I'd like to start of by thanking you guys for reading and reviewing the last chapter. It honestly means a lot knowing that you enjoy the story and I get so excited seeing the views and comments going up. Okay, now for some story notes. Italics are now used to describe flashbacks, can't believe I forgot to say that at the very beginning. Thank you to ASD Pokemon Fan for bringing it to my attention. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 6
As the night wore on the moon slowly moved across the dark sky. Full and bright as the morning sun, the light reflected through the window over the wooden headboard and just reached the foot of the bed. A clear view of their bedroom, painted a dull blue by the stars outside. A gentle breeze swayed the white curtains outward and then back. The cool wind forces her to seek warmth in the strong arms of her partner. She rests her sleepy head in the small gap between his arm and chest, listening to his thumping heartbeat. Soothing, melodic.
He twirls the ends of her hair around his fingers, bringing a smile to her hidden face. It's peaceful, quiet with only the sounds of their breathing filling the entire room. She doesn't have to worry about her upcoming Contest or wonder if he's happy putting his dream on hold for her. What mattered most to her was that he was here, with her, supporting and being a part of her life. All was right with the world when it was just the two of them together.
He drapes a heavy arm around her and pulls her closer. The warmness emanating from his body spreads to her, like a small ember lighting up a pit. The heat intensifies and makes her detach from him. Her weary eyes fall on a haunting sight. A small strip of fire runs down his face, erasing what noticeable features he had. She's paralyzed, unable to escape the flames quickly spreading throughout his body and to her. Fear makes the tears fall freely and they evaporate upon meeting with the fire.
A burst of wind sweeps away the remains of dust and ash. She can't scream or call out his name one last time. The blaze travels up the sheets, beginning with her toes and burning her body little by little.
She falls back and shuts her eyes. "At least I'll be with you..." A feeling of relief overcomes the sadness and brings a sense of peace. It's a twisted thought, she knows, but things just wouldn't be the same if he was taken away. She'd rather be with him for eternity than live a day without him.
Blood red consumes the room. She lies in wait for her turn. The crackling of embers extends past the bed and reaches the ceiling.
"May! May!"
That voice, a memorable voice that soothes her qualms, rises above everything and causes her to slowly open her eyes.
Darkness and a familiar blue hue greet her as she catches a familiar shadow hovering over her. She moves her eyes from side to side for any signs of the inferno from before, but all she finds is utter silence from Mother Nature.
"You're burning up." He says quietly while placing a cool hand to her forehead. Pleasant and alleviating, his caresses are a welcoming change from the nightmare she went through.
"I'll get you a cold towel and some water." He shuffles his legs from underneath the covers and over the bed. She weakly grabs hold of his arm to stop him.
"I'll be fine." She gently tugs on his shirt and lures him back to bed. Once settled in, she curls herself in his arms once again. "As long as you're here, Ash."
His hand rubs circles on her back tenderly. "I'll always be here, May." He says quietly and plants a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Whenever you need me."
"May..."
His voice was distant, though he was staring directly at her while Serena sat next to her on their bed. She rubbed her bare shoulders comfortingly with no opposition from May. Her vision was clouded by the amount of tears shed since arriving at the front door of their hotel room. She had nowhere else to go, no one to turn to in a strange city. The police were of no help and her publicist wasn't answering her calls. Only one person came to mind and she knew he wouldn't turn her away.
"Tell us exactly what happened." Serena said to her. Ash reclined on a mahogany dresser in front of them by the bathroom. He folded his arms and waited for the answer she didn't want to repeat.
"Drew...he..he disappeared." May raised a hand to her mouth to compose herself. "We had an argument in the restaurant and..and he just left." From there she tried her best to fill in the details in between her sobs. It wasn't like Drew to curse and yell at her for no reason. The staff had to escort them out of the building for causing such a loud disruption. People stared and whispered to each other as they walked out of the building. It was embarrassing and out of character for either of them to cause a scene in public. Afterwards he wandered away without an explanation and she went back to their room to wait.
"I just went to our room and waited for him to come back."
Serena signaled Ash for the tissue box placed next to him. She handed May a single paper and waited for her to continue.
"I don't know what went wrong." She dabbed the corners of her eyes. "We never yelled at each other before." Something about his demeanor felt off but she couldn't tell what it was. He was smiling and affectionate just a few hours before they met up at the restaurant.
"Have you gone to Officer Jenny for help?" Ash asked.
She shook her head in response. "No, I thought he'd be back before nightfall." She didn't know what came over him. He was more aggressive, relentless with the vile words he spewed. She was open about her past with Ash but he went on and attacked it from a different angle that she couldn't respond well to. Heart or mind, one of those went on the defensive and protected the other from suffering new damage from old wounds. It wasn't him that said those words. She refused to believe he would deliberately hurt her.
