Chapter 2: Confrontation and Cold Stares

I hate group projects.

I know I'm not the only one - working with others can range from somehow tolerable to irritating and frustrating beyond belief. And these projects are especially terrible when the teacher assigns the groups, which is what happened in my Pokemon History class my freshman year of high school.

...Yeah, I was one of those few kids who didn't go on a Pokemon journey. Surprisingly, there's a small percentage of people who don't try to challenge the league and instead go on to pursue a secondary education, and there are many reasons why some go against the grain. For me, I wanted money. Those who go continue schooling directly after age ten earn generally end up in higher paying fields, most commonly as doctors, lawyers, engineers, or businessmen. For others, their parents may have forced them to (unfortunately this was the case for most students in my school), they may have wanted to go into a specific career path right away, or they simply didn't want to go on a journey (whether it be because of an aversion to camping or a fear/hatred of Pokemon). Either way, it led us all to the same place - Sunyshore Private Academy.

So, Pokemon History - in others words, a class that focused on how Pokemon impacted human history, be it their roles in society, war, or culture. It also emphasized different social groups within humanity that treated Pokemon a certain way, whether that be in worship (the followers of Arceus or the Unown), partnership (Aura Guardians and their Lucario), or in another way. Not a problem, I liked history. But… half the quarter's grade was reliant on a single project. A group project, whose members were all assigned randomly by the teacher, Mrs. Smithe. I sighed as she began to list them off.

"Group one: Cameron, Luka, Mary, and Thomas. Group two: Sarah…" she droned monotonously. I muttered a curse under my breath - my three friends in the class (Luka, Mary, and Sarah) had all gotten their groups already, meaning I was to be left with people I didn't know that well and couldn't trust to pull their own weight. Still, even if I was discouraged, I was still attentive.

"Group four: Camilla, Landon, Ares, and Cyrus. Group five…" Mrs. Smithe continued. I let out a small exhale in relief. Cyrus was a bit antisocial at times, but he was smart and pulled his weight. Ares and Landon though… they weren't great for a group project, to say the least. Ares was the son of a well known corporate executive, and he partied. A lot. So, the odds of him actually participating in the group project, with it being due around homecoming, was slim to none. Landon was a prankster and one of Ares' lackeys, so although he would be an alright partner on his own, there was no chance he'd show up to group meetings if Ares wasn't there.

"Alright class, remember - a five page research paper and a ten minute presentation on the importance of Pokemon in the medieval period, due Monday, October 15th. You can pick a specific kingdom and time range or go over it all as a whole - doesn't matter. I know it's three weeks away, but try not to procrastinate kids. And remember, don't plagiarize and cite your sources." The bell then rang, signaling the end of the school day. Most of the class got together in their groups to exchange their contact information before leaving to enjoy their weekend. Ares though stood up and started to bolt for the door, Landon at his heels. I stood up and quickly grabbed his wrist before the irritating redhead could run away.

"Ares, your phone number. We need to be able to communicate for the project," I stated concisely. He pulled his hand away, a small frown on his face. His gold eyes glared into my green ones.

"...Carly, was it?" he started.

"Camilla, actually," I interrupted. He sighed

"Well, whatever your name is, I don't exactly have time to do this project. You're smart, and I know your friend Erin has a crush on me. Do this project for me, and I'll take her on a date," he said, smirking. Landon winced and mouthed an apologetic 'sorry' from behind him. Thankfully, Cyrus walked up behind me and saved me from having to reply to the idiot.

"That won't work," the blue-haired teen stated. "It's a group project, and though I despise working with someone like you, it seems I have no choice in the matter."

"Cyrus, I couldn't have said it any better," I added, glaring icily at Ares. "I refuse to be blackmailed into doing a project for you - it's clear you don't care for her anyways."

"Hey - Camilla, Cyrus. Here's our email! Don't worry, we'll definitely do our part at some point - just divide up the work and tell us what we gotta do," Landon interrupted, handing us a scrap sheet of paper with two emails on it. I suppose he was trying to diffuse the situation. Ares looked away and clicked his tongue, obviously annoyed.

"Landon, you're a pushover sometimes. Whatever, let's go," he declared before bouncing out the door. Landon quickly followed, giving Cyrus and I a small smile and wave. His dark ponytail swayed behind him once he turned around, and Cyrus and I turned to each other.

