Hey, everyone!

So this is the fan fiction I thought I was least likely to update next, but inspiration hit and BAM! Here we go.

First off, I should apologize for the literal three-year hiatus. It was...inexcusable, but without going into personal detail, let's just say my life has been utter hell, and while I was updating other stories in this time, it was because they were the only things that interested me. But, obviously, I have not abandoned this story.

And I'm not going to. I promise.

For any of my readers who are waiting for updates on ANY other story: Don't expect them any time soon. It's not an actual hiatus, because I post when and where I can, but my life is a literal living hell right now, has been almost constantly for the past two years, and honestly? Every day is a struggle to not just give up and die. So there's that.

I"m doing my best. When it comes to writing, original fic is first priority, fanfiction second, but writing falls very low on my priorities at all these days. However, I'm feeling inspired for this fic right now, and it may continue, there is a possibility of an exotic pet seller coming into the bakery in the next chapter and May falling in love with a certain giant snake...whose name may or may not begin with an R...

IF that's where my inspiration takes me.

Anyways, I also want to give a heads up for this chapter: May's reaction to events may be controversial to some, so there will be an author's note at the end to soothe anyone up in arms about the way she acts.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Fourteen: Eyes Open

When May woke up the next morning at the early five in the morning that she had to—one of the unfortunate consequences of working at a bakery—she groaned, rubbed her eyes blearily, and then, after a blinding moment of recollection, found herself grinning like a fool at the memory of the night before.

She wasn't certain whether Archie was awake or asleep at this point, given that she still hadn't figured out what hours he normally kept, if he had a schedule at all after noticing his random appearances outside during the day, so she refrained from sending him a text message that might wake him up. That meant that when she swiped open her phone to check her emails and notifications, seeing a text from Archie was one hundred percent surprising and sent her heart galloping like a racehorse.

Until she read its contents.

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: Hey, emergency came up. Will be out of town for a while. Phone's gonna be off, text you when I get back

Her heart plummeted immediately and her stomach twisted tightly as though feeling a sense of rejection.

And, in a sense, she did feel rejected. Last night had seemed to have gone so well, and he hadn't mentioned then that he had to go out of town, so why now? And, when she checked the time it had been sent…

It was only about thirty minutes after she had gotten home, about fifteen minutes after she had turned off the sound for her notifications so she could study uninterrupted before going to sleep, not at all having expected to hear from him again that night.

He hadn't mentioned this to her once. No warning at all, except what was given via the text she had received.

Glancing at her clock desperately, she realized that she could neither text him back nor go to his door and ask her questions in person. And his phone would be off? In no way did this seem like anything but an easy, impersonal way to cut her off without having to deal with the backlash, though she didn't think there would have been any on her part anyways.

She really didn't want to wake him up, but a sort of desperation filled her then. Had he already left? Probably not—but then again, if it really was an emergency, he could already be gone and going to knock on his door to catch his attention would be pointless, as well as texting or calling because his phone would be off. And if what he was actually doing was cutting her off, then going to his door would just result in being ignored, and he'd also ignore any texts or calls she sent his way.

As her helplessness started to sink in, May felt tears accumulate in her eyes. She wouldn't find out anything until he was back or she caught him out on his porch. The one good thing was that he smoked, so at some point or another she would run into him as his next door neighbor.

She almost didn't feel like she wanted to.

But she couldn't risk being late to work, so she numbly got up to go get dressed and eat something, though she was so distraught that she didn't think she would actually be able to stomach anything. In an attempt to soothe herself, she tried to replay all of the interactions between them in her mind so she could figure out what to really think about this, or rather: she wanted to try to convince herself that this wasn't the ghosting she believed it was.

First of all, she told herself, he had been the one to initiate any kind of flirting when he subtly invited her to breakfast. She hadn't missed his appreciative glances, not in retrospect after finding out that he was attracted to her. There had been the Electra complex conversation, and she saw no reason for him to have lied about that. That was two points to her favor. Even after the Daddy comments and his unfavorable reaction to them—which she realized put a big, fat point against her, because maybe the age difference bothered him more than he had let on, it really was weird for a thirty-one-year-old to seek out someone so much younger—he had been willing to take her on a date. She didn't count him saving her life or buying her a Starbucks as a sign of attraction, though she wanted to, because at the thought of the age difference she realized what the problem was, why she was right to feel rejected.

He had purposely kissed her on the cheek instead of on the lips. She was the one who had insisted on a hug, the one who had all but forced a real kiss on him. And in a sudden rush of shame, she realized that that long, lingering look had not shown at all what he was thinking. It hadn't been full of affection, or even lust; it hadn't necessarily been clinical, but it certainly wasn't a look of overt interest.

