Welcome to the first flashback chapter. I'm thinking of sprinkling these in throughout the story for different characters. I have quite a lot of ideas for back stories and I think it would be fun to have them either part of regular chapters or as a separate chapter on their own.
Now enough of my incessant rambling and please enjoy this May flashback chapter!
~Deepika
Flashback - May
.:.
"Wee! Push me higher Gary!" May Oak squealed. Gary rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless at his four-year-old sister. She was such a child, but then again, so was he. It wasn't every day that the two of them got to swing on the big kid swings since Mommy and Daddy didn't like them to be outside in public, but May was an adventurous one.
"May, are you sure you want to go this high? Mommy said we weren't allowed to..." Gary trailed off as May pouted. He sighed, knowing that he had been defeated. "Fine, but if you get hurt, don't come crying to me," he warned, pushing her.
"All righty, I'm gonna jump off in 3, 2, 1-" the little brunette was cut off as she flew from the swing and landed on the hard ground. "Ah!" she screamed as her bare skin come into contact with some stray rocks and pebbles. The skin split and red liquid oozed out of the various gashes.
"May!" Gary cried, struggling to push past the swing. Meanwhile, another little boy came up to her and rolled his eyes, crouching down at her. May looked up, tears pooling her eyes yet no tears were streaming and her face had a huge grin.
"You're so stupid. You didn't jump off right; look, you're seriously hurt," he criticized her with a cool gaze yet did nothing to help her. Five-year-old Gary ran up to his sister and put his hands on his hips while standing up in front of her protectively.
"And who are you?" he asked glaring at this newcomer. The boy looked down at her and back up at Gary. There was a certain something about him that even four year old May couldn't deny that intrigued her. Mommy had told her and Gary not to talk to strangers but something about him just seemed...different.
"I'm Drew," he said, holding his hand to May, who was still sprawled on the ground. "Are you just going to sit there or are you going to take my help?" May crossed her arms and pouted.
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"Why doesn't he act like I'm in the room?" six year old May whined. Misty looked at her friend and sighed. Boys were annoying but May was determined to prove herself. "Even Gary ignores me these days! It's like I'm invisible to them!" she sighed.
"May, you're not invisible. They're just stupid." Misty declared. "Forget about them, let's get your mom to help us bake some cookies!" Misty squealed. May sighed, knowing her friend was right. It was so upsetting that she only had one friend here.
"Alright...I guess you're right. I think I know how to use the mixer now!" she grinned, running to the kitchen but tripping on the last step. "Eep!" she cried.
"May! You've gotta be careful! It might become a habit!" Misty tried to speak through her giggles as she helped her best friend up. May laughed and shook her head.
"You're so silly! As if I'd run into walls when I'm older! Come on, the kitchen's right there!" she squealed. The two ran into the kitchen but stopped when they saw seven year old Gary and Drew playing with trading cards on the kitchen table. May cleared her throat.
"Oh hey May!" Gary smiled and then looked back at Drew. "I'll trade you my Granbull for your Graveler," Gary grinned. Drew thought about him.
"Fine. Graveler wouldn't do well in a performance round anyway. His moves are pretty limited," the seven-year-old Drew nodded wisely. May frowned.
"Actually, there a lot of things you can do with Graveler. Just because he doesn't look as cool as Granbull doesn't mean that he's a worthless pokemon. All pokemon have potential," May retorted. As she was speaking, Drew and Gary slowly looked up from their cards and Misty looked sideways at her friend, all of them shocked. There was a weird look in Drew's eyes. Gary just looked proud.
"Was there something you wanted?" Drew asked in a cool voice. May glared at him and Misty glared at Drew for being so brash to her best friend.
"We want to bake cookies here so we need the kitchen," Misty said. Gary turned to Misty and smirked while Misty glared.
"We were here first! So smell ya' later girls," he smirked. Misty glared and May just looked outraged and her hand were instantly on her hips. She couldn't believe how much her brother had changed in a year.
"There are other places you can go to! This house is huge! If you don't move, I'm gonna beat you up!" May threatened in her slightly high-pitched voice. She looked like the least threatening person in the room in her yellow dress and ribbon-tied pigtails yet Drew got up.
"Come on, let's just go. It's not even worth fighting with these two," he drawled, looking at the two girls like they were scum. Gary puffed his cheeks but got up and followed his friend.
