Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Pokemon franchise and never will. This is a story I just wrote for fun because I'm a fan of Pokemon.

Also, I don't own the song "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift, which this story is based on.

A/N: So, like Back to December, I wrote this months ago, but I spent a lot of time editing it. I believe it turned out pretty well.

I'm afraid that Cheren might seem out-of-character. I mean, at least I didn't capture him with an "evil ex-boyfriend that broke up with the main female character in the worst possible way" attitude. But he just feels too... passive, in my opinion. :/

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story! :D

Note: I recommend listening to the song "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift before (and maybe while) reading.

Begin Again

"Bianca," Cheren said with a sigh, "I need to tell you something."

I faced him, trying to look into his eyes, but his face remained turned away from me, his blue eyes downcast. "What is it?"

"I..." He hesitated, and then he slowly directed his sad eyes up to meet mine. "I think we're better off being just friends."

I gasped, an ache striking my chest as if my heart had literally shattered into a million pieces. "W-what? Why...?"

He sighed. "The way I see it... we're just too different. You're a lot more... outgoing than I am. Your personality is really bright and bubbly..." He trailed off; he pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, lowering his head again. "I'm really sorry, Bianca."

He rose to his feet, making his way toward the front door. Eyes wide, I merely sat there on the couch. It was tough for me to grasp that he had just ended our three-month-long relationship in a blink of an eye—I always believed breaking up involved a huge argument and therefore took longer. Is this real? I wondered. Am I dreaming?

I took me only a moment to conclude that I wasn't. The emotions I felt—the pain in my chest, the confusion that scrambled my thoughts, the churning feeling in my stomach—were as real as could be.

Because I wasn't looking at Cheren, I only heard the door creak open.

"I'll... see you later," he said softly.

The moment the door closed, the waterworks began. My hands instinctively grabbed the throw pillow beside me; I buried my face in the soft fabric, allowing it to soak up my tears.

Before then, I had only seen the aftermath of break-ups in movies. Now, I had felt it for myself. The hurt, the sudden emptiness, the knowing that something special to me was gone... I hated that feeling, and there was only one way that I could prevent myself from being thrown into that mix of unpleasant emotions in the future.

I'll never love again.

Eight months later...

"The meeting place will be the Warehouse Café in Nacrene City," Professor Juniper informed me through my Crosstransceiver. "I'll meet you, Hilda, and Hilbert there in half an hour." She smiled warmly, cocking her head and adding, "Got it?"

I returned a small smile, nodding. "Yes, Professor Juniper! I'll see you there."

"Great! Thanks, Bianca! Well, I'll see you then." With a wink and a wave, the professor's image on the device's small screen flickered to black.

Grabbing my hairbrush from my dresser, I walked to the full-length mirror, examining my reflection as I touched up my light blonde hair. Once I was satisfied with it, I set down the brush and exchanged it for my favorite light green beret with a white stripe, which I then pulled over my head.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced over my appearance in the mirror one last time. Because the meeting with Professor Juniper was to discuss Pokemon evolution, I decided that it would be appropriate to add a few sophisticated touches to my attire. Other than my beret, I had dressed myself in a white blouse, an orange blazer, a light green skirt that reached my mid-calf, and a pair of three-inch orange heels.

My eyes paused on my shoes. Now that I thought about it, the feeling of wearing high heels was... unfamiliar. Not only did they look odd on my feet, but they also felt uncomfortable. The insides felt tight and rubbed my skin, and the arches of my feet ached from being forced to bend at an unnatural angle.

I then realized why they felt so strange: Because I hadn't worn heels in over a year.

"Bianca... why are you wearing heels?" Cheren asked me when I met up with him on our first date. He grimaced down at the green and white three-inch heels that I wore on my feet.

Puzzled, I glanced down at my feet. "Um, because... I like to wear heels. Why? Do you not like them?" I looked back up at him sadly, hoping to trigger his fear of disappointing me with a negative answer.

It didn't work.

"Honestly, I don't," he answered simply, shaking his head. "I don't like when women wear high heels. I find it to look... cheap. And trashy."

I gulped. I thought I had gotten over that...

However, I managed to quickly shrug off the sadness. Who cares? I told myself. I like wearing heels, and that's all that matters, right?

"Bianca!"

