Late-breaking news! Here's our interviewer, RainbowSerenity!

RainbowSerenity: Good morning/afternoon/evening. . .today we are here to talk to the very characters from the somewhat-known fic, Lindsey: Tamer's Prophecy.

Right now we're here, spying on Steve. . .

Steve: (looking in a mirror and flipping his hair around) Heh heh heh. –sniggers- I am suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a ladie's man. (winks at reflection)

RS: O_O;;. . .Uh. . .(cough) Hello, Mr. Mochiles. And how are you this morning/afternoon/evening?

S: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! (runs around flailing arms)

RS: -_-;;;;;. . .

S: (calming down) Uh. . .good I guess? (mumbles)

RS: Steve, the rumors are spreading like. . .well, not like wildfire, but something like that.

S: Uhmm. . .

RS: ARE YOU THAT NAÏVE?! (smacks Steve and resumes interviewer-like position) –cough- So. . .like I said, the rumors are spreading. Is it true that you may, indeed have fallen for Lindsey?

S: (blushes) I. . .(laughs and sweatdrops) I don't know what you're talking about! Eh, heh, heh!

RS: Really now.

S: Sure! I mean, who could ever fall for someone like Lindsey, tsssh. . .she's so brutal and narssictic and. . .stuff. (bigger sweatdrop)

RS: Uh huh. . .well, if you say so.

Lindsey: Hey, did someone say my name?

RS: Why look, it's Lindsey, the star of this ficanoid! And---yes, it's also Ivy, her other best friend.

Ivy: Eh?

L: (looks up) OMIGOD! A CAMERA! (runs to mirror, trampling a sweatdropping Steve) How's my hair?! AAAAAAAAAIEEE! It looks like #@!&!!! OH GOD NO! And my eye shadow doesn't match my socks!

RS, S, & I: O_o;;;;;;;;;;;;;. . . .

S: Uh, Lindsey. . .can you please get off of my spine. . .you're kind of crushing it. . .

L: (jumps up) Ah yeah! Sorry 'bout that! I gotta go see Darrell now anyway, bye! (rushes out)

S: Grrrrrrr. . .

RS: What was that?!

S: Nothing. . .-_-

RS: Riiiiiiiiiiiight. (turns to Ivy) So Miss Sordino, do you have any say in this possibility of a love triangle?

I: POSSIBILITY?! Possibility my butt! Steve just keeps---(is interrupted when Steve jumps up and covers her mouth)

S: (hissing) Shut up!

I: (pulls his hand off and points to RainbowSerenity) Well, she started it.

RS: Children, children, please. . .anyway, before we actually get to the chapter, do you care to comment, Ivy?

I: Yeah. . .when are you gonna hook me up with someone?

RS: Uhh. . .I never thought about it. Who do you want to be 'hooked up' with?

I: (stars in eyes, drooling) Darrell. . .

S: (rolls eyes and mutters) What loser. Tsssh.

RS: There you have it, folks. The real deal of what goes on behind the keyboard of Lindsey: Tamer's Prophecy. Now back to our regularly scheduled chapter, already in progress.

S: HEY! Wait a sec! I've read this chapter AND I DON'T LIKE IT! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT! (flails arms)

RS: (smacks him with pillow) -.-;;. . .

~Chapter Twenty~

"Geez!" Steve complained once we got back to my house. "We were at that karaoke place like three hours!" He went to the rec room and flopped down on one of the cots.

"The audience couldn't get enough of me!" I smiled. "And we weren't there that long," I sighed. "It's only ten o'clock."

Ivy got out her pajamas from her bag and headed to the bathroom. "Yeah, it was only hard for Steve because he knows if he got up there and sang more than he did, the audience would run us out."

Steve threw a pillow at her in response. "Hey, when we were all up there together, they were making faces at you guys, not me!" He rolled his eyes. "Can we all just get some sleep?!" he begged.

