A/N: Hopefully you guys enjoyed the last chapter. You did? Fantastic. You didn't? That's cool.
You'd think the morning after, especially one in such close quarters, would be… awkward. Hard to handle. Embarrassing. Difficult. Tense. Frightening. Cringe-inducing. Uncomfortable. Hard to swallow. Those are just off the top of my head. However the situation the next morning was more along the lines of… muted.
"Mornin'!" Helen cheerfully greeted Thalia and myself as we munched away at bars of such bland flavour, we had adjusted to them. At least I had, to the point I was chewing sticky, flavourless oats. And that was it. The three of us had some small talk.
"Eating." Was Thalia's sullen response due to her having to wake and face the ever so cruel world of Hoenn. Her eyes were half-closed and her face was scrunched up to show even more distaste for the waking world. I can't say I blame her, I was never a good morning person even at the best of times. It would've taken a pretty girl jumping into bed with me to get me in a good mood. Krys pile driving her knees into my gut wasn't a way to get me up in a good mood.
"She's tired." I translated the word for Helen, who shrugged.
"Well as long as you two are good and safe." Helen smiled at the two of us as we sat around the black pit that was once a small fire. "I've gotta be heading out and report my findings." Her smile turned into more of a smug grin. "I'll get bonus points for helping stranded travellers." She quickly began making her way out of the cave before I could say anything but Thalia stopped her instead.
"So you people like the police or somethin'?" she asked groggily. Helen stopped and turned.
"As long as you're not harvesting or poaching or deforesting or anything environmental, you're safe for now Magma girl." She smiled in a dangerous way. "For now."
"Good." Thalia said still in a groggy mood though she seemed to care enough to ask.
"Sorry." I apologised on Thalia's behalf, earning a glare from her. "We're just travelling."
"That's fine. Just keep your noses clean." Helen gave me a smile before exiting the cave. I sighed as I sat there with Thalia as she finished her granola bar. We sat there in silence, the moaning sun beginning to leak into the cave and the birds chirping away like they do. I'd need a flying Pokemon at some point. I'd have to remind myself.
"She's irritating." Thalia gave her judgement as she slowly began to rise, stretching out slowly. I stayed sitting on the floor of the cave as I contemplated a conflict between Thalia and Helen. Thalia got vicious, at least in a fist fight. I hadn't seen her Pokemon battling skills much. I shrugged and stretched out as well, preparing to go.
That was a couple days ago. Now Thalia and I were in a cheap motel in a small town that had a decent market that had what we needed, food, and some extra Pokeballs and Pokemon food. I let my guys out at the motel and fed them as Thalia lay on the bed, brooding.
"What's up?" I asked her as Totodile nearly took a chunk out of my hand and I recoiled. I turned to her to find her just staring at the ceiling, arms behind her head, look of intense thought on her face. I was tempted to wave my hand in front of her face but she would likely get mad at me. Or not. She was hard to predict, but then again I'm terrible at reading people. The number of times Krys wanted me to aid her in a situation and I misread the participants is almost innumerable. The fact she asked me more than once was a miracle in and of itself.
"mrmph" was Thalia's ambiguous response. Maybe she was tired or something, I dunno. I didn't want to spend all my time in the day trying to decipher what she wanted. We would get to Mauville tomorrow, I had to train some more for the upcoming battle with Wattson. I didn't need her mumbling like someone in an asbestos suit with a knack for lighting things on fire.
"Okay, well I'm going to go train if that's fine with you." I said, nodding my head towards the door. Thalia mumbled again and I took that as a 'go ahead Brendan, I'll be here waiting for your big-' actually know, just the go ahead Brendan part. Yeah. I stood and gestured to my Pokemon to come out. I exited the room, metal key in my pocket, and headed to behind the motel where I'd done some training earlier. Just like Mark said, My Pokemon and I lined up and began breathing slowly but deeply, trying to become synced up, attuned together. It was… difficult to say the least. Someone was always a bit ahead or a bit behind me. I remember what Mark said.
Be the centre, the rock your Pokemon rely upon when they need you the most. Be the home base. However, don't force it. Breathe evenly and calmly and your Pokemon will follow. Whether it's one at a time slowly or all at once tomorrow, it will happen. Just be patient.
