Ruby & Pat: Shorts

Chapter 2: Something About Him/Her

It was a lovely day in Floccesy. The sun was shining but not glaring, the market bustling but not crowded, all sorts of Grass Type Pokémon hopping around and making flowering plants bloom in rainbows of color. Even the old clocktower seemed a little cheerier that morning. A perfect day for a walk and a little grocery shopping.

••Sunshine, sunshine, makes me feel awake.•• Mariachi sang, dancing down a dirt street. She waved her arms, making a musical rattling sound. ••Move to the rhythm, shake, shake, shake.••

"Shake, shake, shake..." Ruby absently repeated in a hum, walking behind her Maractus with even, unhurried steps. She looked over a list in her hand, a cloth bag swinging from the other. "Oran berries, MooMoo Milk, grapes, whipped cream... Didn't Mema just buy whipped cream?"

••We ran ran ran out, remember remember?•• Mariachi sang. ••Jeri used it to test your Mother's temper.••

••In my defense,•• Jeri Beri giggled from his pouch on Ruby's apron, having woken up enough to hear part of the conversation, ••the look on her face was priceless.••

"That's not really much of a defense, Jeri." Ruby admonished, though she was smiling. "I suppose we can some more whip cream. But save it for Dad and Cheri's pies this time, alright?"

••No promises~•• Jeri Beri singsonged with a chuckle, curling deeper into his pouch to return to his previous nap.

Ruby glanced down at him to tell him yes promises, but was interrupted by something hitting into her. Years of dance kept her on her feet, leaving whatever it was to tumble to the ground. Ruby was startled to find that whatever it was was a boy.

"Oh my, are you alright?" She asked, bending down and grabbing his arm to help him to his feet.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." The boy muttered, moving away from her and dusting himself off. His coat was high collared and his bangs were a little too long, completely obscuring his face. "I should've been paying more attention to where I was going. I'm sorry for that, miss."

"I wasn't looking where I was going either." Ruby waved away the apology with a smile, trying to get a closer look at him. He managed to stay just far away enough to make that difficult. "Are you sure you're alright? My mother's a doctor, if you're hurt..."

"Nothing I can't handle, I assure you." He chuckled.

Despite the almost angry tense to his shoulders, the fearful way his legs were positioned ready to bolt, his laughter was warm and bright. A lovely sound, like the audio equivalent of her father's best pies, and suddenly she had the strangest urge to hear it again. Quite a strong urge, actually, one that caught her completely off guard.

It seemed she wouldn't get that chance, however. "I'm terribly sorry, I really must be going." And with that, he ran off. Not a quick walk or an energetic jog, but a full-on panicked sprint.

A second later, Officer Jenny ran up, looking around. She addressed Ruby. "Miss Joy, did you see a boy run past here? Around your age, hair kinda like mine, long jacket?"

"Is he dangerous?" Ruby asked. Perhaps she should've just said 'yes' and pointed in the right direction, but she just had to know how much danger she might've been in from the boy with the nice laugh. He hadn't seemed like a bad guy.

"Oh, Arceus, no!" Jenny laughed, a tinge of something strangely sad in it. "He'd never... He's just a thief, nothing for you to worry about."

"I... Sorry, I didn't see him." Ruby said quickly, earning a wide-eyed look from Mariachi.

"That's alright. Have a nice day, Miss Joy." Jenny said with a tip of her hat, running off in more-or-less the right direction.

••Trainer mine, why why why?•• Mariachi asked as they slowly continued back on their way through the town. ••Why, to Jenny, did you lie?••

"...we still need whip cream." Ruby said quietly rather than answer. The truth was, she didn't really know why. It was just... Something about him, she supposed.

Something about the way he carried himself.

Something about the way he spoke.

Something about his laugh...

He was going to be grounded for a month when his mother found out about this. Of all the stupid things he'd done while visiting Aunt Taya, petty shoplifting was what got him found out? Seriously?

Patrick looked behind him and just barely saw his Aunt stopping to talk with the nice girl he'd turn into. A few moments later, his Aunt was back on his trail, almost caught up with him.

The girl had told on him, of course she did. But he couldn't really bring himself to be mad over it. There was something about her, he thought, that made it hard to bring up the angry fire he was oh so used to.

Something about the way she helped him up.

Something about the kindness in her voice.

Something about her smile...