Blake and Ayame are dealing with some really complicated stuff. Will they be able to work out the problems in their relationship? Will they be able to make it as a couple? I hope so.

KedharS: I guess we'll find out.

Omesta: Thank you, it's certainly been quite an ordeal, that's for sure.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: It's pretty long, but it's more a study abroad than a field trip.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 800

Ayame had no idea what to say to Blake. Her throat was dry. She could barely squeak out a response, desperate to know what he meant.

"You don't know if you're… loving me the right way?" Ayame didn't mean to whimper, but she couldn't help but feel the fear welling up in her chest. She was afraid that in spite of what he was saying about how he loved her and didn't want to break up…

The way he was talking sounded like a breakup. A wave of nausea rolled over her, and she felt like she was going to throw up.

"Aya… I love you. But… I think that my feelings for you are turning me into someone that I don't want to be," Blake confessed. "Someone who doesn't deserve your love."

"Oh, Blake, no, you're absolutely deserving of love, don't say that!" Ayame said, reaching up and stroking his cheek. She leaned forward and pressed her head against his, feeling his warmth flow through her as she tried to give him as much of her warmth as she could. All she wanted to do was make him feel better.

Blake sat there for a moment, luxuriating in the warmth of her kindness. At that moment, he just wanted to feel her, feel all of her again, to forget about this horrible feeling and just be happy with her like he always was.

But it wasn't true.

Blake pulled back from her and shook his head, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Aya… you don't understand, the horrible feeling I had tonight, you don't get it!"

Ayame didn't let him pull away. She was afraid that if he turned away from her now, she would lose him forever. She clutched his shirt and pulled him back so he was facing her again, forced to look her in the eye.

"Then tell me. Let me get it. Let me be here with you," she pleaded.

Blake swallowed his doubts, and nodded his head.

"Aya… on the ferry ride back home, I was terrified," Blake said. "All because I couldn't hear from you. I was terrified at the idea that that woman, Reed, was dangerous and would hurt you. I wanted to keep you safe, and I didn't even think of you as someone who could protect yourself, stay safe, I thought that it was my job to do it."

Ayame wasn't sure what to say to that. "I… I see…" she murmured.

"Well, that… that isn't good," Blake said. "I shouldn't be thinking of you like that! Don't you see how toxic that is? That I can't even go without hearing from you for a few hours without being afraid that you might be in trouble?! I just…"

His voice broke and he forced himself to look away from her.

"…I think about Dakota Evans a lot," he admitted. "I've had… nightmares."

"…Oh," Ayame said softly, looking down. She didn't have to say anything to know what that meant.

"When we… when we were… together," Blake said, wiping his eyes, "Dakota was in the library, bleeding out. And when I think that could have been you, that you could just be attacked and be lying helpless somewhere, I just… I freeze up inside."

"I've thought the same way about you," Ayame admitted. "I'm afraid. Because you, you're… you're amazing, and you've helped me a lot, but if I lost you… I don't think it's wrong to have those feelings, because I have them, too."

Blake shook his head. He understood what she was trying to do, but he didn't think it was the same thing at all. "It's just… not healthy. Like what you said before, earlier, about the Orre Region, do you know what I felt when I heard that?"

Ayame shook her head. "No, what?"

"The thought about you going over there, not being able to see you, not being around you, I just felt like I could lose you," he winced. "And I don't want to lose you, you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me! But… But if something happened to you over there, would I be able to do anything to help? No, of course I wouldn't! And the thought of that hurt me inside."

"Blake, I know… I know that it's going to be hard being apart from you, but I'm going to be just fine, don't worry about it," she tried to reassure him, but it didn't help. Because she was still missing the point.

"But that's exactly the problem!" He cried. "I am going to worry about it! I'm always worrying about it, even when I know that I shouldn't be! Because you mean so much to me, it's like you're everywhere inside my head, and I just… this isn't how you're supposed to love someone, Aya! This is like thinking of you as a possession, don't you understand that?"

He hung his head and shivered, feeling anger rolling through him. He held his tongue and looked up at her.

"I'm not… I'm not like that," he admitted. "I don't want to be like that. I love you, but… how can I love you if I'm afraid to lose you like this? It's not right. This possessiveness… it's like I'm toxic, like I'm going to drag you down, don't you get it? If this goes on, then I could… I could become horrible, controlling and codependent, and the thought I could hurt you like this…"

"Blake, who says that this isn't how you're supposed to love someone?!" Ayame cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't see what's wrong with that! Feeling this way, being afraid like this, it's normal, I think!"

"It isn't," Blake said, shaking his head. "It's not normal. It's toxic, Aya, don't you get it? What happens when it gets to the point where I can't let you be along? When I couldn't text you, talk to you, and it makes me paranoid, jealous, even?"

"No, it's not… it's not like that," Ayame said, shaking her head. "You aren't that kind of person, Blake, don't you think I don't know that? I know you won't hurt me. Your possessiveness, I agree, it's something we have to work on, but please, don't tell me you feel that it's wrong for you to be worried about me, because it's not!"

Blake felt himself burning inside. He wanted to shout that she was wrong, that he shouldn't be having these feelings, but the way she looked at him, the desperation in her eyes, it made him feel like maybe he was on the wrong track with this.

"Aya…" Blake didn't know what to say. He just didn't. This was the kind of situation that he didn't have the ability to work out. But the passion in her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to disappoint her. He hung his head, avoiding her piercing gaze.

"…I don't know what to do."

Ayame crept her hand up his leg and wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing him tightly. "It's okay," she whispered. "I don't know what to do either. That's why we're together, right? So we can work things out together."

Feeling her comforting him warmed his heart. He looked her in the eye this time, and felt a smile cross his face.

"Aya…"

Ayame smiled back at him. "I love you. And I know that you've had a hard life. With your mother… your sister… I can understand that you're afraid of losing anyone else. So I don't mind that you're thinking this way about me. The fact that you treasure me so much that you're afraid to lose me, that warms my heart immensely."

"Even… even if it's not right?" Blake asked cautiously. "Thinking about you this way, being afraid of losing you like this?"

Ayame nodded, giving him a beaming grin. She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead. "Even if it's not right."

She squeezed his hand tighter. "So let's just do it together. Keep working things out like this, in order to figure out how we can work together successfully as a couple, what do you say? Are you willing to try with me?" She asked hopefully.

Blake swallowed. He wasn't sure that this was right. He didn't think it was okay for him to think this way. But he wanted to trust Aya. He wanted to believe in her, because she was someone he cared about intensely.

He couldn't keep his emotions restrained, and surged forward, pulling Aya into a heated kiss. She was startled at first, but quickly pressed back into him, feeling his emotions rolling over her and pushing away her doubts as her passion surged back.

Of course, their embrace only lasted a few seconds before they were interrupted by someone else coming up to them.

"Oh, wow, public displays of affection! This place is quite impressive indeed!"

Blake and Ayame's eyes snapped open and they pulled away from each other, panting, looking up to see Reed Blackthorn standing over them with a curious expression on her face. Standing behind her were Darla and Lila, wearing awkward, yet amused expressions on their faces. Lila was suppressing a giggle and Darla rolled her eyes.

"O-Oh, this was just… wow," Ayame said, looking down bashfully, brushing her locks out of her eyes as she grinned. Feeling the pressure of their stares was making her more than a little bashful about what they had just been caught doing.

Blake, who was the only boy in the hall and had a lot less proximity with Darla and Lila on a regular basis, felt unbelievably embarrassed. He hung his head and went pale, feeling his body start to tense up as he drifted down into a tiny little shadow.

He had no idea what Reed was doing here, or what the others were doing here, either, but Aya seemed to be acting like nothing was unusual about this, so he let himself feel the same way. He tried to calm down, but it was hard.

"What are… you guys doing here?" Ayame asked, getting her bearings faster. "I know that battle was kind of intense, but none of you look that injured."

"Ah, yeah, don't worry about that!" Reed laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "It was just a little battle! Forget that meteor, it was just a tiny little pier that blew up, nothing to make a big deal out of, you know?"

THAT snapped Blake out of his pause. His jaw dropped and he stared at Reed, then back towards Aya in disbelief.

"She blew up the pier?! You didn't mention that!"

Ayame hung her head and sighed. "Come on, Blake, let's not do this right now, okay? We were just in a good place…"

Blake knew she was right, and caught himself, nodding his head in agreement. "Y-Yeah, sorry, you're right," he admitted. "I know we were just talking about this, too. But… next time don't hide all the details for me? It would go a long way in soothing my issues."

"Oooh, relationship drama, how juicy!" Lila smirked. "Come on, Ayame, don't keep it all to yourself you know!"

"Lila, behave yourself," Darla said, clearing her throat. She turned back to Reed with a smirk on her face as wicked as Lila's, maybe even worse. "Anyway, let's not torture them too much, Reed. Give them a little bit of privacy, if you know what I mean?"

"Privacy? Oh, you mean so that they can have sex?" Reed asked innocently.

Darla and Lila burst into peals of laughter while Blake and Ayame's faces turned scarlet. They couldn't believe she had just said that, she was worse than Olivia!

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Darla said, suppressing her laugh quicker than Lila could. "Let's get going, Reed, we need to meet up with the Empress."

That brought Ayame out of her embarrassment, standing up with interest on her face. "Wait, what are you guys talking about? You guys are going to see the boss?"

"Yeah, I had an idea of something," Darla explained. "But we'll need her help to see it up. Of course, it depends on her condition, but when I saw her earlier today she seemed fine."

"She's just malingering," Ayame scoffed. "Come on, I'll go in there with you, I'm kind of interested myself in what you guys are talking about."

She realized in a few seconds that Blake was sort of locked out of the loop. Turning back to him, she murmured, "oh, um, I'm sorry, Blake. I needed to… well, okay, I know that we were… doing something, but…"

Then her face brightened. "Hey! That's it! I was thinking, maybe you could come join me! I know her meetings are usually private, but you can definitely come!"

Blake looked up at her, surprised. "R-Really?" He asked, surprised by her offer. "I… I guess, that would be okay… if you're sure?"

Ayame nodded, smiling down at him. She extended her hand. "First step of helping you, you know? Letting the two of us work together, you know? That's why I want you to be with me. So you can trust me, you know?"

Blake was surprised. She was offering him so much. He smiled, and reached out to her, taking her hand and letting her help him up. The two of them followed the other three girls, walking hand in hand back into Olivia's room.

"Well, now we really do have a party," Olivia said, raising her eyebrow in surprise as she looked at the five of them. "What an interesting crowd of familiar faces." She propped herself up on her arms and smiled.

"Hey, Olivia, I wanted to ask you something," Darla said, walking up to the bed. "So, you don't know what happened with me and Reed, right? I wanted to let you know what the issue was. It was a bunch of complicated stuff, but I felt that, considering all you've done for us, it would be only right if I tell you what happened."

She glanced over at Blake. "And I think… this might be something that could help someone else, too," she added. "I just wanted to get the truth out so everyone's on the same page, and no one's overthinking things."

Blake paused. What did she mean by that? It was like she was reading his mind, unless…

His face went pale. No way. NO frigging way, she couldn't have…

She couldn't have overheard their conversation, could she?! But wait, that would mean that the other two had…

He glanced at Lila and Reed. Reed smiled and waved at him, and Lila turned red in the face, glancing away bashfully.

Blake could just die.

Ayame cleared her throat, and nodded to Darla. She got the implication as well, and was totally ready for Darla to just move things ahead.

So Darla explained what had happened the last few hours to Blake and Olivia, setting everything clear. She concealed what she could, the things that were too private to disclose to anyone who wasn't in the know, but she got most of the information out.

When Darla finished her explanation, Blake was shocked at how much he missed. "That… is that really what happened?"

"Yep," Darla nodded. She shrugged her shoulders. "Go down to the beach if you want to check, the pier is still a bunch of rubble in the sand."

Blake couldn't believe how casually she had just said that, like it wasn't a big deal that her cousin had decimated the dock with a meteor. He had been worried for Aya, but this was beyond what he could have hoped to imagine.

Olivia seemed a little shocked herself.

"W-Well," she said, clearing her throat, "that was quite an… interesting bit of information you've revealed, nice story," she admitted.

"It's a little much, yeah," Darla laughed, scratching her head sheepishly. And she hadn't even told the deepest parts of it, either, but they didn't need to know those. "I just thought that after everything you've done to help us, you should get the full story, you know?"

Olivie raised her eyebrow. She didn't buy it. Sure, what Darla was saying made sense, but there was something else there. She wouldn't look so antsy right now if the only business she had with her was to tell her some story.

"And that's really everything?" She asked in clarification.

Darla winced, and glanced down sheepishly. She turned back to Lila, who nodded encouragingly at her and gave her a thumbs' up.

"W-Well, actually… I was hoping you could do us a little favor," Darla admitted.

Olivia nodded knowingly. This was something she'd expected, they always wanted a favor. Well, that story had been exciting, and she was feeling rather charitable right now, so she could hear the girl out, at least.

She shrugged. "Sure, why not? What's this favor you want from me?"

"W-Well, see, Reed's only real experiences with pokemon have been battles," Darla explained. "She likes pokemon battles, even though she prefers being around pokemon more naturally. But the thing is… my family, well… they just don't like using pokemon for other ways. So it's kind of a surprise that she's okay with me… being an idol."

"Okay, yeah, I get that," Olivia said. That one hit a little closer to home than she might have liked, given her own family's circumstances. "So what are you asking me for, Darla?"

"Well, I was wondering… if we could show Reed how… we interact with pokemon? You know, in a Pokemon Contest?"

"What's a Pokemon Contest?" Reed asked, not sure what her cousin was getting at. This had been something Darla and Lila had discussed in private, not having let her in on the whole thing so it could be a bit of a surprise.

Olivia was a little taken aback by that request, it certainly hadn't been what she'd been expecting. "So Darla, you want us to hold an impromptu Pokemon Contest, is that it?"

Darla nodded. "It can be small, just, like, a private thing, you know?" She explained. "But I wanted to show Reed, well… what pokemon mean to me. I showed her what Melody and I could do in a battle, but now I want to show her how good I am on the stage. So… what do you say? Are you okay with that? Us throwing a contest? Do you think you could help us make a sudden reservation?"

Olivia smirked.

"So, that's what this is about, huh?" She mused. She sat all the way up in her seat. "You're throwing a Pokemon Contest… and you didn't think to invite me to take part?"

Darla blinked. "W-Well, you're injured, so…"

Olivia waved her hand. "Feh. I don't care about something like that!" She threw her legs over the beg and hopped out.

"Boss!" Ayame cried. But she didn't need to be worried. Olivia was standing perfectly fine on her bad ankle, a confident smile stretched proudly across her face.

"If you're going to be throwing a contest, a little pain is nothing!" Olivia proclaimed. "I'll be joining in myself!"

Darla and Lila looked at each other, stunned. That wasn't the response they were expecting.

Blake and Ayame were equally surprised, but Blake would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited. This was the perfect way to end a rather… complicated day.

So, we're going to be throwing a little private show to Reed! As for Blake and Ayame's relationship, how will things go for them? We'll have to find out!