Chapter Title: Of Bets and Parties
Challenge: Make your characters stay up all night long. See what happens.
Shipping/Character: OldRivalShipping
Summary: In which a bet ends in insanity.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters in the story. I also do not own the vague idea that this one-shot was based on.
"I bet that Green couldn't stay up half an hour past midnight, no matter how much caffine he's consumed!"
Noon. A time of lunch. A time of breaks from work or school. And for Blue, a time of gossip. Where else do you think the brunnette found all that information for blackmailing her friends? It was no surprise to see her out and about in town during the lunchtime hours; in fact, people worried when they didn't see her out to eat at some cute little reasturaunt at that time of day. One wouldn't need much to guess where the female was that day. Out at a small eatery where the tables were set up outside of the actual place.
A little stupid if you asked her.
The day's topics ranged from many things: how fattening chocolate was, what Gold had done to not only get beaten up by Crystal, but Silver at the same time, and how long coffee or soda could really keep you up at night. Current topic? How long each female's male counterpart could last just running on their own steam and five cans of coke. Yellow, who had only chimed in for this part of the conversation had bet that Red could last from around three to four in the morning before he'd give out. Crystal bet Gold would be out in an hour or two, while Silver could probably stay up all night, if he wanted to. Sapphire didn't even bet - Ruby would be to worried about his beauty sleep to want to stay up all night. And Platinum found it uncivilized to be talking about the others behind their backs... But bet around four or five in the morning for both Diamond and Pearl.
Blue, however, was not so confident that Green could last that long.
"I mean, honestly, you'd swear he falls asleep exactly when it turns midnight - no sooner, no latter. I haven't seen him stay up late once. And you want to know why? Because he knows he can't."
Crystal chimed in, "Are you sure it's because of that? I'm sure that he just likes his sleep and doesn't want to be all grumpy the next morning."
"Yeah," Sapphire laughed, "Because he's so cheery with sleep."
"I think that I am with Crystal on this matter," Platinum finally said after a breif moment of silence. "Have you ever challenged him to staying up all night before? I'm sure that, if he tried, he could stay up until at least three o' clock in the morning..."
"Oh?" Blue questioned, feeling as though she'd been issued a challenge. "You want to make a bet?"
"What? I didn't say -"
"I don't know, this might be fun," Yellow interuptted, cutting the blue haired female off. "We each guess how long the boys can stay up and whoever's closest gets a prize."
"Loser pays for winner's dinner?" Sapphire asked, already grinning like crazy. Odd, guessing as she'd said Ruby wasn't one for staying up at night.
"And the winner gets to choose whatever reasturaunt they want, and the loser most obliege!" Blue finished, mirroring her junior's determined look. "That sound about right?" Everyone but Platinum, who looked utterly bewildered about how she'd gotten herself into the mess nodded. "Good. Now, lets all place out bets and watch as I dominate you all." It was true - she had a wonderful streak of winning almost any and all bets, making sure to accomplish all means necessary in order to earn her to promised reward.
The others wouldn't have stood a chance.
Unfortunately, with deals involving her cold friend, she wasn't so lucky.
The only problem that they all faced, however, was getting all the males in one room together for an entire night. But awnser was obvious. "Party time!" Blue and Sapphire cried in unison, both making the other their unannounced rival. From then until the moment the bet was over, both would do anything and everything to win and earn a free dinner. For the remaining three, however, it was a matter of not loosing all of their money in a silly bet.
"Oh, boy," Crystal sighed, resting her head on her fingertips. "I have a bad feeling I'm going to regret this..."
"And you want me to go to this party so badly because...?"
Plain out asking? A failed attempt. But wasn't that a given? The cute charm? Not yet tested, but unlikely results. Blackmail? It seemed to be her only choice in the matter. No matter how you looked at it, however, Blue was not going to get Green to come to the overnight party she and Sapphire had planned with simple asking. She'd be lucky if she got him to come willing at all. But it was always worth a shot...
"Please, Green?" she begged with the best puppy dog eyes she could manage. "Everyone else will be there, and it will be a lot of fun... Don't be a party pooper..." He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. She didn't even need to say anything to get him to guess what she did.
