disclaimer: Emerald Twin Blade does not own Pokémon, or any of the people, things, etc. etc. that may appear in this fic that you find familiar from the show or games. However, certain characters, as well as the storyline, do belong to her.

Emerald's Notes & Nonsense:

Surprised? I'll tell you what; I sure am! 'Never thought I'd be updating this thing again... but, what do y'know, here I am! With an update! During the appropriate time frame, too... I'll be writing that St. Patrick's Day contest chapter later on today and, probably, during the unGodly hours of Saturday, March 17th, 2012.

Those of you who kept BoaR on your Story Alert list, thank you. It's been around 4 years since I updated this... and I have gone back and reread the entire fic. I'm considering going back and revising it into my current style, though it hasn't necessarily changed all that much. The main focus hasn't changed, but the idea of where I want this plot to go has, so some things will need some serious fine-tuning.

The first part of this chapter was written 3 or 4 years ago, so the style's a little different... but I decided to keep what's there for what it is.

Didn't think I'd ever say this again, but have fun reading this brand-new chapter!

: Fragment No.15 :

Partner

Who She Chooses

Anissa DeMont sighed quietly to herself as she stared down at her hands, folded together on the table in front of her. She was sitting at a booth in the cafeteria as one of a handful of people who were actually up at 5:30 in the morning. Her dark blonde hair would flow over her shoulders to pool around her hands as her dark blue eyes stared unblinking at her shiny silver nail polish. Her upper body was bunched over the table so that passersby could not see that it was her through her long, thick hair.

"Anissa."

At the sound of her name, the teenager shot up to sit straight, turning her head so quickly that her hair swayed around her before settling back down. Her best friend Fordé Sourentis stood there in torn blue jeans, a bright green T-shirt and his favorite red blazer. His left arm was held upward so that the palm of his hand could rub his eye lazily, his other green eye was half-closed as it looked at her. His mouth opened up wide in a yawn as he dragged himself into the seat in front of her.

"Alright, what's the problem? What'd you wake me up at five in the god forsaken morning for?" he said, leaning back against the booth wall and laying his arms out along the top edge with his eyes closed.

Anissa's eyes had followed her friend as he sat, but after he'd asked his questions, she looked down at her hands thoughtfully, staying quiet as she fiddled with her thumbs. One of Fordé's eyes peeked open at her before he blinked both open and pushed himself to lean forward. His elbows thumped onto the table as he threaded his fingers together and lay his chin upon them, his emerald hues softened as he noticed her outfit.

"So… you're wearing her clothes, now… I take it you had a dream about her, then?"

The blonde-haired girl was wearing a pure green polo shirt that had some sort of emblem over the left breast. It looked like a Luxury Pokéball, stitched in total black with green markings instead of red, but it also had a large diamond stitched in a thicker black material behind it. Anissa picked up her right hand and placed it over the patch, her eyes narrowing slightly as she continued looking down at her other hand.

"Aurelia… She hasn't appeared to me in a dream for a long time, Fordé. Normally, I would just give myself a good cry and feel better, but… this time, something's a little off." She informed, her fingers closing over the sign.

"Something's off? Like what? What happened?" He asked softly, half-knowing what was going on.

"I don't know… I… I saw her in the Petalburg Woods somewhere… with her Murkrow and her Houndoom. But she wasn't talking and I couldn't see her eyes…" she explained, her eyes closing tightly as she tried to remember, "Her Pokémon were all looking at her so sadly… and all she did was sit there quietly, like she couldn't move or… like she wasn't really there…"

Her voice had cracked; by now, tears had swollen in her eyes. The moment she reopened those sapphire hues, two drops of water spilt unevenly over her cheeks before she closed them again and picking up both of her hands to cover her face from his view.

Fordé immediately got up from where he'd been sitting, walking over to the other side and sitting down beside her, putting his right arm around her and pulling her close to him in a half-embrace. Anissa buried her crying face into his jacket, her shoulders shaking as she tried to control her breathing. His arm curled around her shoulder and head so that his hand rested on the top of her hair. He lowered his head to lay his cheek over her head, bright red bangs covering over his eyes in the process.

"It's alright, Anissa… It was just a dream, okay?" he reassured her, "Aurelia's probably in heaven right now, watching over us from there, y'know? Wherever she is, we know that she's happy."

