Update May 2013: This chapter has been updated and revised from its original version. Past errors have been fixed and adjustments have been made but the plot of the chapter, characters, and events have remained the same.

So, as I was going back and going over all of the reviews that I had to respond to for my last chapter, I noticed that I missed a couple of my old ones as well! I'm so sorry if I ever forgot to respond to your reviews some time before in the past! Please know that this was not intentional and every time was purely an accident! I really mean to respond to all of them. Forgive me :(

Anyways, happy reading, please review!

Responses to Reviews...
Pear-Shaped: Lol, aw, can't Brianna be nice? :)
Sora-May: Hehe, thanks! :)
chocolatehell: Oh my gosh, Gale bugged me SO MUCH in the third book. Lol, I just wanted to tear his head off at some points. Oh well, what's done is done. There's no going back for the third book. Really can't wait for the movie though!
Pokemaster: Don't worry, I plan to write at least 40 chapters if not more. :)
EeveeTransformed: Hahaha, wait and see!
leontinees: May has seen him as a ladies man! Remember Sammi from chapter 1 or 2 and Skyler from prom? :) But Spain is so beautiful! I'd at least like to visit :P
The Last Poison Apple: She will eventually, maybe sooner rather than later. :)
LoveLoverGrl: Haha, I tried to make it as cute as possible! Did I fail? :P
Fprmr1: Yup, jealousy may just be the key. :)
Monochrome13: I think your feeling may be right there!
Chi-Chiwawa: Oh my gosh, I HATED Brianna's obsession with Drew. Waaay too creepy, so I'm just going to leave that out haha. But Gary won't be coming back for another ten chapters or so! Don't worry! :)
Namcitaable: I love Nickelback and the song! Thanks for telling me about it!
Claudette14: How long are we going to keep up this argument? I mean, I'd like it to end if you would just accept the fact that YOU'RE the best and not me! Geez, making things so difficult. :D But yes! Brianna's the unwanted visitor. Gary won't be making an appearance until later on!
FlygonFan: Oh my goodness, I wasn't expecting all that lol! I'll try to incorporate as much as possible!
ElsieLorraine: I noticed that to and I've actually been in the process of going over my story and editing out of the mistakes! Dialogue from two different people in the same paragraph is one of mistakes that I'm fixing! Thanks for pointing it out! :D And about all the guys being after May, that's not true. There's only three after her. The others have their own girlfriends or love interests. Three's the max, I promise. Alec was just a perv. :) But thank you very much for the review and reading my story!
Raine: I'm not going to make her a total bitch. She's always been just an overly obsessive fangirl in my eyes, to be honest. Bitchyness never came across my mind haha. :P
Jace'sVampiress97: Hehehe, spot on about the jealousy. ;D Thanks for everything you said!
FlygonFan: Haha! I'll be sure to keep those names in mind for Absol. Thanks :) And yes! That's always bugged me, too! But people will write what they want to right, we can't do anything about it. :P
OrangesAreAwesome: HAHAHAH! "What's that evil cow doing here?" BAHAHAHA! I just found that so funny, I'm sorry. xD
KK: Haha, only three boys. And one's been staying out of the action. So, she's not getting swamped by many!
P: Thanks! And yum! I love ramen noodles! :D
LAPKat: Same! But then again, I don't like many of the Unova region pokémon because I practically know none of them! I stopped keeping up with pokémon after the Hoenn region. It just became so excessive after that. Pokémon's just not the same as it was for me growing up. I miss the time's when there were only 150 pokémon total. I'm only grateful for the Hoenn region because it gave us Drew and May. :P AND YOU WENT TO CHINA? YOU LUCKY ONE, YOU!
Pelkasauras -Cherry3456: Hehehe! I'm sorry! :D Thank you so much!

Love Unexpected chapter 21

"Charmander, Slash!" Brianna commanded of her reptilian fire-type pokémon.

The small pokémon obliged and ran forth, claws extended before it launched a swipe at its opponent.

"Lillipup, Protect, then use Take Down," May called.

Lillipup did as told, pushing a blue aura out of itself to create an impenetrable shield in the shape of a dome. When Charmander's claws came in contact, they simply slid off of the surface. Then, Lillipup withdrew the shield and charged at its opponent, ramming itself into Charmander's cream-colored belly and sending the fire type skidding backward.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today," May said to Brianna as the timer went off, signaling the end of their practice battle.

