"He what?!"

Maylene was currently sprawled out on Gardenia's bedroom floor, Candice perched on the bed, and Gardenia in a moss green moon chair. Maylene had returned from her impromptu trip to Hoenn around four in the morning that Tuesday. Whitney tried her best to pry for details on where she had been the whole day, but a physically and emotionally exhausted gym leader deflected her questions, and fell right to sleep.

She was awoken at eight in the morning, by two frankly pissed off girls carrying her out of her room. Whitney had informed Candice and Gardenia about Maylene's absence for the day before she had left for school, and they, being her best friends, knew they had to get involved.

So, with the condition of Gardenia having food for her at her gym, she told them the story—and she made sure to tell them how okay she was with how everything ended.

"Yup. With Flannery."

Candice shook her head. "What a moron. Being drunk is no excuse to cheat on someone you love."

Maylene bit her tongue; Candice was guilty of doing that. Talk about a 'pot calling the kettle black' scenario. Instead, she just shrugged. "I mean, we were getting super distant as of late. Yeah, I'm still a little pissed, but overall, I'm not bothered." She folded her arms behind her head, "We jumped right into our honeymoon phase anyway. It makes sense we didn't last long."

"Oh, shut up with the excuses." Candice said, "You don't have to justify someone cheating. He's a sleaze, May!"

Maylene bit back a smile. She was enjoying this too much.

Gardenia scoffed, leaning back in her chair. "Unbelievable. Flint's gonna flip when he hears this."

Maylene sat up, "Okay, can we talk about you and Flint right now? What's going on here?"

Gardenia smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Nah, it's okay."

Maylene's mouth fell open. "You dragged me here to talk about my baggage!" She grabbed a nearby pillow on the floor and chucked it at her face. "Spill!"

The girls laughed in agreement, Gardenia settling them down. "Alright, alright! Basically, after me and Roark broke up, Flint and I started out super casual. Neither of us wanted anything involving commitment, since we just got out of serious relationships—well, I did, I don't think I can count Flint and Flannery as 'serious', but, I digress. It was mostly just us hanging out and doing…things, no strings attached, but as of late, I think we're both okay with…involving a little commitment."

"What happened with you and Roark anyway?" Candice asked.

Gardenia sighed, "We had been dating for seven months, and he still didn't really know how to be a boyfriend. I mean, it's okay to be nervous about things, since I was his first girlfriend, but you're still clueless after seven months? I was so tired of waiting for him to be comfortable with having a girlfriend. I feel like he liked the thought of us together, but, in action, not so much. So, I ended it. We were both pretty frazzled by the break up, but some of us get back on our feet faster than others."

The room hummed in understanding, falling into a comfortable silence.

"Gym leader relationships are weird." Candice piped up, "Which is why I'm super glad to not be with a gym leader anymore."

"Wanna brag a little harder, Candice?"

XXXX

Maylene returned to the gym around ten in the morning and decided to keep the gym closed for the day, despite Cynthia's warnings from the last meeting. She was just too tired, and decided it was best to take a personal day. Before she could lay down for a nap, her phone blared. She groaned, rolling over and looking at the caller ID.

It was Volkner.

She quickly sat up, holding the phone in both of her hands. She took a deep breath, and pressed 'Accept'.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I tried calling you last night, no answer. I thought you might've been with Whitney or something."

Maylene's eyes widened. When her phone rang while she was on Flygon, it was Volkner. Not Steven. Shit. A call she actually wanted.

"Oh, um. Yeah, I hung out with Whitney. I'm sorry." She lied.

"No, it's fine."

There was a beat of silence.

"What's up?" Maylene asked. God, it was like she fifteen again. Nervous about talking to a boy. Shit, she'd only been single for a couple hours, why was this already so hard?

"Ah, nothing really. I didn't really have any challengers so I thought I'd call about hanging out tonight."

Her heart raced. A date with Volkner.

"I'd love to."

There she goes again, speaking with her heart and not her head. It's okay now, though. No more guilt was racking her body. She could freely like Volkner.

Well, not totally freely. Candice was still her friend, and she wasn't totally sure if Candice would be okay with her dating Volkner. But she'd cross that road when she got to it. She just enjoyed the sound of Volkner's voice and the excitement that bubbled in her stomach.

