Leaf

  —

  That night after winning my third Badge, as I relaxed in a nice, air conditioned room at the Pokemon Center cuddling my Egg's incubator, I felt like my birthday had come early. All of them! At the same time! Alex was just as happy. Joyful, even. Giddy with excitement, you could even say.

  Erin, however, was pouting.

  She couldn't stop her mean and vicious looks entirely of course, not through willpower alone, but mom had acquired a little helper! Dexter apparently hated to talk through aura, but when she started to be mean with her looks, her stares and glares? He would poke her. If she didn't take the warning seriously? Well, Dexter loved to shock people!

  Mom was devious! I think she mainly picked it up from Erin, too! It made this whole situation so much sweeter.

  "Are you looking forward to tomorrow, sister?" Her glare was intense… for a second. Then Dexter apparently poked her, and she glared at him… and got shocked. It wasn't enough to hurt, of course, they were the same shocks he gave us when we stopped or slowed down in training. They were still annoying.

  Dexter was laughing at her, electric face delighted.

  "Erin, remember, you're supposed to- hold on, actually!" He gleefully pulled up an audio file, and moms voice began to play.

  "'Your punishment for what you did is to be nice for two weeks. No mean-spirited pranks, no mean or vicious looks. You are to be the perfect image of a bubbly, happy teenage girl instead of a vicious killer. I mean that literally, Erin, you are to act your age! In fact, take the jacket off, you're taking a break from the Tiny Tyrant, and you're going to let Leaf decide things for two weeks. Let's wean you off of that 'I am always right' mindset you seem to have. Follow her lead unless it will hurt you, her, or someone else.'" Dexter sparked in happiness as he laughed.

  As we all laughed… Not Erin, but everyone else. Even Hazard!

  Erin was not a happy person, especially with her pout!

  "You can't force me to act bubbly and happy! I don't even know how to be bubbly! I'll be nice, sure, but I'm not sure if that's a possible order. She could order me to stand on the sun, I wouldn't be breaking my word by not." She wasn't glaring… but she was pouting, and I smiled at her. Sweetly.

  "It's okay Erin, Dexter can help with that! Plus, after we change your style for a few days, I'm sure you'll feel it… bubble up!" Her face! Her snarl! Dexter's shock! Our laughter!

  This was going to be the best two weeks!

  —

  Erin wasn't part of the cuddle pile anymore, by general agreement all around. She had to wrangle Cerberus, and Cerberus was more than enough for his own cuddle pile, not counting her Pokemon that would still hang out. The next morning Erin didn't release Cerberus when I woke her up, just… rolled over into him. I smiled. Widely, even if she couldn't see it.

  "Erin, come on! I can order you, you know that! Get up and be a nice, happy girl for once! Don't be a vicious killer at all times, or Leto!" She tightened her grip on Cerberus's heads, but didn't get up.

  Mom had given us some 'coaching' last night, basically warning us about being mean, but…

  "Seriously, just… be a happy teenager?" She rolled over and… she didn't glare, but it was close… It was sad, though, so it kind of looked like a pout.

  "Leaf, I genuinely don't remember ever being happy as a kid aside from birthdays, fishing, gaming, or going to an amusement park. I did not have a happy childhood. I didn't have a bad one either, no, but my trans issues aside, I was always unhappy when I wasn't distracting myself. I told mom I'd obey her punishments, but go ahead, call her. She doesn't expect me to…" She looked down before closing her eyes.

  "She doesn't expect me to magically just… adjust. To just be happy. I'd like to be, sure, and I'll try, but…" She buried her head in Cerberus again as I thought.

  Not very well, apparently, because I hadn't considered that… and judging from her face, Alex hadn't either… Well, she looked far more understanding, actually… She spoke up hesitantly.

  "Erin, why don't you just… fake it till you make it? Just act like you're happy? We won't try to make you be… bubbly… I think we would all find that highly disturbing, actually." Yeah, she did have a point. It would be funny, sure, but yeah… Bubbly Erin? Nope, just… didn't seem possible. Or right. It felt about as wrong as a fae… One I wasn't used to.

