I don't know why, but I am in the mood to write a DRAMA. Like, Learn is obviously dramatic and all, but it's teenage drama and a couple of weeks ago I felt this urge to write something that wasn't set in high school, so out came Crown.

I put a lot of thought into the planning of this story and I have pages and pages of planning that goes with every single chapter so I'm actually really proud of myself. I have never put this much effort into any kind of writing (oops :P). Hopefully my hard work has paid off!

Also, please note that I will eventually update Learn. I haven't given up on that story yet and I know it seems a little impractical to just jump to another story, but I can't help myself, I'm super excited to write this.

So enjoy the story and don't forget to follow. Reviews are much appreciated :D

Ciao,

Snow

[Do note that this is an AU, even though I use LaRousse City as the setting. It's mostly so I can avoid using real cities and the hassle of having to research things to make sure it matches what I say. Also, this is mostly a contestshipping fic but there is some pokeshipping, oldrivalshipping, and ikarishipping.]

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters affiliated with Pokemon. This story is purely for entertainment purposes.

After all, a crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.

I ran away from home the day after graduation.

I remember the night I took the bus to the city. My mom had been passed out on the couch the whole day and my little brother was holed up in his room, like usual. I felt guilty; I knew they depended on me and I knew that the only reason we still had the house was because of my part-time jobs. But I had to leave. I knew that if I didn't leave then, I would be stuck in that small town forever, working odd jobs to keep my family standing.

I couldn't do that. As selfish as it was, I had to get away, to start a new life. I would never stop supporting them. I would make sure that I got a job and send money to them every month. I would save up enough to send Max, my 12 year-old brother, to college in the future. But I couldn't stay in that house forever.

I saved up money for two years. I knew exactly where I was going to go: I would take a five hour bus ride to the city, and then I would sleep on park benches until I found a job and an apartment.

It was a foolproof plan to eighteen year-old May Maple. Now that I think about, I was an absolute idiot, but most teenagers are so I try not to judge myself too harshly. I turned in my resignation letter to the coffee shop I worked at and I packed my large hiking backpack with bare necessities: clothing, a blanket, travel sized toiletries, cell phone, money, and the bus ticket that had my future riding on it.

What I hadn't planned for was the city being so big. I got over that eventually, but the first two months were awful beyond compare. I couldn't find a job easily and I was constantly being kicked off of park benches. I took baths in the lake of the large park early in the morning and I practically lived off of granola bars from the supermarket.

I know, stupid May. I should have come up with a plan before running away. So much for being an honor roll student.

Eventually I did find a job, with help, and an apartment, but I was half-afraid Max and my mom had been kicked out of the house by that point.

So let's just say running away is not a good idea, especially if you're an idiot about it. But I'm glad I did it anyways because while the city was a tough place at first, I got used to its quirks. Once I fell into the routine of working my jobs, it was easier and almost liberating.

That is, until two years later when everything changed. I should have known that I couldn't trust my life to settle down so easily. That honor roll really did nothing to prepare me for the real world, I guess.

Damn you, education system.

The city held a lot more than I had bargained for.

"Happy Birthday, May!"

I walked out of the morning snowstorm outside and was greeted with a blizzard of confetti. The cafe was mostly empty, with just a few lonely customers curiously looking on at the fuss.

The staff of the cafe, just four people, was huddled in front of me.

"You remembered!" I couldn't help the warm feeling that pulsed through me when I saw a small cake, my favorite kind, with 21 candles crowded onto it. "How did you even fit 21 candles?" The poor cake looked like it had been stabbed to death.

"We have our ways." Ash, the owner, winked at me. He had frosting on his hands and in his jet black hair and I fought the urge to laugh. Obviously he had tried to help decorate it, hence the crooked way my name was written on the top.

"You can thank Ash for butchering your name." Misty, Ash's wife and co-owner of the cafe, slung an arm around my neck and led me to a barstool.

"I can at least tell what it says," I squinted, "I think."

"Hey, that was mean! I tried!" Ash whined and everyone laughed at his childish pout.

"Alright Maybelle, you better get to work on those candles before all this yappin' blows them out." The cook, Dino, gave me a smile through his bushy, graying beard. Despite his biker-turned-father appearance, he tended to get emotional easily so I could see his eyes get a little glassy. I'd known him the longest since coming to the city and he was like a father to me; he had helped me get my job and find an apartment.

