May 24, 2008. Jubilife City

Ah, Jubilife City. Today brought nothing but sunshine and happiness to the residents of this beautiful city.

Well, most of the residents.

A 19 year old rushed through the heavy doors of the private office, coffee sputtering out of the Starbucks cups and splashing on her hands. Under the crystal chandelier beat the heart of the young designer, just waiting to prove herself. She cursed inwardly before saying "I'm sorry Ms. Bertram; traffic was heavy-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Berlitz," the middle-aged fashionista replied cruelly as she turned around in her office chair to retrieve the hot beverages. Setting them on her office desk, she folded her arms across her chest, asking "Do you think Armani's designers make excuses?"

Dawn shook her head. A cruel, fake smile coming to the older woman's face, she continued. "Correct. They see their deadlines, and they meet them. Simple as that. Now go give these files to the receptionist to fax. Then you are excused"

Dawn nodded complacently, grabbing the files and heading out the door. As she walked down the hallway towards reception, Dawn couldn't help but wonder why she had taken the internship at Cherubi Designs. Her hope was for a place where she could exemplify her talent for fashion, whether it be for people or Pokémon. Sure, Cherubi Designs was on top of the fashion world right now.

However, the internship had been nothing like the girl had hoped. Dawn had a set of ideals about the glamour and glory of the fashion world. She had watched The Devil Wears Prada, but she thought that was an exaggeration.

She soon found out it was not.

A few steps later she was at the receptionist's desk. She was at the center of the floor of the building; each section of the building all met here; therefore, this was the busiest place in the office. Dawn glanced at the clock on the wall reading "6:13." It would make sense for them to all be at home, seeing as it was a Saturday, but there was a huge photoshoot with world renowned coordinator Robert Perch of Hoenn. Dawn grimaced; sure, the guy was good at what he did, but he was also in his 30's, and without his makeup, he looked like he was nearing his 50's.

An innocent giggle took Dawn out of her state of disgust as she looked towards the source, which was exactly where she was headed. "Please tell me how you feel about Robert," the blonde receptionist mused as Dawn made her way towards the desk. Dawn grimaced. "He's a really good coordinator! I really hope I can be as good as he is some day! And uh, I'm really glad he wears makeup," she replied, wrinkling her nose. Becky was one of the most helpful people she had encountered in this adventure; Dawn even considered her to be a friend. Despite being in her mid-20's, the blonde's kindness and nurturing qualities resembled a mother's, whom she missed dearly. "Hey Becky," Dawn said as she handed the files over the desk, "Could I get you to fax these for Bertram?."

The receptionist smiled as she looked at the Cherubi Designs logo on the cover page and nodded. "Thanks Dawn! I'll have this done in a jiffy." She winked as she stated "We're not just number one in the world for our high quality fashions, we're also number one in customer service! OH!"

Dawn cocked an eyebrow as the girl threw the papers on her desk and rolled over to the filing cabinet on the opposing wall, digging through it erratically. Becky turned around and gave Dawn a sheet of paper. "Here's your request for time off!"

The bluenette looked at the paper, surprised that the company gave her…all two weeks off that she had asked for? A smile slowly spread across her face as she reread the paper, making sure she wasn't mistaken. Becky looked up curiously at the girl. "I'm assuming that you're off?" she questioned, mentally noting Dawn's smile. Said girl nodded. "I didn't think it would get it approved; I was so sure she hated me." she mumbled as she folded the sheet of paper.

Becky laughed. "Dawn, she hates everyone," she replied, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "As long as she has someone here to hound, she'll do it. Where are you going, anyways?"

"To a wedding!" Dawn replied. She had received her invitation in the mail a few days prior, and she was eager to travel to see her old companion and some old friends.

Dawn walked over to the coatrack behind Becky's desk and grabbed her purse, slipping the sheet of paper in the side pocket. "I guess I'll see you in a couple weeks!" she said as she made her way towards the elevator.

She nearly skipped out of the door; Dawn could barely contain her excitement-she loved everything about weddings (she already had her own planned out).

Also, she couldn't wait to see her old companion and travel with Kenny and Zoey again.

May 23, 2008. Petalburg.

Drew knocked on the door hesitantly. He shifted his eyes from the piece of paper holding the address Solidad had given him to the number on her door.

