heart·throb (härt′thrŏb′)

noun.

3. A person who is the object of popular romantic infatuation or desire.

"Is that a yes?"

"Do I even have a choice?"

A playful smirk graced his handsome features as he ran his hand through chartreuse-colored hair in a cocky way.

"Nope."

I sighed inwardly, keeping myself from thinking too much behind his offer. I mean, we were rivals and since both of us were going to be alone on Valentine's Day – for the eighteenth year in a row, if I may add – we might as well spend it together. Right?

"Good girl. I will pick you up at nine on Friday night." He turned around and hastily opened the door before throwing me a grin over his shoulder. "Before I forget, wear something fancy. It's not a place for some amateur, middle class teenagers."

Drew closed the door behind him, leaving me with a confused frown on my face, my cheeks flushed a light pinkish color, squinting at the place where he was standing just a few minutes ago. He never was a typical guy, but sometimes I wondered if he liked all the mystery involving him. Most coordinators my age would train a few hours a week, then go home and every once in a while I'd see them perform in a contest I was attending. I wasn't as slouchy as them, but I was nowhere close to the level Drew had achieved. He trained for hours as a result of his perfectionism kicking in a few times a day. Drew didn't stop for a vacation, or a holiday, or even his birthday.

It was an extraordinary occasion that he would stop training to have a dinner at an expensive restaurant.

On Valentine's Day. With me, for a fact.

I sniggered at all the offers Drew had rejected earlier from some of his loyal fans. A few girls had sent him a card, asking if he would like to be their date to the Coordinators' Ball. Most of them had been trying to go with Drew for years, but he always politely denied. Others sent him flowers, chocolates or other heart-shaped items to win his heart.

Drew Hayden was definitely a heartthrob, as much as I hate to admit it.

It's definitely hard to argue with those fangirls. They were obnoxious, almost possessed and clingy, but at least they had a good taste in guys. Most people shared the same opinion as them, even if they weren't as obsessed with him as they were. After all, Drew had shiny hair that brushed his eyebrows, a muscular body and eyes to kill for. And to top his looks, he was more charismatic than any guy I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

Trust me, I've met a lot of them, but not a single one of them could compete with Drew's personality.

His petty fans didn't see his arrogant and smug side as many times as I had to, but at least I got used to his teasing and learned how to make some impressive comebacks myself. It was good to see his ego falter a bit when I made snarky remarks, but I usually wasn't as childish as Drew in this perspective.

We were rivals in the arena, but I had no idea what we were outside of it.

After our contest in Hearthome City, Drew told me he wanted to talk to me for a minute. Literally for a minute, as he was basically almost gone already before the words had even escaped his mouth. He offered to have a dinner at one of Sinnoh's most famous restaurants, Les Folies, on Valentine's Day since he didn't want to spend this night alone again. He figured I'd have no one to be with either, so he thought it would be a good idea to escape the press and fans for a few hours and do something fun together. The paparazzi would probably pass out from Drew's current idea though, their minds going crazy at the thought of top coordinators May and Drew probably going on a date together.

After all, we bickered and argued a lot, but he and I got along very well. Drew was helpful, kind and brilliant at coming up with appeals, so we often spent time together to brainstorm for tag battle ideas or to practice in the woods.

Still, the idea of spending Valentine's Day with Drew was something I couldn't completely get a grasp of.

Especially if there would be no feelings involved at all.

It would just be like training, or grabbing a coffee together, or going to a party, or visiting some touristic places in the town we were staying at, right?

No feelings involved. Not at all.

I sighed exasperatedly and decided to shake off the weird feelings as I walked back to the computer in the contest arena. I quickly grabbed the phone lying next to the monitor and dialed Dawn's number.

"Yes, this is Dawn speaking… Oh, May! It's you!"

"Hi Dawn, I'm going to need your help."

She decided to stay quiet for a second, probably contemplating what I could need help with. After a moment of wondering, she asked with a hint of amusement and mocking in her voice: "Does this have to do with boys or clothes?"

I pursed my lips together. Dawn was either was very good at guessing or reading other people's minds, and it annoyed me more than anything else at the moment, as it made me feel like she had immediately caught me.

"Both."

«×»

I stared at the little black dress Dawn had given me earlier. It was a typical piece of clothing she would've picked and whenever I even dared to glance at the dress, it created a worried feeling at the bottom of my stomach. Don't get me wrong, it looked lovely and elegant, and definitely fancy enough for the restaurant Drew was taking me to. The fact that I would have to wear this to our informal date, though, made me feel a bit uneasy. The dress was quite short and would've probably looked better on someone with Dawn's figure: petite, but with pretty curves and nice legs. She had also insisted I wore two inch high dark red stilettos and a little matching heart pendulum around my neck which made it feel as if Dawn had planned out what I would have to wear to this kind of occasion ages ago. I shifted around on my bed and swallowed a small lump that had formed in my throat while thinking about Friday night.

