I stepped off the stairs. Kyle was standing at the bottom and started walking beside me when I reached him.

"James?" he said.

"What's up?" I finished finger-combing my hair. Far from perfect, but better than whatever rattata's nest it looked like before.

"Are you really okay with playing with us? I… I felt like I was being pushy to you, and I don't want to force you to do something you're not comfortable with."

What kind of question was that? Of course I was… Was I? The warmth that had suddenly appeared before felt like it was tapering off now. Having fun with friends certainly sounded fun but maybe it wouldn't be the best for me right now. Maybe–

Go on. Play with your non-human friends, freak.

I tensed and swallowed hard. The harsh shift caught me off guard and I struggled to get my train of thought back on track.

And just as quickly as it had faded, the warmth returned as though it had never left. The negative thoughts died down and I was left with an uneasy sense of comfort. I rubbed my face with one hand and breathed. That was weird, but at least it didn't last long, whatever it was.

"James? Are you okay?" Kyle asked.

"I'm… Yeah, I'm okay. Just got tripped over by my own thoughts. Don't worry about it." I dropped my hand and gave a few scritches to Kyle's ears. He perked up at it.

"We were thinking of playing hide and seek, is that fine with you?"

"Sure, can't beat the classics," I said, turning the corner to the back door.

Some might go on about the fact that hide and seek was a childish game, and they weren't exactly wrong. Well, it was childish in the sense that a lot of children play it, but not much further than that. Hide and seek was a staple game for me, Lex and Kyle, and had been practically tradition for us ever since we started. The forest that my backyard extended into gave us plenty of spots to hide and even more space to run when the seeker found the hider. Over ten years of playing that game in that forest, and it had yet to grow old on me. To be honest, I was having trouble figuring out why I hadn't done this sooner.

"Lex is always a hider the first time, so I guess I can be the seeker," Kyle said.

I nodded. "I can be the seeker if you want."

"No, no, it's really okay."

"Alright then."

"Thirty seconds for hiding. The same as always," he said as we stopped in front of the door. He looked up and grinned. "And I'm counting now."

Panic struck and I quickly grabbed the sliding door. It flung open wide and I made long strides across the deck and onto the lawn.

Lex was in the backyard laying in the grass, her paws behind her head. Hearing me approach, she sat up. "Well, look who decided to get out of the house. Sheesh, your hair is–"

"No time, gotta hide!" I yelled, sprinting past her. As I ducked under low hanging branches, she yelled something back but I was too far away to make it out.

Behind the wall of brush and branches, the forest opened greatly with wide tree trunks merging into the soft green moss on the ground. Ferns peppered the ground between the leafy giants and the canopy above let just the right amount of sunlight in. It wasn't as large nor as glorious as Eterna Forest, but it was damn near close.

I continued to run for another two minutes until I was certain I was far enough away. I wasn't afraid of getting lost. I had spent enough time in the forest that I could probably make my way through it blindfolded.

I looked around the area I landed myself in and locked my gaze to a reasonably sized tree with a thick trunk. There weren't many low hanging branches, but there were enough to get me to a thicker one higher up. That was the place. Perfect.

I began my ascension. The low branches were thin and some bent under my weight, but they held steady. Once I had my feet on them, it became a lot easier. And with one last hoist of my body onto the branch, I had reached my hiding spot.

High up, obscured by foliage, a relatively remote part of the forest, it was shaping up to be a good game. Kyle would take his sweet time finding me here. I leaned against the trunk and took in the forest air, brisk and smelling vaguely of pine.

In my house, I always felt there was something else. I could hardly even sense it, but it was there. Like the tiniest instance of tinnitus that you could only pin down if you focused hard, it was only annoying if you allowed it to be. And yet, in the forest, there was no disturbance. It felt perfect. Why hadn't I come out here earlier? Just one minute out here was so much better than all that time in my room. Maybe it had to do with me being a half-breed.

Half-breed. That word held such a negative connotation that I could barely think it without feeling at least a little disgust. Half-breed wasn't even the right word for what I was. The correct term was demi-human, but it wasn't popular to say so. That title didn't do enough othering for anyone's liking. And not for mine either.

