HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Or at least, it's still Valentine's Day for me (IT'S 11:40 PM SO YEAH HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY)
So here we are, Chapter 26! This one is the longest chapter so far! It's like 14k words! Holy crap that's a lot! A lot happens in this chapter, and I thought about splitting it, but I was like "SCREW IT! LET THEM HAVE A LARGE CHAPTER!"
Enjoy~
Mint's POV
After Garnet left my room to let my parents know I was awake, I fell back on my hospital bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, my thoughts running through my mind like crazy.
I can't believe I actually attempted to do that. Did I truly want to die...? It really felt like I had no option. I had no way of escaping from the strings Mother attached to me, playing with my life like a puppet, and giving me no freedom.
Had I succeeded... what would've happened? Would anyone really miss me? Mother probably wouldn't. She doesn't care about me. She only cares about what I can do for her.
But what about everyone else? I'm sure my friends would've missed me... The girls would all be so devastated, especially Auburn. Masello would probably cry his little heart out, Tangelo would try to act cool about it, trying to hide his tears, and Cobalt... Cobalt would probably never forgive himself...
"Cobalt..." I whispered quietly to myself.
Would life be better if I never met Cobalt? I probably wouldn't literally be killing myself over all this. Life would've be just like how it was before he came here. I'd probably just be friends with only Auburn and Tea. Auburn and Tangelo would still be fighting, I'd never become close to Masello or Maple, and Aika would still be homeless.
I shook my head vigorously and sighed.
No... I'm glad I met Cobalt. He's done so much, and I have so many friends because of it. I guess my pain is required to balance out all the happiness he's given to everyone else...
I looked out the window. The sky was slowly getting darker and darker, but there was still some light outside. The darkness reminded me that Garnet's parents wanted to hear from him before it got too dark.
I hope Garnet's parents aren't too worried. After what happened today, it only make sense they want to be extra sure he's safe.
Garnet... Your tardiness was actually a good thing for once. To think that jerk would save my life. He was surprisingly nice today too. I didn't think he had it in him. Plus he waited for me to wake up. I never would've thought he of all Pokemon would care enough about me.
"I guess he's not so bad after all." I smiled. "Maybe he won't be such a jerk anymore. It'll definitely make Jonquil's life a lot easier."
Maybe we could even be...friends? That would be nice... I felt a slight tightness in my chest at the thought of getting closer to Garnet. It was strange, but I decided to think nothing of it.
Garnet can be pretty annoying, selfish and insensitive, but I guess he's done quite a bit for me. I evolved because he challenged me to that horrible battle, then he saves my life. Huh, that's kind of ironic in a way because I felt like I was going to die in that battle.
My mind continued to wonder on random things as I waited for my parents to come to visit me. It didn't take too long before I noticed their figures from the translucent window on the door.
"Mint!" Mother rushed in. She ran straight to me and embraced me into a hug.
"M-Mother?!" I was shocked. When was the last time Mother hugged me like this?
"Mint! Oh Mint!" Mother kept repeating my name out over and over while tightening her hug.
"M-Mother... C-Can't...b-breathe...!"
"Sana, dear, you're crushing her!" Father said with a weak smile. He looked happy, but also really sad. That conflicting smile could break any daughter's heart.
"Oh Mint..." Mother finally broke her hug and took a step back, giving me some space. "Ahem," Mother cleared her throat, "I apologize..."
"Mother... Father..." I said quietly while looking away. I could feel their gazes piercing me. Their sadness and disappointment in me. I felt my heart tear into two. Tears quickly built up in my eyes and my body began to tremble. I gripped onto the sheets of the hospital bed tightly as all the negative emotions to snowball into a huge painful mess in my heart.
I closed my eyes tightly and found the courage to speak. "I-I... I'm so—"
"Mint, I'm so sorry!" ...What?
I opened my eyes and was shocked to see Mother kneeling on the ground. She was bent forward, bowing before me.
"Mother?! What are you doing?!"
"Mint, I am so, so, SO sorry!" Mother began to sob. "I-I'm sorry! I-I'm sorry...!"
"S-Sana..." Father whispered sadly.
"R-Ray, I n-need to apologize to you too. P-Please..." Mother struggled to speak through her sobs. It was so odd. I've never seen Mother cry like this.
"P-Please... f-forgive me... I-I've been a terrible mother, wife, a-and friend... I've just been a terrible Pokemon! I-I'm so sorry!
"I-I've been so selfish and s-stubborn! I know I've hurt so many P-Pokemon... I hurt my best friend, my h-husband, and now I even drove my own d-daughter to attempt to k-k-kill h-herself! A-And for what?! Because I refused to admit how wrong and stupid I've been?! I a-am the worst Pokemon in the w-world!" Mother slammed her fists on the ground as she continued to sob uncontrollably.
"Mother..." I began to cry. I never would've imagined Mother would be crying, begging for forgiveness, let alone beg for forgiveness from me! It was really heartbreaking to see her like this...
"Sana..." Father bent down and scooped up Mother into a hug. "Oh Sana..." Father cried. "It's okay dear... You've been through so much... Let it all out..."
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Mother buried her face onto Father's shoulder, covering it in her tears.
"M-Mother!" I jumped off my hospital bed and ran towards my parents. "Mother, Father!" Father opened one of his arms and pulled me into his warm embrace with Mother.
"I-I'm sorry too! I-I'm so sorry! I-I should've never tried to kill myself! I should've just talked to you both! I-I'm sorry!"
"N-No Mint, I'm sorry! I've been the worst mother in the world! I-I'm supposed love you, listen to you, and support you, n-not force you into whatever I please! You tried so many times to t-talk to me, and every single time I knew I wasn't being fair to you! B-But I was s-so selfish! I-I only wanted what was best for both you AND me! And look what it did! It made my own daughter hate me and drove her to kill herself! I'm the absolute worst!"
"N-No Mother, you're not the worst! You're far from the worst, Mother! A-And I never really hated you! I-I only said that because I w-was so frustrated! So I'm sorry for hurting you! I'm sorry for hurting both you and Father! I-I'm so sorry!"
We continued our back and forth apologizes for what seemed like forever. Eventually we all ran out of steam. Once both Mother and my sobbing started to die down, Father broke our hug and helped us up.
"Have you both calmed down now?" Father asked.
"Y-Yeah..." I sniffed. Mother nodded while rubbing her face, her eyes red from all the crying.
Father smiled. "Good. Now, since you're both apologizing to each other and me, it's my turn. I also need to apologize. I haven't exactly been the best father or husband either..."
"Ray, that is not true at all!" Mother shouted. "You've been the best husband anyone could ask for!"
"Mother is right, you're an amazing father!"
"No..." Father frowned, "I really haven't. If I really was the best, then I would've tried harder. I would've tried harder to get Sana to talk to Cream, or to listen to Mint, or anything. I always told Mint everything was going to be fine, that I would take care of it... But in the end, I couldn't do anything... And it nearly costed me my daughter's life." Father sighed and looked away.
"No! Father no! It's not your fault! It's my own fault for being too weak!"
"Ray, after all these years of you calling me ridiculous, I can finally say that you're the one that's being ridiculous!" Mother grabbed Father's face and turned it so that they were staring at each other.
"S-Sana?" Farther started at Mother, his eyes wide and a slight blush on his face.
"You did nothing wrong. None of this has been your fault. It's been 100% my fault. Not yours. Not Mint's. Just me." Mother let go of Father's face and sighed. "If only I hadn't been so stupid..."
"Oh Sana..." Father sighed and crossed his arms, "Why don't we all just say it's partly everyone's fault and we each accept each other's apology?"
"But Ray—"
"But Father—"
"No buts!" Mother and I tried to argue at the same time, but Father cut us off both. "Now, I'll go first. Sana, Mint, I accept your apology. Will you accept mine?"
Mother and I were both speechless. We both honestly felt like Father had nothing to apologize for, but he insisted that he should. I looked at Mother, who looked back at me and nodded.
"Very well." Mother smiled weakly. "If you feel honestly feel the need to do so, then I will also accept your apology, as well as thank you for accepting mine."
"Thank you Sana." Father smiled. Both Mother and Father then turned to me. Father still had a smile on his face, while Mother looked very nervous.
"Mint..." Mother spoke, "I don't blame you if you don't want to, but will you accept your idiotic Mother's apology...?"
"As well as your stupid Father's?" Father added.
"Mother... Father..." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Neither of you two are stupid or idiotic." I opened my eyes and looked up at Mother, who flinched back slightly. I could tell she was extremely nervous for what's to come. It was such a strange feeling, seeing Mother like this.
"But..." I took one final deep breath and prepared to finally let everything out.
