Chapter 10

"Alright, we're going to get going," Mark announced to the others as he shouldered his backpack. Maple stood close by, her cheerful demeanor fully restored. Hayley had managed to convince them to stay for lunch, but Mark didn't want to lose any more time. It would be a long journey to Olivine City and time was running out.

"Already?" Hayley asked, "You're sure you can't stay longer?"

"We have just over a week to get to Olivine," Mark shook his head, "we need to get going."

"It was nice seeing all of you again!" Maple waved around the small dining room at Hayley, Jeremiah and Cole. They each returned her farewell, in turn. Hayley and Jeremiah waved, and Cole simply nodded. Then the two young men stood up to get back to work.

"Say, Mark," Hayley began, a strange, thoughtful look in her eyes, "could I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh…sure," Mark replied. He glanced at Maple before following Hayley back through her living room. Maple started to trot after them, but Hayley told her to wait where she was. Whatever Hayley wanted to talk about, it was private.

"Hey, Mark," Hayley whispered, unsure if Maple could hear or not, "this is going to sound weird, but…well, I should ask anyway."

"O-kay," Mark raised an eyebrow, "what is it?"

"Well…when she evolved, she was…" Hayley bit her lip, there seemed to be no easy way of asking, "was she…wearing any clothes?"

"Huh?" Mark hadn't thought about it. Of course Maple had evolved with clothes on. Although, now that Hayley had brought it up, he wondered why. Her clothes weren't a part of her, right? Why would a Pokemon evolve with clothes on? But he quickly decided it wasn't important and tried to think of something else.

A very distinct image of Maple's underwear flashed in his head, but he pushed that away too.

"Yeah, she was wearing clothes," Mark spoke rapidly, trying to clear the image from his mind, "she was wearing what she has on right now, actually."

"Oh, okay," Hayley nodded, but she continued biting her lip, "so…since you're a boy…"

"Yes…" Mark said after Hayley sounded like she wasn't going to finish the thought.

"I'm guessing you don't have any girl's clothes. Right?"

Mark's eyes went wide as the realization came over him. He had completely forgotten about getting Maple clothing. Did he expect her to go for over a week wearing the same thing?

"Yeah…" Hayley nodded nervously, "I thought so."

"What should I do?" Mark asked, screwing up in his face in confusion. He'd have to go shopping for girl's clothes. He hated shopping for clothes, in general. If he went clothes shopping for Maple…

"It's okay," Hayley put a hand on Mark's shoulder, "I'll go with you. It's just a short walk into town. I can easily get back here before dark. And I can see you off from there, too."

"Thanks," Mark shrugged, "I could use some back-up on this one."

"Anytime," Hayley smiled. She turned to inform Maple, but the Leafeon-girl was already looking at them.

"I need clothing?" she asked, peering down at her dress, "isn't this good enough?" Hayley wasn't really surprised that she had heard everything. However, she was surprised by the confused reaction.

"Well, you're going to need clean clothing," Hayley explained, "and you won't want to wear out what you have now. And you'll definitely need clean underwear." Even with Mark standing right next to her, talking to Maple about it came much easier. But then a different thought occurred to her, "actually, I wonder if you need…" but she caught herself before she finished, "uh…no…never mind. Forget I said anything."

Maple tilted her head to the side, wondering what Hayley had just thought of. But, since she didn't continue, Maple decided that it wasn't that important.

The unfinished, awkward conversation hung in the air and the three were silent for a few more seconds, which felt like hours.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Hayley tried to smile and get them all moving. She led the way out of the cabin followed by a bewildered Maple and a reluctant, nervous Mark. This was going to be fun…

The town closest to the ranch was a small little village called Alden. It was small enough that the population of 226 was posted on the welcome sign. Hayley knew in advance that Maple wasn't going to have a lot of options, but desperate times…

Still, Hayley had had plenty of success in the tiny clothing store and she had known the owners for a long time. They would find something, so long as Maple wasn't too picky.

Unfortunately, that was just what happened. Maple showed little to no interest in clothing. It baffled both of the humans with her, who had each assumed that she was the kind of girl that would obsess over clothing. Mark was noticeably more confused than Hayley, probably because of gender bias, but Hayley didn't have a very strong attachment to clothing, either. After all, there was very little point in wearing a pretty dress if it was just going to get covered in dirt.

Maple, however, took this view to a whole other level. True, her dress was inevitably going to get dirty, but the idea of it happening didn't bother her. So what if her dress got dirty? It was her dress. She should be able to do with it what she wanted. Besides, she'd have to fight in this dress. There was no way she'd be able to keep it clean through a real battle.