Aside from Gyarados, they were doing better than when we started but I felt like we were at a hump we couldn't pass over. Mark mentioned that getting close this fast was an achievement in its own right but that the final few hurdles were the hardest. It was irritating and I hated it, in any practice really. Even seeing people go through it was painful. The times Ethan and I spent in our youth playing games and how I always trounced him. No matter how hard he practiced I always beat him or he died when we double teamed the final boss. He got depressed about it when we were thirteen. At one point he died, causing us both to lose since I had lost my back up and he got angry with himself and the game. It was one of those times that I had to throw the controller at him and go into versus. When he asked me what I was doing I told him we were practicing until he got out of that rut of his. We spent a week and more than a few hours a day playing versus mode over and over and over and over, with Ethan constantly losing. First few times he wanted to give up but I wouldn't let him. After a while he just went with it, I think, to humour me. By the time it was almost the end of the week he got his first victory over me. By the time Krys bothered o really check on us, Ethan and I were trading victories and defeats like cards. In fact we were so absorbed Krys whispered something in Ethan's ear to perk him from the game. Whatever it was they left in a hurry and I was left to simply play against the bots. The next day we annihilated the boss together and beat the game. Ethan was so happy his reaction bordered on insane.
It was an arduous week and it took dedication on Ethan's part but he persevered and eventually broke through. I was intent on doing this with my Pokemon. Of the three, Aron was the only one who ever came close. Combusken kept surging ahead and Totodile went back and forth so much I wondered if possibly doing it one at a time was better. Mark said it was but that with three Pokemon in their earlier stages, sans Combusken, who was mid stage, it would be easier. By the time Mark attempted it his Pokemon were in their older stages and weren't as good at retaining things, much like humans.
That said either way this would take a long time but I figure the more in sync the better.
"Okay." I said, stopping to give the group a break. "Let's take five, have a quick talk." I sat down with crossed legs. Totodile, Combusken, and Aron gathered around and stood still as I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna bring it up once again." I held a hand out to prevent protests that I couldn't understand. "Aron's really the only one who's really managing to sync up. Combusken you're constantly surging ahead. I know that it's a tiring and monotonous exercise but this will benefit us greatly in the long run. You need to reign yourself in, power and all that stuff is nothing without restraint. Okay?" I asked, eyebrow raised at him. Combusken either understood completely and was just looking pissed at me or it went completely over his head. I turned to Totodile.
"Totodile, you gotta find a place, man. You have to find your rock, which is me. You seem to be second guessing yourself but you just need to focus on me. Focus on me and you'll fall in line more and sync up more. If you're having trouble with going ahead or being behind, just find and focus on me." I pointed to myself. "Just focus on me and I believe that you can do it. I'm not gonna punish you or anything over it, I'm just saying you have the ability, I know you can." Totodile nodded, his scar still marring his face. I turned to Aron.
"Aron, you're pretty good, you're just a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit" I emphasised it by putting my fingers close together "off. Just work a bit more, focus on me, and you'll get it in no time."
"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrew!" Aron chirped and I smiled. Aron could always put a smile on my face with that little cry of his.
"All right. Let's get back to it and try and try and try. Okay?" I asked, earning a small chorus of cries. I stood and we returned to our breathing exercises.
Unfortunately little progress was made. Combusken manage to restrain himself a bit and Totodile kind of managed to focus more but overall little was made and we called it a day. It was closing in on late afternoon and I wondered what Thalia wanted for dinner. I hoped it would be something I could make. Vicious brawler she was but cook, she was not. Turns out being home alone a decent amount of my youth resulted in an acceptable level of cooking prowess.
"Last thing we need is more burnt food." I muttered to myself as I walked back around the motel, hoping Thalia was still alive on that Arceus forsaken bed.
"He will be there within the next day." Shelly assured Anne. Anne was sitting in front of her communicator, realising that the lack of Brendan meant a lack of information and, by extension, a lack of things to do. She'd been here all week (on Team Aqua's dime, which was nice) with almost nothing to do aside from enjoy the city for the first few days. Now it was boring and the drug had well and truly worn off until next she seduced the trainer.
"That's good. I've been a bit bored." Anne admitted without hesitation, she wasn't going to sugar coat her opinion at this point. She hoped Shelly wasn't going to shove her in city after city for week after week, following Brendan until he submitted to simply fuck people more.
"A shame. However just hold out til tomorrow. Brendan will be in the city tomorrow and then you should make your move. Preferably after his victory over Wattson, should it happen. Once he wins, isolate him and congratulate him and then do your thing. Make sure you're able to use the drug, it is the anchor point. It should quickly make him associate you with it and, by extension, Team Aqua." Shelly's smiled became sadistic. "We should soon have him on our side. Should the plan work out, Team Magma won't know what hit them."
"Of course, ma'am." Anne answered, hoping she would enjoy the plan. Drug or not, she enjoyed Brendan. In fact she wanted to have him without the drug at least once, to see how passionate he did get.
"That's good. Now I have a report you should be aware of since it was a mass transmission but since our transmissions are secret, you weren't informed with the rest of us." Shelly rifled through papers until she found what she was looking for. "Yes. Team Magma has sent an operative after us by the name of Terra. He's a viciously good trainer, focuses on power and offence." Shelly then pulled another paper and showed it to the screen, which showed a young man with an angry face and brown hair. He was well built. Anne would've found him handsome if he wasn't so broody looking. He also seemed possessive, quite so. "He's dangerous and we don't know of his whereabouts. Should you encounter him, avoid him. His Pokemon are atrociously powerful, according to sources."
