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A light breeze blew through the hot, humid late summer air. A young Growlithe stood somewhat apprehensively at the corner of the east side grandstand at his local high school's stadium. Unfortunately for him, it looked like the gridiron team was gathering to begin practice, so instead of being solitary and quiet there was a grunting murmur out on the field; he would have to sit on one of the benches on the walkway behind the grandstand instead of sitting on the bleachers if he didn't want a big audience.

He checked his cell phone again; Shana had texted him a minute or two ago saying she was just getting out of her summer elective and would be there soon enough. The rising freshmen had opted for summer electives at the first opportunity so that their school-year schedules would be more flexible, which for the most part had gone well.

He looked back up at the school and saw her walking his way behind another small group of approaching gridiron players, loud and boisterous as usual. Shana, though, was smiling and walking quietly as she looked around at Kyle, at the team on the field, and at the open space of the high school's athletic facilities, all of which looked great right now in the bright, fresh summer sun and air.

Shana's new, fluffier coat must've been a bit uncomfortable in the heat, but her fur was ruffling calmly in the breeze, and Kyle had to smile a little bit at how easygoing and carefree she seemed as she passed the tennis courts and then the baseball field on her way to the stadium. She had evolved sometime between eighth-grade graduation and the beginning of summer classes, becoming even prettier as that Manectric blue seemed to suit her so much better than the Electrike green did. Her new looks earned her lots of glances and compliments during her summer classes - and earned him a few winks and teases as the "lucky boyfriend".

And that was the problem.

He took a deep breath to steady his resolve before she got too close for it to be obvious to her. By the time she was close enough to wave and come in for a hug, he was smiling as well, at least ready to start talking if not get all the way to what he wanted to say.

"Kyle, hai! Ugh, what a final... I'm so glad summer classes are over! Gotta make next week count before real school starts back up, right?"

"Ah yeah, right..."

"So what's with meeting out by the stadium here? Did you want to treat me to the football team practice? That's kinda counterproductive, don'tcha think?" she giggled.

The Growlithe shook his head and chuckled along for now, turning to go sit on a bench and motioning for Shana to follow, which she did with her typical little bounce. She sat down and leaned her head against Kyle as she normally did, though for the past three months that meant her head was resting on top of his instead of being lower on his shoulder. "Got big plans for us this year or something?"

"Er, maybe?"

She giggled again. "It's okay if you just wanted to hang out outside here, too! I have to say, it's fun to think of having "couple time alone behind the bleachers"! Though I guess we're more in the main thoroughfare in front of the stadium right now than behind it, but whatever! Oh, you need to evolve or go through a growth spurt soon, this isn't as comfortable for my neck as we're used to," she teased, poking him lightly on the side.

The prod made Kyle, always a bit ticklish, squirm a bit, half-heartedly pretending to bat her hand away before holding on to it. "Yeah, it's on my to-do list," he joked.

"Sooner or later you're gonna have to, right? To keep up with your battling."

"Very true," Kyle agreed, "people are starting to evolve now like you have, and it's a bit of an edge that's harder to overcome. Thankfully it doesn't become a real necessity until the college ranks, but it would be nice to be able to buy a fire stone sometime soon, maybe apply to get one through the school from the state's high school athletics fund."

"I'm sure you'll be that much better of a battler once you evolve," Shana mused before smiling and adding "and I'm sure you'll be quite a looker, too! Big, strong Arcanine... You'll be getting all the compliments I'm getting now! And I'll be getting yours, haha!"

Kyle chuckled, hoping it didn't sound as uncomfortable as he was beginning to feel at the mention of appearances. "You are very pretty."

Shana cooed from the compliment, cuddling up with the slightest hint of suggestiveness. "Pretty and hot, from what I hear, isn't that right?" she giggled.

"Oh yes, very hot, of course!"

He winced as he realized he probably answered in the affirmative almost too quickly and factually, the Manectric next to him pausing slightly before sitting back up a little.

"That... was less than convincing..."

