My bedroom was dark, just like the stormy sky outside, but I could see well enough to find my table drawer. Know was waiting quietly in the doorway, as though afraid to enter without permission, while I rummaged around until I found a small tin full of bandages.

"Here," I said as I pulled one out and began to strip away the waxy wrappings. "Let me see your hand."

I reached out to Knox and beckoned for his wounded finger. Somewhere between drying dishes and falling into a heap on the kitchen floor, he had cut his thumb on a broken glass. After a few moments of letting it go by unnoticed, he finally swallowed his pride. That was something he rarely allowed himself to do.

Yet, his stubborn side always took charge, and before I had a chance to press the band-aid down, he already pulled his thumb away in protest. "Hi'mon…" he murmured under his breath with his chest slightly puffed, his little way of saying, "I don't need that."

I smiled and took his hand again. "Please?" I asked of him with a feigned pout. I could see in his eyes that he was almost considering it.

From out the window, there was only one beam of light finding its way into my bedroom. A pair of street-lamps not so far away casted an eerie blue illumination that offered just enough light for me to see a droplet of dark red blood oozing down Knox's thumb. I held his hand close to my face and, in some bizarre act of affection, I put my lips around his wounded finger and kept it warm in my mouth. Knox stared at me, dropping his whole manly act.

Inside of my hands, I could feel him tremble fearfully.

XxxX

There was no reason to let myself bother these people any longer.

I was the first to wake up, before Ash or Brock or Misty even began to stir. The sun was barely even rising. For a moment, I had considered leaving some kind of note; a quick thank-you for setting me on the right track or something. But, it just didn't seem appropriate. I wasn't so much a guest as a nuisance.

On this lonely morning, I had silently crept along while I packed my things and erased every trace of my presence. Maybe it wasn't just selflessness that was leading me to heading off on my own again. A big piece of me didn't want these three to know me. They were too kind, too pure, and too good of people to be mixed in with types like me; lechers, freaks, and spoiled goods. We would all be better off if I just left.

I took one last brief glance at the camp-sight and the three sleeping figures still curled in their sleeping bags. The sweet and lovely Misty, the confident and energetic Ash, and handsome and intelligent Brock. I would remember them, maybe not as friends exactly, but as fond acquaintances. Maybe one day, when Knox and I were reunited and we had a place of our own to live, I would be happy to see them again. Maybe.

With a stretch of my arms and a mighty yawn, I got myself up on my legs and adjusted my backpack for a day's long walk towards Neon City.

XxxX

I kissed the band-aid on Knox's thumb and gave him a sweet little grin. "There," I whispered. "All better."

Sitting beside me on my bed, Knox was staring down at his thumb as though he had never seen it before. Then, with a tiny nod, he grabbed my hand and repeated the gesture with a tiny kiss to my thumb. That curious expression on his face, along with his blushing cheeks, was too cute to ignore.

I giggled shyly. "But my thumb doesn't hurt," I told him. "You're supposed to do that only if it hurts."

Knox thought to himself in silence for a second, and then smiled warmly. His hand escaped from mine and wandered towards my neck, to my collar bone, and rested on the left side of my chest. My steady pulse beat against the palm of his hand. "Chan?" he murmured under his breath. Here?

I furrowed my brow, feeling a tiny pang of sadness creeping up on me unexpectedly. All this time my parents had considered Knox to be more of a household pet than a person, and here he was learning me better than either of them had. I lay my hand over his and listened for my heartbeat. "Sometimes," I told him quietly without letting our eyes meet. "Sometimes it hurts there…"

There was no hiding it. I always thought myself to be a tough girl; I always kept my mind a secret, I never let a tear fall in front of anyone, and more often than not I simply brushed off any sad thoughts trying to come up to the surface. I was raised to look after myself, and to be an adult and a child at the same time. But the truth?

I will tell you the truth, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Evidence #1: the true feelings of Ms. Remy O'Dell. It will be our little secret.

The truth is, I wanted nothing more in my life than for someone to hold me close and tell me everything would be okay. Just once, I wanted to be someone's treasured little thing, like I should have been to my parents.

To my dismay, I could feel bitter tears stinging in the corners of my eyes. I tried to hide my quivering bottom lip. Knox wasn't fooled for a second. He leaned in gently and laid a small, tender kiss on my chest, sending it right to my heart. "Betta?" he imitated me with partial success, answering to my forced straight-face with a melancholy little smile.

A tear escaped from my eyelashes and rolled down my flushed, freckled cheek. Looking Knox eye-to-eye, I cracked a genuine smile and nodded my head up and down. "Betta," I mimicked him. Overcome with adoration for him—his sweet face, loving eyes, and devoted heart—I threw my arms around his shoulders and kissed his lips with more force than I ever had. However, this time, rather than jumping back in surprise, I felt his arms encircle my waist as eagerly as I had latched onto him.

XxxX

There was something new in the air today. Maybe it was just me, but I could breathe easier with my new path laid out ahead of me. Just a bit further, I thought to myself with the brightest disposition I could muster. Neon City is so close.

Still, in the largest vicinity of my mind, I was dreadfully afraid. There was no telling what I would find in Neon City. Maybe Knox was there, maybe he wasn't. And if he wasn't, then where would I go next? What kind of leads did I have? Even worse was the idea that Brock was right about urban Pokémon; they can't survive in the wild the way other Pokémon can. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Knox had died all because of me.

No, don't think like that. I shook my head as though it would knock out all of the negative ideas. He's fine, Remy. He's just fine. He's probably doing a lot better than you are.

I could only hope.

But then again…what if he was doing better now? What if he had found another trainer, or maybe a dojo full of fighting Pokémon like himself, and he already forgot all about me? He'd never want to see me again.

Stop thinking like that, a second voice in my head snapped back again. I know he wouldn't do that. He loves me. We love each other. He wouldn't forget.

If I could only have one thing in the world…One thing, and only one…

I would make sure that neither of us either forgot.