Flashback 2

"So this isn't a Dawn Stone?"

Steven turned to face his partner. She was holding a pale blue stone in her hand, and her eyes were curious.

He took a good look at the stone, and smiled.

"Actually, this is a Dawn Stone," he said. The girl's face changed to one of confusion. Her blond fringe fell into her eyes, and she swept it back.

"It is?" she asked, surprised. Steven chuckled. He knew stones and rocks better than he knew people. One glance at the stone told him that it was a Dawn Stone, but a rather odd one.

"Well, Aline," he started. "This is a Dawn Stone, but it is a rare variety." Aline tilted her head unconsciously, just like she did every single time. Steven found this adorable, but he didn't comment on it.

"It's actually paler than usual," he explained, now reaching out for the stone. Aline handed it over, and he carefully rolled it over in his hands. "See this?" he asked, his gloved finger pointing to a streak of deeper blue.

Aline drew closer and squinted at the stone. "That darker streak?" she asked, looking up at him. "Yeah, I saw it." Steven nodded.

"That's part of the stone's normal coloration," he said. "This one's a rare beauty. You should keep it."

Aline accepted the rock from him, and stared at it. Steven continued polishing the rare Fire Shard he had extracted, and he glanced up after a few minutes. His partner seemed captivated by the rock. Her expression seemed dreamy, and she seemed relaxed.

"Ah…you might want to stop staring at the stone," prompted Steven. The girl snapped out of her reverie, and her eyes darted around quickly and settled on his face. Her face went slightly pink, but Steven dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"Sorry," she replied, and picked up a pink quartz ore. She started chipping away at the edges of the ore, in an attempt to isolate the crystal. Steven raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you chipping that?" he asked, puzzled. That was one of the ores that they were done with. His friend seemed to be lost in thought today.

"What?" she asked. Then she realized her mistake and quickly picked up the un-extracted olivine ore. "Oh, sorry!" She seemed flustered. Steven looked at her for a minute. She seemed especially uncoordinated today.

It all happened after the stone, he noted. Is she that dazzled by the stone?

He was about to return to polishing the Shard when Aline suddenly abandoned the ore and her tools. She gently picked up the Dawn Stone and held it out to Steven. "Can you break it into halves?" she asked.

Steven was shocked. That stone was probably one of its kind, and it was a perfect specimen. Never in his worst nightmares would he ever consider chipping that beauty of a rock. His eyes widened in astonishment.

"Aline, no!" he exclaimed, rather loudly. Aline flinched. "Ah, I mean, I possibly couldn't!" he amended, his tone softer. "This is a perfect specimen! Why, you could get millions for that single mineral!" Aline looked guilty.

"I'm sorry," she replied for the third time that day. She looked miserable. "Gods, everything I'm doing today is wrong." Steven's expression softened. He set down his tools and took the stone.

"What do you want to do with it, Aline?" he asked. The girl looked up.

"I-I," she stammered, collecting her thoughts. She quickly made a decision. She wrapped his fingers over the rock. Her face now seemed determined.

"I want you to have it," she said. Steven's eyes widened further. If he had found the stone, he wouldn't have parted with it for his life. This was a rare stone, and it was doubly useful, considering she could potentially evolve a Pokémon with it. A part of him badly wanted the stone, but he didn't want to steal it from its rightful owner.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I have Dawn Stones…" Aline shook her head.

"Yes," she said, her expression more determined. "I want you to have it." Steven took a look at the girl's face. Then, he smiled brightly.

"Thank you!" he said, his eyes shining. "I would be more than honored to add this to my collection!" Aline drew back, seeming happy. She gave the rock one last longing look, and returned to her work.

Steven carefully set the beauty of a rock into a special hard case, and kept it aside. He made a mental note to show this to his father and rave over it with his Pokémon once he was alone in his room.

The rest of the day passed by with minimal excitement, and the two of them carefully took note of their findings for their final projects in Geology. Aline waved him a cheerful goodbye as she was driven back to her place by their friend -and not boyfriend, he thought- Gary.

Once Steven was back in his room, he took the precious stone from its place and transferred it to an airtight glass display case that he'd had custom made for such occasions. He kept it on top of his collection shelf and stood to admire it.

Then, it struck him. The day's events all made sense.

This Dawn Stone's special to Aline not because of its rarity, he realized. A tingling feeling started in his chest and it warmed him from the inside. A smile spread itself on his face.

The Dawn Stone was the exact same shade as the eyes gazing upon it.


If you have started reading this story, and you like it, please leave a review with your constructive criticism.

This is the second flashback of three, so sit tight.

If anyone is fluent in French and has the time to help me out with a few bits in the story, shoot me a PM.

Thank you for your support!

-Author1720