Alas, I am alive! Gah, I just finished writing this, and it's half past two in the morning. Gah. I would like to apologize so much for the lateness of this chapter. I am so sorry. I've been suffering from major writer's block recently, but I'm happy to say that my imagination has returned! I also had trouble writing because of several reasons:
1. Homework.
2. GCSEs.
3. Tests and exams.
4. Work.
5. The music show (which turned out to be fabulous!).
6. My laptop deleted this chapter about four times before I could actually complete it.
7. Music lessons.
8. Stalking my crush.
9. Stalking him again.
10. Receiving several restraining orders from him.
Ahh, there we go! Plenty of excuses, which you will all probably ignore. :D
After reclaiming my imagination, I must say that this chapter is quite adorable. Well, the start is a bit... ngyehh, but the rest is fabulous. As you all know, I quite like dramatic stuff (Death, injuries, accidents etc.), so this chapter is a bit of a change.
By the way; do you guys like my little (huge) author notes? If not, please tell me! Sometimes I can see that writing author notes can be annoying, but I can't help it! It makes me feel like I'm connecting with all my loyal little fans (oh crap, I sound like the bloody Queen).
I've received quite a lot of emails and reviews saying, "You're British!?" Lmfao! I then noticed that 90% of my reviewers are from America or Canada. Barely no one from Wales, let alone England! I never knew that British fanfic authors were so rare... xD
Well, my fantastic little readers! Here's the twenty-first chapter! Merry Late Christmas, and a Happy Early New Year (:
The afternoon sun glimmered over the magnificent city of Goldenrod, its rays reflecting on the shining river which snaked through the buildings. It was a beautiful day, and many tourists had come to visit Goldenrod with two objectives; visit the amazing shops, which were the main reason of Goldenrod's popularity, and watch the final round of the yearly Goldenrod Contest.
"I've heard that the winner of the Kanto Grand Festival is in the final six," the visitors would whisper to each other.
"I'm sure that the grandson of Professor Oak is there too!"
"Really? I thought he was a researcher, like his grandfather!"
"Maybe he decided to be a Co-ordinator instead."
"My, my, this year's Contest sure does have a good final six!"
Drew and May were standing nearby the little group of tourists, who were chattering to each other, in hushed tones for some reason.
"Hmm," scowled May, frowning at the tourists. "They know a lot about Solidad and Gary, yet they know nothing about us!"
"Stop eavesdropping," replied Drew, sighing, although he too had been listening to the feverish tourists. "It doesn't matter if we're not famous or popular. What matters is our strength and talent as a Co-ordinator."
"I suppose," murmured May reluctantly. "Man, how far is this Pokemon Centre? Ally said it was close to the hospital!"
"Ally also thinks that the sun is close to the Earth," said Drew, smirking slightly. "Anyway, we've only been walking for an hour –"
"An hour!"
"-so we should be close by now."
They quickened their pace, but just as they were leaving the little plaza where they and the tourists were, one of the tourists suddenly said, "Oh! That green-haired kid from Hoenn is there too, isn't he?"
"Oh yeah! My, he's a handsome boy! Wasn't he the one who was second in the Hoenn Grand Festival?"
"Yes, I think! That reminds me, the daughter of the Petalburg City Gym Leader in Hoenn is in the final six too! She came second against the winner of the Kanto Grand Festival!"
"Wow! The Goldenrod Contest sounds more exciting than the Pokemon League!"
May felt herself glow with pride as she grinned at Drew.
"They know me! Oh my God, I'm famous!" she squealed.
"There's a fine line between famous and 'the girl who was second in the Kanto Grand Festival'," muttered Drew. He was feeling slightly irked, for he had been referred as 'the green-haired kid'.
"Aww, don't be such a spoilsport, Drew! At least they called you handsome."
"You'd be annoyed if you were always recalled as the kid with green hair," grumbled Drew. May, seemingly just to irritate him more, ruffled his hair.
