Hello, readers! I'm glad to present to you guys chapter six of 'Amazing Grace'! I have to wonder, is it normal to feel nervous every time I post a new chapter? Anyways, I won't hold you up. Please enjoy 'What Our Futures Hold'. =)
-=Amazing Grace=-
The setting sun bathed Twinsport with its warmth, even as it began its decent towards the horizon. A cool breeze raced across the vast surface of the ocean and upon the sandy shore, creating a wonderful sensation for whoever was near the water's edge. The contrast between the warmth of the sun and the fresh, ocean breeze made it quite easy to fall into sleep's embrace if one wasn't careful; however, sleep was not on the minds of the two figures that walked along the sandy beach in the direction of Twinsport.
The wonderful weather only added to Jeremy's delight as he and his friend made the long but enjoyable journey back to the beach house where their bikes were parked. He and Grace had stayed atop the rock overlooking the tide pool for nearly half an hour before deciding to return to where their bikes were locked up. In that time, not much was said, but much was exchanged between them. For one who didn't understand the bonds a Gardevoir formed with those around them, such a concept might have seemed ridiculous. For Jeremy though, he understood it all too well. Sometimes, emotions and feelings were able to convey even greater meaning than eloquent words.
Before going to the beach house, however, Jeremy and Grace need to first retrieve their belongings from where they'd left them on the beach. Thankfully, they didn't have to go out of their way to pick up their towels and backpacks. As they approached the spot, Grace spoke up. "I guess we didn't need to bring the towels, huh?" the Gardevoir asked with a small chuckle as she reached down and felt her now dry gown; the time the two had spent bathing in the sun all but dried them off.
Looking down at his dry skin and swimming trunks, Jeremy shrugged his shoulders while saying, "I suppose you're right. That's fine by me though; I'd rather let the sun dry me off than a towel. It feels a lot nicer."
Grace smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "Too true; the sun feels much nicer!" The Gardevoir reached down to grab her towel and backpack; Grace unzipped the bright yellow bag and stuffed the large towel into the small compartment. It was a tight fit, but she didn't have to worry about putting anything else in, save for her swimsuit.
Jeremy simply threw his towel over his shoulder and carried his backpack by the handle. He watched as Grace zipped up her bag and slid her slender arms through the arm loops. "You all set?" Grace let out a soft 'mhm' and adjusted the backpack slightly in an effort to make it rest more comfortably on her back.
It only took a few minutes for the two to make the short walk back to the beach house. The shadows grew long as the sun continued its decent, but the street lights were still not turned on. Upon arriving, Jeremy and Grace noticed the metal shutter that covered the refreshment counter's windows at night remained open, but Blake was nowhere to be seen. It was likely that he was in the back room performing some mundane task; it certainly wasn't busy enough to be actively watching the counter.
Separating, Jeremy and Grace entered their respective changing rooms and stripped out of their swimsuits. It took Jeremy all bought a minute to change back into his shorts and t-shirt. When he was finished, the boy exited the changing room to find Grace standing near the refreshment counter. Although she remained quiet, it was apparent that somebody was engaging in conversation with her. Walking towards his friend, Jeremy saw Blake lazily leaning on the counter, speaking to the Gardevoir despite her being unable to respond.
The man seemed to notice Jeremy's approach and waved at the boy, beckoning him to come over. "Hey Jeremy, have a good time? Grace seems happy enough." The Gardevoir in question smiled and nodded her head. "Now that you two are back, I can lock up the place and close down for the day."
Jeremy smiled sheepishly while raising an arm to rub the back of his head. "Ah… did Grace and I keep you here? Sorry about that," the boy apologized. Blake shook his head in response.
"No, you two didn't hold me up; I was going to stay open until around five regardless. But… since you seem so apologetic, how about buying something?" Blake grinned as he suggested the possibility. The suggestion caught Grace's attention; she certainly loved eating the junk food that Blake sold. Best of all, she was never the one who had to pay for it.
The Gardevoir turned to look at her friend and smiled in anticipation. "It's the least we could do…! I haven't had any ice cream for a long time… if you want?" Jeremy sighed as Grace's eagerness began to overtake him. What was a person to do in such a situation? Well, it was the least he could do after the wild day the two had.
Grace's eyes lit up as Jeremy reached down to fish his wallet out of his short's pocket. The teen grabbed the soft leather pouch and pulled it up to his waist. Opening it, he reached in and pulled out several small bills, more than enough for a couple of ice cream cones. "Okay Blake, you win. We'll have two medium black cherry cones. It'd be a shame if you had to eat it all yourself."
The man laughed as he took the bills from Jeremy. "That it would, friend! Okay, just give me a second; I'll have your cones in a jiff." Blake walked over to an old, cast iron cash register and pressed down on several of the old keys; the physical effort required to operate the old, mechanical machine was evident even to an outside observer as heavy sounding clicks echoed in tandem with every keystroke. The drawer opened with the ring of bell, prompting Blake to deposit the money. He grabbed several coins in change, walked over to the window, and placed them on the counter for Jeremy to take. "There's your change; be right back."
Jeremy grabbed the change and dropped the coins into a tip jar that sat atop the counter. It was almost completely empty, save for a few dollar bills that the man kept in the glass jars to encourage people to tip. It didn't take long for Blake to return with two, fairly large ice cream cones. Reaching through the window, Blake handed Grace and Jeremy each a single cone. "There you go; I hope you'll enjoy."
Grace was all too eager to begin working at the sweet treat and wasted no time before taking the first lick. Jeremy felt a pulse of happiness come from Grace as shefirst tasted the ice cream; he laughed a little, amused but happy with the sensation. Looking down at his own cone, Jeremy raised an eyebrow, asking, "Are these mediums? This is a lot of ice cream."
Blake shrugged his shoulder and said, "Well, that is a bit more than I'd normally put on a medium cone, but you always tip and the season is almost over. I can afford to give out a little extra ice cream." That did make sense all things considered. Still, Jeremy was grateful regardless.
"Thanks, Blake. You really are the best," Jeremy laughed before taking a small bite out of his ice cream. Whereas Grace preferred to savor the flavor and slowly lick away the ice cream, Jeremy usually took entire chunks out at a time, downing his cone much faster than his friend.
Blake chuckled and nodded his head at the compliment. "Well, I never said otherwise. Have a good one you two; I'm going to start locking up." Jeremy and Grace bid farewell to the man and walked over to their bikes. Jeremy unlocked them from the bike rack while Grace held both of their cones. Riding while eating was not ideal, so the two decided to walk until their treats were finished. The walk back to their home would be a relatively short one, even with the distraction of eating an ice cream cone. As they grew further away from the beach, Jeremy looked over and glanced at his and Grace's bikes.