He had a challenger come to the gym, so the call ended with shy goodbyes from both parties. Maylene sighed, laying back down on her bed.

She had a date tonight. And she couldn't even tell anybody.

Gardenia would hit her with a life lesson about friendship and morals and blah, blah, blah, and telling Candice was completely out of the question, Maylene pondered. She considered telling Whitney, but she had such a big mouth, she would basically be telling Candice and Gardenia too.

Maylene groaned, covering her face with a pillow. She was so excited she was going to burst, but she had to keep it to herself.

A text lit up her phone. She looked at the notification on her lock screen.

Phoebe: 10:54am

Miss you! Call me when you can, let's catch up!

Maylene smiled. Of course I can tell Phoebe. She quickly dialed Phoebe's number, the ghost Elite answering after two rings.

"I wasn't sure if you were awake. I'm glad you called!" Phoebe's happy voice said on the other line, "How've you been? When are you coming back to visit? Catch me up on things!"

Maylene chuckled, "Slow down there, Phoebs!" She sighed. "A lot has happened. Like, a lot, a lot."

XXXX

She was on the phone with Phoebe for almost two hours, spilling her heart out when she hadn't meant to. Phoebe had known about Flannery and Steven hooking up; she wanted Steven to fess up to her himself.

"I found out from Flannery, who hadn't really known you and Steven were dating for some reason." Phoebe explained to her, "She was pissed at Flint, and thought sleeping with people would calm her down. I mean, we all have different coping mechanisms, but, cheating is not a good one in any universe! She called him over to her gym, and after some drinks, they did it. I was beyond disappointed in him, Maylene, but he was also disappointed in himself. I gave him an ultimatum; either tell you himself within a week, or I'd tell you. He cares about you, though, don't forget that."

So now, after a nap, of course, it was around four in the afternoon, and Maylene was thinking about ways to lie to Whitney about her date with Volkner, so she could leave the gym without any nosy questions. Whitney had to stay after school to work on a project, so she had time to be alone with her thoughts.

Fantina invited me to a contest? No, Whit would want to go…

…Flint and I were talking shit, and now we got roped into battling each other? Whitney would tell Gardenia, who would talk to Flint, who would deny that happened…

I'm actually not Maylene, I'm Korrina, and need to go back to Kalos? No, no, NO!

Maylene let her head hit her desk. Her date was in two hours. She should be frantically raiding her closet for an outfit. She didn't really think about the implications that would come with dating Volkner—everything would have to be a secret, except Phoebe and maybe Flint would know about them.

The door to her bedroom opened, Maylene turning to see Whitney, who looked extremely exhausted.

"Rough day?" Maylene asked, turning back to her laptop screen. Whitney sighed loudly. "I hate group projects."

"Are they making you do everything?"

"No, they're trying to help out, but they're all so stupid!"

Whitney ranted on about her science group, while Maylene felt a pang of guilt. She still hadn't told Whitney about her mother's call from yesterday. She was still debating whether or not it was worth it; she hadn't mentioned Johto in months, or her father. She was enjoying Sinnoh life, and Maylene didn't want to damper her mood.

She sighed. "Whit."

Whitney, who was sitting on the trundle bed, looked up at Maylene from her mindless rummaging through her backpack. "What's up?"

Maylene didn't want to damper her mood.

"…Your mom called me yesterday."

But Whitney deserved to know.

Her little cousin's eyes widened. "My mom!? Is she okay!? Why hasn't she called me!"

"She claimed it was 'for your safety'."

"For my safety!? What could possibly happen to me if she called me, even for a minute, to the point where she can have NO contact with me!?" She was off the bed now, pacing around the room, throwing her hands all around.

Maylene ran a hand through her hair. "She wanted you to know that she's safe in Hoenn, and that you're no longer the gym leader of Goldenrod. I should've told you sooner, but my trip to Hoenn yesterday was like, rattling my brain."

Whitney's face fell. "I lost my gym?" She stopped her pacing, letting her hands fall to her sides. "My…my gym?"

She sat on the ground, crossing her legs under her. She looked up at Maylene. "I'm not a gym leader anymore."

Maylene sat down on the ground in front of her, cupping her hands around Whitney's face. Her magenta eyes watered, and she leaned onto Maylene's shoulder before the tears could fall down her face.

XXXX

Whitney was absolutely shattered.

