Chapter Title: Of Fears and Fire
Challenge: Start a chapter with "fear has a funny way of ruining everything".
Shipping/Character: SpecialJewelShipping and ManagaQuest
Summary: Ever wonder why Silver doesn't have a single fire-type Pokemon in his team...?
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.
Fear has a funny way of ruining everything.
My hands gingerly held up the orange and brown creature as I held it out as far as I could from my body. The little girl stared at me with wide eyes, her green gaze burning into my own silver eyes. I knew what she wanted. I'd have to hold the creature close if I wanted her to leave me alone. Unfortunately, that was something I... couldn't do... I stare - no, glare is a better word - not bringing it in any closer then I dared. Why had I even listened to her...? Oh, yes, I remember.
The look she was giving me.
I let out an uncharacteristic groan, embarassed to have been reduced to this because of some... little girl. "Do I have to...?" I mutter, glancing at her with a half hearted stare.
"Mm-hm!" she chirps happily, pointing to the Vulpix in my hands. "Don't worry, she won't bite! She's really, really nice, I promise!"
I let out another groan and slowly bring the fire-type close. Slowly. Very slowly. I can see her lighten up immensly out of the corner of my eye when the fox-like Pokemon is fully in my embrace. At first, I wonder to myself, 'Well, this isn't to bad...' However, this only lasts a moment. The odd warmth of the creature makes me jump a bit as it comes to my attention. The Pokemon drops to the ground with a squeal. "Ack!" I cry, recoiling from the fire-type noticably. "G...Get it away from me!"
The girl looked about ready to cry.
"You..." she whimpered, about ready to break down in tears as she reached down to pick up her Pokemon. "You don't... like my Vulpix?"
"Er, well..." Why was it so hard to talk to her? The little, pigtailed female was just so cute and innocent... And her mother, only a few feet away on the park bench, was glaring daggers at me, I could tell. "It's not... that... It's just..." I gulp as a tall woman comes over and takes the girls hand.
"What have I told you about talking to strangers?" she scolds, though her gaze is fixed on me. Whatever expectation has been set for me by her was certainly not met. And, for some odd reason, it hurts. But I brush the thought away when the girl starts talking again.
"Sorry mommy..." she says, looking at her feet. "I just wanted to show mister my Pokemon..."
"Well, come on; we best be heading home. Your father will have a fit if we're late for dinner."
I watch as the two walk away, my face still twisted into a scowl. Why? That Vulpix... there was nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. Neither did any of those other fire-types. It was just... There are some people who were afraid of certain types of Pokemon. Most are the disliked ghost or bug-types. Some are more obscure: fear of electric, ice, or flying-types. That last one was a fear that my elder 'sister' once had. I'd managed to hide it for a while, but there was something Blue and I had once shared. A fear of certain Pokemon.
But for me, it's the fire-type.
Yes, I'm terrified of fire and anything that produces it. Pokemon? Well, if I'd learned anything from that last encounter... Matches? I wouldn't go anywhere near them. Fire itself? Well, you might as well have tied me up and stabbed me to death. I'd prefer that then being burned.
It had all started when Blue and I had worked for the Mask of Ice. Though most of our Pokemon training was focused on one Pokemon - Sneasle for me and Jiggly, her Jigglypuff, for her - we did train multiple Pokemon there. For me, one of these was the fire-type Flareon. This had been, honestly, my favorite out of all my Pokemon. It was powerful and needed little training. It was friendly, despite the terrible conditions we were put under. Of course, this could only last for so long. Because, as anyone could tell you, fire is dangerous and hard to control. And when you do lose control, someone's bound to get burned.
And that someone just happened to be my 'sister'.
Ever since, I haven't even thought of going anywhere near a fire-type. Not that almost loosing my father in an inferno helped much. Over time, my dislike became little more then fear. So, as you can see, even the most innocent of fire-types - like that Vulpix, for example - could make me freeze in my tracks. It was... embarrassing, to say the least. Expecially because that idiot's Explotaro made me want to cower any time I saw it, but I've always managed to hold it in. Hide it. I don't even think Blue knows about my fears.