"Mother... You've caused so much pain to me for so long. You wouldn't let me play with Auburn when we first became friends. You wouldn't even let me go to her birthdays at first just because she was the princess. You didn't want me to get too close to Cobalt, and you never wanted me close to Cream. I missed out on many play dates because you forced me to study after school and on the weekends. And as my feelings for Cobalt grew stronger, you grew more and more strict and bitter to the point where you wanted me to transfer!
"I spent so many nights crying over Cobalt. I'm madly in love with him, but I doubt he feels the same way. But it didn't even matter, because you didn't want me to have anything to do with him! Do you know how much that hurt? It drove me crazy! And then you and Father started fighting? That was final straw. At that point, I didn't care about anything anymore. Not my grades. Not my friends. Not even Cobalt. Nothing mattered. But then my friends... they didn't give up. They never gave up.
"Auburn is almost as stubborn as you, Mother. She forced me to talk. I hid everything from my friends. All my problems that were eating me up, and Auburn finally got me to let it all out. I felt great afterwards. Like a huge weight was lifted off of my chest. But then you know what happened next?
"I returned home, and you yelled at me. You saw my dropping grades, and forced me to transfer. I had finally made up with my friends, and you pulled me away. That heavy weight was dropped back onto my chest, this time even heavier than before, and I couldn't take it. So I broke and snapped at you, which only caused you to add more pain, both physically and mentally. You slapped at me, and yelled at me.
"That was the real final straw. That time... I really didn't care at all for anything. I honestly couldn't take it anymore. My entire life all I wanted to do was make you happy Mother. I followed your strict rules because I didn't want you to be angry with me. I studied hard so I could follow in your footsteps. I obeyed your every order and never talked back. And yet... I just couldn't take it anymore. I decided I would finally just take my own life...
"But now... I see that was a mistake... And because of it I've caused even more pain...
"Mother, you said you were selfish, but I think in the end it was me who was selfish... I almost succeeded doing the ultimate selfish act...
"So Mother... Father... I will accept your apology, but only if you will accept your stupid daughter's..." I ended my rant and bowed. During my rant, I could see Mother's horror as I finally told her how I felt about everything. I felt terrible for making Mother make such a horrible expression, but finally letting it all out felt great.
The room was silent. I continued to hold my bow, waiting for Mother or Father to say something, anything. The air in the room was extremely tense, and every passing second felt more and more painful, from both holding the bow and the anxiety from waiting for their response.
"Mint..." Father finally spoke. "Please, you can stop bowing. I want to see your face." I obeyed Father and stopped bowing. I didn't want to look at my parents' face, but I nervously glanced at Father, who was surprisingly smiling. "Yes, of course I accept your apology. How about you, Sana?"
"M-Mint... I-I-I..." Mother stuttered. I nervously looked at Mother and saw her face was red. She was trembling again and had tears in her eyes. "I-I... I've been such a terrible mother to you... And yet, you would still accept my apology?"
"Y-Yes, of course Mother..." I nodded slowly.
"Oh Mint!" Mother sobbed. She again ran towards me and wrapped her arms around. "Of course I forgive you! Oh Mint... Thank you for forgiving me! Thank you so much..."
"M-Mother..." I felt the tears coming back. I closed my eyes and smiled while returning her hug. "Thank you for forgiving me too..."
"M-Mint... Oh Mint... I will never force you to follow such ridiculous rules ever again! Go ahead and play with your friends! Go and love Cobalt with all your heart! Grow up to be whatever you want to be! Follow your dreams! Follow your heart! Find your own path in life!"
"Oh Mother!" I sobbed. Finally, I was free to do whatever I want. No longer would I have to turn down Auburn's invitations, or get criticism for being in the Art Club. I no longer had to hide my feelings...
"Mother... Thank you... I love you..."
"Mint...!" Mother gasped and pulled back so she could look at me. She stared at me with disbelief, but I only smiled in response. Mother smiled and continued her hug.
"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that..." Mother cried. "I love you so much Mint..."
"Hey, what about me?" Father joked. Mother and I looked at him and invited him to join our hug.
"Oh Father, I love you too, silly!" I laughed as I hugged my parents.
"Ray, you know I love you with all my heart." Mother smiled happily.
"Mint... Sana..." Father teared up, "I love you both so much."
The three of us shared a heartwarming hug. With all finally forgiven, it felt like we were really a family. A feeling I haven't felt in a long, long time...
No POV
"Arylide, what is the meaning of this?" Cream asked with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, this was so sudden and short notice." Arc added, "It's a good thing we have all that extra staff now or else I'd be worried leaving Nina all by herself working the restaurant on a weekend morning!"
"I don't know to be honest." Arylide shrugged, "Ray called me really late last night telling me to gather you guys here at the cemetery. He refused to tell me why, so I'm just as confused as everyone else.
"Maybe it's another one of those schemes to get Sana to forgive Cream." Cain said while rolling his eyes. "Haven't had one in a real long time. I figured he would've given up at this point. She may be really smart, but she's also the biggest, stubbornest idiot in the whole kingdom!"
"Sana..." Cream sad sadly.
"Cain you idiot!" Arc smacked his older brother while gesturing towards Cream.
"Ow! Is that anyway to treat the king?!"
"You may be the king, but you're still my stupid big brother!"
"Can you both stop? We're at a cemetery here. Stop being so disrespectful." Arylide scolded the two Arcanines.
"Sorry dear..." Cain whined. "Speaking of cemetery, why here out of all places? This is such a strange place to ask to meet."
"It's pretty creepy." Arc said while looking up at the sky. "The sky is covered in dark clouds, it feels so ominous to be at the cemetery with this kind of weather. I hope it doesn't rain."
"Hopefully he shows up soon. I didn't think we'd arrive before him..." Arylide said, a slight shiver going down her spine after Arc mentioned how creepy it really is.
"Oh there he is now!" Arc pointed out towards the entrance of the cemetery. The Gallade noticed his friends huddled up not too far from the entrance and quickened his pace.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Ray waved as he approached the four adults.
"Ray, why are we here?" Cream asked rather impatiently with her hands on her hips, "If this has anything to do with one of your plans again, I'm leaving right now. I told you I've long accepted that she won't ever forgive me."
"N-No! It doesn't have to do with that! Please don't leave!" Ray panicked. "Well it sort of does have to do with that..." Ray whispered to himself as quietly as he could.
"I heard that!" Cream said with an annoyed tone and started walking away. "I'm leaving."
"No! Cream, don't!" Ray spread out his arms so Cream couldn't leave. "Just please, follow me. This is really important." Ray walked ahead while gesturing his friends to follow.
"Where are we going?" Cream asked, her arms crossed.
"We're going to see an old friend." Ray said with a smile before walking ahead, leaving his friends confused. The four shrugged at each other and followed after him.
It didn't take too long before Cream and the others realized where they were heading. Ray led them down a path that they all walked through many times in the past, and even still do to this day. At the top of a hill with a large tree was a lone grave.
"Here we are." Ray said.
"Poka..." Cream said silently, frowning. Arylide noticed Cream's sad expression and furrowed her brow at Ray.
"Ray, what is the meaning of this? Why would you bring us here?" Arylide said in an angry tone.
"Hey, calm down, Your Majesty." Ray said while raising his palms defensively. "I promise there's a good reason why I brought you all here."
"It's not the anniversary of his death is it?" Cain asked.
"Don't worry Your Majesty, you didn't miss it." Ray reassured the worried Arcanine.
"So then why are we here?"
"I asked him to gather you all here." A voice said.
"Who said that?" Arc asked, all four of them looking around for the source of the voice.
"I did..." A figured appeared from behind the tree.
"S-Sana?!" The four of them exclaimed simultaneously.
"H-Hello, e-everyone..." Sana stuttered. She slowly walked towards Ray's side and looked away.
It was silent for a few moments. Arc, Cain, and Arylide were speechless, too shocked to see Sana standing in front of them, looking rather timid and not looking at them. Cream however was more nervous than shocked. She began fidgeting and refused to look at her ex-friend and partner.
"Go on, Sana." Ray placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. Sana flinched from the sudden touch, but smiled at her husband's support.
"R-Right..." Sana took a deep breath and took a step forward, with Poka's grave being the only thing standing between her and her old childhood friends.
"Arc, Cain, Arylide... a-and C-Cream..." Sana stuttered and paused. She looked down at Poka's grave before continuing.
"A-And also Poka... I-I..." Sana slowly went down on her knees and bowed on the ground, "I gathered you all here today, my old childhood friends, to beg for your forgiveness..."
"W-What?!" The Arcanine brothers shouted simultaneously. Arylide and Cream were too shocked to say anything.
"I... I've been a terrible friend." Sana said, still bowing on the ground, "I've treated each and every one of you poorly the past 14 years." Sana slowly got up from her bowing position, though still kneeling on the ground.
