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

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 13: Respect

Spoiler:

“It’s our time to shine Camilla! I can't remember the last time I battled competitively with something to lose,” Jon called out, a note of determination in his voice. “One last hurrah! Bring it on!”

The live stream had continued minutes before, and the comments section was blowing up with excitement of what was to come. Jon Drake, the trainer who went from obscurity to High Seas Champion, then founder of the Eon Academy, which was well on its way to becoming legendary itself, against the former Sinnoh League Champion, and founder of the College of the North Wind, legendary for producing Elite Four and Champions, Camilla Blakely. Those watching had little idea of what they should expect.

“Mr. Drake, Miss Blakely,” the referee called out, leaving Charlotte a little peeved that they hadn’t received the same formality. “Please select a Pokemon, and keep it in its Pokeball until I start the battle…”

Jon selected a Pokemon with no hesitation, noting Camilla was just as certain of her choice. Jon had come up with a plan days in advance, and was curious to see how well it worked. It was like nothing he had ever attempted, and he was pleased that even though they had no idea what he was planning, elements of his tactics were visible in practically all of his student’s battles that day. Undeniable proof that they were reaching his level.

“Begin!”

Jon sent out Blaziken, and hid a grin when Camilla sent out Suicune, the large, majestic Pokemon standing menacingly on her side of the battlefield. So far, things were all going exactly to plan…

”So I’ve been doing some thinking, and I think I know what we’re going to do…”

Jon stood before his team in the Eon Academy stadium the Wednesday evening before, having spent weeks thinking over his battle with Camilla, knowing he needed a tactic unlike any he had ever used.

“Blaziken, I’m opening with you,” Jon said to Blaziken, which by this point was pretty standard. Between Blaziken’s Speed Boost ability, and Power-Up Punch, Blaziken had become a staple in Jon’s early game tactics. “But Camilla is going to know…”

Blaziken’s eyes narrowed, wondering what Jon had in store and he grinned.

“There’s little hiding my previous battles, especially the S.S. Wishmaker. It’s common knowledge now that you’re my go to opening Pokemon, because of how you get stronger the longer you remain on the field,” Jon explained. “Camilla has likely watched recordings of my battles, and will be expecting me to open with you. She has Suicune, Krookodile, Skarmory, Raichu, Altaria and Heracross. All of which but Raichu and Heracross would be advantageous against you, but I honestly believe she will open with Suicune…”

Blaziken cried out, which Jon understood from his brief stint as an Altaria to mean ‘and if she doesn’t?’.

“Then you can handle the other Pokemon until Suicune makes an appearance,” Jon said. “Two at most. Suicune will be your target…”

Jon noticed Latios looking crestfallen at hearing that.

“I’ll be real with you buddy,” Jon said to Latios. “You may not even come out of the Pokeball in this battle, and if you don’t, I’ll buy you a case…”

Latios nodded, a little more agreeable to those terms, as Jon continued.

“Blaziken, when you find yourself against Suicune, hopefully sooner rather than later, we are going to stall for time, to allow you to pick up speed, and hopefully sneak a Swords Dance or Bulk up in while we do,” Jon explained. “Tomorrow, somebody is coming to the Academy to teach you a new move, and when I say 'Now Blaziken', you use it…”

“Water Pulse!” Camilla ordered Suicune. Jon knew off the mark, Suicune was quicker, which was partially why he was having Blaziken stall for time. In the split second, Jon considered his options. Whilst he could easily have Blaziken use Protect and block the attack, Water Pulse itself was relatively weak, and Blaziken could handle it. Whilst there was a slight chance it would cause Blaziken to become confused, Jon decided to take the risk, knowing it would buy him time for one more move before he went on the offensive.

“Swords Dance!” Jon commanded, as Blaziken cried out, flaring with a red aura, causing its attack power to increase, before it took Suicune’s attack. Blaziken was shaken by the attack, and wouldn’t be able to take another, however Jon had no intention of letting it. As expected, Blaziken’s speed slowly began to ramp, and Jon had a hunch Blaziken was now faster than Suicune, though didn’t make the most of it, wanting to let Camilla make the first move of the exchange, and act accordingly.

“Calm Mind!” Camilla called out to Suicune, who cried out himself, giving Jon the opportunity for one more preparatory move before Blaziken had to remain on the defensive.

