Bright and early the next day, Ash was seated at his desk, having just finished reading the paper for the day as he put it away in his bag. Another great column by Paper Princess that made him smile. Whoever this girl was, she seemed to be a really great person. But regardless of that, for now, he was ready to take his sister's advice and power through the awkward phase of his project with May. He hoped it would not only get them both a good grade but hopefully, the two of them would become more friendly in the process. He was never against making more friends. After a few moments, he noticed May as she timidly walked into the classroom. He flashed her a smile, only for her to gulp and tense up immediately as she approached their joined desks. Nevertheless, Ash didn't let that bother him.

"Hey May." he greeted her.

"...H-H...Hi…" she finally managed to whisper.

"Ready to work on the project?" he asked. She only gave a small nod as she sat down beside him at the adjoining desk. Ash started their work by pulling out his notebook and flipping to a list of ideas he had started in class yesterday while May was gone. He pushed the notebook into the center of the two desks so that they both could read it together, making May even more nervous as she tried to avoid his eye contact while also reading his notes.

"So, I was thinking since we're doing the balcony scene, we should keep our background simple. Maybe something like a large canvas that we could paint to look like a brick wall with a doorway. And then some kind of riser or something under your feet so that you're up a bit higher than me. That way it'll look like you're on the balcony even though we'll both be standing on the stage still." he explained, surprising May with the good ideas he had.

"Th-That…that actually sounds like a really good idea Ash…" she replied. This earned a smile from Ash which only made May blush harder.

"Then all we need to do is build a little platform and then paint the set." he deduced, earning a nod of agreement from May.

"I…I guess we could each take half of the set then…you could build the platform and I'll paint the set…" May offered, feeling as though the work would go quicker and easier if they split it up. Ash, however, didn't agree. He wanted to continue to work with her and break through this awkward phase. And doing the work separately wasn't going to help with that. So, heeding his sister's advice once again, he suggested a different approach.

"Actually how about we work on painting the background at my house after school today?" May's eyes widened as she dropped the pencil she was using, her mind literally broken from the mere suggestion.

"W...What...?" she nervously squeaked.

"May what's wrong?: he asked, looking at her with concern.

"C-Come over...? T-To your...house...?" she stammered, still trying to process the suggestion.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Once I'm done with practice after school you can ride with me back to my place. We'll just need to pick up my little sister on the way if that's ok."

"I-I...I can't…" May nervously whispered, trying to stop her body from shaking with fear.

"Why not?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow at her response.

"U-Um…" she stammered, racking her brain for a reason. "I-I...I don't know...it's just...it's not a good idea…"

"May it's ok. My sister won't mind and it'll give us a chance to really work together. Trust me this is going to really work out well for us." he insisted.

"B-But…"

"No buts." he smiled a genuine smile, causing her to blush. May knew in her mind this was a golden opportunity to try and at least get over some of her nerves as well as get a good chunk of their work done, but the thought of them alone, working closely, and at his house felt like a scenario she should be kicking herself for even thinking about. But like it or not, this is where she was now. So, taking a deep breath and summoning all her courage, she finally turned her gaze back to his.

"I...I guess I...can…" she finally conceded, making Ash smile.

"That's great May! Come meet me in the school's parking lot after my practice tonight and we'll head out." he instructed.

"O...Ok…" she muttered. He smiled at her once again and her face lit up with a heavy blush, forcing her to look away before she lost her newly discovered nerve. Ash's smile faltered a little when she turned away, but he knew it would be a process to break through this tension so he left it at that for now.


Later that day, once again as lunch began, Dawn was waiting for May at their table. She spotted the brunette walking to the lunch table soon enough. May sat down at the table with her food and sighed.

"Hey girl." she greeted, but her response was May putting her head down on the table and only mumbling an answer back. That meant once again, something was bothering her. "Okay, what's bugging ya?

"...Ash invited me to his house…" May muttered, causing Dawn's jaw to drop.

"No way…!" May only groan miserably in response. "So what's the problem? This has got to be the best news you've ever had!"

"I'm supposed to spend time alone with a guy that I can barely even talk to? At his house? And without making a complete fool out of myself? Someone should just kill me now and put me out of my misery." the brunette replied sarcastically.

"May come on. Some time to get to know each other is just what you two need. Take it and run with it!" Dawn encouraged her friend. "And who knows what'll happen! You two could really hit it off! At the very least you'll probably make Leaf crazy jealous when she finds out."

"It just keeps getting better…" May groaned at the last comment. "Dawn the last thing I need is the head cheerleader sicking the entire school on me for a misunderstanding like that…"

"May don't be so dramatic. I'm on the team too remember? She's a spoiled little brat alright, but I don't think she'd weaponize the school against you for something like this. Nor do I think Ash would let her do that." the blunette countered.

