Update June 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.

Responses to Reviews...
Pokemaster13: You were shoveling snow? And at one in the morning? Holy crap! And I thought that getting rain where I am now was bad! The weather's so bipolar where I am. One day, it's super warm. The next, it's really cold. I tcan't make up it's mind. :\
EeveeTransformed: Lol, sorry. I thought about making Drew catch it, but what are the odds of a couple catching both the bouquet and garter? Besides, I thought it would be fun to makeGary catch the garter. With the superstition involved with the garter and bouquet, I thought it'd be a fun way to get some Brunetteshipping in before the climax. ;D
SpikEarPichu'sTrainer: Lol, I left you a review. :)
Claudette14: Questshipping's Marina and Jimmy! I just like the idea of them, so I put them as my third favorite since I couldn't think of another shipping that I liked. xD I'll be sure to check that out sometime soon! And yes, Drew's jealous. Let's get some May jealousy in here, too, eh?
BittersweetSienna: I just like the idea of them as a couple, but since I like Contestshipping better and this is a Contestshipping fic, I made them best friends instead. :p
xDragonairx: I loved Misty! Especially the Misty Lure and her mallet! Funniest times ever! And yup! Including this chapter, there are twelve chapters left! Being ill really is a pain. I stillhave a sore throat. :\
Pear-Shaped: Why thank you! That's very kind of you to say! :D And thanks for the wish for my throat. Unfortunately, it still hurts. :\ Don't worry about Gary and May. This is a Contestshipping fic, after all. :D
Citra-sama: Hahaha, what is it with everyone and Leaf and Gary? :p
SunshineTails: Hehe, I love protective friends! Not overprotective, though, of course. :) And yes, Drew is a sweetheart! And Gary is, too! Gary supporters are not going to like what I have in store for him. :( I'm glad you're starting to love Brunetteshipping because I certainly do!
The Last Poison Apple: Lol, you'll see what I'm going to do soon. ;D
chocolatehell: Lol, yeah. I'm saving the bloodshed for Absol. ;D Sorry that you didn't get to go to prom! I absolutely love dark chocolate. It apparently helps with sugar cravings, too, so that's a win-win. I agree! Everyone reaches their boiling point once in a while, even the civil ones. You'll see what happens, though. Drew may or may not be the one to lose it. :)
Fprmr1: Lol, I'm sorry, but I really can't bring myself to include many Leaf cameos! Maybe it's because she was never in the anime, so I have a hard time characterizing her! She's going to have an important role near the end, though!
dorkyreader859: Hahaha, I was laughing while I was writing it! My dog was giving me weird looks, too!
101berrycake: It's spelled 'bouquet'. I didn't really want to make her catch it because she isn't a major character in this story. And plus, she was never in the anime so I have trouble characterizing her. She's going to play a big role near the end, though, I promise. :)
LoveLoverGrl: Mehhhhhh! :P
LAPKat: Brunetteshipping ftw! Lol, just kidding, then where would Contestshipping be? xD Don't convert! Just put one foot on each ship and be a two-timer shipper! Lol, just don't two-time in real life. That's very bad! xD And maybe she is! I just did it for the sake of some conflict in this story. :p
Sora-May: What is with everyone in Leaf? You guys all seem to like her more than May. To be honest, I've never really given her much thought because she was never in the anime. :p
FlygonFan: I actually never saw any of the Sinnoh episodes! I only saw a few scenes from random episodes. Haha, well, I still didn't see the need to put them in. I have enough minor characters as it is. :P Sorry, but the wedding is over! I didn't see the point in extending it past two chapters. Thanks for the lullaby! I used to sing that all the time when I was a little kid! Unfortunately, Solidad's cameos are over for now, hah.
leontinees: Sorry to hear! :\ And yes! He has matured! He's not the arrogant grasshead that he made himself out to be in the beginning! Well, maybe he still is, but it's only a little bit. xP
Blademon: Where did you get the idea that they like him more than Drew? Lol, maybe they don't. ;D
shanafan. sapphire21: I actually understand those two Japanese words without the use of Google Translator! Success! :D
Jace'sVampiress97: HAHAHAHHA! I got him to shake his head? Successss. :D I'm feeling a lot better, thanks! If only the pain in my throat would go away... And haha, I was going to say, I swear I respond to every single review! xD

