Getting Down on Friday: Part Two

Anika was excited to see the B that Esther had gotten on her first daily assignment. Esther's reaction when she stopped by with her friend, Loki, to show her after school made everything that much better. Anika enjoyed helping people, but the main thing that had held her back in the past was her crippling shyness. She had grown more confident in the past year due to her experiences, both good and bad.

"Thank you again," Esther told her. "This is probably the highest grade I've gotten on a daily assignment since...well ever."

"I still haven't gotten a grade that high on a daily assignment..." Loki lamented.

"Keep up the good work, Esther," Anika replied. "Pretty soon you'll have A's."

"I'll definitely keep trying as hard as I can," Esther said. "Loki, are you ready to go to the movies?"

"Yep, let's hit it!" Loki said.

Esther headed out first and Loki started after her, only to suddenly stop and turn back towards Anika. She did not know much about the younger boy other than he was on the battling team and Esther's best friend. She often overheard a few of the older girls remarking upon his good looks and even she had to admit that they were definitely not exaggerating.

"Listen..." he started. "I...uh...wanted to say thanks. It's been a long time since I've seen Esther this happy. I know we don't really know you all that well, but if you see us around at school or anywhere else, don't be a stranger."

Anika gave him a slight smile and nod as he exited out the front door. Fortunately for Anika, most people that she had interacted with over the past year were nicer than the likes of Craig or even Nat, so becoming more sociable had been easier than she had imagined. Griff himself was actually quite well-known throughout the school and would probably be even more popular if they did not have the 'hillbilly' stigma attached to them. Even though she believed that his actions were beyond foolish, he was only defending himself from Craig's insults. Anika had to constantly remember that not everyone could simply ignore the bullying like she could.

"Hey..." she greeted to her brother as she entered the room. "I stopped by to see if you were hungry or anything? Mom and Dad already said that you'll be off punishment on Monday, so it's just one weekend."

"Nah, I'll pass," Griff answered. "I reckon a suspension in your last year of school looks pretty bad on a college application, huh?"

"Listen, Griff," Anika began. "Craig is a massive jerk and I definitely would not be against anyone defending themselves against him. He only messes with you though because he knows he can get underneath your skin. Ignore him if you can and you'll take away all of his power. You can choose to listen to me or not, but I'm just letting you know right now that I'm not going to involve myself in anymore of your drama. I know you're just looking out for me, but I can take care of myself."

She did not want to sound too harsh. After all, she appreciated her brother for everything he had done for her. The look on his face told her that she had managed to get through his thick skull and that he understood what she was saying. Anika decided to leave Griff to his thoughts as she made her way back to the living room. Theseus, her recently evolved Kirlia, had placed himself by the television and was eagerly awaiting her return.

"Is it on yet?" she asked curiously to which Theseus nodded. "I guess I'm just in time."

Anika grabbed the pen and paper on the table as she took a seat on the sofa. After attending a few of the battle games at school over the past year and a half, Anika had developed an interest in battling. If it had not been for the drama with Nat and her general reclusive nature, she would have considered trying out for the team. She would have another chance next year and was determined to go for it.

"Welcome to Trainer House LIVE! I'm your handsome host, Jared Locke, and we have an exciting show for you tonight!"

Most people did not take notes while watching their favorite television shows, but Anika was an exception. She observed every technique used during the battles and wrote down anything that might be helpful for her in the future. What Anika also found interesting was the fact that several of the battlers reminded her of her classmates. The arrogant, pretty-boy host was a mixture of Johnny, Nat, and Felicity with a dash of Tyler since the host did have noticeable redeeming qualities. The hippie trainer had Amelie's activist nature along with Lyndon's personality while the fortuneteller was a dead ringer for her old acquaintance, Lizzy Haze. Lastly, the most powerful trainer on the show was essentially Craig incarnate with his bad boy personality, although he was not a bully and was vastly less irritating than Craig. The sound of the doorbell ringing brought Anika back to reality.

"Huh?" she said as she glanced at Theseus. "Who could that be?"

Anika walked over to the front door and was surprised when she saw who was standing there. The thin girl's brown hair and hazel eyes were normal, but her clothes seemed to consist of odd fabrics sewn together. That immediately clued Anika into who she was, but it was still hard to believe.

