Chapter Fifteen – Gotta Catch 'Em All
Joshua
A cloud of fog covered White Lake like pale velvet. It stubbornly lingered even this late into the afternoon, transforming the landscape into a ghostly watercolour. The air was chilly, and damp. Moisture beaded in their hair – Eve was crowned with a scattering of silvery drops – mud squidged underfoot with play-doh consistency. Josh could only just make out the far northern shore of the lake through the mists – closer to on the western side of the lake, the dark fringes of the Ilex Deepwoods loomed suspiciously out of the fog.
Cold water dripped off Josh's curls and down the back of his neck. He swung the fishing rod he'd hired onto his shoulder. Suddenly a wail of pain and anguish tore through the silence. It was the cry of some lonely and evil creature, a cry that froze the blood and thrust a dagger into the heart. Blank terror seized him. His heart jolted, trying simultaneously to skip a beat and beat twice as fast.
But then the wail changed into a delighted laugh, and the sudden terror drained away as quickly as it had manifested. Josh spun around – behind him, what appeared to be a disembodied head hovered in mid-air, dark blue with long locks of hair floating in an imaginary breeze. Its large eyes were scarlet with yellow sclerae, with what looked like a string of red pearls hanging around its neck.
The pokémon, whatever it was, was laughing as gleefully as if it had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Then, without warning, it melted away into the fog.
"What the hell was that?" Josh demanded of the world in general.
"Some sort of Ghost-type," Eve said breathlessly. "Quite a scream, huh?" She looked more amused than annoyed, laughing off her own nasty shock. Josh sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose. He reminded himself that it would be worth the cold and damp – and screaming - to be able to tell Dad that he'd made several hundred dollars in one day.
They pitched their tents near to the water's edge, on the driest ground they could find. Josh cast his line into the weedy shallows to the left of their camp, with Screwball waiting patiently by his side. Every now and again it would start to wander off, only to come right back as soon as it was called. If it was disobedience, then it was a weird kind of disobedience. Josh was beginning to think that Screwball simply forgot what it was supposed to be doing every now and again.
Eve's set-up was considerably more sophisticated. She was using her own telescopic rod down by the deeper water to the right of their camp. With the kind of casual preparedness that Josh was coming to expect of Eve, she already had a small selection of lures to choose from. Eve, however, wasn't using a hook. Instead, the end of her line was hung with a proximity sensor and a reduced Net Ball.
While Eve patiently cast and reeled in her lure, Josh was reminded of why he'd never really liked angling. For one thing, he wasn't very good at it. This damn lake seemed to be full of nothing but remoraid. Every time he reeled in a bite there'd be another pistol fish flapping around on the end. There was a familiar tug on the line, and Josh promptly yanked back. Whatever he'd hooked immediately panicked and started thrashing around aimlessly. He reeled it in without much enthusiasm. Oh look. Another remoraid.
"You again! Didn't I hook you an hour ago?"
The remoraid flailed around and made 'Omp! Omp!' noises at him. "Go on, get!" he sighed, sending it back into the lake with a flick of his rod.
"Ha-haaa! Up you come!" Eve whooped from her spot further down the shore, her reel whirling madly. The Net Ball on the end of the line erupted from the water, bouncing and jiggling. The furious pokémon escaped just as Eve managed to swing it ashore. A sleek orangey-brown pokémon landed heavily on the grass, twin-tailed with a wide yellow collar around its neck.
"Bui-bui!" it growled, baring its teeth. Lyra was already airborne and ready to battle, her gauzy wings churning the fog.
"Mach Punch!" Eve commanded.
"Diii-an!" Lyra cried, shooting forwards. The wild buizel stood up on its hind legs and blasted out a Water Gun. Lyra spun round so the Water Gun splashed off her wing cases. She spun back around and changed her attack into an Air Cutter. Her attack lacerated Buizel's belly, throwing it off its feet.
Buizel recovered quickly, dropping down to all fours. It threw itself into a bounding run, building momentum and leaping high into the air. Neither Eve nor Lyra reacted – until Lyra intercepted at the last moment with a stinging Mach Punch, pitching Buizel back down into the mud.
"Al-right, Lyra!" Eve called. "Go Dive Ball!"
Eve made the throw look so easy. The Dive Ball snapped up the buizel, wobbled half-heartedly, and pinged shut.
