Strongly recommend that you listen to the song while reading ^^

She opens her crystalline eyes again before jumping off her bed. Her footsteps can be heard throughout the whole house, but she didn't care. Nor if anyone heard the scream she gave into a pillow.

It pisses her off that she couldn't do anything to stop him. She felt useless, like a horrible friend.

It has been a week since he and (Y/F/N) left to find you. At least he kept his words. He did text her and made sure to let her know he's fine. But it doesn't mean she's still not dying inside.

•••

"Do we have it?"

"We're close to getting it, don't worry."

The man sighs, placing a hand on his forehead.

"I do worry! They're getting close, and I can't afford to lose everything because we don't have the damn Pokémon yet."

With that said, he stormed out of the room. The other man sighs.

•••

She stands under a tree. It is scalding hot on Fallarbor. (Y/F/N) looks away, trying to hide her face from Steven.

They've been traveling for almost a month. Life on the road is tougher than they imagined, but they kept pushing forward. They couldn't give up now, they were too close.

And yet, tears of frustration came out of (Y/F/N)'s eyes. She took that moment to cry in silence while Steven is at the Poké Mart. She runs to route 114 to splash some water on her face before he comes back.

"I got some repels for us. Shall we continue?" He says, as he approaches your best friend.

She gulps.

"Steven, I..." She tries, but the words don't come out. She didn't want to admit she wanted to go home. This is too much for her to handle, and she should've never asked to come along.

Steven kneels next to her and puts his hand on her back. Her skin is hot from the sun.

"I know" He simply states, patting her back in a friendly manner. She looks back at him, in shock. He's not surprised to see her eyes swollen from crying.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to keep going, but I just can't."

Steven pulls her into a hug. He knows the feeling of wanting to do something, but not being able to. He can't blame her for giving up. If there wasn't too much at risk, he probably would've given up by now.

"It's okay, (Y/F/N). I'm not mad at you" He reassures her, tightening the hug.

"I am" She sobs, pulling away to wipe her face. "We swore to protect each other if something were to happen. I thought she was kidding, when in reality it was a cry for help. Now look at me, I can't even make it to her location. We probably are at the same level of bad friendliness" She laughs by her nose, even if she didn't think it was that funny.

"I know. I still hate myself for leaving May at that state..." He sighs.

"She understands. Trust me, she does. Her aggressiveness is her own way of letting you know she's scared..." She opens up a side smile. "Just like you."

Steven chokes on his drink.

"What?" He asks rhetorically, in disbelief.

"(Y/N) can be mad at you, but she can't stop talking about her childhood with you" (Y/F/N) smiles at the memory of you babbling about Steven. "She used to be like 'Steven and I used to do this,' or 'Oh, that sounds like little Steven.' It was adorable, actually."

Steven could thank the heat for being an amazing excuse for his blushing cheeks.

"From what I've heard, you still have parts of that little kid. No one ever taught you how to deal with your emotions, so you just close yourself down and acts like an ass."

Steven puts down his drink to not choke again. He's actually surprised someone found out his 'secret.'

"You and May are similar in different aspects, no wonder why you two get along really well. When she's not trying to rip off your head, that is" She laughs at the dark joke before standing up. "I think I should go now... I'm slowing you down."

"You're not. I... I like hearing you talk about (Y/N)" Steven admits, lowering his head

She took that opportunity to finally make that satisfied look she has been holding for weeks. I knew it.

"When you come back, you can ask her all about it."

Steven stands up and grabs his backpack, along with his bottle of water.

"Come, I know a way back to Oldale" Steven tells your friend. "You'll be home in no time!"

(Y/F/N) hugs her own body.

"How aren't you mad at me? I don't understand" She mutters. Steven just assures her with a smile.

They were starting to head towards the cave, when Steven suddenly remembered something. His eyes almost popped out of his skull.

"Give me one second, I need to grab something I forgot!" He says vaguely, before running back to Fallarbor.

"Okay, then..." Your friend mutters, realizing there's nothing she can do.

The backpack hurts Steven's back as he runs, but he didn't care. He's too busy hating himself.

How could I forget?

He slowly approaches the old man, eventually kneeling down next to him. Without even opening his eyes, the man greets Steven.

"Hello, young one. What can I do for you today?"

Steven wipes his sweaty palms on his pants.

"You sell stones, don't you?" Steven asks.

"Of course! There's Loneliness, Ebb Tide, Emotionless, Withered Tree, Tears, and Fading Fire. Which one would you like?"

