Following In Her Footsteps

Part 2

By Finaille Nailo

Dear Journal,

Bleh… it's been four days since we left Camio Village, and we just arrived in Ecruteak… and it's supposed to be a two day walk… this is the result of nine people traveling in the same group. Well, ok, it's Emily, but I wouldn't tell her that… I got tired too when I first got started. Oh well, it's been a lot of fun!

Emily seems to really enjoy it here… of course she looks a bit homesick. She seems fine when she's around either Chris or me, but I think she'll do fine…

Anyways, looks like we're about to go out to dinner. Heh, this should be fun!

Love,

~ Rennie ~

I set the journal down on the small table next to my bed. I can't believe it's already been four entire days… I've had to relearn everything… bleh! Oh well, I shouldn't complain, Emily has even more to learn than I did…

A knock on the door snaps me from my thoughts. "Rennie?" I hear Emily's meek voice ask.

"Come in." I reply, and she walks in. She sits down in her bed, which was next to mine.

"Hey…" She says quietly.

"Something wrong?" I ask.

"This is just so surreal… I can't believe I'm actually here…" She mumbles.

"Having a tough time trying to figure everything out?" I ask. She nods in agreement.

"You at least had a clue what you were doing when you came here for the first time… I mean, you actually played the game." She yawns. Good point…

"Heh, maybe I should get you started when we get back home." I joke. She throws a pillow at me.

"When I get home, I don't think I want to hear the word Pokemon again." She groans. "You have to be pretty fit to be a trainer… walking around everywhere."

"Well, get used to it… our pace here to Ecruteak was pretty slow, we should have gotten here in half the time." Emily blushes.

"Sorry I slowed you guys down."

"Hey, don't worry, I had the same problem when I came here for the first time. It took me nearly a month to get used to all the walking, and that was when there was only three of us." I snort. "At least someone can carry you when you can't walk anymore."

She sticks her tongue out at me. "Very funny, anyways, we're gonna head out for dinner." I get up off of my bed and stretch.

"Well hey, don't feel bad, it's gonna take me a little while to get used to walking this much again." I grab my purse, she grabs her small backpack, and we leave our room and head out to the main lobby of the Ecruteak Pokemon Center. We see most of the others waiting on the couches, minus Chris and Jen. It's weird enough that they're sharing a room. We join them on the couches; I sit next to Ash. He wraps his arms around my waist and places a small kiss on my nose.

"Hey." He smiles at me.

"Hey yourself." I reply cheerfully. He chuckles, his eyes dancing with happiness. He lets go of me, and I turn to Misty, who is looking down on the ground somewhat unhappily.

"Hey Mist, what's up?" I ask. She looks up at me, as if no one has been talking to her all day.

"I got a phone call from my sisters." She tells me. My eyebrows rise in curiosity.

"Really, anything wrong?"

"Not for them… Professor Oak wants them to go to the Orange Islands for some marine biology research."

"What's so bad about that?" I ask. There's a moment of silence between us.

"Ren, I'm gonna have to go back home and watch the gym." She stutters.

"No way!"

"Yes way… I'm leaving in two days… and I won't be back for four months." Misty sighs.

"So I take it you've told the others?"

"Nor yet… I'm gonna break the news tonight at dinner." I lean in to hug her.

"I really wish you didn't have to leave… I mean, I just got back!"

"Hey guys! We're ready to go!" I hear Jen say, and the conversation is over. I smile at Misty.

"Well, I'll miss you a lot." I tell her. She smiles back.

"Thank you." She whispers. I switch my focus back on the group. I turn to Kevin, whom I've been aware of that he's been staring at me.

"Hey, you ok?" I ask him. He smiles.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" He asks, surprised by my question.

"Nothing… you seem awfully quiet." I reply. I hear muffled giggles from behind, from Chris and Jen.

"Haven't they been acting… strange or something lately?" Kevin asks me.

"Yeah, I mean, they're sharing a room! I thought Chris was into Emily."

"Well, I dunno what's going on…" He says. I look up into his eyes, and for the first time ever, I see him blush. Ok, this is weird…

"Um… well, suppose we should be heading out to find a restaurant?" I ask.

"Yeah, suppose so." He mumbles. I speak up for everyone to hear.

"So, then are we going or not?" I whine playfully. I stand up, grab my purse, and give them a "Come on let's go!" look.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going." Ash says sarcastically. I grin at them. We all get up and head outside.

************************************************************************

After supper the others wanted to go to a movie, except Jen, Chris, and I. We decided to head back to the Pokemon Center and hang out in my room.

"I can't believe Misty's gonna leave us." Jen tells me, as I unlock the door to my room.

"Yeah, well, it happens. Maybe we'll be able to visit her or something." I suggest.

"Yeah, that would be really cool." Jen says happily. We all walk into my room and get settled down.

"Hey, um, pardon my questioning, but why are you two sharing a room?" I ask, the curiosity getting the better of me. They look at each other, somewhat surprised.

"Wow, someone finally asks…" Chris says, smiling.

"Well, since Emily's not around, I guess we can finally tell you." Jen says, with an evil grin spreading across her face.

"Uh, what does Emily have to do with you two sharing a room?" I point out.

"Well, Chrissy-boy here wants to ask Emily out." Jen says, looking at Chris. He's looking down, somewhat embarrassed.

"Oooh, so I was right…" I blurt out, only to feel a hand covering my mouth. I blink at Chris.

"Shhh…" He says, "I don't want the entire world knowing how I feel." He whispers. I blush.