I had to admit that it scared me a little how Drew was able to make me feel so flustered without even being in the same room.

Quickly, I let myself fall on the bed I was sitting on and let out a deep sigh.

Drew was something else, indeed.

«×»

For the last time, I straightened the little black dress with my sweaty hands. I quickly fixed my hair and took a deep breath before opening the door of the restaurant. Immediately, my eyes started scanning the place for Drew – the green mop was honestly not that hard to find and it was almost impossible to go by unnoticed. The grip on the little dark red bag I had decided to take with me and I strode to his table. Drew looked up from the menu he was holding as he noticed someone making his way towards him. When he was greeted by the familiar sight of my face, his lips curled into a small smirk as he placed down the menu.

His eyes seemed brighter, his hair shinier and his smirk wider since the last time I had seen him.

And the room felt unusually hot as well.

I sat down on the other chair and greeted him with a sweet smile plastered on my face before checking what I wanted to order out of nervousness.

"Hi."

"Fancy seeing you here, May. I thought you were going to ditch me." He sarcastically commented with a dramatic tone in his voice.

"Hmhm…" I absent-mindedly mumbled to him while keeping my eyes fixed on the menu. "And why would you think that?"

I could see him shrug in response and lay back in his chair with a nonchalant grin on his face. "I don't know. You don't seem like someone who usually celebrates Valentine's Day."

Surprised by his words, I decided to shift my gaze from the menu to his emerald eyes. I raised one of my eyebrows at him, but he didn't budge. I thought it'd be better if I didn't push the matter even further and I felt saved when I saw a young lady approaching our table.

"Good evening mister Hayden," She politely nodded towards Drew and blushed a soft shade of pink before averting her head from him. The waitress turned her face to me and gave me a small smile. "And good evening miss."

"I'd like to order the special salmon meal." He immediately said and looked at me. "What would you like to have?"

"I, uhh…" I quickly scanned the menu one more time and decided just to pick the first thing that caught my attention. "A vegetarian salad for me, please."

The waitress left as fast as she had appeared after giving both of us a friendly look.

"You know her?"

"No, I don't know her personally. But my parents know the owners of the restaurant, so she is familiar with me as well."

"Oh, I see." I merely stated. Sometimes I'd forget how popular Drew and his family actually were. It was not like no one knew my father, a gym leader, or my face from contests, but we were nowhere as well known as The Haydens.

"You…" I heard Drew begin as he snapped me from my thoughts, his long fingers trailing along my hand on the table. "You look nice."

My hand froze under his touch while I stared into his deep eyes, my voice hitching in my throat as I managed to stutter out a response.

"T-Thanks. You too."

And I wasn't just saying that to be polite. Drew was wearing a black suit with a matching tie and his hair neatly combed. He didn't need much to look handsome, but his clothes and appearance added even more to his usual charm.

Drew's eyes sparked as he noticed the goose bumps on my skin. He scooted closer to me and gently twirled the heart-shaped pendulum of my necklace in his fingers. After a moment of carefully examining it, he looked up and inquired:

"Who gave you this nice piece of jewelry?"

"It's not mine," I breathed, his face just a little too close to mine to keep my voice stable. "Dawn let me borrow it, because she said it looked good with this dress."

Satisfied, he let go of the little pendulum, softly touching my skin in the process.

"May," He began with a soft smile playing on his lips. "Do you believe in love?"

"No." I immediately replied and averted my gaze. "I believe in attraction and affection. And if it existed, you know what they say. Nothing lasts forever, not even love."

"I believe love exists." Drew said as his green eyes pierced through me.

I pursed my lips together as my thoughts turned into a mess. Finally, I hushed:

"Then prove me."

Drew chuckled softly under his breath as he glanced down. For a minute, he was nothing but silent. However, when he looked up, I noticed the playful glint in his eyes.

"I will."

A/N: ... Yeah, it's no longer February 14th. But it's still a kind of Valentine's Day-ish story, right? I'm really sorry that I didn't publish it on time, but I suffered from a major writer's block when I was done with about 75% of this story.

May and Drew are neither 'just' friends, nor in a relationship in this story, if you were still confused about that.

As usual, let me know what you think! Sorry about any grammar and spelling mistakes, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Also, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and favorited my other story (Hot Chocolate & Whipped Cream). It means the world to me and you guys motivate me to keep writing. Lots of love~!