Project: Titans -- A Pokemon Story (OC x Piers)

Chapter 41 -- Piers' POV

After Ford came to the apartment, the days seemed to pass by way too quickly.

I scanned the entire apartment from top to bottom, digging through the newly organized cabinets and drawers that Gia had cleaned out for anything that might have suggested that Spikemuth wasn't a good place for Marnie. The search to find evidence she should stay was just as unfruitful.

Gia had been acting very odd since the day Ford came, and I first really noticed it when I caught her talking with Obstagoon; actually talking, and not just yelling at him to stop getting fur all over the couch. They stopped as soon as they saw me and went back to how they usually act, with Gia calling him an "overgrown shag rug" for running through the living room. It only happened once, but I was immediately suspicious.

Of course, it only got worse as the fatal date grew closer, but I barely paid attention to the way Gia was acting. I had assumed she heard Ford and I yelling, just because it would have been pretty odd if she hadn't, seeing as she was in the same house at the time. I was just thankful she didn't tell Marnie.

She was already so stressed with the Gym Challenge and the Finals matches coming up, and I didn't want to rope another thing to worry about into her routine. Besides, it wasn't any use if the both of us were running around like Pidove with our heads cut off, so I kept it a secret.

I started taking less and less care of myself and the apartment, smoking more and talking less and less. I pulled all-nighters trying to find some sort of information to help my case; paper cups of coffee quickly piled up on my workspace. Fortunately, my Pokemon were quick with picking it up and disposing of it every few days or so.

When the day finally arrived, I woke up to the sound of a pounding fist on the door. I groaned, rolling my stiff back out of my chair and stretching, feeling the muscles crack. I had fallen asleep at my desk yet again, with an old blanket stretched across my shoulders. Probably Obstagoon's work. I chuckled when I caught him snoring on my bedspread.

Rising when I heard another rough rapping on my bedroom door, I trudged over to fling open my door where Gia was standing. "Are you going to get dressed sometime this century, or are you planning to meet that agent without a shirt?" she snipped, throwing something in my face. So she had heard about that; wonderful.

Tugging the spare tank top she threw at me off my face, I pulled it on and followed her to the living room. "He'll be here by one," Gia said bluntly, taking a blanket and folding it before tossing it over the back of the couch. "Where's Marnie?" I asked.

"Asleep," she said nonchalantly, brushing a few wisps of blonde that had escaped her loose ponytail. "Meowsie's in there to make sure she doesn't wake up." I nodded my thanks before turning to go back into the bathroom. "Piers?"

I turned at the sound of Gia's voice; not hardened with anger, but...soft. Gentle, almost. Her gaze had softened and she was nibbling slightly on her lip. "I hope," she paused, before taking a deep breath. "I hope this whole thing goes well. Really, I do. I might not be able to stand you, but...she's a good kid."

I nodded gruffly before quickly turning, not wanting her to see the pinpricks of tears coming to my eyes.

*******

Gia basically had to use brute force to get me out of the house, especially as the clock on her watch ticked closer and closer to 1:00 pm. The fridge had run out of groceries for lunch, and she thought offering some food would be good hospitality.

Plus, all our food had mysteriously disappeared overnight and we had nothing else except some powdered Tapu Cocoa and an open can of Picashews in the pantry; which, apparently, were 'unacceptable host manners', according to Gia.