After Blake's conversation with Marion, it seems that he has reached a decision. Will he be able to work things out with Elaina? Or will she push him away once again? Remember to review!

KedharS: …How certain are you that they aren't already playing a role in the story?

Thunder Fire: That body of hers is too hot to handle, plus he's in a committed relationship.

Aquahaze675: Fish don't care about your feelings, snowflake.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 345

Blake rose from his seat. Marion had given him a lot to think about. He caressed his chin with his hand in contemplation, shaking his head.

"So what are you gonna do?" Marion asked, standing up as well, picking up her hat and putting it back on her head as she walked up to him.

"What you said I could do," Blake replied simply. "I'm gonna go to Elaina and let her know that I'm going to accept her."

Marion blinked.

"If that's what you think you have to do," Marion said. She held her hand out and tossed the small white pill to him. Blake caught it in the air and nodded his head. He turned to the stairwell, but Marion called out to him before he left.

"One more thing, Blake."

"Hm?" Blake turned back, curious, and more than a little worried. Was there something else she wanted to say?

"Do you know if Elaina has begun having hallucinations?" Marion asked.

"Hallucinations? Of what?"

Marion shook her head.

"Just a thought. I'm concerned that she might be seeing things. If she is, then her harmonia has almost reached a certain level."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked. "Is she in trouble?"

"It's not that simple," Marion said, shaking her head. "It's not in and of itself a bad thing. It just means that if she is, she's advancing towards a crossroads, and she now needs to make a decision. If she isn't seeing anything, then that's fine, but if she is…"

"Things like what?" Blake asked.

Marion shook her head.

"It wouldn't make sense if I explained it. And it probably isn't happening. Just keep it in mind, okay? In case there is something."

Blake nodded.

"I'll ask, but I don't know if she'll tell me even if I do," Blake said, turning and heading up the stairs.

Marion sighed, and stretched, walking Blake head out. She went over to where she'd set her fishing poll down and turned her head, a big smile on her face.

"Heya, Marion!" A mirror image of herself called out, waving cheerfully to her. "You ready to go fishing?"

"Sure thing, Harmonia," Marion said, a dopey grin reflecting her copy's spreading across her face. "Let's go! I can't wait, it's gonna be a blast!"

Harmonia disappeared and Marion skipped out into the snow, ready to get some ice-fishing done in one of the frozen lakes she had special access to, feeling the comfort of harmonia washing through her. Her abilities returned to their normal ebb and flow like a gentle tide, her heart finally at ease after the turmoil of the past hour.

Kitty hadn't reached the point where her harmonia had manifested itself physically like Marion's had. Elaina might be there. She didn't know, she just hoped that when it happened, it would be a reflection of who Elaina wanted to be, not who she feared to be.

"It's a mirror," she whispered to herself, bracing against the cold winter winds. "Harmonia is a part of you, Elaina, it reflects who you are. I hope that you can embrace yourself, and become the kind of person who you're meant to be, instead of hiding from yourself."

Elaina was curled up in a ball, leaning her back against the door to her room. She clutched her legs up to her chest and cried into her knees, her mask discarded onto the ground. Her head was killing her, but she didn't give a damn. Today… today had just been so hard. Why did she have to wake up today of all days? Why hadn't she just slept this whole nightmare through?

Her mind thought back to her meeting with Gerard that morning. He had been absolutely right. All of this was just misery. She couldn't believe in anything. No one would accept her. She didn't deserve to be accepted. She couldn't love Blake, she couldn't love herself, no one could ever love her. Because she was a monster. No matter what Ayame said to her, she wasn't a child. She wasn't scared.

She was just able to understand that she was a monster, and that was all.

"Why are you crying, Elaina?" Standing over Elaina was that illusion, that Harmonia. She didn't raise her head. She knew what she would see. A cold masked face staring down at her, with eyes where sympathy could not be seen. The mask she'd put on herself, to become the monster everyone saw her as. The mask she wouldn't remove, lest she expose that side of herself to everyone.

She was afraid. Because she was alone. Because she was a monster. And that's why she wanted to fix herself. But this damn harmonia… it just wouldn't go away.

"You aren't still trying to pretend I'm not here, are you?" Harmonia asked. She knelt down and placed a hand on Elaina's shoulder. "Elaina, I'm a part of you. You must realize that, even if you don't want to accept it."

"No!" Elaina hissed.

"Why are you trying so hard? If you would only listen to me, then-"

"No! Go away! I don't want you hear! Leave me alone!" Elaina shouted desperately, raising her head and glaring daggers at the illusion.

A knock on the door caused Harmonia to disperse into shadows, stunning Elaina for a minute.

"…Sorry," Blake said quietly through the door, thinking Elaina's outburst was directed at him, "um… you might now want me around right now, but… can we talk?"

Blake? Why was he here? She'd left him back at the pokemon center, because she couldn't stand to be there anymore.

"…What do you want?" Elaina muttered, leaning back against the door a little more so Blake couldn't open it, even though it was already locked. She let go of her knees and stretched her legs out, feeling less… small, now that he was here. She couldn't quite explain the feelings going through her, but even after everything that happened she couldn't resist feeling relaxed in his presence. It was like him just being there made the pain in her gut, that throbbing in her head, just slowly fade away like it wasn't even a problem.

Except for the times when he just made it worse. When her fears were manifested as agony in her head and her heart couldn't bear seeing him. Unfortunately, this was one of those times.

"I just want to talk," Blake told her. That's always what he wanted. He always wanted to talk. He never wanted to do what she…

Elaina shook her head. What was she even hoping for? It was never going to happen. Blake would never feel that way about her, and even if he did, it wasn't like she would deserve it. She treated him like nothing more than a tool to make her feel better about herself, to make her feel normal and loved.

Someone like that didn't deserve a damn thing.

"I heard about what happened," Blake said softly. He was closer to her now, she realized. Had he knelt down beside the door so he could speak to her? Of course he had. He always did thoughtful stuff like that, it was what had fooled her into thinking that he liked her, that the two of them could be happy together, normal. Not that she blamed him for that, of course. She was the one to blame, she was always the one to blame.

"So you know," she muttered. "What I did."

"I heard you fought Ayame outside," Blake replied. "You used your harmonia, and you went out of control."

"I nearly killed her," Elaina spat out. "And I didn't care. I wanted to hurt her. Because she made me angry. Because that's the kind of person I am, or haven't you figured it out yet?! I'm the kind of person who, if someone hurts me, makes me mad, I will lash out at them with everything I have, all to hurt them back! Because I'm a monster, Blake, or haven't you understood that yet?! I'm a monster that deserves to be hated and cursed, so just leave me ALONE!"

She choked back her sobs. She just wanted to be left alone. No more of this heart that was tearing her apart. What did she have to say? What did she have to do?

Who would she have to hurt to make Blake get the message, to make him hate her, so she wouldn't keep feeling any of this horrible "hope" that was poisoning her down to her core with false dreams and promises?

Blake didn't say anything for a long time. Of course he was gone. He would never stay kind to her after something like this.

"Elaina."

Why?!

Hearing his voice sent a surge of joy through her heart, one that made her want to cry in anger and frustration.

She didn't want him to be here. She didn't want him to care for her.

Because someday he wouldn't. Someday, she would go too far, as long as she was the monster that she was. She would hurt him, for real, and drive him off. And when that happened, Elaina knew it would break her heart.

So if he would leave her either way, she would be the one to drive him off herself. Better they end things now, rather than allowing him to get even closer and rip her to pieces even more. She couldn't stand for that.

"Blake… please… just go away," she begged him.

"Elaina, I know that you didn't mean to do what you did," Blake replied.

"I did!" Elaina exclaimed. "She made me angry! She wanted to battle me, so I took the opportunity to make her pay!"

"Maybe, but that's okay," Blake reassured her. "Ayame doesn't blame you for it, and neither do I. You just lost control."

"I didn't lose control!" Elaina replied. "I gave up my control, because I was sick and tired of it all!"

"And that's fine," Blake replied. He let out a sigh. "Elaina, I know that you aren't that kind of person. No matter how much you might think otherwise, no matter how much you might curse me out, or try to drive me away, I know that you're a kind person inside."

"You don't!" She hissed. "You don't know anything! Fuck!"

Another throb of pain shot through her head, and she clenched her skull, practically tearing her hair out at the feeling of agony. Her vision blurred in front of her as she gasped out angrily.

"Elaina?" Blake called out, pounding on the door. "Elaina, are you okay?!"

"I'm… fine…" she rasped out through gritted teeth. Blake didn't believe her for a minute. The pill in his hand was hot. He slide it beneath the crack in the door.

"Elaina, that pill, it's… just take it, you'll feel better," Blake assured her. Elaina spotted the slender white capsule and snatched it up, swallowing it. Immediately, the pain in her head lessened, and her breathing returned to normal.

"Thank…" she stuttered out, rubbing her temples, "thank you. I'm fine now. You can go away, I don't have anything else to say to you."

"Elaina…"

"Go!" She insisted.

"I'm not!" Blake asserted himself, slapping his hand against the door again. "You don't have to open the door if you don't want to, Elaina, but I already told you before, no matter what happens, I'm not going to leave you behind or abandon you. There's nothing you can do that will drive me away, Elaina. No matter what happens, I want to bring you back. I want to help you. Because you need help! And even if I can't help you directly… just know that I'm always here."

Elaina cursed him in her mind for saying such careless things in the heat of the moment.

"I'm always here," he said again, slower this time. He had to make her understand that. He had to do whatever he could to get her to understand that. "Even if everyone else thinks of you as a monster, I never will. I know you're lost and scared, and you're running away from who you are. But you don't need to run from me. Because I can see you're a good person, Elaina, and I won't leave you over something like this."

Elaina took a deep breath and rose to her feet, her mask cold between her fingers. She slipped it over her face and turned to the door, flinging it open, much to Blake's surprise. He looked up at her, startled, rising up from his crouch by the door.

"Is that so?" She coldly asked. Blake nodded his head.

"It is," Blake insisted. "I care about you, Elaina, and I want to help. If you feel like it's too much, then you can rely on me. I know I might not be able to do much, but-"

"I need to go," she murmured, lifting her bag and slinging over her shoulder, pushing past him. She slammed her door shut before he could get a peek into her room, locking it behind her. She had to go before her harmonia returned. While she was still clear-headed, she needed to get out of here. Her room had been her sanctuary, but right now he was here.

And as long as he was here, she couldn't find that isolation she wanted.

"Elaina!" Blake shouted after her, following her towards the stairs. She stopped at the top of the stairwell and turned back to him, a shiver going down Blake's spine. He couldn't see her eyes, he didn't even know what they looked like. And yet he could still feel her glare upon him.

"Go back to your girlfriend, Blake," Elaina growled. "Go back to your friends who care about you and leave me alone. I get it. You don't want to abandon me. Fine. Then let me be alone. If you want to be there for me, come when I call for you. Give me distance, and then that will be enough for you and I… for us to be okay.

The more she spoke, the less her voice sounded angry and confrontational, and the more it sounded sad and in pain.

"Any closer… any more than that… and I'll find myself hoping for things that can never be," she whispered. "I can't bear that. You… being around you makes me better… but at the same time, it hurts me as well. So I can't have it. I don't want it. Do you understand?"

Blake bit his lip. He didn't want to do as she asked, because to him, this looked like another example of her pushing him away.

"Are… are you sure?" He asked quietly, hanging his head sadly.

"I am," she nodded, her voice as pained as his. "Just… just leave me be today. Tomorrow, we can be professional, we can fight together as a team. But beyond that… right now… I'm not ready for that right now."

Without another word, she turned and stormed down the stairs. Being in his presence hurt far too much for her to put up with.

It hurt Blake to watch her go, but something in their conversation had lit a tiny spark of hope in his heart, a hope that he would cling to as tightly as he could.

He wasn't sure if it meant anything, or if he was delusional. He didn't know if she even knew what she was saying, or had meant to say it.

But thinking of it, he was reminded of something Ayame had told him, back when she'd first kissed him. When he hadn't resisted, when he had kissed her back. When he had said something that he thought was a total rejection, but she had dismissed, and stated things that he had not even realized were true to his heart.

Just as Blake had said to Ayame, denying his feelings for her when in truth he was just running away, Elaina had said "I'm not ready for that right now".

"Right now"

Elaina wasn't ready to be close to him "right now".

But the day could still come where she might be. She wasn't shutting the door completely. Even if she was pretending to be okay, pretending to be willing to meet him on her terms, even if she was saying to herself over and over that she wanted to reject him completely…

Blake had felt that way about Ayame. He had rejected her with everything he could, because he was too afraid to confront the truth about how he felt, not thinking he deserved to be with her, when he had other things he could run away and hide himself in. When he used his desire to help Gwen as an excuse to not pursue his real feelings.

Elaina… there was still that chance. That chance that she was saying she was rejecting him, but really, she wasn't. That deep down inside she was holding herself back because she was scared, but she wanted him to reach out to her more, so she could take his hand.

So Blake didn't feel bad watching her go. He'd let her have distance if she wanted it. He would show her that he believed in her and cared about her, and she wouldn't be able to drive him away.

With that thought in mind, he turned and headed for Maddi's room, where Ayame was waiting for Olivia to get there.

Hopefully, she hadn't changed her clothes yet.

While Blake went to go tease his girlfriend, Elaina was walking through the snow with a single purpose in mind.

There was somewhere she wanted to go. Somewhere she would go to be alone before. Not like her room where she shut herself off from the world, but where she could be free to touch the sky and feel the wind, which always made her feel a little more relieved.

She left the cold outside and stepped into the mall, everyone inside right now getting out of her way. They knew who she was. But she didn't care about any of that. There was somewhere she wanted to go, somewhere that would probably not have any people around while she allowed herself to unwind and be comfortable with herself.

She stepped out of the elevator into the rooftop garden. As she expected, it had been completely snowed over. She looked around. Those beautiful flowers had all wilted away now, what leaves remained on the trees before had been weighed down by the heavy snowfall and suffocated beneath a curtain of white, buried around the trunks. Now the long, twisted branches stretched in all directions like ghostly fingers reaching toward the sky.

The once-beautiful garden was buried in a peaceful layer of snow, presenting a scene of calm and tranquil death and emptiness.

Yet much to Elaina's stunned surprise, there was still a trace of life to be found after all, in a young female face that belonged to a stranger seated on a garden bench, wearing a calm smile that she did not recognize.

"Hello there, Elly," the stranger greeted her with a wave of the hand, stepping off the bench and walking towards her. "It is a pleasure to make you acquaintance."

So having rejected Blake, Elaina now has a confrontation with this mysterious girl… who could she be? We'll find out soon enough!