"I'll make sure of it, ma'am." Anne responded, wondering if he was that good. Must be if Team Aqua has a file on him and sent out a mass warning.
"Of course. Now, between you and me, we're sending our member Aqua to face him."
"I've heard of her." Anne responded and Shelly smiled.
"She's our best bet, she counters this Terra in every way. She's the perfect way to stall him while we continue going after Team Magma as much as we possibly can. They won't expect it and I think that it'll be an interesting conflict to see." Shelly suddenly leaned back, tapping her chin. "In fact, I'd like to see combat between Brendan and Aqua. Also Brendan and Terra, just to see how he does against each." Shelly waved her hand dismissively. "But regardless, enjoy the rest of your day. Continue tomorrow. Clear?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Anne answered as the communicator turned off and she yawned. She was tired, she decided to head to bed early.
"You're not bad." Thalia commented as she spun the plastic fork around in the bowl and ate the mound of noodles in one chomp. I shrugged as I ate my own mound of noodles, munching thoughtfully. I visited the mart after I found Thalia napping and purchased a large pot and the ingredients from the mart. Thankfully they had what I needed and felt like eating which was a good old serving of spag-ball. Minus the ball. Arceus forbid I handle meat in any regard.
"Thanks, I've spent a ton of time making my own meals since my mom used to travel with my dad a lot to various gym leader things since she was his secretary or something and my school generally interfered it so many days were me coming home to an empty house and some stuff to make." I ate another fork full of noodles and swallowed before continuing. "I read my mother's cook book on occasion and learned a few recipes. Very few of which I memorised since I generally made a few things." I shrugged as I kept eating. Thalia was eating away and raised an eyebrow at me.
"I thought your mom stayed at home." She observed after she finished eating her current forkful. "So what was she doing as his secretary?"
"It's how they met." I elaborated. "My dad wanted someone to keep appointments since he's bad at it and my mother was looking for a job. Within days they started dating and within a couple years marriage. A little bit after that, me." I ate one of the last forkfuls of my bowl as I pondered how I was going to lug around the pot. Not the most portable item I purchased in my time in Hoenn.
"Interesting." Thalia responded as she finished up and tossed the bowl into the trash. I hadn't made an incredibly large amount so it was enough for the two of us. I finished up myself and tossed my disposable dishes into the trash as well. I stood and went over to the stove and grabbed the pot and put it into the sink, washing it out. Thankfully this motel had full fixture for each room. Even a room with two beds like this one.
"What about you?" I asked as I washed the pot out. I heard Thalia sit or flop down on the one bed hard enough to make it creak a bit. I wondered if I hit- oh fuck me sideways.
"I told you. Nothing to tell." Was her response as I tried to focus more onto washing so that I could remove the egg on my face.
"Yeah." I responded, washing still. Most of it was clean but I just wanted something to focus on that wasn't Thalia's origin story. Of course, in the long run, it didn't matter entirely. We'd get to Sootopolis and Thalia would go do her Magma-y things while I go fight the final Gym Leader. Then I would go to the Elite Four and become the Champion. Thalia would then… I don't know. I honestly didn't know what she would do. By that point would Team Magma even be relevant? Would they achieve their goal? I didn't know.
"Honestly, I'll probably tell you at some point." Thalia seemed to admit. I turned as I finished cleaning and started drying the pot. She was back to laying down with her hands behind her head. She was staring at the ceiling as she spoke. "Right now I'm still kinda dealing with it all."
"Must've been recent?" I risked asking, finishing up the drying and setting the thing down. It was one of those ones that's as wide as your forearm and about as high so not the easiest to transport.
"About eight or so years ago." Was her response. Eight years!?
"I see." I responded as I walked over to my bed and sat down on it. It wasn't even late and while I would be more productive trying to do the breathing exercises with my Pokemon, who were safe inside their Pokeballs, but I felt like today was enough. Tomorrow, probably before Wattson. An electric Gym Leader. I didn't know his roster but I thought about my Pokemon. Gyarados was out, definitely. A water type would do no good against him. Which meant Totodile was out as well unless Wattson had something Totodile could counter in some form. That left Combusken and Aron as my main two. Aron I could use for defence since he was Rock and Steel. Generally resisted Electric. However it made me wish I had a Ground type. It'd make Wattson far easier since Electric was useless against Ground. However I was out of options for that. I lay back on my bed as well as I thought of strategies.