“Bulk Up!” Jon said, while Suicune began to close the gap between the two of them.

“Surf, Suicune!”

Suicune cried out, as the moisture in the air condensed instantly, crashing onto the field, towards Blaziken like a heavy wave.

“Substitute!” Jon ordered. Blaziken, at the cost of its own energy, leaving it on close to the bare minimum, disappeared in a flash of light, leaving what looked like a poorly designed, life-sized bootleg plush of it to take the attack. The attack struck, causing Blaziken to reappear not a few moments later, however, Camilla was ready.

“Liquidation!” Camilla ordered. Suicune roared, before sprinting towards Blaziken, quickly reaching full speed as a torrent of water materialised around it, adding to the weight of the tackle it had planned.

“Protect!”

Blaziken raised the barrier, blocking the attack, as its speed increased for the third time since the battle began.

“Hydro Pump!” Camilla shouted, growing frustrated at Jon’s Blaziken managing to escape being knocked out every time. She knew that going completely on the offensive was not working for her, however had little other choice. Whilst Suicune could use Roar, forcing Jon to withdraw Blaziken, she then invited another Pokemon, such as his Jolteon, to create issues for her. Suicune couldn’t learn Taunt, preventing her from stopping him from avoiding every attack. Meanwhile, to stop going on the offensive only provided Jon the chance to have Blaziken, whom she hadn’t forgotten was much stronger and faster than normal, to attack Suicune. She could only wonder why Blaziken, who now would be much faster than Suicune, wasn’t going on the offensive.

“Endure!” Jon ordered, to Camilla’s annoyance. Blaziken took the attack, however managed to just hang on to consciousness as it ended, with the bare minimum of its energy remaining.

“Hydro Pump again!”

Jon knew it was now or never. Whilst he could potentially order Blaziken to use Protect again, there was no point waiting any longer. None of Camilla’s Pokemon would be able to match Blaziken’s speed now, without wasting time using moves like Agility and taking attacks.

“Now Blaziken!”

Blaziken cried out, moments before Suicune’s Hydro Pump struck it directly, spraying water in all directions.

“Finally,” Camilla muttered, before noticing Blaziken still standing, seeming more stable on its feet than before. She shot Jon a puzzled look, and received a grin in response.

“You aren’t the only one who has been doing their research, Camilla!” Jon called out. “Hard to hide all your previous matches, being the former Champion and all!”

”The move you’re going to be taught is Role Play,” Jon explained. “It is a move that will temporarily replace your Speed Boost ability with your opponents ability, and Suicune has an ability you may find to be very useful…”

Blaziken grinned at the concept, this being new territory. It had been a few years since it had to master a new move, its current pool being more than enough for most battles.

“Camilla’s Suicune has an ability called Water Absorb, which means its body converts any water that comes into contact with it into pure energy,” Jon explained. “Camilla is going to think Suicune has just wiped you out with whatever big hit she orders, when really, she’ll be bringing you back to peak condition. Then the fun begins…”

“Close Combat!” Jon ordered, now ready for Blaziken to go on the offensive. Before Suicune could respond, Blaziken had rushed towards it, fists raised and going into a brutal attack, in which its own defences would be lowered, making it susceptible to a counter attack.

Blaziken reached Suicune, getting in its space, and launching a flurry of heavy hits, leaving itself exposed. However the worry of a counter attack disappeared, as Suicune collapsed, falling unconscious at Blaziken’s feet.

The knockout was met with cheers from his students, with the exception of Dylan, who was too quiet and reserved to be making a loud fuss like the others, and Chris. Jon grinned back at them, as Camilla returned Suicune to its Pokeball, in disbelief that the Legendary Pokemon she had sent out specifically to beat Jon’s Fire-Type, had just been beaten in a single hit, after being restored by her own move. She quickly pulled herself together, a tactic in mind to beat Blaziken, although it would cost her another Pokemon. At this point though, it was her best bet. Whilst Skarmory and Krookodile both knew Taunt, Jon was past the point of needing to hold off attacking. Krookodile, Skarmory and Altaria all had an advantage over Blaziken, and while Altaria didn’t have a disadvantage, unlike the other two, she knew that her tactics would need more than just type advantages to beat Blaziken at this point. She chose her Pokemon, quickly double checking her tactics, before sending it out.

“Go Skarmory!”

