A/N: OMG! I'm so so sorry for the longest delay ever! It's been more than a month, hasn't it? Well, all I can say is that school has kept me occupied to the brim, and I've finally had the time to write this! I hope this chapter makes up for the absence! I'll try to update next weekend too… but that might not happen, so expect the next one after June 7. School's almost done for me! Yay! Lol but now onto more important things…

Chapter 4

Everything was nice and comfortable. Warmth spread itself through May's body as she curled up in her bed. The first rays of sunlight shined through her window and streaked across her face. She yawned, and then heard her bedroom door creak open.

"Rise and shine!"

May rolled her eyes after hearing Brendan's perky voice. He tugged on her blanket covers but she pulled them in the opposite direction.

"Brendan! Stop it! I want to … sleeeeep…"

Another yawn distracted her, and this time Brendan won the fight. May sat up reluctantly, and when she rubbed her eyes, she woke up right away. Her nostrils filled with the smell of bacon and eggs. Brendan put the tray of food above her lap and she smiled brightly.

"I thought you might want to sleep in this morning, so I brought you breakfast!"

His silver hair was a bit messy but he had taken his shower and gotten dressed already. Brendan had always been a morning person, and right now she loved him for it.

"Thank you so much!"

They kissed briefly, but before she could take a bite of her breakfast, Brendan started to head out of the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Oh! I've got a busy day at the gym today. I have to get there early if I want to beat the lines."

With that he was out the door, and May rolled her eyes again. Sometimes he could be the sweetest guy on the planet, and other times he was so egotistical and filled to the brim with testosterone. She let it slide, and instead focused on the wonderful food in front of her. May finished it soon enough, and then she realized what time it was. Putting the tray aside, she got out of bed, and got ready for work. The birds were singing outside and she smiled to herself. Life was always so good for her, especially lately. As she went out the door, she started to walk down the busy streets and towards the daycare.

When she entered, May was immediately greeted by her favorite pokemon. She jumped up into May's arms and licked her face. It was a new baby pokemon called Hopril, which was a soft shade of light blue, with its body covered in short fur. May liked her so much because she was always hopping around and she was always so perky, which brought a smile to her face.

"It's nice to see you too Hopril!"

She jumped back down to the ground and went through the flap in the back door. Most likely she was headed for one of the greenhouses. May sighed happily and turned the closed sign to 'open'. There were many little tasks to do, like sweeping the floor, dusting the desks, and answering calls. After she was done with these tedious tasks, she was finally going to go do her favorite thing, which was to check up and play with the pokemon in the greenhouses, but just as she was going to go out the back door, she heard the doorbell ring. May turned around and saw a pretty girl, around the same age as herself, walk through the door. She put on a cheerful smile and walked to her spot behind the main desk.

"Hi, my name's May! Welcome to the daycare center! How may I help you?"

"Oh, thank you. My name is Bella."

May nodded and watched her as she looked around, squinting her eyes and sighing as she did. She was definitely gorgeous. Bella's skin was perfectly smooth, and her hair was slightly curled, making it bounce whenever she moved her head. May envied her skinny figure, but then shook her head. Bella was wearing a tight mini skirt, and an even tighter hot orange halter-top. There was nothing to be envious of; she looked horrible, and May realized how thankful she was that she accepted herself for who she was.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Bella jumped suddenly, forgetting that May was there.

"…Well, yes you can. I wanted to know, is there anyway I could borrow some pokemon for a contest the city is hosting? I'm in charge and…"

May's eyes glinted with joy at hearing the word contest.

"Oh! What contest is it? Is it a coordinator contest?"

Even though she had given it up, she still always went to whatever contest she could attend. Bella seemed annoyed at the interruption, but took the opportunity to publicize the contest.

"No it's not. It's the Miss Perfection Contest! We are going to crown one lucky girl "Miss Perfection" and we need pokemon for the ceremonies and the contest itself. So? What do you think?"

May's smile turned into a frown. Why wasn't this girl in the contest, she was obviously the perfect person for it. She was caught up in her own thoughts, when she was literally snapped back by Bella.

"Well? I don't have all day you know!"

This girl was really bossy, and speaking of bossy, just then Mr. Maguchi came in from the back door.

"I'm sorry Miss. The daycare only accepts pokemon; it doesn't give out people's pokemon for some other purpose. I'm sorry; you will have to go somewhere else."

Bella rolled her eyes and put her hand through her hair.

"Well this has been a complete waste of my time! I'm sorry I ever thought of coming in here. Looks like the service is so ungrateful and not willing to compromise!"

May was now angry and couldn't help but lash out at her.

