Me: Hey guess what. I have good news.

Drew: you're stopping the story?

Me: No

Paul: Damn.

Me: Language! I'm updating a new chapter and I'm out of school so I can update more!

Gary: That's not good news. I thought we were getting good news.

Misty: Obviously it's good news to readers who actually like the story.

Drew: People like this?

Dawn: SurferGurl14 doesn't own Pokemon.

Me: Chapter 18! Lift Me Up Again. And quit being mean, Drew. Or I'll kick you out of the story!

Drew: You can't do that to me! I'm Drew Hayden. I'm the reason this story exists.

May: Way to be modest Drew.

Paul: Can you all please just stop talking, I'm getting a headache.

Me: Shut up Paul! I'm dedicating this chapter to lovelyyuyu and nightworldluvr4ever, loved your reviews!

Everyone was surprised the next day of school to hear that Drew had dropped out.

Except for May…

Dawn was openly upset while Misty and Leaf were surprised. Paul looked shell-shocked while Ash was confused and Gary began to argue with the principal who announced the news.

"There is no way Drew dropped out of school!" Gary yelled.

The principal sighed, "Please, young man. I know you're upset but please sit down."

"Upset being the understatement of the century!" Gary huffed.

May had that feeling last night that she would not see him again.

She leaned her cheek into the palm of her hand as she stared out the window. She had expected this, but she didn't think Drew would just leave, just disappear like he did.

"Believe me. I'll make it so all of this never happened. You don't have to remember any of this, including me. It'll be as if I never existed."

May looked back at the classroom. They were taking their last final of their junior year.

Melody was playing with her hair. Barry was writing furiously. Zoey was patiently reading her question while Kenny was twiddling his thumbs. Marina and Jimmy were secretly passing notes when Mr. Roark wasn't looking.

Ash was obviously struggling with the exam. Misty was reading a book. Paul was bored. Dawn was painting her nails. Gary was peering over to cheat off of Conway's paper. Leaf was silently sleeping.

"I'm sorry."

May closed her eyes. Drew's voice kept haunting her.

"And May? I am, truly, sorry for everything that's happened."

She tugged at her bandana. She looked at the empty desk in front of her. Drew was supposed to be sitting there.

She was supposed to be looking at his luscious green hair and muscular back.

Not the polished wooden desk, completely uninhabited. Completely empty.

"God damn! That was hard!" Ash exclaimed as they all walked out.

"Not really," Leaf piped.

Misty snorted at Ash, "That test was impossible to fail."

"This is Ash we're talking about." Paul walked in front of Ash.

Usually here, Drew would have made a snide remark, agreeing with Paul or defending Ash but insulting him at the same time.

May stayed quiet. How could she say anything? She didn't understand what was happening. What had happened?

When he kissed her, May's mind flew into unbelievable fantasies of what she might mean to him and what he might mean to her but now that Drew was gone, she didn't know what to think.

"It'll be as if I never existed."

What if she didn't want to be that way? What would have Drew done then?

In all her confusion, if she hadn't told him to go, what might have happened?

Would he have kissed her like he did before and they go on living happily ever after like their friends. Would they have had their happy ever after?

Gary appeared at May's side and snapped her out of her thoughts.

"May, stay back. I need to talk to you." Gary's eyes were soft. Something was wrong with him.

May stopped walking as the rest of them walked on, ridiculing Ash on his intelligence.

"Yeah, Gary?" She tried to make her voice sound strong, not broken. Her voice cracked at Gary's name.

"I need to know what happened last night with you and Drew. He just left and that isn't something Drew would do."

"Well I ran out and Drew came and he said he was sorry," she began to edit out the parts about her powers.

Gary was surprised, "He didn't tell you that he loved you?"

May's head immediately shot up.

Drew loved her?

By her reaction, Gary was able to figure out that Drew didn't even go near that topic at all.

Suddenly Gary let out an exasperated sigh, "Well fuck, this must be the second time Drew has run away from a situation."

"Second time?" May questioned.