"That's just it, Fordé! She's not happy!" she cried, managing to get a hold of herself before pulling herself away to look up at him, "I think that was why I dreamt what I did… She's still here and she's not happy! She needs help, Fordé! Our help!"

The older boy's hand on her head ruffled her hair gently, eliciting a confused look from her, "I know that you miss her, 'Nissa… I do, too, but don't take your dreams so seriously. Aurelia died four years ago on a mission in Oldale Town, end of story. She was a great Pokémon Ranger, but… some times, even the Rangers can't handle it."

The girl bit her lip at the terrible thought that such an accomplished Pokémon Ranger could ever be defeated to the point of death. Her intense feelings built up in her heart, causing her to blurt out her thoughts as she threw herself into his chest again.

"BUT SHE HAD DIALGA! HOW COULD SOMEONE STRONG ENOUGH TO CATCH THE LEGEND OF TIME DIE SO EASILY!"

This time, Fordé put his arms completely around her, holding her close in hopes of comforting her. His eyes closed beneath their blood red veil, letting one tear of sorrow slide down the side of his face.

"Don't worry about it… We can't live in her memory forever, y'know… Besides, since it's still early, how about I get you some breakfast? I'll actually get off my ass, order and bring it here to you." He tried to change the subject, smiling pleasantly at her tearful expression.

For a moment, she was angry that he'd pushed aside the topic so easily, but a few seconds went by before she sniffled and smiled weakly at him, "Yeah… Thanks."

"Huh? Where've you been all morning, Anissa?" May Maple asked, blinking as she watched her friend walk back into their room.

Anissa stopped after she'd closed the door behind her, looking at her temporary roommate's outfit. It seemed vaguely familiar… May was wearing a long, orange sleeveless that was currently unzipped with a short black polo shirt under that which showed her stomach. She wore black bike shorts and had a bright green waist pack replaced her dandelion-colored one. The brunette was currently brushing at her messy hair with a light red brush as she watched her.

"Huh… Why does that outfit look…?" the older girl asked, grinning slightly.

The younger looked down and then laughed, "Oh, this? I actually wore this around four years ago when I was in Johto for some contests… As for how it looks, I think it's kinda similar to what Brendan wears every day now…"

"So… you're going to ask Brendan to enter today's contest with you?"

May looked downward as she put her brush on the side table, her blue eyes softening as a weak smile came to her, "Well… yeah. He's my childhood friend, after all… and I've been spending all of my time with Drew lately that I kind of feel like I'm distancing myself from him and Wally…"

Anissa could easily understand where she was coming from, nodding as she walked around her and sat on her bed, "Well, then… today is definitely going to have a great show!"

"Huh?" May blinked again, looking to her friend.

All the other did was wink, "Fordé's gonna come by with some brunch. You realize that it's already eleven-thirty? And that the contest is actually at four-thirty?"

"Are you serious?" the 16-year-old shouted in surprise, a hint of fear in her voice. If she didn't ask Brendan soon, then they wouldn't be able to sign up!

"Did somebody order breakfast for lunch?" Fordé's voice called over the door while he knocked loudly.

May quickly pulled her bright green bandana off of the side table and tied it around her head before watching as the door swung open. Instead of just a familiar redhead standing there, Brendan and Wally were standing behind him.

"Good morning!" Wally called cheerfully, skipping passed the other two boys and tackling May back onto her bed, "May! May! I have something I want to ask you!"

Anissa, feeling a sense of danger from how close Wally was to her roommate, nonchalantly took him by the back of his dark green dress shirt's collar and pulled him into her awaiting lap. A gentle-yet-warning smile came to her lips as she looked down at his blush of embarrassment, rendering him speechless.

"Wally, dear… Would you be my partner for the St. Patrick's Day Contest today? I've decided to enter for the fun of it, not necessarily to win, but it's up to you whether or not I even try…" she spoke aloud, but she lowered her face to be near his ear where she whispered harshly, "You can't refuse me; I won't let you pair up with anybody else."

"O-okay… Ahm… N-nevermind, May." He stuttered, smiling nervously at his childhood friend from his seat on Anissa's lap.

Brendan put his orange-and-green gloved hands into the pockets of his black pants as he leaned back against the closed door, putting one orange, green, and black shoe against the wood. His steel grey eyes looked over to Fordé as he started opening up the several large bags of food from the McDonalds inside the cafeteria.

"Say, Fordé… Are you planning to enter the contest, too?"