Then again, 'Freak' wasn't exactly an ideal alternative.

I'm not human. When my DNA got sent to the lab, it didn't come back showing a homo sapien. It was labelled 'Human-Bisharp Hybrid.' Sure, the word 'human' appeared in there, but that was hardly anything. I knew I wasn't human; I was a half-breed. And I was fine with that… for a time, at least.

If someone was a half-breed, you wouldn't be able to tell purely from their looks.

One of the ways you can tell is if one of the passive traits of the type they inherited is shown. If someone tried to stab me but couldn't get through my skin, they would know.

Of course, there's a simpler way to know if someone is a half-breed: They tell you.

And I sure told Jenna.

Everything from two weeks ago was still fresh in my brain. It was sunny out, with just a few clouds left in the sky. Summer was singing its swan song before giving way to the brisk winds and heavy rains of autumn. Mom had already left by then, just a few days before.

I was in my dorm doing homework on my laptop when I heard the door knocking. I remember how warm I felt hearing it, knowing that she was behind the door. I remember opening it and being met with a kiss. I remember making out all the way to my bed where we collapsed on it and grabbed each other everywhere.

Fuck.

She was on top of me. One of my hands was on her breast and the other cupped her ass. We were breathing heavily, and we both knew what was coming next. I leaned in and–

–kissed her neck gingerly as my hands continued to work. She sighed as her fingers raked through and grabbed at my hair.

"Arceus, James…" Jenna whispered. "Keep going…"

I was more than happy to oblige. Emboldened, my hand on her breast slipped down and under her shirt, contacting smooth soft skin. I stopped myself as I realized what I was doing and pulled back from her.

"Sorry, I should've–" I started.

"Don't worry," she said, smiling. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulled it up and over her head, and tossed it to the side. Her bra was pink, but I could hardly get a better look as it was discarded too, freeing her breasts. They were average sized and fit beautifully on her form.

My heart pounded as my eyes were threatening to go cross eyed over jumping between her breasts and her sultry expression. I raised my hand and slowly moved it over to her chest. With care, my fingers lightly touched the surface before my palm rested upon it.

Jenna giggled. "Do you like them?"

I brought myself back to reality and breathed slowly. "I think 'like' is an understatement."

"I'm glad, I would've slapped you otherwise."

"Kinky. Noted for next time. But… why now?"

She rolled her eyes but kept her smile. "You really can be dense sometimes."

"That's what makes me lovable." I grinned.

"We've been together some time now, right?"

"Six months, give or take a few days."

Her hand cupped the side of my face. She leaned forward, our faces inches apart. Her eyes were such a dark blue, but somehow not cold. I only ever saw warmth in them. "I think we're more than qualified to take the next step."

"I had no idea six months was the specified wait period for fucking. Industry standards are tough these days, huh?"

"Arceus, you're hopeless," she said, though there was a slight giggle she tried to hide. "But… I want you. I really want you, James."

"I do too." I closed the gap between our lips, letting my passion guide me. I assumed Jenna was doing the same, though she pulled away just a few seconds later. "Something wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing just… Okay, hear me out on this."

"I'm listening." My eyes dropped just a moment. I still couldn't believe her tits were out.

"You'll call me corny but… I want something to really lock us together. Not sex, but a secret. One that we've never told anyone. I tell one and you tell one, deal?"

I chuckled. "Yep, that's corny."

"Moron."

"You didn't let me finish. I like the idea." Jenna was always coming up with fun ways like that to bring us closer. Like when I went to kiss her for the first time, she insisted that we do a dance that ended with me dipping her down and kissing her there. Romantic and fun, but we both ended up dropping on the grass afterwards. "You first?"

Jenna shook her head. "I gave you my tits for free. You first."

"The logic is sound on that one." I went into thought, pushing all, or at least most of, the intrusive horny ideas out.

A secret. One that I hadn't told anyone else. Well, there was only one choice that fit the bill. But I couldn't tell her that.