"You made a bet on me, didn't you?"
Busted!
"Wh... what?" she said, trying to laugh it off... and failing. "Why would I make bets on you? Heck, I don't ever talk about you behind your back, so why would I suddenly start making bets on you?" He stared at her through blank eyes. "Okay, yes, I made a bet on you. So? Who cares?"
"'Who cares'? I care! You can't go talking about me and betting on whatever with your other friends and expect me to take it."
"But you'll have fun at this party anyways, bet or no bet! And it's not even anything major! It's just some silly little guessing game!"
"Please, Blue; when is it ever just 'some silly little guessing game' with you?"
"You're... You're heartless!"
"Why thank you."
Plain out asking? A failed attempt, as one could tell. The cute charm? It may have very well ruined her chances as a whole. Blackmail was her only option. That, or more pointless begging. But, no matter what it took, she was going to make him come along, whether he wanted to or not. So, instead, she glared at him for a moment before turning her back. New strategy: cause him to be victim of reverse psychology. Clearing her throat and looking up with a haughty expression, she countered, "Well, you know what, maybe I don't want you to come." He wasn't fazed. But she wasn't giving up... Not yet, anyways. "It'd be a whole lot more fun without you dragging us all down."
"Great," he said smugly. "Glad we see eye to eye."
Reverse phychology? She'd never trust it again.
"Green, you know I have a whole lot more dirt on you then I'm letting out, right?"
"Oh, really? You've got nothing left to blackmail me with; my life's an open book."
"You think? Alright... The ballet class."
His face flushed in an instant, and he looked about ready to counter, but he turned his head away and lied through his teeth. "Okay, so once, I accidently walked in on a ballet class. And they made me dance. Not ashamed."
"Oh?" He new that it was a lie, but she still had so much more secrets she could use against him... She'd keep pointing them out until he crumbled. "Alright... Mr. Gibbles."
He turned even more, so she couldn't see his face at all. "Now, now, no need to bring up past pets in our conversation."
"Hm? Alright... The calzone!"
"Checkmate..." he muttered. Turning around, he half said, half growled, "Fine, fine, I get it. You really want me to go to this stupid party. If I go, promise you won't tell anyone?"
"I swear on my life~!" 'For now, anyways...'
"What's your stupid bet, anyways...?"
"That's for us girls to know... and you boys to never find out~!" His irritation was obvious, but he remained silent. She knew that he knew arguing would be futile. A devious grin poked at the corners of her mouth. 'This is going to be so much fun...'
"When and where are we meeting, then?" he asked with a sigh of defeat.
"Crystal's house. In Violet City. Come at around... nine. It's an overnight thing, too, so pack some extra clothes."
"An 'overnight' thing? Slumber parties are for girls, not both genders..."
"I don't know, that calzone is saying otherwise..." He gritted his teeth, balling his hands into fists and grumbling something about her being a pesky girl... again.
"Fine. Nine o' clock at Crystal's. Can you leave me in peace, now?"
"Oh, Green, you know I'm only a hop and a skip away from ruining your day... but okay~! I'll see you tonight~!" With that, Blue exited the boy's house where she'd gone to consult him. It was a dreary place, there, and she honestly hated it. But she'd never tell him that to his face. As the door slammed behind her, the girl's blue-eyed gaze drifted upward. Clouds were beginning to form in the sky, and the faint scent of rain warned her of the storm to come.
That, and the weatherman that morning.
"Aw, well," she muttered, looking ahead of herself so she didn't run into anything on her way home. "No point in crying over a bit of rain. Rain or no, blizzard or drought, this party is going to be the best part of all time..."
"Gold...?"
"Yes, Silver?"
"... Remind me why I'm here again..."
"Because Crystal and I tied you up and dragged you here, of course. What have you already forgotten?"
Seeing as Blue and Sapphire had forced Crystal to host the late night party, it was no wonder that the two rivalling females and the three Dex Holders of Johto had arrived first. It wouldn't take much to get the majority of the boys to come; it wasn't like they had anything better to do. The only problem was getting Green and Silver to come, as they were probably the most anti-social of them all. Blue, as you know, had gotten through to her male counterpart through threatening to embarass him to no end in public, but she was quite impressed with Gold and Crystal's methods of getting their cold friend around.
