OOC: Here's the second half of the chapter I should've posted ages ago. Sorry XD
"Luuuuu! Rioluuuuuu!"
"Lucas, I know you're excited, but you're going to have to go to sleep," I told him.
I was in bed already attempting to go to sleep, but Lucas was wired up. Even daycare couldn't exhaust his vast energy supply this time. Telling him we were going on a trip tomorrow was clearly a bad idea. But I had to admit that I was excited and yet nervous too. I had never seen this wilder side to Veilstone. My only concern was that I wasn't going to fit in.
Before I went to bed, I picked out an outfit to wear and hoped it would be all right. But when I got up the next morning I decided to change it to something else and wished I owned at least one t-shirt or something a bit more casual or eclectic. I made a mental note to pick up something while we were out or borrow something from Quinn at least. The nervousness had started to fire up again, but Lucas helped me calm down.
"Riolu!" he said brightly. This was his way of telling me not to worry. "Luuuu!"
"You're right," I said. "Everything is going to be fine, and we're going to have a good time!"
I dropped Lucas off at Daycare without incident (Akira was already gone), so I headed to school. There was no coffee shop meeting today. I knew that everyone was probably in the computer lab so that was the first place I went. And sure enough, Quinn, Alicio, and Akira were there working on homework.
"Aw, CRAP," Quinn said. "I'm STILL fifty words over! This sucks…." She said slamming her head on the desk beside the computer.
She was working on an 800 word essay we had for English that'd I'd finished the day it was assigned. And it has to be 800 words or you'll be docked one point for every word over…meaning the highest Quinn could make would be a fifty if she didn't make anymore mistakes. No wonder she was panicky.
"Well, at least you're over not under," Alicio said in a would-be encouraging voice.
"Speak for yourself," Quinn laughed rather than saying it mockingly.
Alicio smiled back. "All right then. And if it makes you feel any better, we'll be having plenty enough fun to forget about school tonight."
"It'll be the highlight of my week," Quinn said as she concentrated on words she could remove.
"Same here," said Akira. "Maybe then I can find out how Mateo inherited all the cool genes and left you with nothing." Quinn and I laughed.
"Ha ha haaa," Alicio said sarcastically. "Witty remarks from the peanut gallery. That's already getting old."
"Yeah, yeah," said Akira as he turned back to the notes he was studying.
I fell silent after that. In about twenty minutes I would see Carina in homeroom and I was worried she'd be angry still. But to my surprise, she was back to her usual self. She was even including Alicio who was still wary of her; apparently he hadn't forgiven her for yesterday. I was just relieved he didn't say anything but it always felt like he was on the brink of doing so. She asked me if she could come by my house Saturday which was a huge surprise. Carina hadn't been to my house in a long time and I half had the feeling she didn't think it was good enough. My family wouldn't be pleased to see her, but my parents wouldn't say no. I wanted to refuse her, but then I'd have to come with a story of why I said no and lying to Carina wasn't one of my talents. It was just easier to say yes. Granted I'd have to figure out what I'd do with Lucas but I'd cross that bridge when I got to it.
By the time the end of school had arrived, everything seemed well, Alicio and I said good bye to Carina before we left for the same lounge at which we met Mateo last week. Quinn, Akira, Mateo, and Mimi were already there and already dressed. Quinn was wearing a pink skirt that was slightly above the knee, a hooded green vest over a long sleeved blue shirt with black designs on the sleeves, black leggings, and black boots with green accents. Akira was dressed less decorative and was wearing what looked like a concert t-shirt on top of a thermos shirt under his coat with his jeans and sneakers.
"Finally! I thought you'd never come," said Mateo as he and Mimi looked up and saw us. His silver bracelet and purple Pokétch had been fixed. "I thought maybe you'd put this off for studying."
Alicio rolled his eyes. "You never quit, do you?"
"Nope," he said and then he shooed us off. "Now both of you go and get dressed. I hope you at least brought something good."
"Who does he think he is?" Alicio muttered when we were both back in the hall. "Our mother?"
I laughed shakily. Honestly, I was more nervous than ever about my outfit. Mateo managed to pull off cool very well in a red polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers and the usual silver key necklace. I took a deep breath and calmed down and put on my outfit once I was in the bathroom. Nice dark wash jeans, black boots, and an elegant cashmere sweater. I thought it looked nice at any rate. Even so, I spent a long time looking the mirror to make sure it was just right, and I only left the bathroom when I thought I looked perfectly sophisticated.
