NSO Ch 13

I don't own Pokemon.

"We're here!" Cleo announced.

Zenith looked in the direction that she was pointing at and his jaw dropped. It turns out that Cleo's family had bought the house. It was enormous, the size of a small mansion, but still didn't look out of place compared to all the other houses in the neighbourhood. The building was still two stories tall, but twice the width of Zenith's house. It even had a proper backyard, while all Zenith's house had was a small patch of grass which an apple tree was growing in. For years, the 'For Sale' sign had been placed on the house's front lawn, with the sole, simple reason being its high cost. But now, the sign was finally gone, bought out by Cleo's family. Zenith was quite surprised at himself that he didn't notice this change earlier, with how long Cleo had moved here for.

After all, it should have been quite hard to miss something that big happen just directly opposite his own house.

There was a fence surrounding the perimeter of Cleo's house, but it seemed to have more of a decorative than a protective purpose. The wood was well-painted, white and glossy, short enough to allow Zenith to see clearly into the front lawn. There was also no latch or lock on the gate, which Cleo pushed open, gesturing to the Umbreon behind her to step through. Zenith was getting cold feet and was sneaking nervous glances back at his house. The road that separated the two buildings now seemed to be kilometres wide, and the two expecting gazes from the Eeveelutions before him seemed to root him in place, preventing him from retreating even if he wanted to. But there should be nothing for him to be nervous about, right? After all, Cleo did invite him, so what could be wrong about this? Curiosity dragged his once reluctant paws forward, and he followed the Vaporeon into the building.

The oak door creaked on its hinges as it was pushed open, and the three Pokemon entered the house, the sound of their footsteps resounding on the smooth bamboo floor. The living room was still quite sparse, consisting of just a couch, with a coffee table placed in front of it. There was a widescreen television mounted on the wall, facing the couch. The living room had two doorways, the first with a door marked 'Storeroom'. The other had no door, but Zenith could assume that it was the kitchen, given the stove, pots and pans that were visible from where he stood. There was a flight of stairs about two metres away from the entrance of the house, leading to the second level, where all the rooms and toilet probably were. Unpacked, half-opened boxes littered the floor, piling up in corners, giving the house the freshness of a family that had just moved in. Cliff immediately ran in the direction of the kitchen, where the heavenly smell of food was wafting out of.

"Mama! We're here!" The Leafeon squealed as he ran into the kitchen.

Cliff's disappearance left Zenith and Cleo alone in the living room. The silence was becoming uncomfortable, with both Pokemon shuffling their feet on the floor awkwardly as they looked around the house, trying to think of something to say.

"So… Zenith's word came out in a higher pitch than usual, surprised as he felt his jaws open and speak involuntarily.

What are you doing?

Speeding things up.

"... this is your house, huh? You know, I'm kind of curious to why you moved to this town, of all places. It's not exactly the best tow-"

Zenith forced his mouth shut before 'he' could say anymore, but if Cleo had noticed any abnormalities, she didn't ask any questions. In fact, she was relieved that Zenith had cut the extremely thick tension between the two of them.

"Well, my mom got promoted and was transferred here from her old work location. She didn't want us to feel separated, so we moved here. She works at the nearby Wailmart."

I guess retail isn't that bad of a job… with the right choices.

"Oh. My mom works at the Servine Elevens here. The one at the edge of town. Also, do you need some help unpacking? I can come by anytime..."

"It's fine. My mom took the day off today to help us finish up with unpacking and redecoration. Um… do you want to-"

Cleo was cut off by Cliff running out of the kitchen, running between the two Pokemon and sitting down at a dining table located just outside the kitchen. A Flareon soon followed, with two plates of food on a tray balanced on her back. "Kids! Dinner's ready! Come and get i-" Her words ended abruptly when her gaze fell on the Dark-type Eeveelution that stood before her.

"Cleo, want to introduce me to your friend here?"

"Mom, this is Zenith. I met him in school today and invited him along to fetch Cliff home."

"Hello, Zenith. As you already know, I'm Cleo's mom. You can call me Janice."

"Nice to meet you, Jani… I think I'm just going to call you Mrs. Torrent, if you don't mind."

"It's fine. Would you like to stay for dinner, Zenith? I'm just glad that Cleo's finally found a new friend. It was one of my worries about moving to a new place, but look at how fast that it solved itself!"

"Sure, I guess I could stay. But dinner... this early?" Zenith scratched his head in confusion, eyes darting to a clock that was hung in the wall, showing that it was barely 5 p.m.

"About that. It's kind of like a habit. I used to work from morning to late at night, so I make heavy meals, which my kids heat up after they come back from school. It's enough to last them for the rest of the day. Any preference of food?"

"I'm fine with anything, thanks."

"Okay." Mrs Torrent sat the tray down on the dining table, and headed back into the kitchen as Cleo and Cliff started to attack their food, tearing into it with quick, ravenous bites.

I guess speed eating runs in the family.

Zenith was about to reply, but the scent of freshly cooked food caught the attention of his nose. He looked down at the plate Mrs Torrent had set down in front of him to see a taco. Ignoring the smell, it looked ordinary. Just a piece of what seemed to be Tauros beef and vegetables, slathered with melted cheese, all wrapped up by a corn tortilla. At least, it looked ordinary until Zenith took a bite. It was as if a tsunami of flavour had crashed down on his tongue, drowning his taste buds in its overwhelming, tantalising flavour, and leaving the Umbreon wanting more. It was one of the most delicious things that Zenith had ever eaten, and he tucked in, eager to satisfy his now growing hunger.

-30 minutes later-

"Thanks for the meal, Mrs Torrent. It was really good."

"It's nothing, Zenith. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to try and unpack these boxes and redecorate the house. I have to go to work in about 2 hours. Unfortunately, my day off only applies to the day, not the night." Mrs Torrent smiled at the small joke she had made, and padded away to start opening some boxes that were taped shut.

Wow. It's 7 p.m. already? Time seems to just fly by, doesn't it?

I didn't do anything. Just letting you know.

Zenith looked around the house. Mrs Torrent had taped off the stairs after bringing up many boxes to the second level, with a sign on the tape saying 'Keep Out! Changes in Progress!'. Both Cleo and Cliff were happily unpacking smaller boxes in the living room, and they didn't seem to need any additional help. Zenith could no longer find any other reason to stay, so he walked over to Cleo to say goodbye.

"Cleo? I think I'll go now. You guys seem to have everything worked out here, and I don't want to interfere with your redecorations. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I guess I could visit you then." Cleo looked downcast for a second, but seemed to pull herself together and nodded in agreement.

"How does noon sound? My big sister's coming here tomorrow at that time! I know she lives in her own apartment with her boyfriend, but I have no idea why they wanted to rent out the apartment and move here to live..."

Zenith had no idea how to reply to that. With a simple "Oh. Well, see you tomorrow!", he left Cleo to her unpacking, leaving the Torrent residence himself, closing the oak door behind him.

It took a while for Zenith to get home and to his bedroom, stomach full and mind fatigued. It was only then that he realised how tired he was. He was completely burned out from the activities he had partaken, their physical and mental toll finally starting to catch up with him. Reflecting on today, he had no idea how this day felt so long, yet so short at the same time. With all those wacky things happening to him in just one day, he hoped that it wouldn't be the start of more trouble entering his life again.

But Zenith was too exhausted to be bothered about that thought right now. Overcome with fatigue, he tossed his entire routine out of the window and flumped onto his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.