CHAPTER 1: In Which Graduating Is Such Sweet Sorrow

The sun was shining down on the proceedings, and Gwen felt like she'd never smiled harder, or for longer. She was dressed in what could charitably be called a not-hideous graduation gown and cap, and she was sitting on the stage with the rest of her graduating class, all four of them.

"...And as they navigate the turbulent waters of life," their headmaster droned on. "We are sure they'll crest each wave with grace, and..."

"Did that even make sense?" Gwen whispered to the guy she was sitting next to, Adrian. He looked at her, eyes twinkling, mouth twisting with mirth.

"I'm not even listening," he admitted. "Too busy thinking about tomorrow!"

Tomorrow. The day when they would all actually begin their journeys as Pokemon Heroes. Gwen couldn't believe it was already almost here. It felt like just yesterday when she'd been brought in the middle of the night to the Hero Academy. But it had been almost five years.

"Don't worry," Adrian continued, clearly assuming her silence implied worry. "You'll be fine. We all will!"

"I know we will," she forced a smile. "We-"

Gwen cut herself off as the girl at the other end of the row of students turned and glared at them. Zoe. They'd been friends, once.

Gwen gave Zoe an exaggerated apology shrug, and Zoe rolled her eyes, turning back to the front and smiling calmly.

"That girl!" Adrian whispered, brows drawn together in a frown. "What a total..."

Gwen put a hand on his arm, trying not to enjoy the warmth of his skin through the fabric. "Don't worry about her."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but they were interrupted by the audience breaking into applause.

"And now," the headmaster said with a theatrical gesture. "Each student will receive their Novitiate Hero Emblem, and their Hero Partner."

The audience continued to applaud. Gwen knew that most of the people down there were either related to someone who had already graduated, was graduating now, or was still a student at the Academy. They'd all been to this ceremony a million times, and the polite tone of their applause showed how exciting they all still found it.

"Abel, Zoe."

Zoe stood, and gracefully brushed down her skirt, before walking steadily towards the headmaster. She took both emblem and pokeball before shaking his hand and smiling gently towards the crowd as they clapped. Gwen remembered a time when Zoe was loud and messy, the first one to suggest they climb a tree or play pranks on the older kids at the Academy, but it looked like that Zoe was gone for good.

"Bellerose, Jasper."

Jasper was a burly guy, without any of Zoe's grace. He ambled over to the headmaster, accepting the emblem and the pokeball with a wide, guileless grin. He waved out at the crowd, and someone – his parents, Gwen assumed – cheered, before the rest of the audience clapped.

"Greenberg, Cecelia."

Celia was the tallest in their whole class, with features that people were more likely to call handsome than beautiful. She was, in a word, amazonian, and Gwen knew both Jasper and Adrian were completely gone on her. It was a little tragic, honestly, since Celia seemed to have zero interest in either of them.

"Kavanagh, Adrian."

Adrian gave Gwen a sympathetic look as he strolled over to receive his pokeball and his emblem. He grinned out at the crowd, and Gwen could hear a few girls squealing. She rolled her eyes. He was attractive, sure, but he wasn't that attractive.

And then it was her turn.

"Reynolds, Gwendolyn."

Although she knew it wasn't, the hush felt unnatural. Gwen stood awkwardly, started to brush down her skirt, and decided halfway through the motion not to, dropping her hands by her side. She tried to walk to the center of the stage gracefully, praying that she wouldn't trip. She felt slick with sweat.

When she reached the headmaster, standing beside the lectern. He gave her a kindly smile, that Gwen tried to return. She was pretty sure that on her face it just looked a little sick.

He handed her the emblem, the little badge emblazoned with the logo of the Academy that she would pin to her uniform, so that everyone would know who she was. That she was there to help. Then he passed her the pokeball, inside which was the pokemon that would be her partner in her efforts to clean up the streets.

The audience had no idea which pokemon were inside each pokeball, or what their uniforms would look like, but the class had been working on their uniforms, and training their partners, for months. Gwen knew exactly what partners her classmates would be working with, had given them feedback on gloves and capes and boots.

It had never quite felt like this day was going to come, and suddenly here she was, a pokeball in one hand and her emblem in the other.

Gwen turned to the crowd, and tried not to throw up. Gave them a weak smile, and all but ran to where her classmates were standing in a line at the front of the stage.

"Join me," the headmaster said to the audience. "In wishing these latest Heroes the very best in their journey to..."

Gwen stopped listening again. She'd heard it every year, and the only part that had ever interested her was -

The students still at the Academy trooped onto the stage, preceded by the Academy's Chatot. As one, they burst into song, a traditional graduation song that had always brought a tear to Gwen's eye when she sang it.

Now that it was being sung to her, she found her eyes remained dry. The only emotion that she had room for was pure terror. This was a terrible idea. Why had she ever thought she could do this? She couldn't do this.

She felt a hand brush hers, and turned. Adrian gave her a warm smile.

"You can do this," he whispered, and she tried to believe him.

When the ceremony was finally over, and Gwen found herself, at last, on solid ground, she headed straight towards her foster parents. They were tearful and proud, and suffocated her in hugs for five minutes straight.

Then just when Gwen thought that was over, Zoe came over with her friends, and the hugging started all over again.

"My girls," Their mother said through her tears. "I'm just so proud of you!"

"Thanks," Zoe said with a radiant smile that Gwen could totally see through.

"Yeah," Gwen said. "Um, thanks. It was nothing?"

"It wasn't nothing," their mum disagreed. "You both worked so hard, and I'm just..." she trailed off with a helpless smile. "Shall we go?"

Zoe went a charming shade of pink. "Oh," she said. "I mean to tell you, but Cece and I are going to head off together in the morning, so I thought I might sleep over at her house tonight?"

"Oh," her mum said. "As long as that's fine with her parents, I suppose that's fine with us."

"I thought you'd be leaving with Gwen, Zo," their dad said, looking a little confused.

Zoe gave Gwen a sweet, insincere smile. "Oh no," she said. "Gwen will do much better on her own, I'm sure."

"Yeah," Gwen said. "I mean, I'm not going to be on my own. Adrian and I said we'd go to Galenaville together, and Jason'll probably come with us, too."

"Jason's coming with us," Zoe corrected. "We already talked about it, sorry."

"You aren't even friends with him," Gwen snapped. "He's just following Celia."

"Cece," Zeo said. "She goes by Cece, these days."

"You are literally the only person who calls her that!"

Zoe flushed. "I don't see why you're getting so mad at me," she huffed. "You'll be hanging out with your little boyfriend. I thought you'd be glad of the privacy!"

"Boyfriend?" their dad asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gwen sighed. "He's not my boyfriend, he's just my friend who happens to be a boy," she clarified. "Zoe, whatever. Do whatever you want! I'll see you in Galena, anyway."

Their parents looked between them a little worriedly. For years now, they'd spent all week at the academy, and then spent the weekend hanging out with their friends and interacting with each other as little as possible. Their parents were, Gwen thought, mostly unaware of how their friendship had deteriorated. But right now it had to be obvious to them that the two girls they'd raised were no longer quite as close as they once were.

Zoe gave their parents one last hug, then hurried off with her friends, leaving Gwen to deal with the disappointed looks and questions. Typical, Gwen thought.

She gave her parents an awkward smile. "Home?"