"She will when she finds out we have to kiss for the project…" May groaned.

"I think she'll live. Though now that you mention it, I wonder how Ash will react when you two kiss. You know some people say you can tell a lot about someone by how it feels to kiss them." Dawn commented with a giggle.

"I'll be sure to remember that when he reacts with disgust…" May sighed.

"Don't be so negative."

"That's the best case scenario…"

"Best case scenario would be him starting to feel something for you silly!"

"That's what we call a fantasy Dawn…" May mumbled. "So please don't start this again…"

"All I'm saying is that you can't be so negative about things. Try to think positive." she grinned.

"Being negative is my thing Dawn...surely you know that by now…" her best friend retorted.

"Well, that's not entirely true anymore you know." Dawn smirked. "At least, not when you're being you-know-who."

"Be quiet!" May yelped, covering Dawn's mouth quickly despite the fact that no one was listening to their conversation. Dawn rolled her eyes and pulled May's hands off her face.

"I'm just saying you have more positivity within you than you know. You just need to learn how to tap into it more often."

"What if I don't want to…?"

"Then this is all you'll ever be capable of. And I know deep down that's not what you want."

"..."


Elsewhere in the cafeteria, Ash was eating his food as he chatted with his teammates. Finally, Leaf found her way to the table and sat down beside him, drawing his attention away from his friends as he smiled at her.

"Hey babe." he welcomed her. She responded with a smile and a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey yourself. I can't wait for you to see what plans I have for us after you're done with practice today." she said, running a finger down his cheek to emphasize her point.

"Oh?" Ash blushed.

"Oh yes. I just need to know where and when to meet you." she replied with a confident little smirk. Ash smiled back at her and was about to reply when he remembered what he needed to talk with her about.

"Um, actually Leaf about tonight…" he answered, catching her attention.

"What about tonight?"

"I've actually arranged to work on my English project with May after school. So I'll need to take a rain check on our plans." he explained. Leaf's expression seemed to immediately change from her flirty usual to a suspicious one.

"Look, Ash. I have no issue with you kissing her or working on the project together during class. But when this girl starts cutting into our time together that's when we have a problem." she informed him, catching him off guard with her bluntness.

"Leaf I'm sorry but we're going to work on the project at my house tonight. We gotta get our set started and-"

"Excuse me?"

"W-What?"

"Did you just say she's coming over to your house?!"

"Y-Yeah of course. We need time to start the project and…well you know…"

"You can work on the project while you're both here at school. Not at your house. Not at her house." Leaf demanded, surprising Ash.

"W-What? Leaf you can't be serious." Ash said, stunned by her forceful attitude.

"I'm dead serious Ash. I want you two to only be working together in a public setting so I can make sure nothing happens. I'm not letting some bookworm tramp get any ideas about my guy." she replied.

"Leaf come on. If I don't get a good grade in my class I'll end up missing the big game and we could end up losing." Ash insisted, trying to break through, but Leaf was firm.

"Then work harder when you're both here at school. You don't need to take some other girl to your house to work on a stupid school project." she fired back.

"We can't work hard together if we don't get to know each other at least a little bit. And I'm not sure if we can cross that threshold if we only work together while we're here." Ash tried to explain.

"I don't care. Between my cheer practice and your basketball practice, we already don't get a lot of time together to have "private fun". I have no intention of sacrificing any more of it just so you can bring another girl over to your house to do who knows what." Leaf said, firmly putting her foot down.

"Leaf…" Ash sighed, trying to think of another way to get his point across to her. However before he could find that path, Leaf wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face close to his. Each of them could feel the other's breath on their cheeks and a warm feeling rushed between the two of them.

"Besides, would you really rather spend your time with her over me?" she whispered.

"O-Of course not…but with my grades, I really need to-" Leaf suddenly kissed him and cut off his sentence. Despite the interruption, Ash gave in and started kissing her back. Her tongue found a way to invade his mouth and his tongue quickly locked her's into a battle. A shared moan of delight passed between them before finally Leaf pulled her lips away and they both looked into each other's eyes, panting.

"We can find much better things to do with our time…" she whispered.

"I...I guess we can…" he whispered back, giving in to her advances despite his better judgment. Leaf smiled at his answer and then stroked his cheek with her finger.

"Then you better cancel with her…" she insisted.

"...Alright…" he conceded.