"Yea-heh-eeah!" Eve crowed. "Payday for little Eve! Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh."
Josh tried to ignore Eve's excessive celebrations, gazing resentfully across the lake. Something was cruising purposefully out there – Josh thought he caught sight of red spines and a smirking mouth. Was that a totodile?
"Right," Josh growled, throwing down his rod. "Come on, Screwball. Let's make a catch our way."
An industrious twenty minutes later, Josh was kneeling behind a handy bush, watching a pile of chicken giblets. Somewhere in that heap of squishy meat was a Net Ball Josh had hidden as a straightforward trap. Hah! To hell with fishing. A good squeeze of raw meat juices into the water should be enough to attract the attention of a passing buizel.
"Right, Screwball. There's a good chance this won't be a straight-up catch, so if this doesn't work -" Josh realised that Screwball was staring off into space. Well, it always stared off into space, but this time it wasn't paying attention.
"Hey. Screwball. Focus," Josh said, rapping it sharply on the head.
"Mag?"
"Right. So if it escapes then you hit it with Thunder Wave, then Thundershock. Repeat it back to me."
"Magnemite. Mag. Mag."
"Right -"
A harrowing wail ripped through the fog, blank terror seized him, his heart skipped a beat –
The mystery Ghost-type was back and screaming happily about two feet away from Josh's ear, rolling its red-and-yellow eyes dramatically. Josh flailed at it with the butt of the Capture Spear, realising a bit too late that there was no point. It just laughed at his fury and embarrassment and faded away.
"Magnemite!" Screwball said urgently. Josh spun round to see what Screwball was looking at and hurriedly ducked behind the bush. A submerged pokémon was heading towards the pile of assorted giblets.
A small crocodilian pokémon emerged from the lake. I knew it was a totodile! It eagerly scuttled up to the trap on all fours. Come on. You know you want to bite it. The totodile let out a croaky cry and happily chomped down. There was a flash of red, and the astonished totodile was sucked into the hidden Net Ball.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Josh crowed, leaping to his feet. "Suck it, Eve!" he yelled down the shore. "Told you it would work – oh, heads up Screwball."
The Net Ball's capture lock failed, releasing the flailing totodile. It caught sight of Screwball and opened its maw wide, displaying rather a lot of teeth. Screwball just stared back. Unperturbed, the totodile kept on trying to intimidate Screwball – that is, until Screwball blasted it with a crackling tangle of Thunder Wave bolts.
Totodile hissed and flailed at the red-and-blue sparks crackling over its scales. It spewed a short blast of Water Gun, hitting Screwball's body dead centre.
"Magnurrr …" it slurred, drifting drunkenly. Totodile leapt teeth-first and bit down triumphantly on one of its magnets. It grumbled and muttered indistinctly, apparently pleased with itself. Come on Screwball, you know what to do!
A long spark snapped lazily off Screwball's body. Josh smiled with satisfaction, just before his magnemite hit totodile with a Thundershock right through the teeth. The totodile dropped into the mud, smoking gently.
Josh smartly stepped forward and jabbed the smouldering totodile with the Capture Spear. The Dive Ball mounted on the end almost immediately pinged shut. Yes! I love these specialist Poké Balls.
"Ha-ha! Flash, snap, ping!" he shouted back to Eve. Even at this distance the fog made her look washed-out and hazy, "Payday for Mr Cook! See Eve, that is why I study!"
The night was cold, and damp. The view across the lake was velvety black. Here and there chinchou-lights glowed with ghostly bioluminescence, beautifully ethereal through the veil of fog. Down by the reeds Eve baited the lines for night fishing, while Josh sat in a pool of firelight, peacefully preparing a chicken with his favourite knife. He roughly spatchcocked it and secured it on newly whittled wooden skewers. After that, he combined salt, pepper, ginger and olive oil in a mug with a bit of lime juice for the seasoning. That mixture he rubbed thoroughly onto the meat before it went over the fire to roast.
It didn't take long for the smell of food to draw Eve back to camp. "What we having?" she asked eagerly.
"Chicken," Josh replied.
"All that extra weight for food? You're a fool, Joshua Cook," Eve teased.
"You'll be eating those words for dessert, Evelina Joy," he replied mildly. "And it wasn't that far to carry."
"We'll see," Eve said. "Can I help?"
"Well you can feed the pokémon and wash up some of the utensils."
