Spitfire, Chapter 7: Nothing

When she first got a call from Ash, she had a swirl of emotions hit her all at once, joy, sadness, frustration, and anger. It took almost everything she had to respond cheerfully into her gear, and Ash's oblivious happiness only made it twice as difficult. He finally called, but not just to ask how her journey was going, but to invite her to his victory party—she was glad, just a little...disappointed? May remembered scrunching her face up while hanging up the phone.

The conversation between her and Ash was short, he mentioned needing to call a few more people, and sounded a bit off..like he was depressed, or something else? She couldn't put her finger on it without seeing his face. Plus, the gear added an unnecessary amount of static during calls that didn't help.

As she tucked away her phone, she looked up to the harsh sky of the Hoenn region, and let out a loud sigh. Then with a huff, May brushed her hand through her brown hair, and left it there for a moment, thinking. She had left almost three years ago now, onto her own journey to Johto—then she would go to Sinnoh, and then to Hoenn, where she was now. Her hair was still pinned back by a bandana, and her orange, skintight shirt was dirty but it passed as wearable. It was becoming mandatory to shower before entering into contests, otherwise, she would stink up the stadium.

She needed a shower pronto, but knew it would have to wait. Excitement filled into her chest. Ash won finally! Suddenly, she felt giddy.

"Hey, Max." She called, turning on her heels. Regardless of whether they always got along or not, the siblings decided to travel together anyways.

"What is it May?" he called from the small stream they were nearby. May dipped and darted around some trees, having become proficient in the ways of the forest, and stopped by her brother, and placed her hands on her knees.

"Ash just called." She said sweetly, and Max hopped up, excited.

"Did he call to say he finally wanted to battle?!" Max hoped, but May shook her head, clearly not seeing his disappointed look. She offered him her excitement instead.

"He won in the Kalos League. He's inviting us to a celebration party back in Pallet Town! Could be fun, what do you say?" She stuck out her hand to Max, who was currently working on gym badges in Hoenn, just as Ash did at one point. He stuck up his arms in excitement, clearly the same height Ash had been when he traveled through Hoenn.

"Of course! Then I can finally challenge him to battle me!" he thought for a moment, and then gave a wicked grin, letting the light flash into his glasses.

"If he loses, does that mean I get his title?"

"Only if he loses with the party that he used to win in the first place." May spoke quickly, shooting down her brothers ideas whilst sweat dropping at his insistent nature. Max let out an annoyed huff, but quickly recovered.

"From here, Pallet town is only a couple days walk, right?" he questioned while looking at the trail by the stream. He took out their map, and flipped it a couple of times. May watched it carefully, her face screwing up as he turned it upside down.

"Max." She tried, but he wouldn't hear it. Instead, he rattled off information about the velocity of the wind that would guide them to Pallet town.

"Max." She tried again, growing in frustration as he continued riddling more navigation properties off. Her fingers and mouth were twitching when the smooth voice of a new traveling companion broke the duos one sided conversation as he reached down and snatched the map from Max's fingers.

"We're lost." he snipped, and May gestured towards him with one hand on her hip.

"Thank you, Drew!"

–

One day, four hours later, three wrong turns and a hillslide down—they finally located the road leading back into the Viridian City town center.

May watched with disbelief and sparkle in her eye. She held her hands up to her face, as if she were praying and smiled widely at the bright lights. They all looked ravished and dirt trodden, but relieved. Max even went so far as to lay down against the dirt, practically kissing the soil they landed on. Drew didn't make any immediate remarks; he had a reputation to withhold, but he was just as eager to be out of the thick of the forest as anyone. He didn't say it, but he was smiling. He sighed happily, and then lead the group of weary travelers into the Viridian City Pokemon Center, to rest for the night.

If the four hour trek through the forest didn't give May enough time to think, the eight hour sleep did. She was exhausted surely enough, her muscles turned spastic each time she moved, and she couldn't get her mind off visiting Ash.

Low and behold, she wasn't able to watch the final Kalos match. She had been traveling too often, and couldn't stay in one place long enough. Evidently, she had no idea who Serena was, or anything about her, unlike the unfortunate Misty. So, she had little to worry about in regards to Ash's heart being stolen or not.

