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Unkept Promises

"Excuse me!" Elena shouted after some passing-by morphs, "Have you, by any chance, seen a Zoroark about this tall, has a purple ponytail, wears glasses and usually a sweater?" Everyone in the group shook their heads. "Dang... Okay, thank you." As the group went on its way, Elena stroked her thumb against her chin in deep thought. Jeez, I shoulda' known this would be difficult. How in the Sam hell am I supposed to find someone that can make himself invisible or look like someone else entirely?

"Hey sis!" she heard Cerci call from afar, taking her away from her thoughts for a moment, "What'cha doin?"

"Trying to find Zara," Elena sighed, planting her paws on her hips, "The son-of-a-bitch is trying to hide from me."

"Why?" Cerci asked, giving her a coy smile, "Did you scare him off with your heart of ice?"

"Ha ha," Elena laughed sarcastically, "No, he lost a bet and now he's scared of keeping his promise. And for the record, I do not have a heart of ice."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Cerci snickered, making Elena roll her eyes, "Anyways, did you try checking his dorm room?"

"Of course. It was the first place I checked."

"Did you check if he was just invisible?"

"Yeah, and I even checked his roommate to make sure he wasn't disguising himself..." Elena pursed her lips as a slight blush rose to her cheeks, "That was...awkward..."

Cerci paused. "...Wwwwwwhat do you me--"

"So now I'm just trying to see if anyone's seen him come by. It felt like it was worth a shot, but now I'm starting to think I'm just wasting my time."

"How about that spot on the hill he showed us?" Cerci offered, "Have you checked there yet?"

"Well I figured he'd predict I'd check there. Cuz if he did, he'd probably go somewhere else."

"But what if he predicted that you'd think that way? Then he'd stay there knowing you'd never check there."

"Well with that logic, he could've thought that I thought that's what he thought!"

"Well then he could've thought that_you_ thought that he thought that you thought that...he...wait now I'm confusing myself."

"The point is," Elena pressed on, "I'm just gonna search the campus and hope that I find him before he sees and hides from me."

"I still say you should check out the hill," Cerci suggested, "Cuz if you're gonna check the entire campus, you might as well check it too."

"Uuugh," Elena groaned in defeat, "Fine, I'll go n' check. But it's not because you told me to."

"Of course not," Cerci said sarcastically, "It's because you're soooo smaaaart."

"...Don't try to be me, sis. It just doesn't work..."

"Fine," Cerci sighed, "I wanna come too, thought."

"What?! Why?!"

"You're gonna make Zara admit who his crush is, right?" Cerci asked eagerly, "I wanna find out who it is too, y'know! He's my friend too, after all. So if our shy little Zara has finally found himself the love of his life, then I wanna know who's responsible for stealing his heart!"

"Alright, alright, I got it!" said Elena dismissively, "Jeez, I didn't need a whole speech about it. Fine, you can come. Now hurry up! We've already wasted enough time on your rambling!"

***

Zara dug his toe into the grass as he stared out at the view of the wilderness. Try as he might, he couldn't fight off the anxiety he was feeling from doing this. He knew that Elena was probably searching for him by now, and there was no point in denying that she would eventually find him. The question for him was how long would he have to avoid her before she just stopped caring about the bet altogether. Would it take days? Weeks? Months? YEARS?!

Well, it probably wasn't gonna be years, but months was still fairly plausible, at least if he really knew Elena. It wouldn't matter if the conversation they were having only touched upon the subject of the bet with the tip of a feather. If she found an opportunity to speak about something on her mind, she would pounce on it with absolutely no loss of momentum or rhythm whatsoever. He hated playing the waiting game (mostly because he never knew how long he needed to wait), and this was no exception. He just knew that he'd slip up eventually, or end up getting caught in an inescapable situation. He had to play it cool, and he had to play it smart. It was why he had come here to hide in the first_place. He knew it would be the obvious choice, so he was betting on the possibility that Elena would check here _last. And just in case, he would keep himself invisible with his illusions.

Evidently, this was something he had forgotten to do, made apparent by the fact that he was currently flying through the air, carried by the momentum of Elena's flying glomp.

"GOTCHA!" she cried out in victory after they had landed on the grass with her on top, "Thought you could hide from me, HUH?!"

