Ah, Kanto. Lyra thought as she exited the airport with a suitcase full of her things, she quickly found a spot to sit at and took a deep breathe. There was just a certain air of adventure to Kanto that always attracted Lyra to come back again and again. It was probably her favorite region, but then again Sinnoh was where all of the cute guys were at. Dawn should be lucky. Of course Kanto men weren't so bad either, though the only ones that she'd ever considered attractive in her top three was Red, Blue, and Lance.
Red was four years her senior like Blue. He had this tall, dark, and handsome thing going on, but even Lyra had a type. And Red was not it. To be frank, he was too damn quiet. Lyra would bet her money that Blue was probably the only person who ever heard him talk. Aside from his title as the former Kanto Champion and eight on a scale of one to ten looks: he didn't have anything else going for him. She didn't understand why he had so many fangirls. Even when word got out that Lyra defeated him, he still got trampled over by a bunch of crazy Kanto chicks when he returned to Pallet. After that, it was back up to the mountain. And no boy was worth going up to Mt Silver for.
Blue? Attractive. Had a personality. It wasn't a good personality, but at least he talked. He was arrogant and obnoxious, which was two words: turn off. But she could understand how he even had himself a fan base to begin with. Lyra just wasn't a part of it. Sure, she acknowledged a fine-ass specimen when she saw one and didn't hesitate to get his number but by no means would she ever become a fan girl for a celebrity when she was already one herself. Even when she was fourteen, guys like Blue were never a big deal to her. When he appeared on TV as the former Kanto Champion, she'd thought he was a complete loser: Blue was only the Champion for several hours until Red came along. But he has redeemed himself as a trainer as of late, so that was that.
Then, there was Lance. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he was attractive in a different way than just appearance. Of course, he dressed well, has class, was a solid 10 and mature. That was probably because he was eight years her senior and was probably more of the traditional kind of guy. That, or it was just a dragon-tamer thing. That's why he wore a cape in public. Lyra respected him. He knew how to put people in their place when they got out of line, (Clair, Silver.) and he was humble. And maybe she admired him for that because modesty was something she lacked. Lyra hoped that she'd gain a bit of that from Lance, but she probably didn't. Though she was glad that Lance was able to retain most of the aspects of who he was- is.
Lyra sat there and thought about this as the time passed by. Even though Lance claimed they were friends, somehow the professional side of their relationship just seemed to dominate the fact they were friends. They did keep in contact, but it'd been awhile since they last saw each other face to face.
As for her relationship with Red? It was weird. They communicated in battles and he was always hard to beat. Several times, he came so close to winning but Lyra got lucky. Sometimes Lyra would try to talk to him, get him to say something. She'd thought he was mute, but in reality, he just choose to not talk. The only reason why Lyra knew this was because Blue told her.
Speaking of Blue, she thought, when was the last time they seemed like they actually got along? They had such an on and off friendship, and maybe this was due to the rude way Blue talked to her at Cinnabar Island, and the fact that Lyra beat him after she got all seven badges. But they did have their moments. Lyra just hoped that she could survive two weeks with him, his sister Daisy was the only one so far who could make her stay in Pallet bearable and fun.
A little bit later Daisy picked Lyra up from the airport and started to drive back to Pallet. Daisy's place was pretty much the only town Lyra had to stay in when travelling to Kanto. She didn't feel like staying with people she didn't know in those cabins with those nice old people who offered a temporary shelter. And Red's mom unintentionally made it blatantly clear to Lyra that she reminded her too much of her son.
One time, in the spring semester of Lyra's sophomore year in college, she stopped by Kanto for a vacation and Red's mom told her she could occupy Red's room as much as she liked. Her generosity was endearing, but accidentally being called Red despite their gender differences wasn't. So that was the first and last time she'd stay over there.
To ease her mind, Lyra turned on the radio in the front of Daisy's car. Summer pop music from Ben's radio station started playing, with Daisy and Lyra singing in together.
Girl please excuse me if I'm coming too strong
But tonight is the night we can really let it go
My girlfriend is out of town and I'm all alone
Your boyfriend's on vacation and he doesn't have to know
No oh oh, oh oh
No one can do the things I'm gonna wanna do to you
No oh oh, oh oh
Shout aloud, scream aloud
Let me hear you go!
Baby I like it
The way you move on the floor
Baby I like it
Come on and give me some more
Oh yes I like it
Screaming like never before
Baby I like it
I, I, I like it.
And within minutes, Daisy pulls up to Pallet as the song continues to play loudly, disturbing only one particularly grumpy neighbor. (The one she called her little brother.)
Blue opened up the windows from upstairs, "The crap that people listen to now an days.." he cursed to himself and looked down at the two, his glare more directed to Lyra, "If you're going to play shit like that while you're here you might as well take your ass back to the club, cause' I'm not having it."
Despite the loud music, Blue still yelled loud enough for her to hear.
Carefree as usual, Lyra swiftly replied with,"Guess someone didn't get laid last night." she moved to the back of the trunk and took out her suitcase and closed it.
Don't stop baby, don't stop baby
Just keep on shaking along
I won't stop baby, won't stop baby
Until you get enough
"Oh, please, Lyra." Blue rolled his eyes and put his hands at the edge of the window, moving his head further, "My morning grouchiness isn't tied to my sex life, it's tied to the fact that I have to deal with you for the next two weeks!" Daisy gave him a short notice that Lyra would be staying with them for awhile. Apparently, she missed Kanto and picked their house as her place to crash. Why did he have to be dragged into this?
Baby I like it!
The way you move on the floor
Baby I like it!
Come on and give me some more!
Oh yes I like it!
Screaming like never before
Baby I like it!
I, I, I like it!
Lyra carried her suitcase in a more upbeat fashion, "Hmm, sorry! Can't hear ya!"
Baby I like it!
The way you move on the floor
Baby I like it!
Come on and give me some more!
Oh yes I like it!
Screaming like never before
Baby I like it!
I, I, I like it!
"..Fucking brat." He shut his window closed and disappeared from both their sights.
Daisy turns to Lyra, and their small giggles expands into laughter.
She couldn't wait to tell Lance about this later.
"Thanks for staying over Dawn, you're a real friend." May sat upright on her bed looking down on Dawn who was setting up her sleeping bag.
She stood up, unzipping the sleeping bag and leaving it to lay on the floor, "No problem, girl." she beamed, "Though if I had known you'd break down like that, I would've told Solana to come over with me, but she has a bunch of wedding things to plan with Spenser and Lyra's already out in Kanto probably having the time of her life."
After the embarrassing break down from earlier, May didn't feel like being alone. Truthfully, the only reason why she asked Dawn to come over to help her pack in the first place was because she didn't walk on eggshells around her. For some reason, Lyra tried to avoid talking about Steven as much as possible, but was willingly open to talk about Wally, which was odd. Solana was always kind of awkward, mostly patting May on the back when she didn't have anything to say.
May shook her head, "That's alright, I asked you to come over because of that. And.. I don't need another earful from Lyra about how it's time to move on." she looked down at her bed, clenching the blankets softly with her hands.
Dawn sighed, "I can see where Lyra's coming from, and in a way she's right. But you're also not wrong to feel what you feel as long as you're still making an effort to move on. I know you haven't dated other guys, but you're still living your life, and that's good enough for now."