Uncertainty paints Steven's face. He's not sure which one is the right stone. What if he bought the wrong one? What would he do with it?

After five minutes of thinking, he figured it could be only one of them.

"I'd like the Fading Fire one, if it's okay."

The old man opens his eyes, giving Steven a smile, and hands him the yellow, brown, and red coloured stone. Steven mentally pats himself on the back for getting the right one. He happily hands the man the money.

"Thank you so much, sir! Have a good day!"

He waves at the man before walking away, holding tight into the Blazikenite. It's a gift for a special one.

Steven and (Y/F/N) cross route 114 in thirty minutes. While Steven was busy battling trainers, your friend just stood back watching. She's impressed. Steven is a very skilled trainer. With his Lairon and Metang, he can do anything.

"Iron Head, Lairon" He commands the Pokémon. It charges into the opposing Geodude, who's left at 4 HP.

"Use Magnitude!" The Hiker tells his Pokémon. Steven's lower lip twitches in anger.

"Iron Head again!"

Magnitude 8 strikes Lairon with all its force. Thanks to its ability, it was able to survive the attack and counter it with Iron Head. Geodude fainted.

Steven thanks the hiker for the battle before walking over to your friend. Her eyes are sparkling, but she doesn't say anything. It's apparent that Steven is tired, she doesn't want to bother him. Just like you, he's cranky when he's sleepy.

The two partners walk up to the entrance of a cave. Steven is shuffling through his backpack, trying to find repels and potions for your friend.

"Here we are! Meteor Falls!" He announces happily, proud of himself. It's a miracle he remembered this place existed. "If you go through this cave, you should arrive in route 115. Then, head south to Rustboro. If you avoid the trainers, you'll be fine, but take these just in case!"

He hands her a few healing items and repels. Caves can be tough, he knows that from own experience, and he doesn't want her to go unprepared.

After organizing everything inside her bag, she hugs Steven for one last time. Tears of fear fills her eyes.

"Steven, I..." She sighs, defeated. "I don't know what to say... It seems so dangerous and... Be careful! I guess that's what I want to say: be careful..."

"You too. I want you to arrive home safely, yeah?"

"And I want you to kick those bastards' asses for doing what they did to (Y/N), you hear me?!"

Steven smiles at your friend. Of course she's your friend, she reminds him of you. That's why he's partly relieved to see her go. It was too painful for him every time she opened her mouth. Your personalities are almost the same.

"Before you go, (Y/F/N)" He shyly takes his hand out of his pocket, revealing the Blazikenite. "Can you give this to May? Tell her it's a gift for putting up with me, even when I was a jerk to her."

Your friend smiles, picking up the Mega Stone from Steven's hand.

"Of course. She'll appreciate it, I'm sure of it" She holds the stone tightly between her hands, before hugging Steven again. "Take care and stay safe out there. It's not your job to bring only (Y/N) home, you have to come back too. Even if you feel like there's nothing for you to come home to. There's me, May, and Wallace. We all care about you, Steven."

He hugs her tighter, in a silent way to thank her for her kind words. It's like she can sense when something's wrong.

"I will. Thank you, (Y/F/N)."

They let go of each other. Your friend waves at Steven before heading inside Meteor Falls. He watches as she disappears into the shadows.

I will bring her home, even if I don't make it.

•••
Final A/N

Kuddos to me for writing a 1600+ chapter in less than a week while having writer's block.

Raise your hand if you're ready for some long notes. No one? Okay xD

So, today I came to a realisation that I'm an ass. I never even tried to connect with my readers and I feel bad for it. Sorry if I ever came out as rude or like I don't care, because I do. A lot. When I'm not on Wattpad, I'm always talking with my friends about how grateful I am for the amazing readers. I mean, f*ck, we're at 300 reads? This is insane! But I'll talk about readers and stuff at the end of the story, which is coming! There's probably five or so more chapters coming. (Proceeds to write 30 more chapters because that's how I roll xD)

After 14 chapters, Steven came out of his denseness cave and realized he likes you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Probably the most sweet thing I'll ever write, I hate sappy stories xD Blergh, I even hate the fact that I wrote sappy stuff xD

Anyway... Thoughts, I guess? I don't know, I'm insecure, help xD

Quick question: on a level from 1 to DELELELEWHOOP, how excited you are for USUM? I'm at: delelele f*cking whoop, bitch.

Sending luv to all of you! Take care, x