Longest chapter yet! So tragic IRL story time. I lost my copy of Alpha Sapphire. I bought a new copy, but I'm trying to play through quickly so I can adequately represent certain scenes and scenarios that will be coming up in this story soon. Also, tumblr user pokemonsavvy made more fanart of this story so PLEASE check out her page if you know what's good for your heart.

Of Hoops and Holists - Chapter Ten

Steven had left more than just a Pokéball and a letter.

Steven's heart rate increased and his thoughts got fuzzy.

"I take it you're familiar with this place?" Steven decided to inquire, lifting a branch up and out of his way to better see May and what she was doing. She had recognized something she read on the sign, and she certainly seemed to recognize the shrine she was now approaching. But it was her words, full of certainty, that made his heart pound.

"Ilex Forest," May answered, without budging. She continued to face the wooden shrine, like she was contemplating a plan. No, she was most definitely devising a plan. "This forest is supposed to be in Johto," she said, her voice hinting at a hidden drawl when she said the word 'Johto.' She'd been living in Hoenn for so long that her accent was mostly masked, and Steven noticed then that he hardly noticed it anymore until that moment.

"Remember the legendary Pokémon we mentioned earlier, when we were talking to my dad from the other timeline?" May asked. She had turned to face Steven now, but he noticed that she had a lingering hand in the offering space of the small shrine, and her eyes shined with something, probably determination, or wonder. "Celebi, the time traveler, and protector of forests. This is a shrine for Celebi, and it's said that Celebi created this forest, long ago. But…" May turned her head back to the shrine again, "Ilex Forest isn't an island…in fact, it's smack dab between a town and city. The fact that it was picked up and brought here, practically brought to us…" Her eyes shut, and she quickly shook her head, "No, everything is too much to be a coincidence at this point. We spoke of Celebi earlier, Celebi might be able to help us, and now Celebi's forest is in Hoenn."

"Surely Celebi doesn't show up for just anyone?" Steven was quick to warily say, trying his best to be open to the situation, but still faltering out of habit. May's head lifted enough toward him again to meet his eyes, and Steven found himself quick to respond in worry of her withdrawing because of his question. "I trust you and whatever ideas you may have…and you seem to just have a way with legendary and mythical Pokémon…"

That brought a smirk back to May's lips. Steven's heart skipped a beat. Did he cause that? "The legend goes that Celebi comes to times that it deems as peaceful…" she recited, "so if we want Celebi to come to this shrine, we should create a space that Celebi would want to visit."

"That makes sense…" Steven responded, but his eyebrows furrowed as he spoke, "but I'm still puzzled. What does that mean for us? What should we do? Things haven't exactly been peaceful for us lately, and that's not exactly the word that comes to mind when describing the region as of late."

"But," May was quick to respond, "I think we can communicate to Celebi that we need its help to bring you peace." May started fishing through her fanny pack for something. "I think Pokémon like knowing that we want their help."

Steven had to reel himself in before he acted on his natural response to question what May thought she was doing, and instead settled for kneeling in front of the shrine along side her and find out that way. May took out her berry case, and sorted through to see what she had stored.

"Think Celebi will like Starf berries?" she said with a wink, placing the multi-colored fruit in the offering space of the shrine.

Gawking, Steven blubbered, "…that berry…is incredibly rare! How did you-"

"200 consecutive wins at the Battle Maison, and raising them was no easy task either," she explained, brushing her bangs subconsciously as she tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, "but hey, you never know when you're going to need to make an offering to a forest guardian, right?"

May finished arranging the Starf berries in the offering space, and clasped her hands together in prayer. Steven tried to imitate what May was doing: clasping his hands together, keeping his eyes closed while facing the offering…what else? He opened an eye to peek at May, but she hadn't moved. How long were they supposed to stay like that? Was she saying a prayer in her head? Was he supposed to be praying, too? He closed both eyes again and tried to think. There was an evening breeze. He sensed May shift next to him. Was she cold? Hoot-hoot were "hooing" occasionally in the distance.

A hand coming between his own broke his thoughts.

May took Steven's hand in her own but didn't open her eyes.

"Celebi, if you're listening, which I think you are," she spoke, and Steven only listened, "please hear my prayer. I think you can help us, and I think you want to, too, which is why you're here in Hoenn, but please forgive me if I'm assuming too much."

May squeezed Steven's hand. "Steven had an interaction with Uxie, and lost his memories of…me." She seemed to have some hesitation in giving her description. "As you can probably guess, this has kind of made things…awkward for us. I don't want to seem like I'm asking too much…I don't even know if this is something you can do…but if it's possible…can you turn back time on his memories he lost of me?"

Her grip got tighter.