  Erin groaned for a moment, but rolled away from Cerberus. She looked defeated, but she nodded her head.

  "I… I promise I will try." I smiled at her, enjoying how nervous she suddenly looked.

  "Great! Now, take your bracers off! No Tiny Tyrant, you heard mom!" She of course slept in them. She snarled… for an instant before it turned into an angry pout. Dexter was having the time of his life! Unlife? He's a Ghost type…

  "Leaf, I'm not leaving my Blades behind, absolutely not! Mom will back me up on that, too. Remember the last part Dexter didn't play? The part where I'm unbound from punishments if Team Rocket shows up? I'm keeping them on… So…" She looked like it physically hurt her to speak.

  "Maybe… loan me a cheap hoodie… and you can…" Her face was red, but she knew it was going to happen, anyways. This way she could act like it was her choice.

  "You can… pick out an outfit for me…" I smiled widely as Alex spoke up. With her own huge smile, of course.

  "Erin, we're not picking out an outfit for you, or at least not just one. We're giving you a full makeover! Your mom even sent us some money to do it with!" Erin's face rose, mouth open, eyes wide in sheer horror. Her eyes met mine and I grinned.

  Viciously! I could do it too, I just wasn't Erin. It wasn't my default.

  "Don't worry, sis! Nobody will ever suspect that you're the Savage Trainer after we're done with you, even with your stupid feathers!" I think she might have actually teared up a bit!

  Oh no! I'm taking vicious joy in her distress! I'm turning into Erin!

  Actually… Nah, I only like seeing it from her. This is just revenge.

  —

  —

  "Erin, you look cute! Don't be so grumpy! Smile!" She was not smiling. Not at all!

  ""Erin pout! Not like cute!""

  Hecate sent that to everyone, and me and Alex had finally adjusted to the pressure. Still didn't feel great, but it didn't hurt anymore, at least.

  Erin growled, but of course, Dexter was right there to poke her, and she settled back down.

  Alex had managed to somehow get her into a fluttery, mid-thigh length pink skirt, a lacy, frilly white tank top, and because she refused to remove her damn Blades, I had forced some baby-blue detached sleeves that covered her forearms and the back of her hands, with an elastic band and a ring for her middle finger to hold them in place. It… honestly didn't look bad, especially with the green hair and her stupid headband and red feathers. If she was smiling and happy, I'd think she looked great, actually.

  The intense pout wasn't helping anything, though.

  Alex was smirking at her as she examined her. This was Alex's choice of outfit, and it looked… Like something Alex would pick out for herself, actually, but far girlier. Because of course, Erin said she didn't like the girly stuff… even if she always glanced at them in other stores…

  "Erin, you look great, and you know it! In fact, we're getting this! I say wear it half the time, and Leaf's choice the other half!" Alex looked over at me and I nodded with a smile. Oh yes, no more dark colors for Erin. She was going to be bright!

  Her glare was poked away, only to be replaced with a huge, fearful pout as we both smiled.

  "Keep those on when we pay, actually! You have an appointment at a hairdresser in an hour!" She gasped in horror, and we started laughing.

  —

  —

  Erin was not happy with her new hair style. Not that it got cut, I wasn't mean. It's not like she couldn't have brushed it out, but my orders had been firm. The pigtails stayed. Well, they hadn't just put her hair in two high pigtails, of course. She'd had an hour to hear about how poorly she cared for her hair as they washed and treated it, which… yeah. Erin brushed her hair out and back, put her headband on, and called it a week.

  "Erin, stop pouting! They look appropriate on you when you do that!" I burst into laughter at Alex's words, because they were so true!

  "I don't really like pigtails! They're too short, anyways, and my bangs look weird even with my headband!" She looked almost panicked, and I smiled as Dexter showed me a photo he just took. She did not look like the Savage Trainer or the Tiny Tyrant, even with the feathers. Instead she looked like… a very embarrassed, normal girl… who was still missing a pinky and had a nasty scar on her face, sure…

  "Don't worry, Erin! It doesn't matter if you like them or not! That's why it's a punishment!" She was starting to learn not to glare… but not fully, not even close, so Dexter poked her again. Then zapped her when she refused to stop.

