Finally bringing in the reverse jack barakat hair
"How happy is he right now?" Leighton questioned Natalie as they sat on the beach a few days later. Cassius was out in the water, surfing every wave he could catch.
"He's in heaven. The waves here are better than they were in Lilycove." Natalie was feeling much better. She had spent all yesterday battling and all her frustration and stress were vented out in the battles. All her pokemon were on point and she was ready to go and try out some contests.
"How long are you two planning on staying here?" Mikhail asked, under the umbrella. He had been ecstatic when Leighton brought Cassius, Natalie, and Lily over for dinner a few days ago. He was still ecstatic about it.
"Dunno. I wanted to take Lily to Kalos, but since we took her home two days ago, I doubt her brother will let us take her out again. She was really angry with us, but, I can't intervene. It's between her and her brother." Natalie felt terrible, because she didn't want to leave Lily in that cold city, but there wasn't much she could do. "We'll be here a while. Cassius is thinking about being a lifeguard here and I guess I can get a job…..ew."
"Don't be so silly." Leighton rubbed some more suntan lotion on her legs.
"Hey." Volkner greeted in his usual attire, black skinny jeans, shirt, and blue jacket. He looked uncomfortable out here in the sun. "Can you give me Lily's number for Flint? He's been bugging me about it."
"Fine." Natalie grumbled, pulling out her phone and handed it to him so he could get the number. "Does he want her address too?" This was said sarcastically, and Volkner chuckled.
"He's into her, lighten up. He's a good guy." He told her, putting Lily's number in his phone. "He's willing to brave the cold of Snowpoint City for her."
"I'm not making fun of him. He makes her happy, so I'm not going to complain." Natalie adjusted her sun glasses, looking up at him. She knew she needed to be nicer to Volkner, because he was Flint's best friend and it was obvious that Lily and Flint were going to date soon, plus, Volkner was kind of cute. Sort of. "I don't hate him. I know I act like I do, but I treat everyone like that."
"She sure does." Mikhail agreed and Natalie lifted her sun glasses to shoot him a glare. "Uh…"
"I'm Leighton, by the way! I'm another best friend." She stood and shook Volkner's hand after he handed Natalie her phone back. "That's Mikhail, and if you ever see a male with black hair and glasses with us, that's Jordan."
"Cool. Nice to meet you two." He shook her hand before glancing at Natalie.
"Do you want to join us?" Leighton asked and he shook his head.
"No, got to get back to the gym. I'm sure I'll see you all later." He nodded his head and left, trudging back across the sand.
"Oh my god, Natalie." Leighton sat down next to the blonde. "He was checking you out."
"God I hope not." She didn't want to deal with any guys right now. She didn't even get along with Volkner.
"Why not?" Leighton asked, holding onto her arm. "He's cute, talented, a gym leadeeerrr!"
"Exactly, Leighton, he's a gym leader. I know Cassius has no problem sleeping with them, but, I don't really want to get involved with them." Natalie told her, pulling the brunette off of her. "He knows something. I just know it." Volkner wasn't an idiot. Natalie had been forced to spend more time with him before Lily left, and he just knew something was up about Natalie and Cassius.
"Natalie, don't be paranoid." Leighton rolled her eyes.
"I'm not, Leighton. I'm being serious. I've been trained to detect these things." Natalie was serious, but Leighton rolled her eyes once more.
"Fine. Do what you think is right." Leighton declared and settled back on her towel. "Since you won't let me meddle with your love life, I'll meddle in Mikhail's."
"That's as nonexistent as Natalie's." Mikhail told her, not wanting her to mess with it. "I have no love life."
"C'mon, don't you have a thing for Cassius?" She asked and Natalie was now interested in this.
"No! Natalie, let's battle!" He jumped up and pulled Natalie up with him. She was thrown off by this and barely grabbed a pokeball from her bag. "C'mon, we need to rematch from all those years ago!"
