A shoulder to cry on

I do not own Pokémon

A/N: in this story Ash, May and Drew are fifteen.

May was heading for a date with Drew. At first she didn't like him. She found him to be arrogant and obnoxious. But after some time she was charmed by the flowers he gave her and the smooth talking, even though deep down, she felt unsettled by the whole thing. Her best friend Ash Ketchum warned her that she should date someone who would treat her right, but she didn't listen as she headed to the coffee house, for her date with Drew; it would be their last. She sat at the table blushing slightly waiting for him to arrive. She hated when he was late. In fact he was always late. She sighed sadly when after a while he finally showed up.

"Hey Beautiful." he said and leaned in for a kiss but she rejected him.

"You're late, and I asked you to stop calling me that."

"Right sure thing, babe." He said while flicking a bit of his hair away. She rolled her eyes and sighed as they sat down.

"So what's up?" she asked.

"I just won my fourth ribbon." He said cockily.

"Really?" her face lit up.

"Yeah. It was a piece of cake. How many have you got so far?"

May was silenced by this. She played with her fingers nervously.

"Well, um… actually I have just three…"

"Three? Ha! You're so slow May. You'll never enter the championship at this rate." he teased and she went on the defensive.

"Well it's not so easy you know." she snapped.

"You're right. It's very easy." He said and she clenched her fists in her hands.

"You know, sometimes you can be such a jerk. In fact you're always a jerk. It's times like this I wonder why I keep hanging out with you."

"Hey it's your loss. Not my problem if you're a weak person."

"So you don't care that you're using me." She said in a slightly cracked voice.

"Hey, you were the one who asked me out first, not me you." He defended himself. At that, May felt a variety of emotions, hurt, anger, sadness and betrayal.

"I hate you." She said. Then she got up in a jolt and slapped him around the face.

"Get away from me! I don't want to see you again!" she yelled and ran out of the café with a sob. Drew was in slight shock as silence took over the café, as the rest of the diners gave him looks saying he should be ashamed of himself. Drew sighed as he put a ten dollar bill on the table and walked out.

Meanwhile, May was running out of Viridian City and into the forest. It was dark, it was windy and there was thunder in the distance. Then the rain drops started to fall and she started getting rain and mud all over her dress. Things took a turn for the worse when she tripped on a tree root and fell to the ground, getting bruises over her knees and elbows. She moaned sadly and got up and sat on a tree stump and started to cry as it started to rain. She hugged her arms trying to protect herself from the bitter cold. Then she heard it; a voice; a kind voice calling her home and out of the forest; the kind voice of a friend; a friend who's always been there for her. It was then that she knew what to do. She got up on her feet again and continued to run to the other side of the forest.

Meanwhile in a nearby town…

A young boy of about fifteen was sitting on the couch in his living room playing with his Pikachu while reading a book and curled up in a blanket. He was comfy and warm under it while the drizzle outside turned into a downpour and the thunder clashed and burned in the sky. Then he heard splashing in the puddles and a soft knock on the front door. Ash looked at his Pikachu in concern, wondering who would come visit in such lousy weather. He hurried to the door and opened it and what he saw shocked him.

"Oh my God, May!" he called out and let her in. She was soaking wet, covered in mud and it looked like she was crying.

"May, what happened to you?"

All May could do was sniff and then she threw herself into his arms and wept. Ash who was a little taken aback by this, didn't respond at first. Then he wrapped his arms around her as she cried onto his shoulder. He gently closed the door with one of his hands, so that the warm air won't escape. She sobbed and wept, as the boy held her in his arms. He said nothing as he let her let it all out. He rubbed her hair slightly in an attempt to comfort her and kissed her on the cheek to make her feel better. She hummed slightly as he kissed her and she seemed soothed by it.

"Can I have another?" she asked softly.

"Sure." He said and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. She hummed again.

"Thanks…"

"You're welcome." He said warmly as he held her in his arms for a little while longer till she calmed down.

"May, you want to tell me what happened?"

"It's drew. He's such a…. ah… ah… ahcoo!" she sneezed and shivered.

"You're all wet. You need to get warm or else you'll get sick." Said Ash.

"No I'm okay…" she finished the last two words with a shiver.

"Come on." He said and pulled her by her hand and gave her his blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then he lit the fireplace. She seemed to warm up quite a bit. She looked at the floor sadly as Ash sat down next to her. He placed a hand on hers which rested on her lap.

"May, what happened?"

"It's drew. He's such a jerk…"

"What did he do?"

"He mistreats me, he always has this arrogant attitude towards me and thinks he's better than me…" she said.

"That's unfair."

"I know. When I said to him I wonder why I still hang out with him, he said it's my problem because he thinks I'm a weak person, and he doesn't seem to care…" she continued as Ash listened. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"He was using me. All this time I've been oblivious to it. Does this really mean I'm a weak person, Ash?"

Ash looked at her sadly and held her hand in his palm.

"Oh no, I don't think you're weak May. Not at all… you're were just a little… misdirected a little bit. You made the wrong choice and that's okay. It happens to the best of us…"

"I wish I haven't chosen him as a boyfriend though; I deserve better than him."

"That's right, you do deserve better than him; and whoever you choose, I promise you I'll support you a hundred percent if he's right for you…"

She smiled sweetly at him. She brought their hands up to her cheek and rubbed than slightly against her face.

"Thanks Ash…" she said happily as he smiled at her. She ran their hands down her cheek and was reminded of all the good times they've spent together; how they laughed and cried and enjoyed each other's company… like when they ate cotton candy at the carnival, or when he made soup for her when she was sick, or when he got her a rose for her birthday… then she realized it…

"I choose you…" she said softly.

"What?"

"I choose you Ash. You're the one I want to be with. It's all clear to me now. You were always there for me, you were always nice to me and you were always there when I needed you, like right now. You really care…"

He smiled at her and borrowed both their hands and kissed her fingers.

"You're welcome." he said with a smile. Knowing it was mutual, May spoke.

"So, couple?"

"Couple." said Ash and they leaned forward for a kiss. As they moved forward Ash wrapped his arms around her shoulders for further support as they kissed happily but tenderly. May rested her head in Ash's trusty shoulder as she let out a few tears of happiness and replaced the sob with a sigh. But this time it was a sigh of happiness.

"I love you Ash…" she said happily.

"I love you too…" he said wholeheartedly as he continued to hold her in his embrace as they rested on the couch, wrapped under the same blanket as the fire popped and the Pikachu slept…

The end…

Well looks like I outdid myself again. Special thanks to the Facebook advanced shipping group for inspiring the idea. Also sorry if Drew came across as too nasty. I know he's a jerk to her and everything but deliberately abusing people is something I don't like doing and therefore not very good at it. So, sorry if the stereotype approach didn't go so well. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, and if you would leave a review below I's greatly appreciate it…

Peace out…