And I'd like to keep it that way.
I sit down on the park bench that the woman had previously taken and examine the park area. Gold and Crystal had dragged me here after they found out I was in the area. Of course, just as I had guessed, I was little more then the third wheel. Gold was pushing Crystal on the swings, both chatting about the good old days when we were all eleven and all the other children didn't look so small. I envy their joy. I've known for a while now that the two had feelings for one another, and I'd have no hope of getting Crystal now.
"Well, I might as well try not to be a stick in the mud," I grumble, remembering what Gold always tells me when I try and refuse to be around them. "At least, for now anyways." I get up and off the bench and, much to the surprise of the other two Dex Holders, take the empty swing next to the teens.
"I told you he'd come around," Gold tells Crys with a smirk, purposely letting her swing a little closer to the ground so she can get a few words in with me.
"We thought you were to busy having fun with the little kids to come hang out with us," she muses. "Why'd she leave? You scare her off? You can be intimidating at times..."
Intimidating her? Well, maybe that was the cause. Though I think it was more of me hurting her feelings then anything. But I shrug anyways, not wanting them to know I was unintentionally picking on innocent children. "Maybe," I grunt bluntly.
"Maybe you should stop looking like you want to murder someone," she suggests, muttering something to herself about getting better at swinging after so many swing-less years. "I'm sure you'd have your own group of munchkins otherwise."
"Yeah," Gold laughs, "the day kids idolize Silver! I don't think I'll live to see the day!"
It hurts, but they're right. They always are. I'm not exactly what you'd call... people friendly. Though I do enjoy people's presence - a lot more then you'd think - I try to brush it off and act like I don't. So, even though I really was a little disappointed when the pigtailed child left, I kept telling myself I was happy she was gone. "Whatever. I've got better things to do then waste my time with stupid little kids."
"And it's talk like that that'll make you end up old and lonely. Thankfully, Crys and I'll keep you company until then."
"Yes, because I couldn't live without you two." Eh. The sarcasm in my voice didn't prevent it from being the truth. I don't know what I'd do without these two. They and the other Dex Holders are the only ones who really accepted me. And, even then, I'm not sure about some of the other Poke' Dex owners being to thrilled about me being around.
"Aw, is Siwver gwumpy 'cause Gowd won't push him on the swings, too?" the raven-haired boy asks in that annoying tone of voice. "Don't worry, I've got an extra hand." Without warning, he shoves me foward violently, much rougher then he'd been doing to Crystal. Surprised, I grab the chains connecting the seat to the bar above and surpress a squeak wanting to escape my lips.
"What the heck was that for?" I demand when the swing swings backward. I resist the urge to kick him for lurching me forward. Crystal, however, laughs at this.
"Well, you're on a swing, but you were just sitting there, and that's no fun," she explains. I'm not amused. But I turn my head to hide the prominent blush on my face. Why does it happen every time I talk to her...? "Even when we were younger, you never actually swang on the swingset."
"Ah, those were the days..." Gold thinks aloud, his hands falling to his sides as he stops pushing his blue-haired friend.
"Whatever. Can I go home, now?"
"Oh, come on!" he protests with that disappointed look he always seems to have whenever I talk on his face. "We've only been here for like, what, fifteen minutes?"
Crystal corrects, "More like half an hour. But you're right - we haven't even really done anything fun here. Well, you haven't, anyways."
"Please, I'm a teenager, not a little kid. What do you want me to do, anyways, play tag?" Bad idea. Both look at each other with that devious look that says, 'let's torture Silver' before looking back at me. "Oh no... You've got a plan... I don't want to know what it is!"
"Hey! Little kids! Who wants to play tag?" Gold cries as Crystal rises from her swing. I stay put as at least a dozen hands are thrown into the air. "Okay, good! Silver... You're it!"
