Chapter 9

Oh boy, what do I say here. Look guys, I'm incredibly sorry for the delay, but that past month really sucked. A day before varsity started I got sick. Really sick. I was in the hospital for a few days, and then it took me more than a week to recover at home. You can guess how much work I missed, so I have been really busy the past two weeks. But, I really tried to work on this, and even though this is slightly shorter than usual, I think you'll all find this chapter satisfying. :) Thanks for your support, and sorry if me getting sick disrupted your need for Palletshipping. Hehe

You're way too good at this. A master at distraction, a master at beating around the bush. Your indecision to just tell me is so frustrating, but on the other hand, I realize more and more that, no matter what you say, I want to hear your voice more than anything. But the fact remains, you can't give me a straight answer – and the worst is, you have me accepting that I won't hear what I want. You're way too good.

I did not expect you to tell me that I'm wasting my potential by working in a lab while I could do so much more – especially now that I know I can do anything. It's quite earnest of you to say that, but at the same time insulting. Are you telling me I should go? Don't you want me here? Like always you confuse the hell out of me, Gary Oak. And I wonder what it is about me, or about you, that just makes me afraid to tell you what I want to. After all, you are the reason why I'm not living my so called dream right now.

Dreams are for little kids and crazy people, and I'd like to believe I'm neither. Can't you accept the fact that I'm trying to act a little more grown up? Like I do for you, you make it difficult for me. Time; just give me time, and I'm sure I'll be able to tell you. I admit, I came here without a moment's thought – never realizing that things wouldn't be so easy. But here I am, and I'm not planning to give up now. Not on you.

If only I could tell you that.

"You're saying I should go?" I asked Gary. He hadn't been able to look me in the eyes.

He gave a sigh, "No, that's not what I meant. Well, I dunno. I just feel you're losing your focus."

"But Gary," I began. I wanted to tell him that there's nothing wrong with that, and that being distracted isn't always a bad thing. But I didn't. Instead I said, "I'm just on vacation. Give me a break. I've been busy for eight years, and now I'm not allowed to take a little time off?"

Gary stared at a spot on the floor. He was quiet as he thought of what he wanted to say to me. I kept my eyes on him, but even in my frustration with him, my eyes betrayed me and studied his beautiful features. His face angular and refined, his hair neatly groomed and styled and his eyes deep and alluring, it was almost more than I could do not to grab him and ravish him right there.

"I guess you're right," Gary admitted in what was just above a whisper.

Then there was silence. Not really awkward, but far from comfortable. No, it's more like we didn't know what to say, even thought we wanted to tell each other exactly how we felt. I know what I want to say, but I'd let Gary tell me his story first. I don't want to make things weird by blurting out I like him, and it turn out he doesn't feel the same about me. That would suck. Fucking big time.

"Gramps told me the exact same thing – that I'm not focused. And I was so mad at him, you know?" Gary said after a while, looking at no particular area on the ground. "I can't believe I'm telling you the same thing. I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" I said, perhaps a little bit too quickly, since Gary's head jerked up. "I mean, I get it. I'm not the vacationer, and I always have some place where I want to go. I can understand you find me staying here a bit weird. I'm finding it weird – especially with Lance here."

Gary regarded me, his expression not betraying a thing. "Yeah, it is strange that he would come here just to battle. Maybe he's bored."

"What do you mean?"

"He's elite four – they don't get that many challenging opponents," Gary explained, a slight smile on his face. "Perhaps he got a taste of what it felt like to do real battle, and is after the adrenaline."

"That's crazy," I laughed.

"Is it?" Gary asked, with a accusational look on his face.

"Okay, maybe not," I conceded, and Gary gave me a little smile.

There were a few minutes of silence. Yeah, I think minutes. But it wasn't weird – it was more like we were thinking about various things. Well, I was thinking why I was actually here. I wasn't so sure demanding the truth from Gary was such a good idea anymore. Our friendship had taken a turn for the strained quite quickly and unexpectedly. I didn't want to lose that.

Gary let out a sigh, and turned to the counter. He got out some coffee mugs, waiving one in my direction. I nodded my head at his silent question, and soon the room was filled with hum of the kettle boiling it's water. Gary made me coffee without asking me how I drank it, but he didn't need to – it seemed like he knew. How odd, I couldn't remember the last time Gary made me coffee, if he ever did. But it warmed my heart, and send 'n wave of weightlessness to my stomach. Oh dear.

