Yello fellow readers! Another update of my Persona story... again! Hey! I'll probably stop once I finally get Persona 5... or when I get Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon which means Pokemon Academy will probably get updated more.

Anyway just some Social Link development in this chapter. Hope it's good!


Chapter 11: A Day In Town: Part 1

Date: Tuesday, August 29th

[Background Music: Persona 3 OST: Want To Be Close]

Alex walked down the hall at school and stopped in front of his locker. As he began to do the combination, he heard a voice from down the hall.

"Hey Alex!"

Alex turned and saw Damien and Ed waving across the hall. "Damien! Ed! What's up?"

The two ran to Alex with smiles on their faces. "Tonight's our first game of the year and it's a home game. Want to come and watch?" Ed asked.

"A game already? Didn't tryouts happen like a week ago?" Alex asked.

"Yeah well… as we've said Cena is very competitive and we did have practice all week after the tryouts..." Damien chuckled. "So yeah, we already have a game tonight and we want you to come and watch."

At first, Alex was thinking no since he wasn't exactly a sports fan. But then he thought of how he wanted to bond more with Damien and Ed. So he replied with, "...Okay, I'll be there. What time?"

"The pep band starts playing at about 6:30, so around that time." Ed said.

"We'll see you there, dude!" Damien waved as the two went off to class.

"Break a leg out there!" Alex called out. He then grabbed his books and went to his first class.


[Background Music: Persona 3 OST: Joy]

"You're going to a basketball game tonight? Boring!" Rayna laughed as she and Alex walked into town after school to hang out.

"Damien and Ed are my friends, I have to support them." Alex laughed as well.

"Go ahead and support them, but you may fall asleep before the half time. Sports are so boring." Rayna said. She was looking around as the two walked and they passed by a burger stand. "Hang on… I have to see what's on these burgers!" Rayna ran to the stand and asked the person behind it. When she got an answer, she shouted, "Bacon and peppers?! No way! Alex, we need to try one of these!"

"A burger sounds good to me!" Alex smiled, his stomach already set for food.

Once he got up, the owner of the stand got the burgers ready and handed them to the two. The burgers were large in size with two burger patties, two slices of cheese in between them, six strips of bacon, and a huge pile of peppers at the top. Normally Alex would gobble it up, but with how many peppers that were on the burger, he didn't even have it close to his face and he could smell the hottness of it.

"Mmmm! This looks SO GOOD!" Rayna drooled over the bacon and pepper covered burger. "Let's dig in, man!"

Rayna took a huge bite of the burger and began to chew it. Alex was a little delayed due to how hot it was, but he followed suit and took a bite. At first their chewing was fast and they looked to enjoy what they were eating. But then the chewing slowed down, they slowly swallowed their bites, and their faces began to turn red. And with this happening, they both shouted one thing…

"...HOT!" They then dropped their burgers and ran into a store right next to the stand.

A few minutes later, Alex and Rayna walked out of the door holding bottles of water and wiping their faces with paper towels as they sat down on a bench.

"Holy crap! My mouth felt like there were actual flames coming out!" Alex breathed taking a sip of the water.

"I know I'm not getting another burger from that stand!" Rayna said. She then laughed as she remembered something. "I was five when I ate my first pepper. I saw the jar open on the table and I wanted to try one, so I reached in and took a bite out of one. It was so hot for my little mouth that I ran and cried to my dad, saying my mouth was on fire and he needed to put it out! He gave me a glass of water and the heat was gone. ...I didn't eat another pepper again until I was twelve and now I like them, but not too many."

"I like them too, but yeah, not too many." Alex chuckled.

"You have any funny food stories?" Rayna asked.

"Well with me liking food the way I do, you'd think so, but I don't think I do." Alex said. "...Although I once tried biting a tree when I was four because I thought trees were big pieces of broccoli."

Rayna laughed out loud, "You thought trees were broccoli?!"

"Come on, I was a stupid kid!" Alex pouted. "And maybe that's why I hate broccoli to this day."

"Now I wish I knew you then just so I can see you try to bite a tree." Rayna laughed.

Alex grinned and took another sip of his water. After he did, time froze around him as the Star Arcana card appeared in front of him with a 2 on the bottom before time resumed.

"Oh! I forgot to ask for your number!" Alex said taking out his phone.

"Ooh, already asking for my number huh?" Rayna said in a jokingly flirtatious tone.

"It's just as friends Rayna, and for Dream World stuff." Alex laughed back as the two exchanged numbers.

They continued to talk for a little bit more before Rayna had to head home and Alex had to do the same so he could do some homework before the game.


