A/N: Viewer discretion is advised. This chapter contains some mature content and dark concepts, and is not really meant for young audiences. Nothing graphic of course, but still.


The guys were all sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in that morning.

"Hey babe, guess what? We got a gig!"

"No way! Where? When?!"

Aaron handed May a letter sent from the Krabby Club in Gateon Port, inviting them to perform at their venue. They were scheduled to play in two days.

"We'd better get going now," said James, the bassist. "Agate's close to Gateon, but we'll need to get situated and do sound check and all that."

"Hey May," Aaron said as he went to embrace her. "I'm really glad you'll be with us for our first real show."

He made her melt, every single day. They had been dating for a couple weeks now but it felt like a lifetime. It all felt so magical to her. They packed their things into James' van and headed to Gateon.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Drew was lounging by the harbor all morning. Gateon was the perfect little resort for a short vacation. Around noon, he called back his Masquerain and Butterfree, who were also enjoying the sun, and headed back to the Pokemon Center. On the way there, he saw a van drive by and park in front of the Krabby Club, and people started unloading equipment. That's when he recognized a familiar brunette.

May noticed her old rival in the distance, and nearly dropped the speakers as she ran over to him.

"Drew, hey! How have you been? What have you been up to since – wow, it's really been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Guess it has," he said with a smile and closing his eyes. He really did miss her.

"Whatever happened to you back in Pyrite? I turned my back for a minute, and then you were gone."

"I got invited to study botany at the Pokemon HQ lab. The leader of Pyrite was so impressed with my Roselia and my battling skills, that he insisted I enroll," he said with a hair flip.

May didn't even mind his pretentiousness. She was just happy to see him again.

"Well, what about you? I assume you've been competing all this time?"

"Actually no. I've been practicing to become a musician, and I've even joined a band!"

This kind of shocked Drew. May in a BAND? She's not the kind of person I can see doing something like that. But that's cool I guess.

"We're playing at the Krabby Club tomorrow night. If you're still in town, maybe you can come by?"

"Hmm. I'll have to check the calendar, but I suppose I can make an appearance," he said with another hair flip, throwing a rose at her.

"Hey May, be a little more careful with the speakers next time," Aaron said as he came up behind her. He put an arm around her and kissed her forehead. This threw Drew in for an even bigger surprise.

"Um, Drew… this is Aaron, my boyfriend. Aaron, this is my old friend and rival, Drew."

"Good to meet you, man," Aaron said.

"Yeah. Pleasure's mine," Drew said with an unenthusiastic tone of voice, not making eye contact. He recognized him as the guy she took off with in Pyrite, which he was really hoping would end up being meaningless. Clearly he was wrong.

"Well, it was good seeing you, Drew," May said as Aaron pulled her away to finish unloading. Drew stood there and watched them walk away, holding hands, happy. At least she's happy.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

That night, May and Aaron went up to the top of the lighthouse and gazed out at the sea.

"I got you something," he said as he handed her a small box.

She opened it and found a sparkly Beautifly necklace. On the back it said, "A Pokemon with beauty that's second to yours."

"Aw, Aaron. You're so sweet," she said as she leaned in to kiss him. While doing so, she noticed some scars on the side of his neck.

"What happened to your neck?" she asked, as she noticed even more scars on his arms and wrists. How had she not noticed those before?

He looked down. "That's a long story, May. Maybe I can tell you some other time. Right now I just want to enjoy this night."

"O-okay."

They looked out to the distance. "So… how's that song coming?"

He laughed. "I guess I should finish it soon so I can play it for you."

She looked at him and smiled. "Guess so."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The big night came and the band was setting up at the club. There was a good number of people there; none of whom were familiar with the band until that night. In due time, the MC went on stage and introduced them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have some special guests here tonight. All the way from Pyrite, give it up for Chorus Romance!"

