Hey guys, so I know at first glance this seems like I'm reposting the same exact chapter. But I added some changes, so I recommend you re-read it and then read the new stuff so you understand the next chapters I'll be posting soon. I've extended it and I've also changed a few things around. I'm finally over my writer's block and I know how to continue this story, which is why the changes to this chapter were necessary. I honestly think the way I ended it before was holding me back. So thank you for waiting for so long and hopefully you enjoy this new chapter six!

Oh and here's what was in the author's note in the old version. I feel like it's important so I'll include it here:

Hi guys! Okay, so the primary complaint I've heard is that May is a little OOC. So here's my response to that. I feel like May is a pretty flexible character in terms of personality. I've read a TON of fanfics with May as a character and she changes almost every time based on the author's interpretation of her. I personally see May as a witty girl but also a sweet character who looks out for people. She does talk, and I know in my story it seems like she's really anti-social, but that's only because in this fic she has a past that makes her think twice before she lets people in. She's a little more guarded but that will change as her character develops throughout the story.

I'm sorry to those of you who are unsatisfied with her character and thank you for letting me know, but that's just my take on how to portray May.

Also, I've read a comment complaining about how there is too much sex in this story and there isn't enough about the girls actually, you know, growing. I'm sorry if it felt that way to you, but I promise you this is not rated M for a good reason. There is nothing graphic in here and I don't plan on there being anything graphic in this story. That is a line that can be explored some other day :) I'm pretty sure the only times I've even mentioned anything sexual is through Gary's lame pick-up lines and maybe when describing the party scene.

On a different note, thank you for all the reviews! 55 is a lot for me because I've never considered myself to be a good writer so reading all of your suggestions has been really good for me. Thank you for making me feel super included :) I appreciate it a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. This story is purely for entertainment purposes.

Thank you!

Ciao,

Snow

Misty would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit pissed off. After Ash had left to help Drew handle some problem with the DJ on the second floor, a very drunk Leaf had practically mauled her. With no choice left, she had decided to leave the place, only to find that May was sitting in one of the rooms looking half dead and Dawn was chatting it up with a very bored looking Paul.

The redhead didn't even know what to do. Not only did she have one drunk friend to deal with, she also had to pry Dawn away from Paul, something the blue-haired girl didn't appreciate, and she had to snap May out of her dazed state.

At that point, she didn't even know if she could trust any of her friends to drive the other car home in one piece. Dawn was a terrible driver, May looked like she had just been slapped across the face, and Leaf was drunk to the point of giggling like a maniac at every little thing.

"May, are you sure you're okay driving?" Misty asked the brunette for the umpteenth time. May gave her a weak smile.

"I'm fine. I promise I didn't drink anything."

"I think you guys are forgetting that I, too, have a license," Dawn interrupted, almost succeeding in snatching the keys away from May.

"I'm really not as bad of a driver as you all think I am!"

"Right," Misty gave the blunette an uneasy look, "You can say that after you've managed a single drive without running into random street objects."

Dawn pouted and opened the passenger seat of the car she had come in. She plopped herself down and shut the door dramatically, making Leaf drunkenly giggle and Misty roll her eyes and shove the green-eyed girl towards the other car.

"And you, my friend, you have another thing coming. I specifically told you not to get drunk. Do words just go in one ear and come out the other with you?" the redhead all but yelled at Leaf.

The brunette stopped giggling and paused for a moment before slapping her hands over her ears.

"Well, if I cover my ears like this, they won't go in or come out!" she proclaimed proudly.

Misty shook her head and walked around the car to sit in the drivers seat. May and Dawn had already driven away and the sooner she got home, the sooner she could take a much-needed aspirin.

She looked over to Leaf who was now hunched over and looked like she was about to vomit.

"Don't you dare!" Misty warned, sea-green eyes narrowing.

"I can't help it," Leaf giggled again, this time looking a little more sick, "I may have to listen to you Mist, but my stomach sure doesn't."

With that, Misty quickly started the car and hit the gas, hoping to get back to the house before the car was ruined.

To say the ride home was exhausting would be an understatement. It had been a long time since Misty had seen any of her friends drunk since drinking was a habit she was proud to say her friends mostly avoided. The entire time, Leaf had been leaning too far over onto her side. She almost gave Misty a heart attack when she leaned too far into the gear shift and put the car in park mode in the middle of the road. Thank god it was nighttime and no one was really out, or the police would have caught them for sure.

By the time they were home, Leaf was running to the bathroom to throw up and Misty almost gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep in the car. When she finally managed dragged herself through the front door, May was waiting for her with a glass of water and some aspirin with a smile on her face, apparently having forgotten whatever had bothered her at the party.

