Begin With the End in Mind

by vegetables

The end of the road is never particularly bright. - SundaeShipping, Harley/Max, Harley/Masato.

8. Part Eight

Part Eight

-Harley-

I yawned loudly, stretching my arms and trying to relax my muscles afterward. It was too early in the morning, and I was too goddamn tired to be dealing with the paperwork I had to fill out in order to be eligible for the Contest. Thankfully, however, I managed to finish, and I handed the pile over to the attendant at the counter, exchanging them for a Contest Pass and a flyer consisting of rules and regulations.

I wiped a small gleam of sweat from my forehead, exhausted from the humidity that surrounded us in the small lobby of the Contest Hall. I just wanted to go back to the hotel room and maybe fuck Max some more, because as the crowd thickened and the participants grew, I felt the extreme need not to enter the goddamn Contest. Because it was so goddamn early in the morning!

Apparently, I was the last entry before registration closed. Since I was entry eighteen that meant there were only eighteen participants, and therefore I did not understand why there was a crowd this big. Maybe people in Olivine City were just bored.

Sighing, I glanced around the crowded lobby, searching for where Max went. He had disappeared a few minutes ago, claiming he wanted to find more information about Contests in Johto. I grunted angrily, unable to locate the boy anywhere. I pushed through the throngs of coordinators and fans, eventually making my way out to a clearing alongside the hall to the waiting room for Contests participants. I quickly spotted Max near a rack of pamphlets, mostly advertisements other competitions.

"Maximus," I called out, approaching the boy. "You and I really ought to get going. The Contest is starting in thirty minutes, and we need to get some breakfast."

The boy looked up from the rack of materials. "Really, you want breakfast?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it'd be better if you battled me one more time in preparation for the Contest." He walked the rest of the way over to me.

I grinned, but confidently rose my chin and put my hands on my hips. "I do not need to practice anymore," I affirmed. "You said yourself I was destined to do fine in the Contest."

Max gave a flattened look. "Okay, fine," he droned, "but they are giving out food to participants and guests in the other corridor, so let's just go there."

"Fine with me," I agreed, urging Max to walk first with a push of my hips.

He walked into the small hall just north, bypassing the stage entrance and the waiting room for participants. In the back, there was an open lounge with a large table running across the furthest wall. It contained countless breakfast items, such as bagels, doughnuts, muffins and then drinks pertaining of coffee and orange juice. There wasn't that many folks wandering in this room, so I relaxed a bit, glad to be away from the crowd lingering elsewhere.

Max and I helped ourselves to the food, then sat down at an empty table. I recognized absolutely no one in the batch of obvious coordinators. Usually, there were a few that somehow showed up in every Contest I entered, but I supposed after not participating in a while, there was bound to be a handful of new trainers aspiring to be coordinators. Most of the people here were showing off their cases, either half full or barely decorated with the poofy and colorful beauty of ribbons. I, of course, had nothing of that sort with me. The last ribbon I had earned was from a small, weird town that I didn't even remember the name of, but recalled being in the outskirts of Johto.

"When I earn this ribbon here today, Max," I said in a cocky tone, "how will the two of us celebrate?"

Max was busy chewing on his bagel, but when he swallowed, he gave a roll of his eyes. "How about spending the rest of the day doing something a bit more normal?" he suggested. "I'm in no rush to get out of Olivine City though. I mean, I still don't know what I'm going to do about getting my last badge."

I shrugged as well. "You don't have to wait," I told him. "If you really wanted, you could just battle the woman they said was subbing for Clair."

Max did not look impressed by my suggestion. "I know, but I want to battle the actual Leader. What if this Liza girl isn't as good as they say, and beating her isn't much of a challenge?"

"Sounds like a free pass to me," I said, shrugging again. Max glared back and me, so I added, "But, darling, it's up to you." I began eating the muffin I had picked out, then washing it down with some orange juice.

"Can I see the flyer they gave you?" the boy then asked, ignoring my statements all together.

I handed it over, and the boy began reading it carefully as I continued to eat my meal. He then looked back up at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, this explains the crowd," the boy said. "It says here that students in training for judging Contests are required to attend this one as part of their course." He looked puzzled, handing back the paper to me.

I read over what he explained. "I've never even heard of that," I admitted. "Who the fuck would want to train to be a judge?"

Max shrugged. "I didn't even know you had to train or take a course," he told me. "It's sort of weird that so many people would come just for that though, but maybe most of the crowd here are students."

I waved about a hand, not caring. "I guess it's just more people who get to watch me perform." I drank up the rest of my orange juice, and as Max watched me, I noticed a dramatic change in his expression. I set down my drink, asking, "What's wrong?"

The boy pursed his lips. "This just sort of reminds me of when you and me first met, I guess."

I smirked widely. "Oh, really, it does?"

"Well, I mean, it's a lot different, but I guess it just sort of feels like when we first met: before a Contest, eating together, and um, I don't know, talking, maybe." Max shrugged widely.

I extended my arm and patted his cheek a little too roughly. "But, this time it's a whole lot better… for obvious reasons."

"Are you sure you don't want to have a battle?" Max suddenly asked, changing the subject.

I nodded and stood up to brush off the crumbs of the muffin. "Yes, I am sure," I said. "Besides, look at the time—I ought to be getting backstage, and you, my darling, need to find a seat."

Max looked slightly sad that we would have to separate, but he quickly stated, "Is it all right if I come backstage after your Appeal?"

"Of course it is," I answered, glad that Max didn't want to get rid of me for good. "I'll see you then, love." I bent down, placing a kiss on his forehead before I walked by, heading towards the waiting room.

Inside the small enclosure, I released Totodile, allowing him to sit next to me on one of the small sofas. The blue creature yawned loudly, appearing just as tired as myself when I awoke.

"We're going to do excellent," I told him, stating it like an unbreakable promise.

Totodile cooed in agreement, and soon after, the screen on the far wall burst to life, a clear sign of the Contest beginning. On the screen, the female announcer excited the crowd, welcoming them to yet another Johto Region Contest and added several points about the students training for judge roles and their attendance in today's Contest. I turned to the screen, watching as the camera paneled the crowd as they cheered and shouted for the competition to begin. I searched for Max in the crowd, but did not see him onscreen, so I turned back to Totodile and grinned confidently.

The announcer went on to explain the contestants would be up for their Appeals at random, starting with entry number ten. I folded my arms, watching the screen as the contestant soon appeared, throwing out her Pokéball as she obnoxiously spun around, trying her best to give a dramatic flip of her orange hair. She landed pleasantly at the center of the stage as the Pokémon burst from the ball, shaking itself of the silver light and revealing itself as a finely colored and groomed Vulpix.

The fire Pokémon landed in front of its trainer, spurting out a large trail of fire and spinning it into the air in several star-shaped splatters. Next, the fox Pokémon let its fire slither into a straight trail in order to link each star in a connect-the-dot pattern. The fire soon dissipated, and the Vulpix did a fancy hop to show off its bushy tail. The crowd cheered loudly, and the three professional judges gave their comments before the scorecard revealed a total of 79 points.

"Fabulous!" the announcer agreed. "Next, is entry seven!"

A short male brunette left the room, heading towards the stage. He quickly appeared on the screen, showing off his own method of releasing his Pokémon, which was a pathetic little Hoothoot. I turned away from the screen, crossing my legs and sighing restlessly. I wondered what my darling Maximus was doing at the very given moment, wondering if he was anticipating my Appeal and if he was front and center in the crowd.

"And, the final score is 63 points," the announcer revealed, her tone compassionate but very observant to why the so-called coordinator was given such a low score.

I laughed beneath my breath. "Toto, your Appeal is going to blow everyone here away," I told the Pokémon calmly. "It seems Johto really lacks good coordinators still." Now that Totodile had been given some air, I reached for his Pokéball in my pocket, returning him in preparation for the Appeal.

I waited for a good ten or fifteen minutes before finally getting called by the announcer. I stood up, readjusting my clothes and walking out to the very backstage, holding Totodile's Pokéball tightly in my hand. When the announcer called my name, I confidently rushed out onto stage, automatically throwing the ball in a fancy thrust and spin, sending Totodile straight into the air.

"Totodile," I called out, "use your Water Gun!"

Totodile was already off to a fantastic start: sending his Water Gun directly onto the stage and flying up even higher as he used the liquid to propel himself. Even as the blue creature left the splashes, the water remained fully intact for several seconds.

"Use Ice Beam!" I ordered. This had not been a part of my original plan, but Totodile and I had done this trick before, and it always came out flawlessly.

The crocodile sent his icy beams onto the water, freezing them instantly into long, spirally strands and loops. Already knowing the rest of the Appeal, Totodile spurted out more of his Water Gun, sending it directly on the top of the frozen blocks. The water fell from it, sliding down in a magnificent coast, emulating a waterfall.

"Now, finish this all off with your Tackle!"

And, my wonderful Totodile did a fantastic job slamming his tail into the beams of ice, shattering them into sparkles of dust that glittered throughout the stage and crowd before disappearing all together. Totodile landed next to me, and together, we bowed. Finally still and able to get a good look at the crowd, I spotted Max near the middle of the southern bleachers. I smiled widely at the sight of Max clapping along with the entire crowd.

"What a wonderful combination of three different attacks!" one of the judges proclaimed.

"Most definitely!" the announcer revealed happily. "And, with that, Harley is given a final score of 88 points, therefore putting him in the lead!" She gestured to the scorecard.

I was happy with the score, although I was certain Totodile deserved a solid score of 100 points. Of course, it didn't matter too much what points you received so long as it was higher than everyone else's so you could reach the second round. I was sure that with my current score, I was automatically in the safe zone, especially since the previous contestants hadn't received anything higher.

I left the stage after another quick bow, Totodile following happily. When I got back into the waiting area, I received several glares from the coordinators who had given their Appeals before me. I laughed beneath my breath once more, sitting down where I was before.

"You were great," I complimented Totodile. "Now, rest up for the battle round." I returned the creature, tucking away the Pokéball.

I watched the screen for a moment, seeing the next coordinator showing off his Politoed's own Water Gun, although it looked pitiable compared to Totodile's previous moves. There were only seven more entries to go, and out of the full eighteen, only eight were being chosen to break into four separate battles.

I folded my arms, leaning my weight onto my side as I further watched the Appeal. The crowd seemed fascinated by it, but the levels of cheers were not matching the ones I received. I surely hoped my darling Maximus wasn't cheering for this pathetic display! Better yet, I really hoped he hadn't cheered for anyone but me. Knowing Max, he probably did, because he was sweet like that, but it still bothered me. I also had to wonder who the hell was sitting next to him, too, and if Max was wasting his time communicating with them.

I let out a huff, bothered by my possessiveness. Max wasn't some uncontrollable jezebel, so I wasn't sure why I was getting so heated by the idea of him simply conversing with a fellow audience member. Maybe it was just the fact Max might've been letting his attention dawdle on that conversation and not me.

"This may be the first time your Appeal wasn't meant to threaten another contestant, Harley."

It was not Max who said that.

Startled, I immediately turned, recognizing the voice but not even believing for a second it could possibly belong to the person I thought. And, so, I blinked several times when I faced the other direction, seeing the familiar face of the annoying, stuck-up prep of a boy named Drew. My lighthearted mood instantly decreased, and I found myself speechless.

"I wasn't expecting you here either," Drew said, as if I had already revealed my surprise verbally.

Ugh, and the fucking brat looked exactly the same since the last time I had seen him. He was taller, of course, and he seemed to have grown out in his shoulders and facial structure, but jeesh, he carried himself in all the same manner: hands in pockets, hair covering half of his eyes, dressed in his overly trendy purple jacket and jeans.

I kept my arms folded as I switched my weight over to my right leg and sighed heavily. "And, here I thought May and you had reunited and were happily wed with about a dozen children." I sneered at the lad, seeing a quick reaction from the comment before it disappeared in an attempt to seem unaffected. Even now it was quite obvious to me that May had been the one to break-up with Drew.

"I'm surprised to see you back in Johto, especially after not even a year passing since you were last here." Drew rose an eyebrow curiously, but there was nothing malicious in his tone.

"I'm here because I like it," I decided to say. "But, I suppose I could ask you the same thing."

Drew's expression changed, now appearing very much confused. "I'm not here to participate in the Contest—I'm one of the students in training for judging."

