June 12th, 2020
Brandon awoke in traditional Brandon fashion. Kyle was already awake and had presumably left, but he was startled awake anyway. Disgruntled that he was unable to sleep as long as he wished to, he only realized he had a visitor when he heard the knock a second time. Still half asleep, he trudged to the door and opened it, only stopping to grab a robe and put it on.
Charlie blushed a scarlet red when Brandon opened the door.
"Uhh.. hey, Bran. I can come back later if you want," she muttered.
"Im already awake," he shrugged. "Might as well stay."
Charlie nodded. "What were you and Sofie doing?" she asked. An innocent enough question, but it had a tinge of annoyance in it. Just enough for Brandon to notice. But he didn't say anything, for fear of causing an argument.
"She wanted to tackle the Razor HQ again. Stupid idea," he grumbled. "Why?"
"You just don't do much with Sofie," Charlie shrugged. "Seemed weird."
"Yeah, and it was a stupid idea," Brandon rolled his eyes. "Anyway, come in, you don't need to just stand at the door," he chuckled.
Charlie nodded, walking past Brandon and sitting on Kyles's bed. Brandon grabbed a t-shirt and jeans and walked into the bathroom, quickly changing.
"So, how are you?" Brandon asked, and he started brushing his teeth.
Charlie shrugged. "Could be better, but not too bad overall, thanks. I need a little more time, but I think I might continue the gym challenge at some point. A lot of bad things have happened, but they don't need to hinder me. I can use this as motivation," she forced a smile.
Brandon sat back, thinking for a few moments. "Wow," was all he could muster up. "You are incredibly strong. Wow."
Charlie blushed, but hid her embarrassment well. "You want to go eat something? I haven't had breakfast yet."
Brandon nodded. "Sure, I can meet you at the hotel restaurant in.. fifteen minutes? I need a few to talk to Kyle. You see him recently?"
Charlie scrunched up her face, thinking. "Yeah, Sofie said he went to do some training with his Squirtle. He should be back soon."
Brandon smiled. "Cool. I'll go check with him quickly." He got up and hugged Charlie awkwardly, and then blushed. "Jesus, I'm so fucking weird. Sorry," he chuckled sheepishly.
Charlie shrugged. "It's cool. I'll see you in fifteen," she beamed, strolling out of the room.
Despite them having been friends for years, they never felt the need or desire to hug each other. Brandon had to admit, it felt good.
He hoped it wouldn't be the last time.
He met Kyle just outside the hotel and waved him over.
"Yo. I need to ask you something," Brandon began, walking over to the side of the building. "and I need your full honesty. Did Charlie kill Marla?" he asked quietly.
Kyle's silence all but confirmed his suspicions. "I don't think she wanted to, it's just hard to defend yourself against someone that vicious," is what Kyle decided to say.
Brandon rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I noticed how vicious she was, thanks," he agreed bitterly. "I've gotta go soon anyway, I've got breakfast with Charlie."
Kyle grinned. "Nice."
"Shut up."
"Have fun with Charlieeee," he spoke in a singsongy voice.
Brandon walked into the restaurant. He was a few minutes early, uncharacteristic for him, but he didn't mind waiting.
Charlie arrived just after Brandon. She nodded when she spotted him and they found a table to sit at.
They ordered and ate a pancake meal each in relative silence, stopping to banter with each other every now and then. Charlie proceeded to rope Brandon into various sightseeing activities around the town, including multiple hours of Charlie and him being painfully bad in the arcade, desperately trying to replicate Kyle's former success, with very little success of their own. After the group enjoyed supper at the same restaurant Brandon and Charlie had eaten breakfast at, Charlie forced Brandon outside to watch what would be one of the John Region's longest sunsets of the year. Charlie dragged Brandon over to a bench and they sat down. Charlie rested her head on his shoulder, which surprised Brandon, but he said nothing and allowed her to do so.
"So, am I like.. your girlfriend, know?" Charlie asked, breaking the awkward silence with an even more awkward question.
Brandon didn't know what to say, so that's what he said. "I dunno. Do you want to be?"
"That very well may be the dumbest question I have ever heard," Charlie laughed. "I've wanted to date you since last year, you clueless moron," she spoke, her tired voice beginning to slur.
Brandon smiled. "Alright, then."
Charlie let out a happy and tired sigh. "You're weird, Brandon."
"So are you. But I like that."
YOU ARE READING
Pokemon SilkWhite: Journey through Johu
Adventure17 year old Brandon finally managed to free himself from the overprotective clutches of his mother and get a Pokemon. Armed with his mother's Marill and with his two best friends by his side, what could stop them? A lot, it turns out.
