A/N: Woo, another chapter! Once again with some teenage themes, by the way. Thank you very much for your support, I'm incredibly grateful to all of you. Without you guys, this story wouldn't be like it's now. So thank you, and please enjoy this chapter!

To Guest: Thank you very much! They're really cute together, yeah :D I hope you like this chapter as well!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Leave Brocko Alone!

Chapter 4

My phone buzzed on the table, our drinks vibrating ever so slightly along with it. I had been rummaging through my bag to find a paper for Lucy to have a look at, as we had been talking about my study and I wanted to show her my research.

"Again." I sighed, ignoring my phone and instead pulling my backpack on my lap to get a better look at its contents. "Probably those commercial texts, I somehow got stuck with those and I have no idea how to turn it off. Just delete it," I said dismissingly. "Aha!" I finally found the paper I had been looking for.

The paper contained my tentative subject for my thesis. At the beginning of the year – inspired by my second Gym battle against Ash – I had been planning on writing my thesis about magnetism and the possible healing or other effects on Electric types. But after seeing how Bun-Bun had developed and combined with my knowledge and interest in Breeding, doubt had started to creep in. My contact with Reggie these past few weeks had convinced me, and I had decided to go for it and start all over – this time about the differences between the development of baby Pokémon with or without two parental figures in their lives.

Although my new topic had not been officially accepted yet, I had already done quite a lot of preparations. What little literature there was on this subject I'd researched, and I had set up a tentative plan for an experiment. Besides approval from my supervising professor, I would also need financial support, and that last one would undoubtedly be more challenging.

I straightened out the pages, but when I wanted to hand them to Lucy, I saw her staring at my phone with raised eyebrows.

Uh-oh. I guess that that text wasn't a commercial text after all.

"What is it?"

Lucy hesitated (oh dear, which idiot had sent me what stupid message now?) but then read out loud, "Can I pwease have some new shoes? I luv you and your the best xoxoxoxo love love love from Yolanda."

She gave me a look, but before I could explain, my phone buzzed again and Lucy's eyes went back to the screen. "I luv u i luv u i luv u please i want new shoes two your the best xoxoxoxo i'll be real nice when your home lots of luv Cindy."

"Oh Arceus," I rubbed my forehead, before extending my hand. "C'mon here, I'll text them back."

Shaking my head slightly, I accepted the phone from a befuddled Lucy, before proceeding to explain, "They can't have new shoes, we already talked about this, but of course they were going to try anyway." Quickly I finished up typing a loving but very definite no.

Yolanda had come home for several days and had taken Cindy out for shopping. Or rather, window-shopping, because Dad and I were still discussing a clothing allowance. Despite that some of the kids were on their Pokémon journeys, we were still a big family, and that was painfully visible in our finances.

When I put my phone back on the table again, I caught Lucy's eye and realized she was still looking at me strangely.

"What...?" Oh Arceus, please let there not be something on my face.

"Who were you texting?" she asked, genuinely sounding confused.

Slowly, uncomprehendingly, I said, "My sisters..."

"Your… sisters?" Her eyes widened, and she put her fist in her palm. "Cindy… And Yolanda is your sister as well? I thought you had just three!" She sounded incredulous, and strangely enough, relieved.

"Huh… Have I really never mentioned them?" My eyebrows furrowed together, before disregarding the question and explaining to Lucy, "Yeah, I have four younger sisters, and five younger brothers. You met Cindy, Suzie, Timmy, and Billy and Tilly – those are the twins – and the older ones are out travelling: Forrest, Salvadore, Tommy, and Yolanda-" I gestured to the phone on the table. "-who just texted me for new shoes, because she's home for a few days and out shopping with Cindy."

When hesitant recognition began to dawn on Lucy's face, I took my phone again, scrolled through the pictures until I had one of all my siblings together, and then handed Lucy the phone. "Here. Up there on the left is Yolanda, and in the middle, a bit to the right is Cindy."

"Oh wow…" she stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"Yeah, they can be a little overwhelming…" I admitted, an apologetic undertone in my voice. The last thing I wanted was to scare Lucy away with my extended family.

"Yeah, I can imagine…" A hesitant smile made its way on her face. "They're cute. You all look like each other."

"They're little monsters," I corrected her, grinning, and Lucy let out a short laugh at that as she handed me back my phone.

