Champion's Confidant

On Trust

Chloe pinched her eyes shut. She never liked the feeling of the morning coming so soon, and always wanted just a little more time to rest before starting the day. 'Besides, it's Saturday, right?' And her back hurt...? 'Ugh, how did I sleep last night...?'

The thought made her pause and her eyes shot open. "How did I sleep last night?"

Sitting up, the blanket draped across her shoulders fell off. She was in Ash and Goh's room in the lab. Looking at the bed, she saw no sign of Ash or Pikachu. Then the moonlight memory from the night before replayed in her mind, and suddenly her face felt very warm. Reaching down, she felt Eevee and Yamper still dozing by her sides. And her aching legs. "Ow... I shouldn't have slept like that..."

She pulled herself to her feet, nearly hitting her head on the bottom of Goh's bunk. She stumbled a bit, the numbness in her legs not doing anything to help her stability.

When she turned around, she saw something else that surprised her. Curled up next to the door, wrapped in his own blanket was Goh, Grookey attached firmly to his head. This was even more concerning than the previous revelations she was having. "Wait... Goh...?"

Hearing his name caused her friend to open his eyes. At least he was a bit more rested than she was, but the sharpness in his blue eyes made her stumble back onto Ash's bed. "Oh. You're awake."

"I... thought you were out with your parents."

"I was," he said. "But they got a call late and I figured I'd just come back to the lab since it was already dark. Imagine my surprise when I saw you in here with Ash."

And the heat in her face just increased. "W-What, you were just watching?" she asked, now herself feeling like a private moment had been rudely intruded upon.

"Well, I /was/ coming up here to go to bed," he said acridly from his blanket cocoon on the floor, "but when I saw Ash in here playing ukulele for you, I realized what was going on."

She swallowed. 'Oh no... Ash trusted me to keep these things in confidence...! Did I already blow it...? He didn't want Goh to get bothered by that sorts of stuff...!'

"Honestly, I didn't expect it," he said, staring daggers through her. "After all, we've been friends for years and Ash and I seemed like we were getting along well, too." He sighed, defeated. "But I guess being friends with a guy like me is just a pain, huh?"

She felt the guilt rise in her stomach again, now twisting like an Ekans. "Goh... W-what are you saying?" she asked, not even fully sure she wanted the answer.

He sighed, looking down. Grookey tumbled off his head into his hands. "I'm saying that you and Ash don't need me around crowding you. You two have clearly been hiding this friendship from me because you don't want me in the way. You're tired of being friends with me and you're meeting up behind my back!" His last words were shouted at her, his eyes clenched shut.

Silence again reigned over the room, and Chloe looked back at him. She shook her head. "No, Goh, it's not that at all...!"

"Then what is it, if you're so smart?" he spat, wallowing in his misery.

"It's..." The pressure in her stomach was making her feel nauseous.

"You can't say? Or you don't want to say because I'm right." Goh looked up at her, hurt in his eyes. "I've trusted you for so long, Chloe. I thought our friendship meant something to you, but I guess I was just mistaken. You'd rather hang around with Ash alone than with me. You've probably even got a crush on the guy or something."

Her face flared with heat and her emotions surged at the accusation. "Okay, That is NOT true!" she shouted, voice raised to the point of stirring Yamper, Eevee, and Grookey from their sleep. Her pulse was racing and she stared at Goh, upset and angry, like he had uncovered a secret she was keeping hidden. One she was keeping even from herself.