Chapter 11 (Iris' POV)

"Yeah go on, go on!" Dawn prompted as her eyes got bigger with every new juicy detail I told her.

I sighed, almost sure I knew the story of the last two days by heart at this point. Not that I would have been able to forget it, even if I hadn't had to tell most of it to Officer Jenny already.

"So right out of the blue the guy, you know from before, with the eyepatch, appears and grabs me and Chili."

"What did you do!?" She squealed, interrupting for about the tenth time already.

"Getting to that." I said trying not to sound too annoyed.

"And most of all how did things go with Cilan? Big dramatic finish, with you both spilling your guts all over the floor?!"

I frowned and sighed again, somehow not even embarrassed anymore at this point. "Also getting to that."

"Yeah right, go on!" Dawn added in almost like I was the one stalling out the story. So I filled her in on all the rest of the details as best I could. Even though most of it was more than a little hard to say, I was just glad to get it over with. When I finished I just looked at her, waiting for what she'd say now that she had all the facts.

She ran a hand through her bangs and just shook her head, before grinning out at me. "So just like that? You're really dating him now?"

Leave it to Dawn to focus on that part…

I frowned a little and shrugged. "Uh I guess so…?"

She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You guess? You don't even know if you're dating after you confessed that you're in love with him?"

I glanced off to the side, as everything that had happened over the last few days swirled around inside my head. "Well...it's just kinda hard to figure out." I rubbed at my sleeve. "He never said we were actually officially dating or anything…"

Dawn leaned back in her chair and waved away any point I thought I'd made. "Oh please, it can't be that confusing. How's he been acting since then? What have you both talked about?"

I leaned into my hand. "He made me breakfast and all, but that's just normal for us anyway."

"Oh yeah? What did he cook?" Dawn asked with an air about her that probably meant she was a dating connoisseur, to put it in Cilan babble.

"Waffles." I said with a shrug, not seeing her point.

"Any special flavor?" She pressed.

"Well it was apple…" I mumbled, knowing she knew it was my favorite.

A smug smile came to her face before she pushed it even further. "Any whipped cream or fancy toppings?"

I frowned, not really liking where this was going. "It had sprinkles and whipped cream yeah, but Cilan always likes doing fancy stuff like that." Then I rubbed at my chin thoughtfully. "Though come to think of it, he did send me flowers yesterday, so that's something too I guess…"

"You guess?" Dawn asked shaking her head. Then she pointed at me. "Don't let Ash's denseness get to you, Iris. Take it from me, you're definitely dating."

"You think so, huh…?" I mumbled a little shyly. But it wasn't just that, I still felt really worn out emotionally by everything that had happened, and I figured he did too. So if we needed a little time before we really talked about what happened, then I could understand it.

"Mostly, Dawn," I added in, and it felt good to tell somebody what I was thinking. "Things have almost been the same between us. So I was kinda worried that something was wrong… Isn't your relationship supposed to change after something like that?"

Dawn sighed and then smiled at me a little softer. "Not when you're already best friends. That's what made you fall in love with him in the first place, if things changed too much they wouldn't work. That's just how it is, Iris. But hey, he must be treating you at least a little differently, right?"

I closed my eyes and thought about it. The truth was he was the same old Cilan in so many ways, but… But he did seem different too, I guess. Mostly like he was in a really great mood all the time, way more energetic and over the top than usual even, which for him was saying something... But I didn't really know what to do or say that would be any different, so I just treated him the same as always. I didn't know… I still got the feeling I wasn't doing something right…?

"Well, he's been in a great mood since then but…"

"Hey, it's only been like two days, and you both went through a lot. Just give him time to come around. Besides, the thing is, with Cilan being such a gentleman to everybody already, it's just tough to see when he's trying to treat you specially."

"I guess so…" I mumbled not really feeling convinced.

But before I could say anything else, or even dwell on all my self doubt, I heard the doors of the pokemon center come sliding open. Which wasn't weird or anything, but the little footsteps I heard coming up behind me were. Looking over my shoulder I wasn't sure what I was expecting, until I saw Pansage and breathed a sigh of relief. I guess after everything that had happened with getting kidnapped and all, I was still a little jumpy.

