To whoever asked if I won at basketball: I never win. I just like playing for fun and for cardio. :P Lol. I still love the sport though, regardless of winning or losing. Enjoy this chapter!~
Chapter 28
"You're so clumsy, Ash!" the bluenette scolds her former traveling partner.
"I'm just a groomsman! I don't need to dance!" Ash retorts. Only the bride and groom are supposed to have a designated dance. Not the rest of the wedding party, but Dawn wants everyone to do a dance together.
May smirks at her friend. "It's her special day, Ash. Remember when Misty had you learn how to dance for your wedding?"
The raven haired man pouts because he knows May is right. However, for his wedding, he only did it since he loves Misty. He'll do anything for her. Besides, Paul seems to hate this dance rehearsal more than Ash, but Paul isn't complaining. Paul isn't one to complain, and he loves Dawn enough to do as she pleases. She always drags him around.
Kai is spending the two weeks May is in Sinnoh at the Enbars. He still has school because it's early fall. May, Ash, and the rest of the wedding party have been in Sinnoh for a week now. Dawn and Paul's wedding is in a few days, so Misty and Astrid will be arriving soon. The Oaks plan to arrive with Misty and Astrid too. Drew, being free of all responsibilities, came to Sinnoh with May where he's enjoyed watching her clumsily fall during the dance rehearsals.
After hearing him chuckle once more, May shoots him a glare. Placing her hands on her hips, she exclaims, "You're not doing anything, so stop laughing!"
He wipes his tears from his eyes as he cackles some more. Dawn is very stressed out since her wedding is soon, so she doesn't like the distraction. It's the reason why she wouldn't let Drew come to the practices after the first day, but he happened to sneak into this one. Paul, who suffers the most from a stressed out Dawn, has been pretty good at scaring Drew away. Unfortunately, today hasn't worked. The soon-to-be-newlyweds decide to just call a break because everyone seems stressed and exhausted.
Standing up, Drew walks over to May who is sitting and drinking from her bottle of water. Drew extends a hand to her where he bows. "Care for a dance, milady?" The two have danced a few times at contests before, but they still blush as May takes his hand. Drew winks at May. "Watch the pro."
Rolling her eyes, May allows Drew to lead her in the dance. She doesn't want to admit it, but he is a great dancer. Groudon, Drew Hayden is so perfect that it's annoying! He effortlessly twirls her and catches her in his arms, which makes her blush deepen. While she does stumble a few times, Drew manages to help her and make her mistakes unnoticeable. He really has that effect as the lead.
Once the two finish dancing, Drew smirks at her while flicking his hair. "It's not that hard, June." Calling her the wrong name invokes an angry shout from her that Drew manages to calm down with a rose.
Dawn is in awe at how good Drew is at dancing as well as Drew's and May's chemistry. Years ago, when Drew and May traveled together, Dawn thought the two would become a couple. They cared about each other a lot and it was obvious they liked one another. However, when Dawn heard from May about how she and Drew lost communication, Dawn believed that May and Drew would never be anything more than former friends turned strangers. The bluenette is happy to see the two interacting again as if no time has passed.
"Stop it."
The gruff stern voice makes Dawn face her fiance to innocently ask, "What?"
"That look. You're thinking of something troublesome." Paul knowingly tells her. He's been with her long enough to know when she's about to plot something she shouldn't be, like when she got him to propose to her. Arceus, she's troublesome, but she's his troublesome.
Dawn pecks his cheek, which makes him more worried. "I don't know what you're talking about, Paul." She giggles before standing up and calling off the break. Groaning, Paul follows the woman he loves.
Flashback
"Dawn!"
The bluenette looks behind her towards the voice. Since she is traveling around Unova alone, she's curious about who would be here that she knows. Kenny and Barry are in Kanto. Zoey is in Johto, so who was that shout? Spotting a brunette sprinting through the crowded Pokemon Center lobby makes Dawn's face break out in a wide grin. "May!"
