Chapter 11 – Healing
Gabby and Andy stared at the irate Jordan in horror. The pair faced one another briefly before they dared to speak.
"Wait up, you think Alexa was here?"
"Well, d'uh, we DID hold her brother captive!" Gabby huffed.
"You were just as surprised as I was, Gabby!"
"Except Keenan escaped before she got here," Jordan said deeply. "Urgh...we'll have to look into somewhere else to hide out."
"Damn." Gabby was less than amused.
"That little-!" The startling noise of Jordan's fist slamming hard on the wooden table broke Gabby and Andy's concentration and made them jump a little. They knew Jordan was livid.
"...Alexa...your head is mine...!"
Alexa and Ryder ran into the quiet city, stopping near their home to catch their breath. Keith and Robbie finally caught up to them. Robbie panted with his little tongue sticking out.
"Alexa?"
"What?" she asked, somewhat rudely.
"You okay? You haven't said a word since we left the woodlands outside Johto," Keith said with worry.
"In what context?" Alexa asked simply.
"Emotionally." She looked away from Keith, contemplating an answer. The truth was she was left disturbed at what she had witnessed; she had never seen such brutality in her life, and she thought the murdered Medicham was a horrific sight.
"...I just want to go home," she said finally.
"Are you avoiding the question?" Keith snapped. Alexa scoffed and faced the suspicious boy.
"Why, would you love it if I was?"
"Look, I already said sorry, okay?!"
"And you meant it."
"So what's your problem?!" Keith asked demandingly. Ryder and Robbie watched the two teenagers with anxiety.
"Is it so wrong for me to want to see my brother again?!"
"No, but-"
"I rest my case!"
"Guys, guys, chill out!" Ryder said suddenly. "We're almost home, can't you argue later? Or, like, never again?" Keith and Alexa sighed, but Alexa made her way towards the house before Keith could even apologise for his accusation. Instead, he and Robbie followed her and Ryder back to the house.
Alexa hoped to find her brother beyond the red door in front of her, but, at the same time, expected not to find him. She opened the door and entered the house. Sitting there at the kitchen table with her Chatot and Zoroark was none other than her little brother, Keenan, looking as guilty as he felt, especially after having seen her walk over the threshold. Keenan stood up to approach her, but he felt his sister's arms wrapping around him before he could even lift a foot off of the ground. Robbie found Reese near Darcy and Iara, lying on the carpet in front of the three seater sofa and approached them. Keith closed the door behind him and stood next to Ryder, watching the reunion between the two siblings.
"Oh, Keenan..! Please tell me you're all right!"
"I-I think so," Keenan replied shakily.
"I'm SO sorry about all of this, I-"
"It was my fault, I ran away!" Keenan confessed. Alexa looked at her brother straight in the eye, mildly shocked.
"What..?"
"While everyone was distracted, I snuck onto Jordan's Jeep!"
"What the..?" Keith and Ryder were surprised at the revelation. Xavier and Skywing weren't shocked in the slightest, having already heard the story from Keenan. Alexa shook her head.
"...it doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're all right!"
"I-I was scared, Alex..!" Alexa smiled sweetly at her distraught brother and stroked the back of his head.
"It's okay, it's over now." Keenan shook his head.
"Not of him."
"Huh?" Alexa was confused; if it wasn't the captor or the experience as a whole that had him scared, what else could have scared him? What he saw in the basement? She counted herself lucky he hadn't explored the upstairs of the house.
"I was scared I ruined you and Keith..."
"Huh?" Keith was left dumbfounded.
"Ruined us?" Alexa asked. Skywing cleared his throat politely.
"We informed him of your latest heated argument," he said regretfully.
"Oh."
"Oh, Keenan...Keith and I haven't broken up," Alexa said kindly. It was true; technically, neither one chose to terminate their romance. The thought hadn't occurred to either her or Keith.
"I-I don't want you to b-because of me..!" Keenan whimpered.
"We won't!"
"I hope," Keith added quietly. Alexa gave Keith a small glance before the pair looked away from one another, feeling awkward. Keenan became concerned during the silence.
"Guys?"
