Here's the second Chapter. Thanks for the nice reviews so far (All one of you).
And I forgot to in the first chapter, but Pokémon, the characters, etc. are not mine. They belong to The Pokémon Company, as well as Creatures, Gamefreak, and Nintendo.
Now, on with the show, shall we?
This chapter was also affected when I changed thinking to be in italics. Reasoning is in the Author's notes in Chapter 1.
After dinner, May went outside and sat out in the cool grass. Ash was out training Aipom, the newest addition to his team on the other side of the center, and Brock and Max had left to go buy supplies from a mom and pop general store. May spread her legs apart and propped herself up by placing her hands on the ground behind her. She gazed at the round, full moon. How did Max figure it out? She thought. She tried to remember how to conversation had gone in that direction earlier today.
"All that stuff was a long time ago, Max!" May retorted to her brother's accusation, "Besides, I'm a much better trainer, now."
"Well, there's been lotsa people helping you." Max responded.
May knew this as well as anyone. "Yeah. Ash has been there since the beginning, and Drew has really helped me in my contests. Then there's been a lot of my other contest opponents. I've probably even learned something from Harley."
"Even Harley?" Max was surprised.
"Yeah," May laughed, "but he's not near the top of who I would consider the most influential."
"Well, then who is?" Max asked her.
"Probably Ash and Drew," May blushed, "they've helped me in ways no one else can."
"Do you like either of 'em?" Max asked his sister.
"W-what?" May was surprised. She could feel her face turn crimson.
"I bet you have a crush on one of 'em!" Max accused her.
"N-n-no I d-don't!" May cried as she blushed even more fervently.
"Aha! I knew it!" Max exclaimed. May saw out of the corner of her eye that this comment had gotten Ash's attention.
May sighed, again gazing at the full moon. It was a cool night. A gentle breeze blew through her brown hair and flicked it into her face. She brushed it away, and saw the shrubs in the nearby forest moving. She saw something yellow come out of the bush. Ash's Pikachu had seen her sitting alone in the grass and was running up to her. Oh, no! What if Ash is following it! she thought.
Pikachu walked up to her. "Pikachu, pika pika chu?"
"Hi, Pikachu," May said hesitantly, "is Ash following you.'
"Pikachu," He shook his head.
"Did you sneak off during training?" she asked him. In response, Pikachu widened his face, pulled his ears down, and put on a big, toothy grin.
"He's doing a lot of training with Aipom, isn't he?" May responded, recognizing the Pokémon Pikachu was imitating.
"Pika." He nodded. He leapt into May's lap. May wasn't startled. It seemed like Pikachu was always spending time with her when he wasn't with Ash. She rubbed behind his ears just as she had seen Ash do. May smiled as she heard his coo under her gentle touch. She stopped and looked at Pikachu. Pikachu turned and lowered his ears. "Pika pi, Pikachu?" he asked, concerned.
"You know I'm feeling down, don't you?" May asked rhetorically. "I was just thinking about you, Pikachu. And how you seem as comfortable around me as you do Ash."
"Pika." Pikachu responded.
"But I also remember how sometimes, when you weren't with Ash, how you'd go out of your way to sit with me, or on my head."
"Pika..." he laughed, embarrassed.
"Well…" May smiled, knowing that Pikachu had just fallen into her trap, "They say Pokémon take on the personalities of their trainers. As well as likes and dislikes."
"Pika?" Pikachu choked. Even he could see where this was going now.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you…" and with that May lowered her head close to Pikachu's ear and whispered, "Do you know if Ash likes me?"
Thinking quickly, Pikachu decided to play dumb. "Pika!" It said, rather obliviously.
May knew Ash, and she knew Pikachu would try to weasel out just like Ash would. "No, you know what I meant!" May chastised him, "I meant does he have a crush on me?"
Pikachu, flabbergasted, thought about how Ash had instructed him earlier that night.
"Okay, Pikachu, I want you to spy on May for me." Ash told his long time partner.
"Pika!" he let out a displeased sound.
"Not like that, Pikachu!" Ash reassured it, "I meant I want you to go and see what kind of mood May's in, and see if she's with anyone else. You can sit in her lap and try and get her to talk to you and stuff. Not like hiding in the bushes like some kinda G.I. Jenny"
"Pika?" it looked confused.
"Because if she sees you, she might think of me," Ash said, blushing slightly, "I want you to try to learn if she likes me back" His blush deepened.
"Pika! Pika, pika pi Pikachu pikaka pi pik pikachu chuu?" He continued.
"Just hop on her head. That should distract her from asking about me again." Ash explained. "And remember," Ash continued, "make sure she doesn't learn that I like her from you. I don't think she'd kindly of me sending you to spy on me."
"Pika!" Pikachu raised his hand into the air as if to support Ash's plan.
"Thanks buddy," Ash picked Pikachu up, "I knew I could count on you." He snuggled Pikachu in his arms and then set it down to go find May. "Now, I gotta do some training," he said, turning. He reached along side his belt, and pulled a Pokéball out. "Aipom, I choose you!" he called out as he tossed it into the air.
Pikachu, remembering the instructions, leaped onto May's head.
"H-Hey!" May said, laughing. "What are you trying to do, Pikachu?" May rocked her head forward to try to get Pikachu to slip off. Her plan worked, as Pikachu came tumbling down in front of her. His feet landed on her chest, and caused Pikachu to bounce onto the ground flat on its back.
"Chaa…" it cried after feeling the impact.
May picked Pikachu up and held him. "Are you okay, Pikachu?" May asked. Pikachu put his hand behind his head in an embarrassed sort of way. He chortled a little bit. Then his ears perked up and its expression changed to serious.
"Huh?" May was confused, "Is someone there, Pikachu?"
"May, is that you?" the voice of Drew called out to her.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried. He squirmed out of May's grasp and ran past Drew, who was approaching May, to go tell Ash of who had just shown up.
Drew eyed Pikachu as he scampered away. He quickly put the thought out of his mind, and turned to May. "So, how have you been?" he asked her.
"Drew, it hasn't even been that long since the Grand Festival, remember?" May said, standing up to face him, "I'm fine. Just like I was then."
Drew coughed. "Anyway, I came out here to find you because there is something I wanted to tell you."
"What's th-" May was cut off by Drew presenting a rose to her.
"I'm in love with you, May," he told her. May blushed heavily and gently took the rose from his hand.
"I-I-I-I don't know what to say," May stammered, surprised that Drew would be so direct with her.
"Well, don't say anything yet," he advised her, "I also have a request to make." He looked up into her eyes. Her blush thickens when she notices this. "I… would like it if you stopped journeying with Ash and came along with me instead," he said to her.
"W-what?" May's eyes widened at this request. She dropped the rose on the ground. "Bu-but what about Max? Where will he go?" she was startled and stammered out.
Drew looked into her large, sapphire eyes calmly, "We can talk about that later. I'm not expecting an answer tonight," he explained, "This must be a lot to take in, and I want to give you a night to think about it. I know you care a lot about your friends, and I wanted you to do what would really make you happy." May could only stand stunned as Drew turned from her. "I'm going to bed now," Drew said to her, "I'll hang around the center until noon. I'll be expecting your answer before then." He coolly walked off. May heard the doors of the center open and close. She fell to the ground, he knees landing first there, stunned at what had just occurred.
Drew… is in love with me…? She thought timidly to herself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the center, bubbles and stars clashed together on the outskirts of the nearby forest, creating explosions. These explosions brought small flashes, brightening up the sky for a moment. When the air cleared this time, a tired Aipom was panting as Ash's Corphish lunged at it with a glowing claw.
"Aipom!" Ash cried to it, "Dodge that Crabhammer!"
"Eii!" the purple monkey Pokémon leaned back, and bounced up using her tail. Corphish brought its claw down into the ground, missing Aipom completely.
"Now, Focus Punch!" Ash commanded.
"Eii-" Aipom cried as her tail was enveloped in a bright glow. She shouted, "-Pom!" as she swung her tail into in to the crustacean, sending him flying against a tree.
