DISCLAIMER: CarpeDiemEveryday does not own Pokemon (which belongs to Nintendo, GameFreak, etc.) or the song 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' (written by The Script).

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three: Monday: Meeting Max and McDonald's

Drew was with May on the cliff after the Kanto Grand Festival. The sun was setting, they weren't arguing, Harley was tied to a garbage barge headed for China… Ah, bliss. There was a lull in their conversation, so Drew mustered his courage, leaned towards May, and-

"Hey, you, get off my sidewalk!" Drew was jerked out of his dream and awoke to find some kid standing over him, looking angry.

"Wh-what do you mean, kid?" Drew asked in bewilderment, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and waking up Absol in the process.

The kid looked even angrier. "What do I mean? I mean get off my sidewalk, as in, I don't know, GET OFF MY SIDEWALK!" The kid's eyes were bugging out slightly from behind large glasses. He couldn't have been much older than thirteen or fourteen, but his attitude made him a lot more intimidating.

Drew, however, was unimpressed. He yawned, stretched, then observed, "You know kid, I'm not actually on your sidewalk, because it doesn't belong to you. Sidewalks belong to everyone."

The kid shook his head. "Wrong. That only applies if you pay city taxes, which you clearly don't."

Drew raised an eyebrow. "What, and you're telling me you do?"

The kid was at a loss for words, then started laughing. Drew raised his other eyebrow, then started to laugh too. It was so refreshing, bantering with someone who took it the right way. Their laughter subsided after a minute, and they grinned at each other. The kid was the first to speak.

"I'm Max. What's your name?" Drew hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. There was no reason not to tell the kid - Max - his name.

"I'm Drew. Nice to meet you, Max." They shook hands, and then Max frowned.

"So, Drew, what are you doing on the streets? You don't look like a homeless guy, 'cause your stuff's too nice, unless you stole it. Or," here he raised a finger in triumph, "maybe you passed out drunk!" He saw Drew's indignant expression, and hastily shook his head. "No, that's dumb too, you wouldn't be in a sleeping bag if that had happened. So what's up?"

Drew thought for a minute. Should he tell the kid? Did it matter? He decided it didn't, and told him his story. Max paid close attention, and when Drew had finished, muttered, "If that's what love makes you do, keep me out of it." Drew looked a bit hurt. "Sorry, no offense. I just can't imagine caring that much about someone." Drew let it go, realizing that a lot of people would think the same as Max.

He then glanced at his watch. It was around seven forty-five.

"Hey Max, don't you have school or something? Won't you be late?" Max twitched, and Drew immediately regretted asking. Obviously, the kid was playing truant or something. Drew was about to try and rectify the situation when Max spoke up.

"Um, no, I-I don't have anywhere to go. It's actually a long story, but since you're not going anywhere either, I guess I can tell you." He sat down next to Drew, took a deep breath, then began.

"You see, my parents died when I was young, and I've been passed around my relatives ever since. None of them ever really wanted me, and we didn't usually get along so great. The worst was when I was staying with my aunts, who really didn't like children in the first place. They always complained about what a burden I was, that I wasn't worth the food I ate." Max paused, and Drew saw in the boy's dark brown eyes how much those words had hurt him. Max cleared his throat and continued.

"Well, I wasn't about to impose on them, if that's how they felt." The words were darkly tainted with sarcasm. "I packed my bags and left that night. I took a bus here to Petalburg and I've been living here ever since."

Drew was impressed. "How old were you when you left?"

Max sighed. "Nearly ten."

"But, why didn't you just go on your Pokemon journey?" Drew asked, looking puzzled. "You could have gotten away from your family that way, right?" But Max was shaking his head.

"The aunts wouldn't let me go. Even though they hated having me there, letting me leave would have been worse."

Drew was still confused. "How do you figure?"

Max sighed again, leaning against the wall. "If I'd left, I'd have taken their main source of income." Drew still didn't get it, and Max grimaced. "They got a check every month from the government, so they could feed me and stuff. They pretty much lived off of that. If I left, they would have had to work a real job. And, trust me, that wasn't high on their oh-yeah-let's-do-that list." Max finished on a flat, sour note.

Drew sat back, amazed at the misfortunes that had befallen this poor kid. "So, Max, do you, um, how do you survive?"

Max grinned a bit. "This building we're leaning on? It belonged to my second cousin once removed, I think. He wass a nice middle-aged guy. He understood I needed to be left alone, so he let me live in the basement." Drew raised an eyebrow, but Max read his thoughts. "I know, I know. You're thinking, wow, the basement, not-so-generous guy, right?" Drew nodded slowly. "It's not like that. I prefer it this way; it lets me keep my freedom. Besides," Max rolled his eyes, "his apartment is crammed with junk. The basement is way better. He basically just left me alone, and this way, child services can't force me back to my aunts' place."

Drew's eyebrow was still up. "Actually, I was wondering about the whole past tense thing. Where is this cousin now?"

"He died just a few days ago."

"Oh."

"So, seeing as I have nowhere else to go, I've just stayed out of sight here. He was at the hospital, he'd had a stroke or something. And now I'm just waiting for someone to come to his building going through his stuff, and then I'll get sent back to my aunts." Max looked like he was on the verge of tears, but Drew had no clue how to comfort him.

"Why is it," Max mumbled, his voice shaking slightly, "that every time I find someone who cares about me, they die? Is it some kind of curse, that I'm left alone in this world?"

Drew was at a loss, but Max didn't seem to want an answer. They sat in silence, Drew thinking on all he had just heard.

