I've been busy with enjoying my summer, so I haven't had the chance to type up more chapters. I really enjoy working on my stories, so this bums me out, but I miss hanging with my friends and family, so I put them first. Bear with me as I figure out how to balance my life. I wish I had more time in a day for everything!
Chapter 21
"I'm hungry!" groans the brunette while dropping down the small box on the ground.
Chuckling, Drew sets down his two boxes before walking over to grab the light box from her. "You're always hungry."
"Can't you just hire movers for this? Or let's at least use our Pokemon!" It has been a few weeks since the whole scandal started. By now, Drew's reputation is back up since Brianna doesn't have anything else to use against him. Plus, he has lots of supporters, especially with Shay's help influencing a lot of the internet. Drew purchased a home on the island, which he claims is a 'vacation home.' However, his Goldenrod City home has been put on the market.
Currently, May is helping Drew move into his new house. Their Pokemon are playing in the backyard, and this is May's fourth day helping Drew move. She's exhausted, which is making her cranky as Drew gets more amused. Since it is winter break, May doesn't have to go to the school for work. Also, the holidays mean there are no meetings about the Contest Hall. Kai and Shay helped out the other day, but Drew said the lifting will be too heavy for them now. They'll have more fun not helping him move, so the kids are at the Enbars, leaving May to help Drew all alone.
Even though both adults know they shouldn't be involved with each other, they find it hard to stay apart. It's the reason why Drew was so adamant about May letting him back into her life when they first met again a year ago. Therefore, Drew has come to accept that he needs to be with May to alleviate his heart ache. Over time, it gets easier for him to forget about her relationship with Brenden.
May, though, has been trying to avoid Drew again, but she finds it hard to do so when he's so persistent and he fought so hard to keep her and Kai together. Similar to Drew, the time has allowed her to grow comfortable with his presence again. Social Services has visited at least once a month, like Diana had mentioned. Fortunately, they haven't found anything to take Kai away, however May and Kai are still very cautious with their lives, especially with May being alone with Drew right now.
"I'll make you a nice warm meal, May. Just relax for now." Drew tells the woman lying on his floor. He has hired movers to move his furniture and the heavier boxes, but Drew is fully capable of moving his lighter items, which he's asked May for assistance with. Well, he didn't really ask, but he managed to get her to agree by beating her in another Pokemon battle.
Another reason May agreed to help Drew move is because he's a great cook. After lunch, Drew suggests they take a break, especially seeing how bored May is with moving. It makes him chuckle at her childish antics. Therefore, they go outside to show each other contest moves, which is funny because neither of them plan to compete in contests any time soon.
"Maybe we should compete once the contest hall is built?" Drew mentions while they give their Pokemon a break.
Smiling up at Beautifly, May agrees. "I know my Pokemon have missed performing."
"Why'd you stop?"
Drew's question causes May to sigh. "It wasn't fun anymore." She admits. After Solidad and Harley got married, they were not competing as much. Moreover, with Drew in another region as the Top Coordinator, it meant he wasn't going to be competing anymore either. Since all of May's top rivals were not competing, she grew bored.
Smirking, Drew looks up at Masquerain playing with Beautifly too. "If I beat you at our first contest back together, then you have to travel with me."
This makes May snap her surprised attention towards him as a faint blush appears on her cheeks. "What?!"
"Scared?" teases the man. He feels pretty confident since he's been beating May at Pokemon battles.
"I can't travel when I'm raising Kai." She knowingly replies.
"By the time this contest hall is built, Kai will be on his journey." Drew looks over at May's sapphire eyes and flicks his hair. "No excuses, June. Unless you're scared that is."
Glaring at him, May playfully shoves her friend. "Okay, Drew! If I win, then you will have to cook for me for a year!" Chuckling because this is such a May thing to say, Drew agrees. The two shake hands before heading back inside and away from the cold winter breeze.
Once inside, May helps Drew unpack rather than move boxes. She opens a box that Drew says is meant for the living room while Drew opens another one. "Why did you decide to move here?" She asks him.
Shrugging, he responds, "I have friends here."
She's skeptical of his answer. "You've been here for almost a decade, Drew. I'm sure you have plenty of friends here."
"Did you make friends as a Top Coordinator?" When May doesn't respond, Drew gives her a knowing look. "My only friends were you, Solidad, and Groudon, even Harley!"
May knows what it was like being a Top Coordinator. Yes, she had many fans and people who wanted to be her friend, but she had to be careful. Not everyone could be trusted. Plus, she was too busy to ever form meaningful friendships, so she just stuck with the friends she already had.
