Hi all!

I'm back! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I appreciate you sticking with me.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know and leave a review.

Happy reading!

…

With the weekend leaving as quick as it arrived, school was back in session, the Thanksgiving season over for another year. May had spent majority of her weekend curled up on the couch, watching reruns of trashy reality television, with her Mom. Max had insisted on helping their father get his Pokémon their exercise, the two spending Saturday and Sunday in the back yard together. May knew she'd be able to spend some time with her dad eventually, so she wasn't really bothered about being left out this time around.

She was thankful to have a few days off from the hustle and bustle of senior life in high school, but she was also ready to get herself back into the swing of things, especially since her mind was overtaken with images of her encounter with Drew. She hadn't been able to avoid it. Her mistake of letting herself forget that they weren't on speaking terms, had led to an almost kiss between the duo; guilty feelings growing inside her stomach every time she spoke with her boyfriend across the four days they'd spent apart. Although it hadn't happened; they had not kissed; May's guilt was present for one obvious reason. In that moment, there was nothing she wanted more than to kiss him…

When Monday morning came around, the brunette found herself waiting rather impatiently in her front yard, for Brendan to pick her up. May always became impatient when she was nervous… It was a weird mix of wanting to get something over with, but not have it happen, at the same time. Her stomach dropped, when something caught her eye from across the road. Shifting in her place, leant against the front fence of her house, she saw him.

Drew exited his own home, throwing his bag over his shoulder before running a hand through his hair. May couldn't help but watch him. Usually, she couldn't care less about what he got up to across the road. But today… ugh. The way he looked so handsome without even trying… his green hair perfectly swept across his forehead, his sweater showing off his toned arms… She tried to pull her eyes away, but had no such luck; mentally cursing at herself when he caught her gaze.

With a warm smile and a wave, Drew climbed into his car, the engine roaring to life as he pulled out of his driveway. May smiled awkwardly in return, her hands glued to her side as she watched him leave his house. She didn't know where they stood now, and it made her feel uneasy. She just wanted the feeling to go away.

When Brendan pulled up beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief; replacing her disconcerted expression with one of false happiness in attempt to keep Brendan from experiencing any alarm.

"Hey babe," he called through the passenger window, which had been rolled down, exposing his eyes, framed by a pair of black sunglasses.

His choice of accessory was strange to May, considering it was cloudy out, but shaking the thought away, she greeted him and stepped into the car herself.

"How was your weekend?" asked Brendan nonchalantly.

"Brendan, we spoke on the phone yesterday," May chuckled, "you know all about it."

"I know… I just feel weird about that jerk being in your house."

"You and me both…" she replied, the heat rising in her cheeks. Her words not holding much truth anymore after the events of Thanksgiving night, and the mere mention of Drew sent her pulse racing out of sheer guilt. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure-" he began, grabbing her hand with his free one, "how's it been having your Dad home?"

"It's been great… we haven't spent much time together yet, but we have plenty of time…"

"Does that mean I'll get to meet him?"

May's stomach dropped, the strange feeling arising once again. She had tried to make it disappear. She wanted nothing more than to introduce her boyfriend to her father, but she still had some strong reservations. What if Norman didn't like him? She held her dad's opinion in such high regard, he was the best man she knew, after all. It would be gut-wrenching if he was disappointed in her choice of a partner. These thoughts flooded May's mind, making her judgement even more hazy. She was happy in her relationship with Brendan, why was she so against introducing him to her parents?

"Hello- earth to May?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry! Yeah- maybe, we'll see what his schedule is like…" May lied, turning the volume dial on the radio and humming along to the song playing, as a means to deter Brendan from continuing the conversation. She was quite successful, as he hummed along with her, continuing down the narrow road in the direction of Petalburg High.

May's imagination was still running riot from within her head. If she had allowed Drew to kiss her, maybe things would have changed between the two of them… Oh, who was she trying to fool. If anything, a kiss would create more harm than good and things were way too complicated for her to even be considering that right now.

…..

