After paying the parking-fair to leave the parking lot, the group in the trike make their way onto the highway, heading towards Petalberg City.

“So?” May starts off. “Care to tell me when you finally started liking Pokémon? Feeling a little betrayed here.” May jokes with a smile.

Jennifer scoffs at May’s words

“You’re one to talk!” Jennifer counters. “What was all that stuff when we were younger, about how we would never, ever become trainers like our parents?”

“Hey! To be fair! I stuck to that promise, I am nothing like my dad and never became a trainer like him.”

“Oh pfft! You know that wasn’t what we meant at the time!” Jennifer countered.

May hesitated, trying to think of an answer to get Jennifer to start talking about why she likes Pokémon now.

“Okay, okay! I will stop avoiding the question.” Jennifer relents.

May waits in anticipation as Jennifer busies herself with petting the relaxing Glaceon on her lap.

“Confession time?” Jennifer starts by saying. “I never hated Pokémon like you.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, true story.”

“So wait? Were you lying to me all those times back then?—“

“Of course not!” Jennifer clarified. “Everything I said then was true: but my understanding of myself and my circumstances changed. As I am sure that you, yourself can understand.”

May relented that she had a point.

“That is fair I suppose… So? What changed? Or, to be precise, if you never hated Pokémon, why did you say you did?”

Jennifer shrugged.

“Because you did.”

“Huh?!” May looked at Jennifer in confusion.

“I didn’t hate Pokémon, I hated my parents’ jobs.” Jennifer explained.

“Right?… I remember us complaining to each other all the time about our parents, but isn’t that why you hated Pokémon?”

Jennifer shook her head.

“No, that is why you hated Pokémon: you hated them because of the expectation from your father, and the people around you telling you what you had to live up to, remember?”

“Yeah, I know…” May confessed shamefully as she rub the back of her neck, which was hot with shame. “I was a brat and a jerk for thinking like that back then…”

“Well, don’t beat yourself up too much,” Jennifer told May. “I had finally found another person who understood what it was like, even if it was only partially, to have a parent or parents, whose whole world revolved around Pokémon… So when you said you hated them because of that… I guess… not that I am blaming you for this or anything… you just sort of influenced me to hate them as well. Because I looked up to you, I thought it was the natural thing to do: to just hate the Pokémon who took up so much of my parents time.”

May smiled at her sadly.

“Then I guess I owe you an apology; I am sorry I wasn’t the best influence on you that I could have been. I should have never had done that, I failed as your big sister in recognizing that.”

But Jennifer just shrugged it off.

“It’s okay, no need to apologize for it. That first couple years of living here and then going back to Ejapul, I came to realize on my own that it wasn’t actually Pokémon that I hated… Just my parents’ jobs.” Jennifer gave May back her own sad smile. “If anything, it’s me that owes you an apology: I was the one lying to you back when I was seven and you were nine; I kept up the illusion of hating Pokémon when I really didn’t, just because I thought that you might now be my friend if I told you I like Pokémon.”

May reached over and gently rapped the back of her knuckles on the top of Jennifer’s head.

“Big dummy!” She called her. “Maybe it would have then, but if I think back on how I knew myself then, and know myself now. I would like to think that I wouldn’t have hated or spurned you, just because you liked Pokémon.”

Jennifer smiled at her best friend.

“Well, looks like we’ll never know now though.”

“True,” May agreed. “I think if you had, I would have felt betrayed at the time, but I would also like to think I would have gotten over it; because Max loves Pokémon, he is a Pokémon nerd! And I never hated him for it.”

Jennifer nodded sagely at her words.

“I guess that is true, I never thought about it like that.”

“So back to the original topic, if you never hated Pokémon, why is it that you still don’t get one?”

             

                       

                

“………………………”

                                

                              

                                   

                         

Jennifer was so quiet for so long, that May feared that she may have said too much again.

“Look if I—“

“What do you think of them as?” Jennifer asked May just as she was about to apologize.

“…………………”

Now it was May’s turn to be quiet.

“The Pokémon?”

Jennifer nodded her head without looking up from Glaceon, who was in her lap.

“Yeah… before I answer that… I would like to hear what you have to say about them.”

