A/N

Hey guys! So I tried to make this chapter longer than I have the other one's, and I think I succeeded! Not much is going on in this chapter, just more character development and building of the plot. Not much to say, other than the fact I have 21 days left of high school! I'm so excited, holy crap. Anyways, review and favorite guys! It's much appreciated :)

Shelby


Hide and Seek

Chapter Four

"Hey, look! It's my town!"

Paul groans next to me, my perkiness obviously causing him some mental harm. "Really, I had no idea, since we passed a sign five minutes back."

In response, I stick my tongue out at him. Honestly, he's been about as good company as a Vanillite. Which isn't to say he's not good company; he lets me talk all I want, about anything. He gives the appropriate responses, which proves he's vaguely listening - even though I know he's not. It's just nice to have a human around for once. Not to say I don't love my team because I do. It's just refreshing having someone around for a change.

Before we even reach the town, the smell of blooming flowers fills my nose. It's around this time of year that the flowers bloom and the fruits begin to ripen enough for picking. But, that won't happen for another few weeks. Now would be around the time I would start my job at the flower shop. Orders would be pouring in about boutiques that were wanting flowers to spruce up their businesses, or bouquets that needed to be made for clients.

"Paul," I start as we enter the city, "do you mind if we stop by my house for a bit?"

He grunts a response.

"I'll take that as a yes."

We pass the Pokemart and my friend Oliver's house. The Flower shop sits a little bit pass the Pokemart. My house is next to the flower shop. The flowers bloom on the window seal, just as they always have. Flowers dot around my house, but the closer you get to the entrance to the garden, the more frequent they become.

I push open the door and slide my shoes off. "Mom! I'm home, and I brought a guest!"

Everything looks the same. The couch, however, has been moved closer to the tv, which still sits underneath the high window. In the kitchen, I can hear water boiling and the sound of a knife chopping against a wood cutting board. I take a whiff and sigh with content. Mom's cooking spaghetti and meatballs, which is my favorite dish she makes. Which means she must have gotten my email.

"In the kitchen, dear!"

I turn around to find Paul awkwardly standing on the doorstep. "Well come on in. Just put your shoes next to mine and follow me."

I watch him kick his shoes off and wait for him to turn around before heading towards the kitchen. My mom stands over the stove, her dirty blond hair that we both share tied up in a bun atop her head. She's busy chopping up an onion when I go and sit down at the kitchen table. I motion for Paul to do the same. He pulls a chair out and sits tense in the seat as he looks around our kitchen.

My mom puts the chopped onions in the saucepan and turns around with a smile on her face. "Well, I'm certainly glad to see you made it on time for once."

"Yeah, it's all thanks to Paul here," I tell her, my cerulean eyes glancing in his direction. My mom's comment comes from the fact I'm always late when it comes to coming home, or getting anywhere, in fact. I have a horrible concept of time.

My mom sticks her hand out to him, who shakes her hand politely. "Well, I'm glad my daughter found someone to keep her on track. It's nice to meet you Paul. I'm Mrs. Alucio, but you probably already figured that."

"It's nice to meet you too. Your cooking smells wonderful," he tells her, a smile on his face. An actual smile. Who knew Paul could be so polite?
Of course my mom blushes at the compliment. "Why thank you. Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, so if you two want to go out back, you're more than welcome too."

"Alright Mom. Follow me." I tell Paul, who looks perplexed.

My dad use to be a big Pokemon trainer. My mom was the Coordinator, of course. They met when mom went to watch one of the league battles that had been held open to the public, and it happened to be my dad who was the challenger. She went up to him to congratulate him after he won, and the rest is history.

So, after they got married, they moved here, which is my mom's hometown. When they built the house, Dad had a special pen built for his and mom's pokemon out back. That's where Mom's Espeon lives - she gave away the rest to some other trainers who needed them. Dads currently traveling over in Kanto, so his Pokemon aren't here.

"Well, this is the pen area I was telling you about," I tell Paul as we step outside.

It's a nice pen; covered in fresh grass, with trees off in one corner to give shade. It also has a few smaller tents for the ones who hate sleeping on the ground. There's a pond I made myself whenever I evolved Cryptic, who hates the heat. It's pretty wide and long, enough for at least twenty or so medium sized creatures to have enough space to be comfortable.

I release my team, and they head to their favorite places. Cryptic goes over to wake Mom's Espeon, and they head to the pond for some much needed catching up. Zanza looks around for a little bit, before flying over to where Cashmere lays underneath the trees, her long neck taking up most of the shade.

"You can release your party if you like," I tell Paul.

He grunts almost as if he despises the idea, but he still releases his team anyway. I recognize the Ursaring and shiny Gyarados, but he also releases a Torterra, Electivire, Froslass, and a Magmortar. My team goes up to the new friends, but only the Torterra and Froslass show any sign of being friendly.

"Nice team you got there," I comment as I watch the Pokemon run around.

"I know."

Of course I've gotten use to his attitude and comments, but they still irk me whenever he acts like his head is the size of a Drifblim. "They're strong."

He smirks at this. "Oh, they better be. I've trained them to be strong."

"Well it shows."

"Thanks," he tells me, averting his eyes from my surprised expression.

I smile back at him. "You're welcome."

