This chapter has a scene that really made me consider changing the rating from T to M...I really don't want to so I kept it as light as possible!
Don't forget to read the author's note at the bottom! ENJOY
Chapter 4
If May had the option to die right now she would pick it with zero hesitation.
She was currently sitting at the kitchen table with her father, Drew, and for some odd reason her brother Max who had yet to stop smiling.
"Now Max tell me what you saw again." Norman instructed his son as he continued to glare at Drew.
"Dad, this is a big misunderstanding! Me and Drew weren't doing anything! I swear I thought you guys were home." May spoke not wanting her brother to say anything knowing it would probably make the situation worse.
Norman directed his attention towards his daughter. "So you expect me to believe that two teenagers were alone in a bedroom for an undisclosed amount of time, my daughter has a hickie on her neck and nothing happened?" he questioned his voice sounding extremely sarcastic.
May's hand instantly went up to hide the mark on her neck, she had completely forgotten about it.
Drew decided to speak. "No offense sir, but May is right we were just watching television. Nothing inappropriate was going on."
"He's lying dad! When I opened the door he looked like he was about to kiss May!" Max suddenly blurted out.
May paled. Why couldn't she have been born an only child.
"Well is that true?" Norman asked in a calm voice surprising May.
Drew quickly saw his girlfriend was struggling so he decided to answer for her. "Yes that's true, but it was only going to be a kiss and as for the hickie, things went a little far at the start I admit, but we stopped way before it got serious. We've been dating for almost two years now I think it's only natural that we do that sometimes."
Norman looked at the green haired boy, he was a bit impressed that he wasn't backing down as most people were intimidated by the man.
"How long have you been here?" The father asked the boy deciding to ignore the hickie for now after all if the two had wanted to they probably could have gone much further.
"Umm..Maybe a little over an hour." Drew replied truthfully.
Norman looked at his youngest son. "And they were both fully clothed when you walked in?" he questioned the glasses wearing child.
"Yeah?" Max answered not understanding why they wouldn't have had clothes on.
Norman sighed as much as he wanted to blow up about the situation he had to accept the fact that his daughter was almost a grown woman he would have to be used to this.
"Alright, well you can go back upstairs..Keep the door open though." He submitted, but he continued to glare at Drew showing that he didn't trust him.
Drew felt a chill and turned away not wanting to look the man in his eyes any longer.
Max looked at his father with wide eyes. "What! She isn't getting in trouble?!"
May didn't question anything as she quickly grabbed Drew's hand and dragged him upstairs muttering a quick "thank you dad" as she ran past him.
~xxxxxx~
"That was scary...I thought my dad was going to flip." May said as they reached her room.
Drew just laughed. "Haha, maybe he's starting to like me." he said causing May to laugh out loud.
"Yeah right! The odds of my dad liking a boy I bring home are extremely low. Maybe he is just realizing i'm not a kid anymore." May explained her reason for laughing.
Drew frowned. "Well eventually he is going to have to like me since I don't see us breaking up in the near future."
May just nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he'll get over his over protectiveness with time."
Drew shrugged his shoulders, but quickly reached into his pocket as he felt his phone vibrate. He glanced at the screen and quickly placed it back. "Sorry May, but I have to go." He said surprising the girl.
"Aw..but why?" May questioned wondering what was on his phone that all of a sudden made him have to go home.
"My mother just texted me and said that she needed my help at the house. I'll see you on Monday alright?" Drew answered his girlfriend's question as he began to walk out the room.
May gave a sad sigh. "I guess.." she pouted as she followed Drew to walk him to his car.
Soon the two teens had made it outside.
"Well, i'll see you later. I love you." Drew said as he leaned in and gave May a quick kiss on her lips.
"I love you too." May replied as the kiss ended. She watched for a few seconds as Drew got in his car and drove away.
It seemed that as soon as Drew left Ash's actions at the basketball court flooded into her mind. "That jerk. I can't believe he did that." May said to herself as she pulled out her cellphone and scrolled down to Ash's name.
**Are you still at the court asshole.** May texted him as she walked back inside her house.
It took a few minutes for Ash to reply, but eventually he did.