Pansage hopped on my lap and smiled up at me. I scratched behind his ears, while Dawn just looked on, seeming curious.

"Pansage!" He said seeming pretty happy before he held out an envelope to me.

"What's this…?" I wondered out loud as I slowly opened it.

I read over it, and then reread it, just to make sure.

"Let me guess…" Dawn said, sounding about as smug as you could get. "He has his pokemon delivering his love letters?"

I felt my face get a little warm. "He wants me to have dinner with him tonight, at his restaurant I mean…"

"Date!" Dawn shouted triumphantly. "As in dating."

"I guess it really is…" I mumbled as my shoulders slumped awkwardly. "But it's just so hard to believe…"

I kept scratching behind Pansage's ears, even though my mind was wondering. "I never thought he'd like me too, or that I'd even like him that way in the first place. We were just friends… I figured it'd be like that forever, you know...?"

Dawn smiled at me, and I admit it felt really good to feel like I had a friend behind me. Then her eyes got a little distant. "Love can be funny alright... Usually you never see it coming until it's too late." She rubbed at the back of her neck playfully. "Otherwise I might have just ducked and tried to dodge it myself."

I laughed. "Yeah I guess I know what you mean."

"But it's not all bad, right?" She smirked playful. "These guys are sure clueless, and usually a pain in the neck, but you gotta love them, huh? Anyway, have fun tonight," she winked. "And make sure to tell me all about it! I mean unless he gets too heavy with the cheesy poetry or something, I don't think even I could stomach that… And stay safe, will ya!" She said sounding tough for a second. "Or I'll have to hop a plane and come rescue you myself.

I didn't doubt she would have if I was still missing. Because that's what was so great about friends. When we waved goodbye and the screen went dark I just sat there for a second. Then I looked down at Pansage in my lap and started to wonder about a million different things. One of them had a lot to do with what clothes to wear tonight, and another was mostly just a reminder of how much I hated dressing up fancy. But…

I looked down at Pansage and smiled a little. But it wouldn't be the first time I did something annoying just for Cilan, and I figured it wouldn't be the last time either… So like it or not, I knew what I had to do. It was Friday, and I knew his restaurant would be pretty busy, the last thing I wanted to do was make him look weird. Yeah I'd probably stick out like a sore thumb if I just went in my regular clothes anyway…

I still wasn't sure I'd fit in, but at least I could try and look the part.

"So what do you think, Fraxure?" I asked as I held my arms out and twirled around in a circle. He looked up at me and blinked a few times, the truth was I must have looked funny to him wearing a dress. I felt funny too, but I was at least trying to have a positive attitude.

"Ure…" Fraxure mumbled almost like he was somewhere between confused and impressed.

I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Aw thanks. Anyway," I said turning toward my room door. "Guess it's about time we face the music…" I took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Suddenly I felt really nervous, but I wasn't sure why. Well I mean I got why, but...but it was still just Cilan no matter what had happened, right?

At least that's what I was hoping anyway, that things weren't going to be too weird between us. When we left the pokemon center it was already dark, and I could tell Fraxure was on high alert. He was extra protective of me, which I got considering what had happened. And I was kinda glad, I felt better knowing he was watching out for me. But I didn't have any plans of falling for any more of Slick's traps anyway. Yeah, even if it meant walking around a little paranoid...

The streets were kind of busy even at night in the city. It wasn't anything like back home, but in a way I was almost getting used to it. When I came to the gym though, nothing seemed like it usually did… On a Friday night the place was usually really busy, with people coming and going, but it just seemed quiet now. Too quiet…

Reaching for Dragonite's pokeball, I narrowed my eyes and crept up to the door. Taking a deep breath, to calm all the crazy ideas running through my head, I slowly pulled the door open. But instead of coming face to with some evil villain, I just saw Chili standing by the hostage stand, a cloth draped over his arm, and a smirk on his face.

"Do you have a reservation?" He asked playfully.

I just grinned a little awkwardly as I glanced around the dining room. Nobody else was here. Just Chili and Cress, who was lighting candles at one of the tables in the center of the room.

