Hugh's Pov

I was walking the halls after Nate had left the lunchroom to make a phone call. He told me his brother kept pushing on him to talk to Rosa, which was a bit surprising since Hilbert knew about their relationship more than I did.

I wasn't sure if he was going to do what Hilbert told him to do, but he was taking awhile since leaving the lunch room. Nobody has seen Rosa at all this week, and she's gotten better at hiding. I remember every time I see her in the hallways, I yell her name and chase after her when she starts running.

Her running confused me a lot, but after what my sister said about what she heard what Rosa said, it made a lot of sense. She blames herself for what happened. She believes that Team Plasma followed her or something and she was the reason why everything happened.

Nobody blamed her, but because I know she likes to blame herself for every little mistake, it wasn't going to be easy to hunt her down. I'm sure she already thought to avoid me forever just like the rest of our friends, but I'm not going down without a fight. I have to talk to her before she tries hiding from me again and assuming that I blamed her for something I couldn't prevent.

I couldn't protect her. She jumped the way when Jenny was about to be attacked, when it should had been me. I was too shocked to do anything, shocked to know the house was being attacked, yet Rosa didn't hesitate. I snapped and released my rage at the grunts who dared mess with me and the ones I loved. They hurt Rosa... They hurt my sister's Purrloin! A Pokémon I got her! I will not let this go!

Nate and I kept fighting over and over because of my determination to leave school and hunt down the men who barged into my home. I didn't want to wait another month to get my trainer card, but if I don't get one, I'll be stopped so many times before I get the chance to go anywhere. It took a lot of convincing, but I calmed down and accepted that I needed to be patient. At least Rosa and Purrloin was okay... still. I wish I could had done more.

Because Nate was taking a long time, Barry, Lucas, Brendon, Calem, Ethan and I separated in groups to find him. Of course, I refused to go with Ethan and let him go on his own.

We, not Ethan, knew how overwhelmed Nate was over Rosa when she was asleep due to her injuries for those few days, and we wanted to make sure he stays okay.

The halls were always quiet while lunch was going on. It gave us the perfect time to look around without needing to look over students heads. Looking for someone while the hallway were flooded was the most annoying thing ever! And I wouldn't have a problem with it if it wasn't for Rosa!

As soon as I turned the corner, I stopped when seeing Ethan having his hands over the locker Rosa was leaning on. It took a lot of me to not run over there and punch him. As soon as he took her chin, I ran as fast as I could and threw my hand on his cheek, yelling at him as we wrestled on the floor.

Lucas and Barry tried pulling us apart, but Ethan and I ended up punching them away so we could continue fighting "Don't ever put your dirty hands on her!" I shouted, trying to punch his face again, but he kept moving his head.

"Or what?! It's not like you're her friend!" Ethan laughed "I didn't do anything! She was threatening me!"

"Don't give me that bullshit! You're full of crap!" Lucas managed to pull me away and Barry pulled Ethan away.

"How dare you touch her like that!" I shouted "You better keep your nasty hands to yourself or I'll ruin that pretty face of yours even more!" Ethan pushed Barry away as Lucas continued to pull me back.

"You're so angry. I'm almost scared" Ethan snorted "Don't act like Rosa can't take care of herself"

"Where is Rosa anyway?" Barry asked. We all looked at the heavy exit doors slowly closing. My blood dropped.

"She ran away?!" Lucas let go of me. She ran away? She left school..?

"No... Don't tell me she's-?!" Ethan stopped me before I could run after her. I gave him the death glare he was so amused about "What are you doing?"

"I told you before. She can take care of herself" I pushed his arm away.

"Who are you to say that! You don't even know her!"

"And you do?" More than he does! "I might not have known her as long as you did, but I've known her long enough since elementary school to know that she didn't need you to interfere. This was a A and B conversation, why couldn't you just C your way out?" He mocked. Lucas held me back from throwing my arm again.

"I'll fly at anything that harms my friends"

"She's not your friend. You might be hers, but she's not your friend. Rosa knows how to handle herself"

"Stop acting like you weren't just holding her against the locker and putting your hands on her!"

"I was, but it was only because she was bold enough to mess with me. Strange girl, she is. But she's always been kinda weird" he looked at the exit "She was making her way outside before we ran into each other"

"What was she going to do..?" Barry asked.

"Beats me, but I find it very frustrating how she knows the right words to say that makes me click" Ethan glared "You can punch me all you want" he rubbed his cheek "but she's always got something to say, and I won't let that go. I'll make HER regret messing with me" he walked away, indicating that she said the same thing to him. What crap...

