Author's note: sorry about the length, guys, but there wasn't a place where I could cut this part! I still hope you enjoy!
3/
That same night Catharina's Mawile had rotten luck. After May told her friend Catharina all about that day's conversation with Harley/Mayley, our lost young hero soon became like a broken LP, repeating the same things over and over again. And because Catharina had better things to do, she kissed her Mawile warmly on the top of its head and left it there, since Mawile seemed to take great enjoyment in observing May. Thus everyone was content and that's the way it should be.
May's last contest wasn't supposed to be any different from the previous ones. She had to come, do some magic and win. She couldn't really concentrate, but this time the reason was at least a bit more positive – she never loved Harley like back then. At the same time she was pretty nervous. It's Goldenrod City, Drew's there and he's surely somewhere in the audience! He must be!
May didn't need to search for too long, since way too soon she saw a gigantic banner that read "Go, go, go, May!". It was painted with red and there were many little hearts around. Solidad was holding up one half, Harley the other, but as soon as the latter saw that May turned her face there, he rammed the paper into the hands of a shocked and seemingly a bit annoyed Drew. Then he grinned at May and showed her some delighted thumbs up.
May didn't quite know how to react and it's understandable – seeing the love of your life for the first time after so long in such an awkward situation doesn't make it exactly easy to ask for vouchers and diamonds. May giggled nervously, lifted her hand to say hi and then ran her tongue over her teeth to make sure Drew wouldn't find out she ate a bread roll with cottage cheese and spinach that morning.
Our miss coordinator also noticed a frowning Brianna, by now in Harley's arms, who was petting her on the top of her head like a puppy. Her expression was that of a three year old from a good family after she's told that she can't pull the tablecloth off the table.
May used up all her Pokémon in that last contest. From time to time she glanced in the direction of her personal cheerleaders, but tried to do so in a way so that they wouldn't notice. They all noticed (May was a dismal actress), but didn't want to make May unhappy, so they pretended not to know. She then noted that Drew smiled at her and for some unknown reason she growled aloud: "Mwaaaahhhh…are we all we aaaaare…!"
When she won, Harley's cheers were so loud and delighted they almost seemed false, like always, after all. But May still loved him that day. That day she loved everyone. And she pinned her last ribbon. A navy blue one with golden lining.
"Maaay…cutipie! Look, I have a gift for you!"
"No, thank you, no more cookies, Harley! You're very ni- …oh."
May felt embarrassed, because Harley's hand was resting on Drew's shoulder and she just remembered how lazy she was the previous night to wash her hair. She made some last vain attempt at correcting her disheveled hairdo, but it was too late. She blushed and looked Drew's Roserade deep in the eyes.
"Look, May, Drew has a gift for you." Harley said and handed May a bouquet. One of the loveliest she's ever seen. She was just about to give in and join Harley in playing this pleasant game, but as she lifted her gaze, she only heard Drew say:
"For god's sake, Harley, you're embarrassing me! Come on, Roserade. …Sorry, May." And he walked away.
"Wha-…did I say something? Romeo! Hey, Romeooo!"
"Stop, Harley. Drew's right, you've done just enough," Solidad cut in, grabbing Harley's vigorous forearm.
Harley folded his arms and looked a bit offended and a bit disappointed as well. "They're both so stupid! They're in love, everyone knows, except them," he sung.
"Leave them Harley. They're adult people – "
"What?!"
"Yes, and you leave them alone. They know what they're doing."
"No, they don't. Now you leave me. Dreeeeew…wait for me, big boy… Let's go get drunk!"
That's bad, thus May and Solidad lost the opportunity of being driven home.
Being aware of their cruel fate, Solidad put a hand on May's shoulder. "Well…we all blew this, didn't we? Except you, of course," she smirked. "May, you were great. Let's forget about this, you deserve a celebration."
They ended up in a small, nice café on one of the main avenues.
"…Yeah, one small Viennese…but without any cream, if you please…thank you! And you, May? Order whatever you want, I'm paying tonight, so go ahead!"
Solidad didn't need to say this twice. "A century egg as a starter, then a California roll with black mushroom salad, an Italian style risotto, grilled vegetables with parmesan and um…an ice cream as a dessert. The cutest one you have."
"Wow…that contest must have worn you out," Solidad chuckled at May's appetite.
May licked her lips. "You three wore me out above all…you should all invite me to eat. Too bad you'll have to do your term for all three of you, Solidad."
Solidad smiled a bit wryly, but May didn't even notice that. She couldn't have, because the next moment she proposed:
"Maybe I could call on Catharina and she on Jasmine and they could join us!"
"Ha ha ha…I love you, May! Some more of this, please! Of course, let them join us after one of us wins the Grand Festival!"
"Oh, never mind, I was only joking," May lied.
A few minutes later she was already enjoying her food and smiling like a little angel at Solidad, because the chefs had done some good job.
Solidad was calmly sipping her coffee, carefully keeping her little finger extended and watching the men passing by. "Such a pity that Harley isn't here…I so love to classify men with him…we have quite a similar taste in them, in fact."
May almost choked on her California roll.
"What about Drew anyway? He does like you, you know."
"Huh?"
"Yeah…he talks about you a lot. He always did. And when he found out you were here he was quite in rapture, although he thought no one could see. You just have to try and understand him. Give him some time. It looks like he's having trouble dealing with these deep emotions. He's never had a girlfriend before."
"How do you know?"
"I asked him," Solidad shrugged as if she were explaining May how did she achieve such an exquisite aftertaste in her cherry pie. "He's shy and stubborn. And so are you, May. But…you know – fingers crossed!"
