Me: Welcome back my loyal readers! I meant to get this up sooner, but I had to edit everything, wanting this to be PERFECT *COUGH*and-I-kept-messing-up*COUGH*!

Fang: *Stares at the first draft, slowly shaking his head* Shadow, Shadow… I expected better.

Me: But that's only the first dra-

Fang: *Throws the pile of papers in my face than grips me by the shoulders, pulling me in so I couldn't break eye contact* It ish TERRY-BULL!

Me: That's a dra-!

Fang: *Shoves me away and aims an AK47 at the sun* If I kill the sun, than it won't make plants which animals won't eat, so they'd die and go extinct! With no animals or plants, you'll starve and die! MASTER PLAN!

Me: Where did you even get-?!

Fang: *Fires*

Me: FANG THAT WAS A ROUGH DRAFT *Shoves the final version in his paws and forces him to read it*

Fang: Oh. :D I LOVE THIS- GASP! I KILLED THE SUN! WE WILL ALL DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE! DX *Bullet plummets at high speed back to the ground, nearly hitting Fang*

Me: Oh snap. SHARD, THUNDER, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?!

Shard: *Dashes in, panting insanely* S-Sorry… I-it's hard to run with an injured s-shoulder…

Me: DON'T STAMMER!

Shard: :/

Fang: SHADOW IZ NOT SYMPATHETIC LOVEBIRD! *Chucks a slate of rock in her face*

Shard: Ow… *Stumbles a bit before falling unconscious*

Me: …uh. *Insert awkward silence here*

Thunder's POV

When my eyes landed on a berry bush, one that appeared untouched and with at least a dozen Oran berries within, I sighed with relief. "Finally," I breathed, padding eagerly towards the fruit. Even though it was spring and you expected there to be a lot of berries, they proved to be not as frequent. Pokémon from Ivysaur's Berries always picked away at the bushes, meaning it was hard to scavenge them up. So I was relieved when I finally found a full bush of said items.

As I picked some of the bluish orbs and stuffed them into my scarf, I couldn't help but think about yesterday's events; mainly because it was the reason I was fetching berries in the first place. Ruby had threatened Shard to stay away from me, because the luxray feared Shard would break us apart. Than Ruby clawed a deep wound in Shard's right shoulder, and Ruby would've done worse if I didn't come over in time. After the luxray had fled, I helped Shard back to my den and insisted on her staying, since it was the best option with the bad injury.

At that moment while I was berry hunting, Shard was back at my den, sleeping in my straw bed, beyond exhaustion from yesterday. I was gathering berries to help with her shoulder since Ruby really made a toll on her. The real side of Ruby.

The truth about her was still shocking to me. After all that time, weeks of me dating that luxray, I didn't even have a clue of her real self. She faked everything, fooled everyone, shadowing her real dark world with incoherent lies. In price for that, her popularity was taken from her. I felt as if I should've had sympathy for the luxray, but I had none. She hurt Shard, and other numerous Pokémon for that matter, so it was impossible to actually form pity for the lion Pokémon. Shard even explained a few things that Ruby had done last night, like threatening her not to tell me the truth, and that Lobo was her brother. I felt like a complete moron for not realizing that sooner, considering that Lobo was the pre-evolution of a luxray in the first place. After Shard pointed out the main things to me last night, I pieced most of the events together, and I still hated myself for being so oblivious. Why didn't I figure it out sooner, with all the obvious hints?

In the midst of my thoughts, I managed to pack my scarf up with at least five or six of the Oran berries. When finished, I trekked back to my den, mentally scolding myself along the path back. On the way though, I noticed several kinds of wildflowers that had finally bloomed, a variety of different hued petals spread along the forest floor, adding a certain depth of beauty to the forest. It was around mid-spring, meaning that soon there'd be storm after storm, yet there would be several flowers sprinkled with dewdrops in the aftermath. In Maplewood, the main wildflowers that grew there were daffodils and dandelions, so it wasn't as pretty. Sugarcane was way more beautiful compared to my home-forest.

