Ash ran to the shadows, the only place he felt he belonged. Hidden to the world and never on anyone's minds.

He stared at the passed out girl nonchalantly, no emotion visible in his eyes. His mind thought of all the things he could do. Leave, or stay? Help, or turn away? Those were the questions running through the teenage boy's head.

He was considering just walking someplace else and not getting involved when he saw Harley and the other five gang members surround May. He briefly saw, out of the corner of his eye, the teenagers yanking her bright-red shirt off of her before he sprung into action. He knew what they were trying to do, and he felt as though even May, the girl who had taunted, teased, and tormented him, didn't deserve that kind of fate.

Leaping from the shadows, he charged at one of the stunned punks – and landed an easy kick in the shin that made him double over in pain. He noticed another coming at him from the side, and so he turned and gave her a roundhouse kick for her troubles.

Ash was still outnumbered, four to one, but he kept fighting. Punching, kicking, dodging, anything on fair grounds that kept him in the lead. After another few minutes, it was down to only him and Harley. The others were either unconscious, or had fled the scene.

"Harley, you should go now before I seriously hurt you." Ash warned.

He snorted and replied, "Really? That's the best threat you can come up with? I've heard greater ones than that."

Ash responded with a punch right in Harley's face that left him groaning in pain on the ground. He then walked over to the limp form of the wealthy girl's body and checked to see if she was hurt. She was stripped down to her underwear, but Ash was really injured from the fight so he didn't take notice. Instead, he scowled at the group of six and started to redress May after making sure she wasn't harmed. Then, he picked her up in his arms and started to walk in the direction he'd seen everyone else walk in to get to their houses.

After getting lost once since Ash didn't know the town much, he finally stopped at a house that looked like a mansion. Assuming that that was May's house, he knocked on the door and waited. He heard a lot of activity, and finally a shout of "Coming!" when not two minutes later, the door opened to reveal a smiling young woman who looked to be about in her thirties. Her smile quickly changed to a frown when she took in the state of Ash and she gasped in horror as she saw May. Ash, with a bit of sorrow, deduced that the woman was May's mother.

"Hi…" Ash trailed off somewhat awkwardly, not really knowing how to explain things.

"Oh my God! What happened to my daughter? Please, bring her in and tell me everything!" Ash hesitated, but then sighed and followed the woman into the house.

"…and that's what happened." Ash finished. There was an uncomfortable silence as May's mother, who Ash learned was Caroline, processed what she'd just heard. Ash was shifting in the chair he was in, not all that comfortable in the Maples' home. Finally, the teenager stood up and said, "I guess I'll leave now…" before he walked out of the house. Norman, who was May's dad, gave the boy a strange but calculating look, as if he knew there was something he was hiding.

Quiet ensued, until a few minutes later a boy came running down the wood stairs. "Mom! Dad!" He shouted, "Where's that kid that was just here?"

His mother raised her eyebrow toward her son and asked curiously, "Why are you wondering, Max?"

At the question, the boy smiled slightly. "If he wants to try something with May, I'll have to see if he's good enough." At that, Caroline and Norman chuckled.

Ash sighed. Why did he have to go and do something like that again? Put himself in danger? 'It's because I don't want anyone to get hurt. Not even those who aren't my friends.' He thought. He let his mind wander to other things, and before he knew it, he was back at the only place he could call home.

Max sat at his older sister's side, watching her intently. Although they got in a lot of sibling quarrels, they still cared about each other. He willed her to wake up, before jumping a little when he heard a soft groan come from the very person on his mind. After getting over his surprise though, he launched himself at her just as she was gaining consciousness. "May!" He exclaimed happily, "You're awake!"

May stared at her little brother dazedly, before blinking a few times. She then let out a small shriek when she realized what was happening. "Max! Quit hugging me!"

Just then, Norman and Caroline came into the room to see what all the commotion was about. Their faces lit up when they saw May was alright. After some small talk, her mother brought up something she was wondering.

"May, I met someone you know today. I was curious about him." May seemed interested in where her mom was going with the conversation, so she gestured for her to continue. "His name is Ash…"

May scowled. "Oh, him? How would you know that lying, attention-seeking–"

"Maybelle Haruka Maple! Don't you dare complete that sentence!" Caroline suddenly shouted, startling the girl and keeping her from finishing her thoughts.

"Why would you care about him though?" She asked rudely. "He's…" At a glare from her mother, she trailed off without completing her train of thought.

"May, this Ash boy…he's the one who saved you. You owe him your life." Her mom teared up as she said that.

"What?!" May screamed. "Ash saved my life?! Ash?! God, I am so not cool for letting him do that!" Caroline frowned.

"Why do you hate Ash so much?"

May stared at her mom as if she was crazy. "You didn't notice how depressed he was probably acting? That's all it is, an act! Yesterday, he lied at school saying his parents were dead, and that he was essentially an orphan! Can you believe him?! I bet he wanted the biggest pity party in the world!" She ranted.

Norman and Max had been watching and listening to the conversation, but Norman decided to interfere. "What if he wasn't lying though? Have you ever actually gotten to know him?" May instantly shook her head.

"Why would I want to know someone like Ash? He keeps to himself anyway, no one actually likes him."

Caroline beamed. "You really should try and be friends with him! At the very least, you better apologize to him." Her face grew serious. "He told us that you, Gary, Misty, and Dawn have given him frostbite, did you know that?"

May's eyes grew wide. "We did? It was supposed to be a harmless prank!" She tried to defend herself, but deep down, she felt guilty. She was confused, she had no idea why she was so mad at herself and wanted to apologize, but she found herself doing it.

'What's happening to me?'

A/N: Sorry for the slow updates. I don't really have any real schedule, I just update whenever I have the time. This was more about May and how she deals with the situation.

Thanks to everyone who left reviews!

Also, I just have to say for hshh's questions one was answered in this chapter, and the others you will get the answers to in the future. Possibly the next chapter, or if I can find just a really good place to explain it all.

Well, I think that's all. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting my story!