The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 5: Odds

Spoiler:

It was Wednesday of the fifth week of summer, July having just started, and the summer heat reaching its peak. Whilst the tension between Dylan and Chris visible to those around them had all but disappeared, the grudge between the pair still held strong, with neither willingly speaking to one-another. Justin, Abbee and Charlotte were all aware that the grudge was still there, however Justin and Charlotte ignored it, growing tired of the grudge that had held for nearly two weeks at this point. Abbee however seemed to struggle most with it, finding herself growing distant from both parties involved. Even though Chris had listened to her, and stopped openly antagonising Dylan, and even toned down sharing his opinion of the older boy when they were in private, which she did appreciate, she still felt awkward at how much of a friend she considered Dylan, somebody that Chris despised as much as he did. On the flip side, she had felt awkward being casual around Dylan, and acting as if nothing was wrong, when she knew that he equally disliked her boyfriend, and her boyfriend had been pestering him as much as he had, with her unable to do much to stop it. This led to her feeling less than comfortable around either of them, and spending most of her time with Charlotte and Justin, and very little time alone with either Chris or Dylan.

It had been a little over an hour since lunch had ended, as Dylan waited in the foyer to the stadium for the rest of his group to arrive for team training with Jon. He had the second session for the afternoon, with Justin’s group having the first. As it reached 1:55, the doors opened, as Justin’s team started wandering out from the stadium, filtering through and saying hello to friends in Dylan’s team, waiting for their session to start. Dylan kept an eye out for Justin to come through the doors, though figured he’d be chatting briefly to Jon before he left. As Dylan considered going in to say hello to the pair of them, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He withdrew it, noticing Alyssa’s name on the screen. This was his first hint that something was off. He could count the amount of times Alyssa had actually called him in one hand, knowing she much preferred to text. He quickly swiped across the screen to answer the phone.

“Hey,” Dylan said, slightly puzzled. “Is everything okay?”

“Do you think you could come to the house?” Alyssa said, sounding serious, and somewhat anxious. “You have a visitor…”

Dylan’s mind began to race as he wondered who it could be. At first he thought it could possibly be Isabelle, but quickly dismissed the notion. Alyssa’s tone didn’t align with that possibility, and he didn’t think Isabelle would show up out of nowhere. His next thought was possibly Bill, his abusive stepdad, however, given the intervention order in place, Alyssa would be calling Jon and the police if he had showed up.

“I’m just about to start a session,” Dylan explained. “Who is it?”

Dylan had not even considered the possibility until Alyssa answered him.

“She says she is your mum…”

Justin emerged from the door to the stadium itself, and waved at Dylan, before noticing he was on the phone, and by extension, the look of shock on Dylan’s face.

“Do you think you can come see her?” Alyssa asked cautiously. “If you can’t get out of your session, I’m happy to keep her company until you can, but I think she’d appreciate seeing you…”

Dylan forced himself to stop spiralling from the shock, and spoke back to Alyssa.

“I can’t come now,” he said bluntly. “I’ll come see her in an hour.”

Before she could reply, Dylan hung up the phone, and noticed Justin nearby, looking slightly worried.

“Is everything alright?” Justin asked, nodding towards the phone.

“Fine,” Dylan answered shortly. “Someone unexpected has just shown up wanting to see me…”

“Well if you want, I’m happy to help Jon with your group for training,” Justin offered. “It’s no secret they’re the easiest to manage. If you need to see this person, that way you aren’t keeping them waiting…”

“She’s kept me waiting for ten years. She can wait an hour…”

Justin was taken aback by the venom in Dylan’s tone, and how pointed the remark was.

“Really, are you alright?” Justin asked cautiously, remembering how Dylan blew up at Abbee weeks earlier, which was the catalyst for the dissonance between the interns since. “Because you seem troubled by all of this…”

Dylan considered his options, before sighing to himself.

“It’s my mum…” Dylan explained. “She walked out ten years ago, and left me with my a**hole stepdad. Now she has shown up with no warning and is at Jon and Alyssa’s house…”

“S**t…” Justin muttered, shocked at the sudden revelation. Dylan pocketed his phone, before walking towards the entrance of the stadium.

“But as I said. I waited ten years for her to show up. She can wait an hour…” Dylan muttered.

Hoping he wasn’t overstepping the boundary, Justin grabbed Dylan by the shoulder.

“I think you should go talk to her…” Justin said, as Dylan began to protest, before he cut him off. “Not for her sake…”

Dylan gave Justin a puzzled look, as he continued.

