Author's note: So, here we are at last, Chapter 2. There's not any action here- we're still in the prologue, after all. I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless!

Chapter 2: Winds of a New Beginning!

New Bark Town, January 1st, 2000.

New Bark Town was a quiet, modest place. Isolated from most of Johto, the town was just the place where one could live a quiet life, avoiding the stresses of the city. And possibly hide from any sort of fame. Which was exactly the kind of place that Crystal Harrison didn't like. But her parents had decided to move to New Bark Town, wanting to get out of bustling Goldenrod City. "What's this school I'm supposed to be going to like?" she asked.

Her mother looked up from the map, sitting in the passenger seat of the car. "Elm Academy? Well, it's supposed to be the best high school in the whole New Bark area," she replied. Crystal rolled her eyes, feeling more than a little annoyed. "That tells me nothing, mom," she said. "Relax," Crystal's mother admonished. "You'll do just fine. And you're here to learn about being a Pokémon Trainer."

"I don't want to," Crystal said. It was at that point that Crystal's father spoke up. "Crystal Marina Harrison!" he snapped, catching his daughter's attention. "You will not continue to act like this. Do you understand me, young lady?"

Crystal shrunk back into her seat. "Yes, sir…" she sighed.

Her father glared at her for a few seconds through the rearview mirror before resuming his full attention on driving. The rest of the ride went by in utter silence as they approached New Bark Town.

A little while later…

Crystal looked out the window as the car crossed into New Bark Town. A large sign denoted its entrance. 'The Town Where Winds of a New Beginning Blow', it said. She scoffed, not really believing in that. Why did her parents decide to just up and move, taking her away from all of her friends and everything she'd ever known?

She decided that she'd probably never know, not that it mattered anyway. The family car came to a stop in the driveway of a small two-story home just inside the city limits. "We're here," her father said, turning the car off. It was apparently a part of some neighborhood housing complex, not that Crystal cared. Her mother smiled. "It's quaint," she said. "I like it."

Crystal said nothing, angrily shutting her PokéGear. "I hate it. There's no signal here," she said. Her mother sighed. "You can call your friends later. We need to get everything unpacked," she said.

Crystal sighed, moving to get out of the car. Her parents shared a look, both wondering what they were going to do with their daughter. Both knew that she wasn't likely to take it well, but this was worse than they'd thought.

Later…

The Harrison family had barely finished unpacking when they heard a knock at the door. Mr. Harrison moved to the door to answer it. When he opened it up, he was met by a man with striking black hair and eyes. "You must be Mr. Harrison," the man said. "That's right," Mr. Harrison replied, watching him intently. "I see," the black-haired man said, smiling. "The name's Gold. Aaron Gold. And I own this unit."

Mr. Harrison nodded. "Ah. You're the landlord. The lady at the gate said that you'd be by when we picked up the key," he said. "Yes," Aaron said. "I like to check on each of my tenants as soon as I can. May I come in?"

"You may," Mr. Harrison said, moving aside slightly to allow him entry. Aaron smiled, stepping across the threshold. "How many of you are here?" Aaron asked, tapping his chin. "Three," Mr. Harrison replied. "Me, my wife, and my daughter." Aaron nodded. "Okay," he said. "I just like to get to know my tenants as well as I can. And that reminds me. I didn't actually catch your name."

"Right," Mr. Harrison said. "Tom Harrison."

Aaron nodded, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Tom," he said. "Call me Aaron. And I'll leave you my number if you need anything." Tom nodded as his wife stepped into the kitchen, wondering who he was talking to. "Honey? Is this our new landlord?" she asked. "That would be correct, dear," Tom said. Aaron smiled. "Ah. You must be Mrs. Harrison," he said.

"Please call me Samantha," she said. Aaron nodded. "Okay, Samantha," he said. "My name is Aaron Gold, and this is my rental." Samantha nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet you," she said. "Our daughter Crystal is here, but she's still sulking about the move."

Aaron chuckled. "Sounds like my kids," he said. "Anyway, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." Both Samantha and Tom nodded as Aaron wrote his number on a piece of paper, placing it on the counter. "I'll be back sometime tomorrow to collect the deposit."

The Harrisons nodded again as Aaron departed, closing the door behind him. "Well, that was easy," Tom said. Samantha nodded. "If only getting Crystal to not be so immature about this was that easy," she said. Tom chuckled. "Don't I know it," he said. "But don't worry. I think she'll come around eventually. Maybe."

Samantha chuckled in return. "We can only hope," she said. Both she and her husband soon broke out in laughter, failing to notice their daughter glaring at them from the top of the stairs. Crystal scoffed to herself and stomped back to her room in annoyance.

This was the worst day of her life. And they were just joking about it? She needed some time to cool down before she spoke to them again.

January 2nd, 7 AM.

Crystal sighed as she woke up. Today was her first day at her new school, which was apparently called Elm Academy. She slid out of bed, wondering what she was going to wear- as far as she knew, this school didn't have a uniform. So it was up to her. She stalked over to her closet, digging through it. After settling on a pair of jeans and one of her band tees, she slipped on her leather jacket and shoes and headed downstairs.

Her mother greeted her as she stepped into the kitchen. "Morning, Crystal," she said with a smile. Crystal grunted something under her breath, annoyed. Samantha sighed, exasperated with her daughter's continued apathy. "You know, wearing that shirt to school probably isn't a good idea," she said. Crystal rolled her eyes. Kantonian hard rock bands were her favorite, especially Tauros Herd, the one whose shirt she was wearing.

"I don't care," Crystal said at last, slinging her bag onto her back. "Let's just go and get this over with."

Samantha's eyes narrowed as she stared at her daughter, though she said nothing. Instead, she grabbed the car keys and moved for the door. The ride to the girl's new school was tense and silent, neither willing nor able to speak. Samantha parked the car in the school parking lot, allowing Crystal to get out. "We're here," she said. "I hope you enjoy your day."

Crystal glared at her mother, saying nothing. With a slam of the car door, she turned away, watching the building with complete apathy. Samantha sighed again, resolving to talk to her daughter later. She turned the car back on and prepared to leave, watching as Crystal began crossing the parking lot. Her expression soon turned to one of concern as Crystal stomped inside, slamming the door behind her.

She winced as she began backing the car out of the parking lot, waiting for it to clear enough for her to leave. She only hoped that Crystal wouldn't get herself into trouble on her first day at a new school.

Crystal stepped inside the main building, looking around. A receptionist sat at a desk in the corner of the room.

The office was decorated fairly nice, and Crystal mused that this school was too fancy for her taste. Her attention was soon caught when the secretary spoke. "Can I help you?" she asked. "Yes," Crystal replied, swallowing her annoyance. "I'm new here, and I don't know where I'm supposed to go."

"Ah," the secretary said. "In that case, I can help you. What's your name?"

"Crystal Harrison," the girl said, still unsure of the place. "Ah, Miss Harrison," the secretary said, pulling her information up on the computer. "I have a student ID for you."

Crystal sighed, stepping over to the desk. The secretary passed her a small plastic card, not unlike a driver's license or Trainer Card. Listed on it were her name, age, and sex, just like one of the aforementioned documents.

The picture her mother had submitted was printed on it, next to the listed information. "You'll go through that door on the left," the secretary said. "Your teacher will come and get your class when it's time."

Crystal nodded, shoving the card into her pocket. She moved to the door as the secretary waved at her. "Have a nice day at school!" she said. Crystal muttered something under her breath and shoved the door open, still annoyed at her situation.

Crystal stepped into a room full of students like herself. She immediately made a beeline for the corner, not caring about talking to anyone. She noticed that a few of them looked at her- but resumed doing whatever they'd been doing before. She reached into her pocket for her PokéGear, only to be cut off by a black-haired boy sitting down next to her.

He wore a red and gray hoodie, yellow and black shorts, and red shoes. A black-and-yellow cap sat on his head, turned backwards. Crystal thought he was lame, and just wanted to ignore him, but he spoke. "Are you new?" he asked. "Yeah," she said, not looking up from her PokéGear. "The name's Hayden," he said. "Yours?"

"None of your business," Crystal snapped, still not bothering to look at him. "That's rude of you," he said. "I just wanted to find out what your name was." Crystal bit her lip, feeling guilty all of a sudden. So she closed her PokéGear and looked up at him.

She found herself immediately taken by his striking brown eyes as she studied his face. He was rather attractive, she had to say. Even if his fashion sense was lame. "My name's Crystal," she said. Hayden nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said. "Do you have your schedule?"

Crystal nodded, digging into her bag and producing a sheet of paper. "My mom printed it out this morning," she said. Hayden nodded in return. "Can I see it?" he asked. Crystal shrugged. "I don't see why not," she said, handing it to him. The boy looked it over quickly and passed it back to her. "We've got mostly the same classes," he said. "Let me show you around."

"You'd do that?" Crystal asked, genuinely touched by this boy's kindness. Especially after she'd rudely rebuffed his attempts to speak to her. "I would," he said. "My friends would probably like to meet you."

