Chapter 11
Running out the back door with Beautifly, May opens the gate to follow her Pokemon. Kai and Shay curiously watch May disappear out of the backyard. Whenever Kai is upset, he likes to cool off alone, but Shay never leaves him alone. Although, he is glad that she's here with him because he hates being alone.
"Should we go check on her?" Shay notices the concern on her friend's face.
"Yeah." He nods and they rush out of the backyard too with Munchlax.
Down the street, May spots the familiar green hair. "Drew!"
He stops to turn and face her. After dropping off the rose with Beautifly, Drew expected to never see May outside of work again. Is she coming to yell at him again? To give him the rose back? She's the only one he ever wants to give roses to. He hasn't given any flowers or gifts to Brianna. But May. She deserves a lot.
Once May is in front of him, she's panting from the run. Showing him the rose, the woman asks, "Why are you sorry?"
He blinks at her curiously. Is she really making him explain himself? Women. "For arguing with you last night. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. I shouldn't force you to be my friend if you don't wanna be." He frowns as he says this because it hurts to know he and May can't go back to what they used to be.
"Don't be sorry, Drew." her voice surprises him. "Don't be sorry for your feelings."
When he sees her sincere blue eyes, Drew smiles warmly. May is always so sweet and kind. "I won't bother you anymore."
After getting the rose, May's head and heart have been battling. Right now, her heart is winning as it's beating rapidly. "No. Let's be friends." May already knows she's going to be regretting this later, but Drew makes her happy. She can be happy while he's here right? It's only for a few more weeks until the planning of the contest hall is done and the construction begins. She and Drew won't be needed once that happens.
Drew notices it is slowly starting to snow, and this woman is obviously not dressed for the weather. Had she really run out of her house just because of his rose? She's in boots, a long sleeve shirt, and leggings. Chuckling, Drew removes his coat to put around her. "I'd like that, friend."
May's glad that it's cold outside to hide the blush on her cheeks. This coat smells like Drew. She's missed his scent and his touch. She's missed him so much. "You should keep it! I live down the street." She starts to remove the coat, but he keeps it on her.
Since he has a hoodie and jeans on, he's fine for now. Plus, seeing May shiver concerns him, so he wants her to stay warm. With a smirk on his face, he says, "You either wear the coat or I hug you to keep you warm."
Rolling her eyes, May tugs the coat on a little tighter. As much as she'd love a hug from Drew, she can't. "You have a girlfriend." She reminds the handsome man.
Letting out an annoyed breath, Drew frowns. "I need to break up with her."
"You shouldn't break up with her just because you wanna be my friend, Drew."
He shakes his head. "I never liked her. I just messed up and we've been together." Gazing into her curious blue eyes, he adds, "Meeting you again has helped me realize I need to stop prolonging my relationship."
May's head has currently won the battle, so she lets out a deep breath. "Drew, you shouldn't break up with Brianna because of me."
"I'm not!" He quickly says. "I'm breaking up with her because I want to. I never liked her!"
May gives him a warm smile as she slips off the coat to hand to him. "I'm gonna go home now, Drew. I'll see you on Monday."
He reluctantly takes the coat back since it signals the end of his conversation with her. "See ya on Monday." He watches her walk a few houses away with Beautifly before he puts his jacket back on to walk in the opposite direction. When he had put his jacket on May, he got a whiff of her shampoo. His coat faintly smells of her, but the scent is soon gone.
When May rounds the corner to enter the backyard, she notices the kids aren't there anymore. Once inside, she hears them in Kai's room again. Smiling, May is happy that they made up. She just made up with an old friend too. Friends argue, but true friendship always lasts.
In Kai's room, the kids had ran home when they saw May give Drew his jacket back. They're glad they weren't caught. Panting, Shay says, "I think they used to date."
"No way." Kai defends his caretaker.
"You saw that, Kai! He gave her his coat! And she ran after him! There's something there!"
"You said he has a girlfriend." the boy reminds his friend.
Shaking her head, she exclaims, "But you saw the way he looks at May! He cares about her!"
"They used to be friends."
"What if they're friends again?" The two were too far away to hear anything from May's and Drew's conversation.
"She didn't wanna be his friend last night."
"But today is different! She ran to him!"
"Probably to tell him not to come back." May's conversation with Drew was short, so Kai figures that must be the reason.
Sighing, Shay flops down on Kai's bed. "I can fantasize, right?"
"Please don't." Kai doesn't want to hear about his caretaker's potential relationship with a man he doesn't like.
A Few Days Later
"Why are we setting out 6 plates?" Shay asks her parents since they only need 5 when Kai and May join them for dinner. Her eyes soon open wide with excitement. "Is Shane coming?" She hasn't seen her brother since he left for Kanto in the fall, so she really misses him, even though he calls often.
