Heh.

Let me start by saying I'm sorry. I'm very very very sorry for getting this out about.. Um, four months late.

I didn't kill this story. NO. This idea has been pounding in my heart during those four months.

I've been feeling completely uninspired lately. Like, completely. What actually got me back into writing this story was from watching so much Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. That's what got me inspired to write some more.

Then, my best friend and editor Barbara reminded me of my story. "Remember that sequel you were gonna write?"

And I was like, "...Shit."

So I hauled some ass and got it done.

Phew.

I wrote this in about four days. I'm sorry if it seems a little rushed. BUT IT'S DONE. AND IT'S HERE.

Welcome to the sequel to Snowflake, Listen!

I hope you enjoy after this much anticipated wait!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, nor the characters portrayed in this story. Except Evelyn, I own her.

"Meeting adjourned."

It was a balmy morning in Hearthome City. A meeting between the Sinnoh Pokémon League had just finished. The meeting mostly focused on the trip to Hoenn; was it a success, was it a failure, would the team be alright with taking another trip. The group mostly chimed with successes, except for the grumbles from Maylene and Candice about how it would've been better if one gym leader was out of town that week. Besides that, they had to admit they had a good time. Candice couldn't keep her eyes off Volkner throughout the meeting. Ever since they returned to Sinnoh, Candice had been trying her hardest to maintain a stable relationship with the blond. Maylene had to admit, she was impressed—Candice had never been so motivated in her life to keep a relationship steady. This proved she really loved Volkner.

The group had pitched in suggestions for the next trip, Sevii Islands winning by almost a landslide, the only person rejecting the idea being Bertha, of course. After that, there wasn't much to be said. So, Cynthia let them go.

Maylene, Gardenia, Candice, Volkner, Roark, and Flint were loitering outside of the Pokémon Center, laughing and reminiscing with one another.

"…Then Winona was like, 'Flint, why is that Feebas on your leg?' and I look down, and there the damn thing was!"

The group hooted with laughter once Flint finished telling his story. Flint, looking impressed with himself, smiled smugly, looking at Maylene, who was on the phone across the room on a bench. He snickered, "How many times has she talked to him?"

"Too many." Gardenia teased, loudly enough for the fighter to hear. Maylene ignored them, pressing the phone against her ear. She sighed gently. "Sorry, those were my friends. What were you saying?"

"I was saying I got better at Mortal Kombat." Steven said, chuckling lightly. "Maybe I can beat you when I come up to visit."

Maylene snorted, "I'd love to see you try."

"I'd love to see you."

The magenta haired leader blushed, staring at her shoes. Today, she was wearing canvas sneakers with skinny jeans and one of her training tank tops. Ever since she got back from Hoenn, her style outside of the gym has become much more casual—she can proudly say she owns four pairs of jeans!

"I miss you, Steven." She whispered into the phone. "I miss you so much more." came his quick reply. Maylene smiled, "When are you coming again? I wanna make sure I have my surprise face ready."

"Two weeks."

Maylene frowned, "That's so long."

"I know, but I'll be there before you know it." He paused, some voices muffling in the background. Steven returned back to the phone a second or two later. "I'm sorry, I gotta go. There's a challenger here."

"Oh, no, it's fine. Kick some ass!" Maylene giggled. Steven chuckled, "I'll try. I'll call you later."

"Alright. Bye." She clicked off the call, sighing heavily. She hadn't talked to her boyfriend all day, and she only stifled a couple minutes with him.

At times, she missed him severely. The distance was too much to bear. But she remembered that he was coming to visit soon, and she'd be able to be in his arms again.

"Maylene!" A voice called. Maylene looked up, seeing Candice waving to her. "We're gonna get something to eat, you wanna come?"

"Um, yes? Why would I ever say no to food?"

Candice giggled, "You're such a fatty."

"I know, but what can you do? Let's go."

