In a brand new bikini Yvonne had me pick out for her in Cyllage City, we visited the beach with Trevor and Tierno who were around the area. I ran some laps with my Pyroar and Gogoat to get some exercise in that Yvonne recommended to do sometimes when we have the time in the routes.
"Don't forget to take some breaks!" She yelled from a umbrella she was under with her Pokémon and my Greninja. I slowed down and leaned on my knees, catching my breath.
"You look like you're getting a lot better" Trevor said after leaving the ocean with Tierno "You aren't vomiting or anything. That's good"
"Not to mention how your face is clearing up. Or is it just the sunscreen you covered your face with?" Tierno laughed. My face was almost white with sunscreen, not to mention my body that Yvonne covered me with.
"Yvonne is pretty particular with skin care and said that sunscreen will help with premature aging, so she always gets me to put some on" I rubbed my head "but since were at the beach, she put a ton more"
"That's funny. Serena was the total opposite" Trevor looked over at Yvonne taking off the earrings I got her back in the aquarium we passed through the other day. It was exactly how I expected it to go. Yvonne was simply amazed at all the water Pokémon that certainly weren't there the last time I went there with Serena. There were a ton more and after the other day with that Team Flare grunt, I'm happy she got to cheer up just by seeing the aquarium.
"I don't know why Shauna hates her so much" Tierno said, looking at her about to lay on her Pangoro and try to get some sleep. She's been staying up late to watch some anime on tv. She tends to sleep a lot when we're resting "She's really nice. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she's going to replace Serena"
"I don't know" I stood up "Who knows what girls are thinking about"
"She said before that she just gets a weird vibe from her" Trevor explained. Yeah, I guess sometimes being around her, something makes me feel like I'm missing something that I'm supposed to notice "Did you challenge the gym leader of this city?"
"Yeah, actually" I rubbed my arms starting to burn a bit "I guess my Pokémon really are overpowered. It was really easy since my Greninja was a water and fighting type against rock"
"Not surprised that you won so easily. I bet it was cool to have your own cheerleader" Tierno teased, nudging with his elbow. I snorted and pet Pyroar rubbing on me "Shauna should be coming any minute. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you... Is she really a whore like Shauna said?" I sighed and walked up to the ocean to look at.
"She's not proud of the things she's done, but don't let that define who she is. I'm happy to have her around. I don't care what Shauna says about her. Yvonne is a good friend and deserves respect for what she's done for me"
"Yeah, I understand that. It was really mean of Shauna to say that, but she's just sensitive when it comes to Serena. I'm sure she'll lighten up a little" Trevor said. I shrugged "Speaking of which" I looked back at my friends looking over at Shauna coming over to us in her pink bikini top and casual shorts, holding a cup holder with snow cones.
"Here you go, guys!" She smiled, handing us different colored snow cones "luckily they didn't melt when I got here!" Tierno and Trevor got their own before two were left on the holder.
"You got four?" I asked, taking the closest cone in front of me "Why didn't you get one for Yvonne?" Shauna snorted and took the last cone.
"Why should I? I don't know her" she ate her cone, turning away.
"That's not nice, Shauna. She's not a bad person. She's not going to replace Serena, so you need to be considerate" Trevor frowned "You made her cry the other day and you still haven't apologized for it" she ignored him.
"Whatever she is, you don't know her story" Tierno said. I sighed and looked over at Yvonne still taking a nap.
"I don't care!" She faced us "I just don't like her! I don't know what her intentions are, so I get to have an opinion on what I think about her! I don't know how much you paid her to be with you, but it's disgusting!" I waved my hands.
"I didn't pay her anything! She just wanted to go on a journey and not go alone!" She rolled her eyes.
"I'm not buying it" I sighed, looking at my cone. What can I do to make things better? Shauna clearly doesn't understand, and when we met up with my friends, Shauna wouldn't even look at her. It's like Shauna saw her as a bug and Yvonne felt small and pathetic.
"I feel bad having this when Yvonne doesn't have anything" Trevor said "I'll give her my cone" Shauna snorted.
"Suit yourself"
"She'll appreciate it, but she can't have artificial colorings. She said she's allergic" I explained, thinking back when we saw a ice cream stand and asked if she wanted some. She only got fruit since she explained eating artificial colors makes her itch and it made me notice how picky she actually is. I never really questioned it since most people were picky eaters, but she just had an allergy.
