Note: With deep shame for its tardiness, I release this chapter almost two months after the previous one. I apologize, but life is a cruel mistress. All that aside, I hope you enjoy the update.

Follow Me

A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rivalry

"Soul, do you need any help getting ready for dinner?" Red asked as he poked his head in the kitchen some time later.

Soul turned, a pile of bowls, cups, and silverware in her arms. "Hm? Oh, no, I've got it..." she said, shifting her weight so the stacked cups containing the spoons didn't topple over.

"Doesn't look like it," Red said with a chuckle as he crossed the short distance and relieved her of the items. "By the way, the nurse said she had to make a run into Viridian to assist with an emergency at the local Center, so she won't be joining us for dinner. It'll just be us and that Silver guy."

Soul gulped. Perfect, she thought. Just perfect.

Red set the stack on the counter and separated the glasses. "Honestly, I wish it was just the two of us, but not much I can do about it."

The pit in Soul's stomach grew tighter. Secretly, she wished the same, but whether or not that was because it would be less stressful or because she genuinely wanted to be alone with Red, she just couldn't decide.

"Just you and me, alone, having dinner...and maybe the power would cut out and we'd have to eat by candlelight..." Red continued, a wistful sort of air in his voice.

"Oh, come on now, Red, really," Soul said in a huffy voice as she poured water in each glass. "You shouldn't say things like that just to joke with me."

Red stared at the counter for a moment and then turned. "Who said I was joking?"

Soul blinked a few times, caught off guard. "R...Red..." she stumbled, face pinkening as he stared at her with increasing intensity. "Don't..."

"No, I mean it," Red said more firmly. "Sure, I may have been just teasing in the beginning when I said I could fall for you...but...being with you over these past two weeks...I actually did. Soul...I really like you."

A sharp pang shot through her chest, filling her up with a familiar warmth. It was just as she feared. He did have feelings for her, and what was worse...hearing him say it out loud, so confidently and plainly...she felt herself falling, too.

Red's courage seemed to finally peter out, because his cheeks flushed, and he turned away, adjusting his hat to hide his embarrassment. "...You know, I was thinking about asking you to stay here with me...as my girlfriend."

The color of Soul's face intensified by a few shades. "Red..."

"...A-Anyway," Red said, gathering the drinking glasses and heading for the door, adding, "promise me you'll think about it, okay?" The doors swished, and he left.

Soul fell into an addled daze; she'd never had someone confess to her before, and she had to admit, it was a pretty nice feeling. Remembering Silver's presence in the Center dispersed her cloud rather rapidly, however, and she shook her head slightly as she exited the post-confession haze. She still had feelings for Silver, she couldn't deny it...but was it fair to reject Red on the hope that one day, in the unforeseeable future, Silver would reciprocate? She had a kind, hard-working, drama-free man waiting in line for her..Maybe she should just give in and accept her growing attraction, and let her feelings for Red blossom after all...

Sighing, Soul turned and finished stacking everything on her tray, lastly placing the pot of stew on a potholder in the center of the tray. One thing was for certain, though: before any decision could be made about her love life's future, she had to first get through what she knew without a doubt would be the most awkward dinner of her life. Gulping, she put the remaining food items on her tray and hefted it, wobbling a bit from the balance-shift. "Okay," she said, taking a deep breath as she stood at the double doors, "here goes something."

"Oh, you're already here," Red said with a tone of surprise as he entered the main room and found Silver seated at the low table with Soul's Combusken.

"Chocobo came and got me," Silver said, leering at Red. "Hoping it'd be just the two of you?"

Red snickered as he placed one of the glasses in front of the redhead. "Now, Silver, why would I want something like that? Or more importantly," he said with a grunt as he sat down, shooting a smirk at Silver, "why should you care?"

Silver's knuckles turned white as they clenched on the table. "Look here, you, I've had just about enough of—"

"Watch out, hot, coming through," Soul said as she tottered in with the overladen tray, struggling to keep balance.

"Here, Soul, let me help you carry that," Red said, rising from the floor to aid her.

Silver tensed his jaw and then stood as well. "No, here, let me get it."

Red's eyebrows twitched. "Don't bother, I've got it," he said, speed-walking toward Soul.

"No, really, you already helped, let me," Silver said with increasing irritation, keeping pace with Red.

The two boys arrived at the very bewildered Soul and both took hold of one end of the tray. Sparks ignited from their eyes' meeting, and the two boys glowered at one another, tugging a bit at their own corner.

"Really, I said I've got it," Red growled, pulling the tray toward him.

"And I said that it's no big deal for me to get it since you already helped," Silver snarled, yanking the platter in his direction.

"Well maybe I don't mind being helpful."

"I think you've helped enough."

"Really, guys, I can carry it myself..." Soul said weakly.