"Ungrateful? You are the one that is ungrateful! I've never seen such a brat before! You think you are all that! Have you ever thought of what using pokemon for your own needs is? It's immoral and cruel! Pokemon are not servants! They are our friends, and I don't want you in here any longer, so get out!"

Mr. Maguchi and Bella both dropped their jaws, and Bella's eyes popped out.

"What? What did you just say? Oh when Drew hears about this… I swear you are going to get fired for what you said!"

Everything was a bit hazy after she heard his name come out of her mouth. How on earth did she know Drew? Mr. Maguchi saw Bella coming towards May with a clenched fist, and then he got in between the two.

"All right! Settle down! This is not a place for immature arguments! This is a pokemon daycare center, and I as the proprietor of this establishment, wish that you leave at once for causing such a disturbance!"

Bella stepped back and straightened her outfit, what little of it that she had.

"Fine! I don't need to waste anymore time here!"

But as she turned around, she stopped dead in her tracks.

..:-:..

Drew got up and ruffled his hair. The time on the alarm clock was noon exactly, and his eyes widened. How was it that he had slept for so long? He didn't know, but he guessed that Bella didn't feel like waking him up that morning. Then Drew realized he actually had a place to be.

"Oh no! The ice cream cart! I'm late!"

He quickly got dressed and then put the stupid apron on. Reluctantly, he found the white hat that went along with the outfit, and then he ran out the door. Drew ran all the way there. Being fired the first day on the job was not something he wanted to happen. When he finally got there, he was panting and out of breath.

"I'm so sorry boss! It… won't happen again!"

Drew stood upright, looking as best and as awake as he could. His boss was about ready to yell at him, when he saw that Drew was panting heavily.

"I see you must have ran all the way here?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then… I guess that makes up for your tardiness. All right, I'll let it slide this time, but never again! I can easily get someone else to do the job!"

Drew nodded his head vigorously, and then the boss smiled at him.

"Oh by the way, a young pretty girl stopped by. She told me to give this to you."

The boss handed him a small piece of paper and then he chuckled as he nudged Drew in the ribs. Drew chuckled slightly along with him, but he waited until he was gone to read it. The note must have been from Bella… but then it occurred to him that Bella didn't know where his job was… so how could she have found out? When he opened the note up, he smiled.

'Drew-

Roselia is doing just fine, but if you want to stop by to check up on her yourself, you are welcome to! And I guess I could stand you for a couple of minutes anyways. See you soon!

-May'

Drew laughed when he saw the smiley face that she had written on the note. It was a face with a wink and a tongue sticking out. He put the note in his pocket and then a little boy with blond hair came up to him.

"Can I get the double triple chocolate vanilla swirl scoop? Please?"

"Sure… do you have money?"

The little boy showed him the money, and then Drew nodded and smiled slightly.

"All right… one double triple chocolate vanilla swirl scoop coming up!"

The boy took the ice cream cone and thanked him with a huge smile. Drew worked diligently for an hour and then his boss came back.

"Hey boss, can I take a break?"

"I guess, why not? Be back in twenty minutes!"

"Oh really? Thanks!"

Drew took of his hat and apron and handed them to his boss. He watched Drew run across the street and turn around the corner. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going off to see that pretty girl who had stopped by earlier. He smiled to himself; they made a cute couple, didn't they?

Drew was excited to see May again. He hadn't even thought about Bella after he read the note, and finally after a minute or two, he found the daycare center. As he walked in through the door smiling, it faded instantly as his eyes found Bella staring right at him with her mouth dropped open. May couldn't believe that right after she had mentioned him, he was standing right in front of her. Then she remembered the note she had dropped off at the ice cream cart with the boss. Maybe she should have waited until later, but how could she have known that Bella would have come as well?

"Drew? What are you doing here?"

His eyes darted towards May, who was standing behind the desk with a scared smile on her face. Drew quickly looked back at Bella, who was now a foot in front of him. She saw his eyes dart towards the girl behind the counter, and then she flailed her head at May, and then back at Drew.

"Well? Aren't you going to answer me?"

"..Um.. well you see Bella…"

"Oh! OH! Don't even tell me! You have a thing for this girl don't you? DON'T YOU?"

"WHAT?"

Drew looked at his girlfriend disbelievingly and he saw angry tears start to form in her eyes. May walked up to them and shook Bella's shoulder slightly, but she pushed May away.

"Get away from me! I hate you both!"

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about! Drew just left his Roselia here, and I'm looking after it!"

May's confidence helped Drew out as well.

"That's exactly why I'm here, I'm here to check up on Roselia!"