                        

May tried in vain to get a good look at her friend’s face while she was driving, but she could take the time she needed to get a good glance at her expression. She could tell her friend had a low-spirited expression on her face, she just couldn’t spare the attention in trying to read her expression.

So she just opted to do as she did before, by reaching across with one hand and finding Jennifer’s yet again; giving it a reassuring squeeze before she answered her question.

“I think of them as my friends,” May told her. “They are my companions, my team, and my life; they are my animal partners that help me, as I help them grow; we help each other, to make one another better.”

She took a moment while they were in traffic to glance at Jennifer’s face. Who now had a smirk and was eyeing up May from the corner of her eye.

“Does that satisfy your question?”

But to her surprise, Jennifer shook her head.

“It was probably one of the better answers I have ever heard… but it still isn’t the one I believe……”

“……… What do you believe?…” May asked her friend hesitantly.

“…… I… I see Pokémon as equals… as something more than just animals or strange creatures, or beings with fantastic powers.” Jennifer began a passionate speech.

“Jen?”

But she was ignored as Jennifer continued.

“I see them as people! Not as humans, because they aren’t humans, but as more than just the label of Pokémon that we placed on them! I see each, and every one of them as a different species that lives and breaths, in which becomes something more; I see each Pokémon as an individual person, with their own lives and emotions and dreams!”

“Jenny?” May called out to her friend.

“It’s not right to make them work for us and fight for our entertainment, or battle or do menial chores to help satisfy our needs! We are basically making them our slaves! No one has any idea how much they get hurt or have suffered because of us!”

              

“Jennifer!” May shouted her name to get her attention.

                

“What?!” Jennifer screamed back.

        

“You’re scaring Glaceon!” She said with a point at her shivering Pokémon on her friend’s lap.

          

Jennifer looks down in her lap at the trembling Pokémon sitting there, looking up at her with concerned eyes.

“G-Glaceon?” She called out to Jennifer with a tilt of her head. It slowly uncurled herself from her position on Jennifer’s lap, standing on her hind-legs, stretching out her torso to place her paws on Jennifer’s shoulder, she brought her head towards Jennifer’s to lick her cheek in comfort. “Glaceon, glace.”

With trembling hands, Jennifer wrapped her arms around the Pokémon in-front of her, holding her to her own body, while she buried her head into Glaceon’s cold fur of her neck.

“I am so sorry you two!” She whispered in distress. “I didn’t mean to scream or scare either of you! I just… I don’t let out emotions like that often, I lost control there for a second… I am so sorry!” She apologized to the two as she sobbed into Glaceon’s neck.

May looked from her friend to her Pokémon who was patting Jennifer with her paw in comfort, while also giving her canine-kisses to her cheek.

May then reached over yet again to grab at her emotional friend and gripped onto one of her hand, holding it tightly.

“Look Jen, it’s okay, it’s fine!” She told her reassuringly. “You didn’t do or say anything wrong, Glaceon and I were just scared for you, and I feel confident enough to speak for Glaceon on her behalf on this; that we were just worried about you.”

“Glace-On!”

But Jennifer shook her head.

“No, I shouldn’t have yelled like that, it wasn’t right.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, and like I said, you didn’t say anything wrong, in fact, I would say you opened my eyes on something.” May reached over and petted Glaceon’s chin.

“Glace-ce”

May smiled as Glaceon turned her head to allow May more access to pet her.

“I talked earlier about how my Pokémon were my life and were my partners, but I was using words that don’t actually adequately describe what my Pokémon actually mean to me.”

May smiled at both Jennifer and Glaceon who were looking at her with expectant eyes.

“They’re my family; every last one of my Pokémon is just as important as anyone else in my family.” She told them. “Right Glaceon?”

“Glace, on on!”

May looked back at Jennifer’s face, looking right into her eyes.

“And that includes you: your my little sister.”

“Big sis-M!” Jennifer cried with a voice filled with emotions. “Thank you! That means so much to me!”

“No need to thank me, like I said, you’re my little sis, it is my job to help and take care of you; it is truly my pleasure. But as your surrogate big sister, I would be a little remiss if I didn’t point out a little flaw in your logic.”

Jennifer waited patiently for May to continue, as she took her time to merge into the off ramp.

“What you said wasn’t wrong, in fact, I think everything you said is correct on a lot of level, for a lot of issues; I too, think that battling or making Pokémon fight on your behalf to settle things like grudges or disputes is wrong. But!” She held up a finger with her free hand.

