"Hello May. It's been a while, huh?" Brendan chuckled as he approached her, a big grin was plastered on his face.

"Hey, y-yeah it sure has," May said, her mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. Her eyes stayed fixed at him. She blinked, but refocused when he walked up to her slowly and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. She sunk into the warmth of his embrace, appreciative of the warm gesture.

Drew winced, as he watched how intimate May was with this Brendan guy. It was as if he could feel a jab in his ribs.

Who is this Brendan?

Why hasn't May mentioned anything about him?

He didn't know why, but this guy felt like a threat to him.

They pulled away moments later, and Brendan smiled softly at her, holding her hands in his while stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

Seriously, who is this Brendan guy?

"Bren, I haven't seen you since you left to help your Dad with his research. I missed you!" May sighed, jutting her bottom lip out.

"Oh come on, April. We've been sending messages and calling each other."

"My name's May!" she grumbled, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. "I know we've been staying in touch, but it's just not the same,"

A slight cough behind them finally brought their attention away and they turned their heads.

"So, May, are you going to introduce this fine young man to us or are we just going to keep watching the two of you get cosy with each other?" Harley asked, while shooting Drew a quick smirk.

Drew ran his hand through his close cropped hair three times in quick succession and fixed Harley in a stare that could have frozen the Pacific. He giggled, seemingly aware of the silent warning Drew gave.

"Oh, right! Guys, this is Brendan. And Bren, these are my friends, Drew, Harley and Solidad," May said, putting her arm around Brendan and resting it on his shoulder as she pointed to her coordinator friends. Brendan smiled and waved at them. "I knew Brendan since we were just little kids. He's the son of Professor Birch, who is also good friends with my Dad. He's been helping his Dad with his Pokémon research and is on the road to becoming a Pokémon professor."

"Pokémon professor? Wow, that's amazing. It must be a lot of work, huh?" Solidad remarked.

"Yeah, but I think I've got the hang of it now," Brendan shrugged. His smile grew wider and he inched closer to May. "It's nice to meet all of you. May's talked a lot about you guys."

"Well, then you must know that I'm May's bestest friend! She's my little honey bun!" Harley bubbled, grabbing Brendan's hand and shaking it.

Brendan forced a laugh.

"So if you're helping your Dad and are planning to be a Pokémon professor, what are you doing here?" Drew asked, the tone of his voice showed a hint of doubt.

He bit his lower lip. Did that sound rude? He wasn't trying to be brusque. He merely asked a question to know more about this Brendan guy. He was totally burning with curiosity. He had known May for almost 11 years now and not once had she ever mentioned anything about a friend named Brendan.

He had to learn more about him.

He had to know if they were really just friends.

"Well, I'm here to compete as well. After I was mostly done with my Pokémon research in Hoenn, I had so much free time. I figured I'd try out one of these contests," Brendan briefly explained. He glanced towards the centre of the room as the backstage personnel was calling out names before slowly turning back to face them. "I've gotta go. It'll be my turn to perform soon."

"Good luck."

May stepped forward and smiled brightly at him. "All the best, Bren! Meet you back here after you're done?"

"Sure," Brendan smiled back at her before leaving the room.

Drew's curiosity burned hotter now. So apparently Brendan's a coordinator too.

Let's see how good of a coordinator he is.

"Now, let's welcome our next entry!" Vivian introduced, pointing to the stage entrance on the left.

The four coordinator friends backstage looked as Brendan bolted down to the centre of the stage, a Pokéball clenched tightly in his hand. He stood there, looking confident, determined and ready to go. He stood there in ease, waiting for his cue to start while soaking up the cheers from the crowd.

Drew couldn't help but smirk. He couldn't wait to see what he could do. He watched as Brendan lobbed the Pokéball forward and a Gardevoir appeared.

"Wow! His Kirlia evolved!" May exclaimed to herself, interlocking her fingers together. Her eyes were twinkling as she admired her childhood friend through the pixelated screen.

A Gardevoir, huh? Drew wondered how he was going to show his Pokémon off and what move he would use.

"Okay Gardevoir, use Misty Terrain!"

Gardevoir twirled in delight, her movements flowed with a dazzling grace that took away the breath of every person in the audience. With each stride his Pokémon made, it became more painfully obvious how much heart he had put into this routine.

Just from that itself, everyone could tell that Brendan's soul became one with his Gardevoir.