"Follow me, madame. " Chili teased with a cheesy accent as he gestured for me to follow him.

I hesitantly followed him over to the table with the candles. Seriously, candles…?

Cress pulled out my chair before gesturing for me to sit down. I did, but I still felt pretty confused. "Nobody's here tonight?" I asked as he scooted my chair in.

"Private reservation." Cress calmly explained with a smile.

"Imagine that." Chili added in with a grin and roll of his eyes.

Cress disappeared into the kitchen for a second and then came back with food for Fraxure. Chili got out a bottle of oran berry juice and poured it into a fancy glass that was sitting in front of me.

"We might be technically closed right now," he whispered. "But I still take tips. Just saying…"

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. And for a second I knew we were thinking the exact same thing.

"Yeah I know, what a kid." He said for me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

But when I heard familiar footsteps walking toward the table, I froze. Froze as I watched a covered dish be placed in front of me, and then a plume of steam rise when the lid was removed. But I couldn't just sit there like an ice type of all things, so when I heard the seat across from me be pulled out, I looked up slowly.

"Good evening, Iris." Cilan said with a cheerful smile that made his eyes crinkle, and the slightest blush appear on his face. Mine was hardly slight…

"Uh h-hi Cilan…" I choked out, sounding about as nervous and stupid as I, well, apparently was…

Suddenly, everything I'd told Dawn about things being the same went out the window. Sure, candles and fancy stuff were right up Cilan's alley, but this… This just had to be different, even for him.

"Um this smells good…" I said glancing down at the plate and trying to make some form of conversation. Even though it was really a lame attempt at it… One thing was for sure, I didn't want things to be like this between us from now on. Because I was way too nervous and awkward to even act like myself.

"Oh I hoped you'd like it!" He said, almost deflating with relief.

I smiled a little. I guess it wasn't just me worrying.

Picking up my fork and knife I cut at a piece before looking back up at him. "So...you closed your restaurant tonight, just for me?"

He smiled and nodded, before he spoke softly. "It was the least I could, Iris. We haven't done anything special to celebrate our…" Then he trailed off and smiled awkwardly. "Well, this new flavor to our relationship…"

"Yeah about that um…" I mumbled, as I poked the plate with my fork. "Are um…" I took a deep breath and just tried to accept that nothing about this was going to be easy at first. If ever.

"Are we dating…? I mean really…?" I asked slowly, even though it felt really dumb to ask at this point.

He didn't say anything at first, so I got the nerve to look back up at him. He frowned slightly before shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"I was under the impression but…" He said slowly before his eyes widened and he suddenly seemed worried. "I haven't been too direct, have I?!"

I stopped him before he could launch into a massive apology. "No, you're been great." I smiled weakly and gestured around the table. "I mean you must have worked really hard on all of this. I um…" I rubbed at my sleeve. "I didn't say I didn't want us to be dating, I just, you know, wanted to make sure we actually were…"

"Oh I see…" He said with an understanding nod before an awkward silence fell over the table.

I shifted in my chair, almost feeling like I had an itch I couldn't reach, no matter how I twisted or turned. But we had to work through this, we didn't have any choice. So, I decided to try and be the one to do it, I mean Cilan had already done enough. I tried to relax my tense shoulders and get my head on straight. It was still just Cilan...

"So…" I began as I tapped the table awkwardly. "People who start dating want to find out about each other, right?"

He nodded meekly, but didn't say anything.

"But we've already been friends practically forever so…" I almost trailed off again, but there was no way I could just let the awkward settle around us again. "So we know a lot about each other already, but…" Then I smiled at him. "But that doesn't mean we know everything. For instance…" I said slowly as I grabbed for something that had been on my mind for the last two days.

"You said you were worried that I wasn't your type before, right? And Chili kept throwing hints that you liked me for a long time now already. So what I mean is, did you really? You know, like me for a long time?"

It was kind of an awkward question, and I doubted it was a topic that would make things more comfortable, but maybe we needed to get used to talking about it. I didn't know, but I kind of hoped facing the issue head on would help us to feel more like ourselves after a while.

Cilan smiled softly. "The answer to that question is, yes."