Combusken would be best used should there be any Steel types. I doubt it but it's entirely possible. Though Aron could know some Ground moves which would help drastically. He knew Mud Shot I believe. Otherwise Iron Head would have to work. Combusken's physical attacks were a big issue since, if I remembered anything from school, Electrics had a nasty habit of paralyzing those who tried to use physical attacks that weren't themselves Electric. It was a tough barrier to work around. Aron, however, would suffer less from these effects if he could keep his distance some. Perhaps if he were evolved…
Something I had noticed was the lack of trainers up to this point. Few had bothered to battle. I faced one a day ago that was easy but he was a beginner in his own right. The defeat was swift and clean. I gave him a few tips and he was on his merry way. Made me wonder what other female trainers I would encounter. I felt myself grin. That would be a fun experience no doubt. Maybe I would face more after Wattson, who knows. My life could use some more.
Say, lemme ask you something." I heard Thalia just beside me.
"Yeah?" I turned my head to her. She was still staring at the ceiling but the question was directed at me.
"How often you and Ethan share your porn?" she raised an eyebrow to the ceiling. I frowned.
"The fuck prompted that?" I asked, my tone a bit harsher than I intended but Thalia didn't seem fazed as she turned her stone gaze to me.
"Come on, the way you are? I doubt you guys didn't share any."
"Well…" I sighed. "Yeah we did for quite a while, had a whole circuit in school, during senior year. Me and Ethan were the guys who had the stash, deals were made in the backs of classrooms, flashdrives were passed, life was good. Guys were even paying us. Hell, some of the girls got in on it."
"What happened?" Thalia asked, her tone now poised for humour. I frowned.
"Victoria." I grumbled. Oh the painful memories of Victoria. I had an armory of them.
"Oh? This sounds good. A conquest gone bad? Or estranged? Or scorned? What is it?" Thalia suddenly turned on her side and grinned at me with a hungry look in her eyes. I rolled my own and sighed.
"Victoria has been a thorn in my side since childhood. She and I just never got along, no matter what was tried." I tried to keep the memories from coming back but unfortunately they did. That stupid cunt.
"What started it?" Thalia asked.
"She picked on Ethan the one day, her and her friends. We were like six. She and a few of her friends, like four of them, were all shoving Ethan around, who was a feeble kid, and I decided I wasn't gonna let it stand. Krys wanted to help but I wasn't gonna let her. So I blitzed in there and started a massive one on five fight in the schoolyard. On the first day, too." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Sounds like she was a real gem." Thalia commented as she stood and filled her water bottle, I continued.
"Oh what made it worse was her parents were loaded. So whenever she got in trouble, the school got an 'anonymous'" I made air quotes as Thalia sat down "donation to help with something and Victoria got off scott free."
"Uh huh. So I'm gonna make a guess here." Thalia began. "Blonde, busty, dumb as a stick, but cruel to counter." I turned to her and saw her grin. Thalia was enjoying this all too much.
"Nope." I answered as Thalia frowned.
"That's every cruel girl bully with rich parents though." Thalia was irritated she was wrong. She was so wrong. "I mean that was my bully."
"Well this wasn't mine. And bully isn't the right word since I fought back along with Krys and Ethan." I sighed. "Victoria had brown hair always in twin braids down her back, these black glassed, freckles, kinda flat up top but she had an ass on her." I grinned at one of my more satisfying victories. "Her eyes were this icy blue that was almost surreal to look at." I looked to Thalia whose expression was one of confusion.
"The fuck was wrong with her then?" she asked after a minute's silence.
"She was a sadist, plain and simple." I shrugged. "Every boyfriend she had she scared off because she was so sadistic. Not like she tortured them bloody to get off but her sadism was so foreign to them that they ran. Not like she cared, she enjoyed it. She liked seeing them run though I think she would've enjoyed it more if she caught them and reeled them back in for some more." I shuddered.
"I would think you'd be all over that." Thalia chuckled. "But then again I was wrong about her appearance."
"Oh yeah. She hardly wore makeup since she was already beautiful. And smart. And cruel with that brain of hers. It was like a whip."
"Ouch." Thalia drank some water and I plowed onward.
"But yeah, back to the porn racket. Ethan and I had things down so pat and smooth that teachers couldn't have found out if they tried. Our tracks were covered and the guys and girls who were in on it kept it so hush-hush that some wondered if it was real or not. Then word of it reached Victoria and things got out of hand."
"How so?" Thalia took another huge swig of water as I sighed.
"Pretty badly."
"Yo!" I ran up, greeting Ethan and Krys since I was running a bit late. We were outside the school before it opened, we had about a half hour.
"Dude, how's it going?" Ethan greeted as I staggered to a stop. Krys was simply smiling as Ethan and I talked in hushed tones about the business.
"Michael Carmichael bought a couple gigs worth, you got it?" I asked and Ethan nodded, pulling the drive.
"Yeah, he said he'd pay at lunch, right?"