“Even if you won’t admit it, it’s obvious this is messing with you. Anyone can see it,” Justin continued. “If you have all this s**t on your mind, how will you be able to be a decent teacher for your students, with all this distracting you…”

Dylan had to admit that Justin raised a decent point. He would barely be able to focus on assisting Jon with training after what he had just heard, and the questions racing through his mind. Largely the question of why?

“I think you should let me cover you today, and go and figure out what she wants,” Justin concluded. “Give her a piece of your mind if that’s what you really want. Then you can just cover my group for training on Friday afternoon. Deal?”

Dylan thought over what Justin had said. One thing neither had considered was Jon, and whilst Dylan appreciated what Jon had done for him over the years, this was something Dylan wanted to handle alone. If he went in, and Jon could see how much all of this was affecting him, it was almost certain Jon would get involved.

“Thanks…” Dylan said quietly. “You’re a good friend.”

Justin couldn’t help but grin.

“Consider us even for you not making fun of me for the whole COC thing…”

A smile broke onto Dylan’s face at the reminder of the oversight Coronet Outdoor and Camping had made with their logo, as Justin turned to round up Dylan’s group, and usher them into the stadium, where he would then explain Dylan’s absence to Jon. Once he was gone, Dylan left the stadium, making his way towards Jon and Alyssa’s house.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“I thought you weren’t coming for another hour?” Alyssa asked, as she saw Dylan enter the house through the back door.

“Justin forced me to let him cover my class…” Dylan said quietly, as Alyssa smiled weakly.

“He’s a good guy.”

Dylan nodded, before gesturing towards the closed door into the lounge.

“She in there?” Dylan asked quietly.

“Waiting for you…” Alyssa said, as he made his way towards the door, stopping just shy of it. Ten seconds passed, without Dylan making another movement forward, seemingly frozen.

“Would you like me to come with you?” Alyssa offered. “Lili is asleep, and I have all afternoon free from work, if you don’t want to do this alone…”

Dylan was quiet for a second, considering it. Even though she was barely fifteen years older than him, and he had only lived with her and Jon for the last two years, he already considered Alyssa more of a mother-figure to him than his own mother.

“I’d really appreciate that…” Dylan answered after a moment, his voice cracking a little. “Honestly, it’s all just… a lot…”

Alyssa nodded, as Dylan found the will to open the door, stepping into the room, as Alyssa followed him in. He saw sitting on the couch that faced the opposite wall, a woman in her early forties, with brown hair, the same shade as his own, straightened and cut just above her shoulders, with slight streaks of grey starting to become visible from age. He couldn’t see her face, until he walked past the couch she sat on, to the one opposite her, sitting down, and looking at his mother for the first time in a decade. Alyssa followed him, sitting on the armchair between the two couches.

For a moment, Dylan wasn’t able to speak, simply taking in the face of his mother. She had darker freckles than he did, though her eyes were a green similar to Abbee’s. She looked at him nervously, expecting him to speak, however when he didn’t, decided to open the conversation herself.

“Dylan…” Nicole said anxiously. “You look really well…”

“Yeah…” Dylan muttered, taking Nicole by surprise with the contempt in his voice. She tried to shake it off, knowing that she shouldn’t expect any more.

“I’m glad that Jon and Alyssa have been taking good care of you…” Nicole continued awkwardly, before directing her words more towards Alyssa. “I really appreciate the two of you taking him in…”

“It’s been a pleasure,” Alyssa reassured. “Dylan has been a blessing for us and our family…”

Before anything else could be said, Dylan finally addressed Nicole.

“Why are you here?” Dylan asked, intentionally refusing to call her Mum. There was an awkward silence before he continued. “I mean, you walked out ten years ago. Didn’t say goodbye or anything. I found out from Bill and thought it was some sick joke…”

Nicole began to speak, but Dylan, not having begun, didn’t want to stop.

“Ten years on, and I’m happy here. I’ve made a life without you and without Bill. And you think you can just show up out of nowhere like this?” Dylan asked, his voice starting to raise. “I was at the point where I would have happily not seen you again. So why are you here?!”

“Dylan!” Alyssa said in shock. Whilst she could never bring herself to walk out on her child the way Nicole did, she did empathise with Nicole as a mother herself, having her child say these things to her.

“It’s fine Alyssa…” Nicole said quietly, struggling to hold Dylan’s gaze. “He has every right…”

Angrily, Dylan grabbed the collar of his shirt, and tugged it violently aside, revealing the scar on his collarbone from the last time he had been to Bill’s house.

