Damn I'm on a roll! Enjoy, everyone!

And we finally see Steven! Yay!


Chapter Four: Bang Bam BOOM!


To May's relief, when she asked Maxie to leave an hour and a half early on Monday, he acquiesced easily and without complaint. He more or less told her that she was a student first, employee second, and that he would respect that as long as she kept her priorities straight. That statement seemed to have a double entendre, but May wasn't quite sure what the underlying meaning was or whether she was even supposed to know it at this point. He had looking at her pointedly as he said it and May had just nodded, hoping that her expression didn't display her confusion too blatantly.

It was now Monday, and since she had ordered all her textbooks online while she was still in Littleroot, she was able to bring her geology textbook as well as a composition notebook with her to the meet up in case she needed to take notes. The email had seemed rather casual, but May wanted to be as prepared as possible.

As May walked out of her apartment, she noticed that the box that had been delivered to Archie's apartment two days ago was still there. She hadn't seen him for almost four days at this point, and although she wasn't one to worry needlessly about strangers, she was a little concerned that the box had been going unattended for all this time. It was a small box, so it was possible that it wasn't super important, but May was feeling a bit like a Good Samaritan right then.

First, she knocked on the door to see if he was home, although she was pretty certain that he wasn't if the box was still there. She had didn't have a lot of time before she had to be at the meet up, but she didn't want his box to get stolen when she could have prevented it. After pondering it for a few moments, she pulled out her composition notebook, ripped out a sheet, and scribbled down a quick note onto it.

Archie-

There has been a box outside your door for the past two days and I was worried about it getting stolen, so I took it inside for safekeeping. Just call me when you're back to get it. 454-913-0277

-May

She didn't see anything wrong with him having her number, so she folded up the sheet of paper and slipped it through the small opening for mail at the bottom-center of the door. Then, she tucked the box into her messenger bag and took off, already having wasted too much time on the abandoned package dilemma. May felt rather good about herself as she walked to the bus stop.

As she was getting off, however, she realized just how terribly invasive she had been with someone she didn't even really know all that wel. He could possibly get really pissed off at her, and that was a position she didn't want to be in.

She remembered Kyogre, who apparently attacked people more with her teeth than her tongue. Oh god…

Internally panicking, May glanced at her cell phone to see if there was enough time to get back to her apartment and return the package before Archie possibly got home. She had no idea when that would be, and since he apparently hadn't been home for a while, it was quite possible that he was returning soon.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the time and would just have to hope that Archie didn't get home before she did and that Kyogre tore up the note she had left as soon as possible.

May pushed the terrifying thought of Archie's anger—and what he might do when angered—out of her mind and made her way to the Dunkin' Donuts where the class was apparently supposed to meet. She was right on time and as she pushed into the shop, she immediately noticed the group where she was meant to be.

Three tables had been pushed together to create something of a large dinner table and seats were equally spaced all around it. There were probably twelve or fourteen places for people to sit. May was surprised that the donut shop was so spacious, as they usually only did take-away orders in Littleroot. Perhaps it was because of all the college students in Cambridge. As she looked around, she noticed a Free Wi-fi sign pasted to the wall and her question was immediately answered. This must be something of a congregation spot—she had seen the rooftop of one of the college buildings on her way into the shop, so it was definitely close enough to the school.

There were only about five or six other students present and the professor was nowhere in sight. Most of them were the typical college kid stereotype, but there was one guy who stood out to her.

He was taller than her, but certainly not on the level of tall that Connor or Archie were. He had spikey, strangely gray-blue hair—must have dyed it, because it couldn't be natural—and striking eyes that were shockingly similar to his hair. He was lean and wore tight black jeans that seemed to be fitted to suit his legs and a dark blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He was the only one standing and his eyes were watching the door.

Suddenly, his eyes met May and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Are you here for the geology class?" he asked, and his voice was a soft but deep tenor. May swallowed heavily and nodded.

"Yeah," she replied weakly. This guy…this guy was…

"Oh, good. I'm Steven Stone and I'll be your TA for the semester. Professor Devon won't be coming today because he had something come up, so I'll be getting you all started on your project."

May nodded nervously. "Okay, sounds…good," she said.

Steven smiled and May shifted uncomfortably. He was just so… "Don't be nervous. You're a freshman, right?" May nodded again. "There are a lot of freshman in this class, so you're not alone." His tone was so friendly and kind and oh god…

"Thanks," she said with an uneasy smile before going to sit down. Steven remained standing and went back to watching the door for any newcomers. May quickly buried herself in the introductory chapter of her textbook and tried very hard not to look at the most perfect male specimen she had ever laid eyes upon in her life.

Steven was the West's Adonis. Why he was a TA and not a model, she wasn't sure, but when she glanced at the two other girls present at the table surreptitiously, it was hard to miss the way they seemed to take turns staring at him, as if begging for his attention.

May glared down at her textbook, her brain not digesting any of the words she read. Okay, that was fair. Any hot-blooded woman—or male, depending on their sexuality—would have to be blind not to see how beautiful Steven was. However, that didn't mean she had to demean herself by simpering for his attention. Besides, there had to be a rule against dating teachers—or, in this case, teacher's assistants, especially if the two participants were attending and teaching, respectively, the same class. So Steven was eye-candy and nothing else.

