A/N: The romance is building up! But...is this crush going to be one sided love? Find out in this chapter!
A/N: I don't own Pokemon!
Ranger School: Getting Acquainted
'Wendy seemed pretty determined to get better at her Poké Assists, it's a good possibility that she's just getting some additional advice from her classmates or the instructor. As I'm thinking about it…Luana mentioned that shy guys were Wendy's type…hrm, it makes sense why she was so open with me for the first class…and also makes sense as to why she blushed. But then again, it's very likely that Luana was just teasing Wendy and made her embarrassed…' Kellyn thought as he saw Luana approaching him.
"Hey there Kellyn! What's up? I completed my swimming lessons a little while ago! Looks like you finished your extra training class a bit early huh?" Luana asked.
"Hi Luana, yeah, I just finished doing rock climbing. I figured I'd wait for Wendy since I really don't know my way around here…plus she was super friendly to me as well." Kellyn said.
"Oho…super friendly, hmmm?" Luana asked.
"I-it's nothing like that! Wendy was just being a great listener!" Kellyn said as Luana grinned.
"Mhm…very interesting! Looks like she's taken quite a liking to you…which is good, considering how selective she is of her friends, which is why I'm the only one she has aside from you. Speaking of Wendy…there she is now!" Luana said as Kellyn turned around.
Coming out of the Poké Assist Training Room was none other than Wendy, who very upbeat as she approached her two classmates.
"Phew…talk about fun…hi Kellyn, hi Luana, what's going on?" Wendy asked.
"Nothing much, both of us just finished our courses around the same time. How about you? What's up?" Luana asked.
"I just did the Poké Assist Training, I managed to command quite a few Friend Pokémon to help me with capturing a Donphan as a test to see how I'd do!" Wendy said as Luana chuckled.
"Let me guess...based on your reaction…you did extremely well?" Luana asked.
"I did complete the capture without my Styler getting damaged. But I would've struggled throughout the process if it wasn't for the Friend Pokémon I had captured during the class…honestly speaking, the Poké Assists were what really helped me out." Wendy said.
Kellyn on the other hand shyly looked at Wendy, which prompted a gentle nudge from Luana.
"Hey…Kellyn…give her a compliment!" Luana whispered.
"U-Um…Wendy, I just wanted to say that…you're really amazing at being able to use Poké Assists. I mean, I have some basic knowledge on the subject, but the fact that you can actually do Poké Assists to begin with really is outstanding!" Kellyn asked as Wendy looked at him with a faint blush on her face.
"Y-y-you really think so? I never looked at it that way…I just thought that since Poké Assists are something that require some form of understanding between the Pokémon Ranger and the Pokémon, then it meant that any student here could do it." Wendy said.
"You're definitely selling yourself short. I mean, I've seen you practice when I leave early, and it's comparable to a seasoned Top Ranger!" Luana said.
"Thank you guys, I needed to hear that. By the way Kellyn, are you planning to head to your dorm now?" Wendy asked.
"I am…in fact, I just managed to find it as I waited for you! So my dorm is on the second floor and the room is…two hundred and nine." Kellyn said as Wendy's eyebrows perked up.
"Oh? Really? That's right next to mine!" Wendy said.
'Looks like someone's head over heels for Kellyn…' Luana thought.
"Good, hopefully I don't need to worry about encountering any weirdos along the way there. Since this has been an exhausting day for me…maybe you guys could help me find my way there? I mean…if you two are okay with tagging along." Kellyn said.
"Sure, we can definitely do that! Right Luana?" Wendy asked.
"Well…I actually gotta go do some studying at the cafeteria! I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow! See you later!" Luana said as she hurried off.
'That was unexpected…talk about energetic, she's already gone!' Kellyn thought as Wendy giggled.
"…There she goes…Luana's such a bouncy one, she never stays in one place!" Wendy said as the two began walking.
"Oh? You've known each other for a while?" Kellyn asked.
"About two years, Luana's definitely the definition of hyper. I bet once she's done studying she'll go racing around the halls to do something, only to get yelled at Kincaid again!" Wendy said.
"That's probably true…oh yeah, speaking of Kincaid, why does he even act like that towards people? He does know that this is a college, right? I'm pretty sure most students wouldn't stand to be chastised because of that strange rule…it just doesn't make any sense to scold a student like they're a child." Kellyn said.
"Exactly…but unfortunately, ever since Kincaid's become the interim principal…whatever he says, goes." Wendy said.
"That's horrible…but considering we don't see him all that often, it's not too bad for us." Kellyn said as Wendy gave him a glance.
"Very true…by the way, I didn't get a chance to ask, but what's your schedule look like?" Wendy asked as Kellyn looked over his schedule.
