Chapter 2

May got home and closed the door to her room. Brendan would stay in the living room and he turned it into his bedroom. He would always be asleep there and May would wake up to find him lying there with a bag of chips on his stomach. She had grown used to it though, and now when Brendan gave her a kiss goodnight, she really didn't mind it. May slipped into the bathtub where she had made herself a warm bubble bath. Those heels were such a pain, and now she just wanted to relax. The warmth spread through her aching muscles and she closed her eyes smiling. The bubbles had a rose scent and all of a sudden she envisioned a head of green hair before her eyes. May was so relaxed, that by now she didn't care if it was Drew she was thinking of.

Her eyes shot open and the image disappeared instantly. How could she have even been thinking about her old rival? She had a boyfriend, and she liked him a lot. Another bonus was that he liked her back. May frowned thinking of the time when she had been rejected. She blinked back a few drops of tears and then shook her head. That was all in the past, and she had a bright future ahead of her. Drew wasn't going to be around anyways, so why bother wasting any amount of time thinking about him?

She got out of the tub and wrapped herself in a freshly dried towel. Her bouncy hair fell to her shoulders like it always did now, and then she put on her pajamas. The bed was piled with pillows, and it was covered in thick blankets. She pulled back the covers, and then wrapped herself up in them. May smiled as she turned off the light, and fell into a deep sleep, surrounded by the comforts of her home.

..:-:..

It was a late afternoon in the autumn, and the leaves were falling from the trees as the cool wind blew by. May had lost to Drew in the final battle for the championship, but she didn't care. She had discovered that she didn't want to hide her feelings anymore. There was a card she made, and in it she told him how she felt. Now she watched his shadow come closer to her hiding spot, and then she walked out of it to meet him face to face.

'Hi Drew.'

'Oh… May.'

'Congratulations on winning the tournament.'

'Yeah… thanks.'

'So… I guess I won't see you for a while then?'

'I guess not.'

She looked hopeful for him to say something meaningful as a response, but he didn't. Her hopeful eyes began to shine with tears.

'See ya.'

She chocked on her words and he left.

'Bye… Drew.'

Her heart ached and she didn't want to see him leave, but she couldn't do anything about it. He must have not cared at all that she had sent him the card.

..:-:..

May woke up with her breath coming out in short gasps. She could feel her heart racing and the beads of sweat on her forehead. After a few seconds, she calmed down and went to go wash up. It had been like a nightmare revisiting her past hurt emotions, but she had to get over it. When she got into her workout clothes, she went downstairs, and sure enough, Brendan was sprawled out on the couch with a bag of chips on his stomach. She found it so funny to see him like that, and it was even cute. May quietly walked over to him, and kissed him sweetly. He squirmed and opened his eyes to see her standing above him. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he pulled her into a bear hug.

"You always smell so nice in the mornings. Why do you have to go?"

His voice was childish and she just laughed.

"You know I always do this, it's a part of my morning routine."

"Oh, all right. But be back soon. You owe me another kiss."

She rolled her eyes and stepped outside. It was the beginning of a beautiful day, and as she finished her delicious apple, she found herself surrounded by bird song chirps and the rustling leaves of the trees. May began to jog lightly towards the Garden Park, which was located in the middle of town. It was convenient for everyone who was busy and entranced in their jobs. Once May got there, she smiled and breathed in the fresh air. Everything seemed so lively and perfect, so she began her jog.

..:-:..

Drew had always tried to make time for some exercise, but he never really found the time. Now that he was going to be spending a lot of time in the city, he might as well have found a spot to do some running. He had been told of a great place called the Garden Park, and he was heading there right away.

As he turned the corner, he saw a girl jogging in front of him. Her brunette hair was a bit wavy and it was pulled back into a ponytail. For some reason, he felt he knew the girl. Drew found himself jogging up to her, and he smiled when he saw who it was.

"Why look who it is. I wouldn't have expected to see you here this morning."

May's eyes widened, and when she turned her head to her left, her worst fears were realized. Drew was jogging right beside her. Just that morning she had decided to forget about him, and now there he was, ready to annoy her again. His smirk was as brilliant as ever, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and huff.

"Really? Because out of everyone in this town, I was hoping that no body's name would be Drew. So it's quite shocking to see you here."

He made a face as if to acknowledge his defeat and her winning come back.

"I must say May, you've turned out to be very ferocious."

He laughed as he said this, and did his familiar swift movement of the flip of his hair. May was infuriated once again and she didn't know what compelled her to do it.

"Oh, so I'm ferocious now? How about I really prove how amazing I am?"

"Sure, you can try. But I don't think you will get anything accomplished."

"You're going to eat your words Drew. See that tree over in the distance? Let's see who can get to it first? All right?"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Quit talking and start doing something."

She growled at him, but kept her cool.

"Okay, on the count of…"

But it was too late. He was already off and running into the distance. She began to run after him, but it didn't help. By the time she was at the tree, Drew had had enough time to calm down his breathing. It looked as if he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"That… wasn't… fair!"

"Yes it was. All you wanted was to see who could get there first. Looks like I beat you again!"

While Drew was busy gloating, May wiped the sweat off of her forehead, and then something on her cheek. It was wet, and Drew assumed that it was only her perspiration. But then when he looked closely, he realized that May was clearly upset. His goading smirk vanished and he reached to comfort her.