“You’re missing something with your line of thinking like that, which comes from being ignorant on what being a trainer is truly about: it’s something I didn’t realize until my mentor taught me about battling. If you look out at nature, some people might say that Pokémon would be better off without humans, that this world might have more Pokémon or be better without human interference.”

“But that kind of thinking is wrong,” May told Jennifer. “While it is true that humans have done a lot of harm towards Pokémon, it is also true that there are Pokémon that we have today, that wouldn’t be here if it were not for human intervention.”

“But why is it wrong?!” Jennifer questioned. “Wouldn’t Pokémon be safer or happier if it weren’t for us humans?!”

May shook her head.

“Not necessarily, there are Pokémon today, that didn’t exist thousands of years ago, that only came into existence do to humans.” She looked towards Jennifer with a quirked eyebrow. “Would you condemn these Pokémon to nonexistence, just so that some Pokémon did not have to suffer a little bit by humanities mistakes.”

“… But that is not fair!” Jennifer argued. “That means we have to choose between the Pokémon we created and the Pokémon we harmed; we are responsible for many of the species that don’t exist in mass now-a-days because of us!”

“Yes,” May agreed. “But it is also true that humanity recognizes its mistakes, which it tries very hard to correct. Even now, we have gotten to the point, where technology can bring back some of these Pokémon from extinction itself!” May gave Jennifer a side-eyed glance and a smirk. “There are even Pokémon that require Humans in order to survive; that if we weren’t around, they would have gone extinct naturally without us. So? can you really say that Pokémon are really better off without humans?”

                   

                

Jennifer sat there quietly as she thought on what May was saying.

                            

                

“I don’t know…” She said when she finally answered.

                              

                                

May smiled at Jennifer’s response.

           

“And that is okay,” May assured Jennifer. “It’s not easy to just give up on the convictions that you so readily believed in. As you know, I thought I hated Pokémon, but what I learned after becoming a trainer, that it wasn’t Pokémon that I hated, but the expectations of other people; how they wanted me to become something I knew I wasn’t, to become just like my dad. But after I learned about Pokémon contests, I realized just how beautiful a Pokémon’s move can truly be, rather than something to just be used for fighting. My mentor taught me how battles and training Pokémon not only help the Pokémon get stronger, but you, yourself also grow with them.”

May smiled at Jennifer.

“Do you see what I am saying?”

After a long moment of contemplation, Jennifer nodded her head.

“I guess so… but the thing is, I just hate seeing Pokemon battle or get hurt. AT ALL!” Jennifer told her firmly, as she clenched her hands into fists. “Its one of the reasons I don’t want to be a trainer. I… I feel for the Pokémon to much to just watch them fight and suffer.”

“… I get that, I really do.” May told Jennifer sympathetically. “I do as well, but sometimes, growth can only be achieved through pain; even if we want to avoid it: it’s when we over come it, do we see real growth.”

Jennifer stared at May incredulously as if she had grown a second head.

                   

“What?!” May questioned Jennifer’s incredulous look.

                   

But Jennifer just shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing…... I just can’t believe how mature you’ve gotten since we’ve last met; you really are my big sister May…”

May just threw her head back and laughed.

“Of course I am!” She said boastfully. “And as I told you at the airport! You can come to me or confide in me about anything my little sister.”

“Glace ace! On on!”

“Yes, and thank you too Glaceon……” Jennifer looked from both Glaceon and May before saying shyly. “I… you two are the first people I’ve ever told about why I don’t want to be a trainer… why I don’t want a Pokémon of my own.”

May smiled at her best friend from Ejapul.

“I am glad that you trust me enough to tell me what your feelings are on things, and I am glad I can help.” She said with a pat to Jennifer’s shoulder.

        

               

But for a minute after she said that, the car had gone eerily quiet. With nothing but the wind blowing from the trike rushing forwards.

May eventually looked back over at Jennifer, only to see another sullen expression on her face. Her Glaceon looking between her and Jennifer woth concern.

“What is the matt—“

“I’m sorry…”

“Huh?”

“I just got upset for no reason.”

“Why? What did I do?” May questioned.

I must have done something or said something dumb again! May thought to herself.

