Chapter 2- May's life

The sun beamed brightly through the thousand dollar designer curtains and fell upon a lavish hotel room. Underneath silk sheets lying on a memory foam mattress, stirred a beautiful young woman. She slowly opened her eyes, and let out a tired yawn. She raised herself from the bed and stretched for a moment before going to her luxury bathroom.

After taking a long shower she blow dried and combed her long brunette hair. She applied some makeup on her cheek to cover a fresh bruise she recieved the night before. She returned to the room and dressed herself in a blue sleeveless shirt and black shorts, beside her bed was her blue bandanna which she put on. Entering the living room she found her boyfriend sitting comfortably on the couch watching T.V. He glanced up at her then back at his show.

"Good morning Drew," She said sweetly "It was." He replied flipping his green hair to the side. May sat down next to him and tried resting her head on his shoulder, Drew shrugged her off. May then snuggled up next to him "So what are we doing today?" She asked Drew looked down at her "Well, I am scheduled for an interview at twelve o clock and at eight I'm competing in the Grand Festival." May smiled and pet Drew's hair "And you'll win, I just know it." "Well yeah, obviously."

Drew stood up causing May to fall into the couch, he turned off the television and walked over to the counter and picked up his light blue coat "Come on were going downstairs, they're having a breakfast for all the Coordinators competing in the competition." Putting on her coat May joined Drew downstairs.

The banquet room was massive in the middle of the room was a long table that seated well over a hundred people. May had always dislike these sorts of events, having to greet people and try to explain what she's been doing over the years, which had been there was one aspect she still enjoyed. On the table were trays and trays of food, eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, apples, oranges, chocolate strawberries, biscuits, gravy, steak all lined the table placed upon silver plates. May's mouth watered at the sight and smell of all the food lining the table.

"Try to put the fork down every once and awhile, I don't want you pigging out on me." Drew said May giggled at the remark but looking up Drew's face she saw he was serious. They took a seat towards the end of the table, most of the Coordinators had already arrived and were stuffing themselves with food. May was seated across from a beautiful blonde headed girl who was seated next to her boyfriend.

"Hey Mark!" Drew said to the guy sitting across from him "Hey Drew! You wouldn't believe the kinda morning I had today." Drew slapped a piece of steak onto his plate "Do tell," he said. "Well this morning me and Serena are just sitting in our apartment watching T.V right, when this crazy guy burst through the door screaming at Serena that he's her boyfriend or something."

"What'd you do?" May asked, Mark gave a sheepish smile "I kicked him back out on the street, I think he escaped from some kind of institution or something." Serena looked down at her plate and quietly took a sip of her tea. Mark looked back over at May "So May, are you competing in the contest today?" he asked "Oh, no I haven't competed in a contest in years." She said Drew wrapped his arm around her shoulder "I compete for the both of us now," he said. May reached out and grabbed a slice of toast quietly she speared some butter on it while Drew carried on a conversation with Mark.

After breakfast Drew and May rode in a limousine to the contest hall for Drew's interview, the ride was silent for the most part with Drew reading a magazine that had him on the cover. May looked out the window silently thinking to herself. "So May you remember the rules right?" Drew asked "Hmm what was that?" May asked not paying attention to the question. Drew threw down the magazine "Damnit May you know I don't like repeating myself." May felt a fear rising up inside her.

"Erm, yes the rules, don't talk, try not to be seen, and if asked why I don't compete anymore say you compete for the both of us." Drew nodded approvingly and picked his magazine back up. "And don't go anywhere unless I say it's ok." May sighed and looked back out the window.

The limousine pulled up to the large contest hall that was already filled with news crews and reporters. Once Drew and May stepped out of the car they were immediately swarmed with reporters and fan girls. "Drew we love you!" the fan girls screamed "Drew how do you feel about your chances in the Contest!" One reporter asked. Drew pushed past them not even checking to see if May was following behind.

Drew approached one of the news vans where a blonde headed reporter was just finishing having her makeup applied. She stood up when she saw Drew and May "Drew, you're just in time, for a second I was worried that you might not show up." "Yea well I'm here now so let's get this over with."

The reporter looked to the cameraman and snapped her fingers the cameraman immediately went to his area. "We'll be live in twenty seconds." He said May stood beside Drew fixing her hair "Uh, May what are you doing?" May stopped fixing her hair "I was making sure my hair was ok before being on T.V." Drew gave a snarky smile "No, you'll stand behind the camera and out of sight." Embarrassed May walked over beside the cameraman and watched as Drew flipped his hair to the side.

"We're live in Five…Four…Three…Two…One!" The cameraman gave the thumbs up sign and the interview began "I'm standing here outside Saffron City Contest hall were in just a few hours Coordinators from all around will attempt to win the coveted Grand Festival and the prize of top coordinator in Kanto!"

May looked at the contest hall and reminisced about the times when she used to compete, it was so much fun in those days, but when she started dating Drew he convinced her it would be better if only he competed. While she loved competing, she also wanted Drew to achieve his dream and if she got in the way of that by competing she was willing to stop.

"I'm now joined with top Coordinator of Johto, Drew!" May smiled as she watched Drew flip his hair to the side. Her parents had never been a big fan of Drew, her dad thought he was arrogant and full of himself and her mom simply didn't trust him. The day when May announced her decision to retire from being a Coordinator her parents were outraged. They blamed Drew for her decision saying he was only using her so that he could win the contests. May was appalled by her parents words and told them they were wrong. Since then she hasn't spoken to either of them.

"So Drew, how do you feel about your chances in this contest?" Drew scoffed at the question "If you're asking me if I think I'm going to win or not, the answer is defiantly yes." "And how do you feel about your competition?" "Pretty pathetic honestly, I'm not really expecting them to put up a very challenging fight." "Well folks you heard it here, it seems we already know who this year's winner will be, now stay tuned for our special report on the hit T.V show Here Comes Smoochum, up next!"

"And we're clear!" The cameraman said. The reporter extended her hand towards Drew "Thank you so much for the interview Drew," she said Drew shook her hand "Anytime," he replied. May stepped away from the camera and returned by Drew's side "Well if it isn't the Princess of Hoenn!" The reporter exclaimed. May blushed at the name, it had been years since anyone called her that "It's just May now," she said shyly the reporter looked at her in shock "You mean to tell me that you don't compete anymore?" The reporter asked May glanced up at Drew who was looking down at her with angry eyes "Drew competes for the both of us," She said looking away the reporter was becoming intrigued.

"You know it'd be wonderful if I could interview you, maybe as a sort of where are they now segment." Drew wrapped an arm around May "Maybe some other time, but now we've got to get going" As they walked away from the reporter Drew squeezed tightly on May's shoulder "Drew your hurting me," she whispered, whether or not Drew heard her she didn't know, but he continued to squeeze her all the way to the contest hall.

When they entered the Contest Hall Drew let go of May's shoulder "I'm going to train here for an hour, you will be staying in the stands watching and not uttering so much as a word, got it?" she nodded as she rubbed her shoulder.

The Contest Hall was beautifully decorated, chandeliers dangled from the ceiling and shimmered brightly in their own light, blue marble pillars lined the walls with portraits of people and Pokémon strung between them. May walked passed these paintings and admired each of them. At the end of the hall was the stadium entrance. When she entered behind Drew she was taken aback. The stadium was massive being able to seat over eighty thousand people. "Alright go take a seat while I rehearse." He said pointing to the stands.

May took a seat in the front row close to the ground. she watched as Drew released two of his prized Pokémon, Flygon and Roserade. Drew masterfully conducted his Pokemon through a series of attacks. The two Pokemon worked together brilliantly creating beautiful and mystifying attacks, while working together in complete harmony

It was moments like these that caused May to fall in love with Drew. Suddenly May felt something beneath her feet, looking down she found a small brochure for the city, this was one the way's the city advertised business's, under every seat was a brochure that advertised all of the hottest attractions within the city.

As May flipped through the brochure she passed over dozens of pages advertising the local restaurants, which made her stomach suddenly growl. She hadn't eaten much during breakfast due to Drew's words and was now hungrier than before. She waited patiently for Drew to take a break from his practice before she approached him.

"Honey," she said sweetly "Yea, what is it?" he asked glancing back at her "Well I was just wondering if I could go and grab a bite to eat, after all I didn't eat much at breakfast." "Well that's your fault not mine." He said "But it would mean a lot to me if I could go, and I'll be back soon I promise." Drew let out a sigh "Fine, but you better be back before I'm finished." May smiled and tried to happily give him a hug, but Drew snubbed her. "The more time you waste here the less time you have to eat." He said returning to his Pokémon.

May quickly dashed out of the contest hall, outside more people had arrived filling the area. She looked down at her brochure for listings of local restaurant, she saw one called Babette, it was an Italian restaurant that looked appetizing enough, plus it was close to where she was, so she began making her way down the street.