"That's… not ideal." I nodded in agreement to Cyrus' statement.

"Either way, we still have to do this project. Do you want to meet up over the weekend to divy up the workload?" I asked. He hummed in agreement.

"Would tomorrow at the public library work?"

"Yeah, is four o'clock fine with you?"

"Yes." After writing down each other's email addresses, we went on our separate ways. And unfortunately for me, this wouldn't be the end of Ares' shenanigans.


The next day, I quickly threw on a black T-shirt and jeans, letting my chestnut brown hair fall in waves down to my shoulderblades. I usually tied my hair up in a bun and wore contacts, but today I didn't even bother to put makeup on like usual - Cyrus didn't care much for appearances (thankfully), and though we emailed Ares and Landon to at least give them a say in what kingdom or time period (as Cyrus and I agreed doing the whole period would be near impossible to cover in depth and it would be easier to focus on the specifics), I knew they wouldn't show.

Grabbing my bag, textbook, and a few tomes on the various medieval kingdoms of Kanto (my grandmother did her PhD paper on that specific subject and was well known in the archeological community), I walked out of my home and towards the library. I arrived five minutes early, allowing myself to be awed by the large columns and stonework present within the library. As it had been my hideaway as a child, the gracefully carved designs of humans and Pokemon alike always put me at ease. The Sunyshore library was truly an interesting one, even if Canalave's will always be admired more for its extensive mythology collection. Unfortunately, the Sunyshore library would be bought out and demolished shortly after I finished high school.

Surprisingly enough, Cyrus had arrived earlier than I had and already seated himself at a table in the back. He too donned the ever-classic teenage outfit of jeans and a T-shirt (though his was gray), and he looked up at me from the book he was reading (The Role of the Unown: The Ruins of Alph) as I placed my bag down at the seat across from his.

"Any ideas for the project?" he asked, eyes tired and heavy. I hummed in affirmation.

"Have you ever heard of Sir Aaron? He's a legend in Kanto," I stated, taking out my history book and a book on the Kingdom of Cameran. Cyrus nodded, running his right hand through his light blue hair (it looked really fluffy actually - I wanted to pet it but I thought it's be rude and out of place to ask).

"That's not a bad idea - the war would actually give us a good amount of material to connect to how humans used Pokemon at the time: both as partners and as weapons."

"Exactly. And how Sir Aaron sacrificed himself also showcases the ideals of knights, which ties in well to the different social classes of the period too," I replied. Cyrus let out a sigh.

"At least one of my partners is competent…" he muttered under his breath. I doubt he meant for me to hear him. He coughed briefly, clearing his throat before he spoke up. "How do you want to divide the workload?" I bit my lip and tapped my pencil on the desk.

"Well… I doubt Ares and Landon will do much. Though at the same time, I definitely don't want the two of us to have to do everything. I chose the topic, so you should probably divide it up to be fair. It doesn't matter too much to me." He furrowed his brow in thought.

"We should probably write the paper, and they can do the presentation slides. If we get all the information together, they can't mess it up too badly - it's just bullet points and pictures, after all." I nodded.

"Good idea - we can try to get them together the weekend before it's due to get the notecards done, and we can always just do them ourselves if they refuse to show up again."

"Fine - I'll write about the people and you write about the Pokemon. Let's do our body paragraphs and meet up after school Thursday to write the introduction and conclusion," Cyrus declared.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. I picked up my bad and slung it over my shoulder, but Cyrus stayed where he was. I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I enjoy reading on the weekends, I suggested the library since I stay here pretty much all day anyways," he stated. My face lit up in comprehension. He either prefered books to people or was trying to avoid his parents, who would be home since the work week was over (or perhaps both). He was smart but… I knew from other friends that parents could still really put a lot of pressure on their kids to succeed, and in such an academically competitive environment, it wasn't exactly uncommon for them to rebel or seek refuge somewhere else.

"Right, the library is always pretty quiet too. Goodbye, see you Thursday," I responded, giving a small smile before walking out of the building. Time to start writing that paper.