"Can you turn time on just those memories to before he lost them with Uxie? I ask this specifically because I don't want him to forget what's happened since then, the new memories we made, and-"

May paused. Steven opened his eyes and saw May looking at him with surprise.

"Did you feel that?"

Steven hoped the night was keeping them dark enough so that May couldn't see his creeping blush. May had spoken with such conviction in regard to what his memories of her meant to her.

"Feel what?"

May was now turning about and looked around and behind herself. "It felt like…someone touched my shoulder…"

Steven tried to answer her, but he was suddenly drawn speechless at the sight that he believed to be her answer. It was his turn to squeeze her hand.

May turned to look back at him, but her attention was caught, rightfully so, at the two large green eyes now looking back at Steven from within the shrine. The small, light-green creature happily helped itself to a Starf berry with on hand, and waved at May with the other.

"C-celebi?!" May's voice rang out in hushed wonderment, "are…you here to help us?!"

The forest guardian nodded enthusiastically, despite continuing to enjoy the berries made as an offering.

Steven felt a pit of anticipation form in his stomach, and it only grew when his eyes met May's. She looked at him with pure excitement. He was about to learn just what they were. He already knew how he felt about May, quit precisely, actually; their trip to the Southern Island made that clear, and his near slip-of-tongue that he remembered from Route 120 taught him that there was a reason he kept his feelings to himself. Was he ready to remember that? May's obvious hope for this moment was driving him mad.

Well, Celebi seemed ready. It was almost as though May's words made the Pokémon feel like it had something to prove.

Celebi flew up to Steven, right up to his face, and Steven's hands hesitantly, but instinctively went to Celebi's sides as he closed his eyes, as the mythical Pokémon pressed its head to Steven's, and closed its eyes as well.

Now was her chance. As quietly as she could, even though it almost felt sort of wrong given their situation, May whipped out her Pokédex and snagged a picture. This was both too adorable and too important a research opportunity to pass up. She tucked her Pokédex away just as quickly as she'd brought it out when she was done, and focused her attention again on Celebi and Steven.

She still couldn't stop her goofy smile from how adorable she thought it was. Celebi might have been a legendary protector of Ilex forest and a time traveler, but it sure was cute, too. Steven's head was surrounded by a light-green aura – which May guessed was Celebi's power. Celebi seemed to be making incantations with its mouth, and Steven's forehead would occasionally crease in response. This went on for awhile, until Celebi's eyes broke open, and it flew back about a foot, apparently satisfied with its work.

May couldn't stop herself from being outwardly anxious, expectantly watching Steven. And in an instant, just like that, Celebi was gone, without a trace. And even with Celebi gone, Steven stared at the shrine where Celebi had been.

Steven's tone became much flatter than May remembered. "Let's get that plate, and then we should probably get to bed for the night," he said, without making so much as an effort to gesture to her or acknowledge that he was speaking to her. He rose to his feet, and started to make toward the exit of the forest.

May's head started to become tizzy. He was moving so fast. He just got his memories back…right? "Steven…" she said softly, and she noticed his head ever so twitch at hearing his name. So, he wasn't being unresponsive. She could tell something was up, and understandably so, so she said, "are you sure you don't want to talk through anything?"

"No, I definitely do," he replied without missing a beat, but his voice still remained monotone, and he kept his gaze away from her face, only drawing further worry from May, "but we need to finish what we set out here to do for now, and we need to get to bed. I need to call Wallace in the morning about this bottle at the Sootopolis Pokémon Center." He was digressing into a rant now. "We need to finish finding these plates; we need to continue researching these islands; I need to set things straight with my father…"

Steven had just about run out of ramblings, but even if he hadn't, his breath got caught in his chest when he felt May's hand grasp his, and although he had been trying hard not to before, he couldn't help this time but to turn his head to look at her. Breathing had been difficult earlier, but now it felt impossible, looking at her face, full of that look that filled his heart with guilt: wonder and determination.

"And we're going to do all those things," May said, her eyes desperately searching his face. She picked up right away that this time, he didn't hold her hand back. It clicked for her that this probably wasn't something she would have normally picked up on anyway, but with how spur of the moment most of their journey recently had been, with all sorts of awkward hand-holding, most of that was followed by the sensation of her hand being held in return. He at least wasn't retreating, but his change in demeanor was causing her to falter, to say the least. She attempted a light squeeze as she pushed herself to say, "but you're still priority to me, Steven, and I want to make sure you're okay."

There it was. That's exactly what he'd been worried about.

"We'll talk later, okay?" He said, still not turning to look at her, pulling his hand from hers, and made for the exit again, "Let's go find the Sky Plate."

