A/N: I do NOT own the song. It is called Paper Aeroplane by Francesco Rossi. When you read this, try listening to the song, especially when you get to the part where I've put it in. If not, please at least check it out, it is an adorable song!
May's POV
I nervously followed Brock, Ash and Max through the doors. The Grand Festival was done and over. I had lost again, this time to my rival Drew. I wouldn't have come to this party if Ash hadn't begged me to come. I don't even know why he did that. He usually let me have my space after a loss. When I asked him about it, he didn't answer me directly. He just vaguely said it would be good for me to come. I frowned. He was acting so strange. I smoothed down my dress. Somehow Ash had managed to convince me to wear a deep blue dress. It was silky and cool against my skin. The waist was tied tight with a large silk bow. The skirt fanned out in soft layers reaching my ankles. As I looked around, I was glad that Ash had persuaded me to wear something other than my shirt and jeans. It was a formal styled party. I looked around at the decorations. It looked like a fairy-tale ballroom from a princess story. All the girls around me looked like princesses, their hair styled up in perfect buns or similar elegant styles. I turned to my companions, but was shocked to find they were gone. I looked around frantically. I hated being alone looking like I was. I did not look half as good as anyone else, my dress actually rather plain and boring compared to the fabulous rich colours that swished around me. I spotted a familiar face and I ran as best I could in my dark blue high heels.
"Solidad!" I called. She spotted me and smiled. I came to a stop in front of her.
"How are you May?" she asked, "Wow you look beautiful tonight."
"Thanks Solidad," I said, "you look beautiful too."
"You didn't answer my question," she frowned.
"I'm fine I guess," I sighed, "It's just another loss right? There's always next time right?" She smiled and nodded slightly. Next time. Yeah sure whatever, I told myself. I'd been telling myself that I would be better next year for 7 years! I had started coordinating when I was 11, and now I was 18, but I had never once won a Grand Festival. Someone always seemed to beat me in the last round.
"Oh May hon!" called Harley, coming to us, "There you are Solidad dear. I was just gonna ask May if she had seen you anywhere, but it looks like I don't need to." I laughed at him. He had long since gotten rid of his Cacturne-like style, but I still thought he looked funny in a suit. It just didn't suit him.
"Harley!" Solidad exclaimed as Harley planted a kiss on her cheek, "Please, not in public." I laughed again as Harley pouted. He reached out to pull his arms around her. Solidad blushed and shyly batted her fiancé's hands away from her.
"Please Harley," she begged, "don't be embarrassing. I'm sure May doesn't want to see this either." Harley gave up, somewhat disappointed.
"Where's Drew hon?" he asked, though I don't know if he was talking to me or Solidad. Truth was I hadn't seen him since he had gone up to collect his trophy. He'd seemed to disappear after that and I didn't even get to congratulate him on his win.
"Oh, you'll see him soon," Solidad winked, a certain look in her eyes. I was confused. Why did Solidad always have to be so mysterious? Why did Drew have to be so mysterious?
I casually held the plastic cup of fruit punch in my hand. I wasn't really that interested in punch, I didn't really like it that much, but it was a distraction. I took a small sip.
"Hey hon," Harley called to me. I waved at him with my free hand and smiled slightly.
"What are you doing by yourself here?" Harley asked, "A girl like you should be dancing."
"No-one has asked me," I replied, shrugging it off, "I'm not really that interested in dancing tonight though either."
"What!" Harley exclaimed, "Those boys are just too scared. I can see them eyeing you."
"Oh please Harley," I laughed, "That's nice, really I'm flattered, but I honestly don't think so." He frowned.
"Well, you need to have at least one dance tonight," he said, "and if Drew's too chicken to show up and ask you, I guess I will." I blushed at the mention of Drew.
"Will you dance with me May?" he asked, doing an exaggerated bow and holding his hand out to me.
"Sure, I'd be honoured," I giggled taking his hand. He pulled me onto the dance floor and put his other hand on my waist. I grinned as I put my hand on his arm. I was too short to reach up to his shoulder.
"You really need a growth spurt shrimp," he teased.
"Or you need to have and anvil on your head for a year to make you shrink," I suggested, laughing back at him. I was surprising having a good time as Harley led me across the floor. I was surprised he was such a good dancer. I guess that was the work of Solidad.
"Ok, can we all stop dancing now!" Vivian yelled when the music stopped, "it is time for a little something special." I smiled at Harley as he let me go. Solidad winked at Harley as she walked up to us. Around us, more people stopped to pay attention to what she was going to happen.
