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

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 5 Episode 7: Last Resorts

Spoiler:

“What have you got planned?” Dylan asked Abbee, as he walked into the lounge of the staff lodge. It was shortly after 7am, with the other staff members either still asleep, or already out of the lodge. Dylan had awoken to a message half an hour earlier from his girlfriend, who had been awake taking the last overnight watch shift.

”I’ve got a surprise for you. Meet me in the staff lounge before breakfast…”

Abbee grinned, before succumbing to a yawn stemming from having been awake since four that morning, and having spent the last three hours outside, watching the skies for any indicator of Willow’s alarm being triggered by intruders. She was thankful that she had Victini as a Pokemon partner. Even without her ability to understand Pokemon audibly, Victini had a solid enough understanding of telepathy to hold a conversation and keep her occupied as the night dragged on, making the shift bearable.

“Well, I had a genius moment last night when I was on watch,” Abbee answered. “You know how you suck to buy for?”

Dylan couldn’t help but grin at Abbee’s description of him. He was an odd person, in a sense that he was both very minimalistic, yet also willing to spend money if there was something he needed. He spent little money for the sake of leisure, deeming a lot of it impractical. However, the moment a potential purchase became practical, he would not hesitate to spend, even going for premium options of whatever purchase, hoping the extra cost would be reflected in the quality of the product. His phone was the same, old and slow model he had since before he and Abbee even met, and his laptop was the same one he purchased four years ago, after moving into the Academy. However, when his car was destroyed by Deoxys three summers earlier, and after nearly a year was finally compensated, Dylan spent the majority of the money he had available to purchase a brand new car to replace it, figuring it would last longer, hold its value better, and be cheaper to maintain given the warranty it held.

As such, with Dylan’s birthday approximately a month away, Abbee was trying to figure out what to get him. It would be his twenty-second birthday, however given his twenty-first was in the wake of Spiritwater, nobody, especially Dylan, was feeling particularly festive. Because of this, Abbee was hoping that they could make up for it with this year’s birthday.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dylan retorted, though knew she wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Dylan, it was down to buying you power-tools for your birthday, which I know you’d just buy yourself anyway, or clothes…” Abbee said flatly. “You suck to buy for…”

“Point taken, but my birthday isn’t for another month…”

“I’m well aware,” Abbee answered. “But by the time your actual birthday rolls around, April Sunsets will be long gone from Mossdeep…”

Dylan’s eyes widened hearing this.

“You got tickets to April Sunsets?”

The pop-punk band, April Sunsets, had quickly become a favourite of Dylan’s, after coming across them by chance during one of his many times listening to recommended music on Spotify. And whilst seeing them live was one of the few leisure expenses that Dylan would consider, he had missed out on tickets. Despite the band coming to Mossdeep in their current tour, Mossdeep was not renowned for its live music, with all the venues being small compared to what Slateport, Rustboro and Lilycove had to offer. Tickets had sold out within minutes, and whilst there were resale options, Dylan could not consider spending the amount they were asking whilst maintaining his self respect.

Abbee grinned.

“Wednesday night,” Abbee answered. “Consider it an early birthday present!”

“You’re amazing…” Dylan said, pulling her into a tight hug. “But you didn’t pay the ridiculous prices they were asking, did you?”

“Trust you to be worried about that,” Abbee laughed. “No, but I jumped on Twitter and put it to my followers. Asked if anybody had two spare tickets they were selling. Within the hour, someone approached me saying they had accidentally bought four, and wanted to make their money back on the extra two. So I paid the standard price…”

Dylan’s eyes widened. Out of the original five students, all of whom having reached a level of online fame due to their exploits at the Eon Academy, Dylan hated the attention most of all, though Justin was in close second. However, he had never considered the perks of that fame, like Abbee obviously had.

“And Jon is cool with us disappearing for a few hours Wednesday night?”

“He came out to keep me company for a bit during my shift,” Abbee explained. Jon had had another seizure the day before, and as such, slept most of the afternoon and early evening. Dylan wasn’t surprised that Jon had awoken in the early hours of the morning and sought company from whoever was on watch at the time. “He was fine with it. Thought it was a great idea…”

“How was he?” Dylan asked, Abbee knowing what Dylan was asking about specifically.

“Surprisingly optimistic,” Abbee answered. “He said that even if he still has the same amount of seizures this fortnight, it is progress…”

Jon had been scheduled the Thursday of the week prior to see his specialist, with his seizures having become frequent enough that they could trial dosages of medication to hopefully prevent them, and see the effectiveness of the dosage relatively quickly. However, the afternoon he was scheduled for that appointment, he had a seizure, causing him to have to reschedule. Saturday he had attended the appointment, where he was put on an initially small dose of medication. He had been warned that the dose was likely too small to have much of an effect, and to record each one of his seizures over the next two weeks, as well as any side effects he experienced, in order to figure out how much they may need to increase the dosage. Jon was optimistic at the fact that there was finally respite on the horizon, even if it weren’t for at least another fortnight, if he were lucky. Dylan however, didn’t see this as anything worth celebrating. Even if the medication prevented the seizures, Jon was going to be relying on taking pills twice a day in order to live a normal life, something he shouldn’t be doing until ideally double his current age.

Sensing Dylan’s apprehension, Abbee steered the conversation back to where it had originally been.

“It’ll be great to just have a night out and do something fun,” she said casually. “Between our normal work here, and staying up half the night three nights a week, it’ll be nice to just pretend we’re normal people for a night…”

“What makes us not normal?” Dylan asked, half sarcastically. Abbee grinned in response.

“Tell me how many other nineteen to twenty-one year olds have night shifts to watch for terrorist groups or witchcraft cells that might target them for the egg of a Pokemon that controls time?”

Dylan went to speak, but Abbee added one more condition.

