Lee.

The Next Morning.

"Yooo, Mark? You up?"

"Well, I am now, after you called me four times. What is it now, Lee?"

I left the hotel with nothing but a backpack of clothes and supplies, my laptop bag, and a pack of cancer sticks in the pocket of my jacket. Mark had gotten me addicted, all over again. Anyway, I was heading east for my next stop on the contest train: Veilstone.

"What's the status on getting to Sinnoh?" I asked. "It's bad enough Daisy has to stay home and watch her brother and sister. You know I hate bein' by myself."

Mark groaned. "I'm workin' on it," He insisted. "My sister said she might scrape up enough by the end of the week to get me on the S.S. Aqua. Mr. Briney's doing a ferry run to Veilstone City for some reason or another."

"That's fantastic!" I laughed. "I'm heading to Veilstone for a contest and some sort of conference! Hey, make sure to give Janey a thank-you kiss from Lee."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me to do something really incest-y. A conference? Why you gotta go to one of those in Sinnoh?"

I crossed a street. "Since I'm supposed to be an ambassador from Johto, I got invited to a big gym leaders get-together to discuss some big issue in the region. Personally, I hope it's about that group, Team Galactic."

Mark groaned loudly. "Are you still on about them?" He complained. "It's none of your business."

I frowned. "Do you remember when we were kids, an-"

"Oh God, a guilt trip."

"And that Team Magma group wanted to make more land using the power of Groudon? What idiot wannabe surfer took them down?"

Mark sighed exaggeratedly. "This idiot wannabe surfer."

"And what sharply-dressed soon to be Top Coordinator backed you up, no matter how ridiculous the fight got? I nearly shat myself when we saw Groudon in Team Magma's base!"

Mark groaned again. I was really testing his nerves.

"...That's not where we saw Groudon together," He corrected me.

I scoffed. "What?" He couldn't be serious.

"I saw Groudon in their base," Mark explained. "You had a heatstroke and passed out, you retard. You didn't see Groudon until we went to the Cave of Origin together!"

"Whatever. Look, you coming to Sinnoh, or naw?" I passed under a gate, and left the city. "I'd really like to know."

Mark hesitated. "Well, I'll just have to wait and see," Mark sighed. "If Jane can come up with the money, I'll probably drop to my knees and praise Jesus. Until then, I just don't know, Lee."

"Alright, jeez! No need to yell. You've got a young child in your house."

"Screw you, man. Maggie don't care. She can't do nothing, anyway."

I laughed. "You're an asshole big brother. D'ya know that?"

"Oh, like you treat Mikey any better," Mark scoffed. "When's the last time that kid heard from his big-shot of a brother? Did you know he beat Whitney after his third time?"

I rolled my eyes. Mikey wouldn't call Mark with something like that. "Bullshit, my brother wouldn't call you for something big as a new badge."

"Well, I imagine that's around where he is, if he's not lost in Illex Forest," Mark defended himself. "You know what I mean. Was there a point to us talking about this?"

I had to think a second. I shifted the weight of my backpack around. "Yeah, but I don't feel like repeating anything. Next time I call, I want a definite answer on the S.S. Aqua thing."

Cue the millionth sigh that morning. "Yes, mein führer."

Riley.

We left a little later that morning than Lee did. Otherwise, I would've further hassled him.

The twins had a somewhat less tearful goodbye this time. Dee hugged Tess and threatened Flint to take good care of her sister, but it was less mushy this time.

In a complete turn of events, Dee nodded at Volkner and added, "And, uh...good luck in your gym battle, or whatever."

Every one of us turned to Volkner. He blushed. Did Dee just almost compliment someone?

"Uhh...thanks," Volkner answered back carefully. I didn't blame him.

Dee didn't waste a second more than needed; she turned tail and headed towards the southeast exit of Hearthome City. Me and Amber had no choice but to follow, if only out of loyalty.

She also carried the battery-powered cooler Volkner had made us, so Dee sort of had all of our food with her.

"Hold up!" Amber called after her. "Dee, wait!"

"I'll slow down after we're out of the city and away from those creeps," Dee huffed.

It was only a minute before we passed through the gate to Route 209. Dee waited in the middle of the road, waiting for us.

Amber and I had to stand and catch our breath first. We'd literally had to run just to keep up with her.

"If Volkner...and Flint...are such creeps..." I rasped.

"Then why...did you wish him...good luck?" Amber finished for me.

Dee rolled her eyes. "'Cause he's my sister's friend," She sighed. "I don't like either of them, but she obviously does."

That was...mildly civil for her.

"You're a friggin' nutbag, Dee," Astro muttered.

Later That Night.

"Thanks for the soup, Dee."

Even though we'd eaten berry soup every night we were on the road, I still thought Dee was a damn good cook. It was better than the bologna sandwiches she'd made the first day I traveled with them.

Dee, sitting next to me, waved the soup ladel lazily at me. "You don't gotta say thank you every time I put food in front of you, Riley," She chided me.

I looked down into my bowl. "Oh...sorry." I slurped a little from my spoon.

Dee whapped the leg of my jeans with her ladel. "And stop apologizing, for God's sakes! Didn't that dad of yours ever teach you to be a man?"

I nearly spilled burning-hot soup onto my crotch, and Amber laughed.

"That's not funny!" I ended up laughing, too.

Astro, sitting off with the rest of our pokemon, snickered. "Yeah, it is."

Amber reached over me, and took Dee's ladel from her.

"Hey!"

"Didn't that mother of yours ever teach you not to hit your friends?" Amber mocked Dee, in the same tone of voice.

Now I was the one snickering.