Hey everyone. Just a few notes from the author. There is some mild violence and abuse in this chapter, as a forewarning. Things should get a little nicer and pick up the pace moving forward after this. I am super excited to share more with everyone. I am moving this week and also going out of town on the weekend so I'm hoping to get another chapter uploaded before Thursday. Hopefully it works! I have CH4 done but I want to edit it more before posting.
Take care!


Isabella and Leon returned to the party unnoticed. They both began to mingle with the guests, dancing with everyone, eating the food, and having the best time. Isabella spent a great deal of time with Hop, reminiscing about the times they've had in Postwick and exploring the surrounding areas. Within an hour of Isabella returning to the party with Leon, she was laughing, dancing, and running around with joy. Hop grabbed her around the waist and they began to twirl around the party to the energetic guitars on the speakers in the background. They charged through the crowd, hands pointed forward as they raced along the edges of the party. The excitement was high and the laughter was roaring. Isabella and Hop were cheek to cheek, grinning and laughing like maniacs. As they entered the dance tiles in the center of the party, Hop spun Isabella around in the circle and dipped her down. The crowds were cheering as Hop and Isabella laughed, standing upright and hugging. Eleanora stood on the side with Hop's grandfather, Michael. He grinned and stood from the bench, walking over with his cane. He gave Isabella a soft pat on the back.

"It's my turn now, right?"

As the evening went on, people began dancing with each other and sharing stories of the two young ones as they've grown. As the sun began to set completely, the deep orange hue fell across the party, leaving a beautiful warm glow on all the party goers. Isabella was in the most affectionate and gregarious mood she had ever been in. Leon had been going from person to person getting recommendations about Hop and Isabella both on their character and rapport for his proper report to the League. He knew Hop would need it for his official induction into the challenge and he knew that it would be helpful for Isabella in whatever path she decided to take. He was getting the feedback he expected. Hop was confident and excitable. He was picking up work where he could and helping with no expectation of reward. He took up tasks on his own initiative, and was studying in his spare time.

Isabella was a similar case. She was more reserved, however. She was often found with the professor or helping out at the Pokemon Center in Wedgehurst. She loved trying to find new ways to help out the sick and injured, she loved researching, and she loved filing the reports she could. She was always opening up and closing down the research center there. When she wasn't there, she was helping out the local families both in Postwick and Wedgehurst. That's why the turnout was so large. Hop and Isabella both did everything they could to help. They were genuine and pure.

As the latest song came to a crescendo, Hop and Isabella came to a final spin on the dance floor with a loud laugh. They held each other close in a tight hug, giving a soft kiss on the cheek. She pulled away from him with a giant grin, and Leon smiled at the sight. He loved seeing them so happy together like that. Lisbeth approached and nudged Leon in the arm. He glanced down at her, smiling from ear to ear.

"It's nice to see them so happy, huh?" she said. Leon nodded, looking back to his little brother and his best friend. Lisbeth noticed the bracelet dangling from her daughter's wrist. "I take it she liked it?"

Leon grinned. "I did get some happy tears," he admitted, giving Lisbeth a nudge back. She gave a lighthearted chuckle. "We picked out a good one." Leon and Lisbeth shared a knowing gaze before looking back to Hop and Isabella on the dancefloor. Isabella let go of Hop with a grin. Her face fell for a moment as she looked over his shoulder. Hop turned on his heel to see what she had seen.

"Sorry I'm late!" A familiar black-haired man approached, bearing a bouquet of yellow tulips, approached. Isabella smiled and ran up to him, jumping onto him with a tight hug. Trevor reciprocated the hug with a soft, "hey there, hun." Leon's smile fell from his face, unbeknownst to him. Hop scratched the back of his head and glanced around the party, looking for someone else to hang out with as he knew that Isabella would be busy. He eventually saw Chris and jogged over to him. Lisbeth sighed softly.

"I know she hasn't decided yet but…" she began. Leon turned his head down to her. Her eyes were narrowed at Trevor and her daughter. Trevor was grasping Isabella's lower waist tightly. His hand was lowering slowly, but stopped when Isabella pushed it off when it got right above her panty line. Lisbeth blinked slow and harsh. "If she goes with Hop, please."

She looked up at Leon. Her eyes were desperate. "Please watch after her. Not her. Both of them."

Leon could see how serious she was. His brow knit together for a moment. He placed a hand on her shoulder and tilted his head inward, "I always have. You know that." Lisbeth nodded, and she let out a breath that sounded as if she had been holding it in for hours. Leon turned towards her. "What's wrong, Liz?"

