This is the last chapter of this story, and I hope you will like it. After weeks with this on my computer, I'm finally finished, although I've made adjustments and slight improvements up until the last minute. I'm finally done, and it feels great! Of course if you have any ideas, opinions or questions, feel free to contact me :) I will also apologize for all the drama in this story, it was not intended to be like that, but as always my story decided for me.
I will also soon publish another story, 'Pieces of a Soul', approved by the biggest Pokemon-fan I know, my best friend :)
I want to thank my reviewers, because you keep me going. Feedback motivates and inspires me, and I would probably not have written anything else without your support.
Acknowledgement: To my boyfriend, for reading through and correcting mistakes in every chapter, even though the story held no interest to him. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, May would have her own spin-off... And I would have never written this.
Chapter 7
The next couple of days were spent preparing for the contest. My trainer did it mostly without Harley, and we didn't see Drew at all. The day of the contest arrived with the sun, and my trainer spent the morning outside the pokemon center polishing her pokeballs, with Growlithe at her feet. I wandered about the area, but crouched down behind a bush when I spotted Brianna approaching Drew. I stalked closer, not wanting to miss a word of her 'confession'.
She seemed flustered, feet kicking the dirt and scared eyes. Still she stood her ground. "Mr. Drew, in the light of obtaining my final ribbon, I can say this at last." She was visibly nervous under his curious gaze.
"Tell me then," he sighed, with something resembling foreboding in his stance. He knew what would come. How could he not, after all the years of obsessing fan girls he had endured.
"I lo... love you," she stuttered. She impressed me, though, she managed to hold eye contact as the words fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry," he said at last. "You're a nice girl, and it's brave of you to tell me like this, but I don't have such feelings for you." He looked at her sympathetically.
Her lower lip started to tremble, and mist started to cover her eyes. "I understand," she breathed. All nervousness and fumbling seemed to slip away, and Brianna was left sad, but calm.
Drew glanced over at May sitting some distance off, and Brianna followed his gaze. "I think I always knew. I am happy for both of you." She gave him a shaky smile, then she stood up on her toes to hug him. He froze for a second before hugging her back. I glanced back at my trainer, and saw how her gaze lingered on Drew hugging her friend. I also noticed the black tail of my dreams disappearing around a corner, but this was not the right time and place to investigate.
He let Brianna go, and turned to leave. "I don't know if it's any consolation, but I know how you feel," he told her over his shoulder.
Drew went over to my trainer. She looked up expectantly, waiting. "Good luck in the contest. Do your best," he told her with a dull voice. She didn't get any chance to respond, as he strode off quickly again. She lowered her eyes, I could see her fight to hold her composure. They seemed miles apart now, suffering needlessly. This would not be resolved on its own, but I had no idea what to do.
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~
It was time to head over to the Contest hall. We were backstage with the other contestants, none of them which I recognized. My trainer was fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket, wringing her hands in her lap. She was nervous, and she needed to snap out of it before her appeal round.
A young woman entered the room, and in that moment her smile and peach colored locks of hair were a beautiful sight – exactly what we needed. A savior. She sat herself down next to my trainer, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her back to reality.
"May, I'm sorry I could not be here sooner." Her warm, mild voice had May look up at last.
"Solidad," she whispered, and threw herself at the other coordinator for a soul-saving hug. "I've missed you so much!" my trainer's muffled voice emerged from within a curtain of peach hair.
Solidad retracted herself and looked at the younger coordinator with mock sternness. "May, your appeal is coming up. We are all cheering for you, and I think there is one person in particular you would like to impress. Show us why people call you the Princess of Hoenn." She smiled playfully, managing to reassure even me. Confidence seemed to replace anxiety as my trainer stood up.
"Thank you, Solidad, I needed that. I am ready now." I could see determination in her face again. "Take care of Glaceon for me in the meantime?"
Solidad nodded, and motioned for me to follow her. "We will see you from the stands," she called back, and we left.
Solidad seated herself with Harley on one side and Drew on the other, I jumped up in her lap, and made myself comfortable. "How did it go," Harley mumbled. Perhaps he had told her about the situation?
"She is ready, she will be great," Solidad answered cheerfully.