“This is what Bill gave me for my eighteenth birthday! He threw a can at me, because he was talking s**t about you, and for some stupid reason, I defended you! And that’s not the only time something like that happened!” Dylan shouted. “I get why you left him! He is a piece of s**t! But you left me there, and after that, he just got worse! So why show up now?!”

Dylan let go of his collar, letting the elastic pull it back into place, before collapsing into his seat, waiting to hear what Nicole had to say about all this.

“I knew you wouldn’t want to see me. I wouldn’t either…” Nicole explained. “That’s why I never contacted you after I left. Especially after I found out you were here. I knew you wouldn’t want to hear from me. But something has happened…”

With her left hand, Nicole pulled back the hair on the left side of her head, holding it against the back, revealing her ear. Or more so, revealing the red hearing aid that sat on her ear…

“You’re going deaf?” Dylan asked. Whilst it was unfortunate, he wondered how this justified her changing her mind to contact him.

“I have been for the last year,” Nicole explained. “Do you remember much of your grandmother? You were only five when she passed away…”

“Vaguely,” Dylan answered, his curiosity keeping his frustration at bay. “She lived in Mossdeep, near the pier. She’s in the cemetery on the island, and…”

Dylan’s eyes widened as he realised what Nicole was implying, leaving Alyssa confused at the revelation.

“She was deaf…” Dylan answered, remembering how difficult it was to communicate with his grandmother when he was younger. “She had been deaf since before I was born…”

Nicole nodded, as Alyssa pieced together what Dylan had just realised.

“My mother started going deaf when she was around my age,” Nicole explained. “By the time she was forty-five she had lost all her hearing. She had worked in a factory during her younger years, and because the research hadn’t been done, they assumed that her hearing was damaged from that environment…”

“But it wasn’t that?” Dylan said, causing Nicole to nod.

“When I started going deaf, I saw some specialists and they did some tests,” she explained. “I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis 2. NF2 for short. It creates tumours, largely along nerves. They’re benign, but the real effect is when they are on auditory nerves. They cause deafness, and issues with balance…”

“And if you have it…” Dylan asked, though unsure of whether he wanted to hear the answer.

“It doesn’t mean for certain you do…” Nicole answered. “But there is a chance that needs to be considered…”

Dylan sat back in shock at the revelation, as Nicole continued.

“The faulty genes that cause this disorder are recessive, which means that you need to inherit them from both parents in order for it to actually take effect,” Nicole explained. “My mother inherited it from both her parents, however my father only inherited the faulty gene from one, meaning he was just a carrier, but unfortunately, he passed that gene on to me…”

“Does Dylan’s father have the gene?” Alyssa asked. Whilst she did think it wasn’t her place, she could see Dylan struggling with the news, and knew that a shock like that may cause him to not ask the right questions.

“I don’t know…” Nicole answered, turning to Alyssa. “He and I weren’t ever really together, and weren’t in contact when I realised I was pregnant. He doesn’t even know that Dylan is his son…”

Dylan looked up in shock, this being the first time he heard anything substantial about his biological father.

“If he has this disorder, you will have it as well, Dylan,” Nicole explained. “If he doesn’t then depending on his own family tree, your odds of getting this illness are at 50% at most…”

“What do you mean, his family tree?” Dylan asked, trying to take all of this in.

“If there is any history of unexplained deafness in his family, by the time they are in their forties, but he isn’t, then there is a chance he may have inherited this gene from one of his parents, and by extension, a fifty-fifty chance he passed it on to you…” Nicole answered. “If you have his family tree in front of you, and know of any deafness, it isn’t difficult to find out the potential odds of him having the gene, and halving those, the odds of you having NF2…”

“Surely there is testing available for this?” Alyssa asked, trying to be the voice of reason, though shocked and worried by the thought. “If carriers are common enough that you felt the need to find Dylan just to tell him, surely there are tests that can be done? Genetic tests?”

“There are, however, even when there is public health care, the costs are high…” Nicole explained, before turning to Dylan. “If you’d like to get tested, that is one way of finding out whether or not you have it. But at the same time, you might be able to get enough peace of mind for free, if you knew your fathers history…”

Nicole opened her handbag that sat on the floor at her feet, and pulled out an envelope with Dylan’s name on it. She reached out, handing it to him, as he slowly reached forward to take it.

“At the same time, I know some people would rather not find out, figuring if they are certain to have it, they’d rather not spend the years leading up to it taking effect worrying about it…” Nicole explained. “If you would rather not know, you can throw that out, and worry about this when the time comes. But if you want to find out, you might find some answers in there…”

Before either could reply, Nicole rose to her feet.

