Ch 10: Phone Call
Ameythest stood in front of her own house like it was a strangers place. With XD001 secured in Krane's lab, he would research for a way to help the poor creature. Ruby had departed suddenly and happily, bragging that his presence alone had brought just the thing they needed to finish the mission quickly and efficiently.
Silver stared at her, waiting politely. "Well." He urged. "Go home then."
She turned back to him, feeling like going inside would mean something she couldn't stand to think about. It was finality, going back to the things she was doing before, and the thought of it seemed suddenly, and strangely, empty. "Will you come in?"
"No." He said simply. "I said that our partnership ended with the job, and I meant it. Thank you for your help, really. You displayed great talent and skill, as well as bravery."
"Will you come visit me sometime?"
The question was sudden, and he stared at her, pondering the question like it was completely unexpected. "I don't know." He replied honestly.
"Oh." Her gaze faltered, and she felt something in her heart sink. "That's okay though. I've got what I wanted back, so…"
"Yeah. See you around." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to walk away.
"Bye." She nearly whispered the word, sighing heavily and turning the knob on her front door. Stepping inside the house she lived in after a month away was like stepping into a dream. Home had felt so far away for a long time, and she inhaled the now odd smell of her own house.
"Ameythest!" Her mother cried, spying her walking through the front hallway and tackling her with a big hug. "Oh I'm so glad you're all right! We were getting so worried, you'd never gone off quite like that before…"
"Hi, mom." Ameythest smiled, happy to see her family again. "How were things while I was gone?"
"Quiet, actually." Her mother stated thoughtfully. "The crowds are getting a bit bigger during the weekends, but we didn't have too much problem with your pokemon, though I think some of them are getting a little anxious without you here."
"I'll make some rounds." Ameythest said happily, removing her backpack and starting back out the door.
"You just got home! Surely you're tired?"
"Ah, no time for that!" She replied. "I've got a job to do, after all."
A week passed, and then a month. Then two months. The more time passed the more Ameythest felt like her one month absence from home was just a small, fleeting moment in her life. For awhile, the medicine kept the adventure fresh in her mind, as did the coughing. But as those faded away, so did her clarity of the memory. She sometimes dreamed about it, vividly, but the more she dreamt the more it felt like a dream. And she went through her life, day after day, doing the same thing over and over again, happiness and pride welling whenever she looked at her accomplished work and saw happy faces running around the walkways. Happy pokemon, happy people, and her happy family. Four months since her trip to Orre, and she began to feel listless in her daily routine, feeling a strange emptiness move in where excited faces once stood. Five months. She frowned, aimlessly wandering about her own zoo, petting her pokemon absent mindedly, some of them looking up at her in worry. Finally, one night, she found herself stopped in the walkway between the psychic house and her barn-like shelter. Frustration boiled in her head, and she kicked the ground furiously.
"STUPID, SELFISH, MORONIC ME!" She screamed, caring for nothing in particular than venting her so far very well hidden aggravation. "I should be thrilled! I'm living my damn dream, aren't I? I'm so lucky, right?!" She punched a nearby tree, immediately regretting it as the sharp bark dug into her soft skinned hand. She hissed in pain, shaking the injured appendage and growling about how it seemed like a good idea in movies.
"Why do I feel like something is suddenly missing?!" She cried, quite literally, as wet dewy drops began to flow freely from her face. "Why am I being so damn selfish?" She dropped to her knees, resting her head against the tree. "I AM happy." She said it to herself, finding the words to be true if she managed to say them honestly. She placed her hand on her chest, her life feeling like an unfinished puzzle, a vital part of the picture missing.
"I miss Silver…" She admitted finally, closing her eyes as she remembered his vivid features. His lean form, his cold, piercing eyes that rarely sparkled, his cocky grin, and his thick, gorgeous red hair, a bit sticking up and the ends spiked out around his shoulders strangely. In her minds eyes they suddenly seemed fuzzy, and she hit her head against the tree hard, as if the jolt would knock the more intimate details back into her memory. Of course, all it served was to introduce a thick cut above her eye, blood running down the side of her face. "Augh!" She winced. "Why did I do that?!"
She sat there, in the dark and pouting, her hand stinging and her head pounding, blood smearing one side of her face. She thought it was a silly notion, missing him so much. She had ignored the feeling when it first appeared, filling her day with busy work to keep her mind focused. It was all a distraction at this point, one giant happy distraction. He was a mentor, a friend, a companion for a solid while, and she suddenly missed his company, his cold, judgmental gaze over everything and his solid stance when he stood commanding everything at his attention.