"Please welcome, Drew!" she called, "he has a little something special he'd like to do." Cheers and screams erupted from many fan girls, drowning out the sound of clapping that had started. I peeked at the stage and my eyes widened. The spotlight was directed onto him, making him seem to glow. His perfect suit didn't have a single crease in it. His movements were both mesmerising and perfect as he walked to the microphone. He looked exactly like how I imagined the prince from the fairy-tales I read when I was younger. It all seemed like a fairy-tale to me. He was the prince, in his royal courtyard, with several princesses out in his view. I looked down at my attire and cringed slightly. Yeah, if he was a prince then I was just that commoner who was helplessly in love with him, but with no chance whatsoever.
"Wow, doesn't Drew look smart?" Solidad commented. I nodded slightly, not trusting myself to speak. He scanned the crowd with his emerald eyes.
"I've prepared a little something for you," he started, "you see, there's someone special in the crowd tonight. I made sure they'd come especially for this." Screams erupted again and several fan girls feinted when his eyes passed over them.
"So this song is for you," he said, "but I'm not saying who it is yet."
"How are we supposed to know then?" a high pitched voice asked. He chuckled and I saw him fingering something in his hands. When I looked closer, I saw that it was a paper aeroplane.
"This aeroplane," he smiled down at it, "has the name of the person just inside the first fold." Squeals were heard and I had to cover my ears for a while. He stopped and waited until they had calmed down.
"I'm going to send this out while I sing," he explained, "I want you all to look just inside that fold, no more, and pass it on to the next person. Make sure the person of that name does not get it until I've finished singing. It contains a very important message. Can I trust you to do that?" Shouts were heard in a mashed up mess, but he nodded anyway, assuming they said what he wanted them to. He signalled off to the side.
The music filled the air. (A/N: I was told that I couldn't put the lyrics up so you'll just have to look them up and pretend that each person who catches it is happening while Drew is singing. Sorry)
He started to sing the first line. With that he threw the aeroplane down into the crowd to a young girl with red hair. She peeked inside and pouted, but threw it away anyway.
The next person caught it, a boy with bright orange hair. He shook his head and threw it in my direction.
I waited for it to come to me, slightly disappointed that it wasn't me. The plane landed gently in Harley's hands. I tried to peek over his shoulder as he read it, but he wouldn't let me look. He shook his head, making a clicking noise with his tongue before he threw it again.
Another girl caught it, screaming and peeking at the name. She sighed in disappointment and threw it away.
A boy caught it carefully opening it. He laughed and threw it quickly.
I watched as the plane arched high in the air and landed in the hands of Ash. Ash opened it and rolled his eyes before letting it fly again.
Another boy with brown hair timidly caught it as it flew directly to him. He peeked inside and then threw it away, his face now supporting a goofy grin.
The next person to catch it was Brock. He sniggered slightly and passed it on.
A fan girl caught it. She passed it on, with tears glittering in her eyes.
Another boy laughed as he read it and quickly passed it along.
Another girl reached out to take it. She read and sighed dreamily as she passed it on.
A boy with black hair reached up and snatched it out of the air. He read it, a funny smile on his face before he threw it away.
The next girl caught it. She quickly read it and tossed it away.
His voice mesmerised me so much that I hardly saw who caught it next. I only saw the plane as it flew into the air again.
It flew towards a man with dark blue eyes and bright red hair. He angrily snatched it, scowling as read I and furiously tossed it again.
A blonde girl shrieked loudly as the aeroplane hit her in the head. She snatched it off the ground, and screwing up her nose, threw it high in the air.
I watched as it rose high in the air and dipped down to another girl with blue hair. She sneered as she read it and threw it.
He winked at the girl across the room who caught it next. She fanned herself lightly before finally peeking at the name. She sniffed and threw it away, throwing a dreamy look at Drew.
Solidad caught it easily and smiled lightly as she read the name. I leaned over to take a peek, but she quickly folded it back and threw it before I had a chance.
A boy screwed up his nose when he read the name and quickly threw it.
Another boy looking similar to the one who had just thrown it, caught it in his hands, sending strange looks to Drew as he read it. With a flick of his wrist it was tossed across the room again.
This time Max was the one to catch it. He pushed his glasses up more onto his nose and read it. He laughed and could barely throw it again.
The plane wobbled slightly as it soared through the air again. Brianna quickly caught it and read the name. She squealed and then tossed it up in the air.
Another girl took it in her own and opened it. She scowled and angrily threw it.
It sailed towards a girl with long green hair, who had her eyes closed. Girls around her shrieked, but the girl simply reached out her hand and caught it easily in her own. I was reminded of how Drew and I met by that single action. She opened her big green eyes and read the name. Smirking up at Drew, she passed it on.
A pretty looking girl's eye lit up when she caught it. She opened it and read the name inside, her face dropping with disappointment. She smiled weakly and tossed it.
The green haired girl jumped in and snatched it from the air again. Drew winked at her and she smirked again. She reminded me a lot of Drew. She scanned the room and finally threw it in my direction. It seemed to float gently in the air as the music faded out. It landed perfectly in my fingers as the music finished.