"Maybe I should try that sometime..." she muttered thoughtfully, watching as her younger 'brother' crossed his arms in frustration on the couch only a few feet away. Sapphire made herself at home - little to much at home, if you asked her - in the recliner on the other side of the room, kicking off her shoes and planting her fragrent feet on the coffee table, much to the displeasure of their host.
Crystal asked, "Mind getting your feet off my table? They're not exactly what I'd call the greatest centerpiece..."
"Hey, I can set 'em wherever I want," the feiry female shot back with a glare, slumping into the chair even more and inching her bare feet closer to where Crystal sat by Gold. In turn, the blue haired trainer recoiled, plugging her nose. She remained silent, to her better judgement. Gold was not so smart.
"Hey, she said get them off, so get them off!"
"Watch it, moron! I can put my feet up wherever I want!"
With that, the two were thrown into anarchy, shooting insults and punches at one another: Gold trying to back up Crystal, and Sapphire biting back. Crystal tried to pull the raven-haired male away from his attacker, while the other two didn't do much to help. Silver stared at the scene with that typical 'why am I surrounded by idiots' look on his face while Blue ate it all up.
"Ooo, a fight~! To bad I didn't pack my camera... Oh, wait - yeah, I did!"
She was about to skip away and fetch her bag to grab the item when the door opened and a cold burst of air flooded the room.
"Hey, hey, hey, cut it out!" Red demanded, racing over and helping Crystal pry the two bickering teens appart. "The party hasn't even started and you're already fighting each other?"
Sapphire grunted but said nothing, sitting back down in the recliner and folding her arms. Gold, again, wasn't that smart. "If she would just listen when people talk to her..."
"If you'd just mind your own business!"
The two were about to jump on one another again when Yellow butted in. "Stop it, you two! We came to have fun, not claw each other's throats out..."
"I expect better from you two; expecially you, Gold."
Gold snorted and sat back down himself. Unhappy was an understatement. Sapphire, however, looked completely distraught when her idol scolded her. Her expression told Blue that she was putting the blame on Gold and that the battle wasn't over. "Sorry..." she muttered, death glaring the golden-eyed boy on the sofa.
"Who's all here?" Yellow asked Blue, snapping her out of her own thoughts.
"Oh? Um, well... Crystal, obviously... Me, Gold, Silver, Sapphire, and you two. We're still waiting for Ruby, Emerald, the Sinnoh gang, and Green."
"You think he'll actually come?"
"Trust me - he'll regret it if he doesn't."
She laughed at this, though she wasn't joking - if Green bailed out on them, he'd regret the day he met her outside of Saffron. "Just once," she asked again, "would except 'no' for an awnser? He won't like you much if you keep forcing him to do things he doesn't like." Yes, because he liked her so much as it was. She doubted he'd ever enjoyed her presence to much. But that didn't stop her from following him around like a duckling following its mother.
"Well, maybe, one of these days I will. When he finally learns to have a little fun in his dull, dull life!"
Yellow laughed again, this time more out of pity for the green-eyed teen. "Well, for his sake, I do hope he comes... I know what you're like when you get mad..." With that, she followed Red and sat on the chair closest to where he sat on the couch. Four people on one sofa. Not exactly the greatest fit.
The next half an hour was quite uneventful. The television was turned on and the seven all argued about which show they wanted to watch. One by one, the missing Dex Holders arrived, strolling in casually and making themselves at home. In this time, one certain brown-haired male did not arrive. Blue had pulled out her cell phone, dialed his number, and pressed talk the moment he arrived, looking as unhappy as ever. With lightning fast reflexes, she hung up the phone and hid it behind her back before his own began to ring.
"Well, well, well, look who's tardy for the party." This was a phrase she used whenever anyone was late, or even just arrived a little later then the others, but, for this situation, you could have taken it literally. He was, afterall, tardy. For a party. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
"Well, I wasn't. Until you texted me that warning."
A few pairs of eyes turned to look at her with questioning gazes, but the room remained silent until she spoke up again. "Well, take off your coat - make yourself at home." And he did, tossing his jacket carelessly onto the floor and seating himself on the floor - the only available spot in the living room. "Well, she continued, turning her gaze towards the general area in which Crystal sat, "what activities has our lovely hostess planned?"