"Wha... What? Hey! I never agreed to -" I reach out to grab the golden-eyed boy, but he must take it like I'm trying to tag him, as he slithers away from my reach.
"Nah, nah, can't catch me! Gonna have to try harder then that!" he taunts, putting his thumbs in his ears and sticking out his tongue. "I'm right over here!"
"Gr... Gold when I get you, I'm going to -"
"Silver!" Crystal gasps. "There are little kids here! Keep it PG, remember?" She, herself, however, is practically on the other side of the park. In fact, when I look, there isn't another soul within ten feet, other then any parents watching their children at play. I groan for the third time in ten minutes. 'Okay,' I think, scanning the area. 'Find a target. Keep your eyes on them. Don't let them go until they're 'it'. ... Sounds easy enough.' Thankfully, I'm probably the best runner out of the three Johto Dex Holders. If I can outrun those two, I can outrun a group of kids between the ages of five and ten.
"Fine. You want me to play? Then I'll play..."
...
"Good gosh, I'm out of breath!"
Three figues have collapsed on the playset as Gold, Crystal, and I collapse from exhaustion. Gold, the one to speak, is expecially out of breath after racing around the playground for almost five minutes straight trying to escape one really fast seven-year-old who would not let him go. Our game of tag, originally believe to last fifteen short minutes at most, had ended up lasting much longer then we'd anticipated. Though children went, more would come and jumped in on the interesting game. The only three who remained the whole time were Gold, Crystal, and I.
"Come on, get up!" comes a few voices from children still in the sand, iching to get playing again. "You can't give up now! We wanna play!"
"We're tired, can't you tell?" Crystal calls, only moving enough to see the people who demanded they arise.
"But we wanna play!"
Seeing as the others can't shake the persistant group below, and sit up and growl menacingly, "She said we're tired. Now, if you want to come home with your ears where they are now, you're going to mind your own business." This, of course, shut them right up. Instead, they continued playing on their own. I knew, however, it wouldn't last nearly as long as our two hour game.
"Wow," Gold says. "You're heartless, scaring little kids like that."
"Well, we wanted them off our back, and now they are. Got a problem?" I retort, shooting him a glare and laying back down.
"Well, despite Silver scarring little children for life... I think this has been a pretty fun day, don't you think?" Crystal asks us all, glancing over at Gold... instead of me. Ouch. Does she know how much that hurts?
"Yeah... And now I'm hungry..." he responds, putting a hand on his stomach and closing his eyes. "Super serious gal, you should go make us dinner..."
"Hey, I'm your friend, not your mom. Why don't you cook for once?"
"Actually, my mom's out of town today... So, yeah. That I can do."
"Y-you mean you want us to come over?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever..."
"Well, you can count me in. I haven't been to your house in forever... Silver, what do you think?" Yes, finally, I, the third wheel, actually get to talk.
"I'd say no, but you'd probably drag me along anyways..."
"Pretty much!" they chirp in unison, sitting up and shooting me four thumbs up. I groan - seriously, I've lost count of how many times I've done that - and prepare myself to be dragged along. 'I can already tell I'm going to regret this...'
"Well, I'll be heading home. When do you want me to meet you there?"
"Eh, whenever the urge hits you. Be in time for dinner, though."
"Which is... when?"
"Arg, you ask a lot of questions... Erm... Between five and seven, I guess."
"Hm... Expect me there at six." She glances at the watch strapped around her wrist and almost jumps. "It's almost four! You'd better head off home; you've got just enough time to get there and clean up a bit, I'd say..." She grumbles to herself, "Thank goodness I invited them to Violet City instead of going all the way to New Bark Town..." Bidding us goodbye, she grabs her bag off one of the benches and starts off for her own home. Gold follows suit, grabbing his own pack and slinging it over his shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, Silver..."
"Yeah?"
"Where are you staying, exactly...?"
"Staying...?" Why the heck did he want to know? "Somewhere in Cherrygrove, I think... Why...?"
