Friday Funday, Part 2: The Pink Room
"Hey, Loki, your ghost is creeping me out…"
Mike peered into the backseat of Loki's car to see Duskull staring directly at Xander, his glowing red eye moving back and forth between the empty sockets.
"That's just how he gets a read on people," Loki explained from the driver's seat. "If he didn't like you, trust me, he'd let you know."
"Yeah, but doesn't Duskull like kidnap bad kids, man?" Xander asked warily.
"Have you been a bad boy, Xander?" Loki teased.
"Only with your mom," Xander countered.
As they went back and forth, Mike looked down at his new sweater. It was a polished mixture of light blue and white with an image of an Alolan Sandslash on the front summoning icicles. While Loki and Xander had complimented it, his first instinct whenever he bought something that he thought was cool had always been to take a photo and send it to Ellie. They eventually became old enough that he grew out of needing her opinion, but it had become a force of habit over time.
"Hey, that is a cool sweater, Mike," Loki commented as if he had read his mind. "I bet Lilly will like it when she sees it."
"Wait, you like Lilly?" Xander butted in. "You and Lakers? No way?"
"Lakers?" Mike was confused.
"It's her nickname that I came up with during practice for our band," Xander explained as if Mike should already have the information. "I just put her first and last names together. Lilly plus Acres makes Lakers, dude."
"Good to know," Mike said blankly. "Anyway, I already told Loki that I don't want to jump back into something after everything that happened last year. Besides, you said it yourself, Loki, there's way too much competition."
"I was joking," Loki replied. "I mean yeah, a lot of guys are interested in Lilly but she's having fun giving them the runaround. Your problem is that you don't want to put in the effort because you know you'll have to work to get her to go out with you."
"What does that mean?" Mike asked with a frown.
"It means that Relena worshipped the ground you walked on," Loki continued. "All you had to do was just exist. If you want to get with the top girl this time around, you're going to have to tighten your man-bun and actually put in some work. Get rid of mopey Mike and bring back the O.G. show-stealer Mike."
"I'm glad you understand me so well, Loki," Mike snapped. "How's Esther doing? Or are you still avoiding her because of the make out session at Lilly's party last week?"
"If you want to 'avoid' walking home," Loki warned. "You should quit while you're ahead."
Mike sighed and sunk back into his seat. They both knew that Loki would not really make him walk home, but the last thing Mike wanted to do was upset another friend.
"I'm sorry, man," Mike told him. "This Craig thing has me losing my mind. I…just wish there was something that could help me take the edge off."
"I got it!" Xander exclaimed. "Let's go to the Satellite!"
"The Satellite?" Mike asked.
"It's some new teen club that opened up a couple of months ago," Loki explained. "I've been meaning to check it out."
"Dougie Glass who used to own the arcade downtown works there now," Xander said. "They got everything there. Food, music, battles, and a bunch of other stuff. Plus, it'll be an opportunity for me to get a gig for my band there."
"You up for it?" Loki glanced at Mike.
Mike was looking for any distraction that could help get his mind off the information he had received regarding Craig, but going to a club with Loki and Xander could open him up to different problems. Still, anything was better than going home and sitting in his room like a paranoid recluse.
"Let's do it…" Mike answered.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Xander cheered, reaching up to give Mike a congratulatory rough pat on his chest. "Friday is my day!"
"Woah, Nadine you were right! I just had to come see it for myself!"
Lilly barely acknowledged Drake's presence as he walked into the tattoo parlor. She was too busy clutching onto Nadine's hand for dear life, wincing in pain as she tried not to let out any tears. It had been over ten hours since Gail had started, but it would soon all be worth it.
"Alright, sweet girl," Gail said after what felt like an eternity. "All done. Go look in the mirror and check it out."
Nadine helped Lilly to her feet and guided her over to the full-length mirror. Tattooed on her enflamed skin from the top of her thigh, wrapping around her leg, and stopping at the back of her knee was a musical note adorned with symbols. The symbols themselves were covered with flowers, particularly tiger lilies. The orange flowers immediately drew attention and Lilly was more than pleased with the result. Everyone would notice her now.
"It's amazing…" she was utterly mesmerized.
"Glad you like it," Gail remarked. "Now, sit back down so we can start the aftercare."
Lilly returned to the seat and Gail began rubbing ointment over her new tattoo. However, she barely paid attention to the older woman as she explained the aftercare that Lilly would need to do to make sure that her new tattoo healed properly. The only thing that mattered was that she had something new for everyone to fawn over.