"Please, Ash, can you help me find him?" She pleaded to one of her closest friends. Despite their previous relationship, she still considered him the most trustworthy person in her life. He was known to help everyone who asked and put his life at risk continuously to make sure they came out safe. But seeing as she was asking him to find Drew, a person he loathed and made no secrets about it, she had to hope he'd say yes.
Ash sighed and dropped his head. "Lumiose City is a big place. Where do we even start to look?"
May could feel a new wave of tears waiting in reserve. What he said was true. Drew could be anywhere in the city and the dark didn't make the situation any better.
"It'll be okay, May. We'll just retrace his steps." Serena's calming voice put her more at ease. It was almost as if she could tell what she was going through. Her kind words were a much appreciated sentiment she wouldn't expect from her ex's current girlfriend.
"She's right. We'll find him in no time." Ash chimed in, flashing his trademark smile that reassured her he was the right person to help.
May wiped away the remaining tears and chuckled. "Thank you, Ash and Serena. I guess we can start at the cafe. He was waiting for me outside before we went to the restaurant."
"Lead the way."
The nightlife of Lumiose City was in full swing once they stepped out of their hotel. Bright and luminous, the streets were filled with street acts and musicians performing for the hundreds of people walking around the plaza. It was a shame her night had to be searching for Drew, otherwise they'd be roaming the streets and enjoying themselves like the rest. Bigger problems were at hand, though, and needed her attention more than the festivities.
May walked briskly towards the tower with Ash and Serena keeping pace. They said nothing on the way there and only stopped a few times to gather their bearings. There were many alleys and connecting streets that it was easy to get lost. She knew it was just south of Prism Tower, sitting on a corner of two intersecting streets. The crowds grew bigger as they approached a large sign overhead reading: Magenta Plaza. Most of the traffic was geared to the Pokémon Center and Prism Tower in the distance. Off to their right was a small red building with barely visible lights on. They fought through the group of people, making sure not to be separated, and arrived at the entrance.
There was doubt the cafe was still open late this night. Regardless, it was a good spot to search for clues of Drew's whereabouts. The blinds were drawn on the windows; a single light was still on by the wooden door. Ash took the lead and tried the door.
"Ladies first." He held the door open for both she and Serena, and as they walked in, they felt a bit of uneasiness from their surroundings. Everything was a dull maroon color with the poor lighting from the candles hanging on the wall. It felt like being in an abandoned house, but without the dust and cobwebs on the furniture. There wasn't a sign of people being in the building and she wondered if they would find any answers in such a depressing place.
"You guys try to find somebody who might have seen Drew. I'll take a look outside the building." Ash said to them and they nodded in agreement.
She and Serena each looked in opposite ends of the cafe once Ash took off, but came up empty and met up at the bar. Resting her elbows on the wooden surface, she supported her head and sniffled. Hope was draining from her body fast. It was coming up on four hours since his disappearance and there wasn't any proof he was coming back anytime soon.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm afraid we've stopped serving food for the evening. We'll be closing soon."
She didn't raise her head at the sound of another's voice.
"Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Water's fine, thank you." Serena answered for both of them. The waitress went to work behind the counter. Clank of glass and the whirring of the ice machine, followed by the steady stream of fresh water being poured, May kept her head down for all of it. She was in an unfamiliar situation that was draining her energy and testing her patience.
"Here you go. Anything else I can get you?" The waitress placed the glass in front of her.
"Actually, we were hoping you could help us. A friend of ours was in here earlier. We were wondering if he maybe came by again." Serena was surely the calm one of both of them. May was at her wits end, on the verge of pulling her hair out.
"You're gonna have to be more specific. We have hundreds of customers in and out each day."
"He has green hair. He had on a black blazer and a white button up shirt." May replied bluntly, trying hard not to let anger take the place of sadness. Once that happened, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else but lashing out.
"No, can't say I've seen him. Sorry."
She slammed her hand on the counter, causing both the waitress and Serena to jump in surprise. "He was here! He came out of the building and met me outside! Don't say he wasn't here because he sure as hell was!" She caught sight of herself in the waitress' sunglasses, burning tears stinging her cheeks and tainted red eyes fogging her vision. She was beyond angry, beyond reason. Fed up with the lack of answers from the waitress and general avoidance by Drew. The celebratory day of her anniversary had turned to a living nightmare.
May tore herself away from the bar and headed to the exit before she did something worse. The crowds outside were dispersing with only a few still walking the streets. She stood under the stone archway covered in vines and looked around once more, wishing Drew would appear out of thin air and comfort her like only he could. But multiple glances to either side of the street and not one person resembled him. She stepped out to the curb, slumped down on the concrete, and wept like she did since leaving her hotel in search of help.