"Get back here!" I shouted. Barry and Lucas held me back "let me go! I'll teach this jerk a lesson!"

"Let it go, Hugh! He's not worth it! What matters most is Rosa!" Barry said. I groaned and pushed them off me, rubbing my chin from when Ethan punched me.

"What should we do? Tell someone?" Lucas frowned.

"Hey guys!" Calem and Brendon walked towards us with Calem holding Nate by the arm. Nate was dazed off and staring at nothing in particular "Have you seen Rosa anywhere?" Brendon asked.

"She ran off after Nate and her had an argument in the library" Calem said. I abandoned my anger and looked at Nate confused. He actually talked to her?

"Argument?" I asked.

"Apparently Nate knows how to talk to girls, but doesn't know what to say to Rosa. He said something he wasn't suppose to and got her mad and she ran"

"She ran off?" Lucas said. Nate looked at the exit, not saying a thing "And Ethan and Hugh got into a fight"

"What happened?" Brendon asked. I glared and walked away.

"I don't want to talk about it" I stopped and looked at Nate still staring at the exit, not even looking at me after hearing that I was in a fight. He always try to argue with me when I do something stupid like fighting Ethan.

I walked back to him and grabbed his shoulder to shake him. He wasn't looking at me "Nate. What happened?"

"I called her stupid..." I bit my lips "Sorry..."

"I'm not the one you should say sorry to"

"What's the point? She's not going to accept it"

"Rosa is a very forgiving person" the girls walked over to us "Nate" Dawn held her hip "Don't think Rosa is the kind of person to hold a grudge. If she can handle people like Ethan, she's not going to let a single insult bother her"

"A single insult isn't the problem here" I said.

"Even if it's more, you're letting yourself become this way. You are destroying your own wall and letting people walk all over you. You let the little things get in your head and accept that things are bad! When are you going to grow up, Nate!?" She glared "When will you say what you actually feel?! Rosa is the most forgiving and open person I know! She can handle Ethan! And Ethan is a horrible person! Don't let these things get in your head!" She walked up to him and pushed him onto the locker. He wouldn't even look at her face.

"When are you going to forgive yourself and live?! When are you going to stop letting this control your life?! When are you finally going to think for yourself! I'm just going to come out and say it, because I'm tired of seeing you this way!" She slapped him across the cheek, shocking all of us.

"Grow up and be a man!" Nate slowly held his cheek "Stop pretending! Stop blaming yourself! What happened, happened in the past! You're living in the past instead of going forward! Rosa thinks you're the one that hates her!" Nate slowly looked up and slowly looked at her, eyes widening.

"Dawn..." Serena shakily held her shoulder "Please, calm down. This isn't the way to do it-"

"It's the only way! He's too stubborn and insecure! Nate!" She shouted at his face "I'll say this again until you make some sense into that head of yours! Grow up... and be a fucking man!" The school bell rang. She walked away, slapping him with her hair and left with the other girls trying to calm her down. Nate slid down the locker and rested his arms on his knees while pulling on his hair.

"Do you get it now?" I asked.

"She's lying..." he said "I know the truth... She wasn't the one that saw Rosa's eyes"

"Well" Lucas leaned over to him "Why don't you confirm it and ask her?" I looked at him trying to look at his face "If she says she hates you, she'll say it. She's very honest, you know?"

"Yeah. If you know for sure she hates you, you'll know" Barry said "Who knows. Your memory is probably too jumbled up because of what you think was the truth" He shrugged "It wouldn't hurt. All you have to do is ask one single thing. That should be enough" Nate didn't respond. He got up and walked away without looking at us. I frowned and watched him leave. Arceus... so much happened in under 10 minutes. Nate... I hope you find the strength to forgive yourself.

Dawn's Pov

Of all the good for nothin-! I stormed through the hallway, pushing people out my way as I made my way to find the restroom. I was pretty sure I already passed it, but I was too angry to tell.

"Dawn, please calm down!" May frowned "It's not good for you!"

"You got your point across! That's good!" Serena said "Don't strain yourself!" We finally made it to the bathroom. I made sure nobody was inside before storming to the exit to lock us inside. I took out a small pillow from my bag when I needed it for beauty naps, and screamed into it.

"Why are boys so stupid?" I calmed myself.

"It's totally in their nature!" May said.

