Whispers in the Dark「Pokemon Fanfiction」

Tweɴтy-Seveɴ • I'll Be Fιɴe

Chapter Twenty-Seven: I'll Be Fine

Ryou glanced at the blue-haired girl—she'd borrowed his phone to search up the so-called definition of a "kiss", and a mad blush was spreading across her cheeks.

Memories of last night came flooding back, and he looked away, his face heating up even more than hers—and that in itself could be considered an achievement. They stayed like that for a few moments, not daring to make eye contact with each other and making sure they were more than a few feet away.

That was until Quinn walked up to them, trying to hide the uncanny smirk across her face, and Celebi flitted next to her, the meek Legendary carrying a gentle smile as she glanced at the both of them. "Is something wrong?" Her innocent tone hid the mischievous intent underneath. "Were there any, perhaps...romantic moments between you two last night?"

Celeana smothered their smirks with an embarrassed glare, something that impressed the pale-haired teenager across her—he hadn't seen her behaving that firm before. She did, however, pause when a small burst of laughter escaped her friend's mouth, and she curiously looked back to see Ryou smiling.

"This is hilarious," he stated, but the light scarlet dusted across his cheeks still remained. He stopped for a while, looking away, and it was clear that he was still uneasy about the entire situation—but she couldn't help but giggle at the sound of a soft "Idiots" muttered under his breath.

The coordinator just shrugged, glancing down at him with an amused expression. "You know,  it's usually me or Quinn behaving like that," she commented. "But that aside...are you OK? You don't need to smile like that if you're not up to it."

"Oh, this?" He returned her stare with an even gaze, the tiny grin on his face not wavering. "What, have you thought me incapable of having an actual smile?"

"Just kidding," he breathed. "It's tiring to keep it up, but I guess it's a bit easier than maintaining my old mask. And I won't stop lying, you know—it's part of my nature. Just because you're trying to fix this doesn't mean I'll stop."

Raising an eyebrow, she decided to let his speech slide—she couldn't expect all of his old ways to stop at once. Instead, she sighed, trying her best to hold his attention before speaking once more. "OK then," she replied. "Just promise that you'll show your true face once in a while, OK?"

The trainer rolled his shoulders in a simple action, his tone dropping to the doubtful one that she had witnessed just last night. His voice searched hers for sincerity as he spoke. "No one ever believes me when I tell the truth," he whispered, voice small.

"I do," she murmured back, and that ended the conversation—she then ruffled her friend's messy hair, causing him to shoot a glare at her. "Anyway, let's get going—you want to leave this place as soon as possible, right?"

He gave her a firm nod, and that settled things—Quinn trailed behind them as usual, pretending to look disinterested in the older duo's antics, but they could see that irksome snicker that she kept to herself.

Once they did exit the Pokemon Center, though, they were met with an unusual sight that shocked their eyes—Steven Stone leant against one of the whitewashed walls of the building, slant-eyed gaze focused on the light-haired boy at the front of the trio.

Gesturing at the two females to step back, Ryou stepped forward, holding the older man's gaze with a defiant glare in his amethyst eyes.

"I would ask you what you're doing here, but that's a rhetorical question," he started, a mirthless smile playing on his lips. "I'm pretty sure I got the message across—I'm not going back, and you're not going to make me. I'm never going back to Devon Corporation—accept the fact already and leave me alone."