                    

Jennifer shook her head.

“I am just being to sensitive… I know you didn’t mean to do it, but…”

“But what?” May questioned.

“You… when I told you I never told anyone before except you two…” Jennifer points between May and her Glaceon. “Y-You unintentionally did not included Glaceon when I said, I was glad I was able to confide in the both of you.”

                      

May was stunned, to say the least to hear that her friend had gotten mad at her over that.

She really does see Pokémon as equals; she is really sensitive about this. May thought on this as they continued driving back.

“Then I apologize,” May decided to just bite the bullet, since this was obviously something Jennifer cared about. “I didn’t mean to do that,” She told Jennifer. “But, I also didn’t think I had too.”

Jennifer looked at her with a quirked eyebrow.

“Why do you say that? Is it because she is a Pokémon?!” Jennifer questioned her.

Oh Arceus! She really is pissed! By Dialga she is a little to sensitive on this topic.

She reached over and petted the top of Glaceon’s head.

“Gla-Ce!”

“I didn’t include her, because she is a big girl and can make her own decisions.” She gave the two in the passenger seat a smirk and a glance. “Should I speak for her as well? I am pretty sure she can speak for herself.”

                

Jennifer thought on this for a moment before smiling at May.

“Nice save there,” Jennifer called her out. “But I do appreciate the sentiment.” She reached down and cupped either side of Glaceon’s head. “Don’t worry Glaceon! We will get big sis-M to learn to include Pokémon like people eventually: so until then, we should just forgive her ignorance.”

“Glace! On!” She agreed back.

“H-Hey!”

Then the car was filled with laughter.

                            

                                          

After a while come just looking at the sights and some casual chitchat, Jennifer spoke up.

“Gosh it is good to be back after so long, I wish I did this sooner and on my terms.” Jennifer told May.

May chortled at that.

“Yeah, it is good to have you back again. I can also take you to all the contest boutiques that I won at! We are not limited to just our old stomping grounds of Petalsberg anymore.” May reminded.

“Hey! That is right! We’re older now! The whole Hoenn region is our Clamperl!”

May nodded in agreement.

“That is right! Now we can go wherever we want to go!” May agreed. “Well, as long as you’re with me or someone.”

“Uugghhhh!”

“I know, but I also know you know that—“

“Every person under the age of eighteen needs to be accompanied by either an adult or be a registered trainer with a Pokémon… I know the stupid law…”

May chortled again.

“Stupid or not, it is the law. And if you want that to change for you any time soon, you might want to think about getting a Pokémon.”

Jennifer did a double take at May and looked at her incredulously.

“Did nothing I say back there mean anything?” She questioned her friend in a wounded tone.

“Oh! I heard you!” May said with a laugh. “I am just saying that you may as well think on it yourself and get one on your own terms, rather than waiting for one to be thrusted into your lap.”

Jennifer’s eyes go wide as she hears this.

“Do you know something I don’t?! Did my dad get me a Pokémon behind my back?!”

May laughed again.

“Not to my knowledge, no. I don’t think he did.”

“Then why?—“

May shrugged.

“Call it trainer’s intuition.” May told Jennifer. “I have been a trainer for six years now, and have been to four other regions and champion in one of them! So yeah, I have seen somethings,” She gave Jennifer a side-eyed glance. “I just have this feeling, you know? That one day, you will have a Pokémon of your very own one day, and it will change your life forever.”

Jennifer scoffed and crossed her arms.

“Not likely!” She denied. “I don’t ever plan to be a trainer or put Pokémon in harms way, or stuff them in those tiny balls against their will!”

May laughed at that, which made Jennifer tilt her head to the side.

“It’s not always against their will!” May informed her. “I’ve seen Pokémon be willingly captured by trainers, just so that they can be partners.”

Jennifer scoffed again.

“Now that is a lie, what kinda Pokémon, would willing sit there and have a ball thrown at them and be captured, just to serve a human.”

        

Glaceon stirred up from Jennifer’s lap and butted her head against Jennifer’s stomach.

“OOF!”

Glaceon sat up on her back legs, putting her front paws on either side of Jennifer’s head onto her shoulders; while staring deep into Jennifer’s eyes.

“Glace glace ace on! Glaceon! Glaceon on on! Glaceon!”