This turn of events took Jon by surprise, as Skarmory was far from a powerful attacker, and given its significant weight, lacked speed. Even if it knew moves that were naturally faster than Blaziken’s normal moves, it lacked the attack power to be able to make them count. He had figured she’d be sending out Altaria, given its significant resistances to Blaziken’s Fire and Fighting types.

“Blaze Kick!” Jon ordered, as Blaziken launched towards its foe, before springing itself into the air, and flipping, lowering a flaming leg onto Skarmory. The attack struck, knocking Skarmory back with a massive impact, helped by the flames of Blaziken’s attack. However it was then Jon realised why Camilla had sent out Skarmory.

Just like when Blaziken had used Endure, Skarmory had taken the knockout attack, and remained conscious with a sliver of its energy due to its Sturdy ability. Only enough to keep it going. And now Blaziken was within range.

“Acrobatics!” Camilla shouted, as Skarmory flew towards Blaziken, its trajectory erratic, before slamming into Blaziken, knocking it back.

This was the first time Jon was taken by surprise in this battle, not expecting Camilla to resort to effectively sacrificing her Pokemon in order to take Blaziken down, however realised at this point he should have expected it. What other option did she have?

Jon, worried for the first time since the battle began that he had been too cocky with his planning, watched as Blaziken took the attack, a command ready for as soon as he knew whether or not Blaziken had survived the attack.

Blaziken had been thrown back, and hit the ground a few metres away with a thud, not moving. Jon grimaced, before readying Blaziken’s Pokeball, however was shocked to see the Pokemon slowly rising. Blaziken was on its last legs, with one more attack being enough to put it out of the battle, and not going to be getting anymore surprise energy restorations. But it was still in the battle.

“Power-Up Punch!”

Blaziken, panting as it kept its balance, cried out, as it launched forward, striking Skarmory with a single, weaker punch, that was enough to knock Skarmory out cold. Skarmory fainted, whilst Blaziken remained standing, and Camilla called Skarmory back, in much less shock than she had been with Suicune’s defeat, confirming Jon’s suspicions that Skarmory had been sent out to deal as much damage to Blaziken as it could in the opportunity it gained when it cheated being knocked out. Jon at first wasn’t able to figure out how Camilla hoped to beat Blaziken. Whilst it wasn’t a big issue, as Camilla stood little to no chance of beating two fresh Pokemon after her third beat Blaziken, Jon was close to wiping her team out with just his one, non-Legendary Pokemon, and seeing the effort that his students had put in to represent their Academy well, he wanted to do the same even more.

It wasn’t until Jon started to think what he would do in the situation, that he realised what Camilla had planned, and his suspicions were confirmed when she sent out Raichu.

Jon made eye-contact with his opponent as Riachu materialised, and in that moment, he knew for sure. He had only one move that he could command Blaziken to use, and even with the added strength Blaziken possessed from Swords Dance, Bulk Up and Power-Up Punch, it may not be enough to get Jon this flawless victory.

His eyes locked with Camilla’s, Jon gave the exact same order, at the exact same time as her.

“Quick Attack!” the pair said in unison. Whilst Blaziken had Raichu well and truly outclassed in speed, most of Blaziken’s movepool would not be quicker than a Quick Attack, given how sudden and fast it was. Blaziken’s only chance of striking Raichu first, was to use Quick Attack itself. The key difference being that there was no guarantee that Blaziken’s Quick Attack would be enough to knock Raichu out. Raichu however, was facing a Pokemon that between attacks, could barely stand, and would knock Blaziken out if Blaziken’s attack wasn’t enough to end the match.

Those spectating watched on the edge of their seats as Blaziken and Raichu leapt towards each other, right arm raised to strike their respective opponents, both crying out a passionate battle cry.

The attack itself was too quick for anyone spectating to make out. The Pokemon passed each other, Blaziken collapsing to its knees, as Raichu fell forward, only just holding itself up with its arms. Whilst Blaziken falling unconscious wouldn’t cost Jon the match, the tension was high, knowing how much of an amazing prospect the feat of beating a former and well renowned Champion with a single Pokemon would be.

Thought it felt like minutes, it was a matter of seconds before Raichu’s arms collapsed under it, as it fell forward, unmoving. Blaziken, on its knees, didn’t get up, however was panting heavily from the exertion. Exhausted, but conscious…

“Holy f**king s**t…” Chris muttered in disbelief at what he had just witnessed. He was the only one able to speak in that moment, all watching in stunned silence, as Jon looked to the referee, him struggling to believe it as much as the rest of them, wanting confirmation.