"May, you're my savior," the tall girl threw her arm around the brunette who laughed and handed her the much needed items.

"I wouldn't go that far," May let out a head-splitting yawn, "I'm gonna go to bed. I have a feeling I have more homework than I think I do and I need to finish it tomorrow."

Misty gulped down the water with the tablet and gave her a thumbs up.

"Sounds good. I'm going to go make sure Leaf hasn't fallen asleep on the toilet."

"Oh, She's already in bed. Turns out, she didn't actually drink enough alcohol to throw up much." May walked up the stairs, calling the information out over her shoulder.

"Is Dawn asleep too?"

"Yep! Good night Misty." The girl disappeared around the corner and into her room.

Misty placed the glass on the kitchen counter and walked up the stairs to her own room. Entering, she turned on the light and winced at the brightness. She quickly turned them back off and walked over to her standing lamp, opting for the dimmer light. She would never get used to how unnaturally bright the built-in lights in her room were. Leaf and, surprisingly, May had both played a prank on her one April Fool's Day by switching the lights on her ceiling to the brightest kind they sold at the convenience store.

That first night had almost left her blind.

Chuckling at the memory of reprimanding them the day after, Misty swiftly changed into a blue tank top and matching pajama shorts. After removing all her makeup and brushing her teeth, she threw her thick, red hair into a bun and collapsed onto her bed. On the ceiling, she had posters of famous female athletes, all staring back at her with toothy white grins and encouraging hand gestures.

Dawn and Leaf had teased her relentlessly about putting the posters on her ceiling, but it motivated her to see the people she looked up to first thing in the morning.

Out of nowhere, a blush crept up onto Misty's face. Now, whenever she thought about sports, she couldn't help but tie it back to the raven-haired idiot. She saw him running down the track, sweat streaming down the sides of his face and muscles strained. She saw him cross the finish line and flash everyone in the crowd a smile like the friendly guy he was. She was him waving at her and yelling out her name.

She covered her face with her hands and kicked the sheets off her bed. She had danced with him.

Since when did Misty Waterflower dance?

'Apparently since she fell in love with him,' the voice inside her head whispered evilly.

"I'm not in love with him!" Misty snapped back, angry that her brain could even suggest such a preposterous thing.

She buried her face in her pillow and tried her best to forget the smiling idiot.

By the time sunlight had begun streaming through the curtains of May's window, she was already up and restless.

She had tried so hard to forget everything that had happened last night: her embarrassing panic attack in the party, his hands on her back, the way he had sounded when she told him they were practically strangers...

She shook her head, chestnut colored locks flying in front of her face. She had to stop thinking about him. For years, she had decided to have nothing to do with him. One stupid night wasn't going to change any of that.

Or was it?

She continued her mental debate for what felt like hours. She heard her friends get up one by one and head down stairs to scrounge the fridge for breakfast. She heard Dawn's blowdryer working away as the blunette was likely fixing the hair-sprayed mess her hair had become from last night's events. She heard Leaf groan about a massive headache and Misty reprimand her for drinking in the first place. But none of it was processing for her, at least not completely.

All she saw was green hair, a pair of green eyes, and a taunting smirk.

A sudden bang made May jump in her skin and almost dive back under the covers. Just a few seconds later, she heard Misty hollering something about "not wearing socks on hardwood," and her back relaxed from its rigid position.

Unfortunately, it was still not enough to get her mind off the matter. She could feel a little panic rise within her as more things regarding him came back to her, one-by-one.

Quickly, she bolted up and started pacing back and forth and talking to herself.

"I should head downstairs. Then I'll come back up, finish my homework, and go for a run," she looked outside and saw a sheet of frost covering the grass, "Okay, so maybe not a run. What else is there to do?"

She saw a flash of black and white keys and shook her head some more to get the image out.

"Read my new book!" she said loudly, as if she was stupid for not thinking of that earlier, "And then I can hang out with Dawn. She can teach me some dance moves. I'll go look at Leaf's new painting in the basement. I'll help Misty cook dinner."

Once she had finished talking herself out of an impending panic attack, she stopped and took a deep breath, plastering a smile on her face.

"See May? You're fine. A little dramatic, but who isn't?" she told herself in the mirror. She slapped both hands on her cheeks hard enough for her face to sting.

Finally calmed down enough, she put on her red Snuggie in preparation for breakfast. The dining room was always super cold.

She flung her door open and headed downstairs where her friends were sure to be eating breakfast happily around the table.

Sure enough, she saw Dawn and Leaf fighting over who should get the last bit of orange juice.

"You aren't the hungover one here!"

"I shouldn't be punished for your bad decisions Leaf Green! Give me my OJ!" Dawn pulled on the bottle a little harder, tipping her brunette friend forward slightly.

