I woke up slowly. How long had it taken me to fall asleep? Was it one-two in the morning? I'd never looked at the clock, so I wasn't sure. Opening my eyes blearily, I sat up and pulled off the bed covers, sliding down to the floor. I hadn't bothered to change out of my clothes. Sleeping in nothing but my boxers in a stranger's house just felt awkward. That, and the little situation I was in made that feeling a lot worse.

I glanced out the window. The sun was just starting to rise. Stifling a yawn, I realized that I hadn't gotten much sleep at all. That was alright. I wasn't a huge fan of sleeping in anyways. I was tired, yeah. But I wasn't about to stick around just to get a little more rest. Instead of wasting the energy to bend over and grab them, I slid my shoes over with my feet, slipping them on lazily.

That's when I glanced up at the door. Someone, I guess, had slipped a small, brown package through the crack at the bottom. I stared at it warily. Whether or not I opened it depended on who had slipped it under there in the first place. Was it Gold? Was it Elm? I walked over to pick it up, hopping to get my foot to slide all the way into my shoes. On top of the box was taped a thin, white note. The handwriting was a vaguely familiar cursive, chicken-scratch type scrawl, as if it had all been written in a hurry. So Elm had given it to me. I supposed that I should open it, then. Even if it was grudgingly. I ripped the note off the packaging and shook it all the way open.

Dear Gold's Friend, it read. I winced.

I understand that you won't want to stay here any longer than is required of you. Therefore, we are permitting you to leave whenever you're up and ready.

Permitting me. What a joke. These people didn't have so much control over me as to tell me when I could and couldn't leave.

However, it continued,it's important that you take the Pokegear that I've left for you in the package. Whether you find personal use for it or not, I need you to carry it with you at all times. This can permit me to make sure that you stay on track and do what you've agreed to do. I've updated it with a tracking card, allowing me to see exactly where it is that you're going. As soon as you return with the Red Flute, I'll remove this function and give you the option of keeping the Pokegear or returning it. If you stray too far, or the tracker shows a significant lack of movement, I'll have to assume you've abandoned our deal and get the police involved. I apologize that I have to invade your privacy this much, but I don't believe it's too much to ask of you. Just so you don't panic, I can guarantee you that I won't be watching you all the time. Just an occasional glance or two, because constant supervision seems like taking it a little too far.

I wasn't too keen on having any supervision at all. Despite Elm's attempts to make it easier on me, I was still going to have qualms with the whole plan. With a frustrated grimace, I considered putting the note down and just walking out. But there was still more that I hadn't read. Luckily for me, and I say that sparingly, the next scribbled section detailed what the hell I was doing. Since I hadn't been paying any attention the night before, that was sort of convenient.

Just in case you forgot- and I had-you'll have to find Professor Oak down in Goldenrod city. He called me recently about a young boy who was coming to visit from Hoenn who works with the Flute Maker. Professor Oak can tell you where the boy, I believe his name was Randy or Richard-one of the two- is staying. You'll most likely find the Professor at the Radio Tower, since he works there on occasion. I wish you the best of luck,

Elm

There was one more thing scrawled at the bottom.

P.S. Elaine demanded I leave you cookies for the trip. I packed them next to the Pokegear. Enjoy. And if you don't mind, could you leave us your name so that we know who you are? Thank you.

I grumbled to myself. Fine. I might as well do it to avoid more trouble. I scoured the room for a pencil, pen, or something else I could use to write with. There were none in either of the drawers, but I managed to find a pen in the bathroom. I decided not to bother trying to figure out why it was there, of all places. After hastily scribbling my name under Elm's note and tossing it onto my unmade bed, I decided that I should open the package. I tore off the brown packaging and opened the small box. Inside, just as Elm had said, was a blue phone-like object set next to a small plastic bag of cookies. I paused for a moment, holding the Pokegear in my hand. Should I take it, or should I just leave it here?

I figured it was too late to back out on it now. And if I was taking the Pokegear, I might as well take the cookies, too. Having a little snack along the way couldn't hurt. I slipped them both into my pocket and flipped the lock on the door, pushing it open with a loud crack. I was worried that the noise would alert someone to the fact that I was awake, but as I waited, nothing else in the house stirred. I instantly felt stupid for pausing. People knew I was leaving. What was the point of trying to sneak out? I shook my head at myself and trudged out into the hallway, trying to remember my way out of the place.

It didn't take me too long to find the door. The house seemed a little smaller now that I'd slept and my head wasn't killing me. Before I knew it, I was out in the courtyard. A courtyard, for goodness sake. Talk about excess. But flashy courtyard or no, I was finally on my own again. It had been one hell of a night, but it was over, at least. Even if I was stuck running errands for a professor with nervous tendencies.

