It was the call that startled her.
The young grl had been attempting to walk along route one, clutching her cottonee close to her body. The creature was giving off odd noises that sounded like soft protests to being held so tightly. But she was hesitant to let her fluffy friend out of her grip. Even though the sky was beginning to lighten up, it was still dark enough to spook her when she saw a shadow move about in the grass. So it came as no surprise that upon hearing her name, the girl gave a squeak of surprise.
She started and turned hesitantly. Had her parents come for her already? No, it was too early, so who--Oh. The form of J. T. greeted her, the man looking a tad worn out. Had he run all this way? She blinked at him but wasn't able to get her question out. He was already speaking in an odd tone so it was difficult for her to make out if he was angry at her or just relieved to see her.
"Evee! Arceus, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What were you thinking, escaping from your room like that? Don't you know how your parents are--" The man took a breath and bent down a little so that the two of them were on eye level. She frowned. Even he was treating her like a little kid. "OK, let me start over... Evee, are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" He asked her gently, looking her up and down.
She took a step back from him, puffing her cheeks a bit as she shot him her best glare. (Admittedly, not all that fearsome) While she was touched that he even bothered asking after her, the way he was acting around her clearly indicated that he did not think she would be well-enough on her own. "I'm fine!" She said shortly, the pokémon in her arms giving a pleased sound at the sight of the intern. She paused, realizing that if J. T. had caught up to her, that meant he hadn't left yet. Perhaps it had been silly to think he had departed so early in the morning.
"I'm not hurt, okay? So you can relax. I was going to the next town over anyway," She didn't finish her sentence, mostly because she was trying her best to make it seem as if she had everything together. Truth be told, she had no idea where to go beyond Viridian and had been hoping to rely on J. T. for that knowledge. But she wasn't about to ask now, not when she was trying to prove a point! She was most certainly old enough to be adventuring. And she'd show him too.
The intern breathed a sigh of relief when Evee replied that she was fine. Knowing the area, he was aware that rattata could be rather vicious creatures when disturbed from their slumber, but that was not to be the case--for now, at least. He realized that the quicker he could get the young girl back home, the less likely it would be to have either of them be attacked in the middle of the wilderness--a rather tame excuse for wilderness, but wilderness nonetheless.
"How can I relax when I woke up nearly forty-five minutes ago to see a rope made of bedsheets hanging out of a second-story window, Evee?" the intern asked, his voice slightly more intense. He figured that if she was going to protest returning home, he'd at least try and provide reasons for her to do so that were logical. "Especially with police everywhere? It's an Arceusdamn miracle that you weren't caught trying to run!"
Here he went! Her cheeks puffed up even more as she pouted, finally crossing her arms so tightly that her cottonee squeezed out from her grasp. "Nee!" It squealed, flailing around and hovering to the ground where it bumped against J. T.'s leg. The girl didn't pay it much heed, she was too upset at what he was trying to do! There was no way she was going to go back home, not after how much effort it took to get out in the first place! And it wasn't as if he minded her coming along yesterday. So why was he being such a meanie now?
"I'm nearly legal age anyway!" She retorted, huffing. "Besides, it's not as if there aren't other kids out adventuring anyway so what difference does it make? I have money"--That I'll need to take out pretty soon or I'll be cut off from my funds, she finished internally--"And I can use that as a means to get to where I need to go!"
She realized there was a flaw in her argument, a huge glaring one at that. She didn't exactly have a place to go or anywhere that needed her attention. She would've just been following J. T. But she was a bit too upset to care about that. Why couldn't he just see that she'd be fine? Sending her back to be confined just wasn't fair.
"So climbing through your bedroom window at dark'o'clock in the morning seemed the best way to get started on your journey?" he replied, raising an eyebrow as he stood back up to his full height and wiped his glasses on his shirt. "Speaking of journies, where exactly did you plan on going after you hit Viridian anyway?" He replaced his glasses back on his nose and inadvertently reached for his inner coat pocket, hand almost ready to pluck a cigarette out of the box hidden away when he realized that he had been chastised the previous afternoon by this same girl for it. Thinking better of it for the time being, he tried to play it off as an itch across his chest before bringing his arms across his chest, mirroring Evee's current stance.
A nervous blush worked its way on to her cheeks and she tried to fight it down. Of course he had seen her mistake, but that wasn't going to stop her! "I-I uh... was going to go get badges!" She proclaimed, her voice breaking a little at the end. Where had that come from? Oh well, it was out now... "And once I do, then I'll have proven all along that I was old enough to be out here and strong enough to handle things on my own!" She proclaimed, gaining more confidence as she spoke. Yeah, it was a good idea! She'd get the badges and then her parents would have to acknowledge her.
