A Trail we Blaze - A Trainer X Cinderace story

Chapter IV

Max carefully lowered himself off the roof with his feet dangling a few feet off the ground, trying to be quiet so Ruby wouldn't run away. He gulped and tried to reach the ground on tippy-toes, eventually going low enough to where he felt safe to fall down (about five inches off the ground). He crouched down and poked his head up so he could peek into his room. Ruby was there, sitting on his bed with her back against the window. She had her paws covering her face and was sobbing into them, rambling on things she never said like "I'm stupid" and "he hates me now" and sometimes was just crying. Max winced and felt a huge pang of guilt in his chest.

He couldn't think about that now though. Or, at least not yet. The first thing he had to focus on was how to get back into his room without causing a scene. He was able to get back in when he had to get a blanket earlier, but it was easier said than done, and he made a lot of noise. First, he had to get past the flower pots, then climb through the window, and then crawl on his desk over to the other side, and THEN try not to just slip and fall flat on his face, all while not scaring her off.

Max made a mental note to next time find an extra-extra tall ladder.

He tried to be quiet and stealthy, which he succeeded at. Or, rather, he succeeded in being as quiet and stealthy as an angry Charizard.

Max shuffled on top of his desk and, just like he expected, slipped on some loose papers and faceplanted himself into the ground before doing a weird flip that couldn't exactly be considered a somersault. He fell on his bed with his head still on the floor. Ruby let out a yelp and ran over to flip him right-side-up again.

"Agh, thanks," Max muttered in pain and rubbed the back of his head. "You know, I should probably wear a helmet next time I do that. Or maybe I just shouldn't do that at all." He looked up to see Ruby solemnly walking up to the door out of his room. Before she could reach the handle, however, Max quickly vaulted over his bed and gently grabbed her wrist. She stopped in her tracks, but didn't react or pull away. She let her arms fall to her side and didn't move. "Hey, I--"

"D-don't say s-something just...j-just to make m-me feel b-better," Ruby choked in between light sobs. Max was astonished. He'd never seen her this sad before, not even when she accidentally set her favorite Pokémon treats on fire when she was still a Scorbunny. (She was juggling a pebble with her feet and accidentally ignited it before it landed on her plate. Thankfully nothing else caught on fire.)

He tried tugging on her arm to turn her around, but she wouldn't budge. He moved around her so he could face her, but she just looked away or turned around every time. Sighing, he locked her in a soft embrace from behind. But before he could fully put his arms around her, she quickly turned around and lunged at him, tightly wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry! P-p-please don't hate me!" She bent down and continued sobbing into his shirt. Before long, Max felt like someone had tackled him with a water balloon.

"Why would I hate you?" he asked. Ruby took a step back and rubbed her face with her arms, trying to dry her eyes with her fur.

"B-because...you know!" She put a paw on his chest and looked away. "B-b-because I...I..."

"You what?" Max said.

Ruby gulped. She wasn't able to say it again! "Y-you know what!"

Max, getting the message, said, "But, if you love me, what reason do I have to hate you?"

Ruby blinked at him, astonished. Before now, she rarely worried or dwelled on all the things that would go wrong or would prevent her from opening up and confessing to Max. But now that she'd done it, everything that could go wrong was all she could think about. "But--isn't it weird? Or d-disgusting? I-I-I'm a Pokémon...and you're human. It's...not..."