As Vincent rested, his unsettled thoughts continued to disturb him. He remembered the one Pokemon he had wished to forget for so long; the one Pokemon he had grown so fond of.

His childhood crush, Ruby.

She was a Zorua, just like him, and their parents were good friends. As a result, Vincent and Ruby spent a lot of time together.

As the Zoroark laid motionless, the memories of his former friend slowly came back to him.

Many of his memories were of their childhood, playing, talking and laughing together. Such memories were ones that Vincent was both happy and sad to think about.

Other memories would haunt Vincent forever. He could remember one fateful day as if it had happened the day before.

Ruby was looking for her friend, who was hiding in bush and trying his best not to laugh. As the female Zorua got close enough, he prepared to surprise her. Suddenly, the young male tackled his friend, who was clearly surprised by the sudden move, to the ground before laughing along with her.

"Did I surprise you?"
Vincent asked.
"Just a little."
Ruby replied. The two then stood up.
"What should we do now?"
Ruby asked.
"Oh, I know!"
Vincent suddenly declared.

Before he could make a suggestion, the two Zorua heard shouting from Ruby's house. Vincent's parents suddenly burst out, looking very angry. After shouting some rather colourful words from the doorway, they slammed the door and stormed down the street, toward their own home. On the way, they demanded that Vincent went with them.

"Vincent, head inside. Go on."
Vincent was disappointed.
"But I was just-"
Vincent's plea was interrupted.
"Inside, Vincent! Now!"
His mother shouted.

Vincent didn't need to hear a third request. He didn't want to go, but was worried what would happen if he didn't.

"You too, Ruby. In the house!"
Another Zoroark shouted from Ruby's house, staring daggers at Vincent's parents down the street. Both awkwardly said goodbye before leaving for their respective homes.

To this day, Vincent had never known what had broken the good relations between his and Ruby's parents.

They never talked about it, and Vincent wasn't allowed to see Ruby anymore. Every time he asked, he would get the same response, with more anger in his parents' voice each time.
"We won't involve ourselves with that family in any way ever again."
All Vincent knew was that something had happened to divide the families, and whatever it was meant that Ruby was no longer going to be a part of his life. By no fault of his own.

At least, that was what his parents thought.

Vincent would frequently disobey his parents and sneak out of the house to see Ruby. She would do the same. Vincent remembered being caught one time; he wasn't allowed out of his parents' sight for the next month. That didn't stop him, however. As soon as the month passed, he tried again. Such shenanigans continued throughout Vincent's childhood, but he didn't care. His parents didn't understand the damage they had caused to him and Ruby, and he wouldn't let them stop him from seeing her.

Things got more complicated once he evolved. He and Ruby had grown closer, despite their families growing more distant. Being larger in size made it harder to avoid detection from his parents, who could see through his illusions. As a result, his surreptitious episodes were less frequent, which meant seeing Ruby less often.

There was one memory of all that haunted Vincent more than any other...

The day he saw Ruby for the very last time.

She held him tightly, crying into his chest fur. She had just broken the news to him.

She was moving.

"I'm going to miss you so much..."
Ruby said quietly.
"I'll miss you too. We've had a lot of good times together."
That was true. So many in fact Vincent had trouble recalling all of them.
"You have to be strong. Maybe you'll be able to move on."
Vincent had suggested. If he could go back, he wouldn't have said that. Years on, he was still thinking about her.
"I... I don't know if I can. But I'll try, for you. Will you do something for me, before I have to go?"
Vincent nodded.
"Anything. I'll do it."
Ruby pulled him closer to her, so their noses were almost touching. She then kissed him passionately, as if he was the last male she would ever see. Vincent couldn't describe how he felt in that moment. It was the scrambled mess of emotions he felt in that moment that kept him up at night. He was almost paralysed; he couldn't do anything aside from close his eyes and wrap his arms around the female. She was so light, Vincent could have swept her off of her feet right there and then, but for reasons he didn't understand, he didn't. He instead embraced her and did nothing more. Her soft fur and captivating sapphire gaze still haunted his dreams. And the kiss that she very suddenly pulled him into... he would forever be scarred by such an action.

After a few seconds, the two separated.
"Thank you..."
Ruby shyly muttered, nuzzling Vincent one last time before disappearing back toward her home. Vincent was shocked and afraid. He hadn't been able to tell her how he felt, and now he feared he would never get the chance.

That was what he had told Ricky about on the night he and Blaze had... planned to be alone. It was ironic that Vincent had such a topic on his mind at such an inconvenient time. Nevertheless, Vincent had never been able to shake Ruby from his mind, and he trusted Ricky with the secret even his family didn't know.

After Ruby and her family moved, Vincent was ready to give his parents a piece of his mind. He had been innocent in that fateful argument, yet he had paid the price. After a loud argument with his parents the night Ruby moved, he made the announcement.
"That's it!"
Vincent snapped.
"I'm moving out!"
Vincent's mother was shocked, but his father wasn't as much.
"Good! We don't want you here anyway!"
Vincent's mother had tried to defuse the situation, to no avail. Vincent had taken his possessions and left, not seeing his parents again. To this day, he hadn't seen or contacted them again. He didn't want to either. Like Ricky, he didn't have a whole lot to look back at with his family. Such thoughts only left Vincent distraught and alone. He couldn't take it anymore. He had bottled up his emotions for too long. He felt like he was going to... like he was going to-

"Vincent! Wake up!"
Blaze called by Ricky's bedside. Vincent sat bolt upright, tears streaming down his face. He noticed Ricky and Ryan in the room too. He didn't want them to see him like this.

So he ran. He bolted for the door, running Ryan over on the way past him. As Ryan lay against a wall, a paw on his head and groaning in pain, Ricky and Blaze were left to ponder over the big question, although Ricky had a pretty good guess as to what the answer was.

"What's wrong with Vincent?"

A bit of a sad chapter this time. You never would've known Vincent had a lost love. He was always so... calm and in control. Some things will surprise you though.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to vote, comment...
and celebrate! This story just hit 12k reads! Thank you guys so much- it wouldn't be possible without you. Let's get to 15k really soon. Thank you all again, and see you in the next chapter!