"S-say, Ryder, how was the search?" Skywing asked suddenly, desperate for the conversation to continue. Ryder gave Skywing a frown.
"You DON'T want to know."
"That bad, huh?" Xavier asked. Ryder nodded.
"And worse."
"Alexa, Keith, you two have been gone all morning. Why don't you two stay home for the rest of they day and relax?" Skywing suggested optimistically. "You still need some lunch." Alexa flinched; how could she even think about eating after she lost her breakfast upon seeing two dead Pokémon lying nonchalantly in the middle of an otherwise empty room in a house she thought her brother was being held hostage in?
"I think I'll skip on lunch..."
"Me too, but we really shouldn't," Keith said quietly.
"He's right."
Alexa stood up and walked up the stairs, ruffling her brother's hair and muttering something to herself along the way. Keith sat down in the nearest kitchen chair and sighed, resting his head in one palm.
"...juice?" Xavier asked nervously.
Alexa sat down on a chair in front of a ruby red laptop sitting on a desk in the corner of her bedroom, which was near her television, games console and other games and accessories. There were two beanbags next to the desk, one red, one blue. She turned the laptop on and took her phone out of her pocket. She opened a drawer while her laptop booted up and took out a small cable. She plugged her phone into one end of the cable while plugging the other end into the laptop. The wallpaper on her desktop was a photograph of the entire Johto region at sunset taken from a tall mountain; but the serenity of it failed to put a smile on Alexa's face. She retrieved the photos Keith took from her phone and opened up her email program, logging in beforehand. She attached the photographs – taking care to not look at them too closely – to the currently empty email before typing in a Ranger Union email address. She then began to type in a report of what she and Keith had seen at Jordan's alleged accommodation, neglecting purposely to mention her brother's involvement. Not caring about the contents of her report, she sent the email off. After the email sent successfully, Alexa sighed and placed her head in both hands, worried about the future of her relationship with Keith.
Xavier placed a glass of cool refreshing orange juice next to Keith and sat next to him. Keith looked at the glass.
"I told you I didn't want anything."
"Come on, now, Keith, you need something," Skywing said worriedly.
"Yeah, don't be a hypocrite," Xavier added.
"I'm just not hungry," Keith argued.
"Too worried to?" Keenan asked. Keith scoffed.
"Why would I be worried?"
"Seriously? Do you really have short term memory loss?" Ryder asked rudely, slumping down on the sofa nearest to Reese. "You're worried about where your relationship with Alex is going." Keith remained silent; he hadn't thought about the fate of his relationship. Keenan could tell he feared the worst, and himself became worried when he noticed the bruise below his eye.
"Talk to her. Honesty is the best policy," Skywing advised.
"I don't know if she'll hear me out, she just stormed off."
"She's just filing a report, that's all," Keenan explained. "She was muttering about it before she left."
"Oh." Xavier grew impatient with Keith's lacking confidence.
"Man up and talk to her! You're gonna be working together on this, whether you're romantically involved or not, you need the cooperation!"
"He's right, you two need to sort this out!" Ryder agreed. Keenan became increasingly upset, still blaming himself for the latest strife between his sister and her boyfriend. He quickly stood up and ran up the stairs. Skywing sighed.
"I sincerely hope the pair of you will resolve this matter."
"You mean you want us back together," Keith said half-heartedly. Skywing faced Keith earnestly.
"That is for you and Alexa to decide," he said truthfully. "All I can do is wish the both of you all the best, whatever you decide." The rest of the Pokémon grew worried as the possibility of Keith and Alexa's relationship being destroyed was becoming more and more real by the second. Keith stood up and walked up the stairs slowly. Robbie lay down and tried not to cry, despite having no tears left.
Alexa read an email sent in response to hers, hearing Keenan entering his room as she scanned the words on the screen.
"Thanks, Alex, I'll pass it on to Professor Hastings. Are you doing all right over there? You coping? Rhythmi."
Alexa deleted the email; the acknowledgement of her report was more than enough for her, she had no need to reply. Keith watched her from the doorway as she looked at the email she sent, which was placed into her sent box.
"Alexa?"
