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Wednesday – May 2nd, 2012

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"Oh, hell no, Brendan!"

"Why not?" Brendan argued while readjusting the collar of his shirt. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up a bit before readjusting the bandanna on his head, smiling at his nonchalant but tidy appearance.

"See, this is what happens whenever I meet up with you and May," began Wally, sighing. "For example, remember that one week when both you and May came to visit and the fair was in town?"

Brendan smiled at the memory. "Good times."

"Yeah. I don't know how that 'fun fair' in Mauville turned to some god forsaken mission to Lilycove, trying to deactivate some god forsaken piece of machinery."

"Well ... It turned out all right, didn't it?"

Wally shook his head. "No, no. I'm not done. Then a few months later, you both came back again, and here I am thinking, 'Oh, you'll be okay this time, Wally. All you need to do is plan some surprise birthday party for your cousin! Don't worry about Team Magma or Team Aqua popping up this time!' But noooo ... Even that turned into some confusing thing where you had to kill me, or I had to kill a dog, and there was something about our moms – I don't remember! I try to block that out of my memory. Either way I have concluded that you-" he pointed at Brendan, "-and her together equals BAD NEWS. I refuse to come. Besides, I always end up injured. Screw that!"

"Oh, come on. Team Magma and Team Aqua haven't appeared for years. They're long gone," Brendan retaliated, rolling his eyes. "Besides, don't you want to see May again? She was your friend too, and I'm sure she'd be happy to see you as well."

Wally sighed. "I suppose. Where are you meeting her?"

"The restaurant down the street. That diner or whatever. We're having lunch."

Wally flipped through his newspaper casually, licking his fingers so he could turn the pages. "Are you paying for me?" he finally asked after a few minutes of silence, his eyes narrowing a bit as he read the fine print.

Brendan pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, opening it and examining its contents. "If I have to," he muttered back, putting his wallet back.

"Then I would love to come." Grinning, Wally folded the paper neatly in half and placed it on the table, getting up to stretch his legs. He then walked toward the window and pushed back the drapes, peering outside. It was another fine day in Mauville. Sunshine smiled down cheerfully on the city. "Why couldn't we stay in the Pokémon Center again? You know how expensive it is going to be renting out this motel room for a month?"

"Um ... Is the answer very? Either way, I'm not going to leech off Nurse Joy's hospitality especially since we're not traveling. You know those rooms are for one-nighters anyway."

His friend snickered. "Pardon?"

Brendan rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"The moment to be sadistic was calling out for me. Anyway, why couldn't we stay at one of our houses then? I mean, you just bought yours. Don't you want to, you know, live in it?"

"Oh, right, Wally. Let me fly back and forth between here and Mossdeep every day. Staying here is just easier if I want to keep seeing May, and what else am I going to do with my winnings from last year? It's not like I really need the money, and it's not like it's a huge waste either. That and I was never fond of that new house smell. I hope it airs out in a year."

"Uh ... huh." Shrugging, Wally walked away from the window and toward the door, opening it with the jiggling of the rusty knob. Fresh air greeted him, running its hand through his loose, green locks. He then uncertainly turned around to face the man behind him.

"You're not really going to ... try and win back May, are you?" he asked.

Brendan blinked, shutting the door behind them. "I answered that last night, didn't I?" he murmured, fishing out the motel key and locking it, shaking the doorknob to make sure it locked properly.

"Well, yeah, but it sounded like one of those heat-of-the-moment type of scenarios. And, I know, I know; it was one of those picture perfect, too good to be real, movie type of scenes that you had with her, and of course the most cliché follow-up scene would be to pursue her, but I don't think real life works like that."

Naively, Brendan asked back, "Why not? Why can't it be like that?"

"It just ... doesn't, okay? I don't want you to get your hopes up. That's all."

"You're a good friend, Wally. I'll be fine though."

Silently, the two made their way toward the restaurant across the street from their motel. It was a rusty, old diner complete with grimy windows and gray, hazy smoke spiraling from the vent on its roof. Despite it run down appearance, it had a classic, quaint feel to it, and it made Brendan feel nostalgic; he had many meals there when he traveled the Hoenn region as a rookie trainer.

Wally swung the glass door of the diner open, making the bell connected to it ring before falling off and conking him in the head. Hastily, Wally rubbed his head and grumbled before trying to tie the bell back to the door while Brendan looked around, trying to find his friend. Discovering none, he trudged down the thin aisle that separate the counter from the tables toward an open booth, his shoes making suction-like noises as they tried to glue themselves to the sticky ground. He plopped himself in a booth, the red vinyl seating squeaking underneath him. Surely enough, Wally slid in the seat opposite of Brendan, grabbed hold of the salt shaker and slid it in between his hands across the slippery surface of the laminated menu in front of him. He then stared at the grumpy, white-haired trainer.

"... Do you need a hug?" he finally spoke, smiling sheepishly afterward.

Brendan glared. "Shut up."

"Latios, so bitter. I'm sure she's coming. Be patient." He then stifled a laugh by biting his lip, his eyes sparkling in amusement. "But if she doesn't, this probably is one of the greatest pranks ever."

"Again, shut up."

"Fine, fine." Wally went back to shuffling the salt shaker in between his hands and was about to throw the ketchup bottle in the mix when the soft chime of the bell caught his attention. Since he was facing the door, he was the first to notice a young lady come in, a red and white bandanna tied around her hair. The breeze teased at her bangs, and she pushed them down with her finely manicured hand, a small smile tugging at her face. With a raised eyebrow and a confusing sort of grin on his own face, Wally hesitantly raised his hand a bit. Surprisingly, this caught the girl's attention.

"Wally? Is that you?" she squealed excitedly, dashing down the aisle and knocking over a stand that held menus, almost tripping herself.

Quick yet unsure, Wally stood up, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as the girl flung both her arms around her old friend, burying her head into his shoulder. Scratching his head, confused, Wally glanced down at Brendan and then back up, noticing the rage in his friend's eyes.

What the HELL is this? Brendan couldn't help but think, both eyes wide as he watched the two embrace. She could remember him but not him, the Brendan Birch? Not the man that she traveled with for at least a year? Not the man that she dated for a month or so? For Groudon's sake, he was her first friend when she moved here!

Stop rambling to yourself, thought the infuriated Brendan. Just smile, get up from the table, and hug her. And then punch Wally later.

"It's nice to see you?" he heard Wally say meekly as May released him from her grip and grabbed onto his hands, swinging them back and forth, examining his appearance fully. Since she was evaluating him, he only thought it would be fair to observe her as well.

Brendan was right; she was beautiful, but not in the same, creepy, stalker-like way his friend thought. She grew up well, and Latios she was not afraid to show it. Curvy and slender, she was what every girl disdained in public but secretly wanted to be in private. He then looked to her left hand to make sure the tabloids he read were true, and sure enough, a golden ring with the diamond the size of – holyyyy. Her fiancé was R-I-C-H.

May released Wally's hands and smiled. "It's nice to see you too, Wally. Wow! Why haven't you called me after all this time?" she joked, nudging him in the shoulder before sitting next to Brendan, patting the white-haired man's hand comfortingly. Brendan felt Beautiflys beat their wings against the insides of his stomach when she did so.

Wally slid back into his seat, the booth squeaking underneath his bottom. "Oh, you know. When I was about to call, I thought to myself, 'Hey, don't you want to have this long, winding conversation with May about what you both have been up to?' and it sounded so tempting, so I had to do it."

"Well obviously you've grown up from that shy, little trainer to a sarcastic ... um ..."

"I'm a trainer still," Wally said after May trailed off thoughtfully. "Last year traveling though with my pally Brendan over here." He reached across the table and patted Brendan's head, making him swat at his hand like a Skitty after a ball of wool.

"That's right. I forgot you two traveled together. By the way, congratulations on getting accepted to open that new gym in Verdanturf!" May complimented, fiddling with her set of forks and spoons wrapped up tightly in a paper napkin.

"Thanks! Oh, and to you too, May, for becoming such a successful coordinator. I keep reading about you in the newspaper ever since Brendan and I returned to Hoenn, and you always seem to always be in tabloids."

May blushed at this. "Oh, most of that stuff in the tabloids are not true."

Brendan broke his silence. "Really?"

She turned her head toward Brendan. "Of course, B Boy. Do you really think I'm the long lost niece of Professor Birch."

He shuddered. "God, I hope not."

"'Tis what I thought." She grabbed hold of the menu and took a quick glance at it, her eyes darting back and forth. "I remember the first time I came here and what I ordered. It was apple pie." She laughed, a delicate ringing in Brendan's ears. "Though I suppose I should get an actual meal."

"It all is pretty greasy and contains the same fat content," responded Wally as he took grabbed hold of his menu, narrowing his eye as he read it. "So it really doesn't matter." He received an eyebrow raise from the man sitting across from him. "What?"

"Nothing," Brendan answered quickly as he looked shiftily to the side. "I'm just going to get a burger."

As soon as these words left Brendan's lips, a waitress, chewing gum profoundly from her mouth, came to their table and took their order and their menus away, hurrying away and giving their order to the chef behind the counter. Brendan watched amusedly but awe-struck all the same as she balanced three plates with her right arm while holding two cups of steaming hot coffee with her left.

The tinkling of the bell that swung on the door rung as a man entered, but Brendan ignored it seeing as May was here, smiling at him. She certainly was lovely. He then contemplated how he going to go about getting May to think of him as "more as a friend" again. The feeling of awkward adolescence overwhelmed him – a feeling he had long abandoned around the age of seventeen – from thinking such thoughts. They were kind of blissful instead of embarrassing though. Almost heartwarming even.

This feeling was soon shot down when May squeaked and exclaimed, "Sean! What are you doing here?" Her scream caught the attention of the man that just entered that shuffled his way toward the counter. The man quickly said a few more words to the waitress behind the counter before heading over toward their table.

This was him. This was Sean A. Jackassthatstolemygirl or whatever his name was. This was the man May was engaged to.

Quick! thought Brendan, giving the man standing next to their table a quick look up and down. What does he have that you don't? What makes him so different from you?

Well, hair was one of them. His hair was thick, black, gelled up and trimmed finely, the ends barely brushing up against the nape of his neck. A thin goatee, well maintained, was on his chiseled jaw, a jaw full of perfect, white teeth. While not necessarily as tall as Brendan's lean six foot two, he was muscular and more sturdy built. He then revealed his eyes from underneath his pair of dark sunglasses. They were a sparkling blue, somewhat like May's own set of dazzling eyes, but much more narrow and colder.

"I was craving some of Betty's famous apple pie since we're in the Mauville area, darling," Sean replied, placing his hands on the edge of the table and resting his weight on them. Brendan noticed a silver, diamond-encrusted watch on his left wrist, making him raise an eyebrow. A simple, silver chain complete with dog tags swung back and forth between his open, gray blazer and the air in front of him, and Brendan squinted his eyes, trying to read the engraving on it, but Sean pulled away when a waitress came by holding a pink box in her hands. He took it, pressing it against his finely toned chest.

"How cute. I ordered the same thing," said May, smiling as Sean bent down a bit to kiss her on the lips. Brendan tried his best to not gag.

The man laughed and then took notice of the two men sitting with May, the white-haired one trying to avoid his eye contact while the other one looked on the verge of laughing with his cheeks puffed out, his eyes squinted, and a fist pressed hard against his pursed lips. "And who are your friends, May?"

"Oh, how silly of me. This is Wally Wood, a longtime friend. I helped him catch a Ralts a long, long time ago back when I was a trainer," said May, gesturing to the snickering Wally.

