Part II: Arguments and Showers

Silver slammed the door behind us once we reached the room, then immediately threw himself onto the small bed at the other end of the room. I looked around to find the room moderately larger than the rooms in say Violet City, but the room was probably only the size of your typical master bedroom. There was a nice cream couch against the right wall, right nearby a television set. A glass coffetable sat in front of the couch with a recent issue of Trainer's Elite Beat resting upon it. Is that...?

Curious about the magazine, I walked over to glance at the cover. I frowned at the image before me as Glaceon licked my chin in an attempt to soothe me. Sure enough, I found my own face staring at me from the black background, hazel eyes shining in the lights of the set and a brilliant smile on my face. It is. It's the most recent issue.

I turned my attention to the lone bed and found Silver cautiously glaring at me from the bed covers, his face tilted to face me but the rest of him flat as a pancake. I pointed to the magazine with a small frown.

"Just checking the magazine, that's all."

"It's mine, nitwit." Silver slowly rolled himself onto his back and ran a hand through his hair with a hiss. "I left it last night, not that anything interesting was in it this time."

I just looked away and lowered Glaceon onto the floor. My faithful Pokémon gave me a pleading look before slowly walking over to the deep-green area carpet under the coffetable. I shook my head and started to lower my bag off of my shoulder, suddenly feeling as if the strap was digging into my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I glanced up to find Silver sitting up with a scowl.

I just shrugged and continued what I was doing. "Claiming the shower before you can have a chance to steal it."

He suddenly jumped to his feet and dashed for the attached bathroom, leaving me standing there with a stupid look on my face. I then let out a yell of rage and dropped the bag on the floor before blocking the doorway with a growl.

"Move it, Marshmallow-Head!" Silver barely had enough time to stop before he crashed into me. He managed to stop just inches from my nose and quickly backed away with a glint in his eyes. "I'm the one who always rents this room, it's basically my stinkin' shower!"

"Ah," I lifted a finger with a smirk and wagged it in his face. "But I called it verbally before you even thought of taking one, redhead. Therefore, I get first shower."

"Oh no you don't!" Silver tried to strife around me, making me roll my eyes and press myself against the door. "I was planning on taking a hot shower before you even showed up here, and that means I get the shower!"

I just narrowed my eyes and lifted my nose in the air, only glancing at him out of the bottom of my vision. He immediately started growling at me; he hated it when I used the same tactics he used against him.

"I'm taking the first shower and that's final."

He glared at me for a long moment before backing away slightly. I grinned in triumph as he looked down at his feet. He suddenly lifted his head up with a smirk and yelled in a tone similar to Ethan's usual jests, "I'm taking the first shower because I've been training all day, unlike you!"

I just snorted and pointed to the Glaceon curled up under the table. "I was training with him in the Ice Path all day, remember?"

"Ah," He lifted his head up as I had done seconds earlier. I raised an eyebrow and lowered my own head to take a better look at what he was doing. "But you see, I was training in the Dragon's Den all day. The humid," He slowly lifted his hands to his collar and grabbed the zipper. "Wet," His right hand slowly pulled the zipper down with a smooth motion. "Zubat guano-filled caverns of the Dragon's Den."

I felt my face warm as he slipped out of his jacket and smirked deviously. What is he doing..? "And now," He continued on in a heavy voice, as if he was sighing out every word. "I'm sweatier than a Granbull after a Pokeathlon." He flung his jacket over his left shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think that I deserve that shower now?"

"...N-Nope!" I had to fight to keep my firm stance in front of the door; I honestly have never seen Silver act like this. "I'm still taking the first shower!"

"Oh really?" Silver's voice sounded almost disappointed that his little display had no real effect on me. "Well then," He shrugged and grabbed his jacket off his shoulder before turning away. "I guess that didn't work."

"Of course it didn't." I shook my head with a chuckle. "In fact, it was actually kinda odd—"

Silver suddenly spun around with a yell and launched his jacket at my face, making me gasp for air. I instantly regretted doing so however, because his jacket smelled like a gym instead of just the outerwear of one guy. "Perhaps if you smelled it you would change you mind!" His yell came out through bursts of laughter as I squirmed and tried to run away from the jacket.

"Bleh! Get this thing off of me!" I found myself running around the room, blinded by the navy-blue fabric. "It's disgusting!"

Silver just roared with a childish laugh, chasing after me and pushing the jacket further down to keep my face covered. "I'll only let you go when you let me have first dibs on the stinkin' shower!"

"Never, jerkface!" I spat the familiar insult through a break in my laughs and continued to run blindly around the room. "The shower's mine!"