Once the box is opened, May starts taking items out to set up. The two are unpacking in silence until May pulls out a framed photo wrapped in newspaper. Out of all of the items in the box, this one is packed the most delicately, like Drew didn't want it to break during the move. When May unwraps all the newspaper, she can't help but smile nostalgically at the photo.
It was when she had followed Drew to Johto after separating from Ash and Brock. She and Drew happened to be competing at the same contest hall in Goldenrod City where they saw Harley and Solidad too. Solidad had suggested that all four of them take a picture for memories since the odds of this happening were slim. May grins at Drew's annoyed smile. He really didn't want to take a picture, especially with Harley in it. Harley and Solidad are standing behind Drew and May, and everyone is smiling brightly except for Drew.
"It's my favorite picture." The voice almost makes May drop the photo in shock. Fortunately, Drew catches it to admire it. A small smile appears on his lips while looking at it.
Regaining her composure, May says, "You didn't wanna be in the picture though."
He chuckles, but his eyes never waver from the photo. "I'm glad Solidad forced us to."
May also has that photo, however it's tucked away with the rest of her photos; thus, Kai has no idea who was in May's life prior to him except if she tells him. "Same." Replies the woman.
Drew finally looks away and at her where he smirks. "If you look at every photo, you'll be helping me a lot longer than you want."
Narrowing her eyes at him, May grabs the photo back to place on top of the fireplace. Since she agreed to help Drew move, she needs to help him until the end. He's right when he says the longer she takes then the longer she'll be helping him. Nevertheless, a part of her doesn't mind having this as an excuse to hang out with him. While the media does follow them at times, it's becoming less frequent. Their 'scandal' is starting to become old news.
The next few hours consists of the duo getting through a lot of Drew's boxes. They take a break for dinner before resuming with the unpacking. "Why do you have so much stuff?" groans the woman.
"I won a lot of contests." He snarkily replies since many boxes contain ribbons, trophies, and contest-related items.
Rolling her eyes, May takes out yet another ribbon. While she doesn't have as many as Drew, she also displayed hers at her home in Hoenn. Her ribbons are currently still packed up in a box somewhere in her Cianwood home. "Why didn't you just move back to Hoenn?" It'd help him escape the Johto media. Plus, with him being away from May, the news on the 'scandal' would disappear quicker, though May prefers having Drew nearby. He reminds her of her fun youth, and he brings a passion back into her life that she's been longing for.
"What's there for me?"
"Solidad and Harley, and now Jada too." May nonchalantly replies.
After a brief pause, Drew responds, "Do you want me to go back to Hoenn?"
Sighing, May faces his curious green eyes where she detects a hint of sadness in them. "You can do whatever you want to do."
He raises an eyebrow at her before setting down the item in his hands. Walking over, Drew's gaze never wavers from hers. "Anything?" he softly asks.
Those pleading hopeful green eyes of him continue to make May's heart melt, even after all these years. How is it that Drew still has this charm and air about him? Why are his eyes still so enticing that they're making her heart pound? She can barely hear her quickened breathing, especially as he lowers his face towards hers. Groudon, May! This is what a young May Maple had always dreamed of, and here it is about to happen.
When the pair are mere millimeters apart, a loud ringing quickly separates them as they realize that they were about to do. Blushing profusely, Drew heads back to his box without a word while May pulls out her pokenav. In a flustered embarrassment, she doesn't even check the caller ID. Bringing the device to her ear, she greets, in a slightly higher pitch than normal, "Hello!"
"May!" hearing that voice instantly makes her freeze as her heart slows its beating to normal. SInce she doesn't respond, he does. "I'm coming to Cianwood!"
This causes May to glare at the box in front of her. "Why, Max? To try and tell me to get rid of Kai again?" Drew curiously looks over at the fuming woman.
"I'm not arguing with you over a call." her brother knowingly replies. Obviously, news about the Johto Top Coordinator resigning after breaking up with his girlfriend, and then his 'scandal' with May Maple made it to other regions, especially since everyone involved are native to Hoenn.
"Then why'd you even call?" May retorts. "I don't want to see you if you're just gonna say things I don't want to hear!"
"I always say things you don't want to hear!" Max quips back. "But it's always for your own good!"
"Don't come here!"
"Too late. I'll be there tomorrow." the call ends, and May clenches her pokenav tightly.
Although she's upset with Max dropping by uninvited, she appreciates how he at least gave her a heads up. Kai will have to spend tomorrow with the Enbars. Ah! No! The Enbars are visiting family in Cherrygrove City for the holidays tomorrow. Therefore, Kai was going to come relax at Drew's while May continued to help Drew unpack the rest of the week.
Seeing her frustration, Drew approaches the woman. "So Max is visiting?"
Sighing, May avoids looking over at those mesmerizing green eyes of his. "Yeah."
