Eight-year-old Silver scanned each aisle of the liquor store, slowing down significantly upon reaching the candy section. He had been watching this particular stand for a while now, mostly because it was close to the warehouse. There were only so many places he could go to on his own before his parents' henchmen declared him missing. If that happened, they would drag him back to the concrete hellhole that reeked of blood, urine, and smoke. There was no place in the warehouse that didn't have that stench. Except outside, in the courtyard, where he would sleep when the Rocket goons got too loud inside.

The child grabbed the biggest candy bar he spotted and shoved it into his jacket. He spun to see if anyone saw him and, so far, there were only the empty aisles. The cashier was still in the back room, and there were no witnesses to ask questions. Focused on the sunlight, the redhead made a run for it. His dirty sneaker took one step into fresh air.

Until his body was pulled back by a broomstick.

"Just where do you think you're going, boy?" a much older man called out, shoving Silver back inside. "You think you can steal from me and get away with it? Get your parents here, or I'm calling the cops!"

Silver paled. No one knew where his parents were, nor when they would come back. He didn't know their phone numbers either, and why would he? They were useless if they never called. If his parents didn't show up, then the old man would call the police. Silver might not hear much from the adults tasked to take care of him, but if they were verbal about anything, it was that the police were bad news. Very, very bad news.

"He wasn't stealing anything."

Another kid entered the conversation. She had purple hair and even deeper purple eyes. Without warning, she shoved her hand into Silver's jacket and turned the candy bar in to the store keep.

"He was just holding it for me," she explained. "He probably thought I was outside, but I'm still here. Stop getting lost!"

Silver blinked, confused that the girl addressed him at that last sentence. He didn't know what to say and chose to keep quiet.

"But I don't want it anymore, so you can have it back," the girl crinkled her nose. "We'll get food at home. C'mon!"

Before Silver could do anything, anything at all, the girl took his hand and dragged him outside. She kept leading him away from the store until they reached an alleyway around the corner of the street. Now angry, Silver yelled, "Let me go!" and tugged his hand back. "Why did you do that?" he demanded. "I really wanted that bar!"

"You mean like this one?" the girl pulled out a candy bar from her jacket. "And this?" she pulled out another. Then she confused the boy even more by handing one to him.

"You bought all this?" Silver asked.

"Hell no," the girl snorted. "I snuck all of them into my jacket while that guy was yelling at you. It was the easiest steal I ever made! But I only did it with your help, so you should have some."

Silver wasted no time and opened the wrapper of his bar. He took a big bite and cringed. He hated fruits. But he took another bite anyway. Then another. And another. "Have more?"

"Yeah, I got a lot," the girl assured. "Why are you so hungry? Didn't you eat at home?"

"No," Silver said with a full mouth. "We ran out of food."

"Oh."

The girl opened her own candy bar and took a bite. She happened to like fruit candy, so she enjoyed her snack much more than he did. When Silver extended a hand, she took the hint and gave him another bar.

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"I can't tell you," Silver evaded.

"Why?"

"Because they told me not to."

"Who's they?"

"Can't tell you."

The girl rolled her eyes. "We just helped each other steal candy. Don't you want to get a lot of candy again? Together?"

Silver nibbled on his snack, "...Yeah."

"Then we gotta know each other's name!" the girl declared. "Unless you wanna starve."

Silver swallowed and frowned. "Fine," he grunted, "it's Silver."

"There! Was that so hard?"

"Just tell me yours."

"It's Pamela," the girl answered smugly. "Don't forget it."

~.~

May had to use all of her willpower to push herself off the wall and back into the coordinator lounge. On the way, she twisted her blouse, recalling her moment with Silver. The redhead really knew how to ignite feelings she couldn't ignore. He first brought out great anger by laying a hand on Ethan. Then, clashing feelings of lust and calm with gentle kisses and hugs. He knew what he was doing with both her body and his. And when he asked her to never leave him, it put her mind in a haze. A dreamy haze she had trouble snapping out of...and not wanting to.

The coordinator blushed and leaned on her locker. Was this what it was like to have a boyfriend? Was this what it was like to like someone so much and have him shamelessly show that he felt the same way? May might have experienced something similar to this. With Drew, maybe? But what she had with Silver was stronger. She was high in emotion but not overwhelmed. Pamela troubled her, but Silver made her forget that. That was why, despite what had happened so far, May never felt happier. Silver knew how to drive her crazy, but he knew how to soothe her too.