"Well, then, you're coming with me! It's on the way, anyways, right? In fact, you don't even need to stop by wherever you're staying. You can come right on over!
"... You want me to help clean up before Crys gets there, don't you...?"
He smiles. "Pretty much!"
If I wanted to stay with anyone, it probably wouldn't be Gold. But I always need a place to stay, and if the raven-haired boy was actually willing to have me... "Fine. Whatever. Just don't bore me to death." Or worse, make me want to knaw my own ears off before Crystal can come and add a little sanity into the mix of things.
"Sweet! Well, what are you waiting for?" Grabbing Explotaro's Poke' Ball, he summons the fire-type and hops on. He reaches his hand out for me to grab so he can lift me up, but I'm hesitant to grab it. Explotaro had a flame on it's neck... Sure, it wasn't blazing now, but what if something slipped, and... I stare at the duel colored creature with wide eyes, my awareness of everything else blurred. And then, suddenly Gold's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "Hey, are you listening? Hurry up! We don't have all day! My house is a pit, and I don't want to get an earfull when Crystal arrives."
I swallow my fear and sheepishly take his hand. He yanks me up painfuly immediately, and the Typhlosian lurches forward before I've fully settled myself on it's back. I'd have been flung all the way back to the park if the golden-eyed male hadn't grabbed onto my wrist. "Gosh, you got a death wish or something?" he asks me with a laugh as he helps me settle on his Pokemon. I've never ridden Explotaro before, and I'm glad I hadn't. Because ridding on him bareback was absolutely terrifying. The only thing more scary was letting Gold see my fear of fire...
...
"Gold, how many times do I have to tell you? You're house is a pig sty when your mom isn't around! You must work her like a maid..."
Gold had managed to torture me since we left the park only two hours in advance, so seeing Crystal walk in the door was a sight for sore eyes. Of course, as per usual, she commented on how clean the home was. Even after half an hour of cleaning, the place was still a mess. Thankfully, the female Dex Holder was sometimes called the 'cleaning fairy' by Gold and I - mostly the former - and the home would be cleaned before the night was over.
And, as she and I should have realised when the offer was presented, he had no interest in cooking for us at all. Instead, he'd tossed some ramen into the microwave and called it good, practically leaving us to fend for ourselves. This problem would also be fixed momentary by Crystal and my combined efforts. I wasn't much a cooker myself, but I couldn't leave her to do all the work. It was just common courtesy. Plus, if I could spend a little time with her without one certain fire-type user, then maybe... Just maybe...
"Well, what's for dinner?" Ah, the million dollar question. He and I both knew that he was to lazy to actual cook, so only Crystal, who had asked the question, was unaware she'd have to serve dinner... again.
"Erm, well, that's a tough question..." Gold stammers, preparing for a smack to the face.
"Don't tell me... There's nothing to eat, is there...?"
"Well, I can always heat up some leftovers if you really want..."
"Gold, if you're going to invite people over for dinner, then you actually have to -"
I grab her hand before she can raise it to smack him up side the head. He deserved it, but he'd already recieved the attack from me earlier. This stops her scolding and earns me an odd look. I shake my head in a way of telling her 'leave him be; let him be a moron'. She has an odd way of understanding stuff like this - not just from me - so she doesn't continue. Instead, she heads for the kitchen, the one clean room in the house.
"Fine. If you don't want to cook, I will."
I begin to follow her, but she copies the shaking of my head from earlier. "I'll handle this. You go... bond with Gold, or something." As thrilling as that sounded, I do as told and take a seat beside him on the sofa. The awkwardness is apparent to the two of us.
"So..." he begins. "You wanna... watch TV or something?"
"You shouldn't push her so hard, you know. Having her cook in your own house is kind of low."
"Oh, yes, because you're the lord of kindness."
"So? I don't treat my friends like servents."
"Hey, who said I did?" I say nothing. "Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have invited you over for dinner without cooking. Cut me some slack, okay? I'll go help, or something."
"No, let her have some privacy. I don't think she wants you around right now."
