Note: I am not being malicious towards any of these characters or pairings–this is just a parody, meaning FOR FUN. Geez, no flames, okay?

Pairing for today: BlackSoulShipping – Silver & Lyra

Trivia: The idea for this chapter, hilariously, came about from listening to "Bringin' da Noise" by NSYNC and imagining Blue and the other rivals of the mainstream games dancing and singing to it. I don't know exactly what I was on, but it was hilarious all the same. And this might have just been an excuse to write corny lyrics . . . *wink*


Sing Good


This was the last time he was ever going to listen to Gold.

"This is the stupidest thing you've ever had me do," he informed the reigning champion as they stood backstage with the other guys. "Even more idiotic than the time you set me on fire."

"But ninjas can't catch you when you're on fire!" As the redhead began to protest, Gold held up a hand and added, "And you never know when you're going to be attacked by ninjas. They're ninjas! There's even a ninja in the Elite Four!" Ignoring the sour look on his friend's face, he took a quick peek at the audience waiting patiently in their seats. "Look, it's your fault you're doing this, anyways; if you weren't so prone to singing while cooking, and singing good for that matter, I wouldn't have volunteered you for doing this!"

"How does that make it my–"

"Sh!" The energetic blond, Pearl, held up a finger to silence the two arguing with each other, whispering, "They're announcing us right now!"

"And next in our show is a group of talented trainers who also happen to be talented singers! Please welcome CHAMPS to the stage!" The audience roared with applause, which was their cue to take the stage–Silver, Gold, Pearl, Diamond and Blue walked onto the stage, working the crowd to cheer even louder before they took their positions and began their performance.

I'm going to kill Gold after this, Silver decided before he took the lead in the opening song. "Don't go breaking my heart, baby, because I've set my sights on you."

"You've no idea," Pearl jumped in, his voice a bit milder than the redhead's,"what crazy things your smile makes me do."

"I'll always be there to pull you through," they all sang in unison,"'cause I've set my sights on you!" The girls screamed in excitement as the band of popular guys went on through several badly written songs, and the young female-filled audience gladly ate it up until they were finished and bowed before gracefully exiting the stage and returning behind the curtains to wipe the sweat off of their brows.

"Whoo!" Pearl pumped his fist in elation, shouting, "We kicked ass!"

"Those lyrics sucked," Silver growled, pinning Gold with a glare. "I'm guessing you wrote them?" A nod. "No wonder they're crap."

"Hey! I worked hard on those songs!"

"Those were as well-written as a third grade assignment."

"Uh, guys," Blue jerked a thumb behind him, asking curiously, "is there supposed to be a fan walking around backstage?"

"Hm? Oh," Gold waved a hand indifferently, "that's just our friend Lyra. Hey, Silver, it's Lyra!" Alarmed, the redhead glanced around and found the mushroom-cap-shaped hat weaving between props to get to the boy band relaxing backstage, and he covered his face with his palm in embarrassment.

"Please don't tell me she saw that."

"She saw us."

"You're an ass, Blue."

"Great job, guys!" The bouncy brunette clapped her hands together, looking just as excited after their performance as Pearl did. "And I didn't know you could sing, Silver."

He scowled at the devious look Gold gave him and elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up! I was forced to do this, okay?"

"Geez, take a compliment." She rolled her eyes at his sour attitude, something that hadn't really changed even after he had become their friend–or, they became his friends. Whatever. "I'm just saying you could make a career out of it."

Silver grew horrified at the thoughtful look on Gold's face, and he quickly protested, "But I don't want to! The last thing I want to do is continue singing these ridiculous songs with this idiot!" When it looked like the dark-haired teen was going to suggest something, he quickly told him, "No. Whatever it is, hell no. The last time I said "yes," I–I was talked into doing this!"

Gold's hopeful face fell into a pout. "But, you're good."

"Yeah, and you're an idiot. Your point?"

"Guys, guys!" Pearl stepped between them to prevent the redhead from punching the frown off of his "friend's" face. "Come on, let's go get some pizza or something. Wanna come, Lyra?"

"No," Silver commanded.

"Sure!"

The redhead groaned, rubbing his temples to try to ward away the oncoming migraine the stress was creating. "F. M. L. . . ." He lagged behind the rest of the group, dragging his feet as he waited for something even worse to happen–and, lo and behold, he was rewarded when the brunette noticed his bitter expression and decided to try to cheer him up by walking beside him and trying to draw him into conversation.

"So, did you always sing good?"

He gritted his teeth. "Yeah, but I don't really care if I can "sing good." If I hadn't had that stupid song stuck in my head a month ago, Gold would've never found out and I wouldn't have been dragged across the region to sing stupid songs." When she giggled at his irritation, he narrowed his eyes and growled, "Hey, it's not funny! Did you even listen to half of the words we said? I need to wash my mouth out with soap!" He knew that, if he was forced to do this again, he was going to write his own material so he didn't have to be embarrassed when he went to do the show.

"I know, they were horrible," she admitted, "but it was just funny watching your serious face throughout those sappy songs. Can't you pretend to enjoy it?" At his disgusted scowl, she laughed again and patted him on the back. "Okay, I guess not. But just so you know, chicks dig boy bands."

"Do I look like I care?" She shook her head, and then his curiosity caused him to add, "Do you count as one of those chicks?"

"Mm, maybe." She glanced at him with an eyebrow raised, her own interest peaked. "Why do you ask?"

He glanced away with an indifferent shrug, mumbling, "Because then I might care." He was pleased when she stopped in her tracks, shock evident in her slack jaw, and then she jogged to catch up with them as she remained silent after his bold comment. Utter confusion rolled off of her in waves, and eventually he turned to her and added, "I might even stick around for a few more stupid performances with Gold."

The dark-haired trainer perked up and looked over his shoulder, asking, "Did someone call me?" The redhead waved his attention away with a mumbled "moron," causing Lyra to giggle and Gold to raise an eyebrow suspiciously. Silver scowled even as his face turned red in awkwardness, and the cause of his misery simply grinned before elbowing Pearl and whispering conspiratorially into his ear. Both of them glanced behind them with wide grins on their faces, and the leader of the group called to Silver, "Hey, why don't you two just hold hands? It's okay, we don't mind."

Casting them a glare, the redhead snapped back, "And why don't you two hold hands? I won't say a word." Smirking at their disappointed grumbles, he tried to let the comment fade from his mind as the brunette watched him out of the corner of her eye. Several heartbeats later, the silence was broken by a startled grunt when Lyra's hand brushed against his. "Ack! What're you–"

"They said they don't mind, right?" Now it was his turn to stare at her with his mouth open in surprise. She smiled cheekily and made a grab for his hand again, brightening triumphantly when he didn't pull away. "Now we've just gotta convince them to do the same." She was rewarded with his amused snort, and they shared a moment of embarrassment when Diamond glanced back and caught sight of them holding hands. He didn't say anything, though, and only nodded in approval before starting a conversation with Blue. She squeezed his hand lightly. ". . . So, how many performances are you gonna stick around for?"

Silver grinned and gently returned the pressure. "As many as you go to."


Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),

~DL ("Dragon Lover")