Now this was a surprise. Drew had thrown in his coordinator towel rather soon. I saw no reason, to be honest. As much as I hated to admit it, he wasn't a bad coordinator, so there was no reason for him to want to steer away from entering Contests.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harley. I'm still entering Contests, just not as often."

"You read my mind," I admitted. "But, why the fuck would you want to be one of these lazy judges?"

"Those lazy judges gave you a favorable score," he told me. "I still enjoy Contests, but I want to do something different. It seemed like a good choice so I wouldn't have to stop being involved in Contests."

I shrugged, uninterested now. "Well, I am not going to ask how you're doing, because frankly, I do not care. I was doing quite well not running into you at every fucking Contest."

"Then you must be rather lonely, as May and I were the closest things to friends that you ever had."

I laughed, throwing my head back in amusement. "As far as you know," I said, mischief in my tone. I carried myself much slyer now, smirking knowingly and raising my eyebrows as I revealed, "I'll have you know that I'm not by myself today."

Drew flipped his hair back in his trademark preppy way, and I could sense he was about to say something snide. I was ready to reveal the truth about little Maximus with me today, but as if on cue, the boy appeared in the entryway of the room, keeping his word on coming to see me after my Appeal. Suddenly, however, the full revelation of what seeing Drew would bring smacked me in the face. I realized immediately that there was no way around the situation, and the discovery of Max and I was almost inevitable.

And, yet, Max didn't even see Drew as he rushed up to me, a wide and almost ignorantly blissful smile on his face, completely dismissing who I might be talking to at the moment.

"Harley, you got the highest score so far!" he exclaimed. "Totodile was great!"

Instead of looking at Max, I ended up staring at Drew. And, instead of giving a shocked and embarrassed look like I should've given, I smirked. It only took a second for Max's eyes to glance over to Drew, a quick realization that I was talking to someone.

"D-Drew!" he shouted, shocked and embarrassed like I should've felt. Color rose to Max's face, red and bright as his mind raced through the possible excuses he could give for why he was with me, why we were obviously getting along, and why he could possibly be blushing.

It was Drew who seemed the most shocked out of all of us though. His eyes widened, and he gaped widely as he tried to piece something together. I could tell he was taking my smirk and Max's compliment on my Appeal into the consideration. He then blinked and raised an eyebrow as if not even believing any of this at all.

"Max…" he voiced, half-puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

Knowing Max was never going to be able to formulate a sentence, I answered, "Why, he's here for me." I smirked again. "He's cheering for me."

Drew's mouth remained open. His eyes wandered over to me, then back at Max. Max's silence was good enough evidence to Drew's thoughts, but still, the preppy bastard of a boy said nothing.

"Um… I…" Max stuttered, trying to say something, although I wasn't sure why he was even bothering. "I haven't seen you in years, Drew," he finally succeeded in a shaky tone.

"Yeah, you haven't," Drew agreed. "How's May?"

Max narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he just said. "So, um… I…"

Drew cut him off, finally just asking, "Is there any sane reason why you're hanging around Harley?"

"Of course there is!" I shouted. I placed a hand on Max's shoulder. "You see, Max and I have become quite the friends."

"Harley…" the boy warned lowly, giving me an angered look. It didn't help the situation though.

It took a moment for Drew to respond. He kept looking at Max and I individually. There was a quick flash of disgust, then a moment later, confusion. He finally gathered himself together and said, "I'm not sure what it takes for Harley to consider you a friend, Max, but my advice would be to stop spending your time with him."

"Don't be ridiculous," I told him, putting a hand up. "I'll have you know Max wants to spend time with me."

Drew rose an eyebrow at Max, still talking only to him. "Why?" he wondered. "Harley's, like, thirty years-old."

"Excuse me!" I shouted. "I'm twenty-four, and this is none of your fucking business anyway!"

Drew shook his head, giving a smile of disbelief. "Harley, you're disgusting." He kept a fully sickened expression on his face as he finally seemed to allow himself to face the truth. "There are goddamn laws about this sort of thing, you pervert."

Max suddenly perked up, not seeming too thrilled by Drew's comment. "Drew, it's not like that," he defended, biting his bottom lip afterward.

"Really?" he wondered. He then looked at me. "Then what is it, Harley? Why else would you want a boy his age hanging around you?"

"Drew's right," I droned, "I just can't function without good, sweet little boy ass."

"Stop, Harley!" Max grunted. "That's not helping."

"Neither is your blushing little face, Max." I sighed loudly. "Let's face it, you and I have been discovered." I grinned, mostly for show, and I watched Drew express another disgusted look.

"I shouldn't even be surprised," he stated, rolling his eyes.

I stifled a laugh, having to turn away in a true amusement. I then looked at Max, seeing he was bright red all over again. "I could give you some details about a few things, but for the sake of Max, I won't."

"Yeah, I'm sure Max's feelings are top priority for you," Drew grunted. "I can guess you haven't told May you've been hanging around with him," he then said to Max.

An overly loud and different cheer came from the screen and the announcer excitedly revealed that the last entry had finished his Appeal. Having been chatting with the oh-so friendly Drew, I hadn't watched any of them, but the pictures of the eight coordinators going to the second round soon popped up, and I was proudly still the top score. I grinned, turning to Drew and continuing the beam of delight, showing off.

The screen then displayed the four battle pairs. I was matched up with the redhead and her Vulpix, which proved to already be in my favor, as Totodile was a Water-type. Thankfully, my battle wasn't up at the moment, so I still had time to continue on this glorious conversation with Drew.

"Congratulations," Max lowly said to me, and although he tried to say it so it wasn't entirely obvious to Drew, it was unavoidable to hear. What was even more unavoidable, was the small smile that graced Max's face, honest and sincere just for me.

"Thank you, darling," I said, brushing his cheek with the back of my hand. I did this for show, but I also meant a lot of it, as Max's soft and adorable praise made me a bit giddy.

"I think I'm going to vomit," Drew stated. "Max, you're a whole lot smarter than this, so why on earth are you falling for this garbage?"

"You don't understand, Drew," Max quickly said, and for the first time since the reunion began, his voice was strong.

"You're right, I don't," Drew admitted. "But, Max, you're a smart kid. You can't possibly be oblivious to what a man Harley's age might want from you."

"Obviously," I droned. "Has it ever occurred to you little Maximus here could be overly aware—"

"Harley, I think I should go back to my seat," Max interrupted.

I took a look at the screen, seeing that on the scorecard, the battle was almost over with three minutes left on the clock. "Maybe Drew and you can continue this little chat," I suggested, grinning at the prep. I ran my fingers down Max's face, but the boy backed away rather quickly, making his way out of the room.

Drew looked at me for several seconds after Max left. "So, what kind of propaganda did you use to get Max at ease around you?"

"None," I said, raising my arms in innocence. "Max just happens to like me a lot."

"And, I'm sure you like him, too."

"How'd you guess?" I wondered sarcastically. "A faunlet like that doesn't come around every day, you know."

"A faunlet," Drew mused. "You know, maybe I'm just ignorant, but even though I could see you pulling a stunt like this to piss off May, I have a hard time believing you truly want anything to do with a boy Max's age."

I gave an innocent look. "I thought you said you weren't surprised."

"I guess I can't wrap my mind around why anyone would want to…" He grimaced, shaking his head and deciding to let his sentence go.

"Well, I could say the same about May and you," I told him in annoyance. "Although, I'll put good money on my relationship with Max being far more intimate than May and yours."

The color drained out of Drew's face, and he turned away from me, revolted. "I should report you, you goddamn rapist."

I snorted. "Go ask Max about it," I suggested. "Because I'm sure his side of the story is just the same as mine."

"Yeah, and what's your story?"

"Everything between Max and I has been consensual, and moreover, Max is with me by his own freewill." I smiled thoughtfully.

xxxxx

-Max-

As I sat back down in my seat, I pushed my face into my hands, sighing heavily and completely ignoring the battle onstage. I couldn't believe it—I just couldn't. Why, why out of all the Contests going on in the world did Drew have to be attending the same one as Harley? I just couldn't believe my bad luck. I never even thought about it; I never even considered it! Yet, none of this would've been nearly as bad if Harley hadn't provoked the truth about his relationship with me.

Still, it was so like Harley to flaunt this in Drew's face. Harley had stated our relationship was no one's business but ours—and he had pointed this out to Drew, too—but the man's dislike for Drew had gotten the best of him, and I knew that he wanted to mess with his head as best he could. I was mad at Harley for that, but the way Drew suggested Harley was some… some creep… Well, it sincerely angered me. He made it seem like it was impossible for me to comprehend anything for myself, like I was stupid and unaware.

But, this was unavoidable now, and I had to deal with it. I watched the stage, realizing the battle was over, and the Contestant with the Swellow had been victorious over the Yanma. Next was Harley's battle. I wished I had told Harley good luck or something, but with Drew around, it slipped my mind. Harley was battling against a Vulpix though, and I knew he would do just fine.

"Max, is it all right if I sit next to you?"

I looked up, seeing Drew standing the aisle. I blinked several times, surprised by his appearance here in the crowd. I was unsure what to say at first, scared Drew might be preparing himself to say I was a complete idiot or preparing himself to judge Harley even more. But, again, this was unavoidable, and I figured maybe the best thing I could do was talk to Drew about it and try to get him to understand.

"Um, sure," I said, moving down a seat so he could sit in mine.

"I know the two of us never really talked," Drew admitted as he sat, "but you're May's brother, and this situation isn't settling well with me."

"Why not?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the stage as the redheaded female came out, waving to the crowd.

"You know why," he said. "You can't sit here and deny that the morality of all of this never crossed your mind."

"It did, but there's nothing wrong with it," I stated angrily.

Just then, Harley came out from the other side of the stage. He waved to the crowd just the same, quickly releasing Totodile onto the battlefield. The full and untouched bars showed up on the scorecard and the battle began at the sound of a siren. I couldn't get myself to clap or cheer for the man though. I felt too watched by Drew to even move.

"Nothing wrong with it?" Drew echoed. "Tell me, did Harley say that to you?"

"Well, yeah, but I believe it," I told him. "I don't really expect you to accept it, because I've already concluded everyone's reactions anyway."

"Everyone's reactions are completely justifiable," Drew told me. "He's twelve years older than you."

"My birthday is in two days," I admitted. "So, I'll be thirteen."

"Is that supposed to make it any better? Turning thirteen only makes it more obvious how young you are." Drew folded his arms in dismay. "Harley's taking advantage of you."

"It's really not like that."

"You keep saying that," Drew voiced, "but what does it mean?"

"It means that… that I like… him." I sighed heavily, feeling myself turn red. "I like Harley, okay?" I closed my eyes for a moment, reopening them when I heard Harley's voice over the crowd of people, ordering Totodile to use Tackle and then Water Gun. His Totodile was a lot quicker than Vulpix, and I knew I would be on the edge of my seat during this battle if it weren't for Drew.

"Max, he hasn't really done anything to you, right?" Drew then asked.

I couldn't answer that. I couldn't. It was none of his business, and it wasn't in me to ever discuss that with someone else. But, the silence was all too revealing anyhow, and I heard Drew curse under his breath, disgusted and alarmed.

"Does May know about you and him?"

"No," I quickly answered. "I haven't talked to her in a while, and I don't plan on telling her anyway."

"Why not?" he wondered.

I furrowed my brow. "It's none of her business. And, if your reaction is this bad, imagine how she'll react."

Onstage, Vulpix had used Quick Attack on Totodile, but the blue creature had countered with a whirl of Ice Beam and Tackle. The redheaded coordinator was starting to fret, knowing more than anyone that her Pokémon was at a huge disadvantage.

"How did this even start, Max?"

I shrugged. "We ran into each other in Goldenrod City not that long ago. It just sort of happened."

"He prompted it, I'm sure," Drew said, not making it a question. "Listen, I know Harley's a fag, but you're too young to know whether or not you like men, so I find it hard to believe you actually like Harley."

"Well… Harley and I had that conversation," I revealed. "And, we had a lot of conversations about what our relationship meant, too. I mean, sometimes I think Harley's a little weird and stuff, but I wouldn't allow him to do anything to me if I didn't want it to happen." And, I meant it, too. Recalling how Harley wanted my consent before we had taken anything a step further, I knew that the man was not as vicious and selfish as he appeared.

"Are you telling me that Harley really, truly has done more than just touch you?"

I was slightly surprised by this statement. I thought he had already concluded that, but apparently, his earlier question hadn't involved anything more than simple intimacy.

"Harley wasn't lying then," Drew confirmed. "You two have actually slept together."