Love Unexpected chapter 29

Snow sprinkled down onto the streets of Vermillion City as the coldness that hung in the air bit at people's exposed skin. May giggled as she polished the gold center of her newly acquired contest ribbon, the cold air making a ghost of her breath. It was the most recent addition to her collection after winning it two days ago, bringing her ribbon count up to four.

Lillipup and Vulpix were the ones to thank for the victory, and she couldn't be more proud of them. Her boots left a pattern of footprints in the light layer of snow as she practically skipped down the sidewalk of a large shopping center in the city.

"Well, aren't you happy?" Drew grumbled as he walked alongside her, the shopping bags in his hand that he had to carry for her crunching against his leg.

"Of course I am! I finally beat you in a contest battle!" May laughed. "You've rubbed your victories against me in my face more than enough times—it's my turn now."

"What are you talking about? I don't rub my victories in your face!"

"What am I talking about?" May scoffed as she closed her ribbon case and put it back in her bag. "What are you talking about? You always rub them in my face! Don't you think that I should be given a turn to do it to you?"

Drew snorted and grabbed her gloved hand with his free hand.

"You're lucky that I find you adorable," he remarked, a soft smirk played on his lips. "I'll just let you enjoy the one time that you actually managed to beat me. We don't know when the next time will be."

May harrumphed, but slid the arm of her free hand through his just the same.

"I already beat you once—I could easily do it again, you know," she told him.

"So confident," he teased. "You do know that I was just holding back, right? The next time we battle against one another, it won't be so easy."

"Sure, sure. You're just saying that because you're a sore loser."

"That's always better than being a stuck-up winner, Maple," he retorted, putting extra emphasis on her surname just to get a rise out of her.

"It takes one to know one, Hayden," she shot back, grinning at him before she stuck out her tongue.

Drew laughed at the childish gesture. Then, he pulled her in to nuzzle the side of her head with his nose before changing the subject.

"Did you get all of your Christmas shopping done yet?" he asked her. "We're headed back home tomorrow morning."

"Almost done. I just need to find Marina's gift. What do you think I should get her?" she replied as her eyes scanned the row of shops in the shopping center. "I feel like she'll only want clothes or jewelry."

Drew shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you get her a charm for that charm bracelet that you guys always wear?"

"Our PokéBalls are supposed to be the charms—there won't be any room left if we put a charm on them."

"Oh. Well, then I'm at a loss. Marina and I weren't exactly extremely close friends—I wouldn't know what she would like."

May hummed thoughtfully as the area in between her eyebrows creased in thought. Swinging her and Drew's interlocked hands between her, she continued to scan the shops. Once something in the window of a boutique caught her eye, she tugged on Drew's hand.

"I think she'd like that," she said, while pointing at the jacket that a mannequin donned. "Let's go in."

"Sure. Let's hurry, though—I think some stores are going to close in about an hour."

May nodded and led Drew to the boutique. As soon as she pushed open the glass the door, a rush of warm air hit their faces, followed by a whiff of citrusy musk fragrance.

A young female store employee immediately came up to them. The name tag pinned above her left breast read "Miley" in black font.

"Good evening!" she greeted cheerfully, despite the late hour. "Can I help you two with anything?"

"Yeah. Do you guys have that jacket that the mannequin's wearing?" May asked her, while pointing her thumb in the direction of the mannequin.

Miley lifted her head to get a better look at said jacket. Once she did, she turned back to May with a smile and nodded.

"I think we still have a few more in stock. They're over here," she informed, and then gestured for May and Drew to follow her.

