Genevieve smiled a bit blushing as she grabbed Max's hand again "That sounds like a plan" she said as her stomach growled. "Lets go" she said leading him towards the servers taking a sandwich from the tray and handing one to Max. "Might as well feed Sapphire" she thought calling out her Pokemon and setting a bowl of Pokemon food down. Sapphire smiled at her and dug in while Genevieve ate her sandwich not even realizing she was still holding Max's hand.

Wilson

Wilson scarfed down the food at a lightning-like pace. It just tasted sooo good, [I'll have to tell Maxwell that he must buy this stuff more often!] Wilson thought to himself. When he had finished it, the boy asked how it tasted, the Electrike next to Wilson seemed to have enjoyed his meal and had now fallen asleep.
"Swi, Swinub!"[Oh yes, it was very tasty. Thanks sooo much for the food, I really needed it.] Wilson replied.

"So you seem to say Swi and Swinub alot... so are you called Swinub?"
Wilson looked t the boy, "Swi, Swinub, Swi."[Yes, my biological speices as a pokemon is a Swinub, but my name is actually Wilson.]

"Well i am sorry if i get your name wrong, but i'm going to call you Swinub" the boy said.
"Swinub."[Fine.] Wilson said, the boy obviously didn't understand him. But not many people understood pokemon, so what did he have to expect?

"So any idea where your trainer went? Lead the way if you can".
Oh yes. Maxwell. In the heat of chowing down, Wilson had almost forgot that he was looking for his trainer. He laughed a little bit embarrassed and started to sniff in the air. Swinubs usually have a great sense of smell, and Wilson's was not the one of an amateur. So after a while Wilson caught Maxwell's smell, he could never mistake it, that essence of Hippowdos and sour-flavoured poffins always felt like heaven to Wilson's nose. He started to run, "Nub, nub!"[Okay I've got his scent!] he said.

Maxwell

"Good." Maxwell replied and started to blush a bit when Geneviève took his hand and led him to one of the servers. "Gee thanks." Maxwell said when she gave him the sandwich, FINALLY! He stared at the sandwich for a long time, but then he took a bite, and another one, and another one. Maxwell noticed that Geneviève hadn't let go of his hand, but he thought it was kinda nice so he didn't bother telling her. Besides, it would just ruin the mood.

Maxwell quietly opend a bag of Hippowdos and laid them on the ground in front of Quillie. He didn't have much else, but Quillie gladly dug in on the chips.
Then Maxwell heard a familiar cry, was that Wilson?! Maxwell looked in the direction from where the sound was coming and saw... Wilson! Maxwell rose up almost droppping his sandwich and screamed:
"Wilson, over here!"

Xavier

The others hadn't seemed to notice his arrival, that didn't bother him, after all he had happened to arrive the moment a young Eevee evolved, he thought of Maria, she had always dreamed of being a Glaceon, so he never let her evolve into Espeon or Umbreon with an everstone even though their bond was strong enough, however the only way he knew to evolve an Eevee into a Glaceon was taking it to the coldest and furthest reaches of Sinnoh. He had heard somewhere that if the areas cold enough and the pokemons holding a nevermelt ice that could also work, but he didn't know.

He decided he wouldn't stick around long, he didn't want to bother anyone and he was already exhausted, he took the pokeball from the nurse and slowly backed away, he'd seem them all again, probably by cooincedence, but if he didn't, he'd seek them out.

Xavier shfited through the crowd, a couple of people asked him what it was like to battle Cynthia, they were probably from the crowd that had watched. He gave them all the same answer.

"Find out for yourself, I can't decide on your experience for you." A couple had grumbled at him but another few had understood and took his advice, they had decided to challenge Cynthia, however he made sure to tell those people to wait till a later time as he was sure Cynthia was in no mood to battle.

He met so many people, in so little time, could Cynthia really have been right? Had every one of those meeting given birth to a new sensation or emotion? It was quite farfetched... but Xavier still thought it possible.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and Xavier stopped and turned to see a familiar face and smile. Xavier almost crushed the man with a massive hug, the kind he would give to a brother if he had ever had one.