Lisbeth held out a hand toward the closest chair to her and limped towards it. Leon guided her towards it and helped her sit down. She reached down and moved her leg to a more comfortable position and sat back. Leon took the chair across from her and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and he leaned forward. Lisbeth sighed as quiet as she could.

"Your family is the reason we've been able to stay as level as we've been able to, Lee," she lamented. "After my husband died, Isabella was lost for awhile. She and her father were close," Lisbeth said. She glanced at her daughter. Isabella was looking at the tulips Trevor had brought her. She smiled at the flowers before giving Trevor a soft kiss.

"I thought coming here might have helped, and you guys made all the difference." Lisbeth smiled a little. "She opened up like I never thought she would. But lately, I'm worried… I think it would be good for her to finally do something for herself. She's been so focused on taking care of me since everything happened."

Leon listened with great care, nodding and making sure Lisbeth felt heard. He reached out and grabbed her hand. She met his eyes and smiled, and he returned it. "You know she wasn't ever going to let you do anything by yourself. That's just not in her blood," Leon joked. Lisbeth smiled, patting Leon's hand and leaning forward.

"Of course not," she laughed. "She's her father's daughter, afterall."

Leon showed her a brilliant, genuine smile, and Lisbeth felt at ease. "I will keep an eye on her if she goes."

Lisbeth nodded. "Please, see to it that she goes," she pleaded. "I think she needs the perspective. And maybe, she'll see that there's more to life than hanging around these two towns and waiting for that boyfriend of hers to hopefully show up…" Lisbeth glanced over her shoulder to see Trevor checking his phone as Isabella was talking to him. He nodded to her glancing up from his phone momentarily. Isabella's shoulders dropped for a moment. She turned her head and attempted to walk somewhere when Trevor put his phone away and reached out for her to get her attention. She stopped walking away and they began talking again.

Lisbeth sighed. "I don't think he's good for her but… I want her to be happy. And I think she needs to make that decision herself."

Leon nodded. He tapped Lisbeth's hand with a gentle pat. She turned back to him. "I'll talk to her tomorrow about going with Hop. I have a gift for both of them and I think it'll help convince them to go together. Just make sure she comes over in the afternoon, okay?"

Lisbeth nodded with a smile in her eyes. "You're one of the good ones. You know that?"

Leon laughed. "Of course I do. I'm undefeated for a reason!"

The hours seemed to fly by as the party began to wind down. The older guests began leaving first, followed shortly afterwards by the parents with the younger children. The music began to slow down. Eleanora began to clean up some of the emptier snacks and plates. Trevor had been talking with Lisbeth for awhile and Leon was teaching Rami some party tricks with his apples over in the corner of the yard. Isabella was standing near the edge of the stone fence with Hop, glancing back at Trevor. Hop looked towards his friend and back again at Trevor. He was leaning with his elbows on the edge casually and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Izzy, I really think you should just forget that guy and come with me on the gym challenge," he said in a hushed tone. She twisted towards him, taken aback. Hop's face was stern. She wasn't accustomed to it. "I mean. Come on, he bullies you, he shows up randomly, he doesn't know you that well…" Isabella scoffed. She shook her head and looked toward Trevor, folding her arms across her chest. Hop kicked off the fence and got in-between her eyes and Trevor, forcing her to look at him directly. Hop wasn't the tallest kid at 18 years old, but he had a few inches on Isabella. She glowered at him.

"He didn't even want to be here this weekend. I had to beg him to come out here," Hop rebuked. Isabella put her hands up, waving them in dismissal at Hop.

"Why is he even a part of this now?" she snapped. "He doesn't have a bearing on this decision. I'm the one who's confused, Hop."

"He's the one that got you confused in the first place," he snapped back. Isabella clenched a fist tight before groaning and releasing the tension. "I mean, would you have even gotten upset in the first place had he not shown up and been a dick about it?"

"You know, everyone has been on my case about going on this trip with you and now you're making it about him." Her volume was loud enough to stir a few of the people left. Eleanora, Leon, and Trevor all glanced over at her and Hop as they stood near the gate. Leon's eyes narrowed at their argument and then glanced toward Trevor. His face looked clouded and blank.

Isabella walked backwards toward the opening of the fence and gestured wide. "I just.. I need to make this decision on my own and I can't do that if everyone is trying to force me into doing it, especially if it's going to be like this."

With that, she turned on her heel and began walking towards Wedgehurst. Hop threw his arms to his sides in exasperation.