It's been a few years since she last saw May, which was when May visited Sinnoh while Dawn was traveling with Ash. The two girls have stayed in contact, especially as May helps Dawn with coordinating.
Once May reaches Dawn, the brunette bends over with her hands on her knees panting. She had seen Dawn a little while back, but the crowded city made it difficult to reach her. After catching her breath, May envelops Dawn in a tight hug. "I knew it was you!"
Giggling, Dawn hugs her back. "What are you doing in Unova, May?"
The two girls let go, and May answers, "Competing in the contests. I'm guessing you're doing the same thing?"
"Yup! I already got 2 ribbons!" Dawn nods gleefully.
"Whoa! I got one, but I'm hoping to get my second tomorrow!" The reason for the crowded city is due to the contest tomorrow.
"I'm not gonna go easy on you!" Dawn grins competitively.
"Good! I don't expect anything less from my rivals!"
When someone accidentally bumps into May, Dawn helps catch the stumbling brunette. "How about we catch up somewhere less crowded?"
May gives her friend a grateful smile, and the two girls leave the Pokemon Center to a less crowded park across the street. "I can't wait to be in the same Grand Festival as you, Dawn."
"I know! You're such an awesome coordinator, so I can't wait to compete against you!" Dawn is very excited because she has never competed in the same region as May. "Have you heard from Ash?"
May shakes her head. "No, but I know he's busy trying to be a Pokemon Master." May fights the urge to frown as she thinks about her other female friend she met through him. Although Misty tells May that she's okay, May knows Ash's absence and lack of calls affect the redhead greatly. Even May can see how much Misty cares for Ash, especially the times when Misty would travel with her.
Sighing, Dawn looks at the sky above them as they walk the park path. "Buneary misses Pikachu."
"I'm sure he misses her too. I'm sure they miss all of us." May reassures the girl. Unlike May, Dawn has been traveling alone ever since separating from Ash and Brock. May, though, has been lucky enough to travel with a certain main rival of hers for two regions now. As if realizing this thought, May quickly stops to look around.
Dawn worriedly eyes the brunette. "Is everything okay, May?"
"I lost my traveling partner!" Due to seeing Dawn, May had sprinted off into the crowded streets without him. They are sharing a room at the Pokemon Center, so she'll see him later, but she should probably contact him to let him know she's okay.
"You're traveling with someone?" Dawn is intrigued by this because May has never mentioned it before. The two usually just talk about coordinating tips or reminisce about traveling with Ash and Brock.
Nodding while she pulls out her pokenav to text him, May replies, "Yeah. We traveled around Kanto together last year too."
"Are they a coordinator too? Do I know them?"
"Maybe? He's a coordinator."
"He?" Dawn smirks, but May is too focused on sending a text to him to notice.
Once the brunette pockets her pokenav, she gives Dawn a smile. "Yeah. Drew Hayden."
"Wait. You mean the Drew Hayden that has a lot of fans because he's pretty and handsome?" While Dawn doesn't see Drew in that way, she can acknowledge that the teenage boy is good looking.
May rolls her eyes at Dawn's comment. "Don't feed his ego, Dawn."
Waving her hands in May's face, Dawn says, "Wait! Back up. You've been traveling with Drew Hayden?"
May curiously looks at her friend. "Uh. Yeah. We're friends."
Dawn's mouth falls open a little bit more in shock because she never expected Drew Hayden to travel with anyone, much less a girl. It doesn't seem like his scene. Also, May hasn't mentioned him before. Nevertheless, Dawn did travel with Ash and Brock, so she knows a boy and a girl can be just friends. "Wow. There's gonna be so many great coordinators competing tomorrow!"
Before May can respond, though, a gust of wind causes the girls to shield their eyes from the dust. "May!" The shout makes the brunette look over where she sees Flygon and an angry green haired boy hop off of his back. Storming over to May, Drew exclaims, "You need to stop running off!"
"I can do what I want, Drew! Maybe you should keep up!" May retorts.