"Then what do you want me to do? Shouldn't I at least go apologize?"
"You can. No, you will. But not now."
"Whatever," he growls, laying down and kicking my legs in a way to tell me 'get off'. As I get up and sit on a chair across the room, he says, mostly to himself, "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when dinners ready."
The boy is out in an instant, snoring softly within the span of five or so minutes. This leaves me in utter and complete silence, save for the clattering of dishes and the occational cuss word coming from the kitchen for half an hour. However, after this amount of time, a loud beeping noise catches my ear and I shoot up.
The fire alarm!
I race into the kitchen the moment I hear Crystal let out a scream. Smoke is everywhere, blurring my vision and filling my lungs. The only other thing that catches my eye is the blue haired figure, holding back tears on the floor, and the orange mass on the stove, rising at least four feet into the air.
"What happened?" I demand, racing over and staying as far from the fire as I can.
"I-I was cooking stir fry, and some oil must have fallen under the burner... The next thing I knew, I was practically holding the flames in my hand... We have to put it out! If it gets out of hand, everything will burn!"
But her words are worthless, used on me. How can I tell her? And, worse, how can I make her understand that I can't put it out? "I... I can't..."
"Wha... What? What do you mean you can't? Do you want to end up as crispy as whatevers left of dinner!"
"N... No... It's just..."
Oh, what's the point? The's glaring at me now. She wants to know why. But I can't tell her. Not yet. But if I leave the situation alone... Swallowing my fears, my worried expression twists into that typical scowl. "Fine. Does Gold have a fire extinguisher somewhere in the house?"
"What, you think he lives in the fire department?" The cruelty of her voice hits me hard. She must have noticed, too, be her gaze softens immediately. "No, he doesn't. If he did, I would be trying to use it right now."
"None of my water Pokemon will fit in the house without breaking something... Rhyperior won't, either... Which means that it's up to you, Weavile! Icy Wind!" As I grab the ice-type's Poke' Ball, the blue and red colored creature appears. It's still a bit of a tight fit, having two people and a Pokemon inside of Gold's small kitchen and, when it releases a wave of snow and icy at the flames, Crystal and I are sent crashing into the counters opposite. No matter, the flames are gone. There's no more threat. But the memory and the smoke is enough to keep me paralized in fear.
"Good job, Silver! You've just avoided a catastrophy... Wait a minute, are you alright?" She walks around me and my Weavile - who has just disappeared into it's Poke' Ball - to get a clear look of my face. "What? Are you... Are those tears? Are you crying?"
"What?" I repeat, trying to laugh it off as nothing. "Why would I be crying? You must be imaginin things. That or the smoke is more thick then we thought..."
She jumps the slightest bit in realisation. "... You're... afraid of fire... aren't you...?" I swallow, saying nothing. No point in lying to her now that she knows. 'Idiot... Idiot! You try so hard to hold it in, and now you let it slip! This stuff spreads like wild fire, too... Oh, gosh, no...' She must see my distress because she quickly finishes, "It's okay, I won't tell anyone. Expecially not Gold." I let out a sigh of relief at this, sitting down on the floor by her. "Sorry," she apologizes. "I didn't... know that you were afraid of fire, so..."
"It's... alright..."
Leaning over, she slowly wraps her arms around me, holding me in her embrace. "Well, I'm just glad no one got hurt." I don't do the same. Instead, I sit there with my hands balled into fists on the floor as I sob into her shoulder like some sort of child. I welcome her presence, though. It's the first time she's held me like this in a long time. Maybe the first in forever. And, for once, there's no Gold to interupt -
"Eh...? What...? Hey, where's all this smoke coming from?"
"Gold!" Crystal pulls away from me, racing into the living room to great the raven-haired teen. She must have believed that something had happened to him when he didn't arrive, or something, as she's more excited to see him then I've seen her be in a long time. I can see her race over to him in the other room through the smoke, and she throws her arms around him in a similar manner to that in which she did to me just minutes before. Hmph. And I thought I was in her favor for once.