"Izzy, cahmon! That's deflection and you know it!" he shouted after her. "Izzy!" She didn't respond or look back at him, but raised her middle finger over her shoulder as she walked away. Hop groaned, throwing his head back in frustration before walking back towards the yard. Trevor was by Hop's side in seconds causing Hop to jolt backwards.

"The hell did you say to her?" he accused with a pointed hand, centimeters from Hop's face. Before Hop could respond to Trevor, like lightning, Leon's palm was colliding with Trevor's shoulder, forcing him away from Hop.

"Back off of him," Leon threatened. With that, it was as if a switch flipped. Trevor immediately turned to Leon, charged him, and threw his palms into Leon's shoulders. Eleanora shouted in surprise as Leon stumbled two steps back. He caught his balance quickly. Charizard immediately turned around, pupils pulled into tight pins.

"Don't touch me!" Trevor shouted, taking two more steps at Leon. There was a loud roar as Charizard took a few steps forward. A snarl formed on Leon's face. He pulled back his fist and dug his back heel into the ground, but restrained himself. Instead, Leon stood straight and tugged his shirt straight. He took a calm step forward, Charizard following suit. He did not break eye contact with Trevor as he got within centimeters of his eyes. Charizard leaned forward, nearly a foot right of Leon.

In a hushed tone, Leon sneered, "Get the fuck off my property before Charizard burns your sorry ass alive." Charizard began growling low, upper lip twitching. Smoke was fuming from his nostrils and the fiery, red glow was emanating from his throat. Trevor's glowering eyes glanced between Charizard and Leon's unwavering glares. Trevor held the gaze with the Champion. Leon's citrine orbs were firm and unblinking. Trevor's pupils contracted thin, piercing at Leon.

Within a split second, logic took over and Trevor took a step away. He turned on his heel without a word and followed after Isabella. Leon took a few cautious steps after him, standing tall. His eyes tracked Trevor for a few moments before he blinked harshly. He had never seen that kind of flip before. It was as if Trevor balanced the possible outcomes on a scale in a manner of seconds and took the best option. Leon shook his head and turned to his younger brother. Hop's eyes were blank and his jaw was agape. He immediately looked to Leon.

"Should we let him go after her?" he questioned. "He's insane! I mean. He was gonna fight you!"

Leon looked over his shoulder where Trevor was and then back to Hop with a deep sigh, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it." He gave Hop a pat on the shoulder. The warmth returning to his eyes transferred to his little brother. "Just help mum pack everything up." He looked around at the surrounding guests. He was thankful it was just family left. He felt a tiny tug on his pant leg and glanced down to see Rami at his feet. His ruby eyes looked glossy and frantic, and he was holding his small red party hand in his limp hand. Leon crouched down and put a hand on Rami's cheek. It was damp. Rami let out a soft whimper, dropping the hat.

"Ax?"

"We'll go grab her," he soothed. Rami tilted his head and tapped Leon's knee many times with both of his tiny hands. He could tell that Rami was anxious, but he could feel the restraint as Rami rapped against his knee. He was holding back his emotions. "She'll be okay, I promise."

The subtle thumps from Charizard's steps shook Rami's attention, and he turned towards the larger beast. Charizard let out a breathy grunt and nodded to the younger dragon, as if a mentor to his pupil. Charizard lifted his arms and flexed them, showing bravado. Rami nodded, giving gentle acknowledgement and wiped the drying tears from his face. Leon stood and gave his partner Pokemon a firm pat on the shoulder. Charizard nodded before turning his full attention to Rami. Leon took a few steps towards the gate, noticing that Trevor had made it far away by now. He knew he couldn't force her to do anything with how much pressure everyone had already put on her, but he knew he needed to give her an out.

"Hey, Rotom?"

His phone flew from his back pocket.

"Tell Isabella that if she needs me, I'll be at the lake by the Professor's house until late. And I'll have Rami so tell her not to worry about him."

Isabella sighed. The small inn in Wedgehurst is where Trevor wanted her to meet him, but he hadn't arrived yet. She took out her Rotom phone but hadn't messaged him yet. She didn't want to bother him. That was when Leon's text came through. She didn't mind when Leon spent time with Rami. Rami really like Charizard. She believed it was some kind of a strength or dragon typing complex he had even though Charizard was primarily fire and Rami didn't possess those capabilities. She let a small smirk show through. Rami loved Leon's Pokemon. He adored their strength and wanted to be like them. Often when Leon would shirk his Champion duties to come home to spend time with his little brother, Rami would forgo his usual spot in Isabella's lap to cuddle in the crook of Leon's elbow.