  —

  "You don't have to pout the entire two weeks, Erin… I thought you were going to try to act happy? Fake it till you make it?" The glare almost formed, but Dexter was right there, grinning. Instead, she pouted! Again!

  Alex burst into laughter at the sight, and Erin's face grew red. We were sitting in a nice restaurant by the water, enjoying the pleasant evening light as it hit the ocean, enjoying the sea air, the cries of Pokemon, even the occasional huge thud from the dockyards further down.

  We were also both thoroughly enjoying Erin's attempts to not be vicious. It was the first day, too!

  "This is not fair… at all! Sure, being nice… I should have been doing that anyway, and I was getting mean, turning into a bully, I admit that, but my style?" I chuckled at her.

  "Erin, your 'style' is 'dark colors, wild, unkempt'... Mom also said no more Tiny Tyrant! That's why there's no jacket! She let you keep your dumb feathers! Honestly, if Leto could or wanted to wear clothes, that would be her choice, too!" I saw her Pokeball rattle in agreement!

  Alex grinned at her, green eyes almost sparkling with humor.

  "You deliberately pushed me out of my comfort zone, didn't you? I've seen you looking at clothes like those with interest. How is this different?" Erin actually did glare at her, and got zapped.

  "That was me pushing you towards something you wanted, gently, without actually requiring you to wear it! How would you feel if I gave you a mini-skirt and a… a tube top, and forced you to wear them? Not so great, huh? A little bit too far outside your comfort zone?"

  Alex frowned at the thought.

  "I mean… I guess I can see your point? That's a little different, though." I nodded in agreement.

  "Yeah, these are just girly clothes! What's the big deal? I mean… I don't want to wear them, I guess, even if you do look cute! I saw a boy checking you out earlier, and he was kinda cute, too! You look good in them!" I should not have said that, because her whole face scrunched up in mild disgust, then fell. Oh, crap… I forgot she had that reaction to the Ranger…

  Alex spoke up softly after a few seconds.

  "Wanna talk about it?" Erin just stared into her lap for a moment before the air around us shifted. She looked up with a deliberately blank face.

  "Sure. Hecate and Stabby are keeping sound out, but cover your mouth if you ask a question. I'm not exactly… freely spreading this to anyone." We both nodded and she placed her elbows on the table, resting her mouth behind them.

  "It's simple, girls. I have mentally adjusted to being fourteen, sure! I think of myself as fourteen, mostly, kind of, as much as it drives me crazy sometimes… So in theory, it shouldn't bother me. It very much does, because I do not find… similarly aged people attractive. Early twenties is the lowest people look… good, I guess?" I could see her frown deepen even around her hands.

  "To be fair, that number was like twenty five when I was thirty, younger than that they were just… dumb kids, so I am adjusting. Now… I'm sure I'll adjust a little more, especially as I get older, but my guess? I'll be single until I'm at the very least eighteen… It's not the worst thing in the world, though, really it isn't... I… don't have a long, or good, track record with my two relationships, and I'm not looking, I'm fourteen…" I exchanged glances with Alex as she trailed off, and… Yeah…

  I really hadn't given that point much thought, actually. Like she said, she had mostly adjusted to being fourteen, even if she still fought it, but we were still kids to her… I could see having someone 'our' age checking her out being really awkward… Like if one of the brats from Pallet had a crush on me, just… eww…

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Alex got a vicious grin on her face, and I knew it was deliberate, because Erin couldn't.

  "I thought you were dating Raihan?" Erin's face went green and I started laughing.

  "Alex, eww, no! He's twenty one! He's also one of the- He's a friend." Oh, yeah… He was one of the few people who saw exactly what Erin was like in her old world… Which was a good indication of her character, even if she didn't think so. Raihan surely believed her own thoughts and regrets when he saw her memories…

  Alex went silent for a long moment, then looked up with a wicked smile. One that promised a bad time for Erin.

  "Sooo, what's it like to have se-" Dexter zapped Alex hard with a huge frown as Erin buried her face in her hands. It was a real frown, too. Wow! I didn't know he could do that!