[Background Music: Persona 4 OST: Like A Dream Come True]

It was the final round in the basketball game and Alex was actually interested if Silvercrest was going to win. There was 30 seconds on the clock and the score was tied as the other team had the ball. The team member who had the ball dribbled it a bit too hard and it bounced out of his hands with one of the Silvercrest players grabbing it. They ran to the other end of the court, the player threw the ball to Ed, who dribbled the ball and threw it to Damien. And with one hard throw, the ball flew towards the basket and went through!

"The Silvercrest Sabers make the final score! They win their first game of the year! What a game!" The game announcer called out.

Alex stood up with the rest of the Saber-Tooth Tiger fans and cheered, albeit he was cheering more for Damien and Ed's hard work. He watched as the team ran to each other and cheered for one another. Damien and Ed looked up and waved at Alex as they saw him, who waved back at them.

"Good game, team!" Coach Cena said to the players. "Go to the lockers, get changed, and you can leave. Good job tonight!"

Alex waited in the gym as the team went to get changed. He waited for around fifteen minutes before players started coming out.

"Great game out there, guys!" Alex commented as Damien and Ed walked out with their gym bags.

"And we're surprised you actually came!" Ed commented. "We didn't think you would."

"I'll admit, I was actually interested in the final round." Alex chuckled.

"Both teams were tied, but thanks to us we won!" Damien held up his hand in determination.

But as he held his hand up, he turned his head and froze. Walking past the gym was a long black haired girl with brown eyes and she wore a white tank top underneath a pink jacket, blue jean skirt, and black boots.

"Hey, there's your girlfriend, Damien." Ed smirked.

"Oh… that's Carly you talked about?" Alex asked.

"Yeah… that's her." Damien said, slowly moving his arm down.

"Well what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to talk to her?" Alex asked.

Damien looked at Alex like he was crazy, "I… I-I don't know if I can!"

"Come on! You said you were finally going to tell her how you feel this year, now is the time to start." Alex encouraged.

"Alex is right, tell her now, dude!" Ed joined in. "Tell her now before it's too late."

Damien let out a huge sigh, "Okay fine… I'll tell her. You're right… now is the time!" He stood up straight, put his hands to the side, and began walking towards Carly. "Um… hi Carly."

"Damien! Hi!" Carly turned and greeted with a huge smile. "Good job tonight! I can see why you and Ed are still the best players."

"Heh… thanks." Damien blushed a little. He looked down at his feet, "Listen Carly… There's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" Carly asked.

"I… um..." Damien briefly looked over to Alex and Ed, who moved their hands urging him to continue. "Um… I..." He scratched the back of his head for a while before finally saying, "...Do you need help studying for Calculus?"

Both Alex and Ed had looks of disbelief when Damien said that; Alex slumped his shoulders while Ed face palmed.

Carly blinked at that question, "I'm… doing fine with Calculus, but thank you for asking."

"Good, good, I just wanted to ask." Damien chuckled nervously.

"I better go, Dad is probably here now. See you at school tomorrow!" Carly waved before walking out of the gym.

"You too, Carly!" Damien waved. But when she was out of sight, he started hitting himself on the head, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"That was your chance and you messed it up!" Ed said.

"I know! I guess I just got too nervous!" Damien rubbed his head.

"Maybe he just needs a little more time to get his nervousness out." Alex said. "Let's give him more time and he can try again."

"Yeah… maybe that's what I need to do… I need to get my head on straight." Damien said. "...At least she sees me as a cool guy."

"I think you two have a chance together." Ed smiled.

Once Ed said that, time froze around Alex as the Magician Arcana card appeared in front of him and a 3 appeared below it. Another Social Link rank up!

"Thank you guys for inviting me tonight." Alex thanked. "As I said I was actually glad our team won their first game."

"We will surely invite you to the next game." Ed laughed. The three boys said their goodbyes before walking out of the school and heading home.


Date: Wednesday, August 30th

[Background Music: Persona 4 OST: SMILE]

School was done for the day and Alex was walking home, although today since he wanted to work on Social Links, he decided to walk by the Roseberry Park to see if Kayley was there. He made his way down the route and passed by. As he did, he saw Kayley there by herself on the swing, the same way he saw her a week ago.

"There she is." Alex thought before he walked over to her. "Hi Kayley!"

"Huh?" Kayley quickly moved her head up hearing her name. "...Alex… is that right? You remembered?"

"Of course I did." Alex said. "I just came by to ask if you'd like to hang out today. Would you like to go somewhere and hang out so we can know each other more?"

Kayley sighed, "I don't… really feel like hanging out anywhere… I don't want people to pick on me..."

"...I'm sorry." Alex apologized before sitting down on the swing next to her. "...Do people pick on you everywhere you go?"