"Cooooooor…" Ash's Water-Type wheezed as he sunk into the grass, knocked out.
"You did a great job, Corphish, return!" Ash told his friend as he recalled the crayfish Pokémon back into its Pokéball. He turned to Aipom, "And you where awesome, too, Aipom. Return." Ash held up her ball and recalled her.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu called to Ash as he ran up to his trainer.
"Pikachu!" Ash turned and picked up his partner, "How did it go? Did you learn anything?"
Pikachu leaped out of Ash's grip and pulled his ears down to the sides of his head. His eyes got sparkly and he cooed an effeminate "Chaa!"
"So you really think May likes me!" Ash excitedly asked him while he blushed slightly.
"Pika!" he nodded.
"Well, let's go talk to her!" Ash was about to run off.
"Pika!" He halted him. He pulled his ears down in front of his eyes. He flicked them and said, "Pi!" in a stuck up way.
"What?" Ash was surprised, "You mean Drew was talking to her! Let's go, we don't have time to waste!" Ash took off after Pikachu leaped on his shoulder. He ran behind the Pokémon Center to where he knew May was just as Drew had left her to return to his room.
"May!" Ash called to her from behind the bushes. He stepped out and saw her sitting alone on the ground. Where'd that Drew go? he thought. He walked up to her and extended his hand to help her to her feet. "Are you alright, May?" Ash asked her as he pulled her to her feet.
May, seeing Ash here, quickly hid her memory of what just happened between her and Drew. "Yeah," she tried to shake it from her mind, "I was just surprised is all."
"What surprised you?" Ash asked her.
May quickly changed the subject. "So how did your training with Aipom go?" She asked him.
"It went great!" Ash beamed, "Aipom did really great in a battle with Corphish. She's a really strong Pokémon…" Ash trailed off. He looked into May's eyes, and saw those glittering sapphire orbs reflect the moonlight. The pale glow of the moon made her skin glow and the smile on her face of genuine friendship made his heart beat faster.
"Ash, are you okay?" May asked him as a faint blush came over Ash's face.
This is it, he thought, do or die.
"M-M-May! I-I th-think I'm falling in…love… with you." Ash stuttered out, his face becoming redder as the sentence went on.
May blushed when she heard that. "R-really?" she asked.
Ash sat down in the grass. He sighed and looked at the moon. "Yeah," he said, his heart beating at a mile a minute.
"When did it happen?" May asked, sitting down close-but-not-next to him. She tried to hide the rose that Drew gave her behind her.
"You make it sound like there's something wrong with me," Ash scoffed, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.
"No, it's not that," May assured him, moving her hand on to his, "I really want to know. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Ash." She squeezed his hand.
"A while ago, I guess," Ash thought out loud, "I mean, we where always good friends, but I guess at some point, I felt like it was becoming something more."
"Go on," May implored him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She liked romantic stories like this, and would often read books about this kind of situation when she wasn't training for the next contest.
Ash laid back in the grass. Pikachu sat next to him on the side May wasn't on. He sat there thinking for a moment. "Remember that island in Hoenn with the Donphan, when Max got lost in the forest. You where so worried about him that you didn't take the ferry to Pacifidlog. When I saw how sad that made you, I realized that there might be more to our friendship than I thought. I tried my best to comfort you, because I wanted that bright smile of yours to return to that face."
"But that was quite a long time ago, Ash," May said, "Why are you just now telling me how you feel?"
"When Max said you had a crush on somebody, I was just going to brush it off," he said, eyes closed, "But then that Drew guy showed up, and you seemed so happy to see him…" Ash clenched his fists, "… I guess that this is the first time I've ever felt like I had a chance of losing you." Ash calmed himself, "I mean, I thought that we'd have a longer time together before I'd have to say anything. I was just putting it off." Ash sighed, "I never thought anything about what was going on between you and Drew. I thought it was just friendly. But then with what Max said… this is the first time I've ever felt threatened about it."
"Ash…" May whispered to herself.
