Silver at the Party
Silver had always liked winter. He couldn't say that it was his overall favorite time of year but it did have its perks. Chief among them being the sheer quiet. The decent layer of snow that covered everything worked as a welcomed sound proofing. He could think out here. Unlike from where he had just come from, there were no drunken idiots yelling at him or trying to talk his ear off. He didn't even know why he showed up in the first place. Silver detested parties. Also not to mention he wasn't exactly a fan of christmas either. Putting the two together was just a recipe for a headache. He rubbed his temples. It seemed even thinking about it was enough to give him a headache. He shook his head, choosing to focus on the path in front of him instead of the headache behind him.
It was dark now, much more so than it had been when he walked over earlier. The streetlights were now on, illuminating the somewhat familiar road. It was his first time being in this part of the Plateau. Lance lived in an area that just screamed wealth. The whole street was flanked by the massive houses of the rich and famous. People who had staggering levels of unwarranted self importance and more money then they knew what to do with, people just like Lance. If it wasn't for the directions that Green had given him, Silver probably would have gotten lost in the maze of streets that made up the neighborhood. He let out a short annoyed grunt.
This was all Green's fault. Somehow he had gotten ahold of Silver's house key and threatened to lock him out of the house if he didn't show up to the party. Apparently Green was doing it for his own good. Silver wasn't sure how forcing him to chose between being stuck in a room with people he hated or being left to freeze outside was for his own good, but those were his options. Reluctantly Silver chose the lesser of two unpleasantries and attended the party, much to Green's satisfaction. The smirk that the elder boy gave him when he saw him walk through the front door was one that Silver wished he could smack right off the smug bastards face. He was sitting at the bar, drink in hand, and obviously a few already downed, just grinning at him. Silver walked up to him to inquire about getting his key back, he had after all showed up. Green informed him that he had to spend at least two hours at the party before he would release his key.
Silver was pretty angry by that point, but not wanting to make a scene he agreed. How hard could it be? He had thought. There was food, the music was decent and there were pokemon for Sneasel to play with. He could find a way to kill two hours. Thirty minutes later Silver decided that freezing outside was the better option. He grabbed Sneasel and left the same way he came in. And now here he was, wandering the back streets of the Plateau. Sneasel was walking a little in front of him, occasionally kicking at the snow on the ground. Silver shivered a little. Thanks to Green he hadn't been able to get into the house to pick up a heavier jacket before heading over to Lance's and the temperature was starting to drop rapidly. He folded his arms together, bringing them fairly tight against his chest.
He was grateful there was no wind tonight. He didn't think he could tolerate a wind chill on top of the already below freezing temperature. Sneasel didn't seem to mind however, being an ice type itself. Silver was almost envious of his pokemon's think skin. Turning a corner the pair came across a park. Silver remembered having seen it on his way over. Upon sight of the park Sneasel sprinted away from him and towards a small playground. Silver was about to call Sneasel back to him but stopped himself before he did. He still had about an hour to kill, might as well let Sneasel have some fun while he waited.
Finding a bench one the side of the playground he sat down and proceeded to watch Sneasel jump from play structure to play structure. The metal bench was cold on his backside, biting into him. It was uncomfortable but Silver knew that he would just go numb eventually and the cold bench would cease to be an issue. It had started to snow gently. The little flakes glittered occasionally as they fell past one of the parks lamps. He was still angry at Green. Where did that self-righteous ass get off telling him that he had to spend two hours at that damn party?
Silver just wanted his key back so he could go home, grab a hot meal and a shower, go to sleep and get this day over with. Green probably didn't even know he had left. He was probably still sitting at that damn bar, pouring more drinks down his hole, either that or face first in that tramp May. May, what a whiny bitch she was. Silver didn't know how that Brendan kid could put up with her on a daily basis. He only ever saw her very occasionally and that was almost too much for him. Silver let out a disgusted sigh.
"Beautiful night isn't it?"
Silver jumped slightly. He had thought he heard footsteps behind him but decided to ignore them in favour of whoever it was leaving him alone. That didn't happen to be the case however. Turning to look at the voice he was greeted by a tall-ish man in a white coat and hat standing just off to the side of him. There was something about this man. Something that didn't sit quite right with him. It wasn't until Sneasel started to growl at him that he noticed the small red 'R' on the upper left of the mans coat.
"What the hell do you want, Rocket?" Silver almost snarled, quickly sitting up into a more defensive position. "Don't you have candy to steal from children or something?"
"Very funny kid." The man replied, stepping slightly closer to Silver.
