The Spoken At The Edge Of The Unspoken

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Chapter I: All These Places Have Their Moments

October 2016: six years before Prime Minister Norman Arnaz's First Term

"Here we are, Stelae Industries."

"Thanks man," Drew nods, impassive. He passes over the cash to the cab driver, tells him to keep the change while collecting his satchel and ducking onto the sidewalk.

It's a cold day in Hoenn standards, sixty nine with a light breeze, but to Drew, who's spent the last three months in the middle of Unova's brisk autumn, it feels amazing. He buys himself a cup of Americano from one of the cafes that spec around the main square, and treads down the street towards his destination.

There's an electric thrumming in the air, Drew's felt it since he stepped off the jet and onto the tarmac of the LRC airport. It's a sensation of fast paced motives and impatient chatter that seems to have been the foundational basis of this city. He can faintly remember spending his formative years here, sprinting on the moving sidewalks with school friends— the streets his jungle gym. He remembers his mother showing him around China Town (can still taste the honeydew bubble tea and imagine her phantom hand carding through his hair). Even now, Drew feels warm by the memory of his father bringing him to work every third Friday of the month, showing him off to his friends as his pride and joy.

But that was before.

Before his mother died just shy of his tenth birthday and his father became consumed by work to an even harsher degree. Before Philip Hayden finally just sent Drew off to live with a cousin he didn't know in Castelia in a region he had never once visited. Before his world teetered off orbit and Drew realized he had to do so much to prove himself and to counter all the snide remarks targeted his way. Before all of it. Before all the things that have so thoroughly crafted Drew's outlooks on life and his intentions for his future. Before when nothing made sense, but it eventually lead to after when he took the reins in his own hands and fought for what he has, and what he's aiming to earn, so maybe it was partially worth it… Or at least that's what he tells himself so he's not swallowed up by the emotions that are constantly clawing against his chest, threatening to swallow him whole.

With a deep inhale, Drew sheds off all the residual feelings of insufficiency that always spikes up within him whenever he visits LaRoose, morphing his face to his typical indifference and walks towards the reason why he's come here in the first place. Towards one of the headquarters of arguably the largest Tech Industry in all five regions of Napaj.

Turning the corner, he catches sight of the illustrious building— Large, and imposing and white bricked. It's so obviously one of the brightest facets in the region that was once only recognized for it's coordinating contests and Tinsel Town starlets whom's only jobs were to entertain the public. That is until LaRoose became the largest hub of technological advancements, and Stelae Industries became the city's darling, shoving Devon Corp right off of their poised pedestal.

He walks through the sliding glass doors and smiles at the fresh faced receptionist at the front desk.

"G'morning, I'm here for a meeting with Benjamin Birch. My name's Andrew—"

"Hayden," she finishes with a peppy grin, gum popping. "I know, Dr Birch already told me. Oh, but you're early. I'll have to buzz up to see if he's ready, but you could start heading to the twenty third floor, it's where his office is," she says all within the same breath, grin never slipping and pushing back her auburn hair. "Just go straight through to those elevators, and turn left when you're up there."

"Cool, great. Thank so much for the help ah… Brianna?"

"Of corse," she beams, picking up the desk phone to presumably ring for Dr Birch. "Good luck Andrew."

.-

Drew can't help but marvel at the layout of the place while he starts upstairs. The entirety of the right wall is built of glass that looks out at one of the coastlines that Hoenn's always been revered for. The foyer was paved of stones that look like they were imported from Alola, which fades into the pristinely kept wooden floorboards. There are earthy toned sofas accented with maroon throw pillows, and chairs speckled about, and the place all together feels like somewhere meant to facilitate comfort and good ideas over a place of business.

Exiting the elevator, he's met by a round faced, elderly woman holding her ground in a lavish desk, a personal secretary more likely than not.

"Andrew Hayden?" She smiles, reminding him of the only grandmother he had met before her passing.

"Yes mam."

"ID?"

Scrambling, Drew pats down his pockets for his wallet and passes it over.

She thanks him, clucking her tongue after reciting his birth day out loud.

"Oh dear, the folks that come are just getting younger and younger, I swear next week there's going to be a tiny little infant that says they've got a meeting here too."

Drew laughs, polite and reserved, before she directs him to step into the office on the opposite end of the hall.

"He's been waiting for you dear."

He most definitely does not feel sick with nerves at that.

Drew gives two quick wraps on the door, swallows down the tension that's lodged in his throat and breathes in deep while stepping into the workspace.

Walking in, Drew is surprised to find the exact antithesis to what he predicted Dr Birch to look like waiting in the office.

