The sun was shining brightly upon Slateport City today. Some took it as a sign that the day would come by more peaceful than any other day while others, especially trainers, believed it was a blessing of sorts to help pump them up for their next Pokémon contest. Despite being touted as the busiest city in Hoenn, the city had to shut its doors to Pokémon contests for a while. Due to the attacks Team Magma and Aqua hosted near the museum, it seemed like a good idea to city officials to prevent having a large number of Pokémon crowded into one place.

Now though, the city was free of such goons and was prepared to hold contests again! Coordinators from all over the region were more than psych to hear this as they evidently rushed to get themselves registered on time. The turnout was huge this month; most of the people who were planning to participate actually got in!

Well, most.

"W-WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THERE'RE NO MORE SPOTS!'" Desiree Beautrix couldn't believe it when she heard these words at the front desk. Unlike most trainers, she was already in Slateport when the announcement was made. How was it that trainers that came all the way from Lilycove were able to get there before her!

"I'm sorry… there's just not enough room for any other participants." The female employee sighed, giving a respectful bow. "But I hear the contest in Fallarbor Town will be accepting applicants next week. Why don't you try your luck there?" Desiree didn't utter a response, but instead the blond beauty nodded and made her way silently out of the building. Her hazel eyes remained fixated on the floor until she bumped into someone, causing her to fall back on the floor.

"O-Ow… I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention…" the girl spoke in a less-than-lively tone. Rubbing her head, her eyes gazed over the other teen having fallen on the floor as well.

"You're damn right you're sorry. Watch where you're going, will 'ya?"

Her facial expression quickly changed into a look of stubbornness. Out of all people… 'It had to be Drew… Really now?' "Well you know what? I'm actually pretty sorry for not doing more than just making you fall flat on your butt!"

"Whatever…" Drew muttered as he got back up to his feet, dusting himself off as he notice Desiree doing the same. Once finished, he gave her a smirk, which in turn caused her to frown. That damned cocky look of his always made her compliment his handsome features in the back of her mind, yet this time, she was too pissed off to even have those thoughts. "So, ready for the next contest?"

"… I'm not… participating." Desiree muttered through her teeth as she glared at the teenage boy. She was preparing for the worst: a constant, never-ending verbal assault from the green-haired coordinator.

"You're not participating? What's wrong? Your Pokémon too scared to perform today? Or maybe it's their trainer." Drew's smirk grew to an even more teasing one. "Did you finally realize how much better the competition is against you?"

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION." The girl took a step forward, closing the gap in between them as she jabbed her finger harshly against his chest. "I've won a number of ribbons so far against this so-called 'competition.' I remember beating you once or twice—"

"Yet I've beaten you many times before."

"DON'T CUT ME OFF." She frowned with her hands on her hips. Her face was incredibly close to his, but that never even registered in her fuming mind. Drew on the other hand blinked and took a step back. "And! We are nowhere near scared to be able perform. Not now, not ever!"

"Sheesh. You don't have to make a scene or anything." The boy closed his eyes and flipped his green bangs, a smile coming back onto his features. "So then, what is it? Why aren't you participating?"

Desiree sighed as she stood back straight on her feet, scratching at her now rosy cheeks. "… I… kinda came here late… B-But it wasn't my fault!" She quickly rebutted with her hands waving in front of her. "I was at the beach and there was this lone Zigzagoon that was walking along the shore. It was holding something and I found out it was a nugget! You see, since I'm low on money at the moment—" She was cut off when she noticed a hand on her shoulder. Drew was now standing right beside her, his body facing towards the contest building.

"That's too bad. I guess I was looking forward to seeing you compete…" The girl blinked as her cheeks grew darker in shade. Was he really feeling upset about her not participating? Even if it was a little—

"… so that the competition would be waaaay easy for me to beat."

'UGHH… THIS GUY…' Just as the girl was about to snap back at him, he retreated his arm back into his pocket and started walking away, leaving her in her own pool anger, though it quickly started to dissipate when she saw his other hand waving back at her. And although he didn't see it, she returned his gesture with a small smile.

'I am not going to watch. I'm going to stay here, as far away from the contest building as possible. There's no way I am going to watch. No. I am not going to watch…'

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she ran her fingers through her palest blonde hair. She was currently sitting on the bench, watching her Phanpy run around in the sand. At least, she was trying too.

"And the winner is… Drew from LaRousse City, and his striking Roselia!"

The frown on her face grew, even as she buried her face into her palms. The contest was being streamed live via television, meaning it was heavily broadcasted in the Seashore House for trainers to watch. Of course, this did nothing to Desiree but feed to her anger. That, and she and Phanpy wanted a sodapop.

"Hmph… Come on Phanpy! Let's go somewhere else!" Without waiting for her Pokémon to follow suit, she began walking away from the beach. It took a moment for the little blue elephant to realize the girl was willing to leave it behind. It let out a whine, not wanting to leave the warm dusty ground. It hated walking on grass, preferring its tiny hoofs be rested on dirt instead. It hated everything that had to do with grass as well. Especially flowers.


"Well, well. If it isn't Desiree." Drew made his way calmly towards her, the girl sitting on a bench near Route 109. Her Phanpy was already back in its Pokéball when it realized the insane amount of Grass Pokémon that lurked around here.

"What do you want, Drew?" Desiree said his name in a fake tone of annoyance, but in reality, she was glad to at least have some company. Realizing that the girl wasn't going to bother looking up at him, Drew advanced near her and took a seat on the bench.