"This is going to sound stupid…" Lucy started, looking away from me. "But I was thinking for a moment that Yolanda and Cindy were other girlfriends of yours."

I stared at her.

"I mean, I know you wouldn't do that- uh, I mean, I thought I knew because we haven't been dating for that long, so it's not like I really know you already-" she rambled in an attempt to explain herself. "I mean, the texts, if you don't know they're from your sisters, it does sound a bit like they could be from your girlfriends asking for money, and, and- Mew, I'm messing this up, I'm so sorry."

Lucy hid her reddening face in her hands, and I was too stunned to take advantage of the silence. She looked back at me, her eyes wide. "I'm really sorry. My friend… she's been going through a really bad break-up, and she keeps going on about how you can't trust a guy, and I-" She made a helpless gesture. "I'm really sorry, Brock. I'm sure I would have realized that as soon as I thought about it more, and I just wasn't thinking right now-"

"Lucy, Lucy," I finally interrupted her gently in her overreaction. "Calm down, it's not a big deal. Misunderstandings happen. I understand, we haven't been seeing each other for long, and-"

"I'm still really sorry for thinking that, it's unfair to project things like that on you-"

"Lucy, really, don't worry about," I tried to reassure her, and to stop her stream of apologies. Really, I understood. "I'm not offended. After all..." I grinned, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm an attractive guy."

It took a moment longer, but then Lucy relaxed and let out a bit of a nervous giggle, and after another moment hesitation, she swatted my arm playfully. "And so modest."

"Absolutely." My grin widened.

"But just to be clear," I said, turning more serious again. "I don't have another girlfriend, just you- If you want to be, of course," I hastily added when I realized what I was suggesting. We had never talked about our official relationship status before, and I hadn't planned on bringing it up now, but since it was now out in the open…

I took her hand and couldn't help the hopeful smile that was creeping up my face when I looked at her beaming face. It was easy to respond in kind, and then Lucy bent over the table to meet my lips. A colony of Butterfree was suddenly released in my stomach, and it was easy to get lost in the kiss, but since we were in public, we pulled away after a moment. My grin was almost painful, and she squeezed my hand.

"On this subject," I finally said, smiling playfully, "you don't have any other boyfriends either, do you?"

She laughed and squeezed my hand again. "Nope. Not even any close male friends, just some acquaintances. Oh, and there's of course my brother, we're close, but you already know him. You wouldn't mistake him for my boyfriend." She laughed lightly at her own joke.

I sweatdropped. "Uh… well, actually…" I grinned sheepishly, and scratched the back of my neck when Lucy looked at me with a confused smile. "I might have done that back when I saw you two together in Hoenn..." To save some of my dignity, I quickly added, "Of course I barely knew you then..."

Lucy stared at me for a moment, a blank expression on her face, before letting out a laugh. She patted my hand. "Brock…" She shook her head, still grinning. "Don't worry about it, you won't believe how many times that actually happened. We don't look much like each other, do we? Oliver is the perfect way to get rid of unwanted suitors without having to outright tell them." Her eyes widened, and she quickly clarified, "Oh, not that I meant that you were an unwanted suitor."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I get it." I smiled. "So no male friends who could accidentally become the innocent victim of my jealousy?"

"Nope, none." She looked at me. "You?"

"Male friends?" I joked, before properly answering, "Well, you have Misty, of course, you know her, the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. She's the closest female friend I have, I travelled with her for years, she's like a sister to me." An annoying, very violent sister, but one I cared very much about anyway. "May is a Coordinator from Hoenn, the daughter of Petalburg Gym Leader in Hoenn, and Dawn is a Coordinator from Sinnoh. I travelled with May, her younger brother and Ash through Hoenn and Kanto, and with Dawn and Ash through Sinnoh."

Lucy hummed, before asking, "And those other two girls you mentioned, the ones you travelled with to Hoenn recently? Iris and... Leaf?" She frowned as she recalled their names.

"Yeah, Iris and Leaf," I confirmed. "I met them on the way to Hoenn. They're more Ash's friends, so I'm not that close to them."

After Lucy nodded in understanding, we fell silent. After several moments I remembered the paper that was still in lap, and I asked, "Any other questions, my lady? I still got this paper, you see." I straightened out the slightly creased surface and when Lucy's eyes lit up, I handed her the pages.

