Chapter 23

"You should stay here tonight." May knowingly tells her friend while they look out the window with Kai. After Drew and Kai returned from Olivine City, they had dinner at May's house. Drew helped clean up since May did the cooking, and the three ended up talking about Pokemon until it got late.

May has been keeping her curtains drawn for fear of the media, but when she peeked outside the living room window to make sure the coast was clear, she noticed the intense snowfall. There are already inches of snow on the ground, and nothing can be seen in the night but white. The news says this is a very bad blizzard coming from the mountains north of the city.

Knowing that Flygon is exhausted from his journey today, and no one should be out in this weather, May is suggesting for Drew to just spend the night. Of course, this makes both adults blush, but May does have a spare room. "You can take the spare room."

Drew hesitates his response. As much as he'd like to stay with May, he shouldn't. The media may catch news of him spending the night here, which will make things worse for her and Kai.

However, before he can respond, Kai says, "Yeah, Drew. It's scary out there." The boy has heard enough stories on the news about accidents from weather. While he isn't a fan of Drew, he doesn't want to lose the man either.

Sighing, Drew ruffles Kai's hair. "Okay. I'll sleep over." He then winks at the boy. "If you'll build a fort with me?"

"I'm not a kid." Kai swats his hand away, which makes May smile at them. They seem closer after today. Maybe she should have Drew watch Kai more often?

"C'mon. Let me show you to your room." She then closes the curtains and everyone walks off down the hall.

While May is searching for extra clothes large enough for Drew, the man decides to check on Kai. Walking into the room, Drew spots the boy getting under the covers. "What do you wanna do tomorrow?" Kai curiously looks at Drew before returning his attention to his bed. He doesn't respond, which makes Drew chuckle. Leaning against the doorframe, Drew says, "If the weather's not bad, we can battle."

"What if it's still bad?"

Drew shrugs. "We can build a fort."

Kai gives an unamused frown. "I'm not a kid."

Drew walks over to ruffle his white hair. "Yes, you are, so start acting like one." Kai is very mature for an 8 year old, but Drew has noticed how Kai was mature as a 7 year old too.

The boy shakes his head and glares at Drew. "I can take care of myself."

"Well, you got May taking care of you." The man then grins down at Kai as their eyes meet. "And now you got me. We're the adults, so let us take care of you."

"What if you get another girlfriend? You won't be here."

Drew highly doubts he'll get a girlfriend. No one interests him...well, except for her, but he doesn't know if that'll ever happen. "What if May gets a boyfriend? Haven't you thought about this too?"

Kai looks away and turns his back to Drew. The boy has thought about that possibility. What if May gets married? What if she starts a new family without him? What if she doesn't care for him anymore? What if her husband doesn't want Kai? Fortunately, nothing has happened, though with the addition of Drew, Kai has been scared of this possible reality. While May did promise to never leave him, Kai knows people change. His mother made the same broken promise years ago.

Sensing the boy's drop in mood, Drew pats Kai's shoulder. "We won't leave you, Kai." Drew lets out a breath. "Never."

"I don't believe you."

Smiling down at the back of his head, Drew replies, "I'll show you then."

Before Kai can think of a response, they hear a "Drew?" from the hallway.

Smirking, Drew says, "That's my cue! See you in the morning, Kai." He then rushes to the door and adds, "Good night, Kai!" Drew flicks the light off and closes the door, leaving Kai alone in the room.

Sighing, the boy closes his eyes. He does believe Drew, but he doesn't like relying on people. He doesn't want to get hurt again. Kai isn't even sure if he fully trusts Shay and May too. While he does like them, he still struggles with fully believing in other people's words. He hopes time will help with that, and it has. Maybe even Drew can help? As much as Kai hates to admit it, he's been starting to see Drew in his future. Just who is this green haired man who randomly entered their lives? But then again, Kai questioned the same thing when May adopted him, and that turned out to be the best thing for him. Maybe Drew will turn out to be good too?

Out in the hall, May hands Drew a large t-shirt. "That's it?" He curiously asks her.

Rolling her eyes, May replies, "This is a house with a woman and child. Why would I have men sized clothing?"

"Don't women like wearing baggy clothes to relax?" he knowingly asks as he takes the shirt and towel.

Motioning to the tshirt in his hand, May says, "Yeah. That shirt. I wore it the other day though, but it's pretty clean."

