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The Westside Warriors gridiron team was having their best start in years, winning their first four games straight, and one of the tight ends was having a big party that Saturday night. A few gridiron guys invited Kyle and several other battle team members earlier that week in the school's weights gym, also wishing Kyle and the battlers luck in the Saturday morning dual meet against Eastside.

Kyle anchored the opening three single battles of the dual meet en route to an 8-1 meet win after the fifth round, and the battle team agreed that going to the gridiron players' party was a great way to celebrate afterward. Well, everyone expect Kyle's poor classmate Ryan, who had been the lone loss for the Warriors earlier that day in the second round of the meet.

"Dear Arceus, losing to a Brionne..." the junior moaned, already on his third Solo cup of the punch, as he buried his face in his arms on the table he and Kyle were sitting at.

"Hey, it happens, bro," the Arcanine half-yelled back (competing with the music blaring in the neighboring dance room) as he gave a hearty thump or two on his teammate's back.

"Yeah but it sucks!"

At that point, the music in the other room doubled in volume, so the two battlers got up and edged past several standing classmates, though a semi-packed hallway and out to the backyard. There was music there, too, but not nearly as loud, with people all over the place. There certainly was room, as the new-looking wood patio looked deceptively small against a yard that included a sizeable pool in the middle while still having plenty of room around the edges for a badminton net on one side and some nice trees along the other.

The patio was functioning as a lite dance floor, so Kyle, Ryan, and Terry (who had magically appeared out of nowhere next to them) made their way to some of the lounge chairs by the pool. They shot the breeze for a little bit, Kyle getting a barely-touched cider set down by his chair by some passers-by who said hi, before three of female partygoers came up from the pool to the chairs next to them to dry off.

"Oh, hi guys!" the senior Floatzel, also a member of the battle team, greeted, smiling down at the Leafeon in particular.

"Hi hun, looking amazing!" he responded, reaching out for the two of them to have a quick hand-squeeze before letting go so his girlfriend could finish drying and get (barely) dressed.

Kyle smirked a bit at the interaction. They were one of the couples that wasn't over-the-top high-school-romance, neither being saccharine sweet or uncontrollably lusty. He enjoyed hanging out with them, didn't feel uncomfortable around them like when he around some other het couples. It probably helped that both of them were battlers like he was, too.

Accompanying the Floatzel were a Vaporeon cheerleader whose name escaped Kyle (though he did have a strong suspicion she had a crush on Ryan) and junior Panpour named Kari who was new to the school this year and in the Arcanine's English class - directly in his reading group, in fact.

"Hi Kyle!" she piped up, plopping down next to his chair as the Vaporeon did the same next to Ryan. "I heard you guys won today! Congrats! Nice time to party, huh?"

"Thanks! Yeah, certainly is. Crowded inside, though." Kyle noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Vaporeon had gotten Ryan to lean over so she could whisper something to him.

Kari nodded, almost bouncing a little along with it. "No kidding! Vanessa tells me that most of the football parties are kinda like this." <Vanessa the Vaporeon,> Kyle though to himself, as Kari continued "I looooove seeing all the people here, though! So much energy, so much fun! I think I want some more of that punch."

Kyle simple smiled and nodded along as he took another swing of the cider. Kari was a good member of his reading group, but she always seemed to be on the bubbly/ditzy side. <Probably will join cheerleading with Vanessa if they keep hanging out...>

"But the punch involves going inside..." play-groaned Terry.

"And going inside could involve some fun on the rave floor..." the Floatzel, who was now sitting on Terry's legs, responded in a sing-song tone.

"I'm up for that!" Ryan interjected a bit more quickly than one might expect, the slightest hint of a blush on both his and Vanessa's faces.

Kyle chuckled a bit at both the blushing and at Kari's youthful "woohoo!", though he inwardly sighed a bit as well... He avoided most dance situations because it was often a lose-lose situation for him. He'd had this discussion with Patrick before back at homecoming the other week, when he had Jack along with him for the first time, but he generally never had a satisfactory partner to dance with. He didn't really hang out with the Pride club members, there weren't really any other guys to dance with unless they were straight and intentionally being silly about it, and he just simply didn't feel comfortable dancing with a girl.

Of course, as the six of them were now seemingly decided and getting up from their chairs, it looked as if he had been paired off with Kari.

Thankfully, Kari was more interested in getting another cup of punch than going to the party's more rave-y dance inside, so the two of them made their way to the kitchen instead of the great room.

The kitchen was right next to the great room, so it was still rather loud as Kyle claimed a place on one wall while Kari got her punch (the table Kyle and Ryan had been at earlier was since otherwise claimed).

"So what do you think of Vanessa and Ryan?" the water-type half-yelled as she hopped over back next to Kyle, smiling a bit; clearly, she was also aware of the Vaporeon's crush, though there was a not-so-innocent angle to her smirk that suggested the battle team member was in for a maybe-more-intimate time on the dance.

"Those two? Dunno, haven't thought about them much before," Kyle answered honestly. "I could see it working, though."

"I thought it would be worth her just going for it, she'd mentioned him to me several times in the past month or two."

"You two have been hanging out a lot?"

"Yeah, we're in PoliSci and Bio together, plus we share the same lunch period," the Panpour said before taking a healthy gulp of her punch. "It's really been great since I've moved here to have people really hang out with and help me adjust to a new school. Vanessa's been so friendly, it's been great working with you on all our English stuff and reading group, I've met a ton of great girls in choir and gone shopping with them before, and there's this girl who lives a few doors down from me on my bus route who - oh, hang on a minute, I think I just saw her pass right by the door, wait right here, I'm gonna go nab her, just a moment Kyle!"

In a surprisingly quick move, Kari crossed the kitchen and went around the corner into the hallway, leaving Kyle momentarily alone. He didn't think much of it at first, just relaxing and sipping on his cider - but then he stopped as a though hit him. Kari had essentially admitted to pushing Vanessa and Ryan together a moment ago. Was she asking Kyle to wait for her friend to pair them up too? She had only been at Westside for a month or two still, she might now know which way he swung...

He didn't realize she had reappeared until he heard her next to him happily (and slightly drunkenly) pipe up "Hey Kyle, this here's my friend Shana! She's been such a good neighbor, really helped me adjust to being here..."

Kyle hadn't heard a single word after "Shana" as Kari kept on with the "introduction". The exes just locked eyes each other, more incredulous than anything else at the situation.

"...math. Have you two had any classes together before?" Kari finished with a cute little hiccup.

"Yeah, we've met," Kyle said simply. He held no real animosity toward her, though for a significant time after his coming out to her, she had done her best to ignore him altogether. That had lessened in the semesters since, the two of them noticing each other in the hallways between classes, occasionally giving a small nod in acknowledgement, but neither had ever actually reached out to say hi.

"I haven't gotten to talk to Kyle here much since his rise on the battle team because we haven't had class together since middle school," Shana added, which was technically correct.

"Oh! Well you two should catch up, then!" Kari beamed. Kyle noticed she was now holding not only her solo cup but also a high-school-quality mixed drink that looked like it might've been Shana's a moment ago. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Vanessa and Ryan!"

And with that, she was gone again.

"She took my drink," Shana commented flatly after a moment or two of pause. Kyle smirked a bit at his correct guess before offering what was left of his cider to the Manectric, who glanced at it before shaking her head politely. "You know, it's not fair... You'd probably be the most eligible bachelor in the school if you weren't... you know..."

The Arcanine noticed she said it with a friendly smirk, not a scowl. But it was Kyle's turn to shake his head a little. "I wouldn't have gone back to being a bachelor, you know," he replied with his own smirk.

She gave a little 'heh' at that, tilting her head from side to side as if reluctant to admit he probably had a point. "I have kept on following your battle stats, you've gotten really good."

"Thanks!"

They lapsed into semi-awkward silence for a moment or two before Kari returned with not just Ryan and Vanessa but the other battle couple as well. Kyle could tell all four of them instantly recognized the potential awkwardness of him and Shana being in such close proximity, though Kari (who had seemed to have picked up another drink altogether) continued being oblivious.

"Heeeey! Gang'ssall together! You know, we should hang out more! This is a fun group, right?" She slurred that last bit ever so slightly, then half-tipped over against Kyle's side.

"You okay there?" he asked, helping get her solidly back on her own two feet.