"Wha... What? I agreed to having you all here, not tending to your every waking need!"
"Technically, super serious gal, hosting a party means planning it, too."
"B-but that's not fair!"
"Don't worry," Ruby reassured her. "I'm sure you have something in this house that can keep us entertained until we know what to do ourselves."
"Well... I have DVDs, but..."
"Movie night!" the majority of the group cried, their faces lighting at the thought of watching some of their favorites. Crystal stared at them all in disbelief, and Blue could tell she was probably a little disappointed that she hadn't thought of the solution in the first place. Unfortunately, just as they all had been arguing over which television show to watch, finding a movie was easier said then done.
"Comedy!" Diamond and Pearl insisted.
"Action is always the way to go," Gold countered.
"Something... insperational?" Platinum suggested.
"Romance." All eyes turned on Silver, the person whom the voice belonged to. Blue herself was expecially shocked. She'd known the boy since he was two, and he was never into the fluff that romantic movies supplied. "What?" he asked, glaring at everyone. "It'll put me to sleep faster." Everyone else relaxed... Everyone but Crystal, who cringed. She'd placed her bets that Gold would last until three in the morning, while Silver could last all night. If he fell asleep because of the movie they watched, there'd be almost no hope in her winning. Or, at least, not end up on the losing end.
"Can't we just pick something?" the terrified girl demanded, holding up a handful of the movies that she was flinging out of the cabniet they'd been placed in. "Seriously, why can't you all just decide on something?" The room stared at her in silence, before picking up their annoying bickering. In the end, the dark blue-haired girl just tossed in the first movie she grabbed.
The room was silenced the minute the horror movie began.
"I'll... I'll never trust clowns again... " Ruby muttered, mortified as the screen finally fell black.
Yellow stared in horror at the screen from between her fingers. "Is it over yet...?" she wimpered.
"Worst. Two hours. Of my life," Pearl agreed, his eyes wide as though he expected some other grotesque creature to pop up on the screen.
Blue stared at the television. Now that the credits were finished rolling, the entire room had fallen dark. The only source of light were the lamp posts outside and the light from the digital clock beneath the cable box. It read eleven thirty seven. Shaking her head and the bad thoughts that came from the horror movie out of her head, she announced. "Well... That was interesting..."
"I think I'm going to have nightmares," Gold muttered, still clinging to Silver with all his might. The red-haired male hadn't protested at all - probably because he welcomed being so close to someone else during the span of the video.
"Okay, okay, I know, Crystal's scared us for life -"
"Hey, I resent that!"
"- but the party's only beginning." The brunnette whipped her head around to face where she believed Sapphire was. 'This bet is as good as mine!' "If you're all so worried about nightmares, then how 'bout we don't sleep at all? The person who can stay up until eight o' clock tommarrow morning wins. No sleeping at all - even if you dose off, you lose."
Green cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. She smirked, as she could tell what he was thinking. 'This has something to do with that bet, doesn't it' his face read, but he said nothing. Instead, Diamond chirped, "And what does the winner get?"
"The winner...?" She looked to Sapphire for help, but the other was enjoying herself watching her rival struggle. Her gaze shifted from Yellow, to Crystal, to Platinum, but all they could give her was a shrug. "Er... Bragging rights?"
"Or, we introduce the punishment game," Green suggested, his stare confused. If there was a bet, he was probably wondering, then why wasn't there a reward? 'He can't possibly know what we're bidding on, and what the reward and punishment is... I... I won't allow it!' "Winner gets to do whatever they want to the loser."
"Bringing up our old games, huh?" Red interupted. "That sounds about fair. But I warn you... I can stay up pretty late."
The game officially began at midnight, the boys unaware of the real reason this challenge was issued. The girls could care less who won, really - it was a small punishment and reward compared the promised dinner if they were close enough to the point their respective males would fall asleep. Thankfully, the horrors of the movie were still fresh in everyone's minds and helped them to stay up a bit longer then they would have otherwise. The only real problem was trying to entertain themselves.