"Eeeep! Xavier you'll crush me stop!" Burgh cried.

"Burgh you random leader! What in Arceus' name are you doing here?!" Xavier said, refusing to stop hugging/crushing the small man.

As prementioned, Burgh was like a brother, or even second Father, to Xavier, always looking out for him, and at one point saving him from becoming a bully and brute, he had gifted him his Growlithe, Blaze, as they both shared a feeling of hurt in relation to the same loss.

"I heard you were in Kanto so I decided to pay you a visit! How are you do...ing.... *gasp*" Burgh couldn't stand it any longer.

Xavier released him and pubbed the back of his head with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Haha, sorry 'bout that buddy." Xavier grinned.

"I'm great, I just battled the champion! Riley evolved! Oh and I'm making new friends! AND and and!......." Xavier was about to keep going but Burgh cut him off.

"Ok, Ok, tell me from the beginning..." He said.

Xavier told Burgh EVERYTHING that had happened since he got off the train.

"So basically.... Valories on a stage battling Lance, Selene is... somewhere, you said you didn't really know, Brian and Skye are at the medical stall with Mark who is for whatever reason depressed, you assume its something to do with Selene, as he mentioned her. Rileys evolved and your other pokemon have grown a few levels, and you've become more self-aware because of encounters with Brock and Cynthia?" Burgh summarised.

"Hmmmm... yup thats pretty much it." Xavier finished.

"Wow.... thats alot of stuff for only a few hours..." Burgh grinned.

"But I'm glad things are going well for you Xavier!" Burgh did an over-dramatic and happy thumbs up wth a massive grin. He always did wierd stuff like that.

"Haha... yeah..." Xavier said awkwardly.

"So.... are you going to introduce me to your friends? I think I'd like to meet Lance and Valorie first, I met Lance a long while ago, at a conference for pokemon league representitives at the Johto Indigo Plateau... I wonder if he remembers me! I'd better find out!" Burgh ran in the direction of the stage.

"Oh well I guess thats... wait... Burgh! Wait!" Xavier ran after his friend, Burgh had a habit of embarasing him.

Burgh ran up on stage and Xavier ran up after him but was getting stuck in the crowd.

"Lance! Lance it's me Burgh! From the Unova league! It's so good to see you again!" Burgh gave a wide open smile when he realised the two behind him were hugging..

Burgh shot straight around on one fought like a turnstill.

"Oh thats so sweet! A couple in the school!" Burgh examined the girl more closely, he recognised her from Xaviers description as Valorie.

"Oh you must be Valorie! Ooooo... Xavier was right you are kinda pretty!..." Burgh exclaimed.

Xavier almost died, he had never said that! Or did he?... No No he hadn't! This was Burgh delibrately trying to embaras him.

"Hang on..." Burgh recognised the other boy from Xaviers tale, Burgh really liked to let other people shine, so this boy, who had stolen Valories spotlight, disgusted him.

"Girrrrrl! You could do so much better than that, he reached down and brushed some of Valories hair to the side, a concentrated lookon his face.

"You just need to let your eyes shine through, you have very pretty eyes you know, you should focus on your strong points..." Burgh smiled.

"You know what? That guy ain't good enough for you! You should find somebody else... you know what else? I think that you should try it out with Xav..." Burgh was cut off by a tackle to the ground.

"BURGH!!!" Xavier cried as he launched himself at Burgh.

"Urk.... Burgh lay on the ground.

"Is this what you did to Blaze earlier?"

"Yes, yes it is... now come on!" Xavier dragged Burgh away by the ear.

He nodded at both the champion and Valorie in turn.

"Sorry about that... it won't happen again..." Xavier pulled Burgh through the crowds, while Burgh, a grown man, pouted as he was tugged along.

"Xaaaaaver!" Burgh mocked.

"What, What now?!" Xavier asked more than a little annoyed.

