Chasing the Dream (Hop × Reader)

Chapter Ten

   The rest of the day, Hop seemed to make it his mission to avoid you. Even the next day, he still made no attempt to speak to you. You saw him once, but when you called his name, he didn't even look up. You tried to not let it affect you, but deep down, it hurt. You searched all over town for him, even managing to get lost a couple of times. You called him on countless occasions, and he never once answered. You sent him a bunch of text messages, but he wouldn't even look at them. You were running out of ideas, completely lost as to what to do; your best friend had never been so far away.

   You were sitting on a bench, looking blankly down at the sidewalk under your feet. You didn't want to stay in the large town for another day, but you couldn't head to Stow-on-Side and leave Hop here, that would just make him more upset.

   "(Y/N)?" You looked up to see Leon starting down at you, looking slightly puzzled. You plastered a smile onto your face, hoping to mask your concerns.

   "Hey, Leon," you greeted the champion, standing up. You felt rude sitting down while he was addressing you, even if he was your best friend's older brother.

   "Where is Hop?" Leon asked, looking around with curiosity. "You two are entirely inseparable, he never leaves your side."

   You shrugged, feeling a pang in your heart as you recalled what happened the night before. "I don't know," you admitted.

   "You don't know?" Leon questioned.

   "No, he," you paused, trying to figure out how to tell Leon his younger brother just snapped last night. You decided it was best to just tell him everything. Leon nodded while you talked, listening intently the whole time. By the time you finished, he looked extremely concerned.

   "And he wouldn't tell you anything?" You shook your head no. "Hop has never done anything like this before... I need to go find him." Leon released his partner, Charizard, and quickly explained the plan. "I'm so sorry this meeting had to be short. Before I forget, Sonia told me to inform you she was at the Vault, and you should stop by. If you hurry, you might see Raihan. I promise we can talk longer again some other time," Leon promised as he ran off, Charizard flying above. You watched him go, not really caring. Yeah, Leon was cool and all, but right now your only concern was Hop.

   You sighed, aimlessly walking towards the direction Leon instructed. At least going to see Sonia would give you something to do.

~~~

   Leon was right. As you neared the entrance to the Vault, you had spotted Raihan. He introduced himself, even though you already knew him and he already knew you. Word was getting around fast about the two gym challengers endorsed by the champion.

   You two had talked for a few minutes, and when he learned Leon sent you at Sonia's request, he happily gave you permission to go inside. "Just tell the man at the front desk I said it is ok," he told you, leaving to work on gym leader stuff soon after. You did as he said, and headed up to the Vault After being granted access inside.

   Sonia had been standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by giant tapestries. You studied them with her for a few minutes, bouncing ideas off of each other. You two guessed about what it meant about the Darkest Day, and eventually the answer was enough to satisfy Sonia for the mean time. She had happily thanked you for helping her, and you two both left.

   You were exiting the Vault when you noticed Leon walking up to you, looking slightly relieved, yet guilty as well. Did he manage to get Hop to talk?

   "Is Hop ok?" You asked as he got closer, itching to find out.

   Leon regarded you for a few seconds before speaking. "There is something about you (Y/N)... ," he said, shaking his head slowly . "To answer your question, I don't know. When he saw me, he instantly starting apologizing like crazy, I couldn't get him to stop!" You frowned, confused as to what could make Hop so... Not like himself. "Anyways, he said he wants to speak with you... Wouldn't tell me anything else."