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 Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:29 pm
It was like an itch that couldn't been scratched; a rash that began when he brushed her hand that day. Magnolia stared at James with dumbfounded surprise when his member bumped against her forefinger as they both reached for the salt shaker while snaking on fries. He offered her an apology with a quiet smile before letting her take it first to sprinkle, then retrieving it after she placed it back.
It'd been a week since that moment and the memory heated her cheeks every time she became conscious of it. Even worse, an alien feeling roiled in the pit of her stomach whenever she was in his presence and her heart jumped a thump whenever he beamed a smile at her or patted her head in praise. Never before had the lavender-haired girl encountered such feelings and, before she knew it, dread began to fill her to the brim.
Suddenly, what was happening to her was becoming too obvious.
One day during the afternoon, Magnolia slammed her hotel room's door open hard enough to cause James to nearly jump out of his skin. Her pink eyes were fixed in a worried glare at him and, as she marched up to him, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook.
"James, contact the nearest hospital immediately," she commanded. "I think I'm dying."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:36 pm
James's mouth snapped open and he immediately took to checking her over; turning her head about and patting at her arms, hips, and back for anything that seemed out of place or for the sight of blood. All the while, he said in a firmly panicked tone, "What's wrong, Illia? What happened, what happened? Did you come into contact with some Parasect's pollen? Bitten by an Ekans? Ate a weird looking berry? I told you to be careful of snacking on anything out there in the wilderness. At least take a field guide with you—"
Magnolia blinked. "No, James, I haven't been out adventuring at all," she said.
James's touch froze on her shoulders and then slipped down her arms. "Then, why do you think... you're dying?" he asked carefully.
"B-because," Magnolia began. "Weird things have been happening to my body... especially when I'm around you." She shuddered as she recalled her symptoms. "I'm worried, James. I don't know what role you play in any of this, but I'm certain you're a cause."
The bespectacled male took a step back from her. "Me?" he said. "What do you mean me? How do I cause them? Heck, what are you symptoms in the first place?" Genuinely worried now, James was steadfast in finding out just what reason there could be. The last thing he wanted in the world was for something to bring harm to Magnolia — especially him.
"I, well... My face gets warm a-and I get severe palpitations. Also my stomach feels hollow as well, like when you down too much soda." The trainer twisted the bottom frill of her sundress worriedly. "But I guess it isn't all bad, though. When I think of you..." She smiled here. "I become quite happy. Kind of an offset from everything else I feel, though..."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:54 pm
James facepalmed. Despite her heavy knowledge revolving around anything related to Mega Evolution and legendaries, Magnolia was pretty oblivious to her own emotions, let alone others. At the same time, though, he felt intensely happy. This was the start of something, but outright telling her what all of those were symptoms to would be too influential. He wanted her to come to her own conclusion here.
"You aren't dying," he reassured her gently. "Just... You're becoming aware of something, that's all."
Magnolia puffed out her bottom lip to him in disbelief. "How is any of this revelatory?" she asked. "They're all physical symptoms, not metaphorical epiphanies! So there must be something ailing me."
Another facepalm. "I question how you draw your conclusions," he said. Leveling his silver eyes back on her, he added, "Just trust what I am saying, Illia. There is absolutely, in no way, something wrong with you. That's because, um, I too share symptoms of what you have. Sort of."
"W-what?" Magnolia stammered. "You too? Why? For how long? James, why didn't you tell me of this?!" Her hand was to the air as if she were ready to strike him, her annoyance and worry cleanly plastered on her face as she rose above him on her tippy-toes.
James eased her back down onto the flats of her feet as he said, "They've been happening since I first met you, if you must know. So I've had them for years and I'm still living. See?" He took her hand and placed it atop his temple. "Still in full health."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:03 am
"Hmmph," Magnolia harrumphed. "That all well and good, but answer me, James — what is it? What is it this, then? I can't help but feel you've been pussyfooting around the truth."
James shook his head. "It's too... embarrassing," he muttered. "Just... meditate on what I've said to you. I'm sure you'll come to the answer eventually."
The fourteen year old nodded her head and parted from his company. Returning to her room, she did as she was told and considered all what was said to her before emerging late in the evening. Her fists were balled when she took a seat next to her companion, who was downing a warm cup of tea before retiring for the night.
"James, I've come to a conclusion," she said. "I'm now well aware of my feelings."
He gawked in such surprise at the lavender-haired girl's words that he nearly dropped his beverage. Fumbling with the mug in his hands, he said, "R-r-realy?! T-that's, uh, that's great! I guess, um, you now know how I feel as well..."
Magnolia grew serious. "Indeed," she said. "To think we both suffer from extreme anxiety in not surprising, though still worrying..."
James facepalmed for the third time that day. She was close, but still no cigar. Taking a deep breath, he said, "No, Illia, it isn't anxiety either."
"Then what is it?" she pleaded. He could tell by the deep concern on her face that the worry was eating her alive. "Tell me what's wrong with both of us, James. Please."
Sighing again, he slid the mug onto the table before him and reached a hand out and laid it over hers. One of the symptoms Magnolia had so worried of erupted across her face in a smear of scarlet. James averted his eyes. Though he wanted her to figure it out for herself, it felt as if it'd take an eternity to reach that conclusion. Being forward felt like his only option.
