Sorry for the long wait! Don't kill me, but I'm slowly losing interest in the story. However, that doesn't mean I will stop writing it. Also, a thanks to all of my reviewers. This wouldn't be up without you !
While I'm at it, Disclaimer tiem!
I do not own pokemon.
A light breeze played with May's hair. Her sapphire eyes looked the LaRousse shopping mall up and down. It was incredibly large. She'd like to bet it looked even better inside.
Come to think of it, the mall seemed to have two floors. Oh, what they could possibly sell!
Women usually go shopping, with the acception of the poor men that are being dragged behind them. Because of this simple fact, May could only picture all of the clothing, jewellery and purfume / bath & body shops. This would be fun.
Not including the pokemon shops.
Her hands in the pockets of her red coat, clutching the rather thoughtful bundle Drew had given her for her own amusement, she almost forgot that she had a card to look for.
'His game keeps getting better and better. . . '
As soon as she set foot into the mall, past the glass rotating doors, she was assaulted with a large puff of warm air. She was instantly comfortable to instead drape her coat over her arm. Looking around and taking a few steps forward, the beauty of the mall was gasp-worthy.
It was bigger than it looked inside. It had wonderful marble floors, and far too many rooms to get lost in. The mall circulated air well, so the smells of coffee and deep fried foods were wafted to her.
Yes, the mall looked hideously expensive, but May was sure it was more than payed back. With all the attractive stores and the mob of people, how couldn't it be? Taking a few more steps forward and peering into the stores, the brunette also noticed that the items looked affordable.
She was probably right when she thought that she couldn't count all of the shops in this mall on her fingers.
Since she had no idea of the layout of the mall, she just wandered around, poking her head into the entrance of any stores that caught her eye. She so far passed shops that didn't interest her (men's clothing stores), but stopped infront of a bath & body shop.
The shop was a nice magenta. It had a colourful arrangement of flowers coating the walls, and filled with a beautifully blended scent of perfumes. Stepping inside and browsing the shelves, she couldn't read the print on the bottles. That made her feel like a kid again; she didn't know what she was buying, but she didn't care - as long as it smelt nice.
May had just reached the cherry blossom set of bath oils and perfumes when she stopped and put them down. It's not like it smelt bad, but she found something. . . interesting.
The voices that were, at best, in the row behind her.
She could clearly hear a boy with a strained voice whining. "But...but... I don't want to be in here! It's too girly!"
She laughed at the man's complaint, and only laughed more when she heard a deeper voice chime in.
"Yeah... all these weird smells are giving me a headache." That came from the man with a deeper voice. The same voice added, like an afterthought, "I wouldn't be caught dead here. If someone sees me, I blame you."
Those voices made her remember her friends. May sighed, the feeling of loneliness creeping up on her. She had regretted leaving them back at her home with Max. She missed them. She pictured running back home and into their arms, but also frowned. She had made the choice to leave, so she should stick with her commitment.
But even the mighty force that was realization could pierce her thick skull. When it did, she got hit like a truck when she heard the next, more feminine voice.
"Ash, I thought I told you we'd only be in here a few minutes!"
Another, slightly softer voice spoke after the first.
"Yeah Paul... we are only going to be here for five more minutes. If your so worried about losing your 'manliness', then stop acting like a girl. Suck it up and accept it like a man."
Ash and Paul... that means that the two female voices belonged to non other than Misty and Dawn; in that order. Speak of the devil.
May almost sent the bottle nearest her hand flying as she whipped around, running to the isle behind her.
Misty was right about to smack some pateince into Ash, when she felt a presence behind her and turned. Everyone did.
"MAY!" chorused the two girls.
The brunette, redhead and blunette charged at eachother and ended in a group bear hug. How they missed eachother. The girls also decided this would be an appropriate time to have a 'moment'. . . . Or as the two males called it, a scene.
In the hug, the three girls cried tears of joy and endlessly chattered about what had happened to them. Talking at the same time, they sounded like a pack of squirrels.
Ash and Paul looked blank as they wondered how they understood eachother.
Dawn and Misty explained that they were coming through LaRousse on the way to the next town, but heard the very shopping mall they were in was wonderful and stopped to buy presents. They wern't disappointed.
May explained that she was there because of two things; She wanted to try to be away from home for once to prove to her parents she was grown up. Second was a dare. She explained the whole dare to them.
Flashback
May was deciding to try her hands at baking. If her mom could do it so well, how hard could it be? They were in the oven and she was getting impatient. After five minutes. She didn't know what else to do, but she didn't want to wander too far for fear of the cookies burning.