Bella looked from May to Drew, and back to May again with squinted eyes, she was no longer crying, but her eyes were glazed. Mr. Maguchi shook his head and decided to go back to the greenhouses.

"Bella… if it makes you feel any better, I have a boyfriend. His name is Brendan."

Suddenly Drew looked at May, who was trying to console his girlfriend. For some odd reason, he had forgotten that she did in fact have a boyfriend. But then again, he also forgot that he should be thinking about his girlfriend Bella, not his friend, May.

"Oh… you do?"

"Yes, I do."

All of a sudden, Bella smiled cheerfully and then put her arms around Drew and hugged him. May looked away, trying to push away that awkward feeling in her stomach.

"Drew, I'm so sorry. I should have trusted you."

"It's all right."

She kissed him on the cheek and then rubbed her eyes, blinking awake her face.

"Okay, well I have to go! I'm late for the meeting with the lovely contestants. Oh, and it was nice to meet you May!"

Bella went out the door and with it finally went the tension in the room. Drew rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, while May went back to her original place behind the counter. She was a bit stiff for a moment. Finding out that Drew had a girlfriend was a bit strange, like as if finding out her brother wanted to suddenly become a painter. It was so unusual that May had to adjust to the new knowledge. Drew walked up to the counter while May looked something up on the computer.

"So I guess you've met my girlfriend…"

"Yes… she's quite something… Bella she is…"

"Look May, I'm sorry if she acted a bit strongly and said a few harsh words to you… she can be like that sometimes, but she's really nice if you get to know her."

She finally looked up from the screen and her gaze met his emerald eyes. May sighed, letting go of all those negative feelings she had been harboring since she met Bella.

"Oh, I'm sure she is," May said sincerely.

"Hey, can we go check up on Roselia?"

"Of course! Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"

Her warm chocolate eyes brimmed with eagerness, and he hesitated for a moment. Was it the only reason he had come?

"…yes… I guess it is. But seeing my friend is another reason you know."

May raised her eyebrows curiously.

"So we're friends then?"

"I think so, I mean we're not rivals anymore right?"

"Right."

At that moment, May came to the conclusion that he had finally grown up a bit, and she was glad he had.

"May?"

"Huh? Oh right! Let's go then!"

They walked through the back door like they had the day before, and they went into the greenhouse that was filled with a small forest.

"Roselia? Roselia?"

Drew saw her almost immediately, and she hopped over to Drew's legs. He picked her up, and then petted her head. May looked on approvingly and then all of a sudden, Roselia reached her arms out towards May. She wasn't sure why she did it, but Drew knew. He gave May Roselia, and then she realized that Roselia liked her too. It made May feel really good about herself, but her fun ended when Drew hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Oh! I completely forgot that I have to get back to work!"

"Okay, well then I guess you have to go right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Roselia looks like she's in good hands though!"

They smiled cheerfully as they made their way back to the main house.

"Hey Drew?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'll stop by for some ice cream on the way home after work. You'll be there?"

Drew smiled happily at her and nodded.

"Sure will. See you then."

"See you then!"

She watched him leave and she couldn't stop staring at him until he vanished from her view. May came out of her trance, and then she muttered to herself.

"Get a grip May. Like you said, you have a boyfriend already. Okay then, let's get back to work! Today we are following May on an expedition to the water greenhouse, or as she likes to call it, the bluehouse!"

Drew did a double take, and he watched May get herself excited as she left through the back door again. He laughed to himself. She hadn't changed a bit.

..:-:..

It was late in the afternoon; the sun was already making its long shadows on the world, but for two people it was the perfect time to just relax. May and Drew decided to take another walk into the park that was located in the middle of the bustling city. They saw mothers ushering their little ones to go home for dinner. However Drew and May had eaten already and had talked for a while now. They caught up on old times, on how their lives had changed, and even about their loved ones. But that wasn't the topic of conversation at that moment. The two of them had wound up on the same bridge as last time, and in a calm still silence, they watched the water underneath them flow gracefully underneath the bridge. The wind hushed their spirits, while the leaves in the trees rustled gently. May's voice shivered slightly as she whispered to Drew.

"Do you see it? The water… it's so peaceful…"

Drew picked his head up, and his gaze drifted from the water to her glowing face. The sunset cast a beautiful array of colors on her face. He was somewhat mesmerized by her appearance for a minute.

"Yes… it is definitely peaceful…"

May hadn't looked up and she continued to stare down at the water.

"Sometimes I wish I could be like that… peaceful and graceful. I could flow through the world, or just even through this park, and I would feel like I was the only person that mattered. The wind would pick me up off my feet, and it wouldn't matter where it would take me."