Ash turned to her face. "I know this probably came off as acquired-"
"Awkward," May corrected him.
"Yeah, awkward," Ash laughed, "But anyway, I feel really mixed up inside now." He turned serious again, "Pikachu and I are gonna camp outside. I don't feel like I'd be able to sleep if I was able to look at you. You don't have to tell me how you feel yet." Ash stood, walking toward the center's door. "Whenever you feel like you're ready." He glanced back at her and caught a glimpse of the rose Drew gave her. He put the thought out of his mind, and went inside the center to rest his Pokémon and get his sleeping bag.
"Oh no…" May said to herself, realizing what just happened, "What am I gonna do now?"
After Ash and Pikachu left, Max asked May where they went. May invented some story about how Ash had heard of a rare Pokémon in the forest and was going to camp out to find it. Max began to get his camping gear together so he could go watch for it with Ash, but May scolded him and told him to go to bed. Max, sulking, obeyed his older sister and went to sleep. May sat outside their room, thinking to herself, both out loud and in her head, about what had just happened.
"Ash and Drew…" she started to collect her thoughts, "They both are in love with me!" she squealed with joy. The thought of Drew presenting her a beautiful bouquet of lush roses, and Ash taking her hand for a romantic moonlight flight upon his Charizard made her heart flutter, and May giggled like a young girl would had she been in her situation. But then reality set in again. "I can't keep them both…" she told herself, "It wouldn't be right to string them both along like that, and then they'd both end up hating me…" The thought of Drew tossing her a dead, dry brown roses and Ash leaving her behind flooded into her mind. She started to sniffle. But how can I choose between them? she thought to herself, They've both been so wonderful to me. How can I choose to stay with one and shun the other… "This is so hard!" She cried out, tears running slowly out of her eyes, "Why did they both have to tell me that they loved me in the same day…"
"Maybe I can help," A voice said to her from down the hall. She looked up from her lap and saw Brock walking down the hall. She knew he could see the tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Brock…" she sniffed, trying to hide her tears, "Where were you?"
"I was reading a story to my little brothers and sister," he explained, "My parents are doing great, but they still miss their big brother." Brock smiled, hoping it would catch and May would smile back. But he saw that in her eyes that she had been crying. "Now let me put my brothering skills to use," he said as he put his hand on her back. "Why are you crying, May?" Brock asked her, sitting down while holding a can of soda in his opposite hand.
"Oh, Brock!" May let the tears flow. She leaned over and sobbed fitfully into Brock's lap. She sat up, still crying. "It's awful! I have to choose between two people who have done so much for me, and I can't!"
"Okay, explain things from the beginning, and then we'll think about how to handle this." Brock tried to calm her.
"Thanks, Brock." May sniffed.
"That's what friends are for, May," Brock smiled.
"No, I mean it," May rubbed the tears from her eyes, "You're like the big brother I've never had. I know I can talk to you and you'll be there for me. Thank you."
Brock blushed with embarrassment.
May went over the events of the evening, starting with Pikachu's appearance to her, going to Drew's confession and proposition, and finally to Ash admitting his feelings for her, and the dialog they had before he left.
"Wow," said Brock, "I never even thought Ash was capable of that. Misty would be surprised."
"But I have to pick one now!" May cried to Brock, confiding in him like an older sibling, "If I pick neither, then, they'll both be heart broken! If I pick Ash, I might never see Drew again! If I pick Drew, I'll lose out on being with you guys anymore! Ash would be destroyed!"
Brock sat there for a moment, sipping on his soft drink, immersed in thought. An idea popped into his head. "Hey May, you like the dramatic romance novels, right?"
May blushed with embarrassment. "Well, I've always wanted to be in a romantic situation like that…" she sighed, "… but what does that have to do with anything?"
"I have an idea, if you want to go along with it…" Brock began to explain.
Well, here's the end of the secound part? Do you like where the story is headed? We'll have the first battle in the next chapter, as well as possibly the first appearence of Team Rocket.
Questions/Comments/Reviews/etc accepted as always.