"That Valorie girl is quite pretty like you said!" Burgh exclaimed.

"I never said that." Xavier muttered.

"Oh of coooourse you didn't!" Burgh mocked.

"Shut up..." Xavier mutterd as he got more than a few strange looks, a he dragged a puting gym leader across the floor by his ear towards the medical booth. He walked right up to his friends and flopped his head down on the table. Hard.

The nurse was startled and once again almost dropped her equipment.

"Oh my.... now what?" She mumbled.

(I like Mr. Mammoth's swinub I'm gonna have fun with him once I get to Saffron or at leastback to school if I'm too late.)

Isaac had recently checked the time on his Poke'tech realizing how late he really was Isaac remounted his bike and took off like the wind. He sped down the route practically standing on the peddles. He was hoping that if he wasn't too late the faculty would go easy on the punishment. Either way he was screwed, but the degree at which he'd be punished was still unclear.

Isaac reached the Saffron city outskirts in another thirty minutes or so. He rushed to the nearest Pokemon Center hoping to find out about the event the school was attending. Isaac pushed open the doors, ran in breathing heavily, and shouted:

"Anyone know where the Pokemon Trainer Academy field trip is!?" He yelled then walked over to the wall and leaned against it completely exhausted.

Pretty much everyone in the center was staring at him weird, but Isaac was too tired to tell. He felt like he'd been in the Tour de Sinnoh. After folding up his bike and putting it back in it's bag Isaac went up to the nurse and formally asked about the school's activities in town.

(also I'm doing mostly smaller posts because I don't want to accidently put in so much detail that overrides someone elses detail from previous posts that came before me.)

Geneviève blushed still holding Max's hand as she finished eating when he stood up calling for Wilson. She stood not letting go of his hand and smiled "Found him" she giggled a bit before hugging Max blushing a bit more "Told you we would find him" she whispered as they hugged making Sapphire look up at them shaking her head before turning to where Wilson was coming from.

"You had your trainer worried!" Sapphire called out to Wilson before continuing to eat the Pokemon food finishing her lunch and stretching before looking up ready for a battle.

Wilson

"Wilson, over here!" Wilson recognized the voice coming towards him, it was Maxwell! He started to run faster, almost forgetting about the boy who had helped him earlier trailing behind him. Wilson ran up to Maxwell to see him and Geneviève... Hugging?! Wilson knew they liked eachother, but damn! That was fast! He heard Sapphire saying something about worrying Maxwell, Wilson laughed nervously.
"Swi, swi!"[Well actually, I tried to find you guys!] he said "Swi, nub, nub!"[But then I got really hungry, and this guy helped me. Hes really nice!] Wilson added. He looked aroud to see if the boy had followed him, and luckily, he saw the boy come out of the crowd to meet up with them.

Maxwell

Maxwell stood and called for Wilson, he was happy, finallly they had found him. But suddenly Geneviève giggled about something, and then she... Hugged him?! Maxwell was at first unsure what to do, but shortly after he decided to hug her back. The two trainers embraced eachother and Maxwell didn't even notice Wilson, his face was deep-red as he stood there hugging Geneviève. Suddenly a boy Maxwell hadn't seen before came up to them through the crowd. Maxwell let go of Geneviève with a slightly embarrassed look.

"Hi, my name is Maxwell," he said to the boy, "Thank you very much for helping Wilson here, I'm so grateful." he added.
"So, whats your name?" Maxwell streched his hand out to shake the boy's hand.

Geneviève blushed as Max hugged her back and looked really embarrassed when he let go but she still smiled looking at the boy who helped Wilson. "Thanks for finding his Pokemon I'm Geneviève" she said feeling a little shyer around a new person and was still embarrassed for hugging Maxwell suddenly like that. "I really like him but he probably doesn't feel the same" she thought

Sapphire smiled a bit and shook her head looking at Wilson. "I wish those two would just admit that they like each other it is so obvious to everyone but them" she laughed a bit "well anyways i think we might be battling soon. Geneviève suggested a battle after they ate"

Jason

"Oh my Arceus, you are really fast for such a tiny thing" Jason commented on Swinub's rushing through the crowds.