"You stay out of this!" the two boys echoed.

"Honestly, Silvy, you're just acting like a child now," Red said haughtily. "Soul needs a real man to help her out."

"Then I'll be sure to let her know when I see one," Silver snipped, his glare intensifying.

"If you two are done kibitzing over there, I'm going to serve dinner now," Soul said from the table; she'd grown fed up with waiting and just carried the tray over herself, and she was already handing Chocobo his bowl of Pokémon food as she unloaded the tray.

Thoroughly embarrassed, the two boys coughed and then shuffled to the table as well.

Silence followed, accented by the subtle sounds of slurping as they ate. Soul had realized it was going to be an awkward dinner, but she'd never imagined she'd be so starving for conversation in her life. After an agonizing few minutes, she couldn't stand it any longer.

"So, Red, you're going back to Pallet Town tomorrow, right?" she asked, grasping at any topic she could.

"Mm, yeah, Leaf, Green, and I usually get together at Christmas," Red said with a nod. "Nothing special; just some old rivals gathering together to celebrate the holidays...What about you, Soul? Any plans for tomorrow?"

"Nn, no, not really," Soul said, shaking her head. "I might go visit my mother, but..."

"Well, you could always come with me, you know."

Soul looked up, a bit surprised. Red's statement seemed to catch Silver off guard as well, and his gaze darted between the two, awaiting Soul's response, unable to mask the terror in his eyes.

Soul's lips tensed before responding. "N...No way, Red, I don't want to get in the way of your get-together," Soul said, shaking her head; Silver stifled his sigh of relief as best he could.

"Nonsense," Red said, waving his hand. "You already know Leaf, so I'm sure she'd be happy to see you. If anything," he added, smirking, "you'll make her more tolerable."

Soul chuckled. "Honestly, Red, you should try to get along with her better."

"Hey, I can't help it if she's a hothead," Red said with a laugh. "After that stunt on the phone, she's probably going to give me an ear full." He reached and took Soul's hand into both of his. "Please, Soul, you've gotta save me from her. If you come, she'll forget about being mad at me."

"Mm, I don't know..."

The table screeched on the tiled floor as it shifted slightly, and Soul turned to see Silver striding past her.

"Silve—"

"I'm done, so I'm going to bed," he said, cutting her off.

Soul glanced at Silver's mostly-untouched meal, and her eyebrows raised, troubled. "But you've hardly eaten anything..."

Silver stopped in the doorway and inhaled. "...Trust me, I've had enough."

As the redhead disappeared around the corner, the faintest hint of a smirk flickered at the corner of Red's mouth.

"...I just don't get him..." Soul said, eyebrows furrowing. "He's been acting so weird compared to how he usually does..."

"Ah, who can say what's eating him," Red said, shaking his head. "Now then, back to what we were discussing." He turned to find Soul staring at Silver's bowl, eyes glazed over in thought. "...Soul?" When he received no response, he brushed his finger against her hand. "Soul?"

"Huh, wha?" Soul blurted, startled back to reality. "O-Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"

He studied her for a moment, then, in a clear, almost desperate voice, he asked, "Will you come with me?"

Soul eyed her lap, unable to answer. "Red, I'll...I'll think about it." She looked up and smiled a bit. "Okay?"

"Nn, sure, no rush," Red said, visibly disheartened. "Just let me know by tomorrow, okay?"

Soul nodded. "Mm, sure."

Darkness loomed over the Center, and the clock in the main hall chimed once to signal the hour. All was quiet on the bitterly chilly night, and silent snowflakes flitted to the ground en masse beyond the window panes, casting small black dots of shadows across the patch of moonlight that filtered through and splashed across the floor. Not even the faintest sounds of snoring from the building's inhabitants was audible.

The rushing sound of water broke the serenity, and Soul emerged from the bathroom, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "I need to stop drinking so much Soda Pop before bed..." she muttered to herself. She stumbled down the hallway in her red flannel pajama bottoms and black tanktop in a half-sleep stupor, eager to immerse herself beneath the warm comforter she had left behind in her room. As she passed the entrance way to the main room, however, a shadow caught her eye, and she stopped.

Hunched over on the couch, head in hands, was a person, the wild outline of his long hair skewed and stretched across the swatch of light on the floor. Recognizing him, Soul clenched her jaw slightly, suddenly awake. Taking a deep breath, she entered the room, her bare feet making sticky, lapping noises on the tile.

The sounds of her approach reached Silver's ears with enough time to allow him to sit up before she sat beside him on the sofa. He stared at her, unable to speak, her face bathed in moonlight, staring firmly at him.

"So, Silver, I've been meaning to ask you this all evening," Soul said, stabilizing her shaking hands as best she could and keeping her voice as steady as allowable. "Why are you here?"

Selected quote from the next chapter:

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"