Chapter 22

Gary groans as he lays back on his bed. He had just let out his most recent hookup. Gosh, he's stressed. Why was Misty here? And why did he help her? They're not friends anymore, but why does he feel so angry seeing her with Rudy. Why is he still so mad at Rudy? Why does he even care? Gary groans again. Maybe he should just ask for a transfer?

He shakes his head. No way. Gary Oak fears no one. So what if Misty lives here now? Some day, when he gets promoted up, he won't be in this city anymore. Plus, it seems like she wants nothing to do with him, which he is fine with. Gary looks over at the unopened box with his personal belongings he had packed in Sinnoh. Yeah, that box is going to stay closed.

A few weeks later, Gary walks into Silver's office since he needs to discuss some company plans with the red haired man. "Hey, Silver. I got a question." Gary says as he opens the door to the office. What surprises him isn't the fact that Silver isn't there, but there is a little girl sitting in his office chair.

She looks up at him and smiles. "Uncle Silver went to the bathroom."

"Oh. Uh. Okay, I'll just wait for him out here." Gary stammers while taking a step back.

"Can you help me, mister?"

He stops as he looks at her. "Uh. Sure?"

She hops off the chair and slowly walks over to him. "Can you tie my shoe?"

Gary notices she looks nothing like Silver. With her long brown hair and dark green eyes, she almost looks like Leaf? He shakes his head from the thought as he bends down on one knee to tie her shoe. "How old are you?"

"4 and a half!" she extends 4 fingers on her hand in front of his face, which makes him chuckle.

"You should know how to tie your shoes before you're 5." He knowingly tells her.

"I always forget." she shyly says.

Gary can't help but grin at the little girl. She is nothing like grumpy Silver who reminds him of Paul. Maybe that's why Gary is able to work with Silver so well because he knows how to work with Paul. "Want to learn a little trick?" She nods enthusiastically, so Gary starts teaching her how to tie her shoes with a story of a rabbit running around a tree and into a hole.

"My mommy taught me that too. But I always forget." the girl admits, which makes Gary chuckle.

"Practice! Practice makes perfect." he tells her as a man approaches them from behind Gary.

"Gary?" Silver asks in confusion while he watches the scene of his niece standing in front of a Gary on his knee.

"Hi, Uncle Silver! This mister was showing me how to tie my shoe." the girl grins, and Gary is surprised to see Silver smile back.

"Can you go back and color while I talk to him?" she nods before hurrying back to Silver's desk chair. Silver then turns his attention to the now standing Gary. "Uh, thanks for that."

Gary gives him a genuine smile. "She's cute. Reminds me of someone." The last part makes Gary frown, but fortunately, Silver doesn't care about anyone's problems.

"What brings you by?"

"Oh. Can we look over these plans? There's some things I would like to change."

Silver nods and then looks at his niece. "I couldn't find a sitter, so is it okay if we work in here? She won't bother us."

Gary smirks as he walks over to the little girl and ruffles her hair when she looks up at him. "Sure." She gives him a pout, which makes him chuckle because a certain brunette used to do that to him. Soon, Gary sits at a chair across from the desk, so Silver pulls one up for them to look over the paperwork.

Silver's Apartment

Silver and Ava arrive home early to find Leaf there. The Kenta's are in New Bark Town visiting family, so they couldn't watch Ava. Leaf was called into work, even though it is a Saturday, but fortunately, Silver didn't mind bringing Ava to work. He said he would only work a half day today; plus, Ava is very well behaved.

"Mommy! I can tie my shoe! Look!" Ava unties the shoe and then ties it slowly in front of Leaf.

The woman smiles and high fives her daughter. "Good job, Ava! I'm so proud of you!"

"Uncle Silver's friend helped me."

Leaf turns her attention to her cousin who shrugs. "He's not my friend."

"Yeah. I figured you don't have work friends." she laughs, which makes him roll his eyes.

"And then we saw Ms. Whitney on the way home! Uncle Silver asked her to lunch on Monday!" Now Leaf gives her cousin a smirk as he turns away to hide his blush.

