to need more than that. Hey, Hayden, go tell Mrs. Kolton and Mr. Robertson that we had to go to the infirmary, will you?"
"Sure man," An Electabuzz boy went off to tell our teachers where we were going, and Mitchell put his arm around me as if I were somehow dying as he lead me to the infirmary. I managed to shake him off about halfway there, but Mitchell still kept a very close eye on me.
The nurse was taking care of another sick kid when we got there, and since Mitchell was apparently well versed in health stuff, she let us into a room just off of her main office, and Mitchell began his work. I went to jump up on the counter, but he wasn't having it.
"No," He pulled my injured hands back to my sides with a fairly upset look of his own, then grabbed me by my waist and pulled me up himself. The heat rushing up to my face only made it worse, and I looked away from the much taller boy with a glower.
Mitchell then took my hands again, very slowly, and cautiously, and he began to unwrap them. The silence was somehow deafening. I watched him work only slightly curiously, and tilted my head. Then, he took a damp, warm washcloth, and began to dab away at the dried blood coming from some of my cracked fingernails.
"Does it hurt?" I shook my head slowly, not looking away from our hands.
"Not really." Then Mitchell took out the disinfectant and did the same thing. I winced this time around, and Mitchell almost instinctively put his free hand on my knee. I couldn't peel my eyes from the strangely comforting gesture.
"Is it bad?" I shook my head again, not bothering to speak this time. Once he was finished with that, Mitchell put bandaids on my injured fingers, then two small bags of ice on each hand. "There's not much I can really do for the swelling or bruises other than that..."
"I know." I whispered. I still couldn't meet his eyes.
"You probably shouldn't go to some of your classes, at least until the swelling goes down."
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?" Our voices were growing smaller and quieter each time one of us spoke.
"Am I ever really okay?"
"Is it... I mean... Do you mind if I stay here with you?" My eyelids felt like lead, and I finally allowed them to blanket my sight.
"I don't really mind."
Wednesday, October 1st
Sorry it was a pretty uneventful chapter, but kinda cute at the end still! Thanks for reading, please review!