A/N: As always, thank you so much for the support! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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

Days

The day of Christmas Eve

Drew

Tuesday, December 24th

The snow was crisp under his feet when Drew made his way back into the Pokémon Center of Dewford Town. It was cheerfully decorated for the holiday season, and the lobby had gotten a lot more crowded than when he had left in the morning.

The Nurse Joy behind the counter was occupied by talking to someone on the video phone, and a glance told Drew it was another Nurse Joy. The Dewford Nurse Joy sent him a friendly smile and then quickly wrapped up her conversation with her relative. With a last "Merry Christmas" she ended the call and turned her full attention to Drew.

"Good evening, Drew," she greeted him with her forever friendly smile.

"Good evening, Nurse Joy." He smiled back at her. She had gone out of her way to help him before, and she liked making some small talk whenever he was at the Center. "I'd like to have my Pokémon healed, please." He handed her the Pokéballs.

"Of course. Tough training today?" she asked as she put the Pokémon in the healing machine. Although he preferred to let his Pokémon heal up naturally by sleeping and resting, the healing machine worked quickly and that was often handy. His Pokémon had nothing against it, and from what he understood from them, it was somewhat similar to being kept in a Pokéball and feeling like you had woken from a long nap.

"Yes, very much. Not many battles, but tough opponents," he replied. There hadn't been many top-level trainers remaining on the island, many having left to visit friends and family for Christmas.

"Hm, it's always the serious ones that remain during the holidays," Nurse Joy said, drawing the same conclusion as he just had.

"It gotten more crowded than yesterday, though," Drew remarked, gesturing to the lobby. However, further inspection showed that there were no professional trainers, but mostly couples or families with young children.

"It always is this time a year," Nurse Joy replied as she handed him the Poké Balls back. "The island is a popular holiday spot with the warmer weather, well, usually-" She laughed and gestured to the dark windows, through which the snow-covered landscape could be seen. "-and of course there's the bonfire."

Drew hummed in response, clicking the Poké Balls to his belt.

"Of course Trainers and Coordinators take precedence over normal visitors in the Pokémon Center, and there are more than enough hotels for the tourists, but the League doesn't say to no to a bit of extra money around Christmas time," Nurse Joy said, and Drew nodded.

"Are you going to the bonfire?" she asked. "It's quite a sight."

"Yes, I was planning on it," Drew answered, straightening up. He needed to socialize more. Already he had found a tentative new friend in Anthony, the Trainer he had met in Rustboro, but his social circles could still use widening. "Are you?"

Nurse Joy smiled sadly but shook her head. "I couldn't, even though I'd love to. I'm responsible for this Pokémon Center."

"That's too bad," Drew said thoughtfully. "Still… the bonfire is just on the beach, and you could still see the Center from there."

Surprisingly, Nurse Joy was truly considering it, and seeing an opportunity, Drew pushed on. "C'mon, it'll be fun, and you'll still be close by. Like you said, there's pretty much no one here. And you could leave a message at the door, so they would know where to find you."

"I…" She wrung her hands.

"We'll sit at the very sidelines," he said, then gave her his most confident smirk. "C'mon…"

"Alright," Nurse Joy said quickly, flushing a bit. "But not too long and we'll sit close to the Center."

"Deal," Drew said, extending his hand.

Nurse Joy made to grab his hand but paused just before taking hold, smirking a bit. "And only if you call me Yvonne, Nurse Joy is only when I'm on duty."

Drew grabbed her hand and shook it. "Done. I'll see you tonight then."

She grinned and nodded. "Tonight."

"Perfect. I'll go eat up in my room, if you don't mind, there are too many screaming children here," Drew remarked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the lobby.

It was an exaggeration, because there was only one crying baby, but Yvonne laughed and nodded. "There's food in the kitchen, you know where to find it."

"Thanks," he said with a nod. "I'll see you later, Yvonne."

Her smile widened. "Enjoy your meal, Drew."

He flipped his hair and waved shortly, before going off to the kitchen. He quickly grabbed his meal and then went to his room.

Because it was Christmas Eve, he had gotten some special treats for his Pokémon to celebrate, and he started to prepare them. Drew almost hummed as he worked.

This outing to Dewford Town had gone even better than he had expected. Sure, there weren't many strong opponents to train with, but meeting new people and seeing the sights had been just as a strong motivator for him to go here. And Dewford Town was one of the few places that organized a public celebration for Christmas Eve.

He put his own meal in the microwave and then released his Pokémon. It was a tight fit in the small room, but with some squeezing and maneuvering it all worked out. Drew handed out the food to his Pokémon and then managed to find a seat on the bed in between Masquerain and Roserade.

"Now, guys… Thank you all for working so hard today, and all the other days, of course. I know things have not been easy-" Here Drew faltered for a moment. "-but we've gotten better and stronger and it's time for us to enjoy a break. Merry Christmas!"