"Miguela, I thought we'd have to send a search party," said Akira. "Did you get lost or something?
"No," I said self-consciously.
Naturally, Alicio had beaten me back…and he looked differently than I expected. He was wearing this jacket with Giratina's face and its colors, jeans, and sneakers that looked reminded me of red candies. Mateo and Mimi were holding back laughs—heck Mateo was almost shaking. And of course, that sent me in panic mode.
"W-what?" I said, my eyes getting wide.
"Miguela," Mateo began, still trying to hold in that laugh. "You're so conservative, it's hilarious!" Finally, he and Mimi dissolved into laughter.
Forget red, I think my face flushed crimson. "I-is that bad?" I said in a small voice.
"Don't be mean," Alicio said to his brother.
"I'm not, I'm not!" Mateo laughed. "But I'm just saying!"
I cleared my throat. "I mean, I know it's not like what the kids at Rocoso would wear, but—
"Did I just hear someone mention that bottom feeder school?" We looked up and saw Carina standing in the door. Apparently she hadn't left after all. I felt a bit worried about what she'd say to Quinn and Akira for being around us, but her attention was totally focused on Mateo. She eyed his purple tipped hair, his outfit and Mimi with disgust. "And who are you?" she asked rather rudely.
"Mateo Sandoval—Alicio's older brother," he answered her. Then his eyes narrowed, "that must make you Carina Diaz. I've heard so much about you…"
"I'm sure you have," Carina said in a sneering voice. "Are you like, a Pokémon trainer or something?"
Mimi made a disparaging noise and Mateo said "yep, she's one of those people. You think it's a joke, don't you?"
Akira, Quinn, Alicio, and I waited silently for Carina's answer. Shooting one glance at Alicio and me for some kind of eerie confirmation, she laughed darkly. "People that go on Pokémon journeys are the students who are bored with their lives and don't make the grade at school, so they think they can go "traveling" with Pokémon just so they wouldn't feel like the failures they are! They end up crawling back days later because living on the road was too hard. So yes, I believe Pokémon training is a joke and nothing to be taken seriously."
There was dead silence in the room. No one knew what Mateo would say next, but we were all surprised (and impressed) to see him smiling.
"Hnn, you're not totally wrong, but that just means you aren't totally right either," he responded. "You're right in that some people really have no business walking to the store alone let alone be on the road," Mateo said calmly even if his eyes were biting. "But even so, you can't just dismiss the entire art of Pokémon training, you know."
"Art?" repeated Carina. "As if."
"How sad," Mateo said scathingly. "You're just another close-minded know it alls—just like most of the idiots at this school. And from what I've heard, you sound like the biggest idiot of them all."
Carina looked furious. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me," said Mateo. "I called you an idiot because you are. You spend so much time in your little bubble that you don't realize the finer things in the life."
"The finer things in life?" Carina repeated viciously. "The finer things in life are all here," she said as she waved her arm to indicate the school and the rest of the area in which we lived. "We have everything we could ever want here. Why would we ever want to leave it?"
"Because," said Mateo simply. "You learn more about things that way. And as much as I already hate you, I'd like for you to come with use so you can see what you're missing out on."
Carina was take aback big time and the surprise showed on her face for about two seconds before fading to a scowl. "Sorry, but I actually have worthwhile things to be doing right now," she sneered.
"Heh, your loss," said Mateo.
Carina ignored him and continued, "Miguela and Alicio we have to be going now."
…
Alicio and I remained where we were because neither of us knew what to do (or at least I didn't). I was completely conflicted: I wholeheartedly wanted to go with Mateo, but I also wanted to please Carina at the same time. I could feel my heart racing and was really happy that Alicio spoke first.
"Well, since my brother's in town I decided to spend some time with him today," Alicio said easily.
At those words, I was completely in disbelief, but my shock was nothing compared to Mateo's, who just looked dumbfounded.
Carina made a tch noise with her tongue. "Fine then, but it's your own fault if you get bad grades on the next test," she said coldly. "Come on Miguela, we're going."
My mind went into overdrive as my heart continued to race faster. At that point I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. "I…really have to be going home early today…I promised I'd do something with my sister," I lied. "I promise I'll study later…"
Carina smirked. "Fine, have it your way. And Alicio, you should quit taking fashion advice from your brother." And without another word, she turned and stormed out. For some reason it felt like a cold a draft and been left in her wake. Mateo ignored her jab about his clothes laughed.