Telling Jenna I was a half-breed didn't sound like a good idea at all. I had never heard her talk about them before; I was always too afraid to bring up the subject. All it would take was just a slight hesitation to land a mark of suspicion, so I just avoided it. If she ever found out, I didn't want to know how she would react. We were both happier not knowing. It wasn't like I was any different to a normal human anyway. I didn't need to tell her.

Then again… we had been together for so long. We had seen each other at our lowest and our highest. If I told her that I was a half-breed, how could that possibly change any of that? It couldn't. We had shared real experiences together. She shared them with me, a half-breed, even if she didn't know it then. If I told her, she would have questions, a lot of them probably, some I might not like the sound of, but ones I would need to answer.

Damn it. She deserved to know.

It would be fine.

It would be fine.

"You okay, James? You're spacing out," Jenna said, a look of concern on her.

"Y-Yeah, just thinking things around. Secret hunting and the like."

She smiled. "Does that mean you have something for me?"

"I… just might." My own smile felt half-forced. "You know I love you, right?"

"I certainly hope you do!" she said, going in and giving me a peck. "And I love you."

I had to test the waters first. "I'd even love you if you were a half-breed if you can believe it."

Jenna pulled back slightly, her eyebrow raised. Fuck, was that too obvious? She looked at me for a few seconds, then laughed.

"Of course you would, you dork." She smiled again.

I blinked, unsure what to make of her reaction. It wasn't negative, but I'd hesitate to call it positive. "Heh, yeah, fair enough."

"Come on, are you going to tell the secret, or do I have to threaten you with putting my tits away?"

I gasped in jest, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I would," she said, glancing over at her shirt. "Unless someone wants to speak up…"

"Well, in that case… I suppose…"

"Yes, James?"

"I mean, if that is what's going to happen then, well, it sounds like I should probably tell you that secret."

"It sounds like someone's stalling." She looked at me straight. "As long as you're not about to tell me you're a murderer or something, I promise nothing will change how I see you. It's okay."

I wasn't getting anywhere fast. The bandage needed to be ripped off. Maybe it would hurt, maybe it wouldn't, but there was no way of knowing until after the fact. I sucked in a breath.

"Jenna, I'm… a half-breed."

There it was.

An uncomfortable silence formed between the two of us. Time felt like it was slowing down, trying to stretch the moment into infinity. All the while, her eyes bored into me, the warmth now noticeably absent.

The moment finally, mercifully, broke with her letting out a nervous giggle. "You're messing with me, right, James? Like, oh my Arceus! That's a pretty good joke!" she said.

Yep. Yours truly. The best damn joker around. I could have saved myself. I should have saved myself. All I needed to do was play along and maybe everything would've been fine. But I knew it was too late. I had ripped the bandage halfway. It needed to be fully off.

I shook my head. "It's not a joke."

Her face changed from slight nervousness to a cold stare and her head dropped. She was still and quiet. Far too quiet for comfort.

Her hands were against her sides and they were shaking ever so slightly. One of my hands slowly made its way to hers and went to hold it. I didn't realize how lost the situation already was. She yanked her hand back the moment my finger touched it.

"Get away from me you… you freak!" she yelled, pushing herself off me. She grabbed her shirt and bra off the bed.

The way she said 'freak' made my breath catch. I had never heard her say something like that before. I sat up quickly. "J-Jenna, wait!"

"No!" She backed up more as I sat up, one arm covering her breasts. "I don't want–" She backed up too far and fell over the side of the bed onto the floor.

"Shit! Are you alright?" I said, jumping off the bed and kneeling to her. My hand went to her arm to help her up, but stopped as I caught a glance of her eyes. Just a few moments ago, there was nothing but love in them, and now it was all gone.

"Leave me alone!" She gripped at the ground and pushed herself further away.

Still, I kept up. "Jenna, just because I'm a half-breed doesn't mean anything is going to change between us! I'm still the same."

She quickly threw on her shirt, not even realizing it was inside out. "I am not going to fuck a half-breed freak! Now get away!"