She felt herself blush, letting her smitten feelings warm her chest and invade her mind. Thinking about how her first major slip up and landed him in the hospital made her nauseous, remembering his sudden and heartfelt soul-spilling made her heart leap for his sake. And just once, she remembered his smile. A true, honest smile that he thought he hid from her. One that she caught from other the mess of red hair. She felt the tears in her eyes as she realized something she had refused to acknowledge before this point; the fact that she had true, genuine feelings for him. Whether as a friend of something more didn't matter, but her heart beat in her chest fast at the thought of not seeing him for another second even. It's been so long now though it seemed ridiculous that it mattered, but oh did it suddenly matter, it mattered so much.
She took a deep, slow breath, trying to calm herself down to a more sensible state of reasoning. There was no way she could do anything about it tonight, right? She paused, a sudden thought crossing her mind. Standing up, she bolted back to her house.
Her mother spun in surprise as she burst through the door, a bewildered look fixed upon the younger woman.
"What on earth-?"
"Not now mom!" Ameythest shouted, taking the stairs two at a time to her room. She flung her closet wide open, searching for the jacket she wore all those months ago. Some digging showed that it had fallen on the floor, slipping off its hangar at some point, landing in a heap in the back corner of the small closet. She clawed for the material, furiously digging at the pockets. She felt the slip of paper and pulled it out, straightening it out so she could read the faded numbers. "Yes." She couldn't stop the smile spreading on her face. She ran back downstairs, screeching to a halt in front of her videophone, dialing the number too fast, having to re-enter it once.
It only rang twice, and a tired-looking professor Oak yawned a greeting. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Professor Oak! This is important!"
Oak blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Ameythest? You memorized my number?"
"I- sorry. I just thought…"
"Nevermind." He sighed, gently massaging his temple with his fingers. "Is there something you need?"
"How do I get in contact with Silver?"
"Silver?" He sounded surprised. "Hm…I'm sorry Ameythest, but I'm not sure if he's all too keen on you contacting him."
Ameythest felt the warm glow in her chest dim like a candle being snuffed out. "What do you mean?"
"He said there was some rising complications after your little journey together. It's not really any of my business to pry, you know…"
"Professor please." Ameythest pleaded. "I just have to talk to him. Just for a minute."
"Well…" Oak sighed defeatedly. "All right…if it's so urgent."
He gave her a number, and she scribbled it down on the other side of the scrap of paper. "Thank you!"
"Not a problem. Now, good night."
"Good night professor!" The call ended, and Ameythest took a slow breath, dialing the new number into the videophone.
Silver dried his hair off carefully, throwing the used towel carelessly into a hamper. He sat in his lonely couch, a strong drink waiting for him on the end table and a decent television show was sure to be at this time of night. He hadn't had that much to do lately, odd jobs here and there to pay the bills, but nothing serious. He wondered for the millionth time if he should take Ameythest up on her offer to visit, but the thought made an angry scowl cross his face.
After his return home he realized just how foolish she made him feel, with their bantering, and the story telling, and worst of all, he had really started to open up to her.
He was still trying to figure out if this was a good or bad thing. Logic told him it was probably good, but his deflective personality said otherwise. This wasn't a friend that had grown up with him, nor was it someone he knew he could trust right away. But he felt a strange tugging in his chest, a notion of willingness to talk to her, about anything and everything. Instead of figuring it out for himself, he sat on his couch, watched TV and had a good, strong drink to go to bed on. Her face sometimes floated into his head, and he began to remember her other, more prominent features. She seemed so meek at first glance, but such a fierce determination when she found the motivation. He absent-mindedly brushed his fingers against the diminishing scar where he had his surgery, remembering the drastic change in her attitude after the unfortunate incident. She barely noticed anything outside of the facts before then, remaining completely focused for the first few days and showing no consideration whatsoever. And then, like a switch had been flipped, she began to notice her surroundings more, pick up on details and sympathize with others, even beyond himself.
He shook his head, the thoughts making his head feel fuzzy and clouding his judgment. The clear ringing of the phone commanded his full attention, and he sighed, pulling on a shirt and answering the call to stop the annoying ringing.
On the screen in front of him was a soft face bearing two gorgeous lavender orbs that made up her eyes, her hair frazzled and hanging awkwardly around her face.
How the hell?