Drew was swallowed up by a crowd of students the moment he left his Math class. Bodies pressed into him from every direction but he didn't mind; some of those bodies, notably the female ones, were very attractive. A stunning girl with navy blue hair was on his right, wearing a tiny pink miniskirt which revealed her long legs. She was texting on her cell phone as she walked, oblivious to the thrumming of the people around her. Drew made zero attempt to resist her charms.

"Hey, I'm Drew Camellia," he spoke into her ear softly. Her head snapped up and she looked at him with beautiful blue eyes.

Drew was surprised; did all the girls here have light colored eyes? He saw a brown eyed girl walk by and was relieved. One color could get boring, even if it was beautiful. It was just like the roses in his garden. He wanted different varieties, not the same ones. It made each of the individual flowers special that way.

She smiled at him, revealing shiny white teeth. "Hey, I'm Dawn. Nice to meet you." She closed her cell phone and stopped walking in front of a cloudy grey locker. Drew watched her twirl the lock open and admired her slim hands.

"Do you play the piano?" he asked, casually standing next to her.

"No." She put her textbooks inside the locker and turned to face him. "Why would you think that?"

"Your hands are very elegant."

Dawn stared at her hands as if seeing them for the first time. "Do you think so?" She grinned mischievously. "Hey, you're not flirting with me, are you?"

"Would that be a bad thing?"

She batted her thick lashes at him. "Usually I'd hate it, but I'll make an exception for you since you're really cute. So, are you new here?"

"It's that obvious?" Drew questioned, sneaking glances at her chest. It wasn't bad, but May had bigger boobs. He hoped the girls here couldn't read minds, or he knew he'd have his ass kicked.

"Well, I would have definitely noticed you around before."

"Really?"

"Really." She licked her lips once, and Drew marveled at how her pink lip gloss didn't come off. The wonders of modern make up were truly remarkable. "So, you know that it's lunch, right? I'd rather not stand around by my locker to eat."

Drew chuckled. "So, where do you want to eat?"

"With my friends in the cafeteria." She giggled at the pout on his face. "You can join in, if you want. I'm sure they'd love to get to know you."

"So your friends are female?"

"Yes." Dawn brought out a tiny compact mirror and observed her face in it. "Would you rather hang out with guys? I totally understand. If you were with us, Gary would totally hit on you. Guys never sit with girls around here, unless they're like, dating or something."

Drew felt a surge of queasiness wash over him. "So this Gary person is..."

"He's gay," Dawn confirmed.

Drew couldn't imagine how it would feel not to like girls, but then realized that he had never fallen in love with a girl before. So maybe...maybe he was gay too? He felt faint and shook his head. Impossible. He just hadn't met the right person yet. Besides, if he was into men, he would have flirted with them a long time ago; Drew wasn't shy. If he liked guys, he would make a move on them. But he wasn't so he didn't.

Dawn tilted her head to the side. "Drew, are you..."

"I'm not gay," Drew retorted hastily. "I'm 100% into girls."

"Good." Dawn gave a sigh of relief. "I love gay people, I honestly do. I mean, boy-boy action is so freaking cute. But it seems as if all the straight guys around here are totally unattractive. It worries me! I mean, why do gay guys get to have all the hot genes?"

"I guess I got lucky," Drew replied, amused. "So, you think I'm hot, huh?"

"I'll admit it," she giggled. "But just so you know, there' s no way that I could ever end up dating you."

Panic seized Drew's voice and he stared at her in silence. Did she know about his reputation? Did she know that he led girls along but crushed their heart in the end? Was she going to tell everyone and ruin any chance of pleasure in this school for him?

"Why not?" Drew replied, trying to sound uninterested.

"Well." She glanced around furtively. "I like someone already."

"I thought you said the straight guys here weren't attractive."

Red roses had bloomed on her cheeks and she looked away from him, staring down at her high heeled boots. Drew couldn't help feeling envious. Why were all the girls he had met already in love? Drew wished for a moment that he would blush when mentioning a girl's name, but he wasn't sure that would ever happen. His heart was... loveless.