I sat on my own cot and stared at the clock. Ten o'clock. . .would Darrell be at the beach?

"Lindsey? You going to sleep?" Steve asked.

I gave a half shrug. "I have to. . .go and do something. You guys just go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." I got up and started to walk out of the house.

"Lindsey! Lindsey, wait!"

I closed the door, drowning out Steve, and ran all the way to the beach, my still-pigtailed hair flying behind me.

To my surprise, it wasn't abandoned. A certain someone dressed in black with an Absol at his feet and an Umbreon running up and down the shoreline was there.

"Darrell!" I gasped, jogging towards him. I sat down and caught my breath.

"Hey," he said in his same monotone voice. "I didn't think you would be here. You know, with your friends here."

"We were just at karaoke," I said through huffs. "And I noticed it was still kinda early so I thought I'd see if you were here."

"Where's Kitsune?"

I looked up at the sky and thought of Kit, who was probably sleeping peacefully on my bed. "At home," I answered. "He's most likely sleeping. We only got back awhile ago and I wanted to go before Steve or Ivy asked any questions. . ."

He replied with a simple nod, and imitated me by staring up at the sky.

"So," I asked, breaking the silence. "Gone on your search for a Dragon Pokemon yet?"

He shook his head, still staring up.

"You're so quiet tonight," I frowned. "What, jealous of my Johto friends?"

He looked down at the ocean, stared at the crashing waves for a few seconds, and turned to me. "Not so much as that," he said.

I cocked my head in confusion. "What?"

"Well, I've just been thinking. . ." he said slowly, still staring at me with his dull eyes. "Johto's such a huge part of your life. It makes me wonder what state I'll be in if you ever do decide to go back."

"What?" I echoed. "What do you mean?" It was my turn to stare at him.

"You're really the only friend I've ever had," he said, setting his mouth in a line. Darrell never smiled much. "The only one who's ever cared."

I laid a hand on his shoulder and made the mistake of staring in those black eyes. "You know if we're really friends, I'll never leave you," I smiled sadly. "I never left Steve and Ivy."

"Yeah."

It wasn't my imagination this time---we were leaning closer together---and there were no Pokemon around to evolve. What I had been thinking of these past months, what my heart really did desire, happened.

Darrell and I leaned forward perfectly, and our lips met for the first time. I was trying to act mature about it, but all I could think was, 'OMIGOSH! MY FIRST KISS IS HAPPENING!'

And no evolving Pokemon to interrupt.

Just as Darrell and I pulled apart, I swore I heard footsteps. I turned my head slightly and saw none other than. . .

"Steve!" I gasped, clamping a hand over my mouth. Oi. Had he seen that kiss? I hoped not.

Steve didn't answer me, but was glaring at Darrell, who was also looking at Steve, but with an expressionless look on his face.

"Mochiles," was all he said.

Steve's face skewed into an unreadable expression. "You," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You think you can just waltz on in and make Lindsey forget about us, hmm? Oh yes, you've probably emptied her head and filled it with visions of Hoenn and Dark-types---"

Steve was interrupted when I got up and smacked him upside the head.

"OWW!" he complained, giving me a Look. "What was that for? I'm just trying to. . ."

"Trying to what, hmm?" I glared. "I bet you have no idea how to get back to the house if I told you to just turn around right now."

Steve rubbed his head where I smacked him, looked at the long road behind him, and gave a sort of pathetic laugh. "Sure, sure, of course I could!"

"Fine, then I'll see you tomorrow morning," I sighed, spinning my back towards him and crossing my arms. Yeah, I knew Steve better than this. He had no clue where he was and he'd probably end up in a total stranger's house if he actually did go off.

"Okay, but you're coming with me," Steve said quickly, and grabbed my wrist, pulling me away.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I hissed, trying to get away and get back to Darrell, who was just looking as a mix of incredibly confused and his usual expressionless self.

