This morning when he woke up, Drew had no intention of making his complicated feelings for his rival known. It was going to be like every other day he spent with her –as of recently, most of his days were- where he kept to himself all while making conversation which usually consisted of battle strategies, what kinds of moves he could combine to provide a beautiful appeal, a slight comment that would get her flustered enough to maybe hit him in the shoulder and put her hands to her hips, but still keep her in his presence. He didn't plan out this long speech of proclamation in which he would spin the stem of a rose through his fingers while telling her about all the things only she managed to do that made his heart feel like he'd been running laps. He wasn't thinking about walking her over to the lake and waiting until the sunset hit its peak to compare the color and beauty it emitted to her eyes or her smile. Those were things he only did in his dreams; not the kind of dreams where he's asleep, but the kind that come about while he is completely awake, lying in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about the chestnut crowned coordinator that crossed his mind more than he would have allowed if he had any control.
However, sometimes things happen that way. People just spontaneously decide to do things. Maybe it was impulse. Maybe Drew was simply tired of holding back. Hell, maybe was just going to open his eyes in a moment only to be looking at a pillow instead of the girl behind his eyelids. He did not really think about it. It was one of those things that just come out of your mouth before your brain has anytime to put up caution tape around it, warning you about the risks.
Although, none of this has happened yet.
Drew had met May at a bridge near Floroma Town, and were spending the day together under the fall trees. They discussed how many ribbons they had; May told him she had four ribbons, even though he already knew. He always kept track of her progress, but that was not something he would so easily have her find out, or anyone really, except maybe Solidad. Solidad had a way to make him say things without restraint. It used to make him a bit uneasy, but he was used to it now.
"Drew, what are you holding?" May's voice drove him out of his thoughts, and his hand closed around the little bit of nature he held in his hand while making sure not to crush it in his fingers..
A lazy grin swept across his face, his chlorophyll colored eyes meeting with the flurry of ocean and sky that were hers. "Eh, nothing really. Just a leaf." He held up the leaf by the stem, holding it in front of her nose.
The slight movements on her face were almost nonexistent, and any other person probably wouldn't have noticed the small amount of confusion and curiosity that she was trying to hide behind a smirk and wide amused eyes. "Only a leaf? By the way you were gazing at it I would have thought it was a new species of bug pokemon."
"Gaze? I do not gaze. Gazing is for silly, obsessive fan girls who get all hot and bothered over everything I do. Don't compare me to that monstrosity."
May turned so she was facing him directly and rolled her eyes. "You always call them names and act like you can't stand those girls, but whenever they swarm around you and act like you're a freakin' legendary pokemon, you don't seem to mind," she retorted, folding her arms across her chest.
Drew raised an eyebrow and twirled the leaf with his thumb and index finger. "Of course not. Why do you think I have so many drooling fan girls? I can't be rude and refuse to see them. Someone like you with only a small hanful of fans wouldn't understand. I have to be chivalrous and affectionate to keep up my reputation as a teen coordinator heart throb"
May scoffed, and began to let out a few laughs. She ignored the comment about her 'lack' of fans, and he could say he was a bit disappointed. He liked it when she threw small tantrums. He found it amusing, and even a bit cute. Instead, she looked him up and down and acted like she was about to throw up. "Heart throb? Ew."
A smirk played at Drew's lips. "Don't pretend you're not one of them."
An over exaggerated look of disgust flooded her face while she took a step closer to him. "One of what? One of your annoying fans?" May put on an obviously fake expression of awe, covered her heart with her hand, and feigned hyperventilation. "Oh my! Did you see that?! Drew the famous coordinator actually walked by the room I'm standing in! It's fate, I tell you! Oh! Get me a wedding planner ASAP!"
Drew chuckled, and the smirk on his lips just grew wider. "Impressive. I think a little too impressive. Tell me, is that what you were going on about at last night's contest? It's okay, you can admit it."
May pushed his shoulder and gave him a playful glare. "Shut up. You aren't funny." She was fighting a smile and he knew it.
"That's why you're having trouble keeping a straight face?"
May turned so her back was facing him, and shrugged. "Whatever" she mumbled, knowing he could probably hear the smile in her voice. "I'm hungry. I think I'll go to that little restaurant by the meadow. Wanna come?"
Drew contemplated, but decided against it. He had some training to do and had didn't feel like paying for lunch when he wasn't even all that hungry. Besides, May was always hungry. He would get another lunch invite sooner than later. "Nah, I'm good."
They said their goodbyes, and he watched as she walked away to fill her stomach like she always did.