"Thank you," May blushed and took a long time to chew the mouthful she just had. After about five minutes when she finally swallowed the food, she determined to ask something that had her honestly curious: "These roses here…who bought them?"
"Oh…Drew."
"Really?!" Isn't it incredible how just one name can change the perspective you had until then about a bunch of flowers?
"Yes…he wanted to leave them anonymously for you…you know his style, after all. But Harley took the reins too firmly this time."
"I see."
Then none of them knew what to say next, so Solidad ordered a bottle of red wine to make the conversation flow a little. After May's delicious dinner and with both of them really happy for having drunk the wine, they decided to make it a true ladies' night, so they actually made Jasmine and Catharina join them. May regretted this as soon as Mawile set its eyes on her. She ordered three more Margaritas to make the image a bit more blurry at least and it didn't take long before Jasmine, muttering something that she felt bad, as challengers would be coming tomorrow to her gym, remarked that she really enjoyed partying with them.
The sun stretched its rays mightily and slapped four pretty cheeks belonging to four princesses snoring like fallen angels. Some of them on the single bed, some on the floor, some halfway here and halfway there.
Man, that sure was one powerful party!
May smacked her lips in her "no stress" way and slowly began to open one eye. It was hard.
"Ma! Ma-wile!"
"Wuuuaaaaaaahhh!"
"Huh…wat? It mornin' already?"
"Mmmmh…shut up and let's sleep some more."
"Um…Jasmine…didn't you say you had some gym battles today?"
"Yeah…at one pm… Now let me sleep…"
"Well, don't wanna break it to ya, sweetie, but…it's kinda one thirty pm…"
"Oh… oh. Ok. Wait…what?!"
Jasmine sprang to her feet and rubbed her eyes that were totally glued, because she forgot to remove her contact lenses the previous night…or morning. "Shit…" she murmured when she checked her watch. "Well, 'twas nice seeing you, girls. Be good. I'm off… Love ya, Cathy…"
"Jasmine, they're going to first report you for causing a public nuisance with that hangover of yours and then they'll fire you as a gym leader."
"Thanks, Solidad. Well, Steelix and I are winners!" She punched into the air with her fist, but then realized that was a gesture way too energetic for her present condition and gave a desperate sigh. "Well…bye…"
As she opened the door, she bumped into someone, cursed lightly and was gone.
Harley's purple head appeared and it looked about just as representative as May's or Solidad's.
"What?" Solidad was clearly very happy to see Harley.
"Yay! Can't I join you, ladies?"
"…Nnno. Get - out."
"…Since that pretty friend of yours left a free place…"
"I said get out, Harley."
Harley didn't enter, only shook his unkempt purple hair and gestured for Solidad to go out, in a very important manner.
And Solidad? Well, what could she do? She rolled her eyes so intensely it was painful, but she went.
May didn't remember much more. She pushed Mawile's intense face aside in vain, then turned to her other side and drifted back to sleep.
Solidad shook her awake adamantly a few hours later. "May? May! How's your budget?"
"What? Oh…it used to be worse…why?"
"Dress up and come along. Let's do some ladies' shopping today. Let Cathy sleep in…it's been a tough night. But a great one, too." Solidad stretched and checked the time. "…And hurry! It's past three!"
"Riiight! But…I don't wanna do any shopping, I just…yaaaaawn…wanna sleep some more, please."
"Oh yes, you do want to! Now come quick! Harley allowed us to borrow his car."
"That pink space ship? I hope you asked him to at least switch off that Are we all we are…"
Although that day/afternoon began with May's protests, as soon as she saw the "50% off" banner in her favorite boutique, she forgot the cruel way in which Solidad woke her. She clasped her hands together and produced a sound similar to the one when a woman is having an orgasm.
Solidad laughed at this, but had a hard time concealing her own emotions upon seeing so many lovely dresses. She had to keep in mind that they didn't come there for her sake and inside, she secretly swore that the next day she'd come with Harley and buy all the shirts she ran her fingers over. But enough dreaming, she clenched her fist painfully. "May! May, how is it? Do you like anything?"
"Um…yes! This T-shirt looks so nice! And this hat…and…and these jeans!"
"Oh, you're right!" Solidad also swore she'd try on everything May has just shown to her. "And how about the dresses? Like any of them?"
"Don't know…I have so many dresses at home."
"But you're a woman, how can you say such a thing?"
"I-"
"A woman can never have enough dresses…why don't you choose one?"
"Because…I'd prefer new jeans!"
"Then buy jeans and a dress!"
"But…why, Solidad? Why do you want me to buy a dress so much? Hey…you're up to no good, am I right? What did you talk to Harley about so secretly this morning?!"
"That's a secret. Now stop answering back and choose a nice dress!"
May snorted and chose a super sexy model, because she'd never confess it to Solidad, but she was dying to know her plan with May's new dress.
"Great! Good job, May, lovely! When can I borrow it? Uh…just kidding."
"Yeah…so…now we're done and I can choose jeans!"
"Yes, yes…sure…sure! Just…do you have shoes and a handbag?"
May widened her large eyes at Solidad and beamed. "No. Not here."
It was getting dark when the two women got back to Solidad's room. Miss top coordinator rammed her large collection of cosmetics into May's arms and with the words "Think about Drew and make yourself pretty…I mean even prettier," she basically pushed her into the small bathroom she had in her room. Then she begun working on packing Catharina's stuff, as she was just waking up.
May felt annoyingly confused, but was at the same time starting to like playing with Solidad. Specially if she allows her to finally try M.A.C. make-up. She was drooling over it while watching some tutorials and eating breadrolls with cottage cheese and spinach.