“That isn’t Justin, Charlotte or Chris…”

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

“I think it’s the salt air that’s done it,” Chris explained, as he sat in the passenger seat of Dylan’s car, Charlotte driving the pair back to the Eon Academy as the sun was beginning to set in the sky. “Only explanation, seeing as the bike is less than two years old…”

That afternoon, Chris had been planning on taking his motorcycle for a ride around the island, just to keep it running smoothly, seeing as he rarely needed to leave the Academy. He had made it to the end of the driveway when the chain had snapped, forcing him to have to walk the motorcycle back up the hill to the Academy.

“I’m just hoping that it hasn’t done any other damage. It’d suck if I got stranded in the middle of Second to None,” Chris said, before adding, “Thanks for driving me by the way. If you had said no, I don’t know how I would have gotten it there…

Chris had approached Charlotte shortly after returning with his bike, asking her to help him out. Firstly, to try and convince Dylan to lend his ute, the tub at the back being just large enough to fit the motorcycle in diagonally, and secondly, to drive Chris and the motorcycle to the local motorcycle mechanic, to have the chain replaced. Despite there being glaring questions raised to Charlotte, such as why Chris wouldn’t man up and ask Dylan to help him directly, knowing the answer, she obliged the favour, for no other reason than it would be an hour or two that she got to spend with him.

Even Charlotte was surprised at the fact that Dylan had given her the keys, no questions asked. Whilst she hadn’t expected him to outright refuse, or to try and use Chris’ need as leverage, she had at least expected Dylan to ask why she is the one asking the favour, or to tell her that if Chris wants to borrow his car, he can ask himself. From there, the pair spent some time removing the hard lid that covered the tub, before loading the motorbike in and securing it. They hadn’t even needed to unload the bike at the mechanic’s workshop, the young mechanic simply climbing into the tub himself and putting on the new chain there.

“You don’t need to keep laying it on,” Charlotte joked. “The bike is fixed and on it’s way back. You’ve already convinced me.”

“No word of a lie, I’d have been pretty boned if you hadn’t helped me,” Chris retorted. “Jon can’t drive again until he goes a year without a seizure. Alyssa is flat out with work. I wouldn’t have asked Cassandra anyway, but after what happened last week, it’d be pretty tactless of me to go and ask favours from her best friends…”

Chris was counting people on his hands, before adding.

“And Justin is only licensed to drive an automatic,” Chris added. Charlotte chuckled to herself.

“Considering how many guys I know who treat driving a manual like a contest measuring something else,” Charlotte said as Chris choked back a laugh, “I’m surprised you don’t have any more to say about that…”

“Well normally I’d make a joke about it, but he only got an automatic licence because all the Sinnoh P.D. patrol cars are auto, so why bother with the extra fuss,” Chris explained. “And that’s pretty much the same reason why I have my motorbike licence but no car licence…”

“Very mature of you,” Charlotte said, with just a hint of condescension. “But there was another option…”

“That is?”

“You could have just asked Dylan,” Charlotte answered. Chris sighed.

“Abbee and I are on speaking terms again, though it’s still far from comfortable. And Dylan even less,” Chris said, before adding, a little quieter and more solemnly, “honestly, I think we’d all be better off if I just left them alone…”

Charlotte had asked the question, for the sake of confirming that this would be Chris’ answer. Despite her own feelings about Chris, she had drawn a line in the sand that she would not cross, even if she wanted to. She was not going to bother trying to be anything more than friends with Chris, until she knew he didn’t harbour feelings for Abbee anymore. And having known Chris longer than anybody else at the Academy, she knew that his apprehension towards her, and anxiety about being a burden for her, and by extension, Dylan, stemmed from the fact that despite their relationship having ended nearly two years ago, a part of him, whether Chris knew this or not, still wanted to be with her.

Knowing that she’d only just depress herself if she kept talking about this, she shifted the topic of conversation to something that came naturally to her, despite her feelings towards Chris. Berating Chris.

“I still can’t believe how much you ran your mouth the other day!” Charlotte said exasperatedly. “I thought we’d all grown out of Jon having to tell us off!”

“That makes two of us,” Chris muttered, as Charlotte shot him a glare for as long as she could whilst driving. “I mean, she started it! And she made it personal!”

Charlotte knew that whilst Chris had been the first to lose his temper, Cassandra had started the conversation which led to the bitter argument between the pair of them the week before, and had been the first to make a low remark about Chris. Neither trainer had told her what happened, nor did Jon, however, Charlotte had been made aware of misbehaviour of a member of her team, and had gone and looked at the stadium security cameras to see if she could find any proof of it. Instead, she came across what looks like the worst verbal altercation that the Eon Academy had ever seen, and proof that Jon had a limit to how calm he could be when handling something like this. Despite having built a rapport with Cassandra, Charlotte hadn’t known her long enough to feel comfortable confronting her about it. Chris however…

”She started it,” Charlotte said condescendingly. “I haven’t heard that s**t since I lived with all my brothers…”

“Well it’s true,” Chris protested, though not aggressively.

“I know she started it, and if you had kept it together, it would have only reflected on her. But you retaliated, and both of you copped it,” Charlotte explained. “The difference is, she doesn’t have the sort of history here you do, so if people hear half the story, who do you think they’ll blame?”

“I know,” Chris said with a sigh.

“Good,” Charlotte answered with a sense of finality. “I don’t want to see you screwing things up for yourself…”

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

The next two days seemed to move at a crawl for Dylan, who was only growing more eager to see April Sunsets with Abbee on Wednesday evening. Dylan’s good mood seemed to be contagious for those closest to him, who were most aware of just how much of his old self he seemed to have left in Alola. Jon in particular was thankful for the change in Dylan, even if only temporarily, especially when a letter for Dylan arrived, and Jon, recognising the logo, knew what it contained. During Dylan’s team’s training session with Jon that afternoon, Jon told Dylan of the letter, and for him to come to he and Alyssa’s house after the session. It was shortly after five that afternoon when Dylan, Jon and Alyssa sat at the small table in the kitchen, and Dylan nervously opened the envelope, having recognised the logo himself. Once he removed the letter, containing two pages, he read the first aloud.