Walking down the busy street she was amazed at the city's beauty, dozens of intricately carved fountains could be found around every corner, buildings that were architectural marvels were all around her and the parks that had Trainers and Pokémon playing was such a heartwarming site. Finally she arrived at her destination. Inside the restaurant it was almost empty, it was just after lunch and most of the people from the lunch rush had already gone.

A waiter approached May "Welcome, please follow me to your table." He said with a thick accent he led May to a small table in the middle of the room and placed a menu in front of her "What would you like to drink?" he asked. May had to think for a moment usually Drew ordered for her "Miss?" the waiter said "I'll have a glass of champagne." She finally said.

The waiter smiled "Excellent, I'll be back in moment with your drink." May looked at her menu there were so many options so many choices each one better than the last. Finally May decided what to order, when the waiter came back he popped open a bottle of champagne and poured it into her glass the fine champagne bubbled up then slowly fizzled out "And what would you like to eat?" May took one last look at the menu "I'll have the Tortellini al Forno." "Excellent choice," the waiter said taking the menu.

May sipped her champagne she loved the bubbly taste of it. When the waiter came back with her food she immediately dove in while at the same time trying to remain lady like. Everything about it was wonderful, after her meal she paid and left. As she looked down at her watch her heart almost jumped out of her chest, it had been an hour since she left and Drew was probably already finished training.

She began to quicken her pace when she suddenly heard somebody calling her name "Hey May, it's me Ash!" May turned around and saw a man on a motorcycle slowly ride up next to her. They both stopped, to May it looked as if she was seeing a ghost. The man turned off his bike "May, it's me don't you remember?" Ash asked getting off his bike "PI Pika!" his little mouse Pokémon exclaimed.

May looked at Ash; he had changed so much since she had last seen him he was more muscular and a lot taller than she remembered. When she looked up into his eyes she found thought they looked frightening. "Oh my God, Ash it's you!" she exclaimed wrapping her arms around her old friend. Ash returned her hug and held her tight, they stayed like that for a few moments before slowly letting go.

"Ash wh- what are you doing here, this is unbelievable!" Ash smiled at her "I live here now, well sort of." May could not stop staring at him "Wow, this is such a surprise, I never thought I'd see you here." "Why don't I buy you drink and we can catch up." May looked down at the floor "What is there something wrong?" Ash asked May looked back up "Well, it's just I'm supposed to be back at the contest hall really soon and-." "Oh come on, I'm sure they won't be too angry if you show up late." Ash said playfully, May thought to herself surely Drew would understand that she was catching up with an old friend and he wouldn't be too angry.

"You know what, you're right, let's go." Ash was surprised that she agreed so suddenly, but didn't pursue it. Ash drove the three of them to the bar he was at earlier; inside he got them a booth. A waiter approached them "So what are ya drinking?" he asked "Whiskey," Ash said the waiter looked to May "I would like champagne."

The waiter laughed "And I'd like a gold plated Ferrari but that ain't happening anytime soon." May looked away "Hey man, give her a break if she wants champagne give her champagne," Ash said "Look we ain't got any champagne alright." Ash was getting upset "Well what do you have?" "We got some white wine, that's the fanciest thing we got." Ash looked over to May who nodded "Alright we'll take that." As the waiter walked away Ash turned back to May "The nerve of some people." He said.

Ash reached into the small metal basket full of condiments and pulled out a small pack of ketchup, he handed it to Pikachu who graciously took it. "So May, I guess you're competing in the Grand Festival today, right?" May shook her head "No, I don't compete anymore." Ash's eyes widened "You're kidding me right?" May shook her head again "But you're the Princesses of Hoenn." May smiled at the name "Well after I returned to the Johto region Drew and I began dating, after a while it clear only one of us could continue to compete, and since Drew is the better Coordinator he decided he'd compete for the both of us." Suddenly the waiter came back with a glass of wine for May and bottle of whiskey complete with a shot glass for Ash.

"I don't know about all that, I mean Drew was alright I guess, but when I saw you compete you were amazing and the way you and your Pokemon worked so well together was beautiful." May blushed at the compliment.

"So what about you Ash, I thought for sure that by now your name would be up in lights all over the world." Ash looked over at Pikachu "So did I, but things happened and it just didn't work out." "So what do you do now?" Ash poured himself a shot "Now I do the only thing I can do." He took a shot "And what is that?" she asked "Well I uh, I fight in arena battles." May looked at Ash confused "What kind of battle is that?" Ash slid his shot glass back and forth debating whether or not to tell her.