May glanced at her phone. Ten minutes have passed since the thirty-minute intermission began. Five minutes of it were with Silver and Ethan. She didn't know why her boyfriend didn't just stick around after their kiss, but she supposed he wanted time for himself. Silver was a loner. May predicted as much by how awkward he looked during simple outings like grocery shopping. But that was just in their first days of traveling together. Silver spent a lot of time with her anyway because he had feelings for her, May surmised. They did end up dating, after all. However, Silver needed to recharge from social interaction—something he got a lot of today—and May supported him on it. She needed time for herself too. And Blaziken did a good job on the appeals today; he deserved to know.

"Come on out, Blaziken!"

Upon materializing, Blaziken sat down on a nearby bench so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. He turned to his trainer in acknowledgment, who was extending to him a protein bar.

"Here you go!" May gifted. "You've earned it."

"Blaze!" the fire and fighting type chirped. He acquired the bar his trainer graciously opened for him and chomped down. Peanut butter flavor, he beamed—his favorite.

"Thanks for working so hard, Blaziken," May sat beside him. She put away her phone after texting Silver to buy her coffee. "I know I was a little distracted out there, but you pulled through for us."

"Blaze," Blaziken nodded.

"Am I making you that nervous?"

May tensed as Pamela towered over her. She had seen how even richer violet Pamela's eyes were on the stage screen, but in person, the woman's irises blended with her hollow pupils. The depth in them almost swallowed May whole.

Not to be shown up, the blue-eyed coordinator leaped from the bench and retaliated, "As if! You don't scare me, Pamela!"

"I should if you know what you're getting into," Pamela warned.

"I know perfectly well what I'm getting into."

"Why? Because Silver told you about me?" Pamela sneered. "Good to know I'm in his mind. Won't be long until I'm in his bed too."

May made two fists. Taunting her once was offensive enough. She wasn't going to allow a second. "You know, you have a lot of nerve talking about someone else's boyfriend like that!" she snapped. "Is that why you don't have your own?"

Pamela gaped. She wasn't expecting that kind of response. From the look on May's face, it didn't seem like she did either. Nevertheless, May huffed and stood with newfound confidence.

"If Silver really goes to you when the contest ends, then you can have him. I don't want to be with someone who goes behind my back like that," May told her. "But Silver told me he wouldn't, and I trust him more than I trust you. So leave me and my pokémon alone, and get ready to lose to us!"

Pamela gritted her teeth and stepped into May's space. She was taller than she was, so that could work into her intimidation factor. But May glared back, unfazed. Pamela backed off when Blaziken began to glare at her as well.

"We'll settle this on stage," she declared. "And when we do, I'm going to make you eat those words."

She whipped May with her long purple hair and stormed out of the room. May growled in irritation just as her red-haired boyfriend approached her.

"Silver," May grinned, "is that what I think it is?"

She gleefully received the sealed coffee cup and inhaled its sweet aroma. She lifted the lid, blew on the steaming liquid, and sipped.

"Hazelnut!" she squealed. "So good! Thanks, Silver."

"Is she a problem?"

"Huh?"

"Pamela," Silver clarified. "Is she a problem?"

May pouted, "No...Why do you ask?"

"I saw you talking on my way here."

"Oh," May chuckled. "It wasn't as bad as it looked! You should've heard what I said to her. You'd be proud!"

"Yeah?"

"I was so sassy!" she boasted. "And why wouldn't I be? I've been learning from the best."

A screech pierced the coordinator lounge. When the couple located the source, they found Pamela yelling at a younger lady.

"I'm allergic to nuts, you stupid hag!" Pamela crushed a candy bar in her hand. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Their conversation was in a farther part of the lounge, so May and Silver stopped hearing it when Pamela lowered her voice. But they were able to see the purple-haired woman throw the bar at the stranger's head and storm away. The other person quickly followed.

"What did you see in her?" May cringed.

"Nothing worth remembering," Silver snatched back the coffee cup.

"Hey!"

"It's two in the afternoon," Silver justified. "Don't drink this much caffeine now, or you won't sleep."

"You're just mad because I called you sassy," May crossed her arms.

"I've been called worse things."

"Sure," May rolled her eyes. "I'll let you keep it only because you need to try new things. Drinking black coffee only all your life is limiting."

That seemed to be the last jab Silver would tolerate because, in a second, the redhead had his arms around May and his teeth around her ear. The brunette squeaked and flailed out of his grasp, which was only easy because Silver was holding the coffee cup. May cupped her mouth to suppress her giggles, while Silver shot her a half-hearted glare. The two of them maintained their gazes, their cheeks flushed. But their interaction had an audience. Blaziken was still there, after all, and he was watching them with a cheeky grin.

