~Wally~
"Salamence!" I wailed as a huge frothing ball of pink and green and orange struck the back end of my pokemon as we hauled into the air. He was too slow to outrun an Altaria, I knew this, and expected Ruby to as well. So why was he running? We could easily turn and fight it.
Salamence howled in pain but managed to get his wings up and his heavy legs off the ground.
"Ruby!" I threw my arms around his middle and hugged him tightly, trying not to let my shortness of breath stop me from speaking. "What are you doing!?"
I hadn't exactly gotten to see the whole fiasco in the making; I had only just gotten there when things started to spiral out of control.
Having felt so terribly guilty for making Ruby go alone earlier, I forced myself to get out of that empty hotel room and go after him. I thought I might be able to catch up before he reached the studio, but I couldn't remember exactly which way went where so I ended up lost for ten minutes. And of course no one on these city streets had the time to stop and give directions. How humiliating, didn't anyone realize how terrible they had made each other? Had this been my town someone would have sprung on the chance to help someone. But apparently Arceus forbid it here.
It took me longer than I expected to find the studio, and then to walk around the back side—the place was much larger than it looked—let alone convince the guard that I had to find Ruby. He knew that he had just gone in, but he wasn't happy with the truth in my voice. I wasn't lying about being his friend—not a fan—and he knew it, but he didn't like it. He let me in after stinging reluctance.
It was inside that dark cement corridor that I thought I had found Ruby, having seen nothing but a broad figure walking at the end of the hall. I blinked in surprise, trying to see straight while ignoring the lack of air in my lungs. I kept asking myself how anyone could stand it in here.
"Ruby!" I had called to the figure with relief, only to find that it wasn't in fact him.
The broad figure approached me with a hastiness, and as I came up to an opening in the wall—a stairway—he shoved me with enough force to send me hurling backwards. He yelled something about getting out of his way, but I wasn't even in his way.
"Hey!" I demanded of him, but he was already gone and heading down the stairs into what seemed to be a basement. My backside throbbed painfully as I clutched at the flat rough wall. "Who do you think you are?!" I yelled back down into the darkness, thinking that if these city people got any more impolite I would go crazy. There was no way he had heard me though, because he was yelling himself.
I heard him snarl something at Sapphire, who I realized was down in the basement with Ruby, and though he had knocked me down I couldn't help but be happy he tore the two apart. I didn't want to think about what Ruby was doing with Sapphire down there…
The silent thanks lasted all of a second until feet were storming back up at me, bursting through the stairway and bearing right in my direction. This time it was not the broad figure of Brendan that hit me, it was Ruby.
And that was when we had turned and tore through the corridor back out into the bright lighted world. I didn't understand the rushing, or the fleeing by any means. Wouldn't Ruby want to fight instead of run? It didn't matter, since he was demanding of Salamence in that very instant and hauling me up behind him on MY pokemon the next. I could only gather myself enough to remember all this tragedy as we took off into the sky, a very furious Altaria on our tail.
"We're taking them on the ride of their life!" Ruby turned and glanced behind him as the bird pokemon turned and tried to launch another attack. I could see clearly the dragon's breath rising in its throat. My heart lurched and naturally I was hiding my face between two thick shoulder blades.
I could hear the sound of something whir by us, and the many sounds of shocked pedestrians and maybe even a couple pokemon as it landed and crackled furiously. I grit my teeth together, clawing at Ruby's chest with fear. My heart was racing and it was physically impossible to focus on breathing when you were in such a state.
"You ok?!" He called back to me, feeling my hands tighten around him.
I shook my head, though somehow managed to peek up at him. His strong face was turned back as he steered my pokemon forward faster and faster until we were flying with nearly as much grace as his Flygon could. He had one hand up to grip his hat, trying to keep it on his head while the wind threatened to tear it off. Stupid boy! Of all things you're worried about your hat?
I fought to dislodge a hand from around him, but managed to pluck his hat off his head for him and stuff it between us. His soot hair blew back instantly, revealing that brilliant scar across the left side of his forehead. I blinked in amazement and wrapped myself tighter around him.
"You're crazy!" I yelled between a cough. But I love you anyways…
"Is it gaining on us?" He ignored my jab, straining around to look with difficulty. He was even crazier if he thought I was going to look back.
As if to answer him though, another blast knocked us off track, and my snorting bellowing pokemon tipped us sideways and clipped his wing against the side of a large apartment building. A window shattered and sprayed back up at us as he flapped vigorously to get back on track.