"E...Elena?" Zara gasped, still dazed from the surprised blow, "H-how did you figure out I was here?"

"Cuz reverse psychology don' work on me, SON!" she shouted, jabbing a finger against his shoulder.

"I told her that she should check here," said Cerci from the side.

"So why are you hiding from me, Hmmmm?" said Elena with a stern, narrow-eyed look, "You n' I had a bet, remember?" Zara whimpered and sand into his neck a little bit. "NU-UH! No amount of puppy-dog-eyes 're gonna get you out of this_one! _You agreed to the bet, 'n now you gotta keep it. So c'mon, out with it! Who's that crush of yours?"

Zara's voice faltered once it finally came back to him. "...Elena...p...please don't make me do this..."

The statement caught Elena off guard, and it took her a moment to recover. "...C...come on, dude... You promised..." Zara only whimpered again and flattened his ears against his head. Elena bit her lip and sank back slightly. "...Zara? ...What's the matter?"

Zara choked on his own voice momentarily. "...I...don't wanna say..."

"The name of your crush, you mean?" Elena asked gently. Zara only nodded this time. Elena let out a sigh of disappointment. "...Well...at the end of the day, I can't really force you... But like...have you at least talked to this person?" Zara shook his head. "Have you tried to?" Again, Zara shook his head. Elena let out another sigh of disappointment. "Zara...come on...you really shouldn't keep doin' this to yourself. Do you really think that I do these things to you cuz' I want you to make your life miserable?" Zara shook his head once more. "Yeah, see? You know I'm just trying to push you. So like...spill it, will ya? Why haven't you tried to talk to this person?"

Zara whimpered softly and looked away, twiddling his thumbs together. "I'm...afraid of messing things up..."

"...Oh," Elena said with surprise, "Is that really it?" Zara nodded more eagerly than he intended. Thankfully, she took nothing of it and instead clapped her paws together with enthusiasm. "There we go! That's something that we can _work_with!" With a huff, the Glaceon scooted off of Zara and took hold of his paw to hoist him back up. "Cerci?" she called, keeping her grip on Zara's paw even after he was standing, "Can you get over here n' ribbon-leash him for me?"

"Sure thing, sis," Cerci sang cheerfully as she came over to them. As they waited for her, Elena gave the dark type an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Zars," she said, "Gotta make sure you don't run off on us again..." Zara only lowered his ears and closed his eyes as he felt one of Cerci's ribbons coil around his neck. Elena then let go of his paw and stepped back. "Alright, Zara. Since you're so keen on keeping this mystery-morph a secret, sis n' I are gonna help you practice for when you finally do go up to this morph and tell him or her about your feelings." Zara shifted his weight between his heels in apprehension. "Okay, so let's just start with somethin' simple... So let's pretend that I'm_your crush... _Ahem." She made a show of clearing her throat as she straightened herself out. Once she was done, she smiled at Zara. "Oh hi, Zara! What's up?"

Cerci giggled and urged the Zoroark forward, "Now go up to her n' tell 'er how you feel!"

Zara bit his lip as he stepped forward. Neither of the Eeveelutions had any idea of how awkward this was for him. Sure, this was already way better than what they had initially wanted him to do, but having to pretend that Elena was his crush was, by technicality, impossible for him at the moment.

After all, it's not pretending when it's true.

Zara swallowed his nerves as he raised a paw to wave. "H-hey, Elena..."

Elena giggled slightly. "You doin' alright? It seems like somethin's on your mind."

"Oh I call bull on that one," Cerci spoke up, "You really think someone's gonna read how he's feeling just from how he_greets_ 'em?!"

"It can happen!" Elena snapped with a shrug, "Now SHHHH!" Cerci grumbled to herself as Elena recomposed herself. After a brief moment of silence, Zara realized that she was waiting on him.

"Oh-sorry, um..." he stammered, "w-where did we leave off?"

Elena chuckled slightly. "I was asking what was on your mind."

"R-right," Zara nodded, twiddling his thumbs, "U-ummm...... Well there's...something that I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Oh really?" said Elena with a tilt of her head, "Well then, I'm all ears."

