Strange Emotions

Chapter 6: Meetings, Greetings, Closings

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!

Lucas growled and got up, going to the door and ripping it open furiously.

"BARRY, SHUT UP!" roared Lucas.

Barry stopped.

"Hey!"

"I'm not exactly in the mood to talk to you right now…"

"Oh, that's fine," said the blonde boy airily, walking into Lucas's house. "I'll just ramble instead."

"Get out of my house."

"Why should I?"

"If you don't, I'll have Torterra use Leaf Storm on you."

"…"

Barry paled.

"By the way, why do you look like you were just run over?" asked Lucas, shutting the door and guiding Barry to the kitchen, giving the boy a glass of water.

"Dawn," shrugged Barry, wincing slightly as his bruises and bones stung.

"Oh… Huh? But – she kissed you," stammered Lucas.

"So?"

"…"

"Well, this is awkward."

"Barry, why are you here," sighed Lucas, bringing a normal conversation back into being.

"Oh, no reason. Just to tell you that Professor Rowan needs you at Lake Verity."

"What?"

"Professor Rowan wants you to meet him at Lake Verity."

"Why did he ask you to tell me?"

"Because I was at Lake Verity and he saw me."

"…"

"…"

"Alright, then."

"Sweet!"

"Lucy," called Lucas, "keep a watch on Barry."

"Okay!" came the childish call of his little sister as Lucas grabbed his blue coat and left the house, fixing his scarf.

"Keep a watch on me?" said Barry disbelievingly. "What does he think I'll do, destroy the house?"

Lucy appeared in the kitchen doorframe, holding two items.

"Okay, Mr. Barry, please hold still," said Lucy as she approached the older boy. "Big brother told me to keep a watch on you."

"Uh, yeah…?"

That didn't exactly explain why the little girl was armed with a large bottle of fast-drying superglue and a small Pokémon watch.

…

Or did it?

"AIYEEEEEEHHHH!"

Lucas chuckled on Route 101 as he realized, at the scream, what his little sister probably thought he meant.

"I really should make myself clearer," said Lucas as he mentally pictured what was going on in his house.

He passed Twinleaf Town, and felt a twinge as he glimpsed Dawn's house.

"To think… she's in there," sighed Lucas.

Well now… It couldn't hurt to be a few minutes late to Lake Verity, could it?

…

"Coming!" said Johanna, going to open the door.

"Hello," said Lucas politely to a shocked Johanna. "May I see Dawn?"

"Uh… I'm not exactly sure…"

"What?"

"Well," Johanna covered quickly, "she went to Lake Verity."

"Oh… well, thanks for telling me."

"Sure! No problem!" smiled Johanna, ushering the boy out of the town.

Back in her own house, she collapsed from nervousness onto her couch.

"That was a close one," sighed Johanna.

"What was a close one, Mom?"

Dawn fixed her mother with a curious look.

"Well?" prompted Dawn.

"Oh, hey!" cried Johanna enthusiastically. "Alright, you look bored. You are aren't you?"

"I'm not really bored…"

"Good, you're bored!" said Johanna happily, ignoring Dawn. "Alright, you're going to go to Lake Verity by yourself! Isn't that exciting?"

"Mom… I've been going to Lake Verity by myself for over 6 years now," pointed out Dawn. "It's not that exciting."

"Well, I've packed you a delicious dinner for this trip!" cried Johanna.

"You always pack me food whenever I go to the lake, no matter if it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner."

"Uh…"

"So?"

"Just go," Johanna said, irritated, as she handed her daughter a basket of food and booted her out of the house.

"Sheesh," said Dawn, rubbing her back where she tumbled. "What's next, you catapulting me all the way to Snowpoint City?"

Realizing that the house was completely barred off, she sighed and decided that she might as well just go to Lake Verity. After all, it would be quite a waste if she didn't, wouldn't it? It was such a sunny day, a few peaceful clouds in the sky, the sunset would probably look gorgeous over the calm, peaceful, serene lake, she had great delicious food, she wanted to relax – alright, she was going to go. She couldn't resist that.

Unfortunately for her, she got one more thing that she couldn't exactly resist when she appeared at Lake Verity.

Yeah, him.

"Professor Rowan?" called out Lucas. "Barry told me you needed me. Professor?"

Dawn watched him as he sat down on the grassy area near the sandy shore.

"Why did Barry say that Professor Rowan was here?" muttered Lucas.

Dawn decided that the best thing to do was probably just to leave the lake while she had a chance… except for the unlucky fact that her mother just happened to have somehow managed to stuff a very noisy alarm into the dinner basket.

