***AUTHORESS NOTES***

Gak... I'm going to be working on this like the demon (*Coughcough* I
meant angel) I am to get this finished by May 1st... Yes, I am on a
desperate deadline for 50 chapters because I can't update once the new
submission thing goes into kick. Me, being on WebTV can't upload or
download ANYTHING.

*sigh* I was getting so caught up in TPT and I loved it...

So here is chapter 13... Ciao!

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Chapter 13: The Buddy System


     "Jenn, my head hurts!" Nathan whined . I looked up from the
magazine I had been reading and smirked.

     "Guess you'll think before you say something like that again," I
replied smugly. Nathan glared, but then looked at the cover of my
magazine.

     "Why are you reading something from over a year ago?" he asked me.

     "Because there's supposed to be an article about me in here," I
answered with a grin. "Found it!" I cried triumphantly.

      "Let me see that!" yelled Nathan disbelievingly. Josh sat up then,
awake from his little nap.

     "Why are you two screaming?" he questioned drowsily.

     "I found an article about myself!" I grinned.

     "Oh my gawd... It really is about you, Jenny..." Nathan said with
wide eyes.

     "Gasp... That picture is really unflattering..." I muttered.

     "That's a picture of you? I thought it went with the other side of
the paper!"

     "The other side of the paper is about recognizing prostitutes!"

      "Exactly!"

     "Nathan Scott Pickens, are you saying I look like a hooker?"

      "For one, how do you know my middle name and for two, I am not
saying you look like a hooker, but that picture makes you look like
one..."

     "You're not the only one who knows where to look for trainer
records! And you're right, though I hate to admit it... That picture
makes me look trashy..."

     I threw my magazine down. "I wanted to see if they had more
pictures like that... I never said you looking like a hooker was a BAD
thing..."

     "Ew!! You pervert! I'm going to hate sharing this tent with you...
You might be fantasizing about me while I sleep... Or worse!"

     "I was kidding, Jenn!" Nathan cried in defense and to prove his
point, he threw the magazine over his shoulder.

     To distract me from having to kill Nathan, a squeaky girl's voice
rang out in the distance. Well, I don't think it was to distract me from
killing Nathan, but it sure helped.

     As the girl came closer, I saw that she had blondish hair and that
she was with a tall, cute guy with brown hair and blue eyes. 

      "Hey, will you guys battle us?" asked the girl.

     "They will, but I'm a photographer. I don't battle," said Josh
quickly.

     "That's okay," said the girl. "Will a double battle be okay?" 

     "That's fine with us," I said with a smile. she was quirky, and I
liked her. Well, not in THAT way, but she was cool with me. "What are
your names?"

     "Oh, right, I'm sorry. I'm Victoria Evans, but most people call me
Vicky."

     "And I'm Zachary Childers, but everyone calls me Zach," added the
boy, speaking for the first time. "What about you guys?"

     "Well, I'm Nathan Pickens, but everyone calls me Nathan," he joked
with a grin.

     "I'm Jenifer Frost, but everyone besides my mom calls me Jenn. And
this is Joshua..." I paused, not knowing my other companion's last name.

     "Hamilton," he spoke up. "Everybody calls me Josh. Except my doctor
and my sister."

     "Yeah, so that's us!" I chirped. "So are we going to battle?"

     "Sure, it'd be fun!" Vicky exclaimed. She enlarged a PokeBall, and
me, Nathan and Zach did the same.

     The four of us threw our Pokemon out at the same time. It was quite
an interesting assortment. A Kadabra, courtesy of me. An Electrike,
brought out by Nathan. A Machop, released by Zach, and a Feebas, let out
by Vicky.

     "Well, that's... interesting," Nathan said skeptically.

     "Yeah! So Feebas, tackle!" It knocked Kadabra back a bit, but
Feebas is a weak Pokemon, as I learned in Johto, so it didn't do a whole
lot of damage. 

     "Let's try a spark, Sparky!" called Nathan, who hadn't been too
creative while nicknaming his Electrike. The bolt of electricity got to
Feebas, and it was knocked out.

     "Karate chop, Sqealch!" called Zach. Now THERE was a creative guy.
I passed him an approving look, but I looked back at my companion to see
a glare. What was so wrong about me looking at other guys?

     When we looked back from our little psuedo staring match, we saw
that Electrike had been knocked out. 

