Invisible by Marvech93

Chapter 15: Friend or foe

Hello! In case you haven't realized it yet, this story will be updated every Thursday. And The Last Dragon Master will be updated every Friday, so feel free to check that one out as well!
Important warning for this one. It contains a pretty detailed depiction of a psychotic episode. It might be hard to read for some people, especially if you have a past of mental illness but this story arc is almost over and a new one will begin soon.

Chapter 15: Friend or foe

Blue hadn't expected to get up so late but his little ordeal had drained more of his energy than he thought it would. It was way past noon when he opened his eyes. He groggily sat up in his bed, scratching his scalp, trying to work up the courage to get out of bed and start what was sure to be a difficult day. His Alakazam had at least kept him safe so he could rest.

The gym leader threw himself out of bed and went to the bathroom for his morning rountine. When he caught sight of his reflexion in the mirror, he saw that his appearance had somewhat gone back to normal, except for the still clearly visible red bruise on this throat. It still hurt. For that reason, Blue opted to wear a black squirtleneck to conceal the injury. He was the type to show off scars, but not wounds.

Once he was all dressed and ready, he went to the living room where, sure enough, Red was still sleeping on the couch under the watchful eye of Alakazam. Blue ordered the latter to let Red wake up naturally, returning the psychic to his pokéball, knowing he could lend his help again in an emergency, should the need arise. The strawberry blonde teenager went and sat in the kitchen, keeping the fallen champion well in his line of sight while he made himself some breakfast. He had made sure to have his switchblade in reach again... just in case.

Blue was on his guard when he saw Red stir and then sit up. He had no idea if he was in the presence of normal Red or psychotic Red, so he got ready for a possible assault.

For the moment being, though, the brunette was just looking around. The gym leader waited patiently for him to get reacquainted with his surroundings and notice him.

Red ended up turning around to look at him. He looked nervous but not scared. It looked like he was back to his (relatively) normal self. Blue allowed himself to relax a little.

"How are you feeling?" he asked more out of suspicion than out of concern. As usual, Red's response was very delayed.

"Why do you sound like that?"

Blue hadn't thought about that. His voice was hoarse and scratchy because of the pressure that was put on his vocal chords the night before. Blue had to make a decision on the fly: confront him about the incident or pretend it didn't happen?

"You mean, you don't remember what happened last night?" Blue didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried.

Red seemed to search his memory for a moment. "I remember getting here... and taking a shower," he finally said. "And then I went to sleep. Why? Did something happen?"

Blue decided not to unecessarily freak him out more and to keep the incident a secret. For now.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Look-"

"Why do you sound like that?" Red asked again suspiciously.

"I got a cold, okay!?" the gym leader snapped more harshly than he intended. He was really hoping Red would buy his lie and drop it, despite how lame it was because he was a terrible liar and wouldn't be able to come up with anything better, he knew.

Red recoiled slightly at his elevated tone and Blue almost felt bad. He quickly changed the subject. "Look, Red. You need to see a doctor. You're not well." Red just stared at him without any reaction. Blue went on to make himself more convincing. "I know we're not exactly friends or anything but you just gotta take my word for it. You're ill. You're not normal and I don't think you realize just how sick you are. Disliking attention is one thing but going into hiding on a mountain for three years just for that; it's not right. It's not something a normalperson would do."