"Lilly, that tattoo is so sick!" Drake complimented after Gail handed her the aftercare kit. "How in the world did you get your dad to sign off on it?!"
"It wasn't easy," Lilly explained. "He told me no about a dozen times, but I guess I wore him down because he started looking up articles about teenagers and tattoos. He said that he learned that if he kept saying no, I'd just go to some sleazy school dropout and get a half-assed one in their garage. So, we came to a compromise. He said that as long as I got a tattoo that could be covered up, I could get one. I got the hard part out of the way, so getting a nose or a tongue ring is going to be way too easy. He always eventually breaks when I bother him enough."
"Lucky!" Nadine whined. "Lucky! Lucky! Lucky! I wish I could get one! I think I'd get D-R-A-K-E right across my heart! What about you, babe? Would you do it?"
"Definitely," Drake grinned. "I'd get 'Drake' tattooed on me too."
"Actually, I'm glad you're here," Lilly snickered as Nadine thumped Drake on the forehead. "There's a battling room in the basement of the tattoo shop and I can get a discount if I can beat the Pokémon down there in a battle. I was wondering if King Drake could lend his services?"
"No sweat," Drake said confidently as he turned his attention to Gail.
"This way, hotshot," Gail said and gestured towards the stairs.
"You girls can take a bathroom break," Drake told them. "By the time you come out, I'll be back and we can go."
He disappeared down the stairs with Gail while Lilly quickly handed Nadine her phone so that she could take pictures and record a live video of Lilly showing off her new tattoo.
"Definitely going to get some orange in my hair to match it," Lilly thought aloud. "And get some orange clothes. I wonder if Ninetales will let me dye the tips of her tails too. We'll draw a lot of eyes for sure!"
"Check it out, Lilly!" Nadine called her attention. "Drake's livestreaming his battle!"
Lilly peered at Nadine's phone to see Drake and Weavile battling against the tattoo parlor's Lickitung. To call the battle one-sided was an understatement. Lickitung was entirely too slow to counteract the icicles crashing into its body with its heavy tongue served as more of a hinderance than an asset. In no time, Weavile was standing victoriously over the down Lickitung and Lilly was certain that the only way it would have ended quicker was if Drake decided to use Garchomp instead.
"And now I'll have enough money left over for a new outfit," Lilly remarked with a smile. "Best friend's boyfriend saves the day."
"He's put all his time and energy into battling," Nadine replied. "A little too much time and energy. He barely wants to do anything else and when he does hang out its usually just with Darren Hernandez or some of the people on the team. I feel like he won't be okay until this drama with Ellie ends."
Lilly did not see what Nadine's issue was, apart from Drake not prioritizing her. She had spent some time with Darren in extracurriculars in the past and from what Lilly could recall, he had always been kind and helpful towards her. Of course, that was the pitiful old Lilly who would rather blend in than stand out. If she could move forward with her life, Lilly felt like it was fine for Drake to do so as well. Ellie was a part of his past, but that did not necessarily mean that she needed to be a part of his present for him to be happy.
"Anyway," Lilly said hoping to change the subject. "Thanks for coming with me and literally holding my hand through the whole thing."
"Anything for my Lillypop!" Nadine teased her as Drake emerged from upstairs with Weavile on his shoulders.
"Lilly!" he exclaimed. "Everyone's already digging your new tattoo! Check it out on your phone."
Lilly instantly pulled up the pictures that she and Nadine had posted online just moments earlier. Already, she had over a dozen comments and twice as many likes. What made it even better was that it was not a group picture with the guys in her band who were already popular or a group picture with Nadine and Elyse, who most people agreed to be two of the prettiest girls in their year. It was only her and that was even more evidence that she had made the right decision.
"Full stop at a stop sign, Darren!"
Darren Hernandez wondered if it would have been better to just let his mother drive. He listened to his friends' complaints about their parents constantly criticizing their driving skills when they first got their licenses and he figured it was probably universal. He would rather be doing something else on Friday evening, but his mother was excited about him meeting the man she had been seeing for a little while and Darren knew that he could not say no to her. Plus, if the dinner ended early enough, there was still plenty of time to meet up with Drake.
"What's the name of the restaurant again?" he asked.
"Aqua Ring Cuisine," his mother answered.
"I've heard of that place," Darren said, making sure to keep his eyes on the road. "Isn't it kind of pricy? What does this guy do for a living again?"
"He's a-" she started but jumped when he sped up to avoid missing a light. "Darren!"
"Sorry…" he muttered.
"It's okay," she reassured him. "Just slow it down a bit."