"I sent the report to Rhythmi. She'll pass it on to the professor," she explained unenthusiastically.
"You didn't mention-"
"No, I didn't mention Keenan's involvement. Nor our situation at the moment if that's any consolation," Alexa said. Keith sighed.
"Alexa, about that, I...I want to talk to you about-"
"Skywing put you up to it," Alexa interrupted. "You don't sound confident." Keith flinched; he really wasn't. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Y-yes...but he's right, we need to talk about it. Alexa...please." Alexa turned in her seat to face him, commanding her laptop to shut down before looking up at him.
"Keith, I hit you. If that's not a sign that our relationship is as dead as the Lapras we saw-"
"I deserved it! All right? I said I got off lightly and I mean that too!" Keith exclaimed.
"That may be what you think, but that doesn't make what I did to you right..."
"Alexa-"
"I should have learned my lesson after what I did – or nearly did – to Rhythmi," Alexa sighed.
"Rhythmi didn't know any better! I know about Lydia, and I knew about her when I said what I did before you hit me! I should have known better and I apologise! Alexa, please! We need to resolve this one way or another!" Keith pleaded.
"...you don't want us to be together any more, do you?" Alexa asked pessimistically. The words struck Keith like a spark of realisation.
"No! I don't want us to be torn apart! ...why? Are you saying you don't want to be with me any more?" he asked sadly.
"...I don't know. I-I just don't know." Keith felt saddened at her answer; while she hadn't said she wanted to end the relationship, the uncertainty of her reply hadn't made him feel any better.
"Alexa..."
"...I need more time to think." Keith sighed silently with slight relief, though he still prayed she would realise she shouldn't feel guilty for hitting him; he felt he deserved it, and he had no intention to officially report the assault.
"...okay."
"You should have a shower," Alexa said, on a more positive tone. "You look like you need it."
"What about you? You ran as much as I did."
"I can manage." Keith laughed a little.
"Okay."
"Come on then."
"Whuh?" Alexa laughed.
"I need to show you how the shower works." Keith laughed nervously.
"Heh; I forgot." Alexa stood up from her seat and escorted Keith to the bathroom.
Keenan sighed as he sat on his bed with a black controller in his hands. Various different logos flashed on the TV screen in front of him before the game's title screen finally showed up; a novelty action adventure game called Ruby Groudon. Keenan pressed the start button on his controller.
Alexa led Keith into the bathroom and walked over to the shower. Keith looked around at the bathroom; the walls were painted in a fitting aqua blue with white non-slip tiles on the floor, the bath and the shower occupied two different corners, in parallel with each other, with the toilet and wash basin in front of him, with a mirrored cabinet – similar to the one in Jordan's bathroom – above the basin. The bath was designed to be built into the corner, and the shower was designed in a manner similar to a rounded cubicle. The glass doors were tastefully cloudy, obscuring the transparency of the glass. There were three identical rugs placed around the floor; one was in front of the bath, one was in front of the shower and the other was in front of the wash basin. Alexa opened the doors of the shower and showed Keith the shower inside; the shower head was large, round and mounted onto the wall, connected to a white plastic knob on the wall. One side of the knob was blue, the other was red. There was a small dial in the middle on the knob, which, at the present, was upright. The shower head was made of stainless steel and it looked like it had small LED light bulbs built into it.
"You just turn that around clockwise to turn it on and anti-clockwise to turn it off," Alexa explained. "The dial in the middle adjusts the heat of the water; turn it clockwise for hotter water, anti-clockwise for colder water. If you want the lights on, press the button in the middle of the dial."
"Thanks, Alexa."
"Take your time," Alexa said kindly as she walked out of the room, allowing Keith his privacy by closing the door behind her.
