The next morning was supposed to be a happy one. After all Saturday mornings are the ones where everyone gets to sleep in until noon or go out and spend the whole day with their friends. But for the Ketchum family, this Saturday morning was anything but happy or relaxing. Ash was the first of the three to stir awake. He had been laying on a hospital cot that was brought in for him to sleep on, while Delia slept next to him on an identical cot and Luna lay in her hospital bed. Ash sat up and looked towards his sister, who was laying still in bed with injuries still littering her body. The sight made Ash's face fall as he realized that the night before hadn't been a dream. He had missed Luna's game…she had gotten hurt…and she was going to be blind for the rest of her life…

"Luna…" he whispered sadly. What he didn't expect was Luna's eyes to open at the sound of his voice and her body to shift towards him.

"Ashy...?" she whispered in a small and scared voice.

"I'm here Luna...both me and Mom…" he assured her as he moved quickly to her bedside and gripped onto her hand to comfort her. "How are you feeling…?"

"I couldn't sleep…" she mumbled sadly.

"Oh, Luna...I'm so sorry…" he whispered, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

"I'm too scared…" she continued as Ash pulled her into a hug. "Everything looks the same whether my eyes are open or closed...it's terrifying…"

"I'm sorry Luna...I'm so so sorry…" he repeated, unable to think of anything else to say to comfort her.

"...Why weren't you there...? You promised…" she suddenly asked, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

"I…I was...I was with Leaf…" he finally admitted, knowing that as awful as it felt to admit that to her, he couldn't try to lie to her after what he'd caused. There was a long silence between the two siblings as Ash's words settled into reality. Eventually, Luna was the one that broke the silence.

"...So you really did choose her over me…"

"Luna no…no, I would never do that...I just...I made a mistake…a really really stupid mistake…" he tried to explain.

"You went with her...when you knew my game was right after school…" she countered,

"Luna I'm so sorry...I swear I was going to be there...this whole thing with Leaf and May was driving me crazy and I just…I needed a break…it was hurting so much I just needed an escape and I just…I just forgot…"

"You choose her over me...that's what happened…" she insisted. Ash wanted to argue more with her, but every reasoning he could come up with only proved her statement right. Even though it wasn't intentional, he had chosen Leaf and his own feelings, over Luna. And she had suffered the consequences of that.

"I'm sorry Luna...I'm so so sorry…" he whispered. "I swear nothing is more important to me than you…but you're right...I was too busy thinking about my feelings to remember you and your game...I should have told Leaf no...but I guess part of me knew she wouldn't take no for an answer…"

"I can't tell you what to do Ash…I just have to try and get some sleep…" she sighed, not quite ready to accept his apology yet. That hurt Ash, but he really couldn't blame her. It wasn't like he could ever forgive himself either.

"Okay...I'll be right here for you I promise…" he assured her. With only a tiny nod in response, Luna then closed her eyes and tried to sleep, leaving Ash alone with his thoughts once more.


Later on in the day, the mood in the room had not changed hardly at all. Luna had finally managed to fall asleep, Delia was out in a private waiting room making phone calls, and Ash was standing beside Luna's bed still, watching her sleep and trying still to come to terms with what had happened. The room was still and quiet until Nurse Joy walked into the room, drawing his attention.

"Ash?"

"Yes...?" he whispered.

"There's someone in the lobby that was looking for you." she informed him, perking his interest slightly.

"Really...? Who…?" he wondered. He had been too upset to call any of his friends or teammates since the accident. And he knew Leaf only knew what he had yelled at her prior to his dashing away. So who would've known he was there?

"There's a young lady with brown hair waiting out in the lobby. She was asking to see you." Joy elaborated, catching Ash off guard. The only two people that fit that description were…

"Oh...I see. Thank you I'll take care of it." he responded before he walked out of Luna's room and towards the lobby. He wasn't sure which of them to be hoping to see, or if he should even be hoping to see either of them. But before he had time to decide he entered into the lobby, and was surprised to see May standing nearby and waiting for him with a small gift bag in her hands. "May…?"

"Hi, Ash...I'm so sorry to drop in unannounced like this but I…I heard about what happened to Luna and...I just wanted to see how you all are doing…and to say I'm so sorry…" she explained nervously. Despite her advice to Ash to give both her and Leaf space, she felt that he might need a friend and some support right now.

"How did you know about that…?" he asked.

"There was a report on the news last night…I recognized Luna's picture…so I thought you might need a friend…even if we're not on the best terms right now…but if you'd rather I go I understa-"

"Please don't go May…I just…I really need someone to talk to right now…" he cut her off, his eyes practically begging her to stay. May felt her heart go out to him and gave a small nod.

"Alright…I'll stay for a while."