**Nah, I'm at home, and why am I a asshole? (•ω•)** He replied with another one of his creative faces.
May rolled her eyes, he knew exactly what he had done to deserve being called a asshole.
**O.K first you show up at the park where me and Drew were at, second you winked at me, and third you purposely fired up Drew.**
The brown haired girl walked back up to her room and laid on her bed and looked back at her phone.
**First. I had no idea you were going to be at the park, Second I winked to embarrass you since you were clearly immersed with watching me and third...Well the last one I take full responsibility for, haha I wanted to see that green haired boyfriend of yours turn red.**
May chucked a bit at Ash's reply. Sometimes she didn't know if he was a sweet guy who could be a asshole when he chose to be or a asshole who was occasionally sweet. She decided to go with the first option since 80% of the time Ash was one of the sweetest people she had ever met.
** I wasn't 'immersed' in anything I was just worried that you'd re-injure your ankle.** May responded ignoring his comments about Drew deciding she didn't really want to talk about Drew with Ash.
She looked at her phone patiently until it finally vibrated.
**Aw, were you worried about lil ol me?**
May closed her eyes in mock annoyance. **I take it back. I wish you did injure yourself! Plus your little stunt just made it so much harder to tell Drew about me helping you with math! Now it looks like i'm going to have to just never tell him.**
**Since you never plan to tell him where does that leave us? I mean are you going to stop talking to me or continue being friends with me behind his back?** Ash replied almost immediately.
May hadn't expected that question. She had thought about it herself, but she still hadn't came up with an answer. She sighed as she made up her mind.
**I think we can secretly be friends...But only if it never goes past a certain point..I love my boyfriend, Ash and I really don't want to betray his trust, but I also have gotten so close to you in this past week that I want our bond to grow as well.**
May was satisfied with her answer as she waited for his reply. Suddenly her phone started vibrating multiple times signaling a phone call not a text message. A bit surprised she looked at the caller ID.
Ash.
"Hmm...He doesn't normally call..I wonder why he is.." May wondered out loud as she accepted the call.
"Hello Asshole."
"Whats up." Came the masculine voice from the other end.
"So what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice to?" May questioned.
"Ah, I'm about to go to bed soon, but I still had a couple more things to say and it would have taken to long to text." Ash explained.
May hummed. "So what did you have to say."
"Well first I appreciate that your willing to lie to your boyfriend... to be my friend, and I want our bond to grow to. I've never...met a girl like you May." Ash said his voice hesitating multiple times as he stumbled on a few words unsure on how to word his thoughts.
May smiled happy that Ash felt the same way.
"Yeah, I also won't do anything to get Drew mad at you anymore. That was pretty immature of me, so I'm sorry about that." Ash continued feeling a little guilty. He had intended it as a joke, but now that he thought about it what if Drew had reacted badly and taken it out on May. He didn't want to put her in any kind of jeopardy.
"Thank you Ash. I really do appreciate your words right now. I can see me and you easily being as close as me and Dawn."
Ash chuckled a bit. The realization of how deep in the friend zone he was in hit him, but he brushed it off mentally deciding he wouldn't rush anything. He would be what May wanted him to be for now.
"Yeah, but anyways. I was wondering can we study at your house tomorrow? Gary won't be able to accommodate us tomorrow." Ash questioned getting to the main point of the call.
May almost dropped her phone. "Um...I don't know Ash...my dad might not be alright with that. It's taken him almost 2 years to accept Drew..."
Ash frowned, Gary's plan wasn't working. "Just tell him your tutoring somebody...I'm sure he'll be reasonable...Text me tomorrow after you ask. I gotta go now, I have to wake up early to run." Ash stated as he hung up the phone.
May blinked a few times. Ash had gotten off the phone pretty quickly. She shrugged it off as his last words registered into her head. "Ugh...How am I suppose to convince my dad to let Ash come over...Plus I'll have to tell him to keep it a secret just in case so he won't bring it up to Drew eventually." May said to herself as she groaned and laid her head on the pillow.
"Why must my life be so difficult!" May whined.
After a few minutes of complaining May finally gathered the nerve to go ask her father. After all the quicker she got it over with the quicker she could get back to Ash with an answer.
She sighed one more time before she got up to walk to her fathers room. It was right down the hall so it didn't take long.