"You didn't have to be so forceful about it!" She exclaimed as he jogged away from her, giving them some space to battle. She didn't even know what pokeball she grabbed, but she was sure she would beat the hot head.
"Let's go!" He called out his charizard, grinning when it roared.
"God, who did I grab?" She questioned as she threw out the pokeball. Her espeon appeared from the light and she seemed please. "Fine, I'm going to show you who's still the best, kid."
"You two are idiots." Leighton called and heard a male chuckle. She glanced around before her eyes went to the board walk that was above and behind them. It wasn't too high off the sand so she was able to see Volkner clearly. "I thought you had to go back to the gym?" She called to him and he hurried over to the stairs and went down them. He headed over to her, pulling a phone from his pocket.
"Accidentally took her phone. We have the same one." He showed it and pulled his phone out of her bag and put hers in its place. He stood, watching the battle. It was messy, mostly from Mikhail's part. His calls were all over the place, but it fit someone like him. Flint's calls were the same way. Natalie's were cleaner. It was obvious she had been trained to end battles as quickly and simply as possible.
"Think she's cute?" Leighton asked, smirking at Volkner. He raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes at Leighton. "Urg, neither of you are any fun. Told her to lighten up and relax a bit, but no. Always got to be paranoid and serious." She complained.
"Paranoid?" Volkner questioned and Leighton realized she might have said a little too much. "Leighton?" He crouched down next to her, having a few questions he needed answered.
He wasn't stupid. He knew something was up with Natalie and Cassius. It was mostly Natalie he was interested in. She was cut off and didn't answer things straight like Cassius did, but even then, he was quick to lie and walk around the truth, like she was trained in it.
"Yes?" She asked, playing dumb. "Natalie's personal business isn't mine to tell." She watched as Charizard was thrown back by an attack and fainted. Natalie was proud of herself and her pokemon for the win.
"Alright. Fine." He could figure things out on his own. He had a few ideas anyway. "I'll see you later." He stood up and walked off again.
Leighton realized that maybe Natalie was right.
"What did you do to your hair?!" Leighton screamed, seeing Cassius' hair the next day when she and Mikhail came over. His hair was his usual blonde, but on the left it had a chunk of brunette mixed it with it.
"I like it." Mikhail said truthfully. He thought it looked good on him, really good. Honestly, Cassius could probably do anything and Mikhail would like it. He didn't know when he started to like Cassius, or why, but he knew he did. He figured it might fade away, but he wasn't so sure anymore.
"Thanks!" Cassius smiled, running his fingers through it. "Natalie did it last night. I saw it in a magazine from this guy in a band and I really liked it. I think it's cool. I sent Lily a few pictures and she thought it was adorable. Be more supportive like Lily."
"Look we can't all be kind." Leighton muttered.
"It's what he wanted." Natalie shrugged, happy she got it right. "It was actually fun to do. Hey, he's happy with it. That's all that matters." She ruffled his hair and smiled at him. "Kinda owed him for hauling my ass across the seven seas for the past two years."
"Lily is going to love it more in person!" Cassius exclaimed, wanting to see her reaction. "I'm excited that she's getting to spend some time here. I think her brother is lightening up and letting her leave for the weekends now. Flint is going to be happy."
"Guess this means you'll be stuck with Volkner?" Mikhail questioned and Natalie didn't look too excited. She just patted her red and white striped shirt, getting the winkles out of it. It was a bit long on her, but her black shorts that looked like they were originally skinny jeans but were cut shorter, poked out. The black vest she had on looked familiar and Leighton eyed her outfit, focusing on the vest and the red bandana she had around her neck.
"Natalie. That vest….was it from your original uniform?" She questioned, tilting her head when Natalie looked away. She moved her eyes to Cassius, with his white tank top and his shirt, which was really just a pinstriped navy blue and white long sleeved button up shirt, tied around his waist like a jacket. His cut off cargo shorts and flip flops completed the outfit with a blue bandana tied on his arm.
