Love

At times, Elizabeth Mandell thought, love could be a word thrown around for fun. Many times she had fallen in love, but it proved to be a false promise.

That is, until she found someone who helped her give a new meaning to the word. His name was Folly, who was one of her coworkers. At first, to her, he appeared to be inconsiderate, lazy, and rude. Out of the three descriptions, two proved to be untrue over time.

It started when the two coworkers were by themselves one day.

Their boss, Miror B., thought it would be "fun" to mix up partners and, in the end, Liz, who normally paired herself up with Ferma and Reath, was paired up with Folly, who normally worked with Trudly.

Their job, according to the boss, was nothing more than snagging a few Pokemon from unlucky trainers.

"So..." Liz started, arms crossed as they walked through the town of Pyrite, "Where 're we goin'? Ya know there 're too many trainers here - we'd be outnumbered if we tried tah snag someone's Pokemon. That Sheriff guy don't help much, either."

Folly rolled his eyes. "Ya think I don't know that?" He scoffed. "Nah, we're headin' to the Outskirt Stand. Battle a sucker an' run fer it."

Liz sneered. "Don't have to be an ass about it." At this point, she wasn't looking forward to the "chore". She wanted to get it done and over with.

Folly hopped into the driver's side of the car he hijacked earlier and slammed the door shut. "I wasn't, I was jus' makin' a point." He inserted the keys into the ignition and revved the engine.

"Point my ass..." Liz muttered, disgruntled, as she entered from the passenger's side, taking her seat as Folly drove off toward their destination.

Most of the ride consisted of silence, minus the occasional attempt at small talk or question.

"We gonna get somethin' tah eat here? I'm starvin'," Liz stated as Folly took the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the car.

"I'm not hungry, but you can get somethin' ta eat," Folly replied, stuffing his hand into his pocket before giving Liz some money. "It's on me, for... well, being an 'ass' earlier, I guess..." His cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he used the excuse.

Liz, a little shocked at the friendly gesture, didn't notice the faint blush and took the money. "Uh... Thanks..." She frowned. "But... what about you? What 're ya gonna do?"

"Nab a Pokemon or two," Folly replied, thumbs in his pockets, "Get the job done."

"But... I'm not doin' anythi-"

"Don't worry about it," Folly said, quickly, "I'll take care of it."

"Bu- Eh. OK, whatever..." Liz mumbled before walking into the little cafe and sitting at the bar, ordering herself a meal for lunch.

Folly sighed once she was out of hearing range. Unknown to Liz, he had already snagged a Pokemon the day before. He originally planned to keep the Skiploom for himself, despite how girly the flower-like Pokemon seemed, but the boss saw it and made Folly hand the snagged Pokemon to him.

No, this wasn't a real job. It was more like a setup by Miror B.. He, like Trudly, knew that Folly had a crush on Liz, and decided that sending the two on a "job" together would help Folly reveal his feelings to Liz... if only to get Folly to shut up about Liz, for Trudly. For Miror B.'s reasons... Possibly to get Liz a friend? His intentions were completely hidden at that point, it may have been a good day for the boss as far as the two male lackeys could tell.

Bringing himself back into reality, Folly fingered the spare Poke Ball on his belt that held a Pokemon which the boss had given him. The Poke Ball contained the boss' own Sudowoodo, who was - unknown to Folly and Liz - already turned into a Shadow Pokemon. Nonetheless, Liz didn't know that the boss owned said Sudowoodo.

Wow, Folly had thought when the boss had given him the Pokemon, I really owe the boss big time...

Within fifteen minutes, Liz had finished eating and exited the eating establishment.

"So," Liz started, "You catch anything?" She asked as she crossed her arms, awaiting his answer.

Folly nodded, taking the Poke Ball that contained the Sudowoodo and releasing it from it's Poke Ball.

Liz smirked, cocking an eyebrow in the process. "Wow, I'm actually impressed! I didn't know your Pokemon were that strong!" She exclaimed.

Folly nodded with a tint of pink floating up to his cheeks. "Uh, yeah..." He coughed, clearing his throat. "Liz, could I... um... tell ya somethin'?"

Liz nodded, taking out a cigarette from her carton and lighting it with her lighter. After taking a puff, she said, "Sure."

"Well... ya know... What do ya think of me?" He asked, trying to find a way to confess his feelings.

Liz cocked an eyebrow. "Uh... Yer OK, I guess... Why?"

"So..." Folly scratched the back of his head, stuffing his free hand into his pocket. "What would ya say if I... er... had a little bit of a crush on ya?"

"I'd say stop lying before I rip out yer hair piece by little piece," Liz replied, curtly, as she took another puff.

"And what if I said I wasn't lyin'?"

Liz blinked, her face going neutral as she lowered her hand to her side. "... I still don't believe ya."

Folly sighed. "What if... I did this?" Advancing forward, he took her chin in his hand and lifted it up as he kissed her lips.

Once he parted, he backed up in case she decided to hit him. "So?" He asked, stuffing both hands in his pockets as his cheeks turned a deeper pink. His mouth now tasted like cigarette smoke, but he didn't seem to mind. All he was focused on was Liz's answer.

"..." Liz put on a small smile. "So what are you tryin' tah say?"

Folly smiled back. "Did ya like it?"

Liz's face didn't change for a moment... and then it lit up with a mischievous smirk. "Yeah."

Folly wanted to grin like an idiot and scream like a maniac at that moment, but his facial expression didn't change a bit. "How 'bout we go on a date, maybe?"

Liz's face went lax as she nodded. "Sure - I'd enjoy another kiss."

"Then I'll give it ta ya." Without another word, Folly's hand went to Liz's back as the two shared another kiss.