As Gardevoir continued twirling, a silvery mist swirled about in the hot, summer air and spread across the entire stage. The sun shone brilliantly, producing a bright, white light through the thin mist that gleamed as bright as the sun's rays - radiant and shining. The mist dissipated slowly, leaving behind sparkles in the air.

"Wow! Pretty boy's amazing!" Harley commented, wrapping his arm around May's shoulder.

"Yeah, May. Your friend's really good!" Solidad added, nodding her approval.

Drew bit his bottom lip, his heart fell. He'd hate to admit but this Brendan guy was not bad of a coordinator. He had half expected Brendan to use a basic and mundane move such as Psychic. But clearly, he knew how to put up a good performance and avoided using it. That would definitely set the bar high.

"Those two will be tough to beat," he admitted with a huff, making sure he said it in a low voice so that no one could hear him as he crossed his arms over his chest.

And obviously, Brendan had received a high score as well - a solid 94.

Drew swallowed hard.

Brendan came back into the holding room minutes later, a smile stained on his lips and he was overflowing with joy. May dashed to him immediately and pulled him into a hug.

"Bren! You were really amazing out there!" bubbled May, slowly pulling away. "Your Gardevoir's so much stronger now! And really elegant as well. I still remember when it was just a little Ralts."

"Yeah, we were all impressed," Solidad told him, giving him a little pat on his shoulder. "Guess we all have one more person to look out for now."

A satisfaction, expressed by the slightest curve at his mouth's corner and a youthful confidence worn in a light raise of the eyebrow above a quizzical, joyful eye. Brendan grinned as he soaked in all the compliments and praises from May and her friends. Of course, excluding a certain green-haired coordinator who had been busy listening to their conversation from a distance.

Their chitter-chatter was interrupted by Vivian's voice blaring through the intercom, her face flashed across the screen. It was time for the announcement of the 100 who would move on to the second round of the appeals.

It was definitely a huge and important moment but there was something that was just bothering him. It was strange for sure, since he was always concerned when it comes to contests. Also, he got a pretty high score, so he found no reason to be worried about advancing to the next round.

But for now, all he could think about was one thing - May and Brendan.

"The moment you've all been waiting for! The results from the first round performances are in! We had 150 outstanding coordinators compete and only 100 will make it through to the big round two. Let's take a look!" Vivian exulted, turning her head and pointed to the overhead screen.

All eyes focused on the screen as it rapidly fills up profile pictures of coordinators one by one.

All of their pictures were displayed on the screen, making it to the top row.

Happiness was almost elusive for Drew. He could see it in the faces around him. He watched as May, Solidad, Harley and even Brendan smiled and celebrated the results, hugging each other as they talked excitedly about the second round.

He shut his eyes and began to think about which Pokémon he'd use for the second round. It'll be a two minute performance with usage of multiple moves. Plus, all coordinators have to use two Pokémon in the next performance stage. He was racking his brain and going down the list of his Pokémon when his train of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of her voice.

"Drew? Hello?" May called out to him. Her mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. She called his name again. When she saw that she had finally gained his full attention, she shook her head and placed both her hands on her hips. "We're all going to get something to eat and celebrate as well. Are you coming with us?"

He blinked, refocusing to the surroundings around him. Not only were May's eyes fixated on him, but Solidad, Harley and Brendan as well. He was just about to refuse, wanting to pull out the old excuse card of wanting to focus on training instead. On usual days, he would only socialize if it were with Solidad or May. Maybe even Harley if he wasn't being annoying.

But things were different now.

A childhood friend of May's suddenly appeared, and he still wanted to know everything he could about him. Also, this sounded quite harmless.

"Yeah," he agreed with a hint of reluctance in his voice. "Let's go."

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, thank you for reading! So it seems like a certain coordinator is feeling pretty suspicious about the new guy in town, Brendan - May's supposedly old and childhood friend. So are they just friends or is there more to the story? Will Drew be able to keep his feelings in check? How would the three of them hanging out result in?

Also, Brendan's Pokémon team would be the same as Ruby from Pokémon Adventures.

If you liked this chapter, take a moment to leave a review so that I'd know about your opinions on the story so far. I appreciate every single feedback and it'll definitely encourage me to write and update quickly.

With that, stay tuned for the next chapter!

And just an additional note, updates for new chapters would be slower from now on as my schedule is getting really busy. So, I hope everyone will understand! But, don't worry. I will definitely be completing this story!

; This chapter title is inspired by the song 'Best Friend' by Young Thug