"Drew!" I shouted, my face burning red. "You make it sound like he's some sicko, but… but, he asked me before anything happened! He wanted my permission before he actually did it!"

"Then why the hell did you say yes, Max?" Drew barked, giving me the most dumbfounded look. "Moreover, how the hell could you actually enjoy something like that, especially from a man like Harley? You're not even old enough to know what you want!"

"What about May and you?" I demanded. "You two were around the same age when you started dating, so how is this any different?"

"Harley's double your age, and did you forget the sort of things he did to May?"

"No, I haven't! But, I'm over that, and I'm sure May would say the same thing. It's been years since Harley plotted against her." I pursed my lips, amazed by how angry I was becoming with this argument.

"What else do Harley and you do besides that?" Drew asked. "Because, I have a feeling that's all there is to your relationship."

"No, it isn't…" I murmured. "We've traveled around, we've battled, we've gone out and fished, we've talked about so many things, and we've… we've begun to get along really well. It can't be any different than May and you."

Drew rolled his eyes. Then, the guy seemed a bit puzzled, asking, "Traveled around? Harley stays at hotels, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but before we came here, I managed to talk him into camping out." I wasn't sure why I had included the latter detail, but I supposed that I wanted to prove to Drew that Harley wasn't in full dictation.

"Backstage, Harley called you faunlet. Does that really sound like someone who cares about your well-being?"

"Harley always calls me that," I admitted. "There's nothing wrong with it. He's just joking around."

"Is he?" he wondered. "Because, Max, it sounds as though he treats you more like a kept doll rather than anything else."

I wasn't sure how to answer that, so instead, I said, "I really do like him, Drew. He makes me feel different, and I like that, too. It's not just about one thing. I have company now, and he's fun to be around."

Just as I finished my sentence, the signal siren went off on the stage, revealing that Vulpix had fainted. I was disappointed to have missed most of the battle, but nonetheless, I was glad Harley had won. Despite that, I had no energy to get up and see Harley again backstage. Drew would undoubtedly follow, and I wasn't sure I could handle that again. So, I sat still, waiting for Drew to comment on my statement.

"You claim he asked you before anything happened," Drew voiced, "but exactly how did he breach the conversation? I doubt he just asked about it. He must've been suggestive beforehand."

I narrowed my eyes as the next battle started between a Zubat and a Trapinch. "Well," I began shakily, "Harley did, um, flirt with me, if that's what you're asking."

"And, then he just asked you?"

"He kissed me," I confessed. "He told me he liked me and that… that I was…" I paused, recalling how he had called me "tempting" and had even alluded to me being the one to provoke his feelings. He had, in fact, said several rather weird things to me, some of which I never heard again, others in which never stopped. But, I remembered saying no… and I remembered how he went ahead and did it anyway.

"That you were what?"

Even though I had said no back then, part of me really wanted it, so I could see what would happen and what it would feel like. I knew that Harley must have known that, too, otherwise, I truly couldn't see him taking advantage of me. If he hadn't cared, he would've done more without my consent. Why didn't Drew understand that?

I ignored Drew's question, simply telling him, "Before anything more happened, Harley and I talked about it. He made me feel comfortable, and he never tried to do anything without my consent."

"Really, so you've never said no to him?"

"If I really wanted him to stop, I would make him," I told Drew. Harley had said it to me a million times, and it was only until now that I realized it was true. I had never screamed for him to stop something, never even raising my voice more than a grunt or exclamation. My rejections were soft, and most of the time, excuses. "He always asks if I'm okay. He cares."

"Max," Drew said, and he sounded very uncomfortable, "if you don't mind me asking, how many times have you actually slept with him?"

I jerked in surprise and automatically turned red. "Drew, that's not your business!"

"Well, when someone's as young as yourself, it's sort of everyone's business," Drew countered. "This would be different if it was with another boy your age, but it's with a twenty-four year-old man, and he has a reputation for being catty and manipulative."

"Well, I don't know," I lied, not wanting to tell him the truth.

"You lost count?"

"No!" I hollered in panic. "I just don't feel like telling you something like that."

"Does it really bother you to talk about something you've done already?" Drew inquired. "Because it shouldn't. If you've done it, there shouldn't be a problem with discussing it. Apparently you've discussed it with Harley anyway."

"Talking about it with Harley is different," I affirmed. "I used to feel uncomfortable when I first met up with him in Goldenrod City, but I don't anymore. I've grown to… trust him. He doesn't give me any reasons not to trust him."

"Something is off here," Drew debated. "You're not telling me something."

"I'm not telling you a lot of things, because it's not your business," I snapped. "I know when someone's taking advantage of me, and this isn't it. Harley has been supportive, and he's done a lot for me."

"Like what?"

"Like come to my Gym Battles and help me train, and he even listened to me when I told him he should enter this Contest!"

"Max," Drew began, "I need to go back to training panel now, but I'll see you after the Contest, okay?"

"I don't even think I want to talk to you again, Drew," I said bitterly. "You think I'm a retard or something just because I'm young. I know how to read people, and when I read Harley, it's very rare I see something malicious in him these days."

"You almost sound like a petty little woman who is so sure she can change her man," Drew stated dully. "Harley's still the same man he was years ago. He's sick, and he still hates your sister, and I'm sure he's not too fond of anything about you, albeit the sex."

"Drew…"

"Max, I'm sorry, but there's something obviously wrong when a man his age decides to sleep with a twelve year-old." He sighed heavily, standing up. "I'll see you later." Drew turned, walking back up the stairs and towards the back of the bleachers.

I sat there, not even bothering to take in the scenery on the battlefield. I wasn't even sure what to do now. I felt so enraged by Drew's comments. He had twisted everything just to fit his own judgment. I couldn't believe that he actually sat there and fought me on something he knew nothing about! He didn't know Harley the same way I did now, and more importantly, he didn't even know me. What went on between Harley and I was our business, and yet he sat there and asked me how many times we had sex! And, he called Harley sick?

I closed my eyes, trying to collect my thoughts as the current battle ended and the crowd cheered for the coordinator and his Zubat. My stomach was churning, and my head hurt. If facing Drew with the truth about my relationship with Harley was this bad, then what would happen if May actually learned about it? I had never talked or interacted with Drew that much, yet he concerned himself in my business as if he had the right. I wasn't sure if he was still in touch with May, but what if he was? What if he was still friends with her and felt the need to inform May about all of this? If she found out—if she found out from someone else, especially—I would just die. I couldn't face May's judgment.

Lost in my thoughts, I let the next battle simply fly by, and I took in very little besides the fact it was between a Mawile and a Marill. The Mawile had won, it seemed, and now, with two pairs of battles coming up, Harley either was either going to be battling the Mawile, the Swellow or the Zubat. I wondered, distantly, if Harley was waiting for me come visit him backstage. I hoped not, but if so, I hoped that he perhaps he understood why I failed to show. He must have suspected Drew followed me, prying for more information. If Drew really had the intention to talk to me more after the Contest, he was crazy. Why on earth did he think I would ever want to speak with him again?

On the scoreboard, the screen changed to reveal which trainers would be battling together. Harley was paired with the Swellow and its female trainer. I sunk further into my seat, letting out a very long exhale and staring up at the ceiling.

'Max, I'm sorry, but there's something obviously wrong when a man his age decides to sleep with a twelve year-old.'

Was what he said true? Was it really wrong for Harley to want me the way he did? Everyone had preferences, and not everyone was drawn to the same thing others were, so how was Harley's attraction to younger men and boys really considered "wrong" in Drew's eyes? And, did that mean there was something wrong with me? Before, I had denied what Harley said about me being attracted to older men, but what if it was true? I had, in fact, never been too interested in kids my age, whether they were male or female. Harley was the only one, and if I was forced to picture myself with someone else, I supposed it would be with someone older.

May and Drew… Well, they seemed so normal as a couple, maybe even too normal. They were the same age, the opposite sex, and they appeared to balance each other well as far as personalities went. It was almost like Harley and I were the polar opposite of that. Yet, none of this ever bothered me too much before, so why—why!—did Drew have to show up and cause me to suddenly feel so unsure about everything?

Onstage, the lights brightened, and Harley's battle was about to begin. I pushed my thoughts aside, promising myself I would just relax and enjoy the next battle for the sake of my sanity. Thankfully, when Harley walked out on stage, my nerves calmed, and watching him confidently stand in the opponent box actually made me smile. He was all the way over there, and I was way off in the audience, but I felt so connected to him all the sudden. Unlike Drew, I knew Harley in a different way: he had told me about his family, his training, his Pokémon, his likes and dislikes, and even some of his "acquaintances." Drew knew nothing about Harley. Nothing.

The black-haired female showed up on the other side of the battlefield. She released her Swellow quickly, and the battle instantly began. I watched as Swellow gained a fierce amount of height in the air, steering clear of Totodile way down on the floor. Harley ordered the crocodile to use Hydro Pump, pushing the water down on the ground and sending itself up into the air to follow Swellow.

"Totodile," I heard Harley shout, "use Scary Face!"

Totodile scrambled his pleasant, cute expression into an intimidating stare. It sent a shiver down Swellow's body, causing the bird to lose height and fly down a bit. Totodile landed back on the ground, using Hydro Pump over again, but this time, sending it up into the air and right onto Swellow. The dark bird was forced to land on the ground, too, but its trainer ordered a Quick Attack, and Swellow was fast enough to force the attack on Totodile.

As Totodile was commanded to use Tackle, I remembered some of Harley's comments on how I appeared when battling. Curious myself, I looked over at Harley, taking in the sight of him fully concentrated on the battle: his brow creased just like mine always was during matches and his jaw firmly clenched. Unlike me, however, Harley appeared much calmer. He had a hand on his hip, leaning his weight over to his left and his other arm dangling to his side nonchalantly. Harley looked so carefree, and I realized that as campy as Harley acted, it was very common for him to simply appear calm and relaxed, especially when he had a cigarette in his hand.

I did notice Harley's hair was a bit disheveled, most likely caused from his withheld nerves forcing him to run his fingers through his hair in a fidgety manner. Beneath his hat though, his hair looked very nice, and I couldn't help smile softly at the memory of what it smelt like: lavender-y, cleansed, sweet. I knew that my stare was similar to the stares Harley gave me, and I wondered if these were the sort of things Harley thought about when he kept his eye on me so oddly.

The siren rang, and the battle was over. Neither Pokémon had fainted, but as I glanced over at the scoreboard, it was completely obvious Harley had won. His point bar was more than halfway full, while the opponent's was less than a quarter. I cheered loudly along with everyone else, clapping as much as I could before both Harley and the female left the stage and preparations were made for the second battle.

I stood up and left my seat. I wanted to see Harley now, and I had to admit I didn't care much for the next battle. As I left the seating area, I found myself wondering where Drew had gone. He probably had something to observe in his training, and I was actually glad he had left, so I didn't have to carry on such a humiliating conversation. Eventually, I reached the room and walked inside, seeing it was still pretty packed despite the fact only three coordinators were still in the Contest.

I spotted Harley sitting down on a long cushioned seat, his eyes locked on the screen as he watched the battle. Totodile was out of its ball, sitting next to him and obviously resting up for the final round of the Contest.

I found myself walking slowly over to the man. When I reached him, I gaped a few times, unable to make a noise to get his attention. Harley felt my presence away from his sight and turned, and his deadpanned expression brightened before he stood up and smiled widely.

"Well, hello, darling!" he exclaimed, folding his hands together. "Glad to see you haven't run off."

I shook my head. "Of course I didn't run off," I said. "Drew's not that intimidating."

Harley pursed his lips for a moment. "I hope you're not taking what he said seriously."

"How do you know what he said?" I wondered.

"I figured he went to chase you down once he left here," Harley revealed. "And, I'm pretty sure he said some pretty lousy things."

I gave a short sigh. "Something like that," I grunted, sitting down. "I do feel really humiliated, just to let you know."

Harley copied me and sat down as well. He put an arm around me, leaning into the side of my face and whispering, "Don't let it get to you. He's a wacko, that kid."

"He'd say the same about you. In fact, he did." I rolled my eyes. "He said you were sick."

"I have been accused of that time from time," Harley droned. He then looked at me, and he saw the frail look on my face, the quiver in my lip as I began to feel all the anger and hurt swell up inside me. "Max…" he said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I tried my best to shake away some of the hurt, and I quickly allowed myself to say, "I'm really happy you made it to the final round." I looked up to the screen inside the room, seeing the scores from the current battle in the background. Already, the Zubat was in bad shape, and although there was a minute left in the battle, it was pretty obvious the male trainer and his Mawile were going to win.

"Thank you," Harley sincerely spoke, running his hands through my bangs. "Though, you know, I'm normally not known for my unselfish favors, but I am a bit more worried about you at this point."

"Don't be," I urged. "Just worry about the Contest—that's more important right now. I want you to win—now more than ever, just to prove something to Drew."

Harley laughed, grinning insanely before he leaned in and sneaked a hard, firm kiss on my lips. "If only you acted this cunning more often, then we'd make quite the partners in crime."

I tried my best to smile at his words, but it was really the kiss that brought the beam to my face. I sort of wanted to hug him, breathe in his scent and feel his warm chest against my cheek. It wasn't really the time, nor the place; but, the desire was strong, and I think the longing in my eye caught Harley's attention, because he wrapped a comforting arm around me, bringing me close.

"Darling," he started, rubbing his hand up and down my upper-arm, "there's no one out there who's going to keep me from ravishing my little Maximus the way I want to, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, but nonetheless, he made me feel better. I then whirled around when I heard the siren go off, seeing the battle was complete and that Mawile had won just as I suspected. "I guess that's your next opponent," I commented as the camera focused in the male trainer, who looked a lot older than Harley.

"Any advice from my Maximus?" the man wondered, pushing his face against my hair.

I shrugged. "I think you'll do fine with or without my advice," I admitted. "I should go now."

"No, no!" Harley argued. "Stay back here! No one will care! Besides, I want to see you right away when I win!" The man rose his eyebrows high and posed before turning to summon Totodile back in its ball.

"Harley, can I just ask you one thing before you go?" I said softly.

The man shrugged.

"Um, are there really, like, laws about you and me… together?"

Harley gave a scoff. "The same way there's laws about murdering people, because no one really has to find out unless you're stupid about it."

"Flaunting the facts in front of Drew might be considered stupid."

"It could be, yes," he voiced with a shrug, "but he's also rather stupid, and I doubt he'd be able to steer his mind away from the 'disgusting' aspects of our relationship long enough to actually do something about putting those laws into motion." He stood up, holding Totodile's Pokéball tightly in his hand and he began to walk off. The man made sure to turn around and give me a small wave and smile though.

I turned all the way around in the seat, facing the screen properly. I was forced to turn around again, however, when I felt a hovering figure behind me. Just as I suspected, someone was there, but unfortunately it was not anyone I wanted to see it. It was Drew. Again.

I ended up glaring at him. "What do you want?" I demanded bitterly.

"I figured you came back here," he voiced, not bothering to answer my question. "Harley might just win if he can keep his mind focused."

"Well, May's not here to get him all frustrated and set on revenge," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm here," Drew noted. He paused, but continued shortly after, saying, "Anyway, I'm done with my assignment, so if you want to leave with me, you can."

I furrowed my brow. "Why would I want to leave?" I asked. "Harley's final battle is coming up." I looked at the screen, watching as the judges went back and forth discussing the aspects of the previous battle and then their predictions for the upcoming.

"Sheesh," Drew muttered, along with something else, which I didn't catch. "I suppose you came back here to complain to Harley the unjust accusations I spoke of."

I ended up nodding my head, getting a quick view of the entire room around us, and realizing that most of the occupants had left. "Obviously," I answered. "I think you're overacting, really."

Drew sat down in Harley's previous seat and crossed his arms. "I just want you to think back to when Harley first made it obvious he, as you say, liked you. I mean, how was it not completely fucked up?"

I narrowed my eyes. "It was weird at first," I admitted, "especially because I've never even been kissed by someone who wasn't my family. So, yeah, I was freaked out, but then as time went by, I realized I liked Harley, and I liked—"

Drew interrupted me with: "Liked what? Him molesting you, taking your virginity, screwing with your head and then making up lies to keep you from freaking out?"

"That's not what our relationship is like."

"Your relationship?" Drew echoed. "You almost sound like you truly believe that's what it is, a relationship. Truthfully, Max, it's not anything but a benefit to Harley and negativity to your future. He's molesting you."

"No," I firmly grunted, "he's not. As far as I know, child molesters normally don't ask before they do it!"

Drew laughed cruelly and shook his head in disagreement. "Consent or not—however he got it, at that—Harley's still fucking a twelve year-old, and that, Max, is a child molester."

"We're here now with the final two participants in the Olivine City Pokémon Contest!" came the loud, overly obvious shout from the screen. The announcer waved her hands around, gesturing here and there as the crowd cheered loudly, excited and anxious to have a winner.

Soon, Harley and the other man appeared on the stage. It wasn't long before they threw their Pokéballs and both Totodile and Mawile were presented on the battlefield, ready and pumped for battle. I stared at the screen intently, watching the judges speak momentarily before the camera returned to the battle, which was already underway. Totodile was spurting out a whirl of Water Gun, while Mawile was sweeping its long head sash up and over, slamming it into the crocodile's face and following up with a gruff Vicegrip.

"Totodile, get Mawile with your Bite!" Harley ordered. He sounded so different than when he was with me, so authoritative and professional that it almost seemed like he was in an entirely different zone. He was fully concentrated and professional, and the difference made me smile.

This Mawile, unlike some I had seen in the past, was rather slow. Its small feet kept it from rushing in various directions as it used a sense of agility. It did not take long for Totodile to conquer the Pokémon even more by sinking his sharp, long teeth into Mawile's side. Harley's opponent soon commanded Mawile to use Fake Tears, but it seemed the cries coming from the small Pokémon's throat were sincere, and I felt bad that Totodile was being so rough.

"Don't fall for it!" Harley advised. "Use Hydro Pump!"

The blue creature didn't give Mawile another look. Instead, Totodile bounced up, forcing out several bursts of water onto its opponent. Mawile slid against the battlefield, struggling to keep standing. I clenched my fists tightly as I watched the scoreboard in the background, seeing the points decrease a bit at a time. Harley was in the lead, but he was still losing points with each attack Mawile managed to inflict.

A close-up of Harley revealed he had his jaw clenched, teeth gritting and all. "Keep using Hydro Pump!"

I felt the same nervousness that Harley did, especially when I realized the clock was down to two minutes and thirty seconds. I was forced to look away from the screen, fearing that if I continued to watch the battle as intensely as I was, I'd die of anxiety. As I breathed heavily, I felt Drew's eyes on me, so I turned, furrowing my brow deeply.

"Stop looking at me," I growled.

Drew listened, but he voiced, "You want him to win." He paused for a moment, crooking his bottom lip to the left. "You want him to win the same way you used to want May to win back in Hoenn and Kanto."

I gave Drew a dumb look, forcing out the obviousness of his first statement. But, when he had continued, I let the expression fade away, and I managed to nod. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't, Drew," I admitted.

Drew gave my thigh an assuring pat, which bothered me greatly, as Harley had done the same thing in a much more intimate, seductive way. Drew must have sensed this, too, because he let his eyes close just a bit, suspiciously. I allowed myself to stare back at the screen, just to avoid Drew's eye-contact, and I saw Totodile giving a very successful Scary Face, causing Mawile to shiver in fear.

"How long do you intend on staying with Harley?"

I looked up at Drew—again—and rose an eyebrow. How long? How was I supposed to know? People don't plan that sort of thing out, and more importantly, Drew made it sound so... so unconventional. I was certain Drew never once thought about that sort of thing when he was dating my sister.

Drew was impatient with the answer, so he began talking again, claiming, "Harley and I once had a talk, long ago."

I found that hard to believe, so I replied, "About what? And, when?"

"Long before he decided to play with twelve year-olds," he snidely remarked. "Did he ever tell you about the Contest I beat him in?"

"Yeah, briefly," I revealed. "He wasn't really thrilled to talk about that though."

Drew gave a sly grin, obviously proud of his success in that particular Contest. "He wasn't very happy at all, so afterwards he made an attempt to get back at me by rubbing in my face how… May and I weren't really speaking…"

I blinked, wondering why Drew would ever admit something like this, especially when it involved his break-up with May. "Yeah, so?" I wondered, giving an odd expression.

"I threw back that he was a fag—which he is, quite obviously—and he admitted to something that, to this very day, makes me laugh." The boy smiled, his eyes slightly rolled back as he seemed to remember something.

"What?" I demanded, very suspicious.

"I suppose you've heard of Lance, haven't you? From the Elite Four?"

I scoffed loudly. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

Drew rose his eyebrows. "Harley and him slept together," he said matter-of-factly. "I bet Harley never told you that."

Puzzled, I kept looking at Drew with utter disbelief. I was about to tell him he was a liar, a complete and utter storyteller, who was making things up just to try and stir up trouble between Harley and me. But, there was sincerity in his tone and his amusement was also very honest. I had no idea what to say. It wasn't the fact Harley had slept with someone else—I knew he had plenty of experience with random men—but, someone I knew, and more importantly, someone as prestigious as Lance of the Elite Four made me really confused. How was that even possible?

Then it suddenly came back to me: the time I tried to tell Harley about Team Aqua and Team Magma, and I brought up Lance. Harley had become very stiff, and he threw off my entire story, interrupting me and offering ice cream, of all things. He even went back to criticizing the Elite Four later on, seeming very bitter about them. I gaped for a moment, looking in various directions before I heard the loud buzzer go off, indicating the end of the battle. I shot my eyes up to the screen, horrified at the thought that I missed the battle and that Harley had lost.

But, he didn't. The first glimpse of the screen brought a focus of Harley, and in the background, I saw the scoreboard indicating Harley was victorious with his Totodile. My puzzlement washed away, and despite the revelation that Drew brought, I stood up, cheering loudly.

"Yes!" I yelled. "Yes, he won! He won!"

It was Drew's turn to furrow his brow. In fact, I swore he must have been more confused than I was a moment ago. He stood up himself, rolling his eyes and grunting, "You're completely taken under by Harley."

This snapped me out of my mood, and back to my focus on the issue of Lance. I gave a very small shrug in Drew's direction. "I know Harley's been with other people," I confessed. "I know he's been with men, too, not just younger guys."

"Well, I don't doubt he sleeps around a lot, Max, but I think his relationship with Lance was just that: a relationship. It wasn't just a single frolic in the sheets—it was more. And, I think his failure to tell you that means something."

"No, it doesn't," I argued bitterly. "I never asked."

Drew grinned in a cruel sort of way, and he opened his mouth to give a horrid remark, I was sure, but the noise from the screen distracted both of us as Harley was awarded his ribbon. A close-up from the camera revealed the pretty, blue and gray ribbon, neatly pressed and folded into the normal trademark fashion. I was happy for a second, so relieved Harley won, but my thoughts quickly wandered back to Lance-related inquires, and a certain accusation of Harley being "sleazy" rung in my head over and over.

'I am not fucking sleazy, you goddamn ungrateful brat!'

I shuddered at the memory of his yell, his grimace, his complete seriousness in the remark. It was the one and only time I had ever heard Harley so angry—and not in his normal catty way—but in a pent-up defense. What would Harley do if I asked about his relationship with Lance?

"Ta-da!"

I turned at the voice, seeing Harley entering from the small doorway that led to the stage. He had his ribbon in his held in his hand, displaying it for me. I couldn't help but smile, a very similar way to when I earned a badge, and I walked over, examining it further. It was so neat and clean looking, and it sparkled in the light.

"Congratulations," I applauded once more. "Well deserved, too!" I smiled up at Harley.

"I suppose I have to agree with Max," Drew said from behind us. "You had a pretty good Appeal, Harley."

"Pah, of course I did—when don't I?" Harley groaned. He then bent down, embracing me by the hip and pulling me close. "I have Maximus to thank for cheering me on though. Oh, yes, I do."

With just Drew in the room, Harley had no problem pulling me even closer. Our chests fused, he soon did the same with our lips, making the kiss deep and somewhat sloppy. I felt his heart beating speedily in his chest, not changing a bit even as he turned his head, making our liplock twisty and turn-y. I eventually shut my eyes, but I heard Drew grunt in disgust, just as aware as I was that Harley was doing this for show.

When he pulled away, breaking the kiss, I asked, "Shouldn't you still be out there, onstage?"

Harley shrugged. "Perhaps, but what's the point when I have my darling Maximus to ravish back here?"

"Harley!" I shouted.

The man laughed, standing up and stroking my hair affectionately. "So, care to catch me up with what you've been telling him?" he said, directed towards Drew.

