Yellow at the Party
Yellow had never been to a real Christmas party before. Her family had parties, and once there had been a bigger one at the lab, and last year her big brother had thrown a little party for her with a few of his friends, but she knew that was just to make up for the huge party he'd been at, and the fact she couldn't go.
This year, after much debate between the three older trainers, her mom, and a lot of begging on her part, she was going as Red's “+1” to the BIG party. It was being held in Kanto this year, so it was close enough she could still be home “before midnight”, though Red had quietly promised she could stay as late as she could stay up.
It wasn't like she was a kid anymore. She was going to be 14 in a couple of months, after all; she was just on the short side, so people usually mistook her for being younger.
It was still light out when Red and Aerodactyl touched down in front of their house. Yellow asked him why he'd shown up earlier than he promised, and he just smiled as their mom came out of the house, shouting all sorts of things about being safe and her little girl growing up fast.
“Ohhh.”
“Iggy's going with us,” she told him an hour later, when they were walking outside. “He misses his mommy,” she added as a whisper. Red just rolled his eyes and patted her hair, like he always did, realizing with some sadness that he was now eye to eye with Chuchu when she sat on top of her head. The last time she'd done that, she'd been just a pichu, and had been sitting atop not just Yellow but also his own Pikachu's head, and even at that, he'd been a couple inches shorter himself.
She wasn't a little girl anymore, he had to admit it. He just had to convince their mom of it.
Yellow's eyes went wide when they were greeted at the house by Dawn and the brand new dress Brendan had made for her. She had quickly shoved her big brother out of the room so she could try it on. The door had opened a moment later to hand Iggy out to him, since “he was a boy too”.
There were several minutes of giggling entailed in the process. Dawn was closest to Yellow in age of all the girls, though Lyra wasn't much older, but unlike Lyra, the coordinator barely wore a size bigger than Yellow. Outside the room, the TV clicked on as Red politely decided to pass the time in a way that would drown out anything the girls had to say, and so, knowing that the older girl had gotten a new boyfriend recently, Yellow shyly told Dawn her plan.
Dawn had gasped and started issuing suggestions right away, heating up a curling iron and dashing into the closet. When she returned a moment later, Yellow had to cover her face in embarrassment.
There was nothing lacy or sexy about the bra Dawn was offering her, but the padding in it seemed big to a girl who still scarcely wore a bra in general, and made a point most days of making herself look like a boy, just so no one would question her ability to keep up. Yellow needed a bit of help to get it on, but as she looked in the mirror once her dress was on, she felt some mixture of pride and shyness. She couldn't be mistaken for a boy like this, especially not after Dawn tied the bow on her waist.
“I look like... a girl!” she laughed, playing with her hair as she watched her reflection, and her friend smiled.
“Of course. You're not a little kid anymore, so let's make you look the part,” she beckoned, motioning to where she had the curler ready.
By the time her hair was curled (much like her brother's, Yellow's hair had no interest in doing as it was told) and her makeup was done, they were already late for the party, but Red said something about wanting to miss the media anyway. They found a ribbon for Chuchu's ear that matched the ones dotting Yellow's hair, then gave her a bit of glitter for her cheeks too since she seemed so fascinated by her trainer's sparkly eyes.
She twirled proudly, mimicking Yellow as they both ran out to show Red that they were ready, and he couldn't help but notice she was still wearing her boots. Dawn shrugged; her clothes fit the younger girl, but her feet were bigger still, so there was nothing to be done. Red couldn't imagine her any other way though, so it was okay. He gave her a kiss on the forehead as his approval, and Pikachu did the same for Chuchu once he'd finished sneezing from the glitter on her cheeks. Older brother and father, each wordlessly voicing their opinions of how adorable their little girls were.
Dawn had given her a few suggestions that Yellow felt far more comfortable with than the whole padded bra thing, though she forgot that was there by the time they reached the party. May trailed after them; she hadn't been ready to go until late either. Yellow kind of wanted to ask her for her opinion too, but something about her just felt like her advice would be very weird. She only wanted to tell the guy she liked him – not loved him, like Dawn had tried to say and Yellow kept having to correct her, because love was for married people not a couple of kids – and May just seemed like she wouldn't understand that. But when she was too quiet, Red started worrying, so now Yellow had to try and make a plan AND keep talking to him. And that was hard.
Apparently they didn't take long enough getting to the party, in May's words, because there were still some reporters there. Red looked annoyed at first, then suddenly picked up Yellow and hugged her, the giggling girl throwing her arms around his neck and smiling for the cameras. “Nii-sama's the greatest!” she cheered to one of the reporters without prompting. “Completely awesome. And he taught me EVERYTHING he knows!”
There'd be headlines the next week that said “Future Champion” with her face under it. Red would later cut one of those out and frame it, to give to her some day when it came true.
Then he put her down, and for a few minutes she just stayed close to him, taking in the size of Lance's mansion (until now, she thought Red's condo was the biggest house on earth; this place was a hotel in her mind).
Then she spotted him. The loudmouthed weirdo who always made her giggle with his tough guy antics. The one who looked kind of like her brother, but cuter, with his hat on in a cooler way and a grin on his face at all times.
