Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! I apologize for another chapter coming out fairly late. I've had this one done for a bit but I wanted to edit it to make sure I was happy with the dialogue choices and context. I appreciate the follows and favorites, and the reviews! Things have been tight here since I've been quarantined at home, and my puppy is almost 6 months and losing puppy teeth. She's been kind of a pain in the ass, tbh. BUT. We're getting through. I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. 3 Make sure you're making time every day to keep your spirits up in whatever way helps you! Times are tough but we are tougher!

Chapter 7 is almost done, so hopefully I'll have that one uploaded within the next week or so!

Take care! 3


Shortly after finishing dinner, Professor Magnolia stepped out to retrieve the other gift in store for the two young adventurers. Leon cleared his voice at the table, catching their attention.

"You both know that, in order to do the gym challenge, you need a recommendation," he began. Hop began to bounce in his seat, and his wide smile revealed his white teeth. "I wrote you both a letter. Hop, you'll need yours to register at the League Commission before the reveal. And Izzy, yours is more for whatever you'd like to do. I made it way more broad." He slid two envelopes across the table, each labeled with their names. Hop let out an enthusiastic cheer, alerting his new friend Sobble, which caused him to immediately begin to cry.

"Hop!" Isabella cried out. Hop shrunk in his chair before crawling onto the ground with Sobble and cuddling up with him, rocking back and forth to sooth the timid young Pokemon. Leon smiled with sympathy before meeting Isabella's eyes again.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to go into breeding, general care, or research. Hopefully this will help you get where you want to go once you get that figured out," he said with a nod. She took the letter with a gentle grace and nodded in return, placing it in her bag with care. As Hop rocked Sobble back into a calm state of mind, Professor Magnolia returned to the dinner table with two small packages. Isabella knew immediately what they were, as she had helped in their production. Hop's brow knit together, as he wasn't sure what was happening.

"Your gym challenge wouldn't be complete without these, of course," the professor said, smiling as she slid two small cherry red boxes across the table. Isabella stared down at the box, knowing what it held within, and made no effort to open the box. Leon watched with eager eyes as Hop scampered up to the table with Sobble in tow, placing his young friend on the table. Sobble tapped the box with cautious curiosity, flinching back as he heard the clasp jingle with a soft ting. Hop flipped the clasp open and opened the beautifully crafted box. Inside sat a small white athletic band with red and blue outlines, bearing the uniquely crystalized power module and the Galarian symbol of the League. The light in Hop's eyes lit up the room and he grinned in delight, pulling the bracelet from the box. Sobble chirped in a higher tone, reaching with a shaky paw toward the object. Hop held it to his new friend, encouraging his curiosity.

"You really mean it? We can have Dynamax Bands?!" Leon smiled at Hop's excitement. Watching his brother in his shoes so many years ago brought him joy. It was the most exciting thing for him, and he was blessed to be a part of his brother's journey.

"They're all yours," Leon replied, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair with a grin. Hop began giggling as he slid the bracelet over his hand as erratically as he could, desperate to have it on. Leon shook his head with a chuckle. He turned his gaze towards Isabella to see how she was reacting, only to meet her lidded gaze as she stared at the closed box in front of her. A slight frown fell upon his lips. Was it the band? Or was she still upset about her mom?

Leon's brow knit together. 'There's no way this isn't about Trevor,' he mused.

"Iz?"

Her head snapped up, expression immediately changing from dissonance to relaxation. "Hm?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Not gonna take out the band? Put it on?"

She scoffed under her breath, and slid the small box into her pack. "No, thanks." Hop's excitement immediately took a stop and he turned to his friend.

"Uh, what? Dude, what the hell? Dynamaxing is so powerful! You've seen Charizard in Leon's matches! He's incredible!" Leon smirked at his brother. Leon agreed with every word. Charizard was powerful on his own, but Gigantimaxing him took his strength to a whole new level. Isabella met Hop's gaze and shrugged. Leon immediately unfurled his arms at this.

"Hey, that's not shrug worthy!" He snapped. Isabella looked in-between the brothers, noticing the team forming against her. She pulled back in her seat a bit, and felt Rami jump into her lap.

"Aahx!"

His eyes were turned down at Leon and Hop. Isabella gave Rami a proud pat on the head for protecting her. "You guys got Rami in a fit now," she seethed. "Dynamaxing is a newer concept, and the Professor doesn't have all the answers. No one does. I'm not letting that touch my Pokemon. Not until we have more conclusive studies."

