I sat in the car in silence. I couldn't see past the seat in front of me, it was total darkness, but I knew I was in the car. I heard the road outside the invisible window roll by and felt the soft cushion beneath me. I noticed I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so I reached back to put one on. I curled my fingers around the leather and felt it slip around in my hand. I looked up. Thick, red liquid was oozing from my fingertips and dripping down onto the belt and my wrist. I pulled my hand back and brought both of them in front of me. Blood was pouring from my palms onto my dirty, white shoes. The outline of the driver materialized herself but continued to stare into the emptiness in silence.
"Sorry, mom," I felt the need to apologize. "I got it all over the floor." The blood stained the carpet below, darkening as it got heavier. She didn't respond.
"The imagination is a wild thing, isn't it?" A figure beside me spoke. I couldn't make out who it was. "I can't see what you're seeing, but I could tell you it isn't real." It all felt real. The blood was warm around my fingers and sticky around my feet. "The car is real, the road is real," he observed. "The silence is real."
"Are you real?" I asked him.
St0p cr¥!ng! Cr¥!ng s0lv€s n0th!ng!
My mom shouted. I hugged my knees and pressed myself into the seat. I didn't realize my face was wet, soaking my shirt with tears. I looked at the boy. You're not real, so why are you here?
Everything went quiet as a freezing breeze slammed into my face. I opened my eyes to a dark field under a night sky. I was shivering. I was no longer in the car, the sound of the road was far off in the distance. A tiny beam of light waved erratically from a tall figure. "Is someone there?" She called out. Was she talking to me? I scooted backwards and felt my spine on a tree trunk. I looked around. I recognized the place, but I couldn't understand where I was. I knew we weren't in Paldea. The only time I was away from the island was for my dad's funeral which took place in his hometown. The woman shined her flashlight into my eyes and I squinted, still unable to see her clearly. "Are you lost?" She came closer. A small silhouette of a Pokémon came out from behind her and followed her at her side. I heard my heart racing. I didn't understand why I was afraid.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Arven put down his flashlight and held out his hand to me. Umbreon sat beside him, cocking her head as she observed me.
Relieved, I grabbed his hand and let him pull me up to my feet. "What are you doing here?"
Umbreon went through my bag on the ground and pulled out my ID for Arven to look over. "You're a long way from home," he replied, flipping the card over and rereading it several times.
I crossed my arms, frowning. "I don't... want to go home." I remembered my mom and the blood that spilled over from my own hands. "I shouldn't be around my mom. I might kill her, too."
Arven carefully grabbed my hands that were now completely clean of any trace of blood. "I don't think you would. You've never hurt a person in your life." I pulled away and clenched my fists. I couldn't tell him what I did. "But I could tell a lot of people have hurt you." I winced. I didn't let anyone hurt me. I never got attached enough to feel hurt. "Let's get you home." I felt an arm around my waist and I threw my arms outward in defense. I flinched at the involuntary instinct. I hadn't felt the need to physically protect myself in years. I didn't know why I had suddenly fallen back into that compulsion unless... I was dreaming a memory.
My rotom phone startled me awake. Someone was calling me. Before rubbing my eyes or checking the caller, I answered with a slurred "H-hello?"
"Lugosi? Are you okay?" Who was that? I blinked several times in succession and rubbed my eyes until it went black. When my vision cleared, I first noticed the time was late noon and that I hadn't set an alarm then I read the caller's name.
"Arven!" I exclaimed way too loud. "Uh, yeah! I'm fine! I just woke up."
"Long night, huh? I'm sorry if I woke you up," he apologized, almost regretfully. "If you're still tired, I'll let you sleep; it's not important."
"No, no!" I insisted. "I overslept. I'm glad you called me when you did."
"Oh, if you're busy...." I panicked. I was digging my own grave here.
"I'm not busy. I just need to have a cup of coffee and I'll be ready for anything today."
"About that, um...." He went silent for a while, and I checked my phone to make sure he was still on the other end. "I was wondering if you wanted to try out the famous restaurant in Medali. It's on the other side of the crater, but I heard it was the best restaurant on the island, and I felt like it would be a nice first—" I blushed. Was he trying to ask me on a date? "You did a lot for me," he corrected. "I feel like the least I could do was take you somewhere nice for lunch."
I held a hand to my mouth. I was glad he asked me over a phone call because my face was incredibly hot. My chest fluttered thinking about seeing him again. We hadn't had a single relaxed day together that wasn't stressed by a titan battle. I cleared my dehydrated throat. "Should I... wear something nice? To the fancy restaurant?"
Arven chuckled quietly, the adorable sound shooting serotonin through my sluggish nerves and waking up my brain. "It's not that fancy, but if you're going to dress up... I'll wear something nice, too, okay?"
I was grinning wildly. Though not explicitly said, it felt like this afternoon was the first date, and the idea was tickling me. "Okay," I squeaked.
"I'll be at your door in an hour?"