"Oh yeeeaaah! Thanks Kyle, you're such a schwell guy." She then grabbed his shoulder and went up on tip-toes, raising herself up in a poor attempt at whispering in his ear "Way better than the Arc she just broke up with, ya know!"

"KARI!" Shana barked, blanching a bit before reaching over and grabbing the Panpour's hand, marching her back toward the door. "I think you've had a bit much to drink, dear, maybe we should get you home..." The two of them turned into the hallway - apparently toward the house's front door instead of back into the party.

After a moment or two of the five remaining teens staring after them, Terry finally asked "Okay, what the hell was that?" The four others looked to Kyle for an explanation.

He shook his head a bit at the awkwardness of it all. "I don't think Kari knows that I'm gay, or that Shana's my ex. I'm pretty sure she was trying to hook us up."

"And apparently she's horrible at telling secrets in a secretive manner when she's tipsy," Ryan noted.

"Yeeeaaah... something similar happened at the previous football party I took her to, too," Vanessa added.

"Clearly. Other Arc... I wonder what that was about..." Terry mused. Kyle was curious, too, but let the conversation stop there. For now. / Shana stopped him in the hallway before first period the following Monday.

"Kyle! Hey, do you have a moment?"

"Oh! Uh, sure, what's up?" he asked, stepping out of the middle of the hallway to avoid traffic.

Shana joined him in leaning up against the wall. "Okay, well... um... About Saturday... Er, no, not quite about Saturday, um... Well, first, as awkward as it maybe was, I gotta say it was nice to actually talk to you again..."

He nodded simply. "Same!"

"Yeah, and... well..." She sighed, then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kyle... Sorry for the way I treated you back when you came out to me. I know that must've been really scary for you to do, and giving you the cold shoulder was not the way I should have responded."

She cautiously looked up at him, getting a warm smile in response. "Thanks, Shana, I really appreciate it. And, to be fair, what you did was understandable, as part of the thing that made it scary was I considered the possibility of you getting upset..."

"That doesn't make it better, though."

"True."

"Especially since my venting to some of my girlfriends started a slow leak that turned you into an outcast until your first Varsity meet..."

"Well, it wasn't all bad, it gave me time to focus on adjusting to just classes, and coach made JV a friendly safe space for me."

Shara gave a short, almost derisive "ha!" before responding with a chuckle "Oh Arceus, Kyle, you always did look for the bright side of things... I'm not sure whether to appreciate it or hate it while I'm trying to apologize for mistreating you!"

He chuckled at that as well. "Fair point! I guess I should shut up and let you explore the depths of your confession, huh?" he asked, playfully elbowing her in the arm similar to how they would often poke and prod at each other back when they were a couple.

It didn't get the response he was expecting, though, as Shana suddenly recoiled slightly with a light gasp, as if in pain.

Kyle blanched a bit, his hands popping up in apology. "Oh, geez, sorry! Was that... not something I should have done? Are you okay?"

The look Shana gave his was not one of anger or of trying to shrug it off; rather, she almost seemed scared of having been caught. But at what?

"...Are you okay?" he asked again, ears drooping both in apology and in worry as he saw her other hand was still hovering over her arm slightly.

At this point, she started trying to play if off, straightening back up and casually as possible saying "Oh, yeah, it's just a bruise from the other day, no big deal, you just hit it and got me by surprise is all."

"That's... an interesting place to get a bruise..." he said slowly and quietly.

She opened her mouth as if ready with a response, but she met his eyes and it died in on the tip of her tongue. After a moment she sighed and looked down, shaking her in a bit of frustration.

"Good God, Kyle, you always see through my little fibs, too... Well, I guess there's no reason to hide, it's already over..." She looked back up and locked his gaze. "My ex hit me last week."

"Your..." Kyle started repeating, before registering fully what she said, the Arcanine's temperature beginning to rise. "Is the the "Arc you just broke up with" that Kari blabbed about Saturday?" he asked with a low growl.

The Manectric nodded, mostly unphazed by the low-level-angry Arcanine standing in front of her now. "Yeah... And no need to get mad, I basically already dealt with him. He was sweet as a Growlithe, but his temperament really changed when he evolved the other month. We started having frequent arguments when we previously had none, and when he punched me last week, I kicked him in the balls and broke up with him on the spot. He hasn't bugged me since, nor have his little gang of friends either."