So, her lack of sleep was for another reason entirely.

In fact, it was arguably the two other bodies in her bed.

"I can't believe Nurse Joy didn't have one other place to sleep!" She whined all of a sudden, startling Max who was asleep.

"Going to beat...Ash..."He huffed, and then passed back out without a care—he obviously didn't understand how uncomfortable this was! May glared at him and then sighed as she lay her head back down. She pulled on her covers, which was met with intense rebuttal.

"Don't take all the blankets." Drew huffed in return, sleeping on the other side of Max.

May as cranky, tired, and to top it all off, in the mix-match of the forest, they had fallen into a river, forcing their sleeping bags to get soaked, as well as all of their other items. Not only were they still sleeping in their filth, they were also huddled on a single twin size bed, to boot. With a single blanket barely wide enough to cover the trio.

The pokemon center was packed, to say the least, and the discomfort was the least of their problems, but damn, it was awful.

"Stop whining, you should be happy to let a lady have the blanket." She bickered, pulling on the blanket, taking most of it from Drew. When the cold air hit him, shivers ran down his spine, and he pulled it back.

That blanket tug-o-war went on for about an hour until both were so physically exhausted they both lay half uncovered.

May's blue eyes were half dazed from sleep deprivation, and Drew's green ones were wet with sleep. They would have to be up in three hours, and then start the six hour journey to Pallet Town. And yet, neither could sleep.

"I need a shower..." May croaked, to which Drew scoffed.

"You and me both." He chuckled, making May sigh. She glanced back down at her brother once again, and then gave a soft smile. To be young and free—and without a care.

All she had was care; past the immediate want of sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about Ash. How he invited him herself, which was rare—usually his mom did the inviting. Her face flushed thinking about him, and she rolled over; pressing her eyes shut.

She was going to show him how much she had improved since facing Dawn in Sinnoh! ...but she also had the impending doom that she wasn't the only person that Ash invited. Misty would definitely be there, but she liked Misty the few times she met her; she might have even looked up to her as a type of sister. May flushed, she had a problem turning people into idols. Changing her thought; she figured Dawn would be there as well. She wanted a rematch with Dawn, so she was counting on it.

She laid there, thinking of her rivals until eventually, the slow drift of sleep took her.

–

They were up and out of bed in ten seconds flat—thirty minutes before 6 a.m. Unlike her time spent with Ash; May, Max, and Drew prided themselves on being early risers. They were up early, and slept early. Today was a very special case, however—waking up before all of the other trainers so that they could make it to the showers and wash their laundry before any of the other pokemon trainers even thought to wake up.

Thanks to the new-tech washers, their clothes were clean in ten minutes; and they had showered in five.

May stepped out feeling recharged. She wore back tights, a red, skin tight shirt, and a white skirt. Her hair was pulled back into a matching white bandana with a pokemon symbol on it; and her gloves were black and white as well. She stretched happily.

"I love being clean!" She cheered, which Max followed up with "Me too!" And then ran to get his pokemon from Nurse Joy. He had caught four pokemon just on the journey here—bragging rights, because it took Ash three times longer just to catch one. May watched her brother was a glint in her eye, and placed her hands on her hips happily.

Max was dressed in a pair of tan shorts and a light green shirt. Even though he was older now, his clothing choices didn't change much from when he was seven. She scratched her nose, giddy once again now that her shower was out of the way.

Max traveled from the station to his sister and held out the four new pokeballs he had used to capture the pokemon. Drew watched from a distance, and made his way toward the duo after packing up their formerly wet sleeping bags and gear. He was dressed in a simple pair of black jeans, and a long sleeved gray shirt. As he walked, his hands were tucked into his pockets while he looked at the Kanto region map on the wall; he pointed his finger at Pallet town, garnering the siblings attention.

"If we leave now, we'll be there a little after noon."

–

And so here the group was, standing in front of Ash, Brock, Misty, and Serena.

"Man, you guys must have left Viridian City a little after we did. We only got here about an hour ago!" Brock chimed as Max, Drew and May funneled into the small house, letting their bags hit the floor with a relieved thud.