Jason was sturggling to keep up with Swinub, and his breathe was solid prrof of that.

"Wilson, over here!" a boy shouted just as Swinub was getting out of sight. He was being hugged by a girl.

Jason looked up to see the Swinub stop at the boy's feet.

Jason emerged from the crowds before stopping behind Swinub.

He looked down at the ground panting heavily.

"I *gasp* really have to *gasp* start jogging in the *gasp* mornings" panted Jason.

Jason pulled himself together and looked up to a very red blushing boy, he raised an eyebrow but then saw the girl who was equally blushing red.

Jason gave a very faint smile 'Aha, so this could be some fun'.

"Hi, my name is Maxwell" greeted the boy in front of him.

"Thank you very much for helping Wilson here, I'm so grateful" Maxwell added.

'Oh so that Swinub, i think, is called Wilson' Jason thought to himself.

"So, whats your name?" Maxwell streched his hand out to shake Jason's.

Jason was not one to dismiss a handshake directly to him, nor really anyone would.

"Jason, Jason Monterio Basco" he shook Maxwell's hand and smiled back and looked to the girl next to him who was still red.

"Thanks for finding his Pokémon, i'm Geneviève" the girl manged to get some words out after she took her eyes of Maxwell.

"Pleasure to meet you, Missis of Maxwell" Jason bowed and smiled knowing that he may cause either an awkward moment or a dramatic scene.

Brogan
"Is that so..? Well, Alex, you've certainly pulled out the goods this time. As I pay you to, but still…yes, you do that. Of course. I'll be in touch."

Brogan rang off on her Xtransciver, looking out from the 34th floor boardroom down to the foyer, where all was generally quiet save for the hustle and bustle of workers rushing back and forth to ensure everything was ready for the coming dinner dance, as Mr Houghton-Taylor was due to halt the Expo and make the announcement any moment now…as she watched them scurry about like ants, knowing what she now knew, she felt that calm, strong sense of determined purpose fill her and fortify her mind, making the rest of the evening very clear to her.

Who knew that young Brian was hiding such a…tragic secret from everybody. Had Brogan had any heartstrings, they would have been well and truly pulled by the story that Alex had uncovered about her classmate...luckily, though, Brogan had no such sentiment, she thought as she took the elevator back down to the ground floor, walking through to the Conference Centre. Staff actively /bowed/ to her as she passed. Who knew that a 16 year old girl could hold so much power in her Father's corporation…probably because they all knew that she would be their boss one day, and she wouldn't be anywhere near as tolerant or as lenient a boss as Mr Houghton-Taylor…

As soon as she entered the Conference Centre, Brogan spotted a familiar massive white hat through the crowd…how convenient for her. Making her way through the mass of students, Brogan came face to face with a green-egg wielding Mackenzie.

"Hello…enjoying yourself?" she asked in an amused tone, seeing that Mackenzie looked…well, as close to bored as she would express. Brogan assumed that Mackenzie was too 'cool' to be bored…but then that could also mean that she was easily bored…was boredom a cool emotion? Brogan smiled slightly at her inner monologue – this is why she 'liked' Mackenzie – or at least considered her an acquaintance – she was different to the great unwashed around them.

Selene
Smiling, Sel watched from beside the battlefield as Lance and Valorie crossed some post-battle pleasantries…Valorie looked to be feeling a combination of awe, fear and breathless excitement as she shook her idol's hand. Selene was delighted for her – not only had she met Lance, but she had defeated him in battle too…that had to equate to a successful day for her, despite…well, despite the rest of it. As Valorie left the battlefield, Sel took a deep breath – well, surely /now/ it was now or never…she knew that she had to sort things with Valorie once and for all, if only to make sure that Mark didn't get there first and continue his little poisonous scheme…

The thought made her frown slightly, and head straight over to Valorie without even thinking about it.