…That reminded her of first having to brush her teeth. All her inner organs were dancing flamenco, because she felt she'd be seeing Drew that night. May really wanted to screech, but she wasn't sure if because of how happy or how nervous she was.
In each case, after some time our May left the bathroom all changed and looking like a top model in her super push up maximizer bra that cost her about like that fancy navy blue dress she was wearing. God, she was content! And even more when Solidad grasped both her hands and just dropped her jaw. One second after that Solidad was brutally knocked aside by Harley, who sure proved to be more expressive.
"Ooooooooooh, myyyyyyyyy, Maaaaaaay! You look soooooo eatable! Can I give you a kiss?" Without waiting for any response, Harley kissed her on the cheek and then wiped his cherry chapstick off with his thumb, thus ruining one half of May's make-up. Lucky she never knew, the poor thing.
"Well, Harley?"
He and Solidad shared a look that proved that May was the only one who hadn't the slightest idea of what the heck was going on. Solidad then left and Harley pulled out a purple scarf that smelled like the inside of his space ship. "Turn your back on me, cutiepie, and close your precious eyes, if you please."
"WHAT are you about to do, Harley?! I don't trust you, you see."
"May… but you have no choice…muhahahahahaha!" Harley span her around with his sheer force ability that was until then hidden and tied the scarf to cover May's eyes. "Don't you dare to protest, little girl. Now I'mma kidnap and violate you. Right in my space ship!"
"No, Harley, stop! Not there! Not in your space ship!"
Harley laughed out. "C'mon, like I'd want to nail a girl… But hey-May, do me a favor and don't ruin this evening. Don't touch that scarf, leave it where it is."
Harley made her take his arm and reliably filled in for May's eyes as they walked out into the black night.
"What's all this about anyway? Are we going to a wine tasting or what?"
"You'll see, you'll see!" Harley sounded excited and incomprehensibly happy.
"Where are we going?"
"Trust me and…you know what? Just shut up, my sweetheart, okaaay?" Harley pushed her into the space ship, shut the door and loaded Are we all we are at maximum volume.
"Me trust you? Now you've got me afraid," May said, but more to herself, because there was no way Harley could hear her.
They could've been driving for roughly ten minutes. May was yelling a lot, because Harley was breaking the rules whenever he could, just like you'd expect from him. He was laughing and May crying, but none of them knew about the other thanks to Pink. But in the end May found it amusing. When they finally got out of the pink space ship, May realized that if you don't see you just have to use more of your ears and nose. She never realized how noisy a city at night was. The cars, the treetops, so many chattering… So many scents…so many bars and people! She heard laughter every now and then and she was sure that people were laughing at her covered eyes.
The somewhat homogeneous noise of the city gradually fell back a bit and was replaced by the waves of the sea, the wind and soon by the blinding light of the lighthouse that broke through May's scarf.
"Just a bit more, honey," Harley twittered. May felt like he was becoming even more and more excited with every step they took. She couldn't help becoming just as nervous. Various times she lifted her finger to quietly draw the scarf aside, but Harley was really consistent at watching over his scarf upon her eyes. "Now, now, be a good girl, May."
"Easy for you to say," the young coordinator growled back.
Soon enough May startled and frowned. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard Drew's and Solidad's voices respectively, coming somewhere from a blurry distance.
"W-what's up, Harley? Where are we now?"
He didn't even bother to answer anymore. Solidad's voice died away, too. All May could hear was Harley's chuckling, their steps in the sand and the unbelievably romantic ocean breeze.
"That's enough joking, I'm taking this off right now!" Actually this wasn't May, it was Drew.
May inhaled this enormous amount of air at once, like when something really shocks you out. That almost sounded like Drew was being violated in a way similar to hers! And besides, that voice came from close by!
"Ha-ha-ha-aaarley, I…"
"Shush, young maiden. Speak no more, please. Here we gooo!"
"Harley, Harley, nooo!"
Solidad was too late. May felt Harley's hand on top of her head and just when she thought he was finally about to enable her to see something, he pronounced: "Theeere, come, my two stupid little Pi-dove," and he pushed. He pushed his two evil hands together with so much delight and energy that perhaps many dentists in Goldenrod City would have come to love him for the commissions he created for them, if it weren't for Arceus who was watching over all of them and made Drew and May's first kiss at least survivable, if not enjoyable because of the conditions.
"Oh, Harley…please, come on now, I think you've done just enough."
"You crazy or what?! I want to watch this! You know how much work it took us to organize this?!"
May and Drew removed the scarves from their eyes at the same moment, like in a movie. And then they both looked away, like in the reality.
May had lots of trouble maintaining her mouth shut, because no matter how grotesque the situation was, the place where they found themselves was beautifully kitschy. Imagine this wooden tribune built into the sand, white tables, many candles and roses, oh god, don't forget the roses!
"You have to excuse Harley, kids," Solidad remarked, clutching Harley and keeping his mouth tapped, "this has been a bit too much for him and he's tired. I'm taking him home now, but you stay here and…well, enjoy. Your dinner is on the way." And she began dragging Harley away.
Naturally, neither Drew nor May managed to say anything like "thank you" or "shove off" and it probably doesn't need any more explanation. They stood there like statues, both with the expression the judges had when Galileo said "and yet it moves". They couldn't even move for an indefinite amount of time, until a waiter that saw it all and felt really sorry approached them and seeing them literally so lost, he offered to show them to their table.
Drew had the disadvantage of being the man, so he had to find a reasonable way to start a conversation after all this:
"Hi…May."
"Hi, Drew."
