Time to return to the engagement meeting, what else will the families cover? Will Blake and Alcea be able to put an end to the engagement that neither one of them want? We'll see!

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: We haven't even gotten to the suffering yet.

Pokemonking0924: The difficulties of life and trying your hardest to move on through them are a major part of my stories.

PikachuKetchup12: Part of me knew that. My spellcheck, apparently, did not.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 213

"Ah, look at you two lovebirds," Julianna giggled, smiling at Alcea and Blake as they returned to the Gardening Club's clubroom. Blake pulled Alcea's seat out for her once again, and sat across the table from her.

"Excellent, you've come back just in time!" Louis said, checking his Rolex. "The food will arrive here shortly."

"Ordering out from a restaurant?" Richard questioned.

"No, no, nothing like that," Louis said, laughing. "My tastes are quite specific, so I never go anywhere without my personal chef. He's been cooking all evening to prepare this meal!"

Richard nodded in agreement, choosing not to comment on the difference in wealth between the two families where one could afford to bring his own personal chef with him to prepare all of his family's meals for the trip, and laugh it off like a normal thing.

Richard and Louis continued to discuss business over their steak dinner, while Julianna sat back and smiled, only eating a salad. Blake and Alcea partook of the food as well, but ate in silence. There was nothing really to say. They had discussed their intentions with the only people here who would listen: each other.

The meal continued at that rate, and it looked like the evening would be shaping up to resolve soon enough.

"So, Allie, what do you think?" Louis asked, turning to Alcea. "This was a nice night, wouldn't you agree?"

"…Why yes, father," Alcea gave her father a polite smile in return. "A nice evening, is it?"

"Indeed, your daughter is quite the lovely lady," Richard agreed. "Wouldn't you agree, Blake?"

"Alcea is a very kind girl," Blake tactfully replied. "I greatly enjoy the conversations I have with her."

"I enjoy my conversations with you, as well, Blake," Alcea replied to him.

"How wonderful!" Julianna said, staring back and forth between the two students with a big smile on her face.

"Then it looks like this evening has been a success," Louis agreed. "We should schedule another dinner like this tomorrow! Though, I can't say I see the need, it looks pretty clear to me that little Allie is quite taken with your boy!"

Richard chuckled politely.

Kate scowled from the back of the room. It wasn't at all clear to her.

"Since today has gone so well, how about we begin arranging our future plans?" Julianna suggested to the table. "I was wondering, should we wait until Allie graduates for the wedding? Or should we hold the ceremony as soon as possible?"

Blake and Alcea looked at each other and gulped.

"Let's not be too hasty now, honey," Louis interjected. "We've got all the time in the world. Our Allie only gets married once, you know. We need to go all-out to make it a ceremony that will be the talk of Kalos for weeks! Let's wait for Allie to graduate. Then, we can have the wedding in the summer, sound good?"

Alcea and Blake let out silent sighs of relief.

"That's fine with us," Richard agreed. "Right, Blake?"

Blake nodded his head, because that was what was expected of him.

"Allie? It's only a year and a half away, are you okay with that?" Julianna asked.

"Oui, as you wish, mother," Alcea smiled.

The decision had been made. There wasn't anything else they could do.

"Excuse me, sir."

A deep, booming voice echoed from the hall door. All heads turned. Blake was surprised, he hadn't even noticed that the mountain of a bodyguard that was Ansem had left the room, but now there he was, sliding open the door. Sephiria, who was leaning coolly against the wall beside the doorway, glanced up to look at him as well.

"Ansem?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What is the meaning for this interruption?"

"Forgive the intrusion, sir," Ansem's deep voice was filled with contrition, but was still gravely serious. "I was going out to patrol the area, when I caught a certain rat."

Louis raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"What kind of rat?"

"A redhead with a camera. She was hiding in the bushes outside the garden."

Blake's face went pale. Oh no…

"Let go of me, you dumb Darmanitan!"

That annoying bleating confirmed it, much to Blake's chagrin.

Ansem pulled Dakota into the room by the collar, the reporter's face twisted into an expression of anger. He pushed her into the room, Dakota holding her camera to her chest defensively.

"Who is this?" Louis asked. Dakota stuck her tongue out at him.

"A local annoyance," Kate answered. "She's probably here to stir up trouble."

