Chapter 2: The Picture

The following morning, Ash woke up to his Pidgey alarm clock. He rose from bed and turned it off, Pikachu still sleeping next to where Ash was laying. Ash smiled and whispered, "At least you don't have to get out of bed yet." He looked away, May on his mind again. Then his thoughts shifted to how he behaved the previous night and then to Drew. Ash showed more than the fact that he was uncomfortable, he showed that he was absolutely jealous! Drew was taller, a gentleman, and who knows what more?

"Pika..." Pikachu awoke and yawned, which shifted Ash's attention to him. A tiny smile came to the young boy's face and he got dressed for trainer school. After putting his jacket on, he began searching for his cap, and it was then when he realized that he had left it with May. He started to let his thoughts wander again, but he shook his head.

A knock was at the door, and a voice shouted, "Ash! C'mon let's go!"

"Coming Tracey!" he scrambled downstairs and out the door to meet his friend.

Walking, almost to the trainer school, Tracey asked without hesitation, "Ash, you seem quiet today. Is everything alright?"

Ash was zoned out, yet he was still walking in the right direction, amazingly. He blinked a few times and looks at his friend with confusion. "What?" At that moment, Ash's Poke gear vibrated. He reached into his left pocket and grabbed it. He was quick about it, impatient to see who it was. Ash clicked a button on the side of the red device and the screen lit up. It read: "Message from May."

Tracey, assuming it was her, spoke, "I think you might be thinking about her a bit too much Ash. I don't mean to tell you what you don't want to hear, but she has Drew, man. Maybe you should back off a bit and focus on more important things?"

Ash was reading the message and listening to Tracey at the same time. The message was: "Morning Ash~ I have your hat. I'll give it to you at trainer school!" He slipped the Poke gear back into his pocket and looked beside him at Tracey. "I know it's not very important to you, Tracey."

"Ash wait I didn't mean-"

"But you're right."

Tracey stopped walking, surprised. "Wh-What?"

Ash replied, looking down as he came to a halt. "I said you're right. She means a lot to me, but you don't fully know the situation, Trace. I'm not sure what to do to avoid any hurt other than to be patient!" Ash's teeth clenched together behind his lips and his hands turned into fists at the thought of being hurt by someone again. "I'll be damned if I let that happen again!"

"Ash you're overreacting… You-" Ash continued walking, drowning Tracey's words out. Tracey knew that at this point, the best thing to do was to leave him to think for a while. Ash opened the door to the school and proceeded inside without a word, Tracey a few feet behind him.

It was hours later in class when Ash woke up. The teacher was discussing Paralysis and Paralyze Heals. The boy, not quite functioning yet, silently stretched and yawned in his seat.

"Psst! Ash." A whisper waved past Ash's ear. He turned around and there was Brock, a couple of seats behind. "You missed it, dude. May came in and placed this on your desk." Brock reached past two desks with a note at the end of his arm, in his grasp.

Ash reached back and grabbed it from him. "If she put it on my desk, how come you had it? Brock, did you read it?" Ash's whisper got a little louder; he was a bit angry, but it was expected of Brock.

Brock just smiled silently while Ash unfolded the paper. It was a drawing of Plusle and Minun being sweethearts! He blushed lightly, knowing what was meant by the picture. It was related to a discussion him and May had over their Poke gears a few nights before.

"I think she likes ya, man! It's so adorable~" Brock whispered to him. "And look at that skill! She's better at sketching than Tracey!"

A confused but sincere smile came across his red face, and Ash slid the paper into his binder cover, so he could see it whenever he brought his binder out.

"Mr. Ketchum!" the teacher's voice sprang loudly from the front of the classroom. Ash looked up and felt a bit caught off guard. "Please explain to us all, how does a Pokémon trainer remove a burn from his or her Pokémon?"

Ash replied, now fully awake, "Bye using a Burn Heal, Full Heal, taking it to the Pokémon center, or feeding it a rawst berry!" In a few moments he had realized that he had unintentionally just showed off. The shock in the air was abundant. Ash rarely shows how smart he is, although he hardly applies himself to anything but training and coming up with new strategies to win battles!

"Y-Yes, correct, but just saying "Burn Heal" would have sufficed…" the teacher turned back around slowly and he continued to teach, going into the subject of Dire Hits and Rare Candies.

"Wow Ash that was ummm…something." Brock spoke, and there was small conversation on Ash's display just then.

Ash just crossed his arms on his desk and laid his head in them, his hand on the binder holding the picture, and his mind on the conversation May had given him hope with.

Two or three nights ago, May and Ash were hanging at her house and it was a good time. They sat on the couch watching television and they talked some, just enjoying each other's company! Around ten o clock, Ash had to leave for home and on his way there, they were messaging back and forth. He couldn't remember exactly how it was brought up, but May told him that she was a bit sad. The reason was that even though she was in a relationship with Drew, she had feelings for someone else.

Ash stared at that message for quite a while when he received it. He was pondering what to say, and he was hoping.

"You like someone?" he started off. "Well that sucks because to be hones I really like you, May." After sending that reply, Ash's heart wouldn't stop beating faster and impatiently until he got a response.

"Really? Because…the guy I like…is you."

Ash once again fell asleep in the classroom and he was back to dreaming sweet dreams of her.