"It's…nice to see you again," Drew said, without looking at her, because he really liked to keep his eyes closed for some mysterious motive, sometimes even while walking. Well, it sure looked badass at that moment.
"Nice to see you too," May replied, not looking at him either and for some mayish reason wishing they brought their food already.
Drew flicked his fringe, like he often did, then he folded his arms and carefully opened his eyes. He trusted May wouldn't be looking, but when he proved himself wrong, he closed them again and looked away, his cheeks flushing so brightly you could warm your hands on them. But quite frankly you don't want to try actually doing that.
It took him some more time and a glass of wine to deal with his masculine role.
"Well, May…how are you?"
"Uh…great, thanks. And you?"
"Yeaaah, fine."
After a few minutes:
"Are you entering the Grand Festival?"
"Of course!"
"Well, you won't win."
"Thank you, Drew."
Lucky they brought them dinner soon after.
It was in fact all so good that May was beginning to feel bad for the price that evening must have cost Harley and Solidad. She glanced at Drew to check what he's thinking about all this, but he was just dabbing at the pasta with his fork, with his eyes closed.
May sighed quietly and shuffled on her chair a bit. Man, she couldn't even sink her feet into the sand because of the wooden tribune they were located on.
The next moment May froze and sighed again, but this time it was the girlish sigh, like when you see your idol on TV. Drew opened his eyes and looked at May. And he kept them open! He examined his pretty companion and on his face this kind of smug expression settled which May so often saw after Drew won a contest and she didn't. May really wanted to begin to giggle, and so that Drew wouldn't find it weird, she looked around to see how was the scenery – like you could see much at night with so many candles lit on your table. Probably the only clear object was the enormous lighthouse. It's ball of light, kept so bright by an Ampharos called Amphy whose mistress was nothing but a drunk gym leader, was giving slow but persistent turns, blinding anyone who'd dare to look straight into it.
Blinding…blinding…blinding…
Wait…what?
May looked at her beloved and hated rival and wannabe boyfriend and observed the shade her body threw at his face. Since she moved on her chair, its brim ended about a half an inch after the outer edge of his left eye. Oh right! Drew wasn't so rare after all, he was just too shy to ask May to move a bit, because the lighthouse was just right there in front of him and it was overradiating even May's super double push up maximizer bra.
The wind was playing with May's chestnut locks. The stars and the moonlight were reflected in her eyes, because they were so enormous when she was nervous. And Drew saw that this was going nowhere unless he brought the action.
With a Drew-like confident expression, the youngster pulled his chair closer to May and because of all the noise he made, they received quite a big audience.
May became so stressed that she hardly wanted Drew to be her boyfriend anymore. She really longed for Skitty to sit on top of her head right at those moments. Is her hair okay? Did she shave her legs properly? And her armpits? Isn't that dress a pinch too short? And that bra, isn't it too much? No – a deep inner voice said in her head.
But enough joking now, let's give them a bit of romance – that's what we all want anyway.
"You know, May…"
"Yes?"
"You look stunning. You and your dress and your hair, eyes, perfume, collar, collarbone and…everything," Drew said, staring right into those eyes he made cry so many times. "Here, this is for you." He handed her a rose without thorns, a one that was finally 100% from him. "Um…maybe I…could set right what Harley messed up at the beginning, don't you think?"
People said that at extreme moments like this you find strength inside you, a strength that normally remains hidden. That was perhaps what permitted May to take hold of the flaps on Drew's dark violet jacket and with a quiet voice, which wasn't even as shaky as Drew's, she said: "How about NO? …Oh, Drew."
Did anyone ever tell you that women usually say stuff inverse? Well, luckily Drew found this out soon enough throughout his life. He chuckled nervously and leaned in on May and gently pushed her mouth open and there it was. Although they were both forgetting to breathe, it felt like the whole world just went off to take a shot of absinth…or two. Or maybe even three, because soon everything around them melted into a colorful, spinning and perfectly unimportant carrousel. When you're in love, you become unsupportably egoistic and don't give a thing to what's happening around you.
The two newbie lovers were reminded of the surrounding world in a quite radical way, when someone's mighty fist landed in the middle of their table and stopped the carrousel.
"Ennnough! What were you even thinking, you ugly little Wurmple?!" The voice was naturally feminine and by the end of the sentence it was getting a bit weepy. It belonged to Brianna, who seized May by her forearm and roughly dragged her into the sand.
This was so sudden that Drew remained just as taken aback and motionless as earlier that evening. The rest of the people on the other hand, especially the masculine part, formed a ring around May and Brianna, because this was starting to look promising. Women's wrestling was really fashionable and highly sensual!
"B-Brianna? What is this all about?"
"What? You even dare to ask?! Well, let me show you!"
They began a one-on-one battle with no substitutions. They used fists, nails, screech, tears and bite attacks, all with a great deal of damage and a possibility of leaving the foe paralyzed. And naturally, all the attacks were physical and direct hits.
In one of the nearby bars that had the loudest music they began to play Call me maybe. With the fragile, feminine bodies doing a dragon dance the fresh tones intermingled tastily, creating a lush symphony of bravery, deployment and a strong will to win. Their eyes were saying "don't you trifle with me", their teeth, "there be blood tonight", their nails "this is Spartaaa"!
If Drew were a few years older, maybe he'd have known how to enjoy that feeling a male should experience when he sees two beautiful women fighting for him in the sand. But Drew was still too young for this by then, so he had no idea what to do. Many of the present audience were watching him, because he was quite famous in Johto. What will our idol do, they asked themselves, which one will he choose?