"An engagement meeting between the rising star of the Pokemon Academy, Blake Harker, and the Queen of Roses, Alcea Vermeil? A merging of two famous families?! This is headline gold!" Dakota exclaimed. "Of course I'm going to come here and try to get as much data as I can!"

"Unacceptable," Louis coldly replied. "I will not have my family slathered all over some tabloid gossip column."

Dakota smirked, holding up her camera triumphantly.

"Well, that's too bad!" Dakota cackled. "I've gotten tons of photos of their little garden rendezvous!"

Dakota held her camera up, and turned it around to go through the recorded photos.

"Oh?" Julianna rose from her seat to walk over to Dakota. Dakota showed her the photos. Alcea and Blake kneeling next to the blue roses, Alcea cradling Blake's cheek in her hand, Alcea stepping close to Blake and pressing her chest against him, Alcea and Blake sitting beside one another on the bench.

"Unbelievable…" Louis frowned. "That we could be so careless…"

"Please send me copies!" Julianna chirped. "Honey, look, Allie is so cute in these! We can add them to the family scrapbooks!"

"Julianna…" Louis held his temples, slightly frustrated at his wife not understanding the gravity of the situation.

"These are so beautiful, would you mind being the photographer for the wedding?" Julianna asked.

"It would be my pleasure," Dakota smirked.

"We don't have time for this nonsense!" Louis frowned. "Young lady, I don't think you understand what's going on here…"

"Nope!" Dakota grinned, holding up her camera. "Don't care, either. Now… reality can be whatever I want."

"You don't honestly think we'll let you leave with those photos, do you?" Richard asked.

"Please, my camera is special, everything I take is automatically uploaded to the cloud," Dakota chortled. "I've already got those pics sitting in a folder on my computer, ready to be sent out on the presses!"

Blake and Alcea looked at each other. Neither one of them really gave a damn what this girl did, or said. It wasn't like they were all that invested in this wedding or their family status to begin with.

"…How much?" Louis asked. "I don't want you smearing my daughter's name. How much will it take to make those photos go away?"

"Why're you so upset, huh?" Dakota asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "I mean, y'all are going to go public, right? Shouldn't you be happy someone got such candid shots of the happy couple?"

"That would depend on your intentions," Louis replied. "Somehow, I doubt that you have our best interests at heart. So I can only assume that you're planning to release some sort of sordid smear piece designed to drag our families' names through the mud."

"Whoooo, me?" Dakota's wicked smirk answered that question handily enough.

"So how much to make those photos go away?"

"Mmm… nope!" Dakota said, shaking her head. "I've got my journalistic integrity, after all, I can't just suppress the truth like that!"

Blake rolled his eyes. Dakota's boundaries of "journalistic integrity" were about as hard-drawn as a spaghetti noodle.

"Now, listen here, you-"

Louis's objections were drowned out by the door sliding open with a clatter and a loud, deep voice ringing out across the room.

"Stop this right now!"

"Ayame?!" Blake gasped.

"You again?" Richard scowled.

Ayame stood in the doorway, her face twisted in anger. Even with the scowl she wore, her natural handsome beauty stood out, perfectly brought to light by the conservative blush on her cheeks and the dark violet lining on her eyes. Her hair was perfect as always and held in place with her precious ribbon, but also accentuated with an iris tucked behind her ear, the bluish-violet flower positively glowing.

Blake was stunned into silence looking at her. For the first time he'd seen, Ayame was wearing a dress. And not just any dress, either. It was a tight, sleeveless dress in a dark, royal purple. It contoured to the curves of her body, and just above her chest the soft-looking cloth gave way to dark lace, reaching up to a dark choker across her neck. A hint of her cleavage could be seen through, just a tease, and the way her dress moved as she walked into the room alluded to the temptations of her tight body.

Sephiria met Ayame as she walked across the room, cutting her off before she got to Blake or Richard.

"Who are you?" Louis asked, looking in confusion at the tall stranger who had just interrupted their private meeting.

"I… I…" Ayame's cheeks flushed as she glanced at Blake. "I-I'm his girlfriend!"

Blake choked in shock, his eyes bulging out. Alcea raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"G-girlfriend…" Kate turned completely white, holding onto one of the side tables to keep from collapsing in horror.

"What?" Richard shot a look at Blake, who shook his head frantically.