Leon stood from his chair. The velocity startled Sobble, who began to whimper. Rami, on the other hand, began to growl. "Aahx! Aahx Ax Axew!"

"Iz, we can't get more studies without actually Dynamaxing and Gigantimaxing. You need subjects to study. What better way to do that than by doing it yourself?" Isabella shook her head at Leon's response.

"My team will not be test subjects, Leon. I will not force them into it, so… no, I will not take out this band," she insisted, speaking loud over Rami's barking. "Rami, hush, sweets," came her hushed hum. Leon heaved a heavy breath, catching the professor's eyes as Rami began to rumble in the background in an attempt to calm himself. Professor Magnolia shrugged her gentle shoulders.

"She has always felt this way, Leon," she replied. "It's why she's stayed. She knows as much as I do. She's just lucky enough to still have her youth to go chasing answers like Sonia." On cue, Sonia entered the room with a skip in her step.

"She's gonna do just fine," she confirmed, nodding to her friend with a smile. "Lord knows I didn't do it as much as I could've. Might be why you won the championship and I didn't," she jested at Leon with a nudge. Leon smirked at his friend and nudged her back.

"Yeah, at least I didn't get my head stuck in the clouds," he rebuked. The table seemed to laugh at his response as Sonia began to argue with him. Isabella rolled her eyes at the two. She once thought they had been a couple in their younger years but, after watching them and hearing their stories, she was only reminded of her friendship with Hop. They were more like siblings than anything else.

As the night began to wind down, Leon, Hop, and Isabella left the Professor's house to head to their respective houses for a good night's rest. In the morning, the young trainers would leave for their journey to Motostoke. Upon approaching Wedgehurst, Isabella stopped for a moment, eyeing the bench on the far side of town where she and Trevor had their argument. Hop and Leon both paused as she froze, eyeing with ferocious curiosity.

"Iz?"

She turned towards Hop as he approached her. "C'mon, we have a long trip ahead of us. It'll take us a few days if we want to go through the Wild Area like we planned. To train up." She nodded with a listless demeanor. She didn't think seeing the bench at night would upset her this much. It made her stomach uneasy. It felt as if her stomach was swallowing her organs whole, and yet she felt completely devoid of anything in her core. All because Trevor saw a picture she happened to look at and a gift she was given?

'How is it possible I missed the red flags?'

She had the pieces of the bracelet with her in her bag. Perhaps she could stop by the store before they closed to get some jewelry wire and construct a makeshift bracelet until she could get to a nice store to get a new chain for it.

"Go on ahead," she urged. "I'm gonna get a few things for tomorrow." Hop gave her a knowing tilt and under his breath, said, "Izzy, what…?"

"I promise I'm fine," she smiled. She placed a warm hand on her friend's upper arm and gave him a light, affectionate squeeze. Hop returned with a reassured curl of his lips.

"Alright, if you say so." He backed away and pointed towards her, skipping backwards. "Bright and early, I'll be at your place! Gym challenge, baby!" he cheered before smacking his brother on the back.

"Race you!" But before waiting for a response, Hop took off sprinting to their house. Without a breath, Leon followed suit, shouting toward his brother and racing after him with excitement. Isabella chuckled gently before turning on her heel and walking into the general store.

It took her a few minutes to find the wire she was looking for. She paid her dues at the counter, offered gratitude toward Mr. Rob, and left the store. As she exited, her eyes couldn't help but glue themselves back to the bench. She ambled over toward the bench, but couldn't get closer than ten meters or so. She could hear the hollow echoes of his insults in her mind, feel the grip on her wrist, the numb and cold stillness creeping from her thumb to her elbow. She reached over and clasped her hands together, the bag from the market dangling on her wrist. Her hands were clammy, but warm. It was enough to ground her, for the moment.

Maybe now she was brave enough.

"Rotom?"

On cue, her Rotom phone flew up next to her with a smile.

"Can you play the voicemail I have?"

Rotom took a moment, but opened the screen to play the audio. Isabella took a breath in and slowly let it out as the voicemail began. Trevor's hollow, stern tones echoed into the crisp air.

