Penny in the Air
Chapter 4
Key:
Thoughts
Memories (dialogue straight from the game.)
xXxXx- line break
XxXxX- point of view change
Onwards we go.
xXxXx
May had spent three days at Brawly's house, recovering from the Whimsur's shout. Then she headed out to think. She wasn't sure where to start. She thought about going to her dad, but something in her balked at the thought. Going to her mother seemed better but…
By the time May realized it, she was in Rustboro. She wandered on the streets, thinking with the wild Whismur by her side.
"That's the face of a girl in love." A voice said behind her.
May spun to face Roxanne, who smiled at her gently with her Nosepass by her side. Something was weighing May's gut down. "Love?"
"Was I wrong? It's just your face looks an awful lot like when you were congratulating your Pokémon after your win against me." She stroked her hand over her Nosepass' head. "And if that was an expression of love then I don't know what it was. Were you thinking of your Pokémon just now?"
"No, I was thinking of…" May trailed off, Maxie and Archie's names caught in her throat like something she shouldn't share. "Did I really look like I was in love?" That couldn't be it, could it? The feeling she felt…The Whismur seemed to sense something and jumped into May's arms for a cuddle. May shifted her into one arm.
Roxanne came to a realization. She grabbed May's free hand. "Come on. We need a girls' night." Cheerfully she led the way to her house. Once there she gestured to the living room. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to make a few calls."
Bewildered, May sat down on floor in front of the couch and let Julp out of her pokeball. Yuso's ball began shaking in demand and May released her as well. Julp settled across May's legs while Yuso wrapped her arms around May's head. The chill helped clear May's mind and Julp was a heater that kept her from getting too cold. The Whismur leaned into her side. Roxanne's voice was muffled in the kitchen. May's thoughts just kept circling.
Was she in love with Maxie? Or Archie? Or both? They both made her feel the same warmth in her chest…but after everything they had done, was it alright? For her to be in love with them? And even if she was…
Roxanne came back into the living room and saw her sitting on the floor. "You could have sat on the couch, I don't mind a little Pokémon fur on it. Anyway, everyone will be here soon. Do you want to order take out or help me cook?"
"I'll help you cook, but who's everyone?" May pulled her legs out from under Julp and stood up, Yuso hanging from her shoulders. The Whismur followed in her footsteps.
Roxanne grinned at her. "The girls. Winona is picking up Liza and Flannery and they're all coming to sleep over. Girls' night means all the girls. You look like you need to get something off your chest." She led the way back into the kitchen and started getting out ingredients.
"I talked to Brawly about it…Do you have any cream? Yuso is good at making berry ice cream." May peeked into the fridge.
"Top shelf. Brawly is a sweet guy, but I think you need some girl talk. One of us should be able to help you." Roxanne put some pasta in a pot of boiling water she'd obviously started earlier. She grabbed a saucepan and started chopping Tamato berries and putting them in it. She added some Razz berries as well.
May grabbed some Bluk and Nanab berries and tossed them into a bowl with cream and sugar and handed it to Yuso, who created a spoon of ice and began stirring. They all worked in silence until there was a knock on the door.
"Can you get that May? I can't leave the sauce right now." Roxanne asked.
May nodded and left Roxanne and Yuso to the cooking, going to the door with Julp and Whismur at her heels. She opened it to reveal Winona, Flannery, and Liza. She smiled at seeing them all again.
Liza smiled back and held up some sodas. "I brought drinks. It's been awhile since I've been away from Tate." She stepped past May and into the house when May stepped aside.
Flannery also held up some bottles. "I brought some milk from the hot springs. Next time we should do this in Lavaridge, we could soak in the hot springs before bed." She followed Liza.
"That actually sounds almost as wonderful as flying." Winona said as she stepped into the house and let May close the door behind her. "Something smells good."
Roxanne poked her head out of the kitchen. "Pasta and Tamato sauce will be ready in a few minutes and May made berry ice cream for dessert."
May shook her head. "Yuso did most of the work."
"It's just like you to give credit to your Pokémon, May." Flannery smiled at her.
May smiled back. "It's really good to see you all again."
"It's good to see you too May, but something is really troubling you isn't it?" Liza looked at her, smiling but eyes piercing with knowledge.
Winona rested a gentle hand on May's shoulder. "What is it? Can we help?"
May hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I've just had this feeling lately that I can't get out of my head. When I told Brawly about it he said I should figure it out for myself, but when I ran into Roxanne…"
Roxanne came into the living room carrying a pot of pasta and set it on the table. "I said she looked like a girl in love. Then she started to look all troubled, so I brought her home and called all of you. If she can't talk to us, who can she talk to?"
"Who is it that you were thinking of May? Was it that Brendan boy?" Flannery asked as she set the milk down on the table.
May startled. "Brendan? No! Besides, I'm pretty sure he hates me for always beating him."
Liza brought her sodas to the table as Roxanne ducked back into the kitchen for the sauce. "What about that Wally kid? He's a bit young, but then so am I."
