Chapter Eleven – So Much Better

When I woke up the next morning, I was tucked snugly in bed, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. For a minute, I was confused as to how I got there, and when I opened my eyes, I was confused as to where I was. But then I realized that Hilbert must have carried me up to his room, probably because he was scared to wake me up. I felt guilt fester within me; it was rude of me to have fallen asleep on him.

I rubbed my eyes, sitting up and glancing around the room. Unlike my dorm room, his bedroom was spic and span; each item was perfectly placed on the shelf, the desk clear of everything except some books and a computer. There were no posters on his walls, and it appeared there was one sole picture frame on his nightstand with a picture of him with his mother.

I reached over and picked the picture up, brushing my hair out of my face as I stared at it. The woman was lovely; Hilbert looked just like her. He was years younger in the picture, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. His hair was a little longer, curling out from beneath a baseball cap, but the smile was the same. The happiness I saw on his face was familiar to me, and this pleased me to no end. Even with a chip on his shoulder now, he was still the same man.

Setting the picture back down, I crawled out of his bed and took a few minutes to look around the room. It probably wasn't polite of me to pry, but this was the first time I'd been in his room; he had been in my room so many times that it was only fair that I got a look here. The fact that the room was so empty said a lot about his dedication, if only because I knew his personality.

I opened the door to his room, walking into a shallow hallway. I could hear Hilbert talking somewhere in the apartment, but when I stepped out into a small living space at the end of the hallway, he wasn't there. Instead there sat a small couch with several blankets thrown over it. I frowned upon seeing this; I very well could have taken the couch. But no—Hilbert, being the gentleman he was, wouldn't have settled for that.

"Oh, Hilda, great."

Hilbert walked into the living room, a small PokéNav in his hand. I gestured to the couch, opening my mouth to tell him that he didn't have to do that for me, that he could've just woke me up, but he held up a hand before I could start. There was something in his eyes, something like excitement, but I had never seen him quite so worked up.

"Trust me, it's fine. You were exhausted. I actually, er, walked into a few walls on the way up carrying you, and you didn't even stir," he said before jumping into the topic he really wanted to discuss with me. "Listen, I just got a call from Professor Oak. He's in a bit of a bad mood. Apparently there's been some movement up in Cerulean to try to free all Pokémon from their trainers."

Well, that sounded familiar. "That sounds like Team Plasma."

"Yeah, but they've been disbanded, thanks to you," Hilbert pointed out, and I nodded. But Ghetsis had escaped all those years ago—who was to say that he hadn't snuck out to Kanto and started up another team of crooks here? "Anyway, Oak is so flustered that he's putting up his list of interns today outside the classroom. He needs all the help he can get trying to stop these fools."

When he stopped, I had to admit that I expected a bit more than that. "And?" I asked, and Hilbert shrugged.

"I don't know; that's all he told me."

I hadn't expected Hilbert to tell me if I was included on that list or not; he was too honest a guy to say anything to me before anyone else knew. But I was hoping for a sign, some tiny smile, that might indicate that he knew or not. And I could confirm that he was telling the truth—Professor Oak hadn't told him who was on the list.

"Well, I need to change before I head down to the classroom. Will you meet me there in an hour?" I asked, and he nodded. He walked me to his door, opening it for me and watching as I exited. Just before he shut the door, I stopped, turning briskly and suddenly on my heel. "Hilbert!" He grabbed the door at the last second, pulling it a back open. "Thanks."

He just smiled, shutting the door and leaving me alone in the apartment hallway.

I headed back to my dorm, the walk quicker and easier than I expected. Hilbert's apartment was right off campus, just a fifteen-minute walk back to my place. Getting ready took longer; I wanted to look my best just in case—whether I got the internship or not.

Thoughts raced through my mind, some negative and some positive. On the one hand, I could have gotten the internship; I proved to everyone what I could do, and I deserved to be there. On the other hand, I could not have gotten it; all the effort I had put forth this semester went unnoticed, and I would settle for being mediocre. I wanted to hope that I made it, but the spots were limited. If I didn't, it wouldn't be a surprise.

I showered and changed clothes, slipping into a nice pair of dress pants and a blouse. I dabbed on just a bit of makeup, and with that, I hurried down to the classroom. There was already a crowd waiting around the bulletin board outside of the classroom, and although I wanted to look, I stood back and waited for Hilbert to arrive.

Cheren made it there before Hilbert did. I watched him as he stepped up to the list, his finger tracing down along names in small print. He hesitated, stopping at one the names, and time seemed to stop. Another hand appeared over his, moving down the same list of names and stopping at the one right below his.

It was like watching a silent movie. Roxanne's mouth opened, and she said something to Cheren. He wrapped his arms around her, spinning her around and kissing her like he used to kiss me. A few of the other guys in the class patted Cheren on the back once the couple broke apart, a few girls whispered things to Roxanne.

But it wasn't until Cheren dropped down on one knee that I stepped forward.