"Isabella, I swear, you need to pick up the phone when I call. How many times do I have to tell you? I just-... Ah, I just don't know what to do with you anymore. First Leon and you, that bracelet, that picture... and now this?" There was a deep pause with some papers ruffling in the background. She could hear Trevor take a gulp of something, and then a glass slammed on a hard surface. "I just really need to talk to you. Can you please just call me back? I'm sorry, okay? I know I yelled and I upset you. And I'm sorry. For everything, okay? Just… call me back."

Rotom popped back onto the screen with a blank expression. It's eyes seemed to drift a bit around her but then a message popped up asking if she would like to delete the voicemail. Isabella didn't even reach for it. She just stared at the bench.

"Play it again."

Rotom paused for a moment before repeating the message. She stood in the center of town, blank emerald eyes staring lifelessly at the bench. As Rotom finished, she demanded another playthrough. Isabella heard a thud from behind her. She jolted around, dropping her bag from the market, and met Leon's amber eyes. He was fixated on her phone, seeming to have dropped a large bag next to him. Charizard was behind him, as well.

"Rotom, stop!"

The message cut dead, and she snatched her phone from the air, turning away from Leon. He said nothing for a moment, and neither did she. She let her shoulders drop and finally sighed.

"How much?"

"Well… it sounded like he was drinking while calling you. Well, more like yelling at you," Leon stated, taking slow steps toward her. She could feel the figurative cogs turning in his head as he approached. "Is he.. is he the reason you weren't wearing the bracelet?"

Isabella inhaled sharply and turned toward him, and met deep concern in his partly lidded eyes. "No. I mean, well. Kind of. It's hard to explain."

"Then explain it." His eyes were firm and unwavering, holding a deeply rooted connection with hers.

Isabella noticed the demeanor change. She could see the anger in his eyes that Trevor might be the reason why she wasn't doing something he wanted, like wearing his gift. And, for a moment, it upset her. "To be honest, he was pissed when he found me after what you did at the party. He said you threatened him with Charizard," she accused, eyelids pulling taut. Leon was taken aback.

"Iz, he came after Hop for your guys' little marital spat before you stormed off. Was I supposed to let him go after my brother?" Leon raised his voice without the intention to do so, and Isabella pulled away from him.

"So it is true," she whispered. He eyed her, reading every micro facial movement. She could feel the tug on everything Trevor had ever told her about Leon, and began to question the truth to it all. "I can't believe I thought you wouldn't do that."

"Izzy," Leon pleaded, dropping his shoulders and approaching her. "Don't. Don't do that. Don't start listening to him now." She met his caramel eyes. The warmth in his citrine eyes burnt into her memories began to look increasingly unfamiliar. The concern was fading from his intense amber eyes into a hushed panic.

"I would never go after someone unless I needed to protect someone else. And I wouldn't do it out of spite," he persuaded, placing gentle hands on her upper arms. She twitched slightly, instinctively attempting to pull away. "Don't tell me you're going to believe that guy over me."

Isabella sighed, glancing at the bench. "Honestly, I don't know what to believe," she muttered. She gently pulled Leon's hands off of her shoulders and down in front of her. She attempted to release them, but Leon held on. She met his eyes once more, and the world seemed to quiet around her. "I feel like I can't trust myself."

Leon noticed her downtrodden glance. He lifted her chin with his hand, and his doleful, chestnut eyes fixated on her leafy hues. "Just because you put your trust in someone and they weren't what you thought doesn't mean you were wrong for trying to believe in them." Small beads of tears began to collect on the rims of her eyes, dancing along her thick, blackened lashes. "That's not your fault. Whatever he yelled at you for isn't your fault. Ever. Period. Okay?" Leon was forceful, yet serene, in his encouragement, and she nodded with eager compliance upon request. Immediately upon answer, Leon pulled her into a tight embrace, his arms coiling around her like hungry snakes, tangling into her ember hair and around her back. Isabella hooked her arms underneath his and latched onto his shoulders, burying her face against his chest. The scent of cedarwood and lime consumed her, radiating from his neck and chest. His heartbeat was rhythmically pounding into her ears, seeming to speed up bit by bit. She could feel her heart settle with his, and released a soft, ragged breath.

Leon tilted his chin down, placing his closed lips against the top of her head. Her hair was silk to the touch, and immersed him in a sea of cheri and orange blossom. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, pulling her closer with a soft, loving squeeze. He felt her arms tighten around his powerful back, and he let himself smile. The scent was overpowering and therapeutic, almost numbing to his senses.