"But you can't forget that Nate isn't just any boy" Serena leaned on the wall "He's a boy... with psychological problems. People who are like that are much more complicated than we think. You shouldn't have yelled at him like that. He's going through enough. Especially when we heard what he did. People like him don't always say the right things, and it's their insecurities that fail them to see what's true in reality"

"Wow, that was good" May gave her a high five.

"I was aware" I said "But I just couldn't stand things going on any longer. I had to tell him..." May held my shoulder.

"You did what you had to do" She sad smiled "now that he knows, he has to be the one that makes things right" I nodded "Come on. We better get to class" I nodded again and followed them to the hallway, which started to have more open space. May held my hand while I thought about what I did, and what I remembered what Hilda told me when I was in the hospital waiting to know what's going to happen to Rosa.

"Rosa isn't the kind of person to hold grudges" I remembered Hilda saying "She tries her best to stay away from others all because she doesn't want to let anyone down. What happened in her past scarred her, because she thought she ruined Nate. I can feel like she's going to think Hugh hates her. It's so easy for her to be paranoid about other people's well beings when she's the cause of it. She thrives for people to succeed. She'll do whatever it takes to be the person that won't let you down. Why do you think she doesn't want friends? Why do you think she's been hiding from you?" She said all this to me and only me when I stayed after hours even if Rosa wasn't even awake at the time.

I've became so concerned for Rosa all this time, and it turns out she just didn't want to let anyone down. That's why she didn't let me help her when she was outside my mansion. She wants to make sure she's never a bother to anyone.

She's so loyal. She's so supportive. She will help anyone who needs help with school work. She will encourage you to do better and cheers when the goal is complete. She listens and she advises. She has a way with words and that's what makes her such a beautiful person. Anyone like that should always be taken care of and checked on all the time, because behind the happy supportive personality they hold is someone who doesn't have anyone who does it to them right back.

Nate is so similar. He's supportive, and he never judges anyone. He will fight anyone who messes with anyone incapable of fighting for themselves. He will encourage you to be the best and when fails, he will always talk with you and pull you back on your feet with a smile. He doesn't like others making fun of him, but when someone else is making fun of another person, he will pounce and make sure everyone is happy. He's so jolly and playful. He likes to learn new things and gets uncomfortable when someone tries helping him in return, but only means well.

It's only natural that I want to take care of my friend, but I wish he wasn't so stupid to realize the truth. He made a start by talking to her, and even if I don't know what happened, it wasn't enough. He became the cold and silent person Hugh told me about. The real Nate who blames himself and will never trust himself again. If him and Rosa are so similar, I can only imagine what Rosa is going through.

"Why are you late?" Mr.Cheren asked as I walked into his class after I separated from the girls. I looked up at him slowly looking concern "Are you okay?" He felt my head "You feel fine"

"I don't know what to do anymore..." I admit.

"Pardon?"

"I think they're too far gone..." I started crying, instantly freaking him out "I don't know what to do for them anymore" he took me to the hall and patted my shoulders so he can listen to me "Nate and Rosa got into an argument... I don't know what happened. Rosa left school and Nate is acting like a statue! I don't know what to do!"

"Dawn, this isn't your problem. I understand your concern, but if you're supportive enough towards them, they'll find their way someday" I took out my handkerchief and wiped my eyes "Keep supporting them. That's the most you can do. Leave them to do the rest" I nodded, understanding "go to the restroom and fix yourself before coming back to my class" I went back to the restroom to clean my face and exit out as soon as I gave myself a motivational talk.

"I did the most I can do. I told him the truth... I don't know if that was a good idea, but I did it" I looked at the end of the hall and saw Nate leaning against the wall, staring at the glass doors. I ran up to him and hugged his arm, knowing he wasn't looking at me.

"I care about you two... Please. Don't do this to yourselves" I sobbed again "I don't want to go home like this... I don't want to see you like this. Nate, please" I pulled on his sleeve, hoping he'll look at me "I don't want to see Rosa alone anymore... You're the only one who can help her" I looked down "You made this mess... You finish it" I hugged his arm closely "Nate..." I sniffled "I'm sorry... I just want the best for everyone" I almost flinched when his finger cleaned my tears. I looked at him looking at me with such dull eyes, yet he cared enough to brush away the tears. After so, he looked out the window again. I knew it was time for me to give him space. I hugged him one last time and left him alone, leaving him to stay in his own little world.

"Love can really make you do some crazy things... huh?"