Heliotrope

Chapter 10: Hydrangea

Everything felt right. What happened between me and Clemont was in the past. It was like it has never happened. I had denied its existence since it happened, so much so that I had fooled myself into believing my own lies. Smooth jazz greeted me as I made my way into the concert hall. Lively, everyone in there was buzzing and so very alive. Laughter. Dim lights. Tables of new friends and families and light sips of chardonnay.

Everyone was in their little circles, but I had Ash by my side and Brock on the other. Clemont day with May on the other side of the round table. It was very professional, to say this was being held by the nearby Pokémon Summer Camp. It only ever used to offer breif lessons about training but now students stayed there for much longer and could undergo multiple 'courses' in various topics. Bonnie, who I was there to see, had apparently been studying both music and training at her time there.

Our light chatter was silenced by the sound of a teal-haired woman clearing her thoat into a microphone on the stage. "Good evening." Her hair was short and choppy. Her eyes were amber. Ash and Brock recognised her immediately and I just rolled my eyes. Was there anyone they didn't know? "My name is Angie and I run the Sinnoh Pokémon Summer Academy. We've come a long way since I attended here as a student." she smiled, proudly, "We embrace the many talents of our wonderfully diverse set of students. We're very lucky to be where we are." We all started at her intensely. "We're enriching our students' minds more and more every day." She brought her short speech to a close. "Tonight we're showcasing the immense musical talent here. Thank-you."

Everyone broke into a polite applause as she wandered off in her pinstripe pantsuit and heels she struggled to walk in.

A girl with auburn hair in a short, blue dress walked in. She looked slightly younger than Bonnie, maybe twelve or thirteen. A boy followed her, he had huge glasses and long, fair hair. "Hello!" She had a cocky smile. I decided I didn't like her. "I'm Heidi."

"And I'm Jay." He had a shy pink tinge on his cheeks and he seemed embarrassed to be there. He had a ukulele in his hand. In the end, those two ended up performing a duet, with her singing and him 'ticklin' the strings of his uke'. She wasn't very good, as I had suspected. I knew my Bonbon was going to absolutely kill it when it was her time to shine.

The acts were mostly pretty mundane, some laughably bad. I don't feel shitty for saying that because I could appreciate that Bonnie's boyfriend was actually pretty talented. His sister couldn't, she kept mumbling things like "Ugh, the way he shakes his long-ass hair is so obnoxious, he needs to get it cut." and "Oh my god, is that an undercut? When did Max get an undercut? Why is he trying so damn hard to be an edgy teen?" when the rest of us were trying to listen.

He had brought on an acoustic guitar and promptly decided to sing 'She's Electric' by Oasis, I would recognise that song anywhere - Clemont didn't like admitting his taste in music. He had decided to change the lyrics around a little bit so they fit the situation he was in. It made me chuckle.

"Her brother and me aren't pals, he's gonna put me in the hospital. But I'm gonna try, anyway." Ash thought it was funny. I thought it was funny. May thought it was pretty fucking hilarious. Clemont was not amused.

Best 'til last. Bonnie entered. She looked so beautiful. It hurt me. In a little black dress and high heels, every inch of her sparkled as she was adorned from head-to-toe in sequins. I felt oddly like a proud mother. "My name is Bonnie, I'm fourteen and I'm from Lumioss City in Kalos. And this is a song called Clarity." She sang.

But she didn't just sing. She poured her heart out. And she did it so beautifully that even the birds flew out of their nests to hear her. She told a story with low-notes and high-tones.  She made the ocean currents spin and the moon cry with a single lyric. She had a gift. A gift like no other.

I couldn't stop staring. I wanted to pull out my phone to film her, but it was like watching a movie in itself. Then I realised what this beautiful song was about. I got caught up in it. So much so that I closed my eyes and just listened to her.

"You are the peice of me I wish I didn't need." She was singing from her soul. She was painting her darkest and most heart-breaking thoughts on a canvas, and we were the gallery. She wanted Clemont to know. She wanted him to see that she couldn't help being young and in love. I knew how she felt. "Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why." Bonnie. A younger version of myself. I was so torn. I had a million things in my mind but I was still wrapped up in the majestic web of her voice.

"If our love is tradgedy, why are you my clarity?" I opened my eyes. "If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?" Everyone in the room were looking at their lovers. Smiling, thinking "This reminds me of us." And I'll admit that I was doing it, too. But I wasn't gleefully reminiscing about the good times and the bad with the one person I had given my heart to.

The person I was looking at wasn't Ash - it was Clemont. And I just cried. And cried. And cried. And Bonnie finished singing. I clapped my hands until it felt like they were going to stop off.

A hand on my shoulder. "You alright, babygirl?"

"Yeah." I said. "I'm just really proud of her."

Sorry this took so long, shit has been tough recently. So sorry if it wasn't up to scratch. Special thanks to my amazing friend libellule_ for making the beautiful empty arena version of Clarity that's in the media. Go follow her Wattpad, she's actually a fucking fantastic writer and sub to her YouTube which is the same username. Alright thanks for reading and goodnight, everyone. ♡