Dawn had told her to watch for some mistletoe over his head, but he didn't seem to be moving from the table he was hanging over, laughing with some of his friends. It looked like he was drinking something too, and while alcohol was kind of ew, it was also cool that he could just do something that grown up without a second thought.
Ethan was so very cool and so very not a little kid. Just like Yellow was striving to be. Next to her, he was the absolute youngest, not even two years older, but he already had 16 badges and one of them was Nii-chan's. She'd beat Nii-chan soon, then go on to grab more badges. Maybe some place further away, to show Green that she could be out on her own just fine. She got her first four badges without either of her brothers even realizing she was on her journey, so nothing should stop her from getting eight more by the time she's 15, even though that wasn't much more than a year away.
She's going to have to work hard, and take chances, and be tough and daring like Nii-sama.
Yellow pulled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. Mistletoe didn't matter. She was going to tell Ethan she liked him. Not liked him like she did Dawn or Wally either, but really really liked him. Kissing and holding hands liked him.
She strode over toward him, pressing her lips together to make sure the stickyness of the lip gloss Dawn gave her was still there. It was glittery and pretty and made her look like a real teenager, and that was good for kissing. But her heart was racing, and she felt like maybe kissing Ethan wasn't a good idea until she knew if he liked her, too.
Just before she got to the table, suddenly one of the other guys took off. Her boot seemed to slip as she debated turning back, but then she realized a distraction was perfect, because now Ethan wouldn't see her coming.
Yellow took a few more big steps, reaching out and tapping Ethan on the shoulder to get his attention. He spun around toward her, and she realized suddenly he was way taller than her, not like Green or even Red but still high enough she wasn't eye to eye with him.
She opened her mouth. 'Ethan, I like you', or 'Ethan, you're really cool and I like you' or even just 'Wanna dance?'. All she had to do was say one of those things. But her heart was beating really, really fast now, and it felt like it was taking up the space where her voice was supposed to be. The problem was that she was also smiling really big, too, so now she had to do something.
She stood up on her tip-toes with a bounce of her blonde curls, and pecked Ethan on the cheek, lip gloss and all. It wasn't a real kiss, but it also wouldn't be mistaken for just a friend thing like all the other ideas could have been.
'I did it,' Yellow thought, starting to giggle as she settled back down on her heels and stared at him for a few seconds. He looked completely overwhelmed by the sudden affection of the very not-little girl in front of him, and she decided to let him think for a few minutes. He'd find her when he'd gotten over the shock. She giggled again, breaking into a skip as she turned and made her way back to her brother.
“I can't wait to tell Nii-sama I have a boyfriend,” she chirped to Chuchu, who squeaked right back. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
This year, after much debate between the three older trainers, her mom, and a lot of begging on her part, she was going as Red's “+1” to the BIG party. It was being held in Kanto this year, so it was close enough she could still be home “before midnight”, though Red had quietly promised she could stay as late as she could stay up.
It wasn't like she was a kid anymore. She was going to be 14 in a couple of months, after all; she was just on the short side, so people usually mistook her for being younger.
It was still light out when Red and Aerodactyl touched down in front of their house. Yellow asked him why he'd shown up earlier than he promised, and he just smiled as their mom came out of the house, shouting all sorts of things about being safe and her little girl growing up fast.
“Ohhh.”
“Iggy's going with us,” she told him an hour later, when they were walking outside. “He misses his mommy,” she added as a whisper. Red just rolled his eyes and patted her hair, like he always did, realizing with some sadness that he was now eye to eye with Chuchu when she sat on top of her head. The last time she'd done that, she'd been just a pichu, and had been sitting atop not just Yellow but also his own Pikachu's head, and even at that, he'd been a couple inches shorter himself.
She wasn't a little girl anymore, he had to admit it. He just had to convince their mom of it.
Yellow's eyes went wide when they were greeted at the house by Dawn and the brand new dress Brendan had made for her. She had quickly shoved her big brother out of the room so she could try it on. The door had opened a moment later to hand Iggy out to him, since “he was a boy too”.
There were several minutes of giggling entailed in the process. Dawn was closest to Yellow in age of all the girls, though Lyra wasn't much older, but unlike Lyra, the coordinator barely wore a size bigger than Yellow. Outside the room, the TV clicked on as Red politely decided to pass the time in a way that would drown out anything the girls had to say, and so, knowing that the older girl had gotten a new boyfriend recently, Yellow shyly told Dawn her plan.
Dawn had gasped and started issuing suggestions right away, heating up a curling iron and dashing into the closet. When she returned a moment later, Yellow had to cover her face in embarrassment.
There was nothing lacy or sexy about the bra Dawn was offering her, but the padding in it seemed big to a girl who still scarcely wore a bra in general, and made a point most days of making herself look like a boy, just so no one would question her ability to keep up. Yellow needed a bit of help to get it on, but as she looked in the mirror once her dress was on, she felt some mixture of pride and shyness. She couldn't be mistaken for a boy like this, especially not after Dawn tied the bow on her waist.
“I look like... a girl!” she laughed, playing with her hair as she watched her reflection, and her friend smiled.