"B-Blaziken, return," May resummoned him.

"I'll see you later," Silver quickly retreated.

"Wait!"

Silver halted when May clutched his arm.

"There's still time before the break ends," May lowered her head, blushing. "Wanna hang out with me?"

When Silver's arm slackened, May was sure he would say yes. But after staring into her twinkling blue eyes, he shook his arm free.

"Later," the redhead muttered. He made an awkward shuffle and exited the lounge.

~.~

He wanted to stay. He really wanted to stay. And that was why he had to get away.

Silver gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so tightly; coffee trickled onto his hands. The redhead glared at the beverage and took a breath. May had too much power over him. First, she successfully forced an apology he didn't want to give out of him. Then, she almost got him to stay with her and unknowingly ruin his latest plan. His feelings for May were supposed to be fake. Real to her, fake to him. Any attraction he had should only be shallow. So why was he drenched in it?

Doesn't matter, Silver took another breath. Those feelings would leave soon. Especially when he had one emotion that overrode everything: anger. He was angry at everyone and everything. And right now, he was infuriated with Pamela. Because of that idiot, May now had the ideas of breaking up with him and of him betraying her—he caught that part of their conversation. Though the latter would eventually prove true, the prior couldn't happen. May had a purpose to serve. If Pamela had a problem with that, then she had to go.

Silver cleaned off his hand and cup with a nearby water fountain and spotted Pamela rehearsing with her jynx in another room. The redhead stared at the long-haired coordinator until she felt his gaze. He then smirked when Pamela withdrew her pokémon, leaving her open.

"Hey, Silver!"

The redhead hissed when Ethan stepped into his path. The champion was looking less jubilant than usual. His arms were crossed, and his gray eyes focused on the coffee cup.

"Piss off, Ethan," Silver ordered.

"In a second," Ethan jerked his head to Pamela, who had lost interest and left the room. "I know what you were going to do, and it's not okay."

"I wasn't going to do anything. Stop playing hero and mind your own business."

"You were going to give her something she loudly said she was allergic to because she was mean to your girlfriend. Right?"

Silver eyes sharpened and darted at the people around them. The room they were in was smaller than the coordinator lounge but, to his fortune, didn't have enough nuisances nearby to pick up their conversation. "How do you know that?"

"Because I know you, Silver," Ethan answered. "When you have a goal, everyone else becomes collateral damage. I've seen you hurt people. I haven't seen you kill, but I won't be surprised if you did."

Silver maintained his glare.

"Oh, Silver..."

"I'll do it again if they keep getting in my way," the redhead threatened. "The only reason you're still alive is—"

"Because I'm the champion and your rival, and if anything happens to me, you'll be the top suspect," Ethan answered. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm using this position to help you...and save them."

"Why can't you just leave?" Silver demanded. "Is this your way of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer?"

"That sounds kinda cool, but no," Ethan replied. "I don't want to be your babysitter, Silver; I want to be your friend. Friends don't let each other do bad things. If you don't have me looking out for you, who would you have?"

No one, Silver grumbled to himself. At least, that was what he would've said in the past. Now, someone else came to mind. Someone with short brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a happy-go-lucky attitude that would have annoyed him if it didn't settle his anger just a little bit. Without being aware of it, Silver began to relax, loosening his hold around the cup.

"That's who I was gonna talk about next," Ethan noticed what his rival didn't. "May."

Silver tensed at the mention of his girlfriend's name. Ethan took a cautionary step back as the redhead made another fist.

"If anything happened to you back then, no one would care. We both know that," Ethan began. "But if anything happens to you now—you get arrested, maybe beat up or killed—it doesn't just hurt you anymore; it also hurts May. You have to consider that now that you have someone who cares about you."

Silver was about to remark that what Ethan said was wrong, but that would be a lie that he couldn't convince even himself with. May had always cared about him, whether he wanted her to or not. From the beginning of their journey, before she even knew him better, she would wait for him in their hotel room when he went out on his private walks and made sure he came back every time. She never waited on her bed. She sat on a chair for as long as she could so she could watch him walk through the door. She never did—she was a morning person who naturally slept early—but that didn't stop her from trying even to this day. It was the one gesture Silver appreciated her doing most because it revealed how much she cared about him. Nobody waited for him to come home out of concern before. The Team Rocket goons his parents stuck him with when he was a kid only supervised him to avoid punishment.