With hardly any more words exchanged, they left the "island" on Latios, and flew to the most northwestern diving spot of the route. May was quick to pull her diving gear on, and head underwater with her Swampert, leaving Steven alone ashore. His hand reactively went toward the inside of his jacket where his Pokénav was, but really now, most anyone he'd contact at that time was likely sleeping. Before he knew it, May and her Swampert had come back, panting, but the light blue artifact was in her hand.

They headed back separately on Altaria and Skarmory to May's secret base.

May racked her brain for how she could reach out to Steven as they silently got ready for bed back in her base, but she didn't want to push any boundaries. She knew that all of this had to be hard on him. She knew at least that much, that he probably needed to process all of this in his own time. But she also couldn't help but feel like being near her was putting him off, somehow.

Mina, May's Delcatty, instinctively came out of her Pokéball herself to keep May company as she went to sleep for the night. That comfort was at least something.

And the cat Pokémon woke her up and alerted her in the morning when Steven was trying to leave.

"Steven…" she drowsily called out, but she pushed herself to consciousness despite how tired she still was, "where are you going?"

He hadn't quite left the makeshift area that was her "bedroom," and she could see him stop, at least, as he only quarter-turned toward her. Was it an item of courtesy for her still being in her pajamas, or could he not look at her for some reason? Was she jumping to conclusions? She rubbed her face. Man, was she tired. What time was it?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Steven said, even though May was wary to believe his apology and whatever he might say next, "I thought I'd go out and collect some of the plates myself, as sort of a reparation for all you've had to do for me."

"What? That…wasn't the plan," May said, pushing herself to a sitting position and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "Just hang on, let me come with you."

"No, May, please-"

"Steven…" May said cautiously, getting out of bed and hastening her step to be by his side. She didn't like that he was putting this amount of distance between them now, considering the whole "he has his memories now what's going on" vibe she was getting. "You've been short with me."

"I'm sorry," Steven had zero hesitation replying, but still didn't look at her, "There's a lot for me to process right now." He continued to making strides out of her secret base, but May made sure to follow. He wasn't getting away just like that.

"Which is why you shouldn't shut me out," May quickly said. She startled herself at how she responded, but was proud of herself for holding on. She wanted no room for more misunderstandings between them. "Let me help you. I…want to help you," she decided to keep up the streak of being bold, and took his hand to force his attention. "We didn't come this far together for you to be dismissive with me."

Steven wasn't holding her hand back. He was actually withdrawing, and May tensed at the opposite of what she expected. "Or, okay, maybe we did…" She lingered for a moment, waiting for him to react, and it felt like a lifetime. Pressure was building in the front of her head.

"It's not…like that…" he eventually said, although May could barely hear him, and even then, his response wasn't settling well with her.

The pressure behind her eyes was becoming too strong. She faintly heard a Wingull's cry from outside her base, and the sensation of sunlight warming her body reminded her that time was passing. "Do we need to spend some time apart for you to clear your head?"

That got his attention. May felt a ting of pride as his eyes finally met hers again.

"That's not-"

"It's okay if you do," May interrupted, maintaining control, maintaining eye contact, watching his face watch hers in return with uncertainty. "We can get the plates faster if we split up, anyway. Or, maybe you need to go see Wallace for awhile…or maybe your dad?"

Nailed it. Something must be up with his dad, because at that mention, his eyes had flickered and he looked off to the side. So maybe it wasn't her, but something else on his mind. She watched his hands ball into fists, but his expression remained dejected.

"You don't mind?" he weakly asked.

"Of course not, especially not if it's bothering you this much." That was only partially true, but May didn't need to disclose that. She had gotten pretty used to spending time with Steven, and of course she wasn't horribly interested in breaking that streak. "You can't help it that you've got stuff of your own that you need to take care of, and I can't imagine how you're feeling if it's something you just remembered."

May watched Steven carefully. She could tell he was struggling with something, and knowing that it probably wasn't her that he was struggling with brought her some relief, but the fact that he was having a hard time with sharing still worried her.

"I'll feel guilty if you're getting all the plates yourself. Let me get the ones en route to Sootopolis. I can go diving with my Armaldo," he said, his Eon Flute already withdrawn from his suit jacket. "Call me though, if anything happens." That seemed to be that, then. He was leaving already. "Okay?"

"Almost okay," May said, giving Steven some halt before mounting Latios, and he turned to face her again, his face puzzled.

And that was when she knew, at least to some extent. He might've been leaving in this moment, but she still had him. She still didn't know what this "interest" was that he had in her, but he clearly couldn't let go.

"Yeah, I'll call you if anything happens, but what if something doesn't happen? When do I get in touch then?"

Steven looked down at the ground, his lips pressed tight. That's it, she made him think. "I need to speak with my father, which I intend to do after collecting my share of the plates. If you don't hear from me before then, I'll call you after I make my trip to Rustboro."

"Promise?"