Her behavior was irritating, but he understood why his mother was always so cautious whenever they were on the road. Driving with her in the car was never going to be easy since it always brought back those painful memories. Darren tried to put those thoughts out of his head and decided to just drive in silence until they reached their destination. It was easy for him to focus on the road that way.
"Looks like we're here," Darren said when they finally pulled into the parking lot of Aqua Ring Cuisine. "Is he here?"
"He's inside," his mother said reading over his phone. "He's still waiting on his daughter and her friend to show up."
"Well, how about this?" Darren started. "I'll pull up to the door and let you get out and go inside while I find somewhere to park. That way you two can catch up alone for a little while before everyone else comes in?"
"I don't know…" his mother was hesitant.
"Mom, I can park the car," he said adamantly. "Trust me."
She reluctantly agreed and exited the car once they made it to the front of the restaurant. Once she was inside, Darren drove around the parking lot of the busy restaurant looking for a space to park in. He was fortunate that it only took a few minutes before he found one and he made sure to carefully park the car. The last thing he wanted was to leave a dent in the car and never be allowed to drive again.
Letting down the windows and turning off the car, Darren heard the light croaking and looked back to see Toxicroak in the backseat. He had completely forgotten that his Pokémon was even there, and it just went to show how mild-mannered he was. Darren wanted to wait a bit before going inside and passed the time by scrolling through his social media.
He saw a quick clip of Relena Serene, Jennifer Klein, and Laila Iglesias doing Pilates with Relena struggling to keep up with the two older girls. It was amusing enough and quickly gaining traction, but Darren decided to keep scrolling. He was instantly caught off guard when he saw pictures of Lilly Acres showing off a new tattoo. Darren blinked in disbelief as he remembered that she was the same girl who at one time could barely complete a sentence without anxiously stuttering. Her complete personality shift had been nothing short of astonishing and he was unsure of what to think about it. After a moment, he scrolled down once more and stopped on a video of Drake's Weavile absolutely decimating a Lickitung. For some reason, Darren felt immense joy seeing them win and embrace one another. Drake alone was a great inspiration and Darren felt fortunate that the two of them had become close over the past year.
"Think we can be like Drake and Weavile?" Darren asked Toxicroak who simply croaked in response.
After a few more minutes, he decided that enough time had passed and recalled Toxicroak to his poké ball. When he finally gotten out of his own vehicle, Darren spotted a white luxury car pulling into the empty parking space next to him. He squinted his eyes trying to remember where he had seen the car before and received his answers when the driver and their passenger emerged.
Felicity Cole and Kat Lee looked as if they had been shopping all day, if not all week. Felicity was wearing a sky blue, primmed-to-perfection, tweed blazer over a white turtleneck with a matching skirt. Meanwhile, Kat donned a form fitting denim jumpsuit with shiny new earrings peeking from beneath her dark hair. Darren appreciated how they looked for a brief moment before a horrifying thought entered his head.
"Felicity…" he called out.
They had not noticed him until then and Felicity instantly sneered upon turning her attention to Darren.
"Hi, Darren!" Kat greeted warmly. "What are you doing here?"
"Who cares why he's here?" Felicity said sharply.
Felicity was never a warm person, but Darren knew why she was upset on this day. He had been the closest thing to a confidant that she had before Kat had apparently taken his place, something he had no issue with. Still, he knew the stress that Craig and his actions had on Felicity and had some small amount of pity for her. No matter how awful she was, if Felicity wanted for Craig to leave her alone, then her wishes should be respected.
"Listen, Felicity," Darren took a deep breath. "I know we haven't really talked since our argument last year, but I want you to know that I don't have a problem with you now. Craig should take the hint and back off."
"You heard about it?" Felicity asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yeah," Darren replied, hoping to lighten the mood. "And I thought you'd be more excited. There are two guys fighting over the great Felicity Cole. In one corner, you have the clean-cut, blond, rich guy. In another corner you have the rugged, dark-haired, criminal. Both men are fighting for your love. It's right out of a soap opera and everyone's dream."
"You dream about having two men fighting over you?" Felicity questioned.
"You know what I meant," Darren grumbled and shifted awkwardly.
"It was a joke…" Felicity muttered with an annoyed sigh. She glanced at Kat and then back at Darren. "Not that it means much of anything, but I guess it's good to see you again, Darren. I don't know if you're here with anyone…but would you like to have dinner with us? I'm sure Daddy won't mind."
"Thanks for the offer," Darren said. "But I'm actually here with my mom. She's been seeing this guy and she wants me to meet him."
