I’ve wanted to update this story for a while. I kept getting stuck, but I 
finally got over my writer’s block.
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“So, Nic, can I tell you something?”

“Of course you can, Court. You can tell me anything.”

‘Why can’t he always be like this?’ I wondered. “See, I’ve had this really 
weird feeling about you for a long time. And I finally realized what it was. 
So I better just get this over with. I love you, Nic.”

There was silence for about 10 seconds.

“You…love me?” Nic asked.

“Um…yeah.” I said, blushing.

“Yeah, right! That was so hilarious! You sounded like you really meant it!”

“But…I…did…”
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“Court! Come on, wake up!”

“Wha?” I realized that it was Billy calling me. “Stop shaking me, Billy! 
You’re hurting me!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m fine. How could you tell something was wrong?”

“I heard you saying “But Nic, it’s all true…how could you say that…” and 
stuff like that.”

‘So it was all a dream. It seemed so real…’ I thought.

Just then, Peter, Brian and Nic came out. Peter and Brian looked pretty 
worried about me. As for Nic…

“Aw, did the little baby have a nightmare?” he asked.

Oh, when he said that, I was PISSED!

“Who the hell are you callin’ a baby?!” I yelled.

“Oh no…not again…” Peter said.

“Guys! Please don’t fight!” Brian begged. “It’s still early. Let’s go back to 
bed.”

“Yeah, if we don’t get woken up again.”

I just glared at Nic when he said that. ‘Why do I put up with all his crap? I 
could just leave and be on my own. That would be better than having your 
friend who you secretly love kill you inside every day.’

“Goin’ to bed, Court?” Billy asked.

“In a few minutes.”

“’Kay. Catch ya later.”

‘They’ll do better without me. I’m just the tagalong. I know I’ll miss Peter, 
Billy and Brian. They’re my best friends. But still…oh, forget it…’

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[This part is in third person]

A few hours later…

Peter woke up only to find that Courtney was gone.

“GUYS! SHE’S GONE!” he yelled.

“Who’s gone?” Brian asked.

“Court! She must’ve run away!”

“Why would she do that?” Billy asked. “We’re her best friends.”

“I know why.” Peter said. “It’s ‘cause of Nic!”

Nic had just walked out of his tent as Peter said that. “Oh? And what did I 
do?”

“You always give her so much crap! You haven’t said one nice thing to her 
since Billy and I have been here! You’re her friend, aren’t you?! Don’t you 
care about her at all?”

“I…I…”

Billy said, “We should go find her. It’s not safe for a girl to be traveling 
in the woods alone.”

“Yeah, but you’re talking about Court. She’ll be fine. In most cases, she’s 
tougher than all of us put together.” Brian said.

Nic started laughing. “No she isn’t. If she were tough, she would have stayed 
here.”

Peter and Brian glared at him. “This is exactly what I’m talking about.” 
Peter told Billy and Brian.

“Did you ever think that maybe she left because she hates fighting with you? 
Or are you too much of an idiot to see that?” Brian asked.

Nic flipped them off and went to sit on the other side of the clearing they 
were staying in.

After a few minutes, Billy broke the silence.

“Come on. Let’s go find our best friend.” Billy said.

“I’m coming with you.” Nic said, standing up.

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” Peter screamed. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”

Brian sighed. “Peter’s right. She left because of you. She’ll never come back 
if you’re still here.”

“Fine. Then I’ll go on my own journey!” Nic gathered his things and walked 
off. He turned back to Peter, Billy and Brian and said, “I never really liked 
you guys anyway. Oh, and just so you know: I DO love her. Don’t ever tell her 
I said that.”

Billy took a Poké Ball off of his belt and threw it into the air. A Taillow 
came out and flew into the air.

“Taillow, fly off and look for Courtney! Guys, let’s split up. If one of us 
finds her, we’ll call the others. Okay?”

Peter and Brian nodded. They all walked in separate directions, hoping to 
find their best friend.

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[Back to Courtney’s POV]

“Okay, where exactly am I?” I asked myself aloud. I checked my watch and it 
had been about 5 hours since I left Peter, Billy, Brian and Nic. I took off 
my backpack and looked for the map, but then remembered that Nic had been the 
one reading it.

‘Oh, why did I have to give it to that idiot?! Now I’m lost and it’s his 
fault!’

I sighed. I kept trying to deny my feelings for him, but the more I denied 
it, the stronger my feelings became.

‘Who am I kidding? We’ve been friends since we were kids. For us to just 
start fighting like we did is crazy.’

I looked over at the sky. The sun was already beginning to set. It always 
gets dark quickly in Psyto. Figuring I wouldn’t get to…wherever I was going 
in time, I decided to just camp out for the night in the forest.

After making a fire with the help of Ponyta and cooking some berries, which, 
if I may add, I failed at, I dug around in my backpack and pulled out my 
Walkman. I immediately remembered that Nic still had my Ryan Cabrera CD. I 
sighed again.

‘I’ll just buy another copy. At least he didn’t take my Within Temptation 
CDs. He knows how much I love them.’

I decided to listen to Mother Earth. I took it out, put the CD in the Walkman 
and pressed play. I put my headphones on and the first song began to play.

My backpack, which I had put against a tree stump, fell over. A picture fell 
out of it. I picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of Peter, Billy, 
Brian and me, taken a few weeks before we left to go on our journey. I 
remembered the day so clearly. Billy and I had just won the bounce tennis 
championship in Skypole. We had defeated Peter and Brian. One of the 
spectators wanted to take a picture of us, and then gave each of us a copy.

I took Ponyta’s Poké Ball off of my belt and let it out. It looked at me, a 
confused look on its face.

“No Ponyta, we’re not battling. It’s just…I don’t want to be alone. I miss my 
friends so much! But…I can’t go back. I don’t want to fight with Nic anymore. 
I don’t know what to do!” I began sobbing into my hands.

Ponyta came over to me and sat down next to me. I felt the warmth of its mane 
and tail. I curled up against it and cried myself to sleep.

To be continued…

As with Just a Normal Life, this is not what I had originally planned. I used 
to just write part by part. Now I’ve actually got an idea for the entire 
story. Reviews are appreciated! ^_^