Steven's eyebrows knitted and his head twitched in perplexity. "We'll be in touch."

May sighed defeatedly and was not happy with that response, but Steven had mounted Latios and already took to the sky. Her face contorted to frustration as she watched them fly off toward Sootopolis.

Several hours of diving and self-contemplation later, and sometime in the afternoon, Steven found himself at Wallace's front door.

Wallace was eager to let Steven inside, but his face changed when he saw May wasn't with him. Steven invited himself to sit at the table, in a complete slump, before he flatly muttered, "I remember everything."

"Isn't that good news?" Wallace immediately exclaimed, "why are you so down in the dumps?"

"I still need to speak to my father about certain matters."

"You mean you still haven't told May about all of that?"

Steven's eyes flickered toward Wallace, but he only barely acknowledged the question with a sigh and looked distraught as ever.

"I'm shocked the two of you are even apart from one another right now."

"It was actually her idea, although, I was being an ass, so I don't blame her."

Wallace was quick to quirk an eyebrow in disbelief. "You? An ass? To May?"

Steven's face fell into his hands and he groaned. "I feel so stupid. Here we've been, traveling like pals, me in particular like a lost Gogoat, and now I'm here, remembering that I intended to tell her everything, when the time was right. Now the time will never be right."

"Not with that attitude it won't."

"Wallace, I nearly kissed her! And while the intent was pure, have laid in bed with her on more than one occasion now. All because I couldn't remember, and let my feelings get in the way."

"Couldn't remember what, exactly?"

"You know very well what."

"I don't see why your father's business endeavors have to get in the way of your happiness…"

Steven only heavily exhaled as a response.

"Are you at least going to go talk to your father?"

"…that was at least the plan. I had intended on meeting with him before I had lost my memory, too, after I returned from Kalos, but everything managed to slip out of control after that.

Wallace's face lit up with inquiry at the mention of Kalos, him clearly remembering something. "I had nearly completely forgotten about that, as well. We never got a chance to talk of that trip, either."

"Well, it was wildly uneventful, in regards to the trip's purpose, that is," Steven said, his voice regaining it's dejected tone once more.

"But you did manage to score your May-reminiscent Carbink," Wallace tried in a teasing voice with a wink, but Steven wouldn't have it.

"I'm a mess," he groaned, his head falling to his hands again, "Even things I set out to do of my own accord, I can't do without thinking of her somehow."

"Which isn't the issue, here," Wallace was quick on the recovery statement, "but you letting all this other baggage get in the way is."

Steven somehow managed a helpless shrug, then glanced towards Wallace's minibar. That was the only cue Wallace needed to spring out of his chair. So, they were day-drinking. "You'll visit your father tomorrow," Wallace said, catching on. He definitely didn't mind though, either. He loved playing host. "Want me to invite Brawly and Sidney? We can have a poker night." What with Steven having his memories back and still not feeling like himself, maybe a sense of normalcy of poker with the guys was just what he needed.

"I think I'd like that."

That's right, after countless hours of diving and swimming and accidental trainer encounters and numerous battles later, May remembered that she had had about a dozen things to check on her Pokénav. Well, now was as good a time as ever. She definitely wanted to go home now, too, even if seeing her dad was going to be sort of awkward, thanks to Buzznav. She called Latias with her Eon Flute, took to the sky, and started checking messages while they flew toward Littleroot.

Are you coming to visit soon? Let me know! May's heart warmed and twinged with guilt at the same time in response to the text from her mother. Maybe it was family instinct.

The next text was from Brendan. Sorry if my voicemail was weird. Let me know the next time you're in Littleroot. I miss you. May quirked her head at the message, and made a note to keep that in mind when she got around to her voicemails, although saying that in text was already little peculiar enough.

Call your mother. Okay, dad.

Scamp! I'm keeping on the dl right now. AKA headed back to Floe Island to make sure everything is okay in those waters. Let me know if you need anything. We'll try an adventure again soon, okay?

Time for voicemails.

"May, it's your father. I hope you have a damn good explanation for this Buzznav article I just read. I'm not going to repeat any of the details because I know you know what I'm talking about. I love you but…really? Just…give me a holler. And call your mother!"

"MAYYYYYY, you've been scoring with STEVEN STONE? Like, UNCLE WALLY'S super hottie hot McHotser friend STEVEN STONE?! You HAVE to call me back and tell me EVERYTHING. And we need to be in a contest together soon. CALL ME."

"May, it's Maxie. I wanted to give you a rundown of our current situation. Courtney's been making a recovery, it seems, little by little. Just like you said, I've been tending to her regularly, and we've been recording her progress, if you're interested. It might be useful information for the League, considering Steven Stone had a similar issue and in case something similar happens again in the future. I look forward to hearing back from you."

