Before I let you go read, I'd just like to address the "too much description" and some other mistakes that everyone's been mentioning in their reviews. I know that I did have an overwhelming amount of description along with a few other mistakes, and I realized that, so I went back and fixed it up. Please keep in mind that that was only the first chapter, so, naturally, it would be filled with a little more detail as some other stories and books tend to do that as well. Everyone has something that they struggle with in their writing and for me, it's the amount of detail. I'll try to tone it down from now on. Thanks for informing me though! Happy reading, please review. :)

Responses to Reviews:
Empress Empoleon: Yeah, that was a long sentence. Sorry, I must've missed it when I went back to edit. :p And yeah, I tend to get carried away when it comes to describing clothing because I feel like if I hold back on the detail, then readers will just have trouble picturing the shoes, dress, etc. But the makeup part was unnecessary, so I did go back and fix that. Thanks for reading and pointing out my errors so that I could fix them. :)
LoveLoverGrl: Thank you!
chocolatehell: Thanks so much Samia! I'm glad you understand that everyone has something that they struggle with and, for me, that's with description. I just have this tendency to get carried away with describing things whether in real life or in writing, so I guess I accidentally brought it with me here. I will tone it down though haha. Good luck on the ACT! Thanks for taking the time out of your studying time to review regardless, that means a lot. :) I did plan one! I'm going to tone it down so that it's more appropriate for a rated-T fanfic, but it's still going to happen. And my going back to school was alright, thanks! And you?
Farla: I've always capitalized any pokémon names and any time I've mentioned the word 'pokémon' for some reason! I don't know why, but I'm always tempted to do so. I don't do that for any other nouns unless their proper though.
I did go back to tone down the description bits as much as possible, but the bits I left there were necessary to keep. I fixed the part about Harley, too. It made sense when I was writing it, but I see what you were trying to say.
"Her outfit should really not be that big of a deal."
Now, I will completely accept any constructive criticism about my writing that you may have, but I just feel like that part was completely unnecessary. It's not even about giving something more importance than it needs to have, it's about providing a picture for anyone interested in seeing it. I have done the exact thing for my other story and I've received no complaints. Many authors do so as well for their stories on their profiles, so what's the big deal? You're not being forced to view the pictures; they're only there for others who are interested. Regardless, I still thank you for reading and for taking the time to review. :)
xRissychanx: Thank you very much!
AngelicSnow: Thanks :) I did fix it so that there was less detail, but the stuff I left really was essential in my opinion.
pokediginarahina456: Thank you!
animeartist123: Thanks :D
pokadiginarahina456: Thank you :)
animeartist123: Thanks so much!
Jace'sVampiress97: Thanks for understanding and thanks for saying what you said! Here's the next chapter :)
ObviouslyCitra: Lol, interesting will do just fine. Thank you for reading. :)
Xxlilytiger556xX: Thank you :)

Absol chapter 2

I don't know how long it takes for me to find my voice again—one second? Two? A minute?—because I'm so busy staring at Drew, scrutinizing his face. To say that I'm shocked to see him in an understatement; horrified is more like it. I can't believe that he's actually here even though I've spent the past two months preparing myself for this exact moment. I knew that I had a chance of seeing him here from the moment I finished reading my invitation card. He's famous and successful coordinator, so of course he'd be here. But why is it still so hard for me to accept the fact that he is? And why am I still speechless? I need to say something.

"Yeah, it really has been a long time," I manage.

He seems to struggle for a moment to think of something to say. I stand still and remain silent as he does so. "How have you been?" he eventually asks.

I nearly scream at him. How have you been? He has the nerve to ask me how I've been after he leaves me out of the blue and cuts off contact with me for eight years? He offers me no explanation and all I get it how have you been? As if he cares how I've been. It takes all of my control not to smack him across the face right then and there. I have to take a second to suppress my anger before I respond.

"I've been good, yourself?" I say, hoping to Arceus that I don't sound angry because I certainly feel angry. But then I decide that I don't care if I do or not. He deserves to know how much I despise him at the moment.