"Yeah." I confirmed. Michael Carmichael, a name he was ridiculed for in elementary school, had gotten a couple gigs of porn from Ethan and myself. It was about five dollars but worth it. Ethan grinned as he concealed the drive. Suddenly Krys gripped his shoulder.
"Don't look now." She said. Of course Ethan and I looked. Stalking towards us was Victoria and her entourage. The bitch herself wore that sardonic grin like her white shirt and short skirt. No idea why she wore that thing so short, her legs were quite long. I felt the general animosity rise as she stepped closer and closer. Eyes looked to us since it was quite famous, my hatred for Victoria. She stopped by and kept smiling. I wanted to beat it off of her.
"What's going on, everyone?" she asked in that oh so annoying condescending tone of hers.
"What's it to you, Victoria?" I asked, not bothering to keep the bitterness out. I hadn't bothered in twelve years and I wasn't gonna start now. She looked to me with that smile on her face, a wry twist to it. Her eyes bore into me as music began ringing in my head. That sort of music that plays when a villainess makes her appearance.
"Well I heard rumours here and there that a ring of pornography was being made with money involved and I decided to involve myself in it, if only to shut it down." Victoria looked to the three of us and I turned to Ethan, a look of confusion on my face. A small tactic designed to throw off most adults, Ethan returned the look before we turned back to Victoria.
"No idea what you're talking about." I answered her which resulted in her smile slipping sideways. She glared at me so witheringly that I was convinced that if she wanted, she could kill plants outright.
"Really? Because I've heard different. I've heard you two" she looked to Ethan, causing Krys to frown "were the ring leaders." She uttered every syllable with increasing malice as she looked between myself and Ethan. I simply took solace in the fact that accusations were just that, accusations. She would have to have evidence that Ethan and I were the heads of it all, let alone even a cog in the machine.
"Well" I snorted "I'd love to say I was but I haven't even heard of this." I shrugged my shoulders, looking at her with a glare, hoping she realised she overstayed her welcome (which she did by setting foot within our vicinity) and would leave. But if Victoria gave up that easily, she wouldn't have been such a constant pain in my side.
"Honestly, this is the first I've heard of it." Ethan spoke with a disinterested tone. "I mean if I want porn I'd look at it at home, right? Get my own, not spend money on this. I mean, right?" Ethan looked to myself and Victoria for an answer, which got a frown from the Queen Bitch herself. She seemed aggravated that we haven't confessed right now. Then she smirked.
"Well I guess I'd look at porn if I had to suffer terrible fellatio skills." She quipped quietly. I watched Krys's face slowly changed from slightly irritated disinterest to eyes widened with shock to her brow furrowing into anger and her face colouring crimson with rage. I saw Ethan's arm snap around her waist and clamp down hard to prevent her from reaching out and strangling Victoria where she stood. However with how strong Krys was from various physical activities in our youth, I doubted Ethan could physically hold her back but emotionally he was far more stable and able to restrain her rages.
"Look, Victoria" I started "we didn't come here to listen to your petty jealousies being aired, okay? You gonna go or am I going to have to re-enact first grade?" Victoria turned to glare at me as she remembered what happened. You don't come back from that. Her entourage had changed since then but Victoria was the one who was there at the beginning. She bit her lip as she sighed through her nose.
"All right. Fine" Victoria turned, showing that glorious ass of hers. Yeah she had it, I'm not gonna lie about it. But she swiftly walked away with her entourage in tow, resulting in the tension being lifted quite a bit. I let out a relieved sigh as Krys growled in rage and Ethan tried to console her.
"Trust me, she's got nothing on us and she doesn't know what she's talking about when it comes to us." Ethan tried to comfort Krys as she attempted to calm herself down.
"It's not that." Krys growled as she took deep breaths to try and not flip out. "I just don't like her getting in on our business."
"She's not, though." Ethan tried.
"Listen." I grabbed Ethan's shoulder and got his attention. "We gotta start limiting ourselves. Like, a ton. If not stop the operation outright."
"Yeah, probably." Ethan agreed. "But we gotta make the drop with Michael first."
"Yeah, after lunch." I agreed as I saw kids beginning to stir. Bell was about to ring. "We drop off the drive after lunch and we get them to know it's done. Last thing we need is Victoria finding one of the weaker links and cinching us in her stupid grasp."
"Do it." Krys growled as she straightened as she adjusted her backpack. "Otherwise I'm gonna do something about it and it is going to be a bloodbath." The bell rang and I was left with that as Krys and Ethan went to their math class and I headed to Pokemon Battling IV. Last time Krys and Victoria duked it out they destroyed a trophy case in the main hall along with breaking one of the doors of the offices in the hall off its hinges when Victoria tried to pin Krys in it and Krys, who would've broken something should she have gotten pinned, shoved the door so hard the hinges were yanked out of the wall a portion which caused it to topple after a few more blows from both of them. That was over Victoria saying she could've given Ethan a more fulfilling sex life. It was insane and Ethan was both embarrassed and thankful.