“I knew it would be hard for you if I showed up here, and because of that, I only came because I thought you needed to know,” Nicole said briefly, quickly turning her back towards Dylan, trying to hide the fact her eyes were starting to tear up. “So I’ll leave you alone. I won’t contact you again. You’re doing better here without me…”

Quietly, Dylan stood, walking her to the front door in silence. As she stood out, she turned to say one last thing.

“I know it’s worth little, but I’m sorry for leaving, Dylan…” she said quietly. “I won’t contact you again, but if you ever want to talk, I left my contact details in that envelope as well.”

Dylan sighed painfully, before speaking.

“Thank you for telling me about this…” he said, though not sure at that moment he believed it himself. “We will just have to see…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The digital clock on the DVD player in the Intern Lodge Lounge read 1:40 while Abbee sat alone in the lounge. She had become used to spending her free time by herself. Charlotte was beginning to round up her group, so they wouldn’t be late for their training at 2pm, whilst Justin was running a game for the other campers outside, and they were the only two she felt like nothing had changed with. Whilst she still spent a lot of her time with Chris, she didn’t enjoy it anymore, and whilst she didn’t think Dylan held a grudge against her, she had barely spoken to him since the incident at the Firehouse. Whilst she wanted things to be normal with both of them, the fact that they held a grudge between them, caused her to feel more isolated from either of them.

It was Thursday, so Chris was currently training his group with Jon, before Charlotte would. She sighed. She hated being alone. Whilst she could go and help Justin run the game for the campers, she was hardly in the mood, and that wasn’t part of her paid time, so was under no obligation to.

However, after forty minutes of browsing on her phone, she finally snapped, deciding to go see if Justin wanted some company. She got off the couch, and made her way to the doorway, as she heard the sound of the front door open. As she reached the doorway, she saw Dylan enter the lodge, and make his way towards the stairs. She knew he had seen her, and was shocked that he didn’t even look in her direction. Even with the awkwardness of the last two weeks, he normally still made the effort to say hello, or even just acknowledge her. This however was different.

Silently, Dylan walked up the stairs, as Abbee stood in shock at the complete disregard for her even being there. The sound of Dylan’s footsteps in the hallway above them echoed, as she heard his door open, and then shut.

“What the hell?” she muttered to herself. She stood silently for a few moments, wondering what had gotten into Dylan. The night before, he hadn’t been at dinner, and outside of what was required of him for his job, didn’t leave his room. At first she thought he was just tired, however when she considered the way he had just acted, she couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong. Her first thought was that Chris had done something, however she knew Dylan didn’t normally let anything Chris said or did upset him like this.

Determined, she turned towards the stairs, and made her way upstairs to the floor where all the interns slept.

“Dylan,” she called out as she knocked softly on his door. “Are you there?”

After a few moments, the door opened, as Dylan stood in front of her, his face blank. She noticed the room behind him was pitch black, with the lights off and curtains closed. Dylan said nothing, waiting for Abbee to speak.

“I just wanted to know if you were okay…” Abbee said gently. “I know things have been a bit awkward with everything that happened, but you haven’t been yourself the last few days…”

“I’m fine…” Dylan said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Really?” Abbee asked. “Because you’ve barely left your room for days…”

Abbee nodded towards the dark room behind Dylan.

“And it’s pitch black in there…” Abbee commented.

“I’ve been struggling to sleep,” Dylan said shortly. “I was trying to have a nap…”

Dylan went to close the door, before Abbee placed her hand against it, stopping it.

“Have I done something to upset you?” Abbee asked, the concern evident in her voice. “Because if I have, say the word, and I’ll make it right. I just want things to be normal again…”

Dylan was quiet, causing Abbee to worry.

“It’s not always about you Abbee… Can you just give me some space?”

The question was filled with a tone of exasperation, hitting Abbee hard.

“Seriously, just leave me alone…”

Dylan closed the door, this time, Abbee not interfering to stop him, and leaving her standing alone in the hallway. Tears began to form in her eyes, as she tried to be silent when they fell on the carpet at her feet. It wasn’t Dylan on his own that had pushed her to breaking point, but everything. Her worries about how her and Chris’ relationship would survive when they seemed to be going on two opposing paths. The tension that she now felt with both Chris and Dylan given their grudge. The thought of moving to a new region, where she knew nobody but her future workmates. And now, Dylan, giving her the cold shoulder.