"Well little bro, I'm proud of you," Mateo said rustling Alicio's hair again. "Carina no longer has you whipped."
"What are you talking about? She never did!" Alicio insisted as he threw off his brother's hand and smoothed his hair back down.
"Yeah, suuuuure," Mateo said. "But you've proven yourself. Miguela here on the other hand still has some work to do."
I sighed and looked away. It felt like—no, it didn't feel like anything—I'd actually betrayed my best friend.
"Oh, come on Miguela," Akira said, patting me on the back. "Look on the bright side. You may have lied through your teeth, but you still managed to piss off Carina. And that's more than any of us could ask for."
Everyone laughed and even I had to smile a little bit. But what cheered me up most was Lucas. He looked thrilled to see everyone again and at the sight of Mimi, he jumped out of my arms and climbed on the Infernape's back. She made a noise of annoyance.
"Oh the irony," Mateo said. "Now you get to see what I go through carrying you on my back".
She rolled her eyes and I was sure she was thinking whatever. She peeled Lucas off her back and handed him back to me.
"He's certainly more cheerful than Megumi was as Riolu," said Mateo. "She was serious and yet sensitive to others around her, but she came off as very aloof—especially after she evolved. Megumi and Mimi didn't exactly get along at first—
Mimi snorted.
"Okay, so sometimes that was an understatement," Mateo continued, smiling. "It's gotten better."
"Will Quinn and Miguela finally get to meet Megumi tonight?" Akira asked.
"Megumi and the rest of my Pokémon as well," Mateo said nodding.
We got on a trolley that took us beyond Rocoso High School and its giant stadium into the heart of the battle district. Mateo said that the people we were mostly seeing now where people like him—full time trainers, and that the place would really come alive up once local trainers came out. We were passing all kinds of shops, arcades, and restaurants that probably looked even cooler at nighttime. The first stop we made was a neat little park that had plenty of open space and even places to battle so we could meet the rest of Mateo's Pokémon.
"Well, time to meet the gang," Mateo said and he began releasing his five other Pokémon one by one. "I'm sure you remember Addison from Monday, but here are Megumi, Ceferino, Ojore, and Siegfried."
I recognized Megumi, the Lucario, instantly. Her growls were at a slightly higher pitch than other Lucario that I'd heard on TV. Ceferino was a magnificent Staraptor that looked big enough for a person to ride. I didn't recognize what Ojore and Siegfried where, so I had to ask Mateo.
"Ojore is a Hitmontop that I got as a Tyrogue right here in Veilstone City," he answered. "And Siegfried is a Hariyama who…is currently being an idiot."
Mateo turned his eyes toward the direction of Siegfried and I had to laugh. The Hariyama was flexing his large muscles and eyeing a female Alakazam who looked revolted and a Jynx who was giggling. Mimi apparently didn't find it amusing whatsoever as she glared at her teammate. Finally the Alakazam had had enough of Siegfried and promptly used Psychic. He was surrounded in a blue aura rose slowly eerily into the sky and before anyone else could react, she launched Siegfried backwards where he landed at Mateo's feet and even he didn't have much sympathy for him. He gave a short laugh.
"That's what you get for being frisky!" Mateo called.
The Hariyama looked a bit cross-eyed with love. He shook it off and slowly rose to his feet.
"Is he always like that?" Quinn asked.
"Yep," Mateo answered. "I imported him from Hoenn as a Makuhita and the first day I introduced him to the rest of the team, he started hitting on Mimi and Megumi." The Infernape shuddered at the memory. "Both of them attacked him, but that didn't exactly stop him. He says he likes his female Pokémon feisty."
We all laughed. Though it was freezing outside, it was mostly fun. Mateo and Mimi had fun teasing Alicio and me and I have to admit it made me feel a bit awkward. He kept saying how I had to get some new clothes which was my plan from the start. Quinn and Akira were all for it and kept suggesting stuff I should buy. It pretty much went against everything that I was exposed to. You were supposed to dress professionally and like an adult—at least that's how it was at Veilstone High School. It would definitely be a change.
