Chapter Text
There was an unsteady sniffling that traveled through the empty hall. The sound was moving away, and Carmine sensed a deepening despair.
Please don’t let it be another one.
Carmine dug her bottom tooth into her lower lip as she quickened her pace toward the source of the sound. It was two in the morning on a Saturday, so it wasn’t unusual to have people wandering around Blueberry University doing Arceus knows what. Hell, it wasn’t even unusual for people to be blubbering and stumbling around with all the campus ruckus - especially since it was the beginning of a new school year, and some people really seemed to get carried away with being at parties. The trends were pretty predictable. There were a few exceptions to the rule, like homecoming and Hisui Life events, but the chaos was usually at its peak during the welcome weekend. Freshmen would wrap up their orientation and run around recklessly looking for fun, while upperclassmen either looked for familiarity or ruled the campus grounds like it was their kingdom.
Carmine was starting her junior year this fall, and she very much represented the former of the older student crowd stereotype. In fact, she consistently fell into that indoor Litten stereotype throughout her time here despite her academic standing. Sure, it was fun to study closer to Unova and on land - which was a major upgrade from her time in the underwater depths of Blueberry Academy - but she came here to study first and foremost. Despite what some random peers would be inclined to believe, she wasn’t a drinker and she wasn’t a party-goer. She just wanted to attend classes and be with her close-knit friends and pokemon.
The assumptions about her being anything besides who she is was borderline insulting at times. She would get invites she didn’t ask for, be approached and flirted with randomly, or talked down to like she was just some ditzy endorphin-chaser, to name the least. And she didn’t know what it was that made her exude this false impression. Her hair? She was born with the dual-toned, scarlet and jet black locks, and she didn’t get this treatment before. Her outfits? No - she would wear form-fitting clothes with the occasional jeans, but she was always covered up and dressed more conservatively. Her campus activities? Nope. She wasn’t involved in anything besides a scholar-based society for her Pokemon Nursing major and a botany club she liked to attend with Amarys and Lacey for fun.
Carmine paused as the hall split into two directions: one way heads toward a recreation room, and one goes to the laundry room. The rhythmic swirls of a washer dampened the cries of the distressed student, but Carmine quickly determined that they must have been in the laundry room. She treaded carefully into the room where a girl with pin-straight blonde hair had buried her face into her knees in front of the whirring washer.
She wasn't a friend, but a recognizable stranger she had seen in passing. Carmine tried her best not to jump the gun, but she swore to Arceus that if she’s crying because of him…
“Hey,” Carmine softly spoke to the girl, squatting down to her knees. The girl shot up and started to rub her face furiously, and Carmine tried to speak more gently. “Are you okay?”
The student spoke rapidly. “Oh, yeah. I’m okay! I just…”
Carmine dug in her pockets as the girl choked out her words and trailed off. “Here.” She whipped out a spare packet of tissues and handed the girl one after freeing it from the plastic wrap. The girl graciously accepted and blew her dripping nose as salty tears streamed down her cheeks.
“You don’t seem okay," Carmine began. "I promise I’m not judging you, and I can just listen. What happened?”
The girl hesitated for a moment as her hazel eyes flickered between the tissue and Carmine. “It’s just…guy troubles.”
“Guy troubles?” Carmine inquired, encouraging the girl to continue.
“I was just seeing this guy casually and it went wrong. We…met through a frat last semester? And I got it in my head that we were going to become a thing if I tried hard enough. But he didn’t really talk to me over break, and then I just ran into him at a party just a bit ago…a-and…”
The girl hitched on a breath as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
“It’s okay. I’m listening.” Carmine murmured.
“...he was in a crowd, smooching two other girls, and everyone was cheering.”
Carmine fought the urge to clench her fists. It was him, wasn’t it?
She lightly rubbed the girl’s shoulder as she began to bawl again, and she couldn't stop herself from asking. “Hey, I don’t mean to come off as too blunt…but was this guy named Drayton by any chance?”
“Y-yeah…” the girl muttered. “Do you know him?”
“Ugh!” Carmine huffed. “He’s the worst. Listen girl, he’s just a player. And he breaks a lot of girls’ hearts. I’m so sorry he’s breaking yours, but trust me - you’re much better off without him.”
The girl nodded slowly, looking despondent.