Ruby, who was reading a book on the couch, was the first to fall asleep. Somewhere around twelve thirty, one o' clocked they all guessed. The loser for the night game was decided, and a few of the remaining contestants grew excited, wondering what they would have the boy do. Sapphire had wanted the black-haired boy to last at least until three thirty. That was, well, three hours off. Unless everyone else was way off base, it'd be likely she'd wind up the loser.
"Feeling sleepy yet?" Blue asked her opponent in uno, Green, around one fifteen - her estimated time.
"No. You?"
"Oh, trust me, I'll be up all night long."
Diamond crashed at two. Platinum was off by half an hour with him, so she wasn't to concerned. As long as she wasn't to far off on Pearl, she'd be fine. Gold fell asleep only five minutes later then what Crystal had guessed. The blue-haired female, though not one of a bragger, approached Sapphire with a wicked grin.
"You ready to watch your money being spent on my enjoyment?"
"I'll never bet on anything again..."
This obviously earned them a confused glance or two, but their short conversation was easily brushed off. Platinum herself fell asleep shortly afterwards; she'd never see how close her guess on Pearl would be. When said boy fell asleep at four and Yellow claimed she didn't really want to stay up any longer, it left only the two Kanto boys, Blue, Crystal, Silver, and Sapphire awake.
"Three hours off..." Blue muttered, staring at her hands. "If he falls asleep within the next thirty minutes, though, I'll be able to beat Sapphire's guess on Ruby and get away without paying for anyone's dinner..."
As the numbers on the clock climbed, so did the awkwardness of the conversations. People laughing at nothing at all and a little to much at things that would have otherwise not been to funny, thinking up some of the oddest things ever, enjoying the presence of others that they wouldn't normally have... Red and Green were practically joined at the hip, laughing and having a good time. Silver, Crystal, and Sapphire had all gathered into a group playing a game of Go Fish, with Crystal and Sapphire talking about something Blue couldn't quite hear. Only Silver seemed in character, sitting in silence with a look that said 'you're all a bunch of idiots'.
"Green..." Blue moaned, making her way over to where the boy sat by Red. Fifteen minutes. She had fifteen minutes to get him in bed. "You must be so tired... Why not crawl into bed and go to sleep? It's not like you can lose anymore, anyways..."
"Please, Blue, I know what you're trying to do... And I'm not falling for it." Red giggled, even though it wasn't all that funny. "You just want to win, don't you? Well, you know what? I'm going to stay up all night if I have to. I don't know what kind of bets you've placed on all of this, but, I'm afraid to say that you're going to lose."
"Oh, Red, have you heard the story about the calzone?"
"Calzone?"
"Oh, no you don't. Red - don't listen to her. She's talking nonsense again."
Blue puffed out her cheek in irritation. This was all wrong! Ten... no, five minutes left, and Green wouldn't budge! 'I'm going to lose...' she realised, her face falling. 'And now I'm going to have to pay for someone's dinner... I'm practically broke as is!' "Fine, whatever! My bet was on you staying up for the whole night, for your information, so I came here to see the deed done. Happy?"
"Very," he retorted with a smug grin. He was reading her like a book! He knew she would never give away her plans, and that this was just some other trick to get him to fall asleep. Balling her hands into fists, she whipped around and stormed away. Over her shoulder, she could still hear their conversation going on.
"Hey, Green..." Red asked, his words slurred. "What did she mean when she said... 'calzone'?"
"Well, you see, a while back..."
Lost in thought, Blue almost barreled into a certain red-haired boy. However, she stopped herself just in time to avoid a collision. "S-Silver?" she stammered, pointing to what he held in his arms. "Why are you carrying Crystal? Is she hurt, or something?"
"Oh, hey. And no. She fell asleep in the middle of our card game. Sapphire was to busy laughing about the whole ordeal to help me, so I decided to carry her to her room."
"Oh, I see." There was a long pause, as neither knew what to say. "Are you tired yet?"
"No. You remember - the Mask of Ice had us up all night, so I guess I kind of got used to being 'nocturnal'. Why, are you tired?"