Stopping in front of her friend, she came back to herself and felt suddenly…shy? Nervous? Something that wasn't particularly pleasant anyway…

"Valorie. You were…that battle was fantastic…I mean I didn't see much of it…battling Steven myself and all…but it was just…Lance seemed really impressed…uhh…" she coughed and scowled…tripping over her own words? Not cool.

"I think…I think we need to talk."

Brian frowned when Mark told him to stay out of it. But, they were both his friends! So what if the fight wasn't about him. He had figured that anyways.

"..."

Brian was deep in thought. He was sure he could help. He wanted to help. But what if he just made things worse? No, he wouldn't do that. Though, he might make Mark mad at him for not listening. What could he do? He didn't know what to do. Anyways, it made no sense for Selene to be mad, considering that she had pushed Mark and Val together in the first place. Still... He wasn't sure what to do.

"I... I guess I'll have to stay out of it," Bri lied quickly. He didn't know it, but he had a terrible poker face. Anyone that knew him even remotely would be able to tell. He tried to think what to say next to keep himself from giving himself away. Fortunately, Xavier showed up with Burgh and made quite a scene. Time for an abrupt subject change, something Bri was very good at.

"Xavier! What's wrong!? You look a mess!" Bri said. He looked at Burgh again and smiled. He, being originally from Unova, recognised Burgh immediately. But, he didn't know the gym leader personally.

"Hi there! I'm Brian! It's nice to meet you!" Bri said to him. Thyme and Drizzle looked at him and shook their heads. Thyme then refocused oon Snype and put her arm around him.

"Don't worry Snype. I'm sure you'll get strong enough. Heh, look at me. I'm way tougher than I was yesterday, thanks to you. You and Mark will get stronger, trust me," Thyme said. Drizzle frowned and kicked his brain into overdrive. How could he get Thyme to focus on him without looking like a jerk? In short... He couldn't. Looks like this one goes to Snype. And besides, Snype was already sad enough. He needed to cheer up!He stood up and looked at Snype.

"Hey, I know you're tough! I bet you'll be one of the toughest pokemon in the Academy!" Drizzle said happily. He had made up his mind to try and chill out a little bit. Right now, he could score more points with Thyme by backing her up than trying to distract her from Snype. Nova growled and looked at them.

"Behind me. I'm going to be the strongest ever," Nova growled. He stood up and shook his fur out. He looked around. He was bored. He wanted to go train and get stronger. He needed to. He had to get stronger. He had always been one step behind everyone else when it came to power, and that burned him up inside. He already had a plan too. He was deeply ashamed of how he hadn't been able to knock anyone out yet. Bri needed someone tough. He was going to get tough, and that was all there was to it.

Mark noticed the whole scene that Xavier and Burgh were making. He didn't know any of them at all but it seemed pretty awkward in general. He didn't realize there was so much competition for Valorie. Mark laughed faintly. Mark was also very focused on Valorie's battle with Lance. If anything, Mark really did believe she would win. That just made him admire her more then he already did. To think he was going to actually ask her out today... with the whole scene with Selene though he wasn't so sure about interfering... Mark turned to both of them.

"Hey." Mark said simply. He let out a sigh after that and looked at Bri again.

"Hey comon Bri I don't mean anything bad by it. I just think this should be handled between the two of us... maybe... maybe I should talk to Val...or both Val and Sel. I dunno... maybe I do need help with this." Mark said.

Snype

Snype chuckled a bit. All this talk about getting more powerful... that wasn't all there was.

"I've told this to Thyme already, but you shouldn't focus solely on power Nova. You need a good technique and strategy to back it up. I admit, I'm a pretty frail Pokemon when it comes to battling but if I play my cards right, battling becomes a cinch. I just want to learn how to do that better. Maybe a move tutor can really teach me and the other Pokemon some good moves... give us a few days and in no time, We'll almost be unbeatable!" Snype said.

