I finally updated! Thank you to those of you that reviewed; it means a lot to me. I'm touched by your compliments, and they inspired me to keep writing. Since I haven't updated in a while, this chapter is longer. It might be a bit too long, though; it kind of just kept going and I eventually had to find a place to end it. I hope it doesn't seem too cut-off. Enjoy!

As soon as I turn around, Jun shouts out, "Wait!" to stop me from leaving. I spin back around to face him and wait for him to continue. It's silent for a moment, since he didn't have a follow-up. I guess his plan was just to stop me and he hadn't thought any further ahead then calling for me to wait.

I raise an eyebrow, but wait patiently for him to come up with what he wants to say. He quickly stutters out, "I-I'll come with you."

I assure him that he doesn't have to, but he insists that he come with me, and eventually wins. As we walk back to the Pokémon Center, I glance over at him, noting the gleam of happiness from his victory in his orange eyes. I hold in a sigh, unsure of what to do next. It seems like I won't be shaking him today, but what about tomorrow? Should I try to leave again? I want to, but I don't want to. I feel so conflicted. More than anything, though, the one feeling that I'm sure of is fear. I'm still terrified. I feel like leaving is my only viable long-term option, but I don't want to be selfish anymore. I know it will probably hurt Jun if I leave again. I just… don't know what to do.

Our arrival at the Pokémon Center shakes me from my thoughts. Jun goes up to the door first, opening it for the both of us and ushering me inside first. "After you, Milady," he says in a teasing tone. He's done this ever since we were kids. Once when we were playing at my house together, we decided to go over to Jun's house instead to play with some new toys he'd gotten. They were figurines of Sinnoh's starter pokémon. Even now, I remember them well, because they were my favorites out of all of Jun's toys. They were very detailed and accurate, the sharp bright and soft blues of the piplup matching its proud stance of having both hands on its hips, with its head tilted slightly up, so as to have just enough of an air of superiority to match a real piplup. The turtwig looked calm and relaxed; the leaf on its head real enough to blow in the wind. The chimchar, my favorite, was an earthy brown that the bright reds and oranges of its tail contrasted with beautifully. He had a mischievous grin on his face that I loved. It reminded me a bit of Jun, in a way.

We'd play with them for hours, often picking our favorites (for Jun, piplup, and for me, chimchar) and pitting them against each other in mock battles. Whenever Kouki would come to visit from Sandgem Town, he'd always pick turtwig. Not because he was left over, but because it was truly his favorite. Together, the three of us would do round after round of pokémon battles, never tiring of the game. I guess it's not surprising that our favorite pokémon when we were little became the pokémon we chose as our partners at the beginning of our journeys.

Anyway, when Jun first got them, he was very excited. When he realized that he hadn't shown them to me yet, he was quite eager for me to see them. We rushed down the stairs and out of my house, heading straight for Jun's, which was right next to mine. Our mothers, who were conversing on my house's small front porch together, giggled as they saw us run past them, always amused by our endless supply of energy.

As soon as Jun reached his front door, he swung it open, dashed inside, and without thinking, shut it behind him, causing it to smack me right in the face. Needless to say, the experience was quite painful, and I started crying. My mother and Jun's immediately rushed over to me after seeing what had happened to make sure I was alright. Jun quickly reopened the door, realizing that he'd closed it in my face, and ran up to me. He started trying to explain how sorry he was, that it was an accident and that he hadn't meant to do it. I nodded at him, but I was still sniffling and trying to wipe away my tears. Jun's mother saw this and bent down to our level, a stern look in her sunset-colored eyes. She stared straight at Jun and told him that he had to be careful and that he was lucky I hadn't been seriously hurt. She then went on to explain to him how a gentlemen acts (you know, holding open doors, being polite, that kind of thing) and why it was important for him to be one. He listened to her seriously, but as with all things, he was playful in his follow through. As soon as we were told we could go upstairs to play again, Jun rushed forward to get the door, making sure it was open all the way. "After you, Milady," he said in a stuffy voice, pretending to be classy as he he gestured to the open door with a dramatic sweep of his arm. I couldn't help but begin to laugh, but I tried to stifle it.

"Why thank you, good sir," I said, attempting to mimic his stuffy voice and shoving my nose into the air as I passed him. He tried to contain it, but his laughter ended up tumbling out of him in loud, hysterical bursts. Soon after, I began laughing, as well, and it took us until we had gotten up to his room and gotten all of his toys out for us to stop.

Ever since then, he's always held open doors for me, but not without making some teasing remark. I can't help but smile at the memory, though.

I step past him, and thank him while rolling my eyes, causing him to chuckle. As the door slides shut behind us, I realize that I don't know what comes next. I don't think either of us planned this far ahead. I look at Jun for what to do next, but he looks as lost as I am.