Still growling Sneasel jumped in front of the Rocket, claws exposed, cutting off the mans path to his master. Silver was now standing, ready to fight. He instinctively reached for his belt, grabbing for Feraligatr's pokeball. Only when he came up empty handed he remembered that he had left them at the house. The house which he currently did not have a key for. Silver was furious now. He promised himself that when this was all over, his fist was going to have a serious discussion with Green's face.
"I'm not here to fight you." The Rocket said, backing away from Silver's Sneasel. "I'm just here to deliver a letter."
"Sure you are, and I'm the Indigo Champion." Silver hissed sarcastically.
"You don't want to believe me? That's fine." The Rocket continued, now raising his hands in a sign of submission. "If you won't believe me, believe this."
Lowering one of his hands, he began to fish around in his coat. Silver tensed up as the Rocket slowly started to withdraw his hand, expecting the worst. Moments later the Rocket was holding a crisp white envelope.
"Who's it from?" Silver demanded despite already knowing the answer.
"Who do you think?" the Rocket chuckled back.
Silver clenched his fist. This day was not turning out how he had planned.
"Why wouldn't he just send it through the mail?" Silver's voice faltered slightly, this arrogant Rocket was really starting to get to him.
The man laughed again.
"Do you really think Giovanni would risk sending something like this through the mail? Come on, use your head!" the Rocket said in a condescendingly mocking tone. "This way he knows you received it with zero interference. Now, are you going to take it or not? I'm just the messenger, I get paid regardless."
Silver had seriously had enough of this guy.
"Fine." He finally said. "Put it on the ground, then turn around and leave or I'll have Sneasel make you leave."
The man just smiled. Slowly he lowered the envelope onto the snow covered ground before standing up and cracking one last smug grin at Silver. Turning around he began to walk away. He walked about ten steps before stopping.
"Merry Christmas kid." The Rocket said without turning around. "Your father says 'Hi'"
And with that the man walked off. Raising one hand to give Silver a quick parting wave over his shoulder. Once he was sure the Rocket was gone, Silver allowed himself to relax. He hadn't realized how hard he had been clenching his fist, his hand stung from where his nails had pressed into his palm. Ignoring it he switched his attention to the envelope on the ground, something Sneasel already seemed to be doing. The whole thing was white save for a big red 'R' on the front. Cautiously he walked over and picked it up. Several different thoughts raced through his head. The most prominent of them being a simple question. Why. Why here? Why now? What could Giovanni possibly want?
A tidal wave of emotion flooded through him. He supposed the easiest way to find out would be to open it. But the real question was, did he want to? Giovanni might be his biological father, but to Silver, that was it. He could only feel contempt for the man. He was certainly no father of his. Silver fished around in his coat pockets, feeling a slight tinge of relief when he found something he was looking for that hadn't been forgotten at home. Withdrawing the beaten and worn old lighter that he had used in his trek around Johto, he held the envelope to it and sparked the flame. Sneasel watched quizzically as Silver moved the lighter back and forth under the envelope.
After some prompting the paper finally ignited, giving birth to a small flickering flame. He set the burning envelope down on the bench. The heat from the small fire was almost enough to warm his hands. At least his father had been finally good for something. In a stark contrast to everything that had happened to Silver tonight, the fire burned hot and fast before finally dying out.
"I had a feeling you might do something like that."
For the second time that night Silver jumped when he heard a voice behind him. Something was different this time however. This voice was familiar, it wasn't the Rocket from before. A chill ran down Silver's spine. He knew exactly who it belonged to. 'This is not my best day ever' was the only thing that Silver could think of before turning around to be face to face with the leader of Team Rocket, his father. Silver faltered for a moment, he could feel the rage starting to build inside of him.
"Are you going to say something or are you just going to stand there?" His father asked
"What the hell are YOU doing here!?" Silver shouted at him, his words seething with anger.
"Hello to you too." Giovanni replied calmly, obviously unfazed by his sons outburst.
Silver felt like he was going to explode from rage. Both his hands were clenched into fists, ready to strike. Sneasel had caught on and was following suit, readying itself to pounce at its trainers command. Giovanni simply grinned.
"Can't a father visit his only son to spend some time with him on his birthday?" Giovanni asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"You're not my father." Silver hissed back.
"Oh?" His father said quizzically. "Then what were all those years I cared for you as a child?
"Getting your lackeys to look after me does not count as fathering." Silvers words were becoming increasingly angry.
"I provided for you, I gave you everything you needed." Giovanni shot back.
"YOU ABANDONED ME!"