"Really…?" I mumbled looking at him, surprised.

He nodded and smiled. "I admired you even during our first travels with Ash, but we were both very young then, and I wasn't sure if my feelings were just infatuation, so I decided to wait before telling you about them."

Why was I surprised that he was so sensible? I smiled a little and gestured for him to go on.

"But as time went on...well I gradually lost those two reasons as excuses." His eyebrows bunched into a frown. "The more time passed, and the older we became, I knew I was risking missing my chance. Once you became champion I knew your list of admirers would only increase." Then he smiled slightly. "But fortunately for me, you never seemed to be interested in romance of any sort. Though I soon realized that that attitude would keep me away as well…"

His face dropped a little, and I could see it still hurt him to think about it. "I had to assume that you simply hadn't met the right person to make you think about matters of the heart. Since we were already such good friends, I had to conclude that I just wasn't the right person for you. It wasn't very difficult to believe since we're clearly so different. But...as is always the case with matters of the heart, it was hard to simply apply logic. My feelings were the same even though we were nothing alike."

He looked more than a little embarrassed and his shoulders slumped slightly. "Sad to say, I haven't always handled things in a way that I'm proud of… As difficult as it might be to imagine, their were times I felt some envy toward Ash."

"Ash?!" I blinked, confused. "Why Ash of all people?"

Cilan frowned looking ashamed of himself. "Well, besides myself he was the only other person that you seemed very close to. And you two were alike in some ways that we weren't. Because of that I always feared he might one day make you think of love…"

I couldn't help but shake my head at him. Ash was my other best friend, and to say I loved him like that, even like a little brother even, was definitely true. But it was just different, very different. Even as dense as Ash was we both got that easily. I guess it was ironic, I mean to think Ash even understood something about relationships that Cilan didn't.

I smiled a little at him. "Ash is like a brother to me sure, but we've never thought of each other like that. And that's okay, we both love our relationship just like it is." My voice softened, and I really wanted to try and comfort him, he looked so down on himself about it. " You never had to worry about that, Cilan… But you don't have to feel so bad about being jealous, because you never let those feelings change how you treated Ash."

He nodded. "Yes I know, but I still feel awful about ever entertaining those thoughts in the first place."

"You're just human, Cilan. Give yourself a break."

He smiled weakly back at me. "Thank you, Iris… But it wasn't just Ash I was worried about, it was myself as well."

"Yourself? What do you mean?"

He sighed. "If I spent more time with you, I was afraid that I might just be pressured by my own heart into confessing to you…"

"What would have been so bad about that?" I thought back to how we had seen so little of each other over the past couple of years, was he trying to avoid me all along?

"Well…" Cilan began. "Our friendship was at stake, and I valued it even more highly than any possible romantic prospects."

"Oh…" I mumbled softly. "Yeah I get that too…"

"So...I resolved to simply keep my feelings to myself, and at least enjoy our lasting friendship. But I never expected us both to get involved in this investigation. I admit, under these circumstances, with you so near, it was getting very difficult to hide my feelings." Then he smiled wider, even though his face still seemed worn out. "But I never would have guessed you would be the one to bring up the subject first. So, what about you?"

I swallowed hard. "Oh me?" I asked even though I knew he was basically asking me the same thing I'd asked him. This definitely wasn't going to be easy but… I owed him the truth. So taking a deep breath I just tried to be honest.

"If you had asked me a few weeks ago if I was in love with anybody, then I would have told you it was a flat out no. Even about you… But that doesn't mean that I just started caring about you, Cilan. You were always special to me. Even though you could really get under my skin sometimes, I also really looked up to you. You had it all together it seemed like, plus you were a gentleman, which always made me feel safe, even when we first met. It wasn't hard to open up, or be myself around you. Yeah we were completely different, but…"

I smiled up at him, as a slight blush appeared on my face. "Secretly I liked that about you." Then I laughed. "Or at least most of the time. But you know, you're right about all the admirers. The older I got the more guys always seemed to be paying attention to me. And when I became champion it just got that much worse. I didn't really understand why, but either way I didn't like all the extra attention. And besides, I wanted someone to notice me for me, not just because I was the champion or something…"

I sighed before going on. "Anyway, I just didn't have a lot of interest in love I guess… I mean probably because I just thought it was like all those shallow guys that would try and ask me out. And I knew I didn't want anything to do with a relationship like that… But now...well I think it was more than just that…"

I rubbed nervously at my sleeve while he waited patiently for me to go on. "It was like no one else could possibly fit into that space, because it was already all filled up… Yeah, even though I didn't even know it myself…"

"Me…?" He asked humbly, as he pointed hesitantly to himself.

