It was lonely. And I was what, 19 at the time? So coming off the tail end of puberty and having to become an adult at the same time wasn't helping either. Milo, my childhood friend, was off on another one of his sight-seeing adventures while I was stuck in Mauville city. The next tournament was in a few weeks, just enough for there to be a long stretch of nothing to do while at the same time not having enough space to go do something else in the meantime. So for the time being, I was stuck in a hotel room, eating at the same restaurants I always had and walking the same streets I'd lived on for years. Kind of depressing.
But, I had Umbreon with me at least. He's my first pokemon. I got him from professor Birch randomly one day, and he told me to "take this eevee on an adventure!" I see why now. Even after 18 years Umbreon wouldn't've gone
anywhere
if Birch hadn't kicked his ass out of the lab. He'd probably still be reading textbooks in that dull laboratory if I hadn't scooped up his cute fluffy butt. We've been close friends since, a real case of opposites attract. He's usually reserved, quiet and matter of fact, while I'm boisterous, outgoing and impulsive. That's how I got myself into that tournament. Not to mention, it was also the biggest tournament I'd ever participated in up to that point. And if I could get some prize money, or maybe even a sponsor... Needless to say, this was a big deal for my early career. But, funnily enough, I don't really remember that time as my first big tournament. I remember a different first from those few boring weeks.
"Phbbbbbb...."
I stared out the hotel window, my elbows getting uncomfortable on the window sill. I had nothing to do that day, and not much drive to do it either. I was already a week into my wait.
There HAS to be something I can entertain myself with.
I stand suddenly and quickly, Umbreon turning to catch the tail end of it. He had been reading, like he usually does, on the bed behind me. He usually doesn't think much of my sudden bursts of jarring movements, and so he went back to his book. He had recently evolved, (like, literally a few weeks ago) and having him light up my room the night he'd walked in after evolving was surprising, but cool.
I give him a pet as I walk by.
His fur is smooth and short, drastically different from the fluffy mess his coat used to be as an eevee. I don't miss having to brush him (God help anyone who gets a flareon).
I snatch my Switch off the charging dock and idly scroll through my games. Nothing really stuck out to me. It was one of those days where you can stare at a buffet of options and you know you want
something
, but you don't want any of what's in front of you.
"Ughhhhhhhh" I groan as I fall back on the bed, defeated by my own indecision. "You could try a book." Umbreon was still nose to gutter in his. "Psh, reading's for nerds." I didn't feel like starting a new book at the moment. "Just seems like you're not doing anything else." I turn my head, still laying on my back, to face him.
His hindlegs are to me. He doesn't like it when you grab his paws, so naturally I do it all the time. I reach up to grab one of his back legs. He kicks me away without a word. I grab again, this time not letting go so easily. He kicks a few times before realizing I'm not letting go.
"Could you not?"
"Could I not what?"
I'm smiling like an idiot. "I'm trying to read." "And I'm bored." "Doesn't mean you have to drag me down with you." Umbreon's always tried to act analytical, even as an eevee. But I know he enjoys my goofy nature and how I always manage to find his soft center. And I'd soon find out how much.
"But look at your cute little beans!" He especially doesn't like his toes played with, so I roll on my side to get my second arm in on the action. His legs thrash in my grip. "Cut it out!" His voice betrays a smile. I grab both his legs and pull him towards me, away from his book.
"Hey! My page!"
"Oh, you know what page you're on. C'mere."
Umbreon may have gotten a lot bigger when he evolved, but he'll always be that adorable little fur ball Prof. Birch handed me on route 102. I pulled him into a hug, pressing my cheek into the top of his head.
"I'm not exactly small anymore."
"Irrelevant. I'll cuddle a cutie no matter how big or small."
Umbreon relaxed in my arms and let out a deep breath.
Maybe a nap is the move.
I thought. But it wasn't all that long before he grew restless. This had started even before he evolved. I'd hold him, cuddle, or even just be petting him and we wouldn't get five minutes before he'd get all fidgety on me and come up with some excuse to leave. And in my obliviousness, I'd started to believe I was actually doing something wrong.
"Maddie. I... I need to go to the bathroom."
I didn't wanna let him go, but I had to.
"Ok..."
He climbed out of my arms and dropped off the bed, heading for the bathroom. At the time, I didn't see the embarrassment in the way he walked, or in the way he tucked his ears back. I sat up on the bed as he disappeared behind the door, brushing my hair back behind my ear. I was so sure I was doing something wrong, but I didn't know what changed. I sat in silence for a while. Long enough that Umbreon jumped back up on the bed with me.
"You'd tell me if I was doing something wrong, right?"
Umbreon gave me a look I'd never seen before. It lasted only a second, and he turned away to hide his face in his book, but I could tell just from that snapshot. It was fear, and worry, and nervousness.
"Of course, Maddie."
My heart broke in an instant. My eevee was supposed to be a happy, adorable, cherished partner to share my adventures with, not some repressed, scared follower who's just around to fight my battles. I grabbed Umbreon and spun him around to face me, not caring when I knocked his book off the bed. I just knew I had to deal with this right then and there. I wouldn't be able to take it otherwise. Umbreon stared in surprise before I spoke.
"I'm
not
accepting that."
"W-what do you mean?"
"That wasn't an expression you just 'make'. I wanna know what's going on."
"It's nothing really! Just evolution things..."
"Oh no, this started even before you evolved. You're hiding something and it's making you unhappy. I won't stand for it."
"But-"
"You're too important to me for this."
I crossed my arms and stared at him, repressing the urge to grab him by his cheeks. He paused. He was clearly weighing his options, but he definitely knew there was no way out of it.
"Maddie, I don't want you to hate me."
I still feel my heart pang when I think back on those words. How could he think I'd ever hate him?
"You should know that's literally impossible."
He shuffled.
"I hope so. Maddie I..."
He stared at his paws, fiddling with the covers.
"I like you. Like, a lot."
He looked away, squeezing his eyes shut.
"More than I should."
Now, I should preface, I've 'dated' some boys back in school, right? Like the elementary and middle school kind of 'dating' where you don't actually do anything but walk around together and maybe hold hands. And in high Milo was really the only guy I got close to. Maybe everyone assumed we were dating, but regardless, I didn't get a lot of offers. So, not a whole lot of experience. And I'm not exactly the romantic type, either. Remember how I said boisterous and impulsive? Yeaaaahh, that applies here too. I ended up turning a lot of guys away because of that. Milo was really the only one who stuck around, probably because we'd been friends for most of our lives. And I mean, me and Milo had fucked I think maybe twice at this point, both only earlier this year and also spurred on by me of course. But nothing even remotely romantic. So given my track record in love at this point, I'm actually rather proud of myself for how I played this one.
