Purple Ink (SatoGou)

Chapter 3

I was sixteen when I met Lillie. She transferred to my high school along with her twin brother, Gladion. They introduced her to us at the start of our first class of the new year, and my eyebrows rose up the second she walked in. I wasn't sure what it was about her, but I was drawn to her, though I wasn't sure in what way. Dawn noticed my stare, and nudged me teasingly, but I just scowled at her, ignoring the heat that crawled up into my face, even as Lillie met my eyes, and gave me a little smile that lit me up inside.

I was tired of everyone around me finding people. Gary had been in several relationships. So had Misty. Dawn had dated a couple of girls, and kissed a few more. Even Kenny had a long-term girlfriend. I was tired of being teased for it, too. Not by Dawn, but by Gary, and occasionally Misty, though I knew there was no malice behind it. I wanted to know what it felt like, too. So when I looked at Lillie across the classroom again, and found her looking back, I latched onto that warm feeling that spread into my chest, and I ran with it.

"Am I crazy," Dawn started, cornering me outside the classroom, "or were you eyeing that new girl up?"

"She's cute." I shrugged. Dawn's eyes lit up, and I felt a twinge of guilt, my head going back to Red. I didn't know why I was feeling guilty. I had no ties to Red, and we weren't involved in that way at all. I had no interest in her in that way. Yet, for some reason, she always lingered there.

"Please let me introduce you two," Dawn said, clasping her hands together.

"Alright," I sighed, dragging myself away with her. "But she probably doesn't care. I mean, she just moved here. She's not going to care about boys."

"Ash," Dawn said, stopping me with her hands on my arms. "You're so dumb, you don't see how all the girls would jump on you. How almost any of them would say yes if you walked up and asked them out, right now."

I felt my skin burning, and looked stubbornly away from her, not wanting to hear it. She was finished explaining though, and quickly dragged me to the next class. I caught her looking at me throughout it, and wished I'd never made my slight attraction to Lillie known at all.

True to her word, she raced to greet Lillie as she headed out of the classroom, leaving me in her dust. I sighed, and walked out into the courtyard with Gary, talking about a dumb TV show he'd gotten obsessed with. When we stepped out into the warmth, I noticed them standing together. Gladion, thankfully, was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Lillie," Dawn said as Gary and I descended the stone stairs, swinging her arm out to us. "These are my friends, Gary and Ash."

Lillie was almost curling in on herself, like she was trying to appear small. She peered up at me, a little smile on her face, and muttered a greeting. Her platinum hair was loose down her back, with two small plaits either side of her face.

"Hey," I said, smiling. I knew that Dawn was going to play Cupid. I hadn't decided if I wanted her to or not yet.

She invited Lillie with us to the beach that weekend. Gladion seemed to have found his own group of friends, and I was glad he didn't come along, because I knew he'd be pissed off when he saw Dawn's not-at-all-subtle attempts at matchmaking. We went when the sun was starting to dip in the sky, lighting it with hues of pink and coral. Gary lit a small fire, but after an hour or so, he left with his girlfriend. Dawn asked Misty to walk the twenty minute walk to the closest store with her. Picking up on the plan, Misty agreed, leaving Lillie and I alone.

She was quiet and reserved, but over the course of the week I'd seen her stand up for what she believed in, and she didn't take any shit. I liked her from the moment we met. Alone, she was a little more open than she was in the group, but still a little shy. I made up for it, though, always managing to fill the silences. She was happy just to listen to me, and the way she looked at me, always seeming so fascinated with what I had to say, stirred something in me. I think that Lillie was the first person in my real life that I ever had an inkling of feelings for.