May smiled at Miley and pulled Drew along as she followed the burgundy-haired girl. She led them to the women's section of the store, passing tables with stacks of neatly folded shirts and racks of fancy sweaters.

Some pieces caught May's eye, but she refrained from wandering over to them in fear that she would be tempted to buy them. She had already spent more than enough money after doing all of her Christmas shopping. If she spent anymore, her wallet would undoubtedly suffer long-term damage from the chunk taken out of it.

"Ah, here we go," Miley said as she came up to the rack of fleece-lined jackets. "Here's the jacket that you wanted. We also have it in brown and black if you don't like the burnished red color. Is there anything else I could help you two with?"

"We're good for now, thank you," May told her.

After exchanging a polite smile with May, Miley nodded and took her leave to assist another customer in the shop.

May let go of Drew's hand to take a better look at the jackets, taking the leather material of a brown one into her hand.

Drew hung back as she did so, his eyes aimlessly wandering around the shop to keep himself occupied. He shifted the shopping bags in his right hand to his left to give his right hand a break.

"You're free to wander around if you want to," May said, as if sensing his boredom. She turned her head around to smile at him. "You don't have to stand there and wait."

Drew smiled and took a step forward to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Alright. Come get me when you're ready," he instructed, and then went off to wander around.

May turned her attention back to the rack of leather jackets after watching Drew head off to the men's section. She pushed through the few jackets hanging on the rack, picking out one of each color in Marina's size. Holding the three jackets in her hand, she headed over to the nearest mirror, which she found standing beside a display table.

After shedding her own coat and placing it on the table, she tried each one on to see which one suited her best. Marina usually looked good in anything that she wore, so May decided that she would try on the jackets before giving one to her friend. Whichever one looked best on her would be the one that she would ultimately buy.

After determining that the brown jacket looked best on her, May brought the other two jackets back over to the rack and put them back. She let the one that she chose hang on her forearm as she headed over to the men's section to find Drew. She eventually found him standing by a rack of men's jackets and snuck up to him from behind. However, he didn't even flinch when she wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Find anything you like?" she asked, while allowing him to slip his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, I like these jackets, but they don't have my size," he murmured. After placing the jacket that he held in his hand back on the rack, he led her away from the rack. "Did you find Marina's jacket?"

"Yep, it's right here. How about I go pay for it real quick and meet you at the door?"

Drew nodded and allowed May to slip out from under his arm. He found his way to the door through the store and decided on a spot by a display table to wait.

Shoppers walked by the store front outside, leaving behind their footprints in the snow. Some glanced into the shop to take a look at the displays before looking away. Others took a bit longer to look away when they noticed him standing by the door. They murmured to their friends as they passed, recognizing him as Andrew Hayden, the famous coordinator. A few girls even squealed as they took in his good looks and suppressed the urge to barge into the door to ask for his autograph.

He tried not to pay them any mind as he waited for May by looking away.

A gust of cold air rushed in as the door of the boutique opened and was forced back out after the door closed. A girl clad in a dark green coat strode in, her cheeks rosy from the cold weather and burgundy hair spotted with flakes of snow. She gave Drew a curious look, and he eyed her back just as curiously, wondering why she seemed so familiar.

After registering who he was, a brilliant smile broke across her face and her dark brown eyes began to twinkle with excitement.

"Drew! I thought it was you when I saw you in the window!" she exclaimed happily.

"Sammi?" Drew asked, his tone confused as if he weren't entirely sure if it were her. "Is that you?"

"Oh, come on! We haven't seen each other in six months and you already can't recognize me? I'm not that easy to forget, am I?"

Drew laughed and flicked his bangs away from his eyes after recognizing the girl from school. "No, it just took a bit longer to recognize you underneath that thick scarf."

"I just love that little hair flick that you do," the girl giggled, her voice nearly a purr. Then, she pulled the scarf off her head and made a show of shaking out her hair. "I know—it's so thick. I wish I didn't have to wear it, but with this weather, I'd get hypothermia if I didn't."

