The party is really getting into the swing of things, what will that mean for our main characters? How will things turn out for Blake, Maddi, and Cynthia?
As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?
Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison
KedharS: Yeah, Blake's backstory is intentionally left vague, and will be so for quite some time.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, we can only hope that nothing bad will happen to Cynthia.
Rosealine gold: Hopefully it will be good.
Tambry96bj: Well we'll certainly find out.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 199
"Madison! I was right! It is you!"
Maddi blinked, staring in surprise as the woman standing in front of her. It was someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"Indigo…" Maddi said, looking away from the tall girl. The girl looked at her with kind green eyes, a warm smile brimming with nostalgia on her pretty face. Indigo looked just as Maddi remembered her, her warm red hair falling down her back while towering over other girls. Her body was wrapped in a pair of tight jeans and she wore a black tank top with the name of her band, Hell-Bound and the Duskull, on the front.
"It's been a long time, Madison," Indigo said, smiling. "Since…"
"Since my sister's funeral," Maddi plainly stated. Indigo's smile faltered at that, a look of concern crossing her face.
"How… how are you doing?" Indigo asked.
"Fine," Maddi murmured. "Why are you here?"
"We're playing!" Indigo explained. "That band and I were called in for a performance at this rocking party!"
She scratched her head sheepishly.
"I know high school parties aren't exactly 'making it big', but Olivia Himeko knows people, you know? So maybe…" Indigo was clearly hopeful about her band's future prospects, but there was a look on her face that made Maddi concerned. "At least… that was the plan."
"Oh?" Maddi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Indigo said, smiling. But it was a sad, resigned smile. "I like your costume, by the way."
Maddi blushed slightly, embarrassed at being caught breathing in such a cutesy outfit. It made a lot more sense, all of a sudden, why the Commander had wanted her to come to this party. He must have heard her sister's band would be playing. Of course he did. He'd arranged this whole thing in the hope that Maddi would run into Indigo and the rest. It was sweet… but Maddi still felt a little uncomfortable.
"Do you want to meet the others?" Indigo asked.
"…I guess…" Maddi murmured, shrugging. Indigo grabbed her by the hand and led her back towards the center of the party. The tall girl easily stood out among the shorter high schoolers, and she walked towards a corner where Olivia Himeko was talking with three other people, who, like Indigo, were the only ones not dressed in costume.
"Indigo, you're back," Olivia noted. "…And Maddi, it seems."
"Look who I found, guys!" Indigo said, pushing Maddi forward.
"Is that little Maddi?" A short blonde girl with sparkling blue eyes gasped, running over to Maddi.
"Hello, Cortney," Maddi greeted the shorter girl. Like Indigo, Cortney was dressed in punk attire, a black halter top with a Duskull emblazoned on it and a pair of tight jeans. "And are you really one to talk?"
"Hah!" Cortney laughed, holding her sides. "You're still funny!"
"I didn't know you were going to school here," the only guy said. He had brown hair buzzed short and wore a red tank top and jeans, and his right hand was wrapped in gauze.
"Rowan," Maddi said. "What happened to your hand?"
"Oh, this?" Rowan said, holding up his injured hand. "Nah, just… hurt it a little earlier, while we were setting up the equipment."
"No a little," Cortney replied, shooting him a dirty look. "He cut it open! We had to go to the doctor to get stitches."
"So we're in kind of a tough spot now," Indigo explained, the conflicted look on her face making a little more sense.
"This is a problem," Olivia said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We promised those folks out there a live performance, and now it seems we might not have a chance."
"What can we do?" The last band member, Sheriley, a woman with short black hair and frosted blue tips griped, glaring at Olivia. Not to be rude or anything. Her brown eyes were just naturally set into a brooding grimace. Her shirt had Duskulls littering it and she wore tight black jeans. A Duskull, the band's mascot, floated beside her.
"What a mess," Olivia sighed, glancing into the next room, where Lila and Darla were performing to a screaming crowd. "Lila and Darla could probably go the night if necessary, but that won't be ideal. They've been performing quite a while recently, I don't want to turn this opening act into the main deal. But we don't really have much of a choice. I guess we're going to have to cancel… son of a bitch, I really wanted this party to rock things, and it looks like… damn…"
Indigo let out a sigh. But it was Rowan who came up with a new idea.