By the time homeroom concluded, May had decided that today would be one of those days that dragged on forever. She was still pretty distracted and despite Brendan's best efforts to make conversation with her, she was relatively quiet.

"Augh! Would you look at that tramp!" Melody scoffed, nudging May as the group walked down the hall. May sighed, keeping her gaze to the floor, hoping her Biology class wasn't too far away.

"She's got a nice ass, though," Brendan chuckled, his girlfriend not caring enough about the comment to shoot him a glare of disapproval.

"She's a slut!" Melody continued, her shrill voice finally prompting May to look up at the poor girl on the other side of their taunts.

Recognising her red hair instantly, May's blood began to boil as Serena and Melody dove into a conversation formed purely for the basis of insulting Misty. The brunette wasn't having any of it.

"Do you actually even know her?!" May boomed, the group stopping dead in their tracks, the two girls and Brendan staring at May with open mouths. "Well?" she continued, "Do you?"

"Why do you even care May?" Serena threw back.

"Yeah! We're your friends now!" Melody rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't mean you get to talk about people like that. Especially people you hardly know!" May shrugged off the arm around her shoulder, belonging to her boyfriend, huffing loudly.

"I'm going to class." Without a second thought, she stormed down the hallway, ignoring Brendan's voice as he requested that she wait up.

"You better talk to her, B. You know. If you really do want to keep her around…" Melody raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I will..." Brendan sighed, the group dispersing and making their way to their designated classes.

Brendan was planted in place, his eyes narrowing slightly as he clenched his jaw, watching his girlfriend disappear down the hall. Maybe she wasn't so soft after all. That could cause some problems for him. Big ones.

You see, Brendan Williams had a plan. A plan so top secret and well thought out, that not one person (besides his cousin—who was just as conniving as he was) knew about it.

And right now, his plan was in the forefront of his mind. It was almost time to put it into effect.

…

By the time May had made it to Biology, she was relatively calm... at least on the outside. Sure, she wasn't exactly talking to Misty or Dawn, but that didn't mean she appreciated her new friends throwing around such false claims about them. Misty was in no way, a slut. Not in the slightest. May wasn't going to stand for her being called one, just because of her friendship with a certain raven-haired teen. Although, the brunette did hope Ash and Misty would bite the bullet and hurry up and get together, it would be epic seeing the look on Serena and Melody's faces when they heard Ash Ketchum was off the market.

"Hiya May!" Leaf chirped from her seat as May plopped onto the chair beside her. "Woah, you okay?"

May stiffened. Maybe she didn't look as calm as she thought she had... "yeah, just a rough morning..."

"I know how you feel..."

May raised a curious eyebrow causing Leaf to chuckle.

"Oh! It was nothing major, just the usual taunts and books knocked to the ground. Perks of being the new girl, I guess!" Leaf shrugged.

May's blood was still boiling from her altercation with Melody and Serena, now, it was steaming! Leaf had been at Petalburg High for just over three months now, she was hardly new anymore.

"That's awful! Who was it?!" May boomed, Leaf gesturing for her to keep her voice down.

"The basketball team and their posse, of course! That Katie is really possessive of her boyfriend, I swear my eyes darted his way for a second before I was barrelled over…"

"Oh Leaf, I'm sorry... they can be such jerks!"

"Wow! Is the girlfriend of their leader admitting that the almighty basketball team are a bunch of losers?!" Leaf giggled, after producing a dramatic gasp of false surprise.

"Maybe..." May smiled, shrugging slightly.

Students were still filling the room, Mr Ramsay tended to be late on Monday's, often joking about how he would much rather be at home, or asleep, or anywhere else. May took the opportunity to glance around the room. She wasn't exactly sure of what (or who) she was searching for, although when her eyes fell on the door, the thrashing of her heart told her she had found it.

His green hair was pushed back slightly, making him look dangerously handsome... almost sexy, even. The way he dressed, so effortlessly stylish, didn't do much to help May dismiss this thought. His emerald eyes were also scanning the room, as he clutched at his textbook, May tearing her eyes from him before he caught her staring.

Leaf, however, was way ahead of Drew.