The rest of the project, surprisingly enough, went smoothly for a while. When we met up on Thursday, Cyrus and I edited each other's paragraphs before collaborating and writing the thesis. It wasn't that bad - I had to work with him to make his paper a bit more emotionally engaging while he caught some of my minor grammar errors, but it all worked out in the end. The paper was near flawless, but… then came the Friday before the project was due. I tried to pull Ares over before class to talk about the actual presentation - the slides and note cards that we would be writing this weekend - since he didn't reply to the emails (Landon did and said he would show up that Saturday, thankfully he did his half of the slides already and sent it to us for corrections). That was my first mistake.

"Ares, will you be there this weekend?" I asked (or demanded rather, I was losing my patience with him to be honest, but I externally kept a cool demeanor).

"This is the problem with women, always wanting my time and attention," he drawled. "You're not bad looking, sure, but you're a bit too stubborn for me - I like my women submissive, see?"

"Ares, I'm talking about the group project that counts for half of our grade. Stop your whining and do your work," I cut in, my voice icy. He was sexist too. Great, and the teacher wasn't even here yet to yell at him for it.

"Hmm, tempting, but no - do it yourself. That's all you're good for, cleaning up other people's messes. You covered for Erin when she went to that Halloween party last year, you saved Mary from herself, you cleaned up your parents' broken reputation-" he rattled on arrogantly, but I angrily interrupted him, trying not to let my rage show.

"Don't you dare talk about my parents that way, especially since it was your father's fault in the first place," I snapped.

"-so why can't you clean up my grades too? After all, you have quite the fascination with broken things, especially if you're spending time with that freak over there," he said, gesturing to Cyrus. "Everyone knows the only thing he's good at is making little robots dance, and who cares about something like that?" Cyrus' jaw tensed, and he looked ready to punch Ares. I really couldn't blame him.

"I don't care who you are Ares, you never talk about someone like that again - he isn't a freak, and everyone is a little broken inside. Hey, you must be pretty broken to think I'm going to back down now. What matters here is that you sit down and take responsibility for your own grade instead of pushing it off onto someone else," I replied, aggravation leaking into my voice. The whole class was watching us now, holding their breaths in anticipation of what would happen next. With how intently they were watching, it was like it was the final episode of a shonen battle series. It must have been a peculiar sight - a petite girl standing only at around 5'4'' challenging the 6'2'' football player. And what did Ares, the legend himself, do next? Well…

"Nope," he said, annunciating the end of the word. "I don't feel like it." Ares then proceeded to walk out of the classroom before class had even started. Like… what? I was as a loss for words - completely stunned by his actions. Everyone else was too. After what seemed like an eternity, Mrs. Smithe waltzed into the classroom.

"Alright kids, take your seats. Time for attendance…"


Cyrus and Landon both approached me after class, and Landon spoke up first.

"Sorry about Ares, he was really out of line. I'll finish up the slides for him, but I actually don't think I'll be able to make it to the note card writing thingy anymore. Ares changed the party time to overlap with it - sent an email out and everything - so…" I sighed.

"Don't worry about it," I replied, resigned. "I did bait him a little - didn't exactly start the conversation with the calmest of temperaments. Just have fun at you party." Landon grinned.

"Right, well - how about we meet up before school Monday so I can read the lines throughout the day? At least I'll know what I'm saying then, right?" he suggested. I let out a small smile, this was way more cooperation from Landon that what I expected, though it was probably only because he pitied me due to how Ares insulted me earlier. It worked out for me though, so I suppose it was fine.

"Yeah, see you Monday then," I confirmed. Landon grabbed his backpack and skateboard before rocketing out the door. Everyone else had left the classroom at this point, teacher included, so it was just Cyrus and I.

"...Why do you let him treat you like that?" he asked, his voice soft. This was the first time I'd seen Cyrus show empathy for another person - he was normally abrasive or indifferent, only showing emotion when verbally berated by others (actually, that's probably part of the reason Ares' group antagonized him so much - to get a reaction out of the stoic teen).

"It's just how it is sometimes," I muttered, letting the last threads of my anger slip. "People can be ugly, cruel, and vile - attack others for their differences or perceived weaknesses, even if it's completely out of the subject's control." He paused and took a breath before reaching down to his bag.

"I know, believe me - I know. But that doesn't make it any better. Emotion… it's almost a vile thing in itself, making us feel hurt, broken, and raw." I hummed softly in agreement.

