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Waxing Moon

_ DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing and original characters are copyright 2010 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment. _

-~ Chapter 5: A Friend Like No Other ~-

Jack found Scotch and I asleep together in the bathroom the next morning. He woke the two of us up, gave us a few odd looks, then kicked us out so he could brush his teeth and take a shower.

I think Scotch felt a little bad for the other night, given how he wasn't saying that much and seemed to be rather aloof. At a few points, it looked like he was about to say something, but then stopped himself.

Jack finished his shower and took the two of us out into the lounge to get us some breakfast before heading out. Down there, he ran into Mary, who he shared a table with for a change. The two were talking and laughing together. Jack certainly looked pretty happy...

"Ah... um... we'll... we'll convince Jack," said Scotch, who was staring over at the two of them from our picnic table along with me.

"Humans... they... they just aren't meant to be in love with Pokemon, are they?" I asked Scotch, not breaking my focus on Jack and Mary for even a second.

There was a brief pause. "N-no... Ah, I mean, well it's not common." I glanced over briefly to see him rubbing the back of his head with his claws. "Some humans have relationships with their Pokemon. And I'd say a lot more Pokemon fall in love with their Trainers than humans fall in love with Pokemon... I mean, well, ah, it can happen, it's just-"

"He's happy, though..." I said, interrupting Scotch, causing him to stop and nod a few seconds afterward. "I can't make him that happy... can I?"

The Charmeleon sighed and placed his head into his hands on the picnic table, staring off into nothing. "We might not be able to do this, Brandy... if it weren't for Mary coming along, there might have been a chance..."

It was unusual seeing Scotch run out of motivation. He always seemed so energetic and enthusiastic, not to mention full of helpful ideas and support. Maybe it really was the end for my hopes of having Jack love me back...

Jack and Mary got up from their table and walked over towards us.

"Hey guys, the contest is tomorrow, so we're going to walk to Hearthome City today and book a hotel room when we get there." Jack smiled and looked rather excited as well. "And Mary and I are going to get some sushi once we get to Hearthome!"

"It's been quite awhile since I've had some good sushi." Mary giggled and patted Jack on the back. "Let's go, Jack!" She tugged on his arm and started leading him out towards the front room of the Pokemon Center.

"Come on, guys!" said Jack as he looked back towards us while being dragged off.

Scotch and I both got up, then followed Jack and Mary out of the Pokemon Center and down the road leading towards Hearthome City.

The two of them were holding hands while walking right beside each other. It bothered me seeing them like that, but at the same time, I felt happy for Jack... My heart felt so confused.

***

We arrived in the outskirts of Hearthome City around sunset. Jack and Mary led us to the hotel, where they each took turns booking their rooms while we waited in the lounge for them to finish up.

"I'm going to change real quick," said Mary, giving Jack a bit of a silly look. "You should look your best, too, for our second date... don't you think?"

"Y-yeah! Sounds good!" exclaimed Jack, stroking his hair with his hand and nodding. He looked over to Scotch and I. "Come on guys, I'll drop you off in the hotel room."

"You could just put them in their Poke Balls, you know. Like... where they belong?" said Mary, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward to look at him with a rather commanding look.

"They're my only Pokemon, so I like leaving them out if I can. They're my friends." He glanced back at Mary, blushed, and then looked back over to the two of us. "But that doesn't mean they need to come with us on our date. Come on, you two!"

Mary giggled and then waved goodbye as she headed down the hall into her room. Jack waved back and then walked the two of us over to an elevator. He pressed the button, waited for a few seconds, and then entered the elevator door.

"I'm really nervous, you guys..." he said to us while in the elevator. "I think she really likes me... I've never felt this way before." He pressed the button marked '5' and paced around the elevator as it slowly took us up to the fifth floor. "Should I... should I kiss her tonight? I- I've never kissed anyone before! But what if she's expecting it? And what if I suck at kissing?"

Scotch looked at me, though looked a bit discouraged by what Jack said. For that matter, so was I... The thought of Jack kissing that girl made me feel like my chances were getting slimmer and slimmer... that I was going to lose him forever.

"A little help, guys?" asked Jack, looking down at us as if he was looking for an answer.