May ducked into the kitchen to help get tableware. "Wally is like a little brother to me. So I guess there is love, but he wasn't who I was thinking about…" She grabbed plates and forks while Roxanne brought the sauce and serving spoons. Yuso tucked the ice cream into the freezer and latched onto May's shoulders as she exited the kitchen.
"Then who was it?" Winona asked. "One of the male Gym Leaders? Or one of the Elite Four?"
"No! Most of the male Gym Leaders are too old for me and one's my dad! It would be too weird." May set the dishes on the table and squatted to hug Julp, hiding her face. "And the only one of the Elite Four I've met is Sidney, and he wiped the floor with me."
"Sidney's not bad on the eyes though." Winona said as she went about setting the plates around the table.
Liza squatted next to May rubbing gentle circles on her back as Whismur leaned into her side again. "It's okay for you to tell us, we won't judge you."
"Maybe you should. If I am in love with…" Their names caught in May's throat again and she sighed. "Even if I am, they probably hate me more than Brendan does. I practically ruined their lives."
"May, the only lives you've ruined were those idiots who ran Team Magma and Team Aqua and they deserved it." Flannery said.
May buried her face further into Julp's fur as Liza hand slowed to a stop on her back. From the other side of the table, May heard Winona and Roxanne gasp at the same time.
"Okay what? Did you guys just realize…" Flannery trailed off as she got it too. "Really May? Them? Why?"
"I don't know!" May's voice was muffled by Julp's fur, but she was loathe to look at the faces around her. "I don't even know for sure that it's love! I just get this really warm feeling around them…"
Liza's hand was rubbing soothing circles on her back again. "It's okay May. We'll figure it out. How about we eat now though, before the food gets cold. We can talk more over the ice cream you and Yuso made."
May nodded into Julp and finally brought her face up, cheeks burning. Yuso made a soft sound and wrapped herself around May's face until it cooled. Patting Yuso's arm in thanks, May took a seat at the table with the others and started to eat. They changed the topic to what had been happening at their Gyms and let May calm down. May mostly kept quiet and slipped her Pokémon bites of the pasta. Roxanne made sure that May got a second helping when she spotted her feeding most of her first to her Pokémon. Finally, they'd eaten all the pasta and cleaned up their dishes. Roxanne shooed them all out of the kitchen for a moment. They'd all had milk with their pasta so all that was left was sodas. Liza passed them around and held one for Roxanne. Who came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with bowls of ice cream with whipped cream and fresh Cheri berries on top.
"Come on. Let's go upstairs to my room." She led the way with the tray.
Upstairs was just one big room filled with pillows and stuffed Dolls. There was a bed against one wall with a desk under the window of another wall and a dresser tucked into a corner. Roxanne pulled the desk's chair into the middle of the room. "Grab some pillows and make yourselves comfortable. I'll be right back." She disappeared back downstairs.
Liza grabbed a couple of pillows and settled on her knees on them. Winona grabbed a few and created a small nest of them before settling down. Flannery grabbed a few and flopped onto her stomach on the floor.
May was nervous. She grabbed a couple of pillows and sat on them, leaning back against Julp who settled behind her. Whismur settled in her lap. Yuso floated over to the ice cream and kept it cold.
Roxanne's Nosepass came thumping up the stairs, blankets balanced on its arms. Roxane came up behind him with more blankets and let her two Geodudes out as soon as she was back in the room. Immediately the Geodudes rolled around to get pillows and Dolls before they settled down. Nosepass dropped the blankets it held and went to a nest in a corner of the room and settled down itself. Roxanne smiled at her Pokémon.
"They all have their favorite Dolls and pillows. You can call out some of your Pokémon if you want." She said to Flannery, Liza, and Winona.
Winona called out her Swablu who settled in her lap with a musical trill.
Flannery called forth her Numel who flopped on his stomach at her side.
Liza called out Xatu, who fluffed her feathers and began preening.
"Now we're looking comfortable." Roxanne said as she began passing out bowls to each girl and Pokémon. She passed out blankets as well before grabbing the pillows and blankets from her bed and creating a little nest for herself on the floor. "Now. Back to the problem at hand."
As one their attention swung towards May, who fought not to hide behind Whismur in her lap. Instead she shoved a huge bite of ice cream in her mouth and pretended she wasn't blushing.
Winona chuckled at her actions and her blush. "It's not really a problem. The two seem to have ceased their troublesome behavior, though I'm not sure they've changed for the better."
Liza nodded. "But even if they have changed, they may not view May favorably…" She trailed off, then blushed herself. "Forgot Tate wasn't here to finish my thoughts. They may still see May as an opponent and that is a problem."
Flannery huffed at her melting ice cream. "I don't think they've changed. They're probably just planning right now. They don't seem the kind to easily change."
"That's…" May hesitated as they all looked at her again. "That's not true. Maxie seems to have rethought his outlook. And Archie too. They both returned the Orbs to the mountain. And just a few days ago…" May trailed off again.
Roxanne leaned forward, intent. "What happened a few days ago?"