She couldn't help but glance at him longingly—his back, of course, because she had too much pride to let a stranger see her look at them that way—and then steeled her resolve. He was gorgeous in a way she had never seen before, but she wasn't going to jeopardize her enrollment to an Ivy League school just because she was infatuated with this guy at first sight. It just wasn't happening.

After another five minutes and no one else showed up, Steven sighed and turned to the table. "So, it looks like everyone who wanted to come is here," he announced. May noticed that while before his voice had been polite and friendly, it now took on a more authoritative tone when he was addressing them as students and not equals. "As you all know, my name is Steven Stone and I'll be your TA for the semester.

"I wasn't going to do this before, but since there are so few of you, let's go around and introduce ourselves," Steven went on. "We'll start with you."

Suddenly, all eyes were on May. She cursed for being the only one sitting on the left. She flushed and quickly blurted out, "I'm May Andrews."

The guy next in line spoke up shyly. "I-I'm W-Wally Harris," he stammered. May looked at him a little more closely. He had light green hair and even when choosing an exuberant hair color, it was like he couldn't really go too bright. Along with that, his skin was pale, almost in a sickly way. He was dressed down in an oversized gray sweatshirt and baggy jeans that made him seem a lot thinner than he probably was.

On that thought, why did everyone seem to dye their hair? Steven, Wally, and she suspected that Maxie did too. His hair was just too red. It was odd because her boss was so stern and composed that it didn't really seem like something he would do, but then again he had his employees wear incredibly strange all-red uniforms, so maybe she wasn't looking at him from the right perspective…

By the time May started paying attention again, the last girl was introducing herself as Lucy Bennett. She was one of the girls who had been checking out Steven and seemed to be at least friends with the girl seated next to her, whose introduction had been missed by May zoning out.

"Thank you, everyone." Steven smiled and Lucy and her friend seemed to swoon just a bit. May tried to keep herself a least a little more composed than them, but she wasn't quite sure she succeeded. No one was paying her any attention, though, so if she had embarrassed herself, at least no one had witnessed it.

May felt eyes on her and found Wally watching her with a blush on his face. He quickly averted his gaze, however, and she decided to ignore it. Wally seemed a little too childish for her—how could he seriously be her age?

Steven went on to tell them about the semester-long project that would have a huge impact on their final grade for the class. Apparently they had to research, and preferably obtain, a rock or gemstone and then do a series of tests throughout the class—he explained that they would learn more about the tests and how to do them as the semester progressed—and then do a presentation on it, including a research paper, results of their tests, and so on.

"…and so, you'll be graded on a holistic-"

Suddenly, there was a loud vibration from May's pocket and she internally cursed as she fished out her phone to turn it off. Steven paused and yet again, all the attention was on her.

However, May was now panicking. It was a number she didn't recognize, but it was definitely a Boston area code and since nobody else here had her number except for Archie… "I'm really sorry," she said, her cheeks red as a tomato. She was going to have to reject the call, as much as it killed her. Oh, he was going to be so pissed! "I'll just turn it-"

"Don't worry, May," Steven said kindly. "This isn't actually class, so if it's important, you can go take it. We're almost done here, anyway."

May slumped in relief before quickly swiping open her phone to answer the call and practically bolting out of her seat.

"Hello?" she said a little breathlessly as she when into a corner of the shop for a little more privacy.

"May, it's Archie," came his deep voice. It sounded even more baritone over the phone, which should have been impossible—but that was probably because he was clearly pissed off as hell. "Why the fuck did you take that box?" he demanded.

May felt guilt wash over her and it was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. "I just didn't want it to get-"

"Stolen, yeah," he snapped. "Listen. How long ago did you take it? This is really important."

Now she was a little confused, but she responded meekly, "I don't know, a-about forty five minutes ago?"

"Shit," he cursed savagely. "Do you have any spare keys? I need that box right now."

"Oh, uh," May was practically hopping from one foot to the other in her anxiousness. "I took it with me because I was running late. I'm only fifteen minutes away, I can totally-"

"Motherfucker!" May felt tears prick her eyes and she looked over at the table, where the students were now dispersing.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" she blubbered. "I just wanted to-"

"Where are you?" Archie's voice was sharp, ignoring her apology without a thought.

"A-at the Dunkin' Donuts on-on-" May bolted out of the shop and looked for a street sign. There is was—she was on Cambridge near Quincy Street. She repeated this to Archie.

"Oh, fuck, you're in a public place, too?" Archie growled a few more choice words and May wasn't sure whether she was more confused or terrified at this point. "Start walking to Dawes Island Park. Do not get on the bus and stay as far as fucking possible from other people. You started this shit, so I can't help you any more than meeting up with you as soon as possible."

"O-okay," she whimpered, guilt overtaking her again.

"And get the fuck out of that place. Run, if you have to, but I need you to be at Dawes Island Park in ten minutes."

