Chapter 21: Chilly Petalburg City was exactly how I remembered it. I was delighted to be back, but not so delighted at the reason. I was scared to battle my dad. I mean, besides my first battle with Nathan, I had never lost a battle and I didn't want to start now. Being the good buddy he was, Nathan offered to battle him that night, if I waited until the next day. "I can tell you how hard he is," he explained. I knew it would be a challenge, but I liked the idea, so I agreed. He came back that night, panting. "How was it?" I asked him anxiously. "Tough," he said simply. I glared at him. "Okay, it was one of the most challenging battles I've ever had." "Oh, well, you're funny. Now really, how was it?" "I'm serious, Jenn. It was one of the hardest battles I've ever fought. I was down to just a little bit of health with Sparky and the Slaking was down to even less and Sparky used quick attack and it fainted." I must've turned five shades of white and Nathan looked worried. "Did you say Slaking? As in, huge, gigantic Pokemon thingy?" "Um... Do you want me to lie to you?" "Do I EVER want you to lie to me, Nathan?" I asked sarcastically. "I thought you did when you ask me how big your butt looks in certain pants!" "Did you lie to me about those black jeans? No, wait, we're getting off topic. Is the Slaking gigantic?" "To answer both questions, the Slaking is freaking huge and your butt looks fine in your black jeans... Both of those are the truth." "Thank you and thank you, and now I'm going to bed. Okay?" "Okay, good night Jenny." "Good night." Sleep was not easy. Nathan had won but just barely. So how could I beat my dad? I wasn't as good as he was. He had talent and I didn't. I fell asleep with my fears still raging. I drifted off into the gymnasium of my school in Johto. The ball was heading towards our basket. Ryan Nickels jumped up and he scored! I cheered along with Alexis and Sierra. We had won. I ran right over to Ryan, a good friend of mine. "That was great!" I exclaimed. He wiped sweat from his forehead. "Thanks," he grinned. "You rocked, Ryan!" cheered Sierra, running up to us. He grinned at her, and again at me. "Hey, Jenn," someone said behind me. Ryan, Sierra and I spun around. There stood Caleb Sanders, a cute blonde boy that I had gone out with the previous year. "Hey, you guys did awesome!" I said happily. Caleb, like Ryan, was a star player on the team, and had made a large fraction of the shots. This was the happiest I had felt in awhile. Taylor was always pulling me down, always ruining my good moods. I still liked him, but I was sick of it. That, and the bruises, the bumps and the blood. I was done. Within the next week, I had decided, I was going to break up with him. Alexis came over to join us and we all just hung out for another fifteen minutes, mostly just flirting. I was about to leave the gym but Caleb pulled me to the side, wanting to talk to me. "Why did we break up?" he asked me and I blinked. It was an unexpected question and I think that maybe I was happy. I had enjoyed going out with him a lot. He was probably among my favorite ex-boyfriends. "I don't know," I answered honestly. I couldn't remember. "Well, I think it was stupid," Caleb said decidedly. "I do, too." I was smiling now, and I decided that after Taylor and I were through, I would go back out with Caleb. "I know that you're going out with Taylor, but if you ever broke up, would you go back out with me?" Ah. The last thing I needed to make future plans. "Well, you see, Taylor- well, he's not exactly the greatest boyfriend in the world and I was thinking of ending it with him. But, sure, I'd love to!" "That's great!" he said with a genuine smile. "Oh crap, I should really get going. My brother will be worrying." "Right. Well, I guess I'll let you go then. Call me later?" "Yeah, of course!" I started walking out, but I turned around and smiled at him. I had no clue what was going to be happening next. I had no clue that we weren't alone. I skipped outside, happy for the first time in awhile. The walk was short and it was merely about fifteen minutes until I walked back into Sunnydale. I was grabbed and thrown against the wall of the closest building. "You tramp!" someone yelled. Taylor was holding me by my throat. I could feel my asthma flaring up. "Let me go!" I cried but I knew it was no use. "I heard you in there talking with Caleb. And I saw you flirting with him and Ryan." "Let me go!" I cried again. "I can't breathe!" He released his grip on me and I reached in my purse for my inhaler. "This has gone far enough. We're over! We're done!" I screamed wheezily. He grabbed my inhaler and threw it on the ground. With one swift stomp, it was in pieces. "You listen to me, Jenny. We're not done and if you ever try to break up with me again, I'll kill you. You understand? You are not going to go out with Caleb Sanders or anyone else. You're my girl, and you'll stay my girl." By then, I ran home. I needed help, and I needed to get away from Taylor. I walked into my house, purely out of breath. I thought I was going to die. I just wanted to die. I was seeing stars. "Jenn?" called Bobby and he gasped but by that time, the sound was faint. I felt myself fading away. I never heard the ambulance. "Jenn? Jenn?" called someone and their voice was coming in stronger. I opened my eyes and Nathan came into view. "Come on, wake up! You need to battle your dad!" I was now more afraid. I had almost lost my life to Taylor. I didn't want to lose again, at absolutely anything. "No," I found myself saying. I wasn't going to do it. I couldn't, I would't. Absolutely not. "What do you mean, no?" Nathan asked, shocked. "I mean, I'm not going to do it," I said defiantly. "You have to do it! How are you going to enter the League without your dad's badge?" he asked me. "I won't! I can't beat my dad so there's no use trying." Nathan tried to grab me out of bed and I screamed louder than I've ever screamed before. Sam, Josh, Vicky and Zach all scrambled in. "What is it? What's happening?" asked Josh, panting. "Tell him he can't make me battle my dad!" I whined. I knew Josh would do it for me. Josh adored me, he cared about me. "You have to battle him!" Josh argued. I was actually really shocked. I thought he would stand up for me, I really did. "But I have no talent! I can't win! And I REALLY can't deal with loss!" I complained. "No talent? Then why have you never lost, Jenn?" asked Sam and I had no answer for him. "You have a lot of talent and I think you could beat him. You just really have to believe in yourself," he told me and I kind of grinned. Nathan thought I could win. Josh thought I could win. And so did Sam. It was time to go battle my father.