You hastily shook your head and tried to hand it back. “Wait, I can’t take this. I don’t even know if I can make it yet, Brendan.”
Steven narrowed his eyes mutely.
“Of course you can,” Brendan teased back with a wink. His fingers slipped back and zipped up the pocket, finalizing his decision. “It’ll be worth it, I promise. I’ll make it up to you somehow, and this is just one way to do it. Am I right?” He put a hand on your shoulder as you flinched slightly, tensing away. You finally nodded tersely.
“Well, I’m going. Take care of yourself, [Name].” He turned around and tilted his head at Steven as a kind of goodbye, the aura amiss with the same kind of tension you’d seen earlier. The Devon heir responded with a small bow, hand on his breast.
“Yeah. You too, Brendan.”
Once his footsteps had faded down the tunnel, Steven turned to you.
“I don’t quite understand… Are the two of you friends?” He came closer and ran a docile hand through your hair, brushing the loose strands away and tucking them behind your ear. A recondite gleam twinkled in his eyes, but a serious expression pressed his mouth into a thin line.
You felt mildly irritated, unsure of how to react, but continued, “Yes. Brendan and I are actually neighbors in Littleroot Town, and his dad is Professor Birch. I don’t really know how to explain our situation, but I’ll mull it over and tell you later.” You broke away from his grasp, feeling torpid. Steven eyed your figure with concern as you returned to the Fire Stone and kept chiseling, piece by piece. Smoothing out the wrinkles on his sleeves, he looked calm. That was how it was between you and him: you sought each other’s company and affection, but were never sure on how to communicate it. Although he connected with you on an emotional level, some part of you always refused his attempts to reach you. It was a twisted game of hide-and-seek.
“[Name], I would like a brief moment to talk to you,” he had insisted one evening while you sat on the corner of his bed, flipping through a novel. The only source of light was a lamp sitting on the corner of his nightstand, emitting a sickly yellow glow and throwing a majority of the room into an upheaval of blue shadow. “Have I done something wrong to upset you?”
You recoiled. “No. It’s not you.” The brittle page of the old book flips, and you move on to the next passage. Your eyes barely skimmed over the words – nothing really processed. Realizing he wasn’t satisfied with your answer, you briefly looked up and faked a smile. “You need to lighten up, Steven.”
***
“Steven, wait up,” you laughed breathlessly, sprinting across the hot sand through the shoal. The sun beat down on the weathered beach as palm trees swayed slowly in the distance.
“Hurry,” he called back, beaming. “It disappears in a few minutes, and I’ve been waiting to show you, [Name].”
You slipped on the last stretch and he caught you under the arms, hoisting you up as you giggled and punched his arm playfully.
“What is it?”
He pointed into the drop-off of the clear waters. “That right there. Do you see the slab of rock, right there? It’s covered fairly well by the seaweed, but the light hits it in such a way…”
“What, are you going to describe its geologic composition to me?” You snickered as he face palmed. Taking a good look, the stone was magnificent. Even underwater, it radiated with subtle colors matching the muted qualities of mother-of-pearl. It seemed to almost shift, pulsating, though only an optical illusion created by its beauty.
“I was going to, but now’s not the time. Look.”
A large school of bright pink Pokémon – Luvdisc – swirled casually in a ring around the iridescent stone, and then rapidly sped up, forming a bouquet of hearts; the waters stirred and rippled with the synchronized movements. They dispersed one by one within a few minutes, and the rock stopped shimmering, blending in with its surroundings.
“Wow.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s some kind of ritual that the Luvdisc hold seasonally. You’ll never see that many of them congregated in one area, either. I’ve always wanted to examine the properties of that stone – and I definitely have some theories about it – but I’d rather not disturb their routines.”
“Mr. Stone, so well mannered and civil, as always,” you teased gently. “Thanks so much for showing me, Steven.” You twined your hand with his and began the walk back to his cottage.
“Well…” He gave a short laugh. “I’m glad to have shared this with you, [Name].”
