Gentle laughter. A shake of the head. Twinkling eyes.
May was absolutely aglow with life as she discussed the contest's appeal stage with Drew. After the first day of the competition had drawn to a close, the pair had journeyed over to a nearby diner, at May's request.
"I'm telling you," she began with conviction in her voice, "Masquerain's Ice Beam is what truly captivated the audience."
Drew swung his head from side to side. "Do you expect me to believe that they preferred a single Ice Beam to the dancing butterfly pair?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on, May. Give yourself more credit."
The brunette rolled her eyes and reached for another french fry. "Okay, so they liked both. You really need to see a video recording of that Ice Beam some time! It's breath-taking."
Drew nodded and waved his hand dismissively. He had seen the move well enough from his position on stage, and he would concede that it was a beautiful move. However, he knew that Masquerain could perform better, which is the reason why he refused to accept May's praise. He leaned forward to take a sip of his milkshake, but he honestly found the treat too sweet and doubted that he would, or could, finish it. His partner had insisted that he get a snack to celebrate; after all, the duo had earned the highest amount of points out of all the contestants for the appeal stage.
Pair. Partner. Duo.
The thought of collaborating with his rival had ceased to faze him. The two had cooperated on various occasions in the past, ranging from fetching berries to keeping each other alive when stranded on an island. The situation usually was not that extreme, but regardless, Drew had learned ages ago that May was a reliable partner.
Nonetheless, the thought of competing alongside her was still surreal, a mere fantasy. He had lived it, though, just a few hours ago. The idea of competing with someone as a team had never piqued his interest; he aimed for perfection, and he truly did not trust anyone to meet his standards. May was the exception.
May was always the exception.
How could he be so lucky? What had he done to deserve such a worthy rival? A worthwhile friend?
"Drew?"
He leaned forward to take another sip of his sickeningly sweet shake. When he lifted his head, still sipping on the straw, he saw that May had jammed a straw into the other side to take a sip or two. He just gazed at her for a moment, relishing the opportunity to just look at her in awe. She had such rosy cheeks, such a perfect nose, and long lashes that were far more powerful than one would initially assume, for they held back fire with the intensity of Blast Burn.
She finally stopped chugging the milkshake and opened her eyes; judging from the look on her face, she wasn't thrilled to see that Drew was taking a sip at the same time as her. She gulped and just stared at him, startled and a little dumbstruck. The flustered young man stared back at her, unable to tear his eyes from her despite his embarrassment. His discomfort left him petrified rather than prompting him to turn away. Finally, several moments later, she broke their eye contact and looked up towards the ceiling, blushing madly.
"Your face is red," he informed her, trying to sound casual.
"I - I got brain freeze!" she stammered.
"Don't you need a brain for that?" he teased. That remark earned him a french fry to his face.
"I asked you if you were finished, and you nodded. Don't go in for another sip after that! You could at least wait until I had finished mine!"
Apparently this was karma for zoning out. "You didn't look like you were going to come up for air any time soon. Honestly, though, I'm surprised that you're so embarrassed." These next words were going to feel so bizarre on his tongue. One week later and the reality still amazed him. "I mean, we are dating."
She threw another french fry.
A worthy rival. A worthwhile friend. A whimsical romance.