By the time their various clamouring pokémon had been fed and returned to their Poké Balls, the chicken was cooked and cooling. Josh chopped it in half and handed Eve her piece. They ate it hot and steaming with chunks of seedy bread, unselfconsciously tearing it apart with their fingers.
"Ready to admit that I'm right yet, Evey?" Josh asked innocently.
Eve gave him an odd look. "Did you just call me a pokémon?"
"What?" Josh said. The words lined themselves up in his head – Evey/Eevee. "Oh. No! Sorry."
"Don't be so quick to say sorry. I didn't say I didn't like it," Eve protested sheepishly.
"What?" Josh repeated. "Since when are you a girly-girl?"
"Hey! I have a feminine side. You just haven't seen much of it yet."
Josh shrugged inwardly. Who am I to argue? "Alright then, Eevee – ready to eat your words yet?"
"No. I haven't finished my chicken."
"Ugh," Josh sighed. "Looks like you're enjoying that. I think I'll take that as an admission."
"Mm-mn, no you won't, 'cause -"
"Too late, Eevee!" Josh cut in. Eve pulled a face at him, and went back to her chicken.
Later, Eve lay back on her sleeping bag, singing to herself. Josh sat in the shelter of his own tent, running an oiled cloth over his knife. It was the same one he'd bought from the steelsmith on Dewford Island. Strictly speaking there was no particular reason to carry this knife over a stainless steel belt knife, but Josh had always loved the simple beauty of his bowie. What a craftsman that man was. None of that Croconaw Dundee rubbish in his bowie knives – the knife Josh had bought was a dignified six inches long. He tilted the blade to catch the firelight. The blade was pattern-welded from a mix of carbon and aron steel – the process had left a pattern of ripples and whorls in the steel.
"I'm on a master quest, I want the whole world to see ..." Eve sang. She had a low, husky singing voice, "Is carrying a weapon a Mulberry Town thing?" she asked, wriggling round onto her stomach.
"Weapon? What, this?" Josh said, aghast. "This isn't a weapon, this is a multi-tool!"
Eve raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok, it's a multi-tool. Want to play a game for a while?"
"I'm not playing 'Never have I ever'. That's asking for trouble," he replied.
"Give me some credit. I've got a pack of cards. Brr. Let me put my hoodie on first, though."
Josh slipped the knife back into its scabbard with a disdainful sigh. A weapon! He discreetly turned his back on the sight of Eve struggling into her hoodie dress. It was irrational, but he didn't really want to be reminded of her tits right now. 'I know what I want this evening.' Josh tried to exile the image from his mind, instead busying himself with rummaging in his backpack.
He stoked up the fire while Eve shuffled the cards. She huddled up as close to the fire as she could without burning herself. "You build a good fire, but I'm still a bit chilly."
"Then you'll be glad that I brought this," Josh said, producing a small bottle. "Blackthorn Spirit, the finest single malt whisky within its price bracket. And a fine way to warm up on a cold night."
"Joshua Cook, are you trying to spoil me?" Eve said with a wink.
"Spoil you, nothing. If I was trying to spoil you I'd have asked you your favourite drink," Josh said. "Now give me your cup."
Eve laughed and threw him her mug. He poured them both a generous measure of whisky, with a splash of water to take the edge off. Eve pushed aside a cluster of assorted Poké Balls to make space for their game.
"The game," Eve announced, "is Crazy Eights."
"Are those tarot cards?" Josh asked. He sipped at his whisky and water, savouring the earthy fire of it, and the lingering smoky aftertaste.
"They're prettier than ordinary cards. Besides, the minor arcana has fifty-two cards in four suits anyway," Eve said, taking a draught of her own drink. "You know, this'd be great with cola."
"What! You can't put cola in -"
Eve started giggling. "That was too easy, Josh. I'm kidding, you boy scout."
The first card was the knight of swords, roaring at the viewer with his sword raised. Josh tutted and played his eight of swords. "Err, coins," he said.
Eve promptly played her six of coins. "So what are you going to do with your money?"
"Hmm. You know, I don't really know. What about you?"
"I'm going to buy a TM. I know just the one: Drain Punch."
"Blast. Out of coins," Josh said. He ended up drawing another nine cards, "So why Drain Punch?"
