WOAH TWO UPDATES IN A ROW?
Yep, because immediately after publishing last chapter I went on a writing streak instead of doing my philosophy readings, and by 2 am I had enough for a chapter. It's shorter than the last few, but there wasn't going to be another decent stopping point for a while. So. You'll see.
"Evelyn, come in. Let's talk."
Guiltily, I went in. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"It's all right." Maylene gestured at a chair. "So," she said once I was seated. "How do you feel?"
Wasn't sure how to approach that. "I… uh…"
"How do you feel knowing what you know?"
Oh, that. "I'm fine with it," I said. "It does explain a lot."
"Like?"
"Like why you avoid calls from your family."
She sighed. I don't think I've ever seen an 18-year-old look so old. "They're… Snowpoint's fairly cut off from the rest of Sinnoh, and it can be pretty old-fashioned. My family is part of that. Arceus created a man and a woman and whatnot."
In the silence that followed, I realized Maylene hadn't invited me in just for my sake, whether she'd consciously admit it or not. "How… how are you feeling about all this?" I asked her.
She was staring at the wall. "I miss them. They're nice people, aside from them trying to change what can't be changed. And… I miss my best friend."
"Your family…" I wasn't sure if this was going too far, but I trusted her to decide her limits. "Are they… Are they mean to you?"
"Not directly, but it's like… I think they still love me, but it's like I've done something embarrassing and wrong and they can't get it out of their heads. Luckily I'd become a pretty decent trainer by then, and the Veilstone gym leader spot opened up around the same time. So I could get away from that."
"Mm."
She leaned back. "I'm still lucky though. I've heard stories of families reacting a lot worse than mine did."
Her expression sank. I decided to spin the topic to a lighter one. "Have you been talking to Candice?"
Maylene hesitated before shaking her head. "She kept saying I should move back, and… I don't want to face my family every day. I don't think I can. She could, probably. She's stronger than me." She laughed. "It's funny cause she's the studious one, and I've always been the athletic one. But she's stronger."
"You flat-out stopped talking to her?"
"I mean, I haven't communicated with her since August…"
Okay. Forget keeping the topic light. "I think you should get back in touch with her," I said seriously.
"She'll just bug me about coming home."
"No," I said, "If you tell her that, she'll stop. And she can help you figure out what to do about your family, because she knows you well. And… just… you can't just cut off your best friend."
Maylene had the kind of uncertainty I recognized – from personal experience – as based on principle rather than reason. "I guess…"
"For real though. Talk to her. She'll… she'll be there for you."
This from personal experience as well.
"All right," Maylene said, giving no more protest than I thought she would. "I'll call her tonight. Happy?"
"Yeah."
I took my bathroom break and returned to the Pokemon Center.
Glowing red eyes returned to my dreams that night, accompanied by the death of a spoink I barely knew and a shinx I knew too well. I woke up sweating. Seeing Liana die was worse than not finding her at all. It almost made me want to look for her again, just so she'd be safe.
And then I looked across the room and realized Lucas's bed was empty.
His kadabra was gone too, so he at least had a pokemon with him. That made me feel better. I still wanted to check that he was okay.
I woke Trust up and brought him with me. The light in the men's bathroom was off (I looked at the crack under the door) so, fortunately, I didn't need to look in there. I thought about where Lucas would be.
I went up to the roof.
He was sitting at the edge of the rooftop, beneath a wooden trellis covered in vines, looking over the city. As I approached, I scuffed my feet a little. He looked up.
"Couldn't sleep?"
He shook his head.
"Mind if I join you?"
Shook his head again.
I sat on the other end of the bench. Rain clouds had rolled in during the evening; it was starting to sprinkle.
We sat there looking down, watching the cobbled city grow slick and shiny. I snuck a look at him through the corner of my eye. He was huddled up in a sweatshirt; Lucas Tristan couldn't stand the cold. But he was up here anyways. The expression on his face was serene. I hoped this meant he hadn't been awoken by a nightmare.
"How've you been?" I said softly, breaking the silence.
Lucas shrugged. "All right."
"How's Dawn?"
"She didn't leave the room today."
"Were you with her?"
"No. She said she'd be fine."
"Ah."
The silence between us felt pretty okay. I can't say it wasn't at all awkward, but it wasn't terrible either. And just being in his company was nice.
"What did you do today?" I asked.
"Trained at Lake Valor. You?"
"Trained with Maylene." Same as we'd done the last few days, both of us. "Any idea when you'll fight Maylene?"
"Probably soon."
"Ah."
The mist was dying down a bit.
"Why are you getting fighting lessons, by the way?" he asked.
"Oh. Um… Well, I got mugged in Jubilife."
Lucas turned to look at me in surprise. I said, "I wasn't able to fight them off on my own because I just had a chimchar at the time… And just in general, there'll be situations where I can't get my pokemon's help."
His eyes held concern. "Were you okay?"
"In Jubilife? Yeah, I was all right. A trainer came by and – oh, you met him. Thomas helped me out. The guy who was in Eterna?"
