I'm not going to bother making excuses this time. I wrote this because I really felt like writing something and had some time to kill. I probably wont update it again but hey, I'm not one to predict the future. If I do get around to this story again then the first thing I'll probably do is rewrite the the first few chapters because, reading back over them, a lot of that doesn't sit well with me. Just enjoy this for what it is :D
"And then I said 'That's not a Diglett!" The backing track of laughter echoed out of the television speakers, filling the room with its noise. I grabbed the remote and flicked the show off, bored. I pushed myself off the sofa and cracked my neck, stiff from lying there for so long and glanced out the window. It was a bright sunny day, relatively hot for mid October.
"Fuck it; I'm going for a walk" I decided. I had been cooped up in the house all day and a little fresh air sounded like a great idea. It was one of the rare days when I didn't have work or school. To this day I don't know what prompted me to go outside. Normally I would be happy to waste away on the couch but I felt like I needed to be out, like something was calling me.
I grabbed my keys off the table in the hallway and reached for the door. Glimpsing myself in the mirror that hung above the table I noticed that all I was wearing was a pair of faded jeans. Sighing I turned and stared at my reflection. Over the past few months my body had toned from working at the quarry, with my upper body having become especially muscular. My chest and back used to be covered in pimples and blackheads but they have mostly faded, leaving behind a few pockmarks. My face was mostly cleared up as well but at that moment my hair hung in front of it so you couldn't really tell. Most of the freckles on my face were mostly fading away as well but the ones on my arms showed no signs of going away.
I rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I grabbed the first item of clothing I could find, a light blue t-shirt that had the design of the Blackthorn City Blastoise Soccer team and stuffed myself into it. As I bounded down the stairs I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I had been wearing it like this for the past while, not because of some style or anything, but because it was easier to manage. Frankly, I didn't give a flying Pidgey shit what anyone else thought of it
Ray was sitting patiently at the end of the stairs waiting for me. I smiled and patted his head before I opened the door. A light breeze brushed the fallen leaves off the ground as we set out towards nowhere in particular. We ended up at the Pokémart so I bought myself a can of Green Tauros and a snack for Ray that was shaped like a Kabutops skeleton. I leaned against the side of the building as I downed the energy drink and Ray nibbled on his treat.
As Ray ate I started to think about Phoebe. The Kabutops was always her favourite. She wandered off soon after my mam died and I haven't seen her since. She had been with the family since before I was born and was the kitten of my mother's Persian that she had when she was a trainer. I missed her, even if I never had the same kind of relationship with her that I have with Ray.
I had become so engrossed in Ray as he attacked his food that I didn't notice there was someone in front of me until they tapped me on the shoulder. My eyes travelled up her body as I looked up at her. She was wearing a pair of red Converse and a denim mini skirt, with black leggings underneath that hugged her legs. Her top was light pink with a dancing Clefairy on it. Her hair hung down over one shoulder and she had a silver chain around her neck with an Eevee dangling from it. As my eyes met hers she smiled and I found myself smiling back.
"Heya Ben, what's up?" Paige chirped. I don't think I had ever seen this girl without a smile on her face. She was always brimming with positivity that it was practically infectious. "I'd say that this is the first time in a while that I've seen you outside of school" She stuck her tongue out.
"Yeah I guess it is," I replied "I've been kind of busy lately."
"Oh yeah that's right, you got a job working at the quarry. How's that going for you?" That smile never left her face.
"Its grand. Its hard work but it's rewarding and it keeps me afloat."
"So what are you up to at the moment? Doing some shopping?"
"Nah, I just felt like going for a walk. Needed to get out of the house."
"Well are you heading anywhere in particular or just wandering?"
"Just wandering"
"Well in that case I'll join you, I don't really feel like going home just yet" For a moment a look crossed her face. If I hadn't been paying attention I probably wouldn't have noticed but I saw something in her eyes, something oddly familiar. I was about to say something but at that moment Ray, having finally finished his snack, noticed that Paige was there and jumped up at her, yapping. That look was gone as soon it had come and I was already beginning to doubt that I had seen anything at all. Paige picked up Ray and he licked her on the cheek. I laughed, Ray had always liked Paige.
"So let's get going then" Ray jumped out of her arms and dashed off as she grabbed my hand, pulling me away from the wall. Her hand lingered there for just a moment before she dropped it. It almost felt like she was hesitant about it but nah, that's impossible, it was just my imagination.