Later, they came back to see the girls laughing like crazy as they were covered from head to toe in flour. May had successfully used the mixer and her hands were sticky with dough. However, there was a huge smile on her face and her laugh was infectious as Gary initially glared but then wound up laughing at his little sister. Drew even cracked a smile. Misty finally looked comfortable in the huge house, although she had known May for three years now. May looked around her, her heart full and her smile wide. Life was perfect.
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"Misty, please stay in your dress and Gary! Stop fiddling with your cuffs! You look adorable!" Caroline Oak squealed. "We're having dinner with your father's colleague," she said as her smile faded.
Eight year old May looked down, her eyes sad. She knew that her mother and father weren't on good terms but she had hope in heart that they could patch things up. There was also something very suspicious about her mother's tone of voice when she said 'colleague'. But at least Gary, Misty, and Drew would all be there to help her.
This was how they all wound up at the huge Oak dining table. Gary was wise enough to know that something big was about to happen when he saw that his father and his colleague were sitting together while his mother was sitting on the other end of the table. However, he knew that May didn't really see anything wrong; his sister liked to see the best in everyone and that was often the cause of her downfall. Drew was on one side of May while Misty was on another. The table was tense and the only sound was of some quiet chatter and silverware clattering on plates. Suddenly, Grayson Oak spoke up.
"May, Gary? Your mother and I have a few announcements we'd like to make." Grayson's heart broke when he saw the hope in his little girl's eyes. He seemed to falter for a moment before he had the courage to speak up. "You know that your mother and I have been going through some rough times..." he faltered once more. "But we're getting a divorce. Gwen is our lawyer who's here to get the papers finalized."
The only sound that could be heard was the clattering of May's fork on her plate. Her sapphire eyes had gone glassy and her lower lip trembled. Caroline looked at her daughter, her own eyes misted. She knew that this was devastating but this wasn't the worst news. Nine-year-old Gary's eyes had hardened but he was more worried for his sister. Drew had turned to May and Misty gripped her hand. Caroline swallowed.
"Sweetie...we're moving to Petalburg Town. I...I met someone there. Someone special," she whispered. May made a tiny whimper as a tear fell from her eye. May rubbed her eyes and got up from the chair, stumbled on it because her eyes were closed, and ran away. The three children went after her.
"May!" "Baby girl!" Caroline and Grayson called her at the same time.
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This was the second time May Oak cried as far as she could remember. Even Misty, Gary, and Drew were a bit teary themselves. This time there was a moving truck rumbling in the background. Misty started to wail and then Gary felt tears streaming down his face. Drew's emerald eyes were glassy as the three of them stood in front of May. May literally flung herself onto Drew and hugged him. The green haired boy took a deep breath and exhaled shakily as he hugged his girl best friend for the last time. They stood like that for a good five minutes before May could compose herself to let go.
"I'm going to miss you," she whispered tearfully. Drew nodded and then hugged her one last time and whispered something in her ear that made her whimper before patting her head and stepping back.
Misty was next. The two girls stood there for a few seconds then simultaneously began to cry and hug each other. They were both blubbering messes but neither cared and were talking over one another. Caroline watched from the distance as she felt tears well up into her own eyes. She knew how unfair it was to rip her child from her whole life but she had gained custody of May while Grayson had gained custody of Gary. Finally Misty and May let go, though May's gaze lingered on the ginger before finally meeting Gary's gaze.
The two of them stood there, not even knowing how to express their feelings. They had taken for granted that they would be together forever and wasted all the times they had together. All the fights, harsh words exchanged, and possessions broken seemed to fade from one another as Gary let out a pitiful wail and then May whimpered and then everything was just a teary mess. The siblings just couldn't seem to let go of each other nor did they want to let go of each other. Caroline sucked her breath, then closed her eyes and shouted in the most stable voice she could that they had to go.
This just made May cry harder but she finally let go of Gary. She kissed his cheek and hugged him one last time before tearing up again and running away into the truck, her sniffles quite loud. Finally, the truck started to move and May looked out the window to see her brother and friends waving to her. She waved until they were little dots in the far distance and didn't stop until they turned onto the exit to get to Route 17.