”Dear Mr. Squier.

We are thrilled to inform you that the land you have reserved by placing a ten percent deposit has now been titled, and is available for purchase. Your reservation of the land will stand for the next ninety days, after which, the developer has the right to refund your deposit, and terminate your holding. If you have not already, we recommend you seek financial advice from a reputable lender, in order to purchase the land within the next ninety days. Please find details attached.

Sincerely,
Curtis Grant.
Grant Real Estate, Unova.”

It didn’t seem real to Dylan that within the next three months, he would be the owner of a substantial amount of land in Unova. Not even the fact that technically he would be paying the bank back for decades in order to own the land was souring this moment for him. Jon was thankful that the letter had arrived today, when Dylan’s headspace was at the best it had been since returning from Alola.

“So now, I gotta speak to a mortgage broker?” Dylan asked, as Jon nodded.

“The sooner the better,” Jon explained. “Ninety days might seem like a lot, but considering every little step takes three to five business days, if you leave it too late, and realise that one of your documents has an issue, you risk missing the deadline…”

Dylan nodded, understanding completely, as Jon checked the time.

“You’ll be heading off soon?”

“Doors open at seven,” Dylan answered, and Jon was glad to hear eagerness in his voice. “So we’ll probably leave at about six…”

“Well, I’ve got period two free tomorrow, so I’ll ask around about mortgage brokers, see if we can’t find one better than the one we used,” Jon explained. “I agreed to do a few practise matches with Rose and a few of her friends tonight, so I won’t be able to do much now. They’ve got a new tactic they want to try and get past me. But after I finish training tomorrow, let’s meet here, and start narrowing down potential brokers…”

“I’ve got a lighter day tomorrow, so I’ll do some digging as well,” Alyssa added. “It might seem excessive, but it could be thousands in interest difference.”

Dylan nodded, before standing from his chair.

“It’s all coming together,” Dylan said, to convince himself more than anyone.

“It is,” Alyssa said with a grin. “We’re really proud of you Dylan.”

Dylan thanked the pair of them, before making his way back to the staff lodge, where Abbee would be waiting for him. He still wanted to shower and get changed before going out, so knew he didn’t have a great deal of time to dawdle, telling Abbee about his news. Instead he decided that he’d tell her in the car on the way to the show. However, as he entered the staff lodge, he was greeted by the familiar sound of someone in the bathroom, vomiting. He walked towards the downstairs bathroom where the sound was coming from, and saw Charlotte standing out the front of the closed door.

“Is everything alright?” Dylan asked Charlotte, who looked grave.

“It’s Abbee,” Charlotte said. “Food poisoning…”

Concern flooded across Dylan, as he knocked on the door.

“Abbee, I’m coming in…”

After hearing no protest, Dylan slowly opened the door, squeezing through the gap, into the bathroom to find Abbee, kneeling on the ground by the toilet, seeming to be in a short respite between retching.

“Are you okay?” Dylan asked quietly, forcing himself to ignore the smell of vomit, before Abbee flushed the toilet.

“Nope,” Abbee said, her voice breaking a little. “Didn’t realise that some of my snacks expired. I’d been having them during my class this morning before I realised. And now I’m paying for it…”

Before she could say anymore, her eyes widened as she looked back towards the toilet, and Dylan looked away as another round of vomiting came over her. When it seemed to cease, she flushed the toilet again, as she began to sob.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I was really looking forward to seeing this show tonight with you. We’ve been together a year now, and we’ve barely done anything like this. And now…”

Abbee broke down, as Dylan pulled her into a tight embrace, sobbing into his chest, Dylan thankful that he had been planning on showering and getting changed as he felt the bile that had been around Abbee’s mouth soaking through his shirt.

“It’s fine,” Dylan said. “There’ll be another show. Once you’re feeling up to it, we’ll just chuck a movie on and have a quiet one…”

Abbee seemed to quieten hearing this, before pulling away and looking at Dylan.

“No, just because I’m sick, I don’t want you to miss out!”

“Abbee-” Dylan began, though Abbee refused to consider it.

“I don’t care if someone has to drag you there kicking and screaming, I’m not letting you miss this show for my sake!” Abbee said, gaining resolve. “You’re right. There’ll be another show, and I’ll see that one with you. But you’re not missing out on tonight!”

Before Dylan could protest, Abbee called out.

“Charlotte, can you come here?”

Cautiously, Charlotte opened the door, stepping into the now crowded bathroom.

“I’ve got a job for you,” Abbee said to Charlotte, surprising her with the level of determination. “Make sure Dylan goes to the show tonight, and make sure he enjoys himself!”

“Abbee-” Dylan tried again, though Abbee shook her head.

“Dylan, I swear to God, I will pop a few of Jon’s nausea pills, go upstairs, get changed, and go this show, food poisoning be damned, before I let you miss it because of this…”

“She will,” Charlotte noted, as Dylan shot her a look. “Just saying…”

“Dylan, if you love me, you will take the tickets I bought for us to see April Sunsets, and take another girl to see it with you instead…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but grin at Abbee’s explanation of the situation. Dylan let out a sigh of resignation.

“You want to see April Sunsets?” Dylan asked Charlotte, who grinned.

“It sounds like you’ll be dumped if I say no…”

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

“I can’t believe they asked to see your ID but not mine,” Charlotte said as the stood at the bar of the noisy venue, waiting to be served. “I’m barely twenty, and could easily pass for three or four years younger. You though?”