"Don't ever let anyone make you question yourself like that," he whispered. She simply nodded in return, and Leon could feel a small wetness on his chest around her eyes. "You are with more than that tosser will ever see." As he stood there, holding her in his arms, he noticed her arms tightened with a shaky grasp. The bruises on her arms crossed his mind and his eyes squinted in boiling clarity.

Charizard gave Leon a soft tap on the arm and nodded in the direction of the train. It was closer to pulling into the station. Unintentionally, Leon loosened his grip and Isabella pulled away instinctively. She noticed his gaze focused on the train, then looked to his bag.

"You're heading back tonight?"

He said no words. He only met her eyes.

"You must have a lot to do before the reveal on Sunday," she mumbled, glancing to the train with a blank stare.

"I can go tomorrow," he insisted. "If you need me to stay." She smiled at his gesture, and picked up her bag from the market. The idea that he would keep to his word about being there for her felt refreshing. But it was as if, for the first time, she felt alone.

"I'll be okay, Lee." She fiddled with the loose ribbon handle of her bag before meeting his eyes. She grasped his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Text me when you get there safe, okay?"

His eyes traveled to her wrist, eyeing the purple bruises crawling up her arm. "Iz." Her eyes met his and, for a moment, she could feel the question without him even asking. The kind of question said with a mere glance and nothing more. She released his hand and pulled back, frowning. Leon tilted his head, eyes pleading for an answer. She could see it in the gaze. He needed her to say it.

"Leon, go."

He could feel the words in his chest like a vice on the bottom of his lungs, gradually rolling up into his throat.

"You're going to miss your train."

Charizard gave Leon a harsh tap on his shoulder with a low grumble, handing him his sports bag. Leon nodded to his partner as he took the heavy bag in his own hand and turned back to Isabella. She was insistent, but could feel the thickness to the atmosphere. It was as if his running shoes were glued to the cobblestone pathway, and he couldn't move. She took a few steps closer to him and struggled to give him a genuine smile. She let out a soft breath, sensing the uneasiness in his aura.

With a forced smile, she said, "I'm fine." Leon blinked harshly, frowning at her arm. She folded her arms across her chest to regain his attention. "I'll see you in a few days, okay? Please go."

The train gave off a warning horn, and Leon nodded to her, the conflict ever present on his chiseled face. Without another word, he turned on his heel and left for the station, jogging to the doors with Charizard following close behind him. Isabella sighed, rubbing her forehead with a soft groan.

'Hop better not have said anything.'

As quickly as the morning came, so did the slam of Isabella's bedroom door. Jolting upright, she flung her eye mask off to meet the excitable eyes of Hop as he launched himself onto her bed at full speed, yelling, "Time to wake up!"

He collided with her and collapsed onto her bed in a huge, playful embrace, laughing hysterically. Isabella shrieked as he tumbled into the covers and pulled the two of them crashing onto the cold floor below.

"Hop! What the hell, dude!" Isabella thrashed in the covers, smacking and punching Hop in the process, to free herself from its chaotically comforting clutches. Even as she released herself from its deceivingly warm embrace, she continued to smack Hop with her open palms. "You big, dumb, stupid beast of a man!"

Isabella let out a piercing grunt as she scrambled to get feet, groaning over Hop's infectious laughter. "Come on, Izzy," he managed to cough between laughs. "It's Monday morning! It's game day! We're pioneers! Breaking new ground! Blazing a trail! Spreading our wings!" Hop threw himself to his feet, placing proud fists on his hips and puffing his chest. Isabella stood on the other side of the room, fuming with smeared mascara and disheveled hair. It was then Hop realized she was wearing nothing but a teal sports bra and orange shorts.

"Iz, show some decency. You have a guest in your room," he jested, doing his absolute best to appear disappointed in her. Isabella immediately screamed in frustration and reached for anything to throw at him, which happened to be her hairbrush. Hop jolted downward as the red brush propelled towards him, and it collided with the wall, breaking into pieces and plummeting towards the floor. Hop stopped in his charade, glancing between the brush and his friend. "Oh, you're legit angry."

"I'm tired, Hop!" She stormed to her bedside and grabbed her phone to check the time. She noticed a few unread text messages, but all that mattered was going back to sleep. "Hop, what the fuck? It's not even 7:30! Go the fuck to bed!" She cried out as she picked up her covers and heaved herself back into bed, flailing to wrap herself back in its warmth.