Thinking of which, I was curious on how they my family was doing in Maplewood. It had been about two months since I moved out of that overgrown log and into my new den, yet it felt longer than just two months. Probably since I haven't heard a word from them ever since. Hopefully they were fine in their new burrow home, but it surely wasn't as cozy as a den. It was hard for me to accept the fact that they chose that burrow over the den they found for me, choosing to stay in familiar Maplewood instead of moving into a new forest. Even though it hadn't been that long, I forgot some of the usual landmarks of Maplewood, and the image of it was blurred in my mind.

I was focused on the random thoughts while I subconsciously avoided most flowers and vegetation, heading towards the memorized spot where my den was resting. The distance wasn't great since I arrived to the rock formation within about ten minutes, so I soon had my paws brush against the cave floor and I saw the familiar contents inside.

Close to the mouth of the den was my straw bed, and lying on top of it, a dreaming glaceon. Besides that, the only things in the den were the remainders of my Poké and a gradually shrinking berry pile. I walked towards Shard and noticed her rhythmic breathing, her sides lifting up and down at slow intervals. She wasn't wearing her heart gem necklace since she insisted on sleeping with it off, so instead it was next to her, half covered with the straw. Wrapped around her right shoulder was a layer of soft-textured leaves, the Velvetleaf Mallow concealing her wound. It of course was helping her injury heal faster, yet not by much.

I smiled at seeing Shard, but that flipped into a frown when I stared at her patched-up injury. A devious luxray, blood, and a helpless glaceon came to mind, and I couldn't shake the thoughts away. It was hard to imagine the Pokémon I used to adore had turned into an enemy. I was close to Ruby, almost as close as a clan member. The clan had to know the truth about her so if I was about as close, it should've been obvious in seeing pass her lies. How could I not figure out sooner?! I thought madly. It went on too long. It was too obvious.

It was hard putting the thoughts to the back of my mind, but I managed to do so. I needed to focus on helping with Shard's wound. I needed to take off the Velvetleaf, squeeze some juice in so it would heal faster, than rewrap it with fresher leaves. So I carefully closed my teeth around the fuzzy leaves and pulled, slowly and cautiously so Shard wouldn't wake. When off, I reached down and gently picked up a berry and held it above her shoulder. It was hard not to avert my gaze from it as I bit the berry to squeeze the juice out, and I was worried that it would sting and Shard would stir. Fortunately she didn't, and soon I had drained the juice out of three berries. The others I would save for later. Quickly I located a small pile of fuzzy leaves that I collected earlier and picked some up, and then I patched up the wound again. Hopefully her shoulder would heal quicker with the continuous care.

Since the trees' canopy had grown so thick, it was nearly impossible to tell the time of day unless you weren't underneath their branches. Luckily my den was in a sort of clearing so I could partly see the sky, and I saw that it was some time past midday. Shard had been sleeping all night plus half the day, so I expected her to wake up soon. Or not. It was possible that the sudden attack yesterday had took out a lot more energy, so she could've been asleep longer. Or perhaps Ruby gave her a concussion somehow, and Shard was stuck in an endless dream…

I slapped myself with a paw. Stupid imagination. I was starting to get worried from overactive thoughts, yet thinking was the only thing I could do during the wait. I could've just woke Shard up myself, yet not only would that be rude and unnecessary, but I didn't want to wake someone up who just stared death in the eyes the day before. I could only guess on how tired and hurt she really was.

I could've just went somewhere to avoid the boredom of waiting, to hang out with friends like Hunter and Falcon to burn time, but what if Ruby was watching us at the moment, greedily awaiting her revenge? I couldn't leave Shard alone, vulnerable and surrounded with too big of threats. Ruby most likely was lurking around somewhere and I couldn't take any chances.

Last night, Shard explained several, several things that Ruby had done, not just what happened when I showed to the forest. Shard said that not only had Ruby threatened to attack several times, but that she had always shrouded the truth with lies ever since she was a shinx. She also said that Ruby's entire clan was just as diabolical. All last night wasn't just on me catching up with Ruby's true self though. Ignoring that part and my guilty conscience, Shard and I tried to have some fun. We talked about fun topics, found out we had more things in common, and even played simple yet entertaining games. It was quite an eventful night. That probably added to Shard's tiredness, unfortunately.