     "Oh damn!" I said loosely. I have to admit, I was shocked. I had
never seen a Pokemon of Nathan's faint before. Ever.

     "Confusion!" I told Muffin, which is what I had nicknamed Kadabra
in my haste to think of a nickname. While it majorly weakened Sqealch,
it did not faint him.

     "Low Kick!" commanded Zach and I had to admit, he was a worthy
opponent. It almost fainted Muffin, but I shall put an emphasis on
ALMOST.

     "Confusion!" I said weakly and even though the result was weak, it
was enough to knock out Sqealch. 

     Vicky and Zach looked strikken for a moment, but they walked over
to us with brave smiles. "Great battle," said Zach, holding  hand out to
shake.

     I took it and smiled. He was pretty cool. "Yeah, it was. That's the
most challenging battle I've had in a while." 

     "You guys did good," said Nathan and I recognized the smile
plastered on his face was fake. He was mad. Very mad. But I didn't know
why.

     Vicky led me away from all of the troublesome boys then. I saw
Nathan fiddling with his Pokedex, alone, and I kind of panicked, but I
wanted to talk to Vicky.

     "Zach's a cutie, isn't he?" she said openly. I grinned. It was the
first time in a while that I had a girl to talk to.

     "Yeah, he is," I remarked but as I said so, I looked over to where
Nathan sat. Vicky followed my gaze.

     "Are you two together? I mean, as in, are you two going out?"

     I pretended to look like I hd not been asked that fifty billion
times. "No, we aren't. He's my closest buddy."

     "How did you two meet?" she asked, and I grinned, knowing exactly
how I would answer.

     "Well, I was at an Alcoholic Clown support meeting, with my younger
brother. He had so many problems." I sighed wistfully and I could tell
she was getting into my story. "And I met a clown there named Honky and
I thought he was a babe. But I didn't like that he was a clown. He
hought I was hot too, and he gave up his profession and his drinking,
just for me. Even though we're not going out, we've got one on the way."
I glanced down at my stomach. Josh frequently called me anorexic and I
knew the story wouldn't buy. But what the hell, it was fun to say. "What
about you and Zach?"

     "Same way," she replied with a straight face but in the next
minute, we burst into hysterical laughter.

     "Me and Nathan are next door neighbors in Littleroot," I told her
once we had calmed down.

     "My parents and Zach's parents are really good friends, and
besides, Zach's younger brother is one of my best friends."

     "How old is his brother?" I asked.

     "Thirteen, and he's even more hot than Zach," Vicky said wickedly.

    "Are they twins?"

     "Noooo..."

     "Then how are they the same age?"

     "They're not. Micah is thirteen and Zach is fifteen."

     "Oh..."

     "I have a huge crush on Micah, but he said I was too ugly. He was
probably right... And I'm fat anyways." She looked maybe five to ten
pounds heavier than I was, and that was safe, because I was almost
underweight. She glanced longingly at my stomach. "I would die to be as
skinny as you."

      She was like the side of me that came out when I was happy:  loud,
funny and boy-crazy. I liked the girl immediately. There was something
in her that I recognized. The lack of confidence, the constant putting
herself down. I knew it all too well, and I wondered if maybe she, too,
had been hurt. Vicky was like the scared girl in the corner that I had
once been, only she seemed to know she wasn't all alone. 

     Looking over at the two, I saw Josh and Zach getting along
extremely well and I felt a little jealous, since Josh is one of my
closest friends. "So will you?" Vicky asked and I realized that I hadn't
been paying any attention. 
     "Will I what?" I asked, confused. "Will you and your friends travel
with me and Zach?" He seemed okay, and I felt really connected with
Vicky so I told her I would ask Nathan, since I felt Josh would have no
problems with it.

     Nathan, though hesitant, agreed to it to I raced back to Vicky to
tell her we accepted her offer. I wondered if maybe Nathan was a little
bit scared of losing our closeness, and that made me happy because no
matter, what I valued my friendship with him more than anything. 

     "So let's start on our way to Lavaridge!" Vicky cheered
enthusiastically.

     "Vicky, it's almost dark!" I exclaimed. "Let's camp here for
tonight, and tomorrow morning, we'll be on our way."

     If I had known that there was this much hope and promise for me in
Hoenn, I wouldn't have minded coming here. I had changed for the better,
and I was somewhere I belonged.