In Lava [Pokémon Watty Awards, 2016 2nd Place Romance]

Chapter Fifty

The week seemed to fly by for May. After a lot of hard work, the day of the contest had finally arrived. She was now in the dressing room with Lisia who was doing May's hair. May sighed as she looked in the mirror. Her outfit was rather different from the dress she wore before. The attire consisted of a crimson leather jacket with what appeared to be fur on the right shoulder. A green and black tank top was beneath. Spiked red and black wrist bands adorned her arms.

She wore leather red boots with heels she had to practice walking in. With her hair done, May looked at herself. She had to admit, she felt pretty badass in the outfit. She glanced back at Lisia and smiled.

"I love it!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air.

"You certainly look epic. You're going to rock that stage!" Lisia grinned.

May nodded and reached for her two teammates that were competing. Combusken and Wailmer were released and both turned to look at her.

"What'cha think you two? Do I look hot or what?" May laughed, puffing her chest out proudly.

Combusken and Wailmer made sounds of approval. May smiled broadly and spun to face Lisia.

"I'm all ready to go!" May said with confidence.

"Then let's get you to the lounge. The show starts in ten minutes. We barely made it," Lisia chuckled.

"Kay, one sec. I wanna see if Brendan is coming with Courtney," May said as she took her gear from her bag.

She flipped through her contacts and found Brendan's number. With a smile, she dialed it. It rang a few times and then picked up.

"Hello?" Brendan's voice came through.

"Hey Bestie! You almost here?" May asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute or two. Just need to grab something real quick," Brendan replied.

"You mean you haven't left yet!?" May shouted in surprise.

"Relax May, I'll be there before it starts. Make sure to save us a seat. We want to catch the action up close," Brendan replied with a grin.

"Okay, but hurry!" May said quickly as she saw Lisia pointing to the door.

The gear clicked off and May headed for the lounge.
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Brendan put his gear back into his bag and took a deep breath. He turned to Courtney who was looking him up and down as if admiring something. Brendan clenched his right fist, which was encased in a gauntlet with a keystone embedded into it. The gauntlet was primarily black with the red and black Magma emblem beneath the keystone.

A red hood with golden horns was over his head and a black metallic mask was over his mouth and nose. A red cloak with a black underside flowed down his back. Thin yet strong metallic plating covered the rest of him.

"How's the fit?" Courtney questioned as she looked him over.

"Perfectly and comfortably. It doesn't feel too hot either. I'm guessing that's due to the internal cooling system?" Brendan inquired as he turned to face the mirror in her Jagged Pass hideaway.

"Good, I'm glad," Courtney replied, sweat-dropping. She was not wanting to disclose the fact that she made it specifically for him.

She was able to figure out his measurements based off the data she'd been given. But he didn't need to know that.

The cloak covered his front side, concealing the other parts of the ensemble to a degree. Brendan hit the mechanism on the gauntlet and the suit began to glow. After a few seconds, Brendan was back in his normal attire.