Party Over There

Relena shifted slightly, unsure of what to do as she stood in front of her ex-boyfriend. A handshake would be awkward, but a hug was absolutely out of the question. The last thing she wanted was to undue months of work. Yet, from the look on his face something was bothering him. Mike was not her problem anymore; it was what she had told herself in order to get over her obsession. However, while she had issues with Mike as a boyfriend, he had been her friend first and she felt bound to be loyal to him on that front.

"Hey…" he greeted and forced a smile.

"Hey…" she greeted back.

"You, uh, you look great," Mike told her.

"Thanks," Relena replied. "My mom told me that I looked like a whore when I left, so 'great' is definitely an improvement, I guess. Um, you look good too. You been here long?"

"Long enough…" Mike muttered.

"What happened?" Relena asked against her better judgement.

"Ellie and Drake…" he said. "They were at each other's throats earlier and from the looks of things, it's been going on for a while. Then I just found out something from Ace and it's just…never mind. I'm uh, glad we finally have the chance to talk though. I-"

"Listen, Mike," Relena interrupted. "Honestly, I don't think it's a good time to really talk about us…or bring up the past, at least not now. It's better to just move forward as much as we can. As far as Ellie and Drake go, let them deal with it. You have your own problems, and your presence isn't going to magically fix theirs. That's something I should have learned a long time ago."

Relena instantly regretted her last sentence even before she saw the hurt look on Mike's face. He clearly had a rough night and she felt there was no point in dogpiling on him. Making him feel worse would not help her feel better.

"Look, I'm not blaming everything on you," she clarified. "I was definitely a terrible girlfriend too. I didn't have all my shit together and I thought being with you would fix everything. Maybe we can try to start over again as friends once everyone sorts out their issues?"

"Yeah," Mike said with a slightly more hopeful smile. "Yeah, that'd be cool."

"Cool," Relena repeated before averting her gaze. "So…I guess I'll see you around?"

"Guess so…"

Fortunately, Mike decided to enter the backyard through the gate while Relena decided to go through the house. That way they did not have to awkwardly enter the main party together and have people prying. Relena tried to ignore the whispers as she entered the living room, though at the very least they did not appear to be talking about her. It had taken a lot of courage to attend another house party after the disastrous incident at her own house during the previous year. Now though, she had been labeled as the crazy girl.

"I'm all danced out! I need a break…"

"Yeah, I don't see how Lilly has that much endurance."

"I know, right?! Did you see the way she was dancing with Mike earlier?! You would've thought they were at a club…"

Relena immediately stopped her eavesdropping and considered just going home. No one noteworthy had seen her except for Mike himself and it would be easy to just slip out of the door. The only person she spotted was Loki lying on the couch with some girl on top of him. They were clearly making out, but the girl's long hair shielded her identity. However, the most bizarre thing was that they were surrounded by empty gelatin dessert cups.

"Hey, Relena, did you know that there's three kinds of beautiful? Cute, pretty, and sexy. And I gotta say, you are definitely all three tonight…"

Nathaniel St. James walked up to her, his almond shaped blue eyes scoping Relena out. His black hair had been shortened from its previous shaggy length and his muscles were more defined. His slightly crooked nose and high cheekbones remained his most prominent traits, especially now that his hair was medium length.

"You must be drunk, Nat," Relena snapped. "Because I know you remember what I told you after what you did to Ellie."

"If I recall, you said if I ever breathed in your general direction again, you'd tell your then-Vulpix, now-Ninetales to set me on fire," Nat replied nonchalantly.

"Good," she reminded him.

"But…" Nat continued. "That was over two years ago, and Ellie's forgiven me since then. Plus, she's moved on with not one, but two people. If you think about it, we're in the same boat."

"Not really," Relena shot back. "But it is pretty funny that she dumped you for cheating on her and now she's with two people."

"The irony is not lost on me…" Nat remarked with a laugh. "Anyway, it was worth a shot and yeah, I'm definitely a little buzzed right now. You really do look good though."

"Well next time, shoot harder," Relena said. "But thanks…"

Nat headed outside and Relena found herself appreciative of the fact that people were complimenting her appearance instead of insulting her mental state. A part of her hated being reduced to just her looks but anything was preferable to being labeled the crazy girl.