I turned back to the cake in front of me and shut my eyes, trying to think of a wish. I drew a blank, of course. I never was good at impromptu thinking. Giving up so people wouldn't think I was making a long-ass wish, I quickly blew out the candles as everyone sang "Happy Birthday" jovially and off-key. Even the few customers chimed in and clapped at the end. Yoko, a part-timer like me, put a childish but beautiful party tiara on my head and gave me a tight hug followed by Ash and Misty. Once they released me, Dino swept me up into a giant bear hug that knocked the rest of the cold out of my system.

"All right, let's let the girl get out of her coat before celebrating." Yoko took my red coat and draped it over a chair in the corner before coming over to us and letting her pink hair come loose around her shoulders. "I know it's early and all, but let's bring out the booze! That's the only way to celebrate turning twenty-one! Other than going to a strip club, of course."

One of the customers choked on a drink and I was pretty sure I flushed a little.

"Alright, calm down," Misty dragged the pink haired woman back before she could slink into the pantry to get alcohol, "We still have customers. You can 'bring out the booze' after we close."

"You're no fun," Yoko pouted.

As if on cue, the door opened and a man entered, taking a seat at one of the tables. A blast of cold air swept into the place and a I shivered a little bit.

November in LaRousse was like living in Antarctica, minus the penguins.

I quickly got up and straightened out my work uniform, which consisted of a long-sleeved, white button up and tight black jeans. I had to hand it to Misty for picking a uniform that was weather appropriate because my other job required me to wear a little black dress and that did not pair well with winter.

"Sorry, birthday girl, but looks like you're gonna have to work a little today." Ash threw me my pen and notepad, both of which I managed to catch before they hit me in the face. I placed them down on the table to quickly throw my mess of chestnut hair up into a haphazard bun.

"Well, my 8 to 3 shift isn't going to work itself. I didn't come here to party," I paused to look at Yoko, who was pouting, "I can't say the same for Yoko though. She looks like she was just robbed of her freedom."

"That's because I was darling. Partying and booze are my life. You can't just take those away and expect me to be fine!" She flung her arms up dramatically, earning her a laugh from Dino and an eye roll from Misty.

"Calm down, it's 8 in the morning. If you drink this early, you're going to pickle your liver faster than Dino can fry an egg." Misty gave Yoko a motherly smack with a dishcloth.

I nodded my head in agreement. "The girl has a point."

"Hey, pickled liver or not, at least I'm enjoying myself. Am I right Dino?" The 24 year-old called to older man who was heading into the kitchen.

"As much as I'd like to tell you to simmer down, I wasn't exactly an angel when I was your age, Pink. But something tells me Mist isn't in the mood to hear one of my stories this morning." He tied on his black apron and disappeared behind the red doors.

Misty shook her head and took her place behind the counter next to Ash, who was doing some kind of math on a calculator. Running a business had to be hard, especially since they were only a year older than me and seniors at LaRousse University.

Ash rubbed his head, looking confused, leading Misty to smack him over the head and take the calculator. They were always a comical pair and I got a good laugh out of their antics.

I could see why they had decided to tie the knot right after graduating high school. They were perfect for each other, each filling in the gaps the other one left behind.

I leaned back on the counter, seeing as Yoko had already taken the new customer. She characteristically had the top three buttons on her shirt undone and showing cleavage and her jeans ripped around the thigh so the man she was now taking orders for was openly staring at her. She coyly tucked a piece of bright pink hair behind her ear and smiled, an act that always brought the particularly sleazy regulars coming back in hopes of getting her number.

More people filed in through the door: some new, some old. I handled most of the regulars while Yoko took care of the new people who were looking to find their way around town.

Soon, the cafe was filled with the smell of Dino's cooking. I brought out a few orders and had a chat with the customers who wished me a happy birthday. A few of them were regulars who claimed they looked forward to seeing me on the weekends since I reminded them of their daughters. That always made me happy because the regulars were generally older guys like Dino who were truckers and looked rough and tough but really had soft hearts.

Time flew by fast and by 3 o'clock, I was worn out. The cafe had gotten super busy and I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because of my night job at the bar. Thank God Misty and Ash decided to close early on Saturdays. I let my hair down and sat on one of the barstools lined up against the long counter.

"That was kind of a rough day," I said, swiveling around to face Dino, who was setting a slice of my birthday cake and a cup of coffee in front of me. "We've been getting a lot of customers lately."

"More people are coming to the city now. This cafe is in a good place, just off the highway and close enough to all the truck stops that we get regulars. Those kids did good," Dino rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "Although I wish they'd take a break sometimes. Between this shop and classes, they don't get much time to themselves."

