Chapter 12: Better
For someone who prided himself on avoiding others and being able to work without being noticed, Bryce wasn't completely sure that he'd gotten away with this one. He'd been going back and forth on what to do with the mattress that was in the guest room over the last few days. Almost everything else had been finished: the walls were fully painted and dried, all the clutter and dust had been removed, and everything else that needed to be replaced had been. Ultimately, he'd decided on getting rid of it. Even if that mattress was totally safe, no way was Bryce about to risk an extraterrestrial ambassador getting some kind of sickness or disease because he didn't feel like replacing a bed. He wasn't crazy about mankind, but he also wasn't about to be the one responsible for its potential destruction. That honor could go to someone else.
The whole 'cleaning up and redecorating the guest room' idea was still being kept as a surprise for Violet, at least in terms of how the inside looked, but it still seemed best to keep as much a secret as possible. And so, here he was, finally getting the new mattress to rest in its rightful place while Violet meditated out in the backyard. The old one was resting against a wall in the garage, and it'd be staying there for a while. Bryce might be in shape, but even he needed a break every now and then. All that was left was to make the bed with one of the sets of sheets he'd picked up for it. After a few minutes, he grabbed one of the sets of bedsheets, still in the package, moving to unwrap the set with a purple fitted sheet and flat sheet, wrapped up in a matching comforter. Then again...maybe that was a bit too much.
"And that's the one time that you got sent to detention?" Violet giggled, leaning back a bit in Bryce's computer chair. "Seriously?"
"Well, if you don't want me to mock you, don't set yourself up for a fall." Bryce shrugged, sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. "They made it sound like it would be a big deal, but it was just sitting in a classroom for an hour after school in silence. We weren't allowed to do anything, including talk." A smirk towards his conversation partner. "Best hour of class ever."
The Lucario in question just stuck her tongue out at him. "Weirdo."
"Hey, it's not my fault that any actual punishments have been outlawed for years." Bryce retorted. "And it's not like that was something I'm not proud of."
He paused, trying to think of a question to ask her in return. She'd been pretty respectful of his boundaries, but since she'd made it clear that she didn't mind answering just about anything… "Hmm...got a boyfriend back home?"
It was more of a teasing question than anything, but he definitely didn't get the expected reaction. Her muzzle scrunched a bit before breaking out into a full-blown laugh, covering her mouth with both paws.
"Ohhhh...girlfriend, then?"
He was only allowed one question, but she did have a rather contagious laugh. It almost got him chuckling as well.
"N-N-No…" Violet spluttered out, still trying to catch her breath. "T-That's what humans...call a mate?"
She coughed a bit, starting to resume her normal composure as he responded. "Well, a 'mate' could refer to a friend or general term for a person in parts of the world, but otherwise, it's probably going to mean, well...a mate." He finished lamely, before adding, "as in, a partner you'd be intimate with. Boyfriend or girlfriend is more of a term for two people that are together, but usually not quite that far along in a relationship."
"And a 'friend' is just a friend, but adding 'boy' or 'girl' means that it's more intimate?" Violet shook her head. "Humans."
He just returned the head shake. "English language. So, no girlfriend?" The human winked.
"Very funny." She rolled her eyes. "No, no 'mate'." That just sounded far too intimate for Bryce, but it's not like 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' was much better. "Fine then. What do humans look for in a mate?"
"That's not a question about me, V."
"Then what do you look for in a mate?"
"Uh…" Brain, anytime you wanna start working. "I dunno."
"That's not good enough~"
She was right, 'I don't know' wasn't an acceptable answer, as part of the rules. "Probably just someone loving and caring?" 'Someone not like me at all', he thought.
"Someone like yourself." Violet smiled.
"Now I know you're messing with me." Caring? As if. Bryce paused, actually thinking about it. "Hmm...physically? Someone a bit curvy, I guess. Body type doesn't matter to me much, as long as they're able to take care of themselves. Mentally, someone with a brain. Emotionally? Someone with more emotion than me, but they're also not a total mess." For talking about his type, he sure sounded like he was reading off from a list.
Violet nodded, an ear twitching slightly.
Back to Bryce's turn. "What age do Pokemon start looking for a mate?"