The redhead looked over to the younger boy, shooting him a toothy grin, "Naa… I don't have a green Pokémon to enter with, anyway, y'know? All of my Pokémon are either black or red…"

"Hmm…" His eyes fell to the floor for a moment as he thought about everyone in the room; there were current 5 persons in the room, two of which were already partnered and one was not going to compete, that means…

His cheeks heated up as he raised his gaze to look over to May, only to catch her sapphire eyes looking back at him for a moment before she looked back down with a light blush that he was barely able to see. He smiled, chuckling mentally before pushing himself off the wall and approaching her, bending down to sit next to her.

"Hey, May… Do you have a partner for the contest yet?" he asked casually, thanking whatever God there was out there that he didn't look as panicky as he felt.

The girl shook her head, smiling brightly at her childhood friend, "Nope! I was actually hoping to enter with you! Well… that is, if you want to?"

Brendan nodded excitedly, his cool smile widening, "Yeah! Of course I do!"

"Great! We'll go sign up after we eat, then!" May laughed as her stomach started growling loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone looked to Fordé, who was currently opening one bag, "Eh? Why's everybody… Oh, you want to know if I brought enough for May and for everybody else, right?"

He waved the several bags he'd brought in; about 7 big bags from the big Mickey D's. Two meals were in each bag, so that meant that five of the bags were for May. The girl squealed happily as she walked up and took the bags, laughing maniacally before stuffing a hash brown into her mouth.

To the surprise of the left over occupants in the Coordinators' living hallway, there was absolutely no sound coming from Room 7. Of course, they didn't know about the change in residents, so who could blame them?

Drew Warren was lying back on the top of his bed, sheets and pillows neatly made. His hands were behind his head, emerald green eyes staring up at the ceiling in concentration. Originally, he had been planning to ask May to join him for the St. Patrick's Day contest, but…

"I'm sorry, Drew… I… I understand you now, but… I'm still going."

The expression on her face was practically burned behind his eyelids, so he tried not to blink so much. When he did, however, the faint imprint of her downcast eyes and weak smile would flash before his eyes. A small scowl formed over his lips as he abruptly turned onto his side, his right hand cupping the back of his head and his other arm reaching out over the bed.

He had been so confident before… When he got up, Fordé was already gone, so he was able to easily shower and change. During that entire time, the green-haired Coordinator had been dead-set on going to May's new room and asking her to be his partner. The moment he had deemed himself ready to go and had plucked a red rose out of a vase he'd set up after she left, he looked at himself in the mirror and froze.

It was at that moment that he saw her unhappy face again. His mistake during his Singles Appeal… He had cleared everything up! She wasn't mad at him anymore!

But she still left.

He had clenched his vacant fist, wanting to punch the mirror with all of his might. That, however, would not have been a smart thing to do, so he suppressed the urge.

Drew sighed heavily, staring at the rose that lay about an inch and a half from the tip of his outstretched fingers, "Why am I the one freaking out over what happened? I passed to the second round."

In all honesty, it was May's lack of knowledge that made him second guess himself. The truth was that Arcanine, known as the Legendary Pokémon, was able to handle living in molten lava for prolonged periods of time. There was absolutely no chance that its own Fire Spin could have damaged it horribly in comparison with molten freaking lava.

"Alright!" He whispered to himself, pulling himself up to sit and then to stand, "Gotta ask her… Even if she says no, it'll be fine, because she's the one who's in the wrong!"

There was no way that the great Drew could be wrong!

At that moment, the door squeaked open. His red-haired roommate had entered, humming a song with a quick tempo as he hopping onto his bed.

Drew raised an eyebrow at him, greeting him slowly, "… Hey, Fordé…"

Fordé smiled over to him cheerily, "Oh, hey, Drew; didn't see you there."

This only served to increase the small ball of curiosity that had been growing within the green-haired Coordinator since he noticed that the literal circus freak had taken off early in the morning.

"Yeah… Where were you earlier?"

It was Fordé's turn to raise an eyebrow and he turned from lying on his stomach to his back, his long red hair going along with gravity as his head hung off the side of the bed. A wide smirk was on his face.

"Why do y'wanna know? –Ohh, I see! You're a control freak who likes to know about everything going on with the people in your general area!" He joked convincingly, squinting one abnormally green eye in amusement, "I don't like that kind of thing, so… I'll just keep it to myself."