"Thank you, it's really cool that you can use your Breeding expertise here again," Lucy said, as she carefully put the paper in her bag. She stopped, looking back up at me. "I can take it with me, right? I mean, if you need it-"

"No, no, I have everything on my laptop," I reassured her. I hadn't expected her to take it with her, but it wasn't a problem.

"Good." Lucy smiled in relief and closed her bag. "I'd like to read it properly, so-"

My phone buzzed again.

Lucy closed her mouth and followed my stare to the phone. "Max?" she read the name on the screen.

Grinning slightly, I picked up the phone and showed her the caller ID – a picture of an obviously male person. "May's younger brother," I explained quickly, "Sorry, I-" I gestured to the still buzzing phone, and when Lucy smiled understandingly I took the call.

Whatever Max was calling me for, I was sure that it could wait. C'mon people, I just wanted a date that wasn't constantly interrupted by siblings or friends or Croagunk, that shouldn't be so difficult, right?

"Brock!" Max's panicked voice came through loudly, and I held the device a bit further from my ear in reflex. Even though my reasonable mind told me that it was highly probable he was being melodramatic, my insides turned cold anyway.

"You've got to help-" He stopped short in his plea. "Can you turn on the visual? Brock? You've got to turn on the visual!"

Now even my reasonable mind was having some trouble conjuring up a plausible explanation for Max's behavior, and befuddled and somewhat infected by Max's panic, I did as he told me.

I was met with a very odd sight.

It was indeed Max, but his hair was a mess, his glasses broken and askew on his head, and his usual calm expression was definitely missing. But perhaps even more surprising was the person next to him, and I felt my mouth fall open.

Drew. His usually neat green hair was in a similar condition as Max's, and beneath his left eye a dark bruise was blossoming.

"What…" I asked slowly as soon as I had regained control of my emotions, "is going on?"

Though physically looking far worse than the younger boy, Drew seemed more collected and answered dryly, "We might have a problem."

"I have a problem," Max bit out, turning to glare at Drew. "You however are way too relaxed in this situation. Do you realize that all my Pokémon are inside and that it's going to freaking freeze out here? Not to mention I can barely see with these things!" He gestured angrily at his glasses.

Something flickered in Drew's eyes. "You were the one who attacked first-"

"Okay, hold on, hold on, what the heck is going on?" These two boys were making no sense, and a bright idea came to me. "Can you get May?" I asked hopefully.

Drew snorted. "That's kind of our problem."

"What's going on?" Lucy's hesitant whisper pulled my attention from the small screen. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, a crisis... I think. I'm still not sure what's going on. Do you mind if I...?" I wasn't sure what to ask, do you mind if I continue talking to them and interrupting our date? Lucy seemed to understand anyway and nodded. "It won't take long," I promised, getting up from my chair to go somewhere with more privacy when Drew and Max's discussion was getting progressively louder.

"Hold on." I glanced to the screen, but neither of them appeared to hear me. I quickly made my way through the café to the door, and then stepped out in the relative quiet chill of the street.

"Now." I turned my full attention to the two boys on the screen, who still appeared to arguing amongst themselves. "Hey!" They finally stopped to look at me, and I ordered, "Tell me everything. From the beginning."

They looked at each other, and Max nodded shortly at Drew.

"Alright," Drew said, running a hand through his hair which only resulted in a bigger mess. "Max is convinced you can help us, so I hope he's right. Especially for his sake."

"Tell me."

"I got here a few hours ago – May and I were planning on travelling together once the season starts here-" I nodded in acknowledgement; May had already told me this. "-and I just came here to go over some stuff, talk about our route a little bit, look through the data with the Contests when and where..." I raised my eyebrows slightly, and Drew apparently took this as his cue to defend himself with a stiff, "I like to plan ahead."

I nodded, mentally noting that Drew's planning tendencies would fit May's impulsiveness well. He continued, "We were discussing things in her room, planning things, and I was trying to convince May to visit the Meteor Falls Cave. May didn't want to, and I did, and that's what we were discussing when Max walked in. He jumped to the wrong conclusion, hit me, I pushed him off-"

"Wait, wait, you lost me there," I interrupted him when he picked up speed and lost clarity. "What wrong conclusion could you possibly get from that?" What right conclusion, even?