He poured us our caffeine and handed me mine. Coffee always reminded me of one thing – mom – and the smell always made me feel kind of homey and relaxed. Gary walked out of the kitchen, and I followed him. He motioned for me to sit on the couch when we got to the living room, and I thought he was going to talk, but instead he went over to the TV cabinet and got out a movie.

"I hope you like cheesy slasher movies, cause that's all I have," he said as he held up some case. From what I could see, there was some scared girl on the cover, with the movie's name written in blood on top.

"Sure," I said, adjusting my position to be more comfortable. "I always found it funny to watch them with either Misty, May or Dawn. Those girls may be demonic sometimes, but they scare so easily."

Gary didn't answer, but I could see the amusement on his face. He inserted the disc, and sat down on the open seat next to me. I suddenly became aware that we were sitting on a love seat, and that he was actually quite close to me. Without being too conspicuous, I moved my legs so that they were rather far away from Gary's, while I held my coffee with both my hands. There wasn't going to be any accidental touches or bumps – not if I could help it. That's not to say I didn't want it to happen, but yeah.

The movie was gory, overly so. Apparently, Gary had never seen the movie, and neither had I, so at each of the cheap scares, we flinched ever so slightly. It was actually quite funny – the movie that is – it was mindless and pointless, but I guess that was the idea behind it. About halfway through I offered to make us some more coffee, and returned shortly after with our fresh cups. Gary took his cup without even looking at me, seeming too engrossed in what was happening on the screen.

Gary finished his cup in a matter of minutes, while mine got a bit cold and stayed full. Some sort of vibe had gotten into me. I don't know how to explain it, but sitting on the sofa watching a movie with Gary was oddly awesome. It was something I've never really done before, least of all with Gary. Not that we were cuddling or anything, but I could have sworn the mood made me feel romantic.

"JESUS!" Gary panicked as something screeched on the screen, accompanied by the sudden appearance of a monster, women screaming in fear, and me caught off guard so bad, I spilled my coffee all over my lap from shock.

"Oh shit," I said stupidly as I quickly got up.

"What?" Gary queried, confused as hell. Then he saw my stained pants. "Oh my god! Are you okay? Is it still hot?"

"I'm fi-"

Before I could really finish, Gary was up and dragging me to kitchen, apologizing profusely every step of the way. I was like a deer caught in headlights as he pulled me by the arm. Okay, maybe it was just his skin pressing against mine. Yeah, that's what got me to follow him silently. He grabbed a cloth, but he didn't give it to me.

He started rubbing the stain on my pants – in the area of my crotch.

"Ash, I'm so sorry," he pleaded as he wiped. "Really, I didn't mean to scare you like that, sorry."

Gary wiped like mad, and subsequently, I was pushed against the counter. So there I was, with Gary leaning dangerously close to my privates, rubbing against them. We all know where this was going to lead to – and fast. If not already.

"Gary, please st-"

"Dammit, I'm such a girl sometimes. Hell Ash, I'm so embarrassed," he rambled on. Damn. Shit.

"Gary," I said again. But he didn't listen, and just continued with his weird rambling. "Gary! Please, stop."

He stopped.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide. A second later, he snapped what I was trying to communicate. His hand that was lingering above my manhood was quickly retracted, and Gary turned red, "I'm such an idiot. Shit, Ash, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I practically violated you. I'm so sor-"

"If you say that one more time," I mock-threatened, and he shut up. "What's wrong with you? You're freaking out. You never do. It's just coffee, relax."

He sighed heavily, and looked at the floor. "I know, it's pathetic of me. It's just…" he trailed off.

"Just what?"

"I," he tried. He looked up. "I… I don-"

I pushed my lips against his, and his words drowned instantly. I grabbed his shoulders, and kissed him as best I could. He was shocked – I could tell by his static lips. But damn, that didn't stop him from tasting good. Actually, if I had to say, he tasted more than good. It's a taste I'll never forget.

Then he parted his lips slightly.

So I did what any boy in my position would do: I slid my tongue inside. I could feel the shock in Gary, but he only widened his mouth, and before I knew it, his hands were on my neck, tugging me closer. The feeling was wonderful, and it felt like I could die right there and then. I lowered my hands to his lower back, and pulled slightly. Gary's whole torso was pressed to mine, and the heat was godly. His lithe frame against mine felt out of this world, and I almost lost all sense of self control.