Instead I became the quiet one and contented myself with watching the Pokémon while the others talked. Lucas was really attached to Mimi (who had got over her annoyance of him) and Megumi and he spent most of his time around them. Mateo said he was surprised that Megumi took to him before Mimi did. The Infernape was trying to teach Lucas how to walk on his hands, but he fell over each time he tried. It was so cute how he looked so happy every time he failed. Later on however, he watched Mimi and Megumi spar against each other and tried to imitate their moves.
"Miguela, do you ever plan on battling with Lucas?" Mateo asked me.
I was shocked by the question. "Me? Battle? That's a hilarious thought," I said with a laugh. Mamoswine would fly before I ever battled.
Mateo didn't say anything, but he just smiled and THAT worried me more than anything. I really didn't know why though.
Just then Akira looked up and pointed. "I think Lucas has something to show you, Miguela," he said.
"RIOLU!" Lucas said happily. He began to kick as though there was an invisible punching bag in front of him, and to my utter horror, his entire foot became surrounded in flames.
"Wow, it looks like Lucas learned how to use Blaze Kick!" Mateo said. "That's really cool!"
"No, it's not cool at all!" I countered. "What if he burns down my house?"
"That's the risk of having a Pokémon," Akira said easily. "But really Miguela, I don't think you'll have any problems at all. You worry too much!"
"I hope you're right," I said doubtfully. Lucas rushed forward to give me a hug and I calmed down in spite of myself.
We left a while later to go out for pizza, but Akira insisted that be an organic pizza place. It was sunset by this time and indeed the streets were more crowded. People were going to arcades, the Game Corner, stadiums, or to the fair in the distance. Lucas was enjoying the sites and sounds more than I was. He was wide eyed as he looked at all the different people and Pokémon. I got stopped several times by people who wanted to get a closer look at him, and I really didn't mind it.
"Hey look!" Quinn said, suddenly stopping.
She was pointing at a clothing store that was full of clothes I would've never worn and that Carina would've scoffed at. Sure, I said I wanted new clothes, but coming face to face with them, I wasn't sure if I could pull the look off.
"Good looking out, Quinn!" said Mateo. "Well, Miguela, there you go! I'll even pay," he added, pulling out his navy blue Pokédex.
Despite my stammering protests, Quinn dragged me into the store while the boys followed laughing behind us. Twenty minutes later I was wearing black thick long sleeved off the shoulder t-shirt with some crazy design on it, a yellow tank top underneath it, a plaid skirt, denim leggings, and pink flats.
"Well, what do you think?" Quinn asked eagerly.
What did I think? It looked like she chose everything without even looking at it. She was one of those people who liked to spend someone else's money. Words utterly failed to describe it. "It looks…well…it's just…different."
"Mission accomplished!" said Mateo, clapping his hands together and Lucas, who was being held by Akira, seemed like he agreed.
I blushed and to add insult to injury, Alicio took out his phone and took a picture. "Don't worry; you look fine," he responded to the look on my face.
I looked in the mirror one more time, and decided the look would grow on me. Despite the fact that nothing matched, it still somehow went together. It wouldn't be something I did everyday, but this wasn't about that. It was more about me just getting out of my comfort zone, right?
"You look so awesome!" Quinn was still saying after we'd been seated at a big table in the restaurant. "Really, it's something I'd wear myself!"
"I don't doubt it," I said as I pulled at the wide collar of my shirt. I randomly imagined what Carina would say if she saw me in this outfit and I almost smiled to myself. She wouldn't believe what I was doing right now and likely wouldn't approve. Lucas was sitting in my lap playing with the knife and fork on the table.
"Wait," Akira said suddenly to Mateo who was about to check his blood sugar. "You're about to do that now?"
"Uh, yeah?" he said. Then he smiled. "Oh, are you one of those squeamish ones?"
Akira swallowed involuntarily. "A little," he admitted. "This stays at this table, but I have a slight fear of needles."
And sure enough he was starting to turn a little green. Quinn and I have to stifle giggles. He was always so cool and calm, and here he is looking like he's about to be sick.
"Coming from you, that's hilarious," said Alicio who was not as sympathetic. He and Mimi had both laughed at him. "What did you do when you had to get shots for school?"
"You should've been there," Akira answered cynically. "Going by how the nurses were laughing at me, I'm sure it was a riot."
"It's not so bad. I mean at least I'm not injecting insulin," Mateo said unhelpfully. At the word ‘injecting' Akira shuddered, and then he added "I can leave if you need me to."