"Alright, Garchomp, come back down!"

Relena followed the sound of Drake's voice to the backyard and saw that Garchomp was giving people rides. She knew Ellie was here at the party and from what Mike had told her, she had brought her partners, and problems had already started. Relena felt guilty for not intervening and putting an end to the drama between Ellie and Drake, but a small part of her was relieved that she was not the main source of conflict after what happened last year.

Remembering what her therapist had taught her about grounding herself whenever her thoughts started to overwhelm her, Relena took a deep breath and went over to the snack table.

"Hi, I'm Felicity Cole, and one reason that I was able to make the cover of Pokéteen twice was that I used Bluk Berry toothpaste! With Bluk Berry toothpaste, I can show off these pearly whites any time there's a camera around. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, and with Bluk Berry toothpaste, it will be worth a million!"

Kat Lee found herself impressed with how Felicity's commercial had turned out as she clicked off the video on her phone. She had been invited to the shoot along with Tyler and Johnny. People clearly overexaggerated how bad Felicity was in Kat's opinion. From what she had seen during the past few months, she appeared to be more of an ambitious go-getter than anything else.

However, Kat had come to realize that she tended to put too much focus on a person's positive traits while mostly ignoring their negative traits. It had already put her in a humiliating situation as the girl that Nat St. James cheated on Ellie Morris with, and that reputation had only recently finally died down.

"Man, it's wild. I used to be the top guy. Can't believe I'm here standing in the background with you…"

"Well believe it, Johnny, 'cause that's what you're doing."

A little over a year ago, Johnny Hawkins would have been in Drake Hicks's position, showing off his strong Pokémon and surrounded by admirers. In a similar fashion, Lyndon Tower would not even be at the party because he would be off saving the world with Amelie McKinley. As it stood now, both were leaning against the gate with barely anyone paying them any mind and both without their best friends at their side.

Kat felt bad for them, especially for Johnny since Lyndon at the very least had a girlfriend. Johnny, on the other hand, had been stabbed, dumped by Jennifer, and kicked off the battling team all in the past year. To make matters worse, one of his best friends had transferred out of Saffron Trainer's School while the other one had been expelled and joined the federation.

"Hi guys!" Kat greeted in a cheery tone, hoping to brighten things up for the two dour boys.

"Oh, hey, Kat," Lyndon replied equally as friendly.

"'Sup," Johnny muttered and took a sip of his drink.

"Is Anika here?" she asked curiously.

"Nah," Lyndon answered. "Parties aren't her thing. I took her home after we left the library. With Amelie gone, I've been doing most of the volunteering solo, so Anika's been helping me out here and there."

Kat saw that he looked a bit exhausted and guessed that he probably came to the party just for an escape. She knew of the type of volunteering that Amelie and Lyndon typically partook in and if Lyndon was doing it alone then it showed just how determined he was.

"You know, you don't have to do all that crap, Tower," Johnny advised. "Cut down on some of it and relax. You're not Amelie. Even she couldn't do everything alone, that's why she had you. Trying to become her is just going to drain you."

"I'm just doing what Amelie would want me to do," Lyndon defended.

"I don't think Amelie would want you running yourself ragged," Johnny shrugged.

"You're the last one who needs to tell me what Amelie would want," Lyndon snapped. "Let's not forget that a big reason she ended up had such a hard time and leaving in the first place was because of your buddy…well both of your buddies, actually."

"If you want to blame Craig's actions for McKinley losing her shit, that's fine," Johnny shot back. "Blaming Tyler is crossing the line though. He didn't owe your little friend anything and he still doesn't now."

"Okay, stop," Kat sighed. "Guys, it was the fire that caused Amelie to take off. She saved everyone on Marigold Street that night and probably decided that she needed some rest and relaxation after all that. Lyndon, talk to anyone and they'll say that they wish Amelie was here. And Johnny, we all want Tyler to come back to S.T.S. Even Craig…"

She stopped herself mid-sentence. Talking about Craig was still a sore point for everyone in their year, especially for Johnny. He had betrayed people that he had been friends with for years and could have potentially gotten everyone at that party killed. Even now, Kat felt her stomach tense up when she remembered how she and Nat had found Ellie pinned against the shed by that creep, Gino Dunlap.