Alexa walked down the corridor, but stopped when she heard Keenan yelling angrily. A hard slam followed his yell. Concerned, she poked her head into his bedroom. Keenan's bedroom was absolutely different to that of Alexa's; the walls were painted light blue, his carpet was dark tan with a large rounded rug in the middle of the room, which was dark blue with a light pale blue snowflake design covering most of the rug. There was a wardrobe in the corner of the room, near Keenan's television, DVD collection, game console and his other games. There was a sapphire blue clock mounted on the wall near the television, and there was a large brown storage chest sitting in front of the far wall. The curtains were a translucent blue and were open, allowing natural light into the room. There were a pair of beanbags in the corner next to Keenan's sleigh bed, one green, the other chocolate brown. There was a red alarm clock on one of the chest of drawers next to the bed, the other had a hand-made Phione plush toy that looked somewhat aged. Keenan buried his face in his sea green duvet.
"Keenan?" Keenan looked up at his sister in shock, not having heard her arrive.
"Alex! I-"
"You okay?" Alexa asked with concern.
"N-no, I-I just..."
Alexa approached Keenan and sat on his bed. The pair lay themselves down on the bed, facing one another with their heads close to his pillows.
"Talk to me."
"I just...I just feel responsible for you and Keith arguing," Keenan said sadly.
"No, Keenan, you're not responsible for that," Alexa said kindly, stroking his hair gently.
"I was for the fight you had while I was trying to get into Jordan's place..." Alexa looked at him sadly. She hadn't seen Keenan so guilty in all his life; he hadn't needed to. She tried not to sound angry or interrogative with her next question.
"Why did you do that anyway?" she asked quietly.
"I don't know any more," Keenan replied truthfully. "I thought I knew what I was doing, but I wasn't really thinking. I didn't even think about the consequences until after I was found out, but the only one I could think about concerned you can Keith." Alexa felt even worse after hearing him out. She almost felt like crying. "I-I was just scared you'd break up because of me! Y-you're not going to, are you?" Keenan sounded completely distraught at that point, which hadn't made Alexa feel any easier.
"...I don't know. I just need time to think," she said, repeating what she had said to Keith a few moments beforehand.
"What's there to think about? If you love him, then-"
"Of course I love him," Alexa said honestly.
"Then why think?" Keenan asked sorrowfully.
"I need to clear my head. Keith and I both said things we didn't mean, and I just want to think about what happens next," Alexa explained softly.
"I-If you love each other, why do you need to think about if you'll stay together? If anything, y-you should be stronger than before..!"
"Oh, Keenan...my problem is a more grown-up one," Alexa sighed, bearing a little smile.
"You're not grown ups! Your problem doesn't have to be." Alexa's eyes widened slightly; she recalled the moment Keenan first reminded her and Keith they weren't proper adults. Legally, Alexa was still a child herself. Keith was 18 years old, but his body was still growing, and would still grow until he turned approximately 21 years old. She mentally slapped herself for forgetting that she wasn't a proper adult.
"...huh. I remember you already said that to us, but I never thought about that..."
"Are you going to talk to him?" Keenan asked hopefully.
"Not now, no." Keenan's heart sank.
"Why not?"
"He's having a shower, that's why not," Alexa chuckled.
"...oh." Keenan laughed nervously. Alexa looked at the TV screen; the Zangoose character stood idly on a lush green meadow, with enemy Rhydon waiting for its assault.
"So...what game is it you're playing?"
"Ruby Groudon," Keenan replied blandly.
"I see. How about a co-op game?" Keenan smiled with delight.
"Yeah!" Alexa laughed as she rolled off of the bed to retrieve the game controllers. She handed the black one to Keenan while she kept the silver one. She pressed the start button and a Mawile character suddenly spawned from nowhere, filling the Player 2 slot. Alexa and Keenan began playing the game, moving their respective characters towards the Rhydon army.
Keith wrapped a towel around his waist just before exiting the shower, which he had turned off a few seconds beforehand. He approached the mirrored cabinet doors and wiped away the condensation. He noticed something iconic on him that made him stop where he stood; he spotted the scars on his chest. Recalling the current dispute he and Alexa were involved in, seeing his scars made his heart skip a beat. He remembered the memories of the events that led to his scars, and remembered them vividly; Alexa bound and gagged to the chair, the Nidoqueen, Weavile, Aggron and Donphan that forcefully confronted him, Alexa helping with the control of his capture disc...the Weavile's claws slashing his flesh, intent on hurting Alexa. He protected her from those razor sharp claws. He attained those permanent scars to ensure Alexa was unharmed. He knew he bore those scars, but this was the first time he'd seen them for himself in months; he just hadn't thought about them until now. He raised a hand to his scars, his breathing becoming steadily faster as he tried not to cry, his tears laying dormant in his eyes, waiting to run down his face. He closed his eyes tightly and snapped himself out of his train of thought before he lost himself completely to his feelings of guilt.