I pulled away slowly from Gary. He was an utter mess – all shocked and wide eyed, with his lips slightly in a pout. I gave him a sly grin, pasted another chaste kiss on his lips and let him go entirely.

"Good night, Gary."

The whole way home I was grinning like an idiot. I could still taste Gary on my lips, and his heat lingered in my clothes. A part of me was furious at myself for leaving him just like that, but the other part was pleased that I actually followed some of Brock's advise. I just hoped it worked. Though, it couldn't have been that disastrous, since he kissed me back, right?

Gary hadn't followed me out the door. In fact, he remained stationary where I left him, probably still in shock. It was quite adorable and it sent butterflies to my stomach to see him like that. You know, he had that 'I-just-got-ravished' look.

When I got inside, Lance was sitting on the loveseat, with Pikachu on his lap, while mom was in her usual recliner with a mug of coffee in her hand. Their eyes were glued to the TV, and just one glance told me to look away – it was some soppy drama thing. The woman was crying, and the man seemed indifferent. Hah, cheater. Lance looked at me and scooted so that I could sit next to him. He must have seen my face, because he gave me knowing smile.

"So, how did it go?" he asked, although he knew the answer already.

"Oh, I don't know," I drawled. I noticed mom peering at me in a funny way. "We sorted things out, we're fine now."

Lance studied my face for a few moments, before turning his attention to the TV again. "Good, I'm glad. Not that I know what was going on, but that kid seriously had some bad PMS."

I laughed, and I caught a giggle from mom too. "Yeah, he used to be so calm and confident when he was younger. I guess he got some emotions when he hit puberty."

I sat there for a while, trying to watch what was on the TV. But really, it was so boring, so I excused myself, claiming I was tired. I was a little bit, but not enough so that I would fall asleep. I grabbed me a glass of water and headed to my bedroom, with Pikachu following me.

I plopped myself on my bed, and my Pokemon jumped on my chest. The weight startled me, but he wasn't too heavy to handle. He looked at me with confusion – I was smiling again. He cocked his head, "Pika?"

"I did it, Pikachu," I told him. "I made my move."

His face lit up and he gave me a huge smile. Naturally to him, all my problems would be sorted out with that simple action. Hah. If it only was that simple. Tomorrow was approaching, together with work – and Gary. I was curious to see how he would react towards me, and a part of me was rather nervous. Even though he had kissed me back, that's no real reason to just assume everything would be okay. I don't know for how long I lay there – having eventually shoved my fears, and instead remembering Gary on my lips.

The Pokemon beside the man purred like a living diesel engine. It rubbed his head against the hand hanging idly from the chair. It freaked me out.

"It's been two months since you've said you figured out the formula. Why no results, then?" the man asked. His voice was calm, but commanding.

"I do not know what is wrong," Larsa explained. He was standing beside me, and I could hear the frustration in his voice. He wasn't used to failure. And neither was I. "We've tried countless of variations of the virus, but each time it just won't take."

The man regarded us in silence, while the Pokemon continued to make noises of contempt. "Are you telling me it's impossible?"

"No," I said. "We simply need more time. I'm sure we can do this."

Silence.

"I've heard this before," he said, irate. "Long ago. Wouldn't it be better to just replace the two of you? My patience grow thin."

"Sir!" Larsa exclaimed. "Engineering perfection takes time. It's unnatural – it's to be expected to encounter such difficulties. But like my brother said, all we need is time. We've tried many combinations of the virus, but not all of them."

The man raised his hand to his chin in contemplation, and the Pokemon glared at us – as if it was our fault he could no longer rub against his master's hand. It was quite intimidating to stand there and being scrutinized like you were a meal, and I wished I could just go.

"Very well, another week. No more," he said, his voice threatening.

I swallowed. "Understood."

As we turned around to walk away, I heard him talking to his Pokemon, "Come, Persian, it's time to eat."

Damn, that Giovanni was creepy.

A/N: I reread the previous chapter, and noticed a few horrid grammar and spelling mistakes. If you just read chapter 8, I'm so sorry. I'll fix it sometime, but I'm just so tired at the moment. Anyway, I hoped you all liked this chapter. Obviously we've all been wating for this, and now the precarious task lies ahead of me to expand on what transpired, and keep it believable yet delicious - a task most fail at more often than not in my opinion.

About updating, I'll try to stick to the 10 day thing, so expect an update on the 12th. Till next time then!