"He did almost the same thing when his dad died just a year or two back. His mom was a mess. So that's the reason we came here in the first place. Paul, Ash and I wanted to get away from out parents but Drew decided to give his mom some time alone until he was strong enough to take his dad's place and actually take care of her."

"Oh god, that's very responsible of Drew," May's voice trailed off. Wow, she sounded stupid.

That must be terrible to lose someone you love like that. Not that she could understand; she had her father, mother, brother and her friends. Drew had lost his father; she didn't even know if he had any siblings, and now he had left his friends and her.

Gary and May started to walk while Gary cursed out loud.

"What the fuck! How the hell can he just fucking leave?" Gary yelled.

May shook her head, "I don't know. Do you think he'll come back?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see."

May plopped down on her bed.

It was summer again.

She closed her eyes for what seemed like a million years.

The guys left to go home for the summer but May knew they were going looking for Drew.

Dawn grabbed Paul's arm and wouldn't let go.

"Dawn," Paul reasoned, "I have to get on the train."

"No!" Dawn wailed. People were beginning to stare.

"Dawn. Let. Go. Of. Me. Now," Paul spoke slowly through clenched teeth.

Misty was also dismayed, "Do you really have to go for the whole summer?"

Ash shrugged, "Yeah, visiting, we have something to do back home and we have to meet for the contest."

Gary slapped Ash's head.

"Contest?" Misty asked.

"It's no big deal," Gary declared.

Leaf pouted and Gary sighed, "If you stop making me feel guilty with that look, I'll get you a present."

"Do you know what contest Ash was talking about?" Dawn interrogated her boyfriend.

Paul stammered, "Not a clue. Don't listen to Ash. He's dumb."

"Two presents," Gary tried to bargain with Leaf as she continued to pout.

"Bye Mist," Ash planted one on Misty and climbed on the train.

Paul tried to release himself from Dawn's grasp, "I'll see you when I come back. Bye," Paul kissed her and climbed on, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Five presents but that's as high as I'm going," Gary stated. Leaf smiled and crashed her lips against his.

"That's what I like," Gary informed her as he climbed on the train.

"Bye May!" Ash called. Paul nodded in her direction.

We waved them goodbye as they climbed on the train.

Gary threw May a rose and winked.

Inside May saw a note from Gary.

We'll bring him back. -Gary

Leaf whispered to May, "Do you think this has anything to do with Drew?"

May held the rose close to her heart.

"I think it has everything to do with Drew."

Summer was hot, Misty concluded. Someone needed to invent infinite AC.

They took a cruise to the Orange Islands, where Leaf's mom lived. Melody, Zoey and Marina joined them.

May had to admit; their summer was a fun one, the beach, movies, shopping and just fun girl time.

Marina learned the danger of not putting on sunscreen. Zoey learned how to snorkel while Melody enchanted the locals with her singing.

Dawn and Leaf went shopping like all the stores in the world were going to explode the next day. Misty spent all day fixing up a webcam so they could chat with the guys who were in Jhoto.

Ash and Paul had just finished talking to Misty and Dawn. Gary and Leaf had finished their conversation.

Gary smiled at Leaf, "Hey can you tell May to come up here? I need to talk to here."

"Why?"

"I'm not cheating on you if that's what you're thinking," Gary sighed.

Leaf raised her eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

Gary recognized that look, "I'd tell you but you can't keep a secret. Now May?"

Leaf sighed and called May. May shut the door so that she was completely alone.

May looked at Gary, "Anything?"

Gary shook his head, "Nothing. We haven't found him yet."

May nodded. "Okay, thanks. Bye."

"Bye," Gary's face disappeared from the screen.

May opened the door and Leaf, Dawn, Misty, Melody, Marina and Zoey fell into the room as a pile.

They all smiled nervously.

Gary closed the webcam, "You sure that was the right thing to do?"

Drew, who sat next to him nodded, "I promised her that she wouldn't have to see me again."

Paul put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Maybe that isn't what she wants."

Ash joined in, "Maybe that's one of those promises that were made to be broken."

When it was time to return to Bell's Academy, the guys returned but without Drew.

