This is a very intimate chapter, where two characters get together and share their feelings, and revelations about a certain someone's feelings. It's definitely going to be a "revealing" chapter, I'll say that much.

KedharS: You think Donoma would stop there? Don't be naïve, making out is the tamest thing on her mind at the moment.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Donoma and Chloe… that would be quite an interesting pair. Giselle might be shy and reserved, but she still has good self-esteem and can be outgoing and positive when she needs to be. Chloe, on the other hand… well…

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 920

Donoma stalked down the hotel hallway wearing a long coat that covered most of her body and a smirk, the look of a woman on a mission.

She couldn't wait to see what Lukas's reaction would be.

Donoma knocked on the door, flipping a coin in her head over which one of them would answer it. To her fortune, it was Lukas.

Lukas's face paled when he saw who it was that was knocking at this hour. Donoma? What the hell was she doing here at this time of-

…Oh.

His heart went from having stopped in shock to racing from excitement in a fraction of a second as he put the pieces together and realized that there was only one reason that Donoma would be coming to see him.

Lukas realized what a fool he had been in that moment. She didn't need to say a word, that look in her eye was telling him everything he needed to know. Lukas had thought that she would back off if he told her no, but he was an idiot.

Donoma didn't give up when she wanted something. She would push and pull and prod and manipulate until she got the outcome she wanted. She was working Ayame to get her to say yes to her television ideas, and now she was working Lukas.

He glanced at the bulky coat. Completely out of place for the Orre Region, it looked like it must have been a hundred degrees under there. But it was clearly not for temperature concerns, it only served one purpose and that was to hide Donoma's body from inquisitive eyes- and in this case, those inquisitive eyes were Lukas.

Observant as ever, Donoma didn't miss the way Lukas's gaze skipped over her body for a second, and had to work hard to keep the smirk off of her face. Oh yeah. He wanted this. He wanted her. He just didn't want to admit it.

But Lukas wasn't the first person to think that a night with Donoma was a bad idea and still go through with it anyway, and he certainly wouldn't be the last. Donoma knew she could keep him from protesting if she worked on him long enough, he was almost there already.

She flashed a coy smile and got started.

"Hello there, Lukas. Good evening," she purred, working her voice into a husky tone that caused Lukas's cheeks to pinken.

"D-Donoma, listen, I told you before, I'm not-" Lukas protested, trying to slam the door in her face. But Donoma was faster than him, and a lot more driven.

She leaned in close and fingered the hem of her coat teasingly. "I just wanted to say… I brought my coat this time…" she said, calling back to their conversation from earlier. "Of course… if you're feeling cold yourself, I could always give it to you…"

Lukas wasn't an idiot. He had no intention of going along with Donoma's whims. But damn it, she really knew how to get under his skin. He opened his mouth to reject her proposal again, but his voice refused to come out. His body had betrayed him, and all he could do was reply with a meager squeak of defiance.

Donoma's eyes glimmered with triumph. She leaned in, not giving him a chance to resist further, and seized his open mouth with her own, practically jamming her tongue down his throat in a sensual burst of passion.

The kiss lasted for nearly a minute. She pulled back victoriously, basking in the heat of her prey's scarlet face. Lukas was gasping for air, completely overwhelmed.

"So?" She leaned in again with a throaty whisper, stroking her fingers through his hair. "Do you want to get out of here and go somewhere a little more… intimate?"

Lukas swallowed the bile in his throat. He was a forward person, more often than not, he is was the one putting the moves on girls. That should have tempered him, given him the strength to resist temptation in a situation like this.

But Donoma… Donoma defied rational thought.

He shouldn't want this, and if he was thinking clearly, then of course he would say no. But Donoma was the antithesis of thinking clearly, and he was quickly running out of reasons to tell her "no". He was a desperate guy with a problem, losing his self-control, and he didn't know how to get the vixen in front of him to just leave him alone.

Donoma let the question hang in the air, daring him with those gorgeous, wicked eyes of hers to turn her down again.

She knew he wouldn't be able to say no.

The question was whether or not he knew that.

"I…" Lukas croaked out, fumbling for the words he knew he needed to say.

The temptation was getting to him.

While Lukas was fighting tooth and nail to keep the last shreds of his dignity intact, across the way in a different section of the hotel, such temptations were the furthest thing on the mind of two girls from another group.

Callie's feelings about Nick were very much of the romantic variety, thank you very much! Her thoughts about him hardly ever strayed from the domain of sweet and wholesome, except for maybe that one time when she was really worked up…

…But that wasn't the case now. She had just sent him a "goodnight" text, even though she was pretty sure it was the middle of the day over there. Settled down and ready to get some sleep after a long and stressful day, she shot a passing glance towards her roommate, which made her sit up wide awake in surprise.

Alcea was watering her plant, as she had last night. There was nothing strange about that, of course. What surprised Callie was the expression on her face while she was doing so. It was… complicated. She looked thoughtful, as if there was something serious on her mind, and she was thinking about it so hard it was showing on her face.

And considering that Alcea's normal expressions were "composed stoicism" or "slightly reserved smile", or, if one was being generous, "irritated yet measured frustration", seeing a look of confusion on her face was a rarity.

Callie knew that it was rude to pry, especially in a situation like this, where the two of them were just getting started on their new friendship. But she was curious, and more importantly, she was worried about Alcea.

If what Alcea was worried about was a problem, then she needed to know. She needed to do something to help.

But she wouldn't be able to help if she didn't know what was happening, so she was going to ask Alcea what was wrong anyway. She swallowed and got out of bed, walking over to her friend and placing her hand on Alcea's shoulder.

Alcea jumped in surprise, giving Callie another look that she hadn't seen before. She was so startled herself that she didn't say anything for a moment. Wow, Alcea must have been REALLY deep in thought to not hear her.

"W-What is it?" Alcea asked warily, regaining her composure and setting down her watering can. She felt a little embarrassed that she'd let Callie catch her unawares like that. "Sorry, I was just… lost in thought."

"No, no, it's fine," Callie laughed, sitting down on Alcea's bed. "I was just a little surprised myself, you seemed so… pensive."

Callie thought she looked more troubled than pensive, but an elegant word like that was better to describe Alcea Vermeil.

"Apologies, is it?" Alcea sighed, giving the plant one last look before sitting back down on the bed with Callie. "I was… thinking about some things, did you have something you wanted to talk about?" She looked at Callie with eyes that were bright, but still troubled. Callie realized that Alcea was trying to put her at ease.

"I was… worried," Callie admitted. "Because, well… you looked kind of down, worried about something. I was a little concerned. So… do you… want to talk about it?"

She wasn't sure what answer she wanted to hear. She hoped that everything was okay, that Alcea wasn't actually worried about anything. But it was clear that something was on her mind, and she was concerned about what it was.

Hopefully, she'd be able to help again.

"I suppose… today was rather intense, is it?" Alcea sighed, her face returning to its complicated expression.

"Yeah, it was really intense, wasn't it?" Callie agreed. "That battle between Victoria and Ayame… that was something else!"

"What? Oh, oui, that as well, is it?" Alcea agreed with a nod. That had been the furthest thing from her mind. "But I was thinking about… something else."

Now Callie was confused. "What? You mean the swimsuit competition? All those guys that were hitting on you?"

Alcea flashed a beaming smile and shook her head. "No, no, you helped me out more than enough in that regard," she said.

Callie blushed, her heart flip-flopping due to how sweet Alcea's words made her feel.

"Then… what is it?" She asked, still concerned.

"Today… was interesting," Alcea said cryptically. "Quite a lot of things happened… and the more I think about them, the more… perplexed I feel."

"What things?" Callie asked. "Things like what?" She knew she was prying, but she couldn't help herself. Alcea had already opened up to her a lot, and she wanted to know what it could be that could get under her friend's skin like this, when she was normally so composed.

