I wouldn't normally put author's notes at the top but eh.

I put this on my Tumblr blog awhile ago and kind of neglected to upload it here for some reason. It was a good year and a half ago that a wrote this though so it's a bit dodgy in places but I'll deal with it. I remembered it when I was editing Castle of Shadows this morning and I thought, "Hey, I should put this up so people don't think I'm dead." So I did.

It takes place three years after BW2, from my memory, and it assumes N went into hiding again after he came back when Rosa/Nate defeated Ghetsis entirely. At least, I think that's what my fourteen-year-old brain was implying.

Anyway I hope you enjoy because I always kind of liked the concept I came up with for this even if it was kinda lame ahaha.

-.-.-

Three years… had it really been that long? Since she'd seen him. Since she'd talked to him. Since the downfall of Team Plasma.

Since he'd left.

Every time White checked the date on her Xtranceiver, she'd had to keep convincing herself that that was, in fact, the correct date. For she found that whenever she wasn't staring at it, her mind went wandering and became reluctant to believe that three years had passed.

And for those three years, she hadn't been in Unova. She'd been stepping foot in other places that she never thought she would get a chance to go to. She hadn't talked to her friends. She hadn't contacted her mother. It had just been her and her Pokémon. It was time she'd needed alone. And now she was back, better than ever.

The air felt familiar, and she took a deep breath in, like she'd been deprived of the familiar scent for so long. She had, in a way, but to a normal person the air wouldn't feel any different. To her it did, though.

She was almost nervous to go home. How could she? Would her mother be angry? Sad? Or would she be welcomed home, straight back into the family like she'd never left? White wasn't really sure whether she wanted to find out. After all, she'd barely even said goodbye to her.

And her friends… Cheren and Bianca. She'd kept in touch with them for the first few months of her absence, but after awhile she'd talked to them less and less until their relationship simply died away. Would she be able to resurrect it? Or would it stay in the graveyard?

Honestly, it wasn't really Bianca she was worried about. White knew her enough to know that she'd welcome her with open arms… much too open for her liking. Though for once, she knew she wouldn't mind the choking hug that she would no doubt receive.

But Cheren… that was who White was really worried about. He took things harder than Bianca did, especially when it came to something to do with their friendship. When something came between the two, that was when he really changed. Especially if the thing that came between the two was a boy who White had gone chasing after without warning.

But she hadn't found him. Perhaps she knew she wouldn't find him. Actually, she knew perfectly well that she wouldn't find him. But she'd gone anyway, her stupidly denial self just had to leave in search of him. She hadn't convinced herself until recently that she wouldn't find him. She just couldn't.

And now, she wandered the streets of Nimbasa City, her eyes scanning the bustling people in hopes that she'd be able to hide from her friends for as long as possible. She wasn't even sure where they were, but she figured that, with everything going on there, Nimbasa would be the least likely place she would be found. Until she figured out how she was going to talk to them after not being in contact for so long, anyway.

Of course, though she'd been trying to avoid it for awhile, her gaze kept flickering to the Ferris wheel, the one thing that she couldn't avoid in Nimbasa. It was the main attraction, after all, and it stood tall above everything else. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

"I love Ferris wheels, the circular motions… the mechanics… they're like collections of elegant formulas."

"I am the king of Team Plasma."

"I wonder how many Pokémon there are in this world."

The voice… that stupid voice. Why couldn't she get rid of it? She knew perfectly well why, but she didn't want it there. If she wasn't going to find him, she would have preferred to simply forget, even if she knew that wouldn't happen.

White found her feet taking her there, though she didn't want them to. Why would she want them to? Just looking at the structure made her heart ache, so how could she stand to go close to it?

Before she knew it, she was standing in line. On her own, this time, for there was no one to go on there with her now. Last time… no, she wouldn't think about it.

Though something told her she'd be thinking about it far more than she wanted to.

She found herself at the front of the line, but she wasn't alone. She was standing next to someone. She didn't look at whoever it was. They were insignificant.

"Carriage for two?" the attendant asked, and White was just about to open her mouth to say no when the person next to her answered for her.

"Yes, that seems reasonable."

She growled slightly, not wanting to be forced to talk to anyone, let alone get stuck in a small space with them. But she went with it, and she couldn't help but think that the voice was horridly familiar.

She stepped into the carriage, ignoring her supposed partner, and sat down, not paying any attention to the person next to her. Instead, she pressed her nose to the window, sticking her attention to the outside world rather than the ride.

But she could only do that for so long, because when her acquaintance began speaking, her eyes snapped toward him.

"Well, I may as well introduce myself."

She couldn't look at his eyes. Anything higher than his mouth burned her eyesight.

"My name is N."

No.

No, that wasn't true. She was imagining it. She had to be.

But when she looked up, their eyes met, and she knew that the encounter was much more than her imagination.

And she spoke, too. She wasn't sure she'd be able to, but she knew she had to. Three years… it had been three years too long.

"M-my name is White."

However, she was pretty sure the boy already knew her name.