On a Night Like This

4. Janine

What was Falkner's problem, anyway? All night, he'd been acting weird. Distracted weird. Glancing across the room every two seconds weird. And it wasn't like him at all.

The Falkner she knew listened. He looked at her like there was no one else around. And he made her wonder if maybe, just maybe, he thought of her as more than a friend.

Tonight, the Falkner she knew was nowhere to be found. When she got close to him, he edged away. When she smiled at him, he barely smiled back. And she didn't know what he kept looking at, but it was seriously starting to get on her nerves.

Janine gathered up all the courage she could. They needed to sort this out, and she'd have to be the one to do it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Falkner shrugged, but the tension in his shoulders was apparent even to her.

Then, in the worst timing in the history of Kanto, DJ Mary showed up and asked if they'd mind doing an interview. Falkner, seeming downright relieved, was quick to agree.

And so Mary got down to business, failing to notice the sheer frustration on Janine's face. "We're here with Falkner and Janine, two of the Pokémon League's newest stars. How's the life of a Gym Leader these days?"

"Pretty good," said Falkner. "Especially when you get to go to stuff like this."

The interview was happening whether Janine liked it or not. She resolved to just get it over with. "Yeah. I mean, being in charge of a gym isn't easy. But if training Pokémon's what you want to do, it's the best experience you can get."

"Some might say you two have it harder than most. Do you feel a lot of pressure to measure up to your famous fathers?"

She didn't think twice about that. It was a question she and Falkner got all the time. "I don't know if pressure's the right word. But I've looked up to my dad my whole life, and it makes me want to work hard so I can be as good as him one day. Maybe even better."

Falkner nodded. "That's exactly how I feel."

"I'm sure we can expect great things from you both, with attitudes like that. Now, I have to ask. If your fathers faced each other in a Pokémon battle, who would win?"

"Mine," they both said without hesitation.

"You don't want to bring that up." Janine laughed. "We'll be at it for days."

Falkner laughed right along with her. "We've been at it since the day we met."

"You two are too cute for words." Mary beamed at them. "And you've been inseparable all night. Everyone's dying to know—any chance of a future romance?"

Janine was at a loss. How could she answer that, when she didn't know the answer herself? She searched Falkner's face for some kind of hint as to how he felt. Nothing. Just a hundred different shades of awkward.

His reply wasn't what she'd hoped. "No comment."

"Uh, yeah," she echoed. "No comment."

"Well, then, it looks like their lips are sealed. Janine and Falkner, everybody."

Janine let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. No one had warned her that being a Gym Leader would involve discussing her not-quite-love life on live radio.

No comment. What did that mean?

Well, obviously, it meant the question was an invasion of their privacy and Falkner wasn't having it. But if the answer was no, that they were no more than friends, then wouldn't he have just said so?