As we sit around the dinner table and ladle spaghetti and meatballs onto our plates, I wonder how I should bring up the topic of going back to Unova to my mother. If Paul wants to go, though I highly doubt he would, then mom will like the idea a little bit better than she did last time. So maybe I should ask Paul if he likes the idea, before asking my mom. Even though I'm seventeen, almost eighteen, my mom is really protective of me after the Galactica incident that swept through Sinnoh not too long ago.

Instead of speaking my mind, I fill my mouth with a forkful of spaghetti. Of course it's delicious, and I eat the rest in gusto. Paul picks away at his meal, even being so polite as to tell my mother how amazing her food is. I wonder why he can't be that nice to me.

"So, Mom, I was wondering how you would feel about me going back to visit Hilda?"
My mom, who was still eating, gives me a surprised look and sets her fork down on her plate. "Honey, again? You were just there a few months ago, if I remember correctly."

'Well, yeah, but I want to participate in the contest over there too. Plus, Hilda already started her journey, so I wouldn't be traveling alone. Oh! and Paul said he would come with me."

I can literally feel his gaze on me as I tell my mom that last part. So what if I was lying, just a tad bit. If she says yes, I can just tell her that Paul decided last minute not to go. It'll all work out in the end.

"Well..." she says, trailing off. "Give me the night to think about it. It is late," one glance at the clock confirms that it's almost eight o'clock at night, "so how about you two stay here, and I'll tell you my decision in the morning?"

I nod my head. "Sounds good to me!"

"Show Paul the guest room, I'll clean up the dishes."

I push my chair back and motion for Paul to follow me. He grabs his backpack where he placed it next to his shoes and follows me up the stairs. I go down the hallway and show him the first door on the right. The one directly across from the guest room is my room, and there's a bathroom at the very end of the hallway.

I push the door open, and Paul steps in. "The bathroom's at the very end of the hallway. My room is right across from your's, if you need anything."

"Why would you tell your mother that I was going with you to Unova?"

I pause in the doorway since I was about to head to my room. "Because I really wanna go. I mean, I'll just tell her that you changed your mind when the time comes. I know you have other things to do in Sinnoh."

"Who says I do?"

"What?" I ask as I look at him.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I honestly have nothing better to do. I'm heading over to Canalave to drop of the Gyarados. Too be honest, I was thinking about heading over to Unova. I've heard the Pokemon out there are ten times stronger than the ones in any other region. I could use the extra strength on my team."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes really," he scoffs, that familiar annoyed glare present on his face. "Don't act so surprised."

Now it's my turn to smirk. "You being nice is a surprise you dope."

He just glares at me and huffs.

"Goodnight Paul."

"Night."

As part of my daily routine, I wake up extra early, around six o'clock. I pull on a hoodie, grab my headphones and IPod, lace up my running shoes, and go on a run. Of course I go out back and make my team tag along. The flyers have to fly the entire time, unlike the others, who have to run with me. It's something we started doing when I realized I needed a way to keep in shape, and the running helps my team as well.

The morning is cold and crisp, just the way I like it. Even though I live in an area that stays warm year round, I like the colder mornings. They make running a little more easier. I run my course, which includes going all the way to the outskirts of Jubilife City, before turning around and heading back. It's a bonus if people battle me on the way because then that really test our strength as a team.

By the time I get back, the sun is starting to peek through the trees. My team heads around back, while I head in the front door. My mom is awake, sitting on the couch sipping some coffee from one of her favorite mugs. "Good run?" she asks me.

"A much needed run."

I head upstairs and take a shower, making sure to scrub hard. The last time I was able to take a decent shower has been a long time, especially one in my own house. When I get out, I notice that the guest bedroom door is open. Paul isn't inside, and by the smell of bacon, I assume he's downstairs with my mom. I pull on some clothes and tie my blond hair up in a ponytail before heading downstairs.

Like I smelled, I come across the scene of my mother cooking pancakes, and Paul munching away on some bacon. I sit next to Paul and grab a piece of bacon myself. As I finish that slice up, my mom serves us pancakes.

"So, Mom, have you decided?" I ask her as I take two pancakes and throw them on my plate. Paul does the same, but with a lot more grace than I do.

She whips her hands on her jeans, before giving me a stern glare. "Now Aerin, I just served you food and that's how you thank me?"

"Sorry Mom, thanks for breakfast," I tell her after giving her a cheeky smile. "But seriously, what's your answer?"

"Just like your father, always so impatient," she chides. But, she gives me a smile, which can only mean one thing. "Now, don't get too excited, but I did give this quite a lot of thought, and since Paul is going with you, and you will be traveling with Hilda, I have decided that it would be okay for you to go."

"WOO HOO!"

"Aerin please, not at the table."

"Sorry Mom."

After we finished breakfast, Mom washed our clothes and helped us repack our bags, much to my dismay. Not that I didn't appreciate it, I just knew that Paul was growing more uncomfortable by my mom's openness and motherly antics. By the time we left, we both had enough supplies to last us probably three whole years. That's just how my mom is though. We stopped by the Pokemon Center to re-heal our teams, just in case anything weird happened on the way to Canalave.

Some time down the road, I got this evil grin on my face. "So, are we there yet?"

All he did was groan loudly and shake his head, a small smile on his face.