  Or zap us for being mean! What the hell, mom?! You just told us not to tease her too much, not that he would shock us! That looked like it hurt, too!

  "You can have your fun, and poke fun at her, but no! Not that! Ask your parents… or Leaf's mom, I guess, since yours are kind of… crap?" Alex looked happy, though! That had been the reaction she was looking for. I kind of approved, just for the reaction, even if the question was a little… eww.

  Erin's ears were so red they looked like a Tamato Berry!

  —

  —

  Mom was delighted to receive our call that night. Almost shining with joy, in fact.

  "Good job on her, girls! You can hardly tell she's basically a tiny Leto!" I laughed as Dexter poked Erin's scowl away, Erin visibly twitching, and mom burst into laughter, too!

  "Oh, good job, Dexter!" Erin's scowl once again got poked away, and she pouted at mom, instead.

  "This is not right! We trained animals this way! Not calm and friendly ones, either!" I grinned at her as I responded. Animals might be… a very weird concept to me, but I just thought of them as really dumb Pokemon.

  "Erin, you kind of aren't calm or friendly, to other people at least. It almost fits?" The pout turned to me.

  "No, it doesn't! I wasn't a fan of it, because it's almost abuse to program an animal, or just is, but people did it because animals were dumb! Kind of! Most of them! Pretty sure octopi, whales, and dolphins were people… And elephants, of course… Chimps, gorillas… Crows…" She trailed off with a frown. Wait, crows, like Murkrow?

  "Dear, I don't really see the big deal? I know you don't want to be a mean bully, either." Mom looked confused. I was too, kind of… We were just training her out of a bad habit?

  "I'm-… screw it! You don't get it, can't. Yes, it's probably not a bad thing, I don't want to be mean, and it comes very easily to me these days… Still!" Erin's face didn't fall, but it did seem to fold in on itself, becoming a mask. She looked like she was… staring off into the distance. Ignoring us.

  Alex looked concerned.

  "I think she might actually be upset?" No, I bet she was just pouting without showing it.

  "Well, at least she looks cute now, instead of… Scary? Intimidating?" Her eyes didn't glare at me, but they did focus on me. Me and Alex, and I got nervous.

  "Hey Dexter, were you recording in the restaurant?" He grinned even as me and Alex went pale. Mom noticed, too.

  "What did they do, Dexter?" He didn't verbally respond, but I could hear the faint sounds of talking from moms PokeNav… crap.

  Her glare was withering as she looked at us.

  "Alex, you knew better than to ask that! Leaf… you didn't do anything, I guess, but Alex!" I breathed a sigh of relief as moms glare shifted.

  "If you want to ask embarrassing questions like that, ask your parents, young lady!" Alex's face kind of gave that away, though, and her frown lessened a little.

  "Ask… Lan- Claire?" Alex was shaking her head, though.

  "I wasn't actually curious! Eww! I was teasing her!" Mom's frown just got worse.

  "That is not a nice thing to tease Erin about! For one, if she had answered you, her punishment would extend for months!" Erin just nodded along with her! Well, I guess she can be somewhat responsible, sometimes…

  "She almost let something slip the other day?" Alex, no! Stop! This punishment will end eventually!

  Moms glare was even worse now, though, and it didn't shift to Erin.

  "People are allowed to slip up, you aren't allowed to help them! Now! If you can't ask your parents, and you need… questions answered, or relationship advice in the future…" She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose.

  "I guess… just ask me… Not that I've been in one in a long time…" She seemed kind of sad when she said that… Erin saw something else, though, considering the huge smile that broke out on her face.

  "Oh?! No way!?" Moms face went red and I grew worried. I spoke up in utter confusion.

  "Mom, what's up?" Now she was refusing to look into the camera, and Erin laughed again.

  "Mom, there's nothing wrong with…" She peered closely at mom. "Talking to a guy! I mean, I know it's not Professor Oak-" Mom barked out a laugh, and I did, too. Eww! Professor Oak was old! He could be her father! Not to mention, he and mom were just friends!