"Wow, June. You're giving me a used shirt." he sticks his tongue out at her in annoyance.

"Fine! I'll just take it back!" when she reaches for the shirt, Drew lifts it high above her head.

"No way, April. Unless you wanna see me walk around here naked." he winks, and she blushes profusely.

Turning away, May storms down the hall to her room. "Whatever, Drew! I'll look for bottoms again!"

He chuckles at how easy it is to tease her. Bringing the shirt to his nose, he smiles. It does smell like her. Is this why girlfriends wear their boyfriend's clothes? Brianna would constantly take his clothes without his permission, but rather than talk to her, Drew just let her do whatever. Looking down at his jeans, he really hopes May finds some bottoms. Sleeping in jeans is uncomfortable.

When Drew leaves the bathroom, he's wearing the same bottoms from before his shower, though he's now in May's large grey tshirt. The shirt fits snuggly on him, so he assumes it must go down to the start of May's legs. One of his shirts would go down to her knees. Blushing from the thought of her in his shirt, Drew shakes his head. Get a grip, Drew!

"Here."

Drew quickly looks up and manages to catch the red clothing before it hits his face. Looking down at it, he sees it is a pair of shorts. Maybe they'll fit? When he comes out of the bathroom again after changing into them, Drew feels they fit, though a little snug, they fit. He glances in May's direction and asks, "Whose are these?"

She had been admiring the handsome man in the tight clothing. His muscles really do pop out. Groudon, was Drew really hiding all of this under those layers of clothing? When he asks her a question, she blushes from realization of her ogling her friend. "Uh. I think they're Max's? I took them when I had to coach soccer in Rustboro."

Drew nods. No wonder why the shorts are a little snug. Max is smaller than him. Drew has been following the Maples on the news, so he knows how Max looks like. The green haired man is trying to figure out what could've led to May's and her family's falling out, but he hasn't been successful.

When May looks down sadly at the memory of her argument with Max today, Drew walks over to swing an arm around her shoulders. "Chin up, July."

"You know my name." She sighs out.

Chuckling, he walks with her into the living room. "Wanna watch a movie?" It's like the first time he was here when he thought he was never going to see her again. Fortunately for them, he was too selfish to stay away for long. Everything seems to have worked out for now. However, Drew knows they're not in the clear just yet. They at least need to make it until Kai is able to travel, which will be in 3 years.

Once they put on a movie, May turns off the lights so they can watch in the dark. It's what she and Kai do. Drew pops some popcorn while May gets a blanket. Soon, the two are comfortably sitting on opposite sides of the couch as the romance movie plays. Why did they pick a romantic movie? Because they're both really interested in it, and a new movie just came out that they've been itching to see.

Drew is mentally cursing himself once the people on the screen start kissing. Groudon, he just had to agree to watch this movie! He should've picked an action movie. But a romance movie is too much right now since he's struggling to keep his gaze on the TV rather than glance over at the cute brunette beside him.

May is wearing grey sweatpants with a red tshirt. Her blanket is wrapped around her, and while Drew is cold in his shorts, he doesn't want to join her under the covers. Well, he does, but he knows he shouldn't. Maybe he should just say he's tired and go to sleep? This is torture. Or maybe he can go get his own blanket?

The woman beside him, though, is struggling to keep her own eyes on the TV. In her excitement at watching this movie she's been waiting to see, she totally forgot about her old crush on her friend. Maybe she should just change the movie? Say that it's boring. But Drew seemed very excited to watch it too. Maybe she can pretend to go to sleep?

Faking a yawn as she stretches her arms up, May says, "I'm tired. You can finish the movie."

He shakes his head. "I'm tired too. Let's just go to bed." Groudon, he's grateful she made the move so he didn't. Now he doesn't feel like a rude guest. They did watch half of the movie, thus he was able to spend some alone time with her.

After turning off the TV, the room is pitch dark since May had turned the lights off prior to the movie. Both adults can't see anything, but when someone bumps into Drew's chest and he hears an, "Oomf!" He figures it must be her. He feels her stumble backwards, like she's going to fall, so he reaches out and ends up hugging her against his chest. She fits perfectly, and he just wants to keep her here.

May is blushing profusely at his gesture. While she appreciates him making sure she didn't fall, she's not sure if she prefers this option to it. However, May doesn't move from the hold. She's missed his hugs and his holds. Groudon, she's missed him. Are they really friends again?

