Kris: Hi! Hi! Everyone…I'm kind of depressed. :(

AJ: It's a small world after all…

Kris: You're not going to ask why?

Mikey: It's small world after all…

Kris: So you're just going to keep singing then?

Ash: It's a small world after all…

Kris: Seriously guys?

May: It's a small, small, world!

Kris: …Really?

All: Everybody sing!!!

Kris: -sigh- I don't own pokémon so start the party.

All: Start the party!

AJ: Hey, why are you depressed???

What if

Chapter 21

Chirp…chirpy…chirp CHIRP!!!!!

"Meh…shut up…" the brunette mumbled tiredly. Groggily, she lifted her pillow off her bed and pulled it atop her head. It wasn't until five seconds later that she shot from under the covers with an astonished look on her face. She clumsily got out of bed and rushed to the calendar, skimming her fingers across the dates. Once her finger landed on a square circled in red-

"It's my birthday!" May squealed in excitement. As soon as she turned around, her door swung open revealing the faces of her parents and her yawning younger brother. She beamed as they began singing the annual birthday song. There was a tray in her mother's arms that held all her favorite breakfast foods.

"Happy Birthday May!" Her mother said with a warm smile. She sat the tray down on her bed and stepped back so Max could give his contribution.

"Happy…yeah…you were born." And with that he left the room, most likely heading back to his own bedroom. May frowned at him but quickly shook the feeling away. Her father nodded approvingly and they both left the room, closing the door behind them.

May sighed happily and plopped down on her bed with a content grin on her face. She let the delicious smell of the food next to her churn the wheels in her empty stomach. But she couldn't ignore something in the back of her mind telling her to look out the window. Shrugging it off, she turned to her breakfast and made short work of the eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice before putting on her school uniform.

Once that was done, she turned to her mirror and began combing through her hair before putting on a burgundy colored headband. Feeling complete, she picked up her books and left the room. She waved goodbye to her family before grabbing her tote bag by the door and leaving. She carefully walked down the porch and made her way to the main sidewalk.

Ahead of her she could see the familiar boy waiting in front of his driveway, standing nonchalantly. As if he felt her presence, he turned around to face her with a small smile adorning his features. She looked up at him warily, silently dreading what was coming next.

"Uh…hi Gary." She whispered lightly. She was searching for at least an inkling of the happiness she had just ten minutes prior to their morning meeting. She knew why she felt so awkward around him. Any other day they would've said they're greetings and began their usual walk to school. But today wasn't just any other morning.

She studied his face, looking for that dreadful mischief. But surprisingly, she didn't find anything. He was just semi-normal Gary. Her heartbeat decreased slightly as she waited for his reaction, his next movement, what he had planned.

"May…I…happy birthday." He smiled. It was genuine, she could tell. She nodded in acceptance and turned to leave but he stopped her.

"Hold on, I got you a present." He gave her a toothy grin to which she gulped inaudibly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, white, rectangular box. Her eyes widened at the sight, already having a general idea of what it was. He handed it to her with hopeful eyes. She took it in her hands and lifted the top of the box and gasped. Inside was a gold locket engraved with the letters 'May.'

"Gary this is-" she started.

"Open it." He edged. She worked her fingers across the sleek heart and pressed the button on the side. Inside was a picture of her and Gary when they were around ten years old. She could feel a stinging in the corner of her eyes at the sight and gave him a sincere look.

"Loser! You're about to make me cry." She playfully shoved him while trying to conceal her tears. He smiled down on her and reached down to clasp the necklace around her neck. Once it was secured she held it in her hands and smiled brightly.

"I know it's not going to make up for the past birthdays but I'm making a better effort, starting now." He gave her a determined look, which faltered immediately after she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm not going to say the cliché line, 'Oh! It's the best present I've ever gotten!' But it is the best present I've ever gotten from you. Thank you." With that, she wiped the lingering tears and took a step back.

"You're welcome. Now that's go to school." He offered his right elbow for her to take, which she gladly accepted.

"You know, it's about time you turned sixteen." And with that, she unhooked her elbow in his and stomped ahead of him with an irritated scowl on her face.

'It was bound to happen sometime…' is what she murmured to herself. She could hear his hurried footsteps quickly approaching. She slowed down her march, waiting for him to catch up.

"Come on May, you know I was only kidding." He gave a laugh to which she turned around with a playful frown on her face. He smirked at her with that evident glint of mischief in his eyes. May sighed and uncrossed her arms, turning away from him.