"Oh gosh, Max! Look at how you've grown!" Misty spoke quickly, amazed at Max's height. Max rubbed his nose confidently. Misty rubbed his blue hair with a grin; stomping out his pride. He huffed, and glanced at Ash.

"You should see my pokemon team." He grinned, pumping Ash up.

"Heck yeah! Let's have a battle!" Ash shouted, making everyone in the living room face palm. Misty waved her hand in front of Ash, stopping him and then grinned at Max.

"Misty!" May cheered, quickly hugging the gym leader and interrupting her conversation. She half squealed in excitement, startling the water pokemon trainer, but then Misty retaliated with a sharp laugh.

"How have you been May! It's been awhile." May nodded to Misty and grinned. "I stopped in before leaving to Hoenn, it hasn't been that long." She retorted, and Misty raised an eyebrow.

"That could hardly be counted as visiting. You stayed for like ten seconds and then left."

"A day is not ten seconds! You're just bored sitting at that dull gym all day!"

"it's not dull!" Misty added, and soon enough, they were all chatting, Brock was enveloped talking with Drew about how they crossed the threshold of hell to get here as fast as they did, and Max and Ash had literally stepped out of the house to have a battle. It quickly became a clique-y reunion and the only person not invited was young Serena, sitting quietly on the couch, picking at the hem of her dress.

–

She didn't stare up at the door, she didn't want to appear left out if someone had noticed her. If anything, she wanted someone to see her, and include her. It would be rude to invite herself. And so she sat quietly, twiddling her thumbs, and stealing glances at the group.

Serena didn't know what she expected from the meeting. She half expected Ash to introduce her, but that was a naïve thought she wouldn't flirt with. He didn't acknowledge that people didn't already know her, and he went off to do his own business... forgetting her. Serena sighed sadly, running her right hand over her short locks of hair. She missed Delia, who had stepped outside to fetch the kids from Professor Oak's. At least Delia made her feel welcome.

The room felt too tight, and she could hardly breath in her dress. She pulled on the collar of her shirt, hanging her head low when Misty's voice rang out.

"Hey, come meet someone." She heard Misty say over the suddenly loud room; Serena's eyes widened, and she slowly turned her head to watch Misty take one of May's hands, and then walk her over to the couch Serena was seated on.

"This is Serena, she's Ash's new traveling companion. There's also Bonnie and Clemont—but they haven't returned from Professor Oak's with Delia, so I haven't met them yet, either." Misty smiled sweetly, and May gave her a look of appreciation.

"Oh, they won't be back until the party starts then." Apparently, everyone knew about Oak's habit of talking too much. May smiled at Serena, and took a seat beside her—Misty remained standing.

"I love your outfit, you look like a doll. Especially the ribbon; it's a nice touch!" May clapped her hands together as Serena touched her ribbon carefully.

"Thank you, my boyfriend gave it to me." Serena replied, and Misty's eyes bugged out; as if screaming "don't lead with that!", while at the same time amazed that Ash knew how to give gifts. She face palmed, noticing May tense up right away, but only for a moment.

"Oh, that's neat. Must be a lucky guy!" She grinned. "I'm May, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, as well." Serena replied sweetly but there were no hand shakes as there had been between Serena and Misty. "You're the girl that Ash traveled with through Hoenn, right?" Serena asked.

"That's right. In fact, I just came back from there, I'm trying to re-do my competitions to improve my skills!" May appeared to be enjoying the conversation, probably because she had spent so much time around boys that she was losing her mind. Misty remembered that feeling when she traveled with Brock and Ash. Misty relaxed a bit, and then sat down on the coffee table, crossing one leg over the other. If she was acting so coolly, maybe May already knew then, that Ash and Serena were dating. Misty worried over nothing.

"A coordinator? I compete in pokemon show casing." This sparked Misty's interest and she sat up.

"Like modeling with your pokemon? They do that in Kalos?" She she seemed stunned by the news, and Serena merely blinked at her.

"Yes, is that not a thing in Kanto?" Misty and May both shook their head, and then May grinned.