"Th-that's right! I'm his girlfriend!" Ayame exclaimed. "And I love him way more than you could ever hope to, Alcea Vermeil! So you keep your claws out of him, you hear me?!"

"Oho, girlfriend, is it?" Alcea glanced at Blake, the thinnest of smirks crossing her lips. "I see… I see…"

"Oh man!" Dakota exclaimed, frantically snapping photos of Ayame with all her might. "Oh man, oh man, oh man! This is great!"

"That's right! So this wedding is over!" Ayame declared. "Blake isn't going off to get married! He's going to come back with me! I'm going to put an end to this fucking engagement right now!"

"Ayame, I told you that I-"

"I don't care what you told me!" Ayame snapped, shooting Blake a glare that made him fall silent. "You already know damn well what my fucking feelings on this matter are, and there's no way I'm going to patiently sit back and let you get married just because that fucking old man of yours tells you that you have to!"

Ayame pushed past Sephiria and held her hand out desperately to Blake.

"Just… just come on, you dummy!" Ayame exclaimed. "Don't just… don't just stay here if you don't want to! Tell me, Blake, is getting married to Alcea really what you want? If it is, if we're done, then fine. But we both know you want to stay here!"

"That's right!"

OH GOD NO…

That annoying, hyperactive voice could only belong to one person.

Cynthia jumped into the room with a broad smile on her face, dressed in her Ralts dress, minus the wig. So it was like she was just wearing a pure white dress. She smiled a bright smile, looking out over the room. Sango was standing behind her, and had put significantly more effort into her appearance. She was wearing the sky blue dress that Olivia had given to her several weeks ago, but hadn't gone to the trouble of adding makeup or fixing her hair. The end result was still nice to look at, but not the same knockout as she was the last time she wore it.

In contrast, Julia had put in exactly zero effort into her appearance. While the two girls next to her had dressed in as nice clothes as they could, Julia was wearing torn jeans, a black crop top, and a face that said "god fucking why". The last girl of the foursome had thankfully put in a bit more effort, if only because her standard wardrobe was suited for this sort of event. Kitty wore an cute black dress lined with white lace, a standard gothic Lolita dress that even Sylvia would admire. Black cat ears stuck out of her neatly brushed hair, and her expression was also reluctant, but at least she was forcing a smile, which was more than Julia bothered to do.

Blake wanted to slam his head against the wall in frustration. What were they doing?

"You're all Blake's friends," Richard remembered, frowning.

"Nope!" Cynthia said, putting her hands on her sides and standing proudly. "Friends? We're his girlfriends!"

Ah. So it could get worse.

"Girlfr-?" Julianna gasped in shock, her green eyes wide.

"That's right! Cynthia Fafnir, girlfriend of Blake Harker, at your service!" Cynthia said, holding a hand over her chest.

"What are you doing?!" Ayame hissed, storming over to her.

"Looks like we had the same plan," Cynthia whispered. "Just go with it, missy!"

Ayame spat something unrepeatable and crossed her arms, scowling. Cynthia took that as an affirmation of their plan.

"Anyways, like I said, we're both his girlfriends!" Cynthia declared. "Same as the rest of you, right?"

"Er, um…" Sango glanced at Blake. It was an opportunity to say what she'd meant it to, and have it not be taken seriously. "Yes! I-I'm his girlfriend! Blake! I totally, super love you! For such a long time!"

Sango exhaled, relaxing slightly. Even if he wasn't going to take it seriously, even if it wasn't a real confession, it still felt like a weight let off of her shoulders.

"What's even going on here?" Louis asked, completely flummoxed by this turn of events.

Cynthia glanced at Julia and Kitty. She elbowed Julia in the side.

"…Oh. Um. Yeah. Blake. I'm your girlfriend. Whee… I love you." Julia's voice was dry as the desert, and not a person in the room bought her bullshit for a second.

"Oh, yeah, like, totally," Kitty said, her face bright red. "I-I definitely like, um, boys that way, yeah, Blake is like, so totally hot. And I love how we, um… hold hands, and kiss, yeah, those are totally things that I want to do with boys, uh-huh…" Like Julia, her story wasn't believable to a single person who knew her, but at least she had some emotion in it.

