As Johnny waited to hear news on Flannery, Frank texted him with 'How's the date going?'

Johnny sighed and replied with 'Not good. In Pokémon Center right now.'

'Dude, what did you do?'

'Nothing! We were battling and her Camerupt erupted, and some of it landed on her. Definitely second, maybe third degree burns.'

'Ugh. That can't be good. Eruption or eruption?'

'The action, not the move. If it were a move, it probably would've been more focused.'

'Good point…any news?'

Just as Johnny read that, Nurse Joy walked out. Johnny stood and asked, "And?"

She smiled, and Johnny took a breath. "She'll be alright, just needs some time to recuperate. She'll be fine in a few hours, but I suggest you take her home."

He nodded. "Alright, makes sense."

She smiled again, and Flannery walked out carefully. Nurse Joy turned and said, "Flannery, take it easy! That eruption got over a good chunk of you."

Flannery looked over her red, peeling skin. "Eh, just a flesh wound. So when are we getting back to that battle?"

Johnny shook his head. "Nurse says that we should head home so you can recuperate."

Flannery shook her head. "I'm a Fire user. I'm used to more than my share of burns."

"From a Camerupt eruption?"

She was silent, and he pressed, "For now, we'll head back to Lavaridge, alright?"

She sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Fine. If it's you, then…I can't really argue."

"What do you mean by that?"

She blinked, then shook her head. "Nothing, nothing…alright, let's go home, then." She walked out quickly without another word, and Johnny called, "Wait up!"

He ran out to catch her, and Nurse Joy chuckled. "Yeah, those two…"

Once Johnny caught up to Flannery, he asked her, "You alright? Besides the burns, I mean."

She nodded, keeping her face down. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Johnny looked at her with concern. "I don't feel that. What's the problem?"

She looked at him, and he noticed her face was red. But her face hadn't been hit…"Are you blushing?"

She looked away quickly and almost tripped over a rock. Johnny chuckled, and Flannery turned to him, redder, and said, "S-Shut up!"

He laughed more, and she exclaimed, "Stop that! Stop right now!"

He managed to control himself, and he asked, "Why not? It was funny."

"Not to me! I could've fell."

"I would've caught you."

She blinked and looked away, which was good because Johnny was blushing slightly as well now. She whispered, "I had fun tonight. Minus the burns…"

He looked at her, then smiled. "Me too. We should do this again sometime."

She nodded. "Definitely. You're a nice guy, Johnny. And you know what they say about nice guys?"

"What?"

"That they always finish last!" She ran off, and Johnny sputtered, "W-hey, wait for me!" He ran after her, enjoying the simple fun of it.

As the race approached Lavaridge, Flannery hit a rock. She started to go down, but Johnny put on an extra burst of speed and caught her like he was dipping her. They spent a few moments staring into each other's eyes, the red and the green examining each other. Flannery spoke quietly, "I think you can let me go now."

He nodded quickly and stood her up, letting her go as he did so. "Wanna walk the rest of the way?"

She nodded, and they walked into Lavaridge.

They arrived at her house, and he grinned and said, "See ya tomorrow?"

She nodded and said, "I'd like that."

They stood there awkwardly for a few moments, then Johnny kissed her cheek and walked away quickly, face madly red. Flannery looked after him in slight shock and touched her cheek where he had kissed it. She smiled and whispered, "Johnny…"

He walked into his house and shut the door behind him, grinning madly. Frank walked out of the kitchen and exclaimed, "And?!"

Johnny nearly jumped out of his skin. "You don't live here! How'd you get in?"

"Parents. I said that I needed to see you and that I'd wait and-oh, deets!"

Johnny smiled. "We had an awesome time. And…I think something sparked."

Frank squealed, and Johnny gave him an odd look and said, "Dude."

Frank giggled. "I'm just so happy to see my best friend with his crush!"

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. So perfect."

He started to walk upstairs, and Frank asked, "What is it?"

Johnny stopped and looked at Frank. "I dunno…something's bothering me, but I can't tell what. I'm not gonna worry about it. Do me a favor and show yourself out, would you?"

Frank nodded, and Johnny went upstairs into his room, which had several different pictures of Flannery. Enough to constantly remind himself, but not enough for it to be considered obsessing. He changed into pajamas and crawled under the covers, his lips still buzzing slightly. He had a good feeling about this…a very good feeling.