That didn't really depend on Drew, in fact…
"This is going nowhere, let's have a real Pokémon battle! And may the better one of us win!" Brianna said this when it looked like she needed one last decisive scratch from May.
"Fine!"
The crowd cheered, what a good bonus to their expensive dinner!
Drew buried his face in his palms, tried to concentrate on something nice and hoped that when he'd look again, everything would be gone. Well, it didn't happen.
"Go, Flygon!"
"Go, Glaceon!"
May didn't remember when did she last want to win a battle this much. Brianna's earrings were much more beautiful than hers and that was not to be forgiven.
"Ha! Do you think that Flygon and I are not prepared for battling ice types?! Flygon! Flamethrower, now!"
"You wish, Brianna! Dodge, Glaceon, and get behind Flygon!"
"Don't allow it, Flygon!"
"You can do it, Glaceon, speed up!"
"Climb, so Glaceon can't get behind you! Then use flamethrower again…and again!"
"Oh, Glaceon! Get up now and use hail!"
"Flygon, nooo! Don't give up! We have to win so that you can marry Drew's Flygon, remember?"
If it weren't so dark, everyone would have been able to see the expression of pure desperation that overtook Flygon. Maybe it was partly because Brianna reminded it of what would happen if they won that Flygon flew right into the next frost breath May's Glaceon exhaled. Totally exhausted, the dragon fell right into the white sand. It even shook its head to assure Brianna it was unable to keep battling.
Brianna produced a powerful, high-pitched and surprisingly long screech. In between many heartbreaking sobs, she ripped off her earrings and flung them in May's direction.
"Take them! I wore them more for Drew than for myself anyway!"
"Oh!" That was the best day in May's life! She couldn't believe those earrings belonged to her from that moment. "Glaceon," she gasped, "I love you!"
She received a loud applause from the crowd and as she put on those earrings triumphantly and walked over to Drew, she felt like a noble lioness who was able to protect her territory.
Drew smirked at her, flicked his fringe like always and shut his eyes. It looked like it was him again. May would have liked to have less audience, because she really wanted to greet her newly conquered man with some physical contact. This way they had to make do with something simpler, but perhaps more romantic than you can ever imagine, if you take into account everything they've been through.
The people around them were dissolving, but they were still making a lot of noise. May blushed and gave in to a sudden impulse a wave of emotions woke inside her. "And I love you, too, Drew."
Drew couldn't hear the sound of those words, but he deduced them from the way May's lips moved. He would have liked to tell her the same. But for this time he only smiled and nodded lightly.
When the last group of Drew's infantile fans saw that they've come too late and the young couple stopped being the centre of attention, they could do something they both wanted to do for a very long time, but were too inept to actually manage it: Drew held out his hand and May took it. Lucky this happened when they were already out of the restaurant, a bit away from all the people. May and Drew could relax and enjoy that they could hold hands, stare into each other's eyes and get more and more horny with each and every one of those looks.
"So, May, I was thinking maybe we could spare ourselves the trouble of getting back to Goldenrod tonight. What do you think?"
Until that moment May didn't realize they were in Olivine City. And that question got her so nervous that she almost proposed she'd call Jasmine and Cathy to join the party. But remembering Mawile and imagining Drew's potential reaction to that she chose to just pass it in silence and nodded.
Drew smiled at her and hugged her, because she just agreed to actually spend a nighttime with him. She only didn't realize it yet.
The sun stretched its rays mightily and slapped four pretty cheeks belonging to four princesses snoring like fallen angels. Some of them on the single bed, some on the floor, some halfway here and halfway there.
Man, that sure was one powerful party!
May smacked her lips in her "no stress" way and slowly began to open one eye. It was hard.
"Ma! Ma-wile!"
"Wuuuaaaaaaahhh!"
"Huh…wat? It mornin' already?"
"Mmmmh…shut up and let's sleep some more."
"Um…Jasmine…didn't you say you had some gym battles today?"
"Yeah…at one pm… Now let me sleep…"
"Well, don't wanna break it to ya, sweetie, but…it's kinda one thirty pm…"
"Oh… oh. Ok. Wait…what?!"
Jasmine sprang to her feet and rubbed her eyes that were totally glued, because she forgot to remove her contact lenses the previous night…or morning. "Shit…" she murmured when she checked her watch. "Well, 'twas nice seeing you, girls. Be good. I'm off… Love ya, Cathy…"
"Jasmine, they're going to first report you for causing a public nuisance with that hangover of yours and then they'll fire you as a gym leader."
"Thanks, Solidad. Well, Steelix and I are winners!" She punched into the air with her fist, but then realized that was a gesture way too energetic for her present condition and gave a desperate sigh. "Well…bye…"
As she opened the door, she bumped into someone, cursed lightly and was gone.
Harley's purple head appeared and it looked about just as representative as May's or Solidad's.
"What?" Solidad was clearly very happy to see Harley.
"Yay! Can't I join you, ladies?"
"…Nnno. Get - out."
"…Since that pretty friend of yours left a free place…"
"I said get out, Harley."
Harley didn't enter, only shook his unkempt purple hair and gestured for Solidad to go out, in a very important manner.
And Solidad? Well, what could she do? She rolled her eyes so intensely it was painful, but she went.
May didn't remember much more. She pushed Mawile's intense face aside in vain, then turned to her other side and drifted back to sleep.
Solidad shook her awake adamantly a few hours later. "May? May! How's your budget?"
"What? Oh…it used to be worse…why?"
"Dress up and come along. Let's do some ladies' shopping today. Let Cathy sleep in…it's been a tough night. But a great one, too." Solidad stretched and checked the time. "…And hurry! It's past three!"