"But it's been four years.."
Dawn shook her head, "Time goes by fast, and the human heart isn't exactly good at catching up. While the world keeps moving, it's not expected that you will too."
"Honestly.." May began, loosening the grip on her blanket, " it's because Lyra's right that I don't want to hear it. I'm not trying to be stuck in the past but it's so hard, sometimes it feels like yesterday that I've been abandoned for the second time by someone really important to me."
"Okay, May. Wally didn't abandon you. He had cancer, he couldn't control that. Sure, his death was sudden- a last minute thing." Dawn corrected herself, "But unlike Steven," she mentally flinched at his name, "..You have a lot more closure with Wally. You and Wally got to say the things you wanted to say, and he died with the knowledge that his life wasn't a waste despite his illness. Both of you had closure. And it was because of you that he even died in peace."
"..I guess you're right." May gave her a faint smile, accepting what she said. It was childish of her to even think she had been abandoned. He wasn't like Steven.
Dawn only nodded. Last night, she thought long and thorough about how she would go on about telling May she met Steven. And now was a good time as any.
"Listen," she said, "You know when I went through your photo album yesterday and found that letter right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"There was also a picture of Steven in there, and well, I actually met him before. It was six years ago." And before May could say anything, Dawn interjected, she knew this was a lot to take and that she was throwing her all of this news at once, "But I had no knowledge of it at the time. I was in the Resort Area, and when I walked out of the Pokemon Center he suddenly grabbed my arm and I was honestly suspicious and scared of him. He turned out to be harmless in the end, but he was the one who gave me that very villa I own right now. I just thought of him as some weirdo who was so desperate to run away-"
"He told you he was running away?" May asked abruptly. Disbelief was resting on her face and she had no idea what else to say, what she could possibly ask. Six years? Why was she just now finding out about this? Dawn was way too smart to let something like that pass her by, but she knew she couldn't be angry with her now.
"No. I could tell by the look on his face. He begged me to take his villa, and I don't know if I heard right but I thought I heard him say something when he walked out of the door after I signed the contract to take the villa off of him. Something like 'I just hope she doesn't find me here, or maybe she forgot all about me.' and I'm sorry, May. It just didn't occur to me back then, I shouldn't have been so indifferent."
And suddenly, May cracked out some laughter, internalizing everything she'd just heard, "Why am I not surprised." she said bitterly, her tone softens in her next sentence, "Dawnie, don't think it's your fault. I just.. wow. Typical Steven. Loved the fact that he thought about me."
"May.."
"You really are right, Dawn." May said.
Dawn silenced herself.
"I've only ever been abandoned once."
Spenser and Solana were having a dinner at the Seven Stars Restaurant near Lake Valor. One could say it was a date. It had been quite awhile since the two had any time outside of their apartments together other than work. Solana was brought out here by Spenser to discuss their plans for the summer in chronological order of course. It was difficult, but they tried to make it work. On their way to their seats they noticed Champion Dawns face on a sign crossed out in red paint, above her head said the words, "BANNED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. GRANTING HER ENTRANCE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH CONSEQUENCES."
"Hey, Solana. Do you know what that's all about?" Spenser asked, referring to the sign.
Solana rolled her eyes, "I talked about it over with Dawn over the phone, and all I can say was that she had a bad date." she stated.
He laughed, "That's rather unfortunate."
"I suppose." Solana sighed, "Anyways, we have a lot of things down for the wedding except for entertainment."
Spenser looked up in thought, and then looked back at Solana, "As well as our jobs pay us, I'm pretty sure our budget is a little too tight for hiring a singer off of Sinnoh Idol."
Solana scoffed, "They don't have to be famous, they just need to be decent."
"I heard Summer has a Pichu who knows how to play the Ukulele." he said. A part of him actually thought that would be cool.
She hoped to Arceus that he was kidding, "I'm sure that's adorable, but unless Summer can arrange to sing while Pichu plays in the background; Not happening. Summer's a Ranger, not a singer."
"Actually," Spenser lifted up his finger, "Summer is a season, and it happens to be the season we're getting married in."
It took almost every ounce of strength Solana had not to playfully slap him, "C'mon, Spense."
"Alright, alright." Spenser chuckled, "I'll be serious."
"Thank you." Solana picked up a glass of her cheri berry wine and sipped it.
"How about the Go Rock Quads?"
PFFFTTTTFFFFTTTT.
Solana quickly wiped off the left over wine dripping on her lips with a napkin and cleared her throat, "Um." she put her napkin down, "You know, the Ukulele Pichu thing isn't so bad now that I think about it, we should book Summer right now!"
"Oh, come on, Solana." Spenser groaned, "Do you really plan to shoot down all of my suggestions? The Go Rock Quads have actually become quite popular in the past couple of years. It'd be awesome if we could have them at our wedding."
"Well, you see.. how do I put this." Solana looked up in thought for a bit, "It's not that I don't like them, I.. I'd just rather not have them there." she said finally, giving up on an excuse to make.
Solana seemed to flinch at just the mention of the band. This was peculiar to Spenser, so he asked, "Why not?"
"They're.." She rested her face on the palm of her hand. What could she say? That it was because they were horrible? They weren't. The Go Rock Quads were amazing. No wonder Spenser suggested the idea, but there was just no way Solana could go through with that.
And it had nothing to do with the note.
She curled her hands in a fist around the hem of her dress, probably not caring that it'd get wrinkled if she did that, "They're probably not going to take the job anyways." Another lame excuse she'd blurted out, "Think about this realistically, Spenser. They left Fiore to start anew after the whole Gordor thing. Why would anyone want to come back to something they were trying to get away from?" Which was the question Solana should be asking herself, why go back to Fiore of all places?
"To get paid four-thousand dollars for it?" Spenser answered with his eyebrows raised. He didn't see her clear reason for acting this way, it wasn't like her, "Look, our issues with the Go Rock Quads had already been cleared out the moment you defeated and saved Gordor- and practically the entire Fiore region. If we book them, they'll only come back for one concert. Give this a chance."
"Spenser..'
"If they say yes, you're gonna love me more than you already do for this, promise." He took his phone out as he said this. Come to think of it, he and Solana haven't had any sort of contact much less a relationship with the band since the clock tower concert. That could've been what made her anxious.
Spenser normally wasn't one to go against Solana for anything unless he felt that it'd be beneficial for the two of them in the long run, this situation was no different. He stood up and headed over to the men's restroom, not looking back at Solana.
"Damn it.." Solana cursed under her breath. She suggested this dinner as a way to forget about her own dirty little secret. Which wasn't really dirty, because she had nothing to hide. Or a secret, because she had nothing to tell. At least that's what she keeps telling herself. It didn't take long for the guilt to start chewing her insides away. It's just a sheet of paper which has no significance or will have any impact at all to our relationship. She took a deep breath and sipped her wine again, this time not doing another spit take. Thank Entei.
She sighed, "Might as well eat." and started to slice through her steak. Maybe eating would calm her down. Actually, that sounds more like something May would say. And she failed to see her logic. As delicious as the steak was, it did not have enough steam and juice to rid Solana of her new found anxiety. Wedding plans were hard work, but the load would feel so much lighter if she didn't have to worry about the author of the love letter. May was going to have to teach Solana how she does it, because eating away problems sounded too good to be true.
