After Cynthia's finished dealing with Will, and gotten him to agree to come with them on the trip, now things are moving forward! She has some more people to invite! The question is, who's next on the list? Are there any other friends that she'd like to invite? Or, in Will's case, nice acquaintances? I'm sure there are a few people she'd like to come. Remember to review!
The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes going in soon! There are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those votes in as soon as possible! You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!
Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic
KedharS: It seems like a lot of fun. And yes, I've minimized a lot of his battles, but he's definitely a competent trainer, and his Lapras is very powerful.
Arbiter8991: It's complicated. Europe exists, and those regions exist inside of it.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1032
After the battle ended, and Cynthia's positive attitude took a more legitimate air, she turned to Blake and Kitty.
"Okay, there's someone else I want to invite! So are you guys going to come?" She asked, her eyes shining hopefully.
"Uh, sure, I guess?" Kitty shrugged. She'd just been out for a walk earlier so it wasn't like she had anything else to do at the moment.
"I'll stick around," Blake agreed. Like Kitty, he didn't have anything better to do, and had already committed his time to Cynthia today anyway. Plus, after how long he'd known Cynthia, he could tell that losing like that would probably sting a little. He didn't want to abandon one of his best friends now, just in case she needed a shoulder to cry on.
Will, on the other hand, was just confused.
"Um… so what am I supposed to do?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. "Do you still need me or anything?" He was a little miffed that Cynthia had just kind of ignored him after the battle and he'd agreed to come, and was already onto the next thing. But then, that was the kind of girl she was, he figured. Always going off and following her whims.
Cynthia gasped, and then giggled. "Whoops, sorry!" She said, scratching her head sheepishly. "I guess I wasn't thinking! So do you want to come with us?"
"It's okay, I guess… but no, I'd prefer to head back to the library if you don't mind…" Will said. Cynthia shrugged, not minding that at all.
"Sounds good!" She called after him, waving goodbye. "Oh, and say hi to your cute robot girlfriend for me!"
Will flinched, his face heating up. But he didn't dignify Cynthia's joke with a response, and pushed Misato's face out of his thoughts.
With that settled, Cynthia turned to Kitty and Blake with a bright smile that was only slightly dulled, and clapped her hands together.
"Okay, guys! Let's get a move on!" She cheered. "To the Pikachu House!"
Blake's eyes widened. If they were going to Pikachu house, and Maddi was gone, there was only one person that he could think she was planning to invite.
When they stopped at a very familiar door, Blake's suspicions were confirmed.
The door cracked open and Caelia's pale blue eye peeked out. It was difficult to see how she was feeling just from her eye, but she didn't look upset to see them, which Cynthia took as a pretty big win if she was being honest.
"Hey there Caelia! Long time no see!" Cynthia had just seen her last week at her party, but the sentiment was still appreciated. "Can I come in?"
Caelia didn't respond verbally but she opened the door wider and stepped aside, making just enough room for Cynthia and the others to slip in.
"Thanks!" Cynthia strolled right past and Blake followed after her, sharing a silent look with Caelia as he entered. He didn't know if the reason Caelia let them inside was because Cynthia had asked or because he was here with her, but the way she was staring at him made him think it was the latter, which was kind of sad.
Kitty hung back in the doorway, not sure if it was okay to go in. Caelia stared emotionlessly at her, but she also didn't shut the door in her face, either. Kitty swallowed and nodded, tiptoeing over the threshold with a whispered "thank you."
Cynthia took stock of the bedroom. She frowned. "Caelia… geez. I was only here like, three weeks ago. How did you let it get into this state?"
Caelia's room was a wreck as usual. Clothes, food containers, and various other things giving off a wide range of odors littered the stained carpet. Cynthia let out a sigh. Cleaning Caelia's room kept feeling like a futile gesture. It was like trying to push a Golem uphill.
Caelia didn't have a response to the other girl's concerns, she just waited by the door with an empty expression on her face. Cynthia sighed again, then put on her best smile.
