Hey peoples!

Well, I was bored so I thought I would write a quick Festivalshipping (HarleyxSoledad) oneshot, yay...

Anyway, I guess I'm also using this as an excuse to try to get a more in-depth look at Harley's character - my theory to why he acts the way he does.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own the song: "Shrink the World", which belongs to Yellowcard.

-ooo-

Glowing metallic-green eyes stared emotionlessly at the slim figure of Soledad Sierra as she eyed the small TV that hung in the corner of the contest waiting room, which displayed the battle in the colossal arena outside with clear definition. The cries of joy and excitement from the seated audience outside became muffled from the walls of the room, although it didn’t fill Harley with any confidence than what he already lacked. He didn’t seem to mind this, however, and instead leaned against the wall in the far corner of the room, hidden by the leaves of artificial plants that had been placed on the clean tiled floors for decorative purposes.

Despite that his turn in the active coordinating competition was coming up, he peered somewhat-interestingly towards the certain red-haired woman he – for some reason – couldn’t take his eyes off of. Whenever she shifted her shoulders nervously, sending sprawls of wrinkles across her tan clothes, Harley immediately threw himself backwards so the wall concealed his figure, scared that Soledad’s greenish-blue eyes would spot him in the wake.

However, when the said young woman didn’t even turn to eye the suspicious plastic ferns that would shake suddenly every time she moved, Harley slowly peeked his head around the corner, arms crossed, metallic-green eyes narrowing determinedly.

For some reason Harley found Soledad quite interesting, therefore he was in the act of pretending to be some sort of secret spy that was stuck hiding between fake plants, as it was the only way to conceal his Cacturne-themed outfit among the coordinator waiting room, which was - quite frankly - colored all white with a few spots of blue here and there (that is, if you didn’t count the low number of young teenage coordinators who were waiting their turns to go on stage). To tell you the truth, the amethyst-haired man had no idea why he found the red-haired woman to be so fascinating that he had to hide himself in a way that earned him bewildered stares from the surrounding peoples, who then only rolled their eyes once they had remembered who he was and therefore dubbed his weird and creepy actions his daily routine.

Of course, Harley was trying not to give much of a damn on what they thought, as he was usually stuck doing since no one seemed to favor the man that whole much.

When he thought about it he couldn’t blame them. He was quite devious at times, finding the evil contribution of cheating to win him ribbons in contests the only way to go, seeing as how he wasn’t really good enough to win them fair and square. Then again, he was never really good at anything, and therefore was convinced to be a mean schemer to most people he came by since they would usually treat him like crap.

So, as he invariably told himself, why be nice? It’s not like anyone was going to ever be nice to him…no one was ever nice to him, or at least stayed with him long enough to get to know him better before throwing insults in his face and running off like an immature bully.

I guess you can say he was quite used to it, people not treating him right just because he seemed ‘different’.

Except…her.

Soledad was the only one who didn’t treat him like dirt, but instead was always around to help him get back on his feet when his sad excuse for a life brought him down to the floor with no implied mercy. Go figure that it would be now when he would realize that he never had the chance to thank her for it, which he was afraid to do.

Why?

Well, maybe it was because he was scared that if he went over there and bothered to be himself he would do something wrong that would convince her to treat him like dirt, just like everybody else in his life he tried to be friends with.

Just like everybody else who didn’t like him for who he was and therefore pushed him away with no sympathy whatsoever.

Harley sighed, releasing his depression in a single array of a large nostril exhale, seeing as how his lips were glued together in the form of a permanent frown. His dim eyes, which were practically paling alongside his pointed face, only darkened more with sadness as he eyed Soledad yearningly.

Yup, he loved her. No doubt about it.

Oxymoronic? Not right? Just plain wrong?

Harley agreed, as he was so used to being called ‘gay’ by his supposed friends that he didn’t know what was right anymore. Who could ever love a guy like him, he wondered? How would anyone expect Soledad to return his feelings?

He was just a freak, right? A gay freak?

The tall and slim amethyst-haired man only turned in the opposite direction, his legs dragging him down the hallway, never stopping as his head dipped low with despondency. His arms were still crossed, although they unfolded measly when he pushed open the heavy exit door that led into a deserted garden outside. He didn’t bother to turn back, or even look back for that matter, when his name was called on the speaker.

-ooo-

“You missed your turn in the contest. You were disqualified.”

Harley didn’t bother to turn to look at Soledad once she had emerged from the exit door, the sunlight bathing her figure as her concerned eyes eyed the moping amethyst-haired man who sat silently on a bench among the flower gardens. His knees were up, his long arms wrapped around them with his chin resting on the back of his feminine fingers. His eyes stared emotionlessly at the distant mountains that towered over the encompassing trees, white clouds slowly colliding with their pointed, snow-tipped peaks.

“I don’t care…” he eventually mumbled, sadness sprawled along his girlish tone, which was the reason why he shook his head silently, scowling at his vocal cords. Soledad didn’t seem to notice this, though, and instead eyed Harley with compassionate eyes.