"Are you serious May?" he asked in an incredulous voice. He gave a defeated sigh before stuffing his hands in his pockets and continuing the walk without her. He only turned back around when he heard light giggles behind him. May was laughing inside of her hands.

"Come on Gary, you know I was only kidding." She mocked him with a smirk of her own.

.-.

May entered the combination in her locker and propped open her temporary use of storage. She dropped her Biology book on the top shelf before bending down to get a binder. Feeling satisfied she closed the locker shut only to come face to face with a certain black haired boy.

"Oh! Ash! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she scolded him. He merely laughed and gave her a grin before admiring the many designs on her locker.

"Wow, Kelly and Brianna did a good job of decorating." He complimented. May nodded in agreement, feeling a tad bit awkward just standing in the hallway staring at the only bright pink locker in sight.

"They sure did…" she looked off to the side and pursed her lips slightly. She turned only when Ash cleared his throat slightly.

"I did some thinking and I decided that I'm going to make sure you have a good birthday." He said, beckoning her to follow him down the hallway. May agreed and strode beside him with a slightly confused, yet amused expression on her face.

"Oh really? How do you plan to do that?" she asked, her interest caught.

"You'll see." He left with a hanging answer that annoyed her even more. "Here's your present. Well…some of it anyway." He answered, handing her a small decorative bag that had balloons on the front. May accepted it and tore the tissue paper to get the bottom of the bag.

"A glow stick?" she asked, pulling the stick out of the bag and giving both him and it a strange look.

"I said it was only part of it, you'll get the other parts later." With that, he strode into their first hour with his hands stuffed in his pocket. May stood there with an unlit glow stick in one hand and an empty birthday bag in the other.

"Wait, there are other parts? Why is he so darn confusing?" May huffed before following him into the classroom. She quickly found her seat, which was a few rows away from him. Since it was fairly early, there weren't a lot of students in the class, which made May a little bit relieved. It was all she needed for a certain marooned haired moron to come in and ruin her birthday.

"Well if it isn't the birthday girl." Said moron called out to her. May gave him a glare while he situated himself in the seat that was conveniently next to hers.

"Is it just me or do we sit next to each in every class we have?" she asked, with her head resting in her palm. He gave the question a thought before shrugging and reaching into his bag for something.

"Who knows Maple? But I did you get you something." He gave her a devilish grin before handing her a red envelope. May eyed it warily before taking it into her hands. She cautiously opened it and found it to be an invitation.

"This is an invitation to the party you're having tomorrow night." She said.

"Congrats, you can read." He muttered. May glared coldly at him before huffing and turning away from him. "Come on Maple, don't be like that. I just thought I'd invite you and the mister for a civilized evening of tea and finger sandwiches." He admitted with an almost innocent look. May scoffed at his attempt.

"More like spiked punch and chips." She rolled her eyes before dropping the invite into her bag.

"So are you and Gar-bear going to grace everybody with your 'oh-so-wonderful' presence tomorrow night?" he asked with a slightly hopeful glint in his eyes.

"I don't know Tyson, I'll have to see. But for now, leave me alone." She gave him a cocked eyebrow.

"Someone's snippy, I bet it's that old age getting to you, huh?" May quickly snapped her head in his direction and did what seemed appropriate at the given moment.

"Ow!"

.-.

Lunch couldn't come any sooner for the brunette as she strode down the stairs with Ash at her heels. She grinned at the short length of the lines and quickly made her way to the shortest one. The cafeteria was noisy as laughter and conversation bounced off the walls.

Ash was right behind her wearing a grin that was slightly unusual for him. May smiled at the fact and turned her attention back to the line that was moving at a steady pace. As they inched forward and she grabbed her tray, May was lost in her thoughts. She strolled up to the counter, grabbing a plate of pizza sticks with a salad and a cup of pineapples and mandarins on the side.

'I wonder what else Ash got me…it's frustrating not knowing!' she grumbled in her hand while paying for her meal. Once she was out of the line, she quickly scanned the cafeteria for an empty table to sit at. Quickly spotting one, her and Ash sat down and began eating.

"So, are you racking your brain trying to figure out what else I got you?" he asked, taking a bite of his cheeseburger. May nodded innocently.