"Awe. That's a shame" We spent our time in the beach for a couple of hours until the sun was almost starting to set. Tierno and Trevor were heading back to their hotel room while I stayed behind with Shauna and Yvonne still under the umbrella, drawing in her sketch pad with my Pokédex in hand.
"What's so special about her anyway?" Shauna asked, watching her with me "I know I know... You already told me, but is she worth having around?"
"I wouldn't have gone this far if it wasn't for her" she sighed and hugged herself.
"I never stopped thinking about Serena... I know I shouldn't think that you're replacing her. I get it. I'm glad she's been keeping you from going back home sooner, but I still wish it was her after so long of not going on a journey together" she looked down.
"I never stopped thinking about her either. I know I said it was my parents divorce that made me change, but it was mostly because Serena left without saying anything to us" she looked at me looking over at the ocean "I studied for my family, but I battled to forget about Serena. I exhausted myself when I should had just said something. I'll admit... I've been comparing Yvonne and Serena often. Though they are completely opposite, there's always something she does that triggers my memory"
"That girl looks small compare to Serena" she held her hips "Serena had abs and smaller breast. How can she possibly-"
"Every time I close my eyes, it sounds like Serena talking. When she looks at me with those sad eyes, I think back at how I could bad probably prevented Serena from leaving. Serena was tough while Yvonne hides behind me. Serena liked to tan while Yvonne never forgets to put sunscreen on and wear a hat. Serena was loud while Yvonne talks softly, not to mention their hair color. I try not doing it, but when I see Yvonne, I see Serena... No matter how different they are" Shauna frowned and looked back at Yvonne.
"Calem" she called. I looked at what she was looking at and saw a few guys talking to Yvonne holding her sketchbook close, frowning at the guys surrounding her while our Pokémon kept their guard up. Shauna and I went over to see what was going on.
"Come on. The bar is close by and we can have a good time" one guy kneeled down to reach her height. She looked uncomfortable and shook her head.
"I'm not old enough to drink. Just leave me alone! I'm here with someone else!" The guys laughed.
"What? You're with a guy or something? I'm sure he won't mind if you come with us. It's almost sunset. Maybe we can form a new contract?" The blood in my body boiled. Not this shit again...
"Did you not hear me!? I said leave me alone!" She glared "I'm not going anywhere with you! I have a boyfriend!" I flinched, seeing her look at me and blush. W-What..?
The guy in front of her noticed me nearby and stepped up to me, towering me with his 6 feet tall body "What? This little guy is your boyfriend? Looks like a puny nerd to me" he leaned down to me "So you're her boyfriend, then?" I-I didn't know what to say about that. W-What do I say?!
"U-Uh..." I went nervous and looked at Shauna to help me, but she just stared, wanting to know as well.
"Look at him. He can't even respond!" The guy grabbed my shoulder, making me flinch "A small guy like you has no right to be with a babe like her. She deserves a real man who can speak up and show her off"
"Don't get him involved with your stupid beliefs!" Yvonne stood up "Who are you to tell me what I deserve?!" Again... There's someone who wants to get between us and try to claim her like she's an object. I might be smaller than this guy, but I wasn't going to let him say what he wants to say.
Without saying a word, I snapped my fingers at Greninja for it to come to my side. Geninja hopped on the guy, knocking him down to fall face first on the sand, and come to my side.
"Hey!" He glared and got up "So that's how you want to play, eh? Tell yah what. When I win, I'll take her off your hands" He took out his Pokéball to start our battle. I have to work better to protect Yvonne. She deserves more than this. I won't let this guy get his way!
As expected, the battle didn't last. The guy returned his fainted Pokémon and was aiming to come up to me to pick a fight before calling his friends, who for some reason were laying on the sand with busted lips and black eyes, some without front teeth.
"Let's get out of here!" They ran off. The big guy glaring at me settled to leave and scrammed. I sighed in relief and pet Greninja's head.
"Thanks buddy..." I looked over at Yvonne turned away while holding her hand. I quickly rushed over.
