Well, time for Chapter 3. This is a long one, the longest so far if I'm not mistaken. Again, a lot of dialogue, but it gets more descriptive. The first movement in the direction of the plot has been made, and in the next chapter things will start going faster. Enjoy, and don't forget to R&R.

Chapter 3: Mysteries, Confessions and Fears

With a towel wrapped around her wet hair, May came out of the shower. After the hard battle with Ash, she'd decided to treat herself to some comfort and clean clothes. After all, she had to look good. She sat down on her bed and started to search through her bag, looking for something she hadn't held in a long time.

When she'd found it, she picked it up and stared at it. It was the half-ribbon she always carried around with her ever since she tied for it with Ash. She wondered what he'd done with his half. Knowing him, it was probably safe with his Gym badges. She lay back and thought of all the times Ash had helped her train. Not just today, but when she'd just started as well. He was always there for her, and she knew, and had known for a long time, that she had a crush on him.

She wondered idly if he liked her back, but she was afraid he was so into training his Pokémon and his quest to become the best Trainer he wasn't all that much into love. This was not to say, of course, that he wasn't kind and caring.

Her thoughts were disturbed when she heard the voices of Pikachu and Piplup in the hallway, and she went outside to check on them.

("That could be a problem,") May heard Pikachu say.

("Well, we can only hope…") Piplup cut off whatever he was going to say when he noticed May approaching.

"What could be a problem?" she asked.

Pikachu stiffened, only now realizing why Piplup had stopped talking.

("Oh, um, hi May!") he chirped, trying to sound cheerful.

May nearly laughed. Pikachu had taken a lot of quirks from Ash, including his awkward responses when cornered. She didn't show her amusement, though, instead putting on a stern look.

"Well?" she demanded.

("Well, you see…") Piplup began.

("It's like this…") Pikachu tried to supplement his friend.

"Yes?" May said, enjoying the almost audible 'gulp' sound when the two Pokémon realized they were trapped.

("It's…nothing important…") Pikachu said lamely.

("That's right…we were…um…talking about the Contest!") Piplup added, feeling smug about his wit.

"Yeah, sure," May said, rolling her eyes.

('Okay, not so clever, maybe,') Piplup thought to himself upon seeing the gesture.

"Guys…" May began sweetly, "If you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll…"

They would never know what May would have done, because a voice behind her said, "May! I knew I'd be able to find you here."

May hissed, "Don't think you're off the hook just yet," to the Pokémon before turning around and facing Drew, continuing, "Drew! I didn't know you were staying at the Pokémon Center! Um, why did you want to find me, anyway?" she added; only now realizing what Drew had said.

The green-haired Coordinator flicked his hair and said, "I was wondering if we could talk for a while. I see I found you at a rather…inconvenient time, though."

May was about to ask what he meant, when she realized she was still wearing her towel like a makeshift turban.

She blushed bright red, to the point where she would've probably glowed in the dark if the lights had gone out, and said, "Um, be right back!" before hurrying back into her room and fixing her hair.

'That was so embarrassing!' she thought as she looked for her bandana, 'What will Drew think of me now? He's so going to make fun of me…'

She finished tying around her bandana and went back out into the hallway, still blushing. Drew was still there, waiting for her.

"So, um…what did you want to talk about?" May asked. She hoped Drew wouldn't make any comments about just now.

"Well…" he began, nervous. May was on her guard now. Drew nervous? That couldn't be good.

"I…like you, May. As my rival, but also in another way."

May was taken aback by that. "Wait…are you saying…you're in love with me?" she asked.

Drew nodded, his face as red as May's had been earlier. May giggled a little. He looked cute blushing like that.

"Yeah, I am. That's why…well…"

May smiled encouragingly and said, "Go ahead."

Even though she smiled, she felt her heart thumping like mad. She wondered what Drew had in mind.

"Well…maybe I could travel with you guys," Drew said.

"You'd want to do that?" May asked, surprised. She didn't see that one coming. "We're not going from Contest to Contest, you know. Ash has his Gym battles, too. We all have our own quests," she continued. She wondered if Drew knew that.

