N's POV
"Bye, Mrs. White" I called out as Touko and I walked back to my house. My free arm was securely wrapped around Touko's waist, and her arm was around mine. I carefully placed each foot in front of me as I walked to make sure I didn't trip or fall. I grimaced each time I took a step forward.
"How are you holding up?" Touko's face showed concern. I smiled.
"I'm fine. I think I can make it back to the house" I told her.
"If you say so" Touko said softly. I quickened my pace a little as did Touko. I really wanted to get home and sit down.
"Should we call Cheren and Bianca? They probably want to hear out big news. I bet Bianca will freak. Not out of excitement though, probably because we didn't tell her right after I accepted your proposal" Touko said. I chuckled.
"You think she'll be jealous? I mean, she was the first one who wanted to marry me" I joked. Touko lightly hit me on the arm.
"N!" she tried to say harshly but not succeeding. "She was eight years old!"
"I know. I know. You were eight years old too. But you didn't want to marry me? You wanted to marry Cheren" I said distastefully. Touko hit me again but a little harder this time. A small blush was on her face.
"So what? I didn't know what love was at that age. It was just a little crush. I got over it. Besides, I'm with you now, and Cheren is just a friend. No, he's like my brother."
"You know? I never told you this, but I was really jealous of Cheren. Sure you spent a lot of time with me, but you also spent a lot of time with him. He yelled at me for being possessive of you. Funny huh? I was jealous of a nine year old. I didn't stop being jealous until you were thirteen" I confessed. Touko looked at me, and her expression softened.
"I'm sorry" she whispered. "I hurt you for all those years without even knowing it. I should have known, especially when you learned that I could keep spending the night with Cheren but not you. I'm so so sorry."
"It's okay. I knew that you didn't feel the same way towards me as I did towards you. It was my fault I felt that way. It was my fault that I was jealous. I thought it was my punishment for falling in love with you when you were only eight" I stated. Touko stared at me.
"You can't control who you fall in love with" she said. I stared at her for a few seconds before looking away. We walked the rest of the way to my house in silence. Touko opened the door to me as soon as we reached it.
"Thanks" I said. We both walked into the house, and I practically fell on my face as I quickly limped to the couch. I landed on it with a thump and sighed out in bliss as my body weight was taken off my legs.
"I'm going to go call Cheren and Bianca and tell them to come over. Why don't you watch TV while you wait" Touko suggested. I shrugged. The television flickered on as I pressed the power button on the remote. Immediately, the show 'The Best Day' came on.
"In today's segment, we'll be talking about the most famous Trainer in the Unova region, Touko. Touko is the Champion of Unova for those of you who didn't know. As for one of Touko's best days, she defeated 187 Pokémon in a single day. A single day, folks! She must love to encounter lots of Pokémon. That's all for today" the TV announced. I sat there with my mouth hanging open. She defeated 187 Pokémon in one day! What was she doing? Trying to make her Pokémon undefeatable?
"N? Is something wrong?" Touko's voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned my head to look at her.
"You defeated 187 Pokémon in one day?!" I shouted out in shock. Touko put a finger to her chin as she thought about it.
"I suppose it could have been that many. I think it was the day when I was—" Touko began but stopped as the doorbell rang. Touko looked at me apologetically before going to answer the door. Once she opened it, Cheren and Bianca burst into my house. Bianca was glowing with happiness as she skipped towards me. She reached me and leaned down to wrap her arms around my neck. She nuzzled my cheek happily.
"Oh, N! I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you! When did you wake up? Cheren and I thought you went into a coma or something" she squealed.
"Only you thought that" Cheren grumbled with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I woke up about three days ago" I replied to her question. She pulled back from me as a wicked grin crossed her face.
"Oh, I see. We weren't informed about this. I guess Touko wanted to spent some precious alone time with you" Bianca teased. Touko's face turned red from anger and embarrassment.
"Bianca!" Touko screamed out as she started to chase her blonde friend around the room.
"Can't you guys ever act your age?" Cheren said with an annoyed expression on his face.
"How are you, Cheren?" I asked.
"Been better" he muttered, not looking at me.
"Is something wrong?" I politely asked. He remained silent. Touko must have been listening because she stopped chasing Bianca around and walked to Cheren's side. She draped an arm around Cheren's shoulders.
"Don't feel bad. Cheren likes to not share his feelings with others. He really missed you" Touko said with a smile. Cheren's arms fell to his sides, and his hands clenched into fists. A shadow shielded his expression from me, but I could see him grit his teeth. I watched him as a lone tear rolled down his chin and hit the floor. Suddenly the next thing I knew, he grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled my face towards his.
"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN! WE WERE ALL WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU! You're like my brother, N! I don't know what I'd do if I never saw you again. So promise me you'll never leave like that again! I don't want to feel this way again!" Cheren said as he broke down in front of me. Did he say brother? His forehead rested against my chest as he cried. I didn't know what to do. I hesitantly patted his back in comfort. Emotions played with my heart. I hurt everyone I cared about more than I knew it. Was Bianca this upset too? Was Touko silently screaming inside? Did she lock all of her emotions inside her heart? Did she actually want to cry and scream at me just like Cheren did? I could feel my heart slowly tear in two as I searched Bianca's and Touko's faces. Their expressions each held a smile; only one of them wore the true smile, however. Bianca was as energetic and peppy as ever. Touko, however, her smile was indeed real but her eyes showed more to it. I could easily tell that she was heavily guarding her feelings. Her eyes told me that she wanted to let her emotions show and be let out, but something was holding her back. I looked away and looked down at Cheren again. He was staring at me with a tear stained face, waiting for me to promise him I'd never disappear like that again.