  "-so it has to be… Oh!" Erin's face didn't go pale, red, or green. She just… smiled warmly. What?

  Mom's face was so red! What?!

  "Mom, care to share?" She covered her face with her hand! I looked over at Alex in confusion, but she looked a little unsteady. Why?

  "Erin, can you give me a hint?" Her eyes flicked to me, and I could see the pity in them. Also the amusement and happiness for mom!

  "Well, who has mom interacted with recently, who's also close to her in age, and single?" What does she mean? I mean, there's… Looker? I think he's around five years older than mom? He looked worse with those bags under his eyes, but I think he's early forties… Who else was ther- No!

  "Oh, no! No way!" Mom's face couldn't get any redder, but it looked like she was trying. Erin spoke up with a small, happy grin. Also so much humor.

  "Attraction is a funny thing, Leaf. Physical appearance aside, sometimes you just feel… comfortable with someone. Good, happy… I'll be honest, too… He's actually very handsome, if not my cup of tea, and he's a very good guy… He's also… He's also…" She was struggling now despite her happiness for mom, even as Alex looked ready to vomit.

  My voice barely worked as I spoke.

  "He's also Lance?!" Dexter erupted in a huge shower of sparks as he laughed, and he wasn't alone. Well, only he threw sparks. The rest of the Pokemon?

  The entire room laughed, including Leto, and I swore the walls vibrated for a moment. Alex's Noibat was returned by Rotom after a second, too. Mom's red face was still hidden behind her hand, so Erin spoke up once more, a huge smile on her face.

  "If I'm reading mom right… and she is easy to read right now… They haven't actually started dating, but they have talked a few times, probably complaining about me… This is purely a guess, but he's attractive, caring, not that dumb despite the grief I give him, and he makes her happy when they talk… Probably to pick on, too, at least a little, but still…" Her smile was warm, but mine wasn't. I didn't have one! I felt sick!

  "But Lance?" Alex nodded from beside me, still looking a little green.

  "Yeah, him? You're a catch, Ms. Greenwood, you could do so much better!" To my extreme surprise Erin glared at her, and Dexter didn't do anything! At all!

  "Alex, I get it, but you don't get to decide who finds who attractive. I mean… Nobody does, not even themselves. Honestly, he's… one of the best people I know in this world. Somehow? I don't know many, to be fair, but still…"

  "Yeah, but…" I trailed off, because… I honestly didn't want to think about that. Mom and Lance? Human Mascot Lance Blackthorn?

  Erin didn't care, however, and just kept on going!

  "It's not like he'll ever treat her badly if he ends up dating her, either. He wouldn't, and if he was the kind of person to, and mom somehow still liked him, Dragonite would throw him into the ocean. Miles from shore. Without the rest of her team." Mom laughed from behind her hand.

  Erin's grin wasn't vicious as she continued, but it was close!

  "Mom's apparently already been to The Aerie, and Dragonite approves! Not to mention every dragon there! Also the Clan Leader!" Mom's face actually popped up from behind her hand, shock clear.

  "What?! She- That- I'll- Drag-!" Wow, mom was stammering! She couldn't even talk right now! Erin's smile was still huge!

  "I text with Dragonite, remember? Never met the guy, but he could tell what Dragonite intended the second he saw you, according to her. Not that I knew the 'Matriarch' was you until now, you're usually just 'friend's mother'. It makes a lot more sense now, though, especially why she was gossiping about it to me!" Mom's face was flabbergasted, just complete shock as her mouth slowly opened and closed.

  Alex finally found her voice. Her weak, fragile voice.

  "Lance is a really good guy… Dragonite would do that, and dragons do like her… Grandpa Grant would also like her, a lot…" She wasn't even talking to anyone, just staring off into the distance.

  Erin was still smiling warmly.

  "I mean, not to make too many assumptions, but… Lance finds you attractive, that was easy enough to tell. I have eyes. Not going to lie, it was probably the flick! Who else has had the guts to do that to him in years? Other than Dragonite, I mean?" Mom's face went back into her hand as I stared at Erin in confusion. Alex too, she just still looked green.

  "What?!" I didn't have a good question for that insanity, honestly.