Not only over losing her gym and her beloved gym Pokémon, but also because she was coming to her own conclusion that her mother probably didn't want her to come back.

She had gone downstairs to the game room at the other end of the gym, and kept the door shut for hours. Maylene thought it'd be best to give her the space she needed; this was a lot to cope with.

She knocked on the door about an hour before she was supposed to head out for her date with Volkner, telling her she'd be with Gardenia and Candice. Whitney gave her a quiet reply, her eyes still glued to the television. Maylene felt bad for seemingly abandoning her cousin—but, when Whitney's upset, her normally talkative and bubbly attitude recoils, and all she wants is her space. Maylene being around would just be annoying.

As Maylene walked across the gym to head back to her room at around seven, the door knocked. She assumed it was some trainers hoping to battle, so she brushed it off.

But another three quick knocks came—whoever was outside wasn't going away.

She sighed; she needed to get ready. Who would even be knocking on her door now?

She undid a few locks, swinging the door open.

"The sign out front says I'm closed—"

Her stomach fell to her knees.

"…Steven?"

Steven, looking cleaner and a little more panicked then yesterday, gave her a weary smile. "Hi."

Maylene was silent for a moment, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Steven, her ex-boyfriend, is standing at her doorstep. The last time that happened, she was excited. This? Not exciting.

"Why are you here?" She deadpanned. Steven's smile faltered slightly, but he cleared his throat. "I wanted to come and say I'm sorry."

"…You did that yesterday." Maylene was beyond annoyed.

"I did, I know. I just…" He sighed. "I'm an idiot, and I fucked up. I really fucked up. You mean so much to me, Maylene, and I love you too much to just let you go." He reached out and gently took her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles tenderly.

"Do…do you think we could try again?"

Maylene's stomach had now reached her toes, and her rapid heartbeat calmed to a chillingly slow rate.

Was this guy serious? He cheated on her! Does a second 'I'm sorry' suddenly make everything better!? He even acted like it wasn't a big deal when he told her, so what makes this apology different from the first? Was the 'I love you' supposed to melt her heart and leave her a puddle at his feet?

She was more insulted than anything. Yeah, she still loved him, and she was still sad that they had to break up. But—

"Getting back together sounds like the worst idea."

She bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't mean to be that harsh, and Steven's softer expression did make her feel a little sour in her stomach. She let go of his hand.

Maylene sighed, running her now free hand through her hair. "Steven…I love you, too. And yeah, you did fuck up. I'm really, really hurt that you'd do that. But…getting back together isn't something we should do. We were really drifting apart anyway, and you know, maybe that means we don't really work out as a couple. I would like to be friends with you, though, just…not right now. Being in contact right now sounds pretty…chaotic, for both of our emotions." She met his eyes, "I hope that's okay."

Steven looked down at his feet, Maylene sighing again. "I think this would be better for us."

Steven hesitantly looked back up at her. He gave her a half smile. "Yeah. I like that idea."

He gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead, and he was on his way. Maylene walked up her silver stairs with a smile on her face; she actually felt at peace with this.

But, "this" took up fifteen minutes of her time, so now she'd have to tear her closet apart.

XXXX

There was a knock at the gym door at eight on the nose. Maylene heard the knock all the way from her bedroom.

She flicked a crumb of dried mascara from her cheek, and flattened a hand on her hair. She rushed down the stairs with a jacket in arm, swinging the door open a little too quickly.

Volkner stood in front of her, hands shoved into the pockets of his blue jacket, smiling at her fondly.

"Hey."

Maylene grinned, "Hi, stranger." She stepped out of the gym, locking the door behind her. "So, you've been pretty secretive about what we're doing tonight."

Volkner breathed out a chuckle, walking towards his car. Maylene swore he was the only person in this whole damn region to actually drive a car, probably because he was actually smart enough to build his own.

"Who doesn't like a nice surprise?" He replied, opening the passenger door for Maylene. She sat down, closing the door herself as Volkner got situated in the driver's seat.

"You don't like surprises."

Volkner shrugged, "Okay, true. But I know you do." He revved the engine, putting the car into drive. "We're going to Canalave to take a boat ride, if that's okay with you."

Maylene bit back another wide smile. Volkner was secretly the sappiest person alive; and he wasn't even good at keeping it a secret.