Oddly enough, the phone rang. It was in the next room and her family were upstairs with Max. She thought that this would be a great way to pass the time. Picking up the phone, she answered a simle "Maple resendence."
The voice on the other line was...familiar to her somehow. She recognized it from the simple tone, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She would have to keep them talking. However, after they finished their greetings and moved on to a more sarcastic comment, she knew very well who she was speaking to.
"Hello May. Did you destroy anything yet?"
"Drew... for a matter of fact, I haven't. I'm less clumsy," she started, "and now am baking cookies!"
She didn't miss the chuckle she knew all so well. Truth be told, she began to miss it.
"I have a dare for you."
May's finger twirled the long cord as she leaned against the wall next to the table the phone was on. This was getting interesting.
"You have a dare for me from how many miles away? How will you even know if I do it?"
Queue another chuckle. "Oh, believe me. I'll know."
May was getting antsy. He was in LaRousse, she Petalburg. Unless he had some special pair of binoculars, he wasn't seeing anywhere close.
"How? Spit out the dare already." she commanded.
"If I am correct, the few months ago when we last spoke, you wanted a less...limited stab at independence. Right?"
May's face stretched into one of worry. It was no surprise that Drew was smart, but she had no idea what he was proposing her, more than daring. Either way he couldn't make her do something she didn't want to...but he could sure as hell trick her into it. The good thing was that even if he did trick her, he'd always make up for it. She certainly never left empty-handed. She gathered her wits about her and hoped for the best.
"Yes."
"Come to LaRousse for Christmas."
May's half-lidded eyes shot open. What did he just say? She answered smartly.
"What?"
He had the patience to repeat himself. After it, though, she was slightly surprised that he offered that it would be fun. She already held feelings for Drew at this time...how could she say no? Two deals in one; her much craved freedom AND Drew. What could be better?
"I'll do it."
Flashback Ends
The redhead and blunette donned Mona Lisa smirks before looking at eachother. May knew better than to pester them, because no amount of begging would make them tell. She wisely gave up.
"Well May, wanna come shopping with us? No sense being alone."
Said girl nodded eagerly. "Sure!"
Paul and Ash looked horrified. The awful things two girls could come up with was more than enough. Now a third to throw into the mix?
This would be a long day.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
The girls were walking around, trying to find more stores, while the boys were praying they could leave. The girls had purchased a bottle each of bath gels, and took their sweet time doing so. The two boys eagerly were on the ladies heels when they left. They were also thankful that they wern't carrying the bags. Atleast not yet.
With each store they passed, Ash complained that he wanted to go to the food court. Misty dismissed his pleas by saying "When we're done."
xXxXxXxXxXxX
If Paul thought he was in hell before, now he was really screwed. He got into an arguement with Dawn about when they could leave. By doing that, he should have known he was only digging his six feet in the ground. Dawn thought up the worst torture known to man kind:
Clothes shopping.
But not just any clothes shopping, oh no. Shoe shopping, too. And accessories.
While all the girls tried on clothes, half the time Dawn gave Paul dresses to wear to 'try on' for her. Regardless of how much he vehemently refused, Dawn would become red from anger. He knew that pissing her off even farther would mean him being pushed off the roof. He did was he was told.
He even 'broke in' a pair of shoes she decided to buy. They killed his feet when he walked around the store in them. She also made him try on necklaces. It was the worst ego kick when all three girls and Ash were laughing at you.
When the girls payed for all of their cloths, when Dawn called Paul's name to go with them, he followed her like an obedient puppy.
Lesson learned.
Except she appologised, knowing his obvious distress. In the middle of the mall, she pecked him on the cheek. He didn't care about the other people standing there, and wanted to carry her out of the mall to live happily ever after.
But his face remained stoic. He didn't know that Dawn could read his emotions by now though, so he remained blissfully ignorant. He would never admit his wishes to her, though.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
The girls had thought that maybe it was time for a little 'guy time'. They gave the two an hour to play with before meeting up at the food court.
Ash was delighted.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
The two boys made a beeline for an electronics store they passed hours ago. They were thankful that the girls had some mercy in them. After what Paul had to go through, he thought it was only fitting.
The boys could lovingly be in the large store for a looong time. It had everything from games to televisions. Ash and Paul bought a few video games and movies. They made sure to leave chick flicks far away from their manly pile of movies.
