Chapter 12
May 30th, 2006
Paul sat on the metal bench beside the battlefield. Nobody else was there so he took it as a good opportunity to think about his own training, and the crisis happening around the world. He needed his pokémon to be strong, to prepare them for anything that might come in the future. Now with all the hatred and hurt in the world. Paul instinctively put his hand into his pocket, feeling the six small pokéballs. He pulled them all out and held them in both hands, staring at them. Regardless of how much he pushed his pokémon and seemed like he didn't care. It was the complete opposite. His pokémon were his only friends for the longest time, they were also his first friends. He pulled put his pokégear next and turned it on, placing his pokéballs back into his pocket. He looked through his contacts and paused upon seeing one.
Hesitantly, he clicked on it and held it up to his ear. Like he expected, he was met with a series of obnoxious beeps. Though the noise was annoying, he kept it by his ear. He was secretly hoping for an answer but he knew that it wouldn't come. Once the line went dead and an automatic operator's voice spoke, asking for him to try and call the number again because it couldn't be reached. He finally pulled it away and turned it off.
There was a shuffling noise beside him. "Hi." He turned his head and stared at the person who was sitting next to him, he hasn't seen her in a long time, not since the meeting a few days ago. She wasn't wearing her usual attire either; she was clad in a pair of black sweatpants and a red sweater, on the sweater it read, "Johto Grand Festival 2003". The year surprised Paul; she still had clothing that fit her from three years ago? The clothes he wore in Sinnoh barely fit him by the end of his travels let alone the ones he wore three years prior.
Paul didn't answer her; he was confused by seeing May. He wanted to ask if she was okay, but thought about it and decided not to. Asking if people were okay sometimes made situations worse, he knew May wasn't and he didn't want to remind her of the troubles back home.
"I'm okay," She said as if she could read his mind. She gave him a small smile. "I'm slowly getting over it. I heard about what happened to Sinnoh." She paused for a moment, "Are you feeling okay?" Her blue eyes focused on him, a concerned look swam through them. Her eyes were so similar to the masses of blue eyes in this building, similar to Dawn and Serena's, and even Bonnie and Clemont's. The colours were all slightly different, yet they had the same easiness to read, all emotions clearly visible, like how you could easily see through clean water.
Paul took a moment, he wanted to lie but what good would that do? She was in the same situation as him. "Not particularly." He said slowly, "Reggie is my only family so I am kind of worried about him." He looked at her from the corner of his eye, he wasn't one for much emotion but he didn't know why he was telling May so much, he wouldn't tell any other person, so why her? It's not like they were exactly close, fighting a lot and having different opinions caused them to clash very often, yet he felt as if May was the perfect person to confide in.
"Kind of?" She probed, "I think it's more like terrified for him." She brushed her loose hair back over her shoulder. "I know of your sleeping problem; your insomnia, it's not that hard to figure out when we've been traveling with another for a while. Maybe you should go to a pharmacy or a doctor, to get a prescription to help you. I'm worried to be honest." She said blatantly.
"Why would you be worried? It's my problem, you shouldn't worry about it."
She gave him a critical look, "People who care for their friends will worry. I'd be willing to go with you to an appointment if you want. I want you to have a good sleep; it only affects you worse during the day, caffeine won't be all that helpful to you."
Paul shrugged lightly, "I'll think about it." He then decided to swing the conversation in another direction. "Are you and Drew okay?" Paul had decided to ask, if they were friends like she said, then she obviously would care if he probed.
May rocked herself back and forth slightly on the metal bleachers, "Drew's fine, I'm getting there."
Paul nodded slowly, "Dawn's been bothering me because she hasn't seen either if you. She thinks that you two are dating or something."
May stared at him, "Well I haven't been in the mood to see anyone, and Drew's been bothering me the whole time about not seeing anybody, and no we're not dating." She shrugged, "Though I could ask the same question about you and Dawn. What's going on with you two?"
"Nothing." He replied swiftly. "If there was, do you honestly think you wouldn't have heard of it by now? She would tell anybody she could if she as dating somebody."
"I guess you're right." May was analyzing his face. "Would you tell me if you two had anything going on?" An evil glint flashed in May's eyes. "Do you like Dawn?"