Drew scoffed. "The sort of things you haven't told him. You know, the reality."

Harley waved a hand up, gesturing the absurdity. "Perhaps you're just jealous Max beat you to getting laid, huh?"

I saw a slight blush creep into Drew's complexion. "I hardly envy molestation," he managed to say.

"Ah, so it's true! May never allowed you to cut the ribbon." Harley gave a long shrug, extending his arms out in an exaggerated way. He then added, "Contest pun not intentional, I swear."

"Christ, Harley, she's fifteen," Drew noted. "The fact Max is having sex is sickening enough."

Harley snorted, putting his hands on his hips and glaring. "Oh, please, if I wasn't fucking him he'd be jacking off ten times a day anyway, so what's the difference?"

"The difference is he's twelve," Drew stated, "and Max isn't ready to be involved in that sort of relationship."

"You make it sound like I pin the boy down and rape him, but for your information, he begs for it, he moans my name, and clutches my back as he—"

"Stop it!" Drew snapped. "You're a worthless pedophile, and that's all there is to it, Harley."

"What does it make Max then? If I want to fuck boy-ass then I'm a pedophile, but if Max wants hard, hot man-cock, what does that make him?"

I turned red instantly, mortified to be the main subject in this conversation, especially in that sort of context. I wanted to tell Harley to stop talking, but he was defending me—he just happened to enjoy defending me in a very perverted, descriptive way. Besides, I hated what Drew was accusing Harley of, but I couldn't get myself to say anything back, as I was too embarrassed by what was being sent back and forth between the two.

"It makes him vulnerable," Drew declared.

This made me chime in, however. "Vulnerable?" I echoed. "I'm not vulnerable. I told you already, Drew—I like Harley!"

"He likes me all right," Harley agreed, but in a much more suggestive tone. "You should've seen what my boy did for me the other night—oh yes, now that was a nice declaration of how much he likes me."

"Harley, will you stop it?" I then commanded. "That's really not his business, and it's really, really mortifying to have other people know!"

The man shrugged, agreeing, but passing it off as if he did not care I was ordering him to be quiet. "We ought to be going anyway. I don't want to be bombarded with interviews and questions from my adoring fans," Harley said, tugging me along as he began walking out of the room.

"Take care, Max," Drew called out.

I couldn't help but turn even as Harley dragged me along. I waved a short farewell as Harley shouted "tootles," or something like that, and the two of us made our way out of the building through the back exit. I wasn't sure whether Harley truly thought he was going to be approached by someone, or if he just wanted to scram because he got his ribbon and that's all that mattered. I thought it was funny in a way, but also very greedy.

And, of course, there was still a matter of Lance, which I remained frightened to breach. I really wanted to though. I just didn't know how. The way that he had switched the subject so abruptly before I even knew about his fling with Lance hadn't phased me all that much, but now… now it really bothered me. I had a million questions, too! Where'd they meet? How'd it start? Why did it end? I had to admit though, I didn't feel the same sort of jealousy I felt when I had discovered all of those old phone numbers, which made no sense, because as Drew had suggested, the relationship might have been more intimate. I was a bit bothered, but I was also very curious.

"Darling, what's up?" Harley asked. "Is that prep's accusations still bothering you?"

I shrugged. "Sort of," I admitted. And, it was true. Drew's negativity towards Harley and me was more effective in getting me down than the Lance thing. In fact, now that the man mentioned it, a lot of the conversation was coming back, and I felt distressed all over again. "But, it's more about his actual reaction than anything he said. I mean, is that how everyone would react?"

Harley made a musing sound, considering my question. "I suppose," he admitted. "But, Max, like I said, no one's going to stop me from shagging you."

"They could," I pointed out blandly. "I just don't understand what the problem. At first, I thought the age difference was a big deal, especially my own, but it didn't even enter my mind after a while. So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know," Harley said with a shrug. "I guess it's still considered taboo, but really, why should it matter when you're so adorable?"

I rolled my eyes, letting us walk in an uneasy silence as we eventually reached the hotel. Inside, the hotel lobby was pretty packed with people coming and going, but the elevator was empty. Riding up, Harley reached into his bag and dug out his ribbon case. He placed his blue and gray ribbon inside and smiled proudly. There was another ribbon in there, but I suspected it might have been from another region.

Curious, I asked, "Where's that other one from?" I pointed to the orange and gold ribbon, lain out in a delicate, tight bow.

"Rustboro City, in Hoenn," he answered.

"You know you can't enter a Grand Festival with ribbons from different regions," I informed him, looking up at the man.

"I know that!" he yelled, glaring at me. "But, they look too pretty to be separated." He then smiled, exiting the elevator when it opened.

The two of us got into the room, which had been straightened up considerably by the maids. All the lights were off, so I turned on some of the lamps, then took off my shoes and reclined on the sofa in a miserable sort of way. I felt very worn-out because of the incident with Drew, and the pangs in my stomach were a bit similar to when after Harley had first done… that… to me. I was very humiliated and confused. But how did that incident compare to this with Drew finding out? And how on earth did I feel the same way?

Harley, who had disappeared off into the bedroom, eventually came out, both shoeless and hatless. He walked over to me, plopping down on the couch and grinning widely.

"He asked me if I ever said no to you," I stated, looking at Harley blankly. "I have, and I know that, but… despite saying it, I always thought you were clearly aware I was being difficult or just in denial. Did you? Or, did you truly think I was serious and just not care?"

Harley was taken back by the comment. He blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "I knew you were being difficult. You were aroused, Max, that was revealing enough. And, besides, it was quite obvious when you tried to quiet down your moans."

"So, what if I really said no to you? Like in a completely serious way? What would you do, Harley?"

"Then I wouldn't do anything," Harley said right away. He then added, "At least I don't think I would." The man shrugged.

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but from the sound of it, Harley had never been in a situation where he was unsure about whether or not someone was truly saying no. It wasn't surprising, I guess, especially since from personal experience I knew Harley had a certain charm about him, a way that he could easily seduce someone. It had taken a few days for it to work on me, but I imagined that normally it would work a lot quicker, and he'd be able to get what he'd want from men and boys in just a few hours. I was glad I wasn't one of them though, because if I was, Harley probably wouldn't have wanted to stay with me. So, that was probably the same with Lance: the two had most likely met, become friends, and then something developed.

Still so deadly curious about this, I decided to approach the subject. I cleared my throat, and then said, "Um… Drew also said something else, which I want to know about."

"Oh? About what?" the man voiced, and he sounded just a tinsy bit worried.

"Lance," I simply said.

I watched Harley carefully, and because of this, I was able to clearly see a change in his expression. His eyes jerked for a second before returning to their normal, still position in my direction, and he let his mouth open to release a quiet sigh. He was saying nothing though, and although I already knew 100 percent that it was true, this sort of just reaffirmed it.

"I should've suspected when you cut me off that one time, when I mentioned him before," I revealed in a flip tone. "But, I didn't. It didn't even cross my mind. I have to admit, too, I'm surprised. I had no idea Lance liked men."

Harley began to laugh, but there was something phony in it. "You and me both on the latter, darling," he said, reaching out and stroking my hair. "That's long over now. Don't worry about it."

It was my turn to narrow my eyes. "Well, that was a couple of years ago when Drew and you entered that Contest, so… I guess that's true." I then shrugged. "I'm not as jealous as I would've thought I'd be though."

"I hope that doesn't mean you don't care about me anymore!" the man exclaimed, moving closer to me. "Believe me, Lance wasn't all that fun. In fact, he was sort of a bore."

"Really?" I wondered. "I hate to admit it, but I'm really curious about the whole thing."

Harley pressed himself against me, urging me to lie back along the arm of the couch. As he gently pushed me against it, I stared intently at him, watching as he licked his lips and gave a reminiscent look.

"I met him maybe two or three months after the Kanto Grand Festival," he started. "It was in Lavaridge, which I was passing through, and everyone there was making a big fucking deal out of an Elite Four bastard being there. I watched him battle a couple of trainers, all of which he beat. He definitely captivated me with the way he battled. Even you, Max, have to admit he's quite the looker."

I shrugged. "I met him when I was eight—I didn't really notice."

"Well, think about it now," the man urged.

So I did. I thought about how tall he was, even taller than Brock; I thought about his attire and the cape he wore; I thought about his spiky, pinkish hair; and, I thought about his Pokémon, most notably his Dragonite and Gyarados. I then shrugged, unable to really get an opinion on him.

Harley scoffed loudly, shaking his head. "He's older than me, Max, you should like him," he teased.

I glared up at the man. "Then why'd you want him if he was older?"

"I explained to you!" he exclaimed. "Warm and willing and whatnot. But, it was more about that look he had in his eyes. Oh, he was quite alluring. I, myself, didn't think he'd want a roll in the hay, but when I talked to him, he was the one pretty quick to start flirting with me."

I nodded, surprised by his revelations. I had such a hard time imagining Lance interested in a man, and a man like Harley at that. Then again, my attraction to Harley was unbelievable even to myself, so I supposed I couldn't deny anything.

"Anyway," Harley continued, "Lance bought me a drink, and before I knew it, we were pretty wasted and ended up fucking. Lance was pretty enthralled by moi so we spent the two days he was in town together… mostly in bed." He laughed like a maniac, pushing his head into my neck and chuckling endlessly.

I furrowed my brow. "That's all?" I asked. "Drew made it seem like you two were like in this huge intimate relationship."

"Did he?" the man inquired. "Well, Drew's a moron, and we both know that."

"But," I said, "did you get bored with him?"

"Sort of," he admitted. "Lance wasn't that fun of a person, and he wasn't into anything kinky, so it wasn't all that exciting."

I frowned deeply. Lance always seemed so exciting and fun to me, so was Harley going to get bored with me? I was so average and everyday, yet the man had managed to spend almost a full week with me and he still seemed interested in everything. But what did that mean about the future? I never thought about it until Drew mentioned it, but what was going to happen to us in the future? I couldn't imagine this going on forever…

"Are you going to get bored with me?" I vocalized.

"Max!" the man shouted. "How could you ask a thing like that?"

"Well, if you got bored of Lance, you have to get bored with me. I'm not exactly on my way to becoming a part of the Elite Four. I'm just ordinary."

Harley shook his head. "Max, you're anything but ordinary. A boy like you possessing the power to get me as hard as hell—well, certainly, you're quite the rare piece of work." He shined his teeth in a grin.

"So, you do want me around for a while?" I asked.

"More than just that," Harley soothed, kissing my neck. "I want you around as long as possible, my little faunlet. But, what did I tell you before about one foot in today and tomorrow and all that nonsense?"

"I guess you're right," I agreed.

"Good. Then, you aren't jealous of yesterday's news?" Harley wondered, raising his eyebrows.

"No," I said honestly. "But, why are you so bitter towards the Elite Four and Gym Leaders and all that stuff?"

"Bitter is not quite the right word," Harley told me. "What bothers me about all those high-class fucks is that they—especially the Elite Four!—seem to think their rank is the be-all, end-all of life. Lance was very strict on having me promise I would never tell a soul about his liking for men."

I ended up scoffing. "Well, you didn't keep that promise," I pointed out.

"And, why should I?" he demanded, a sense of anger towards Lance. "If he wants to be an idol to the world, how about being honest about liking cock?"

"Is that why you said I would be surprised what Gym Leaders and Elite Four trainers do in their personal lives?"

"Yes, sort of," Harley answered, pursing his lips in a smile. "I think it's pretty lame someone so confident in a battles isn't confident enough to just admit something that isn't even that big of a deal."

"Well, I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder," I suggested. Then, something coming to mind, I turned red, extremely embarrassed. I rubbed the top of my head for a moment, slowly asking, "So… who was who in the relationship? I mean, like, well, you know…"

Harley laughed again, but this time, more insanely. "I think Lance was rather lazy, because he never wanted to do the work. Sort of like you."

"Harley!" I shouted, becoming redder.

"Hey, hey—there's nothing to be ashamed of when one prefers to be the recipient, sweet thing," he assured. "It's only when they're frigid as hell."

"I thought you said I was," I muttered, deadpanned and annoyed. "You once told me you'd appreciate some movement once and awhile."

"I was just kidding!" he said loudly. "You move around quite a bit, you little tart. Like when you wrap those legs of yours around me, ohhh yes." Harley felt down my leg, wrapping his hand around my calf and sliding it up and down.

