The next day was the day that any high schooler dreaded. Monday morning. The beginning of another long slog through the school week. But for a few particular students, this Monday didn't feel as bad as normal. One of these students was May as she carried the painting and platform she and Ash had made into the school. Dawn was waiting for her near the front door, and smiled when she saw her best friend.

"Oh wow! May that painting looks amazing!" she exclaimed, making May smile a little.

"Thanks...Ash and I worked really hard on it." May replied.

"Wait that's for your project?! You two hung out together over the weekend?!" Dawn gasped.

"Kinda…?" May gulped, blushing to herself. "We mostly worked on the project but…I guess we did take some time to hang out too…and I guess he did say we're friends now…"

"Oh my gosh! May this is huge!" Dawn squealed.

"It's not that big of a deal…" The brunette tried to brush it off, but Dawn was having none of it.

"It's a huge deal for you! Ash Ketchum called you his friend! That's incredible! And to top it off, he asked Paper Princess for advice! Like, oh my gosh! Like your dream come true!" she pointed out.

"Well...he has a right to ask Paper Princess whatever he wants like anyone else…" May replied quietly.

"Well duh but still! This is your chance to really make an impression on him!" Dawn countered.

"Dawn that's not true…I'm not- er I mean…Paper Princess doesn't do this to influence people…she just wants to help…"

"Man May sometimes you are way too good of a person for your own good…" Dawn sighed.

"I'm not going to be the kind of person that actively tries to break up a relationship Dawn…he seems to like her and it's his choice alone how he wants to proceed…I just offered him some advice…" May insisted.

"I get it...I just wish there was something we could do to make him see how happy you could make him…" Dawn sighed. "I mean he obviously likes Paper Princess if he wrote in to her…"

"That's the difference Dawn…he doesn't like me...he likes Paper Princess…"

"Never thought you'd be in competition with yourself for his attention huh…?"

"No…" May sighed, taking the opportunity to leave the conversation and take their supplies down to the auditorium.

Meanwhile, not far away, another student eagerly entered the school and ran right to the closest newsstand. Ash picked up a copy of the school newspaper and flipped right to the advice column, finding his question and reading the answer Paper Princess had given him.

"Well, I really think you should talk to your girlfriend about this issue before you make any firm decisions. No matter how flat you make a pancake it had two sides. If she really loves you, she'll give you an honest answer about her relationship with your sister and then all of you can work things out from there together. There's no reason to rush into any big decisions without considering all the facts." Paper Princess explained.

"That makes a lot of sense…" Ash smiled to himself as Gary approached him.

"Ash, did you seriously write to Paper Princess about Leaf?" he asked, holding up his own copy of the paper.

"Yeah, so?" Ash wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"She's gonna kill you ya know." he warned his friend.

"What? Why would she do that?" Ash asked, genuinely confused.

"Have you met the woman? You went outside the relationship to ask for help. To another woman no less. You can't tell me that's not going to-"

"ASH KETCHUM!" Leaf's voice suddenly bellowed down the hall. Both boys turned around and saw Leaf storming towards them angrily, a copy of the paper gripped tightly in her hand.

"Good luck man." Gary muttered before he ran off, not daring to get caught in the crossfire of Leaf.

"Hhheeeyyy Leaf…" Ash greeted, trying to sound as casual as he could despite the fire in her eyes scaring him.

"Don't you hey me! What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded, throwing the paper in his face.

"L-Look it's no big deal…I just needed some unbiased advice that's all…over the weekend Luna told me she thinks you're jealous of her spending time with me...I didn't know what else to do…" he explained nervously.

"You talk to me, you idiot! You don't ask someone else for advice about OUR relationship! Certainly not to some attention-seeking slut in the paper! How dare you air our dirty laundry in front of the whole school!" she screamed.

"Leaf it's not like that…!" Ash tried. "I only want to do right by both you and Luna…and she's really upset that you don't seem to like her…"

"Oh because she knows how I feel?! What is she a mind reader now?!" Leaf growled.

"Leaf it's not like that...I just wanted to get the opinion of someone who didn't have strong ties to either side…"

"Oh, so you don't trust me! Perfect!" she yelled.

"I do trust you Leaf…and I do want to hear your side…" he explained, trying to follow the advice from Paper Princess as best he could.

"Why should I?! Because apparently, this doesn't matter to you! But you know what, I'll tell you anyway! I happen to really like your sister! I'm often just nervous around her because I want her to like me because I know how much she means to you! So thanks for letting me know you trust me without going to some outsider who doesn't know the first thing about us!" she screamed before storming off down the hall. Ash was left by himself in the hallway and he sighed, taking in her words. If what she had said was true, then it really was just a misunderstanding between them. And he wouldn't have to choose between them. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he promised himself that he'd work hard to repair the relationship between his girlfriend and his sister. Just as soon as he fixed things with Leaf first of course.

Soon enough, Ash arrived at his English class and found May sitting at her desk and reading the script once again. He walked over and sat next to her, drawing her attention.