Classes passed with little events, even with Victoria in my third period but she held off from going after me which I found suspicious. She stayed to her work either out of frustration or a need to seem inconspicuous. I wasn't sure and I was too distracted with my work to really look at it in depth. Lunch passed and Ethan and I quickly slipped out to give Michael his drive, accept the money, and pass on the message. Ethan had been dropping it in ears whenever he could which was smarter than I thought. Michael seemed indifferent but then again he got his porn. Ethan and I kept reassuring ourselves this was the best option and it seemed to work.
Then we got paged to the principal's office and I knew what happened immediately.
"Come in." was the response I got when I knocked. I opened to door and saw Ethan and Krys on one side with Victoria on the other, a smug grin on her face, and an empty chair in the middle. I took the empty seat as the Principal cleared his throat. He was a balding man with little weight to him and a level of confidence on par with that of Ethan with a pretty girl prior to him dating Krys. "So, shall we begin?" he asked.
"I think we should." Victoria began, which reinforced in my head she was dominating him for sick kicks and an advantage in such situations as this.
"Oh lovely." I muttered, earning a look from the principal.
"Well Victoria here has brought up an accusation that you have been, ahem, selling…" the man looked incredibly uncomfortable. Why he chose to head a building of sexed up teens was beyond me. "Pornography."
"It's false." Ethan piped up and I nodded.
"She's making accusations sir, you know she has a bias against me and my friends." I jerked my head back. "Do I have to remind you of the trophy case?" the principal seemed flustered and looked between me and Victoria. Victoria glared at him with incredible malice and I knew she had something, likely a sizeable donation, wafting under the man's nose. He grabbed a handkerchief and wiped his glistening brow which cemented it in my head.
"Besides" Ethan spoke up "if she doesn't have any evidence then this entire thing is moot and we should go back to class."
"Yeah, we have a big test in League Studies and I don't wanna miss it." I mentioned, looking to Krys and Ethan. Ethan looked to me with a mirthless smile and Krys was glaring at the principle with incredible malice, her knuckles white as she gripped the chair. She hated Victoria as much as Ethan and I, they destroyed part of the school in a fight.
"Well…" the principle let out a flustered sigh as Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Sir, if I may, I do have a witness." I could not have looked to Victoria fast enough as she smiled. Oh no. "Michael Carmichael." she uttered the name and I felt the immediate urge to snap that little prick's neck. How could I forget, he had a fling with Victoria a while back?
"Well if he's willing to come in-" the principle was cut off as there was a knock at the door. He was invited in and Michael walked in.
Thing about Michael was he was rail thin. He constantly wore loose, baggy clothes because little was in his size and because he was constantly freezing cold. He had floppy black hair on his head that hung in his eyes, one of those hairstyles that was from an emo band I think, but the girls went crazy for it and Michael had commitment issues. Girls thought they'd stare into his green eyes forever but it was generally a week. From what I'd heard, and gloated about, Michael left Victoria based on another girl having far larger breasts. Victoria, never one to appreciate such a reason, sulked and tried to ruin Michael but his incredible sense of apathy over situations like that was so strong Victoria had little effect on him, if any. Far as I knew he was still a virgin so he got his porn because none of the girls lasted that long. He was never satisfied. If anything he must've just preferred an honest old wank over sex itself, as far as I figured.
She must've given or offered some massive incentive for Michael to even attempt to give a fuck.
"Hey." He muttered as he shuffled in. I never how he got girls with his apathetic personality but then again that was probably the reason in and of itself.
"Mr. Carmichael." The principal began as Michael stood there, awkwardly. "We've heard that you have information regarding this whole pornography selling incident and we were hoping you could shed some light on it."
"Oh yeah." Michael swung his head to the side to move his hair as he pulled a flashdrive from his sweater pocket. Piece of shit. He jerked the thumb drive at me. "Brendan sold it to me for about five bucks. I paid for it and decided to keep it for evidence."
"What?" I suddenly spoke, looking to Victoria, whose face was incredibly smug and punchable. Arceus I wanted to throttle her though Krys looked like she was going to shatter the wooden arm rests of her chair
"Yeah, dude." Michael turned to me. "You said here have it for a couple bucks, it's got porn on it." He turned to the principal. "Wanna see?" the flustered principal reddened deeply and nodded, turning his monitor around as Michael plugged in the drive. And opened it. He clicked on the first numbered folder to reveal… a few meme pictures off the web.
"What?" Victoria shot up so fast her chair fell over and I felt my heart skip a beat. Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Huh." He turned to me. "Dude, you swindled me." He said in what should've been an incredibly irritated voice, but came out disinterested and apathetic.
"I-" started but the principal simply unplugged the drive and handed it to Michael.