"I've been alright," he answers in a voice like he detects my anger, and then we're silent again. Neither of us can think of anything to say, so we just stand still and stare at each other's face until I can no longer take his presence or the silence. I open my mouth to dismiss myself, but he beats me to it.

"I should probably be letting you get to the bathroom now. I'll see you at the table," he says with a rather awkward smile and begins to walk past me. I'm left alone standing in the hallway of the bathroom like an idiot. It seems like forever passes until I finally get myself to walk to the bathroom where I let my hair out of the chignon its in out of frustration. Then I just lean over a sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror. A distressed twenty-two year-old woman stares back at me.

It takes me a couple of minutes to return to the table after composing myself in the bathroom. I'm not even close to the table when I realize, with dread, that the empty seat next to mine is occupied by Drew. I take a deep, shaky breath to calm myself after the thought of having to sit next to him for the rest of the night makes me anxious all over again. You can do this, I tell myself, and I can. I will make sure that I can. I am not going to let Drew Hayden affect me.

"There you are!" Solidad exclaims after I slide into my seat. Drew turns to look at me and our eyes meet for a brief second before I look at Solidad. "Is everything alright? You were gone for a while."

I know that by "everything", she means everything between Drew and I by the way she briefly glances at him. It suddenly occurs to me that she probably knows everything about the situation. Of course she knows. Drew has always confided in her for everything, it wouldn't be an unbelievable thing if he'd confided in her in the eight years that he was away. He has always trusted Solidad more than anyone—maybe even more than he's trusted me—ever since they met after she'd beat him in his first contest. She's always been like an older sister to him, maybe even a mother. I wouldn't be surprised if she even knew the reason why he left, and I'm suddenly angry at her for keeping it from me.

But then I realize that I shouldn't be mad at her; it's not her fault. It's him I should be mad at. Maybe he didn't tell her. Maybe he's kept it to himself all this time. My anger is directed at him all over again.

"I'm fine, I just needed to clear my mind. I was getting a headache," I tell her and avoid Drew's eyes as I bring mine back to my plate of food. It's already been piled up with some of the food that has been placed on the table, but I've long lost my appetite. I do eat a couple bites, though, to convince everyone at the table that I am fine.

Throughout the course of the meal, I mostly talk to Dawn and the coordinator beside her named Alec. He's a good-looking guy with the kind of dark brown hair that makes a girl itch to run her hand through it. His eyes are a brilliant shade of navy blue that sort of twinkle in the light. His smile is so white and dazzling that some of the girls at the table are briefly awestruck when they catch him smiling at me (myself included). From what he's told me, I already know by the end of dinner that he's twenty-six, single, from the Unova region and a very well-known coordinator throughout that region. For some reason, I begin to get as flirty with him as possible after I catch Drew eyeing him with disdain. I get a rush of satisfaction when Dawn comments about how good of a couple Alec and I would make and Drew's face visibly darkens.

Good. I hope I'm giving him hell.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's about time for the performances," a woman in a very professional attire informs us after arriving at out table. "If you're all finished with your meal, you should start heading back to your rooms to get ready."

Since we've all finished our meal, everyone at the table stands up and begins to walk out of the restaurant. I make sure to avoid of Drew so that I don't have to have a conversation with him. I would probably just ask him questions anyways, but though I would like to get them answered, now is not the time. I don't know how I'll react to his answers—or if he'll even give me answers to react to—so it's best not to find out now. My mind needs to be free of anything that isn't this contest.

"May!" a male voice calls to me and I keep walking, afraid it's him. A hand wraps around my wrist afterward and my heart skips a beat. To my utter relief, it's only Alec when I turn around and I smile automatically in relief. "Hi Alec," I greet.

"Hey, I called you, didn't you hear me?" he tells me.

I pretend to be confused as we resume walking. "You did? I didn't hear you," I insist.