"Izzy, no!" Hop began to shove her, dodging her swats as she threw her arm over her shoulder at him.

"Hop, we have until Thursday night to get there!" She threw an incredibly heavy hand his way, feeling a tug in her shoulder as she missed her target. "Let's eat a late breakfast and leave at noon!"

"Iz," Hop began to whine. "I want to go now. I already ate."

As Hop continued to push her around on the bed, she gave a loud grunt and sat upright. Her glossed over eyes met his anxious orbs. "Hop, I swear, if you don't leave me alone and let me sleep, I will murder you and make it look like Wooloo did it." His brow knit together, quietly assessing the sincerity behind her eyes.

"10."
"Noon."
"11."
"Noon."

Hop frowned. "That's not how you negotiate," he argued.

"That's because I'm not," she sneered. Hop sighed.

"I will come wake you up at 11, and we will leave here no later than noon." Isabella nodded at his statement.

"Now get out or go to bed. I don't care which," she barked, throwing herself down into her pillow and tugging her eye mask back on her face. Hop glared at her covers for a moment before chuckling and heading out the door. He expected their first day together to be something like this.

Hop spent the next few hours triple checking his pack, saying goodbyes to his friends in Wedgehurst, gathering what he thought Isabella might have forgotten, and even got some Weald Apples for Rami. Sobble had hoisted himself onto Hop's shoulder, serving as his highly emotional parrot of sorts. Occasionally chirping with satisfaction at certain colors and objects he seemed to like, Sobble seemed to settle in nicely with his new partner. Hop spent the time waiting for Isabella to wake up showing Sobble his childhood home, his favorite places, favorite snacks, favorite books… Sobble loved the lake by the Professor's house. He enjoyed seeing the ocean from their peak in the backwoods. He also had a strong obsession with anything remotely spicy. Hop explained their future journey together with Wooloo at his side. He explained the challenges they would face, the powerful opponents, the exciting adventures, and the fact they get to do all of it with Isabella and her Pokemon. Wooloo cheered with enthusiasm. Sobble eyed Wooloo, responding with a similar reaction. Hop smiled at his new friend. Sobble definitely seemed anxious. He was constantly tapping his hands together. His eyes were always darting from place to place, and his reactions seemed to mimic those of the Pokemon and people around him. Hop hoped this journey would help Sobble learn to be more confident in his own emotions and beliefs.

As eleven in the morning approached, Isabella stirred in her bed. She knew Hop would undoubtedly show up early with the excuse that he was 'close enough to being on time' so she decided to rise beforehand to prevent herself from having some unneeded stress. With some quick morning stretches, Isabella adorned her baggy, pastel green cargo pants, her loose sunset orange tank top featuring an adorable, stylized Flygon drawing, and various bracelets and bangles to match. Her bruises were beginning to fade into a deep violet color. While intense, she knew this meant healing was well underway. Thanks to the light pink undertones in her skin, it would be much easier to hide under waterproof primer and foundation. With careful touch-up work, she was able to conceal the galaxy colored markings and mostly blend it into her skin. As she continued her makeup on her neck to hide the light bruising around her jawline, she applied gentle purple hues to her eyelids and deepened the onyx tint of her lashes, accentuating her feminine curves and intensifying her emerald eyes. She shoved all of her favorite makeup into her travel pack and made a mental note to buy herself a new hairbrush. She mused that she would just take Hop's in the meantime as satisfaction for their scuffle.

Double checking the time on her phone, she took note of the unread texts again. As it was approaching late morning, it seemed only appropriate to her to respond. Five texts from Trevor. Two from Leon. Three from Hop. One from Sonia. Surprisingly, one from Eleanora, as well.

Isabella opened Hop's messages first, letting out a harsh breath.

6:14am: IZ. IT IS TIME. :D

6:32am: I already showered, ate, and packed. I should probably calm my tits. _

6:33am: Except I don't have any. O_O

Isabella let out a soft chuckle, sending a quick message back: You need to calm your tits for the BOTH of us. ^

She backed out of Hop's conversation and moved to Eleanora.