"That's weird," Kat interjected. "We're here because Felicity's dad has been seeing this woman and he wants her to meet…"
Kat stopped short and everyone went silent at the realization. Felicity's eyes were so wide it looked like they were about to pop out of her head and Darren was almost certain that the look on his face resembled something similar. This was a nightmare come true and the only thing that could be heard in the awkward silence was Toxicroak's croaking laugh.
The Satellite had been aptly named because Mike could tell that the place was space themed even from the outside. It was a two-story building with a large, decorative satellite dish on the roof. The bouncers even had stylish suits on that vaguely reminded Mike of a more fashionable version of the outfits Team Galactic had when they were wreaking havoc in Sinnoh in the past. The theme was even more on-the-nose when the three boys entered. There was a star cloth lined dance area with UV backdrops, large glowing stars dangling from the ceiling, and drinks poured into cups shaped like telescopes. Everyone dancing to the loud techno music was going to take some getting used to.
"You know, Mike," Loki teased. "Lilly kind of has a room like this club at her house."
"Yeah, but nowhere near as awesome!" Xander added. "Come on, let's go wild!"
Loki and Xander rushed to the dance floor, leaving Mike to find the nearest table to sit down at. He had agreed to come to the club, but actually being inside made him feel like he was just ignoring his problems. More than that, he was angry at himself. Angry that in just a week, all the progress that he had made in Cianwood was unravelling so fast. He wondered if he made any progress at all if a change in environment was all it took to come crashing down. He thought of his uncle's words.
"To protect yourself and others. That's your goal, right? Well to do that, you can't keep doubting your abilities."
His uncle was right, Mike knew it. He was stronger and smarter than he had been when he left home. He knew how to avoid a fight, and how to defend himself if a fight was unavoidable. He was confident he could fight Craig to at least a draw with a clear head, but there was still some hesitation. The therapist had described Mike's issue as some sort of mental block. He thought he overcame it, but he was quickly discovering that was not the case.
"Hey, pretty-boy, what are you doing sitting over here by yourself?"
The girl who sat down next to him had dark hair and a freckled face with dark green eyes. It took a moment, but Mike soon realized that she was the younger sister of Dougie Glass, the former owner of the arcade and apparently the current owner of the Satellite.
"Heidi, right?" Mike asked. "Heidi Glass?"
"Uh, yeah," she answered with a puzzled expression. "Have we met?"
"Yeah," Mike said. "I'm Mike Snowe! My friends and I practically lived at your brother's old arcade when we were kids."
"Mike Snowe?!" Heidi gasped. "The one everyone used to call the Little Hitmontop because you were constantly spinning all over the place? No way! You've grown! You couldn't have been any older than twelve the last time I saw you."
Mike was a bit embarrassed. He had not visited the arcade since before his first year at S.T.S. and had almost forgotten about the place as the stress of adolescence began to overtake his life.
"So, what happened with the arcade?" Mike asked, hoping that some small talk would help take his mind off things.
"Dougie sold it," Heidi explained. "He said that arcades don't really make money like they used to. The buyers were talking about turning into some kind of trainer house. Dougie opened up this place so he can continue taking money from children."
"Sounds like Dougie," Mike laughed. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss those days where my main problem was trying to see if I could top my high score in Extremespeed Adventure. If I could go back for just one day…before everything went to hell."
"We all want that sometimes," Heidi replied. "But the reality is it's impossible to go back anyway, so why worry about it? You're a different person than you were yesterday. Hell, you're a different person than you were an hour ago. I say you should focus more on moving forward."
"Moving forward, huh?" Mike repeated. "People keep telling me that, maybe they have a point."
"I think I know what can help you," Heidi said. "Do you have a grass type Pokémon by any chance?"
"Yeah," Mike answered. "Tangrowth."
"Then follow me…"
As Heidi led Mike to the stairs, he scanned the area for Loki and Xander. Loki was dancing with a pair of twins and Xander was at the snack bar scarfing down kimchi fries. Both of his friends were obviously preoccupied, and Mike figured they would not notice if he were gone for a few minutes. Mike followed the older girl up the stairs and the longer they climbed, the stronger the sweet aroma swept through Mike's nostrils. Reaching for a poké ball, he decided to finally bring Tangrowth out. Tangrowth, for his part, looked around for a split second and scratched the top of his vines in confusion.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Mike told him.