The crowd burst into cheers and claps and screams. I looked at the aeroplane in my hands. I shakily opened the little fold to see the name that was written there; the name everyone had seen, the name some people had screamed at, laughed at, sniggered at, smirked at, cried at, and pouted at. May. It was for me. I looked up, trying to catch his eye, but he was gone. Did I want to read what it said? I turned to Solidad and Harley. They were both grinning at me. Ash, Brock and Max ran over to me.
"So you're the person," Max said. Solidad and Ash's eyes both twinkled mischievously, like they knew something I didn't.
"This is why you were begging me to come tonight," I whispered, looking at Ash with sudden clarity, "you knew about this."
"Yeah sorta," he shrugged, "Drew just came up to me and told me to make sure you'd be here tonight."
"Well, what does it say?" Harley asked.
"I don't know yet," I sighed, looking at the paper in my hands, "I haven't read it yet."
"Why not?" Ash exclaimed.
"I'm scared of what he might have written," I admitted.
"Don't worry," Solidad winked, "it's nothing bad at all."
"You know don't you," I accused, pointing my finger at her. She smiled knowingly and shrugged.
"Well read it!" Harley demanded, "Or I'll read it for you." I bit my lip as some girls glared at me.
"I might just go to be alone for a while," I whispered, "I can't stand the looks I'm getting right now." They nodded and I quickly headed out. I sighed, sitting down on the closest bench. I again stared at the paper in my hands, checking that it was indeed my name inside.
"Hey, you alright?" someone asked. I looked up to see the green-haired girl.
"I'm fine," I said, "what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be back inside dancing?"
"Probably," she laughed, "but I wanted a break. I've had it with Drew's stupid fan girls. What about you?"
"Just thinking," I sighed, "I don't know about this." I gestured to the plane in my lap.
"Oh, this is about Drew isn't it?" she questioned. I nodded slowly.
"I'm scared," I told her, "I'm scared of what he has written about me."
"Don't worry about it," she said, "It's nothing bad at all. My brother has been trying to tell you that for a while, but, if you can believe it, he's really shy."
"Brother?" I inquired.
"Yeah," she confirmed, "oops sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Renae, Drew's younger sister."
"Drew never mentioned a younger sister," I pondered aloud.
"Of course he didn't," she growled, rolling her eyes, "He never talks about anything personal, not even his younger sister."
"No wonder you reminded me so much of him," I sighed, "You have the same smirk he always pulls on me and the way you caught the plane the first time, well that was the exact same way he caught my frisbee when I accidentally missed it. That's how I met him."
"Oh yes, I've heard that story like a million times from him," she groaned, "Anyway, I should probably head back inside. You should read that. It's not as bad as you think and he would have told you face to face if he wasn't so shy."
"I haven't seen Drew's shy side," I laughed, "this is kinda new. I'm curious now as to what he's so embarrassed about."
"Well, he does have a shy side and when you read it, you'll understand," she said, "now I better go find him and smack him over the head for being such a wuss. He's probably cowering in a dark corner, trying to hide." I laughed and waved to her as she walked away. As soon as she walked away I unfolded it completely.
I blinked in shock as what was there. The message. Only three words. Three words that were making tears start to fall down my face. Who were they kidding when they said it wasn't bad? It was bad. Really bad. The exact thing I feared would be written on the page when I opened it. I love you. I put my hands over my mouth as I hiccupped. I closed my eyes, hoping that I was imagining this. I peeked through my lashes and realized that I was not dreaming. Why did he have to do this? I groaned.
"Hey May, what's wrong?" Solidad asked, coming out to me, Harley following close behind.
"May hon, why are you crying?" Harley asked.
"This," I managed to choke out, putting the paper in his face. His eyes quickly scanned the page.
"Oh May dear I knew it!" Harley exclaimed, "I just knew Drew was going to confess to you." I sniffed and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, smudging my mascara.
"Why are you crying over this?" Solidad asked, "I thought you would be happy, seeing as you love Drew back and all."
"I didn't want Drew to love me," I sniffed.
"What are you talking about?" Harley exclaimed, "If you don't want the boy you like to love you back, you're crazy."
"Harley, go back inside," Solidad instructed, "I think May needs a little girl to girl talk." Harley nodded and placed a quick kiss on her temple before running back inside. Solidad sat next to me.
"Why is Drew liking you back such a horrible thing May?" She asked, "You know you can tell me."
"I just…I can't do this to him!" I wailed, "We're rivals. He should know that this whole rival relationship thing doesn't work. I know I have to turn him down and I was hoping that he wouldn't fall for me so I wouldn't have to hurt him. He deserves so much better than me. He needs a calmer girl. A girl who's sweet and won't blow up at his teasing. He should want someone who's actually beautiful. He should want someone who can love him no matter what. He shouldn't want me because I'm none of that and I'm just not good enough for him and I'm only gonna drag him down and it just hurts so much."