“There’s a simple reason for it,” Dylan answered with a grin. “You’re a girl…”

“And?”

“Doesn’t matter how many guys are here. If a girl isn’t planning on coming she won’t. But if there are heaps of girls, chances are there will be guys who rock up, not caring about any of the bands playing, just to try their luck,” Dylan said as Charlotte shuddered.

“So I’m a selling point?” Charlotte answered in disbelief.

“More like a small cog in a big machine,” Dylan suggested, as he noticed a bartender approaching. “What are you drinking?”

“I can get myself a drink,” Charlotte offered, though realised it was a waste of time to argue. “Cider.”

When Dylan had the attention of the bartender, a young man similar to age in him, with neatly cut black hair, and a confident face, he ordered himself a beer, and Charlotte a cider.

“You’re Charlotte Jones, right,” the bartender said to Charlotte as he handed the pair their drinks. “From the Eon Academy?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Charlotte said, a little unused to being recognised, but not surprised by it. She noticed Dylan with a worried look, and saw it amplify when the bartender looked towards Dylan.

“And is this your boyfriend?”

“No, just a friend who had a spare ticket for tonight,” Charlotte answered. “You’re a fan?”

“Considering what happened in 2019 with the Space Centre, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone on Mossdeep who isn’t a fan,” the bartender said. “And not just catching the Pokemon, but training it to be safe in less than a year?”

Charlotte found it ironic that she was getting the attention for the Eon Academy saving the island, when really, it was Dylan’s leadership that led to that. Even if it was her idea to find the Master Balls stored in the lodge, and her plan to capture it that succeeded, it was Latios who took the risk and succeeded in catching the Pokemon. Dylan however, knowing that he wouldn’t be recognised, seemed content to let her take the credit.

“It was a team effort,” Charlotte said, before looking for a name tag. The bartender seemed to notice this.

“Cole,” he said, answering Charlotte’s unspoken question.

“Nice to meet you,” Charlotte said. “And as for training it, Jon had caught and trained Rayquaza two and a half years earlier, so had a bit of experience in training unruly Legendary Pokemon. Between myself, Jon and Steven, we managed to pull it off.”

“You knew about Rayquaza?”

“I only found out when we started training Deoxys, since we’d be using Rayquaza to contain it if it got violent,” Charlotte answered. In her peripheral vision, she noticed a few other patrons, waiting for service and glaring at her. “Cole, I think you might have some customers.”

Cole glanced over his shoulder, realising he had been slacking off, before nodding his thanks.

“Was nice meeting you, Charlotte…”

The pair made their way from the bar to a nearby counter with a decent view of the stage. Whilst Dylan knew that Abbee would have likely wanted to make her way into the pit, despite being at highest risk of injury, being a slim, five-foot four, and likely not able to see more than the back of the head of the person in front of her, he wasn’t too fond of being in close quarters with hundreds of sweaty strangers, and being shoved during heavier songs. He was glad that Charlotte seemed to hold the same sentiment.

“Thanks for not pointing me out,” Dylan said, as the pair waited for the support band to take to the stage. “I hate being recognised by strangers…”

Before Charlotte could speak, she heard a vaguely familiar voice call out.

“Dylan?”

The timing was sickening, and Charlotte saw Dylan’s eyes widen, at the thought of being noticed by strangers. However, he turned, and after a split second, recognised the woman who called out to him. Whilst last time he saw her, she wore a waitress uniform for the Firehouse, he recognised the friendly face, brown eyes, and dark red hair. This time, she wore a pair of tight black jeans, with an April Sunset’s tee, under a red and black flannel.

“Hey Isabelle,” Dylan said, thankful that it wasn’t a complete stranger. “It’s been a while.”

It took Charlotte a moment to realise who this was, having only met her once, when Abbee, much to Dylan’s annoyance, had attempted to set him up with Isabelle. That night had been the last time Dylan and Chris had been on genuinely good terms.

“It’s good to see you,” Isabelle said, before looking towards Charlotte, though unable to hide completely the slightly surprised look in her eyes. “You too Charlotte.”

“You still waitressing?” Charlotte asked. Isabelle shook her head.

“Got my degree at the end of last year. Been working at the bank since,” Isabelle said with a grin. “It’s interesting work, and pays well enough, though my boss is pretty old fashioned. I think he’d have a heart attack if he saw how half the people around here were dressed…”

Charlotte and Dylan both grinned.

“I might be dropping by there soon,” Dylan explained. “I’ve got a deposit on some land, which has just titled. Got ninety days to convince someone to sign me up to the debt gang.”

“It’s titled?” Charlotte asked with shock. Dylan nodded.

“I just got the letter before I came to the lodge this afternoon,” Dylan explained. “Jon and Alyssa are looking up mortgage brokers and we’ll make some calls tomorrow.”

“That’s great,” Isabelle said. “Is the land local?”

Dylan shook his head.

“Outside Nimbasa City. A rural property. The plan is to open a Pokemon Breeding business there,” Dylan explained. “And Abbee will be made Gym Leader of Nimbasa City when this summer is over, so it made sense.”

Isabelle let out a sigh of relief, earning a confused look from both Dylan and Charlotte, before grinning.

“When I saw you here with Charlotte, I was worried for a second that things with Abbee hadn’t worked out,” Isabelle commented. Dylan understood exactly what she meant.

“Abbee bought the tickets as an early birthday present. She was going to come but got food poisoning, and refused to let me stay home with her,” Dylan explained, as Charlotte grinned.

“Dylan, if you love me, you will take the tickets I bought for us to see April Sunsets, and take another girl to see it with you instead…” Charlotte said, obviously quoting Abbee, earning a laugh from Isabelle. “That’s how I ended up coming…”

“Well, she’s got her priorities right,” Isabelle answered. “Sounds like a keeper.”