"Shit." Ruby muttered, pushing hard against one of my pokemon's wings in attempts to get it to turn further. We did, and narrowly avoided another building. Fire sprung up behind us again, and I felt absolutely miserable.
"It's going to destroy the city!" I wailed to Ruby.
"Why do you think I'm leading it away!?"
I grit my teeth together, seeing the strong way his jaw moved when he yelled, and the way his shoulders rolled with his movements. Had he not been there for me to hold onto, I would have slipped off, limp with desire. I could see myself hurdling down towards the cit ground in satisfaction. The only thing better than letting Ruby's body and determination woo me was knowing that in this particular moment I could press myself to him and make it look like a reflex reaction.
Through the utter mayhem around us, my pained pokemon under us, and the glaringly thick air above us I found myself basking in his glory. It was almost too much to take in, with the sun beating down on his face. Embers flew through the air, dancing to the beat of people squealing in shock, some fluttering up towards a huge helicopter. There was nothing more amazing than him in this setting. Like a movie star in their lead role, only better.
He was strong, and fearless and much more than I could have ever asked for. Through years of wondering if I was even fit to live on this planet, wondering when exactly my numbered day would come to an end, and then realizing it didn't matter… I found that some of life's finest are in the emotions we hold. And the way Ruby made me feel… I would take a hundred years of bloody noses and lack of air for him. It was like suddenly I realized that Ruby was all I ever wanted.
My heart thudded quickly with wanting as I thought about what he could have possibly been doing in the basement of that studio with Sapphire. Of course there weren't that many options—though some much worse than other—I knew he had to have been making up with her.
Had Sapphire asked him to kiss her as well? That was my tactic in clearing the air with Ruby… who was to say she didn't do the same thing? I flinched at the thought, trying to dismiss the obvious but finding it much harder than I thought possible.
"Ruby!" I yelled to him, finding a sudden burst of confidence.
"What?" Ruby yelled back, distracted with our maneuvering. Salamence was screaming with frustration. He wanted to turn and fight, that was his instinct, but Ruby wouldn't let him. He was yelling commands at my dragon with a sharp demanding voice. I was actually surprised that he was listening.
"Did you kiss her!?" I yelled, pressing my cheek against his back and hoping he wouldn't take it as fear. I just wanted to be closer to him… I just wanted him to be closer to me.
"What?" I barely heard him but the confusion in his voice was real as we tore through the streets of the city, heading in the direction of the mountains while we could. I didn't understand why he wouldn't take Salamence higher where he could fly without clipping his wings on buildings and lampposts.
"DID. You. Kiss her?!" I yelled over the wind. "Sapphire! Did you?"
"Uhh—Not the time Wally!" he dismissed in a shrill voice.
"YOU DID!?"
"NO!"
"YES YOU DID!" I wailed. It was so stupid of me to think that Ruby was trying to hurt me like this; he had every right to kiss whoever he wanted to kiss. It wasn't as if the two of us were together—no matter how badly I wanted that—he didn't have to justify himself to me. Jealousy and anger made me dig my nails into his shirt harder.
"Wally!" he barked at my sudden outburst. I didn't consider myself to have much of temper, but this struck a nerve for some reason, and I absolutely mortified at the thought of his tender lips touching anyone else's. Why was I being so possessive?
I hid my face in his back as we veered left and then right too quickly. Screams filled our ears as Salamence flipped sideways and shoved off the side of a building with his hind legs. Claws left giant gashes in the cinderblock and metal piping sprung horribly leaks. A moment later there was sparks and smoke and people rushing by from all directions. This was inhumane, my dragon alone could destroy this whole city, and here we were leading another one to do the same!
"Do you love her!?" I yelled to Ruby, ignoring the destruction we were causing. Hundreds of lives could have been ruined by our chaos and all I was concerned with was Ruby loving Sapphire.
"Not now Wally!" Ruby grunted and started to slide forward on my pokemon's neck. He dragged me along with him and reached up to grip the red plates on the back of his head. He held as tightly as he could. "Faster Salamence!"
My pokemon can't go any faster! I wanted to tell him but it was hard enough to think rationally. Did Ruby love Sapphire? I had been under that impression for so long… but did he? I wanted to second guess myself as much as I could.
That day out by the lake… when Ruby taught me how to surf with my pokemon… him, powerful, laughing, cheerful… perfection at its best.