How he stayed up through the commotion, anyways - the fire alarm, expecially - I'll never know.
I can hear them talking in the living room, she explaining the situation and him laughing the situation off but still blaming the fire on her, and it makes me want to vomit. Not that the gray substance floating around in the air helps out much. So, finding nothing left for me to do, I go and open all the windows I can and flip on all the overhead fans. The result is almost magical, the way the smoke begins to disipate with such speed. But my attention isn't focused on that. It's on the two Dex Holders on the couch.
"Why didn't you help? I almost got burned, thank you very much!"
"Hey, cut me some slack, I was talking a nap. Did you manage to save any of that stir fry? I'm starving!" I smirk as she holds herself back from slapping him across the face. So uncaring, he seemed, of her well being. But I know him better then that. "Yo, Silv!" The sound of my annoying nickname makes me perk up for a bit. Of course, what he says next earns him on of my infamous glares. "Since I can't trust Crys with my stove, wanna cook dinner?"
I'm about to object, preparing myself to tell him to get off his own lazy butt and cook dinner himself, but I stop myself before a word comes out. Knowing him, he'd probably set something else up in flames. One fire is enough for me. So, I take a spot by the stove and start fishing through his mother's recepies. Though I question why I'm doing this for - what would you call it - my number one rival when it came to Crystal, I decide to just go along with it. Plus, I'm pretty hungry myself.
"Fine," I grumble, "But you so owe me after this..."
SO SORRY! The computer was being stupid on Saturday, I was too lazy on Sunday, and I forgot yesterday and today. And then... I remembered! I need to post! Chapter six is done, and I will try to post on Saturday. If I don't it's because my computer is, again, being stupid or I didn't get a chance to get on any computers. ;w; Anyways...
This was one of the very first chapters that I ever finished. I think it was number... three? Yeah, when I saw that prompt... The idea hit me like a speeding bullet, and I liked it so much, I wrote it! The part with the fire is based on something that actually happened here at my own house! My dad was cooking stir fry and... WHOOSH! I was standing in the next room over, and boy was I terrified! Wow, writing this author's note at twelve in the morning. Please, excuse any spelling errors here and in the fanfic, since, well, it's late and I'm tired. Also... people seem so out of character in these one-shots. 3
Crys' burnt stir fry goes out to the people who read but didn't review. For all you people who're still reading, but are being to lazy to review, don't be shy! I only bite into apples, so, unless your magical fruit that can type... Anywho, Silver's wonderful mystery meal to the wonderful people below~! Feel free to choose what you think it is~!
TigerSneak1: Yesh, if Crystal leaves Gold, we must hunt her down and get them back together again. DON'T RUIN EVERYONE'S FAVORITE PAIRING. Technically, it's my third favorite, but... And, nah, I think yearbooks are a waste of money. My sister never even looks at her's, so... Plus, I always forget to bring money for them anyways. XD
BowserComunistLvX: Gold, you may be a complete jerk face sometimes, but, as you can tell, we all love you, anyways. Might explain why three of the five one-shots I have so far have MangaQuest. . Anywho, thanks for the review~! ^^
Stealthclaw: Thank you! 8D And... really? Other then number one, which probably fails in comparison to every other one-shot ever written, that's probably the worst, in my opinion... OTL Number six, which'll be comin' up next week is my favorite. You'll just have to wait and see...
Whitewind of ShadowClan: Yes, I took quite a long time, didn't I? I completely lost all my muse, and then I kept forgetting... Really, overall, I was just lazy. ._. Thank you, by the way~!
FedoraForever: Yay, new reader/reviewer/follower/person~! Thank you! And you, madam, sir, whichever, are also a genius for being so kind. TwT
Since I was to lazy to go find a yearbook, I came up with another idea that probably kicks whatever ideas I might have had in the butt. Or, at least, that's what I think. It's all written out, so you should have another chapter right on squeduale. Now, I just need an idea for number seven... P: