Arriving at his house in Mossdeep City, Steven was about to greet himself with his girlfriend before remembering that Cynthia was gone. With the smile on his face gone, Steven sighed before heading upstairs.
In the hallway to her bedroom, Steven sighed before opening the door. There, he found the room in a mess. Clothing tossed everywhere, picture frames shattered with many of Cynthia's most cherished memories on them, and most frightening of all, Cynthia's antique pots from Mistress Cogita in pieces all over the place. Steven knew his girlfriend's most prized possession were the pots she retained from her ancestors three hundred years ago.
She . . . must've been through a lot to destroy those pots . . . Steven noted in his mind as he picked up a fragment of the old iron.
Cleaning up the mess, Steven headed to his desk. He recalled all her different attitudes. He condemned himself for not seeing the signs sooner.
When Steven arrived at his father's building, Joseph gave his son a big hug. Steven smiled faintly. Feeling a sharp pain of regret, Steven headed to his office.
"Steven, you'll have some meetings today. Your workload isn't that much. Just do the meetings." Joseph told Steven.
"Okay, father." Steven agreed with a melancholy tone.
Joseph nodded.
The very minute Steven entered his office, he found a great friend at his desk.
"Wallace? What are you doing here?"
"Your father called me here. So… I heard about Cynthia."
"Of course you did. It's all over the news, Wallace!" Steven yelled.
Wallace compressed in his chair with a sigh. As the clock ticked, Wallace fidgeted with the papers on Steven's desk. Not noticing Wallace, Steven picked out a book. He returned to his desk. With a heavy slam on the desk, the book fell.
"Hey! Don't touch those! Do you know how important those are?" Steven's aggression towards Wallace was never something new.
"Steven, you need to calm down."
"Calm down? Oh I'm so sorry that it's my fault that Cynthia died because of my negligence as a boyfriend!" Steven lashed out.
Wallace got up from his chair. He patted Steven on the back.
"It's not your fault. I don't know how hard this is for you, but I do know that I'll be here for you. Just tell me if you need anything." Wallace told his best friend. "Don't you dare forget, You're my friend. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Wallace left to help with Lisia's training. He didn't leave before giving Steven his favorite move and an Aggronite.
The clock ticked. Seconds turned into minutes as Steven tapped his pen on the desk. He perked up when he heard footsteps coming toward the door. It was Riley.
"Hi, Riley." Steven didn't bother to make eye contact.
"Your aura …"
"What about it, Riley?"
"It's not as bright as it was last time."
"Of course it is." Steven rolled his eyes.
"Listen here, Steven." Riley slammed the desk. Steven shifted his focus to the Aura Guardian. "Cynthia's death affects everyone! Everyone's aura in Sinnoh is dark there too. Don't think you're the only one!"
Riley's dramatic exit left an impression on Steven. Hearing the door slam, Steven never knew Riley could be like this. This gave him some time to think before the next person to enter the office.
"Volkner." Steven's depressed greeting made Volkner step back.
"Steven, I know you don't want to work, but you have to put in some work. I know what it feels like to not want to do anything."
Steven nodded. "Mhm."
Volkner sighed. "For Arceus's sake. Is this what I was like? I'm surprised Flint or Jasmine didn't give up on me." he muttered under his breath.
"You should try to hang out with some friends. Just try to distract yourself from her death." Volkner advised.
"What would that do, Volkner?" Steven challenged him, standing up from his seat.
"Just give it some thought."
"Fine." Steven sat back down as Volkner gently closed the door, in hard contrast to Riley.
"At least someone doesn't violently slam the door." Steven sulked in his chair.
It was a half an hour before the door creaked open. It was another champion.
"What are you doing here, Diantha? Don't you have some stupid acting to do?"
Diantha sat herself in the chair, parallel to Steven's. "I just want you to know that Cynthia didn't want you to feel dragged down with her."
"So you knew about this!" Steven yelled at Diantha. Diantha nodded.
"Did she not trust me?" Steven interrogated her.
"No. She felt you would feel guilty. She confided in me because she knew me longer than you. We were childhood friends, so she knew I wouldn't feel stressed about it."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Steven demanded loudly.
"I didn't know it was this severe that she would take drugs. I thought she'd get through it, but clearly I was wrong. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Steven took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Diantha."
"It's okay, Steven. We all get like this sometimes, especially when someone important to us dies. You should have seen me in the League when I heard about the news." Diantha stood up. She politely pushed the chair in.
As she opened the door, Steven called out to her. She turned around with a little hum.
"Can you help me with this? Y'know because you're Cynthia's childhood friend and all."
"Of course, Steven. We can help each other through this, but I think we should also connect with someone else. He's next."