"Hey dad..Can I talk to you for a minute?" May asked as she knocked on the door.
She heard a few random movements until finally her father opened the door. "What is it sweetie?" he questioned.
He was dressed in his pajamas so it was clear that he was planning on going to bed soon.
"Um...I have to tutor a student in math tomorrow so I was wondering can he come here? It'll only be for a few hours I promise!" May said as quickly as possible.
Norman looked at his daughter with a frown. "It's a 'he?"
May looked towards the ground. "Please, he's a really good friend we will stay in the kitchen."
The dad put his hand to his head. "Ugh...I suppose it's alright..." he finally replied after contemplating for a few seconds.
May held back a squeal as she hugged her father. "Thank you! By the way never mention this around Drew.. The person who is coming over...well they don't get along at all." she told her father.
Norman just rolled his eyes not caring about teenage drama as he released his daughter from the hug. "Well I'm going to bed May. Tell me when your friend get's here tomorrow."
The brown haired girl nodded as she walked back to her room. She quickly closed the door and picked up her cell phone and scrolled to Ash's number.
**Everything is a go! You know where I live so be here around 12!** she texted him. She figured he probably wouldn't reply so she put her phone on the charger and laid down.
Next Morning
Beep
Beep
Beep
Ash groaned as he rolled over and turned off the alarm off his phone. It was 7 am.
This was the hardest part about morning training. Actually waking up to do it. He glanced at the text message that May had sent the night before.
"So everything is a go huh." Ash said to himself a small smile appearing on his lips.
After a few more minutes of rest Ash finally managed to convince his body to get up. He quickly went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a quick shower. After he was finished with that he put on a tank top, a pair of running shorts, and running shoes.
He grabbed the basketball that was sitting by the door and walked out. He always ran while dribbling the ball as it helped him practice his ball handling skills. Ash double checked to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything before he walked outside. He had a very specific path that he ran whenever he decided to jog in the morning, the path helped avoid areas in Pallet where the people...weren't as friendly.
"Let's do this..." Ash motivated himself as he began dribbling the ball and then the 6'1 guard took off jogging.
A Few Hours Later
"Ugh...What time is it.." May muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. She hadn't set an alarm last night so she had no idea when in the day it was.
Suddenly her plans for today came to her mind causing the girl to jump up. "Oh my god! How long until Ash gets here?" May wondered out loud as she grabbed her phone and looked at the time.
11:30
"Ash will be here in 30 minutes! UGH!" May screamed as she got out of bed and ran to the bathroom in hopes of cleaning up to the best of her ability in the time god was providing her.
Soon enough May heard the doorbell ring. She had managed to brush her teeth, take a extremely quick shower and put on a white tank top barely hiding her red bra along with a pair of yoga pants. Her hair was still wet, but she would have to deal with it for now.
As the girl ran to the door she heard somebody else beat her to it.
"YOUR ASH KETCHUM!" She heard her little brother exclaim causing May to frown. She had completely forgotten that her brother and father already knew who Ash was. Hopefully they wouldn't crowd him.
"Max, don't bother Ash." May stated bluntly as she made her way to the door. She quickly took in Ash's appearance, he was wearing a black tank top and shorts and he was clearly tired. He had a basketball in his hands and was extremely sweaty.
"You could have put a little bit of effort to look...decent before coming to my house Ash." May told the boy as took in how he looked.
Ash laughed ignoring Max's outburst. "I'm sorry, I was working out this morning and I completely lost track of time...By the time I remembered what I was doing today it was already pretty late so I just decided to come how I was."
May nodded at his words before a thought came to her head. "Ash...Did you run here?!" She suddenly asked unable to hide the surprise in her tone. She knew at the very least he couldn't have lived within a few miles of her otherwise she would have known.
The basketball player shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal before his attention went down to Max who was still looking at him with stars in his eyes. "And who is this little guy?" he questioned as he held out his hand for Max to shake which he accepted quickly.
"My name is Max and I've been to every single one of your games! I can't believe I'm actually meeting you!" Max gleefully said surprising May.
Did Ash get reactions like this a lot? He didn't seem to be all that surprised by it.
"Haha, your a basketball fan Max?" Ash asked the obvious question to which Max shook is head vigorously to.