"Although, it does seem like football is more of your sport..." she winked, May's cheeks flushing a deep crimson. She cleared her throat softly, flicking through her book at distract herself from thinking about Leaf's comment.

But a deep voice pulled her from this task.

"Hey Leaf..." he nodded, as he passed the girls' table. "April..." a warm smile painted his face. A genuine one.

May swallowed the lump in her throat, blinking a few times before looking up and meeting his gaze. In an instant, she had wished, she didn't… it was like she was hypnotised, almost forgetting to breathe as she stared into his charming pools of jade, not even bothering to try to still her beating heart or her burning cheeks.

Acknowledging the long pause between them, Leaf cleared her throat, instantly pulling May from her trance. Drew chuckled.

"Uh—h-hey," May stammered, before she realised exactly what he had said. "Hey!" she bellowed, "don't call me that!"

Drew flipped his hair, chuckling once again as he took a step back from the girls' table. "Well okay then… Catch you later… June."

May narrowed her eyes at him, waiting until he moved to the back of the room to allow a small smile to overtake her lips.

"Umm…" Leaf began, a deep smirk looking harsh against her delicate features, "what was that?"

"What was what?" May threw back, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb with me May, or do you go by June now?" Leaf giggled, May screwing up her nose in disapproval.

"He said hello to you as well!"

"Yeah… but he didn't throw me a cheeky grin or a flirty comment—"

"—he didn't do that to me either!"

Leaf threw a dubious eyebrow in May's direction. "Please Maple, if you think he wasn't flirting with you a moment ago, you are crazy!"

"I have a boyfriend!" May spoke through gritted teeth, more to remind herself than Leaf.

"So?"

"So—Leaf! Can we just focus on Biology, some of us would like to graduate in five months!" May stated bluntly, Leaf nodding softly but still making no attempt to hide her amusement.

May never thought she'd think it, but boy was she glad when Mr Ramsay entered the room.

…..

Still irritated by their words from hours prior, May had decided to spend her lunch break in the journalism office, where she had previously spent the past hour editing her latest piece on the Debate Team's final, in her Journalism class.

"May? What are you still doing here?" Mrs Holly's gentle voice floated into the empty room.

May's eyes darted up from the computer screen, the teen swallowing the bite of her apple she had just taken from the fruit in her hand.

"Just finishing up my piece, Mrs H," the brunette said with a smile. The older woman leaning against the doorframe as she nodded.

"You know… you really have improved over the last few years. Your writing is incredible… I certainly see an Ivy in your future… Yale? Or Harvard, perhaps?"

May shook her head confidently. "That's very kind of you, but I'm going to become a Top Coordinator. I love writing, and I'll never stop doing it, but my future… I know it's surrounded by Pokemon."

Mrs Holly smiled warmly. "That sounds lovely… But, while I have such a talent on my paper, I'm going to give you one final, major assignment…"

May raised a hesitant eyebrow.

"A non-negotiable assignment…" the teacher continued, "I want you to write a piece on your high-school experience—"

"—but! Four years— How will I write about four years in one article?"

"I want you to write about how your high-school experience has made you the person you are today, or should I say, has made you the person you will graduate as… I know you will find a way to incorporate the most important events of your school life into a fantastic piece of writing!"

"I suppose I could try…" May shrugged, prompting Mrs Holly to smile widely.

"Fantastic. Well, enjoy your lunch break May, I really should get back to the teacher's lounge," Mrs Holly dipped her head, before exiting the room.

May exhaled sharply, before a loud groan left her lips. Her head hit the desk in front of her with a thud, and she gave her eyes permission to close for a split second.

Her high school experience was weird. It was great one moment and shitty the next. How was she supposed to give it any credit for the way she had turned out… for the person she had become. What was she to include? The fact that she was invisible for three years until the asshole next door practically told her she was a loser beside her friends… and that said friends were now her ex-friends and her new friends were a group of mean girls who would put Regina George herself to shame? Please. May's high school experience was the worst of the worst, with way more downs that ups and if she allowed these things to shape her, boy was she a horrible person.