The last time Drew and May talked about her family, she wouldn't stop praising them or talking about them. He has noticed that she hasn't once spoken about them while in Johto. However, because he had his own secrets, he never questioned her, especially since she already told him about Kai. Seeing May's annoyed expression with Max's visit is concerning Drew.
"What's wrong?"
She shakes her head because May doesn't want to trouble Drew with her problems. Yes, he's her friend, but she really doesn't want him knowing about any more drama in her life. "Can you watch Kai tomorrow?"
Blinking in confusion, Drew says, "I'm pretty sure he'll have more fun at the Enbars."
"They're leaving town tomorrow."
"Why not just have him at your place so he can spend time with Max?"
Now, May looks up at Drew's curious gaze. With a firm look at his eyes, she pleads, "Can you please watch Kai tomorrow, Drew?" She doesn't want to tell him anything, and Kai shouldn't be there when Max is there either. Even though May knows Kai doesn't like Drew, Kai also doesn't hate him. Maybe this will give the two a chance to bond, especially since Drew is trying to get more involved with Kai.
Sighing, Drew gives her a warm smile. "Okay. I'll hang out with Kai tomorrow." He then walks over to her, but he's careful to not try and kiss her again. "In exchange…"
She glares at him because she's already stressed enough with Max coming. Plus, she's endured enough since Drew came back into her life. What more does this man want to torment her with?
Seeing the conflicted look on her face makes him let out a breath. Drew had planned to ask about Max, but he can't when she gives him those eyes. Instead, he opts to just hug her, like he used to do when they were younger. He'd always hug her whenever she's feeling down. Sometimes, she'd hug him.
Flashback
"Phew! That was a good session, Roserade!" Drew grins at his starter Pokemon. They had just finished perfecting an upcoming contest move. May is off training elsewhere since she doesn't want Drew to see her moves for their next contest. Despite traveling together, they still compete against each other. Occasionally, they'll practice together, but when they create new moves, they practice separately.
"Rosa!" Roserade nods determinedly at her trainer.
"You deserve to rest." Drew smiles while returning the grass type. He then makes his way back to the Pokemon Center.
Once he drops off his Pokemon with Nurse Joy, he goes to the room he is sharing with May. Despite having a huge crush on her, Drew is pretty much in control of his body. The two have been sharing rooms since they first started traveling together. Plus, May used to share rooms with Ash, Brock, and Max when she was traveling with them. What difference does Drew make? Well, besides the fact that he has a huge crush on her, but they do sleep near each other when they camp out.
The moment he walks into the room, though, he spots his brunette traveling partner laying face down on her bed. "May?" Is she sleeping? She is known to sleep in some very weird positions.
Hearing his voice makes her instantly get off the bed to walk over to him, which further confuses Drew. Why isn't May responding? She usually doesn't stop talking to him. Drew finds himself backing up to the closed door as she gets closer. Soon, she reaches her arms out, and he closes his eyes in fear of what she's going to do to him.
When he feels soft warm slender arms wrap about his sides as her face is pressed into his chest, though, he reopens his eyes. There, he sees May's brown hair beneath his face. "I need a hug." Her weak defeated voice makes him bring his arms up to wrap tightly around her.
While May isn't crying, Drew can tell she's hurting. He isn't sure what it is, but he needs to comfort her right now. "It'll be okay, May." He tries to soothe her. The two stay in each other's embrace for a couple of minutes, and Drew takes in the scent of her shampoo. It's always the same because they actually hug pretty often. However, these hugs are usually due to May's excitement more than her sadness.
Eventually, May lets go, and Drew reluctantly does too. Her tired blue eyes look up at his worried green ones, and she says, "Thanks, Drew." Turns out, May was worried about the upcoming contest since she couldn't come up with a new move. She was feeling like she's lost her edge and isn't good enough, but a hug from her top rival always gives her energy to try again. Drew never has to say anything to her. He just has this effect on her, which makes her grateful to be traveling with him.
Flashback Over
The hug ends when May pulls herself away, much to Drew's dismay. However, like back when they were younger, the May after a hug has more energy. She looks up into his disappointed green eyes and grins widely at him. "Thanks, Drew!"
Stepping back before he does something he regrets, he sheepishly smiles back at her. "Anytime, May." And he really means those words because he loves physical contact with May. Groudon, he knows he still likes her. Why else is he so against anything that tells him to stay away from her? Why else does he hate seeing her upset? Why else is he trying so hard to be a part of hers and Kai's lives? Drew hasn't felt this passionate about anything in years until she came back into his life. Unlike May, he's not dense, so he knows she's the reason for his emotions right now. He knows she wasn't just some childhood crush because the feelings are still here, and he's pretty sure they'll never go away. "I'll always help you."