"I never doubted it," Drew commented from the other side, oblivious to the emotional wreckage he had caused in my poor trainer.
"And we're finally together, our big happy family!" Harley feigned enthusiasm meant to break the silence and lighten the mood, but failed as he sounded more doubtful. Concern seemed to cling to him all the time lately. The feeling was probably etched on my face too, a big contrast to my happy-go-lucky, long gone days as an Eevee. I tried to shake my worries off, and prepared myself for a good hour of assessing more or less worthy rivals.
Most of the appeals were really good, because this was one of the last contests before the Grand Festival, and most of the opposing trainers had three or four ribbons already. They were all eager to claim that ribbon, someone even to the piont of desperation. One contestant in particular stood out with his stunning Arcanine. When he entered the stage, I barely caught a whisper above me. "What is he doing here?" Neither Drew or Harley noticed, though, because of an ear-splitting scream from the girls in the audience.
When May entered the stage, our surroundings erupted in cheers as her fans made their presence known. She waved and smiled, the picture of calm and content. Blaziken appeared with a somersault out of the pokeball. Their first move, Fire Spin, was split into tiny separate flames by Sky Uppercut. Overheat made the dying sparks flare up in a wildfire, showing off the powers in her partner perfectly. My trainer made a strong impression with Blaziken, to a total score of 28,3.
In the end she was the third of eight coordinators to proceed to the next round. Her first battle with Warturtle was over quickly, as the opposing Sudowoodo was unable to endure the consecutive attacks of aqua tail and water pulse.
In the semifinals she was paired up against a rather dashing boy and his Blastoise. The battle raged back and forth as first one, then the other trainer lost points, to sequenced attacks and reactions. At the last seconds, however, Warturtle managed to get through a Rapid Spin-Water Gun combination which sent water cascading down the whole stage. This sent her in the lead as the five minutes was up. Her opponent seemed disappointed, but he went over to my trainer to shake her hand. I could not hear what he told her, but her cheeks flushed red and she looked flattered, as a radiating smile graced her lips. Next to me I could see Drew's fists clench, and equally sour expressions erupted on the faces of a lot of girls around us.
In the finals my trainer met a girl with a Bayleaf. Warturtle was at a disadvantage, and my trainer focused on defense, putting the training she had done with Drew to good use. Most of Bayleaf's attacks missed, making the opponent lose points even though Warturtle only used his attacks to defend. The opponent grew visibly frustrated, and this affected her pokemon. The superior experience of my trainer shone through in every move, in a way it reminded me of how Solidad had battled against her in the last Grand Festival. Needless to say, my trainer won her fifth ribbon. It was beautifully ornamented in blue silk and silver threads. As soon as the result was clear, Drew left.
We met up with my trainer backstage, big grins adorning all our faces.
"That was fabulous, hon!" Harley squealed as he grabbed her hands. "Now I can beat you in the Grand Festival," he said enthusiastically, without missing a beat.
"You were great, May! You showed in the last battle how much you have grown as a coordinator. We are very proud of you, and I'm sure your family is, too." Solidad graced us with her warm smile.
We walked to the entrance while they spoke excitedly about the upcoming festivities, and all the training they needed to do in the upcoming two months.
The handsome boy from the semifinals intercepted us outside. Drew were standing a bit off, eyeing us wearily, waiting perhaps.
"Great battling May!" pretty-boy said. "Occasion for celebration, right?" He had a winning smile. All charm and confidence, a ladies man. He was the type to have his own fan girls lurking around, reminding me a lot of a certain coordinator. Drew in the distance narrowed his eyes, and started to walk closer.
"Thank you. Yes, I think I might allow myself to celebrate. It's my fifth ribbon!" As always my trainer was all friendliness, her face brightening up considerably.
"Do you want to have dinner with me, as in, be my date?" Wow, lover-boy was quite straight forward, after my standards. Although my standards were based on that circling, never resolving rose dance of May and Drew. Perhaps some clear talking was for the better.
"I, um, that sounds very nic..." my trainer stuttered, I think it was the first time someone asked her out. Thank goodness for Harley.
"Not possible, I'm afraid. Girlfriend is going out with us tonight." Harley cut May off, possessively grabbing her arm. She shot her Cacturne-loving rival an incredulous stare, while Drew let his shoulders fall, relief written in every aspect of his face.