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It was ten-year-old May's birthday and her mother and Norman had insisted on having a birthday party for her. Although she tried her best, it was no secret that for the past two years, she had been hopping on a train to get to Pallet Town. Of course she was thankful for her rich mother and stepfather, who was the leader of the Petalburg gym, and their attempts at elaborate birthday parties. He even had a son who was three years younger than her so she wasn't alone. Yet no one could replace her life in Pallet.
So she had made it her mission to visit Pallet Town every two weeks or so. Although she wished she could go every week, she knew that she should spend some time with her family in Petalburg. May was currently heading down to the train station where she purchased a ticket for Pallet Town. Her name had been formally changed to May Oak-Maple and it had been a long time since she had been called May Oak. She fondly remembered the first time she had come back to Pallet Town and shocked Drew, Gary, and Misty.
She was excited to spend her tenth birthday like she had spent her ninth birthday; with all of her friends back in Pallet Town. She boarded the train and tried to keep the butterflies in her stomach calm. Four hours later, she finally reached Pallet Town and she jumped off the train station to walk down the familiar route to her old house. To her dismay, when she got there, she learned that Gary and Drew had moved to another city and Misty had gone back to Cerulean. Her heart shattered again for the first time in two years. Cerulean was too far away for her to visit and she had no idea where Gary and Drew had moved to. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled a little as she turned back around and headed for the train station once more. Her mother had to hold her all night when she came home at eight o'clock with a wet face and soiled party dress.
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"We're moving again?" eleven year old May Maple growled. "This is the third time in 3 years!" She had grown guts over the years and it wasn't uncommon for her to just out-right refuse her parents. Norman and Caroline sighed at their stubborn daughter. Norman was losing patience; he had done absolutely nothing wrong yet she refused to treat him like her father. Deep in his heart, he knew that she just wanted her normal life again but when he heard her refusal and insolent tone, he just lost it.
"May, what's wrong with you? I've been trying for three years to get you to accept me yet you shoot down everything that I've ever done. Your brother is affected by this as well and you don't see him putting up a fight! It's not fair on any of us that you act so selfishly and just make every day into a chore!" he roared. May's glare had faded and had been reduced to the most hurt look he had ever seen in a child. Caroline had stopped what she was doing and looked at her husband in shock.
"My brother? I'll tell you about my brother. His name is Gary Oak and he's probably the one who has been affected more than any of you guys! Max is young and I love him, but he's my stepbrother. He doesn't know the meaning of losing a father, a sibling, friends, an entire life worth of memories! I've lost everything! My mother loves you and I've had to sacrifice everything and everyone I have ever loved! And now they're gone! I don't know where they are or what they're doing. You want to rip me out of another town? Fine, be my guest. I don't know how 'selfish' I've been acting but I have treated Max with every ounce of love and respect ever since I got here. I don't care anymore. Just rip me out of my life again and see how much I care!." May spat and stormed up to her room.
Norman looked shell-shocked at what his stepdaughter said. Caroline glared at him and Norman looked down, ashamed. Caroline shook her head and continued making dinner. May didn't come down that night.
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Twelve year old May's heart stuttered as she saw the giant mansion they were moving too. Nine-year-old Max had already run upstairs to pick his room but May took her sweet time. The house reminded her of the old mansion she used to live in when her parents were still together. Another town, another year of being the new kid no one likes. Combusken and Beautifly were on either side of her; Squirtle and Glaceon were both practicing their ice moves and Ivysaur was in the pokemon garden in the back of the house. Her Skitty was probably somewhere in the house.
She was warned that school was on Monday and she really didn't want to go. She would inevitably end up as the loner kid again, due to her shy nature. Yes she was loud and obnoxious, but only with people she knew. May sighed once more and went to go choose her room, the boxes in her hand.
Monday rolled around the corner and May sullenly got on the bus to LaRousse Junior High. The moment she had emerged from the steps, everyone looked at her and she had immediately looked down and chosen the first seat. Though her hair had fallen from their pigtails and she now wore her hair straight, she had on her signature bandana. She was wearing a flowy top and skinny jeans with boots tucked in. When she got to school, she was completely and utterly lost and completely and utterly confused. The school was gigantic and her schedule felt like it was written in a foreign language. She could probably wander for an entire day in this school and still not be able to find her way to the beginning.