The loitering teens ditched their spot in the Pokémon Center to enjoy a late lunch at one of the many eateries in Hearthome. There was Chez Élouise, a little French restaurant next to Fantina's gym—they all assumed the eatery was influenced by a certain purple haired foreigner. The guys immediately turned their noses up to the restaurant; it lacked grease and football, obviously the only things they ever did with each other—eat, watch, and play sports.

Maylene, however, being the designated tomboy, offered this small diner on the outskirts of town called Johnny's. It wasn't girly, or fancy, so no one disagreed. Once they made it there, they were immediately seated, their orders taken, and conversation quickly began.

"So Candice," Gardenia said, swirling her straw around in her glass of iced tea, "Your birthday's coming up!"

Candice raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, it is. Why bring that up?"

"Because I have no idea what to get you." Gardenia deadpanned. Candice sighed, "I honestly don't know what I want. If anything, just get me food."

"But that's Maylene's gift." Volkner chimed in, the group snickering. Maylene shot a fierce, magenta glare at the blond.

"You gotta want something, Candice." Flint said. Candice sighed again. "I really don't know! Just get me whatever you want!"

"So if I got you a hot date with Blaine…" Flint let himself trail off, smirking smugly at the brunette Ice trainer.

"Then Gardenia would get jealous."

The group again hooted with laughter, Gardenia sarcastically laughing along. "I forgot how funny you were, Candice."

She shrugged, snuggling up next to Volkner. "I don't see how you can forget, I'm hilarious."

The conversation pursued, their food coming out, the sound of forks hitting plates taking over the sounds of laughter. While Maylene was enjoying the quality time with her friends, her phone was steadily buzzing against her thigh. She slipped it out once during lunch, seeing that Steven had called two times. Gardenia glanced down at her friend's lap, nudging her with her elbow. Maylene looked up, still nibbling on a chicken wing. She didn't realize she forgot to put her phone away.

"Has Steven been calling you?" The Grass leader asked lowly, the others talking loud enough to ignore their conversation. Maylene nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Twice."

"That boy seriously misses the snot out of you." She chuckled. Maylene sighed, "I miss him too. He'll be here in two weeks, though, so I'm excited. I'll call him back later tonight."

Gardenia nodded mutely, crunching on her salad. The remainder of lunch was talkative and fun, just like Maylene had hoped. The boys decided to head back to their respective gyms and the league building, leaving the girls with a few hours to kill. They decided to return back to Hearthome to watch a contest, and maybe do a little bit of shopping in Veilstone. Since they were gym leaders, the workers let them in and gave them any choice of a seat. They took seats in the middle and waited for the contest to begin.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Hearthome City contest!" Marian exclaimed.

"God, she's still as loud as ever…" Candice groaned, covering her ears.

"Our contest today will be slightly different from our other contests! Today, contestants will use two Pokémon, making this a double competition! Contestants today are competing for the Hearthome ribbon, and since we're in the birthplace of the Super Contest, the ribbon will be given by none other than Fantina!"

Fantina appeared on the platform next to Marian, throwing up her hands dramatically. "Let's make today's event très spectaculaire! Bonne chance to all the competitors!" She gave a quick twirl, the audience going mad.

"Is she ever in her gym?" Maylene asked, "It seems like she's always here."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she lived here." Gardenia snickered.

"On with the show!"

"Let's not delay! Now is the acting competition, where trainers have one minute to wow our judges! Our first contestant is Jennifer of Sandgem Town! You're on!"

A curtain quickly opened, a girl around their age running out onto the arena, the crowd hooting and hollering with excitement. Her raven hair was tied up in pig tails, her aqua dress stopped around her knees. She gave a smug look to the judges, whipping out two Poké Balls and tossing them into the air.

"Mismagius! Ampharos! Let's do this!"

Her Pokémon escaped their Poké Balls in an array of blue stars, Ampharos landing gently on the ground, Mismagius circling around it, holding the stars in place with Psychic.

"Alright, Mismagius, use Psychic to bring those stars in the air!"

