AOF: Something a little closer to romantic, for the holiday. Hoping to post tomorrow as well, for Drew and Dan's birthday(February 15th).

Drew.

Midnight.

I was awake, in the living room, when Nat tried to sneak out.

It was a little past midnight. Nat and Katie stayed in one room of the house, Tracey and the Professor slept in the master bedroom, and I was supposed to stay in the other guest room with Carlisle. Carlisle decided to spend the night at the Pokemon Center with Dan, Maggie, and Michelle, and I've never been keen on sleeping alone in a room, so I was on the couch watching gym battle videos on my laptop when I heard footsteps.

She tiptoed into the living room, fully dressed with her backpack on and her Pokegear in hand, and I shut my laptop fast. "..Hello?"

"Oh! Crap." She'd never been good at sneaking around. "Drew? That you?"

"Nat..." I stood up and turned the lamp on, and was immediately confused. "Where...are you going?"

"Nowhere." An awful liar, too, but why would she lie to me? "Why are you up?"

I glanced at Pixel, curled up asleep where I had sat, on top of my laptop. "I couldn't sleep. Why are you leaving?"

Nat looked so small, standing there with her heavy backpack, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Lenny was even tucked away in his pokeball. She knew she couldn't get away from me so easily.

"Aaron...called me, after dinner," She murmured. "He has to leave for Hearthome City...in a half hour."

"No." It was an automatic response. She couldn't possibly..."Don't you...you're going with him?"

"We're gonna find Gary." It was a pathetic little whine, covering up a pathetic empty promise. "Aaron promised...he's the whole reason I came to Sinnoh! Why wouldn't I follow him?"

"Nat, you can't possibly..." I turned the lamp off, in case it'd wake anybody down the hall, and sighed, knowing I couldn't dissuade her. "Just...go back to bed, okay?"

I couldn't tell her, while she was still hurting, that Gary was dead and she was stupid for thinking otherwise. I couldn't reason with Nat, and I never have been able to; logic and emotion don't mix well.

But...watching her walk out that door would have been infinitely harder. Nat had hardly had to do anything alone before; I was by her side as much as possible, and when I had to live with my dad, she had Dan and I was only one call away. Even before me, she had Maggie, but I like to think I matter more than that girl ever had. With everything she had to think about, this was a hell of a time to start an independant, rebellious streak.

"Please, Nat, it'll be a mistake," I begged, both of us whispering "You just...the Professor...you just patched things up, why can't you just stay the night.. ?"

I floundered another moment, trying to find the words, until Nat smiled. "Just say it. You don't want me to go." Damn it all. She reached for my hand, and I took it, her dainty little fingers wrapped around mine. "Come with me! We always wanted to travel together, come on!"

It was tempting, and I hated myself for considering the notion. Running away with Nat in the middle of the night, on a dumb, crazy adventure...it sounded perfect. I tightened my fingers around her hand, sighing.

"But...Dan. And the others." I couldn't leave without telling Dan, he would feel so felt out if I left him high and dry with a bunch of kids we hardly know. "Just...go back to bed. You can help me train in the forest tomorrow?" Lenny and Pixel were picture perfect sparring partners. We'd all have a great time together, just like we always did before...

"No!" Nat snatched her hand away, hissing at me. It'd been good while it lasted. "Drew-I've got to go with Aaron! Who else is gonna go looking for Gary? And find out why those creeps were after him?"

Still no reasoning with Nat. I sighed, muttering, "There's no way I can stop you?"

She softened, seeing the crushed look on my face. "Aw...Drew." She pulled me in for a hug, her arms tight around my chest. "You can call me in the morning, you know? I always answered, back home, and I'll always answer for you and Dan."

"What if..." I draped my arms loose across her shoulders, sighing, "if...something happens, to you?" Nat was small, and delicate, and that Aaron guy and his Leafeon could run right over her if he wanted to. I didn't trust him and I didn't want her to run off with him. It was a crazy, jealous, irrational feeling, but I wouldn't shake it off.

"I have Lenny, and Kibia," She murmured into my shirt. "I know I freeze up when things get hard, but...Lenny doesn't. I'm a trainer, too, you know?"

"You're my best friend," I muttered, knowing it was a hopeless argument. She'd never see eye to eye with me on this, so it was a waste of energy to keep her from going off.

"Quit bein' dumb, you're acting like we'll never see each other again." She always made things sound so much simpler. "What, are you scared I'll find a new boy to bug?"

"Heh...you don't bug me."

I felt Nat grip my shirt, and she tugged me toward the door. "Would you at least walk me to the Pokemon Center? Aaron and his friends are waiting for me there."

Shaking my head, I stepped back towards the couch. "No...I'm sorry. I can't trust that I'll be nice when I see that jerk." I'd have liked to punch him right in the nose, make sure to break those smug-looking glasses, but Nat would have a cow if I did that.

"Oh, dammit! You never like anybody, do you?" Through the moonlight from the window, it was easy to see Nat pouting, her bottom lip poking out like a child. "What're you gonna do if I meet someone I like while I'm gone?"

"What else? I'll bitch and moan about being replaced."

"Drewww!" She punched me in the arm, barely even making me budge, and I had to laugh at her effort. "Quit joking!"