This was very unlike of him, or at least from what she had observed in the somewhat-short time of knowing him.

Shooting a hopeless look towards the contest waiting room, she returned her eyes to her friend and walked over to him, allowing the heavy exit door to finally shut behind her with a large click. Then, almost as silent as Harley, she walked over and sat on the same bench, her calm body right next to his frigid one. She kept her eyes away from his, though, as he was doing the same with her.

“What’s wrong?” she soon asked, her accent still strong despite the hints of sympathy that now rode it. She turned her head to eye him, becoming more concerned when she learned that he still wasn’t looking at her. With no success she turned her head back around.

He soon shifted, though, his almost muffled voice following. “If you could do anything you wanted to, then what would you do?”

She quickly turned to look at him again, her eyebrow quirked in bewilderment from the random question, although she was somewhat relieved that he was talking. Harley without his spunky attitude and shrilling voice didn’t seem right, and since she didn’t want to risk losing them again she replied, “Um…I don’t know…I guess visit all of the places in the world I always wanted to.”

Harley only slightly nodded in response, his metallic-green eyes sliding over to the side slowly so he could eye the tanned, smooth face of his red-haired female friend.

Arceus, she was beautiful.

He quickly turned away when she sailed her eyes over his direction, eyeing him confusingly. “Harley, if something’s bothering you, you can tell me. It’s not like you to miss a contest on purpose and then say you don’t care about it…”

The amethyst-haired man only shifted weight between his shoulders again, his head ducked behind his knees, although he didn’t seem sad anymore but instead determined about something. Without eyeing her he eventually asked, “Soledad, why are you so nice to me?”

Soledad pulled back, somewhat appalled by his question, though she understood why he asked it when she thought of how other people usually acted towards him. Sighing, she answered, “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re a nice person…when you want to be.”

She felt the sudden urge to slap her hand over her mouth after the last bit of her response, afraid that she had offended the amethyst-haired man right next to her. However, when Harley didn’t attempt anything she turned to eye him again with bewildered eyes, only to find out that he still wasn’t looking at her.

“I always have tried to be a nice person,” he eventually said, his voice drawn out, “but no matter what I do people still treat me wrong. They've always treated me wrong.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re always scheming things.” Soledad returned her compassionate eyes to him. “I know you can be nice, Harley, I’ve seen your nice side. What I notice is that you don’t give other people the chance to be nice to you before you automatically assume that they’re going to treat you unfairly.”

Harley shifted weight between his shoulders once more, obviously taking Soledad’s words into mind.

Seeing this as a sign to continue, she did just that. “I know people used to treat you like dirt because you seemed ‘different’ than them, and because of this you have grown to expect that everybody is going to do the same. You push people away out of fear, and when one finally tries to be nice to you you do everything you can to break away from them – convince them to not like you so they won’t bother you.”

He knew that she was right, but he still remained silent.

“You just have to remember one thing,” Soledad continued again, absentmindedly placing her hand over Harley’s (in which he shied away a little because). “There are always going to be people who will always be there for you, even if doesn’t seem there’s a lot. You just gotta keep searching.”

Eventually Harley raised his head, Soledad’s words circulating in his brain and convincing a small smile to replace his emotionless frown, although sadness was still lingering among his posture. “What should I do then?”

Soledad shrugged. “Try to prove to people that you’re not the person they expect you to be. I mean, like when the next time you see Drew and May try to hang out with them – let them get to know the real Harley.”

Harley allowed his smile to grow bigger, his glance still gentle. “Thanks, Soledad. This all means a lot to me.”

The red-haired woman nodded, her own smile reappearing on her bright face. “You see? You’re fine the way you are.”

Following this she got up, planting a soft kiss against the amethyst-haired man’s cheek, which made his pale face turn slightly red, as she made her way over to the door that led into the contest hall. “Hey,” she called in the wake, “I bet if we act all nice like to the contest judges they’ll give you back your place in the competition.”

Harley only rolled his eyes at her childish grin as he got up as well, making his way over towards her.

“Oh, that’s right,” she then stated, placing her finger on her chin in an interested manner, “I told you what I would do if I could do anything in the world, right? Well, you never told me what you would do…”

Harley shrugged, his small smile still plastered across his lips. “Well, I was going to say that I would shrink the world.”

“Hmm, why?”

“It’s easier to keep track of you that way,” Harley replied with a chuckle. “I mean, before all of this you made me see a lot of things, and those short periods of time that we were away from each other really affected me, as it felt like you were the only real friend I had…”

Soledad chuckled as well, obviously flattered at his kind words. “Wait…” she suddenly muttered, eyebrow quirked. “‘Was’? Why wouldn’t you want to do it anymore?”

Harley looked up at the sky, his eyes soft, yet bright. “Because the world’s fine the way it is.”

And with that Harley followed Soledad into the building, watching her lovingly while they made their way down the hall with smiles on their faces, like the last good scene at the end of a happy film.

Which, of course, just makes you wonder what's going to happen next.

-ooo-

Hmm...