Still, she loved Mrs Holly and would hate to let her down, but she had definitely picked the worst time to give May her most difficult of writing tasks. The brunette groaned against her desk, wishing she could just evaporate into thin air. Maybe then, Mrs Holly could ask someone else to write the assignment. Maybe she could suggest allowing Melody to write about the fashions of Petalburg High… that would be a laugh… and very biased.

"Unlike you to miss a meal, April…"

May's head whipped up in an instant, her eyes falling on the figure leaning casually against the door. In his hand he held a bottle of water and a packet of crisps from the vending machine down the hall.

"What are you doing here, Drew?" May spoke bluntly, her face not giving away any emotion as she caught sight of his perfect teeth, shown off with a happy grin.

Drew's face fell, unsure as to why she seemed so unhappy to see him… well, despite the obvious, 'we aren't friends' situation they had going on.

"I—uh. Well—" Drew rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, clearing his throat before continuing to speak. "I thought it was weird that you weren't stuck to the hip of your new boyfriend. He's out in the quad, flirting up a storm with half of the girls' soccer team…"

May sighed, "I honestly don't have the energy to care right now… I'm busy, so if you don't mind—"

"—what's wrong?" Drew asked, a sudden seriousness to his voice. May was caught off guard by his tone, looking up at him in confusion, as he began to move towards her, finally settling into the chair beside her.

"Well?" he continued, placing the water and crisp packet on the desk in front of her.

May bit her lip. Her heart had begun to race the moment he appeared in the doorway but now, she was worried it burst through her chest as it only seemed to intensify as he sat next to her.

"I just got given a big writing assignment," she said softly, hoping Drew would buy her excuse for sitting alone in the journalism room.

"I know…"

"What?"

"I mean, I walked past before going to the vending machine and saw Mrs H talking to you."

May screwed up her face in confusion. "How did you even know I'd be here?"

"May. I've literally known you my whole life. You'd always hide in your room to write when things weren't going to plan. I assumed Williams had upset you when you weren't playing happy couple, in the quad together… so viola! Here you are…"

"You know—" May was starting to grow angry, Drew catching sight of the new shade of red, appearing on her cheeks, "—I don't get you?! You tell me all these horrible things and then tell me to 'never come near you again' and now you've what—come to say I told you so?!"

Drew shook his head, his emerald eyes desperately searching her sapphire ones as he aimed to prove to her that he meant no harm.

"I don't know what came over me at that party… I didn't mean it, a-any of it," he spoke, sheepishly. "As for the whole 'leave me alone thing', I'm pretty sure that was your fault."

May bit her lip, he had a point about that one.

"And I'd never say I told you so. If you're happy with Brendan, that's great. I'm happy that you're happy. But the other night… I, I don't know, I guess it was nice having you to talk to again…"

May nodded softly. She felt that too. She had missed him so much and she knew he was part of the reason she was so reluctant to take a big step with Brendan and introduce him to her family. Part of her wasn't sure they would last long enough for such a step to be necessary. She felt awful thinking such a thing.

"Why do you two hate each other so much anyway? I thought there was a time when you were friendly with each other. Didn't he used to play in your football team when you were kids?" asked May, her eyes begging him to give her an answer.

Drew sighed loudly. "Let's just say, we grew apart. The guy's also a bit of a dick—"

"What and you aren't?" May threw back causing Drew to chuckle.

"Trust me May, I'm a ray of sunshine compared to Brendan Williams…"

"Then tell me why you stopped talking," May stated sternly.

"Maybe one day. But, if you're happy, who am I to ruin that?"

May's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. There was more to this story than he let on… and it irritated her that she had no idea what it was.

"But anyway! What are you working on?" Drew asked cheerily, May shaking the current thoughts she had, from her head and diving in to an explanation about the request she had received from Mrs Holly.

The pair laughed about the possible info she could incorporate into the article, May deciding that a lot of Drew's suggestions would not be making the cut.

It wasn't long until she had forgotten about the reason she sat in here, hidden from her friends and her boyfriend… In fact, she had forgotten all about him. She was enjoying Drew's company for the first time in a long time and that was all that held her attention.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had caught a glimpse of them from the other side of the classroom window, and he was not happy.