"Howdy, May…it's me, Brendan. I know we haven't talked in awhile. Just wanted to check in. You've been in the news a lot lately, but I don't know that you know what all they're saying about you, since it's all speculation, and no interviews…so, I was hoping we'd catch up soon. You can always call me."

Well now she'd have to visit Brendan, too.

She stuffed her Pokénav back into her fanny pack and heaved a heavy sigh. She still couldn't get Steven off her mind.

"It's fine that he wants space, right?" May rhetorically asked Latias as they flew through the Hoenn sky. She was feeling so torn. Of course she wasn't expecting a response, but this wasn't the first time she talked to Latias like this, and not the first time like this about Steven, either. "I mean, it's clear he cares about me, in some kinda way, right?" Latias did some swerving to show she was listening. "I just…I really wonder what's going on. I know he had things to tell me before he lost his memory…how he's got it again, and he's gotta get away from me."

May flipped her Pokénav open again to blip through her texts. If she was headed home to Littleroot, she figured she should let someone know. Her mom was probably a good place to start. She texted back right away.

I'm flying home right now. I should be back in time for dinner. Think you can feed one more tonight?

"I mean…it'll be nice to go home for awhile," May said aloud again to Latias. Latias swayed about somemore.

Are you flying in on Latias? I'll whip up those Poképuffs she likes. Did you tell your father, or are we surprising him?"

May sighed. "I think Mom's more excited to see you, honestly." Latias did some excited dipping. She knew what she was flying toward, too, apparently.

Sidney groaned, revealing his hand, "Ten high."

Wallace chuckled, "Cause that's a thing. Queen's over fours."

Brawly didn't even say his hand as he revealed his cards and got up from the table. "I'm getting another drink."

Steven was terrible at bluffing, although the number of drinks he'd had so far that evening certainly weren't helping, both his inability to bluff and his enlarged confidence for the game. "King-high straight."

Sidney already started reshuffling. "Sucker's luck," he said from under his toothpick, getting ready to deal another round. "We need a wager."

"No, no we don't," Brawly called out, making his way back to the table, another beer in hand.

"Not money, otherwise I'd own your Gym by now," Wallace countered, "although I don't disagree. Some friendly wagers could make things a little more interesting…"

"I think I have to agree with Brawly for once," Steven managed to say, his Pokénav making its way from inside his jacket into his hands, "I know I'm a few too many drinks in to…make sound betting decisions, let alone poker decisions."

"Says the guy likely about to make some Pokénav decisions he'll regret in the morning," Sidney chuckled as he commentated. "Just who you about to contact?"

Steven tried to side-eye Sidney, but side-eye turned into just looking, and much less shady. He even looked like he was about to answer, and completely failed, as his head fell back down to looking at his Pokénav, and he started writing a text.

As soon as May hopped off of Latias, she took a deep breath. The air smelled of Oran, and crisp wintergreen. It was already good to be back.

May didn't have to knock. Latias knew exactly where she was, and gave a cry at the door. It was only a moment before the front door flew open, and from within appeared May's mother with a huge plate of pink highly decorated Poképuffs. Latias went wild. She went even wilder when Norman came outside.

"I'm taking her for a ride after dinner," he said, immediately nuzzling the female eon Pokémon.

May rolled her eyes and gave her parents a sheepish grin. "It's good to see you guys, too," she said.

"We can tell you that we love you and miss you over the phone," Norman remarked, "but that's not quite the case with a Pokémon."

"I knowwww," May whined. She'd heard it about a million times, and she knew her parents spending time with Latias was important to both of them. "But I'm super hungry!" she cried, "what's for dinner?"

May's mother fed Latias one more Poképuff, nuzzled her head, then started to head back inside, saying, "If you'd told me sooner, I would've made your father go to the market in Slateport. I hope blintzes are okay."

"Sweet Suicune of course blintzes are more than okay," May slipped the uncommon expression in an exasperated instant. Yeah, traveling was wonderful, but visiting mom and dad was nice. It only took being with her parents for a moment for an old habit to reappear. Well, and the mention (and now smell) of, not necessarily even a favorite, but an old familiar meal. She found herself already gravitating toward the kitchen counter, reaching for the cabinets, eager to help set the table.

Dinner wasn't weird at all, despite her being home for the first time in awhile. Maybe it was meeting her father's equivalent from another universe that made her realize just how much she loved and appreciated her real parents. Although, that wasn't something she was going to talk about then and there, at least not yet, anyway.

Well, dinner was mostly not weird.

"Well, I'm just dying to now how things have been going with Steven!" May's mother's voice finally bubbled.

May's stomach lurched, and she didn't need to lift her head to have an idea of the expression on her father's face. Here came the conversation she was absolutely dreading. She was about to disappoint both of her parents for opposite reasons.