"The tall one?"
"Yeah."
He nodded to himself. His concern touched me – it was verbal proof that he cared.
The air was cool and quiet, the soft whisper of rain almost gone. Veinstone was lit only by streetlamps this late at night. It was Sinnoh's gray city, but in the rain it turned pewter, a softer version of silver. I inhaled rain-soaked air and a little of what I recognized as Lucas's scent.
This moment, sitting next to him... Things felt perfect.
I was so grateful for my second chance.
"...I think I'll go back to sleep," I said after a while. "Don't stay up too late."
"I'll just drink coffee," Lucas said. I'm not sure if he was joking, but I laughed still.
"Good night," I said to the boy I loved.
"Good night," he said to me.
I went back to the gym one last time on Friday. Maylene worked with me, and then decided I was more or less okay out in the wilderness on my own.
"I mean, you're screwed if you're up against an aggron," she said, "but I can't really help you there."
"Thanks..."
"Don't worry. You'll have plenty of opportunities to practice."
I did ask her if she'd called Candice. She blushed a little and said she had.
Dawn was still in bed when I returned. It was two pm.
"Have you eaten?" I asked her.
I heard a muffled "mno" from the pillow.
On my way out, I ran into Lucas. "Hey, have you eaten lunch yet?" I asked him.
"No, why?"
"I'm going out to get Dawn food. She's in bed still."
"Still?"
"Yeah… you want anything?"
"Sure. I'll come with you."
The closest ramen place (I was aiming for soup because comfort food) was a little north of the Pokemon Center. The streets were fairly deserted, because of some big event downtown and because the of the rain. Thunder rumbled distantly, though I hadn't seen a flash.
I carried Hope in my arms, because she was far too young not to experience the world. She squealed in delight whenever a raindrop hit her (I did check to make sure it wasn't a bad squeal). Promise was out, too, just because Hope was.
"So how's life?" I said, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
"Pretty good. How's yours?" His face was happy and open.
"It's nice. I like rain a lot." (lolz I also like you a lot, said my brain)
"How?" He was wearing a jacket and scarf and still looked cold.
"Dunno. I just do. Like this child here," I said, nodding at the togepi in my arms. A big drop hit her head and she shrieked in joy. Lucas smiled at her.
Promise hissed and suddenly he was gone. I turned around and saw him fighting a croagunk. A woman in gray threw out another pokemon – a glameow. Galactic. Three other grunts there too.
"Trust, Faith, it's yours," I yelled, letting them out. I glanced at Lucas. A shiver went down my spine when I saw the horrified look on his face.
"My pokemon are in the heal center," he whispered.
Trust fought with mach punch, jumping from pokemon to pokemon and trying to one-shot them. Faith snuck up on a few but fell quickly, to a zubat's wing attack. I stepped in front of Lucas to direct Trust.
"Mach punch the glameows first," I said. He'd already taken most of them out. "The rest… Just use flamethrower," I said, even though it was raining. Poison and flying, what else could we do?
Promise fought like he had against Gardenia's roserade, with close-range moves. Trust was trying to shoot down the zubats with fire. They dove in on him. Trust was out.
"To, ge, to?"
"Shh, it's okay. Trust, return." Shit shit shit. "Lucas, start running."
"I'll fight myself, if I have to."
"Against a crap ton of poison types?"
"You only just learned how."
"To, ge, to."
One croagunk smashed Promise into the ground. He staggered back up and snapped his tail at the offender.
"Look out!" said Lucas. I turned and he was fighting a grunt. A bigger, slower grunt. I backed away. The grunt took a wide swing. Lucas ducked and knocked his fist into the man's jaw. I wrenched my attention back to Prom and suddenly a croagunk was flying at Hope–
"BUI!" Promise snarled, tackling the croagunk. But now he was too close to us, and the other pokemon charged.
"To, ge, to, ge." She was in time. Rhythmic. Her hands glowed white.
Promise jumpkicked the croagunk away, and suddenly the three of us were in a bubble of energy. The other pokemon ran up and banged on the walls. Promise looked in wonder at Hope's Protect. Hope giggled.
"Prom, figure this move out if you can. I don't know how long it'll last."
Lucas ducked left, roundhouse kicked sideways. Another grunt closed in from behind. "Behind you!" I yelled. Lucas looked up. He dodged the grunt behind him. The first grunt swung at his head. Lucas fell. The female grunt tackled him with a cloth in her hand. She held it to his face. She was cheating. Lucas struggled and went limp.
"NO!" I screamed.
The Protect cracked under the blows. Promise did something and a new one flared to life. The biggest grunt tossed Lucas over his shoulder. They glanced at our Protect bubble, then ran. Their pokemon kept up the assault, trapping us in. Only when the grunts were far down the street did they withdraw their pokemon.
Prom let down the Protect, breathing heavily from the effort. The grunts ran from view. Hope and Promise and I were left sitting in the rain.