I huffed, feeling a little exasperated. "Well obviously, Cilan!"

He smiled and nodded again.

"So…" I added, finishing up. "Even though I was pretty dense about it, you shouldn't feel like I didn't care about you from the start too. Because in my own way, I did…"

"Thank you for sharing that with me, Iris…" He said slowly as his smile almost made his eyes glisten.

I nodded bashfully. "Yeah, you too…"

"Well…" he started to say. "I want you to know that I appreciate the honor of getting this opportunity and… And I'll do my best make you happy."

Right about then, he didn't look like the know it all connoisseur that could annoy me so badly. No, instead he just looked like a kind, but probably terrified person. And I knew he must have been as worried as I was about if we could make this work…

I smiled back at him before just turning my attention to my food. For a little while things were quiet between us, but it was okay, because it wasn't really awkward this time. After a little while, I tried to lighten things up by telling him all about my conversations with Dawn, and how she had us pegged from the beginning. He listened and laughed with me, and things almost felt just like they used to. In fact, by the time Chili was rolling out dessert I almost wasn't nervous at all.

Then as I was cutting into the tart, which seemed ironic for the occasion, Cilan got a little serious again. "Have you been taking Fraxure with you when you go out? I admit I've been rather worried after what happened… If you needed more protection I could ask Pansage to look after you?"

I grinned a little and shrugged. "That's sweet, Cilan, but I'm okay. Fraxure has been on high alert, and I still have Excadrill and Dragonite if I need some intimidating muscle."

Cilan smiled. "Yes, I suppose that's right... I rescheduled my interview with the antique collector, by the way."

"Oh right, you mean the one that owns the coin at the antique shop? The one with the symbol that matches the one in the 'Tale of Relics' book?"

He nodded. "The very same. I simply explained that an emergency had prevented me from keeping our first appointment. So I'll be heading over there tomorrow morning, if you'd like to join me that is?"

I nodded. "Of course, we've still got to figure this out." Then I frowned. "I don't want to be paranoid... but I just have this feeling we haven't seen the last of old Slick."

"Right…" Cilan's face darkened. "He's an evil desperate man, so I wouldn't put anything past him… Just thinking about what harm he could have done you, turns my stomach with such an unagreeable flavor!"

"Yeah I know…" I mumbled staring down at my plate. "He is a lot more dangerous than I thought at first."

"But try not to worry," he said as he reached over to put his hand on top of mine. "I promise I won't let any harm come to you this time."

I looked over at his hand on mine, and then up at him. Our eyes met and for a second I just focused on his. They were so green… I'd seen trees that same color back home in the village of dragons. In early spring when everything was fresh and new, and life was just starting out again. I wished I could have just been back home showing Cilan all those trees… The truth was, I had reason to be worried now… All the good things that had happened were distracting me from everything bad that had too, but it was still a reality. I'd been kidnapped, and even though nothing really bad had happened, it just showed how serious things were.

I wasn't afraid of standing up for myself, but right now… Right now I just felt like I had more to lose than ever before. Cilan was so worried about me getting hurt, but...what about him? In a way I felt bad that it had taken something like this to get us to be honest with each other. Because now I was hoping it wouldn't turn out to be just a little too late after all…

I reached to put my other hand on top of his as I cupped it between mine. "I just want you to stay safe too, okay Cilan?"

He smiled softly, but in his eyes I could see the same worry that I felt. "I promise I'll do my best, Iris."

Honestly, that didn't really feel like much of a promise at all, but I knew there wasn't else he could say. Neither of us knew what was coming next, and there really was only so much you could do to prepare.