Mismagius followed its command, sending the stars air born, spinning them around in an oblong circle.

"Ampharos, use Thunder Wave!"

Ampharos leaned its head forward, yellow waves escaping from its horns. The waves trapped the blue stars in place, causing them to buzz and glow. Mismagius let up on Psychic, the stars now completely on their own.

"Use Psywave, Mismagius!"

A rainbow light shot from the gems along its collar. The attack hit the stars directly, making them glow rainbow colors. The two Pokémon stopped for a moment, basking in the awes they were receiving from the crowd.

"Ampharos, finish this up with Thunder Punch!"

Electricity began to circle and attach to Ampharos' blunt fist, pouncing into the air and punching the stars stuck within the Thunder Wave, causing them to break into rainbow glitter chunks that rained down on the audience. Ampharos landed with a graceful thud, Mismagius resting on its shoulder.

"Wow! A wonderful start to our competition! Judges, what do you think of Jennifer and her performance?"

Back in the stands, there were three different reactions from the gym leaders watching.

"That was so cool."

"That was so lame."

"When's this gonna be over?"

Gardenia crossed her arms, "I thought it was really pretty. I'm rooting for her."

Maylene snorted, "How can you root for her when she's the only one that's gone? She was way too cocky, did you see her?"

"Who cares, she's gonna win."

"Oh, really? Wanna make this interesting?"

"You're on, pinkie."

"If Jennifer loses, you have to clean my gym for a month; top to bottom."

"Fine! If Jennifer wins, you clean my gym."

"Deal."

"I'm really tired," Candice whined, "and I wanna go see Volkner."

"Oh, shut up and watch." Gardenia and Maylene hissed in unison.

A friendly rivalry had just been concocted.

XXXX

The contest ended with a close battle between Jennifer and a boy named Harvey, Jennifer losing by just a hair.

Maylene was flaunting her bragging rights as they exited the arena. "My gym better be spotless, dead grass." She chortled. Gardenia rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever. She was close to winning!"

"Snowflake?"

Maylene's cocky aura quickly melted into discomfort and anger.

She recognized that voice.

She didn't want to.

But she knew who it was.

She glanced at Candice, who glanced right back at her, the same thing crossing their minds.

Why the fuck is Brawly here?

He jogged over to them, smiling innocently—the same smile that made Maylene go gaga. "What're you guys doing here?" The heartbreaker said, standing in between Gardenia and Maylene. The three girls were silent, obviously uncomfortable. Maylene hugged herself, biting the inside of her lip. Why is he here? She thought, why does he have to be here?

"Obviously we just watched a contest. And now we're going home." Gardenia hissed. She wasn't too fond of the Hoenn trainer—the pain he caused her best friends affected her, too.

"Oh." Brawly said, "Maybe we could hang out!"

Before Gardenia could reply no, Candice gained a voice.

"Why are you even here?"

Brawly blinked, looking down at his shoes. He was hurt, but none of them really cared.

"I'm visiting Uncle Wallace. I didn't think I'd see you guys here. We should hang out, catch up!"

Uncle Wallace! Maylene thought. Wallace & Fantina have been married for a few years now. This meant that Brawly was somehow related to the gym leader…

…which meant he'd be travelling back and forth from Hoenn to Sinnoh.

"Sorry, we're busy." Candice snapped, pulling Maylene & Gardenia out of the lobby by their wrists, not even uttering a goodbye.

"Why did he have to be here?" Maylene growled, snatching her wrist out of Candice's grasp. Gardenia shrugged, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Who cares, let's go somewhere else." She let Torterra out of the device, jumping onto its back. "Hop on!"

XXXX

Trying to avoid Hearthome City as much as possible, Gardenia commanded Torterra to run them to Veilstone. She suggested a little bit of shopping before having to head back to their respective gyms; and a bit of shopping would lead Maylene & Gardenia to finding the perfect gift for Candice. Their first stop was the large mall in the middle of the city, composed of 64 different stores. The mall was famous for its Pokémon performances every other hour, and it's delicious food.