Mom – lack of progression with Steven.

Dad – extended interaction with Steven.

"I have an idea of how Buzznav portrays us," May began, and looked up. Her heart eased. Her dad's face wasn't as scary as she thought it'd be. "But everything's legit just been league business. It's been research ad field study."

Her parents' faces became that of disbelief.

"Wait, hold on a second," Norman was quick to interject, "has he at least kissed you yet?!"

"Oh, Ho-oh, no!" May cried, her face becoming beet red at the topic of conversation her parents were now engaging with her. "I don't even know that he likes me that way, Dad!" Her mind briefly went back to the night Steven first lost his memory, but she quickly blocked it out. That very well could have been other factors that led to that moment…right?

"So…all this time the two of you've been spending together, have been strictly business?" it was her mother's turn to speculate, in what may felt was a concerned tone? "Are you sure some of that wasn't meant to be dates, and maybe you just didn't realize?"

May's mind flickered to the island before Steven lost his memory. How could she not think about that day? Of course she'd dissected that day in her mind again and again; how Steven had been both close and aloof at the same time with her. "Mom…I really don't think so," she said in a defeated voice. They sure were cracking down on her, and it didn't feel good.

"Seriously?" Norman sighed, picking his fork back up and using it to point at his daughter, "May, you need to ask him out on a date, and if he doesn't kiss you by the end of the night, he's gay."

"Dad!" May cried. This was not what she had expected from her father at all.

"What?" Norman tossed his fork down and crossed his arms. "Am I going to be protective of you when it comes to dating? Of course! But yaknow what almost pisses me off more than a boy who wants to use you? At least a boy like that I know you'll tell off yourself. What pisses me off more, is a boy who I know my daughter likes, and he won't stop pussy-footing her around the damn region. You're a beautiful, charming, intelligent young lady, and there's no reason he shouldn't be trying to put the moves on you at any chance he can get! Unless, of course, he's gay."

Oh Arceus.

May saw her mother roll her eyes, but she also hadn't given that possibility any thought. She needed to think some more.

She started to push herself from the table.

"I'm gonna go see Brendan."

"Good idea," Norman said, "Brendan's a nice looking boy, yeah? And maybe you can string him along if you want to see if it makes Steven jealous."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"May, forgive your father, and go have fun."

"Yeah, okay." She remembered to take out her Eon Flute, and handed it to her dad. "Play nice."

May exited her home, and took a deep breath. That was so much more than she expected, and not what she'd expected at all. So…was her dad rooting for her with Steven, then? In his own weird, dad way?

She looked over to Brendan's house. Why did she feel so nervous to go see him? She made herself head over, and knock on the door. When Mrs. Birch answered the door and saw who it was, her face lit up.

"May!" she answered, "please, please, come in!" However, May could barely get into the house, before Brendan stepped down the stairs, and spotted her. He started to fidget with his hat, and May was flushed over with a feeling of relief. It was good to see someone who was possibly just as excited to see her, too. The feeling only lasted a moment though, as she held her breath while Brendan dashed past her, calling out, "Race you to our spot on Route 103!"

May tried to give an apologetic look to Mrs. Birch, but she gave a warm-hearted smile in return. She had a feeling Brendan only acted like this when they were together. Which was fine by her. They were close friends, after all.

Laughter filled her tired lungs when she caught Brendan by the riverside of Route 103, grabbing him from behind, continuing to laugh into his shoulder, her footing stumbling. She hadn't run like that in awhile, and the adrenaline high still had her going as she tried to regain her balance leaning into him. He laughed back, clearly just as if not more tired than she.

May eventually pulled back, wiping the sweat from her brow, smirking at Brendan. "I think I needed that."

"I had a feeling," Brendan replied with a wink. He lowered his backpack from his shoulders, and started to unzip it. Grabbing it from the bottom, he flipped it upside-down, and flat rocks poured out. May burst into laughter. "A little Swablu told me you were coming to town tonight, so I wanted to be prepared."

May didn't hesitate to squat down to grab a rock, and was also quick to fling it into the tide. It plopped. She didn't look back at Brendan right away, knowing he'd laugh.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was on my way."

"You've been busy, I get it."

May turned back to look at her friend. Yeah, she was busy. She was always busy. Yeah, Brendan got it, but she somehow couldn't help but feel that that didn't necessarily make it okay. She squatted for another rock. "I need you to show me your technique again."

"Clearly."

May did her best to watch Brendan's every move as his body turned naturally to cast a practically perfect skipping rock. She was about to imitate, and she was certain her rock would have been better that time, had her Pokénav's buzzing not distracted her. She reached in her fanny pack to check the message.

Sorry for earlier.

