A.N. Hi everyone, it's me again!

The other day, while I was listening to "Just a Little Girl" by Trading Yesterday, I got the idea for this fic, and I couldn't resist. I thought it would make a nice little side project before I uploaded the new chapter of Corrupted.

This story is dedicated to Pyroluminescence here on , and to Grekkikay on DeviantArt who said she needed "Originalshipping Therapy". XD I don't know if either of them like Chosenshipping, but I know they like Originalshipping, so I hope they both enjoy this!

Note: If you read my fanfiction, Corrupted, you'll realize that the setting of this one shot is exactly the same. This does not mean that the two stories are connected - I just wanted to have some fun with the idea of an AU. :P

Pesky Girl

"Goddammit, woman, I don't want to discuss this!" Green's fist collided harshly with the small kitchen's island counter.

"Why not?" Blue threw her hands out defensively. Her face, usually sly and alluring, contorted in desperation as her azure eyes searched Green's imploringly, "I deserve an explanation! I want to know-"

"You want to know why I won't give in to your endless harassment?" Green cut in, his tone bitter, "You want to know why I won't just let you control me? – Why I don't chase after you like those other love-sick morons you make a habit of scamming?"

"Green." Red stepped towards the pair cautiously.

From the other side of the room, Silver watched the heated argument stiffly, his arms crossed and his metallic eyes locked protectively on Blue.

"Stay out of this, Red." Green did not look at the raven-haired trainer as he spoke, but held out a hand to keep the shorter boy from advancing any further.

"Don't tell him what to do!" Blue screeched, "At least he's trying to help! You won't even-"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Green roared, taking a threatening step towards the girl.

At this, Silver was instantly at Blue's side. Even though the redheaded trainer was three years younger than Blue, he had grown to the same height as his childhood friend and, although both Green and Red were still taller than the Johto trainer, Silver's piercing eyes were enough to spark intimidation.

"Don't you talk to her like that." His voice came out as a dangerous hiss.

"Hey! Why don't we all try to calm down here." Red interjected tactfully, placing a tentative hand on Green's stiff shoulder.

The taller trainer shrugged Red's hand away and rounded on Silver.

"Or what?" He asked, his tone also dangerous.

"Just answer my question." Blue's jaw clenched as she, herself, stepped purposefully closer to Green, fixing him with a defiant stare.

"I will never," Green swung his arm around violently, causing a glass from the kitchen counter to smash on the tiled floor, "feel that way about you!"

Blue's eyes widened, and she let out a small, hissing breath as a stray shard of glass slashed at her leg, leaving a long, thin cut. Before her wound had even begun to bleed, Silver's fist had collided with Green's face.

Green and Silver fell to the floor, struggling intensely as Blue stood above them, still staring, stunned, as a trickle of blood made its way down her slender leg towards her sock.

"Stop it! Stop it! Get up!" Red barked angrily, his crimson eyes uncharacteristically dark.

Hauling a thrashing Silver off of Green, Red turned to Blue, who was still staring dazedly down at her legs.

"Blue, you'd better leave now."

Silver continued to strain against Red's grip, until Blue reached out and lightly touched the frantic boy's arm.

"Silver…" She whispered softly.

The younger boy's body went limp in Red's arms, and he began to take in large, labored breaths. Red released his hold on Silver, and, immediately, the Johto trainer protectively placed his hands on Blue's small shoulders.

"You heard him," Green spat through a mouth full of blood, "Get out of my house."

The Viridian Leader had pulled himself up off the glass-covered floor with the aide of one of the three tall island chairs; he glared at Silver through slitted eyes, his right cheek puffy and swollen.

Silver returned Green's glare with startling intensity, but did not move to strike the older boy again – Red was standing in between the two, looking unusually threatening.

Still seething, it was clear that Silver had to make a conscious effort not to squeeze Blue's shoulders too tightly.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." She replied faintly, "Please, I want to leave."

Silver nodded quickly before linking arms with Blue and steering her down the small landing steps, towards the door to Green's tiny loft apartment. The pair had just made their way through the doorframe and onto the top of the fire-escape staircase that lead to the ground below, when Green spoke. His voice was little more than a whisper, but it was as cutting as the tiny splinters of glass that lined the floor around his feet.

"I take it back."

Blue and Silver gazed up at Green from their position just outside the door, and Blue looked as if she was recovering slightly from her state of shock; her eyes, which had glazed over, were regaining some luster, and the colour was returning to her face. She looked almost hopeful.