“I mean it!” Carmine barked, startling the girl. Carmine removed her hand from her shoulder and sighed. “Sorry…I just. I’ve seen him do this a number of times. You deserve better. okay? You deserve a guy who wants to love you - someone who showers you in the same love you shower him in. Not someone who makes you play guessing games like this. Don’t let him dim your light. It’s the start of the new semester, and there’s a lot more you can get out of it outside of this one night back. Go take a shower and wash him away with good riddance. And after you get some sleep, go find your friends, study hard, and make memories that matter.”
Carmine clammed her mouth shut to get off of her soapbox. Between some of the other girls she had consoled, and even her pestering grandparents - who would not let go of the idea that she should be meeting her special someone - this was a speech she had locked and loaded out of pure instinct. It was also extremely difficult for her to mask her fury, too - she was beyond tired of seeing the aftermath of Drayton’s games. She knew he had a certain disposition to him back at Blueberry Academy, but his womanizing habits almost seemed to pop up out of nowhere once they hit Blueberry University.
The switch-up terrified her, because now she couldn’t look at him the same anymore. He used to be able to ruffle her feathers in the past, but she thought he was innocent underneath it all and only messed with people for harmless fun. And Drayton seemed to be especially focused on her at times - she’d never admit it, but the thrill of it all would make her heart race. He would throw quips at her, tease her relentlessly, and sometimes he’d nearly even fall out of his chair from bellowing too hard in his hearty laughter. It was silly…but, he brightened her days with excitement back then. She would never want to give him the satisfaction of “winning”, though, so she’d keep up the pouty act even though she secretly wanted the attention.
And she couldn’t believe she secretly wanted the attention. It didn’t matter if she never dated before. It didn’t matter if she was a hidden hopeless romantic who grew more touched deprived by the day. The matter of the fact was, whatever happened to this random girl before her would’ve happened to her if she put her guard down and let herself get caught in Drayton’s web. He truly didn’t care about anyone but himself and his own sick entertainment. It was why she distanced herself from Drayton the second she entered college; to protect herself. He would probably get buddy-buddy with her if he saw her, but she knew better now. She knew what he was capable of.
And she would make sure these other girls knew it, too.
There was a small smile that was hinting on the girl’s face - something Carmine said in all of her rambling must’ve made sense. Thank Arceus. She had wondered if she went too overboard.
Carmine mirrored the girl’s meek expression and reached her hand out. The girl took it as they both rose from the ground.
“Thank you,” she had said. A simple sentiment, but a powerful one.
“Of course. I’m Carmine on the third floor if you need anything, okay? And you can also go to the RAs or the counseling center if you need someone to talk to. We’ve all been there.”
The nameless girl nodded again as her smile widened. She slightly bowed her head and ushered out of the laundry room.
Carmine’s face dropped as the girl scampered off. She leaned against the wall behind her and took a deep breath with her arms crossed.
This cycle of a girl’s feelings were like clockwork, and a part of her worried for how the girl would face her grief in the immediate aftermath of her heartbreak. She always wanted to find the right things to say to bandage them up and let them know that some idiot’s treatment toward them wouldn’t hurt for forever. But it wasn’t usually what happened. She’d seen how some of these girls would have the rest of their year destroyed by one guy.
One guy who wasn’t even worth all the trouble.
Hopefully she’d be able to move on.
“Do you really think he’ll be able to find it okay?”
Amarys paused and spit out some toothpaste from her mouth into one of the two bathroom sinks. “You have no reason to worry. He was required to go to the dining halls multiple times during orientation. He knows where it is.”
“I know, I just…” Carmine trailed, her attention breaking away from brushing her hair. “You and I had each other when we first started, and it was a lot easier for us because we came in as roommates. But Kieran went to one of the corridor style dorms, so he doesn’t have one.”
“It is easy to locate.” Amarys retorted as she began to fix up her own hair, despite still being dressed in her pale pink robe. It was a gift Carmine had given her years ago - and Amarys had a habit of getting paint splatters on it when a late night, artistic inspiration struck her. “He also has a Rotom phone now. He can reach out to you if he needs help, or he could look at the campus map.”
Carmine’s eyes shifted back to her reflection in the mirror. She was debating her hairstyle for the day, and opted to tie it back in a half-up ponytail so her scarlet underlayers weren’t too accented. “He’s still not good with it, though…” Carmine muttered, dusting some of her front layers around to frame her face.
“Why don’t you head there first and tell him where you’re sitting? Maybe pick a table out near the entrance and by the windows.”