"In essence, the things Drew told you are the truth. However, he's also not telling you a few things." Max shot him a look. "I was bringing them something to drink-"

My eyebrows shot up. Sure, Max was a nice boy, but bringing his sister and her date something to drink? Even if that date was Drew, it was incredibly odd. Max flushed. "Look, I have a perfectly good reason to bring them something to drink-"

"-which would be that Mr. and Mrs. Maple are out, and they don't trust us." Drew smoothly interrupted.

"They don't trust you," Max shot back. "It has nothing to do with May."

Despite that my information was still lacking I was already drawing my own conclusion. If I remembered correctly, it was the annual Gym Leader Conference in Hoenn, always just before the start of the season, and undoubtedly that was where their parents had gone. And as the ever protective parent – since I strongly doubted that Mrs. Maple had anything to do with it – Norman had asked his son to keep an eye on his sister's boyfriend and to make sure those two weren't too long alone.

"Right, right," I nodded, interrupting another of their squabbles before it could really begin. "So you were bringing them something to drink, what happened?"

"I saw," Max said slowly, "Drew sitting on the ground, on one knee, holding a ring and asking May to marry him."

I gaped at both of them.

Drew rolled his eyes, before halting mid-movement with a wince. "That's what he saw. Or what he thought he saw. Something completely different was going on."

I was still gaping at them, but finally forced out a very important question. "What, in the name of Arceus, were you doing for Max to think you were asking May to marry you?"

"It's a stupid misunderstanding," he said simply. "I was still trying to convince May to go to the Meteor Falls Cave, who was playing with something in her hands, she dropped it, I went to pick it up, I was still talking when I was getting up, and that's when Max walked in."

I looked at him blankly, an inkling of understanding seeping through but still too vague.

Drew clarified, "I was on one knee because I was getting up, I was holding a ring because that was what she had dropped and I was asking her if she would please go to the Cave, but I couldn't finish my sentence because Max came in. And he jumped to the wrong conclusion."

"You were sitting on one knee in front of May with a ring and you were asking if she would please-!"

"-Come with me to the Meteor Falls Cave," Drew finished coolly.

This fantastical story warranted another blank stare.

"It sounds ridiculous, yes," Drew said, smirking and successfully managing to flip his messed-up hair, while Max grimaced. "But it's actually, genuinely, really true."

"Right..." I said slowly, still trying to comprehend it. "And then..?" A suspicion had already started to form in my mind, but I wasn't about to jump to conclusions in this case.

"Then I hit him a black eye," Max said, his pride poorly concealed.

"In self-defense," Drew quickly continued, "I pushed him away and he tripped, falling and breaking his glasses."

"Okay," I said slowly, processing this. So far, it was still... extremely strange, but it did make sense. Norman had told Max to keep an eye on his sister and her boyfriend, Max had done so, had seen May and Drew in a compromising position – though fortunately in a completely other sense than was usually suggested with that phrase – and had hit him. Drew had pushed him off and Max had fallen, resulting in his broken glasses.

That still did not explain why they were calling me now.

"But you two seem to understand now that there's been a misunderstanding, so… what's the problem?"

"Well... May wasn't too happy," Max said, sounding as if he was carefully picking his words.

Drew snorted. "She was furious." He grew serious again. "I admit that, ah, I might have been a bit… pushing her, with the Meteor Falls Cave thing, so she was already wired up, and then Max attempted to play the protective brother..."

"And Drew laughed at her, and I said something, and he said something, and then she became really, really angry. Especially at Drew," Max added with slight satisfaction, but his amusement was gone with his next words, "But it was… it was really serious, she was furious, I swear I thought I saw flames in her eyes."

Yes, I could imagine that, the few instances I had seen May completely livid were definitely memorable – usually it'd had something to do with either Max, her Pokémon or food. May was a sweet girl, but fierce when she needed to be.

Still, May might be furious, but she'd calm down soon enough, especially when she realized this was all a big misunderstanding and maybe some apologies…

"Well, just apologize," I offered as advice. "Explain and apologize, I'm sure May will see reason when she's calmed down a bit."

"I don't think... I don't think it'll be that easy," Max said hesitantly, avoiding my eye.

"O-kay. Why not?" I had no time for patience; Lucy was still waiting for me plus it was freaking cold outside.