"Is that what you like about me then?" I wondered, and part of me asked it just to entice him into touching me a bit more. He felt so warm and strong above me, and I was startled by the desire that flamed up inside me so suddenly.

"Not just that," the man said, stamping a kiss on my chin. "I love how goddamn tight you are, like a sweet boy your age should be, darling. And, I love how you crease your brow when I bite you. And, let's not forget how you rise your hips when I touch your cock."

I shut my eyes, allowing his hands to grip my bottom and squeeze firmly. I let out a gasp, leaning into him more. He smiled down at me, kissing me on the lips now, and soon, he began unzipping my pants, rubbing me teasingly as he did so.

"What… what else…?" I urged further, and I felt so ashamed by my desire to hear him speak of me in such a raunchy way.

Harley grinned, continuing, "Mm, the way you call my name when you come. Oh, and the way you say my name at all makes me crazy." He twisted his palm, making my developing arousal harden even more. "So, say it, Max—say my name."

"Aaah, Harley," I murmured, concentrating on his enveloped hand. I then repeated his name, this time subconsciously.

Harley made a pleased sound. "I also love the way you want to see my face every time we fuck. It's ridiculously romantic."

"Romantic?" I echoed. "I don't mean it to be."

"Don't worry," he said, beginning to thrust me into his hand more as he titled his hips to ensure more pressure on my erection. "Because it's also your sweet innocence that I adore. I love how I've never heard a single dirty phrase come out of your mouth, yet you respond to the most obscene touches."

I panted loudly when his grip tightened on me, pumping quickly and firmly.

"Now," Harley began, "tell me what you love about me."

I blushed, unsure how to even say any of it. I was sure I'd sound like such a fool, unable to say anything as lustful and as sincerely as he had with me. I felt distracted by his hand's thrusts, but nonetheless, I began, telling him, "I like it when you kiss me, and when you hug me…"

Harley smiled, less lecherously and more genuinely. "Go on, darling," he suggested. He used his other hand to pull down my pants and underwear to my ankles, but all the meanwhile, he kept his hand around me, stroking up and down and occasionally teasing me with a single finger.

"And, I…" I stammered, so fully concentrated on his touches. "I… like when you don't wear your jacket," I admitted.

"Oh, you do?" he voiced, amusement all over. "Is it because I'm so fucking gorgeous?"

I ignored his complex, and continued with: "I like the way you smell, and the way you feel when you're… you're…"

"When I'm what?" he urged, slowly down his thrusts to tease me and get me to say what I was struggling to admit.

"The way you feel… when you're… inside me…"

Harley lolled his head back, licking his lips. "You're a fucking tart, Maximus," he said, leaning down and kissing me as he began his thrusts again, this time in a crazy speed that forced me to emit a lusty moan. "How about when I call you Maximus—do you like that, darling?"

I shook my head. "No, I hate that," I said firmly. "But, I like when you whisper, and when you touch me like this."

The man kept a smile on his face, jerking his hand up and causing me to shout his name as I came in his hand, the warmth of my release spattering into his palm and partly on my bare thighs. I leaned back against the armrest even more now, panting as I caught my breath. Harley bent down and kissed me fully on the lips as he wiped away my release on a tissue from the coffee table.

"Max," he said, "oh, Christ, you are just perfect."

"Perfect?" I breathed. "You're such an exaggerator."

"And, you're such a pessimist. Can't you take a compliment?" He straightened up my clothing, re-zipping my pants and everything before he sighed heavily. "Are you dozing off on me?" he then asked as I closed my eyes.

"A little," I admitted, stretching out my legs and turning on my side, suddenly very sleepy. "I know it's pretty early, but I'm just exhausted from everything with Drew, and… just… I don't know."

Harley kissed my neck. "Mmm, but maybe I wanted a shag!"

"Then go do it yourself," I grunted. "I'm tired."

"How greedy are you!" Harley complained. "I took the time to please you, and you won't return the favor?"

I was going to reply with something witty, or at least what I thought was going to be witty, but I ended up nodding off. I felt Harley climb off of me, and sooner or later, I smelt the stuffy scent of tobacco in the room. The man said something, but I wasn't able to catch it before I drifted off to sleep.

xxxxx

-Harley-

I had moved my darling faunlet to the bed during the wee hours of the night, after I had taken a long, soothing bath and attempted on several tries to poke at Max so he'd get up by himself and perhaps be open to a long, sweaty fuck. Of course, that hadn't happened, and I was forced to move him to the bedroom, where I had retired later as well. It was definitely not one of the most exciting of our nights together, and I decided I was going to blame Drew for it. I was quite positive that if Drew hadn't shown his pathetic, petty face at the Contest, Max and I would have had quite the different day, full of shags and maybe a bit of biting and hair pulling.

Max was still sleeping in the room, the poor tired soul, while I leaned over the edge of the stone balcony, smoking and staring at the glistening sun, newly risen this morning. It was rather breezy out, but not enough to kill the end spark on my cigarette. I expected it was going to rain today, as clouds were starting to form, blocking the blue sky.

Inside, I had set out a tray of food for when Maximus woke up, most of which I had already picked at after its arrival from the room attendant. I supposed that waking Max would be a good option, but I couldn't get myself to do it this morning, as he looked so fucking adorable sleeping. I had done him (and maybe myself, too) a favor and stripped him of his shirt and shorts, and while he slept so peacefully in his undies, he was completely unaware of how much I enjoyed watching him sleep.

Max had surprised me quite a bit by his lack of jealousy towards Lance. I still hated Drew a bit more for even telling him that piece of information, but I was rather glad Max seemed to grasp the fact Lance and I were long over. There wasn't anything too, too exciting about my relationship with the Elite Four trainer, but I had a feeling Max truly thought there was, and that there were things I wasn't telling him. Truthfully, I wasn't hiding anything. Well, I hadn't admitted that I was never too pleased with Lance as a person. He had an interest in women, which I found lousy, and he seemed too goodie-goodie when it came to many aspects of the world, most particularly his fear of having his sexuality exposed. Seeing as how he was familiar with Max, I wondered whether he'd be disgusted by the revelations I was fucking the boy now. In fact, I wondered on a further extension what some of Max's friends would think.

Tomorrow was Max's birthday, and he'd be thirteen. Thirteen! He'd be quite the little man, and although I already had my presents for him, I wondered if there was something else the two of us should do in order to complete his coming-of-age. Before I was able to formulate any useful thoughts, I heard the glass door slide open. I turned, seeing Max walking out onto the balcony, still in his fucking underwear and chewing on a bagel.

I immediately grinned devilishly. "Well, good morning, my love," I greeted, discarding my cigarette and swaggering over to the boy.

"Um, morning," he said, taking another bite of the bagel.

I was about to bend down and kiss the boy straight on the mouth, but I decided to have more fun, so I picked him up in a sloppy way, swooping his legs around my hips and letting his arms drape to his sides. I kissed him thoroughly on the mouth, making sure he felt the desperation that I had built up from not being able to fuck him last night. Max eventually pulled away, most likely startled by how passionate my kiss was.

"Uh… what are you doing out here?" he then asked.

"Ahh, just thinking," I replied, spreading an open palm around his cute, little chest. Oh, my, was his skin soft and warm! And, without his glasses, the boy just appeared so incredibly fuckable and innocent!

"Thanks for breakfast," he acknowledged, holding up the rest of the bagel. He gave me a soft smile.

I set the boy down on the edge of the balcony, letting him sit there adorably. I kissed him again—this time on the chin—and made a point to give him a small nip, just to wake him up fully. The boy jerked in surprise, then glared at me.

"Guess what I was thinking about," I teased, keeping my teeth in slow, grazing motion along the boy's neck.

"Something perverted," he answered, completely serious.

"Nooo," I assured. "I was thinking about your little friends from way back when."

Max blinked. "Why?"

"I was wondering what you think their reactions would be to knowing you're sleeping with moi, the Harley." I smiled, stroking the boy's messy hair. "Not even that, but just the fact you're getting your kicks with a man."

Max was silent for a moment, and I could tell he was thinking pretty hard. He eventually looked up at me, not pushing away my continual brushing of his hair with my fingers. "I don't think Ash would understand," he began, giving a quick shrug. "And Brock, well, I don't know. I think he'd be pretty surprised. But, they're my friends, and I think on some level they'd be more comfortable with it than May."

"You think?" I mused, pushing myself against the boy. "Well, anyway, sweet thing, what do you want to do today?" I let my hands drop down the boy's body, taking a firm hold of his hips and rubbing my body up against him softly.

"Yesterday when we were on our way back here," the boy said, "I saw an ice skating rink. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Ice skating?" I repeated. "Who the fuck ice skates these days?"

Maximus shrugged. "I do, but not very often. It's more fun than regular skating, and I think you'd managed to have fun if we went."

"Darling, I don't even know how to skate, let alone ice skate," I admitted dully. "Do you really want to see me fall on my ass and skid across frozen water?"

The boy clutched my arm, and he made the most desperate, needy face in the world. "I can teach you though, Harley," he insisted. "It's not that hard, as far as I remember. May taught me when I was six."

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to hear about Maaaaay. "If I'm a good student, how will you reward me?"

"I don't know. I'll let you call me Maximus."

"You already let me," I pointed out, grinning. "How about letting me shag you?"

"Harley, you already do that, too," he droned, rolling his eyes. "I'll think about that later. Can we just go?" The boy gently pushed me away, hopping off the balcony and looking up to me curiously.

I patted his head, but bent down, feeling his delightful little ass. "You better go get ready then, my faunlet, otherwise I'll just have my way with you right here."

Max didn't look very convinced, but he walked off anyway, leaving me alone on the balcony to try and calm my desire. Jeesh, he had been out here less than ten minutes and already he had gotten me hard. Oh, I adored that kid's ability to do this, but I also couldn't help become very frustrated by his flip attitude, as if relieving me of my problemo was too much to ask. For goodness sake, he came out here, knowingly being only in his undies, and acted like it was no big deal.

I leaned up against the balcony, peeking into the bedroom as Max got dressed. I frowned at the sight of Max's clothes going on, not off, but nonetheless enjoyed the view. When Max was through, he trotted off to go wash up and I reentered the room, closing the glass door and grabbing my bag that rested on the dresser.

When Max came out of the bathroom, shiny-faced and with minty breath, the two of us were quick to get going for the day, him leading the way out the door, and eventually, to the lobby.

It took only fifteen or so minutes to reach the skating rink Max had spoken of, and I had to say that despite passing through its location so many times, I had never noticed it. Inside the white building, it was rather chilly and it felt as if the entire place made of ice, or at least consisted of twenty blasting air conditioners. It was like winter in here, and the paintings on the wall—all of snow-covered pine trees—only added to the allusion. It was quite strange.

"Max, I have to say I'm bit unsure whether I should take part of this experience," I grunted, folding my arms and jittering about in a chill.

Max would not have no for an answer. He was so fast to rush to the front desk, requesting two tickets and paying lickity-split. I was sure he didn't even give the lady the correct amount of cash, but he went ahead anyway, gesturing for me to follow into the hall that led to the actual rink. I was hesitant, but the way Max waved about the two tickets made me unwilling to turn him down. Besides, he was wearing the cutest little outfit today: a thin v-neck sweater and a pair of loose tan capris. I had never seen the boy in actual pants, and I had a feeling this was the closest I was going to get to, but it didn't really matter, as I preferred being able to see his bare legs. Right now, I got a wonderful sight of his shins and ankles, and I just wanted to push him against the wall and molest him the way I did at the Lake of Rage. He was such a tart, this kid.

"Are you coming?" he asked, tilting his head.

I breathed upwards, causing my bangs to fly around. I pretended to be incredibly bothered by the whole event—even though now I was softening up to the idea of skating simply by the knowledge Max was going to teach me—by rolling my eyes and then dragging my feet as I followed. I noted, in the back of my head, that Max did owe me big for this. A shag or two wouldn't even do this time; I wanted a bit more, although I doubted Max would ever let me do what I was considering, which involved more than just biting.

I chuckled lowly as I continued to follow Max down the hall. At the end it opened up to the large, overpowering ice rink, surrounded by bleachers, and to the left, a small food court with tables and everything. I considered talking Max into getting something to eat, but he just had breakfast, and I knew I was only putting off the inevitable. Max was quick to walk over to the skate rental and even quicker to remove both his shoes in exchange for ice skates. He looked over his shoulder, checking to see if I was approaching.

"You have to give them your shoes, Harley," Max revealed.