"And especially towards you C-Cream..." Sana began to sob quietly. "I-I blamed you for Poka's death, and because of it, I lost my best friend and partner..." Tears were soon flowing down the Gardevoir's cheeks. Sana had almost lost more, but she decided to keep that to herself.
"I-I blamed you for everything! I blamed you for throwing all of our hard work down the drain! All those years! All of the sweat and tears! I was so frustrated, so I just took the easy route and blamed you for everything! I treated you like garbage and hurt everyone, both my friends and my family!"
"S-Sana..." Cream cried. She couldn't believe her ears. She never once expected this day to ever come.
"I knew you didn't want to kill him! I-I knew how much you l-loved him! And yet, I still b-blamed you for it!" Sana shouted through her tears, "I knew the t-truth... I knew P-Poka didn't want to want us to use the cure... I k-knew he didn't want to take the r-risk... I knew all along... E-Every single time you all tried to convince me, I knew... I-I knew you asked everyone to not tell me the truth of what Poka said, a-and yet I s-still refused to forgive you...
"I-I... I was just so f-frustrated we couldn't save him! He was my friend... OUR friend... We worked our entire lives trying to save him... B-But we f-failed... He meant s-so much to me... B-But I know he meant so much more to you than he ever did t-to me... I knew how much you b-both l-loved each other...
"But I still refused to forgive you! Even when there wasn't anything t-to even forgive! Everyone tried so hard to convince me. E-Even your s-son tried t-to convince me! A-and yet you tried to hide the truth from me! You t-tried to p-protect me, and yet I continued to treat you horribly... I'm sorry... I'm s-sorry... It took me so long to finally realize how much pain I was causing..."
Sana bowed once more, her sobbing still strong, "I-I am so sorry Cream! I am so, SO sorry!"
"S-Sana!" Cream ran to her crying friend and wrapped her arms tightly around her. "Oh Sana, I forgive you! I-I f-forgive you!"
"C-Cream... Y-You... I don't deserve your forgiveness..."
"It's okay Sana... I still forgive y-you..." Cream gently rubbed her friend's back while tightening her hug. "I forgive you..."
"C-Cream... Y-You are too k-kind..." Sana broke the hug. Cream stood up and offered to help her up. "Y-You haven't changed one bit. The same kind, gentle, and forgiving Audino I've known all my life..."
"Oh Sana..." Cream wiped her tears and smiled. "I'm so happy..."
"I-I..." Sana stuttered. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I am too..." Sana opened her eyes and looked over at her other three friends, all of them were smiling and tear eyed. "Guys... Will you guys forgive me for treating you so horribly as well?"
"Weeeelllllll I mean you were pretty mean to us..." Arylide said with sass in her voice, "You would even dare to treat the royal family of the Fire Kingdom with crap!"
"Yeah I'm not so sure I can easily forgive something like that!" Cain added, "I should have you thrown into the castle prison!"
"You're lucky I never spit in your food after how poorly you treated us!" Arc smirked.
"Guys..." Cream glared at her friends, obviously not amused.
"Hmmm..." Arylide placed a paw under her paw and thought to herself. "I mean I SUPPOSE I could let it sliiidddeee..."
"Arylide!" Cream punched the queen with quite an amount of force.
"Whoa, okay, okay, no need to get all violent here!"
"Now who's the one acting all disrespectful at the cemetery?" Cain grinned cockily.
"Hush, you!" Arylide glared, shutting up her husband. She looked over at Sana, who looked like she was about to cry again.
"Oh Sana, please don't look at me like that. You know I'm just kidding!" Arylide laughed nervously. "Of course I'll forgive you! After an apology like that, I'd be crazy not to! Right boys?"
"Right!' The Arcanines said together while nodding.
"Oh thank you all so much!" Sana bowed. "Thank you..." Sana trailed off before looking down at Poka's grave. She turned and crouched down, facing the Pignite's grave.
"Poka... I'm sorry... I know how much you cared about all of us... And yet I..." Sana sighed, "I failed to save your life, and then I broke ties with everyone else... I've been a terrible friend to not only them, but also to you..."
"Sana..." Ray said as he crouched down next to her and handed her a bouquet of fresh flowers.
"Poka... I'm sorry..." Sana placed the flowers on top of Poka's grave, "Please accept my apology..."
"Oh Sana..." Cream whisper sadly.
"...Hey, look!" Arylide exclaimed suddenly while pointing up at the sky.
"Oh, the clouds are parting!" Arc shouted excitedly. The dark cemetery quickly brightened from the sudden sunlight.
"You don't think...?" Ray gasped.
"I'm sure of it!" Cream said happily. She crouched down next to Sana. "I'm sure this is Poka forgiving you!"
"R-Really...?" Sana said with disbelief.
Cream nodded. "This is exactly something that someone as kind as Poka would do. I know Poka is up there watching down on us with a huge smile on his face." Cream smiled gently. Sana gasped with widened eyes. She blinked, letting her few remaining tears flow down her face.
"Poka..." Sana cried as she stood up and wiped her tears. She looked up at the now bright sky and smiled. "Thank you..."
Mint's POV
The next day I had awoken to the most refreshing sleep I've had in the longest time. For once, I didn't have to cry myself to sleep. I gave out a loud yawn while stretching, hopped off and made my bed, and decided to look out the window.
"It's pretty cloudy today. I hope it doesn't rain, Mother and Father are supposed to be meeting their friends." I turned around and looked at my clock.
"Oh, I slept in pretty late. Mother and Father probably already left. I hope their friends forgive Mother... Auburn's parents are both kind of jokesters, so I hope they don't give Mother too much of hard time, and I'm sure Cream will find it in her heart to forgive her."
I headed downstairs and made myself a balanced breakfast. After what happened yesterday, I have to take better care of myself. I still couldn't believe I fainted from too low of a blood sugar.
"I wonder when Garnet will stop by? I hope he didn't forget to get my bag." I glanced over at the clock while munching on a slice of toast. "I hope he gets here soon. I have somewhere I need to go..."
Just as I started to worry that he wouldn't show up, I heard someone knocking the front door. I quickly jumped of my chair and hurried over to the door.
"Yo." Garnet waved at me. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt nervous. I felt a strange and sudden rush of blood to my cheeks and I started to sweat.
"G-Good morning..." I muttered quietly.
Garnet raised an eyebrow and looked at me with concern. "You okay?"
"Y-Yeah! T-Totally! Why d-do you ask?" I blushed.
"Umm, because you're stuttering and trembling?"
"O-Oh!" I gasped. "I-I..."
"Hey, calm down. I have your stuff and didn't tell anyone like I promised!" Garnet lifted his right arm, my backpack in hand. "I didn't even look inside, I promise!" He hastily handed it over to me.
"T-Thank you..." I took my backpack and sighed. I slowly felt my body as the previous nervousness vanished. Well, at least most of it.
"No prob." Garnet said casually.
It suddenly got awkward, as we both ran out of things to say. I held my backpack with both hands, while Garnet rubbed the back of his head as he shifted his weight from left to right repeatedly.
"S-So..." Garnet broke the ice, his face slightly red. "H-How you feeling?"
"I-I'm fine..." I blushed, looking away from him. I don't know why I was acting so strange in front of him. This has never really happened before.
"T-That's good..." Garnet stuttered with his face growing redder and redder. Why would he be blushing? Is he just as nervous as me? "W-Well I returned your backpack, s-so I guess I should get going now..."
"Garnet, wait!" I shouted suddenly before he could walk away.
"W-What?" Garnet turned around. I stood there silently, not really sure why I stopped him.
"U-Um..." I looked around nervously, trying to think of what I wanted to say. Garnet stared at me rather impatiently, but luckily I thought of something.
"Oh! Wait here for a second!" I suddenly ran inside and up to my room, leaving behind the confused Combusken. I ran to my desk, grabbed what I was looking for, and ran back down as fast as I could.
"S-Sorry!" I panted, trying to catch my breath.
"I-It's cool... What was that about though?"
"I-I wanted to give you this..." I handed Garnet two tickets. He grabbed them and looked at them.
"Tickets for the museum?" Garnet looked confused. "...On Valentine's Day?"
"Y-Yeah... Um... I know it's not that great of a gift, but I wanted to t-thank you somehow. The museum likes to display art from the Art Clubs from both middle and high school for random holidays. This year they asked us to paint something that represents love..."
Garnet suddenly blushed. He gasped as his cheeks grew as red as a Cheri Berry. "L-Love?! A-A-And you want me to g-g-go with y-you?!"
It was my turn to blush. "N-N-No not like a d-date or anything you i-idiot! I give tickets to my friends every time we have an art s-show!"
"O-Oh... Okay..." Garnet sighed. He looked down at the tickets again. "You invite your friends huh? So does that mean we're friends now?"
