NSO Chapter 17

I don't own Pokemon.

"Okay. That was… weird, to say the least. Let's never talk about this again."

"Agreed."

"Well," Zenith shook his head vigorously, trying his best but failing to get rid of the scene that was seared into his mind. "I-I think your mom's probably finished with cooking. Wanna go downstairs?" He laid a paw on the door handle, about to turn it, but realised that Cleo hadn't moved from her spot on her bed, laying on it while staring at the ceiling with a sullen look on her face.

"Cleo." The Vaporeon continued to stay silent when her name was called. Staring at the ceiling, she heard the sound of pawsteps come closer, and felt the bed shift under the added weight of Zenith as he propped himself onto the bed.

"Cleo." Zenith repeated her name from where he sat, on a corner of the bed. "I get that you probably feel angry at yourself. You may feel embarrassed, thinking that you had just destroyed whatever we had between us, but I can assure you that it isn't the case. Sometimes, the best of us make mistakes, and that's all you did. Made a harmless mistake. Remember when I first met you? You saved me. At that moment, I knew instantly that you were and still are one of the best Pokemon I ever had the privilege of meeting. And nothing you say or do will make me think otherwise." Zenith looked away from Cleo after his small speech, cheeks burning as he stared at the floor. The words had seemed to just pour out of him as he spoke, seemingly from his heart, giving him the courage to say all those things without any sort of hesitation or regret… until now.

There was a moment of silence after Zenith's words, then the Umbreon felt a weight placed on his back as Cleo leaned on it, her paws on his shoulders.

"All cheesiness aside, do… you really mean that?"

"Definitely."

"Still cheesy, but I guess it's pretty deep, coming from someone who only met me a day ago."

"Um… yeah, I guess it is pretty cheesy. Anyways, dinner must be ready by now, right?"

"Yup." Cleo got off Zenith's back and leapt off her bed, nearing the doorknob. At the same time, a voice with the name of Dialga was screaming inside Zenith's head.

You should ask her out right now! You'll never have a better chance than this.

Says the God who hasn't gotten together with Palkia for yet, even though you guys have already existed for a few millennia. And YOU'RE trying to give me relationship advice?

Me… Palkia…? Stop deflecting and just do it. You already proclaimed to her and everything. Also, there's no time like the present, right?

It's only the second day I've met her!

Yeah, and you've seen stuff most Pokemon show each other on their second day of meeting.

I...I...

C'mon, try to think of more counter-arguments. You have plenty of time. I've slowed it down so much that this can go on for two Earth hours. In the meantime, excuse me for a while. I have to prove you wrong.

There seemed to be the sound of crackling static that made Zenith cringe. He could hear a faint thud resonate throughout his head, as if Dialga had set the PLC on his table, and the sound of a door opening. Zenith wrung his paws as he tried to think of a logical sentence to say to Cleo, while waiting for a response from Dialga. It was weird how the right words seemed to form in his mind when he tried to comfort Cleo, but his mind was now blank, unable to think of anything.

The sound of a door slamming shut broke Zenith out of his mental stupor, and the voice of Dialga followed it.

Well, I asked Palkia out. She seemed quite... happy, but since she was halfway through her portal, I couldn't really tell. But she said yes. Now your turn.

Wait, didn't you guys already know each other for a few thousand years?

Enough about me. You and Cleo get right along like warm milk and cookies. Trust me, you guys are destined for each other. Now go get her, Blue.

Blue? I better hope that isn't a new nickname…

The time around Zenith gradually sped up, and he noticed that Cleo was turning the doorknob.

"Wait!" A cry from the Umbreon caused Cleo's paw to slip off the knob as she turned around, curious at what Zenith had that to say, while silently hoping that he would say the words that she wanted to hear so badly.

"Cleo, over the course of these two days, I...i...uh, you know what, fudge the formalities. Enough with beating around the bush. Cleo, can I, uh… can I be your b-boyfriend?"

Real smooth.

With a single, happy shout of "Yes!", Cleo bounded over to Zenith and threw herself onto him as she hugged the Umbreon tightly.

"Wow," The Vaporeon's new boyfriend's voice was muffled as he tried to speak around her body, who was partially covering his face. "I guess this is what they mean by 'love at first sight', huh?"