“Of course. You're not a little kid anymore, so let's make you look the part,” she beckoned, motioning to where she had the curler ready.
By the time her hair was curled (much like her brother's, Yellow's hair had no interest in doing as it was told) and her makeup was done, they were already late for the party, but Red said something about wanting to miss the media anyway. They found a ribbon for Chuchu's ear that matched the ones dotting Yellow's hair, then gave her a bit of glitter for her cheeks too since she seemed so fascinated by her trainer's sparkly eyes.
She twirled proudly, mimicking Yellow as they both ran out to show Red that they were ready, and he couldn't help but notice she was still wearing her boots. Dawn shrugged; her clothes fit the younger girl, but her feet were bigger still, so there was nothing to be done. Red couldn't imagine her any other way though, so it was okay. He gave her a kiss on the forehead as his approval, and Pikachu did the same for Chuchu once he'd finished sneezing from the glitter on her cheeks. Older brother and father, each wordlessly voicing their opinions of how adorable their little girls were.
Dawn had given her a few suggestions that Yellow felt far more comfortable with than the whole padded bra thing, though she forgot that was there by the time they reached the party. May trailed after them; she hadn't been ready to go until late either. Yellow kind of wanted to ask her for her opinion too, but something about her just felt like her advice would be very weird. She only wanted to tell the guy she liked him – not loved him, like Dawn had tried to say and Yellow kept having to correct her, because love was for married people not a couple of kids – and May just seemed like she wouldn't understand that. But when she was too quiet, Red started worrying, so now Yellow had to try and make a plan AND keep talking to him. And that was hard.
Apparently they didn't take long enough getting to the party, in May's words, because there were still some reporters there. Red looked annoyed at first, then suddenly picked up Yellow and hugged her, the giggling girl throwing her arms around his neck and smiling for the cameras. “Nii-sama's the greatest!” she cheered to one of the reporters without prompting. “Completely awesome. And he taught me EVERYTHING he knows!”
There'd be headlines the next week that said “Future Champion” with her face under it. Red would later cut one of those out and frame it, to give to her some day when it came true.
Then he put her down, and for a few minutes she just stayed close to him, taking in the size of Lance's mansion (until now, she thought Red's condo was the biggest house on earth; this place was a hotel in her mind).
Then she spotted him. The loudmouthed weirdo who always made her giggle with his tough guy antics. The one who looked kind of like her brother, but cuter, with his hat on in a cooler way and a grin on his face at all times.
Dawn had told her to watch for some mistletoe over his head, but he didn't seem to be moving from the table he was hanging over, laughing with some of his friends. It looked like he was drinking something too, and while alcohol was kind of ew, it was also cool that he could just do something that grown up without a second thought.
Ethan was so very cool and so very not a little kid. Just like Yellow was striving to be. Next to her, he was the absolute youngest, not even two years older, but he already had 16 badges and one of them was Nii-chan's. She'd beat Nii-chan soon, then go on to grab more badges. Maybe some place further away, to show Green that she could be out on her own just fine. She got her first four badges without either of her brothers even realizing she was on her journey, so nothing should stop her from getting eight more by the time she's 15, even though that wasn't much more than a year away.
She's going to have to work hard, and take chances, and be tough and daring like Nii-sama.
Yellow pulled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. Mistletoe didn't matter. She was going to tell Ethan she liked him. Not liked him like she did Dawn or Wally either, but really really liked him. Kissing and holding hands liked him.
She strode over toward him, pressing her lips together to make sure the stickyness of the lip gloss Dawn gave her was still there. It was glittery and pretty and made her look like a real teenager, and that was good for kissing. But her heart was racing, and she felt like maybe kissing Ethan wasn't a good idea until she knew if he liked her, too.
Just before she got to the table, suddenly one of the other guys took off. Her boot seemed to slip as she debated turning back, but then she realized a distraction was perfect, because now Ethan wouldn't see her coming.
Yellow took a few more big steps, reaching out and tapping Ethan on the shoulder to get his attention. He spun around toward her, and she realized suddenly he was way taller than her, not like Green or even Red but still high enough she wasn't eye to eye with him.
She opened her mouth. 'Ethan, I like you', or 'Ethan, you're really cool and I like you' or even just 'Wanna dance?'. All she had to do was say one of those things. But her heart was beating really, really fast now, and it felt like it was taking up the space where her voice was supposed to be. The problem was that she was also smiling really big, too, so now she had to do something.
She stood up on her tip-toes with a bounce of her blonde curls, and pecked Ethan on the cheek, lip gloss and all. It wasn't a real kiss, but it also wouldn't be mistaken for just a friend thing like all the other ideas could have been.
'I did it,' Yellow thought, starting to giggle as she settled back down on her heels and stared at him for a few seconds. He looked completely overwhelmed by the sudden affection of the very not-little girl in front of him, and she decided to let him think for a few minutes. He'd find her when he'd gotten over the shock. She giggled again, breaking into a skip as she turned and made her way back to her brother.
“I can't wait to tell Nii-sama I have a boyfriend,” she chirped to Chuchu, who squeaked right back. “This is the best Christmas ever.”