"So Candice, what do you wanna do for your birthday?" Maylene asked. The three girls were currently in a clothing store, browsing at random items.

"I dunno," the Ice-type trainer shrugged, "I kind of want a formal party. Maybe then I can see you being a girl again, Maylene."

"Well you better keep it hush-hush, in case Brawly decides to pop in." Gardenia said, rolling her eyes, "He has some nerve asking to hang out with us. He's caused enough damage."

"Agreed. Oh! This dress!" Candice squealed, reaching for a striped zigzag teal, white, and gray one shoulder dress. She was grinning ear to ear, hugging the ensemble tightly. "Must…have..." She purred. Maylene laughed, "I don't think I've ever seen you so excited over something like this."

Candice whipped her head around, looking at Maylene with wicked eyes. "Do you see this! It's gorgeous!" She looked at the dress between her hands. "I'll at least try it on." She decided, bolting towards the dressing room.

"Wow. It's just a dress." Gardenia thought aloud. Maylene shrugged.

"IT'S NOT JUST A DRESS!" A voice shouted from across the store. The two knew who that voice belonged to.

After some much needed girl bonding time, Candice purchased her desired dress. It looked amazing on her, and she wouldn't stop squealing about it. They parted ways after being chased by teenagers shouting about gym battles. Even they didn't understand why.

Maylene shut the door to her gym, making sure to lock it. She ascended up the silver stairs to her bedroom, the forest green walls making her cozy and content. She quickly undressed and threw on an oversized t-shirt, wrapping her hair into a short, blunt ponytail. The fighter quickly crawled into bed, shutting off her light.

And for some reason, her phone buzzed.

She groaned softly, exhaustion taking over her body. She blindly reached in the direction of her desk, feeling around for her phone. She grabbed it and flicked it open, the blinding light making her wince. Blinking in front of her was a notification of a text message. She clicked on the notice, the sender's name blinking in bold letters.

Steven.

Maylene instantly smiled, quickly opening the message.

Goodnight Maylene :)

The tired pinkette blushed, typing a reply. He's too sweet.

Goodnight Steven :D

And with that, she shut her phone and tossed it back on her desk, quickly falling asleep.

Maybe sleep would help her forget that she saw that blue haired jerk again.

XXXX

It was Sunday morning, and Maylene let herself sleep in. She decided to close up the gym for the day, and spend some alone time in town. Maybe she'd be able to have a conversation with Steven that didn't last six minutes or less.

Maylene was already well on her way to the department store, ear buds firmly in her ears. The early sunshine was raining down over the city of Veilstone, a fair breeze rolling, and the sky only partly clouded. It was a beautiful day, better than it usually was, and today was her day, and nobody else's. Just as she was changing the song, a familiar voice caught her attention.

"Good morning, Maylene!"

The pinkette looked up, very surprised to see Cynthia walking towards her, hand in hand with Riley. She was thrilled to see they were a fairly sturdy couple, and even more excited that Cynthia looked happy and more relaxed. She was wearing a lilac tunic with black leggings, her long, platinum blond hair tied in a braid going down her back. It was odd seeing her in other clothing besides her black work attire.

"Oh, good morning, boss." Maylene smiled cheerfully, extracting one ear bud. "I didn't think you took strolls through town."

"Well, I do have some free time, yanno." Cynthia chuckled. "I'm glad we caught you, we wanted to ask you something." She gave Riley's hand a quick squeeze.

"Okay, so you know how Candice's birthday is coming up?" Riley began. Maylene nodded, so he continued. "Well, I thought it'd be fun to throw her a surprise party. Fantina said we can use her villa, and everyone's invited. Gardenia offered to call up a few of the Hoenn gym leaders to come up too, so it should be a pretty rad party. Now, here's where you come in."

Maylene didn't know if she liked where this was going.