When May brings her arms up to hug him back since he's not letting her go, she feels the goosebumps on his cold arms. He didn't use her blanket at all during the movie, but she assumed he wasn't cold. If he was so cold, why didn't he just use the blanket? Unless he was being considerate and wanted her to stay warm? Drew has always been very kind to her. Oftentimes, putting her needs before his.

Flashback

"Eat up, April." the green haired boy tosses an oran berry at his friend who barely catches it.

May has never been coordinated in sports, which is ironic since she's a coordinator. "Where's yours?" She asks him while ignoring the wrong name.

The two have been lost in Unova longer than expected, and they've run out of food. Drew must've found this berry early in the morning when she was still asleep. "I already ate mine." He nonchalantly replies.

"Thanks, Drew." She grins at him. Since she normally has a large appetite, going without much food the past few days has been making her hungry. They didn't eat anything yesterday, so she hopes they find some food today. An oran berry isn't going to be enough to keep them going for long.

After May finishes the oran berry, she feels a lot better. Her stomach has stopped growling, though she knows it'll be making noise in a couple hours anyway. However, she hears a grumbling beside her, which makes her curiously look at the cool boy walking. Didn't Drew already eat? Why is his stomach growling? Unless he ate hours ago, but they just woke up less than an hour ago.

"Are you still hungry, Drew?" she asks him.

Chuckling, he grabs his stomach. "Yeah, I guess I am. Hanging out with you is giving me a big appetite."

She rolls her eyes at his comment, however May knows Drew doesn't eat much. "You can have the next berry we find." She suggests.

He shakes his head. "No. You can have it. I know you have a big appetite. I already ate mine earlier."

When she hears his stomach grumble again, she gives him a skeptical look. "When did you eat it?"

"Earlier when I found it. I was too hungry to wait."

"You only found one, huh?" May narrows her eyes at him, and when he doesn't respond, she knows her assumption is correct. Clinging onto his shoulders, she exclaims, "We could've shared it!" She's upset at herself for gobbling the berry down quickly.

He gives her a sheepish smile. "It's fine, May. You know I don't eat much."

"But we could've shared! We're friends, Drew! I can't carry you. What if you faint?" her worried blue eyes scan his face, which makes him blush.

"We have Pokemon." he reminds her. "Besides, we can share the next berry."

"No! You get the next berry!" she insists.

Winking at her makes her blush and release him, allowing Drew to continue walking. "I'm not as hungry as you, November."

Flashback Over

"I missed you, Drew." she whispers into his chest, but in the stillness of the dark room, he hears it loud and clear.

It just makes him hug her tighter. "I missed you so much." He breathes out as if they're his last words. "Groudon, May, you have no idea."

Her blush deepens, though she enjoys the embrace. He's grown from when they were kids. His shoulders are wider, he's taller, more muscular, and his voice is deeper. However, he still smells the same, like roses. Taking in a whiff of him, even though he's wearing her shirt, she says, "Don't leave me again."

Maybe it's the pain of her argument with Max earlier? Her fear that she's actually lost her family for good? Her relief of having Drew back? She isn't sure what it is, but she knows she doesn't want to be separated from this man again. Without realizing it, she's started relying on him. When May first moved to Johto, she was trying to be someone Kai could rely on. Once Drew forced his way back into her life, she's been slowly finding herself being more vulnerable and honest with him. Her worries and stresses seem to feel better when he's around.

"I won't." He tells her. "Never again. I won't leave you and Kai."

Groudon, his voice. Everything about Drew Hayden has always made him a heartthrob. Now, though, with this adult Drew Hayden, May finds her old feelings and new ones crashing down on her. He just broke up with his girlfriend, even if the world thinks they broke up years ago. May really shouldn't be getting lost in those emerald eyes she's missed now that she's raised her head to look at his face.

Drew is captivated by her enticing sapphire orbs, like he always is. It's the reason he avoids being alone with her since he knows those eyes make him lose control. His desires always kick in when he gazes at them, such as now with him slowly inching his face down. Drew closes his eyes when they're millimeters apart. His heart is pounding loudly in his chest, and he hears May's in hers. Does she feel the same way?

However, before the gap between the hopeful adults can close, they hear a door open, making them quickly spring apart as red flushes both of their cheeks. "Uh, sorry." May mutters in embarrassment while trying to leave, but he grabs her arm, well manages to in the dark.

"I like you, May."