"Ah, Drew, your hair is your trademark!" she grinned. "Don't you dare dye it," she added in an undertone, narrowing her eyes.
"But I think brown or black hair would really suit me..."
"No, Drew. Black will match with your shirt, and your clothes are so not supposed to match your hair. So black is a no-no. And brown is my hair colour!"
"I'm sure you could share."
"No!"
Drew glared at May, but then sighed. "I suppose you're right. I can't change my hair; it's part of who I am."
"That's more like it," smiled May, ruffling Drew's hair again, who smacked her hand away. He swiftly flicked the part of his hair which kept settling between his two emerald eyes.
"Come on then," he said. They walked on, and left the tourists behind them. As they turned around a corner, they saw that they had reached the main shopping centre.
"Aha!" exclaimed May suddenly, pointing her finger. "There it is!"
Right next to the rather large Pokemon Mart stood the Pokemon Centre, sparkling in the sunlight of the afternoon. The vast rotating Pokeball spun around and around from its perch, above the doorway of the Centre. Rushing through the shoppers and tourists, they barged their way to the centre, pausing briefly to gaze at the magnificence of the Pokemon Centre.
"Pretty extravagant for a centre, eh?" said Drew, watching the massive Pokeball roll in its place.
They hurried inside. The reception area was relatively empty, except for a cap-wearing Chansey and one of the infinite Nurse Joys.
"Hello!" greeted the shocking-pink-haired woman, smiling warmly at the two young Co-ordinators. "How may I help?"
"Have you seen a girl with light brown hair and a Dragonair come in here?" asked Drew, leaning towards the nurse.
"Why, yes, I have," said Nurse Joy. "She said that the Dragonair belongs to a friend of hers. Are you the owner of the Dragonair?"
"No." Drew shook his head. "Dragonair's Master is in hospital right now."
"Oh my!" breathed Nurse Joy, covering her gasping mouth with her hand. "Is Dragonair's Master alright?"
"Well, he's paralyzed his arm, you see," said May quietly. "He's going to be in hospital for quite a while."
"Dragonair got hurt in the same accident as her Master," continued Drew. "We've been sent here to make sure Dragonair is alright."
"Dragonair is in intensive care at the moment. Don't worry, she's recovering nicely," added the nurse.
"That's good," said May, sighing in relief. "Apparently, Dragonair is Charlie's most prized Pokemon."
The door to the side of the room opened as May spoke. Through it emerged Ally, looking rather cheerful.
"Oh, hi guys!" she chirped, bouncing up to her friends. "Since when were you here?"
Before any of them could answer, she continued, "Dragonair's doing great! She's already moving around, although I had to stop her from moving too much because apparently she has internal bleeding or something, but Nurse Joy says she'll heal in time, so that's okay, isn't it? Oh, how's Charlie? Has he woken up yet? I don't know if he's awake or not, 'cause I left the room to take Dragonair here... is he awake then? Oh God, he must be horrified about his arm! I wonder how he's taking it... Oh, I wonder if he's angry with Harley! Oh, could he be angry with Jay, too? After all, Jay wasn't exactly a fantastic brother to him, but hell, brothers love each other, don't they? Well, I don't like my brother much, 'cause he never talks. Then again, my sisters talk waaay too much, so maybe Cody is my favourite sibling, because my sisters never shut up!"
There was a slight pause.
"Shut up, Ally."
...
...
The chilly winter wind of Snowpoint blew through the young travellers' hair as they made their way up to the snowy city. They would arrive in Snowpoint by nightfall, if they were in luck. Max, Dawn, Brock and Ash had to walk slowly now, for Paul was having great difficulty in catching up. He had often attempted to sneak away from the group, but he was in too much pain to run. By mid-afternoon, his ankle throbbed so much that Ash sent Max to act as Paul's walking stick.
"What!?" shrieked Max, outraged. "Why me?!"
"You're the shortest out of us," explained Ash. "Paul needs someone shorter than him to lean on, you see."
"Dawn's shorter than me!"