"All those times I told you that you were a pesky girl – you're not." Green's eyes locked onto Blue's from across the apartment, and she began to quiver in Silver's arms, "You're just a bitch."

Tears formed in Blue's azure eyes as she broke away from Silver and dashed down the fire-escape and out into the rain, her echoing sobs lingering in the small entranceway.

"Green!" Red yelled disbelievingly at his friend.

Silver desperately called out to Blue from the top of the fire-escape, but she did not reply. Throwing a murderous glare at Green, the Johto trainer flew down the staircase and after his best friend.

Silver slammed the door behind himself, and the two older boys were left alone, surrounded by broken glass and suffocated by the apartment's icy silence.

OoO

"Blue! Blue!" Silver chased after his friend as she staggered across the sodden lawn of the Viridian Gym and onto the sidewalk, small flecks of blood dripping onto the pavement below her; her sock had been stained a light pink.

Without glancing back at Silver, Blue walked unsteadily up to the Gym's sliding doors and stepped inside.

"Blue!" Silver yelled again, but she had already disappeared into the Gym's dark interior, and the glass doors had slid shut behind her.

Silver growled in frustration and made to follow her, but something he had glanced from the corner of his eye made him stop dead.

On either side of the Gym, two large Rhydon statues stood sentinel, their slate-black eyes dull and expressionless. Silver shivered. The two stony guardians served as a reminder that this had once been his Gym. His father's Gym.

Pushing the unpleasant thought from his head, Silver hurried up the walkway and stepped through the sliding doors into the darkness after Blue.

OoO

"Ah—Ugh." Green moaned as Red pushed a plastic bag filled with ice against his injured cheek.

"Don't complain. It's your own fault." Red frowned as he dabbed at Green's swollen face.

"How is any of this my fault?" Green asked angrily; he tried to stand up from his position on one of the living room's small sofas, but Red placed his hand firmly on the Gym Leader's shoulder, pushing him back down.

"You really hurt Blue." Red continued to inspect the other boy's face.

"I really – she – Red, she kissed me!" Green spluttered.

"I know."

"And then, she had the nerve to come over here, after months of me rejecting her, to try ag—Ah! Not so hard!" Green grasped at his face, which had begun to bruise.

Red fixed Green with a stern look – a look that was out of place on the boy's usually happy face.

"And why do you think she keeps coming after you?"

"Because she's a deceitful little bit—"

"Don't talk about her like that, Green! She's your friend!" Red was yelling now.

"My friend?" Green asked incredulously, raising his voice to match Red's, "She kissed me, Red! Why are you taking her side?"

"Because!" Red roared, grabbing the side of Green's face that wasn't damaged, forcing the other boy's head very close to his own, "Because…" The anger in his voice seeped away, replaced by a frustrated kind of anguish, "She doesn't know, Green."

Green squeezed his eyes shut in exhaustion and, slowly, leaned into Red's calloused hand. Red smiled slightly and stroked Green's hair softly with his free hand.

"Don't you think it's time we told them?" Red murmured leaning closer to Green.

Green sighed and opened his eyes. The usually confident Gym Leader had on a lost expression, and he stared at Red for a long moment before grasping the shorter boy and pressing their lips together.

When they broke apart, Green leaned back into the couch and felt gingerly around his bruise.

"I don't know."

OoO

Silver knelt cautiously next to Blue, the hard, wooden floor of the Gym digging into his knees. The entire arena was pitch black, save for a few small beams of grey light, shining through the Gym's windows and glass doors; the girl's small sobs echoed throughout the large space.

Silver had never been very good at dealing with emotions. The Mask of Ice had made clear that, from a young age, Silver was to bottle up his feelings and retain a cold aloofness, an icy front that was made tangible by his very own frozen mask. Now, even long after the physical visor had been removed from his face, Silver still wore a mask – a mask that controlled his every action.

Silver wasn't really capable of giving comforting words, but the arm that he placed tenderly around Blue's shaking shoulders was reassuring, and she leaned into him, sobbing harder.

"Y-you know…" Blue choked out, her head buried in Silver's chest, "I don't even like him like that."

"Green?" Silver looked down at her, confused. The close proximity between the two caused Silver to shift uncomfortably.

"Yeah." She murmured softly, "I… He's my friend, but I don't like him like that."

