"What do you think your Pokemon do when you're not watching?" spoke a voice full of snark. It was curious enough, but it seemed like a baited question.

She didn't want to answer. All things considered, she didn't even want to talk to him. Just over and over again he kept coming back, just kept getting in her way with his arrogance and pomp. She marched on, walking a little faster.

"Not even going to answer, huh, May?" there was an agitated huff. "That's fine, I see you don't want me to grace you with your company today. Why are you so crabby lately?"

She had been walking ahead, just trying to ford her way through the forest. She stopped abrutly and turned around, her brown hair flipping over her shoulders. "Look, Brendan. After what you pulled at the falls, I don't even want to say I know you," May wore a pained scowl, "And right now you're doing exactly what you always do. I'm just trying to train without you belittling or objectifying me. Please!" She turned on her heel and continued on down the path.

"Zesty." Brendan smirked pertly.

May grit her teeth. As much as she pushed away he would just keep wiggling his way back into life. She knew so long as she was a trainer she would risk having to deal with him wherever she went.

"Where are you going, anyways?" Brendan questioned.

She just furrowed her brows. "Why does it matter? You can't possibly need to go this way, you haven't even gotten that last badge."

He feigned a worried look, "'Cause I care and I worry about the path you're walking down. Besides, I want to know what you're up to. I mean, I got all the time I want to get my badges since I'm super quick."

May slowed her pace a little. "I'm just… Trying to see some sights, okay? I'd like to see them alone."

"Are those sights that sharp scientist guy? You know I'm a way better sight, right?" He reached out to grab her arm.

She was frustrated already, and now she was nervous. Her senses heightened as he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. Her heart started to pound in such close proximity to him, her sight became fuzzy. "Knock it off, Brendan."

"C'mon, May~, we can see the sights together. Wouldn't you like that? We could have so much fun." The look in his eyes looked almost predatory. He already had her between him and a tree, with prickly bushes on either side. May shifted her sights to each side trying to find a way out.

"Please, Brendan, stop." She held her hands up in defense to keep him away from getting closer.

A smile spread across his face, casting a shadow on his eyes, "I like hearing you say my name."

May sidled to her right, trying to get away from him. The shrubs came up to her waist and wouldn't make it easy without scraping herself pretty badly. Today, she wished greatly that she had worn pants.

Another arm came from her other side to block her. He pulled her in, but she kept her arms up to keep him at least a foot away. She kept her distance, though his arms had gotten around to the backs of her shoulders, but she didn't know how long she could keep him away. She was lithe and nimble, but he was much more athletic than she was.

"So tell me about the sights we're going to see, May. I'm sure you- I mean they'll be lovely."

She shook her head. "I need to go, Brendan." She attempted to duck under his arms to slip around him, but he kept firm leverage under her arm. This time he pulled her up and shoved her against the tree, using his own body as force.

"Awww, please, not so fast. We can't go yet, we're just getting to know each other a little better." Brendan made a pleading face.

May looked off down the route. Her heart was pounding as she desperately looked for a way out. They couldn't have been too far from town… Maybe someone might hear the commotion. In a feeble attempt, she shouted louder at him, "Stop, Brendan! Don't do this!"

Brendan leveraged her against the tree so he could stroke the side of her face with his right hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. Everything's gonna be fine, alright?"

May tried to use her speed to her advantage. She went lax for a second, just enough for him to loosen his grip, before shoving him off with her whole body and trying to push away from the tree. She managed to get around to his side, but he was just too strong and held onto her arms. She wasn't able to shake him, but now he outwardly fought to keep her in his grasp.

There was something they hadn't noticed in the few moments of their scuffle. It wasn't until Brendan's head dropped down a little, his hat shifting to the side of his head, the force of someone's elbow making quick work of his grasp on May. It startled her just as much as she jumped away several feet and looked on.

A gruff voice rang out, "Whatever it is you're doing stops now, you damn prick." May's vision swam, the adrenaline pumping in her veins. She was tempted to just start running away from everything that was happening.

"Who the fuck—" Brendan started before being shoved to the ground face first.

May looked up from Brendan's prone form, glancing toward the speaker. She took a split second to recognize the red-haired figure. His glasses slid as he stepped back a few paces, pushing them back up with both hands, looking over towards her. "May— Is that you? Is this your friend?"

In her shock, she took a moment to account for the situation. Brendan was still on the ground, but turning over. There were three people dressed in red and black, standing not far from him.

"M-Maxie, what are you doing here?" She stammered. Her brown hair was tousled in the struggle, clothes slightly disheveled. She tried her best to hide the fact that she was shaking.

He waved his hand over at the two slightly shorter, red-hooded figures. "They heard a commotion so we came to check. Rustboro is only around the corner there."

Brendan had turned over and started to get leverage to lift himself up. "What's your problem, asshole? This isn't about you."

Maxie had swiftly moved to push his palm into Brendan's chest, pressing him against the tree. He was taller than Brendan, wider shouldered and framed with a curtain of red hair. "Apparently this isn't about you, either. Doing something that would cause someone to yell for help sure seems like you're trying to hurt someone or stir up trouble."

"Whatever, she's just overreacting, I wasn't going to do anything to her." He rolled his pert blue eyes at Maxie, the snarky smirk at one corner of his mouth.

"Overreacting or not, if I see you trying to cause trouble again I will put you in the ground." Maxie's eyes went very dark, his other hand grasping at Brendan's throat before letting go. He pushed away and strolled over to May. "Come with us back to town, May. I'm sure you could use a drink."

May bowed deeply. She was scared and there were tears at the edges of her eyes, but she was determined not to break down in front of Brendan or Team Magma. She sniffed slightly and quickly walked, trying to put some distance between her and the other trainer.

May, Maxie, and the two trainers from Team Magma briskly moved down the path. Maxie leaned over to her and grasped her shoulder gently as they walked. She was very visibly distressed, her eyes red and a little wet. She looked up, his glasses sliding down a little bit as he looked into her blue eyes. He tried his best to comfort her at a distance. "Hey, everything's going to be okay."

May sniffed. She didn't like Brendan to begin with, even when she met him in Littleroot. She didn't understand how anyone could like him and his cocky attitude or why he had to be so mean to her. "I know. Thank you for coming to get me, I'm not sure what he would've done."

"You don't have to think about that. Come on, we'll buy you lunch."