Chapter Fourteen – Comfort Zones

Evelina

From: Imogen Joy

Sent: 6 April 2012 21:28:09

To: Evelina Joy

Eve,

Well done! You're one step closer to the Silver Conference! I know you think that Lyra evolving was lucky, but really, you need not think so. I'm surprised that Lyra hadn't evolved yet anyway, it appears that the stress of the Gym Battle was just the push she needed. Still, to defeat a scyther right after evolving, that is quite a feat! It just goes to show that you're a great trainer.

Eve, darling, when were you going to tell me about your new friend? You know I'm not going to go reporting to your mother. I'm glad that you have someone to hang out with on your travels. He seems quite taken with you – did you know he told your mum off this morning? She called him at Arborville to talk to him for herself … well, long story short she told him to behave himself. He didn't like that. Told her that you would be safe with him as a matter of honour, and that he wouldn't answer to her.

In any case, Eve, if you trust him then so do I. And just remember, we all support you. Joys look after each other, and that's that. Mail me back, I'm sure you have some stories to tell!

Eve clenched her fists tightly and relaxed them again. Don't go spare. Get his side of the story. Then go spare. It was hard enough to get away from family squabbles without her friend participating in them. Josh ought to consider himself lucky that she wasn't as angry as her mum must be. Eve scanned the common room, spotting Josh reading the bulletin board at the front of the Pokémon Centre.

"Joshua Cook!" she yelled. Josh took one look at the look on her face, and immediately looked for an escape route.

"Don't!" Eve commanded. "Did you talk to my mum on Friday?"

"Well, yes, but she called me. Er. You could say it was a rather frosty conversation -"

"Do you have any idea how angry she is?"

"Ok, so I'll admit I was a bit antagonistic. I'm sorry, but I get defensive when my honour's questioned."

"Are you kidding? I couldn't be happier that you pissed off Queen Bee!"

"Then why are you shouting at me?" Josh said, exasperated.

"Because. Because you should have told me," Eve said. She subsided, with some effort, "I need to be able to trust you, Josh. And that means -"

"No, no, you're right. It was thoughtless of me."

Why are you trying to fight with him?

"It's not your fault," she sighed. "You weren't to know. It's just … sodding family games," she sighed again. "What were you reading?"

"Apparently people are willing to pay good money for pokémon."

Most Pokémon Centres had a classified ads board. This one was covered with requests for pokémon caught at White Lake. Fifty dollars for an Infiltrator zubat, seventy for a chinchou … a hundred for a vaporeon. A hundred and fifty for a buizel?

"Real good money," Eve mused. "There are buizel at White Lake?"

"A small population. The only permanent buizel population outside Sinnoh, as it happens," Josh said. "I was curious," he added.

"You trainers wouldn't happen to be interested in my ad, now would you?" somebody said in a smooth baritone. The voice belonged to a middle-aged fellow, quite handsome in that distinguished way middle-aged men sometimes were. He looked like an advert for one of the better class of clothes chain.

"I'm seeking a trainer who can catch a buizel. For my daughter's birthday."

"Oh, we're just brows – mmph!" Josh started.

"Oh dear, is that my hand clamped over your mouth?" Eve said innocently. "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

Eve dragged him, protesting indistinctly, out of earshot. "Mon-ey," she intoned.

"I recognise that smug face! That's the Right "Honourable" Timothy Fitzroy MP!" Josh fumed sotto voce. "Last year he paid for the mortgage on his second house with taxpayer's money then sold it for a profit! He can catch his own damn buizel."

"So he's rich and arrogant and has a flimsy idea of the value of a dollar?"

"Yes!"

"So it would be quite easy for a working-class boy to chisel him out of a couple hundred dollars?"

Eve smiled to herself, imagining the cogs spinning in Josh's head. An iniquitous little grin spread slowly across his face.

"Two chisels are better than one?" he said.

"Let's do it," Eve agreed.

Fitzroy was watching with an air of paternal amusement. Josh is right, he does look smug.

"We'll catch that buizel," she said. "But we'll need three hundred dollars."

"That's twice the price my assistant set," Fitzroy replied with an indulgent laugh. "How about two hundred, because I like your enterprise."

"Two fifty. Plus daily expenses," she insisted.

"I can't pay expenses," said Fitzroy. "It's only a few days until her birthday."

"Are you suggesting that I would drag my heels in order to claim more expenses, sir?" Eve said sweetly. "Because that would be dishonest. You're not accusing a Joy of being dishonest, are you?"

"No, no," Fitzroy said hastily, with a sideways glance at the other trainers in the Centre, "I was emphasising the short-term nature of -"

"Two fifty, and you supply the Poké Balls," Josh broke in. "Six. Three Net Balls, three Dive Balls."

"Six Poké Balls to catch one pokémon," Fitzroy said doubtfully.

"Doesn't look like many trainers are heading up to White Lake," Josh said conversationally.