"I promise" I said sincerely. His eyes lit up as he pulled back from me. His hands slowly released my shirt. It was crumpled in the areas he held just a few seconds ago. He stood up and used the sleeve of is shirt to wipe his eyes. I glanced from Cheren's face back to Touko's. Her eyes wouldn't fully meet mine. My heart probably just tore in four now. I decided to ignore Touko for a second as I looked back at Cheren. "You're like my brother too." He smiled then straightened his tie as transformed back into his composed self.
He cleared his throat before looking at Touko and saying, "So? Why did you call us over here? Was it to see that N was awake?" Touko shook her head before walking over to me and sitting down. She motioned for Bianca and Cheren to do the same with a wave of her hand.
"We have something to tell you" I declared. Bianca leaned forward in anticipation with her hands clasped together. Cheren closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair he was in. His arms crossed over his chest. He might have looked like he didn't care, but I could tell he was waiting for us to tell him our news. One of his eyes was open and looking at us.
"N and I are going to get married" Touko said as she grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I nervously flicked my gaze back and forth from our two friends. Out of nowhere, Bianca jumped out of her seat and let out the loudest squeal I ever heard.
"Oh, I just adore weddings! When is it? Do you need help picking out your dress?" she questioned excitedly. Touko laughed.
"Whoa! Calm down."
"Can I be the maid of honor?" I shook my head in amusement.
"Of course you can. You're my best friend. But we're not getting married until a couple of years" Touko clarified.
"I hope you'll be the best man when the time comes" I said while looking at Cheren.
"Sure, whatever" he replied carelessly.
"So when did he ask you?" Bianca whispered to Touko.
"The day he woke up." Bianca kept asking questions, and Touko answered each of them. Finally, Bianca noticed Touko's engagement ring and fawned over it. Girls were so weird. I heard Cheren move, and I focused my attention on him. He motioned for me to follow him. I silently groaned. I grabbed my white cane that I leaned against the coffee table and stood up.
"I'll be right back" I whispered in Touko's ear. I don't know if she heard me or not, for she and Bianca were still chit chatting away, and she made no acknowledgement that she did hear me. I staggered over to Cheren and followed him outside onto the porch. I stared out at the town. The sun was setting in the distance. It looked really pretty against the ocean. My house had the best view to the ocean ever. "What did you need?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Touko" he said as he put his hands on the railing of the porch and stared out to see. A warm breeze blew and made our hair billow around.
"What about?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow up.
"First, congratulations!"
"Thanks. I'm glad she said yes. I was so scared when I asked her."
"Yeah, I would be too. You should be glad she didn't punch you or something." I looked at him in shock. She wouldn't do that, would she? Cheren shrugged. "It's a possibility. So anyway, about Touko."
"Yeah?" Cheren turned towards me as his expression turned serious. I flinched away at his harsh cold gaze.
"Hurt Touko and I'll kill you" he said darkly. I was taken back. What happened to the Cheren that was crying and saying how much he missed me? Now he was saying he wanted to kill me? These people born and raised in Nuvema Town are seriously crazy.
"Right" I said fearfully. I know that I can be heartless and cruel too, but Cheren looks like a murderer when he threatens someone.
"Good" he stated with an evil smile. "How about we go back inside? Your fiancée is probably waiting for you." I nodded my head in agreement. Cheren walked over to the door and opened it for me. I walked over to Cheren and whacked him in the shin with my cane. "Ow!" I smirked.
"That's for ever thinking I would hurt Touko" I continued into the house. Cheren tripped me as I passed him. I fell forward with a yelp as I landed roughly on my cane.
"That's for ever thinking that I would ever think that you would hurt Touko" Cheren said back to me with a smirk. He walked past me and held out a hand. I grasped it as he pulled me to my feet.
"Cheren?!" Touko gasped out. She rushed to my side and picked my cane up off the ground and handed it to me. The two teenagers glared at each other for a second before Cheren started to smile.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, Touko. I was just thinking about how brothers always fight." With that final comment, he walked over to Bianca and put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on. I think it's about time we get going." The two of them left without another word, leaving me alone with the furious brunette.
"Oh that Cheren, he's gonna get it one of these days" Touko huffed as she glared daggers at the door. She spun around to look at me with concern etching her features.
"Are you alright? Did you and Cheren get into a fight?"
"No. He just wanted to tell me something."
"Oh really? What did he say?" Touko asked sweetly. Curiosity danced in her eyes.
"Nothing important. But I actually want to talk to you too" I said softly. I put my hand on the small of Touko's back and led her to the stairs. "Come on. Well talk about it in my room." Touko looked at me worriedly but said nothing as she helped me climb the stairs and to my room.
A/N: I love Cheren and N bonding so much. Cheren does not have any romantic feelings towards N. I can see it that way though. Review, please. The next chapter is also the last one.