"Who is at the door?" A voice came from the kitchen.
May didn't have to look to know who it was. "This is the boy I'm tutoring Dad."
"Dad! Can you believe Ash Ketchum is in our house?!" Max asked his dad his excitement not dying down as he grabbed Ash's arm and pulled him into the kitchen.
May sighed as she followed the two boys.
"Ash Ketchum, wow. When May said she had to tutor somebody I must say I didn't even begin to imagine it would be you." Norman said in a surprised tone as Ash, Max, and May entered the kitchen.
Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well yeah. May has been extremely helpful these last few days."
"May, why didn't you tell me you've been tutoring Ash?" Norman asked his daughter, she should have known he would have loved to meet him.
The brown haired girl shrugged. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal?! We pretty much have a future superstar in our house!" Max informed his sister before a thought came to his mind and he quickly ran out the room.
May couldn't believe the reaction her family was giving. Max never showed interest in Drew and her dad seemed to like Ash as well. She rolled her eyes they probably just liked him because they knew he was good at their favorite sport.
"Don't be shy Ash! How about before you and May get started we all have a talk! I'd love to get to know you better." Norman offered as he pulled a seat out at the kitchen table.
Ash seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before deciding to just go along with it as he saw May take a seat as well.
Before anybody could say anything Max came running back in the room holding a basketball.
"Can you sign this for me?!" He questioned as he held the ball out for Ash. May watched the scene with interest, she really didn't see Ash as a future superstar, but clearly others did and her father and brother probably weren't the only ones who did either.
Ash smiled at the boy as he grabbed the basketball. "Do you have a marker?" He questioned causing Max's eyes to widen as he quickly took off out of the room again without speaking.
"That dork..." May muttered, but couldn't help but laugh at how starstruck her brother was acting.
"So Ash...How long have you known my daughter?" Norman suddenly asked causing all eyes to go back to him.
Ash a bit caught off guard by the question took a few seconds to answer. "Well truthfully I just met her probably 6 days ago, but if it means anything I feel like I've known her for a lot longer." he answered causing Norman to give him a knowing smirk.
"Ooh! So you have a crush on my daughter!" He teased as he leaned over the table awkwardly elbowing Ash.
May couldn't believe her ears. Who was this man.
NEVER would her father tease a boy about liking her, it just wasn't possible.
Ash just shrugged the comment off with a laugh. "Haha, don't joke around..Umm what should I call you?" Ash asked
"Norman is fine, but Mr. Maple works as well whichever you prefer." He answered with a smile.
May put her head on the table. Her father was acting just as badly as Max he just wasn't being as obvious. "Dad..Please don't tease Ash..You know I have Drew.." she muttered.
Norman chuckled as he looked back at Ash. "So I won't keep you to long Ash as I know you and my daughter have a lot of work to do, but do you mind if I ask you a few things that I've been wondering?"
Ash nodded not seeing the problem although he was sure he already knew what questions the man planned to ask.
"O.k well first...I'm curious to know which basketball team in the pros do you watch?" He asked surprising Ash.
May however wasn't. Her father would never pass up an opportunity to talk about basketball.
Ash chuckled to himself a little as he had expected Norman to ask him does he plan to go to the pros or college. "The Kanto Dragons for sure!" Ash replied with a smile.
Norman instantly grinned. "Now that's what I like to hear! If you said anything else I might have had to kick you out of my home!"
Ash couldn't help, but laugh at the man's statement. "I wouldn't blame you either!" he agreed causing the two to laugh even more.
May looked at the scene with indifference. Why couldn't her father and Drew get along this well? If they could that would make things so much easier.
"Ash I found a marker!" Max finally came back with a black marker in his hands.
The basketball player smiled as he took the marker from Max's hands. "And what should I write?" he asked the boy.
"To my best friend Max Maple!" Max said causing May to burst out laughing, not expecting her brother to say that.
Ash gave a nervous grin. "Your the boss." he replied as he wrote down what he was told and handed the ball back to Max. It almost seemed as if the boy was shaking as he grabbed the ball.
"This is so cool! When your a superstar I will be able to say I knew you before the fame!" Max said as he ran out of the room once more screaming something about having to call his friends to tell them.