"Thanks…" he responded with the best smile he could muster. The two sat down on a couch and were quiet for a few moments. May could see the hurt and pain on Ash's face and she gave him a concerned look.

"It'll be ok Ash…" She tried to comfort him, but he shook his head in response.

"No it won't…this was all my fault…" he informed her, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I thought it was a freak accident…" she asked.

"It was...but it was my fault that it happened...because I wasn't there…" he said, tears starting to reform in his eyes.

"Ash…"

"It's my fault...I should have told Leaf no...but because I was in so much pain and was so mixed up thinking about- …something I just...I just went with her…" he explained, careful not to reveal the true nature of his thoughts to her just yet. He was of course unaware that she already knew. Despite that, however, the tears in his eyes still started to flow down his cheeks and May could only watch him with great concern, worried more about him with each passing minute. Seeing no other choice, she pulled him into a hug and allowed him to cry onto her shoulder. Ash didn't hesitate and returned her hug, holding her close and crying into the sleeve of her shirt.

"I can't...I can't imagine what this feels like...and I'm so so sorry this happened…" she whispered to him gently before continuing. "But beating yourself up won't help you…and it certainly won't help Luna…"

"I know but…" he sniffled, but May continued on anyway.

"But nothing…you have to forgive yourself Ash…learn from this and work to better yourself…if not for your own sake then for Luna's…she deserves that much doesn't she…?"

"...You're right." he replied after a moment to let her words sink in. He lifted his head from her shoulder and wipes the tears from his eyes, but still kept an arm around her which made her blush softly as he looked into her eyes and began to see her in a new light. With new clarity. "Thank you, May…I won't let this moment be the end…I'm going to be there for my Mom…Luna…and everyone else that's important to me." he directed the last comment towards her specifically, only making her blush deepen.

"Th-That's good…" she finally managed to stammer as she tried to find her voice again. "Well uh...anyway, I stopped by to...drop this off." she explained as she showed him the small gift bag she had come in with. "I thought this might cheer Luna up a little…"

"Wow, May…that's really amazing of you…thank you I'm sure she'll love it." Ash thanked her, flashing his first genuine smile in hours.

"Of course." she nodded quietly as she offered it to him to take back Luna, but he shook his head.

"I think she appreciate it if you give it to her yourself." he announced, standing up from the couch and helping her to her feet abruptly.

"Oh...I-I don't want to intrude…" she blushed and stuttered.

"Nonsense. She likes you. And I think having you around for a while would really lift her spirits." he insisted.

"You're sure...?" she wondered.

"I am…" he nodded, grasping her hand in his. "Please…?"

"O-Ok…" she finally agreed, blushing heavily. Ash gave her a small smile and with her hand still in his, he led her down the hall to Luna's room. They entered the room just as Luna was stirring awake herself.

"Luna…?" Ash asked carefully as he and May approached her bedside.

"Ashy…?" she wondered, looking over in the direction of his voice.

"Yeah, it's me. And I brought someone with me who wanted to say hi." he informed her, piquing Luna's interest.

"Someone else is here...?" she wondered. Ash turned to May and nodded for her to speak. So taking a deep breath, she did just that.

"Hi Luna…" she said gently. Luna's eyes widened when she heard May's voice and she turned more towards the two of them.

"May?"

"Yeah. It's me. I heard about what happened to you and I'm so sorry…" she explained, sitting down on the edge of Luna's bed.

"Oh…well…thank you I guess…" she answered, seeming to respond a bit more to May's apology than Ash's.

"And I actually got you something that I thought might cheer you up." the teen added as she guided Luna's hands to the gift bag.

"You did...?" she asked with a hint of surprise. May nodded and helped Luna's hands to the top of the bag before letting her take things from there. Luna felt her way into the bag and after a moment, she pulled out a pair of designer sunglasses. She was careful to drag her fingers across the item as she got as good a feel for them as she could. "Are these…sunglasses?"

"That's right. I thought you might want a pair of sunglasses so you can hide your eyes from people. At least until you got used to things again." May explained. Ash couldn't help but smile a little as Luna continued to trace her fingers over the glasses, trying to imagine how they look.

"Wait...are these the designer ones I saw at the store we all went there last week...?" Luna suddenly gasped.

"Yeah. I remembered how much you liked them so I got them for you." May answered with a little smile. Luna stared in shock as Ash's smile only grew wider.

"Wow...May I...thank you so much…" Luna finally managed to say.

"You're very welcome Luna. I hope you like them." May replied with a gentle smile. Luna smiled as well, her first since the accident, and teared up.

"Can I hug you May...?" she asked, almost timidly.