"It's really me, Anika," the girl told her with a warm smile. "It's been a long time."

Anika did not know how to react. Although they had not been extremely close in the past, she did consider the girl a friend. They weren't in the 'inner circle' with the boys like Amelie, Jennifer, Laila, or even Felicity were, so Anika thought she found a kindred spirit. Still, the girl at the door had a lot of explaining to do before Anika engaged her fully.

"Lizzy...Haze..." Anika greeted coolly.

"May I come in?" Lizzy asked.

"Only if you feel like answering some questions because I have a lot of them," Anika told her clearly. "Come in..."

The entire week leading up to the Night Slash concert had been a large hurdle for Ace and Amy to overcome. The main concern was the fact that the band would be performing their entire set. Ace did not have a curfew on the weekends, but Amy did and they did not know how long the band would be performing past her curfew. Timing and luck would have to be on their side if they wanted to stay for the entire performance and get Amy home on time.

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Amy assured her boyfriend. "Let's just have fun."

"I guess you're right..." Ace replied.

The sun had gone down completely by the time Ace and Amy had arrived at the concert. People were quickly filing in and the couple made sure to find their seats before it got too crowded.

"Ace, look on stage!" Amy said excitedly.

The band had not arrived on stage yet, but their Pokémon were already there entertaining the crowd. The five Pokémon of the band consisted of a Liepard, an Absol, two Weavile, and a Zoroark. Even though Liepard belonged to the lead singer, it was the lead guitarist's Absol that was the band's mascot. All five of the Pokémon were performing their signature attack, night slash, in front of the growing crowd in order to get them excited for the performance.

"Amy?!"

They saw Lilly Acres standing next to them in the aisle. Ace was not really surprised that the two of them had ran into someone they knew. Everyone had heard about Night Slash coming to Saffron, so Ace thought it would be foolish to think that he and Amy were the only fans of the band. Even if it were not for Amy, Ace would have been unaffected by Lilly's arrival. He thought that she was by far the most tolerable out of her friends. Nadine was annoying to the point where she could almost rival that clown Mike and Elyse's serious nature reminded Ace too much of himself, despite the fact that he would never admit that she intimidated him even if it was only a tiny bit. Compared to those two, Lilly was relatively easy to coexist with.

"Lilly?!" Amy exclaimed. "You like Night Slash?!"

"They're part of the reason I got into music!" Lilly explained happily. "Elyse is busy training and Nadine went to the movies, so I had to come by myself. I didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew here!" She grinned and then glanced at Ace. "Well hello, Mr. Cheerful."

"Hey..." Ace mumbled.

Before the conversation could go any further, the three of them were approached by a familiar face. Ace glared at the older boy, but he only smirked in response as his attention shifted to the stage and back at them again.

"Would you look at what the Meowth dragged in?" Craig Kelton taunted. "I mean, I half-expected to see Rome-emo and Juli-hex at a Night Slash concert so that's no big surprise, but Lilly-vag, you're here too?"

"It's Lillyvanth, jackass," Lilly snapped back.

"Whatever," Craig replied. "I guess Baby McKinley and Never-Shut-Up Nadine decided not to come with you. Those two probably listen to boy bands and all that crap. I can tell you actually have taste. Still, you probably shouldn't be seen with these two. Not good for the reputation."

"Get lost, Kelton," Ace told him sharply. "We're not at school, so you should probably watch yourself."

"I'm so terrified..." Craig mocked.

"Can't you see they're on a date?" Lilly spoke up. "Why don't you leave them alone?"

"Date...? Wait, I was just joking about the Romeo and Juliet stuff. You two are actually..."

The look on Craig's face changed from his usual sneer into something different. It was not threatening, but it was not entirely sympathetic either. It appeared to be an expression of slight understanding, similar to the one he had after the double battle against Ace and Mike two years ago. Ace hoped that meant that he would leave them alone, but it was never easy to tell what was going through the mind of Craig Kelton.

"Well..." he continued. "I guess I can't cause too much trouble at a Night Slash concert. I don't want to get kicked out. Listen, I have some extra front row tickets if you three want 'em."

Ace's first thought was to immediately decline. Even if Craig was being genuine, Ace did not care to be in close proximity with him. However, their row was a bit far from the stage and Ace would be lying to himself if he said that he did not want to move a bit closer. At the very least, he felt that he should do it for Amy's sake.