Brendan's lip twitched, as he watched May and Drew chat away to one another. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched for the second time this morning, the brunette attempting to calm the rage threatening to spill out from inside him. This was not the way things were supposed to be.

It was his plan to make Drew pay for what he had done.

And that's exactly what he would be doing.

…..

"I'm sorry about Serena and my cousin this morning," Brendan said, entwining a hand with May's as the pair walked towards his car.

May had calmed down throughout the day and by the afternoon, she was back on speaking terms with her group. She decided that she had over-reacted and the girls were speaking words fuelled entirely by jealousy.

"It's fine B. You've said it a hundred times, I'm fine!" May chuckled lightly, giving his hand a squeeze as they got to their place in the parking lot.

"Good…" Brendan purred, "now I can do this—" in a split second, May was pressed up against the passenger side of his car, Brendan's lips on hers. The kiss was rushed and not at all delicate, although, May found herself responding, trying her best to counter Brendan's dominant tongue with her own. His strength was a bit of a shock to May, and even though she could tell he didn't want her to, she pushed him back and broke their connection.

"Uckk! Get a room!" a teen remarked as he strutted past them. The basketball on the back of his letterman jacket told May, it was one of Brendan's teammates and he laughed, which only proved this theory further.

"We uh—we better get going," she said, moving away from the car door in order to prompt Brendan to move around to the vehicle's other side.

"Let's go!" he returned, still smirking victoriously because of his bold act of public affection with May.

The couple climbed into the car, Brendan pulling out of his parking spot and speeding away from Petalburg High. They were both unaware of the set of eyes, watching them from across the lot. The owner of these green orbs had witnessed the kiss and currently stood frozen beside his own car, too distracted to even attempt to interact with the group around him.

For Drew, he wasn't sure why it had bothered him so much… it's not like he felt the same way for May, like he did when he was ten, but he knew she would not be interested in the boy, if she happened to find out the type of guy Brendan really was. Nonetheless, he had insisted if she was happy, so was he. She didn't need to know that this was a big, fat lie, no matter how much it pained him to see her in the arms of someone who did not deserve her love and affection.

"You alright, man?" Gary asked, nudging Drew slightly. There was a seriousness in his tone, which was rare for the brunette and demonstrated that he was in fact, worried about his friend.

"Yeah… fine," Drew shrugged, keeping his gaze on the ground, as Paul and Ash chatted away with the girls in front of them.

Gary clapped Drew on the shoulder as a gesture of support, the latter producing a tight smile in response.

"Alright Ashyboy, Marino, let's go! I'm starving!" Gary announced, interrupting the conversation they were both involved in.

"Anyone ever told you it's rude to interrupt, Oak?" Misty teased, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"Bite me, Red!" Gary threw back, prompting the red head to laugh.

"I would… but I don't think you could handle it!" she smirked.

"I don't even want to pretend to know what that is supposed to mean…" said Dawn, raising a palm to her forehead. "But, we better move too Misty, big Spanish test to study for, remember?"

"Aughhhh. How could I forget!?"

"We'll see you later boys," Dawn continued, flashing Paul a sweet smile before dragging Misty away from Ash's grasp and away to her car.

"Umm. Bye?" Ash scratched his nose, watching Misty and Dawn's figures grow smaller as they moved further into the distance.

"Alright gentlemen. Let's go get a burger or something," Gary announced, urging the guys to follow his lead and jump into Drew's car.

A burger would do it. Definitely enough to fill the uncomfortable hole the green-haired teen had growing in his stomach. The question was, why was it there in the first place?

…..

Much to May's surprise, Brendan drove straight past her house on their journey home.

"Um? Forget where I live or something? You just missed my house…" May chuckled lightly, raising a confused eyebrow in her boyfriend's direction.

"Well… I was thinking. We both have to study for Spanish. Why not study together at my house?" he stated confidently, as if May had no say in the matter.

"Oh, um… I'm not sure—"

"—Come on babe. What's the problem? You can stay for dinner too; my parents can finally get to know you!"