"Yes, I see that, but my problem is more about sticking my foot somewhere a jillion other people have," I explained dully. Of course, I figured most renters had worn socks, but it still bothered me. Nonetheless, I removed my boots slowly, handing them over to the attendant behind the counter.

After we received our skates, the two of us sat down at the closest bleacher and began putting them on, which was quite the task for me. The skates were ridiculously tight and gross, but I managed to sink both my feet in despite the dirty feeling. Sighing, I laced the skates and lifted my foot, getting a good look at the thin, shiny blade that ran across the brown bottom of the otherwise white skate. How the bloody hell was I supposed to keep my balance on something this thin?

"It's easier than it looks," Max said, as if he read my thoughts. He finished tying up his left skate and then slowly—very carefully—stood up, leaning forward in a small stumble before managing to successfully get his balance. And, he just stood there perfectly, as if it didn't matter how excellently he had achieved it.

"Your sister,"—I made sure not to say her name—"must have taught you well, I suppose." I looked up to Max, removing my hat and placing it next to me along with my bag.

"She was a good skater," the boy admitted, making a few steps and somehow managing to waddle finely along the cement flooring. "Want to try standing up?" he asked, and he offered his hand.

I took the boy's small, cute hand, allowing myself up as best I could. Even before I could attempt to balance myself, my ankles bucked, and I stumbled back down to my seat messily. I let out a curse, trying again—but this time, putting a hand on either sides of Max's shoulders—and keeping my equilibrium that way. My legs still shook and it made me want to sit again, but Max kept me up, stepping backwards a little and urging me to make a step myself. I grunted loudly, unable to place my foot on the floor without my ankles wobbling.

"Max, darling, I'm afraid you're dealing with someone completely incapable of skating," I muttered.

"I don't think so," Max debated. "Aren't you, like, supposed to capable of these artsy sort of things, being, um, you know…?"

"Oh, Christ, boy, you can say it!" I gargled as I continued trying to keep myself upright. "But, no, because I'm not like all the other fags of the world. I'm classier than that."

Max laughed—actually laughed!—for one of the first times, smiling widely and looking at me all the while. I just wanted to fall over him on purpose, having him pinned to the ground where he was accessible to fuck and fawn over, because he was just precious at the moment. It inspired me to try keeping my balance on my own, so I released my grip from the boy's shoulders, leaning backwards the best I could in an attempt to get myself proportionally correct.

"It helps if you just experiment with positions, and see which one allows you to keep your balance," the boy threw out as helpful advice.

"Positions, eh?" I echoed wickedly.

Max rolled his eyes, but watched as I flopped my arms all over the place, trying desperately not to fall on my ass. I almost did, my ankles bucking again, but I quickly reached out, managing to get my hand on the glass case that encircled the entire railing of the rink. I sighed, leaning against it tiredly and staring off onto the rink, where couples and individuals were just going around in circles, over and over.

"Want to watch me go around?" the boy wondered.

"In fact, I would," I answered, giving him a smile.

The boy waddled off in his skates, stepping onto the ice and starting off slowly as he began skidding across the ice. He was already looking wonderful, the polar opposite of what would've occurred had I stepped onto the rink. He skated around the curve, his arms out as he kept his balance and bypassed many people, proving once more, that he was a fine faunlet of a boy, in possession of charms unlike any other boy his age. I swore that if he skated around enough times, I would become fully aroused, just by watching his legs at work, gliding across the ice masterfully.

Suddenly, the boy was smack in front of me, over on the other side of the glass and smiling brightly in his pride of completing going around the rink. My expression somehow softened, less lustful than usual, and I gave the boy a smile back.

"Congratulations, my delicious piece of illegal boy-ass."

Max's smile quickly transformed into a glare. "Way to help the situation of yesterday," he quipped, but in reality, he was completely serious.

"Oh, don't be silly," I dismissed, brushing a hand about. "I thought that was excellent, but it was impossible for me not to notice how fantastic those legs of yours looked."

Max made his way out of the rink and back to me. "Are you ready for a try?" he asked.

"Not really," I admitted. But, against my own answer, I stepped forward anyway, keeping my hand pressed against the glass the entire time.

At the edge of the rink, I stared down at the shiny, pearly white ice, which looked so glossy and slippery that I was immediately unsure. I tightened my grip on the glass, putting a single foot onto the ice and feeling a shiver run through my body. I hated to admit it—and I never would vocally—but I was scared. It was fucking ice! And I had a blade that was like less than a centimeter thick that I was supposed to balance my weight on! What the fuck was anyone thinking when they invented ice skating?

"Come on," Max urged, stepping onto the ice himself and offering his hand again.

I was quick to take the boy's hand this time; however, with the pure reliance of his help, I let my mind drift away from the glass, causing my foot to skid across the ice. My entire body tumble forward, pulling Max with me until we both ended up on the icy floor, knocked down in the most humiliating way possible.

"Fuck!" I swore, shocked by just how cold the ice felt against my palm. I tried to sit back—having thankfully fallen on my hands and knees, not my ass—but failed miserably as I just slid a few more inches back.

"Way to go!" Max criticized, sounding very sulky. He managed to get up fine, but meanwhile, I was still on the floor, which made me feel like shit. "Here," the boy said, offering to help me up.

As he pulled me to my feet, I was unable to stay that way, my ankles and knees bucking continuously and my arms flailing about like a fucking moron. I slammed myself against the railing, keeping myself up that way. I let out another curse, looking down at Max, who was amused, the little fuck!

"What?" I demanded viciously.

"I don't know," he shrugged out. "It's sort of… funny, I guess, to see you this way. Maybe even kind of… uh, cute."

"Cute?" I repeated with amusement. I then smiled knowingly. "Of course I'm cute, but I'd prefer my sweet Maximus to see me as his older, wise, wickedly experienced and devilishly charming and rogue lover." I titled my head towards the light, showing off my features.

"Lover…?" Max echoed, his face burning with heat despite the bitter cold of this rink. "I never really thought about, um, us, that way. The word makes it seem a bit silly."

I shrugged. "Whatever term floats your boat, floats mine, too. I'm even okay with the word 'fuck-buddy,' but I'm sure we're more than that, right?" I laughed with amusement, especially at the look on Max's face that revealed even more embarrassment. "After all, 'fuck-buddy' doesn't really describe a pair like you and I, who are wonderfully engaged in each other's lives."

Max was very uncomfortable with the conversation, which had actually become quite rare these days—at least to the point where he wanted the discussion dropped. It was very obvious he wanted it dropped now from the way he turned his back on me, taking a few steps back before turning around urging me to try again. I wasn't sure what the point was, but I tried anyway, sliding myself across the ice a few feet.

"Okay, now try to do that without holding the glass," Max offered, backing up even more in case I fell.

I spent a vast amount of time trying to get my balance first. In a sloppy, fidgety way, I succeeded, and I forced my weight forward, gliding across the ice as slowly as I could manage. Remarkably, for the few inches I glided, I did not fall on my face, and I grinned widely, proudly pointing my nose up into the air in a snide pride.

"Good," Max remarked, skating down a bit more. "Now try!"

"Ah, one step at a time, my sweet," I cautioned, repeating my small inch of a glide several more times, but not rushed at all.

Max patiently waited for me to arrive over to him, which happened sooner or later. At the very end of the journey—oh, fuck yes, it was a journey, and an epic one at that—I somehow messed up, either being too sure of myself or being distracted by Max's faunlet-y self. My ankles bucked, and I fell backwards, this time on my ass, and this time, a lot harder than the previous. I shouted my curse loudly.

"Harley…" Max coaxed, "don't be so verbal. You're working on it, so don't rush." The boy bent down, getting on his knees and looking at me.

"What?" I asked, glaring at him as I rubbed my bottom. "Don't give me that look."

Max began laughing again, and I sensed something much more malicious this time around; however, I also recognized the old Max I had met when he was eight. He was carefree, chipper and not at all snarky and on-guard of my random molestations. I grinned, extending an arm and bringing his chin towards my face. Max became stiff, unsure if he should accept the public kiss, but as I brought him closer and closer, he did not reject me, allowing me to place my lips on his and my hand on his back.

"Mmm," I moaned, pressing my tongue inside his mouth and pushing forward even more.

Max quickly backed up. "Don't," he warned, his brow creasing. "This is not the place for that, Harley."

"He's absolutely right."

Neither of us having said that, I furrowed my own brow, whirling my head to the right and seeing, through the glass covering, the familiar face of the fucker we had encountered yesterday: preppy Drew.

My expression flattened, but I turned to look at Max, who looked just as bemused by the prep's appearance. I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and stood up, getting to my feet in a surprisingly casual way. Max followed suit, standing next to me and skating over to the railing to get closer to Drew for conversation.

"Are you stalking us?" I blurted out, not even bothering to make anything in my tone or manner friendly.

"Not quite," Drew said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I saw you two walking here," he then answered.

"So, you're stalking us," I stated, nodding.

"No," he said more firmly. "It wasn't hard to miss you two on the street: Harley being so goddamn campy, and Max being so short. You two stood out. And, speaking of which, I find it pretty bold of you two to be making-out on the rink."

Max made a noise in the back of his throat. "We weren't," the boy argued. "And, I'm not that short."

I laughed, putting a hand on Max's shoulder. "Ah, but Drew, the real question here is what the fuck you want today?"

"Nothing, really," the prep admitted. "I just wanted to know if Max told you he knows."

"About Lance?" I quickly said.

Drew's face showed disappointment. It was obvious that his tidbit of information about Lance and I was his one and only weapon to use against me, the one revelation that he thought would tear Max and I apart. In reality, it led to me wanking the boy and speaking quite the saucy list of what we liked about each other.

"I told him I knew," Max confirmed. "I know you thought it was a big deal, but I don't think it is."

"How could it not, Max? I'm sure Lance is only one of a hundred men Harley's slept with. And, like I said, I think it was more."

"Nah, it wasn't Drew—it was just a couple of days of fun," I quipped bitterly, holding myself up against the railing despite my legs giving out.

"How is it you haven't been arrested yet, Harley? You're obviously not attempting to hide the fact you sleep with Max." His eyes widened with each emphasis.

"It's not anyone's business, sure, but I'm not going to run around trying to hide the truth," I grunted. "Unlike some people," I then added, speaking of Lance.

"Drew, maybe you should just go," Max suggested softly.

"Max, what if I wanted to tell May about what I've seen between Harley and you?" Drew then wondered. "Would you stop me?"

"I don't want her to know!" the boy exclaimed suddenly. "It's… it's not right for you to invade Harley and mine's business."

Drew shook his head in disbelief. "This is May's business as far as I'm concerned. She's your sister, and you're basically getting molested by Harley, one of her worst acquaintances."

"Drew…" Max uttered, "I have no plans to tell her, but if I ever decided to… I wouldn't just drop the bomb the way you want to do. It's not fair to anyone."

"She has a right to know," the prep continued on.

"She doesn't!" Max insisted. "Would you like it if I went around telling people private things about May and you?"

"May and I were different, and we had nothing to hide."

"Ah, then why is it you two broke-up and refused to tell why?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Could it be that you wanted to get into her virginal little cunt, and she said no?"

"Well, if that were true then at least I respected her decision and didn't force her into anything," Drew managed to say, keeping his composure. But, there was something weird about the way he was speaking, and I sensed my story was true.

"What is it about Norman's children that makes different sort of people want to screw them silly? Now, Max I understand because he's a fun faunlet, who is willing to try new things and is willing to fuck me. May, on the other hand, might be cute to a guy like you, but the odd thing is she just won't allow anyone to deflower her. Isn't that ironic? Siblings can be so different."

Drew turned away, and instead of something snide coming out of his mouth, he frowned, and said, "May and I dated when she was around Max's age. When we talked about having sex she said she wasn't ready, and that was the end of it." He rolled his eyes, but I saw the flush of color on his cheeks, and I knew that he was only saying this to make Max and I feel like garbage, regardless of how much it embarrassed himself.

"It doesn't even matter now," Max pointed out, finally jumping back in the conversation. "What happened between Harley and I happened, and there's nothing that can change it."

Drew turned around a bit, not wanting Max and I to be able to see his face fully. I sensed that he honestly did not want to talk about this, but was so set on comparing his "flawless" relationship with May to Max's disgusting and wrong relationship with moi. I was very unsure how a sexless relationship was supposed to be normal, even a minimal sexual relationship. How the fuck did those work? If you weren't willing to fuck the person you cared about most and enjoy it, there was something incredibly wrong with you. And, what the hell was this "ready" jibble? What was there to prepare for when it was going to happen somewhere down the road? I didn't give a flying fuck about the man who took my virginity, so what was May holding off for? Maybe her twat was diseased!