"M-Me too!" Kate exclaimed, walking up next to them. Opportunistic girl that she was, she seized her chance and declared "I-I like Blake too! I'm his girlfriend, too! B-but, don't take it the wrong way, Blake! Th-this doesn't mean anything in particular, got it?!"

Blake rolled his eyes. He knew it was BS, but if she was actually trying to sell herself as his girlfriend, what, exactly, was he supposed to misunderstand?

"Got it?!" Kate was still going. "I-It's not like I actually want to be your girlfriend, you know! B-But I am, so that's that!"

"If you don't want to, then you can leave," Ayame snapped. "You're just an obnoxious brat anyway, do you even really like Blake? Huh?!"

Kate's mouth flapped open and closed for a few moments, her face bright red.

"I-I didn't say that! I mean, I didn't not say that don't want to be his girlfriend but that doesn't mean that I don't not want to be… I mean, that don't want to be, I mean…"

Kate's double and triple negatives were starting to exceed her capacity for math, and she decided the better decision was just to shut the hell up.

Meanwhile, Dakota was in journalist heaven. She was taking pictures so fast her finger was starting to blister. Good lord, the headlines! Blake Harker, fiancé of Alcea Vermeil, confirmed six-timer?! It would… it would be the smash issue of the year! No, of her entire school career! Exposing a scandal like this would all but guarantee her career!

"Allie, I'm quite lost," Julianna said, turning to her daughter in confusion. "Who are these girls that are declaring themselves at Blake's girlfriends? And so many of them, at that?"

"Whatever do you mean, mother?" Alcea asked coolly, taking a sip from her tea. "Blake's significant others… you think they matter, is it?"

"Of course! I can't have you marrying a boy who's… dating six different girls at once!"

"This wedding is for financial purposes, is it?" Alcea asked, narrowing her eyes. "Therefore, even if my betrothed was the scum of the earth-"

"Hey!" Blake exclaimed.

"-It should not make any difference, oui? I am not so naïve as to the nature of these marriages of convenience, is it?"

"That's…" Julianna paled, looking down. "If… if you'll be happy with that… then I suppose… it's okay. But Allie…"

"Blake, explain yourself," Richard growled. "Now."

"This… they…" Blake looked at his friends and Kate, understanding what they were trying to do. The desperation on their faces was clearly pleading with him to play along.

"They're… my friends. That's all."

"Blake!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Why?" Sango asked, wincing. Why couldn't he just go along with it? They were trying to wreck this whole thing, and here he was, ruining it.

"Cut the crap, Blake," Cynthia snapped. She walked towards him, Sephiria moving to stop her. In response, Ayame grabbed Kitty by the collar and chucked her at the blonde.

"Uweeeh?!" Kitty screeched in surprise. The small girl collided with the bodyguard and the two fell into a tumble, Cynthia breaking into a run.

The mountain that was Ansem found his large size to be to his disadvantage, as Cynthia was able to duck under his reach and dodge around Richard, pushing Blake out of his seat.

"Now, you listen!" Cynthia growled, mounting him. "What do you want, Blake?"

"Cynthia, just stop-"

"Nope," Cynthia smacked him across the face. "Try again."

"Are you insa-"

Smack.

"Stop-"

Smack.

"Damn it, Cynthia, that-"

Smack.

"Tell me, Blake," Cynthia said. "Do you want to go and get married to Alcea? Or are you going to stick here, with your girlfriends? What do you want, Blake? Because I'm going to keep smacking you until you tell me the truth!"

"You… aren't my girlfriends…" Blake hissed. Cynthia scowled, raising her hand. But Ansem had caught up with her now, and grabbed her wrist in his big, meaty paw.

"Crap!" Cynthia cried, struggling as best she could, but the man had a grip like a vice.

"But…" Cynthia's attention returned to Blake, her eyes wide with expectation.

"But I still… I want… to stay here with everyone…" Blake admitted, tears welling up in his eyes. It might have been from the pain of Cynthia's 4-hit doubleslap combo, but Cynthia didn't believe that for an instant. A big smile broke out across her face.

"That's just what we wanted to hear," Cynthia sighed, relaxing and letting Ansem yank her off.

"Well this has all become quite confusing," Louis sighed. "Julianna, what do you think we should-"

"Hold on!" Another girl's voice called out from the doorway. Blake wanted Cynthia to slap him again. Not another one… was this crazy scheme ever going to end?

Nope. Probably not.