It took a minute for her to bring herself to move away from the door to Dylan’s room, moving across to her own, next to his, and closing the door. Even after her dad died, she had never felt as alone as she did at that moment, and whilst her first instinct was to let Victini out of his Pokeball, she knew her loyal partner would not take Dylan’s standoffish attitude well, and would likely create a bigger rift between them than already was there if he knew what had just happened.

She leaned back against the door, sliding down to the ground, sobbing as she tried to figure out just how everything turned so badly, considering how great things were at the start of the summer…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Seriously?”

Charlotte looked at Chris, who had posed the question, as he and his Pokemon trained on the flat grassy area by the entrance to the Academy grounds. Whilst normally the stadium would be better suited for training Pokemon, Lugia was growing larger by the day, and it was becoming cramped in there. Additionally, doing it during the afternoon meant that there were less students around, given the amount doing their training with Jon, so there were less distractions. His focus had been pulled by Dylan’s car driving past, with Charlotte in the driver’s seat. He had asked her why she had Dylan’s car, and she had told him she was allowed to borrow it, provided she was careful, which had led to the aforementioned question.

“Why not?” Charlotte asked from the driver’s seat. “I got my license just before the trial. And Jon and Alyssa’s insurance doesn’t cover anyone under thirty driving their cars...”

Chris nodded in understanding.

“So why do you need it?”

“Jon wants to set up some more shelter at Southern Island,” Charlotte explained. “He asked me if I could go into town and buy a tarp and some ropes.”

“And didn’t want coc.com in his search history?” Chris retorted with a grin. Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“I presume not, because I’m going to the Coronet Outdoor store,” Charlotte remarked. As she did, Chris’ expression shifted to one of realization.

“Wait, this might be good,” Chris explained, before calling Lugia back to his Pokeball. “Do you mind if I come with you? I need to get some gear myself…”

“If you’re out here, I take it Jon doesn’t need you keeping an eye on the students?” Charlotte asked. Chris shook his head.

“Abbee is keeping an eye on things in the main hall, and Justin is floating around the property. I saw him before.”

“Justin’s group doesn’t have training?” Charlotte asked, having not heard of anything different happening that week.

“He covered Dylan’s group on Wednesday, so Dylan is doing training with his group, as well as Justin’s today,” Chris answered. “He didn’t really want to talk about Dylan though, so I don’t know why…”

“The way you two have been acting, I don’t blame him,” Charlotte replied, as Chris rolled his eyes at the beginning of a lecture.

“Whatever,” Chris said, brushing Charlotte off before she could start getting stuck into him. “Can I tag along?”

“Don’t see why not,” Charlotte answered. “I don’t think Dylan’s petty enough to have a problem with me using his car to give you a ride…”

Chris jogged to the other side of the car, climbing into the passenger seat, before Charlotte put the car into gear, released the clutch, and took off down the driveway towards Arcadia Drive, the street the Eon Academy was on. There were no buildings relatively near the Academy, with the properties surrounding it being empty paddocks. However it was only a twenty minute drive before entering the city itself, by the island beach.

“So what do you need from Coronet?” Charlotte asked, not expecting Chris to jump at the opportunity when he heard she was going to the camping store.

“A swag,” Chris answered. “We only get a limited amount of free stays in Pokemon Centres with our League Registration, and if all goes to plan, I will be using all of them quite quickly if I rely on them…”

“So you’re going to rough it for nine months until you’re back here?” Charlotte asked. “Why not buy yourself a van or something? Kit it out to live in?”

“I considered that, but I want to travel between regions a fair bit, and shipping a van set up for me to live in it will cost too much,” Chris explained.

“So you’re going to rely on public transport?” Charlotte asked. “Surely that will cost just as much, as well as suck for carrying your camping gear?”

“Nope,” Chris said with a grin. “I’m getting a motorbike. Costs a fraction to transport between regions of a car, is cheaper to run, and I can get one brand new for what I’d pay for a decent second hand car…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but admire the thought Chris had put into this. It did seem like the best solution.

“So do you have a license yet?” Charlotte asked.

“Not yet,” Chris explained. “In Johto, you get your learner license by doing a two day course, and you can ride on that, provided that after a year, you do a proper test, and get a provisional license. I’ve got the course booked for two weeks after summer ends. I’ll be literally going home to prepare to leave and travel. That’s why I’m wanting to organize some of the gear now. While I have a bit of time and am not rushing to leave…”

For a second, Charlotte continued to be impressed, before having a feeling that something didn’t add up. She suddenly realized that the reason she was so impressed by Chris having this much forethought was because it was shocking to her.