"I remember when my daddy gave me my little Meowth," Eve said dreamily. "Best birthday ever."

"Alright! I'll agree to those terms," Fitzroy relented. "I'll have my assistant bring round the Poké Balls."

Eve and Josh smirked at each other as Fitzroy left. As soon as he was out of sight they simultaneously whooped and high-fived.

"You are so evil!" Eve laughed.

"Me!" Josh cried in mock outrage. "You caught your Meowth in an alley, you liar!"

"Scoundrel!"

"Grifter!"

Laughing and accusing one another of villainy, they headed to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee while they waited for Fitzroy's assistant. There was an empty table by the window, looking out onto Len Town high street. Rather a lot of people here owned Psychic-type pokémon, for some reason.

"Hold on a moment," Josh said as soon as he sat down. "White Lake is a free catch zone, isn't it?"

"I think so," Eve said uncertainly.

"Blast. I'd better go and check. Last thing I need is for Dad to find out I've been arrested for pokémon poaching."

Eve smiled faintly as Josh ambled off, grumbling to himself. She wondered vaguely whether she should offer to patch up his jacket – it was already looking a bit threadbare, but now there were three long tears in the fabric from where Ninetales had raked him. Ninetales!

"Don't you want to see what's under my jacket?"

"What about Maisie?"

Damn that fox. Eve had been so glad to be finally out of the Deepwoods that she hadn't really thought about the incident until her head hit the pillow that night. She couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if Josh hadn't seen through Ninetales' illusion. What if he'd been harbouring a crush on her since Azalea Town? She could be accidentally leading him on, and that wouldn't be fair. Damnit. She liked being able to hang out in pyjamas! That would be first to go, Eve thought ruefully.

What Eve really wanted to do was to ignore the whole issue in the hope that it would somehow resolve itself. But that was damn silly, and Joys aren't damn silly. Doing nothing changes nothing.

"One buizel per trainer, otherwise free catch zone," Josh said, startling Eve out of her reverie. "Everything ok?"

You can't put it off forever.

"Um, Josh … can we talk? For a while?"

"Of course, bud. What's up?"

Eve took a deep breath. "About yesterday. When Maisie was, pretending to be me you didn't exactly … say no."

Josh couldn't meet her eyes, and just stared at the tabletop. Eve you idiot! What did you ask him that for?

"Bear with me. These thoughts are complicated," he said, after about a century. "I was thinking so many things. Part of me wanted to run. I might have done just that but … a stronger part of me didn't want to hurt your feelings. And then a small part of me was saying 'Go for it!'. I didn't know what to do. It was all very sudden, and all those provocative little comments just … well, they just made me very nervous."

"Oh," Eve said. Ohmigosh he's talking and I didn't screw everything up! "That's actually kinda sweet. Complicated, but sweet. Did I really make you that nervous?"

"I'm not used to this sort of thing, Eve."

Wait a minute. Nervous, not used to sexy talk, wanted to run away. Two plus two makes four. "You haven't done it before, have you?" she said quietly. Josh hesitated, as if reluctant to answer, "I'm not going to make fun of you," Eve added.

"… no. No, I haven't. It doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that other people think I should be bothered by it."

"I don't think it should bother you," Eve said. Josh gave her an appreciative half-smile.

"Um, sweetling? You haven't really answered my question. I saw you looking," she said pointedly.

"Eve, I'm so sorry about that, I mean I didn't realise it was you and -"

"Josh, Josh, Josh," Eve cut in. "I'm not angry with you. I just want to know how you feel about me."

Josh paused to think again before he answered. "Eve, I need you to believe me when I say I honestly haven't been stealing glances at you. Yeah, I find you attractive. But I find you attractive because you're so confident and passionate, you know? So when you were apparently in front of me with your top unzipped I, I couldn't help but …" he trailed off, blushing fiercely. "Now I've had space to think, I know I want to be near you. As your friend."

Eve laughed with relief. "That's great!" she said, and meant it. "That's really great."

Josh drummed his fingers on the plastic tabletop. "I didn't see a lot, you know," he said shyly. "Just a bit of cleavage."

"I suppose I should consider it a compliment that you couldn't resist taking a peek," Eve joked, winking roguishly at him.

"You shut up, you," he chided, but he was half-smiling at her anyway. "We're ok, right?"

"Yeah," Eve said as encouragingly as she could. "I'm not blaming you. Frankly I'd rather that damn Ninetales hadn't flashed you, but you've never made me feel objectified. I know you're not staring at my butt every time I turn my back on you. And if you want us to be even then you can lose the jumper and show me those pecs."

"Alright, I know a wind up when I hear it! Get your Pokédex out, we've got captures to plan."

Eve giggled and slid her Pokédex across the table. She felt oddly tired, like she'd run a mental mile. But it was the content feeling in her chest she noticed the most, and hadn't felt for a long time.