"It'd be great if you could distract Candice the day of her party so she doesn't think something's up. All you'll need to do is spend the day with her, and bring her to the villa. The party's formal, so hopefully you can come up with something that'll involve her getting dressed up. Are you up for it?"

Maylene sighed gently, the hopefulness in her best friend's brother's eyes making it impossible to say no. She didn't know why a piece of her wanted to say no anyway. Maybe it was because she hadn't hung out with Candice alone ever since they'd gotten back from Hoenn. Maybe because it'd be awkward. Or maybe because she didn't know what she'd say to Candice.

Maylene sighed again, looking up at the couple. They were both staring at her with pleading eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll do it."

Riley gave her a half smile, "Thanks so much, Maylene. Make sure to be at the villa at seven, and give us a warning when you're there. Let's hope this can go unnoticed!"

"Right, gotcha. I'll see you guys then."

The three gave their goodbyes, parting in different directions. Maylene continued her stride towards the department store, a new problem taking over her mind. Candice's birthday was just five days away. She had to start planning what they'd do like they were kids again.

This wasn't going to be easy.

XXXX

She walked into the department store, which wasn't as busy as it usually was. It was about noon, so the rush would flood in in an hour or so. Better to get there early, right?

Maylene spotted a little boutique to her left, automatically thinking she could kill two birds with one stone in that store—find a dress, and a gift for Candice.

She waltzed into the store, racks of dresses and shelves of trinkets catching her eye. Her first order of business was to tackle the present, since finding that would be harder than finding a dress.

"Maylene?"

The fighter looked up, surprised to see Volkner, who looked just as surprised to see her. He seemed to be juggling two Pokémon plush dolls in his hands, quickly setting them down on a nearby shelf. Maylene snickered, "Hi, Volkner. What brings you out here to Veilstone?" She asked, "Better yet, what brings you to this boutique?"

Volkner chuckled, "I'm actually here because…" He scratched the back of his neck, "…I'm trying to find Candice a birthday gift, and I have no idea what to get her."

"I would've thought you had her gift already wrapped up or something."

"You thought wrong. I'm clueless when it comes to what she wants. She doesn't give me specifics, so I'm stuck."

"I'm just as stuck as you are. Wanna work together to see if we can find her something?"

Volkner shrugged, "Sure. I didn't really plan on jumping from store to store for a gift, and having someone from the female species should make things a lot easier."

"That's what I'm here for." Maylene smiled. She motioned the blond to follow her towards a showcase of jewelry. He didn't protest, leaning against the showcase, staring intently at the jewelry. While he was having a staring contest with a necklace, Maylene decided to look at perfumes and plush toys, while still keeping a close distance.

"So how're you and Candice doing, Volky?" Maylene asked, picking through the toys. It would've been so much easier to find something if they were organized by types or something.

"Why does everyone insist on calling me Volky?" The blond whined. "We're doing better. To tell you the truth, I don't really trust her as much as I used to, thanks to that little trip to Hoenn. Candice seems like she's trying her best to make things right, so I can't help but give her the A for effort."

"Can I help you?" A small, plump woman behind the jewelry display asked, causing the blond to look up. She was dressed in a deep purple ruffled dress, a pair of ruby red cat eye glasses perched on her nose, her blond hair wrapped up in a messy bun. The nametag on her dress read 'Evelyn'. Volkner gave her a weak smile, "I'm just looking for a gift for my girlfriend."

Evelyn gasped dramatically, "You're proposing!"

"Well, not re—"

"What're you doing looking over here?" She barely gave him a chance to think of a reply. "Come with me! I'll show you our best rings! By the time we're done here, she won't be able to say no! Well, I don't see why she'd say no to such an attractive boy like yourself, but we'll make it impossible!"

"Wait—!"

Evelyn came from behind the counter, pushing him to the opposite side of the showcase. Maylene tried her best to hold in her laughter, deciding that something that funny shouldn't be ruined by her rescuing him. So, she left him to his ring hunt—even though he didn't intend to buy an engagement ring for Candice.