"Depends. If a Pokemon is fully evolved, then it's generally acceptable for them to do so. If not, it depends on if they can be mature. And if they don't evolve, well...actually, I have no idea." Violet paused. "All of that stuff kind of depends on the Pokemon, anyway. Riolu typically don't pursue a mate until they're a Lucario, and most of the 'pure' ones are picky. Figuring out who can stay 'emotionally centered' during meditation, stuff like that."
Bryce raised an eyebrow. "Not much for romance, are they?"
"Not like it matters anyways." She sighed. "Not for me, anyways. Any Lucario with something different about them-a short muzzle, a rounded tail-anything that isn't considered a dominant trait is treated like a curse."
"Shame. Purple's a better color than red." Bryce mused, looking over at Violet as her gaze drifted down. "Cursed? You? You're about as cursed as I am." Okay, maybe not the best example. "Sure, you and I don't really go anywhere away from the house together, but you're on a greater adventure than anyone else in your village right now, doing greater things than anyone else right now."
"Like what…" She said, softer than before, one arm crossed over her chest to hold the other.
The human thought for a moment. If that was what her village thought of her, she probably didn't get a lot of positive reinforcement...but she was accepting of it, when it did come. He better not regret saying this...
"Like making me a better person." He replied, unable to meet her gaze as Violet looked up at him. "I know I don't say it as often as I should, or ever, but...yeah."
Very quickly, he was realizing why he hardly ever said it. His face felt very warm right now. There was no way she needed to read his emotions to know he wasn't lying to her about what he said. Out of the corner of his eye, Bryce saw her get up, sliding on the bed and sidle up next to him.
Whoever decided to make Pokemon cuddlebugs oughta be put in prison. The nicest prison available, but a prison.
Violet's head rested on his shoulder, with Bryce's arm resigning itself to its fate as he pulled her close enough for her front to press against his side. The Lucario in question gave a soft hum, the two of them laying like there for a few minutes that seemed to tick on for hours.
"What do you want to do tonight?" She eventually asked, continuing their game.
Truthfully? "Whatever you want." He answered.
"Have dinner in here, watch a movie and stay like this?"
Yep. Cuddlebug.
"Sure." He answered.
At least she didn't make him regret his answer from earlier about being a better person.
Bryce blinked, realizing he'd been staring at the purple sheets for at least a few minutes. Then he sighed. "Stupid."
Purple set or blue? It didn't matter in the long run; they'd both be used at some point. She wouldn't find a light, purple-grey wall and dark purple sheets overbearing...right? He really was being stupid; Violet could handle it.
And he could handle being a better person. Maybe. At the very least, he could be better around her. He walked over to the closet, setting the second set of blue sheets inside before opening the bag and unfurling the purple fabric. A few smaller pieces dropped at his feet. Huh. There was no mention of having pillowcases on the front of the case, but he wasn't complaining. Two minutes of struggling and eventually getting the fitted sheet on the mattress, Bryce heard a soft scratching at the door.
Well, if anyone was allowed in besides himself right now, it was Shadow. He opened the door, seeing the fuzzy, black head and teal colored eyes popping in the small space given, staring in wonder. Bryce gave Shadow a bit more room as he practically slithered her way into the room.
"You'd think you'd never seen this room." He mused.
To be fair, Shadow hadn't ever seen the room in a decent condition, much less looking like this. The feline watched as Bryce draped the flat sheet over the first layer, tucking the stray corners in before unfolding the comforter. Once it rested comfortably on top, Bryce moved back to the closet, fetching the pair of pillows and setting one on the bed, grabbing a pillowcase as he tucked the remaining pillow under his chin, lifting the case up to turn the white object purple.
Shadow continued to watch his owner until both pillows were resting on the completed product. Once Bryce stopped moving, he turned to give the room a once over look again. Now the human was the one to watch the other room's occupant. Odd, the look Shadow was giving to everything seemed less judgmental of his work and more curious as to why he'd bother doing all of this.
It was the right thing to do, obviously. Not giving it any more thought, Bryce took another look at the room. The bed was taken care of, along with a nightstand next to it...it still looked a bit empty, but there wasn't anything important missing. Violet didn't need clothes. Maybe a few pictures on the walls? Even with the door locked, it couldn't be anything too out of place...come to think of it, he'd have to remind her to keep the bed looking as if it hadn't been slept in much. The odds of his folks wanting to get in that guest room were just about zero, but they still couldn't risk anything.