That was when something seemed to hit Scotch. He had a definite reaction to what Jack said. "That's it!" he exclaimed, looking over to me. "Brandy, ah, you... you should kiss Jack!" He blushed after saying that, but still looked determined and confident in his suggestion. "Even if it's just to help him practice... it's an opportunity!"

I blinked, feeling equally nervous and excited. That might just work... "Y-you think so?" How would I even be able to? Jack sounded like he was in a rush and didn't have much time for a very romantic kiss... and even then, would it really mean that much?

"It... it might backfire," said Scotch, looking a little bit more worried. "He's never kissed anyone before, so he might be upset that you took it from him, but personally I think he'd appreciate that you wanted to help him practice."

Ding! The elevator doors opened. We were on the fifth floor. Jack walked out and the two of us followed along, following him over to our hotel room.

"Yeah, that sounds good," said Jack, probably pretending that he heard some generic advice rather than what either of us actually said. "Maybe I'll try that."

He swiped the key card into the door marked '505' and opened the door, revealing another rather nice hotel room complete with a table, two beds, and a balcony looking out over Hearthome City.

"I'm going to change really quick." He knelt down to look through his backpack for some more formal clothes to wear. "Man, I really don't have anything that nice looking... I hope she won't hate me for it... hmmm... maybe this..."

"Brandy!" exclaimed Scotch, pointing at Jack with a look of urgency. "While he's kneeling down like that. It might be your only chance!"

Scotch was right. Jack was too tall for me to reach face-to-face unless he was kneeling down like that. As he was, I had just the right height on him to kiss him right on the face... I knew I had to act.

I walked over to Jack cautiously, still feeling nervous about proceeding with it, but realizing that it was something I had to do if I wanted any chance with him. I poked him on the shoulder, causing him to stop looking through his clothes for matching pants and look right at me.

"What is it, Brandy?"

"J- Jack..." I said involuntarily. It took nearly every bit of courage I had to make the decision I made and to go ahead with placing my hand on Jack's face, leaning forward to give him a kiss right on his lips.

There was a look of shock in his eyes, but it started fading to a look of content as he went along with it for the next few seconds. It felt so magical... kissing the lips of the human I'd grown to love. It felt so amazing knowing that I was the one doing that out of my own free will, because I wanted him, because I loved him.

I wasn't forced into it, I wasn't tricked into it, and it felt so empowering knowing that. Maybe that was how it was really supposed to be... Maybe I really was robbed those opportunities all that time ago. Maybe love was something that was meant to be expressed and shared rather than forced and obliged.

After those few seconds passed, Jack pulled his lips away from mine and looked me right in the eyes. He was quiet for a few more seconds, letting the backpack he was digging through fall on its side on the ground while he continued staring into my eyes through his glasses.

He was a really handsome human... how he could have been neglected for so long was beyond me. He was good-looking, nice as a Chansey, sweet as an apple, and caring as any female could ever hope for...

"Um... uh..." he said while still looking at me. He was also blushing rather intensely after our kiss. It was really cute seeing that... "How... how was I...?"

"Y- you were... amazing, Jack!" I exclaimed, reaching in to hug him.

He wrapped his arms around me loosely and rubbed my back slowly with his gentle hands. "T- thanks, Brandy..." he said softly, still rubbing my back and holding me close.

"Jack...! I love you! I love you!" I nuzzled against him, filled with delight over finally being able to show my feelings to the human I'd fallen in love with. I finally had hope again that things were going to work out. I had hope that maybe I'd get everything I had coming to me after all that I'd had to put up with in my life...

He broke free from my hug and pet me on my face. "M- maybe I should... try one more time... just in c-case...?"

I nodded more enthusiastically than any time I had ever nodded before, smiling and practically crying out of joy. I closed my eyes and loosened my lips, hoping that he would be the one to kiss me back.

To my delight, I felt his hand touch my face as his lips pressed against mine. It had me so excited, so incredibly excited that I could hardly keep myself from fainting. It felt like my heart was beating a thousand times a minute!