"How did you get those?" Amy asked curiously.

"You guys know that fifth year girl that they call Double D's Debbie?" Craig explained. "Well, her dad is friends with Night Slash's manager, so she was able to get me these tickets after a little...sweet talking. Johnny and Xander are too busy with those cheerleading bimbos of theirs and Nat is still being a little bitch over what happened last year. So, I have three extra tickets that are going to go to waste anyway if you guys don't take 'em."

"Well, I'm not one to turn down free stuff!" Lilly immediately stated. "Even from Craig..."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a closer view..." Amy said. "What do you think Ace?"

"As long as I'm as far away from him as possible..." Ace muttered.

He did not want to make it look like he was readily accepting Craig's offer so it made sense to him to phrase in a way that made it seem like he was doing it reluctantly. They quickly made their way to the front row and the crowd began erupting as the band members started to come out. Zix, Zara, Zena, Zaffre, and Zan of Night Slash were on stage in the flesh. While Ace managed to keep himself under control, the other three were showing no restraint in their cheering.

"I LOVE YOU ZIX!" Lilly shouted.

Even Ace had to chuckle at Lilly's shrieks, noting that she was by far the most excitable of them all. It was rare that he got a chance to just have fun and he certainly was not going to ruin it for anyone else. Night Slash all dressed in the same ripped black jeans and black vests with Absol on the back. Their hairstyles set them apart though. Zix had snow white hair in a large mohawk, Zara had a mass of frizzy, dark blue hair covering her eyes while Zena's hair was neon yellow and kept in a pixie cut. Lastly, the twins, Zaffre and Zan, both had mops of shaggy bright red and green hair respectively.

"Alright, Slashers!" Zix yelled to the crowd. "Hope you all are ready for the best damn show in Saffron history! We got something special planned at the end too, so stay put and stay chilled!"

Electrode Explosion was the first of the band's set that they played and it was definitely a song that hyped up the crowd. Ace was certain that he would be half deaf by the time the night was over. With each consecutive song, the crowd's intensity increased and by the time the band had play their entire set, it looked as if the fans were about to start rioting from sheer excitement.

"We're not done yet, Slashers!" Zara announced. "We've got a gift for whichever one of you can beat Zix and Absol in a battle! So, who wants to give it a go?!"

Everyone began shouting, hoping to be picked. Ace himself was too awestruck to imagine getting on stage with Night Slash. Amy appeared to be in a similar state of mind, but Lilly and Craig were eagerly shouting along with everyone else.

"Okay..." Zara continued as the spotlight shined on Craig. "How about...you?! The cute guy with the biceps!"

"Yes!" Craig cheered triumphantly as he hopped on the stage.

Zara greeted him with a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, but Ace could tell that Craig wanted the embrace to last much longer. Zix and Absol walked towards the front of the stage as the other band members and their Pokémon moved backwards. Craig did not seem to be nervous at all despite having the eyes of hundreds of people on him.

"Alright, kid!" Zix started. "Think you can handle it?!"

"Hell yes!" Craig answered. "I'm the strongest trainer in my entire school! Zix, you rock, but I'm still gonna kick your ass!"

"Cocky, aren't you?!" Zix replied. "I like that. Let's get to it!"

Ace wondered if Craig was going to use Primeape or Nidoking for the battle. Primeape was fast and had a clear type advantage over Absol, but he knew that Nidoking was Craig's most powerful Pokémon. However, the older boy decided against both of those and surprisingly went with Raticate.

"Idiot..." Ace muttered to himself.

"Swords dance!" Craig commanded immediately.

Ace saw the glowing swords encircle Raticate and vanish as fast as they appeared. Zix ordered Absol to use double team, but Craig only commanded another swords dance in turn. Ace did not see how this would be a feasible strategy. It did not matter how strong Raticate got if he could not hit Absol.

"Scary face!" Craig told Raticate.

Raticate's pupils disappeared and he bared his teeth. The rat's scary face was so demonic that Ace assumed that he must have learned it from Craig himself. Even the dark type Absol seemed to be disturbed by it, definitely enough to slow him down.

"Double-Edge, full power!" Craig commanded.