"Where is-"

"Take a left and go straight down Cambridge," he barked "Go. Now. I'll meet you by the restrooms."

May was about to ask where those would be, but Archie had hung up. Only Steven was still at Dunkin' Donuts and he was watching her with concern.

She turned to him and immediately noticed this. She was teary-eyed, red with embarrassment and guilt, and absolutely miserable. Of course this would be her first actual one-on-one conversation with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she swiftly approached the table to grab her bag, which held that damned box.

"I'll be okay," she replied weakly, hurriedly slinging the bag over her shoulder and grabbing her purse. She turned to him as she was turning to leave. "How long would it take to get to Dawes Island Park from here?"

"Walking?"

"Yeah." May couldn't stop herself from inching towards the door. The clock was ticking…for whatever reason.

"No more than ten minutes, even if you're going at a sedate pace. Why? Is everything okay, May?"

May nodded. "Oh, I hope so," she replied over her shoulder as she shot out of the door and began to book it to the park.

When she arrived at the nearest building that had restrooms, May suddenly realized that this was a very odd place to meet up just to pick up a package. Unless he was going to beat her to death and he just wanted to have an easy place to hide the body…she could always fight back, though…

Oh, god, her self-defense classes wouldn't stand a chance against him!

Archie called her again two minutes later. "Where are you?" he demanded.

At his harsh tone, May's eyes teared up again and one spilled over. Trying to disguise how terrified she was, she cleared her throat and said, "I-I'm by the restrooms…uh, there's a blue bike rack to my left…can't see the street…"

"Found ya," he said into the phone before promptly hanging up. She turned around and saw Archie walking up to her briskly. May had to stop herself from running in the opposite direction.

"Box," he commanded and May quickly fished it out of her bag, handing it to him with shaking hands. He immediately tore it open and revealed a small but bulky black box that was blinking frantically with a number counting down on the front—it read 00:00:08 and was counting down by the second. There was a bright red card—the very same color of her uniform, she realized vaguely—and it read, "Happy Birthday!"

May stared at it in great confusion. What…was it? This was the strangest birthday gift, because it looked like a-

Suddenly, it began to beep as the timer hit one second. "Shit, shit, shit!" Archie chucked the box as far as he could away from the restrooms and into the brush. May shrieked when he tackled her to the ground, covering her with his body, and then-

BOOM!


Yes, people, that is what we call a cliffhanger. A good cliffhanger? Hell no. But a cliffhanger nonetheless.

Review time! A huge thank you to: F. Flotsam, loli-belle, Almiaranger, 1939Sorry-Not-Sorry1945, JetravenEx, Akatsupure, TrueLightHikari, Hunter the Weavile, Guest1267, StubblePrince, mupp3tbab3h, DragonkynNatKiasu, and Guest for reviewing! Now, for responses...

First of all, an EVEN BIGGER thank you to mupp3tbab3h, who took the time to review every single chapter up until this point. You are AWESOME! In that same vein, I want to give lots of love to everyone who has been here since the story started, oh, what, a week ago? LOL That would be (to the best of my knowledge) Akatsupure, JetravenEx, and F. Flotsam! (There might be/probably is more, but between Guest reviews and actual users, I'm quite lost! So if you've been here the whole time and I didn't mention you, my greatest apologies and make sure I know in a review so I can include you next time!) You all ROCK MY SOCKS!

Loli-belle, I'm glad my writing could cheer you up! That's the kind of stuff I like to hear - I write to make people happy!

DragonkynNatKiasu - My first starter was Cyndaquil. Love that little guy. And my favorite starter of all time is very cliche. Charmander. I'm a sucker for all Gen I pokemon. I've played every game all the way through except for Gen IV and Gen V, but I've still made damn good progress in those games, too. I STILL like Charmander the best. :D Lame, right? LOL

Review responses everyone should read:

mupp3tbab3h - You're the first person to notice the Red Sox Magma uniforms! Congrats!

Since this isn't really a spoiler, yes, the Red Sox jerseys we saw on everybody last chapter is something of the official 'uniform' for Team Magma in this fic. ;)

Thank you for the question by JetravenEx about Kyogre. Kyogre is a female blue/grey pitbull who is huge. Like 100 lbs. She weighs almost as much as May does...So yeah. That was a rough landing for poor May, lol. She is NOT blue like Kyogre the Pokemon - just looks like a legitimate dog you would find in our world, but her grey fur has a blue-ish tint to it. Sorry if I confused anyone!

For the question today, we're going to recycle DragonkynNatKiasu's question to me. :) (By the way, ask me any questions you like! I'll respond!)

My favorite type of Pokemon is Dragon all the way. It's a really tough choice, but since the beginning of my Pokemon playing career, there has always been an Dragon-type on my team, even if it means hours of grinding just to get them to the same level as the rest of my team. Like how you get a Lv. 10 (or something) Dratini after the Clair in Crystal? Yeah, I got her all the way up to Dragonite before challenging the Elite Four...

Question: What was your first starter pokemon and which is your favorite starter of all time, Gen I - Gen VI?

Don't forget to review!