~Wally~

He's wild and fast and brave and bold and everything I wish I could be outside of my hometown. He rides his pokemon, owning the sky and the world below him with graceful loafing strides. And while I had to fight nausea and hide my face from the ground, I couldn't help but notice just how absolutely drowned in his power I was. I was lucky Salamence knew to follow the Flygon, because there was no way I could control him when I couldn't even control myself.

I wasn't sure just how long I had stayed in the air, clutching my clunky pokemon as tightly as I could before Ruby took us in for a landing. All I knew was that the dramatic change in atmosphere had me chugging on my inhaler like a train. We approached the ground too fast and I was knocked from my pokemon, narrowly avoiding a large rock. It was there I lay shaking, gripping my chest and panting that I realized it was him that had gotten me into this.

I realized with contempt that flying again was going to be hard for me. The risk I was taking with my breathing was too hard. The air up there too thin for my delicate lungs to handle. Not to mention I was scared silly of heights like that. It wasn't your average flight when you pokemon's shoulders were rolling and trying to buck you off. I wasn't convinced that Salamence was fast enough to catch me if I did fall anyways.

All this left me feeling like I was terribly weak and fragile, and I hated that it was the outside world that could prove me wrong. I was strong, I was able, and yet even the air was telling me otherwise. Oh how I wanted to prove it wrong. I wanted to be like Ruby.

"Wally." The burgundy eyed boy walked over to me, his legs so obviously stiff from the ride. His angular face came above mine as he looked down at me, lids half closed with luxurious fatigue. "I have to tell you something."

I brought my inhaler up to my lips once again and sucked in once more just to be sure I would be alright to talk. My chest stung for a second before it felt better, and I sighed passively, sitting upright and letting my shoulders lump forward.

"Yeah?" I croaked, reaching for my pokeball and calling Salamence back. I hoped this would postpone any reason for Ruby to want to travel again so quickly. I didn't think he wanted to, since we had stopped in a very lush grassy field, where nearby there was a very large body of water—a lake I had never seen before. It was a comfortable place to stop, though the sun had barely just begun to reach its peak in the sky.

Ruby moved in a strange way, with a hesitance that had me worried. He wasn't about to leave me here was he? Did he change his mind about me coming with him? No! I was strong, I was able! I could make this journey; I would fly again if I had to.

He sat at my side and pushed his feet out in front of him, looking up at the sky before speaking. Not a single cloud dotted the expanse of blue.

"Do you know who I am?" Ruby mused.

"What?" I blinked. That was most certainly not what I was expecting. "What do you mean?" Of course I knew who he was… he was Ruby; he saved my life and liked to talk to himself. What else was there? Maybe it was just my simplicity that had me confused, but he looked amused and I felt embarrassed.

"I'm famous." He admitted quite arrogantly, leaning back on his hands and pushing his shoulders forward to stretch. For the first time since I had met him he looked one hundred percent peaceful, and I was wondering if it was the flying that did that to him. Maybe he enjoyed the choking thin air that wanted to suffocate me?

I looked at him in disbelief. Famous? Says who? I wanted to ask him if he needed to use my inhaler to get some oxygen to his brain, but it was obvious he was being truthful. And what bothered me more was the fact that I could picture it so easily. His sharp features, mild personality, and intense thrill rides all lead to that kind of person. He was intricate unlike me, detailed, something with a lot of pieces I couldn't find. I wanted to believe that he wasn't whole because of this, but that would be a lie. Ruby was whole… at least the way he looked now.

"I ran away…" his face turned down ever so slightly, and I could see his eyebrows coming together. "I came from Mauville City; you know where they do all the pokemon contests?"

I nodded, but knew I had only heard about them maybe once or twice in a conversation. I wasn't even sure what qualified you for those contests, or what they were about.

"I was a performer." He explained. "And pretty much everywhere else in the region I go—other than your tiny town—people are going to recognize me and want my autograph and girls are probably ask me to kiss them."

I had to fight back that internal picture in my head. Large dirty cities full of eccentric fangirls chasing after him with paper and pens.

"And I have to go back." He sighed. "When I left I ruined a lot of things and it's about time I make them right… This doesn't mean I'm staying there though." He looked up at me and forced a smile. "I guess I'm kind of like you in that way. I just have to… get away. You know how that feels."

Yes… yes! I do! I couldn't find it in me to speak though; I was too caught up in the fact that Ruby was secretly living a world I had absolutely nothing to do with. Part of me wanted to blame that world on his hesitation to let me travel with him, and part of me wanted to believe that world was far beneath this character. City people don't usually raise their hands and get in line to save others lives, let alone someone as famous as he claims he is.

"To be honest I don't know where I'm going after I go back to Mauville." He sighed.

I wanted to tell him that I would follow him wherever he planned on going—even if that was nowhere in particular—but it came out in a spastic question I wasn't expecting.

"Do you sing?" I asked, thinking about the angel voice I heard twice since I met him. That night on the hood of that old run down truck, and outside his window just a day ago.

"What? N—no!" he looked appalled that I would ask. "I never said I was a singer."

I looked suspiciously at him. He was blushing. "But you sing so good…"

"No I don't!"

I had to laugh now, at the expression of pure horror on his face. He glared nervously as I ran a hand through my hair and blinked fondly. "Yes you do. I heard you."

"When?"

"That night you—saved… my life." It was strange… now that I thought about it, neither of us had brought up that in particular, and you would think that would be the first thing we would discuss.

He turned a dark shade of red and gritted his teeth together. "I wasn't singing."

"Yes you were!"

"No… you were loopy, you probably dreamt about it or something." He argued, folding his arms and pouting slightly.