"Roxanne," he began, pulling a little box out of his pocket. I kept walking until I was right in front of Roxanne and Cheren, staring at my ex-boyfriend in disbelief. This moment… this was the one that I wanted. This was the one that I had been fighting for. This was the one that was supposed to make me happy, the one that I didn't get and the one that brought me here.

I felt a hand on shoulder, but I didn't turn. Hilbert's hand slipped away from me when I didn't react. I watched, instead, as Cheren opened the little box, revealing a diamond engagement ring that had once belonged to his grandmother. My heart stopped, though not in the way I had ever expected when I pictured seeing that ring.

Roxanne stared in shock at the ring, the flicker of a smile on her lips—but she wasn't jumping for joy like I would have. "Make this the happiest day of my life," Cheren told her, and Roxanne glanced around at the crowd of people around them. Everyone was staring at them now, but no one wanted to hear her say no more than me. "Marry me?"

Roxanne caught my gaze, her eyes wide and—if I wasn't mistaken—worried. But she turned back to Cheren, and the word yes slipped from her lips. She thrust her hand towards Cheren, and he slipped the ring on her finger. And when Cheren rose back to his feet and kissed Roxanne, it took everything in me to keep me standing.

I had done everything I could to win him back. I followed him here against the protests of my friends; I suffered the torment of my classmates… I turned my entire world upside down just to be with him, and I had failed. After all this time, he hadn't respected my mind at all—he would never love me again.

And watching him commit to someone else hurt more than I wanted to admit.

I felt the hand on my shoulder again. I didn't turn, but this time Hilbert didn't pull away. He tapped and tapped and tapped and tapped—

"What?" I snapped, yelling because I was afraid I might start crying. Hilbert pointed to the list on the wall that everyone had been staring at before Cheren's proposal, and I stepped towards it. I didn't even want to look anymore. I should have turned around right then and left—it wasn't like I had a hope of getting that internship, anyway.

My eyes moved past Cheren's name, past Roxanne's name, and there—the third name on the list—

My name. That was my name.

"Whoa!" I yelled, and Hilbert dropped his hand from the list. I resisted the urge to rip the list down from the wall and frame it in my room. "That's me! Wow, that's me! I… I can't believe it." I paused, realizing that this had to be some cruel joke or some dream. Yeah, that was it. I was just asleep. "Hilbert, quick, pinch me!"

Hilbert laughed, raising his eyebrows at me. "What?"

"Pinch me! Come on, just do it!" I held out my arm towards him, and he hesitantly grabbed an inch of my skin. A little burst of pain resonated in the area he pinched, and I clapped my hands together. This was real—I was awake! And Professor Oak was too serious a guy to make a joke out of this. This really just happened. I had actually done something right.

Someone recognized my abilities, and this was more than I could ask for. And if Hilbert and Professor Oak and Bianca thought I could do it, then screw Cheren! He could give himself up to a snobby girl like Roxanne for all I cared; he never saw what anyone else saw about me. That list proved my worth—Cheren couldn't do that for me.

Wow! I felt so much better!

"Cheren!" I called, and he looked away from the group of guys around him and towards me. I smiled, folding my hands together. "Listen, sorry I've been so annoying, but I guess my best wasn't working with you. But I really look forward to working together on this internship, and I really hope we can still be friends."

Cheren's jaw dropped, and he shook his head. "Working—wait, back up, working together?"

I nodded, patting his arm. "It'll be such an enriching experience, don't you think? And, oh…" I paused, realizing that this was my opportunity to rub it in his face; I could play nice, sure. But after the torment Cheren put me through, I deserved to make it known that I wouldn't be settling anymore. "Do you remember when we went to Undella Town and spent a whole week just hooking up there?" Cheren swallowed, clearly unsure how to answer that question. "This is so much better than that!"

Several of the guys surrounding Cheren hollered out, and I crossed my arms. I didn't mean to ruin the happiest day of his life, certainly, but that was just too good not to say.

"I'm sorry that you were incorrect about my intelligence, Cheren. I guess you were wrong," I continued, and Cheren just continued to gape at me. "Congratulations on your engagement, Cheren."

If he preferred Roxanne to me, fine. Last year, I was in the same position she was—perhaps with a little less commitment. But Cheren could always change his mind, always look to go back to me. Only he would find that, this time, I would be the one to say no. I was moving on to better things and better jobs, and this was no time for me to mourn what could have been.

My name on that list was all I needed.

Author's Note: The latter third of this chapter is based on my second favorite song from the musical, so it was really hard not to have the characters just burst into song. XD But the song is also really repetitive, so that wouldn't make a particularly interesting piece of prose. Ah, well.

Since some of you may think, "Gosh, that was fast for Cheren to propose", the timeline of this fanfic is much more spread out than the chapters let on. It's been almost a year since Cheren and Hilda broke up, and Cheren began dating Roxanne almost immediately after that. So, it's not like it's been just a couple of months or anything.