Part VIII: Awkward Wake-Up Calls

The soft sound of rustling blankets met my ears long before my eyes decided to forfeit sleep and accept the fact that morning had returned. The room was completely silent, just as it was every morning. Still, this silence seemed almost unnatural, for something about it just seemed to make my heart pound. A heavy weight pressed against my chest, which I decided must be Sneasel once again curling up beside me.

A sudden hot blast of air hitting my ear changed my mind.

My eyes snapped open to find a horrifying sight before me. There, sleeping right in my arms, was my rival. A content smile stretched across her face as I laid there, utterly disgusted and my face gaining a deep shade of red. How in the world is she—

My thoughts were interrupted by the oblivious rival shifting in my grasp and resting her chin on my shoulder, her chest pressing against my side and creating a horrible sense of discomfort on my bare arms. So, seeing as I was currently trapped in my rival's own grasp—which is actually quite a strong one—and unable to escape, I did the only rational thing a boy could do in my situation.

I screamed the highest pitch I've ever screamed before.

Lyra Soul jumped up with a scream of her own, flopping off of me and managing to get herself tangled up in the thick comforter. Numerous pairs of paws scrambled upright as I just pressed myself up against the headboard and roared at the top of my lungs. My rival flailed around for a few seconds before escaping the red fabrics and popping her head out with harsh pants of over-stimulation.

"What is your problem?!" My rival let out a screech as I stopped screaming, our eyes locking on each other. Hazels narrowed in a furious glare as she peeled off the blanket and tossed it aside as if it was nothing. "I was sleeping, genius! I would rather not be woken up by you screaming like a little girl, Silver!"

"You were in my stinkin' arms, woman!" Her mouth dropped open as a fresh coat of red covered her face. "What was I supposed to do; let you sleep there and cuddle your face in my neck like you were about to do?!"

"No!" Lyra shook her head before hiding her face in her hands. "How did I even—" She suddenly stopped and removed her hands, revealing wide eyes. Her attention quickly snapped back to me and she pointed a finger at me with a scowl. "This is your fault!"

"My fault?!" I dramatically motioned to myself and gave her a baffled look. "How is any of this my fault?!"

"You," She began with a harsh glare and a huff. "Grabbed me last night in your sleep and just started cuddling with me like," She suddenly clasped her hands together, put them at her right cheek and batted her eyelashes in a girlish display. "Oh, please let me drop my arm around you and bury my face in you neck while you sleep, dear rival!" I deadpanned as I found her voice high and squeaking in her jesting manner. "My side of the bed is oh so cold, so please allow me to come over on your side and just invade your personal space!"

"I did nothing like that!" I let out a shout of rejection as she simply switched from a childish grin for a harsh scowl.

"Yes, you did, you utter pest!" She used one of my own insults against me, making a harsh feeling of fury rise in my gut. "You just grabbed me last night and I had to sleep in your arms while you sleep-talked like you always do!" My jaw promptly dropped open as she went on, "I'm just so happy that you didn't start calling out in your sleep!"

"Like I would ever—"

"Oh, Lyra!" She switched to an imitation of my own voice, her tones dropping until they reached a deeper, softer tone. "Oh my sweet rival! Oh how I love you so!" I could have sworn that my face was a deeper shade of scarlet as she went on with a dramatic moan and a flip of her hair. "Oh my darling! My love! Promise me that you'll never leave my side, my darling!" She snapped back to a harsh glare as sputters escaped my throat.

"I swear, if you were to start talking like that, I would have smashed your noggin like an alarm clock!"

"Yo-You're an utter pain in the neck and you say the stupidest things!" I snapped at her as she lowered her hands and sharply turned her head away from me, even going so far as to close her eyes. Anger bubbled in my throat as the image struck me as some prissy little quirk you'd see from people such as that girl with pink hair back in Goldenrod, not from my rival.

"You," I continued as she simply rested her hands in her lap. "I would never, ever talk in my sleep like that, especially not about you!" My throat began to burn as my cheeks flared. "That is the worst imitation of me I've ever heard!"

A smirk flashed on my rival's face as she shot me a look of self-satisfaction. "Good. The last thing I want you to do is cuddle with me in your sleep and serenade me, Jerky."

I shot her a glare as she simply laughed and swung her feet over to the edge of the bed. She suddenly stopped as she realized a distinct lack of chill in the air. Hazel eyes looked around frantically before snapping back to me. A frown slipped in place of her confident smirk as she raised an eyebrow. "Alright, where's my Glaceon, red?"

"What are you talking about—"

"My Glaceon!" She pressed as she clenched the sheets between red knuckles. "My little Glace wouldn't just abandon his post, especially if it meant protecting me from the likes of you!" I shot her a look as she got up and started to make her way around the room.

"Look," She glanced back to me just seconds before Sneasel shimmied up her back like a tree. "He's probably just snoozing under the coffeetable again." I pointed to the oaken furniture with a frown. Lyra's Milotic lifted her head with a quiet coo as the rest of the Pokémon shuffled about. "Check under there before you start freaking out on me."

She quickly ducked down to the floor and called out to her Ice Type with a frantic tone. I was unfortunately—I swear—flashed with her rear in the air. She still had her flannel bottoms on of course, but need I remind you how awkward it is to be staring at your rival's buttocks? Yeah, it's really weird.

Her head popped up seconds later with wide eyes and dilated pupils. "He's not there! Glace never runs off like this! He's always by my side, always!" She jumped to her feet and started to tear the room apart as I just sighed and rolled out of bed. Cold hardwood greeted me as I reached for my discarded jacket and jeans—which I had thrown off earlier when I had escaped that nightmare. My eyes drifted to my rival and watched as her anxious starter started roaring out along with her, calling for the short Pokémon.

"Lyra," I rolled my eyes when her short blue creature started to mimic her. "He couldn't have gotten far. He's one of your 'partners', remember? That thing wouldn't walk three feet without you."

"That's what I'm afraid of!" She spun around with panicked eyes as I turned around and started pulling off my undershirt. "Glaceon is always with me! He wouldn't run off like this! What if someone—"

She abruptly stopped in mid-sentance, making me look over my shoulder to figure out the cause. I quickly found my brunette rival staring at me with even wider eyes and a faint pink hue on her face, making a matching shade rise to my cheeks.

"Oi!" I scowled at her and tossed my undershirt towards her face, making her let out a squeak and try to dodge. "Don't stare at me, weakling! I wouldn't stare at you, so don't stare at me."

She pulled my thrown clothes off her shoulder and glared at me with puffed cheeks. "I wouldn't just strip down in front of my rival!"

I shrugged it off and ignored how the whole room was now focusing on my bare back. "I wouldn't 'strip down' in front of you, either. I'm just changing my shirt." I pulled one of my stashed undershirts from the single drawer in the nightstand beside the bed. Snatching a black one with short sleeves out of the drawer, I decided to look over my shoulder at the girl. Much to my irritation, she was still staring.

"Quit it!" I snapped at her as she continued to watch me. "Seriously, it's really annoying and it's starting to make me uncomfortable." Her eyes widened to a width I didn't even realize was possible before she turned away with a snickering Sneasel on her shoulder.

"Sorry," She let out a small mutter before stroking Sneasel's chin. "I'm just used to seeing you in your jacket so much, I was kinda shocked." She suddenly tilted her head towards me just enough to flash me a smirk. "Besides, I had no idea skin could be so pale."

"Don't even start with me!" I quickly pulled the undershirt on and slammed the drawer shut. I then scurried to put my jacket on, making a tangled mess that squeezed my arms near my shoulders. "There, now you have nothing to look at." She looked back and gave me a nod with what I could have sworn was a disappointed face before pointing to the door.

"Silver, look." Her voice was quiet as her finger jabbed the door in the air.

My eyes slowly drifted to the entryway and I found to my surprise that the door was open just enough for a Pokémon to slip out—or for someone to hear our conversation. A fresh coat of pink and a slight warmth returned to my face as I glanced back at my rival. Worry flooded her face and for the slightest second I had an urge to do anything to make it go away. But, urges move on pretty quickly and that meant that this one vanished just as fast.

"I'm certain he wouldn't go to far." I reached up and tugged on my sleeves as to loosen the tightness in the shoulders and then reached to my belt. "If it makes you feel better, we can go look for him or something—"

Just then, a slight push swung the door ever so slightly towards us. Everyone in the room, even our Pokémon, stiffened as a blue shape poked inside of the small opening. A quiet sniffing filled the air as whatever looked inside gave the room a sniff before stepping inside. Our eyes grew wide as the blue mass turned out to be Lyra's Glaceon, padding inside as if nothing happened. He abruptly stopped as he found himself staring at white socks. Teal eyes looked up to find a grinning trainer and the poor creature had only seconds before he was scooped up and hugged to death.

"Glace!" An overjoyed song overtook my rival's voice, somehow bringing a smile to my face. "Oh, I've been so worried! Where were you?"

"Glacee! Glae glae." The small creature wriggled in my rival's grip before she gently placed him down on the ground. Her smile didn't fade as she turned to me.

"Well?" I gave her a look as I unclipped Gengar's Pokéball. "Where was your little Ice Demon? Torturing Nurse Joy as he oh so enjoys to do to me, or did he find some poor female that he decided to flirt with?"

She shot me a glare before folding her arms. "He was going to the bathroom, Silver. Glaceon said he had a very restless bladder last night."

I rolled my eyes before looking away. "Gross, thanks for the info."

She just laughed before taking a few steps away from me. I looked back to my left to find her reaching for her yellow bag that she had placed beside the lone sofa. "Well," She looked back up with a smile on her face once again. "We'd better get around." The smile faltered as she continued, "I'm sure you have places to be today, training to do and whatnot."

I nodded before she pulled out a clean copy of her signature outfit. I tightened the grip on my jeans—which were still in my left hand—and looked away. "Yeah, we're very busy training right now. We've only got a few hours before things get busy around here, so I'd better get going."

I tried to ignore the hard lump in my throat as my rival headed for the bathroom and left me and all of our collective Pokémon alone in the shrinking rental room in the Pokémon Center.

I'm used to traveling alone and training in solitude, but why does the thought of us heading in our separate ways make a stone in my stomach?

Author's Note: That's never the kind of wake-up call you want if you're touchy about your rival or just so happen to be harboring a crush on your rival as we already know Lyra is. Once again, Glaceon is failing his job as guardian. He means well, truly he does, he just tends to falter on occasion. (I have a feeling Silver was much closer to the reason Glaceon left the room than the explanation Lyra gave...)

Could it be that we're nearing the end of this fiction? ...Just wait and see, dear readers! I, the great Illusion Of Insanity, have another trick up my sleeve!