"Have you already forgotten the favor I did you the last time you were drunk?" Leaf accused.

Dawn stopped tugging, but kept her tight grip on the bottle. She looked perplexed.

"What favor?"

"You know, that one favor," Leaf hesitated, "The one with the thingie."

"You have to be more specific than that!"

"Whatever, favor or not, you still have to give it to me. I'm older!"

"By, like, three months! You're being obnoxious!"

May shook her head and grinned, feeling a little evil. Without them suspecting anything, she casually walked over and waited for an opening. Misty regarded her curiously, but said nothing, spooning some cereal into her mouth.

Once she found the opportunity, May leaned over and plucked the bottle from in between the squabbling girls. Before either had the time to react, May unscrewed the top, put the bottle to her lips, and chugged the rest of the orange juice down.

Both Leaf and Dawn's jaws dropped. Misty smiled and nodded approvingly.

"And that, my friends, is how you solve an argument," the redhead said, looking at May proudly, before turning back to finish off her cereal.

"I didn't think you were that mean!" Dawn gasped dramatically and Leaf nodded in agreement, glaring at May.

"You're the devil's spawn for sure," the green-eyed girl interjected just as dramatically.

May smiled sweetly.

"What are you two talking about? I only did it because poor Misty was getting a headache," she batted her eyelashes in mock innocence.

"You look so fake right now, Brianna's boobs are jealous," Leaf said through a mouthful of waffle. This time, Misty choked on her cereal and started turning red from laughter.

"How do you even come up with this stuff?" May shook her head, laughing herself. She slid into the empty chair.

Leaf shrugged, "I call 'em like I see 'em. Hey, pass the maple syrup will you?" she paused, "Wait, get it? Maple? As in May Maple? I'm hilarious."

May handed the girl the bottle and looked at her, amused.

"I'm starting to think you should just stay hungover permanently."

"What? I'm funny when I'm not hungover too!" Leaf insisted.

Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep better at night, Leafy."

Leaf tensed briefly before quickly shoving a piece of waffle into her mouth and giving a Dawn a food-filled grin. The blue-haired girl wrinkled her nose and looked away.

"That's disgusting. Didn't your mother teach you manners?" she jabbed, jokingly.

May noticed the sudden shift in atmosphere immediately. Leaf's eyes widened a little and she stared down at her plate before replying.

"I guess not."

An awkward silence passed. May saw Dawn fidget a little and look at Leaf, confused. Misty had stopped chewing.

"Leaf, are you okay?" May asked, putting a worried hand on her shoulder. Leaf brushed it off and smiled.

"I'm fine. Sorry, I think last night really did a number on my energy." She shoved the last piece of waffle into her mouth and stood up, heading towards the kitchen with her plate.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Dawn leaned over to whisper to Misty and May.

"I don't know," May trailed off, looking over at Leaf who was absentmindedly washing her plate at the sink.

"I don't think it's a good idea to bring up her parents," Misty finally said, her face grim, "I don't know the details, but I think they divorced a while ago and haven't contacted her since."

Dawn gasped a little and looked genuinely sorry.

"She never said anything," she whispered sadly, "I wouldn't have said that if I knew."

"It's fine," Misty stood up with her empty bowl, "I'm sure we all have things we haven't shared. Maybe it's better that way."

May stared at her hands while Dawn silently finished her food. She loved her friends. Ever since moving into the house with them at the beginning of high school, she had known they would get along. Leaf was the quirky artist with witty comments. Dawn was the peppy dancer whose mouth never stopped moving. Misty was the calm and collected leader and aspiring athlete who was a stickler for routine. And she was the quiet one, always hesitant to bicker with them or get into little quarrels. Together, all of them had an unlikely dynamic that somehow worked and had blossomed into a close friendship. But there was an unspoken rule.

No one talked about the years before high school. That understanding is what allowed them to respect each other.

May had no doubt there were secrets, but she wasn't stupid enough to ask. Breaking that rule would be breaking what they had formed their unlikely friendship on: That delicate balance of understanding that none of them were without scars but accepting that there was nothing they could do to help each heal.

Never had that understanding confused and pained May more than it did now.

The basement was unfinished and, honestly, looked like a horror movie waiting to happen. It was dark, the only lighting consisting of a few study lamps, and had the pungent smell of dead fish. There were stains everywhere, some unidentifiable and some unmistakably the work of paints. It was the epitome of ugly.

To Leaf, it was heaven. She walked down the wooden stairs and flipped the switch that turned on the five study lamps she had positioned around the room. Her nose wrinkled.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't too keen on the smell.

But, hey, even heaven couldn't be flawless.