The first person I laid eyes upon when I entered Nacrene City's Warehouse Café was the last person I expected to see.

My childhood friend, Hilbert, was seated at a table on the other side of the room. Having shouted my named across the peaceful café, he had about twenty other pairs of eyes—mostly glares—directed at him. But, of course, he didn't care; he simply ignored everyone else and continued to smile and wave at me.

As I anxiously made my way across the room, I considered how surprising it was that Hilbert was so early—ten minutes, to be exact—to the meeting. When it came to being prompt, he was definitely not the best. For as long as I had known him, he was never on time to anything. Even on the day he started his Pokemon journey, he was half an hour late to Professor Juniper's lab.

I smiled as I approached the table. "Hi, Hilbert! I'm surprised to see you here so early."

He shrugged, chuckling. "Yeah... Well, I was training in Pinwheel Forest when Professor Juniper called and reminded me about the meeting, so I just headed straight here."

I giggled as well, reaching for one of the chairs. I had barely touched it when Hilbert suddenly jumped up, grabbing it. Surprised, I flinched away; then I realized he was only pulling it away from the table for me.

"Here," he said with a soft smile, "let me get that for you."

"Thank you, Hilbert." Blushing, I sat down in the chair, and he returned to his.

"No problem."

He's so sweet. And polite. Cheren wasn't like that at all. Thinking back to my relationship with Cheren, it dawned on my that he never once pulled my chair out for me. Not that he was a bad boyfriend or anything, but he would always say, when asked why he didn't do things like that for me, "I don't feel like I need to. She's able to do it herself, right?"

"So," Hilbert said, breaking me free of the unpleasant past, "how was your day?"

I gulped. Suddenly, I was finding it difficult to look directly into his brown eyes. Those deep, glimmering, gorgeous— "It was pretty good," I replied. "H-how about yours?"

"It was pretty cool. The funniest thing happened while I was training earlier! You wanna hear about it?"

I nodded; as he rambled on about the funny event—something about a Purrloin and Lillipup, I believe—I gazed at his face as his smiling lips moved, the movements of his hands emphasizing his words. And as I did so, I felt a smile tugging at the edges of my mouth, my face heating up, and my mind saying, He's so cute.

Then I slapped myself mentally. What am I thinking?! I shouldn't think of Hilbert like that! He's my friend, and I don't want him to be anything more. Besides, I'm not going to fall in love again. Not after how things turned out with Cheren...

"Bianca."

I started at the sound of Hilbert's voice. "H-huh?"

"Are you okay?" He tilted his head, concern in his brown eyes. "I've never seen you so quiet. It's... weird."

Growing anxious, I giggled, waving my hand. "Oh, I just have a lot on my mind. I'm fine, really!"

No, I'm not fine, I told myself. I'm afraid of falling in love again...

It was dark by the time the meeting was over.

"Thank you guys so much for showing up today!" Professor Juniper said to me, Hilbert, and Hilda—Hilbert's cousin as well as another childhood friend of mine. She flashed her signature beam at us.

"No problem!" Hilbert replied, returning a grin and a thumbs-up sign.

"So, you guys want to walk back to Nuvema Town together?" I asked.

Professor Juniper shook her head. "No, actually, I'm going to stick around the city. I'm going to help Lenora and Hawes with something at the museum."

"And I'm going with her," Hilda added cheerfully. "You know, in case my help is needed!" Her happiness quickly transitioned to worry when she turned to me. "Are you going to be okay walking home on your own, Bianca?"

"She won't be alone," Hilbert said, and he threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his side. I could feel my face heating up. "I'm going back to Nuvema Town, too, so I'll go with her to make sure she gets home safe and sound." Flashing me a grin, he added, "Right?"

I giggled nervously. "R-right..."

Hilda rolled her blue eyes. "It's not very reassuring, knowing you're walking home with her..."

"Oh, shut up!"

Professor Juniper laughed. "That's very sweet of you, Hilbert! Thank you for keeping Bianca safe. Be careful on your way home, you two!"

"We will!" I replied, waving slightly. "See you later!"

"See ya!" the professor and Hilda said in unison, and we went our separate ways down the streets of Nacrene City.

The walk home was very uncomfortable; Hilbert hadn't removed his arm from around my shoulders, even when we reached Route 3. I desperately wanted to get home, but unfortunately, we weren't even halfway to Nuvema Town yet...

