Hey all, remember me? XD Geez, at the rate this is going, this fic's gonna have an update a MONTH, which I'm REALLY not digging at all. But hey, at least I'm updating at all...

Oh yeah, word of advice to people with significant others: if you plan on breaking up with them, give them an actual REASON. Randomness is not good in this case.

I'll shut up now...

Chapter Three

It was about the tenth time Chase was playing that tune...over...and over...

"You messed up my hair," he complained, finally stopping and reaching up to make sure I didn't really screw his hair up. Which would've been impossible, considering the amount of gel he puts in it could give both Donna and I a run for our money.

"Yeah, whatever," I replied, wiping my gel-covered hand on his black tee. I had been attempting to smack him in the head for playing the same exact thing for the past half hour, and not even sitting in a closet for it; just sitting on the edge of his bed in the corner of the room, playing and playing.

And of course, all of the gel in his hair, and the fact that he can be more thick-headed than Jeff at times prevented me from getting in a decent smack.

"That tune is driving me insane!" I shrieked right into his pierced ear. He didn't even flinch, but turned to look at me, his right eye twitching the slightest bit.

"Do that again, Kally," he said, and I couldn't help but make a face. "I think I still have some hearing left in this ear."

"Oh darn," I replied. "See, I was hoping I wouldn't make you deaf; just make you realize how crazy you're driving me, is all."

"Nice try."

"Can't you at least play that in the closet? So I may get just a little relief to my burning eardrums?"

"No."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're a pain in the ass."

"I know."

A man of very few words; that was my brother.

I finally gave up, just throwing my arms in the air and grabbing my platform boots before stomping down the stairs and yelling to whoever happened to be around that I was going over Donna's. Eric, who had brought his Torchic inside to try and teach it to thaw food with its Ember attack, nodded to me while he was talking to the confused lil' fire Pokemon.

Sweet. I wouldn't be locked out of the house today.

---

"You shouldn't yell at him for constantly playing that thing," Donna said, sketching an outline of what looked like a really fat Eevee onto a canvas. "Hey, you never know, he might actually be famous one day."

I snorted—not very smart, considering I was laying facedown on Donna's futon couch, so I inhaled a lot of dust instead of sounding like Swinub. "Riiiight. Dude, he doesn't even have a band together. And I doubt he can sing for crap."

"Ever hear him sing?"

"Not recently."

"Well, there you go. How does this look?" She pointed at the canvas with a black painted fingernail.

"Is that Eevee pregnant or something?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "It's a Pikachu."

"Then it looks perfect."

"You bitch!" she growled, but still smiling, and threw one of her broken pencils at me. I ducked, and it stabbed the wall, leaving a slight mark.

"Tell me something I don't know," I said, picking at my shirt sleeve. Unconsciously, I started humming the song Chase had been driving me insane with. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I smacked myself in the forehead and banged my head against the wall.

"Aw, c'mon, it can't be that bad," Donna said, going back to her sketch. I looked up, and saw she had that look in eye whenever she really gets into an art project. She had that look while she was doing my tattoo, and it usually meant she was off to la-la land. I had been noticing (though he tried to hide it) that Chase got the same look when he was playing his guitar. I've seen Jeff be that happy when he was surfing; Eric, training his Torchic; and David when he was organizing Pokemon statistics.

Wow, I couldn't help but think as I continued to watch Donna draw. How pathetic. I was the only one in my family that didn't have a talent. I didn't really get gooey-eyed or happy about much of anything.

It's all Ma's fault, for not letting me see the world. Yeah, let's blame it on her.

I stared at Donna, in all of her drawing glory. "You know what...I think I'm gonna go," I said, already leaping off the bed and out of the room. Donna's head barely bobbed up and down as I left for home, not really wanting to go to school the next day. Damn conformists.

---

"Oh geez, Kalista," Ma sighed as I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a killer bowl of plain cornflakes. The overly-sugary ones were for the boys. "Must you dress like that? Honestly, I'll be grateful to the day that school of yours makes you wear uniforms."

I shuddered. "Ma, please, don't scare me so early in the morning." I drowned the flakes in milk, prepared to snarf them down.

Jeff walked into the room, looking bleary-eyed. "Oh, well look, if it isn't the Queen of the Undead," he slurred, yanking the fridge open.

"At least I'm not the one screwing Debbie," I shot back, slamming my bowl on the table.

Ma raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Jeff's eyes widened, but then he glared at me. I smiled innocently, and dug into my cereal. Chase came in the kitchen, his hands shoved into the pockets of his baggy black pants, while Ma was busy yelling at the Pretty Boy.

"She finally found out?" he muttered, going for the cereal and getting the most sugar-coated one there was. Blech.