Senior year began to pass, dreadfully slow for May.

Melody broke up with Barry and was now dating Rudy, much to everyone's delight because Barry's talk of fining was starting to get on everyone's nerves.

"I cannot believe Lucas, of all people, won the contest," Gary grumbled.

"I know. It makes me want to beat him up," Paul agreed.

"What contest?" Misty asked.

"Nothing," Gary grumbled, still upset.

"Ash, I want to know what this contest is," Misty demanded.

"As do I," Dawn said walking up.

"Well you know what I want to know?" Gary asked.

"What?" May and Leaf asked at the same time.

"These powers that girls have been talking about," Paul clarified.

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked nervously.

"I'm not stupid Dawn," Paul scowled.

Gary looked at Leaf, "I heard you talking about it!"

"How about we do this," Ash offered, to avoid a fight, "Two days after prom, we'll head toward the pier on the beach and we'll explain the contest and you girls explain the contest. Deal?"

"Deal," Misty confirmed.

Days and months passed and soon it was time for the senior prom. Everyone was so excited for it, even May even though she didn't have a date.

Marina and Dawn were in battle mode because the hot gossip said that prom queen and king was a very close match between Dawn and Paul and Marina and Jimmy. Everyone was so pumped to find out which pair would win.

Misty was looking through her closet, "I have nothing to wear for prom!"

Melody was snacking on Sunchips. "We could always go to the mall, and get dresses."

Dawn got up, "Why are we still sitting here than?"

Everyone laughed as the seven of them piled into Dawn's fuchsia sports car and drove to the mall.

Misty searched through the racks, "I want something that's very…anti-prom."

Zoey high-fived her, "Me too!"

Melody came with a knee-length yellow halter dress. "I'm dressing simple."

Dawn was trying on a shimmering pink strapless dress that went to her ankle.

Marina stepped out in a white halter dress that reached the floor.

"Hm, the fight for prom queen will obviously be interesting this year," Melody whispered to May.

"Found one!" Leaf exclaimed as she picked out a forest green dress that was tight at the top and then went into ruffles down to her knees with a black bow on the back.

Zoey held a tangerine, spaghetti strapped dress that reached her ankles out for her friends to inspect.

Misty was throwing dresses into a pile of those she had rejected (the sale's woman was going to have fun cleaning that up) until she came across a strapless blue dress that went to her mid-thigh and has one ruffle at the top and a black bow and was very tight, showing off her athletic body.

"Very anti-prom," Misty noted as she inspected herself in the mirror.

"May!" Dawn and Melody yelled from the dressing rooms.

All the girls turned when they saw Marina carrying a beautiful ankle-length red dress with silver circles on it.

May gasped. In one word, the dress was absolutely beautiful.

"Try it on," Misty coaxed.

Her friends gasped as she stepped out of the dressing room wearing the beautiful dress.

"Oh my god," Dawn whispered.

Zoey was struck, "May…"

"You have to wear that dress," Leaf concluded.

The prom turned out amazing. All seven girls were dancing to one of their favorite songs, Dance Hall Drug by Boys Like Girls.

Misty had her hands in the air and Dawn and Marina were spinning. Zoey joined the guys where they were eating and amusingly watching their girlfriends make idiots out of themselves.

Grownups you just turned sixteen. Stuck in the moment…It's on tonight…Turn off all the lights.

They laughed as Gary got up and started dancing with Leaf.

Wouldn't it be great to be fashionably late?

Melody and May sang along to the last line of the song, "It's just a dance hall drug!"

May sat at a table by herself as Solidad, the president of the student body stood on the stage to announce the prom king and queen.

"And the prom king and queen are…" Solidad began to open the envelope.

Dawn held onto Paul's hand and Marina gripped Jimmy's arm.

"By one vote, none other than our star quarterback and head cheerleader, Paul Shinji and Dawn Berlitz!" Solidad announced.

Dawn squealed as tears started to form in her eyes. She hugged Marina as Paul led her up the stage and she received her crown.