May decided that this would be a good time to end the conversation before her family made even bigger fools out of themselves. "Well Dad! I think me and Ash have work to get to so..."
Norman rolled his eyes as he caught the hint. "Alright, well it was nice meeting you Ash I do hope you and May stay friends I would love to talk sports with you." he told the black haired boy as he shook his hand.
"Of course! I'd love to talk with you anytime Mr. Maple!" Ash politely replied as the man released the handshake and walked out of the kitchen.
It was silent for a few seconds before May finally spoke. "I'm really sorry about all of that...I didn't know they'd act like that." She said in an embarrassed tone causing Ash to chuckle.
"Nah, it's fine.. You should see what happens whenever me and my mom go grocery shopping." Ash replied.
Ash's statement confirmed May's previous thoughts. "So he really is used to being treated like this.."
"That has to get annoying." May stated as she thought about constantly being bothered by fans.
Ash shrugged his shoulders. "It can be, but if they didn't exist then I would never have the opportunity to make a living doing what I love. I think it's worth the sacrifice." he replied.
May nodded in understanding. "I suppose..." she replied as she looked at the boy who was suddenly looking around the area with wide eyes. "Umm...is something wrong Ash?" May questioned.
Ash frowned before he looked towards May. "Um..So I forgot my books.."
May slapped her head. "Ash..What was the point of coming here if you were going to forget your books?" She questioned although her tone had a bit of humor in it.
Ash gave a nervous chuckle. "I guess I was to focused on working out to remember."
The girl put her head on the table. "Well I guess today is a bust unless you want me to ask my dad if he can take you to your house?"
"No! That's fine...I guess we can do something else today.." Ash replied quickly causing May to frown.
"I wonder why Ash seems to be so adamant about hiding where he lives..Does he not trust me? Does he want to keep it a secret so it can't be leaked to any of his fans?" May's frown deepened at the thought didn't Ash know that he could trust her not to tell anybody his personal information.
"No. I think we should go get your books. The final is coming up soon Ash you really need to study. Whatever reason you have for not wanting me to see your house can't be more important than losing your basketball eligibility." May stated in a serious tone.
Ash seemed to think for a few seconds. May was right he really did need all of the study times that he could get. Could he trust May to keep it a secret though? He had only just met her, if she got mad at him for something and decided to expose the truth then he would lose everything...There was also the possibility that she wouldn't want to be his friend anymore after finding out that he was poor. After all most of the students who went to Kanto High were extremely privileged, they probably wouldn't want to associate with somebody who didn't even have a bed to call his own.
"Ash, whatever it is. I promise you can trust me..We're friends remember." May said as she watched Ash struggle with making a decision.
The basketball player sighed as he put his head on the table. "Alright...One condition though."
"And what is that?" May questioned happy that Ash was willing to trust her.
"You can't tell anybody where I live May...You'll understand why once we get there." Ash said in a serious voice. "And your father can't take us..Sorry, but I only trust you and even I don't really know why considering only Gary knows...Not even the guys from the basketball team know." he continued.
May was a bit surprised, and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Whatever Ash was hiding was clearly a big deal if he had only told Gary. "How can we get there if you don't want my dad to take us?" She questioned.
Ash gave May a smile. "Well your going to have to earn this information. We're going to walk."
"Drew..." A red haired girl moaned as she wrapped her arms around the man who was laying on top of her.
The green haired boy seemed to shake a bit before falling on top of the girl clearly worn out.
"Drew, that was amazing.." The girl whispered into his ear.
The boy didn't say anything as he removed himself from the girl and got off the bed. "Solidad, we can't keep doing this..."
The girl now revealed to be Solidad frowned. "You can't say that after the fact Drew...I'm going off to college soon don't you want to spend as much time with me as possible?"
It was true Solidad was a senior who was about to graduate this year. She had enrolled in summer classes in LaRousse University, the same school Drew wanted to get into. Because of the classes she would be leaving right when the school year ended in a week.
Drew sighed it was true. "I know, but..This is wrong to do to May."
"It's kind of late to think that now...We've been messing around for almost a year now Drew, what's the point of getting a guilty conscience now?"