This was true; over the past few months of travelling in Sinnoh, Max had grown much taller, and was almost as tall as Ash himself.
"I am not letting Paul get his filthy hands anywhere near Dawn!" growled Ash. He had not forgotten that Paul had been sleeping in the same sleeping bag as Dawn, who was several years younger than him.
Max eventually had to give up. Grunting, he trudged towards Paul.
"I don't need any help," muttered Paul, glaring at Max. "Especially not from you, Wimpy."
As he said this, his ankle caught on a sharp rock, and, hissing in pain, he stumbled forwards and clung onto Max's shoulder for support.
"Looks like you do need my help, Limpy," smirked Max, shifting his and Paul's weight so he could walk more comfortably.
Paul deliberately walked at a painfully slow pace, just to annoy Max. After half an hour of trudging along like a snail, Max snapped "If you don't speed up, I'll tie a rope around you and get Swinub to drag you instead."
The silver-haired teen glared at Max, but obeyed. He walked at a faster pace. Ash, Dawn and Brock were a few yards ahead, so they couldn't hear Max and Paul bickering as they trundled together.
"Why won't you just leave me alone, Wimpy?" snapped Paul, as Max continued to aid as a walking stick.
"I'd love to dump you on the ground and let you freeze to death in the snow," grumbled Max, "but sadly, Dawn will kill me."
"Jesus, why do you care so much about that girl?" replied Paul, rolling his onyx eyes.
"You can't fool me, Paul," said Max, shaking his hair of the few snowflakes that had landed there. "I know you like her."
"You don't know anything," said Paul coolly. "You're just a stupid little kid."
"I may be a little kid," replied Max, "but I'm not stupid. I know you like Dawn, so why won't you admit it?"
"I don't like anyone, especially that whiny girl," said Paul in a bored tone.
"Dawn's not whiny. You're the whiny one."
Paul paused. He turned to Max.
"Oh really?" he said, smirking slightly. "Go on, then. Attempt to insult me more."
"Don't worry, I will," snapped Max. "You're horrible. You're cold. You don't care about anyone except for yourself. You're selfish, sarcastic and generally, you're a bastard. I'm sure your parents were glad to be killed; they were finally free of you!"
Cold fury appeared in Paul's dark eyes.
"I'm a bastard, eh?" said Paul, his eyes now alive with angry emotions. "I'm a bastard, yet you're the one that just insulted the death of my parents."
"Paul, I didn't mean that-,"
"Shut up, Wimpy. I've always thought that people were trash, yeah? But you're by far the biggest pile of shit I've ever met."
Max's eyes met Paul's, and they glared at each other for a few seconds, before Max broke the connection by looking away and snapping, "Let's just forget that this happened. If Dawn finds out that we've been fighting again, then we're both dead."
Paul said nothing as the two of them started to walk again. Dawn, Ash, Brock and Pikachu were still in sight, but they were too far for Max and Paul to catch up with them.
"I can see Snowpoint, I think," said Max quietly, after long moments of silence. "Can you see it?"
"Yeah. We'll be there by nightfall."
It was odd; shouting insults at each other earlier had seemingly broken the ice between them. Max still disliked Paul greatly, but the hate within him was slowly dying. He felt sorry for Paul; after all, his parents were dead.
"I remember when my dad went to Snowpoint City," said Max suddenly, smiling at the memory. "He bought souvenir gym badges for me and my sister, but May stole mine and sold it to our neighbour."
Paul was silent for a few moments, before saying, "My brother gave me a souvenir badge from here, too."
"You have a brother?"
Max was surprised; Paul had actually conversed normally with Max, and he had revealed that he in fact had a brother.
"Yeah."
"How old is he?"
"Nineteen. He's a Pokemon Breeder."
"Oh! Like Brock, huh?"
"He's nothing like Brock," said Paul, his lip curling. "Reggie is far better."
"I'd like to meet him someday," smiled Max. "Does he look after you now?"
