HOW'S IT GOING? Excited to see me? Of course you are :3 Hey guys, sorry I haven't been on in a while :'( I've been so busy, and recently I've been having delusions. As in, I'm-too-tired-to-think-straight-delusions. I've really missed this, and this idea actually came to me in my eighteen (yes, eighteen) hour sleep last night, and I suppose was inspired by I am Lu's "Seven". Well, without further ado, here is my one-shot :)

.:.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, leaning her head against the locker behind her. Her heart raced at a mile a minute, stomach fluttering and head tingling with her achievement, and what came along with it; nervousness, excitement, worry...

She'd done it. She'd made it to the very last match of the Hoenn Grand Festival, and the final battle was a mere fifteen minutes away. The brunette couldn't hold in the shivers.

'Relax, May... You'll be fine, you know it.'

May's head whipped around, a smile instantly forming on her face as she recognised the coral-haired coordinator with a similar smile on the other side of the room.

'Solidad! What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be up in the stands with Harley?' she questioned, not hesitating to throw her arms around the older woman. Solidad shrugged, returning the hug with gentle pats on the brunette's back.

'I figured you may need some comfort. Although Drew might just be coming to see you as well, I'm guessing. You still have almost fifteen minutes...'

May grinned nervously, registering the knowing glint in the aqua eyes that looked down upon her with a slight narrowing of her eyes. That flash in her eyes was appearing more and more often lately, and the blue-eyed brunette hadn't a clue what was through the woman's head. She shrugged it off, continuing to chat idly for a few minutes more.

'Ahem.'

May blinked, ignoring the last of Solidad's sentence as she whirled around to view the green-haired seventeen-year-old who leant against the wall on the opposite side to where she was standing. She heard a slightly aggravated huff from Solidad behind her, but the jittering in her stomach overcame her guilt.

'Uh... I'd better be getting back to the stands now, you two... Good luck, may the best win!' Solidad said quickly, casting another knowing look in May's direction. The brunette frowned in the slightest, before shaking her head and letting a smile overcome her features.

'Well, thanks Solidad. Talking with you really helped,' she said, giving one last hug to the coral-haired woman. Solidad smiled back at her, eyes meeting with Drew's over the blue-eyed sixteen-year-old's shoulder. He snorted quietly, rolling his eyes with a crooked smirk. She rolled her eyes back before pulling away, giving May one last good luck pat before striding out of the room.

'Hey, Drew...' she sighed, glancing up at the clock. Eight minutes left before the two would face off against eachother in the final. Eight minutes away from her chance at the Ribbon Cup. He nodded in return, sharing in her thoughts as he, too, looked up at the clock.

'No hard feelings when I smash you?'

May rolled her eyes, small smile playing on her lips. 'What are you on about, Hayden? You're not going to smash me.' She laughed, beaming at him. Drew gave her a lopsided smirk, taking a seat on the silver bench that ran in the middle of the locker rooms. She followed him, crossing her legs and they remained silent for a few moments.

'Where are you headed to next year?' he asked eventually, leaning back on his palms, although not turning to look at her. She shrugged.

'Maybe Sinnoh again. I really loved all the dressing up there,' she sighed, placing her chin in her hand.

'I was thinking of going back there too... maybe we could travel together.' His face was passive as he stared ahead. May blinked, turning to face him.

'I guess... I mean, Ash is going off to Unova again, Max is on his own journey, and Dawn is leaving for Kanto with her boyfriend... I think... I think that would be nice...' she trailed off, sapphire orbs moving back to look at the ticking clock. Three minutes.

Drew turned to look at her then, eyes boring into hers.

'So it's a deal then? We'll travel together?' he pressed, standing up again and offering his hand to hers. May nodded, a smile overcoming the nervousness that previously showed on her face. She hoisted herself up, following the other coordinator over to the doorway. He turned around, leaning against the doorframe.

'Good luck,' he offered, smirk gracing his features. She smiled back at him, and his smirk turned into a half-smile. May faltered. Smiling was a rarity with Drew, and she had to admit, he certainly looked better when he smiled. She blinked quickly, untimely blush dusting her cheeks. He let out a light chuckle, and in that moment, she didn't know what came over her.

Perhaps it was the nerves; the nagging thought that in less than two minutes she would be out battling in front of a crowd of thousands. Or perhaps the way his striking emerald eyes seemed to see right through her, how she only noticed the many different shades in them at such a close proximity.

May stood on her toes, breathing shallow as she leaned her forehead onto his. The ticking of the clock faded away, and it was just the two of them, alone in the locker room mere seconds away from the biggest coordinating battle of the year. Drew was surprised, to say the least, but he made no move to pull away.

She wasn't sure who took the initiative, but then she was kissing him, his arms wound around her waist and hers braced against his shoulders. The world around them was silent, and it briefly occurred to her that he was kissing her back, pulling her into him. Her eyes squeezed shut, her thoughts jumbled and unexplainable. But she knew one thing – she was kissing Drew. Her rival. Her rival. The very person she was battling just moments away.