May smiled, Dawn had dreamed of being prom queen her whole life. And Marina and Jimmy had won last year (they had all gone single last year except for Marina and Jimmy).

Misty, Leaf, Zoey and Melody all hugged Dawn and May shot her a thumbs-up.

"Now if our king and queen will come to the dance floor for their royal dance," Solidad requested.

My Immortal by Evanescence started to play throughout the gym as Paul took Dawn and the two started to slow dance.

May didn't think that was a good choice as a song to play for the prom king and queen. Honestly it was a sad song, not a love song. A song of sad love, maybe?

Soon they were joined by Marina and Jimmy, Misty and Ash, Leaf and Gary, Zoey and Kenny, and Melody and Rudy.

May sat watching her friends but as she watched, she envied. She envied what they had.

'Cause your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone.

"I'm sorry."

May shut her eyes. Why was she remembering this now?

These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real.

There's just too much that time cannot erase.

"And May? I am, truly, sorry."

May stared down at her table, blinking back tears.

When you cry I wipe away all of your tears. When you scream, I fight away all of your fears. And I held your hand through all of these years.

But you still have…all of me.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Would you like to dance?"

May's head shot up. It couldn't be…

When she turned, it was just a boy from her math class. She shook her head sadly.

There's just too much that time cannot erase.

"May?" Sho came up to her as the song ended, "Some dude told me to give this to you."

He handed her a note with a rose.

Meet me in the school gardens.

A rose…

May stood up and walked to the school gardens.

"Hello?" she called out.

Suddenly a figure stood from the bench and walked toward her.

His hand touched her cheek, "May?"

It was midnight and pitch dark outside so she couldn't see who was there. But she didn't need to see. His voice. The way his hand felt against her cheek. She knew exactly who it was.

"Drew," she whispered.

The moon provided some light and he stepped into it, "The one and only."

May smiled and threw her arms around him, "Drew!"

He hugged her back, "I missed you."

"Me too. Why did you leave?"

He intertwined her fingers and his, "I promised you."

"Then why'd you come back?"

"Because Maybelle, I love you."

She gave him a sad look, "You're so stupid. But I love you too."

He chuckled and knelt down to kiss her lips. Electricity ran through May's body as she kissed back and Drew deepened the kiss.

Drew smiled, sincerely, as he lifted his lips from hers, "May? I'm pretty sure my IQ is a lot higher than yours."

Leaf looked over Gary's shoulder, "Where's May?"

Misty, Dawn, and Marina immediately looked over to where May was sitting. Zoey and Melody approached them with a rose.

"This was on her table," Zoey informed them.

Gary snatched the rose from Melody, "That bastard…"

The girls went back to May's table to investigate, leaving the boys on the dance floor.

Suddenly the doors opened and cold air rush inside as Drew and May, hand in hand entered the room.

"Hey guys," Drew nodded.

"Drew!" Ash hugged Drew.

May laughed, "Hey, don't damage my boyfriend."

Gary stepped forward. "Hey buddy," he said before punching Drew in the gut.

Paul grabbed Gary's arm, "Dude, calm down."

Drew held up his hands in surrender, "It's alright. I deserved it."

"What's going on?" Misty asked as all the girls walked back to where the commotion had started.

"Drew!" Dawn screamed as she, Leaf and Misty tackled Drew into a hug.

"Thanks for stealing our girlfriends, Drew," Gary grumbled.

"Okay!" Solidad spoke into the microphone, "All couples to the dance floor." Solidad took Harley's arm as he led her to the dance floor.

Their friends left them to themselves.

Drew held out his hand, "May I have this dance."

May smiled as she took his hand, "You may."

Okay Chapter 18! Sorry for the wait.

Stay tuned for the next and last chapter (If you don't count the epilogue.)

Chapter 19: Life Starts Now.

The girls and guys all meet at the pier and explain what happened that crazy junior year. (All the questions like how Dawn could read Paul's mind a few chapter ago and the contest and the deal with the guys.)

Any question you want answered about the guy's secret deal and the girls' powers, just ask in the review and I'll try to answer them in the next chapter.

Review please!