As I ambled slowly towards the edge of town, hands in my pockets, I paid one last glance towards where Professor Elm's lab stood. Well, that plan had gone completely down the drain. I scowled to myself as I thought about how pointless that all had been. Hell, it landed me a step backwards. The only thing that kept me from giving up then and there was that I knew I still had all the time I needed. Giovanni could wait, if only for a few days. Besides, I hadn't been kidding when I'd said that this whole romantic situation was creepy. The sooner I got that fixed, the better I'd feel.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been walking. By the time I even thought to check, the sun was halfway across the sky. So it was between mid-morning and afternoon, at least. That meant I had been walking for several hours. A lot of people might have said I was crazy for walking like that without company. Well, I preferred to be on my own anyways. The good thing about how long it took to walk between towns was that it was relieving, in a way. I didn't have to think about anything but the ground underneath my feet and the place I was trying to get to.

Speaking of my feet, though, they were starting to hurt a little. However long I'd been walking for, it was enough to tire me out. I slumped down against a tree on the side of the road, resting my head against the rough bark. It wasn't too comfortable, but it felt good to take a break. I considered eating one of those cookies, but decided not to. Homemade cookies were for losers.

I hadn't been sitting for long when I heard the soft snap of a twig behind me. Jumping to attention, I whirled around in my seat to try and catch a glimpse of what had made the noise. Chances are it was nothing, but I'd learned to be cautious. I didn't see anything behind me, but I wanted to be sure. I stood slowly, trying not to make a sound as I crept around the trunk of the tree and peeked behind it. Still nothing.

I let myself relax a little. Whatever. It wasn't worth it to scour the area for something that was probably just a Pokemon anyways. Frowning softly, I turned around and found myself face to face with what could have only been my waking nightmare.

"Holy shit!" I shouted, flinging my arms out in front of me and throwing the other boy backwards onto the ground. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Gold grinned up at me from where he landed, pushing himself up with his hand as he brushed the dirt off his pants. He situated himself casually, folding his arms and standing as if he'd been there the whole time. "Did I scare you? Sorry about that."

"Scare me?" I growled, tossing my hands in the air frustratedly. "You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack! How the hell did you find me?"

"Well," he furrowed his brow gently, holding up one finger. "for one thing, there's only one road out of New Bark Town. And another thing..." He held up a second finger. "I've been following you since you left the house. I couldn't sleep knowing you were leaving in the morning, so I decided to just go after you."

I buried my eyes under my hand, squeezing my temples roughly. If anything, that was incredibly creepy. "Okay, you are not staying here. I am calling Elm, and you are going to go back home. Got it?" I stuck my hand into my pocket, but found that the Pokegear was gone. My eyes scanned the ground in search of it as I patted myself down. Maybe I'd just misplaced it, or...

"Looking for this?" As I looked up, a wicked smile crept across Gold's face. I had no idea how he had gotten his hands on it, but he was gripping the Pokegear tightly.

"What in the..." I scowled. "Give that back. Now." I snatched for it, but he quickly pulled his hand away.

"No." His expression turned serious as he hid it behind his back. "I want you to take me with you."

I couldn't believe he'd really just asked that. Out of all the things I could have done, taking him with me was the last thing I wanted. "I'm not going to take you with me. So give it back." I held out my hand expectantly, clenching my teeth in an attempt to keep my voice even and calm.

He shook his head. "I know what this is. I read that letter Elm left for you. The one you left on the bed? As long as I have this, you have to take me with you."

"Shit." I hissed. He was right. Unless I wanted to spend a couple years in prison, I had to keep the Pokegear. Which meant I had to get it back from him. I made one last grab for it, missing it by mere centimeters.

"You really want this that bad?" His lips pursed in a defiant pout. "Well then, take it." And then he stuffed my Pokegear down his pants.

I jerked my hand away from him, staring at him in disbelief.

"You can take it whenever you want. It's right here." He said, gesturing to a place that I really didn't want my hand to go.

"That's disgusting." I growled. "Why would I ever-"

"Exactly. You wouldn't." He beamed. Well, he was sure proud of himself, wasn't he? Sticking a phone down his pants... "You'd have to really like me to stick your hand down there." He taunted in a sing-song voice.

That little jerk. I clenched my fist tightly and rammed it against the tree, sucking in a deep breath. "Okay, fine. Fine. I'm not going to waste my time right now. You can come with me, but as soon as that thing comes out of your pants, I'm taking it."

Gold looked as if I'd just agreed to marry him or something. His eyes lit up as he burst into a grin, jumping forward to pin me in a tight hug. "Ha, I knew that would work!"

"Ugh, gross, get off." I grumbled, shoving him away with my hands. "I didn't say you could touch me."

He shrugged, still smiling to himself. "You also didn't say I couldn't."

"Whatever, smart ass." I huffed, shoving past him. I stepped back onto the path, walking briskly to try and get as far away from Gold as possible. I heard him trotting behind me to catch up, and soon he was walking right alongside me.

"So," He began casually, "your name's Silver?"

I stayed silent.