"That's a pretty nice ability, Grace…" Jeremy trailed off as he watched both of their bikes roll by their sides, guided by an invisible hand. Grace giggled as she looked over to observe her display of psychic powers; she didn't even need to see the bikes to guide them along the path.
"It's not that big of a deal. It's not like I'm lifting boulders or trucks," she told Jeremy. The boy only shook his head at her downplaying of her psychic abilities and sighed.
"Whatever you say… I still think you're one of the luckiest people in the world. You have no idea how much help powers like that would be at work. Plus they're just cool," Jeremy let out a small laugh. His laughing was cut short as he felt himself lift off the ground ever so slightly, just a few inches. A sharp gasp escaped the boy's mouth as he turned to look at the Gardevoir next to him. A light blue aura surrounded her eyes; it was faint and barely visible in the light of the setting sun, but there for certain.
Grace began to audibly laugh as she watched Jeremy struggle in her psychic grasp. "You're right; I do enjoy having these powers. I can do all sorts of fun stuff."
"Hey, put me down!" Jeremy cried out, clearly not amused by his friend's display of power. Almost instantly, he could feel as the psychic tendrils that held him up gently placed him on the ground. The boy stumbled slightly as he made the transition from air to pavement. Jeremy looked over at Grace who was failing to withhold her laughter. "Jeez, I take back everything." The comment only caused Grace to laugh even harder.
Ignoring his friend's gleeful laughs, Jeremy took another bite out of his ice cream cone. Despite the large amount of ice cream Blake had served them, Jeremy was polishing off the treat with ease and speed. Grace continued to daintily work at her own cone and had smoothed out the rough surface of the hard ice cream with her tongue.
"You know, tomorrow when I go to work, I'm finally going to be able to put my two weeks in; I never thought the day would come," Jeremy trailed off, trying to start conversation. Grace looked over at her friend and smiled at the comment. She knew Jeremy didn't enjoy his job at Stelar's Grocery Store; all too often he'd come home with stories of lazy co-workers or frustrating situations with customers and management. The negative emotions he possessed when returning from a day at work often made her sad. She hated seeing him unhappy or upset, so she made quick work of cheering him up.
"I'm happy for you. I know you don't care to go there," Grace pointed out. Jeremy sighed and nodded his head.
"It's not that I dislike being there all that much, it's just that I don't want to be stuck at Stelar's for my entire life. I want to make something of myself instead of just being a grocery store clerk," Jeremy explained. Grace understood what he meant, and she wished for the same. "It's a good job no doubt, but it's about time for a change, if you know what I mean."
"I do. And… I'm glad I can be there with you when you make that change." Grace's voice was soft as she spoke. Jeremy glanced over at his friend and saw a small smile on her lips. Even now, the emotions of joy and happiness were fresh, and Jeremy could feel this. They warmed him as they engulfed the boy with their presence.
"I'm glad too; I really am," Jeremy smiled.
The rest of their walk home was pleasant to say the least. Even after the two had finished their ice cream, they decided to continue walking. They were in no rush and simply enjoyed each other's company. It was a wonderful time.
-=Amazing Grace=-
"Hey, Jeremy! Can you check if this pasta sauce is on the end?" a voice called out. Jeremy looked up from the small dolly he was working off of to see his friend and co-worker standing several body lengths away, kneeling on the floor with a case of pasta sauce in front of him. Scott was a long time friend of Jeremy, and arguably one of his best. The two had applied to work at Stelar's grocery story on the same day and were hired together. Scott's presence made going to work a little less excruciating for Jeremy.
"Sure, which brand is it?" Jeremy asked while walking to the end of the isle. The end cap, the end of the isle where sale items were displayed, was filled with pasta and pasta sauce, but he needed to make sure it was the right brand.
"Saffron City Pasta," Scott called out, holding it up to check the variety. "Tomato and basil." Jeremy eyed over the end cap and spotted the item.
"Yeah, seven of them are going up. Drawer the other five," he said. Scott nodded in confirmation and reached in front of him to pull out a drawer. The crude, metal drawers slid beneath the shelves and held the extra stock that didn't go up on the shelf or end cap; they made the grocery clerks' job much easier, lest they have to throw all of the extra stock in the back storage room. When Scott had finished putting up the product, he walked over to his friend and reached down to grab another case of stock.
"So, you won't be doing this much longer, yeah?" he smirked while reaching for his box cutter. Jeremy laughed and nodded his head. "You went ahead and got a big boy job."
"Yeah, I put in my two weeks this morning when I walked in. I could tell Ed was a bit upset, but I'm not going to be stuck here my entire life," Jeremy said while mirroring Scott's action. The two grabbed cases of peanut butter and began to walk towards the appropriate aisle together. "Still, I could tell he was also happy for me; I know he wants to see us all succeed. It's just a bit of a bummer for him that I'm leaving before the Christmas season." Scott sighed at the statement and threw his head back in frustration.
"Seriously, this autumn and winter are going to suck. You, Sean, and I are the last people in the grocery department who know what they're doing. All of the new hires don't have a clue. Once you're gone, it'll only be Sean and I," Scott complained. The complaint was legitimate; Jeremy would hate to be in any of their shoes. Working during the Christmas season was hard enough with experienced workers. Working with a group of inexperienced new hires during the busiest time of the year would be a nightmare.
"Well, it is what it is. I'm sure you'll get out of here soon enough as well. How's your application to the University of Hoenn going? Did you get accepted?" Jeremy asked. His friend had applied to many different colleges, but the one he wanted to go to the most was the University of Hoenn. It was a good school with a high placement rate for it graduates.
"I was talking to a counselor the other day, and she said she was all but certain that I got accepted. I'll probably go ahead with the online class thing for the first few semesters and then move out there once I get the core classes done," Scott explained. That made sense; some classes certainly were easier to take online than in an actual classroom. Living at home with minimal expenses while taking such classes was definitely appealing to the cash strapped young man.
"Awesome," Jeremy commented while coming to a halt in front of the peanut butter. Taking out his blade, he sliced opened the taped down cardboard flaps and opened the box, revealing its contents.
"Yeah, it is. Enough about me though, it's your time to shine. So, you said Grace is going with you?" Scott asked while cutting open his case of stock. Jeremy nodded and turned to look at his friend.
"She is; I called Professor Oak and he said it'd be fine. He actually encouraged the idea," the boy explained. Returning to his job, Jeremy began to transfer the jars of peanut butter from the cardboard box to the shelf. "To be honest, I'm pretty happy about that. Going off to some distant city… I don't want to say it's scary, but I'd be less at peace with the idea if I was going alone."