Lost in thought, Solana found herself biting more than she could chew (literally) but nevertheless she was nearly finished with her food. At the last bite of her meal, she puts her fork down and begins to think Maybe I'm just overacting about the note. I won't let anything ruin what we have, so the Go Rock Quads could come to our wedding for all I care. Even if the secret admirer wasn't a threat to the world, he sounded most certain to be up for a challenge against Spenser. Which was pointless. Spenser had no competition because he was the only one for Solana.
Maybe in some crazy kind of way, May was right. Solana felt calmer. It wasn't a life saving miracle, but it sure made her feel better. So when Spenser comes back, it wouldn't matter if he'd book them or not. She thought she'd gotten rid of the habit of thinking too much all those years ago as a rookie ranger at the age of sixteen. Of course, regardless of the years that past by, it was like time stood still for Solana. It was no wonder she worried about the past so much. Forget it. Forget it. She then chugs down her wine, glass empty. Finished.
"Tell me why you choose to live in a place like Canalave City but have never traveled to Iron Island even once?"
May rolled her eyes. She just learned about Dawn's apparent fascination for this place and quite frankly, she didn't understand it at all. Especially just looking at it.
Sure, it had that adventurous appeal that Lyra would be going off about. The smell of the sea and coal mines mixed together in the air. It was actually kind of like Granite Cave in a way, minus the coal. May didn't expect to feel nostalgic as soon as she got here. But it wasn't a bad thing at all. One of the reasons May choose to live in Canalave was because it reminded her of Mossdeep City back in the Hoenn Region. She didn't know if it was because she liked Mossdeep in particular, but was nice to have the smallest bit of familiarity around her.
Though maybe the reason why she couldn't understand the real appeal of Iron Island because it upset her for some reason, and she didn't want to know why.
"Never mind that." Said Dawn, "Come, I know my way around here so I'll guide you." she skipped up the stairs and waited for May to catch up.
"Alright," May proceeded with her first steps, "Say, why do you like Iron Island so much anyways?"
When May caught up with Dawn, they began walking through the entrance of the cave.
"Oh," Dawn murmurs, observing her surroundings, "Funny that you ask, I never told you the story haven't I?"
May sighed and shook her head.
"I met an Aura trainer here," Dawn began, "his name was Riley." she thought back to when she was around fourteen or so- she couldn't exactly remember how old she was when it happened, but it didn't really matter. Riley was tall. Obviously older. At first glance, he seemed like a spoiled rich dude who wound up in the wrong place. You don't often see young men in suits and fedoras in a place like Iron island. She told her about how they teamed up and fought Team Galactic, and then after that, he gave her a Riolu egg- that was now a Lucario, one of the most prominent members on her team.
May listened to her talk about a man who wasn't Barry or Lucas- for the first time, she willingly spoke with genuine interest about a guy she didn't friendzone. If it were Lyra, she would've urged her to spill more details and insist that she should've gotten his number. It's no wonder May had never heard of a Riley until now. Still, it was nice that Dawn or Solana could talk about men in their own lives, rather than Lyra, who liked to talk about the men in hers. Didn't she have a list of men she could fawn over?
"Do you still talk to him? May asked nonchalantly. She mentally debated over whether or not to ask, because if Dawn did, wouldn't this Riley have more of an.. existence in her life? But she cared about what was going on in her life and wanted to know.
Dawn hadn't actually talked to Riley until she became champion, which was several months after he gave her a Riolu egg as a parting gift and truthfully, she didn't think they'd ever see each other again. That was until they reunited at the Battle Tower and teamed up on some occasions, even hanging out together at the Survival Area after a one on one battle with each other (which Dawn always won.) but they were never really close.
"More or less," she shrugged, her blue hair falling from her shoulders as she made her way into a deeper part of the island.
"I see." May followed suit, thinking to herself that Dawn's love for Iron Island had more to do with Riley than the actual island- which surprised her. Was he the reason why she was so annoyed with all of the times Lyra ragged on her for being single, constantly attempting to set her up on dates that she didn't even go to ninety percent of the time? And here May was starting to think Dawn was incapable of showing that much interest in men.
The two explored further in the cave, their surroundings being noticeably darker. This place reeked of coal, oil and rocks- sweaty and dirty men who worked here all day and night. There was a distinct scent in the air that gave May a slight headache, maybe that was what steel smelled like. Steel. Rocks. Caves. Stones. They were all starting to give her a headache. For a moment, she asks herself, why Canalave? But remembers that she loved sailing ships and water, and that it was the only place in Sinnoh that had an available house while at the same time, having things that she liked.
"You don't look well," Dawn broke the silence that went on the past few minutes they've walked. It wasn't awkward- neither of them had even noticed, "We can go back, if you want." the discomfort on May's face showed easily, despite the dark area. She knew that Iron Island has some similarities to certain places in Hoenn. Certain places with a certain stone. Memory triggers were everywhere. But despite everything, Dawn refused to treat May like she was like fragile glass. She brought her here knowing that.
"I'm fine," May said, her voice clear as day, "it's just, whenever I go inside a cave, I'm reminded of Wally. Wally and I used to battle near the end of Victory road all of the time and, God, he was so strong." she paused for a thought, her fists curled, "I don't make it a habit to avoid caves or anything, but every time I venture inside one and see the light at the end of the tunnel- for a split second, I see his face and on instinct, I grab my Pokeball and then- he's gone."
Dawn placed her hand on May's back, May's face was averted to the ground, her mind somewhere else.
"Let's go see Wally, then," Dawn announced, "I've missed him too."
May looks up to face Dawn, but she's already walking ahead of her. And Dawn doesn't wait up.
"Move," That was the first word uttered from Blue's lips. Lyra was blocking the way of the fridge, which she wouldn't even be using in the first place if Daisy hadn't been so generous. And if he was being honest, it was pointless of her to freeload in their house when she'd be in Fiore in two weeks. He gazed at her obnoxious, white mushroom hat, then down her face. She had her eyebrow raised and confusion was morphed in her brown eyes.
"It's all yours," Lyra said, not trying to start a fight with him, "I also got you guys some orange juice, y'all were low on supply." she takes her glass of milk and makes her way to the kitchen table, expecting Blue to have something smart to say. Because he always did.
"I-" Blue started, "we don't need you to do any grocery shopping for us."
And there it was, Lyra thought.
But despite his tone, he took the juice carton, drinking out of it as he walks to the table, taking a seat in front of her.
Lyra shrugged, "Daisy said you liked orange juice." A little bit after Daisy and Lyra got to Pallet, they drove out to Viridian to pick up some stuff because that was a part of Daisy's household responsibilities. Lyra figured she'd help, and actually spent her own money on orange juice because Daisy was low on cash.
Blue sets the carton down on the table, darting his eyes at her face, "So, I'm supposed to thank you? Please. You're the one freeloading here. This orange juice should be considered as payment." he told himself that he didn't want to interact with her, but he always had something to say and it wasn't nice most of the time.
She takes a sip from her milk and gulps it down, thinking to herself that she should've bought new milk as well, then places it on a cup holder, "Actually," Lyra sets her elbows down on the table, fingers under her chin, "my tolerance for your attitude, which is about as sour as your milk- that's my payment to you. You're welcome."
