"An Infatuated May: Advanced Love Battles – Final Episode: Homecoming"
ACT FIFTY: Happiness: Follow Your Heart
SEASON AND FAN FICTION FINALE
---0---0---Valentine's Day, 6:30 AM – 00:29:32---0---0---
For the second time, the brunette coordinator got up unusually early on a Valentine's Day even though she slept way past her bedtime. The rain stopped and a rainbow formed across the cloudy sky. Everything was drenched in water—plants, roads, buildings, and even the cool air. She quickly dressed up in her new adventure outfit and got outside for a morning jog around the city. While jogging, she thought of everything Ash said at least six hours ago.
---0---0---FLASHBACK START---0---0---
"I don't want Tristan to know about the two of us in a relationship." May confessed. "So I tried distancing myself from you for as long as I can. I know it's not pretty but it's the only way."
"Then why didn't you tell me in the first place, May? You know that you can always turn to me." Ash replied; holding both of her gloved hands.
"Ash, love is not easy as you think. There will always be people who will be against our relationship."
"May…"
"I know you will be upset. But I knew this would happen sooner or later. I really love you, Ash. But I can't risk breaking a long-term friendship between me and Tristan."
Ash suddenly let go of May's hand and stood up. She knew that the trainer would be very disappointed at some point in time. But to her surprise, he had the nerve to just…smile.
"You should go to him, May." Ash suggested; putting up a normal smile. "If your heart points out to Tristan, then you should follow it."
"But—" May was cut off.
"I can't deprive you of your happiness. It's just wrong. If Tristan is what makes you happy, then the same goes for me."
"Ash…how can you say those things when you're the one being hurt? You don't need to smile if you're crying inside." May's tears trickled down the side of her face.
"Crying? Whatever gave you that idea, May? I'm just glad that you found your happiness."
"Wait a sec—you're not crying at all! But h-how…?"
Ash looked up at the pitch black sky and said: "My mom used to say this to me: If you make her happy, then you love her. But if you help to make her happy, then you love her ten times over."
---0---0---FLASHBACK END---0---0---
For May, that food for thought was a bit topsy-turvy. But she appreciated the deep meaning it contained. She was on her way to Tristan's house to settle things at the right track. Today was going to be the day the universe would adjust itself to her desire of happiness. However, she continued to ask herself this one same question over and over again: "Does my happiness really reside within Tristan?" It's been a while since she longed for somebody. The passion welling up inside her needed to be let go—to the one person deserving this kind of passion.
Upon arriving at Tristan's place, she became exhausted from running. Tristan came out of the front door and caught sight of her gasping for air.
"Whoa, you're up early today—" He commented but was suddenly cut off by his friend's own set of passionate words.
"Tristan, I think I love you!" May exclaimed.
"Whoa! Hey, not so loud. You'll wake up the neighbors."
"Oh, sorry Tristan…"
"Now take a deep breath and take it slow, okay?"
As instructed, May took a deep breath and slowly mouthed out what she needed to say. Somehow, the method helped her calm down and let go of all of her tensions just by saying those words very loudly. Tristan anticipated that kind of response from her; considering the fact that those words were similar to his.
"I understand what you're trying to say, May…and I appreciate it." Tristan said.
"You do? Thank goodness…" May replied.
"But I like to ask you one question that needs an answer straight away…if that's okay with you."
"Well, I suppose there's no problem about it."
"May…"
"Huh?"
"Are you really happy with what you are right now?"
The clock slowly turned its hands as soon as the last second had been depleted. The period of forty-eight hours—forty-eight hours of anxiety and waiting was finally over.
---0---0---Valentine's Day, 7:00 AM – 00:00:00---0---0---
Meanwhile back at the Maple household Ash, Brock, and Dawn were preparing to leave for the Sinnoh region once again. The Sinnoh League was only three weeks away and Ash needed to get some training done before the big day. After packing their things, the family bid goodbye to them as they left the house; although they kept on wondering why May "decided to stay behind".
"Are you sure May's not coming, Ash?" Brock asked at least just to make sure they don't leave anybody behind. "It's very unusual for you to ditch somebody."
"I spoke to her several minutes ago. She said she's going to stay in Petalburg City a bit longer." The trainer answered. "And for the record, I'm not ditching her."
"Well, that's too bad." Dawn felt a surge of mixed emotions in her heart. "But at least I can get all the ribbons I want without any competition!" She even felt like giggling.
"Um…sure…good for you, Dawn…"
"Well, we better get going. We'll see May another day. Right now, the Sinnoh League beckons."