"Lyra already knows Reflect and Protect. With an Iron Fist-assisted Drain Punch she'll be surprisingly durable," Eve said, playing her eight of cups. "Cups. You should invest in a TM yourself."
The knight of cups looked smugly at Josh from his card. "Hmm. Do you think Screwball would like learning a new move?"
Eve shrugged and played the equally smug queen of cups. "It's your pokémon. What move are you thinking of?"
"Don't know. Something more powerful than Thundershock," he said. Eve took a casual sip of her whisky and water. She played the nine of swords after Josh's queen of swords.
"I've only ever known one other girl to really enjoy whisky without cola," Josh said conversationally.
"Oh, sweetling," Eve said, winking lazily at him. "When will you learn that I'm an exceptional girl?"
By the time they'd started the second round Josh was feeling light-headed and content. Eve was thoroughly tipsy and smiling merrily. "Sinnoh," she said. "Defin'ly want to travel Sinnoh someday. Where d'you want to go? Come on, dream holiday, you can go anywhere."
"Anywhere? Then … Orange Islands. I like to be able to hear the sea," Josh said, remembering the drawn-out crash of waves on the shore.
"I thought you liked the forest?"
"I do. But it's the sea I really love," he said.
"Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls,
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls."
Eve gave him a long, thoughtful look. "You ever wanna confuse my mother, recite that in front of her," she said wryly. "Hey, you should go see Sinnoh too! Those high mountain forests by the fjords. I want to take the train journey there someday."
"I've heard of it. You know that line was one of Brunel's projects -"
A harrowing wail tore apart the quiet of the night. Josh's heart jolted and so did his arm, spraying half his whisky and water into the grass. The mystery Ghost-type appeared in the shadows, gleefully screaming its childish laugh. Its red-and-yellow eyes gleamed brightly in the firelight. Right, that tears it!
Josh searched furiously in the grass, seizing the first Poké Ball he could find and flinging it at the laughing pokémon. It wasn't until he started to throw that he realised how much the whisky was affecting his hand-eye co-ordination. By then it was too late, the Ball had left his hand and was tumbling in the vague direction of the mystery pokémon -
- except, somehow, the Ball struck it on the forehead. The Ball opened in a flash of of red, snapped shut, and fell to the ground, rattling frantically. It bounced into the shadows, the button light flashing fretfully in the dark.
… ping.
They stared at the quiescent Ball. "Huh," Josh said,."I'm not sure I meant to do that."
He got up unsteadily and retrieved the Ball. The top hemisphere was deep pink, with a heart design on the front. "Oh. It was the Love Ball."
"What're you going to do with it?" Eve asked, pouring herself another drink.
"Don't know," Josh said, sitting himself down. "I don't even know what 'it' is."
"Use my Poklédex. I mean Prokédex. Mmn. Gotta pee."
As Eve meandered off into the fog, Josh hunted out her Pokédex. The HANDY912i was about the size of a small notebook, slim, brushed-silver in colour, and well named. It occurred to Josh that he might soon be able to afford one of his own.
"Misdreavus, the Screech Pokémon," it droned. "Misdreavus loves to startle people at night with its screaming. It apparently absorbs fear as nourishment."
That explains why the little bitch kept pestering me. Misdreavus had a respectable moveset – Ominous Wind, Will o' Wisp, Future Sight … maybe I'll keep this one, he thought muzzily.
"You are so lucky to have a cock," Eve declared, reappearing from the fog.
"... is that so?" Josh said, mystified.
"I could piss in any old bush if I had something to aim with."
Josh stared at his friend. Eve was swaying slightly. "Your head's full of Blackthorn Spirit, bud."
"I'm not that drunk. You're drunk, too."
"Yes, yes I am. But you're the one talking about cocks," he said bluntly.
"I'm not as think as you drunk I am," Eve insisted.
"You're as think as I drunk … er," Josh started. He reduced the Love Ball and tossed it into his tent. I'll think about that in the morning.
Josh awoke to a cold morning and a vicious headache. Sour pain pressed down on his skull. His mouth was dry and tasted like he'd been eating PVA glue last night. Something warm and friendly was curled up by his waist, and he patted it vaguely.