"Maddi, what about you?"
Maddi blinked.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Maddi asked, confused.
"We can't go on because I can't play," Rowan said, holding up his hand. "But Maddi… do you still play the bass guitar?"
"Oh, that's right!" Cortney gasped. "Maddi, you play bass!"
"I play a little, but it's not like-"
"That's perfect!" Cortney cheered. "Olivia! We can have Maddi go up onstage instead of Rowan! We can still perform!"
"No, you're not listening-"
"Madison."
Indigo placed her hand on Maddi's shoulder. Maddi glanced up at her sister's friend.
"It's okay if you don't want to do it," Indigo said softly. "I'm sure that performing with us… it might be difficult for you, right? Because of your sister."
Maddi glanced down, and nodded.
"It's okay, you don't have to," Indigo reassured her again. "We'll figure something out. Even if we have to go onstage without a bassist, we'll manage somehow."
Indigo turned to Olivia, her face resolute.
"We all agree, we want to go onstage, no matter what. Yeah, we might not have a bass player, but we're going to do the best we can! So can we?"
Olivia frowned, and then let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Fine. Whatever."
"Um…"
Indigo turned back to Maddi.
"Madison? What's up?"
"I was gonna say… um… I… I've been practicing all of your songs… for the last few years," Maddi said. "It… it was just a hobby, but… before my sister… I wanted to, I mean…"
Maddi glanced aside, zipping her hood up and pulling it over her face to hide her embarrassment at asking Indigo directly.
"Can I play with you guys?" Maddi asked. "Even just one song, I want to…"
Indigo's eyes widened and she wrapped Maddi up into a hug, lifting her into the air.
"Absolutely, Maddi!" Indigo cheered, spinning her around.
"Well that's a relief," Olivia sighed. "I'll go set things up with the staff, and we'll get your equipment loaded onstage."
"Yes!" Indigo cheered.
"That's a relief," Rowan agreed, nodding.
Maddi swallowed. She wasn't the most confident girl in the world when it came to performing onstage. In fact… she'd never done it before. But back when her sister headed the band, she'd always dreamed of playing bass at her side. But now… that dream wasn't a possibility anymore. But… she still felt that drive to play. So even if she blew it… she'd give it her best shot.
That tumbling feeling in her stomach was nothing, right? She certainly wasn't feeling like she was going to throw up at the idea of performing onstage or anything.
Speaking of throwing up, Maddi was not the only one whose world was spinning around her. Cynthia was currently learning first-hand about the wonders and dangers of alcohol.
She'd tried to be a good girl. She'd really tried, honest! She'd met a few new faces (well, everyone here was a new face) and learned that among the sophomores and juniors she actually had quite a decent amount of fans. So she'd amassed a nice little crowd around her. It made her feel like a queen, with her own personal harem. It was the most flattering thing she'd experienced.
Cynthia… wasn't the type to get a lot of male attention. Or female attention. Romantic attention of any kind was honestly kind of a rarity, due to her height, underdeveloped body, and more… energetic personality traits. So being on the receiving end of the praise and adulation of older students had loosened her restraint, and led her to relax, and even try out a sip of some spiked punch when it was offered. One sip led to two, and then two more, and before she knew it the cup was emptied and replaced with another.
She didn't regret a thing! She was having a blast! Everything the guys said was a riot, and it just made her crack up every time! And they were all so friendly, too, patting her on the shoulders and shoving her like she was just one of the guys. Was this what high school parties were like? That rush in her chest, with just a few sips of alcohol, it made her want to chase that feeling more and more, so she took the drinks as they came. All to make the fun go on as long as it could.
Now, it felt like things were starting to slow down. Things weren't moving as fast anymore, and now her eyes were feeling a little heavy. There was a bubble burning a hole in her stomach, and she was having trouble standing because the world was being a jerk, and wouldn't sit still for a minute so she could catch her breath!
