A/N: I probably should be finishing When Red Meets Blue, but I was watching Michael Phelps swim 100M Butterfly, and I was like, I should write a cheesy Contestshippig Oneshot (don't ask how that even makes sense). It was on a whim, I guess, and dime-a-dozen, most likely, but I like it. Enjoy!
POV: May
Ash had left for Sinnoh. Mom and dad had taken Max back home to Petalburg. I had the ticket to Johto lost, crumpled, somewhere in my bag, and I realized that for the first time in a long time, I could let my Pokemon relax on the red, morning-lit sand with me, while I just…well, I just thought.
The voyage over to Johto was that afternoon. I rolled one a Pokeball between my fingers mindlessly—it was empty, the Beautifly it contained digging curiously in the damp sand by the water—and letting my mind drift.
Unfortunately, it was drifting much. It kept stopping.
On a certain someone, that is.
I shook my head, getting sand and red-tinged brown hair in my mouth. Being around Ash so much, another boy my age, had kind of dulled the sort of feelings that girls my age have so often. I'd never considered having a crush on Ash, of course. He was just there. More annoying than Max, my biological brother, at some times. But it didn't give me a chance to think about anyone else.
Just…why was I thinking about him? Besides, why now?
Twirling the bow tied into my red bandana, I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't hear footsteps behind me. Above the gentle slapping of the waves against the sand and the gentle cries of my Pokemon as they experimented with the sand and salty water, someone was talking to me. Someone with an all-too-familiar voice.
"And so we meet again." I jerked my head around so fast that the bow of the bandana was torn out, and the red-and-white fabric lay limply in my hand. "Augh!" I gasped, hyperventilating a little. It took me a little while to realize that I wasn't being ambushed by some creepy person whose mind was under the control of a dark-minded Alakazam, but when I recognized the light green hair, my heart sped up even more. The green hair was all I needed to make my palms sweat. Green hair. Maybe it's not him. But…how many people have light green hair?
I scooted around, combing my fingers through sandy, frizzy brown hair. It was him. "Oh. Hi…hi Drew." I was a little bit bewildered, and embarrassed as well. This guy had been on my mind all day, and here he was, standing in front of me. I perched my head between my knees.
I must have sounded confused as well as sheepish, because he added, "I heard you're going to Johto, too. To complete the contest circuit there, you know."
Beautifly fluttered over towards my face, the light gusts that its wings whipped up brushing hair into my face. "I—I am," I clarified. I reached out for my fanny pack lying half-buried in the sand, digging through it for my ferry ticket. "I leave—I leave today." I felt myself turning extremely red, and I waved the bandana in front of me, hoping to distract him. "I heard that you were going, too." Great. Just great, now I sound like a stalker.
I guess I overestimated how stalker-like my last sentence sounded, because Drew just stared into the rising sun, the ruby light dancing magnificently in his eyes, and added, "I've got my eyes on you, May."
My heart jumped out of my chest and settled somewhere in my throat, sending a shaky pulse through my body. I wasn't sure exactly what to say to that, so I nodded.
"We'll be ready for you," Drew vowed.
I felt my lips twitch. "We were born ready."
Drew nodded at me. "You're stiff compitition," he admitted. "But we've been training hard." He held up a Pokeball, slightly scratched on the surface. "We'll be ready for you."
A little bit of the pulse in my chest dissolved, and I laughed a little. "You'd better hope so." I remembered that my fanny pack was open, and felt around until I pulled out a crinkled Slateport Ferry ticket. "I leave today, this afternoon."
Drew nodded at me. The sky began to lighten into a rich blue, and the sand lightened from a deep, reflective bloodred into a paler tan. "I leave in a week or so," he told me. "I want to say good-bye to Hoenn." He pulled something out of his coat pocket, tapping a tiny screen. "You should be going, you know."
I tipped my head at him, utterly confused, before I realized he was holding a watch in my face. He must have read my ferry ticket; my ship departed in an hour and a half. I still felt strangely reluctant, and the strange, pulsating feeling returned, making my legs feel like Jell-o as I stood up, recalling each of my Pokemon and tucking their Pokeballs into my pack. "You're right," I agreed, feeling a little reluctant. "Well…"
From somewhere out towards the horizon, I could have sworn I saw a Gyrados leap out of the water, sending a brilliant splash of green-red water into the sky. "I'll see you around," he said. "And didn't you forget something?"
I turned around, feeling hot with embarrassment, thinking that he wanted to kiss me or something. He was holding a Pokeball out towards me, looking a little smug. "It rolled out of your pack. Gotta be careful, you know."
I took it from him, our fingertips brushing oh-so-slightly. I tucked it away, feeling a warmth hit my whole body, a concentrated wave of sunlight rolling down on me alone. "Yeah, you're right."
He looked me in the eye. "You're stiff competition," he said. "We'll meet again."
I nodded at him, optimistic at the slight sparkle in his eyes, the color of a Chikorita's leaf (to be fair, it could have just been the angle of the sunlight).
"And this time I'll win." A smile worked its way onto his lips. "I'll miss you. We'll meet again soon."
With that, he turned and headed towards the foamy teal waves.
I turned around, my pace unconsciously quickening, leaving light footprints on the sand. Is he asking me out? I wondered, glancing over my shoulder.
Drew was still headed towards the ocean.
I knew the answer: no. But somehow, headed towards my new beginning in Johto, I felt really hopeful. But, it is a start.