"With what, a newborn cottonee that doesn't know how to fight?" J. T. retorted, taking a step closer to the girl. "I don't understand what's gotten into you all of a sudden! First it was the conversation at your house (which I assume did not go very well otherwise this situation would not have occurred at all), then your escape, and now you're acting all stubborn for no reason! Evee, you asked to come with me--if you were so adamant about that, why did you leave without me? Especially with Team Rocket on the loose?" He did not want to be this confrontational with the girl, but he felt it necessary to have her see how rash her decisions had been and what sort of consequences she could receive because of them.
She could feel the first stings, the first signs that she was not coping well with this at all. She knew she wasn't being that rational and she knew that her stubbornness wasn't helping the situation at all. "I-I just..." She trailed off miserably, looking down at her shoes as her vision got a little blurry. She swallowed, trying to force the feeling back. "I didn't know if you'd left or not and I didn't... want you to leave without me." She tried to keep her voice even but still, the strain caused her voice to hitch.
Her cottonee looked up at her with its large eyes, seemingly confused at her dejected nature. She bent down, burying her face in the cotton so that she wouldn't have to look back up at J. T. "I don't want to go back there. And I thought you'd take me with you because you didn't seem to have a problem with it yesterday. I can't go back home a failure." Her words came out muffled but she hoped he heard her. It was always hard when she knew she was fighting a losing battle and her odds at persuading J. T. were low.
"You're absolutely right--I didn't have a problem with it yesterday because I didn't imagine that I would have had to chase you through Route One before dawn just to make sure you weren't attacked by Team Rocket or a swarm of rattata after escaping from your bedroom using a bed sheet rope..." J. T. was slightly winded from that sentence, but his resolve was still rather strong. "This is the sort of thing that your parents are afraid you would do, Evee... Just because you're old enough doesn't mean you're able to take care of yourself on your own. I mean, look at me: I'm what... six, seven years older than you? And I'm still barely able to go out in the wild and take care of myself in the wilderness..." he chuckled.
"The point is, Evee, that you think you're ready for this grand adventure for going off on your own... but you're not..." his voice trailed off, letting the words linger in the still early morning air. "Not many people your age are, to be honest. That's why most trainers leave in small groups with friends they trust--they take care of each other, survive with each other, thrive in the wilderness and make sure that they're all OK. Doing what you did--going out on your own without any sort of plan except for 'escape'--is exactly why your parents are afraid to let you go out on your own..."
She was silent for a few minutes after he finished speaking, wiping her eyes on the pokémon's fluff. She still did not bring her face up to meet his gaze, hiccupping slightly as she adjusted her weight. Nothing she said would persuade him she was set about leaving. How was she supposed to win this argument? Maybe winning wasn't the key here. If she could only somehow have him agree that she could journey in the first place...
"Then why can't we go together? You can fend for yourself and if you're around, then I'll be just fine." She hiccuped again and finally peered at him shyly from behind her cottonee. "And if I'm going to learn, then why not bring me?" She asked softly, hoping that he might concede to a different angle.
"And what happens if your parents react by sending police after me because I supposedly kidnapped you?" The intern unfolded his arms and cracked his knuckles, staring off to the side and hoping that someone was not listening in to their conversation that probably should not have been happening at all in the open air. "What if they start a campaign with flyers and advertisements asking 'Have you seen our daughter?' everywhere? They'd think I'm a criminal--" he paused, realizing that he was only making himself more nervous trying to think about that almost inevitable possibility.
"You're not a criminal..." She mumbled, not that her words made much of a difference anyway. "Just take me as far as Viridian. I-I just need to make a phone call." Angelique had said that she was allowed to call and maybe with the woman's endorsement, she'd be safe. "If it doesn't work, then... then I'll go back home without a fuss." She sniffled, looking at the ground again.
"If what doesn't work?" J. T. asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.
"My phone call." She responded, trying not to give specifics. She had a strong feeling that J. T. would be heartily against seeking out Angelique's help, given what happened back at the lab. But she didn't exactly have alternatives at this point and this would buy her some time, at least, to think.
The intern sighed and finally let his arms drop to his sides. "...I guess I see no harm in that..." He took a few steps closer to Evee, crouching down to her eye level once again. "Come on, you coming or am I leaving you behind again?" he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood but not quite sure whether it was successful.
Relief washed over her at his words. She was unable to hold back her excitement and before she could stop herself, the girl shot up and wrapped her arms around J. T.'s torso. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed, unaware that her cottonee had rolled away from her and was currently flailing helplessly in a nearby bush. She blushed with renewed embarrassment and immediately let go of him, looking away quickly. Oops! She had gotten carried away.
"U-Um, sorry!" She said, trying to busy herself by pulling her pokémon out of the bush. So she had gotten herself a few additional hours. Not much to work with but it was more time than she had had before. And maybe... she wouldn't have to return home if everything worked out. She crossed her fingers internally. Hopefully everything would.