You Can't Hurry Love

Not too long after the phone call with Cat, she appeared into the unusual yet quaint shop. She looked around upon entry, wrinkling up her nose at the store’s layout and decorations.

“So um, what are you doing here?” Cat asked, straining to use a ‘polite’ voice but in no way hid her distaste at being summoned here.

“Cat, I just met some very nice people who offered me a drink. This kind woman owns the shop and poured the lemonade, and Larry offered me some excellent advice. This is my friend Cat.” I said, introducing everyone.

“What advice did he give?” Cat asked, smiling a little due to her ignorance of what conversations took place.

“Um…well you see Larry was um…” I trailed off, looking over at Larry and the old woman for advice, making it obvious I did not want to tell Cat the true conversations we had.

“Emily came in and was discussing that both you and her were looking for something else to do around here besides go to the gym. I suggested you both go to Lake of Rage.” Larry shrugged.

“Why should we listen to what you have to say?” Cat asked, narrowing her eyes at Larry.

Larry chose not to reply, but a smirk appeared on his face. He was unphased by Cat’s coldness, and instead showed amusement. I’m guessing he did anyway, I couldn’t see his eyes.

“Lake of Rage was definitely a good idea. Ever since Lance caught that Red Gyarados, it’s been a very serene place where trainers and Pokémon can enjoy a quick dip. Pay no attention to its name, it’s a must for any traveller.” The old lady said in an attempt to defuse the situation, shooting a look at Larry, which I couldn’t read.

“Who’s Lance?” Cat asked rudely, showing she wasn’t very keen to continue this conversation or take their ideas on board.

“Oh, surely you must know Lance the dragon master? He’s the Pokémon champion for Kanto and Johto, he’s a wonderful person, it was because of him Team Rocket were driven out of this shop, and I was able to start my own business.” The old lady gushed, speaking very favourable of him.

Larry did not react to Cat’s question or the old lady gushing about Lance the Pokémon champion. He did keep his gaze on Cat and I, I could feel it beneath the sunglasses.

Lance the dragon tamer was a big hit amongst young girls, and he was obviously expecting girls such as Cat and myself would squeal at the mention of the champion. Well, he was half right.

“Ohh of COURSE I know of Lance. He’s SOOOOOOO hot!!” Cat blabbed on, ignoring her distaste of her current situation to blab on.

“What about you, Emily? Are you going to now proclaim your love of Lance?” Larry asked, addressing me suddenly.

“Pfft, why do you care? Secretly love the guy or something?” I huffed, crossing my arms.

“Nope, I reckon the guy is overrated.” Larry coolly defended, but showed amusement at my question.

“You’re just jealous.” Cat barked at Larry, who only gave her a shrug in response.

“Anyway I think we should go to the Lake of Rage. We’ll force the guys to come, tough luck if they don’t want to do it, we’ve been forced to do everything their way this entire time. Besides, I haven’t had the chance to wear my bikini.” I stated.

“You’re right! I haven’t had a chance to wear my cut out swimwear either. I’ll go find the guys and tell them and get changed at the gym. Wanna come with?” Cat asked me.

I looked at the old lady and Larry. If I left with Cat it would be a sudden goodbye, and that wasn’t fair on them. They had listened to me all afternoon and had given me excellent advice, I definitely needed to say a proper goodbye and thank you, and perhaps make plans to see them again one day.

“You go ahead, I’ll get more information on the Lake of Rage for you.” I winked, as Cat took no hesitation in leaving, muttering a goodbye to the old lady and Larry.

“You know, she didn’t really live up to my expectations, you described her as a lovely girl with a heart of gold, I saw a lot of judgemental looks from her, and she looked as if she didn’t want to be here.” The old lady acknowledged.

“I agree. You opened up to two strangers, showing great trust in us. You also stuck around to have a conversation and get to know us. You seem to be what you described her as, but perhaps feel the same as you see guys. If they’re good looking, they’re not very nice people. If you’re going to try and get over that guy phobia, you should probably do the same with how you view yourself.” Larry stated.

I blushed madly. Larry had just outright said he thought I was good looking, and it was rude to turn compliments down.

“If you’d like, you can get changed into your swimwear here. Lake of Rage is only a short walk on Route 43, even shorter if you take the tourist path.” The old lady suggested.

“Cool, you wouldn’t mind would you?” I modestly asked.

“Nope. There’s a big store room out the back if you’d like to get changed there, it’s the old secret Team Rocket base.” The old lady mentioned.

I just grinned, the revelation not being scary at all. I took my bag, and wandered through the door at the back of the shop.

However once I hit the back and shut the door behind me, I got slight chills. The store room hadn’t been customised much to hide the fact that this was a base. The only thing that showed this was a store room and not a base was the fact that lots of stock had been un neatly stored everywhere.

Being uncomfortable being here I quickly opened my bag and rummaged for my bikini. I then threw my top and skirt off, and quickly threw on my bikini top, bikini bottoms and some board shorts before walking out.

“It really is quite scary in there.” I admitted, as I walked out, not even phased by the lack of clothing I had on.

Even though Larry was wearing sunglasses, I could still tell he was diverting his gaze to avoid looking directly at my body.

“I better go find my friends, it’s going to take more than Cat to let the boys agree to go to Lake of Rage. I just wanted to thank you both so much for all of your advice. Really, it’s given me a new perspective in life.” I said, shyly playing with my hands as I had no idea how to depart.

“No worries dear, you looked like a young and hopeful girl, you didn’t need those troubles that we could clearly see bothering you.” The old lady smiled.

“Yes, hopefully we have helped you.” Larry said, mirroring the old lady’s smile.

“Oh boy have you! But yeah, I must be off. It was lovely meeting you both, perhaps I may see you both again sometime?” I asked.

“Sure dear. I’ll always be waiting here. You should swing by again sometime.” The old lady suggested.

“What about you, Larry? Do you come here often?” I asked him.

“Sometimes. But I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again sooner than you expect.” Larry said, a smirk forming on his face.

I cocked my head to one side, but didn’t question him further. He was going for the whole ‘mysterious’ thing, and I knew he wouldn’t answer to any of my probes.

So instead, I wished Larry and the old lady another humble goodbye as I made my way out, ready to go find Cat, Brent and Aaron.