"Well you have your normal Pokémon battles and Coordinator battles were trainers command there Pokémon to fight. In underground battles or arena battles it's almost the same thing…except the trainers fight with their Pokémon." May still didn't understand "That sounds like any other battle." "No, I mean the trainers are actually standing next to their Pokémon with a weapon fighting the other trainer." May looked at Ash appalled "Ash that's awful why would you ever want to do that?" Ash shrugged his shoulders "It makes me money and I don't really have a choice." May took Ash's hand in hers "Ash, you always have a choice." Ash looked down at her hand. Suddenly the bar door opened. Ash looked behind him and saw Drew walk inside. It was clear he was looking for somebody.

"May isn't that your boyfriend." May looked over and gasped, and quickly let go of Ash's hand. Drew spotted May sitting across from Ash and approached the two, Ash kept his head down. "Hey Drew," May said with a quiver. Ash looked up at Drew who was standing with his arms crossed looking down at him. "Who is this?" Drew asked "Drew this is Ash, you remember him right?" Drew looked down at Ash and grinned "Yea, you know I saw you that day in Kalos you were all over the T.V, but what you did that day was pretty pathetic." May looked over at Ash "What's he talking about Ash?"

Ash leered at Drew and felt his anger building inside him. "Come on May lets go." Drew said grabbing her by the shoulder. "Drew can't I stay for a little longer?" "NOW!" Drew shouted bringing the entire bar to silence. May looked over at Ash "I'm sorry Ash I have to go," she joined Drew who squeezed her shoulder even tighter as he hurried her out the door. "Drew your hurting me!" Ash heard May say before the door slammed shut.

Ash looked down at Pikachu who was staring at him with a blank expression "What?" Ash asked "Pika." "It's not my buisness." The little pokemon gave him a tiny shock "Ow! Ok you little yellow fuck I'll go help." Ash took another shot before putting five bucks on the table and leaving.

Outside he could hear May shouting, with Pikachu on his shoulder he quietly he snuck over to the alley where the shouts were coming from. Ash peaked his head around the corner in the alley Drew had May against the wall. "Please Drew, he's just a friend!" May pleaded "Shut your freaking mouth May, this is why I don't trust you, because you never listen." Drew slapped May across the cheek, she let out a loud yelp. Ash could see tears rolling off her cheek. Ash approached the two "Hey Drew, how's about putting her down." He said.

"Ketchum this doesn't concern you, now go away before your humiliated a second time." Drew turned back to May, Ash took another step forward "Drew I wasn't asking you." Drew turned to Ash and grinned at him, he let go of May and focused his attention on Ash

"You think this will end well for you." Drew said cracking his knuckles Ash smiled back at him "Drew you can still walk away from this, just leave her alone." "Nah, I haven't had a real challenge in awhile not that I'm expecting you to be any different." Drew threw the first punch which Ash easily dodged and countered with a punch to Drew's jaw. Drew recovered and threw two wild punches Ash caught the first one and leaned back avoiding the second one.

Drew was breathing hard at this point Ash pulled Drew close to him and gave him a head butt knocking him down. Drew wiped, but became stunned when saw his hand was covered in blood. Drew leapt to his feet and charged at Ash, Ash sidestepped him and pushed him into the concrete wall. Drew slumped to the floor with a bloody nose. Ash was actually surprised at how easy it was.

He returned to May who was sitting on the ground sulking, Ash knelt down beside her. "Come on let's get out of here." May looked up at him and wiped the tears from her eyes. Ash offered his hand to her; she looked at it for a second before accepting it.

Ash led her opposite of Drew and over to his bike. Together they rode to the Pokémon center. Ash approached the Nurse Joy that was standing behind the counter "Hi room for one please." He said, "Name?" she asked typing something into the computer "John Bonham." Ash said using one of his many alias's, Nurse Joy typed his name into the computer before handing him the key to his room.

The room was nice it had a single bed in the center and a flat screen T.V opposite it 'Way nicer than my place' Ash thought to himself as he walked inside the room with May. May took a seat on the freshly made bed. "Um, I'll come by and check on you tomorrow and make sure your alright, if there's anything you need call me at this number."

Ash handed May his telephone number, she took it and placed it beside her. Ash thought about taking a seat next to her to comfort her but decided against it "I'll see you tomorrow." As he was about to close the door May called to him "Ash." Ash walked back inside "Yes?"

"What was Drew talking about back there, what happened to you?" Ash ran a hand through his hair "They took away my trainer card." There was a short pause between them "If you need anything remember you can call me." Then he closed the door and left. As he walked down the hallway he was hoping May didn't call, for he just remembered his phone was disconnected over a month ago.