Oh no, he wasn't getting away with that right now. Here she was, enjoying time with Brendan, whom she hadn't seen since all this junk started in the first place, and she wasn't going to let Steven take this moment of enjoyment from her.

K.

Steven might have been a few years older than her, but there was no way he didn't understand the implications of that response. May tried her best to push the thought of him texting her first to the back of her mind. She was enjoying Brendan's company right now. She went to skip another rock…and did she seriously let another Pokénav vibration distract her?

I really mean it. Are you free to talk?

May stared dumbfounded at her Pokénav, and Brendan also stopped skipping stones to approach her and make sure she was okay.

"Ugh, seriously?" she said out loud in disbelief, but tried to quickly compose herself, before turning her head to a surprised Brendan. "I-I'm sorry, Brendan, I probably need to take this," she said, hoping that explained her sudden outburst of a reaction. Brendan brought a hand to the back of his neck and gave an understanding Mareepish smile.

"Yeah?" May quipped.

"May?!"

She probably came off sassier than she intended, but she was finding herself unable to help it. This had better be good. "Yeah, Steven, it's me. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything is good, especially since you answered," he said, his words slower than usual. May's suspicions were quick to go up, but she held out on making any accusations before hearing him out. He said he'd call if something happened…that they'd "be in touch." "What are you up to?" he asked.

May was flattered at first, but it only took her a second to feel conflicted again. How was she? As in, how was she after spending a day torn up over realizing he needed space from her? "I went back to Littleroot for the night. I've been hanging out with Brendan. You remember him, right? We're skipping stones out on Route 103."

There was a long pause, May started to wonder if she lost the call, and she started to worry again that something really was up, but Steven's voice eventually came back. "Brendan…the one you took on a date to the meteor shower?"

May felt her face heat up. What…was that tone of voice? What…was that question? "Uh, yeah, I guess you could call it that," she replied, trying her best to keep her tone of voice smooth.

"Do you know what kind of shower it was? Was it Quadrantid, Geminid, or Orionid?"

"I…have no idea…."

"Meteors fall to Earth during the day, but we can't see them, oh, but Prof Cosmo probably already told you that, since they're especially common in Fallarbor town…If it was a Perseid shower, 100 meteors are possible to come down in a single hour."

"Steven…"

"Have I given you a Dawn Stone yet? I have one from Kalos that I meant to show you…or give you? I can't remember. Heh. Isn't that funny? I can remember everything again, but I can't remember what I mean to give you amongst what I brought back from Kalos. You can have that Dawn Stone, anyway, though. You deserve it. You deserve every Dawn Stone I find from now on-"

"May?" Steven's voice was cut off by Wallace on the other end.

"Wallace?"

"Oh, thank goodness. May, you've got to forgive Steven. He's kind of in a funky place at the moment. I'll make him apologize properly when he's sober." May knew that voice from Wallace. He was trying his best to maintain face over the phone, but at the same time, accentuating to Steven what he'd done wrong. That somehow made her feel better, at least a little.

May managed to giggle a little bit before replying, "Thanks, Wallace."

"No problem. You get back to you for tonight. Sorry for letting him bother you!"

Click…Beep Beep Beep

Letting him bother me, huh?

It took staring at the flashing words end call on her screen for a while to realize how warm her face had gotten. She forced herself to look up at Brendan, even though she felt terribly about how awkward that phone call had been, especially in front of him, and said, "Sorry about that."

Brendan didn't seem too bothered, or at least, he acted fairly well. He grabbed another stone to skip, but this one only managed two jumps. "It happens. We're all victims of drunk dialers from time to time, right?"

May grabbed one more stone, and gave it all her might. She smirked. 4 skips.

"Not bad."

It was getting pretty late. May helped Brendan pack the rest of his perfect skipping stones back into his bag, and they headed back to Littleroot for the evening.

"Thanks for dragging me out here tonight. I needed this." May said as they got back to their tiny hometown.

"Of course."

He walked her to her front door.

Brendan was one of her closest friends, right? Then why did she feel so nervous with him bringing her home like this?

"So how long are you back in town?"

"I dunno. I haven't gotten that far yet, to be honest."

Brendan shuffled his feet a little, and fidgeted with the strap of his bag.

"Do you think," he said, "we could go to Mauville tomorrow? We could do the touristy things we always talked about, but never really did because we were so busy with our Pokémon."

May smiled. "I think that'd be great," she said in reply.

Before she could say anything more about details, she felt and heard her door open behind her, and that was definitely her father's hand now on her shoulder.

"Good evening, Brendan," Norman, greeted from within the doorway, "I hate to ruin your plans, but we've already got a day of activities planned for Hoenn's sweetheart tomorrow, so you'll have to get a rain check."