The idea calmed Carmine somewhat. She set the brush down and walked out of the room to grab the black cropped cardigan that was draped along the table of their dorm kitchenette. She searched for the armholes and fed her shoulders through each sleeve, then adjusted the cardigan so it would fit snugly across her waistline. The cardigan accented her navy blue dress well - although the small stars that were speckled along the dress introduced a bright white to her color palette. It made Carmine debate between her black and white flats. She briefly hovered over each option and ultimately decided to match her shoes with the glistening stars. She grabbed her leather black purse next, and then nearly stumbled over herself as she realized that she needed to respond to her best friend.
“Y-yeah, I think that would be good. Thanks!”
“Best of luck!” Amarys called out.
Carmine shouted a goodbye to Amarys and headed out to the dining hall. It was spat in the center of campus, next to the Student Activity Center. Perhaps she was being a bit of a worrywart, but…imagining Kieran of all people navigating a bigger city area rattled her to say the least. He had grown a lot over the past few years - both emotionally and physically - but she still felt an urge to protect him furiously as his older sister.
When she stepped out of the dorm, a light breeze kissed her cheeks and danced around her flowing hair. While it was indeed the fall semester again, it was only early September. There were still fully bloomed flowers and wildlife that lingered in the greenery decorating the campus, and Carmine admired them alongside the temperature that was reminiscent of late summer. She generously breathed in the fresh air as she took note of the burned and browning leaves that were beginning to wither along the trees. There weren’t too many other students lingering around - it was almost eight thirty in the morning, and Carmine fought the yawn that tugged at her for her lack of sleep. She wanted to set a good example for her brother, and she was hoping that an early morning breakfast would help him start his first real day off on a good note.
Carmine kept her eyes peeled for Kieran as she approached the dining hall, but he didn’t seem to be around yet. Makes sense…she was almost ten minutes early. She ordered some avocado toast with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and parmesan cheese for herself, and made sure to grab some cinnamon apple sticks for Kieran. She’d assume he wouldn’t get enough to eat for himself.
Or maybe he’d get embarrassed about grabbing a bunch of sweet foods?
Carmine set her tray down at a booth near the window, then texted Kieran about her location as instructed. Her phone buzzed seconds later, and it jolted her away from her worries. She glanced at the text on her phone:
Kiki: kk. Almost there!
“Meeting a date?”
Carmine whipped her head around and a scowl formed on her face faster than she could register. She clenched her fist from underneath the table and nearly snarled at the bozo that was looming beside her.
“As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for Kiki.”
Drayton was dressed in a white muscle tee and lavender shorts, but he still wore his signature Maschiff vest. “Awww, Kieran’s here? Guess it’s about time, huh. He’s growin’ up fast!”
He looked like a college guy who had no idea on how to dress himself appropriately.
“What are you doing?!" Carmine barked as he set his tray down beside her. There was an egg and bacon sandwich on it alongside a banana, a handful of tater tots, and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Drayton seemed to ignore Carmine’s shouting and eased into the seat. “Well, I was up all night and wanted to get some brekky.” His face faltered as he propped an elbow on the table to rest his head on his palm. “I thought I’d come sit with you. You’re always off in a hurry whenever I see you. Feels like we're practically strangers now.”
Carmine felt heat building up in her face - his sudden change in attitude was throwing her off. “Well this conversation is gonna be private. Family stuff.”
Drayton seemed to pause for a moment, his expression unreadable. “What, are you worried about how Kieran’s gonna adjust to university life or somethin'?”
Carmine felt a surge of nerves coarse through her at the perception. She narrowed her focus down to her avocado toast and wordlessly bit off a piece.
That didn't seem to stop Drayton's comments. “Is that enough food for you? You’re not on a diet, right? You don’t need one, you look great.”
What an offensive thing to say to someone.
“It’s none of your business what I do and don’t do.”
Drayton patted the center of his chest. “Ouch. Cold.”
Carmine kept her focus on the toast in front of her. She studied the way the spring and olive green colors of the avocado spread and the cucumbers complimented the juicy red tomatoes and maroon onions. They were lightly dusted with the beige, powdery chee-
A curved, yellow object assaulted her field of vision.
“At least take my banana,” Drayton stated. He paused for a moment in the silence, then started again. “Are you mad at me or something?”
“Hah!” Carmine breathed out bitterly.