Drew nodded seriously. "I know, and it's not like I haven't given it a lot of thought." He looked into May's eyes. "I know you don't want to leave your friends again; I mean, that's why you went to find them once you came to Sinnoh, right?"

Before May could reply, Drew went on, "So that's why I'd like to come with you. Since both you and Dawn are Coordinators, there won't be a shortage of Contests, I'd wager."

May wasn't sure how to reply. On one hand, she liked the thought of having Drew with them; he was a good friend and a strong Coordinator. On the other, though, she knew that she wasn't in love with him. Drew wanted to come with her, because he loved her. May knew that stringing him along would only make him hate her, and furthermore she didn't know how Ash would react.

Drew sensed her hesitation and said, "I know I'm kinda startling you with this. I'm not expecting you to decide on your own, anyway. Talk to your friends, think about it. When the Contest's over, you can make your decision."

May smiled gratefully and said, "Alright. I'll talk to the others…I'll see you in the Contest, I suppose."

Drew nodded, smiling confidently again. Now that he had vocalized what bothered him he was his calm and collected self again. Lifting his hand in a greeting, he turned around and walked away.

May looked after him, before remembering she had something to attend to: the secret Pikachu and Piplup were keeping from her. She knew that the two Pokémon had probably fled by now, so she went out to look for them.

In the back of her head, Drew's confession still echoed. 'He likes me? Wow, I thought he was just acting cool…' May thought to herself, scanning the field for any signs of small Pokémon in need of questioning. 'Still, I'm not sure what to do. And what if Ash likes me? If he does, he wouldn't like having Drew around all the time, and Drew would hate me because I love someone else.'

Still looking for Pikachu and Piplup, May walked around to the other side of the Pokémon Center, where she saw Ash and Dawn on the hill, talking. Dawn was making wild gestures with her arms and Ash smiled at her, occasionally replying to something she said. Seeing them acting so completely carefree with each other caused a new thought to surface in May's mind.

'What if it's not me Ash likes? What if he likes Dawn? If that's the case, then maybe it would be good if Drew came with us. Who knows what could still happen between him and me…' she thought, feeling a bit glum.

She shook her head. 'What am I thinking?! I haven't even said anything to Ash yet and he and Dawn have always been like that; besides, he's like that with me as well,' she mentally scolded herself.

She decided to walk over and ask if they'd seen Pikachu and Piplup. When Ash and Dawn noticed her approaching, they fell silent immediately. If May's sudden fear of Ash and Dawn being together hadn't been prevalent in her mind, she would've laughed. Their reactions were the same as their Pokémon's.

'What if that's what the Pokémon were on about?' May thought, feeling a cold chill go down her spine all of a sudden.

"So, guys, have you seen Pikachu and Piplup? I'm looking for them," she said, trying to sound casual. In reality, though, doom scenarios were filling her head.

Ash and Dawn gave each other a look. "We haven't seen them," Ash said.

His deep auburn eyes looked into May's sapphire eyes, seemingly piercing her soul.

"May, are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

May sighed. She knew that Ash had seen right through her. "Well…I just talked to Drew," she said.

She decided that she would tell the truth, but not all of it. Hopefully Ash would let it slide.

He widened his eyes. "Oh? What did he say?"

"Well, he asked if he could travel with us," May said. In her head, she was already preparing an answer to the obvious, "Why does he want to come with us?"

Dawn asked the question, just as surprised as May had been.

"He didn't tell me yet. He said he would after the Contest was over," May lied, trying to feign big, innocent eyes.

Ash and Dawn both looked confused, but Ash shrugged. "Well, if he really wants to, I don't see why not. But we won't be Contest hopping like he does," he said.

May nodded, somewhat relieved that Ash seemed to buy her story, but at the same time a little stung because he didn't object at all.

"I already told him that. Well, I suppose we'll find out what his reasons are, right?" she said, still trying to look innocent.

"I guess so…So May, why were you looking for Pikachu and Piplup?" Dawn asked, suddenly recalling May's original question.

"Oh, um, I heard them talking about…something. They were acting really shady," May said. She wasn't sure if revealing what she'd heard was a smart thing, not with things looking the way they did.