I found myself crashing to the floor face first as I tripped over something, and of course my rival fell on top of me, laughing as he slammed his hands down on the jacket's edges and trapped my head in the jacket. Luckily, the jacket was thin enough to breathe under, but must I remind you about the stench? If I tried to breathe through my mouth instead, I would just end up tasting that rank stank.

The noise must have woken up my faithful—but apparently slacking—guardian, for a yelp came from the right side of the room and was quickly followed by rabid barking. I just struggled to push the jacket off of my face, squirming like a Caterpie on its back.

"Give up now, Marshmallow-Head!" Silver seemed unfazed by Glaceon's efforts. "I'm getting that first shower!"

"I'll never give in to you, redhead! I'll never give!" I just roared with laughter as I tried to escape, unfortunately finding myself weaker than him in terms of physical strength—but I'm better than him in everything else.

A good five minutes filled with laughs, roars, groans and barks passed by as I found myself completely stuck and my captor unwilling to compromise for once in his darn life and give me the first stinkin' shower.

A sudden sound filled the room, the sound seemingly someone knocking on the door with a stick. We both froze as the bangs on the door ended and a cocky voice called out, "Oi! Dude, congrats on your score and all...but keep it down, will ya'?!" I found my face burning as the obviously teenage voice continued, "Some of us are trying to sleep, ya' know!"

I took advantage of the moment to shove the jacket off of me seeing as Silver was too busy stuttering for a comeback—yes, the tough Silver actually stutters when he's really at a loss for a retort. I sat up with a gasp for air and found my rival with a dumbstruck expression, an angry Glaceon biting his sock and pulling on it with sharp yanks.

"S-Shut up!" Ah, the usual one. I rolled my eyes and quickly rose to my feet, my face still burning from a lack of proper oxygen and the strange guy's stranger thought process.

Now's my chance! I smiled deviously as I realized Silver was still on his hands and knees, struggling to regain his composure. I dashed towards the bathroom and laughed as Glaceon barked in triumph.

"Nope!" I let out a gasp of shock as Silver suddenly slid past me and ducked inside of the bathroom with a laugh. I found myself stopping just centimeters away as he slammed the door shut, the click of the lock coming only seconds afterwards. I pounded the door with my fists as Glaceon slowly padded over to my feet.

"Silver! Silver, open this stinkin' door right now!"

The sound of the water rushing out of the showerhead met my ears, followed by the clank of metal hitting the floor. I groaned as Silver just laughed at my loss.

"Can't do that, Marshmallow-Head~!" His voice was echoing now, signaling that he was already in the shower. "Tough break, loser!"

"Oh, shut your mouth!" I just pounded the door one last time and stormed over to the bed. I threw myself onto the surface with a roar of frustration, causing Glaceon to rush to my side and hop up on the mattress as well.

Sometimes, I really hated that guy.

About a half-hour later, Silver strutted out of the bathroom in a grey undershirt and a pair of black shorts, whistling a tune as he rubbed his hair with a small towel. I just growled as he pulled it off his head, threw it across his shoulders and smirked at me, looking like a soaked Tangela.

"You," I turned towards him and scowled while pointing at his mop of wet hair. "Are a devious, rotten little thief and I hate you."

He just laughed and shook his head, scattering water across the room. "Oh really?" He lifted his head with pride as he continued his strut over to the bedside, his feet sticking to the floor with every step. "It's about time you noticed that."

I just growled under my breath and hopped off the bed just seconds before he jumped onto the mattress. "Oh," He rocked his head back and forth in a mocking way and just smirked. "And I hate you more."

He stopped once he heard the sound of a harsh puff of breath coming out of someone's nostrils. His head slowly turned to his right to find my Meganium scowling at him with his golden eyes screwed into narrow slits. Silver jumped back a little bit in surprise before growling at my irked starter and pointing at his pale-green nose.

"What's Petalsaurus doing out? I thought the little Ice Demon was with you today."

I just headed over to my bag and pulled out my red sleepwear with a growl of my own. "Gani is out because he always sleeps near me, it's like a tradition that we've upheld ever since we first met. Also," I stood back up and glared at him as I went on, "He's here to guard the bathroom door from the likes of you."

"Pfft, please," He just waved me off and put his hands behind his head, reclining until he was propped up by the pillow on the narrow bed. "Don't flatter yourself. Like I would want to peep on a little weakling like you!"

"Says the guy who stripped me." I just looked up at the ceiling with a smirk as he sputtered for air at my mention of that fateful day where I learned that I could beat Silver in more than just a battle.

I could literally beat him if I needed to.

"Sh-Shut up, little pest!" I just ignored his following string of insults and headed for the shower, Meganium heading towards the bathroom door with a snort.

"I mean it, redhead." I looked over my shoulder to find him poised like a Persian who was just doused with water, his back arched up and his hands gripping the blankets tightly. "If you come anywhere near this door, Meganium has ever right to attack you in any way he deems necessary."