She pulled back, avoiding eye contact with him as she turned away. 'I'm s-so sorry, I shouldn't have...' Her voice trailed off, trembling only in the slightest. She took a deep breath, eyes closed. 'You should go. The battle is going to start soon... good luck, Drew.'

When he spoke next, May could practically hear the smirk in his voice, although his tone was soft. 'You too, Maple. I'll see you out there.'

He left then, footsteps fading as he made his way back to where he was supposed to be. May let out a shuddering breath, bringing to fingers up to where his lips had connected with hers. She mentally slapped herself, attempting to snap herself out of her daze. It had to have been the most embarrassing thing that had happened to her, and now she had to go out and battle him.

Don't look at his eyes... she coached herself. In fact, don't look at him at all. Focus on the battle... Oh Arceus, why did I kiss him?

Her lower lip trembled. She didn't even like him! Did she? Perhaps her previous actions proved otherwise. But what did it even mean? Maybe it was just a way to distract her, so she couldn't focus on the battle.

No. Drew wouldn't do that. She scolded herself for even thinking that he would do something like that. He wouldn't – sure, he was her rival, but he was also her... She frowned. Her what? Her friend? She wasn't so sure about that. She blinked, confusion jumbling up her thoughts.

'Miss Maple?'

May turned around, forcing a smile to convince the female who stood off in the entrance to the arena. The contest-attendee smiled encouragingly.

'You're up.'

She breathed deeply through her nose, closing her eyes briefly before nodding her head and following the woman as she was lead out to the crowd. She could hear the emcee rousing the crowd for the battle, and the cheers that erupted in response.

'And now, we welcome our two amazing coordinators to the stage! Drew Hayden, from LaRousse!'

Cheers and screams exploded, and she pictured him smirking at the crowd, completing his signature hair flick perfectly, yet still maintaining a gorgeous hairstyle. She sighed, before frowning internally.

No. Stop these thoughts now. Don't look at him; don't imagine, or even glance at him.

She nodded to herself, determination flooding through her.

'May Maple from Petalburg!'

May put on a smile, waving to the cheering stands as she strode out, searching the stands for a familiar pink head of hair. Her smile turned real when she saw Solidad, clapping encouragingly for the both of them. She turned her head to Gillian, who was still hyping up the crowd. She refused to even have a glimpse of her rival, so instead she pulled out the two pokéballs she was going with.

'Good luck, you two! And may the finale of this year's Grand Festival, begin!' Gillian called, the loud siren signalling the beginning of the battle. She grinned in enthusiasm, enlarging the two pokéballs and throwing them into the air.

'Glaceon, Blaziken, let's go!' she called excitedly, twirling on the spot. The two pokémon came out in their battle stances, chirping their names eagerly.

'Flygon, Absol!' Drew threw his into the air, the two pokémon appearing gracefully in the flash of red. Something inside of May melted somewhat at the sound of his voice, but she shook it off.

'Glaceon, use shadow ball! Blaziken, fire spin!'

The two attacks combined, shooting towards the two pokémon on the other side of the field in record-breaking speed.

'Absol, water pulse then iron tail! Flygon, get up there!'

The different elements clashed, leaving a cloud of steam and a puddle that lapped at Blaziken's feet. Flygon soared high into the air, flapping above the audience. May stared up at him, resisting the urge to look over at Drew. She shook her head again, trying to ignore the thoughts.

What are we now?

'Flygon, flamethrower, now!'

She blinked, blush flooding on her cheeks. 'Blaziken, take the hit! Glaceon, use ice shard!'

Drew smirked. Blaziken took the full force of the hit, the flames doing nothing to him. Glaceon crouched behind him, icy blue light radiation from her jaws. The shards burst forth, heading straight for Absol. Drew's smirk disappeared, and his eyes darkened, concentration overcoming him completely.

'Absol, iron tail! Flygon, steel wing!'

'Glaceon, freeze the floor!'

A sparkling kind of mist blew out of Glaceon's mouth, spreading over the dirt floor of the place, causing absol to literally skid to a stop, the ice shards crashing into him. Drew's points dropped slightly. Flygon continued on, speeding up as it aimed toward Glaceon.

'Blaziken, sky uppercut!'

Blaziken came out of nowhere, landing a hard blow on Flygon's belly. The dragon pokémon spiralled into the air, shaking itself slightly as it flew back to its place in front of its trainer.

'Nice, Maple...' Drew breathed to himself, still attempting to catch her eyes as he had been the whole two minutes of the battle, but as before she refused to even glance at him, that same fiery red blush all over her face.

'Glaceon, use shadow ball into the air!' May called, feeling her rival's gaze on her. She frowned slightly.

Did that kiss even mean anything? Or are we both just going to forget about it?

Well, she certainly wasn't forgetting about it.

Her eyes widened as she snapped back to reality. Glaceon had been thrown back against the wall, and was getting shakily to her feet. She glanced up at the clock. Two minutes left.

'Glaceon, use shadow ball and ice shard!'