Jennifer stared wide eyed at this Pokémon who just stood up and told her off. Glaceon then harrumphed before curling back up onto Jennifer’s lap, but this time, facing away from her.

Jennifer turned to stare at May with wide eyes, whom was in-fact, staring at Jennifer with wide eyes as well, trying her best and failing to hide her smirk.

                   

“Seems like she told you! Hahahaha!” May laughed.

“Wait?! Could YOU understand her?” Jennifer asked astonished.

“Well no, but it is easy to guess what she was saying.” May told her. “She probably told you off on how she was raised by me from an egg and an Eevee, how once she hatched, she willingly came with me on my adventures.” May smirked at Jennifer. “Seems I am not the only one who thinks of Pokémon as Pokémon, even if it is unintentional.”

“Huh?!” Jennifer exclaimed incredulously.

May rolled her eyes because of her younger friend’s obliviousness.

“What I mean is: you just unintentionally spoke for all Pokémon, by saying that no Pokémon would willingly want to follow a trainer out of their own volition.”

Jennifer sat there stunned by what both Glaceon and May had just said.

        

“… You okay?…” May asked in concern.

And Jennifer nodded her head.

“Yeah, just… thinking about what you two said… I guess I was in the wrong this time… sorry you two.”

May reached up and patted the top of her tall friend’s head.

“There there little sis, we forgive you.” May said in a placating and teasing tone.

“Glace ace ce on!” Glaceon said with a wag of her tail into Jennifer’s face.

“Bah! Pfft! Hey! Not in the face!”

“Hahahaha!”

After that, the car had three laughing friends once again.

                  

                           

                         

                     

                

                 

                   

“So? How has your studies been going?” May asks Jennifer after a while.

“Hmm… pretty good, I would say. Before leaving, I had gotten a pretty good seat to be a student with professor Micheal at the university!” She told May excitedly.

“Oh yeah? Who is professor Micheal? I haven’t heard of him.”

“Oh by Arceus! He is only one of the five top scientists of the research on the human equation of our world!”

May looked at Jennifer skeptically.

“I actually don’t know what that means?”

“Oh! Well! Let me tell you! He and other professors like him, are convinced that humans weren’t just brought in and made into this world like the legends say! He and the rest of them believe that Humans are the panicle of what evolution can achieve!”

“And what does that mean?!” May questioned.

“It means, that he thinks that Humans, were once upon a time, nothing but Pokémon outselves!”

May scoffs at this.

“Jennifer… that is ridiculous. That sounds like something some crazy person would think up.”

“I thought so too! But he, and along with the other professors, have genuine thesis on their research! They also are doing research to see if humans have any sort of comparison traits or have any sort of noticeable skills that might link them with Pokémon.”

“Notable skills and traits? What does that mean?”

“Well, in his research, they are trying to find a link that may prove that humans can use abilities just like Pokémon.”

“Wait?! What?!” May questions in shock.

“I know right?!” Jennifer says excited and interprets May loud exclamation as excitement. “They theorize that humans might be able to be taught moves such like a Pokémon with Move Tutors.”

“But that is ridiculous!” May questions aloud. “Humans and Pokémon are way to different to be anything else but separate species; it is not possible for humans to breath a flame out of their mouths, or for a human to lay an egg! We are just to different.”

“That is what I thought at first too!” Jennifer agreed with May. “But after reading their research notes and papers, I think this is a fascinating thing to study!”

“I don’t know…” May hedges.

Jennifer scoffs at her friend’s indecisiveness.

“Look, I get it. Not many people are going to believe that this is possible, or believe Professor Micheal or his colleagues: but I do!” Jennifer told May with conviction. “There are just to many things out there that are unexplained as to why they happen. One of their leading arguments in the powers of psychic abilities within humans.”

“Hmm… at least for that, I can relent. It is weird how some have the abilities to read minds or telekinetically move things with their minds while others can’t.”

“Exactly!” Jennifer points at May face with a triumphant look on her own.

But May just rolls her eyes.

“But that is the only think that might hold ground with what their saying. And from my experience, psychic powers can sometimes be manifested within people if they spend enough time around fellow psychics or psychic type Pokémon.”

“Yeah, but some don’t.” Jennifer points out. “So, is that the result of training? Maybe a result of teaches passed down from psychic-to-psychic, that allows them to keep the abilities alive in humans, or is it the result of our lingering Pokémon DNA?!” She finishes excitedly.