"Ah, excellent, very excellent indeed." Jonah stood in the shadows as he watched the substitute teachers have at it with some of the students. To his surprise, the girl looked every bit as passionate about dragons as the legendary Tamer of Blackthorn himself. At least, that's what he jokingly called him in the break room...it was a darn good thing Clair was so focused on surpassing him that she didn't come here.

He took a sip of coffee and looked around. He was here on personal business, but the coincidence of there being a field trip to his neck of the woods was rather interesting. It was one of those things that hinted at the influence of something more than mortal in the affairs of both humans and Pokemon alike. The feeling of being so close to divinity...so many Trainers spent their whole lives chasing after that sensation, none of which had the common sense to look inside and view the full splendor of the world around them...but there was one boy with an Eevee that caught his eye.

"Hey, kid, nice fight. Didn't really expect you to do that well, but on the other hand, that is Cynthia we're talking about. I see Burgh is as, er, friendly as ever, but I suppose you can't be successful without being at least a little bit eccentric, yeah?" In not-so-polite terms, this guy was throwing himself at women to a degree not seen since Brock. What a piece of work...though he could appreciate the rock-solid Pewter City leader's passion for the art and science of breeding.

"Speaking of being friendly, that Eevee of yours seems to really like you. Why don't you let it evolve?"

Nova gave Snype a flat look. He chuckled a bit despite himself.

"Um... Duh! That's also a part of strength. It doesn't matter how tough you are if your mind isn't strong," Nova growled. That gave Thyme pause for thought. She knew she had several strategies to use in her battles. Like Leech Seed, as it would help keep her going.She shook her head. Why did she care? It's not like she would be doing much battling anyways. She would rather find a comfy spot and relax with Snype. Like she was doing now, even though Drizzle was being a pest and not leaving. She turned her attention back to Brian and Mark when Brian began to speak up.

"Yeah, you probably should tell Val... Hm... Well... I can talk to Sel, maybe she would listen to me a little bit. More than she would you right now. She's really mad, but like I said, once she cools off a bit, then it will be easier to work things out... I hope. I don't know for sure," Bri said. He didn't get any of what was going on, other than that Sel seemed to believe that Mark was trying to take Valorie away from her. Why she would think that, Bri had no idea. He didn't get how older people thought. This was all very confusing. But he did know that they would all be laughing about this when everything worked out. If it did. On the whole, he thought teenagers were weird.

Brogan
"Oh no, me neither...I mean, if I'm being completely honest I don't get the point of Pokemon /training/ in general...they're pets, accessories...it makes no sense to me, but whatever," she sighed lightly, flicking her hair back over her shoulder as she spoke and folding her arms. Some kid bumped into her, and before he could even begin to glare at her, she had fixed him with a look so stern that he mumbled his apologies and averted his eyes, scurrying off as fast as his feet would take him. That's right kid, thought Brogan with a scoff, run along...

"Anyway. The showcase battles are over...Father will be announcing the Dinner Dance anytime soon..." her eyes passed over MacKenzie slowly and she arched a perfectly threaded eyebrow slightly. "Father has brought in outfits from Gucci, Jenni Packham, Dolce, Chanel...but...well, I think that for you we will need to look into...serious customisation," she smiled slightly as her eyes took in the large black hat...the violet eyes...the shoes...the whole outfit, just in general. "But not to worry, our seamstresses will be able to work that out perfectly for you..."

Selene
There really was no going back now that the words had escaped from Selene's mouth...and Valorie had responded to them in a not-so-enthusiastic manner...maybe she didn't really want to talk things through?? The way she looked around...it was almost as though she were looking around for someone to run to to escape from this whole situation...

No! Sel wouldn't let Mark's plan work...she just knew that once she and Valorie had sorted things out it would be fine...Valorie asked if they were going to be talking right there, and Selene couldn't help but laugh slightly, instantly biting her lip and shaking her head. She imagined the whole conversation playing out there...where way too many ears were way too interested in business that didn't concern them. That would prove to be somewhat awkward...