Drew wiped a bit of hair out of his eyes. This had all started once it became obvious that May wasn't ready for a sexual relationship. Neither him or Solidad had any desire for a relationship. They just wanted the physical pleasure.
He closed his eyes as he thought about yesterday. This was probably another reason as to why he had been blind to their relationship falling apart. "I know...But I think we should stop doing this Solidad..I really do love May, I think it's time I start being patient."
Solidad sighed. "Can't you change after I leave Drew? What's the harm in messing around for another week?"
She did have a point. In a week she would be gone. Why risk making her mad by ending the relationship early when he could let it die out naturally.
"I suppose your right.." Drew muttered before he felt a pair of arms grab him and pull him back into the bed.
"Good...Now stop acting like such a girl and show me how much of a man you are." Solidad whispered into his ear seductively ready for a second round.
"Ash...Did you really run all of this?" May muttered as she wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead. She had told her father that they were walking to go get Ash's books, and surprisingly he had voiced little opinion about it. He really did like Ash apparently.
"Come on May, we're almost there..." Ash said. He was beginning to feel a bit nervous. He was sure that May had to have noticed that the area that they were in.
Luckily for Ash, May hadn't realized it as she was to busy complaining about how tired she was to really care about the area. They had been walking for almost two hours.
BANG!
May jumped instantly and grabbed Ash's arm as the gunshot rang throughout the area.
"Ash where are we?!" May questioned as she finally looked around the area, it was extremely shady.
Ash didn't answer her question as he grabbed her hand. "Come on..We have to hurry and get to my house..It's dangerous out here."
May's heart was pounding she had never heard a real gunshot before and Ash was acting like it was a normal occurrence. "Ash..I'm scared.." May said as another gunshot rang through out the air.
Ash frowned. This was stupid, why was he risking bringing May here. It was too late now though they would have to sit at his house until whatever fight that was going on ended.
Soon enough the two reached Ash's apartment complex. They quickly got inside and locked the door. Ash's mother didn't seem to be home.
"Ash what's going on?! This is where you live?" May asked the fear in her voice evident.
The boy didn't reply as he leaned against the door. "I'm so sorry May...I shouldn't have brought you here..." he muttered finally as the guilt hit him. He knew exactly how dangerous his neighborhood was and he had risked May's life to walk here just to hide where he lived.
"I'm so sorry.." Ash repeated causing May to bend down to his level.
"What are you sorry for Ash? I'm confused?" May questioned a bit of her fear disappearing as she watched the normally confident, happy boy be on the verge of tears.
Ash took a deep breath before replying. "This is where I live May...I shouldn't have brought you here because I knew exactly how dangerous it was..I should have continued to say no.."
May was a bit shocked once Ash admitted to living here. Many questions came to her head like how was he attending Kanto High, how did he know Gary, but the question she wanted to ask the most was How did such a nice boy grow up in such a bad environment. She knew she couldn't get the answer to those questions at the moment though as she pulled Ash into a hug.
"It's alright Ash...I chose to come even though you told me no..." She tried to comfort the boy causing him to lean into the hug. He hadn't dropped a tear, but she could tell that he felt really bad for putting her in such a bad situation.
The two stayed in the position for a few minutes before Ash finally stood up. "When my mom gets home I'll ask her to take you home. We can study here for now...it isn't safe to walk around outside right now..." Ash told the girl as another gunshot rang through out the area.
May frowned. This was how Ash lived everyday...
"Alright." She replied as she followed the boy who had gotten his books and sat on the floor in front of the couch.
He looked at May and gave a small smile. "Alright, I think I owe you a few answers so feel free to ask before we start." he told her.
May hesitated for a few seconds not sure if it was alright, before she finally decided to just get it off her chest. "Ash..How are you attending Kanto High if you live here? This area isn't in our district..." May asked first.
Ash sighed. "I'm using Gary's address in order to attend.."
"For basketball right." May interrupted already having a good idea as to why Ash would do something so risky.
He nodded. "Yeah...To me basketball is everything, but I would have never gotten any attention at the school here...At Kanto the opportunities were everywhere...Opportunities that seemed to only exist for those who had money.." Ash said sadly. "I knew that I was good, so I figured if I got into Kanto High I'd be able to get onto the national stage in order to actually have a chance of getting into the NBA."