Alcea was hesitant to put words to the issues that were toiling on her. But at the same time, she knew that would only find herself getting more confused if she didn't express herself properly to someone else.

Callie was someone she could trust. And she had more experience than Alcea did, at least in this particular field. So it seemed okay to Alcea, to rely on her just a little and confide in her. Even if it did make her feel a little…

She sighed, and decided enough stalling was enough.

"Callie… do you remember what we discussed before? About my… feelings for Kanone Harker?" Alcea quietly.

"Yeah, of course," Callie said, how could she forget? It was bonding over Alcea's broken heart that had allowed their relationship to sprout in the first place! "What's that have to do with…" As Alcea's cheeks reddened, Callie began to put the pieces together. Her jaw dropped in shock and her eyes bugged out of her skull.

"…No way," she gasped, shaking her head in disbelief. "No way, you don't mean you…"

"No!" Alcea exclaimed, showing yet another face that Callie had seldom seen, a look of flustered embarrassment. "I do not! Not… not yet, I don't, I just…"

"Well, who!?" Callie asked eagerly. "Who is it?! Was it one of the guys you saw at the beach? Or… no, it isn't someone from our group, is it?! Or the Empress's group!?"

Alcea could already tell that she had made a mistake. She knew that Callie was just being friendly and trying to help the best that she could, but at the same time, the girl was just too eager, it was making her feel uncomfortable.

She didn't even know the nature of her budding feelings at this point, they were like seeds that had just begun to sprout. There was no WAY that she was naming any names!

"You cannot tell anyone," Alcea insisted, her eyes and voice turning cold with intensity as she glared at Callie. "Not a soul, is it?"

Callie zipped her lips shut and nodded. "Nnd uh peeb," she mumbled.

Alcea sighed, feeling slightly more relieved. "Listen… it isn't… I do not believe that it is serious. After all, so sudden, is it? And yet…"

She knew that there was a strong likelihood that what she was feeling right now was just a rebound after her broken heart. She had zero experience when it came to relationships, but she read more than her fair share of romances, and could identify the signs. She was confident that if it went unspoken, eventually these feelings would fade.

But at the same time, they were strong, and embarrassing. And it didn't help that the situation was rather… complicated.

"Look, Alcea, I'm not going to pry into anything," Callie assured her. "I'm not gonna ask who it is or anything like that. But trust me, you don't need to worry about a thing!" She said, flashing a reassuring grin to her friend.

Alcea raised her eyebrow, slightly amused. "Oh?"

Callie rolled her eyes. It was honestly adorable that Alcea was so unsure of herself, and a little sad, too. Having grown up with such little confidence in her appearance herself, before Nick came along, Callie was sure of the signs of a girl who wasn't sure if her feelings would be successful. The sad part came from the fact that, in spite of how beautiful Alcea was, how many heads she had turned at the beach today, this lack of confidence was undoubtedly due to her feelings of inferiority due to being rejected by Kanone.

Callie decided that if she ever met Blake's brother, she'd give him a smack in the face for Alcea's sake. It was the least he deserved.

Alcea was still looking quizzically at Callie, not sure what her friend was talking about. She hadn't even explained the nature of her problem to the girl yet, nor did she intend to.

But Callie could tell. And she knew just what to say to make her friend feel better. "Look, Alcea, it's fine," she said, cracking a grin. "Hey, maybe if you looked like me, I could understand how you would be a little insecure about your feelings. But come on! Look in a mirror already, girl, didn't you see the way those guys were drooling over you out there? You're hot! You're hotter than the Orre Region itself, definitely!"

Alcea was positively flattered by Callie's words, and found herself smiling even though Callie completely misunderstood the situation.

Callie patted her on the shoulder. "So come on. I'm sure that no matter who it is, they'd practically die of happiness if you confessed to them."

Alcea flashed a rueful smirk. "'Die of happiness', is it?"