"Well, then you should probably put it back on then. It is pretty cold out there."

"Oh, but I don't mind. It's the perfect cuddle weather," Sammi insisted, her voice still a purr. "So, what have you been up to, Drew? I hear you've been traveling around the Kanto region."

"Yeah, I have. Just been traveling around and participating in contests."

"Really? How fun. Are you traveling with anyone?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend, May," Drew replied with a proud smile.

As Sammi's face noticeably fell at his words, May came up to Drew's side and took his hand.

"I'm ready to go," she told him, completely ignorant of Sammi's presence.

"Hi, May!" Sammi exclaimed, her face and voice oozing pseudo enthusiasm to mask the fact that she was more than displeased to find that May Maple was the May that Drew was dating. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Sammi?" May inquired, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to determine if the girl standing before her was really who she thought it was. Upon recognition, she gave a shaky laugh. "Hi...I didn't expect to see you in the Kanto region."

"Yes, well, my family and I came to stay with my sister and her husband at their house in the city. I was just coming in here to take her home."

May shifted uncomfortably after noticing the obvious disdain in Sammi's eyes after she eyed her and Drew's intertwined hands. The grasshead didn't seem to notice, though, even when she brought the hateful gaze back up to May's face.

"Well, we should be getting going now. We have a ferry to catch tomorrow morning," May said hurriedly, and began to drag Drew to the door. "Nice seeing you again! Happy holidays!"

"Bye," Sammi said in a clipped tone before converting it back into a purr. "Bye, Drew."

"Bye, Sammi. Happy holidays!" the guy said, and followed May out of the door, completely oblivious to the final glare that Sammi shot at May.

"Well, that's the last of them. I packed every single present into my suitcase, so we won't have to worry about them tomorrow morning," May said after closing the lid of her suitcase.

Standing up on the plush bed, she took the handle of the suitcase and slid it off so that it rested on the ground. Then, she leapt off the mattress as well and began to walk to the bathroom.

"I'm just going to go brush my teeth and be right back, 'kay?" she told Drew.

"May," he called before she could get any closer to the bathroom. "What's wrong? You've been acting weird all night."

The brunette turned to him, an innocent smile on her face as if she had no clue what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him. "I haven't been acting weird."

"Yes, you have. You've been acting weird ever since we ran into Sammi," her boyfriend accused, hitting the mark. "Why is that?"

May sighed and walked back to the bed, seeing no more point in denying the fact if he already knew it. She plopped herself back down beside her, tucking one foot beneath her, while letting her other leg hang off the side.

"I just didn't like how she was flirting with you, that's all," she admitted. "I wasn't comfortable with it."

Drew blinked in surprise as the idea dawned on him. It took until May pointed it out for him to realize that Sammi had, in fact, been flirting with him. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"You don't have to worry about that—I didn't flirt back. I only have eyes for you," he assured her, backing up his words with a comforting rub across the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Then, why was she looking at me like that? She looked at me like I stole something from her."

"Ah...did she really?" he asked, surprised at himself for not having noticed the hostile glare that Sammi had given May.

He refrained from saying anymore, deeming it unnecessary if May didn't push the issue any further. But she did.

"Is there something that I don't know about you two?" she inquired.

"We went out a few times at the beginning of the school year," Drew admitted, deciding to be honest with her. "But it was nothing big. We never dated."

May looked uneasy. She never knew that Drew had gone out with Sammi before. It bugged her, even with the fact that they never dated. She knew that she had a lot of competition if she had a boyfriend like Drew, but she didn't like to face that fact when she didn't have to. The encounter with Sammi forced her to do so, and she told Drew just that when he asked her if she was okay.

"You have nothing to worry about, May. I've only had eyes for you since the first time I saw you, and you know that. I just went out with Sammi because I wanted someone to take my mind off of you because I thought that you would never give me the time of day," he admitted. "We kissed once, and that was it. Once I realized that no girl could take my mind off you, I called the whole thing off before we could go any further."

"Why'd you think that?" May asked, confused.

