Walking In Another's Shoes

The Sleepover

As Graiden got dressed into his sister's pajamas and sat on her bed, he couldn't help but worry whether he was actually going to be able to do this. His mother and sister had assured him he would be fine, especially know that he knew what to talk about with the other girls. But he still felt the nervousness eat at him. Even knowing how to do 'girl speak' now, he was worried he was gonna mess up.

Looking over and taking two hair ties from Avia's dresser, he began trying to put her hair up in double pigtails. Grunting as he struggled with getting the hair through, he finally managed to do one. Taking some breaths, he did the other one and looked at the mirror with a small smile. He looked pretty cute, and he was proud that he had managed to do the hairstyle. Maybe he would try it with his own hair someday...within his own room of course.

He had had to take the pigtails out that Avia had done earlier to shower. That was the only reason he had wanted to put them back up into them. Plus, it kept her hair out of his eyes a bit. Honestly, he imagined being able to do cute poses and dance moves at Musicals and the roar of the crowd as he...

SIghing, he reined in his thoughts. That was a foolish dream. Avia was going to be the Musical star of the family. She would probably make a great Pokemon Nurse as well. She was always helping Pokemon in need. The Cyndaquil their mom took care of right now? It had been one Avia had found hurt pretty badly in an alleyway near Slateport Academy. Avia had brought it home, applied what she had learned in Medicine and Berries class, and nursed it back to good health. The only reason it wasn't in Avia's possession was because she wasn't quite old enough to start a journey or even start her training in becoming a Nurse. So their Mom had taken it upon herself to take care of the Fire Mouse Pokemon until Avia came of age to take it with her.

Graiden sat back up on the bed, looking at his now small and petite hands. And what was going to be his plans after he graduated from the academy? Challenge the League? Take on the Battle Frontier challenge? Maybe try his hand at contests? He didn't know and it scared him a bit. Here Avia already knew what she wanted to be in life and he didn't have a single clue. He didn't even have his own Pokemon yet and Avia already had a Cyndaquil ready for when she set out on her journey to be whatever she decided to be.

Hearing the door open pulled Graiden out of his thoughts as he saw Asria, Keyera, and Brandi enter the room with their overnight bags and wearing their own pajamas. He instantly felt a sense of comfort and friendship, though he knew it came from Avia's memories of them and not him as a person. This made his guilt rise again. The only reason he felt friendly and comforted by her friends was because of the memory he had experienced, which he still felt was intruding.

Feeling a smile come to his face, however, he knew that he was going to have the make the best of this that he could. After all, it wasn't everyday that a boy could experience a girl's sleepover. He might as well enjoy their company and have fun. And who knows? Maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

Asria and the others say down on the floor as they looked up at him. Keyera nervously played with her hair as she and Brandi looked at each other for a brief second before returning their gaze to Graiden. Graiden was confused. What was going on and why were they just staring at him? It couldn't have been that his mother or Avia had told them of the swap, they had promised not to tell anyone else.

"Avia...we almost didn't make it..and I hate to be the one to tell you but... "Asria began, before nervously shuffling her feet left and right. Graiden felt a sense of dread fill him. What was Asria not wanting to say that was so bad?

"Tell me...what?" He asked, to which the three other girls looked down. The feeling of dread kept getting worse, and Graiden absolutely did not know why. Was it something to do with...

And then it hit him like a brick as he realized what they wanted to say but didn't want to. He felt tears prick his eyes as he felt his heart begin to crumble. Even though he knew these weren't necessarily his emotions, he knew what this was.

It was heartbreak. They were not wanting to say that Avia no longer had a chance with Ren as he probably got with someone else.

Beginning to sob a bit, he felt the other three girls come and hug him in support. This only made him sob more, as he couldn't even try to hold back the feeling of utter heartbreak. He knew these weren't his feelings, but rather Avia's feelings, but it hit hard just the same as if he had been told that he no longer had a chance with a girl he liked.

After about 30 minutes, Graiden finally got to a point where he could control himself again. Wiping his eyes and hugging Avia's friends back, he whispered: "Thank you guys..."

"It's no problem Av. We didn't know how to tell you but...we will be here for you through this. Now c'mon. This is a sleepover. We gotta have some fun to lift this mood a little bit..!" Asria said with a small smile, to which Graiden returned the smile. She was right. They couldn't let this stop them from having a good time.

Pulling out a board game and playing Ekans and Ladders, they each cheered and booed whenever they would get ahead or fall behind the others because of a good or bad dice roll. After a while, they started to talk about boys and just random subjects. Eventually, the subject turned to Musicals.

"Hey, do we wanna practice 'A Walk in Nimbasa'? I know it's kinda sudden but even with all our practices before I still feel a bit unsure about my steps..." Brandi piped up, touching her pointer fingers together in nervousness. Graiden smiled as he got up to his feet.

"That sounds like a great thing to do Brand! Let's do it!" He cheered, as all of them got up and put on the music for the Musical on Avia's CD Player. Smiling as they held hands, they began to perform their steps. A forward step here, a sidestep there. Eventually, they finished with their hands up, clasping the other's hand.

Turning off the music player and turning to the others, Graiden couldn't help but feel a strong connection with them that was more than just Avia's feelings. It was as though he was forging his own bond with them, instead of just relying on Avia's memories and feelings.

"That was great! I feel much more confident for the show on Saturday! Thanks guys!!" Brandi exclaimed, smiling wide. Keyera giggled as she put a hand around Brandi's shoulder. "Of course! We are the Musical Sisters after all! We have each other's back! Right guys?"

"YEAH!" They all cheered before they began to roll out their sleeping bags and get their pillows out from their bags. Graiden sat up on the bed, wondering how Avia was handling all of this. He supposed she was spending time with Mom and Dad, something she didn't really get to do with all the activities she usually did for school and Musical practice.

Laying down under Avia's covers, he looked over as he saw his mother come in and look at them all.

"Did you have fun girls?" She asked, to which they all smiled.

"Sure did, Mrs. Stone!" Keyera replied, to which Brandi and Asria confirmed as well. Then Graiden notice his mother looking at him a bit longer before turning out the lights.

"Well I hope you all get some good rest. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mrs. Stone!" The girls replied, before rolling over and closing their eyes. Graiden remained awake, waiting until he heard the others fall asleep before quietly getting out of bed and opening the door gently.

'I need to get downstairs and talk with Mom, Dad, and Avia...'