Drew looked up at the sky, thinking about what pokemon he should use in the next contest. He needed only one more ribbon to compete in the Grand Festival and he planned on winning it in the next city. May wasn't competing, so he figured it wouldn't be so hard.
He found himself still twirling the fallen leaf in his fingers, and brought it up to his face. He wasn't sure why he picked it up in the first place. Okay, that was a lie, but he knew that his reasons were incredibly ridiculous and decided to pretend that it was not because May looks more stunning than ever when the multi colored October leaves fall from the trees swirling around her.
Then his thoughts of the contest disappeared and were completely replaced by those of the brunette. He tried to force them away, but was having a hard time doing so. It hadn't even been two minutes and he missed her. He missed the way she countered his teases with some of her own, an art she had come to be quite good at in the past few years. Her presence was lingering just enough to keep him distracted, but not enough to keep him satisfied.
He cursed, and ran his fingers through his green hair. This was not the time to get distracted by May. He needed to work on a routine that he hadn't even really thought of yet.
He decided to use his Flygon for the appeal round, something he had only done a few time since he liked to save Flygon for the second round. He pulled out the pokeball that held his pokemon of choice, and released the dragon-ground type creature.
Flygon was happy to be out of its pokeball, and flew so he was flying right about the top of the trees, and circled it's trainer with great speed. Flygon had large wings that created a large gust of wind, that unfortunately for Drew's training, pulled many autumn leaves off their branches before they slowly floated towards the ground.
The sight brought images of May into his head, and it was almost as if she were still standing there at the center of the red, yellow, and brown confetti. They were landing on her clothes and in her hair without her noticing, and he could not get enough.
Damn, Drew thought, what is with my one track mind today. Focus. I need to focus.
After ten minutes of thinking of the different outcomes of optional appeals, he groaned and rubbed his sore temples. Usually these sorts of things just click. He's never been so distracted by that girl that he couldn't even work on his routine. He needed to find an area away from the trees; that way his head would not overflow with the image of her smiling inside the tornado of color.
But this was Floroma Town. This place was completely covered in trees. Great.
Realizing his attempts for a good rehearsal today were pointless, he called back his pokemon and quickly began making his way towards that restaurant May had mentioned. Each step he took was filled with more impatience. He wanted to be near her now.
He shook his head. He was the cool and collected Drew. He did not get this excited over one girl.
But May isn't just one girl; she's May.
It's thoughts like those that were going to be the death of him one day. He was sure of it.
He didn't even make it halfway to the eatery before he saw her staring up at two Staravias flying together in a way that they looked as if they were almost dancing.
May appeared to be dancing with them, spinning around when they did, her eyes never losing sight of the two pokemon in the sky. It was like everything else stopped existing but the Staravia. It reminded him a lot of how he felt when May smiled. And with the way she was smiling up at the pokemon, it could have been raining and he would not have cared. She would still be standing there watching them, and he would still be there, watching her.
Not that he would ever let her notice such things.
He called her name, and she paused mid-spin. She gave him a grin, before losing her balance and tumbling to the grass. Typical.
Drew strode over to where she lay, and reached out a hand to help her up. She smiled up at him, and pulled him right down to the ground with her, well more like on top of her, but who really noticed those things? Certainly not Drew. Nope.
"Hey, I just washed these clothes."
May laughed, and Drew could feel her breath on his neck. He shivered.
"Don't be such a girl, Drew. Afraid you're going to get grass stains? Don't worry, it'll match your hair!"
Drew replied by rolling his eyes and smiling, but his response was hollow. All he could think about was how close they were, and how he could feel her body press against his every time she breathed. He hoped he wasn't blushing.
"So you decided to come eat lunch? Are you hungry?" she asked. He noticed how long her eyelashes were, and how they made her blue orbs look wider, and more alluring than ever. He forced his eyes to cast downward to get away from hers, instead he noticed others things. He could see a bit of cleavage rising up under her shirt. He could feel her curves under him, and he was sure it was actually going to drive him insane.
He gulped. Oh I'm hungry, he thought, but not for food.
"Eh, not especially." He answered, his eyes trying to look anywhere but at her; which he was learning was very difficult when they were that close. He noticed other things he wouldn't normally notice like a pattern of freckles starting from her left shoulder and trailing down across her collar bone under her shirt. He found himself having to force his hands from touching her; from finding out if her skin was as soft as he imagined.
Her confusion was evident. He couldn't tell if it was because he was acting strange –which he was sure he was- or because she didn't know why he was there. He did not even know exactly why he was there.
"Then what are you doing here?" May questioned, as if she was oblivious to the closeness; the position. There was no way she couldn't feel his heartbeat. How the hell was she keeping her cool? Why the hell wasn't he keeping his cool. He always kept his cool. What was up with him today?
