Chapter 2
"Gee, will you guys ever learn your table manners?"
Our heroes have settled into a rather small but humble restaurant that featured mostly ramen. Of course, Ash and May had no problem with the menu, so they quickly ordered bowl after bowl of noodles.
In response to Max's question pertaining to table manners, May purposely slurped louder on her noodles, gaining the attention of grossed-out customers seated near them.
Ash chuckled, then began eating thenoodles the same way as May, filling the restaurant with the ear-wrenching sounds of slurping.
"Uh, guys, you might want to tone it down a bit, everyone is staring at us." Brock said.
Ash and May looked around and smiled sheepishly at the costumers nearby and sadly obliged, eating at considerably slower pace that was becoming increasingly more excruciating for the both of them. As the four continued eating ramen, Pikachu happily sat on Ash's head, licking from a ketchup bottle Ash had to buy from a store.
After minutes of silently eating, Brock turned to May.
"Hey, May, are you still going to the Johto region with Drew?" Brock asked, hoping to gain some enlightenment of the love situation.
Ash seemed a bit uneasy about the question, catching the attention of May. She contemplated for a bit.
"Well, I was planning to tag along with him and possibly begin a nice and interesting journey with him," May began.
Just then, Ash cringed, then immediately began eating his noodles to pretend nothing had happened. This time, both Brock and May happened to notice.
A feeling of pain suddenly shot in her heart as she thought about traveling without...him. What would she be able to do without the genuine support, the kindness, the fun, and, in general,..."Ash." She thought. May looked at the boy of her dreams and could tell he was holding his breath, waiting for her answer.
"I-I can't go without him," She concluded in her mind, "he...he means too much to me. I can't bear to leave his side."
May brought herself back to reality and smiled at her friends, ready to answer.
"I think I like the idea of traveling with you guys more. Plus, that means that Max can continue traveling with us too!"
Upon hearing this, Ash let out a sigh of relief, while Max jumped up from his seat in joy. Prior to the contest, Max was awfully gloomy since his sister was planning to leave for Johto, meaning that he would have to go back home to Petalburg city. However, May also had other plans.
"Max, that comes with new rules we will establish for letting you continue on the journey with us: absolutely NO IMMATURE REMARKS, AND YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT." She exclaimed, wagging her finger at Max.
Max sighed, a bit disheartened that he could no longer tease and press the issue regarding Ash.
"Fine, I guess I'll try to do that as much as possible, as long as I can travel with you guys." He said gloomily.
Ash looked at Pikachu and whispered, "do you know what they are talking about?"
Pikachu could only shrug; even he did not know what was going on.
As the gang finished eating, they paid for their meals and walked beneath the night sky, hoping to find some place to stay in.
"Hey, before we go to Sinnoh to begin our next adventure, what do you guys say we have a sort of 'mini vacation?' You know, where we don't worry about training and winning and just relax?" May suggested to the group with intentions of doing fun activities that would bring her closer to Ash.
"You know what, that sounds great! My Pokemon could actually use a small break from all the hard work." Ash answered.
"Yeah, and if we stay in a hotel, that means that we don't have to resort to our sleeping bags!" Max added.
"Alright, well I guess we are taking a small vacation. What should we do then?" Brock asked.
"Well, a visit to the beach sounds nice."
May suggested, envisioning herself playing in the water with Ash and having a good time. She pictured herself holding onto her crush as they went surfing and such, and even sharing an ice cream cone on the boardwalk. Soon enough, her imaginative mind got the best of her.
In May's fantasy world
"Oh, Ash, you look so unbelievably amazing!" May, clad in her pink bikini, praised while admiring Ash, specifically his toned body. Ash was in his black swim trunks, which complimented his look.
The two were standing on the sand that was located next to the blue, crystal clear water. The sky was cloudless, and the sun shined brightly on May, making her appearance that of a Goddess.
"Well, I could say the same about you, May." Ash said, walking up to the brunette. "You are absolutely the most beautiful person I have ever met."