Helpless wouldn't begin to describe her current frame of mind. Anger, sorrow, heartache, a flurry of emotions waged war within her. She huddled her knees together and hid her face from the people walking around. Dealing with it all was taxing, both mentally and emotionally. She just wanted to head home and put this ordeal behind her.
"May, are you okay?"
Reluctantly, she raised her head at the notable voice questioning her. She met his sincere gaze and shook her head. "I don't know what to do, Ash."
He sunk down next to her and unexpectedly put an arm around her. She instinctively placed her head on his shoulder and continued to cry. For the longest time he was the only one she would go to when she was feeling down. He knew exactly what to say to make her smile and never appeared tired of being her rock. After years apart, and a nasty period of depression, it seemed that little habit was still as relevant as ever.
Yet, this time around it felt different. Maybe it was the firmness of his body, much different than when they were younger, or the fact that they were separated and dating other people. He wasn't doing the small things that soothed her whenever she was in his arms, like running his fingers through her hair or whispering in her ear. The sentiment wasn't distant nor too affectionate. It felt friendlier than those other times.
The moment was short lived as the door behind them swung open and out stepped Serena.
"I got a little more out of her. Drew was here and talked with the owner for a while." Serena said as she and Ash stood up to face her. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, grateful for the news but doubted the new information provided clues to where Drew was. Her suspicions were made true when Serena added, "After that, he left the shop and that was the last she saw of him."
"I asked around and didn't get anywhere, either. It doesn't help that it's close to midnight already." Ash rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the road.
May was starting to succumb to exhaustion. Her eyes were swollen from all the crying, her stomach lurched constantly from grief and starvation. To top it all off, she was positive she'd miss out on sleep for the night. She lazily roamed away from Ash and Serena while they talked amongst themselves, thinking about her next move. She had to check out of their hotel room by noon. They'd miss their flight if Drew wasn't found by the afternoon. So much she had to worry about that completely went over her head the past few hours.
Ash and Serena caught up with her and laid out a plan. "We should pick it up again in the morning. Hopefully it'll be easier to search with the sun out."
"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm sorry for being such a bother to you guys." Her voice cracked as she swiped at the fresh round of tears.
"Don't worry about it. This is more important and we will find him." Ash smiled at her which made her slip a choked laugh past her cries. Serena grabbed a firm hold of her hand and led her to the Pokémon Center across the way, lined with a bunch of taxis at the entrance.
After giving the instructions to the driver, the three Trainers piled in to the midsize taxi and sat in silence for the short trip to Ash and Serena's hotel. May watched the blurry flash of the streetlights passing by with the faded buildings in the backdrop. They came to a stop about a minute later. She stayed inside and waited for the car to keep driving after they had gotten out, but the car sat idle while Ash kissed Serena and she went inside as Ash came back to the taxi.
"Aren't you going with Serena?" She asked once the car started moving again.
"She's gonna go with Clemont and Bonnie to Officer Jenny in the morning to see if the police can get involved."
"Then why are you with me?"
"I thought you might need a friend for the night."
Even in the dark cab, with only the streetlights speeding by, she could see the sympathetic gaze he shot her way. She looked away out the window. Her face became increasingly warmer and was thankful for the darkness the taxi provided. But why was she blushing at a simple look? She had seen it many times before and it brought a sense of comfort, but that was years ago. She hardly ever thought about it and yet it still had the same effect. Her worries were forgotten for the moment as she settled in and waited for the ride to come to an end. Closing her eyes for a second was a mistake. She kept dozing off but was prevented from falling fully asleep by the rocking cabin and frequent stops.
The cab arrived at her hotel a little while later. Ash paid the driver and exited the same time as May. She walked on ahead to the clear glass doors, pushing them open and walking to the elevator next to the concierge's station.
As they got in and pushed the button to her floor, the ride up was just as quiet as the ride over. She hugged herself and stared at the marble floor, questioning his decision to accompany her. It felt wrong seeing as Serena was left alone while Ash was here. She already interrupted their plans and now kept them apart.
"You don't have to do this, Ash..." She found herself saying once they stepped out the metal box and walked to her room just a few steps away.
"No, but what kind of friend would I be if I left you crying the entire night."
May paused with her keycard in hand, hesitant to let him in. Serena was gracious enough to help and was a great person to hang out with. She didn't want to get in between their relationship, but he was right. She needed somebody to talk to and he was willing to help. The door lock beeped and turned the red light to green. Turning the handle, she held her breath and led him inside, knowing full well she would look back at her actions and come to regret them.