"No, no. That's…not necessary. I'd leave if my knees worked. I'll just…close my eyes," said Akira shakily. He did that, and held the menu up in front of him. It didn't stop him from flinching at the same moment Mateo stuck himself.
"You can stop hiding, it's over," Mateo said. "And I've seen worse reactions if it makes you feel any better, Akira."
"Actually it doesn't," he responded, the green color finally subsiding. He took a drink of the water the waitress had brought earlier to calm himself.
"May I ask why you're afraid of needles?" Alicio asked, still smirking.
"You can ask all you want," Akira said, sounding more like himself. "That doesn't mean I'll answer you."
"Whatever, you still just made my whole night," said Alicio, unable to suppress the laugh. "I sooo should've recorded that; it was priceless. I'd love to know the reason you're afraid of needles though."
"And I'm sure Quinn and Akira would love to hear what happened on Valentine's Day of last year," Mateo cut in.
I was drinking water at the time and I nearly spit it back out. Alicio's face immediately turned bright red.
"You wouldn't."
"You better believe I would. I love telling the story."
That shut Alicio up very quickly. I'm pretty sure he'll be traumatized over the event for the rest of his life, but it was still funny. We ordered and got our food and we spent the rest of the time talking and laughing. I had to stop Lucas from eating my pizza after he'd polished off his own because I didn't want him getting a stomachache. Mateo told us the story of how he helped his best friend Marshall catch a Feebas which I found hilarious.
"Do any of you know anything about Feebas?" Mateo began. "In Sinnoh, Feebas can only be found in one area: a huge lake inside of Mt. Coronet. And to top it off, it's really cold and Feebas are hard to find. Marshall asked me to help him, and because I'm, ya know, sane, I said no. Unfortunately for me, I lost a bet and had to help him."
At that point Mimi shook her head as if saying how could you be so…stupid? Mateo glanced at his Pokémon and smiled. "Mimi was not happy about it and that was before we even went to the lake. We did research and found that it took most people at least a week to find and catch a Feebas if they found one at all. Well, it only took Carmen Lopez ten minutes but you don't ask her too many questions," Mateo added offhandedly.
"Did Marshall ever get one?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah," Mateo said. "It's a good thing too because if he hadn't, I would've probably killed him. It was easily the most tedious eight days of my existence. Did I mention that we were on the water and it was freezing? And that our boat was nearly attacked by a Gyarados and a Whiscash? It was so, so boring too. Marshall was about to give up on the eighth day, but right when we were about to leave for good, he hooked a Feebas, and not just any Feebas, but a shiny one. That did kinda make up for what we went through."
"My older sister also had a hard time catching a Feebas in Hoenn," Akira said, reminiscing. "Only she gave up after she was caught in a sudden thunderstorm and her boat was sunk by Carvanha."
"Yep, so much trouble for one little Pokémon," Mateo said sagely.
The waitress came over to our table with dessert menus and asked us if we wanted anything else. All of us said no…that is except Mateo. He asked for the double fudge chocolate cake covered in chocolate syrup. Alicio's eyes narrowed.
"Are you sure you should be eating that?" he asked Mateo accusatorily.
"Why not?" Mateo answered nonchalantly. "I've been planning all day and yesterday for the dessert menu. Besides, I'm splitting it with Mimi. Alicio, let it go," he added sharply as Alicio was about to say something else.
But Alicio didn't let it go. When the waitress brought back the chocolate cake, even I was shocked. It was huge and so rich it was enough to induce a cavity just by looking at it. Lucas was practically drooling over it, but that wasn't about to happen for obvious reasons (i.e. it was for the sake of my bedroom furniture). Alicio eyed the chocolate cake as if it had done something wrong. "Mateo, are you serious?"
"Alicio, I'm warning you now," Mateo said as he eagerly cut the piece in half and gave it to Mimi. "Quit acting like Dad before I have to embarrass you. I already told you I planned for this."
"But still!"
"Leave me alone," Mateo warned. He took a bite of his cake and closed his eyes. "Mmm, all of my hard work paid off with this."
Did Alicio really not see where this was headed if he didn't quit? I guess he didn't because he...didn't quit.
"But what if you—
"Alicio, please! You're ruining my moment here!"
It looked like it was about to turn into a (hilarious) fight over chocolate cake. Quinn, Akira, and I were all silently giggling as we watched Alicio and Mateo go at it.
