DISCLAIMER: CarpeDiemEveryday owns neither Pokemon nor the song "The Man Who Can't Be Moved". They belong, respectively, to Nintendo/GameFreak/Satoshi Tajiri and to The Script.

Enjoy, and give feedback!
Carp

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

Chapter One: Sour Patch Kids and Street Names

May Maple was wandering around Petalburg with her rival, Drew Hayden. They weren't on a date, heck no - she'd just run into him while grocery shopping and he'd just followed her keeping up their conversation. Actually, no one was really talking right now, just walking. Drew had just finished off some insult that she'd tuned out. May frowned. And any second now - A rose was thrust in her face out of nowhere. May turned her head to see Drew proffering said rose. "For Beautifly," he said. Nothing more, nothing less. Just "For Beautifly." As always. And now, May thought, he's just going to walk off in the opposite direction-

"See you around, May," Drew muttered as if on cue, turning and walking away from her. May sighed and looked after him. You know what he reminds me of? Those commercials for Sour Patch Kids. He'll do something all sour and mean, then he'll try to make up for it with a rose that's for Beautifly, and then he just leaves me… And you know what? I don't have to put up with this anymore! I just can't deal with him. Why can't he just be honest with me? Ugh. I don't know. No, you know what? I am NOT letting him get away this time! And with that, May hurried after Drew.

Drew was ambling aimlessly along his selected street. He didn't really have anywhere to go, and he was happy doing what he was doing, until familiar shouts made him pause and turn around.

"Drew, get back here!" May ran up to him, panting. He was a little alarmed. What did she want? This wasn't how things usually went…

Drew flicked his hair. "Need something?"

May took a deep breath, then began. "You know what? I am so sick of you and your Sour Patch-ness. I mean, in between all the roses for Beautifly and everything, I don't think you've ever even said if you care about ME. And, what, is that going to just continue? What if we DO get in a relationship or whatever? Would you pull out a ring and say, 'This is for Beautifly'?"

Drew just stared. Say what about Sour Patch Kids? And… what? "Um…" Drew winced as May's ranting became more and more high-pitched.

"See? You see? You don't even have an answer, do you? And even if you did, why should I believe you?"

Drew was flummoxed, to say the least. "May, I'm not sure what this is about, but-"

Now May was crying. Why was May crying? "Of c-course you d-don't know what I'm t-talking about, D-drew! You d-don't c-care about me, or anyone, even! All y-you ever think about is y-yourself! J-just when have y-you ever done something only f-for someone else! N-NEVER!" She sniffed, and swiped at her tears. "I c-can't d-deal with you n-now. Bye." Then May ran down the street, tears flowing down her face, leaving Drew alone.

May, what have I done?

Drew thought about chasing after May, but then decided she needed some time to calm down and think. Jamming his hands in his pockets, he resumed his aimless amblings, but the happiness was gone from the day.

Drew knew that she was right about some things. He was a bit selfish. He grimaced. Make that a big bit. But she was wrong about one thing. He did care for someone in this world. Her. Much as he tried to hide it from both himself and the world, Drew had fallen for his rival. His problem, unfortunately, was that he couldn't help but tease her, insult her, try to convince himself he didn't care… But there was no way he could do that. None. So he ended up looking to May like a heartless jerk who just enjoyed toying with her.

Suddenly, Drew felt miserable and tired. He stopped and leaned on a nearby wall, thinking. How can I show her I care? I can't just tell her; she already has zero trust in me. Flowers won't get me anywhere, since I always give her roses… "except they're for Beautifly, remember?" he muttered to himself. I'm such a coward. I mean, how hard would it have been for me to have just said I liked her. And that was before I realized I love her… Drew sighed, then looked around him, anything to distract him from the pangs shooting through him. So… this is how it feels to care so much…

His green eyes flicked over the scene. It wasn't much; just another intersection in Petalburg. There were sidewalks and streetlamps, trashcans and trees who were dwarfed by buildings twice as tall. Hm, where am I anyways? Drew glanced up at the sign, and saw that he stood at First Street and Maple Avenue. First and Maple, huh. Maple… May. May… He suddenly felt like a giant emotional sponge, just waiting to be wrung out. He slumped down the wall and put his head in his hands. He didn't cry; he couldn't. Apparently, the sponge wasn't wet enough.

And then, a lightbulb popped up over his head. Quite literally, too; it was getting dark, and the streetlights were coming on, one by one. But it just so happened that Drew had a brilliant idea at the same time. May wants to see that I care? I'll show her. Instead of getting up, he just sat where he was. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a Pokeball, releasing his Absol.