Cynthia wiped her forehead, and nearly fell over. Thankfully, one of the guys was being soooo nice, and was helping her keep her balance by letting her lean against him. He smiled down at her and she gurgled in gratitude as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
A few of the guys thought it was a good idea to go hang out in the other room and check out the music. Cynthia didn't like the pulsing, it was giving her a headache, but she didn't want to seem uncool in front of the guys, and so she agreed immediately. There was a bunch of flashing lights, and a… weird sight on stage. A Gardevoir and a Hydreigon were singing to one another and dancing around, and Cynthia had to rub her bleary eyes to get a closer look. Nope, it was exactly what she thought it was.
"Hey, Cynthia," one of the guys said, shaking her slightly. Cynthia looked up from where she had her face buried in the other guy's arm, blinking tiredly.
"Mmmwhaa?" Cynthia slurred, yawning.
"Well, me and the other guys were talking and we thought that this party was getting pretty dreary," the guy said, smiling. "Want to go hang out at our place? We can do some more drinking."
"Mmmm… shuuree," Cynthia said, nodding her head. Even nodding made her head spin, and she resisted the urge to hurl on the sleeve of the Machoke costume she was holding onto.
"Cool, let's get out of here, then," a voice ringing in her ear decided. Cynthia yawned and nodded, letting them guide her across the room, before her eye spotted something on the stage, causing her to skid to a stop.
"Wai wai wai! Lhuk! Izzat… Maddi?! Maddi Maddi Maddi! It's meee!" Cynthia let go of the boy and jumped up and down, waving her arms frantically. "Maddiii whyyu on shtage?"
To non-drunk eyes, what was actually happening was Lila and Darla had finished their last song and said farewell to the audience, bowing their heads, and walking offstage to be replaced by four girls walking out, alongside a floating Duskull.
Maddi was unbelievably embarrassed. Compared to the more rock n' roll look of the band, she felt more like a mascot, playing Rowan's bass dressed up like an adorable Totodile. Which was particularly bad, because Sheriley's Duskull was already the band's mascot.
Indigo walked up to the mounted microphone on the stage, while Cortney plugged in her guitar and Maddi plugged in the bass. Sheriley stepped up to the drums and prepped them, as Indigo adjusted the mic, speaking out to the audience.
"Hey there, guys! Weren't those two just fantastic?"
The crowd cheered, much too Indigo's joy. It even brightened Maddi's spirits, and she peaked out from under her Totodile hood with a smile.
"Now, it's our turn!" Indigo declared. "We're Hell Bound and the Duskull! And we're here to crank this party up to the max! But before we start, I wanted to introduce our special lead bassist today! Madison Whitmore, our cute little Totodile! She's making a special guest appearance! Let's give her a round of applause!"
The audience cheered for Maddi, and Cynthia cheered loudest of all.
"Alright, let's start things off with our song 'Shuppet's Soul'!" Indigo announced, the music kicking off through the speakers.
"Yay! Go Maddi!" Cynthia cheered. She was way in the back so Maddi couldn't really hear or see her. In fact, very few people were actually back there, there was practically breathing room. Which made it rather easy to catch her attention, since you could still hear yourself think. The Machoke put a hand on her shoulder, turning her towards him.
"Didn't you want to come back with us?" The guy asked.
"Weell, ye…" Cynthia hiccupped. "Bud… budd I'mma wasch Maddi play mooore! It's sho cool, don'tcha think?"
"Well, we were just thinking-"
"Pardon me, gentlemen." The guy raised his head to see who had spoken to him through the crowd.
"Ooh, bunny!" Cynthia's eyes widened and she applauded the sight of the bunny. "Wait, whereda bunny earsh?"
Sylvia raised an eyebrow, assessing the situation. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the boy's wrist, smiling at him.
"Pardon me, I have something to discuss with her," Sylvia purred.
"Hey, come on now," the guy laughed. "We were just talking with her, that's all."
"Yes, you were," Sylvia said, her tone cold and threatening. "And now you're done talking. You've been keeping my girlfriend attention for some time now, but now I'd like to take her back."
"What?" The guy said, a little stunned. Cynthia blinked wearily, not sure if she had heard right.