"Okay…cut the formalities, Ash. It's so unlike you."
They would be crossing the sea going to Sinnoh from Littleroot Town. The distance was at least two hours on foot with stopovers along the way.
Half-an-hour later, May returned home; only to see that his friends had already left the house. What's even weird was they didn't even wait for her to at least bid goodbye to them.
"Max, where did Ash and the others go?" She asked her little brother since he's the one who spent the most time playing with them during their three-day stay.
"They just left half-an-hour ago for Littleroot Town for the ferry to Sinnoh. I thought you knew about it." Max said; a little confused.
"I didn't know their departure was today. Why did they leave without me?"
"But I thought you told Ash that you would be staying home for a bit longer?"
"What? Whoever gave you that idea, Max? I never said anything like that!"
"If that's the case, then…oops…"
"I'm going after them with my bike."
"May, hold up—"
Unfortunately, she had already left with the bike. She needed to put the pedal to the metal because by this time, Ash and the others would have passed by Oldale Town right about now according to her estimation. It was up to her pedaling to get her to Ash and the others before they could board the ship. While going after them, she thought about her conversation with Tristan…who also gave her some food for thought.
---0---0---FLASHBACK START---0---0---
"May…" Tristan said.
"Huh?" replied the brunette coordinator.
"Are you really happy with what you are right now?"
"W-What do you mean by that?"
"I know what you're trying to do to me, May. If I was a complete stranger to you, I would've gone berserk right about now."
"Come on, we're best friends. You know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
"But you just did. I overheard your conversation with Ash last night."
Normally, anybody would be shocked when they realized that somebody was eavesdropping on his/her private conversation. Sure, it was kind of rude for Tristan to do that but he had a valid reason for eavesdropping. After all, it was his duty as an old friend.
"How much…do you know?" May was completely terrified.
"Every last detail…" Tristan replied.
"I…I…" She completely surrendered herself to justice and apologized to him as much as a thousand sincere people apologizing at the same time. "I'm sorry, Tristan! I know I shouldn't have done that but I thought it was the only way! You were going to confess your feelings to me when I already love somebody else!"
Tristan lifted up May's head from her bowing position and made him look at her. Instead of getting all angry and upset, he had the knack to smile just like Ash.
"I know for sure that being with you makes me happy." Tristan smiled. "But is that what makes you really happy?"
"I…don't know." May replied. "I'm too confused to even think about happiness right now."
"They say if you make her happy, then you love her. But if you help to make her happy, then you love her ten times over."
"Yeah sure, you got that from Ash by eavesdropping."
"I can't possibly love somebody whose happiness is not with me. It's just downright absurd. I love you, May—truly I do. But whether it is Ash or some other guy that is deserving of your heart, I will always be rooting for you."
"Tristan…"
"Go…and follow your heart, May."
"But what about you…aren't you hurt or something?"
"Scars will heal in time, May. I know because I'm a man."
Suddenly, her eyes broke out in tears. She hugged her old childhood friend for one more time before leaving him for now to search for her happiness. It could be Ash, Dawn, or some other guy. Tristan took one good look at his friend who had grown so much that she already learned how to love with her heart and think with her mind.
---0---0---FLASHBACK END---0---0---
May caught sight of Ash and the others on the port a few hours later. The ferry was just about to arrive at the port and they were just about to leave. She made it just in time. All she needed to do is to let the downhill road take her to the edge of the port and search for the one true person that makes her really happy. As soon as she was close to her destination, her heart started pounding like crazy. Still, that didn't let it get in her way.
"Whew! I made it just in time." She said to herself. "Now for the brakes…"
But alas, her bike didn't have any brakes at all. It was only then she realized that was what Max was about to say when she left him. Her dad hasn't installed the brakes yet. The brunette coordinator was already on a direct collision course with the trainer.
"I DON'T HAVE BRAKES!!!" May screamed. "LOOK OUT BELOW!!!"
Ash turned his back because he heard somebody scream. But the inevitable was already coming to him. "May…? Whoa! Turn that thing around!"
"I CAN'T!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"
Pwnd.
There was no avoiding the inevitable. The bike slammed into the trainer with the full force of a Donphan using a Rollout attack. Ash and May eventually took a dip into the water with the latter's bike also joining in the fun. Brock came to their rescue with his Marshtomp and, with Dawn's help, pulled them back up to shore. Ironically, that's what this mushy chapter needed—something humorous.
