I found a new chapter. One of decent length, too. Could this be the start of a terrifying bout of prolific posting? I don't know. I really shouldn't have said that at all.
If no-one else is going to vote on trilogy title I'm going to go ahead with:
We are Thrown Together
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Chapter Thirteen
All Tomorrow’s Parties
February 4, 9:00PM
MAY
All the preparations were made and everything was ready. Dad had left the Gym and the house in my care for the next 48 hours. All I had to do was keep it from burning down. Again.
It was lonely, just me by myself there. I wanted someone to talk to, someone to be with. But I didn’t know who.
I knew it wasn’t Drew or Ash. The sun has definitely set on those two. Drew because he’s got Dawn now, and Ash because of what he’s done. You might be thinking that Dante’s done just as many bad things as Ash, but there’s a difference there. Dante committed his crimes out of love. Ash committed his out of hatred. It makes all the difference in the world.
Nobody here but me.
But of course that’s nonsense. I’ve got my Pokémon here.
I grabbed a handful of Pokeballs out of the drawer but stopped short of releasing them. I didn’t really want to be around Pokémon. I wanted to be around people.
Dante or Falkner, to be specific. Which one? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.
February 4, 11:00PM
FALKNER
‘We’ve been over this and over this and over it a couple more times. We’ve analysed and analysed and broken it down and every time it’s come back to this- there’s nothing going on between May and me.’
‘You went to rescue her from Ash,’ Flannery barked.
‘No, I went to rescue Holly from Ash. You remember Holly, my goddaughter?’
‘Pretty convenient, wasn’t it? That May was there.’
‘Convenient for May, not for me. It caused a lot more trouble having to deal with her all night. She’s a woefully inept mother.’
‘Don’t try and deflect this with cute remarks, Falkner. I know what’s going on.’
‘If you “know” that I’m having an affair then you really don’t know anything at all.’
‘So what’s wrong with her then?’
Trick question. Try not to answer.
‘What’s wrong with her that you don’t like her?’ Flannery persisted.
‘I never said I didn’t like her.’
God damn, I’m stupid. Wrong answer, Falkner.
‘So you do like her?’
‘I don’t dislike her. She’s a neutrality.’
‘So she was just in the right place at the right time, then?’
I snapped.
‘Alright, I’ve had enough of this. It’s pretty obvious now that no matter what I say, nothing’s going to convince you that there’s nothing going on. Nothing’s going to convince you that you’re the only one. You know what? May’s propositioned me a couple of times and I’ve knocked her back every time. You know why?’
‘Because of that damned code!’ Flannery shrieked. ‘Don’t pretend it’s because of me, it’s because you’re afraid to betray Dante, you selfish coward.’
‘That’s it!’ My voice rose to her level and blasted over the top. ‘That’s just it. I want you to leave, and don’t come back. There’s no reason to stay anymore. There’s nothing for you here.’
‘You took the words right out of my mouth,’ she screamed, and stormed from the room. I followed her at a slight distance, making sure she didn’t do anything stupid on her way out.
Dante came out of a side door.
‘What the hell is going on here? I’m trying to get Holly to sleep and you two are raging warfare down the hall.’
Flannery charged right past him without a word. When I caught up to him he held out his hand.
‘I really don’t think you should be following her,’ he said evenly. ‘You both need to cool off. Go to the bar and get a drink.’
‘You’re right,’ I mumbled. ‘I need to relax a bit.’
I turned and walked towards the lounge room, but in the silver door handle, I saw Dante slip out the front door after Flannery.
February 4, 11:30PM
DANTE
‘Hey.’
I couldn’t think of anything better to say off the bat.
Flannery was sitting on the Gym sign, just waiting. It was obvious she had been crying.
‘Hi,’ she whimpered as I sat down next to her.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Flannery muttered. ‘Trying to work out how I’m going to get home.’
‘You don’t have Charizard with you?’
‘I don’t have any Pokémon with me at the moment. Probably a dumb thing to do, especially for a Gym Leader. But it’s not the only dumb thing I’ve done tonight.’
‘Falkner.’
‘If he would just admit it, I would forgive him. But he keeps lying to me.’
‘About what?’
Flannery suddenly got that look of somebody who had said more than they meant to. Obviously she was trying to keep something from me. But that look was soon replaced by the malicious look that comes with revenge.
‘Falkner and May are having an affair.’
‘No they aren’t,’ I said in a surprisingly deep voice. ‘Falkner wouldn’t break the code.’
‘This code again!’ Flannery stood up angrily. ‘Is that all you men care about? You’re so loyal to each other, but never to us!’
‘I don’t think you’re giving us enough credit, Flannery,’ I replied. ‘And I don’t think Falkner would cheat on you.’
‘Because of the code,’ she pressed.
‘No, because he loves you.’
‘Then why doesn’t he want to have a baby?’
Now we’re at the root of the problem – a root I should have nothing to do with. Should I tell her the truth? No, that would be a breach of the code.
‘He’s got a very good reason, but you have to hear it from him. It’s not my place to tell you.’
‘Yeah, give him time to make one up.’
She sat down again, looking defeated.
‘I see him with Holly, and he loves her. And I just can’t understand why he doesn’t want to be a father himself.’
‘Again, he’s got a good reason. You need to have this conversation with him.’
‘No. I’m done with him. He keeps lying to me. It’s time for me to move on.’
She looked at me strangely.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ I said. ‘You know how I feel, you know what I’m going to do.’
She knew both of those things, but she didn’t care. She kissed me anyway. I pulled away as soon as I could, but not soon enough to miss seeing somebody turn around and walk back into the Gym.