"Riiight! But…I don't wanna do any shopping, I just…yaaaaawn…wanna sleep some more, please."
"Oh yes, you do want to! Now come quick! Harley allowed us to borrow his car."
"That pink space ship? I hope you asked him to at least switch off that Are we all we are…"
Although that day/afternoon began with May's protests, as soon as she saw the "50% off" banner in her favorite boutique, she forgot the cruel way in which Solidad woke her. She clasped her hands together and produced a sound similar to the one when a woman is having an orgasm.
Solidad laughed at this, but had a hard time concealing her own emotions upon seeing so many lovely dresses. She had to keep in mind that they didn't come there for her sake and inside, she secretly swore that the next day she'd come with Harley and buy all the shirts she ran her fingers over. But enough dreaming, she clenched her fist painfully. "May! May, how is it? Do you like anything?"
"Um…yes! This T-shirt looks so nice! And this hat…and…and these jeans!"
"Oh, you're right!" Solidad also swore she'd try on everything May has just shown to her. "And how about the dresses? Like any of them?"
"Don't know…I have so many dresses at home."
"But you're a woman, how can you say such a thing?"
"I-"
"A woman can never have enough dresses…why don't you choose one?"
"Because…I'd prefer new jeans!"
"Then buy jeans and a dress!"
"But…why, Solidad? Why do you want me to buy a dress so much? Hey…you're up to no good, am I right? What did you talk to Harley about so secretly this morning?!"
"That's a secret. Now stop answering back and choose a nice dress!"
May snorted and chose a super sexy model, because she'd never confess it to Solidad, but she was dying to know her plan with May's new dress.
"Great! Good job, May, lovely! When can I borrow it? Uh…just kidding."
"Yeah…so…now we're done and I can choose jeans!"
"Yes, yes…sure…sure! Just…do you have shoes and a handbag?"
May widened her large eyes at Solidad and beamed. "No. Not here."
It was getting dark when the two women got back to Solidad's room. Miss top coordinator rammed her large collection of cosmetics into May's arms and with the words "Think about Drew and make yourself pretty…I mean even prettier," she basically pushed her into the small bathroom she had in her room. Then she begun working on packing Catharina's stuff, as she was just waking up.
May felt annoyingly confused, but was at the same time starting to like playing with Solidad. Specially if she allows her to finally try M.A.C. make-up. She was drooling over it while watching some tutorials and eating breadrolls with cottage cheese and spinach.
…That reminded her of first having to brush her teeth. All her inner organs were dancing flamenco, because she felt she'd be seeing Drew that night. May really wanted to screech, but she wasn't sure if because of how happy or how nervous she was.
In each case, after some time our May left the bathroom all changed and looking like a top model in her super push up maximizer bra that cost her about like that fancy navy blue dress she was wearing. God, she was content! And even more when Solidad grasped both her hands and just dropped her jaw. One second after that Solidad was brutally knocked aside by Harley, who sure proved to be more expressive.
"Ooooooooooh, myyyyyyyyy, Maaaaaaay! You look soooooo eatable! Can I give you a kiss?" Without waiting for any response, Harley kissed her on the cheek and then wiped his cherry chapstick off with his thumb, thus ruining one half of May's make-up. Lucky she never knew, the poor thing.
"Well, Harley?"
He and Solidad shared a look that proved that May was the only one who hadn't the slightest idea of what the heck was going on. Solidad then left and Harley pulled out a purple scarf that smelled like the inside of his space ship. "Turn your back on me, cutiepie, and close your precious eyes, if you please."
"WHAT are you about to do, Harley?! I don't trust you, you see."
"May… but you have no choice…muhahahahahaha!" Harley span her around with his sheer force ability that was until then hidden and tied the scarf to cover May's eyes. "Don't you dare to protest, little girl. Now I'mma kidnap and violate you. Right in my space ship!"
"No, Harley, stop! Not there! Not in your space ship!"
Harley laughed out. "C'mon, like I'd want to nail a girl… But hey-May, do me a favor and don't ruin this evening. Don't touch that scarf, leave it where it is."
Harley made her take his arm and reliably filled in for May's eyes as they walked out into the black night.
"What's all this about anyway? Are we going to a wine tasting or what?"
"You'll see, you'll see!" Harley sounded excited and incomprehensibly happy.
"Where are we going?"
"Trust me and…you know what? Just shut up, my sweetheart, okaaay?" Harley pushed her into the space ship, shut the door and loaded Are we all we are at maximum volume.
"Me trust you? Now you've got me afraid," May said, but more to herself, because there was no way Harley could hear her.
They could've been driving for roughly ten minutes. May was yelling a lot, because Harley was breaking the rules whenever he could, just like you'd expect from him. He was laughing and May crying, but none of them knew about the other thanks to Pink. But in the end May found it amusing. When they finally got out of the pink space ship, May realized that if you don't see you just have to use more of your ears and nose. She never realized how noisy a city at night was. The cars, the treetops, so many chattering… So many scents…so many bars and people! She heard laughter every now and then and she was sure that people were laughing at her covered eyes.
The somewhat homogeneous noise of the city gradually fell back a bit and was replaced by the waves of the sea, the wind and soon by the blinding light of the lighthouse that broke through May's scarf.
"Just a bit more, honey," Harley twittered. May felt like he was becoming even more and more excited with every step they took. She couldn't help becoming just as nervous. Various times she lifted her finger to quietly draw the scarf aside, but Harley was really consistent at watching over his scarf upon her eyes. "Now, now, be a good girl, May."
"Easy for you to say," the young coordinator growled back.
