WARNING! Strong language.

"My, my... Don't you have some potential."

You didn't know if it was a compliment or an insult, so you just cleaned your throat.

"Do we have plans for tomorrow?" You ask coldly.

"No, I don't. Should I? And should you be invited?"

He turns around to look at you. Your whole body shakes.

"I-I don't think so. G told me you don't really care for me at the moment."

The man laughs. You blink once, then twice.

Did I say something wrong?

"Oh, (Y/N). G's just jealous of you."

The man graces your face. You pull away gently.

"He's not important as you. But he has a point. You need experience."

He puts his hands behind his back and start walking slowly around the room.

"I've seen your battles. You're skilled, smart, have great strategies."

He stops behind your chair and puts his hands on your shoulders.

"But you hesitate when battling that Steven kid. What's the matter with him?"

You close your eyes. You knew you had it coming, but didn't know how to handle it. There's no way you're pulling Steven into this mess.

"We go to school together, sir."

"Ah, I see... Is he going to be a problem?"

"N-No. I don't think so."

"I hope you're right, or we'll have to take care of him."

•••

May couldn't stop pacing around her room. It was driving her younger brother, Max, insane.

He throws a pillow at his sister.

"Stop! You're distracting me!" He cries.

May picks up the pillow.

"Sorry, Max... I think I just made a big mistake..."

Max sets his book aside and taps on his bed, indicating May where to sit.

"Talk to me."

She smiles at her brother. He could be only 14, but she knew she could rely on him whenever something bad happens.

•••

"How can you be so stupid?!"

Mr. Stone slams his hands on the table. Steven closes his eyes, scared.

You can get through this. Just think about mom...

"Arceus damn it, Steven. If you don't pay attention, you know what will happen."

Steven's body hardens. Joseph would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy threatening Steven. For him, it was the only way to make his son pay attention. Joseph grins at his son.

"I'm sorry, father. I had a hard day at school" Steven murmurs.

"I don't care. Just focus and I'll see if I can forgive you for being so incompetent."

"Yes, sir."

Steven grabs his pen and start taking notes. He hated this part of the day. The worst part for him is that his father could do anything he wanted and no one had the right to intervene. Almost every employee was afraid of Joseph, just like his own son.

•••

You couldn't stop the tears from falling. Not even Grovyle could help you. The Pokémon was the last piece of your old life and it always you always smile. Not today, though.

You weren't surprised to come home only to find it empty. It doesn't mean it didn't hurt. It did, a lot. You just wanted your mom to comfort you, or hear your dad's annoying and not at all helpful advices. Now you regret not telling your parents how much you loved them. You regret every single fight. You regret everything.

"Grovyle, I'm so stupid."

Your partner looks at you, trying to figure out a way to make you feel better.

Suddenly, you hear the doorbell ring. A glimpse of hope warmed our heart, but why would your parents ring the doorbell? You plop back into bed, too sad to move. Grovyle decided to open the door.

Outside, May plays with her fingers. She wasn't so sure about this. Max and Wallace had to sweet talk her into it.

"We should leave. She's not even answering the door" May says, pulling Wallace's shirt.

"Stop it, Maylene. Behave."

She crosses her arms.

Who does he think he is?

Grovyle opens the door, revealing Steven's friends. The Pokémon frowns, confused at the visitors.

"Hey, Grovyle. Is (Y/N) home?" Wallace asks. Grovyle gestures for them to follow him. "Come, May."

May closes the front door behind her. She's speechless. Even though she only been here a couple times, she remembers what it felt like. Now it just feels sad and lonely. Wallace feels the same way.

Grovyle points to (Y/N)'s room with his arms leaves. You were almost asleep when they came in.

"Who was it at the door, Grovyle?" You groggily asked.

"It's us. Do you mind to have a talk?" Wallace says. He's a bit unsure.

Your eyes widen.

Why are they here? Do they know something?

You sit up on your bed and retrieve Grovyle. You didn't mind to fix your half asleep hair.

"Sure. Do you guys want something? Water?" You ask, leading them downstairs.

"I'll have some water" May answers politely.

You nod your head and go to the kitchen. Wallace sits down on the couch, while May stays up. They trade worried and confused looks.

You accidentally spill water on your way back from the kitchen. Truth is, you don't really like going in there. For you, it still smells like dad's pancakes in the morning. You wake up every day hoping they'll be on the table again.

"Sorry, May. I just..." You try to apologize.

"It's fine, (Y/N)" She smiles at you. "Is everything okay?"

You almost felt like telling them everything. Almost. You know they will hurt you or your family if you dared to open your mouth, so you just sniffed and nodded.

"Yeah, just struggling with some... stuff" You clean your throat. "What is it that you want to talk to me?"

"You used to be friends with Steven, right? Steven Stone" Wallace asks. Your eyes widen again. May raises one eyebrow.

"I did... Why do you ask?"

May looks at Wallace, telling him to leave you alone, but he continues:

"We... We kinda have a problem with him. Do you think you can help us?"

"What kind of problem? I just played with him when we were kids, we never talked about deep stuff."

"He's been acting up and we have no idea why."

You place one hand on your chin.

"I don't know why you guys are asking for my help. When Steven acted up, he just wanted his parents' attention. I've heard that's not the case anymore."

The whole room goes silent. It's true that Steven has been through some dark times, but he always got on his feet. Not anymore.

"Look, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just... We don't really get along anymore, and I don't want to stir up some old stuff" You mutter, hugging yourself. Suddenly, the room got a bit colder.

"Thanks anyway" May smiles as she hands you her water cup.

"But..." Wallace tries, but May shots him down with her eyes. "Thank you, (Y/N)."

"You're welcome. I'll walk you."

Wallace stands up against his will. He still had questions, but May wouldn't let him. She respects your privacy.

You open the door for your visitors.

"Thank you again, (Y/N). Sorry if we interrupted anything" May says with a kind smile. You smile back. She's always been nice to you.

"If you remember anything, don't hesitate to tell us" Wallace says.

"WALLACE!" May censors.

"Sorry" He mutters.

"See you around!" May waves as they walk away.

"Yeah, maybe..." You whisper to yourself as you close the door.

"Steven, you're boring" You cried.

"You're too sensitive!" Steven snapped back.

Your eyes started to water. Steven didn't care. He was on one of his days.

"And you're mean! Mommy!"

You ran back to your mom and grabbed her leg, tears streaming down your face. She picked you up.

"Oh, sweetie. What happened?" She asked.

"Steven is mean! I don't like him" You cried on her shoulder. She held back her laughter by pressing her lips together.

"What did he do? I'll talk to him."

"He said I was too sensitive."

"Oh, no. He's mean!" She frowns. You didn't know, but she was crying with laughter. "Let's go talk to him."

Your mom didn't need to do much. You showed him your tongue, he cried in apology, and five minutes later you two were running around his garden. Your mom laughed at the scene.

You wipe your tears away.

Damn, I miss them so much...

•••
Final A/N

Um, this is embarrassing... I promised myself I wouldn't post another chapter until next week, but it's exactly 1:16am and I have nothing to do, so there ya go.
Geez, I'm a mess right now... I feel like deleting this book and OTOOF (and let's be honest my entire existence), so don't be alarmed if this book disappears. I'm going through some heavy stuff... P.S.: No, I'm not saying this because I want attention and sympathy, I'm just venting because I'm friggin tired of feeling like crap.
So instead of ranting and cursing like a sailor, I'll just share my favourite Pokémon of each type. Here ya go. If you want to do it as well, you can find the link at the bottom of the image.

Luv, Ali.