Max's story had made him appreciate much more than the kid's determination. He realized for the first time how much in his life he took for granted: friends, a place to call home, even parents. I mean, it's not like they're fabulous parents; in all honesty, they spoil the crap out of me, but at least they're alive. And I'm fairly sure they care. Drew made a mental note to try and call his parents at the next opportunity.

The silence was broken by a rumbling noise, and Drew cringed when he realized it came from his own stomach. He remembered suddenly that he hadn't eaten since yesterday at… dinner? Had he even eaten dinner? He grinned sheepishly at Max, then wondered how to solve this latest quandary: eating.

It would be simple to run down the block and grab a burger at McDonald's. He'd be back in five minutes. But what if May came by in those five minutes? And isn't the point here to stay in one spot? But on the other hand, I can't very well starve myself, can I? What am I going to do?

And then Drew's eyes fell on Max, and he got an idea. He rummaged in his pockets and found his wallet. Pulling it out, he flicked through the bills and found a twenty. He then turned and held it out to Max.

The boy looked offended beyond belief. "Thanks, but I'm not a charity case," he muttered angrily.

Drew just rolled his eyes. "It's not really for you."

"Huh?"

"You recall how I'm staying right here, right? Well, I have to eat somehow, and I want you to run down to the nearest McDonald's and buy me a cheeseburger, no onions, okay?"

Max raised his eyebrows. "And since when am I your slave?"

"Hey, I haven't finished! As payment, you can buy yourself some food too, okay? This isn't charity; I'm just paying you in food."

Max still looked skeptical. "Okay, but how do you know I'm not just going to run with this money to my drunk parents or whatever? I mean, I could have been lying to you this whole time. What makes you so sure I'll do anything, huh?"

Drew shrugged. "I trust you, that's all."

Max's eyes suddenly stung. Trust. No one's trusted me since Mom and Dad died. And, well, there wasn't much trust then. I mean, I was only four, it's not like you can give a four-year-old a flamethrower, say 'I trust you, honey', and not have the house burnt down. Okay, that didn't make sense, but wow, he trusts me, just like that? I-I don't know what to-

A hand suddenly waved in front of Max's bespectacled face. "Hello, earth to Max? You're all spaced out. Max, you there?"

Max mentally shook himself and grinned at Drew. "I won't let you down, Drew. Did you want anything besides an onion-less cheeseburger? Like fries or a Coke?"

Drew grinned. "Wow, good memory. Yeah, you could get me a medium fries and a medium Coke. Oh, and if they've got Coke-with-flavor-in-it, go for that instead. Got it all, or do you want me to write it down?"

Max shook his head. "Nah, I've got it. Okay, I'll go get that. Be right back!"

And with that, Max hurried down the street towards the nearest Mickey D's, brimming with happiness because there was at least one person on this planet who would put their trust in him.

Fifteen minutes later, Max could be seen speed-walking back towards Drew, a white paper bag and a cup tray safely in his arms. Panting slightly, he carefully set the food down next to Drew before fishing around in his shorts pocket for the receipt and change. Handing them to Drew, Max hurriedly opened the bag, pulling out a hamburger, a small fries, and a couple napkins. He passed the bag over to Drew and dug in. Drew checked his cheeseburger. No onions. He smiled, and peeled off the pickles before replacing the bun.

"Hey, Drew, you could have told me you didn't like pickles, I would have made them leave 'em off," Max said.

But Drew shook his head. "Well, it's true that I don't like pickles, but for some reason, I don't think the cheese tastes right unless a pickle's been there. It just changes the whole flavor, you know?" Max just shook his head, and Drew sweatdropped. "Okay, I know that sounded really weird, but hey, whatever. What's in the cup, anyways?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, they had two different Coke flavors, so I picked the funkier-sounding one."

"Really, what?"

"Just try it, I want to see if you can tell. Don't worry, Drew," Max said reassuringly as Drew looked warily at his beverage. "I tried it before getting you one. It's really good; in fact, that's what I'm having too."

Drew shrugged, and took a sip. Max was right; it was good. But what did it taste like…

"Lime?"

Max grinned. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Awesome, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

They ate quietly for a while. Max tried to hide it, but Drew could tell her was really enjoying his food. He clearly didn't get that much to eat; he was much too skinny. Drew munched on a fry thoughtfully. How can I help him? He's proud as heck, so charity won't work at all… He'll want to work for it… Wait, I have it!

"So, Max," Drew began, taking a sip of Coke Lime to clear his throat. Max looked up, sensing something important was afoot. "I need to ask you a seriously huge… um, well, I guess you could call it a favor, sort of… What I mean to say is-"

He stopped as Max raised a hand. "Let me guess. Since you are honor-bound not to leave this spot, you want me to be your errand boy, is that right?" His eyes were challenging Drew.

Drew met his gaze. "I'll pay you in food, and besides, this way you can pretend to be my brother or whatever in case your family comes." He watched Max, looking for some sign of… anything. "Um, I think it's a good offer, but if you have anything you'd like to add to it… just say so…"

Max thought it over. Drew waited, mentally crossing his fingers. Finally, the younger boy looked up.

"Shake on it, if you're serious." Max then held out his hand. Drew smiled slightly, then shook hands with the kid. And then they sat back down and ate their hamburgers as though nothing much had just happened.

Did you like the latest chapter? If yes, there's a green button just waiting for you to click and review! And a special thanks to Arysd, who reviewed both previous chapters! Yea you!
Carp