"Uh…let me see…oh, okay, so my schedule is just like today for the first half of the week, the second half I don't have any courses unless I want to do the optional training curriculum." Kellyn said as Wendy's face beamed.
"Really?! That's great! My schedule's the same…in all honesty, you made a good decision to not do too many classes…from what I've heard, Student Rangers try to do their whole week filled up with courses, only to get burned out and unable to meet their deadlines." Wendy said.
"…I hope I can be able to stay on top of my studies…" Kellyn said.
"You'll do just fine, if you run into any problems, you can always ask me! Now c'mon, it's been a long day for you, let's keep going on our way to your dorm!" Wendy said.
"Thanks Wendy. By the way, I'm curious…why are you being so nice to me? Not a single person I've met before would do that…yet…you and Luana have been friendly the entire time. There have been people who were only pretending to be nice to me, just so they could use my kindness as if it was a weakness." Kellyn said.
"Kellyn…I'm sorry…I'm going to treat you right, unlike the other so-called friends you've had. Luana and I will be genuine friends to you. Please…don't worry or feel like either one of us would try to tear you down." Wendy said.
"Do…do you really mean that?" Kellyn asked as Wendy nodded.
"Yes, I do! I really want to be your friend Kellyn. So…from today onwards…can we be friends…please?" Wendy asked.
'She really does want to know me better…and…looking at her a little closer, Wendy's expression is cute. In fact, the look in her eyes is downright alluring…' Kellyn thought as he began to blush.
"It would be nice to have company, I've never had a genuine friend before!" Kellyn said.
"O-oh…I'm sorry." Wendy said as Kellyn smiled.
"Don't be, you're my first friend, so I'll cherish our friendship!" Kellyn said.
'I'm glad for that but…even though Kellyn smiled just now…he looked so sad. I really feel sorry for him, never having a friend can make anyone feel so…lonely. I may have made friends with Luana and Kellyn…but I know that for someone so soft-spoken like Kellyn, it's difficult.' Wendy thought as Kellyn waved his hand in front of her face, startling her.
"H-huh?! Oh…sorry about that. I was deep in thought." Wendy said.
"That's okay, what were you thinking about?" Kellyn asked as Wendy turned a bit red.
"Well…I was just feeling…sorry for you. I can't imagine the difficulties you must've faced having no friends around, especially as a child." Wendy said.
"That's very sweet of you…but please don't worry about me. After all, I was a child when the bullying started and even though it was tough, it hasn't happened for a while now, so I'm good!" Kellyn said as Wendy enveloped him in a powerful hug, making the man blush.
"…Even so, no one deserves to be bullied for no reason. The Ranger School is different…even though I've seen teasing and minor bullying happen… it usually gets stopped right away. After all, we're all adults, so we're going to handle things ourselves most of the time. In the off chance anyone picks on you, let me know, and I'll deal with them." Wendy said.
"You'd do that for me?" Kellyn asked as Wendy smirked.
"Of course I would, just because you're shy doesn't mean you should get picked on!" Wendy said.
"Thanks, I'm glad at least someone finally gets it." Kellyn said as the two reached the outside of his dorm room.
"…Wait a second…your room…is right next to mine…" Wendy said.
"It is? That's convenient, I'm glad for that! But how come you didn't seem all that surprised when I told you where my dorm room was?" Kellyn asked.
"I could be wrong, but I think it's because my muscle memory made me know where my room was after a couple of weeks. Since I've been here for a year it just didn't occur you'd be next to me!" Wendy said.
"That makes a lot of sense actually. I'll be turning into bed now, but…I wanted to thank you for today. It's nice to know that I have not just one, but two friends to look out for me if anyone tries anything funny." Kellyn said as Wendy smiled with a prevalent blush on her face.
"Not a problem, I'm here when you need me. Good night Kellyn!" Wendy said as she entered by scanning her Styler on her door.
"Good night Wendy, thanks, and see you tomorrow!" Kellyn said as he did the same and entered his dorm.
Flicking the light switch on, Kellyn could see it was a basic, but well-appreciated setup for the dorm, with a miniature kitchen, a small washer and dryer. There was also the much needed sleeping quarters and a decent sized dresser, along with a door leading to the bathroom at the back. Locking the door and taking his shoes off, Kellyn went over to the nearby dresser and opened it, surprised to find the pajamas he wore back home in Chicole Village, along with a week's worth of identical Ranger School uniforms.
"These pajamas remind me of home…speaking of home, now that I have a breather from how hectic today was, I'll go ahead and call mom. It's not late, so I'm not going to head to sleep…hopefully mom's still awake." Kellyn said as he sat down on the bed.