"I have to admit," Max started, "I was sort of bothered by the fact May hadn't done anything before I had."

Drew continued not to let us see his face. He eventually stepped backwards and sat down on the long bleacher behind him, hinting that Max and I should finally get off of the skating rink. Max was quick to go ahead and do this, gliding across the ice to one of the exits, leaving me stranded. I sighed, trying to catch up as I tightly held the ramp and allowed my body to slide about until I reached the exit, too. It was messy, but I did it, and I certainly felt a bit humiliated by how fucking ridiculous I knew I looked.

Max was hesitant to approach Drew any further, and instead of sitting at all, he stood against the glass window, his back leaning on it and his hands behind him, sagging. It took me another minute or two to get where they were, and I was pretty ticked off Max wasn't willing to help me.

"Any reason you decided not to assist me, darling?" I wondered, cocking my head towards Max.

The boy blinked and then shrugged, but his eyes shifted, hinting it was Drew's presence that made him lack any sweetness towards me. I flashed a grin, patting the boy's shoulder and sitting, as I knew I couldn't stand another two minutes on the fucking skates. I crossed my legs, purposely knocking the skate against Drew's own leg, hoping—just a tinsy bit—that the blade would cut him. It didn't, of course, but the prep scooted several inches away from me, annoyed.

"So, why are you two here anyway?" Drew asked, looking only at Max.

Max shrugged again. "I thought it would be fun. Plus, Harley doesn't know how to skate, and I wanted to teach him."

"And, it was going down pretty well until you showed up," I remarked to Drew.

Drew ignored me, and said, "Max, for the sake of feeling sorry for you, I'm not going to tell May about your relationship. But, if you want my advice, it would be to tell her. She deserves to know."

"I'll consider it," the boy stated. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"She could kill Harley. But, I don't think that's the worst that could happen."

I laughed sarcastically, glaring all the meanwhile at the fucking prep, who I really wanted to hurt.

"Well, I don't want Harley dead!" Max grunted. "I don't want anyone dead. That's terrible to think."

Drew sighed and tapped his fingers on his thigh. "I haven't spoken to May in about a month, but we're still keep in touch. I don't want to have to lie to her about anything, so I would suggest telling her this as soon as possible."

"But… but I don't really talk to May anymore. At least not these days." Max's eyes narrowed. "Hasn't she told you about any of that?"

"She told me she felt like you two were growing apart," Drew admitted. "That's it though. She never wanted to talk about it too much. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it either."

Drew now looked at me, and it amused me how despite his hatred towards what I had "done" to Max, he still expected me to be aware of the situation, as if he knew Max and I were more than just fuck-buddies. I gave him a raise of both my brows and shrugged.

Drew seemed curious, but dropped it, saying, "Well, when do you think you're going to talk to her again?"

"Harley said I should talk to her again, that it might help me feel better about everything, so… I've been meaning to…"

"Really? Harley said that?" Drew wondered.

I pursed my lips in amusement. If only he knew how much I hadn't intended to coax Max into reconciling with his fucking sister when we were making PokéBlock way back then. Still, Drew seemed amazed how Max saw me, and I appreciated it in a self-centered way. However, I think Drew sensed my reasoning for telling Max this had an ulterior motive anyway.

"You know, Max is an excellent skater," I suddenly said. "It's too bad you came here and interrupted the lesson, otherwise I could've been an expert like him by now."

"I applaud you, Max. I don't know how to skate either." He shrugged. "I should go now, I guess. If you're going to go through with telling May, I suppose I don't have much to worry about. Unless Harley has a problem with May knowing."

"Not really. It's her funeral." I grinned.

Drew stood up and looked at Max for a moment. "If you need anything, I'm staying at the hotel across from the Pokémon Center."

"Um, okay," Max said, watching as Drew turned and began walking.

"Shall we continue our lesson, Maximus?" I asked, raising a brow.

Max was still looking after Drew, seeming lost in thought, and I knew it had to be about possibly telling May. After a long while, he sighed and then looked at me. "Yeah, okay." He began waddling off to the rink.

I looked over to where I sensed Drew still lingering, and sure enough, he was standing in the entryway of the long hall, watching us. I believe Max sensed something between Drew and I, the need to talk for a moment just by ourselves. With my faunlet off on the rink, I tried my best to approach Drew again, but I struggled, and Drew decided to walk back over to me, arms crossed and brow creased.

"Tomorrow's Max's birthday," Drew said, as if I didn't know.

I rolled my eyes. "Maximus said he didn't want anything, but I bought him a present—or, rather, presents—anyway. I intend to make his day special."

"Hmm," Drew mused. "Do I even want to know what kind of presents you got the boy?"

"Maybe not," I said, shrugging. Of course, I hadn't gotten the boy anything absurd (at least not in my eyes!), but it was fun to throw the bait at Drew anyway. "But, he'll appreciate it."

"Then maybe give you another blow job?"

"Ah, so you did catch onto my hint yesterday!" I patted his back roughly. "Good for you. For someone who has never fucked anyone, I'm glad you're not dumb about it."

Drew grunted out a long swear and stepped away from me. "I hope you realize Max truly does think something better of you," the prep stated. "I can sense he still thinks you're a campy fag, but at least you managed to get him to see another side of you."

I put a hand on my hip, leaning my weight over in displeasure at his comment. "My campy faggotry doesn't bother my darling one bit. Besides, who says Max isn't a fag, too?"

"If you asked me, I think he's more confused than anything else. I'm sure he likes girls to some point."

"He sure likes his goddamn sister," I muttered bitterly. "I mean, he really likes her."

"That's disgusting, Harley," Drew sneered.

"Well, Max did let himself go a bit far when he talked about his sister's smell and smile and whatnot. Sort of creepy, really." I shrugged, and although I hadn't thought much about it, it was something that bugged me. Max spent a great deal of time in angst over May, what she had done, and what he missed about her. "Anything weird ever come out of May's mouth?"

Instead of jumping to an almighty answer of no, Drew was silent, either considering the possibility or knowing something he didn't want to talk about. His eyes shifted, and he pursed his lips, not at ease.

"Well…?"

"Once," Drew admitted. "She was really upset about Max not talking to her, and I mean really upset. She was babbling about what Max and her used to share, and she said that even when she used to cry Max always had a way of cheering her up, and she let it slip that he used to… kiss her…"

I sneered angrily at this. The way Drew said it revealed he was in no way lying either. He seemed very curious about the sibling's relationship, too. It was hard to think about though, as I hated May deeply and couldn't get myself to think about the possibility Max—my sweet, little faunlet—and her could've been a bit closer than what was considered "normal."

"They're siblings," Drew quickly stated shakily. "I don't have any siblings, so I don't know anything about whether that's an everyday thing."

"I have no siblings either," I admitted. "But Max shows enthusiasm for me, a kind I couldn't see him expressing for a girl's twat, whether it's May's or not."

"Ugh, Harley," Drew mumbled, uncomfortable. He then put up a hand in dismissal. "Whatever. I think it's ridiculous of us to even consider something like that."

"I don't think it is," I said nonchalantly. "And, even so, what's the big deal? They don't talk anymore, although if any of this were true then maybe it explains why they're both overly hurt about their downfall."

"But, you encouraged Max to talk to May."

"I didn't fucking mean to," I blurted out, sighing heavily. "Even if he does go through with it, I doubt Max would choose to screw his sister over moi."

"Well," Drew began, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "regardless of what's going on with those two, I can say without a doubt that Max would choose May over you in any situation." He decided to leave it at that, turning to walk away.

I bit my bottom lip. None of this made me happy at all. Of course I had thought about the issue beforehand—many times, actually—but seeing that Drew feared something, too, was rather irritating. I mean, I doubted the two ever fucked each other, but I had always heard weird rumors about siblings experimenting and garbage like that. Max was too startled by my first moves on him, so I doubted they ever fooled around, so what was there? Maybe they wanted to fool around or something.

Still, that didn't explain Max kissing May when she was upset! What kind of kissing were we talking about anyway? I gritted my teeth. I couldn't let his bother me too much. Max was a virgin when we met, and it was I who fucked him the first time. No one could take that away from me. No one. Max was indeed the perfect, ideal boy that every man would want to get his hands on, but nope—it was I who got to, and it was I who would continue to do so. I never wanted Max to be touched by another person. He was mine.

I got myself together and spotted Max completing what had to be his fourth time going around the rink. He didn't look bored, but when he saw that I was looking at him, he stopped, coming to a stylish halt with a skid of the blade and a smile flashing from his mouth. I knew he was curious as to what Drew and I had been talking about, but I imagined he had no idea we were talking about May and him.

I clumsily made my way to the rink again, being very, very careful not step too quickly onto the ice. The slipperiness felt much more foreign now that I had been relaxing on regular concrete cement during Drew's little visit.

"You're doing pretty good," Max commented.

He was mine.

I would never let him get away from me, oh no. This realization of how protective I was of him caused me to put my other foot on the ice and slide myself close to Max, pinning him against the railing and glass window. I smirked, brushing a hand through his hair.

"You're a fabulous boy, you know that?"

"Fabulous?" he echoed.

"Indeed. I couldn't imagine being nearly as content as I've been lately had it not been for your spectacular presence." I leaned in, kissing the boy's chin.

"People are watching," Max warned.

I turned just a bit, seeing that behind us a few people were indeed giving us a rather boggled look. I felt Max's body temperature rise, and not in the way I normally liked. Nope, it was an embarrassed, uncertain jitter, and I saw visible evidence appear on his pale cheeks. I smiled anyway, and kissed him again, but this time, on the forehead.

"Okay, let's get back to skating," he insisted, pushing me away, but not harsh enough for me to fall backwards and land on my ass like a moron.

I chuckled and allowed him to continue on with the lesson. It involved most of the same old routine of him backing up and having me come forward. I felt pretty lame after a while, knowing that I must have looked like a complete and utter ass, so incompetent and stupid. But, whatever the case, I kept going, eventually managing to get halfway around the rink before stumbling forward, right onto Max and causing him to fall onto the ice with me.

"Damn!" I shouted, just sitting there with my hands behind me to hold my weight. My back hurt madly, and there was an aching throb developing in my head, most likely from the cold in this arena.

Max got to his feet, dusting himself off and laughing. I gave him a deadpanned expression, grabbing his wrist and forcing him back down to his knees. He hit the ice rather roughly, but recovered and gave me a questioning stare, completely on-guard of the people bypassing us and the lingering souls on the other side of the rink.

"Harley," he began to caution.

"How much money would I have to give you to allow me to fuck you right here?" I questioned, trying to sound completely serious to make Max nervous.

Sure enough, he became red and jittery. "N-none! I mean, none that I want…! I, uh, great…" He buried his red face in his hands, but I felt a smile developing beneath the palms covering his lips. "You know what I mean! I would not do something like that! No matter how much you gave me!"

I laughed hysterically, covering my mouth with the back of my hand. "You're a silly boy, my darling," I teased, continuing to snicker all the meanwhile until my stomach hurt. I then leaned in, kissing him on the lips. "Tell me, though…" I began afterwards, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, what?" he asked.

"You once suggested you couldn't see yourself with anyone else other than yours truly," I stated. "Were you lying to me, or did you mean that?"

"I… um, I…" He bit his lip. "I don't know. I can imagine you with other people, and sometimes I can't even really grasp what's going on between us. I mean, it is a, uh, relationship, right?"

"Of the sorts," I assured fondly, brushing back some of his hair. "What I'm getting at, Max, is whether or not you ever want a girl."

Max's eyes widened and then narrowed. "I guess you wouldn't like if I said yes…"

I shrugged. "Well, that dweeb, Lance, liked himself some of the lasses out there, so I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but I want my Max to be a bit more exclusive."

"Well, I don't know," he answered. "I certainly never had feelings for a girl like I do… for… um, you…"

I smiled, liking that answer. "Ah, now we must get up. My ass is getting wet from this ice."

Max smiled back and stood up, helping me as well. I considered in the back of my mind that if Max wanted to shag a girl, then that was all fine and dandy, but I would just never allow him the opportunity. Max was mine, and he was not going to get away from me. Not now, not ever.

End of Part Eight