May rolls her eyes again.

“Well, I will believe it when I see it.” She told Jennifer. “I am glad you’re excited, and I am glad to see this is something you are passionate about: but I am afraid to say, that I can’t see myself believing in it to much.” May told her friend. “I just feel like I have seen to many things of the contrary, that suggested that humans were already here when Pokémon arrived.”

“Well, to each their own I guess.” Jennifer shrugged and relented. “Mom isn’t a big fan of this research either. She feels it clearly undermines to much of the faith of Arceus.”

May nodded her head.

“Yeah, I can see that. That would get on her nerves.”

“Yeah, plus she says it is too similar to the ideals and teachings to Team Dunes fanatical beliefs.”

“Oh, OH!… Oh yeah… I can REALLY see that! She hates those guys.”

“Yeah, she does! Even more so since………..”

May cursed under her breath as she realized they had strayed towards the forbidden topic.

She decided to take action and for a subject change.

“So! Max is excited about you being back!” May told her.

                

“…………………………”

             

                  

Jennifer was quiet for so long, that May had to turn to see what it was that was keeping her friend quiet.

“Jen?”

But what she found was her friend with her face buried into her hands.

“UGH!” Jennifer groaned.

“Jen? Are you okay?” May called out in concern.

“Just!… out of all the topic to change to? It has to be your brother…”

“What is wrong with him?” She asks her incredulously.

“It is because!… because he… you know!” Jennifer stammers.

“Likes you?”

“YES!”

“And you do—“

“Not!”

“Do not, got it… poor Max.”

“Poor Max? Poor me!” Jennifer protest. “Last time I was here, you weren’t! I was stuck here with nothing but Max and his newly acquired Pokémon trainer  license, which meant I had to follow him around for months while he challenged the different gym leaders around Hoenn!”

“Ooohhhh… and he…”

“Showed off to me and tried to impress me at every opportunity he could during the trip.”

May winced at that.

“Sorry… that may or may not be my fault.”

“What do you mean?”

“A couple reasons.” May confessed. “I took Max with me during my first trip around Hoenn after you left, along with two of my friends…… I think one of them had left a very… let’s just call it a strong impression on Max…” She turned and grinned sheepishly at Jennifer. “And I may and may not have encouraged him to go for you.”

“What?! WHY?!”

May shrugged, I just thought it might be nice!” She told Jennifer. “I figured, some day, way down the road, real love might blossom there and you might eventually become my real sister if you got together with max.”

Jennifer looked at May with a sour smile on her face.

“While I appreciate the sentiment of wanting me to be in your family for real, Max and I are Never, EVER happening: I would sooner get a Pokémon.”

“Oof! Poor Max then! He is going to be heartbroken!”

“Ugh! Look! I still like Max, as a friend, but more like a little brother, so can we move on from talking about him? Please?”

“Hahahaha! Sorry sorry! I mostly brought him up as an escape from the earlier conversation.”

“Which I appreciate” Jennifer comments.

“But I also want to see what your take on my brother was,” May shrugged. “To see if he had any sort of chance.”

“Nope, not a chance at all.”

“Hahaha! That is fine!” May reached over to wrap her arm around Jennifer’s neck, pulling her into May’s side.

“WAH! MAY?!?!”

“Hahahahaha! Guess that means I will have you all to myself while I’m here!”

                    

Jennifer smiled and pulled herself free from May grasp and reckless driving.

“You trying to get us killed?!”

“Hahahahaha!”

                  

                     

They sat there in companionable silence yet again while they were driving down the back road as they neared Petalberg City.

                         

It was about five minutes later, that Jennifer broke the silence.

“Hey May… can I ask you something though?”

“I told you!” May groused playfully at Jennifer. “You can ask me anything: what is up?”

“…………………………..”

                    

Even though Jennifer had been the one to initiate the conversation, she was finding it very hard to continue it. She made May wait in anticipation for almost another two minutes before she spoke again.

“It… it is in regards to what we talked about with your brother… not related to him though…”

“Oh?” May’s curiosity perked.

“I—……— *SIGH* — Do you like anyone? Are you dating anyone?” She asked May.

“Why?” May gave her best friend a questioning look. “Are you asking me out?”

