First Faith

Chapter 14: Leech

Chapter 14: Leech

"You did what?" Dawn repeated, staring at me as if I'd just told her I'd traveled back in time, gone to Mars to invent a new flavor of pudding, and almost died in the process all this afternoon.

"I had fun." I said again, "Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Yes." Her eyebrows pulled down before she relaxed her face and smiled, "Wow, you and Demi's competitions do sound like they were a blast. I wish I'd been there to watch."

"Me too." I kissed her forehead and pulled her close to me. When I opened my eyes, I saw Piplup glaring at me from the couch, his flippers crossed. He didn't seem to believe that I'd actually had fun. I gave him a curt nod as I said quietly, "You'll have to come see her sometime. I'm not sure how often I'll spend time with her while we're stuck here, but my Pokemon had an enjoyable time and I'm sure yours would too. Piplup hasn't exactly gotten any exercise lately, has he? Every time I see him he's lying down."

Dawn laughed, but Piplup scowled and slid into the pillow he was on to get more comfortable, "Piplup's just been having a vacation is all. That's a great plan. Maybe I could practice Contest moves with Demi."

"I'm sure she'd would like that."

Dawn pulled away, letting her hand trace down the side of my arm.

"What was that?" I let my nose press against her temple as I held in a chuckle.

"What?"

"That exhale through your nose, like you were scoffing."

"I wasn't scoffing." She grinned.

"What?"

"You're just so... different right now." Dawn said cheerfully, "I can tell you're happy and that makes me happy."

"Good." I let my fingertips meet hers, barely touching them. I took a breath, deciding to voice my thoughts before I could think through it, "I've been having nightmares and it's nice to not think about them for once."

"Demi does seem like the kind of kid who can keep nightmares away."

"She's a distraction." I said, frowning, "And I do realize I'll need to talk about things eventually..."

"No one's pushing you right now." Dawn put a hand on my cheek.

"Maybe not." I studied her beautiful blue eyes, so full of sincerity, "But maybe I need to be pushing myself."

That night, I hardly slept. Memories, not even my own, flooded my dreams, turning them into horrors. When I finally fell back asleep, my peaceful REM cycles would turn into nightmares- Drawing Turtwig would lead to being beaten up. Walking through a forest ended up as running for my life from a colony of Mankey. A Johto League Champion battle would lead to screaming as physical pain jolted me awake.

What's wrong with me? I wondered, shaking in the early hours of the morning. I had just had a perfectly fine day and had hoped it would lead to a normal sleep pattern. Yet this was the worst night since arriving in this town.

After what felt like hours of lying awake in fear, I ended up dozing off once again to wake up to Dawn being out of the room, a note lying next to my bed.