Not expecting anybody to be in, Flint jumped when he spotted Volkner throwing back a drink.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, frowning as Volkner got up and headed for the kitchen.
"This is my house." He replied, not even glancing in Flint's direction as he pulled out two more bottles and chucked one in his direction.
"But Besanii is in the middle of the battle..." He muttered, catching the cold beer.
"What are you doing here then?" The gym leader said monotonously, slumping back into the couch and dragging the bottle opener off the table.
Flint followed, unable to piece anything together. He jabbed his thumb toward the stairs. "I wanted to get changed quickly."
"Go on then."
Flint frowned, putting the bottle on the table and doing as he was told without a word. His travelling clothes were grubby and sweaty, not to mention wet from the ridiculously heavy rain, so he had only wanted to change before heading to the contest hall. As he did so, he pondered over Volkner's strange mood change. He'd made it clear he'd intentionally missed Besanii's battle, despite having shown subtle excitement at her last one. Had Flint misread his best friend? Had Volkner only been faking it when he was around?
Without pause, Flint began down the stairs again whilst continuing to pull his shirt over his head.
"Are you alright?" He questioned delicately.
"Yep."
"Did you not want to see Besanii and Alyssa?"
"Not particularly."
"Oh..." Flint wasn't sure what to make of that.
"It will have finished by now though."
Again, Flint was stumped, why would Volkner know that if he weren't interested? He tilted his head curiously, but shrugged and headed for the door.
"I'm going to go and see her, do you need anything while I'm out?" The confused redhead asked politely.
"I'm good."
Giving up, Flint hurried out of the door and headed for the bridge to avoid pestering fans.
Volkner eyed the remote, frowning as if it were the source of temptation to see how Besanii had done. The television had a perfectly good battle on for him to watch, but it wasn't interesting him at all. He purposely flicked the remote away from him, and with the same hand picked up the bottle Flint had conveniently left unopened. With a sigh, he rested it on his stomach and stared at the television screen. The rain was still battering the roof and windows loudly, and it was sending him drowsy...
"Access. Denied."
He woke back up with a start. Completely disoriented of time, he sat up sharply and glanced to the door. The blurry figure of a red headed female was peering as best she could through the misty glass.
"What do you mean, denied?" An obnoxious squeal made its way through his front door. He'd made sure to block her from the voice recognition lock.
"Access. Denied." It repeated.
He closed his eyes, frowning when she began to hammer her hand against his expensive glass door and yelling through it.
"Volkner!" She shouted with another rapping. "I know you're in there! Please open the door! We need to talk!" Her voice was pleading but strong, it only made him more defiant. She waited, wondering whether he would respond, but knew that he wouldn't. So she continued, "I... I said it all wrong, Volkner! I need to explain properly, please!"
His fingers twitched, and to rid himself of temptation, he stood up and headed for the stairs. He could do with a nap...
"I can't go back to the way things were before we met... I... We're good together... Please open up..." Her voice was getting weaker, and she could feel a lump growing in her throat. She'd never been in this situation before. Sure, she'd had arguments with Flint, worse ones that this, but he would always come back to her. They would always make up, usually within the same day. It was clear Volkner was not like this at all.
Without realising it, tears had started to fall again. The rain was making her cold, and she wouldn't be able to beg much longer. She knocked a few more times, this time not expecting him to answer.
"Besanii."
She turned her head slowly, looking sadly at her brother, who had pieced most of things together. His face was sad too, like he was mourning for the friendship. With a kind smile, he reached out a hand to her, which she took reluctantly, allowing him to tow her to her home under his umbrella.
After monotonously relaying the argument to Flint, Besanii had withdrawn to her bedroom where she curled up in a ball and stared at her wall. Suddenly, everything went dark, and a pair of hands pressed against the towel that had been thrown over her. Flint rubbed roughly to dry her hair, and she couldn't help but smile at him.
"Things will be alright, won't they?" She asked quietly under the towel.
"Of course they will." He assured her.
"You think he'll forgive me?"
Flint snorted, "he's not mad at you. He's just sulking because he didn't get his own way."
She shook her head, pulling away from him and batting his hands away. "It didn't seem that way, Flint."
He flicked her forehead and smiled. "Who's the big brother here?"