The crowd cheered and the band started playing. They had a set list of 5 songs, which wasn't very long, but they had a blast. Except May was concerned that she didn't see her green-haired friend there after he said he would come.

Outside, Drew was standing by the edge of the dock near the club, listening to the music. They were pretty good. He was trying to bring himself to enter the building, but he still felt bitter about Aaron. It's her choice. Whatever. She's in a real relationship with that guy and I can't change it, so what am I doing being upset about it?

It was true; he was an adult now, and getting jealous and staying away felt immature. He pulled himself together and went in, about halfway through the set list.

May was happy to see him walk in. He looked at her and smiled, and suddenly the concert felt so much more alive. She got her passion behind the music again and the band blew the crowd away.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After the show, May and Aaron were hanging out backstage and packing the rest of their stuff, after the other members had already left.

"So… do you wanna tell me about those scars now?"

He was silent for a moment. He went and sat down by her and had a sorrowful look on his face. May had never seen him like that before.

"I grew up in a place called The Under for the first 13 years of my life. It was a secret underground city right below Pyrite, and at the time, it was run by a criminal organization called Cipher. It was a really sketchy place, with lots of gang activity and drug dealing businesses. Way worse than Pyrite ever was. I got mugged so much that it became normal. I lived alone with my mom down there, after my dad left us when I was 5. My mom was an alcoholic and got abusive. The woman was crazy. I never even saw the sun until I was 13 and moved up to Pyrite, after The Under was closed and buried."

May was shocked to hear all this. She had no idea he had such a hard life growing up.

"So your mom gave you those scars?"

"No. I did."

May held him close. She felt so much closer to him since he was being so vulnerable. And all the same she wanted to cry because her heart hurt so badly for him.

After some time, he got up and went over to fetch something from his bag. Looked like some kind of bottle. He opened it, took a handful of capsules, and swallowed them.

She got up and took a closer look. And freaked out.

"Aaron, what are you doing?! Is that… meth?"

"I told you, The Under had a lot of drug dealing businesses. There's no way I would've survived all those years down there if I couldn't use these to ease the pain."

"Aaron, this is crazy! Those things are gonna kill you. You don't live down there anymore, so why do you still need them?"

"It still hurts, May! You wouldn't understand!" He was starting to get furious, and fast. This was also a side of him she'd never seen, and it was a little scary. "During the day, when I'm with you and the band, I'm fine. But at night the memories all come back and I start feeling that pain again. These help me get through it."

May started to tear up. She was going to lose him to these things.

"Aaron, please. I'm begging you, please, for me… stop taking them. I don't want to see you fall."

"They can make you feel good too, May."

She stared at him with shock that he was even saying something like that.

"Are you kidding me? Why would I want to do that to myself?"

He handed her some. "Do this for me then. We can do this together. Just do it this once, and then I'll think about stopping."

"NO!"

"This is how you can help me! If you do this and step into my world, I'll stop. I promise."

At this point, all she cared about was him and his well-being. If she did it just this once, he might be saved. She swallowed the pills.

Meanwhile, right above them, Drew was eavesdropping through the very thin walls. He was still at the bar having a drink, and was astonished at what he was hearing. He thought about stepping in, but he knew May was responsible enough to keep herself under control. She wouldn't become like Aaron. After all, he said it himself earlier. It's her life, her choice.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Whatever it was that she took, it felt good. That same night, she found herself asking for more. And the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that.

And he never did stop.

She had come to meet him in a thousand shards of glass.


A/N: I am NOT, by any means, endorsing drug usage, self-harm, alcoholism, etc. in any way by writing about them. These are the kinds of things I see a lot of people in my life depend on and live for, and it's so heartbreaking to watch them go down that road and refuse to stop. But it's something that I truly believe Jesus can heal ANYONE from, no matter how bad it is, if we truly seek Him. Like I said at the beginning, the story's gonna get spiritual in the last chapter, and I'll probably bring this all in when it does.