He was a really good kisser. Whereas Gin was very forceful and dominant, Jack was gentle, soft, and... well, he wasn't quite sure in what he was doing, but I liked that about him. It made me feel at ease, like he wasn't going to hurt me and that he was going to take care of me.

Oh, Jack... you kissing me absolutely made my night... it brought me so much happiness and cheer. It also made me feel like I could easily win that contest a million times over tomorrow. I could do it. I knew I could. And I'd do it for you, Jack. I'd do anything for you...!

He broke his kiss and looked at me with a questioning look on his face, looking also a bit nervous. "Well...?"

"It was amazing!" I said happily, smiling and hugging him closely again. I absolutely loved that feeling.

He then turned around suddenly, picked up the backpack, and pulled out a pair of black pants. "This is the fanciest I've got... but hopefully it'll be enough." He got up and shook the pair of pants he was holding a bit. The human then took that pair of pants and the shirt he picked out with him into the bathroom to change without saying another word.

I swear I saw stars and hearts dancing around the room. I knew I must have been blushing so hard after that, but it felt so nice that how could I feel anything but delight afterwards?

"T-that... that went well..." said Scotch, walking over to me and giving a smile. He tilted his head off to the side afterwards, though, and looked like something was still bothering him. "I'm happy for you..."

I danced on over to Scotch, not even sure exactly how I was walking over there. It felt like I was floating, to be honest, but I was probably doing some sort of dance or something beyond just normal walking. "Thank you, Scotch!" I said, jumping forward and hugging the Charmeleon, nearing knocking him back.

"Y-you're, ah, welcome..." He rubbed his claws along my back slowly and delicately.

It was thanks to Scotch that I managed to kiss Jack. Had he not have come up with that idea, there was no way I ever would have thought to kiss him there. It meant so much to me that he helped me.

"I mean it..." I said softly. "You're a great Pokemon and a great friend..."

"T-thanks... I'm really glad I have such a good friend, too... ah, heh h-heh..." He hugged me even tighter and stopped rubbing my back, but rather just embraced me as closely as he could.

I felt something wet hit my shoulder, though. In fact, I felt several drops of water hit it. I looked back and saw that Scotch was crying! His eyes were tightly shut, but there were a lot of tears pouring down his face.

"S- Scotch! You're crying!"

He continued, though let out an uncontrollable sob. "J- just so happy for you..." he said, turning away and wiping his face. "S-sorry... I'm, uh, ah, I guess I'm em-emotional... heh..."

"It's okay," I said, patting him on his shoulder in a reassuring way.

The bathroom door opened up and Jack came out wearing a black and white button-down shirt that was buttoned all the way to the top along with those black cargo pants. He thankfully undid the top button after looking at it in the mirror on the door.

"Alright, this'll do." He looked at his wrist, which now had a watch on it, and put it back into his sleeve. "Hopefully I'm not too late! I'll see you guys later tonight." As he opened up the door and walked outside of it, he looked back in to see me looking back at him. "And thanks, Brandy... I'll do my best."

With that, Jack shut the door, leaving Scotch and I alone with each other while Jack went off on his date.

Neither of us were able to stop Jack from having the date... it was inevitable that he was going to wind up kissing Mary that night. After all, I was just practice. To me, it meant so much more than that... and I could only hope that it meant a lot to him, too.

While I had been watching Jack leave, Scotch was going through Jack's backpack and had several Poffins in his hand when I turned around to see him.

"Would you... like to have dinner with me, Brandy?" he asked shyly. It was really cute, I had to admit, how he asked me. That and how he was holding the Poffins in his hand while doing so.

I smiled and nodded at him, then walked over to sit down beside him. "I'd love to!"

He sat down right next to me and handed me two Poffins, keeping one for himself. "So, uh... the contest tomorrow..."

"Yes... I guess it is tomorrow..." I took a bite of my Poffin and looked over at him.

"Ah, well... I know we can't practice in this hotel room... but maybe I can help get you prepared for it mentally?"

"You think so...?"

He nodded and smiled, though then looked off to the side a bit. "Y-yeah... I'd love to see you win tomorrow." He then sighed and closed his eyes. "And I'm sure that Jack would, too." The Charmeleon looked back at me and took another bite of his Poffin. "So, ah, let's go over a few things about what to expect tomorrow..."