"I don't need anyone to look after me," snapped Paul, but then added, "but he watches out for me."
The two boys fell silent again. Max no longer hated Paul; he felt almost friendly towards him. He looked up towards the sky: the sun was sinking deeper into the mountain points, and light was fading from the sky.
"I think I can walk on my own now," said Paul suddenly. Both he and Max stopped walking, and he tenderly leaned on his damaged ankle. He hissed slightly in pain, but he was stable.
"You sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine..." said Paul, as they started to walk again. He then added, barely a murmur, "Thanks, Wimpy."
"No problem, Limpy."
...
...
"Six servings of Ally's Hot Chocolate Suprise coming up!" called Ally's voice from the kitchen. All six of the Co-ordinators were in Drew and May's bedroom; May and Solidad were perched on a bed, while Drew, Jay and Gary were sprawled over the carpet. Drew and Gary had originally been sitting on the other bed, but Ally had taken command of the bed and had pushed the two boys onto the ground. Although Ally was no longer in the room, Drew and Gary felt safer on the ground. Jay was dozing lightly; he had barely slept the previous night.
"Don't use too much chocolate, Ally," warned Solidad. "We don't want you getting hyper again."
"But I like being hyper!" echoed Ally's voice from the kitchen.
"Man, I'm so freakin' excited about the contest!" grinned Gary, nudging Drew with his elbow. "You?"
"I'm not excited, 'cause I know I'm gonna win anyway," shrugged Drew with a smirk. May tossed a pillow at him.
"Arrogance!" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Actually, May, it's 'confidence'," contradicted Drew, still smirking. May threw another pillow at him.
"You'll never win, Drew," she said, "because I'm gonna win!"
"Who's being cocky now, eh?" sneered Drew. May, because she had run out of pillows, instead pushed Solidad off the bed, causing the redhead to land on top of Drew.
"What the hell are you two doing?" shrieked Ally as she re-entered the room with a tray of hot chocolate drinks. "I don't want any gang bangs on the carpet, thanks!"
Gary and May roared in laughter as Drew and Solidad got up from the ground, looking furious at May.
"May, you are dead!"
Before any of them could do anything, Jay groggily snapped, "Will you all just shut the hell up?"
Drew fell onto May's bed, looking disgruntled. He grumbled, "Solidad's heavier than she looks."
"Thanks," replied Solidad cynically, perching herself beside Gary, who was still chuckling.
Drew stretched his limbs, yawning. "I'm tired."
"You ain't sleeping on my bed, mister," said May, nudging the green-haired youth. "Get into your own bed."
"Too... tired... to move..." said Drew, mocking sleepiness. "Pillow... so... comfy..."
"Hey! Seeing as it's our last night here," said Ally suddenly, "let's have a sleepover!"
"Yes!" squealed May. Gary jerked his head up.
"Sleepover, you say?" he said, his eyes bright. "Can we have a pillow fight?!"
"..Why?" said Drew slowly, raising from May's bed.
"Dude. Think about it: three hot girls wearing skimpy nightclothes having a pillow fight."
"Pervert," grumbled Solidad, kicking Gary in the shin.
"Well, I think a sleepover is a good idea, as long as Gary doesn't turn into a paedophile," smiled May, as Ally handed her a mug of hot chocolate. "But where will we all sleep?"
"Eh, I'm happy on the carpet," shrugged Gary, sprawling his legs on the floor. Solidad nodded.
"Hell, it's kinda comfy down here!"
"Poor Jay is exhausted," said Ally softly, "so he can sleep on Drew's bed."
"What?!" said Drew, enraged. "Where am I supposed to sleep, then?"
"You can share May's bed. I've seen you do it before in my house, anyway."
Gary propped up his head. "Oh? Drew and May in the same bed?"
"Yeah! They looked so cute..."
Both Drew and May were staring in a horrified manner at Ally.
"So, are you two a couple?" asked Gary, turning to face them.
"No!" shrieked May, and she hastily pushed Drew off her bed. "He's older than me!"