"Not everywhere, but when people see I'm alone or they've seen me with my parents, they instantly start to bully me… And I also don't have a whole lot of friends because of that." Kayley lowered her head.

"But now you have me as a friend." Alex chuckled with Kayley chuckling a little. "Hey, there's a root beer float cart over there. Want me to get one for you?"

"Sure." Kayley agreed and nodded. Alex went up and got both of them root beer floats.

The two sat in their swings and enjoyed their floats together as they talked. It seemed to cheer Kayley up as she was smiling as she drank it.

"There's always carts here for food or drinks, but I never bring money when I come here so I haven't done this." Kayley giggled slightly.

"Maybe you should start bringing some then, just in case you want a snack or something." Alex suggested.

While they continued, two women walked past the two, saw Kayley, and began talking to each other. They were whispering to each other, but both Kayley and Alex heard what they said.

"That girl in the hoodie… I see her a lot here." The one woman said.

"Is she an orphan or something? I never see her with parents." The other woman said.

"I don't think she is. I think her parents are the owners of that house." The first woman suspected.

"That house? What do you mean by- Oh… you mean the one for those rehab people?" The second woman asked.

"I think so." The women continued their talking while they walked. As they did, Kayley lowered her head again.

"I'm known as that girl from that house..." She sighed.

"What house are they talking about?" Alex asked.

"I'll… tell you eventually… Not really comfortable talking about it right now..." Kayley said. She sipped the last of her float from the cup. "Thank you for the float, and also for hanging out with me today."

"No problem, Kayley." Alex said with a smile. Time stopped around him again and the number 2 appeared underneath the Hermit Arcana card.

"You'll come back again, right?" Kayley asked.

"I will, once I'm not busy with school that is." Alex laughed slightly. He said his goodbye to Kayley before heading home.


[Background Music: Persona 4 OST: Signs Of Love]

Once Alex got home and saying hello to Sarah, he went to his room to do his homework. Luckily he only had Geography today so he wouldn't have much. He went to his desk, took out his notebook and textbook and began to work.

As he only had a few more questions to answer, Sarah knocked on the door before walking into the room. She was holding a plate of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

"Hi Alex, want a cookie while you're doing your homework?" Sarah asked.

"I'm almost done, but I can stop for a cookie break." Alex smiled as he grabbed a cookie and instantly took a bite. The cookie was softer and had more chips in it than normal. "Hmm! Delicious, Mom! As usual! Although it is softer than it usually is, but I'm not complaining."

"Well I found a recipe that said if you add less white sugar and more brown sugar, the cookies will be soft for longer after you take them out. I also put in a full bag of chocolate chips instead of just half." Sarah explained.

"Good find, Mom!" Alex commented as he ate the whole cookie.

[Background Music: Persona 5 OST: Confession Secret]

He looked up however and saw Sarah wasn't looking too happy. "Mom… everything okay?"

Sarah sighed, "...I got a call from your grandma today."

"What did she say…?" Alex asked. He knew his mother and grandmother haven't exactly been on great terms for years, ever since his parents got married. He only saw his grandma a few times and it was mostly during holidays when he was a kid.

"She just asked how you were doing and how you were holding up here… I told her you were doing fine..." Sarah said. "...But she did not ask how I was at all..."

"Why is she always asking how I am but not you?" Alex asked.

"It's because she's worried about you, she has been for seventeen years..." Sarah groaned. "I made the cookies to help me feel better after the call..." Alex then heard her mutter, "She needs to let go of the past… I'm better now!"

"...What exactly happened between you and Grandma?" Alex asked.

Sarah did not give him a clear answer, but she put her hand on his shoulder and said, "...Just stay out of trouble, don't get in with the wrong crowd."

"I already told you, Mom, I will be good." Alex assured.

"You are a good kid, Alex… You really are." Sarah smiled slightly. And once again, time stopped around Alex and the Hierophant Arcana card appeared, with a 2 appearing underneath it. "I should probably go start dinner. You get your homework done."

"Don't worry, I will Mom." Alex said as Sarah walked out of the room and Alex continued to work. But he couldn't help but wonder, "What did Mom mean by letting go of the past?"


Social Link Progress:

Fool (Dream World Rescue Team): Rank 3
Chariot (Jaxson Devitt): Rank 2
Lovers (Ember Farrelly): Rank 2
Magician (Damien Richards & Edgar Edwards): Rank 3
Hermit (Kayley Jones): Rank 2
Star (Rayna Sullivan-Good): Rank 2
Hierophant (Sarah Gerdelman): Rank 2


Yep, mostly development but at least Social Links got ranked up. XD There will be a little more next chapter but it may be shorter, we'll see if anything else happens.

Later!