Hello, if you're still here with me, I am very grateful. I do hope you like the story. Anyway, for those who need a recap, last chapter, Cara survived the night and explored Verdanturf with Ronnie. After very awkward incidents, a weird jewelry shop attendant, Cara and Ronnie got together in the most dramatic fashion possible. And oh, Dawn and Mirabell seemed to have become best friends. Now, enough rambling and onwards to Mauville City! Oh, there are some kissing involve so if you are under 16 close your eyes and skip that paragraph.

The next day, we decided to move on from Verdanturf Town, as there was nothing much to do. I was also eager to return home. I haven't been home for 3 months! Thankfully, Route 117 was much shorter than Route 116 and the Rusturf tunnel. It was more pleasant too, filled with gardens with small ponds and nice smelling flowers of every colour imaginable. The journey was much quicker; finishing in 3 days despite the fact that Ronnie and I walked at a leisurely pace. Nothing interesting happened unless you count the fact that Neo came out of his Pokeball, saw my hand in Ronnie's, and gave me a snigger. Afterwards, he discovered that Enyo loved to race, and the pair became unstoppable. They often sprinted (or flew) so far in front, leaving us in the dust that we had to haul ass.

We reached Mauville in mid afternoon. The sun beat down on us mercilessly as we wound our way through the busy city. Her hand was entwined with mine. Occasionally, her thumb stroke over the back of mine, and my heart gave a little flutter. I still can't believe that she liked me. Reaching the gym, I heave a sigh of relief when we entered the cool air conditioning. My shirt was plastered to my back, and I don't know how Ronnie was not melting in her jacket. Maybe it reflects heat. I have to steal it sometime.

'The next available appointment is in 3 days, is that ok?' The young assistant (Jordan) inquired.

'Uhh, can you make it two weeks later?' I asked.

'Two weeks?' Ronnie seemed surprised.

'Yeah, I need to train!"

'Well, not that I don't want to stay in your room, but I've seen you train, babe. You're more than ready.'

'Babe?' I demanded.

'Yes? Or something else?' Her eyes held the question.

'Better than hot stuff and dumb dumb,' I shrugged.

'Err, I'm sorry,' Jordan seemed awkward, pushing up his specs. 'When should I put your appointment?'

I glanced at Ronnie. Her eyes were steady, urging me to take the appointment in 3 days.

'A week later?' I compromised.

Ronnie sighed, but didn't say anything. I took that as a yes and told Jordan so.

Later, I lead her down to the suburb where I was staying. Ronnie hesitated at the entrance.

'What's up?' I tugged on her hand.

'It's just, I never imagined I'll be meeting your parents so fast.' She admitted.

'Oh you'll be fine,' I lead her into the house, closing the gate behind me.

I caught a glimpse of Dexter and Cleo in the yard. They must have been back from Ben's lab. They also tend to wander out of the house if we don't close the gate. Ah, I know what you must be thinking. My brother, already pursuing his PhD, is still living with our parents? Well, there is not a lot of land in Hoenn. And then there's the fact that Ben will need a large house with lots of space for his Pokemon. It was not good to keep Pokemons in their Pokeball for too long. But either way, it was easier to stay with our parents, where our backyard had plenty of space for all our Pokemons.

I barely managed to get halfway to the house when I was lifted off the ground.

'Trainer's little human!' Bullet exclaimed, then looked at Ronnie. 'Little human's friend?'

It was so unfair how he doesn't refer to Ronnie as little. And I wasn't short! 'Uhh, yes.' I panicked a little. What do I call her? Friend? Girlfriend? Dating? We haven't really DTR-ed.

'Friend!' It didn't matter to Bullet, who picked her up in a crushing hug all the same.

'Bullet!' Ben called. 'Damnit it, stop assaulting people!'

'Are you ok?' Ben asked, once Bullet set Ronnie down.

'Yes,' Ronnie straighten her jacket. Nothing ever seem to faze her.

'Come in then,' Ben grinned., turning to me. 'So are you going to introduce her?'

'Ronnie, Ben. Ben, Ronnie,' I gestured as we stepped into the house. 'She's my friend.'

'Friend?' One of Ben's eyebrow disappeared up into the mess of tousled blonde hair. 'Ah. This is the girl in room.'

'CARA HAS A GIRL IN HER ROOM?' Dad bellowed from the sofa, looking up from his newspaper.

'Dad!' My cheeks flamed. 'Not like that!'

Well, not like that when Ben knew. I slid a glance at her and was slightly glad that she had a slightly mortified look on her face. Ah, she can be embarrassed.

'Dad, mum. This is Ronnie,' I held her hand and pulled her a little closer to me. 'We're dating. We're also travelling together. Can she stay here while I wait for my gym battle?'

'Of course, dear,' Mum said immediately, her mother mode turning on. 'Come, you must be exhausted!'

Dad didn't answer immediately. His eyes first landed on my face, then travelled to our interlaced hands, then to Ronnie. Finally done with his assessment, he wagged his finger at us. 'Ok, she can stay. But no funny business.'

