James x Reader | Pokemon | - | REWRITE |

In Two Days

You walked away from the door as soon as you heard James approach it.

You sat on the bed, scowling away at the floor. Your face was uncomfortably tense.

James smiled faintly, and for the first time you couldn't tell the motives behind it. By his expression and his voice he seemed...tired. "I didn't expect you to be awake," he said quietly as he closed the door. He sighed. "Though I suppose you had to wake up at some point...and it has been almost all day...so I suspect you won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night."

You didn't respond.

"Is something the matter? I mean, of the less obvious things."

You didn't respond.

He sat down next to you on the bed. "Look," he said, "despite my best efforts, it seems near impossible for me to get you any medicine, and I don't want you to have to drink whatever is in that mysterious potion. So as much as it feels sort of strange for me to say this, I can't really do anything else. You don't have to talk to me. But I'd rather you did."

You spoke quietly. "I heard everything, James. I know this is just part of your plan."

James responded more quickly than you expected. "You mean her plan. If you really heard everything then you would know I truly did try to get you the medicine."

Your voice raised. "Yeah, so you could manipulate me even more. I'm not falling for it"---your voice was already on the verge of breaking---"not more than I already have."

"Oh please. I only put it that way so there might be the slimmest chance Jessie would approve of it. But it seems even that is getting less likely lately."

"You like this, don't you? You like that I'm upset."

"What gives you that impression?"

"You're a kidnapper."

James stuttered for a moment as if to try and defend himself, but he stopped himself in the middle of it and sighed in defeat. "Fair point. And I suppose there really is nothing to redeem me, is there?"

You yelled, "Like hell there would be! If you were kidnapped would you be searching for some way to justify your attacker?!"

Because I know I am. And it's stupid.

"I suppose I wouldn't be. But I really do want to help you."

"That's just all part of Jessie's plan! I'm not that stupid!"

"I know!" James yelled back. "I know! Both of those things I know, I know them quite dearly, in fact, and I've been knowing them for a while. I don't need you to like me, alright? I just need you to help me help you, in some way, so I can---" he quieted his voice a bit, so Jessie wouldn't hear, you guessed, "so I can somehow get you out of this."

He took some shallow breaths before continuing. You could hear them in the odd silence, and the emotion was genuine. Was James really that good of an actor...?

He put his head in his hands, his fingers through his hair. "I don't know how, I don't know when, but I do know why---and it's because I never wanted this. I know it's my fault, and I'm done trying to justify myself. But truly I mean it when I try to say that I didn't mean for everything to go this far. I wanted to prove myself as capable but not capable of this! Because I'm not! And I don't want to be. And you don't have to believe it all but you need to at least trust me enough so I can help you."

You didn't respond. You needed to think---this was basically life or death, wasn't it? Wasn't it? This was too much now. It felt like it wasn't supposed to happen. You were stuck. Each option you could choose seemed to be equally as bad. Trust him and risk being manipulated even further, or don't trust him and risk ruining your only means of escape?