Paul gave her a look, "I doubt I would tell you. Why are we even talking about this?"
"You brought it up." May answered with a sly grin. "I want to know everything about my best friends!"
"Best friends?" He questioned.
May nodded quickly, "Oh yes! You, Dawn, Ash, Brock and Drew. You five are my favourite people; you're all my best friends!"
"I don't know if I want to be on the same level as Ash."
May laughed at that. "Don't worry; you're much higher on my best friends list." She gave him a wink, Paul rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" A voice echoed through the empty gym battlefield. "That's not fair! You have known me longer than Paul."
May waved to Ash who was walking towards them. "Yeah, but Paul's a lot calmer than you. I don't get mad at him as much."
Paul gave her a look of pure surprise, "Are you being serious?"
"Yep!" She smiled. "I only get mad at you once a day, I get mad at Ash like three times a day. It's a nice break."
"Hey!" Ash said angrily, "It wasn't three times a day!"
"Oh right..." May muttered with a nod, "It was more like five."
"No it wasn't!" Ash climbed up onto the bleachers and took a seat in front of them. "You hardly ever got mad at me!" He pointed an accusing finger at her then pointed to himself, and then back at her again.
May rolled her eyes, "Yes of course, maybe in your world."
Ash snorted and looked away with a pout, his arms crossed defensively over his chest. "Anyway, Drew's been looking for you. He keeps coming into Clemont's lab thing while he's working."
"What's Clemont making?" May asked, her eyes sparkled, at that question; Ash's eyes were just like May's, sparkling with excitement at the idea of a new invention from the blond haired boy.
"An antenna to try and contact the other regions like Sinnoh, Hoenn too but the lines are down in some places."
May clasped her hands together, "Wow, that's so cool! I'm so glad that you made friends with a scientist!" Ash quickly nodded in agreement.
Paul stared at the two, "He's an inventor—" He started.
"A scientist too!" Ash interrupted, "An electrical scientist!"
"Engineer." Paul rudely stated. "An inventor and engineer. Just because electricity is learned as a science, doesn't mean that he is a scientist. Clemont doesn't refer to himself as a scientist, he refers to himself as an engineer and inventor, so does his sister."
"I guess so." Ash agreed with a nod. He then went off on a rant about some other topic that neither May or him understood. The two shared a glance with another then stared at the ongoing, talkative black haired man.
Suddenly, May interrupted him. "Hey, I have an idea, how about we all go out on a field trip!"
"To where?" Paul asked slowly. He wasn't in the mood to leave the tower; the forecast was very high today, higher than it would be in Sinnoh. Paul was not a person who wore shorts; he'd rather not walk into the blaring heat with a pair of black pants.
May shrugged, "To somewhere I find interesting."
"Okay!" Ash said cheerily and jumped up from his spot on the metal bleachers.
"Paul, you're coming too. You don't have a choice."
Paul stared at her, "I do have a choice and I am not going outside." He pointed to her outfit, "If you do go outside, you'll have a heat stroke, and you're not covered for medical bills in Kalos."
May rolled her eye and curled her fingers around his wrist. "Come on Paul, it'll be fun. I really want you to come." She smiled gently at him. "If you're so worried about me fainting, then I'll change and we can go!"
Paul grumbled and let out an annoyed, "Fine."
May cheered happily and smothered him in a hug. "Thanks Paul! I'll be back in a second, that is if I don't have Drew stalking my door again." She bounded away after that.
Ash laughed at that. "I'm sure you'll be fine, he's probably still with Clemont, or Cilan and Brock have distracted him for a bit." May paused at the door and gave Ash a thumbs up before hurrying into the hallway.
May held onto both Ash and Paul's wrists the whole time as she pulled them into various buildings throughout Lumiose City. She brought them to various different clothing stores, stores that sold mega stones, and even to the famous art museum. Paul quite enjoyed the last stop at the museum, it was relaxing.
The three had now made their way back to the tower; most of the people staying there were sitting on the bleachers by the battlefield. Clemont was standing on one end, talking enthusiastically to a young trainer who was standing opposite to him. May pushed both Paul and Ash towards the metal bleachers as well.