"Most guys here aren't my type," she said slowly. "But Paul...well, he's different." She blinked when she realized she had revealed his name and shot Drew a warning look. "I didn't mean to say that. No one knows that I like him, so—"

Drew crossed his heart. "I won't tell a soul." Inwardly he couldn't help but feel his rivalry flare up. Misty pretended to like this Paul person but Dawn really had a crush on him? He was glad that May hadn't mentioned his name, or there would be hell to pay.

"Thank you!" she squealed in relief, flinging her thin arms around his neck. He breathed in her flowery scent deeply, enjoying the girly aroma. "I would be so embarrassed if word got out." She released him and sighed. "Pa—the guy I like...he's like, a loner."

"Bad boy type?" Drew teased, enjoying the way her blush darkened.

"Yes. No, I don't know," she said helplessly. "I just like him. He's so mature and cool and..." her voice trailed off and she turned away from him. "I'm going to shut up. Let's eat now!"

"Sorry, but I can't join you."

"What?" Dawn furrowed her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"I'm eating with someone else today," Drew told her, vision of the beautiful May dancing in his head. He realized suddenly that he didn't know where to find her and looked at Dawn with dismay. "Do you know a girl named May Maple, by any chance?"

Dawn lowered the stick of gum she was about to put in her mouth.

"May Maple?"

Drew laughed. "You sound surprised."

"I wouldn't hang out with her, if I were you," Dawn said icily. "She's not exactly the most trustworthy person."

"Really?" Drew thought back to the scared look in May's eyes and couldn't picture that girl betraying anyone. "What did she do?"

"The question is what hasn't that girl done?" Dawn's tone was scornful.

Drew stepped away from her, feeling anger bubbling in his veins. So, Dawn was a mean girl. He had certainly been fooled by her feminine charm. There was no way that he could speak to someone who spoke cruelly about others.

"I have to go," he muttered. "See you around." He left quickly, without waiting for a reply.

Dawn watched him go, feeling ashamed. She hadn't meant her words to be so harsh, but everyone at school new the May Maple story. They all knew that May only looked out for herself and didn't care about anyone else. Dawn made her way to the cafeteria miserably. The only thing that could brighten up her day now was seeing Paul.

Drew wasn't sure how to go about finding May. He thought about asking students for help, but he was beginning to realize that May was a taboo name in Thompson Academy. He didn't think he would able to hold his anger back if he heard anything else bad said about her. Drew had already gotten into trouble for fighting in the past, and he knew his mother would have a nervous breakdown if he was anything less than perfect.

Drew was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he bumped into someone. He mumbled an apology and continued walking, when he froze. He turned around and saw May. She had just emerged from the girl's washroom, from which the sounds of tinny laughter could be heard.

"Am I invisible to you?" she asked as he backtracked to where she was standing. "Last time I checked, I was a solid object."

"Sorry," Drew muttered again. He couldn't meet her eyes; he felt guilty about all the whispered rumors he had heard about her. It was as if he had been the one saying those poisonous things.

She reached a hand out but lowered it quickly. "Drew, is something wrong?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a half hug.

"Lesson one: never ask boys that question. It drives us crazy," Drew murmured, moving his lips closer to whisper in her ear. She pulled away a moment too late and Drew felt her shiver at his touch.

"Anyways!" May's voice was much louder than it had been. "I guess I better be going now. I have important stuff to do."

"What stuff? Eating lunch?"

"Yeah."

May avoided his gaze and Drew saw her embarrassed expression fade away. Her face was a blank mask once again. Drew took her hand gently in his and she resisted, but he refused to let go. She looked at him with nervous eyes and Drew wished that he could take her to a place where she didn't look like a startled Ratata; he wished that he could help her smile. At that moment, it was all he wanted.

"C'mon, let's go eat outside." He thought he would have to drag her along, but she kept her hand in his and followed him without any resistance.

They both blinked when the afternoon sun hit their eyes; Drew's adjusted almost instantaneously and he led her through the fields that surrounded the school. A fresh wind blew around them as they stepped on the springy grass.