"May… I'm sorry…"

Unfortunately he had apologized to the wind, because May had run off right after he had said her name. He watched her hair sway from side to side as she ran off through the park. Drew frowned and hit his forehead. Why did he have to be such a jerk all the time? And why was it that he always acted like one around her?

..:-:..

May finally found her secret hiding place in the park. It was under a bridge and there was a little stream that flowed underneath it. She would always go there if she had to think. Now was the perfect opportunity. Drew had been so rude towards her, and it reminded her so much of their rivalry days. There was no limit to his ego; it just kept inflating itself. That contest had been her idea, and she strongly believed she would have won, but once again Drew had to show her that he was better than her. But then again, he really must have been good in order to beat her. He must have ran somewhere regularly, just like her. She smiled suddenly at the thought of him doing that, but quickly rolled her eyes to contradict herself. Once again, she was interrupted by her conscience. Forget about him.

It made so much sense, but he was popping up everywhere now. First she saw him at the wedding… he looked so heavenly… no, he didn't! She couldn't think that… and then she saw him in her dreams, and once again that day. May was so encompassed by her thoughts, that she didn't realize how much time she had spent under that bridge. Suddenly her stomach growled, and she realized that the sunlight wasn't as bright as it had been before. May was astounded at the fact that she had spent almost the entire day there. However, she did wake up late, so maybe that much time hadn't really elapsed.

When she got home, May found Brendan working out as usual. She smiled and when he saw her walk in the door, he ran up to her and gave her a huge hug.

"Brendan, I wasn't gone that long!"

"Yeah you were! I was so worried! Where on earth have you been?"

She put her arms around him and looked into his trustful, loving eyes.

"I told you, I went to the park for my daily jog. I stopped by the bridge and I guess I forgot to check what time it was."

"Well don't do it again… oh, and you still owe me that kiss."

May laughed and then he kissed her tenderly. At that moment, she felt all her worries wash away. Why did it matter if Drew was a jerk? She had an amazing boyfriend to come home to everyday. What could be better than that? Brendan pulled away when he heard her stomach rumble. She laughed shyly, and he just smiled.

"You know what I think? I think we are going to go out to eat tonight. My treat."

Maybe she spoke too soon. Things just kept getting better and better.

..:-:..

Drew walked in the door to his rented apartment with agitation. All day he had been thinking about what he had said to May. He felt absolutely awful about it, and he had no way to go find out where she was so he could apologize. When she heard the door slam shut, Bella anxiously looked out from the living room to see if it was him. Sure enough, Drew sluggishly walked in and let himself fall onto the couch.

"Oh Drew! I haven't seen you all day! You must be so tired! You look like it too!"

Bella was a bit shorter than Drew, and she had sleek black hair, which she washed and conditioned twice daily. Her face was like one of a doll's and everyone around her said she was the most beautiful girl they had ever seen. Her eyes were deep and they were an eerie blue, so eerie, that they pulled you in. Bella sat down next to him, and began to give him a shoulder rub. After a few winces of pain from Drew, she stopped and then turned his face towards hers. He looked into her eyes and found himself staring into a pit of shallow, with nothing at the bottom. For the first time, he was thinking of someone else when he looked at his girlfriend.

"Drew… you're not saying anything…"

He snapped out of his daydream and smiled awkwardly at her.

"Oh, sorry… I guess I'm just really tired, that's all."

She smiled and then giggled.

"Well, I know a way to make all of your worries go away."

In a second's time, he felt the pressure of her lips on his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but he didn't move. Drew just put his arms around her waist limply. After a minute or so, Bella realized that he wasn't kissing her back. She pulled away stiffly and for what seemed like the first time, Drew saw her mouth twitch angrily.

"What's wrong with you? You always melt into my touch, but now it's like I'm not even here!"

He didn't respond to this, he just looked away, which infuriated her even more.

"Drew! I'm talking to you!"

"Well you know what? Maybe you should just shut it."

Bella gasped and then he rubbed his forehead.

"Oh… Bella, I'm sorry… really, I'm sorry… I didn't mean it. Can you just understand that I've had a rough day and that I want to be alone for a while?"

She stared at him blankly and then nodded without speaking.

"All right. If that's what you want."

He walked up to her and gave her a small peck on her cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah… I'll see you tomorrow Drew."

He closed the door gently and finally sighed with relief. A girl with brown bouncy hair kept coming into his thoughts, and he needed to figure out a way to stop it. Inside, he felt like he was tumbling down a path that would only lead him towards hurt and sorrow. Yet at the end of the tunnel, there was a light, and he knew that one day he could be rewarded. But first he needed to discover how to get there.

A/N: (gasp) Drew has a girlfriend? I thought this was a contestshipping fic! Dear readers, it is. So don't worry about it lol… for now, let's just say some things have to be sorted out lol

Also I wanted to point out that I was in a rush to get this up, so if there are any mistakes or typos, please point them out to me. I'm sorry if there are some.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully I will get the next one out soon! Unfortunately, that might not be for a while, since Easter is coming up and my uncle is coming… but after that, I'll get to work on this! Thanks so much for reading!

-Monika-