Sorry for the long delay. But Priority: Finish Heart! There are at most two chapters left after this one, so I am aiming to have this story finished in August.

Chapter 6: Conflicted Heart

Next day, Resort Area, 8 am…

Platinum woke up from her sleep and stretched her legs before sitting up. She shut off her alarm and crawled out of the bed. She parted the curtains and opened the windows so that she could breathe in the fresh morning air. For a while, she stared out blankly into the peaceful Resort Area, steadily overcoming the sleepiness and remembering why she was here and not in her mansion.

She soon remembered that she was here with her friends Diamond and Pearl for a bit of a vacation. Originally, it was supposed to be just her and Diamond, but Pearl showed up later on, and… she overhead Diamond and Pearl arguing about something at night.

Platinum headed into the washroom to get ready for the day. And as she did so, she contemplated on how she was going to approach the issue. Should she ask them about it directly? Or should she just observe for a hint of irregularity in her friends' behaviors? If Diamond and Pearl were completely normal in how they talked, then their argument last night would most likely be something trivial. But if they were being strange, then it meant that their argument was pretty serious…

Half an hour later, Platinum headed downstairs, having finished getting ready for the day. She found Diamond still happily sleeping, sprawled out on the floor. Pearl was seated on a chair near the kitchen, staring out the glass sliding door that led to the pool in the backyard.

He seemed to have heard her coming down the stairs, as he turned to face her with his usual look of impatience, though it appeared a bit mellower than usual.

"Good morning, Miss Lady," he said with a smile and a wave.

Platinum returned his smile and wave. "Good morning, Pearl. Did you sleep well?"

Pearl glanced at his sleeping bag on the floor. "Yeah, actually. How about you?"

"I cannot complain, of course." She glanced at Diamond, who remained fast asleep. "… Pearl… I wish to ask you something… important."

Pearl frowned at how serious she sounded all of a sudden. "Uh… okay, sure. What's up?"

Platinum walked over to sit next to him by the kitchen. And after casting another glance at Diamond, she began to speak rather quietly. "… Last night, I overheard you and Diamond… arguing. … Is everything okay? And if I may ask… what were you arguing about?"

Pearl momentarily pulled back in surprise, as he did not expect that question. "You… heard?"

"Yes. I could not hear your words exactly, but I did hear arguing."

Pearl looked away from Platinum, feeling a bit flustered and tormented with indecision. He had no idea how he should respond. Should he tell the truth? But… how would the heiress react, hearing that her two best friends were competing and fighting over their race to win her heart, without her knowledge? How would she react, knowing that she had unknowingly and unwillingly created a wedge between her best friends?

No. He could not tell her the truth. It would hurt her too much. And it was the exact thing that he and Diamond promised to avoid at all costs. The heiress must not know what is truly going on, lest it broke her heart. But… that meant that Pearl would have to lie to her right now. After what happened in Canalave City all those years ago, Platinum had nearly blind belief in her two friends. She trusted that they would keep their promise of honesty so much that she would believe in anything they said. And Pearl had tried his best to do his part and be completely honest with her at all times since then. … Was he going to break that right now, by straight up lying to her face? … How would Platinum react, once she found that he had lied to her face like that?

'I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place… More like trapped between solid steel and an extremely hard place…' He thought as he forced himself to make a decision. 'Miss Lady… I'm so sorry…' "It wasn't anything much," he said, forcing himself to look into her pretty eyes, hoping that she could not see through his lie. "We just had very differing opinions on what our next steps should be, for our comedy routines. I guess it might've been serious for our future as comedians, but in reality… not at all."

Platinum narrowed her eyes as she considered her friend's words. … It was certainly possible that Diamond would have a different idea on what their goal should be. Though he had followed Pearl's lead for all these years, he did have differing opinions from time to time, and had voiced them. So it was certainly plausible.

There was a bit of a suspicion at the timing, though. Why would Diamond and Pearl argue about their future as comedians now, when neither of them had brought up anything like this in the past several days? The two boys lived next to each other. Even though she did not have the opportunity to be with them all that much in recent months, the two boys would have no problem talking to each other in her absence. So… why now? Of course, this issue might be a very recent one, which was certainly possible. It was also possible that Pearl or Diamond had brought up the idea for their comedic future last night, and had a disagreement there. It was plausible.