"May is bringing a guest." Pam, Shay's mother, tells her. Pam expects her daughter to be disappointed at the thought of Shane not joining them, but instead, she sees Shay jumping excitedly.
"I bet it's Drew!"
"Drew Hayden?" George, her father, curiously asks.
Nodding enthusiastically, Shay replies, "Yeah! May and Drew are friends!"
"They're not friends." Kai annoyedly tells his friend. He hates how excited she gets over Drew, but he hates it even more that she gets more excited about May's and Drew's relationship.
"We'll ask tonight!" the girl grins widely.
Shaking her head, Pam says, "No, you won't. This is a nice peaceful dinner, and you need to watch your mouth, young lady."
"Mom!" whines Shay.
A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rings, and Shay rushes past everyone to answer it. Once the door is swung open, she smiles widely at May and the green haired man beside her. "Hey, May! Hey, Drew!"
Drew and May have been working well together ever since they agreed to be friends again. While they don't hang out or talk after the meetings, May had invited him to her weekly dinner with the Enbars. Pam and George welcomed the addition of a guest since they see May and Kai as family. Of course, Drew accepted the dinner invitation because he likes spending time with May.
"Hey, Shay." Drew grins at the girl, which makes her blush.
When everyone is inside, May introduces Drew to Pam and George. Soon, they're all enjoying the nice dinner as Shay asks Drew a lot of questions about his life. "Can you tell us a story from your travels?"
"Shay, let him eat." George sternly tells his daughter who cowers slightly.
"Sorry, Drew."
Chuckling, Drew takes a bite of his food. "Wanna hear my favorite story?"
"Is it about how you won the Johto Grand Festival?" Shay's already read that story and heard his interviews about it many times now. She wants to know something that no one else does.
He shakes his head as a smirk appears on his lips. "It was my second year coordinating, and I was in my home region of Hoenn again." May suspiciously eyes the man because that's when they had met. What story could he be telling Shay? And why is it his favorite? "I was on the mysterious Mirage Island." May instantly freezes as a blush tints her cheeks.
"I heard that it's not real." Shay astounds with awe. If Drew is lying, she can't tell.
"It's real." He affirms her. Looking up at May's blue eyes, his smirk grows. "Right, May?"
When all eyes turn to the brunette, she shoots Drew a glare. "Yes." Confirms the woman.
"Wow! You were there before, May?" Shay asks in excitement.
After May nods, Drew continues his story. "Team Rocket had attacked me and a group of other people. When their submarine blew up, our group was split."
"Team Rocket? You battled Team Rocket?" Shay pipes in.
"May's battled them more than me." Drew tells her, which makes said woman internally groan. Why does Drew keep dragging her into this?
Shay now questions her though. "You battled Team Rocket a lot?"
Sighing, May replies, "Team Rocket was after Ash's Pikachu. They attacked us every other day." The woman can't help but smile nostalgically at the memories of her first year traveling.
"The same Ash we met this summer? Champion Ash?" inquires the enthusiastic girl.
"Yeah. You can ask him about it next time he visits."
"I can't wait!" Shay shouts, making her parents sweatdrop.
Drew smiles at the girl as he continues. "Eventually, we learned about Liechi berries, so we went looking for them."
"Who's we? I thought you said your group got separated?" asks Kai who has been interested in the story because he loves Pokemon Journey stories.
"Just me and a friend. We got separated from her group." Drew smirks when he sees May shift uncomfortably. "Well, while we were looking for the berries, we fell in the river. I don't remember what happened because I blacked out, but when I woke up, I was happy to be alive." He takes another bite of his food. "We were rescued by some Wynauts who also had a lot of Liechi berries!"
"Wow! That's so cool!" Shay awes at him. "You got rare berries on a mysterious island! I wanna have fun adventures like that too!"
Kai, though, is confused about this story. "Why is that your favorite story?" It seems kind of boring compared to winning a grand festival.
Smiling as his green eyes meet May's blue ones, Drew replies, "Because that's when I realized someone cared about me enough to save me."
"Wild Pokemon can be kind." Pam nods. "Some have been known to save people before."
Drew's gaze doesn't break from May's. "No. Before the Wynaut saved me, my friend made sure I didn't drown in that river. She made sure I was safe before herself."
"That sounds like a good friend." George says.
"The best." Smiles the green haired man, and May finally looks away as her face heats up.
"Wow!" Shay exclaims again. She then turns her attention to May. "Can you tell us about when you were on Mirage Island?"
"Maybe another time." squeaks out the brunette.
Smirking, Drew leans across the table at her. "C'mon, May. Tell us the story." He taunts. "I wanna hear it too."
With her face heating up some more, May keeps her gaze on her food while shoving in more spoonfuls. "I'm eating."
"Let the guests eat, Shay." Pam tells her daughter who pouts.