Silver didn't reply, but after years of knowing the younger boy, Blue knew this was normal – she was the one who sparked most of their conversations.

"I guess I was just trying to fool myself… I can fool everyone else, so I didn't think it would be too difficult, but…" She tilted her head up and stared into Silver's gleaming eyes, still visible in the dark.

"Why?" Silver asked quietly.

Blue laughed slightly, emitting a small hiccup.

"Because things would be easier that way." She half smiled, "But I got too carried away. I was wrong to try and split them up."

"Split who up?" Silver asked, not understanding her.

"Green and Red, of course."

There was a long, stunned silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, Silver, dear. It's really quite obvious – I mean, just look at them!" Blue smiled, wiping the tears, which had subsided, from her eyes, "To be honest, I wouldn't have been able to keep up my act much longer – they're too cute together! Don't you agree?"

Silver did not respond.

"Anyway," Blue said, making to stand up, "I'm alright now." The usual cheeriness in her tone had returned, and she flashed him a wide grin, "Do you want to go get something to ea-"

" Why would being with him make things easier?" Silver held Blue's hand tightly, not allowing her to move.

"I—Silver, what do you -?" Blue faltered.

"Why," Silver said very forcefully, "would being with Green make things easier?"

"Oh, it's silly. Just forget I ever said anything, okay?" She winked playfully at him, but started to bite her lower lip nervously when Silver narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you lying to me, Blue?"

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are!" Silver accused harshly.

"Silver, I'm fine!"

"Then tell me why being with him would make things so much easier!" Silver bellowed.

"Because maybe then I wouldn't have to love you!" Blue screamed, causing a cascade of high-pitched echoes to flood the arena.

Silver waited until Blue's voice had finished reverberating to speak.

"You…?"

"Oh, Silver, how long have you known me?" Blue asked almost hysterically, her cheerful charade vanishing, "You know that I'm never out of the loop when it comes to these things."

Silver stiffened – it seemed as if he had come to some realization, a realization that terrified him.

"Yes, I've known for years." Blue continued, "You may be able to keep that mask up around other people, Silver, but not around me." Her tone was almost accusatory.

"I know you love me."

Silver shuddered, looking utterly hopeless, as if years of his labor, years he'd spent in hiding, had just been deemed useless. But then a look of hopefulness broke through his sorrow.

"And… you love me?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes." Blue affirmed, but she did not smile. "I love you, Silver."

He reached out to hug her, to embrace her like he was once able to do when he was younger, before ice had hardened his heart. But she pushed him away.

"Silver, I can't." Blue clenched her teeth and took a step back.

At thirteen years old, Silver hardly acted his age – a hard and rather depressing life had forced him to grow up quickly, however, standing there broken in front of Blue, he looked as if he were five years old again.

"Why?" He croaked.

"Don't you understand Silver?" Blue was close to tears again, "If we do this, everything I've ever done to help you will be ruined! Surviving our childhood, our escape from the Mask of Ice – it won't mean anything!"

"What are you talking about, Blue?" Silver asked pleadingly, "What does any of that stuff have to do with us being together?"

"I'm a bad person, Silver." Blue's voice was chillingly empty.

"No, you're-"

"I'm a con-artist, a thief, a liar…" She laughed bitterly, her voice breaking slightly, "I guess you could say that I'm a 'pesky girl'."

Blue began to sob again and, in that moment, her own mask, the mask of self-assuredness, happiness and deviousness that she had created for herself in order to survive, cracked, leaving a poor, young girl that had seen entirely too much for her sixteen years completely exposed.

"I don't want to ruin you, Silver."

Too tired to fight back now, Blue allowed Silver to wrap his arms around her, and rock her gently back and forth.

"I…" Silver started, finding it difficult to speak, but determined to, for once, say what was on his mind, "I don't think you're a bad person, Blue."

Blue buried her face deeper into Silver's chest and cried harder.

"I…" Silver's entire face flushed the same shade of his deep, red hair as he carefully tilted her face up, guiding her chin with his index finger, "love you."

He kissed her forehead lightly, too embarrassed to try to kiss her on the lips.

Blue, surprising Silver so much that he nearly lost his balance, leaned forward and closed the gap between them, kissing him hard. As she pulled away, tears still in her eyes, she laughed.

"I love you too, Silver."

He blushed furiously, but smiled one of his rare smiles.

"You're not a pesky girl."

Fin