"Uh, like I said, we said some stupid things…." Max continued, sheepishly. Drew was looking everywhere but at me. "I said something about her overreacting, and Drew told her to calm down and uh…" He glanced at Drew. "…something really, really stupid."

Max fell silent after that and didn't seem inclined to tell me what this 'something really, really stupid' had been, his gaze back on the ground. I turned my narrowed eyes at Drew, who shifted uncomfortably and even seemed to turn a bit red.

"Uh..." he started, uncharacteristically faltering. "I admit that I was… not in the best mood, and I was not really thinking clearly-"

"You could definitely say that," Max snorted in amusement.

I raised my eyebrow, and if Drew hadn't appeared uncomfortable before, he definitely was now.

"I asked… Ah, I asked if there was reason she was being so emotional…" He pressed his lips together, before clarifying, "A biological reason."

I stared at him, his eyes begging me to please not make him spell it out, before everything clicked.

"Oh." Yeah, yeah, that was stupid. A woman was allowed to blame her emotions on hormones, but oh woe the male who would suggest the same thing. "Yeah, that's stupid."

Max nodded earnestly and Drew looked at the ground.

I coughed. "So uh, what happened... after...?" I wondered if I even wanted to know. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"May... exploded." Max looked dead serious. "She kicked us out of the house, yelled at us to leave her and her hormones alone if we thought that she was a weak women and a slave to her hormones who needed to be protected by her men, or something to that effect anyway, and then she locked us out."

"That's... a rather strong reaction," I said slowly.

"Only proves that she really is a slave to her emotions-"

"Don't say that," Max hissed at Drew, "she might hear you and I would like to get back inside before it gets even colder and dark, yeah?"

It was really a strong reaction, extremely so, nothing I had expected from May. She could get angry, yeah, and yell, too, definitely, but going as far as locking them out of the house? That was new, more something I'd have expected rom Misty-

Wait a minute, hadn't Misty mentioned that she and May had been keeping in touch? Dammit, it would have been really something for Misty to give May feminist 'advice' about standing up for herself and to show those men that she won't be messed with.

"Misty, what did you do…" I muttered to myself.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…" I shook my head. "Just something I thought of. Nothing important."

Drew raised an eyebrow but let it go. "Anyway, we were hoping you might be able to help us. Get us back in the house, so I can properly apologize to May and so that I can explain..." He trailed off, unsure about what exactly he wanted to explain.

"And so that we can explain we never meant it like that," Max filled in the rest, before shooting Drew a look. "And however you're going to explain your stupid comment is certainly not my problem, just do it fast. I'm freezing!"

I bit back my own comment about how it was freezing here, too, and that I had a date to get back to as well.

"I do have my Pokémon," Drew said coolly, ignoring Max, "but I would rather avoid open warfare."

"Diplomacy it is, then," I said dryly. "And I suppose I should be the one waving the white flag, not?"

"She doesn't pick up the phone if she sees it's one of our numbers, we already tried," Drew explained.

I glanced back at the café with a wishful look in my eyes, before my resigned sigh appeared in the air as a small white puff.

"And what terms should I offer?"

"Our apologies," Max said straight away. "And my compliance to tell Dad that May doesn't need anyone to protect her, that she is an independent woman and that it is old-fashioned and sexist for a brother to have to keep an eye out for his sister and her boyfriend, because we should trust her that she can make her own right decisions."

Impressive. He had definitely thought about this.

I nodded in satisfaction. "That should be enough." Especially if Max was as serious about it as he had sounded. The boy wasn't stupid, and whether or not he agreed with his words, he was willing to grovel and let go of his pride to get back inside. This was a battle he couldn't win.

No man could, I thought wryly.

"And you, Drew?" I turned my examining gaze to the older teenager. "What do you have to say?"

"My apologies, of course," he said, simply. "It was out of line for me to say something like that, and that I would like to explain-"

"Save that for later," Max advised, and once again I agreed with his wisdom.

"Right... uh," Drew hesitated, looking somewhat helpless. A rare sight, indeed.

"You probably should forget about going to the Meteor Falls Cave," I offered. "Tell her that she can pick where to go, that that's the least thing you owe her."

Drew looked torn and rebellious. "But..."

"Look, if you want her to forgive you without too much of a hassle, you better swallow your pride and bend to her will – and later, when you're close to the Cave and this situation is miles and weeks away, try again. Okay?"

