The next morning was another difficult one for Ash as he arrived at school. His mind was still swimming with so many thoughts it was like dozens of voices were screaming in his ear all at once. He was determined to follow Paper Princess's advice and figure out what he really wanted. But to do that he'd have to spend a lot of time away from both May and Leaf so he could think without any unfair influence. And that was going to be very difficult. No doubt about that. He walked over to his locker and gathered his things, trying to calm his thoughts enough to focus. His best friend walked over and joined him.

"Morning." Gary greeted him.

"Morning…" Ash muttered, his quiet tone catching Gary's attention.

"Everything ok man? You seem a little out of it." he wondered.

"Everything's fine…I just have a lot on my mind." he waved the concern as he closed his locker door.

"Like what? If you're worried about the game next week don't be. We're both going to be starting no matter what. You know that."

"No it's not about the game...it's personal alright?" Ash tried again to stop the conversation.

"And we're best friends. So spill." Gary said, a bit more firmly. Ash sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to wiggle out of a conversation once Gary set his mind to it. So, taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he answered Gary's question.

"I'm thinking about what I really want...who I would want to be with…May or Leaf…"

"Wait seriously? You have feelings for May? Your English partner?" Gary blinked in shock. Ash only nodded in response. "When did this happen?"

"When we finally kissed for our project...I felt something…something very strong." he admitted as Gary raised an eyebrow. "Those kisses with May...they just felt so different from all the times I've made out with Leaf…"

"Different how?"

"I don't know...but that's why I have to figure this out. I don't want to hurt either of them, so I need to figure out what I want before I talk to either of them." he explained.

"Geeze…" Gary muttered as he ran a hand through his brown hair. "Ash man you are digging yourself a real fine hole here…"

"I know...trust me I don't want to deal with all this drama but I…I just can't keep leading Leaf or May on like this...I have to figure out what I'm feeling and make a choice." he said. "I just need alone time to sort things out."

"So your plan is to try and stay away from Leaf? That isn't going to go over well you know. Especially once she finds out why." he pointed out.

"I know...but I have to do it for her and for May…I owe them both that much." Ash replied with a sigh of his own. As if she had been waiting for her cue, it was then that Leaf spotted them from down the hall and started walking over. Both of them noticed her approach and Gary quickly grabbed his things, wanting no part of the inevitable firestorm that was about to take place.

"Good luck man. I hope you survive until lunch." he said hastily before he ran off down the hall. Ash took in a nervous breath as Leaf walked up to him.

"Hey baby." she greeted him.

"Hey Leaf...listen I need to talk with-" she cut him off with a kiss on the lips. His eyes widened in surprise and his immediate first instinct was to kiss her back, but then he remembered Paper Princess's advice and instead, he pulled away. Leaf looked up at him in surprise and raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm sorry…I can't be doing this right now…"

"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice changing into a more dangerous and questioning tone.

"I'm really sorry…I just…I need some time to be by myself…" he struggled to admit.

"Ash what's going on?" she demanded.

"I can't talk about it…not with you anyway…just please understand that I'm doing this for you…and for me." he begged her.

"Don't be stupid Ash. Tell me what's going on right now." she growled, a venom in her voice more potent than anything Ash had heard from her before.

"I…I just can't. I'm sorry…" he answered as he then ran to the auditorium for his English class, leaving Leaf by herself in the hallway. Ash meanwhile quickly entered the auditorium where most of the class was already seated and waiting for the next round of midterm presentations. After a quick glance around the room, he spotted May sitting in a seat near the back of the auditorium. As she so often was, she was sitting by herself. More than anything Ash wanted to go and sit with her, but he knew he had to wait. He needed to do this right. It was as much for her as it was for Leaf. So with a heavy heart, he walked past her and sat down a few rows ahead of her, just hoping in his heart that she could forgive him no matter what happened.


Later on in the day, after the last bell had rung, everyone was packing up to go home for the day. Students everywhere were gathering things from their lockers and heading out to their cars and buses to enjoy their weekends as soon as they could. But just like during the morning rush, Ash was the one student that wasn't caught up in the excitement. He seemed to be in no rush as he gathered his things from his locker and packed up his bag. Avoiding both girls all day was taking a toll on him. He was hurting badly and the storm in his head hadn't calmed down in the slightest. His thoughts were still raging out of control. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he never imagined that it would be this hard. And if things weren't bad enough already, as he closed his locker, he noticed Leaf walking up to him with an angry look on her face.

"Oh no…" he muttered as she stormed up to him.

"Ash Ketchum." she growled.

"Leaf I told you I need some time-"

"Let's go. We're going to go do it right now." she demanded, grabbing a hold of his arm.

"What…?! Leaf no I'm not gonna-" he tried but she cut him off.

"I said now, Ketchum! Unless you want to lose me forever!" she screamed at him, taking him aback. Ash bit his lower lip as he tried to think despite the mass confusion in his head. The endless hours he had been going through this confusion was hurting him more and more. He knew what he needed to do despite how hard it was, but it was getting to be too much for him. He needed…he needed a break. Just a little while to not think about anything and feel good. He knew that it was wrong, but he needed it badly.

