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Ult didn't mean to peek in.
He wasn't planning on it, but his curiosity got the best of him. He was just walking towards the kitchen hoping to get a snack for himself and Sableye. But then he stopped. He noticed that a door leading to one of the rooms was slightly ajar. Ult tiptoed towards it, and slowly moved his head just enough that he could see through the crack of the door.
And then he saw who's room this was.
It was Dot's.
She was right there sitting at her desk, typing away at her computer. Her Pokemon were off to the side either sleeping or playing around. She was too focused on…whatever she was doing to notice that Ult was peeking in on her.
'I should move along, this is creepy.' Ult thought to himself, but he didn't move. His legs didn't respond to what his brain was telling them to do. He couldn't even avert his gaze off of Dot, it was like he was in a trance. Like, he had fallen to a hypnosis.
Sableye looked up at Ult with his crystal gem eyes, wondering why his trainer had suddenly stopped. "Sable?" He called out to Ult, in order to get his attention but to no avail.
Ult was transfixed on Dot. Why? Why was he so…mesmerized by her. They barely hung out so why did he want to just stay here and stare at her forever? Was it because of her purple sparking eyes, or her pale white skin? Whatever the reason was, it made Ult so focused on her. So much so that the world around him began to fade. Ult was so engrossed by the purple haired girl so much, that he didn't hear someone come walk up behind him.
"Ult, what are you doing?"
The sudden voice caused Ult to jump backwards in shock. "GAH-" He quickly covered his mouth with his hands so as to not make any noise. Ult slowly turned backwards, wondering who it was that had caught him in the act. As the boisterous boy finally turned around, he saw who it was. A lady with pink hair and a Chansey by her side.
Mollie.
"W-what are you doing here?!" Ult whispered in a frantic tone. As expected he was a little embarrassed that he had been caught peeking in on someone.
"I was just walking back towards the infirmary room." Mollie responded with her usual flat tone. "What are you doing?"
"U-uh n-nothing!"Ult stammered out. He averted his gaze towards the ground, hoping to hide the blush that was on his face.
Mollie obviously didn't buy Ult's answer. She also noticed the blush that was growing on his face. The nurse glanced at the slightly open door that Ult was peeking into. "Just what were you looking at?" She said, as she leaned in to get a look for herself.
"N-no wait don't-" Ult tried to stop her but to no success. Mollie leaned in enough to get a look at what Ult saw. The nurse was confused at first, what was Ult looking at so much that it would have caused him to get red in the face.
And then it clicked for, once she finally saw what, or more specifically who, Ult was staring at.
Mollie turned back to glance at Ult, who looked like he was about to die in embarrassment. His blush had grown way bigger now, and covered most of o his face.
"Oh Ult…" Mollie sighed. She rubbed the bridges of her nose. Welp, looks like she had her afternoon filled out for the rest of the day. Mollie turned on her heel and began walking towards the infirmary room. "Follow me."
Ult watched as Mollie and her Chansey walked past him and Sableye. He gave one last glance at the door, at Dot, before he very begrudgingly followed the nurse to…wherever she was taking him. He honestly doesn't know.
All Ult did know was that this obviously wasn't going to be a very fun time for him.
"I keep telling you it's NOT like that!!"
Mollie let out a tired and slightly frustrated sigh. She rubbed the temples of her head. They've been going at this for almost an hour at this point, and Ult still hasn't budged. The boisterous boy sat across from the nurse in a wooden chair, he had a slight pout on his face, and also didn't look Mollie in the eyes. Mollie has dealt with both stubborn people and Pokemon before, but oh my Arceus was Ult stubborn. Mollie was quickly losing her patience, so she took a deep breath in, leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and began to speak.
"Look Ult." She spoke with an assertive tone. "I'm only doing this to help you. There's obviously something going on with you emotionally, but you don't want to admit it."
"But-" Ult tried to talk, but Mollie interrupted him.
"You keep saying it's nothing, but you're blushing. That usually means that it's not nothing, and in actuality probably is something." Mollie paused for a bit before resuming, in a more softer tone. "Ult I've been trained to handle not only physical, but also emotional and mental problems. I'm just here to help you understand what it is that you're feeling. I'm not here to laugh, or to judge, or anything. Just to help. So please, just tell me why you were peeking in Dot's room, and staring at her like that. It'll help you I promise."
Mollie's words sunk into Ult's mind. He himself didn't understand why he was just gawking at Dot like that, so maybe it would be a good idea if he did just vent about his emotions, as much as he really didn't want to. He glanced at Mollie with an indecisive look in his emerald green eyes, still hesitant on the idea of just…releasing everything that was harboring inside his heart. But…he trusted Mollie, and he did look up to her like an older sister figure. So perhaps…
"…You're not gonna tell anyone?" Ult asked, in a small hushed voice.
