Buddy: Master Matchmaker

(A/N: Sorry for the pitifully long delay in updates. I've had a whole bunch of stuff happen to me, ranging from school trouble to a depression attack and back again. But the Hulkster is back! Now it's time to hence forward!)

Adam rushed down the hall, his books under his arm, rushing to make it on time to chemistry class. The bell rang as he dashed around a corner. He could see the door right in front of him. And then... he saw the floor directly in front of him. And then, he was on the floor, pain coursing through his body.

"Scheissa!" he cried, "What happened?"

"Oops!" giggled a painfully familiar voice. "My foot must have slipped!"

Adam got to his feet and glared at Laura. "You're a bitch."

Laura only laughed. "Don't hate," she said, and trotted off to her classroom.

Adam growled to himself. This wasn't an isolated incident. Ever since the match last month, Laura had been nothing but a gigantic asshole. She never left him alone, and was always making fun of him with her friends, or booby-trapping his locker, or in some way, shape, or form making his life a living hell. And he couldn't hate her more. If he could make it through the day with having only 2 encounters with her, he was having a good day.

It was the evening of the same day that Adam sat on his living room couch, watching television, while Buddy lay on the couch next to him. The current show was Life and Love in Lavaridge.

Adam sighed as he watched the lowly trainer being kissed by gym leader Flannery after a heated battle, and as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Doesn't this suck, Buddy?" Adam said to his companion. Buddy whimpered questioningly.

"I mean, other guys my age, and even younger, already have girlfriends, and here I am with nobody. There's nobody that would even dream of going out with me."

Buddy licked his trainer's hand.

Adam smiled. "At least I have true friends like you, boy." He leaned back and sighed once more. "Maybe it's just not my destiny to fall in love."

Buddy whined in sympathy.

The bell rang loudly as Adam walked towards his homeroom, when suddenly...

"BOO!!!"

Adam, startled, staggered backwards and fell back on the floor.

"You don't quit, do you?"

"Never!" cackled Laura, throwing her blonde hair behind her shoulders. "Have a nice day!"

Adam glowered, got to his feet, picked up his bag, and marched off.

"Poor fool," Laura chuckled to herself. "Humm? What's this?" A Poke Ball had fallen out of Adam's bag when he dropped it. "I think I'll take this with me..." She picked it up and slipped it in her purse. "Sucker."

At lunchtime, Laura snuck outside to the back of the school and opened the Poke Ball. In a flash of light, Buddy was standing before her. He looked around, confused, and growled when he saw Laura in front of him.

"Oh, it's you..." Laura said, rolling her eyes. "Adam's little life partner."

Buddy growled louder.

"Oh hush. It's not like I'm keeping you. I just wanted to play a little joke on him."

Buddy snorted.

Laura sighed. "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to get the hint."

Buddy stopped growling and cocked his head to the side, confused.

Laura patted the ground next to her. "Come sit."

Buddy reluctantly sat down next to her.

"He doesn't get it," she muttered. "Why? He's smart, he's adorable, he's charming... you'd think he'd be able to figure it out."

Buddy whined.

"I like him, Buddy. I really do. But I can't think of any way to get him to understand. I thought I could play hard to get, but it only makes him dislike me more. I don't know what to do."

Buddy barked, jumping to his feet.

"What is it?"

He barked again. Laura stood, but Buddy growled, and she sat back down. Then, he ran off to find his trainer.

Adam sat in the cafeteria, munching on his pan pizza, when Buddy streaked into the room, barking.

"Hey, how did you get out?" Adam asked, scratching Buddy's head. Buddy continued to bark.

"What is it, boy?" Adam asked. Buddy would not stop barking, and he inched slowly towards the door, wanting Adam to follow him. Adam did so, and was led out to the back of the school, where a confused Laura was sitting. Buddy ran up to Laura, and turned, and barked once more to his trainer.

"YOU!" Adam cried. "What is going on?"

"I found your Pokemon's Poke Ball on the floor, so I'm just returning it to you." Laura replied, not keeping eye contact.

"Thank you," Adam said coldly. "Goodbye."

"Don't go," Laura called after him. He turned.

"What?"

"Your presence is soothing."

"What???"

Laura smiled. "Please come sit with me."

Against his will, Adam sat down on the bench next to Laura. "Now what do you want?"

"I've been a bitch the past few weeks, haven't I?"

"That's putting it mildly." Adam replied.

"Well, I'm not normally like that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Curious."

Laura was silent for a moment, and in her silence, she made a decision. "There's no way I can say this unless I'm brutally honest, Adam. Understand that, okay?"

Adam shifted uneasily. "O...k..."

Laura took a deep breath, and spit it out. "I'm playing hard to get, Adam. I want to go out with you. I really really do."

Adam was thunderstruck. He sat there for a moment, unable to grasp what he had just heard. "You... want to go out with.. ME?"

She nodded and smiled.

"Wow..."

She took his hand. "And trust me, I can be the sweetest girl in the world."

"Wha...well... um... sure, I mean... umm... yeah! Sure, I'll go out with you!"

"Now you get it!" she said, hugging him. "I knew you'd see it my way. Even if I AM a better trainer than you."

"Hey! I don't think so!"

"You know it, too!" she declared, shoving him playfully.

"I know you're full of it!" he cried, restraining her. They wrestled back and forth, and they somehow wound up with their arms around each other. They fell silent as their eyes locked.

The first kiss was magical. Purely magical. The feel of Laura's lips ignited every nerve in Adam's body.

(Buddy turns to the camera and winks.)