Fully clothed in his uniform, he made his way out of the bathroom and proceeded to Alexa's bedroom, passing Keenan's on the way. He poked his head into the door, curious at the strange video game noises originating from the room. He saw Alexa and Keenan playing the game on the black rectangular games console, with their two characters battling against the Aggron boss. Keenan and Alexa were smiling and laughing, having fun with both the game and each other. Keith smiled; he loved seeing Alexa happy. He left them alone and proceeded quietly to Alexa's bedroom.
Keith returned to Alexa's bedroom and quickly changed into a more casual attire, wanting to get out of his sweaty uniform as quickly as possible, metaphorically kicking himself for not thinking to bring a change of clothes with him before his shower. He pulled out a random blue T-shirt and grey jeans from Alexa's wardrobe – having an entire half of it dedicated to his clothes – and pulled them on in place of his uniform. Satisfied at the change, he threw his uniform into the wardrobe before closing it. He sat on Alexa's bed and took the photo frame on the chest of drawers near his side of the bed and stared at it; the photograph still depicted him and Alexa some time after Ollie and Elaine's wedding, smiling happily at the camera, arms around each other. He stared at it with a loving smile until he heard Alexa and Keenan walking by. Alexa said something to Keenan and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Keith hadn't noticed her until the door closed, but he was in no way startled. He returned the photo frame as he found it and sat on the bed properly, facing her.
"You okay, Alexa?" he asked politely. Alexa looked a little more nervous than Keith.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "You?"
"Sort of," Keith shrugged. "Listen, I've been thinking." Alexa dreaded exactly what it was that Keith thought about.
"Yeah?"
"I think...well..." Keith felt horribly nervous, and almost hesitated to speak the words he wanted to get across to her. "I don't want us to break up. But if that's what you want, I'll live with that if we can still be friends." Alexa felt gutted.
"...but...I don't want us to break up." Keith's eyes widened a little; he hadn't expected her to respond like that. He assumed she would want to break up with him, given how she felt when she found out Keenan had vanished from right under his nose. He knew she was right in that he could've kept a better eye on him, so her not wanting to break up with him came as a bit of a shock to him.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I-It's only because of Jordan that we're at each others' throats," Alexa replied. "I know that if we were to disagree, we'd be more mature about it."
"Speaking of that, I'm really sorry I hurt your feelings," Keith apologised sincerely. Alexa looked at the bruise below his eye, with absolute guilt.
"I'm sorry I hurt you." Keith gave her a reassuring smile.
"I had it coming. I should have known better, like I said earlier. If it makes you feel any better, I don't plan to report it to the professor; as far as he's concerned, none of this dispute ever happened." While Alexa was grateful for Keith's kindness, she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself; she hurt Keith, which was the last thing she wanted to do, but she did anyway, purely out of blinding rage. She didn't want to agree with Keith, saying he deserved the punch – or worse, she would never condone what she did to him, or Rhythmi.
"...thank you." Keith could tell Alexa was trying not to cry; she held back her tears to the best of her abilities, but they itched to escape her eyes.
"So...shall we put our disputes behind us and enjoy each other again?" he asked gently, approaching her.
"...yes." Keith smiled sweetly at her.
"Come here." He held her gently in his arms. She held onto him, almost tightly, dangerously close to submitting to her tears. She tried to hold back her sobs, but they escaped her anyway. Keith shushed her quietly, stroking her smooth golden hair slowly. After a short while, Alexa's sobbing stopped and they met eye to eye; she looked upset while he wore a loving smile.
"I'm sorry," Alexa said quietly.