"Really? Well, we haven't seen them…" Dawn said, thinking.

"They said they'd be in the Pokémon Center, I don't know where they would've gone," Ash added. Then he shrugged. "They'll come back soon enough. You can question them all you like later," he continued.

May nodded slowly, and said, "Well…I'll just go looking for them some more. See you!"

She walked away, not knowing what to do with herself.


Ash and Dawn looked after May as she walked away. "Do you get the feeling May is hiding something from us as well?" Ash asked.

He was worried about May, and about Drew's request. Ash didn't like the thought of having Drew around all the time, but he felt he would hurt May if he'd said no.

When Ash had told Dawn he liked May, but that he wasn't sure if she liked him back, Dawn had said, "No need to worry! I'll help you to get her to like you!"

After that, they'd been talking about the things Ash and May had in common and what he could do to make her like him. Ash felt a little guilty about it all, but Dawn seemed very into it now that she knew Ash liked May and so he accepted her help. But now, he was worried that May might go for Drew, after all.

"Hmm, there was definitely something she wasn't telling us," Dawn said, and Ash felt his chest go cold.

"I don't think it's bad, though. I mean, she didn't come here to talk about Drew. She just mentioned that when you asked. I think she wanted you to know only a small part of the story," Dawn said.

Ash nodded. "Okay, so why would she keep secrets from me? Do you…do you think she likes Drew?" he asked uncertainly. He didn't want to lose May to Drew, not in a hundred years.

Dawn decidedly shook her head. "No, not in that way. I mean, if she did, she'd be dancing with joy that he asked her if he could come with us. Since she didn't, there's obviously something else bugging her. I think it has something to do with what Piplup and Pikachu talked about."

She gasped when a thought occurred to her.

"What?! What is it?" Ash said anxiously. His stomach seemed to be filled with lead all of a sudden.

"What if Piplup told Pikachu that I like you? If May hears that…she might think I'm trying to get you!" Dawn said, her eyes widening.

Ash shook his head. "Pikachu knows I like May. He'd tell her not to worry. Even so, I hope May doesn't get the wrong idea…"

Ash wasn't sure what to think anymore. He didn't want May to think he had something with Dawn, but he didn't want to tell her he liked her yet, either. If he had misunderstood her and she wasn't interested in him, he'd feel horrible.

For now, he'd just continue with the plan Dawn and he had come up with: strategize with Dawn and try to look good for May, without being too obvious about it. He just hoped it was the right thing to do…


May, meanwhile, had given up on looking for the Pokémon. In her mind, things were clear enough as they were, and the fear she felt inside, the fear of having her fears confirmed, was too strong. She didn't want to know. All she wanted for now was someone to talk to. Someone who wasn't involved in all those affairs.

As luck would have it, she ran into just the right person when she entered the bedroom in the Pokémon Center.

"Hey May, you seem kinda down," Brock greeted her.

He sat on one of the beds, organizing the contents of his pack and restocking his supplies with new items he had just bought at the local supermarket.

Without responding, May sat down next to him, leaned into his shoulder and started crying.

"Whoa, May, what's wrong?" Brock asked, putting his arm around her and softly stroking her back.

"What's wrong?" May repeated. "What's right?! Everything's just going too fast," she sobbed.

"You're not making sense, May. Why don't you start from the start, and I'll help as best I can," Brock said.

Having many younger siblings, he knew the importance of having someone to rely on. Even to his friends, he had always been the big brother, and he was very proud of it, too.

May nodded and explained about the Pokémon, Drew's confession and the way Ash and Dawn stopped talking when she approached.

"Hmm, that is quite a lot to deal with," Brock affirmed, frowning. "But it's not the end of the world. I'm sure we can work out a way to solve this," he continued.

May looked into his eyes, hopeful again. "Will you help me?" she asked.

Brock smiled warmly. "Of course, May. That's what friends are for, right?"

May smiled back at him and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Brock. I'm glad I can count on you."


So, Dawn is helping Ash and Brock is helping May. How will things play out? Will the mysteries be solved peacefully? Read the next chapter to find out; it's only a few more days away! And now, as usual: Review please! Thank you