Dylan nodded before looking around.

“Are you here alone?”

“I’ve got some friends, but figured I’d come say hello by myself,” Isabelle explained. “I know for sure they’d recognise Charlotte, but they might recognise you as well, and I figured that’s the last thing you want…”

“You’re not wrong,” Dylan admitted. “I appreciate it.”

Isabelle said goodbye, as Charlotte gave Dylan a knowing look. Whilst he pretended not to notice for a moment he knew he couldn’t do it forever.

“You and Abbee keep private the fact you are together,” Charlotte stated. “Nothing online shows you being anything more than friends, because of how much Justin and Candice get harassed.”

“And?”

“Well, I didn’t realise you kept in touch with Isabelle?”

“Not really,” Dylan answered back. “If April Sunsets, or another band like them releases a new song we might exchange a message or two about it, but nothing more than that.”

“Then how does she know about you and Abbee?”

Dylan tried not to make eye contact, but could see in his peripheral vision, Charlotte staring him down.

“Okay, fine,” Dylan said with a sigh. “When I gave her a ride home that night, she sort of asked me out, and I turned her down. And she knew that it was because there was someone else. I told you all I struck out, because I figured that would make you all uncomfortable enough to drop the whole thing. And it worked.”

“I knew it,” Charlotte said with a grin. “The moment you said it, I knew you were lying…”

Dylan shrugged. The whole ordeal was two years ago, and he was now with Abbee.

“The reason she was worried was because if things hadn’t worked out with Abbee and I, she got turned down for nothing,” Dylan explained. Charlotte nodded, before Dylan asked a question that took her by surprise. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“When are you going to do something about Chris?” Dylan asked. “You know how oblivious he can be. You’re gonna need to take matters into your own hands if you want anything to actually happen…”

Charlotte felt her face burn red, as she tried denying it.

“There’s nothing between Chris and I,” Charlotte said, although the sentence came out a little too rehearsed.

“Charlotte, you’re not the only one who can put the pieces together,” Dylan said, unable to hide his own grin.

“And what pieces would they be?”

“Well for one, I would bet the deposit I paid on my land that if Justin, or really anyone but Chris, asked you to ask me about borrowing my car, you’d have told them to grow a pair and ask themselves…” Dylan said, as Charlotte went still. Taking this as confirmation, Dylan grinned.

“Well I did tell him he should have asked you,” Charlotte said, though regretted it, realising the follow-up question it invited.

“When?”

“In the car on the way back…” Charlotte admitted. Dylan’s grin widened.

“That, and the fact that I genuinely believe that if Jon had sent you last summer to keep an eye on anyone else, you would have ignored that instruction and joined Jon in Alola,” Dylan added.

“Chris needed us there,” Charlotte retorted. “He wasn’t in a good headspace!”

“I know. I’m glad you and Justin were there, because if you weren’t he would have likely been taken hostage alone. That and we nearly lost Abbee in Alola, and I am glad that the three of you weren’t in that level of danger,” Dylan explained. “But logically speaking, you had the choice between helping Jon with a cataclysmic level even, or helping Chris get his s**t together. I know you’re brave, and you’re certainly not stupid, yet you still picked the less logical option.”

“We were going to come straight after,” Charlotte protested. Dylan laughed.

“You think I doubt that?” Dylan explained. “Straight after you helped Chris…”

“Justin made the same decision,” Charlotte retorted. “Yet I don’t see you interrogating him about loving Chris?”

“Love?”

“Shut up,” Charlotte said. “You know what I mean, and the point remains…”

“Well Charlotte, even if we decide to ignore the fact that Justin is in a long term relationship with someone he adores, fact is, Justin is a follower. He will lead when the situation warrants it, and is capable of doing that well, but he is more at home following orders,” Dylan explained. “Why do you think Jon called you with his request for the pair of you to help Chris?”

“Because if he called Justin, he thought I would have refused to not help you guys in Alola, and Justin would have a snowball’s chance in hell of convincing me otherwise…” Charlotte admitted.

“Exactly. He called you and got you on board first, because he knew once you did, Justin would follow your lead…”

“Okay fine,” Charlotte said in exasperation. “I like him. Happy?”

Dylan raised his eyebrows a little, before taking a sip of his beer. Despite the question being asked out of irritation, she had to admit, this was the happiest she had seen Dylan since his return from Alola.

“Happier,” Dylan replied. “But my original question stands. When are you going to do something about Chris?”

“When he stops walking on eggshells around Abbee and you…”

The words were almost too quiet for Dylan to make out with the background music being played through the speakers, and the sounds of the growing crowd. Charlotte took a sip of her cider, as Dylan’s expression softened a little.

“Charlotte, I don’t care if something happened between you and him, even with what has happened, and I know for sure Abbee would be thrilled for you both…”

“It’s not that-” Charlotte said quickly.

“Then what?”

“He doesn’t hold a grudge against you or Abbee, and he knows you two aren’t holding what happened against him anymore,” Charlotte said, before having a thought. “You don’t, do you?”

“Abbee felt sorry for him more than anything since that night back in Jubilife, and is just glad to see he has picked up the pieces. As for me, well actions speak louder than words, and his actions this summer haven’t done anything to warrant me holding a grudge…” Dylan admitted. “If he starts acting out like he did two years ago, sure, I won’t take it lying down. But he was literally a kid then, and it’s been two years…”

“So if he doesn’t hold a grudge, and he knows the pair of you don’t hold a grudge, why do you think he is still so uncomfortable being around you or Abbee?”

It wasn’t the words that Charlotte used which gave Dylan his answer, but the stare she held as she said it.

“After this long?” Dylan asked.

