The next morning, Kate stopped Heath after two plates piled high with pancakes to make sure they got to class on time, and ended up being a few minutes late anyway.
Heath had just sat down when Ms. April said they were going outside for Target Clear practice. He slammed his head against his desk.
"Uh..Heath?" Kate started.
"I am fine." He peeled his head off the desk and got out of his chair.
Kate suddenly felt strange for being worried, like she cared too much. She thought she heard Keith laughing at her before remembering he wasn't there. "Oh, okay..let's just go." She hurried outside, not thinking to follow Heath out instead of the other way around.
Kate wasn't even paying attention when Ms. Claire was talking. She didn't remember anything about the demonstration at all. She was finally shaken out of her 'trance', quite literally, by Heath.
"You are okay?" he asked in that accent of his.
Kate blinked. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just..thinking, I guess." Kate honestly couldn't remember if she had actually been doing anything.
Heath frowned at her. "You did not see me Target Clear?"
"I'm sorry, Heath, but I didn't."
"Oh. Is too bad. I do well."
"I said I was sorry!" Kate snapped.
"Ranger..." Heath stopped himself and started walking towards the schoolhouse.
Kate watched him look back at her before entering the building. She stared blankly at the door for a few minutes before realizing she should be inside with her charge. As she scurried inside, she contacted Keith via vi-voicemail. "Listen, Keith-"
"Kate! You haven't said anything since you left a few days ago, what's going on?"
"Someone else has to take over for me," she responded bitterly.
"What? Why? Has Heath been causing trou-"
"Heath is fine!" Kate snapped. "I just...I can't do this anymore."
"Why not? Is he too annoying with that stupid accent?" Keith joked.
"It's not stupid!"
"...What? Kate, are you feeling all right?"
Kate slowed down as she reached the stairs. "...I don't know, Hea-Keith," she whispered into her Styler. "I just..."
A loud noise suddenly came from upstairs. Kate cursed under her breath.
"Kate? What was that?"
"I-nothing! I gotta go." She dashed upstairs to the dorms. "Janice? What's wrong? Where's Heath?!"
Janice frowned. "He just went inside his dorm."
"But-that noise!" Kate ran to the door of the boys' dorm.
"Kate, stop! He slammed the door." Janice raised an eyebrow. "I think you're overreacting. Come eat some dinner."
Kate faltered, her fingers on the doorknob. "But..."
"I'm not going to argue." She waved around a bowl of macaroni and cheese.
Kate sighed reluctantly and walked over, dragging her feet.
Kate finished her food quickly and sat around frowning for a while as the students got themselves ready for bed. Heath didn't show his face.
Then hours passed. The other students had gone to sleep long ago. Janice checked on Kate twice to make sure she wasn't still sulking. Kate stared at the table she sat at with a livid expression. She didn't know why.
She must've fallen asleep, for the next thing she knew Janice was shaking her shoulder and the students were nowhere to be seen. "Kate," Janice spoke with urgency. "Kate, wake up."
She opened her eyes with a large yawn. "Hmm, what?"
"Everyone's gone off to class. I thought you had to supervise Heath?"
Kate blinked. "Heath...oh!" She ran downstairs before Janice could offer her any breakfast.
She pounded down the hallway, fearing the worst. He'd escaped while she wasn't there, he'd stolen the Stylers, taken control of the Pokémon with a Miniremo, brought Lavana and Ice-
He was calmly sitting at his desk.
Kate stood in Ms. April's doorway for a few minutes, taking deep breaths while waiting for her heart to beat slower. He was just..sitting there. He hadn't tried anything. Kate could barely comprehend it. She finally closed the door and walked into the classroom, feeling a bit dizzy. Ms. April stopped her lecture on the importance of recharging one's Styler and looked at her worriedly. "Kate, are you feeling okay?"
She mumbled a "yes" and sat cross-legged on the floor next to Heath's desk. He didn't look at her for the rest of the class.
A few days passed. Then weeks. Kate was finally able to make eye contact with Heath again, but the two still didn't say a word to each other.
It was now the day of Outdoor Class. Kate had told Principal Lamont she could handle it for the Ranger School the previous week, but that morning she felt sick. Janice told her she was completely fine and was probably just anxious, but Kate wasn't so sure. Despite this, she walked down to Ascension Square where the students were congregated.
The students were sitting in the grass arranged in a circle, Heath among them. The staff greeted Kate with warm smiles and worried eyes, but she shook her head at them and sat on the edge of the Pledge Stone's "pedestal" of sorts.
"And now, the Question-and-Answer Session of Terror," Ms. April announced without her usual excitement.
Even the students seemed to be aware of Kate's slowness and spoke slowly and clearly in response.
"What's your favorite Pokémon?" one boy asked.
Kate shrugged. "I dunno...Rhyperior is cool.."
The boy seemed satisfied and let the girl next to him ask her question. "Is it hard being a Top Ranger?"
Kate shrugged. "Sometimes. You tend to be assigned more challenging Missions, but depending on your skill it could be a piece of cake for you."
A boy piped up, "What happened to President Hall of Altru three years ago?"
Kate scratched her head; she hadn't seen this one coming. "Well, we don't know for sure. I'm sorry I can't give you a straight answer."
The next few questions were easy to answer. Kate started dreading Heath's turn to ask a question.
"Ranger, do you like the Go-Rock Quads' music?" a girl asked.
"Yeah, I think they're pretty good," she replied.
Next to last was a teenaged girl who asked, "Ranger...are you okay?"
Everyone fell silent waiting for Kate's answer. She didn't really know what she should say. "...I'm fine," she lied.
No one seemed to be satisfied, but the girl lowered her hand.
Ms. April broke the silence by reminding everyone Heath was the last to ask a question. Kate felt like she was starting to sweat. She steeled herself as Heath began to speak.
"Ranger...are you liking someone?"
Kate fell backwards and nearly hit her head on the Pledge Stone. Someone-she couldn't tell who-tried to rush forward, but she waved them away and struggled to sit up on her own. She held her head in her hands. "I'm sorry...what?"
Heath frowned, but patiently repeated, "Are you liking someone?"
A few of the other students muttered to themselves. Kate thought she heard someone say it was a stupid question; considering the queries she'd already received, however, and recalling when she was an Area Ranger in Vientown and was asked the same question before, she didn't quite agree exactly. She just..didn't necessarily want to answer this time.
Kate glanced up at everyone. Heath was staring at her intently, ready to repeat himself once more.
She took a deep breath. "...I think so."
Heath stood up abruptly and walked towards the schoolhouse. The other students and staff, exchanging concerned glances between themselves, followed. Kate still sat holding her head in her hands, staring at her knees. She wanted to cry.
She counted the minutes. It had been thirty of them when she heard footsteps. Kate didn't look up.
Someone sat down next to her. Kate still didn't look up.
An arm was placed around her shoulders. Kate didn't need to look up.