May felt her eyes watering, but quickly wiped it away. It really was horrible that those who had been born into a situation beyond their control had to deal with less opportunities to be able to make it out. It wasn't fair.
"This is why I have to get into the NBA May..I'm not book smart like you. Basketball is really all I have. It's me and my mom's only way out of this place...That's why I probably won't attend college." Ash continued his tone wavering a bit as he thought about all of the hardships his mom had to deal with in order to raise him.
May quickly pulled Ash into another hug. "I'm so sorry Ash...I would have never thought you were going through so much alone.."
Ash smiled a bit. "I haven't been alone..Gary and his granddad have helped us so much..If it wasn't for them me and my mom would have probably died a long time ago..."
May smiled as well her opinion of Gary strengthening. No wonder he seemed so overprotective with Ash.
"How'd you meet Gary?" May asked her second question satisfied with Ash's answer.
Ash was a bit surprised that May didn't seem to not want to associate with him, but he quickly brushed it off. "Well..Gary used to live here as well before the Pokemon franchise blew up. They offered to help move us out of here, but my mom couldn't let them do that and I agree with her. They've already done so much to help us I would hate to cause even more burdens on them. I'll get us out of here with the only ability that I have." Ash replied his normal confidence coming back.
May grinned. "No wonder you and Gary seem so close."
"Yeah...Gary is like a brother to me. He and his granddad are pretty much my second family." Ash replied with a smile.
The brown haired girl couldn't help, but blush at Ash's smile. He was strong. Despite everything that he was dealing with he never showed it, he never used it as an excuse. It was actually admirable.
"So all of this is why you didn't want me to come to your house?" May asked. "Because if it ever became known that you don't live in the Kanto High school district you'll probably be expelled and lose your basketball eligibility." She continued pretty much answering her own question.
Ash nodded. "Yeah..So I can trust you right to keep this between me and you?" he asked.
May acted like it was a hard choice for a few seconds as she placed a finger on her chin causing Ash to frown.
"I'm just kidding. Of course Ash, another secret to add to our vault." May replied finally as she gave Ash a playful wink causing the boy to laugh.
"Great! Now that we've dealt with all of that let's get to studying!" Ash stated as he opened up his books.
"Wow Ash..I think you might actually get a A on the final on Monday." May muttered as she examined all of the practice questions she had given to the boy.
They had been in Ash's house for over 3 hours studying and time seemed to have flown by. Ash was pretty happy to see that May hadn't changed at all despite knowing the truth about him. He had to admit it made him like her more.
"It's all because I have such a great teacher." Ash complimented with another toothy grin causing May to blush.
The gunshots outside had stopped a while ago, but May seemed to have completely forgotten about them as she hadn't mentioned them even once.
"Well then, what should we do until your mom gets home since we can't exactly walk back to my house." May stated as she stood up for the first time in a few hours.
Ash seemed to contemplate for a few seconds before suddenly the door opened up.
"Ash?" A beautiful woman questioned a bit confused, not expecting to see a girl in her apartment.
Ash's attention quickly went to his mom. "Oh, mom. This is May! She's my math tutor..Sorry for bringing her over without telling you, but-" he started.
"May! That's such a beautiful name. I'm so happy to see that Ash finally has brought a girl home..I was beginning to think that he was playing for the other team!" Delia said causing Ash's eyes to widen like saucers. He had never brought a girl home before so he wasn't sure on what to expect from his mother, but if he had to guess it wouldn't have been this kind of reaction.
"MOM!" Ash shouted as he stood up and walked to his mother his face burning up.
May couldn't help, but laugh at Ash's embarrassment. "Thank you mam! It's nice to meet you as well." She finally managed as she shook Delia's hand.
"Oh dear. If I had known Ash was having company I would have straighten up a bit, this is so embarrassing." Delia went on as Ash continued to blush although he seemed to have given up on trying to stop his mom from saying anything.
"It's fine! I promise you, my house makes yours seem spotless." May said causing Delia to laugh.
"No need to lie to make me feel better! I know I've slacked off a bit in keeping the home clean." She said as she sat on the couch.
Ash rolled his eyes. His mom was way to friendly she was talking to May like they had known each other for years.