"Shana, I - "

"Did... Did you like me better as an Electrike? I have noticed you getting a little distant this summer, I was hoping that was just a change in my own perception and not real..."

"Oh, no no no, you're definitely sexier now! Taller, curvier, even your movements are smoother..."

Shana relaxed at that, though wasn't fully convinced just yet. "Those are good... observations."

Kyle took a deep breath. Oh Arceus, he was going to say it... "I mean, you are very attractive, Shana - sexy and beautiful and confident. I guess... It's just... I'm... not that - at-t-tract ed? To you?" With every syllable he continued, he shrunk back a little, knowing he was setting a huge land mine here.

Shana just stared at first, utterly befuddled - then slowly transitioning to disheartened. "Wait... So you're not - not into me any more? This is a break-up meeting? What h-happened? Is-s it s-someone else??"

"N-no, no one else!" the Growlithe frantically waved off. "A-and not necessarily a break-up either!"

"Then what the hell is it??" the Manectric bristled, caught somewhere between confused, shattered, and enraged.

"I'm gay!" Kyle barked back in a surprisingly knee-jerk reaction, causing both of them to suddenly fall silent.

The fire-type gulped, realizing had had opened Pandora's box a bit more roughly than he had anticipated. "I'm gay," he repeated, "and before you ask, you didn't turn me gay or a-anything like that. I just..." He took another deep breath, with everything else suddenly spilling out uncontrollably. "I've always like you, that hasn't changed - I might have spoken too quickly earlier saying I wasn't attract ed to you, since emotionally I am. But... That's all it ever was. Before you evolved, there never felt any pressure to be physical, and... that changed when you evolved. You became so much more attractive, but I... didn't feel anything. It's taken me most of the summer to open my eyes and see why..."

He trailed off there, most of the wind now out of his sails. For a few moments, he couldn't bring himself to look up at Shana. Soon, though, the silence was making him more uncomfortable than his embarrassment at the situation.

Shana's expression was completely opaque to him. She was giving him no readable reaction at all, making him squirm a little bit.

"Shana...?" He couldn't deal with the complete lack of a reaction, voice trembling a bit as he begged over the next minute or two "Please... Please say something... Don't leave me hanging."

Despite his request, Shana remained mute for several more excruciating moments. Slowly and subtly, though, her expression changed from confusion to disdain. Finally she just stood up from the bench, stared for one more second down at Kyle, then strode off back up toward the school buildings.

Kyle was absolutely crushed, mouth hanging open slightly as all he could do was watch his girlfriend leaving him behind. Ex-girlfriend? She literally didn't say anything, so he wasn't sure if her reaction was a momentary thing or a complete rejection... Made all the more difficult as he was, in fact, still quite emotionally attached to her. Seeing her react that way to his confession... It stung. Even worse than he was expecting if the discussion was to have gone that way.

Eventually he got up and slowly trudged his way back up to the school's main buildings, mostly oblivious to the light breeze and the sounds of the gridiron team simply going on with their practice. Before getting in and heading to his locker, though, he found himself leaning up against an outside brick wall, only half-supporting his own weight as his eyes began watering.

That was such a deep part of him he had just revealed, a part of him he still wasn't even sure he was okay with having. Of course, it had only seemed appropriate for her to be the first person he told, since your girlfriend had the right to know if you were gay... He simply hadn't been prepared for such a hard, silent, judging rejection. How badly had he hurt her by saying that?? Was she going to try to get back at him somehow?

Shit... What if she started telling everyone? That was be a great way to start high school, being outed and publically shamed... Would she do that to him? He doubted it, but then again, maybe it seemed like that much of a betrayal to her, she might stoop lower than he ever imagined her going... How public could it be? Would the upperclassmen pick on him to? What about the battle team? The teachers?

His parents?

He froze. He certainly hadn't prepared himself quite yet for coming out to his parents, but if Shana was angry enough to out him... He had to tell them before they found out from someone else.

The Growlithe's eyes stopped watering as he steeled himself for the task ahead and made his way to his locker to pick up his stuff and walk home.