Kellyn dialed his mother's phone number on his Styler and proceeded to call, with a smile beaming across his face as he heard her voice over the other end.
"Hi mom, it's good to hear from you, how have you been?" Kellyn asked.
"Good as always sweetheart, your first day at the Ranger School must've been exciting huh?" Kellyn's mother asked.
"It was, I actually managed to make three friends already…don't you worry, it won't be anything like when I was younger!" Kellyn said.
"Good…I'm always so concerned about you, especially with how much you were bullied as a child. I'm just glad you have some friends, I hope they'll treat you well." Kellyn's mother said.
"I know…those were horrible times for the both of us…but we pulled through just fine mom. One of my friends in particular is really nice to me, in fact, she's the first friend I made here!" Kellyn said.
"Ohhh? A female huh? That was fast! What's her name, hm?" Kellyn's mother asked as Kellyn turned bright red.
"W-w-well she's just a friend, but her name's Wendy! My first class was with her, so she was the first person I really interacted with! She was helpful and kind throughout the whole day…even though I felt like I was more or less bothering her." Kellyn said.
"Oh son, that's ridiculous, you're not a bother to anyone, don't think that way!" Kellyn's mother said.
"Thank you mom, I really appreciate that. Enough about me though, how was work at the hospital?" Kellyn asked.
"It was grueling and tough, but just like you, I managed to pull through and keep my head high!" Kellyn said as the two caught up and spoke for a few minutes more before Kellyn realized it was close to eight P.M., which was sometimes when his mother usually went to sleep given her shifts.
"Oh, it's almost time for you to turn in for the night! I don't want to keep you up even though your shift doesn't start until around three P.M." Kellyn said.
"I know, you've always shown your concern for me, even as a little boy…thank you. Since it's early, you could always explore the campus with that new friend of yours. However, I hope she'll be the one to ask you, considering how shy you are!" Kellyn's mother teased as Kellyn turned bright red.
"W-w-well…I suppose you're right; I'll go ahead and do that. I'm glad I was able to talk with you mom, call me when you're done with work, okay?" Kellyn asked.
"Definitely son, I'll talk to you when I get off work around nine o'clock tomorrow! Good night, love you!" Kellyn's mother said.
"Love you too mom, good night." Kellyn said as he hanged up.
Once the call ended, Kellyn got up from the bed and began to pace around the room, wondering how he could approach Wendy and ask her if they could hang out. Sighing and feeling incredibly nervous on just thinking about it, Kellyn flopped back onto his bed and laid down.
'Man…even contemplating on asking Wendy if she could do something like hanging out is incredibly difficult for me. I can't speak with people in general, even if I barely know them. She's got quite a calm and collected personality so it's not like she exhausts me like how Luana might. How should I go about asking her?' Kellyn thought as he tossed and turned on the bed.
Meanwhile in Wendy's room, the young woman was on her couch about to call Luana on her Styler about today. After a few rings, her black-haired friend picked up on the other end, leading Wendy to grin cheerfully.
"Hi Luana, how're you doing? You ran off earlier…everything alright?" Wendy asked.
"Hi Wendy, yeah I'm good, I just hurried off to the cafeteria earlier because I wanted to brush up on some of my classwork. How're things with you and Kellyn?" Luana asked.
"Oh that makes sense, I figured you were rushing for something. As for the two of us, well…the only I really did was help Kellyn to his dorm…and funnily enough, it's right next to mine!" Wendy said as Luana gasped.
"You know what that means? You'll be able to see Kellyn first thing every morning, and before you turn in for the night! The two of you are gonna bond so fast!" Luana said as Wendy turned dark red.
"W-w-when you put it that way…you do make a lot of sense…" Wendy said.
"You bet I do! However…you're on the phone with me right now…and as I mentioned earlier, Kellyn is your type, right?" Luana asked.
"Yes, yes, he is…what's your point?" Wendy asked as Luana snickered.
"My point is that you're talking with me when you could be hanging out with Kellyn right now! He's most likely in his dorm waiting for you…after all, he's not the type of guy who would approach you first." Luana said.
"Hmmm, there's possible he just might be…you're right Luana, I'll go over right now and ask him if he'd like to hang out! I'll look at Kellyn as a friend…not as a romantic interest…for now. Time to get to know him better…see you!" Wendy said as she hanged up and hurried out the door while Luana relaxed in her own dorm room.
'Heh, that friend of mine…to think that she's interested in Kellyn already…but…that's a good thing. I just hope he sees her the same way.' Luana thought as she began to clean.
Meanwhile, Kellyn was still wondering how to approach Wendy, only to hear a soft knock at his door. The man got up from the bed and got close to the door, not opening it just in case it was someone he didn't know.