I am so sorry that this update took so long, I'll try to be much faster in the future. The encouraging reviews helped me finish this chapter. Nagging me will help me update sooner, so it's encouraged as well. If you have any ideas for places you'd like the story to go, let me know and I'll definitely consider them. If not, I'll just wing it. I have some ideas in mind, but they're not fully formed. I'll let you read the actual story now.
Enjoy.
As I cross the frozen bridge, I can't help but want to slap myself. How am I always this stupid when it comes to him? I've heard of being a love-struck fool, but this is just ridiculous. I continue to try to make it look like I wasn't crying, but I can tell that it's a wasted effort.
As I finally reach the end of the bridge, Jun rushes forward, capturing me in a bear hug. It's tight, but it's also very warm, and I hesitantly hug him back a little bit. At this, he squeezes me even harder; the only think he says is a quiet "Thank you." Unable to keep the tears back, they stream down my face and I sniffle softly into his chest. Noticing that I'm crying again, Jun gently releases me from his grasp and looks at me. I don't want him to, so I spin around and attempt to cover my face. My attempt fails as Jun spins me back around and grabs my shoulders to hold me in place.
"'Kari, I know you're not okay. You almost never cry. You can tell me anything. I need to know that you're alright. Please," he says as he wipes away a few of my tears. "I'm begging you," he pleads again, and I can see the worry written on his face. I want to tell him. I wish I could. But it'll sound so stupid and it'll ruin everything. I can't tell him. I won't.
"I thought you said we could talk about something besides this," I say, determined to change the subject. He frowns, but realizes that he won't get anywhere. At least not now.
"Fine," he sighs, "then what do you want to talk about?"
"...Everything else." The corner of my mouth turns up a bit as I think of all the other things we could discuss that I would genuinely like to talk about. "How about we start with pokémon? Have you caught any new ones lately?"
"Yeah, actually. I normally catch at least one in every new city or town we go to because the kinds in each place are unique. I even caught some ice pokémon on my way to Snowpoint." Pokémon has always been one of Jun's favorite subjects to discuss. He seems so happy when he talks about his pokémon. I'm glad that our conversation has taken a lighter turn.
"Really? Which ones?" I say, honestly curious. "I thought ice was my thing." He gives me a slightly irritated look and I chuckle softly.
"You know that I've always wanted an ice pokémon, too. Just because you got one first doesn't mean it's 'your thing,'" he says, making air quotes with his fingers at the end. "But if you must know, I caught a sneasel and a snover." His bright orange eyes shine with pride at these catches and show how excited he is to have new editions to his team. I smile back at him.
"Awesome. I haven't decided on which pokémon to catch here yet."
"Maybe seeing my new ones will help you decide on an ice type!" Not even waiting for my response, his hands shoot to the pokéballs at his belt and he quickly grabs two of them and tosses them into the air. The ice-type pokémon emerge from the beam of red light and curiously scan their surroundings. The snover looks over at me and tilts his ivory head to the side, somewhat confused. The sneasel, also unsure of me, glances at me suspiciously. I can't help but smile at how new his pokémon are; it's obvious that he hasn't had them very long. Letting out a defeated yet happy sigh, I reach for my belt as well, pulling out Yuki's pokéball.
"I may not have a new one yet, but I do still have an ice-type, and I'm sure she'd love to join us," I say as it opens up, releasing the light blue fox to stretch and enjoy the snow. Upon seeing the two unfamiliar pokémon in front of her, she circles around them slowly, sniffing. Deciding that they're perfectly fine, she jumps toward them excitedly, eager to play. I can't help but giggle at her actions.
Jun's new pokémon seem hesitant to join in; the snover appears nervous and it looks like the sneasel is still somewhat wary. "It's okay," Jun says to them in encouragement. "She doesn't bite. At least not unless her trainer tells her to." He lightly chuckles at his own joke and I crack a smile. He's always been great at cracking himself up—even if he can't make anyone else laugh, he can always make himself laugh.
After a while, Jun's pokémon start to relax and they all eventually begin playing together. Jun and I watch them quietly, smiling and giggling every so often at their actions. The cold starts to get to us after a while, though, and we decide to head inside. The pokémon seem disappointed by this, which I find quite amusing considering their initial hesitation. As consolation, I promise them that they'll all get to play together again soon before we put them back in their pokéballs. It's only after seeing the grin on Jun's face that I realize what I've said—I just promised that Jun's pokémon would see mine again soon, which means that I'll see Jun again soon. I want to face-palm at the realization of my own stupidity. Will I ever learn? Probably not. I think Jun's starting to rub off on me.
Trying to casually ignore what I've said, I try to change the subject. "So, when do you think you'll challenge the gym?"
Jun senses the topic change and the reason behind it. His smile grows a bit tighter, but he simply answers, "Soon. I'll probably head over there tomorrow to get a feel for it and deal with some of the first trainers."
"Yeah, they can be a handful. You come to challenge the gym leader, but you always end up having to battle a horde of other trainers. They never take no for an answer," I say, remembering every time I've ever gone to a gym. Despite how annoying it can be to deal with them, I can't help the light smile that makes its way onto my face.
"Tell me about it," Jun says with a smile that matches mine. After a moment or two of silence, with each of us searching for something to say, I mention that I should be going and that I'll see him later. His smile falls at this and his eyes fill with worry. I know he's scared that I'm just saying this to be polite, that I have no intention of actually seeing him again, that I'll try running away again. But I don't tell him otherwise. I don't reassure him that I'll come back or that he'll see me again. Because in all honesty, I'm not sure he will. I still want to leave, but I don't know if I can. I know that he doesn't want to lose his childhood best friend. I don't want to break his heart; but I also don't want him to break mine.