Scott knew where Jeremy was coming from. While some of their friends were all too eager to leave Twinsport and discover the world on their own, Jeremy was quite fond of the quaint town he'd grown up in; he much preferred small town life over that of the big city. He also loved his family dearly and wasn't too anxious to leave them behind. That wasn't to say he wanted to be confined to the town for his entire life, only that he held many of the people and places close to his heart.
"I think it's great that he's encouraging you to bring Grace along. Still, I wonder what Goldenrod will be like; it is, after all, the center of commerce and business in Johto. I bet you'll run into some interesting people!" Scott laughed. Jeremy did the same and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, I bet I will," a smile formed on his face as he began to imagine the variety of people who he could run into. Who knew what doors would be opened in the metropolis of Johto. All his life, it seemed as though some sort of invisible force was guiding him. If he analyzed many of the major moments of his past, Jeremy could see that too many wondrous things had happened to him for it to all be chance. He would continue to let that force guide him through life; it certainly seemed to know what it was doing.
Scott smirked as he lightly nudged Jeremy's side. "You might even run across the future Mrs. Benper; who knows?" That comment caught Jeremy's attention. The boy's smile dropped ever so slightly, although he was unsure why. Throughout all of high school, he'd never had a girl friend; his constant status of being 'single' was somewhat of a running joke between himself and his friends. It wasn't that he didn't find the girls at school attractive; he just wasn't interested in dating at such an age.
"You know… I'm not ruling anything out, but don't expect me to come back with a wife or girlfriend; I don't want your expectations to be too high," Jeremy joked while putting up the last jar of peanut butter. Crushing the box, the teen waited for his friend to finish his case before walking back to the dolly of stock with him.
"With you, never," Scott joked right back. "In all seriousness though, you have to be pretty excited about the city life and all of that stuff. How close to the city will you be exactly? The sanctuary can't be downtown, can it?"
Jeremy shook his head at the question and answered, "No, it's not. The sanctuary itself is about fifteen minutes south of the Goldenrod city limits. It's about a thirty minute trip from the employee housing to downtown Goldenrod. They have a really nice public transit system from what I've heard."
"Man, that's just awesome. So housing is free?" Scott asked yet another question; his interest was obvious, given the situation. He was good friends with Jeremy after all; it was only natural that he'd be interested in his future.
"Yep, housing is free, but I have to pay for food. That's not a big deal though; they'll be paying me," Jeremy noted. "I'm not sure exactly how much, but it can't be too little, otherwise I'd starve."
"Yeah, I don't think they'd want their interns to starve. That's bad for business." Jeremy got a good chuckle at his friend's comment and grabbed another case of stock. He worked together with his friend for the next several hours, performing the robotic task of putting product on the store's shelves. The clocked seemed to move at a slower pace than usual. For Jeremy, his lunch break couldn't seem to come fast enough. Finally, the face of the large clock that hung in the front of the store read three o' clock; it was lunch time.
Jeremy made his way to the front of the store and to the time clock so he could punch out for lunch; to his surprise, as he was swiping his ID card a voice entered his thoughts.
"Hello Jeremy! Going on lunch now?"
Turning around, Jeremy saw Grace approaching him from the front of the store; accompanying her was Rosa. A smile was on the Gardevoir's face as she gracefully glided over to him. Several cashiers called out in greeting and waved as she passed their registers. Grace waved back in response and quickly closed the gap between her and Jeremy.
"Hey Grace! Actually, I am. I just clocked out for the hour. Why are you two here? Just doing some grocery shopping?" Jeremy asked as he looked between his friend and mother. Rosa nodded her head as she approached, confirming her son's assumption.
"Yeah, we desperately need some food; Grace wanted to tag along since there's nothing to do at home short of some 'boring' chores," Rosa laughed as she looked over at the Gardevoir in question. Grace could only playfully shrug her shoulders at the comment.
"Dad's at work and Claire and David are at school. It's so boring when you go to work!" she exclaimed in her defense. Jeremy chuckled, knowing full well what she meant. He still remembered, albeit not as clearly, what it was like to be home without any siblings. He much preferred to be in the company of his family than to be in solitude.
"I know, I know," Jeremy said with a grin. "Since there isn't any food in the house, you probably haven't eaten lunch?" Grace shook her head in response. "I'm about to grab something to eat; want to tag along?" Grace didn't even need to think the question over and began to eagerly nod her head.
"Sure, that'd be great," she said joyfully. Looking sheepishly over at her mother, the Gardevoir asked, "You wouldn't mind, right?"
Rosa humorously sighed and raised a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose with several fingers. "Well, I suppose I'll just have some grocery clerk put the case of water into my shopping cart. Go ahead; I'll probably be in here for a while anyways."
"Okay, thanks!" Grace said enthusiastically.
Jeremy looked at his mother and said, "We'll be outside if you finish before I clock back in." With that said, the boy turned his gaze to meet that of his friend's. "I was going to grab a sandwich or something; does that sound good to you, or do you want something else?"
Grace let out a soft 'mhm' and said in agreement, "That sounds good."
The two bid farewell to their mother and began to make their way to the prepared foods section of the store. After a few moments of browsing, Jeremy and Grace picked a couple of sub sandwiches out of the cooler and walked over to the checkout to pay. Grace grabbed a bag of chips off of the shelf as they walked over and placed it upon the register as well. Jeremy paid, and the two exited the building.
Stelar's was located several streets down from Main Street and was situated next to a small park of sorts. Calling it a park was stretching the truth; in reality, it was just a grassy lot next to the store with several large trees. Some employees had pitched in their money and bought a metal picnic table so they had somewhere to sit on nice days during their lunch breaks. In a sense, it was the unofficial break spot. Jeremy looked around and spotted several other employees lounging around the area; none of them were friends of his, just co-workers. They briefly acknowledged him and Grace as they walked by and quickly returned to their own business once they'd passed.
"You work until eight o' clock today, right?" Grace asked as they she walked side by side with her friend towards the metal grated picnic table.
"Sure do, but it's really slow and almost everything is done. I'm going to try to get out early if possible," Jeremy told her as sat down. The boy reached into the bag and handed Grace her sub sandwich which she accepted with a 'thank you'. Jeremy grabbed his own out of the bag and placed it, along with the bag of chips Grace had grabbed, on the table. "Ed's the closing manager tonight, and he usually will let me go if I ask."
"That's good," Grace commented as she unwrapped her sub and took a bite. "Mmm! This is really good!" Jeremy smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, the guys in the kitchen really know how to make a good sandwich," he agreed while unwrapping his own. Taking a bite, Jeremy savored the flavor as he began to eat. After swallowing, he turned to Grace and asked, "So, what have you been up to today?"