“I’m serious, Carmine. I don’t feel like we’ve talked in years. I don’t remember if I did something, so I need your help here...you just seem to be really avoidant of me.”
Carmine brushed off the comment again - even as it churned inside of her and picked at the pit in her stomach. There was an odd level of false sincerity in his voice, and it was almost pleading. But she knew better. She had to know better by now. He was dangerous.
She wouldn’t let herself fall for his fake niceties.
There was a warm presence that hovered over her shoulder - almost as if Drayton had extended an arm out. The sensation of the touch vanished as quickly as she recognized it, and instead, Carmine’s eyes shot up to the direction of another voice that was calling out for her.
“Hey sis!”
Carmine shot up from her seat at the sight of her brother. “Kiki!”
Kieran, thankfully, seemed to know how to dress himself somewhat better. He was wearing his favorite gray hoodie with dark blue sweatpants, and he had his hair tied back with his bangs scattered freely across the front of his face. It was an improvement from his edgier preteen days, but he didn’t seem to listen to the full extent of Carmine’s hairstyle recommendations. He had a wide grin plastered on his face and he seemed to be chipper - a good sign. His arms extended outwards as Carmine approached him for a hug that he graciously accepted.
“How was orientation?” Carmine adoringly asked as she squeezed the living daylight out of him. He was almost at her height now, and it was moments like this that made her want to bundle him up into the small little Litten that he used to be.
“It…was…good!” Kieran mustered up as his bones were being crushed. He nearly gasped for air as Carmine released him. “I actually…uh…have something I wanna talk to you about.”
Carmine’s face darkened to a serious expression. “Okay. Go get some food and then we’ll talk."
Kieran opened his mouth, but then his eyes darted to the side and his eyes widened. “Oh, Drayton! I didn’t know you went to school here!”
"Eyyyy lil’ man! Although you’re not so little anymore.” Drayton chuckled. “All the of the old elite four members from back in the day go here actually. Carmine didn’t tell you? It’s been forever, hasn’t it?”
Now that her brother was here, time felt especially sacred. Carmine’s restrained temper was building…
A light hue colored Kieran’s face. “Yeah, it has been,” he sheepishly replied. “Are you gonna have breakfast with us too?”
“Of course I a-”
“He is not, he was just leaving,” Carmine interjected. She was digging her nails into her closed fists that rested by her sides.
Kieran let out an exasperated huff and his eyebrows turned downward. “Aww, come on, sis! I haven’t seen Drayton in years, and I actually think I could use some of his advice…”
“Yeah, come on Carmine!” Drayton chimed from the table behind her.
Carmine kept up her cold shoulder, her frustration nearly on the brink of bursting. Drayton was the last person that should be sitting with them - especially as she’s trying to set up her little brother for success with good role modeling. “What advice could he possibly give you that I couldn’t?”
“Well, um, it’s kind of a guy thing-”
Carmine gritted her teeth and her clenched fists rose to her chest in a flash, “I can be a guy for you!!” she blurted.
Carmine whacked her hand across her mouth as the heads of the surrounding passerby students turned toward her. She felt as if she was in a spotlight now, and an eruption of laughter emerged throughout the dining hall. Kieran mumbled about how he was going to get food and stepped away in the midst of her embarrassment, and as she hurried to sit in her seat she noted how Drayton was covering his own mouth to stifle a chuckle.
She shot a dirty look at him. “Just shut it and go away.”
“W-Why?” Drayton’s voice was uneven from the laughter he was holding back. “You were being cute. That’s the Carmine I miss.”
“I….ugh!” Carmine stammered. She sunk into her seat and propped her elbow up to cover her face from the idiot beside her. As she was taking another bite of her food, she noticed Drayton’s grimy hands reaching out for the cinnamon apple slices she had placed at the center of the table.
She snatched his hand away from them in a brisk motion, and flung his hand back at his side. “Those are for Kiki.”
“Hmmm…yep,” Drayton drawled. “You’re still cuter when you’re mad.”
Carmine’s heart skipped a beat, and she shoved Drayton’s shoulder without a second thought. “I don’t wanna hear this!”
She was almost yelling again, and she drew more than enough attention to herself already. Carmine leaned over in shame and hid her face away in the opposite direction.
“Buttttt, you’re still at your cutest when you’re flustered, it seems.”