Drew rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned back to pick up the rose and stare at it, "Whatever… I was just wondering since it looked like you left really early. I mean, I woke up at six-thirty, which is generally pretty early."

The redhead shrugged, turning himself back right-side up as he looked up at his roommate, "Well, if y'gotta know… I was hanging with Anissa. She wasn't feelin' so great, so I got her some breakfast and took her back to her room."

Emerald green hues went wide as Fordé continued talking; he had gone to Anissa's room… meaning that he'd seen May already. His attention was completely focused on the other's words now.

"While I was at it, though, I went to buy some brunch, since I figured May would want a bite… or five."

Drew chuckled at the vision of how much that girl could eat.

"But, on my way back, I ran into Brendan and Wally."

Oh, great; what the Hell does that Snowhead have to do with this story? He thought in irritation, placing the rose in his hand in a hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"They came along with me 'cause they both wanted to ask May to join up for that green contest today, but, surprisingly, 'Nissa scared Wally into being her partner and then Brendan—"

Fordé was cut off when Drew's left fist collided sideways with the mirror, effectively causing a small crater of spider web-like cracks to become visible. A vein had popped on the side of his forehead as he slowly turned to face the redhead, a forced smile on his face as he tried very, very hard to look unaffected by what he was just told.

"You don't say? Brendan's gonna work with May for the contest today?"

He did not bother waiting to hear the other's reply as he walked toward the door, exiting and slamming the door behind him.

"… Oh, shit." Was all Fordé could say.

Why the HELL is room two in the other corridor? Drew shouted in his head, rushing down the hallway in the fastest walk he could handle without full-on running, How could she agree to that? To partnering up with that loser! He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself a little, It's alright… Everything'll be fine. I'll just ask her to be my partner and, of course, she'll choose me over him. Like always.

Your act was awesome, but guess what? Brendan's voice echoed in his head, making his anger boil up again as he turned a corner, I win.

He slowed slightly as the door reading 2 suddenly came open and out came the white-haired trainer, laughing cheerfully. His eye twitched as he quickened his pace again, his footsteps become loud.

Brendan looked out the corner of his eye, noticing the angry green-haired Coordinator stomping toward him. He laughed nervously, shutting the door in front of him quickly.

"Ouch! Brendan, what was that for? Brendan, open the door!" came Wally's muffled whines, making the white-haired teen feel bad for what he just did.

"Just wait there for a bit, Wally; don't let anybody open the door." He whispered harshly through the door as he kept one hand flat on its wooden frame and had grey eyes trained on the furious green ones in front of him. He raised his voice, calling to the other, "Hey there, Drew! What's going on in your neck of the woods?"

Drew took a moment to mentally compose himself, part of his rage draining away from his face as he stopped a few feet away from the other. Emerald green orbs were glaring dangerously at Brendan, hands slipping into the pockets of his black pants.

"Not much… 'Heard you'll be competing in today's contest."

The other trainer smirked slightly, closing his eyes as he replied smugly, "Yeah, with May."

The rose Coordinator felt his eye twitch again in irritation; this guy really pissed him off, but he decided not to let it show… not completely. He smiled coldly, shrugging, "I see… Have fun with that; I'm sure you won't place, though."

This caught Brendan off guard, making him look back at Drew in confusion, "What?"

"Yeah; between your mediocre coordinating and May's klutzy moves, there's no way either of you'll win." Drew answered in a matter-of-factly manner, his smile turning into a smirk, "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

He stepped closer to the other, the white-haired trainer backing up so that he had full access to the door. Drew flipped his bangs arrogantly, "See you around."

With that, he opened the door to room 2 and shut it behind him, smiling in satisfaction when he did. He looked around the room, finding the smiling and laughing faces of Anissa, Wally and May.

The first to notice him was Wally, who jumped and laughed, "Oh, Drew! This must mean it's okay to go outside now!"

The golden-haired trainer got up and started toward the door, lightly patting the newcomer's shoulder in a friendly way, "Don't sweat yesterday; it looks like May's over it."

Drew blinked at the other, feeling slightly refreshed at the idea of his biggest rival's best friend possibly being on his side. When the door shut behind Wally, he turned to the girls, who were looking at him expectantly.

May had been looking at him when he was looking the other way, but, now that he was looking back at her, she averted her sapphire blue hues down to her hands. They had been folded in her lap, but, now, her fingers were fidgeting a little.