  She smirked at us, receiving a poke that made her twitch for the action.

  "I told you, you don't choose, love chooses. That, and attraction, I guess. Plus… most people have a type?" She was chuckling now, even as mom groaned.

  "Maybe he's the type to sing love songs below your window? I doubt that, though. He would be on a Pokemon's back in the air… And he wouldn't do it at the Ranch, Maddy and Wukong would kick his a- butt. That sounds kind of funny, though. Lance singing Shivers under your window! Hah!"

  That got mom to lift her head and stare at Erin. For her part, Erin went slightly pale and shook her head.

  "It's a love song, and it's not… that dirty… It kind of is though, it's a love song, a romance song, not a song that could be romantic… It sounds good with just lyrics and basic rhythm, too, but… I'd rather not cry, personally, or sing it in front of my mother and two children…" Mom was staring at her now.

  We all were, and she knew what we wanted.

  "I don't have any songs that I…" She trailed off and mom honed in on it.

  "Do tell, Erin? Come on, I know there's something up there in that insane head of yours." She frowned at mom.

  "Maybe? It doesn't have… curses, and it's not… that dirty? Well, the second part is, but I barely remember that, anyway, or the first line… It's more of a fun dance song, I guess?" Our stares intensified and she threw her hands up.

  "Fine! There won't be much of a beat… Actually…" She got a large grin on her face and looked at… Cerberus?

  Cerberus stood up and walked to the middle of the room, Leto shuffling out of his way. He started… lightly stomping… to a beat? Erin was grinning, though, and stepped over to him, between his necks. He opened his mouths with huge smiles and she slapped the top of his heads, hard. Not that Cerberus felt it, and it made a surprisingly decent sound… Nooo…

  Her smile was huge as she looked up at us.

  "I'll play the Cerberus! He's a little insane right now, but he likes to follow instructions! This is called 'I like to Dance', well… the words that I remember, and kind of a beat? Close as I can get off the top of my head without, you know, instruments."

  She started banging on his heads, even as he started to stomp . After half a minute of a very basic beat she opened her mouth, eyes closed, and sang. She wasn't a great singer, not by any means, but she obviously liked this song, especially if she could remember even some of it.

  "Everybody's in a line now!

  Dressed up to the nines now, baby!

  Silver, shiny, sexy, it's love and-

  The music's playing so loud, disco balls and big crowds, baby!"

  She was starting to bounce around now to a beat we were only partially hearing, feathers waving. She was almost hugging Cerberus' heads as she kept going.

  "Her eyes, they tell me what I need to know

  Your touch, it tells me where I need to go

  My lead will make you wanna get so close!"

  She jumped in the air, with Cerberus, of course, then began to dance!

  She grabbed Cerberus' heads and began to dance! She was bouncing them up and down and she… actually danced? Kind of? She was still bopping Cerberus' heads at the same time…

  "Well I like to dance! So if you do, just get on the floor!

  Forget the romance!

  This is what music was created for!

  So find someone hot!

  If you're not it doesn't matter, baby!

  Take what you got, and just go dance till you feel better!

  I like to dance-!

  I like to dance, dance, dance, dance!"

  She came down and her voice grew softer, but not un-energetic.

  "Lovesick, electric se-" She stuttered for a moment, and I saw moms face get red even as Erin was shaking her head, still pounding on Cerberus's smiling heads.

  She repeated the lyrics three times, her dancing getting more and more… frantic? Over time it got faster, more energetic. She was having fun, and it looked a lot better than that... One song of hers. Not evil.

  She stumbled to a halt, leaning on Cerberus' heads with a smile.

  "That was… well, not accurate, and missing like half the lyrics from the second half? Not to mention the beats, Cerberus is just stomps and head bongos, neither of which was in the song." I looked at her in confusion. That hadn't been… bad? Basic, sure, but I liked the lyrics, mostly…

  "Erin, why don't you try and remake songs like that, instead of your… dubstep?" She laughed at me.