“Will you shut your trap, you idiot?!” Carmine roared in his face. His smirk only grew wider, and she felt like the heat of a thousand suns were warming up her cheeks and ears. Her breathing was falling out of its usual sync, and her heartbeat was starting to drum wildly. Her eyes began to sting as her anger started to fold inward and jab back at herself.
Why…why did she enjoy this?!
She wasn’t trying to entertain this hopeless excuse of banter, but he kept calling her 'cute' over and over again. How was she not supposed to react to that?!
Carmine attempted to regain her composure. “You’re done here. This is a breakfast between family only.”
She’d repeat herself as much as necessary.
“Oh, sis! Um, about that.”
Kieran had popped up beside her, which made Carmine grip her dysregulated, thundering chest. She let out a yelped gasp in surprise, and Drayton chuckled.
“I kind of invited someone to come eat with us, and…well, maybe Drayton could stay? I said I needed his advice anyway, so…”
Carmine didn’t know whether to be anxious or overjoyed. Her body tugged her back and forth between the ride of emotions as she spoke, slightly panicked but enthused. “You invited someone here?! Who?! You’re making friends already?!”
Kieran took a bite out of his powdered French toast. He had gotten a side of eggs and a glass of orange juice, too. Good. At least he’s eating things he likes.
“Well, yeah! A lot of people are nice here, so I made a couple of friends, but…I also ran into an old friend…” Kieran shyly trailed.
“Oh?’” Drayton perked up. Shut up, toothpaste head.
“Out with it, Kiki!" Carmine blurted in impatience. "Who is it?!”
Kieran’s hands flew up in a frenzy. “I-It’s Juliana, sis! She enrolled here too!”
“SHE DID?!" Carmine spat out in disbelief.
Drayton whistled after setting his orange juice down. “Woah, another old pal! Who would’ve thought Juliana would want to go to college all the way out here. What’s she studying?”
Kieran’s face was practically radiant at the opportunity to talk about her. He still likes her, doesn’t he?
“She was really inspired by a professor in her home region, so she’s majoring in Pokemon Science. I’m majoring in Battle League," he quickly explained to Drayton. "And I know it’s a hard major here, but I still like battling a lot, so!”
“Ahh really? So am I!" Drayton said with a smile Carmine didn't like. "Let me know if you need any help with your classes.”
Carmine opened her mouth to protest, but was shocked by Drayton’s next statement.
“I’ve had straight As since getting here. You gotta put the work in, but I think Blueberry Academy’s specific coursework has you more prepared than you’d think. Don’t let the GPA statistics scare you.”
Relief shined in Kieran's eyes. “Would you really be open to that?”
“Of course!” Drayton’s eyes trailed to the device in front of Kieran. “You got a Rotom phone now, right? Let’s exchange numbers.”
Carmine worked through the surprise she was experiencing as the boys registered each other in their contact lists. “You’re a straight A student now? You?”
Drayton looked at Carmine and winked as he tossed a tater tot into his mouth. “I’m the valedictorian of my class, actually.”
“Wowzers!” Kieran exclaimed.
Carmine had an equal amount of shock surge through her. “No way! Nuh-uh! You?!”
Drayton was being smug again. “What, not what you were expecting? I just didn’t really see a need to try back at the academy. It wasn’t all that serious. But now that this counts for something, I’ll try a little more. That’s all.”
Carmine blinked rapidly in disbelief as Kieran continued to prattle on with Drayton.
Was this really Drayton? This guy - this absolute playboy of a guy - wasn’t just smart, but he was the smartest out of the entire senior class?
She couldn't buy it.
He was too different. It was almost as if he had gone under a whole transformation just to infuriate her. Something had to be a lie here - like, maybe he bullied someone into doing all of his coursework for him or something. That'd be more plausible. Somehow. It was all giving her whiplash.
“So," Drayton began between a bite, "What did you want advice on?”
“Um, okay.” Kieran took a deep breath. “Don’t laugh.”
Carmine read in between the lines of Kieran’s nerves. “Is this about Juliana?”
Kieran’s face was instantly flushed with a rosy red. “Um! Yeah,...so, you know how I had a crush on her all those years ago?”
“I mean, you didn't say anything to me about it, but I’m not surprised at all.” Drayton snorted.
Kieran smiled bashfully - a furthered sign of his maturity. The last time he saw Drayton, he’d probably bite his head off.