“…No… not you…” Jennifer told May with a side-eyed glance and a smirk.

May snapped her fingers like she had just missed something.

“Damn! Then that means I shouldn’t send a text to my boyfriend and let him know we’re finished so I can date you.”

This got the both of them laughing at May’s antics.

“No, you shouldn’t, and way to go on burying the lead on weather you are dating or not.”

May just smirked at Jennifer.

“It’s the acting lessons, they help a ton with confidence and improvisation.”

“It shows,” Jennifer comments. “While you are still the same May I know and love, I can definitely say you have changed.”

“For the better I hope?” May asks her nervously. She really hoped that Jennifer liked the new her.

“Oh definitely!” Jennifer confirmed.

“Oh good!” May cleared her throat. “As you were saying? Why did you ask this?”

           

“……….. If….—….. If some one confesses to you right before you leave for a life changing trip…… Do you think they are worth it to stay in contact with?”

May sucked in a breath through her teeth at Jennifer’s question.

“Oohhhh…… umm……”

“I take it that is not a good “oh” and “um”, is it?”

“Umm…… it really depends on how YOU feel!” May switched from giving her opinions on this topic. “How do you feel about them? Does he make you laugh? Do you think he is funny? How do you feel about him liking you? Do you like him too?”

“……………………………”

May looked over to see the dark golden skin of Jennifer had turned a reddish brown color.

“Oh Arceus! If this blush is anything to go by, then you must feel something for this guy!”

“No!— I mean yes!— I mean I am not sure! It’s just that! I!—……….”

Jennifer takes a deep breath before she continued to humiliate herself further.

“What I meant to say is, I think I need to clarify a couple things first.”

“Okay?……” May drawls out her response to Jennifer’s cryptic answer.

“First of all, this is one of my oldest friends that I have back in Ejapul…”

“Okay and? What is the problem? Is it because you have known them to long and it would feel weird to date them?”

“No… It’s just that… the thing is… I have known they have liked me for years now. It… isn’t really something they can hide…”

“Oh!……. I see…. it must be awkward because they finally confessed after it has been obvious for so long that they like you, that you don’t even know if you do now that they have confessed.”

“………… sort of…….. it’s not NOT that, but it’s just……. Well!…….”

May watched as her friend squirmed in her seat, trying to tell her how she felt about this guy.

                

                                 

                  

                     

≈Help!≈

                     

Jennifer’s heart skipped a beat.

                                        

                                

                            

                                      

She heard it.

                                

                         

                                 

She knew she did.

                                  

                                  

                             

                

≈Help me!≈

                                        

                          

                       

                    

There it was! It isn’t just my imagination!

                            

                         

                                

Jennifer looked out into the field to their right out of the trike they were driving.

                                  

                            

Jennifer waited while looking out onto the field to see if she heard the voice again.

                            

≈KKKUUUU! SOMEBODY SAVE US!≈

                              

                             

A gentle touch to her shoulder startled Jennifer back to reality.

“Hey?! Are you alright?!” May called out to Jennifer in concern.

               

Jennifer was breathing quickly and looking around between Where she had been staring, to her friend, and also to the Pokémon on her lap, who was now matching her trainer’s look of concern.

“Glace? On?”

                   

“I…… May!” She called out firmly to her friend.

“Yes!” She answered back startled by Jennifer’s firmness.

         

“Stop the car!”

            

May slams on the breaks of the car which also slams to a halt; with them jerking in their seats.

“Why?! Why did I stop?” May questions Jennifer in concern.

But Jennifer wasn’t listening to her. She was busy unbuckling herself and handing off Glaceon over to May.

“Jen? What is wrong?! You’re scaring me!”

                          

“There is no time to explain!” Jennifer shouts at her. She then hops up and jumps out the side of the car, heading for the tall grass that connects the road to the woods at a sprint.

“What?!— JEN!” May cries out to her now departing friend as she runs through the pokemon infested grasslands. “You can’t go alone out there! You need a Pokémon!” May calls out to her, even as Jennifer ignores her, as she is running towards the woods.                   

                                   

                              

“Please!” Jennifer cries out loud as she runs though the tall grass heading into the woods. “Please make it in time! I have to make it this time!” Jennifer says as she races to get to them which need her help.