"Stop looking at me like that," Mateo said to his brother and when he didn't, Mateo took a deep breath. "Okay, you can't say I didn't warn you. Let me tell you what happened to Alicio Valentine's Day of last year."
Alicio's face froze. "Mateo, I'm begging you," he said, mortified. "Don't. I'm sorry! I won't bother you about what you eat ever again as long as you don't do this!"
"Too late little brother!" Mateo said. "So basically I was in Veilstone for Valentine's Day of last year, but I decided not to come home. However I couldn't leave my little brother unscathed, so a prank call was in order. I didn't think it would be blown that far out of proportion."
At that point, Alicio tried to make a break for it. Too bad he was between Mimi and Akira who both stopped him within two seconds.
"Come oooon, Alicio," Akira crowed while holding onto the back of his jacket. "This can't be worse than your manpurse or my freak out, can it?"
"It can," Alicio answered. "And it is…" he sunk low in his seat.
"Oooh then we have to hear more," said Akira eagerly.
Quinn looked like she was torn between wanting to hear the story and wanting to preserve Alicio's dignity.
"It's really wasn't that bad, Alicio," Mateo said, nodding. "Once you stop caring, I won't have fun telling the story anymore."
"Only because it didn't happen to you!" Alicio said, turning red. "And really, you don't have to tell the story."
"Nope, but I will anyway," replied Mateo. "I'll even spare you and give them the short version." And before Alicio could say anything else to stop him, Mateo started. "See, Alicio here is apparently obsessed with being a law abiding citizen. I didn't realize how obsessed until I called pretending to be the police coming to arrest him over some stolen software. I expected him to just get frustrated as he tried to tell me I'd made a mistake but nooo…
"He went off the deep end into hysterics," Mateo continued while Alicio pulled the hood of his jacket as low as it would go. "You should've heard him on the phone: ‘I didn't steal anything! I'm a
good person! I'm telling my parents!' I had no idea his voice could get that high. Then the best part came when he started sobbing and I hear this girl consoling him; it turned out to be Miguela who happened to be there at the time. Easily the most awesome phone call I've ever recorded."
"And did you have to send it to the whole family?" Alicio asked through clenched teeth. "They'll never let me live it down."
"You should be lucky I didn't send it to your entire school," Mateo said.
"Well, Alicio," Akira said. "At least your entire family knows you're a
good person and that you're cool under pressure."
"Shut up," Alicio shot back. "One day I'll find out why you're so afraid of needles."
"And the day you do, I'm getting your brother to send me that recording."
They bickered the whole time as we paid for our food and finally left the restaurant. Looks like Alicio and Akira were going to have that type of relationship—the kind where they'd pick on each other and argue like an old married couple. It seemed like they would grow to be good friends though. I smiled to myself at the thought, but my mind always went back to Carina for some reason…
The rest of the night was amazing. My favorite was the arcade where I surprised everyone (and myself) by being really good at Dance, Dance Revolution. My coordination was better than I expected. But even I couldn't compete with Mateo and Mimi who were like DDR gods. Quinn hit the jackpot and won a ton of tickets at the machines and then cashed them in for a giant Snorlax doll. Alicio volunteered to carry it until Mateo offered the more practical solution of an Item Ball for it. Was it my imagination or did Alicio look disappointed? His brother just smirked.
We saw a battle at the Veilstone Collosseum between an Empoleon and a Cherrim. I expected Empoleon to win despite the fact that it's a water type but then the Cherrim used Sunny Day and unleashed a powerful Solarbeam that didn't seem possible coming from something so small. I got the biggest surprise as we were about to leave though. We came face to face with the twins from school: Hyacinth and Amaranth and they each had (pink) Pokémon with them. Hyacinth had what I vaguely recognized as a Wigglytuff. Amaranth had a round pink Pokémon with two puff balls for arms.
For a moment, Quinn and I and twins just stared at each other and the other's Pokémon. Then we all squealed "Isn't it the cutest thing EVER?" at the same time and ran to each other. I heard Akira say "girls" under her breath but we ignored him.
"Can I see your Pokédex, Mateo?" Alicio asked his brother eagerly. "I've always wanted to ID a Pokémon like they do on TV."
"Heh, go ahead. I just got it upgraded so it can identify Pokémon not native to Sinnoh," Mateo said, handing it to Alicio who pointed it at the Wigglytuff first.