“Yeah, well. I never really stopped liking her. I just…it’s been awhile. And we’ve talked here and there, but I just…it didn’t feel right confessing to her ever since our friendship was long distance. And now that she’s here …” Kieran’s eyes shifted between the two young adults before him. “It just feels like fate? Like I have another chance, and…I just really wanna tell her how I feel. I don’t think I can hold it in any more.”
“Oho, ” Drayton purred. “So you want advice on how to do it.”
Oh don’t you dare say a word.
Carmine kicked Drayton from underneath the table, and Kieran’s head shot back momentarily before he answered.
“Y-Yeah, I do.” Kieran stammered in confirmation.
“Kiki-”
Drayton ignored Carmine's attempt at an interruption. “Why don’t you bring her somewhere pretty? Like in front of the fountain by the garden. Then just tell her how happy you are to see her again, tell her she’s beautiful, and then ask her out?”
“Oh what would you know about romantic commitment?” Carmine snapped.
A smile was tugging at the corner of Drayton’s mouth. “Pardon?”
“Sis, are you okay?”
“Ugh! Yes! I’m fine, Kiki, just don’t listen to this jerkface!”
“Jerkface? That’s a new one. A bit dull on the creativity, though.” Drayton mused.
Kieran was shrinking into himself. “Is what he said wrong?”
“No!” Carmine exclaimed. “Just - you gotta be you, Kiki! And you gotta do what feels right for you. You don’t need to say or do specific things.”
“Right…okay. I just-”
Carmine’s eyes darted to a girl approaching them, then interrupted Kieran’s train of thought with another exclamation. “Juliana! Is that you?!”
“Oh, hey Jules!” Drayton called out.
Juliana walked closer to the table as she waved excitably to the group, beaming. She had seemingly grown up, too - she was dressed in an adorable, hazy bubblegum maxi dress with a pink rose pattern on it, and scaling the top of the dress was a white button-down top she had manually fastened by tying it in a knot. Her hair was much longer now, and her signature braid had evolved into a loose ponytail where some of her gentle curls branched out.
“Hi guys, It’s so nice to see you again! And Kieran, hehe, it’s nice to see you…again. You know, from yesterday.”
“Heh, yeah.” Kieran’s face was practically the color of the tomatoes on Carmine's toast as she bent over and hugged him.
It was wholesome to witness their awkwardly sweet interaction; Carmine had always liked Juliana, and thought she really helped bring Kieran out of his shell. But...she probably had someone else in her life. She was an outgoing and ambitious girl.
She knows Juliana would be gentle about it, but she would hate to see Kieran get hurt.
Thankfully, his track record suggested he’d do anything but confess.
Carmine reached up and hugged Juliana as she came forward.
“Here’s the Drayster take: they’ll be an item by the end of the week.”
Carmine scoffed at the ignorance of the guy next to her. After finishing breakfast, Kieran and Juliana had left the dining hall to explore the campus together. Drayton, in all of his annoying tendencies, had decided to follow Carmine as she began her morning stroll around campus. It was her favorite part of her routine until now. “Yeah, right.”
There was a trickle of amusement in Drayton’s voice. “You think Kieran will fess up sooner?”
Carmine halted in place and twisted around. “He’s not going to fess up at all. He’s talked about it time and time again, but he always Torchics out. He’s just going to hide his crush on her again.”
“Mmm…I don’t think so. You heard him. He thinks this is fate and he doesn’t want to miss his shot again. And they were all giddy around each other the whole meal. It’s really only a matter of time.”
Look at you, acting like the relationship expert.
Carmine crossed her arms to brace herself. “Even if Juliana likes him, which I doubt she does, you don’t know my brother like I do.”
There was a twinkle in Drayton’s cocky eyes. “You wanna bet?”
Carmine hesitated, and then turned on her heel and kept walking. “Hah! Don’t make me laugh. You’d just lose - you know nothing about real relationships.”
Drayton started to saunter alongside her. “And there’s that comment again. Seriously, are you upset with me over something? And is it about my dating life?”
“Your 'dating life’ is just a nonstop series of you running around breaking girls’ hearts and leaving them crying on floors.”
“Carmine,” Drayton groaned. “It isn’t like that.”
“Yes it is! I know so because I’m the person who cleans up your messes! Like that blonde girl from last night.”
Carmine quickened her pace to create distance, but Drayton kept up with her pace. “Listen, I’m just having fun. I tell all the girls that, and most of the time they’re down for it too, and we have a good time, But some of them get too attached-”
“Arceus forbid they have feelings when you have sex with them,” Carmine interrupted.