"Cross my heart and hope to Arcues." Mollie replied reassuringly, smiling just a tiny bit.
"Then…ok fine." Ult turned fully to face the nurse, ready to vent out his heart.
"Alright. Just go when you're ready." Mollie voiced with a soft tone.
"Ok…" Ult drummed his fingers on his knees, unsure where to start. "I don't really know why I…peeked into Dot's room like that. I-I know it was wrong and weird but I just…couldn't stop staring at her…it was like I was hypnotized by her."
"I see." Mollie rubbed the bottom of her chin, pondering about what Ult had said. "Is this the first time that you did this?" She asked him.
"Uhh…well yeah kinda but…" Ult's voice trailed off for a bit. "Sometimes…when I get a glance at Dot or just be around her in general…I get this weird fuzzy fluttery feeling in my chest."
"Fuzzy and fluttery feeling?" Mollie echoed. "How long has that been going on for?"
"Uhm…ever since Cortondo when…we accidentally held hands." Ult's face grew red as he recalled that exact memory. It was definitely the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him, period. Holding hands with a girl, and finding out that Dot was a girl the entire time definitely left poor Ult with at least a few mental scars.
Right. Mollie remembers when Murdock told her and Orla about that story. It was quite the funny and entertaining story, especially the part where Ult's face literally blew up. But now considering what Ult had just told her, alongside everything else, a different notion began to form inside the nurse's brain. One that she already assumed in the back of her mind, but couldn't quite confirm up until now. "Ahh I get it now. I understand why you're getting that fuzzy feeling."
Ult jerked his head up at that. "Really?? So something isn't wrong with me??"
"No." Mollie calmly replied. "Nothing is wrong with you. In fact it's the opposite. You're experiencing a completely normal thing."
"What is it then?" Ult asked, tilting his head towards the left a tiny bit.
"Well, Ult you just seem to…" Mollie paused, she was uncertain about how Ult would react to the oncoming information she was about to just share. Eventually, Mollie decided to let it fly and hope that Ult would at least have a somewhat civil reaction to it. "…Have a crush on Dot."
Complete and utter silence
Ult blinked
Chansey blinked
Sableye yawned.
And then finally Ult shrieked.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!"
Mollie covered her ears and attempted to talk over Ult's shrieking. "Ult just calm down-"
"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON DOT!!!. THAT'S INSANE!!! YOU'RE INSANE-"
"ULT QUIET!!" Mollie shouted, causing Ult to shut up. Mollie sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Her gaze fell towards the now very red and profusely blushing Ult. His hands were gripping onto the base of the wooden chair so tightly that Mollie thought it would break. The boisterous boy was shaken possibly due to nerves, embarrassment, fear, or maybe even all three. Mollie wasn't sure. "Calm down Ult. There's no need to get frantic about this. What you're experiencing is very normal, especially at your age." The nurse spoke with a calm and reassuring tone, hoping to reduce Ult's panic just a little.
Ult slowly and hesitantly looked up at Mollie. He didn't know what to think, feel, or anything. He's never experienced…this ever. What was he supposed to do?! "W-what am I-what do I do??" He shyly asked.
"Well you don't have to do anything. You could just let these feelings sit and stir around." Mollie cooly answered. It's obvious that she has had a lot of experience with cases like this, with the way she expertly responds to every question Ult has. "But in my professional opinion, I'd say you should let them out and confess to her. It doesn't have to be now or even soon, just someday. Trust me, it'll help you in the long run if you get them off your chest."
Ult pondered. Confess?? He just found out he had a crush, like two seconds ago!! He was nowhere near ready to confess to Dot!! "No way I'm ready for that!" He exclaimed.
"I know. No single person is ever ready to confess their feelings to their crush. Trust me…I should know." Mollie stated.
"You do?" Ult chirped up. "Wait, have you had crushes before??"
"Oh Arceus I had plenty of them while growing up. Each day was a new person I'll get a crush on, and each day I would stare at them with a dreamy expression. My mom would tease me about them, saying that I 'always dreamed more when I was awake then when I was asleep.'" Mollie cringed at the memories. Each time her mom brought it up she would explode with embarrassment and shame. However, a slight fond smile did develop on her face. As humiliating as the memories were, she still remembers being extremely happy in those days. It was a simpler time when she didn't have to worry about much. Being a teenager was awkward but fun too.