"Eh? Girl-"
Sylvia tilted Cynthia's head up to hers and pressed her lips against Cynthia's. Cynthia reciprocated to the hot girl she didn't recognize kissing her, the two passionately making out as Sylvia gave the boys a sideways stink-eye.
"Look, we were just-"
Sylvia pulled back from Cynthia and stepped towards them, Cynthia nearly falling over without Sylvia's arm around her waist to keep her balanced.
"I'm already in quite a bad mood," Sylvia said. "I think it would be a very good idea to leave the party now, if you wouldn't mind."
The guys looked at each other, their faces pale.
"Y-yeah, it was getting a little crowded here anyway."
"We were thinking of going to begin with, so…"
"You girls have fun together, sorry to waste your time!"
The three guys quickly fled before Sylvia could do anything to them. She turned back to Cynthia and caught her with an arm under the girl's shoulder.
"Let's get a move on, Cynthia," Sylvia sighed.
"Ghost gurl? Izzat yoou?" Cynthia muttered.
"Let's get you to Blake, sweetie."
Sylvia braced Cynthia against her and went back to the kitchen, where she'd left Blake.
"Sylvia? What are you- Cynthia?!"
"Yeah, looks like she's partied a little too hard," Sylvia said. She walked into one of the offshoot rooms from the kitchen, her eyes landing on a couch where two students dressed as a pair of Nidoran were rounding second base.
"Move." Sylvia's tone brokered no agreement, the pair jumping off the couch and running off to find somewhere else to continue their make out session. Sylvia claimed the open spot and dumped Cynthia down, kneeling beside her.
"Cynthia, can you hear me?" Sylvia asked.
"Mmwahza?" Cynthia mumbled, burping. "Where'd the guys goo?"
"Forget them," Sylvia said. "Blake's here instead."
"Yaaaay! I wuv him! He's sho great!" Cynthia burst into a giggling fit, Sylvia rolling her eyes. She lifted her hand in front of Cynthia's face. She snapped her fingers and moved her hand to the right, snapping again, then down with another snap and toward the left, snapping a fourth time. Cynthia's eyes didn't even try to follow her hand.
"She's out of it," Sylvia said, shaking her head. "Luckily I came in when I did. Things would've gotten real messy for ya, little miss Kirlia."
"No mess," Cynthia cried, shaking her head. "I don' wanna! My dress took a wot of time, no messies!"
"Cynthia, are you okay?" Blake asked, leaning towards her. Cynthia tilted her head to him, blinking, her dim eyes brightening slightly in realization.
"Blake! Found youu!" She cooed, reaching her arms out to him and hugging him tightly.
"Well, she's clearly out of sorts," Sylvia stood up, and glanced around the room. "I'll got talk to the Empress. There's gotta be somewhere we can take her to rest this off. We'll probably need to bring her home."
Blake took a glance at the blitzed girl. She certainly couldn't get there by herself, and he wasn't sure if he could get her there at this time of night, either. The rain had really kicked up since they came here, and Cynthia wasn't exactly the most cooperative sort of girl even when she was sober. For such a small girl, she could really be a whole lot of trouble. For a moment he considered taking her up to Ayame's room, but Cynthia was almost certainly going to vomit all over herself by the time the night was out, and he didn't want to explain that to Ayame. But worst come to worst, maybe he could…
"What's the matter?" Olivia's voice cut through the room, her angry tone driving away all the unrelated parties.
"She had too much to drink," Blake explained, stepping back so Olivia could get a clear look at Cynthia's state.
"I'd say that's an understatement," Olivia snarled. "I warned you two-"
"A senior should know better than to serve alcohol to minors in the first place," Sylvia chastised her, smirking. Olivia turned and glared at the fellow blonde. "Some boys were leading her away, it's not all on her."
Olivia frowned.
"They wouldn't have gotten far," Olivia said. "We have precautions just to stop stuff like this. That's why we locked all the upstairs rooms, and the bathrooms are monitored for single-occupancy. No one here leaves the party unless they're off on their own or all parties are fully in control of their faculties."
Olivia removed Cynthia's wig and wig-cap, giving her some room to cool off. She ran her hands through Cynthia's sweat-matted hair.