Well," Cleo released her tight grip from around Zenith. "It's kind of hard to beat up the same Pokemon twice for each other without starting to like the Pokemon you're fighting for, right? Come on, let's get dinner."

It also helps that I've been liking you ever since I've moved here. Cleo was glad that Zenith couldn't access her thoughts.

I'm glad you feel the same way about me too.

Dinner was pretty eventful. Over all those sumptuous dished that Janice Torrent had prepared. Zenith tried to explain to Mrs Torrent about his new relationship with her daughter. Keyword being 'tried'. He had this entire speech planned out in his head, but his nervousness caused him to become tongue-tied, leaving the unfortunate Umbreon spouting gibberish, earning a good laugh from everyone around the table. To save her boyfriend from any more shame, Cleo had to take over from him and explain to her mom, which gave her consent for Zenith to date her daughter. Since Zenith was the one that asked first, and Cleo was the one to confirm their relationship status, Julley and Zoey decided to call their bet a draw.

After dinner, Zenith was about to make his way up the stairs to use the toilet but was stopped when a paw unexpectedly closed around his own, pulling back into the living room. In a dim corner of the room, Zenith recognised the spike on the back of the dark-blue coloured paw but had no idea what Julley's intentions were.

"Hey Zenith, I just wanted you to show you something that might concern you. You have a phone, don't you?"

"Mine can only make calls and send texts. It's pretty old."

"Well, then you've probably never seen this yet."

Julley did his mobile phone under Zenith's eyes. It was opened to MewTube, and the video was titled 'Shiny Umbreon beats up Nidoking'. The video was slightly shaky but captured the entire fight clearly in high resolution. The sounds of the fight were muffled by the arena shields, but it was easy to make out what was going on. The video lasted until the end of the fighting, stopping after the camera panned upwards to show Kurt stuck in the wall. Zenith scrolled downwards, and his jaw dropped as he noticed that this video had garnered a few hundred thousand views. About two-thirds of the Pokemon that watched the video had liked it. The comments section was also going crazy, according to Julley, but Zenith decided not to check that out.

Zenith handed the phone back to Julley, waiting for his opinion on the matter while contemplating the situation at the same time.

"How will this video even affect Zenith? It just shows him kicking Kurt's ass, and most of the Pokemon watching this video seem to be rooting for him." Cleo had somehow managed to stand next to Zenith without the Umbreon's knowledge, causing him to jump in surprise when he heard her voice.

"It does affect Zenith, Cleo. First of all, it sends out a message that Zenith can take care of himself in a fight. This means that there will be lesser Pokemon trying to attack him now since they know what he can do to them. However, it completely exposed Zenith out into the public. I mean, even the school name is in the description. This means that 'Shiny' fans or haters, the ones too dumb to stay away from you, might just camp out at your school, or follow you home to stalk you. All I'm trying to say is... try to deal with the problem as fast as you can. If you wait it out for too long, it'll only cause more problems."

Zenith nodded his thanks, successfully flattening down his spiked-up fur. "I guess I'll just have to send a message if I have to. A strong one."

That night, Zenith decided to have a sleepover at the Torrent Residence, in Cleo's room with a sleeping bag she had found in her cupboard. He had texted his mom, and she was fine with it.

Mom

Online

Zenith: Can I sleep over at Cleo's house tonight?

Mom: Sure. Just make sure you don't have too much fun.

Zenith: :(

Mom: :P

Mom: Come home tomorrow for dinner though. Mr Quill's coming over for dinner and I want you to meet him.

Zenith: Who's Mr Quill?

Mom: The Decidueye I went out with today.

Zenith: Ok. Good night.

Mom: Gn, Zenith.

Turning his phone off and setting it beside him, Zenith tucked himself into the soft covers of the sleeping bag. On her bed, Cleo's chest rose and fell with every breath she took, already asleep, curled up into a ball under her sheets.

Glad today's over. It was pretty... I guess eventful's the only way I can describe it.

Yes. Yes, it is. Sweet dreams, Zenith.

Closing his eyes, Zenith willed himself into a dreamless sleep.

With everything that had happened today, he couldn't wait to see the things that would happen tomorrow.