Something shifted in me, and I felt the smallest spark of anger. But I didn't feel how quickly the fire grew and couldn't stop myself from matching her volume. "It wasn't my choice to be born this way, alright?! You think I want to be a half-breed? Do you? I want to be normal but damn it, I can't change that!" I breathed, trying to calm myself down before continuing. "We've been together for half a year without you knowing and… and I know we could make it a full year. Let's just… keep doing the things… we always did…"

Jenna's face was stricken with fear. I didn't realize how close I had gotten to her during my shouting; our faces were close enough that she could've easily kissed me. But I knew then that was the last thing she wanted.

She shoved me back and scrambled to her feet. "We're done, you hear me? Don't ever fucking look at me again." She walked to the door and flung it open so hard I swore I heard the stopper crack.

I didn't have any will to move anymore. I didn't so much as flinch at the slam of the door. I didn't get up, instead I lied down on the floor and–

–gripped the branch as my legs started to slide off. I readjusted them and exhaled.

If I were asked what the worst day of my life was, it would've had to be either that day with Jenna, or the day right after.

After Jenna had left, I spent the rest of the day in bed, stewing in my own thoughts. All that time we had spent together, and it was all gone in a matter of moments. We were good together, and I threw it away because I just needed to tell her. 'Men only have enough blood for their brain or their dick,' or something like that.

On the other hand, it was probably better that we didn't have sex. As it turned out, the walls of the dorm were rather thin.

I thought the day after would be better. I only had one class, so I could spend the rest of the day getting my head back in tip-top shape. It seemed like good fortune at the time.

It was noticeable the moment I had stepped outside of my room. Almost every person in the hallway was giving me that look. That fucking look. They knew, but I pushed it into the back of my mind. 'It couldn't be true,' I told myself, 'It was an argument. They probably just heard some muffled yelling.'

If only.

The lecture hall was worse. As soon as I walked through the doors, a pair of eyes was locked onto me. A few whispers later, three more pairs. It spread like the plague, and it soon felt like the entire hall was focused on me, giving me that look, because I was a half-breed.

I tried to endure, but I couldn't. I left twenty minutes from the end of the lecture. There was no other thought in my head other than 'get away.' I couldn't stand how they looked at me, how they were clearly judging me.

Bussing back home was the one bit of reprieve I had gotten in that time. No one knew that I was a half-breed, and if they did, they didn't care enough to look. And, well, here I was.

I remembered trying to text my friends, only to be met with the same message each time: 'You have been blocked by this user.' No matter who it was, the same message followed.

I gave my head a shake and leaned back against the trunk. Who was I kidding? Friends? If they left just at the word of me being a half-breed, how could they be called friends. Some of us had hung out for years together, so why would it matter now if I was the slightest bit different?

No normal person wants to hang out with a freak.

I clenched my hands tight and slowly breathed. None of them were really my friends. If they were just going to leave, maybe it was best they left then and there.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and closed my eyes. It would be some time before Kyle or Lex found me. No reason not to rest, even just for a few–

"Hey, dork! Don't fall asleep on us now! You've been found!" Lex's voice rang a bell in my ear drums, making my eyes snap back open.

I looked down and saw her and Kyle staring back up. A small smile came to me. Yeah. Those were my real friends.

I stood up on the tree branch and put a smug look on. "Well, come up and get me then."

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny, smartass. You know you can't escape so just get down here."

"And yet, you have not caught me yet."

Even from how high I was, I could hear Lex growl with distaste. She was afraid of heights; something that had been present ever since she got stuck in a tree as a sneasel. Unfortunately for her, she knew all too well that it was fair game.

"I get that you just decided you didn't want to lay on your ass for the rest of your life, but don't stay up there forever!" she shouted.

I smirked. "And what's to stop me?"

Lex grumbled and ran up to the tree. She started slashing at the tree's trunk, stripping the bark and revealing the pale, smooth sapwood. "I'll cut down the whole damn tree if that's what it takes!"