Bryce gently picked up Shadow, giving a small sigh. It may not be complete in every way, but the room was livable...and admittedly, Bryce had been sleeping better. It'd be nice to have his bed back and actually get some proper rest. With Shadow still in his arms, Bryce walked out, closing the door to the guest room and entering his own. He took a quick look at his clock. Violet was likely just about done with meditating for the afternoon. Sure enough, the key to the room was sitting on his desk, right where he left it. Setting his purring feline onto the bed, Bryce grabbed the key, double checking that the spare was already on his own keyring before stepping out into the hall.
All he had to do now was wait, and he wouldn't have to wait long. No sooner had he rested his back against the wall, leaning at a slight angle, than the Lucario he'd been waiting for appeared in the hall. Her peaceful, almost dazed expression was a common look after she'd finished meditating, but she still offered him a small smile all the same. Knowing that she was a bit out-of-sorts when it came to talking right after meditation, he instead held his hand out, offering her the key to what was now her bedroom.
Violet looked down at the key, then back up at him, gently reaching out and setting her paw on his hand. Slowly, she took the key. Moving it to her other paw, Violet held Bryce's hand, walking him over to the room that was now hers. Slowly, the Lucario opened the door, walking inside without a word. Her grip went slack as Bryce closed the door behind the two of them, leaning on it as he let her get a proper look at her room-something that was probably far larger than she was used to when it came to having her own personal living space. It wasn't anything fancy, but after taking a few steps and letting the realization kick in, Violet turned back to look at the human.
The sparkle that shone in her eyes was unlike anything he'd seen from someone before. Gratitude wasn't the word for it, but it was a look that he could get used to seeing.
She really did make him a better person.
Author's Notes: There was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to post a chapter on the one year mark since rewriting this story. The year has been pretty crazy in a lot of ways, but for myself, it's actually largely been rather good. Some things have been tough, but at the same time, I also feel in a good place, and Fantasy's Reality is a big part of that. I've said before that I thought about it all the time between the original and starting up this one, and I continue to hold it in my heart and mind, whether I'm working on it that day or not.
I'd hoped to have a bit more time to work on this chapter, but I actually managed to get the flu last week. Yayyy. Luckily I've been over it for a few days and things are back to normal, but I wouldn't recommend getting the flu. It wasn't fun. The upside of being busy is that most of that, outside of one of my jobs, is that other people have been much more interested in not only getting writing done from me, but learning how to write more effectively from me. There's no question that it was this story that got me into having writing as a creative outlet, something that may one day end up as my full time job. (But at the same time, I love having it as a hobby and passion, and that spark is something I would never want to lose.) To think that some people can see the love that I have for the art-even people that have never read this or anything else I've written-is proof that what I do here is making a positive impact on my life.
I knew I'd be doing flashback sequences at some point in the story, but I hadn't actually planned out that much for this chapter, outside of having Violet's room be finished, at least enough for her to live in it. Other than that, it's a bunch of light-hearted fluff, and I loved writing that section in particular.
Let's talk about a common writing practice: an allusion. No, not illusion, allusion. For those who don't know, an allusion is an indirect reference to something. There's a few examples in this chapter. See if you can find them.
Another small scene I didn't intend to use here: the parallels between the choice of bed sheet colors and the choices that Bryce and Violet are both making to choose growth. By choosing a color that embodies how Bryce views Violet (both by the color psychology of purple: a vibrant, spiritual color, and also how he sees her different nature as something better), he shows that, not only is he accepting of her differences (while still maintaining a respectful nature of her potential decision to choose a color that is more 'normal' for her), but that he's also starting to become willing to change himself not for Violet, but through Violet's help and because he wants to be better for the both of them. Hope you're proud of me, every psychologist ever.
One final small note: yes, that was my entire experience with the one time I did get detention in primary school. The only difference was that I got into a proper fight and may or may not have knocked out a couple of teeth of the guy I punched in the face. Who can say, really?
Comments are always appreciated, and remember that we're always on several journeys. Some are short, some are long, and many of them are not easy. Even though people can be with you on those journeys, the choices to go where you go and do what you do are yours. A positive change takes time, looking inward, accepting yourself as you are currently and the parts of yourself that you like...and for the parts of yourself that you don't like, find a way to make them better. We are all lifelong learners. -Delta