"Of course, you can." she chuckled as she gently wrapped Luna in a hug and the younger girl hugged her back. Ash smiled at the two girls with genuine happiness. For May to go out of her way to do this for Luna was just…it was just amazing to him. And somehow it helped him feel a little better too. After giving May one more squeeze, Luna let go of her and carefully put on the sunglasses before turning in Ash and May's general direction.

"Well…? Do I look ok…?" she asked them hopefully. Both teens smiled in response.

"You look great sis." Ash assured her.

"Absolutely." May nodded. Luna smiled softly and visibly relaxed as May got up from the bed.

"Well, I'm glad you like it, Luna. And please if you guys or your family ever need anything, please let me know. I'd like to help if I can." she offered.

"Thanks, May...we may just take you up on that." Ash responded with a light chuckle.

"My pleasure." she said with a small smile.

"May will you stay for a little while…? I really like having you here…" Luna suddenly requested.

"Oh well…if that's alright with Ash and your Mom…" she answered, glancing back at Ash for confirmation. Ash smiled and nodded.

"I'd really like that too May…" he assured her, causing the two of them to share a smile.


A few hours later, after getting a text from her mom that she was outside to pick her up, May was walking back out to the lobby with Ash escorting her.

"Thank you for letting me visit Ash. I appreciate it." she told him, blushing slightly as she did.

"Hey, I want to thank you May. You really lifted Luna's spirits. To say nothing of my own as well. You're welcome to visit any time you want." he informed her.

"I may take you up on that…" she said with a soft chuckle. "Before I forget…will you be at school on Monday...?"

"I will." he nodded. "After a weekend like this school doesn't seem nearly as big an issue. And I think a return to normalcy will be good for me."

"Alright...I guess I'll see you then?" she requested.

"Absolutely. No doubt about it." he promised her. May smiled softly with a light blush on her cheeks and a similar blush slowly appeared on Ash's cheeks.

"Have a good rest of the day Ash…"

"Bye May…" he replied as she walked outside and piled into her mother's car, holding her heart tightly.

"Did she like the sunglasses?" Caroline asked as she began driving away from the hospital.

"Yeah, she did…I had a really nice time…both with her and Ash." she admitted, holding her heart a bit tighter, which Caroline noticed.

"Ash liked having you around too then?" she inquired, making May blush.

"W-Well he…he just really needed a friend right now." May answered, trying to brush it off.

"Maybe…or maybe it was because it was you that came to help." Caroline countered.

"It has nothing to do with me…or with what he told Paper Princess…I saw him yesterday…he's chosen to stay with Leaf…" May explained, lowering her eyes sadly.

"Well honey…maybe what's happened with Luna has made him rethink some things…a tragedy like this can do that to someone…" the mother reminded her.

"I'm not that lucky…" May sighed. "Look can we just stop talking about it…?"

"Alright if that's what you want sweetheart. I just want you to be happy...and I know that you being with Ash would make you very happy…"

"This isn't about me…it's about him and Luna…"


Meanwhile back at the hospital, as Ash was heading back to Luna's room, his phone suddenly buzzed, indicating a text had just come in. He unlocked his phone and saw the message came from Leaf's number. Ash felt a twinge of anger in his stomach at the sight of her name, but nevertheless, he opened the message and read it.

"Where have you been? Call me." Ash growled slightly under his breath but decided to at least listen to what she had to say and called her. The phone hadn't even rung twice before Leaf picked up with an angry voice. "You better have a good explanation for ditching me last night."

"Good reason?!" Ash growled as he tried to keep his anger under control. "How's this for a reason? I'm at the hospital. My sister was in an accident at her game last night and is going to be blind for the rest of her life. All because I wasn't her game after school. Is that a good enough reason for you?!"

"Calm down would you Ash? It's not like it was my fault. I didn't tell you not to go to her game." Leaf groaned, almost sounding bored with him.

"No, you didn't…" Ash growled, feeling the anger inside him start to rise. "But I did tell you that I wanted to be alone for a while…and you didn't respect that."

"Even if you do need some "alone time" or whatever, that doesn't include me." she fired back. "As your girlfriend, you owe me your time if and when I need it. You don't just get to "take a break" just because you want to for whatever insane reason."

"All I asked for was a little bit of time…!" he started to raise his voice. "But you couldn't even respect that…! Do you care about how I feel at all…?!"

"Of course I do. That's why I need to tell you when you're being ridiculous." she brushed him off.

"I don't need this attitude right now Leaf…! What my family needs…what I NEED…if for you to be supportive. At least May came to the hospital to check on us like a good friend…" he informed her. The boredom in her voice vanished instantly at his comment and was replaced by the same dangerous one that always gave even him pause.

"Wait a second. That little wimp is there?" she growled.

"Don't call her that." Ash fired back, a bit more assertively than Leaf was expecting. "She was worried about Luna and the rest of us and wanted to see how we were doing. And she even gave Luna a gift to cheer her up."