My eyes widened from his sudden question. "I-I... I mean it's not like I ever disliked you or anything. I've always thought of you as an acquaintance, or at least mutual acquaintance..." I looked up and smiled at Garnet, "But it never hurts to have more friends. So yes, if it's okay with you, I'd like to be friends with you."
Garnet gasped, his face completely red. I titled my head in confused, not really expecting that sort of reaction. It was odd, but it made my chest feel tight for some strange reason. Garnet shook his head and smiled.
"Y-Yeah, I-I guess I'd be cool with that... I m-mean, I'm already pretty close the guys, s-so I s-s-suppose it wouldn't hurt to be friends with the g-girls too..."
Without thinking, I suddenly hugged Garnet, happy to hear he's willing to be friends. "Wonderful!"
"M-Mint?!" Garnet gasped from my sudden sign of affection. I gasped and jumped back, my face compeltely red.
"O-Oh! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" I bowed and apologized repeatedly.
"I-It's okay... It was just a bit unexpected. Something I'd expect from Auburn." Garnet laughed nervously, his face still covered in red from blushing. "But..."
"What is it?"
"Won't it be weird? Hanging out with you all of the sudden? It's not like I can just come sit with you guys at your table all of the sudden..." The tone in his voice was surprising. He legitimately sounded sad and worried.
"Jonquil does it sometimes, why can you?"
"Yeah but he only does that when I'm not there!" Garnet shouted and blushed. That's true now that I think about. Jonquil only sits with us if Garnet is absent or has lunch detention or something like that.
"Well I mean it's not like you have to come sit with us or anything. Just stop being such a jerk and randomly asking the girls to go out with you all the time. Girls hate it when you can't take no for an answer y'know..."
"Well that's their fault! No girl should have to turn me down! I'm the strongest guy at school, AND the only evolved one to boot! They should be lucky I'm even interested in them!"
I glared at Garnet angrily. He noticed and nervously looked away. "W-What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking some things don't change is all." I shrugged.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Garnet shouted.
"Don't worry about it, really." I sighed. "Anyway, don't worry about the whole trying to naturally be closer friends with all of us. You can't force friendship after all."
"O-Oh..." Garnet frowned.
"I'll still be your friend though." I suddenly grabbed one of Garnet's hand, "I can't thank you enough for what you did yesterday."
Garnet blushed yet again. "T-Thanks..."
I smiled and let go of his hand. "So yeah, don't be a stranger, okay? Whenever you see me at school, throw me a wave or something. If anyone asks, just make something up or tell them it's nothing or whatever. As long as you don't tell them what really happened."
Garnet nodded. "Got it." He again looked down at the tickets I gave him. "By the way, why did you give me two?"
"O-Oh! Well..." I said nervously, "I mean it's V-Valentine's Day, and I do know some of the g-girls do actually like you s-so..."
"Oh I see now." Garnet nodded. "Hmm, I actually don't have any plans for Valentine's Day. Did you give one to Jon? You're friends with him right?"
"I am, but I've never actually given one to him."
"Guess I'll give him one then. I doubt he's doing anything." Garnet shrugged. "He doesn't have the guts to ask Maple out."
"Huh?"
"What? You never noticed? Don't you have classes with them together?"
I paused and thought about it. Huh... Now that I think about it, he does act a bit strange around Maple. I wonder, does Maple know about this? I wouldn't be surprised if she does know and is just waiting for him to ask her out. Maple is pretty popular with the boys after all, she never has to ask anyone out because they always go to her!
"I guess that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it."
"Yup. Poor guy is just too shy. I've told him so many times to just go for it, but he refuses. If he waits too long, someone else is gonna sweep her off her feet!" Garnet laughed. "Anyway, I suppose I could stop by for a bit. Look at some art and stuff."
I looked at Garnet with gleaming eyes, happy to hear that he was actually going to go. He noticed and gasped with a blush on his face.
"I-I mean s-since I d-don't have plans on Valentine's Day, I-I may as w-well go! I-It's not like I'm o-only going b-because you'll be there or anything!"
"Wow you sounded just like Aika there. Or at least how Aika sounds when she's nervous or shy, she doesn't do it too often around us anymore." I laughed.
"W-Whatever!" Garnet scoffed. "So this is love themed right? You invite Cobalt yet?"
I blushed suddenly and heart began pounding loudly. "A-A-About t-that..."
"Oh? So you did huh? You gonna make your move yet?" Garnet grinned at me. I didn't respond, instead I covered my blushing face with my hands. "Wait are you actually going to...?"
I peeked through my hands and gave Garnet a weak nod.
"O-Oh..." Garnet surprisingly said sadly. He blinked and his face slowly lighted up, as if he just realized something. "Oh. O-Oh!"
"W-What?"
"You're gonna do it! You're seriously gonna do it!" Garnet exclaimed loudly.
"H-Hey, shh! I-I haven't told anyone e-else y-yet!"
"Oh sorry." Garnet lowered his voice. "Well good luck with that. I..." Garnet looked away sadly for a second before shaking his head and continuing. "I hope it works out."
"Thank you, Garnet." I smiled. "For everything. Really. I appreciate it so much."
"Heh..." Garnet rubbed the back of his head nervously, his face completely red now. "I should get going now."
"Oh okay then. I actually have something I need to do too."
"Alright then. I'll see you at school? No more transferring or anything right? Everything's all cool with your Mom and stuff? I mean if you're giving me these tickets and you talked about school and stuff I'm assuming it went well..." Garnet rambled nervously.
"Yup! We're all good now." I nodded happily. "I'll see you at school on Monday!"
"Great!" Garnet smiled. "See ya!" He waved goodbye and walked away.
"Bye! Thank you!" I waved back as I watched him walk away. As soon as he was no longer within sight I noticed the sky suddenly become clearer. I looked up at the sky and smiled happily.
"Alright, that went well. I have a good feeling about the rest of the day." I nodded and went back inside. I took my backpack upstairs, found the suicide note I wrote, and teared it up into a million pieces.
"That should do it." I sighed as I threw it into the garbage on my way outside. "I should get going now. I hope she's home." I took one last look up at the now clear sky and left.
About 20 or so minutes later I was wandering in a quaint neighborhood on the other side of town, not too far from Cream's Clinic. I soon found the home I was looking for and knocked on the door.
"Yes?" An old Mightyena answered the door. "Oh if it isn't Mint! Hello child, how can I help you?"
"Hello sir," I bowed politely, "Is Aika here?"
"She sure is." Mr. Arte slightly closed the door, "Aika, Mint is here to see you!"
"Mint?!" I heard Aika's shout from inside the home. Within a second the Poochynea was at the front door. "Mint! You're okay! I heard you suddenly got sick yesterday! We were so sad you weren't at school since we just made up with you and everything on Thursday. You already recovered?"
"O-Oh, err..." I mentally cursed myself. I forgot to prepare a proper excuse! Just think of something, anything! "Y-Yeah! I just wasn't feeling too well yesterday, sorry about that."
"No, no! Don't worry about it! I'm just shocked at how quickly you recovered. You never miss school unless you're really sick, so seeing you all fine now is just a bit of a shock."
"W-Well y'know... My parents do w-work at a hospital! Heh..." I chuckled nervously.
"True." Aika nodded, "Well as long as you're fine! So what's up?"
"Did you already submit the paintings to the museum? If I recall correctly, I was the last one to finish."
"No, not yet." Aika shook her head, "I was going to call the museum before Art Club on Monday so they can pick them up. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, perfect! You have a key to the art room, right?"
"Um, yeeesss...?" Aika answered warily, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes!" I said excitedly, "Can you get me in? I need to finish my painting!"
"I thought you were already done?" Aika asked with confusion.
"No, I need to add some final touches! Give it more life!"
"Well, that's not a bad idea. but..." Aika closed her eyes and thought silently to herself, "I don't think they'll let us in without a teacher's supervision on a weekend. At least not long enough to finish a painting. If it's just a few finishing touches, can't you do it on Monday?"
"That's not enough time! I want to work on it for the entire weekend!"
"Then why not just grab your painting and finish it here? Grandpa has tons of paint and other stuff."
"Aika, you're a genius!" I grabbed her paw and shook it furiously. "Come on, let's go now!" I began to pull her away without thinking.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Aika pulled her paw out of my hand.
"Oh, geeze, I'm sorry!" I apologized, "I don't know what's come over me, I've been pretty hyper today."
"I've noticed." Aika rolled her eyes. "It's almost like I'm talking to Auburn."
"Eheh..." I chuckle nervously from being compared to Auburn for the second time today.
"Hold on a second, let me go find get the club room key." Aika ran back in her house and was back out in less than a minute.
"Okay I got it. Grandpa!" Aika turned around to talk to her Mr. Arte, who was sitting at the dining table, reading a book. "I'm going to school to grab a painting for Mint and then we're going to come back here to finish it, is that okay?"