Crystal nodded silently as the boy smiled. "My friends will be here soon," he said. "I'm going to wave them over here when they come in."

Crystal nodded again, finding herself oddly comfortable around this boy, even though she'd just met him. Could it be that she was attracted to him? She quickly shrugged that thought off, reasoning that she couldn't have possibly fallen for a boy that she'd just met. Not when she'd gone to school in Goldenrod for her whole life and never dated anyone.

It was entirely ridiculous. Or was it?

Soon enough, though, the two were approached by two more people that she'd never met, one boy and one girl. She figured that they were the friends that Hayden had mentioned. They were talking in an animated fashion, and she didn't feel that she should intrude. Until Hayden tapped her shoulder and smiled. "My friends are here," he said.

Crystal nodded, though she didn't actually speak. "So…who's this?" the girl asked, taking a seat next to Hayden. "Her name's Crystal," he replied. "She's new here." The other girl nodded. "Ah," she said. "Are you going to introduce us or not?" Hayden chuckled. "Right," he said. "These are my friends. Khoury and Lyra."

Crystal nodded, forcing a smile. "Nice to meet you," she said. "Nice to meet you too," Lyra said, leaning back against her chair. "Yeah. Nice to meet you too," Khoury added, taking the empty chair next to Lyra. Crystal looked over Hayden's friends, deciding to familiarize herself with them. Khoury was a green-haired boy with wide gray eyes, dressed in a long-sleeved yellow button-up shirt with a green sweater over it and a pair of khaki pants. He wore round glasses and a pair of dark brown shoes.

As for Lyra, she was a brown-haired girl with dark blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of dark overalls, and a rather goofy white hat. Red shoes accompanied her outfit, and a smile spread across her face. "What do we do now?" Crystal asked, as soon as she'd finished studying Hayden's friends. "We wait here for a bit," Lyra said. "Classes don't start until eight," she said. "We've still got fifteen minutes."

Crystal nodded. "So…where do we go?" she asked. "Depends on what class you've got first," Khoury said. "Like, for example, the three of us have Lyra's dad's class first." Crystal nodded again as Hayden spoke. "She showed me her schedule," he said. "She's in Pokémon Studies with us."

Khoury nodded. "Okay," he said. "Then she'll just have to stick with us."

Hayden nodded in return, though he did not actually speak. Lyra did, though. "She should sit with us," she said. "Since she's new and all."

"Good idea," Hayden said. "If she doesn't mind, that is."

Crystal smiled nervously. "That's alright with me," she said. Hayden nodded, not noticing a slight flash of jealousy from Lyra. "Right. Then we'll head out as soon as the bell rings."

Crystal nodded again, though she didn't actually say a word. She suddenly felt her cheeks heating up, like she was nervous. This wasn't something to be nervous about, so why was she feeling like this? Her mind drifted back to her earlier thought- was she falling for this Hayden boy? Even though she'd just met him?

Perhaps. Only time would tell, but that was a question for another time. The bell soon rang, signaling for the students to make their way to class. "Come on," Hayden said, getting up. "Professor Elm's classroom isn't far from here."

Crystal nodded, doing the same. "Right. Time for class," she said. "Don't be nervous," Lyra said. "You'll do just fine."

Crystal flashed a nervous smile and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I'm not so sure," she said. "We'll be here," Lyra said. "Just ask us if you have any questions."

"Yeah," Hayden added. "What Lyra just said."

Crystal nodded as Hayden smiled at her. "Let's go, then," she said.

Professor Elm's classroom…

Professor Elm sat in his room, watching as his students started filing inside. He sat behind his desk, observing the various teenage students conversing amongst themselves. A smile formed as his face as he spotted a familiar trio enter the room.

"Hi, Lyra!" he said, greeting his daughter. "Hi, dad," Lyra replied, smiling. "We made it in here on time." Professor Elm smiled. "You know that I like my students to be punctual," he said. "You can sit anywhere."

"We will," Hayden said, speaking up. "Hi, Hayden," Professor Elm said. "I see you found Lyra and Khoury quickly." Hayden nodded, glancing at his two best friends. "That's right," he said. "And we met a new girl."

Crystal nearly died from embarrassment as Hayden called attention to her, and she did her best to hide behind him. Professor Elm chuckled, smiling. "I was informed that I'd have a new student," he said. "Though it doesn't hurt that I'm also part of administration."

Hayden nodded with a smile, noting that the school was founded by and named after Professor Elm. "We'll take the usual spots," he said. Professor Elm nodded in return. "Right," he said. "Just make sure you pay attention this time around."

Hayden nodded with a mischievous smile, thinking back to the incident that Professor Elm was referring to. "In my defense, working as your research assistant for five years taught me a lot," he said. Professor Elm sighed, deciding against arguing further. "I suppose that's true," he said. Hayden chuckled, making his way towards his usual desk. "Lyra won't let me not pay attention," he replied.

Professor Elm smiled as the boy took his seat. "I suppose so," he said. Lyra chuckled to herself, taking an empty seat next to her friend. "You're darn right," she said. "None of that ignoring the lecture stuff." Hayden chuckled, producing a notebook. "You're not gonna stop me from drawing," he said. Lyra rolled her eyes. "It's not the drawing that's the problem," she replied. "It's the doing it in class part."

"Sure. Name one thing that I don't already know about Pokémon," he said, his tone sarcastic. Lyra went silent, unable to respond. "That's what I thought," he said. "We've worked with your dad for too long to not already know all of this."

Lyra sighed. "I suppose you've got a point," she said. Hayden nodded. "Yep. Of course I do," he replied. "Now, let's let Khoury sit down." Lyra looked up, noticing that their friend was staring at them, a goofy grin plastered on his face. "No, by all means, keep going," he said. "This is prime entertainment."

Lyra rolled her eyes again, glaring at him. "Just sit down," she said. "We're confusing our new friend here."

Khoury glanced over at Crystal, whose face conveyed her confusion quite well. "I see your point," he said, moving to the desk next to Lyra. The girl watched him closely as he finally sat down, pulling his stuff out of his bag. Hayden watched all of this with amusement before turning to Crystal, who still looked lost. "You can have this one here," he said, tapping the desk next to him.

Crystal nodded, though she seemed to still be in a state of confusion. She sat down next to him, a dumbfounded expression still on her face. "What was that?" she asked, eventually. Hayden chuckled slightly. "That was…a whole lot of our drama," he said. Crystal nodded, not really sure how she should react to that. So she went with the only thing that she could think of. "You've known each other for a long time, huh?"

"Yeah," Hayden said. "We've been friends since we were five years old. The three of us are really close."

Crystal nodded again, suddenly feeling as if she was intruding. "Huh," she said. "I'm not…intruding, am I?" she asked, her cheeks flushing red a bit. "Nah," Hayden replied, smiling cheerfully. "I said that I was gonna introduce you to my friends, and I meant it."

"So…what does that mean?" Crystal asked, nervously. "It means that you're one of us now," Hayden said. "I want to be friends with you, if you don't mind."

Crystal found it hard to contain her blush as she nodded, hoping that he didn't notice. "Thanks," she said. "I'm sorry about earlier this morning."

Hayden chuckled. "Don't worry about that," he said. "I'm not bothered by it. It's in the past." Crystal nodded, remaining silently surprised by his nonchalance. "Class is about to start," Hayden said, as the rest of the class began arriving. "So get ready. Professor Elm is about to start talking."

Crystal nodded, pulling out her textbook, notebook, and pencil, laying them on her desk. She offered her new friend a smile, watching as he did the same. He returned the smile before directing his attention to the front of the classroom, where Professor Elm was preparing to start, just as he'd said.

"Welcome students," Professor Elm began. "Today, we'll be starting Chapter 7 of your textbook," he said. "So get yourselves ready to learn."

The class collectively nodded as Elm continued. "Today, we'll be discussing Pokemon biology," he said. Again, the class nodded. "So, to start, does anyone have any questions?" he asked. No one raised their hand, so Elm continued. "I just remembered something," he said. "Before we start, I'd like to introduce our newest classmate."

Crystal froze, realizing that he was talking about her. She then immediately hoped that he wouldn't make her come up to the front and introduce herself, desperately so, even. But she didn't have that sort of luck.

"Miss Harrison," he said. "Please come up to the board."

Crystal bit her lip nervously. She stood up from her desk, walking to the front of the room with seemingly little fear. Outwardly, that is. Inwardly, she was practically freaking out about having to do this. She was not the type to stand in front of a room of people and talk. And this was her first day, on top of it. She was beginning to not like being at this school again.

She stopped next to Professor Elm, turning to face the room. Hayden smiled at her from the front row, seeming to offer her some comfort. Lyra and Khoury watched her closely as well, though neither said a word. "This is Crystal Harrison," Professor Elm said. "She's new here. Please help her feel accommodated."