"Oh." Ult uttered. It was hard to imagine the nurse being so ditzy, since usually she acted so stoic all the time. "Did you…ever confess to any of them?" Ult asked curiously.
Mollie sat up in her chair. "Some I did and some I didn't. The ones I did confess to mostly rejected me, but it still felt good to get my feelings out there in the first place."
Rejected? Huh. That made Ult wonder…what if Dot rejected him? What if she brushed him off? He wouldn't really be happy with that. Wait did Ult want Dot to feel the same way as him?? Does he even want her to feel the same way?? Was he even ready for a relationship like that?? Was he ready for romance??? "Aaaaahhhh!!! Why is this so confusing!?" Ult ran his fingers through his scalp, messing up his hair.
Mollie crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back in her chair with a small smile. "Feelings are like that. It's why you should confess your crush for Dot. It'll help clear up your mind."
Ult looked at Mollie, his eyes meeting hers. "But what if…" Ult paused, his nerves getting the best of him. "What if she rejects me?" He asked in a trembling broken voice.
"Then you two can still be friends." Mollie simply responded. "That should be enough right?"
"Yeah…" Ult nodded his head. "Right " He still doesn't know if he even wants to be with Dot like that, but nonetheless being friends with her would be more than enough for him. Ult made a mental note to try and hang out with Dot more often.
"Good." Silence formed in the infirmary room, but not for long as Mollie quickly spoke up again. "Feel better now?"
"Yeah I do!" A smile grew on Ult's face. Turns out expressing his feelings and stuff did help him out in the end. He should really start to trust Mollie more often. "Thanks Mollie. You were right."
"Told you so." Mollie was happy to have helped Ult with his emotional problems. She never said it out loud, but she did view him as like the little brother she never had. So Mollie felt that she kinda had to help him, not that she ever minded because it also meant she could tease him juuuust a tiny bit. "That being said, I better not catch you spying on her ever again, or else I'll have to tell Murdock. I don't think he'll be happy to hear that a boy was invading his niece's privacy."
Ult's face fished red as he put his hands up. "I-I won't do it again p-promise!!" He stammered out. "Just please don't tell anyone."
"I won't. I was just teasing." Mollie got up from her chair and ruffled Ult's emerald green hair. She was amused by how easy it was to get Ult flustered like that, and all Mollie had to do was bring up his crush on Dot.
Arceus, she was going to have LOTS of fun with this later.
Ult sat in the kitchen eating a bag of chips, the thing he originally wanted to do, before he was unexpectedly sidestepped by…feelings. His greatest enemy yet. Ult gave Sableye a chip before plopping one into his mouth, the salty flavor running over his tongue. Usually he would go on about how tasty these chips were or something similar, but his mind was still preoccupied by his whole conversation with Mollie. He still can't get over the idea of him having a crush on Dot. It was just so…ludicrous. Him, of ALL people having romantic problems?? The same boy who can barely look at girls without going all red in the face. Crazy really.
Then again, there was a part of him that honestly…kinda liked the feeling of it. The feeling of liking someone like that. Half of him wanted to just run and hide these feelings forever until they go away, while the other half wanted to sing and act all dreamy like towards Dot. It was all just so…so confusing and weird and overall headache inducing. But to be fair, just like Mollie said
Feelings were like that.
Ult was snapped out of his thoughts when the door to the kitchen opened. He looked and…oh.
Speak of the devil.
There she was.
Dot.
"Hey." Dot simply greeted.
"H-hi." Ult greeted back or at least tried to. Arceus, was his voice always THAT high pitch?? Why did his face start to heat up, and why were his palms getting sweaty?? C'mon Ult don't act like a bumbling fool now!!
Thankfully, Dot didn't seem to notice Ult's awkwardness or his blushing face, or if she did she didn't care. Either way, Ult was glad. Dot walked towards the fridge, opened it, and got what seemed to be some kind of drink. She closed the fridge and quickly walked back towards the door. Dot opened the door and began to exit the kitchen, but then suddenly she stopped halfway through the doorway.
"Oh and Ult." Dot glanced over her shoulder. "Next time you try peeking in on me, at least try to be subtle about it." Then she left, closing the door behind her. Leaving an extremely mentally broken Ult.
If it was possible, his face turned crimson red and his mind exploded, just like that time in Cortondo. Ult buried his face into his hands and let out a loud whine in embarrassment, humiliated at just…everything. This was easily the worst day in his life. Ult removed his hands away from his face. His blush has died down…a little but not a lot. He then loudly sighed, and muttered shyly beneath his breath.
"Stupid Feelings.”