"Brat."
"Prick."
"Loser."
"Asshole."
"Oh, I know." Blue smirks.
"Glad you pride yourself in being a piece of shit." Lyra retorts, not phased by him. She rolls her eyes, her elbows still placed firm on the living room table.
"The same way you pride yourself in being a walking mushroom? Which, by the way, your ridiculous hat doesn't hide your ugly mug." Blue shot back, his comebacks had no tact and his smirk doesn't falter.
"Wannabe douche."
"Trashy ass."
"Grandpa's boy."
"Failed abortion."
"You would know about being a failed abortion, huh?"
"No, but I know one when I see one."
"That's because you look at yourself in the mirror all the damn time, you egoistic tool."
"It's called having high self esteem, something you'd know about if you weren't such a loser."
"Loser? That's rich! Especially coming from you. Considering that all you ever were- and always will be is second place."
SLAM. The table shook and the liquids in the glasses slush from side to side. Blue's fists were red with pain. Lyra shot up from her seat, facing eye to eye with Blue. That was all it took to wipe that smirk off his face, and Blue knew that no one else but him got offended by those two words. They held a much bigger meaning to his worth. He got called an asshole all the time, but second place? It hit him in the gut. Especially when it came from someone who was.. first place, and this wasn't just about Red. What the hell was Daisy thinking?
Lyra could read this guy like a book. Egoistic asshole on the outside, inferiority complex on the inside. He wasn't tough. All of his buttons and triggers just lay there, waiting for someone to attack them. They didn't exactly hate each other, but sometimes, one of them would go a little too far during their little ridicules. Lyra wasn't the type to miss an opportunity when she was desperate. After all, he was getting the upper hand.
"Guys, STOP!" A voice boomed through the living room. Daisy marched her way to the table, her hair flying off her shoulders and forehead scrunched up as she stares down both Lyra and Blue daggers with her eyes.
"He started it." Lyra said, shrugging while pointing at Blue, taking a step back. Daisy was actually scary as hell when she wanted to be, she didn't play that bullshit.
Blue's glare that was fixed on Lyra grew more fierce, what a fucking child, he knew something like this would happen as soon as Lyra stepped foot in this house, "You're the one who provoked me."
"Idiot," Lyra spat, "ever heard of growing a better personality? You might want to get yours checked out." she added sweetly.
Fuck a better personality, Blue thought, "Hey, I was just fine before you came here. It's not my fault that I can't stand to be around you." Lyra's lips slightly part, indicating that she would retort with something, then Blue quickly adds, "And I'm probably not the only one either."
"ENOUGH!" Daisy's octave goes down, her voice deep, the room is silent, "you guys are grown adults." she turns to Blue, infuriated, "Lyra is only going to be here for two weeks. Why can't you guys just battle it out like you used to? I know you guys are better than this," turning to Lyra, she says, "And Lyra, please don't push his buttons like that. C'mon now. You're too old for this. You both are."
"Whatever," Blue murmured, "I'm going to my room." he averts his eyes away, letting his bushy brown bangs fall down his face.
Lyra's lips are pressed down together. Hard. Her eyes widen when Blue brushes past her and Daisy.
"Just stay the hell away from me."
Ouch. So, he was pissed. She got that.
"He'll get over it," Daisy's voice is back to normal and she's relieved that those two aren't in the same room anymore, "but in the mean time, I want you to behave yourself. I know you guys had a rocky relationship, but it was still better than this. You guys haven't seen each other in awhile and I don't want you to start your visit off on bad terms." truthfully, she was seriously sick of Blue's attitude towards people and one would think that he'd mellow out after being defeated by Red, following up with Lyra.
"Yeah, yeah," Lyra murmured, her eyes averted to the wooden floor. She felt sort of.. terrible about it, and it was stupid, "I got'cha. I'll try to patch things up with him."
"Just wait until he's calmed down, then," Daisy ascends the stairs, "if you need anything, I'll be in my room. Otherwise, just take the car, you might want to go out so you can cool yourself down. My keys are on the counter."
When Daisy is gone, Lyra exhales loudly, telling herself that she's right. She snatches the keys off the counter near the fridge and heads out the door. When she clicks the unlock button on the keys, the lights to Daisy's modest, white vehicle go off and make a sound. Lyra opens the door to the drivers seat and drives her way out of Pallet Town.
At the end of the date, Spenser has booked the Go Rock Quads as the entertainment group for the wedding, and Solana could care less. When the door to their apartment is shut from behind them, Spenser grabs Solana's hips with both of his hands, pushing her up against the wall, his lips hungrily pressed up against hers. Both of them have their eyes shut, noses slightly morphing together, hearts racing fast in anticipation. Solana quickly wraps her arms around his shoulders, she tilts her head to the side, lifting her chin up, closing whatever gap was left between their faces.
That's right, Solana tells herself, this is okay, this is the only thing I care about. Spenser is who I care about.
And luckily for her, Spenser is thinking the same thing as well.
Spenser's fingers fiddle with the zipper on Solana's dress, pulling it down as lips continuously overlap each others. For a minute, their eyes are opened and they break themselves away from each other, making their way to the bedroom. Solana tosses her purse to the side, it's the buttoned kind so the contents spill out, her pokegear in sight.
The two are hastily undressing themselves. Spenser's fingers clumsily unbuttoning his top, and Solana is jimmying out of her dress. When their bodies collide once again, the sound of hot, shallow breathing fills the room. They fall on the bed and the sheets crinkle. Solana's back laid on the mattress with her legs spread out and knees pointed up as Spenser plants kisses all over her neck and chest, while his hands have a firm hold on her hips, tracing his fingers down her leg, placing a hand under her thigh.
There is a name that lights up on the Pokegear when it vibrates, which momentarily interrupts them.
"Do you need to get that?" Spenser lifts his head up, his breath heavy and husky. He asks this even though he knows he doesn't want her to get it. But judging by the look on Solana's face, flushed skin, wanting eyes, (he probably looked like this as well.) she probably wouldn't.
Solana pulls him close to her, they are skin to skin yet again, "Let it ring." she whispers hoarsely, taking advantage of his opened mouth, she slams her mouth against his and slides her tongue inside. She doesn't care about the saliva that forms.
The pokegear rings, with the contact name Dawn as the caller I.D. Then the phone stops vibrating, a moment later, it lights up again with a text.
We need to talk.
-Dawn
"Did she pick up?" May turns her head, she was a few steps ahead of Dawn. They were getting closer to the end of Iron Island. Dawn had slowed down a bit because she wanted to call Solana about something, but May didn't press on it.
"I just texted her. No biggie." says Dawn. But it was a biggie. Maybe the others didn't think about it, but that note was really suspicious. Solana was four years older than the rest of the group, so despite being really close with them, she probably didn't think she could trust kids with something that big. Albeit, Dawn, May and Lyra were twenty two years old. They were hardly children, but still pretty young. Dawn thought that maybe she could sneak a call in with her and let May run down ahead, but she was probably still on that date with Spenser.
"We're almost there, right? I can see a faint light from here." May pointed at the end of the cave, just a little bit excited.
"Yeah," Dawn beams, "let's go!" she catches up with May and they're both walking at the same pace.