May blushed, as she felt Ash gently lift her chin up to make her look him in the eyes.
"Oh, Ash." May was ecstatic as she felt herself moving closer and closer to the boy in front of her. Ash did the same, and, while wrapping his arms around May's waist, closed his eyes, making the move that would make May feel eternal happiness. May instinctively wrapped her arms around the boy's neck and closed her eyes as well and submitted to Ash's lips, kissing passionately. The two remained in each other's embrace for what would seem like an eternity, enjoying this precious moment of intimacy and affection.
Max saw his sister smiling and staring off to space and figured she was fantasizing about Ash. Immediately, he began teasing her.
"Heh heh, we all know why you want to go to the beach, May," Max said, pushing up his glasses, "all you want to do is make kissy faces at-"
Snapping out of her daydream, May glared at her brother, mentally threatening him. Max seemed to get the message and immediately stopped his berating.
Ash and Pikachu looked at each other with confusion and shrugged, while Brock chuckled at May's predicament. Just then, the group came into view of a hotel, where they all decided to spend the night in. They managed to get a capacious room with four separate beds and a luxurious bathroom.
For bed arrangements, May quickly called the bed directly next to Ash, feeling happier and safer. Max rolled his eyes and turned in for the night on the bed on the other side of May.
As May went to the bathroom to shower, Brock decided to press on to Ash about his suspicious reactions that occurred during dinner.
"Hey, Ash, I want to talk to you for a bit." Brock said, motioning for him to sit down on the bed next to his, since they were going to sleep next to each other.
"Umm, okay." Ash sat down and looked at Brock. " What do you wanna talk about?"
Pikachu, who was on Ash's shoulder, was also curious.
"Well, um, I just wanted to ask you about why you happened to seem uneasy when May was talking about traveling with Drew?"
Ash froze, not knowing what to say.
"Umm, Ash, are you alright?" Brock asked, worried.
"Pika pika! Pikapi!" Pikachu tried shaking Ash to get him to come to his senses.
Ash finally answered. "Well, the thing is, I...I just hate the idea of May traveling with... Drew." Nervous, he looked down at his legs. "I-I mean, he is so arrogant and narcissistic, I'd hate imagining him getting along with May, especially them growing into something more than friends. You know what I mean?"
Brock nodded, understanding the situation.
"I just can't imagine her having to live with him, it's like he mostly cares about himself and not her. Now that May has decided to continue traveling with us, I guess I feel a lot better knowing she will be safe and happy." Ash finished.
"Pikapi." Pikachu cooed, happy that Ash was beginning to feel better about May.
"Alright, that's all I wanted to hear." Brock smiled. "Don't worry, I don't think she'll be leaving us anytime soon."
Brock looked up at the clock in the room, which read 11:00 p.m..
"Well, it's getting late, so I'm gonna go to sleep. Good night, Ash. Good night, Pikachu."
"Good night, Brock." Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu added.
As Brock slept, Ash and Pikachu decided to go to sleep as well. Ash got underneath the blanket and Pikachu curled up next to Ash's head.
Meanwhile, May finished her shower, changed her clothes, then opened the bathroom door. She saw Ash in bed with Pikachu and smiled.
"They look so cute." May quietly said to herself. She walked to her bed and glanced back at Ash. She bended over, her face inches from his, contemplating if she should quickly give him a peck on the cheek, but then decided not to if someone woke up and saw her. She sighed, then got into bed beneath the covers. She turned on her side so she could always see Ash. She smiled, then fell asleep.
Unbeknownst to May, Ash was awake the entire time, leaving his eye lids closed in an attempt to sleep. He had heard May's comment and had felt her light breath on his face. He felt warm inside, even though he did not understand why. He and May were just friends, right? He admitted he felt that May was becoming increasingly more caring towards Ash, but he had never made anything out of it. He was also forming a strange lust towards the girl, always wanting to be with her and never losing sight of the Brunette.
"Augh, this is stressing my mind. I'm gonna have to talk to Brock about this." Ash thought, then fell asleep.