May started to turn to look at her father in protest, but his grip only became more firm, and she, for once, decided it better not to question. She turned her head back to Brendan to apologize, but he had already started backing away. She turned to look at her father again, who had been waving him along. She slipped into the doorway to enter her house.

"You really are blind, aren't ya?" Norman said, laughing at the sight of his daughter's face growing crimson at his words.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've probably been on a dozen dates with Steven if you couldn't tell that Brendan was asking you on a date just now," Norman explained plainly to her.

May drew in a breath, ready to argue, but she exhaled instead, and replayed the conversation in her head.

"Do you actually have plans for us for tomorrow?" she asked.

"Nope. But now that I said that, we should plan something for us as a family, should we?"

That was it. At least in that very instance, she had definitely been blind. And now she had a Brendan who didn't know how she felt. And she thought about how she hugged him earlier by the river and oh no.

Bzz bzz.

May's heart fluttered. She got another text. It had to be either Brendan, or Steven. Either Steven got his phone back, or Brendan was trying to say goodnight properly.

Bzz bzz.

So she had two new texts.

"I have a feeling I don't need to worry about you just yet," Norman said with a hearty laugh.

"Dad!"

"I'm headed to bed, kiddo. You should get some rest, too. I have a feeling you might need it. Maybe we'll have a big day planned for you for tomorrow after all!"

May forced a "hmph" in reply, but hugged her father goodnight anyway, and watched him head upstairs to bed. She held her Pokénav in her hand, trying her best to ready herself for the messages that waited her.

Sorry I kind of disappeared. Your dad can be kinda scary! He's right about a rain check, though. We should go to Mauville soon, just us. Maybe we can have a picnic out in the apartments' rooftop park. I hear there's live music sometimes at night!

May stared at her Pokénav, but then flumsily attempted to go back when she remembered she still had another text.

Sorry again. Drinking poker with the guys. Can't remember the last time we did this. That's not supposed to be a joke, more of an expression; I guess that works both ways for now, considering my sorry life as of late.

For being drunk, Steven sure had impeccable grammar.

How did she respond to either of those?

Bzz bzz.

Wallace informed me that the way I spoke to you over the phone was improper and he says I need to make sure I'm nicer to you in the morning so be sure to tell me to be nice tomorrow, please.

May kept trying to compose messages, but his texts somehow kept rolling in. Wasn't being drunk supposed to hinder your comprehension? How was he sending such lengthy texts while still having proper grammar and spelling? Either way, she couldn't help but giggle a little bit.

Bzz bzz.

Brendan's your age, right? And you're neighbors, right? And you're his father's mentee, too, right? You took him with you to that meteor shower viewing at the space station, right? You two sure seem close. That must be nice. I hope he's nice to you. I'm sure he's nice to you. He better be nice to you.

There it was, those mixed signals again. Was this him being jealous of Brendan, or him merely looking out for her as someone he cared about? She kept working on the message she wanted to send to him. He must have been waiting for a response to that message about Brendan after all, because he finally stopped sending texts.

Yeah, it was kind of a Torchic move to send this type of a message over text instead of asking in person or over the phone, but May had a hard enough time finding the courage to send this text alone. She knew it probably wasn't fair to send this type of a message to him while he was so under the influence, but if she didn't send it now, she probably would never get it out there.

You've got a day to think about it. I need to know how you feel about me. If you want, meet me at the Sky Pillar tomorrow night at 10:00PM, sharp. And don't tell me if you're coming. Show up, or don't. I'll be there either way.

May held her breath, and hit send. She was just following her dad's advice, right?

Wallace noticed Steven suddenly stare doe-eyed at his Pokénav, and realized he must have received a message that made him go silent. That, or he drunkenly stumbled upon the endless Skitty videos on Buzznav again. He helped himself to intercepting Steven's Pokénav from him, and had no hesitation in reading the text aloud to the other members of the room.

"Oh man, she's got you on location ultimatum? That's like some shit out of a teen romance novel, bro," Brawly said after Wallace finished reading.

"He's right, dude," Sidney added, "but hey, I had no idea you were having any kinds of lovers' quarrels with May. Good for you, man."

Steven's head was spinning. Location ultimatum? Lovers' quarrel? Was this really either of those things? What time was it? He needed to start drinking water.

Wallace was clearly getting ready to make more jabs, but he saw how unresponsive Steven had been to the first few comments, and slowly handed him his Pokénav back instead.

"You know not to text her back now, right?" Wallace asked before completely letting go of the piece of Devon tech.

"Even if I was supposed to text her back, I'd have no idea what to say," Steven admitted. He kept staring at the text. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"I'll help you figure that one out in the morning. For now, let's get you some more water. You need to be in tip top shape for confronting your dad."

Oh shit, talking to dad was tomorrow, too.