Steve stopped and dropped my wrist. "Sorry, but I just think that'd you'd want to spend some time with your only best friends," Steve said in a low voice. "We've been inseparable for years, and you suddenly go gallivanting off with this guy?"

I inwardly groaned. This meant Steve had seen the kiss. Great, just great. My first kiss and my best friend had witnessed it.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll go back. . .just give me a minute." I walked over to Darrell, who had stood up with his hands in his pockets, as usual. Umbreon and Absol were returned to their Pokeballs, and it was silent except for the crash of the ocean and the occasional hoot from a HootHoot.

I sighed again. "Sorry about. . .that," I apologized.

He put a hand on my cheek and I softly closed my eyes, and covered his hand with mine. So that kiss really did change things between us. . .no longer were we 'just friends'. But had we ever been that in the first place? My heart had been pounding like crazy ever since I met him.

"No need to apologize," he whispered, slowly letting go of my face. "He's just. . .your protector, is all."

I opened my eyes and let my hand and mouth drop. "What?"

Darrell shook his head, his long black hair flying everywhere. "I have to be going. . .I hope to see you again tomorrow night. . .and if you don't come. . ."

Steve coughed impatiently, but my eyes were glued to Darrell.

"I'll come find you." Quickly, so Steve didn't see, he bent down and kissed me again, and I still kept it cool even though my heart was singing.

When I opened my eyes seconds after the kiss ended, Darrell was gone.

~*~

"So that's how you met him, Miss Lindsey? Hmm?" Steve hissed as we quietly tiptoed into the back door. It closed with a low click, and I went into the rec room and slid into my cot without saying anything to Steve.

He plopped into his own cot next to mine. "Lindsey, geez," he sighed. "I know we haven't seen each other for awhile but you don't have to ignore me like this."

I turned on my side so my back was facing towards him. I wasn't really angry at Steve, just a little. . .peeved. After all, best friends aren't supposed to follow you and walk into your first kisses.

"Well, fine," he said in mocking tone, and I heard him also roll over.

I sighed and rolled back over on my back. "I. . .I'm not trying to ignore you," I said quietly. "It's just weird seeing you guys again after so long. It's not fair that as soon as I get used to it, you're going to go back to Johto and I'll be stuck here again."

Steve didn't say anything for so long, I thought he might have drifted off to sleep, but then I heard him turn over the other way to face me.

"Hey," he said. "Did you forget our promise? We said you'd be back, no matter how long it takes. Sure you'd be stuck here again, but only for a little while longer."

I took my time in thinking of a reply and listened to Ivy's deep breathing in the background.

"Yeah, I guess," was my brilliant reply. "I just. . .I don't know."

Steve reached over to my cot and gently squeezed my hand. "Hey, don't worry about it!" he smiled. "We still have three more days of us pretending you've never moved. Go to sleep."

I stuck out my tongue. "Sure, sure," I snorted before closing my eyes and falling into a deeper sleep than Ivy.


~*~*~

S: Aww, c'mon. Just one?

RS: NO WAY! Get your own sugary things! These are for the reviewers!

S: I HATE THE REVIEWERS!

RS: O_O NOOOOOOO! (falls over)

S: (sweatdrops) They think I like Lindsey like that! Tsssh. . .what. . .what. . .ARRRRRRGUH!

L: Hey, what'd I miss?

RS: Nothing at all. . .just people reviewing as I hand out their sugary things. . .(sighs)

Oh yes. . .MORE late-breaking news. . .RS herself has made a little art-site-thingymabob! That's right, you can view art from all three, that's right folks, ALL THREE 'Tamer' ficanoids! Yay! You wanna see?! Do you really wanna?!

Ah, even if you don't. . .take out the stars. :P www*.freewebs*.com*/rainbow*serenity

And unless you're even remotely interested in the horses I ride (HAHAHAHA), click on 'FanArt'.

Yeah, it sucks, but what do you expect? I'm a writer, not a webmaster. :P