Humans had such strange rules about everything…

Throughout the venture, Mark stayed close enough to avoid being left behind, but also maintained a safe distance to avoid having to supply an opinion. He didn't really know why shopping for a girl's clothing made him feel awkward, but something just didn't sit right with him. He didn't belong there and everyone else knew it. Thankfully, aside from the elderly woman at the desk, the store was deserted.

He let Hayley take the lead and instead started to wonder about what Jeremiah had told him that morning; about Maple being in love with him. Was that true? Mark was unsure if any girl he had ever met liked him that way. For Maple to be outright in love with him sounded impossible.

After all, what was he compared to Maple? Maple was pretty, strong and very friendly and she did it all naturally. Mark had known people to train themselves to be like that, but that was just how Maple was. She didn't try to be like that at all. Maybe she was a little naïve, but that was to be expected when you were reborn into a strange world like this one.

But Mark wasn't like that. In fact, he was the direct opposite. He wasn't a shut-in, but he was always on guard around others and it took him a while to really start to trust someone. On top of that, Pokemon battles were one of the few things that he could do where he felt total confidence in himself. That suited him just fine, but sometimes he wondered how much better his life would be if some of what he saw in Maple was more evident in himself.

Even setting aside their vast differences in personality, Mark still couldn't see how Maple could be in love with him. Mark was of the opinion that love didn't just happen overnight. It took time for love to develop and more often than not, it just didn't happen. Did that mean she was in love with him when she was a Leafeon?

But even that sounded like it wasn't true. He didn't really think of himself as an especially skilled or special trainer. What would Maple have seen in him to make her fall in love with him back then?

The questions were piling up and Mark didn't even know what he was thinking about anymore. Still, as he watched Hayley and Maple wander through the store searching for something for Maple to wear there were too many signs that he couldn't ignore. Maple looked at him for advice much more than what seemed necessary. She valued his opinion more than her own and, in fact, she was reluctant to make a decision without his approval.

Of course, there was more to it than that. It was the look in her eyes, the way she waited for him to catch up when he fell behind and half a dozen other signals. Mark would have to be stupid to not notice. She didn't just like him. She was downright, head-over-heels, puppy-dog in love with him.

Mark felt overwhelmed by the reality of it. What could he do? What should he do?

After half an hour of wandering around the store, Hayley was ready to just give up. Nothing caught Maple's attention for very long. She examined everything in the same curious manner she had had before, but she always lost interest. Hayley was starting to wonder if that was a side-effect of originally being a Pokemon.

In that case, she would probably show the most interest in something that reflected her old self. That would explain the light-tan dress that she had been…born with. But that also reduced their chances of finding anything. Most of the patterns in the store were bright pinks, yellows and other floral colors. The kind of colors that would've made Hayley feel more like a girl, but were a far cry from the rough-and-tumble farm gear she wore.

By the grace of God, for the humans, and Arceus, for the Leafeon-girl, they stumbled across a set of three dresses that were nearly identical to Maple's own. They were simple and they were cheap, but they had tried everything else and nothing seemed to satisfy her.

Hayley wanted to kiss them. And Maple, at last, showed genuine interest. Hayley checked for consistent sizing, and once again got extremely lucky. She then piled Maple's new, but still very small, collection of clothing into Mark's arms.

"Make yourself useful," she giggled, "and look alive, for crying out loud." Sighing, she turned back to Maple, "are you sure you don't want something a bit nicer or more colorful? I'd love to be able to wear some of these dresses, but I'll ruin them in no time flat."

But Maple shook her head and shrugged, "I like them, though. They're just…me." Hayley smiled at the simplicity of the statement. To her, light tan didn't quite fit with Maple's cheerful, energetic personality. But, on the other hand, she was open and gentle and the tan reflected that side of her just fine.

"Alright," Hayley nodded, "but if you want to try something else, you'll still have plenty of room in your closet for more."

"I have a closet?" Maple asked, turning to Mark.

"Uhh…"

"Never mind," Hayley interrupted, "let's see…what's next?" Looking around the store she remembered, and a devilish grin started to spread across her face. She bit her lip to hide it from Mark and pulled Maple off to the side.

"Do you want to screw with Mark?" she whispered, glancing back to make sure Mark was out of ear shot. He had a suspicious look on his face, but he was also much too distracted with other thoughts to pay very close attention.

"I don't know what that means…" Maple admitted and her ears drooped a little at the shame of it.

"Hmm…" Hayley thought for a minute about how to explain, "do you want to play a joke on Mark?"

"Umm…okay," Maple was still confused, but at least she was willing to play along now.

"Follow me," sliding away through the aisles, Hayley made her way over to the lingerie section, followed closely by Maple. Mark also followed but stopped short when he realized where they were going.

"You have to come here," Hayley called back teasingly.