"Fine…" he caved. Without hesitation, Leaf quite literally dragged him into the empty gym. May happened to be nearby as well and noticed them going to the gym alone. She frowned to herself and left the school, heading for her home with a disappointed demeanor.

"Guess he made his choice...I guess if that's what makes him happy…" she sighed to herself. Meanwhile, Leaf pulled Ash under the bleachers where they couldn't be seen, in the same place where they had first taken things to the next level. Not giving him even a moment to reconsider his actions, Leaf kissed him and started removing his clothes. Ash moaned with a hint of surprise, but mostly he began relaxing into her touch. The sensation of just operating on pleasure was calming down his thoughts and the clarity of that was addictive. Leaf moaned back at him and stripped him completely. Giving in completely to her advances, Ash gripped onto her body and started stripping her as well.


Several hours later, the two teenagers were panting heavily on the ground. Still hidden from anyone else under the bleachers, Ash was laying on top of Leaf, who was panting under him. Their clothes were thrown every which way and both of them were sweating and exhausted. As Ash's senses slowly started coming back to him, his phone suddenly started ringing, which caught his attention. He vaguely remembered hearing it go off multiple times since he had gone to the gym, but he had been ignoring it for hours, focusing more on what he was doing to help block out his feelings. Despite the soreness in his muscles, however, he still finally rolled off Leaf and made his way to his pants. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello-" he mumbled before a panicked voice cut him off.

"Ash!" his mother's voice screamed. "What happened?!"

"H-Huh?! Mom?!" he stammered as he tried to quickly figure out what she was talking about. Assuming that she must've been talking about him being so late, he quickly tried to cover. "I-I can explain…! Th-There was this project at school and I uh…lost track of time! Look I'll be home as soon as I can!"

"Home?! What are you talking about?! What happened at Luna's game?!" she demanded. Ash's eyes widened as his heart sunk into a pit in his stomach. It was Friday…Luna's game was today. He looked at the time on his phone and quickly realized it was way passed the time Luna's game most likely would've been over.

"Oh, crap…Mom I can explain…and I promise I'll make it up to you both…!" he tried frantically.

"What are you talking about?! Ash tell me how she was hurt!" Delia yelled. Everything in Ash's world just stopped all in an instant.

"H-Hurt…?"

"I just got a call from Luna's coach and she said Luna's in the hospital!" she continued. Ash's world completely shattered all at once.

"WHAT?! I have to go!" he screamed as he quickly hung up the phone and started grabbing his clothes.

"Where's the fire baby…?" Leaf asked as she sat up, still panting softly. The uninterested and bored tone in her voice angered Ash as he zipped up his jacket and grabbed his bag.

"You! This is all your fault!" he screamed, surprising her.

"E-Excuse me?" she asked.

"I told you no! But you wouldn't listen! And now she's hurt!" he yelled, barely able to even form coherent sentences.

"Ash baby calm down…" Leaf said as she got up and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Take a deep breath and talk to me like a human."

"Shut up!" Ash growled as he angrily pushes her away.

"Ow! Hey!" she yelped as his shove made her stumble backward. Not bothering to check on her or anything else, Ash grabbed his remaining belongings from the floor and bolted out to his car as fast as his legs would carry him.


Soon, after a frantically fast drive that probably would've gotten him arrested if a cop car had seen him, Ash arrived at the hospital and ran up to the person waiting at the front desk. She was helping out a tall, darker-skinned woman whom Ash recognized immediately as Luna's soccer coach.

"Lenora!" Ash yelled as he ran up to her. The older woman looked over when she heard Ash's voice and her face was painted with a worried expression.

"Ash…"

"Lenora please…what happened at the game...? Why is Luna in the hospital…?" he begged. He just had to know.

"She was playing goalie during the game...but she was clearly distracted. She kept looking at the spectator stands throughout the game. Then when she was doing that, one of the other girls took a shot at the goal. The ball was off target and hit her in the head...it hit her so hard she smashed her head into the metal frame of the goal…" Lenora explained.

"Oh no…" Ash's voice answered in barely more than a whisper. This couldn't be happening…it couldn't be…

"She was immediately knocked out and bleeding badly from her head...we rushed her here as quickly as we could…" Lenora continued. "I'm still waiting for word on her condition…"

"She…she was looking for me…" Ash realized. If he had been there she would've been paying attention to the game…she wouldn't have gotten hurt if he had just listened to Paper Princess…if he had just said no to Leaf.

"Luna's a tough girl Ash...I'm sure she'll be ok…" Lenora tried to assure him, though her voice gave away that even she was unsure of that statement. Ash clenched his fists at his sides, so tight that if he had done it any tighter, his palms would've bled. He felt like he needed to hit something, scream, or do something to let out his anger. But despite that, he knew he needed to stay calm. For Luna's sake, he couldn't get thrown out or arrested for causing a scene in the hospital. He couldn't fail her again. Luckily for him, a nurse with pink hair who had a nametag on that said her name was Joy, walked out of the ER and over to the two of them.

"You two were with Ms. Ketchum yes?" she asked.