Scotch wound up talking to me for the rest of the evening. After finishing our Poffins, we went out onto the balcony and sat next to each other again, continuing our conversation right where it had left off.

He told me a lot about Pokemon Contests that I didn't even know about, that I should try use my looks and natural charm as a Clefable to impress the audience and judges, as well as use my attacks and techniques to stun the crowd.

He warned me about some of the tactics he'd seen in the battle rounds. Of course, he'd never actually made it that far, but he had seen quite a lot of them on TV.

I felt a lot more confident in myself after Scotch told me everything he had to. It was a significant help and I knew that I'd do good in the contest. I knew that I had to... I wanted to impress Jack and I wanted to make Scotch proud.

Jack came back later that night - much later, I might add - with a goofy expression on his face and a bit of lipstick on his cheek. It was fairly obvious that something had happened...

"Ooooohhh... awww... she t-thinks I'm a good kisser... mmmmm..." said Jack through his moans and mumbles as he collapsed onto one of the beds. "She wants to take me back to P- Pewter City after the contest... what do you say, g-guys? Take a break from contests for a bit?"

Scotch nodded reluctantly. "I, ah... I guess so... if you want, that is..."

I wasn't really sure what to think about that. I didn't exactly know where Pewter City was, but knowing that it was where Mary was from was enough to make me nervous about going there. I just kept quiet about it.

I mean, if it meant taking a break from contests just to be with her... that wasn't fair to me, was it? Because I was enjoying contests...

"Alright you two, figure out who gets the bed and get some sleep. I'll sleep good tonight... mmmm..." Jack had already gotten under his sheets and hugged one of his pillows tightly, nuzzling it as if it were Mary herself. Eww...

"Y-you can have the bed," said Scotch, pointing over at it and looking down at the ground hesitantly. "You need your sleep for tomorrow."

"But... I had it last time... I don't want to see you sleeping on the floor... again..."

"Please, Brandy, I want you to have it." He walked over, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over by the bed. "Please... I want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to help you win tomorrow, and, ah, getting some sleep in that big, cozy bed would really help."

I crawled up on the bed and then looked back at Scotch. I didn't want to just leave him to sleep on the floor again, especially after everything he'd done to help me both with Jack and the contest. I knew what I really wanted... what would make things right.

"Scotch... it's a nice bed..." I said, blinking at him and smiling. "I'd like to share it with you. Please?"

Scotch started blushing rather heavily, staring right at me for several seconds before looking away at some random direction. "Ah, well, um, I just, uh, I don't know... J- Jack and all... y- you know..."

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of an excuse that was supposed to be. "Scotch, it's okay, I know you're just trying to be nice... But I would actually sleep a lot better if I knew I had you right beside me."

His eyes seemed to light up before swell with tears again. "Ah, ah, um, j- just... well... are you s-sure...?"

I nodded and smiled at him. "Yes. Besides... you're really warm." I giggled, knowing that he was always pleasantly warm to the touch whenever I'd hug him.

The Charmeleon hesitantly climbed up along the side of the bed, scooting over to give me plenty of room. He reached down for the sheets and pulled them over the two of us, making me feel extra warm and comfortable.

He lay on his side while I was on my back, nearly like it was the other night in the bathroom. "T-thank you, Brandy... I- I- uh... I want you t-to know that, ah, I'm not going to hurt you or r-... r-rape you or anything like that..."

I looked back over to him and blushed. He was so sweet... I didn't worry about him doing anything to me at all. It was actually rather odd, because I'd forgotten just how uncomfortable I used to feel around males until he mentioned it. Scotch was different... he was sweet and kind, innocent and caring, affectionate and helpful...

"I know you wouldn't... I didn't even think of it..." I said back to him softly, still appreciating that he assured me.

"S-sorry... I didn't mean to, ah, bring back memories..." He shut his eyes and appeared to look even more worried.

"No, Scotch, it's okay, you didn't... you just made me appreciate what I have right next to me. You're... you're not them, Scotch. You're a really nice male..."

"Y-... y-... you think so?" he said, opening his eyes and looking at me with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Of course I do...!" I exclaimed, pulling him in for a hug under the sheets.