"I'm sorry too," Keith apologised. He gently wiped away what tears were left from Alexa's eyes with his thumbs. "I still say I deserved that hit, though. But I'll forgive you for it if it makes you happy." Alexa smiled; his words really had made her happy.
"Keenan told me everything about his disappearance. He said he acted on his own, so you don't have anything to apologise for. But if it makes you feel better, I forgive you."
"I was kind of hoping you'd forgive me for what I said to you," Keith said, losing his smile a little.
"You were right, though; how can I claim to have been able to keep a more vigilant eye on my brother when I couldn't even keep an eye on my Butterfree?"
"Hey, come on. You're a good Trainer, you did your best. That's all anyone can do." Alexa smiled at him.
"Yeah. You did what you could under the circumstances – or Jordan, as it were. I forgive you."
"Thank you," Keith said gratefully. Alexa returned Keith's gentle smile.
"Thank you," Alexa said quietly. Keith and Alexa moved closer to one another gradually. Soon enough, their lips met, and they shared a loving and tender kiss. Their kiss steadily became more passionate, as Alexa moved her hands from behind Keith's back to behind his neck. Keith moved his hands from behind her back down to her hips and held her close to him as they began to kiss more passionately. Before the passion was at its fullest, Alexa pulled herself away from Keith gently, laughing.
"Keith, Keith..! Settle down!" Keith laughed.
"I can't help it. Sorry," he replied. Alexa smiled at him.
"Can you hold up until later tonight?" she asked, trying not to laugh. Keith briefly looked away from her, pretending to think deeply about a reply.
"Maybe. What do we do in the meantime?"
"I dunno about you, but I'm ready for lunch now," Alexa replied. Keith was bewildered.
"You're feeling well enough?"
"I must be, I'm starving," Alexa giggled. Keith laughed.
"I kinda thought skipping lunch was a bad idea."
"It's not too late for it now," Alexa smiled as she and Keith left the room, hand in hand.
Keenan sat at the kitchen table, with a fresh glass of orange juice next to him. Darcy had returned to her Poké Ball, leaving Iara, Robbie and Reese lying on the carpet. Lupin was sitting in the far corner, ignoring everything around him. Xavier and Skywing were engaged in conversation on the other side of the kitchen table and Ryder simply relaxed and tried to forget the horrible images he saw. Keenan heard Keith and Alexa entering the room.
"So you can cook?" Keith asked curiously.
"Just a little; basic stuff, really, nothing like my mum," Alexa replied shyly. Keenan smiled at the healthy reaction, as were the Pokémon – except Lupin, who didn't care in the slightest, but, mentally, Keenan was jumping joyfully like an Azurill on caffeine to see Keith and Alexa were still together as a couple.
"What things can you make?" Keith asked.
"Pasta, mostly. But I can make pancakes from scratch. Actually, I fancy some right now," Alexa laughed. Keith raised an eyebrow, but maintained his cheerful smile.
"After what we've seen, you have a craving for pancakes?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"...huh; you got me there," Keith laughed.
"Hey, Keenan, have you had lunch yet?" Keenan tried his best to contain his happiness.
"No, why?"
"Fancy pancakes for lunch?" Alexa asked.
"Okay," Keenan nodded, withholding as much bubbly joy as he could. He felt like he could explode, like the cork popping out of the champagne bottle.
"How about you, Keith?"
"Uh..." The offer caught him slightly off guard. "Sure, I guess. You got me curious about what your pancakes taste like now."
"Something tells me you won't regret it," she winked.
Alexa proceeded to pull down three identically sized frying pans from above the kitchen cupboards mounted on the wall above the worktop and sink. She placed each one on its own hob and took out a bottle of olive oil from the counter.
"Do you need a hand at all?" Keith asked generously.
"Can you find the eggs from the fridge for me please?" Alexa asked nicely as she poured a small, and approximately the same, amount of oil onto the centre of each pan. Keith searched the fridge for eggs while Alexa pulled out a glass mixing bowl from the cupboard in front of her and a whisk from the drawer to her left. Keith handed the eggs over to Alexa, who, after thanking him kindly, picked out a bag of flour from a different cupboard above her. As she turned the hobs onto high heat, she opened a cupboard door to her right, which was a concealed refrigerator containing nothing but 6 litre bottles of milk. Keith was astonished.
