#nemojuli

   They shook firmly on it. Nemona’s hand was tough, she had a good grip and she wasn’t afraid to show it. Juliana relished the crush, honestly, the way it made her fingers tingle and her heart flutter.

   These matches were always the highlight of Juliana’s week. Since becoming Champions, and resolving the mysteries of Area Zero, she and Nemona had vowed to go at it at least once a week to stay in tip-top shape. Just because they were the best of the best did not mean they could rest on their laurels. 

   Since beginning this tradition, today’s battle had indeed been a cracker. The weather was perfect: it was mild and balmy, with warm sunshine and cool shadows in the shade of trees or buildings. Mesagoza bustled with all kinds of people, showboats and students, tradespersons and salarymen. It made for quite the spectacle for everyone, young and old, to see Juliana and Nemona go back and forth with nothing held back and only their greatest partner Pokemon. It got the blood pumping and the heart going.

   Another bounce of their hands in the shake, they pulled back and Nemona’s stomach growled.

   She recoiled back, embarrassed, put her hands up, “Ack,” she exclaimed, “looks like it's time for lunch.”

   “Do you want to grab something with me then?” Juliana asked. “I’m a bit peckish myself. It’ll be my treat, anything you want.”

   “Eh? Really?” Nemona asked.

   “Yes, of course.” Juliana replied with a bright smile.

   Nemona smiled, giddy. She held her chin in thought and tapped her foot as she weighed her options and dug deep for what would best satisfy her cravings. Juliana would be happy with anything. She loved her carbs and she loved whatever she could pile on them: sandwiches were by far her favourite thing to have for lunch and she would eat them every day.

   Everything from sweet concoctions with jam and cream, marshmallows to anything overloaded with salad and veggies. She liked tofu and salt and pepper. Her mouth watered just thinking about some of her unusual creations when Nemona finally made up her mind.

   She snapped her fingers and grinned, “I’m in the mood for a cheese pizza!”

   Well, that was good, too. Who didn’t like pizza?

   Juliana was totally in. So long as she could go as maximalist as possible versus the humble cheese pizza.

   With their lunch menu decided, they found the nearest restaurant which served up the iconic slice and got comfortable in one of the booths. It was rustic with woody architecture and an evocation of Unova in style and furnishing. Mature, at least by the standards of a pair of fourteen year olds.

   They sat on a pleather booth, underneath criss-crossed wooden beams supported by metal plates and strings of fairy lights and triangles of plasticky bunting. They sat at a huge, thick table which had a laminate covering atop of it and a bounty of the usual decor: salt and pepper shakers, serviettes, and a pair of menus, one for food and another for drinks.

   All in all, the restaurant had a rather groovy vibe and it smelt mouthwateringly good in here, too. They got comfortable and snuggly on the seating and Nemona twiddled her thumbs whilst Juliana actually studied the menu she picked up.

   “Okay, so you know what you want but what do I want…?” Juliana mumbled as she perused the menu.

   Her eyes scanned here, there, and everywhere down the page of pizza pies. She looked for anything with a minimum of three lines worth of toppings. Money was no object when it came to the bottomless pit which was her stomach. She soon chose some kind of tricked out supreme which was full to the brim with sundried tomatoes, jalapenos, pineapple, onions, capsicum, basil, and more. 

   A waitress swung by when it seemed like they were ready and they made their orders. They got a pizza each and then some drinks: a sparkling lemonade for Nemona and a cola for Juliana. The drinks came out shortly but the pizzas took a little longer.

   The two filled in the time easily enough with small talk and strategising. They gushed to each other about how brilliant the other’s Pokemon had been during this morning’s battle. The fight had been fierce and there was much to dissect about how they could both get better. Neither had a shortage of ideas or passion when it came to Pokemon training and battling.

   Thanks to that, it felt like their food came out in the blink of an eye.

   Nemona's eyes lit up as she was served her pizza on a wooden board. They had plates to use to divvy up between them and she looked overjoyed by the sight of her food. She picked it up and took a bite.

   “Mm, so yummy, so cheesy…” Nemona all but moaned as she wolfed down the first slice.