"Yes." Lenora nodded.

"I'm her big brother...is she ok?" Ash asked, desperate to know if his sister was ok.

"Well...are either of your parents here?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Not yet...my Mom's work is nearly an hour out from here…" he explained.

"I see…well first and foremost, she will survive thankfully." the nurse explained, giving Ash a brief moment of relief before Nurse Joy continued her status update. "But with that said...there will be some...permanent damage…"

"P-Permanent damage…?" Ash asked, his relief immediately erased.

"The impact of the pole was directly over the visual cortex part of her brain and caused massive damage to that area of her brain...I'm afraid she's going to lose her eyesight…" Joy informed them with a heavy heart. Lenora gasped Ash's eyes widened in terror.

"No...she…she can't be…blind…no…! You have to…to fix it…! She's just a young girl…!" he yelled as tears started welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry...there's nothing we can do to repair it…we're just lucky that the damage was contained to that area…" Nurse Joy said, leaving Ash stunned completely silent. "She'll be unconscious for another few hours. I'll let you know when she wakes up. Please inform me when a parent arrives."

"We will…" Lenora nodded, taking over once she realized Ash was in no shape to answer. Nurse Joy nodded and walked back to the ER, leaving Ash in tears with no one to talk to except Lenora. The guilt inside him was worse than any feeling he'd ever experienced, and there was no cure for it.


After a few hours in the lobby, waiting for any further updates on Luna's condition, Ash and Lenora finally saw Delia run inside the hospital frantically.

"Mom…" Ash whispered through his tears. Delia ran right up to him and wrapped him in a hug, crying as she did so. Ash hugged her back and cried into her shirt, just as devastated as she was if not more so.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Ketchum…" Lenora apologized. Delia dried her tears as best she could and let Ash go from the hug to face the older woman with as much control as she could.

"Lenora thank you for bringing her here…and for staying with Ash until I could get here…" she said with as much control as she could muster.

"Of course…" she nodded. "I do need to get home to my husband and fill out the paperwork about the accident…you'll keep me informed about her condition won't you?"

"Of course…" Delia nodded. The two women shared a curt nod before Lenora grabbed her purse and left the hospital. As she did, Nurse Joy walked over to the two remaining people.

"Pardon me, are you Mrs. Ketchum?" she asked Delia. Ash's mother wiped away more of her tears and tried to keep her composure as she nodded.

"Yes...please tell me how is my daughter…?" Nurse Joy took her aside from Ash and began explaining what happened. Ash could only watch as Delia broke down into tears upon hearing the news.

"Mom…" he whispered to himself. His whole body began to shake and then, unable to wait any longer to see his sister, Ash bolted into the ER and moved through the restricted hallways until he found Luna's room. He pushed the door open and found his sister laying unconscious on the hospital bed. She had bandages wrapped around her head and an IV in her hand as a heart monitor beeped in a steady rhythm. Dried blood soaked the hair on the back of her head and residual bruises littered the back of her neck. The sight of his beloved sister in such a damaged state made Ash tear up. She was such a sweet and lovely girl…she didn't deserve this. " Oh, Luna…"

"Mm…" Luna suddenly moaned as her finger twitched, causing her to stir and Ash to gasp.

"Luna…?" Ash asked, rushing to her bedside. Luna moaned groggily and slowly opened her eyes. Instead of the vibrant brown they used to be, they now had a layer of damaged film over them, making them look clouded and damaged. And unlike the rest of her injuries…this one was permanent.

"Ashy...?" she asked in a weak voice, able to just barely make out the sounds of his sniffling.

"I'm here Luna…" he managed to choke out as he clasped her hand in his own, trying to comfort her in any way he could.

"W-What's going on...? What happened...?" she asked as she slowly turned her head around the room, blinking as if to try and clear away something in her eye. "Why can't I see anything…?"

"I…I'm so sorry Luna...th-there was an accident and…you got hurt…you got really hurt…and…you're going to be blind now…" he revealed to her, barely able to even say it. A painful silence passed between the two siblings as the full reality of the situation began to settle in.

"W-What...? That...that's impossible…" she tried to correct him, moving and blinking her eyes more in an attempt to clear up her vision and prove him wrong. But with each attempt, the dark void she now stared into remained. And Ash could tell it was devastating to her.

"I'm so sorry Luna…"

"N-No...I-I was playing in the game...a-and I…" she tried, groaning in pain despite her protests.

"Luna…" he whispered as tears started forming in his sister's eyes.

"No...you're lying…"

"I wish I was…" he whispered as he hugged her, being as careful as he could of her other injuries. The weight of his words seemed to finally hit Luna as she began to cry, gripping onto Ash's shirt with her weak grip. Ash silently began to cry as well as he held her close. It wasn't long before Delia walked into the room, already crying as well. She wrapped both her children in her arm and cried with them. Ash slowly looked from Luna to Delia, and then back to Luna again. There was so much hurt and pain in this room. And despite everything he tried to tell himself, and that he even tried to tell Leaf, there was one thing he knew to the core of his soul.

"It's all my fault...I promised I would be there…"

To be Continued...