"Wait, what?"
"Relax, we use this fridge for Julia's milk; she's a Miltank," Alexa explained, taking one of the many identical unmarked bottles from the fridge before closing it again.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Alex and I grew up on that stuff," Keenan explained. Alexa almost burst out laughing and came close to dropping the bottle in her hand.
"Keenan, you make it sound like a drug!" she laughed as she set the bottle down next to the eggs and flour. Keith opened the fridge door again and looked at the many bottles inside.
"How much is in there?!" he asked in astonishment. Alexa crouched down and looked inside, counting the number of visible bottles in her head.
"Uh...I think about 30 litres, give or take..?" Keith was shocked.
"Julia gives about 5 gallons every day, so it adds up," Keenan explained. Keith decided not to question the matter further and closed the fridge door. He watched as Alexa began to put the flour into the mixing bowl.
"I was also thinking...we could have a take-out tonight," she said as she broke an egg and dropped it into the flour.
"Is that really such a good idea?" Keith asked as Alexa began to whisk the egg and flour together as fast as she could.
"Well...we'd order it over the phone and it comes to us," she explained playfully as she began adding some of the MooMoo milk to the mix. "Silly." Keith laughed nervously.
"But what take-out places are there and who's going to pay for it?" Keith asked.
"All these questions!" Alexa laughed as she added more milk to the mix. "We have menus that keep coming through the post and I have cash. And don't worry about what Mum and Dad will think, Keith, this isn't the first time Keenan and I had to fend for ourselves."
"It's fine, I trust you," Keith smiled, watching Alexa pouring the batter onto the frying pans. The pans sizzled as the batter spread across the surface of each.
It wasn't until nightfall that Hayden, Ian, Lily and Cheryl finally returned to the house. Upon entering, they found Keith, Keenan, Alexa and the Pokémon, bar Lupin, gathered around the television, which was playing a show that hosted a series of home videos depicting people – and sometimes Pokémon – in all sorts of amusing accidents, such as falling down the stairs, falling over other people or Pokémon, or even hitting their heads on something as they try to carry out a certain action.
"I see we've had a good time then," Hayden smiled. Keith, Alexa and Keenan looked up at the adults. Lily immediately noticed the bruise on Keith's face, but kept her concern to herself.
"How was Unova?" Keenan asked.
"Hailey overreacted, as usual, but we knew we were going to be late," Ian explained. "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it, we were fine," Alexa said innocently.
"That's good to hear," Hayden said happily. Lily looked around and noticed the recently used frying pans placed neatly on top of the cupboards where they originated.
"What was it you had to eat?" she asked.
"Pancakes for lunch," Alexa said merrily. "And we had a take-out from The Hammer Arm for dinner."
"Nice choice," Ian complimented.
"As long as you're all okay," Lily added, hiding her worry. Alexa grew suspicious of her mother, but hid it masterfully.
"We're fine."
"Hey, Alex, I'm beat; I'm off to bed," Keenan said as he made his way to the stairs. Iara followed him.
"I think that's our cue as well," Alexa said.
"Yeah, I agree," Keith nodded as he and Alexa stood up. Alexa turned the television off and made their way up the stairs.
"You coming, guys?" Alexa asked to her Pokémon.
"Nah, we'll be fine down here," Ryder said.
"Besides," Xavier began, turning the TV back on. "I'm not done with the TV yet." Alexa laughed.
"Pleasant dreams," Skywing said politely. Alexa thanked Skywing as she and Keith retired to her bedroom. The adults moved towards the kitchen and had their own conversation away from the Pokémon.
"I knew they'd be fine on their own," Hayden said casually. "They're pretty independent for their ages."
"But..."
"Is something wrong, Lily?" Ian asked.
"Yes. Did either of you notice Keith's bruise?"
"Yeah, but I didn't think anything of it," Hayden shrugged. "He probably just bumped into a door, no big deal."
"I hope that's the case," Lily said quietly. Cheryl became concerned for her trainer, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder.
To be continued...