Annoyed, Drew reminds her, "Remember the last time you ran off alone? Blaziken got hurt protecting you! What if he wasn't there, May? You'd be in worse shape!"
"I'm smarter than that now, Drew! And stronger too!"
"I doubt you're any smarter. You're still dense as ever!"
Glaring at him, the brunette says, "Take it back!"
"No! You have no sense of danger!" Drew's angry green orbs don't waver from her sapphire ones.
Awkward with the situation, as well as the stares they're getting in the public park, Dawn waves her hand in the middle of them. "Uh. We're getting looks, guys."
Fortunately, May breaks her gaze to link arms with Dawn. "Let's go, Dawn. I don't need this negative energy."
"Negative energy?" Drew hisses in annoyance. He returns Flygon and follows the two girls, remaining a few steps behind them.
Dawn recognizes the green hair and the handsome features, so she knows this is the Drew Hayden May is traveling with. With the girls out of earshot, Dawn says, "He's following us."
May shrugs. "He's paranoid."
"About what?"
"A few weeks ago, we got separated, and Team Plasma defeated most of my Pokemon. Long story short, Blaziken protected me until Drew found us and helped fight off the rest of the Plasma members." May frowns as she remembers her Pokemon getting hurt for her. "He doesn't like letting me out of his sight for too long now."
"That's cute." Dawn gushes, which makes May give her a confused look.
"What?"
"He cares about you."
"Okay?" May doesn't know what Dawn is getting at.
"That means he likes you, May! Like romantically!"
May's face heats up bright red because she likes Drew romantically. She loves traveling with him, and while they're not performing as well as they one did, they're having lots of fun together. She could do this forever with him. "No. We're just friends. Ash and Brock would do the same thing for us."
Sighing, Dawn knows May is right. However, the energy she's getting from Drew is telling her otherwise. Brock's vibes were more of an older brother. And Ash is too oblivious to even know what romance is. Drew, though, he seems to have a level head. "I think it's different with Drew."
"Different how?" May doesn't want to keep talking about this because it's only making her blush more. Fortunately, Drew is behind them and won't see her face.
Before Dawn can explain her thinking, people screaming and running in front of them gets their attention. The people are running towards the teenagers, like they're fleeing from something ahead. When Drew sprints past the girls to defensively stand in front of them with a pokeball in his hand, he exclaims, "Let's go, Roselia!"
Shaking herself out of her shock, May also throws out a pokeball. "Beautifly, help!"
Dawn realizes she can interrogate May about her relationship with Drew later. Right now, something is going on that's terrifying these innocent people, and Dawn needs to help. "Go, Togekiss!"
Soon, the dust ahead settles enough for the teenagers to see a large jeep speeding their way as people jump out of the way. The blue shield on the side of the tank instantly lets Drew know who it is. "Team Plasma!" He angrily shouts.
"We can take them!" May runs up beside him like how they handle all of their battles against evil organizations. They're a team, even if they're upset with each other.
Nodding, Drew commands Roserade, "Magical Leaf at the tires!"
"Slow them down with Stringshot!" May tells Beautifly.
"Make sure no one gets hurt!" Dawn orders Togekiss who flies ahead to help people get away from the jeep.
Smirking as Beautifly slows the jeep down, and Roserade pops the tires, Drew flicks his hair at Dawn. "Nice to meet you, by the way. Name's Drew."
Dawn gives him a smile back. "Well, hello, Drew Hayden."
"Guys! We can do introductions later!" May calls over to them.
Rolling his eyes, Drew tells her, "It's only four grunts, May, and their jeep has stopped. You know what to do."
May sticks her tongue out at him while she throws out another pokeball. "Flamethrower, Blaziken!" The fire type still has a vengeance against Team Plasma, so his powerful fire attack sends the jeep blasting off. Beautifly, Roserade, and Togekiss take care of the last of Team Plasma's Pokemon.