"Ha, I'm not." I settled back onto the couch, sighing, sliding Pixel off my laptop and picking it up. "I guess...I wasted enough time. You should get going..."

Surprised, Nat nodded. "Oh...yeah! Aaron!" She went to the door, and turned back one last time, adding, "Don't forget to call me!"

"I never have." I opened my laptop, and began to untangle my earbuds where my Vulpix had tangled them around herself. "Be safe, Nat."

"Get some sleep, Drew. I'll see you soon!" Nat opened the door and slipped out as quietly as she could, easing it closed behind her with a soft click.

Left only with my laptop's blazingly bright screen and my Vulpix dozing against my knee, I didn't feel so much like watching Eterna City gym battles online, anymore. I hardly felt like even battling Gardenia in the morning, without Nat there...

I plugged my earbuds in, one hand stroking the fluffy orange fur on Pixel's head as I restarted what I'd been watching.

"See you soon, Nat..."

Pluto.

"Aaron, I know Professor Oak's granddaughter is young...but this is a toddler you've got here!"

Kent wasted no time in roasting Aaron's companion, as he walked with her to the Pokemon Center.

Aaron had left to go find her and see what the hold-up was, and he brought back with him the smallest girl you'd ever seen. Kent flashed his flashlight on them, leaning against the Pokemon Center door, and we could see Aaron walking with a tanned girl, with big green eyes, and long hair tied back in a high ponytail. She was trotting along in baggy tan shorts and a baggy green t-shirt, but stopped short when Kent flashed a light.

"Kent-!" Aaron stopped, too, shielding his eyes. "Dammit, little warning next time?"

"Ahaha...gotta keep a look out in the dark, for boogeymen." Kent switched the flashlight off, and stuffed it in the pocket of the lime green pullover Aaron had lent it.

It was late at night, past midnight, and dark as hell outside. I could hardly even see, besides by the light of whatever gadgets that Kent decided to turn on to light up the street.

He turned on the video phone strapped to his arm(Xtransciever, I think?), and shined it in Aaron's direction. "Better?"

"As better as it's gonna get," Col muttered.

Kent was looking considerably better, after the day we'd had. He wasn't so pale or irritable, and him and Col seemed to be on better terms. I couldn't wrap my mind around why he kept Col around if all they seemed to do was fight with each other.

"Is this Miss Oak?" Kent searched with his Xtransciever light, until it shone on Natalie's face.

She nodded. "Yes, sir. My name's Natalie Oak. Sorry for the wait!"

This girl looked so familiar to me. Something was tugging at me, nagging just at the edge of my consciousness, like I should have remembered her, if nothing else.

"Aaron...who are these guys...?" Natalie was a little nervous asking Aaron, and for good reason.

"We're friends," Kent assured her.

"'Friend' is a strong word," Col interjected. "He pays me to stay around."

"Aaron's friends." Kent yawned, then visibly winced and held his arm to his side as he slowly exhaled. "Ow...be easy on me, I'm a little banged up." His ribs must have been what bothered him, the force of Beedrill smashing into him had been pretty excessive.

"'Be easy on me'?" Col crossed his arms, leaning against the building. "Don't pull that crap, after I spent all day trying to get you to take it easy, little man. Are you dumb?"

Kent turned his light on Col, scowling. "Watch yourself. A dumb man can't write checks, so don't be an ass." Maybe it'd been too soon to say they were on better terms.

"''Don't be an ass'?" Col was smirking as he teased his boss, a smug grin because he knew that he was in the right. "If I'm going to start losing more sleep, I might as well get my jabs in now."

Kent had a snappy comeback, you could see he did, but he bit it back, rolling his eyes and turning back to Natalie with a mutter of, "Ass."

"Do...they do this all the time?" I wasn't sure who she was asking. Natalie was grinning, too, giggling through the whole exchange.

I nodded. "Honestly? They bicker like children. They picked me up sometime yesterday, and it's nonstop." Kent and Col were back af bickering when I reached for a handshake, adding, "I'm, um, Pluto. The ass is Col Leech, and the, uh, little man is Kenta Landry."

Quickly, Natalie accepted the handshake. "Oh...thank you, Pluto!" She was still nervous, meeting us, but not as much after I introduced us all.

Something seemed so familiar about this girl, I felt like I already knew her so well. Natalie, or whatever memory she dredged up, seemed like the sweetest girl I'd ever met, friendly and kind, long brown hair and soft green eyes and-

No, stop, you hardly know this girl and you can barely even see her, I reminded myself bitterly. Don't be an idiot. Kent told me that things would start to come back to me on their own, because that's basically what happens with amnesia.

"Guys, if we leave now then Cycling Road will probably still be open," Aaron told us, apparently knowing where to go. "It's down south of the city, a short bike ride down the mountain's side."

"Why're we going down the mountain, if we need to cross it?" I asked. Col had showed me on a map the way, but it seemed weird not to cross the mountain first.

Kent flashed his flashlight again, giving it to Aaron to light the way. "Two reasons, Pluto," He started to answer me, as we started to follow Aaron. "It's easier to ride a bike down, and I'm not about to cross a mountain range in the dead of night."