She remembered the conversation she had with Abbee, the week before. It had been obvious that Abbee was struggling with the grudge between Chris and Dylan, with Abbee directly saying to Charlotte she felt like she was expected to choose one side or another, though Rose had knocked on the door, asking them for help with the bug infestation, and interrupting her before she could finish the thought. When the situation had been dealt with, Charlotte made a point of sticking by Abbee, who mentioned that half the reason things weren’t ideal between her and Chris at the moment, was his refusal to talk about how they’d make their relationship work long distance when she moved to Nimbasa City, and he travelled. According to Abbee, every time she’d try and figure out something with Chris, he’d simply say ”We’ll figure it out”, and dismiss the conversation.

It was jarring to Charlotte to see these two extremes. To hear from Abbee about Chris’ refusal to consider their future, but now hear him talk about all these plans he had to travel, with so much thought put into it all.

Chris continued the conversation, talking about the sort of motorbike he was planning on buying, and how much it would cost, whilst Charlotte nodded in agreement, though thinking about what she had just noticed. It continued as Charlotte parked the car, and the pair entered the store.

They split up briefly, Charlotte quickly finding the biggest tarp the store had in stock, as well as an abundance of ropes and straps to tie the corners of the tarp to nearby trees, providing her and Jon with shade from the sun as the summer heat ramped up. Once she found them, she made her way to the section of the store with tents and swags on display, finding Chris inspecting one thoroughly.

“Found one you like?” Charlotte asked, as Chris noticed her approaching.

“I think this one…” Chris explained, before grabbing the small bag off the shelf, containing one packed up. “It’s a good enough size, and apparently when it’s packed up, it’s this small, so I can carry it with me easily…”

“Apparently?”

“I have never seen a tent get folded as small as it was when it came out of the bag for the first time,” Chris explained. “This may be tiny as hell, but I don’t want it to only be this tiny until I pull it out, and never fold this small again. Or rip the bag when I’m trying to pack it. I’ve seen that happen before, and on a motorbike, it will be a nightmare…”

Chris spent the next fifteen minutes on his phone, looking at reviews for the swag he was looking at, before then spending the next ten pestering a sales rep who made the mistake of asking if he needed help with questions about the warranty, specifically if the bag breaks because the swag won’t roll up small enough to fit. Finally, he decided to buy the swag, before the pair found themselves back in Dylan’s car, Charlotte driving them back.

“So after you leave Blackthorn, when will you be able to see Abbee next?” Charlotte asked, wanting to hear from Chris himself, what Abbee had mentioned. She was disappointed, though not surprised when Chris sighed.

“At this rate, I won’t be able to get to Unova until her birthday...” Chris explained, as Charlotte’s eyes widened. “I preregistered for all of the tournaments I could once I leave. I’ll be travelling Johto during the second half of September, then Sinnoh during October. November I’ll be competing in Kanto, then Kalos during most of December, and Alola for the end of December and start of January…”

“So Abbee is going to be moving to another region, starting a job in a city she barely knows, and won’t see her boyfriend for three months…” Charlotte said in disbelief.

“Her and I have talked about this,” Chris interjected, slightly irritably. “It’s just these first few months that are like this. Between then and next summer, I’ll be in Unova twice for tournaments, and will visit her then, and will be making a couple of extra trips in that time to come see her specifically. Then it will be summer again, and we’ll both be here for three months…”

“And she’s okay with that?” Charlotte asked. Whilst she knew the responsibility wasn’t all Chris’ she knew that Chris plans between the end of this summer and the start of next were much more flexible than Abbee’s, having heard from Abbee how much overtime she’d be working to get enough paid leave and funds to be here for the next summer.

“She’s okay with that,” Chris agreed, before realizing the mistake he made with his tone.

“Really?” Charlotte asked. “Because it sounds like she isn’t okay with something else when you put it like that…”

Chris sighed, as Charlotte, between looking at the road, looked to him for elaboration.

“Right now, Abbee doesn’t want to be in Nimbasa permanently, and wants to eventually compete herself like we do…” Chris explained. “She wants to spend a few years there, get herself a house, and be able to compete for the enjoyment of it…”

“Understandable…” Charlotte said, having heard this from Abbee herself.

“But she says that she may change her mind, and want to stay in Nimbasa for ten years, maybe even longer…” Chris explained. “And at this point, short of winning big and having a private helicopter to fly me everywhere, I don’t know that I’m ever going to settle down in one place. So far, my only plans for the future are the ones I am working on now. Travel and compete…”

Charlotte nodded, having heard this before from Abbee, though wasn’t going to let Chris know this fact. She knew that he was stubborn, but also that he had a tendency to listen to her. But if Chris thought for a second Abbee had put Charlotte up to this, any chances of her getting him to actually think about all of this was dead in the water.