"Absol, quick use-

It was too late. Raticate charged at Absol, leaving a trail of gold energy behind him. The rat Pokémon slammed into Absol with enough force to send him flying into the stage lights. The battle was over as quickly as it had started. From what he had heard from the conversations of his schoolmates and what he had experienced battling against Craig himself, his battling style was to strike hard and fast and end things as quickly as possible. Johnny was one of the best, but he was flashy and relied on powerful moves that looked cool while his best friend was the opposite. Craig just wanted to win and prove his superiority.

"Damn, Zix!" Zara said. "Looks like this kid wasn't lying!"

"I'd say!" Zix agreed. "Alright, kid, you won fair and square!"

Ace's eyes widened as Zix took off his guitar and handed it to Craig. The girls were as stunned as Ace was and Craig looked like he was trying his hardest to keep from screaming in joy. Upon closer inspection, Ace noticed that the guitar even had Zix's signature on it. Craig returned to them and gave a nod of satisfaction. Ace decided to let him have his moment and not antagonize him.

"Gotta admit, Craig," Lilly told him. "You kicked ass."

"That is what I do," he affirmed. "It's pretty late. You guys need a ride home?"

Amy checked the clock on her phone and gulped. When Ace checked the time himself, he instantly knew why. Amy had to be home in seven minutes and there was no way that they would be able to make it on time if they walked. They needed Craig.

"Can you get to the southwest side of Starview in about six minutes?" Ace asked him.

"All I need is three," Craig answered. "I will require gas money though."

"Fine..." Ace grumbled.

The ride was mostly spent in silence save for Lilly telling Craig to slow down. Amy looked like she was worried for her life and Ace questioned how Craig could even get a license with his atrocious driving. Nevertheless, he delivered upon his promise and had them at Amy's house in no time.

"Mind if I crash here tonight?" Lilly asked her. "I'm way too pumped to go home right now."

"Sure," Amy said. She turned to Ace and smiled before giving him a soft kiss. "Thanks for the great night. I'll call you in the morning."

"Yo, Lilly-vag," Craig called after her. He opened his door and handed her Zix's guitar. "I think you forgot something."

"W-what...?" Lilly said in disbelief. "B-but..."

"Eh, you make better use of it than I can," Craig remarked. "I was just going to sell it online. Now, why don't you two ladies hurry up and get inside? I don't have all night, I still have to take Mr. Positive over here home."

Ace was about to tell Craig that he could make it home from Amy's house, but decided against it when he sped off. Now that it was only the two of them the awkwardness skyrocketed. Craig had tormented him less than Johnny had in the past, preferring to focus on Mike, but he still did not make things easy for Ace. He did not understand why Craig would give them front row tickets, drive them home, and even give Lilly a valuable prize that he had won. Ace had the same confusion when Mike had continuously attempted to show him kindness before finally getting fed up. Craig was a thug, Mike was a clown, and Ace was the outsider. Those were labels that everyone stuck them with and they were supposed to fall into their roles, so Ace did not understand why everything was so confusing.

"Why...?" Ace asked. "I don't get you. Why would you do all this?"

"What are you droning on about?" Craig said with a sigh.

"The tickets, the ride, the freakin' guitar," Ace replied.

"I'm not an ass all the time," Craig answered simply. "That gets boring and it looks like you're finally starting to figure that out for yourself. Look, I saw that you were trying to impress a girl and I thought I'd help you out. I'm not going to mess up anything like that. Now, I think we're at your place, so pay up and get out. I have a hot model waiting for me to come over."

Ace gave Craig a small amount of money before hopping out of the truck. He wanted to say thanks, but could only give Craig a nod. The older boy appeared to understand and replied with a nod himself before driving off. Ace entered his home with a small, but noticeable smile on his face. It had definitely been a Friday for him to remember.

A/N: So, this chapter was lighter and a bit more character driven than plot driven, but its always nice to slow down every once in a while. Additionally most of the characters in this chapter (bar Craig) don't get as much page time as other characters, so it's always fun to share the spotlight. The battle game with Cerulean City is next chapter, so get ready for that!

The P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Anika Heartlily and Ace Torres

As always, come to the forums for discussion on this story or any other stories or just to hang out. I won't bite, I promise!

Later!