"I'll go up with you," Olivia said, reaching into her purse for a long ring of keys. "We'll put her up in a spare room. Blake, carry her up."
"Right," Blake said, kneeling down for Cynthia to climb onto his back.
"Don' wanna," Cynthia huffed, crossing her arms indignantly.
"We need to get you upstairs," Olivia insisted.
"I want a princess carry," Cynthia demanded. Sylvia resisted the urge to break out laughing, and even Olivia cracked a smile.
"Cynthia, that's not-"
"Princess carry!" Cynthia pouted. "Princess carry! Princess carry! Princess carry!"
"Looks like you haven't got a choice then, Blake," Sylvia said, smirking at Cynthia's tantrum. Blake rolled his eyes and sighed, standing up. He tucked his arm under Cynthia's small back, and her knees as well, lifting her up and cradling her close to his chest.
"Yaaay!" Cynthia applauded, a big smile on her face. She dug herself into Blake's chest as he carried her upstairs, following after Olivia with Sylvia hot on his tail.
Olivia unlocked one of the empty bedrooms. Blake walked in and set Cynthia down on the bed, Sylvia hanging back in the doorway.
"We both know the next step, don't we?" Sylvia said, tossing Cynthia's wig onto the floor. Olivia sighed.
"Come on, Cynthia, we need to empty that stomach of yours," Olivia said.
"Wanna sweeeep!" Cynthia yawned. "I'm sweeepy!"
Olivia rolled her eyes, walking over to the bed.
"Upsy-daisy!" Olivia threw her arms up into the air.
"Ooh, yay!" Cynthia cheered, throwing her arms up as well. Olivia grabbed her wrists and pulled her off the bed, leading her to the bathroom.
"Up again!" Olivia held her hands up, Cynthia mimicking her. Olivia pulled Cynthia's dress off and her tights down, leaving Cynthia in just her underwear. Fortunately, Olivia kept the closets of her rooms stocked with clothes, and quickly found a nightshirt to pull over Cynthia so she decent.
"Enjoy the show, did you?" Sylvia smirked at Blake, Blake rolling his eyes.
"Thank you for helping Cynthia," Blake said, the sincerity in his tone making Sylvia smirk.
"Of course," Sylvia said, shrugging, inspecting her black fingernails. "I just did what anyone would do in those circumstances. I'd hate to see anything happen to that poor girl."
"Yeah, but you didn't need to," Blake said. "Honestly, thank you. I won't forget what you did."
Sylvia smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "Take good care of her, Blake. I don't feel like sticking around anymore, so I'll be off."
She winked at Blake.
"Remember, she's not in any condition to do anything, so you better not get any funny ideas."
Blake glared at her as she exited on a laugh, leaving Blake alone in the room with nothing but the sounds of Cynthia vomiting in the bathroom to keep him company.
"There we go," Olivia said, leading the bleary-eyed and burnt-out Cynthia out of the private bathroom. "Now let's get you to bed."
"Yay…" Cynthia yawned. "Ti-ti now… needa sleep."
"I'll go back to the party and keep things in order," Olivia said, laying Cynthia down in bed. Blake walked up beside her, looking down at the worn-down girl.
Olivia walked toward the door, looking back at Blake.
"Look after her for a little, okay? I'm trusting you to take care of her."
"Thanks for your help," Blake said. "If not for you, I'd have to have carried her back to the dorm myself."
"It's for the best," Olivia said, tossing him the key. "Everyone here is my responsibility, and I don't want anything to happen that might get her hurt. So just have her spend the night."
Blake nodded, Olivia leaving the two of them alone.
Blake glanced back at the softly snoring girl, sighing.
"You stupid girl," Blake whispered, patting her on the head. "You almost got into a really bad situation. I'm glad you're okay. Sleep tight."
Blake turned and headed for the door, but was stopped by a tug on his sleeve.
"Noo… don' gooo…" Cynthia grunted, staring up at him with sleepy eyes.
"Cynthia…"
"Stay… pwease?"
Blake sighed, and nodded.
"Yaay…" Cynthia murmured, pulling him slightly. Blake sat down on the bed next to her, running his fingers through her red hair as she nestled down into the covers with a content smile on her face.