"Yes of course it is." Mr. Arte answered back. "Don't be gone for too long! You promised to make lunch today!"
"No prob! Be back soon!" Aika stepped out and closed the front door.
"Since when did you start cooking?" I asked.
"Oh, not too long ago. Grandpa isn't getting any younger, so I just wanted to help out as much as I could, y'know?" Aika blushed. "I-It's not like I'm trying to learn how to c-cook to impress a-anyone!"
"You know, when you say it like that, it makes me think you're trying to impress someone." I smirked. "Are you perhaps trying to impress a boy?"
"N-No!" Aika blushed deeply. "Ugh, let's just go before I change my mind!" Aika stormed ahead of me, trying to hide the blush that covered her face.
"Roger that, Club President!" I laughed as I ran to catch to my easily embarrassed friend.
It didn't take too long to get to school, especially since Aika ran the entire way. After letting the school guard know what we were here for, we made our way to the art room.
Aika unlocked the door and I quickly ran in to grab my painting. I grabbed the painting and stared at it. I could still see where I merged the blue that was originally going to be Cobalt with the ocean.
"It really is a nice painting, but I really feel it's lacking on the love theme." Aika walked up to my side and stared at the painting.
"It's because I got rid of what made it fulfill the theme." I frowned. "And because I was pretty much an emotionless shell when I finished it."
"Mint..." Aika said sadly. "So does that mean you're going to add Cobalt back?"
"Y-Yes..." I stuttered, "I-I plan to add him back and show it to him..." I began to blush, "A-And t-tell h-him..."
"O-Oh!' Aika squealed, "Ohmigosh!"
"H-Hey don't screech like that so suddenly!" I jumped from Aika's sudden squeal, almost dropping the painting.
"Haha, sorry! I just never expected you to actually go for it!" Aika jumped up and down excitedly. "Geeze, no wonder you were so giddy earlier! You've got your goal set in your mind! You got me all excited now!"
"W-Well d-don't go telling anyone! I don't want them to make a big deal out of it! Especially Auburn! Oh I can just imagine her trying to play matchmaker or something stupid! I'll tell them myself when the time is right."
"Hahaha, right?" Aika laughed in agreement. "Okay, my lips are sealed. Now let's head back!"
Aika let me leave the room first so she could lock the room again. We headed back outside and let the school guard know we were done before heading back to Aika's home.
"By the way Mint..." Aika suddenly spoke up, "I thought you said your mom doesn't approve of your feelings? So why are you confessing? What if he accepts?"
"Oh yeah, my mother and I finally had a heart-to-heart talk! She's basically given me total freedom now!" I answered happily.
"Seriously?! Oh that's great!" Aika shouted happily.
"Right? She even went to go apologize to Cream and the other adults—Oh yeah!" I suddenly remembered about what Mother and Father planned on doing this morning. "Aika can you hold this for a second? I need to contact my parents!" I hastily passed my painting to Aika.
"Uh, sure." Aika took the painting. I closed my eyes and began to contact Mother and Father.
…
"Mint? Is that you?" Father answered my telepathic call.
"Father! Yes! Where is Mother? How did it go?!"
"It went well! They all forgave her! We're all at the Royal Diner celebrating! Your mother is currently catching up with Cream! It's so wonderful seeing them talk again after 14 years."
"Really?! Oh I'm so happy!"
"Me too dear, me too. So what are you doing now?"
"I'm going to Aika's place to do some painting."
"Oh? I figured you'd be hanging out with Cobalt or something."
"F-Father!"
"Ahaha, I'm just kidding. Have fun at Aika's!"
"Thanks Father, I will! Tell Mother I'm happy for her!"
"Will do. See you tonight!"
…
I opened my eyes to see Aika staring at me intently.
"W-Whoa!" I jumped back "Why are you so close?!"
"Because it's always so interesting seeing you have telepathic calls like that! You always look so focused and you're completely motionless! I couldn't even tell if you were breathing!"
"Ah well, my psychic powers still aren't that great yet. Mother and Father can have telepathic talks while going on with their everyday lives! My teleporting skills have gotten a lot better though."
"Speaking of which, why don't you just teleport us back home?"
"Aika, you know I don't like relying on teleporting for transportation unless I really have to!"
"But canvases are so heavy!" Aika complained while lifting up my painting. "It's really hard for a quadrupedal like me to walk while carrying big things like this!"
"Well it's a good thing I'm carrying it then!" I snatched my painting out of Aika's paws. "Come on, let's go."
"Aw, you're no fun." Aika a pebble kicked the ground before following.
Before we knew it, we were already back at Aika's house. Aika set up an easel in the living room while her grandfather lent me all the painting tools I would need.
"Oh my." Mr. Arte said, glancing at my painting. "This is...different. It's good, but..."
"It's okay sir, I know it's missing something. This is exactly why I'm here today. This painting needs more love."
"Ah Mint, you have such an artist's heart." Mr. Arte patted my back. "I've always admired your determination."
"O-Oh!" I blushed. Mr. Arte was one of the greatest artist in the entire kingdom, and I've been so blessed to have him as someone I can call a mentor. "You are much too kind sir! I-I'm not that great... I'm just a novice..."
"Oh Mint please, it's been what, five years now?" Mr. Arte scoffed, "I've told you many times not to call me sir, or to be so modest." Mr. Arte smiled. "Please, no need to be so formal with me! And have more confidence in yourself! You may be young, but you've improved so much! We should really have more art days. I always loved painting together with you and Aika."
"T-Thank you s-sir—no I mean M-Mr. Arte!" I felt like I could faint. Mr. Arte has always been my idol and inspiration. It's a dream come true to be able to work under him. "A-And yes, definitely! It's a little hard to find more time to paint these days since I'm not a kid anymore, and I feel like it's only going to get more difficult, but I used to always have such a blast coming over and painting!"
"Ahaha, yes it's easy to forget you youngsters aren't children anymore. You're all growing up to be such fine young adults. It only makes me more excited to see where you'll take your art next!" Mr. Arte smiled warmly. He's always so passionate when it comes to art.
"Anyway, I'll stop talking your ear off now. Don't hesitate to ask me or Aika if you need anything."
"But don't ask for too much! Trying to cook lunch here!" Aika shouted from the kitchen.
"She can be such a silly girl, wouldn't you agree?" Mr. Arte laughed.
"Oh definitely." I giggled.
"I heard that!" Aika shouted, only making Mr. Arte and I laugh even harder.
"Ahaha, well good luck Mint!" Mr. Arte smiled before heading to his room.
"T-Thank you!" I bowed. I turned and looked at my painting with determination.
"Okay, let's do this!" With a paintbrush in one hand and a pallet in another, I began to revitalize my painting with my original vision of love. My mind was filled with my feelings for Cobalt, and I conveyed those feelings through each and every brush stroke.
I was soon lost in my own world. I thought about that dream I had, the one that caused this painting. I thought about why I had such strong feelings about Cobalt. I thought about that pseudo date we had at the mall several weeks ago. I thought about when I first met him. My entire body felt warm to the core.
"Aaaaaannnnnd there!" I did one last stroke and took a step back. I placed my brush and pallet down, and wiped the sweat off my forehead. I scanned my piece of work and felt my cheeks warm up with rushing blood.
"O-Oh my..." I whispered quietly to myself. The painting was complete. I had managed to add a Riolu looking off at the horizon on the beach, but I also added more detail, like light glistening from the ocean and more greenery. "D-Did I really do this...?"
"Finally!" Aika shouted out of no where, causing me to flinch.
"W-What?!" I looked around to see where she was. She was at sitting on the couch across from me, doing homework. "O-Oh I didn't see you there!"
"Yeah I know! You haven't seen anything!"
"H-Huh?"
"You were in a trance again. Look." Aika pointed at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's almost dinnertime! You've been painting nonstop for over five hours! I tried telling you lunch was ready, but I gave up after calling out your name a million times."
"A-Are you serious?!" I shouted in disbelief.
"What's all the ruckus out here?" Mr. Arte entered the living room. "Is Mint done with her painting?"
"Grandpa! Mint finally snapped out! She's done!"
"Ah, excellent. Mind if I take a peek?" Mr. Arte asked kindly.
"S-Sure..." I answered nervously. I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt like I did an amazing job, but it's not like I'm a pro or anything.
"Ooh, me too!" Aika excitedly jumped off the couch and ran to her grandfather's side.
"Let's see..." I stepped out of the way so they could examine my painting. "O-Oh my goodness!"
"Holy crap!" Aika shouted. I stood there nervously. I didn't know if those were good or bad reactions. My heart was racing as I waited for more reactions from them.
"M-Mint, this i-is..." Mr. Arte struggled to speak, as if he was breath-taken.