"By six months!" snapped Drew as he landed heavily on the ground. "It's not like I'm a forty year old paedophile."
"Well, we all know you're a pervert," smirked Gary. "Remember this morning's incident, Drew?"
"Incident?" grumbled Jay from the floor. He rubbed his eyes, and sat up. "What incident?
"Greenie here managed to grope May!" chuckled Gary.
"That's just... weird," replied the black-haired youth, yet he smiled slightly. "You must've been in the same bed to manage to do that, Drew."
"Oh yeah!" said Ally slowly. "Jesus, guys, you must be a couple!"
"We're not," scowled May, folding her arms. "We're merely travelling with each other."
"Misty and Ash fell in love each while they were travelling," shrugged Gary. "Maybe the same will happen to you two."
"Ash would kill you if he heard you saying that!" said May, frowning.
"Why? It's obvious that he loves Misty."
"Who're Ash and Misty?" asked Ally, cocking her head as she sipped some of her hot chocolate.
"I used to travel with Ash, and Misty also used to travel with him," explained May. "Brock told me that they bickered constantly, but by the end of their journey in the Johto region, they were practically in love with each other."
"Look, can't we talk about something else?" said Drew bad-temperedly, clambering back onto May's bed. He grabbed a mug of hot chocolate and sipped it. "The contest is tomorrow; let's talk about that."
"Tryin' to change the subject, eh, Greenie?" smirked Gary, but he stopped teasing anyway.
"My family's coming to watch me tomorrow," grinned Ally, squealing in delight. "Cody, Ellie, Fifi and Mom!"
"What about your dad?" quizzed Drew. "Oh, he's probably staying on the farm, huh?"
"Yeah," said Ally. "Ever since Harley destroyed the fences that kept our Mareep in place, Dad's been busy fixin' the farm and-,"
She stopped hastily as Jay's onyx eyes widened and gazed at her.
"What?" he said sharply. "Harley did what?"
"Nothing," muttered Ally. "Forget what I said."
But Jay was now sitting up, and he repeated, "What did Harley do, Ally?"
"He has this stupid rivalry with May and I," explained Drew, sitting on the floor beside Jay. "When we were staying in Ally's house, Harley popped up and turned off the power supply of the farm. He then released all of Ally's Mareep, causing havoc. But Ally's sister managed to find the Mareep again, so it was alright in the end."
"That... bastard!" snarled Jay, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I almost forgave him!"
The room was silent for a few moments, before Gary said, "I don't know much about Harley. I only met him yesterday. But there's something about him that makes me worry."
"He's lost his parents, and he thought his brothers were lost to him forever," said Solidad quietly, looking up at Jay. "Listen to me, Jay. When I met Harley, he seemed to be an incredibly kind guy. The harsh shadow he hides behind is just a shield. Losing his parents was an awful ordeal for him. He's the oldest out of the three of you, so he remembers your parents the best."
"I admit it, I can't remember Mom and Dad at all," muttered Jay," but I just lost Typhlosion, and you don't see me rampaging about, trying to kill everything in sight."
Ally, Drew and May continued to explain to Jay of Harley's past antics, while Solidad shook her head, murmuring to herself. Jay grew increasingly angry towards his oldest brother, and took his frustration out on Gary's leg.
"For God's sake, Jay, get the hell off my leg!" shrieked Gary as Jay punched his leg for the fifth time. "If you're so angry at your brother, go beat him up! And leave me and my leg out of it!"
"Sorry," mumbled Jay, flopping down onto the carpet beside Gary, his face glum. "It's just that I hate Harley so much for what he's done, but I just can't stand hurting his feelings."
"No offense, but shut the hell up," grumbled Gary back. "Moaning about stuff ain't gonna make you feel better. Just go up to Harley and talk to him, damnit. Is it really that hard?"
"You wouldn't know. You don't have any brothers."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well? Do you?"