Wigglytuff, the balloon Pokémon and the evolved for of Jigglypuff. Its body is soft and rubbery and when angered, it will suck in air and inflate its body to an enormous size," said the Pokédex in a feminine voice. Then, Alicio pointed the Pokédex at the second Pokémon.
Jumpluff, the cottonweed Pokémon and the evolved form of Skiploom. Once it catches the wind, it deftly controls its cotton-puff spores to float, even around the world.
"Hey, the Jumpluff in your Pokédex is blue," Alicio noted. "Is that a shiny Pokémon?"
"It sure is," Amaranth said. "I found her as a Hoppip in our garden back in Goldenrod City. Her name is Breezy!"
"She's so cute!" Quinn squealed. She reached out and tickled the Jumpluff; she giggled making Quinn and me both melt. "What about Wigglytuff?" she asked Hyacinth.
"Oh, his name is Jamie. He's a sweetheart," she said as she gave him a hug.
I reached out and petted him. His fur was so soft it was divine. "And this is Lucas by the way," I said, introducing him to the twins.
"I can't believe we get to meet a Riolu up close!" said Amaranth.
That started a conversation that lasted at least half an hour. The twins were just as intrigued by Mateo and Mimi as we were and they playfully argued with Matt about how he should go to Johto instead f Hoenn. It turned out that they had recently started coming out to East Veilstone on the weekends. They also hinted at a party they said they were having next Saturday. Despite the fact that we were invited, Quinn looked slightly apprehensive, but didn't say anything.
It was getting pretty late by now so we decided to head home. Since Akira lived closer to Quinn, we split up and he walked her home after we got off the trolley. Once again Alicio looked disappointed; I had to work hard to keep from smiling this time around. Alicio had a crush on Quinn and she was completely and utterly oblivious. He glared at Mateo and Mimi who were both grinning at him. I could tell that things were going to get interesting before this year ended.
Lucas chose to ride my back which made things easier for me because I didn't have to worry about him running off. Mimi threw Mateo and meaningful look to which Mateo replied, "forget it" to the Infernape's disappointment. Unfortunately my happy feeling wasn't going to last long. That seems to be a running theme now, doesn't it? We were laughing as we came up to my house but we cut it short when we saw who was waiting out front.
It was Carina. Her gray eyes looked even colder than usual as they flitted from Mateo and Alicio, Lucas, and finally to me…She raised an eyebrow as she wordlessly questioned what I was doing.
I nearly choked on my words. "Carina, hi! I didn't expect you until tomorrow night." I hoped I didn't sound as nervous as I was.
"I decided I wanted to come over tonight," Carina said slowly. "You would've known that if you'd answered your phone."
I pulled my phone out of my purse and discovered the seven missed calls and sighed. "My apologies."
"Even so," Mateo said, his eyes narrowing like Alicio's often did when he was suspicious of something. "You still shouldn't have invited yourself."
"No, it's fine," I said before Carina could counter back. "Really it is."
"If you say so," Alicio said. "I guess…it's time for us to go." He looked reluctant to go though and I was reluctant to let him go.
"See you later then," said Mateo.
As I watched the three of them walk away, I once again had the desire to run after them. I could feel that Lucas was anxious as well; he hugged me closer as though trying to protect himself.
That's not a good omen, I thought as Carina and I went into my house. I wondered what on earth she had in store for me this time.
OOC: I'm grateful for everyone's comments and I love getting them (I get worried when I don't see any lol). That said, I can't stress enough how much constructive criticism helps. If you see anything that looks weird, let me know. There may or may not be a reason for it. If it's the latter case, then I need to fix it XD Also, if the typos get too distracting, just tell me
I never did though. My hatred of Carina didn't quite extend to her two flunkies yet. Alicio still came into the computer lab but he didn't say much to me and Akira and we had nothing to say to him either. Truth be told, it was probably because he was afraid that we'd blame him for that webpage (which we kinda did
Miguela had a lot to say.
" said Addison simply. "Oh?" He looked down and saw a young Ralts watching him with stars in her eyes. He knew that look very well. Ojore groaned. "And what can I help you with?" Addison said cheerfully. The Hitmontop marveled at the way Addison could be so pleasant, yet be such a sicko at the same time.
Alicio is so easy to mess with it's hilarious! Mateo just keeps getting awesomer, and I would have never expected Akira to have a fear of needles.