She continued browsing aimlessly, hoping something would pop out at her. She was between a pair of silver heels and a burgundy sweater. Just then, her phone began to buzz on her sweatshirt pocket. She fished it out and flipped it open, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Maylene."

Her lips curled into a soft smile. "Hi, Steven."

"What's up?"

"Nothing really. I took a day off, came down to do some shopping for Candice's birthday. What's going on with you? I miss you."

"I miss you too. Nothing's going on with me either. I had a bunch of meetings to go to, and I went to Iron Island earlier this morning. I thought about swinging by and seeing you, but I had to hurry back."

Maylene frowned, "This is going to be the longest two weeks of my life."

"I know, I know. But it'll go by fast, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that. If it doesn't, I'm kicking your ass."

"Is it sad that I know you could do it?"

"Nah, it's just sad that I wear the pants in our relationship."

Maylene turned around to see how Volkner was doing with the store clerk. He was still trying to fight her off, casually taking a few steps back as she pushed another ring towards him. He said a few last words to her, before turning on his heels and walking back to where Maylene was.

"Hey Steven, I'll have to call you back. I'm about to go up to the checkout line." She said. She couldn't help but a feel a little bad for telling him a white lie.

"Oh, okay. I'll call you tonight?"

"That works. Bye!"

"Later."

She shut her phone, turning around and giggling at the pained expression on Volkner's face. He looked at her with those shocking blue eyes, a stare so intense that she almost immediately stopped giggling.

"If I ever think about getting married," He began, "Please do everything you can to stop me."

"And why is that?"

"Because there's a chance that I'll have to deal with her again." He sighed, leaning against a shelf next to Maylene. "So how are you and Steven doing?"

The fighter shrugged, "We're good. We can barely have a phone conversation longer than five minutes though." She chuckled.

"Well, you both must have the gift of bad timing." The blond smirked. "Does the distance ever become too much?"

Maylene thought for a moment. "I can handle it. He'll be here in two weeks, so I'm excited. Sometimes I think it can be too much for him, he complains about it a lot."

What if Steven isn't ready for a long distance relationship? Maylene thought suddenly. We haven't seen each other in a little over a week, and he's already complaining about it. What if we don't see each other for months at a time? What'll happen then?

She shook the thought out of her head, looking at the items in her hand. She put the shoes down on a random shelf, holding up the burgundy sweater. "I'm going with this. Hopefully she'll like it."

Volkner gave the sweater a look over. "I think she will. That weird store lady distracted me, and I still don't have a gift for her."

"This is why I'm here, Volkner." Maylene smiled, walking to the opposite side of the boutique and showing the blond a display of perfumes.

"When in doubt, get her something that'll make her smell good. Hopefully, she won't think this is you saying she smells."

After abusing Maylene's nose for a good thirty minutes, Volkner bought Candice a perfume and a jeweled bracelet, and departed back to Sunyshore. After he had left, she managed to pick out a dress fairly easy. It was a fitted strapless dress tiered in shades of plum, tangerine, and magenta, all blending elegantly like a sunset. She also snagged some black peep toe pumps for a good deal, and headed back to her gym. Up the silver stairs she went, and flopped on her bed.

Now I have to worry about this surprise party… She groaned mentally. These next few days were going to be very interesting.

Just then, her phone rang a second time.

Without thinking, she flipped it open and pressed the device against her ear.

"Hi Steven."

Maybe he could take her mind off of things.

He was very good at that sometimes.

Would anyone care if Evelyn became a recurring character?

No?

Good, because I love her.

I hope you liked the first chapter.

I'm sorry if it's a bit rushed, I tried my best to let it flow.

Oh, and Cynthia and Riley :D

I kind of love that pairing now. Like. Mucho. No idea why!

Oh, and along with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, I've sort of become a brony.

Heh. Pinkie Pie's my favorite. :3

Alright, hopefully I'll start updating faster since I'm a bit more inspired.

Until next time!