"Yvonne!" I gasped, seeing her shaking "Did they hurt you in anyway?" She didn't turn "I'm sorry... I should had done a better job at protecting you" she hid the hand she was holding behind her back and turned to me with a smile.
"Don't worry about it... I shouldn't have said that I said. I was just trying to get them to leave me alone, but you were closer than I thought you were" I sighed and pet her head, feeling her shaking a bit.
"I'm sorry..." she looked down and peaked over at Shauna. I looked at Shauna and flinched when seeing her eyes balling tears, staring at Yvonne like she's seen a ghost "Shauna?" She quickly looked at me "What's the matter? Did they mess with you too?" She wiped her tears away.
"No..." she frowned "You were right... Even thought they're completely different, she really does remind me of Serena" my eyes widened. Yvonne didn't look at her. What is this? What's going on? "I'm sorry..." she bowed to Yvonne peaking at her now "I'm sorry I treated you horribly... Thank you for defending me. I'll make it up to you for all the horrible things I've said"
"You don't have to do anything" Yvonne looked at her "I get it... You were suspicious of me. That's understandable. I'm glad you weren't hurt" Shauna nodded and smiled.
The eventful day soon came to an end. My friends and I had went separate paths to continue the journey. Shauna had started hanging out with Yvonne like the hate she had was never there. Yvonne was mostly quiet when she was around on our last days together, but was happy she wasn't misunderstood anymore.
Yvonne and I walked side by side through the route pass Cyllage City, getting back on the road and was about to head towards the last territory where late middle school students can visit. The last town I visited since before I stopped traveling with my friends was Geosenge Town. Pass Geosenge town was off limits, and after so, I never visited the high school territories, which I'm excited to visit.
"How did you enjoy your time with everyone?" I asked Yvonne looking at her map.
"Everyone was wonderful, as usual. Though I noticed they kept staring at my bikini you picked out for me" she said without taking her eyes off the map. I rolled my eyes, knowing I had no power to keep their eyes off her "Boys will stare for however they want, but I'm not for sell" she winked at me "I'm all yours, master" I flinched and felt a blush forming.
"H-Huh..?!" She giggled
"For as long as this service last... I'll be yours in every shape and form. Our relationship is pretty much like boyfriend and girlfriend, but it doesn't have to be that way if you don't want it to be" I-I don't know what to say to that. Y-Yvonne as my g-girlfriend?!
The idea of having that kind of relationship didn't really settle in my mind until she mentioned it at the beach. Though we had done acts that could make it seem like we were already in a relationship, I wouldn't know how to take it. I don't know anything about having a girlfriend.
"Are you saying you want to be my girlfriend?" I asked her. She dropped her map and waved her arms around in panic.
"W-Well! I-It's not like I'm going to force you, like I said! You can take it as it is! It doesn't matter if we are or not! I like being with you! I was just saying our relationship is like that, but don't let me hold you back from finding a girl you might like one day!" She calmed down "Maybe like Serena..?" I looked at her confused.
"You think I want Serena to be my girlfriend?" Why would she say something random like that? She nervously laughed and waved her hands.
"N-Nevermind!" I looked at the hand she's been hiding from me this whole time and noticed something wrapped around it "It was a random question! Shauna told me all about Serena and how she had a crush on you!" She cupped her mouth, shocked that she blurted that out. I was shocked to hear it myself.
"What?" I snatched her hand she was hiding and looked at the gauze around the knuckles "Why do you have this? Is this what you've been hiding from me?" She snatched her hand away and hid it in her chest by leaning down so that I couldn't see it.
"I was fighting those guys that were messing with us in the beach. My Pokémon handled most of them, but I knocked one of the guys teeth and I got scratched" I sighed and looked at the road ahead "Sorry... I just didn't want to worry you" I nodded "So... about what I said"
"About Serena?" I looked at her blushing redder than usual. Why is that? "I..." I rubbed my head, feeling kinda weird about knowing that Serena having a crush on me "It's kinda weird to hear that from you. Serena liked me?" I messed with my hair "To be honest with you... That's kind of hard to believe"
"Is it?" I nodded.
"She always makes fun of me about something and talked down at me like a kid. I can't really say that's something you do to someone who you like, but what do I know about girls? Even today, I wouldn't really know how to respond to her feelings. I've been too blind to really think about that sort of thing"
"What about me..?"