And once she started painting, the smell was easy to adjust to. She loved the look of the place. Her friends had offered to help her clean it up but it was already every artist's dream: a dark, secluded place to brood and paint that was as damaged as she felt sometimes. Other than maybe some air freshener, what more could she ask for?

"Hey, dude, it's been a while." She gently ran her finger along the length of the canvas that contained her latest piece. It was one of her darkest, most complex pieces yet. The center was a girl kneeling on the floor of a dark bedroom, her knees pulled up to her chest. The broken glass surrounding her reflected light from the eerily large moon outside her window. Behind her stood a heavily detailed drawing of the grim reaper, in all his cloaked glory, with both hands extended towards her.

Yes, very subtle. Yet she couldn't bring herself to draw it up any other way.

Leaf painted what she felt. And this was her most personal piece to date. It expressed a part of her she had been suppressing for years in fear that it would drive away everyone closest to her. Her friends.

What to do about them? Her little freak out at breakfast had probably scared the hell out of Dawn and May. Misty knew vaguely because of a chance midnight encounter a couple of years ago, but those two were clueless as to what exactly had flipped her switch.

No one talked about the past. But hell if Leaf didn't wish that wasn't the way it had to be. She hated hiding things from people and she hated having to keep quiet.

But they wouldn't be able to shoulder each other's burdens on top of everything. If she broke the gates, it would all come tumbling out. And the last thing Leaf ever wanted was to ruin what she had with the girls who were the some of most important people in her life.

So for now, she would stick to painting. After all, a canvas won't break no matter how many layers of paint you put on it.

She picked up a thin brush and some black paint and continued to paint in details on the grim reaper. She was so focused on her work she almost didn't hear the ring of her cellphone to the side. She cast the device an annoyed look. There wasn't supposed to be strong cell service down here.

Placing her materials to the side, she glanced at the screen and couldn't fight a small smile.

Of course Gary Oak would bend the laws of cellphones and manage to get in a phone call to someone in a secluded basement.

She tapped the notification and held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder, forgetting entirely that she was supposed to be mad at him for last night's...events. She continued to work on the painting as the line rang.

"Hey." A female voice answered three rings later.

Leaf paused. A girl? A familiar feeling of disgust started to build within her but she ignored it. What more did she expect?

"Um, hi," she replied awkwardly, "I got a call?"

"Oh. Right. Garrison!" the voice yelled. Garrison? Leaf relaxed a little. It was a family member.

"Sheesh, sis, I'm right here. You don't have to yell." Gary's rich voice filled Leaf's ear and she had to stop herself from relishing in the sound. She was not a fangirl, dammit.

"Why the hell did you call me, Oak?"

"Well, hello to you to Leafy. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

Leaf rolled her eyes but couldn't stop another smile.

"Very funny. Answer the question, Garrison."

She could almost see his cheeks redden.

"Hey, I thought I told you not to call me that!" he whined, still managing to make his voice sound delicious. Leaf wanted to smack herself. Since when did she get so corny?

"I can't help it. Your parents were high on something when they named you," she said with a grin.

"Can't argue with that." She could feel his grin through the line.

One thing she liked about Gary was that she could always tell how he was feeling from his voice alone. It was never that way with anyone else. As much as she liked to deny it, it comforted her that she never had to guess with him. The answer was always clear.

'If it was that clear, you would've jumped him already.'

Leaf choked on her spit and felt like smacking herself again. Her mind, as it turned out, was out to kill her.

"Are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay."

Leaf took a few sips from her water bottle and went back to painting. Moments passed in silence while she layered more and more black paint on the canvas.

They did this often. He would call her while she was doing something and then they'd be in complete silence before one of them hung up without a word. The first time, she had felt weird, but now she embraced it. It was almost comforting to not talk to him but still have him there. It helped her forget all the pain she stupidly allowed him to inflict upon her. None of it was his fault. He was just being Gary Oak, playboy extraordinaire. She was the idiot who got emotions involved.

She also knew he relied on these calls. Over the years, she had come to understand that this was his coping mechanism. Despite his loose mouth, he didn't share his problems with people. She knew he saw it as weakness. In that way, they were similar. So she always made sure she was there to receive his calls, because while she had a lot of shortcomings, being a bad friend was not one of them.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Gary finally spoke, snapping her out of the focus she had been directing at her painting.

"Hey Leaf?"

"Mhm."

"I've never said this," he started, his voice especially low. Leaf tensed.

"What is it?"

"Thank you," he whispered, "for everything."

And that's it! I wanted to add more but I figured it could wait until next chapter. Honestly, I was on the longest bout of writer's block ever on top of how busy I've gotten, so hopefully now that I've got some inspiration in me, updates won't be a year apart. Also next chapter should be coming soon, since most of it is already planned out.

Thanks for the support, as always!