"Where are you headed after this Drew?" May questioned as they stood by the fence, overlooking the sea. I knew May was struggling; she didn't know where she was headed next.

"I'm off to the Johto region to enter the grand festival there," Drew replied. As always, he was sure of himself, never seeming to have any doubts. I guess that was one of the things I respected about Drew and Soledad; they always seemed so stable while the rest of us seemed to be stumbling.

"Oh," May answered with a sigh. May was a sweet girl, but she was a little too dense and young to be a successful coordinator. She did have a beautiful relationship with her Pokémon though. I'm sure in a few years she'd be amazing.

"Harley and Solidad are headed there too," Drew said, as if to hint to May that maybe that's where she should be headed too. Solidad, now she would be a nice challenge. But Harley… that guy still freaked me out.

"Looks like we're all going to be one happy family in the Johto region now aren't we?" I said as I walked up, laughing. My grand festival outfit was now replaced with a more casual party attire, black shorts with a flowly shirt. Even though Solidad had just won the grand festival, the two weren't hanging out at the party. I was lucky I had been able to find them here.

"Amber, what are you doing here?" Drew asked as they both turned around.

"I thought I'd say goodbye to you two before I leave for the Hoenn region to visit my family. Plus, you have a habit of disappearing before I get a chance to say goodbye," I explained, pointing at Drew. "After that, I'm off to the Johto region to kick your asses in contests."

"As if," Drew said, rolling his eyes.

"Ash is going to the Sinnoh region," May replied with another sigh.

"Maybe it's time for your brother to return home and for you to go out on your own," I suggested to her as I walked up and leaned on the fence, looking out at the ocean. "Wow, that rhymed," I said as an afterthought, giggling.

"Maybe," May whispered. "It's such a hard decision to make."

"Well, give it some time to think over. Go home, visit your family. Then make a decision and stick with it. Don't overthink it too much," I advised. "I have the problem of not thinking things over enough and making really reckless decisions. Those are normally the most memorable though."

"That's because you're a crazy person who loves to gets herself in the most dangerous situations and laughs about it later," Drew explained with a smirk.

"Be quiet you smartass," I demanded, pointing my finger at him again. While we were playfully arguing, we didn't even notice May walking away from us.

"Okay, I'll think about it," May said before waving goodbye and running off back towards the party. "Bye you two!"

"Sorry I interrupted your romance time with May," I told Drew once she was gone.

"Don't even say that!" Drew cried out, shaking his head. "May has a thing for that Ash kid anyways."

"Hey!" I interrupted, laughing. "That Ash kid has been my friend and rival since I was ten. He is a little stupid though. I guess they would work well together." I thought back to those times years ago when I had traveled as a trainer with Ash and Gary. It seemed like so long ago; I felt like a completely different person now.

"Plus, I have a crush on another girl," Drew admitted, recapturing my short attention span. What a surprise, Drew had a little crush, how cute. Hopefully it wasn't on one of his creepy little fangirls.

"Solidad?" I guessed randomly.

"No way! She's old!" Drew answered.

"That one girl… Brianna?" I was scrambling at this point. Drew didn't really talk to a lot of girls.

"Ewww that's worse than May!" Drew said.

I had to admit, Drew was pretty adorable when he was frustrated, which was a situation I hardly ever was able to successfully put him in. More often he was the one who frustrated me.

"Well, then who? Please tell me it's not on one of your little followers," I questioned as my Skitty, Cherry, jumped out of my hands, jumping up onto my shoulder and then resting on my head. Cherry loved to mess up my red-brown hair that fell a little ways past my shoulders. Whenever she jumped up on my head, she made my bangs fall into my face, causing me to be unable to see. She found it hilarious when I walked into things or crashed into random people.

"No, it's not one of them. Doesn't matter anyways," Drew replied as he turned and started walking away. "See you in the Johto region Amber." There he goes again, leaving when he didn't want to talk about something anymore. That is one thing I can't stand about him.

"Wait, Drew!" I called out, turning around. Well, now or never, right?

"What?" he asked, confused.

"When was the last time you went home to see your parents?" I questioned, hoping this conversation would go well. More than likely it wouldn't. If anything I could always jump over this fence here and make a run for it…

"Not for a couple of years," Drew admitted, but then looked up at me. "Why?"

"Don't you think you should go home and see them before you leave for Johto for a year?" I asked, trying not to be nosey. I knew Drew didn't have the best relationship with his parents. I felt like I was the counselor for all my friends; I was always trying to help them solve their problems. Even if they didn't know that they had a problem.

"Nope," he answered, but didn't walk away.

"You should. You may not realize it, but I'd bet that your parents miss you," I told him, still waiting for any kind of reaction.

"What if I don't want to see them?" he asked with a smirk.

"It would only be for a couple of days, it couldn't be that bad," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Plus, these are the people that raised you and are paying for your journey. You should visit every couple of years."

Drew paused, thinking it over.

"You grew up in Lilycove City didn't you?" I asked, and he nodded. "My parent's home is back to Fortree City, which is pretty close. It's only three days walk from Lilycove, or even quicker with an overnight train ride. My boat is going straight to Fortree from here, and when I leave to go to Johto, it leaves from Lilycove," I paused. "If you'd like, you could come with me, and then while we're there, we can visit our families and then head to Johto on the same boat."

"Why are you doing this?" he questioned, not looking at me.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but I think visiting your parents is something you need to do," I told him. Time to grow up Drew and stop being such a child.

"You overheard my mom before the Grand Festival didn't you?" Drew asked as he walked back over to the fence, leaning on it as he looked at the sea, avoiding my eyes.

"I didn't want to bring it up," I admitted with a sigh. Before the grand festival had started Drew and his mother had a nasty fight over a video call. I hate to admit that I had overheard the entire thing.

"I'm afraid to go back there. My parents hate the idea of me traveling; they want me to run the business like my brothers. If I go back they might not let me leave again," Drew confessed. We were seventeen now and had been adventuring for years. I could see how his parents would think his play time was over.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to; I just thought I'd offer. That's what friends are for, right?" I replied to him, smiling. "I'll let you think about it. My boat leaves in two days," I reached up, grabbing Cherry off my head. Holding her in my arms, I nodded in his direction, and walked away, leaving him to think in peace.

I was missing all the dessert back at the party.