It was important to stop a potential argument from starting because it was obvious that Lyndon was not going to budge when it came to Amelie and Johnny was not going to budge when it came to Tyler. Kat briefly wondered how the two of them would feel if they knew how hard their best friends were willing to defend them right now. More importantly, she wanted that connection with someone, anyone.

"It's my fault then…" Lyndon mumbled, staring at the ground. "I knew Amelie wasn't mentally ready after the media circus that was going on with her family, but I still pressured her into helping out with the fire…"

"She would've done whatever she could to stop it with or without your input," Johnny told him. "Don't beat yourself up over it, man."

"Yeah…" Lyndon said quietly. "Hey, listen, I think I'm going to take off. I'm volunteering at a Pokémon ranch tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep…"

He made his way out of the gate, and it was obvious from their conversation that four months he had spent without his best friend had been extremely hard on him. Johnny watched him leave, and Kat wondered what he was thinking.

"My mom and his dad are doctors," Johnny explained. "When we were kids, they worked at the same hospital, and I guess they thought we would be close friends just based off that. It never really worked out. I mean, I never had a problem with Lyndon. It's just that he gravitated towards Amelie from the beginning. Eventually, I…"

"Gravitated towards Craig?" she finished.

"Yeah," Johnny continued solemnly. "Lyndon went to the angel, and I went to the devil. I was bored with everything. The rules, the restrictions, all that crap. But this Craig kid was free of all that and he was only nine years old at the time we met. Just by being friends with him I was able to stand out from all the other rich kids around. Now, Drake is the captain of the team that I led for years and Lilly is the leader of the band that I created. I'm back in the background and it's literally because of Craig. I swear, I don't even know my place anymore…"

He took another drink and stared forward wordlessly. Kat wondered if it was the alcohol that had Johnny pouring his heart out, at least as much as someone like Johnny could. If anything, she figured it would probably be better to help get his mind off of things rather than start questioning him about Tyler or Jennifer.

"So…" Kat started. "Felicity's commercial turned out pretty good. Wanna see it?"

Johnny shrugged and Kat took that as a yes. She pulled out her phone and replayed the video that she had watched earlier. He snickered throughout the video, but Kat could tell that he was mildly impressed.

"Guess it did turn out solid," Johnny complimented.

"Yep," Kat agreed. "It was pretty nice of Felicity to invite us to the shoot."

"Look, Kat," Johnny said. "I don't want to rain on your parade, but Tyler didn't listen to me last year, so maybe you will now. The only reason Felicity is being somewhat decent right now is because Amelie is gone. Ask Jennifer and Laila, she's always nicer when Amelie's not around. This is just the longest time she's ever been gone, so it's also the longest time Felicity hasn't been a total terror. Plus, Craig is gone too, and he brings out the worse in everyone, so Felicity is like double nice right now. I know you're having fun being bffs or, whatever you chicks call it, with the richest girl in school, but don't be surprised when Amelie eventually comes back and Felicity snaps back to normal."

"Then I'll help her!" Kat said enthusiastically. "If Felicity's behavior is tied to Amelie being present, then the problem isn't Amelie. The problem is Felicity and Amelie is just a stand-in for whatever real issue Felicity has. That's what it says in my mom's human psychology book. If I help her, Amelie will have an easier time when she comes back. Everyone wins!"

"You're a ray of sunshine aren't you, Kat?" Johnny remarked. "I guess somebody has to be in times like these. Honestly, you'd be better off focusing on getting into college like the rest of us are doing right now, but I'll tell you what. If you of all people can fix Felicity Cole, then you'll have my eternal gratitude for ridding the world of the platinum blonde nightmare..."

Johnny have her a condescending pat on the head and then walked away snickering. He was the type of person that could be bonding with you one second, and then start mocking you the next. It was a bit hurtful, but it was hard for her to blame him for his cynicism after what he had been through. Kat quickly came to the solution that she would simply help Johnny too.

With her mission in mind, Kat Lee cheerfully made her way to the dance floor.

Amy Spade preferred not to be around many people. However, she needed noise to function so in that aspect, being at a party was refreshing. It was the best of both worlds when she and Ellie managed to sneak upstairs. It was secluded enough to where they could be alone, but still loud enough to hear the rest of the party downstairs and outside.