He took a deep breath, not sure exactly how to answer. Then he felt something crunch in his hand.
He still had that leaf from earlier. He was actually shocked he still had it. He was not shocked, however, with how crumbled it had become what with all the fist clenching that he was doing to keep himself from losing control. He was glad he had it though. It was the closest thing to a reason he had.
He lifted the leaf in front of her face like he had earlier by the bridge. "This" he answered, letting a smirk claim his face. He could feel himself slipping. His self-control was starting to crumple just like the leaf had.
May's furrowed brow scrunched together even more. "That's only a leaf."
Drew chuckled, leaning in closer so that their faces were only about six inches apart. "You keep saying that."
There was now a blush on her face, and he grinned inwardly. He could tell from her expression that she was only just now realizing how close they had become. He tried to figure out if it had the same effect on her as it did him. Usually he could read May, but he knew he was not really himself at that moment.
"Oh wow. Um, we're close." She mumbled, "And you're acting kind of weird Drew. Are you sure you're not hungry?" She shifted under him, attempting to move but he stopped her. The hand that held the little brown leaf released it, and neither of them stopped looking at each other to see it blow away. His now free hand lightly drew circles around her freckled shoulders, and started to trail slowly down her arm like a stickling waterfall. Her breath hitched.
What the hell are you doing, idiot, he thought, Are you trying to get charged for sexual harassment?
"Drew? What exactly are you doing?"
He breathed in, not breathing for about ten seconds before speaking..
"May?"
"Yeah?"
Then he was kissing her. He was kissing her and holding her and pressing her against the ground in a public place and he didn't even care. All he cared about was that right then at that moment he was doing something he has wanted do for years, and she wasn't stopping him. In fact, she was kissing him back.
His hand pressed up against her back and pushed her so close to him he could feel her heartbeat. He was relieved to find that it was pumping just as fast as his. His free hand tangled through her silky hair, taking the tip of her bandana, and pulling it undone and off of her head. She sighed into the kiss, and shifted their position so she was now lying on top of him. Drew didn't mind at all.
She pulled away suddenly, and he couldn't stop himself from making a disappointed grunt. If he had it his way they would never stop.
His hands were still pressed against her back, and he had just noticed her hands pressed against his chest, clutching at his shirt. He looked down where at her hands and smirked, causing her to blush wildly and release his clothing from her grasp.
"Where did that come from?" she asked, her fingers entwined together.
"I don't really know."
"You always know."
He sucked in a breath and impulsively took his index finger and took hold of hers with it. It was an intimate gesture, and he hoped it got the point across better than what he was about to say.
"You're right. I do" He let out the air he had sucked in and closed his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He did this several times before blowing out an exasperated breath. He couldn't believe how choked up he was. "I just don't know how to say it."
May smiled shyly. "Now that I believe," she teased.
Drew wasn't sure what face he made but it managed to make her smile. In return, he smiled back at her and slowly bent down and pressed his lips to her temple. "You look absolutely ravishing this time of year, you know." He told her, still tasting her on his lips. If someone had told him yesterday that he would have said that, he would have only shaken his head and rolled his eyes. But here he was, letting such words leave his mouth.
He didn't really know what to expect as a response to his statement but he definitely did not think she would start laughing. Her eyes were bright, and she just sat there cackling before violently covering her mouth with her palm, and laughing some more.
He pulled away and looked at her with confused eyes. What kind of day was it where he gave her a confused expression?
""That wasn't the response I was going for." Drew stated, his eyes darting to his finger that was still hooked with hers.
She removed her hand from her mouth and smirked. "I just never pictured you as the romantic sort." She explained, grinning up at him with those ocean eyes of hers. "Then you go and do whatever exactly it is you did. It's just- funny."
"Funny?"
May nodded, "Yeah. And it all kind of took me by surprise, " she stated, her face all sorts of red.
For the first time he realized just how much it shocked him to know that she had no idea how he felt about her. Sure, he never really said it out loud but he did give a few subtle hints every once and a while, right?
"Surely you must have suspected it at least once. I gave you roses."
"You gave Beautifly roses."
He raised an eyebrow and kissed her again. There was a mocking tone in his voice as he spoke against her lips. "Those weren't for Beautifly and you know it."
May's eyes darted downwards, and her lips curved up towards the clouds. "I think you just made me swoon."
Drew put on a cocky grin, and flipped the hair out of his face. "I knew you were obsessed with me."
With that, she used her free hand to pull her bandana free from his grasp and throw it at his face.