"The contest is done for today. I made it into the finals. I was about to go train Roselia in preparedness for tomorrow." He turned his head to look at her with another one of his signature smirks. "But instead I found a loner."

"Oh shut up." She poorly countered. Her legs and arms were crossed as she turned her head away from him with a pout. "Besides, how much more unprofessional can you get? I mean, training at the last minute?"

"Not as low as you, seeing it'd always help me beat you." The comment irked her once more. She sharply turned her head, about to give him a beating of a lifetime.

However, her hazel hues softened when they landed on him. Drew wasn't even looking at her; his eyes were fixed at the water that resided under the bicycle road. Desiree blushed lightly as she was pulled into a trance by his charming features.

"I doubt I'm going to win." His words broke Desiree from the spell. She shook her head trying to get rid of the red on her face, causing Drew to eye her weirdly with an eyebrow raised. "… You okay?"

"O-Of course!" She muttered, grinding her teeth as she avoided his gaze. Eventually her nerves settled down and her skin returned to their peachy tint. "… You were saying?" Drew looked away once more, sighing as his hand ran through his green locks.

"The competition is big this year. It might be because of Slateport's hiatus before but… I know for a fact I'm not going to win." Desiree had her mouth opened in surprise as she saw him hold a slight frown. He never looked this upset before; he either had a blank face for that cocky look all the time. "I don't even know if it's worth trying anymore." Again, the girl was left in shock. It was a bit awkward seeing the Roselia trainer like this, and undoubtedly, it caused her heart to tug a bit.

"Don't say that! You should always try and give it your all!" The blonde exclaimed with her as she lightly slapped her hands back on her thighs, causing enough commotion for Drew to focus back at her. "Even if you don't win, you should do it for yourself and Roselia, for the joy of performing!" Drew kept silent as he practically held her eyes in a stare. It didn't take her long to start blushing lightly. Was he busy thinking about what she just said… or was he just staring at her? The awkward situation lingered for about a minute before the boy stood up, his hand reaching inside his pocket.

"Well, I knew that." He spat, trying to cover up any emotion other than confidence. His back was facing towards Desiree, the latter having stood on her feet as well.

"Well, excuse me for trying to help—" She was cut off for the third time in a row today, this time when he held a rose close to her face. The female coordinator stared back and forth from it and the boy himself until he forced her to hold the rose. "… W-What's this for?..."

"For your Pokémon, stupid." He replied as quickly as he started walking away, back into Slateport, leaving the girl all alone once more.

Desiree sighed, looking back at the rose. She'd rather have him as company than to be all alone again. At least she had Phanpy, she thought, but frowned again when remembering why she wasn't able to summon it.

'… Wait. This rose? For Phanpy? Drew knows how Phanpy hates flowers!'

"Congratulations to Drew and his beautiful Roselia!"

The crowd grew wind when his name was announced after the intense battle he just had. Drew sighed in relief; he didn't think that he and his partner would come out of it victorious! He shrugged it off though, flipping his hair as he scan through the audiences. He wondered if she would be a part of them, cheering him on, but then he gave up looking when he remembered how her pride could prevent her from even stepping foot into the building.

What he didn't know was that she quickly fled her seat in the audience after watching him do his infamous hair flip. If she was going to leave without being noticed, she at least had to watch him do one of the things that made her heart flutter.

"So… I heard you won. Congrats!" Desiree smiled as she scratched her cheek. Drew was looking out at the now orange painted sky before returning her smile.

"Thanks. You were right. I should have focused for the fun of it in the first place." The male's statement caused her to blush once more. She never even thought he would take her advice, if anything! Frantically trying to change the subject, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"So… about that rose. You know Phanpy hates flowers!" She pouted, pulling out the said flower and putting it at his face. He gave her another blank look. How oblivious could this girl get? "What were you trying to do, huh? Were you trying to hurt Phanpy on purpose? I swear if that was the case—"

Drew sighed as he took the flower from her fingers, snapping half of the stem off. "It really wasn't that obvious?"

Desiree's hand was slightly twitching as her she stared at the flower. 'I… made him mad didn't I…?' The blond gulped and closed her eyes for a bit, but she quickly opened them again at the feel of his flesh against her right cheek.

The green-haired coordinator had taken the flower and tucked it behind her ear, smiling as he never pulled back his hand. "It was for you. A small thanks for your words and company."

Her face almost grew as red as the rose. Was he actually thanking her? 'N-Never mind that…! Was he touching me?... IS he still touching me?' Seeming almost as a way to break her from her thoughts, Drew had moved closer to her body, his right hand lightly holding onto her left, and his lips softly brushing against hers.

She couldn't believe it. She never could have guessed this coming. Desiree had a crush on the cocky teenager for the longest time now. The thought of him being kind and affectionate seemed almost impossible.

Yet here they were, with him holding her hand, and kissing her.

He pulled back slowly, a light tint of pink in his cheeks, though it quickly went away as he laughed softly at her blushing state. "Well, at least the rose actually matches you now." He said coolly, his left hand pointing to her cheeks. Out of instinct she covered her face with her free hand, trying to hide the confusion, excitement, and embarrassment all at once.

Drew gave out a playful sigh as he pulled her closely into a hug. He didn't mind that she didn't hug back; in fact, he knew shock was what kept her frozen to begin with.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're not yelling at me or threatening to break my neck."

"S-Shut up…"