"Yeah," I snorted. "But I mean, come on. She was going to find out anyway. Who goes to the library three times a week to 'study' and manages to flunk their classes?"

Chase didn't reply, but shoved an enormous spoonful of sugar into his mouth. His hair still looked wet from the gel he used to overly spike it. He seemed to go into a trance and was staring at something above my left Meowth ear.

"What?" I asked, even though I should know better than to talk to Chase when he got all spacey. Which had been happening an awful lot lately. Weirdo.

I rolled my blue eye and shoveled in the last bit of cornflakes just as David walked in for breakfast, and I let out a huge buuuuuuuuuurp.

David made a face. "Honestly, Kalista. That is quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever heard."

"Yeah," Jeff agreed, over his shoulder as Ma paused in her lecturing. "Why can't you be a girl like the rest of the female population?"

"Like your precious Debbie?" I muttered. Jeff opened his mouth to yell at me, but Ma beat him—only to yell at him instead. Heh, heh. And who says hiding under bleachers doesn't pay off?

"But really," David continued, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You're a female. So act like it."

"Hey, I'm surrounded by all you dudes twenty-four seven," I countered. "And you expect me to act girly? Fat chance."

David just shook his head and bit into his breakfast, burnt toast. I finished my food and dumped the bowl into the sink, proceeding to find my stuff for the day.

School. I just couldn't wait.

Not.

---

I honestly don't see the point of classes beyond sixth grade. It was just so pointless. The whole freaking Hoenn region knows that Fire is strong against Grass-types, Electricity kicks Water's butt, and that you should never feed a Pikachu ketchup.

So while the teacher blabbered on and on about the advantages of Dark Pokemon over Psychic ones, I doodled the symbols that made up my tattoo in my notebook. The design was pretty easy to see out of the corner of my eye—I was really flaunting it today, in my black tank top with 'DON'T MESS WITH THE BEST' written on it in silver letters, fishnet 'gloves' that went from my wrist to my elbow, black and red wrist cuffs, a studded red belt, long black pants, and my trusty boots.

I loooove not having a dress code.

I suddenly winced as someone—that someone being Donna—poked me in the right arm with her sharp, pointy nail. I resisted the urge to scream out in pain. After a month, this friggin' tattoo still hurt.

"What?!" I hissed.

"The bell rang, stupid," she said, gathering her books and crap. "You were really zoning out. What's up?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. Just the usual stuff, I guess." I got up, lugging my backpack over my shoulder and heading out the door—but not before literally bumping into someone.

"Hey, watch it!" I growled, gritting my teeth. I immediately stopped though, when I looked up...and up...and saw the same blonde hair, expert makeup, and clothes with a dangerously high percentage of polyester that had told off one of her own kind the other day.

Oops.

"Oh...sorry," I said, not really knowing why I was apologizing. Why I felt that I had to correct my mistake. I mean, it was just a really tall cheerleader. No big deal.

"Not a problem." A secretive little smile appeared on her lips, and she promptly got out of my way. So not like the normal preppy people around here.

Once Stacie was out of earshot, Donna turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Um, what was that all about? Since when do you apologize to anyone for anything?"

The warning bell was already ringing, but I didn't care. Pokemon Social Aspects was next; a total yawn. The teacher could wait.

"You know what, Donna?" I readjusted the load of crap on my back. "I honestly couldn't tell you." The final bell rang, and I left Donna there as I opened the door to PSA class. I looked over my shoulder and gave a little smile. "Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

She rolled her eyes as the door slowly swung shut. "Puh-lease."

---

After another fifty minutes of boredom, complete with doodling in my notebook, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. I usually grab whatever junk they try to serve us that day and save the end corner table for Donna, Chase, and I, but when I got to the cafeteria, I saw Chase (made known by his horrendously spiky head) already sitting at a different table with some other dude, who, I'm surprised I never noticed before—he also had spiky hair, thought not nearly as bad as Chase's, that fell in front of his face and hid his dark blue eyes. He was also dressed completely in black.

Which was weird. The only people who tend to dress like that are Chase, Donna, and I. Everyone else tends to stick to pastels. Or cheerleading uniforms.

I decided to ask him about it later and grabbed my food. I was about to just sit down and snarf the crap, but lo and behold...another dude was in my seat.

Everyone who has half a brain knows to never take my seat. My butt has been in that chair since the day I started that school, and it would be until I actually, for some reason, graduated. NO ONE takes Kalista Merta's seat unless they want to die right then and there.

I glared at the so-called human who's butt was in the place mine normally resides. I recognized him about as well as I did of the person Chase was talking to. Geez, was this transfer-student day or something?