"You think too much Dino," I leaned over to ruffled his thinning hair, "Ash says just another year and his cousins will be able to watch the shop part time. Plus, they're doing this because they want to."

"She's right, you know," Misty sat on the barstool next to May's with her own piece of cake, "We love this cafe, wouldn't give it up for all the vacation weeks in the world. Plus, I'm 100 percent sure if we left you and Yoko to run the place for even a week, the entire store would burn down."

"Only partially," Dion smiled as he watched Yoko almost slip while balancing a plate of sandwiches, "Maybe 3/4 of it."

I chuckled and finished off my piece of cake and quickly gulped down the hot coffee. The clock read 3:30, meaning I needed to get back to my apartment so I could rest and get ready for my shift at the bar at 9.

"I'm going to head out. Thanks for the cake guys it was great. The tiara's pretty awesome too." I grabbed my coat off of the chair and checked my cell phone for any calls.

"We never got to celebrate!" Yoko cried from behind the counter. She was holding a bottle of tequila and had two shot glasses set in front of her.

"Sorry, Yoko! You can finish off that tequila for me. I still have a job to get to tonight."

Before Yoko or Misty could convince me to stay and party, I walked out the door and towards the bus stop. It had stopped snowing, but the ground was covered in a sheet of white and the roads were super icy. I had to focus all my efforts on not slipping and my left boot had a hole in the toe so my foot was freezing.

I made a mental note to invest in a new pair when I got my paycheck.

I got on the bus that took me to my apartment and when I got off, I checked my phone again to calculate how long I could nap before getting ready for my shift at the bar.

Just as I was approaching my building, I heard a deafening screech that made me halt abruptly and drop my phone on the sidewalk. The black phone shattered, the parts sliding everywhere, and I felt my stomach drop. Not because my phone had broken; it was a cheap phone. But I felt something dangerous, a dark aura, wrapping around my body and rendering my legs useless.

"Let me go!" a female voice floated out from one of the many alleys, "I don't owe you anything anymore!"

I felt my blood go cold. I had to do something. I knew I had to do something.

I was fighting a mental battle. Part of me said I should just leave it be. Stuff like this happened all the time in big cities right? There were gangs and druggies in the area. It was best not to get involved.

"Just hand it over and we won't have to hurt you."

I heard something shatter and before I knew what was happening, I found my legs moving towards the alley.

'You're an idiot. Maybelle Maple; death by stupidity on her 21st birthday. Still a virgin, hasn't been kissed, hasn't had a boyfriend, hasn't gone to college, hasn't-'

"What do you think you're doing?" I yelled at the three scary looking guys, stress on scary, that were crowded around a girl who was thrown against the dirty alley wall.

For one, the alley was hella sketchy, and there were bloodstains on the floor that I tried my hardest to ignore. Secondly, the guys were all taller than me and I had a feeling that under their crisp suits were rippling muscles that could probably tear me apart without much effort.

I gulped nervously but stood my ground.

"Who're you?" One of them, the creep with the dirty blonde hair and sunglasses, regarded me with careful eyes. Or at least, I think he did. He was wearing freaking sunglasses.

"Um," I paused, trying to rack my brain for a response, "What you're doing here is...is bad!"

'And the award for response of the year goes to...'

Blondie raised an eyebrow and looked to his lackeys who were equally creepy and also wearing sunglasses.

I mustered up the courage to speak again.

"You shouldn't throw girls against walls. You shouldn't throw people against walls, period! And what's with those tacky sunglasses anyways? It's freaking November and the sun is definitely not out right now."

'Wow, you are so gonna get yourself killed'

I mentally told myself to shut up. My hands were already trembling as it was.

Blondie looked irritated. I glanced over to the girl who was staring at me with wide eyes. Her reddish-brown hair was dirty and clumped and her gray sweater dress had definitely seen better days. She was bleeding profusely from the gash on her arm.

I ran over to her quickly and examined her wound, now thoroughly pissed off at the three creeps.

"W-what are you doing?" The girl whispered as I looked around frantically for any cloth to stop the bleeding.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you," I reassured, "We'll be out of here in no time."

"Little girl with the tiara, I don't think you know who you're dealing with." Blondie looked down at me menacingly.

I flushed, ripping the tiara off my head and putting it behind me. He was definitely pissing me off.

"Little girl? Little girl? I'm twenty-freaking-one, thank you very much!" I stood and stared up at blonde-dude indignantly, "You should really learn some manners, blonde-face. I don't care how badass you think you are."

I poked him in the chest, hard.

He snapped off his sunglasses and the color of his eyes almost made me pee my pants. They were a darker black than anything I'd ever seen and they had danger almost pouring out of them.