May's heart is beating fast, Dawn's smile sticks to her face. The moonlight at the end is visible and had a soft glow. There is a slight breeze in the air and the cave is warmer.
"Do you see Wally?" Dawn asks, staring at the exit.
May doesn't answer right away. Breathing slowly, she takes a good look at him. His clothes are white with dirt and so is his face. His bangs are blown to the side by the wind, the rest of his hair is messy from training so hard. Wally's eyes are the same shade of green as his hair, and instead of his skin being sickly pale, it's glowing healthily, he's happy. The smile on his face tells her that he's alive.
"I do," May says, her breath is audible, "And he's beautiful." she turns to Dawn, looking at her side profile, "What about you? What do you see?" she asks this because she knows that Dawn doesn't see Wally.
"Huh, me? What do I see?" Dawn wanted to say she saw Wally too, and tell her good things about how he looks and such. But they both knew that wasn't true, and it was an insult to May's intelligence to tell her any different. Because when Dawn stands near the exit of Iron Island, the person she see's is-
"Riley," Dawn says, "I see Riley. That's who I see every time I stand here."
Dawn places her red coat on the rack near the door of May's little house, she'd just gotten back from her little hike on Iron Island with May, who decided to stay back and explore Iron Island for a bit.
Solana never texts or calls back, but it doesn't bother Dawn that she didn't. Instead, she dials the number to an area code in the Fiore region. Specifically Ringtown. The sound of the dialed buttons make a tiny echo throughout the house from the big blue sofa Dawn was sitting on. This time, her call is answered and she puts the phone on speaker, laying it on the table.
"Ranger Lunick from Ringtown speaking, how may I help you?"
"You know who I am," Dawn said in a friendly tone, a smile crept on her face, "I know it's been awhile. I'd like to thank you for that Manaphy I was given all those years ago."
On the other side of the line, Lunick had just got done catching Larry's Taillow, it wanted to play with him and Minun again and Solana wasn't in town to take on this little mission. Lunick takes off his ranger glove, wiping his sweat with it, his phone still in his hand, "You want to thank me for that?" he speaks into the phone, chuckling, "It wasn't a problem, really. You were doing us the favor. How is Manaphy, anyways? I trust that it's in great hands." his head is up in the skies, smiling at Taillow as it flies in the Kisara Plains passed the houses. The area is full of lush, green, fast growing grass.
"It is," says Dawn, "Fun to be around. Adorable. Great asset to my team. I love her." she adds, while that was all true, she only talked about Manaphy as an icebreaker. "I want to know about the history of Solana's love life." sounded very nosy and not to mention creepy.
"Dawn, that's great!" Lunick says cheerfully, "When you and Solana come over to Fiore, you should bring Manaphy with you. I'd love to see it."
"Sure thing," Dawn was already making a mental note of who she'd have to switch out from her team, because Fiore didn't have any Pokemon Centers, "by the way, speaking of Solana, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."
Lunick's styler is stuffed in his underarm while he's putting his glove back on, letting out a, "Oh, yeah? What is it?" he straps his glove on tight, then puts his styler back on his glove.
She wasn't sure how to word this. She knew Lunick didn't make it a habit of telling other people about his friends and co-workers past and such. And Dawn didn't mean to pry into her life, but something was way off. It was like one of those movies where high school sweet hearts break up for whatever reason, and the girl is married some decades later, then her old boyfriend walks back into her life and she starts to have this emotional affair and leave her husband in the process. Dawn was sure that wasn't the case, but for some reason she was wary, "Before Solana dated Spenser, do you know of anyone who's crushed on her before?" A deep breath was released at the end of her question, then she adds, "You don't have to tell me, Solana just seems like the girl everyone wants, and Spenser just seems like the guy to attack.." she trailed off.
"Ah, calling as a concerned friend, I see." Lunick starts to walk to the ranger base, his phone held to his ear and styler in his hand. There was only one guy in mind when Dawn asked this, and he respected Solana enough not to tell the whole story to her when she could do it herself. Truthfully, it itched him to think about it, "Well, the truth is, there was someone."
Lunick's side of the call was mostly silent, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of nature, chirping Taillows, and an automatic door opening.
Dawn turns the speaker off the pokegear and holds it to her ear, "You can be honest, Lunick. Was it you?" there was a chance he sent the note. She knew that was a bit blunt of her, but she felt the need to be direct.
"Whoa!" Lunick almost yelled, Dawn did not beat around the bush, and even though people teased them about being a couple, Solana was the leaders girl, "No way. Not me." he hands his styler to the operator for charging, then takes a seat near the computer, "Have you ever heard of the Go Rock Quads?"
The Go Rock Quads. Arceus, Lyra would never shut up about their music, or how cool all of the members were. And the worst part was, Dawn was also an avid fan of them. Both Lyra and May had gotten her into their music, and this was before they knew Solana, which was before she took them down. None of them had any idea that their music was being produced under an evil organization.
"I don't live under a rock, Lunick. Of course I've heard of them." Dawn said, her back now leaned and relaxed on the sofa.
"Well, get this. The leader of the band, Billy? He crushed on her big time." Lunick flinches as he says this, "He loved her. But Solana liked the leader." Solana liked him for as long as he could remember, and if it weren't for him, Solana wouldn't even be getting married to Spenser right now, which was probably self centered to think, "So I don't think Solana has anything to worry about." he adds, a pinch of guilt clinging at his chest as he runs his fingers through his hair.
"That probably explains why Solana single-handedly brought them down.." Dawn pondered, out loud.
Lunick is tapping the floor with his foot, it'd been eight years since then, "Yeah, luckily, he was the second big boss to Gordor. We had a huge advantage." The truth is, they really didn't. He wanted to confide in Dawn and tell her about the mistake he made with her, which he considered a blessing in disguise for a long time. But he couldn't. The Go Rock Quads wouldn't even be who they were now if Solana hadn't beat them from their reign, and he'd already told himself for a long time that Solana would always make the right decision, she just needed a push.
"So, is is just that one guy?" Dawn asked, her finger hovering over the end call button.
"That's all that I know of." Lunick takes his fully charged styler that was handed to him by the operater, "I should actually go now. I want to try to beat Solana's grassland capture challenge before she gets back."
"Good luck, then," the small beam on Dawn's face enhances he cheeriness in her tone, "I'll see you in two weeks."
"Two weeks." Lunick repeated, "Don't forget to bring Manaphy." he reminded her.
"Already planning on who I'm going to switch out with her." For Dawn, that was a tough decision. She'd have to switch out two of her pokemon just so the other one doesn't feel bad.
"See you in Fiore, then!"
"Looking forward to it."
Dawn taps end call, then goes on her mobile web app, and google searches for Go Rock Quads guitarist Billy.
Lyra wasn't used to driving. She didn't have a reason to drive when she could just fly. But it'd be a waste to not take advantage of Daisy's generosity, and she had a very nice car. It made her feel kind of bad ass to drive something that looked cool.
She parked in front of the Pokemon Fanclub in Vermillion City, the orange skies have turned darker and there is a slight breeze in the air, strands of Lyra's hair blows in her face when she shuts the car door. Lyra wanted to visit all of the places she deemed worthy in Kanto before she heads off for her trip with the girls. Vermillion was one of her favorite cities, namely because of the S.S Aqua, which had a hidden nightclub. But the actual city itself had it's charms. One of those charms was the Pokemon Fanclub, which she's wanted to visit again after some time. Every once in awhile her loyal fans would show up, because fans of different trainers would come here on different days of the week.