452 Brook Street.

He knew there was something going on when the brunette quit coordinating a year ago. As much as he hated to admit it, she was good. Who else could make it to the final round of three different Grand Festivals, lose, and come out with a high heart and an optimistic outlook towards the future? Drew hadn't made it to her last festival, but he had watched it on PokeTV-it was one of the most captivating performances he had ever seen in his career. Paired against Robert, May and her Pokémon's battle was like a entrancing dance; however, Robert knocked her out with a cheap shot, causing himself to lose points, but ultimately, rendering May's Pokémon helpless.

Drew shuffled his feet nervously. It had been a good 5 years since he had seen her. They had both gone their separate ways after their journey through Johto. Seeing as he had decided to settle down in the area for a bit, he figured it couldn't hurt to visit his old rival (also, Solidad was worried).

He also assumed that she too got the invitation to Ash's facade, and he figured it might be fun to travel with his old rival.

The click of the door unlocking snapped Drew back to reality. Taking a step back, he allowed the door to open; His breath hitched in his throat as soon as his former rival pulled open the door, not quite knowing what to expect as he looked up expectantly.

The dark circles under her eyes were indicative of a lack of sleep. The slight breeze shifted some of her bangs from the messy bun that her brown hair was secured in (a look that suited her, Drew had to admit). May looked worn and weary-her eyes no longer had their tantalizing glow he had once found irritating, yet fascinating; they had changed to be rather dull, and her pajama pants indicated that she had either a. been sleeping, or b. just didn't care.

And she was not smiling. In fact, she looked a bit confused. "Drew?" she stated as she furrowed her brow, surprise coming from her voice.

Drew thought this reaction was odd until he remember that they hadn't seen each other in years.

May leaned against the door frame, her confusion unfaltering.

"Stare much?" she prompted, interrupting his train of thought. He smirked, stating "Sorry. Long time no see, May. There's a lot to take in."

Sighing, she replied "You know, I don't really have time for your attitude right now," causing him to raise a brow. Doing a once over of her, his eyes moved up to meet her blue orbs. "You know," he mused, squinting suspiciously as he refusing to break eye contact "it looks like you have a lot more time than what you're admitting." May paused before she shrugged indifferently, obviously uncomfortable with the eye contact. "Mind if I come in?"

Again, May shrugged and took a step back. Drew figured that was the closest thing to a reaction that he was going to get. He shoved his hands in his pockets, taking a step past the girl towards the inside of the home of his old friend.

"Uh, you can sit in here if you want," May muttered as she looked in the disaster of a living room. "Sorry for the mess," she said apologetically, glancing towards the green-haired coordinator as she picked up some used Kleenexes from the night before, "but as you can probably tell, I haven't had many guests lately." Drew took note of the tissues she was trying to hide as he took off his jacket. He moved a newspaper from the loveseat and sat down. "I would have thought you were entertaining the queen with this cot," Drew mused as he set the newspaper down on the glass coffee table in front of him, causing the brunette to roll her eyes. He turned around to look at the cyan curtains muffling the sunshine, making the room dark and dull. "You mind?" he asked, gesturing towards said curtains. May looked up from the garbage she was filling. "Have at it," she replied as she put the garbage back into the kitchen.

After opening the curtains, Drew took this opportunity to take a quick glance around the place. It looked a lot better with the light shining in. The lime paint seemed brighter. She had a bookshelf on one wall filled with books. Her laptop was sitting on the coffee table with the newspapers. The open setting allowed him to see the small kitchen; he looked to the right and glanced into what seemed to be her bedroom. At that precise moment, May promptly ran over and slammed the door, glaring at him.

She rolled her eyes as cursed herself inwardly, still not quite believing that out of all the people in the world Drew would show up at her door.

Why was she cleaning up for him anyways? It's not like she was there to impress him.

Oh, screw it.

"I like your place." Drew interjected into her thought process. "It's a little small, but I'm sure it works well for you, since it's only you here…right?"

May grabbed a couple cups of chamomile tea from the microwave and offered one to Drew before she sat down on the beanbag chair across from the green haired coordinator. "Yeah.." she breathed, taking a sip of her tea. May couldn't figure out why he was here. Perhaps Solidad had talked to him…

"So Drew, what brings you here, five years later?" the brunette asked, with what Drew sensed as a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Not that he didn't deserve it.

"Well, May, I just wanted to visit an old rival. Is there anything wrong with that?" he replied, bringing his eyes up to meet hers. She furrowed her brow. "I suppose not," she mused, "but you know, a call, or something would have been nice."