The drive to Canalave was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. Maylene had never been the one to fancy silence; whenever silence was happening, it was because she didn't know something that other people did. And that sucks.

Volkner wrapped his fingers around Maylene's hand, which was resting in her lap. She absently squeezed his hand, her gaze still looking out the window.

Comfortable. Very comfortable.

He parked his car next to the dock in Canalave City, a middle aged man in a sailor suit standing in front of a docked ferry. Maylene started to wonder if this would be a spin-off of Cynthia & Riley's first date back in Hoenn, but, she waited to expose him—maybe he had something creative planned. The two exited the car, walking towards the sailor. Volkner loosely intertwined his fingers with Maylene's, keeping her at a comfortable but close distance. She liked that.

"Evenin', Volkner." The sailor said, reaching out and firmly shaking Volkner's hand.

"Nice to see you, Eldritch." Volkner nodded. "Thanks again for this."

"Oh, don't thank me. You helped fix Canalave's three-day power outage, I owe you this." He nodded hello to Maylene, and led the two on his ferry. They were seated comfortably on one of the many chairs the lower deck had to offer, Eldritch telling them they would be on the sea in five minutes.

"I was worried for a second." Maylene spoke up after Eldritch had disappeared. Volkner looked down at her. "Worried about what?"

"I thought you were just going to rehash the date we put together for Cynthia and Riley. I would've left, to be honest."

Volkner chuckled. "Don't you have a little faith in me? All my date ideas are original, except for the ones I clearly take from romantic comedies."

"You're such a square."

"I know, but it gives me character."

"Also, nice touch with the sailor guy bringing up one of your many achievements," Maylene teased. "That's how you impress your dates?"

"Did it impress you?"

Maylene shrugged, looking out at the night sky bleeding onto the water's surface as the ferry trudged along. "A little."

"Then yeah, it was a nice touch."

XXXX

The ferry reached their destination about ten minutes later. Volkner was still being vague about what they were doing—she didn't even know they were getting dropped off somewhere, she just thought they were taking a boat ride.

The ferry jerked to a stop, Sailor Eldritch walking into the lower deck a few minutes later. "We've reached Fullmoon Island. We'll be heading back out in about two hours, so try to swoon her as fast as you can, Volkner."

Volkner immediately blushed, Maylene biting her lip to stop a sly smile.

Volkner escorted her off the ferry, leading her away from the dock into the woodsy area of the island.

"Why are we on Fullmoon Island? Are we gonna try and catch Cresselia!? Dude, I didn't even bring any PokéBalls! Or, any of my Pokémon for that matter. Why didn't you—!"

"Hey, shut up for a second." Volkner pushed aside the thicket of shrubs hindering their path, revealing a secluded clearing, with a picnic blanket and basket in the dead center. The stars were overlooking the picnic, perfectly clear and bright.

Maylene was too stunned to be offended by Volkner telling her to shut up.

He rested his hand on the small of her back, looking down and smiling at her. "Is this a little better then catching Cresselia?"

"Volkner…this is…"

"Let's get to the food, I'm pretty sure some Ratatta have been eyeing it since it's been put out."

"Good point. Race you!"

Maylene bolted through the clearing, Volkner watching her go, his hands in his pockets and a loving smile on his face. She turned around, stopping in her tracks and frowning.

"You're no fun!" She shouted.

"You're so cute, I just had to watch." Volkner shouted back, walking towards her. It was her turn to blush.

XXXX

The date was absolutely surreal. She had never been wined and dined before. The food Volkner had brought along was delicious, the conversation between them flowed perfectly and naturally, and she got to gaze at the stars with the best guy in the region.

Sailor Eldritch found them in the clearing, shouting that it was time for Cinderella to head back home—interestingly enough, he was actually referring to the boat. He named the ferry Cinderella.

When they arrived back in Canalave, Maylene stopped Volkner before they walked back to his car.

"What's up?"

"I just…" Maylene sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I've had a really weird few days, and I really needed this. This was a lot of fun, thank you."

He pinched her chin with his thumb and index finger, tilting her head up and giving her a gentle kiss. She happily reciprocated, resting her hands on his waist.

"You're welcome." He smiled against her lips. "Let's get you home."

Once they were both in the car, he sped off to Veilstone, unaware that Gardenia and Flint were walking through town, and saw the whole encounter.