“Abbee thinks that our plans are pulling us in opposite directions, and as it stands, it looks like both of us are planning on going full steam ahead. And even though she plans to eventually travel, and that would make things easier for us, she knows that her plans could change, and is worried that we’re just setting ourselves up for things to go badly by staying together when right now, things working out long term seems impossible…”

Charlotte was silent, for a moment, letting Chris ponder his own words, knowing that it was likely he hadn’t let himself think about this, for the same reason he was not having the conversation with Abbee about it all.

“So what are you going to do?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ll figure it out when I have to…” Chris remarked. “It’s not worth weighing ourselves down with it now…”

“You idiot…” Charlotte muttered, causing Chris’ temper to flare.

“Hey!” Chris replied indignantly. “It’s not like it’s any of your business!”

“I don’t give a s**t if it isn’t my business,” Charlotte retorted bluntly. “It doesn’t need to be my business for me to tell you to get your s**t together…”

Chris sighed as Charlotte continued.

“Abbee wants to buy a house before she competes, and even then, may decide to stick with the gym and not compete at all, so what, she expects to be in Nimbasa a minimum of five years?” Charlotte asked, more wanting confirmation that her estimate on numbers is correct. Chris nodded cautiously.

“And you expect her to just not worry about all of this the next five years, because you’ll apparently figure it out when you have to?” Charlotte asked angrily. “What, you think it’s okay to string her along for five years on the hope that her plans don’t change, because you refuse to even consider changing yours?”

“It’s not that simple…” Chris muttered.

“Bulls**t it isn’t that simple!” Charlotte interrupted. “This could all be sorted if you were willing to compromise with her. Hell, she wants to buy a house before she competes, so what if you tried to buy one with her, and then live there between competitions?”

“Because I’m barely going to have time between competitions to have a home to go back to-”

“Oh my God, this is exactly what I am talking about!” Charlotte said in exasperation. “You’re not even willing to consider adjusting your plans to make things work with her long term. You just expect her to follow along, and hope it works out, against her better judgement!”

“So what do you think I should do?” Chris asked angrily as they entered the gates to the Academy.

“Give her an actual reason to believe that things can work between you long term. Even if it means compromising on what you want,” Charlotte said, before her tone turned bitter. “And if you can’t do that, then for her sake, end it. If you’re not willing to compromise for her sake, let her find someone that will…”

Charlotte parked the car by the house, turning it off, before speaking again, softening her tone this time.

“She wants this to work out, but wanting it isn’t enough to change the fact that if nothing changes, chances are this is just going to end badly,” Charlotte said. “You can’t keep telling her you’ll figure it out, and then do jack-s**t until the solution magically appears. Because it won’t…”

Charlotte got out of the car and tossed the keys to Chris, who still sat in the passenger seat, too frustrated to be around him until he got out of the car himself and got his swag out of the back, for her to lock it.

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

It was 2:30pm when Abbee found herself in the main hall of the Eon Academy. The hall itself was a large room in a T-shaped building used for multiple purposes. The closest section to the entrance was connected to a small kitchen, and used as the dining room, with the middle section being a recreation room, and the section closest to the classrooms that made up the horizontal line of the T, had lines of chairs facing a lectern and a screen, where half of the classes were ran, now that there were more students that could fit in a given classroom, but not enough teachers, classes, or space, to have smaller groups. Partitions existed between the three sections, allowing them to be closed off at a moment's notice.

In the middle section of the large building, a dozen students sat on couches, watching a movie that had been put on the large TV on the side of the room, whilst a few others sat at tables in the dining room, playing card games. Abbee sat by herself at another dining table, keeping an eye on those in the room, though it was largely unnecessary. Really, Abbee was there so that students knew she was around and if there were any issues they could find her.

She found herself staring into space as she thought about what happened with Dylan the day before. Outside of classes he was teaching, Dylan hadn’t left his room. She wasn’t the only one to notice, with Charlotte and Justin both noticing as well. She had mentioned it to Jon, who listened to her, though didn’t seem too surprised by the fact. She wasn’t sure if Chris knew as she had avoided talking about Dylan in his company.

“Anyone home?”

Abbee was pulled from her thoughts by Justin’s voice, as he pulled out the chair opposite her.

“Sorry?” Abbee asked, slightly confused.

“I called to you about three times,” Justin said, sitting down opposite her. “You seemed pretty intent on staring at that wall…”

Abbee chuckled mildly.