"T- thanks... ah heh..."

That was the last thing that he said that night. He fell asleep half on his belly and half on his side while leaning against me, resting his head against my chest and placing one of his claws along my side. It was basically the same pose he was in during our hug, except his head was now on its side and he was drooling onto my stomach.

I started feeling something familiar from Scotch as I looked at him sleeping... I started feeling that same feeling I had for Jack...

Even more than Jack, Scotch was always there for me. He was always helpful, caring, considerate, and friendly towards me... he always seemed to put my needs above anyone else's for some reason.

Maybe he just felt sorry for me and wanted to treat me right after everything I'd gone through, like he said... maybe I was overthinking it just a bit... but maybe there was some other reason he wanted to see me happy, just like I wanted to see Jack happy no matter what...

***

Morning came and I found Scotch still in bed with me, cuddled up and drooling a puddle on my chest. I didn't mind. Again, I thought it was rather cute.

"Up and at 'em, you two!" said Jack, looking over the two of us in bed. "Glad to see you two finally learned how to share. You've gotten to be quite the pair recently, huh?" He walked over to the bathroom and went in there, leaving the two of us on our own.

"Mmmm... uhhnn... B- Brandy...?" Scotch started gaining consciousness, raising his head and looking over to see me smiling at him. "H-hi, ah, uh, th-thanks..."

"See...?" I said to Scotch, starting to roll out to the other side of bed and get out, letting the sleeping lizard lie in bed a little bit longer. "It's okay. I trust you." I smiled at him and walked over to his side of the bed, then started shaking him to try and get him to move.

"Alright, ah, alright, I'm coming... just g-give me a minute... okay?"

"Okay." I walked over and waited for Jack to get out of the bathroom. I had to admit I was getting rather excited about the contest. I wanted to do my best! That meant I'd have to remember a lot of the advice that Scotch gave me, which included listening to Jack the best I could.

Trust in Trainers is important when battling and participating in contests, he told me, because not only does it strengthen the bond between human and Pokemon, but it also makes sure that the opponents - and, in the case of contests, judges - know that the Trainer's Pokemon is obedient.

Jack came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, then went over to his backpack to pack it up, swing it along his back, and head over for the door. "Come on, sleepyhead," called Jack over to Scotch, who was still in bed.

"R-right!" He slowly rolled out of bed and looked a bit nervous, though generally alright. Something did seem odd about him, though, but I couldn't quite tell what it was.

The two of us followed Jack out the door and over to the elevator. He led us to the breakfast buffet, where we filled up on some delicious food while he met with Mary. Of course... it would figure that he'd meet up with her there.

We watched as Jack and Mary were talking with each other and having what appeared to be a pretty good time, although they looked subtly more intimate than before, with Jack holding Mary's hand at the table and the two sitting closer to each other.

"If it isn't the pudgy pink marshmallow and her scaly little friend." We turned around to see Vodka standing in front of us, holding up a half-eaten pink Poffin in one of her hands while lightly nibbling on it.

"What do you want?" I asked her, feeling increasingly uncomfortable over her presence. I didn't trust her for a second and I knew that there'd be a good chance of having to fight against her in the contest.

"I was bored, so I thought hot-stuff here might want to play." She went over and sat right on Scotch's lap, wrapping one of her arms around his neck. "Nothing like a little workout right before another victory, hmmmm?"

Poor Scotch looked frozen again as the Lopunny had her mitts all over him. He seemed really frightened, but he was also blushing very heavily. Scotch did seem very shy, so Vodka's flirtatious nature was probably what was unsettling him.

"Leave him alone!" I exclaimed, standing up and staring at her with an insistent look.

"Oh, but he's enjoying it." She adjusted her position while on him from sitting on her side on his lap to straddling him, placing a leg around each side of his hips. "Isn't that right? Oh, teehee," said Vodka, looking down and giggling. "You can see for yourself. He's an eager lizard."

I glanced over at Jack and Mary only to see neither of them even facing us, much less caring about what was happening. A few of the other humans and Pokemon in the room were watching what Vodka was doing to Scotch with a look of curiosity, but none were about to help him or do anything about it.