"Ha ha look at the new girl!" a voice jeered. May continued to look down and try to find her way until she bumped into someone.
"Watch where you're going!" a voice snapped. May looked up, totally terrified and started to apologize to the black haired girl. Another black haired girl with gorgeous almond eyes and creamy tan skin looked apologetic and glared at her friend. "Oh, don't you start with my Sha!"
"Ignore her, she'll cool off in a couple of seconds. Are you new here?" the girl asked. May nodded, and looked down shyly. "Well then allow me to introduce myself. I'm Aisha Sharma and this is Blaze Malcolm."
"I'm May Maple. It's nice to meet you guys," May said softly. Aisha smiled sweetly.
"Wait...Maple? As in the daughter of Norman Maple, the gym owner?" May suppressed her frown and nodded. "Wow, it's nice to finally meet a rich person who doesn't act like the world revolves around them! Though it must feel weird to be the new kid, huh?" she questioned sympathetically. With a weak grin, May shrugged.
"I'm used to it. I've moved several times," she laughed. "I usually end up as the loner kid. I honestly didn't think that anyone would recognize my last name." Blaze scoffed.
"Trust me girl, when you operate in similar circles, you're bound to be known. We're more than happy to welcome you to the island of LaRousse misfits." May was happy too.
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It was a couple of weeks later, at lunch, where May's life changed. She had been buying lunch and had the tray in her hands when someone tripped her and she fell face-first onto the ground, spilling sauce all over her white shirt. Everyone laughed until three people emerged, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. May had to swallow down her tears as she got up into a sitting position and tried to wipe the stains off her shirt.
"Alright, who thought it would be funny to trip the new kid?" a voice growled. It sounded oddly familiar yet May couldn't place it. The person who spoke up for her came around to her and started to pick up her stuff. May felt her face become red with anger and embarrassment.
"Listen, I don't need you to stand up for me. I can take care of my – oh my god Gary?" she asked tearfully. Fresh tears had welled up into her eyes as she picked herself up. She got up and tucked her brunette hair behind her ear, pushed back her tears...then raised her hand and slapped him. The sound of her hand making contact with his cheek resounded throughout the whole cafeteria.
Blaze and Aisha came running to their new friend. "May, what do you think you're doing? That's Gary freaking Oak!" Blaze cried. Her cry caused the two people behind Gary to come forward and yell at the girl when they met eyes and stopped short.
"May!" the ginger breathed. Misty Waterflower, in the living flesh. May was breathing heavily and choking on her sobs at the same time, still focused on the brunette male in front of her.
"That's for not writing to me for two and a half years!" Drew had come up at this point and May looked at him with angry and tearful eyes. She tried to slap his cheek but he caught both of her fists so she kneed him in the stomach. "This is for missing my eleventh birthday!" she screamed. And then Drew pulled her in a bear hug and she stood still, not reacting, but trying to catch her breath through sobs. Gary and Misty joined this hug while everyone looked on with confusion.
"May..." Drew whispered brokenly. Even after all these years, he still hated to see her cry. May sniffled and pulled away and then gasped.
"Oh god, I ruined your shirt!" she gasped as she tried to wipe it off of him. This brought Gary back to what had brought him here in the first place.
"Who tripped her?" This time, his voice was ferocious. Everyone in the cafeteria jumped at his tone. A tiny red haired girl stepped up.
"I don't know but I don't see what the big deal is," she quickly inserted. Gary, as well as Drew and Misty, turned on her. May looked on from the back, her expression terrified. She hadn't heard Gary's protective voice in so long.
"Tell that to my face again!" he shouted. The strawberry haired girl looked indignant as she placed her hands on her hips. She was a gorgeous girl with strawberry red hair and pink eyes. She had an oval face and huge eyes and full lips. Though she was dressed in a simple tank top and jeans, they fit her body perfectly and May instantly felt intimidated by her.
"And what on earth makes her so special?" she drawled. Gary literally growled and Drew narrowed his cold eyes.
"Damnit Brianna, she's my freaking sister!" he roared and everyone froze. No one ever messed with anyone with a connection to Gary. Brianna swallowed audibly.
"But her name's May Maple!" she weakly said. Gary growled.
"Her name's May Oak-Maple. Our parents got divorced four years ago." Brianna actually looked scared.