"Should we text Ace and let him know where we are?" Ellie asked.

"Nah," Amy answered with a smirk. "Let's make him find us. He'll be annoyed, but it'll give him something to do besides glare at everyone all night."

"I just hope his talk with Mike went well," Ellie sighed. "Especially since it looks like it's going to be next to impossible for me to get on the same page as Drake."

Amy found herself in a difficult position as the only person in the triad without a direct personal connection to Ellie's friends. The most she knew about them were things she had heard from Ace over the years and more recently Ellie. The problem was that all of Ace's stories had been negative while Ellie's had, until recently, been positive. Trying to mediate had proven challenging and she felt that she needed to assert herself to both of her partners.

"Helping you helps all three of us," she reminded Ellie. "Ace and I have been avoiding everyone else for too long, it's like we've been on a separate planet, but that hasn't actually fixed any of our problems."

"I guess I just need a distraction from all this drama," Ellie said with a sigh.

"Well, then let's find one," Amy said and took her hand.

Exploring the upper floor of the house was not much of an adventure, but Ellie had asked for a distraction after all. From what Amy had heard, the only person that Lilly lived with was her father and he was rarely home, so there were plenty of rooms available to peek into. Bedrooms were off limits, but the other rooms were fair game.

"This is just the playroom for Lilly's Pokémon," Ellie said as they peered into the first one.

"Behind every door is a story," Amy replied gently.

The next room was clearly Lilly's dance studio. It looked even bigger than the one Amy had at home, but she attributed to the fact that Lilly's was spotless while hers was littered with tools related to her other hobbies.

"I wonder how often Lilly practices?" Ellie questioned. "She just started coming out of her shell over the past couple of years, but she's always been talented."

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Amy teased.

Ellie playfully rolled her eyes as they continued to the next room. Amy remembered how similar she and Lilly Acres had been a few years ago and it only served to highlight how drastically different they were now. Yet, there were no feelings of animosity towards the other girl. Lilly was satisfied with the path that she had chosen, then Amy was happy for her.

"Wow, check this one out…" Ellie gasped.

The room had a deep blue hue thanks to the color of the walls and the star projector that was plugged in. The projector combined the stars, ocean, and nebula and the colored clouds alternately rotated and projected high-resolution stars and a galaxy on the ceiling and walls. The clouds floated like ocean waves quietly under the night, creating an otherworldly visual experience for the pair.

"I guess your snooping led to some sort of discovery…"

It was a shame that Ace did not smile more often because whenever he did, Amy felt like she would melt on the spot. From the look on her face, Ellie felt the same way. Deciding to be bold, Amy walked inside the room first.

"I feel calmer just stepping in here," she said as she lied down on her back and stared at the stars on the ceiling.

"You know what this room reminds me of?" Ellie asked Ace.

"Is it that part in Extrasensory Internal where Musharna shows Zoroark how she enters dreams?" Ace answered.

"That's the one," Ellie replied with a toothy grin.

She gave Ace a quick peck on the lips and went to join Amy on the floor. Ace looked back at the hallway behind him before he closed the door and went to sit down on the other side of Amy. The three of them lied there in blissful silence for several moments and gazed at the wonder before them. Amy felt more at peace than she had in a long time.

"I like this…" she said softly.

"Yeah," Ace added. "Yeah, me too."

"Same…" Ellie said.

"I want this to work…" Amy continued, gently stroking Ace's face with her left hand and Ellie's hair with her left one. "But it's obvious that it won't unless the three of us make some changes both individually and as a throuple…"

"What kind of changes?" Ellie asked curiously.

Ellie looked a bit puzzled while Ace sighed before standing to his feet. He looked at Amy who only stared back at him calmly.

"Remember what I said earlier," she told him. "It's your choice…"

"Listen, Ellie," Ace began. "I was able to get some things off my chest to Mike, but I don't think we were able to really make any kind of progress and…that was because of me and because I haven't told you the whole story. I need you to know why this is so hard for me, but I don't know if you'll like what you hear."

"The first change we're making is honesty," Ellie stated. "So, spill it. What's the real issue between you and Mike?"