"You are." She muttered.
"And who is always right?"
"I am."
He paused, then pushed her off the bed. "Hey!"
After a pitiful yelp as she crashed onto the floor, she waited there patiently. When she didn't reappear, Flint worried and peeped over the bed to see if she was okay. She sprung at him, tackling him against the bed and roughly landing on him. He huffed as she winded him, but chuckled nonetheless. It was always nice to see her smile again, but he still tossed her aside so he could breathe again.
Once they'd sobered, he nudged her with his knuckles. "Volkner is a sulky guy, you knew that the moment you met him."
"Yeah..."
"He won't stay mad for long."
"I hope not." She replied, snuggling against him as he opened his arm out in an invitation.
He rubbed her arm gently, noting when her breathing deepened and her muscles ceased to tense as she drifted into restless slumber.
"Oh Besanii. I can only hope I'm right." He sighed, knowing Volkner had never sulked over a girl before, and not knowing whether this was something he would forgive.
"Mrs Demery." He beamed, taking her hand and guiding her into the home. Her husband followed, and Flint slapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Mornin' sir."
"Good morning, son." He replied, grinning as he shook hands. "Good to see you back."
"No paparazzi out there today." Flint commented as he glanced out the front window.
"None at all."
"Good." Besanii grunted as she emerged from the bedroom, cave woman hair and all.
"Wow." Flint smirked, "Entei would envy that mane."
"Coming from you?" She stuck her tongue out, only to have her wrist swatted by her mother.
"Be nice." Mrs Demery scolded.
Besanii rolled her eyes and wandered to the kitchen cupboard where she yanked out the necessities for cereal.
"Did you have a nice night last night?" Mr Demery asked politely.
Flint eyed Besanii quickly, who averted her gaze to the breakfast bowl. Seeing that he had to answer, he pulled out his best grin. "Yes thanks. Just like old times."
The father raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to question the strange relationship the two had formed.
"What did you two do?" Besanii asked quietly, bringing her bowl to the table.
"We went to the lighthouse, seeing as tomorrow is our last day here, we thought we should see all the tourist spots." Mrs Demery chatted away, her smile serene as she remembered the beautiful evening.
Besanii smiled, "Volkner took me there, you should ask him to take you to the top floor, it's even more beautiful up there."
She hadn't noticed, but Flint had been firing warning looks at her while she chatted away without much thought. It suddenly dawned on her that they couldn't ask Volkner, he wouldn't be all that negotiable.
Flint coughed, "yeah, it's a shame you didn't ask him sooner, he's gone to league for a while to sort out his promotion."
"Oh, well that's a shame..." Mrs Demery sighed, not noticing the slight hiccup in the stories.
"He's doing well for himself, isn't he?" Mr Demery commented.
Flint nodded, taking over again so Besanii didn't have to talk about him. "He's worked hard his whole life, more than me actually, I'm just so darn blessed with talent..."
The parents chuckled, but Besanii punched his arm gently, shooting a thankful look when he pouted at her.
"So, Boo." Mr Demery interjected, "are you ready for the battle?"
"As I'll ever be." She smiled, though worry struck her as she realised this was it, this was the day when she could reach her dream or miss it entirely.
"There's no need to panic, Besanii, you've done so well up until now." Mrs Demery told her gently.
"Have you picked your pokemon?" Mr Demery added.
"Of course she has." Mrs Demery snapped quickly.
Besanii nodded, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. "You'll just have to wait and see."
"Flint..." Besanii said worriedly after she'd ushered her parents away to get good seats. He looked down as she tugged on his sleeve.
"I'm not sure if-"
"Hey hey!" He interjected, placing a hand on her shoulder. "None of that, you're going to be fine."
"But Vol-"
"It's his loss that he's not here. Now you get back there and give it your all." He demanded. She still didn't seem certain, but hugged him and ran off nonetheless. She stopped at the doors to the arena, checking herself in the mirror to ensure she looked fit for the final of the biggest moment of her life. Her red hair flowed in big waves down her bare back, and her black, backless sequin dress sparkled even under the dim lighting.
She sucked in air and sighed it out again. Whatever happened between her and Volkner was now left in the changing room. With a quick check that she had the right pokemon with her, she stepped onto the platform that lifted her to the stage.