Once all the pokemon are returned to their pokeballs, Drew walks over to extend a rose to May. She takes it because she knows what it means. At first, he would give roses for Beautifly. Then he quit saying that they were for Beautifly, but he didn't say anything about who they were for. Lately, he gives them to May when she wins at contests or when he wants to apologize to her.
"Peace offering." He mutters without looking at her.
Instead of pouting, May just tackles him in a hug, making him blush. "You know I can never stay mad at you, Drew!"
After seeing how May and her Pokemon handled Team Plasma earlier, although with his and Dawn's help, Drew is reminded that she is a strong trainer. He wouldn't travel with someone who depended on him for too much, though he doesn't mind having May depend on him. Sighing, Drew wraps his arms around her. He likes her hugs...a lot. "Good. We do have 7 more months together."
A cough causes May to embarrassingly release her friend because she had forgotten they're not alone, like they usually are. Turning to face the bluenette, May points to Drew. "Uh, Dawn, this is Drew, my traveling companion, friend, and rival." She then points to Dawn. "And this is Dawn. She traveled around Sinnoh with Ash, and she's my friend too."
Despite his cheeks tinting pink, Drew tries to remain cool as he shakes Dawn's hand. "I heard you're a coordinator, Dawn. I look forward to competing with you tomorrow."
"Same to you, Drew." Dawn gives him a knowing smirk, which only grows when she sees him gulp nervously. These two definitely don't consider each other as just friends.
Flashback Over
"I don't think that's a good idea." Ash nervously mutters.
Rolling her eyes, his wife replies, "You didn't think dating me and changing our friendship would be a good idea either." She then motions to the four year old playing in the corner with Pikachu. "But we're married with a kid, Ash."
Before the defeated man can retort, Leaf excitedly nods. "I like Dawn's idea!"
"Of course you would." Gary annoyedly says, earning him a glare from his wife. She's due to have their second child soon, so she's not in the mood for Gary's objections.
"Stop encouraging her!" Paul scolds the women as Dawn grins mischievously. When the Oaks and Ketchums arrived, Dawn offered to pick them up, allowing the rest of the wedding party to get a break this afternoon. Of course, Dawn kidnaps them to her and Paul's hotel room to share her plan with them. Paul is obviously not a fan of his wife's meddling.
"You men are so boring." Dawn tells them. She had heard from Leaf and Misty about how they were trying to get Drew and May to meet for years now. Watching the two's chemistry this week has really reminded Dawn of how perfect they are for each other. She just wants to help them because, like when they were younger, it seems like Drew and May are too oblivious and scared to do anything about their feelings.
"You're trying to commit a crime." Gary reminds the bluenette while he ignores Leaf's glare.
Nodding, Ash agrees. "Isn't that kidnapping? Like I know they're not kids, but they're still being taken somewhere against their will." Being a parent, he worries a lot, so Ash has done lots of research about the dangers of the world.
Misty rolls her eyes at him. "Technically, we're not kidnapping them, Ash. We're just gonna lock them in a room together."
"Yeah, Ash. They're gonna walk into that room on their own free will." Leaf knowingly remarks.
Groaning, Paul throws his hands up in defeat as he stands. "Do whatever you want." He's been saying that to Dawn a lot during this whole wedding planning thing. Well, he says it a lot to her because he knows she's always going to get her way. Grabbing his pokeballs, he makes his way out to train since he finally has a break from the wedding planning.
"Now we've gone and made Paul upset." Gary snickers.
"He's just a grump." Dawn giggles. She appreciates her fiance for always supporting her, no matter how extreme her ideas may be. Although Paul never tells her he supports her, she knows he doesn't object. Grinning at her friends, she asks, "So are you guys on board with this?"
"Yes!" Misty and Leaf excitedly exclaim.
With his arms crossed over his chest, Gary mutters, "N-" When he feels a sharp pain in his shin from Leaf kicking him, he winces. "Yup!"
Sighing, Ash reluctantly agrees. "Sure." He knows he doesn't have a choice with these women.
Dawn wraps an arm around his neck. "No need to worry, Ash! Just trust me!"