That was when Silver imagined himself getting arrested by the cops for attempting to or even successfully killing Pamela. He would never make it back to the hotel room where May waited for him. How would she react? Would she call the cops to have them inevitably tell her? Would she cry when she discovered his fate?

The redhead's grip loosened around the coffee cup again. But by a fraction, a small amount.

"Silver."

Black eyes met gray.

"You know pain more than anyone else I know," Ethan told him. "If there's more than one way to hurt someone, you'd be the first to know it. So if there's any way you can get what you want without killing anyone, do that instead. If not for you, then for May."

Silver took a deep breath through his nose and tightened his hold on the cup again. When he turned to walk away, he struck the lid of a nearby trash bin so it would flap loudly in front of Ethan. But he did so quickly so that the champion couldn't see what he really did. He kept the coffee in his grasp and hid it behind his coat.

~.~

Pamela, now fifteen-years-old, watched with pride as fourteen-year-old Silver presented their latest score: two bottles of beer. She took a bottle and threw aside the cap. She then handed the opener to Silver, who uncapped his with a pop.

"You got the good stuff too," the purple-haired teen complimented. "How'd you pull that off?"

"I set the back room on fire," Silver took a chug of his drink.

He would have taken it easier on the liquor store owner—Martin, he read on the sixty-three-year-old man's name tag—but he was in a bad mood today. He proved it too by draining his beer in one gulp and then smashing it on the alley wall. The glass bottle shattered into pieces, scattering shards on the damp pavement.

"He pissed you off?"

"No, but he was an easy target."

Pamela raised an eyebrow as Silver lit a cigarette and began to smoke. He took quick puffs and coughed a lot, but he didn't slow down once. He instead focused on the firetrucks shooting water at the burning liquor store. He then threw his unfinished cigarette on the ground and stomped on it.

"Okay, what's your deal?" Pamela demanded. "Did the Rocket guys lock you out of the warehouse again?"

"Mind your own business," Silver grunted. "You wouldn't understand."

"Of course, I'd understand. I'm the only one who'd understand," Pamela snapped. She finished her beer and stared at the bottle. "We both feel safer on the streets than we do in our own homes. Or what's supposed to be our homes. But if we complain about how messed up our lives are to anyone, we get the pity party or the blame that it's somehow our fault. We're 'bad kids' because we don't care about what's right and wrong anymore. Only what hurts and what doesn't."

Silver turned to her, his black eyes wide. Then he sighed and looked back at the liquor store. An ambulance had arrived to carry off the old man, who was unconscious and laid out on a gurney. "Yeah."

"If you still don't want to talk about what happened, that's fine. I also get that talking isn't enough to take the pain away," Pamela smashed her bottle on the wall, shattering it on top of the previous one. "Let's try something."

"Try what?"

Within seconds, Pamela pressed Silver against the graffitied walls. The redhead stared at the girl's purple eyes and then to her lips. Finally, Pamela dipped her head and kissed him.

Silver didn't know how to react at first. He had never kissed anyone before and had yet to think about whether Pamela was attractive in that way or not. But she was right. The more she kissed him, the less tense his body became. And when she let him go, it only left him wanting more. Her lips on his felt much better than his throbbing head. It didn't make the pain go away, but he did forget about it. For a moment.

Pamela gasped when Silver grabbed her t-shirt and shoved her to the wall. A smirk formed at her lips before Silver claimed them again.

~.~

When Silver spotted Pamela again, he found her in a hallway leading to the coordinator lounge. There were many hallways in this contest hall, he realized. It was easy to get lost or take alternative routes here. It was also easy to take someone away from everyone else. The only other person with them had just turned a corner, gone.

"Silver!" Pamela giddily approached him. "You brought me coff—"

The redhead suddenly threw the coffee cup into the trash bin beside them. The flap of the container whipped back and forth once, twice, before halting to a stop.

"You think you're special?" Silver demanded. "You think because you sucked my dick a couple of times, you can turn my relationship into a joke?"

Pamela tensed and stiffly crossed her arms. "I did more than just suck your dick, dear," she leaned against the wall. "And if this is your attempt to stand up for your girlfriend, you're picking the wrong side."

"No, I'm not."

"Does she know you are? Who you really are?" Pamela interrogated. "Does she know about your criminal parents and how they could barely provide for you, so you spent most of your childhood robbing people or searching for food in the trash? Because I do. I was the one who taught you where to look."

