Amourshipping : Love, Loss & Loyalty

Disbelief

Miette paced across the lobby of the Pokemon center with her teeth sinking into her thumb. How long had it been? How close a call had it been? And more importantly, where the hell were Ash and Serena?

She hadn't been given much of a choice. In a split second, she had the options of protecting the Pokemon, or fighting against opponents she knew for a solid fact she was weaker than, and would not be able to win while outnumbered three to one, and with overwhelming odds.

She had chosen to protect the Pokemon.

And she hated herself for it.

How could she have just run like that? Where were Ash and Serena? Why hadn't she heard from them yet? She had seen the fall... And she had still run. If they were hurt, that was her fault...

And she'd never, ever forgive herself for that.

The very second she had gotten into town, she had reported the incident to the police officers, and taken the Pokemon to the Pokemon center for treatment. Many of them were battered and beaten from the battle she had been engaged in. Others were just totally exhausted, depleted of their energy in their totality.

"Urgh..." She muttered to herself. She felt physically sick to her stomach. Sick with her own actions. She had done what she thought was the right thing in the moment... But now that the moment had passed... She regretted it so much. She was sick with worry for her friends. She wanted to go back out there right now, to look for the two of them. Standing here was driving her insane.

Really... How dare she even call herself their friend?

"Oh. You're here too?"

For a brief moment, Miette thought she heard Ash's voice. Turning quickly, she found out that she had been a bit too excited for her own good.

In actuality, it was Paul. The purple haired Sinnoh native that she had found herself partnered with only a few days ago in the Castle tournament.

"Paul?" Miette asked in disbelief. Blinking hard twice, she made sure she wasn't in some sort of panic-induced hallucination. She hadn't expected to see him again, and definitely not so soon. Under any other circumstance, she would probably have been happy.

Paul seemed to scan the room around the two of them. They were the only two in the lobby, Paul having been on his way to leave. The two of them must have spent a day or two under the same roof, completely unaware of the others presence there.

"Where are Ash and that blonde girl? Did they leave you? Or are they somewhere else?" He asked callously.

Miette found herself explaining the situation to the purple haired trainer. He seemed awfully relaxed regarding everything that he had been told. Then again, Ash had mentioned that Paul probably didn't consider him a friend. The chances were far more likely that he just didn't care for what had happened at all. His emotions didn't seem to change no matter what Miette told him, and the blue haired girl really wanted him to show some sort of compassion, some sort of emotion. Could he help? It was better than just sitting here for hours on end...

"You did the right thing." Paul told her once she had explained. He patted her shoulder twice and walked towards the exit. "If I know that pathetic moron like I think I do, he'd probably do the same thing in that situation."

Confused by his words, Miette followed him, noticing him grabbing a Pokeball from his belt, and enlarging it as the sliding doors opened for him. Once outside, he tossed the spherical capsule into the air, releasing a speedy bug type Pokemon, Ninjask, from it's container home.

The fact that Serena was even able to walk next to Ash right now was amazing in itself. She felt like her head would have exploded thanks to the heat her cheeks felt right now.