Paul also donned a devilish smile. He would get Dawn back. Oh, yes. Revenge is a sweet dish best served cold. To best fulfill his evil wishes, he bought a high-quality camera. It could take pictured and record. He would use it when Dawn was doing something embaressing, and caught unawares. This lovely idea excited him to no end. To rid himself of his evil excitement, he cackled.
After that ordeal, they ran through the store and played the game samplers. When done, they sat on the couches at the back and watched the TV's on sports channels. The big screen sports games made them make up for the manliness previously and futurely to be lost.
Ash, without Paul's notice, snuck the camera out of his grasp and filmed him cackling a second time when after the game, he told Ash his plan. He was enjoying himself capturing Paul burst into a well known, two word line of song. He also joined in the the parts of the hyena's. Ash started off for him.
"Yes our teeth and ambitions are bared..."
"BE PREPARED!"
xXxXxXxXxXxX
The girls were having equal fun. They wandered through a lot of stores, specificly a large department store. They tried on all the free make-up samples at the desk and ran up and down the escalators in the opposite directions they went.
They even played hide and seek.
And pranked. Like Misty hid in a round rack of cloths, Dawn and May pretended to be browsing. When women came over and browsed the rack, Misty would always squeel, "Pick me! Pick me!" The women would jump and leave, after feeding the snickering of the girls.
Needless to say, their boundless energy and running around got them lost. They found their ways out, though, and went to the food courts. On the way there, they spoke about things girls do at sleepovers.
They were too busy to notice the shady character tailing them.
Two girls always turned on one of them until they got answers. This time though, it was only Dawn who spoke up. "So Misty, who do YOU like?"
Misty knew resistance was futile, because they had methods of coersion to force Misty to cooperate, or else.
Misty didn't want to know what the 'or else' was.
"Ash," the redhead replied casually.
The girls expected that answer, so didn't pester her further. They could only guess the reasons why. They were good to one another, but still normal women. So things they did to eachother wern't as horrid as males made it seem. But it could be. But they had a strong system, so fights never lasted more than a few hours.
The figure's head purking up, they were waiting for this conversation. Women always loved to gossip and talk to one another about their lives, and intently listened to others, because they had a support group called 'other women'. Women were simply too chatty and loved details like this to leave men out of a conversation. It was a hot topic among them since they could all relate and had some experience with men in common. If there was anything you could count on a girl to talk about, it was that, no matter how old you were.
(A/N: True fact, actually. It's great if you need to find anything out about someone's love affairs. Being a girl myself, I've had such convo's, too. So, If I have even 1 straight guy reading this, which I doubt, *Haha, you will miss my facts tiem*, if you EVER want to find out if a girl likes you, try to listen in on their friends, especially when the girl in question is around. You can count on the fact that it will be brought up or mentioned sometime. Hehe, sorry. Sharing knowledge is fun. It only makes my above statement true about how chatty we are XD Now, onward!)
The figure payed VERY close attention to their next words. They were clad in a long Sherlock Holmes coat and hat, shading his face suspiciously. Even if he was caught, he couldn't be identified. Fortunetly for this man, these girls were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice their shadow.
"Dawn? You?"
Dawn giggled. "Do you even have to ask? Did me pecking Paul in a very public place mean nothing to anyone?"
May's anxiety was building. She knew the whole purpose of this was to get her to admit her feelings. The other two girls' admissions were already known, and only said to start the conversation up. Dawn and Misty already knew the answer clear as day, and then some, but they wanted her to admit it... probably for the sake of admitting it to herself as much as them.
The brunette cringed when she heard her name. She could only watch the two girls team up on her for her admission. She sighed, deciding to not bother with a delay.
The shady boy was at his nerves end, holding his breath.
"Drew. That's the whole reason I came here. I was looking forward to spending time with him. I half got my wish."
The shady figure released his breath, and disappeared into the crowd as they neared the food court. A genuine smile found it's way to his face, but it was lost on the unknowing girls.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
Closing in on the food court, the girls notice Dawn zone out. She came back to it with a look of determination as soon as the three sat down at a table.
"Misty, how generous would you say Ash is?"
The fiery redhead regarded Dawn carefully. It was painfully obvious she wanted something. What that something was, however, was to be took into consideration.
"He is very generous." Misty was cautiously choosing her words. "Does he have something you want?"
"Yes. Extras of it, even."
Misty thought she knew what it was when she heard 'extras'. She could also guess what she wanted it for, and grinned. Yes, if there was anyone who could talk her way into putting it to good use, it was Dawn.
She grinned and nodded. "He would easily, then. Especially if you explain to him it's purpose. He'd be happy and hand it over in a heartbeat."