"Well, you weren't exactly that fond of me at the beginning, and I guess I have myself to blame for that," Drew responded with a lighthearted chuckle as he glanced down. He met her eyes again after the moment that he took to gather up the courage to say what he was going to say next. "I thought that you would never give me the time of day because Max told me that you were in love with Gary."

May's mouth opened, but no words came out as she took in his words. She could only get a few words to form once she found her voice again.

"He told you that?" she peeped.

Drew only nodded, choosing to remain silent to see what she had to say next.

"I...was...at that time," she struggled to say after a while. "I liked him for a while. A long time, actually, up until the week that we began traveling together. That's when my feelings for him began to waver. That was the first time that I began to question my feelings for him."

"Why?"

May eyed him incredulously, as if she were asking him if he really had to ask, but she answered his question just the same.

"Because you came into the picture," she confessed. "You made me confused, and I didn't know how I felt about either of you. That's why it took so long for me to admit my feelings for you. Because I wanted to be sure of how I felt about one of you."

Drew felt his mouth grow dry as he listened to her words. "Do you still feel anything for him now?"

"No! Absolutely not! I don't feel anything anymore!" she exclaimed, rushing to get the words out. "Have you been thinking that this entire time?"

"To be honest, yes," he admitted, and then lifted a hand to silence her before she could say anything. "Hear me out first," he told her, and she quieted. "It's only natural that I worry about that. I've never done this before, so it scares me. I'm not saying this to gloat or anything, but I've honestly never had to worry about whether or not a girl liked me or not. I've had past girlfriends, but all of them pursued me, and it was me who broke up with them whenever I felt as if our relationship wasn't going anywhere.

"I never had to worry about whether or not my girlfriend still had feelings for someone else. I never had a girlfriend who was in love with someone else around the same time that she began to date me. I was always sure about how my girlfriends felt about me, but with you, it's different. Everything's different with you."

"Why are you waiting until now to tell me all of this?" May asked, eying him with so much compassion that her eyes smoldered. Then, she leaned in to wrap her arms around his neck as she nestled into his lap. His arms automatically went around her. "Aw Drew, I didn't know that you were still worrying about my feelings for Gary! If I'd known, I would've told you a long time ago that I don't feel anything for him anymore. It's only you now."

Drew's shoulders lifted and fell as he chuckled. Relief flooded him through him after hearing her words.

"Glad to hear," he said. He planted a kiss on her forehead, feeling the affection he had for her fluttering in his stomach. "It's good to have the reassurance."

May smiled and pulled away from him in order to cup his face in her hands.

"From now on, if you ever feel even the slightest bit uneasy about anything in our relationship, I want you to tell me, okay? Don't keep it to yourself. I need to know these things," she told him, and then leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips.

Once she pulled away, she dropped her hands to her side.

"You're so silly," she giggled after returning the smile that he was giving her, and then lifted her hands again to poke his sides.

Drew tensed up under her touch and shifted so that she was out of his lap.

May eyed him with confusion and leaned forward to poke him again to see if she would get the same reaction, but he caught her wrists.

"Don't," he said warningly before dropping her wrists.

May's lips twitched upward as she realized what his reaction meant.

"Why not? You're not ticklish are you?" she asked him. Her fingers quickly flew to give him a quick tickle before he could stop her just so she could test her theory.

Sure enough, he jumped slightly before backing away from her some more.

But what they both didn't expect was for him to fall off the edge of the bed.

Laughter erupted from May's mouth before she could stop herself. She peered over the side of the bed as she clutched her stomach, tears oozing out of her eyes.

"You're ticklish!" she cried. "Oh my Arceus, I can't believe you're ticklish!"

Drew glared at her from where he sat on the floor. "Don't laugh at me! You're ticklish, too!"

"Yeah, but you're Andrew Hayden! This is too good!" she exclaimed in between laughs, and then leapt off the bed. She suppressed her laughter for a moment after seeing him pout.