The fanclub is jam packed with young teenage girls and boys, surrounding a tall man with spiky red hair, who wore a black cape that matched the rest of his clothes. The girls would ask him questions, like if he was single or liked anyone. Some boys would ask for battling skills or about how to raise strong Pokemon. Of course Lance would be here to steal the show just when Lyra came.
"You beat me to the spotlight." Lyra stated, beaming at Lance, who stood up quickly and straitened his cape awkwardly. She expected him to be at the league, but seeing him here was no surprise. As celebrity trainers were obligated to show up at their regional fanclubs all the time. And since Kanto and Johto both shared a league, Lyra and Lance would have to show up for them in both regions.
But it was a surprise for Lance to see her again, they usually only met and caught up at the Champion meetings, which neither of them ever missed, "My apologies," he turns to his surrounding fans, "look everyone, Lyra's joined us-"
"Don't be ridiculous, I was merely joking," Lyra let out a giggle, her hand covering her mouth, "I could never be that petty."
"Please, I was just getting finished here," As soon as Lance said that, the fans from behind them groaned and made a slight uproar. Damn it, he cursed at himself. Maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud.
Lyra grabbed his arm, leading him out, "I'll go with you. Clearly, they prefer your presence, not that I blame that. I'll visit again when I feel like it." she waves goodbye to the fans, some of their eyes twinkle at the sight of her. She knew she had some admirers in the crowd of Lance fans.
They were now leaning on the front of Daisy's car, outside of the fanclub. When Lance asked about what was going on in Lyra's life, she told him about her two week stay and how Blue freaked when he found out she was staying over, the two of them were the only ones out here laughing this much. For Lance, it was refreshing to hear a friendly voice again. Most of what he'd been doing lately was league work and looking for one of the former champions that hadn't been present to their meetings in a long time.
He faces her when she asks, "What about you? How's your life?" he didn't even know how to answer that question anymore, but he tried to answer honestly. With a deep breath, he says, "We're still trying to look for him. But, I think it's time we give up." it sort of pinched him to say that out loud.
Him being the wandering former champion that the league spent the last six years looking for. And Lyra knew who he was talking about. This guy was basically pulling a Red, which was funny, because the circumstances with these champions were the same; only Lyra had access to them. But she couldn't tell Lance that.
Lance continues on, "We actually had a meeting at Indigo Plateau just a few days before you came here. Everyone was debating on whether or not he was still in the champions reign like us, but I fought to keep him in his own regional league. After all, his name is already on the Hall of Fame. We can't take that privilege away from him."
"Wait a minute," Lyra spoke up, "why didn't you tell me we had a meeting? I would've scheduled my flight earlier and brought May and Dawn with me!"
There was no particular time frame between these Champion meetings, but current champions and former champions would meet up after deciding on which league the conference meeting would take place at. Lyra was the official Champion of both Kanto and Johto now that she'd beat Red. And she needed to bring the other two because May was the Champion of Hoenn, and Dawn was the Champion of Sinnoh. None of them had ever missed a meeting because they were extremely crucial, especially if you were a wandering champion, there were many things they needed to know and do. The purpose of these conferences was to update on what they were doing and the champions would give other champions advice on how to keep their reign.
"Don't worry your pretty little head. It was strictly a former champions meeting," Lance explained, "and Steven couldn't even show up for that one."
Lyra could've flinched at the sound of his name, but she didn't. Apparently, the last conference he ever showed up to was the one before Lyra or any of her friends became Champion of their respective region. Steven and Red were the only two that were absent from these meetings, but that was to be expected. Strangely, people were more accepting of Red's absence than they were of Steven's. Probably because he was the prodigal, legendary Champion. He defeated Team Rocket three years prior to Lyra getting her starter Pokemon, and Steven was just.. the man who collected rocks.
"We've tried his Pokenav, Pokegear, hell, a cellphone-" Lance enunciated the last word, he wanted Lyra to understand how hard it was to get a hold of Steven, people rarely used cellphones in Kanto or Johto unless it was for business reasons "and nothing. Not even his father knows where he is."
"Is that why you want to give up?"
Lance nodded, "Cynthia thinks we should just let him come to us, even Wallace agreed. Blue was kind of indifferent about it."
Of course Blue would be indifferent. Steven Stone wouldn't be such an issue in the first place, had he just told everyone he'd be AWOL for awhile. That's what Lyra thought, anyways. He made all of these friends and deep connections, just to cut them off in the end. To her, it was cowardly and she understood why May cried over it. And yeah, he left her a letter. But it was a letter. A fucking letter. And a Beldum, which totally made everything better. He could've told her and gave her the Pokemon face to face. If Lyra was still the same sixteen year old girl who was barely a Champion, she would've stuffed the shit inside her PC because no one had the right to just leave a sheet of paper with some words on it next to a Pokemon as a goodbye. Even if it was an Adamant nature and had high defense. Lyra knew, because she had a Beldum just like that, which was now a Metagross.
Lance breathed in and let out a deep sigh, "I just wish you could've met him, he was a pretty strong champion and a really great guy."
But I have met him already, more than once, several times, Lyra kept those bubbles of thoughts to herself. He wasn't that great. No matter what Lance or even Steven's best friend Wallace told her, "I'm sure he was." she lies through her teeth.
He beams at her, "Sorry to cut this short, Lyra," he said, "but I was supposed to be back at Indigo Plateau awhile ago. I just didn't want to pass up the chance to catch up with you." he admits this, his smile turning sheepish.
"You should do your work!" Lyra punches him on the arm, "I'll drive you there." she eyes at Daisy's car. But something told her Lance wouldn't take up that offer, being a dragon type lover and all, he'd probably rather just fly.
"You and I both know very well that cars can't use surf," Lance chuckled, "but I appreciate the offer," he takes out a pokeball, sending out Dragonite.
"Let me challenge you sometime!" Lyra exclaimed as Lance climbs on the Dragonite, "I'll squeeze in some time for you, have a safe flight!"
"I'll hold you to that," Lance's voice was clear as day, and he waves Lyra a goodbye as he ascends the skies, "have a safe drive, Lyra!"
When a speck of Lance and his Dragonite is nowhere to be seen, Lyra clicks the button on the keys to Daisy's car and opens the door to the drivers seat. She pushes on the gas pedal and turns her way out of Vermillion, thinking about how horrible she and Steven had been to each other at the beginning.
Six years ago, prior to the first trip to Fiore
"I'll be sure to give this back to Copycat!" Lyra's exclaims to the man behind her, turning the knob on the door, her Meganium followed suit. She stuffs the doll in her bag when she exits the Pokemon Fanclub. A few feet away from Lyra, however, was a silver headed man wearing a black suit. But she was too occupied with her hand in her bag to notice that Steven Stone had been watching her.
Steven stood there in disbelief. The girl standing near the fanclub looked an awful lot like May, and he didn't want to believe for a second that she actually followed him all the way in Kanto. The brown hair and color scheme of that outfit, it seemed like something she would wear. When the girl looks up from her bag, he sees the resemblance, but realizes that it's not her because of her face, and that May didn't have a Meganium. The word phew rings in his head and his mind is slightly dizzy when he bumps into her.