“Don’t worry, he won’t do anything about it,” Charlotte said. “But he has Abbee placed on some sort of pedestal, and because of that is worried he’d be doing wrong by her if he didn’t just live with the consequences of how he treated you, and moved on…”

For the first time in years, Dylan felt a surge of pity for Chris, as he took a swig of his own drink. Once he placed his glass down, he addressed Charlotte, his tone more serious than it had been all night.

“Would it help if I spoke to him?” Dylan asked. “Extended an olive branch?”

Charlotte shook her head.

“Sometimes the worst thing someone can do is be nice to you when you don’t think you deserve it,” Charlotte said. “No, Chris needs to come to terms with all this on his own. But I’m not going to try and make myself a priority in his life, if even after this long, I’m fighting against Abbee for that spot. Until things are normal between her and Chris, he and I will only be friends…”

Dylan nodded in understanding, feeling himself somehow respecting Charlotte even more. When Dylan had seen something blossoming between Abbee and Chris during their second summer, he had shut himself away, isolating himself in his work. Charlotte had given him some hard truths that he needed to hear. And now, being in this situation herself, he saw her taking her own advice.

“Just don’t tell Abbee any of this,” Charlotte added. “I didn’t want to have this conversation with you, let alone her, and if she knew, she’d try to fix things with him. But this is something he needs to do himself.”

The pair were interrupted by cheers erupting from the pit, as the support band took to the stage.

“Dylan…” Charlotte said, her gaze fixed. He nodded.

“You have my word…”

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

Despite how energetic the show was, Charlotte fell asleep in the car as Dylan drove the pair back to the Academy. It was shortly before eleven when they arrived back, Dylan waking Charlotte as he parked under the carport, next to Jon and Alyssa’s house. The lights were off, which was standard for that time of evening. The pair quietly walked back, and weren’t surprised to see lights on in the staff lodge, knowing most of the staff tended to head to sleep in the next hour or so, with the exception of whoever had the second watch shift, Justin being scheduled for that night. Dylan was scheduled to start his shift that evening at eleven.

Dylan entered, and noticed Cassandra, Violet and Jarena talking quietly in the dining room to the right of the foyer, and Abbee and Willow in the lounge. Despite the fact that Abbee, once her vomiting had stopped, had gotten changed into her pyjamas, Dylan noticed that she was now dressed, albeit very casually, in something she’d let herself be seen wearing outside of this building.

“Hey,” Abbee said, approaching him to give him a hug. She sounded pleased to see him, though as if she had other things on her mind. “How was the show?”

“It was great,” Dylan said quickly, before looking around. “Is everything alright?”

Abbee sighed, giving Dylan his answer.

“Jon had another seizure, and there were a few kids with him when it happened,” Abbee explained. “He says the dosage he is on is too small, but they require him to stick with it for a fortnight before they will adjust it, to make sure that it isn’t working.”

“So why are you dressed?” Dylan asked, looking around. “If you’re sick, surely someone else could have helped out?”

“Rose was one of the kids there, and she was pretty upset,” Abbee explained, being particularly close with Jon and Alyssa’s niece. “Jon had been helping them with some extra training when it happened. You wouldn’t have seen this from where you stood, but when this happened in the stadium the other week, the sandstorm covered a lot of it. All the rest of us saw was the sandstorm clear, and Jon on the ground. But Rose saw this happen. The lights going out, and him just collapsing. And none of us were there at the time, so they panicked.”

“How are they now?”

“I’ve spoken to them all and they’re still a bit shaken up, but honestly, there was nothing I could do but assure them that it will get better, and that they are just fine-tuning the meds,” Abbee answered. “I only got back in here about twenty minutes ago…”

“And how are you feeling?”

“Exhausted,” Abbee admitted. “I haven’t thrown up in hours, but have only been having water. Don’t want to risk having food just yet, but am taking tomorrow off to recover. I wanted to see you before I went to sleep.”

Dylan nodded in understanding, before kissing her on the cheek.

“Thanks for tonight. Next time, we’ll both go,” Dylan said. “Go get some sleep.”

Abbee gave a tired grin, before nodding, and making her way upstairs, saying goodnight to Willow as she left. Once Abbee was gone, Charlotte, who had intentionally gone to speak to the Diamond Ladies, wandered in to speak to Dylan.

“You okay?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m fine,” Dylan said, a little too quickly.

“I can cover your shift tonight-”

“Charlotte, I’m fine. I don’t need someone covering for me every time Jon has a seizure. I’m not useless when this happens,” Dylan said, his tone making obvious the fact that he was tired of this recurring event.

“Dylan, none of us think you’re useless…”

“Sorry,” Dylan apologised. “I’m fine. You fell asleep in the car, so I’m not sure having you take first watch is a great idea. I’ll handle it…”

Knowing that arguing with Dylan further would only make him less willing to change his mind, Charlotte nodded, saying goodnight, and making her way upstairs. After a few minutes, when Dylan couldn’t hear footsteps on the floor above, and knew he would not be approached, he walked up to his room, grabbing his laptop from his desk, before going outside.

Thankfully, that evening the students were all relatively calm, and lights were off, with cabins near silent, by the time Dylan emerged, placing himself at the usual bench where whoever was on watch would perch. Normally, he didn’t bring a device to pass the time, knowing it was a distraction from the job he was there to do. However, tonight, making a conscious effort to keep looking at the skies periodically, he needed to distract himself from his thoughts.

He opened a web browser, thankful that he had made sure to install access points in all buildings to allow their wireless network to carry across the entire property, and typed in the URL for a real estate website. After spending a few minutes putting in filters, namely the size of the land, the classification of it, and the price, Dylan pressed enter.

The results shown were all pieces of land on Mossdeep Island. None were the size of the land outside Nimbasa City, at least none within his budget, and he knew he would be getting less for his money. One piece of land listed, he realised, was on the other side of the Eon Academy’s eastern fence, although not as good as the land he had reserved. However, he had another thought.