  "Leaf, most dubstep was produced by a single person with a program on their computer, aside from mixing in vocals. 'I like to Dance' was made by a full band of people who played instruments, sang, and composed… Not that dubstep doesn't require skill, it does, my recreation of 'Work' is… bad, but I'm still working on it… kind of. I'm not good at music! I just… I just can't enjoy most of this world's music, so I don't have much of a choice…" Well, now I felt kind of bad… Alex spoke up though, a frown on her face.

  "Have you ever thought about contacting actual musicians?" Erin was shaking her head already.

  "I… I honestly don't know if I should? I feel bad enough ripping songs off to listen to, and I don't exactly remember whole albums… I do have a song I would need a lot of help for, though, that I really, really want to hear again…" Mom was smiling again.

  "How about sing it, Erin? It can't be that bad without proper instruments, right?" Erin scoffed at her. With a grin, but still!

  "Queen? Absolutely, it would sound horrible. The problem is, you'd probably like it, because it's an iconic song, and I don't know how I would feel about that… Bohemian Rhapsody is almost personal… not that I'm unique in that, not by about a billion people, probably far more. I think most people probably remember the first time they heard the full song." A what? I spoke up, confusion in my voice.

  "What's a 'Bohemian'?" She laughed, shaking her head lightly. It made her pigtails swing, and I grinned a little. She hated those, and her bangs! Or really, she acted like she did, I had seen her happy glances at the mirror… She didn't want to allow herself to like them…

  "Honestly? I think it was just living life differently than the mainstream? Or, you know, someone or something from Bohemia… It doesn't matter, though, I will not degrade that song. I will sing you the first few lines, though, it started with just vocals, anyway…" She grinned at us, and her voice wasn't high, well, higher than normal, but it was light, like she was yelling a half whisper almost.

  "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality!" She grinned at us, bouncing her eyebrows.

  "Kind of applicable, right? This reality is a real life fantasy!" She began laughing at her own joke even as Alex looked confused.

  "Why don't you get that one reproduced, then?" Erin frowned at Alex, but gave it thought.

  "Maybe? I'll… I'll think about it, I guess? I mean… pretty sure Freddy Mercury would be happy it's reaching new audiences in some form… He was one of my favorites, and he was also a pretty big queer symbol, even if he never confirmed what his sexuality was… The man was flamboyant, and widely considered one of the greatest singers in Rock history…" She frowned and closed her eyes.

  "I mean… Yeah, at some point I will. I'll write the lyrics out, at least. I might not remember every word, it's a long song, but I'll easily get most of them right, and I can fill in the blanks later…" She was smiling now, even as she continued to frown lightly.

  I had a devious thought. I rolled with it, though.

  "You have to know a song a young girl sang! Something that works with your voice, and we can hear!" She gave me an amused, pitying look.

  "I mean, not really? I didn't listen to squeakers, Leaf, even when I was a kid. I… honestly can't even remember the names of any song off the top of my head, and certainly not the lyrics or beats." Well, crap… wait…

  Squeakers?!

  Mom had a similarly devious look on her face, though.

  "Erin, dear… Do you think you could send me the lyrics to that love song you mentioned?" Erin's face went red. Very red.

  "I… I didn't want to sing it to you all, and I don't think I can send my own mother those lyrics, no… I mean, most of the song isn't explicit, just very romantic, but halfway through a couple… gets in a car at night. No explicit words, but… yeeeaah…" Moms face went red, this time! They both had red faces! Eww, both of you! Especially mom!

  Lance?!

  "Well… I can do most of 'Waiting for Love', I guess… That's more love in general, but it does deal with getting over a breakup? If not a breakup, then heartache? Loss? I don't really remember… It's more upbeat and happy, as opposed to… romantic, though. Not nearly as good with just lyrics, however…" Mom somehow managed to speak up. It looked like she had half the blood in her body in her face!

  "Yes, please do that, dear…" Erin smirked at her, and ignoring the poke, jerked from the zap.

  "You know, if you're going to date Lance Blackthorn, there was a band called Imagine Dragons! Imagine, Lance a dragon! They had a song called 'Sucker for Pain', too! Sound like someone you might want to date, mom?"

  We started laughing even as mom ended the call!