"Just take your stinkin' shower already!"

I just chuckled at his flustered rage and waved in farewell. "See you in an hour~!" I then promptly slammed the door behind me, locked the knob and prepared to take probably the quickest shower of my life.

Despite my starter's fierce loyalty, I doubted he could hold off a angsty rival with a thing for stripping little girls.

Silver's Veiwpoint

I relaxed almost instantly as the scream of the shower-water hit my ears. Finally, she's gone. I gave the flowery Pokémon guarding the door a final glare before unclipping my own starter's Pokeball from my belt.

I hurled the capsule into the air as the Meganium let out a roar of protest. The orb burst open with a flash of red light and a hefty form crashed to the floor on his haunches, letting out a roar to intimidate his opponent.

I just rolled my eyes and motioned towards the coffetable. "Go fetch that magazine, will ya'? And don't burn it this time, Typhlosion."

My stolen starter gave me a glare which basically meant 'are you kidding me?' and let out a snort of rejection.

I snarled and pointed to the table once again. "Look, if I stay on this bed, I can claim it for myself tonight since I was forced to share a room with Marshmallow-Head." His crimson eyes grew wide as I went on, "So if you get me the magazine, you can sleep at the foot of the bed."

At this proposition, he lumbered over to the table with a rumble. He quickly snatched the copy of Trainer's Elite Beat and returned to the bedside with a knowing smirk. I just ignored his eyebrow raising and took the magazine out of his paw.

"Shut up, wise guy. It's not like that. There was a lack of rooms at the Pokémon Center and the broad in charge decided that making me share a room with Ms. Brat would be the best solution." I quickly motioned towards the brunette's starter and glared. "Why don't you go talk to your own rival instead of standing here and mocking me?"

At the mention of the petal-wearing beast, Typhlosion immediately let out a roar and stumbled over towards the smaller Pokémon. I watched with slight interest as the Meganium let out a roar of panic and started to quiver in place. Pah, that thing's a mess as always.

I slowly returned my attention to my copy of Trainer's Elite Beat and scowled as the familiar smile on the cover caught my attention once again. Little idiot thinks she's so great getting on the cover of some big magazine. Humph! I quickly located my earlier Snubull-eared page and flipped it open straight to the article about the newest Champion of the Johto region.

I can't believe I've stooped as low as reading about her instead of just interrogating her like I used to.

My eyes were immediately scanning through the article once again, rereading the same words again and again. Lucas Diamond...cheesy crap about her team...

I eyes grew wide as I read the next question to myself, ignoring the sound of the two starters arguing at the bathroom door. People she might want to thank? I let out a sigh and glared at the black text. Yeah, she'll probably thank that weakling Ethan and her mother...

Despite my certainty of the answer, I read Lyra's response anyway. I nearly choked as I found the words 'rival' and 'important to me' used in the first two sentences. I found myself focusing on that pink font with a newfound energy. ...Strong trainer? Always getting better?! I found my heart racing as she went on and on about me to this absolute stranger, telling him how I was the reason she became so strong. Is she really talking about me?! Perhaps she has some other rival I didn't know about...

I found my face burning as a wave of self-consciousness washed over me. Sure enough, there was my name in that pink text that was Lyra's response. I found myself reading that line over and over again, unable to believe my eyes.

Silver, if you happen to be reading this, thank you for being my rival. Holy Lugia, she's talking about me. She's really talking about me to this guy. She's thanking me for helping her become stronger.

Things only became worse as I read the next question. I jolted in my spot and found myself yelling out in utter horror. "Love interest?! Is that guy nuts?!" I quickly glanced around the room and found the two Pokémon staring at me with shocked looks, unable to comprehend what I was doing.

I shook my head to try to rid myself of the overwhelming heat in my face. I then returned my eyes to the white page and scanned her response. She stuttered. Holy Lugia she's sputtering out that denial like her tongue is twisted into a knot. My eyes widened as Lyra's response jumped out at me.

Wh-What?! N-No! Silver's just my rival! There's nothing like that between us, I swear on Ho-Oh's tail feathers!

I shook my head as the warmth in my cheeks increased into something that felt like an actual flame on my face. She's desperate to shoot that question down, almost as if she's hiding something... I shook my head again, this time to clear the strange thoughts that were trying to force their way into my head. No! Don't you dare go there! You two are just rivals; you're not friends and you're certainly not that!

A sudden click of the bathroom lock sent me into a panic, making me jump up and quickly stash the magazine under the pillow behind me. I then tried to relax and look as inconspicuous as possible, trying desperately to hide the burn in my face.

Oh Lugia, spare me this torture.