- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

Chapter 025 - Serena's advices

- N -

"Uuh... Stephanie? What are you doing here... alone?"

Brown perked up, staring at the very sweaty redheaded human being before her. She smiled, opening her mouth to begin explaining, but was cut short by Rodent throwing a tantrum.

"Okay, you're not alone, you're with Rodent… But what are you two doing here? Are you already going to get a dress? And how come you're not with Amethyst?"

Brown giggled, pulling the Raticate off her shoulders and held him upside-down.

"Well, I'm not looking a for a dress just yet – but Riley's inside getting his suit done up," She explained as Rodent flailed about upside-down in her arms. "Riley told me Amy's downstairs at the Reynardine having lunch with Pinky-ah, I mean, Serena Joy,"

Great going, Stephanie, she thought. Insult the gym leader's buddy hours before he fights you – I'm sure that'll work out just perfectly.

Speaking of the battle, Roark's pokemon seemed to be a little less than friendly. The Rampardos growled low in its throat as it caught sight of her. Rodent hissed, puffing out his fur as if to help scare it away. Brown moved herself behind the bench – at least if the fossil-pokemon wanted to eat her, she'd have a metre of wood and metal in the way first. Thankfully, Roark recalled the pokemon back into its ball before she lost a finger or a nose.

"I know the other miners are getting back to work, I know. You see, since I went to help Riley and your friend earlier, I was totally delayed for the project we were working on... Hence, I had to work MORE. Sigh..."

"I'm sorry." She apologised again, not knowing what else to say. Instead she opted to stare instead at how he was walking about with the wet-t-shirt look, and doing a brilliant job of it too. He had a better set of abs than Riley, and strong arms like the other miners.

She could see why Serena liked him so much… if Serena liked him at all. She really wasn't too sure whether the Joy could actually act nice to anything.

"I just finished my part of the work. I haven't even eaten yet! Pfft, but eating alone is going to be so boring... Meh… Now that I think of it, have you guys eaten yet? I could go with you and whoever you are with, if you don't mind."

Brown smiled. "Oooh, why not? This is gonna be great!" She hopped excitedly on the balls of her feet. "But we gotta wait for Riley first, though."

Rodent had gone back to chewing on the metal bar of the mall's railing, pausing occasionally to see if his trainer would stop him. Brown sighed, prying him off and dropping him onto the bench next to the Gym Leader. The Raticate blinked, and then skittered onto the redhead's lap, rubbing his face against the Roark's sweaty side as if asking for a cuddle.

"I swear you've got an attention span shorter than a blade of grass, Rodent," Brown giggled. "You don't mind, do you, Roark? He likes it when you scratch him between the ears – it'll keep him from trying to eat the railings at least."

She demonstrated by scratching the top of the Raticate's head, eliciting a contented purr from the fluffy brown rat. Rodent squirmed happily and thumped his leg as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

"See what I mean? He really likes that," Brown laughed, looking at the redheaded gym leader. Oddly enough, she felt the strangest urge to scratch Roark's own head, and she wondered why. He just looked like he needed it. How much did people like getting their head scratched, anyway?

"Soo… What are you working on, anyways?" She asked. "Is it for the Dance?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"But maybe it's time to settle down... Like... getting a boyfriend or something? I mean," She raised her voice. "my best friend, who is my age, is already married. I must admit that... sometimes... I feel jealous."

"Well, that's got to stink: Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, huh?" Serena laughed, "Well, if you want my opinion, you shouldn't settle down until you're sure you have the right man. You've got a good thing going for you right now – all that adventure and freedom, and like you said, travelling's your passion – don't give it all away unless you're positive he's the right person for you."

Amy had giggled in such a familiar way, Serena was almost taken aback at how much she'd sounded like herself. Perhaps Amethyst really did have a Mr Right in mind just like she did.

She was probably too distracted to notice the waiter refilling her glass with even more wine. Eventually realising it just a little too late:

"Oh, well. Remind me to keep drinking water after this glass of whine, please."

"Sure," Serena smiled, feeling slightly intoxicated herself. The room definitely seemed a lot rosier than when she'd come in at least. Maybe it was a conversation topic at hand that did it… Finally being free to talk to another woman about her crush was terrifically cathartic.

"Oh! Oh! Oh, well. Mmh... well, yeah, maybe. Oh, who am I trying to fool! It was so obvious!"