Winking at Shay, Drew says, "It's okay, Shay. I'm sure that's May's favorite story too."
This irks the woman enough to glare up at Drew and his signature smirk challenging her. "That's not my favorite story."
Leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed, Drew asks, "Then what is?"
"When I won the Hoenn Grand Festival."
"Boring." Drew fake yawns. "We both know you wouldn't have won if I was there."
"You weren't there because you left." she snaps, which makes everyone awkwardly watch the pair. Drew has been too annoying, and while the two are trying to rekindle their friendship, she occasionally finds herself resenting him like she had these past 10 years.
Noticing the uncomfortable gazes on them, Drew stands up. Facing the Enbar parents, he smiles weakly at them. "Thanks for dinner, Pam and George." He ruffles Shay's hair before leaving the dining room.
When May hears the front door close, she gives the Enbar parents apologetic looks. "I'm sorry."
Because they've known each other for as long as Shay and Kai have, the parents know that May didn't mean to make the dinner uncomfortable. "Maybe you should check on him?" Suggests Pam.
Sighing, May looks over at Kai. He's living with her, so everything she does affects him. "I'm still eating, May." the boy lies as he grabs a second helping that he doesn't need.
"I'll be right back." she smiles at them before leaving too.
Once outside, May doesn't see Drew. She looks at the lightly snowy path where she notices two large footprints that must be his Flygon. He's probably long gone by now, which disappoints her. However, Pam is right. May needs to sort this out with Drew. It's not fair of May to be attacking him like this when he's trying to be her friend again. She pulls out her pokenav to go to her contacts. She really hopes he hasn't changed his number after all of these years.
The call is picked up almost instantly. "Hey." He greets her, and she can hear some sadness in his voice.
"Come back, Drew."
"You're right." He sighs. "I left, so I should just stay away. It's my own fault."
He's good at making her feel terrible. Even though Drew doesn't blame her for anything, she blames herself for hurting him. "Come back right now!" She exclaims into the pokenav. "You know I don't have flying Pokemon, so I can't come after you!"
She's relieved to hear a chuckle on the other end. "You gotta do more convincing than that, July."
May frowns because she can picture that smirk on his face. "Fine! Then I'll just say it over the pokenav! I wanted to say it in person, grasshead!"
"That's not good enough, December." he teases, making May's face heat up in anger.
"Whatever, Drew!" She swallows her pride and replies, "I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry for being so mean to you when you're just trying your best! I'm sorry for pushing you away! But you need to understand it from my perspective, Drew! We lost connection after we quit traveling together, and I have Kai now. I need to keep my life routine for both me and him. You showing up has affected that!"
"How?"
Huffing out a breath as a blush tints her face, May responds, "Because I was living life without you, and now I have you in it. Look, I just want you to know I'm sorry for today and I'll try harder with our friendship."
"Good enough." this voice, though, it sounds so clear, makes May look up at the sky. "Your left, June."
When she turns to her left, she sees him with his pokenav on his ear and Flygon behind him. Walking over, Drew puts his pokenav away as he grins at her. "I accept your apology, April."
She fumes again and yells, "You know my-" May's shout is instantly cut off as red is in front of her. Reaching her hand out to gently take the thornless rose, she sniffs it, like she does with all of his roses. It's a habit even after all of these years of not receiving one.
"I'm gonna go back to my apartment though." The man sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "It's too awkward to go back in there."
Still amazed by the rose, May only nods. "See you tomorrow."
"It's Saturday tomorrow." Drew knowingly tells the woman not looking at him.
"Okay. See you Saturday." She says in a daze.
Chuckling to himself, he replies, "Alright. See you tomorrow." He then hops back on Flygon and flies off to his apartment, leaving the woman to admire the rose.
Once Drew is gone, May seems to register the conversation she just had with Drew. She's seeing him tomorrow? It's Saturday! They don't meet on the weekends! Inwardly groaning, May makes her way back inside the house. What is she going to do tomorrow? The Enbars also plan to take Kai skiing with them tomorrow, so she'll be home alone.
Seeing the red rose in May's hand, the Enbar parents smile because it's a sign May and Drew must've made up. It's too cold for roses, so someone must have given it to her. However, when they see her conflicted face, they are worried. "Everything okay, May?"
Pam's voice shakes May from her thoughts. Giving her a smile, the brunette replies, "Yup! Everything's fine!"
Because Kai is sleeping over at the Enbars, May drives home alone tonight. Walking into the small empty house, she finds herself not feeling lonely. Whenever Kai would spend the night at the Enbars, May would dread returning to the house. She hates feeling alone, which she doesn't feel when Kai is around. However, when he's not home, May is reminded of her lonely life back in Rustboro. She never wants to go back to that. Today, though, she finds herself not feeling lonely anymore in the empty house.