And everything seemed to be going so well.
February 5, 8:00PM
ASH
I walked into breakfast the next morning bursting to tell somebody what I’d seen the night before. There was only one other person in the room, in the pantry, looking for something breakfast related. They would have to do.
‘You’ll never guess who saw Dante and Flannery kissing last night,’ I burst out. ‘Wait a minute, I didn’t do that right, did I?’
‘No, you didn’t,’ replied the chef. ‘First of all, you told me what you saw straight away. I don't care
who saw it, just what was seen. Secondly,
I’m Dante.’
Crap.
He turned around, having found what he had been searching for. A bottle of chloroform.
‘I think we need to have another chat.’
February 5, 7:08PM
MAY
Misty and Brock arrived first, together, so the night got off to an expectedly awkward start.
Misty and I had barely spoken since Tracey’s funeral…which turned out to be a farce, by the way, in case nobody told you Tracey is still alive. But anyway, that’s not really relevant right now.
Our friendship was always a little patchy, but on several occasions Misty went to great lengths for me, and I in turn repaid her with hostility or ingratitude. Like when she led an ill-advised rescue mission after I eloped with Dante. She had meant well, but it had only made things worse for everyone. I didn’t consciously blame her for everything that happened, but I guess there was something lurking beneath the surface. Losing a baby will do that to you, even a baby you didn’t want to begin with.
I hoped that Dante would bring Holly. I had asked him not to on the invitation, but that was before I met her. Now I can hardly think of anything worse than not having her around. It’s weird, isn’t it?
Drew and Dawn were the next to arrive. I knew he would want to talk to me about Christina’s book. I had to avoid that all night. Mentally I began making a list of excuses.
Then for a long time nobody came.
I knew that Dante, Holly, Max, Falkner, Richie, Ash and Tania would all be arriving together, but I was still slightly surprised at the low numbers. I thought I had invited more people than this. I guess I’m running low on friends.
The doorbell buzzed and I let in a crowd of girls from the competition circuit and the atmosphere shifted noticeably. Now it was more of a party than a cluster of people milling around in a Gym.
But where were the others? It wasn’t that I was worried about them; it was more the fact that they were the ones I actually wanted to see. The others were just here for the sake of getting us all together again.
Come on guys, don’t be much later.
February 5, 8:40PM
MAX
We were an hour and a half late. Not very impressive.
It’s all Ash’s fault, apparently. He got really stubborn and refused to come. Dante spent at least an hour trying to convince him, but Ash wouldn’t even come out of his room. He didn’t even say goodbye. I think he’s having a tantrum, personally. Dante says he’s just being a sook.
I thought it was funny how when we arrived from Point Noir we effectively doubled the number of party guests. Looks like May’s lost a few friends over the years. But it doesn’t really matter. Everyone who counted was here. Everyone except Ash.
February 5, 10:20PM
MAY
‘Which one do you want to do?’ Richie asked, getting his guitar out of its case.
I’d asked him and Dante to perform for us a bit – drinking was losing its novelty and someone had put their foot through one of the speakers, which now spat out clouds of sparks any time we tried to use it. We agreed on live music.
‘Can we do “Breathless”?’ Dante asked quietly.
‘What about “Nature Boy”?’ Richie whispered back.
‘Nah, that’s a full band number. We’re unplugged here.’
‘Good point,’ Richie said, and sat down next to Dante on the bench. The rest of us gathered around as Richie settled into a simple, undulating guitar riff and Dante started to sing:
‘It’s up in the morning, it’s on the downs
Those little white clouds like gambolling lambs
And I am breathless over you
And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
His throat, it trembles when he sings
For he is a-helpless before you
The happy-hooded bluebells bow
And bend their heads all a-down
Heavied by the early morning dew
At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
The fishes leapt up to take a look
For they are breathless over you
Still your hands, and still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind, and still your soul
For still the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you
The wind circles among the trees
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
For it is breathless without you
The fox chases the rabbit around
And the rabbit hides beneath the ground
For he is defenceless without you
The sky of daytime dies away
And all the earthly things, they stop to play
For we are all breathless without you
I listen to my juddering bones
And the blood in my veins, the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you
Still your hands, and still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind, and still your soul
For still the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you.’
Everyone applauded – everyone but me. I got the sudden, unshakeable feeling that he was up to something – and what’s more he was losing his game. He should know by now that he can’t seduce me without INXS. Or was this his subtle way of telling me that things were truly over between us?
I made a mental note never to get involved with anyone as complex and ambiguous ever again, and went about my business at my birthday party.
February 5, 11:45PM
ASH
I was hanging. That was the first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness. My body was vertical, but my feet were not touching the ground. That only left one option – I was suspended by something from something. I couldn’t see my hands either, so I tried to move them. They felt slightly rusted metal. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I got an idea of where I was.
I was hanging from a water pipe in the basement of the Point Noir Gym. Dante had cuffed my hands together and hung me over the water main.
He has a lot to learn about keeping hostages.
Depending on the strength of the handcuffs I was hanging by, getting out might be incredibly easy. If the structural resonance frequency of the handcuffs was less than the force of water rushing through that pipe, the locking mechanism inside the cuffs would collapse, allowing me to escape.
Was there anyone left in the Gym to use the water? Yes, Dante’s two protégés. They’ll still be here. Eventually one of them will shower, and that is sure to produce the force I need to get out of here.
Oh, Dante. You’ve really done it this time. This story doesn’t need two Fausts. I think it’ll do fine with just me.