"Yeah, thanks—you were beating me there," Brianna replied with a grin. "You weren't kidding when you said you'd get payback today."

"Of course. I never lie," May insisted, smiling playfully and walked over to her backpack to retrieve her bottle of water.

Drew watched the brunette with a disapproving look on his face as she took a sip of the drink.

He could argue with her about what she had just said; she did lie. She had been lying to herself ever since he had told her that he liked her. He knew she felt something for him; she just refused to admit it. Whether it was because she still liked Gary, felt guilty about her situation with Brendan, or some other unknown reason, Drew wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was determined to make her admit it soon.

But he was growing impatient, especially since the brunette had been neglecting him ever since Brianna joined them, which was roughly a little over a week ago. It was great that the two girls were such great friends—he was sure that the brunette would be yearning for some female companionship—but how would he get anywhere with May if she kept ignoring him?

He was willing to wait for her, but a guy could only wait so long. If she kept avoiding him, then he would end up having to wait for nothing. There would be no way in hell for her to admit her feelings if things kept going in the direction that they were going. He had to do something about it soon if he still wanted her.

And he did. He really did.

"Are you guys finished?" he asked, rising from where he sat on a fallen log, and approached the two girls.

Either Brianna or May could've answered the question, but he kept his eyes fixed on the brunette, letting her know that he wanted her to answer him.

May simply glanced at him from the corner of her eye and nodded without removing the water bottle from her lips.

Drew frowned slightly. It wasn't exactly the answer that he had expected; he had wanted a verbal answer. But he supposed it was better than nothing.

"Alright, battle me next, May," he said.

May pulled the bottle of water away from her mouth.

"What? Why?" she asked him.

Short, but at least it was a verbal answer. Drew decided to accept it.

"Because I haven't gotten a chance to train my growlithe with anyone yet," he told her.

"Then battle with Brianna!"

"Oh no, you're not getting me to battle again—I'm hungry. You battle with Drew, I'm getting my food," the redhead inserted before Drew could protest for himself.

Drew silently thanked her in his head as she scampered off with her charmander.

"Well, are you going to battle with me or not?" he demanded, turning his head back to look at May.

"Do I really have to?" May inquired, her face strained and awkward.

When Drew nodded, she sighed and unclipped the PokéBall containing her vulpix and went back to her side of the large field.

Drew smirked and followed suit, going to his.

"It'll only be a short practice battle, May—I promise," he assured her when he noticed that he was still able to see her sulking expression from where he stood.

"Yeah, yeah—I know," she called dismissively with an eye roll. "Let's just get it over with so that I can eat."

Both Growlithe and Vulpix appeared before Drew and May respectively after they were released from their PokéBalls. The first move was launched by Growlithe, who fired out an Ember attack at Vulpix.

Vulpix responded by shooting out a Swift attack that managed to slice through some of the small flames on its way to Growlithe, but some still managed to pass through. Vulpix leapt to the side to avoid them, while Growlithe did the same to evade the stars.

The pokémon both exchanged blow after blow for a good two minutes. They aimed their attacks to inflict damage on one another, but no more than just a simple scratch since it was only practice. A couple of head-on attacks were called, but they always wound up resulting in a draw.

Then again, most of their attacks always wound up in a draw. If there was one thing that needed to be said about the two pokémon, it was that they both seemed to match one another in everything. Attack, defense, speed, accuracy—anything that could be thought of. The only differences between them were their physical appearances and their movesets. Otherwise, they were practically the same pokémon.

"Growlithe, Wild Charge!" Drew called to wrap up the battle.

"Zen Headbutt, Vulpix!" May commanded in response.

Growlithe charged, shrouded in electricity from its head to its tail.

Vulpix focused its willpower into its head and ran ahead.

Making a beeline for one another, the two pokémon darted forward until their heads came in contact. Once they did, they began to shove against one another, trying to get the other to yield. Their efforts resulted in a draw yet again.

"Okay, you two—that's enough," May announced, clapping her hands together to alert the pokémon that the battle was over. "It's time to eat."

Growlithe and Vulpix bounded over to May's side immediately to follow her to the picnic that Brianna had set up while Drew and May battled. Four plates filled with pokémon food were already left off to the side for the pokémon to eat, two of which were already claimed by Charmander and Lillipup. Growlithe and Vulpix didn't hesitate to claim their own.