“Sorry, I’ve got a bit on my mind,” Abbee replied. Justin nodded, before pulling out his phone, as Abbee had a thought. “Doesn’t your group have training with Jon right now?”

“They do, but Dylan’s covering for me, so I have the afternoon off,” Justin said casually. Abbee however found herself more confused.

“Why’s he covering for you?” Abbee asked. “Yesterday I couldn’t even get him to talk to me, or leave his room, let alone cover one of my shifts…”

Justin went quiet, realizing he may have said a little much. He looked around and made sure none of the students were in earshot.

“I covered for him on Wednesday,” Justin explained. “I was on my way out of a session, and he was waiting to start, but got a phone call from Alyssa, and was pretty shaken up…”

Abbee’s eyes widened a little, as she started to worry. Between that and Dylan’s demeanour the night before, she figured there was a link.

“What was the call about?”

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but his mum showed up here on Wednesday,” Justin said quietly. “He hadn’t seen her in like ten years…”

“And it rattled him?” Abbee asked. Justin nodded.

“He didn’t say much, but was going to wait until after his session. Said ’I’ve waited ten years, so she can wait an hour,” Justin explained. “I told him that if he has this going on, he’s going to be too distracted to teach well, and to let me cover his session, and see what she wants…”

“That might be what’s got him so upset…” Abbee remarked. “Yesterday he came into the lodge, and walked past without even acknowledging I was there. Went straight to his room, with the lights off and blinds closed. When I asked him if everything was alright, he just blew me off. Told me to leave him alone…”

Justin sighed.

“It sucks he is doing that, but I think whatever happened with his mum is why…” Justin agreed.

“I thought it might be because of Chris, but…” Abbee began, before trailing off, as her thoughts moved elsewhere. Justin looked at her a little confused, before she changed direction. “Can I ask you something Justin?”

“Sure,” Justin replied, slightly confused and a little nervous. “What about?”

“You and Candice…” Abbee explained. “I get you two have only really been together for a little longer than Chris and I. But how did you make the distance work? You were both in Sinnoh, but it’s not like either of you could just drop what you’re doing, and go see each other?”

Justin thought it over, not having really considered it too much. The last year with Candice kind of just happened. Even with the distance between Jubilife and Snowpoint City, it hadn’t been a masterpiece of planning for the pair to see each other once every month or two.

“I don’t know honestly, it kind of just worked out,” Justin explained. “If I were still in Kalos it would be different, but I guess if I had to break it down…”

Justin quickly thought over what he was trying to say, choosing the words carefully.

“I guess it worked out so easily because we made the relationship and seeing each other a priority, and were both willing to compromise…” Justin answered. “I mean, I’d have classes three days a week, and work another two. I’d get to the weekend, and have assignments to write, and readings to catch up on. And when I’d finally have a free weekend, hell, I would have loved to have just stayed at home, worn some comfy pants and fallen asleep in front of the TV in my dorm room….”

“But more than anything, I wanted to see her and be with her, so as much as leaving classes Friday to spend all night on a bus to Snowpoint was a pain in the a**, it was worth it when I got to see Candice. And she was doing the same,” Justin continued.” There were a few weekends where she stayed in Jubilife, and missed things with her friends, or family dinners. But seeing me was a priority, and she was willing to give some of those things up to do that…”

Abbee’s first reaction was to think of how sweet it was that Justin and Candice were both that determined to make it work, that compromising like that to be with each other was just the standard. However, after taking it in fully, she began to feel a lump in her throat.

She knew that her relationship with Chris was different to this, not because he refused to compromise, but because he refused to see the need to compromise. And thinking about this in light of Justin’s answer to her question, she couldn’t help but feel that this refusal to see the need to compromise stemmed from one sad fact. Being with her wasn’t a priority…

For the second time in two days, Abbee felt tears forming in her eyes, as she looked down, trying to not let the students in the room see her. Justin jumped in alarm at the sight, and leaned forward towards her.

“Abbee, what’s going on?” he asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Abbee wiped the tears away quickly with her sleeve, trying to compose herself, before her students noticed. She remained silent though, staring at the tabletop in front of her.

“Abbee, talk to me,” Justin said. “Please…”

“I asked you how you and Candice make it work when you live far away, because I want things to work out between Chris and I, and I was worried that we wouldn’t last once I moved and he started travelling…” Abbee said quietly, still wiping stray tears from her eyes. “You talked about two things you guys have together. You make each other a priority, and you compromise….”

Justin nodded.

“And honestly, this summer has shown me that Chris isn’t doing either… And if that doesn’t change, I don’t know how things are going to work once summer ends…”