“...they get too attached after I warn them that nothing was gonna happen outside of the fun.” Drayton continued, emphasizing his words. “And they agreed in that moment when I told them straight up."
Carmine halted again. “Well you're hurting people. You hurt them because you make them feel special and do all these intimate things with them, and then you drop them like flies and move onto the next one.”
Drayton’s eyebrows furrowed and he stepped closer. “Oh come on, you’re blowing it up out of proportion.”
Carmine could sense his irritation growing, but hers was much bigger. “Oh, am I?” She jabbed at him sarcastically. “Then stop sleeping around! Stop making out with girls! Stop all this ‘casual’ stuff altogether!”
“I’m sorry, stop-?”
“You heard me." Carmine asserted confidently, happy to catch him in a rare misstep. "Stop. S-t-o-p, stop. If it’s really not a big deal after all, you should be able to give it up no problem, right?”
“Okay, you know what?” Drayton grimaced in indignation after a few blinks. “I’ll make you a deal. Let’s actually make a real bet on Kieran and Juliana.”
“What-?!”
“If you win, I’ll stop what I’m doing if it bothers you that much. No complaints, no nothing. I’ll stop. For as long as you want.”
Carmine didn’t like where this was going - that was a hefty stipulation working against him. “And if you win?”
A mischievous look washed over Drayton. “I’ll still stop to prove a point that I’m not the ‘manwhore’ that you think I am. But,” Drayton began, “you gotta have fun with me behind closed doors. And it would last an equal amount of time for whatever you decide your win condition would be in effect for. So if you wager two weeks on your end, that means my win condition would last for two weeks if I won. No take-backs.”
Carmine’s heart leapt to her throat at the crude suggestion. She couldn’t believe some idiot she had once thought she fell for would even utter the preposterous idea. “A-Are you serious?! Be your little sex toy?! Absolutely not. No way!”
As Carmine turned away and shouted in a heated fury, a flock of Pidoves that cooed nearby scattered from the street and flew up into the air.
“I don’t mean sex. I just mean that you’ll be a form of my...entertainment." There was a devious glint in his eye as he landed on the word. "We can negotiate the boundaries and the details.”
Carmine felt the unstoppable escalation in her heartbeat carry her away again as her imagination invaded her mind. Doing stuff...'entertaining' stuff...with Drayton? Drayton?!
She couldn’t dare to look back at him. “You’re…you’re so twisted in the head.” Carmine muttered in defiance.
“Well, miss prude princess,” Drayton breathed against her neck as he leaned over, and Carmine stepped to the side and faced him again. “I think you’d have fun too if you loosened up a bit. And if you’re so confident that you’re right about them, this is an easy win for you. It’s just a matter of if you wanna gamble. But hey, if you don’t?” Drayton threw his hands up in the air with a provoking nonchalance. “Your choice. You just go back to doing your thing, and I’ll go back to doing mine.”
Carmine exhaled her fumes through her nose as a competitive, cocky grin began to plaster on his face. She stewed over the wild idea in her head, and swore at herself internally for feeling pumped. There was a tiny, tiny, tiny and peculiar part of herself that was getting a thrill off of this nonsense. It ate up this idea as if it were starving for a tempting adventure she hadn’t quite yet had, and she wanted to hate herself for it. She wanted to be careful, calculated even. But her fiery spirit spoke for her faster than her judgment.
“Fuck it. You’re on.”
Drayton’s mischievous snicker was back, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “You’re in?”
Her arms were crossed against her again. “Yeah. I’m in. They won’t get together any time soon, and especially not by the end of the week," she justified.
“And what’s the time stipulation to each of our win conditions?”
Carmine took a beat as she glanced at some nearby foliage - it needed to be long enough to punish Drayton, but short enough to keep her head above water in the event she’d lose.
She settled on an idea. “A semester.”
“So four months?” Drayton reiterated back.
“Four months.” Carmine repeated, trying to sound sure in her decision. It sounded much more daunting in the way Drayton had framed it.
“Okay,” Drayton mused as his tone dropped. He suddenly leaned forward as if to taunt her. “And no matter who wins, the loser has to go along with everything. If I get caught or questioned, I can’t say shit and I gotta act like goin' all celibate is all my choice. If you get caught or questioned, you gotta act like you’re into me."