The class seemed to nod, waiting for him to continue. "She's going to introduce herself now," he said. "Tell the class a little bit about herself."

Crystal felt the nervousness building up within herself as she offered a slight wave. Professor Elm stood there next to her, watching. He seemed to be expecting her to speak soon, so she decided that she'd give it a shot. Hayden offered her another smile, giving her enough of a push to finally open her mouth. She felt like she'd rather run and hide, but opened her mouth nonetheless. "Hi," she said, slowly becoming more confident.

"My name is Crystal," she said. "And I just moved to New Bark Town. I'm sort of nervous about all of this."

The class remained silent, seeming to nod slightly. Crystal swallowed hard, feeling their collective eyes upon her. "I'm looking forward to learning how things work around here," she said, internally cringing. "Was that really my best idea?" she thought, unsure of how that last part landed. The class didn't react either way, so she had no idea. She shot a glance at her new friends, noticing that they seemed to still be watching her intently. She wasn't sure of what she would (or should) say next, but she didn't have to find out- Professor Elm spoke once again. "Thank you, Miss Harrison," he said. "You may return to your seat."

Crystal nodded, practically sprinting back to her desk. She dropped into her chair, immensely relieved that the whole experience was over. Getting it together was an experience in and of itself, but she felt herself calming down. "You okay?" Hayden whispered, leaning a little closer. "Yeah," Crystal whispered back, trying to be as quiet as she could. Hayden nodded. "Good. We can talk more later," he said. "Probably at lunch time."

Crystal nodded in return, silently accepting that response. She smiled as she did so, though he did not seem to notice, having focused his attention back on the professor. Crystal did the same, focusing her attention on the front of the classroom.

"So, today, we'll be discussing Pokémon biology," Professor Elm said, starting off the lecture. "We'll start with a few sample questions. Who wants to take the first one?" Not one student raised their hand, most of them looking bored out of their minds. Elm sighed, noting that he'd been hoping for better engagement than this.

Part of why he'd started this school was to spread this information. Everyone needed to know these things for their own safety around the powerful creatures. Especially if they intended to become a Pokemon Trainer- as some Pokemon were docile and easy to train- for example, Caterpie or Eevee. But others- like Tyranitar or Gyarados- were violent, angry, and generally hard to control. So, while this information was important, it was fairly hard to teach when you were trying to get it through the skulls of twenty-seven teenagers with short attention spans. So he went to the one student he knew he could rely on.

Hayden Gold immediately looked up from his notebook, clearly not paying full attention until just now. Elm sighed but chose not to argue. "I'd like you to answer the first question, Mr. Gold," he said. The boy nodded, laying his pencil down and closing his notebook. "Alright. What is it?" he asked. "We'll start off with something easy," he said. "What Pokémon does Pineco evolve into?"

Hayden smirked confidently. "Forretress," he said, his response swift. "Correct," Professor Elm said. "Let's move on to the next one." Hayden nodded, though he said nothing. The whole class stopped what they were doing to stare his direction as Elm readied the next one. "What species is Forretress?" the professor inquired, testing his knowledge.

"It's classified as the Bagworm Pokemon, just like Pineco," Hayden replied, not flinching or missing a beat. Elm smiled, confident that at least one student was actually paying attention to him during these lectures. "What type is it?" he questioned, intending to finish off the series. "Forretress is a Bug- and Steel- type Pokemon," Hayden said, again unflinching. Professor Elm smiled his way. "That's all for now," he said, and the teenager nodded, returning his attention to his notebook. Elm chuckled as he saw Lyra glare at her friend for that, but he didn't seem to care.

"Now," Elm said, "we're going to get into the lecture proper- now that we've gotten the sample questions out of the way." The class seemed to collectively nod as he began again. "Please turn to page 52 of your textbooks," Elm said. "We will begin our discussion of Pokémon biology."

The class, again, seemed to collectively nod. Elm decided to take what he could get, picking up a marker and beginning to write on the board.Pokémon Biology: An Overview, he wrote. "There are multiple aspects," Professor Elm said. "But today, we're focusing on the Pokémon themselves. Can anyone tell me how many types of Pokémon exist?"

"Eighteen," Hayden said, briefly glancing up from what he was doing. "Correct," Elm said. "There are eighteen types of Pokémon," he said. "Though some types are rarer than others. Some are less populous than others, some are more populous than others, and each has different abilities."

Elm's students began scribbling down notes as he continued. "Can anyone tell me the standardized starter types?" he asked. A boy in the back row raised his hand. "Ah, Billy," Elm said. "Do you know the answer?"

Billy nodded. "I do. Those three types are Grass, Fire, and Water," he said. "That's correct," Professor Elm replied with a smile. "Now, moving on, we'll discuss why these three were chosen," he said. Crystal raised her hand, having finished taking her notes on the previous answer. "Why is that?" she asked. "Good question, Miss Harrison," Professor Elm replied. "The trio of Fire, Water, and Grass are the most commonly accepted trio of starter types for one simple reason: they form a perfect triangle of weaknesses and strengths."

The class (minus Hayden and his friends) seemed to eagerly absorb that explanation, awaiting Elm's continuation. "Fire is weak to Water, which is in turn weak to Grass, which is weak to Fire," he said. "Fire is not very effective against Water, Grass isn't very effective against Fire, and Water isn't very effective against Grass."

The class nodded again, each observing this information in their textbooks or scribbling down notes. "Can anyone tell me what we call this phenomenon?" Elm said. "There is a specific term for a given type taking reduced damage from another's powers."

"Resistance," Lyra said. "That property of Pokémon types is called Resistance. Each type of Pokémon has its own set of them."

"Right you are, Lyra," Professor Elm said. "That property is called Resistance. It, along with Weakness, are important aspects of Pokémon battling, and if you intend to become a Trainer, you'd best memorize them."

Crystal looked over at Hayden's desk, seeing that he was still occupied with whatever he was doing, only passively listening to the lecture. She wondered why, noting that Lyra was subtly giving him a side-eyed look.

Hayden sat at his desk, passively listening to Elm's lecture. He didn't need much instruction in this particular area of study. He was dead set on becoming a Pokémon Trainer- and had studied nearly everything he could about them. To that end, he'd worked as Professor Elm's research assistant during the summer for the last five years.

So had Lyra and Khoury- they were equally knowledgeable- but Khoury liked the class and Lyra didn't want to be seen as being disobedient- especially when her dad was the teacher. But to Hayden, the class was pretty much an afterthought.

He was currently ignoring Lyra's disgruntled stare, drawing in his notebook. He was sketching Pokémon he'd most like to train in his notebook rather than actually pay attention. At least, not his full attention.

He knew it infuriated her, but he didn't really care. She'd get over it with time, so he saw no reason to change this behavior. Especially since becoming a Trainer meant an exemption from school so long as you kept your studies up.

He was aware that this might eventually draw Professor Elm's annoyance; but he elected to continue his current course of action anyway, reasoning that Elm would forgive him rather easily. He tended to do that, especially when both knew that he knew the whole textbook front to back and cover to cover.

His current sketch was that of a Feraligatr, the fully evolved Water- type Johto Starter Pokémon. He'd wanted to train a Totodile for pretty much as long as he could remember. Tyranitar and Dragonite were tied for a close second.

He'd done a sketch of both, though he wasn't sure how he'd acquire either. Both species tended to be quite rare- as were their weaker relatives. Electabuzz was another that he'd considered, alongside Scizor and Hitmonlee. He had considered the strengths and weaknesses of all six members of his preferred team, deciding that acquiring as many of them as he could was going to be his plan. Backup team members were not being ruled out, but he wasn't sure what those would be.

Getting a Fire type was probably wise, but he didn't know which one he'd want. Arcanine? Houndoom? Something different entirely? He wasn't sure. As for other types- it remained to be seen. He continued with his drawing, smiling as he began the finishing touches of the sketch. Coloring it in was his next step, but he wasn't sure when he'd do that. Art was another passion of his, given that he was rather good at it.

His love of Pokémon and his love of art often combined in the form of detailed drawings of the majestic creatures. Most were even fully colored in. He'd filled countless notebooks with his art, though his passion was more aimed at actually training Pokémon as opposed to merely drawing them.

He soon found his concentration shattered by Professor Elm calling on him once again. "Mr. Gold! Would you please pay attention and answer this next question?" the professor asked, his calm tone at odds with the annoyance that his words would suggest.

Hayden sighed. "He noticed me…" he thought. "Guess I'll pay attention…."

Crystal sat in her seat, watching intently as Hayden drew a Pokémon that she'd never seen before in his notebook.

She couldn't help but find herself impressed with his artistic skill as he lovingly formed the sketch that he was drawing. "Does he have an art class?" she thought, wondering to herself. She looked up, noting that Professor Elm was continuing to give the lecture, seemingly ignoring them.

So she kept watching him draw, scrawling her notes down with one hand, resting her chin on the other. Nonetheless, she felt a nagging in the back of her mind, questioning why he was drawing instead of paying attention to the lecture.