Grace sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "In all honesty, nothing much. I've been really bored, that's why I decided to go with Mom grocery shopping." Jeremy took another bite of his sandwich and listened as the Gardevoir spoke. A small frown formed on her face as placed her sandwich down to grab a potato chip from the bag that sat atop the table. "I hate when everybody goes back to school; I wish I could get a job or something…"
Jeremy let out a sympathetic sigh. "I know, I know. I really wish I could help you out; being home alone really isn't much fun." Grace nodded, knowing how correct he was. The phrase 'not fun' was a gross understatement as far as the Gardevoir was concerned.
"All I can do are chores or watch the television; even then, the only things that are on throughout the day are cooking shows, dramas, or the news!" Grace took a small bite out of her sandwich and began to chew when her eyes grew wide. Swallowing, she turned to Jeremy and leaned in close. "Jeremy! I almost forgot to tell you!"
Jeremy leaned back, surprised by the sudden proximity. Grace sounded anxious, worried even, as she spoke. The Gardevoir's features paralleled her voice, concern washing over her face. "W-what is it? Is something wrong?"
Grace let out a sharp cry as she nodded her head. "I was watching the news with Mom this afternoon while she was doing the laundry. Over the past several weeks, people have been going missing in Goldenrod; every time they disappear without a trace and not a single missing person has been found." Grace said with anxiety. Jeremy raised an eyebrow at the news and looked at his friend with a look that seemed to reflect his confusion.
"You're worried about that? Goldenrod is a big city with lots of people; I'm sure the… shadier side of town is filled with undesirables. Don't worry; we'll stay in the nice area of Goldenrod." Jeremy could only imagine what the dark alleyways and the Goldenrod underground held in wait for unsuspecting victims. He was no fool and knew that crime did exist in the city; he had been fortunate to grow up in a small town with relatively no crime, and for that he was thankful. Still, he wouldn't be able to stay in Twinsport forever; maybe one day, if he obtained his goal of becoming a Pokemon researcher, he'd be able to open a lab in a small town like Oak in Pallet or Elm in New Bark. Until then though, he'd have to endure the world outside the safety of Twinsport's protective small town setting.
Grace's shuddered as she felt a chill come over her; whereas happiness and joy warmed her spirit and body, fear and anxiety did just the opposite. Jeremy felt as Grace unconsciously synched her emotions with him and was a bit surprised by the sensation; it wasn't one he felt often. "I am worried! What if you run across whoever is abducting people? What happens then?"
Jeremy couldn't help but feel a mix of empathy and sadness overtakes him as he looked into Grace's worried eyes; their normal cheeriness was all but absent. Instead, he saw sorrow and anxiety swirling in a violent vortex of fear. The fear she felt was genuine, and who was to say it wasn't legitimate? In truth, stories such as the one Grace told him were unfortunately common in large, urban areas. A variety of different crime syndicates and gangs often had bases of operation set up in large cities, so missing people or homicides happened more frequently than the authorities would have liked, that is to say at all. Of course, those who disappeared or turned up dead usually had ties with such organizations, although sometimes innocents would get caught in the cross fire.
Still, Jeremy couldn't feed the fear that festered inside Grace's mind with such thoughts. To do that would be cruel and heartless. Reaching out, Jeremy gently placed his hand on Grace's shoulder. His eyes softened as he felt her trembling form beneath his touch. This was just another aspect of Grace's nature as a Gardevoir; when she felt something, she took the feeling to the extreme. Happiness was unadulterated joy and fear was crippling terror.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We're going to be plenty safe; most of the time we won't even be in the city," Jeremy assured her. The Gardevior's body tensed for the briefest of moments before melting into the boy's touch. Grace felt comforted as Jeremy's warm hand slid down the cool skin of her arm, goose bumps forming as the sensation overwhelmed her senses.
"I know… I just- I'm worried. I hadn't thought about those kinds of things yesterday; I just was thinking… I don't know even know," Grace admitted as she lowered her gaze to the ground beneath her feet. Jeremy raised an eyebrow as the Gardevoir quietly mumbled her worries.
"Do you… still want to go with me? Even knowing that it won't be like Twinsport?" the boy asked, his voice wavering. Grace's head shot up as she turned to look at her friend.
"Of course I'm still going!" she shouted, an explosive burst of emotion hitting Jeremy like a Hitmonchan's boxing glove. "If stuff like… like… -that!- is happening, then I'm not going to let you go alone!" Grace's eyes narrowed as she raised a closed hand to her chest. "I won't let anything happen to you; I promise." Jeremy was shocked by the usually docile Gardevoir's behavior. Where had this sense of guardianship come from? Never before had she acted this way, not even when he was bullied in school or other similar happenings.
Jeremy slowly nodded his head, his gaze remaining locked with Grace's hard stare. "Okay Grace, it was just a question. I wasn't going to stop you from coming; you just seemed really… worried is all." The explanation seemed to have the desired effect, if only slightly.
Grace's gaze, although still locked with Jeremy's, began to soften as several seconds passed. No words were exchanged as they felt one another's presence; the sensation was almost tangible. Finally, Grace closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, her head turning to face in front of her. "I just don't want anything to happen to you…"
Jeremy frowned, if ever so slightly, and turned his eyes to face forward as well; all that was in front of them was the ivy covered side of an old building across the street. "I know, and trust me when I say I'm in total agreement. I don't want anything to happen to me or you; you've got to realize though that life isn't always going to be, well, safe." Grace could sense how difficult it was for Jeremy to admit this unfortunate fact.
"What do you mean exactly?" she asked, wanting clarification of the boy's statement. Jeremy sighed and leaned backwards, letting the metal tabletop press gently into his back.
"I- It's hard to explain… I guess what I'm trying to say is that the rest of the world isn't like home. We've been blessed to be able to grow up here in Twinsport, but outside of our town –in the large cities and such- there are bad people and crime. They're in the minority, but they still exist," Jeremy frowned. Turning to Grace, his voice brightened as he said, "But, in order for any of us to reach our full potential, we have to be able to accept those risks. I wish there was a Pokémon Lab or something similar close by with an open position, but there's not. If I want to be successful and make a career in that field, then I'll need to accept the risk of leaving Twinsport."
Grace seemed to let the words sink into her mind. In truth, she'd never really thought ahead as a Ralts or Kirlia. In her mind, she and Jeremy would always live together with their siblings and parents, enjoying life without a care in the world. Now that reality was beginning to sink in, she had questions. For too long did she remain ignorant to such things, and she wanted to change that.
To Grace's surprise, Jeremy let out a small laugh, causing her to look his way. "What? What's so funny?"
Jeremy smiled and shook his head slightly. "Ah, it's nothing Grace. I just realized how much of a downer that conversation was and decided that I needed to cheer up the mood a bit."