"To be honest," Hilbert sighed, breaking the silence of the night, "that meeting was boring."

"What? How was it boring? I thought it was interesting."

He shrugged. "It was pointless. I mean, we already know that Pokemon evolve, but do we need to know how they evolve? Why can't we just say, 'Oh, cool, it evolved,' and leave it at that? Knowing how isn't necessary."

I rolled his eyes. While I understood his viewpoint, I wished he would've realized that knowing how evolution in Pokemon functions could be cool, too. "Wow. You are really nothing like..."

Cheren.

I bit my lower lip, stopping myself from bringing it up.

We were silent as we continued down the dirt path, the lights and buildings of Striaton City starting to loom over the horizon. I swore I could feel Hilbert waiting for me to complete my sentence.

"You know," he said, changing the subject, "Christmas is coming up soon."

"Oh. Yeah, it is." The mere mention of my favorite holiday filled me with warmth, replacing my sorrow. Forget about Cheren, I told myself. It was eight months ago.

"Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with my family. Even Hilda." He chuckled. "It's, like, the one day she doesn't seem so annoying. Anyway, my family has a tradition where each person picks out their favorite Christmas movie, and we all watch them together."

"That's great. What is your favorite?"

"Elf. Will Ferrel is hilarious."

I giggled. That's funny. I've known Hilbert for so long, yet that's something I never knew about him... "That's one of my favorites, too! I love the part when he's trying to go up the escalator."

He chuckled. "I love that part, too!"

"Yeah. It reminds me of myself when I try to go up escalators..."

Immediately, he cracked up laughing. He stopped walking, forcing me to stop as well; he gripped his abdomen with his free arm, his head thrown back. "I-I can totally see you doing that!" he gasped between laughs.

As if his laughter was a contagious disease, I began to giggle. He actually found that funny...?

I loved the way his actions seemed so child-like and carefree. It was like I could be the same way when I was with him, and not have to worry about being judged.

"Thank you so much for walking me home, Hilbert."

Hilbert grinned at me. I was growing to love that smile. "No problem. I'll see you later."

"See ya," I replied, waving to him as he strode away down the dirt streets of Nuvema Town. Once I saw him gradually disappear into the night, I entered my house. I closed the door; leaning my back against it, I slid down to the floor with a sigh.

My face still felt hot. The images I saw of Hilbert throughout the night—his face remaining happy despite the dirty looks that were shot at him when he shouted my name across the Warehouse Café, his sweet smile when he pulled out my chair for me, his enthusiastic way of telling his stories, his contagious laughter...

I sighed again, running my hands over my flushed face. He's so cute... and sweet... and funny... I slammed the back of my head into the wooden door. The pain in my skull silenced my thoughts, but it didn't do anything to stop the warm feeling in my heart. This feeling was familiar. I had felt it before, shortly before Cheren and I began dating...

That can't happen. I recalled the night eight months ago, when I made that vow to not fall in love again. Cheren had broken up with me, and it took months for the emotional scar it left behind to fade away...

But I had gotten over that—I had put the past behind me as I was talking to Hilbert. Clearly, the feelings that were growing for Hilbert were strong; I wouldn't know what those feelings could become if I didn't take a chance.

Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my Crosstransceiver. Here goes nothing... I pressed the contact on the screen, waiting patiently. Then Hilbert's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Bianca?" he said, his expression painted with concern. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

I giggled anxiously, trying to not look upset. "No, no! I'm great! I just—I was just wondering... Would you like to go out sometime...?"

He blinked. "You mean... like, on a date?"

My vocal confirmation clogged in my throat, so I nodded. This was a stupid idea. He's going to turn me down...

After a moment, he grinned. "Yeah! I'd love to!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really! How about at the café in Castelia City tomorrow night?"

My heart hammered in my chest. I swallowed. "T-that'd be great."

"Great. So... I'll see you then, okay?"

"Alright. Thanks, Hilbert..." Before I could manage a smile, his image flashed and the screen went black. I sighed, the warmth in my chest radiating to the point where it actually hurt. I'm beginning to fall in love again. I'm taking a huge risk...

But it was such an amazing feeling.

The End

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! :)

~Hayley

Note: Please refer to the notice on my profile before reviewing.