Isabella bit the corner of her lip. The more she thought about it, Rami tended to be where Leon was whenever he was home. Isabella opened up the photos application on her Rotom. She set her filters to include Rami, herself, and Leon. As she began to swipe through, Rami was practically attached to Leon in every single photo. Isabella let out an audible, "Huh."

'Out of all of the people that could tell me they were going to take Rami with them, Leon, Hop, and my mom are the few that could actually do it without him freaking out,' she mused. Perhaps it was the fact that Leon wasn't around as much and Rami wanted to spend time with him while he was here. Or maybe it was some sort of respect hierarchy Rami had? Gravitating towards the person he respected most in the room at the time? She shook her head. There were a lot of variables. She would have to see him around Leon more to really judge it. Isabella looked back down her phone and swiped through more of the photos. Isabella began to laugh. She landed on the photo of the three of them at the Professor's lake. It was Rami's first time meeting Sonia's Yamper and he wasn't expecting the static electricity from his cuddle. Rami was slow to trust but he gave Yamper a hug and received a jolt. Rami ran back to Isabella, screeching and jumped into her arms. She lifted him with a hug and Leon surrounded them both, one arm around Isabella's back and one hand protectively on Rami's head. He looked petrified in the photo, but Isabella and Leon were smiling warmly at the tiny green dragon. Isabella grinned shamelessly at her phone. She compared it to a mother and father trying to comfort their small child after he fell off his bike for the first time which was fitting of Rami's origins.

Her Rotom phone was recording the event as Isabella was still doing some basic research on Rami in general. She was so happy her Rotom takes photos when it thinks that it might be something she wants to look at later. It's one of her fondest memories.

"There you are," came Trevor's caramel voice. Isabella jolted upright on the bench. She met his concerned eyes. "I was worried when you left." She didn't respond at first.

'If you were worried, why didn't you call? Or text?' she wondered. 'And why did it take you so long to finally show up?'

"No, I'm fine," she lied. Trevor began walking over to her, boots heavy against the cobblestone walkway. "I just wanted some time alone." His blue eyes glanced down at her phone instinctively as she tried to put it away. He reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her. She snapped her head to him and tried to pull her hand away. His grip was tight. Her eyebrows knit together.

"Trevor, what are you doing? Stop." He didn't respond to her. His eyes locked onto her phone's screen. The only thing on display was the photo of her, Leon, and Rami she was looking at. Isabella followed his gaze to her phone and her eyes widened. Within a split second, she knew his train of thought. Trevor was never a jealous person but he always tried to tell her that Leon wasn't the person he was at home.

He let out a sigh and loosened his grip on her wrist. He slid his calloused hand down her wrist to her hand and tugged her gently to her feet. Her Rotom phone hid the photo display and flew a little ways away, watching from a distance. Isabella eyed Rotom with cautious acceptance but said nothing.

"I'm not going to be a broken record about that guy, Isabella," he stated. "When I asked Hop just now about why you ran off, Leon tried to attack me. He pushed me and told me that he was going to have his Charizard flay me alive if I didn't leave." Her eyebrow raised in question. He gave a quick nod.

"Yeah," he urged. "I don't know what the hell's wrong with that guy, but he's a huge dick to everyone under him at the League. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they're all trying to tell you that I'm not good for you." He let go of her hands and rubbed his lower jaw roughly. She looked into his eyes. Something, to her, seemed off. He was acting a fraction more frantic than he normally does.

"Leon.. I don't think he would do that," she mumbled. Trevor locked eyes with her. His pupils pulled to a tight point. He almost looked foreign to her at the moment. She felt a reaction in her gut. Something told her she needed to leave, but she couldn't. She cared for him. He took her on fun trips, spent time with her, and would do what he could to let her know she mattered to him. She didn't like to give up on people. And she didn't want to give up on this if she didn't have to.

"Leon. Isn't. Good," he stated. His eyes were unblinking. She could tell his jaw was tense. She could tell how serious he was about this. "Look, Izzy. This place is a bubble. A vacuum. They're getting into your head. We need to get you out of here so you can finally have some clarity." He reached out to pull her to her feet when he grabbed her bracelet. As she stood, he yanked her arm to him. She stumbled a little forward.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded. Isabella tried to pull her arm back, but Trevor's vice grip on her wrist was too tight. She couldn't move her thumb anymore. The pressure was pinching her nerves and it was beginning to burn.

"Trevor, let go."

"Where did you get this?" he repeated in a thin, curt tone.