Clearly, Lyra didn't like it; she was glaring at him like he'd just insulted her mother. But it didn't seem to bother him- he was ignoring her in favor of continuing his drawing. She wondered what he was thinking about, but figured she'd never know.

She was wondering just what she'd missed about him- she'd never pegged him to be the type to ignore a lecture. But then again, she'd known him for less than a day. Crystal's curiosity needed to be sated, though, so she kept on watching him.

But wondering why would get her nowhere; she made a mental note to ask him about this after class. If she was going to start hanging out with him, she wanted to know some more about him. Why exactly did he do this?

She didn't have to wait long for it to be interrupted though; Professor Elm soon called on him once again. She quickly averted her eyes, returning to focusing on the lecture. Professor Elm did not seem to notice, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Despite it, however, she found herself even more curious as to why he was doing that; why he was acting that way. It actually made her feel more attracted to him, even if she wouldn't actually admit that to his face.

Her face flushed red again as that thought crossed her mind. She shoved that thought right back into its box and threw it back where she'd found it, hoping not to think of it again. But something told her that this attraction was far from over.

Lyra sat in silence, glaring at her best friend ignoring class in favor of drawing in his notebook. "I thought I'd convinced him to stop doing that…" she muttered to herself. She breathed an annoyed sigh, wishing that he'd pay attention.

She was just as knowledgeable as he was, yet she was paying attention. Why didn't he? It annoyed her to no end, yet Hayden kept on doing it. No matter what she said or how many times she said it. She'd noticed the new girl, Crystal, watching him rather closely, which only served to annoy her more. That was her friend that the blue-haired girl was staring at, after all. And he was seemingly oblivious to it.

She'd asked him to take her to their spring dance, and he'd begrudgingly said yes. Were her feelings for him not obvious? She sighed to herself annoyed both because he wasn't paying attention in class despite her telling him how much that annoyed her, as well as the fact that Crystal was apparently interested in staring his way. Did Crystal have a crush on Hayden? Even though she'd just met him earlier this morning? That was preposterous- she had to be just making that up. Or was she? She made a mental note to try and figure that out later.

For now, she was focused on trying to make Hayden pay attention. "Why's he have to do this?" she muttered, angrily. Khoury glanced her way, having noticed her frustration. "Because he likes to do that?" he offered. "Ignoring the lecture, I mean."

Lyra sighed. "He likes to do that too much, if you ask me," she said. "Why worry about it?" Khoury asked in return. "What do you mean?" Lyra asked. "I mean that he's alright," Khoury said. "He knows all of this. Probably almost as good as your dad."

Lyra remained silent, not really knowing how she should respond to that. "That's not an excuse," she said at last. "You're being too harsh on him," Khoury said. Lyra ignored him, and he chuckled, returning to what he'd been doing before.

Internally, she was fuming about Hayden's nonchalance, too distracted to pay attention to Khoury. "Why is he so infuriating?" she thought. "It's so darn attractive…"

Lyra soon shook herself out of that thought, feeling her cheeks turn warm. Was she jealous of Crystal? That though genuinely unsettled her- she'd never outright told Hayden that she'd developed feelings for him. The only person she'd told was her dad, so she wasn't really sure if he felt the same way about her or not. But for all her posturing and internal frustration, she still couldn't bring herself to confess them to him. Perhaps she was scared that it'd mess up their friendship if it didn't work out?

She wasn't sure- she'd elected to ponder it another day; for now she was going to try and catch her dad's attention. Subtly, so as to keep Hayden from noticing as well. But her attempt proved unnecessary- her dad soon noticed him on his own.

She smirked confidently to herself as he called on him to answer the next question.

Professor Elm sighed as he laid eyes on the front row. Hayden Gold was once again not paying a lick of attention to the lecture. The boy seemed bored out of his mind, occasionally absent-mindedly tugging at the collar of his hoodie.

He was obviously not taking any notes, appearing to be drawing something in his notebook. Elm sighed, wondering what he was going to have to do about that, sweeping his eyes across the rest of the row. To his right, Khoury Thomas sat staring at the whiteboard, memorizing the information written on it and scribbling notes onto his notepad.

To his left sat Crystal Harrison, who seemed to be eyeing him with interest. Just past Crystal sat his daughter, Lyra. She seemed to be eyeing Mr. Gold critically, as if she was trying in vain to make him pay attention. "That's not going to work, honey," he mused, electing to interfere.

He probably knew the textbook front to back, but Elm would be damned if he let him just sit in class and ignore a lecture. Professor Elm knew this, having seen the boy's work ethic for himself, but decided to intervene nonetheless.

"Mr. Gold! Would you please pay attention and answer this next question?" he asked, watching him intently. The boy sighed and closed the notebook as the whole class stared at him. "What's the question?" he asked, a bored tone evident in his voice. Professor Elm's eyes narrowed as he prepared the question. "Right…. let's test your knowledge…" he mused.

The entire class stared as Hayden looked Professor Elm in the eye. He could feel the eyes upon him as he closed his notebook with a sigh.

"What's the question?" he asked, his boredom creeping into his voice. Professor Elm remained silent for several seconds as he prepared the first question. "What Pokémon evolves into Electabuzz?" he asked.

Hayden smirked, internally scoffing. "That's easy…" he thought, mouth opened, firing off the answer almost as fast as Professor Elm could react. "Elekid. Next."

Professor Elm's eyes narrowed as he prepared the next question. "Aright, then. How does Elekid generate electricity?" he asked. "By spinning its arms," Hayden replied. "It's not good at storing electricity, so it has to make its own."

The professor sighed, his efforts apparently not challenging enough for the young man. "What Pokémon does Weedle evolve into?" he asked. Hayden sighed, as if he was offended that Elm had asked such an easy question, but answered it nonetheless. "Kakuna," he said.

Elm started to quiz him further, but found his next question swiftly answered by the adept young man. "It's classified as the Cocoon Pokemon. It shares that designation with Metapod." Elm prepared the next question, only to again be intercepted. "Kakuna is a Bug- and Poison- type Pokemon," the teenager said, not flinching one single time.

Elm sighed, readying another. "What does Kakuna evolve into? And what is that Pokémon's category?" he asked. "Easy," Hayden replied. "Beedrill is the Pokémon in question. And its category is the 'Poison Bee Pokémon'."

"You seem to have that particular avenue of knowledge down…" Elm said, sighing slightly. "Let's try something more advanced." The young man nodded, a slight grin forming on his face. Elm noticed it- but he could not tell if it was formed from smugness or anticipation.

"What Pokémon evolves from Larvitar?" he asked. "Pupitar, obviously," Hayden replied, seeming utterly unconcerned with how he came across. Elm's eyes narrowed as he prepped the next one. "What is Tyranitar's category?" he asked. "Tyranitar is the Armor Pokemon," Hayden answered. "It is a Rock- and Dark- type Pokemon, and it evolves from Pupitar."

Elm sighed; two more potential questions were now already answered. He knew this would happen, but wanted to test the boy nonetheless. Another sigh escaped his lips as he readied the next question. "Let's shift gears," he said. "Let's test your knowledge of Pokémon moves."

Hayden nodded; his expression was confident. "By all means," he said. "Let's go. Line 'em up, Professor." Elm nodded in return; he was equally unwilling to back down. "What move uses electrical energy to induce temporary paralysis on an opponent?" he asked. Young Hayden smirked before answering. "Thunder Wave," he said. "That was easy."

Professor Elm sighed and then posed another question. "Mid strength electric type attack; one step up from Thunder Shock, but weaker than Thunder," he said. "Thunderbolt," Hayden replied, again correct. Elm sighed. "What move is this? It's best described as a flare of electricity to coat the whole field. It's particularly nasty in Double Battles," he said.

"Discharge," Hayden said, with a confident smirk. Elm sighed again, posing another question. "A burst of draconic energy. Does a limited amount of damage," he said. "Dragon Rage," Hayden answered. "Right again," Elm said. "Then how about this: what move involves biting your opponent with icy fangs?"

"Ice Fang, obviously," Hayden said. Professor Elm nearly facepalmed, regretting such an easy question. "Fine, then," he sighed. "One last question." Hayden nodded, awaiting it. "What move is this? An intense blast of fire intended to scorch the foe. Mid-class Fire attack," Elm said. Hayden smiled smugly once again. "Flamethrower," he said.

Elm sighed, admitting defeat at last. The boy smirked and went back to his drawing as the Professor began directing the questions at his classmates. All the while, Lyra glared at him, feeling very annoyed. "I thought I'd convinced him to stop doing that…" she muttered to herself. Khoury looked her way, chuckling again. "He's good at this, isn't he?" he said.

Lyra sighed. "Too good," she replied, sounding more than a little annoyed. Khoury chuckled. "Why does it bother you so much?" he asked. "He aces every single test. He's on the fast track for his Trainer's License test."