The reason he had bought the untitled land was for two reasons. The first was that the size, location and usability of the land suited him. It was a very large property, that was not too far from main highways, with various habitats present across it. Theoretically, he could allow hundreds of Pokemon to live free range there, which he would be able to use for breeding purposes, and wild Pokemon would potentially live there of their own volition. This was something Mossdeep lacked, with most of the larger plots of land being subdivisions of farm land. The second reason however, was the potential for the land to become worth more. By placing the deposit, he reserved the price they were asking at the time for it, which meant that should the land value increase before it titles, he would be getting a better deal. Considering the fact the land suited his purposes regardless of value, he saw it as the right choice.

Dylan spent the next hour researching the surrounding area, and future developments. He found news articles of proposed highways passing it, as well as a high speed train line, connecting Nimbasa and Driftviel, as well as propositions for nearby suburban developments. All promised by an opposing mayoral candidate, hoping to be elected in November. Curious, he began looking on the real estate website for land similar to his own in that area.

“How was the show?”

Dylan looked around to see Jon approaching him.

“Yeah, it was great,” Dylan said. “Keen to go to their next one, hopefully with Abbee.”

“Well no band with half a brain would play a show out here, and not Nimbasa,” Jon retorted. “I doubt you’ll have to wait long for that to happen.”

Jon took a seat at the bench, breathing in the fresh air. He didn’t need to explain why he was about. It was the same story as almost every other time. In sleeping off the after effects of his seizure, his sleeping pattern was disturbed, resulting in his being awake at one in the morning, wandering towards whoever was still awake to keep him company.

“How’re you feeling?” Dylan asked.

“Usual,” Jon said casually. “Tired as hell, but I have to wake up now and stay up for a little while if I want to try and have some sort of schedule.”

Not wanting to talk to Dylan, who he knew would be most affected by that evenings seizure, about this, he nodded towards the laptop.

“What’re you looking at?”

“Nimbasa City has an election in November, and I’m seeing what the politicians are promising. Figure it’ll affect my land.”

Jon nodded in understanding, however spoke again.

“I know it’s rich, seeing as I’m too much of an invalid to actually do one of these shifts, but it’s probably not a great idea to let yourself be distracted,” Jon said. “Given what’s at stake…”

Dylan nodded, and began closing windows on the laptop in preparation to turn it off. However, Jon noticed one window appear as Dylan closed the one on top of it.

“Wait, what’s that?” Jon asked. On screen was the real estate website, showing a listing for a property that looked familiar. One of the images listed showed an aerial view of the property, where Jon recognised the fence and buildings of the property next to it. “Is that next door?”

Dylan nodded.

“Why were you looking there?”

Dylan knew Jon was too intelligent to buy anything but the truth.

“I was thinking, what if I bought that property, and set up there instead…” Dylan admitted. “That way I could still help out here. I mean, I don’t think this will have me flat off my feet for a while yet. I’d still have plenty of time in the week I could work here, and I’d be available in case of emergencies…”

Before Dylan could close it, Jon snatched the laptop, and looked over the figures of the listing.

“Dylan, you’d be paying more for a piece of land that is a quarter of the size, and less useful,” Jon said, his tone shocked. “Honestly, the only reason it is being listed is because the person who owns the property knows the land is too s**t to use for farming, so he may as well make a buck off it…”

“It doesn’t have to be that one,” Dylan said defensively. “There are better properties, some that could be great!”

“Dylan, I know the property market here. I bought this place, remember?” Jon explained. “Even with a six hundred thousand dollar head start from the High Seas Tournament, I still ended up borrowing money to fund this operation here. Logically, it made little sense. We chose Mossdeep because we wanted to raise a family here, even though from a business perspective, it was impractical to open here. Alyssa and I are just lucky it worked out for us. But with your deposit, you’re not going to be able to afford anything anywhere near as good as what you will have in Unova!”

“I looked at properties near them. Similar to mine. They have doubled in value because of the development happening out there,” Dylan explained. “I could buy the land at the price I reserved, and sell it for its current value, and I’d be able to afford decent land here!”

Jon rubbed his eyes in exasperation at Dylan’s words.

“Are you even listening to yourself Dylan?” Jon asked. “You’ve literally got a golden ticket, and you want to swap it for the nosebleed section. If your land has doubled in value, then the bank will give you a much better offer on your loan, because the value will be so much higher. You would pay tens of thousands less in interest. All of that money that you can spend improving the land, or improving your business…”

“Jon-”

“No, Dylan, there is no argument about this,” Jon said intently. “You have a piece of land available to you, now at far below market value, which will get you a better deal from the bank than anyone else in your position ever would, that will suit your purposes for it, and be in a perfect location for the business you want to start. There is no argument that will make me be okay with you giving that all up, just to stay in Mossdeep. I don’t care if I start having seizures every day, and have to close the Academy. I’m not letting you do this to yourself!”

“Jon-”

“What about Abbee?” Jon asked angrily. “Do you want to marry her someday?”

Jon didn’t wait for an answer.

“Abbee has been offered a job that she has been dreaming of and working towards for years! I haven’t ever seen her this excited, and you knew this was a possibility for her! That’s why you chose Nimbasa City. But if you stay here, what do you expect from Abbee?” Jon asked. “For her to give up her dreams and stay here with you? Or for her to be content with the pair of you always being thousands of miles apart?”

“Jon, this is my decision!” Dylan said, a little too loudly, as Jon glanced around at the nearby cabins, making sure nobody had woken up. When he made sure that nobody was stirring, he looked at Dylan with a mixture of shock and disappointment. Something Dylan had never seen from Jon personally.

“You’re right, this is your decision,” Jon said quietly, looking away from Dylan, preparing himself for what he knew he had to say. “And this is mine…”

Jon looked up at Dylan, gathering his resolve, as he was about to say the last thing he actually wanted to.