Soon enough May startled and frowned. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard Drew's and Solidad's voices respectively, coming somewhere from a blurry distance.
"W-what's up, Harley? Where are we now?"
He didn't even bother to answer anymore. Solidad's voice died away, too. All May could hear was Harley's chuckling, their steps in the sand and the unbelievably romantic ocean breeze.
"That's enough joking, I'm taking this off right now!" Actually this wasn't May, it was Drew.
May inhaled this enormous amount of air at once, like when something really shocks you out. That almost sounded like Drew was being violated in a way similar to hers! And besides, that voice came from close by!
"Ha-ha-ha-aaarley, I…"
"Shush, young maiden. Speak no more, please. Here we gooo!"
"Harley, Harley, nooo!"
Solidad was too late. May felt Harley's hand on top of her head and just when she thought he was finally about to enable her to see something, he pronounced: "Theeere, come, my two stupid little Pi-dove," and he pushed. He pushed his two evil hands together with so much delight and energy that perhaps many dentists in Goldenrod City would have come to love him for the commissions he created for them, if it weren't for Arceus who was watching over all of them and made Drew and May's first kiss at least survivable, if not enjoyable because of the conditions.
"Oh, Harley…please, come on now, I think you've done just enough."
"You crazy or what?! I want to watch this! You know how much work it took us to organize this?!"
May and Drew removed the scarves from their eyes at the same moment, like in a movie. And then they both looked away, like in the reality.
May had lots of trouble maintaining her mouth shut, because no matter how grotesque the situation was, the place where they found themselves was beautifully kitschy. Imagine this wooden tribune built into the sand, white tables, many candles and roses, oh god, don't forget the roses!
"You have to excuse Harley, kids," Solidad remarked, clutching Harley and keeping his mouth tapped, "this has been a bit too much for him and he's tired. I'm taking him home now, but you stay here and…well, enjoy. Your dinner is on the way." And she began dragging Harley away.
Naturally, neither Drew nor May managed to say anything like "thank you" or "shove off" and it probably doesn't need any more explanation. They stood there like statues, both with the expression the judges had when Galileo said "and yet it moves". They couldn't even move for an indefinite amount of time, until a waiter that saw it all and felt really sorry approached them and seeing them literally so lost, he offered to show them to their table.
Drew had the disadvantage of being the man, so he had to find a reasonable way to start a conversation after all this:
"Hi…May."
"Hi, Drew."
"It's…nice to see you again," Drew said, without looking at her, because he really liked to keep his eyes closed for some mysterious motive, sometimes even while walking. Well, it sure looked badass at that moment.
"Nice to see you too," May replied, not looking at him either and for some mayish reason wishing they brought their food already.
Drew flicked his fringe, like he often did, then he folded his arms and carefully opened his eyes. He trusted May wouldn't be looking, but when he proved himself wrong, he closed them again and looked away, his cheeks flushing so brightly you could warm your hands on them. But quite frankly you don't want to try actually doing that.
It took him some more time and a glass of wine to deal with his masculine role.
"Well, May…how are you?"
"Uh…great, thanks. And you?"
"Yeaaah, fine."
After a few minutes:
"Are you entering the Grand Festival?"
"Of course!"
"Well, you won't win."
"Thank you, Drew."
Lucky they brought them dinner soon after.
It was in fact all so good that May was beginning to feel bad for the price that evening must have cost Harley and Solidad. She glanced at Drew to check what he's thinking about all this, but he was just dabbing at the pasta with his fork, with his eyes closed.
May sighed quietly and shuffled on her chair a bit. Man, she couldn't even sink her feet into the sand because of the wooden tribune they were located on.
The next moment May froze and sighed again, but this time it was the girlish sigh, like when you see your idol on TV. Drew opened his eyes and looked at May. And he kept them open! He examined his pretty companion and on his face this kind of smug expression settled which May so often saw after Drew won a contest and she didn't. May really wanted to begin to giggle, and so that Drew wouldn't find it weird, she looked around to see how was the scenery – like you could see much at night with so many candles lit on your table. Probably the only clear object was the enormous lighthouse. It's ball of light, kept so bright by an Ampharos called Amphy whose mistress was nothing but a drunk gym leader, was giving slow but persistent turns, blinding anyone who'd dare to look straight into it.
Blinding…blinding…blinding…
Wait…what?
May looked at her beloved and hated rival and wannabe boyfriend and observed the shade her body threw at his face. Oh, right! Drew wasn't so rare after all, he was just too shy to ask May to move a bit, because the lighthouse was just right there in front of him and it was overradiating even May's super double push up maximizer bra.
The wind was playing with May's chestnut locks. The stars and the moonlight were reflected in her eyes, because they were so enormous when she was nervous. And Drew saw that this was going nowhere unless he brought the action.
With a Drew-like confident expression, the youngster pulled his chair closer to May and because of all the noise he made, they received quite a big audience.
May became so stressed that she hardly wanted Drew to be her boyfriend anymore. She really longed for Skitty to sit on top of her head right at those moments. Is her hair okay? Did she shave her legs properly? And her armpits? Isn't that dress a pinch too short? And that bra, isn't it too much? No – a deep inner voice said in her head.
But enough joking now, let's give them a bit of romance – that's what we all want anyway.
"You know, May…"
"Yes?"
"You look stunning. You and your dress and your hair, eyes, perfume, collar, collarbone and…everything," Drew said, staring right into those eyes he made cry so many times. "Here, this is for you." He handed her a rose without thorns, a one that was finally 100% from him. "Um…maybe I…could set right what Harley messed up at the beginning, don't you think?"
