A/N: And this story kicked off way better than I thought, I'm so, so happy! Thank you everyone!
Disclaimer: All this belongs to the guy that owns Pokémon, Satoshi or other.
Chapter 2: Speechless
I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless, you've left me speechless, so speechless
-Lady Gaga
. . .
"Ugh yawn, I am like so tired"
"Well suck it up Lily, since Misty's not here someone's got to get up early and greet those Pokémon Gym inspectors"
The pink haired Sensational Sister groaned and let out another yawn, letting her head fall into the palm of her hand.
"Well Misty takes enough care of the Gym; all three of us don't need to be awake for this-I like desperately need my beauty sleep!"
"Well we made a deal!"
And almost as if right on cue, the eldest of the four sisters made her way to the counter of their giant Gym/Performing Arena lobby. Her hair perfectly curled and draped over her shoulders, her signature teal dress and pink cardigan over her body and of course, a little pink flower in her hair for the finishing touch.
For eight o'clock in the morning, she did a good job and primping herself up.
Psh, she'd better have, the eldest Sensational Sister woke up at 6 to get ready.
Daisy plopped the mail onto the counter before perching her hands on her hips.
"We told Misty we'd take care of the Gym when she's gone if she'd let us use 40% of the Gym fund for our shows and weekly spa days!" She reinforced, a bargain that wasn't easily reached.
Violet nodded her head, her blue curls bouncing slightly, "Yeah you're right, but I just don't see why these inspector people couldn't have come later, I mean like, no one likes getting up this early, not even the Pokémon!" She squealed, not liking having to jump into the water so early to wake up each Pokémon and tell them to put on their show face for the inspectors. Thank Ho-oh Misty took Gyrados with her.
Lily sighed in agreement as she began to casually leaf through the stack of mail Daisy had previously set down, "Yeah, like poor Caserin and Luverin hate getting up early" She pouted, referring to the cute little pair of Luvdisc that adorned their underwater aquarium.
As Daisy then chimed in about how early morning humidity wasn't good for her hair, Lily stumbled upon something that most definitely caught her interest. It wasn't flyer for the newest salon in town, it wasn't a bill from their pool boy, and it wasn't a fan letter.
Though what Lily had in her hands was wedged between two fan letters with hearts on each of them, she found this more interesting.
Violet noticed the item and cocked her head, "Ooh, the new issue of Pokémon Idol is in, anything interesting?" She asked, referring to one of the most popular gossip magazines in all the four regions.
Lily grinned, letting her smile stretch from ear to ear, "Oh yeah, I think there's definitely something you guys wanna see"
And with one last smirk she turned the magazine around, laying it flat on the table.
"Oh-"
"My-"
"Gawd!"
"I think our little baby sister is going to have like, major explaining to do"
. . .
Ring, ring
Dawn groaned.
Ring, ring
"May…that's your Nav" Misty grumbled as she rolled over, stuffing her face in the comfortable pillow beneath her, her orange locks in a mess.
"No it's not, I dunno what' you're talking about" May tried to play off; snuggling further into the sheets, but no, no Misty wasn't going to let that fly and especially at this hour, she had the tolerance of a Gyrados on a rampage. So with all her strength she pulled herself up from her bed, turned over to grab a stray pillow and launched it right at the brunette's head.
"Ow!"
Bullseye.
Dawn rose her head as she peeked over at the two, "Just answer it May" She reasoned.
May sighed and rubbed her head, all three girls successfully awake thanks to her little ringing monstrosity. She reached her arm out the dresser, noting that the clock read 8:17 AM. She grabbed her Nav and flipped it open, not even bothering to check caller ID.
"Hullo?" She muttered groggily.
"So I go the PokeMart this morning to pick up some Pokeballs, protein, stuff like that for the Pokémon back at the lab…" The voice began to speak, as chipper as ever.
May squinted her eyes as if it'd help her recognize the caller.
"Brendan?"
But he didn't stop to acknowledge his name, "-and right there, on the rack while I'm payin' for all my stuff, is you and Drew, on the cover of pretty much every freakin' magazine"
May knitted her eyebrows together, "Okay, I officially have no idea what you're talking about, we're on the cover of…magazines?" May tried to fit the pieces together. She and Drew were always on magazines, preferably Coordinators Monthly and The Ribbon Cup. So what was the big deal?
"You didn't tell me you guys were together?"
Oh. So that's what it was.
". . . what?"
Dawn gave May a weird look, leaning forward, "May…is everything alright?"
"Yes! Well no, not really-but I mean" She bit her lip, "Brendan, lemme call you back, and um, if you see any more of the magazines, get rid of them!" She hurriedly commanded her childhood friend.