"That explains why you're so pretty then. I wanted to compete in one during my time in Sinnoh, but I just never managed to get the time to." May replied, looking between misty and Serena, whist causing Serena to blush hard. May was very kind, the opposite of Misty who's kindness was like a doubled sided sword. Serena couldn't read Misty, but May seemed genuine.

Misty tucked her hands into her pockets with a developed grin. "My sisters would lose their mind at the idea. I have to make it my life goal to be sure they never hear about show casing." She made a face, and Serena giggled.

"They're pretty difficult. We don't have judges, it's based on who the crowd likes the most."

Misty glanced at May, who stared at Misty and they both grinned.

"Dawn would be great in those, too, I bet." May was the one who said this, but Misty nodded in response.

"Whose Dawn?" Serena spoke quietly, and Misty looked at Serena with a bit of surprise evident behind her green eyes, and that worried her just the slightest.

"Ash's traveling companion in Sinnoh. She's a great coordinator like May. Scary good battler, too." Misty added the last part, as if a faint memory had penetrated her mind, and she rubbed her nose slightly. May agreed, crossing her arms.

"I have to have a rematch with her after my defeat in the wallace cup. I've been training longer than her, and I still lost."

"I watched the Wallace Cup on TV! That brown haired girl! That was you May?" Serena pointed at May, and it was May's turn to blush slightly at having been renown for her talents.

"Yes, I was defeated by Dawn."

"The one with blue hair." Serena ensured to which May nodded.

"'Lotta emphasis on hair going on right now." Misty quipped touching her orangish-red hair for accent, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as May and Serena took off talking about the battle, and what May was wearing, and how she was able to get her pokemon to understand her tactics. It was like a can of worms had been opened, and Misty cracked the faintest smile.

–

Somehow, Misty felt excluded, but she sucked in air, and put one hand on her chin and took the moment of separation to glance around the room. Brock and Drew made their way outside to watch Ash's battle with Max, and Misty was tempted to go watch herself, but something kept her seated. From where she was, she could see Ash standing outside the window, giving commands to his chosen pokemon and her eyes narrowed just the slightest. She could hear the faint cries from Max, who was closer to the door call back responses, and Misty slowly turned her full body away from the girls to stand up.

Her movement had gone unnoticed by Serena and May, who had started chatting about girlie things she wasn't as interested in as she should have been; and Misty folded her arms, gently approaching the window.

She didn't lean against it, but she stood close enough that she could see the full battle. Max, in the reflection on the window, looked like a trainer with experience taken from all aspects of pokemon training—Brock for breeding, Ash for battling, and May for strategy. He was a well cornered trainer, but a young one still. His pokemon fainted quickly to Ash's, and the look of surprise mixed with devastation left Ash feeling noble she was sure. And yet, Ash didn't appear happy about his victory at all. As each boy returned their pokemon, they approached one another and shook hands gratefully. In the back ground, Drew and Brock were making comments, but she couldn't read their lips—and therefore only judged their posture. Brock looked impressed, while Drew looked disappointed. Possibly because Max was so much better than he appeared to be with Ash? Misty thought, tapping her fingers against her arm.

Between the two previously battling boys, words were exchanged, but Misty's vision honed in on Ash. His shoulders were broad now, covered in a blue solid blue jacket, he held his head high...but something seemed off about him. The normal jittery happiness that came along with a victory seemed shadowed by something, and she cocked her jaw, as if thinking what it could be.

As she shifted her weight, she saw Ash slowly turn, as if he had been caught red-handed. He looked upward towards Misty who watched him from the broad window, and then looked away quickly, shielding his face with his hat; appearing to be shamed by her watching him. Written on his face was a mixed emotion of surprise, washed over with quick relief, and then..something she couldn't make out on the older Ash's features anymore.

Her eyes narrowed;

very peculiar indeed.

Author's note: Blargh, I had a horrible time writing May. Hopefully the next time I do better. Tried really capturing that excitement and joy that she has; her over bearing optimism as opposed to Misty's pessimism. As well as her more girly side—I know some writers view May as shy, but I think that as she got older-she would grow out of that and demonstrate her ecstatic nature? I dunno, just my thoughts.

More excited for next chapter than I was for this chapter; I think I have a special place in my heart as a secret Dawn fan girl.