But at the same time, Pearl had hesitated far too long before his response. If he was telling the truth, there would not have been any hesitation. There was no reason for him to hesitate in telling her, since their direction as comedians did not involve her at all. He would have known that she would support them regardless of their decision. So why the hesitation? And why did he look away from her when she had asked him? … Was he lying to her?

Platinum thoughts suddenly came to a stop at that notion. She quickly steered her thoughts far away from that. She did not even want to consider that as a possibility. She did not want to doubt her friend. … But…

'No.' "… Okay. If you say so," she said at long last, lightening her expression. She felt the doubt lingering in the edges of her thoughts, so she proceeded to change the subject. "So, Pearl. What do you suggest we do today? The weather is expected to be sunny and lovely all day."

Pearl mentally sighed and glanced out the sliding glass door. "I guess it'll be a shame to stay indoors in such a nice day. Hmm… Maybe we can do something by the river, for starters."

"That sounds good," Platinum said with a nod, but sounding rather unenthusiastic.

"Well then, how about we go wake our resident chef so we can get breakfast and officially start the day?" Pearl suggested.

Platinum nodded again. "Okay. I am getting hungry as well."

As Pearl went to wake Diamond, Platinum remained seated as a new thought occurred. She had one way of finding out if Pearl had lied to her. All she had to do was talk to Diamond, and ask the same question…

…

"Thank you for the wonderful meal," Platinum said, finishing her breakfast.

"You're welcome, Lady," Diamond said with a smile, but carefully examining her expression. He had noticed throughout breakfast that she had been rather quiet today. And she seemed kind of depressed. Did she have a bad dream? Or… did something happen?

"Yeah, it was real good, as usual," Pearl said as he went to move some of the dishes to the sink.

Diamond took his own dishes and went to get Platinum's as well. The heiress was looking down at the table, appearing to be lost in thought.

"… Lady? … Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Platinum looked up at him, looking as troubled as she was. She didn't know how to respond to his question, as she had so many thoughts in her mind. She visibly hesitated on whether she should follow through with what she had on her mind or not. She had doubts about Pearl being truthful to her. She could find out by talking to Diamond right now. If Pearl had been lying, then Diamond's explanation about the topic of their argument should be different. But if the explanation was the same, then… she had doubted her close friend and distrusted him. Could she handle that guilt? And could she confess such guilt to him?

… If Diamond's explanation was sufficiently different, then it was an absolute proof that at least one of them was lying to her. … Maybe even both. … Could she handle that? … She did not want to know the answer. The best course of action right now was for her to ignore that she had heard her friends arguing, ignore her doubts about Pearl's honesty, and to not ask Diamond about what happened last night. Once she did, there would be no turning back. … But this doubt was going to eat away at her inside. And Diamond had already noticed that something was wrong. Pearl would probably know as well.

"Diamond…" she began, surprising herself. A part of her wanted to continue. Another part of her desperately wanted her to not ask the question. "I… I need to talk to you… privately…"

Diamond was quite surprised at how she was almost trembling, and how serious she had sounded and looked. "… All right. Give me just a second, and we'll talk." He quickly went over to the sink and stacked the dishes there. He returned to the table and stood next to her. "Okay… Do you want to go somewhere first, or…"

Platinum rose to her feet and headed towards the sliding glass door. She unlocked it and slid it open. She beckoned Diamond and stepped outside into the backyard pool, and walked over to sit on a reclining chair. She didn't sit on it like she would normally, but sat on it sideways so that she could face the other chair, where Diamond would be sitting. He got the hint and sat where she wanted him to, and waited for her to speak.