"Okay, there's like fifty on this rack alone…how the hell am I supposed to do that? You want me to buy all of em?" The young researcher in training sarcastically asked back.
She nodded, "Yes! Perfect, I knew you were always the smart one!"
"What? May I'm not gonna-"
"I'll call you back, bye!" She muttered as she shut the Nav and finally let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. All the while, the Sinnoh Coordinator and the Cerulean Gym Leader stared at her with questionable looks on their faces.
"May…" Misty began, "What's goin' on?"
She plopped the Nav back on the dresser, as if it were going to explode any second, "N-nothing hehe, you know Brendan, always…an early riser and stuff, just calling to say hi" She tried so hard not to fumble over her words, doing anything not to raise any suspicion.
"Oh, I heard he's got a girlfriend now"
"No way, really?"
May let out another sigh of relief as she let the two drift off into random conversation. The tabloids couldn't have found out? Could they? They were always extra careful on dates and they never really did anything suspicious in public and besides, it's not like they weren't a flirty couple anyway, it was the norm whether they were together or not.
As May climbed out of bed she just assumed Brendan was probably looking way too into it, overanalyzing every little detail. So she and Drew were on the cover of some magazines, nothing to worry about there.
"Hey look!"
Dawn's words made her jump in her place, causing the pillow in her lap to fall onto the floor. Misty cocked an eyebrow.
"You okay there…?" She asked carefully, watching her every move.
May nodded and bent down to pick up the fallen pillow and re-situate it back into her lap. She was way, too nervous. So what if the tabloids did find out? That wouldn't be that bad would it?
'Um of course it'd be bad! Since you haven't even told your friends or your parents!' A voice in her head scolded. She sighed again knowing she was right, they were supposed to tell everyone about their little 'secret' yesterday but when you're at the beach, splashing in the water, having a sand castle building contest, and a few battles here and there with your friends, you tend to forget.
So she clenched onto her pillow and made the decision.
Meanwhile, Dawn and Misty's words trailed on in the back.
"So what were you saying Dawn?"
She giggled, "May's on TV" She turned up the volume.
"Guys I have something I wanna tell you-"
"Wait, shh" Misty waved her hand as a picture of the blond haired announcer began to relay the story of the day.
"But-" May could only do nothing as she turned to the TV as well.
"And for the latest gossip scoop, it's finally happened. Fan girls across the regions can either jump up in joy or be jealous of this lucky girl," A clip of May's contest battles flashed on screen, "Since Contest Coordinator May Maple is officially dating Drew Hayden"
It took about three seconds for the words to sink in.
. . .
"What the hell!"
"How did they find out?"
"So it's true!"
"Well how come we didn't know?"
"N-no wait, there's no way, and I was going to tell you guys really!" May held up her hands, shaking them in her defense trying to absorb the situation.
So Brendan was right. They were pretty much everywhere. He was also right about the magazines announcing their newfound, and apparently much waited for relationship. And, he was probably right when he'd said there were a lot of magazines.
Then she realized another thing as she groaned, falling back onto her bed, bringing the pillow up to her face, "This news even got to Hoenn?"
A clearing of the throat caused May to lower her pillow and standing above her with their hands on their hips and a stoic expression on their faces were Misty and Dawn, and boy did then want-
"An explanation would be nice ya know?"
The youngest girl nodded as well, "I agree with Misty, when were you going to tell us May! I mean, we're your best friends! We'd expect to hear this stuff form you and not the paparazzi"
May groaned once more, "I know, I know, I swear I was going to tell you guys yesterday but it just kinda slipped my mind…but I'm telling you right now, from my lips, Drew and I are together." She said firmly.
Dawn giggled and clapped her hands excitedly and Misty let out a breath of relief letting her hands fall off her hips, "Well that's a good, at least we know all the tabloids aren't lying"
"But!" May shot up, "What I wanna know is how the tabloids found out!" She swung her legs over the side of the bed and then hopped off, storming over to the sofa and television in their room and snatched the remote form the table, turning up the volume even more as if it'd provide her with an answer.
"May, they probably just snapped a picture of you guys in Johto or something, and hey! Get back here, we wanna hear the full story!" Misty called out, but t his time it was May's turn to be entranced by the television.
She focused her sapphire orbs on every little movement and detail.
"…now we all know May and Drew are one of our favorite couples so what gave these two away?" The host asked as she motioned to the monitor behind her.
May clenched the remote, "Yeah…?" She grinded through her teeth.
"Well, these photos were snapped just yesterday at the infamous Sunyshore Beach in Sinnoh, the two were seen relaxing at the beach, holding hands, and they were even caught, spending a little time together on the rocky shores of the beach-"
May blushed a bright red as sure enough, pictures flashed foreword of her and Drew in the little Snack Shack, putting that little pink spoon in her mouth as she licked off the ice cream, and of course, a picture of the two behind the rocks as he pressed her against the structure and craned his neck slightly just so the camera could find a good angle where his lips were locked onto hers.