"This is incredible!" Aika exclaimed.
"R-Really?" I said meekly.
"Yes really! This is hands down the greatest painting you've ever made—no the greatest painting anyone has made in the history of the Homura Middle School Art Club! And I've seen all of their art works!" I knew she wasn't lying about the history thing since there is a photo album that includes the top paintings throughout our school's history, but the greatest ever?
"Y-You're exaggerating..." I blushed.
"I'd have to agree with Aika here, Mint. This is a marvelous work of art. It's incredibly well-detailed. I can feel the all the hard work and love emitting from the painting!"
"Oh I can see the love alright." Aika grinned, causing me to blush even harder.
"Hm?" Mr. Arte was confused for a second. He scanned the painting once more before realizing what Aika meant. "Ohoho, I see know. Ah young love..."
"Y-You guys, you're embarrassing me..." I covered my face with my hands.
"My apologies." Mr. Arte chuckled. He walked over to me and placed a paw on my head. "Mint, this is an incredible work of art. You should be proud!"
"T-Thank you so much Mr. Arte! Hearing that from makes me so happy! It's such an honor to receive any praise from someone as talented as you!" I gave him the biggest smile I could make. Suddenly, however, my stomach decided to ruin the moment and give out the loudest growl I've ever heard it make.
"Oh my." Mr. Arte laughed. "Looks like your senses are fully back now!"
"I-I..." I once again covered my face with my hands. "I'm sorry..."
"I'll go reheat your food. I've been dying to get your opinion on it!" Aika ran to the kitchen. I could hear her grabbing a plate of food and start up the microwave.
"Oh yes, my dearest granddaughter has been working her heart out learning how to cook. I've always done the cooking around here, but she recently has been cooking almost every meal. She says she does it to make my life a little easier." Mr. Arte wiped away a single tear that formed in his eye. "I am so blessed to have such a kind and caring granddaughter."
"Oh Grandpa you can be so dramatic!" Aika blushed.
The room was quickly filled with joy and laughter. I couldn't help but smile, seeing how happy these two are. It made me think about my own family, which only caused me to smile and laugh even harder.
It took me a long time to realize it, but I truly am blessed, aren't I?
The next several days of school went by in a flash. On Monday, I was bombarded with hugs and everyone saying how they were worried about me (I say everyone, but it was mostly Auburn.) Cobalt was especially happy since Cream and Mother finally made up after 14 long years. Mother had given Cream a letter of apology addressed to Cobalt back when they met up on Saturday. I was so ecstatic to hear that he happily accepted her apology, and Mother reacted just as similarly.
I noticed that Garnet was even happy to see me. Whenever we ran into each other in the hall, we'd always acknowledge each other, sometimes obviously, and sometimes subtly. No one really seemed to mind or maybe even notice, so I was glad about that.
We do all share a gym class together too, and Garnet did make a bit of an effort to be more friendly with us. For example, he was definitely not as much as a jerk, and he'd even ask if he could join our team whenever we did any team sports. I admit I was even happy when Mr. Mar randomly put us together for doubles badminton.
I was even able to talk to all of my teachers about my recent dropping grades. Mother said I didn't have to worry about being the top or even being a doctor anymore, but after so many years of being in the top of my class, it would just a shame to suddenly start to slack off at school. Besides, I love learning, and I honestly did want to follow Mother's footsteps one day. The look on her face when I told her that was worth it too. She was so happy when I told her I still wanted to follow in her footsteps.
All in all, this week has been great. With my friendships greater than ever, my grades returning back to its previous state, and my painting completed, I couldn't wait until Saturday to come.
Saturday... Valentine's Day... As Saturday got closer and closer, my enthusiasm dropped drastically...
"Well, we're finally here!" Aika announced proudly in front of the entire Art Club; all seven of us...
"Another art show! And the last one of the year, too! Our Halloween one went very well, and I'm positive that this Valentine's Day show will be just as successful. So go on out, enjoy some art, talk with the guests, and most importantly, have some fun!"
"Yaaaaay!" The Art Club cheered enthusiastically. The other five members quickly dispersed, leaving me alone with Aika.
"You okay Mint? You were so excited for this day just a few days ago."
"Y-Yeah, but now that it's f-finally here, I-I can't stop s-shaking!" My legs felt like there were made out of jelly. I couldn't stop trembling, and I felt like puking.
"Hey calm down! The show just started! The guests are only now rolling in. I can't have you fainting now!"
"I-I-I know, b-but...!"
"It'll be fine! This is your fourth Art Show! And it won't be our last! We'll be doing more in high school too, right?"
"T-That's not what I'm w-worried a-about..."
"Yeah I know." Aika smirked. "But don't you worry about that other thing too! Remember, we all made a plan! Everyone's in on it! Even Masello! We'll make sure you get some alone time with Cobalt later today. But for now, I need you to calm down. Just take a deep breath!"
I followed Aika's advice and took several deep breaths. After talking to her about it, I finally started to feel myself calm down.
"W-Whew..." I exhaled, "I-I feel better already. Thanks Aika. No wonder you were nominated Club President."
"And you know I take my role as president very seriously! Now go on out there and mingle. I can guarantee that many of the guests will want to talk to you about your amazing work of art! I'm gonna go check up on the other members."
"Thanks Aika, I will!" I nodded with newfound determination in my eyes to make this entire day be successful.
"Good! And remember, they won't be here until later in the day, like closer towards the end of the show, so just relax! Good luck!" Aika waved and walked away.
"You too!" I waved back. I looked around and noticed my painting across the room. Several Pokemon were gathered around it, and from the look on their faces I could tell they were impressed.
"Well, I better go talk to them!" I smiled and went to greet the guests.
The show was scheduled to go on from 1 PM until the museum closed at 6 PM, and before I knew it four whole hours had passed by in the blink of an eye.
"Oh there she is! Mint!" I looked over to see Auburn waving at me from across the room. Everyone, including Aika, was with her.
"Hey guys!" I waved at my friends. "Glad you could all make it."
"But of course we would make it!" Masello said with his passionate, foreign accent. "What kind of friends would we be if we missed out on our dearest friends' art show?!"
"Yeah, what he said." Tangelo commented, a grin on his face. Something told me he was more interested in something else than the art...
"You know we come to every single one of these!" Maple winked.
"Yeah..." Tea yawned, "I would gladly... skip out on my afternoon nap to come see your art show..."
"And I just absolutely love coming to the museum! Everything is also so colorful and pretty!" Auburn said excitedly, "Don't you just love coming here to see Mint's beautiful works displayed Cobalt?"
"Oh of course! I love seeing Mint's works displayed!" Cobalt said cheerfully, causing me to blush like crazy.
"A-Auburn!" Aika punched her on the side.
"Ow! Aika, rude! What was that for?!"
"You know exactly what that was for!" Aika glared at her.
"Yeah Auburn," Cobalt agreed, much to our surprise, "You can't leave out Aika too!" Cobalt scolded. All of us sighed in relief, glad to know he wasn't actually aware of what Auburn was implying.
"Of course, I love seeing her art too. It's amazing to see what all of the art here! It makes me wish I had some artistic skill." Cobalt said cheerfully.
"Oh in that case I'm sure Mint—oof!" Auburn was cut off from Aika punching her side once again. I had to turn around to hide the blush covering my face.
"Auburn, can you not?!" Aika scolded.
"What?! I'm only trying to help!"
WELL IT'S NOT WORKING! I mentally screamed.
"Help what?" Cobalt asked, confused at the scene before him.
"N-Nothing!" Tangelo jumped in between Cobalt and Auburn. "Nothing at all dude! Just Auburn being stupid like always!" Tangelo nervously looked behind him to see his cousin sticking her tongue out at him.
"R-Riiight..." Cobalt said, obviously not buying it.
"A-Anyway! Why don't we go look around?" Maple suggested.
"O-Oh right! I heard there's a really cool exhibition of art made out of food! I wanna go check it out!" Tangelo said in a strange tone, as if he was rehearsing some lines.
"O-Oh! B-But of course! Count me in too, my good chum!" Masello also said strangely. "E-Especially if there is food involved!"
Could the be any less convincing? I facepalmed as Tangelo and Masello left.
"T-That was odd..." Cobalt commented. "I hope Masello knows it's only for display."
"A-Ahaha I'm sure they're just super excited about food. You know how those two are!" Maple laughed nervously.
"Hey Tea, they're actually doing a writing contest today too, why don't we go enter it?" Aika suggested, sounding way more convincing than Masello and Tangelo combined.
"S-Sure... why not?" Tea said quietly. Aika led her to the other side of the museum.
"There they go too..." Cobalt commented again. "Guess it's just us four now?"
"A-Actually, I just remembered about that bulletin board we passed by near the entrance. Something posted there caught m-my eye!" Maple stuttered.