There was a large open spot next to Iris; she was madly glaring at her pokégear. May pulled Ash and Paul over next to her, she took the spot closest to the purple haired girl, leaving hint to sit in between many and Ash much to his dislike.
"Hey Cilan!" Ash announced loudly to the green haired man sitting next to the ferocious Iris.
Cilan waved to Ash as he leaned forward, "Hello Ash, Paul and May! How are you three today?"
"We're great!" Ash quickly replied, "We just came back from shopping and we went to the art museum!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Cilan's smile grew bigger at that, if that was even possible. "Ah the love aroma of classic art! I am also an art connoisseur! Did you know that—"
Iris slapped her hand over his mouth, "I am not in the mood to listen to you right now." She grated out. "Trip and Georgia already got me angry today; you don't need to add onto it."
Ash leaned forward more, "Trip and Georgia?" He questioned, "I didn't expect you to still be talking to them."
Iris grumbled, "I am. I still talk to all of them, Stephan, Bianca, Cameron, all of them."
"Cameron?" Ash questioned, "We only knew him for about a week."
"We also talk to Burgundy too, and Luke." Cilan added in.
Ash frowned and stood up, snatching Iris' pokégear from her hands. "Ash you little—" Ash cut her off by holding up his hand, Iris slapped it away. "I will kill you, give it back!" Paul watched as Ash opened the camera and took a picture of him and the others beside him, meaning Paul himself, May, Iris and Cilan. Paul leaned back so he couldn't be in the picture. "Ash!" Iris shouted angrily. Ash quickly sent the picture to various contacts he most likely knew adding in, "it's ash! i stole irises phone :D"
Paul cringed at his grammar and his lack of use of capital letters.
Almost instantly, Ash got replies from the various people he contacted. "Ash, I swear to Arceus, you better not have sent that to any of the people I work with! Definitely not Alder or Drayden!"
"Oops?" Ash replied with a smirk, "Said that too late!" He looked up at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the pokégear. A hand slapped down on the back of his head. "Ow!" He exclaimed, "I was kidding!" He reached a hand up to rub the back of his head. Ash looked behind him and made eye contact with an angry looking Misty.
"Give it back to her; what she sends people is more important than what you do." The red-head stated.
Ash let out a long dragging sigh followed by a, "Fine." and handed the pokégear back to the frustrated purple haired girl.
Iris snatched it back from him aggressively and went through various texts. "Now they what your number." She muttered.
Ash perked up, "Who?
"Stephan, Cameron and Bianca."
"Give it to them!" Ash replied with a grin and looked up at his girlfriend; he patted the empty spot next to him, "Sit with me!" He grinned up at her. Misty gave him an eye roll and sat next to him. He looked towards Clemont, "Did his challengers show up?"
"Yes, all three of them." Misty replied, "This is the last one."
Ash frowned, "Aw really? I wanted to see all of them!" He slouched forward with a groan, "I knew we shouldn't have gone to that museum!"
Ash caught May's attention and she leaned forward to glare at him, "It was a brilliant idea!" May felt a tap on her shoulder and looked behind her. Paul did too. Drew was standing there. May sighed and stood up. "I'll see you later Paul." She waved to him and trailed the green-haired man out of the battlefield.
Drew led May down a hallway and pushed open a door, it was comfy living room like place. Various couches and chairs were placed about the room; a large bookshelf was next to the television. "Are you honestly going to lecture me?" She asked, he didn't answer. "I'm feeling better, I wanted to go out and look around. I wasn't by myself I had Ash and Paul with me. It's not like if I was going to be in trouble if that's what was worrying you. I wanted to go outside and go shopping and we even went and looked at all the beautiful art."
"If you wanted to go outside you could have just asked me." Drew stated, "I'm angry that you didn't."
"I don't need to be constantly monitored." May retorted, "I am not a child, it's not something necessary for you to do."
Drew ran his fingers through his hair. "You were depressed May, don't bother denying it, I know what depression looks like. Do you know what happens to people who are upset like that? Do you know what happens to people who are depressed and just disappear without a word?"
"I wouldn't—" May started.
"Most of the time people wouldn't but it happens May. One person that I have loved has done something that they 'wouldn't do'. You doing that would be so much worse than losing my father."