Lyra sighed again. "That's the problem. He's almost too smug about it," she said. "I disagree," Khoury replied. "He's not smug. He's just confident- and bored out of his mind in this class. He's worked with your dad every day since he was ten."

Lyra sighed again. "His knowledge is no excuse for him to not pay attention!" she said. Khoury chuckled. "He's just like that, you know," he said. Lyra sighed, but said nothing, returning to her notes. Khoury chuckled and went back to what he was doing, having won that debate. The bell rang a short time later, signaling that class was over. "Alright, class. You're dismissed," Elm said. "Try not to be late to your next one."

The class collectively nodded, and they began moving to leave. Hayden was one of the first, gesturing for Crystal to follow. The new girl nodded, stepping up to follow him. Lyra stared at them angrily, shoving her things into her bag. Khoury watched all of this with a chuckle, packing up his stuff and following.

They soon stood in the hallway outside the classroom, and Lyra marched right up to Hayden, her annoyance plain to see. "Oh, hi Lyra," he said, nonchalantly, seemingly ignoring her displeasure. "Don't 'hi Lyra' me again!" she snapped. Khoury, who'd just caught up to them, facepalmed with a sigh. "Not this again…"

As for Hayden, he merely sighed. "Is this about class again?" he asked. "Because I don't care."

Lyra's eyes narrowed and she pressed her lips into a hard line. Her expression conveyed her immense annoyance as she glared at him. Hayden stared right back, his eyes narrowing in a perfect replication of the look that Lyra was giving him. He put on his best scowl, concisely mocking Lyra's irritated stare. Khoury found himself struggling to not laugh as he watched the scene unfold, both Hayden and Lyra refusing to back down (though only one of them was fully serious), the stare down continuing for several seconds.

Meanwhile, Crystal observed the scene, feeling incredibly awkward. This was not a scenario she wanted to be caught up in. Yet she felt a strange curiosity to see how this would all turn out. Like a morbid desire to keep watching, despite her instincts telling her to bail. So she stayed put, watching the situation unfold, focusing intently.

After several seconds of excruciating silence, Lyra finally spoke. Her voice was full of irritation, obviously angry. "Of course this is about class!" she snapped. "This is the third week in a row that you've sat there and done nothing!"

Hayden remained nonchalant, taking Lyra's accusation in stride. He sighed again, faking offense. "I wasn't doing nothing," he said, producing his notebook to reveal his earlier sketch of a Feraligatr; "I was drawing this."

"That's actually pretty good," Khoury said, observing it. "Thanks," Hayden replied, a smirk of confidence crossing his face. "Don't ignore me! This is important!" Lyra growled, obviously angered. Hayden sighed. "I know you're worried about me, Lyra," he said. "But you've got to understand- I know that textbook front to back."

Lyra's protestations died in her throat as she glanced at him, her frustration beginning to fade. "I…" she began, only to find herself cut off as Hayden spoke once more. "...Know that book just as well?" he said. "Yeah, I know. You pretend to pay attention, but I can tell that you're just as bored as I am."

Lyra opened her mouth again, but words didn't form. Instead, she merely gestured for him to continue. He took the hint, beginning again. "We've all spent the last five years working with your dad to prepare for our journeys," he said, gesturing to himself, Lyra, and Khoury. "We're only in this class because it's a requirement for us to graduate. And you don't want to not pay attention, because your dad's the teacher and you don't want to get in trouble."

Lyra's jaw was practically on the floor at that point. "How…how do you always know exactly what to say?" she asked, after a few minutes. "I've known you since we were five years old, Lyra," Hayden replied. "You and Khoury are my best friends. I know exactly what to say because I know you."

Lyra sighed and hugged him. "Thanks," she said. "For what?" Hayden asked. "For talking me out of doing something stupid," Lyra replied. "You're welcome," Hayden said. "Now, let's get on down to our next class before we're late."

Lyra nodded with a smile. "Right," she said. "Let's go."

Hayden nodded in return, gesturing for her to lead the way. Khoury chuckled and followed, resulting in the trio nearly leaving Crystal behind. Speaking of Crystal, the blue-haired girl stood there, surprised at the peaceful resolution of that situation.

"I didn't expect it to end like that," she mused. "But he did say that they've known each other for a long time, so there's that…"

It was at that point that Crystal realized that her new friends were already leaving. "Wait for me, guys!" she called, hurrying off after them.

The trio chuckled simultaneously as she caught up with them, much to her embarrassment and chagrin. "So…where are we going now?" she asked. "You said that I shared the first three periods with you guys."

"We're going to Mrs. Wayne's art class," Hayden replied. "it's just around the corner here."

Crystal nodded, following along. "So…is that how you got so good at drawing?" she asked. "Nah," Hayden replied. "I've always had a lot of artistic talent."

Crystal nodded again. "And you honed it into drawing?" she asked. "Pretty much," Hayden responded. "I got it from my mom. She used to be an artist and a Coordinator, though she's retired from both by now."

"Woah," Crystal said, sounding surprised. "I'm…thinking about becoming a Coordinator. I've always found it interesting."

"Well, maybe my mom could give you some tips," Hayden replied, stopping at a door on the left side of hall, as soon as they'd rounded the corner. "Ah. We're here. Mrs. Wayne's room," he said, grabbing the handle. Crystal nodded again, following him closely as they stepped inside. The room was empty still- the rest of the class had apparently yet to arrive.

She watched as they moved to a table in the back corner of the room, taking seats there. "So, this is where we usually sit," Hayden said. "We shouldn't have to wait too long for class to start. Just until everyone else shows up or the bell rings- whichever comes first."

Crystal nodded, wondering just what they'd be doing. "So…what do you usually do in this one?" she asked. "I've always been interested in art, but I haven't been in an art class since middle school."

"Well, we're supposed to start working on some kind of project soon," Hayden said. "Not entirely sure what."

"Huh," Crystal said, sounding vaguely confused. Or surprised. Which one was not immediately obvious. "Yeah," Lyra said. "All Mrs. Wayne told us was that it would be related to Pokémon." "That's vague," Crystal said. "I know," Hayden said. "But we're probably going to go with the Johto Starter Pokémon trio."

Crystal nodded. "Okay, then," she said. "What are they? I've never really looked into that kind of thing." Khoury chuckled, joining the conversation for the first time. "Well, you made friends with the right group to learn that!" he said, sounding excited. "They're rather awesome."

"That still doesn't tell me anything about them," Crystal said. "The only Pokémon that I've ever been around is my Vulpix." "Sorry," Lyra said. "Khoury gets carried away when he starts talking about Pokémon. We'll explain everything."

Crystal nodded, awaiting the explanation. "So," Hayden began, "the three Pokémon usually offered as Starter Pokémon in Johto are Totodile, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil." "I'm guessing each one has a different type?" she asked. "That's right," Hayden said. "Totodile is a Water type, Chikorita is a Grass type, and Cyndaquil is a Fire type."

Crystal nodded, absorbing the information. But she found herself intercepted before she could speak again. "So…you already have a Pokémon?" Khoury asked, surprised. "That's right," Crystal said. "She's more of a pet, but yeah."

Khoury nodded enthusiastically, absorbing the information with a sense of childlike wonder about him. "How'd you get this Vulpix?" he asked. "My dad got her for me," Crystal said. "He said that it would do me good to have a Pokémon. He used to be a Trainer, and he has a few breeder friends." Khoury nodded again, hanging on to every word. "Lyra already has a Pokémon too!" he said. Lyra's face reddened a bit as she flinched back from Khoury putting her on the spot. "Khoury!" she chastised, sounding annoyed.

"What Pokémon do you have, Lyra?" Crystal asked. "A Chikorita," Lyra said. "She's very much interested in battling." Crystal nodded. "So…how'd you meet her?" she asked. "That's a long story," Lyra said. "So to keep it short: me and Hayden found her in the woods near New Bark while we were out doing research for my dad." Crystal nodded again, clearly interested in hearing the rest of the story. "So what happened after that?" she asked. "We took her back to the lab, since she was clearly hurt," Hayden said. "And Professor Elm got her healthy again."

"But she wouldn't go back to the wild," Lyra said. "So dad kept her around the lab, and I ended up befriending her."

"That's sweet," Crystal said. "It is," Lyra replied. "Maybe you can meet her sometime."

Crystal nodded with a smile. "I think I'd like that," she said. Lyra nodded in return. "She's not very active in the winter, being effectively a sentient plant," she said. "But we can work something out." Crystal nodded again. "Take your time," she said. Lyra nodded, smiling. "Thanks," she said. "We'll have to exchange numbers."

Crystal nodded again, though she didn't speak again. She didn't get the chance to- as the group was approached by a girl who looked strikingly similar to Hayden. Her shoulder length black hair and bright blue eyes were the most obvious things about her as she drew near. She wore a long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of jeans, which were accompanied by a pair of winter boots.