"Nuurgh, gerroff," Eve complained. Josh pushed himself to his elbows and refocused – Eve was curled up into a loose ball, cuddling his leg earnestly. Her hair had somehow woven itself into a straw-like thatch during the night. He gingerly lay back down, too headachey to care about Eve tangled round his leg. Why, precisely, did I do this to myself? The events of last night floated through his aching head – it seemed like the stupidest thing he'd done was keep drinking that blasted whisky. Shoving Eve aside, he stumbled out of the tent in search of painkillers.
The painkillers eventually turned up in Eve's backpack. After medicating himself, he brought Eve a mug of water and a few tablets. "Come on, bud," he said gently. "Meds and water."
Eve groaned and made a noise that might have been a curse.
"At least take the painkillers," Josh persisted.
"Nuurgh! Let me die," Eve mumbled.
Josh sighed. He was in no mood for this. "Evelina Joy, if you don't take your medicine, then I'm going to have Magnemite screech in your ear. Now do as you're told."
Eve tried to glare at him. "I hate you."
Josh ignored her and set to improvising breakfast. Something had made off with what was left of the chicken during the night, which was just as well. There were a couple of handfuls of dried pasta in Eve's backpack. Josh sat in thought for a moment. Why did I do this to myself? … ok, let's see what we can find.
Nearly an hour later he'd found more or less what he was looking for – a bunch of wild greens and a handful of fairy ring mushrooms, enough for a makeshift stew. After a while Eve emerged, looking at the food with a mixture of hunger and dismay.
"The pokémon been fed?" she asked.
"Not yet. Screwball's fine and Bulbasaur can graze. Oh … that reminds me."
The captured Misdreavus had found her way onto his belt during the night. He unsnapped the Love Ball from its clasp and stared at it pensively. Misdreavus was, well, she was an interesting pokémon. She was obviously a rare species, since Eve hadn't identified her right away, and between her typing and moveset she would make a useful addition to his team. But even so … there was something about the capture that bothered him. The capture had been a lucky one, really, and that didn't seem fair to Misdreavus.
He made up his mind. "Come on out, Bulbasaur."
Bulbasaur yawned and stretched. [Have fun last night?] he said drily.
"Very amusing. I might need you to translate for me."
[Fine,] Bulbasaur said, lying down in the grass. Josh released Misdreavus from the Ball. She smiled innocently at him, with none of the momentary confusion that Screwball used to show after re-materialising. Josh knelt down in front of her, to get down to a more or less equal level.
"Misdreavus," he said, "I'm giving you a choice. You can go free and become a wild pokémon again, or you can come with me and Bulbasaur."
He placed the Love Ball in the grass between them. Misdreavus looked at it, then at him, and then at Bulbasaur. "Miss?" she said.
[Yes,] said Bulbasaur. Misdreavus drifted over to the idle Love Ball. She blinked at it with her big, childish eyes.
"Misdreavus!" she said, and butted the button, smiling beatifically as she recalled herself. Josh let out a sigh – not of relief, as such, but more of contentment. Misdreavus had chosen to stay, for whatever reason. Something more was needed, though … a name. What to call her? Ah. I know.
"Fionn."
Josh sipped at his stew, wondering vaguely about seasonings. Bulbasaur lay snuggled up close, in the same spot he'd occupied at his side for years.
"Do you think this would benefit from a bit of ginger?" he asked Eve.
Eve gave him a tired look. "It's fine, Josh. Ugh. How can you stand to eat?"
"I'm hungover, too, Eve. Trust me, you'll feel better with some food in you."
There was a soft splash from down by the shore. The silhouette of a pokémon appeared in the fog, vaguely fox-like with a long cetacean tail. It stalked closer, head held low.
"Vaporeon! Vaay," it growled.
"That's unlikely," Eve remarked.
[He's after your breakfast.]
"Go away," Josh warned. "I'm not in the mood."
Vaporeon's head snapped up – it fired a Water Gun right at him. Bulbasaur leapt in front of the spray and took the attack head on. He landed and shook himself dry. [Back off or else!] he barked.
"Hold back there, Bulbasaur," Josh commanded. His head was still throbbing, and he really didn't want to battle, but he wasn't about to let a wild pokémon bully him out of his breakfast either, "Alright Fionn, show me what you can do!"
"MIS-dreavus!" Fionn cried happily as she re-materialised.
"Bulbasaur, I might need your help," Josh said, "Fionn, Ominous Wind!"
"Miss?" Fionn said, looking round as if to say 'Who, me?'.