"May…" she trailed off as I continued to cry.
"May listen to me and listen to me good," she commanded, "What you described there, that's a fan girl. That's someone who will like him no matter what he does, but that's not love. He loves you because you do blow up at him. He loves you because it won't be perfect. He loves you because you're his type of girl. He loves you May and only you. Look, imagine if Drew wasn't so arrogant; imagine if you had no need to yell at him, how boring would it be? Love is not the easy going fluff you read about in books. It's hard, but that's what makes it so worthwhile. Yes, being his rival might be tough, but can't you see how rewarding it would be when one of you wins a contest to have the other one there to support you. Harley and I have worked out just fine and we're rivals. What makes you and Drew any different?"
"I-I d-I do-d," I stuttered, trying to think of something to say.
"Exactly," she said, "so don't worry about it ok? Stop over-reacting. Drew loves you and it's because he loves you that he will make an effort for you, even though you're meant to be rivals. I think you're more than that by this point anyway." I blinked, realizing she was right. I was overreacting. She got up, patted my head and headed inside.
"May!" I heard Renae yell from the doorway, "come and help me. I found Drew, but he's refusing to come talk to you." I stayed quiet, resisting the urge to laugh as I saw the green haired girl trying to pull her brother from his tight grip on the door.
"May, I know you're out there somewhere," she cried out, "do something to make him release his grip or Arceus help me I'll rip his arms off." I smiled slightly and crept up behind the pair.
"Renae," I heard him hiss through gritted teeth, "I'm not going to go talk to her. She probably hates me by now."
"No, she probably actually doesn't," Renae argued, "she probably actually loves you and you're probably going to live happily ever after."
"Actually I do hate him quite a bit," I spoke up. Drew yelped in shock at having me suddenly 'appear' behind him and he fell backwards.
"That got him off," she giggled, "anyway; I'll leave you two alone now." She sprang back inside and quickly slammed the door shut. I heard the click of a lock and Drew jumped up. He furiously tugged at the handle.
"Renae!" he yelled, "let me in!" He furiously pounded at the door.
"Not until you work everything out," she sang. I listened until the footsteps faded away.
He sighed, eventually giving up. I waited patiently for him to say something. He turned; his head hung low, his hair covering his face so I couldn't see him.
"I knew you'd hate me," he sighed.
"Yeah, yeah whatever, stop sulking," I snapped, "do you want to know why I hate you?"
"Um…Does it have anything to do with the fact that I just admitted to having unwanted feelings towards you?" he questioned sheepishly.
"No, not really," I shrugged, "it's because you don't have enough guts to tell this to my face. I can't believe you pulled off a bold stunt like letting the whole party know what you were going to say, but you can't say it to my face. You had to write it in a stupid letter and pass it around the room."
"I thought it would be romantic," he whimpered, still not looking at me, "Solidad told me you like romantic things and she told me that I should do that."
"Seriously Drew?" I shouted, "You still can't say it to my face. You can't even look at me!"
"I'm shy," he whispered.
"I get that, Renae told me, but if you were going to admit something like this in the first place, it should be done face to face, so look up at me and say it before I get really annoyed," I yelled. His head snapped up and I could see that incredible blush that coated his shame filled face. I didn't get to see this very often and it was kinda cute on him. I locked eyes with him. He took a deep breath.
"I love you May," He said, exhaling fast.
"Better," I said, calming down, "you wanna know what else though?"
"What?"
"I love you too," I said. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.
"But…you said…I thought…You hated me!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, I did. I hated you for not saying it to my face, but you know what? I love you more than I hate you," I explained, "Besides, you just did say it to my face so all is forgiven."
"Really?"
"Yeah," I sighed, "now what are you gonna do?"
"Uh…kiss you?"
"No," I said firmly.
"What?" he spluttered, "Why?"
"Because I'm not your girlfriend," I replied, "and because you aren't being your usual self. Stop acting shy right now! It was kinda cute, but now it's just annoying." Gee, Solidad was right about that. It would be annoying if he was always like this. He grinned.
"Ok, be my girlfriend?" he asked. I nodded. He smirked.
"I knew you couldn't say no," he said, flicking his hair. I opened my mouth to come up with a quick retort, but he had caught me in a breath stealing kiss. This was better.
"By the way Drew," I sighed after he pulled away, "that whole aeroplane thing was really romantic."
"Typical May," He groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, "What do you mean by-"
"Shush," he cut me off, putting a finger on my lips, "I love you too." He removed his finger and replaced it with his lips again. Oh yes, my boyfriend was overconfident, arrogant and cocky, but I wouldn't have him any other way.
