Ricky sat in the local cafe, enjoying some time alone with a coffee and no distractions. It was sunny outside, but that didn't stop the snow from keeping the temperature lower then usual. As he simply thought about the recent events in his life, his phone vibrated. He looked to see that Vincent had left him a text message. Opening his messages, Ricky read what Vincent had sent.

Hey, Ricky. When you get this, come see me. If you remember, you said you'd try and help me sort out a... small issue. It's now or never, friend.

Ricky sat back and sighed. He knew all too well what he meant, and it was fair to say it wasn't in Ricky's best interest. Ricky would make up some kind of excuse for now; he wanted to relax at home for a little. He didn't have long until Blaze returned from a shopping trip with Rachel.

Once he arrived home, he found Vincent had left another message.

Aren't you coming? I know you read what I sent you.

Ricky was getting bored of the whole matter already. It looked as though Ricky would need that excuse faster than he thought.

Yeah, sorry about that. I'm just caught up in something at the moment. I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise.

He put his phone on his desk, seeing the low battery warning come up.

'Damnit.' He thought as he remembered he had left his charger in Blaze's apartment. Luckily, she had given him a spare key, and he found it and unlocked her door. He picked up his charger from the desk in her bedroom, before noticing a drawer open, one had hadn't seen open before. His curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. A red book with a pen were the only things inside. The book title was what really caught Ricky's attention. It read 'Blaze's Diary' in large black letters. Ricky picked it up, noticing a bookmark roughly a third of the way through the book. He spent a brief moment arguing with himself on whether or not to open it. These were possibly Blaze's most personal secrets, maybe too confidential for even him to know. But at the same time, he didn't know what he would find, and the curiosity had peaked once he found it.

There he stood, in Blaze's bedroom, with quite possibly her most personal possession in his paws. He was torn- he loved Blaze very much, and would never want to hurt her. But again, the possibilities of the contents of that book were almost endless.

In a moment of pure impulse, he opened it, and read the first page. Nothing was really interesting or new about it. It just depicted her first few days in her new home. Ricky chuckled about what she'd written about him and how much she liked him. He read on, gripped and determined to find something worth betraying his girlfriend for. He knew she'd be heartbroken if he was caught in the act. He read through page after page, taking in everything he read, feeling both good and terrible while doing it. Then, he came to the bookmarked page. He saw it was her most recent entry. Aside from that, what it said really caught his interest.

Dear Diary,
Today, I had an amazing thought. I was rather proud of myself for thinking about it. Ricky and Vincent will be so surprised during our battle.

I'm going to run the idea past Ryan, and I'm sure he'll agree. It's a sure battle winner.

Ricky was too interested to stop reading after that. He was dying to find out what she meant.

It's not a complicated process. All I have to do is get Ryan to-

It was then Ricky heard someone struggle with a key in the apartment's front door. After a few seconds, it opened.
"Weird..."
Blaze's voice said from the living room.
"Ricky? Are you here?"
She called out. He quickly closed her diary and returned it to the drawer he had found it in. He then closed it to as much as it had been when he arrived. Just as Ricky turned around, the door opened as Blaze looked at him, a confused expression on her face.
"Hi there, Ricky."
She said, getting him to sheepishly wave back.
"I was wondering why my door was unlocked."
Ricky nodded.
"I just came over to get my phone charger."
Ricky explained, picking it up.
"Okay..."
Blaze replied before suddenly lightening her expression.
"Well, come with me anyway! You'll love what I bought today!"
Ricky breathed a mental sigh of relief. Still, he needed to know what Blaze had written next. It wouldn't stop bothering him until he did.

After being forced to look at everything Blaze had bought, he managed to leave. He charged his phone and sent Vincent a message.

Hey Vincent, I could really use your help.

He sent it, and got a message back soon after.

And I need yours, but you sure were 'caught up' weren't you?

Ricky sighed. He knew he's friend would be stubborn about that.

I know, and I'm sorry. But honestly, this is important.

But Vincent wouldn't budge.

No. You help me first. Then I'll help you out, again.

Ricky was ultimately rather dissatisfied with the conversation, but forgot about it for the time being. He had better things to do, like eat and get some sleep. After eating and going through his nighttime routine, he lay in his bed, thinking of what Blaze could have written. He replayed the words in his mind, trying to complete the final sentence he had read.
"All I have to do is get Ryan to what?"
He wondered, so desperate to find out. To help ease his mind, he listened to music, which always cleared his mind. He still needed to fix Vincent's problem, too. That would be a tough piece of work.

Put simply, Ricky had a lot to think about. Vincent was pushing him to fix his problem, and he needed to figure out Blaze's plan before their battle, without her knowing. If she ever found out that he had read her diary... he didn't even want to think about the consequences.

"OMG @pokemonfan472, you're not dead!"
"Finally! Do you have any idea how long I've waited?"
"Where have you BEEN? It's been so long!"
I know, I know. I can already see the comments. And I'm sorry. But really, this took some thinking. I legitimately had no ideas.

If it helps, I didn't go full hiatus. I did update my other books. Either way, I know this is my most popular book and that I should make more of an effort with it. I'm aware of that. It also helps me when you guys bear with what possibly is the longest wait I've subjected you to so far. I do feel bad about it, but I can't think up new ideas all the time. Trust me, I want to, but I can't. I know I'm not alone on that. I can't count the amount of times I've looked at the 'edit' button and said to myself 'but what would I write?'

As for future updates, no promises on deadlines. I can almost guarantee I'll fail to meet them, because I have so many ideas to create and continue along with this one. I always say that I'll update soon and end up leaving it for three weeks at least. I'm not going to lie anymore. You guys don't deserve to be lied to.

"1358 Words in the chapter, and 1048 words actually part of the chapter. Why didn't you call it [Chapter name] and a rant whining about your terrible upload schedule?"
Again, I can see the comments coming already.

Alright, I won't waste anymore of your guys' time. On with the usual stuff I say after finishing a Chapter.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a vote if you did, and tell me what you thought about it. Until next time, see you in the next chapter.