The peace was already gone, and Amy was upset. Nevertheless, she was aware long-term peace could not be achieved without dealing with the strife first. If their relationship with Ellie ended after Ace's revelation, then it was not meant to be. However, if it survived then fate had written it in the stars.

"Breloom, drain punch!"

"Garchomp, dragon claw!"

Mike watched from the crowd as Drake's Garchomp effortlessly defeated Darren's Breloom. He wanted to cheer for his friend alongside everyone else, but he barely recognized the guy who had steamrolled three opponents in a row. Everyone knew that Drake loved battling, it was the one thing that gave him a thrill. He was still well-mannered to the trainers he had defeated, but he was acting as if he constantly had to battle to feel alive.

"Another 'W' for King Drake!" Xander announced.

Mike went inside the house to get a drink, but Drake spotted him and quickly followed.

"I feel like we haven't had a chance to catch up all night," he told Mike. "You have to tell me about Cianwood and your training. It had to be impressive with the way you kicked ass during that Safari Zone incident that they had out there. Still keeping it on the low with your parents?"

"Yeah," Mike replied. "I put them through so much last year that I couldn't do it to them again. As far as Cianwood and my training goes, let's just say that right now, I'd rather be back there trying to swim to the Whirl Islands than here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Drake questioned.

"So much has changed," Mike explained. "Every minute I'm here, I feel like more and more of a stranger. Everything is so different especially with you and Ellie and Relena."

"Like I said, the whole 'King Drake' thing is just a stupid thing Xander came up with," Drake said. "Trust me, I'm still the same guy. I'm just doing whatever I can to get stronger so that I don't end up in another situation where I'm being saved instead of saving others. It's worked and I haven't lost a single battle in nearly a year. You of all people should be able to relate."

Mike sighed in a mixture of frustration and acceptance. He did not have a retort for Drake since it would be hypocritical to chastise his friend for something Mike also did himself. There was something else he needed to speak to Drake about anyway and figured now was a better time than any.

"I need to tell you something about Ace," Mike said. "Where's Loki?"

"Last I saw, he was at the snack table," Drake replied.

The two of them made their way into the dimly lit den and discovered Loki's large frame on the sofa with a girl on top of him. Mike found himself oddly satisfied to see that of everyone, at least Loki had more or less remained the same. However, the empty gelatin cups around them were strange and once Mike got closer, his mouth dropped in complete and utter shock.

"Esther?!" he shouted.

"Loki?!" Drake shouted at the same time.

Mike flipped on the other lights and the drunken eyes of Esther Moore stared directly into the equally drunken eyes of Loki Del Grove. Instantly, Esther screamed and hopped off Loki, falling face first into the floor. Loki's eyes widened when he learned the identity of his make-out partner and his screams were worse.

"E-Esther…" Loki choked out.

Esther simply screamed and bolted out of the room. Loki sat up and stared forward like a Deerling in headlights. Drake picked up one of the empty gelatin cups and gave it a whiff.

"These were jell-o shots, you moron," he told him. "Do you know how much alcohol are in just one of these?!"

"We just thought it was regular jell-o that tasted funny!" Loki cried. "Arceus, it was like making out with my sister! I think I'm going to die…"

"I'm guessing Esther feels the same way," Mike said. "She should be on the track team with the way she dashed out of here."

"You guys don't understand," Loki continued. "That was like the best makeout session I've ever had, and trust me, I've had a lot! Everything I've known before has been a lie…"

"Dude, shut up," Drake told him. "You'll be fine once the alcohol wears off."

"Yeah…" Loki said in a somewhat unsure tone. "Yeah, it's the alcohol. It has to be…"

"Loki, I know you're having this existential crisis right now," Mike said. "But I have to tell you guys something important. Are you sober enough to listen?"

Loki nodded his head and Mike took a seat on the sofa next to him. Drake remained standing, but he appeared to be lending an ear.

"You guys remember the prank war that we got back into during elementary school?" Mike asked.

"Gotta be more specific," Drake said.

"The one where I flour bombed you guys in the hallway after you two taped me to the flagpole," Mike said bluntly.

"Oh yeah," Loki laughed. "I remember that."

"Classic…" Drake added. "Man, we really went crazy that year."