"Hey May…" he greeted her, doing his best to put the unpleasant conversation with Leaf out of his mind for now.

"Hi, Ash...just so you know I dropped off our set in the auditorium. We're good to go on that front." she informed him.

"Great." he nodded. "Thanks again for doing that May."

"No problem." she replied, before noticing the slight signs of distress on his face. "Ash is something wrong...?"

"Just had a big fight with Leaf that's all…" he sighed, reminding May that he had to have read the advice she had given him in the paper. She gulped when she realized that the fight may have come from her advice to him, and that terrified her.

"Oh...I'm so sorry…" she apologized.

"We'll figure it out I'm sure...Paper Princess gave me some great advice I just...wasn't the best at executing it." he admitted.

"You asked Paper Princess for help...?" May asked, feigning her ignorance.

"Yeah...but I guess I should've worded it a bit better…" he sighed.

"Oh...I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault...I'm the one who really messed up...but as Paper Princess said, if we really love each other, we'll work it out together." he announced, giving her a small smile.

"Well then...I'm sure you can fix it…" May said, forcing herself to smile a little.

"For now I'll give her some time to cool off. Then we'll talk it over again." he assured her.

"I see...good luck to you then…" she replied.

"Thanks, May." Ash smiled at her as he then took his script back out of his bag. "Anyway, shall we start rehearsals again?"

"Yeah." May replied as she picked up her script again. "Where should we start?"

"How bout the beginning of the scene? Start completely fresh." he suggested.

"Ok…" she nodded, giving her lines one last look over before setting them to the side and focusing on him. He did the same and they both took a deep breath before they began speaking their lines, reciting from memory as much as they could. Both of them were able to put more emotion into their performances as they had become more familiar with their lines, and since they each felt more comfortable now than they did before. However, the scene soon called for the kiss and they both still froze. Ash stared at her and waited, hoping to see her move in so that they could finally break through this barrier, but his hopes were dashed when she instead blushed and looked away. He sighed to himself and shook off his nerves as best he could. He knew why she was nervous, but why was he so nervous?

"I'm sorry…" she sighed, hating herself for being so difficult.

"It's okay May...it's your first kiss I get it...and I'm sorry that it has to come about this way…" he said, genuinely.

"It…It's what I get for waiting I guess…" she sighed.

"You know what, forget about the kiss for now. Let's just focus solely on line memorization. Sound good?" he suggested. May gave him a small yet appreciative smile and nodded.

"Yeah…" she replied. Ash smiled back a little as they both shook off the lingering nerves, before continuing their practice.

Later on in the day, May walked into the lunchroom to meet up with Dawn. She sat next to her best friend and drew Dawn's attention in the process.

"Hi…"

"Hey. How is everything going with Ash?" Dawn asked, jumping right to the point and making May blush. She should've known better than to expect Dawn to have anything else on her mind.

"It's been...interesting…" May admitted, starting to eat her lunch.

"What does that mean? Have you managed to kiss him yet?" Dawn wondered.

"No…" she sighed.

"May you two gotta get cracking on this! You only got three days left to do it!" Dawn asserted.

"I know that…" May mumbled.

"I know it'll be your first kiss and all, but doesn't it help that it'll be with your crush?" Dawn tried.

"Not really. Especially since I know now that once it happens...any hope of us being together will be gone…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know I place a lot of value in a kiss...well, I think he does too based on what he told me…so that means when we finally do kiss it'll just...it'll just prove that we'll never be together...because he won't feel anything…" May explained.

"Don't think like that. You could be wrong." Dawn countered.

"But I won't be...this is me we're talking about…" May reminded her.

"Special things can happen to you just like anyone else May." Dawn fired back as she continued eating.

Not too far away from them, Leaf was eating by herself, too angry at Ash to sit with the basketball team today as she usually did. Ash watched her sadly, knowing that he had to fix this before it got worse. Taking a deep breath to work up his nerve, he then walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Leaf…" he said carefully.

"What?" she growled.

"I just want to say I'm sorry for how I handled things…" he said, finally drawing enough of her attention so that she looked at him.

"...I'm listening."

"I was just...I was trying to find out how I could deal with this situation without hurting you or Luna...surely you understand that I couldn't ask you or her for advice about the other…that wouldn't have been fair…I only asked Paper Princess for advice on what to do...I wasn't trying to hurt you I swear…" he explained. Leaf was quiet for a few moments before she finally answered him.

"...I don't like our problems being shared with the public Ash. I really like Luna...I never had any siblings of my own...and with her, I feel I do...so I get nervous around her...and she must've thought that was me not liking her...and if that's true about how she feels then I'm sorry...I'd never try to come between you and your family…" she explained.

"I know you wouldn't…" he nodded.

"...Then you believe me?" she asked.

"I do. Thank you for telling me this." he replied. Leaf then kissed him passionately, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. Ash kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her waist. They shared a soft moan as their tongues battled back and forth for dominance until Leaf slowly pulled away and they both gave a small smile to the other.

"I love you, Ash…" she whispered.

"I love you too Leaf…" he whispered back. They share a hug and Leaf lowered her voice to a whisper in his ear.