"Good boy." she replied as she then kissed him again. Ash kissed her back as she began to run her hand down his arm, earning a few curious moans from him. Nevertheless, her hand continued its journey down his body until it found its way to his belt. Ash moaned in surprise as Leaf invaded his mouth and tugged a little at his belt. He battled her tongue back aggressively, spurring her to slip her hand into his pants for a bit more fun.


Later that day, long after classes were over, May was waiting out in the student parking lot for Ash as she promised she would be. She felt that she would've been uncomfortable and out of place if she had watched the boy's practice, so she had opted to wait in the library instead. The quiet of the library had always been comforting to her and today it was especially helpful in preparing her for the biggest risk she had ever taken. Soon enough the door to the school opened up and she saw other boys from the team start filing out into their respective cars to leave the school grounds. Most of them didn't even notice her standing nearby, but that was something she was very used to. She ignored them for the most part and scanned the crowd for her ride. However after the crowd started to thin out, a flash of worry crossed her face.

"Where is he…?" she asked no one in particular. Then, as if to answer her question, she heard the door to the school open once again. She turned to look and gave just the smallest smile when she saw him step out with his bags. Just as she was about to go up to him, however, she stopped dead in her tracks as Leaf walked out the door with him.

"Come on babe let's hit the road." Ash said to the cheerleader under her arm as he walked her towards his car, completely unaware that the two of them walked right passed May without so much as a glance in her direction. After the "excitement" during lunch, Ash had completely forgotten to actually cancel with May, leading her to believe up until this very moment, that they were still going to hang out after his practice. She watched as the two loaded into Ash's car and drove off without a care in the world. Hurt and feeling like the biggest idiot in the world, May quickly ran off, trying to hide her tears as she ran all the way home. She burst through the door and ran up to her room, slamming the door shut without a word to any other member of her family. She collapsed onto her bed in a fit of tears and buried herself under several blankets and pillows.

"Serves me right for ever even trying…"


Meanwhile, at the Ketchum house, Ash was in his own bed, panting as he looked at the lovely woman panting underneath him. Leaf smiled at him and he smiled back at her. After they had left the school, they picked up Luna as fast as they could and then bolted up to Ash's room, locking the door and getting right down to their private fun. Leaf ran a hand through his hair and gently pecked his lips.

"A wonderful way to spend an afternoon…" she whispered.

"The best…" he replied back in a soft voice. They began kissing again until a knock on the door interrupted them. Ash pulled away from the kiss, knowing exactly who had to be at the door since he had yet to hear his mother's car pull in. "Yeah, Luna?"

"What are you two doing in there?!" she yelled from the hallway.

"Nothing!" he responded as convincingly as he could despite his position.

"For the last 45 minutes?! Yeah right! How dumb do you think I am Ashy?!" she demanded.

"Uhh…" he stammered, unsure of how to answer so that he wouldn't offend either girl. Luna didn't feel like waiting for his response, however, opting instead to simply groan and walk away from the door. Ash sighed and rolled off Leaf, laying on his back next to her. He hated making his sister upset.

"I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do later…" he sighed.

"Don't let her bug you too much. Kids can be that way sometimes." Leaf assured him, stroking his chest with her hand.

"Hey. That "kid" is my sister Leaf." he said with a bit of warning in his voice. "And I don't think it's any secret that she's not the biggest fan of yours. And me blowing her off all afternoon to spend time with you isn't going to make her very happy."

"She just hasn't come around yet. It'll happen." she replied, kissing his cheek.

"I hope so…" he mumbled. Leaf then kissed him again and he kissed her back, holding her close as they both moaned in approval. The lip lock was held for several moments longer until they finally broke apart for air, panting once again.

"Isn't that so much better...than doing homework with some other girl...?" she whispered.

"Oh yeah…" he nodded.

"Told you so." she smiled. Ash smiled back at her and they were quickly within another lip lock. They moved their bodies back into position and were quick to begin another round of private time.


Meanwhile, in the living room on the main floor, Luna sighed sadly as she sat at the kitchen table all by herself. Seeing Leaf in the shotgun seat when Ash picked her up was certainly not what she was expecting today, much less when she accompanied them home and left with Ash up to his room. She had never really gotten along with her brother's girlfriend and she could tell the feeling was mutual. But she knew Ash really liked her so she had always kept her mouth shut for the most part. But today was a prime example of why she thought Leaf was all wrong for her brother. In the course of less than a day, Leaf had not only convinced her brother to bring her to do private activities in their own home, but she'd also convinced him to blow off doing the homework he so desperately needed to do if he was going to be able to play in the biggest game of his life. One that was only a few weeks away. Really showed her at least where Ash's goals fell on Leaf's priority list.

"Guess I'm on my own tonight…" she sighed as she headed to the fridge to see what she could make to eat.

To be Continued...