"Marshmallows!" whispered Dawn as Lucas looked up, startled at the sound of the beeping alarm. "Mom, you suck!"

"Dawn?" he said slowly, almost as though to gage her reaction. "What are you doing here?"

Well, she couldn't exactly just run now, could she?

Turning around, she decided that the best idea would be to pretend that she didn't notice the boy before.

"Oh, hello, Lucas!" she said cheerily… too cheerily. "I didn't notice you before!" said Dawn, fishing in her basket, finding the still beeping alarm, turning it off, and (for good measure) throwing the annoying device into the lake.

"Uh… hi?"

Dawn walked over nervously and sat next to the boy.

Cue the awkward silence…

Yep.

"Look," said Lucas hesitantly, "I've wanted to apologize to you."

"…"

"I know that what I did was stupid and that you probably will never forgive me, but I'm asking you to. Please, don't just ignore me."

"Lucas…"

"Please, Dawn. You know that I like you. If you want everything to go back to the way it was, I'm fine with that. As long as you don't completely leave me out of your life."

Dawn turned her head away from Lucas, eyes brimming with tears.

"Please don't cry."

How did he know everything about her? How could he tell?

She did her best to wipe the tears away before turning back to him.

"Come on, Dawn."

"I just don't want to lose… to lose…"

"To lose what?"

Lucas knew what she was going to say: the word "you".

"Myself."

Lucas somehow managed to trip sitting down and ended up headfirst in the sand.

"What?" he spluttered.

"I don't want to lose myself to you. I don't want to get lost."

Dawn spilled out the reasons she had been holding and Lucas listened patiently. And finally, just as he had expected earlier,

"I don't want to lose you."

"I promise you, you won't ever lose me," said Lucas. "Ever."

Dawn looked over to Lucas, who gazed at her with such an intense look that she felt as though she were burning.

"Lucas…"

He slowly leaned towards her, as she did the same.

"Will I really never lose you?"

"Never," breathed Lucas, before closing the gap between their lips.

Almost.

"ARGGGH, LUCAS I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS!" screamed Barry, running into Lake Verity with a determined small girl chasing him down.

"Lucas told me to keep a watch on you, so please stop running everywhere before I can fasten the watch to you!" begged Lucy as she, with her youthful energy, neared Barry from behind.

"…"

"…"

Lucas and Dawn looked at each other and blushed simultaneously.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we didn't need Mesprit after all," said Johanna to herself quietly, hiding in a tree (yes, in a tree. Not behind one.).

Lucas and Dawn laughed as Lucy tackled Barry and emptied the two gallon bottle of superglue on the whimpering boy before latching the watch to his wrist.

Lucas and Dawn laughed as the glue dried in seconds, immobilizing Barry, fixing a watch to him, and also fixing him to the ground.

Lucas and Dawn…

Lucas watched her joyful face and slowly slipped his hand over hers.

Her laughter died down as she felt the light contact, and she looked over at Lucas with a questioning look.

"You'll never lose me," breathed Lucas.

"And I'll never lose myself," sighed Dawn in relief.

Lucas laughed.

"Oh, you'll never lose me either," joked Dawn.

And, ignoring the cries of, "LUCAS, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" and the repeated flashings of a camera from a seemingly normal tree, Lucas and Dawn clasped hands, and neared their heads together…

They got up, and left Lake Verity.

Johanna's hand froze and stopped the clicking and flashes of the camera.

Barry stopped shouting, stunned as the two walked away, hand in hand.

Lucy smiled lazily in the faint breeze.

Lucas and Dawn disappeared from the lake.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" screamed Barry. "I WENT THROUGH ALL THIS FOR NOTHING?"

"I'm surprised they didn't even kiss," said Johanna rather bemusedly.

"THIS IS SO LAME! AND NOW I'M STUCK TO THE GROUND FOR ETERNITY UNLESS SOMEONE GETS THIS GLUE OFF OF ME WITHOUT KILLING ME!"

"…"

"Hey, look," said Lucy, giggling and pointing at a small pink and gray creature that suddenly floated out of the center of the lake without even causing a ripple.

Johanna and Barry gaped at Mesprit.

The Legendary Pokémon flew over to float in front of the humans, eyes curious.

Telepathically, they heard three words.

Am I late?

"…"

"Wonderful."

END

Author's Note:

Wow, to think that this spurred from a simple one-shot that I originally planned! I hope that any readers of this enjoyed the story. I hope that you thought it was funny... I did, but then again, I'm the author. Oh yeah... here's a question.

Sequel, anybody? =)

If anyone actually bothers to read this, there's a poll for a sequel on my page. Not that I'm making you vote or anything... but it'd be nice if you did. =)