Her soft brown hair lifted slightly as the breeze swept by. Drew's mouth somewhat parted, and he couldn't tell if he was dreaming or not, because he felt like his feet weren't really on the bridge.

"May… that was amazing…"

Abruptly, she looked away from the water and looked him straight in the eye. Her comforting smile spread across her face.

"I know, isn't it a wonderful dream?"

"No, I mean, as I listened to you speak, it felt like I was in your dream; it felt real to me."

For the first time in her life, what he was saying was serious. It wasn't a joke, he wasn't making fun of her, and it hit her suddenly, that he actually listened to what she had said. Her smile faded slowly, and her mouth was slightly agape. She shivered suddenly, and she had an awkward feeling crawl up her back. May shook her head and smiled again. She had to make this strange occurrence change; it was getting a bit exhilarating, the feeling she felt deep down inside of her. They were friends, and to make sure it stayed that way, May suddenly started to walk off the bridge.

"It's getting late Drew. I think we should go home, you know, get some sleep and all. Tomorrow's another day!"

Just as she was going to start down the bridge, her eyes widened and she began to fall forward. May was jerked upwards again, and she felt two arms around her torso. Drew turned her around, and May's smile was gone again. Her face was within inches of Drew's, and she was afraid; she was afraid of being close to him, because her heart was beginning to race wildly. The sunlight played onto the setting, casting faint orange glows onto the water. Drew's thoughts were racing, and he had realized that so was his heart. May's eyes displayed so much worry, and then he realized that he was beginning to worry too. So he did what he would usually do. He stood her up and flipped his hair, letting go of her.

"Geez May, you can't even walk right?"

She laughed, for the first time not caring at all that he was making fun of her; she was glad he did it, because all of that build up seemed to disappear.

"So, you were saying we should go home? I think that's a good idea too."

May nodded and the two of them made their way down the bridge, without any more accidents. They parted ways, and made their way home separately. When May stepped inside her apartment, she immediately put her hands over her ears. The t.v. was blaring and she heard one particular scream through it all.

"Brendan! Turn it down!"

He looked up from the couch and saw her standing there, annoyed to the brink of her capacity.

"Oh! May! You're home."

He took the remote and turned the volume lower. As May put her things down, she saw that he was watching pokemon wrestling. She rolled her eyes as Brendan walked up to her and gave her a welcome kiss. Even though she was annoyed with him, she gladly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. Her conscience was now guilt free, knowing that she came home to Brendan, her boyfriend, and that she hadn't done something stupid on that bridge. They pulled apart and Brendan smiled handsomely.

"So, what did you do all day?"

"Well I started out in the gym, and then I went to this competition, and then I decided to participate!"

May chuckled to herself. She had heard this a million times before.

"And guess who won? Me! I did baby! Are you proud of your man?"

This time she laughed along with him and she gave him a kiss.

"Of course I am!"

"Good!"

There was a small cheer from the quiet t.v. Suddenly Brendan dashed back to the couch and focused his attention on the match.

"I'm going to turn in for tonight, all right?"

"Huh…yeah yeah…goodnight babe."

"Goodnight Brendan…"

She watched him pout as all of a sudden the match turned the other way around. May smiled gently while watching him. She was glad to be home.

..:-:..

"I'm home."

Bella jumped up excitedly and flung her arms around him.

"I missed you Drew!"

"Me too."

He was tired and exhausted. The day had proved to be one of transformation for him, especially the end of it. Drew was still thinking about May's words and how it had affected him when she said it. But as he looked into Bella's eyes, he realized that he was Bella's boyfriend, and he couldn't hold May like he was holding her. He smiled at her, with a hidden pain behind it.

"So what did you do? You've been gone a while; dinner is cold."

"Oh, I'm sorry hun, but I didn't get to tell you. You remember May?"

"Yes…"

"Well she's an old friend of mine really, from way back when I was a kid."

She seemed somewhat disappointed to hear this news. "Oh…"

"Yeah, so I had dinner with her, nothing big just a hot dog. We talked about what we've been doing and all. Then she said that Brendan was waiting for her, and I said that you were waiting for me, so we said goodbye."

Drew added that last part to make sure that she was suspicious of anything, and it looked like it worked, because she started to smile again.

"Okay then, I guess I'll just put your dinner into the fridge. You should get some rest Drew, you looked bushed."

"Yeah… I am; it's been a long day."

He walked into his room, and shut the door. Drew fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. There were no longer traces of sunlight; instead darkness crept silently through his window. He turned his head to look out at the millions of stars that dotted the sky. Funny, it reminded him of that sweet brunette that wished she could be as graceful as the water that flowed down the river. If only he could tell her she was already as beautiful as all the stars in the sky… if only…