May smiled, too. She recalled hearing from Dawn recollections of her time with Ash and Paul in Sinnoh. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Dawn was in complete agreement with Ash when it came to this particular item. Dawn also talked about what happened for hours.
At Misty's friendly comfort at things going her way, she visibly relaxed.
May and Misty had already bought gifts for their respective crushes on the way. Dawn didn't since she had no idea what to give Paul. The idea occured to her just moments ago, and knew it would help Paul's conquest for power. She'd need to be willing to put up a fight to get her point across, though.
As well, if Paul felt even an inkling of emotion for her, he'd probably agree anyway.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
After the hour was up, Paul spotted the girls with ease and led Ash to them. Immediately he saw something wrong. Dawn was jittery at their approach. Don't get him wrong, the blunette was normally jumpy, but in a peppy, happy sort of way. It was unsettling to see nervousness across her face.
Before he could ask her what was wrong, she spoke first.
"Ash, can I talk to you for a moment? Privately?"
Paul didn't quite understand what happened next. Receiving a nod from Misty, Ash got up and walked well out of earshot with Dawn. He felt... oddly possessive. It wasn't something he was used to.
Among that, the other girls tried franticly to get him to converse with them about small talk. He wasn't stupid; he knew that whatever Dawn had in mind, it probably had something to do with him. After his torture, he just wasn't quite sure what.
Either way, he complied to the panicked girls bad attempts at a distraction. He figured he'd find out soon enough.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
Once that was over, the girls guarded the table like Fearow while the boys found something to eat. Paul shot Ash weird looks as he saw that he wanted to get something from every shop. That was a bit ridiculous in his obsidian eyes. He had to calm Ash down, who adventually settled for tacos.
Walking back to the table with food in hand, the boys watched all the girls get up and leave, returning shortly after with their own food.
Lunch was rather awkward. No one had any clue what to talk to everyone else about, nor did anyone really want to talk to one another. They were busy with another task.
Everyone was there for the same purpose; Christmas shopping. So it was also expected to see everyone with some kind of flashy bag with a wrapped gift in it at their feet. The five friends eyed the gifts, easily guessing who had bought something for them, but at a loss at guessing what it was that they got eachother. In all the time it took them to eat, they spent that time trying to guess what their gifts were.
Once they were done eating, the silence was broken by May, who cleared her throat to gain attention.
"I need some help." She had all eyes on her.
"You see, Drew sent me here. We are having a game, or contest, or something I don't even know what it is anymore. Anyway, the point of it is to find little cards he leaves me. These cards have a clue on them which tells me where to look the next day. It goes on like that and will for each of the twelve days of Christmas. It is the sixth day now.
He doesn't specify where to look for it, but has given me clues on the possibilities of where I should go. I can't seem to figure out where to look. Would you guys be willing to help me?"
With a chorus of nods, May handed Misty the small card she had, to which the card was passed around the table so everyone could look at it until it found it's way back to whom had it first.
The order around the table was: May, Misty on her right, Ash, Paul, Dawn, and back to her.
Paul pulled out a map of the mall he kept in his pocket. The last thing he had wanted was to be lost, so he grabbed it on his way in. Looking at it and reading off the available services, he grinned and put the map back in his pocket.
He proudly announced, "I know where it's hidden."
May's face lit up. "Where?"
"Drew mentioned somewhere dark on the card. Said it was the darkest place in here. There's only one store like that here that could possibly fit the description; and it's on the second floor."
May was getting fed up and turned to Dawn, whispering her frustrations.
"Does he usually avoid answering your questions?"
Dawn laughed upon May's realization of what she had to put up with, and was glad she could share something. Glad her friend can now relate.
"Every day."
xXxXxXxXxXxX
The four followed Paul, as he led them superiorly up to the second floor. With May's and Dawn's pestering (for added help, Paul cursed their support group), the only thing he promised them was that where they were going, they were definately going to enjoy it.
But, he also warned that one of them better have good eyesight, because Drew wasn't kidding when he said it was dark. Paul worried if they would find the card at all, and didn't want to claw at the walls for an endless amount of time. That, and wondered where he could hide something that could not be found unless you were looking for it. Paul's respect for Drew slowly rose.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
Paul crossed his arms as he let everyone else take in what they were facing. They all shouted like little kids.
"LASER TAG!"
They charged in, Dawn grabbing Paul by his elbow.
They all got suited up, and entered the room. They also hid their bags from any theifs behind the desk there.