Serena burst out in laughter. Her chest felt lighter, and her head just a little giddier with a mix of joy and relief.

"Was it really that obvious?" She chewed her lip. "I mean, I've been trying to be discreet… I guess doesn't work, does it? I just… like him. Well, at first I probably wouldn't have thought about it at all – I just wanted to study him for my college paper, but I guess he's really grown on me. He's just really sweet, and I've never once seen him actually lose his temper…"

There was a strange expression on her face, one she didn't entirely recognise. She'd never been so open before, and it felt odd, but not in a bad way. On the contrary, she'd never felt so good before, not in a long, long time.

"I already told you we're very similar when it comes to love, so your feelings were like an open book to me."

Serena nodded. It felt amazing to finally be able to open up to someone – especially someone so similar to her. Glad to find a kindred spirit, she made up her mind that, one day, she'd tell Amy everything – Roark could definitely trust someone like her with his secret.

"It feels pretty good to meet someone like you… like me." Serena admitted, smiling. "It's such a relief."

Amethyst shovelled her food into her mouth before realising it was too hot. Discreetly, she pushed it slightly aside.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I'm really hoping Roark asks me to be his partner for the First Dance." She admitted, "He's gotten Gardenia to do it every year since Byron left for Canalave, but this year she stuck helping with the Farmer's Dance at Eterna."

"Hey, Serena, you mentioned earlier that Riley likes me. What makes you think that? I mean, I find his actions more... brotherly-ish... then again, I have no idea about love, and... well... Maybe I'm just blinded by our past..."

"Don't be stupid, Amy, of course he likes you," Serena snapped, a mix of disbelief and seriousness. "I saw the way he looked at you last night – you may not have noticed, but he kept sneaking glances at you over the dinner table. And did you see how stunned he was when that girl mentioned you still carried a torch for him? His mood improved practically immediately."

She laughed. "And let's not forget what you're wearing," She indicated at the large jacket still slung around Amy's shoulders. "giving someone your clothes is a pretty big gesture of love where I come from."

It was probably out of context, but her mind wandered to the multiple many times she'd worn Roark clothes in the morning. They tended to get ripped a lot.

"Okay, since you just confessed, now it's my turn… I like... no, I love Riley, ever since we met... eight years ago... And, I... And I know it's stupid! Because he's like eight years older than me and because it's been too long, I know! But even though it's stupid I can't stop loving him! Even after these years travelling, I've never managed to forget him! And now I meet him again, and... and feel like I love him more than before! I'm so pathetic..."

"Oh, Amy," Serena tried to sound comforting – it didn't really work, she was never good at comforting anyone. "Don't ever think love is stupid. Take my advice, and follow your feelings. If you love Riley, don't be ashamed of it. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."

She laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You can't ask him out to the First Dance, since only men can ask women out, but you can start showing him you're interested in him. Maybe he'll take a hint?" She added helpfully. "I've got a good feeling that he likes you too. There's something in his expression… something about the way he talks, that seems happier every time he's talking to you."

She smiled helpfully. "If it helps, I could lend you some of my things." While Amy was much shorter than Serena, she was equally skinny, most of her clothes wouldn't have much of a hard time fitting the purple-eyed woman.

- J -

"...Riley told me Amy's downstairs at the Reynardine having lunch with Pinky-ah, I mean, Serena Joy,"

Roark flinched, surprised. His expression changed notoriously, a wide smile appeared on his face. Not only for mentioning Serena, but also because he was glad to see Serena was getting along with someone!

"Haha, 'Pinky', uh? It's a cute nickname, like women say." Roark laughed softly. "But I'm afraid it doesn't fit Serena, she's a hot-blooded woman... Well, of course, I'm not saying she's not cute-"

The miner flickered, realizing what he'd just said.

"I-I'm so glad to see she's getting along with Amethyst!" He hastened to add, slightly blushing.

Despite being so tired, Roark couldn't stop noticing the stubborn rat chewing the metal bars, just like an Aron would do. Right, he was going to have lunch with Stephanie... and Riley. After all that had happened with Laelaps inside the cave earlier, Roark wasn't very sure if that was a good idea. But he had already asked Stephanie, it'd be wrong if he changed his mind now. Moreover, maybe he'd got to see Serena...

"You don't mind, do you, Roark? He likes it when you scratch him between the ears – it'll keep him from trying to eat the railings at least."