The words exploded from Silvers mouth, causing his father to take a small step back. A slight echo of his outburst could be heard bouncing off the numerous houses that bordered the park. Silver was breathing heavily now. Adrenaline plus anger was coursing through his body, causing him to almost literally see red. He hated his father, hated Giovanni. He had been only nine years old when his father had just up and left. Far to young to be alone. Silver had never truly gotten over that sense of abandonment, of sheer loneliness.
A part of him had died that day. He swore to himself if he ever saw his father again, he would kill him, just as he had killed the young boy that he used to be all those years ago. And now here he was, standing no more than two arms lengths in front of him. And he wanted to, he wanted to so bad. But something was stopping him. Maybe it was the fact that he obviously wasn't here alone and anything that Silver might try would just end up ending in only more pain for himself. Or perhaps it was that even though he hated the man standing in front of him with every fiber of his being, he was still his father, whether he chose to accept it or not.
"Do you seriously think that you can just waltz on back into my life after ignoring me for over six years?" Silver said, much more calmly this time. "You abandoned me and I will NEVER forgive you for it. So go, run back to your pathetic little crime ring and don't bother ever showing your face around here again. Because if you do, I will destroy you, piece by insignificant piece. I may be your son, but you will never be my father."
With that Silver promptly turned around and began to walk towards the street exit to the park. Sneasel wasn't sure what to do at first, his claws were still drawn and ready to fight. Silver turned to his Sneasel and gave a head jerking motion, giving the pokemon a silent order to follow him. Sneasel acknowledged the order and proceeded to walk behind his master, although cautiously, turning every so often to make sure that the man his master had been previously shouting at did not pursue. Silver and Sneasel had gotten about half way to the exit before they heard Giovanni pipe up again.
"Alright Silver, if that's what you want." The man finally said, shouting somewhat so that he was sure Silver could hear him. "Just know that I will be here when you decide to come back. I have all the time in the world."
"Then you'll be waiting a long fucking time!" Silver shouted back without stopping or turning.
The two exited onto the street. Silver finally let himself relax and sneak a peak back at the park. His father was nowhere to be seen. 'Just like old times' He thought to himself letting out a long sigh. Silver was just about ready to end this day. He'd had enough cold, snow and talks with his father to last him well into the next year. Getting his bearing he started to walk back to Lance's mansion. The plan from now on was simple. All he had to do was walk back to the party, find Green, punch his undoubtedly drunk ass in the face, take his key back and then go home. The simplicity of it was almost enough to make Silver smile. He let out another sigh.
"Worst birthday ever, Sneasel." He muttered to him companion.
Sneasel couldn't agree more.
It was dark now, much more so than it had been when he walked over earlier. The streetlights were now on, illuminating the somewhat familiar road. It was his first time being in this part of the Plateau. Lance lived in an area that just screamed wealth. The whole street was flanked by the massive houses of the rich and famous. People who had staggering levels of unwarranted self importance and more money then they knew what to do with, people just like Lance. If it wasn't for the directions that Green had given him, Silver probably would have gotten lost in the maze of streets that made up the neighborhood. He let out a short annoyed grunt.
This was all Green's fault. Somehow he had gotten ahold of Silver's house key and threatened to lock him out of the house if he didn't show up to the party. Apparently Green was doing it for his own good. Silver wasn't sure how forcing him to chose between being stuck in a room with people he hated or being left to freeze outside was for his own good, but those were his options. Reluctantly Silver chose the lesser of two unpleasantries and attended the party, much to Green's satisfaction. The smirk that the elder boy gave him when he saw him walk through the front door was one that Silver wished he could smack right off the smug bastards face. He was sitting at the bar, drink in hand, and obviously a few already downed, just grinning at him. Silver walked up to him to inquire about getting his key back, he had after all showed up. Green informed him that he had to spend at least two hours at the party before he would release his key.
Silver was pretty angry by that point, but not wanting to make a scene he agreed. How hard could it be? He had thought. There was food, the music was decent and there were pokemon for Sneasel to play with. He could find a way to kill two hours. Thirty minutes later Silver decided that freezing outside was the better option. He grabbed Sneasel and left the same way he came in. And now here he was, wandering the back streets of the Plateau. Sneasel was walking a little in front of him, occasionally kicking at the snow on the ground. Silver shivered a little. Thanks to Green he hadn't been able to get into the house to pick up a heavier jacket before heading over to Lance's and the temperature was starting to drop rapidly. He folded his arms together, bringing them fairly tight against his chest.