"Your father...?" Drew has never told May the whereabouts of his father. Know knowing where he really was, she didn't want to know.
Drew barely stopped his rant. "And to be perfectly honest, I love you a whole lot more than I ever did for him."
May stared at him. "W-what are you-?"
Drew shrugged, not fazed at all like she was, "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and looked away for a moment.
"I already told you, I'm feeling better." She looked away too as a small blush dusted over of her cheeks. "I get that your worried about me and stuff, I understand why you were, but really, I don't need to be checked up on every half hour."
"Well you said you understand why I was worried so I don't need to repeat myself." He turned to leave the room but was caught by May who hugged him from behind.
"You don't have to leave you know." She buried her face into the back of his t-shirt. "I'd love it if you stayed."
Paul walked into the large dining room; he filed into it with every other refugee staying in the tower. A small head of blonde hair appeared beside him.
"Hiya Paul!" Bonnie greeted cheekily, Dedenne was resting on her shoulder. Upon seeing Paul, the little electric mouse climbed up his arm and perched on his shoulder instead. "Isn't my big bro such a cool battler?" Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked up at him. "I want to be as good of a battler as he is!" She declared.
"You might." He said curtly.
Bonnie grabbed one of his hands with her own, "Let's sit over there with Clemont and Serena! Oh! Even Brock is there!" she dragged him over and ordered him to sit next to her, he begrudgingly took the seat.
"Hello Bonnie, Paul!" Brock greeted with a wave. "How are you two?"
"I'm great!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Isn't Clemont the best gym leader ever, he only lost one battle!" She looked to her brother with a big grin.
A light dust of a blush spread over the blond's cheeks, "I'm not as good as you think Bonnie." Clemont said as he nervously took off his glasses and started to clean them.
"Of course you are!" Bonnie exclaimed, "My big brother will always be the best!" She cheered. "You'll always be the best!"
"Bonnie's right you know." Serena added in with a smile. "You're a brilliant gym leader and an awesome big brother!"
If it was possible, Clemont's blush turned an even deeper shade of red, almost engulfing his whole face. "T-thanks." He stuttered out.
"Look!" Bonnie shouted and jumped up from her chair, dashing away to the doorway.
"You were challenging the gyms in Hoenn I presume." Brock pushed, "How many badges did you get?" He asked as he picked up a roll from the plate in front of him. Brock ripped it open and reached for a small basket full of butter.
"Five."
"Oh, so you challenged May's father?"
"Yes, that's how they found out I was in Hoenn, Dawn was with them."
"I was with whom?" A new voice spoke. Paul looked beside him as Bonnie pushed Dawn into her old chair; too plates of food were on a tray. Dawn picked up one of the plates and placed it in front of him.
"Thanks." He muttered, "I said that you were with May and Drew."
"When? I wasn't with them today."
"When you met at Norman's gym." Brock spoke up; a bite was taken out of his roll.
"Oh! Now I understand." Dawn grinned as she stopped up a forkful of potatoes. "What we're you guys all doing today?"
"Clemont was building an antenna." Serena said with smile.
Dawn nodded, "I think somebody told me about that!" She spoke excitedly.
"I helped move more things around with my siblings." Brock shrugged. "Not very interesting."
"I saw you come in during Clemont gym battles, where we're you?" Dawn asked Paul.
Paul glanced at her, "May wanted to go out and look around."
"That's fun." She spoke quietly. "I just slept in and hung around with Misty." She picked up her fork and pushed around her food on her plate before deciding to take a bite of potatoes just like Brock had. "What did you guys do?"
"We went to a couple stores and art museum. The idiot Ash complained the whole time."
"Ash was with you?" Dawn's mood suddenly changed, she looked at him with curiosity.
"If you saw us come into the battlefield, then I think you should have seen him with us." Paul watched her carefully, she was acting a little bit differently then what he was used to seeing her like.
She nodded slowly, "I guess you're right."
We got a new router hurray! Long chapter too! Somebody commented, wanting more contestshipping and they must have mind reading skills because I already had this planned to be in this chapter!
Hope you enjoy it and have a lovely winter break!
Also, there is a new tumblr blog made specifically for this fanfiction! So if you have a tumblr account, follow The Carriers of Salvation!