"It was a gift. Trevor, you're hurting me."

"Who gave it to you?" He looked directly into her eyes. His pupils pulled to tight points. Her fingers were beginning to pulse from the constriction on her wrist. Her breath began to quicken and heart pumping in her ears. She didn't want to tell him because she was sure he would react worse than this. She didn't know what he would do.

Her silence gave him the answer before she had time to say anything. He grabbed the bracelet with his other hand, tightening his grip on her wrist at the same time. "This isn't just a birthday gift, okay? This is expensive. Hop can't afford this shit. Neither can his hick family, except one person." He began to turn the bracelet around her wrist, examining it.

"This isn't a gift you get for a neighbor you see like.. once or twice a month. What the fuck has been going on here when I'm not here?" he demanded, volume increasing with every word. He let go of the bracelet and ripped her arm down to his side, forcing her forward and cupping her face with his free hand. Isabella reached up with her free hand to push him away but he gripped tighter. He was immobile. Isabella began to thrash in his grip.

"Trevor, stop! Nothing's been happening! You're being psychotic! Let go of me!"

He snarled at her and threw her face to her side, and she yelped at the sharp pain in her neck. He reached down to her bracelet and yanked it from her wrist, snapping the chain and sending the pieces flying over the cobblestone path. The snap caused a sharp pain in her wrist and she could feel something pull inside of her wrist. Isabella let out a yelp as Trevor threw her wrist back at her, knocking her onto the ground. He threw the remaining pieces of the bracelet he had in his hand to the ground next to him.

With an angry pointed finger, he began shouting, "I came out here for you and this is how you're going to repay me? I dropped overtime hours. I dropped extra money that could've gone towards something for us. I dropped time that I could've used for a promotion at work. And you're gallivanting around with this tool and his family. Are you fucking kidding me, Izzy?" Isabella looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "You can't just accept gifts like this without thinking about the intentions behind them. You know how I feel about this guy and what I've told you about him." Trevor began to stammer out of anger.

"I should've known that getting into this with you but I wanted to give you a shot because I loved you. But you need to do better. This isn't your best. You can be so much more than this. I just…"

He let out a huge sigh and wiped his face. "I need some time to think about this. I'll talk to you later." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away a few steps. He took out his Pokeball and called out his Corviknight. It let out a loud screech before he hopped on and flew off without another look at her.

Isabella sat on the ground, staring at the sky in shock. The tears were running down her cheeks but she wasn't making a sound. Her hand and forearm were pulsating, and her lower back was hurting from her collision onto the ground. Her senses were so overwhelmed. Rotom approached her, making soft buzzing noises to get her attention. She glanced at the Pokemon with a blank expression. Rotom frowned at her face and played her a small video of Rami running after Wooloo at the Professor's lake in an attempt to cheer her up. Her eyes had glossed over and seemed to be looking straight through Rotom. When the video ended, Rotom's face reappeared. It's expression dropped. She was staring into the air with glossy eyes.

Isabella placed her healthy hand on the ground and lifted herself off of the cobblestone, standing with a shaky demeanor. She began to stumble around, picking up the pieces of the bracelets she could find. She sniffled quietly, placing them on the stone bench and trying to align them to ensure she had collected all the pieces. As she placed the pieces where she could remember where they went, she noticed she was missing the dragon pendant with her father's name on the back. She began to thrash through the bushes nearby, flipping over rocks, and sorting through everything she could.

"Rotom?" she called. "Can you see if you can find the other pendant? I don't see it. I need it."

Rotom paused for a moment as if processing her request, and flew directly over to the entrance of the inn to find the final dragon pendant. Isabella narrowed her eyes inquisitively about how Rotom knew exactly where it was, but placed the pendant along the bracelet. It appeared to be all the pieces. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before scooping the pieces into her hand. Her left arm was stinging and burning from Trevor's grasp. It had a red hand print coiled around her wrist and there was a cut mark from the bracelet ripping into her skin. She did her best to ignore the pain and stood upright. She glanced at Rotom to see it was already about two in the morning.

Isabella wiped her eyes once more. She didn't know much. She was afraid and scared, and not really sure how to process what had just happened. But she did know one thing for sure.

That reaction wasn't okay.

Isabella wanted to be with her friends. She wanted to be with people. She wanted to not be alone with him anytime soon. And she wanted a strong Pokemon like Leon has to protect her if Trevor tried to do anything to her.

"Hey Rotom?" It chirped and flew next to her. "Send Hop a text. Just tell him.. That I'm in."