"I… sowwy…" Cynthia apologized, staring up at him. Blake raised his eyebrow.
"Huh? Why?"
"I ruined it… party… I jus' wanted some fun…"
"Come on, you didn't ruin anything," Blake reassured her. Cynthia shook her head. She'd moved from her peaceful contentment, and was now crying into the pillow.
"I did… I was weally… looking forward to today…" Cynthia cried. "And it all got messed up. No one… no one wanted to dress up… no one wanted to play any games… I was a bother all day… *hic* and even now, I'm still…"
Blake helped Cynthia back up, the girl staring at him with tear-stricken, unfocused eyes. Thankfully, Olivia had taken the time earlier to remove her contacts.
Blake hugged Cynthia tightly.
"I jus'… I just wanted us all to have fun… but no one wanted to… I was a big nuisance… I didn't help in the escape woom… I made Nikita really sad to get the egg… I… I…"
"But you still won the egg, right? That was a good thing that happened."
Cynthia sniffled.
"I guess…"
"And hey, I dressed up, that's gotta mean something."
"Yeah, what're ya supposhed ta be, Sheffy… Zefer… Shephiroff or shomething?" Cynthia laughed, wiping her tears. The two shared a laugh.
"Blake…" Cynthia rubbed up against Blake, burying her head in his chest. "Thank you for looking after me…"
"Of course," Blake said, patting her on the head.
"I luv yoouu…" Cynthia cooed. "You're sho gweat…"
"Yeah, I love you too," Blake laughed.
"Can yu stay here? I don't wanna… *yawn* I'm tired, but…"
"Yeah, sure," Blake said, nodding. Cynthia smiled and pulled away from Blake, stretching, and flopping back down onto her pillow.
"I jus… I just wanted everyone to have fun together and dress as pokemon… d'you think… Maddi had fun? I really wanted… *yawn* to see her have a blast today… was it a good day for her?"
"I think so," Blake agreed, laying down beside her. Cynthia backed up against him and pulled his arm over her so she could feel more comfortable. Blake was less comfortable due to this, but he didn't really have the heart to pull away from her so he accepted his role as another blanket.
Cynthia continued mumbling as Blake held her.
"I alwaysh feel… like I haveta make errybody shmile…" Cynthia murmured. "I want everybody to be happy… but am I… am I a bother?"
"No, you're not a bother," Blake said. Though to an extent, yes, she could be considered a bother, that wasn't what she needed to hear. Her heart was always in the right place. That was what mattered. "You're a passionate person who likes seeing her friends happy."
"I knooow, but… I feel… would people be happier if I just… stopped? I don't… I don't want everyone to resent me for being such a clingy friend…"
"…Cynthia…" Blake said, hugging her tightly of his own volition. "You're the first friend I made here, you know?"
"I know," Cynthia sniffled.
"Before I came here… I felt very empty. My family life wasn't going so well. The things I wanted to do… my father wouldn't approve of them, and my mother, well… I didn't really have anything but my goals or my pokemon. I only had a few people I could consider friends. But if it wasn't for your shining personality… I might still be alone now, brooding by myself. I might not have had a reason to turn down Sylvia's offer. You've done a lot more than you know, okay? So even if you are annoying… we all still really want to be your friend. So don't feel like you have to always be making us smile, or that you have to tone anything down either, okay? You just keep being you, and it'll all sort itself out, okay?"
"Okie…" Cynthia yawned, rubbing up closer to him. "Thanksies…"
"Mhm."
"You're really so nice," Cynthia sighed. "Thanks for today. D'you think… next year, we can do something? Have everybody hang out… I want it to be better than today wasssh…"
"…Well, I'll tell you this," Blake laughed. "How about next year, we try and get everyone to dress up, okay? I'll even help you convince them."
"You promishe?"
"I promise."
"Yaaaay, thank you, you're the besht," Cynthia giggled. "I wuv you so musch…"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Nigh-nigh Blake…" Cynthia yawned one final time, slowly drifting off to an alcohol-induced dreamless sleep, cradled gently in Blake's arms.
Luckily, it seems that everything managed to work out for the best. The question is, how will things turn out when the sun rises tomorrow?