She talked about everything and anything. I didn't really contribute much to the conversation but that didn't really matter, she talked enough for the both of us. Ray ran around our feet constantly almost tripping us up on more than one occasion.
As we were crossing Bond Bridge I got a chance to take a good look at her. She really was beautiful. Her hair blew behind her slightly in the light breeze with a few strands of her fringe falling down over her forehead and her eyes were constantly alight as she talked. Whenever she smiled at me it was impossible not to smile back and I was laughing at every little joke she told.
I've always liked this about Paige. I feel comfortable around her and she can make me feel happy even when I'm not in the mood. In the weeks after my mother passed I saw a lot of pity in the eyes of everyone around me but in her I saw empathy. The day after the funeral she came up to me and told me that if I ever needed a shoulder to cry on that she'd be there. I never took her up on that offer. I felt that if I did it would make me weak but there were days were it was tempting. Oh so very tempting.
It took me a moment to notice that she wasn't talking anymore. She was staring straight at me with one eyebrow raised (God Dammit!). Wait, did she just ask me a question? I zoned out of the conversation a little, lost in her. Stupid bloody hormones, they're always catching me unawares. Last thing I could remember was her telling me about a Pokémon egg she had received from an uncle overseas.
"Um… yes?" I answered hesitantly, testing the water.
She made a pouty face and flicked me on the forehead. "Yes is not a good name for a baby Ralts. I was thinking Vivi if it's a girl but I can't think of anything if it's a boy"
"Hmmm," I screwed my face up in concentration "Oh I know, how about Excalibur!"
She made a face and flicked me on the forehead again "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. Wasn't there a knight in the King Arthur stories whose name was something similar to Gallade though?"
"You mean Galahad the Pure? From that one Monty Python film?"
"Yeah that's the one, Galahad."
"Galahad is a bit long winded. How does Gale sound?"
"Gale! That's perfect." she beamed and threw herself at me in a hug. I staggered a bit before I regained my footing and hugged her back. We stood there for a while before I tried to untangle myself from her but she just held on tighter. I didn't really know what to do so my arms went limp and just hung at my sides. She hung onto me for a few more seconds before she let go.
"Is everything alright?" I asked, concerned. She turned away from me before I got a chance to look at her face properly.
"Yeah, everything's fine." She said quietly before racing off "Hey look we're at the school" The subject change was so obvious but I decided not to push the matter. She was right; we had arrived at the rusty front gates of the school. They were shut with an equally rusty padlock around them. "It's so eerie when it's not full of students" Her voice had returned to its normal chirpy self.
"That it is" I replied when I caught up to her. Ray bounded up beside me and sat down on his haunches. We stood there and stared at the school for what seemed like an age in absolute silence. I felt a little awkward and couldn't think of anything to say to strike up the conversation. I scratched my head and shuffled my feet, feeling more and more out of place with every passing second.
"Come on, it's getting late, we should probably start heading back." The sun was setting behind the big grey building and cast long shadows behind us. I turned around to look at her but before I got a chance to say anything the world erupted in noise.
This unearthly growl came from the entrance to Berry Forest. It sounded like nothing human or Pokémon that I had ever heard before. I turned my attention to the entrance of the forest. The way the light receded into darkness made it look like the maw of some great beast and that the forest itself was making the noise.
"Ben!" Paige screamed. I only barely heard her over the din. She was floating in the air, her body at least a metre off the ground. Ray was jumping and snapping at her feet, snarling. I reached out to grab her but just as my hand was about to clasp around her wrist she was tugged forward by some unknown force and sent flying into the forest.
"Paige!" I yelled, but it was too late. She was already gone. As suddenly as that growl had started it stopped, leaving behind a piercing silence. I collapsed to my knees and stared at the floor, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
It didn't make any sense. People don't just up and levitate willy-nilly. There was something else at play, something wrong. My first thought was that a Psychic Pokémon had taken her but that was impossible. The only Psychic Pokémon ever recorded in Berry Forest were Drowsee and Hypno, but all of them were rounded up and captured when this little girl was spirited off into the forest a while back. Besides, while Hypno have been known to carry off humans and feed on their dreams, none have the pure Psychic power to do that to a human. That kind of work would require a Special Attack stat of something like an Alakazam.
"Trike!" Ray barked. I looked up to see him pacing at the entrance to the forest, impatiently waiting for me. I pushed myself up off the ground and made my way over to him.
"You're right Ray, there's only one thing we can about this."
Well there you have it. I actually do have a plot for this, I'm just too lazy to actually put my head down and do something about it.