8:58am: Good morning, love. I'm sorry if Hop woke you up. Leon did the same thing to Sonia. That's why he doesn't see her in the AM anymore LOL! I packed a snack for you in Hop's backpack. I'll send you the pictures from the party this week once I edit them. Keep my boys in line! XOXO

Isabella smiled as she read through the message. As she sat on the edge of her bed, she paused for a moment, fiddling her thumbs. I appreciate it! He did wake me up but he won't be doing that again! Looking forward to seeing the pictures! It was a lot of fun! I'll make sure to take a bunch and send them your way as we go! Love you bunches!

She moved down the list to Sonia.

9:45am: hey Hop ran by tryin to grab that book about the fruit and veggies in the wild area. I thought you still had it tho? I don't see it here but I'll send a digital copy to your email. Remember, no yellow fruit for Wooloo unless you want him to get the shits again lmfao have fun xoxo

Isabella rolled her eyes at the memory before replying: Will do. Had no idea he was looking for that book. I lent it to Eleanora so he probably walked right by it. Dandel boys, amirite? I'll make sure to post stuff on PokePush so check every so often :)

Exiting the conversation, she only had Trevor and Leon left to check. A text from Hop came in as she was debating between which one to click. However, she ignored Hop for the time being. With a sigh, she clicked Trevor's name first.

2:13am: Isabella, I really need to talk to you.

2:16am: Are you asleep?

2:17am: You better not be with Leon.

3:10am: I got word he made it to Motostoke around two. So I guess you weren't with him. At least not since 10 or so.

10:06am: Iz, you haven't answered me yet and it's really starting to get to me. Do I have to come back out there?

Isabella's hands were softly shaking and damp, reading the messages. However, she took no pause in replying: Do not come out to Postwick. I am not there anymore, and I've told everyone to not talk to you about me. Leave me alone.

She took a moment after sending the message to send another, fueled by courage: You've done enough, Trevor. And I'm done, too. We are not a couple anymore and I don't want to talk to you or see you ever again. As she sent the message, she navigated to the settings for Trevor's contact page and hit the block button. The conversation greyed out, locking the keyboard on the conversation screen. Letting out a shaky breath, Isabella backed out and went into the last conversation.

Leon.

2:23am: Hey Iz. Just letting you know we made it to Motostoke. Looks like it might be a little rainy in the afternoon in the Rolling Fields tomorrow so take a jacket, okay? Chris is waiting for me at the hotel. Probably to chew my ear off for getting in so late… You think I can get away with firing him for a few hours? Just so I can get some sleep at least. :(

10:34am: Based on the ten million bajillion texts I got from Hop at six in the morning, I can safely assume he's not only woken you up but put you in a sour mood. Remember to breathe and sneak some Nanab berries in his food before he goes to sleep so you can get some peace and quiet. ;) I get to sit in a bunch of pointless meetings today so I hope you have extra fun for me and Charizard. Be safe. I'll see you in a few days!

Isabella grinned from ear to ear, one hand gently brushing her nails against her bottom lip, as she read the two messages. Leon always wrote long messages. With trembling fingers, she replied: I'll make sure to bring a coat, just in case. I'll make sure dumdum does, too. Thanks. :) Hope you got some sleep. And hopefully the meetings won't be too boring. Interject some crazy ideas, even if they don't make sense! At least it'll get them talking instead of pushing paper! She contemplated the tone of the rest of the message, biting the inner corner of her mouth as her thumbs hovered over the touchpad. Hop did put me in a sour mood around 7:30 but reading your messages helped.

'No, that's weird,' she mused.

Hop rudely woke me up but at least one of the Dandel boys is thoughtful. :)

Isabella cringed. 'Why is this so hard all of the sudden?' She deleted the last part of the message once more. Maybe it was better to just be as neutral as possible.

Hop is always an ass but he gets to be since he's wearing the best friend belt.

'Better…' she reflected.

As she sent the message, she checked it over once more and then added: Thanks for checking in, though! It means a lot.

"That's not weird… right? He shouldn't think that's weird," Isabella mumbled to herself as she watched the check mark appear, showing the message sent and was received. She backed out of the conversation to view Hop's new message.

10:48am: i will fuk u up iz

Isabella laughed loudly, covering her mouth as she read the text. Within seconds, she furiously replied: fite me, u ducky hat havin ass

Her door swung wide open to reveal a scowling Hop, phone in hand.

"My mom makes you wear them, too, you turd!"