Lee.

"So, Riley...Lee tells me you want to train and become an Aura Guardian."

Mark sure didn't waste time. I elbowed him in the rib, but he ignored me.

Shy-guy Riley looked down at his feet while we walked. "Y-yeah, I do," He admitted. "I've been reading these notebooks Lee gave me so I can learn a little more, but I don't-"

"Did Lee tell you that he'd be married to his fiancée by now, if not for him being gone so much?"

Riley looked up, but not at Mark. "What?"

My heart jumped into my throat. I elbowed him again, harder.

"Mark, that's outta line!" I growled at my friend. "That's not the only-!"

He sideglanced me. He had almost a whole foot on me in height, but I wasn't intimidated.

"Why else have you put it off, Leon?" Ooh, I could have slugged him for that. "Riley wants to protect his friends, but haven't you mentioned how often you go off on your own?"

Riley looked heartbroken at that news. "You never mentioned leaving my friends behind, Lee," He told me. "I don't-"

"You won't." I balled my hands into fists, then relaxed my fingers. "Mark, you help with your dad's business, and Daisy has Natalie and Gary to look after. Of course I have to leave a lot! What other choice do-"

"You could give up your idiotic dream!" Mark hissed. "Face it, Lee, how many Aura Guardians have you read about that didn't have a tragic death!"

I turned on my heel to face him. The three of us stopped on the empty sidewalk.

"God dammit, Mark, you know it isn't as bad as you're making it out to be!" I shouted. "Do you always choose to leave Steven out of this argument? Now stop talking like that, you retard, you're gonna scare Riley!"

Mark flared his nostrils. "Maybe he needs some scaring," He huffed, his green eyes glancing over my shoulder, at the teenager behind me. "Then, he won't be such a screw up like you!"

"You son of a bitch-!" For a second, I lost all manner of control. I lifted my arm and pulled back, ready to punch Mark right in his tiny, smug, upturned nose.

"Knock it off!"

As I tried to punch him, Riley pulled me back and wrapped his arms around my elbow and held my arm back.

I wriggled my way out of his grasp. "Riley?"

His blue eyes, in the sunset, were hardset with disgust. "You guys are acting like babies," He reprimanded me.

The boy's reaction shocked me a bit. In the heat of the argument, I'd almost forgetton he was even there.

Mark sighed. "Sorry, kid. I guess I was acting like a bit of a dick there, huh, Lee?"

I nodded. "Yeah...let's just get Riley where he needs to go. Or else, that camo demoness might come after us."

The remark got a laugh from Riley. I was glad to hear it.

We walked in partial silence all the way to the Pokemon Center. Mark left me and Riley to go across the street to the PokeMart, pick up some cigarettes.

Riley scoffed. "You both smoke?"

"Yeah, but he gets a different brand from me," I answered, watching Mark enter the store. I sighed, turning to Riley. "Kid, don't...don't take anything he said to heart, alright? He was-"

"I understand." Riley nodded, his shaggy bangs swishing against his forehead. "Just wanted to pick a fight, right? That's how Dee is."

I chuckled under my breath. "Well, what's friendship without some arguing?" I laughed. "Before I leave, how's the reading going?"

He shifted his weight. "Um..." He shrugged. "Well, I picked up that Mark, he...he could sense aura like you and me, but he couldn't-"

"Don't sweat on that," I advised. "Mark always had trouble wrapping his head around the whole concept, was his deal. But, you're a sharper kid. Just start out small, like how you said you saw that Onix coming, or how you saw that blonde girl was in trouble. Then, the rest should come naturally."

"A-alright," Riley replied. He didn't sound so confident, but I saw the tension leave his shoulders. He turned to the door of the Pokemon Center. "See you later, Lee."

I nodded. "Stay safe, kid!" I saw him go inside, then turned around.

I half-jogged across the street, and met Mark outside the PokeMart. I handed him a lighter from my jacket pocket.

He nodded. "Thanks." He opened his fresh pack of cigarettes, and lit one. "What's the plan now?"

I shrugged. "Hey, you got your ID?" I asked. For his 18th birthday, we'd gone out with Daisy and found someone to make fake IDs.

Mark snorted out a laugh, handing me my lighter. "You know I do."

I clapped him on the back, a brilliant idea hitting me.

"What're we waiting for, then?" I laughed. "We ain't gone out drinkin' together in months! Let's go party!"

Neither me, nor Marcus Lowe, is a role model for children. Which calls into question my seniority over Riley.

Riley.

I saw my friends in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, in slightly better spirits.

Volkner was chugging grape soda at the rate an alcoholic would a bottle of whisky, entire body draped over an armchair. Amber and Dee had all their belongings with them, Flint wearing my backpack and Astro holding my Adidas bag. Riolu, who'd been patiently waiting with them, held my egg case in his arms. Amber's brother had long been returned home.

Volkner crushed the empty can in his fist. "Wow, that was fast," He remarked dryly.

I ignored him. "What's with all our stuff?" I asked. "Where's Tess?"

Amber, who'd been on her Pokegear, put it in her pocket. "We'll be staying with my family while we're in town," She told me brightly. "Tess is getting herself a soda, because Volkner the drama queen had her get his."

Volkner flipped her off lazily while Flint handed me my backpack. "Here, dude, it's heavy as hell."

Astro did the same. "Seriously, Riley, what the hell do you even carry?" He grumbled

Even as they grumbled and complained, my recent encounter with Mark and Lee's frienship made me appreciate my own friends a hell of a lot more than I did before.

Amber grabbed me by the wrist as I took my stuff, and I almost dropped my egg.

"Gah!" I held the glass case even harder. "Jesus, Amber, careful!"

Amber laughed. "Riley, c'mon, my mom's making us dinner tonight!" She exclaimed. "Come on! Let's go!"

We left the Pokemon Center in a hurry, Amber half-dragging me and Dee the whole way. Astro pulled Riolu along to help him keep up, grumbling the whole way.

Before long, it was dark outside we were back at the cozy little house. I couldn't help wondering, where the hell would Dee and I even fit?

Amber opened the front door, full of life and energy.

"Momma, I'm ho-!"

She stopped right there, barely in the doorway. I looked over her shoulder and saw why.

A man sat in an armchair across from the front door, reading the newspaper. He had short, spiked-up electric blue hair, and the same intense blue eyes as Max.

"...Amber," His voice rumbled. "So, Anne was right. Why are you here with a boy?"

It took all my willpower not to wet my pants right then and there.

AOF: As far as Lee and Mark's fake IDs go, I'm not for the idea of underage drinking.

AOF: But, let's be realistic. Someone like Lee, with how he travels around so much, would probably go out drinking and partying anyway.