The ginger was so engrossed with his thougths that it took him a few seconds to notice the blonde teenager was talking to him. Roark looked at the funny duo and watched how the girl scratched her pokémon's head.

"Hehe, well, why not." Roark said, getting to it.

There was something incredibly relaxing about brushing Rodent's fur. Used to his rock-type pokémon that had no fur, it was pleasing to feel Rodent's fluffy fur between his fingers. Roark's annoyance went away after a few minutes.

"Hahaha." Roak laughed, looking at the rat. "You're a good bro, Rodent."

"Soo… What are you working on, anyways? Is it for the Dance?"

"Oh, well, more or less." Roark answered, still scratching Rodent. "Actually, most of the work I've done this morning was just regular work, but yeah, this afternoon we're going to prepare things for the Dance. We have little work left, so I'll go back home earlier today, maybe at 7 if everything goes smoothly."

Listening to the amusing brown-eyed girl while scratching the fluffy rat was a nice thing to do, but Roark was starving so, after a few minutes of tittle-tattle, Roark looked at the tailor shop behind them.

"When is Riley going to appear?" The miner asked. "I'm hungry!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Although some of Serena's words about Roark had sounded weird (the "expect him to do terrible things" part and the fact that she'd said she wanted to study him), Amethyst didn't really mind at that moment. She wasn't in conditions to think about complicated things, after all.

Anyway, what would Serena want to study about Roark? Anatomy?

"It feels pretty good to meet someone like you… like me. It's such a relief."

Amethyst giggled again. Apparently, it was the only type of laugh that could come out from her mouth.

"I think it's the first time I meet a person who is similar to me." The purple-eyed woman said. "At least, in a long time. And don't worry! I'm sure he'll ask you out for the Dance. I can feel it, I don't know."

When would she stop sayin dumb things? Amethyst wondered, annoyed. Despite her conditions, she could think clearly but, because of getting tongue-tied so often, she couldn't speak well. Definitely, it would be better for her if she simply listened to Serena, but there were so many things she wanted to rant about...

"...you may not have noticed, but he kept sneaking glances at you over the dinner table. And did you see how stunned he was when that girl mentioned you still carried a torch for him? His mood improved practically immediately."

"Oh, that."

True. Amethyst had been surprised at Riley's suddenly change of mood after Morganite's appearance. Would Serena be right? As for the 'glances', Amethyst hadn't noticed them last night, but if Serena was saying it, it couldn't be wrong! And Riley's jacket on her shoulders... definitely had to mean something, but...

"But if he really loves me," The purple-eyed woman mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "why doesn't he say anything?"

Amethyst got anxious, what if Serena had caught all of it wrong? The chestnut-head wished her relationship with Riley was like Serena and Roark's relationship. The both of them seemed to clearly like each other, after all...

"Oh, Amy, don't ever think love is stupid. Take my advice, and follow your feelings. If you love Riley, don't be ashamed of it. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."

"Follow my feelings..." Amethyst whispered. "But what if that doesn't make me any good? Mmh, not that I feel ashamed, it's just that... it's been so long..."

But Serena seemed confident about that; that was what mostly helped Amethyst to pull her tears back. She appreciated her support. After all, she hadn't been able to talk sincerely to anyone since she had parted ways with Emerald. The pink-haired woman's hands on her shoulders meant more than she believed.

"You can't ask him out to the First Dance, since only men can ask women out, but you can start showing him you're interested in him. Maybe he'll take a hint? I've got a good feeling that he likes you too. There's something in his expression… something about the way he talks, that seems happier every time he's talking to you."

Really? Well, maybe Amethyst was indeed too blinded by their past to see what the Joy was saying. Truth be told, Riley had been very kind to her since they had met yesterday; he was always caring about her and smiling at her...

"Wel, I'm too shy to ask him out myself, anyway." Amethyst said, shyly; she looked into Serena's blue eyes, hopeful. "But... is that true? Do you really think so?"

"If it helps, I could lend you some of my things."

The chestnut-head arched an eyebrow, wondering what could it be. A potion of love?

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked. "One of your things?"

While Serena answered, the tiny woman tried her steak again. Good, it was already edible. However, Amethyst was pretty fast at eating, and she didn't want to finish before Stephanie & Co. arrived... She wondered where would they be.