Platinum hesitated some more before she let out a long sigh and began to talk. "… Diamond… I heard you and Pearl arguing last night," she said quietly. "I do not know what you were arguing about, but… I am not sure what to say. I do not know if it is any of my business, but you two are my closest friends. I do hope everything is okay…"

"Oh. … You heard us arguing?" Diamond looked down and slowly shook his head. He too, briefly hesitated on how he should respond to her, just as Pearl had. But Diamond made his decision quickly. He wasn't going to lie to her, no matter what. But… that didn't mean he had to tell her the complete truth, fully knowing that it would hurt her. All he had to do was tell her a part of the truth. He let out a sigh, as he didn't want to do this, but… there was no choice. "Lady, I won't lie to you. … The reason why Pearl and I were arguing was because… well, him. More specifically, it was because of his sudden appearance here. I thought this was going to be just the two of us, and planned accordingly. A third person kind of messes up a lot more than you would think. Take cooking, for example. Two people making a meal can be quite fun, but a third person makes it rather hectic and stressful for the one guiding. And of course, a third person means we have to make more food, which takes more ingredients and more time, and… It just wasn't what I was hoping for. I'm really sorry you had to hear that. We didn't want to argue in front of you."

Platinum considered his explanation. She didn't like the idea that Pearl's presence was such a bother to Diamond, but she admitted that his sudden appearance would have some adverse effects on the planned activities. Now a third person's preference was involved, Diamond would have to guide another person in cooking, a quiet and relaxing activity was no longer viable given Pearl's personality, etc. And since Diamond was the one who had planned and prepared for most of the activities, she could understand his frustrations.

But most importantly… Diamond's explanation did not match Pearl's. Platinum briefly considered the possibility that both of her friends were telling the truth. But yesterday, she only heard them arguing briefly. After bidding them good night, she had gone upstairs, and then changed into the bikini to see how she'd look, and then changed back. So when she went to check up on her friends and overheard them arguing, they haven't been left alone for that long. Her wrestling with the bikini straps had not taken much time, which meant there simply wasn't enough time for Diamond and Pearl to argue about their comedic future and the issue with Pearl's sudden appearance. The two had stopped their arguing while she had been listening. Neither knew that she had been listening, which meant that their argument had actually ended right there, instead of continuing quietly. … There was no doubt about it. At least one of the two was lying to her.

Diamond had hesitated before answering her query. But he did not hesitate that long, and his explanation would have affected her. He may have hesitated because he did not want her to disapprove, but eventually chose to tell the truth. Pearl's hesitation… had no valid explanation. … But… why would Pearl lie to her about this? … Something was amiss. Diamond had to have omitted something in his explanation. And it had to have been big, for Pearl to straight up lie to her face and Diamond to leave it out.

Platinum put a hand over her heart, feeling the sudden pain of betrayal, just like that time in Canalave City, but much worse. Back then, it was the pain of two months' worth of trust being broken. Right now, the trust that had been building for 7 years was breaking.

"I… I cannot believe this…" she muttered, sounding incredibly pained.

"… Lady? What's wrong?" Diamond asked worriedly. "I'm really sorry if I-"

Platinum suddenly stood up. "… Your explanation does not match Pearl's explanation," she said, her voice starting to shake. "… One of you had just lied to me. And the other… did not tell me the complete truth."

Diamond's mouth fell open as he felt the dread creeping up to him. … This was quite possibly the worst possible outcome. It would be bad enough if she found out about the competition that had been going on behind her back. But for her to find out that her best friends had lied to her (or not tell her the complete truth), and find out about the competition… Sure, she didn't know about that one quite yet, but… she was going to. She was going to continue asking until she found out.

Platinum went back into her villa, and Diamond quickly followed. He had to salvage this disaster… somehow…

"Hey, Miss Lady. Is everything okay?" Pearl asked from the kitchen, with a plastic cup of water in his hand.

"No," Platinum answered. "… Pearl… your explanation of what happened last night does not match Diamond's explanation. … One of you had lied to me…"

Pearl dropped the plastic cup in shock. "… Miss Lady…"

"Lady, wait," Diamond said as he ran up to her.

Platinum clenched her hands into fists and glanced back and forth between her two friends. "… You are lying to me… Why? After what happened last time, why would you two be lying to me again? … Tell me. What happened last night? Why were you arguing, and why are you trying to hide it from me?"

