Wallace heard the commotion. He hadn't realized he'd dozed off.
The campfire was still burning. Jovan had decided to stay at the Pokémon center for a bit, so Wallace was left alone when Micheal decided to leave.
He hadn't really told Wallace anything. But then he never really did say anything to him much to begin with. 
Just said he was going to go somewhere for a while.
The mystery of him made Wallace like him all the more... but it also irritated him at times.

He'd decided he'd wait for Micheal to come back. But he was taking quite a while.
It had been full dark for some time now.
He'd fed the fire a few times. Sat there watching it burn, curled up with his back against the log behind him as he sat on the ground in front of the fire, his legs pulled up against his chest and chin tucked in.

He hadn't noticed he'd fallen asleep. It was the noise of something in the woods nearby that woke him up.
It sounded like something was stumbling through the underbrush.

That couldn't be Micheal could it? What was wrong?
He heard a string of slurred curses following a rather loud crunch.

The boy was now getting worried. He worried that Micheal was hurt. He hurried in the direction he heard the commotion.

When he got there he saw Micheal clumsily dragging himself up. His clothing were quite disheveled. His clumsy journey back to the campsite had torn his outfit in a few places and he cold see the bent branches and trampled underbrush behind Micheal in the moonlight. Somehow his fedora had remined on his head, though it was askew.
He also reeked of cigarette smoke, stronger than normal. But also Alcohol. And some other scent Wallace couldn't identify. But he was sure he also smelled some kind of purfume?

Micheal was just about standing again, leaning heavily against the nearest tree, hunched foreward. A quiet string of curses streaming from his mouth. Hiccups interuptting him.

Wallace blinked in disbelief. His opinion of Micheal was crumbling.
Anger started welling up inside him.

That's when Micheal looked up blearily, he blinked and squinted a few times, "Wa-*hic*-ace...? Iz 'at yew *hic*?"

Wallace scowled at Micheal, his hands balled into fists at his sides. his mouth tightened to a line. He didn't reply.

Micheal's head dropped back down. Silence. He sighed, then started heading towards the campsite once again.

Wallace grit his teeth, but stepped over to help the older teen. He lifted Micheal's left arm and settled it over his shoulders, keeping him from stumbling over again, frowning the entire way back to camp.

Once they got back, Wallace sat Micheal down on the ground near the fire, propping him up against the log. Micheal leaned back, his head tilted up looking up at the star filled sky, "ah... *hic*" Micheal's face relaxed and his eyelids slide down so far that he almost closed his eyes altogether.

Wallace sniffed and stalked angrily over to their bags. he took out a canteen and a cup, poured some water in it then walked over to Micheal.

He stood there starring down at Micheal for a few moments. His anger was burning bright inside him. But slowly ebbed as he saw that Micheal had more of a lost and depressed look on his face. His face was still upturned to the sky, his mouth partly open, arms hanging limply at his sides, palms up, one knee was sticking out to his side, the other was angled up to the sky with his foot flat on the ground in front of him.

Wallace's anger was turning more to sympathy.

He knelt down, taking one of Micheal's hands and cupping it around the cup of water. Micheal lifted his head up and looked over towards Wallace. The lost look still on his face.

"Here, drink this." 

Micheal looked toward the cup as Wallace lifted it toward his face. his hands firmly pressed against Micheal's, keeping the cup steady as he lifted it.
Wallace kept the cup steady as he tipped it to Micheal's lips.

Micheal drank back a couple gulps before he hic-coughed and spilled some of the water onto himself and spat more of it out.

Wallace's mouth had drawn to a line again, but he didn't have the burning anger he had before.

Wallace took the cup and set it down and lifted Micheal's arm back around his shoulders again, "Up. We need to move you to bed."

Micheal chuckled, "yew gonna *hic* keep meh company...? *hic*"

Wallace grunted as he helped Micheal lift himself up and half-dragged him over to the sleeping bags, "I'll be watching over you. To make sure you're still here in the morning. It won't do to have you... you know. Jovan is expecting to see both of us in the morning."

Hollow laughter from Micheal, "wuz hopin' fer sumthin' moar- *hic* but iz not lyke ya hafta. *hic* Look oot fer me eye mean..."

Wallace tensed, "Well I don't know what you expected," his voice was sharp, "but that's what I'm going to do. I should just dump you in the river though."

"Heh, git rid of meh, hmmmm?"

"NO! You need a bath. You reek."

Micheal shifted his head over to bring it close to the side of Wallace's head, whispering, "Well why dun yew give meh a bath eef I'm such a dirteh booy...?"

Wallace shuddered and almost lost his grip on Micheal and let him slide off his shoulders to the ground, "Y-you need sleep! you have to sleep this off..."

"ha ha *hic* 'ow dew yeh know eye din't swallow a bunch a *hic* pillz a fore I got 'ere? Eye might 'ever wake up again yanno..."

Wallace's eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks, causing Mich to jerk forward a bit. The fedora finally slipped off his head and fell off to the side. "You..."

Micheal had his head dangling forwards as he was quietly laughing to himself.

Wallace was trembling as he turned to look at Micheal, "Why?! Why would you do something like this?!" he had tears building in his eyes.

Micheal's laughter trailed off, and he slowyly lifted and turned his face to Wallace's, "why..? why not? Iz not lyke *hic* not lyke-"

Wallace interuptted, "WE CARE ABOUT YOU. J-jovan and I... we like you! What are we going to do if... if..."

"Eef eye leave? Eef eye dye? *hic*"

hot tears were trailing down Wallace's cheeks as he grit his teeth, looking towards Micheal.

Micheal's eyes were empty and he had a ghost of a smile touching his lips, "ye'll live on. Ain't nutthin' stoppin' yeh. *hic* not lyke ye'll jest drop dead a cuz eye ain't thar. Deh werld *hic* moves on no matter Ooh's dere er not..."

Wallace's grip on Micheal's forearm tighted and he bit his lower lip. He almost threw Micheal down onto his sleeping bag.

Micheal hit the ground with a thump, grunted on impact, but stayed lying on his side, not moving otherwise.

More tears slide down the pre-established trail on Wallace's face, "No! You can't! I won't let you! I WON'T LET YOU!" He dropped down to Micheal, pulling up close to his chest, pounding on his chest with one hand, clenching his t-shirt under his coat with the other, "No!" Wallace Sobbed as he slowed his thumping on Micheal's chest and pulled up and snuggled into Micheal's chest, clenching both hands with fistfulls of Micheal's shirt in them as he continued sobbing.

Micheal's empty eyes starred forward at nothing, and face tinged with sadness. He slide one arm around Wallace, "sorreh... eye idn't *hic*" he whispered as Wallace's sobs became quieter and he seemed to be drifting to sleep "eye'll be 'ere in deh mornin'... even eef *hic* she won't..."