If only I could tell when she would wake up. I really didn't want to just watch her in that cave uneventfully, alone with my thoughts for hours. If she would sleep that long, I'd reconsider on waking her up. It was like I was being trapped in a vague sort of way. My gaze locked on the glaceon, seeing she looked exactly like she was just a few minutes earlier, her sides still lifting up and down in rhythmic breathing. Next to her was her untouched necklace, still covered in some straw, still the same as last time I checked. I found myself glancing towards Shard periodically, checking too often to see if she showed even remote signs of waking. But I was bored. I was lying down about a couple feet away from her, head resting on my front paws, and I was just waiting for the glaceon to stir. The temptations of waking her up were growing, but I finally subdued those intentions by getting lost in thought.

They trailed towards Shard mainly, and I found it easy to get caught up in thoughts about her. Shard. I knew so little yet so much about her. I knew we were huge fans of the multi-flavored Sitrus berries, we loved races, hated to be alone, and needed to have fun with our friends on a regular basis. We also enjoyed hanging out with each other as well, getting along, having as much fun as we could, usually alone together while at it. I remembered that one time when I took advice from Hunter and Falcon, that hanging with Shard alone was a bad thing, and so I brought Fang. That turned out to be a horrible mistake, getting trapped in a mysterious tunnel and all, so I had regretted listening to their advice in the first place. It wasn't like they hung out with girls. The only one out of that trio of guys that actually seemed to have a true female friend was Fang, and that was with the zorua character.

Sometimes when I was hanging around with Hunter and Falcon, they talked about Fang and the zorua, Star I think was her name, being an adorable couple. Even though I did agree they seemed to have a lot in common and looked cute together, I didn't wasn't comfortable talking about those things. Technically Hunter and Falcon were gossiping, and I hated gossip. I even recalled one day when I hung out with the staraptor and raichu, and how they started teasing me a bit.

"They would totally make a good couple Thunder, and you're crazy not to think so!" Hunter teased. Falcon didn't speak up, as usual, only standing on the side with an amused smirk.

"You guys are acting like chatty girls," I retorted. Instead of Hunter and Falcon looking offended which was my anticipated reaction, Hunter just raised a brow about the quarter of an inch.

"You have to admit they'd be cute together though, right?"

"It's none of our business to talk about their relationship," I grumbled. I was bemused they were still interested in getting me involved.

Falcon's smirk grew, and Hunter started to develop one. "Out of all the Pokémon in this group, I thought you'd want to talk about relationships the most. Just look at you and Ruby or, possibly, you and Shard in the future. Huh…" He trailed off, as if pondering the last thought.

My eyes widened slightly. "What?! As if!" My voice unintentionally had a sort of childish ring to it, making the embarrassed feeling come to mind.

The snide smiles they had didn't vanish. Falcon appeared on the edge of breaking out in laughter, and Hunter's brow had raised more. "Is the 'as if' about dating Shard?" His enjoyment was painfully clear, and to prevent it from growing, I decided not to respond. Instead, I glared daggers at both of them, and then I mentally told myself get calm. The thing that got me mostly worked up was when Hunter accused me of liking Shard. I wasn't sure why, but it really made me feel either extremely mad or embarrassed.

Hunter and Falcon snickered. I waited for them to tell some snide comment, or heartily tease me some more, but instead they continued snickering for some unknown reason. "Why are you snickering?" I asked, my tone hinting signs of frustration.

The raichu pointed at me. "You are aware you're blushing, right?"

Surprised, I brought a paw up to feel, my face being extremely warm. My face grew hotter at this realization, recognizing it was truly a blush, and that my face most likely was red. Why was I blushing? And why so deeply?

Around then I stopped trying to recall the event. From that point it just carried on with lots of teasing and mockery on how I liked Shard, not Ruby, and then we eventually changed the topic to something not as important. I still didn't understand why Fang, Falcon, and Hunter thought I liked Shard, even when I was dating someone else at the time. I could only imagine the level of friendly mockery I'd receive the next time I saw them. News spread fast, and since the truth of Ruby was so major, almost everyone must have known the truth of Ruby and our break up already. Since I was defending Shard around that time, I wouldn't be surprised if some Pokémon started to believe I liked her as well.