"It's nice to meet you." Wally shook Sean's hand, smiling wide to contain his laughter.

She then gestured toward Brendan who was looking up at the ceiling. "And this is Brendan Birch."

"Brendan Birch," repeated Sean thoughtfully. "Your name sounds familiar. Hey, you got fifth in Kanto's Pokémon League last year, right?"

"Fourth," muttered Brendan, glaring when Wally snorted.

"Yeah, that was a tough battle. I remember watching it. You've got to show me how you got your Pidgeot to swoop down so low like that without it crashing. I've been trying to teach my Pelipper that, but no luck."

Brendan tore his eyes away from Wally and looked at Sean instead. "You watched the Indigo League?"

"Oh, yeah. I love watching league battles. Granted, they're not as refined as Pokémon Coordinators –" he smiled at May when he said this, "– but they're intense. You see some amazing things. The coming together of Pokemon and trainer, the triumph, the pride, the failure ... It's all pretty inspiring."

Brendan couldn't help but smile at this statement. "I know what you mean."

May rolled her eyes. "Can we stop this ... ugh, trainer talk, please?"

Sean laughed. "Right. I forgot how much you dislike the League. Anyway, I got your name, but I don't think you have mine. I'm Sean. Sean Sidio. I'm May's fiancé."

Brendan was already aware of this but shook his hand anyway, doing his best to keep composure at Sean's last sentence. "It's nice to meet you, Sean."

"The pleasure's all mine, Brendan, especially meeting a trainer of your stature." Sean shifted the box to his right hand and checked the watch on his left. "Ooh, two already? I've got to get out of here." He turned toward May. "I'll meet you back in Verdanturf later. Okay, love?"

"Okay," she replied, raising her head a bit. Sean pecked her on the cheek, and she giggled like a young school girl. "Bye."

With a quick wave and a small smile, Sean walked down the aisle of the diner and toward the door, pushing it open and exiting. Then there was silence except for the rattling of clinking dishes, the sizzling of a hot stove, and the incessant chatter of hungry customers and impatient waitresses.

"He seems nice," piped up Wally, staring out the window before turning his head toward Brendan and May.

"He is," May agreed, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Wally tapped his fingers on the table. "So um ... What is he?"

"A human," snorted Brendan.

"I meant as in his career, wise ass."

"He studies Pokémon marine life. Actually, he took over his dad's business which is a water Pokémon reservoir," May answered, ignoring Brendan's earlier comment. "And since I know you're wondering, I met him last year at a contest I was competing in. It was so cute. He was all shy and only told me he was there to look at the Pokémon competing when he was really there to watch me." She giggled, pressing a finger against her rosy lips.

"Ah. Sounds interesting," replied the green-haired man, tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. "And if I heard correctly, you're engaged?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah. We're getting married May 31st." May clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh! Are you guys still going to be here around that time? I'd love for you both to come!"

Brendan and Wally looked at each other before Brendan answered. "We'll see what we can do."

"Great!" she exclaimed happily. "I'll give you an invitation the next time I see you –" A loud beeping from May's purse rung out in a loud, high pitch, and Brendan groaned, familiar with the ring of her PokéNav. "Darn. Again?" She pulled out the device from her bag and flipped open the cover, quickly reading over the message she was sent, sighing, blowing up her bangs. "They need me back in Verdanturf. Something about the carpet not matching the drapes?" She shrugged at the disgruntled face Brendan made and the snort Wally produced after he took a drink of water.

"Is there going to be any day that you're not going to be busy?" Brendan complained in a joking tone.

"Well, the contest is Friday around noon. Maybe you can stop by – oh, don't make that face, Brendan." May rolled her eyes at the disgusted face the man pulled. "Once that's over, I should be free for the rest of the month. Well, as free as a girl is with less than a month before her marriage date can be." She laughed. "Maybe you and me can hang out after the contest?"

Brendan nodded. "I'd like that a lot, May."