"No way, I heard you." I insisted. If there was anything coherent about that night, it was how clearly I had heard his voice. That's what triggered my nose bleed after all. I knew what I was talking about.

Ruby just shook his head and sighed. "It's official. You have some kind of mental illness too."

"Not funny." I tried to glare, but there was a slight hint of teasing in his voice, so I couldn't bring myself to be really mad. Besides, HE was the one with a mental problem. With a voice like that he should be showing the world, not denying it.

"So if you don't sing then what do you do?"

"You mean what DID… I do?" he corrected. "I was a pokemon handler… I preformed."

"I don't even know what that is…" must be some city term.

"It's just a type of contest… I would… go on stage and perform weak attacks with weak pokemon and a shit ton of sparkles. The whole thing was pretty gay." He curled his lip. "But apparently I was good at it. The crowds loved me most."

"Good at being gay huh?" I returned the cruel favor of teasing to him with a smirk. If I didn't know any better I would say that the two of us were getting to be good enough friends… I could tease him like that.

"Shut up." Ruby snorted, but his eyes danced with humor. He knew I was only joking. "Wait till you get a mouth full of… those people. You won't be laughing."

Intimidation was never that much of a bother for me. I wasn't afraid of people; I had much more serious things to be afraid of. So shrugged and rolled my eyes.

We sat in silence together for a long moment, staring out across the blanket of fluffy green grass, eyes scanning the clearing to the water's edge, where reeds were being lapped against the shoreline. I could see where a mass of wingull were plucking through the mud and the shallow water. I took a deep breath, tying to drench myself in the fresh air while I could. It was already harder for me here than in Verdanturf.

"Hey, I've got an idea." Ruby suddenly said, changing the subject and standing up quickly. "Let's have some fun."

"Huh?" fear rose in me like a wave. What he could possibly mean by fun paralyzed me. This was fun for me, sitting and relaxing and chatting about nothing in particular. Teasing each other way fun…

"You got a water pokemon?" he asked, unclipping a ball from his waist and holding it in the palm of his hand lovingly. The top of this ball was a shade of cerulean blue and had lighter flecks in it.

"Yeah…?" I said hesitantly, hoping he wasn't about to ask me for another battle. My water type wasn't all that strong, more so uncoordinated and random. The Azuril I hatched from an egg only a couple years ago had grown into a full sized Azumarill already, but she didn't enjoy training much, and was probably better off not trainer at all.

"Do you know how to surf?" Ruby asked, tossing the ball up eagerly and catching it in his hand over and over again.

"Do I look like I would know how to surf?" I asked exaggerated.

A devilish grin spread across his face and he beckoned for me to join him. "It's too hot to just sit around in the sun all day anyways."

I was shaking my head in distress. First flying now surfing? And how do you surf in a lake anyways? I wanted to decline and tell him he was crazy if he thought he could get me up on my own pokemon, but the look on his face was just unbearably… cute (cute?) that I couldn't. I shook myself from the fear and stood up, leaving my backpack in the grass besides his.

I hadn't just called Ruby cute had I? I wanted to laugh at myself. Such an inaccurate description. Ruby wasn't cute. He had attractive features, I will admit that much. Most people would probably love to be in his place, but he wasn't cute.

"Hope you can swim." He mumbled to me, stripping his feet of his socks and shoes and tossing them aside. I bent to do the same, crouching and untying the black laces of my boots before prying them off. I managed to get one foot off before I caught sight of him from beside me, gripping the ends of his shirt and pulling them up over his head.

Of course he was famous. How had I doubted him? Anyone with his personality, voice, features, and body would have guessed that. He looked like he had just walked out of a porno, and I was quite daunted by this. My skinny frame would make me look anorexic compared to his thick muscles. I frowned, wishing selfishly that I wasn't in the body I had been given. It had been a long time since I minded someone else looking better than me.

I watched Ruby go in silence, thinking about putting my shoe back on and sitting there in the grass. Knowing him he would drag me in the water anyways, but at least then I had a few minutes to gather myself. He walked away so boldly, with his shoulders back and his stocky frame tight. The sun glinted off his very light cameral tinted skin. Had he just stepped out of a sunscreen commercial? I couldn't be sure. I would have suggested a shampoo commercial if it wasn't for the fact that he was still wearing that stupid hat of his.

He didn't plan on wearing that in the water did he? I sniffed indifferently, thinking that maybe it was his only flaw, and I should accept the irrationality of it all. No one needed that hat to begin with, it wasn't that special, let alone it was over ninety degrees and humidity as buzzing in the air. This gave me the courage to strip myself of my other shoe and shirt. If he had one stupid flaw then I could have one too.

… or two… or three or four. NOT counting all the illnesses I had. Those were flaws too sadly. I sighed and wrapped my arms around my middle, staring down at the flat expanse in front of me. I was pale now but I knew I could tan nicely if given the time, that would help me look a little better. My ribs on the other hand, I couldn't help. They showed through the layer of skin too bravely, and left me insecure and feeling tired.

I glanced up at Ruby again as he approached the water and tossed his pokeball for the last time. I was too far away to see just what water pokemon he had, which was probably a good thing because it also gave me the motivation to go over there. I blinked twice quickly and shook my head. It's not as if I have anything to prove… why would Ruby judge me anyways?

I moved my hand—not exactly sure why—and brought it up to my face. It was one of those subconscious motions that you do all the time and never notice unless there is something wrong. And this time, lucky for me (sarcasm) there was something terribly wrong.

I coughed in surprise at the streak of crimson on the back of my hand. More spots spattered my chest and forearm as I stood in frustration. "Blood…" I huffed under my breath. "Not again!"

Dammit Ruby.

Why do you have to be so cute?