"...No. But really, Jay, you should talk to Harley. Talk to Charlie, too. It'll make all three of you feel better, eh?"
"I think it's best to not talk to your brothers," said May softly from her bed. "Especially Charlie. He's just found out that he's unable to use his arm; he's gonna need some time on his own to get used to it."
"Harley's gone now, anyway," muttered Jay. "He's gone to La Rousse."
Drew sat up, his eyes suddenly sharp.
"What? He's in La Rousse?"
"Well, on his way-,"
"He's such a bastard!" snapped Drew loudly, causing May to flinch.
"Drew, don't get so worked up, please..." said May, resting her palm on the back of Drew's hand. This soothed him slightly.
"Harley went to La Rousse to visit Dorian's grave," said Jay quietly, his onyx eyes meeting with Drew's emerald ones. "He doesn't know that Dorian was your brother, Drew."
"But still... he's left Charlie..." muttered Drew, his voice softer now.
"I'm here for Charlie."
Despite his anger, Drew smiled slightly at Jay. Although he was still in pain, emotional-wise, Jay still cared for his brothers. Drew respected him.
Solidad and Ally looked at each other, and then grinned.
"Excellent! Everyone has finally calmed down," chirped Ally, her eyes shining.
"Indeed, my friend!" agreed Solidad, speaking with an odd English accent for some reason. "Shall we begin having fun now, old bean?"
"Ah yes, most certainly!" said Gary with a grin, joining in. "We shall definitely have some fun now. Jay, old chap, would you mind joining me in a pillow fight?"
Jay was silent for a few seconds, before squealing, "Oh yes, my friend! It sounds delightfully joyous!"
Laughing, Gary grabbed Solidad's pillow (causing her to lose her balance and topple over) and started to attack Jay with it. Jay, in return, grabbed Drew's pillow and started to thrust it in Gary's face.
"Oho! What a magnificent battle this is!" laughed May, also adopting the odd English accent. "I believe I shall join! But sadly, it seems that we are out of pillows. Jay, Gary, you have destroyed our only pillows, you twits."
Her words were true; feathers were delicately falling about, causing everyone to sneeze in-between giggles.
Back in her normal accent, Solidad said, "I'll go get some pillows from my room. Ally, coming? We need to get our nightclothes and stuff, too."
"Alright!"
The girls scrambled out of the room, still laughing. Jay suggested that he and Gary should go get some pillows and nightclothes too, although Gary protested by saying, "I sleep in the nude."
May shrieked, "You're wearing pyjamas whether you like it or not, you pervert!" before pushing both Jay and Gary out of the room, leaving her alone with Drew.
"So, you alright, Drew?" she said, sitting down beside the green-haired boy.
"Yeah, I'm alright now," he said, smiling softly. "I always feel better when I'm with people. Especially you, May."
May froze; her face slightly blushed.
"Y-yeah. I like your company too, Drew," she said, squeezing his hand. Drew cast his eyes on her.
"In what way? More than a friend?" he said. He bit his lip slightly, and then added, "Because I think I lo-,"
The door burst open; both Jay and Gary collapsed into the room, wrestling each other rather aggressively yet playfully, with Solidad and Ally laughing in a delighted manner behind them.
"You're wearing pyjamas, and that's final!" Jay was yelling, slamming Gary into the wall.
"Never!" shouted Gary back, thrusting Jay onto the floor and comically body-slapping him. "You've forced me to wear pyjamas the past two days, but I ain't doin' it again!"
"Why not!? There's nothing wrong with wearing pants at night, you retard!"
"I like my privets to be free, thank you!"
"You're disgusting! I'm not sleeping in the same room as a nudist!"
That comment caused both Drew and May to burst into tears of laughter. Jay looked up at Gary, who was tittering slightly, and also started to laugh. Soon, all six Co-ordinators were screeching with laughter for several minutes.
Eventually, they calmed down enough to speak properly.
"I can't even remember what's so funny!" giggled Ally, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Goth here called me a nudist!" reminded Gary, jerking his head at the still-laughing Jay.