Dawn's voice suddenly chirped in from her right, "Whoa, how'd we miss all of that?"
Then Misty's from the left, "So that's where you guys went when we played Marco Polo, Ash seriously thought you guys drowned or something"
They both narrowed their eyes at the brunette who bit her lip and crossed her legs on the couch and let out a nervous smile.
"Hehe, love you guys"
But before either of them could react a small 'schlip' sound caught their attention as they all whipped their heads to look over at the door.
Dawn titled her head to the side as she focused on the little delivery that managed to make their way into their room from underneath the doorframe.
Misty narrowed her eyes as she pushed away from the couch and approached it carefully, her body going completely stiff as she leaned down to pick it up.
"What is it Misty?" Dawn asked but without saying a word Misty rolled up the magazine and clenched her teeth together.
"Just hang on a sec" Her words were sharp and succinct and Dawn and May could only sit there and watch as Misty flipped the lock, and curled her hand around the doorknob and yanked it open, and wouldn't you know, standing right there was Ash with his bed hair shoved underneath his hat, a plain white tee, and navy plaid pajama pants, and a look on his face that just screamed 'I have no idea what the hell is going on'.
"Knock, knock" Drew's voice rang in sarcastically.
"We brought presents" Paul added, motioning to the stacks of magazines in his hands, and by the sound of Paul's dead pan tone, the girls had a feeling things weren't going to be pretty.
The guys shuffled in and Misty managed to kick the door closed before grabbing Ash by his arm and pulling him over, unrolling the magazine she previously picked up and pointed to a picture of the two, "What is this Ash?"
Ash let out a sigh and then removed his cap to run a hand through his hair, "C'mon, we'll explain Mist" He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, directing to her to the little gathering they were having around the coffee table.
Drew was the first to talk, "Okay so I think it should be kinda obvious by now that we've been…'attacked' by the paparazzi" He said, for lack of a better word.
"We?" Dawn echoed.
And all Drew did was nod, "That's right, all of us"
As Paul then took his turn to lay down every magazine that happened to come across their hotel room that morning, everyone just sat there, silent.
"Coordinators Weekly, PokeWatchers, Breeder's Digest, Trainers 101, The Ribbon Cup, PKMN: News, Pokémon Idol, and get ready…"He paused as everyone shifted in their seats, "Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh Gossip" And as they all watched the last four magazines fall onto the table no said a thing, "And I'm pretty sure there's more"
Drew cleared his throat, "So long story short-"
"And that's not all, along with the final admittance of May and Drew are two other stories we're sure you'd love to hear about-"
Drew then shut his mouth and then motioned his hands to the TV, "On second thought, why don't I let her tell you" He said, referring to the gossiper named Christie on the television.
Everyone just silently obeyed, Dawn still not exactly comprehending the situation, Misty twisting the magazine in her hands, hoping it wouldn't be what she thought it would be, Ash awaiting the TV to repeat what he had heard so many times already, and Paul, trying to figure out how he was going to react to all of this.
May blushed as the gossip host made one last comment about her and Drew; she leaned over onto his shoulder in which Drew was happy to respond by draping his hand over her shoulders and giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead.
Their secret was out now, no need to hide it anymore.
"Now we all know Sunyshore is a prime spot for tourists, vacationers, and locals, but…what we didn't know, was that it could attract certain gym leaders as well"
And all eyes were on Misty.
She twisted the magazine in her hand like an Ekans using its Wrap attack.
"Seen here is the world renowned, and ever so popular Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City Gym Leader in Kanto-apparently along with the underwater ballets these Sensational Sisters like to do on their free time, hanging out with friends is a favorite pastime as well"
The way the announcer stressed the word 'friends' definitely meant that they were more than friends. A picture appeared on screen that sure enough, reflected the events of yesterday's beach date, where Misty's arms were around Ash's neck and at the angle they took it; it looked like the two were lip locking in the middle of the ocean.
…much to Misty's embarrassment.
Drew let out a low whistle and cocked his head to the side as if to examine the picture farther, "Wow, it really looks like you guys are-"
But Misty interjected his sentence by holding her hand out before the coordinators face, "Don't say it" She slipped through her gritted teeth and embarrassed demeanor.
And only to fuel everyone's excitement, the TV host droned on.
"Ah, but if you thinks that's all the gossip we have to offer you there's more," She wagged her finger tauntingly at the camera, "you may recognize this young man over here from 'Sinnoh's Top 10 To Look Out For'-he's quickly becoming a rising star in the battling world and we've caught him red handed canoodling with," The host paused for dramatic effect, "…his girlfriend maybe?"