Grace furrowed her brow at the explanation and tilted her head off to the side in a curious gesture. "So you just decided to laugh? For no reason?" Jeremy nodded his head, a smile forming on his face as he did so.
"Yep, sure did," the boy stated matter-of-factly. Grace stared at him, a blank look on her face. Sighing, Grace closed her eyes as the corners of her mouth tightened to form a small grin.
"You're right; that was a good thing to do," Grace said softly. Opening her eyes and looking back towards her friend, the Gardevoir said, "Let's talk about something else!"
Jeremy nodded in agreement. "That's the plan."
"So how's work been today? Have you put in your two weeks' notice yet?" Grace asked. Jeremy smiled as he threw his head back dramatically and looked to the sky.
"Yes! You have no idea how good that felt!" the teen explained as he raised his arms into the air in a celebratory manner. "In all fairness though, it's more of a one week's notice. I still have a week of paid vacation time, so I'm using that in two weeks. Next week will be my last."
The joy that radiated from Jeremy felt like a furnace for Grace. She raised one of her petite, green-clad hands to her face in an effort to conceal her giggling at the boy's display of happiness. "You really are happy!"
Jeremy's grin never faded as he threw his head forward and turned to face Grace. "Yep, sure am! Ed and Scott aren't too happy though. Well, I take that back. They're happy for me, but they're not happy that I'm leaving."
Grace nodded in understanding, but teasingly said, "I couldn't imagine why…!"
Jeremy let out a sharp laugh at the small jab and wagged a finger in the Gardevoir's direction. "He, watch it, Grace; you and me are going to be working together in just a little bit."
That statement caught Grace's attention, causing curiosity to overtake her features. "What do you mean?"
Jeremy looked at the confused Gardevoir for several moments, trying to figure out if she was joking or not. "Well, you are coming to Goldenrod with me, right?" Jeremy asked. The question got a swift, if not resolute, response.
"Yes! That's not even a question!"
Jeremy playfully rolled his eyes, saying, "And what do you think you'll be doing all day? Staying at a Pokémon Day Care center eating Pokefeed with some Charmanders and Pikachus?"
"I-ah…!" Grace was at a loss for words; she hadn't even thought of that.
"I'm not exactly sure about this, but I couldn't imagine the staff expecting me to throw you in some pen while I worked all day. If you'd want, I bet you'd be allowed to tag along with me," Jeremy explained. Grace's eyes widened slightly at the prospect of working side by side with her friend. All of her adult life, and a good portion of her teenage life, Grace had wanted to do something productive. For too long she'd be confined to her home while Jeremy was at work or Claire and David were at school.
Uncertainty creeping into her voice, Grace slowly asked, "Do… Do you really think so?" Her doubt caused Jeremy to chuckle, a gesture that would have undoubtedly upset Grace if he weren't nodding in confirmation.
"Jeez Grace! You need to start thinking of yourself a bit more; I can't be certain of anything right now, but I can make some assumptions. That's one that I'm willing to put money on." The boy settled down as he let out a long breath. "Grace, you're one of the friendliest, nicest people that I know; if somebody doesn't feel well or is sad, you put all of your effort into making them better or happy. We're going to be going to a place that has a lot of sick and sad Pokémon; I couldn't imagine somebody better suited to help, not even me."
Grace remained silent as she absorbed Jeremy's word. Everything he said was true, although she was far too modest to admit it. "You really think so?" The same question she'd asked before entered Jeremy's mind as she internally pondered the situation over.
Jeremy smiled as she gave Grace a sharp nod of his head. "Definitely. You're like…. a bright light in all of our lives, especially when we're down; I can only imagine how you'll affect the Pokémon we help." Unbeknown to Jeremy, that statement elicited a surprise reaction from his friend.
"You think I'm a bright light in your life?" That question caught the teen off guard. He turned to look at Grace only to be met by the most inquisitive of stares. The Gardevoir either didn't pick up on Jeremy's surprise or chose to ignore it; the latter option was more likely.
"Um, yeah, I do," Jeremy admitted slowly, almost as if he was unsure of what he was saying. The inquisitiveness that painted Grace's features slowly melted away, only to be replaced by joy.
"That- that makes me happy!" she beamed, radiating. Jeremy would be amused by Grace's confession if he weren't so surprised by her reaction to his answer. Was there ever any doubt that he thought otherwise? Sure, they would sometimes quarrel or be on bad terms with one another for brief periods of time, but otherwise everything was always good between the two.
"You're welcome…?" Jeremy hesitantly laughed. It was difficult for Grace to hide how she felt; sometimes, this trait was more apparent than others. "I have to ask, did you ever think otherwise?"
Grace snapped her head from side to side, violently denying the assumption. "No! Not at all! It just makes me happy to hear you say that is all," the Gardevoir explained with a large, if not carefree, smile on her face. "I hope I can live up to what you believe I'm capable of." Jeremy's face softened as he heard Grace's wish. In truth, he had no doubt she'd be capable of 'living up' to his expectations of being friendly and loving; her character wouldn't allow otherwise.
"I'm sure you will, Grace; I'm sure you will." Jeremy's attention was drawn away from the Gardevoir seated next to him when a small amount of movement was caught in his peripheral vision. Turning to focus on what could be approaching them, the boy noticed a small, brown squirrel cautiously hopping towards their table. "Check it out Grace, I think that little guy wants a free meal."
Grace shifted her focus to the squirrel as well and let out a squeal of delight. "It's so cute!" Reaching into the bag of chips the two shared, Grace pulled out one of the crispy chips and leaned forward while holding out her arm. "Come on, we won't hurt you…!"
Jeremy chuckled at Grace's attempt to feed the wild animal. Squirrels and birds often loitered around the lot next to Stelar's in wait for the employees to go on lunch. They seemed to learn fairly quickly that people were usually more than happy to part with a bit of their food. Jeremy's mind began to wander as he watched the squirrel approach Grace's green clad arm, cautious but determined. Wild animal and Pokémon: two creatures vastly different but similar in many ways.
Not Grace and the squirrel in particular, but the species in general. The world they inhabited was filled with countless living creatures. There were humans, such as himself; Pokémon, such as Grace; and animals, like the wild squirrel mooching a free meal off of them. These three distinct groups somehow managed to get along and coexist with each other; when he thought about it, it truly boggled his mind.
Humanity was by far the most intelligent creatures on earth. Some would debate this fact, but they failed to realize that intelligence and wisdom are two different things. Still, the reality of it was that no other species had the same understanding of the world like humanity did. This was the only saving grace the species had. As a whole, humanity was filled with physically weak individuals with little natural protection against the rough elements of the planet. If it wasn't for their intelligence, humanity would have faced extinction long ago.