"Look Gary, I didn't know," she laughed nervously. "Drew, please back me up," the girl pleaded weakly. Drew gazed at her coldly, not responding. After the initial shock, the crowd slowly got back to its regular chatter, though now, everyone was talking about the new girl. May pushed through.
"You guys, it's fine. It - it's not a big deal, really." Drew turned to her, eyes instantly softening.
"May...that's the shirt your grandmother gave you before..." he trailed off uncertainly.
"Really, it's ok. It's happened before, I'm used to it. Honestly, my fault for wearing it in the first place. Now can we go? People are starting at us," she awkwardly laughed, trying to diffuse the situation. Wrong thing to say. Now all three of her friends turned to her. Gary's black eyes blazed but softened when he saw May's terrified face.
"What are you talking about?" he asked softly, gripping her shoulders. May squeezed her eyes shut; Gary squeezed harder. "What's happened the past couple of years?" Drew turned to his best friend.
"Gary, let go of her," he hissed. May was still looking away. "Let go bro. Can't you see you're hurting her?" he glared, his moss green eyes flashing with anger. Gary shakily inhaled and let go.
"I've been bullied ever since I moved to Petalburg. But honestly Gar, I don't owe you any sort of explanation," she whispered. Misty had been silent this whole time, shaking her head.
"Guys, let's go to our table. Guys!" Misty snapped when they didn't listen. Gary hugged his sister but she got out of his grasp.
"Leave me alone, I'm going to go sit with my friends," May snapped, her anger with the three of them still apparent. Gary glared at her.
"Don't be silly, May. Sit with us, with me. No one messes with our crew." He was using that protective voice again, acting like he was some type of hero. The voice that used to scare her into submission but now, it just made her angry. He wasn't the only one who had done some growing up.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm not part of your crew and you've done nothing for me for the past couple of years. The only people who've bothered to help me are those two. I'm not going unless they come with me," she glared at her brother, and that's when everyone saw the Oak fire burn in her eyes. Her thumb had been pointed in the direction of Blaze and Aisha. Aisha looked nervous while Blaze looked ferocious. Gary shrugged, then nodded.
"Anything you want little sis," he tentatively smiled. Blaze and Aisha looked at each other with wide eyes but hurried towards May nonetheless. They were led to a table where there were two other guys sitting there. "This is Byron and Rocky. Guys, this is Blaze, Aisha...and my sister, May," Gary smiled. Blaze nodded and Aisha waved.
"Dude, your sister? She's gorgeous!" Byron breathed and Blaze glared at him. She instantly didn't like him. "I mean..." he faltered when he saw Drew and Gary's simultaneous glowers. Rocky just stared at Aisha, who blushed at his scrutinizing stare.
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"So how's Dad and Gwen?" May asked but looked angered when Gary mirthlessly chuckled and Drew and Misty just nervously looked at each other. "Whatever, forget I even freaking asked." Gary sobered.
"No, May, I only laughed because Dad and Gwen haven't been together for a while now." May looked shocked. "Yea, I was shocked too. Now he's dating some model named Laura." May scoffed, still looking peeved.
"Yea, well, I wouldn't have had to ask if you had just bothered to keep in touch with me!" she glared. "I was basically friendless for four years!" she glared at her brother and his friends. Blaze slowly looked at the four of them.
"So you guys were legitimate friends?" she asked. Misty, Gary, and Drew had been the legendary three for as long as all three of them had been here in LaRousse. Misty laughed.
"Yea, we've been friends for seven years now!" she said proudly, though May still looked annoyed.
"Who would have thought that the Oak siblings were polar opposites? Loud Gary and soft and shy May-what?" she asked when she saw Gary and Drew looking at her strangely. Misty snorted.
"May? Shy? There's no way our May is that shy unless..." Misty trailed off looking at her best friend. "What happened to you after all these years?" May stared at her with an annoyed expression and Misty's smile faltered. Drew smirked.
"Wow...the little girl who I met when she fell off the swing is different from the one I see here," he commented lazily. May glared at him but smirked her own smirk.
"Oh, come off it Drew. Or should I tell them about the tea party and how-mph!" she cried as his hand covered her mouth.
While all of this was happening, no one noticed a certain strawberry haired girl glaring at the Oak table, particularly a certain brunette.