"Aw, are you okay?" she cooed as she leaned toward him. "I'm sorry. Let me kiss you to make up for it."

Drew snorted and rolled his eyes, but lifted his head just the same to allow her to kiss him.

However, she didn't. She simply turned her head before their lips came in contact and tickled his ribs one more time, causing him to fall to the ground. Her laughter followed her as she bolted away.

"I got you so good!" she called without looking back. "Excuse me while I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth—I need something to distract me before I pee my pants!"

May continued to laugh as she jogged to the desk in their room at the Pokémon Center. After grabbing her toothbrush and towel, she skipped over to the bathroom.

Drew glared at her the entire time and followed her movements with his eyes, while he pushed himself off the floor. He crept up to her just before she got the bathroom door open.

May let out a small oof as Drew suddenly grabbed her hips and gently shoved her against the wall beside the bathroom door.

"You're paying for that one, you little minx," he murmured into her ear as he slid his arms around her waist. Then, he dipped her back and slid a leg behind her knees, hoisting her up against his chest and carrying her to the bed.

"Drew, no! Don't!" she begged as he threw her on the bed and climbed over her. "Please, don't!"

"Too late now! You should've thought of this before you decided to tease me!" Drew told her, smirking as his fingers successfully made contact with her stomach, despite how she tried to block it with her arms.

He danced them all over her body as if he were typing words on a keyboard. He tickled her to the edge of oblivion while she gasped and shrieked for him to stop.

But he never did, and she continued to writhe underneath him. He kept tickling her, even when he grew out of breath from all of the laughter. May felt like she would die if he didn't stop soon.

"Stop!" she shrieked in between her laughs. "Andrew, stop!"

Drew paused momentarily as his full name escaped May's lips.

"What'd you just call me?"

"Andrew," May answered, after taking in a shaky breath.

He hummed thoughtfully. "You should call me that more often."

May's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she lifted her head to get a better look at him. "Why? I thought you told me that you wanted to be called Drew."

"That was before you became my girlfriend. I like the way it rolls off your tongue now."

"But it's a mouthful."

"You didn't have a problem with saying it just then."

"It slipped," she insisted. "But I guess I could call you that from now on if you want. What are you going to call me then?"

Drew thought for a moment. Then, he grinned. "How about Maybear?"

May glared at him. "How do you want to die?"

"Okay, okay, not Maybear," he chuckled, and then brought himself down so that he was supporting his weight with his elbows. He pecked her lips. "How about 'baby'? It'll work until I can think of something better."

"You know, I actually really like that," May said, humming thoughtfully as she took in the name. She always thought it was cute if a guy referred to his girlfriend by such a name. "Stick with it."

"Really?"

May nodded as she wrapped her arms around him. "Yep, I like it. Call me that from now on and I'll forever refer to you as 'Andrew'," she said with a smile.

Drew laughed.

"Alright," he agreed, and then leaned down to press his lips to hers again. He kissed her for a moment before he finally got the courage to bring his lips away to say what he had been wanting to say for a while.

"I love you," he declared.

May paused for a moment to look into his eyes as if to test his sincerity. She waited for the urge to bolt to enter her body, but all she felt was a pleasant fluttering in her belly. She felt incredibly fuzzy and warm after hearing him declare his love for him.

It was then that she realized that she felt the same way, and that she had just been waiting for him to say those three words to her. She had been wanting to say them to him, too.

Drew held his breath the entire time until she finally opened her mouth again.

"I love you, too," she said with a smile, and then brought his lips back down to hers.

Author's Note: D'aww! xD I had so much fun writing this chapter! I was itching to write the part where they tell each other that they loved one another. How sweet! And I totally skipped from summer to winter, I know. :P

Do you guys remember Sammi? Congrats to those who did! She made the tiniest of tiny cameos all the way back in chapter two! I don't like her, do you guys? Luckily, she's not turning up again. I just thought I'd bring her back as a way to lead into the conversation that Drew and May have needed to have for the longest time.