"Hey, watch it-" Lyra looked up, a pretty face with lost eyes. Cute, but way too absent minded for her. His silver hair didn't take away from the attraction, but was probably an indication that he was too old for her. Not that Lyra really cared. If he was that old, he had really nice skin for it. The Meganium beside her already knew what she was thinking, and rolled her eyes like usual.
"Hi, my name is Steven Stone," he introduces himself, "The Champion- Former Champion from the Hoenn region." truthfully, it was depressing that he had to correct himself. But if he had to lose his title to anyone, it'd have to be May. Unconsciously, Steven looked into her eyes. The spark and twinkle were noticeable, those were the eyes of a champion, he knew all too well, "Have we met...before?"
Lyra raised an eyebrow. Okay, so pretty boy was a creep. He had guts, hitting her with a poorly executed pick up line and all. But, wait, did he just say his name was Steven? Former Champion- it was about a month ago that May got a call saying she dethroned him. May was sobbing that day and spent weeks searching for her friend. And he was in Kanto the entire time?
"That's not possible," Steven concluded, "All the trainers I have battled seem to have the same look, anyway. Especially the ones who gave me tough battles." he waves this off, not realizing that he'd been thinking out loud, not noticing the odd look Lyra was giving him, "By the way, have you heard of a Pokemon called Latias?" he whips out his Pokenav, a picture of the Pokemon on his screen. After he collected the stones he wanted in Sinnoh, he journeyed to Kanto because Latias had peaked his interests.
"Yes, I have." Lyra nodded, she'd heard tales of Latias and her male counterpart, Latios, but she had yet to see either one, "Don't they reside in Hoenn, though?"
"Mhm," Steven nodded back, "I am investigating why Latias, a Pokemon from Hoenn, decided to leave the Hoenn region to come here."
This news had perked Lyra with curiosity. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she was worried as hell, "I'm interested to know," she said, trying to buy time to gather her thoughts.
"Latias is a Pokemon that has a lot to do with Soul Dew, a gem like orb," Steven explains, relieved to know he wasn't just blabbering on and on about something she didn't care about, "Considering the fact that Latias is now in Kanto, it is possible to assume that this has to do with the Soul Dew."
Lyra pondered about this. He was basically saying that the Soul Dew was in Kanto, right?
"Latias is a Pokemon that travels great distance," he stated, "it'd be difficult to find without any machine to track it with," he looks down at her with a smile, "But any trainer would be drawn to it, won't they?"
"I know I would be," Lyra's smiled back, but it was strained.
"I must go." Steven steps back, ready to turn on his heel, "May our journeys cross again." the dizziness in his mind has subsided, and he turns his back on her, walking away.
Lyra waits for Steven to be out of sight, and when he is she sprints straight to the port of S.S Aqua. Her breath is heavy and shallow when she arrives, and the boat has already set sail. Meganium wasn't a fast runner, but she managed to go at the same pace as Lyra. Lyra whips out her Pokegear, clicking on May's name, examining her surroundings in a full circle, almost tripping on her feet in the process.
"Hello?"
"May, it's Lyra," Lyra breathed in, staring at the S.S Aqua sailing to Olivine City, which was May's birthplace and hometown, "you'll never guess who I just met!"
"Oh, who is it?"
"It's-"
Lyra doesn't get to finish her sentence. Another hand had a firm grip on her arm, and her Pokegear was gone from her grasp. She whirls her head around in fear, nearly dropping her bag. Meganium stepped forward and growled menacingly at the source of the threat, Steven Stone.
Steven fixes a glare on Lyra. That seemed to be her name, anyway. He raises the pokegear into the air, pressing his thumb on end call, hanging up on May, then frees Lyra from his grip, "Did you really think that I'd be out of range?" even Steven recognizes the change in his tone, from formal to ominous. He didn't think much of her after their conversation, and he really was heading his way out of town. It was a pure shred of luck that he caught her on time.
"Give me back my phone," Lyra nearly hissed, "you don't know who you're dealing with." she matches the intensity of her glare with his. Arceus, damn it. May had the worst taste in friends, and yes, that was excluding both herself and Dawn. This Stone guy had done a complete 180 on her.
"You know, they say the bark is worse than the bite," Steven stated, unaffected, "you talk pretty big for a little girl."
Meganium readies her stance for battle, in case that's what it had to come down to, "Oh, yeah?" Lyra takes a step forward, trying to show him that she was equally unfazed, "You do realize that you're the last person that should be underestimating anyone for their size, right? Considering the fact that you were dethroned by my best friend. Funny that she's the same age as me, too. And from what I'm seeing here, she's that little girl, that you're trying to run away from!" her lips form a smirk because they both know how true this is. He might have thought Lyra was just a joke, but it was evident that he was fucking terrified of May and only Arceus knows why.
His lips are pressed in a thin line, he's traveled way too far to let it all come crashing down like this. Steven had worked too hard. He wouldn't even be in Kanto right now had that girl Dawn not agree to take his villa. It was a blessing that she came around when he needed it. Just a few more stones, is what he told himself. A few more stones and none of this would be relevant to him in the future, "How much would it take for you to not say a word?" he keeps a firm grasp on her pokegear, feeling incredibly guilty that he had to stoop this low.
"See, that rich kid stuff might work back in Hoenn," Lyra pointed her thumb back to the sea, the waters were clear and the stars were out tonight, "but I'm not one of those Hoenn girls." no offense to May, who was technically a Johto native anyways, "May's like a sister to me. I'm not going to take your money just to keep your whereabouts unknown."
Steven wasn't the type to buy his way out of something, but he was desperate and didn't know how else to negotiate with a teenage girl. Business at Devon certainly never taught him that, but his dad said girls loved money. Apparently not. Still, he was relieved that May had other people like Lyra to fill his spot, "You don't know anything, Lyra." he shook his head, "You don't understand a thing."
"Maybe not. But there is one thing that I know," Lyra snaps her fingers, Meganium comes forward, "it's that I'm going to tell her and you can't stop me." she states this confidently, Meganium stands strong and ready for attack, "Meganium, Magical Leaf." Lyra's tone is commanding and almost ruthless.
The glowing leafs shoot for the pokegear in Steven's hand, ripping through his sleeve in the process. One of the leafs snatch the phone out of his hand and makes its way back to Lyra.
Lyra waves her pokegear in the air in victory, then shoves it into her bag and zips it, "That's what you get when you mess with the Champion of Johto. You might want to get that sown. I hope you know that I was being nice." all of this is said in a sweet tone.
The air has gotten colder, and the breeze is only slightly stronger. The hairs on their heads blow a bit to the side and they are no longer glaring at each other. Instead, there is confidence fueled in Steven's eye, which puzzled Lyra. But she mentally waves this off.
"You've surpassed Lance?" Steven asked. Lyra didn't know it, but she just made the biggest mistake of her life.
She shrugged, "Barely. I bet you're surprised, huh?"
"If that's true, then I wouldn't make that call if I were you," there is a cutting edge to Steven's voice, "because I know about the thing you want most. And if you go on and tell her- or anyone where I am, that you've met me, you can say goodbye to your dreams. Because I can take it all away from you and you'll regret it." he hated that he had to say those words, but he hated it even more that he meant it.