"O-Oh yeah! I know what y-you're talking about!" Auburn went along with whatever Maple was talking about. "Let's go check it out! C'mon Maple!" Auburn dashed out back towards the entrance of the museum.
"W-Wait for me Auburn!" Maple shouted, trying to catch up to Auburn.
Soon it was just me and Cobalt alone. Cobalt was obviously confused. I on the other hand wanted to die from embarrassment at how almost all my friends were such terrible actors.
"Well that was certainly odd." Cobalt looked at me.
"Y-Yeah it was..."
"I wonder what that was about?"
"W-Who knows?" I said nervously, my blush growing in intensity.
"I guess it's just the two of us now. Shall we go tour the art? I can't wait to see what you painted!" Cobalt smiled, causing my heart to melt.
"Y-Yes! Follow me..."
I led Cobalt around the museum, showing him the paintings done by other the club members, along with works by other artists throughout the city. All of theme fulfilled the love theme in some way or form, be it a love for something or even someone.
As we walked around the exhibit I could often see a few of my friends spying on us from the corner of my eyes, only making me even more nervous. Luckily, Cobalt was too distracted by all the paintings to notice Auburn hiding behind a wall, or Masello almost tripping like he always does. I was so relieved Tangelo managed to catch him before he could spew any lava from his hump.
I'm grateful that they're all so supportive and all, but do they really have to spy on us? I sighed heavily.
I intentionally took my time, holding off my painting until the very end. Not just because I wasn't mentally prepared for the confession, but also because I want to spend as much time as possible with him alone...
"Every time I come to these shows, I always become more and more impressed. Everyone has so much creativity and are such wonderful artists!" Cobalt said with amazement as we finished with the final painting that was specifically made for the show. "So I guess all that's left is yours, right?"
"Y-Yeah I-I-I guess..." I mumbled. My heart was racing and shivered from all the sweat covering my body.
"Um, a-are you okay Mint?" Cobalt asked. I couldn't help but notice his cheeks seemed a little flushed.
"I-I'm fine!" I obviously wasn't. I didn't want to show him my painting yet. "S-Say, why don't we go look at the other exhibits? We could go look at that food art thing that Tangelo and Masello ran off too!"
"Oh?" Cobalt looked at me rather disappointingly and looked for a nearby clock. "But there's less than 20 minutes left until the museum closes. Don't you want to show me your painting?"
"O-Of course I do! I-I j-just..." I panicked, trying to find some sort of excuse to buy me more time. I couldn't think of anything, and to make things worst, the intercom went off.
"Attention all guests, the time is now 5:45, and the museum will be closing in 15 minutes..."
"See? Let's go!" Cobalt said eagerly.
All I could do was sigh in defeat. "V-Very well, let's go."
I nervously led Cobalt to my painting. After that announcement, the museum was practically empty, except for the club members and staff. Luckily, no one was looking at my painting anymore, but I knew Auburn and everyone were probably nearby. Knowing them, they're probably going to eavesdrop the entire confession.
"H-Here we are..." I stopped in front of my painting. I was sweating bullets. My heart was pounding so loudly, I swear everyone in the entire kingdom could hear it. I tightened my eyes shut, anticipating how Cobalt would react.
"O-Oh wow! This is amazing!" Cobalt said excitedly, "Mint did you really paint this?!"
"I-I..." I slowly opened my eyes, "Y-Yeah, I did..."
"It's so pretty! Wow! Such a beautiful beach!" Cobalt's eyes shined. My heart melted from seeing how excited he look. He looks so happy and cute... I wish I could always make him smile like that...
"Oh, what is this blue Pok—huh?" My heart suddenly dropped. Looks like he finally noticed it...
"U-Um, Mint...?" Cobalt stuttered. "I-Is that a Riolu?"
"Y-Y-Yes...it i-is..."
"O-Oh..." Cobalt paused. "W-Would it h-happen to be...m-me?"
"I-It is, y-yes..." I want to die. Oh Arceus strike me down right here and now! This is so nerve-wracking!
"I-I s-see..." Cobalt's face was just as red as mine. "T-This is s-supposed to be a l-l-love themed p-painting right? W-Why would you p-p-possibly p-p-p-paint m-m-me?"
This was it. The moment I've been dreading was finally here. Cobalt finally asked the question I've been expecting. All those times I practiced for this moment seemed pointless, because the real thing was WAY more different. My entire body was trembling. I don't think I've ever been so nervous before in my life, and every passing second felt like an eternity.
"B-Because..." Come on Mint, just say it!
"I-I..." It's just three words!
"I-I l-lo... l-l-lov..." THREE. STUPID. WORDS. JUST SAY IT ALREADY!
"...I love you!" I shouted loudly, my eyes closed shut. I did it. I finally did it. After so many years of blushing, stuttering, admiring, melting, and dying of embarrassment, I finally did it.
I waited, my eyes still closed. I didn't know what kind of face he had, or if anyone was even around. I just stood there, waiting for a response. It felt like an eternity, like time had completely stopped.
"O-Oh." Cobalt finally muttered. I mustered up my courage and opened my eyes slowly. Cobalt's face was painted a deep shade of red, and he looked extremely awkward. "I-I-I s-see..."
...He already knew, didn't he? Of course he already knew. Everyone at school knows, why would Cobalt be any different?
"You already knew, didn't you?" I asked to confirm my suspicions.
"W-What? N-No!" Cobalt's obviously lied.
"Cobalt, we all know how terrible of a liar you are."
"I-I..." Cobalt sighed in defeat, "Y-Yeah, I've known for awhile n-now..."
I stood there at a loss for words. I wasn't sure how to respond, but since he already knew and didn't say anything about it to me, I could only expect the worst.
"M-Mint... I..." Cobalt looked at me nervously, "I'm r-really happy that you care so much about me, I-I really do... I mean, you're smart, cute, strong, artistic, a great friend, and just overall a really amazing Pokemon..." Cobalt trailed off.
"...There's a 'but,' isn't there?" I looked at Cobalt sadly. He looked away and frowned, avoiding my gaze.
It was at this point I could confirm with confidence that there would never be anything between us. My heart had officially shattered into pieces. My chest felt tight, and I suddenly found it hard to breath. The tears quickly began to form. This was the outcome I was expecting, and yet having it happen in person...was just...
"L-Look, Mint, I..."
"No, Cobalt, it's okay." I turned around. I didn't want Cobalt to see me like this. I wiped my face and tried my best to hold in my tears. "You don't have to say anything."
"Mint..." Cobalt voice was filled with sorrow and pity. I felt him place a paw on my shoulder, but I shook it off, causing him to gasp and flinch back.
"A-Ah, I-I'm sorry..."
"N-No, it's fine. You just surprised me is all..." I answered back, still not facing him. "Please don't worry about it, I'll be fine."
"B-But..." Cobalt said with concern. I rubbed my face one last time and finally faced him with a fake smile.
"I'll be fine! Really!" I tried my best to sound convincing. "I mean, yeah, this really hurts, but I'll get over it. Things might be a bit awkward at first, but I don't want anything to change between us, okay?"
Cobalt looked at me with sadness. He sighed and nodded, "Y-Yeah, I don't want anything to change either."
"Good!" I smiled. My body started to tremble and sweat poured down my face like crazy as I prepared to ask Cobalt a ridiculous request. "But is it okay if I be just a little selfish?"
"Huh, what do you mea—" I cut off Cobalt before he could answer by placing my lips against his. This was my first kiss, and it felt just a bit awkward but ohmigosh this feels so incredible...
So magically...
So...painful...
Time felt like it had stopped and I never wanted it to start again. I wanted to stay like this forever. I wanted to feel this warmth in my chest for the rest of my life, not that disgusting, painful mess that it's currently in.
For a brief moment, I felt happy...
After a few seconds I broke the kiss. Cobalt's face looked like it could explode from all the blood rushing to it. He placed a paw on his lips and looked down at it, then back it me.
"M-Mint...!"
"Ehehe..." I giggled, "Sorry..."
"N-No it's f-fine, b-but..."
"Cobalt, it's almost closing time, so you should probably head on out. I need to go find the club members. I'll see you later!" I smiled and ran off as fast as I could.
I kissed him... I-I kissed him! What have I done?! I mentally argued with myself, running off in some random direction. I didn't know where I was heading, but I didn't care. I just needed to get as far away as possible from Cobalt.
C-Cobalt... My heart was in so much pain. I've never felt anything like this before, and it felt just absolutely terrible. This has to be the worst feeling in the world. I would never wish this upon anyone. Nobody deserved to feel such emotional pain...
This hurts. This sucks. I hate this. Why did it have to be him? Why can't he return my feelings? Why didn't I let him explain himself? Why? Why? WHY?!
"Hey, watch out!" Someone shouted at me. I was suddenly brought back to my senses, but it was a little too late.
