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Entomophobia

After getting the Icicle Badge, Miria was in a bit of a pickle.
Ever since she could remember, she had been absolutely terrified of bugs, and by extention all Bug-type Pokémon ranged from unsettling her to making her burst out in tears. Her mother seemed to share that fear as well, so she hadn't been of much help, and her father was always touring around the region, so he was rarely at home.

She could've never forgotten the day she left her window open, and a big Venipede had crawled up in her room, scaring her to death when she saw it lying on her bed as soon as she got back from the bathroom.
Since then, she had always slept with her windows closed, and avoided bugs like the plague.

The issue was, she needed to go to Castelia City, and the only way to get there was through Pinwheel Forest, notoriously crawling with bugs and... other monstrosities, probably. Miria sighed. She had made it her mission not to rely on her family for her journey, but...

Hesitantly, she took out her Xtransceiver and hovered her mother's contact. Then, she spotted some other saved contacts: Alma's and Angela's. 'Oh, right, I did get their numbers, didn't I...' It was a game of pick your poison at that point - call her mom, and risk having her not pick up or worse, upsetting her (since she was probably in the middle of a show) or call the people she hadn't exactly treated well throughout her journey.

She decided for the lesser evil, and called Alma, but she didn't pick up. Miria scoffed, but she was probably busy or didn't hear the call. She tried with Angela, and after a short while there was a response. "Hello?" Angela sounded surprised to say the least. "Hi. I'm Miria. Listen, are you perchance hanging around Nacrene City?"

"Well, I'm not really nearby, but I can get there fast. Why?" "Can... Can I talk to you? I need help for something."

"... Sure. Where would you like to meet up?" Angela's tone seemed neutral, but the hesitation after her reply indicated that she didn't feel that greatly about her. Miria should've expected that, but it was better than nothing. "Is the Warehouse Café a good place for you?" "Sure. I'll be there in half an hour."

She hung up, and Miria was left wondering whether she had done the right thing. 'Well... I guess it went better than I expected. Still a bit awkward.'

She headed towards the Pokémon Center, healing her mons before heading to the Warehouse Café.
Angela arrived right in time, and she spotted her immediately. "Hello, Miria." "Hi. Thank you for coming. I didn't expect you to-" She stopped before she could finish the sentence, but the other girl understood the implication. "You didn't think I'd want to listen to you after how we started off." "Yeah."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them, before Angela decided to talk again. "You said you needed my help?" "Well, this might seem really silly, but... uh... I need someone to accompany me through Pinwheel Forest."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Pinwheel Forest is not that long or winded, unless you want to take the mazy path. Do you want to go out of your way to get some extra training, or...?" "I'mterrifiedofbugs." Miria blurted out.

For a second, she was scared the other girl would laugh in her face; instead, Angela chuckled. "I used to fear bugs too, before I caught my Scolipede." "What! Really?" "Yeah! Pinwheel Forest was really rough for me. I had to go through the mazy path as well, because they were paving the straight path. It was a nightmare!" "It does sound like a nightmare!"

Angela shrugged. "I mean, I guess it did kind of work as shock therapy. I panic-caught a Venipede who basically threw himself at me, and turns out he was just really affectionate and wanted company. At the end of it all, we were both lonely souls looking for company."

Miria lowered her gaze. "Lonely souls looking for company, eh?" Angela looked at her. "May I ask you something?" "Go ahead." "... Are you lonely, too? Is that why you called me, basically a stranger that you snobbed at the beginning?"