There's a man, late thirties, maybe early forties at most. He's tall, easily above six feet, with dark hair jelled back. He's square jawed and has got a muscular build that tells of long hours at the gym. An all around pretty intimidating guy if Drew's being at all honest.

"Ah, hello sir."

Piercingly dark eyes, practically violet, dart up from where he was focussed on a laptop monitor.

"Oh, Andrew I presume?" He perks, setting the computer with the Stelae crest on its face, to the side and leaping from his crisscrossed position on his desk.

"Ah, yes, it's so nice to finally meet you."

"Righteo," the man crows with his booming voice and a clap to his hands, rubbing them together with excitement. "Sit, sit take a load off. You want something to drink? We just got a shipment from Kalos of some rather beautiful wine if you're interested"

"Ah, no, no I'm fine sir, water would be great actually," Drew says, following his command in as least of an awkward way as possible.

"Wanna stay sharp, i like that. So what's your poison? Sparkling? Iced? Maybe vitamin?"

"Flat's fine," Drew blanches, but Dr Birch just nods, presses a button on his desk and orders the drinks with some fruit and cheese.

"So how was your flight up here? everything went smoothly?"

"Erm, yes, thank you for asking sir."

The other man begins to smirk, eyes gleaming in a way that tells Drew he knows plenty more than what he's letting on. It takes Drew aback how utterly charismatic this guy is, how he feels like the embodiment of all that LaRoose tries to depict.

"You don't like small talk, do you Andrew?"

"No, not a big fan if I'm being honest sir. Would much rather get to the meat of a conversation than anything else."

Birch throws his head back with laughter, hardy and true.

"You know Andrew, my grandfather use to tell me that todos los caminos llevan a Roma."

"Yes, but I'd prefer a road less traveled, where we didn't have to talk about someone's weekend plans before we got to the important part," Drew contends, suddenly exceedingly thankful for the two years of a foreign language that was required from his undergraduate studies.

"Your quick, I like that," he tells him, lets in the assistant to bring the platters of food and cucumber water glasses and pitcher. "Thanks Lee-Anne."

Drew may or may not snort at how she flushes pink at her bosses crooked grin.

"So Andrew— Ah you like being called Andrew or….?"

"My friends usually just call me Drew," he shrugs.

"Fantastic! Drew. So since you wanna get to the meat of it. Why do you think you're here?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure."

"Come on Drew, don't give me that. You're a smart kid. Graduated first of your class from one of Unova's best universities, worked on the hill in Viridian for two years before excepting your slot in a premier law school. You aren't dumb, so tell me why you were called here, to a tech institute when the closest thing you've got to this world is a bio med major that you ended up switching out of your junior year for Political Science and Economics instead."

Drew blanches.

"How do you know that?"

"I've got my sources," he shrugs one of his broad shoulders before popping a grape in his mouth. "Now c'mon, where you might dislike small talk, I hate people wasting my time."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Ah, Why you called me over here… Hmmm," Drew gnaws on his bottom lip, darts his eyes around the office with anxiety, until he finally catches on thee plaque mounded on the far wall.

"Norman Arnaz," he just blurts, not even sure why himself, but the other man smiles like he would if he were administrating a test and Drew's just past, making it so a flood of relief comes over him.

"Good, now what about him? What do you know about Arnaz?"

"Ah, not much I guess. The basics that anyone would gather just from watching the news and following social media and reading magazines and the likes."

"Which is?" He presses with a tone that signals to Drew that he's getting impatient.

"Oh, ah just that he was the founder of this whole enterprise. He grew up in a small town in Hoenn with practically no money to his family's name, but he built this software this one week when he, ah, he didn't go to sleep at all. Then it eventually expanded to a computer, to a laptop and phone and now a whole enterprise with it's brand on even different websites for music and streaming services, even trying to create the world's first, efficient, electric car. He's the face and brains behind all of Stelae."

"Mmm, yeah, that's good. But what else? Who is he as a person?"

"A person? Like separate from Stelae?"

"You heard me right," Birch says, words clipped.

"Oh, um…. I guess a decent one," Drew offers. "He's like a practical billionaire but he's always donating to different foundations and speaking at Viridian and even the UN for causes we need to support. Big on the environment and economic disparities, has even made it a point to have institutional racism spoken about in the main stream." The other man is still staring at Drew like he expects more, so he tries racking his brain for anything else. "He's married to this gorgeous model from Kalos, has a son and a daughter too. He's big on showing them all off in public and I know that the pair of them are pretty big influencers in their own right."

"Good," he says, finally starting to sound satisfied. "So why do you think I asked you about any of that?"