Diamond and Pearl looked over at each other. … For a moment, Diamond felt quite angry, as Pearl's sudden appearance yesterday had really screwed everything up. But right now, the more important thing was wondering how the hell they were going to fix this disaster. … Should they just come clean? But… if Platinum knew that her best friends were essentially fighting over her… she was going to blame herself and this situation would become a lot worse.

"Lady… I'm… really sorry," Diamond said, looking down in shame and anger at himself. "But… As much as I would like to tell you everything, … I… can't… Not yet… Please try to understand."

Platinum stared at him in disbelief before looking over at Pearl. He was looking down off to his side, and avoiding eye contact with her. … He wasn't going to tell her either.

She began to tremble as her anger surged as a response to the pain of betrayal. She closed her eyes and tried to organize her thoughts a little, but she was too agitated. … There was still a chance for her to salvage the situation though. All she had to do was trust Diamond's words and try to understand, as he had said. If she could just calm down and wait as her friends resolved the issue… But she was far too upset. She could not calm down. She could not just sit there with the pain of betrayal. … And she certainly didn't want to stay here anymore.

Platinum stormed upstairs to her room and packed up her belongings. And without even a second glance at Diamond or Pearl, she stormed out through the front door and flew off on her Altaria.

Diamond slowly sunk into a chair by the dinner table and buried his face in his hands. Pearl cursed under his breath and sat across the table from him. For a while, the two boys sat in silence as they mulled over what happened and what they could have done, and what they should not have done.

"Dia… no, Diamond…" Pearl began, breaking the silence. "… We royally screwed up here… We have to fix this, as soon as possible."

"… How?" Diamond asked quietly. "The Lady's angry at us. But if she finds out what's going on, she'll be angry at herself. … There's nothing we can do at that point…"

…

Sandgem Town, 12 pm…

…

Moon looked up from her notepad when the door suddenly opened to her research room. Usually, she would be in here with Platinum since they shared the same research room in Prof. Rowan's lab. But since the heiress was away on vacation, Moon was left alone. With Platinum's vacation lasting a week or so, Moon was going to be alone in here for quite some time.

Moon glanced at the door and quickly stood up, as she saw Platinum standing right there. … Wasn't she supposed to be in the Resort Area today?

"Oh, Lady! I thought you were on-" She quickly stopped, realizing with a start that her senior was in a very bad mood right now. … Did something happen?

"Moon… I need to talk to you, please," Platinum said, sounding cold but not upset at her.

Moon winced at the tone but nodded. "Um… of course. How can I help?"

Platinum sat down on her designated seat and faced her junior. "… Right now, you are the only one I can trust with this…"

"… Only one?" Moon said, tilting her head. Given the bonds Platinum had with everyone else, she should be the third person the heiress trusted the most, with the first two being Diamond and Pearl… oh.

"… Diamond and Pearl have deceived me," Platinum said, trembling at the word. "They have lied to me about something, and they refuse to tell me the truth. And… I am at a loss at what I should do."

Moon sat there quietly as she listened to Platinum explaining the situation. She put a hand on her chin as she thought about the time Platinum had spent with her two friends in the past few days, and then thought about the relationships between them. Given how tightly knit the Sinnoh Dex Holders were, there was only one thing that could threaten to break apart the relationships, and that was if two of those relationships were trying to become something much bigger and significant than the other.

In this case, if Diamond wanted more out of his bond with Platinum, and Pearl was okay with it, then there wouldn't be an issue, as Pearl would be satisfied with the current situation. But if Pearl also wanted more, and didn't want Diamond to do the same, and vice-versa…

'… Oh… Oh no…' Moon thought with a groan, as she realized what the issue was. … But there was absolutely no way she could get involved here. She didn't have any right or business getting involved.

"You seem to understand what has happened," Platinum said, observing her junior's expression. "… Can you tell me?"

'Why did this have to happen…' Moon frowned as she wondered if she was about to follow in Diamond and Pearl's footsteps here. She couldn't get involved with this, but that would mean that she would have to not tell Platinum the truth. The heiress was already pretty upset about that. And the last thing Moon wanted was for her beloved senior to be upset at her too. "Lady, I… don't know what to say," she said uneasily at last. "I don't know how I can help in this situation, and I don't know if I even should…"

"I… do not understand… Why would you think that?"