The referee looked around, and realised all present were anxiously awaiting his call to confirm what they all knew, but didn’t think possible.

“Miss Blakely has three unconscious Pokemon,” the referee said, the shock evident in his voice. “Mr. Drake is the winner…”

Abbee was the first to regain her senses and cheer, followed by Charlotte and Justin, while Sophie, Natasha and Brad all began to clap themselves. Jon ignored this, grabbing his water bottle from where it sat by his feet, and rushing towards Blaziken. He was going to try and give Blaziken a drink, however remembered Blaziken’s Water Absorb ability, which would remain until Blaziken returned to the Pokeball. He quickly twisted the lid off, and poured the water over his Pokemon, as Blaziken sighed in relief, its breath now becoming less laboured and much more steady.

“You’re a f**king machine…” Jon said to the Pokemon, “I knew you’d be hard to take down but this…”

Blaziken cried out softly, only Jon able to understand.

“I need a holiday…”

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

It was early afternoon by the time all the battles were over, and when the Eon Academy representatives turned on their phones, having been too anxious to check whilst the battles were happening, they were shocked at the messages they found.

”What the f**k did you just do?” Steven had sent to Jon, causing him to burst into laughter and show the others. ”Cynthia asked me to tell you ‘Good job for beating that old hag senseless…’”

Abbee had found a message from her brother Tyler waiting for her, congratulating her on her win, as did Chris from his sister Clair. Justin had found a message from Candice, and Dylan was surprised to find messages from both Nicole and Brent, as well as Steven, who wasn’t sure whether Dylan would have family reaching out to congratulate him, and wanted to make sure somebody did.

”You’ve come a long way from being that quiet kid Jon brought to training with him,” Steven had written. ”I don’t think I could have chosen somebody better to train Beldum…”

Whilst the visitors from the Eon Academy had been invited by Camilla to spend another night at the College of the North Wind, the invitation was politely declined. Charlotte and Justin were both remaining in Jubilife City, Charlotte spending some time with her family before she travelled and competed, and Justin beginning his university year in the next week at Jubilife University. Dylan, now that the challenge was out of the way, was eager to make his way to Canalave City and meet his father, where he’d hopefully find out whether he needed to be worried about losing his hearing. Whilst Abbee was going back to Goldenrod, she had intentionally booked her flight for the next day, not wanting to spend an awkward twelve hours on a flight with Chris, especially seeing as they were still hardly on speaking terms, and instead, would be staying with Charlotte that evening, whilst Chris would be flying home to Johto, in order to prepare to travel. Jon was simply eager to get home to Alyssa and Amelia, and spend some time relaxing without worrying about running camps, training for challenges, or training a potentially deadly Legendary Pokemon.

A few hours were spent recovering from the excitement of the morning in their suites, before they packed their belongings, which were taken to the limousine that had taken them from the airport. Upon hearing that they were going on diverging paths, Camilla, having been humbled by the College of the North Wind's catastrophic loss, had offered for Mr. Davison, their driver from the day before to take them wherever they were heading in the city.

It was late afternoon when they found themselves at the entrance of the College of the North Wind, where Camilla, the day before, had greeted them. This time, joining her were her five students, albeit Matt and Beth both seemed like they had been dragged there, Dylan guessed by Brad, who was even more enthusiastic and friendly having seen Jon’s win.

“I’ll be honest Jon, I thought this little endeavour would be some easy publicity for the College. I didn’t consider it would be this sort of publicity,” Camilla said with an exasperated sigh. “Honestly, you and your students made it look far too easy…”

“Believe me, it wasn’t,” Jon explained, before lowering his tone. “And I am glad this happened. A challenge like this was enough for them to push themselves a lot harder than they normally would, and they’ve grown from it. All of them…”

Camilla nodded in understanding.

“I won’t know for sure until we’ve had some time to work through it, but I think mine have grown from it as well. It’s a little hard to tell after a loss though,” Camilla said before remembering something. “You wanted the winnings to go to a charity of your choice? Which one?”

Jon’s eyes widened. He had decided days earlier, however given the excitement of the battles, he had to admit that aspect of it had slipped his mind.