'May's gonna die~'

He grabbed my wrist tightly and my glare intensified. Or at least I hoped it did. The last thing they needed to know is that I was actually terrified.

My eyes fell on his hand and widened when I saw a black handgun.

"Alright, hold on a minute! That can't be real, who goes around carrying guns?" He loosened his grip for a split second and I managed to wrench my wrist free and look at the other two who also had guns in their hands. One of them also had a knife that had a little blood on it already, presumably from cutting the girl.

"You can't be serious. What is this, Men in Black?"

Blondie's eyebrow twitched.

"You're starting to annoy me." He said, voice dangerously low. He was beginning to walk closer and I prepped myself to execute the "fingers to the eyes, knees to the nuts" method, when a phone started ringing.

Blondie paused and threw an annoyed look at lackey #1 who nervously fumbled around his pockets searching for his phone. Once he found it, he flipped it open and spoke quickly into the speaker.

"What is it?"

His eyes widened after a minute.

"Yes sir! I'm sorry, sir!"

He looked up.

"It's the boss. He's saying you aren't picking up your phone and that we should head back."

Blondie's eyes flickered to the ground where his phone was shattered, much like mine was, and he stepped back.

"You got lucky this time. I hope, for your sake, that we don't cross paths again." He motioned to lackey #1 and lackey #2 to follow him and they slunk farther back into the alley until they disappeared around the corner.

I let out the breath I had been holding and turned back to the shaking girl. Her wide, sea-green eyes were glued to me as I helped her stand up.

"My apartment's around here. I'll get you patched up and then take you home, okay?"

I hooked her arm around my neck and began to walk.

"You shouldn't have done that," She shakily mumbled to me as I led her out of the alley, "They're going to find you."

I snorted.

"And do what? Beat me to death with their sunglasses? I'm so terrified."

She didn't say anything after that, but just regarded me silently. Her eyes never left my face and it freaked me out a little bit, but I got over it. When we got to my apartment, I opened the door and led her to the small couch I had in the living room. It was a small place, with just one bedroom, a kitchen, and a living space, but to me it was home. Once she was settled on the couch, I peeled off my coat and draped it over the plush rocking chair Misty had gotten me for my birthday last year.

"Wait here for a little bit, I'll get the first aid kit and some clothes for you to change into. Do you want anything to drink?"

She shook her head. I began to dig through the coat closet to find the first aid kit and something warm for her to put on.

"You're really brave." She said quietly once I had found the kit and was starting to unpack it. I placed the over-sized gray sweater next to her.

"Not really. I think the term stupidly irrational fits better." I dabbed a little disinfectant on her wound and she winced, but cracked a smile.

"My name's Brianna. Thank you for doing this. There aren't many people like you in this city." I put a little gauze on her wound and started to wrap bandage around it.

"Hi Brianna, I'm May. And, shh, I like to think there are people who would do the same for me." I finished off wrapping her wound with a little pat and gave her a smile.

"You should pull this over your dress, it's freezing outside."

Brianna gratefully took the sweater and pulled it over her dress. It was a little big on her small frame, but her lips were starting to look less blue.

"Do you want to stay a little longer or do you want me to take you home now?"

"I can go home myself! I don't want to trouble you." Brianna stood up on shaky legs.

"It's really no problem, I can take you home." I grabbed her arm to steady her and then started to put on my coat, but she stopped me.

"No, really, I'll be okay. I might need to make a few stops anyways. Thank you again! This was really nice of you."

Still unsure, I made her promise to be careful and she insisted that I have her number so I could call and pick up my sweater later.

When she left, I checked the clock for the time and it read 5:10, leaving me with just under two hours to take a nap. I quickly changed into my hello kitty pajamas, the only childhood memento I had brought with me to the city, and then dove under the covers of my bed with a portable heater whirring away near my feet.

I found my hands still shaking. It was probably the guns that did it. The most that had happened in my old town was an old lady getting her mints stolen from her purse every now and then. Not to mention in my two years in the city, I hadn't even witnessed anything close to this.

I shoved my hands under my pillow and shut my eyes. I needed rest.

"Happy birthday to me, I guess," I whispered to no one, slipping into unconsciousness.

And that's the first chapter! I hope you liked it. I know there isn't much in terms of romance yet, but I'm trying to take my time with this so you probably won't see much May/Drew interaction for a few chapters.
Hopefully, you want to read more. Remember, follow and review! I always appreciate it!

Thanks for reading and, until next time!

Ciao,

Snow