"Oh." Kyle blinked a bit, his protective side mostly defused now, especially since "You kicked him in the balls?"

The Manectric grinned rather evilly at that. "Oh, yeah.... That was honestly reeeaaally satisfying..." she mused, clearly having enjoyed that part of her story. Kyle certainly believed her on that point. She looked up to him with a bit of admiration a moment later. "You were really bristling there, you know."

"Well yeah!" he replied almost automatically. "I mean, guys shouldn't hit their girlfriends under any circumstances -"

"Unless it's in battle team?"

"Unless it's in battle - but any others, no, and certainly not the girl I used to date! I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I thought we would still be together even two years down the road if they whole gay thing hadn't broken us up. You had been my best friend for years, and realizing I was gay didn't make me care about you any less. And to think that someone hit - no, punched you..." He trailed off, shaking his head a bit in an attempt to prevent him from getting mad again.

"That's sweet of you, Kyle," she cooed, smiling and reaching up to pet his shoulder a bit, which did the job of making sure his blood stayed cool. "I guess I should have tried to come to my senses and apologize sooner, I'm sure having a gay best friend ex would've helped keep me out of trouble a bit. Oh, and sorry for my drunk neighbor trying to hook us up."

Kyle chuckled at that, before frowning a slightly. "Um, how hard did he actually hit you if it still hurts??"

Shana groaned a little, less in frustration at him and just at the memory. "Pretty hard, he knocked me down to the ground; we exchanged words as I took a moment or two to stand back up before kicking right between those legs... I think it's still ever so slightly swollen, even..." She caught the momentary movement of Kyle's hands, as if his involuntary reaction was to reach up to feel the 'damage' before he caught himself. "You can see if you want..." she said, rolling up her sleeve a bit for him.

He felt a little guilty at being caught, but nonetheless reached up to feel. Sure enough, underneath her fur there was a subtle hint of a bulge that clearly wasn't muscle.

His tail swished back and forth a little bit, but he otherwise kept his anger in check, instead filing away the idea to find this guy into the back of his mind.

"I find it fascinating that you're so gentle in person, Kyle, and yet so incredible on battle team as well..." Shana mused. "I still think it's TOTALLY unfair that you just had to be gay... I coulda been the arm candy to the most popular guy in school, ya know?" she asked, giving him a playful little 'how could you?' shove.

"Oh, like you'd be happy as just arm candy," he joked back.

"Well maybe I would be!" she quipped, sticking out her tongue a moment before laughing. "Seriously, though, I swear you'd be the most eligible bachelor in school if you were straight and happened to be single... You are still single, right?"

"Uh, no, actually..." he answered hesitantly, though instantly recognized he had to continue at the sudden look of excitement on her face. "I guess you didn't see me at homecoming the other week?"

"No, I was at Hans' - at MY EX'S homecoming," she corrected herself, inadvertently giving Kyle not one but two tiny pieces of extra ammo.

"Well, I was there with my boyfriend... You probably wouldn't know him, he's from Indigo Battle Academy."

"Intriguing! How did you two meet??"

"Well, we first saw each other back at the dual meet last year... Saw each other again at State that spring, but didn't really meet and actually chat until a chance day in the park while we were both out on our individual runs the week after finals. So I guess we've been dating a few months now..."

"Aw, that's sweet! I kinda want to meet him... if you don't mind having your no-chance ex start sharing embarrassing stories with your current beau!"

"Oh, I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it..."

"You wouldn't mind me living vicariously through you a little bit?" she asked, Kyle not connecting that back to the conversation they had been having until he realized she was talking about the fact of having a boyfriend.

BRRRRRREEEEEIING

"Ah, shit, that's the bell I guess," Shana sighed. "Well, thank you so much for letting me talk with you, it really was good to catch up. We should start hanging out again! You know, platonically."

"Hehheh sure! See you around?"

"Yeah, see ya!"

As she walked off, Kyle wondered if maybe he might be able to play matchmaker for her where Kari had failed... Fernando Nostrum, Enrique's immediately younger brother, was now at Westside after having not made the second-to-third-year-cut at Indigo. Kyle knew now that Shana apparently like firedogs, especially ones who battled...