"Sometimes, yeah. I… I was actually bullied in elementary school for not wanting to go on a Pokemon journey, but even then it was for a choice that I made of my own free will. I accepted it and moved on, tried not to let it bother me. But being ostracized still hurt. Now… that's gone for me. But I still have to deal with the verbal attacks even now. This time though, it's for things out of my control. My gender, my parents… I don't hate them, but Ares' father destroyed their careers and got them blacklisted for a crime they didn't commit. I used to live in Kanto, but now I'm here, where that shouldn't be able to get to me. Yet it does, in the form of Ares - who is no more considerate of those around him than his father. It's… hard," I paused. I'd never actually revealed this much about myself before, but the blue-haired teen was still listening to me attentively, watching me warily. "But," I began, "but, if I let those cruel words and actions hold me back, I'll never be able to rise above them. I have to keep moving forward all the same. I imagine it must be hard for you too."

"Yes… it is - though I suppose that's a good way to look at it. Rise above what they think of you, turn their hate into awe or admiration," Cyrus replied, eyes glassy. He snapped out of it quickly though, pulling his bag onto his shoulder.

"Thanks for listening, Cyrus. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here," I replied, green eyes softening. His lip twitched into a small smile.

"I don't think I'll need that, but thank you for the offer. I can always talk to my grandparents if it gets too bad." And with that, we both walked out of the building together in a comfortable silence.


"Ey, Camilla!" Landon shouted, waving me over. I smiled softly and walked over to him.

"Glad you showed up for once," I said, jokingly. "Here's your notecards - and Ares' too. Hope you had a good weekend." I felt extremely awkward about my emotional outburst the Friday before, I shouldn't have let my feelings slip like that. Now, I'd collected myself and was ready to present the project - and ready to endure any fortune or misfortune that may come with it.

"Great! Thanks again, here's the flash drive for the slides. See you later!" Landon said before running off to join the rest of his friends in the cafeteria. I sighed - today would be a long day, wouldn't it?


So, good news - it wasn't a really long day, and the last class came pretty quickly. Bad news - Ares didn't show up to class on time, and Landon nervously informed Cyrus and I that he hadn't come to school that day. We quickly distributed Ares' cards among Cyrus and I, thinking that since we wrote them that it would be easier for us to recite them without looking down as much as Landon would have to. Even worse news - the teacher drew our names out of a hat and we were the first group that had to present.

It was nerve racking, but somehow we were able to miraculously pull it off. Since Ares didn't show up to the presentation, he received a zero on the project while the rest of us received close to full marks (Cyrus got a point off for being too monotone, I got one off for smiling too creepily, and Landon got two off for looking down at his note cards too often), so I suppose it worked out for the best. It was liberating to be done with that project to be honest.

I still waved at Cyrus in the halls after that, but we never really had any more classes together. Sometimes he would wave back, sometimes not. Ares got transferred to a more prestigious academy in Hoenn before the semester grades came out so his poor Pokemon History grade wouldn't show up on his record. I still see Landon to this day - he actually works at the same company as I do. I never saw Cyrus again after graduation though.

Some days, I wonder what became of him. He was really intelligent - did he ever make it big? Or did he crack under the pressure of negative emotions and what those around him thought and said? Well, I'll never know - I live in Alola now, and the chances I'll see him again on this tiny island region are slim to none. The workload the Aether Foundation gives me can be ridiculous at times too, so even if he were here on vacation, I probably wouldn't run into him. Though I'll always wonder if that was for the best or not.


AN: Thank you so much for the suggestions and support! This, once again, was super fun to write! It accidentally got away from me though, and it's way, way longer than the other chapter. Alas, that's life sometimes. This one has a lot of OCs though, so I understand if it's a little weird to read. I tried to keep young Cyrus believable too. After all, it would be unreasonable to assume that he was always as cold as he is in the games - it had to start somewhere, hence why I made him more like a regular teenager but still implied he was ostracized from others. In the end, the one-shot is still the story of the OC though, so there wasn't much I could really do with his character. The pressure to succeed academically is a huge issue that affects me personally too, so that's why this one came so easily to me (I had to write it once I thought of it). Future one-shots will probably be much shorter than this one, though the length of each won't be fixed. It'll be whatever it takes to tell the complete story. Thanks for reading!