"Oh, done already?" Brianna asked when she saw Drew and May approaching. "I thought it would've taken longer than that."

"Was it not long enough?" May snapped a little harshly, shooting Brianna a scowl.

To that, the girl simply smiled cheekily and handed the brunette a plate of food. With an eye roll, May accepted it and plopped herself down next to her redheaded friend, whom she nudged playfully.

"It wasn't that long," Drew insisted as he accepted his own plate of food from Brianna. After thanking her, he sat himself down next to May and turned to her. "It only took around three minutes."

"Yeah, but I could've spent those three minutes eating instead."

"You'd rather eat than train your pokémon? Do I need to remind you that there's a contest in Fuchsia in a few days?"

"No, but I was hungry!"

"You're always hungry. Are you ever anything but hungry?" he gibed.

"You're always a jerk. Are you ever anything but a jerk?" she retorted.

"Alright! Enough!" Brianna cried out in irritation, startling both Drew and May and their pokémon. "I've been with you guys for a little over a week now, and all you guys have ever done is bicker! Do you guys ever do anything but bicker? Just hush up and eat your food!"

Drew and May shut up instantly and plowed their food into their mouths.

"And no glaring either!" Brianna reprimanded.

Drew and May diverted their eyes to the ground.

"Good, now finish your food. We're not too far from Fuchsia, so if we set out again after lunch, we might make it there by nightfall," Brianna said, and then paused to examine how her authorative tone had affected Drew and May. Seeing their defeated forms, she turned to the pokémon to flash them a wink. "I'm good, huh?"

All four pokémon gave her a happy chorus of approval. Charmander even gave her two thumbs up.

The meal continued on in mostly silence. Brianna had attempted to get Drew and May to make up with one another halfway into the meal, but when that resulted in another argument between the two, she shushed them again and had them eat the rest of their food in silence.

Brianna didn't understand why the two of them always argued with one another. Where did they find so many things to argue about? When she had first met them, she had thought that they were a lovey dovey young couple traveling with one another. Little did she know, they were about the exact opposite. They bickered constantly and any peaceful times between the two of them were always short lived.

Normally, Drew would be the one to try to cheer May up, but he would end up ticking her off again a few hours later. They were like oil and water; they just didn't mix. Brianna constantly found herself wondering why they even decided to travel with one another in the first place.

Of course, she never asked. She didn't feel right imposing on their personal business, especially since they were so kind as to let her join them on their way to Fuchsia. She figured that if they wanted her to know, one of them would have told her already. It was best to just stay out of their business.

She really did like the two of them, though. May had been such a sweetheart and Drew had been such a gentleman to her since she had joined them. Hopefully, things would work out between the two. Perhaps she could even try to get them together if they weren't already. It was obvious that Drew felt something for May and, even if she refused to admit it, May felt something for Drew as well. She had asked May at one point during their short journey, and May's answer had made it clear that she did.

Whatever it was that was keeping her from admitting it, though, was a mystery. Brianna wondered what it was every day.

"Uh oh," Drew drawled after he finished his plate of food.

Both Brianna and May turned to him with confused expressions on their faces.

"What?" Brianna asked him.

"It's going to rain soon. Look."

Brianna and May looked up to find the clouds moving into the path of the sun, casting a shadow across the open field. The sky itself was taking on a grayish tone, showing that it would in fact rain soon. Judging by the ever darkening color, it would be raining heavily, and for a long time.

May gaped as she swallowed the last bit of her food and set down the empty plate.

"Great, now we're going to be delayed on our way to Fuchsia and the way to get there is going to be all muddy," she groaned.

"There's no helping that now—we can't stop the sky if it wants to rain," Drew told her as he stood up. "Let's just hurry and get our tents set up. We can put the dishes away if we have time before the rain starts."

The four pokémon were withdrawn into their PokéBalls before Brianna, Drew and May began to set up the tents. The three of them figured it would be best to get them out of the way in case the rain were to spontaneously begin to drizzle down. With three fire-types out in the open, it was the best thing to do to avoid them being pelted by something that they were weak against.

After they were gone and out of the way, the coordinators went for their tents. As the sky continued to grow dark, threatening to release rain with every passing minute, the three of them raced to get the structures up. Drew was the first to finish setting up his tent and had went to go help Brianna's with hers first considering the fact that she was almost done.

May, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling greatly with her setup.

"May, stop—you're going to rip your tent if you keep that up," he told the girl as he bound over to her.

Wrapping a hand around her hip, he gently tugged her away from her tent to help her adjust one of the poles.

"What're you doing? Get off me!" May exclaimed.

Blush flew to her cheeks when she felt her back press against Drew's chest and she immediately pried his hand off from her.

"You're not doing it right," Drew insisted, while trying to ignore the pain that her action caused. "I'm just trying to help."

"Why don't you mind your own tent? I'm fine."

"I'm already done."

"Then help Brianna."

"Brianna's done, too."

May growled angrily and prepared to turn her head around to snap at Drew.

"Fine, then find something else to—," she began to say until her speech was cut off when her lips came in contact with Drew's.

May's breath stopped and her heart sped up when she registered what had just happened. Drew stared back at her, equally as shocked. He hadn't realized how close he had had her pressed against him until he felt those soft lips of hers graze his.

How many times since he met her had he dreamt of the moment when his lips would touch hers? He had always wondered where the kiss would take place, what would have led to it, how it would have been. He never thought that it would have happened the way that it did. Certainly not spontaneously in a field when his intention had been to help her set up her tent, not kiss her.

As thrilled as he felt for being able to have felt May's lips for the first time, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Their first kiss was not meant to have happened the way that it did. It was supposed to be so much more romantic, so much more meaningful. It wasn't supposed to be so unexpected, so unintentional on both parts.

And it wasn't supposed to be so brief! He didn't even know if their first kiss qualified as a kiss. It hadn't even lasted two seconds!

He didn't even know if he wanted it to qualify or not.

"I'm fine, just...go help pack up the dishes or something. I'll be fine," May assured him, turning her head to try to mask the emotions being displayed on her face.

Whether or not she was referring to the tent or herself after the kiss, Drew couldn't tell. He simply nodded, despite the fact that she couldn't see, and turned to walk away.

Brianna, having witnessed the whole exchange, but missed the kiss, watched them with concern but said nothing.

The rain ended up being a lot heavier than the three of them had anticipated. It bucketed down onto the world, drenching everything with precipitation within seconds. Luckily, it didn't start until the three coordinators had packed everything up and got into the shelter of their tents.

However, two of them probably wouldn't have minded being caught out in the rain. They would have liked to have the drops wash away the troubling thoughts that were plaguing their mind after the incident.

Brianna fell asleep within seconds after she got herself settled into her sleeping bag, but neither Drew or May had the luxury of attaining slumber so quickly. Drew wiggled around in his sleeping bag, unable to get the memory of his and her accidental kiss out of his mind.

May suffered from the same problem, except the pounding of the rain and the occasional rumbles of lightning had to do with her restlessness as well.

Drew found himself standing before May's tent after he heard her let out a startled yelp when thunder sounded in the distance. The rain managed to drench his head and shoulders even in the short amount of time that it took for him to unzip the opening of the structure and step into it. He peered around the darkness of the interior, searching for May, but her sleeping bag was unzipped and empty.

"May?" he whispered after he zipped the opening back up.

A whimper came in response, and a brunette girl lifted her head to meet his eyes from where she sat huddled in a corner of the tent.

"Oh, May!" Drew gasped and crossed the floor of the tent to get to her.

She didn't even protest when he gathered her into his arms. Instead, she buried herself further into his embrace and shivered against his chest.

It seemed to be a long while until the thunder became just a low rumbling in the distance. By then, Drew's hair had nearly dried completely and May had almost fallen asleep, until she realized that Drew was holding her. She pulled away from him in surprise and drew her knees up to her chest, drawing her arms around them to keep them in place.

"What're you doing in here?" she asked him softly.

Drew appraised her for a moment before answering.

"I heard you scream, so I came to check on you," he told her.

"Oh, okay," May muttered simply, unable to think of a better response.

An awkward silence followed.

Another crash of thunder bellowed throughout the area in which they were currently camping out. It was loud enough that it was able to drown out the scream that May unleashed. Without intention, she flung herself back into Drew's arms, shivering with fright.