"Hi, Hayden!" she said, taking their table's empty chair. "Hi, Charlotte," Hayden said, smiling at the girl. "What are you doing?" "Joining you," the newly identified girl said. "I just got moved into this class from Mr. Lawson's. they swapped me with that Jane girl."

Hayden nodded again. "Well, how about I introduce you to my new friend here?" he said. "You do that," Charlotte said, a smile creeping across her face. Hayden rolled his eyes as he decided to enlighten Crystal, who was staring at the girl with a confused look on her face. "This is my twin sister, Charlotte," he said. "And this is my new friend Crystal, sis."

Both girls nodded, accepting the introduction. "So…what's she like doing?" Charlotte asked. "Any goal she wants to achieve?" "She said that she wants to be a Pokémon Coordinator," Lyra said. "Ah," Charlotte replied. "Thanks, Lyra."

The brown-haired girl nodded. "You're welcome," she said. Charlotte smiled at her brother's oldest friend and redirected her attention to Crystal. "Do you have a Pokémon?" she asked. Crystal nodded, still unsure of what she should think about Hayden's sister. "I do," she said, at last. "What kind?" Charlotte asked. "I have a preference for Eevee."

"Well, I don't have one of those," Crystal replied. "But I do have a Vulpix." Charlotte smiled upon hearing that. "Vulpix are cute too," she said. "I'd like to have one someday." Hayden chuckled, amused by his tomboy sister's taste in Pokémon. "Careful, sis. You're gonna ruin your tough girl image if you keep making those kinds of remarks," he said, poking fun at her.

Charlotte leveled at glare at him, unamused. "Shove it," she said. "I'm feminine."

Hayden chuckled again. "You? Feminine? Please," he said. "You play every sport that you can, are a massive baseball nerd, and fistfight people in the hallway. You might as well be a boy trapped in a girl's body."
Charlotte glared at him, barely holding in a laugh. "You might be right," she said. Hayden chuckled. "You're also on a weightlifting team. Or were."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend," she said, as if that was a devastating blow that would allow her to win the argument. "Had a boyfriend," Hayden said. "You scared him off with your charming personality."

Charlotte's eyes narrowed at her brother's biting sarcasm, and she sighed deeply, clearly not pleased. Simultaneously, Khoury and Lyra seemed as if they were barely restraining themselves from laughing at her. She glared at them briefly before refocusing her attention on her brother. "This is getting really old," she said. "So is you being annoying, but here we are," Hayden said. Khoury and Lyra broke out laughing as the siblings stared each other down.

Crystal stared, again feeling awkwardly out of place. She almost spoke up again, only for the siblings to immediately start laughing and hug each other. "Love you, sis," Hayden said. "Love you too, bro," Charlotte replied. "Now…what's this about your new friend being a girl?"

Hayden sighed. "Don't go there," he said. Charlotte sighed, pouting slightly. "You're no fun," she lamented, poking her tongue out at him in a distinctly childish gesture. "I mean it," he said, watching her closely.

"Fine," she said. "But you still didn't tell me about what happened between you and that Casey girl that you were dating."

"Nobody wants to relive that," Hayden said. "So let's not talk about it."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "That's what you said last time," she said. "And I'm gonna stand by that," Hayden replied. "Leave me alone about it."

Charlotte rolled her eyes as Lyra spoke up, her voice taking on a serious tone. "You don't want to mess with him about that," she said. "Do you know something?" Charlotte asked. "Because I want to know."

"Your brother told me everything," Lyra said. "But I'm not gonna tell you, Charlotte. Not without his express permission."

Charlotte sighed as her brother shot her a smug look, as if to say, 'not on your life', and went right back to ignoring him. "So…when's class gonna start?" she asked. "As soon as everyone else gets here," Lyra said. "It shouldn't take too long. Everyone in this class has their first period in one of the classrooms close to here."

Charlotte nodded. "Right," she said, before returning her attention to Crystal. "So…. why do you want to be a Coordinator and not a Trainer? They're kind of lame. No offense, of course." "None taken," Crystal said. "I've always felt like Contests would be more my thing than battling would be." Charlotte nodded. "Understandable," she said. "But you do realize that Contests have a battle round, right?"

"I do," Crystal said. "But Contest battling is more about the theatricality of the moves, not actually doing damage to your opponent."

Charlotte nodded again, but found herself cut off by Mrs. Wayne, who'd taken her place at the front of the room. "Alright, class," she said, now that everyone else had arrived, "we're about to begin!"

Every student in the room focused their attention on the blonde woman, who stood at the front of the classroom. "We're going to start the planning phase for our next project!" she said. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Crystal immediately raised her hand. "What is this project going to be?" she asked. "I'm glad you asked, Miss Harrison," Mrs. Wayne said. "This project's theme is 'My Partner Pokémon!', and you'll be tasked with drawing your favored Pokémon partner."

Crystal nodded, feeling slightly nervous about that- she'd always had an artistic eye, but she wasn't sure if she could draw her Vulpix well. Hayden seemed to notice this, electing to reassure her. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll help you out." Crystal nodded, smiling wide. "Right," she said, recalling his earlier demonstrated drawing prowess.

"So…what are we doing?" Charlotte asked, producing her sketchbook. Like her brother, she'd inherited some immense artistic talent from their mother. "We were thinking about our piece being the Johto Starter Pokémon," Hayden said. "Me and Lyra were going to start with the general background of the scene."

Charlotte nodded, producing a blank sheet of paper. "Count me in!" she said. "This sounds fun!"

Hayden nodded in return. "Glad to have you aboard. Let's focus on the instructions for this project first, though."

Charlotte nodded again as they returned their attention to Mrs. Wayne, who was continuing to explain the project.

"…so, for this project, you'll pick a subject, in this case, your current partner or partner you want to get once you become a Trainer," she said. "And once you've picked that out, you'll figure out how to bring it to life on the page!"

The class seemed to nod collectively as she continued. "So get to planning! That's all that we'll be doing today, so don't be afraid to jump right into it!" she said. "I'll be at my desk if you have any questions! And since this is a group project, feel free to group up in any way you want to!"

The class nodded collectively again as she moved to her desk. Each of the groups moved to get ready for their own projects, preparing themselves for it. Back at the table where Hayden and his friends were, the group had spread out various sketches across the surface.

"So I'll focus on the part with Totodile and the lake," Hayden said. "Right. Then I've got the woods around it and Chikorita approaching the water," Lyra said. "What about you, Khoury?" she asked. "I'll take Cyndaquil roasting the berries to eat," Khoury said. "You know that I've wanted one of them for a really long time."

Lyra nodded, directing her attention to Charlotte. "Right. Do you and Crystal know what you're going to do?" she asked. "Yeah. Something like this," Charlotte replied, flipping her sketchbook open. What she revealed was a startlingly accurate and detailed drawing of an Eevee sleeping on a tree stump. "That's great!" Crystal said, observing.

Charlotte smiled, blushing slightly. "That's nothing," she said. "My brother's better than me. You should see his stuff."

"Don't sell yourself short," Crystal said. "I haven't drawn anything in a long time. And your art is great!"

Charlotte smiled again. "Thanks, Crystal," she said. "But you're gonna have to join me. I want you to help." Crystal nodded, sighing slightly. "My parents didn't tell me that they'd gotten me into an art class," she said. "Or I'd have tried to brush up on my skills."

"Don't worry!" Hayden said. "We'll help you out with this stuff! Just focus on drawing what you want to!" Crystal nodded. "Right. Let's get this started!" she said. Hayden smiled as he produced his sketchbook, opening it up. He revealed a drawing of the Johto starters, each effortlessly recreated in a drawn form. Each was even fully and accurately colored in. Crystal found herself blown away by the sheer magnitude of his skill.

"You drew that?" she asked, stunned. "Yeah," Hayden said. "But it pales in comparison to the real thing."

Charlotte chuckled as Crystal picker her jaw up off of the floor. "I told you that he was good," she said. "And that's not even his best." "What do you mean?" Crystal asked. "That's the best art I've seen in a long time!"

"You should see the ones he's got at home," Charlotte said. "Notebooks full of drawings. He's even got the walls of his room painted."

Crystal's eyebrow raised at that. "You paint too?" she asked. "A little," Hayden replied. "I like drawing better. Lyra usually paints, though."

Crystal nodded, her confidence in this project growing. "And Khoury?" she asked. "Usually, I just follow along with whatever they're doing," Khoury answered. "They're better at this stuff than me."

Crystal nodded again, focusing on what she was doing, writing down ideas for her section of this group project. It was going to be great- she just knew it! And she could wait to bring it to life, especially with partners as skilled as hers. It would be fun, wouldn't it?

Even if she'd not done anything art related in years, she felt that it was nothing she couldn't do. Like riding a bike or tying your shoes. It never went away completely. The rest of class (and indeed, the school day) went by without much of a hassle, feeling like a breeze.

Crystal stood at the pickup area, near her new friends. "Today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she said. Hayden smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad I got to meet you," he replied. Crystal's cheeks flushed red, but he didn't seem to notice. "I'm glad too," Crystal said. "Do you have a PokéGear?"