Ash shuffled in his seat and muttered in a flat voice, "Well, there are only two of us left" He said a bit rhetorically as he turned to Dawn's face to see her reaction.
"There's no doubting, the way these two couples were acting it's only natural to think they followed their fellow coordinator's leads. We'll keep you posted with the latest updates on these new lovebirds, see you next time" And with a wave and a wink she signed off and the TV switched to some infomercial about some abs toner machine.
But within that short broadcast, it was plenty enough for them.
"Now what?" Paul cleared his throat, keeping his eyes away from the blushing bluenette who sat in the armchair across from him, the tabloids sprawled out on the table before them.
Misty groaned as she tossed her mangled up magazine onto the table and grabbed a tabloid that said 'Training for You!'
"We're even on the cover of a fitness magazine" She grumbled, acknowledging the little strip of the hottest stories posted on the left side of the cover, taking note of the same picture she saw of her and Ash plastered on the front.
May echoed her groan, "How did they even know we were gonna be there?"
"Well a gym leader mixed in with some top trainers and coordinators it's bound to cause a scene, I mean, you got the Misty Mermaid over there," He nudged his head toward Misty, "Mr. Chosen One," then at Ash, "and Mr. I-haven't-lost-a-battle-since-I-was-fourteen", at Paul, "and a rising Sinnoh Coordinator" and finally at Dawn, motioning to Dawn and her three consecutive contest wins.
May huffed, understanding the point, "Well then, how'd they find out?" She crossed her arms.
"Apparently," Dawn looked up from a tabloid she currently had her nose buried in, "sources say they heard you admit it" She clarified.
'So let me get this straight…you can tell a group of fan girl teenagers the truth about us, but you can't tell our best friends?' The memory came rushing back to her; she didn't think she talked that loud, did she?
"Well great, I'll never talk again" She decided.
"Oh boy, I've left you speechless?" He turned his attention on her, that taunting, teasing, cocky smirk gracing his lips.
May glared through her blush, "So speechless" She slid out her teeth.
"May's got a point, maybe we should jus…hide out for a while, because I'm pretty sure people are gonna be harassing us left and right" Dawn clarified, thinking logically. Stepping out and looking paparazzi ready was a hard thing, she already used enough time just to look ready for a contest.
"Or maybe we could just deny it and tell them truth" Misty interjected.
But just as quickly as she was to put in her thought, Ash did the same.
"W-well what good would that do? I mean, half the population in each region already has it in their head that we're together-no sense in wanting to change their minds-it'd be too much work"
She turned her head to Ash, expecting to see some expression of laziness and his usual nonchalant attitude that she'd grown to get used to but, she couldn't see it. Instead, he wore a look on his face of determination, almost as if he was trying to convince her to let it go.
And to just accept the title of themselves as a 'couple'.
Paul groaned, "Ash is right, we really don't need any more camera's on us, especially with a Grand Festival and League coming up"
And much to Ash's delight, Dawn agreed too, "Yeah, I mean so we'll fake it for a little bit, no big deal," She blushed a bright red, "H-how bad could it be?"
May saw the flustered expression of her two best friends and took note of the shifting positions of the boys in the room-excluding Drew. After all, all these tabloids have done is what they were too chicken to admit. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing, and maybe somewhere down the line of them 'pretending', they'd realize how they really felt and wouldn't have to pretend anymore.
Things were all going to work out just fine.
She giggled, "Yeah, how bad could it be?" She echoed, speaking her words slowly with a smirk.
Just give it some time, she told herself, they'll come to see this little fiasco as a blessing in disguise.
. . .
But while they were Sinnoh trying to keep things calm, a gym leader in Hoenn wasn't so happy about his little girl dating, three sisters were too busy scavenging for all the information the tabloids could give them, and someone's older brother was too busy laughing at the screen to do a double take.
Hm, May's probably right.
Things were going to work out just fine.
. . .
A/N: Finished chapter 2! It's alittle on the short side but I'm going to admit, I'm kind of rushing. I'm leaving for vacation for a week so don't expect an update during that time, sorry :(
Can anybody guess who I'm referring to in the last little paragraph, it should be pretty obvious haha. And I just wanted to say thanks to all the reviewers for taking so well to this story, I'm loving it!
And as usual sorry if this chapter's a bit messy grammar wise, I read it over twice and it seemed okay so go easy on me for that.
Feedback is definetly welcome!
P.S-A little preview of the next chapter is going to be called 'Telephone' so you guys can just imagine what that's going to be like, hopefully more laughs and romance to come!
R&R
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