Drew frowned. "May, I wrote to you." he said in a matter of fact way. "I did try to contact you. So has Solidad. She's convinced you've jumped off the map for good." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyeing the slightly squeamish girl in front of him.

May sighed. "I know; I-I've just been busy." she replied, her eyes shifting to the newspaper. "So," she said in an attempt to change the subject, "I hear you're Sinnoh's newest top coordinator."

Drew smiled (DID HE JUST SMILE?!). "Hell yeah! I still can't believe it." he replied excitedly. "I mean, I always knew I was good enough to be a top coordinator; I've just been waiting for the perfect time to go after it."

May rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile teasing her lips. "Suuureeee…" she mused, rolling her eyes as Skitty came up to her and started rubbing herself on May's leg.

It was strange. May had expected Drew to come and chastise her for quitting coordinating; she hadn't expected to…enjoy his company. She felt some of the heaviness that had been weighing her down for so long lift as she petted the affectionate Pokémon.

"Anyways," Drew interrupted, "that's not why I'm here."

The brunette cocked an eyebrow. Maybe she spoke too soon…

"So I got this odd invitation from Ash for a wedding," Drew said slowly. May's eyes nearly doubled in size, her disbelief shining through her incredulous expression. "Come again?" she asked.

Now it was Drew's turn to raise his brow. "You didn't get one?" he asked, pulling a golden invitation out of his jacket pocket. "I thought you were one of his best friends." May turned her eyes towards the invitation, shouted "OH!" and jumped up from her seat to grab the invitation she had hastily thrown on the table and forgotten about. She opened the envelope as she walked back to her seat. An entertained Drew chuckled at the brunette's sudden antics. This was the liveliest he had seen her yet today, which was kind of strange, considering that used to be the norm for her.

His train of thought was interrupted by a shrill "Wait, ASH IS GETTING MARRIED?!"

Drew shook his head. "That's what I just said, May," he replied bluntly. She turned an icy glare towards him. "Shut up Hayden. It doesn't say who he's getting married to…" she muttered as she leaned against the doorway, searching the card for any sign of a female or male counterpart. Which didn't exist.

"I figured, since I was in the area, maybe we could travel together?" the emerald eyed coordinator suggested, ignoring what May had just said. He looked at her, and before she had the opportunity to object, he said "Come on. It'll be just like old times. Minus Harley."

May grimaced, remembering their old, perverted rival. Celebi knew what that guy was up to…."I don't know Drew…" she sighed, "I haven't travelled in so long."

Drew shot a glare at her. "I know," he stated accusingly, causing the brunette to feel a little uneasy. "May, I don't think you're doing anything too exciting. Don't you want to see your former companion get married?" He paused for a moment. "Wait, it doesn't say who he's getting married to?" he asked, pulling his invitation from the envelope. "That's odd…" he muttered, his brows furrowed. "I didn't think Ash would be dense enough to forget his own fiancée's name on their own wedding invitations…"

Looking down at the confused grass head, May frowned. "There's something wrong here," she mused. "First off, the only person I can imagine him marrying is Misty, and I know she would slaughter him if he forgot her on their own wedding invitations."

"I doubt she'd even let him touch the invitations," Drew agreed, looking at May curiously. "So, Ash has gone insane. Want to go check it out?" he asked again as he flashed a killer smile.

May sighed. It had been a long time since she had travelled, but she was worried. "Fine," she said bluntly as a smirk found its way to Drew's face. "But only because I'm worried about Ash! It's not like him to do something like this. These invitations are too fancy for his tastes." she said quickly. Drew rolled his eyes. "Go grab your things, July," he teased as she walked into her bedroom to start packing. "I heard that," she muttered dryly.

As May packed, she grumbled "What am I doing…"

There were so many people she had ignored to this point. It's not like she wanted to…she just…couldn't do anything. She had been struggling for so long with so much baggage; as odd as it was, this was the first time that she had felt any relief in a long time.

She walked into her bathroom and leaned on the sink, looking at the face in the mirror. The girl staring back just looked…blank. Lonely. Empty. She had spent so long holed up in her house that she feared it was changing her.

It was like the loneliness sucked the life out of her.

May took a deep breath, splashing water on her face to quell her nerves.