That boy had really no experience with women. Not that I had had much experience with women in relationships, but when you made a mistake like this, you better just surrender and hope for the best.

Drew nodded tersely, and a few moments of silence followed as he considered his next words. "Tell her that I'm really sorry," he started, weighing his words carefully, "and that I completely deserve her anger. It was very wrong of me to say something like that, because I definitely don't think she's weak nor that she needs to be protected, because as she has just shown she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." The boy was learning, yes, definitely learning. "And that she can choose where we'll go, because that's the least I can do to make it up to her. And that I will take her out to dinner and that I will pay-" Max already opened his mouth to interrupt, but Drew was faster. "But not because she's weak or anything or incapable of paying for her own dinner, but because I want to do it to show her how much I appreciate her."

I digested his words, before deeming them worth a try and nodded in approval. "I think that should be sufficient."

Silence fell, before-

"I never want a girlfriend," Max declared.

I grinned wryly at that, and even Drew looked somewhat amused, shaking his head slightly.

For what felt like the nth time, I glanced back at the café, something wriggling in my guts and urging me to hurry this along, because before long, Lucy would be gone…

I turned back to the screen. "I do admit, this is kind of a... strong reaction. I think May has been talking to Misty."

Drew's face lit up in realization. "Misty?" There was both a touch of wonder and horror in his voice. Undoubtedly he was remembering her and her explosion on the Night of the Big Revelations (as I had begun calling it in my mind). "That... explains a lot."

"Anyway," I said, moving on with this conversation. As soon as I had fixed this, I could back to my own girlfriend (how cool is it that I can say that now, eh? Really cool, just admit it). "I'll call May, repeat your messages and hope to reason with her."

"Good luck," Max said, dryly.

"Hopefully she's calmed down by now," Drew muttered, and I found myself hoping that for my own sake as well. Still, no matter how much she might try to act like her, May was no Misty. Misty could certainly continue to reason with herself that what she had done was in no way an overreaction and that they had deserved it and that she was right – she had proved to be that hardheaded at multiple occasions – but May might be dense at times, she wasn't stupid nor a good liar, thus common sense would kick in soon.

Or so I hoped anyway.

"I'll update you later," I said, and they nodded grimly.

After ending the call, I momentarily wondered if I should go back to Lucy, to tell her that this might take a while and perhaps even offer that she'd go home… But no, I would not admit defeat. I was going to enjoy my date with Lucy today, and I would fix this thing with May, Max and Drew. I was Brocko, the greatest matchmaker of Kanto, I could do everything, all at the same time if I had to!

Okay, perhaps I wasn't that good, but I was good enough to handle these situations.

I searched through my contacts, before settling on the number of the Petalburg Gym and the Maple's house. Somewhere in the back of my mind I realized with a regretful pang that all these interregional calls were going to make this afternoon more expensive than I had counted on.

"…should start asking money for all the effort I'm going through to fix their relationship problems," I grumbled to myself, and a passerby gave me a curious glance. I coughed and quickly looked back at the screen.

It took quite a while, but in the end there was a hesitant "Hello?" on the other side. The visual stayed off. "Brock?"

"Hey, May," I said with forced cheer. No need to worry her about me having contact with the enemy so early on in the conversation, for if she was really taking advice from Misty, she would only end the call.

"Hey, Brock," she repeated, and it was obvious to me that she was trying to sound as if nothing was wrong. It was really a disadvantage for her that I was so good with reading people's emotions – that's what you got when you were an experienced matchmaker like moi – not to mention that May was such a bad liar in the first place.

"How are things?" I asked, quasi casually.

"Ah, nothing special, nothing special, heh, heh." She laughed nervously. "But I'm kinda a bit busy, so..."

Oh no, she was not going to scramble out. Time to bring out the big guns.

"May," I said, my voice dropping in complete seriousness, "I talked with Max and Drew."

Silence.

I quickly continued, words flying out to keep her attention. "Please listen to me, okay? They're really, really sorry. And they would really like to talk to you. Max mentioned something about talking with your father about being wrong and Drew said something about not going to the Meteor Falls Cave... May?"