"Nudist!" shrieked Solidad, bursting into peals of laughter again. "That's your new name, alright!"
"Oh, fine," scowled Gary. "I'll wear pants. But I ain't wearing a top."
"Good enough for me," grinned Jay.
"Topless Gary... oh my, Jay and I might turn gay at the sight of you," smirked Drew, waggling his eyebrows in a mock-sexy manner. In reply, Gary attacked Drew with one of Ally's pillows.
"Fight me, worthy advisory!" he said, leaping onto Drew's bed, causing May to topple off and land with a bump on Ally.
"Oh, alright!" said Drew, smiling cheerfully. May was relieved to see that Drew was finally starting to act normally (well, weirdly) again. But what had he been trying to say earlier...? She blushed at the thought.
Looking up, she saw Gary and Drew were standing on the bed, and springing about wildly with a pillow in each hand, whacking each other while laughing.
Suddenly, May felt a huge blow to her head; spinning around, she saw Solidad standing there, grinning sheepishly with a pillow swinging from her arm.
"Oh, it's on!" said May, her eyes glinting. She tugged one of Gary's pillows out of his hand, and both she and Solidad collapsed onto the floor, squealing as they attacked each other. May accidentally hit Jay's head, so he too decided to join in, and somehow, Ally got dragged into the fight too. Up on the bed, Drew lost his balance and toppled over, grabbing Gary as he fell. The two boys landed on the pile of people and pillows beneath them, and there was soon a free-for-all pillow fight going on. They eventually had to stop when all but three pillows had exploded in a haze of feathers.
" Oh God... that was fun..." sighed Solidad, lying down on the carpet while flicking feathers off her hair.
"I agree so much," nodded Jay. "Bizarre, really. I used to hate pillow fights. But it was fun with you guys," he smiled.
"Yeah," smiled Drew, his emerald eyes alive with happiness. "Definitely a night to remember."
"I think we've all tired ourselves out now," giggled May, as she saw Jay snuggle into one of the remaining pillows, snuffling like a small child as he grew sleepier. "Come on! Bed!"
"Ooh, if you say so, May, darling," said Gary, growling in what he thought was a sexy manner.
"Oi, no flirting with the opposition!" warned Solidad. "Remember; we're all gonna be going against each other tomorrow!"
"Well, technically, we're going against each other today. It's one-thirty a.m.," exclaimed Ally, looking at her watch.
"Ah. Well. I suppose we should get some sleep," said Drew, slightly sheepishly.
"Alright. Girls change in the bathroom. Boys change in the bedroom," commanded May. She grabbed her nightclothes, and ushered Ally and Solidad into the bathroom, and locked the door closed.
Jay immediately dived under the bedclothes to change into his pyjamas, whilst Drew and Gary confidently stripped in front of each other. To make Jay feel more nervous and uncomfortable, they decided to throw in some homosexual flirting.
"Drew... your soft green hair looks wonderful against your lovely skin..."
"Gary, darling! Your eyes light my heart up like a thousand candles!"
"Oh Drew!"
"Oh Gary!"
"STOP IT!" shrieked Jay, emerging from the bed in his pyjama pants and black t-shirt which said, "Do Not Disturb".
"Hah, we were just messing around with you," smirked Gary, ruffling Jay's spiky black hair. "Your face was hilarious!"
"Shut up," scowled Jay. He clambered back into the bed, and buried himself deep in the rosy-smelling covers. He was surprised when Ally emerged from the bathroom and dive-bombed onto the bed in her skimpy lilac nightgown, and snuggled in beside him. After whispering sweet nothings to each other, Jay wrapped his arms around Ally (carefully avoiding her neon-pink plaster cast) and they settled in to sleep.
"Sweet!" exclaimed May as she came out of the bathroom, wearing her fluffy bunny slippers. Solidad also emerged, and she had tied her hair into a ponytail, so it wouldn't get tangled as she slept on the floor.