No! she recalled suddenly. He had said he'd like to take her out again! That was an obvious sign of interest, wasn't it? He wouldn't have said that if-

Oh.

He was just trying to let me down easy.

The three points, four if she was being generous about buying her Starbucks, were completely eviscerated come the obviousness that the age difference was just too weird for him. Anything that had happened on the date, even though he had been the one to insist on that, and even if he had implied for another one—and it brought back a certain sort of optimism that was quickly crushed by her next thought—had been normal date behavior at best. There hadn't been any touching initiated by him excepting that singular peck on the cheek, and conversation had never really become personal beyond average things that friends would talk about.

As May brushed her hair out roughly after donning her clothes for the day and packing her bag with her uniform and other necessities for the bakery, she realized with cutting clarity that she had, indeed, gotten burned by playing with fire.

He wasn't interested. Not like that. It didn't seem like he had done it out of pity, but she reasoned that after the date and actually having a long conversation with her, it had occurred to him that she was too young, apparently in mind rather than body if the way he had gripped her during the kiss was any indication. If she kept pursuing him, it would only be worse: he'd either reject her more wholly, or it would escalate, she'd go farther than just a simple kiss with him, and then he would tell her that a relationship was out of the question. That was about the whole of it.

She didn't want to lose any more firsts to a guy who wasn't truly into her, not all of her.

May stared at herself in the mirror for a long moment, placing the brush back down and just giving herself a long look. She was pretty, she knew. Large, doe-like blue eyes, thick chestnut brown hair that she kept at a medium-short length, pale skin and classically feminine features. Her breasts weren't necessarily large, but they weren't below average, and she was thin around the waist with ample hips and rear. She was attractive, and to an extent, she didn't really look her age. Maybe it was always because she had just been more mature than her classmates, but she truly felt she could pass for early twenties if she dressed and did her makeup right.

So it was obviously her youth, then. Just the number, just the fact that she had lived thirteen less years than him.

Just the misfortune of being born when she had.

She shook her head, trying to make those thoughts go away, and turned from the mirror to go get ready. She had a bus to catch, and the last thing she needed was disapproval from anyone for being late.

Outside, it was dreary and smelled of coming rain, as well as unexpectedly cold. May went back inside just to grab an umbrella and a thick coat before she headed out. Upon turning to lock her door, she saw Archie's door from the corner of her eye, which was really unavoidable because they lived right next to each other.

Curiously, just testing a theory, she went over and knocked gently—enough to see if Kyogre was there and to attract his attention if he was, but not enough to disturb him if he was sleeping. She noted with a little relief that at least the front room's lights weren't on.

There was the telltale scrabble of paws and barking. Even though she was getting closer to being late, she decided to stand there for just a few minutes to see if Archie was awake to come answer to the door, or at least check out the commotion Kyogre was making.

She probably waited longer than she should have, but as she expected but hoped desperately against, no one came to answer the door.

He said he wanted to take me out again, she tried to console herself desperately, and a distant part of her told her she was being irrational with this feeling of rejection. But…

She couldn't make herself believe it. She just couldn't.

Turning away, she opened her umbrella to add to her anonymity and pulled her hood over her head. She had never liked to make any noise while she cried, so no one noticed her soft sobs and silent tears as she made her way over to the bus stop.

Oooookay, here we go.

I don't want to linger on this topic too long, as I don't want to artificially bloat my word count, but there are a few things to take into account here: first of all, May's 18, so sorry to any of you 18 year olds out there, but 18 year olds are just young, period. I know I sure as hell wouldn't date one. (That does NOT reflect on Archie's POV, by the way, that's all me. I'm just wishing I made Archie a little younger for my own squicks about the story now that I'm older.) Also, May has literally never been in a relationship before. That was her first date, first kiss, and given how hard she worked in school during high school, probably one of the more serious considerations she's had for a relationship with a guy before—EVER. Also, she's pretty damn sheltered and just, well, young (although some of that was necessary for the plot to evolve as it did).

(Tbh I'm honestly wishing I wasn't writing with such age gaps. After re-reading the story, I'm starting to get a little squicky about guys in their mid-twenties and early thirties being interested in a literal teenager, even if she's legal. However, I've hit a milestone in the last three years that has really opened my eyes about just how much of a maturity and age difference there really is.)

AAAAAAANYWAYS, yeah, the point is that she's overreacting to this at least a little. I won't confirm or deny whether she's right about Archie ghosting her, though.

Opinion time! Do YOU think, personally, that May is overreacting? Do you think Archie's ghosting her (even if only temporarily?) or do you think it's an actual out-of-town emergency? Let me know in a review!

If any of you have gotten this far, thank you and I love you! Glad to be back!