"Uh... O-kay?" Hunk-boy arched a questioning brow, shrugged, waved and sauntered off with an unmistakable disappointed frown. "Maybe next time, May," he called back over his shoulder.
Drew closed the distance as soon as the other boy left, still waiting as his eyes locked with my trainer's sapphire ones.
"We will give you some privacy," Solidad said, eyeing Drew and my trainer. "We will be at the pokemon center, you can meet up with us for dinner later." She walked away with Harley in tow, and my trainer was left bewildered as everything happened over her head.
After a short silence, Drew spoke. "Congratulations, May. You were good."
"Thank you," she answered timidly. Any residues of her smile dissipated.
"I'm leaving now. I need to travel alone for a while." Drew spoke in a short and matter-of-fact tone, keeping any feelings out of voice and face.
"I thought so," my trainer whispered. He nodded and turned to leave. She was broken, tiny pieces you could hardly persuade to ever fit again. Maybe she should have gone on that date with the spike-haired guy after all. Might have done her some good, which was far more important than some petty jealousy in Drew.
"Drew!" her voice broke through in a panic. He faced her again. "I just want to say how sorry I am, for everything," she blurted out. "You must be so disappointed in me," she finished, swallowing hard. It was as if she had turned a switch in him, as anger and resentment flared into his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I have made it clear where I stand," he hissed. "And so have you, although I deserved better than this cold shoulder. I never thought of you as a coward, May, but I was clearly wrong. Even Brianna had more courage than you!"
She tried to speak, but no words came out. Tears started to gather, clouding the sapphire in her eyes. He gazed at her tear brimmed eyes, and tiredness replaced his rage. He lifted his hand, but let it fall down again halfway to her cheeks.
"It is ironic, though," he said. A smile tugged at his lips, but it was bitter, a sarcastic parody for how it should have been. "The Great Drew Hayden falling in an unrequited love." The words were spit out like venom.
My trainer's perplex glance met his eyes, and she shook her head, astounded. "I believe Brianna loves you very much, Drew." She responded slowly, thoughtfully. Her gaze succumbed to silence. He offered her an incredulous stare.
"No. Not even you could be that dense," he murmured. His green eyes searched her wet confused ones.
"I am not dense!" She retorted fiercely.
"No?" he asked, mirth playing at his lips. "Who were the roses for, May?" He received only addled silence, which was better than the plain rejection he evidently anticipated, based on his slightly relieved appearance. Cautious hope shone through his carefully controlled expression. "Have you ever, throughout our three years of friendship, understood that I love you?"
Her shocked sapphire eyes were answer enough. He smirked, beautifully back to his old arrogant self. "See, dense doesn't even cover it," he laughed. "The question is," he whispered, as their faces were only inches apart. "Do you love me?"
She seemed paralyzed, or perhaps in too deep of a daze to be able to respond. Luckily, her eyes contained the kind of stars which makes a person glow, rendering anything else unnecessary.
Or not. "As much as I like your smile, do you mind giving me an answer?" Drew's reputation as romantic was officially shattered.
"I hardly know what to say." May spoke each word carefully, a slight frown creeping onto her face. "I never expected this, I thought you resented me for having feelings for you, not the other way around." Tears began to gather in her eyes again, by which Drew started panicking.
"May, don't cry, please. What's wrong?" It was priceless, seeing him at a loss like that. At least May found him amusing, as she started laughing, although affectionately so.
"You idiot. I'm happy, and so relieved. These past days have been horrible." Giggles and sniffles mixed together, clearly she would need some time to calm down. Drew came to the same conclusion, probably finding this a good time to soothe her, or perhaps both of them. He reached for her hand, entwining their fingers slowly, then pulled her to him in an embrace.
The Arrogant and the Dense might have shared some human gestures of affection, but I wouldn't have known. I felt the Universe shake at it's very foundation, as my world began to revolve around the most beautiful Umbreon, who happened to pass me by.
Two months later
My five tiny babies with soft chocolate fur slept beside me. I endured the warmth of the fireplace for them, occasionally grooming a tail or nuzzling a body. May and Drew watched us from the couch.
"You know what, Drew? I never found out who owned that Umbreon. I have a feeling, though..."