"Too crazy," Mike went on. "That hallway was crowded, you two weren't the only ones that got hit. Ace was standing behind you and got hit too."

"Wait, so he's held a grudge about getting some flour on his clothes?" Drake scoffed. "He's even worse than I thought."

"No," Mike said. "He's held a grudge because the flour caused him to slip and fall and bust his head wide open on the floor in front of everyone. He had to get seven stitches and ended up changing schools for the rest of the year. Instead of helping him, everyone laughed because everything that he was holding got stuck to him. I made some stupid joke and accidentally gave him his nickname. I guess he sees me the same way I see Craig and it's kind of hard to blame him."

This time Drake did sit down. Loki scratched his head as if he were thinking of something to say but could not find the words. Mike wondered what they were thinking about the situation. He was unsure of what to think himself. On one hand, Ace had been wronged by him and had a right to hate him. On the other hand, Ace could have spoken up about the real issue he had with Mike a long time ago and they could have worked on a way to patch things up.

"Okay, things got a little out of hand," Drake finally spoke up. "But comparing you to Craig is stupid. It was clearly an accident. I mean, it was just a prank…"

"Drake's right," Loki added. "It's not like you did it on purpose."

"Does it make it alright, though?" Mike asked them. "Just because it was an accident doesn't mean I'm not responsible if someone gets hurt."

"Whatever," Drake said. "One, he should be thanking you for the cool nickname. Two, if Ace had a problem with you, he should've done the right thing and told you the whole truth instead of being a passive-aggressive edgelord about it for years. It was fine when you two were avoiding each other. He could've been a crybaby in his own little dark corner, but now he's roped Ellie into his clutches."

As harsh as his delivery was, Drake had a point. Mike felt like a lot of things would be smoothed over if he told him what happened to Ellie at the party. He also knew that it was not his place to tell Ellie's business and that the way Drake was behaving towards her was still nasty no matter what.

"Look, Drake, the way you were talking to Ellie earlier wasn't cool," Mike started. "If you have a problem with her, there's a better way to go about it."

"I was calling her out for not having your back," Drake defended. "Why would you have an issue with that?"

"Like I said," Mike sighed in agitation. "The last thing we need to be doing is fighting right now. We…"

Mike stopped short when he noticed that the topic of their discussion had entered the room. Ellie and Drake instantly began staring each other down while Loki stretched back on the couch.

"Mike, I need to talk to you," Ellie said, the seriousness of her voice surprising him. She looked at Drake. "You too…"

Unfortunately, the only place nearby where they could be alone was one of the downstairs bathrooms. Mike knew that they could have also made an effort to go upstairs but thought that being in tight quarters would clear some of the air. Loki stood guard outside and even though they barely had space for the three of them, it felt wrong to be huddled in there without Relena.

"Listen," Ellie sighed. "I know everything about what started the beef between Mike and Ace. What you did wasn't cool, but it was an accident and you tried to apologize for it, and he wasn't ready to accept your apology. Did I get everything right?"

"Pretty much," Mike replied. "Look, Ellie, I don't want you to have to choose between me and Ace. I'm willing to own up to my mistakes, but he won't meet me halfway. I guess I'm just confused on how you two even got together in the first place."

"Don't waste your breath," Drake told him. "I've heard the same thing a thousand times. 'He was there for me' or any variation of that."

"Enough, Drake!" Mike snapped. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Ellie, the truth is that I made my decision to leave Saffron…after Relena told me what happened to you at the party last year."

"She told you…?" Ellie whispered in disbelief.

"Yes," he admitted.

Mike saw a flash of anger on her face, but she quickly composed herself. Drake was clearly lost, and Mike cursed himself for having essentially thrown Relena under the bus. Keeping secrets had done nothing but cause drama and if this was the way to end the issue, then Mike was willing to do what he had to do.

"Well," Ellie started and turned to Drake. "I guess I better fill you in since Relena apparently already told Mike the juicy details. At the party on Mike's birthday, I got cornered by Gino Dunlap by the shed, secluded from everyone else. He had locked my Pokémon inside their balls and pinned me against the shed. If Nat and Kat hadn't showed up…"

Ellie's voice was shaky, and Drake's face had turned into one of pale fury. Mike was certain that he would murder Gino if the federation member were in his sight.