She hated to admit it, but she was a mess. She turned around, letting her arms go slack as she slowly slid down to the floor, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees, knowing that she could only sit idly for so long before Drew began to wonder. Maybe she should just lock herself in the bathroom until he left.

But she didn't want to be alone.

Thirty minutes later, May emerged, dressed with her bag in hand; yet, she seemed hesitant.

Drew frowned as he stood from the kitchen chair. "You alright?" he asked, slowly stepping towards the fragile girl.

"You know," she mumbled, staring at the ground, "I'm not so sure about this."

Drew couldn't help but to notice how…empty she looked. Her eyes were puffy as if she had just been crying. He glanced away anxiously, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He looked back up into those sad, empty eyes; they reminded him of someone he used to know, and it nearly broke his heart in realizing it. He suddenly knew what he was going to do.

"C'mon May. Let's get out of here," he proposed, grabbing one of her hands. He locked eyes with her (she was blushing at this point) as he tugged at her arm, like a four year old would do to his mother before they left for the park. When she hesitated, he persisted. "I don't care if we go to Ash's wedding or Dairy Queen; we are getting you out of this house."

Quickly grabbing the prescription bottles from the table and shoving them in her bag, she rushed out of the door as Drew held it open for her.

As they were on their way out, Drew put on his sunglasses and paused in the doorway behind May. She turned around as she raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked.

Drew decided not to press the subject, although he knew something was going on with May. "Nothing," he replied. "Let's get out of here," he said as the two young adults started walking towards the bus station.

May 23, 2008; Cerulean City

A sunny day couldn't brighten the sour mood of this Gym Leader. Not even the water could put out the blazing fire that threatened to destroy anything left in its path.

"LILY!" Misty yelled with enough strength to power a small hospital as she marched her way upstairs to her home. "I am going to kill you…" she muttered. Today had already been awful; why couldn't anything go right?

Misty had returned from a trip to the Pokémon Center to a nice, brown gift in the bottom of the gym's pool. The gym would lose a month's worth of revenue, alongside the extra costs of having it drained and refilled.

She inhaled deeply, held, and then exhaled as some of the tension lifted from her body.

For some reason the gym had been busier than usual for the ginger trainer. Misty was lucky if she got less than 5 challenges a day, which was exhausting for her and her Pokémon. AND, most of them wouldn't come until the end of the day, when both she and her Pokémon were worn.

On top of everything, she had received a wedding invite from Ash.

She.

Was

So

Pissed.

"Misty?" the second-oldest Waterflower questioned as she opened her door. "Why are you yelling?"

Misty fumed. "Your Pokémon shit in the pool!" she shouted, eliciting a small giggle from the pink haired trainer. "Don't mock me, Lily" the redhead threatened hastily. "I can't believe you forgot your Pokémon in the pool! I can't have Pokémon swimming in shitty contaminated water! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Misty," Lily sighed, "chill out. It'll be fine! Just shut down the pool for a day, clear out the poo, and you're good!"

"Lily."

The older girl twisted her pink hair, clearly uninterested. Lily rolled her eyes as she replied, "Oh, fine. A week! You'll be shut down for a week. Big deal. Your Pokémon could probably use a break anyways."

"Lily, we're going to have to shut it down for a month. Completely drain it. Clean it. Make sure nothing else is left here. Refill it, make sure it has the proper pH level. Let the temperature rise. THEN we can think about opening it up again." Misty fumed through gritted teeth. "All thanks to you NOT KEEPING AN EYE ON YOUR FUCKING POKÉMON."

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Lily cried, taking a few steps back from the blazing fury that she knew as her sister. "I messed up! I'll help pay for the damages. I'll clean it out! Just-" she whimpered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "-please stop yelling at me!"

Misty took a step back. She didn't mean to make her sister cry…the 23 year old suddenly felt tears threatening to break their barriers. She cursed inwardly, praying that her sister wouldn't notice. Of course, Misty was a hard person; therefore, it was rare to see the strong woman cry.

"Mist, what's going on?" her older sister questioned. Misty felt herself losing control of her emotions.

She turned away, wiped her eyes, and said "I'm fine! It's just been a rough day…"

Misty couldn't stop thinking about the last time she had met with Ash. Two lines were haunting her mind and helping churn the frustration that was brewing within.

"Mist, I don't know what I would do without you! You know I'll come back for you after my Unova journey."

Then, as Misty took a deep breath, she fell to her knees, letting out a sob that could have broken the hardest of hearts.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated :)