Chapter 7 mhm!

-][-

Amanda's POV

We appeared in the kitchen, this time. Everyone walked off to their respective rooms, until only Shelly and I were left.

'Hi.' I sounded awkward.

Shelly decided to ignore me, and helped herself to the drinks in the fridge.

'I'd rather people ask if they were going to eat my food and drink my drinks.' This time, my voice was hard and cold.

Shelly froze in place. 'Sorry,' she muttered, slamming the fridge door shut. 'I'm just not used to being in someone's house, ya know? In the Aqua base, we could just…'

The redhead winced, as if she had remembered something unpleasant.

'Just what?'

'Nothing.' Shaking her head, Shelly turned around. 'Memories. That's all.'

'Oh.' I walk over to the fridge, and she heads back to the kitchen table, taking a seat. 'What drink do you want?'

'Water's good, thanks.'

I poured two glasses of water and brought them to the table, also sitting down across Shelly. I handed her one mug, taking a sip of water from my own.

She gulped down some water, a thoughtful look on her face. 'I miss being an Aqua member,' she admitted.

'You'll be fine.'

''Yeah, but I wonder where everyone else is. Matt, Archie, the grunts…are they in this world too?'

'Maybe.'

'And isn't there even a single beach here? I miss the ocean.' Shelly sniffed at the thought.

'Of course there's a beach.' I sit up straight, an idea forming in my head. 'And I can take you there!'

-][-

'It's beautiful,' Shelly breathed. 'Not quite as beautiful as Slateport Beach, but still beautiful.'

I smiled. The beach we were on was quite spectacular, with a long, flat area of sand, and a calm sea. The soft waves lapped against the sand lightly, before retreating back into the ocean.

'Why didn't you ask Tabitha along?'

Shelly squinted at me, her mouth tugging down into a frown. 'What are you trying to imply?'

'I'm trying to get you two together,' I said flatly.

'Then you'll fail.' The former Aqua admin changed the subject. 'Do you like anyone?'

The question caught me off-guard. 'W-what?'

'I asked if you have feelings for anyone.'

I stared at her for a second before I busted out laughing, not wanting her to see through me. But she does.

'I know you do. I can tell.'

'Hm? Why are you so interested, then? Why don't you tell me whether you like Tabs?'

'Because I don't!' And like Shelly could tell, I could tell she was lying. 'And now back to topic. You like someone, but who?'

I groan. There was no escaping. 'And why should I tell you?'

'I want to know.'

'No, you don't. Do not interfere with my non-existent love life.'

'Don't tell me what to do. I will interfere like I am your older sister.'

Her words shocked me. Shelly, as my older sister? I stifled a laugh. 'How old are you, anyway?'

'Seventeen. And you?'

'Fifteen.'

'Alright. Back to topic: Who do you like?'

'I don't want to tell you!'

'Why?'

'Why not?'

Shelly sat down on the sand. 'Don't make me guess.'

'Go ahead.'

'Fine. Bugsy?'

I collapsed onto the grainy ground, clutching my stomach, silent laughter coming out from my mouth. Me and Bugsy?

'Um, Kuro? You okay?'

'Sorry,' I said, though I was trying hard to not giggle.

'I guess not him, then. Wallace?'

Oh, Wallace. Hadn't seen him since day one.

'Well, uh, he is cute…' I started. 'But- '

'Aha! You like Wallace!'

' -he is meant for Winona.'

'Dang. Uh, Steven?'

'Mr. Stone? Oh no, he's the champion.'

'Morty?'

I freeze in place, not moving. 'Um…'

'Yes! I got it!' Shelly pumped her fist up into the air. 'Kuro likes- '

'Shut up!' I hissed, tackling her until she was lying down on the sand. 'Don't say a word about it.'

'Now that you know who I like, tell me that you like Tabitha.'

'Meh, no thanks.'

'Damn it!'

-][-

Shelly's POV

'Hey, you.'

I tapped his shoulder. Morty, who was sitting on the sofa, turned his head, peeling his eyes away from his Pokégear.

'Who are you?'

'I'm Shelly. I just came here yesterday. You're, uh, Morty, correct?'

He nodded.

'Well, K- '

'I'm back!' Kuro opened the front door, walking in. She had just come back from her morning walk. She looked at me and Morty, as if trying to read what we were talking about.

'What were you talking about?' she asked me, her face telling me silently not to mention anything she had told me yesterday.

Morty answered for her. 'She introduced herself but you walked in before she could finish her second sentence.'

'Right.'

'Well then,' I said, turning to walk off. 'I'll leave you two to be together, bye!'

'Wait!' was Kuro's cry before I headed off back to my room.

-][-

Sitting on the bunk bed that Kuro had set up for me and Hannah (I slept on the bottom, she slept on the top.), I dug around my bag for something. Something I had kept all throughout Hoenn, always in my mini haversack. I reached into the far corner of my bag and I finally found the spherical object I was looking for. I pulled it out, sweating. I was so scared that I could have lost it.

'Not a single scratch…' I muttered.

It was a round gem, dyed blue and red, with purple at the part where the two colours met. So many memories were stored inside this tiny jewel. I flipped it over, and engraved in a messy writing was this:

S+T

I never knew that two letters could have meant so much, until four years ago. My life changed four years ago.

-][-

Flashblack

'Shelly! Look at this! The diamond-finding device worked! Come and see!' Tabitha yelled excitedly.

A thirteen-year-old Shelly walked over to her friend. He's twelve and still acts like he's five! she thought, shaking her head. Tabitha held up his hand triumphantly, a tiny object in between his fingers. It was a round, clear jewel.

'That isn't a diamond,' Shelly retorted flatly.

Tabitha rolled his eyes. 'I know, but it's still probably worth heaps! It's so cool!'

He stood up from his squatting position, eyes suddenly going wide. 'I've got an idea!'

The purple haired boy rushed off, leaving a confused Shelly behind. She sighed; despite knowing him for almost ten years, sometimes she couldn't understand him. The redhead picked up the diamond-finding machine, and started walking back home.

The next morning, there was a knock on Shelly's house's door. Normally, she wouldn't have cared less, but it was a special knocking pattern. One that she and Tabitha had come up with.

Shelly ran down, still in her pajamas, and opened the front door. Outside was Tabitha, his hand in his pocket.

The young girl gasped. 'Tabs! What on Earth happened to you?'

The purple haired boy looked terrible: his hair was a mess, he had panda eyes, and his arms were most definitely thinner than the day before. But, he had that familiar grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes.

'Just did, uh, something overnight. No sleep, but it was worth it.' Tabitha pulled out a white cloth from his pocket. It was wrapped around something. He passed it to her, and Shelly took it cautiously.

'Go and sleep!' The redhead ordered, giving him a playful push. He said his goodbye, and she shut the door.

Heading back to her own room, Shelly placed the object onto her desk. What could be inside? she wondered. She glared at it for a second, before taking out her homework and started to do it. Finally, the pressure was too great, and she grabbed the white cloth, pulling it off. Underneath it was a jewel.

Shelly gasped. She was pretty sure that it was the jewel that Tabitha had found the previous day, except that it was half red and half blue. It was a bit messy, though, because the two colours clashed a bit and there was a tiny bit of purple, but she didn't mind. The redhead thought it was absolutely beautiful.

Shelly held the object up, observing every inch of it in the morning sun. Her eyes welled up with tears; Tabitha did this all for her? Her finger brushed over an uneven surface, and she brought it closer to her face. On the back of the gem was something.

S+T

"Shelly + Tabitha" was what it meant, she was pretty sure.

When she finally put down the jewel, Shelly noticed a tiny piece of paper on the white cloth. She picked it up and opened it. The letter read:

Dear Shelly,

I am so sorry I did not tell you earlier. I am leaving Sootopolis City, and I will be leaving today. By the time you see this letter, I am already on a car on the way to Lavaridge Town. Please forgive me.

Also, do not ever forget me, because I'll never forget you. We'll meet again; I'm sure of it. It is our fate. Oh, and I hope you like the jewel. I decided not to sell it because of our friendship.

If you ever come to Lavaridge, please tell me somehow! And I heard that there are great hot springs there. Please visit sometime!

-Tabitha Harlan Homura

As she read his name, a single tear was shed and it slid down her face. Shelly folded the letter neatly and it fell out from her hand, falling to the ground. She buried her face in her hands. Her best friend had just left her.

And there was nothing she could do.

Flashback end

-][-

As I gripped the gem tightly in my right hand, I didn't notice that my vision had become blurry, tears clouding my eyes. I flopped down face first in the pillow.

Tabitha had left four years ago, and two years later, we joined Team Aqua and Team Magma, respectively. I was fifteen, he was fourteen. Then, we realised we were enemies. Mortal enemies. We didn't do anything about it. For another two years.

Then we came here. We were teleported together, for some reason, but I thank fate for it. I was hoping I could finally show my true feelings for him.

But there was a problem. What if he didn't love me back? Maybe he had found a girlfriend in Team Magma. Apparently their female admin, Courtney, was cute.

I shook my head free of those thoughts. With the gem still in my palm, I get up and walk off to Tabitha's room.

-][-

Third Person's POV

Kuro stood on one side of the battlefield, Jasmine and Morty in the other. The young trainer pulled out two Pokéballs from her pocket, as did the two gym leaders, but with one Pokéball instead.

'Steelix, go!'

'Let's go, Gengar!'

'Emolga, Chandelure, out!'

'Battle, BEGIN!'

-][-

Huehuehue longer chapter this time! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Well, no matter. Oh yeah, and Commandershipping! I just had to add it! Shell and Tabs are wayy too cute together, hehe. Anyways, stay tuned for the next update!