Rejection

New Bark Town was a tiny place. There were about five children in total, and only one other Crys's age. His name was Gold, and he lived just across the road from her, so in a way, they were neighbours and everybody expected them to marry.

Crys thought it was ridiculous. She didn't want to get married, she wanted to explore the world. But in secret, she admitted to herself that if she was going to marry anyone, which she would if exploring ever got too boring and her dress would be strapless and very princess-y, it would be Gold.

In the build up to their pokémon journeys, Crys made note of all the things she liked about Gold; he was funny, but Crys said he was obnoxious. He was surprisingly clever and cunning, but Crys only pointed out his goofy moments. He was dedicated, passionate, and righteous, and it made Crys blush so much she couldn't think of anything to use to disguise her crush. He was only a little bit taller than her, his hair was unruly, his hands were big, and he was great with pokémon.

Before they parted ways, Crys hugging Marill tightly so she wouldn't cry, Gold said, "I'll really miss you."

And Crys was certain that meant, 'I love you'.

Gold was going to become the Champion — that much was already certain. Crys didn't want to get in his way and, as it turned out, she wasn't anywhere near as good at battling as he was. So she tried to keep close, but not too close as to impose on Gold's independence, and watching him grow less goofy and even more caring made her love him all the more.

Crys stopped dreaming so much about far-off lands and more about Gold. How he'd ask her out atop the Olivine Lighthouse, how they'd get to live in a mansion cos Gold would be Champion, a marriage proposal at sea, their spring wedding in a field…

Gold disbanded Team Rocket again, defeated the Elite Four, convinced that total prick Silver that no, pokémon are not tools you moron, and was pretty much Champion. He hadn't beaten Red, but he hadn't found Red, either. After beating Lance, Gold had come home to rest, and Crys came back immediately too. Sure, Gold would want to go explore Mt Silver, but wasn't this the perfect time for a love confession?

Crys went over to his house at a reasonable hour of about ten in the morning. When his Mum called up to him, Gold shouted back, then came down still looking exhausted.

"Congratulations!" Crys said, cheerfully, hoping it would wake him up more. Gold glanced up at her, and she noticed a bruise on his right cheek. "So you're Champion now, right?"

"Pretty much," Gold replied with a grin. "'Cept I'm gonna leave all the real work to Lance. He's great at it."

"Oh," Crys said, surprised. "What're you gonna do instead? Defeat Red?"

Gold shrugged. He was still smiling. "Eventually."

It was so weird to see Gold without some big plan or goal he was working towards. "What happened to your cheek?" she wondered.

Gold's smile grew. "Silver."

And that was mind-boggling. "That jerk! I thought you said he was nicer now."

"Oh, he is," Gold assured her. "He didn't try to have his feraligatr bite my head off."

They sat on the sofa and Gold described his battles against the Elite Four to her, complete with actions and sending out the pokémon in question.

"— and then his dragonite, well, his second dragonite, did some crazy flying move to dodge except it snagged his cape and ripped it off."

Crys laughed until she fell against Gold's shoulder. His hands went awkwardly to her shoulders. She glanced up into his eyes and smiled. "I missed you."

"You too."

Their eyes were meeting. She'd been the perfectly supportive friend helping him to reach his dreams. They'd grown up together. All he needed to do was kiss her.

The seconds ticked by, and Gold glanced away. Crys panicked.

Maybe he was nervous, Crys quickly realised. Maybe he wasn't sure of her feelings and didn't want to seem forceful — that was the caring thing to do, wasn't it?

"I love you," she whispered.

Gold frowned. He pulled away slightly. "You — you what?"

Crys swallowed the lump forming in her throat and tried to secure her rose-tinted glasses. Of course, Gold was surprised. They were sixteen, how many sixteen-year-olds could confess to real love?

"I really, really like you," she amended.

Biting his lip, Gold glanced away. "I thought that was what you said." He laughed nervously. "Crys, you deserve better than me."

"I… but…"

Gold glanced back with that concerned look Crys loved best; the kind that was clearly worried for the outcome but promised to do everything to make it the best it could be. "You're my best friend. You always have been and, I'm so sorry I didn't say anything sooner cos I just thought, I dunno, it'd be kinda weird, you know? We talk about pokémon, not, you know, sappy stuff and I've always liked that but then this could've been avoided and I guess I was scared of what you'd think but please don't be angry and please don't stop being my best friend."

Crys frowned. "What are you talking about?"

For a moment Gold glanced all around his house, adjusted his hat, and glanced everywhere but at Crys. But when it mattered he drew in a deep breath, glanced straight into her eyes and confessed, "Silver punched me cos I asked him out."

Crys couldn't breathe.

"I dunno how or why or when — no, I know when, and I know why, but I really don't know how cos I'm not a scientist or whatever — but, I kinda, fell for him."

How could she not have realised?

"Honestly though, if I could've picked, I'd probably go with you cos —"

"Don't," Crys said. "I don't want to hear that."

Gold nodded but still said, "I'm really sorry."

As much as she wanted to storm off with dignity, as much as she wanted to shout at Gold that nobody would ever love him like she did, as much as she wanted to kill Silver for stealing her Gold, she couldn't. She hugged Gold tightly and fought off the urge to cry as he kept promising they'd be best friends forever.

Once the phrase elated her, but in that instant, she hated nothing more. 'Best friends forever' meant no matter what she did, Gold would always call her a friend, and nothing more.

Friend, unrequited love interest, or whatever Crys was, she wanted to keep Gold safe and happy. Even if her heart felt like it was being ripped out and mauled by a gyarados, even if part of her wanted to blame Gold, she couldn't stand the idea of him ever feeling like this.

So she went to find Silver. He regularly skulked around Blackthorn and that was where Crys found him, on the way to the Dragon's Den.

"You," she breathlessly gasped.

Silver turned and glanced at her, eyes like steel. "Oh. The idiot's friend."

Before she could stop herself, Crys punched him in the face, on the right cheek, even though it took extra effort, because this was payback and he didn't deserve Gold. "You'd better not be messing with him," Crys hissed. "If you hurt him… if you dare to break his heart, I'll make you pay."

When Silver looked at her wide-eyed, Crys realised what Gold might have been saying. It lasted only a few seconds, but those few seconds were enough to hammer the point that Silver wasn't just a jerk, he was a human jerk, into her mind.

"I won't," Silver said, clearly and calmly. "He's an idiot, but he's my idiot."

They stared at each other, each sizing the other up, each relishing in how seriously and deeply the other cared for Gold. It was a moment of total understanding; Gold was an idiot, clumsy, a master of stating the obvious, with a tendency to break into song over nothing, yet they both loved him so much they didn't know how to handle it.

Crys turned away and started towards Route 45. They would both have to learn how.

The next time Crys saw Gold, it was easy to pretend nothing had happened.

Wrote this over a ridiculous period of months due to becoming distracted by school. It's quite different from what I normally write, and I don't mean the het — more the lack of sinister dystopian plots.

So, what'd you think, dear reader?