My eyes inched a bit wider around that thought. It was one thing if friends teased you, but I didn't want complete strangers asking me about it. Not only did that sound strange, but I wasn't going to head around the forest, possibly answering the question 'do you like that glaceon' over and over. Pokémon didn't know what it was like with us. We were close, but not that close. We were friends, and it wasn't an overstatement if I said best friends. Best friends, nothing more, and nothing less.

Friends… just, friends, I thought dismissively. But even though it was true, why did it hurt?

I glanced at Shard again, but instead of looking away once I saw her still light form, I stared for a second. Her fur was mangled up, a bit messed from yesterday, and it remained like that because she forgot to groom it last night. It wasn't clean, yet it was still a nice shade of light blue. Her eyes were closed, but no one could've easily forgotten the brilliant shade of purple they were. Her sides were still moving in the periodic pattern, and her diamond-pointed tail curled up so the dark blue tip pointed at her nose. She looked beautiful despite the dirt.

Beautiful… I repeated in my thoughts. In a distant way I knew that about her the whole time, but that was the first time I thought of it directly.

I dropped that from my mind, deciding to think about other things. She still didn't appear to be waking up anytime soon, but hopefully in an hour she would. I wasn't exactly a very patient Pokémon. My thoughts started to trail to Shard again, the glaceon still clouding my mind, and I tried to figure out if there were more reasons why other Pokémon thought we should've been together. When I couldn't come up with anything, I reminisced over a few events, either happy or sad about us together. I recalled when we first met, when we accidently ran into each other on what I learned was her birthday. Shard was really, really nervous around that time, and she stuttered way too much. Then I saw her at Forest Grotto, so I walked over and we talked a bit awkwardly, and then I headed back to my small group of friends.

Then there was the day when I saw Shard being chased by Lobo and some sidekick shinx of his, and so I intervened and managed to scare them off. Shard cried from how scared she was, her head resting on my shoulder, and soon she calmed and we decided to hang for a while. Sometimes we made eye contact and I felt this strange feeling in my chest I still couldn't describe. Then there was the day when I was supposed to be with Shard, but Ruby made me forget about it with purrs and kisses, and I ended up forgetting completely about the glaceon. Since I knew the truth about Ruby, I had this heavy amount of guilt on my shoulders because of that day. It must've been devastating for Shard, seeing I forgot about her to be with an arch enemy.

When I saw Shard that day, I went up to her, apologized for being so idiotic and forgetful, and then we planned another day to hang. That day we went to Ninetales' café, than to The Cliff to watch some battle I've didn't remember about. After that, we headed to my den, hung around for a while, and then I got close and almost...

My eyes shot open.

I completely forgot that I nearly kissed her. I leaned over with an urge, some strange urge that came out of nowhere, and I nearly kissed the glaceon. There was a mysterious bird Pokémon in the bushes though that made noise and ruined the moment, but if that didn't happen, than I would've probably been dating Shard or at least have a deeper bond with her. How could I forget about that? I thought, puzzled. It seemed like such a big event. I even remembered that night when Shard left, I couldn't stop blushing, and my ears felt like they were on fire.

There was only one way I would have some urge like that. A Pokémon would only want to kiss someone if they loved them. It was as simple as that. There was no way I would intentionally almost kiss Shard unless I really, really liked her.

The thought whirled around in my head, the sudden information hard to believe at once. I always doubted the fact of loving Shard, and now I was trying to accept that I did love her. But I was realizing I loved Shard the day after I broke up with Ruby, and that seemed too fictional unless there was some logic against it, but I knew what it was already. It was Ruby, and I was so distracted and content on believing I liked her that I wouldn't even think of loving someone else, or Shard. Since I knew the truth about Ruby, I wasn't devoted to pushing away those thoughts. So I was thinking about loving Shard with a fast-beating heart.

Ruby never made my heart speed up. I've only had those feelings with Shard. My ears heating up, my heartbeat growing quicker, and a strange feeling in my chest that was impossible to describe. A feeling that made my throat clench up, something that made me extremely nervous or tense, a warm feeling that I enjoyed when it came. The feeling came up only around Shard, never around the luxray. I thought I liked Ruby, but she just liked me while I possibly, that early, had loved Shard. The feeling wanted me to nuzzle her and want her presence. Something that I tried to zone out until that moment, when I was accepting everything.