I didn't want to have to interfere... for all I knew, Scotch might have been enjoying himself... but I absolutely did not trust that Lopunny with my friend. He seemed more in a psychological panic than actually enjoying it.

Without wanting to get too drastic, I started by grabbing Scotch's arm and pulling him off of the chair, knocking Vodka off of him and onto the floor while Scotch hit the floor and landed on his butt, though was being propped up thanks to the grip I had on his arm.

"Why you little bitch!" cried Vodka, getting up onto her feet and puffing herself up. She walked over to me and then slapped me across the face.

"Hey!" shouted Scotch, who quickly got up from the ground and gave Vodka an even more angry look than she was giving me. He had his arm in front of me, guarding me, so he was between Vodka and I. "If you're going to hit someone, hit me, but don't you dare hit Brandy!"

Scotch... how sweet. You stood up for me... I felt amazed watching Scotch defend me. Even though that slap barely hurt physically - and, for that matter, emotionally - just seeing Scotch stand up for me really struck a chord with me... a really harmonious chord.

"Oh? You mean you'd rather do her..." she started, turning around, bending over, and swatting her ass in front of him. "...than me?"

Scotch seemed to be staring for a few seconds right down towards her girlhood. His face looked like it was boiling due to its increased redness. He then shook his head and looked back towards me. "I... I don't trust her, either," said Scotch, sighing and looking rather disappointed afterward.

"Hmph, well you're no fun. If you're gay, you could have just told me," she said, winking back at him in a very teasing way. She stood up straight, smacked her tail one more time, and then walked away from the two of us. "Ciao."

There were a few seconds of silence after that little scene. Neither of us moved at all. Scotch was still right in front of me, still protecting me from the Lopunny that had already left. A few Pokemon were pointing at him and laughing, though, which caused him to reactively place his claws down by his groin. Oh... I guess I didn't see what was going on on the front side of Scotch, but I had a pretty good guess.

"Scotch..." I said softly, placing my hand on the smaller Charmeleon's shoulder. "You're a real good Pokemon."

"Ah, um, well... it was really h-hard turning her d-down... ah! I mean, no, not h-hard, b-but... bad choice of... words..."

"She... she sort of reminds me of Gin... the, um... the Gabite..." I said to Scotch, knowing that he now had a clue what I was talking about. "She wants to mate way too much... like it's the only thing that matters to her or something."

Scotch turned around, still with his claws guarding his groin area, and looked at me with a bit of a blush on his face. It was calming down a bit, but it was still present. "Ah... um... I k-know this isn't really the b-best time to ask, but, ah, um... well... h-how does m-mating f-... no, ah ha ha, ah, um, nevermind!" He started rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands, but quickly returned it to his groin after realizing he'd left it unguarded.

Of course that little opening managed to confirm my suspicions that he was erect... it actually made me giggle a bit on the inside, because it was almost rather cute how he'd always shyly hide it. I had never seen males react like that, but then again I was never in the company of such good males, so maybe it was more normal.

But what was perhaps more interesting was what he was about to ask me. It sounded like he... he was going to ask how mating felt... unless I was terribly mistaken. I guess the thought never really occurred to me that he might not have ever mated before. After how horribly I'd been treated, I had just assumed most males were rather heartless and cared about nothing more than mating, so of course any that I would ever talk to would have mated. Maybe Scotch hasn't, then?

"W-wait... Scotch? Have you... ever m-"

Just as I was about to ask him, Jack came over while wielding a Poke Ball in each hand. "Okay, guys, it's time to get in line for registration. I'll need to put you in here until the thing starts, Brandy, sound good? And I'll let you out after the presentation round, Scotch!"

Without giving us a chance to finish, Jack returned us each to our respective Poke Ball, and that was the last thing I would remember until the start of the contest.

I could only hope that I'd be able to keep my cool as soon as I was released from my Poke Ball ,and would then have to face the audience along with the panel of judges. Doing well was my only hope to truly win Jack over... but... he was starting to seem less and less important to me for some reason... my feelings and emotions were starting to wander elsewhere...

-~ End of Chapter 5 ~-