"Aren't they a bit young to be sleeping in the same bed as each other?" she asked, as she lay down on the carpet beside Gary, who wrapped a few blankets around her.
"Heck," said Gary, "if Drew and May do these sort of things, then why shouldn't Ally and Jay?"
"Well, Drew is slightly older then Jay and Ally... you're thirteen, aren't you, Drew?"
"Uh, yeah. May's nearly thirteen, too."
"Excuse me, but I'm nearly fourteen," scowled Jay, raising his head from Ally's hair.
"Ally's only twelve, or something!" retorted Gary. "I am fifteen, so ha. And Solidad is sixteen."
"And pregnant," reminded Drew darkly.
Gary ignored Drew's remark, and lay down beside Solidad, wrapping his arms around her waist. In May's eyes, it was clear that Gary loved Solidad.
Drew sighed softly to himself, and settled down into his bed. May slowly and nervously climbed into the bed beside him. She was surprised when Drew wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her into the soft fabric of his t-shirt.
"Drew," she exclaimed softly, her sapphire eyes looking up at him. He smiled mysteriously back at her.
"When everyone's asleep," he whispered, keeping his mysterious air, "get up and put your coat and shoes on."
May opened her mouth to ask questions, but Drew pressed his finger to her lips, indicating her to be quiet.
"It's a secret."
He smiled mischievously again, and then closed his eyes. May knew he wasn't asleep; when Drew was asleep, his breathing would grow much softer and sweeter.
She heard the other Co-ordinators fall asleep, gently one by one. After an hour of complete silence, only she and Drew were still awake.
"Drew?" she whispered, gently nudging the boy. "Drew!"
Drew's eyes flickered open, and glinted in the darkness. He swiftly yet silently got up from his bed, and pulled on his jeans and jacket. He indicated May to do the same.
A few minutes later, he took hold of her hand and opened the door, and led her out.
"Drew, where are we going?"
"You'll see."
The two of them scurried down the corridor, treading quietly past Annabelle's room. They made their way down the grand staircase of the main hall, where they had been standing just a day ago, ready to go to their ball.
"The mess we made here is gone..." noticed May. She was surprised when her voice echoed in the large room.
"The paramedics cleared it up. I think Jay paid them."
"Ah."
May and Drew proceeded down the staircase, and walked up to the elegant doorway which led to the ballroom. He pushed the door open, and it creaked eerily in the darkness of the night.
"Come on!"
He entered the enormous ballroom, which was completely empty except for the two of them. May shivered slightly in her hastily-worn coat and bunny slippers. Drew squeezed her hand slightly, and then hurried across the vast room, May following him closely. He reached the double glass-doors which marked the entrance to the outside garden.
As he reached his hand for the doorknob, he smiled softly at May, who's face was reddening in the darkness. Drew opened the door, and, still lightly holding her hand, he made his way into the freezing cold night, closing the door behind him.
It was a cloudless night; the moonlight shimmered on the water of the fountain, casting all sorts of glimmers and soft patterns. Petals were falling from the trees, delicately cascading into the rippling water. The fountain itself seemed to be shining in the dark light.
"May... we were here last night. We sat right next to this fountain... we talked, we were happy, and heck, we even fell into the fountain," said Drew, his voice low and tender.
May stared wide-eyed at Drew.
"But there's one thing we didn't do."
He leaned towards May, his eyes never looking away from hers.
"This."
He brushed his lips against hers, holding her closely in his arms as if he never wanted to let go of her again. The calming tinkle of the fountain was faded away into the night as the two young Co-ordinators finally did what they had wanted to do since they had realized their feelings.
"I love you, May."
Finally. Just finally. I've been dying to write those words.
This isn't the last chapter, my lovelies. I'm planning on writing at least fifty more chapters.
xD
Whoah, 280-something reviews! Thank you! You're all fantastic, marvellous, delightful and AWESOME.
:D
So... review, or I shall get my cat to eat your intestines and use them as a skipping rope. As you do.