May was silent, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was never the best at small talk, the thought of a potential dinner conversation fuelled her anxiety like gasoline to a flame.

She felt Brendan's hand rest upon her thigh.

"Don't panic, it'll be fine… and I'll be there the whole time," he beamed, May releasing a large sigh, a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Okay, fine. But I have to be home by eight-thirty," she concluded, folding her arms across her chest.

Brendan laughed, "I can do that…"

May nodded, taking in the surroundings on the other side of the windscreen.

The car ride felt like it lasted forever, the brunette's heart pounding all the way to the William's residence. As he pulled into the driveway, it hit May. She hadn't actually been to his house before, and it was in no way as grand as she expected it to be… it was grander. Brendan's car stopped at a set of black gates, causing him to roll down his window.

"Brendan Hugh Williams," he spoke into a speaker in a clear voice.

"Access granted. Welcome home Mr Williams," a robotic voice answered him, the gates beginning to open inward.

"W-what, you live—this is your—woah!" May blurted, causing Brendan to chuckle. "You're rich?! I mean, I knew you were rich—but this is next level!"

The home was quite large and bright white, with expensive looking pillars holding up a huge balcony overlooking the front garden. Brendan's mother's Mercedes sat parked inside an opened garage, Brendan pulling into the spot beside her. May still wide-eyed and now confused as to how his parents would respond to her. She felt so casual in her mom jeans and cropped sweater… this was definitely not a casual house. She felt as though she should be walking through the front doors in a ball gown calling everyone 'Your grace'. If she thought the Hayden's house was extravagant, this was like Petalburg's version of the Queen's palace! Gosh, did she feel uncomfortable… was it getting warmer in here?

"Calm down May," Brendan began, "you'll be fine! It's just a house!"

"No, I live in 'a house'," she returned, "this is a castle!"

Brendan laughed, "Let's go! Spanish to study for remember?"

May nodded, grabbing her bag and following Brendan through the home's front doors.

If she wasn't already nervous about dinner, stepping inside the Williams' residence would ensure that she was petrified. The foyer boasted wealth and encompassed marble detailing and expensive artworks. A butler greeted them at the door, May's palms growing clamy.

"Just breathe babe. You'll be fine," Brendan attempted to reassure her, leading her up the house's grand staircase.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

…

After about an hour of being in the Williams' house, May's nerves had begun to settle. Mrs Williams had asked their chef to whip up a few grilled cheese sandwiches as an after-school snack for May and Brendan and the pair had jumped straight into revision for their Spanish test.

May loved school and took pride in her work, meaning she studied hard. Sure, she wasn't planning on going to college right away, if ever, but that didn't mean she couldn't try hard. She often had Misty and Dawn as study partners, so when Brendan kept trying to distract her with his fingertips creeping down her spine and his lips brushing against her neck, it was something she was most definitely not used to.

"Brendan…" May whispered, trying to ignore his lips planted below her ear.

"Mmm,"

"Come on, I'm trying to study," she sighed, irritated that he wasn't taking her seriously. "Your mom is also in the next room!"

"Aren't you bored of studying?" he asked, detaching himself from her, and pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

May shook her head, ignoring the flirtatious expression his face held and diving into her book once again.

"Maybe we can move this study session to my bedroom instead? It'll be much more comfortable in there…" Brendan purred, his lips at her neck again.

May turned to him, pushing him away with two palms on his chest.

"Brendan," she stated firmly, "I said no."

"Augh. Fine," he huffed. May rolling her eyes at his immaturity.

"Now, where were we?" the brunette spoke aloud, more to herself than to him.

Brendan looked spoilt child who had just been told no for the first time in his life, but May didn't care, she was here to study and he was not going to distract her. She was however, a little surprised that he was trying to get her to go upstairs with him, before the kiss they shared at school re-entered her thoughts. The couple hadn't even spoken about taking their relationship to the next level and May was unsure if she even wanted to at this point. They hadn't been dating that long and she didn't think she was ready for something like this. Brendan may have slept with a bunch of girls, but May… well she hadn't slept with anyone.