'Of course she can stay!' Mum whack Dad with the spatula in her hand. 'Go up to your room and get a bit of rest! I'll call you when dinner is ready.'

'No, sir,' Ronnie promised Dad as I ushered her upstairs.

Oh Ronnie, how chivalrous. I shut the door behind me and realized Mum must have cleaned my room after I left for training. I was so glad Ronnie didn't have to see how messy my room was. Not that I was messy, it was just that Lexy had been a little rascal before I left.

'Wow,' Ronnie said, her eyes on my stuffed Houndour.

Embarrassed, I pulled Oreo off my bed.

'No,' She said, reading my face correctly. 'It's just that I have the same one.'

'Are you serious?' She didn't seem to hear me, or most likely, she ignored my question.

'Let's go and shower,' I suggested.

'I promised your dad no funny business,' She smirked.

'Oh Arceus,' I slapped her arm. 'You have a one-track mind.'

'You said it, not me.' Was her response as she went for a shower.

When I entered the room after my shower, she was reading a book that was not meant for kids. 'Wow, I didn't know you read. You're a nerd!'

'Yes,' I said defensively, snatching the book out of her hands.

'I like nerds,' She said, and suddenly, the book I was trying to hide didn't seem so bad.

But ugh, of all the books to pull off the shelf.

'I'm sorry about what happened downstairs,' I bit my lips, returning the book to its original place.

'What about?' She asked, continuing her exploration of my room.

'I…' I sat down on my bed. 'I don't know if we're dating or what so I just y'know blurt out whatever. Because you know Dad knows something is up. He always does. It's totally ok if you're not fine with that or –'

'Cupcake,' She cut off my ramble, pausing the exploration of my room to hold my face in her hands. 'It's fine. We are dating.' She emphasized on the word 'are'.

Her steady gaze held mine as the corners of my mouth lifted up.

'Cupcake?' I asked

'No?'

'No,' I pressed my mouth against hers.

'This seems like a yes to me,' She said in between kisses.

We started out slow, but it quickly turned sizzling, the gentleness giving way to want. She pushed me back onto my bed and climbing on after me. She pressed a kiss on my lips, her legs on either side of me and her weight feeling oh so amazing. Each of her kiss seem to suck away my body's will to remain solid.

'Wait,' She sucked in a deep breath and she tore herself away from my face, her chest heaving. 'No funny business.'

'Oops,' I smiled as I brought her face down.

My teeth grazed her bottom lips, causing her to make a pleased sound. Her hand slid under my shirt, tracing a fiery path to the edge of my bra, causing me to open my mouth with a sharp exhale. She took the opportunity to slip her tongue in. Oh my. Thoughts flew out of the window with each stroke of her tongue against mine. After a long while. I think it was long; time seemed meaningless. She moved to trace my jawline, then to my neck. When her mouth traced over that spot, the one that send fiery signals down my body, my hand clenched on her butt. She smiled, giving that spot a soft kiss, then a lick.

'CARA!' Ben shouted, his footsteps sounding on the stairs.

We flew apart at his voice. I tried to comb through my hair that was a mess. Out of the corner of my eyes, Ronnie seemed flustered, which was a first. She patted down her hair and straighten her clothes. She shifted uncomfortably, crossing her leg. I smirked at her, which disappeared as Ben opened the door. He took in the rumpled sheets, then my face and Ronnie's, whose lips were slightly swollen, cheeks flushed. I was sure mine was the same. I blushed.

'Shall we implement the knickers on doorknob policy?' Ben's grinned widen. 'Come down whenever you guys are erm, done. Dinner's ready. Oooo if Dad finds out he's going to make you sleep in Ariel's room.'

At this, Ronnie briefly raised her eyebrow, though Ben didn't see. After he left, I quickly brushed through my hair and splashed water on my face. We must have convinced Dad at dinner, because he didn't send me to Ariel's room. Ben kept sneaking smirks at me, wiggling his eyebrows. I was so glad Neo was out in the backyard with everyone else, eating their dinner outside, or he would have been smirking and sniggering beside Ben.

'So,' Ben tapped the sink as he watched me do the dishes. 'Is this for real or?'

'I don't know, we just started dating. Do NOT' I pointed a soapy spoon at him. 'intimidate her.'

'But I'm your brother! It's my job!' He looks affronted.

'Benjamin!' I threw a sponge at him.

'We'll see,' He dodged the sponge, laughing ominously as he exited the kitchen.

Ben did not intimidate Ronnie. Instead, he challenged Ronnie to a one on one battle. Ok I guess in a way that was trying to intimidate her, but Ronnie accepted the challenge without batting an eyelash (She has very nice eyelashes). So here we are, in my backyard, our Pokemons sitting silently at the side, staring at Ben and Ronnie. The intensity between them was so strong it was almost tangible.

'Guys, I'm supposed to be training,' I made a last ditch effort to dissuade this match.