He raised an invisible glass as if in a toast with a half-smile and his Pokémon cheered. Then they dug in, and sounds of eating and Pokémon chatter filled the room.

Roserade however, patted his arm and looked at him questioningly.

"I'm fine," Drew said. "I'm fine, really." He smiled. "I'm going to the bonfire tonight with Nurse Joy- ah, sorry, Yvonne."

Roserade raised her non-existent eyebrows, before smiling at him. "Rose, roserade."

"Thanks," Drew said, and then started eating his own meal.

It was a good meal, but it was nothing like he would have gotten at his parents' (a five star dinner with too small portions) or the homey meals Caroline Maple made (who had always served him too much).

Of course, joining the Maples for Christmas was out of the question now. Drew chewed on his meat thoughtfully. Ever since he had gotten closer to May, he had spent his Christmases there... He had almost spent as many Christmases there as he had spent at his parents'.

Not that he would want to join his parents for Christmas.

Drew finished his meal, but considered what to do to kill the time before the bonfire. He turned on the TV and easily found a classic Christmas movie. Settling down on the bed, he took Swinub – a Pokémon he had come across in his journey through Sinnoh last year – on his lap and started to brush the Pokémon's thick hair.

Just as he started to remember the plot of the movie, his phone rang and Swinub took the chance to jump off his lap, eager to escape the brush.

Drew gave the Pokémon a reproachful look (which didn't seem to bother Swinub at all) and then picked up his phone, stiffening slightly when he saw who the caller was.

"Hey, Solidad."

"Hey, Drew!" Solidad's voice rang awfully cheery through the receiver, and Drew smiled slightly, already a suspicion forming.

"I'm just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas in advance," Solidad said, and Drew nodded to himself, his thoughts confirmed. Ever since the break-up, she had called him more often than before, and even Harley had taken to calling him every so often.

"Thanks, Solidad, same to you. Though we are of course meeting up tomorrow," he pointed out. Then, after a moment of consideration, "But I appreciate you calling."

He could hear Solidad's smile in her voice. "Of course. You sound happy. I take it the bonfire plan is working out?"

"Yes," he answered. "Although without Anthony, he already had other plans for tonight. But I still went to Dewford Town on my own, and now I'm going with the resident Nurse Joy, Yvonne."

"That's very nice, Drew," Solidad said, and perhaps he imagined the note of surprise in her voice. "I'm glad it's working out for you, and that you're not alone on Christmas Eve."

"I wouldn't have been alone," he said pointedly.

"No, I suppose not," she said after a slight pause, and Drew felt slightly guilty for his reaction. She was trying to help him, after all.

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he said quickly. "As long as Harley behaves himself, it should be fun."

Solidad chuckled and Drew smiled.

"As long as you both behave I'm sure it'll be fine," Solidad said.

"Pfft." He flipped his hair. "I'm always perfectly behaved."

"Hmm-hm," she said, not sounding entirely convinced. "How was training today?"

They briefly talked about his training and about the bonfire, and then about what they were going to do tomorrow (a theatre show and dinner).

"Anyway, I should be getting ready for tonight, and I'm sure you have your family to go to," Drew said after a longer pause in the conversation.

"Yes, indeed, I should be getting ready, too," she said. "Have fun tonight, Drew, but not- but I'm sure I'll hear all about it tomorrow!"

"Yeah, of course. You have fun, too, and see you tomorrow," he replied dully, her almost slip-up not having gone unnoticed.

"Bye-bye!"

After a last bye, Drew ended the call and then dropped the phone on the bed. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of them.

He was pretty sure that Solidad had wanted to tell him not to have too much fun, but she had swallowed it just in time. He wouldn't have appreciated being told what he could or could not do.

Drew sighed. He appreciated it that Solidad was contacting him more often, but she also had the tendency to bring up May or the break-up at times he was unprepared, and that kept him slightly on edge whenever they were interacting.

But it seemed that she would lay low during Christmas, and it wasn't as if she needed to keep bringing up May. He knew that he had to contact her. He knew, and he would. After the holidays.

Drew shook himself out of those thoughts. They were guaranteed to only rile him up, and already he could feel the familiar anger growing, accompanied by the sting of bitterness.

No, he had better things to do than to dwell on these matters. He had a bonfire to get ready for, and a life to live.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading! According to the little research I've done, men tend to try to move on from their break-ups, to 'man up,' so to say, while women linger longer on the emotions and cry and grieve. I tried to show that here. Side-effect of the ways of coping are that women may experience it harder, but men experience it longer. Also, I know the ContestShipping is pretty depressing so far, but it'll get better, really! Anyway, please let me know what you thought about this chapter!

Thank you!

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Harry Potter: Null by trollnexus. FFN. A pretty interesting one-shot about Harry and Dudley as kids, and the meaning of Snow White in their youth, packaged in a rather creepy but still cool story. Give it a look!

Recommendations are welcome!