That's all that was running through my mind that night, while I was lying awake. I was staring holes in the ceiling, listening to the rain hitting the roof of the center. I'd always worried about my friends, but now it felt so much worse. Just like those apple trees in spring, Cilan and me were just starting something new. But it would take time for anything to come of it. What was going to come of it?

I didn't mind waiting to find out, but... I just wanted to know that we'd both have the time to find out. That he'd be okay, that we'd both be okay… Lightning flashed in the window and I turned over and pulled the blanket a little closer around me. When I closed my eyes all I could see was his smile, and hear the way he laughed when he got excited about something that I thought was so silly.

Loving someone could hurt almost as much as it could feel wonderful. That's all I could think…

Yeah...think until I finally drifted off…

When morning came, it was still raining and I felt more than a little groggy, but at least I would get to see Cilan soon. Climbing down from the top bunk, I gently woke up Fraxure and got ready to leave. Cilan was reading a newspaper in the lobby when I walked out of the hallway.

I smiled and went over to him, but had to fight back a yawn. "Morning..."

He peeked over the top of the paper before folding it up under his arm. "Good morning, Iris, I hope you slept well?"

I shrugged. "Well, I don't know if I'd put it that way, but I'll be alright."

He nodded before looking toward the window and the soaking wet street. "It would probably be best if we took a cab, considering this untasteful weather."

"Sounds good." I said.

Honestly, I wasn't afraid of water, but getting drenched first thing didn't seem too great either. And it was really coming down… So stepping outside and staying under the center's overhang Cilan waved down a cab. When one finally stopped he wrapped his jacket around my shoulders before ushering me toward the car door he had opened. I slid into the seat, Fraxure got in next to me, and then Cilan. The driver straightened the rearview mirror until his dark eyes were staring at us from under his low brimmed cap.

"Where ya headed…?" He asked in a gruff tone, I found a little less than friendly.

"Oh," Cilan hesitated, before he adjusted his own trusty brown cap. "2472 Hazelbeech street, please."

The driver looked out at the soggy street as he pushed the rearview mirror back into it's original position. "Whatever floats it for ya…"

I rolled my eyes. This guy wasn't going to win any personalty awards, that much was for sure...

Cilan's face was pretty much focused, and I could tell he was thinking in his "detective way." He rubbed at his chin,and I had a feeling something was on his mind already. I almost didn't want to ask, and he didn't seem all that talkative right now anyway, so I just looked out the window. I'd never seen much of Striaton City, I mean beside the gym and main parts of town. But the area we were headed toward looked pretty fancy. Which made sense, this collector guy must be pretty rich after all.

"You the champ, aren't you?" I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the cab driver say something to me.

"Huh, what was that?" I asked.

"You're the champ, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Uh yeah…"

Cilan's brow furrowed as he reached to gently squeeze my hand. But something told me he wasn't trying to be affectionate. I wasn't sure what he was trying to tell me so I just clammed up, not knowing what to do.

A gruff laugh escaped the driver, and it seemed creepy to hear it. "The papers were right, eh? Bout the two of you?"

Cilan didn't say anything, so I didn't either. But really, this guy was into the celebrity gossip columns…? Guess I had him profiled pretty wrong, after all.

He laughed a little more in his raspy voice. "I've been down these streets for sometime ya know, and I happen to know for fact that 2472 Hazelbeech is the justice of the peace."

I snapped my head around to look at Cilan, as my eyes got about as big as saucers. But I bit my tongue when he finally spoke. "Yes it is, but you wouldn't tell anyone we were ever here, would you?"

The man smiled and I guessed it was as close to friendly as he was going to get. "Yeah yeah, I don't talk about nothing I see. I get it."

With that Cilan settled back into his seat without taking the serious look off his face. I just frowned and looked down, my face about as red as it could get. The driver thought we were eloping? We weren't were we?!

I had a choice few things to say to Cilan, but I decided to play it cool and wait until we stopped. Sliding out into the rain, I just watched as Cilan payed the driver and stepped onto the curb.

"Hey, congrats!" The driver said winking at the two of us before driving off.