Moon lowered her head a little as she hated herself for what she had to rely on. She couldn't get involved here, and didn't want to. But… there were a few who seemed to like getting involved in this kind of situation. "… Sister… this is a very important but private matter. I can't interfere. Only really nosy people like White and Y would purposely get involved."

'White and Y?' Platinum thought as she tilted her head. She suddenly remembered how the two had been acting during their lunch and shopping together before they headed to Kanto, and caught on to Moon's hint, even though she didn't fully understand. "… Okay… I shall ask White and Y, then." She gave her junior a nod and rose to her feet. "Thank you for the assistance, Moon. I will consider your advice."

"It was hardly an advice or assistance, Lady," Moon said quietly. "… I'm sorry I'm not of any help here…"

Platinum put a hand on her shoulder. "No, no. You have been very helpful. Thank you."

Moon bowed as her senior left the room. She waited until the door closed and heard her leaving the lab completely, before taking out her Pokégear. Even though she couldn't get involved directly in this affair, she could and should help in resolving the issue, so that Platinum could be happy again. And to do that, she needed to talk to Diamond…

…

An hour later…

…

Platinum waited by the picture phone in her room, waiting for White or Y to call her. She had sent them a message, requesting them to call her at their convenience. With them touring Kanto right now, she wasn't sure if they would have the time until the evening. But it seemed that they either found the time, or had prioritized the call, as the phone started to ring pretty soon. Platinum went over to answer the video call, and soon saw White and Y in the video. They seemed to be outside, as she could see trees and the sky behind them. So White had likely called her with the Xtransceiver.

"Hi, Lady Platinum!" White said cheerfully. "How's your vacation?"

Platinum let out a long sigh. "… There had been an… incident. I am now back in my mansion."

"Oh no! What happened?" Y asked, pushing White back a little.

Platinum summarized what had happened earlier in the day and last night, and how Diamond and Pearl have both deceived her. "And I am hoping that you two will be able to assist me."

White and Y glanced at each other worriedly. Platinum narrowed her eyes, as she had seen Diamond and Pearl do that today as well. And she was getting quite annoyed at how often others exchanged quiet glances with hidden messages while she was looking at them.

"This is a lot more serious than I thought…" White whispered. "Should we get involved?"

"We're not helping if we don't," Y whispered back. "It sounds like the situation really went to hell. We should try to help out." Y thought for a moment before talking into the Xtransceiver. "Okay. Miss Platinum, let me ask you something." She glanced at White and organized her thoughts before continuing. "… You know how White is like… super close to Black?"

"H – Hey!" White argued, but Y pushed her out of the video call screen.

"I mean, she clearly has a crush on Black, and vice-versa, right? Like… everyone can see it? They're always lovey-dovey and all…"

Platinum frowned a little, wondering where she was getting at. "… Yes. But how does this…"

"Have you ever thought about… your own situation?" Y asked.

Platinum blinked. "… Me?"

"Do you have a crush on anyone? And… do you know who would have a crush on you?"

Platinum's eyes opened wide, as she had never considered this before. White pushed Y away and pulled the Xtransceiver close to herself.

"Lady Platinum, what Y is trying to say is… Right now, both Diamond and Pearl are in love with you. They both have a crush on you. And in the past week, they've been competing to win your love first."

Platinum's mouth fell open in shock. "… They… both…"

White looked at her expression worriedly. "I know this must be very difficult. But… Lady Platinum… who do you love?"

Platinum put a hand over her heart and the other hand over her mouth, as everything clicked in her mind. How frequently Diamond and Pearl offered to do things with her in the past week, how flustered Pearl was during the dance, White and Y's silly antics during the lunch together, how eager Diamond was to go to the Resort Area with her, how unenthusiastic he was when Pearl appeared, the argument at night, why both of them refused to tell her the truth…

And now it was all clear. The source of the problem… was her. She had no idea that this was happening until now, and had made everything more complicated. And the solution was equally clear and troubling. … Which of them did she love in return?

"… Oh no…"