"No. Not here...umm..." she looked around with a frown, realising that she didn't know where any private places were here. Chances were that all the important places - that would be quiet - were closed off to the students...for a moment she wished that she knew Brogan well enough to ask if she would take Sel and Valorie somewhere they could talk...but she would rather ask a hungry Frillish for help than Brogan...her eyes followed Lance as he left, and she had an idea - it was risky...but it was all she had right now.

"Behind the stage?" she suggested, her eyes shifting as the boy from earlier interrupted them...and, unless her ears had failed her, asked Valorie to hang out? Wow, this boy was either completely stupid and obtuse or he was purposefully being antagonistic. Either way, Sel wasn't impressed...especially when he addressed her in that tone.

"Yeah...because I'm quite clearly the one with the attitude..." said Selene with an arched brow, completely calm despite Sam's jeering. Like he could wind her up given everything that had happened that day...Sel said nothing, waiting for Valorie to respond to him before they went off to talk.

Xavier and Burgh

In response to Brians question, Xavier simply pointed at Burgh, he was upset, he didn't know why but he just was, after all he was just publicly humiliated and any kind of respect he had earned for battling Cynthia was pretty much null and void.

"Oh Xavier, don't overreact, it's fine, nothing to worry abou..." Burgh was cut off by Xaviers harsh tone.

"Shut up Burgh, you don't understand what you just did to me there... you need to think more about what you do before you do it... I think you should leave Burgh, I think you should leave right now and visit me some other time." Xavier muttered.

"But Xavi..."

"Just go Burgh, we can talk later Ok?!" Xavier stood up and faced Burgh.

Were his eyes watering? It made sense in a way, Xavier wasn't good with social standing as it was so being publicly humiliated pushed all of his buttons.

"Not only did you humiliate me but you made up things I said so just..."

"I did no such thing!" Burgh cried, it was his turn to interupt.

"I said to that girl exactly what you told me! Just because you're still emotionally weak from your mothers death doesn't mean that you can..." Burgh stopped when he realised what he had said.

"Burgh... I didn't think that you of all people would say that to me..." Xavier muttered, a boy approached Xavier, he seemed to be asking about Maria but it was like the boy was in a totally different world.

"Xavier I...." Burgh began.

"Go Burgh..." Xavier said.

"Xavier I didn't mean to..."

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Xavier screamed in Burghs face and the leaders face turned to one of pure guilt as he walked away.

A few people turned and stared at Xavier, they seemed confused, some even looked annoyed.

"Unless you have something to say I suggest you turn away.... NOW!" Xavier shouted.

One by one the crowd began to turn their heads away from Xavier. Xavier fell to his knees.

Xavier

How was it possible that Burgh would say that, he was the only person who understood what he was going through.

It wasn't fair. Xavier felt tears drip down his face.

Poor Xavier, he never got the good and always got the bad, it just didn't seem fair... It wasn't fair however despite his misinterpretations, Burgh had told the truth. Xavier was emotionaly unstable, unable to hold back things like anger and sadness back. His mothers death was the cause but Burgh shouldn't have mentioned it. Xavier had in fact said Valorie was pretty, he couldn't say he had "feelings" for her, he barely knew her. He just thought she had a pretty face, that was all. He hadn't even noticed he'd said it, it had just slipped out. Xavier now realised this and felt anger aswell, that boy... he had called Burgh a dog, what a horrible person, only caring for himself like that, Xavier knew his type, he used to be the same kind.

Xavier didn't know what to do at that point, he obviously had to stand up and that he did, but then he felt completely lost, he had nobody to talk to anymore, he'd thought he had Burgh but... No the only person who ever really understood him was his mother but she was long gone now. Xavier felt so alone at that point, he was afraid and looked at everyone around him, he felt so small, he's never liked crowds to begin with, but now he felt almost afraid of them. It was like he was shrinking down and nobody could save him. Nobody "would" save him, he felt so alone. So alone.