This time Drew doesn't hesitate.

"LaRoose,'s mayoral elections are coming up and the sitting one has declared that she's stepping down. Arnaz, he wants to run, doesn't he?"

"And what do you think about that?" He needles, pouncing up to pour himself another glass of water and leans against his desk. "What would you say his chances were?"

Drew purses his lips, this's what he knows. What he was trained to do, to look at the politics in vogue and the popular policies being ran on. To analyze the field and predict how to get at an issue, how to make it popular even if it can't hold peoples puny attention stands for even a moment. Drew knows how to do this, it's what makes him remarkable.

"Hoenn's a liberal bastion, being on the coast and all, especially in a big city like this, I'd say his chances are pretty great. It also doesn't hurt that everyone here looks at Stelae like it's the golden standard of all businesses."

"Think beyond LaRoose Drew, beyond Hoenn too."

"What, like a national seat?"

"Sure! How do you think Napaj would react to him?"

Drew goes still, eyes widening as he balks at Birch.

"He's running for the Prime Minister's seat isn't he?"

"Unimportant," he waves him off. "now answer me. How do you reckon Arnaz would fair in a Napaj wide election cycle?

"Both, he's running for both seats," Drew realizes as he speaks it out loud, is reassured when Birch doesn't bother to correct him. "Arnaz Wants a couple years of administrative experience under his belt as Laroose's mayor, but mid way through his term he's gonna announce his intentions for the Prime Minister's seat." Drew charges, making it so one of the corners of the other man's lips curves upwards, impressed. "I'm right, aren't I!"

"Again, unimportant," he intones. "I'm still waiting for the answer of my original question though."

It feels like their's a roaring to Drew's ears, like he's standing at the edge of a precipice and all he can do is jump, but also, it's not time, not yet.

"Drew, I'm waiting."

"Ah, I mean it'll be close, if he wins it'll probably only be by like fifty-one to sixty-three percentage points depending on how the country sways, but I don't see why he couldn't? I mean the public loves him and his family, that's half the fight. THere's some parts of Sinnoh and Johto that are pretty much impossible to flip, huge sections of Kanto too, but Hoenn and Unova are safe spots for sure, and the rest is meant to be battled anyways. I mean, if I had a gun to my head I'd put my money on him."

"Wonderful!" his smile goes blinding, and eyes glimmer with an excitement Drew can't place. "Welcome aboard my campaign staff!

"Wait— WHa-"

"Birch get in here," he shouts through the intercom on his desk.

"Wait, I thought you were Dr Birch?" Drew furrows his brows, now completely lost.

"What? That old fart? No no, I'm Norman. Nice to meet ya Drew," he shakes his hand, quick and noncommittal as another man, more heavy set and timid looking walks in. "Bennie! Good, get this boy some staff credentials for operation Estrellas."

"Estrellas?" Drew repeats, floundered.

"Sir are you sure you want to approve him… He's quite, ah, unexperienced."

"I'm sure old sport," Norman winks. "Now am I ever wrong?"

"No, sir. Never."

"Right! Now walk him around the place while you're at it will you? Show him how he can help out while he's back at school to?"

"Yes of course sir."

"Um, excuse me?" Drew tries to interject but the pair of them ignore him.

"Good! I've got to go look over some packets we're gonna give out to our board of trusties for that afternoon meeting, so I'll be out for the rest of the day. Andrew, it was nice meeting you, and can't wait to begin working with you in the future!"

Drew's still stunned, just nodding along and trying to figure out what's actually going on.

After who presumably is Norman Arnaz leaves the real Dr Birch tells Drew to wait there until he grabs a copy of the handbook.

Pulling out his phone, Drew taps open his message thread with his two closest friends.

Drew: I think I just met Norman Arnaz?

Drew: And he's like… A lot?

Gary: Wait WTF? You Met him before I did!

Dawn: HAHAHA What is even happening?

Drew: I literally do not know?

.-

"You know sis, take this from someone who loves you, but your Instagram feed really is the worst thing in the galaxy," Max, swiping through his phone while the latest top forties banger pounds out of her powder blue Porsche's speakers, intones.

"Ah, rude!" May cuffs him on the back of the head, totally cross. "You're just jealous because I've got like ten times more followers than even dad."

"Wonder how?" Max snorts, waggling his phone in front of her which shows her latest post of posing shore side, bikini clad and holding up a pink drink.

May just sticks her tongue out at him, indignant, while pulling up to their Petalburg estate.

"Whatever loser, now what you thinking for dinner? Maybe some chicken fried rice?"

"Do i ever have a say?" Max sniffs, faux offended while he clammers out.