"Ab sol sol? Absol ab!" Drew, what's up? I was TRYING to sleep!

Drew sighed. "Sorry, Absol, I just… wanted some company."

"Sol? Absol sol ab sol ab ab, absol ab." So? Go to a Pokemon Center, if you're lonely.

Drew winced. Absol wasn't exactly perky at the best of times. "Um, well, you see, I had this idea…"

He did his best to explain his brilliant scheme to his Pokemon, but Absol was, well…

"Sol sol absol ab sol? Ab ab sol absol sol ab sol! Ab ab sol ab abs." You woke me up for that? That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard of! I'm going back to bed! And with that, Absol turned into red light and disappeared back into his Pokeball. Drew looked down at the capsule sadly. I'd been looking for some positive feedback… wait, I know who I want to talk to! Drew felt around in his pocket for a different Pokeball. Once he had it, he called out his Masquerain. Masquerain looked tired too, but was much less negative than Absol had been.

"Masqueraaaaaain," it yawned. "Masq, rain rain? Drew, whatcha need?

Drew scratched the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable. "Um, Masquerain, I kinda wanted to talk about… well, about stuff, and you seemed like the best one to go to-"

"Masq masq, querain rain!" it interrupted. That's me, the stuff master! Drew raised his eyebrows, and Masquerain sweatdropped. "Masquerain, querain." Sorry, Drew, continue please.

Drew's eyes softened. "It's okay. So, yeah, you being the stuff expert and all, um, I wanted some advice. Girl advice, sort of. And please," here he raised a hand, silencing his Pokemon friend, "don't interrupt. I already had to tell it once, and Absol wasn't exactly sympathetic." (At this, Masquerain nodded. Absol was like that.) "So, I was hanging out with May today, just doing what we normally do, except when I'd left, she came tearing after me screaming something about candy, and how I don't care, and how I'm going to propose to Beautifly-"

"MASQUE-RAIN?!?! RAIN MASQ, QUER RAIN QUER MASQ!" Masquerain, totally forgetting the no-interruptions rule, yelled out, YOU'LL WHAT?!?! BEAUTIFLY'S MINE, SO BACK OFF, DREW! Then he realized what he'd said, and abruptly shut up.

Drew smirked slightly. "Don't worry, Masquerain, I'm not stealing Beautifly anytime soon. I don't know, May said some pretty random stuff. But she was really upset, and apparently she won't believe anything I say, and she doesn't want to see me, and she's right-" The wave of sponge-like misery overcame him again, and it took him a few minutes to regain his composure. "So, I had this idea," he finally said. "Since she thinks I'm a selfish jerk who never does anything for anyone, I'll be proving her wrong. I'm going to stay right here until she'll listen to me, until she believes me when I say-" He hesitated.

"Masq?" Yes?

Drew sighed. "When I can tell her who all those roses really were for," he said, in almost a whisper.

"Masquerain rain, quer masq querain…" That's brilliance there, Drew, I wish I had your guts… Drew glanced at his Pokemon, who had gone to gazing at the moon. Drew had noticed that this happened a lot whenever Masquerain thought of a certain Beautifly… Supposedly Pokemon mirrored their trainer's feelings; if that was the case, Drew wondered wryly whether Beautifly was sobbing her eyes out over some off-the-cuff comment Masquerain had thrown at her. Except, Masquerain was much nicer to his rival than Drew was. Maybe he could learn something there.

"Hey, Masquerain, are you awake enough to stay with me for a while? I just don't want to stay out here alone, you know?" Masquerain didn't respond. Drew took that for a yes, and stared at the moon too. It was just rising above the distant tree-lined horizon, waning as the nights passed. Cold nights, too. It was the beginning of December, yet there was no snow. Naturally, all the meteorologists blamed global warming. Drew, however, was unconvinced. No, it was just an unusually warm December, though 'warm' meant just above freezing with rain instead of snow. It was rather depressing weather, but there wasn't much one could do about that. At least he didn't have to worry about being rained on tonight; the skies were clear. Luckily, Drew hadn't checked into a Pokemon Center that night, so he had all of his gear with him. He pulled a sleeping bag out of his pack and stuffed it behind his back. And together, the two gazed up at the sky, deep in thought.

Well, that's the first chapter done with! Now, you need to tell me: Do you hate it? Do you love it? Do you think Beautifly should beat up Masquerain for no reason? You can give me these answers and more by reviewing! And yet, you don't have to. I just need to know if anyone wants Chapter 2 posted, or what.

Cheers!
Carp