Xavier was flowing tears freely then, he had come so close, so close to saving her, so close to making friends, so close to being able to depend on Burgh, but close didn't cut it. He didn't think any of that was possible anymore, even though the latter two still were. His mind was convinced nobody could help him and he put his hands on his head in confusion. What was he going to do?! What could he do?! Nothing if he was alone, he needed to not be alone to solve the problem of being alone. He needed the solution to reach the solution?! He didn't understand.

"Deary are you all right?" The nurse had reached out for his arm.

Xavier smacked it away like it was a Darkrais talon.

"S... Stay away from me!" Xavier stepped back from the people at the nurses desk, he didn't recognise them, not the nurse, not the kid who had asked him the question about Maria, not even Brian who he thought could really have been a good friend.

Xaviers mind was reaching the point of no return. He felt so afraid and alone, it was like the day his mother had died, he truly felt there was nobody there for him.

"I... I have to go! I have to leave here!" Xavier turned and ran through the crowd, he pushed past people, knocking some over, shoving some into others. Some people got angry and shouted, Xavier ran past the battlefields, he ran past the stage where Lance stood, he almost tripped into Valorie and Selene and instead simply shoved past without a second thought.

He was stopped by an arm grapping his own.

"Its Ok Xavier, you need to stop this..." It was Brock, behind him Burgh stood with a worried expression on his face.

"N...No... NO!" Xavier broke free and turned but his path was blocked by a woman. Cynthia stopped him.

"It's alright Xavier... stop worrying, you're not alone here..." Xavier turned and ran but Burgh grabbed him and pulled him back to him.

Xavier struggled to break free and Burgh had to cover his mouth so he didn't attract too much attention from screaming.

Eventually Xavier just broke down into tears.

"It's alright Xavier..." Burgh said.

"I'm sorry my friend, it'll be Ok I promise..." Burgh tried to reconsile with Xavier and it seemed to be working, Xavier began to flop down and Brock took him on his shoulder.

Xavier kept sobbing lightly as Brock attempted to take him to a doctor.

Bri watched Zavier's little shouting match with an astonished look on his face. When Xavier ran off, he was still just as surprised. He turned to Mark, who still hadn't said anything since Xavier's outburst. Mark had calmed down a lot, and Xavier looked like he could use a friend.

"Um... I'll be right back. Do you think you could look after Thyme for me?" Bri asked. Thyme glared at him as Drizzle laughed. He took that chance to pull her into a playful hug. She shoved him off of her and stood up.

"Look after me? Does it look like I need looking after?" Thyme said angrily. She glared at Brian. It was clear she expected an answer. Bri closed his eyes and thought a moment. This was probably going to sting a little bit.

"Yes Thyme. You do. Everytime I leave yoou unattended you get into trouble. So... Yes, you do need looking after," Bri said solemnly. Thyme's gaze softened a little bit. She looked like she had been slapped in the face. She hadn't known that her actions had that much of an impact on Bri...

"Oh... I... I'll stay here then," Thyme said softly. She sat back down. Nova got to his feet and began sniffing the air. He soon found Xavier's scent, and began to walk in that direction. Bri turned and began walking, but he stopped.

"Thyme, Drizzle, don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, ok?" Bri asked. Drizzle gave him a cheerful grin and Thyme nodded slowly. With that out of the way, Bri walked off again until he was out of sight. He follwed Nova, making his way through the students. One good thing about being on crutches was that people tended to clear a path for him. He would catch up to Xavier in no time.

Thyme and Drizzle

Thyme sat and watched Brian go with an odd look on her face. She was still shocked that he thought she needed someone to look after her.

"Humph! I know I can take care of myself! I don't need a babysitter!" she said with a huff after he had gotten out of earshot. Drizzle looked at her.

"Thyme, it's not that he doesn't think you can take care of yourself. He just doesn't want you starting anymore fights while he's not here!" Drizzle said quietly, trying to cheer her up. Not surprisingly, that only made her feel worse.