"Vay!" Vaporeon yipped, blasting out another Water Gun. Fionn casually phased out of the way, giving Vaporeon a look of kitten-like shock.
[Use your Ominous Wind! It's ok, Josh knows what he's doing!]
"Mis? Miss," Fionn said, breathing out a horizontal cyclone shot through with ribbons of ghostly purplish light. The vaporeon shuddered violently as if cold – Fionn laughed and faded away. Damnit! Where the hell did she disappear to? Josh scanned the fog, trying to catch sight of Fionn's floating locks.
Vaporeon switched its attention to Bulbasaur, tensing up for an attack. Fionn reappeared behind it and shrieked, startling Vaporeon so badly that it had to scrabble to keep its footing.
So that's what it looks like happening to someone else. "Good, Ominous Wind, again!"
But Fionn didn't use Ominous Wind – in fact, she didn't seem to do anything. Vaporeon seized its chance, whipping round like a stung cat. A wavering beam of unearthly green light shot from its mouth, bathing Fionn in a strange rippling glow. Fionn screamed in pain and alarm. Aargh, my head, my damn head!
"Fionn, good try! Return," Josh commanded, plucking his pokémon out of harm's way with the recall beam, "Bulbasaur -"
[Battle's on!] Bulbasaur finished. Vaporeon whipped round to face Bulbasaur again, snarling at him. Bulbasaur growled back, a low growl that said he was prepared to finish whatever Vaporeon started.
"Vine Whip," Josh ordered. Bulbasaur lashed out quickly, striking Vaporeon smartly in the face. It retaliated with a full-force Water Gun – Bulbasaur ignored it and aimed a Vine Whip at its legs. Vaporeon changed tactics and tried a Quick Attack.
A cold wind blew from across the lake. Vaporeon sprang over Bulbasaur's scything vine – suddenly, a multi-coloured bolt of lightning struck down from nowhere. Vaporeon howled, haloed by the psychic blast. Josh's mind raced. That's got to have been Future Sight. He snatched up a spare Dive Ball. Ready or not, you will be caught!
His pitch was far from elegant, but the Ball hit Vaporeon on the tail nonetheless. It fought gamely, but ultimately unsuccessfully against the Dive Ball's capture lock.
… ping!
The air was bright and clear, with a pleasantly earthy smell. Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves, the woodland halls were warm and green. Josh leaned back against the young redwood and sighed contentedly. Somewhere nearby a wildwood stream chattered in its stony bed. Eve sat beside him, but otherwise they were alone in the woods.
"Beware the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on shore,
Thy heart shall rest in the forest no more," Eve recited.
"Too late," Josh murmured.
There was a thoughtful pause.
"I've realised something," Eve said quietly.
Josh lazily turned to look at her. "What's that, bud?"
Eve winked at him. "Carpe diem."
She kissed him suddenly and enthusiastically. He found himself kissing her back. Eve ran her fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck, and he took the cue to move his hand to her waist. I can't believe I'm getting away with this. Her tongue slipped into his mouth – he panicked, and pulled away hastily.
"Why'd you stop?" Eve asked petulantly. Josh said nothing, but she somehow understood anyway. "Stop trying to keep up with me. Just let go," she said. She gently but firmly pushed him onto the carpet of leaf litter with a smile that was both desirous and reassuring; this time Josh relaxed and hoped for the best. Before he knew it, his hand found its way under her shirt – she wasn't wearing any underwear. The sound of an alarm clock echoed through the forest like birdsong.
"I want my coffee," Josh said.
He opened his eyes, and surfaced from the dream. For a fleeting moment he wondered where he was. I'm at Len Town Pokémon Centre. It's Wednesday morning. I was at White Lake yesterday. He reached out muzzily and cancelled the alarm. The memory of the dream crystallised in his mind. A fierce blush rose to his cheeks. For some reason he felt acutely guilty, which was irrational because it's not like he actually had felt Eve up. Dreams were surreal, and Josh knew he had no control over them.
That logical train of thought didn't help much.
"Hey lazybones," Eve said, making Josh jump a little. She was already awake and sitting up in the bed opposite, "You ok?" she added, giving him a concerned look.
"Bad dream," he said. "Nothing to worry about."
That was true, after a fashion. Eve didn't have to worry about his dreams – whatever happened in his sleep, Josh wasn't going to let bleed over into the waking world.