I wanted to cry at the memory. If he loved Sapphire that's all it would be… a memory. Because there was no way I would stick around in this city just to be heartbroken. I had already decided that if he did love Sapphire I would be going back home to Verdanturf without him. I was strong… I knew I didn't need him to live my life, but it pained me and burnt like a rod iron fence in the middle of summer to think about him not being there. There would be blisters on my heart.
"Ruby!" I straightened myself up and pushed my face into the back of his neck rather than between his shoulder blades.
"WHAT?" he snapped, perhaps thinking about shaking me off. I begged Arceus he wouldn't put me through this kind of rejection. I had seen him mad before, but never like this. All the guilt of the city rose in his eyes and I knew he was looking back, mentally calculating the destruction we had caused while trying to avoid another blast from that Altaria.
By the time we reached the outskirts of the city a silky calm had come over us, and it didn't seem so frightening anymore. It was not the initial battle we were worried about, it was the aftermath. Fields of weeds and dry summer grass came into view and with a slowing steadiness we left behind out speed. Salamence came to painfully slow pace and turned, his heavy shoulders battling exhaustion.
Altaria did not slow as it approached us, but picked up speed, seeing its chance at ruining us like the city. I peeked around Ruby's head and looked at the blue and white bird in horror.
Salamence rose though, higher and stronger than before, mouth gaping and muscles rippling with the start of his attack. Hyper beam, strong enough to knock out a Mamoswine in one blow. He bellowed as the Altaria came within reach, and with a horrible snarl he spewed out a sizzling attack. Light shot in all directions, though the attack stayed focused in one. There was a moment of nothing but earsplitting nothing—silence while the sound shook us; and then my shrill rasping as it came back as high pitched ringing. Dizziness made my arms loosen, but I only shrunk further into Ruby.
Altaria fell with a screech, and not a moment later Salamence was descending as well.
"Wally." Ruby was gasping, and I felt his hand tighten around one of my wrists. It was now that I realized just how critical my breathing was. I could hardly manage a gasp, but there were words that needed to be said.
"Where is your inhaler?" Ruby turned slowly, holding me against his chest while Salamence came in touch with the ground. He flopped down almost immediately, wings limp, but uncaring that we were still sitting on him.
I fought for the words to tell him while I reached around and took the silver lifesaver out of my back pocket. I was shaking when I brought it up to my mouth and closed my lips around the end of it. It was hard enough to breathe in, let alone breathe out, so I ended up coughing and choking on the first amount of air to enter my lungs.
Ruby took the thing from my shaky hands and held it steady in my mouth while I squeezed the button a second time. The air felt cleaner and softer this time. I managed to hold it in with a little effort and let it soothe the rawness before breathing easy.
"Dear Arceus you have got to stop doing that!" Ruby grasped my slender shoulders tightly and forced me to look him straight on.
I sniffed and huffed, chest heaving but no longer tight. "I—I'm sorry."
Ruby just shook his head at me, his maroon eyes glittering with real relief. His tight shoulders released tension and his hands slid down the length of my arms to my elbows.
"Do—do you?" I began, trying not to let his touch submit me to weakness. It was too easy to believe he loved me and only me at times like this. I knew I had to know… Sapphire or me? Or at the very least no one. Who did he love?
"Do you love—
"No." he hung his head, eyes darting back to the clouds of smoke rolling off the city in the distance. We could see a wave of black video cameras and news trucks on the way. Not to mention the helicopter was nearly landing.
"You don't?" I whispered, trying to prolong a moment then couldn't be prolonged. A faint hope rose in my chest.
"No." he said again in a stronger voice. "I—I don't think we were ever meant to be more than friends."
I managed a weak smile, and in that moment I knew that I had to tell him. No matter how much of a shock it would be—I wasn't sure—I just had to get it off my chest. The emotions I had been feelings since the very first moment I met him. Actually before that—I hadn't even known his name when I knew I was absorbed with him.
Three little words. I could do it. I knew I could. I. Love. You. That was all it took. I opened my mouth to tell him.
"I don't love anyone." Ruby cut me off, his head swiveling around to face our approaching audience. Almost mechanically he pulled his arms away from me and grabbed the hat that was still in my lap. He pulled it on with a sigh and kicked his leg over the side of Salamence. I watched as he slid off my pokemon and onto the ground.
My heart plummeted.
Not anyone?