"Nice. It'll give me time for a nap."

"Lex, I can get him down," Kyle said, grinning. It looked good seeing him happy like this. With how dark the forest could get, his smile was always bright.

He drew his wand out from his tail, making me realize what he was up to.

"Whoa, hey, c'mon now, Kyle. Let's talk about this for a second," I said, feigning worry. "We can be civil, can't we?"

"Of course," he said as a light magenta hue gathered around the tip of the wand. "I bring you down and you get a five second head start."

"Never mind, I hate civility."

"Glad to hear you're in agreement," Lex chimed in.

Kyle waved his wand and I felt the energy wrap around my body, making me feel weightless. He was never the most adept with his psychic abilities, but it was still fun to play around with. Slowly, my feet came off the branch and I was lowered to the ground.

"Hurry up, Kyle, I'm itching to get back into it," Lex said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Give me a moment. He'll be down soon," Kyle replied.

As the ground got closer and closer, I prepared myself, ready to break for it.

And suddenly, the psychic hold broke. I fell the remaining eight or so feet to the forest floor, landing on some moss. Nothing hurt, but I was still shocked. Kyle would never try to hurt me, even if I couldn't feel pain.

"Lex! Why did you do that?" I heard him say, as I was still lying face down. The plush moss felt rather nice against my skin.

"You were being slow. I'm not waiting an hour just so I can keep playing," Lex said, annoyed.

"If you hit my wand any harder, it would have snapped!"

"It's fine. Plus, you could easily make another. And James is fine, right James?"

I finally pushed myself up from the ground, bits of dirt and moss falling off my shirt, and looked over the scene. Kyle's wand was on the ground just a few feet away from him. He was giving Lex a dirty glare but tried to hide it when he saw me looking over.

"See? Fine as can be," Lex said.

I walked towards them. "I'm fine, but you shouldn't have done that, Lex."

She shrugged. "I'm not wrong. Kyle's psychic is slow, you can take a fall, what's the harm in speeding things along?"

"You could've broken my wand!" Kyle said.

"I can control my strength, relax. That stick of yours is plenty durable."

He looked up, revealing his glare, and walked over to pick up his wand. "It is not a stick. A-And I'll show you it's not if you don't stop."

"Ooh, a psychic attack against a dark type, wonder if that'll work?" Lex mocked.

Kyle's wand shook in his hand and he stowed it back into his tail, now stepping towards Lex on a warpath.

I never tried to get involved in their quarrels, especially since they usually resolved themselves. When duty did call, however, it was always better than letting it escalate.

I walked over to Kyle and put a hand on his shoulder. He stopped instantly.

"James, she's–"

"I know. And you know that she's always gonna push your buttons if you let her. I know, she knows, and you know too."

I heard him sigh as he turned to face me. The mean look was gone from his face, and I was left looking at the braixen I knew all too well.

He nodded curtly. "Okay… I'm okay now."

"Glad to hear that." Despite him saying so, I could still piece together some sadness in his eyes. "You want a hug?"

Another nod, and I was more than willing to oblige.

It was awkward with how I was squatting to match his height, but I didn't care. Kyle was feeling better, and I wasn't about to adjust myself to get a modicum of comfort when he was the one who needed the hug. Then again, with how it felt, the warmth he put off, the way relaxation took to me almost instantly, maybe I was getting something out of it as well.

I looked up and saw Lex staring off elsewhere. It didn't take a keen eye to see she was pouting away, looking annoyed more at herself than her friends in front of her. It wasn't exactly an uncommon outcome with the scuffles they got themselves in. She tended to keep things reeled back for Kyle, but sometimes she just couldn't stop herself.

"You gonna say you're sorry?" I asked.

She looked around, intentionally avoiding my gaze as though she were debating options that didn't exist. What did I say about her being stubborn again?

After a few seconds, she let out a quick sigh. "Kyle… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have knocked your stick, I mean wand, out of your hand and… Yeah, I'm sorry."