"Drew, I don't want to—" May spoke up pleadingly. Her voice trailed off as Drew stopped moving.

They were standing in the exact center of the field. They could hear cars roaring gently as they sped past the school from many yards away. The sun beamed onto May's face and her eyes sparkled, giving her a lively look. Drew took her other hand and held both her hands up to his lips.

He kissed each of her hands gently and she sighed; it was a wistful sound. She pulled them away, giving him a weak glare. She put her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky.

"Drew, what am I doing here?"

"What are we doing here," he corrected. "May, we're in this field because that school is like a cage. I think we should be free of it for a while. Don't you?" He gave her an encouraging smile, but she deliberately avoided looking at him.

"I want to go back," she said suddenly.

Drew stared at her. "Why? Don't tell me that you like it in there."

Goosebumps flared up on her skin, despite the fact that the sun was warm and the air was pleasant. She slowly turned to look at him with tired eyes.

"I shouldn't be out here." Her voice was tiny as she repeated, "I want to go back." When she said these words, she made a move to leave, but her legs wouldn't seem to obey her. She stared at the school, looking like a zombie.

Drew placed his hands on her shoulders. "Well, I want you to stay out here." She gave him a questioning glance and he smiled at her. "You're the first friend I've made at this school. I want to be with you right now."

May lowered herself to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees. She stared morosely at a little white daisy that was growing in front of her. She reached out and yanked, tearing the fragile flower from the earth. She glanced at it briefly before tossing it aside. Drew settled down beside her and they sat in silence, the sun lapping at their backs.

"We don't have any food," May spoke up suddenly. "We have to go back inside to get some."

Drew waggled his eyebrows at her. "Who says we don't?"

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a lunchbox. A smile crept onto May's face when she saw that it was covered with cartoon Eevees. He told her to close her eyes and she did. He opened the lunchbox, knowing that his mother had made him his usual "first day of school" meal of fancy triangle sandwiches, like she always did. This was why he was surprised to see nothing in it but a single long stemmed rose.

"Can I open my eyes?" May asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

Drew stared at the rose in disbelief. "What the fu—"

May's eyes popped open and she peered into the lunchbox. She stared at the vivid red flower for a moment, before turning to Drew with a look of admiration on her face.

"That's really sweet of you," she said softly.

"No problem," Drew said, although it sounded more like a question. He watched May smile as she sniffed at the shiny petals and he couldn't help but smile too. Well, if there was ever a good day for his mother to screw up his lunch, it was today. "I know how much you like them. You know, after I saw your drawing and all—" he blathered, trying to create an explanation about why there was a flower in his lunchbox. He jumped slightly when the bell tolled in the distance and May sighed.

"Guess I'll have to starve in my afternoon classes, then."

He helped May to her feet and she gave him a penetrating look.

"Drew, you're really nice." She paused, fumbling with her thoughts. "I'm sorry for acting so weird. You were right. I don't like school." She made a face and added, "That might change this year, though."

"Why's that?" Drew asked, brushing grass off of the back of his jeans. She knew that he knew the answer and she gave a little laugh.

"No reason."

He nudged her with his elbow. "You know that amazing rose drawing you did? I'm going to frame it."

"That crappy thing?" She shrugged, reverting to her nonchalant state. "Do whatever you want. I don't care."

They walked side by side back to school, shoulders brushing. Drew knew he was completely insane for leading her on like this. It was one thing to harmlessly flirt with a girl in the halls, and it was quite another to give her roses. He didn't want to make May cry, but he knew that it would happen. His world would crumble around him; rose petals always wilted eventually.

A/N: Er. Yeah. I have NO IDEA how I'm managing to write one R&R chapter a day. *glances at neglected homework* xD I hope this was slightly more Contestshippy. It'll get better, I swear. This story is quite fun to write...my other story is much darker and this one relieves my mind from the darkness. This isn't all light and sunshine though, as I'm sure you've noticed. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! How's that for a good deal? ;D