Animals, on the other hand, were just the opposite of humans. They weren't completely dim witted, but what ensured their survival through the ages was their resilience to the harsh environments that they inhabited; this was in stark contrast to humanity's means of survival. Animals relied on their physical attributes instead of their mental ones.
Then, there were Pokémon. While fewer in number than animals, they were far more powerful and more intelligent in many cases. In a sense, Pokemon had become apex predators in the wilds of the earth. Many Pokemon had animal counterparts; even the squirrel that visited Jeremy and Grace had a counterpart in Pachirisu. The reason behind this baffled researchers who studied the origin of life. Some believed that Pokémon were genetic mutants of wild animals, but that theory didn't hold much water; there were far too many Pokemon who didn't possess animal counterparts. In short, the origin of pokemon, humanity, and wild animals was shrouded in mystery.
In all honesty, such thoughts made Jeremy's head spin in wonder. The world was so vast and complex, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming desire to want to understand it all. At the same time, he also felt a sense of apprehension at the realization of how great of an undertaking that'd be.
"Jeremy?"
The teen in question turned to look at the source of the voice. Grace stared at him with an questioning stare. "Is everything alright?" Jeremy quickly nodded his head and blinked rapidly several times, clearing his vision.
"Yeah, everything's fine; I was just thinking…" he trailed off. The look of curiosity persisted on Grace's face, asking what he was thinking about without words. "It's nothing important. Really, just mindless thoughts." There was no hint of deception in Jeremy's word, but Grace didn't mind.
"That's fine; what were you thinking about?" she asked with a playful smile. The boy rolled his eyes as his friend grabbed another chip from the bag and threw it towards the squirrel that was waiting patiently several body lengths away.
"Fine, I was just thinking about how you were feeding that squirrel. Seriously, everybody feels inclined to feed them, even you," Jeremy admitted. The statement wasn't completely false; he had thought of that.
Grace raised her brow, her disbelief evident. "Oh really? That's it?" Amusement still showed on her face despite her disbelief; she loved this kind of interaction. It was almost a way for her and Jeremy to bond, as strange as that may sound.
"That's all I'm going to tell you, if that's what you mean," Jeremy teased while picking up his sandwich. Taking a bite, he turned to face Grace and gave her a large, closed-lip smile. The Gardevoir couldn't hold in her laughter at the sight of Jeremy's bulging cheeks as he smiled, a result of having taken a large bite out of his sub.
"Fine; you win!" she pouted. The pout would have been more effective had she not laughed while doing so. Several moments passed before she let out a sigh and leaned back against the cool, metal tabletop. "So, do you want to do something when you get off work tonight?"
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders while mirroring Grace's action. "Yeah, I'm down for something. Have anything in mind?"
Grace raised one of her long, delicate fingers to her chin and squinted her eyes as though she were deep in thought. "I don't know… nothing is coming to mind. I just want to do something!" Jeremy felt bad for Grace; it really was awful being stuck at home all day with nothing to do. Watching tv, playing a game, or browsing the internet was only entertaining for so long when you were by yourself.
"Well, as nice of a day as it is, it'll be dark by the time I get off so that rules out a lot of things like hiking or biking. Hmm…" Twinsport, in all of its idealness, had one great flaw for a young adult such as Jeremy; there was almost nothing to do. Larger cities and towns were entertainment hubs filled with dozens of fun activities; that was one of the things he was looking forward to while in Goldenrod. "Crap, there's really not much to do…"
Grace sighed, frustration beginning to seep from her core. "But I'm so bored! I want to do something, anything!"
"How about we invite some friends over tonight? We could all just hang out and maybe play some games; it's not the most original idea, but it's a fun one," Jeremy suggested.
"Hmm…" Grace contemplated, if only half heartedly. "I suppose we could do that. Who could we invite?"
"How about Scott? He gets off work at seven thirty. I bet he wouldn't mind coming over after work; he'd just want to go home and get changed first. I could also give Matt a call and see if he's busy tonight." Both Scott and Matt were close friends of Jeremy, and both had even had formed a close enough bond with Grace to communicate with her. They were part of the dozen or so people, excluding immediate family, who could talk with the Gardevoir.
"Hang out with Scott and Matt… I'd like that. Are you going to ask Scott when you clock back in?"
"Yeah, assuming we can't think of anything else before then," Jeremy told her. Grace shifted her gaze from the vibrant blue sky to the boy next to her. Smiling, the Gardevoir nodded her head.
"Sounds like a plan."
-=Amazing Grace=-
"I'm not playing with this cheat!"
An angry roar filled the family room of the Benper home followed by a soft thud that accompanied a video game controller hitting the carpeted floor. Scott shot from his chair and pointed an accusing finger at Grace; the Gardevoir in question made no attempt to hide the smirk on her face. "You're a cheat, Grace! A no good cheat! What's the point of playing a game if you can't do it without having an unfair advantage?"
"Me? Cheating! Why, Scott! I'm offended!" Grace giggled as her own controller levitated out of her grasp and into the air in front of her. Jeremy could only watch, amused, as the joysticks and buttons continued moved without any sort physical contact. The precision required by Grace's physic skills to operate the intricate device through her powers alone was truly a phenomenal feat. In a sense, she could be considered the handicapped player.
"It's not fair; the rest of us have to deal with something we call 'reflexes'," Scott moaned. "You know, that delay between thinking of an action and actually performing it? You don't have to worry about that."
Grace held up one of her green clad hands and began to wriggle her green fingers for all to see. Their delicate forms danced as she continued to laugh at the boy's tantrum. "You all have two too many fingers. It's too hard to play a game like this with my hands; there are too many buttons to press. You know I use my fingers when possible; besides, it's not like my physic powers are instantaneous."
Scott let out an annoyed grunt, unable to think of a response; what she said was true. While Grace may have used her physic powers to manipulate the controller on more complex games, she stuck with the more conventional means of using the gamepad with games that would allow her three fingered hand to do so. Upon realizing his friend had nothing more to say, Matt spoke up. "No need to be a poor sport, Scott. You just have to live with the fact that you suck at first person shooters." A series of unintelligible grunts rumbled from Scott's throat, his eyes refusing to move from the television screen in front of him. This only helped to further the fits of laughter that Grace failed to withhold.
"Yeah, really. It's not the first time Grace has beaten you; look, she didn't even win!" Jeremy chuckled as he moved his cursor over his name. "Twenty-five and twelve. I have to admit, I'm pretty awesome." Scott and Matt let out annoyed moans as Jeremy leaned back in his seat and began to joyfully laugh.
Even Grace rolled her eyes at Jeremy's –albeit faux- arrogance. "Yeah, you really are great. How about you get on with the next game so I can put you in your place?"