Lex didn't sound the part, but I knew she was sincere. I motioned her over and she was quick to join in the hug, squeezing in between me and Kyle. He tensed as she wrapped a paw around him but eventually settled in. She was cooler than him, being the ice-type that she was, but that didn't take away any of the comfort the hug had.

And now things were settled. Scuffles didn't happen often between us, nor did they ever progress very far. Even when they did, we'd always end up being there for one another. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Without warning, I broke the hug and started running. "Sorry to break it up, but we're still playing!"

"Son of a–! C'mon, Kyle, let's take him down!"

"Y-Yeah! We can get him!"

From behind, I heard two pairs of feet quickly trailing behind me. I knew all too well what was to follow: Lex would be the one to tackle my legs out from underneath me, then she and Kyle would pin me down, and that would be that. With their speed, I could only delay the inevitable.

Even when it did happen, I didn't mind at all.

The day was cut a bit short by the clouds opening up and raining down. I wasn't one to be deterred by a little water, but the mud was a different story. The last thing I wanted was to get something in my hair that wouldn't come out without a fight.

The rain had gotten worse by the time all three of us returned to my house. By the time we got there, the backyard had been transformed into a quagmire of mud and grass.

"Thank you for playing with us, James," Kyle said.

I stepped onto the deck and opened the back door. "It was fun. You two are both free to come inside and wait out the rain, it doesn't look like it'll last much longer."

"I think… I'll be okay. It's not so bad right now."

"Psh, we'll be fine. Don't worry about us," Lex said. "But what about you? You gonna be okay?"

I raised an eyebrow with a slight smile. "Yeah? I don't see why not."

"You know why not, dumbass."

"I'll be fine. I think today did me well, I haven't felt that good in quite a while."

"I'm really happy to hear that. We could… play again tomorrow? If you want to, of course," Kyle said.

I stepped inside and turned around to face them. "Sounds like a plan. Same time tomorrow? You guys seem to have my schedule down to a science."

"That sounds great, we'll see you then!"

"See ya, James!" Lex called.

I gave a wave to them both and slid the door shut behind me. The rain's ambience was abruptly muffled, and I was left in the house alone.

Wow.

That was a surprisingly good day.

I didn't think there was any possibility of one, not until it happened at least. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but I couldn't have asked for better. A solid seven out of ten day. Not so bad considering the days before it.

I made my way through the house and started my ascension back up the stairs. I didn't feel like just lying on my bed again, as tempting as it seemed, but there was probably something in my room I could do. And I definitely wasn't going to sleep at five in the afternoon. That activity was scheduled for two in the morning like a normal person.

It was strange. This morning, I would've never thought I would be walking up these stairs with even the slightest smile on my face. Yet here I was. Sheesh, if all it took to get this way was to have some fun, I should've taken up Lex and Kyle earlier. I couldn't even remember why I didn't before.

You know why.

I froze on the stairs, my heart skipping a beat at the same time. That was… whatever. Whatever. I did know why, and it didn't matter in the end. I played with them and had fun. That was that.

You had fun with them because you're a half-breed.

The smile I had on angled down to a frown. No, it didn't matter if I was a half-breed or not… I could've been a normal person and would've had the same exact experience.

But you are a half-breed.

A freak.

A freak who plays with his pokemon friends because no normal person would ever bother with you.

I could feel my hands quivering slightly and tried to shake off the feeling. No luck. I pushed myself to keep going up the stairs but couldn't find the energy. Damn it, I… I was a half-breed. And I had pokemon friends. So? There was plenty of normal people who had pokemon friends.

Normal people also have friends. Human friends.

I bit my lip and found myself sitting down on the stair I had stopped on. It… didn't matter… right? They weren't human but I… I…

Shut up.

But–

Be quiet.

I didn't feel like I could do anything. My body just slumped over with my head resting against the banister.

Half-breed.

Freak.

You don't deserve to feel good.

You know you don't.

And you know why.

I didn't even attempt to shut it out. Yeah. That was right. Freak. How could I forget? Half-breed. Freak. They were basically synonymous.

And I did know why.

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Peace!

-Minusbomb