"Sorry…" I mumble. He nods.

"It's ok."

"Still, I don't get what that has to do with you two sharing a room." I repeat.

"Rennie, how dense can you get?! Honestly, you resemble Ash more and more each day…" Jen grins.

"We're… plotting together…" Chris tells me. "If I would have tried to plot with anyone else, it would look suspicious."

"It already looks like you two like each other…" I tell them. They give me funny looks.

"Well, the two of us would look the least suspicious." Jen says.

"Why didn't you talk to Kevin about this?"

"I wanted a girls' point of view." Chris mumbles.

"Awwww… that is so cute!" I squeal.

"Yeah… thanks." Chris says uncomfortably.

"But anyways, getting to our means of business, we actually wanted to talk to you about… Kevin." Jen says.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "What about Kevin?"

"Well, if you haven't already noticed, Kevin is totally into you!" Jen blurts out.

"Woah, woah, woah! Kevin?" I blink uncontrollably.

"Yeah!" Chris says, finally snapping out of his embarrassed mood. "He talks nonstop about you! It's always "Rennie this" and "Rennie that"… I've never even seen him interested in a girl before!"

"Everyone…" Jen pauses, "… except you and Ash know…"

"Of course, that's because you both are too dense to notice it." Chris finishes. "But you know now."

"And I hate to say this, but you two were totally flirting at dinner! I mean, you guys were throwing pieces of napkin into each other's hair!" Jen says. "I guess you should be lucky Ash is dense."

"Do you like him?" Chris asks. Ouch, pinned right in the corner… well… I've never thought about Kevin before… crap, just when I thought my love life was going to start improving, I'm once again stuck…

"I've never really considered Kevin before." I confess.

"You should really get to know him more." Jen tells me.

"Yeah, you two seem to have a lot in common." Chris adds.

I grin. "Why are you guys trying to be matchmakers? I'm perfectly happy with Ash. I mean, we're perfect together."

"Hey, we're only doing it because Kevin won't shut up." Chris says. "I'm the one stuck listening to it all."

I laugh. "Fine, whatever, if it'll make you happy, I'll… consider, but I'm still gonna stay with Ash…" This is soooo incredibly WEIRD!

So later that night, the rest of the gang finally return from the movie, and all nine of us end up in my room!

"Hey Ren! Let's order a pizza!" Ash suggests. I roll my eyes as I call up a pizza place here in Ecruteak. I hang up moments later to find Kevin on my side. I blush, and I do only because I think of what had been said earlier.

"Hey, missed ya at the movie." He says with a smile.

"Just wasn't in the mood to go to one." I reply.

"That sucks, it was a really good movie." He says. He looks into my eyes, and we both blush.

"Yeah… so…"

"Let's play truth or dare!" Jen interrupts. Everyone immediately murmurs approval. I look at Kevin.

"You gonna play?" I ask.

"Only if you do." I blink. Oh wow, now that I'm thinking about it, Jen and Chris are right… WEIRD!!! We all gather into a circle. Misty starts, and asks Brock.

"Truth or dare?" She asks. Brock gulps, and mutters…

"Truth."

"Ok, do you think Emily is cute?" She asks, obviously not able to think of a fairly good question. Emily blushes.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute… for her age." He adds in. He glances around the room. "Jen?"

"Yeah?" She asks.

"Truth or dare?"

"Um… truth!" She nervously glances around the room.

"Why are you and Chris sharing a room together?" Brock asks.

"Do we get to have a chicken?" Jen asks.

"Yeah, but only one. And if one person uses a chicken, the next person can't use theirs." Brock says.

"Ok, then I'll use it." Jen looks at me. "Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"Truth or dare?" She asks.

"Um… I think I'll go with… uh, dare?"

Jen grins evilly. Oh crap! I know what she's gonna say… "I dare you to do Seven Minutes in Heaven with… Kevin!" (Seven Minutes in Heaven is making out in a secluded area for seven minutes ^_~)

I look at Kevin, and I'm sure I'm as red as he is.

"Well, go into the bathroom you two!" Chris says, grinning.

"Ok, I'll time the second they shut the door." Jen says, getting her watch ready. Nervously, Kevin and I both step into the bathroom. We shut the door behind us. I look up at Kevin, as I sit on the edge of the bathtub.

"Well, this is sorta awkward…" I mumble.

"Yeah, this is…" He says. He looks at me, quite seriously. "Rennie, I have something to tell you…"

For some very strange reason, when he looks at me, my heart starts to race. "I know." I whisper. He sits on the floor, and motions for me to sit next to him. I slowly move over to him, and look into his eyes. Only he is in my mind…

His lips immediately lock with mine, and his tongue wants permission, impatiently sliding across my lips. The kiss becomes fierce, a kiss I had never experienced before. Hands are sliding across my body, and he starts kissing my neck. We lose track of time, and I give into my feelings. It feels like I'd been in there with him for hours, when I hear a gasp.

We back away from the kiss, to see both Ash and Jen looking terribly, terribly shocked at us. I look at Kevin, who's on top of me. That's when I noticed our shirts were lying next to us. Before I say anything, Ash runs off. I look at Jen.

"How long have you been watching?" I ask, pushing Kevin off of me and putting on my shirt.

"I've been watching for a while… Ash just saw though…" Jen mutters. I look at Kevin, who is just as embarrassed as I am.

"I need to find Ash." I say, and I run after him. I never realize that I don't know where he ran off to.

A/N- I NEEDED to do a romantic chappy! And I left off in a cliffy too! I hope you like, and plz review me!