"Great! I promise I'm all yours then." She gave him a quick hug before standing up, resting her hands on her hips, shifting a bit as the waitress came back with their food. "Mind eating what I ordered, guys?"

Wally quickly grabbed at May's plate – a slice of apple pie. "Not at all."

She laughed a bit at Wally's antics before turning his attention toward Brendan again. "So ... I'll see you Friday then?"

"Friday would be nice, yeah," replied Brendan, too anxious to eat.

"All right. Until then, bye!" She waved them off before darting down the aisle, barely dodging a waitress holding a tray full of food. Brendan turned around and watched her go, sighing wistfully to himself. While this day didn't go exactly as planned, he managed to squeeze a real date with May. She promised to be all his. While he knew what she meant by that, it was nice to dream that it meant something else.

"She wanted to forget you."

"What?" Brendan quickly turned his head toward Wally who busy slapping the bottom of the ketchup bottle to squeeze out a drip of the red condiment.

Wally avoided eye contact with him though, observing the goop trickle out slowly onto his plate. He then reached for the salt shaker and shook it across his fries. "Yeah ..." he murmured quietly, trailing off. "It's not obvious to you?"

"Nooo ...?"

"Don't kid yourself," Wally sharply retaliated, making Brendan squirm uncomfortably at his tone. "How can a girl completely forget about the boy she's traveled with for A YEAR but remember that little runt she helped catch a Ralts for? How can she barely remember who you are when she seems to know everything about me? The answer is she can't. Not without trying anyway. She wanted to forget you, and she probably did if you didn't remind her about you about your existence. I mean, hell, Brendan. She even remembered her first meal here. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Mmm." Wally pressed his lips together and rubbed them, getting them wet, a habit Brendan knew Wally did when he was nervous or was about to admit something awful. "Brendan, I –"

"I already know what you're going to say," Brendan interrupted, hushing his friend. "'There was a reason that she wanted to forget you. You did something stupid, and she moved on without you.' Is that what you're going to say?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what, Wally?"

"I think YOU should move on."

He gawked. "No!"

"Don't be stupid, Brendan," groaned Wally, running a hand down his face in frustration. He dipped a fry into his ketchup and threw it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing thoughtfully. "You just met her fiancé, and crap, dude. That guy is ... perfect. He can give her anything she wanted and then some, not to mention he's probably the most beautiful man I've ever seen. Oh, those eyes," he trailed off dreamily, his eyes going misty. He then regained his composure when Brendan stared at him oddly. "I'd totally go for your plan if he was a complete jerk wad, but he's not. He's good for her. He'll make her happy."

"First appearances aren't all they seem to be," coolly replied Brendan, pulling his plate toward him and grabbing the salt shaker. He shook it too hard in his frustration, and the top came off, spilling the white crystals all over his pile of fries.

"I'm just saying, that's all. I'd hate to repeat myself, but if she's happy with this Sean fellow, I don't think you should ruin it."

"You can't stop me," Brendan childishly argued.

Wally shook his head. "I'm not trying to, Brendan."

"Good."

"Just don't be selfish, okay?"

"I won't."

"I know it's easy to make decisions based on what makes you happy, but if you really love this girl like you say you do, you'll put her and her happiness first."

"I know, Wally."

"And keep in mind about what I said. There has to be a reason why she won't acknowledge your past with her."

"Your words will be like an annoying, little fly that won't go away."

Wally sighed again, picking up a fry and dragging it around in his ketchup as Brendan glanced out the window, resting his chin on a closed palm. All his emotions were mixing together. He was excited about his "date" with May in a couple days, but Wally's words kept eating away at him. Wally was wrong, right?

Bah. Of course he was. May didn't want to forget him. He had to be wrong.

God, he prayed he was wrong.

Again, thanks for the reviews, everyone. :) Feel free to comment once again. I know the plot is progressing rather slowly, but there's a lot of information I have to setup before I can actually move.

LaTeR dAyZ!