He was grateful there was no wind tonight. He didn't think he could tolerate a wind chill on top of the already below freezing temperature. Sneasel didn't seem to mind however, being an ice type itself. Silver was almost envious of his pokemon's think skin. Turning a corner the pair came across a park. Silver remembered having seen it on his way over. Upon sight of the park Sneasel sprinted away from him and towards a small playground. Silver was about to call Sneasel back to him but stopped himself before he did. He still had about an hour to kill, might as well let Sneasel have some fun while he waited.
Finding a bench one the side of the playground he sat down and proceeded to watch Sneasel jump from play structure to play structure. The metal bench was cold on his backside, biting into him. It was uncomfortable but Silver knew that he would just go numb eventually and the cold bench would cease to be an issue. It had started to snow gently. The little flakes glittered occasionally as they fell past one of the parks lamps. He was still angry at Green. Where did that self-righteous ass get off telling him that he had to spend two hours at that damn party?
Silver just wanted his key back so he could go home, grab a hot meal and a shower, go to sleep and get this day over with. Green probably didn't even know he had left. He was probably still sitting at that damn bar, pouring more drinks down his hole, either that or face first in that tramp May. May, what a whiny bitch she was. Silver didn't know how that Brendan kid could put up with her on a daily basis. He only ever saw her very occasionally and that was almost too much for him. Silver let out a disgusted sigh.
"Beautiful night isn't it?"
Silver jumped slightly. He had thought he heard footsteps behind him but decided to ignore them in favour of whoever it was leaving him alone. That didn't happen to be the case however. Turning to look at the voice he was greeted by a tall-ish man in a white coat and hat standing just off to the side of him. There was something about this man. Something that didn't sit quite right with him. It wasn't until Sneasel started to growl at him that he noticed the small red 'R' on the upper left of the mans coat.
"What the hell do you want, Rocket?" Silver almost snarled, quickly sitting up into a more defensive position. "Don't you have candy to steal from children or something?"
"Very funny kid." The man replied, stepping slightly closer to Silver.
Still growling Sneasel jumped in front of the Rocket, claws exposed, cutting off the mans path to his master. Silver was now standing, ready to fight. He instinctively reached for his belt, grabbing for Feraligatr's pokeball. Only when he came up empty handed he remembered that he had left them at the house. The house which he currently did not have a key for. Silver was furious now. He promised himself that when this was all over, his fist was going to have a serious discussion with Green's face.
"I'm not here to fight you." The Rocket said, backing away from Silver's Sneasel. "I'm just here to deliver a letter."
"Sure you are, and I'm the Indigo Champion." Silver hissed sarcastically.
"You don't want to believe me? That's fine." The Rocket continued, now raising his hands in a sign of submission. "If you won't believe me, believe this."
Lowering one of his hands, he began to fish around in his coat. Silver tensed up as the Rocket slowly started to withdraw his hand, expecting the worst. Moments later the Rocket was holding a crisp white envelope.
"Who's it from?" Silver demanded despite already knowing the answer.
"Who do you think?" the Rocket chuckled back.
Silver clenched his fist. This day was not turning out how he had planned.
"Why wouldn't he just send it through the mail?" Silver's voice faltered slightly, this arrogant Rocket was really starting to get to him.
The man laughed again.
"Do you really think Giovanni would risk sending something like this through the mail? Come on, use your head!" the Rocket said in a condescendingly mocking tone. "This way he knows you received it with zero interference. Now, are you going to take it or not? I'm just the messenger, I get paid regardless."
Silver had seriously had enough of this guy.
"Fine." He finally said. "Put it on the ground, then turn around and leave or I'll have Sneasel make you leave."
The man just smiled. Slowly he lowered the envelope onto the snow covered ground before standing up and cracking one last smug grin at Silver. Turning around he began to walk away. He walked about ten steps before stopping.
"Merry Christmas kid." The Rocket said without turning around. "Your father says 'Hi'"
And with that the man walked off. Raising one hand to give Silver a quick parting wave over his shoulder. Once he was sure the Rocket was gone, Silver allowed himself to relax. He hadn't realized how hard he had been clenching his fist, his hand stung from where his nails had pressed into his palm. Ignoring it he switched his attention to the envelope on the ground, something Sneasel already seemed to be doing. The whole thing was white save for a big red 'R' on the front. Cautiously he walked over and picked it up. Several different thoughts raced through his head. The most prominent of them being a simple question. Why. Why here? Why now? What could Giovanni possibly want?