The sound of Brendan's mothers voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"May, Brendan, dinner's almost ready," she sang from the dining room, "maybe start packing those books away!"

"You got it, Mom!" Brendan called back in response.

May knew the so-called dinner she was referring too would most definitely NOT be one she had prepared herself. May had called Caroline earlier to inform her of her whereabouts and of course she was cooking up a storm. It felt strange having such a fancy dinner by a fancy chef in Brendan's fancy house, on a particularly un-fancy school night. It felt even stranger not to be eating at home. She felt uncomfortable here… and it wasn't just because of the marble staircase and fine china they'd be eating off. It was something else… something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Brendan led May into the Williams' dining room, offering her a seat beside his own. The table they sat at was large, May counting fourteen chairs surrounding the piece of wooden furniture. A beautiful, expensive-looking, glass chandelier hung over the table and an extravagant china cabinet sat opposite May on the wall adjacent to the table.

Brendan's seat was beside the head chair, with his mother sitting opposite him. The place at the head of the table was still vacant.

That was until a deep voice filled the silence the group somehow found themselves in.

"Daphne! I'm home!" the voice sounded, May expecting a business man, one who shared a similar look to Mr Hayden, to walk through the door.

The owner of the voice, was NOT that. Not at all.

"Oh hi honey," Mrs Williams, or Daphne, as he referred to her as, stood up to greet the man with a peck on his cheek.

He was about the same height as her own father, with brown hair that looked as though it was covered in a layer of thick dust. His arms and hands were darkened and his fingernails were black with what May could only assume was from a hard day of some sort of manual labour. The main wore a jumpsuit of sorts, the name 'Michael' stitched on the front pocket on the left side of his chest. He looked exactly how May felt. Like she did not belong in this house…

"Hiya son," the man, Michael, spoke offering Brendan a bright smile, "and who might this lovely young woman be?"

May smiled politely when she realised he was speaking to her and stood up, outstretching her hand. "May Maple, Sir. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Michael seemed to stiffen as May identified herself, May feeling a tad awkward as it took him a few seconds to return her handshake.

Michael cleared his throat, mustering the kindest smile he could before opening his mouth to speak. "Well May," he said, "the pleasure is all mine. Brendan told me how beautiful his new girlfriend was, but he did not do you justice at all!"

May blushed, smiling shyly as she took her seat once again.

"Now, you ladies please start eating. I'm going to go wash up, but first I need to speak with Brendan," the older man announced.

"Can it wait Dad?" Brendan threw back.

Michael's smile dropped off his face, and instead his expression became firm.

"Now please son," he said.

Brendan shuffled awkwardly in his chair. "I'll be right back," he said with a tight smile, pecking May on the cheek and walking out of the room.

"So May," Daphne said, diving into some small talk about her Spanish test tomorrow.

May tried to pretend to be interested in the conversation but all she could think about was how awkward Mr Williams had become when she introduced herself. Did he know something about her? Did he not like her? Why was he talking with Brendan? Was he telling him not to see May anymore?

She was thankful when their meals were placed in front of them as it meant the small talk had ended and May could attempt to strain her ears to hear the conversation unfolding in the foyer, a wall dividing that room and this, the one she sat in now.

"You didn't say she was a Maple?!" Michael whispered harshly. It sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. What was wrong with being a Maple? Did Mr Williams have an issue with her family? Did he dislike pokemon, like his son? "…given the history. You can't fix what happened Brendan!"

"I don't want to hear it Dad! I might be able to!" Brendan responded, May unable to hear anything beyond those words. Fix what she thought? What had May done? Had she done something?

"This isn't over," Michael stated firmly. May hearing heavy footsteps, informing her of his exit up the home's staircase.

"Yum! Risotto! My favourite," Brendan spoke cheerily, taking a seat beside May. The brunette avoided his eyes.

Today was a weird day…

A month ago she was thrilled to be dating THE Brendan Williams.

Now, she wondered if it was a good idea.

Did she know anything about him at all?

…

Oooo! Hope you liked it!