Zara anxiously dug his toes into the grass. As Elena stood there waiting, Zara's lips quivered and his paws trembled. He whimpered softly and glanced at Cerci, whose ribbon was still coiled around his neck. "D-does Cerci really need to watch us for this?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cerci snapped, a little offended by his statement. Zara frantically shook his head and paws.

"N-nothing!" he stammered, "It-it's just..." He whimpered again and turned away from the fairy type. "...I'm not...comfortable with her watching..."

"Aww," Cerci whined slightly, "Why not? It's just us, y'know? Nothing to be embarrassed about..."

"...Yeah..." Zara muttered quietly, flattening his ears against his head, "...I guess..."

"Yeah, Zars," Elena chimed in, "No need to feel awkward. We've known each other for a long time now, so we won't care if things get a little weird."

Still rather reluctant to continue, Zara glanced back and forth between the two siblings. Really, though, he was mostly stalling for time, as he couldn't deny their logic. He had always known about how accepting the two of them were when it came to him (being childhood friends gave him such a benefit). On top of that, they were just acting as far as the two sisters were concerned. Yet, despite these reasonings, Zara still felt anxious in doing it. But from the way the siblings weren't saying anything, he knew thathe had no other choice. So gathering his wits and taking a deep breath, he said, "Elena...I...like you...like...a lot..." His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for the ice type to respond.

"...Okay...well...we can work with this," she replied, stroking her chin with a finger, "You at least got yourself to speak your mind, so we're off to a good start... But your delivery was a bit...how do I put it..."

"It left a lot to be desired?" Cerci offered with a shrug. Elena nodded and pointed at her.

"That's a good way of putting it. Saying that you 'like someone a lot' doesn't totally share what you mean. How about you try somethin' a little more forward than that?"

Zara twiddled his thumbs as he tried to come up with something to say. "...Um...okay...uhhh..." Zara reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, "...Elena...I...I think I...have strong feelings...for you..."

Elena nodded thoughtfully. "Good, good. We're getting better...but you should sound more natural. Right now, you just sound like you're making a business transaction." Cerci couldn't help but snicker at that, in turn making Zara blush and, ever so slightly, smile. "So, like, just be more casual. But not too casual, y'know? Like, don't just go up to the person n' be like, 'yo...bitch...you wanna hook up?'" This made Cerci laugh a little harder, making Zara's smile a little more noticeable. "Yeah, so, give me your best shot, Zars." Zara tugged at his ponytail lightly as he nodded. He looked to the side as he tried to come up with something. "And hey," Elena spoke up, making him jump slightly, "don't be so tense. It's just us, remember? You're allowed to have fun with this."

Zara blushed again as a smile crept up his lips. He nodded and took a deep breath as he tried to relax. He looked to the side again and sorted through everything he wanted to say. "...Elena?" he eventually began, "I know...this is gonna sound...weird...but...well, we've known each other for a long time...and...I feel like we've gotten...really close..." Elena nodded, smiling and keeping her silence. "So...I've been...thinking things over...and...I think...I want...to take things to the next level..." Zara felt his heart race as he gathered up the wits to continue. "Elena...do you...wanna be my--"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Cerci shrieked, startling Zara and catching him off guard. The Sylveon giggled and clapped as she bounced up and down, "I'm sorry but I just couldn't help myself! It was just so cute and adorable and romantic!" She squealed again and broke into another giggle fit. Elena smiled and rolled her eyes before turning back to Zara.

"Well it was pretty good. I mean, a bit too much on the proposal side, but it was definitely alright. If you tweak it up a little, then you'll be golden."

"More than golden," Cerci exclaimed with enthusiasm, "Oooooh, our shy little Zara is becoming a man!" This time, Elena couldn't help but join in her sister's giddy laughter. Zara blushed as Cerci wrapped an arm around his shoulder and hugged him tightly.

"Th...thanks, you guys," he replied, tugging at his ponytail, "It just...kinda came out of me..."

"That's how expressing your feelings works," Elena mocked playfully, "I know it's new to you. It'll take some time to get used to."

"So are you gonna go up to your crush now?" Cerci asked excitedly, "If you are, can I watch?"

"W-what?" Zara stammered, glancing back and forth between the two siblings, "W-well...I dunno..."