"You better find a sitter next time, Leaf!"

Hotel Suite

"So when's the next time I'm going to see you?" Misty asks the brunette laying beside her on the bed.

"Uh. My next game here is in a month, and the season will end in 2 months, so I can see you all summer." Rudy tells her. After their Burger Queen date months ago, the two have been seeing each other whenever Rudy was in town. He had a game against the Goldenrod City Miltanks earlier today, so he will be back on the road tomorrow.

The two have been working on their long distance relationship, but Misty isn't sure if Rudy is serious about her. They've only gone on dates and cuddled in his hotel rooms whenever he is in the city. She looks into his dark brown eyes. "What am I to you?"

At this question, he puts his phone away on the nightstand before turning to face her with a smile. "A woman I want to date. Someone I never want to lose again."

She can't help but smile back at him. Rudy has always been so sweet to her ever since they met when they were 10. However, she can't be with him seriously until everything from their past is taken care of. "I want to hear your side of the story...about Melanie."

Rudy sighs, but he knew he'd have to explain this to her some day, especially if he wants her back.

Flashback

"Where's your girlfriend?" Melanie asks a tipsy Rudy.

He shrugs. "She didn't want to come. Parties aren't her scene."

Melanie smirks as she stands close to Rudy. Her face is inches from his while he is backed up against the counter. "I've always thought you were cute, Rudy." She whispers seductively into his ear as she hands him a cup of alcohol.

"Well, I like Misty, so can you please leave me alone?" he says while sipping from the cup.

"What can she do for you? My family is rich! We'll get you the best trainers and make you a pro!" exclaims the frustrated girl.

"I don't need to be a pro basketball player." Rudy shrugs. "But I'd prefer to be happy, and Misty makes me happy."

"Oh. So her happiness is what you like?" snickers the girl. "What if I take it away?"

Rudy sighs at the crazy girl. She's had a crush on him for years, and now that he's the star on the varsity team as a sophomore, she has been trying a lot harder to get him. "Leave her alone, Melanie."

"No. She has what I want, so I'll take away something she wants." Melanie pulls out her phone, which Rudy grabs.

"Leave her alone. She's done nothing to you."

"She's a bitch! And she has you!"

"I chose her, Melanie. Leave her alone." he glares at her. Gosh, he hates how she always does this.

"I will if you sleep with me."

"No."

"Then I guess I'll just make sure she doesn't get back that deposit." she threatens. The deposit Melanie is referring to is the one from Misty's previous school, which was an expensive private school her parents' life insurance policy went towards. They had wanted their daughters to get a great education, but Melanie had managed to get Misty expelled. Now that the Waterflower sisters are fighting for the tuition back, Melanie's wealthy family can help prevent that from happening.

Rudy closes his eyes. "You are so evil."

Melanie looks at her nails as she shrugs. "I get what I want, Rudy."

"Fine. Just let me get fucking wasted first, and you can't get mad if I say Misty's name. I won't do it on purpose, but in case it slips out."

Melanie shrugs. "Sure. I'm pretty sure we'll be dating after today anyway, so we can work on whose name you're saying." She then hands him a shot, which he quickly downs.

Flashback Over

"I can handle myself, Rudy." Misty tells him as she cups his cheek. He found it harder to look at her as he told the story, so, by the end of it, his gaze was down at his hands.

"No, Misty. She wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted." He sighs. "And after we did it, I just couldn't be with you anymore, which is why I broke up with you. You deserve someone better. I started dating Melanie and used her family's money to make me into the player I am today. Now, I have so much money that they can't hurt me." Rudy places a hand on hers that's cupping his cheek. He looks into those cerulean green eyes he loves and says, "or those I love."

Her soft lips on his makes him feel the guilt drift away, at least for now. As she takes off his shirt and he does the same for her, he hesitates at her jeans button. The nod she gives him while she tugs down his sweatpants make him smile. Yeah, he's really missed her.