“Dylan, you’ve got ninety days to get your loan in order before you lose that land in Unova. And regardless of what happens between now and then, the moment those ninety days are up, so is your time working at the Eon Academy…”

Dylan’s eyes widened as he realised what Jon was saying.

“You’re firing me?!”

“I’m giving you notice,” Jon answered solemnly. “After that point, you will no longer be employed at the Eon Academy, and no longer allowed to live on site here…”

“Jon!” Dylan said angrily, as Jon shot him a glare, not wanting Dylan to wake up the sleeping campers.

“You now have no reason to throw away what you have waiting for you in Unova,” Jon said quietly, before walking back to the house. “And there is no f**king way I’ll let myself be the reason you do that…”

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

“Dylan, open up!”

Charlotte pounded on the door of Dylan’s room, knowing he was in there. It was Friday evening, two days since the pair had gone to the April Sunsets gig, and Charlotte had not seen Dylan since. He had avoided all meals, and any time that he was not working, be it outside of class, mornings or evenings, he had been shut up in his room. When Charlotte had asked Abbee, she had simply said it wasn’t her place to say. Charlotte however, after two days of this, was growing tired of it.

Waiting until dinner, when the staff lodge would be empty, she had made her way to Dylan’s room, where she found herself now.

“I swear to God Dylan, I have knocked in one of these doors before, and broken my shoulder to do it, and I will do it again, unless you grow a pair, and open up!”

There was still no reply, causing Charlotte to pound the door harder.

“Stop being a goddamn baby and open up!”

There was a rush of wind as Dylan whipped the door open, furious, as he stepped into Charlotte’s space.

“Who the hell do you think you are, that you can have any f**king say over how I spend my out of work time?!” Dylan yelled. “If I want to keep to myself, that’s none of your f**king business, so don’t you dare come in here, and disrespect me like that!”

Furious, Charlotte shoved Dylan, despite the fact he had half a foot over her in height, causing him to step back, and allowing her an opportunity to enter the room, slamming the door behind her. The room smelt musty, as Charlotte noticed piles of dirty clothes, and unwashed dishes.

“It seems like I’m the only one but Jon with enough backbone to tell you when you’re being an idiot!” Charlotte retorted. “What the hell is going on?!”

“It’s none of your f**king business!”

“No, it’s not!” Charlotte yelled, before pointing out the door with her thumb. “But my best friend has spent the last two days worried sick about her man-child boyfriend, who locks himself up every time he gets the f**king sads! She’s spent the last two days trying to cover for you, because I’m not the only one who has noticed what you’re doing!”

Dylan’s eyes narrowed on Charlotte, which only strengthened her conviction, as she continued.

“Abbee has been on the brink of an emotional breakdown for the last twenty-four hours because of you and this bulls**t little habit you have of locking yourself in your room like a f**king teenager, and doing her best to hold it together!” Charlotte answered. “The difference is, she isn’t hiding from everyone like you are! I don’t give two s**ts if you decide to make yourself a hermit, but I won’t sit with my thumb planted firmly up my a** and stand by while after everything that has happened, Abbee falls apart because you’re too much of a coward to deal with whatever is upsetting you!”

Dylan had spoken to Abbee a small handful of times since Jon’s decision to fire him after summer. They had spoken in person, when Dylan had told her, and a few times through messages. At the mention of Abbee’s emotional state, Dylan deflated a little.

“You don’t understand…” Dylan muttered.

“No, because you’re holed up in here like an idiot,” Charlotte retorted. “So make me understand.”

Dylan was silent for a minute, knowing he couldn’t argue with Charlotte. Finally, he spoke, albeit quietly.

“Jon’s fired me, and is kicking me out. Effective after summer…”

Charlotte had not known what to expect, however, that was the last thing she expected. With Dylan having worked at the Academy during its formative years, and being Jon’s second in charge, all present knew that Dylan’s opinion was practically that of Jon. Charlotte expected all of them to be fired, and the skies to fall down before she ever heard those words.

“Jon’s fired you?” Charlotte asked. “Why the hell would he do that?”

“To give me no reason to stay here,” Dylan muttered. “I was considering selling my land in Unova and buying something here, so that I could keep helping Jon with the Academy…”

Charlotte groaned, as she understood exactly why Jon had made the decision he had made, and found herself admiring him further. She knew that Jon loved Dylan like a son, and that it would have been harder for him than anyone to make that decision.

“No wonder,” Charlotte muttered. “I’m glad he had the backbone to do that…”

Dylan glared at Charlotte, who, despite ceasing her yelling, was far from in the mood for this.

“F**k off,” she said. “Seriously, you didn’t really leave him any other choice!”

“My land’s value is almost guaranteed to be double what I pay for it! I could have sold it, and bought something just as good here!”

“Which would be f**king stupid and you know it!” Charlotte retorted. “You’d be screwing yourself over, and screwing Abbee over too!”

“Leave Abbee out of this!”

“No, because you’re acting just as bad as Chris was, trying to plan a future she can’t fit into!” Charlotte retorted.

“Shut the f**k up!”

“Actually, I was wrong!” Charlotte retorted. “You’re worse than Chris was, because he wasn’t sucking her into his pity party! At least she was able to see clearly enough to dump him before she let herself be dragged down! But you? I’m scared she’ll feel too sorry for you to actually do what’s right by her!”

Charlotte moved to the door, opening it to leave.

“I don’t care if you cut me off, or screw yourself over. I’m not going to waste my time worrying about someone who refuses to help themselves. I told Chris the same thing that night in Jubilife,” Charlotte said. “But I’m sure as hell not going to be silent while you try to ruin Abbee’s life to appease your own conscience…”

Charlotte slammed the door behind her, swearing under her breath, leaving Dylan alone.