I really didn't get much sleep. It felt like I'd been asleep for mere seconds before Meowth woke James and I up. It must've been pretty late, as Meowth would never wake up before noon on his own. He woke us up by gently and politely scratching us across our faces, to the point of bleeding.

"What was that for?!" I yelled. I was sure I looked terrible, as I barely got any sleep last night, pair that with the scratch marks all over my face and my bed-head and... yup, I looked awful.

"Youse two lazy chumps slept in, it's 1:30!"

"And? You woke up- what? Two minutes ago?!"

"Das two minutes eolier than you!"

James -the peace keeper- piped up. "Meowth, Jessie and I had a rough night, we're sorry for sleeping in."

Meowth looked as if he had just now noticed James was here, despite fury swiping him only seconds ago. Stupid cat. "Ey Jimmy, glad ta see ya didn't quit on us!" Meowth thought for a moment. I was sure that he was going to say something stupid. "And about last night... it wasn't too rough, was it?" He smirked at me.

I shook my head angrily in response, as words seemed to escape me at this moment. I felt my face heat up. Was I blushing?

His grin widened. I was blushing. Ugh, I'm so pathetic!

James looked at us, confused. "What's he on about?" He asked me. I was lucky he was so clueless.

Meowth opened his mouth to speak. He better not say anything. I glared at him. "Oh, it's nuthin..." He said innocently. I let out a sigh of relief.

James just shrugged before stretching and getting out of his sleeping bag. "So, what's today's agenda?" He asked me.

"We could do some twerp-tracking... maybe a couple pitfalls... let's just see what the day brings."

James nodded and headed over to where our balloon was normally parked. I completely forgot about the missing balloon. James looked at our parking spot questioningly, Meowth began to chuckle. "Hey Jess, where's the balloon?"

I was blushing again. Why was this happening? "Oh... uhh, about that..." why was I so flustered?

"Jessie let ta balloon float away!" Meowth accused.

James looked at me and laughed a bit. "How'd you manage to do that?"

"I... forgot to tie it down..." I said quietly. This was so embarrassing.

"I guess finding that balloon is the first thing on our to-do list then."

Was he mad at me? Surely not, he would never get mad over something so small. He probably thinks I'm so irresponsible right now. "Sorry." I offered.

He looked at me in disbelief before speaking. "I-It's no big deal Jess, it's an easy mistake to make."

Why was he blushing? Wait, why am I blushing again? Ugh, this is so confusing! I wished things would go back to normal.

We began walking in the direction Meowth thought he saw the balloon go. We felt kind of stupid just looking around, as we really had no idea where it went. Meowth and I barely saw it leaving, and James wasn't even there, so we really were clueless.

We searched for hours. It seemed pretty pointless, but we needed transportation, and doubted Giovanni would supply us with another balloon. We really couldn't afford to lose this balloon.

Against all odds, we did eventually find that hideous looking balloon, which had landed in a clearing and was virtually unharmed. On top of that, all of our belongings were still in the basket. For once things were going our way!

By the time we were able to get into the air, the sun was already setting. We managed to waste a whole day trying to fix one stupid mistake I made. I felt like an idiot.

Despite this, I was able to enjoy the sunset. I always loved flying at this time of night. It reminded me of the time when I almost lost James to his crazy ex-fiancée, but he chose me over a life of luxury. He would never leave me. James has been the only constant in my life for as long as I can remember, and I was eternally grateful. "Hey, um, James? There's something I need to tell you." The words escaped me before I could stop them.

He leaned against the side of the balloon basket to face me. He smiled warmly, his cheeks were slightly pink. Whether it was from the cold or some other reason I didn't know. "What is it?"

What was I doing?! James was still getting over Jenn, the last thing he needed was me telling him about my stupid feelings. Besides, he didn't like me anyway, so there was really no point. "Oh, uhh, the thing is..." Meowth smirked at me, I had completely forgotten he was there. I officially lost control over this conversation and it was stressing me out. What was I supposed to say now?! "Oops, looks like I completely forgot what I was going to say. Silly me!" I blurted out. That was a disaster.

Meowth began laughing hysterically, although he was trying to hide it. I swear one day I'll get him back.

"Oh, alright." He said, still smiling.

How was he acting so calm? I felt like I was going crazy, but he was acting like everything was normal. I hated this.

"If you remember, let me know, if you're up for it."

'If I'm up for it'?? Did he know? Oh my Arceus, he knows! I probably look like an idiot right now. And a coward.

If there was ever anything there, it's gone now. He probably hates me. He probably thinks I'm such a wimp! Why can't I just act normal?!

I waited for a sly remark from Meowth, but none came. I guess he pitied me.

I guess I'll just have to deal with these stupid feelings by myself. I'm sure I'll get used to them eventually, and someday I'll forget about them entirely. Then things can go back to normal.

At least I hope so.