"What's the big idea of hitting me with your rampaging bike, May?" Ash demanded an explanation. But his demand for an explanation resulted in a kiss from his beloved. Brock and Dawn were completely amazed that she still had the energy left to kiss somebody. Eventually, she let go of her lips and slapped Ash in the face.
"A sweet kiss followed by a bitter slap…?" Dawn said. "That really ruins the mood…not to mention passé."
"That's for ditching me, Ash Ketchum!" May yelled; slapping him again on the other side of his face. "And that one's for me. I love slapping naughty boys."
"May, I thought you said you would be staying home." Dawn asked.
"Well, SOMEBODY told everybody the wrong idea." May answered.
"I'm really sorry, May." Ash apologized. "But you're better off with somebody that you know since childhood."
The brunette coordinator stood up and looked at the vast open sea. She held her hands close to her chest as the others waited for her response.
"True, I'm better off with somebody I know for a long time." May started; then slowly began walking up towards Dawn. "But for me, I should really look for the one thing that makes me happy. I think…I love you, Dawn."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT…?" The cerulean-haired coordinator shrieked. "(Please don't tell me I'm back in Episode 3. That was the worst episode ever!)"
The brunette coordinator laughed and broke away from Dawn. Instead, she turned her attention to Ash. "Ha, ha, ha, ha…I'm only kidding around, Dawn. The person who makes me really happy is you, Ash. I'm sorry for only recognizing this now."
"That's not funny, May!" Dawn yelled indignantly.
Ash and May held hands together as the gang's only ride to Sinnoh for the day left port. But they didn't react violently about it…at least except for Dawn.
"Hey, the ship's leaving!" Dawn cried.
"Don't worry about it, Dawn." Brock replied. "There will be another ship tomorrow. But a chance to see Ash and May make up might never come for a long time."
"Well…you do have a point, Brock."
---0---0---0---0---0---
The lovely couple were about to kiss one more time when all of a sudden, May called time-out. There was one more thing she wanted to do before sealing their destiny with a kiss.
"Hold it; time-out." She said.
"What seems to be the matter?" The trainer asked curiously.
Her answer was a third slap in the face. He came to a realization that she loved slapping people in the cheeks.
"Like what was that for, May?" He changed his question abruptly.
"Nothing…! I love you, Ash Ketchum." May closed the curtain on their story of love and ridiculousness with her signature cutesy pose.
THE END (Whew, finally…!)
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This has been a presentation of Lightning and Sword Fan Fiction Productions. All the characters, places, events, and other materials used here in this story are being disclaimed by the production team and are property of their respective creators and licensing companies. Any occurrences stated in the story that are somewhat similar to other works created by other writers are purely coincidental and the production team has absolutely no intention of plagiarism. Under any circumstances this fan fiction should not be duplicated or modified without the consent of the production team. Failure to comply is punishable up to the fullest extent of the law. The law applies to all; otherwise none at all.
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---0---0---Studio 16, LSFFP studios---0---0---
Director: …and CUT! Okay guys! That's a wrap! Great job! See you all on the silver screen.
Dawn: Whew! Finally, it's over! I'm so hungry I feel like a hungry Snorlax.
Brock: Okay, leave it to me! I'll whip us up a batch of my famous stew.
Ash: Or we could all go for a cheeseburger. I'm dying for a quarter-pounder.
Drew: No thanks, I'm a vegetarian.
Kelly: Come on, Drew. Don't be such a party pooper. Besides, when we were back at Nakurei, you ate a lot of cheeseburgers.
May: Well, well, looks like somebody's being a naughty boy.
Kelly: You said it. He made my wallet run dry.
Brock: It's decided! Cheeseburgers it is.
May: Hey Ash, I heard the restaurant across the street have the lover's combo. Want to try it?
Ash: You bet, May. Anything for you…
Dawn: Ugh! Please do that somewhere else!
Drew: How about we order the same thing too, Dawn?
Dawn: Oh…well…sure, I guess.
Brock: Hey Mr. Director, you coming?
Director: Give me five minutes! I'll be with you shortly.
Kelly: Ash has May. Drew has Dawn. What does that make me; chopped liver?
Brock: I know how you feel, Kelly.
Kelly: You do?
Tristan: Not really…I'm available.
Kelly: Oh well…I guess it wouldn't hurt, would it? Ha, ha, ha, ha…
Brock: Now I'm the one feeling like chopped liver.
Misty: Come on Brock, you still got me.
Brock: Um, thanks Misty...I'm relieved.
Misty: Don't mention it.
May: I couldn't have wished for anything better but to be with you, Ash.
Ash: The same goes for me too, May. I love you.
May: I love you too.
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