"Very much so," she grumbled, defeated. Not only was she angry she had not kept the ability to stay up through the late hours like her friend, but Crystal, who had guessed he could stay up all night if he set his mind to it, knew the boys like the back of her hand. 'Crystal'd better enjoy her meal...' Blue growled in silence, 'because it'll be the last one she ever has...'
"Why don't you lay down? You're looking really sleepy, and I don't want you collapsing like Crystal and Red over there." Sure enough, when she turned around, Red was asleep on the couch, drool beginning to trickle down his cheek.
"No. I'm determined to stay up all night, if I have to." 'I'll see this war won!'
"Well, if you insist. But I need to get this one to bed - she's more heavy then you'd think." Blue let out a laugh and let her junior by, watching as he went down the hall and approached the door to the blue-haired Dex Holder's room.
The clock read five. To late now for winning - she was on the loosing end. Sapphire, still laughing at the stupidity of the world at the dining room table with a hand of cards in her hand would be oblivious to her victory until she'd had a good night's sleep. Poor girl. They were the only two left, so one of them would have to stay up until the remaining two boys fell asleep. However, by five thirty, the brunnette was about ready to collapse.
Having taken the spot previously vacated by Red, Blue was doing all she could to not fall asleep in Green's lap. "You... tired?" she asked with a yawn, begging her eyelids to not be so heavy. "It sure is... early, isn't it...? You should... be asleep... by... now..."Green, however, was as wide awake as Silver, who was snapping his fingers to wake up Sapphire during their tournament of Go Fish.
"Nah, I'm not tired. Not one bit. You, however, look terrible," he mused. She wasn't insulted - it was the truth. "You can go to bed, now; like you said, you won't lose."
With another yawn, she made herself comfortable by leaning on his shoulder. "... Yeah... Maybe I will... Just... promise me one thing..."
"Yeah?"
"Just... be here when I wake up... 'Kay...?"
"... Yeah. I promise."
Her awareness of the outside world lasted only a few seconds before she was washed away in a tide of black. But, even though she'd lost and was going to have to prepare to lose the rest of her saved money, she went to sleep with a light heart. Because, when she woke up, at least she'd have that certain someone there to greet her.
"Blue. Blue, wake up."
"...Wha...?"
"Blue, get up. It's almost noon!"
Blue's eyes opened just the slightest bit, hurting as light flooded in through the tiny cracks. But, in a matter of moments, they flew open and their owner shot upwards. "Where am I?" She turned her head to see who had awoken her. For a moment, she thought it would be Green. However, a head of dark blue hair made her think twice. It had been Crystal arousing her, disturbing her slumber on the Dex Holder's couch.
"Relax, you're still at my house. You must have fallen asleep before eight."
"Eight...? Oh, right! The bet! Who won?"
"Well, Sapphire's memory was kind of a blur. She told Silver the story and had him wake her up every time she fell asleep. But, she said that she, Green, and Silver stayed up until eight. In fact, Silver hasn't slept a wink since. So, since I was a couple minutes off on Gold and spot on with Silver..."
"Great. And since I bet Green couldn't stay up past one..."
"Looks like you're on the loosing end."
"... Crystal?"
"Yeah?"
"...I just noticed... Was Emerald there at the party...? "
"..."
Outside, sitting in the mud was a certain blonde haired boy. Left out and hurt, the green eyed Dex Holder whimpered, "I just wanted inside..."
... What... was with the ending...? Actually, it was supposed to be Emerald was trying to get in and everyone freaked out because they thought he was one of the monsters from the movie. XD I might actually write that and post it as a seperate one-shot so you could see what that would be like... The reason why it wasn't there was because my sister gave me the idea when I asked her how to end it, and I didn't feel like turning around and adding in poor old Emerald freaking everyone out throughout the night.
Oh, well.
Also, SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. My brothers managed to mess up the laptop that I usually use (and have these all typed up on), so the Internet gives you five seconds to five minutes to do anything. It took me at least eight tries just to get to , and another eight to actually upload this on document manager. Then it just wouldn't let me add the authors notes or post it. ;w;
And, lastly, I'm stuck on the next one-shot. The prompt is 'Include two llamas named Zap and Zoom' and the pairing is Mangaquest. Any suggestions...? *puppy dog eyes*