"Maybe we could...properly celebrate the makeup before lunch is over?" she suggested.

"It would be my pleasure Miss Green." he replied, escorting her to the bathroom where they promptly locked the door.

Later on that afternoon, the final bell of the school day rang and Ash promptly got up from his last class of the day and headed towards the gym after gathering his things from his locker. He met up with Gary in the hall not long after.

"Ready for practice captain?" Gary asked, giving him a salute. "We only got another week to get those starter spots."

"We're already shoo-ins if you ask me but I hear ya. Let's still kick some butt." Ash nodded. The two of them headed to the gym together, but before they headed into the locker room, a soft voice behind them caught their attention.

"Um...Ash...?" both of them turned around and were surprised to see May standing behind them nervously, holding a pile of books close to her chest.

"Oh. Hey May. What's up?" Ash asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your practice...I just...wanted to ask if you were doing any better with your whole...situation." she informed him.

"Oh. Well, that's nice of you thanks. Yeah, things worked out just fine." he said with a smile.

"Oh...? That's good...things work out for you and Leaf?" she wondered.

"Yeah. We're all good again." he grinned.

"That's good...I'm happy for you." May half lied.

"Thanks, May." he smiled.

"A-Anyway I was thinking...maybe we could rehearse again after your practice tomorrow...?"

"Oh yeah. Sure thing." he nodded.

"That's great...I guess I'll see you then." she said, cracking a small smile.

"See you then." he nodded. She smiled a bit wider and then began to walk off. Ash smiled a little to himself as he watched her go. She was definitely gaining some more confidence, and it was a good look on her.

"You coming man?" Gary's voice suddenly asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah yeah." Ash nodded, heading into the locker room with him.

Meanwhile, May was walking back home per her usual routine. What was not in the usual routine, however, was the big smile on her face. She felt more confident than she'd ever felt in her life. And she knew exactly why too.

"Wow...I actually talked to him...just like a normal person…" she whispered to herself, still astounded. She couldn't banish her smile if she tried. Even as she headed inside her home, she still felt more alive than she had in a long time. "I'm home."

"Hi, Princess." Norman greeted her from the living room, causing May to walk over and join him.

"Hi, Dad." The two shared a quick hug and smile.

"How was school? You seem to be all smiles." he wondered.

"Pretty good. Got a lot of good work done." she replied, deciding to keep her happiest thoughts to herself for tonight. "Where's everyone else?"

"Your mother is out getting groceries while Max is in his room doing his homework." Norman explained.

"I see. Well, do you mind if I do my homework in the living room then?" she asked.

"Sure thing Princess." he nodded, sitting back down on the couch. May sat on the other side of the couch and opened her laptop as her father turned his show back on. May opened up her Paper Princess email and opened the inbox. That was when her eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa…"

"Something up?" her father asked, noticing the change in her expression.

"There are a ton more Paper Princess submissions than normal…" she explained, showing him the quickly filling inbox on her screen.

"Oh wow, that is a lot. Any reason for it you think?"

"Well I…" she stammered, trying to find the best way to explain without giving too much away. "I guess it could be because...I answered a question from an important athlete in today's paper…"

"Well, then that's great news May! You're becoming quite the hit!" Norman smiled.

"I guess maybe…" May replied with a small smile.

"Keep up the good work ok?" he reminded her. She nodded and selected a few questions to answer, then began writing.

Meanwhile, Ash had just finished his practice and was on his way to pick up Luna from her own practice. As he pulled into the parking lot, Luna was waiting for him on the curb. She smiled when she saw him and hopped into the front seat, buckling up.

"Hey Luna." he greeted her as he headed back out towards their house. "How was practice?"

"It was great! I'm so ready for Friday!" she giggled.

"Great! I can't wait to watch it!" he chuckled.

"What about you? How about your practice?" she asked.

"It went great. Everyone is working hard and I think we'll dominate in our big game too." he replied.

"Awesome!" Luna smiled. Ash smiled back at her, then took a deep breath, deciding it was time for them to talk about the elephant in the room.

"So I talked with Leaf about the tension between you two." he commented, making the smile fade from Luna's face almost immediately.

"Oh...?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah." he nodded. "And I think it's all just been a big miscommunication. She was just nervous around you since she doesn't have any siblings of her own...and she told me she's sorry for making you think that she didn't like you...she really does like you Luna." he explained.

"...Oh…" Luna sighed, able to guess pretty plainly how the conversation must've gone. It wouldn't have been the first time Leaf had used the old cry-and-scream to get Ash to cave and believe anything she said. It was in Ash's nature to believe people were telling him the truth, and Leaf knew it. And she knew how to exploit it better than anyone else.

"So it was a misunderstanding!" Ash concluded, smiling at the revelation.

"...So that's what she said huh...?"

"Yup. Isn't that great?" Luna sighed and, as she had done many times before, simply faked a smile so she didn't hurt his feelings.

"That's...great Ashy…" Ash smiled back as they soon arrive back home for the night.

To be Continued...