"That's not ok Ash." Leaf said firmly.

"And why the heck not huh?!" Ash yelled, growing more annoyed by the minute. "She's my friend and she came to check on Luna!"

"For the love of pete Ash, she's obviously trying to weasel her way in between us. You're just too upset to see that." Leaf groaned.

"She's not that kind of person Leaf!" he spat.

"Oh yeah right. Don't be stupid Ash." she responded with a roll of her eyes. "I'll just make this easy for you. You are never to see her again. For any reason."

"Excuse me?! You can't just decide who I can be friends with!" he argued, but again she brushed it off.

"I am your girlfriend Ash. Which means I call the shots. And I will not let some whore steal my boyfriend." Something inside Ash suddenly snapped at her comment. Everything Luna had been saying, all the clues he had begun to notice lately, and her general attitude overall just all seemed to come into focus. She had been playing him. Using her good looks and his desire to make her happy to manipulate him. They hadn't been in a relationship, she had just been using him. Well now, enough was enough.

"That's it! If you're going to be like this then I'm done!" he yelled.

"Excuse me?!"

"You and me! We're done! I'm not going to let you hurt Luna, May, or anyone else I care about ever again! I'm breaking up with you!" he screamed.

"You think you can just break up with me?! Like hell! You need me and you know it!" she yelled back at him. "You're nothing without me!"

"Even if I am, I don't care! We're through! Don't ever call me or come near my family again!" he fired back before he finally hung up on her. With the phone off, Ash was left alone in the hallway, panting as he slowly came to terms with what he'd just done. As the rage inside him slowly began to fade, he heard Luna's soft voice from her room just up the hall.

"Ashy…?" taking a deep breath to make sure he had calmed down, he then walked into her room and took her hand.

"I'm here Luna…" he assured her.

"I heard you yelling…what's going on…?" she asked. Taking a deep breath, he slowly answered her question.

"Leaf was on the phone…and…I broke up with her." Luna's eyes widened as she turned towards him in shock.

"You really...broke up with her…?" she whispered.

"Yeah...and I don't feel bad about it." he answered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You don't...? Even after all the years, you two were together…?"

"No. She insulted May, accused her of coming here just to steal me away, and even demanded that I don't see her again. And on top of that, she didn't even bother to ask if you were ok. I finally saw what you were talking about. She doesn't care about anything but herself…and saw me as a way to get entertainment and status. That's not the kind of person I want to be with…" he explained.

"Wow…Ashy…" Luna whispered.

"I know…I'm still kinda in that stage of shock myself…" he admitted through a deep breath.

"There's one thing I don't understand though…"

"What's that…?"

"Why do you think it was that conversation that finally made you realize…?" Luna asked. Ash began to slowly think over the conversation in his mind, trying to remember where it was that everything came into focus for him. Slowly he began to remember. It was when Leaf called May a whore that he snapped. And before that, every time she called May a name or insulted her, it made his blood boil even more. There was no doubt about it. May was the trigger.

"It was May…every time she insulted May I just…I couldn't let her get away with it…" he slowly realized. "But why…? I've never felt something this…this strong before…"

"Ashy…don't overthink it. Take a deep breath and empty your mind." Luna insisted. Ash closed his eyes and did as she instructed, clearing his mind and calming his emotions with a deep breath. Once Luna heard him exhale, she continued. "Now don't think about it. The first word that comes to mind when you think about May is…?"

"Love." Ash said without hesitation. As soon as the word left his mouth, his eyes shot open in surprise and a small smile crossed Luna's face. "Oh my gosh…I…I'm in love with May…?"

"That's what it sounds like to me…" Luna chuckled softly. The more Ash thought about it, the more the difference between his feelings for May and his feelings for Leaf began to make sense.

"Oh my gosh Luna…you were right all along. Leaf and I that…that was just lust. She was the first girl to ever want me…and she was so beautiful that I went along with it…I turned a blind eye to what she was doing so I could keep being with the beautiful cheer captain. But with May…it's the exact opposite. She cares about me and what I care about…and I…I want to be there for her…protect her…do everything I can to help her be the best version of herself that she can be. She's not just my friend…I'm in love with her."

"Then the question is…what are you going to do about it Ashy…?" Luna asked him.

"Well…I need to tell her how I feel first." he decided.

"When are you going to tell her?" his sister wondered.

"Well…you and Mom need me here for the weekend and I still need time to figure out the best way to do this…so I'll tell her on Monday when I go back to school." he announced.

"That sounds really good Ashy...I'm so happy for you." Luna replied with a gentle smile.

"Thanks, Luna...for everything." he responded, hugging his beloved sister. Luna hugged him back and the two siblings held each other close. "I love you…"

"I love you too…"

To be Continued...