Carmine felt fed up with the ridiculousness of it all - she just couldn't wait for him to lose. “Whatever. Fine.”
“Fine,” Drayton hummed. “Let’s shake on it, then.”
She mirrored his firm movements as she sealed her fate with a handshake.
It had been nearly an hour later, and Carmine had made her way to the deck of the Arts building. It had a beautiful overview of the flower-fused garden, and the breathtaking fountain that Drayton had discussed with Kieran earlier. The sun had risen up higher in the sky, and yet, Carmine still had a shadow following her every move...
She whipped around to face the guy that was sauntering beside her. “Haven’t you followed me around for long enough?”
“Can’t we just enjoy a nice walk together? This is the first time in I’ve seen you for more than three seconds.”
“This is a waste of your time. You should be sleeping if you were up all night.”
Drayton dramatically placed his hand over his heart. “Awe, look at my girl worrying about me. I’m touched.” Drayton teased.
“I am not your girl!”
“You will be soon. And we can be productive with this time if you reallllyyy want. Maybe we can talk more about what kind of 'fun' is appropriate for you when I win the bet.”
He was practically gloating his fantasies. So THAT'S why he followed her.
“You’re not going to win-”
“For instance,” Drayton started, rubbing underneath his chin. “We obviously won't be sleeping with each other, but we can sleep next to each other each night.”
A strain gripped her, and she and failed to act as causal as he was. “E-Each night?!”
“I think it’s an even trade. I get your company, you keep me away from girls.”
She wasn’t going to lose this battle of wits.
“Well if you’re gonna go that far, then you can’t even flirt with a girl when I win, then.”
“Sounds good to me.”
She tsked and continued walking.
But no, he was far from done apparently, because he started squawking from beside her a moment later. “So if I’m getting this right: I ask you do some stuff with me. You can either listen to them, or you can negotiate. We still honor the request, but we do it in a different way. Like how sleeping together became sleeping next to each other.”
“I cannot believe you are actually talking about negotiating sleeping together right now," Carmine said flatly, unimpressed.
“But you’ll do the latter.”
“Yeah," she drawled in annoyance, "In this theoretical world where you someh-AH!”
Carmine felt herself get jerked to the side as Drayton pulled her toward the shade of the building with a hushed ‘Shh!’. She nearly screamed at the bozo, but as her eyes followed his pointer finger toward the garden, they immediately widened.
Her little brother was there, and he was sitting next to Juliana on a bench.
Her mouth gaped in horror as the scene was unfolding before her. They were holding hands, and Juliana's shoulders shook from a giggle as Kieran seemed to be stuttering something. His body was as stiff as board, his entire face was flustered, and he was clenching his free fist into the air as if he was pumping himself up to blurt something out.
“Holy fuck," Drayton breathed with humor and anticipation, "It’s happening right now.”
“No way. No no no no.” Carmine spat out in a rapid whisper. She shot a quick glance at Drayton, who was practically brimming with nosy excitement. “We…we can’t tell! I-it could be anything!”
“It’s obviously a confession," He retorted, keeping his eyes glued to the show.
“He wouldn’t! He never-?!”
As Carmine turned her attention back to the pair from afar, Kieran suddenly grabbed Juliana’s face and closed the distance between himself and her.
Oh. OH.
His lips were off of her in the next moment, and then he shot up into the air and screamed loud enough for every bone in Carmine’s denying body to hear.
“I! WILL BE! THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!!”
Juliana burst out into a a squeal mixed with laughter as Kieran picked her up and spun her around into a hug.
He picked her up. And spun her around. After kissing her. And saying he'd be the best boyfriend ever.
Something in her stomach dropped.
Carmine felt an odd mixture of numbness and anticipation crash wildly over her as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She nearly shuttered at the intimacy as her back arched in response to the foreign sensation. What was happening in real time was as terrifying as dancing with Giratina, but...
Goosebumps shivered up her spine as Drayton leaned in from behind her. “Well,” he whispered, “Seems like I won our little bet, sweetheart."
Her breathing unsteadied, and she was unable to focus on anything except the heat she felt from Drayton’s breath bouncing off her ear. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck as he tightened his grip around her, deepening the strange currents flying around her whole nervous system.
"You’re mine now. And you wanna know something?”
She was in trouble now.
“Bet you’ll fall in love with me."
And based on the pace her heart was beating at?
It was in more ways than one.