"Hey, Caelia, I wanted to ask you something. It's sort of… a big favor. But it's also something nice. Would you hear me out?"
Caelia gave the faintest of nods in the affirmative. That brightened Cynthia's mood considerably. "Alright! Great!"
She cleared her throat, putting on her most professional smile. "So, Caelia, do you have any plans for spring break?"
For an instant, Caelia's eye slipped over to Blake, and a chill ran down his spine. Then she shook her head. "None."
That's not what that look said… Blake winced.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come on a trip with me and some friends to the Hoenn Region!" Cynthia explained. "We're going there for spring break, to stay at my grandparents' hot spring! Remember? We went there for that field trip! It'll be a lot of fun!"
Caelia stared vacantly at her. "Hot… spring?" Her right hand clenched instinctively and Cynthia gasped. She'd nearly forgotten. She didn't know how she could forget something like Caelia's scars, but she had. She shook her head.
"Oh! Wait, sorry," she said, her face heating up. "I-I totally forgot about your… you know. You must not want to go to a hot spring, huh? You won't be able to take a bath or anything, so it's not very good for you… I'm so sorry, Caelia… I-I'm just an idiot!"
Cynthia felt like shit. She'd wanted to invite Caelia because she wanted to have fun for her, and it wasn't until she was looking the girl in the eye that she realized that this might be a horrible thing for Caelia to go through. She was such a fool.
"I-I'll just go. You don't have to come, sorry for asking," Cynthia said hurriedly, shuffling past her. She didn't even give Caelia a chance to reply.
Then stopped at the door. Or more accurately, she was stopped. Something had caught her on her sleeve.
She turned to see two thin fingers had pinched the hem. They were shaking, but held tightly. Caelia's entire arm was shaking, in fact, and so was the rest of her. She wasn't even looking Cynthia's way, her eye burying a hole in the floor.
"…Don't go." Her voice was slightly higher than a whisper.
Cynthia's eyes widened in shock, unable to believe her ears. Caelia… Caelia was reaching out herself? She couldn't believe it!
"Oh my gosh!" Cynthia exclaimed, flinging her arms around Caelia and hugging her tightly, squishing the scarred girl into her chest. "Caelia! You're so adorabl! I'm so glad you want to come! We're going to have so much fun together! This is gonna be the best!"
Caelia couldn't feel the warmth of Cynthia's hug, but it was sudden and strange enough to distort her thoughts, causing her face to heat up. She struggled to keep her eye open in the face of Cynthia's boobs, feeling herself getting embarrassed for some reason.
She stared helplessly at Blake, willing him with her eye to get her out of this. Blake sighed and Kitty giggled.
"Cynthia, you should probably let her go," he advised her.
"No! Never! She's mine now! My new favorite!" Cynthia declared with pride. "You're just jealous! But too bad Blake, I've moved on, and Caelia's my new main squeeze."
Caelia just continued her emotionless, helpless stare.
Finally sensing that her prey- err, friend, needed room to breathe, Cynthia begrudgingly let her go. But the knowledge that Caelia actually wanted to spend time with her, and was even willing to go on the trip together, was enough to keep her energized. She was shifting from foot to foot, and feeling an itch inside to clean up Caelia's room (but that was normal).
"Um…" Caelia whispered, her eye flicking over to Blake a few times. "Blake… coming too?"
Blake was taken aback by that, but after calming down he wasn't very surprised.
"Yeah, I'm coming too," he said, nodding.
What part of Caelia's face could be seen turned pink, and the faintest of smiles spread across her lips. A small gleam lit up in her eye.
Cynthia held her hand over her chest and cried. "Ough! Pain… my heart… and thus, the romance crashes and burns," she moaned exaggeratedly. A grin spread across her lips and she patted Caelia on the back, not that the other girl could feel it. "Don't worry sweetie. I think it's cute."