When they got to the top of the stairs, Heidi opened the door to the room on the second floor of the club. The first thing Mike noticed was that he and Tangrowth were walking into a room that could only be described as a strange mix between a greenhouse and a day spa. There were grass type Pokémon littered all over the room with their trainers in various modes of relaxation. The second thing that Mike noticed was the sweet fragrance belonged to the pink mist that was circulating throughout the floor. He slowly began to feel more at ease.
"This is the Pink Room," Heidi explained. "You have to have a grass type to gain access and even then, there has to be enough space. This is the room to go when you aren't feeling the dance floor downstairs. That calming feeling, it's the effects of the move sweet scent. That move works on humans in large doses and since it sounds like you've been having it rough, I have a little something extra that might help you out."
Mike was steadily getting calmer by the second, though things were getting a bit fuzzy. He managed to retain most of his alertness when Heidi revealed the object that was in her hand. She held out the vape pen and Mike suddenly remembered his friend, Duke, from Cianwood. He would often bring up his preference for a classic bong over vaping. It did not matter to Mike because he did not smoke.
"W-what is that?" he stammered.
"A little vaporized marijuana," Heidi teased. "But with particles of sweet scent added in. That way you can be in the Pink Room even when you're not at the Satellite."
"I…I don't know…" Mike muttered.
"That's fine," Heidi said nonchalantly. "I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. I just thought it would help take the edge off."
Mike stared at her glassy-eyed and reached out for the pen. As he held it, Mike thought of the severe consequences he would be facing from his parents just for even entertaining the idea. He thought of his uncle and how disappointed he would be if he learned how quickly Mike fell apart under pressure.
It would have also been easier to have more willpower if the scent was not dulling his senses. However, it was because of the scent that he was feeling good for the first time since he had arrived back in Saffron. Once he left the club, things would go back to how they were before. Mike wanted to move forward.
He made sure to do it before he could change his mind or before Tangrowth interfered. Mike took a hit of the pen and immediately burst into a fit of coughing. Heidi patted him on the back as he attempted get control of his breathing and then it happened.
Mike was suddenly alone in a room made of gold. Blastoise was there first, swimming in a large pool, finally at peace. He saw Crobat flying out of a jeweled cave and roosting on a gold post and Tangrowth happily walking through a beautiful garden. Trapinch appeared before him and evolved into Vibrava before suddenly evolving again into Flygon. Electabuzz was seated at the center of the room and started glowing before Mike felt himself slowly being lifted out of the room.
Now, he was alone walking on the water in a vast ocean. Loki suddenly appeared up in the sky, riding a cloud as fast as he drove his car and cheering loudly.
As Mike struggled to make sense of what he witnessed, a large diamond suddenly emerged from the ocean, the word 'eternity' somehow carved into it. When he tried to approach it, Mike found himself blocked from the diamond by Elyse. She ran towards him and flipped over his head before running off into the distance.
The sky parted next, and a bright light emerged from the heavens. It shined on Relena, who was wearing a light blue summer dress. She winked at Mike as she slowly lowered the shoulder strap on her dress before suddenly stopping and blowing him a kiss.
Relena disappeared into a sudden fog and Mike found himself staring at a large rock randomly placed in the middle of the ocean. It was strange enough on its own, but the chair situated on the rock made it even weirder. Drake appeared and sat down on the chair. He had a crown on his head and the moment Mike realized that the chair was some type of throne, the rock began to shake and rise into a mountain. It went up and up until Drake was out of view.
Now, Ellie was on the water. Unlike with everyone else, there was nothing else going on and he only recognized her by the trademark spiky hair. She simply had her back turned to Mike and refused to turn around. On her shirt were the words, 'from the beginning' and Mike found himself unable to move as everything turned to pink once more.
"Hey…Mike, you good…"
Mike was lying against Tangrowth on the soft floor of the Pink Room as Heidi stood over them. He looked up at her and snickered before suddenly recalling Tangrowth and making his way out of the room so that he could find Loki and Xander downstairs. With each step he took, Mike became more and more grateful. Even if it was just for one night, the Pink Room had brought his friends back to him. Mike would keep that in mind.
A/N: This chapter should be called 'Bad Decisions' because that's what happened in this chapter. I'm just glad I was able to get it out before the one year mark for this story. I'm proud that I've managed 10 chapters in a year when in the past, it's been as little as 1-2 chapters per year. Anyway, Friday Funday is not over. There's still one more chapter to wrap the Friday up so that we can plant the seeds for things that will occur down the line.
The P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Mike Snowe (twice), Lilly Acres, and Darren Hernandez.
As always, feel free to send me a PM or come to the forums to chat.
Until next time!
