Strange Emotions

Chapter Five: Exasperation, Preparation, Initiation

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Lucas silently slipped back into his house, before disappearing to his room. He was burning up; to think, he was feeling jealous over the girl that he had once hated. Anger, embarrassment, and envy were radiating off of him in copious amounts.

A thermometer was stuck into his room. It read ten degrees above the normal temperature of the house.

"Lucas? You're going to make the air conditioner blow up if you keep stewing in your room," said Lucy, his little sister, timidly from the doorframe, retracting her small thermometer. She had an uncanny ability of knowing when her brother was upset.

"Ha-ha," Lucas said sarcastically.

Lucy smiled. He was calming down. She figured that he would be okay in a few hours… if the air conditioner was still working by then…

"So, what's up?" Barry asked suddenly.

He had dragged Dawn successfully all the way to Lake Verity, screaming "YAY!" the entire way (and introducing a new kind of ear trauma to the passerby). He looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn sullenly.

"Well… you kinda… well…" Barry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's pretend that never happened, and we'll be okay."

"Sure," Barry said quickly. "But what happened to Lucas?"

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn, quickly on guard.

"Well… I saw him as we were leaving Twinleaf…"

"So what?"

"He looked kinda angry."

"He was probably just thinking about something."

"Angrily?"

"…"

"Seriously, Dawn, what happened? I don't believe that you would just… kiss me like that for no reason."

"You really should mind your own business."

"Okay."

Dawn whipped around. Barry was gone.

"Huh?"

"See ya!" said Barry, leaving Lake Verity as coolly as he could, trying to hide a fit of laughter.

"What are you up to…?"

Dawn realized something.

"MY 10 MILLION POKÉDOLLARS! BARRY, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT GIVE THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Heh…" laughed Barry weakly as he stepped into the boundaries of Twinleaf Town, Dawn's screams reverberating within range of the town. Somehow, he didn't think he should have taken her money.

"Oh, hello, Barry."

Johanna opened the front door, to be confronted by the blond boy again.

"Hi, how are you, now tell me what happened between Dawn and Lucas please."

"What?"

Barry repeated his statement slower, as though talking to a young child.

"Hi, how are you? Now, tell me what happened between Dawn and Lucas please."

"Uh… I'm not sure if Dawn would like that information to get out publicly –"

"PLEASE?"

"Barry, I don't think –"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?"

"Barry, please – oh, now you've got me started."

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?"

"Only if you promise to help."

"I PROMISE! NOW TELL ME!"

"Okay, come on in," sighed Johanna as she herded the boy into the house, many of her neighbors staring openly at the screaming boy. "You don't need to embarrass yourself… or me, for that matter," muttered Johanna.

Barry sat on the couch as Johanna began to explain. Unfortunately, he found that it was rather hard to just sit; he fidgeted endlessly, and by the time Johanna was finished with the story, he had wound up in the kitchen.

"So that's what happened…" said Barry.

"Yes."

"Okay, bye!" said Barry, grabbing an orange from a fruit bowl and leaving – not.

"Oh, no you don't," said Johanna, grabbing Barry. "You promised you would help."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"No, you didn't."

"What are you talking about? Of course I promised I would help you!"

"Hah, see!" said Johanna triumphantly, snatching back the orange and expertly throwing it to Glameow, who was passing by. Glameow peeled the orange in a flash with a Shadow Claw attack, before slashing at it, imagining that it was Barry's face.

"My rug!" yelped Johanna, reaching for paper towels as Barry said,

"Oops," as he realized what he just said. "I mean, no, I didn't."

"Oh, stop it and listen to my plan…"

"Are you sure that's a good plan?" asked Barry, slightly unnerved by Johanna's daring.

"Nope! It will either go well, or go badly. Either way, you'll get the credit."

"But I don't want the credit!" whined Barry. "What if it goes badly? They'll kill me!"

"Well, what if it goes well? We just need to trust in Mesprit!"

"See! Dragging a Legendary Pokémon into this doesn't exactly seem like the best idea."

"Oh, whatever. Just get started."

"Okay! I'll start right away!"

"Alright, see you, Barry," said Johanna, waving the boy out of her house. She spotted a stack of bills. "Hey, I think you forgot Dawn's 10 million Pokédollars," said Johanna.

"Oh, thanks!" said Barry, relieved that he remembered to charge back into the house to snatch the money. Looking up, he saw Johanna's disapproving expression.

"Oh… I mean… I didn't forget to take the money, but you were right, I forgot to mention it; I was just taking it to give to you so you could… safeguard it! Heh," said Barry weakly, slapping the bills into Johanna's hands and leaving for Sandgem Town.

Unfortunately for him, Dawn was arriving back in Twinleaf Town just as he was leaving. Reaching out with an arm, Dawn blocked the route out. Barry, charging at full speed, crashed into her arm, resulting in some bone damage (to Dawn's arm or Barry's ribcage, no one knew…).

"Well, hello there," said Dawn sweetly. "Did you hear me when I said that I would kill you?"

"Uh… Yes," said Barry rather unwittingly. "I mean, no! I mean – I don't have your money!" shrieked Barry, panicking and leaping away like a frightened rabbit.

"Uh-huh," scoffed Dawn furiously, reaching out and choking Barry by grabbing his green scarf. "I'm gonna make you pay."

"With money or with my life?" asked Barry weakly.

"You take a pick."

Barry gulped.

"I think I'd prefer if it was money."

"Too bad."

Johanna watched amusedly as Dawn pummeled the boy into the ground. Then again, most of the town was watching with avid interest.

Barry hobbled off five minutes later, determined to get to Sandgem Town, even if he was sporting two black eyes, a few fractures, and a few broken bones when he arrived…

"Idiot," muttered Dawn as she burst back into her house.

"Here you go," said Johanna, grinning slightly as she handed over the 10 million Pokédollars.

"Thanks, Mom," said Dawn, grabbing the bills and shoving them into her room somewhere safe (the key word in this sentence: "somewhere". Just where that "somewhere" is will be unknown till the end of time…).

"By the way," said Johanna, preparing to run as she stepped by Dawn's room, "I told Barry everything."

"You WHAT?"

Johanna almost managed to use Teleport as she leaped into her own room, quickly barring it off by locking all 90 locks (that had previously been located on the front door) on her room's door.

"HOW COULD YOU, MOM!"

"…"

"AND WHERE ARE THE FRONT DOOR'S LOCKS?"