"Well yeah. I mean come on, it is kind of-"

"Frustrating? That's the point." He laughed. "But I suppose I could give you the other part now." He shrugged, reaching over his side for something. May leaned over to see what it was. In his hands was a CD case that was black and red on the cover. May took it in her hands and smiled slightly.

"Is this…Lance's new CD?" she asked, giving him a strange look. He nodded, taking a sip of his chocolate milk.

"You said you liked classic rock, so I got you his newest one. There are some pretty good tracks on there." He explained. May nodded, looking at the back and skimming through all the song titles before dropping it into her tote bag and returning to her lunch.

"Okay, so far you've gotten me a glow stick, and a rock CD…am I suppose to guess what all this means?" she asked.

"Well you can it you want but I'm not going to tell you. Just meet me after school and you'll get the last part." He said with a nod. May gave him a skeptical look before beginning to eat her lunch.

"So what did I miss yesterday?" she asked, playing with the fork in her salad.

"Uhm…in computer, we just retyped an essay. English class went alright, except for when we got an extra homework assignment because everyone was talking. Then in French we have a project that's due next Friday." He explained. May slumped down in her chair with a pout.

"This is why I hate missing school. There's so much crap to catch up on." Ash laughed at her face before finishing off his curly fries.

"Don't worry about it. I'll help you, plus you have to be my partner in French since there was an odd number." May nodded, opening up her cup of fruit.

"Sounds like a-a-achoo!" she sneezed loudly. Ash stifled a laugh before she could glare at him.

"Yeah, how's that sickness doing?" he asked. May shook her head.

"It's alright, just a few coughs and sneezes here and there." She waved her hands as a gesture. He nodded and stood up with his empty tray. May watched him as he left, her head resting in her palm as she brought her fork full of mandarins up to her mouth.

"Don't choke!" someone behind her shook her roughly by her shoulders, startling her. The pineapple she was eating shot right down her throat. Turning around she was immediately met by the face of her best friend.

"Kelly! Don't do that!" she scolded her while trying to still her racing heart. Kelly merely laughed at her reaction and took a seat to the right of May.

"Calm down alright? Anyway, I saw you staring at Ash. Do…you know like him or something?" Kelly asked with an arched eyebrow. May shot her and incredulous look, almost choking on her pineapple again.

"What? No! I don't, not like that anyway. And if I did, which I don't, I'd never do anything about it." May said, her resolve firm. Kelly gave her a strange look.

"You wouldn't? How come? Don't tell me you're turning into Dawn now, not telling a certain purple-haired guy that she's crazy about him." May laughed at the comparison.

"Not even close. Besides, what about Gary? You know how long he's been waiting for this and even if I don't like Gary the in the same way that he says he likes me, going after Ash would be like a slap in the face to him. I mean we've known each other practically our whole lives. While me and Ash have been hanging out for a week or so. That's totally wrong and you know it." She explained. Kelly nodded playing with her short hair.

"Yes, yes, yes. I understand completely. Not even Gary deserves and unfaithful girlfriend. But what ever happened to listening to your heart, you know? Like following your gut feeling and going for the goal!" with that, she shot out of her seat and pumped her fist high in the air.

"Kells, we're talking about relationships here, not a game of chance." May pulled on her arm in order to get her to sit down.

"But love is a game of chance! Don't you see? If you make the wrong choice, it's practically over." Kelly said, sitting back down in her seat with a nostalgic frown on her face. May gave her a sympathetic look.

"Happiness is an important part but it depends on whose happiness you're talking about." She finished.

"Whose happiness were you thinking about this past summer?" May gave her an expectant look to go with Kelly's wide-eyed one.

"I…I…" she stuttered.

"Hey Kelly, I didn't see you earlier." Their conversation was interrupted when Ash came back, trayless.

"Oh h-hey Ash. Uh, sorry but I have to get back to class now, so I'll…talk to you guys later. See ya…" May watched as Kelly slowly made her way up the stairs. Ash couldn't help but notice her saddened march away from their table.

"…What happened while I was gone?" He asked cautiously.

"What did happen, Ash?"

Kris: Depression hurts!

AJ: Why are you depressed???

Kris: Oh, so now you want to ask? Well guess what? It's a small world!

Mikey: Yes, yes it is!

Kris: Alright. Next chapter May will get the final part of her present from Ash and all that jazz. Read my latest profile entry if you want to know why this chapter took so long.

Ash: What this is like our singing story.

May: What?

All: Sorry for the severe lateness! 4 Sure!

R&R