Wow! Two uploads in two days? I'm on a roll! Okay, so for any of y'all that are interesting, I'm going to try pushing out as many stories as I can before school starts (although I'll definitely still try to publish then, too!), and I'm working on three more stories other than this one! So look forward to them!

~ Childhood ~

"Why won't you ever grow up?!" Mom's hand made sharp contact with my face. "You're such a burden to everyone around you!"

I raised my arms in defense, screaming, "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry!" repeatedly until my voice grew hoarse.

It was a natural occurrence at our house when Dad came home late. No one in the house slept on those nights. Mom was known for her temper and the only one safe from it was Max.

It was one day when I was around 7 or 8 and feeling awfully brave that I decided to break away from Mom's watch and go hide in a bush near the pond. I had stashed some Pokémon plush toys there the past few times I ran off, so I played with those. I didn't expect any company, but the bushes suddenly started rustling so I lifted up a Blaziken doll in defense.

"W-who's there?" My voiced squeaked.

"May! What in the world are you doing hiding in a bush?" It was Mom. Drat. I thought I had escaped from her.

She dragged my out by the wrist, despite my screeching and struggling, and confiscated all my toys.

"When you learn to grow up, you can have these back. I was so worried about you, what were you thinking?"

If she had really been worried about me, she would have put Max down to spend a moment of time with me. Back then I could only understand that Mom and Dad weren't getting along too great. Because Mom was always so stressed, she always yelled at me and expected me to be more mature for my age. Yet because of safety precautions, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone or play with the other kids. The only people I would see around were trainees of the Gym, Mom, and Max.

Oh how I longed for a single friend. It wasn't the same playing make-believe or puppeteering my dolls around. I could watch the other kids enviously for hours behind those black iron gates, but it didn't change anything.

When Mom was in a deliriously good mood, which rarely happened, I was permitted to play in the park by myself as she sat on a bench coddling Max. I wandered aimlessly as I had neither a friend nor doll for company.

"Heads up!" I heard a voice scream out.

Before I could respond, I was knocked off my feet by a red, rubber ball.

"Oof! That really hurt."

An odd boy with green hair ran up to me. I thought he was going to apologize, but instead he had the audacity of saying, "You could've dodged that if you'd listened to me! Jeez, girls are all so dumb sometimes."

"Hey!" I yelled, angered at his snootiness. "You should've watched where you kicked that thing! And you could at least say sorry."

"You're right, I'm sorry: sorry you don't have better reflexes!" The boy grabbed his ball and ran off again.

My head started throbbing again, but I wasn't about to let all the strangers in the park see me cry. I tried to find a tree to climb or a swing to swing in or something to distract me! The park was as barren as Mom's heart so I found an abandoned bench to lay loose my tears.

A ball rolled towards me again; this time hitting my shoe gently. I looked up and saw the same rascal that had hit me earlier.

"Why don't you leave me alone!" I screamed.

"I just wanted to say sorry, especially if it made you cry." The boy mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

I was slightly taken aback; such a transformation in attitude!

"I guess… it's okay." I responded.

"I know!" The boy shouted suddenly, "Why don't we be friends?"

My eyes widened at the prospect. "Friends…?"

"Yeah!" The boy's smile was as sweet as honey, how could I possibly refuse?

"O-okay! What's your name?"

"I'm Andrew, but you can just call me Drew for short. What about you?"

"I'm… May." I hesitated in giving him my name, but surely he couldn't be one of those weirdos my parents had warned me about?

I heard Mom call for me soon after our exchange, and I had to wave goodbye to my new friend. My first friend.

"I'll see you again later, right?" Drew called out just before I was dragged away. I didn't get a chance to tell him that'd I'd love to see him again, but oh how I wished I did.

It wasn't for a good few years later when I saw the boy again. This time, I had brought a trusty book to the park because despite the years that had gone by, I had yet to gain another friend. I recognized his green hair immediately, though it did blend in with the grass. His face and body had grown into that of a teenager's. His green hair was ruffled the same as before, but his face was longer and more defined at the edges. His body was well muscled and tan, albeit on the short side.

"Watch out!" I heard before feeling an oddly familiar pain surge through the side of my head.

I fell to the ground once again, as the same boy came running towards me. Once again.

"Oh geez, not again!" I heard him say as I sat up. "June, are you okay?"

The first coherent sentence spluttered out of my mouth, "My name is May!"

"Sorry, April, it's been awhile." He smirked as he lent me a hand.

"It's May. You know, you could watch where you kick that thing."

"You could watch where you're going, too!"

After all those years, our first conversation was an argument. How lovely.

"Well, it's nice to see you," Drew said out of the blue. "I thought you disappeared from this world when you never went to the park again!"

"Yeah, I just don't get out much." I replied lamely.

"Are you going to start your Pokémon journey soon?"

"I wish! My parents won't even let me have a Pokémon, much less go out."

His face fell a bit. Had he hoped he'd see me in his travels?

"If you ever do get out," he said with a grin, "we should travel together sometime!"

I took him up on his offered and smiled for the first time in a long time. Mom called me back again at the most inconvenient time and I had to cut my conversation short with Drew.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go now! See you!" I called out before rushing back home.

Mom was furious that I had gone out without her permission and she yelled for hours. But I thought every slap she gave to me was worth it. I would run away the next day so she could never hit me again.

I decided I was going to start my Pokémon journey.

Wheee! Hope y'all enjoyed that one! That was a tough one to write, I guess I just lacked inspiration. Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated! If there's anything y'all want me to write specifically, you can simply PM me!

As mentioned in my last chapter, I'm still putting up the offer: is there anyone that would like me to finish either of my stories The Artist or Here Once Again? Both stories I have decided at some point to abandon, although if there is still interest in them, I would be willing to finish them.

Thanks for reading, guys!

Regards,

CSP!