Hey guys, I thought of posting a small chapter this time so you guys have something to read as I still work. The next chapter will be longer. Some of the reviewers left questions and I'm going to answer them here.

Malefor23: Uh, Calvin is a kid. It's been told he was a child in the first and second chapter. And I'll continue this story, I don't have any intention of abandoning it. It might just take some time to get the chapters pushed out.

Guest: Like I said before, the story hasn't ended yet. The story is still continuing. When I change the status from Ongoing to Complete, then it will be finished.

Without further ado, here we go:

Chapter 12: New Hangout

"Wow." I said. "It's very… um..."

"It's pretty right?" Swirl hopped on her bed and gleefully flopped on the covers, awaiting my response. It was pink. Nearly all of it was pink. The walls were pink. The bed was pink. The furniture, the windows, the bathroom… She told me pink was her favorite color but I didn't think she liked it that much. There was no variety of color besides a small corner coated light blue to the top-left from her bed. A desk, a bookshelf and a computer was all there was to complement it.

"I was gonna say that the color scheming is unique for a bedroom. Not even my parents let me color my room a single color."

She giggled. "Mine does! I was so happy when mom and dad let me turn my place into a pink paradise. I know it looks overwhelming but I couldn't not take the opportunity. Who doesn't like to be surrounded by their favorite color?"

"Yeah I can tell." I muttered under my breath. "But what gives with that blue corner? I thought this room was a pink sanctuary?"

She followed my finger and nodded. "Oh that! Yeah all that stuff there was leftover."

"Leftover? You mean the previous owner?"

"Uh-huh, from what mom told me, this house used to belong to a school teacher and this used to be his room! Apparently he didn't care for those things and just left them. I owe it all to that desk actually, helping me all get a lot of good grades in school."

I raised an eyebrow and went closer to the desk. The monitor was old but the computer itself was fairly new, I guess Swirl is really lucky she got something great. "This desk helped you?"

"Believe it or not, I wasn't always the school brainiac, I was struggling with grades and tried to ask for help when Poseidon offered some tutoring lessons. At first it was more of searching and memorizing stuff from the books and web, but then I got better at it and I got better grades as a result. I improved and I got noticed. Eventually people actually asked me if I can help with their homework! Funny how things turn out, huh?"

"Really? A computer and some books did all that?" I asked. "But why's it blue though?"

Swirl twiddled her small fingers together. "Well I do happen to have a great memory, and you know what they say, knowledge is power. As for the wall, I figured blue was a better fit; I read that blue helps you calm down and focus more. Do you know that colors have a subconscious influence in your feelings to a day to day life?"

"Uh… no?"

"Neither did I until only about six months ago. I thought it was crazy until I thought about it more. Even Poseidon was surprised to hear that, and he's very smart."

More like very deceptive. I thought. "So I guess he's a living encyclopedia like you?"

She shook her head. "Yes and No. He's smart but not booksmart. That's my thing. He's more of a reader than anything."

"Reader?" I asked. "Like actual reading or..,"

"He's very intuitive. My brother is a planner and is very convincing. If I'm booksmart, he's streetsmart. Except it's for a lot of situations."

My arms begged to be folded against my chest in outrage but I held back the thought with a smile. "That sounds a lot like him. Was he always that way?"

Swirl rolled her eyes, tapping her cold chin. "Now that I think about it, no. He was more laid back and less… uh..."

"Easily-frustrated?" I suggested, to which she nodded.

"I don't remember exactly when or how it happened, but I think it was after we moved here-" Suddenly the door to Swirl's room opened. Poseidon was examining a map in his paws when he stepped inside.

"Swirl, the rest of the crew is here. Let's wait by the treehouse and-" The oshawott froze when he saw me. His eyebrows lowered and he folded the map. "Oh, so you're already here."

He seems to be in a better mood. "Your gengar friend let me in." I explained. My gaze went towards the paper he held. "So what's that?"

"Nothing important. It's just a little thing of mine. What are you doing in Swirl's room?"

"I let him in." Replied the ice cream cone. "I wanted to show what a cool room I had."

"Yeah, I love the variety of color schemes for the walls, they really blend together." I joked, trying to lighten the aura of the room. Didn't work, at best I got him to be slightly disappointed. "So you said the others were here?"

He smiled a bit and nodded. "They're by the treehouse, best to not keep them waiting. Poseidon walked out into the hallway and gestured his head to follow. "C'mon. We're burning daylight."

Poseidon took me to the backyard, The rest of the crew was chilling by the base of the treehouse: Darkness and Leafy. After Swirl came back with a backpack filled with chocolate bars and packaged hotdogs, we slipped through the fence and traveled Northeast. The path was through a small thickening of trees with small wooden fences here and there. I shivered from the cold.

"You alright, Calvin?" Swirl asked in concern.

"I'm good, I think." I rubbed my hands and blew my hot breath on it. "Just wished I brought my jacket."

"We have coats back in the treehouse." Suggested the grass monkey. "Let's head back-"

"We'll waste more time by going back." Poseidon interrupted. "He'll be fine. Just suck it up."

"Wow, you're going to go real far with that attitude." Remarked Darkness.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Darkness." The oshawott grunted. "Don't you have a game to glue your eyeballs to?"

God, how the hell did he manage to create a circle of friends with that attitude? Do the people here don't mind being treated like crap? I sighed and looked up, several bird pokemon were flying overhead. I would've been more invested at the sight if the bickering behind me stopped. I decided to change the conversation. "So what exactly is this special hangout place? You never really described it."

Leafy was about to speak but Poseidon spoke first. "You'll know it when we get there."

That was a red flag. "Why are you being vague right now? I thought this was a simple hangout."

"It is but this place is real special to us. It's a tradition of our group for new members to be shown our sanctuary rather than being told. Don't want word being spread around." Answered Poseidon.

"Why…? Are we not supposed to be there?" I joked. Silence. "Oh… crap are we seriously not supposed to be there?!"

"Relax, Calvin. We're not going anywhere illegal." Darkness butted in. "It's just that some of the adults might not take kindly to us hanging out at that place. They think it's dangerous."

"Is it?" I pressed.

"No way! It's one of the safest places we know. Maybe not the most cleanliness but it's definitely safe."

I smiled. "Well if you think it's safe, then I trust you, Swirl… wait, what do you mean not the 'most' cleanliness'?"

"We're here." Poseidon declared. I turned my head around and spotted the big metal fence. I spotted the sign above and I immediately knew what this special place was.

It was a dump. Literally.