His arms immediately went around to embrace her. A whimper could be heard from her as another flash of lightning erupted from outside her tent, illuminating the inside for a moment. In that brief moment, Drew saw her squeeze her eyes shut, and his heart went out to her.

"Shhh," he soothed, hugging her close as she whimpered again as lightning echoed once more. "It's okay."

May lifted her head as she felt Drew's hand wrap around the back of her head, pulling it to his shoulder. She flinched away when her cheek touched the coldness of his damp shoulders. He looked down as she did so, eying her with concern.

History repeated itself at that moment when their eye met. They were suddenly back in Lavender Town, in the Pokémon Center, lying together on May's bed. The world around them fell away, the sound of thunder drowned out. They felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing but each other.

And just like that day, Drew found himself leaning toward her, inching their lips closer and closer together. If only she would just let him kiss her—for real this time—then he would be the happiest guy in the world. If only she would just let him kiss her, and mean it, then they could finally get their relationship started. He could finally pull her into his arms whenever he liked, and not just for times when she needed comfort, or when she was afraid of thunder. He could finally kiss her whenever he liked, and not have to worry about whether or not the kiss meant something. He could finally call her his girlfriend, and not have to yearn for the privilege every day.

But of course, like that day, May pulled away before their lips could even make contact.

Drew was crushed. She had pulled away yet again. How many times would she pull away until she would willingly allow him to kiss her? How many times would she pull away until she would accept him, take him as her boyfriend? How many times would she pull away until she would finally admit to having feelings for him?

"How do you feel about me, May?" he finally asked. "Tell me the truth. I know you feel something for me, but something's holding you back and keeping you from admitting it. Put that something aside and tell me the truth."

He wanted to know—just had to know—what her answer was. Beating around the bush wasn't going to help him anymore; he needed to be straightforward, to confront her head on.

May shook her head stubbornly.

"I don't feel anything," she insisted, trying to convince herself as well as him, but she even had trouble convincing herself, let alone Drew.

Of course he could see through her lie. It was so obvious that she felt something for him; she wouldn't have let them get as far as they had gotten if she didn't. She wouldn't still be in his arms if she didn't. She wouldn't feel so torn if she didn't.

But she couldn't admit it. Why couldn't she admit it?

When the answers came to her, she hated herself.

Gary and Brendan were the reasons. She still knew for a fact that she still had feelings for Gary, so she didn't want to admit her feelings for Drew, because she felt as if she would be cheating them both in some way. And she still felt incredibly guilty about Brendan, so she didn't want to admit her feelings for Drew because she felt like she would be dumping salt on Brendan's wounds. She didn't want to begin anything with Drew if Gary and Brendan were still in the picture, so she would rather lie to him than tell him the truth.

She just didn't realize that the lie was hurting Drew even more than the truth would. Especially since he knew the truth.

"I don't believe you," Drew told her, his voice absolute and sure.

"But I don't!" May cried out. Believe the lie, please believe the lie, she plead in her head. "All I feel is guilt! All along I've been feeling guilt. Guilt for leading you on...guilt for betraying my feelings for Gary...guilt for what I did to Brendan...I...I just..."

Drew shook his head the entire time as she tried to convince him—tried to convince herself—that she was telling the truth. She was lying. Why couldn't she just tell the truth? The entire, honest truth? He knew it, she just needed to come out and admit it. The situation was getting ridiculous. She was hurting them both by lying.

"I'm so sorry, Drew," she finally croaked out. "I'm so sorry."

Burying her head into his shoulder, she began to shake her head. She hated herself so much.

The thunder and lightning were the only things that filled the silence after that.

Some time as she cried her eyes out, May had drifted to sleep. Drew held her to himself the entire time, smoothing down her hair in an attempt to soothe them both. It worked for May, but not for him. It would take a lot more than that.

He eventually carried her over to and tucked her into the sleeping bag when he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Then, with extreme care, he moved her hair away from her face and pressed his lips to her cheek before he went to sleep on the floor as far away from her as the tent would allow.

At least that kiss was meaningful and intentional, he thought to himself bitterly, his back facing her.

His aching heart kept him awake for hours until the sound of the dying rain lulled him to sleep.

Author's Note: ...tear. :'( I got pretty choked up as I was editing this chapter. I'll try to make the next chapter more cheerful. Hope you enjoyed, please review. :)