Matt let out a howler and pointed his arm towards Jeremy. "You just got called out! It's on!"
"How about Free For All on 'Shut Out'?" Jeremy asked as he navigated the menu of the video game to change the map. A resounding, positive hum filled the room. After several seconds of fiddling with the settings, Jeremy hit the start button and watched as the countdown timer began to tick down. "Ready to eat your words, Grace?"
"Hardly."
The countdown timer hit zero seconds, and the match began. Intense stares belong to the room's four inhabitants focused on their quarter of the small television; the silent clicks of controllers being manipulated echoed quietly in the air, mixing with the ambient sound effects of the game. "So, are you going to be gaming much when you're in Goldenrod?" Matt asked, breaking the relative silence that filled the room. "If your living quarters has high speed internet, you'll be able to do some online gaming with us."
"Probably not," Jeremy responded absentmindedly; the majority of his attention being wrapped up in the competitive game play. "In all honesty, I'm probably not even going to take this thing with me." The boy's foot motioned towards the gaming console that was positioned in front of the television. A loud crack filled the virtual air of the game, causing both a cry of annoyance and glee to resonate in the room.
"Headshot!"
"Not. Fair."
Chuckling a bit at his friend's misfortune, Jeremy continued talking with Matt, saying, "I figured I'll be too busy to do those kinds of things when I'm there. Even then, on my off time there's going to be so much to do. I can't see myself planting my behind on a chair in my room playing video games when I'm in a place like Goldenrod. Whack in the back."
An ear splitting crunch was heard as Jeremy directed a melee attack into the back of Grace's avatar. Her character dropped to the ground, limp, as the boy assassinated her. Jeremy felt a short but intense sensation of annoyance flare from Grace, causing him to let out a sharp laugh.
Matt and Scott felt it too, prompting Matt to jokingly state, "Hey, it's only a game!" The comment only earned the boy a sharp look from Grace's crimson eyes before they promptly made their way back to the screen. Laughing lightly, Matt asked the annoyed Pokémon, "So, how about you, Grace? I bet you're excited about going with Jeremy."
"You could say that," Grace distractedly noted as she focused on killing the player in front of her. Loud 'bang!'s resonated through the space as the Gardevoir hunted her virtual prey. After Scott had, once again, succumbed to her skill, Grace broke her concentration and continued, saying, "At first I was a bit nervous, but now I can't wait. There's going to be so much to do there; I can't wait to help…!"
"Hopefully you're as good at helping Pokémon as you are at killing me," Scott sighed as he fell victim to Jeremy's grenades upon spawning. "Seriously, man? Spawn killing?"
Jeremy shrugged, noting, "It's free for all; I don't know where you're going to spawn." Looking at the score, Jeremy noted his position. He was in second and Grace first. That had to change, or else he would indeed be eating his words.
"Do you plan to have a going away party or anything like that?" Scott asked as his character spawned again, sans Jeremy's grenades.
Shaking his head, Jeremy responded by saying, "I haven't thought about anything like that. It's not like I had this planned all summer; I only found out about it yesterday morning!"
"Fair point," Scott noted.
"You know, that's something Ashley would organize. I bet she's already planning something… any excuse to throw a party," Matt laughed as he navigated his character through the small multiplayer map.
"Too true; she'd throw a party for anything. She seemed pretty excited about it when I told her yesterday at Franklin's," Jeremy pointed out. He jumped in surprise as he rounded a corner in the game and came face-to-face with Grace's avatar.
-Bang!-
"The shotgun? Really Grace?" Jeremy exclaimed while throwing his hands in the air. "Get a weapon that takes some skill!"
Games, such as the first person shooter the four were currently playing, provided an interesting look into people's competitive nature; even the normally joyful and docile Grace had a competitive streak within her, as showcased by her behavior while playing. Neither Jeremy nor Grace played that many video games, but the family did own a single console for fun. It proved to be a worthwhile investment.
The match continued to move forward as Jeremy, Grace, Scott and Matt exchanged playful –if not competitive- banter and killed one another in an attempt to win the round. In the end, Jeremy had indeed eaten his words, although the victor of the round wasn't Grace. Matt had come from behind, at much expense to Scott, and stolen the win from Grace moments before the game ended.
The four people had a great time, each of them enjoying one another's company. Scott and Matt stayed for another hour or so before leaving the Benper residence, once again congratulating Jeremy before bidding farewell. The clock was approaching midnight as Jeremy made his way upstairs. Claire and David had long since gone to bed, and his parents had retired to their room all but an hour ago.
Walking down the central hallway of the second floor, Jeremy noticed Grace's door slightly askew. A narrow ray of light escaped the Gardevoir room's through the small gap between the door and door frame. Stopping in front of it, the boy raised his hand and lightly knocked on the hollow wooden door. "Hey Grace, can I come in?"
"Yeah, come on in," she replied. Accepting the invitation, Jeremy reached for the doorknob and opened the door. Grace was sitting atop her bed, her legs elegantly folded beneath her flowing gown. In her lap was a book of sorts, although the teen couldn't tell which one from where he stood.
"Ah, doing some reading? Sorry for disturbing you," Jeremy said as he stood in the door way. "I'll leave if you want."
Grace smiled as she looked up from her book. Shaking her head, the Gardevoir laughed, "Don't worry, it's fine! If I thought you were disturbing me, I'd have told you I was busy. Come on in." She flipped the book over and laid it face down on her bed as Jeremy walked into her room, shutting the door behind him. The boy walked over to her lonely desk and pulled out the chair; Jeremy sat down and leaned back, putting the entirety of his weight on the rear two wooden legs. "Did you want something?"
It was Jeremy's turn to shake his head. "Nah, I was just curious what you were doing," he noted while glancing around the room. Several moments passed before his gaze fell on Grace herself. The corner of his lips tightened into a grin as he said, "So, you seemed like you had fun tonight."
Grace audibly laughed lightly while nodding in agreement. "I really did; it's been a while since both Scott and Matt have come over. I forgot how much fun it is being around them."
Jeremy chuckled at Grace's words. Growing up, Matt and Scott were almost always with Jeremy and, in turn, Grace. They were the best of friends; as they grew up, however, the four had seemed to drift apart in recent times. It wasn't intentional by any means; a variety of things had happened which caused them to become less involved in one another's lives. When all was said and done though, if they four managed to somehow come together, it was as though not a day had passed from their childhoods. Friends such as those were arguably the best.