A mixture of the dark ball and glittering ice shot out towards Absol and Flygon.

'Dodge! Absol, flash! Flygon, sandstorm!'

The combination of blinding attacks made the shadow-ice ball unable to be seen until it shattered against the wall behind Drew.

'Glaceon, secret power! Blaziken, use blaze kick!'

The swirling of sand and light emanated from the middle of the stadium, quickly joined by a glowing pink and orange blur, which was soon followed by a roar. The storm died down, revealing a fainted absol and a slightly weakened Blaziken panting in the middle.

May blinked, regaining sight and evaluating the scene before her. She had two pokémon left, Drew had one. There was one minute left on the clock.

'Blaziken, use– '

Her sapphire eyes met her counterpart's emerald ones. Her breathing quickened, and her palms grew sweaty. A smirk grew on his features, and he flicked his hair with a wink. May fainted internally, before scolding herself. No. She had to get back into the game.

'Flygon, flamethrower!' Drew called, eyes still set on hers. May blinked.

'B-Blaziken, take the hit!' she called, attempting to snap out of her stupor. Blaziken rushed in front of Glaceon, skidding backwards from the force of the hit. Unknowingly to May, whose gaze had been stuck on the emerald-eyed coordinator the whole time, Drew's dragon-like pokémon was rushing up behind its attack, wings glowing silver.

'Now, Flygon! Steel wing!' he shouted. May blinked, opening her mouth to give her last order, but by the time she'd thought of an attack that could counter such a move, her starter pokémon was flying backwards, taking Glaceon with him. They both crashed into the wall behind her, neither getting up. May's heart dropped to her feet as she watched the two pokémon lay fainted on the floor. Soon enough, three red crosses showed on the judges desk.

'Glaceon and Blaziken are unable to battle! This year's Grand Festival goes to Drew Hayden, from Hoenn's very on La Rousse City!' Gillian called twirling around with her hands in the air. Rainbow confetti fell from the roof as May returned her pokémon, sad smile present on her face. 'Congratulations, Drew!'

Solidad watched as May kissed her two pokéballs, whispering something inaudible to them. Her brows furrowed, and she turned to Ash, who sat beside her.

'That battle wasn't what I was expecting at all. Neither of them were into it at all.'

Ash nodded in agreement, and Solidad immediately concluded that something was up between the two, because even the raven-haired trainer had noticed.

'May was completely out of it,' Misty put in from the other side of Ash, staring quizzically at her brunette best friend in the middle of the arena. 'Something happened before the battle, or during it.'

Solidad made a noise of revelation. 'Oh... I left May backstage with Drew just before the battle! Something probably happened between them...'

From behind the three, Dawn clapped her hands together, staring dreamily at the two, who were now walking towards eachother to meet in the middle of the arena. She leant in between Solidad's and Ash's heads, resting her chin on her hands, which were rested on the backs of the two's chairs. 'I bet you they kissed. That would be the cutest thing!'

'I don't know about that... Maybe he just got her angry?' Ash suggested, shrugging. All three girls turned their eyes on him, simultaneously rolling blue orbs. Ash flinched, slumping in his seat.

'Honestly, Ash, I don't think you know anything about females,' Misty snorted. He opened his mouth to retort before seemingly to decide better and snapping it shut again. The red-head let out a short laugh once more, before turning back to watch the ceremonies.

Solidad took one look at the brunette's face and nodded her head. Yes, something had happened, she could tell from the cockier-than-usual smirk on Drew's face and the redder-than-a-cherry-faced May. She exchanged a knowing glance with Misty, who gave an amused smile. Dawn sighed vaguely, smiling at the two. Ash remained slumped in his seat, gaze flickering to where May and Drew still had their hands clasped, and were speaking to each other, to each of the surrounding girl's faces.

He shook his head in confusion. The two were just shaking hands... right?

May gulped, feeling her face heat up as the distance between her and Drew lessened. He stuck his hand out, proud smirk vivid on his face. She smiled lightly, clasping his hand with hers.

'Congrats! You deserved it!' she yelled over the screaming of the crowd. He nodded in acknowledgement, still holding her hand. 'You were amazing!'

'You were pretty good too! But, as always, I came out on top! Better luck next year!' he called in response, eyes glistening. May blinked, blush deepening. His smirk broadened as he pulled her in for a hug, which of course could be looked at as friendliness.

The brunette's arms went limp for a moment before she gladly returned the hug. Swoons from the crowd around them rose, and May giggled nervously.

At that moment, when she realised just how comfortable she felt in his hold, she realised that the two's complicated relationship probably wasn't going anywhere just yet. Although the kiss backstage certainly wasn't just nerves, nor a mistake, being as the two of them were too stubborn to admit anything, she doubted anything would happen.

But it was definitely a little push in the right direction.

.:.

You would not believe how hard it was for me to write this. I've recently been writing biology notes for my mid-year exams, and I don't have any tests for a while now, so when this idea popped into my head... well, I had to write it.

Sorry if it sucks. Heh. Reviews would be nice... :3

~Eevee~