Do I really, love, Shard? It had been two months since I'd met her, and I had that feeling locked away in my chest nearly as long as that. The first time I had that ticklish, warm, enjoyable feeling was when I first hung around with her. Gazing at a beautiful view from atop Silver Falls, and having playful, cheery races, and then we went to Frosty Hills to play in still-powdery snow. The first time I thought that event over didn't feel nearly as enchanting as it was at that moment, since I was accepting I loved Shard. She had a beautiful light blue pelt, a pair of gleaming purple eyes with a playful twinkle in them, and she was usually beaming with happiness. Realizing these things made me feel pure ecstasy, something that I've been pushing away and shrugging off for such a long time. I was holding the feelings off, letting it build up, but now it was being accepted. Hunter, Fang, and Falcon kept telling me that it was true. That we were our own 'latios and latias', that we were perfect for each other. That I loved Shard.

But I was so ignorant, so clueless, and so idiotic that I didn't realize till that moment.

That feeling though, I was actually bothering to think about it, and so I was discovering I felt something towards the glaceon. I wasn't completely ready to settle on that fact though, seeing that I only just realized I loved her, but it'd probably sink in soon. Shard was nice, beautiful, and incredibly humble. She was one of the smartest and kindest Pokémon I'd ever met. Even before I figured of this love, she always made a smile come to my face when she was around, and she caused me to worry when she sulked from something. She caused that happy feeling to show when she came around beaming, when we got close, when things got awkward. That feeling.

I was filled with joy while thinking it over. It was like I was letting go something that I didn't even know I held back. I felt so amazing at the moment. But soon my happiness dispersed, my smile fading into a frown, other thoughts starting to stir. What if Shard had no intentions on being more than friends? It was that classic, insanely common question that nearly all Pokémon had to think about. What if the person you liked didn't share the same feelings? If that was true, if I confessed something Shard didn't feel, than things would change for the worse. It would grow distant between us, never be the same. Confessing your feelings would of course change something, but it would either be in the positive direction or go on a completely opposite path. That's what Pokémon feared most when it came to telling the truth. Ruining things.

My eyes landed on the still sleeping glaceon and I sighed. I was so caught up with everything that I forgot about the downer in all of it. I wanted to tell Shard I loved her when she woke up, but I wasn't thinking about what she would feel. It was possible that she returned my feelings, or she could've never felt that way to begin with. Or possibly she could've liked me for a while, but dating Ruby made her drop it. I wasn't going to say I loved hrt. Not unless I knew she shared it. If I found out she didn't return the feeling then somehow I'd get over the sudden crush, if it meant we'd still be friends at least.

Those thoughts stormed around, the newfound feelings of love and the uncertainty to confessing going at an unofficial battle, my head pounding. I wanted to tell her, but she could've abandoned any feelings she had like that long ago. Finally, after having the silent yet painful debate, I patently decided I wouldn't say anything. When Shard woke, I would try and carry out things like we usual did and forget about the feeling in my chest. I wasn't going to ruin things, no risks, no chances, not unless I knew she liked me back. There was only one remaining question though. How would I figure out that out?

I had lots of time left to think it over. Shard still hadn't budged in her dreaming form, and I had all the time to think about it since it wasn't like I had a deadline. Just think it over. I'll come up with an idea eventually.

Still alone with my thoughts. Thoughts about Shard, thoughts about uncertainty. Thoughts about love.

Time passed by rather slowly. My deep-felt thoughts and emotions helped preoccupy me for a while, but Shard was sleeping way longer than I anticipated. Since Shard said she never really battled, she wasn't used to major wounds, but if roles were switched I'd be up faster only because I battled regularly. Usually in battles I received bad bite wounds, or deep claw marks, and usually patches of my fur are ripped out each battle. That was probably the most major wound Shard had gained in a long time though. The oversleeping thing was really getting out of paw. To help pass the time, I went out and searched for more berries and Velvetleaf Mallow, knowing that finding each item was a bit difficult and it'd take time. I made at least three trips for the things, and I refreshed Shard's wound a couple times as well. Each time it appeared to have healed more and more at least.