Anissa noticed this sudden change in manner and took that as her cue to stand, "I think I'll go hang out with Wally… 'Need to come up with a routine now that we're a team."

The brunette looked quickly to her roommate, silently protesting, but all the blonde did was smile kindly before leaving the room, as well.

May gulped, looking in the opposite direction from where the only other inhabitant of the room was. Her cheeks were burning; how come she was feeling this way now?

"May…"

His soft voice, so close, had her head turn instantly to look at him. Pools of blue looked up into green as the teenaged boy slowly sat down beside her, minimal space separating their legs from touching. She looked away from him again, biting her lip.

What did he want? She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, in her head… It was so annoying! What did he expect from her, to have come to see her…

He'll want to enter the contest with you. The little voice inside of her head whispered knowingly. And, oh, how she wanted to enter with him… but…

The image of Brendan's embarrassed smile came to her mind; she had not paid much attention to her childhood friend since this whole competition began. It wasn't fair to her friend, who had come all this way to see her. Her hands clenched at her thoughts.

"May, come on…" Drew tried to get her attention again, reaching his left hand across to gently take her cheek and turn her face to look at him. Her cheek was soft and warm, and reddening rapidly.

Sapphire blue eyes had the look of a deer caught in headlights as he held her gaze; she knew he knew, and she… felt bad about it? The small Pride monster in his chest had him chuckle quietly at the poorly hidden emotion in her eyes.

"I know you're entering with Brendan… but, I want you to know that it's alright." He smiled encouragingly, "It's just a one-day contest… It's nothing too big."

The frightened look in May's eyes melted away as his gentle disposition calmed her, took away everything she was scared of. Now her heart was simply beating fast because of how close their faces were… Her face must have been as red as her old clothes as she stared up at him, wondering what he would do… what else he would say.

"I don't mind you performing with him for this holiday contest… but you have to promise me that you'll pair with me for the next Doubles contest." Drew whispered enticingly, his eyelids lowering as he drew closer to her. His lips ghosted against hers as he cooed, "Promise me…"

The brunette's eyes fluttered closed as she whispered back, barely audibly, "I promise."

There was a loud THUD against the door outside, making May try to shove Drew away. The hand Drew had on her cheek instantly reached to her shoulder, holding her in place firmly as he quickly pushed his lips against hers.

"Hey! Visiting hours are over; May and I have to prac—" Brendan said as he opened the door and looked in, only to freeze when he saw what was happening.

May's hands were pressed over Drew's chest from when she tried to shove him, but, now, they were clenched into his black top, as though keeping him close. Her head was raised up, eyes closed and cheeks bright red as she willingly accepted a kiss from the green-haired Coordinator.

Drew held her in place for a few long seconds before slowly pulling their lips apart and opening his eyes to look at her face. He completely ignored the room's other occupant in favor of keeping his attention on her, on her reaction.

The brunette's sapphire eyes slowly opened as well, staring up at him dreamily as she whispered achingly, "Drew…"

That was all it took for Brendan to turn around and slam the door, loudly, behind him. He pressed himself back against the wood, his face burning with a blush and his steel eyes wide at what he had just witnessed. His childhood friend… No, the girl he had always loved, had just been kissed by another guy.

The name of his rival dropping off her lips in a literal whimper echoed over and over in his head, making him shake in a mixture of anger and confusion. Hearing rustling in the room behind him, he quickly turned and high-tailed it out of the building.

As soon as the door slammed, May snapped out of whatever trance Drew had lured her into, looking around the room for a second before realizing what had just happened. Again, her face burned, but, when she noticed that Drew was still extremely close to her, she pushed him away forcefully before getting up to her feet.

"I-I'm sorry; I...!" She tried to say, but she had no idea what to say, "I… I have to go find Brendan; we have to practice!"

Drew had fallen back onto the bed, but he sat back up easily enough. He smiled kindly at her, "I gotcha; go ahead."

May didn't know what she was doing when she bowed in thanks, turning around to leave, but was caught by her wrist. She turned her head to look at the tender expression on the fellow Coordinator's face.

"I'll be here whenever you want me to be."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words; she nodded as he slowly let go of her. She adjusted the bow behind her bandana before exiting the room.

Drew watched after her, his smile widening as he licked the side of his lip slightly, "Y'know… I think I win, after all."

TBC...