"Well, I think we've seen enough here." He said, causing Victoria to slam her fists against the desk.
"No!" she trilled. "They were selling porn! They need to be punished!"
"I see no such evidence." The principal stated with a sigh. "Now please, leave my office and calm down." Victoria took that to heart and stomped out of there with a vengeance. I was still in shock when Ethan nudged me and I finally stood to leave the office. The three of us walked a bit when we heard
"Hey!" I turned and saw Michael walking up to us.
"Dude, what was that about?" I asked in hushed tones. My heart was racing, my hands were shaking. "I almost got shoved into a fire!"
"Dude, you think I'd help her?" Michael spoke the work like it was a distasteful drink, spitting it out with enough malice to almost make me recoil.
"You mean-" I started when Michael cut me off.
"Dude she wanted to peg me." He said with more distaste, more emotion than I'd heard from him. "As if I'd do her any favours. And she offered me the full package." He rolled his eyes. "So I switched it with my own and simply used it. You did some good service but yeah, better stop or else." He smiled lightly, which was a first. I took a deep breath, realising how close I was to parental destruction. So as a courtesy, I pulled the fiver Michael gave us and I handed it back to him. "What's this for?" he asked.
"Just take it. A courtesy for saving my ass." I said with a sigh of relief. Michael looked at the bill, shrugged, and put it in his pocket.
"Honestly, anything to stick it to that bitch. But whatever floats your boat." Michael walked off with a parting salute. "See ya."
"Yeah." I said, looking at my saviour walk down a hall with two gigs of porn in his pocket.
"Holy Arceus." Thalia whistled as I finished up that particular tale.
"Yeah, my parents didn't even hear about it, which I was incredibly thankful for, you have no idea." I chuckled and sighed. "But yeah that's Victoria. We constantly went between winds, victories, and draws for years.
"I'm surprised she never tried to use your perversion to her advantage." Thalia commented as she scratched her arm. She'd since shed her sweater and was wearing a white tank top with her pants since it was blisteringly hot in this room. She'd tried the A/C but it was broken. I was thankful for my loose clothes but holy Arceus it was hot. So was Thalia, I had to admit. In a tank top she seemed a bit more natural especially since I'd never seen her outside of her Magma Uniform. First time I'd gotten a good look at her in general. She was slightly above average chest wise and had her hair in a ponytail.
"Eh. She sent girls at me but I could spot them a mile off." I responded, snorting at the memories. Sending Shay, the school whore, among others, at me was stupid.
"Why's that?" Thalia asked as she stood and grabbed some more water.
"Because they showed a vested in me." I remarked, earning a giggle from her.
"Why can I believe that so much?" she said after drinking. "I mean, you'd think after those failures, she'd try getting personal. If you know what I mean."
"Dear Arceus, no." I scoffed. "She was too good for that."
"You sure? You two would make the perfect couple, sexually." Thalia remarked and I turned to her.
"You fucking serious, mate?" I questioned, eyebrow cocked in surprise. How could she make such a comment?
"Well I mean you're easy to walk on and Victoria seemed like the kind to walk on you. Perfect match." Thalia turned to me and leaned against the counter. "Plus, who knows, pegging's probably quite enjoyable."
"For the girl and whatever guy is into that." I said dismissively, waving my hand. "Michael wasn't much of a liar so I wouldn't put it past Victoria to peg a guy. Or to joke about it." I shuddered, the thought of a Victoria in a dominatrix outfit, strap-on poised for my buttocks flashed into my head. I'd rather she watch me jerk off. At least all I'd get are snide comments.
"Who knows?" Thalia simply shrugged her shoulders. "But hey, whatever floats your boat, am I right?"
"As long as those devices don't float my boat, we're clear."
"But" Thalia interrupted "wouldn't that mean you'd like that fetish."
"Shut up." I retorted, earning another giggle.
"Come on dude, you're saying she never crossed your mind?" Thalia sneered. "I mean she sounds absolutely wonderful to me, at least in bed."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that bisexuality of yours" I said, pronouncing bi part as if I were to say Bismarck. Or something else, just not by. I like saying it like that. It's smooth, rolls off the tongue.
"Also Sado-Masochistic as you so put it when we faced Jacqueline." Thalia's tone was dripping with so much sarcasm I could fill a glass and drink it. It'd probably taste tangy.
"Yeah." I chuckled at the memory.
"So come on, spill, you seriously never thought about banging her? At all? Ever?" Thalia pressed me, which put me in a tough position. Though one that could garner some sympathy.
"Okay." I sighed. "There was a bit when I was fourteen-"
"Aha!" Thalia sneered at me as she cheered. "I knew you wanted to bang her!"