People said that at extreme moments like this you find strength inside you, a strength that normally remains hidden. That was perhaps what permitted May to take hold of the flaps on Drew's dark violet jacket and with a quiet voice, which wasn't even as shaky as Drew's, she said: "How about NO? …Oh, Drew."
Did anyone ever tell you that women usually say stuff inverse? Well, luckily Drew found this out soon enough throughout his life. He chuckled nervously and leaned in on May and gently pushed her mouth open and there it was. Although they were both forgetting to breathe, it felt like the whole world just went off to take a shot of absinth…or two. Or maybe even three, because soon everything around them melted into a colorful, spinning and perfectly unimportant carrousel. When you're in love, you become unsupportably egoistic and don't give a thing to what's happening around you.
The two newbie lovers were reminded of the surrounding world in a quite radical way, when someone's mighty fist landed in the middle of their table and stopped the carrousel.
"Ennnough! What were you even thinking, you ugly little Wurmple?!" The voice was naturally feminine and by the end of the sentence it was getting a bit weepy. It belonged to Brianna, who seized May by her forearm and roughly dragged her into the sand.
This was so sudden that Drew remained just as taken aback and motionless as earlier that evening. The rest of the people on the other hand, especially the masculine part, formed a ring around May and Brianna, because this was starting to look promising. Women's wrestling was really fashionable and highly sensual!
"B-Brianna? What is this all about?"
"What? You even dare to ask?! Well, let me show you!"
They began a one-on-one battle with no substitutions. They used fists, nails, screech, tears and bite attacks, all with a great deal of damage and a possibility of leaving the foe paralyzed. And naturally, all the attacks were physical and direct hits.
In one of the nearby bars that had the loudest music they began to play Call me maybe. With the fragile, feminine bodies doing a dragon dance the fresh tones intermingled tastily, creating a lush symphony of bravery, deployment and a strong will to win. Their eyes were saying "don't you trifle with me", their teeth, "there be blood tonight", their nails "this is Spartaaa"!
If Drew were a few years older, maybe he'd have known how to enjoy that feeling a male should experience when he sees two beautiful women fighting for him in the sand. But Drew was still too young for this by then, so he had no idea what to do. Many of the present audience were watching him, because he was quite famous in Johto. What will our idol do, they asked themselves, which one will he choose?
That didn't really depend on Drew, in fact…
"This is going nowhere, let's have a real Pokémon battle! And may the better one of us win!" Brianna said this when it looked like she needed one last decisive scratch from May.
"Fine!"
The crowd cheered, what a good bonus to their expensive dinner!
Drew buried his face in his palms, tried to concentrate on something nice and hoped that when he'd look again, everything would be gone. Well, it didn't happen.
"Go, Flygon!"
"Go, Glaceon!"
May didn't remember when did she last want to win a battle this much. Brianna's earrings were much more beautiful than hers and that was not to be forgiven.
"Ha! Do you think that Flygon and I are not prepared for battling ice types?! Flygon! Flamethrower, now!"
"You wish, Brianna! Dodge, Glaceon, and get behind Flygon!"
"Don't allow it, Flygon!"
"You can do it, Glaceon, speed up!"
"Climb, so Glaceon can't get behind you! Then use flamethrower again…and again!"
"Oh, Glaceon! Get up now and use hail!"
"Flygon, nooo! Don't give up! We have to win so that you can marry Drew's Flygon, remember?"
If it weren't so dark, everyone would have been able to see the expression of pure desperation that overtook Flygon. Maybe it was partly because Brianna reminded it of what would happen if they won that Flygon flew right into the next frost breath May's Glaceon exhaled. Totally exhausted, the dragon fell right into the white sand. It even shook its head to assure Brianna it was unable to keep battling.
Brianna produced a powerful, high-pitched and surprisingly long screech. In between many heartbreaking sobs, she ripped off her earrings and flung them in May's direction.
"Take them! I wore them more for Drew than for myself anyway!"
"Oh!" That was the best day in May's life! She couldn't believe those earrings belonged to her from that moment. "Glaceon," she gasped, "I love you!"
She received a loud applause from the crowd and as she put on those earrings triumphantly and walked over to Drew, she felt like a noble lioness who was able to protect her territory.
Drew smirked at her, flicked his fringe like always and shut his eyes. It looked like it was him again. May would have liked to have less audience, because she really wanted to greet her newly conquered man with some physical contact. This way they had to make do with something simpler, but perhaps more romantic than you can ever imagine, if you take into account everything they've been through.
The people around them were dissolving, but they were still making a lot of noise. May blushed and gave in to a sudden impulse a wave of emotions woke inside her. "And I love you, too, Drew."
Drew couldn't hear the sound of those words, but he deduced them from the way May's lips moved. He would have liked to tell her the same. But for this time he only smiled and nodded lightly.
When the last group of Drew's infantile fans saw that they've come too late and the young couple stopped being the centre of attention, they could do something they both wanted to do for a very long time, but were too inept to actually manage it: Drew held out his hand and May took it. Lucky this happened when they were already out of the restaurant, a bit away from all the people. May and Drew could relax and enjoy that they could hold hands, stare into each other's eyes and get more and more horny with each and every one of those looks.
"So, May, I was thinking maybe we could spare ourselves the trouble of getting back to Goldenrod tonight. What do you think?"
Until that moment May didn't realize they were in Olivine City. And that question got her so nervous that she almost proposed she'd call Jasmine and Cathy to join the party. But remembering Mawile and imagining Drew's potential reaction to that she chose to just pass it in silence and nodded.
Drew smiled at her and hugged her, because she just agreed to actually spend a nighttime with him. She only didn't realize it yet.