Callie couldn't believe how bitter Alcea sounded. She was no longer convinced that this was just about Alcea's lack of trust in her own appeal. No, there had to be something else there, some other factor that would make the redhead feel uneasy about her feelings.

She had no idea what that factor was, but it was clear that it was eating away at her friend, and Alcea didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Again, Callie found herself put in a precarious position. She wanted to be a good friend and help Alcea however she could, and she also wanted to be a good friend by not prying into Alcea's personal, private feelings.

But she couldn't do both.

"Is there… something else that's bothering you, then?" Callie asked quietly. She wouldn't pry any further than that. She would just give Alcea the chance to confide in her directly. "If you want to talk… I'm happy to listen…"

Alcea smiled. She was relieved to have confided in Callie. The girl seemed to genuinely want to help. She reminded Alcea a lot like Kate, in fact, and also a lot like her sister as well. Maybe… maybe she could tell her a little bit more.

After all, Callie knew relationships better than Alcea did.

"I wasn't… sure about how I felt before today, is it?" Alcea clarified, sighing in exasperation. "Before this trip, I never even considered it… and yet, now that the thought has been put in my head, I just can't seem to stop thinking, does that make sense?"

Callie nodded in agreement, it was exactly the same with her and Nick! "Yeah, I totally get it," she agreed. "When I fell for Nick, he was all over my thoughts! I couldn't contain myself, so yeah, I totally know where you're coming from."

Then, Alcea's face took a darker turn, a shadow crossed over her. "But then… when I thought about it further… after today, I realized… this is much more difficult than I could have thought, is it? A part of me wishes… that these feelings had never set root in the first place."

The way Alcea felt, this crush of hers, had been rather eye-opening. She didn't feel the torment of heartbreak from Kanone's rejection any longer, but now…

Now she felt a different kind of impossibility taking hold, something that was keeping her from taking a chance, even in the face of all the positive assurance she'd gotten today about her appearance.

For her part, Callie was trying to figure out just what Alcea meant. Still in the dark about this new secret crush her friend seemed to have developed overnight, she wondered just what could be so troubling about the whole thing. What had happened today that would make her feel so-

Then it all clicked into place. The reason why Alcea had been so adamant about getting closer with the Commander's group, the reason why she had fought against him the first chance she'd gotten, and how eager she was about it… the look of pride on her face, when she'd presented herself in that swimsuit in front of the Commander during the contest…

Alcea… Alcea liked Alden Volt?!

"You're in love with a daeva?!" Callie practically shouted, and Alcea's face went pale for a moment before turning scarlet with embarrassment.

"No! Absolument pas!" Alcea hissed, tempted to smother Callie with a pillow to get her to shut up. She'd tried so hard to keep the other girl from finding out, but she must have made it too obvious. "It is not love! Crush! It is a CRUSH!"

Callie cackled. "Oh, yes, a 'crush' is it? Still, what's the problem? I don't think-"

Then Callie remembered what had happened today, that would have been discouraging for someone with a crush on the Commander.

Victoria Carver.

The girl had nearly hospitalized herself in a battle against Ayame just because the girl had beaten her in beach volleyball. It was clear that Vic had feelings for the Commander. Whether those feelings were romantic in nature or just a deeply-rooted sense of loyalty didn't matter right now, the problem was that Vic was incredibly possessive, to levels bordering on violence.

She already held a grudge against Alcea. Lord only knows what she would do if she found out about Alcea's feelings. And while Alcea might have been able to win in a battle with Vic… that didn't make it a battle that the redhead wanted to fight.

Callie looked at the troubled expression on Alcea's face, her heart going out to the poor girl. They shared a look of resigned understanding.

"A crush… it is difficult, is it?" Alcea sighed, shaking her head.

Callie could only nod. "You're not wrong," she agreed.

Yikes. Wow. That came out of nowhere, huh? So Alcea had a crush! On the Commander? Is this for real? That might just be the worst person in the world for her to develop feelings for, given the political climate right now. I'm sure that everyone will react to this revelation with maturity and understanding when they find out. Good luck, Alcea.