Neither of said anything, then Cilan reached for my hand and tugged me toward the front door. I wasn't sure if I should slap him or trust him, but I decided to go with the latter. When we stepped into the lobby a middle aged man looked up at us from his desk.

"Can I help you two with something?"

Cilan nodded with an awkward smile. "Yes, is there somewhere the two of us could speak privately, please?" He said gesturing between himself and me.

The man sighed and motioned us toward a sitting room to the left of the lobby. Cilan was gently pushing me toward the open doorway when the middle aged man sighed louder. "Hey you kids, at least try to think it over, it is for life you know…"

"Of course." Cilan said with a thoughtful nod before he closed the door behind us.

I turned around to face Cilan with my face glowing in about twenty different shades of red. Half of them from embarrassment, the other half from anger.

"Please tell me this wasn't some lousy way of asking me to marry you! Because this is way more creepy than romantic!" I shouted.

He blushed and shook his head. "No please, don't get the wrong idea, Iris."

I folded my arms and frowned. "What gives then?"

He walked toward the window and peeked out the blinds. "We were being followed… I needed a way to mislead them from our true destination."

I frowned, still having a hard time letting go of how awkward I felt. "So this is the first thing that came to your mind? Couldn't you just tell the driver to bring us to a restaurant or a movie?"

He shrugged and rubbed at the back of his head. "My apologies, it all happened very suddenly. And besides...I needed it to still be relatively close to our true destination. It's only a short walk away from here."

I sighed with a huff. "Okay fine...that makes sense I guess, but how are we going to get out of here without being seen?"

"I'm working on that…" He mumbled to himself as he walked over to a door and yanked on it. "No good, it's locked…" But just then I heard an eerily familiar voice coming from the lobby. We both froze and listened.

"Are you the young man's father?" The middle aged man asked… Yeah, asked none other than Slick.

"Just a concerned friend." He said lying through his sleazy teeth. "Did they come in here?"

Cilan bit his lip as he looked around the room desperately. Then he grabbed my hand and yanked me toward a corner. "Put Fraxure in his pokeball!" He shouted in a whisper.

I wanted to question, but I knew I didn't have time, so I just recalled Fraxure and turned back to look at Cilan. By now he was pulling the grating off an air vent and shoving me in head first. I choked on the wad of dust I'd just inhaled, but I knew better than to stop crawling forward. I heard Cilan squeeze in behind me, and without saying anything else we both hurried through the tight space about as quickly as possible. I wasn't claustrophobic, but this was still anything but comfortable… It felt like forever before we started to see any daylight. Punching at the grate I was more than disappointed when all I got was a sore hand for my trouble.

"Are you alright?" I heard him ask from somewhere in the darkness behind me.

"Yeah, but the grate won't budge." I said back.

Surprisingly the next thing I heard was a pokeball opening. Then out of the darkness came Pansage's small figure. He was thankfully little enough to squeeze past us.

"Use bullet seed!" Cilan command him.

I covered my face and braced myself as I heard the seeds tearing through the rusty grate. When I opened my eyes I thankfully saw my path to freedom. Squeezing out I fell face down into the rainy puddle in the alley outside. I had half a mind just to lay there and rethink a few things about my life, but I felt Cilan gently pull me up by my shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He asked, even though his green hair was almost gray from dust and dirt.

I sighed and nodded weakly. "Yeah I guess so…"

He helped me to my feet before he grabbed my hand and tugged me quickly through a back alley. Then coming to a street he dived into a bush told me to keep my head down. A car drove by slowly, but I didn't think they saw us. Even so, we stayed still for what felt like an hour before we finally had the nerve to move. Then Cilan lead me across the street and through a few more alleys. The rain still hadn't stopped, so needless to say, we both were dripping, cold, and at least on my end, irritated.

And somehow I figured we'd lost all out subtly since we'd be going into this interview an hour late, dirty and soaking wet. But even with all that already against us, it just kept getting worse... When we finally made it to our destination and Cilan pointed it out, all I wanted to do was scowl.

"Great," I moaned. "Another creepy mansion…"

So wishes you ask?

Well let me tell you, right then I just wished I'd stayed in bed…

Thanks so much for the kind reviews, and continued support! Stick around for more coming soon!