And it was true. They were taking up all my training space. Lexy hopped on the spot next to me (actually he kind of looked like a very slow bouncing ball). Neo was regulated to sitting on the tree, watching with interest with Estelle. Dawn was sitting on the floor, paws crossed.

'I'm going to use Bullet,' Ben told Ronnie, ignoring me.

'Mirabell,' Ronnie called, her half smile showing confidence. Also ignoring me.

Mirabell? As far as I know none of Mirabell's attacks are effective against Bullet. And Ronnie's too smart to be fooled by Bullet's demeanor outside of battle. What was she playing at?

'Ronnie what –'

'You can have the first move,' Ronnie called Ben, still ignoring me.

Obviously, they were just too Tepig-headed. I sat on the ground next to Dawn with a sigh.

'Bullet, Rock Slide,' Ben had a smirk on his face. He clearly thought Ronnie incompetent.

Bullet raised his arms into the air, conjuring huge slabs of rocks that floated in the air. Once Bullet moved, Ronnie gave her command.

'Mira, Aurora Beam on the ground,' Ronnie seemed unconcerned.

While Bullet was busy summoning rocks, Mirabell darted around the backyard, freezing it solid, all the while moving towards Bullet, causing the summoned rocks to float over as well. When the rocks dropped, she darted out.

'Mirabell, Aurora Beam again, then Ice Shard.' Ronnie ordered.

The rocks shattered around Bullet. The resulting shards were frozen solid by Mirabell's Aurora Beam, then the Ice Shards that Mirabell threw towards Bullet collided with them. The force of the move caused a shower of Ice Shards, large ice frozen rocks, and chunks of rocks to pelt Bullet. The force of the combined effect caused Bullet to staggered back, bellowing in pain. It was a variation of what I did with Neo and Pauline's Geodude. But the move was executed so seamlessly, with so much power, that it was beautiful to watch. And devasting to Bullet too, I could see deep cuts littering his entire body. Standing in between Ben and Ronnie, I could hear both their commands. But there was no way Ronnie could have known Bullet was going to use Rock Slide. It was a testament to how good Ronnie was, thinking on her feet and reacting to the battle situation. I felt a surge of pride watching her battle.

'Bullet, Iron Head.,' Ben's face was serious now.

However, Ben forgot that the rest of the field was still frozen solid. Bullet was only 2 steps into his charge when he slipped, crashing painfully onto the icy ground, shattering it.

'Moonblast,' Ronnie called.

Mirabell stood still, her tails flaring as she gathered energy from the moon. As Bullet resume his charge, he was hit in the face with a blast of energy, which only seemed to make him angrier. Mirabell jumped away in an attempt to dodge, but Aggron's Iron Head managed to hit Mirabell's hind legs and tail. She crashed into a pile of mud and slush. Mirabell got up with a screeched of fury laced with pain, whipping her tail behind her as she turned to face Aggron. Right, she hated her fur to get dirty.

'Extrasensory,'

'Earthquake!'

Extrasensory? That wouldn't have an effect on Bullet. Bullet was enveloped in a bright, multicoloured light as he unleashed Earthquake.

'Mira, Ice Shard. As big as you can make them.'

Mirabell created five huge chunk of Ice Shards and scattered haphazardly around the field, still floating in the air. She leaped onto the first one just as Bullet's Earthquake shook the entire ground, shattering the remaining ice covering the ground.

'Mira, Extrasensory, then Aurora Beam.'

Mirabell let out another multicoloured energy that blanketed Bullet, and, I realized with a jolt, blinding him. She deftly leaped from one shard to another, traversing the battlefield with elegant movements that almost look like she was dancing. Mirabell was captivating to watch on the battlefield. She let out a beam of icy energy that hit Bullet directly on the back of its head. Bullet finally went down with a groan. I felt my jaw dropped and quickly snapped it back up before anyone could notice and said I was drooling. But damn, Bullet didn't stand a chance at all. Ronnie was as strong as the Champion, or even stronger, seeing as Mirabell was her newest Pokemon. Why didn't she challenge the Elite Four?

She gave me a wink, before picking up Mirabell, who squirmed in her hands, trying to lick the mud off its fur.

'Good battle,' She told Ben, who was staring at Bullet, open mouthed. 'Sorry, I'll have to wash Mirabell now, or she'll be in such a huff. I'll train with you later.' She directed the last sentence at me.

'Are you ok?' I approached Ben. 'Is your manly pride or whatever still intact?'

'But…' He checked on Bullet, who was starting to stir. 'You didn't tell me she was so good!'

'I told you not to intimidate her!' I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. OF course, Ronnie can stand up for herself. That's my girl.

'But I am your brother! I have to test her. Couldn't you pick a tamer one who I can terrorize?' He was joking, but I could tell he was still slightly upset he was beaten so easily. After all, he had 8 badges.

'Ah, where would the fun be in that?' I patted his shoulders. Sensing that he was still down, I gave in and told him about Ronnie's gym record. 'Now, are you going to help your little sister train, or what?' I strode off to gather my Pokemons, leaving him to gape in shock.