"I don't think I have to," Mark responded.

"Sure, you do."

"Isn't this why you're here?" Mark's eyes were wide as he scanned the rows of unmentionables.

"Stop being a baby," Hayley teased further, "we don't freak out over your underwear."

"That's because my underwear looks like a pair of shorts," Mark explained.

"Oh, really?" Hayley didn't bother to hide her grin as she poked her head out to look at Mark, "well, then we all know what kind you wear."

"Shut up," Mark groaned, "and be quick, will you?"

Still grinning widely, Hayley walked through rows of bras and panties with a confused Maple close behind. She looked from item to item, weighing its potential. At last, she selected a black thong and handed it to Maple.

"Show that to Mark and ask if he likes it," she whispered. Maple peered at it. It seemed awfully tiny. She wondered what good it would be if anyone wore it. She didn't know why Hayley had handed this to her, but whatever she was up to she was having a lot of fun.

Maple did as she was told and returned to Mark, who was shuffling his feet and staring at the ground.

"Do you like this?" Maple asked meekly as she held the tiny strip of cloth in front of her. She peered at him as his eyes went wide and his face turned a bright shade of red. Even though she still had no idea what was going on, she still wondered what his opinion was.

"Uhh…umm…uhh…" Mark's mind raced with possibilities on how he could possibly escape this horrible setup, but nothing seemed valid.

He was not prepared for this! It was too soon!

Hayley's laughter was an evil cackle and she was doubled over with her hands on her knees. Her face was turning darker and darker shades of red and Maple started worrying if she would be alright.

"You suck," Mark muttered.

"I'm sorry," Hayley gasped, finally gaining control of herself after a full minute of laughing, "oh, man, my side hurts now, but it was worth it to see the look on your face. I couldn't resist."

"I'm confused," Maple admitted, peering at the flimsy piece of fabric that remained in her hands.

"Don't worry about it," Hayley still fought back spouts of giggling, "c'mon, let's put this back and get you some real underwear." Still snickering, she led Maple back into the lingerie.

Mark took in the outside air in big, deep breaths as the relief of escaping the clothing store began to sink in. He refused to look at what Hayley had selected for Maple's underwear, which Hayley only insisted on so she could watch him squirm. She had included the black thong, which may or not actually fit Maple, but it would be the perfect souvenir for the occasion. She wondered how long it would be before Mark discovered it. Despite the fact that he had paid for it, she suspected it would be a while.

"You know you're going to have to wash those, right?" Hayley grinned.

"Yes, I know," Mark sighed, "I'm not stupid."

"Yeah, I'll give you that," Hayley said.

"So, I guess this is where we split up," Mark began, "thanks. For everything."

"No problem," Hayley shook her head, "I was happy to do it." Mark chose not to point out that she was happy to do it at his expense.

"I'll miss you, Hayley," Maple sniffed as she hugged the older girl.

"Hey, hey," Hayley hugged her back, "you'll see me, again. You are always more than welcome at the ranch. Mark's part owner, after all." Even with this reassurance, Maple was slow to let go of Hayley. She had become one of Maple's few human friends and that felt really special.

"We'll stop by once we get back," Mark promised.

"You'd better," Hayley pointed a finger at him, "and call more often. I don't like not hearing from you, you know."

"Yes, Mom," Mark teased.

"Shut up," Hayley flushed before she hugged Mark herself, "just have fun and don't fight too hard."

"You really are more like a mom than a partner," Mark hugged her back, "and don't you work too hard."

"You might as well tell grass not to be green," Hayley shook her head as she pulled back from her partner, "now, get out of here. I thought you were on a tight schedule."

"We are," Mark nodded, "come on, Maple. Let's get going."

Without looking back, Mark started off. With Maple close behind, they started heading west, towards Olivine City.

Hayley watched them go until they were out of sight. She knew she shouldn't have to worry, but knowing never stopped her. They were good kids. They would be fine. Still, she had watched Mark disappear on the horizon before, but there was something off this time. Something was changing and it wasn't just because of the Leafeon-girl at his side.

The wind around her suddenly picked up and she noticed how unusually dark it was. She looked up to see the sun going in and out of a set of darkened clouds. She didn't remember hearing any reports about a storm. The morning had been nothing but clear skies, too.

Hayley wondered if she should wait in town for the storm to pass, but there was no thunder or lightning. Soon the clouds were directly overhead and not a single drop of rain fell. Then, just a few minutes later, the clouds broke up and dissipated as if they never were.

That's strange, Hayley thought, never seen that before. But as she headed for home she soon forgot about it.

AN: yep, that just happened.

the overall light-hearted tone of this chapter is a little out of place compared to the ones around it. still, if this is going to happen at all, it needs to happen now.