"Eh….we did some modifications." Cassius admitted, neither blondes looking at Leighton. "They were good clothes and we were going to cut them up to dispose of them anyway, so yeah, we just took the hood off of Nate's jacket and dyed it black, and I fixed up my pants…"
"And the bandanas?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Before you ask, no, the symbols aren't on them. It makes us short of match." He smiled and just got the annoyed face of Leighton. "We were thinking of getting Lily a yellow or purple or even green one so she'll match."
"You two do whatever you like." She rolled her eyes and looked at her phone. "Her ship should be arriving here soon! Let's go!" She pushed them out of the apartment and they headed towards the port. "Why didn't you go up and get her?"
"Ah, got some repairs to the boat to do." Cassius sighed, sort of annoyed. "Boats are so expensiveeeeeeee."
"This is why you're a lifeguard and I do contests and battle." Natalie told him. Life was expensive. Sinnoh contests were harder than ones she had been in before, but she wasn't letting that stop her.
"Oh yes, you do contests!" Leighton exclaimed, brightening up. "So, what's your stage name?"
"Catarina Sparks. I liked your sister's name, so I borrowed it." Natalie replied, looking at Mikhail as she stuck her hands in her pockets. Her rut sack was slung lazily over her shoulder and she yawned.
"You're getting more and more Team Aqua by the day. Look how relaxed you are." Cassius smirked when she glared at him, straightening her posture. "When did you go to bed last night?"
"I was reading this really interesting book about how the hi-" She started but the sigh that escaped Leighton's lips let Natalie know that Leighton was NOT in the mood to listen to her ramble about old myths. "This is why I wanted to dry up the sea so people like you would die out." Natalie said bluntly, making Leighton hit her and roll her eyes.
"Hey guys!" Flint waved excitedly, catching the groups' attention when they got to the port. Volkner was sitting on the bench next to Flint, stretching out. "Sorry, you guys didn't have plans with her already, right? I don't mean to crash in on them."
"Relax." Cassius said, patting his shoulder. Natalie took her perch on top of the bench.
"You never sit properly on these things." Leighton took the corner on the bench, smiling at Volkner.
"Flint, don't worry about it." Natalie chose to ignore Leighton's comment and focus on Flint. Lily was happy to see her friends, but Natalie knew she was more excited to see Flint. She wasn't angry at her for it, she found it a little endearing, actually. "You two like each other, so naturally you want to spend time with her." She was trying to be nicer to him. He complimented Natalie's pokemon whenever he saw them, and she liked that.
"Are you sure?" Flint questioned, cheeks pink.
"Flint, I've had a crush before, I know what it feels like. Rest assured, I won't try to kill you in your sleep for spending time with my best friend." How she said it was so monotone, and Flint didn't know whether to laugh or not.
"Flint, relax, I'm sure you could take her." Volkner said and Flint wasn't so sure. Volkner turned to have Natalie's sea green eyes boring into him. "What?"
"The way that you doubt my skills is truly astonishin'." She told him, ready to fight him. She wasn't a push over. She wasn't (always) a nervous wreck. She could take them both on. Even if she lost, she'd go down swinging. "I know I'm a female, but I'm pretty sure I could bench press you, and also beat you in battle." She knew she was short, but it wasn't like she was a stick. Sure, after shit went down, she lost herself and a lot of weight, but almost two years after the fact, she was doing so much better.
"Really now?" Volkner asked with a small smirk. Natalie was getting riled up, her cheeks going red.
"Yes! I'll end you quick like I was taught!" She exclaimed much to Leighton's dismay.
"Who taught you? They must have been pretty amazing if you're so confident in your skills." Volkner needed to know more about her and Cassius, but he was sure if he figured Natalie out, he'd figure Cassius out too.