Caelia said nothing. But her smile disappeared, and a faint frown replaced it. Her eye narrowed and she turned toward Cynthia.
The insinuation was obvious.
And Cynthia didn't mind for a second. "D'aawww," she grinned, reaching to hug Caelia again. The other girl nearly tripped ducking out of the way. She hid behind Blake, peering under his arm at the cute redhead.
Cynthia huffed.
"Blake! Give her here!" She said, wiggling her fingers threateningly. "That one deserves cuddles! Hand her over now!"
Caelia shook her head. "…No cuddles."
"YES CUDDLES!"
"No. No cuddles."
Blake couldn't help but smile. Kitty was full-on giggling with glee. It was nice to see that Caelia was actually starting to open up, even just a little.
"Cuddle Blake." She squeezed his shirt tighter, and suddenly the joke became less funny.
"H-Hey, hold on now, Caelia, I like you, but-"
Caelia squeezed even tighter. He could feel her jagged nails pinch into his skin.
Cynthia scowled. "Blake! How dare you steal her! Caelia! How dare you steal him?! I'm being cuckolded twice over you fiends!"
"Cuck-?! She's not STEALING me, I'm not yours in the first place!" Blake sputtered in disbelief. "What are you even doing?!"
"…Joking around to ease the tension?" Cynthia said like it was obvious. "Heck, I'm just excited Caelia's actually coming!"
She turned to the other girl and smiled kindly. "Oh, and don't worry. There's no need for you to take a bath if you don't want to."
Caelia nodded and her small smile returned. "Thank you," she whispered. It just melted Cynthia's heart to hear.
Honestly, Cynthia could have spent the whole rest of her day hanging out with Caelia. Or at least cleaning up her room. (though that might have taken several days) But she could sense that Caelia was starting to feel pressured by all the people in her room. Her expression didn't change, but Cynthia could feel the tension. She glanced at Blake and saw that he was feeling it, too.
"Hey, so, um… if you want, Caelia, we can head out?" Cynthia offered cautiously. "Again, I'm really happy you decided to come with us."
Caelia stared at her for a while, and then nodded. "Okay."
"Thank you, really," Cynthia beamed. "We'll get out of your hair."
Caelia reached out and pinched Blake's sleeve.
"Blake stay."
Cynthia's smile twitched. "No no no, Blake's busy right now, he's helping me invite people on my trip, you see." She grabbed Blake's arm and pulled him slightly away from Caelia. But Caelia was surprisingly insistent. She glanced at Blake's other arm and wrapped her whole hand around it, pulling him back with surprising strength.
Cynthia's smile was getting even more shaky. "Come on, Caelia, Blake can't stay here forever," she said. "He needs to come with me."
"No. Stay." Caelia wasn't taking "no" for an answer. Blake had a sinking suspicion he was about to be short a couple of arms.
If he was reading Caelia right, then hopefully he'd be able to settle this with just his words. But on the other hand, she was a little unpredictable.
He didn't want to push his luck, so he glanced helplessly over to Kitty to see if she had anything to say about this.
Kitty was staring at a corner and trying not to look at him. His helpless look turned into a frustrated glare.
Meanwhile, Cynthia and Caelia's tug of war was getting more intense. Caelia narrowed her eye and nearly pulled him on top of her, which was a step too far.
"H-Hey, Caelia, that's enough," Blake said gently, trying to keep her from snapping. "I need to help Cynthia right now, okay?"
Caelia stared up into his eyes.
"Come back?" She asked.
Cynthia squeezed his arm tightly, silently urging him to just go along with it.
"…Yeah, I'd like that," Blake said. "Though maybe we could meet up outside somewhere instead?" He offered. Anything was better than staying here. There was an ominous stench of decay and mold hanging over everything and he was genuinely concerned about either of them spending too much time in this room.
Caelia's eye slightly widened. "Like… a date?"