"Come on!" I tried. "I was fourteen and that's when her ass filled out and at that stage in my life I was more in the A category in the TnA. So when Victoria got an ass and was flaunting it a bit I may have knocked out a few crafty ones to her." I felt my face turn red as I was about to admit one of my greatest victories. "Pluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuss…" I let it taper off as I tried to swallow my pride. This would give Thalia a laugh I was sure.
"What?" she asked, eyebrow raised. She leaned forward, the top of the tank top lowering slightly. She wasn't wearing a bra, though I should've caught that right away.
"It's nothing." I said, waving her off. Not now. Might as well save a few stories for some other time. Like another rain cave where I fuck an official.
"Oh it's something." I turned away as Thalia walked towards me. She grabbed my shoulder and I tried resisting but she forced me onto my back. "What is it?" she asked, her voice eager. I sighed.
"Fine!" I sat up and looked to her. "I once stole her panties." Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" she said. Then she was silent. She stayed quiet for a full minute, her composure kept still and stoic. Then I saw it. Her mouth twitched, the corner. It was enough. The wall broke and her laughter poured out in quite the display. Thalia doubled over, clutching her stomach as she stumbled back and forth, trying to keep her footing. She fell back onto the bed after a few seconds of laughing and kept laughing hard, which turned to coughing. I handed Thalia her glass and she sat up, drinking generously. I remembered reading somewhere of a guy who died of laughter, literally. Water was said to help, or was that to stop laughing gas? I dunno, but it worked here. Thalia took a few deep breaths spiced with chuckles and giggles before she finally got the ability to speak back. "So" she stopped to chortle some more "how did you, um" another giggle "go about it?" she ended, laughter escaping in puff from her nose as she tried to keep a straight face. I rolled my eyes.
"Okay you know how some people have fantasies of being invisible and want to be invisible voyeurs?" I asked. Thalia nodded, still plagued with the giggles.
"Yeah." She managed to choke out. "I've thought about it."
"Well I accomplished it, minus the invisibility part." I said. "And had I done one thing wrong I would've had my ass fucking wrecked." I licked my lips before continuing. "So before gym my freshman year I ran to the girls locker room one day since my class had gym after the teacher's planning period. So I had a few minutes so I had a small look around inside the lockers and picked one that looked empty. It thankfully was but that wasn't the most secure option. Thankfully they're pretty spacious. Anyway I hid in there as the girls came and I watched them all change. I'd had incredible luck as Victoria was right beside me. To this day I'm surprised she didn't see me."
"Maybe she wanted you to." Thalia remarked. "Maybe she wanted you to take her then and there."
"Doubt it. Sadist, remember?" I looked Thalia in the eye and she nodded. "Anyway I watched her change and she left with the other girls." I bit my lip. "Not bad bare body." I commented.
"Wait." Thalia stopped me again. "She got naked?"
"Plenty did." I shrugged. "Anyway she was running a tad late so she accidentally left her lock unlocked. I got out of the locker and opened hers. I rifled through a bit and found her, I guess, non-gym panties. I snatched them and shoved them in my pocket." I swallowed. "After that I went to Gym late and Victoria, while accusing me, had no evidence. So I was free and clear."
"Don't tell me you…" Thalia let it drop as she wanted to hear it from my mouth. I took a deep breath, about to admit my most embarrassing part.
"For your information I do still have them." I waited as Thalia fell back, laughing so hard it was quiet as she clapped her hands like a Seel. It took a couple minutes before she came back. "They must be so crusty now."
"What? No!" I retorted. "They're clean, I kept them up." I sighed. "It was one of my best victories yet I never dared again since what if she caught me? She'd have me for the first time." I sighed. "But I've only used them a few times and kept them clean. They're in my room right now."
"Must've been hard, waiting for the right times." Thalia commented.
"Nah. I waited til parents weren't home, threw a load in with the panties and did the laundry whilst parents were out." I shrugged.
"You can do laundry?" Thalia asked, surprised.
"Yeah." I raised an eyebrow. "Can't you?"
"I mean I can but… Never figured you would." She shrugged.
"I had a lot of down time and my mother taught me." It's true.
"I see." Thalia responded with, of all things, a yawn. I looked to the clock, I'd been talking so long it had become late. "Well we better get to bed then." She commented, watching my gaze.
"I guess so." I shrugged, climbing under the covers of my bed as Thalia did the same. "G'night." I bid as I let Thalia turn the light off.
"Yeah, g'night." She said, and the lights went out and I fell into sleep.
It was in the middle of the night I woke up from something stirring my sleep. I groggily opened my eyes and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place in the bleak darkness around me. Then I felt it, that warm sensation just before me. I looked down and in the faint light saw, and felt, someone in my bed. In the faint light the hair resting on my arm was blue. Thalia? I was going to question her but my eyelids were heavy and I fell right back asleep. I'd ask later.
I was tired.
A/N: How was it? Cute moment at the end? I hope so. A nice relaxing bit from last chapter. Hope you guys all enjoyed.