Holding their laser guns like they were in the army, they shot everyone on the way while searching for that damn card. When Misty was turning around, she accidentally smacked May with her gun.
"Misty! What the hell was that for?"
May leaned against the wall, thoroughly defeated.
"Oh, whoops. Sorry May!"
Misty turned around and May saw that the look on her face was sincerely sorry. She melted and forgave her. How could she stay mad at her best friend?
Misty suddenly stared at May. May couldn't help but squirm under her scrutiny. When she saw Misty narrow her eyes, she got the impression that her friend could have been mad at her.
"Did I do something wrong?" She tried to ask, now wearing the look of appology.
"Move."
May looked at her, dumbfounded, but shuffled to the side. Misty stared at where she previously was standing.
Ok, so maybe she wasn't mad at her. What now?
The lighting was awful here, as it was supposed to be. There was just enough lighting to see where you were going, and that was it. Misty and May continuously got shot by the other players, the lights on their mock Kevlar vests going off, but they ignored the cheap shots. Something was going on, and May decided to find out what.
Right as she turned around, she noticed a cubby in the wall where she was leaning against. It was hard to tell, but it looked like someone might have littered there, and the litter was shining somehow... maybe reflecting the little light that was there? Or. . .
Misty reached her hand out and grabbed whatever was in it. Pulling her hand out, May saw a piece of lavender paper held between her fingers like ninja stars. On the outside of the folded card, in surprisingly glow-in-the-dark green ink, it clearly read 'May'.
Misty grinned and May reflected it. Misty had no hesitance in handing the card over to May. Now all they had to do was find the others. The round wasn't up yet, so they had time to play...time to get revenge on the people who earlier shot them. And that they did.
After the two girls had gotten revenge, they located their three missing companions with relative ease. It wasn't hard to find them from Ash's laughs and Dawn's giggles. Stepping downstairs, they soon saw what they missed.
Dawn and Ash were in an all out battle. And not just any laser tag battle, the best to have actually been seen. They did little shooting, but mainly were battling it out with the guns themselves. Just like they were pirates armed with swords. Paul was standing off to the side, shaking his head at them.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
By the time they left, the sun was beginning to set. The lunch was later in the day, and because it was winter, the sun set earlier. Now May truly understood the meaning of 'Parting is such sweet sorrow'. The girls all cried and hugged again.
"Oh, Misty, Dawn, Ash, and even you, Paul... would you stay? Just until Christmas and you could leave after? I miss you all so much... and will even more if you leave."
Misty and Dawn looked at eachother skeptically. They wanted to, but... they didn't quite know what to say. They knew Ash and Paul were impatient to get moving. They'd have to have a long talk over that. Maybe they could convince them since no competitions started until after Christmas so competetors could spend time with their families.
The two girls looked back at May and said in unison, "We'll see."
When May watched them leave, she felt pretty bad. She tried hard not to cry. She had a small comfort, though...
A gloved hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump. She turned around, and was staring into a chest and neck of a man. Looking up, she saw Drew, who then flicked his hair. She dared think that she missed that, too.
Drew's eyes gave away that he understood her situation. His words were calm and soothing. "I could walk you back to the Pokecentre..."
She took him up on his offer.
On the way back, Drew tried to start a conversation. "Did you have fun today?" May's deep blue eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. "Of course!"
Drew smiled at her obviously pleased expression. He was also happy that she got to meet up with her friends... those same friends he managed to call in. He was relieved they lied on his behalf. It was for May, after all. He also sent Flygon over to get them to LaRousse personally. He was a courteous host.
May felt exceedinly special. Drew was amazingly nice to her this evening. Not only had he offered his arm, but he even carried her shopping bags. Willingly. What a guy!
She also had to admit... she should have felt bad, but she felt very proud as all manners of fangirls stared at her with envy. She wanted to laugh at her luck!
When the two stood infront of the Pokecentre doors, they faced eachother and Drew looked down into May's eyes. She looked up at him, a faint blush on her cheeks. He thinks she was guessing what happened next. He decided to comply... kind of.
He leaned down and half closed his eyes as he slowly got closer to May. May felt even more giddy as the fangirls looked like they wanted to kill her. She leaned up and half-lidded her eyes, too.
You could imagine her disappointment when Drew stood back up, walked off waving and said "Tomorrow" over his shoulder. The nerve of that boy.
Either way, she wasn't complaining. The death stares still on her, she picked up the bags Drew had put down and walked back to her room.
xXxXxXxXxXxX
Woohoo! Suddenly done! I'm proud of myself, and you should be, too. *Joking!*