The Valentine's Day arc continues! How will our hopeful romantics handle the day? Hopefully, even our singles can have some positives today, let's see what they're up to!

Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile!

The Elimination Round is reaching its climax! Only a few days left! Make sure to get in votes for who you think the best girl is! Also, because it's been brought to my attention that Valerie was indeed nominated to the contest, but was not given a vote, she will be getting a bye to the next round. In the meantime, get your votes in, and we'll determine who will go to the next round at the end of August! It should be exciting! The leading girls may surprise you!

Nominated: Alcea, Ayame, Carrie, Caelia, Cynthia, Dakota, Darla, Elaina, Elizabeth, Julia, Kate, Kitty, Lila, Maddi, Marion, Nikita, Olivia, Sango, Sylvia

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Unfortunately, Elaina will remain friendless for quite some time still. It doesn't help that she's not a very good friend in general.

KedharS: That something would be your eyeballs.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Welcome back. Amusing to see that your theory was pretty much spot-on, yep.

JoshGamerV: It certainly won't change in the state that she's in.

Entity: I don't have the clout you think I do.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 654

Sango stared out at the large lake with a relaxed smile on her face. She'd been out here for hours now, and was relieved to see that her preparations were apparently paying off. A lot of people were coming up to the front stand, where she was working, and renting fishing polls to catch the Luvdisc, while Marion was behind her, giving fishing demonstrations to first timers.

There were all sorts of people who were taking part in the event, from couples who were hoping to fish up a pair of Luvdisc in order to ensure their future happiness together as a couple, to singles who were using the event in the hopes to meet a prospective partner. Unfortunately there weren't many people who had come here for the reason that Marion had hoped, who were just looking for a reason to learn how to fish for the first time.

Then, there were people like Nick, who had come to the event for his own purposes, which Sango found rather amusing. Feeling a little like teasing, Sango was giving him a bit of a hard time while he was renting his fishing pole from her. It was some of the little amusement that she could get being single on Valentine's Day.

"Aww, how cute," she smirked. "Little Nicky is so whipped by his little girlfriend that he's actually here fishing alone on Valentine's Day to reel in a Luvdisc for a present!"

Nick gave her a scowl.

"Come on, Sango, this really means a lot to Callie," Nick whined. "So can't you just give me the fishing pole already so I can get started at catching a Luvdisc already? I haven't really gotten much experience fishing, you know."

"You managed to wrangle up a Poliwhirl, though," Sango noted with an amused smirk as she placed the fishing poll on the counter. "Though, if you're really feeling unsure about your abilities, I could always ask Marion to give you a private lesson. What do you say?"

Nick quickly shook his head, grabbing the fishing pole and snatching it away from Sango before she could call Marion over. "NO! No, that's okay, I can deal with this myself. No need to get Marion involved in any of this, right?"

"You sure?" Sango called after him as he quickly headed towards the lake, and the large maze of wooden planks set up over the water's surface. "She's a really good teacher, you know, she's very passionate!"

"No thanks! I'm good!" Nick called back, waving his fishing pole as he headed towards the couple's section.

Sango smirked, having come up with a new way to tease him. "Hey! Nick, that's the wrong way, you know!"

"What?" Nick called back, turning towards her. "What is it?"

"You know that's the wrong way, right?" She called. "That part of the lake is for couples who want to fish together, if you're here alone, then you have to go to that section of the lake, with the other individual fishers."

She pointed towards the singles area. Nick might not have been single, but he was still fishing by himself.

"Okay! Thank you!" Nick called back, changing where he was going and heading over to the singles section.

Sango suppressed a smirk. It was kind of a scummy thing to do, but she was feeling a little amused by the fact that Nick was going alone to the singles area. He may not suspect anything, but people over there weren't only fishing for Luvdisc.

Some of them were fishing for boyfriends.

Okay, maybe I'm a little bit of a bad person, she admitted to herself with a grin. She was working with Marion to set things up for couples, and she had been sitting at the counter since like 6 in the morning waiting for people to show up, with only Silver to serve as company. And he was more exhausted than she was, having to use his sunny day to heat up the lake enough to thaw the ice in order to make it a habitable for the Luvdisc. Having burned out his energy for the last few days, Sango let him rest as long as he wanted on the counter.

So with nobody to keep her company, was it really so bad of her to get some amusement off of others? Even if it was a pretty sweet guy like Nick.

Sango probably wouldn't be feeling as guilty if it was Reiner.

If only Blake was here… Sango let out a sigh. She could have enjoyed herself by having a conversation with her friend, but that was a moot point. If Blake was coming (and from what she'd gathered, he would be) it would be to spend time with Ayame, not to keep her company. And she couldn't really blame him or the other couples for that, either.

"Hi! Um… is this where we… check out fishing rods?" Sango glanced up from her checkout sheet to see two people standing at the front of the line. A boy and girl, who looked pretty young so Sango assumed they were first years. They both had excited looks on their faces, and with the embarrassed blushes they wore it told Sango all she needed to know.

A new couple, probably formed sometime around winter break, maybe even as recent as this term, Sango calmly assessed. Their fingers were interlocked and they kept shooting glances at one another. Definitely eager. They were probably hoping to rely on the jinx of the Luvdisc Fishing Day to ensure that their relationship would last.

Normies go die, REEEEEEE! Sango wanted to say, but she kept an even smile on her face and explained to them the details of the event.

"Yes, this is the place to be," Sango said, nodding. "If you want to rent fishing poles, it will be $5 apiece, and you'll need to leave a $50 deposit."

"That sounds fair," the girl said, nodding.

"And no capturing any Luvdisc," Sango reminded them. "These are wild pokemon, and trying to catch them is against the rules. Once you've caught one, there's no rule that says you have to leave, you can continue fishing right up until we close at 7. You can also bring your Luvdisc back here once you reeled it in, and we can have our resident fish expert Marion Rivers measure it and weigh it for the contest. We'll be going over the results for that one at 5."

"Contest?" The girl asked, her eyes lighting up a little.

"Yes!" Sango said, putting on a false air of enthusiasm. "It's an annual tradition. Not only is today about celebrating relationships and couples, but it's also somewhat of a fishing contest! Entering is simple, just bring your catch back here and present it for inspection, and sign up for judge review. We'll be grading the Luvdisc on five categories, Size, Weight, Level, Coloration, and Energy. You can enter as many Luvdisc as you wish. The Grand Prize is a romantic dinner for two at a campus restaurant of your choice, Second Place is a pair of tickets to a movie of your choice, and Third Place is a matching set of Love Balls. Entrance fee is $10."

"$10? That's pretty steep…" The guy said, frowning. He stroked his chin in contemplation. "What do you think, Rosie?" He turned to his girlfriend, who also seemed to be having doubts, even though her eyes were still gleaming with excitement.

"It's a bargain, actually," Sango said. "All entrants will earn a heart scale just for participating. Heart scales can be sold for $10-20 easy on the open market, and certain maniacs will pay even higher if the quality is good. So as long as you can catch a Luvdisc, you'll almost-certainly be making your money back."

"I think it sounds like fun, Jake," Rosie said glancing over at her boyfriend. "Besides, there's no harm in giving it a go, since we're fishing anyway!"

"And we don't have to enter unless we catch a Luvdisc?" The boy, Jake, clarified. "We can just fish like normally until we catch something?"

"Yes, exactly!" Sango said, flashing her teeth in a wide smile, doing her best as a saleswoman. "You don't have to decide now. Please, enjoy yourselves! So, would you like to rent?"

"Yes, we would, two fishing rods, please," Rosie said, nodding. Jake smiled in agreement, the two giving each other glances.

"…Sounds like a plan," Sango said, trying to keep her annoyance at all the lovey-dovey couples going around under wraps. She passed the sign-up sheet forward along with the card reader to take their payment. "Charge your card here, and sign your name and check-out time, please, I'll get your fishing poles."

While the couple signed their names (they dotted the "i"s with hearts, barf!) Sango turned back to the large rack of fishing poles set up, selecting two and handing them over the counter. "Here you are! Have a good catch!" She smiled. The couple took the fishing poles without sparing her a glance, lost in each other's eyes. Sango directed their attention towards the signs, particularly the arrow pointed to the couple's fishing zone.

They quickly headed off, leaving Sango to the next couple in line. She suppressed a sigh of irritation. This was a great way to break her spirit.

She knew that it was bad form to spite couples for their happiness, but Sango couldn't help herself. It wasn't like she was all that interested in being in a relationship, or even really that jealous when she thought about it.

The thing was, Sango was the kind of girl who didn't believe in dating just to date. For her, there wasn't much to be gained from a romantic relationship, she could take it or leave it. If she liked a guy, then she would want to go out with him, but she wasn't all that interested in actually pursuing a romantic partner.

Days like this, though, that celebrated couples, they still made Sango feel rather irritated. She didn't know if that made her a hypocrite or a liar or what, but she did feel like not being in a relationship with someone was totally fine usually.

Maybe it was more that she was just bored.

"Marion," Sango called over her shoulder after handing over two fishing rods to the couple, and seeing that they were starting to run low. "We need more fishing rods!"

"Kind of busy!" Marion called back.

"You're just fishing!" Sango exclaimed, groaning in irritation at the fact that Marion had decided to shirk her responsibilities again.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Marion said.

"I swear, I'm gonna murder that girl," Sango muttered under her breath.

"Sango!"

Sango's head shot up and she looked around, surprised, her face brightening as she heard Aidan call out to her.

"Aidan!" Sango said, seeing him come up from the side. "Hey, you made it!"

"Um, excuse me, my fishing rod-" The guy at the head of the line opened his mouth but Sango shushed him with a sharp glare, turning to Aidan.

"Yeah, I got here," Aidan smiled. Seeing how Sango had lit up when she saw him made him feel really good about this. She had invited him to spend time with her at the event today because she liked him. Last night he had been so giddy that his feelings were returned that he had found it hard to get any sleep.

"You showed up just in time," Sango said, standing up and clapping him on the shoulder. "Take over for me, I need to go pick up some more fishing rods."

"O-oh," Aidan stammered, stunned. He had thought that they would be working together today, but apparently that wasn't the case. "Um, yeah, not a problem," he nodded, his smile only dimming slightly. Anything he could do to help!

"Thanks you're the best!" Sango smiled, and that right there made it all worthwhile to Aidan. She just smiled in the coolest way, it made him always want to see her smile. Sango knelt down and petted Arion, Aidan's Shinx, and then stood. She glanced at Silver, but the Castform was still sleeping, and she decided to let him be.

"Wait, wait, I'm not sure what to do!" Aidan called after her, realizing that in his eagerness to help, he had no idea what he was actually supposed to be helping with. He was checking out fishing rods, but was there anything he was supposed to say, or do? "Sango?"

"You'll be fine!" Sango called. "Just tell 'em it's $5 for a rod with a $50 deposit, it's easy! Oh, and don't forget to tell them about the contest! The rules are written down on the table, so that should be easy! I'm sure you'll be fine!"

Before Aidan had a chance to say that no, he wouldn't be fine, Sango had already disappeared down the hillside back towards campus.

Aidan sighed. Even though she'd left him here to fend for himself, he couldn't help but admire her. Sango was just…

She was so cool.

He had thought she was cool since they had first met. She wasn't like any of the "girly girls" he had known at his prior school. She was just like a guy, but also cute like a girl. She had a way about her that had made Aidan want to be friends, and now that friendship and admiration had grown beyond that to become a real crush.

She was just so cute, it just didn't seem fair. And the thought that someone as cool as that actually liked him, and wanted to spend time with him? Just the thought of how lucky he was for that made him feel all giddy inside.

"Excuse me," the boy at the head of the line cleared his throat, pulling Aidan from his musing on his feelings for Sango. That's right, Aidan had a job to do, and if he wanted to impress the girl he liked then he would need to do it well.

Aidan turned to the customer and smiled, though the other boy wasn't in a very smiling mood. He had come here to meet girls, not wait in line forever. Aidan felt the weight of his gaze and swallowed, but kept up a professional smile.

"How can I help you?" He asked, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing with his job, but willing to do the best that he could.

While Aidan was floundering for the sake of a girl who didn't see him as anything more than a friend, Cynthia was also feeling rather down about being trapped in the friend zone. Blake had finally managed to worm his way out of Caelia's clutches, telling her that he was happy that he was back and that he was glad to see her, but he had a date with his girlfriend that he needed to get ready for, and he managed to get away from her, even though she clearly didn't want him to leave.

Cynthia related with her quite a bit, watching him head off.

She turned and looked past Caelia, unable to believe how much of a sty this girl lived in. She shook her head, exasperated. If it wasn't Valentine's Day, she would have spent the day cleaning that mess of a room again.

Looking at it, she realized how much of a reflection it was of its owner. Caelia herself was in a pretty bad mental state, Cynthia had to admit. And unfortunately, she hadn't been much help in that regard. She thought of Caelia as a friend, she really did. And at the beginning of the year, she had tried reaching out to her as a friend multiple times, and had even managed to clean up the girl's room for her so she could live in better conditions.

But somehow, Caelia had managed to slip through her fingers.

It wasn't her fault! It really wasn't! It was just that Cynthia was a very energetic and passionate person, who always wanted to be doing things. And she had been so caught up in doing things that she hadn't had that many opportunities to interact with the other girl, who didn't do much of anything and really didn't want to.

…No, no, that was just an excuse. Cynthia was trying to excuse her actions. And yes, she had been busy for the last month or so, not having made much time for the other girl. Especially over the past few weeks, when she had been broken down by Blake's disappearance.

But that wasn't an excuse.

Caelia needed a friend. A real friend. Not someone who only stuck around because she didn't have anything better to do. Caelia required a lot of energy to be friends with, because she didn't put any effort into friendship. She was just there. And for Cynthia, who thrived on other people to keep her energy up, Caelia was difficult.

No wonder she had let herself lapse back into this squalor, without Cynthia around to keep her living properly.

But Cynthia wouldn't let that stand, not a chance. She had the opportunity to make up for inadvertently ditching Caelia, and she was going to take it. After all, it wasn't like she was doing anything right now, she could really use a friend.

Blake was out of sight, now, and Caelia turned to head back into her room, and Cynthia didn't want her to just disappear.

"Hey, Caelia, I was wondering-" Cynthia cut herself off, realizing what she was about to ask, wincing in shame.

Wait, wait. This is exactly what I was doing before, Cynthia realized. She had just been trying to be Caelia's friend not for the other girl's sake, but because Caelia was the best she could do right now. Could she truly say she would be hanging out with Caelia if Blake had been free, and wanted to hang out instead?

No, of course she couldn't say that, because it wasn't true.

Caelia deserved way better than this. As if to drive the point home how much Caelia didn't care about Cynthia's attempt to reach out to her, she didn't let Cynthia's words stop her for a second, heading into her room.

Cynthia knew she shouldn't, but she did it anyway. She reached out and grabbed Caelia's arm, making sure it wasn't the burned one, and pulled her back. Caelia paused, looking around, confused by the fact that she wasn't moving forward. She turned and looked over her shoulder to see Cynthia standing behind her.

Caelia didn't have any reaction to Cynthia's presence or her attempt to stop her, and Cynthia wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

She had just grabbed Caelia's arm out of reflex, it wasn't like she'd had any plans in doing it. She just didn't want the girl to go.

Cynthia took a deep breath, and exhaled. She probably didn't have any business in trying to be Caelia's friend, after leaving her to fend for herself, but she was going to try her hardest anyway, if only because she could relate to Caelia's feeling of being abandoned and isolated, even if it wasn't to nearly such a degree.

"Come on, Caelia," Cynthia said, her voice sounding a lot stronger and more sure of herself than she actually felt. "Let's go!"

Cynthia wasn't going to let her spend Valentine's Day alone, at least.

Things are definitely getting complicated! Cynthia's reaching out to Caelia, how nice of her! I wonder what will come from that?