"Truth be told, so did I. Granted, I work with Scott on a daily basis, but I don't see Matt as much. Ever since… you know, he hasn't been the same; he doesn't get out much anymore. I feel bad for him…" Jeremy trailed off, sadness evident in his voice. The teen felt a small but definite sensation of sadness wash over him as Grace's mood quickly shifted from happy to gloomy. The Gardevoir turned her gaze away from Jeremy in an effort to hide her sadness, but the attempt was futile. Frowning, Jeremy sighed, saying, "I-I'm sorry Grace… for bringing that up. I didn't mean to." Grace remained silent as Jeremy spoke. In truth, she felt much more pain and hurt than she was letting on. Jeremy knew this and couldn't help but feel awful knowing he was responsible for bringing up the negative feeling.
Several years ago, Matt had tragically lost his older brother, Michael, to an unforgiving illness. His death was unexpected and sudden and had caused much grief for his family and friends. Michael was a friendly, nice young man who loved his family as much as Jeremy loved his own. He often times would drive Matt, Jeremy, Scott, and Grace around in his old, tattered car and take them to fun places that were out of walking distance, such as some of the other nearby towns. He loved being around them as much as they loved being around him.
Losing Michael hurt Grace almost as much as it hurt Matt. The sense of loss was overwhelming and caused Grace to fall into a deep depression. She didn't know how to cope with the sensation of great loss, for she had never experienced it before. It had ultimately been Matt and Jeremy who pulled Grace from her grieving state and rescued her from the horrors of the perilous emotion.
"I feel bad for him too… I still miss Michael; I miss how things used to be with Scott and Matt," she admitted sorrowfully. Several seconds passed before Grace continued. When she spoke, however, her voice wasn't sorrowful, but reminiscent. "That's why I'm glad we were together tonight. Playing with Scott and Matt… it felt like how it used to be back then, before all of the bad things happened." Much to Jeremy's surprise, a small smile formed on Grace's face as she lowered her head to stare at her lap. "So, even though things will never go back to how they used to be, I'm grateful for the moments we have now. I cherish them that much more."
Jeremy watched as a sense of tranquility washed over Grace's features. She had come a long way since Michael's death several years ago; in truth, she had possibly come farther that Matt. One might consider that an unfair comparison or judgment, but when Grace's nature as a Gardevoir was taken into account, it became clear that the comparison wasn't too unfair after all.
Knowing what his friend had said was true, Jeremy joined Grace in her tranquility and smiled softly himself. "Yeah, you're right Grace. I guess we really should make the most of what we have, yeah?"
"Definitely."
A strange silence overcame the room as the two inhabitants contemplated each other's words. It wasn't awkward by any means, nor was it comfortable. It was just… strange. The silent ticking of the bright, floral themed wall clock sounded, resonating in the air.
Several moments passed before Jeremy let out a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair. Perhaps he had overstayed his welcome; he had so foolishly opened an old wound and wouldn't be surprised if Grace wanted to spend some time alone. "Well, I guess I'll get going now. You probably want to get back to reading," Jeremy noted while eyeing the lonely book that lay next to Grace's milky white gown. Grace shook her head before finally shifting her gaze from her lap to the boy in front of her.
"No, it's fine," the Gardevoir said as her eyes locked with Jeremy's. "Actually, I'd like it if you stayed for a bit."
"Grace?"
"Would you come over here, please?" Grace patted the soft, springy mattress beneath her and beckoned for Jeremy to come near. A bit perplexed by the request but knowing he was in no position to deny it, the boy got up from his seat and walked over to the bed. Grace shifted as he sat down on mattress and moved to be next to him. Before he could say anything, Grace grabbed the book she had been reading and spread it across their laps. Much to the boy's surprise, there were no words on the pages, just pictures.
"This is…?" Jeremy trailed off, knowing full well what was before him.
"Would you like to look at them with me?" Jeremy turned to his side and saw Grace's serene face gently smiling while awaiting a response. Letting out a relieved, if not happy sigh, Jeremy nodded his head slowly but happily.
"I'd love to, Grace."
Jeremy lost track of time as he and Grace looked through the photo album of their childhood. Pictures of friends and family filled the pages, bringing back wonderful memories for the two. The small, green covered, album had been a gift from John and Rosa to Grace on her birthday; it was one of her most cherished possessions. Smiles and laughs were shared as Jeremy and Grace reminisced over their childhood and youthful days. The nostalgia brought forth both happiness and sadness, although joy far outweighed any sorrow.
While Jeremy and Grace both wished to be able to stay in such a time, a time of innocence and joy, both were also excited, if not nervous, to see what their futures would hold. If there was one thing for certain, is was that Jeremy and Grace were glad that they would find out together.
Wow, I'm so glad I got this chapter done! I wrote and edited this entire thing from my car while on lunch breaks and between classes. I found that's kind of the only time that I can write with my schedule being as busy as it is. Anyways, I bet you guys don't really care all too much about that, so I digress.
With this chapter done, I've all but summed up what can best be described as a "65k word prologue." Some of you might think that's too long for an introduction, and you're probably correct; please don't forget I originally had only planned for Amazing Grace to be a one shot. I had no real plans for a long, drawn out story and kind of used the time spent writing chapters 1-6 figuring out my world, the plot, the characters, etc. I now have a pretty solid idea on where I'm taking this story, so hopefully it will become a bit more defined as time goes on.
I just want to address a few comments from anonymous reviewers (I'd love to somehow be able to respond to those!). One reviewer noted the presence of animals, that is to say non-Pokemon. I debated with myself whether or not to use animals in my canon and did a lot of research on the subject. In the official Pokemon canon, real life animals exist alongside Pokemon, so I decided to go this route. I thought about it, and basically can sum it up like this:
Pokemon are powerful beings; in a sense, they're apex predators when compared to their animal counterparts. In the real world, apex predators are fewer in number than their prey. This is just how nature works. I took this principle and tried to incorporate it into the Pokemon world. I hope that clears things up and makes sense. I also grew up with Gen I, II, and III and don't know many gen IV and V Pokemon. Oops.
This note is getting kind of long; I would like to address some other issues brought up, but don't want to abuse this author note. The issue with real life animals and Pokemon is just something I really wanted to clear up.
As some of you may have noticed, I changed the genre of this story. I hope that doesn't discourage any of you from sticking with it; all I'm going to say is this: 'Amazing Grace' has changed much since its initial conception, and so have the characters. I will try my hardest not to fall into many of the traps that seem to plague the Gardevoir fandom. For the record, it might take a bit for the change to show, as I forgot to change the genre until after I posted this chapter.
So, in short, thank you all for reading and being patient while I figured out where to take this story and how to take it there; I realize that it might have been boring up to this point and hope I didn't lose too many readers as a result. Your reviews and comments mean a lot to mean; I love hearing from you guys. Getting a PM or Review notification really makes my day. :)
Have a great one, readers!
-Write by Faith-