Shard astonishingly slept through the entire day. She began to stir when the stars appeared, and when the forest became cloaked in a rich blanket of twilight. The glaceon's eyes wearily blinked awake, only snapping me from my deep thinking and drowsy form when she got to her paws. She cutely yawned and rubbed at her eyes, the sight making me inwardly smile. "Finally you're up," I beamed, shifting around in my sitting position to face her.

She slowly blinked again and stared outside, discovering the forest shadows linked together to form darkness. "But I've been sleeping for only a few… hours…" she yawned. She brought her paw back up and rubbed at her eyes again, slowly wiping away her exhaustion. Her sentence caused me to laugh shortly, realizing she thought it was still the same night.

"Nope, you dreamt through the whole day," I stated. Her tired eyes widened slightly from the fact.

"R-Really?" she stammered, baffled. I nodded. Since I wasn't choking back what I felt for Shard anymore, that feeling in my chest grew stronger and my heart was fluttering around, yet it wasn't affecting my speech.

"How's your shoulder? Better?"

Still rubbing at her eyes, she gave a half-minded glance at her right forearm. "Yeah… I forgot I had the injury in the first place. It's only a bit sore," she replied.

"Well that's good news," I grinned.

She smiled in return. "I think I can head back to my den now," she stated, standing up to stretch, all the while yawning again.

I was relieved that all the berry and leaf gathering was worth it. I was a bit sad though, seeing that she just gained consciousness only to leave. "I'll walk you back," I suddenly blurted.

The glaceon looked a bit startled from how I just offered so suddenly. "Thunder, you know you don't have to-"

"I insist," I continued. A light tint of pink crept up to the young glaceon's face, but I wasn't sure if she was blushing or if I imagined it because she looked away before I could get a good look.

"Sure, I guess," she stuttered, sounding appreciative despite her word choice.

Once Shard appeared used to walking around again, and after she scarfed down a few of the berries I saved, we padded out into the darkness. The place wasn't completely dark since it was only a while after the sun had set, so it wasn't that hard to get through the forest. Soon, after walking past several forms of vegetation and flowers, the grass had turned into slushy snow. It wasn't long as we trekked through Frosty Hills till we came upon a half-thawed lake, and nearby was Shard's den. The sight encouraged Shard to walk faster despite the small limp she gained in her step. When she limped into the den, she sighed with relief, glad that she was finally back. "Home sweet home," she said sweetly.

"You'll be okay here all alone, right?" I questioned, surveying the area slightly.

"Pfft, no, the monsters are going to eat me," she joked casually with a flip of a paw. "Of course I'll be all right Thunder. What could happen?"

"Ruby could happen."

She stared at me, worry clear in her expression. "Nothing's going to happen, so you don't need to act so protective," she insisted, making a motion with her paw for me to leave.

As she continued to say things were fine, I still saw a light tint of pink on her face. I was definitely not imagining it, I was sure, but I still gave in to wish. She did insist on it anyway, and Ruby most likely wasn't around. Plus, I had other things to worry about. As in calming down my rapid-beating heart and figuring out if Shard shared my feelings.

Hopefully she would. I knew I did. And so I left.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD I WORKED ON THIS! DX Sorry if it seems rushed though, because this final draft I basically typed all day today. Plus, many of you have ideas of how many epic fails I've been making when it came to romance, so I wanted to make a success. Yes, no? Like it, hate it? If there're mistakes or awkward sentences, like I said, RUSHED A BIT! This is the outcome I get after 5 times of rewriting it over the last two weeks. So yeah, don't get the idea I got extremely lazy, because I worked hard. And I got this in before New Year's –at least before it in my time- because I promised to get one more chapter up this month. Romance is actually hard when you really, really try XD

I probably wouldn't have gone through with the promise of getting another chapter up before the end of December if it wasn't for a promise of imaginary cake over the internet for finishing! Yeah, you know who you are dude, and your amazing for it!

Well I need type more in this note, but I have only A FEW MINUTES to post this till New Year's where I live, so THANKS FOR READING AND HAZZAH FOR THUNDER LOVING SHARD! WOOHOO AND MERRY NEW YEAR'S!