This one is just a bit shorter, but hope you enjoy it!


"You are all welcome to stay behind and work on your group presentations, and no need to worry, this room will be empty for the rest of the day," Leaf's professor, Professor Lance, announced to his final class of the day.

Leaf stretched her arms as May thumped her head against the table.

"Head up, Maple. We have a project to get done," Drew scoffed, giving May a pointed look. She turned her head, still on the table, to match his gaze.

"And I will contribute, I'm just so tired," she humphed, "I only slept eight hours. Eight. Hours."

Both Leaf and Drew hit the shoulders of the girl sat between them. May whined, turning her attention back to her laptop screen still slumped in her seat.

"I guess I'll go grab a few drinks to revitalize our energy. You two start researching, yeah?," Leaf sighed while standing up, grabbing her bag which contained her wallet.

May and Drew both gave her a thumbs up, "Right on."

Leaf smiled as she slung her backpack over her shoulders, muttering a quick 'be right back'. She headed down the stairs of the lecture hall's pews and into the hallway towards the small common area around the corner. She spotted a vending machine and promptly sauntered over to it.

Leaf jostled with her bag to fish out her wallet, and she had already bought two drinks, inserting another dollar bill when she felt a presence beside her. She turned, holding her wallet up as defense (which in hindsight is a terrible idea). This also proved a bit of a challenge as she had a lot to carry.

There, casually leaning against the vending machine, was the one and only Gary Oak. The usual, small smirk adorning his face morphed into a questioning expression at Leaf's stance. Leaf gave an awkward laugh, lowering her wallet.

"Need some help with all that?," Gary offered.

"I wouldn't object some help carrying all of this."

Gary grabbed the drinks from her arms, snickering, "You trying to get a sugar high or something?"

"Ah, no. May needs a sugar rush. Girl can't survive without large amounts of sugar or twelve hours sleeps," Leaf chuckled, also drawing a little laugh from Gary. She chose one more drink, a nice citrus tea for herself.

"I don't know. I'd definitely never be bored if I was sitting next to you," Gary commented, giving Leaf a side eye and a smile. Leaf stood up from retrieving her tea, giving Gary a raised eyebrow and skeptical look.

"Alright, that's nice and all. How many times have you used that on a girl?," she laughed, slipping her wallet back into her bag.

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't said it before, but I think this is the first time I meant it," he replied snarkily, but Leaf felt like she heard actual sincerity in his statement. She playfully hit his shoulder when she suddenly remembered something.

She shoved her tea into Gary's arms with the rest of her drinks and went through her bag. After a few moments, she fished out the leather jacket from the party a few days ago.

"Thanks for this the other night," she held it out to him with a genuine smile, "It was real sweet and strangely out of character, but highly appreciated."

He laughed, accepting the jacket, "I'm going to ignore that comment, but I was only returning the favor." In a slightly awkward debacle, the two switched the items they were carrying.

Leaf blinked, "Returning the favor?"

Gary smirked, pulling a pen out of his pocket, "I do believe this is yours. And, I just gotta say your hoop game is lacking."

She once again found herself blinking, taking the pen from his hand, "Oh, thanks." To be honest, Leaf had completely forgotten about the pen incident. And, although she'd never admit it out loud, her heart skipped a beat when their fingers touched during the exchange.

Then, she processed the second half of his statement and hit him lightly on the arm, "Hey, jabs at my great baller skills are not appreciated." Gary raised an eyebrow, and Leaf matched his gaze. They both laughed quietly.

"Alright, we'll call it even. But really, thanks for the coat that day."

Gary took a second then gave a sincere smile, "It's all good. Besides, it looked cute on you." That caught her attention.

Before Leaf could even respond, Gary had turned and muttered a quick goodbye as he walked away. For some reason, Leaf found herself smiling as he walked away, feeling utterly stupid yet happy. This guy has a reputation of being a bit of a player and always snagging the prettiest girls. Why is he talking, much less paying any attention to her?

Then, Gary turned his head to look at her one last time. He caught her staring and smirked, holding a hand up as a bye as he rounded a corner. Leaf immediately stopped smiling and turned, scurrying away to her class.


"Leaf, the light of my life, you finally return to me!" May exclaimed as Leaf tossed her a sugary energy drink, which she barely caught. As soon as she had a good grip on the can, she immediately opened it, gulping down the high grams of sugar. Leaf and Drew weren't phased at all.

"What took you so long?" Drew asked as Leaf tossed him a sprite, which he caught with utter ease.

"Uhhhhh," she muttered. Drew and May both gave her a questioning look.

She quickly recovered, "I just uh ran into uh… Misty! You know, Ash's girlfriend. Forgot her name for a second there hahaha. We just caught up for a bit you know." May and Drew both shared a glance before giving Leaf a funny look. She just gave a shrug, putting on her best poker face. Drew just brushed it off, returning to his research.

"Anyways, let's get back to work, yeah?" Leaf suggested, trying to change subjects. May dropped her suspicious glaze and hit her head against the table again, whining.