Lyra could feel a bit of vile rising in her throat as a drip of sweat beat down on her head, "You don't know anything about me." this was just an empty threat. Steven had nothing on her. He couldn't fucking touch her. Lyra refused to be intimidated by fake words he wouldn't act on. Except, he looked like he was so sure of himself. It almost scared her.
"Oh, but now that you've told me you're a champion, just like I was," Steven motions forward, the sound in his voice nearly a whisper, "I know everything."
"Whatever, dude." Lyra brushed past his side, "I have gyms in Kanto to get to."
Steven whirls around and watched her walk away from him and our of the port, her Meganium followed her by her side. To stop her from making that call, he'd have to make a call of his own. It wasn't something he liked to do or did often, but it had to be done. Then, Lyra turns her head to the side, giving him what would hopefully be the last words she'd ever have to say to him.
"You're fucked, Stone."
It's nearly ten thirty when Lyra is parked back in Pallet Town. She takes off her shoes at the front door and places the keys at the counter. Lyra noticed that Blue was laid out on the couch, watching a Pokeathlon. She wanted to sit down with him and root for her favorite trainer (that wasn't herself) but Blue was probably still mad at her. She didn't know. It didn't take that long for guys to cool off, right?
"Where have you been?" Blue suddenly asks, not even looking at her.
Lyra shrugs, "Vermillion. I met Lance at the fanclub."
Blue made no comment. Wow, Lyra thought, and he was the one that asked. Determined to not be bothered by him, she runs upstairs to the guest room that Daisy prepared for her, pushing the door behind her instead of closing it. The room was simple, clean. It didn't give Lyra much too complain about. The walls were white, and the bed had white sheets and green blankets, which her empty suitcase sat upon. Lyra didn't pack much for a short trip, so it's not like she'd have to hog closet space. After all, Blue was mad enough that she had to breathe the same air as him.
Her back pocket vibrates and she pulls out her pokegear, looking at the caller on the screen. It was May Maple, "May? What's up?"
"Lyra, have you ever met Steven Stone before?" May abruptly asked. On her side of the line, she was sitting in her room going through a pile of clothes on her bed, while Dawn was downstairs watching one of the corny interviews May had done recently.
Lyra's entire world stopped. Her pulse accelerated and she felt as though she was being watched as she walked around the room with the pokegear in her hand. But she gathers her composure for the next thing she was about to say, "Uh-"
"Sorry, I know it's a random thing to ask but, today I just found out that the Villa Dawn owns used to belong to him," May said, tossing a scarf to the side, "he's the one who sold it to her."
"So, does that mean Dawn hid this from you or whatever?"
"Actually, she didn't know what he looked like and he never gave her a name. So when she met him, she had no idea who he was," May, let out an exhausted sigh through the phone, still tired from her Iron island exploration, "It wasn't until she saw that I had a picture of him that she realized he was the guy who gave her the villa."
"Um, hypothetically, if Dawn knew who he was and didn't tell you, how would you feel about that?" Lyra had the audacity to ask.
The other line is silent.
May had mixed feelings about that. The thing was, Dawn and Lyra weren't her only friends. Dawn wouldn't have a reason to not tell her, especially since she knew that May spent the first month of her champion life looking for Steven. Would May even have a right to get mad at her had she known the villa she went to sleepover after sleepover belonged to one of her best friends from Hoenn? If it was Lyra or Wally who disappeared, she'd done the same thing. And if Dawn kept her knowledge of them from May, then of course she'd be furious.
"If she knew, that'd be a different story, I'd probably have a hard time forgiving her," May spoke up, "I hold the friends I have in my life dearly."
At least Dawn had an excuse, was one of the many things Lyra could've said out loud. She wanted to yell at her for acting like she was fixated in someone who was "just a friend" she was in love with Wally back then! Lyra wanted to curse and tell May to get the hell over it because it's been six years and neither of them were coming back. But if she did that, she'd just be drowning in the guilt of the lie she was already swimming in. Besides, if May left her a note and a Pokemon behind, and never gave back for six years- she'd be so Arceus damned pissed. She knew it wasn't like May talked about Steven or Wally all the time. She didn't. But the other champions said Steven's name at least once every conference for an attendance roll, which he was always absent for.
May pulled up the texting app and sent Lyra the draft she saved earlier when she took some pictures from her album
Lyra feels a buzz from her pokegear, opening the notification for a new picture message, and whoop dee doo. It was pretty boy, except with the not-so-lost eyes. And he was standing next to May.
"That's what he looks like. Does he look familiar to you?" It shouldn't have mattered to May at this point because it's not like either Dawn or Lyra could return him to Ever Grand City, or make him join the meetings for conferences. She just wanted her friend back. And after hearing what Dawn told her today, she wanted no surprises.
In the guest room, Lyra heard the door she hadn't closed making a slight creaking sound, she turns around and can now see the hallway through the thin opening. Then, she turns her attention back to her pokegear, Steven's face still in her messages. As if he was saying, don't you dare tell her. Lyra's hand almost shook when she holds the pokegear up to her ear, "You know I would remember a pretty face when I see one." her slight perkiness in her tone was strained, "Sorry, haven't met him, sadly." she adds apologetically.
This time, when May sighs, it's a relaxed one, "Glad I've got that out of the way, then." she wants to add something else, but her mind is sidetracked at Dawn's call from downstairs.
Lyra could hear Dawn urging May to go down and watch some interview one of them had done and make fun of them for it. She knew, because ever since the three of them became champions, it was nonstop schedules on talk shows. Sometimes, they actually had fun doing it, but truthfully it was all fake because they had to hold a goody-goody reputation. Technically, they could be considered good people, but apparently that wasn't enough.
"I gotta go. Thanks, Lyra. Oh! Tell Blue I said hi!"
"Sure thing, see ya." Lyra couldn't have been anymore relieved to press hang up. She tosses the phone on the bed and turns on her heel, facing the door, a flash of bushy brown hair passed this room. And it wasn't Daisy's. Lyra could've sworn that Blue wore that overused smirk on his face, as usual. She makes a quick run for the door and opens it so fast that she could feel a wind whoosh through her leg.
Blue stops in his tracks and whirls around, his smirk doesn't falter. The thing was, Blue was the only other person who knew that Steven was near by while the other champions were looking for him. He also knew that Steven and Lyra had quite the relationship. Frankly, Blue didn't care all that much about Steven Stone. The guy was way too flighty for the champion life.
"Did you.. hear any of that?" Lyra asked, not bothering to gulp the vile rising in her throat. She thought he was downstairs watching TV.
He shrugged, amused, "Just needed to do the number 2."
"I didn't hear a toilet flush, and that doesn't answer my question."
"This house is really old, you know. The walls are pretty thin."
The cracking edge in Blue's tone reminded Lyra of the way Steven spoke to her at the port six years ago. Her head was starting to reel, but this was Blue, he was the last person she'd show fear to, "So you were eavesdropping." she states, "Dude, I know I'm not that loud."
"Don't get worked up, brat." Blue snapped, then turns his back on Lyra. He had a TV show to get to.
This doesn't reassure Lyra at all. But she chooses not to say anything. Before Blue descends the stairs, he decides to clarify something with her.
"I'm not going to say a single word."