Chapter 16

Watching Brendan play another round of Terramon, May tried not to be too irritated at just how excited he seemed.

She'd gone through all kinds of awful tests to ensure everything was fine with her both physically and mentally. Like she'd suspected, she was fine, bar the scraps and bruises. The worst injury was, of course, her ankle which was, indeed, badly sprained and she'd received doctor's orders to rest it for a minimum of six weeks.

Staring at the childish walls she'd never bothered to paint, May pouted. To say she was bored, trapped in these four walls, was an understatement.

After coming back from her latest trip abroad, she'd never bothered to redecorate her room since she'd never expected to stay extended periods of time in it. She still had the same pokémon plushies, the TV she was meant to share with Max and the same bed she'd cried in when Brendan had been too tough on her or a scary pokémon had come too close.

'I win again, art mimics life,' Brendan grinned, turning his eager ruby eyes onto hers.

Seeing her pout, he dropped his controller and rushed to her side, kissing her cheek softly, wrapping his warm arms around her torso.

'Hey, chin up, you could be stuck with Max and Orlando,' Brendan offered, his hand stroking her cheek as he offered her a lopsided smile.

'That's not it,' May pouted, poking her fingers together, glancing nervously up at Brendan.

'Do you want to beat my arse in Terra?' He frowned, sounding genuinely confused, his eyes narrowing slightly down at her.

Snorting, May retorted, 'please, we both know that I'm so well practiced I could win if I actually tried!'

Hearing her say those words, May winced.

She'd run out of things to do and Terramon wasn't nearly as fun for the hundredth time.

'Yeah, you haven't really played anything else, have you?' Brendan chuckled, gently moving her hair out of her face.

Hearing the steps of her mum, May gritted het teeth, wanting some privacy with Brendan.

Since Brendan and her had acknowledged their feelings after the disastrous trip to Mount Chimney, May's parents had begun to treat them like they couldn't be trusted. They were constantly around them, and May was really beginning to get ticked off. Sure, she knew that the biggest factor was probably her falling off of Mount Chimney, but their behaviour around Brendan was really starting to push her buttons.

Before she could call out to reassure her mum, Brendan had connected his Xtransceiver to her TV and was streaming someone doing a voiceless walkthrough of the game.

He held his hand up, counting the seconds before Caroline's steps began to recede.

'Easy,' Brendan chuckled before closing the door quietly, his grin as mischievous as she'd ever seen.

Rubbing his hands together, Brendan laughed, 'if I'd known that would have worked, I would have done it ages ago.'

Pouting, May sent him an amused glare. She'd never have thought of doing anything at all like that, especially since she and Max tended to just hang around in the living room.

'You want to get out of here, don't you?' Brendan frowned at her, and May grimaced.

Had she been too obvious?

'May, there's going to be a certain amount of trust that needs to be rebuilt before your parents can realistically let you go anywhere. Besides, you're still injured,' Brendan chastised, taking a seat on May's bed and cuddling her to him.

Inhaling his spicy petaya scent, May muttered into his shirt, 'I'm sick of being treated like an invalid child. Yes, I was so, so dumb, but I'm not going to do that again.'

'History says otherwise,' Brendan retorted, though he was rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

Shaking her head, May assured him, 'I'm serious this time. Well, mostly. I'm still going to do what it takes to beat the pants off of you.'

Wiggling his eyebrows, Brendan grinned, 'I mean, if that's what you want, I can take them off now?'

Horrified, May hissed, 'and have my mum walk in on us again?! That's the whole other reason they keep checking on us!'

'Well if you hadn't dropped your Oran berry juice on it, we wouldn't have this predicament!' Brendan scowled back.

Just thinking about the refreshing, blue juice, May grimaced. She'd never even gotten to take a sip of that cursed drink.

'Pause the video, I'll go get you some,' Brendan grinned, kissing the top of her head before tossing her his Xtransceiver.

Pausing it, May fidgeted nervously, twirling the device in her hands as she waited impatiently for Brendan to come back.

Hearing the familiar shuffle of Max's footsteps, May tapped her good leg.

'Hey, I'm hanging out with Orlando, want me to get anything from Mauville City?' Max asked, popping his head in.

Shaking her head, May tried to hide her disappointment, 'nah I'm good, thanks though.'

What she wouldn't give to go to Mauville City, or anywhere, really.

Hearing her brother's steps receding, May plopped down on the bed, staring up at the white ceiling.

Why was she making Brendan suffer with her? She knew he'd want to go to Mauville City too.

Hearing the door open, May glanced over to see Brendan walking in, an eager grin in his face.

'Max and Orlando are going to Mauville, you can join them if you like,' May said, trying not to show how sad the thought made her.

Blinking, Brendan handed her the juice and frowned, 'What? Why would I do that?'

'Cause I know I'm being a miserable git,' May grimaced, sitting up with some difficulty, trying her best not to spill the juice.

'Yeah, but you're my miserable git,' Brendan said, crossing his arms as he glared at her.

Hearing the sentiment, May lowered her head, biting her lip nervously at how happy those words made her.

'Besides, aren't you going to ask why I'm so happy?' Brendan grinned at her, playing with one of the tassels on a bag she'd been given.

'Why?' May asked as she sipped the drink, bobbing up and down at how good it tasted.

'I convinced your mum to let you crash at mine,' Brendan grinned, his ruby eyes sparkling down at her.

Hearing his words, May repeated them slowly, not quite daring to believe what she was hearing.

'No way, I can come by?!' May gasped, almost spilling her juice again.

Jumping off the bed, Brendan scowled, 'watch it, I don't want to go home in your dad's pants again! Dad almost coughed up a lung from laughing so much at me!'

Giggling up at him, May muttered a hasty apology, 'sorry, I just can't believe it.'

'Yeah, instead of your girly room you're going to be crashing in my tepig-sty,' Brendan chuckled, though May couldn't care less.

She'd missed everything about the Birches, from the people, to the home and especially the chaos.

'And different games, different books, different people,' May whispered eagerly, her eyes already darting around the room, wanting to get ready.

'When can I go?' May asked, her hands itching to pack.

'Whenever you want,' Brendan assured her.

'Then what are you waiting for?! Ahhhh I'm going outside!' May grinned, trying to reach for her crutches.

With a chuckle, Brendan helped May off the bed, his lips finding hers before she could register what he was doing.

A/N:

I'll be uploading a bit earlier than I used to since there's been (another) change in my schedule. Sorry things are so chaotic at the moment, but hopefully this is good news for some of you :)

Let me know what you think!