May also picked up on the mother's friendliness, but quickly assumed that this must have been where Ash got his personality from.
"Anyways mom. I was wondering can you take May home?" Ash questioned.
The mother frowned now that she knew that May wouldn't be staying much longer, but quickly brushed it off. "I have to get dinner on, but how about you take the car. Just be careful, we can't have you repeat what you did to Gary's car."
Ash gave a nervous chuckle as May smirked towards him clearly curious about what the woman was talking about.
"Alright! Well I'll be back later mom!" Ash shouted as he got the keys from her and quickly grabbed May and headed out not even giving his mother a chance to say bye to the girl.
Delia just smiled. "First love.." She muttered as she mentally took note of the fact that Ash had brought her to the house. That alone showed that he trusted her a lot since he was risking a lot to do it. She had also saw the hickie on May's neck and had just assumed it was Ash's doing.
"Your mom is so sweet Ash." May said as they drove down the road.
Ash just blushed. "She can be a bit much at times..." he replied causing May to chuckle.
"She's no worse then you."
Ash pretended as if her comment hurt his feelings as he looked at the girl. "I take offense to that."
"That's fine though. That's one of the reasons I like being around you so much." May added in causing Ash to blush.
"Good save." he muttered as his attention turned back to the road. He was driving without a license so the last thing he needed was for him to make a dumb mistake and get pulled over.
The car suddenly was silent. It was kind of strange since Ash and May rarely had silences, but Ash was quick to remedy the situation.
"So..Since you and Drew have clearly made up.." Ash started as his eyes turned to May's neck. He hadn't really noticed it before since her hair hid it pretty nicely.
May instantly realized where his eyes were and covered the hickie with her palm. "What about it.." She said in an embarrassed tone.
Ash hid the jealousy in his body pretty good as he replied. "When is the play? I'm sure you plan to watch it?" he questioned.
"Oh..Yeah I do and it's on the last day of school. Friday." she replied as she moved her hair to cover the mark that Drew had left.
Ash hummed. "I was thinking about coming to see. Do you have any parts at all? I mean your not the lead anymore, but surly your still involved a little."
The girl just looked out the window. "Nah. I'm pretty sure I'm out of the play since I skipped so many of the practices now so I'll just be watching from the audience since Drew and Dawn have parts."
"Hmm I suppose it'll get you in trouble if we sat together." Ash said causing May to look at him as if it were obvious.
"Obviously you can't do that. We can text during the play though. You can tell me just how great Drew is. After all he is probably as good at acting as you are in basketball." May bragged not noticing Ash frown.
"I guess." he replied unable to hide the disappointment in his tone about May talking so highly about Drew.
May didn't notice it however as she continued talking. "Dawn also is pretty good. I would much rather she play Juliet then Solidad, but it isn't my choice."
"Solidad is the girl who is replacing you right?" Ash questioned
May nodded.
"Oh..Well for the record I'm sure she probably won't do nearly as great of a job that you would have." Ash complimented as they pulled up into May's driveway.
"Thank you Ash! Well I'll see you on Monday!" May thanked the boy with a smile as she got out the car.
Ash watched with a sad smile. "I would fall for a girl who clearly loves another boy." He muttered although he couldn't help but chuckle.
"The harder the challenge the sweeter the victory though..." He said to himself as he accepted that he really did have feelings for the brown haired girl as he watched her walk to her door before pulling away.
I think I'm pretty lucky! I've almost gotten 20 reviews on a story I just posted three days ago! That shows me that you guys really do like it, which gives me the strength to type these chapters! Haha.
For the reviewer who asked if Dawn will have a shipping I want to say YES she will I even put a hint as to who it'll be with in the second chapter. I'm sure it's obvious haha although there hasn't been any development with that situation yet!
I also want to acknowledge DisasterButterfly jeez you called it completely that Drew was cheating with Solidad, I was hoping i didn't make it too obvious. I'll have to do better with my foreshadowing haha.
Also let me be the first to say this story can end with either Contestshipping or Advanceshipping a lot of different things will happen to effect the final decision. You guys are suppose to be saying in the reviews who you want.
Continue to review though! Like I said I'm a man who keeps my word. Reviews=Chapters. Haha
VerifiedBreeze Signing out