Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.

Love is like a flower. It starts off small, and grows with time into something beautiful. But love, like flowers, can die after a long time. Flowers can be preserved so they never die, but is the same true about love?

May was sitting in her room, thinking about that day two years ago. She thought about that day every time she was in her room. The Johto Grand Festival had just ended, and May had emerged as the winner. She was the top coordinator after all those years of trying. She and Drew had been talking behind the curtains after she won. He gave her a rose and told her that he was leaving and wouldn't return he was ready to fulfill his dream. He told her to keep the rose as a reminder of his promise. He promised that he would come back to her when he was ready.

So she waited. She had frozen the last rose he had given her to keep it alive, and had placed it next to her bed to remind her of the promise. She had kept her eyes on the coordinating news to see if she could find out where he had gone, but it was like he had disappeared. A year after he left, Harley had won the Orange Island Grand Festival, so she knew he wasn't going to return. This year the Grand Festival was in Shinou, so she was anxiously awaiting the results.

The radio was turned up loud and she was listening to the news. She didn't have a working tv so she had to wait for the radio to announce the winner. Sadly, the radio wasn't live, so she wasn't able to listen to everything that was going on. She had finished two bags of chips and was halfway through the third when the news announcer came back on.

"And now we have the results from the Shinou Grand Festival," the man said. "And the new top coordinator is…Jesse!"

"What!?!" May yelled in surprise. Her bag of chips fell to the floor. "Drew lost again? And to a Team Rocket member? What's going on?" She walked into her room and looked at the rose. "Why can't he win?"

She sighed and flopped onto her bed. She touched the frozen petals on the rose and sighed again. it was going to be another long year without him. She looked at the frozen petals again. they reminded her of her and Drew. The petals were frozen to keep from dying, just like her love for him. She knew that if she didn't freeze her love, it would die over time because she didn't have him. She rolled over and fell asleep, wondering just how long he was going to take to fulfill his promise.

A few days after Jesse won, May decided to go to the mall to get a new tv. She wanted to watch the next Grand Festival to find out why Drew wasn't doing well. She entered the electronics store to find a tv and saw that they were replaying the moment that Jesse got her trophy. She scanned the crowd for Drew, but the camera moved as soon as she thought she spotted green.

"Excuse me, sir," May said when she walked up to the counter. "Is that a video you're watching?"

"No ma'am," he replied. "That would be the Grand Festival replay. They'll be showing it til tomorrow."

"Why til tomorrow?" she asked in surprise.

"Because it's been replaying all week," he answered. "Friday is the last ever replay of this year's festival." He stopped. "Aren't you May, the winner of the Johto festival?"

May nodded. "Yeah that was me. But I've sort of lost interest in competing."

"Lost its edge?" he asked. She nodded. "That's too bad. I remember watching it. You were good. So was your competition, Drew. I guess he decided to quit too."

"What do you mean?" May asked quickly.

"Well I mean he hasn't competed in contests in two years," he replied. "I've watched all of them and he hasn't been to a single one."

"Oh…I didn't know that," she said quietly. "He told me he was going to fulfill his dream. That's why he left."

"Maybe he has another dream, like becoming a Pokemon Master. The Shinou League championship is coming on tomorrow. He might be there."

"Oh! That reminds me of why I'm here. I need to buy a tv," she said.

"Which would you like?" he asked.

"The red one in the back," she replied.

He grabbed the box off the shelf and brought it back to the counter. He rang it up and bagged it while she counted out her money.

"Enjoy your tv and have a nice day!" the guy exclaimed. "Good luck finding out what you want to know."

May hurried home to plug in her new tv. She called the cable company to get her cable installed. And a few hours later, she was flipping channels. She yawned slightly when she found the Shinou League competition. After watching for a few minutes, she realized that Drew wasn't there, so she sighed and changed the channel again. Then she heard her door open and close.

"What in the world?" she asked herself.

May got up from the couch and walked slowly into her room. When she saw that it was empty, she rushed to her closet and grabbed on of her Poke balls. She didn't care which one it was as long as she was protected. She snuck out of her room and hid behind her couch. She tossed the ball to release whatever was in it, only to discover that it was empty.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me," May whispered. She heard another noise. "I gotta get back in there and find something before its too late!"

But just when she was about to crawl from behind the couch, the person ran into her bedroom and shut the door. Her heart was pounding against her chest. She didn't know what to do. Should she go in there and risk getting hurt, or let the burglar steal all her things? The burglar could be armed with weapons and plus her Pokemon were in there, and all she had was a ball. A reckless daring seized her, and she burst into the room and threw the ball. The ball missed and hit the wall.

"Drew?" May said in shock. Drew was standing over her bed, looking down at the frozen rose. "What are you doing here?"

"I came back, just like I said," Drew replied.

"But you still haven't won the Grand Festival," May said. "You said you wouldn't return til you completed your dream."

"You think that was my dream?" Drew asked in surprise. "No. I haven't competed in a single contest since I left." He looked at the rose again. "You froze the last rose I gave you?"

"Yes. I wanted to keep it alive to remind me of your promise," May replied quietly. "So if the Grand Festival wasn't your dream, then what was?"

Drew sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets. He walked up to her and gave her a hug, then stepped back.

"May, will you marry me?" Drew asked, holding a ring out.

May gasped. "Oh my god! Of course I will! I would love to."

Drew slipped the ring onto her finger and smiled. He kissed her, then watched her admire the ring. It was a cluster of rubies shaped like a rose, with a diamond in the center. Four emeralds, one on each side, surrounded the rubies. The jewels were set on a gold band. She couldn't stop staring at it.

"This was your dream?" May asked.

"Yes. I had to work to get a house for us to live in," Drew replied. "I wasn't going to ask you to marry me until I knew I could support you."

"I'm so glad I waited for you," May said quietly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Drew said.

And they sealed it with a kiss.

The End

Review please! I know it was cheesy beyond belief but whatever. I loved it and I hope you did too. So let me know by reviewing! Look for other contestshipping stories from me in the future!