Hayden nodded, reaching into his back pocket. "I do," he said, producing the device. "I want to give you my number," Crystal said, pulling hers out. Hayden nodded again, not noticing Lyra eyeing them with something like jealousy for a split second. "I'll give you mine," he said, after a few moments. The blue-haired girl nodded, and they quickly swapped numbers. "Thanks," she said. "You're welcome," Hayden replied. "I'm gonna give you Khoury and Lyra's numbers, just in case."

Crystal nodded as he transmitted the two extra numbers to her PokéGear before finally severing the connection. "See you tomorrow, then?" he asked. "Yeah," Crystal replied, seeing a familiar car approach. "My mom's here, so I need to go," she said. Hayden nodded again. "Okay. I'll see you later, then."

Crystal nodded, darting away from the others with a smile on her face. Hayden smiled back as Lyra stepped up beside him. "You're still taking me to the dance, aren't you?" she asked. "What's that got to do with anything?" Hayden asked in return, entirely missing her insinuation. "You're really dense sometimes, for someone so smart…" Lyra sighed. "Wait…" Hayden said, his brain catching up. "No. Crystal does not have a crush on me," he said. "We've barely known each other for a day."

Lyra chuckled. "Sorry, but no," she said. "I saw her blush on multiple occasions while she was talking to you!" Hayden rolled his eyes. "That could mean anything!" he said. "And even if she does, it's not like I'm gonna date her or anything!"

Lyra rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You're so blind!" she said, as if she was worried about something. "Why do you care?" Hayden asked. "It's not like we're dating or anything." Lyra froze, biting her lip. But I want us to be was her unspoken thought. "I…I don't have to explain myself right now!" she said. "I'm gonna go back to my dad's room!"

Hayden sighed, watching the scene in disbelief as his friend dashed away. Khoury chuckled. "She's got feelings for you. I just know it," he said. Hayden rolled his eyes, finding that idea ridiculous. "She does not," he replied. "Why so sure?" Khoury asked. "It's not impossible for childhood friends to eventually start dating, you know."

"Because it'd probably mess up our friendship if we had a failed relationship weighing us down," Hayden said. "And I think the idea that Lyra has romantic feelings for me is patently ridiculous." Khoury sighed. "Why?" he asked. "I think it's blatantly obvious. She asked you to take her to the Spring Formal, she's obviously hoping you won't date Crystal, and she's been shooting you dirty looks all day."

"You're looking for patterns that aren't there," Hayden said. Khoury opened his mouth to protest, but Hayden cut him off. "My dad's car is pulling up. See you tomorrow."

Khoury sighed, watching him move away. "See you tomorrow! And don't forget that Lyra's got a crush on you!" he shouted, much to his friend's chagrin. Hayden ignored him as he approached his dad's car, getting inside as soon as he could.

To his surprise, Charlotte was already in the car. "When you'd get here?" he asked, in disbelief. "Dad had to come into the office earlier. While I was talking to Professor Elm about your new friend," Charlotte said. Hayden sighed, annoyed. "I am not repeating the discussion I just had with Khoury," he said. Charlotte chuckled, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Khoury told me about his…suspicions…at lunch," she said.

Hayden glared at his sister as their father began driving away from the school. He chuckled to himself- they were most definitely his kids. He'd acted much the same way as a teenager. "Lyra is most definitely crushing on you," Charlotte said. "But I'd bet money on Crystal asking you out first."

Hayden sighed rolling his eyes. This was going to be a long ride home.

Elsewhere…

"So…how was your first day at your new school?" Samantha asked, trying to break the silence between herself and her daughter. The air between them had felt tense and quiet on the ride home, so she wanted to change it. "It wasn't bad," Crystal said. "I made some friends."

Samantha smiled as she unlocked the door of the house. "That's good," she said. Crystal nodded, following her mother inside. "I think I might have a crush on the boy I met first, though, and it feels weird."

Samantha chuckled slightly as she closed the door. "That's a normal feeling," she said. "But I don't know how your dad would react to you having a boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend! We just met!" Crystal said, her face growing red. "I just find him...attractive. That's all I said."

Samantha chuckled again, trying to hold all of her amusement inside so as to not upset her daughter. "And all I'm saying is that your father would freak out if you suddenly had a boyfriend," she said. Crystal nodded, though she was not sure of how she'd react to that. "But would he be worried if I brought my hypothetical boyfriend to meet him?" she asked. "I suppose not," Samantha said. "But you'd have to have one first."

Crystal nodded, thinking back to her meeting with Hayden at school. Did she have the guts to ask him out? Would he even accept? She wasn't sure if he'd rather take her or Lyra on a date. Khoury had said something about Lyra asking Hayden to take her to some school dance. She didn't want to intrude, but she felt that she should at least try.

She began planning to figure out a way to ask him. Hopefully without Lyra in earshot. Maybe she could use his enthusiasm for Pokémon as a bridge between them? A common ground, perhaps?

Crystal bit down on her lip, wondering how she'd pull this off. She didn't want to upset Lyra (she'd known Hayden for a lot longer than she had, after all), but she still felt that she should attempt to act on her attraction. It would eat her up inside if she didn't at least try.

Hayden sat in his room, staring at his PokéGear. He'd very much thought about calling Lyra to see if she'd wanted to talk about what'd happened today. Demand some answers about her behavior regarding Crystal. But what Khoury had said echoed in the back of his mind. Could Lyra really have romantic feelings towards him?

He'd entirely dismissed the notion that such feelings could possibly exist in either of their minds. Because while he did find Lyra attractive, he had already decided that the risk of ruining their friendship if a romantic relationship between the two of them didn't work out was too great. But Crystal…

He'd known the blue-haired girl for all of a day, and she was also a girl that he'd consider attractive. Alluring, even. But there remained the problem that he didn't really know her; they'd just met, after all. So this was a puzzle that he wasn't exactly eager to solve- there were two girls involved in this equation. Quite the dilemma he'd found himself in, that. One of them he'd just met and knew fairly little about.

The other was one of his oldest friends and may or may not harbor romantic feelings for him. He wasn't sure how he liked this arrangement- if you could call it that. He found himself looking up a different number that the one he'd initially intended; that of Khoury. He sighed, lamenting that he'd never hear the end of it if he went through with this, but he figured that it was better than stewing over it forever. So he took a deep breath, scrolling a little further down his PokéGear's phone's contact list.

He opened the entry and began dialing the number- part of him hoping that Khoury wouldn't answer. But his friend picked up immediately, and he sighed. Time for the longest conversation of his life. "What's up?" Khoury asked, his tone cheerful. "Are you somewhere private?" Hayden asked in return. "What's this about?" Khoury replied, his tone taking on a teasing cadence. Hayden sighed, his tone conveying exasperation.

"Are you alone or not?" he asked. On the other end of the line, Khoury rolled his eyes, sensing his friend's annoyance. "My parents aren't here right now, so yes," he said. "Now are you going to tell me what this is about or not?"

"Yeah," Hayden said, feeling particularly unpleasant. "I wanted to talk about…"

"About what?" Khoury asked. Hayden sighed again, hardly able to believe what he was doing. "About Lyra's…attraction?" he said, unsure of how he should put it. Khoury chuckled. "Do you want to talk about this in person?" he asked. "Or would you rather do it over the phone?"

"Can you just knock it off?" Hayden replied, his annoyance back with a vengeance. "You're no fun," Khoury said. "But seriously, why the change of heart? Earlier you said…"

"I know what I said earlier," Hayden said, cutting him off. "Just listen to what I want to say. Then you can talk."

"Fine," Khoury said. "But I think that we should bring Vincent into this." Hayden immediately went on the defensive. "Definitely not," he said. "I don't know why he wasn't at school today, and I don't care. We. Are. Not. Calling. Vincent."

Khoury sighed, admitting defeat. "Alright! We won't tell Vince!" he said. "And you won't if you know what's good for you," Hayden replied ominously. Khoury swallowed hard and laughed it off. "Now…what did you need help with, exactly?" he asked.

"So…I've got this little problem," Hayden said. "What problem?" Khoury asked. Hayden sighed, not entirely certain that he should tell Khoury this, but did so anyway. "I'm sort of stuck," he said. "Lyra wants me to take her to the dance, but I'm not sure I really want to. And I think Crystal might have a crush on me."

"So you decided to ask me for help?" Khoury questioned, his tone sounding a bit confused. "That's right. Better than asking my sister," Hayden said. "I suppose that's true," Khoury said. "She'd never let you hear the end of this."

"Like you will?" Hayden replied, sounding irritated. "I guess you're right," Khoury said, laughing nervously. "But you're probably gonna swear me to secrecy or something."

"Oh. You are so right about that. You tell anyone that we had this conversation, and you're in trouble," Hayden said. "There's no way that I won't know."