"I read that on the bottom of the note." He continued. "Silver, like your eyes, right? It fits you."

I couln't help but throw out a comment. "How the hell would you know?" He'd been around me for less time than I'd been walking, and already he was making assumptions.

"I just feel like I know you so well." He sighed dreamily. "Like I've know you forever."

"Yeah, and that feeling is why I'm out here. Don't remind me that it's still happening." I glanced ahead, praying silently that the town wasn't far away.

"Err, right." He said, looking a little confused. But he didn't press me further.

We walked on in silence for a little while. I tried my best to forget he was there, and he tried his best to make me remember without saying a word. Once or twice I caught him trying to snake his hand over to mine. "Don't even think about it," I'd snap. After about the third time, he'd stopped trying.

Finally, the town came into view. I let out an involuntary sigh of relief. I never thought I'd say it, but thank goodness for other people. I wasn't going to have to be alone with him anymore. "Look." I said, turning to Gold. He turned back towards me, pausing to listen. "Are you really going to keep following me like this? If you turn back now, you can make it home before it gets dark."

He shook his head. "We're already here. Besides, if I'm gonna get to know you better, I have to be with you."

"Okay, let me rephrase that." I frowned, pinching my forehead lightly. "Give me the Pokegear, turn around, and go home."

"Naw, I think I'm good." He gave me a smug look and kept walking. "I have better things to do than sit at home anyways."

"What, like follow me around?"

"Especially follow you around."

I let out a grumble of disdain. Oh boy, this was going to be tough to put up with.

As we walked into town, Gold attempted to strike up a conversation again. " So this is Cherrygrove, right?"

"You should know." I shrugged. "It's right next to your town."

"Well, yeah. But do you know?"

"I do now."

He frowned. "Do you have a map? 'Cause I don't. We may need one of those if we're going all the way to Goldenrod."

I paused for a moment. Now that I thought about it, I realized that I didn't. I'd never even checked to see if the Pokegear had one. Gold must have noticed my hesitation, because he pointed towards the small shop that sat at the edge of town.

"We can get one there, if we need it. Come on." He said, grabbing my sleeve and pulling me along.

I yanked my arm away. "I can walk myself there, you know." Straightening out my sleeve, I followed after him. Getting a map wasn't a bad idea, I guess. Things would go a lot faster if I knew where I was going.

Gold seemed a little disappointed at having to let go of me. Not even me, just my sleeve. But the look on his face soon melted into pride as he pushed the door of the shop open. "Ah, see? Right there."

I followed his gaze to the other side of the room. There, under a large sign that said 'Maps,' was, well... Maps. More of them than any person would need in a lifetime. "Wow, that's... eerily convenient." I mumbled to myself. "Okay, fine. We'll get a map. But I'm not paying."

I glanced back at Gold. He was frozen in the doorway, staring at something that was obviously making him nervous. "What's your problem?" I asked him, my eyes flickering around the room to try and find what he was looking at. All I saw, though, was a normal looking man who was probably just shopping for dinner. When I turned back to Gold, I saw that he was sneaking down the closest aisle and slinking out of sight.

"Hey," I hissed sternly, following behind him. "What are you doing?"

He pointed in the direction of the man. "I'm hiding from that guy." Crouching down behind one of the shelves, he tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. "I know him. He's a friend of Elm's."

"You... know him?" I couldn't believe my luck. For once, something was actually going to go my way. If anyone, this guy could drag Gold back to his house. Without waiting for an answer, I turned and made a beeline for the man.

"No, Silver, stop!" I heard Gold hiss from behind me. "Do not tell him you know me! You'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

I chose to ignore him. Whatever I was going to regret, it was sure better than being stuck with an unwanted travelling companion.

"Silver, don't!" I heard him plead again. "You're gonna be stuck-"

And that's about all I heard. I walked up next to the man, grabbing his shopping basket to get his attention. "Excuse me, I need you to do me a favor."

The man turned and looked down at me with considering eyes. "Well," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Aren't you just a ball of sunshine?"

AN: Hey guys! So, there's the new update for you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. There's just something about Gold that makes him seem like such a stalker. Poor Silver's going to have to deal with that for a while.

There was a couple of things that I wanted to let you guys know. I'm probably going to be making some assumptions in the story as it goes on. For example, I'm definitely going to assume that all the towns and cities are way bigger than they're portrayed in the game. That seems like a given, considering they're seen like that in the show. Also, I figured that it doesn't really get too warm where they are since many of the main characters wear sleeves or jackets. I know I wouldn't be able to do that in eighty-degree weather. ^^' That could just be me, though. Anyways, if you see anything like those, it's probably me making assumptions again.

And one more thing! I'll be taking a trip down to Seattle for ten days in less than a week. I'm not sure how much free time I'll have when I'm there, so I'm going to try and get as much done with the next chapter as I can before then. Keep your fingers crossed I finish before I leave!