“Breakout Camps,” Jon answered. “They organise camps for kids in difficult circumstances. Living below the poverty line, parents with drug and alcohol issues, or in prison. That sort of thing. It’s something close to me, so I’d love for you to donate to them.”

Camilla nodded in understanding.

“It will be done,” Camilla answered. “Fifteen-thousand dollars, as agreed. Though don’t think this will become a regular thing. I don’t think I can afford to do this annually…”

Jon grinned at the prospect.

“Given how exhausted I am after all this, I am okay with that…”

Dylan was keeping largely to himself when he heard his name called out.

“Hey, Dylan!”

Brad was making his way towards him, unaware that Dylan, who was an introvert by nature and feeling exhausted after the day's events, simply wanting to recharge, had been somewhat avoiding him. Whilst Brad had proven himself to be a friendly guy when he wanted to be since his loss to Dylan, he had become a little overbearing.

“Hey Brad,” Dylan said, trying to sound motivated to speak. “Thanks again for the match.”

Brad nodded it, though not seeming to register the words. He held out a piece of paper to Dylan.

“This is my number! Next time you’re in Sinnoh, hit me up!” Brad said excitedly. “We can get a beer, and you can teach me how to double battle like you do…”

“Sure…” Dylan answered, somewhat taken aback by the gesture. He hadn’t come here to make friends, and whether he wanted to or not, it seemed like he had.

Brad said goodbye, as Charlotte looked at Dylan, a grin on her face.

“I think he has a bit of a crush on you…” Charlotte joked, noting Abbee’s expression darken for a brief moment. Dylan laughed it off.

“I didn’t realise beating him would have that sort of effect on him…”

Charlotte and Abbee had remained with Dylan, as neither of their opponents had made any effort to speak to any of the Eon Academy students, or Jon himself.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I had much of a chance, against someone of your reputation,” Sophie said to Justin, laughing to herself.

“I honestly am not sure where this reputation for battling came from,” Justin tried to explain. “Chris and Charlotte are much better battlers, and Abbee and Dylan are just as good as me, if not a little better…”

“Just go with it,” Sophie remarked, before changing direction. “I hear you’re staying in Jubilife?”

Justin nodded.

“I attend Jubilife University, and live in their dorms,” Justin explained. “So I’ll be here most of the next nine months…”

“Well if you ever want to get some practice in before next summer, I think Miss Blakely will let you visit here, especially if it means pushing us students a little harder,” Sophie said. “Charlotte too, though I don’t picture Beth being too pleased about that…”

Justin grinned at the thought.

“I think that may just be all the motivation Charlotte needs…”

“Thanks again for the match,” Chris said to Natasha where they stood. “And for being cool when the others were s**t talking us…”

Natasha grinned, which seemed contrary to her black-dependent attire and makeup.

“Brad changes his mind about people that easily, I figured it was worth putting him in his place,” Natasha said. “I mean look at him…”

Chris looked towards Brad who had just turned around to say one more thing to Dylan, who seemed to be trying his hardest to be polite and make conversation.

“Kind of like a big, dopey Arcanine…” Chris remarked, causing Natasha to grin.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on the tournaments nearby,” Natasha continued. “And when you’re competing, I’ll drag as many of us there to cheer you on as I can…”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Chris replied, surprised at how much he meant it. He knew that Abbee and Dylan weren’t going to be lining up to cheer for him when he competed, and at the time didn’t really want that, nor did he expect Jon to, given his harsh words to his teacher after the prom. That left Justin and Charlotte, the former likely studying in all his spare time for his law degree, and the latter likely competing against him. It was then he started to see how lonely things were going to be after that.

With goodbyes said, they clambered into the limousine, before being driven to the western edge of Jubilife, where a bus would take Dylan to a ferry, followed by another bus into Canalave City. All but Chris got out of the limousine to see Dylan off.

“I’ll come visit when I’m competing in eastern Hoenn,” Charlotte said as she hugged him goodbye. “Good luck with your dad…”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Dylan replied. “You know how much I want to learn about Deoxys…”

Charlotte laughed at the sentiment.

“You and every conspiracy theorist with a hard-on for aliens,” Charlotte retorted, earning a grin. “But you get first dibs…”

Charlotte stood back, letting Justin go next. He shook Dylan’s hand, before slapping him on the shoulder.