Khoury swallowed hard once again. "Would it be more prudent to discuss this in person?" he asked. "No," Hayden said. "Doing this in person risks running into someone we know." Khoury sighed. "Alright. So…if you want my opinion, you should talk to Lyra," he said. "I really think she likes you romantically."

"Are you sure?" Hayden asked, feeling his throat tightening. He didn't know why- he didn't have any romantic feelings for Lyra. Not any conscious ones, that is. "Yes, I'm sure," Khoury said. "You probably called me because you didn't want to talk to her."

Hayden remained silent for several seconds, having not expected be called out like that. Khoury's words were true- right on the money. Even if Hayden didn't want to admit that they were. But his silence said it all, and Khoury knew that he'd hit the nail on the head. "Why don't you want to talk to her?" he asked. "It's…I…it's complicated," Hayden said. Khoury mentally rolled his eyes. "Do it," he said. "I don't think you'll regret it."

"Don't assume, Khoury," Hayden said. "The situation between me and Lyra is complicated."

"Complicated how?" Khoury probed. Hayden bit his tongue, thinking his response over for a few minutes. "I…think of her as a close friend, possibly as a sister. Dating her would be weird. And again, I don't want to ruin our friendship if it doesn't work out."

Again, Khoury rolled his eyes- (physically, this time) though it wasn't like Hayden could see that over the phone. "Those are a whole lot of excuses, and you know it," he said. "How so?" Hayden asked, his annoyance teetering on the edge of being fully angry.

"Because, for one, I saw your eyes light up when she asked you to take her to the Spring Formal," Khoury said. "And two, she's the only one that you confided in after you and Casey broke up."

Hayden remained silent for several moments following that. "You…you don't know that for sure," he said. Hayden froze, not knowing how to respond. "And you do?" Khoury asked, piercing his friend's metaphorical armor. Following that, Hayden genuinely had nothing to say to something Khoury had said for the first time in their entire conversation. Khoury smiled to himself, almost smugly. But again, it mattered little since they weren't talking face-to-face. "Stepped on a landmine with that one, didn't you?" Khoury taunted, his smug tone carrying through the phone speaker.

"Shut up," Hayden mustered at last, sounding annoyed still. "But you may have a point. A small point, but a point nonetheless."

"Damn right I do!" Khoury said, almost feeling guilty for the swearing. Almost. "And it's a hell of a lot bigger than you think!" Hayden sighed, though a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Don't let your parents hear you talk like that," he said. Khoury laughed. "They aren't here right now, remember?"

Another groan echoed into the call as Hayden made his displeasure known once more. "Can you just quit while you're ahead?" he snarked. "Apparently not," Khoury said, sounding resigned to his fate. "Seriously, though, Khoury. Why do you think that Lyra's got a crush on me?" Hayden asked, still seeming unable to wrap his head around the idea that his friend might have feelings for him. "Because she's not at all subtle," Khoury replied. "And the three of us have been friends forever. You eventually get a sense for these things."

Hayden rolled his eyes at that last part- but kept his doubts to himself. "How would you know this?" he asked. "I mean, Vince has been trying and failing to get her on a date with him for years." Khoury exhaled deeply, and his voice took on a melodramatic tone. "I've learned it the hard way," he said. His overacting failed to elicit even a mild chuckle from Hayden, who was extremely unimpressed.

"Just answer the darn question, Khoury," Hayden said. "Fine," Khoury said, his voice returning to normal. "I've had a crush on Lyra since we were in the fourth grade."

Hayden winced on his friend's behalf. "Yeesh. And we're almost juniors. Ouch," he said. "I know," Khoury said. "But I'm used to it by now. The rejection, I mean." Hayden chuckled slightly, to his friend's chagrin. "Of course you'd find that funny," Khoury muttered. "It's not just funny," Hayden said. "It's also kind of sad. On multiple levels."

"You are right about that," Khoury admitted. "Yep. But that's not my point," Hayden said. "But if you're not gonna give me the advice I asked for, then this conversation doesn't have to go on any longer."

"What advice?" Khoury asked. "You haven't directly asked me a question." Hayden sighed, realizing that Khoury was right. So he decided to pose one- he needed to get off the phone anyway.

Tonight was family outing night, and it was Charlotte's turn to pick the restaurant. He needed to be downstairs to shoot her suggestion down if it was a bad choice. "Look…I want you to give a straight answer: should I talk to Lyra? Or should I wait for her to come to me?" he asked. "If you ask me, talk to her," Khoury said. "Is there anything else?"

"There is, actually," Hayden said. "Shoot," Khoury replied. "Right," Hayden said. "So…here goes nothing, I guess. So Charlotte says that she thinks Crystal has a crush on me."

"And you want to know if I think dating Crystal is a better idea than talking to Lyra about her unresolved feelings. Or your feelings on the subject, for that matter," Khoury replied. Hayden remained silent for a while following that. "That's about the size of it," he said.

"So…" Khoury began, sounding a bit unsure. "I'd rather stare down a Tyranitar with nothing but my bare hands as a weapon than get mixed up in all of this." Hayden sighed, rolling his eyes. "Are you gonna stop being dramatic and help me or not?" he asked, again annoyed. Khoury sighed in return, very carefully phrasing his words. "Let me rephrase that: I'm not sure ignoring Lyra in favor of a girl you just met is a good idea," he said. "You've stepped into a minefield that I'm not gonna follow you into."

"And why is that, may I ask?" Hayden asked, sounding slightly less sure of his path. "Because doing that would be monumentally stupid. No offense, of course," Khoury replied, frankly quite blunt. "I…you may be right," Hayden said. "But I still don't want to talk to Lyra."

"Why not?" Khoury asked. "Because this whole thing is a mess, and I'd rather not think about it," Hayden answered. "Doing things for the sake of doing them isn't gonna turn out well, Khoury. So I'm just gonna dodge the issue."

"And running away from your problems won't solve them," Khoury said, his tone even. "I…I know," Hayden responded, sounding a bit introspective. "Your continued insistence on dodging this is annoying," Khoury said. "But at least you're acknowledging it."

Hayden remained silent for a good while. "You've always got a point," he said, finally. "And I'm not sure that I like it." Khoury laughed. "I'm right, and you know it," he said. "Unfortunately," Hayden said. "How do you not have a girlfriend by now? You're so understanding."

Khoury rolled his eyes at his friend's ribbing tone. "That's a backhanded compliment if I've ever seen one," he said. Hayden chuckled. "I'm good at handing them out. Stick around long enough and I'll smack you with another one," he said. "But seriously- how do you not have a girlfriend if you're this good at listening?"

"Because the one girl I'd want to date is hopelessly in love with my best friend," Khoury said. "Fair," Hayden said. "I need to go. My family's about to leave for our weekly family outing."

"Right," Khoury said. "I'll let you go."

Hayden nodded. "I'm gonna leave. I need to get going," he said. "Right," Khoury said. "You can call me anytime."

"Thanks," Hayden said. "I'll talk to you later, Khoury." "Right," Khoury said. "I'll talk to you later. Probably at school tomorrow."

"Probably. Well, I'd better get going," Hayden said. "I have a lot to think about."

"See you," Khoury said. "See you," Hayden echoed, hanging up at last. He did indeed have a lot to think about. His mind was thoroughly occupied by everything he and Khoury had been discussing, but he vowed not to let it bug him. He wanted to enjoy being with his parents and his sister tonight. Hopefully, Charlotte wouldn't pick a bad place to eat. She'd been known to have weird taste on occasion. Khoury sat on his bed, having just ended his phone conversation with Hayden. "That was certainly unexpected…" he thought, wondering what prompted his friend to want to have that conversation.

Which seemed to be haunting him. Or following him- he wasn't sure which- as his PokéGear's phone rang again. "Who's calling me now?" he questioned, flipping it open once again. To his surprise, he saw that it was from Lyra. He answered it immediately, wondering what she wanted. "Hello?" he said. "Hi, Khoury," Lyra replied. "I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Does it have to do with Hayden?" he asked. "How'd you know?" she asked, sounding surprised. Khoury smiled to himself, deciding not to go against Hayden's wishes, even if it was Lyra that he was talking to. "Lucky guess," he said. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I…I've got a massive crush on him," she said. "I haven't told anyone but my dad." "You're really, really not subtle, Lyra," Khoury said. "But you can talk to me." Lyra smiled to herself. "Thanks, Khoury," she said. "You're welcome," Khoury replied. "Now talk. I'm playing therapist."

Lyra chuckled. "Alright," she said. "I think I can get behind that."

So, here we are. The second chapter of this story's revamped rewrite (though if you've not seen the original while it was up on AO3, just ignore that part) which has been a while in the making- I wasn't satisfied with its previous state, so I rewrote it.

The prologue's gonna be a slow burn, setting up the characters and the setting, so strap in! Hopefully, it won't take me forever to get the next one out! To anyone reading this thing: I'm gonna try not to take forever, but it's just me writing this thing. It takes time.
Until next time, signing off!
-Robbtastic01.