A tidal wave of emotion flooded through him. He supposed the easiest way to find out would be to open it. But the real question was, did he want to? Giovanni might be his biological father, but to Silver, that was it. He could only feel contempt for the man. He was certainly no father of his. Silver fished around in his coat pockets, feeling a slight tinge of relief when he found something he was looking for that hadn't been forgotten at home. Withdrawing the beaten and worn old lighter that he had used in his trek around Johto, he held the envelope to it and sparked the flame. Sneasel watched quizzically as Silver moved the lighter back and forth under the envelope.
After some prompting the paper finally ignited, giving birth to a small flickering flame. He set the burning envelope down on the bench. The heat from the small fire was almost enough to warm his hands. At least his father had been finally good for something. In a stark contrast to everything that had happened to Silver tonight, the fire burned hot and fast before finally dying out.
"I had a feeling you might do something like that."
For the second time that night Silver jumped when he heard a voice behind him. Something was different this time however. This voice was familiar, it wasn't the Rocket from before. A chill ran down Silver's spine. He knew exactly who it belonged to. 'This is not my best day ever' was the only thing that Silver could think of before turning around to be face to face with the leader of Team Rocket, his father. Silver faltered for a moment, he could feel the rage starting to build inside of him.
"Are you going to say something or are you just going to stand there?" His father asked
"What the hell are YOU doing here!?" Silver shouted at him, his words seething with anger.
"Hello to you too." Giovanni replied calmly, obviously unfazed by his sons outburst.
Silver felt like he was going to explode from rage. Both his hands were clenched into fists, ready to strike. Sneasel had caught on and was following suit, readying itself to pounce at its trainers command. Giovanni simply grinned.
"Can't a father visit his only son to spend some time with him on his birthday?" Giovanni asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"You're not my father." Silver hissed back.
"Oh?" His father said quizzically. "Then what were all those years I cared for you as a child?
"Getting your lackeys to look after me does not count as fathering." Silvers words were becoming increasingly angry.
"I provided for you, I gave you everything you needed." Giovanni shot back.
"YOU ABANDONED ME!"
The words exploded from Silvers mouth, causing his father to take a small step back. A slight echo of his outburst could be heard bouncing off the numerous houses that bordered the park. Silver was breathing heavily now. Adrenaline plus anger was coursing through his body, causing him to almost literally see red. He hated his father, hated Giovanni. He had been only nine years old when his father had just up and left. Far to young to be alone. Silver had never truly gotten over that sense of abandonment, of sheer loneliness.
A part of him had died that day. He swore to himself if he ever saw his father again, he would kill him, just as he had killed the young boy that he used to be all those years ago. And now here he was, standing no more than two arms lengths in front of him. And he wanted to, he wanted to so bad. But something was stopping him. Maybe it was the fact that he obviously wasn't here alone and anything that Silver might try would just end up ending in only more pain for himself. Or perhaps it was that even though he hated the man standing in front of him with every fiber of his being, he was still his father, whether he chose to accept it or not.
"Do you seriously think that you can just waltz on back into my life after ignoring me for over six years?" Silver said, much more calmly this time. "You abandoned me and I will NEVER forgive you for it. So go, run back to your pathetic little crime ring and don't bother ever showing your face around here again. Because if you do, I will destroy you, piece by insignificant piece. I may be your son, but you will never be my father."
With that Silver promptly turned around and began to walk towards the street exit to the park. Sneasel wasn't sure what to do at first, his claws were still drawn and ready to fight. Silver turned to his Sneasel and gave a head jerking motion, giving the pokemon a silent order to follow him. Sneasel acknowledged the order and proceeded to walk behind his master, although cautiously, turning every so often to make sure that the man his master had been previously shouting at did not pursue. Silver and Sneasel had gotten about half way to the exit before they heard Giovanni pipe up again.
"Alright Silver, if that's what you want." The man finally said, shouting somewhat so that he was sure Silver could hear him. "Just know that I will be here when you decide to come back. I have all the time in the world."
"Then you'll be waiting a long fucking time!" Silver shouted back without stopping or turning.
The two exited onto the street. Silver finally let himself relax and sneak a peak back at the park. His father was nowhere to be seen. 'Just like old times' He thought to himself letting out a long sigh. Silver was just about ready to end this day. He'd had enough cold, snow and talks with his father to last him well into the next year. Getting his bearing he started to walk back to Lance's mansion. The plan from now on was simple. All he had to do was walk back to the party, find Green, punch his undoubtedly drunk ass in the face, take his key back and then go home. The simplicity of it was almost enough to make Silver smile. He let out another sigh.
"Worst birthday ever, Sneasel." He muttered to him companion.
Sneasel couldn't agree more.