"It's not my fault I was born with the better taste in like everything little brother," May goads, runs up behind him to leap up on his back. "Blame genetics for doing you so dirty."

"I just can't wait until your metabolism gives out and you get fat," Max just grouses, shakes her off before opening the door.

"Harty har har, love you too dweeb."

Max deposits himself on the couch, flips on the television while May pulls out her chirping phone.

Serena: Still on for mani/pedies tomorrow?

May's just about to respond in the affirmative before she catches on her father's name being spoken about on the telly.

"God, he can take a shit and the media'll flock on it like he just cured cancer," May gripes, is taken aback at just how boisterous Max's laughter is in turn. How much it sounds like their father's.

"You've been at school for too long sis, you've forgotten how much of a God he is to Hoenn."

With a roll of the eyes May clicks the mute button, completely not in the mood for any of it.

"The man just makes phones, they know that right?" She snorts.

"It's the Norman charm, they love'm," Max shrugs, passive.

May frowns, hates how much his words ring true.

"Maxi, you ever feel… I dunno… Suffocated by it?"

"How do you mean?"

"I dunno…. it's just like…. Like that's it. That's all we are, the Arnaz kids. Like we have to fit some mold or be forgotten," May tries to explain, hands flailing aimlessly and temples of her head pulsing with tension. "Like does that make any sense?"

"You like it though, having the attention and money and praise, don't you?" He accuses not unkindly.

"Do you?" She counters, wonders if the indecisiveness painted across his features mirrors her own.

His eyes stare into May's brighter blues, a thousand conversations passing between the siblings, while the resounding, stilted silence falls over them, a suffocating tautness that they both recognize but are both too afraid to name outright. An understanding that only could've ever been forged between siblings who've been brought up and touted around in all the same ways. Siblings who hold the same weight on their shoulders that they have to pretend isn't there with a camera ready smile and buoyant affability.

It feels like they're both skimming against the edge of something they shouldn't be discussing, like they're about to say the quiet part out loud and shatter whatever strenuous peace they've forged.

"So schools nice out there, out of the region I mean," Max says, tentative. May reads the comment for what it is, giving her a choice to either go ahead and break it, or to drift along in this little folly that they'd been born into.

"Yeah, it is," May says, voice tapering off and choosing the latter, letting the topic drop, afraid to ever rattle their stable ground. "Gotta say though, I've missed the sunny days, they're few and far between in Sinnoh.

"Good thing you've chosen graduate school out here then," Max offers, a sort of relief that May can't place carved into his expression and threaded through his slumped shoulders.

"Tell me about it," she smiles, pulls him close as if they were tots again and she were still the taller, starry eyed older sister, and he was back to being the smart mouthed, pain in the ass baby brother more than two years her junior.

Back when their lives were golden and effortless and simple. When they spent their days running through flower beds, and plunging into the ocean besides their beach house and sharing chortles that no one else understood.

Back when everything made sense.

"Mom's coming back from that shoot on the fifteenth right?" May asks him— forcibly trying to rid herself of those sorts of thoughts.

"She's gonna meet us at LaRoose for that banquet thing dad's holding," Max nods, and May is right on the edge of screaming about how it always comes back to the business, but she doesn't because that's not what she's suppose to do.

"Cool, cool," May worries on her bottom lip, tries to come up with a distraction that'll hold. "Hey! i'm in the mood for brunch, let's go to that crapes place on Maple avenue, hmm? The one with the yummy yogurt parfait you like. Bonnie could come too if you want?"

"Yeah, sure," Max says, rising up and averting his gaze.

"Everything's fine between you two, right?" May asks, brows scrunched in confusion.

"Course they are," Max assures with a painfully counterfeit smile. "Everything's always perfect."

He goes back to the green house to check on the pokemon before they leave and May goes back to replying to her unopened messages and they both go back to keeping that particular Pandora's Box firmly shut.

But May can't help but privately wonder if he feels the unnerving amount of wrongness in the air too, or if it's just her.

.-

Author's Note: Hello you gorgeous souls! Thank you all so so endlessly for giving this story a chance and reading! This is such a fun story to work on, and it would mean the entire galaxy and stars to me if you let me know what you thought of this chapter or it as a whole so far! Truly, I don't know how to describe the joy I feel when I see a review on something i've published, especially something like this where I adore it so much.

Huge thank yous to Honey Of Hoenn, Nubushi, and of course Ameriboo (Who was the first to review!) I love you all!

I truly hope to hear from you guys and everyone else who's read3

Oh and the chapter title was taken from a Beatles song, can u guess which one? ;)

All My Love

~Len