"Ellie…" he stammered. "I…"

"You felt comfortable telling Ace?" Mike asked.

"Yes…"

"And you didn't feel comfortable telling us?" Mike followed up.

"I didn't…" she confessed.

Drake shifted his gaze to the ground beneath them and Mike could feel how upset he was. It was not the same rage that he had held towards Ellie the entire night. He seemed more sorrowful than anything. Even Mike struggled to accept that one of his closest friends felt more comfortable telling a foe about something traumatic that had happened to her than talking to either of them.

"Then nothing more needs to be said…" Drake lamented.

He nodded his head in acceptance before exiting the bathroom leaving Mike alone with Ellie.

"The main reason I didn't tell you guys is because you had a lot going on," she started. "And honestly, the fact of the matter is, this is something that happened to me, and it should've been my choice if and when to tell you and Drake. It's no excuse for how he's been treating me."

"I can see why he'd be upset," Mike countered. "Don't you?"

"Are you seriously going to justify the way he's been acting towards me all night?" Ellie questioned. "How he's been treating me all year? He's not even sorry about what happened to Ace and continues to call him a freak. Come on, Mike, whose side are you on?"

"Yours," Mike retorted in disbelief that Ellie had dared to even ask that. "I called Drake out for what he said to you earlier, but I'm on his side too. All I'm saying is that had he known what really happened to you at the party, a lot of this beef between you two could have been avoided.

"I get that," Ellie replied. "I just…planned on telling you two at the right time. Relena shouldn't have told you without my permission. I stand by that."

"Just like you didn't tell me for months that Relena was mentally ill?" Mike responded, his own anger now rising. "Because she told me what happened to you while she was in the middle of an episode. You knew that Relena was sick and had you told me earlier, maybe our relationship wouldn't have ended as disastrous as it did. Did you ever think that some secrets aren't worth keeping if keeping them leads to terrible outcomes?"

"Are you blaming me for your relationship with Relena ending?" Ellie snapped. "I did everything to put you guys first. That's why I kept all these secrets because I thought my issues weren't as big as what you all went through. I'm always putting you guys first, so what do you want me to do? I'll go dump Ace right now if that means everything will be fixed."

"I'm not blaming you for anything," Mike told her. "Relena and I had problems, but you can't blame her for telling me about what happened to you. You kept her secret, but everyone isn't the same as you."

"Clearly…"

"We have to trust each other especially now," Mike went on. "And it just looks like you don't trust us, Ellie. So, whose side are you on?"

Mike figured that if he were calmer, he would not have flipped Ellie's question back at her so harshly. Ellie, for her part, simply sighed in resignation and walked out of the bathroom. A part of Mike wanted to go after her and apologize for what he said, but a part of him felt like she should be the one apologizing to him. Mike looked into the bathroom mirror and ran some cold water from the sink over his face. He had been back for one day and things had gotten off to an extremely bad start.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess you're ready to leave?" Loki asked once Mike finally exited the bathroom.

"Yeah…" he nodded. "You sober enough to drive?"

"Yep," Loki answered. "My, uh, debacle with Esther earlier kind of shocked me out of drunkenness. She already left. Probably going to be awkward from here on out, so I got that to look forward to. I'll go pull the car around."

The two of them walked out of the front door and Mike stood in the yard as Loki went to fetch his car. He scanned the other cars but did not see Ace's hearse and surmised that the throuple must had just left. That was fine with him. He did not want to see Ellie in that moment or Drake or Relena for that matter. His entire friend group had utterly imploded and while his absence played a large role in it, the truth of the matter was that the issues had always been boiling up under the surface.

"Hey, you're out already?! Hope the party lived up to the hype!"

Lilly approached him, playfully twirling a ribbon wand. Seeing her reminded Mike that as bad as the party had ended for him, it started off fantastic.

"You were definitely the best part of the party," Mike complimented her. "There's been a lot of changes since I've been gone, but I definitely like yours the best."

"I like mine the best too," Lilly replied cheekily while playfully twirling the ribbon against his cheek.

"Yo, Mike!" he heard Loki's voice call out. "Let's hit the road!"

"Catch you at school?" Mike said to Lilly.