I hesitated when there was no reply, but ploughed on anyway. "They were completely panicked, they had no idea what to do. And despite being a man, you know that I'm rational and have a good morale and conscience, right?" I looked at the black screen intently, wishing May would turn on the visual. I had no idea if I was on the right track with this, if my message was getting across, if May was even still there at all...

"May?" A note of uncertainty crept in my voice. After all, it would be a good solution to just let me talk and not listen, maybe even muting it, and this way no one else would be able to call her, and-

"I'm still here." Her voice was quiet, but then, thank Arceus, the screen flickered on. May's brown hair was a bit disheveled and her eyes were still slightly red, but otherwise she looked no different.

We stared at each other for a while, May's thoughts a mystery to me as I contemplated my next move.

Surprisingly enough, May spoke first, "I kinda overreacted, I think."

Yes, thank Arceus that May was nothing like Misty.

"Just… a little." I allowed myself a small grin. A weight was lifted off my shoulders; perhaps this could be resolved quickly after all. "They're out of line, I agree with you. But… I think they have suffered enough, hm?"

May's doubt was obvious on her face. "Ah... perhaps..." She hesitated momentarily, considering her options and I found myself doing the same.

Drew and Max wouldn't wait outside forever, even if for now they'd seemed willing to entertain it. But at some point, Drew would go home, and Max would call their parents. If Drew left like this, it would have consequences for their relationship, and whether or not she wanted to risk that for what was in the end only a trivial thing… And when their parents would come home, they would undoubtedly judge May for her immaturity, and she would lose the respect of her parents. And Max, despite that his own maturity would be questioned as well, would come out better, because he had not resorted to violently locking out his sibling, now had he?

May swallowed, and slowly nodded. "Yes… yes, it's been long enough, right?" She looked at me, as if expecting me to tell her that she was making the right decision.

"I knew you were smarter than those two," I confirmed. May didn't comment, maybe realizing that all three of them had been in the wrong. Which was true, neither of them had thought about their words or actions, and there was no win or lose in something like this, just acceptance, forgiveness and moving on to better times – hm, that sounded quite fancy actually. Maybe I should put that on the internet, it might become a famous quote.

"I'll... I'll let them in." She hesitated, before smiling dryly. "Thanks, Brock. I needed to speak to someone with some common sense."

That had gone surprisingly easily, and I had to hide my surprise at this turn of events.

"…You're welcome," I said, doing my best not to show my bafflement. May smiled, and I was suddenly struck with how much older she looked – more mature, more like a woman instead of a girl. Brotherly pride filled me at seeing how a shy, unconfident girl had grown into this calm and collected woman who knew what she wanted.

"See you later, Brock." A mischievous smile appeared on her face. "I've got some apologies to accept."

And in some other ways, she was still so much like a girl. I grinned. "Bye!"

I momentarily thought of calling Max and Drew back, but I trusted that May would keep word and they could handle themselves. I had other things to do. Namely, a date to save, or hopefully there would still be a date to save.

I put my phone back in my pocket and rubbing my cold hands together, I strode back into the warm café. My eyes easily found Lucy, still seated at the same table. She looked completely at peace, idly drawing patterns on the table with one finger as she read what seemed to my paper. Warmth filled my chest, but it was quickly squished away when I noticed that her glass was empty.

Just when I had almost reached our table, Lucy looked up from her reading and straight at me.

"Hey," I greeted her lamely, trying to quell the foreboding feeling in my stomach as I sat down. "I'm really sorry it took so long," I immediately started to explain, "It's really complicated and stupid, a friend of mine had locked two other friends out of the house, it was a bit their own fault really, and-" At Lucy's blank look, I summarized it with, "It's a long story."

Lucy looked away from me, and I licked my lips. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," she finally said after an almost inaudible sigh. She shook her head slightly and looked back at me, attempting to smile. "It's not your fault, I understand."

Her words didn't reassure me, nor did the silence that followed. I took a big gulp from my drink, and Lucy shifted on her chair. "But still…" She gave me an apologetic grimace. "It's kind of late, and my train…" she trailed off, and I nodded with a heavy feeling of disappointment.

"Yeah… I'm really sorry." It was my fault that our date had to end like this, that she'd had to entertain herself with only my scientific paper and not with me. I desperately tried to explain once more, "My friends needed my help and I couldn't-"

"Brock, Brock, I understand," Lucy interrupted, before letting out a dry laugh and shaking her head. "It's like all our dates are doomed to be cut short or interrupted."