   Juliana watched and it only appetised her more. Both pizzas were cooked to perfection: golden cheese over herby tomato sauce that was thick and luscious, thin, flat bread underneath which was brown and crisp. This place got nothing less than five stars on looks alone and the fragrance of oil meeting the aforementioned hers, oh, it was delicious.

   Yet Juliana made no lunge for her slices like Nemona did, she was onto her second slice when, instead, Juliana had something else on her mind.

   “Let’s get a commemorative photo.” Juliana suggested. Her tone was uppity and almost announcement-like.

   Nemona hesitated as her face darkened with a scant embarrassment, “Aw, now why would you want to go and do that?” she asked whilst she fiddled with the metal straw that came with her tall glass of sparkling lemonade. “Our food will get cold if we take too long.”

   She sounded like she was making excuses, however.

   “Because I want to remember this.” Juliana said. “I want to make it a page in my scrapbook. It’s full of precious memories of the Treasure Hunt and more. Your more than just my best friend Nemona, your my rival and…”

   Juliana’s voice trailed off. Her heart thumped in her chest. She almost let slip something a little too terrifying and a little too intimidating for Nemona to know.

   And Nemona noticed. She blinked. Her huge, amber eyes bore into Juliana who blustered.

   “I mean, if you don’t want to, you don’t want to!” Juliana attempted to backtrack. 

   “Well, if you put it like that…” Nemona murmured and she set down her drink. “I’d love to. I’m really glad that we have this bond, Juliana. I would be honoured to be another page in your scrapbook, that sounds really cool, actually. You have so many hobbies and interests, it’s what makes you so interesting. I’m just battle, battle, battle, and you’re just go, go, go.” Nenoma laughed.

   But it was a self deprecating laugh that Juliana didn’t like one bit.

   She reached out across the table, she smiled sympathetic as she covered Nemona’s hand with her own.

   “And there’s nothing wrong with that either. You know what you like, I have to try everything to be sure. Besides, it's our differences that enrich our lives. Or something.” Juliana replied.

   “Thanks, Juliana.” Nemona replied. She perked up, went back to her full throttle thunderbolting self. “C’mon, let’s take that commemorative photo.”

   “Thanks.” Juliana squealed thankfully.

   She whipped out her phone and they posed with the pizza and the table. She sat up so she had her back to Nemona but Nemona was posed so that it looked like, from a trick of forced perspective, was right next to Juliana rather than across the table. Their pizzas were in the middle, still wafting steam from being fresh from the wood fired oven. 

   It couldn’t have been more perfect and photogenic, with moody lighting and fun abound. As a result, the composition was eclectic and quirky. Just like them. Nemona lifted up a slice of pizza and let the cheese go as stringy as possible between her and the slice. Juliana laughed as she grinned.

   “Say cheese!” she jeered.

   “Cheeeeeese.” Nemona dragged out the word with her mouth kind of full.

   Juliana snapped picture after picture. She couldn’t have been happier as she got an array for future use in her scrapbook. She returned to her book and turned off her phone.

   “Thanks for humouring me,” Juliana said, “alrighty, time to eat.”

   “Dig in and enjoy,” Nemona cheered her, “it's scrumptious!”

   Juliana couldn’t agree more whilst she finally got to start on her first slice. They must have used at least three different kinds of cheese in these pizzas, it was so thick and gooey yet golden and crisp, the variation was all melted and melded together. She couldn’t get enough of it – and to say nothing of the freshness of the other toppings added. It was all so crisp and wondrous.

   If Nemona hadn’t already demolished half of her margarita, Juliana would say she was missing out on the true extent of a wide and diverse flavour profile. Still, so long as she was happy with her choice, that’s what mattered most to Juliana. Even if she worried it would be corny to say out loud.

   Nemona was her best friend. She was her rival. She was her crush, too.

   From the on set of meeting her, Nemona was larger than life and brash, a grin from ear to ear and had wind tousled hair. She was strong and Juliana admired that: she only got stronger because she wanted to be able to overcome the insurmountable force of nature which was Nemona and her team of lovingly reared Pokemon. She was the standard by which Juliana measured her own efforts and passion.