Silver scowled, almost wincing. "That doesn't matter anymore."

"That's the only thing that matters, Silver," Pamela stated. "You think it's a coincidence that the woman you decided to date is a rich girl who never worked a day in her life but always had a warm bed to sleep in? That goodie-two-shoes had both her parents keeping her safe in that bubble of hers, while yours made you an orphan without dying first."

"Shut the hell up, you, pretentious skank," Silver snapped. "At least my parents still call me their child and didn't trade me for a pack of razz."

The purple-haired coordinator's arms tightened across her chest. "Did that make you feel better?"

The redhead pocketed his hands, "Yeah."

"Good for you. You're proving my point, you, gold-digger," Pamela sassed. "But, there's no shame in that. I've been one myself many times—you know that. All I'm saying is that you can come to me when you're tired of that girl rubbing her privilege in your face. May could be a great sugar mama, but don't expect much else. You can't love someone you don't understand, and she's never going to understand you. Not like I do."

"Let me make this clear," Silver interjected. "You don't know what's going on, and it isn't your business to know. If I ever see you talking to May again, I'm going to choke you with your own hair. I don't care if you're a girl."

"Si—"

Pamela flinched when Silver took a step toward her. She gulped and took two steps back. When she looked around, they were still alone. Everyone else was in the coordinator lounge or backstage. No one was waiting for her.

"F-Fine," she conceded. Then with a sigh, a sad one, she muttered, "Goodbye, Silver."

Silver kept his glare on her as she ran out of the hallway. He smirked and glanced at his phone. The intermission was going to end.

Time to watch May.

~.~

Pamela never showed up for her semi-final match. She was last seen in the coordinator lounge lockers shoving items into her purse and avoiding contact with everyone else. But May caught a glimpse of the purple-haired maiden's face when she felt someone staring at the back of her head. Pamela's amethyst eyes were tainted red. When the ceiling lights hit her cheeks, they presented clear streaks that could have only been tears.

May dared herself to check on her. Pamela was a lot, but she was still a person. If she needed help, she'd get it. But when Pamela caught May closing in on her, she practically ran out of the lounge. May could only gape as her fiercest rival today fled like a timid ratata. What had that been about? Was what was upsetting Pamela...her?

The brunette quickly pulled out her phone and texted Silver what had happened. Surprisingly, her boyfriend didn't seem interested in the woman he had been upset about less than an hour ago. May wanted to keep talking about it while her battle had yet to start, but the redhead insisted she focus on the contest instead. May rolled her eyes and humored him just this once. He wasn't wrong. He also wasn't making sense, but he wasn't wrong.

May's battle was scheduled much sooner because of Pamela's forfeit. Instead of waiting thirty minutes for her match, she only waited ten. But ten minutes was enough. Just as her red-haired boyfriend had instilled upon her during training, it was imperative to study your adversary. The more you know about who you were facing, the more opportunities you have to defeat them. May thought it sounded a little diabolical and, frankly, Silver-like, but it was helpful. After a few internet videos, May had learned her next opponent's battle style. Her competitors could do the same with her, but there was something the blue-eyed coordinator had now that the world had yet to record on camera.

"The Princess of Hoenn has returned!" the MC announced during one of May's preliminary battles. "But we haven't seen anything like this!"

The audience was at the edge of their seats. Even the judges couldn't retain impassive expressions as May and Blaziken obliterated one opponent after another. The fire and fighting type might have displayed an appeal with style May's fans could recognize. But his battling style was different. May and Blaziken watched not only the other pokémon in the arena but their trainers as well. One raichu retreated to his trainer when he was afraid. A dusclops always levitated left when evading an attack.

"Don't just watch yourself; watch your opponent," Silver and his team instilled into their minds. "Find their weakness and their strength, then use it against them."

Blaziken kept the raichu on May's side of the field so the electric mouse would only make awkward dodges that still resulted in hits. The blaze pokémon's fire swerved from right to left, leaving the dusclops unable to escape his assault.

When an empoleon was summoned for the final round, most spectators expected May and Blaziken to be apprehensive. Empoleon was a powerful water-type pokémon, a considerable advantage against Blaziken's fire typing. All but Silver was surprised when May and Blaziken were fearless. Blaziken kept nearing Empoleon, startling the penguin and her trainer. After two fierce Sky Uppercuts, Empoleon was defeated.

May and Blaziken won every battle, the eyes of the world, and the ribbon.