"Maybe if you had moved that beautiful hair of yours away from your ears then you would have."

I laugh at his joke a little louder than I would've if we didn't just pass Drew. I don't glance back at him, but I feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of our heads. Just to agitate him further, I agree to let Alec escort me to my cabin. It turns out that his is a little ways down the hall from mine. At my door, we promise to wait for one another so that we can head down to the stage together before we hurriedly enter our respective cabins.

I'm pretty sure I'll be waiting for Alec since I have nothing much to do aside from change into my performance dress. It's a champagne A-line strapless mini that goes well with my purple strappy heels. There's also a white sash that runs from my right breast down to my stomach where it disappears briefly only to reappear at my left hip. From there, it elegantly cascades down to the floor and grazes it with my every step. I have it on in less than five minutes.

"Wow, you look amazing," Alec blurts, his navy blue eyes widening slightly when he sees me walking out of my room. "And I thought you looked beautiful in the last dress."

"Oh, stop it," I tell him with a laugh to make it seem like I enjoyed his compliment. His words are flattering, but I'm not taking them so seriously. "Let's get going."

Alec and I find our way to the backroom behind the stage to await being called. All of the coordinators are already here, waiting to be called onto the stage by the beautiful host, Marina Rivera. She's one of my close friends, but unlike most of my other friends, she's a PokéIdol instead of a coordinator. Most of her time is spent in studios modeling for big designers or anything Pokémon-related. She has pokémon, too, like her misdreavus, Little Miss, and feraligatr, Wani-Wani, that she manages to keep in top condition, but doesn't battle with often because she's more committed to modeling. Her name's very well-known throughout the entire world.

Brianna is the first to get called out onto the stage. She puts on a performance with her Masquerain before Solidad is called out. Then Dawn, Harley, and some of the other coordinators go after her. I barely pay attention to any of the performances, though, because Alec keeps talking to me and I'm not all that interested in them to start with. It isn't until he gets called that I actually spare his performance a glance.

Out on the stage, Alec releases his Samurott, a water-type sea lion Pokémon that looks awfully strong. At its owner's every command, it puts on an incredible performance that actually manages to entrance me enough that it seizes all of my attention. I'm so into watching it as it performs a Grass Knot that I don't notice Drew walking up to my side. He has to clear his throat to get my attention.

"He's good, isn't he?" he murmurs, referring to Alec even though his gaze is on me. I meet his eyes. "Yeah, he is," I say, and then we're speechless again as we scrutinize one another. I hate these awkward silences that have constantly been falling upon us since our first encounter in eight years just a few hours ago. They haunt me with the reminder of exactly how much has changed between us. Eight years ago, we couldn't go longer than a minute without speaking to each other if we were in the same room. Eight years later, we can't even hold a conversation for longer than ten seconds. There's an uncomfortable tug in my chest where my heart is.

We're still staring at each other when Alec comes back into the backroom. At the sight of me, a smile spreads across his face and he immediately asks me how I think he did, coming into between Drew and I as he does so. I assure him that he did great and proceed to converse with him as Drew stands behind him with a strained look on his face. He meets my eyes before he walks onto the stage after Marina calls him out. The crowd goes wild when they see him and he gives them his trademark smirk that always manages to get the girls swooning. Crowds have always reacted that way around him; he could get them roaring in seconds.

I watch as he wordlessly throws a PokéBall into the air. Instead of a Pokémon appearing from the red and white sphere, a sparkling pink haze drifts out. The entire restaurant (including the backroom) is entirely filled with a floral aroma and I immediately know who he has chosen to perform with. Sure enough, his longtime companion, Roserade, comes into view when the haze fades away. "Petal Dance," he tells it.