You hastily shook your head and tried to hand it back. “Wait, I can’t take this. I don’t even know if I can make it yet, Brendan.” Steven narrowed his eyes mutely. “Of course you can,” Brendan teased back with a wink. His fingers slipped back and zipped up the pocket, finalizing his decision. “It’ll be worth it, I promise. I’ll make it up to you somehow, and this is just one way to do it. Am I right?” He put a hand on your shoulder as you flinched slightly, tensing away. You finally nodded tersely. “Well, I’m going. Take care of yourself, [Name].” He turned around and tilted his head at Steven as a kind of goodbye, the aura amiss with the same kind of tension you’d seen earlier. The Devon heir responded with a small bow, hand on his breast. “Yeah. You too, Brendan.” Once his footsteps had faded down the tunnel, Steven turned to you. “I don’t quite understand… Are the two of you friends?” He came closer and ran a docile hand through your hair, brushing the loose strands away and tucking them behind your ear. A recondite gleam twinkled in his eyes, but a serious expression pressed his mouth into a thin line. You felt mildly irritated, unsure of how to react, but continued, “Yes. Brendan and I are actually neighbors in Littleroot Town, and his dad is Professor Birch. I don’t really know how to explain our situation, but I’ll mull it over and tell you later.” You broke away from his grasp, feeling torpid. Steven eyed your figure with concern as you returned to the Fire Stone and kept chiseling, piece by piece. Smoothing out the wrinkles on his sleeves, he looked calm. That was how it was between you and him: you sought each other’s company and affection, but were never sure on how to communicate it. Although he connected with you on an emotional level, some part of you always refused his attempts to reach you. It was a twisted game of hide-and-seek. “[Name], I would like a brief moment to talk to you,” he had insisted one evening while you sat on the corner of his bed, flipping through a novel. The only source of light was a lamp sitting on the corner of his nightstand, emitting a sickly yellow glow and throwing a majority of the room into an upheaval of blue shadow. “Have I done something wrong to upset you?” You recoiled. “No. It’s not you.” The brittle page of the old book flips, and you move on to the next passage. Your eyes barely skimmed over the words – nothing really processed. Realizing he wasn’t satisfied with your answer, you briefly looked up and faked a smile. “You need to lighten up, Steven.”
***
“Steven, wait up,” you laughed breathlessly, sprinting across the hot sand through the shoal. The sun beat down on the weathered beach as palm trees swayed slowly in the distance.
“Hurry,” he called back, beaming. “It disappears in a few minutes, and I’ve been waiting to show you, [Name].”
You slipped on the last stretch and he caught you under the arms, hoisting you up as you giggled and punched his arm playfully.
“What is it?”
He pointed into the drop-off of the clear waters. “That right there. Do you see the slab of rock, right there? It’s covered fairly well by the seaweed, but the light hits it in such a way…”
“What, are you going to describe its geologic composition to me?” You snickered as he face palmed. Taking a good look, the stone was magnificent. Even underwater, it radiated with subtle colors matching the muted qualities of mother-of-pearl. It seemed to almost shift, pulsating, though only an optical illusion created by its beauty.
“I was going to, but now’s not the time. Look.”
A large school of bright pink Pokémon – Luvdisc – swirled casually in a ring around the iridescent stone, and then rapidly sped up, forming a bouquet of hearts; the waters stirred and rippled with the synchronized movements. They dispersed one by one within a few minutes, and the rock stopped shimmering, blending in with its surroundings.
“Wow.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s some kind of ritual that the Luvdisc hold seasonally. You’ll never see that many of them congregated in one area, either. I’ve always wanted to examine the properties of that stone – and I definitely have some theories about it – but I’d rather not disturb their routines.”
“Mr. Stone, so well mannered and civil, as always,” you teased gently. “Thanks so much for showing me, Steven.” You twined your hand with his and began the walk back to his cottage.
“Well…” He gave a short laugh. “I’m glad to have shared this with you, [Name].”
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