"I'll see you in an hour." He hung up. Realization hit me like rampaging mudsdale. "Arceus, he'll be here in an hour!" My team jumped in surprise. "What do I wear? Does anyone know how to do hair?" Pawmo raised a paw. "Pawmo, you could help. I'm going to take a shower. Quaxwell, do you know anything about fashion?" The water-type Pokémon shrugged a more-or-less. "In the closet, find a couple things formal but not too fancy, Numel, if I take more than ten minutes in the shower, let me know. I'm going on a date!"
I raced to the bathroom and flung my unchanged uniform I had forgotten to take off before bed into the hamper and stepped inside the shower, yelping as the water hadn't yet warmed up. I heard commotion in the other room as the clothes hangers moved around in the closet. I had never been to Medali. It was between the desert and the snowy mountains on the North Province, completely opposite to the school. I had no reason to traverse all the away around the crater to be over there. Was Arven expecting us to walk over there? Or were we going to have to ride Koraidon? I shivered thinking about his arms tightly holding onto my waist like the dream I just had. I felt blood on my hands, and I squeezed my eyes shut until I didn't feel it anymore. I didn't want to think about my dreams. Instead, I shifted my focus to jewelry. Did I have any nice jewelry?
Numel croaked outside the door. "Has it been ten minutes already?" He made another throaty noise. "Shoot, shoot, shoot!" I threw my hair over my face and quickly wrung the conditioner out. I stepped out, twist-dried my hair, then tied the towel around my body and opened the door. "Pawmo?" Koraidon padded in with the yellow rodent on his head for leverage. I opened the mousse container and handed it to Koraidon who pressed the top to release a wad of the white foam down his claw. "Be careful, the button is pretty sensitive." Koraidon lifted his claw to Pawmo who rubbed the foam into his paws and began scrunching my waves.
I washed my toothbrush under the sink and brushed my teeth, keeping my head steady as Pawmo worked. I watched him expertly solidify curls into my hair. I heard that the pawmi line tended to help the newer trainers and follow them around even if they weren't on their team. They were extremely friendly and loyal to their trainers if they ever got one. I wouldn't be surprised if my pawmo helped new students clean themselves up after a hard first day of battling. I flossed and gargled with minty mouthwash as Pawmo and Koraidon finished up. I cleaned their sticky paws and claws before putting away the mousse and using extra-hold hair spray to finalize my look. I pet them both and thanked them. Koraidon shut the door as I put on deodorant and sprayed one press of my favorite perfume onto the warmth of my neck. I took off my towel to put on my undergarments and wrapped myself back up to look at what clothing Quaxwell chose in the other room.
There were only pieces of outfits on my bed. I really didn't have a lot to go off of. A short black dress caught my eye. I held it up to myself. It was a sleeveless garment that stopped right above my knees. I couldn't tell if it was too revealing to be semi-formal. I checked the closet and found one of my long, gray jackets that would cover up my upper arms, shoulders, and fall over my knees. The lack of leggings would mean I would get cold easier, so I decided to go with the jacket over the black dress. "Thank you, Quaxwell." He saluted acknowledgment. I checked the time. It was twenty minutes until 12:30. Forty minutes had passed shockingly fast.
I returned to the bathroom once more to put on my outfit in the mirror. I turned myself all around to look at myself at all different angles. I looked irresistible. I never wore makeup, it made me feel pasty and disingenuous, but I felt in order to complete my look, I needed simple gold stud earrings and a plain chain necklace. I felt anything more should be saved for a later date. I was sure there'd be more. I wasn't much of an optimist, but the excitement of finally, genuinely liking a person fueled my pleasant thoughts.
I left the bathroom, and the team gasped at my look. I laughed and posed in the doorway. "Do I look nice?" Everyone cheered. "I'll let you know how it goes. I'm very thankful you all helped out." I went to the bedside drawers and looked through my scarce jewelry collection for something simple. I found a thin chain and two diamond-shaped studs that I slipped on. My phone was also on the table which I checked again. 12:30. I quivered. Arven would be at my door at any moment. I threw on some socks and skipped to the closet by the door where I kept my footwear. I only had one pair of boots that were a matching black to my dress. I squinted.
"Am I okay to wear boots, Koraidon?" I didn't want to fall off, especially with Arven holding on. Koraidon nodded. I put on the high boots and checked my completed outfit in the mirror. I was stunning. There was a quiet knock at the door. It was him. "Coming!" My heart started racing again. I took a few deep breaths to prevent myself from sweating. I stretched my hands swiftly before grabbing the door handle and opening it. I instantly felt my face flush red.
Arven was standing in the hallway, hair swept back, clearly saturated with product, showcasing his brilliant, nervous, turquoise eyes. He was wearing an ironed, button-up white shirt with the top two buttons separated as per custom. He was wearing equally creased, beige jeans that were held up by a black, leather belt. He finished his look with a pair of white shoes. I was speechless. I didn't think he'd be any more beautiful, but here he was standing in front of me. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to tell him how much my stomach was squirming right now. "You look nice," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, blushing, too. "Incredibly charming actually."
I snickered. "You're extraordinarily striking as well, Arven." Koraidon pushed his way forward. "Are you ready to go?"
He smiled at me. That damn smile that always made me weak in the knees. "Yeah, Lugosi, let's go."