The grass-type pokémon begins to use Petal Dance as it floats down to the stage. Flower petals disperse from the roses that are its hands and drift down to the stage where they form into perfect pink roses. The crowd is already in awe while Drew follows up with a Razor Leaf. Roserade starts spinning like a top at his command, firing leaves out in every direction with flawless accuracy so that two leaves attaches to each flower. The crowd goes wild when Roserade lands gracefully in the center of the stage. Both it and the bed of roses sparkle beautifully in the dim light of the restaurant. Once again, the crowd erupts into applause when Drew and Roserade bow to end their performance.

"Well, that was definitely a gorgeous sight. Thank you very much for that magnificent display of accuracy and beauty Drew. I'm sure everyone enjoyed it," Marina says into the microphone and the crowd. "Now, let's all welcome the final coordinator, May Maple, onto the stage! Come on out May!"

"Go get 'em, May," Alec tells me. My friends all add to him by wishing me luck as well. I give them all a smile before I begin to walk out on the stage. Drew and I pass one another as he returns to the backroom and I leave it. "Good luck," he wishes me with a soft smile that I can't help but return. "Good job," I reply and finally appear on the stage.

The audience greets me with an unbelievably loud applause and even some whistles from a few of the male audience members. Their reaction surprises me so much that I'm almost too stunned to enlarge my PokéBall; I hadn't expected such a greeting. Once I manage to, I toss it out at the center of the stage where it opens up in midair and my Glaceon materializes from it in a white flash. The judges, who are sitting at a long table in front of the stage, nod in approval when Glaceon absorbs the white flash to make its fur sparkle and I give it the nod to start.

Glaceon begins to surround itself in an icy blue aura that seems to drain the room of its light and warmth. The darker the room gets, the colder the atmosphere becomes. Beneath its paws, ice is spreading from where it stands to the very edge of the stage. The entire surface is encased in a layer of glistening ice in seconds.

"Water Pulse," I command.

A ring of water appears around Glaceon and starts to spiral up toward the ceiling. Once it stops just short of the ceiling, Glaceon's eyes glow blue as it makes ice rise from the bottom of it all the way to the top, completely freezing the water and manipulating its shape so that it forms into a marvelous tower of ice. I give the audience a short moment to marvel at the majestic sculpture as Glaceon readys its Protect from within the tower for the conclusion of the performance. A few seconds later, I'm given my cue when the heart of the base begins to glow blue and green. I call the Hyper Beam that will bring my performance to a close.

Everyone watches as the light of the attack shoots out of the tower at random spots. The tower itself takes on a white shine that makes it glow like a light bulb before it explodes and rains down on the stage in the form of snowflakes. After the green and blue dome above Glaceon fades away, we both take a bow while I try to keep from flinching from the cold bites of the snowflakes whenever one touches my bare skin. The rush of warmth in the room is so sudden that it burns me, but I'm able to keep a smile on my face.

My performance earns me a ear-splitting amount of applause from the crowd that still continues on even after I reenter the backroom. I'm immediately pulled into a hug by Dawn who tells me, along with everyone else, that I did absolutely wonderful. I put a smile on my face and thank them all. I'm filled with such happiness from the response that I've received for my performance that the smile is actually genuine. It's even genuine for Drew when he comes up to praise me. My anger towards him seems to be absent at the moment as we smile at one another, and then we're suddenly back eight years in the past. I see my friend again.

Then the moment disappears when Alec comes up to give me a hug. "That was the most epic thing I've ever seen," he tells me and I laugh over his shoulder. Glancing up, I see that Drew's walked away from me. I can't tell if it's anger or disappointment that washes over me.

All fifteen of us in the backroom all called back onto the stage after a few minutes. We stand next to one another in a line and await for Marina to announce the winner of the contest. The suspense builds up as the spotlight jumps from one of us to the next, over and over again while the judges discuss the winner. The light has just passed me when the name of the winner is finally said. I can hardly believe who it is. The name makes my heart skip a beat.

May Maple. I've won the contest.

Author's Note: Well, there you have it. The second chapter, done and out of the way. :) Did you guys like the performances? I wanted to include more, but decided against it since the chapter was getting long. Tell me what you think in the reviews though! Thanks for reading. :)