"Yep, you'll be seeing me there," Lilly said and headed back towards the gate.

As Mike got into Loki's car, he appreciated that the night ended bittersweet instead of just plain bitter. They drove back to Mike's house in silence. He was not in the mood to talk, and Loki seemed to understand especially since he had his own little dilemma going on.

"Thanks for the ride, Loki," Mike said somberly as he stepped out of the car.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Sorry this night turned into a disaster, Mike."

"Don't beat yourself up," Mike gave him a half-smile. "It's nice to have one friend who's still the same…"

Loki drove off and Mike quickly went into the house. Even though it had been a long time since the federation were spotted in this area of Saffron, it was best to take precautions. Mike went upstairs to his room, ignoring his parents curled up on the sofa watching a movie.

"Michael, you better not be drunk!" he heard his mother joke aloud.

Despite himself, he couldn't help to laugh. He needed some humor to help brighten up his night. It did not help his mood that he still had a lot of unpacking to do. Trapinch was fast asleep on his bed, and he was amazed that she had slept as long as she had. He knew it would be best to start unpacking before she woke up.

"At least it'll help me keep my mind off things…" Mike muttered to himself.

He began hanging his clothes up in his closet and emptying his traveling bags of all the materials that he had accumulated during his time in Cianwood. Grabbing the book, he had been reading yesterday, Mike briefly thought about completing another chapter. He ultimately decided against it under the grounds that he was just tired after such an emotionally draining night. Placing the book on the shelf above his computer, Mike noticed an envelope situated there. He assumed it was something he had left behind before he departed Saffron, but after further inspection, he realized that it was unopened. The envelope had his name on it, so Mike decided to open it. He retrieved a piece of paper that he recognized as a letter and quickly began reading it.

Mike,

I'm not really good at these kind of things, but Amelie once told me that letters can help you get out the things that are hard to say in-person.

Truthfully, it's been difficult for me. The incident with Craig and the federation, my family being dragged through the mud by the media, the stares and whispers I get at school. I thought that if I put on a brave face for my family and I kept training that everything would work out.

The fire on Marigold Street showed me that I was wrong. Amelie and I wanted to stay and support our dad until the election, but this environment was killing us mentally. I recognized that I've always focused more on my physical health because mentally, I felt like I always more-or-less had it together.

But I've had to face the reality that I killed someone. I've accepted that I killed someone in self-defense. I've accepted that I killed someone to protect a person that I cared about a lot. And I've accepted that if I had to do it over again, I absolutely would. I understood that I was not okay, but I didn't accept that I wasn't okay. I realized that if I wanted to get better then I couldn't keep doing things the same way I've always done them, and I realized that I have to accept the fact that things are forever changed.

I know our friends are dealing with their own struggles and I wanted to be there when you got back home, but I needed to get myself together more than anything first. No matter how far we're apart, I want you to know that I'm always in your corner and that I'm always thinking of you. Those things will never change.

Stay strong.

See you soon.

- Elyse

Mike turned the letter over and looked at the old photo that was taped to it. He had seen it a thousand times but had not given it a second thought in years. It was a photo of he and Elyse taken after a gymnastics competition when they were eight years old. The two of them were smiling wide despite the fact that both had baby teeth missing. They had their arms around each other's necks with Mike holding up a blue first place ribbon and Elyse holding up a pink first place ribbon. Mike remembered that Elyse had already won first place in the girl's competition a few times before that picture had been taken, but it was his first time winning the boy's competition. More than that, Elyse had been so excited for him that she was the one that wanted to take the picture in the first place which came as a surprise to the entire team save for Mike himself. Even then, he knew Elyse was supportive of him.

"I guess the night could've been worse," Mike admitted with a smile.

He taped the picture to his desk, put the letter in the first drawer on his desk, and continued unpacking.

A/N: Yep, making the party a two-parter was definitely the right call. Early chapters are always about setting up the drama for the rest of the story and it looks like we've been hit with it from the get-go in this story. Next chapter though, we're going to take a bit of a break from the heavy Saffron drama and catch up with some characters and see how they're doing *hint* *hint*.

The P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Relena Serene, Kat Lee, Amy Spade, and Mike Snowe

As always feel free to PM me or chat on the forums!

Until next time!