Every liquid in his body turned to solid ice. That was NOT what he'd intended! "W-Wait, Caelia, that's not what I-"
A small smile curled up Caelia's cheeks. She blushed. "Date…"
Cynthia smacked her face in frustration. "Damn, you really messed up…"
"I-I can't take you on a date!" Blake protested. "I have a girlfriend, remember? I really care about you, Caelia, but not like that!"
He flinched, waiting for some sort of reprisal.
But it never came.
"Ayame… Toujou…" Caelia murmured. Blake couldn't tell if she was angry, or sad, or just ambivalent. And that worried him. But he tried to smile it off.
"So, yeah… not a date, but… just hanging out, right?" Blake offered.
She shook her head. "No need… but… trip? Hang out? Then?" There was a tinge of hopefulness in her voice, and Blake couldn't resist it.
"Yeah, if you're okay with that," he nodded in agreement.
"You realize you're just putting off the inevitable, right?" Cynthia mumbled under her breath. Blake shot her a dirty look.
"It's fine, I don't mind spending time with her," Blake smiled. "We'll be heading out now, Caelia. I'm looking forward to the trip, okay?"
"Yeah! Definitely!" Cynthia agreed. She hugged Caelia again. "You and us! It's gonna be a blast, you'll see!"
Caelia didn't hug her back, but her emotionless face looked happy. That was good enough for Cynthia, who separated from her friend.
"…Yeah," Caelia silently agreed. "Bye now…"
That was all they needed to hear. After grabbing Kitty, Blake and Cynthia headed out the door, wishing Caelia goodbye.
They paused in the hall, and Cynthia thought about who to invite next.
"So… we've got five boys and five girls coming, right?" Cynthia said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "That's pretty good, don't you think?"
Kitty nodded. "Um… is there anyone else we could invite, you think? Too bad Nikita doesn't want to come."
"Yeah, you're right," Cynthia sighed. "I suppose we could ask Eli, maybe?"
Blake shook his head. "I asked Serefina about her before we left. Dakota's staying here, and Eli's going back home to her folks. She has some important family stuff that she needed to do. So I don't think she'll be able to come."
"Oh, darn!" Cynthia groaned. "Wait, when was this? I didn't hear you ask Serefina anything like that," she said suspiciously.
Blake rolled his eyes. "Well, you weren't really listening to anything she was saying so much as staring at her boobs," he reminded her.
A sheepish expression crossed Cynthia's face and she nodded. "Okay, yeah. I guess you have a point," she admitted. After Serefina had said no, she'd spent the rest of her time trying hard not to look at the girl's sizable chest. So maybe she could have paid more attention to her.
"So who else can we invite?" Kitty wondered. "I don't, um… have that many other friends…"
"Oof," Cynthia winced. "Well, I've asked most people I know. I guess there's that girl, in your class, Blake? The tomboy. What's her name again? Andy?"
Blake shook his head. "Um… she's a bit of a handful. I like her, but…"
Andy was really clingy. Even if she didn't like him romantically, without Ayame to draw some of her attention, he could expect a bunch of hugs and "heyahoo"s coming from her. And that was a lot to deal with on what was supposed to be a vacation.
"Same,"Blake agreed. "Pretty much everyone I know is already coming." A look of realization crossed his face as he thought of something. "Unless…"
Cynthia anticipated what he was going to say, and had already cut him off. "Nope. Don't even think about it. You're not inviting that childhood friend of yours. Claire's great and all, but this trip is for people from our school.
She kept quiet about the fact that, similar to Blake with Andy, she didn't want to deal with someone filled with that much energy. And flirtatiousness. She didn't want Claire snaking Aidan away from Sango, not with what she had planned.
"No, not Claire," Blake assured her, shaking his head. "It's someone else."
Who could Blake be planning to invite? And what will happen on the trip? Fortunately, it looks like Caelia's improved quite a lot as a person since we last saw her. Now the only question is what will she and Blake end up doing on the trip? She's certainly got plans it seems.