Natalie opened her mouth before she shut it again. She huffed, turning to glare at the ocean, frustrated at this. She couldn't tell him it was Tabitha. "No one important." She muttered, resting her chin in her hands. Cassius shot her a look and stood by her, hoping to make her feel better. She felt her eyes get a little watery, which was embarrassing all in itself. She blinked away the tears quickly, hoping no one noticed.
Volkner noticed.
"Sorry if I had pushed it too far today." Volkner said much later on to Natalie. Lily and Flint had run of to get ice cream, leaving the two of them alone. Mikhail and Cassius were out battling on the beach and Leighton and Jordan were having an early dinner with her parents. "I didn't know it was a sore topic for you."
"Everything is a sore topic for me, so it's best if you just don't ask any questions." She muttered, angry that he had seen her almost cry. How pathetic was that? She didn't want to be here right now. She wanted to be in another region, far away from Volkner and his noisy attitude. She wanted to just get on the boat and sail off, but Lily would be upset they left without taking her and she hated to upset Lily.
"Well I'm going to want to ask questions. I barely know any of you, and my best friend likes your best friend, and vice versa. I want to know what he's getting in to."
"Listen, Volkner." Natalie sighed, grabbing her rutsack again and pulling it on her shoulders. "I left Hoenn to forget things. You being noisy isn't helping my mental state." She took a deep breath, trying to control her temper. She wasn't a kid anymore. She needed to act like an adult. "I don't ask you tons of questions."
"You can." Volkner stated calmly, throwing her off a bit. "I'm not trying to force you open and dodge questions about myself. I just want to know a few things. You're free to ask anything you want about myself, and I can choose to answer it or not, just as you are free to do. Come on, you've been so cold to me since we meet. Let's try and make this more bearable and be friends."
Natalie huffed again, knowing he was right. "Fine, sure, whatever." She agreed, crossing her arms. Her face lit up, however, when Lily hurried over with an ice cream cone for Natalie.
"They were out of oran berry so I got you hondew berry." Lily said and Natalie thanked her. "It was so hot today, he was out of almost all his flavors. I wanted a mocha flavor but that was all gone too." She whined, stuck with a wiki berry flavored ice cream.
"We have mocha ice cream at home." Natalie said while Flint handed Volkner his ice cream. "You can eat some of it tonight if ya want."
"Some?" Lily asked, wanting all of it.
"I'm not Cassius. I won't let you eat all of it. You'll get sick from his carelessness." She muttered, licking her ice cream. "I've gotta go. Cas wants me to go with him to get that boat part." She used her free hand to tug her rutsack onto her shoulder. "I swear if this guy tries to swindle us like the last guy did…"
"What happened to the last guy?" Flint asked, interested.
"Knocked the bastard out." Natalie answered bluntly, smirking at Flint's look of horror. "So I might have to do it to this guy, who knows?" She shrugged, pleased with herself. Okay, maybe being nicer to the two males wouldn't be totally bad. "You got a key?" She asked Lily, who nodded her head. "Good. Don't know when we'll be back or where this guy is, exactly."
"No more shady deals." Lily mumbled, frowning at her best friend.
"We'll make an attempt at that." Natalie told her and finished up her ice cream, munching on the cone. This perked up Volkner a bit, more interested in Natalie now. Well, she already had his full attention whenever she showed up. Something about her interested him. Plus she was cute. "But I got to go or we'll be late…and you aren't allowed in the apartment." She glared at Flint, startling him and making Lily's face go red.
"Okay, MOM!" Lily chided, pushing Natalie away. "Go do your shady business deals and stop embarrassing us!" Natalie smirked and jogged off, her bag hitting her back as she ran.
"Shady deals?" Volkner questioned and Lily laughed nervously.
"Ya know them…gotta get the lowest deals!" Her voice went up a pitch. She was lying. Unlike her two blonde companions, she wasn't good at hiding things. She was trying though. "So there's a flower festival going on in Floaroma Town tomorrow and I was thinking about going. I don't know if Nate and Cas will be back in time though. Do you want to come?" She asked Flint, changing the topic quickly.
