Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 16: Amber and Flame
I woke up to an unusually peaceful house. I got up, and went up for breakfast. The whole house seemed empty, though that was probably because I had woken up late. I ate, and after a while, Amber and Flame came in.
"Wow, so it's like a genetic thing?" Amber asked, wonder in her eyes
"Uh…I think so." Flame replied.
"And the extra heat doesn't bother you?" she asked
"Nope, I love it, actually" Flame said.
"You're not bragging, are you?" I asked Flame
"That reminds me, I never asked about how you got out of the fire" Amber said, looking at Flame.
At this point we were all sitting on the couch, Flame and Amber next to each other with me sitting a bit away. "Well, my siblings always had a fear of Fire, and Alex was practically unconscious, so I knew I had to do something, so I ran through" Flame said calmly
"You weren't afraid of getting burned?" Amber asked in wonder
"He's a pyromaniac" I said without thinking
Flame gave me a puzzled look, but Amber didn't notice "wow, me too!" she said excitedly.
Ok, that kind of scared me "you are?" Flame asked, probably trying to figure out what a pyromaniac was
"Yea! There's just something about fire that attracts me" she said
Uh oh. I wasn't exactly worried about Flame telling Amber too much, but if he even slightly understood, or even cared, about what Amber had implied, then he could really freak her out.
"Oh, well I like its colors" Flame said lamely. I had to stop myself from laughing at how he covered up his origins.
"Really? It's the colors that are the most fascinating thing to you?" Amber said, a bit disappointed.
"No…" Flame said, trying to fix his mistake
"You guys want drinks?" I said, wanting to draw attention away from fire. I had a feeling Flames embarrassment would become all too apparent soon.
"Sure" Amber said, and Flame nodded his head.
I lost track of the conversation when I went to get drinks, and when I came back, they were talking about fire again.
"Then what is your favorite thing?" Amber asked
"He likes heat" I said
"Wow…so that's how you could run through it!" she said, amazement in her eyes.
"He's also a great cook" I said "he can make cake from scratch"
"Really?" amber asked "then let's see. Alex will be the judge of whose cake is better" she said, jumping up. They both ran to the kitchen to make cakes.
After a few hours, they not only came out with cakes, but burgers as well. They were both delicious, and I couldn't tell whose was better.
"I Guess it's a tie" Amber said. I looked at Flame, and it seemed like he was feeling really awkward.
"I'm going to talk to flame in private, ok Amber?" I said
"Fine by me" she said, eating another slice of cake
I took Flame into another room "are you sure you're ok?" I asked him
"I can't control my body heat Alex, there's just something about her. I feel like I'm inside the onion again" he said.
"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked
"Not if I hurt her!" he said. I had to cool him off somehow. I would have suggested swimming, but I knew Flame would freak out again. "I feel like I should tell her, maybe it would help me" he said
"No, if you tell her you could make her freak out, plus she could tell other people. Remember, you're not keeping yourself a secret just so that you seem normal anymore, now you're doing it so that whoever messed with my machine doesn't find you" I said
"But she's different, there's something about her" he repeated
"Flame you're…" I paused. I was about to say he was in love, but I honestly didn't know myself "just don't tell her, at least not yet. Ok?"
"If you insist…ok" he said. We both went back out to Amber.
"Feeling better Flame?" she asked, obviously noticing something was wrong.
"Yea, thanks for asking" flame replied, smiling.
Amber smiled back "ok, but I think I should get going. It was nice getting to talk to you" she said, before getting up and going towards the door. Flame went to see her out, and came back with a dazed look.
"Are you ok Flame?" I asked him
"Yea…I should lie down though" he said, going to the bedroom.
I thought a little more about the thing that could have messed with my machine. It was possible, though unlikely, that it was amber, or one of the other former pikmin's friends, but I don't think it was. It's very likely it's someone who goes to our school, it was probably someone who was on the fieldtrip. Luckily, the pikmin didn't make too big a scene, though how they reacted to the whistle might have given them away, but I doubt it. It was all too unclear, there weren't enough answers yet, and it wasn't likely I could get them, not easily anyways. I'd have to wait and see how things went, and hopefully I could help the former pikmin get used to their emotions. I know Flame encountered one he hasn't experienced, though it's hard to judge which one. Then I thought to Aqua. She seemed to know more about humans than I had ever told the pikmin, and she seemed to be constantly experiencing new things, but never react to them. Even in human form, Aqua was something else. I yawned, thinking about what could be ahead. I spent many years with pikmin, and human life was difficult to readapt to. Normally I could be prepared for what's ahead, even if I didn't know what that was, but here everything was a mystery. I ate and went to bed early, with the other former pikmin coming home soon after. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
Whew, another chapter done. I'm still struggling with ideas, and it's getting harder to keep writing, but I'm trying! Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. bye for now!