I half-grinned at that. "Yeah, it sure seems so…"

Lucy stared at the table for a moment, her lips turning up slightly. "I did enjoy the bit before you were called." She looked back at me, her smile widening a bit. "And your paper was interesting to read."

I snorted. "But not as interesting as me, of course," I tried to joke and winked. Lucy grinned, and a look of extreme thoughtfulness overtook her.

"Hmm… that's a tough call," she said, and I looked quasi offended before smiling back at her.

"I did enjoy our time together," I said, becoming serious again. "I'll see you soon, okay? I promise the next time I'm all yours, hm?"

"That's a deal," Lucy agreed with another half-smile as she put some money on the table, before rising from her chair. I followed her example, and Lucy pressed a quick kiss on my lips. I watched her leave, and waved back when she turned at the door and gave me a quick little wave.

As soon as she was out of sight, I fell back in my chair, my breath whooshing out of me in a big sigh. I tried to drown the heavy feeling in my stomach with a last big gulp of my drink.

Romance… why was I getting involved, again? Heaving another sigh, I paid for my own drink, and then strode out of the café, stuffing my hands in my pockets. My determined steps slowed when I neared the Gym, until I was all but dragging my feet.

Usually, the warmth and the distraction my family provided was something I looked forward to, but at the moment I'd rather be alone. Although Dad had very generously offered to take care of the kids today so that I could enjoy my date, there would still be no avoiding them when I got home.

Still, I opened the door and went inside, enjoying my last moment of peaceful angsting in the hallway as I took slowly took off my jacket. The rest of the house was just as I had expected it: crowded and loud.

Tilly and Billy, who had apparently had invited some equally loud friends over, were in the living room, playing with Dad's Rhydon and a Girafarig which I thought to recognize as Yolanda's. The other kids were probably upstairs, crossing off that place as an option for a peaceful hideaway as well. The only upside was that since Forrest was journeying, I at least had my own room.

Dad poked his head out from the kitchen, a strangely nervous but wide smile on his face. "Brock!"

I attempted to smile at him as he met me halfway, an apron loosely bound around his waist. There must have been something visible in my body language, because his grin diminished, and I straightened up and forced the corners of my lips further up.

My phone buzzed and more out of habit than necessity I pulled it out. It was short message from Max: Everything is fixed, thanks Brocko. That lifted my spirits slightly, and my smile was more genuine when I turned my attention back to Dad, just to catch his thoughtful look which quickly morphed in an understanding smile.

"You know what, Brock," he said, more cheerily than usual and putting a hand on my shoulder, "Why don't you go upstairs and study, I'll handle everything here, m'kay?"

I stared at him in surprise, before my shoulders sagged and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Dad." I managed a small grateful smile.

His eyes had a strange glint in them as he returned my smile. "Anytime, Brock." He squeezed my shoulder, before letting go and turning back to the kitchen. "I'll see you at dinner."

I nodded at his back, surprised at this turn of events but not about to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth, and then went upstairs. Actually following Dad's advice, I turned to my study for a distraction.

That, at least, made sense.

A/N: Thank you for reading! We're about halfway through the story now, I think. Yeah, just a few more chapters, but at least they're long. See you in three weeks, everyone, and in the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter :D

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Dream Riptide by The Light's Refrain. FFN. A really short story, but so chilling. Whether it has a good or a bad ending all depends on your point of view, and that's just beautiful. Seriously great, go give it a look.

Pokémon: Heroes Grace by Artemis173. FFN. Thanks to tiffanynicolexo for pointing my attention to this :D An incomplete but active multi-chaptered story with Poke, Contest, Ikari and LeafGreen. Sometimes a bit dramatic perhaps, but the character development and the amount of plot in it more than makes up for that. It places the characters in a music-school setting, and that might sound cliché, but you'd be surprised. It's a long read, but worth it :D

Jimmy Neutron: The Other Side of Tomorrow by AntiqueDreams. FFN. I can't believe I haven't recommended this one yet, this was the story I made my FFN account for (yeah, I was on a Jimmy Neutron high back then). Even with my higher standards now, it's still a very enjoyable (and complete) read, with a super original twist and amazing world building. A must-read if you love Jimmy Neutron.

Any of your own recommendations are more than welcome, of course :D