"You... You may have feelings for me," he said. "Romantic feelings. And I, well, I can't speak for you, but that's how I feel about you, Illia." He tugged at his collar nervously. "I like you."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:08 am
Magnolia paled whiter than a cloud. "Why, h-how... W-when?!" she sputtered, beating fists to the air again. "I thought we agreed to no secrets? How could you keep this from me, James? How?"
"B-because!" James shot back. "You're so oblivious to other people's emotions, let alone love. I can't just be open with how I feel, though I thought... I made it... painfully obvious." He internally cringed at the fact everyone he knew was aware of how he felt save the very object of his affections. "Besides, you've always had something else on your mind occupying your thoughts — be it about legendaries or Mega Evolution. Did you think I wanted to burden the sanctity of your ambition with how I felt?"
Magnolia shook her head slowly. "James, you were... I never saw you as a burden," she said. When he opened his mouth to say something, she added, "Nor did anything you tell me ever feel bothersome. I like what you have to say... Actually, I think you're the only person on this Earth who I can talk to freely like this. You're very dear to me... Very dear..."
Her words made him smile and he clasped her hands gently in his. Magnolia averted her eyes in embarrassment and, suddenly, ruined his chances of reciprocity when she said after bowing her head, "I appreciate how you feel, but, I don't think... I don't think I can see you in the same light. Not yet, at least."
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:27 am
James quickly withdrew his hands as her rejection pierced his core. Swallowing thickly, he looked at his own knees as he said, "I know I'm in no position to ask, but... Why?"
Magnolia rose and turned away from him. Clasping her hands to her own bosom, the lavender-haired trainer tried to will to herself that her decision was right. She was thinking of herself and, no matter how much it hurt to turn James down and, even more than that, her own regret for having not taken the chance to return feelings she was now aware of, there was more to their current situation.
"That's because... I may not remain in Zatao for much longer," she said.
"Illia?" James blinked. "What do you mean? I thought—"
Moving to the lamp table beside the arm of the couch, Magnolia pulled the drawer open from it, and withdrew a wide white envelope. She presented it to him and turned away again as if repulsed by the sight of it.
"For the passed few months I've been here, I've not only been doing research on legendaries and Mega Evolution, but drawing a correlation between the two and sending my thoughts over to a research center in Hoenn. I only did it on a whim, not expecting a reply, but next thing I know, I get back an e-mail from one of the professors there. She complimented me on my various thoughts — especially for someone my age — and we kept in good contact with each other. About two weeks ago, that came in the mail. Go ahead, open it."
Slipping his hand into the flap of the envelope, James withdrew a thick form and letter. Skimming his eyes over the body of the single sheet of paper, he said, "An internship? She offered you an internship?"
Magnolia dipped her chin. "Yes," she replied. "The professor was so impressed with my ideas that she offered me a one-on-one internship to work with her. I've been weighing the possibility of it and... I'm not so sure anymore."
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:43 am
James slapped the packet of papers he held with the back of the tips of his fingers. "What do you mean, Illia?" he huffed. "This is the opportunity you've been waiting for! What do you mean you're not so sure—"
He caught the worried flicker in her eyes when she turned back to him and, despite a small hesitation, started to shake his head slowly. "Oh, no. No, no, no, don't you dare start thinking how I may feel when it comes to this. My feelings, no matter what they are, take no precedence here, Illia. With this, you can live your dream, you can—"
"It's not just about that!" Magnolia cried out. "This is more then just... about you, James. This is also about my, my Pokemon, my own research... If I take that internship, it's going to interfere with everything I've already built for myself in this region. I left my parents because I thought I became something they did not want. I lived my life as I wanted in a place that made it possible. Do you simply want me to drop everything I've grown accustomed to just on a chance? A chance that, yes, may further my interests, but ruin everything else in my life? Do you?"
"Yes!" James shot back. "Imagine all of the good that would come from this. Imagine the—"
Once more, the bespectacled male was cut off, but this time by Magnolia clamping a hand over his mouth. "Just shush," she said suddenly, thinning her lips in annoyance. "You too are beginning to sound like my parents."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:58 pm
Magnolia felt his lips purse against the skin of her palm. Removing it, she held him by his arms just as he always did to her and pressed her temple into his chest. James didn't budge, worried that if he laid his touch on the top of her head, she would just draw back from him because it meant there was more to it; it wouldn't be seen as platonic anymore, but too intimate, too personal. It would bother her, he knew it would.
"My happiness is here, with you," she said in a voice so low, it seemed barely above a whisper. Her hands slipped from his limbs to around his waist in an embrace. She was trembling. "This is a choice I made myself — not influenced by my parents' expectations, not my Pokemon's, or even yours. My choice to stay by your side, James, is mine and mine alone, and I couldn't care less how selfish, humiliating, or foolish of a choice it is even with the opportunities in my wake. I'm still not sure how to take on these feelings I have for you and yours for me, but still I... I want to stay with you, James, just as we always had. Do you understand...?"
"Completely," he replied, stroking a lock of her hair. When he didn't rebuff her, he glided his hand through her lavender locks. "I'm... I'm sorry for pushing you. It wasn't right."
Magnolia drew a deep breath. "It's all right," she said. "It's all right..."
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