May blushed. "They saved me and this Whismur from a couple of Hariyama that were chasing her."
"Tell us exactly what happened." Roxanne demanded.
"I don't remember much of the battle, Whismur here knocked me out with a scream before I could do anything. When I came to, I was in a bedroll and Archie and Maxie were sleeping not far from me. Julp was out and when I let my other Pokémon out to check on them, Yulem told me that Julp said that Archie had let her out so that they would know Archie and Maxie meant me no harm. And Whismur told me that they had fought off the Hariyama with their Crobats. Archie and Maxie's Mightyenas were out, watching the perimeter of the camp and they reiterated that their Trainers meant me no harm. I went to get some water to cook breakfast for them as thanks for their help and they were awake by the time I returned and talking, though I didn't hear what they were talking about." May took a breath before continuing. "And after I made them breakfast, we talked and they seemed concerned with my wellbeing since I couldn't stand on my own and when I fell, Archie caught me…" May's blush brightened at the memory. "Anyways, I asked them what their plans were and they weren't sure. We parted ways soon after that." May wrapped up the story and dug back into her ice cream.
Her three companions were staring at her, ice cream melting in their bowls. They all exchanged looks.
Roxanne grinned. "They totally like you back."
Liza jabbed her spoon at Roxanne. "I'm not sure about that, but it definitely seems like they've changed at least a bit."
Flannery hummed around a spoonful of ice cream. "Or this could all be a scheme of theirs to get back at May."
Winona shook her head at Flannery. "If they wanted to get back at May, they had ample opportunity while she was unconscious with none of her Pokémon out. instead they let one of her Pokémon out to guard her. I believe they were telling the truth to May about not knowing what their plans are."
"I mean…" May spoke up again. "Neither of them ever really tried to hide their plans from me. Sometimes they flat out told me what they were going to do even if they hadn't told their underlings. I don't know why, but I don't think they've ever really lied to me."
Flannery relented. "Alright. You have a point there. They really are the kind of men for subtlety. But!" She jabbed here mostly melted ice cream with her spoon. "We have to be sure of how they feel before you approach them to let them know your feelings. If they backslide into their old selves, they could use your feelings against you. And that is not okay." Flannery glanced around the room. "We can't let them use you."
The others nodded in agreement on this point.
"Well then, what do I do? All this talk has pretty much confirmed that what I feel for them is love…Do I just go up to them next time I see them and ask how they feel about me?" May slumped in on herself. "They probably hate me…"
Roxanne shook her head. "If they hated you, they would have left you to face the Hariyamas alone. Maybe they aren't in love with you, but you can stop thinking they hate you right now. Okay?"
"As for what to do about it…Maybe asking them directly is a bit much." Liza said as she drank the melted part of her ice cream and set her bowl back on the tray. "We need to try and suss them out first. If Tate and I could somehow run into them, we could for sure tell you how they feel about you."
"I doubt any of us will have a chance to run into them. They're probably avoiding Gym Leaders." Winona pointed out, scraping the last bit of ice cream from her bowl as her Swablu finished his portion and put their bowl on the tray. "May's probably going to have trouble finding them now."
Flannery was just stirring the liquid cream left in her bowl as her Numel slurped up the last of his. "Even if they do like May back…is this really alright? They're pretty much criminals. Maybe this should just be a first love that May should get over?" When Roxanne glared at her, Flannery glared right back. "I'm just saying, this is an option." She tossed back the liquid cream like a shot and placed her and Numel's empty bowls on the tray.
Roxanne huffed and finished off her own ice cream and gathered her Pokémon's empty bowls. "It's an option, I just don't like it. Don't you think it would be great if May's love could redeem them?" She placed the bowls on the tray.
May blushed as she finished her own ice cream and Julp licked her cheek. Yuso floated over and gathered the empty bowls around her and took them back to the tray. "I don't know if I could really redeem them…I think they need to redeem themselves, don't they? I mean…" She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what I'm saying. They returned what they stole, they've ceased their schemes…what more can they do?"
Silence reigned in the room.
Flannery broke it. "Whatever. Only one thing matters for sure." The others turned to look at her. "If they hurt May, they are in for it."
May blushed even brighter as the others murmured strong agreement.
Roxanne grinned at the blushing girl. "And on that note, how about we get some sleep? We'll deal with the dishes in the morning." She walked over to the lights. "Everyone comfortable? Yes? Good." She turned off the lights and made her way back to her nest of pillows and blankets by Yuso's soft glow.
Once everyone was settled, May returned Yuso to her pokeball so that no one would get chilled during the night and settled back against Julp for a sleep that was long in coming as she thought.
xXxXx
Author's Note: Alright! A rather lengthy chapter, hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Girls' sleep over. So much fun. Next chapter I'm going to deal with what happens to the Whismur! It's still technically wild and just following May around. Look forward to that. As for what happens the next time she runs into Maxie or Archie or both? Well I'm thinking it will be just one of them next time they meet and then have her run into the other the next chapter. That's all I know right now. Again, hope you enjoyed. Let me know!
I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!