I walked over to my table, my boots clicking with every step. The guy didn't look up. I realized, as I plopped my tray on the tabletop, that he, too, was into the all-black scheme. Only, it seemed...I don't know, like he actually had a reason for wearing it. His hair was black too; and getting kind of long.

'Buddy, you need a haircut,' I thought before attempting to smile and saying, "Hey, dude. You're in my seat."

He looked up, raising a dark eyebrow, a stark contrast to his pale skin. Almost as pale as mine, in fact, and that was saying a lot. His eyes were so dark that almost couldn't tell where the iris was and the pupil began.

"In your seat?" he repeated.

I put a hand on my hip, leaning on the table and staring him down like an Onix would a Skitty. "Yes, mister. Your butt is in my seat, and I would appreciate it if you moved your ass somewhere else before I hurt you."

His eyebrow was raised. "Please, it's Josh. 'Mister' is so formal."

Shit. Another smart ass. And I thought I was the only one my school could handle.

"Fine, Josh." I spat out his name. "I'll be nice. Would you kindly get your ass out of my damn seat before I frigging kill you."

Though everyone in the cafeteria was talking, it felt like it was silent for ages before he smirked and got up, moving exactly one chair over—where Chase usually sits. "I take it this seat is available, your highness?"

What a cocky bastard.

I replied by taking my chair from the table, making a huge show of wiping it off with my napkin, and sitting in it—after I had moved it to the other side.

Josh rested his chin on his fingers, looking at me with his eyebrow still raised. "Is that any way to treat the new kid?"

"Well, you're not the only one who's new," I retorted, stabbing my lunch with a spork.

"Really now. Who else is new?"

"That dude where my brother's sitting." Josh looked confused for a second, and I realized he didn't know who Chase was. Duh.

"Those two Goth-looking guys with the spiky hair," I added. Josh looked and nodded in understanding.

"Andrew? Yeah, I met him briefly in Lavaridge Town. Seems pretty quiet."

"How did you meet him Lavaridge Town?"

"I don't know about him, but I was a trainer. Very briefly, for only about a year and a half. I had the urge to go out and look for something."

I snorted. Bad move; I nearly got peas up my nose. "What sort of thing?"

He didn't answer for about thirty seconds. I looked up from my tray to realize he was staring at me. I made a face, wondering what the hell he was looking at—so I asked him just that.

"Your eyes are very interesting," was his answer. I resisted the urge to throttle him and just gave a half-shrug with my tattooed arm.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Man, I love sarcasm.

He didn't seem to get the hint. Then, in a voice so low that I actually had to lean in to hear it, he said, "They look like they hold a legend."

I blinked and just stared as the bell rang and everyone got up all at once to get to their next class, including Josh himself. I just sat there, stunned, for some reason, until one of the old cafeteria ladies poked me in the arm with a spoon and told me to move it.

I got up and walked down the hall to my next class, replaying the conversation over and over in my head. Why had it bugged me so much?

What a weirdo, that Josh...Josh Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is was.

-----

-evil laugh-

Anyway. Because I love my reviewers!...

Adriel—Wait, I can't have killed you! Because I did, you couldn't review! So...-revives you- Muhahahah!

Kat—O.O Well, let's just say I don't want to DIE...

ZeroChan—Hello, these are my characters we're talking about. They're all dense! XD And it is quite funny. Pompom is a funny word...-sniggers-

Harunohi—Thanks much! :-D

Karania—If you don't know what I'm going to say, that's pretty sad XD

Robin Ryan—Reviews can never be late! After all, you're talking to someone who got reviews two YEARS after she finished a fic! So muhahaha...yay twins. And I'm feeling a lot better about what I was talking to you about; I'm at the stage where I'm just pissed-off-fake-happy and want to throttle whatever comes my way :-D

Hakura0—Darn that school –wink wink- Ha, I could use a soundproof room for at home here...--
And we'll see about those predictions –wink wink-

LoneHowl—Hey, I like bi guys. They're awesome. At least most of the ones at my school are XD But yeah, it's funny because I'm using the typical cheerleader stereotype here, and some people are like, "Oh, the ones at my school aren't like that" and other are, "AHH I CAN SO RELATE!" Weird. O.o

Hazy Aurora—It's quite amusing, let me tell you –evil grin-

-sigh- Okay, I need to write this fic some more. Actually, I put fake nails on my left hand yesterday, and it's kind of annoying type with them...heh, it's funny, one hand is all nice and whatnot, and the other is short and full of pencil dust. XD But then again, it feels like my brain is only on halfway, so it's acceptable. X.X

Anyway! Next update, hopefully before Christmas so I can wish you all a happy holiday. I want to get back into weekly ones, but I've barely had any time to write this, so we'll see how it goes.

Until next time...you must...review!

How did you know I was going to say that? ;D