"What? You're still hesitating?" said Elena, caught off guard by the reaction, "C'mon, Zars, be more confident in yourself! You're a good-lookin' guy, even if you tend to get mistaken for a girl sometimes." The ice type couldn't keep a straight face by the end of that sentence and ended up bursting into laughter, prompting her sister to join her.

"Th...thanks," Zara said with a blush, "but...it's just... I don't know if she likes me too..."

"Oooooh," cooed Cerci, wiggling a finger at Zara, "so it's a girl, then, hmmm?" Zara flinched and closed his eyes, mentally kicking himself for letting that slip out.

"Well, what a better way to find out than to ask her?" said Elena, "It's worth a shot, after all."

"But...but what if she doesn't?" Zara asked, flattening his ears against his head, "Won't things get..._awkward_from then on?"

"Only if you make it awkward," Elena replied, "I mean, even if things don't work out, you'll still be friends with this chick, right?"

"Besides, friends are friends," Cerci chimed in, "It's okay to be a little awkward with them. It's why we keep _you_around, after all."

"Ouch," Elena laughed, "That's a little harsh, and that's coming from me."

"Oh he knows I'm kidding," Cerci laughed back with a dismissive paw wave, "Isn't that right, Zara?" Zara only smiled and nodded.

"But seriously though, sis is right. Even if she doesn't like you too, she'd still wanna be friends with you, and if she doesn't...well then fuck 'em, right?"

"Yeah! If she turns out to be a bitch, then you've always got us!"

Zara fell himself choke up a little from their support. Fighting down his tears, he replied, "...Thanks, you guys...this...really means a lot to me..."

"Aww, you're welcome, Zars," said Cerci, hugging him from the side, "These sisters will always have your back."

"Yup," nodded Elena, "So if it gets_too_ weird for either of you, rest assured that it won't be too weird for us. Trust me, we deal with our boyfriends' weirdness all the time."

Zara's blush suddenly vanished. His voice seemed to fail him at first as he said, "...wait...b-'boyfriends?'"

Elena's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh shit, did I never tell you?" Zara stared back at her silently. "Yeah dude, I also got a boyfriend while you were away." She smiled and blushed awkwardly. "His name's Luis. He's this Beartic I met a couple months ago. Well, he's more of a Snorlax if you ask me, but he's a sweet n' funny guy. I met him at one of the nearby malls and we just kinda hit it off."

"I think you'd like him, Zara," said Cerci cheerily, "Carter n' I met him once and he was pretty chill. No pun intended."

Elena laughed at her sister's last statement. "Yeah, I think she's right; I feel like you two'd get along."

Zara did his best to smile. "That's...cool... I-I'm glad to hear that you met someone."

"Thanks, Zars," Elena replied happily, "See that's why you should go after this chick! I'm really happy with Luis, and you and I already know how happy Cerci is with Carter."

"Love you too, sis."

"So if you're really good friends with this person, then you'll probably be as happy as us too, y'know?"

Though Zara was smiling on the outside, his heart was heavy. Though he knew that she had the best intentions, having to hear her seek out happiness with his crush when she was already happy as she was...hurt. Doing his best to maintain a cheerful demeanor, he replied, "Thanks, Elena... I'll do my best..."

"Promise?" Elena asked with a wide grin.

Zara stared back at her for a moment. "...Promise."

"Ooooh yaaaay!" Cerci cheered with excited applause, "He's gonna do it!"

"Good luck, then," Elena smiled, "and be yourself, alright? Boyfriends n' girlfriends like each other for who they really are."

Zara nodded in response. "Thank you... I'll keep that in mind." He pressed his lips together slightly before glancing to the side. "Cerci...can you let me go now, please?"

"O-oh, sorry," she apologized sheepishly as she uncoiled her ribbon from his neck, "Now go get 'em, tiger!"

"Yeah! Knock 'em dead, champ!" Elena cheered, pumping her fist in the air, "You've got this!"

Zara simply offered a soft smile as he stepped away and waved. "Bye, guys..."

"Bye~" both siblings sand as he walked farther and farther away. Once he felt that he was far enough away, he let his smile melt away.

...I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he thought, She's such a cool and caring person... Who wouldn't want to be with someone like her? His ears flattened against his head as he hugged himself. ...Well...even if it isn't me...as long as she's with someone...I can be happy about that... It'll just be a promise...that I can't keep...