“With the exception of Jon and his freakish performance, you really were the star of the show today,” Justin said. “Legit, I’m in awe…”

“It helped you set the bar so high,” Dylan answered. “Honestly, it was a tough act to beat, and I’m still not sure I did…”

“Oh, you did…” Justin retorted. “Even Chris is impressed, though he’s too damn proud right now to say it…”

Dylan nodded, as Justin continued.

“Anyway, I’ll be stuck in Jubilife most of the year, so if you find yourself coming back to Sinnoh to see your dad, make sure to come and say hi,” Justin said. “Otherwise, I’ll see you next summer…”

Jon was next in line to speak to Dylan, though he knew Abbee was intentionally last, so kept it brief.

“You’ve done us all proud today,” Jon said, before his expression shifted to one of worry.

“What’s up?” Dylan asked, slightly confused.

“If things don’t work out with your Dad the way you hope they will, don’t keep it to yourself,” Jon said quietly. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out…”

Dylan nodded, thankful that Jon was being proactive about saying it. Really, he was nervous about what came next. Whilst he had little doubt Brent would be welcoming of him, given their previous interactions, good intentions couldn’t fight genetics…

“I’ll see you back home,” Jon said.

“Say hi to Alyssa and Lili for me…”

Jon nodded, before making his way towards Justin and Charlotte, as Abbee approached.

“Let’s give them a minute,” Jon said quietly, knowing that as subtle as he wanted to be, Dylan and Abbee lacked the subtlety themselves for his own subtlety to make a difference.

When the trio were back in the limousine, Abbee spoke.

“I know it’s only been a few days since we talked about it, but do you still feel the same?”

The question took Dylan by surprise. He nodded, as Abbee seemed to sigh a little in relief.

“So do I,” Abbee replied. “So once I’m settled in Nimbasa, I can expect you to come visit?”

“Of course,” Dylan answered.

“Then next summer…”

The question hung in the air unfinished, though Dylan knew exactly what it was.

“Next summer…”

Abbee nodded, before hugging him tightly.

“See you soon,” Abbee said, forcing a smile.

“See you soon…”

Abbee returned to the limousine, as Dylan, suitcase in hand, walked towards the bus shelter, taking a seat, and waiting for the bus that would take him to meet the man he had wanted to meet his entire life.

It was a little after seven in the evening when Jon and Chris found themselves alone in relative silence in the terminal of Jubilife Airport. After dropping off Dylan, the limousine had taken them past Jubilife University, dropping Justin off, before taking Abbee and Charlotte to Charlotte’s house on the southern edge of the city. Finally, they were taken to the airport, with Chris bound for Goldenrod City, and Jon bound for Lilycove.

They sat on the uncomfortable plastic seats as they waited for the flights. Whilst Jon had attempted to make conversation, Chris had barely spoken, and Jon figured he was potentially adding to the divide by not giving him space. He knew that despite their win, Chris was hurting from what had happened that summer, and having been a hurting teenager himself, knew that sometimes people just wanted space to not be okay.

It was an hour later, when Chris’ flight was announced to be boarding, and he stood.

“I guess I’ll see you around…” Chris said, although his tone lacked the conviction he wanted to say it with.

Jon stood as well.

“Wait a second,” Jon said, knowing this would likely be the last time he spoke to Chris for a long time.

“I can’t really,” Chris said. “They’re boarding my flight.”

“I’ll be quick, and they’ll have plenty of other people to scan in…”

Chris relented, staring at Jon and letting him speak.

“I want you to know, I don’t hold what happened the other week against you,” Jon said. “And if you want to come back next summer, don’t let anything stop you…”

Chris was slightly taken aback to hear Jon wasn’t holding a grudge. The disbelief stemmed from the self-awareness that Chris had, knowing if someone had said to him the things he had said to Jon, he would have held a grudge, unable to believe Jon wasn’t. And even if he could believe that, he couldn’t turn back now. As much as he may have wanted to, his pride wouldn’t allow it. To burn the bridges he had, and say the things he had said, only to turn around and hope people would forget about it. Whilst he was far from wanting to reconcile with everyone he had alienated himself from, he did regret how he had acted. He regretted the person he had slowly turned into. But he knew of one quality of himself he could force himself to respect, amidst the parts of himself that his actions had caused him to dislike. His willingness to stand by his words…

“I’ll see you around Jon…” Chris said, knowing it wasn’t true, before leaving and already wishing he could bring himself to make things right…