"A-Ah!" I ran into another Pokemon. "Oof!" I ricocheted off whoever I ran into and fell back on my bottom. "O-Ow!"
"Are you okay? What were you doing running like that in a museum?!" The unknown Pokemon scolded me. "Oh!"
"Huh?" I looked up to see who I ran into. It was Garnet! "O-Oh!"
"Mint?!" Garnet shouted, though it sounded like two voices.
"G-Garnet!" I hastily got up from the ground. I finally saw who the other voice belonged to. "And Jonquil!"
"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Jonquil exclaimed.
"Y-You have?"
"Yeah! We've spent a good 30 minutes looking for you! Thank goodness we found you just before the museum closed." Jonquil explained. We ran into the others several times, but they would just shoo us away when I asked where you were.
"O-Oh, I-I'm s-sorry..." I turned away from them and rubbed my eyes. My face was still red from the previous events.
"Hey, are you okay? Your face is red." Jonquil asked with concern.
"I-I-I'm f-fine!" I said unconvincingly.
"Like hell you are!" Garnet said rather harshly, "What happened?"
"N-Nothing happened! Honestly!" I shouted, trying my best to sound convincing. Shouting only made things worst, and I found it more and more difficult to hold in my tears.
"Wait, weren't you planning to...?" Garnet remembered what I told him last week when I gave him the tickets. "Did he...?"
"Planning to what?" Jonquil was obviously confused.
I looked away, not answering and still trying to hold in my sobs. My silence was plenty enough of an answer. Without any warning, Garnet suddenly walked up, turned me around, and pulled me into a hug.
"G-Garnet? W-What are you doing?!" Jonquil shouted in confusion.
"G-G-Garnet...!" I gasped.
"He turned you down, didn't he?" Garnet whispered.
"I-I..." I stuttered. I couldn't take it anymore. My broken heart had overpowered what little willpower I had left, and I let it all out.
"I...I-I...!" I sobbed loudly. Garnet placed a hand on my head and gently lowered my head so that my face was buried in his chest. "I-It hurts! W-Why?!" I cried uncontrollably into Garnet's chest.
"It's okay... Everything will be fine... Just let it all out..."Garnet gently rubbed my head. I cried and cried and kept on crying.
This is the outcome I expected... And yet... It still hurts so much...
Auburn's POV
"Cobalt why'd you do that?!" I shouted angrily, "Mint loves you! Why did you reject her!?"
"W-What?! Why are you yelling at me? I should be the angry one, you guys all eavesdropped on me!" Cobalt retorted back.
"I mean, he's not wrong..." Tangelo shrugged, "But still dude! You have a cute girl right there waiting for you, and you just shut her down without even telling her why!"
"That's because she didn't let me tell her why!"
"So then why did you reject her?" Maple asked with much interest.
Cobalt froze, his face slowly growing red. "I-I just don't see Mint that way! I mean she's my friend! O-Our friend! W-Wouldn't it be a-awkward if two of us j-just started dating out of nowhere?!"
"I suppose he makes a fair point." Tangelo nodded.
"No he doesn't!" I shouted angrily again, "That's a stupid reason to turn down someone!" I faced Cobalt and furrowed my brow. "Don't you see how great Mint is?! She's so cute and smart and strong and way better at everything than all of us! You two would make such a cute couple!" Cobalt's face slowly grew red as I kept shoving down reason why he should date Mint down his throat.
"A-Auburn... c-calm down..." Tea said slowly. "N-No need to shout..."
"Yeah, can you please keep it down?" Aika voiced out suddenly. She was busy helping the Art Club clean up, but was still within ear range. "Actually, what are you guys still doing here? The show ended already ended! They even made the announcement that they're already closed while you guys were all fussing over this!"
"But aren't you interested?" Maple asked. "Aren't you worried about Mint?"
"Of course I am, but I have things I need to do!" Aika said with authority, "We can talk about this on Monday or tomorrow or literally any other day! You guys need to leave now! I'll take of Mint."
"Fiiiiiiine!" I groaned, "Come on, let's get out of here..." I walked away first, with everyone else slowly trailing behind me.
The six of us exited the museum and stood around the entrance. The vicinity was mostly empty since the museum was already closed, and the sky was slowly turning into a deep shade of orange. It was starting to get late, but I wasn't done talking just yet.
"Look, guys," Cobalt got the first word in, "I know you're all super interested in this, but I swear I only turned her down because I just don't have any feelings towards Mint. I'm not too interested in dating anyway."
"But...!" I wanted to argue back, but Cobalt raised a paw in front of my face.
"Auburn, please. Just drop it already, okay?" Cobalt said with an annoyed look on his face.
I flinched. Cobalt almost never yells at me like that. "F-Fine..." I looked away and frowned.
"Thank you." Cobalt lowered his paw. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "It's getting late, and I'm exhausted after all that. I'm going home. See you guys later..." Cobalt waved weakly and walked off.
"Cobalt..." I whispered with concern in my voice.
"I guess we should all just head on out now." Maple shrugged. "I wanted to talk more about this, and I'm also really worried about Mint..." Maple looked back at the museum, "But I'm sure she'll be fine. Aika is in there too after all."
"I trust Mint will be fine. I hope this doesn't make things awkward between us. I would be oh so hurt if any of my chums were to break ties with us!" Masello whined dramatically.
"Dude, it'll be fine! They even said nothing will change!" Tangelo reassured him.
"But... things will be definitely awkward..." Tea frowned.
"Yeah... but I know we'll all get through this. We've all been friends for so long, nothing could possibly break us apart!" I tried to cheer up my friends, while also trying to rid of any doubts in my mind.
"Auburn's right." Maple nodded happily. "Well, I'm heading out now. Bye!"
"Me too..." Tea yawned.
"And I too. Good day, my chums!" The three of them left and soon it was just me and Tangelo. He stood there in silence.
"We should go too." Tangelo eventually suggested.
"Yeah, let's go."
The walk back was mostly silent. I had a lot running through my mind, and I could only imagine that Tangelo was in the same boat. I wanted to say something before we would have to part ways since it felt pretty awkward, but I couldn't find the right words or anything. Before I knew it, Royal Diner was already within sight.
"Hey Auburn?" Tangelo suddenly stopped and turned around.
"W-What?" I stuttered, nervous from Tangelo stopping. We could've walked and talked, but since he stopped, this must be something big.
"You were pretty angry back there with Cobalt."
"W-Well yeah! He literally broke Mint's heart!" I answered defensively.
Tangelo nodded, "You were also pretty persistent in trying to get Cobalt to accept Mint's feelings. Why?"
"O-Of course I was! Isn't it obvious why? I think they're p-perfect for each other!"
"Really now?" Tangelo looked at me with disbelief.
"Y-Yes really!"
"You're stuttering makes it hard for me to believe you." Tangelo glared at me.
"W-What are you getting at?!" I felt my cheeks suddenly get warmer. I didn't like where this was going.
"I think you know."
"No, I don't! I really don't!" I shouted out of annoyance.
"Hm. Fine." Tangelo closed his eyes and shrugged.
"Ugh, what's with you all of the sudden?!"
"Nothing." Tangelo turned around, "I'll be going now home now. Later!" Tangelo sprinted off ahead. I stood there and watched him enter the diner.
"Ugh, stupid Tangelo! I swear I just want to smack him across the face sometimes!" I angrily stomped all four of my paws on the ground.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid Tangelo!" I shouted loudly and walked on towards home. I sighed, my face covered in a deep blush, and a single tear rolling down my cheek.
"Why... Why does he have to pick on me like that? He already knows... Things would've been so much better if they were together. It would've made things so much easier..."
It would've made things so much less painful...
WHEW! That was a lot to take in! Well, we are finally here. This marks the end of Mint's Arc.
Surprise, surprise, Cobalt rejects Mint's confession. I know a few of you rooted for Cobalt x Mint *KOFFSTARRYKOFF* but it just wasn't meant to be (COBURNTFORDAYSAMIRITEGUISE). Cobalt claims it's because he doesn't see her that way and feels it'd be weird to date one of his friends. OR IS THAT JUST A CONVENIENT EXCUSE? DUN DUN DUN
So I do feel a little bad about ending Mint's Arc with her crying... But I really don't know what else to write about. I've accomplished everything I wanted to in this arc, and I can finally move on to the next one!
Speaking of which, I've decided to give Tangelo is own mini arc before moving on to the next real arc. Tangelo's arc SHOULD only last a few chapters, but who knows? Knowing me, it'll branch out into some 10 chapter fiasco or something...
But yeah, my plans are to spend the next two or three chapters on Tangelo and then move on to the final act of the story: The High School Act! We are slowly making it to the end of the story! It only took me three years :
Anyway, thanks for reading~