"Well," I say, stretching my arms and faking a yawn, "I'm going to head to my room. Catch you later." Jun nods, and I walk down the red and white checkered corridor to my room, surprised by his lack of protest. Not that I'm complaining; it's nice to not have to fight him on everything once in a while.

After I reach my room and close the door behind me, I decide to let my pokémon out of their balls for some fresh air. Well, as close to fresh air as you can get inside an isolated room in a Pokémon Center. I reach for the three red and white spheres at my belt, pressing the buttons in their centers. The red light that shoots out of them brings with it my three favorite pokémon, and I hug each of them. They all happily jump up on my bed, and I've long stopped resisting their attempts to sit with me on whatever bed I'm on, so I allow it and scooch over to make adequate room for the three of them. Scarlet wraps herself comfortably around my neck and Blaze lies down on the bed with his head in my lap; Yuki circles around a few times before settling down at the edge of the bed.

Soon after we've all gotten settled in, the door to my room swings open and my head shoots to the side, searching the doorway for the person who opened it. Jun walks through and closes it behind him, saying, "Hey, 'Kari."

Fighting the urge to rub my temples to calm me down, I ask him why he's in my room, and how he even knows where my room is. I try to let as little irritation as possible slip into my voice.

"You know that Snowpoint City isn't a very popular tourist destination; you're the only other trainer here. So I asked Nurse Joy, and she told me what room you were in. I told her that we were friends and asked if we could be roommates, and she said yes, as long as nothing "improper or unchaste" happens between us," he replies, chuckling. "I assured her we'd be fine."

My heart aches slightly at his laughter. Is it so ridiculous to consider the idea of us as a couple? I push my feelings down and change the direction of the conversation. "Did you think of asking me before deciding this?"

"Yes, but I decided not to, since you might say no." A sigh escapes my lips, which only adds to his grin. "Come on, it'll be fun! When was the last time we had a sleepover?"

"A long time ago, and for good reasons." He closes his eyes and shakes his head at me.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" He asks.

"You killed it when we were kids," I assure him. This time, he sighs.

"Well, I still think we should catch up. What have you been up to?"

While formulating an answer to his question, I absentmindedly stroke Blaze's fur, causing him to let out a sound of approval as he leans into my touch. This shifts Jun's focus to my pokémon. He decides to let his own out after observing mine, releasing his snover, sneasel, and empoleon from their pokéballs. "Those are the only pokémon you have with you?" I ask him, forgetting his original question.

"Yep. I decided to only bring empoleon with me to Snowpoint, and then I caught these two," he says, gesturing to his new ice pokémon. "What about you? Why only three?"

I explain to him that I planned to take a break from my journey after reaching Snowpoint City. I can tell he wants to question me further, but he knows better, and refrains. He's silent for a moment, thinking about something. Then his orange eyes light up with an idea. "Want to watch the old cartoons we used to watch when we were little and add commentary?" He suggests.

I smile. He knows I love re-watching things I've seen many times. And after so many viewings, you know something well enough to comment on it without missing anything. Jun and I used to love doing this with our favorite films. Sometimes the simplest observation from someone else opens your eyes to a part of the movie you didn't see before. Other times, someone makes a comment that you both find hilarious, sometimes for no reason at all, and can't stop laughing. That happened to us once. Jun said something, I can't even remember what, and we started busting up. After a while, we just started laughing at the fact that we were laughing. Every time we'd almost come to a stop, something would set us off again. We laughed for hours. The memory almost makes me laugh, but I push it from my mind and nod at him. He grins and grabs the remote from one of the night stands. He turns the TV on and flips to a channel we both know by heart. He lies back on the bed and gets comfortable as the commercial break draws to a close.

Since it's the middle of an episode, we take a few moments to assess what's going on in the episode. As soon as we get our bearings, we start commenting, giggling every so often. We spend the night that way, reminiscing about our favorite shows from childhood. Eventually, we decide it's time to go to sleep. Jun stays in the room to change while I go to the bathroom. I brush my teeth quickly and wash the minty taste out of my mouth. I turn the faucet back on and fill my hands with water before splashing it on my face. After drying my face and hands, I stare at myself in the mirror. A few strands of hair near my face are wet, having accidentally been splashed, making them a slightly deeper navy blue than the rest of my hair. I stare into the dark eyes of my reflection, seeing the determination in them. I take a deep breath, having made my decision.

I still have to leave. Or I've at least got to try. At least one more time. I'm sorry, Jun... But the sad thing is, I know that if I were sorry enough, I wouldn't be leaving. Guess I'm still selfish after all.